A Song of Ice and Fire

Leave a comment Posted on by Mata A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones 4×04 – Oathkeeper Review

I wouldn’t call this episode an all out filler, but- okay fine it was a bit of a filler wasn’t it? A few reveals, we already knew due to our super-sleuth skills, were unveiled in a seamless fashion (kudos to director Michelle MacLaren and scriptwriter Bryan Cogman). Readers of the series were probably scratching their heads at a few scenes that definitely were not in the books. All in all the episode wasn’t boring, no episode of Game of Thrones ever is, but it did give the viewer a bit of a breather- while still managing to illicit some shock and awe. Shock and awe, kids, give ‘em that shock and awe.

Before you go on- keep in mind these reviews come with built-in show spoilers, with book spoilers discussed below the Honourable Mentions- that is please don’t have a cry if you read a spoiler from the latest episode- why are you reading this if you haven’t seen it?

Daenerys shows us once again what it’s like to take a city and free some slaves but at what point do we tire of her campaigning in Essos? I say campaigning but Dany’s liberation of the slaves where ever she goes and leaving them without any governance can be seen as a little irresponsible and her actions somewhat tyrannical (her way or the high-way). While I do agree with her stance on the slaver’s bay masters being punished every child they killed to ‘prove a point’, Barristan offers good counsel when he warns her that sometimes answering ‘injustice with mercy’ might prove to be the better option. Of course Dany’s eyebrows dismiss his suggestion with grace. Greyworm is very persuasive when he and a few other Unsullied sneak into Meereen and rallies the slaves to join the Freedom Movement.

Interesting choice of language to write ‘Kill The Masters’ with on the wall. Was there a TARDIS nearby to translate the foreign language into English for us?

Last week’s uncomfortable rhymes-with-grape scene has some lasting effects- which does taint Jaime’s character’s redemption story only by a lot. Cersei’s interactions with him are clipped and as she continues to descend into alcoholism (much like a late husband methinks?) it stands to reason that not all of her anger and hatred doesn’t just stem from her grief and blind hatred for their younger sibling and Jaime’s refusal to also blindly hate a certain younger sibling. As always Tyrion’s and Jaime’s scenes together are both parts funny and poignant, because here’s a someone with which Jaime has what can be construed as a normal sibling relationship- even if it’s undercut by such a sad sad situation- don’t sing. And it’s getting more and more absurd. I’ll take one of them ‘Kingslayer Bros’ tees.

Changing the namer of the sword from Jaime to Brienne for the show fits much better somehow. Mostly because Brienne is much more of an Oathkeeper than Jaime is/was and highlights what Jaime wants to become.

And we check in with Sansa and Littlefinger (Petyr Baelish- in case you’d forgotten), interesting parallel there when Sana asks him what exactly it is he wants and his response being a calm ‘everything’ differs only in tone to a certain sexposition scene in season one where he says the same thing, but with much more gusto to a couple of his workers. Baelish should write a book, How To Play The Game Of Thrones And Keep Your Head, by Petyr Baelish, with an introduction written by Lady Olenna. Whoever called ‘it was the grandmother at the dining table, with poison’ wins a creepy man with ambiguous intentions- who helped grandmother with the poison. Sansa didn’t make the call but she managed to win herself a creepy man with ambiguous intentions anyhow. Right, and she finally escaped King’s Landing. Joys. Littlefinger working with the Tyrells, or rather more specifically the Queen of Thorns (and Sass) Lady Olenna, can you imagine how that correspondence would have gone? That would be worth an episode alone.

Bran and Co being captured by the disgusting mutinous defectors of the Night’s Watch was a wild deviation from the books. It definitely serves to slow down Bran’s larger story arc, I would imagine. Honestly, if Bran wasn’t so stupid Summer never would have gotten caught, how did they even catch Ghost? I can already tell Bran wouldn’t make a very good gamer, because surely he’s locked in enough practice by now to be able to make full use of Summer’s senses while warging- and he didn’t hear anyone smoshing up to him in the snow? C’mon son!

