tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308926492024-03-07T01:06:06.628-05:00Nik at NiteMostly, I write about television, and with this being the home of the Great Buffy Rewatch of 2011, a lot of that television is Joss Whedon-related (when it's not about <i>Lost</i>). Stick around if you love <i>Game of Thrones</i>, <i>The Walking Dead</i>, <i>Sherlock</i>, <i>Lost</i>, <i>BtVS</i>, <i>Doctor Who</i>, or anything on HBO.Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comBlogger1769125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-62521214137854098762019-05-22T09:44:00.001-04:002020-08-14T15:51:52.004-04:00Game of Thrones Recap Archive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And now that my Watch is at an end (sniff), I thought I should actually put links to all of our <i>GoT</i> posts into one spot so you can easily find them. In the beginning, my cowriter Christopher Lockett and I were sort of separating the posts between our two blogs, before we realized it would make more sense to amalgamate them like a conversation. So the format definitely changed over time. But here's where you can find them:<br />
<br />
<b>Season One</b><br />
<a href="http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/04/game-of-thrones-ep-1-winter-is-coming.html" target="_blank">1.01 Winter Is Coming</a><br />
<a href="http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/04/game-of-thrones-ep-2-kings-road.html" target="_blank">1.02 The Kingsroad</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/05/game-of-thrones-ep-4-cripples-bastards.html" target="_blank">1.03 Lord Snow</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/05/game-of-thrones-ep-4-cripples-bastards.html" target="_blank">1.04 Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/05/game-of-thrones-ep-5-wolf-and-lion.html" target="_blank">1.05 The Wolf and the Lion</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/05/game-of-thrones-ep-6-golden-crown.html" target="_blank">1.06 A Golden Crown</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/06/game-of-thrones-ep-7-you-win-or-you-die.html" target="_blank">1.07 You Win or You Die</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/06/game-of-thrones-ep-8-pointy-end.html" target="_blank">1.08 The Pointy End</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/06/game-of-thrones-ep-9-baelor.html" target="_blank">1.09 Baelor</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2011/06/game-of-thrones-ep-10-fire-blood.html" target="_blank">1.10 Fire and Blood</a><br />
<br />
<b>Season Two</b><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/04/game-of-thrones-s2-north-remembers.html" target="_blank">2.01 The North Remembers</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/04/game-of-thrones-night-lands.html" target="_blank">2.02 The Night Lands</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/04/game-of-thrones-s2-what-is-dead-may.html" target="_blank">2.03 What Is Dead May Never Die</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/04/game-of-thrones-s2-garden-of-bones.html" target="_blank">2.04 Garden of Bones</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/05/game-of-thrones-ghost-of-harrenhal.html" target="_blank">2.04b Garden of Bones (Christopher edition)</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/05/game-of-thrones-ghost-of-harrenhal.html" target="_blank">2.05 The Ghost of Harrenhal</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/05/game-of-thrones-old-gods-and-new.html" target="_blank">2.06 The Old Gods and the New</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/05/game-of-thrones-man-without-honor.html" target="_blank">2.07 A Man Without Honor</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/05/game-of-thrones-prince-of-winterfell.html" target="_blank">2.08 The Prince of Winterfell</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/05/game-of-thrones-blackwater.html" target="_blank">2.09 Blackwater</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2012/06/game-of-thrones-valar-morghulis.html" target="_blank">2.10 Valar Morghulis</a><br />
<br />
<b>Season Three</b><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/04/game-of-thrones-31-valar-dohaeris.html" target="_blank">3.01 Valar Dohaeris</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/04/game-of-thrones-32-dark-wings-dark-words.html" target="_blank">3.02 Dark Wings, Dark Words</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/04/game-of-thrones-303-walk-of-punishment.html" target="_blank">3.03 Walk of Punishment</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/04/game-of-thrones-34-and-now-his-watch-is.html" target="_blank">3.04 And Now His Watch Is Ended</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/04/game-of-thrones-35-kissed-by-fire.html" target="_blank">3.05 Kissed by Fire</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/05/game-of-thrones-36-climb.html" target="_blank">3.06 The Climb</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/05/game-of-thrones-307-bear-and-maiden-fair.html" target="_blank">3.07 The Bear and the Maiden Fair</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/05/game-of-thrones-38-second-sons.html" target="_blank">3.08 Second Sons</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/06/game-of-thrones-39-rains-of-castamere.html" target="_blank">3.09 The Rains of Castamere</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2013/06/game-of-thrones-310-mhysa.html" target="_blank">3.10 Mhysa</a><br />
