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scifi_rewatchAlthough named for a male character, this episode is largely about the show’s women. It’s about Sansa and Arya, who both learn tough lessons this week. It’s about Brienne and Daenerys tackling issues of leadership. It’s about Margaery maintaining her relationship with Tommen. It’s about Cersei taking steps that she feel will foster, or avenge, her children. And it’s about the world of misogyny that Craster’s daughter wives and now Meera have to endure. And Lysa spills the beans (to the audience, at least,) about a shocking plot she helped put into play.
I may be biased here, but if this episode is about one male character over any other, it would have to be Bran. His little uncanonical interlude ends as expected, but I grew to appreciate the small dilemmas he faced. Overall, I really liked this one; gave me lots to chew on, both serious and comedic! Mid-season is a nice time to cast off our trauma for a few scenes. :P
Summary
King’s Landing
Tommen is crowned as king, aka first of his name. The throne room is filled with people who want to schmooze with him, but only Margaery makes him smile. Cersei sees this, and makes her way over to her once and future daughter-in-law. They talk about how Tommen is a sweet boy, probably the most deserving of power of anyone to sit the Iron Throne in a lifetime. They talk about Joffrey, whom Margaery professes to still mourn, but Cersei counters that she knows that other woman knew that her son was a nightmare. Cersei herself knows because she loved him so much. Now her second son sits on the throne and needs all the help he can get. Margaery pretends that she hadn’t thought of becoming queen again, and the two of them agree to talk to their fathers about it.
Sure enough, Cersei and Tywin arrange for Tommen to marry Margaery in a fortnight’s time, and then Cersei has to marry Loras as well. Although the Queen Regent doesn’t like the Tyrells that much, Tywin asserts that they need them—not only because of the Iron Bank breathing down their necks, but because the rich Lannister gold mines have at last run dry. Cersei says she understands; it’s all about the family legacy. Tywin doesn’t really want to discuss the trial, but Cersei persists—if he cast off Jaime for refusing to contribute to the Lannister future, what should he do to Tyrion for killing someone who represented that future?
Later, she goes to see Oberyn, who is writing poetry for one of his eight daughters. The twosome walk and bond over their children, and their grief and anger in not being able to protect those they love. Cersei maintains that she’s sure that Tyrion killed her son, and she doubts that a trial will get to the truth of the matter. Facing the sea now, she points out a ship that she had made for Myrcella, having missed her last name day. Her voice breaking, Cersei asks Oberyn to relay that she misses her daughter very much. Oberyn maintains that Myrcella is safe in Dorne, that no one would harm her; Cersei is less optimistic. “Everywhere in the world they hurt little girls.”
Meereen
Daenerys’s council breaks the news to her—Joffrey is dead, and King’s Landing is certainly weakened. They have their 8,000 Unsullied, and thanks to Daario deciding to give Dany an unrequested gift, they now have the Meereenese navy. Barristan is confident that they can lay siege to King’s Landing. Jorah is less sure, especially since the goal is to takeover all of Westeros. The royal houses will, of course, flock to whichever side is winning a war.
Closer to Meereen, Dany’s earlier conquests now lie in ruins. The slavers have taken over Astapor again and Yunkai is ruled by a warlord who overthrew her council. Dany asks to be left alone with Jorah, who cautioned her against brashness before. Not trusting herself to be able to rule Westeros if she can’t stop her conquered cities from slipping back into slavery, she decides to stay and rule Meereen.
The Vale
Petyr advises Sansa to pull up her hood as they approach; some of Lysa’s men might recognize her auburn hair. He then gives a mini lesson about how the Bloody Gate, the entry to the Vale, is almost impassable except if one’s party is small. These mountains are a natural defense against invaders. At the Gate, he introduces Sansa as “his niece, Alayne;” he’s welcomed back as Lord Baelish, and the two gain entry to the Eyrie.
Robin runs down to meet his “Uncle Petyr,” who presents him with the gift of a glass falcon as a gift. Sansa attempts to present herself as “Alayne,” but Lysa stops her; she greets her niece with a hug, but privately her expression is less thrilled. They establish that Sansa’s identity must be kept secret, as the Lannisters have spies everywhere. Robin is eager to ask about Sansa’s slain parents and brother, Robb, and he shows her the moon door by throwing his gift through it. Lysa then asks if “that filthy troll” forced himself on her, but Sansa answers negatively, insisting that Tyrion was as unwilling to enter the marriage as she was.
