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scifi_rewatchIt’s one of those shocker episodes (seriously, don’t google “Purple Wedding” unless you’re ready to be spoiled, probably for all of season four.) Wedding season in Westeros would make for some dramatic cover stories for bridal magazines. :P
Penned by George R.R. Martin himself, the entire episode—not just the big stuff—has some great pacing and tension. Also the non-subtle dramatics that we’ve come to expect from the show, but that’s mostly par for the course. My gripes are few.
I might suggest, that even though this hour packs a mean punch, its real upset lies with the dominoes it topples over, that will send multiple characters in multiple new directions. But in general, at the moment, Westeros’s standing power dynamics are still pretty stable. That being said, I was so excited to see “the domino effect” for my favorite character, started here, that I named a work password after it. :P But I can’t tell you what it is up here, because of spoilers! In fact, I should probably wait a whole other episode, so /zips lips.
Summary
The North
Ramsay, Ramsay’s dogs, Myranda and Theon (or I should write “Reek,”) chase Tansy, the second girl tormenting our former Greyjoy last season. Apparently she’s upset Myranda, who apparently is more of Ramsay’s favorite, so they mock and terrify her as they hunt her through the woods. One of Myranda’s arrows takes her through the leg and then Ramsay lets the dogs finish her off, thankfully off screen. “Reek,” who looks broken and ragged enough anyway; his expression is enough.
Later, Roose, his wife, Walda, and company ride to the Dreadfort, the Bolton seat. After introductions are made, Roose asks to see Theon. He’s not happy with how Ramsay flayed him, having hoped to trade him to the Greyjoys, and he makes sure that Ramsay knows his place as a bastard. In response, Ramsay has “Reek,” whom he now assures his father is a harmless pet, shave him as he tells him of Robb Stark’s death at Roose’s hand. “Reek,” though visibly shaken at the loss of his one-time brother, doesn’t make a move against either of the Boltons, and finishes shaving Ramsay. Also in the course of this shave, Ramsay and “Reek” let Roose know that Bran and Rickon are still alive. “Reek” suggests that they may have fled to Jon at Castle Black, so Roose sends Locke after them. He also allows Ramsay to take “Reek” to Moat Cailin, a northern stronghold, under siege by the Greyjoys. “Take the moat for the family…our family,” he tells his son, suggesting that his opinion might be softening on the boy.
Beyond the Wall
Bran hunts through Summer. He’s violently jolted out of it by a vision of Hodor—or perhaps Meera shaking him awake. He’s angry and aggressive for being disturbed from his hunt—the Reeds have to remind him that not only is he warging for long periods of time but he can’t live off of the food Summer sustains. Also, the more time he spends in his wolf, the less he might remember his human identity. Bran seems a little conflicted on that point, especially after Jojen reminds him of how great it is to run again.
Later, with Summer’s help (though in his own body this time,) Bran locates a wierwood tree. He puts his hand to the bark, his eyes roll back and he sees a long prophecy of images…of the past (like his father’s eye before his execution,) and possible futures like a dragon shadow over King’s Landing and a ruined throne room in the snow (mirroring Daenerys’s vision from the House of the Undying in season two.) There’s also lots of new and old images of wights, crows, etc, in the north, and a voice that tells Bran “look for me…beneath the tree…north.” When the young Stark comes out of it, he tells his traveling companions that he has a heading.
Dragonstone
Melissandre, Stannis, and his people, witting and unwitting, are burning heretics alive. One of them is Selyse’s brother, who begs his sister for mercy as she looks on with an extremist’s glee. She is certain that their souls have been released from their sins and they are now in a better place. Davos gently chides Stannis for killing his own family, but Stannis counters that his brother-in-law flouted him by refusing to take down his idols of the religion of the Seven.
Over dinner, Selyse reminisces over food shortages and hardships at the siege here during Robert’s Rebellion. The conversation then turns towards faith with Melissandre, and then Selyse brings up Shireen, calling her sullen and insubordinate for not accepting the Lord of Light. Stannis won’t allow her to use corporal punishment against the child, so instead she arranges for Melissandre to speak to her.
So alone, Melissandre and Shireen debate several things—the validity of her uncle’s death and his supposed freedom from bondage, as it were, and other matters of religion and theocracy. When Shireen asks for confirmation that Melissandre doesn’t believe in seven heavens and seven hells, a la the normative religion of Westeros, the Red Woman tells her “there’s only one hell princess…the one we live in now.”
King’s Landing
Before THE BIG EVENT!, we have plenty of smaller ones. We start with Tyrion and Jaime at breakfast. Jaime is sulking because his life is inevitably changed—he can’t even not knock over his glass of wine with the golden hand—and he can no longer protect the king. He also can’t train to use his left hand because men talk. So Tyrion sets him up with Bronn, who doesn’t coddle as a teacher but who can also be discreet.