<br />
<b>Season Four</b><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/04/game-of-thrones-401-two-swords.html" target="_blank">4.01 Two Swords</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/04/game-of-thrones-402-lion-and-rose.html" target="_blank">4.02 The Lion and the Rose</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/04/game-of-thrones-403-breaker-of-chains.html" target="_blank">4.03 Breaker of Chains</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/04/game-of-thrones-404-oathkeeper.html" target="_blank">4.04 Oathkeeper</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/05/game-of-thrones-405-first-of-his-name.html" target="_blank">4.05 First of His Name</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/05/game-of-thrones-406-laws-of-gods-and-men.html" target="_blank">4.06 The Laws of God and Men</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/05/game-of-thrones-407-mockingbird.html" target="_blank">4.07 Mockingbird</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/06/game-of-thrones-408-mountain-and-viper.html" target="_blank">4.08 The Mountain and the Viper</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/06/game-of-thrones-409-watchers-on-wall.html" target="_blank">4.09 The Watchers on the Wall</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2014/06/game-of-thrones-410-children.html" target="_blank">4.10 The Children</a><br />
<br />
<b>Season Five</b><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/04/game-of-thrones-51-wars-to-come.html" target="_blank">5.01 The Wars to Come</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/04/game-of-thrones-52-house-of-black-and.html" target="_blank">5.02 The House of Black and White</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/04/game-of-thrones-53-high-sparrow.html" target="_blank">5.03 High Sparrow</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/05/game-of-thrones-54-sons-of-harpy.html" target="_blank">5.04 Sons of the Harpy</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/05/game-of-thrones-55-kill-boy.html" target="_blank">5.05 Kill the Boy</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/05/game-of-thrones-56-unbound-unbent.html" target="_blank">5.06 Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/05/game-of-thrones-57-gift.html" target="_blank">5.07 The Gift</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/06/game-of-thrones-58-hardhome.html" target="_blank">5.08 Hardhome</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/06/game-of-thrones-509-dance-of-dragons.html" target="_blank">5.09 The Dance of Dragons</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2015/06/game-of-thrones-510-mothers-mercy.html" target="_blank">5.10 Mother's Mercy</a><br />
<br />
<b>Season Six</b><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/04/game-of-thrones-601-red-woman.html" target="_blank">6.01 The Red Woman</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/05/game-of-thrones-62-home.html" target="_blank">6.02 Home</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/05/game-of-thrones-603-oathbreaker.html" target="_blank">6.03 Oathbreaker</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/05/game-of-thrones-604-book-of-stranger.html" target="_blank">6.04 Book of the Stranger</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/05/605-door.html" target="_blank">6.05 The Door</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/06/game-of-thrones-606-blood-of-my-blood.html" target="_blank">6.06 Blood of My Blood</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/06/game-of-thrones-607-broken-man.html" target="_blank">6.07 The Broken Man</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/06/608-no-one.html" target="_blank">6.08 No One</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/06/game-of-thrones-609-battle-of-bastards.html" target="_blank">6.09 Battle of the Bastards</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2016/06/game-of-thrones-610-winds-of-winter_29.html" target="_blank">6.10 The Winds of Winter</a><br />
<br />
<b>Season Seven</b><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2017/07/701-dragonstone.html" target="_blank">7.01 Dragonstone</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2017/07/game-of-thrones-702-stormborn.html" target="_blank">7.02 Stormborn</a><br />