Now, I know what you’re all thinking what the hell happened at the end there? With the White Walkers (none of which appeared to be Coldhands- more on CH in Book Spoilers) and what appeared to be some sort of White Walker Turning Ceremony. I’m pretty sure this didn’t occur in any of the books, nor did any of the nasty scenes at Crastor’s Keep with the ex-brothers of the Night’s Watch. At least we now have an insight as to what went down with the babies Crastor was callously offering to the White Walkers.

Honourable Mentions:

- Oh hey Jon Snow was in this episode too, about to start his own campaign trail too? He’s best when he’s being sassy, and most of all when he’s being sassy to wannabe Lord Commander of Castle Black- Alliser, bitchface, Thorne.

- LEAVE HODOR ALONE! If they kill Hodor, the fandom will riot. No joke.

- Underrated comedic gold. Pod just looks so happy and when Bronn hands him Tyrion’s gift… oh the adorbs. Utter Miranda moment, btw, when he calls Brienne ‘sir’.

- Ser Pounce!!! You know, I imagined Ser Pounce a lot…tinier. I suppose with the recast of Tommen to be older they had to get an older cat? Also, didn’t Margaery give him the kittens?

- Until next week! Keep reading if you’ve read the books, or just don’t care- otherwise here’s the trailer for next week! Can they not tease us with the Khaleesi making her way to King’s Landing?

Book Spoilers!

- I thought that the White Walker holding the baby could have been Coldhands- and when the shot seemed to focus on its hands my hope surged but then it just turned out to be another White Walker taking a baby to its… White Walker Christening? With Bran and Co now seemingly stuck at Crastor’s keep, at what point do we meet- if we do at all- Coldhands? Perhaps he saves them from the disgustos, I just really hope those douchebags get some sort of comeuppance.

- Also was this scene essentially a spoiler for the book readers? Do we get an in depth chapter describing exactly it was that we witnessed? Is this the story that White Walkers tell their White Walker Babies when they get a bit bigger and curious and hit their White Walker parents with ‘where did I come from?’ You see, little one, an incestuous stork left you out in the cold for us. Before that we don’t know…eggs?

- Brienne’s on her way from misery to happiness, today? No, she’ll more than likely encounter Lady Stoneheart on her quest to save Sansa- with Pod in tow. They can’t not have Lady Stoneheart, because all that badassery needs to be visually rendered!

- Tyrion and Sansa being very certain that neither of the other one murdered Joffrey was a little bit adorable. But Tyrion then adding ‘at least not yet’ could be foreshadowing? Or a hint towards the prophecy Arya heard “I dreamt of a maid at a feast, with purple serpents in her hair, venom dripping from their fangs. And later I dreamt that maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow.” We know that it’s Sansa at Joffrey’s wedding with the poisoned hairnet (necklace in the tv show), however interpreting ‘slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow’ is tricky. Because she does rip her cousin’s doll’s head off (albeit accidentally) in a literal snow-castle- but would the prophecy foretell something so seemingly insignificant? Could the castle built of snow be Winterfell and the giant be…the Mountain or someone largely important. Or could Sansa be Littlefinger’s downfall? His sigil is the head of a titan, a mighty mighty titan- they’re sort of giants aren’t they?

- Are they trying to buy time with Bran’s story-arc because him meeting the Children of the Forest now would be far too soon, wouldn’t it?

Leave a comment Posted on by Mata A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, TV Reviews

Game of Thrones 4×03 – Breaker of Chains Review

GOT.CerseiTroubling episode, no? Well, more troubling than usual that is. Let’s talk about what transpired tonight on our favourite cutthroat show, Game of Thrones. Most of the episode consisted of the immediate aftermath of the Purple Wedding (a framed Tyrion, a Sansa on the run!) while the rest of it was spent playing catch-ups with some of our other favourites. Beware of SPOILERS.

‘Breaker of Chains’ sets us up for what is sure to be the trial of the century, preparing us for the far-reaching ramifications of Joffrey’s murder, interspersed with scenes of Dany at Slaver’s Bay, Arya and The Hound on their way to the Eyrie, Jon Snow, Samwell Tarly and Gilly at Castle Black- Littlefinger and- haha jokes, he’s no one’s favourite. Okay, maybe he’s someone’s favourite- but not mine.

