Game of Thrones-S4E7 "Mockingbird" By Greg Hernandez

Last week's episode titled, "Mockingbird," is in reference to Littlefinger. If you recall his conversation with Cersei in the first season - you know the one where she almost had his throat cut by her guards - showed us that he created his own Sigil, the mockingbird. Now here we are three seasons later and the mockingbird has eliminated two pieces from the Game, first King Joffrey and now Lady Lysa. Littlefinger is an effective player in the Game of Thrones.

Now, this episode displayed a plethora of tender moments throughout, only turning brutal in the final scene. Let's dive in.

Snowfall in the Eyrie brought a smile to Sansa Stark's face. We haven't seen that in quite some time. It was good to hear the Stark theme play. I believe it was the first time we've heard it since the opening of this season. Sansa gets to recreating Winterfell in the snow. It's a therapeutic exercise, one filled with memory and loss. She's trying to remember what her home looked like. Winterfell is now a burned ruin.

 When little Robin Arryn  arrives, he asks Sansa what she is doing. He's never left the Vale. He doesn't understand true heart ache yet. He's the quintessential mama's boy. He's weak and sickly - his condition is expanded upon in the books, (prone to fits, weak eyes which makes him unable to read so someone must read to him, he always must win in games, older boys play to rough with him and before Littlefinger arrived in the Vale, many of the knights wished to woo Lysa and make Robin their ward). In the show the actor who portrays Robin does a great job. Robin's fondness of making people fly through the Moon Door earns him a slap from Sansa when he stomps all over her snow-made Winterfell in a fit  of fury. Littlefinger quips that the boy's mother should have done that years ago.

Creepy Petyr Baelish or clever Littlefinger? Or perhaps both? It seems that this moment between Sansa and Littlefinger was tender. It was genuine. Still, the whole you could have been my daughter, but you're not; you look like your mother, the woman I was enamored with, I killed off the guy who had your dad killed, so all of this makes me want to give you a full on 5 second kiss.
More than anything, it is complicated.
Check out George R.R. Martin's explanation here - "A Piece in the Game."

Lysa sees Petyr kissing Sansa. She has suspected that his feelings for her were not merely paternal. She sees Sansa as a younger version of her older sister, Cat. This sets up a devastating scene between these two. Lysa accuses Sansa of loving Petyr, once again Kate Dickie, you were so believably heart broken and vengeful. Her hair grabbing rant was beautiful. Her father, husband and sister could not stand in the way between her and Petyr. Only Petyr could do that. Only he could save Sansa. Although when he said, "Let her go Lysa," I laughed and thought of the Joker from "TDK." His words prevented Lysa from hurling Sansa out of the Vale. His final words to her were calculated. "Oh my sweet wife, my sweet silly wife. I have only loved one woman. Only one my entire life...Your sister," Shove* The line change from "Only Cat" to "Your sister" did not bother me. It worked for the show.

Over the course of a few days, Tyrion has three visitors. The first being his dear brother Jaime. This scene was so good. The two brothers united once again against their father. Jaime vehemently declares, that his brother is being ungrateful for spoiling his deal with his father and throwing his life away. It seems Tyrion is not the realist that Jaime thought he was. He enjoyed taking his father's heir away from him. It felt good he says. Jaime scoffs at the small victory for Tyrion, stating that it would be a speech they will talking about for days, up until the combat of course. Due to the loss of his hand, Jaime cannot champion for Tyrion. Did everyone notice how Jaime's eyes froze and flashed with anger when Tyrion mentioned Cersei. He still loves her... "The golden son who can do no wrong, kill a king, lose your hand, fuck your sister..." "Careful, I'm the last friend you've got." Also, if you missed it. Go back and re-watch Jaime's reaction to Tyrion mentioning the first whore he loved. *Foreshadow*

Bronn doing a courtesy and calling Tyrion my lord was hilarious. His outfit was a fine spectacle to behold, remember in season 2 he did not want to wear the clothes of the commander of the city watch. Now he walks in and shows off his cape and quips, that his "gloves are softer than a virgin's thighs." Now his bachelor days are over. He is a knight who is set to marry Lollys. His wolfish smile appears when Tyrion mentions the line of succession. This scene was well done, not as abrupt as it was in the books. Bronn and Tyrion acknowledge their friendship and understand that their time together has ended. Bronn is the "evil bastard with no conscious" - unless he has to fight the Mountain- who wants to keep climbing the societal ladder and Tyrion can no longer help him to do that.

Enter The Red Viper. Someone would have to be bloody-mad to challenge the Mountain in single combat. Luckily for Tyrion, one such man exists and he is conveniently located in Kings Landing. Oberyn Martell's two decade grudge with the Lannisters is about to pop. Tyrion declaring trial by combat was the perfect opportunity for Oberyn to begin exacting his revenge. He wants to fight the Mountain in public, where he can make him confess his atrocities and kill him. His story of how he first met Tyrion was straight from the books. It also makes Cersei look more madder than ever. Pinching her baby brother's cock so hard she almost yanked it off, of course Jaime saved Tyrion there.