Robin is then dispatched to take his cousin to her room, leaving Lysa to jump on Littlefinger. She’s tired of his sideplots in King’s Landing keeping him away; she wants to get married now. Like right now, the septon waiting outside of the door. Littlefinger is a little hesitant, but Lysa counters with how much she’s already done for him, most especially by poisoning her husband’s wine and writing a letter to Catelyn blaming the Lannisters, thereby putting the entire Stark plot of the series into motion. Littlefinger silences her with a kiss, and the wedding goes forward. Later that night, as promised, Lysa screams as he makes love to her, which Sansa has to overhear in bed, her face stony with annoyance.
Sometime later, Lysa feeds Sansa lemon cakes and teases her with stories about her mother when she was young. It’s all a set up to get her to open up about Littlefinger—why does he care about Cat’s daughter so much, to risk his life to save her, to bring over all these lemon cakes? Sansa says it’s because he loves—her family, but the pause in between allows Lysa to pounce; you mean your mother, right? Clutching her niece’s hands so that the girl can’t escape the Lysa’s monologue turns into paranoid, viscious ranting. Growing frightened, Sansa breaks down, claiming Littlefinger only ever thought of her as a stupid little girl who must always tell the truth because she’s no good at lying. Appeased, Lysa goes to hug her niece, and promises that everything will be ok soon—Tyrion will be executed and Sansa will be free to marry Robin.
The Riverlands
We have two distinct storylines in one location again, yay! :P
Arya and the Hound
At the night campire, Arya recites her list of men she intends to kill, which the Hound appreciates as a means of survival (hatred is a good way to keep going, he says,) especially since his brother’s name is on it, but in the short term he wants her to shut up so he can sleep. Arya asks if the Mountain were there with them, what would the Hound do? After a tense moment of silence, the Hound shrugs off the question and tells her to get on with saying her final name. It’s “The Hound,” of course, after which she turns over to go to sleep while he looks at her back.
In the morning the Hound is more frantic, as Arya isn’t across from him. He finds her practicing water dancing, which he immediately decries as useless. Arya grows increasingly upset, claiming her teacher, Syrio, was the best swordsman who ever lived, which Sandor finds hilarious after finding out the circumstances of his death. He baits her into fighting him, but when she goes for the chest, Needle can’t make it past his armor. He backhands her and she falls flat on the ground. With her own sword to her throat he chastises her—armor saves your life, not swordplay.
Brienne and Pod
Pod’s horse weaves on and off the road; he hasn’t had much time to practice riding. Or cooking, it seems, when he tries cooking a hare with the fur still attached. Brienne tries to release him from her service, but plucky Pod persists in being her squire. She won’t allow him to remove her armor, and after listening to a secretarial list of duties that he performed for Tyrion, she asks if he ever did anything related to combat. He admits to killing a kingsguard who was trying to kill Tyrion. Softened a little by this admission, Brienne allows Pod to help her with her straps. They are en route to the Wall, as Brienne assumes Sansa will head to her surviving brother.
Beyond the Wall
Locke does reconnaissance on Craster’s Keep, making sure to locate Bran and company before reporting back to the Night’s Watch. He tells them that there are 11 men, mostly drunk, and to stay away from where Bran is being held captive, citing hounds are tied up there, and they could warn the mutineers of an attack.
Jojen is coughing, clearly getting more ill, but his thoughts are focused on the great weirwood tree to the north, that he’s also seen in his visions. He asserts that he, Meera and Hodor are just guides; it’s just imperative that Bran gets to that tree. Things look pretty bleak now, being tied up and all, but they will continue on; they will know when it is “the end.” When Meera asks how, Jojen looks at fire sprouting from his hand that only he can see. “You’ll know,” he says.
