Spoiler Alert: This article may contain spoilers for Game of Thrones through S6 Ep3, as well as all published books. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
I was bouncing around the interwebs, as you do, and came across a few posts on IGN. I have not watched them, but the topics looked interesting and I felt like we could talk about them (would be interesting to see how we do or don't match up).
The topics were:
1) Dany and Arya's S6 plots so far - The issues with them
2) What is driving Jamie Lannister? Is his story becoming unfocused?
Point 1 first.
Whether or not I end up agreeing with what IGN says, I can see there's a point to be made here. Both plot lines have had a distinct feel that sets them apart from the others.
In Dany's case it seems like it may be partially due (like the transition from A Storm of Swords to Feast/Dance) to a change of pace and expectations. Dany, for the past 3 seasons at least, has been on a hardcore conquering spree. Even when she wasn't conquering, she was ruling. She had bodyguards, advisors, an army, even just an 83-mile-long string of titles. When we pick up Season 6, she is in a *very* different situation.
Right from the get-go, we find where she was found by the Dothraki. Even then, she was looking pretty rough (versus clean and super-regal). She gets surrounded by every Dothraki on the planet and Drogon doesn't show up for the horsey buffet.
I hadn't really thought about it but apart from The House of the Undying, we've never really seen Dany alone. She's always had some one (or some ones) to help or at least back her up. She's now trying to navigate this situation by herself and it *is* very different.
I think an issue I have, Dany and the pacing aside, is just how irritating I find the Dothraki at this point. Compared to the sophistication of everything going on around them, they seem like a people that can't possible survive in their current state beyond another generation or two. The way HBO has conveyed the Dothraki is as a people who are dominated by the males, (which is accurate, sure), but even those males who we run into seem so one-note. "Rawr, I'm a Dothraki. I'm a barbarian so I talk about rape/sex and use vulgarity constantly and think only about sex and violence and conquering."
I understand that they are barbarians, but I just wish they gave the individuals more personality. They all seem brash, overconfident, ignorant and shallow, except the Khals. Also, how do they not know who-the-actual-eff she is? Drogo was the biggest name in Dothraki society for a *while.* They also spent time in Vaes Dothrak, where all Dothraki gather and exist communally. As many things that seem "known" by the the collective whole, you'd think they would have heard mention, at some point, about Drogo's pale, silver-haired Khaleesi, who was bearing the Stallion Who Mounts The Damn World. She sticks out like a sore thumb. Also, if Drogon has been ranging like we know he has, she should guess they've seen him and as superstitious as they are, she could probably make some progress leveraging that connection.
I get the sense that right now, this section is the tape connecting the last bit seen in the books, to the next major plot stuff in the show and we're just buying time for the moment.
On to Arya. Her story right now is a bit frustrating for other reasons. The House of Black and White is cool. It's an order of freakin' face-changing, shape-shifting assassins. They're hard core. We know Arya is hard core. We're hoping for this epic, extended training montage, with some bumps in the road for flavor. At the very least, if not epic montage, then deep training. We don't quite get that.
Here's my first issue: the Waif. In the books, she is this girl who has really been there a while. She doesn't quite age normally, but it's plain she has been here a while and is much older than her appearance lets on. She is the teacher's aide. She shows Arya things, teaches her. Sometimes they are hard lessons, but not always. In the show, however, the Waif is just mean spirited and honestly comes off as jealous. At no point do I feel like the Waif is trying to teach Arya. She may be trying to get her to quit, but she never says that. It's just constant beatings and bitchy glaring.
Aside from that, there are the No One questions. These get resolved in Ep 3, but I feel they've done a mediocre job really showing the point. I *know* the point, but I feel it could have been elaborated on or illustrated better. It's that the assassin is an impartial instrument of Death and it is impossible to be this if you're are peraonally invested in the targets (or just feel anything towards them at all). To become an instrument of death, you sacrifice your "self" for the cause.
Also, in terms of the HoBaW, we also haven't seen much in terms of how the place *works* apart from mortuary services and the face chamber itself. We haven't seen much in the way of contracts, other legitimate members, or what Arya is actually aspiring to. It would be nice to see more that there is even a *hidden* belief inside Jaqen that she could succeed / should succeed. Up until recently, the sense of whether she was really accomplishing things or where she was progressing to was pretty muted.
All that having been said, we DID just see her pass the ultimate death-water No One test, and start putting the Waif on the back-foot. She's gaining traction and maybe we've just been waiting for things to kick off. It is likely that when we're able to see all this within the greater scheme of the season, it may seem perfect. Just have to wait and see.
Where do we think Arya will end up at the end of this season? Do you think she'll leave the faceless men (I do)? If so, under what circumstances and where does she go next?
Finally, we get to Jamie. Oh Jamie, what a winding road you walk. Let's break down where he's been:
- Has alwayd had an intimate relationship, sleeping with his sister, having 3 children by her, and watching them grow up thinking another man (one he despises) is their father.
- Attained knighthood at an extremely young age
- Admitted to the Kingsguard at an unprecedented age
- Stabbed his King in the back in his own throneroom while his father was taking the city
- Throws a child out a window
- The second king he has served dies from boarsassination
- His son is now king
- His son is a sadistic idiot and kills the Patron of one of the Great Houses, kicking off a war
- He goes off to fight in this war
- Kills a bunch of people in battle and is captured by the Starks
- Is held prisoner, being dragged camp-to-camp for months at least
- Is released by Catelyn Stark in the hopes his return will get her daughters released by the Crown (fat chance)
- He's escorted by some huge, ugly wench (his words) and hates her guts.
- He grudgingly starts seeing her value
- They're captured by mercenaries working for the northern cause
- Turns out they're psychotic and chop off his sword hand (and identity)
- He descends into a dark place where he questions himself and Brienne helps him view things differently, giving him the strength to go on.
- They're taken to Harrenhal and he's eventually released by Roose Bolton, while Brienne is to be kept for less-than-altruistic purposes
- Jamie leaves but then realizes he can't leave this new friend, goes back and rescues her from being bear food.
- We find out he saved the city by slaying Aerys, because he would have ignited secret chaches of wildfire across the city.
- He gets back to Kings Landing, changed.
- Cersei's view of him has changed.
- He rejects his father's control
- He takes his position as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard seriously, forswearing the chance to be released from his vows to become Lord of Casterly Rock (his initial birthright).
- He sees his son die by poisoning
- He sends Brienne off to find and keep the Stark girls safe, giving her the Valyrian Steel sword given to him by his father, which becomes named Oathkeeper.
- He sees his brother tried for murdering Joffrey.
- He watches Tyrion's trial by combat fail and sees him sentenced to death.
- He breaks his brother out, out of love and the belief in his innocence.
- After the death of Oberyn Martell in Tyrion's trial by combat, Dorne sends a death threat, saying Myrcella (his daughter) is in danger.
- He volunteers to go rescue her himself and takes Bronn.
- They find her, get her released, and finally leave.
- On their way out, he starts telling her the truth about him and Cersei, and really has a wonderful moment with her, only to find she'd been poisoned by the Dornish.
- He arrives home, to Cersei's grief and learns about her incarceration by the faith, and her walk of attonement (and the apparent reanimation of Gregor Clegane)
...
GOOD LORD! This guy has been around the world and back! He has gone from Villain to Hero (or at least respectable person) and is perhaps one of the best examples of what a great author can do with a character and the reader's / watcher's feelings toward them.
With all that, Jamie really has never *been* on a course, per se. He is one who has always been reactionary, moving where fate wills that he go. He faces challenges, overcomes them, and moves to face new ones. I think he finds new purpose in each situation he finds himself in and thats where he is now. He's asking himself "Who am I and who do I need to be?"
I honestly think Jamie has never been a character with typical purpose. In fact, part of what makes him interesting is that even IN the books, everyone around him tries to dictate his purpose TO him and he rebels, holding true only to himself and what feels right to him.
We genuinely see him grow, think and change over a course of events that become a crucible for him. I think his purpose now is to find his place in a world where his family once held ultimate sway and now is only hanging on by a thread. I think his purpose is to find something true to him worth living, fighting or even dying for. I think his ultimate purpose is that he doesn't want to be remembered as The Kingslayer, he wants to be remembered as a man who tried to do the best he could and was at times got to taste greatness.
What do you all think? Post your thoughts in the comments and be sure to share this with any friends / fans you know.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, May 13, 2016
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Review: Game of Thrones - S6E03 - Oathbreaker
Spoiler Alert: These reviews contain spoilers for the titled episode. They may also contain spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
Wow. This season seems to be batting a thousand so far. Rob Bricken, in his review you can find over at io9 states that a running theme throughout this episode is anger and I would heartily agree. Close to every character is some shade of angry, whether it be a simmering determination to downright boiling rage. These characters (much like the audience, at this point) have been through a lot. As we pelt onward to the encroaching conclusion to one of the most epic, sprawling tales out there, things are really coming together. Here we go: Oathbreaker.
The Wall - In keeping with the chronology of the past episodes, we pick up immediately after the cliffhanger we were left on. We see Jon rise from the table (and all the fangirls squeal) pale, cold, disoriented and scared. He, very understandably, has not the slightest bleeping clue what is going on. We see Davos' face in what may be one of the best WTF faces I've ever seen. As he as tended towards, Davos has a fatherly nature to him, when it comes down to it, and he falls into this a bit here. He also speaks with frankness and candor, mentioning that given how mad the situation seems to him, he can't imagine what Jon must be feeling. I'm thinking that Jon's probably thinking he's spot on.
Melisandre enters and seems rather amazed that the ritual really worked. Were Darth Vader here, I imagine he find her lack of faith disturbing; I sure did. Look, lady, in a world where seeing is believing, where there clearly is magic and you actually do seem to know the in's and out's of at least some magic, you'd think you could recognize a genuine miracle right in front of you. Maybe she does, but you would think that this would be faith affirming in a huge way.
Jon goes out and sees the boys and they have perfect looks of shock and awe on their faces. Jon sees Tormund and mentions the vast majority of the men think he's some kind of God, but he knows better, having seen him Stark naked on that table. We all get a nice chuckle out of that. Good ol' Tormund. Finally Jon gets to the stalwart Dolorous Edd. He gives him a big hug and Edd gets a bit of a scare, wondering whether it really is still Jon in that skin because... well... Jon makes a joke. It's good to see Edd finally gets to laugh. :)
A Ship At Sea - Sam! On one of the below-decks of a ship, mid-voyage, Sam tries to keep it together, doing his damndest to look heroic for Gilly as only Sam can. They're headed to Oldtown, reportedly the most beautiful city in all of Westeros, where Sam will begin his pursuit of a Maester's chain so he can get back to Castle Black to fill the incredibly large shoes of the late, great Maester Aemon. While speaking with Gilly, she talks about her journey to literacy and mentions a time "before she knew how to read" and we smile, knowing that was something like a few weeks ago. She's a quick learner!