Later, Tyrion meets up with Varys while on the way to the pre-Joffrey-wedding breakfast with the family. Varys warns him that Cersei has been alerted to Shae’s real identity, and that he’s not going to risk his neck for Tyrion; he has to get Shae out on his own. The situation certainly seems most dire when Cersei audibly tells Tywin about Shae, and Tywin says she’s to be brought to his quarters asap. But in the interim, Tyrion presents Joffrey with a rare history book, which Joff first pretends to accept graciously, but then hacks to bits with his new Valyrian sword (what Tywin intended for the double from last episode.) He also makes sure to torment Sansa by reminding her of Ned’s death.
So later, when Shae comes to Tyrion, happy for some alone time, he’s cold to her and has Bronn escort her to a ship to Pentos. While she promises that they can fight Tywin and Cersei together, he dismisses their relationship and the promise of a future together, leaving her in tears. Basically, things end badly with Shae feeling badly betrayed. After getting through the beautiful wedding ceremony, Tyrion badgers Bronn about Shae being safely aboard her ship, trying to assuage his guilt and depression. Then Oberyn is dismissive of him and goes for a contortionist, surprise surprise. Elsewhere, Olenna and Tywin talk about the social, and economic validity of expensive weddings and the threat of the Iron Bank of Braavos if they aren’t paid back for their contribution to the war effort soon. At the reception, Olenna goes to Sansa, expressing condolences about Robb’s death and fixing the girl’s appearance. Joffrey is darkly bored, and throws some coins at the wedding band (played by Sigur Ros) to get rid of them. There’s a brief relapse when Margaery makes an announcement that, by Joffrey’s decree, the reception leftovers will be given to the poor; Cersei pretends to be pleased, but later, as form of vengeance, sends Pycelle to dispose of them.
Elsewhere, Loras and Oberyn share a brief flirtation, then Loras and Jaime exchange barbs about Cersei. Not to be outdone, Brienne and Cersei clash over Jaime, after the Lady of Tarth comes to pay congratulations to the married couple. And finally in a long line of elitist tensions, Oberyn and Ellaria snark at Tywin and Cersei, and vice versa.
The tension only takes a dangerous turn once Joffrey introduces his secret wedding act—a group of drawrves to play the Five Kings in a grotesque parody, thereby shaming Tyrion and Sansa (and disgusting basically everyone else.) Once it’s over and “Joffrey” is left standing alive, the real king openly mocks his uncle, suggesting that he join the fray. Tyrion responds with a clever but insulting comeback, leading Joffrey to upend his wine over his uncle’s head. Tyrion is then called upon to be the king’s cupbearer, but tension just keeps rising as Joffrey kicks the cup on the ground, forcing Tyrion to go to hands and knees after it (Sansa ultimately helps him retrieve it.) When Tyrion refuses to kneel to the boy, things seem primed to broil over quite publicly, until Margaery diffuses it by announcing the arrival of the pie.
Joffrey cuts it with his new sword and he and his new bride feed each other from a plate. Though Tyrion and Sansa attempt to sneak away, Joffrey calls his uncle back, demanding more wine. So Tyrion hands him the cup, which Joff drinks from to wash down the dry meat pie…soon thereafter he starts coughing, then choking. Pandemonium ensues! The guests are either screaming and leaving, or watching and gossiping all the news. Cersei and Jaime rush to their son’s side. Tywin looks angry, Margery upset. Dontos, who’d been acting as the fool during the reception, whispers urgently in Sansa’s ear that she must come with him if she wants to live. Tyrion picks up the wine glass, confused. As Joffrey chokes out his last breath, his arm reaches towards his uncle…then falls. He’s obviously, by his bloated, bleeding, purple face, very dead. Cersei breaks down into tears, briefly, over her son, then looks up at her youngest brother with upmost loathing. She accuses him of murdering the boy, and the Kingsguard lay hands on him. “Take him!” she screams over and over, before continuing to sob over her son’s body.
Thoughts
So whoah, right out of the gate, almost, we have our first big shocker. There were some debates among the “sullied,” if I remember correctly, about when Joffrey’s death would happen—episode two is usually still a quiet time for “Game of Thrones”—but this was obviously meant to be a big catalyst of the season. Have lots of aftermath to get to!
On a technical note, in the book these chapters could only be narrated by Tyrion and Sansa, who, until the very end, were largely sullen spectators of the show. I found it amusing because it’s not too different from the novel—we were privy to their thoughts, but they weren’t involved in much publicly. Granted, a lot of the action has been changed. Jaime and Brienne, as noted, aren’t back from the road until post-wedding (and now we can extrapolate that their welcome would have been much different. :P I did kinda like that Jaime joined Cersei as Joff died—he didn’t love the boy as a father, but he certainly he felt a sense of duty towards him, and towards Cersei.)