But first thing’s first, should we get right into that scene? I think we should, because the fandom is split, I mean really split, about what occurred in the Sept between Jaime and Cersei. On one hand, this series has never shied away from using rape as a plot device, while it’s not pretty you should know what you’ve invested your time in, and on the other hand there’s a chance that something has been lost in the translation from the page to our screen that changed what occurred in the Sept from consensual sex to outright rape. As someone who sped-read through all five books in the span of a week after binge-watching the first season, yes it’s possible when you’re procrastinating, I won’t pretend to be an expert on the finer details. However having said that, this was one of the scenes that stuck in my mind for a bit after reading A Storm of Swords because of the ew factor. I mean, c’mon guys- nasty incest is already gross without the added factor of nasty rapey incest beside the corpse of your nasty inbred child in your world’s place of worship? Ya nasty.

In the book, the scene could be interpreted as consensual- although the fact that the chapter is told from Jaime’s POV kind of pulls that into question. All of the information that is given to us reflects his subjective perception of what’s going on, and upon a second/third glance at the scene, Cersei does also protest at the start in the scene on the page. So is it really consensual in the book? Portraying something completely from a particular character’s point of view is hard to do onscreen, the closest way to mimic the book’s format would be to have a voice-over narrating and that’s just all kinds of no, amiright? It could be that by simply taking what occurs at face value and translating it onto the scene, stripped of any internal focalisation, the show depicts a much more unbiased account of what went down in that Sept. Ya dig?

I don’t want to spend anymore time talking about it, because other things did happen in this episode, but I’m curious to see what others made of the scene other than the usual ‘ew, naaaasty incest again‘. I continue to lament Cersei’s lack of agency and how it’s informed the development of her character- and the continued perpetuation of the patriarchy and how shitty it is for women in Westeros. We’ve got fans yelling about how the Sept scene undoes Jaime’s development so far (losing a hand for saving Brienne from rape and all that jazz) but what of Cersei’s?

Say what you will about Cersei, but that woman loves her children. Her character is defined by the men around her, Cersei is the daughter of a power-hungry man who married her off to a drunkard that never really wanted her, and the female half of a twincestuous relationship- with the other half not hearing her say no on the occasions she does say no to nastiness- she hates her younger brother not just for his being a dwarf but for -in her eyes- killing their mother and perhaps one day bringing about her own demise. Not to mention the fact that she spawns a monster of a son- who by the very fact that he was male was given the power (if not the respect) she felt she deserved. She wants to be her father, but she can’t because she’s a woman. Oh to be a woman ‘of power’ in Westeros, huh? Kudos to Lena Headey for her performance. For someone who hasn’t read the books she sure can embody that haughty, crazily trying to make up for her complete lack of agency, ruthless and utterly protective of her children lioness rather well. Joffrey was a monster but, as I said last week, his death was a tragedy for someone- his mother.

Tywin, not too bothered by the death of his eldest grandson, merely points out to the next in line (the sweet-tempered Tommen) that he is the next in line and gives him a history lesson on what makes a good king- over Joffrey’s grave and in the face of his grieving mother. Cersei’s expression as they walk off is one of sad-realisation that her role, after everything she’s put in or sacrificed, is so reduced that she can’t even keep her children from dying or at the very least in her own care.

Someone, for whom Joffrey’s death was not a tragedy was the Queen of Thorns. While Margaery is unsettled by what she witnessed, further strengthening the idea for viewers that she wasn’t involved in her new husband’s early demise, the Queen of Thorns is quick to say what we we’re all thinking, “You may not have enjoyed watching him die, but you enjoyed it more than you would’ve been being married to him, I can promise you that.” Lady Olenna needs to be around to show me how to life like she does- and how to poison kings without any of the backlash.

It’s good to see Arya and the Hound doing well- and the Hound continually teaching Arya the facts of their hellish life. Even if it means smashing and stealing from a farmer and his daughter who did nothing but take them in and give them food- after Arya’s quick wits saw her easily lie to the poor man about the Hound being her father and fighting for the Tullys. Which brings me to a very important question that’s gnawed at me since the Red Wedding, what happened to the Blackfish? Catelyn’s uncle? I mean I know what happens to him in the books, sorta, but we haven’t heard a word about Arya’s baddass great uncle. If the larger theme of this episode is the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’, the Blackfish is sure to have survived the Red Wedding. The Hound really hammers the idea that the weak die and the strong survive into Arya’s head- reminding her that most of her family is without a head for thinking that their world was an honourable place where justice prevails and the good come out on top.

