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scifi_rewatchThe theme of this week’s episode, boys and girls, is THE JOURNEY. :P It’s named for the Kingsroad, but in fact various characters in the series travel various roads…to King’s Landing, to the Night’s Watch, to Vaes Dothrak. All while learning life’s lessons about loss and hardship.
Meanwhile, at Winterfell, the remaining Starks see new complications arise from Bran’s “accident.” And two of my favorite characters undergo events that make them both despised by some members of the fandom; even by book readers, who have seen them grow and change since then. I find it unfortunate, because the books and even the tv show aren’t known for drawing main characters who are evil simpletons. One of the strengths of this series for me is that I can identify with almost everyone if I suspend my judgment. I find it more fascinating as a storyteller and reader/viewer to try and understand where people are coming from, even when I don’t always agree with them.
Note: this altruistic pronouncement does not extend to dickhead princes. I mean—let’s get under the cut, shall we? :-“
I’ll start with Dany’s storyline since she’s the least connected to everyone else.
On the road to Vaes Dothrak
The Dothraki are heading back to their homeland to show off Drogo’s new bride. Can I say how much I love the Dothraki sequences of setting up camp, the women cooking, the children playing, the men…well, probably preparing for doggy style? :P I know it’s not an in depth look at the culture, but I think it hints at the vastness a bit, and the camaraderie and family life beyond pillaging, which is always a good thing.
Dany, still dressed in silks, look exhausted, which is a great hat tip to the book. We get nice hints about different backstory events—Jorah gives Dany horsemeat cos that’s what Dothraki eat. Dany’s hand maidens help her off her horse cos she can barely walk after days (and nights) of riding. :/ Jorah suggests to Viserys that he return to Pentos and V refuses until he gets his army. If you think that sounds as stupid an idea as I do, then I’ll spoil you just slightly…we’re right. :P Also, we get Jorah and Ned’s backstory—about how Ned wants his head for illegally selling poachers on his land into slavery. (Ned, as I mentioned last eppy, is his liege lord.) Viserys showcases some of his political leanings by claiming to Jorah that selling people into slavery wouldn’t incur such a fine under his administration. Viserys is a lovely person, isn’t he? :P
There’s no denying that the sex between Drogo and Dany right now is pretty brutal and one-sided, true to the books. I like how they added the scene of our girl looking to her dragon eggs for strength; hint hint and nice metaphor. Later, she talks with her handmaidens about if dragons still exist in the east (they say no,) and the convo turns to sex with one of them, Doreah, who was sold to a brothel at a very young age. Dany seems a little shocked by this news, but hey, FYI, women being paid to service men is pretty common in this world thus far. Sex is one of the few ways that women have to access power, and Doreah starts to teach Dany how to take control of her sex life. Hey, maybe it’s not as awe-inspiring as Arya playing with swords or her mother in an upcoming scene, but Dany’s working with what she’s got! Later, she puts the plan into action with her husband (she speaks one line in Dothraki as well/kudos for character development), and I can finally say that Drogo/Dany sex isn’t nonconsentual. Yaaay.
And now to Winterfell!
Winterfell: Pre-separation
Meanwhile, back at Fortress Stark, Tyrion is lying with a different sort group of bitches, to steal Joffrey’s line. :P The Tyrion/Joffrey scene (Uncle No-Nonsense lecturing Nephew Psycho-Brat to pay pretend respects to Ned and Catelyn for thier son’s injuries, followed by a “tough love” chastisement) was awesome and oh-so-true to the books. If only Tyrion were around later in the episode on the Kingsroad. :-/
The Lannisters at breakfast…so much to love. Cersei isn’t seething with hatred or coldness, a la Catelyn with Jon, when Tyrion is around, but you can tell by their attempts to outsnark each other that it’s there. :P This chapter was narrated by Tyrion in the book, and it was as inconclusive about Tyrion’s knowledge of Bran’s fall in both places. They kept the worried glance between the twins when Tyrion said Bran would probably pull through, and their dwarf bro catching it. There’s a wonderful shot of Myrcella and Cersei side by side…Myrcella looking pleased by her uncle’s prediction and Cersei looking wary. Then, later, the brothers hash their philosophies on life…Jaime would rather die quickly than live as a “grotesque” cripple, and Tyrion counters that as a “grotesque” person, he’d rather have life than the finality of death. And people say this show isn’t deep. :P (OK, of course, we get that Jaime’s biggest concern is whether Bran will wake and tell someone that he’s getting it on with his sister queen. Head skewering might happen!)