Later, Karl and some of his goons enter the tent, force Meera to her feet, tie her up and start verbally assaulting her. When Jojen tries to get them to free her, Karl taunts him with her rape. But before he can get started Jojen snickers that he saw his death, and that it’ll be tonight. This little hubbub is interrupted by the arrival of the Night’s Watch. Karl and his goons go out to fight; Locke immediately makes his way to Bran. But as soon as Locke is a little too familiar with the boy, Bran knows something is up. He screams for Jon, causing Locke to threaten his friends if he doesn’t comply with him. Locke hoists the boy over his shoulder, but after some visual communication with Jojen, Bran wargs into Hodor. Through Hodor’s body, Bran viciously snaps Locke’s neck. Back in his own, he crawls over to where Jon is fighting, trying to get his attention. But as the Reeds join him, Jojen warns that Jon will want to take him back to Castle Black—it’s either his brother or the three eyed raven. After a prolonged look, Bran decides that it’s time to leave.
Jon corners Karl in a hut, who taunts him about fighting with honor. They’re pretty evenly matched, with Karl even getting the upper hand, until he’s stabbed in the side by one of Craster’s wives. As he starts in on her, Jon stabs him through the back of the head. Outside, the Night’s Watch finishes the other mutineers and Ghost, freed when Bran freed Summer, finishes off Rast.
Fighting done, Jon offers to take the women back to the Wall, but the eldest, citing a lifetime of abuse at the hands of men, says they’ll find their own way. As for Craster’s Keep, however, “burn it to the ground. And the dead with it.” The assembled watch as the keep is engulfed in flames.
Thoughts
If Craster’s Keep didn’t represent a system of patriarchy, misogyny and abuse, I don’t know what does. Burning down this one house doesn’t mean much for the freedmen who might slide back into chains in Essos, or little girls who get hurt in every part of Westeros, but it’s a nice reprieve to know that one corrupt system can get torn down. I think I prefer that to the mystery of the book as to whether Craster’s daughters make it out alive.
Pretty much everything from beyond the Wall, as in last episode, is fabricated, except for Jojen knowing the manner of his own “end.” There is no Locke in the novels to be killed, and I’m somewhat conflicted by all of this—it’s supposed to be a huge taboo for Bran to enter the mind of a human. Granted, the show painted us a dire situation, and afterwards, Hodor seems horrified by what transpired. I would hope that maybe they address the issue of Bran’s warging into Hodor more fully in the future. Again, I don’t see how Meera’s almost-rape served a purpose, except for Jojen to stick it to Karl about his own death (I liked the time passing aspect of Jojen’s vision.) But why do we need confirmation of Karl getting his comeuppance when Jon is about to serve it to him on screen? Well choreographed scene, btw.
Bran almost confronting Jon was redundant of last season, but more visceral this time. Back at the Gift, circumstances were keeping the brothers apart, but this time Bran could capture Jon’s attention if he wanted. In the end (and with a heartbreaking look by Isaac) he had to choose the three eyed raven over a reunion. My Stark heart just keeps breaking. :/
In the books, Rast actually makes it back to the Wall and is killed while fighting a wildling, but I guess Ghost needed to have his vengeance, too. The show certainly painted Rast as a coward this season. I was amused, in a macabre way, that after eating a dude, Ghost then went to Jon like a happy puppy. :P In the books, of course, although the twosome spent some time apart, Ghost came back on his own, and wasn’t recovered at the Keep since no one was at the Keep. :P And now, it seems, no one will ever be at the Keep again! End scene!
In the books, Brienne first tries to head for the Vale, a progression that takes more time on the show. /spoilers. The specifics of these scenes with Pod aren’t in the book, but generally he’s not well trained (granted, he’s also a fair bit younger in the books. Either way, it certainly makes for some good comedy here. :P) I’m not entirely thrilled with how they adapted Brienne for the show; I feel like they hardened here, where canonically she’s more naively pro-chivalry like Sansa, just that she’s playing the knight rather than the damsel. In the books, I couldn’t imagine her being so short with Pod, but it fits with her show character. There’s also a good actor dynamic at play; I believe these two became a fan fave.
Dany’s story is also quite different, too. In the books, she doesn’t know of Joffrey’s demise, and she and Jorah are in a far different place, emotionally. But this exchange works well, as it transitions into her canon decision to stay in Meereen, rule, and make sure her freedmen stay free. (The Essos stuff, if I remember correctly, is vaguely accurate. Slaver’s bay is a force to be reckoned with.) We are officially in my favorite part of the Dany storyline, where she can’t solve all of her political problems with dragonfire. :D Moving slow, but we are getting there!