This is even more urgent since they’d just explored the growing distance between the twins, a la Cersei’s impending marriage and Jaime’s relationship to Brienne. The former was a little on the nose for me, but the latter, aka the interaction between the two women, was more intriguing. This isn’t the sort of competition that our Queen would likely expect. Anywho. Oberyn and Loras didn’t engage in any sort of flirtation—it’s been a complaint among many purists that Loras is so willing to move on into other relationships, even if they’re obviously just surface level. It’s also weird to see this as a book reader, since the Tyrells and Martells don’t really get along, if I remember correctly. It seems par for the course that all of the noble houses secretly or not so secretly despise each other. :P Finally, Margaery’s interest, political and otherwise, with the poor don’t exist in the book, though they certainly set up great tension between her and the queen she’s replacing.
I’m using that term loosely, unlike on the show. There was a bit of shock over the fact that Oberyn claimed she was no longer a queen—which wasn’t really disputed by Cersei or Tywin, either. In the book mythos, she’d always remain the “Queen Dowager,” even if Margaery is successful in acquiring more power. It just seemed an unnecessarily blunt invention of the show to indicate the woman’s fading position. Also, Oberyn is exceedingly forward with how much he disdains Tywin, now elsewhere on the show. I did like the emphasis put on different social customs (Dorne’s progressive attitude towards bastards, Oberyn bringing up Myrcella’s placement, Doran with the gout, general story extrapolation. :P) Elsewhere, I enjoyed Tywin and Olenna arguing over finances (though the Lord of Casterly Rock isn’t miserly in the book,) but it brought up great points about appeasing the public, and a reminder that wars don’t for free. Foreshadowing, foreshadowing. (I felt bad for sniggering as Olenna so blithely dismissed her own son, but in “Game of Thrones” snubs, that was pretty tame anyway. :P)
Wow, the costumes and set design and everything about the wedding and reception were so great. Took awhile to film, and certainly to set up, but kudos, kudos. (Canon wise the real wedding took place indoors, and Martin imagined even more lavish stuff but whatevs, people. They certainly extended that budget!) It was so aesthetically pleasing. I also enjoyed the drawrves’ “mummer’s show”—well, “enjoy” is the wrong word, but it seemed accurate to medieval ways of mocking both outcasts and political rivals. (Of course there’s also a poetic justice moment in how the play was supposed to show Joffrey coming out on top—at the hour of his murder.) The specifics of the mummer’s play in canon—still involving dwarves so as to mock his uncle—were different, but I thought it worked very well here, to show how fractured the society is, and generally how offensive most people, perhaps excluding his mother, find Joff’s schadenfruede to be. Lots of people wanted him dead—and obviously, from the incredible make up job and Jack’s great performance, he was poisoned. Won’t go into more detail here, except to say that it is of course canon that Tyrion is immediately accused of the crime.
The set up to Joffrey’s death, regarding the tensions between uncle and nephew, are very true to canon (and incredibly well played out on screen. I was holding in my breath as the music swelled and the glares held. :P) Only minor differences, really—Tyrion was less drunk on the show; in canon, perhaps too inebriated to be logical, he actually poured out the wine in Joffrey’s cup as he died, likely further implicating himself. He was also, at this point in canon, coming to the conclusion that Joffrey was the one who sent an assassin to finish off Bran all those years ago (based off of some comment Robert made and wanting to prove himself to his dad…basically long past history that the show audience wouldn’t likely identify with.) But in canon, that was another point of contention between Joff and Tyrion during the time of death.
(Before ending the King’s Landing stuff, I’ll jump back to the beginning of the episode with Jaime and Bronn. Didn’t happen in canon—he sparred with a childhood friend instead—but obviously this is meant to build up a bromance, or at least relationship between two well known characters. Elio at westeros.org quibbled over the fact that it’s ridiculous that Jaime wouldn’t have used a sparring sword since he was nine, but I admit this sort of thing doesn’t really phase me, so moving on.)
My opinion of Sansa this episode is…conflicted. Overall, her lack of reaction, well, except to be miserable, while Joffrey taunts her over breakfast and at the wedding reception (it’s even worse in the book,) is pretty much to be expected. Girl feels pretty defeated, her entire family she presumes to be dead, and Joff holds all the power. Basically, I’m saying that I’m not frustrated by the fact that she doesn’t suddenly morph into a “Sucker Punch” dream montage or whatever. :P I’m far more upset by her lack of any verbal presence, beyond the “We have a new queen,” snark. Going back to the lack of follow through with her relationship to Shae, couldn’t she mention something to Tyrion, like “where was she; she was supposed to help with my hair,” or whatever (which would also play into Tyrion’s guilt about the whole situation; great scene between Peter and Sibel. Not from canon, where Shae actually considers their relationship to be less personal and Tyrion had other plans to help her out, but it fits into the show narrative in a heartbreaking way for both characters. Anywho.) At the very least, Sansa should have had the chance to exchange courtesies with Olenna during their interlude, not just sit there. (This is also the scene—Sansa interacting with Olenna and other nobles—where Tyrion realizes how easily the feminine arts come to her. Lovely bit of character development that can’t be expressed so easily on the show, I guess.)
