Season Four, Episode Four: Oathkeeper
Lots of important stuff happens in surprisingly understated fashion this week in Game Of Thrones land with episode four driving the story forward on multiple fronts with lean efficiency while tossing in a bit of underage sexual manipulation humor (yay!) and the return of some chilly old friends (double yay!) by whom I very definitely do not mean Mance Rayder and his ever-so-scary because clearly the thing to do after assembling a massive army to assault one very particular castle is to sit around on your collective asses for months on end without ever attacking anything, never mind the castle in question. So, no, no Mance. I'm beginning to think he will never, ever reappear at all and his existence in previous seasons was nothing but a cruel ruse. If you count the number of times other characters - who all have to move slowly and stealthily - have made it to and from the north (hell, to and from Mance, before getting home all shot up with arrows and spending further weeks returning to full health) with Mance seemingly not advancing at all and it's just ridiculous. Here ends pet rant.
That rant over, shall I begin another about the troubling pro-colonial politics of the entire Danaerys storyline in its current configuration, with the cultured, intelligent white woman roaming the countryside to liberate the poor, ignorant brown people? Nah, but only because I don't know what the end point of this particular story is going to be - meaning what appears pro-colonial now may very well not be at the end. And, of course, because the main problem is that Danaerys has gotten bloody well boring. Enough with the posturing and speechifying. Send a dragon to eat someone, already. Nobody cares about the fact that you're taking control of cities that we didn't know a thing about before you arrived to take control of them and you're just repeating yourself ad nauseam. Enough of that. Dragon. Eat. Now.
Meanwhile, the Lannister Brothers of King's Landing are conspiring to make Todd feel clever. By which I mean of course, that the splinter faction of Jaime and Tyrion that I guessed would start to form last week has indeed started to form with Jaime reaching out to his imprisoned brother, defying Cersei and taking steps both to ensure Pod gets out of the city safely and to find and secure Sansa. Cersei doesn't know all of it but she certainly knows enough to be pissed off - you can tell by the particularly forceful way she guzzles her wine, angry drunk that she is increasingly becoming - and you know she's just going to get angrier. Tywin will probably be pissed to, when he learns that Jaime has given away his sword. Also, though Margaery makes it close later, Bronn wins the episode.
And where is Sansa? Still on a boat with Littlefinger, who also continues speechifying in a manner equally as tedious as Danaerys, confirming what we already knew about his involvement in Joffrey's murder while further expanding that he did it to appease some powerful new ally. The really important bit here? Word that Littlefinger is taking Sansa to her aunt - who he is marrying - where, if we're very lucky we may again witness a teenage boy breastfeeding. Also, it should be noted, this is where The Hound is taking Arya, hoping for a reward. Stark reunion? Could be coming.
Oh, Littlefinger's new ally is Gramma Tyrell who is apparently not at all worried about spies as she just tells Margaery flat out that she had Joffrey killed and now, dear, why don't you go get his pubescent younger brother all hot and bothered to swing his allegiance to you instead of his mother? Right-o. Tommen has no idea what's just happened to him, really, though with the sorts of dreams he's likely to have I doubt very much he cares, either.
And then off to the North where the interesting (but non-Mancy) stuff happens. Stuff that should soon lead to yet another Stark reunion. Moving quickly:
1. Bolton's man Locke arrives at Castle Black to keep an eye on Jon and see if he plans retribution for Robb's murder. Jon, surprisingly, does not with his attention on more pressing matters and Locke may actually prove useful as a skilled fighter. Unless he stabs Jon in the back, of course.
2. Asshole Commander continues being an Asshole but agree to let Jon take a volunteer force against the mutineers at Craster's Keep, hoping that the mutineers will kill Jon off because this is the sort of thing that Assholes hope for when guarding a radically under-manned castle against a vastly superior force. Yes, kill that guy off. That'll help.
3. Bran stumbles into Craster's Keep where he interrupts a spate of raping and is captured.
Two important notes here: First, Bran is where Jon is going. Reunion impending! Two, there are now two very large wolves at Craster's along with two young men who can control animals with their minds. Bets on how many mutineers have their faces bitten off before Jon arrives? I say six.
And then there's the end. White Walkers! Yay! Walking! And riding horses! And taking a baby but not eating it, which is kind of what I thought they were going to do! Does this mean much for the story? Not as such at the moment, no, but good lord it's nice to finally see some of the core mythology that drove the show early on and that was at the center of the original crisis return and be fleshed out a bit. They're the ice bit of 'fire and ice', after all, and they've scarcely been present at all. Happy to see you, Chilly Man, stick around.