Sansa and Arya both learn hard truths this episode. For Arya, who is clinging so fiercely to Syrio Forel’s reputation that the Hound’s mockery gets her physically upset, she learns that well practiced swordplay doesn’t deliver the same punch as something as pedestrian as armor. The girl is quite clearly looking for a place to belong; she’s been mentioning Syrio and Braavos a fair bit, but the Hound sweeps her foundation out from under her. It’s not really from the novels; in fact, by this point Arya was already as nihilistic as the Hound is teaching her show counterpart to be. They’re also upping tension with Arya reciting her list—including with Sandor’s name—in front of him. In the books she was more private, and also Melissandre, Thoros and Beric aren’t on it, though season three obviously predicated their inclusion on the show.
Sansa’s tentative hopes of finding someone who might protect her out of family duty are dashed when what could have been a friendly chat over lemon cakes turns into a threatening, paranoid rant on Lysa’s part. I admit to having some bias against Lysa, not only because she’s threatening my favorite character, but she’s threatening her own niece. Being an aunt is a sacred trust, lady! Meanwhile, things are streamlined from the show—they meet in a different place, there’s more people on the roster, and Lysa actually isn’t aware of Sansa’s real identity until after the wedding. (Having Sophie react to the sex scenes was genius. And a nice change of pace from the novel, where she’s actually almost assaulted during that time. We need a break from that, people.) I was intrigued by Sansa’s breakdown, where she repeated all of her usual defenses against abuse (I’m not a threat, just a stupid little girl who can’t lie,) which to me read as partially genuine and partially an act on the girl’s part in order to back her aunt off of the paranoid cliff. Certainly as Lysa “soothes” he with the promise of marriage to Robin (true to the books,) Sansa seems to compose herself rather quickly, akin to how she had to in Joffrey’s court.
(It’s worth noting that Sansa expresses more sympathy for Tyrion—claiming they were forced, together, into a union that neither wanted—than she would be in the books. I think this is a necessity, mirroring show Tyrion’s altered sympathy towards her as well. Their history together is much more open than in the books—and even friendly, pre-Red Wedding. If you’re going to change the dynamics of a relationship, you have to change both character responses, too. The show is more honest here than they are with other relationships, which I’ll expound on at a later date.)
Lysa, meanwhile, drops a canonical bombshell—she and Littlefinger conspired to have Jon Arryn killed while pointing the Starks in the direction of the Lannisters! In the novels, Sansa is privy to this admission, though her circumstances at the time are a bit tumultuous. Easier to just keep her in the dark, especially since she isn’t fully aware of all of the background info anyway. But for the audience, a major mystery of the narrative has come full circle—leaving Lysa and Littlefinger as major players in the downfall of the Starks. That Littlefinger means what he says concerning stirring up chaos. As for Lysa, I find her true to the book, though sometimes this level of jealous paranoia leans towards one-dimensional harpiness. Kate Dickie plays it off very well, though.
If one character has become less one dimensionally harpy on the show, imho, (though some folks prefer the original,) it’s Cersei. Her scenes were amazing to me in how they were manipulative and genuine at the same time. Better to ply her enemy, Margaery, with a little honey, especially with her father on Tyrion’s trial council. She’s also too smart, on the show, to pretend about Joffrey. She’s still playing ball—so she says—with her father, which is especially useful since she wants to prop herself up as the only child interested in the family legacy. We might not have liked Joffrey very much, but as king, and a recently married one at that, he certainly represented the most powerful future for the Lannisters, particularly with their own resources running dry. (Definitely not canon, though it makes their alliance with the Tyrells, and the threat of the Iron Bank, all the more tangible.)
Finally, I’m not sure I can even express how much I loved her scene with Oberyn. In the books, she would have simply moved to seduce him in order to get her way; the show offers us something so much deeper. She’s a genuinely grieving mother, who’s convinced herself of her brother’s guilt. Yes, she wants to manipulate Oberyn’s vote for the trial, but they also share something in common—engulfing pain and anger over not being able to protect someone they love. There’s few people she can talk to at King’s Landing who are experiencing that so deeply.