And I can’t blame this one episode for the fact that Sansa was basically pulled along for the ride as Joffrey died. In the books, she had been in cahoots with Dontos for a long time—she didn’t know the king would kick it, but she was expecting to escape that night. Here, of course, she’s completely off her guard, and Dontos has to be there physically to pull her strings. There’s a lot of other small canon stuff missing too—Sansa’s snarky internal reaction to Joffrey as he receives Tyrion’s gift, general discomfort and confusion, again mostly internal, between the married couple, and a great interaction between her, Oberyn and Ellaria. It was probably too naïve for Sansa of the show—in canon she was recounting the tale of a goodly king who was so blessed that poison didn’t affect him; the Dornish moved to correct her. But still…well, part of me hoped that Oberyn would talk to her of revenge, even if that’s a bit dramatic. But they have a lot in common, concerning family members torn asunder by the Lannisters (though, well, the Starks and the Martells aren’t exactly friends, after the whole Rhaegar/Elia/Lyanna situation.) Perhaps more justified, I was desperate for an interaction between Sansa and Brienne, but that didn’t come to pass, either. Alas and disappointment. I did love—besides Sansa being involved in the wine glass tension /spoilers and death glares—Sophie’s visceral reaction, hand thumping distressed, against the table, at a certain scene between “Joffrey” and “Robb.” I had the feels. :/
But let’s move on to new locales! In Dragonstone there were some instances of burning folks—including Selyse’s uncle, not brother—but that was because of political insubordination, not infidelity to the Red God. They’re basically upping the umph on the religious tensions, particularly between the main characters. There’s little tweaks—like Selyse and Stannis being married on the show during that long ago siege, Selyse’s coldness towards Shireen (didn’t like that; they’re overdoing her bitchiness, I mean, even Stannis has some affection for the girl,) and Melissandre’s convictions about hell (I did like that; goes well with her brand of fundamentalism. Also, Shireen holding her own against this extremist was just golden. You go, girl!) We’re kind of just stretching out plot over here, but I’ll keep my mouth shut. :P
I looooved Bran’s anger and aggression; his situation—and Summer’s own feelings—are blending into him. I loved Meera’s ominous warning that he might forget his family, Winterfell, his past, all of these personal indicators. And yet, through his Sight he’s attached to a much grander past, present and future. It doesn’t directly come from any part of the novels, but it mirrors issues with Bran’s personal identity and prophetic future, as discussed in books two and five. The big component missing here is Coldhands—the mysterious traveling companion that Sam brings to the group. It’s Coldhands, not the weirwood visions, that gives canon Bran his sense of direction. But eh…especially given certain spoilers, albeit not purposely leaked by Martin, that have surfaced, I’m even less interested in this figure. It’s all about the Branster for me, and I’m totally in love with this sequence.
Finally, back to where we began with the Boltons. Speaking of mixed feelings…it’s strange as hell, after book five, to imagine Ramsay being in cahoots with any woman (or, really person, though he does have some male lackeys in the novels,) rather than just raping, skinning and killing on his own. I never really liked, or bought, that the “bride of Dracula” situation, as I called it last season, worked, but at least it’s tamer than canon. I’d say Ramsay might be a very controversial character among some, perhaps, because he is so violent, and it also has nothing to do with the war; this is entirely his own thing. Anywho.
Also from last season, I didn’t buy Theon’s torture and molding into “Reek;” the machinations of plot didn’t feel plausible to me at all. But that’s all in the past now, and I’m going to assume that yes, Theon has been broken, because the plot now demands it and Alfie does a hella good job at acting. (His arc as Theon is an amazing testament of skill. I seriously think he’s the best actor on the show, and most deserving of the awards. Personal opinion!) My opinions on the “Reek”/Ramsay scenes this year have increased tenfold. This small interlude, with Theon learning of Robb’s death and spilling the beans about Bran and Rickon (didn’t get to see it in the books; one of the perks of the show,) is just the tip of the iceberg.
I found the Roose/Ramsay stuff to also be intriguing, though different from canon. Roose doesn’t have to smuggle himself to the Dreadfort in the books, (and Ramsay decides on his own, rather than Roose suggesting it, to go ye forth to Moat Cailin,) though it makes sense, as a physical effect of the continued Greyjoy presence in the north. Things aren’t so tense between father and son either, and this might be due to character differentiations. As Joffrey dies, canon Ramsay replaces him as an even worse psycho brat; defensive, violent and lacking in any social graces that might predispose him to care overly much how Roose perceives him, unless Daddy takes away a toy (like “Reek,” for example.) And Roose, although not thrilled with Ramsay’s predispositions (he shares confidentially with “Reek,”) is outwardly fine with legitimizing him. On the show, Ramsay has been toned down and Roose has been amped up, which makes their interactions more relatable, surely. I like the familial issues they bring up, but it’s still weird to associate them with these two. I dunno. Honestly, I think canon would be a little too jarring here—for me as a book reader, too. Sometimes it’s ok to tone the crazy violence down. Relationships, vulnerability, internal driving forces…much more interesting. Especially in the wake of an episode like this one.