Closer to the wall we’re confronted with the danger of the Wildlings breach and what it means for those poor folk caught in the crossfire. Once again, the Wildlings are the fittest in this case and when those Thenns tell that young boy they’re going to consume his mother and father the idea that being part of ‘the fittest’ perhaps means losing most of your humanity. We get to see Jon Snow! And he’s showing some sound judgement in regards to how the Night’s Watch should approach the ‘Wildling Problem’. Seeing Ygritte exercising her right as a free woman was great, but man the brutal killing of innocent folk is always a difficult thing to watch.

Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones - Breaker of Chains

And finally Daenerys Targaryan, ending the episode with a bang. She catapults barrels full of broken slave collars, a symbolic move and one that should prove fruitful, working in her favour as she diplomatically navigates herself, again, into the position of the people’s champion- she has the eyebrow down pat. It doesn’t hurt that she is also a rousing orator and her champion, Daario, basically owned the slave masters of Meereen’s champion. Dany doesn’t use her dragons this time, choosing the simpler avenue- her words. For a young Queen who initially began with less agency than Cersei, she has become one of the main power holders of the show. Sure, it’s all the way across the Narrow Sea- but everyone knows that eventually Dany will find her way to Westeros. Eventually.

Honourable Mentions:

- Because I spent so much time up there on other things I didn’t get to discuss my favourite heartbreaking scene from the episode. Tyrion’s conversation with his squire, Podrick. You come away heartbroken and fearful- both for Tyrion and the most loyal squire in all of Westeros- because it’s just not fair, is it? I’m sorry, but if you didn’t feel anything during this scene you’re a monster. Because Pod not only tries to smuggle Tyrion all the things he refuses to betray him- thus putting a bulls-eye on his own back. Honour is a dangerous thing to have in Westeros, especially in King’s Landing.

- Ugh, Littlefinger returns. That slimey slimey man. Sure he saves Sansa- but why? Also, he knew what would occur at the wedding, because he had something to do with it? Why does he crush the necklace? Why have it given to her to take it, crush a stone and throw it down onto Dontos pin-cushioned corpse? Spoiler alert, I do believe the foreshadowing is strong in this one. Alayne Stone?
- “When it comes to love, I don’t choose sides.” Oberyn explaining bi-sexuality in less than ten words tho’. I will admit, while his seksi time scenes may be lulz- I feel it detracts from his overall baddassery. When Tywin interrupts to speak to Oberyn about poisons, serving as the third judge in Tyrion’s trial and whatnot you find that Oberyn’s poison backstory is really stripped down. There’s more to this Dornish man than seksii-times with both men and woman and his excellent wordplay- he founded his own sellsword company for Stranger’s sake. So here’s to the show giving us more bamf and less fudgery.
- Samwell and Gilly and little baby Sam join us, hi Cassie, this week. It’s understandable that Sam would be protective of Gilly- he’s a decent bloak if a bit of a dunce- so duncey everyone thinks he’s bullshitting about killing a Wight. However he just comes off as patronising and his efforts a bit in vain.
- BOOK SPOILERS AHOY! Seeing Gilly’s baby again makes me wonder, have they completely shafted the so-called Wildling Prince storyline? Mance Raydar’s wife, Dalla, his baby (the Wildling Prince) and Dalla’s hot sister Val are noticeably absent- both onscreen and unmentioned. It’s an odd choice considering the large part played by Val at the Wall, which involves the Wildling Prince- Gilly’s baby and the Red Woman and an eventual trip across the Narrow Sea.
Leave a comment Posted on by Mata A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, TV Talk

Game of Thrones 4×02 – The Lion and the Rose Review

PurpleWedding

Here’s the thing, the end of ‘The Lion and the Rose’ made me rather happy and yet somewhat sad. I won’t lie, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes with the sort of ending that the Purple Wedding (deemed so by the fans) provided us with this episode. Because as Joffrey started to really struggle, and you realise that David Benioff and D. B. Weiss had pulled the glorious Purple Wedding forward and you start to feel that each cringe you endured before this point in the episode may not have been felt in vain, there’s a triumphant swelling as you recall just how much you hate this kid with the power of Seven Hells. And yet, as Cersei’s tears rolled down her face and the brutal final wheeze squeezes itself out of Joffrey’s purple, red-splattered, lips- you get the sense that this is heartache even if it isn’t yours, the audience’s.