Peter Dinklage and Pedro Pascal were wonderful in this scene. The Red Viper is one of my favorite characters on a show filled with so many great characters. If you look closely, you can see Oberyn start to tear up a bit when he discusses his sister. "I will be your champion," The Red Viper says. I look forward to his duel next episode. A relieved Tyrion swallows his doom and gives Oberyn a look that screams thank you.

No more nudity for Daenerys. Instead we get a little bit of Daario. Dany allows him to do what he does best, "War and women." First the woman. For Daario, only desires one - his queen. This scene nicely mirrored their last encounter in Dany's private quarters. Afterward, we got the nice awkward moment between Daario and Jorah. "She's in a good mood," says Daario. How does it feel Jorah? To have this new upstart come in earn the queen's trust and honey. You earned the first one, but the second still eludes you. Remember, Visery called out Jorah for looking at his sister back in Season 1. Everybody has needs...at least Dany is learning more and more each episode how to become a ruler. She accepts Jorah's council. (It is true, if Jorah had not fled Bear Island for the Free Cities, Ned would have beheaded him for selling men into slavery. It's why Jeor Mormont gave Jon Snow "Longclaw" back in the first season). So, repaying brutality with brutality will solve nothing. Dany sends him to accompany Daario, not before telling him to tell Daario that he was in fact responsible for changing her mind. Her power-play is a distinct message for both men, play nice, I am the one in charge. Also, Hizdahr Zo Loraq will be sent as an ambassador. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

Melisandre made a joke! HA-HA-HA!!! Not a very good one...although it has truth to it. The next few episodes will elaborate. It's ok if you had to re-watch this scene. The camera did linger on her breasts. Not that many people would complain. It just gives us more of an incentive to re-watch the episode. Now, the Queen admits that "Humor isn't my strength." Looks and good parenting skills aren't either. Religious fervor is. Still, she is a woman, jealous of the red priestess' body and hold over Stannis. Melisandre drops a major bomb about being full of shit. She perpetrates almost nothing but lies. All of her viles are phony except one. I wonder what's in it? Any guesses? An even bigger bomb was Melisandre's mention of Shireen. Last season Gendry escaped her clutches, now she wants Stannis' daughter. There is power in the King's blood remember? This is deviation from the books. I am very curious as to where the show is going with this. This new direction could spell trouble for Shireen.


After Arya and The Hound, Brienne and Pod are the best traveling pair on the show. Loved how Brienne had to stop Pod from drinking wine so fast. Being Tyrion's squire will do that to a person. We saw the return of Hotpie which was nice, although he was only used for information to steady the duo's course. His loquaciousness was funny to watch and his making another direwolf treat for Arya was touching. I laughed when he said, "Winterhell," because he's right, it's burned to the ground now haha. Briennes' "Umm, you were saying," was good too. So now the duo, (thanks to Pod) have a good mind as to where Sansa is and where The Hound is taking Arya.

Arya gives her dark speech, "Nothing is nothing." The Hound is wounded. He's bitten by bitter. Nasty wound on the neck. Rorge spills that Joffrey is dead. R.I.P. "Fuck The King." I expected a bigger reaction from these two, but it was still ok. Arya adds Rorge to her list and promptly kills him. She's learning.

Later, The Hound breaks down and tells Arya his childhood story of how his older brother pushed his face and held it into the fire. Ever since then he's afraid of fire. Arya is becoming cold-blooded, but she still has a soft spot in heart for those who are alone like her. The Hound is ironically licking his wounds rhetorically and physically. Arya helps him treat it. Although the fire would help most to stop it from festering, The Hound's fear of fire could be his downfall.

Best quotes not mentioned above are:

- "Men never crave what they already have." Melisandre.

- "You can't forget about the gravy." Hotpie.

- "Let me worry about Aunt Lysa." Littlefinger This was a steal from The Godfather. "Let me worry about Luca." Sollozzo.

- "You ruined it. You're being stupid." Sansa.

- "I wouldn't say I have a single sort of girl."

- "If I wanted wits, I'd marry you."

- "Ladies fall from their horses and snap their pretty necks all the time." All by Bronn

- "If I want you here, I will summon you." Daenerys. That means more sexy time.

I give this episode a 9.6. Very well done. Only the Jon Snow storyline still irks me. It's the one storyline that I wish could be better adapted from the books. There is still 3 episodes left to salvage it.

Now, what I mean is this. The variances this season have been awesome. Jon Snow nearly coming face-to-face with Bran and fighting Karl "I was a fucking legend" Tanner. Also, Locke infiltrating the Night's Watch. However, the constant back and forth between Thorne and Snow has become redundant and borderline predictable even for non-book readers. Also, this bad material is negatively affecting Kit Harrington's acting. He will either pout, slam something down on the table or stare menacingly at Thorne before walking away. His speech to rally brothers to destroy the mutineers at Craster's was morbid. Perhaps that was the point. It seems to me the show runners are hell bent on unleashing Jon Snow in the final three episodes. Makes sense for a television show, I guess I just prefer the book ha.

Check this final video out. I had a good laugh especially when Kit came up. Enjoy. Celebrities Read Mean Tweets#7