___
Penned by George R.R. Martin himself, the entire episode—not just the big stuff—has some great pacing and tension. Also the non-subtle dramatics that we’ve come to expect from the show, but that’s mostly par for the course. My gripes are few.
I might suggest, that even though this hour packs a mean punch, its real upset lies with the dominoes it topples over, that will send multiple characters in multiple new directions. But in general, at the moment, Westeros’s standing power dynamics are still pretty stable. That being said, I was so excited to see “the domino effect” for my favorite character, started here, that I named a work password after it. :P But I can’t tell you what it is up here, because of spoilers! In fact, I should probably wait a whole other episode, so /zips lips.
Summary
The North
Ramsay, Ramsay’s dogs, Myranda and Theon (or I should write “Reek,”) chase Tansy, the second girl tormenting our former Greyjoy last season. Apparently she’s upset Myranda, who apparently is more of Ramsay’s favorite, so they mock and terrify her as they hunt her through the woods. One of Myranda’s arrows takes her through the leg and then Ramsay lets the dogs finish her off, thankfully off screen. “Reek,” who looks broken and ragged enough anyway; his expression is enough.
Later, Roose, his wife, Walda, and company ride to the Dreadfort, the Bolton seat. After introductions are made, Roose asks to see Theon. He’s not happy with how Ramsay flayed him, having hoped to trade him to the Greyjoys, and he makes sure that Ramsay knows his place as a bastard. In response, Ramsay has “Reek,” whom he now assures his father is a harmless pet, shave him as he tells him of Robb Stark’s death at Roose’s hand. “Reek,” though visibly shaken at the loss of his one-time brother, doesn’t make a move against either of the Boltons, and finishes shaving Ramsay. Also in the course of this shave, Ramsay and “Reek” let Roose know that Bran and Rickon are still alive. “Reek” suggests that they may have fled to Jon at Castle Black, so Roose sends Locke after them. He also allows Ramsay to take “Reek” to Moat Cailin, a northern stronghold, under siege by the Greyjoys. “Take the moat for the family…our family,” he tells his son, suggesting that his opinion might be softening on the boy.
Beyond the Wall
Bran hunts through Summer. He’s violently jolted out of it by a vision of Hodor—or perhaps Meera shaking him awake. He’s angry and aggressive for being disturbed from his hunt—the Reeds have to remind him that not only is he warging for long periods of time but he can’t live off of the food Summer sustains. Also, the more time he spends in his wolf, the less he might remember his human identity. Bran seems a little conflicted on that point, especially after Jojen reminds him of how great it is to run again.
Later, with Summer’s help (though in his own body this time,) Bran locates a wierwood tree. He puts his hand to the bark, his eyes roll back and he sees a long prophecy of images…of the past (like his father’s eye before his execution,) and possible futures like a dragon shadow over King’s Landing and a ruined throne room in the snow (mirroring Daenerys’s vision from the House of the Undying in season two.) There’s also lots of new and old images of wights, crows, etc, in the north, and a voice that tells Bran “look for me…beneath the tree…north.” When the young Stark comes out of it, he tells his traveling companions that he has a heading.
Dragonstone
Melissandre, Stannis, and his people, witting and unwitting, are burning heretics alive. One of them is Selyse’s brother, who begs his sister for mercy as she looks on with an extremist’s glee. She is certain that their souls have been released from their sins and they are now in a better place. Davos gently chides Stannis for killing his own family, but Stannis counters that his brother-in-law flouted him by refusing to take down his idols of the religion of the Seven.
Over dinner, Selyse reminisces over food shortages and hardships at the siege here during Robert’s Rebellion. The conversation then turns towards faith with Melissandre, and then Selyse brings up Shireen, calling her sullen and insubordinate for not accepting the Lord of Light. Stannis won’t allow her to use corporal punishment against the child, so instead she arranges for Melissandre to speak to her.
So alone, Melissandre and Shireen debate several things—the validity of her uncle’s death and his supposed freedom from bondage, as it were, and other matters of religion and theocracy. When Shireen asks for confirmation that Melissandre doesn’t believe in seven heavens and seven hells, a la the normative religion of Westeros, the Red Woman tells her “there’s only one hell princess…the one we live in now.”
King’s Landing
Before THE BIG EVENT!, we have plenty of smaller ones. We start with Tyrion and Jaime at breakfast. Jaime is sulking because his life is inevitably changed—he can’t even not knock over his glass of wine with the golden hand—and he can no longer protect the king. He also can’t train to use his left hand because men talk. So Tyrion sets him up with Bronn, who doesn’t coddle as a teacher but who can also be discreet.
