Summary: Jaime loses his spirit as he is beaten around by Locke and his men. Tyrion visits Varys who tells Tyrion the story of how he was cut. Cersei tries to get more respect from Tywin, but Tywin shuts her down. Varys learns from Ros that Littlefinger wants to take Sansa. In response Varys makes a deal with Olenna to marry Sansa to Loras. Margaery befriends Sansa and tells her the news. The Hound is taken to Beric Dondarrion who decides to judge him through trial by combat. Beyond The Wall, Rast insults Craster, causing chaos to erupt. Craster dies, and the Night's Watch implodes. Lord Commander Mormont is killed. In Astapor, Dany follows through with the deal to Kraznys. She has Kraznys burned by her dragon and kills all the slave masters in Astapor with her Unsullied army. The Unsullied are loyal to Dany and they march out of Astapor.
The Good: This was an excellent episode which I was not expecting. "Game of Thrones" has only peaked in its later episodes thus far, so to see such a big episode early in the season was a pleasant surprise. Every storyline in this episode progressed in a significant and enjoyable way, with there being an absolute ton to enjoy. I appreciate that the episode started with Jaime and is recently detached hand. It was a big ending to the last episode, and I'm glad that the show didn't waste any time in showing the effect that it had on Jaime's character. Jaime is a broken wreck of a man now, and it's hard not to sympathize with him at least a little bit as he is ruthlessly abused by Locke and his men. While Jaime has done bad things, it isn't as cathartic as expected to see him suffering so much. I also like how Jaime's ordeal in this episode furthers his relationship with Brienne, who is smart enough to figure out what Jaime did for her. I'm excited to see where the development of this relationship leads both characters. Varys had a terrific episode overall, enjoying a ton of spectacular scenes. The first of which was the reveal of his backstory in a conversation with Tyrion. I was hooked for the whole scene and was both disgusted and fascinated by the gruesome tale of how Varys was cut. It was a really good backstory and helps establish another trait for Varys, revealing that he entirely despises magic, a trait which I presume will pay off down the road. Furthermore, the ultimate reveal that Varys had captured the sorcerer was a big shock and it was horrific to think of everything that Varys must be doing to enact his revenge on this sorcerer. This wasn't all that Varys was up to however, as Ros informs him of Littlefinger's plan to take Sansa with him to the Eyrie. I really enjoyed this story as Varys actively moved against Littlefinger to prevent him from getting the upper hand. Varys and Littlefinger have often been in a cold war type of conflict with each other, and the most fascinating thing about Varys in this episode for me was learning why he treats Littlefinger as such a big threat: because he is the most dangerous man in Westeros. Of course this story led to Varys speaking with Olenna in an incredible scene with outstanding dialogue and interactions. The conversation ended up being quite significant too as it leads to the big development of Sansa being prepared to marry Loras. As a side note, Olenna is a terrific character. She has a great presence and is both hilarious and intriguing to watch. Prior to her scene with Varys, I got a tremendous amount of enjoyment seeing her discussing the lousiness of her house's symbol and words. It was a straightforward conversation and continues to reveal to us how straightforward, strong-willed and opinionated Olenna is. There were a lot of other short scenes between characters in King's Landing which I really enjoyed. I loved seeing Margaery befriend Sansa as she hopes to wed her to Loras. Margaery is so amazing and is a joy to watch as she manipulates and befriends people like it's nothing. On the other side, the scene also serves to finally give Sansa something nice to be happy about, though it may not be as great as she may expect, considering Loras' sexuality. The scenes in the tombs with Joffrey showing Mrgaery around were great as Joffrey took such glee to be in her company. The moment with Joffrey waving to a crowd which clearly only loved Margaery was hilarious and a perfect metaphor of how well Margaery has manipulated him. FInally, I loved the scene between Tywin and Cersei. I find it both hysterical and appropriate that Tywin always has to be doing more important business during his conversations with others to establish his dominance over them. The conversation between the two was very good as Cersei hopes to get something more, but Tywin puts her in her place, angering her. Theon's storyline has a very good development this episode. I enjoyed seeing Theon spill his guts to his rescuer, showing his full regret at everything he has done. It was another really good scene with a fair amount of emotion to it. The follow-up is tragic though as the black-haired man is revealed to be working with whoever detained Theon and returns him to the cross where he was hung before. It's cruel psychotic torture. I liked that we got to learn more about the Brotherhood Without Banners and what they do. They don't come off as bad people, but they remain an interesting organization. I like the return of trial by combat as its inclusion made sense in this scene, considering the way that justice works in medieval times. It's also a good hook for the next episode as a duel between Beric and The Hound seems impending. With both characters being relatively important, I'm interested to see what happens. The implosion of the Night's Watch was powerful and very sad to watch. Craster was one of my least favourite parts of the last season as I felt it didn't really lead somewhere, but the payoff here was nothing short of brilliant. The seeds had been subtly planted for the Night's Watch to turn on Mormont and Craster declaring himself as a godly man was the catalyst for the explosion. The brutal murders of both Craster and Mormont were terrific as the Night's Watch has effectively been all but wiped out by themselves. Dany's huge power play at the end of the episode was a great catharsis. Dany has been without anything for so long, longer than she should have been, so that made me desire seeing her finally accomplish something. So when she finally makes a big move and gets herself a loyal army of 8000 elite soldiers, while also murdering the filthy Kraznys who disrespected her, the moment feels satisfying and meaningful. The final sequence of Dany's armies leaving a liberated Astapor is outstanding and feels like a genuinely exciting moment. The Bad: There's nothing I would actually call bad. The Unknown: What was that voice that Varys heard from the flames? What did it say? Could it have just been in his head or is this a central detail to the story? What was Bran's odd dream with Catelyn about? Is that somehow foreshadowing the future like his other dreams? What are the motives of the black-haired guy? Why does he torture Theon so viciously? Who is he anyways? At this point I suspect that he is Roose Bolton's bastard who went rogue to satisfy a desire to torture Theon. I want to learn more about the Brotherhood Without Banners. How were they founded? What have they done in the world so far? Why do the Lannisters want them discovered? Best Moment: Dany's ending sequence was fantastic. Character of the Episode: Tough to pick between Olenna and Varys. I will go with Varys. Conclusion: This was a terrific episode, which is amongst the most satisfying in the whole show so far. Every story delivered and there were some excellent climactic moments as well. Score: 75
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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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