An interesting added scene was Cersei going into Bran’s room to confront Cat. She tells the grieving mother that she lost her first boy—a baby who looked like Robert. If this is true, it is a big departure from the books; there’s no indication there that Joffrey isn’t her first child. Cersei critics look at this scene as the queen deliberately misleading Cat, since we all know that she was at least tangentially involved in Bran’s fall. So why should she feel anything for his mother? A behind the scenes chat with the series creators/writers, however, indicates to me that Cersei meant to be genuine here. They wanted to tease out the complications in her character…though, as a book reader, I’m not sure these complications were there in the original. It is a nice twist for Lena Headey’s portrayal, however.
In another added scene, Jaime showcases that he likes being a cocky, skeptical prick by mentioning, off hand, that seeing people die is kind of like dissecting a frog in high school for him (oo look, blood and organs and death,) and then mocking Jon for going to the wall for a life of celibacy and a fight with imaginary creatures. It’s pretty obvious that Jaime likes watching people squirm with discomfort. On the other hand, it’s telling to note that much of what he mocks Jon for—lifelong oaths of brotherhood to an elite order of knights, lifelong celibacy—are things he swore when he joined the Kingsguard as well. Says a bit about his character, heh.
Jon and Arya’s goodbye is ridiculously cute—first when the girl tries to get her direwolf, Nymeria, to follow commands (wolf’s stubborn like her owner,) and ending with the young man presenting his sister with a sword. A very taboo item for a girl to own in Westeros, but Arya is obviously thrilled—and perhaps a little careless with it at times. Jon’s advice that becomes a fandom mantra: “stick him with the pointy end.” They share a tender hug and Arya thinks of a name for her new treasure. “Sansa can keep her sewing needles…I’ve got a Needle of my own.” Creative child.
Ned’s bastard doesn’t fare so well when he tries to say goodbye to Bran, since Catelyn has refused to leave the room while her son lies in a coma. Though one might say that Cat fares much worse with the fandom. Never thrilled to have her husband’s bastard around, she glares at him tearfully as he tells Bran about going north with Uncle Benjen and taking the black (aka joining the brotherhood). When you’re better you can come and visit and I’ll show you around, he promises before giving the boy a kiss on the forehead. Such a sweetheart…too bad Cat won’t let herself see it. Mr. Martin has stated that although fans often accuse Cat of abusing Jon, she was usually at most cold and distant. The one time we see her break that and say something truly horrible is, exhausted and grief-stricken, she tells Jon “it should have been you.” (Later, she comes to regret it.) I think the show writers made a deliberate choice to amend this line to “I want you to leave,” but as far as I can tell it didn’t stop the Cat hate. Alas.
So Jon leaves and Ned enters. Cat reminds him that seventeen years ago he rode to war with Robert. “You came back a year later with another woman’s son. And now you’re leaving again.” I’m assuming she’s not really worried about Ned returning with another bastard (which, by the way, is incredibly unusual in Westeros. Noble men either foster their bastards elsewhere or ignore them completely.) Her real grief is over losing half her family (Ned, her daughters,) while Bran lies in such a fragile, unknown state. It’s a hard thing to suck up, and man do I feel for her.
Jon’s final goodbye is with Robb, the brother with whom he’s closest in age. I love how the Stark heir is trying to brush off the hard stuff. “He’s not going to die,” he says of Bran. “The next time I see you, you’ll be all in black.” Jon is very accommodating and tells him that Catelyn was “kind” to him. They share a terse hug, but then Robb walks off quickly. Poor guy and well played by Richard Madden. Always sucks to lose the people you’re closest to. :-/
A final goodbye scene…Ned/Jon. Ok, who else thinks it’s a pretty damn obvious foreshadowing event when one character says to another, “the next time we’ll see each other, I’ll tell you about this ultra important-secret event in your life”? Many separations in this book are pretty final, at least for the duration of this season, if not longer. Ned and Jon don’t hug, but the actors pull off the love so seamlessly. Then father and son ride off in different directions in a wonderfully shot scene. And that is the end of all the Starks living at Winterfell. :( Excuse me for a second while I mourn.
