Tag: bloody mummers

Game of Thrones – Season 3 Episode 4

game_of_thrones_s3I admit, the delay in getting to this episode was long. But this week has been one of those, the kind that drags out and taxes one’s constitution. You know the kind I mean! In any case, I wanted to get caught up before the midseason show arrives and there’s too much to cover! Plus, things are beginning to get dicey with all the threads the show is laying down this season and I feel the need to comment…

And Now His Watch Is Ended:
got3_watchThings open with Brienne and Jaime being brought back to Harrenhal by Vargo Hoat and the Bloody Mummers. Jaime’s severed hand is now dangling around his neck, and after falling from his horse, Jaime steals a sword and tries to fight his way free, but is defeated. Later, by a night fire, Brienne chastises him for wanting to give up and die, saying he’s finally understands what it means to lose something, but also thanks him for lying to save her life.

In King’s Landing, Tyrion meets with Varys to discuss how he intends to get his revenge. Varys lets him know that the key is to build influence, as he has for years, which he can then use to get revenge on those who wronged him. To illustrate his point, he opens a large box which contains the man who removed turned him into a eunuch as a boy, which he had shipped to King’s Landing from Myr through his myriad of connections.

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In King’s Landing, Margaery is taken on a tour of the Sept of Baelor, with Queen Cersei and Lady Olenna Redwyne in tow. After Margaery convinces Joffrey to stand out in front of a gathering crowd, Cersei begins to fear that Margaery has her hooks in her son. She appeals to her father for help, who tells her she’s allowed Joffrey to “run roughsod” over the city and her. She challenges him to intervene, and he accepts.

After speaking to his sources, Varys learns of Littlefinger’s plans to take Sansa with him to the Vale and approaches Lady Olenna for help. Between the two of them, he thinks they can come up with a better arrangement. Margaery continues to endear herself to Sansa and tells her that once she’s queen, she will be able to marry Loras and relocate to Highgarden, where she would be safe.

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In the north, the Black Brothers continue to toil in Craster’s Keep and plot taking matters into their own hands. Samwell tries to arrange a way to take Gilly and her newborn son with them, as they both know that Craster will sacrifice him to the Others as soon as he learns of the boy’s existence. Afterwards, after a funeral for one of their brothers, tempers break and the men turn on Craster, killing him and Mormont. Sam escapes with Gilly into the night…

Theon, who is now free and being protected by the boy who claims Osha (Theon’s sister) sent him, is delivered to what he believes to be Deepwood Motte. However, he soon learns that his rescue was all a ruse and that he is actually being delivered back into the Dreadfort, where he is now going to resume the torments and the torture he had endured thus far.

got3_watch4In the Riverlands, Thoros and the Brothers Without Banners bring Arya and Gendry to the caves call home. Once there, Sandor Clegane is brought before Beric Dondarion, the leader of their camp, who reveals they are now followers of R’hllor. Sandor is made to answer for his crimes, but as no one witnessed him killing Mica (which Arya accuses him of), Beric sentences him to trial by combat.

In Astapor, Daenerys finalizes her deal with the slave masters and takes possession of an army of Unsullied. After handing over one of dragons, she is given the decorative whip and becomes the Unsullied’s new master. After issuing a few commands to ensure that they will obey, she reveals that she speaks Valyrian and promptly orders her dragon to start burning the slave masters, and her new army to kill every last master in the city!

With the city in ruins, Daenerys declares that her Unsullied are free, and asks if they will fight for her as free men. No one answers right away, but slowly, the army begins to beat their spears against the ground as one and declares for her. Leaving the city with her army in tow, she tosses with the whip in the dirt and begins moving to free the next city.

Summary:
Well, I can tell you that I was pretty pleased with this episode for at least two reasons. One, the ending! Man, I was waiting for that scene. As one of the most badass parts of the book, I was eager to see how they would go about illustrating it. And as usual, they managed to go a good job turning available sets and a small army of extras into a realistic looking rendition of what Martin created, massive cities with ancient structures and hoards of armed soldiers.