Sam also reiterates that he's doing this to do his duty for Castle Black, and for his best friend and Lord Commander, Jon Snow. This moment really struck me, as I say there realizing Sam has no idea what happened at Castle Black. For all he knows, Jon is still strongly in charge. Think about those you hold most dear, and then think about being away on vacation. The idea that something terrible could happen while you're away isn't a thought that occurs to most of us. I wonder what Sam would do if he was to find out about this. Inevitably he will, but what if this is after he's been chained and sworn? Also, for that matter, would his vow as a Maester overwrite his vow as a man of the Night's Watch? Maester Luwin, for example, as a Maester, was stationed at Winterfell and sworn to serve whoever ruled there, Stark or not. I wonder if Sam would, as such, be assigned to Castle Black, regardless if the Night's Watch held sway there or not. That being said, something tells me if the Night's Watch is gone from Castle Black, there might not be a Castle Black worth being a Maester for...
It is also brought up that while Sam had connections he could leverage at Castle Black which allowed him to bring Gilly to safety, he wouldn't have the same advantage down in Oldtown. The Citadel, being an ancient order devoted to training the learned men of Westeros, would not have a woman in their halls. Fortunately Sam's home is near Oldtown. They're planning to take Gilly and baby Sam to Horn Hill, the ancestral seat of House Tarly and abode to the loving dad that told Sam he would go north, take The Black, and renounce any claim to house Tarly or he would have a most regrettable "hunting accident." Luckily it sounds like the women of Sam's family are far better people. Gilly and the baby may just be alright.
The Tower of Joy - Here we get to some real meat. In another Bran flashback, we see a young Ned and company taking care of some business after the Battle of the Trident (where Robert Baratheon defeats young prince Rhaegar Targaryen). Outside the tower are stationed some old school Kingsguard, still in service to Aerys (The Mad King) and the still-current royal family. Visibly a much less flashy, much more practical group of guys, we see their armor is still the tri-crested helm, but here is simple steel, with an understated Targaryen sigil on the chest. This is the armor of someone who is dressed for work.
Ned is looking for his sister, Lyanna (whom we met in the previous flashback). Robert told us in season 1 that he was betrothed to her and the whole mess started because Rhaegar abducted her. Sounds like this may be where he took her. Among Ned's company is none other than Jojan and Meera's father, Howland Reed. I don't know why, but I was surprised that he looked normal. Being from The Neck, and a crannogman, I expected him to almost look like a mix between a human and the Children.
Ned demands to see his Sister and that the Kingsguard step aside. At this point we see exactly why the Kingsguard used to be revered and respected. Arguably the greatest knight to ever don armor, Ser Arthur Dayne steps forward. He looks Ned in the face and turns him down. Ned and his boys aren't taking no for an answer. Cue one of the most badass fight scenes we've seen in the show yet.
Arthur Dayne is plainly head and shoulders above the rest; uniquely acquitting himself with a sword in each hand. He takes on multiple simultaneous opponents with expert movement, showing exactly why Ser Barristan Selmy held him in such high regard.
In the end, Bran sees that the only way Dayne was defeated wasn't, in fact, due to his father honorably wresting victory from the paragon of the Kingsguard, but instead was thanks to a timely shanking from a not-dead-yet Howland Reed. Bran is visibly shaken as a key story about his father, our greatest example of an honorable man, is shifted forever.
Ned runs for the tower. The Raven tells him it's time to go. We're pissed. So is Bran. He chases after his father, calling out for him but sadly, we know no one can hear or see them. Except Ned turns. Looking around, sure he heard something (we know he did), he stops a moment. He can't see anything, shakes it off and runs up the stairs. We're ready to follow, to get some answers! Yet again, Bran is denied, and so too are we. The Raven instructs Bran to moderate and that he should be mindful that he will not stay there forever and that he has much to learn. When he asks what, the Raven says one chilling word... "Everything."
Vaes Dothrak - Dany enters the Dothraki capital and more and more I tire of the Dothraki. She looks at them, plainly as someone on a whole other level. They treat her with disrespect and an odd air of superiority (you'd think that they might possibly view a dragon as a big, winged horse or something... although Drogon isn't exactly around either...). She's taken to the Dosh Kahleen, a coven of withered ex-Khaleesi's, who try to verbally intimidate the Mother of Dragons. All I can think is that either they'll soon be following her, or they'll be kindling. They know not with whom they mess.
Meereen - Varys meets with the woman who was giving comfort to that cuddly unsullied last season, until he got that really sloppy tracheotomy and we see the face of the Sons of the Harpy for the first time. We see, yet again, why Varys is where he is and how he's gotten so far. He's very good. He gives her the opportunity to help him out, smartly using honey instead of vinegar while still conveying just how much danger she and her son could find themselves in. It was an extremely well played scene.
Jump over to Tyrion playing out a short, funny scene between himself, Grey Worm and Missandei. It would seem games, drinking and even conversation are not things that easily cross cultural and societal divides. In comes Varys, and we learn that a plan is being put in place where his spies and being deployed to Volantis, Astapor and Yunkai. He and Tyrion are planning to unleash some serious multi-point espionage. I'm interested to see how this goes.
Kings Landing - Speaking of little birds, the new Master of Whispers talks with the KL chapter of the Little Birds gang. Qyburn plies them with sweets while they ask where their old master is. Almost sounds like they miss him. They're told that they're working for Qyburn now and that the arrangements will remain largely the same, so long as they continue their good work, just for him now.
Shortly thereafter, in comes Jamie, Cersei and Ser Robert Strong. Wait... Ser Gregor. Qyburn just says it, straight up, as if it's no big deal that the guy used to be a corpse. "Oh, don't mind him. I know what you're thinking, but trust me, it's cool." So much for that; I suppose the mystery is slightly easier to buy on paper, but looking at him, and having seen so many scenes of Qyburn working on his body, there plainly was no mystery intended.
Cersei meets with her Master of Whispers and demands he stretch his spy tendrils out to their farthest extent, wanting word of even the slightest inflammatory goings-on. She's had it up to here with other people messing with them and she's ready to be in undisputed power again.
The Small Council Chamber - Lord and Hand-of-the-King, Ser Kevan Lannister meets with the small council. Pycelle, whinging and moaning as usual, is griping about the queen's new bodyguard. The best part is when the twins Lannister walk in with the hulk looming behind them.
Pycelle keeps rambling as every other gaze in the room (include the returning Olenna Tyrell!) turns to the new guests. With classic comedic timing he stammers to a halt, turns and... "...he's right behind me, isn't he..."
The twins look at the small council and Cersei is dismayed about being left out. I love how Kevan has at no point put up with Cersei's shenanigans, and Olenna Tyrell, I don't think, has put up with someone's crap a day in her life.
Obstinately, when refused a place at the table, and flatly told by the Queen of Thorns that she (Cersei) is not the queen anymore, she and Jamie channel a bit of Tyrion and pull up chairs anyway. Just as we're thinking things are going to move forward, the small council simply decides "Sure, we can't make Cersei leave, but she can't make us stay" and they leave. How's that for adaptability?
The Great Sept of Baelor - Tommen goes to see the High Sparrow and decides to really lay some force down. He puts his game face on, squares his shoulders, tells the priest exactly how it's going to be... and then gets played like a fiddle. Tommen, as young as he is, is plainly doing the best he can, drawing on the advice he's been given, but oddly enough, he could probably do with having a little Joff in him. Tommen's prudence and willingness to listen combined with just a touch of gusto and willfulness might just be a great combo. As it stands, he's brushed off.
Braavos - Finally back in the House of Black and White, Arya undergoes a great training montage. It's tightly edited and has awesome mental training woven in amongst the physical. As her character is systematically broken down, she gets real with herself. We hear that she really views Jon as her full brother, though she knows he isn't. She's honest with herself about her feelings about The Hound. We realize that her list has become startlingly short. It's odd to think there's actually been that kind of progress made, but given that it is Game of Thrones... folks be dyin'.
After the Waif puts Arya through her paces, finally being bested by the girl she was so easily beating not so long ago, a man we recognize as looking like Jaqen H'gar takes over. He gives Arya the "No One" questions and she answers predictably. He then sits her down on the edge of the small pool and says "If you really are No One, drink this."
In this moment, I have to say, though I knew where it was going, I was still scared for her. We've seen the water send those looking for the long sleep drink and die. It makes me wonder if magic was involved (apart from what's usually there) or what this might be. How is it that it brings back her sight? We haven't seen the water used for ought else but giving the gift of death. I'm not sure what to think of this. At the end of the day, we have an Arya with her vision back and that's to the good.
Winterfell - This scene was crazy to me. The Boltons show up, exchange unpleasantries in an all-too-Umber-like fashion and state that they know about Jon's Wildling situation at the wall. Ramsay wants fealty (of course) and the Umbers are fine with that, but ain't gonna be no kneelin', ring kissin' or scrapin' for the new Warden of the North, no sir... but never let it be said that the Umbers show up with nothing to offer.
In stumbles two burlap-hooded captives, looking rough and ragged to say the least. Off comes hood number one and it's our old Wildling friend Osha. To our dawning horror, it takes two seconds to do the math on who's under the second hood. Off it comes and sure enough, it's Rickon Stark. This is doubly huge because as far as anyone knows, he's the only living male Stark left on the planet.
Color Ramsay skeptical, he doesn't buy it. How does he know that this is really Rickon? Could be anyone, right? Well, sounds like the Umbers thought he'd say that, so they give him proof: the head of Shaggy Dog, Rickon's damn direwolf.
This turned my stomach. The only thing that consoles me is that I think there's a good deal of Shaggy Dog in Rickon, and maybe, just maybe, Ramsay will have gotten more than he bargained for in the youngest Stark. Let the wolfblood run hot in your veins, Rickon. Time to take back Winterfell.
Please let that be where this goes....
Castle Black - Back to Jon. He comes out, looking like he's got to do some Lord Commander business. He grabs Longclaw and, after last season, I was pretty sure we were going to see someone go the way of Slynt. Turns out they're going to expedite the process and the four main traitors have nooses around their necks.
True to his Stark training, he gives the men their last words and hears them all out. You know, at the end of this, I really had to say I respected Ser Alliser Thorne. He's an unlikable bastard, but he really did do what he did for The Watch. He stuck to his guns and, as far as he thought, stood by his vows. What do you think? Should Alliser Thorne really have been executed?
Jon Snow thought so. After a tortured moment, Jon swings Longclaw down with gusto, dropping the supports from the men, strangling the life out of them. After a few moments, their faces are changed into asphyxiated death masks. And so their watch is ended...
Jon walks to Edd, takes his cloak off, and does what I've been predicting since I read in the books that Jon Snow had been killed: if he came back, he'd be leaving The Watch. Their vows state "It shall not end until my death." Well, vow fulfilled and for the first time since Season 1, Episode 2, Jon Snow is no longer a member of the Night's Watch. Where do you think he's off to?
Thank you all for reading. As always, please hit up the comments below, share your thoughts. I really would like to hear your thoughts on the episode and would love to discuss what went on in this third, excellent episode!
Also be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
Wow. This season seems to be batting a thousand so far. Rob Bricken, in his review you can find over at io9 states that a running theme throughout this episode is anger and I would heartily agree. Close to every character is some shade of angry, whether it be a simmering determination to downright boiling rage. These characters (much like the audience, at this point) have been through a lot. As we pelt onward to the encroaching conclusion to one of the most epic, sprawling tales out there, things are really coming together. Here we go: Oathbreaker.