On the road to the Night’s Watch
Tyrion has joined Benjen and Jon on their journey to the Wall—not to join, of course; “and go celibate? The whores would go begging from Dorne to Casterly Rock!” But out of healthy interest in seeing this imposing, magical structure. Not that the Imp actually holds much stock by magic. As Benjen leads new, tied-up “recruits” to their camp, Tyrion recognizes them as rapers. “They were given a choice, no doubt. Castration or the Wall. Most choose the knife.” Jon’s a little put out by this; serving at the Wall, after all, is a noble calling. As Ned told him, the Starks have manned it for thousands of years. But the rest of Westeros basically sees it as a repository for undesirables. Since the White Walkers haven’t been seen in thousands of years the Wall’s significance has gone down big time. “You’re a smart boy. You don’t believe that nonsense,” Tyrion chastises about Jon’s desire to protect the realm from grumpkins and snarks “and all the monsters your wet nurse warned you about.” I gotta say…it’s kind of nice to realize that the Half-Man, who is by and large one of the most intelligent people around, actually being wrong about something. :P
So Jon turns the conversation back to him. “Why do you read so much?” Tyrion links it to family honor. He’s got to do something for the glory of his house, and what assets does he have? “My brother has his sword and I have my mind. And a mind needs books like a sword needs a wetstone.”
Perhaps still smarting over Jaime mocking him, Jon points out that the Imp’s brother used his sword to kill the last king, the guy he was sworn to protect. Tyrion smiles tightly and says yes, that’s true. He paved the way for Robert, Cersei and “my repulsive nephew.” Meanwhile Jon is “a bastard boy with nothing to inherit, off to join the great order of the Night’s Watch.” Hey, put like that, Tyrion, and it sounds as good an option as any. I wonder what the Watch will hold for Jon. :P At least I can say that both he and the Imp look dumbstruck at their first view of the imposing structure. That’s some nice CGI work right there, hee.
Winterfell: Post-separation
Cat continues to watch over Bran day and night, forsaking her lady of the manor duties and basically making stiff-necked Robb take all the flack. Robb lectures his mother on leaving the room and attending to Rickon who’s six, confused and following big brother around…I gotta say, I’m just so glad these character details made the cut. :D The direwolves start howling because of a fire and Robb leaves to investigate. Cut to wonderfully shot scene of an assassin appearing behind Catelyn. The assassin moves to cut Bran, and Catelyn steps into mother lioness mode and it is awesome. She doesn’t have a sword, or much skill with physically outmaneuvering a man (Bran’s direwolf ultimately tears the dude’s throat out,) but her passion to lay down her life for her son was so great that…I just can’t imagine people not having respect for her. Or not saying that this story has strong female characters, dammit! I especially like that they kept in the detail about Cat’s fingers getting bloodied up, a la the books. Doesn’t mean much, except that her fingers will be stiff forevermore, but. :P Direwolf Summer is now Bran’s constant companion, and sweet and dog-like now that the bad guy has a gruesome, bloody hole in his neck (seriously, how did the makeup crew do that?? Was pretty impressive artistically. :P)
Winterfell goes CSI as Cat examines the room where Bran fell from and discovers one of Cersei’s hairs on the ground. I guess the show writers thought she needed more to go by before she blamed the Lannisters. You can tell that her ire towards them has grown. Freaky to get a letter from her sister about Jon Arryn’s death, but to try and murder her son?? Lioness mode! She decides to go by stealth to King’s Landing to tell Ned, but at least she’ll let one of her retainers, Rodrick, come with her. Robb is put out by her decision and says she should stay with Bran (pfft, boy, you can’t have it both ways with what you want from the woman!) but you gotta feel for the young, stiff, heir, suddenly in charge of all of Winterfell with both his parents away. Kid has to grow up fast. :-/
The scene where Cat hangs the wreath she’s been making (added note: it’s of the seven gods in her religion) over Bran’s bed, then parts his hair (I always notice how messy it is now) and kisses his forehead, is so touching and it makes me wibbly. That’s all I’ll say about that.
On the road to King’s Landing
Brief scene of King Robert and Ned reminiscing about frat boy stuff, fond memories of girls they were with during their last war, then Robert ruins the mood by bringing up Jon’s mother and the way Ned dishonored Catelyn. He tells Ned he should go easier on himself, and Ned changes the subject. Great character interaction here; tells us a lot about these two men as individuals. Important to plot comes next…Robert’s received news of Dany’s marriage to Drogo. He’s visibly upset, and yes, furious. He suggests they murder her ASAP and Ned’s appalled by sending assassins to kill someone whom he considers to be a child, and no threat. (Dothraki no like crossing narrow sea.) This argument will repeat throughout the season, and it will have heavy consequences. :-/ I also like how they got the backstory in about how some people call Robert the Usurper. Not as many as Viserys wants to believe, but. :P
The bigger storyline this episode revolves around the kiddies. Sansa is walking her direwolf, Lady, around the camp, and she runs into two scary Lannister retainers, the royal executioner and Joffrey’s personal, scarred body guard, The Hound. These characters, and their relationships to Sansa, will play a bigger part as the story progresses. She’s frightened by their harsh demeanor, but she’s a lady and she has to disguise it. Her meek-mannered ways please her sociopathic betrothed, Joffrey, who touches her face, calls her “his princess” and invites her on a walk with him. Quietly thrilled by the attention, she accepts.