<a href="http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2017/08/game-of-thrones-703-queens-justice.html" target="_blank">7.03 The Queen's Justice</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2017/08/game-of-thrones-704-spoils-of-war.html" target="_blank">7.04 The Spoils of War</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2017/08/game-of-thrones-705-eastwatch.html" target="_blank">7.05 Eastwatch</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2017/08/game-of-thrones-706-beyond-wall.html" target="_blank">7.06 Beyond the Wall</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2017/08/game-of-thrones-707-dragon-and-wolf.html" target="_blank">7.07 The Dragon and the Wolf</a><br />
<br />
<b>Season Eight</b><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2019/04/81-winterfell.html" target="_blank">8.01 Winterfell</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2019/04/game-of-thrones-802-knight-of-seven.html" target="_blank">8.02 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2019/04/game-of-thrones-803-long-night.html" target="_blank">8.03 The Long Night</a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2019/05/game-of-thrones-804-last-of-starks.html" target="_blank">8.04 The Last of the Starks </a><br />
<a href="https://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2019/05/game-of-thrones-805-bells.html" target="_blank">8.05 The Bells</a><br />
<a href="http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2019/05/game-of-thrones-806-iron-throne.html" target="_blank">8.06 The Iron Throne</a><br />
<br />Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-34398590345673245602019-05-21T13:00:00.001-04:002020-08-14T15:52:19.205-04:00Game of Thrones 8.06 The Iron Throne
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvC3fNP3kr5n0bvCnbne0igzNSgPkvj4YO87g1OtO7b4ujWDuyc7OzTHSXL0xm2RmGmUfsF6TYyNcCM-JU6G2gY1Zcr2LWm6O9nZQqGBJM69Itf6QjvmtX9_Yt60REXvw13VgGw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.25.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1285" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvC3fNP3kr5n0bvCnbne0igzNSgPkvj4YO87g1OtO7b4ujWDuyc7OzTHSXL0xm2RmGmUfsF6TYyNcCM-JU6G2gY1Zcr2LWm6O9nZQqGBJM69Itf6QjvmtX9_Yt60REXvw13VgGw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.25.42+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And… this is it. The final entry on our
eight-year-long <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>
watch. As always, I’m joined by the brilliant Grand Maester <a href="https://cjlockett.com/">Christopher Lockett</a>, who has been doing these
with me right from the beginning. At the end of this week, I’m going to post an
archive post where I’ve gathered links to all of our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">GoT</i> posts right from the beginning, in case, like me, any of the
rest of you decide to do a rewatch and want to see what we were saying at the
time (though I’m sure we had a lot of predictions in there about things that
never came to fruition!) This is the toughest episode to write yet, because
it’s the last one—and I need to warn you: prepare thyselves for some
sentimentality to follow. Chris and I have already talked about possibly doing
one more wrap-up post when we’ve properly wrapped our heads around this finale,
but we’ll have to find the time first. Also, most of you probably know this
already, but this Sunday is a special documentary about the making of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> that looks pretty great.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This was an episode where I cried, laughed,
was a little confused, wasn’t quite sure what I thought at times, but I have a
lot to say about it (of course). I will say, one thought kept running through
my head the whole time: oh Ned and Catelyn… if only you could see where your
children ended up. ♥<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And now, for the last time, I say… take it
away, Chris. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, here we are at the end of all things … and I just want to
start by saying, Nikki, how much of a joy it has been writing these reviews
with you for the past eight years, and how much I will miss it. For those just
tuning in to these co-blogs, Nikki (who, when she’s not protecting Gotham, is a
mild-mannered freelance editor named Jen) and I have known each other for
twenty-three years, having met during our MA at the University of Toronto in a
class called “Victorian Fiction and the Politics of Gender.” We bonded during a
conversation that, as conversations often did in the 90s, became a lengthy
series of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Simpsons</i> quotes. This would
not have been remarkable in and of itself were it not for the fact that most of
our grad student peers took hipster pride in ignoring popular culture. Meeting
someone who was not only willing to admit to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">watching</i> television, but was positively <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">enthusiastic</i> about it, was not at all unlike finding your long-lost
twin with the other half of the amulet you’ve worn all your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And if that sounds like an exaggeration?