Season Four, Episode Three: Breaker Of Chains
So, how do you follow the murder of a major character? You take a little bit of a breather, catch up on some other storylines and have a bit of illicit sex, that's how. After the barnstormer ending of last week's episode Game Of Thrones takes a moment to reset and find its feet again this week but that's not to say it's a down episode. Nope, still plenty going on. Here are the big bits.
On the succession front it is, indeed, Tommen taking the reins (reigns?) and given the psychotic tendencies of his elder brother he seems positively ... normal. Just a kid who actually seems to want to be a good king, which means he'll be easy for Tywin to manipulate. Cue the beginning of manipulation. And sex education. While incestuous mommy and daddy have a little bit of rape next to the body of aforementioned dead psychopath child. Mmm. Just when you start thinking that your family is messed up, here comes Game Of Thrones to put things in perspective ...
What of the other players in all of this? Margaery is mopey about her missed opportunity to actually be queen - and laughably complains about being cursed in love, as if she actually loved either Renly or Joffrey - while being reassured by Gramma that they'll retain at least some status from this. Tyrion is in prison awaiting trial - Jaime having refused Cersai's entreaties to just go and kill him, preferring to engage in the aforementioned rape - and realizing he has no allies left whatsoever as he sends Pod away to save his life. And - here's a big one - Tywin enlists Prince Oberyn to the tribunal that will oversee Tyrion's trial offering him access to The Mountain to take his revenge for the death of his sister as an enticement to play nice and do as he's told. Oberyn remains a wild card in this, in my book. Will access to the man who physically killed his sister be enough for him to pass over the chance to fuck with the man he blames for actually being responsible (i.e. Tywin)? I doubt it.
Other stuff! Sam fails to realize that getting a woman a job as maid in a whorehouse is unlikely to win you any appreciation. The wildling band south of the wall kills and eats a village just prior to Jon Snow realizing that the band of renegade soldiers to the north of the wall represents a major strategic issue for them - as they know that Castle Black isn't manned to nearly the level that Jon told Mance it was - and need to be eliminated. The Hound is a messy eater and a ruthless pragmatist as he continues Arya's defacto education in the ways of the world. And Danaerys delivers another rousing speech to empower the noble brown savages enslaved in yet another city to have them do all her dirty work and join her colonial liberation army. Go enlightened white lady, go. The precursor standoff beforehand was amusing, at least.
But all of this, of course, is secondary to who actually killed Joffrey. And we seemingly get an answer, or at least part of one. And it's neither of whom I guessed at last week with that honor instead falling to Lord Baelish. Yes, Littlefinger is back, and while there is no indication as to how he actually pulled it off or what his end game is it's very clear that he - at minimum - knew exactly what was coming and was well prepared for it. So he's in on it. Why? Well, he's got Sansa now, and he's always wanted that. But that doesn't seem like enough to risk this sort of exposure, more a sort of perk for a job well done. No, I'm quite certain he wants more which means he must, in turn, be allied with someone else who believes they can take advantage of Joffrey's death to secure more power for themselves which Baelish may be able to profit from. By which I mean rise to more 'legitimate' status, which seems to be the one thing that Baelish really, really wants. My guess? Baelish is in league with Oberyn, the Dornish prince currently being a 'guest' in Littlefinger's brothel and known to have studied poisons. The one thing that gives me a moment of hesitation, though, is that someone offered Pod a knightship to testify against Tyrion which raises a whole host of other questions. First, did that someone come from Cersai who just wants to see her brother dead by any means or did they come from someone else who wants him dead as a patsy for the crime so people will stop looking for the true perpetrator? Would Tywin himself have killed off Joffrey to have a more controllable king on the throne? He certainly doesn't seem torn up about the whole thing. And while it seems that the only people in a position to offer knightships would be from the Lannister clan, wouldn't Pod have recognized them if that was the case? In which case the offer could very well have come from Oberyn's camp. So a bit of clarity comes with a bunch more confusion. Good times. Good times.
Season Four, Episode Two: The Lion And The Rose
Note to self: Do not be rude to Sigur Ros. Bad things happen to people who are rude to Sigur Ros. Bad, bad things. Yes, last night's Game Of Thrones was a big 'un but a few other things happened before we got to the big events so let's rattle through those, shall we?
Stannis Baratheon, that charming fellow, burns his own brother in law alive as a sacrifice to his fire god and, good golly, his wife is something of a crazy zealot, isn't she? There's something clearly afoot with Stannis' daughter, as well, given the way she's being tied back in and made Melisandre's responsibility so I expect some big things there, though it's early yet to say what.
