Summary: Hoster is burned at Riverrun. Robb is angry because Edmure's actions cost him the capture of The Mountain. The Night's Watch returns to Craster's Keep. Sam sees Gilly birth a boy. Jon is sent on a mission with 20 others to scale The Wall. Dany buys all of the Unsullied by offering Kraznys a dragon. Melisandre leaves Stannis to find sacrifices. Theon escapes imprisonment. Tyrion is assigned Master of Coin and he rewards Pod for saving his life. Jaime saves Brienne from being raped but he loses his hand in return.
The Good: This was mostly solid stuff overall, but it was flawed. I liked the arrival in Riverrun and I think the show did a good job of introducing two new characters in Edmure and Blackfish. The opening scene was awkward in a good way and ended up being very funny to watch. It also did a great job of establishing Edmure as a disappointing heir and Blackfish as a proper soldier and leader. The ensuing scenes in Riverrun were great too. I like that we were told what caused Tywin to go to King's Landing, as The Mountain likely reported that they couldn't pass Riverrun. I liked seeing Robb putting Edmure in his place by telling him how much his actions have hurt the Northerners' strategy. I also liked Catelyn's brief scene of grief with Blackfish as it was a touching moment which also served to give us more of a proper introduction to Blackfish. The small council scene was similarly good. The scene was awkwardly funny and did a great job of showing us little details over how these characters behave, as every move that the characters make when they are seating demonstrates how they feel about themselves compared to the others. I also liked the reveal of Tyrion becoming Master of Coin, as Tywin fulfills his promise to reward Tyrion. I also enjoyed Dany's storyline in this episode. It was nice to see her faced with the reality of war where innocents will have to be killed, no matter what she does. Kraznys continued to be very entertaining and made me laugh a number of times with his vile remarks towards Dany. The moment where Dany offered one of her dragons for the Unsullied felt appropriately big and makes me interested and excited to see what comes next. Dany's story has been much better this season than it was in the last as there are much larger stakes here with a greater sense of importance. The Jaime and Brienne story went to a thrilling ending. Brienne being attacked was suitably ruthless and we can understand why Jaime would choose to do whatever he could to save her, likely lying about the sapphires on Tarth. I really like that Locke didn't fall for Jaime's lies and smartly threatened him, leading to a tense climax where we think that Jaime may be seriously hurt. The show then comforts us into thinking that Jaime is fine only to suddenly take away his hand in a shocking scene of massive consequences (see: Best Moment). The other smaller storylines were fine but nothing special. I enjoyed seeing the return to Craster's Keep. I liked that Jon has been put on a mission now. I enjoyed Thoros again as he treats Arya kindly despite taking her, and I liked seeing Arya angrily confront The Hound briefly. Tyrion's conversation with Littlefinger was good as well and they had really fun chemistry together. The Bad: While this episode had a lot of funny awkward moments, it was also packed with awkward moments which weren't funny and just felt weird or out of place. The biggest culprit was the ending. Jaime has just lost his hand in a shocking scene which left me stunned and yet I'm left with loud and obnoxious music during the credits as opposed to something quiet to let the moment sink. This is a massive failure in production as the tone is totally ruined and the impact of Jaime losing his hand is lessened by the show refusing to treat it as a serious moment. I didn't like Pod's story either. It was weird and not funny to see him return the money and I was more confused than amused. The scene was unimportant and out of place in the episode, serving to only stall out the episode until its ending. There were a few other moments which didn't really satisfy me. I didn't care much for Hot Pie's goodbye since I hardly care about him in general. I also thought it was weird when Sam stuck his head int o watch Gilly give birth. While I'm sure that does lead to a good conflict, the moment itself felt extremely convenient and strange. This episode was funnier than usual. While most people would call it a good thing, I'm more skeptical. The humour in this episode wasn't used to enhance the story but rather it was used to disguise the fact that not much happened in this episode. Most of the episode felt like it was stalling so the appropriate run time could be reached so they could have Jaime lose his hand as a cliffhanger. They just tried to hide this by adding scenes of comedy to distract us. While the comedy was good, it can't make up for a lack of story progression. "Better Call Saul" makes up for a lack of story progression with fantastic character development. Humour jut doesn't accomplish the same thing as character. The Unknown: Why did the White Walkers arrange the horse head in a spiral like that? Where did Melisandre go? Who are the sacrifices she is looking for? Will Dany actually give up a dragon to Kraznys? I hope not as it will lessen the bond between Dany and her dragons which was built up last season. I suspect that she has something up her sleeve. What is going on with Theon? I don't know who his mysterious saviour is but I suspect that he isn't who he says he is. Best Moment: Jaime losing his hand was a big moment and I love the detail that Jaime didn't actually register what had happened until he looked at his hand detached from his body. It's a shame that the music at the end soiled the moment from being as amazing as it could have been. Character of the Episode: Jaime. Conclusion: This episode was fun but it wasn't very eventful and was certainly flawed. While I still enjoyed it, it was easily the weakest of the season so far. Score: 62
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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