The other thing I liked was the fact that they introduced Beric Dondarion at last. Up until now, I thought that the actor portraying Thoros of Myr was supposed to be the knight that had lost half his face but was resurrected by a Red Priest. However, they proved me wrong in this episode and delivered on him, and added the fact that they had all become followers of R’hllor. I was hoping to see the ensuing fight scene between Beric and Sandore, but there’s always next time.

As for the things I didn’t like, well they all had to do with the same basic pattern. Bran’s story received no real advancement in this episode, but they still show a tiny snippet that recalls his big fall and his journey north. What was the point of it, other than to give him screen time? And Theon’s entire thread for this series; since he doesn’t even come up until the fifth book again, where his reappearance is a surprise, I find this whole thread useless. Between items of significance, his torture seems like mere filler, designed to keep his character in the show as they flesh out the real story. Yeah, I know, actors gotta work, but it seems obvious and transparent.

Other than that, I think it’s safe to say this was my favorite episode of the season thus far. I’m looking forward to what happens in the next few episodes, where I trust they will be hitting John’s story with both barrels! I did miss the mention of him in this episode, but am pleased they didn’t give a snippet about him like they did Bran. Better to just leave them out if they’ve got nothing important to do, I always say!

Game of Thrones – Season 3 Episode 3

GOT3Good afternoon folks, and welcome back for another Game of Thrones season 3 review! I regret to be bringing you this episode several days after it premiered, but life has been getting busy again. However, since I found myself with a day off, I naturally decided to get caught up on all my unfinished articles, which included a review for the third episode of the third season.

Well, this most recent installment was a bit of a doozy! Bloody, baleful, full of pain and the prospect of rape, and just enough nudity to put you in mind of season one, it really took viewing audiences by storm. Of course, there were also some juicy tidbits that I was waiting on, but also, sadly, some that were left for the next episode and after. And as usual, some changes were made and liberties taken with the text…

Walk of Punishment:
got3_walkThe episode opens with Robb Stark and the Tully family attending Catelyn’s father’s funeral. After setting his body down the river, Robb entreats with his uncle, Edmure, who he scolds for violating his plans. Instead of drawing Ser Gregor Clegane (“The Mountain”) towards Riverrun, as he was meant to so Robb could surround him, he instead fought him in the open country. Though victorious, this has deprived Robb of a victory he sorely needed to end the war quickly.

In King’s Landing, Tywin convenes his small council, which consists of Tyrion, Pyter, Cersei, Varys and Pycelle. In addition to discussing the whereabouts of Jaime, Tywin orders Baelish to the Vale to court Catelyn’s sister in the hopes of bringing her into the war on their side. In his absence, Tyrion takes over as Master of Coin, a position he naturally loathes. Luckily, it gives him a chance to repay a debt…

got3_walk5In the North, the Wildlings come up on the Fist of the First Men and find the remains of dozens of horses arranged in the shape of a vortex, but no men. Mance orders Tormund to take a scouting party to the Wall to assess Castle Black’s defenses and order John’s along. He tells them to await his signal for the attack, which will be “the greatest fire the north has ever seen.”

Not far away, Samwell and the surviving brothers have taken up at Craster’s Keep again. Hungry and desperate, Craster is forced to offer them his hospitality, but relations are quite strained due to his usual arrogance. While there, Samwell witnesses Gilly, the young wife he met on the way up, give birth to a son. She and Samwell are both terrified, as they know that this means Craster will offer him to the Others as tribute.

got3_walk3In Astapor, Daenerys witnesses the “Walk of Punishment”, a waterfront display where slaves who have committed acts of defiance are crucified. Ser Mormont and Ser Selmy argue about what course they should take, whether she should take the Unsullied or raise an army the old fashioned way. She opts to buy the Unsullied, and offers them one of her dragons. She gains Missandre as part of the bargain, an Astaporian translator, and confirms from her that the Unsullied are unquestioning.