The Wall - In keeping with the chronology of the past episodes, we pick up immediately after the cliffhanger we were left on. We see Jon rise from the table (and all the fangirls squeal) pale, cold, disoriented and scared. He, very understandably, has not the slightest bleeping clue what is going on. We see Davos' face in what may be one of the best WTF faces I've ever seen. As he as tended towards, Davos has a fatherly nature to him, when it comes down to it, and he falls into this a bit here. He also speaks with frankness and candor, mentioning that given how mad the situation seems to him, he can't imagine what Jon must be feeling. I'm thinking that Jon's probably thinking he's spot on.
Melisandre enters and seems rather amazed that the ritual really worked. Were Darth Vader here, I imagine he find her lack of faith disturbing; I sure did. Look, lady, in a world where seeing is believing, where there clearly is magic and you actually do seem to know the in's and out's of at least some magic, you'd think you could recognize a genuine miracle right in front of you. Maybe she does, but you would think that this would be faith affirming in a huge way.
Jon goes out and sees the boys and they have perfect looks of shock and awe on their faces. Jon sees Tormund and mentions the vast majority of the men think he's some kind of God, but he knows better, having seen him Stark naked on that table. We all get a nice chuckle out of that. Good ol' Tormund. Finally Jon gets to the stalwart Dolorous Edd. He gives him a big hug and Edd gets a bit of a scare, wondering whether it really is still Jon in that skin because... well... Jon makes a joke. It's good to see Edd finally gets to laugh. :)
A Ship At Sea - Sam! On one of the below-decks of a ship, mid-voyage, Sam tries to keep it together, doing his damndest to look heroic for Gilly as only Sam can. They're headed to Oldtown, reportedly the most beautiful city in all of Westeros, where Sam will begin his pursuit of a Maester's chain so he can get back to Castle Black to fill the incredibly large shoes of the late, great Maester Aemon. While speaking with Gilly, she talks about her journey to literacy and mentions a time "before she knew how to read" and we smile, knowing that was something like a few weeks ago. She's a quick learner!
Sam also reiterates that he's doing this to do his duty for Castle Black, and for his best friend and Lord Commander, Jon Snow. This moment really struck me, as I say there realizing Sam has no idea what happened at Castle Black. For all he knows, Jon is still strongly in charge. Think about those you hold most dear, and then think about being away on vacation. The idea that something terrible could happen while you're away isn't a thought that occurs to most of us. I wonder what Sam would do if he was to find out about this. Inevitably he will, but what if this is after he's been chained and sworn? Also, for that matter, would his vow as a Maester overwrite his vow as a man of the Night's Watch? Maester Luwin, for example, as a Maester, was stationed at Winterfell and sworn to serve whoever ruled there, Stark or not. I wonder if Sam would, as such, be assigned to Castle Black, regardless if the Night's Watch held sway there or not. That being said, something tells me if the Night's Watch is gone from Castle Black, there might not be a Castle Black worth being a Maester for...
It is also brought up that while Sam had connections he could leverage at Castle Black which allowed him to bring Gilly to safety, he wouldn't have the same advantage down in Oldtown. The Citadel, being an ancient order devoted to training the learned men of Westeros, would not have a woman in their halls. Fortunately Sam's home is near Oldtown. They're planning to take Gilly and baby Sam to Horn Hill, the ancestral seat of House Tarly and abode to the loving dad that told Sam he would go north, take The Black, and renounce any claim to house Tarly or he would have a most regrettable "hunting accident." Luckily it sounds like the women of Sam's family are far better people. Gilly and the baby may just be alright.
The Tower of Joy - Here we get to some real meat. In another Bran flashback, we see a young Ned and company taking care of some business after the Battle of the Trident (where Robert Baratheon defeats young prince Rhaegar Targaryen). Outside the tower are stationed some old school Kingsguard, still in service to Aerys (The Mad King) and the still-current royal family. Visibly a much less flashy, much more practical group of guys, we see their armor is still the tri-crested helm, but here is simple steel, with an understated Targaryen sigil on the chest. This is the armor of someone who is dressed for work.
Ned is looking for his sister, Lyanna (whom we met in the previous flashback). Robert told us in season 1 that he was betrothed to her and the whole mess started because Rhaegar abducted her. Sounds like this may be where he took her. Among Ned's company is none other than Jojan and Meera's father, Howland Reed. I don't know why, but I was surprised that he looked normal. Being from The Neck, and a crannogman, I expected him to almost look like a mix between a human and the Children.
Ned demands to see his Sister and that the Kingsguard step aside. At this point we see exactly why the Kingsguard used to be revered and respected. Arguably the greatest knight to ever don armor, Ser Arthur Dayne steps forward. He looks Ned in the face and turns him down. Ned and his boys aren't taking no for an answer. Cue one of the most badass fight scenes we've seen in the show yet.
Arthur Dayne is plainly head and shoulders above the rest; uniquely acquitting himself with a sword in each hand. He takes on multiple simultaneous opponents with expert movement, showing exactly why Ser Barristan Selmy held him in such high regard.
In the end, Bran sees that the only way Dayne was defeated wasn't, in fact, due to his father honorably wresting victory from the paragon of the Kingsguard, but instead was thanks to a timely shanking from a not-dead-yet Howland Reed. Bran is visibly shaken as a key story about his father, our greatest example of an honorable man, is shifted forever.
Ned runs for the tower. The Raven tells him it's time to go. We're pissed. So is Bran. He chases after his father, calling out for him but sadly, we know no one can hear or see them. Except Ned turns. Looking around, sure he heard something (we know he did), he stops a moment. He can't see anything, shakes it off and runs up the stairs. We're ready to follow, to get some answers! Yet again, Bran is denied, and so too are we. The Raven instructs Bran to moderate and that he should be mindful that he will not stay there forever and that he has much to learn. When he asks what, the Raven says one chilling word... "Everything."
Vaes Dothrak - Dany enters the Dothraki capital and more and more I tire of the Dothraki. She looks at them, plainly as someone on a whole other level. They treat her with disrespect and an odd air of superiority (you'd think that they might possibly view a dragon as a big, winged horse or something... although Drogon isn't exactly around either...). She's taken to the Dosh Kahleen, a coven of withered ex-Khaleesi's, who try to verbally intimidate the Mother of Dragons. All I can think is that either they'll soon be following her, or they'll be kindling. They know not with whom they mess.
Meereen - Varys meets with the woman who was giving comfort to that cuddly unsullied last season, until he got that really sloppy tracheotomy and we see the face of the Sons of the Harpy for the first time. We see, yet again, why Varys is where he is and how he's gotten so far. He's very good. He gives her the opportunity to help him out, smartly using honey instead of vinegar while still conveying just how much danger she and her son could find themselves in. It was an extremely well played scene.
Jump over to Tyrion playing out a short, funny scene between himself, Grey Worm and Missandei. It would seem games, drinking and even conversation are not things that easily cross cultural and societal divides. In comes Varys, and we learn that a plan is being put in place where his spies and being deployed to Volantis, Astapor and Yunkai. He and Tyrion are planning to unleash some serious multi-point espionage. I'm interested to see how this goes.
Kings Landing - Speaking of little birds, the new Master of Whispers talks with the KL chapter of the Little Birds gang. Qyburn plies them with sweets while they ask where their old master is. Almost sounds like they miss him. They're told that they're working for Qyburn now and that the arrangements will remain largely the same, so long as they continue their good work, just for him now.
Shortly thereafter, in comes Jamie, Cersei and Ser Robert Strong. Wait... Ser Gregor. Qyburn just says it, straight up, as if it's no big deal that the guy used to be a corpse. "Oh, don't mind him. I know what you're thinking, but trust me, it's cool." So much for that; I suppose the mystery is slightly easier to buy on paper, but looking at him, and having seen so many scenes of Qyburn working on his body, there plainly was no mystery intended.
Cersei meets with her Master of Whispers and demands he stretch his spy tendrils out to their farthest extent, wanting word of even the slightest inflammatory goings-on. She's had it up to here with other people messing with them and she's ready to be in undisputed power again.
The Small Council Chamber - Lord and Hand-of-the-King, Ser Kevan Lannister meets with the small council. Pycelle, whinging and moaning as usual, is griping about the queen's new bodyguard. The best part is when the twins Lannister walk in with the hulk looming behind them.
Pycelle keeps rambling as every other gaze in the room (include the returning Olenna Tyrell!) turns to the new guests. With classic comedic timing he stammers to a halt, turns and... "...he's right behind me, isn't he..."
The twins look at the small council and Cersei is dismayed about being left out. I love how Kevan has at no point put up with Cersei's shenanigans, and Olenna Tyrell, I don't think, has put up with someone's crap a day in her life.
Obstinately, when refused a place at the table, and flatly told by the Queen of Thorns that she (Cersei) is not the queen anymore, she and Jamie channel a bit of Tyrion and pull up chairs anyway. Just as we're thinking things are going to move forward, the small council simply decides "Sure, we can't make Cersei leave, but she can't make us stay" and they leave. How's that for adaptability?
The Great Sept of Baelor - Tommen goes to see the High Sparrow and decides to really lay some force down. He puts his game face on, squares his shoulders, tells the priest exactly how it's going to be... and then gets played like a fiddle. Tommen, as young as he is, is plainly doing the best he can, drawing on the advice he's been given, but oddly enough, he could probably do with having a little Joff in him. Tommen's prudence and willingness to listen combined with just a touch of gusto and willfulness might just be a great combo. As it stands, he's brushed off.
Braavos - Finally back in the House of Black and White, Arya undergoes a great training montage. It's tightly edited and has awesome mental training woven in amongst the physical. As her character is systematically broken down, she gets real with herself. We hear that she really views Jon as her full brother, though she knows he isn't. She's honest with herself about her feelings about The Hound. We realize that her list has become startlingly short. It's odd to think there's actually been that kind of progress made, but given that it is Game of Thrones... folks be dyin'.
After the Waif puts Arya through her paces, finally being bested by the girl she was so easily beating not so long ago, a man we recognize as looking like Jaqen H'gar takes over. He gives Arya the "No One" questions and she answers predictably. He then sits her down on the edge of the small pool and says "If you really are No One, drink this."
In this moment, I have to say, though I knew where it was going, I was still scared for her. We've seen the water send those looking for the long sleep drink and die. It makes me wonder if magic was involved (apart from what's usually there) or what this might be. How is it that it brings back her sight? We haven't seen the water used for ought else but giving the gift of death. I'm not sure what to think of this. At the end of the day, we have an Arya with her vision back and that's to the good.
Winterfell - This scene was crazy to me. The Boltons show up, exchange unpleasantries in an all-too-Umber-like fashion and state that they know about Jon's Wildling situation at the wall. Ramsay wants fealty (of course) and the Umbers are fine with that, but ain't gonna be no kneelin', ring kissin' or scrapin' for the new Warden of the North, no sir... but never let it be said that the Umbers show up with nothing to offer.
In stumbles two burlap-hooded captives, looking rough and ragged to say the least. Off comes hood number one and it's our old Wildling friend Osha. To our dawning horror, it takes two seconds to do the math on who's under the second hood. Off it comes and sure enough, it's Rickon Stark. This is doubly huge because as far as anyone knows, he's the only living male Stark left on the planet.
Color Ramsay skeptical, he doesn't buy it. How does he know that this is really Rickon? Could be anyone, right? Well, sounds like the Umbers thought he'd say that, so they give him proof: the head of Shaggy Dog, Rickon's damn direwolf.
