Game of Thrones: Mhysa

If ever there were an episode of a television show that proved wholly anticlimactic, it was last nights Game of Thrones.  In fairness to HBO, it was a perfectly adequate episode, and what they’re doing is necessary.  Because Martin jumps all over the place with his characters (some of them disappearing entirely for a book or two - I’ll get to that in a minute), there is great deal of setting up you have to do, plot-wise.  I see why they wanted to go ahead and establish that Jaime and Brienne were back at King’s Landing.  That will be important for next season, because Jaime’s presence at King’s Landing plays a significant role in the events to come, particularly those involving Tyrion.  But, I’ll get to those spoilers in a minute.

I don’t recall Arya stabbing anyone to death in the books after The Red Wedding, but maybe she did.  I was so shell-shocked after the wedding itself, that I doubt I’d have noticed if she did.  I’m sure I approved, though.  I’d have stabbed the bastards, too.  Arya holding up the coin Jaqen H’ghar gave her and saying “valar morghulis” was extremely foreshadowing, if you’ve read the series, so they’re clearly setting that up early on.  Which is weird, because that part of Arya’s story line doesn’t get kick started until the end of Storm of Swords, I thought, but Game of Thrones has got me so turned around with doing time lines so crazy, I might be wrong.

Dani’s victory in freeing all of the slaves is a big deal, but get ready to watch her sit... and sit... and sit... and still not have marched on Westeros by the fifth book.  My frustration with Dani knows no bounds.

Jon Snow got shot in the back by Ygritte!  Which didn’t happen exactly that way.  She doesn’t shoot him in the back/shoulder, she just shoots him in the leg.  But she does shoot him, and can we really be surprised by that?  Ygritte is a wilding to the core.  And, if I remember correctly, as touching as the “I love you, you love me,” conversation was, that never happened.  But, still.  Oh, Ygritte.

 What else?  Oh! Tywin is being a dick (shocker) to Tyrion, and basically tells him he wanted to drown him as a baby, but let him live because he was a Lannister.  I guess that means Tyrion won’t be getting that Best Dad in Westeros t-shirt for him.  Cersei is ever a bitch, but I feel sorry for Cersei occasionally, because she really has been handicapped by her gender.  Can you imagine if she were a man?  She’d just rule everything and everyone.  She would be ruthless. 

Also, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy Tywin constantly taking Joffrey to task.  Sending him to bed without supper, while Joffrey is throwing a tantrum and insisting that he isn’t tired.  That little barbed threat that Tyrion threw at Joffrey will turn out to be a big problem for him (Tyrion) later on.

On that note, TO THE SPOILERS!  I’ll go ahead and start with that.  I’m enjoying all of the subtle foreshadowing going on in this last episode.  It wasn’t nearly as heart pumping as The Rains of Castamere, but you can’t murder three main characters every show.  Tyrion’s comment to Joffrey at the Small Council meeting is going to come back to bite him in the ass later on, because Joffrey is, to much rejoicing of the fandom, I should think, going to get himself dead.  Yep!  Just after his wedding to Margaery Tyrell, no less, which is rather fitting considering the tone of the last wedding we saw.  He’s poisoned and keels over at the wedding reception.  Goes all black and green and chokey.

So, of course, Cersei is devastated (probably moreso in the books than on the show - you’d almost think she’d be relieved, the way Joffrey is on the show) and immediately blames Tyrion.  They throw him into the dungeon and decide to have a trial for him, which ends up going poorly, as you might imagine.  He is testified against by Shae, of all people (which is just heartbreaking).  A lot happens that I won’t detail, then Tyrion escapes from the dungeon, decides to shoot Tywin through the gut with a crossbow on this way out (while he’s on the john, no less) and just so happens to discover Shae sleeping in Tywin’s bed.  So, he strangles her to death with the Hand of the King chain (which doesn’t exist in the show, so maybe he’ll stab her with the pointy end of the pin?).  And off goes Tyrion across the ocean.

Theon Greyjoy, on the show, is being ruthlessly tortured by Ramsay Snow (Bolton) because sociopath. In the book, Theon is actually absent from the sack of Winterfell on.  You kind of assume he’s dead for a long while, and then suddenly you’re getting perspective chapters from someone named Reek, whom you discover to be the broken remains of Theon Greyjoy.  At first, when all of this with Theon Was happening, I was really confused as to why they were totally fabricating this story.  Then, I realized (with a little help from a fellow fan) that they were taking the part of Theon’s story that we aren’t privy to - the part where he becomes Reek - and showing it to us.  I imagine this was to keep Alfie Allen employed, more than anything.  I’m sure they’d hate to recast Theon if Alfie had gotten another T.V. gig elsewhere during the several seasons that his character would be gone.

Gilly and Sam are cute as ever, and if I recall, their story line is basically right.  I'm not as interested in their characters as others (although I do love Sam) and their story doesn't really get good and interesting until later, when they leave Castle Black to go somewhere else with Aemon Targaryen and there's a baby swapping plot and Mance Rayder is involved and it's a little crazy.

Basically, hats off to a great season, I'd say.  They've set the stage for the second half of Storm of Swords very well, so I'm excited for next season, especially since Joffrey and Tywin both die, so the playing field (as far as murdered family members) is leveled somewhat for the Starks and Lannisters, even if it was a Lannister who murdered one of the other Lannisters.  Petryr Baelish, if I'm not mistaken, is the mastermind behind Joffrey's demise.  But, no one figures that out and he sails off to The Eyrie with Sansa where he will eventually throw Lysa Arryn out of the moon door.

Because it was way past time for someone to do that.