Later, Tyrion meets up with Varys while on the way to the pre-Joffrey-wedding breakfast with the family. Varys warns him that Cersei has been alerted to Shae’s real identity, and that he’s not going to risk his neck for Tyrion; he has to get Shae out on his own. The situation certainly seems most dire when Cersei audibly tells Tywin about Shae, and Tywin says she’s to be brought to his quarters asap. But in the interim, Tyrion presents Joffrey with a rare history book, which Joff first pretends to accept graciously, but then hacks to bits with his new Valyrian sword (what Tywin intended for the double from last episode.) He also makes sure to torment Sansa by reminding her of Ned’s death.
So later, when Shae comes to Tyrion, happy for some alone time, he’s cold to her and has Bronn escort her to a ship to Pentos. While she promises that they can fight Tywin and Cersei together, he dismisses their relationship and the promise of a future together, leaving her in tears. Basically, things end badly with Shae feeling badly betrayed. After getting through the beautiful wedding ceremony, Tyrion badgers Bronn about Shae being safely aboard her ship, trying to assuage his guilt and depression. Then Oberyn is dismissive of him and goes for a contortionist, surprise surprise. Elsewhere, Olenna and Tywin talk about the social, and economic validity of expensive weddings and the threat of the Iron Bank of Braavos if they aren’t paid back for their contribution to the war effort soon. At the reception, Olenna goes to Sansa, expressing condolences about Robb’s death and fixing the girl’s appearance. Joffrey is darkly bored, and throws some coins at the wedding band (played by Sigur Ros) to get rid of them. There’s a brief relapse when Margaery makes an announcement that, by Joffrey’s decree, the reception leftovers will be given to the poor; Cersei pretends to be pleased, but later, as form of vengeance, sends Pycelle to dispose of them.
Elsewhere, Loras and Oberyn share a brief flirtation, then Loras and Jaime exchange barbs about Cersei. Not to be outdone, Brienne and Cersei clash over Jaime, after the Lady of Tarth comes to pay congratulations to the married couple. And finally in a long line of elitist tensions, Oberyn and Ellaria snark at Tywin and Cersei, and vice versa.
The tension only takes a dangerous turn once Joffrey introduces his secret wedding act—a group of drawrves to play the Five Kings in a grotesque parody, thereby shaming Tyrion and Sansa (and disgusting basically everyone else.) Once it’s over and “Joffrey” is left standing alive, the real king openly mocks his uncle, suggesting that he join the fray. Tyrion responds with a clever but insulting comeback, leading Joffrey to upend his wine over his uncle’s head. Tyrion is then called upon to be the king’s cupbearer, but tension just keeps rising as Joffrey kicks the cup on the ground, forcing Tyrion to go to hands and knees after it (Sansa ultimately helps him retrieve it.) When Tyrion refuses to kneel to the boy, things seem primed to broil over quite publicly, until Margaery diffuses it by announcing the arrival of the pie.
Joffrey cuts it with his new sword and he and his new bride feed each other from a plate. Though Tyrion and Sansa attempt to sneak away, Joffrey calls his uncle back, demanding more wine. So Tyrion hands him the cup, which Joff drinks from to wash down the dry meat pie…soon thereafter he starts coughing, then choking. Pandemonium ensues! The guests are either screaming and leaving, or watching and gossiping all the news. Cersei and Jaime rush to their son’s side. Tywin looks angry, Margery upset. Dontos, who’d been acting as the fool during the reception, whispers urgently in Sansa’s ear that she must come with him if she wants to live. Tyrion picks up the wine glass, confused. As Joffrey chokes out his last breath, his arm reaches towards his uncle…then falls. He’s obviously, by his bloated, bleeding, purple face, very dead. Cersei breaks down into tears, briefly, over her son, then looks up at her youngest brother with upmost loathing. She accuses him of murdering the boy, and the Kingsguard lay hands on him. “Take him!” she screams over and over, before continuing to sob over her son’s body.
Thoughts
So whoah, right out of the gate, almost, we have our first big shocker. There were some debates among the “sullied,” if I remember correctly, about when Joffrey’s death would happen—episode two is usually still a quiet time for “Game of Thrones”—but this was obviously meant to be a big catalyst of the season. Have lots of aftermath to get to!
On a technical note, in the book these chapters could only be narrated by Tyrion and Sansa, who, until the very end, were largely sullen spectators of the show. I found it amusing because it’s not too different from the novel—we were privy to their thoughts, but they weren’t involved in much publicly. Granted, a lot of the action has been changed. Jaime and Brienne, as noted, aren’t back from the road until post-wedding (and now we can extrapolate that their welcome would have been much different. :P I did kinda like that Jaime joined Cersei as Joff died—he didn’t love the boy as a father, but he certainly he felt a sense of duty towards him, and towards Cersei.)