This turned my stomach. The only thing that consoles me is that I think there's a good deal of Shaggy Dog in Rickon, and maybe, just maybe, Ramsay will have gotten more than he bargained for in the youngest Stark. Let the wolfblood run hot in your veins, Rickon. Time to take back Winterfell.
Please let that be where this goes....
Castle Black - Back to Jon. He comes out, looking like he's got to do some Lord Commander business. He grabs Longclaw and, after last season, I was pretty sure we were going to see someone go the way of Slynt. Turns out they're going to expedite the process and the four main traitors have nooses around their necks.
True to his Stark training, he gives the men their last words and hears them all out. You know, at the end of this, I really had to say I respected Ser Alliser Thorne. He's an unlikable bastard, but he really did do what he did for The Watch. He stuck to his guns and, as far as he thought, stood by his vows. What do you think? Should Alliser Thorne really have been executed?
Jon Snow thought so. After a tortured moment, Jon swings Longclaw down with gusto, dropping the supports from the men, strangling the life out of them. After a few moments, their faces are changed into asphyxiated death masks. And so their watch is ended...
Jon walks to Edd, takes his cloak off, and does what I've been predicting since I read in the books that Jon Snow had been killed: if he came back, he'd be leaving The Watch. Their vows state "It shall not end until my death." Well, vow fulfilled and for the first time since Season 1, Episode 2, Jon Snow is no longer a member of the Night's Watch. Where do you think he's off to?
Thank you all for reading. As always, please hit up the comments below, share your thoughts. I really would like to hear your thoughts on the episode and would love to discuss what went on in this third, excellent episode!
Also be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Review: Game of Thrones - S6E02 - Home
Spoiler Alert: These reviews contain spoilers for the titled episode. They may also contain spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
North of the Wall - Bran! If you don't recall, he wasn't even in the previous season, so this was a long time coming. Last we saw him, he finally found the 3-Eyed Raven (or 3-Eyed Crow, depending on your preference). We open with Bran and his new teacher both blank-eyed and dreaming.
We find ourselves in Winterfell, which looks sunny and relatively happy (which is strange to say the least). Before long, we notice the boys that are fighting are a very young Ned and Benjen (go figure we see a flashback of Benjen before we find out what actually happened to him). I believe we also see Brandon standing with their Master-At-Arms. In a nice little throw-back we hear Ned tell Benjen to keep his shield up or he'd ring Benjen's head like a bell. Now we know where Jon might have learned that one. We also get a look at their wolf-spirited sister Lyanna, who we've heard mentioned between Robert and Ned back in Season 1.
Bran also sees a big lad named Willis who turns out to be Hodor! He can talk, fight a bit, and seems like the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. We also see a very not-so-old Nan! Makes me really miss our original Old Nan as well (her voice in those early trailers made them so wonderfully haunting).
After seeing this heartwarming scene that took us back to an earlier Stark generation, Bran's new mentor tells him it's time to go home, because as we've learned well by now, Summer never lasts and Winter is coming... Although by the looks of things, it's darn near here.
Snapping back from the vision, Bran laments just when he's shown something he cares about, that he's pulled away. His teacher replies, poetically (if darkly) that everything under the sea is beautiful but stay too long and you'll drown. Bran needs to come back or he would waste away.
Hodor looks happy to hear Bran's revelation about him, but if there's more to it, he's not telling.... Hodor takes Bran outside to see Meera who looks cold, frustrated and restless. Her brothers death seems to be weighing heavily on her and it appears she feels without purpose now. Bran's excited pronouncements about his visions don't seem to stir her at all. When Hodor has carried Bran back inside, one of the Children (who look positively otherworldly!) tells Meera that he will need her in the war to come. It sounds like Bran will be leaving the Raven's tutelage at some point (though who can tell when that will be). Meera looks out over the distant North and it is a vast, open, flat, frigid wasteland. Nothing good will be coming from there....
Castle Black - Thorne has had it with waiting and Davos is set, at this point, to fight. He and The Holdouts unsheathe weapons, Ghost goes into his patented super battle mode and they brace for impact. A bruiser starts whaling on the door with a wooden mallet, giving the men inside moments to contemplate their premature fate, guarding the corpse of their Lord Commander. Just as the door starts giving way, a thunderous boom hits Castle Black's southern gate. It blows inward and IT'S DOLOROUS EDD, A GIANT AND A WILDLING HORDE! Man, leave it to Edd to get the job done. This was certainly another whoop and cheer moment.
The conflict between the Wildlings and Black Brothers is short lived, however, after only a man or two dies fighting. One fellow with decidedly poor judgement shoots the giant (Wun Wun?) in the shoulder with a toothpick. The giant, with snappy ease, smashes that poor bastard full against a wall. All I could think right there is that's how it should have been when The Hulk did likewise to Loki. What a great, darkly funny moment. Do not eff with a giant...
King's Landing - We're down in what appears to be Flea Bottom, the seediest part of King's Landing (and that's saying something). We're having Cersei's walk of atonement recounted for us as a bit of a fisherman's tail. Apparently his fish was "this" big, and not only that, but the Queen-her-own-self was pretty impressed if he did-say-so-his-self. We roll our eyes and think back to one of the most harrowing experiences that someone could go through.
Later on, the Pride-of-Flea-Bottom is relieving himself in a back-alley and suddenly, it appears the sun has been blotted out. The Foley work here is amazing when, in simply the motion of him turning around to see a looming figure standing over him, the sound of trickling water on stone abruptly turns to water pattering on metal. Metal armor. Jump cut to Ser Robert Strong, Qyburn's undead monstrosity, towering over our new friend. With quickness that would have made Oberyn Martell proud, he splatters this guy's head all over the wall and walks away. I half expected him to be whistling to himself. The Queen still has ears in this city....
The massive Kingsguard returns to the Red Keep, his shining plate only bearing slight blood spattering on his right gauntlet. Cersei joins him to attend her daughter's wedding but finds that she's not to leave her quarters, ostensibly for her safety. She is not thrilled by this. It's also noteworthy that an entire contingent of Lannister guards almost collectively soil themselves at the prospect of any conflict with her bodyguard.
The Great Sept of Baelor - Jamie and Tommen stand over the deceased Myrcella, stone eyes ever open in the most unsettling fashion (they do seem, though, like Christopher Walken would approve). Tommen decries his feelings of inadequacy in protecting his wife and mother, feeling real sorrow and anger over what's transpired. Jamie being the ever dutifulfather uncle advises him we all have our shortcomings and that he needs to go see his mother. The High Sparrow enters, Tommen makes demands that are swiftly rejected, and before things really jump off, Jamie insists he go see his mother. He does.
Jamie has some dialogue with the High Sparrow about the nature of Sin and who is and isn't deemed guilty, whose sins are worst, that need atonement, and Jamie enumerates his many sins, including treason, kingslaying and assisting in the escape of a convicted regicide. He says he'd happily shed blood in the holy place they stand in, as the Gods won't mind, having spilled more blood than all the petty mortals combined. Lancel and the faith militant show themselves and these guys look nastier every time we see them. You know that's Chekhov's Faith Militant at this point.
Cersei's Quarters - Tommen visits the Queen and lays his heart bare. It's a particularly well done scene where Lena Heady looks tortured, angry, sad and weary all before saying a word. She hears her son, trying to be King, trying to be strong, trying to do right by his family and feeling powerless. She embraces him and there is real love there, for all her faults. It's a beautiful scene.
Meereen - We see Tyrion and Varys meeting with Missandei and Grey Worm. Tyrion and Varys make some cracks at each other that are born of comfort and being friends both possessed of equally razor sharp wit. Conversation meanders from the toasted fleet, to the dragons and what to do about them. Tyrion suggests their captivity is positively the worst thing for them, and that it will keep them from reaching their full physical potential.
You might not know that by looking at them though... Tyrion makes his way into the bowels of the pyramid and if we didn't feel like Tyrion had a bit of plot armor, it would seem like those dragons would be having themselves a fun-size snack. As he approaches, he shows genuine awe, terror and sympathy for the captive animals, talking to them the same way you'd talk to a nervous horse; calming tones, gentle touch and slow movements. The dragons here, to me, look more unique than they ever have and both seem to have slightly differing personalities, just in terms of their body language and facial expressions (Dragon facial expressions?! How cool is that?!). Tyrion pulls the first pin and we see some real smarts in the animals when the second (can't yet tell which is Rhaegal or Vyserion, too dark) turns his neck after seeing Tyrion remove the first collar as if to say "Ah, I see where this is going. Get this off of me." Incredible.
Tyrion does the slow-to-rapidly-quickening steps of someone who just somehow looked dwarf-eating-death-machines in the face and lived, telling Varys that if he ever hears Tyrion have an idea like that again, to punch him in the face.
Braavos - Arya is still begging, and the Waif visits again. She starts the "No One" game, beating the tar out of her with her staff; Arya's attempts to block being woefully inadequate. After throwing herself into it, swinging at open air, Jaquen (or A Man who looks like him) appears and speaks. If a girl would give him her name, she would have a roof over her head, food, even her sight back. A girl has no name. She's told to come with him, and to leave her bowl. A girl isn't a beggar any longer.
Winterfell - And now we arrive to the location that most starkly (sorry) contrasts the opening scene of this episode; the shadow of what Winterfell once was.
Before I hit the actual content of the episode here, I just had a thought that struck me. How amazing is it that a location is able to stir these kinds of feelings? At the beginning of the series, Winterfell was the representation of "Home." It's the first castle we really become familiar with, the residents of which we come to love like family. It's a place where we expect warmth, shelter and protection; a bastion against the storms life can hurl at us. Now we see Winterfell in its ruined, bastardized state with the darkest scum the north has to offer blighting the halls we once loved. I ache to see Winterfell return to the hands of good....
On that note, we have Ramsay and Roose. Also we have a new guest to the party, Lord Rickard Karstark's son. Beheaded by Robb for treason and war crimes, the Karstark horde deserted. Now we know where they went.
Roose speaks with Ramsay, and they discuss the news that the contingent they sent after Sansa and Theon were taken apart, wholesale. They can't wrap their brains around how that happened, though if someone told them the truth, I doubt they'd believe that either. The Maid of Tarth went medieval on the lot of them and they didn't stand a ghost of a chance.
The conversation turns to Lady Walda and her advanced state of pregnancy. The Maester arrives and announces she's just given birth to a bouncing baby boy. Ramsay embraces his father and congratulates him. Roose, tells him that he'll always be his first born son. This is music to Ramsay's ears and to reward his sire's acceptance and approval, knife's Roose in the gut.
This honestly took me by surprise. I thought that he'd sneakily try to have the baby done away with and make it appear to be sickness or something to that effect. Roose was one of the biggest players involved in the Red Wedding. The last thing we're wanting is his death to be at the hands of one of the few people more despicable than he is. That being said, perhaps it is poetic that the evil serpent he'd been turning a blind eye to finally spun round and bit him. Either way, good riddance. Ramsay's not done, though... He sends for Lady Walda and the baby.
It must be said that for having just gone through labor, she was looking rather well. That aside, Ramsay plays the excited new big brother, holding the infant. The instant he even looked at that kid, my skin started crawling (this probably was not aided by the fact that my wife is going to be having our first baby soon). He's standing right next to that brazier and I'm half convinced he was going to just "Oops" and drop the kid in the fire. Instead, ever the pragmatist, he lures Walda into the kennels because, you know, any revolting act is fine for Ramsay so long as the dogs get fed.