The episode could be summed up nicely by Melisandre’s words to princess Shireen, “There’s only one hell, princess, the one we live in now.” The episode is tied together by this idea that the world our characters live in has always been hell and that in order to move through it they need to make sacrifices. So many sacrifices, whether for self-preservation or at the expense of others; sacrifices must be made. Valar Morghulis and all that jazz. The very principle on which George R R Martin, who also penned this episode, has always seemed to operate.

We start with Bolton’s bastard, Ramsay Snow, and Reek- oh Theon. I’m still on the fence about the identity of Reek being known from the get go. But seeing as there’s no reading Theon’s thoughts and putting two and two together for that satisfactory ‘a-ha’ moment for television, one must make do. And Alfie Allen’s brokenness is so well portrayed that the sympathy you feel for Reek in the books manages to manifest from the moment you see him on the show with Ramsay Snow in the woods. “If you can make it out of the woods, youuuu win!” Iwan Rheon’s complete glee is unnerving and a little frightening in a way that Joff’s hateful spite never was.

Who’s that female psychopathic archer with Ramsay, hunting down some poor girl, in the woods? Her name’s Miranda and she’s petty, we know that. I suppose we’ll discover more about her in episodes to come. Seeing just how cowed Theon’s become makes you realise that he’s sacrificed his dignity and the bare minimum of what made him human, in order to survive. Theon has become Reek, Ramsay’s ‘plaything’ as Roose Bolton puts it. However Bolton is more annoyed than amused by Ramsay’s flaying and maiming of the heir Ironborn who hold Moat Cailin, the only thing standing in his way of total control of the North. Not realising that Bran, Rickon are still alive and would post the biggest threat to taking the North.

Bolton sending his rabid bastard after Bran and Rickon upon discovering via Reek (reek rhymes with speak) that they’re alive should serve to keep those lamenting the loss of one of our most unsympathetic characters- for the sake of having someone to hate for their complete lack of redeeming qualities- placated. I mean until we get more of The Mountain, anyway.

Lannister brotherly bonding, I’ve always liked Jaime and Tyrion’s relationship. Which will become so complicated after the end of this episode, because you know Cersei’s always hated her little brother but Jaime’s always seemed to be Tyrion’s advocate, no?

In any case, Tyrion’s toast to Jaime wins this week’s ‘straight up’ award. “A toast, to the Lannister children; The Dwarf, the Cripple and the Mother of Madness.” Followed up very closely by his response to Joffrey trying to make him take part in the dwarf farce, an uncomfortable scene on all fronts. It’s so obvious from everyone’s expressions that Joffrey as king was never going to be in anyone’s best interest. Kid was batshitcray. Margaery appeared to have the hardest time concealing her distaste for her new husband.

How about the subtle (not so subtle at all!) clues as to who could be responsible for the regicide. See below in the Honourable Spoilers section. Poor Tyrion, now he’s being framed for the murder of his nephew and boy-tyrant, I mean king.

When Joffrey seemingly accepted Tyrion’s gift I held my breath and waited. Didn’t have to wait long for him to use Tywin’s gift of a sword made of Valyrian steel (the other half of Ned Stark’s sword- Sansa totally noticed) to needlessly annihilate the history book gifted to him by his uncle and former betrothed. Trust the deplorable little git to rub it in her face even farther, “Every time I use [Widow’s Wail], it’ll be like cutting off Ned Stark’s head all over again.” Sophie Turner has mastered the art of masking anguish while simultaneously exuding it.

Tyrion trying to get Shae off safely, was heartbreaking. In the books it’s clear, when we discover what we discover, that Shae never really loved Tyrion. In the show, well. They really made us like her, didn’t they? I really just don’t want this character development to not have been in vain. There’s something about Bronn’s demeanour when he assures Tyrion that Shae got onto the boat that just screams ‘lies!’ However we’ve known from the get go that Bronn’s a sell-sword through and through, he goes where the money goes. I know it’s not fair to think he might have been paid a handsome amount of money to look the other way should Shae not have safely been put aboard the ship to Pentos- but well, this is Game of Thrones. We don’t cry for spiders, or whores. Oh I don’t know, I think I’d cry for Varys and Shae, especially show-Shae.

