Game of Thrones: episode by episodeTelevisionThe real monsters in this world – as this episode reminded us – are not White Walkers or dragons but other people …Spoiler alert: this blog is published after Game of Thrones airs on HBO in the US on Sundays. Do not read on unless you have watched season four, episode four (which airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Monday at 9pm). And, even more than usual, please keep books spoilers to a minimum.
Read Sarah Hughes’ season four, episode three recap here.
‘If the Night’s Watch are your brothers then Lord Commander Mormont was your father. All we can give him now is justice’
Ah, justice. One little word and yet it can be interpreted in so many ways. Ned Stark believed in justice – and taught his sons to wield the sword themselves. Will Jon Snow, leading his tiny but devoted band of brothers back to Craster’s Keep, be the latest in a long line of Starks to die nobly in its name? What of Bran, whose stubborn desire to save his wolf Summer and free Jon’s Ghost, has led his own group into captivity and possible death? For, as this beautifully paced and very tense episode demonstrated, in Westeros the worst of nightmares is only a warm-up for the monsters walking in your midst. And we’re not just talking about the White Walkers here: the real evil, as this show keeps reminding us, comes from human beings.
Thus in Craster’s Keep, freed from oaths and any pretence at humanity, the mutineers drank wine from the skull of their dead commander, raped Craster’s wives repeatedly and squabbled among themselves while looking for leadership from the spectacularly foul mouthed Karl Tanner (Burn Gorman turning the terrifying up to 11), a man whose default mood appears to be “psychotically pissed off for no particular reason”.
Tanner is frightening because of his unpredictability (and because, having already mutinied, he has nothing to lose). But I’d argue that Locke, carefully insinuating himself into Jon’s team to look for Bran, is an altogether more scary kind of monster. A calm tactician who kills for gold and has no qualms about what he does to get it. More intelligent than Tanner, he is more horrifying because his defence will always be that he was just following orders.
And what then of Dany? We are used to viewing the young Khaleesi as the de facto heroine of this tale. Despite my occasional quibbles it’s hard not to be moved by her stirring speeches and growing army of liberated slaves but if the philosophy of Game of Thrones can be boiled down to one theory it’s this: there are no heroes and heroines, merely survivors. And so, given a choice between “mercy” and “justice” this week Dany chose justice, ordering 163 masters to be crucified in memory of the child slaves murdered the same way. There may be some who feel she was right in this decision – an eye for an eye as the saying goes – but I think Barristan was correct to state that greater strength comes through mercy. In crucifying the Masters, Dany made her peace with the horrific scenes on the road to Meereen but she also made herself a murderer (there’s a difference between killing in battle and crucifying your defeated enemy outside the city walls) and while it may have felt good and just and right at that moment, the nature of this show suggests it’s a decision she may well come to regret.
I’ll find her for Lady Catelyn – and for you
One man having rather a lot of regrets this week was Jaime Lannister who spent the episode attempting to do the right thing, a desire somewhat complicated by the fact that everyone had different ideas about what that right thing should be. I still hold that the show’s creators royally botched the scene with Cersei last week but this week at least gave us a better sense of the state of their relationship, with Cersei still marinating herself in grief and wine while Jaime desperately searched for meaning in his life. Like him or not, Jaime remains one of the show’s most interesting characters: his great tragedy is that he’d love to be that noble knight of song but he’s all too aware such a person doesn’t really exist and, crucially, that even if it did, he doesn’t have it within him to be that man. This week he appeared to come to terms with that disconnect, giving Brienne his sword and tasking her with finding Sansa. Can saving Sansa save his very tarnished soul? It’s typical of Jaime that even if Brienne does find her, only the Maid of Tarth will know the role he played.
A man with no motive is a man no one suspects
Will Sansa even want to be saved? An interesting thing appears to be happening to the former captive of King’s Landing: the further she gets from the claustrophobic capital the better she appears to understand the game. She was quick to grasp Littlefinger’s points about Joffrey’s murder and quick to understand why he wouldn’t trust Dontas. Under Petyr’s expert tutelage there’s no guessing how far she could go. In between educating Sansa and planning for his wedding to Lysa Arryn, Littlefinger also all but confirmed that he’s now in partnership with the Tyrells (and given his credo boils down to “follow the money”, that makes perfect sense). In case any remaining viewers weren’t sure just who had fiddled with Sansa’s necklace and poisoned Joffrey, we cut straight to Olenna Tyrell, who confirmed as much to Margaery. After dropping her little bombshell about Joff’s death, it was goodbye to the Queen of Thorns, who had enough time for a few swift lessons in love before announcing her departure to Highgarden. Sharp of tongue, swift of deed and satisfyingly aware that she spent all her time parading around the place gardens, she will be missed.
Additional thoughts
Jaime and Tyrion’s meeting was nicely done. I enjoyed Tyrion’s acerbic assessment of his father’s feeling and the fact that even his brother’s probable death can’t make Jaime take life seriously.
