Game of Thrones continued apace this week, with shock character returns, big political manoeuvres and the promise of some pretty huge battles to come. Oh, and Gilly in a dress. Read on below for 9 things we took away from 'Blood of My Blood':

1. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MESS WITH COLDHANDS

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While the name is unlikely to be used in the series, book-readers will know that Benjen Stark's half-dead self is known by the moniker Coldhands - in reference to the blood that congealed there before his death was halted. Nice. Cold hands or not, he certainly didn't have any trouble wielding that flaming ball of destruction! Swords are great and all, but it's nice to see a more inventive weapon being utilised, and who doesn't love a good session of zombie bashing?

2. SAMWELL TARLY KNOWS A LOT ABOUT TREES

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Not only is he kind hearted and gentle; not only has he killed a Thenn, and a White Walker; not only has he stood tall to protect his family on numerous occasions; Samwell Tarly also knows a lot about trees. Want to know how a maple grows, or where? Sam's yer man!

3. GILLY IN A DRESS IS THE MOST ADORABLE THING

Probably fair to assume that growing up in Craster's Keep north of the Wall wasn't the most comfortable of childhoods, so having Gilly take a bath and wear what might well be her first ever dress was quite a sight. She certainly scrubs up well enough, and the sight of her struggling to walk in an unfamiliar dress and shoes combo was far and away the most adorable thing to happen this week.

4. THERE'S A NEW VALYRIAN STEEL SWORD IN PLAY

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Valyrian Steel is known to be one of the only materials that can hurt the White Walkers - just a shame there's so little of it around, what with Valyria not existing any more, and all. There are a few on the show: Ned Stark's Ice was melted down into two swords and gifted to Joffrey and Jaime (now passed on to Tommen and Brienne), while Longclaw rests on the hip of Jon Snow. And now Samwell Tarly has Heartsbane, his family's ancestral blade. When the Walkers finally head South, our heroes'll need all the Valyrian Steel they can muster, and Heartsbane will surely be better off in Sam's hands that adorning his grumpy father's mantle.

5. ARYA COULD'VE BEEN AN ACTOR

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We know Maisie Williams is a brilliant actor, but here Arya gets told that her expressive eyes (not to mention those eyebrows) would've made her a hit on the stages of Westeros and Essos too! Suddenly a very different (but strangely similar) career path to being a Faceless assassin may have opened up before her! Wonder if there's a Game of Thrones version of a Tony Award? Arya'd be a shoo-in.

6. THE WAIF CAN HOLD A GRUDGE

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Not content with laying the smackdown on Arya in what feels like every single episode for about two seasons, it turns out that The Waif went so far as to get Jaqen to PROMISE that he'd let her personally kill Arya should she fail in her training. Seems a bit much, no? Someone get her a game boy, or something, the girl has absolutely no chill.

7. MACE TYRELL ISN'T QUITE THE INSPIRING LEADER HE THINKS HE IS

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Game of Thrones has a knack for inspiring speeches - think Tyrion rallying his men at the battle of the Blackwater - but Mace Tyrell's spiel about removing the madness from King's Landing didn't really cut the mustard, did it? Jaime looked on sceptically, while not a single cry or cheer was heard from his men. Bit awkward. Stick to letting Olenna run things Mace - she's better at it.

8. WALDER FREY HASN'T MELLOWED

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You'd think after co-masterminding one of the most depraved and unholy events in Westeros's history, instantly eliminating most of his enemies and winning an entire war in one fell swoop might have given crotchety old Walder Frey something to smile about. But alas, the Red Wedding has done little to mellow him. Still, as gross as he is, the way he tore his hapless sons apart was hilariously brutal. Make sure your grammar's up to scratch if you ever find yourself at the Twins!

9. JAIME CAN RIDE A HORSE UP STAIRS

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Not much to say about this one, but it was f**king cool, wasn't it?

From: Digital Spy