Really not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But of course, there’s more to friendship
than just a shared love of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Simpsons</i>.
We’re lucky to have people in our lives with whom time and distance don’t
matter, and when you see one of those people in person after months or years,
it’s as if your conversation picks up where it left off. I’ll miss writing
these GoT reviews in part because I’m going to miss GoT, but really, I’ll be
missing the back-and-forth with a dear friend whom I don’t see nearly often
enough. (Seriously, Nik—time for that family vacation to Newfoundland).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">End of sentimentality. On with the review.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I have, unsurprisingly, been thinking over
the last few days a lot about final seasons and final episodes. Which ones
worked, which didn’t? Which series stuck the landing? Which ones managed to
piss off a critical mass of fans? Even just a glimpse at social media in the
hours following the GoT finale makes it obvious that the most vocal fans hate
the way the series ended, but that is hardly surprising, considering that those
same voices have been declaring this final season an irredeemable dumpster fire
for several weeks now (and I just hasten to point out that “the most vocal
fans” on social media does not necessarily translate to “the majority of people”
more generally). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I suspect Nikki will have a lot to say on
this topic, as she is one of the few stalwart defenders of the series finale of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i>—an episode, it doesn’t hurt
mentioning, that was slagged by <a href="https://ew.com/article/2011/04/05/thrones-author-lost/">none other than
GRRM</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Payback’s a bitch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ending a TV series is a fraught affair at
the best of times—the “best of times” meaning that you’re bringing the plane in
for a landing when there is still a critical mass of love for the show. (I
suppose, then, when you end a TV series at the worst of times, nobody really cares).
But that also means there will inevitably be upset people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Given that I devoted a lot of words in our
last post complaining that Benioff & Weiss did not give this season enough
episodes to breathe and properly develop character arcs and narratives, I won’t
rehash that here. That being said: my first thought on watching this, the last
new episode we’ll ever watch of GoT, was that it followed pretty closely on the
last one. The previous episode might have needed an awful lot more in the way
of lead-up to be properly comprehensible, but the first part of this episode
made total sense so long as you don’t question the last one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Which is to say: Daenerys is now the Mad
Queen and has gone the way of her predecessors, and thus everything that
follows her sack of King’s Landing makes sense in the context of that fact. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Are we all on board with that? At least
provisionally? Good. Then, if you’re seated comfortably, we’ll begin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Oh, wait—one last thing: a professor at
UWO, whom I TA’d for in my first year there and who has become a good friend
was interviewed on CBC the other day. John Leonard is a brilliant Milton
scholar and also a Colbert-level Tolkien nerd, and has for several years been
teaching a course on A Song of Ice and Fire. His thoughts on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> coming to an end are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/who-will-rule-the-seven-kingdoms-q-a-game-of-thrones-professor-1.5141084?fbclid=IwAR0qgqZ048Y0NLRhT4BtXatyrR0yKJ3uO5Vu3Pi7YBiXZw9mDI14gi_Eo0A">unsurprisingly
insightful</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But now, on to the episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Let me start by saying I completely whiffed
on everything I’d suggested in the first episode, re: the new credits. OK, so
no new dragons, no clutch of eggs beneath Winterfell. Given that we end the
series with a single dragon who decamps for parts unknown, the promise of the
many dragons on the third armillary sphere band now seems like the deepest
crimson of red herrings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the other hand, I totally called two key
points, though neither quite unfolded the way I expected: Drogon melting the
Iron Throne to slag, and Jon Snow returning to the North to be reunited with
Ghost. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaCLpz1b-oB5bN5hlRCfcZpiHhZnKtBS3qVLOz2zKrOPbk88WuO5ozxJiZlW2hfIPiwzitVUVZhXxcHc_nophkD0NyAvJVb_GsdLRDbpE2r_cnEVmgBVX9ct38ZMl1XLz0NLO6w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.34.48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="1275" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaCLpz1b-oB5bN5hlRCfcZpiHhZnKtBS3qVLOz2zKrOPbk88WuO5ozxJiZlW2hfIPiwzitVUVZhXxcHc_nophkD0NyAvJVb_GsdLRDbpE2r_cnEVmgBVX9ct38ZMl1XLz0NLO6w/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.34.48+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The episode begins with Tyrion (re)entering
the city, registering anew what Daenerys visited on it. We see the burned
corpses and the devastated city, and Tyrion’s distraught expression as he
registers the destruction that he, despite all his best efforts, helped create.