Stannis warning Selyse about punishing Shireen was probably one of my favourite parts of the show. “She’s my daughter, you will not strike her.” Because Selyse doesn’t seem to like their daughter very much. And if she can’t burn Shireen at the stake, she seems happy to have Melisandre speak with the princess, who’s understandably upset about her mother’s brother being burned alive. “My uncle, he was kind to me.” The Red woman’s attempts to manipulate the girl fail a bit. As she doesn’t readily, like her mother, accept the Red Woman’s explanations.

“Afterword they aren’t ash and bone.” Shireen even has some on-point comebacks in response to Melisandre comparing a mother’s love after the pain of childbirth to those people being sacrificed to R’hllor. There’s no denying that Melisandre has power, I mean we’ve seen her birth the creepiest man-shadow-baby.

Speaking of creepy power, it was good to see some warging! Even if it mean more sullen Bran. Sullen Bran is the worst, however you can’t help but sympathise with the kid. Lacking legs, food and safety why wouldn’t he want to lose himself in the body of a direwolf? How about that weirwood premonition! Methinks I know what, or who, is a’comin’! Look for me, beneath the tree. North. (West?)

As we move forward, non-readers beware that the death of one tyrant is only the beginning. There are no winners here. Well, unless you’re the Red Viper- with quips like his Cersei’s going to need some salve for them burns. Hopefully she’ll share with Jaime, who made the mistake of warning Loras, like Loras doesn’t already know, off of Cersei.
Until next week, friends of the realm. Here’s to hoping Sansa gets the hell out of dodge successfully and we discover who’s pulling Dontos’ strings. Joking, I know who it is, if you’re curious you’ll find the answer below.

_

Honourable (Spoilery) Mentions:

_

- In the book Jaime doesn’t make it back to Kings Landing before the Purple Wedding, am I right? I swear I remember because Cersei blames him for Joffrey’s death- saying it was his fault for not being their to protect their son and Jaime thinking he didn’t really like the kid all that much. I like that change, in the series, that the last two people to be cradling the little monster are his biological parents.

- Oh look, Sigur Ros- singing…The Rains of Castamere? Just any chance to pull that song back into syndication huh?

- Jaime training with his left-hand with Bronn, Tyrion’s bestie sell-sword. “He tells me you shit gold, just like your father.” Times like these I bet Jaime curses not being ambidextrous.

- Totally the Queen of Thorns doing! No doubt about it, she doesn’t want her grand daughter married to a psychopath, and there’s no way Margaery wasn’t aware. There’s a particular shot where we see Lady Olena intensely staring at Joffrey with his goblet of wine not too far from her at all. “War is war, but killing a man at a wedding, horrid. What sort of monster would do such a thing?”

- Methinks we’ll see Littlefinger next week, for some awkward interaction with his former obsession’s daughter for the rest of the season.

Leave a comment Posted on by Mata A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, TV Talk

Game of Thrones 4×01 - Two Swords Review

Oh hi- annnnnnd we’re back.

‘Two Swords’ is a premiere much like the others, a lot of back and forth between characters as we try to check in with almost every one of them- including any newcomers. And what wonderful newcomers they are. The episode manages to strike a balance between the different storylines, tying them all together through some overarching theme or plot that sometimes works and other times fall flat. In this instance we have a ding ding ding as we take a look at how the events of last season (and wars passed) have permeated the lives of those affected with ideas of revenge and reason being threaded throughout each plot-line.
But first, shall we have a quick rundown of where everyone’s at?

Well Tywin’s melted down a sword that don’t belong to him (Ned’s Ice) because Valyrian steel is hard to come by, okay? Tyrion’s being barraged by everyone for things his family have done while trying to do his diplomatic wizardry and keep peace with Dorne- via Dornish prince Oberyn Martell (helloooooo RED VIPER!) Which proves difficult, for good reason. Oberyn (Pedro Pascal) in all his sexiness has come a’seeking his own vengeance for the cold-blooded murder of his sister, Elia, and her children. Pascal plays Oberyn with just the right amount of sensuality and unrestrained rage which seems to be exactly what we didn’t know Oberyn needed. The Spanish accent is delightful.