Joffrey continues to exert power over shy Sansa by allowing her to have more wine than her father would. :P In the book, this is around a dinner table, but out in the woods, he kinda looks like a frat boy trying to slip her a rufie. :/ Then they come upon Arya and the butcher’s boy Mycah, playing swords with sticks, and everything goes down. Children play a big part in this story—it’s bloody and has major consequences. Joffrey starts toying with the poor common boy, bloodying him up cos he can. Arya tries to intervene, and Sansa says “Arya, stay out of this.” In the book, Sansa is narrating and it says she speaks “fearfully,” but on tv, she just sounds mean. :-/ Wish that had translated better.
Shit goes down when spitfire Arya whacks Joffrey with her stick so that Mycah can escape. Joffrey goes furious, screams at her that she’s a cunt and forces her to the ground with his real sword, looking like he might kill her. In the background, Sansa is screaming for both of them to stop their fighting. Nymeria bounds up to save her human by gnawing on Joffrey’s arm. At least Tyrion would appreciate it. :P Unfortunately, no one else does.
Arya and Nymeria go into hiding and Sansa fetches help for the now bitchy prince (unfortunately I think he’ll start being fake!nice to her again.) In a scene that proves I care about animals more than people, apparently, I start whimpering as Arya sends Nymeria away from certain death by throwing rocks at her. :( There’s no indication that Arya and her direwolf will ever be reunited, but maybe a girl can still hope?
Ned’s out in the woods looking for his girl like a concerned father ftw. Unfortunately, the Lannisters have found her first and taken her before the king, Robert who looks bored and put out by “children’s games,” probably cos no wenches are involved. :P I love Lena Headey’s Cersei; rather than screeching angrily, she argues siiiiilky smooth. :P Arya comes off looking like the crazed, shrieking girl who has to counter against Joff’s lies that she and Mycah beat him. Cersei has apparently roused Sansa, calling her “darling” (being bad again; don’t fall for the evil queen!) to basically act as a tie breaker.
And here comes the scene that starts all the Sansa hate. Under clear duress, and likely trying hard not to take a side, she says Sansa doesn’t know what happened. (Question: if she’d told the truth, would anyone have cared? Would Robert chastise his son for bullying a commoner’s boy, the way he mocked him for being disarmed by Arya? Well, I suppose Ned would have cared very much about Joff throwing Arya to the ground and standing over her with a sword. This story coulda ended a lot sooner. :P) Sansa isn’t acting out of malice. She’s naïve and confused, and she makes the wrong choice by saying she didn’t see anything. She pays for it almost immediately. Cersei orders the death of Lady. Sansa is shocked and devastated, pleading with the royal family and her father to save her direwolf. Kudos to Arya for standing up for Lady as well. Poor, broken girls. :( Ned looks very upset as well, especially when the royal executioner is tasked to do it. He says he’ll kill Lady himself, hearkening back to the lesson he taught Bran last week. If you pass the sentence, you swing the sword. I find this all very foreshadowing for what will likely come at the end of the season, but I can’t tell you how. :P
On the way, Ned runs into Joff's bodyguard, the Hound, who has Mycah’s bloodied body over his horse. :-/ Kinda glad they didn’t go with the book version of him being in pieces. Poor, defenseless kid. The look on Ned’s face as he witnesses the body and then kills Lady for a crime she didn’t commit is a telling one about how he’s a straightforward, honorable man who is entering a rat’s nest of cruelty and deceit. And like with Lady, everyone will pay a price.