Behind him walk Jon Snow and Davos. The three pause around the incinerated
corpse of the little girl still clutching her toy horse, whom we saw in the
previous episode, and who—as someone Arya attemped to help—functions as the
metonym for the thousands killed by Daenerys’ rage. “I’ll find you later,”
Tyrion tells Jon and Davos, and when Jon tells him it isn’t safe and offers to
send men with him, Tyrion insists, “I’m going alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Where</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> he is going isn’t clear at first, and my initial assumption was
that he was going to confront Daenerys—and that Jon’s warning and offer of a
bodyguard was a recognition of their erstwhile queen’s state of mind. But
no—he’s going into the bowels of the Red Keep, presumably to see if Jaime and
Cersei made good their escape (and possibly to escape himself?). I’m being
charitable in that reading: what is communicated is that he has somehow
intuited that that is where they met their end, and he finds their remarkably
intact corpses under what seems like a rather shallow amount of rubble. (As
Tyrion entered the space of their demise, my girlfriend muttered, “What, is he
going to see a golden hand sticking out of the rocks?”, and moments later—a
golden hand sticking out of the rocks. Not the subtlest or most believable
moment in the episode, however well Peter Dinklage played Tyrion’s grief). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Grey Worm’s execution of
surviving Lannister soldiers is interrupted by Jon Snow. “It’s over,” he says.
“These men are prisoners.” To which Killy McGhee says, “It is not over until
all of the Queen’s enemies are defeated.” Davos, ever the voice of reason in a
crazy world, demands “How much more defeated do you want them to be? They’re on
their knees!” But of course Grey Worm is implacable. Daenerys has commanded him
to kill all who followed Cersei, and he’s going to carry out her orders. “These
are free men,” he points out, and therefore their choice to follow Cersei makes
them culpable—a callback to Daenerys’ riposte to Tyrion that the people of Meereen
rose up against their tyrants, while the people of King’s Landing willingly
submitted to Cersei’s rule. When Jon holds Grey Worm back, there’s a brief
standoff between the Unsullied and the Northerners; Davos tells Jon that they
should speak with the Queen, which is more or less the equivalent of saying
“we’re telling Mom!”, but it’s hardly as if the matter has been tabled—as soon
as Jon and Davos walk on, Grey Worm proceeds to start slitting throats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After Tyrion uncovers the weirdly
peaceful-looking bodies of his siblings, we shift to Jon and Arya arriving
(separately) at Daenerys’ triumphant address to her troops, which looks and
feels uncomfortably <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Triumph of the Will</i>-ish.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of the finale, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Triumph of the Will</i> indeed,
my friend, right down to that Targaryen banner (seriously, did someone bring
that with them to the battle?!) in the Nazi colours. Why have I never noticed
that before? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I will similarly become sentimental about
the end of this show, and what a joy it’s been working with you on it, but
since I have the pleasure of going last, I’ll save my blubbering until then.