Bran gets all milky eyed, has a vision and says he knows where they need to go. Where that might be and what, exactly, they'll accomplish once there he doesn't say, but it's good to know they have a destination, I suppose. Oh, and those horribly fearsome Wildlings and White Walkers that are supposedly massing north of the wall but who never, ever, ever appear to actually do anything at all? They continue to do nothing.
Tyrion has relationship angst and sends Shae away when he realizes that her life is now well and truly in danger. Stiff upper lip, Tyrion. Stiff upper lip. Ah, well, it gave Varys a bit of screen time at least, and there are worse things than that.
In one of the more substantial side notes we get back to life with Ramsay Snow and Theon Greyjoy with that plotline finally moving at least marginally beyond torture and humiliation. Theon has been so broken by this point that he is scarcely more than a pet for Ramsay, so controlled that Ramsay takes him outside unbound and allows Theon to give him a shave as a demonstration of his harmlessness. The old Theon arrogance is certainly long gone, the question is what remains of his strength underneath all the fear. With Lord Bolton returning home and giving Ramsay a task that requires Theon - a confrontation with the Greyjoys to take over a strategic location - we're going to be seeing a lot more of these two. Also, more Noah Taylor!
And then we've got the Lannisters. Last week's episode had me wondering if we were going to see some sort of new bond forming between Tyrion and Jaime thanks to their mutual outsider status and, yep, here we see it starting with Tyrion offering up Bronn as a sparring partner for Jaime to quietly build up his fighting skills with his left hand. What - if anything - this will develop into given what happens later in the episode but, you know, good for me.
And then there's the big stuff. Another wedding. The big wedding between Joffrey and Margaery. And we know what happened last time there was a wedding, yes? And how being at the center of attention tends to bring out the best and most noble aspects of Joffrey's character? Yeah, that's a total lie. Joffrey is as big an ass as he's ever been, missing no opportunity to shame and humiliate those around him while demonstrating himself the total prat that he is. Spinning around the couple is an absolutely delicious storm of meaningful glances, whispered conversations and political territory marking as this new marriage shifts the balance of power. And then everything gets blown to shit with Joffrey left gasping for air on the ground. Yup. Dead. Finally. From poison. Which raises two questions:
First, who did it? God knows there's no shortage of options with a host of people utterly hating the little bastard. Cersei wants to pin it on Tyrion, but that's crap. He was as shocked as anyone and had no way of knowing that he would ever have access to Joffrey's cup of wine going into the meal, plus his attention was far more on sparing Sansa as much public humiliation at Joffrey's hands as possible. His focus was purely internal, not external. It's not him.
There are two ways the poison could have been delivered, either the pie - which he ate immediately before dropping from the poison - or the wine which he washed it down with. The pie seems unlikely as the killer would have had to poison the entire thing which means risking taking out the entire party. Far more likely the wine. Which then leaves it down to a pair of options, both of whom had access to the goblet shortly before Joffrey went down. And it comes down to the ladies, with either Sansa or Margaery being the prime options. Sansa scooped the goblet from the floor when Joffrey kicked it under the table while mocking Tyrion, giving her opportunity to dose it. And, post-poisoning, it certainly appears that Joffrey's fool was not at all surprised by what had happened as he moved in to swoop Sansa away. A pact between the two of them is certainly possible. And then there's Margaery, who had the goblet on the table in front of her and had ample opportunity. Granny Tyrell was cracking wise about what sort of man would kill his enemy at a wedding earlier and there were the meaningful glances between Loras Tyrell and Oberyn earlier in the meal, which at the time felt like a bit of flirtation between the two men but could easily have been something else. Margaery knew full well what sort of man she was about to marry and the Tyrells in general come off as far too smart and far too protective of their own to let anything happen to her. Is this all a power play? Get Margaery in as queen and then eliminate the king and leave her in power?
Which brings us to the next question: Succession. Who takes power now? Does Margaery keep the throne, with the Tyrells supplanting the Lannisters as the royal power? You can bet Oberyn would support this, which would pit the Martells and the Tyrells together against the Lannisters. Does Cersei try to re-assert herself as Queen Regent and put her younger son (who I believe is still alive in exile somehwere) on the throne as the next heir of Robert Barratheon? And this will all, of course, lend further credence to Stannis' claim that he is the true heir and next in line for the throne rather than another of Cersei's illegitimate children.
So, yep. Two episodes in to the season and all bets are off, AGAIN. One war of succession wrapped up and we're plunged right into another battle for the throne.