Random intersection of Ned killing Lady with Bran waking from his coma. I’d like to believe that there’s something factual in it—that Lady’s sacrifice somehow brought Bran back. But I’m a book reader, and I don’t believe that’s the case. I have mixed feelings about Bran’s comatose story being cut. Granted, it would be hard to stage a bunch of crazy, mysterious prophecy things that don’t even come to full fruition for a long, long time (way past the end of this season.) Still…so important for the character development. Stay tuned soon to see more with Bran! (Will he tattle on the royal twins??? Only time can tell! :P)
___
Meanwhile, at Winterfell, the remaining Starks see new complications arise from Bran’s “accident.” And two of my favorite characters undergo events that make them both despised by some members of the fandom; even by book readers, who have seen them grow and change since then. I find it unfortunate, because the books and even the tv show aren’t known for drawing main characters who are evil simpletons. One of the strengths of this series for me is that I can identify with almost everyone if I suspend my judgment. I find it more fascinating as a storyteller and reader/viewer to try and understand where people are coming from, even when I don’t always agree with them.
I’ll start with Dany’s storyline since she’s the least connected to everyone else.
On the road to Vaes Dothrak
The Dothraki are heading back to their homeland to show off Drogo’s new bride. Can I say how much I love the Dothraki sequences of setting up camp, the women cooking, the children playing, the men…well, probably preparing for doggy style? :P I know it’s not an in depth look at the culture, but I think it hints at the vastness a bit, and the camaraderie and family life beyond pillaging, which is always a good thing.
Dany, still dressed in silks, look exhausted, which is a great hat tip to the book. We get nice hints about different backstory events—Jorah gives Dany horsemeat cos that’s what Dothraki eat. Dany’s hand maidens help her off her horse cos she can barely walk after days (and nights) of riding. :/ Jorah suggests to Viserys that he return to Pentos and V refuses until he gets his army. If you think that sounds as stupid an idea as I do, then I’ll spoil you just slightly…we’re right. :P Also, we get Jorah and Ned’s backstory—about how Ned wants his head for illegally selling poachers on his land into slavery. (Ned, as I mentioned last eppy, is his liege lord.) Viserys showcases some of his political leanings by claiming to Jorah that selling people into slavery wouldn’t incur such a fine under his administration. Viserys is a lovely person, isn’t he? :P
There’s no denying that the sex between Drogo and Dany right now is pretty brutal and one-sided, true to the books. I like how they added the scene of our girl looking to her dragon eggs for strength; hint hint and nice metaphor. Later, she talks with her handmaidens about if dragons still exist in the east (they say no,) and the convo turns to sex with one of them, Doreah, who was sold to a brothel at a very young age. Dany seems a little shocked by this news, but hey, FYI, women being paid to service men is pretty common in this world thus far. Sex is one of the few ways that women have to access power, and Doreah starts to teach Dany how to take control of her sex life. Hey, maybe it’s not as awe-inspiring as Arya playing with swords or her mother in an upcoming scene, but Dany’s working with what she’s got! Later, she puts the plan into action with her husband (she speaks one line in Dothraki as well/kudos for character development), and I can finally say that Drogo/Dany sex isn’t nonconsentual. Yaaay.
And now to Winterfell!
Winterfell: Pre-separation
Meanwhile, back at Fortress Stark, Tyrion is lying with a different sort group of bitches, to steal Joffrey’s line. :P The Tyrion/Joffrey scene (Uncle No-Nonsense lecturing Nephew Psycho-Brat to pay pretend respects to Ned and Catelyn for thier son’s injuries, followed by a “tough love” chastisement) was awesome and oh-so-true to the books. If only Tyrion were around later in the episode on the Kingsroad. :-/
The Lannisters at breakfast…so much to love. Cersei isn’t seething with hatred or coldness, a la Catelyn with Jon, when Tyrion is around, but you can tell by their attempts to outsnark each other that it’s there. :P This chapter was narrated by Tyrion in the book, and it was as inconclusive about Tyrion’s knowledge of Bran’s fall in both places. They kept the worried glance between the twins when Tyrion said Bran would probably pull through, and their dwarf bro catching it. There’s a wonderful shot of Myrcella and Cersei side by side…Myrcella looking pleased by her uncle’s prediction and Cersei looking wary. Then, later, the brothers hash their philosophies on life…Jaime would rather die quickly than live as a “grotesque” cripple, and Tyrion counters that as a “grotesque” person, he’d rather have life than the finality of death. And people say this show isn’t deep. :P (OK, of course, we get that Jaime’s biggest concern is whether Bran will wake and tell someone that he’s getting it on with his sister queen. Head skewering might happen!)