In all fairness, I felt that this scene was done in possibly the tamest fashion possible. In terms of Ramsay's character, this had to happen. That it was done off screen, with some screams and growls as the primary sound effects was at least some kind of mercy for us. We know Ramsay is a sick animal, further evidence doesn't need to be any worse than it's been.
The one thing that intrigued me was how when Walda pleads with him, asking him to let her and the baby leave, that they would run and never come back, his face wasn't smirking or grinning sadistically. It actually looked like he was struggling, even briefly. There was a fraction of a second where his face twitches, as if he thought about it. Then he vocalized his preference for only-child-hood and whistled for the rabid dogs. The day this bastard gets gutted can't be soon enough.
The Wolfswood - We find Sansa and Theon, Pod and Brienne all setting up camp, resting and talking. Sansa is speaking with Brienne about difficult choices and having some momentary advice and words of wisdom from the first really kind-hearted, well-meaning figure that's been in her life in a long time. Sansa then speaks with Theon and we get a scene that is one of Alfie Allen's best.
In this moment, Sansa is speaking to Theon, offering him forgiveness. She sees the tragedy he's become, what he is now compared to how he used to be. We watch Theon, though, and see something amazing. He acknowledges it all. He lays his sins bare and his heart breaks with sorrow. Even offered the chance for refuge, protection and forgiveness, he says he doesn't want it, and we can see that his soul is now filled with nothing but remorse. He simply asks for a horse and when asked where he'll go, he simply says "...Home."
Pyke - At long last we arrive back at one of the most dismal specks the Seven Gods put on the planet, the Iron Islands. Never one to brighten a room, we find Baelon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands brooding in front of what is (whether you're a Greyjoy fan or not) objectively one of the most awesome fireplaces ever. He is having a heated discussion with his daughter, Theon's sister,Asha Yara.
Asha exhorts Baelon to cut the war efforts. She gives him the reports of their losses and struggles on the mainland and Baelon's desire is to stay the course. He bellows "They call it The War of the Five Kings. Well four are dead and I'm still here!" Yara rebuts with sense but he won't hear it. He tells her to shut her mouth or he'll father another heir who'll do as they should. He storms out.
Heh. Storms out....
Baelon steps out onto one of those bouncy rope bridges we see in the opening credits linking Pyke's towers to one another. He encounters a dark figure who we learn is his brother. This guy is new, and strange. They exchange barbs and it becomes clear that his brother is supposed to have been long gone and is purported to be rather mad. Being a Greyjoy, it sounds like he's one hell of a pirate, with not quite the same pious bent as Baelon, claiming (perhaps facetiously) to be the Drowned God, and The Storm. Then he sends Baelon howling into the black waters far below.
At his funeral, we see Baelon is placed into a crab pod, to be shoved out to sea to feed said crabs and other aquatic life. We also meet another priest of the Drowned God who speaks rather gruffly to Yara about her wishes for the fate of the Iron Islands, her claim to it's seat and then we hear mention of a Kings Moot. What, you thought just because it was Game of Thrones that you'd escape the fact that it's an election year?
Castle Black - Davos has come to Melisadre to request aid. He enters like a gentleman and sees her in a state he's not seen her in before. Normally strikingly confident, radiating power, understanding and control, she now slumps in front of her hearth, lost in thought, brow heavy with worry and a tinge of despair. Davos does what it seemed seasons ago he'd never do: asks if she has magic she could use to bring back the Lord Commander.
Rewind to Season 3, we recall she met the Brotherhood Without Banners, including Beric Dondarion and our good buddy, the other Red Priest, Thoros of Myr. We recall that Thoros was able to bring The Lightning Lord back from death. Though powerful, Melisandre had never had that gift, nor had ever even seen it done. Even now, though she knew it to be possible, she has no faith in her ability to perform such a feat. She thinks Davos had been right about her all along. Davos turns to her and asks "Have you ever tried?"
Back in the room with Jon's body lying on the table, cold, lifeless and pale (with awful looking stab-wounds), Davos and The Holdouts stand, Melisandre entering. It seems Davos' words were enough to get her to give it one last shot.
She prepares. She cleans Jon's body of the mess the stabbings had made. She trims his hair and beard, dropping the clippings into the fire, praying and chanting all the while. Laying her hands on him, she closes her eyes and prays. Her face tightens in concentration as she prays in another tongue, finally pausing to whisper a quiet "....please."
She finishes the ritual. Tormund leaves, the others leave, even Melisandre leaves. Davos gives the body one last lingering look, sadness and worry etched on every line in his face, and leaves as well. Just as we found Jon when he first arrived at Castle Black, his only friend a loyal-to-the-bone, snow-white dire wolf, so we leave him. Camera hovering above Jon almost like an out-of-body experience, we look down on a man who would have been... could have been the Hero that broken Westeros needed.
Then his eyes snap open, he jolts awake, music kicks in, credits roll and windows shatter across the world at the screams of millions of fangirls everywhere.
Welcome back, Jon. Time to go to work.
This is some damn exciting TV and what an incredible episode. Thank you all for reading, and join me next week for Season 6, Episode 3. Who the hell knows what's gonna happen next.
As always, be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
North of the Wall - Bran! If you don't recall, he wasn't even in the previous season, so this was a long time coming. Last we saw him, he finally found the 3-Eyed Raven (or 3-Eyed Crow, depending on your preference). We open with Bran and his new teacher both blank-eyed and dreaming.
We find ourselves in Winterfell, which looks sunny and relatively happy (which is strange to say the least). Before long, we notice the boys that are fighting are a very young Ned and Benjen (go figure we see a flashback of Benjen before we find out what actually happened to him). I believe we also see Brandon standing with their Master-At-Arms. In a nice little throw-back we hear Ned tell Benjen to keep his shield up or he'd ring Benjen's head like a bell. Now we know where Jon might have learned that one. We also get a look at their wolf-spirited sister Lyanna, who we've heard mentioned between Robert and Ned back in Season 1.
Bran also sees a big lad named Willis who turns out to be Hodor! He can talk, fight a bit, and seems like the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. We also see a very not-so-old Nan! Makes me really miss our original Old Nan as well (her voice in those early trailers made them so wonderfully haunting).
After seeing this heartwarming scene that took us back to an earlier Stark generation, Bran's new mentor tells him it's time to go home, because as we've learned well by now, Summer never lasts and Winter is coming... Although by the looks of things, it's darn near here.
Snapping back from the vision, Bran laments just when he's shown something he cares about, that he's pulled away. His teacher replies, poetically (if darkly) that everything under the sea is beautiful but stay too long and you'll drown. Bran needs to come back or he would waste away.
Hodor looks happy to hear Bran's revelation about him, but if there's more to it, he's not telling.... Hodor takes Bran outside to see Meera who looks cold, frustrated and restless. Her brothers death seems to be weighing heavily on her and it appears she feels without purpose now. Bran's excited pronouncements about his visions don't seem to stir her at all. When Hodor has carried Bran back inside, one of the Children (who look positively otherworldly!) tells Meera that he will need her in the war to come. It sounds like Bran will be leaving the Raven's tutelage at some point (though who can tell when that will be). Meera looks out over the distant North and it is a vast, open, flat, frigid wasteland. Nothing good will be coming from there....
Castle Black - Thorne has had it with waiting and Davos is set, at this point, to fight. He and The Holdouts unsheathe weapons, Ghost goes into his patented super battle mode and they brace for impact. A bruiser starts whaling on the door with a wooden mallet, giving the men inside moments to contemplate their premature fate, guarding the corpse of their Lord Commander. Just as the door starts giving way, a thunderous boom hits Castle Black's southern gate. It blows inward and IT'S DOLOROUS EDD, A GIANT AND A WILDLING HORDE! Man, leave it to Edd to get the job done. This was certainly another whoop and cheer moment.
The conflict between the Wildlings and Black Brothers is short lived, however, after only a man or two dies fighting. One fellow with decidedly poor judgement shoots the giant (Wun Wun?) in the shoulder with a toothpick. The giant, with snappy ease, smashes that poor bastard full against a wall. All I could think right there is that's how it should have been when The Hulk did likewise to Loki. What a great, darkly funny moment. Do not eff with a giant...
King's Landing - We're down in what appears to be Flea Bottom, the seediest part of King's Landing (and that's saying something). We're having Cersei's walk of atonement recounted for us as a bit of a fisherman's tail. Apparently his fish was "this" big, and not only that, but the Queen-her-own-self was pretty impressed if he did-say-so-his-self. We roll our eyes and think back to one of the most harrowing experiences that someone could go through.
Later on, the Pride-of-Flea-Bottom is relieving himself in a back-alley and suddenly, it appears the sun has been blotted out. The Foley work here is amazing when, in simply the motion of him turning around to see a looming figure standing over him, the sound of trickling water on stone abruptly turns to water pattering on metal. Metal armor. Jump cut to Ser Robert Strong, Qyburn's undead monstrosity, towering over our new friend. With quickness that would have made Oberyn Martell proud, he splatters this guy's head all over the wall and walks away. I half expected him to be whistling to himself. The Queen still has ears in this city....
The massive Kingsguard returns to the Red Keep, his shining plate only bearing slight blood spattering on his right gauntlet. Cersei joins him to attend her daughter's wedding but finds that she's not to leave her quarters, ostensibly for her safety. She is not thrilled by this. It's also noteworthy that an entire contingent of Lannister guards almost collectively soil themselves at the prospect of any conflict with her bodyguard.
The Great Sept of Baelor - Jamie and Tommen stand over the deceased Myrcella, stone eyes ever open in the most unsettling fashion (they do seem, though, like Christopher Walken would approve). Tommen decries his feelings of inadequacy in protecting his wife and mother, feeling real sorrow and anger over what's transpired. Jamie being the ever dutiful
Jamie has some dialogue with the High Sparrow about the nature of Sin and who is and isn't deemed guilty, whose sins are worst, that need atonement, and Jamie enumerates his many sins, including treason, kingslaying and assisting in the escape of a convicted regicide. He says he'd happily shed blood in the holy place they stand in, as the Gods won't mind, having spilled more blood than all the petty mortals combined. Lancel and the faith militant show themselves and these guys look nastier every time we see them. You know that's Chekhov's Faith Militant at this point.
Cersei's Quarters - Tommen visits the Queen and lays his heart bare. It's a particularly well done scene where Lena Heady looks tortured, angry, sad and weary all before saying a word. She hears her son, trying to be King, trying to be strong, trying to do right by his family and feeling powerless. She embraces him and there is real love there, for all her faults. It's a beautiful scene.
Meereen - We see Tyrion and Varys meeting with Missandei and Grey Worm. Tyrion and Varys make some cracks at each other that are born of comfort and being friends both possessed of equally razor sharp wit. Conversation meanders from the toasted fleet, to the dragons and what to do about them. Tyrion suggests their captivity is positively the worst thing for them, and that it will keep them from reaching their full physical potential.