This is even more urgent since they’d just explored the growing distance between the twins, a la Cersei’s impending marriage and Jaime’s relationship to Brienne. The former was a little on the nose for me, but the latter, aka the interaction between the two women, was more intriguing. This isn’t the sort of competition that our Queen would likely expect. Anywho. Oberyn and Loras didn’t engage in any sort of flirtation—it’s been a complaint among many purists that Loras is so willing to move on into other relationships, even if they’re obviously just surface level. It’s also weird to see this as a book reader, since the Tyrells and Martells don’t really get along, if I remember correctly. It seems par for the course that all of the noble houses secretly or not so secretly despise each other. :P Finally, Margaery’s interest, political and otherwise, with the poor don’t exist in the book, though they certainly set up great tension between her and the queen she’s replacing.
I’m using that term loosely, unlike on the show. There was a bit of shock over the fact that Oberyn claimed she was no longer a queen—which wasn’t really disputed by Cersei or Tywin, either. In the book mythos, she’d always remain the “Queen Dowager,” even if Margaery is successful in acquiring more power. It just seemed an unnecessarily blunt invention of the show to indicate the woman’s fading position. Also, Oberyn is exceedingly forward with how much he disdains Tywin, now elsewhere on the show. I did like the emphasis put on different social customs (Dorne’s progressive attitude towards bastards, Oberyn bringing up Myrcella’s placement, Doran with the gout, general story extrapolation. :P) Elsewhere, I enjoyed Tywin and Olenna arguing over finances (though the Lord of Casterly Rock isn’t miserly in the book,) but it brought up great points about appeasing the public, and a reminder that wars don’t for free. Foreshadowing, foreshadowing. (I felt bad for sniggering as Olenna so blithely dismissed her own son, but in “Game of Thrones” snubs, that was pretty tame anyway. :P)
Wow, the costumes and set design and everything about the wedding and reception were so great. Took awhile to film, and certainly to set up, but kudos, kudos. (Canon wise the real wedding took place indoors, and Martin imagined even more lavish stuff but whatevs, people. They certainly extended that budget!) It was so aesthetically pleasing. I also enjoyed the drawrves’ “mummer’s show”—well, “enjoy” is the wrong word, but it seemed accurate to medieval ways of mocking both outcasts and political rivals. (Of course there’s also a poetic justice moment in how the play was supposed to show Joffrey coming out on top—at the hour of his murder.) The specifics of the mummer’s play in canon—still involving dwarves so as to mock his uncle—were different, but I thought it worked very well here, to show how fractured the society is, and generally how offensive most people, perhaps excluding his mother, find Joff’s schadenfruede to be. Lots of people wanted him dead—and obviously, from the incredible make up job and Jack’s great performance, he was poisoned. Won’t go into more detail here, except to say that it is of course canon that Tyrion is immediately accused of the crime.
The set up to Joffrey’s death, regarding the tensions between uncle and nephew, are very true to canon (and incredibly well played out on screen. I was holding in my breath as the music swelled and the glares held. :P) Only minor differences, really—Tyrion was less drunk on the show; in canon, perhaps too inebriated to be logical, he actually poured out the wine in Joffrey’s cup as he died, likely further implicating himself. He was also, at this point in canon, coming to the conclusion that Joffrey was the one who sent an assassin to finish off Bran all those years ago (based off of some comment Robert made and wanting to prove himself to his dad…basically long past history that the show audience wouldn’t likely identify with.) But in canon, that was another point of contention between Joff and Tyrion during the time of death.
(Before ending the King’s Landing stuff, I’ll jump back to the beginning of the episode with Jaime and Bronn. Didn’t happen in canon—he sparred with a childhood friend instead—but obviously this is meant to build up a bromance, or at least relationship between two well known characters. Elio at westeros.org quibbled over the fact that it’s ridiculous that Jaime wouldn’t have used a sparring sword since he was nine, but I admit this sort of thing doesn’t really phase me, so moving on.)
My opinion of Sansa this episode is…conflicted. Overall, her lack of reaction, well, except to be miserable, while Joffrey taunts her over breakfast and at the wedding reception (it’s even worse in the book,) is pretty much to be expected. Girl feels pretty defeated, her entire family she presumes to be dead, and Joff holds all the power. Basically, I’m saying that I’m not frustrated by the fact that she doesn’t suddenly morph into a “Sucker Punch” dream montage or whatever. :P I’m far more upset by her lack of any verbal presence, beyond the “We have a new queen,” snark. Going back to the lack of follow through with her relationship to Shae, couldn’t she mention something to Tyrion, like “where was she; she was supposed to help with my hair,” or whatever (which would also play into Tyrion’s guilt about the whole situation; great scene between Peter and Sibel. Not from canon, where Shae actually considers their relationship to be less personal and Tyrion had other plans to help her out, but it fits into the show narrative in a heartbreaking way for both characters. Anywho.) At the very least, Sansa should have had the chance to exchange courtesies with Olenna during their interlude, not just sit there. (This is also the scene—Sansa interacting with Olenna and other nobles—where Tyrion realizes how easily the feminine arts come to her. Lovely bit of character development that can’t be expressed so easily on the show, I guess.)