An interesting added scene was Cersei going into Bran’s room to confront Cat. She tells the grieving mother that she lost her first boy—a baby who looked like Robert. If this is true, it is a big departure from the books; there’s no indication there that Joffrey isn’t her first child. Cersei critics look at this scene as the queen deliberately misleading Cat, since we all know that she was at least tangentially involved in Bran’s fall. So why should she feel anything for his mother? A behind the scenes chat with the series creators/writers, however, indicates to me that Cersei meant to be genuine here. They wanted to tease out the complications in her character…though, as a book reader, I’m not sure these complications were there in the original. It is a nice twist for Lena Headey’s portrayal, however.
In another added scene, Jaime showcases that he likes being a cocky, skeptical prick by mentioning, off hand, that seeing people die is kind of like dissecting a frog in high school for him (oo look, blood and organs and death,) and then mocking Jon for going to the wall for a life of celibacy and a fight with imaginary creatures. It’s pretty obvious that Jaime likes watching people squirm with discomfort. On the other hand, it’s telling to note that much of what he mocks Jon for—lifelong oaths of brotherhood to an elite order of knights, lifelong celibacy—are things he swore when he joined the Kingsguard as well. Says a bit about his character, heh.
Jon and Arya’s goodbye is ridiculously cute—first when the girl tries to get her direwolf, Nymeria, to follow commands (wolf’s stubborn like her owner,) and ending with the young man presenting his sister with a sword. A very taboo item for a girl to own in Westeros, but Arya is obviously thrilled—and perhaps a little careless with it at times. Jon’s advice that becomes a fandom mantra: “stick him with the pointy end.” They share a tender hug and Arya thinks of a name for her new treasure. “Sansa can keep her sewing needles…I’ve got a Needle of my own.” Creative child.
Ned’s bastard doesn’t fare so well when he tries to say goodbye to Bran, since Catelyn has refused to leave the room while her son lies in a coma. Though one might say that Cat fares much worse with the fandom. Never thrilled to have her husband’s bastard around, she glares at him tearfully as he tells Bran about going north with Uncle Benjen and taking the black (aka joining the brotherhood). When you’re better you can come and visit and I’ll show you around, he promises before giving the boy a kiss on the forehead. Such a sweetheart…too bad Cat won’t let herself see it. Mr. Martin has stated that although fans often accuse Cat of abusing Jon, she was usually at most cold and distant. The one time we see her break that and say something truly horrible is, exhausted and grief-stricken, she tells Jon “it should have been you.” (Later, she comes to regret it.) I think the show writers made a deliberate choice to amend this line to “I want you to leave,” but as far as I can tell it didn’t stop the Cat hate. Alas.
So Jon leaves and Ned enters. Cat reminds him that seventeen years ago he rode to war with Robert. “You came back a year later with another woman’s son. And now you’re leaving again.” I’m assuming she’s not really worried about Ned returning with another bastard (which, by the way, is incredibly unusual in Westeros. Noble men either foster their bastards elsewhere or ignore them completely.) Her real grief is over losing half her family (Ned, her daughters,) while Bran lies in such a fragile, unknown state. It’s a hard thing to suck up, and man do I feel for her.
Jon’s final goodbye is with Robb, the brother with whom he’s closest in age. I love how the Stark heir is trying to brush off the hard stuff. “He’s not going to die,” he says of Bran. “The next time I see you, you’ll be all in black.” Jon is very accommodating and tells him that Catelyn was “kind” to him. They share a terse hug, but then Robb walks off quickly. Poor guy and well played by Richard Madden. Always sucks to lose the people you’re closest to. :-/
A final goodbye scene…Ned/Jon. Ok, who else thinks it’s a pretty damn obvious foreshadowing event when one character says to another, “the next time we’ll see each other, I’ll tell you about this ultra important-secret event in your life”? Many separations in this book are pretty final, at least for the duration of this season, if not longer. Ned and Jon don’t hug, but the actors pull off the love so seamlessly. Then father and son ride off in different directions in a wonderfully shot scene. And that is the end of all the Starks living at Winterfell. :( Excuse me for a second while I mourn.