In between all this, Theon is rescued by the dungeon hand who claimed Asha sent him. After setting him on a horse, he is turned loose and told to head East. However, it’s not long before Theon is captured again by Ramsay Bolton’s men who appear to want to rape him. Theon is then saved by the last minute intervention of a man who kills them all with his bow and then takes him away…

got3_walk1In the Riverlands, Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie are taking to their newfound friends in different ways. Arya feels like a prisoner, by Gendry is working as their blacksmith and Hot Pie decides to stay behind at an inn they were camped at as a baker. Arya and Gendry say goodbye to him and head off on campaign, taking Sandor Clegane (“The Hound”) with them as their prisoner.

Not far away, Brienne and Jaime have been taken captive and being brought to Harrenhal by the Brave Companions (aka. Bloody Mummers). When they make camp, Vargo and his men try to rape Brienne, but Jaime tells them that she’s the daughter of a noble lord and worth her weight in sapphires, but only if she’s alive and unspoiled. That puts an end to all attempts to rape her, but Vargo takes Jaime’s hand when he tries to buy his way out.

Summary:
Like I said, I was waiting on the Jaime dismemberment scene, and it was predictably, hard to watch! And yet, I much missed the parts I was really hoping for, like when (spoiler alert! spoiler alert! spoiler alert!) and there’s a terrible mess to clean up afterwards. Now that was good plot development! Alas, I lament that I will have to wait on these tidbits, as they shall prove quite awesome I suspect!

Other points of interest in this episode included Tyrion’s visit to the whorehouse with Pod, whom he repaid in kind for saving his life by purchasing an evening with not one, not two, but three ladies of the evening! And yet, when Podrick is finished, he returns home with Tyrion’s bag of coin still in hand. Completely flabbergasted as to why Pyter’s ladies would not accept payment, he and Bronn sit Pod down, give him wine and demands he recount his visit, in gratuitous detail.

I also liked what they did with Robb’s return to Riverrun, as it was fitting to the story in a lot of respects. The details of how Edmure Tully screwed up, how Catelyn mourned her father, and how broken up she was for the sake of her boys were all well conveyed and true to the text. And Arya’s thread, though brief, was faithful enough while still getting in the main points. But they do need to introduce the Brotherhood’s red priest at some point, otherwise they’ll be glossing over an important point…

And let’s not forget the key lines of dialogue which made it in directly from the book. These included Mormont’s assessment of Rhaegar Targaryen’s end: “Rhaegar fought valiantly. Rhaegar fought nobly. And Rhaegar died.” Or Mance Rayder’s declaration: “I’m going to light the biggest fire the north has ever seen!” As a Thrones nerd, those lines could only resonate with me… and they did!

Otherwise, this episode did seem a bit quick and sparing in a lot of respects. While some threads got a good dose of development, others, like John Snow’s were once again quick and sparse. For example, in the north, when they came upon the Fist of the First Men, there was plenty more happening than was shown here. And if they continue to move along as they have with this thread, a good deal of really decent material will be lost.

For starters, Mance was angry when they found traces of a large Night’s Watch force, mainly because John never told him about it. Mance then accused John of playing him and was ready to have him killed, but his hand was stayed by Ygritte who vouched for his loyalty. I shall not say more, as the details of that are spoiler related. Suffice it to say, this all took place before he was sent off to the Wall, so we shall see how that plays out. But rest assured, this is another point that they cannot expect to gloss over easily…

Last, there’s Theon’s thread, which is going in an odd direction. In the books, this was not mentioned until book five, as I’ve said. But there, he was never rescued while attempting to flee. So if he’s safely away, this represents a major plot twist that is way off script! In fact (spoiler alert! spoiler alert!)… but that can easily be corrected with a few more lines of dialogue and another plot twist.

All in all, a pretty good episode, better paced and more thorough than the previous two. And there’s plenty more to be had. I just hope they remain true and faithful, because what happened next was pretty damn badass!