Jaime’s trying to get his ins back with his twin while trying to reconcile his new-found sense of morality and his old life of twincest and not giving a damn- but Cersei is all ‘you took too long to get back to me even though you were captured’ and she’s now betrothed to Loras whom she calls a pillow-biter because everyone knows he was Renly’s buh-buh-buh-buh. Meanwhile Dany’s on her way to Meereen with her army of former-slave-Unsullied- fighting slavery and injustice every step of the way. Daario’s changed actors but he’s still trying to get his ins- while Ser Friend-Zone Jorah tries to warn Dany about her Dragons never ever being tamed and Dany -being all regal and shit- doesn’t curr one bit. Also they’ve chucked in a hint at Greyworm-Missandei which is weird but cute but sad because Greyworm’s a eunuch. Jon Snow’s alive but under Castle Black scrutiny because he’d previously been hanging out with them Wildlings- deep undercover a la DiCaprio’s character in The Departed- while the Wildlings continue to rally- even if they want to rip each other to shreds when it comes to other factions of Wildlings. Ew Thenns.

Margaery and her Grandmother have sass sessions and Margaery talks about how Joffrey would probably give her a necklace of sparrow heads which is hilarious and true. Jaime and Brienne have honour sessions that dissolve into sass sessions- while Sansa’s accosted in the Godswood while notpraying by drunken former-Ser-now-Fool Dontos she once saved. Speaking of blasts from the past remember Polliver? The douchebag who took Needle and then killed Lommy? Well Arya does and when she sees him again she bides her sweet time until she can exact her revenge in the best way possible. They’ve diverged from Book-Arya slightly (plot-wise) however there’s one thing about the younger Stark girl that prevails, her outright badassery.

And that’s what you missed on… Thrones.
Deciding to end with Arya and the Hound riding out toward the ravaged land on their way to sell Arya back to some kind of family member who’ll pay for her return, after we witness Arya sink further into mercenary-psyche territory, with Needle back in her possession is rather perfect. It’s nice that we end on a ‘win’ for Arya, but in the end it’s not really a ‘win’ for anyone is it? When the coolest girl in the series has been molded into a killer by her circumstances.
What ‘Two Swords’ shows us is that on one hand there’s winning battles and on the other there’s losing a small piece of what makes you human.
Although it also pulls that central theme of honour that’s gotten more than one character killed. Brienne is an honourable soul, she’s still trying to get justice for what happened to Renly- and will continue to try to get Sansa out safe and perhaps look for Arya, to keep her word to Catelyn Stark. All the while trying to help Jaime continue on the honour track- which can prove difficult when back in King’s landing- or anywhere in Westeros really. Decisions made in this series are difficult and frought with uncertainty.
This also manifests itself in Arya and Clegane’s strange relationship that yields some suspenseful moments where you wonder whether Arya’s going to make a break for it or not- however as she says so before the run-in with the Lannister men- she can’t survive without him at this point.
And to be honest, neither would we.
Honourable Mentions:
- That Thenn’s gonna want to tread lightly around Ygritte aye.
-No Stannis and Melisandre this episode- so none of that ‘Lord of Light’ nonsense that I love so much. We also didn’t get any Iron-born- do we get the Kingsmoot this season, does anyone know? No Bran or Hodor and so no wolf-warging or Reeds. The lack of Theon is comforting, slightly. Because seeing him will freak me out, I bet. Also, not ready to go in that direction- the Bolton bastard direction- the ‘reek reek rhymes with meek’ direction.
- Nothing like a bunch of foreshadowing to start the season, am I right? Sansa mentioning her mother’s throat slashing and where she’s dumped, Arya’s every move foreshadowing her eventual fate, Dany’s interactions with her dragons perhaps telling of the direction in which her relationship with her ‘children’ will develop and evolve along with their temperament and size.
- Until next week! Where it looks like we’ll be getting ALL of what I’ve said was left out this episode AND a wedding!

BOOK SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT! DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YA!