On the road to the Night’s Watch
Tyrion has joined Benjen and Jon on their journey to the Wall—not to join, of course; “and go celibate? The whores would go begging from Dorne to Casterly Rock!” But out of healthy interest in seeing this imposing, magical structure. Not that the Imp actually holds much stock by magic. As Benjen leads new, tied-up “recruits” to their camp, Tyrion recognizes them as rapers. “They were given a choice, no doubt. Castration or the Wall. Most choose the knife.” Jon’s a little put out by this; serving at the Wall, after all, is a noble calling. As Ned told him, the Starks have manned it for thousands of years. But the rest of Westeros basically sees it as a repository for undesirables. Since the White Walkers haven’t been seen in thousands of years the Wall’s significance has gone down big time. “You’re a smart boy. You don’t believe that nonsense,” Tyrion chastises about Jon’s desire to protect the realm from grumpkins and snarks “and all the monsters your wet nurse warned you about.” I gotta say…it’s kind of nice to realize that the Half-Man, who is by and large one of the most intelligent people around, actually being wrong about something. :P
So Jon turns the conversation back to him. “Why do you read so much?” Tyrion links it to family honor. He’s got to do something for the glory of his house, and what assets does he have? “My brother has his sword and I have my mind. And a mind needs books like a sword needs a wetstone.”
Perhaps still smarting over Jaime mocking him, Jon points out that the Imp’s brother used his sword to kill the last king, the guy he was sworn to protect. Tyrion smiles tightly and says yes, that’s true. He paved the way for Robert, Cersei and “my repulsive nephew.” Meanwhile Jon is “a bastard boy with nothing to inherit, off to join the great order of the Night’s Watch.” Hey, put like that, Tyrion, and it sounds as good an option as any. I wonder what the Watch will hold for Jon. :P At least I can say that both he and the Imp look dumbstruck at their first view of the imposing structure. That’s some nice CGI work right there, hee.
Winterfell: Post-separation
Cat continues to watch over Bran day and night, forsaking her lady of the manor duties and basically making stiff-necked Robb take all the flack. Robb lectures his mother on leaving the room and attending to Rickon who’s six, confused and following big brother around…I gotta say, I’m just so glad these character details made the cut. :D The direwolves start howling because of a fire and Robb leaves to investigate. Cut to wonderfully shot scene of an assassin appearing behind Catelyn. The assassin moves to cut Bran, and Catelyn steps into mother lioness mode and it is awesome. She doesn’t have a sword, or much skill with physically outmaneuvering a man (Bran’s direwolf ultimately tears the dude’s throat out,) but her passion to lay down her life for her son was so great that…I just can’t imagine people not having respect for her. Or not saying that this story has strong female characters, dammit! I especially like that they kept in the detail about Cat’s fingers getting bloodied up, a la the books. Doesn’t mean much, except that her fingers will be stiff forevermore, but. :P Direwolf Summer is now Bran’s constant companion, and sweet and dog-like now that the bad guy has a gruesome, bloody hole in his neck (seriously, how did the makeup crew do that?? Was pretty impressive artistically. :P)
Winterfell goes CSI as Cat examines the room where Bran fell from and discovers one of Cersei’s hairs on the ground. I guess the show writers thought she needed more to go by before she blamed the Lannisters. You can tell that her ire towards them has grown. Freaky to get a letter from her sister about Jon Arryn’s death, but to try and murder her son?? Lioness mode! She decides to go by stealth to King’s Landing to tell Ned, but at least she’ll let one of her retainers, Rodrick, come with her. Robb is put out by her decision and says she should stay with Bran (pfft, boy, you can’t have it both ways with what you want from the woman!) but you gotta feel for the young, stiff, heir, suddenly in charge of all of Winterfell with both his parents away. Kid has to grow up fast. :-/
The scene where Cat hangs the wreath she’s been making (added note: it’s of the seven gods in her religion) over Bran’s bed, then parts his hair (I always notice how messy it is now) and kisses his forehead, is so touching and it makes me wibbly. That’s all I’ll say about that.
On the road to King’s Landing
Brief scene of King Robert and Ned reminiscing about frat boy stuff, fond memories of girls they were with during their last war, then Robert ruins the mood by bringing up Jon’s mother and the way Ned dishonored Catelyn. He tells Ned he should go easier on himself, and Ned changes the subject. Great character interaction here; tells us a lot about these two men as individuals. Important to plot comes next…Robert’s received news of Dany’s marriage to Drogo. He’s visibly upset, and yes, furious. He suggests they murder her ASAP and Ned’s appalled by sending assassins to kill someone whom he considers to be a child, and no threat. (Dothraki no like crossing narrow sea.) This argument will repeat throughout the season, and it will have heavy consequences. :-/ I also like how they got the backstory in about how some people call Robert the Usurper. Not as many as Viserys wants to believe, but. :P
The bigger storyline this episode revolves around the kiddies. Sansa is walking her direwolf, Lady, around the camp, and she runs into two scary Lannister retainers, the royal executioner and Joffrey’s personal, scarred body guard, The Hound. These characters, and their relationships to Sansa, will play a bigger part as the story progresses. She’s frightened by their harsh demeanor, but she’s a lady and she has to disguise it. Her meek-mannered ways please her sociopathic betrothed, Joffrey, who touches her face, calls her “his princess” and invites her on a walk with him. Quietly thrilled by the attention, she accepts.