Also, despite what might be Dorne’s more progressive attitudes towards the safety of girls, one need only watch this episode to realize what a shoddy precipice “safety” for the disenfranchised really is. Lena’s performance, the way her voice broke as Cersei verbally missed her daughter, was fantastic. Not to mention how refreshing it was to see Oberyn out of a brothel, and doing something else for a change. :P Methinks all of this talk of the Martell girls and the water gardens might guarantee a Dorne sighting in later seasons…teehee.
I may be biased here, but if this episode is about one male character over any other, it would have to be Bran. His little uncanonical interlude ends as expected, but I grew to appreciate the small dilemmas he faced. Overall, I really liked this one; gave me lots to chew on, both serious and comedic! Mid-season is a nice time to cast off our trauma for a few scenes. :P
Summary
King’s Landing
Tommen is crowned as king, aka first of his name. The throne room is filled with people who want to schmooze with him, but only Margaery makes him smile. Cersei sees this, and makes her way over to her once and future daughter-in-law. They talk about how Tommen is a sweet boy, probably the most deserving of power of anyone to sit the Iron Throne in a lifetime. They talk about Joffrey, whom Margaery professes to still mourn, but Cersei counters that she knows that other woman knew that her son was a nightmare. Cersei herself knows because she loved him so much. Now her second son sits on the throne and needs all the help he can get. Margaery pretends that she hadn’t thought of becoming queen again, and the two of them agree to talk to their fathers about it.
Sure enough, Cersei and Tywin arrange for Tommen to marry Margaery in a fortnight’s time, and then Cersei has to marry Loras as well. Although the Queen Regent doesn’t like the Tyrells that much, Tywin asserts that they need them—not only because of the Iron Bank breathing down their necks, but because the rich Lannister gold mines have at last run dry. Cersei says she understands; it’s all about the family legacy. Tywin doesn’t really want to discuss the trial, but Cersei persists—if he cast off Jaime for refusing to contribute to the Lannister future, what should he do to Tyrion for killing someone who represented that future?
Later, she goes to see Oberyn, who is writing poetry for one of his eight daughters. The twosome walk and bond over their children, and their grief and anger in not being able to protect those they love. Cersei maintains that she’s sure that Tyrion killed her son, and she doubts that a trial will get to the truth of the matter. Facing the sea now, she points out a ship that she had made for Myrcella, having missed her last name day. Her voice breaking, Cersei asks Oberyn to relay that she misses her daughter very much. Oberyn maintains that Myrcella is safe in Dorne, that no one would harm her; Cersei is less optimistic. “Everywhere in the world they hurt little girls.”
Meereen
Daenerys’s council breaks the news to her—Joffrey is dead, and King’s Landing is certainly weakened. They have their 8,000 Unsullied, and thanks to Daario deciding to give Dany an unrequested gift, they now have the Meereenese navy. Barristan is confident that they can lay siege to King’s Landing. Jorah is less sure, especially since the goal is to takeover all of Westeros. The royal houses will, of course, flock to whichever side is winning a war.
Closer to Meereen, Dany’s earlier conquests now lie in ruins. The slavers have taken over Astapor again and Yunkai is ruled by a warlord who overthrew her council. Dany asks to be left alone with Jorah, who cautioned her against brashness before. Not trusting herself to be able to rule Westeros if she can’t stop her conquered cities from slipping back into slavery, she decides to stay and rule Meereen.
The Vale
Petyr advises Sansa to pull up her hood as they approach; some of Lysa’s men might recognize her auburn hair. He then gives a mini lesson about how the Bloody Gate, the entry to the Vale, is almost impassable except if one’s party is small. These mountains are a natural defense against invaders. At the Gate, he introduces Sansa as “his niece, Alayne;” he’s welcomed back as Lord Baelish, and the two gain entry to the Eyrie.
Robin runs down to meet his “Uncle Petyr,” who presents him with the gift of a glass falcon as a gift. Sansa attempts to present herself as “Alayne,” but Lysa stops her; she greets her niece with a hug, but privately her expression is less thrilled. They establish that Sansa’s identity must be kept secret, as the Lannisters have spies everywhere. Robin is eager to ask about Sansa’s slain parents and brother, Robb, and he shows her the moon door by throwing his gift through it. Lysa then asks if “that filthy troll” forced himself on her, but Sansa answers negatively, insisting that Tyrion was as unwilling to enter the marriage as she was.
