Game of Thrones-S4E4- "Oathkeeper"

The dragons have vanished, but a direwolf was found.

After last episode's grim deviation and ensuing backlash, Game of Thrones returned with more twists that even shocked book-readers! How does it feel now!? This episode, titled "Oathkeeper" was all about keeping promises. Let's dive right in.

We pick up right where we left off in Meereen. Greyworm is learning the common tongue from Missandei. He was due for more screen time. The common tongue will be essential for when Dany's forces eventually reach Westeros. Speaking of Dany's forces, they continue to grow. Her men assisted in the overthrow of the masters. Greyworm's message is true in today's society, "No one can give you your freedom." The weak will never rebel against the strong without some help. Greyworm effectively tends to the slave's mentality, "If you want it, you must take it," (Oh and by the way here are a few bags of swords). In today's society, the poor need a thousand reasons not to murder the rich, while the rich need only one to exploit the poor.

Kudos to Michelle MacLaren's directing in this episode. The wide-shots of Dany walking through the crowd of newly liberated people and her looking down from a top of Meereen with the Targaryen flag at her back was glorious. It explains why we have not seen much of the dragons since the first episode, have you been paying attention to these gorgeous shots? The show runners are making the most out of their budget this year. Oh and did anyone else enjoy the justice bit? The pinning of the masters to the posts made me wonder how would that look in our society. Nail the greedy bankers, corporate leaders, lobbyists and corrupt politicians to posts!

Jaime is...back to normal? Last week saw a dark twist in the relationship between brother and sister. This week it all seemed normal, as if rape did nothing to Cersei. Their scene, pretty straightforward as it was, bothered me, because of the events from last week. I'll explain in just a moment. First, I love when Bronn took Jaime's fake hand and whacked him in the face with it. Sort of a take that from last week! Still, raping a woman with one hand...show runners come on. Bronn advised Jaime to stop fighting pretty, which is yet another theme for this season. The good guys must make a come back. Drop the honor, pretty act or whatever and get dirty! It is the only way to get ahead and win. Take Arya as a prime example in the first episode. Bronn, also took Jaime on a guilt trip for not visiting Tyrion yet. "Are you gonna fight for him now?"

It's unclear exactly how long Tyrion has been jailed. Two episodes- I imagine would be a few days time. The "Kingslayer brothers" bond remains strong. Jaime is not only Tyrion's older brother, but his  best friend. Tyrion has a love with him that he does not have with the rest of his family. There were so many great moments in this scene, which illustrated how Cersei and Tywin are driving these two even closer together. It was funny how Jaime compared the conditions of Tyrion's captivity to his own. After Jaime leaves, Tyrion is still in the same position, waiting for "justice." His most reliable friend is powerless to help him escape.

Back to Cersei. Going off last week's cringing, head-scratching rape scene, Jaime greets Cersei very formerly and the tension filled duel begins. Cersei has that goblet of wine in her hand. Oh Robert is rolling in his grave like, "Now you're drinking a lot!"  Remember Cersei is still grieving for Joffrey. She wants Tyrion's head on a spike. She's afraid he will weasel his way out of an execution and kill Tommen. Who can she trust to bring her her vengeance? Her father insulted her son's legacy right in front of her and his corpse. No one truly cares...she is beginning to discover that not even Jaime cares. Just like he said last episode... He paid Tyrion a visit and did not kill him. In fact, Jaime believes his baby brother to be innocent, which allows Cersei to fire back with, "You've always pitied him, our poor little brother. He'd kill us all if he could." She tells him to bulk up Tommen's protection with four knights, not one and then gives the Lord Commander a brisk dismissal.

Speaking of our new boy king. There is a reason why the character was recast with an older actor. This particular scene with Margeary needed to happen. As Olenna Tyrell so expertly advised her daughter. The Queen Regent is distracted, now is the time to strike. Strategically placing herself in the boy king's favor will create a wedge between mother and son in the future. Who wins? House Tyrell. After all, mothers know best. The Queens will be set to clash.

Jaime keeps his promise to the late lady Stark by passing on his oath to Brienne. He presents her with two gifts. Ned Stark's reforged Valyrian steel sword and very nice armor, which is the equivalent of giving a woman a nice dress and a great pair of shoes. Remember what Tywin told Jaime in the first episode? A man with no family will need all the help he can get...well is back to being honorable this week and it turns out that he doesn't really need that sharp sword. The heart felt departure scene was palpable. I feel like Gwendoline Christie, the actress who portrays Brienne played it up a bit too much, but how is that wrong? These two have come along away since their first encounter. Brienne is going on a mission to find Sansa for Lady Catelyn and Jaime. She appropriately names the blade, "Oathkeeper." Now Jaime has gone behind Cersei's back twice. Oh, the irony...Jaime is impotent, he cannot fight, he cannot save his brother and cannot personally fulfill his oath to Lady Stark, BUT he can rape his twin.

Sansa and Littlefinger. I really like that show Sansa is smarter than her book version. She is older and is more astute. She correctly guesses that Littlefinger had a hand in killing Joffrey. We get a substantial piece of Littlefinger's dialogue from the books. Still waiting for that one famous line to be uttered though! Sansa is on her way to the Vale and so is Arya. Stark reunion? Maybe...