Joffrey continues to exert power over shy Sansa by allowing her to have more wine than her father would. :P In the book, this is around a dinner table, but out in the woods, he kinda looks like a frat boy trying to slip her a rufie. :/ Then they come upon Arya and the butcher’s boy Mycah, playing swords with sticks, and everything goes down. Children play a big part in this story—it’s bloody and has major consequences. Joffrey starts toying with the poor common boy, bloodying him up cos he can. Arya tries to intervene, and Sansa says “Arya, stay out of this.” In the book, Sansa is narrating and it says she speaks “fearfully,” but on tv, she just sounds mean. :-/ Wish that had translated better.
Shit goes down when spitfire Arya whacks Joffrey with her stick so that Mycah can escape. Joffrey goes furious, screams at her that she’s a cunt and forces her to the ground with his real sword, looking like he might kill her. In the background, Sansa is screaming for both of them to stop their fighting. Nymeria bounds up to save her human by gnawing on Joffrey’s arm. At least Tyrion would appreciate it. :P Unfortunately, no one else does.
Arya and Nymeria go into hiding and Sansa fetches help for the now bitchy prince (unfortunately I think he’ll start being fake!nice to her again.) In a scene that proves I care about animals more than people, apparently, I start whimpering as Arya sends Nymeria away from certain death by throwing rocks at her. :( There’s no indication that Arya and her direwolf will ever be reunited, but maybe a girl can still hope?
Ned’s out in the woods looking for his girl like a concerned father ftw. Unfortunately, the Lannisters have found her first and taken her before the king, Robert who looks bored and put out by “children’s games,” probably cos no wenches are involved. :P I love Lena Headey’s Cersei; rather than screeching angrily, she argues siiiiilky smooth. :P Arya comes off looking like the crazed, shrieking girl who has to counter against Joff’s lies that she and Mycah beat him. Cersei has apparently roused Sansa, calling her “darling” (being bad again; don’t fall for the evil queen!) to basically act as a tie breaker.
And here comes the scene that starts all the Sansa hate. Under clear duress, and likely trying hard not to take a side, she says Sansa doesn’t know what happened. (Question: if she’d told the truth, would anyone have cared? Would Robert chastise his son for bullying a commoner’s boy, the way he mocked him for being disarmed by Arya? Well, I suppose Ned would have cared very much about Joff throwing Arya to the ground and standing over her with a sword. This story coulda ended a lot sooner. :P) Sansa isn’t acting out of malice. She’s naïve and confused, and she makes the wrong choice by saying she didn’t see anything. She pays for it almost immediately. Cersei orders the death of Lady. Sansa is shocked and devastated, pleading with the royal family and her father to save her direwolf. Kudos to Arya for standing up for Lady as well. Poor, broken girls. :( Ned looks very upset as well, especially when the royal executioner is tasked to do it. He says he’ll kill Lady himself, hearkening back to the lesson he taught Bran last week. If you pass the sentence, you swing the sword. I find this all very foreshadowing for what will likely come at the end of the season, but I can’t tell you how. :P
On the way, Ned runs into Joff's bodyguard, the Hound, who has Mycah’s bloodied body over his horse. :-/ Kinda glad they didn’t go with the book version of him being in pieces. Poor, defenseless kid. The look on Ned’s face as he witnesses the body and then kills Lady for a crime she didn’t commit is a telling one about how he’s a straightforward, honorable man who is entering a rat’s nest of cruelty and deceit. And like with Lady, everyone will pay a price.
Random intersection of Ned killing Lady with Bran waking from his coma. I’d like to believe that there’s something factual in it—that Lady’s sacrifice somehow brought Bran back. But I’m a book reader, and I don’t believe that’s the case. I have mixed feelings about Bran’s comatose story being cut. Granted, it would be hard to stage a bunch of crazy, mysterious prophecy things that don’t even come to full fruition for a long, long time (way past the end of this season.) Still…so important for the character development. Stay tuned soon to see more with Bran! (Will he tattle on the royal twins??? Only time can tell! :P)
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