Robin is then dispatched to take his cousin to her room, leaving Lysa to jump on Littlefinger. She’s tired of his sideplots in King’s Landing keeping him away; she wants to get married now. Like right now, the septon waiting outside of the door. Littlefinger is a little hesitant, but Lysa counters with how much she’s already done for him, most especially by poisoning her husband’s wine and writing a letter to Catelyn blaming the Lannisters, thereby putting the entire Stark plot of the series into motion. Littlefinger silences her with a kiss, and the wedding goes forward. Later that night, as promised, Lysa screams as he makes love to her, which Sansa has to overhear in bed, her face stony with annoyance.
Sometime later, Lysa feeds Sansa lemon cakes and teases her with stories about her mother when she was young. It’s all a set up to get her to open up about Littlefinger—why does he care about Cat’s daughter so much, to risk his life to save her, to bring over all these lemon cakes? Sansa says it’s because he loves—her family, but the pause in between allows Lysa to pounce; you mean your mother, right? Clutching her niece’s hands so that the girl can’t escape the Lysa’s monologue turns into paranoid, viscious ranting. Growing frightened, Sansa breaks down, claiming Littlefinger only ever thought of her as a stupid little girl who must always tell the truth because she’s no good at lying. Appeased, Lysa goes to hug her niece, and promises that everything will be ok soon—Tyrion will be executed and Sansa will be free to marry Robin.
The Riverlands
We have two distinct storylines in one location again, yay! :P
Arya and the Hound
At the night campire, Arya recites her list of men she intends to kill, which the Hound appreciates as a means of survival (hatred is a good way to keep going, he says,) especially since his brother’s name is on it, but in the short term he wants her to shut up so he can sleep. Arya asks if the Mountain were there with them, what would the Hound do? After a tense moment of silence, the Hound shrugs off the question and tells her to get on with saying her final name. It’s “The Hound,” of course, after which she turns over to go to sleep while he looks at her back.
In the morning the Hound is more frantic, as Arya isn’t across from him. He finds her practicing water dancing, which he immediately decries as useless. Arya grows increasingly upset, claiming her teacher, Syrio, was the best swordsman who ever lived, which Sandor finds hilarious after finding out the circumstances of his death. He baits her into fighting him, but when she goes for the chest, Needle can’t make it past his armor. He backhands her and she falls flat on the ground. With her own sword to her throat he chastises her—armor saves your life, not swordplay.
Brienne and Pod
Pod’s horse weaves on and off the road; he hasn’t had much time to practice riding. Or cooking, it seems, when he tries cooking a hare with the fur still attached. Brienne tries to release him from her service, but plucky Pod persists in being her squire. She won’t allow him to remove her armor, and after listening to a secretarial list of duties that he performed for Tyrion, she asks if he ever did anything related to combat. He admits to killing a kingsguard who was trying to kill Tyrion. Softened a little by this admission, Brienne allows Pod to help her with her straps. They are en route to the Wall, as Brienne assumes Sansa will head to her surviving brother.
Beyond the Wall
Locke does reconnaissance on Craster’s Keep, making sure to locate Bran and company before reporting back to the Night’s Watch. He tells them that there are 11 men, mostly drunk, and to stay away from where Bran is being held captive, citing hounds are tied up there, and they could warn the mutineers of an attack.
Jojen is coughing, clearly getting more ill, but his thoughts are focused on the great weirwood tree to the north, that he’s also seen in his visions. He asserts that he, Meera and Hodor are just guides; it’s just imperative that Bran gets to that tree. Things look pretty bleak now, being tied up and all, but they will continue on; they will know when it is “the end.” When Meera asks how, Jojen looks at fire sprouting from his hand that only he can see. “You’ll know,” he says.
Later, Karl and some of his goons enter the tent, force Meera to her feet, tie her up and start verbally assaulting her. When Jojen tries to get them to free her, Karl taunts him with her rape. But before he can get started Jojen snickers that he saw his death, and that it’ll be tonight. This little hubbub is interrupted by the arrival of the Night’s Watch. Karl and his goons go out to fight; Locke immediately makes his way to Bran. But as soon as Locke is a little too familiar with the boy, Bran knows something is up. He screams for Jon, causing Locke to threaten his friends if he doesn’t comply with him. Locke hoists the boy over his shoulder, but after some visual communication with Jojen, Bran wargs into Hodor. Through Hodor’s body, Bran viciously snaps Locke’s neck. Back in his own, he crawls over to where Jon is fighting, trying to get his attention. But as the Reeds join him, Jojen warns that Jon will want to take him back to Castle Black—it’s either his brother or the three eyed raven. After a prolonged look, Bran decides that it’s time to leave.
