Riveting, but that can easily be said for each episode this season. The first episode of the back half of this season started off with a bang. One can only hope that the subsequent episodes surpass each other.
Finally, we made it to Tyrion's trial! Unlike Jon and Bran last episode, Yara and Theon were reunited, albeit quite briefly. Stannis the mannis returned! Davos helped Stannis face down the cold, calculating Iron Bank.
First off, how many times were the bloody titles said in this episode - I counted four. Davos, Tycho Nestoris, Missandei and Tommen all said those long winded titles.
Alright, let's dive in.
Stannis and Davos are easily the purest pair behind Tyrion and Jaime in this episode. Since we lost Ned and Robert in season 1- Stannis and Davos have been the power duo- King and Hand. Almost brotherly like. Devotion at its finest.
The opening sequence gave us our first look at Braavos. Braavos, like many of the other wonderful shots in GOT history was majestic and grand. I wish the shot of the Titan of Braavos lingered longer. It was a beautiful sight.
The first shot of Stannis pacing was a tone setter. The duo had been waiting since mid-day. A poor lord/wannabe king with some 4,000 soldiers and 32 ships is a nobody to these Braavossi folk. Notice how Melisandre did not join the pair on their voyage. Magic does not compare to money, which in the fantasy world is brilliant and hilariously accurate. Gold/money is the true authority in the world. Braavos is the greatest banking center of the world. Everyone lives in its' shadow, remember? In past seasons we have had religion be the major driving force of the show, but now accounting has arrived...yikes!
Liam Cunningham who plays Davos, did a remarkable job this episode. His display of his shortened hand - Stannis' justice- is a testament to the "honest accounting" of the rightful King of Westeros. His gesture was the proof necessary to sway the opinion of Tycho Nestoris. Also, age is an important factor. Tywin is 67 years old. When he dies, House Lannister loses its' reputation of House to be respected and reckoned with. Side note- Tywin waited until he was 27 years old to wed and begin a family, that is quite late for GOT.
Salladhor Saan, the Lyseni pirate was a welcomed sight. This character is primarily utilized for comedic relief, however he is a key component for Stannis. He has ships and men who, with the right coin will fight for you. The story the pirate told was funny and predictable, yet still a joy to watch. Davos and Salladhor are always a good pair. This time though, Mr. Cunningham stepped it up. His acting in that scene was brilliant.
Yara Grejoy's attempted rescue was enjoyable. This variance made complete sense. This is a television show, important characters must be doing something. In the books Theon is not seen for quite some time because of the torture, so his sister assumes him to be dead after the sack of Winterfell. With this change, it will keep the audience invested in her storyline. Plus, their is still one king left- (Robb Stark, Joffrey Baratheon are dead, which leaves Balon Greyjoy.) Yara's storyline is beginning to pick up nicely.
The infiltration was well done, first time I saw it, it felt cliche to me, like some common action flick, however, Yara did say she was bringing the 50 best killers with her. Stealth warriors in the night. Small number of cut throats moving in silent precision makes sense on the small screen. The shots with Ramsay and Myranda enjoying themselves in the bedroom helps too. The fight scene with Ramsay being shirtless, bad ass as it looked did not do it for me. How the opposing sides were able to switch sides seemed too convenient, but at the same time, this is television.
Alfie Allen did a fantastic job in this episode as Reek. His compulsive breakdown and refusal to be let free was perfect. Go back and watch his acting in this episode. Two scenes are enough to appreciate his work. Alfie Allen was completely believable as a character who is broken. When Yara made it out of the castle with her survivors, she pronounced Theon dead. He is dead. Reek is all that's left.
Aw, Reek loves Ramsay. The bath scene was delightful. It will set up another bloody scene, that I cannot wait to see. Ramsay is not just a mad dog, there IS a method to his madness. He is a cunning and ruthless psychopath, who knows how to settle scores. Remember, he still must deliver the Moat Cailin for the family.
Now we move on to Daenerys. Once again, her scenes are falling quite short to me. Besides taking Meereen and nailing the masters to posts, Dany is pretty much sitting on her behind, which of course makes sense. Everyone wants to sit on the Iron Throne. Great, what will you do once you sit on it? King Robert hated siting on there, in fact he remarked that Ned would hate even more than he did. "I thought being King meant I could do whatever I wanted," is what the late fat funny king once said. Ruling and governing can be quite boring. Winning the war is fun, sitting the throne, not so much. This is practice for Dany. 212 supplicants is plenty of boring practice.
For those of you getting bored with Dany's storyline, have no fear, things will begin to heat up very soon. The pace will accelerate thanks to the early introduction of Hizdahr Zo Loraq. Who else enjoyed seeing Dany's surprise, when he mentioned that it was his father that she had nailed to a post? Also, as someone who has read the books, it made no sense when Dany showed annoyance at the news of his arrival. It made it sound as if she had been in contact with him several times before, yet she only learns of his father's death now? There was no allusion to any past encounters besides Dany's reaction to hearing his name. Shouldn't she be annoyed at the sight of him not sound of his name? New information such as that does not warrant a reaction like that. Please go back and review that scene if you disagree.
From one pleasing variance to a displeasing one. The dragon. In the books he kills the Sheppard's son, not goat. This has huge ramifications for the dragons' freedom. I'm curious as where the series will go from here.
Finally, a small council meeting. Oberyn Martell complaning about the early meeting because of being up late last night...doing how many people? Anyone notice how his interest was sparked when Sandor Clegane was mentioned, guess the mention of any Clegane will get this Prince's blood boiling. Also, "Fuck the King," was uttered was a great touch. The Hound makes you laugh even when he is not present. Now there is a bounty on his head, nobody knows that Arya is with him. Mace Tyrell is more of an oaf on the show than in the books, "Fetch me my quill and paper."