In New Zealand we brought down a big statue of Joffrey today, by tweeting using the hashtag #bringdowntheking, we were pretty chuffed about it. As you can see. The more we see Joffrey alive the more I want to fast forward to the Purple Wedding- but all in good time I suppose.

It’s also probably not what I want to rush into especially considering what follows the Purple Wedding. Because it’s not an all-round fun time for one of my favourite characters. I do see how the show-runners are building up to the point that we’re waiting for in Tyrion and Shae’s relationship- and where it converges with Tywin. I remember last season hating how much the show was making me like Shae, they’d taken quite a bit of liberties with her portrayal, so much so that how her storyline ends in the book would not have been a sufficient way for her to end in the show. I do believe they’re starting to work on changing peoples’ perceptions- however it’ll take more time. Which, incidentally we have.
_
Arya’s still with the Hound, but at this point he should be mortally wounded but he isn’t. They’re gonna stick together for the duration of this season aren’t they? She’s gotta be on a boat to Braavos soon- for her destiny awaits. Also, we have not seen her warg in her dreams like Bran does yet. Gawd, will she EVER see Nymeria again?! It’s interesting how in the book Arya doesn’t kill Polliver herself, I like how they’ve deviated in this regard.
_
Oberyn mentions Rhaegar falling for another woman, could this be talk of Lyanna? Her abduction triggered the war- but was it an abduction? Because the moment Oberyn mentioned his sister being slighted for another woman I thought about Rhaegar crowning Lyanna the queen of love and beauty at Harrenhal while his wife (Elia) was RIGHT THERE. Could this be more foreshadowing of the reveal of a huge series mystery… Jon Snow’s parentage?
1 Comment Posted on by Mata A Song of Ice and Fire, Book Talk

New ‘The Winds Of Winter’ Chapter | Mercy

An unseen chapter from The Winds of Winter was posted on George R. R. Martin’s website today. Check it, it starts with:

She woke with a gasp, not knowing who she was, or where.

The smell of blood was heavy in her nostrils… or was that her nightmare, lingering? She had dreamed of wolves again, of running through some dark pine forest with a great pack at her hells, hard on the scent of prey.

Half-light filled the room, grey and gloomy. Shivering, she sat up in bed and ran a hand across her scalp. Stubble bristled against her palm.

Read the rest of it on GRRM’s site here.

We still have no idea when the sixth book in Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series will be published but hey, we’ll take what we’re given.

Because of Martin’s long gaps between publishing there’s always been the fear that Game of Thrones would one day catch up to the books. I still don’t know how to feel about (showrunners) David Benioff and Dan Weiss knowing the series’ end.

Until we get Winds of Winter bring on the fourth season of Game of Thrones. Is it the 6th (7th in NZ) of April yet?

Leave a comment Posted on by Mata A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, TV Talk

Game of Thrones: Fire and Ice Foreshadowing

Just got around to watching the 15-minute HBO tidbit that saw us take a look back at some of our favourite/most memorable moments of the show while also giving us tiny glimpses into the fourth season. We saw clips from upcoming episodes, behind-the-scenes-footage, interviews with show-runners D.B. Weiss, David Benioff and cast members. Also, we got some answers from cast members to pressing questions posed by fans via twitter.

From what we’ve seen so far, the sheer scale of season four, as it attempts to cover the remainder of book three, is set to render the audience in awe. Although there has been talk that season four will also deviate from the series in ways that will ‘surprise the reader’. Whatever the deviations us fans are raring to go. Almost as ready as Drogon is.

Oh yes, season four will be amazing.

Leave a comment Posted on by Mata A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, TV Talk

Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer…Sneak Peek

We get a full trailer in two days, but in the mean time the Game of Thrones marketing team have utilised their Vine page to give us some sneak peeks of the trailer.

Awkward, they won’t embed for us. Well here’s a link to the HBO Vine.

Although everything is under 30 seconds it’s enough for us to be completely amped for the trailer. What are you most looking forward to? For me it may be the Red Viper. Gah, Oberyn Martell! Who’ll be played by Pedro Pascal.

I am Oberyn Martell, a Prince of Dorne. Princess Elia was my sister, Princess Elia of Dorne. You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children. You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children. You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children. I came to hear you confess. Now say her name.