The scene between Grey Worm and Missendei was touching. In two brief scenes Grey Worm showed himself to be far more interesting than Daario has managed in weeks of posturing.
Talking of interesting characters, Jerome Flynn has charisma to spare as Bronn and it doesn’t seem to matter who he’s partnered with.
Tommen becomes No 7 on my list of decent people on this show. Poor Tommen, he’s far too nice to be a Lannister. I do hope he gets some comfort from minxy Margaery before it invevitably goes horribly wrong.
Definitely not on my list: Janos Slynt who did, however, demonstrate a certain sly cunning this week. If I were Thorne, I’d watch my back: Slynt’s cleverer than him.
My favourite bit of the whole episode came when Pod called Brienne. “Sir.” Go Pod! Brienne is the only true knight on the whole show, and she deserves your Sirs.
Finally, I know that book aficionados are probably a little gobsmacked by the plot deviations this week but this is not the place to discuss that. I’m happy if you want to talk about whether it worked as a piece of television but not if doing so leads to “but in the books …” style comments. You have been warned!
Violence count
One slave uprising topped off by Dany’s brand of justice, one demonstration by Bronn of the many uses for a detachable metal hand, one unfortunate Night’s Watch recruit handed a lesson from Locke, a glimpse into the daily horrors of life in Craster’s Keep, two captured direwolves, one stabbed Hodor and the sacrifice of a small baby to the White Walkers.
Nudity count
Prince Oberyn was presumably resting, leading to a distinct lack of plot-exposition-while-naked this week. (As always, the scene with Craster’s wives goes in the violence count, not here.)
Random Brit of the week
Who was that slave pointing out that not everyone is as good at fighting as the Unsullied? Why, it was Robert Goodman, last seen in Ripper Street, and one of those actors who pops up in everything from Gangs of New York to The Bill.
So what did you think? Is Sansa getting better at playing the game? Will Brienne find her or has Jaime’s attempt to grow a conscience come to late? And is Jon heading for his own version of the Charge of the Light Brigade, albeit with somewhat less than 600 in support? As ever, let us know in the comments below …
Game of Thrones: all our episode-by-episode recaps
ShowSeason eight
Episode 1: Winterfell
Episode 2: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Episode 3: The Long Night
Episode 4: The Last of the Starks
Episode 5: The Bells
Episode 6: The Iron Throne
Season seven
Episode 1: Dragonstone
Episode 2: Stormborn
Episode 3: The Queen's Justice
Episode 4: The Spoils of War
Episode 5: Eastwatch
Episode 6: Beyond The Wall
Episode 7: The Dragon and the Wolf
Season six
Episode 1: The Red Woman
Episode 2: Home
Episode 3: Oathbreaker
Episode 4: Book of the Stranger
Episode 5: The Door
Episode 6: Blood of my Blood
Episode 7: The Broken Man
Episode 8: No One
Episode 9: Battle of the Bastards
Episode 10: The Winds of Winter
Season five
Episode 1: The Wars to Come
Episode 2: The House of Black and White
Episode 3: High Sparrow
Episode 4: Sons of the Harpy
Episode 5: Kill the Boy
Episode 6: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
Episode 7: The Gift
Episode 8: Hardhome
Episode 9: The Dance of Dragons
Episode 10: Mother's Mercy
Season four
Episode 1: Two Swords
Episode 2: The Lion and the Rose
Episode 3: Breaker of Chains
Episode 4: Oathkeeper
Episode 5: First of His Name
Episode 6: The Laws of Gods and Men
Episode 7: Mockingbird
Episode 8: The Mountain and the Viper
Episode 9: The Watchers on the Wall
Episode 10: The Children
Season three
Episode 1: Valar Dohaeris
Episode 2: Dark Wings, Dark Words
Episode 3: Walk of Punishment
Episode 4: And Now His Watch Is Ended
Episode 5: Kissed by Fire
Episode 6: The Climb
Episode 7: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
Episode 8: Second Sons
Episode 9: The Rains of Castamere
Episode 10: Mhysa
Season two
Episode 1: The North Remembers
Episode 2: The Night Lands
Episode 3: What Is Dead May Never Die
Episode 4: Garden of Bones
Episode 5: The Ghost of Harrenhal
Episode 6: The Old Gods and the New
Episode 7: A Man Without Honour
Episode 8: The Prince of Winterfell
Episode 9: Blackwater
Episode 10: Valar Morghulis
Season one
Episode 1: Winter is Coming
Episode 2: The Kingsroad
Episode 3: Lord Snow
Episode 4: Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things
Episode 5: The Wolf and the Lion
Episode 6: A Golden Crown
Episode 7: You Win or You Die
Episode 8: The Pointy End
Episode 9: Baelor
Episode 10: Fire and Blood
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