Season Four, Episode One: Two Swords
Ah, Game Of Thrones, how I've missed you. Even the characters who make me want to scream. And there were quite a lot of those in the season premiere. Don't get me wrong, series writers David Benioff and DB Weiss - jointly credited as directors on the IMDB, though I could have sworn the on screen credits listed only one of them during the actual broadcast - do a dandy job of getting audiences back up to speed and setting the plates a-spinnin' in the fourth season premiere - no mean feat in a show balancing so many plot threads simultaneously - but, hey. While True Detective takes all the heat for treating its women badly over at HBO the women of Game Of Thrones didn't fare all that well this week either, spending pretty much all their time baring their breasts, complaining about a lack of sex, or waiting for a man to save them. Heck, even Daenerys has a bit of an off week, being nipped at by her rapidly growing dragons while her generals squabble for her affection. Women in the Game Of Thrones universe not defined by their relationships to the men around them? Not this week, thanks. Here's the round up:
Daenerys, as mentioned, tries to scold a dragon. This is not a smart thing to do. Good thing Jorah's there to point that out to her. And, aw shucks, that distractingly re-cast guy gave her flowers after gambling for the right to march with her. Blush.
Sansa continues to be sad because nobody loves her, her family is dead and won't some big, strong man please, please, please come and save her. Except for the big, strong man who actually tried to, of course, or the very small man who's doing his very best to actually do so right now. Maybe this drunk guy will help. Perhaps this betrays my general opinion of self indulgent teenage girls in general but, good lord, I have hated Sansa from season one and I continue to do so now.
Ygritte is rather mopey as well, though she's at least mopey while handling sharp, pointy things.
Margaery is bummed because she's marrying a guy she doesn't like and who is (more than) kind of a dick, but hey, this is the end result of all her scheming so she can't complain about that too much. But the quality of the jewelry on offer to wear at her wedding? Fuck that shit, right? Right?
Shae's not getting any and she really, really wants some.
And speaking of not getting any ... wow! Cersei! Pour a bit of wine down that woman's throat and wait to see what comes out! Hey there, incestuous brother-lover! Sorry about that hand and all, and the fact you just spent ages in captivity, but my life sucks and it's your fault because you took so damn long to escape (and lose your hand) so don't you even think about getting back in my pants. Er, skirts.
There are two positive developments for the double X chromosome front, however, in that Brienne is still kicking around with her particularly odd blend of honor, mixed loyalties and leverage over Jaime Lannister, along with Arya ... well, more on Arya later.
On the irritating male front, Jon Snow is still around and back in Castle Black and can someone please explain to me how there's any discussion AT ALL about whether Snow is telling the truth about the impending Wildling invasion (aka The Slowest Invasion In The History Of Ever) while there are Wildling cannibals (oooh, fancy head scars!) EATING NIGHT'S WATCHMEN!?! Yes, they're over the wall, you dumbasses! AND THEY'RE EATING YOU!
There are, however, many good things happening which should give us clues as to the overall direction of the show this season. And here are my favorite three.
One: Jaime Lannister continues his personal transformation, refusing his father's orders and being disowned in the process. Which he doesn't seem to care about even one tiny little bit. He honestly doesn't seem particularly bothered about being rejected by Cersei, either. Where is this relationship with Brienne going, how much of her sense of honor has rubbed off on Jaime, and is it out of the question that we may soon see Jaime and Tyrion joining forces to create a splinter faction within the Lannister family? They seem to be on parallel arcs and neither has any love for Joffrey at all, nor any illusions about their own standing within the family any more.
Second, there is Arya Stark and her growing relationship with Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane. Clegane has been so long defined by his role in service of the king that he is just horribly lost now that he's cut himself loose, which has the benefit of allowing all these surpressed parts of himself to bubble to the surface and his relationship with Arya is ... interesting. Also interesting? Arya's reaction when she spots the Lannister soldier who killed her friends and took her sword. Arya grows up this week, though what she's growing into is yet to be seen.
Third, and most significantly, there is the arrival of the absolutely magnetic Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell, the Dornish prince newly arrived in King's Landing quite simply to fuck shit up. And he's got both the ability and the backing to do so. Though Oberyn's appearance this week is brief it is incredibly memorable and promises a whole lot of good things going forward.
The primary goal of a season opener to a multi threaded show like this is simply to plant those threads back int he mind o the audience and get people back up to speed. This one does a fair bit more than that, bringing in memorable new characters while furthering the development of some old favorites. It's a solid start.