You might not know that by looking at them though... Tyrion makes his way into the bowels of the pyramid and if we didn't feel like Tyrion had a bit of plot armor, it would seem like those dragons would be having themselves a fun-size snack. As he approaches, he shows genuine awe, terror and sympathy for the captive animals, talking to them the same way you'd talk to a nervous horse; calming tones, gentle touch and slow movements. The dragons here, to me, look more unique than they ever have and both seem to have slightly differing personalities, just in terms of their body language and facial expressions (Dragon facial expressions?! How cool is that?!). Tyrion pulls the first pin and we see some real smarts in the animals when the second (can't yet tell which is Rhaegal or Vyserion, too dark) turns his neck after seeing Tyrion remove the first collar as if to say "Ah, I see where this is going. Get this off of me." Incredible.
Tyrion does the slow-to-rapidly-quickening steps of someone who just somehow looked dwarf-eating-death-machines in the face and lived, telling Varys that if he ever hears Tyrion have an idea like that again, to punch him in the face.
Braavos - Arya is still begging, and the Waif visits again. She starts the "No One" game, beating the tar out of her with her staff; Arya's attempts to block being woefully inadequate. After throwing herself into it, swinging at open air, Jaquen (or A Man who looks like him) appears and speaks. If a girl would give him her name, she would have a roof over her head, food, even her sight back. A girl has no name. She's told to come with him, and to leave her bowl. A girl isn't a beggar any longer.
Winterfell - And now we arrive to the location that most starkly (sorry) contrasts the opening scene of this episode; the shadow of what Winterfell once was.
Before I hit the actual content of the episode here, I just had a thought that struck me. How amazing is it that a location is able to stir these kinds of feelings? At the beginning of the series, Winterfell was the representation of "Home." It's the first castle we really become familiar with, the residents of which we come to love like family. It's a place where we expect warmth, shelter and protection; a bastion against the storms life can hurl at us. Now we see Winterfell in its ruined, bastardized state with the darkest scum the north has to offer blighting the halls we once loved. I ache to see Winterfell return to the hands of good....
On that note, we have Ramsay and Roose. Also we have a new guest to the party, Lord Rickard Karstark's son. Beheaded by Robb for treason and war crimes, the Karstark horde deserted. Now we know where they went.
Roose speaks with Ramsay, and they discuss the news that the contingent they sent after Sansa and Theon were taken apart, wholesale. They can't wrap their brains around how that happened, though if someone told them the truth, I doubt they'd believe that either. The Maid of Tarth went medieval on the lot of them and they didn't stand a ghost of a chance.
The conversation turns to Lady Walda and her advanced state of pregnancy. The Maester arrives and announces she's just given birth to a bouncing baby boy. Ramsay embraces his father and congratulates him. Roose, tells him that he'll always be his first born son. This is music to Ramsay's ears and to reward his sire's acceptance and approval, knife's Roose in the gut.
This honestly took me by surprise. I thought that he'd sneakily try to have the baby done away with and make it appear to be sickness or something to that effect. Roose was one of the biggest players involved in the Red Wedding. The last thing we're wanting is his death to be at the hands of one of the few people more despicable than he is. That being said, perhaps it is poetic that the evil serpent he'd been turning a blind eye to finally spun round and bit him. Either way, good riddance. Ramsay's not done, though... He sends for Lady Walda and the baby.
It must be said that for having just gone through labor, she was looking rather well. That aside, Ramsay plays the excited new big brother, holding the infant. The instant he even looked at that kid, my skin started crawling (this probably was not aided by the fact that my wife is going to be having our first baby soon). He's standing right next to that brazier and I'm half convinced he was going to just "Oops" and drop the kid in the fire. Instead, ever the pragmatist, he lures Walda into the kennels because, you know, any revolting act is fine for Ramsay so long as the dogs get fed.
In all fairness, I felt that this scene was done in possibly the tamest fashion possible. In terms of Ramsay's character, this had to happen. That it was done off screen, with some screams and growls as the primary sound effects was at least some kind of mercy for us. We know Ramsay is a sick animal, further evidence doesn't need to be any worse than it's been.
The one thing that intrigued me was how when Walda pleads with him, asking him to let her and the baby leave, that they would run and never come back, his face wasn't smirking or grinning sadistically. It actually looked like he was struggling, even briefly. There was a fraction of a second where his face twitches, as if he thought about it. Then he vocalized his preference for only-child-hood and whistled for the rabid dogs. The day this bastard gets gutted can't be soon enough.
The Wolfswood - We find Sansa and Theon, Pod and Brienne all setting up camp, resting and talking. Sansa is speaking with Brienne about difficult choices and having some momentary advice and words of wisdom from the first really kind-hearted, well-meaning figure that's been in her life in a long time. Sansa then speaks with Theon and we get a scene that is one of Alfie Allen's best.
In this moment, Sansa is speaking to Theon, offering him forgiveness. She sees the tragedy he's become, what he is now compared to how he used to be. We watch Theon, though, and see something amazing. He acknowledges it all. He lays his sins bare and his heart breaks with sorrow. Even offered the chance for refuge, protection and forgiveness, he says he doesn't want it, and we can see that his soul is now filled with nothing but remorse. He simply asks for a horse and when asked where he'll go, he simply says "...Home."
Pyke - At long last we arrive back at one of the most dismal specks the Seven Gods put on the planet, the Iron Islands. Never one to brighten a room, we find Baelon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands brooding in front of what is (whether you're a Greyjoy fan or not) objectively one of the most awesome fireplaces ever. He is having a heated discussion with his daughter, Theon's sister,
Asha exhorts Baelon to cut the war efforts. She gives him the reports of their losses and struggles on the mainland and Baelon's desire is to stay the course. He bellows "They call it The War of the Five Kings. Well four are dead and I'm still here!" Yara rebuts with sense but he won't hear it. He tells her to shut her mouth or he'll father another heir who'll do as they should. He storms out.
Heh. Storms out....
Baelon steps out onto one of those bouncy rope bridges we see in the opening credits linking Pyke's towers to one another. He encounters a dark figure who we learn is his brother. This guy is new, and strange. They exchange barbs and it becomes clear that his brother is supposed to have been long gone and is purported to be rather mad. Being a Greyjoy, it sounds like he's one hell of a pirate, with not quite the same pious bent as Baelon, claiming (perhaps facetiously) to be the Drowned God, and The Storm. Then he sends Baelon howling into the black waters far below.
At his funeral, we see Baelon is placed into a crab pod, to be shoved out to sea to feed said crabs and other aquatic life. We also meet another priest of the Drowned God who speaks rather gruffly to Yara about her wishes for the fate of the Iron Islands, her claim to it's seat and then we hear mention of a Kings Moot. What, you thought just because it was Game of Thrones that you'd escape the fact that it's an election year?
Castle Black - Davos has come to Melisadre to request aid. He enters like a gentleman and sees her in a state he's not seen her in before. Normally strikingly confident, radiating power, understanding and control, she now slumps in front of her hearth, lost in thought, brow heavy with worry and a tinge of despair. Davos does what it seemed seasons ago he'd never do: asks if she has magic she could use to bring back the Lord Commander.
Rewind to Season 3, we recall she met the Brotherhood Without Banners, including Beric Dondarion and our good buddy, the other Red Priest, Thoros of Myr. We recall that Thoros was able to bring The Lightning Lord back from death. Though powerful, Melisandre had never had that gift, nor had ever even seen it done. Even now, though she knew it to be possible, she has no faith in her ability to perform such a feat. She thinks Davos had been right about her all along. Davos turns to her and asks "Have you ever tried?"
Back in the room with Jon's body lying on the table, cold, lifeless and pale (with awful looking stab-wounds), Davos and The Holdouts stand, Melisandre entering. It seems Davos' words were enough to get her to give it one last shot.
She prepares. She cleans Jon's body of the mess the stabbings had made. She trims his hair and beard, dropping the clippings into the fire, praying and chanting all the while. Laying her hands on him, she closes her eyes and prays. Her face tightens in concentration as she prays in another tongue, finally pausing to whisper a quiet "....please."
She finishes the ritual. Tormund leaves, the others leave, even Melisandre leaves. Davos gives the body one last lingering look, sadness and worry etched on every line in his face, and leaves as well. Just as we found Jon when he first arrived at Castle Black, his only friend a loyal-to-the-bone, snow-white dire wolf, so we leave him. Camera hovering above Jon almost like an out-of-body experience, we look down on a man who would have been... could have been the Hero that broken Westeros needed.
Then his eyes snap open, he jolts awake, music kicks in, credits roll and windows shatter across the world at the screams of millions of fangirls everywhere.
Welcome back, Jon. Time to go to work.
This is some damn exciting TV and what an incredible episode. Thank you all for reading, and join me next week for Season 6, Episode 3. Who the hell knows what's gonna happen next.
As always, be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
Monday, May 2, 2016
Review: Game of Thrones - S6E01 - The Red Woman
Spoiler Alert: These reviews contain spoilers for the titled episode. They may also contain spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
Picking up right where we left off last year, we come in on the be-stabbed corpse of our favorite Snow. Lying in the dead in the cold, unbeknownst to his friends. We grieve and wonder if this is it for our hero.
As far as Jon goes (and the season opener) I don't know that we could have expected an opening different than this. They know discussion of this has been in the zeitgeist for the past 9 months so showing it first thing was almost a given, but no less impactful for that. Kit Harrington has easily been one of the most recognized faces from the show and seeing him with the color drained from his face, bleeding and deserted, lying in the frigid cold remains gut wrenching even a year later. Knowing that he's lying inside the walls of a place where he'd once made his very best friends and discovered who he was as a man makes it all the more galling.
Ghost beats against the door of his cell, creating enough ruckus that Davos and soon the other men not involved with the plot come out and find, to their horror, their Lord Commander treasonously slain. Bringing him inside, they tensely discuss who they can trust. Among those grieving for the fallen Snow are also good ol' Dolorous Edd Tollett and the Red Woman herself, Melisandre. Carise van Houten nails it here, as you can see that her world, just as she'd thought it had fallen apart, still crumbles yet. Dialog from her wasn't even unnecessary, her face spoke volumes.
Cut to Thorne in the mess hall with the Black Brothers. He readily speaks of what was done and the involvement of the other ranking officers. You have to give it to Thorne, at least he's drinking his own Kool-Aid. He freely acknowledges that he and the brothers involved committed treason by killing their Lord Commander. Yet he stands behind the decision, truly believing that had he not done it, it would have been the end of the Watch.
Having said all that, you would have thought that the instant he approached The Wall with a massive contingent of Wildlings, he would have just kept the gate closed. Thorne has always had a bad feeling about Jon, but perhaps his sense of protocol won out over his inner sense of duty, and he reached some kind of internal breaking point that night. I think it would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall when he was trying to convince the other officers that this was the needed course of action.
Back to Jon's Corpse and the Holdouts (good band name?), Davos talks with Edd and the others. They determine that they're in a tight spot and need help. Edd lights out, saying he'll be back; clearly distraught. Where he's off to, The Seven only know...
Jump south a ways and we see everyone's most reviled psychopath, Ramsay Bolton. Iwan Rheon seriously owns this maniac, and that's to his credit as an actor. Ramsay's presence on screen and the gut-level sensations that are conjured are uncomfortable in the extreme. I feel like at this point, it's been burned into our subconscious that he is the embodiment of the true evil a human can embody. The Others (or White Walkers for show-only folks) are evil, yes, but they're almost like a force of nature; dispassionate, unflagging and glacial. Ramsay is just one man and shouldn't be able to inspire that level of horror, yet he does.