Tywin rhetorically smacked down Cersei for the umpteenth time. Cersei would be a terrible ruler, because she blindly underestimates her opponents. A girl in the far east with two seasoned warriors advising her, an army 8,000 unsullied warriors and 2,000 sellswords and 3 growing dragons at her disposal is not a threat to be taken lightly. Cersei's insultingly stupid dismissal of Ser Barristan Selmy could come back to haunt the crown.. Tywin lets her know that in front of everyone. I wonder, why is Jaime not on the small council? He's the Lord Commander after all, even Ser Barristan sat on King Robert's council. Perhaps the rift with his father is the reason behind it. Also, I'm happy Jorah Mormont was mentioned. Will Dany ever find out that he was once a spy?
The scene between Oberyn and Varys was a good addition. Varys is from Essos- the continent where the free cities lie. Oberyn can detect his lost accent. It also gives us more Varys time, which is always a plus. Oberyn's comment on the necessity for travel was very true. People do live and die on their block and never get to see the world, The Red Viper is not like most people.
The best part of the season so far was Tyrion's trial. On a show with hundreds of characters, Tyrion is by far the most entertaining and compelling one; with his latest wowing performance, Peter Dinklage separated himself from his co-stars . He more than delivered in this episode, he showcased his acting prowess in such a way that every fan who saw that trial went through the same range of emotions; all fans the same thing- just give him the Emmy now. Every line he says is great. The very first time we see Tyrion in his cell, you automatically feel the change in energy, this is not a Dany scene, this is a Tyrion scene damn it! Once Jaime arrives to escort Tyrion, the first words out of his brother's mouth are "I've been pardoned." So good.
The intense drama of this trial was palpable. Each witness, under Cersei's guide of course; provided damaging testimony against Tyrion. Please note that mostly everything they said was true, however it was thrown in the wrong context. Tyrion verbally attacked Ser Meryn for that. He asked Varys that question just to make him feel bad. Varys did warn him that this would happen. Unlike Tyrion, he has no brother to avenge his death. Varys must remain useful to the crown, which means putting aside his partnership with Tyrion.
Much credit must be given to the director of this episode Alik Sakharov did a phenomenal job of getting the different viewpoints of the Lannister clan. The perspective shots displayed some awesome family reactions. This sequence was so important to get down and his direction proved to be successful. It is one thing to read this scene, but to watch it was breath taking. You felt the ever changing emotion in the throne room.
Jaime the character we've all come to love aside from that changed rape scene back in episode three, was well aware of his brother's dire peril. Once the court was adjourned he briskly walked out to meet his father. Jaime's offer to abandon the King's guard to serve as the lord on the rock for Tyrion's freedom is swiftly accepted by his father. Much to Jaime's shock, he sees, just like we all do that once again Tywin never fails to take advantage of a crisis. He was more than ready for this moment. He probably anticipated it right when Tyrion was arrested.
Now, with Tyrion's misfortune because of his sister's accusation, Jaime will end up doing what Tywin wants. Jaime as Lord of Casterly Rock, will sire a few children to help keep the Lannister name alive, while Tyrion will go off to the Wall were he will no longer be a pest. Tyrion's face as Jaime asks him to trust him was perfect. Yes, you're my brother and the only relative who cares about me, you know I trust you.
Of course this does not all go as planned. Shae enters the courtroom. In the third novel, Tyrion has a quote, "My big mouth will be the death of me, I swear it." He is essentially right. Cersei saved the best witness for last - Shae. Notice how many times she glanced at Cersei during her testimony. Tyrion was meant to confess or die while Shae was meant to do the opposite, testify or die. Shae's testimony gives birth to a glorious breakdown of Tyrion. His speech was epic. It was theatre on television. The kind of spectacle that you can truly admire and treasure by watching over and over again. It was real. Tyrion told everyone off. He may die for it, but it was a great sight to behold. He told off the crowd, Shae, his sister and he even threw his father's plans right back in his face. Remember Tywin's smug and satisfied face in episode one of this season. That image is a long lost memory for him now.
Best moments:
-Obviously Tyrion telling everyone off at the end- "I did not kill Joffrey but I wish that I had. Watching your vicious bastard die gave me more relief then a thousand lying whores. I wish I was the monster you think I am. I wish I had enough poison for the whole pack of you. I would gladly give my life to watch you all swallow it. I will not give my life for Joffrey's murder. And I know I'll get no justice here, so I'll let the gods decide my fate. I demand a trial by combat!"
- Oberyn's joke to Shae, "Did you fuck him like it was his last night in this world?"
- Tyrion- "Well we mustn't disappoint father."
-Tywin's face when the trial resumed. Tyrion looked up at him in surprise. Oh, that was the face of imminent victory.
- Tyrion's "Shae, please don't."
-Salladhor Saan- "You're not my friend, my friend."
- Davos' double take, "Only half-rotted."
- Oberyn trolling Varys, just like Littlefinger used to, which leads Varys to admit he never desired men nor women, because he has seen what desire has done to this country and the lack of it frees him to pursue other interests, (Knowing glance at the Iron Throne).
-Yara slicing the guy's throat after he showed her where her brother was.
I give this episode a 9.6.
The remaining four episodes will most likely prove to be as epic as this one.
Next episode we're back at the Vale with Sansa, Littlefinger and jealous aunt Lysa, I cannot wait. Remember, the Mockingbird is Littlefinger's sigil.
Here is the trailer. Game of Thrones 4E7 "Mockingbird"
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