Sam told Jon Snow about Bran! A huge change from the book, which I'm ok with. I am just feeling a little muddled with two aspects of this change. Jon is going beyond the wall again (60 miles) to capture and kill the mutineers, now unbeknownst to him, Bran is near Craster's keep. Could the show completely deviate from the books and allow these two brothers to reunite? I doubt it. Bran is on a mission. I believe the (new character) will be introduced this coming episode. Even though it looks like the Night's watch men will come to clash iron. It is ironic though that Jon will attempt to go beyond the wall and make it back (120 miles) before Mance's army reaches Castle Black. The Wildlings south of the wall are slow, but it does make sense in the television world, it will just feel dragged out to the audience is all.

While we're on the subject of distance and location. It took Bolton's man, Locke two episode to reach Jon Snow at Castle Black. I love this change from the book. Locke infiltrates the Night's and  watch gets close to Jon Snow rather quickly. If Sam had not been with Jon Snow, perhaps Locke would have made his move then. Also, he was definitely eavesdropping, so when Sam mentioned Bran, you know Locke heard it. Two birds with one stone. Kill both Jon and Bran and all that's left is Rickon. Instead, he volunteers to go beyond the wall. The new recruit is a veteran killer. He will be needed. Oh what a wild card this is. The good guys and two sets of bad guys set to brawl.

Now, we did have sort of a direwolf reunion. Bran warged into Summer's body and came very close to rescuing Ghost. Ghost trapped in a cage though...did not like that. Why would the mutineers keep Ghost alive. That's a huge mouth to feed. I guess we will find out why next episode.

The renegade knights at Craster's are the ultimate Oath-breakers. They revel in their hellacious surroundings of inequality. Their agenda is filled with rape, rape and more rape...eat, drink wine out of skulls and rape again. Karl Tanner is the ring leader. Burn Gorman gives a spectacular performance, easily the best in the episode. He is vicious, cruel and most of all quite human. He reigns like a dark, deranged Hamlet-Yes I went there- drinking wine out of the skull of former commander Mormont. He is inexorable. He beats women, makes fun of his fellow mutineer and threatens him with violence, oh and killing Craster's last baby boy isn't a big deal to him. Now, in the books his character is named Dirk. Karl exists as well, but is not the one who kills Mormont. In fact, Karl almost used his dirk three times this episode, Meera, the baby and Rast. How eerie was it, when the woman presented the baby and the wives and daughters began to chant, "A gift for the gods."

The baby. After Rast left it for the Others- I mean White Walkers, the sound of the crows left me with a feeling of joy, because I anticipated the arrival of (the new character). It was a big let down, however the next sequence was grand, it more than made up for it. I'm surprised it was placed there, because of the spoiler depiction, someone at HBO will probably be fired for spoiling the episode synopsis. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just google it. The sixth novel has not been released yet, so there is no way of knowing if this is a spoiler. The Night's King is mentioned in the book by Ygritte to Jon, and also mentioned by Bran when he recalls one of Old Nan's scariest stories during the time inside the Nightfort For more information click here. The Night King Bio.

When the baby was being carried away by the White Walker, I had to laugh, because well their cold as ice, but their touch is inexplicably warm? Still, it was fun to watch. The divinely creepy location where the 13 (count again if you disagree) White Walker (council?) convened delivered. I loved the ending of this episode because it achieved its purpose of wetting our appetites and leaving us wanting for more. We learned something new but are still uncertain of many things. That is the obvious brilliance of the show. It has more freedom than the books. It can peal of the layers of the unnecessary story lines and provide the audience with only the best bits.

How do ya like that cold blue mug? Sort of like a White Walker Darth Maul fusion.


 A few tidbits

- Tyrion commented on Sansa's potential involvement in the murder of Joffrey, "She's not a killer, not yet anyway." Well, I was glad to hear that one.

- Olenna Tyrell's quote on her younger days in regards to getting what she wanted. Seduction. "I was good. I was very good."
Also, who else laughed when she said, "Marrying a Targaryen was all the rage back then."

- Janos Slynt has a certain low cunning. His observation of Ser Allister Thorne's unpopularity is what sets the stage for Jon Snow's "impassioned speech" to go beyond the Wall. There will be a choosing soon, cannot wait to see it.

- The last two lines from Littlefinger were..."Growing Strong." The scene cuts to, who else? The Tyrells.

- Margeary's necklace. Your grandmother has got your back!

- The kid who lost his parents last episode to the hungry cannibalistic Styr, boasts of his archery skills. Good. He will be surely needed come episode 9 of this season. Until then, shut up and watch.

- Bronn called Joffrey a twat!

- Tommen and Ser Pounce. Apparently Joffrey threatened to kill the cat and place its innards in Tommen's food so he would not know he was eating it. How cruel, oh well, forget him! He's dead and you get his widow!

- Littlefinger's speech mirrors the entire arc of Game of Thrones. Mainly the slaves in this episode.

- Poor Hodor...

- Bran's storyline was the worst part of this episode. Why get that close to the camp? Why interfere because of a baby crying. Why didn't Meera accompany Summer? Will Bran try to Warg into Karl? Will Jojen's vision be revealed next episode? Will Bran warg into Hodor to plan an escape.

*Final thoughts

We have yet to see any small council meetings this season. This Sunday marks the half-way point.
We're about due for some serious talking sessions in King's Landing and Meereen.

Another strong episode. 8.8
The deviations keep coming, but c'mon it is an adaptation remember?!

Here's the trailer for next week GOT: Episode 5 "First of His Name" Trailer