Ramsay grieves for the recently be-splatted Miranda. Seeing him sad is one of the strangest things I've seen so far. Then he stands up and says "Feed her to the dogs." I guess that's the best someone he had affection for could hope for.
He spends time with Roose (who has this weird way of constantly giving backhanded compliments and then following it up with criticism). It's made clear that because of Ramsay's proclivities, Sansa and Reek took off like bats out of icy hell. At this point, we see Ramsay actually visibly scared possibly for the first time ever with Roose mentioning Lady Walda being pregnant with what might be a boy.
From here, we jump further south to Sansa and Theon booking it through the woods. They both look incredibly shabby, haggard and cold... and then they reach the river. I have to say, when they got in the water, I think I almost felt the cold. It looked positively frigid and I have to imagine filming that must have been something else, given the conditions in which the show has filmed in the past.
They continue their flight but are eventually caught by the Boltons and our collective hearts drop. We thought they were finally free; that they'd finally made it and they're cornered by the lackeys of some of the most despicable bastards in Westeros (and that's saying something).
Just when it seems like they're toast, Brienne-of-freakin'-Tarth shows up and goes to work! I seriously was cheering in my seat, fist pumping and whooping as she took the entire squad apart. After all the struggle, all the pain, all the crushed hopes, she blasts out of the snow like a beacon of righteous fury to smite the minions of Evil like a genuine Hero and True Knight. She and Pod had been ever vigilant and tracked their flight from Winterfell. After wiping the floor with the hapless Bolton crew (Theon even got one!) she once again offers her sword and service to Lady Sansa Stark, who finally accepts. After all they've all been through, Brienne's quest has been achieved, a new milestone struck. It brought tears to my eyes.
In King's Landing, Jamie returns with the body of Princess Myrcella Baratheon, draped under the prophesied golden shroud. Cersei runs to the beach where she saw her bright young daughter off, the giant Ser Robert Strong in tow, only to be greeted with a second child gone. You can see the heartbreak on her face. She grieves with Jamie, expressing her now full belief in prophecy. Jamie declares "She's not suffering, she's gone." In this moment, Lena Heady has this wonderful moment for Cersei, saying that she felt that if she made Myrcella, someone so pure, beautiful and good, that maybe that meant she wasn't a monster... It speaks to Cersei's tortured soul and how she may see herself.
We then go to Lady and Queen Margaery Tyrell, wearing burlap, cowering under the withering rhetoric of Septa Unella. The High Sparrow enters, doing something resembling "Good Cop", relieving her momentarily. She asks after her brother, but to no avail. King Tommen has been asking after her, but the High Sparrow needs confession if she's to leave. She can't bring herself to confess and he leaves her to her cold cell.
Down in Dorne we see Doran Martell walking (!). Apparently his gout isn't as bad as in the books. Turns out whether his gout was bad or not, that was the least of his problems. In summary fashion, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes make short work of Doran, Areo Hotah and the poor messenger who brought Doran news of Myrcella's poisoning. Following this, we jump to Prince Trystaine who is faced with two of the Sand Snakes. They offer him a challenge: the one with the whip or the one with the spear. For some reason, he idiotically thinks that it's a legit deal and he picks the one with the whip. When that spear came out through his face, it simply felt like he should have seen it coming.
It did seem odd that this felt like the most dramatic Dornish scene thus far. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It was exciting for a moment and I had no idea that was coming, but all the same, everything Dornish has felt like such an afterthought that the impact was small at best. Areo Hotah was possibly one of the biggest wastes of this whole show. Check him out in the books; that's all I'm saying.
Jump across to Meereen. Tyrion and Varys walk the streets, taking in the situation. Here we have a wonderful bit of humor. Tyrion, who we're used to being brilliant constantly, flubs his High Valyrian when talking to a homeless woman. In an act of kindness, offering her coin to help feed her baby, she recoils in terror. Varys then helpfully jumps in saying she thought he was offering her coin for her baby so he could eat it. Hi-larious.
Tyrion and Varys continue on, coming across a Red Priest speaking to a group on onlookers. He encourages them to carry the flame of the Mother of Dragons and fight for themselves. Tyrion notes that it's a problem.
They continue their walk through Meereen, discussing that there appear to be assassins of some form everywhere (which seems a reasonable expectation at this point). Varys mentions that his "Little Birds" are already at work, ferreting out info they need. Interrupting their musings are screams, alarm bells and running people. A-la Bruce Wayne in Batman V. Superman, Varys and Tyrion move towards the danger, wading into a billowing cloud of smoke. We find that they're on the docks and the Mother of Dragon's entire fleet has been set ablaze. It is this point where Tyrion vocalizes the audiences worst, deep-seated fear... That Dany won't be sailing to Westeros any time soon.
We now cut to Jorah and Dario (incidentally on that hill from Season 1 Episode 1, where we saw Ned behead that wayward brother of the Night's Watch). They're tracking Dany and find a huge muddy circle worn in the grass from where the Dothraki Horde surrounded Dany at the end of last season. Jorah (whose Greyscale is progressing in terrifying fashion) finds her ring and realizes that the horse-lords have her.
Sure enough, Dany is being walked along by what appear to be two Bloodriders belonging to Khal Moro (a new Khal we've not met before). These two come as barbaric, crass, sexist and racist and I find myself just hoping Drogon would, just for convenience, show up, roast and eat them and leave. Even if he didn't take Dany with, them being dead would be an improvement. It's like listening to Dothraki versions of our favorite Astapori slaver from Season 3.
The next scene has us meeting Khal Moro, them learning Dany was Drogo's Khaleesi and that tradition demands she be untouched and delivered to the Dosh Khaleen (the coven of crones we saw in Season 1 when Dany ate the stallion heart in Vaes Dothrak). This scene is also one of the funniest of the series, with Thrones channeling Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketch. What's better than seeing a beautiful woman naked for the first time? Well, turns out those things are:
Find Sean T Collin's Review over at Rolling Stone.
Find Stefan Sasse's Review over at The Nerdstream Era.
Picking up right where we left off last year, we come in on the be-stabbed corpse of our favorite Snow. Lying in the dead in the cold, unbeknownst to his friends. We grieve and wonder if this is it for our hero.
As far as Jon goes (and the season opener) I don't know that we could have expected an opening different than this. They know discussion of this has been in the zeitgeist for the past 9 months so showing it first thing was almost a given, but no less impactful for that. Kit Harrington has easily been one of the most recognized faces from the show and seeing him with the color drained from his face, bleeding and deserted, lying in the frigid cold remains gut wrenching even a year later. Knowing that he's lying inside the walls of a place where he'd once made his very best friends and discovered who he was as a man makes it all the more galling.
Ghost beats against the door of his cell, creating enough ruckus that Davos and soon the other men not involved with the plot come out and find, to their horror, their Lord Commander treasonously slain. Bringing him inside, they tensely discuss who they can trust. Among those grieving for the fallen Snow are also good ol' Dolorous Edd Tollett and the Red Woman herself, Melisandre. Carise van Houten nails it here, as you can see that her world, just as she'd thought it had fallen apart, still crumbles yet. Dialog from her wasn't even unnecessary, her face spoke volumes.
Cut to Thorne in the mess hall with the Black Brothers. He readily speaks of what was done and the involvement of the other ranking officers. You have to give it to Thorne, at least he's drinking his own Kool-Aid. He freely acknowledges that he and the brothers involved committed treason by killing their Lord Commander. Yet he stands behind the decision, truly believing that had he not done it, it would have been the end of the Watch.
Having said all that, you would have thought that the instant he approached The Wall with a massive contingent of Wildlings, he would have just kept the gate closed. Thorne has always had a bad feeling about Jon, but perhaps his sense of protocol won out over his inner sense of duty, and he reached some kind of internal breaking point that night. I think it would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall when he was trying to convince the other officers that this was the needed course of action.
Back to Jon's Corpse and the Holdouts (good band name?), Davos talks with Edd and the others. They determine that they're in a tight spot and need help. Edd lights out, saying he'll be back; clearly distraught. Where he's off to, The Seven only know...
Jump south a ways and we see everyone's most reviled psychopath, Ramsay Bolton. Iwan Rheon seriously owns this maniac, and that's to his credit as an actor. Ramsay's presence on screen and the gut-level sensations that are conjured are uncomfortable in the extreme. I feel like at this point, it's been burned into our subconscious that he is the embodiment of the true evil a human can embody. The Others (or White Walkers for show-only folks) are evil, yes, but they're almost like a force of nature; dispassionate, unflagging and glacial. Ramsay is just one man and shouldn't be able to inspire that level of horror, yet he does.
Ramsay grieves for the recently be-splatted Miranda. Seeing him sad is one of the strangest things I've seen so far. Then he stands up and says "Feed her to the dogs." I guess that's the best someone he had affection for could hope for.
He spends time with Roose (who has this weird way of constantly giving backhanded compliments and then following it up with criticism). It's made clear that because of Ramsay's proclivities, Sansa and Reek took off like bats out of icy hell. At this point, we see Ramsay actually visibly scared possibly for the first time ever with Roose mentioning Lady Walda being pregnant with what might be a boy.
From here, we jump further south to Sansa and Theon booking it through the woods. They both look incredibly shabby, haggard and cold... and then they reach the river. I have to say, when they got in the water, I think I almost felt the cold. It looked positively frigid and I have to imagine filming that must have been something else, given the conditions in which the show has filmed in the past.
They continue their flight but are eventually caught by the Boltons and our collective hearts drop. We thought they were finally free; that they'd finally made it and they're cornered by the lackeys of some of the most despicable bastards in Westeros (and that's saying something).
Just when it seems like they're toast, Brienne-of-freakin'-Tarth shows up and goes to work! I seriously was cheering in my seat, fist pumping and whooping as she took the entire squad apart. After all the struggle, all the pain, all the crushed hopes, she blasts out of the snow like a beacon of righteous fury to smite the minions of Evil like a genuine Hero and True Knight. She and Pod had been ever vigilant and tracked their flight from Winterfell. After wiping the floor with the hapless Bolton crew (Theon even got one!) she once again offers her sword and service to Lady Sansa Stark, who finally accepts. After all they've all been through, Brienne's quest has been achieved, a new milestone struck. It brought tears to my eyes.
In King's Landing, Jamie returns with the body of Princess Myrcella Baratheon, draped under the prophesied golden shroud. Cersei runs to the beach where she saw her bright young daughter off, the giant Ser Robert Strong in tow, only to be greeted with a second child gone. You can see the heartbreak on her face. She grieves with Jamie, expressing her now full belief in prophecy. Jamie declares "She's not suffering, she's gone." In this moment, Lena Heady has this wonderful moment for Cersei, saying that she felt that if she made Myrcella, someone so pure, beautiful and good, that maybe that meant she wasn't a monster... It speaks to Cersei's tortured soul and how she may see herself.
We then go to Lady and Queen Margaery Tyrell, wearing burlap, cowering under the withering rhetoric of Septa Unella. The High Sparrow enters, doing something resembling "Good Cop", relieving her momentarily. She asks after her brother, but to no avail. King Tommen has been asking after her, but the High Sparrow needs confession if she's to leave. She can't bring herself to confess and he leaves her to her cold cell.