And I can’t blame this one episode for the fact that Sansa was basically pulled along for the ride as Joffrey died. In the books, she had been in cahoots with Dontos for a long time—she didn’t know the king would kick it, but she was expecting to escape that night. Here, of course, she’s completely off her guard, and Dontos has to be there physically to pull her strings. There’s a lot of other small canon stuff missing too—Sansa’s snarky internal reaction to Joffrey as he receives Tyrion’s gift, general discomfort and confusion, again mostly internal, between the married couple, and a great interaction between her, Oberyn and Ellaria. It was probably too naïve for Sansa of the show—in canon she was recounting the tale of a goodly king who was so blessed that poison didn’t affect him; the Dornish moved to correct her. But still…well, part of me hoped that Oberyn would talk to her of revenge, even if that’s a bit dramatic. But they have a lot in common, concerning family members torn asunder by the Lannisters (though, well, the Starks and the Martells aren’t exactly friends, after the whole Rhaegar/Elia/Lyanna situation.) Perhaps more justified, I was desperate for an interaction between Sansa and Brienne, but that didn’t come to pass, either. Alas and disappointment. I did love—besides Sansa being involved in the wine glass tension /spoilers and death glares—Sophie’s visceral reaction, hand thumping distressed, against the table, at a certain scene between “Joffrey” and “Robb.” I had the feels. :/
But let’s move on to new locales! In Dragonstone there were some instances of burning folks—including Selyse’s uncle, not brother—but that was because of political insubordination, not infidelity to the Red God. They’re basically upping the umph on the religious tensions, particularly between the main characters. There’s little tweaks—like Selyse and Stannis being married on the show during that long ago siege, Selyse’s coldness towards Shireen (didn’t like that; they’re overdoing her bitchiness, I mean, even Stannis has some affection for the girl,) and Melissandre’s convictions about hell (I did like that; goes well with her brand of fundamentalism. Also, Shireen holding her own against this extremist was just golden. You go, girl!) We’re kind of just stretching out plot over here, but I’ll keep my mouth shut. :P
I looooved Bran’s anger and aggression; his situation—and Summer’s own feelings—are blending into him. I loved Meera’s ominous warning that he might forget his family, Winterfell, his past, all of these personal indicators. And yet, through his Sight he’s attached to a much grander past, present and future. It doesn’t directly come from any part of the novels, but it mirrors issues with Bran’s personal identity and prophetic future, as discussed in books two and five. The big component missing here is Coldhands—the mysterious traveling companion that Sam brings to the group. It’s Coldhands, not the weirwood visions, that gives canon Bran his sense of direction. But eh…especially given certain spoilers, albeit not purposely leaked by Martin, that have surfaced, I’m even less interested in this figure. It’s all about the Branster for me, and I’m totally in love with this sequence.
Finally, back to where we began with the Boltons. Speaking of mixed feelings…it’s strange as hell, after book five, to imagine Ramsay being in cahoots with any woman (or, really person, though he does have some male lackeys in the novels,) rather than just raping, skinning and killing on his own. I never really liked, or bought, that the “bride of Dracula” situation, as I called it last season, worked, but at least it’s tamer than canon. I’d say Ramsay might be a very controversial character among some, perhaps, because he is so violent, and it also has nothing to do with the war; this is entirely his own thing. Anywho.
Also from last season, I didn’t buy Theon’s torture and molding into “Reek;” the machinations of plot didn’t feel plausible to me at all. But that’s all in the past now, and I’m going to assume that yes, Theon has been broken, because the plot now demands it and Alfie does a hella good job at acting. (His arc as Theon is an amazing testament of skill. I seriously think he’s the best actor on the show, and most deserving of the awards. Personal opinion!) My opinions on the “Reek”/Ramsay scenes this year have increased tenfold. This small interlude, with Theon learning of Robb’s death and spilling the beans about Bran and Rickon (didn’t get to see it in the books; one of the perks of the show,) is just the tip of the iceberg.
I found the Roose/Ramsay stuff to also be intriguing, though different from canon. Roose doesn’t have to smuggle himself to the Dreadfort in the books, (and Ramsay decides on his own, rather than Roose suggesting it, to go ye forth to Moat Cailin,) though it makes sense, as a physical effect of the continued Greyjoy presence in the north. Things aren’t so tense between father and son either, and this might be due to character differentiations. As Joffrey dies, canon Ramsay replaces him as an even worse psycho brat; defensive, violent and lacking in any social graces that might predispose him to care overly much how Roose perceives him, unless Daddy takes away a toy (like “Reek,” for example.) And Roose, although not thrilled with Ramsay’s predispositions (he shares confidentially with “Reek,”) is outwardly fine with legitimizing him. On the show, Ramsay has been toned down and Roose has been amped up, which makes their interactions more relatable, surely. I like the familial issues they bring up, but it’s still weird to associate them with these two. I dunno. Honestly, I think canon would be a little too jarring here—for me as a book reader, too. Sometimes it’s ok to tone the crazy violence down. Relationships, vulnerability, internal driving forces…much more interesting. Especially in the wake of an episode like this one.
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