Jon corners Karl in a hut, who taunts him about fighting with honor. They’re pretty evenly matched, with Karl even getting the upper hand, until he’s stabbed in the side by one of Craster’s wives. As he starts in on her, Jon stabs him through the back of the head. Outside, the Night’s Watch finishes the other mutineers and Ghost, freed when Bran freed Summer, finishes off Rast.
Fighting done, Jon offers to take the women back to the Wall, but the eldest, citing a lifetime of abuse at the hands of men, says they’ll find their own way. As for Craster’s Keep, however, “burn it to the ground. And the dead with it.” The assembled watch as the keep is engulfed in flames.
Thoughts
If Craster’s Keep didn’t represent a system of patriarchy, misogyny and abuse, I don’t know what does. Burning down this one house doesn’t mean much for the freedmen who might slide back into chains in Essos, or little girls who get hurt in every part of Westeros, but it’s a nice reprieve to know that one corrupt system can get torn down. I think I prefer that to the mystery of the book as to whether Craster’s daughters make it out alive.
Pretty much everything from beyond the Wall, as in last episode, is fabricated, except for Jojen knowing the manner of his own “end.” There is no Locke in the novels to be killed, and I’m somewhat conflicted by all of this—it’s supposed to be a huge taboo for Bran to enter the mind of a human. Granted, the show painted us a dire situation, and afterwards, Hodor seems horrified by what transpired. I would hope that maybe they address the issue of Bran’s warging into Hodor more fully in the future. Again, I don’t see how Meera’s almost-rape served a purpose, except for Jojen to stick it to Karl about his own death (I liked the time passing aspect of Jojen’s vision.) But why do we need confirmation of Karl getting his comeuppance when Jon is about to serve it to him on screen? Well choreographed scene, btw.
Bran almost confronting Jon was redundant of last season, but more visceral this time. Back at the Gift, circumstances were keeping the brothers apart, but this time Bran could capture Jon’s attention if he wanted. In the end (and with a heartbreaking look by Isaac) he had to choose the three eyed raven over a reunion. My Stark heart just keeps breaking. :/
In the books, Rast actually makes it back to the Wall and is killed while fighting a wildling, but I guess Ghost needed to have his vengeance, too. The show certainly painted Rast as a coward this season. I was amused, in a macabre way, that after eating a dude, Ghost then went to Jon like a happy puppy. :P In the books, of course, although the twosome spent some time apart, Ghost came back on his own, and wasn’t recovered at the Keep since no one was at the Keep. :P And now, it seems, no one will ever be at the Keep again! End scene!
In the books, Brienne first tries to head for the Vale, a progression that takes more time on the show. /spoilers. The specifics of these scenes with Pod aren’t in the book, but generally he’s not well trained (granted, he’s also a fair bit younger in the books. Either way, it certainly makes for some good comedy here. :P) I’m not entirely thrilled with how they adapted Brienne for the show; I feel like they hardened here, where canonically she’s more naively pro-chivalry like Sansa, just that she’s playing the knight rather than the damsel. In the books, I couldn’t imagine her being so short with Pod, but it fits with her show character. There’s also a good actor dynamic at play; I believe these two became a fan fave.
Dany’s story is also quite different, too. In the books, she doesn’t know of Joffrey’s demise, and she and Jorah are in a far different place, emotionally. But this exchange works well, as it transitions into her canon decision to stay in Meereen, rule, and make sure her freedmen stay free. (The Essos stuff, if I remember correctly, is vaguely accurate. Slaver’s bay is a force to be reckoned with.) We are officially in my favorite part of the Dany storyline, where she can’t solve all of her political problems with dragonfire. :D Moving slow, but we are getting there!