Down in Dorne we see Doran Martell walking (!). Apparently his gout isn't as bad as in the books. Turns out whether his gout was bad or not, that was the least of his problems. In summary fashion, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes make short work of Doran, Areo Hotah and the poor messenger who brought Doran news of Myrcella's poisoning. Following this, we jump to Prince Trystaine who is faced with two of the Sand Snakes. They offer him a challenge: the one with the whip or the one with the spear. For some reason, he idiotically thinks that it's a legit deal and he picks the one with the whip. When that spear came out through his face, it simply felt like he should have seen it coming.
It did seem odd that this felt like the most dramatic Dornish scene thus far. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It was exciting for a moment and I had no idea that was coming, but all the same, everything Dornish has felt like such an afterthought that the impact was small at best. Areo Hotah was possibly one of the biggest wastes of this whole show. Check him out in the books; that's all I'm saying.
Jump across to Meereen. Tyrion and Varys walk the streets, taking in the situation. Here we have a wonderful bit of humor. Tyrion, who we're used to being brilliant constantly, flubs his High Valyrian when talking to a homeless woman. In an act of kindness, offering her coin to help feed her baby, she recoils in terror. Varys then helpfully jumps in saying she thought he was offering her coin for her baby so he could eat it. Hi-larious.
Tyrion and Varys continue on, coming across a Red Priest speaking to a group on onlookers. He encourages them to carry the flame of the Mother of Dragons and fight for themselves. Tyrion notes that it's a problem.
They continue their walk through Meereen, discussing that there appear to be assassins of some form everywhere (which seems a reasonable expectation at this point). Varys mentions that his "Little Birds" are already at work, ferreting out info they need. Interrupting their musings are screams, alarm bells and running people. A-la Bruce Wayne in Batman V. Superman, Varys and Tyrion move towards the danger, wading into a billowing cloud of smoke. We find that they're on the docks and the Mother of Dragon's entire fleet has been set ablaze. It is this point where Tyrion vocalizes the audiences worst, deep-seated fear... That Dany won't be sailing to Westeros any time soon.
We now cut to Jorah and Dario (incidentally on that hill from Season 1 Episode 1, where we saw Ned behead that wayward brother of the Night's Watch). They're tracking Dany and find a huge muddy circle worn in the grass from where the Dothraki Horde surrounded Dany at the end of last season. Jorah (whose Greyscale is progressing in terrifying fashion) finds her ring and realizes that the horse-lords have her.
Sure enough, Dany is being walked along by what appear to be two Bloodriders belonging to Khal Moro (a new Khal we've not met before). These two come as barbaric, crass, sexist and racist and I find myself just hoping Drogon would, just for convenience, show up, roast and eat them and leave. Even if he didn't take Dany with, them being dead would be an improvement. It's like listening to Dothraki versions of our favorite Astapori slaver from Season 3.
The next scene has us meeting Khal Moro, them learning Dany was Drogo's Khaleesi and that tradition demands she be untouched and delivered to the Dosh Khaleen (the coven of crones we saw in Season 1 when Dany ate the stallion heart in Vaes Dothrak). This scene is also one of the funniest of the series, with Thrones channeling Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketch. What's better than seeing a beautiful woman naked for the first time? Well, turns out those things are:
- Killing another Khal,
- Conquering a city and taking the people as slaves,
- Taking city's idols to Vaes Dothrak, and
- Breaking a wild horse
So, "Amongst the best things in life are such diverse elements such as: killing a Khal, sacking a city, taking slaves, taking their idols, breaking a horse and seeing a beautiful woman naked for the first time." The exasperated look on Moro's face during this exchange was priceless.
We find Arya now blind, on the streets of Braavos, begging for coin. She's approached by the gleefully sadistic Waif who gives her a staff and starts beating eight shades of hell out of her, all while asking her the typical "No one" questions. As many have said, Arya needs to have Daredevil give her some lessons.
Finally we return to Castle Black. Thorne gives Snow's Corpse and the Holdouts (tm) terms. Davos (being a pretty good diplomat) politely asks for mutton (just in case) and says they'll think about it and get back to him with an answer. Once Thorne leaves, they discuss their options (or lack thereof). One fellow has a great line, throwing in "It's a sad statement if Dolorous Edd is our only chance..."
Davos surprisingly mentions one other possible option: The Red Woman. We find her alone, quiet in her room. Not radiating her usual confidence, she seems to be in crisis. Unsure of her path, purpose, skills and faith, she seems to shrink before us. She then walks to her mirror and begins to disrobe. At first it seems to be her usual routine sort of undress, but it changes. We see her remove her massive-ruby-bearing necklace and place it on the table.
The camera pans up and we see a Melisandre that is utterly different from anything we've known of her. It seems that she has been maintaining an incredibly powerful glamour (like a magical disguise) and she is truly ancient. This begs many questions, from "How powerful must she be to be able to do all she's done, all while maintaining such a convincing image." to "If she is that old, how long has she been at this? How did she get here? Where did she really come from? What's her end-game?" An incredible and thought provoking reveal to be sure.
All said, this was a great first episode that had a nice smattering of the things we've come to love about Game of Thrones. Things progress, characters move, change, feel and are challenged. The world grows, gets richer and the stakes get higher. As I'm sure you'd all agree, we can't wait to see what comes next.
Thanks for reading and look for Episode 2 coming very soon! See below for links to the reviews from the awesome guys over at The Boiled Leather Audio Hour!
Find Sean T Collin's Review over at Rolling Stone.
Find Stefan Sasse's Review over at The Nerdstream Era.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Incoming: GoT Season 6
Alright everyone, here we go. Next week, on Sunday, our icey, firey world's are going to change. For any Ice and Fire series fan, this will invariably impact the way you view the books forever. For show-only viewers, this is the first real time you're going to see the mighty, all-knowing book experts become wide-eyed mortals. Once next Sunday hits, we are all unsullied.
In these next weeks, I'm going to do my level best to do a weekly recap and review. This is going to be a unique adventure the likes of which we've never really experienced before. The true unsullied will judge the series on will judge based only on previous seasons watched, but book readers will come at this with their book knowledge. Will one side really like the episodes and the other not? How they'll be received will be fascinating to watch.
Through this, I would also like anyone who reads what I write to also check out the work by the gentlemen from the Boiled Leather Audio Hour (Sean T. Collins and Stefan Sasse). They've inspired me to push for this and their work is always stellar. You can find Sean's recaps over at Rolling Stone after the episodes air (I'll link them in the posts). You can find Stefan's over at thenerdstreamera.blogspot.com.
Raise your glass, but keep your eyes out for crossbowmen in the gallery, because Its. About. To. Go. Down.
-Andrew
In these next weeks, I'm going to do my level best to do a weekly recap and review. This is going to be a unique adventure the likes of which we've never really experienced before. The true unsullied will judge the series on will judge based only on previous seasons watched, but book readers will come at this with their book knowledge. Will one side really like the episodes and the other not? How they'll be received will be fascinating to watch.
Through this, I would also like anyone who reads what I write to also check out the work by the gentlemen from the Boiled Leather Audio Hour (Sean T. Collins and Stefan Sasse). They've inspired me to push for this and their work is always stellar. You can find Sean's recaps over at Rolling Stone after the episodes air (I'll link them in the posts). You can find Stefan's over at thenerdstreamera.blogspot.com.
Raise your glass, but keep your eyes out for crossbowmen in the gallery, because Its. About. To. Go. Down.
-Andrew
Thursday, November 5, 2015
NOIAF Q&A #2 - What's Arya's End Game?
Arya, without question, has to be one of the most universal fan-favorite characters, next to the likes of Tyrion and Jon. What a lot of folks wonder is, given where Arya has been and where she's currently at, where is her character headed? With (most likely) just two books to go, this, of course gives us a limited timeframe in which to make some guesses.
First, lets look at what we've got to play with. Assuming on the large side, if each book is the size of Storm (Book 3) or Dance (Book 5), and you assume a chapter count for Arya the likes of what she had in Clash, thats roughly 20-25 chapters worth of progress. Thats a decent amount, but also, assuming there won't be a time jump, it also won't take us 10 years into the future either. I'm guessing we won't see a grown-woman Arya by the end of the books.
Second, we need to look at what the main, overarching plots that affect the world, and if / how she might get involved in them.
You have a few plot threads that are hanging out there that aren't primary but could involve her, such as the fate of Rickon and/or Sansa. You also have the thought of whether she will run into Nymeria again. Those being mentioned, the main things would be:
First, lets look at what we've got to play with. Assuming on the large side, if each book is the size of Storm (Book 3) or Dance (Book 5), and you assume a chapter count for Arya the likes of what she had in Clash, thats roughly 20-25 chapters worth of progress. Thats a decent amount, but also, assuming there won't be a time jump, it also won't take us 10 years into the future either. I'm guessing we won't see a grown-woman Arya by the end of the books.
Second, we need to look at what the main, overarching plots that affect the world, and if / how she might get involved in them.
You have a few plot threads that are hanging out there that aren't primary but could involve her, such as the fate of Rickon and/or Sansa. You also have the thought of whether she will run into Nymeria again. Those being mentioned, the main things would be:
- Her list
- The invasion of Aegon / return of Dany
- The war of Ice in the North against the Others
Her list is interesting because, I'm starting to realize, that those on her list almost tend to be brought *to her* (which raises interesting questions of its own) but also is a tangible goal for her to move towards. Gather information, travel, murder, rinse, repeat. This could serve as a plausible reason for her to travel almost anywhere, so long as she finds out someone she wants dead is there.
The invasion of Aegon / return of Daenerys proves an interesting one. It could be that she doesn't bother because they're doing her work for her, sort of, but also it occurs to me that, should (or maybe more like when) she leaves the Faceless Men, she could essentially put herself out as a blade for hire and work FOR one of them, and use that as a way to legitimize killing the listies that are left. This is all assuming she manages to make a clean break from the Faceless Men. I don't even know what being pursued by their guild would look like. Good luck getting to sleep if you're in that spot!
Finally, the War of Ice. We all want Arya to meet up with Jon again. Their relationship is one of the strongest examples of tenderness and happiness that sticks in our heads, and the memories of Jon mussing her hair and calling her "little sister" is one of the most dear things to her. Having the characters meet one another after they've both undergone such large transformations, and having experienced so much would be a heartbreaking, tear-jerker of a moment. It also may be the thing that breaks the massive walls Arya has built up around herself.
Given the visions of Arya in the ice that I believe Bran had in book 1, I imagine she will end up in the north / at The Wall for one reason or another. What I worry about is if she winds up playing a part in killing a key figure on the side of good, either intentionally or unknowingly. Perhaps it would end up being one of those "short term, good idea; long term, bad idea" situations.
I feel very confident saying she will be the death of some key players, though who is anyone's guess. She will most likely be the avatar of death to some degree, and it's feeling like The Winds of Winter will be another Storm of Swords; another Empire Strikes Back "dark period" for the story.
I think at the end of everything, Arya will end up either tragically broken, or hugely redeemed or reborn. I think her story is a huge journey into the depths of her soul and looking at what can happen to even a sweet, rambunctious girl when rage, fear, lonliness and vengeance rule your path. I hope, for her sake, she finds peace and family again. I hope she finds safety again. I hope she finds real joy and a new purpose.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)