Sansa and Arya both learn hard truths this episode. For Arya, who is clinging so fiercely to Syrio Forel’s reputation that the Hound’s mockery gets her physically upset, she learns that well practiced swordplay doesn’t deliver the same punch as something as pedestrian as armor. The girl is quite clearly looking for a place to belong; she’s been mentioning Syrio and Braavos a fair bit, but the Hound sweeps her foundation out from under her. It’s not really from the novels; in fact, by this point Arya was already as nihilistic as the Hound is teaching her show counterpart to be. They’re also upping tension with Arya reciting her list—including with Sandor’s name—in front of him. In the books she was more private, and also Melissandre, Thoros and Beric aren’t on it, though season three obviously predicated their inclusion on the show.
Sansa’s tentative hopes of finding someone who might protect her out of family duty are dashed when what could have been a friendly chat over lemon cakes turns into a threatening, paranoid rant on Lysa’s part. I admit to having some bias against Lysa, not only because she’s threatening my favorite character, but she’s threatening her own niece. Being an aunt is a sacred trust, lady! Meanwhile, things are streamlined from the show—they meet in a different place, there’s more people on the roster, and Lysa actually isn’t aware of Sansa’s real identity until after the wedding. (Having Sophie react to the sex scenes was genius. And a nice change of pace from the novel, where she’s actually almost assaulted during that time. We need a break from that, people.) I was intrigued by Sansa’s breakdown, where she repeated all of her usual defenses against abuse (I’m not a threat, just a stupid little girl who can’t lie,) which to me read as partially genuine and partially an act on the girl’s part in order to back her aunt off of the paranoid cliff. Certainly as Lysa “soothes” he with the promise of marriage to Robin (true to the books,) Sansa seems to compose herself rather quickly, akin to how she had to in Joffrey’s court.
(It’s worth noting that Sansa expresses more sympathy for Tyrion—claiming they were forced, together, into a union that neither wanted—than she would be in the books. I think this is a necessity, mirroring show Tyrion’s altered sympathy towards her as well. Their history together is much more open than in the books—and even friendly, pre-Red Wedding. If you’re going to change the dynamics of a relationship, you have to change both character responses, too. The show is more honest here than they are with other relationships, which I’ll expound on at a later date.)
Lysa, meanwhile, drops a canonical bombshell—she and Littlefinger conspired to have Jon Arryn killed while pointing the Starks in the direction of the Lannisters! In the novels, Sansa is privy to this admission, though her circumstances at the time are a bit tumultuous. Easier to just keep her in the dark, especially since she isn’t fully aware of all of the background info anyway. But for the audience, a major mystery of the narrative has come full circle—leaving Lysa and Littlefinger as major players in the downfall of the Starks. That Littlefinger means what he says concerning stirring up chaos. As for Lysa, I find her true to the book, though sometimes this level of jealous paranoia leans towards one-dimensional harpiness. Kate Dickie plays it off very well, though.
If one character has become less one dimensionally harpy on the show, imho, (though some folks prefer the original,) it’s Cersei. Her scenes were amazing to me in how they were manipulative and genuine at the same time. Better to ply her enemy, Margaery, with a little honey, especially with her father on Tyrion’s trial council. She’s also too smart, on the show, to pretend about Joffrey. She’s still playing ball—so she says—with her father, which is especially useful since she wants to prop herself up as the only child interested in the family legacy. We might not have liked Joffrey very much, but as king, and a recently married one at that, he certainly represented the most powerful future for the Lannisters, particularly with their own resources running dry. (Definitely not canon, though it makes their alliance with the Tyrells, and the threat of the Iron Bank, all the more tangible.)
Finally, I’m not sure I can even express how much I loved her scene with Oberyn. In the books, she would have simply moved to seduce him in order to get her way; the show offers us something so much deeper. She’s a genuinely grieving mother, who’s convinced herself of her brother’s guilt. Yes, she wants to manipulate Oberyn’s vote for the trial, but they also share something in common—engulfing pain and anger over not being able to protect someone they love. There’s few people she can talk to at King’s Landing who are experiencing that so deeply.
Also, despite what might be Dorne’s more progressive attitudes towards the safety of girls, one need only watch this episode to realize what a shoddy precipice “safety” for the disenfranchised really is. Lena’s performance, the way her voice broke as Cersei verbally missed her daughter, was fantastic. Not to mention how refreshing it was to see Oberyn out of a brothel, and doing something else for a change. :P Methinks all of this talk of the Martell girls and the water gardens might guarantee a Dorne sighting in later seasons…teehee.
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