What I do want to say at the outset, if y’all will indulge me for a moment, is
to pause for a moment to mention something that has happened in the real world
we live in. I’ve been involved in fandom for many years now, as long as Chris
and I have been friends and I first got an internet connection when we were
doing our MA together. And among the very first fandoms with which I connected
was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Xena: Warrior Princess</i>. I was
writing my first book about it, and reached out to fans on various mailing
lists and listservs (remember those?) and among the many amazing fans who got
back to me, one in particular stood out. Over time, Kim and I became very close
friends, emailing each other several times a day—she called herself my #1 fan
when my first book was published—and the first time we met was to share a hotel
room at a Pasadena <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Xena</i> convention
where we saw Lucy and Reneé. (Probably not the smartest move on either of our
parts, but this was before people were aware of catfishing on the interwebs
and, luckily, it worked out.) She travelled from Arizona to Toronto to see me,
and we continued to keep in touch for many years, and then, like most
friendships, the emails were further and further apart. Just over a week ago I
saw something I wanted to tell her about, but since I hadn’t spoken to her in a
couple of years, I did a quick google search to make sure she was at the same
place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when I found her obituary, from
2018. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I managed to contact her workplace and
someone there contacted me back (she had no real family to speak of), and
generously explained what had happened. I’ve been heartbroken for a week to
know that the world no longer contains Kim, one of the kindest and most
generous people I’ve ever met. She was someone I met through fandom. And, like
Chris expressed above, we fans are a very specific kind of people; we find our
tribes and stick to them. Kim was such an important part of my tribe, and I
miss her so much. This final blog post is dedicated to you, my friend. I’ll
always be your #1 fan. Love you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Anyway, back to the story. My overview on
the finale: the moment it was finished, my husband turned to me and said,
“Thoughts?” and I thought for a few moments and simply replied, “Satisfied.”
And I am. I remain committed to loving last week’s episode, and thought the
writers made all the right decisions. I also remain convinced of what you
pointed out, Chris, that the timing is what’s working against them this season,
that it should have been drawn out over a longer period. But for that, we can
probably blame HBO: no TV writer is offered 10 full episodes and says no, so I’m
assuming it was the network stupidly putting a severe limit on a final season
of their most successful show ever. As John Oliver said two weeks ago, “In two
weeks this network is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fuuuuuucked</i>.”
(Note how many ads ran right before the episode basically begging subscribers
not to leave and showing all the great shows coming up…) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All week long, my mind has been racing back
and forth over various storylines from the past eight years, thinking of plot
points I hadn’t thought of in a long time, considering the number of times we
joked about who we want to win the game of thrones. I think it was pretty
evident by this final season that no derrière was ever going to occupy the Iron
Throne again (to be honest, I just assumed it had been destroyed last week, and
even this week when we got that iconic moment in the throne room I was
shouting, “Hurry up and sit because it’s the only chance you’ll get!!”) We said
we’d love to see Tyrion ultimately in charge, or Sansa, or Arya, or Jon and/or
Daenerys. And in the end… a bunch of them are indeed in charge. Not in the ways
we’d considered, but I’m actually pretty happy with the way things ended up.
But more on all of those points later as we hit them. Let’s get back to where
you left off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Our readers are now thinking good LORD
this is going to be the longest blog post ever…) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I stand by my assertion that the end of
Jaime and Cersei was a deeply affecting and poignant one. I know a lot of
people this week have been complaining about it, saying Cersei deserved to be
tortured or worse. Maybe they’ve never been a parent, but I don’t think there’s
anything you could do to Cersei that would be worse than holding her child in
her arms while he chokes to death… only to have another one poisoned because of
something she had done, and the third one commit suicide just to escape the
world she’d created. She’s made so many errors, and lost all of her children
along the way. And Tyrion wasn’t blowing smoke when he said she was a devoted
mother: she truly loved those children. Cersei tortured and killed, and she’s
been tortured back… it’s over. I thought Dinklage’s performance when he finds
their bodies was beautiful, I agree with you 100%, Chris. Just as Daenerys was
(until Jon’s revelation) the scion of House Targaryen, so too is he the last of
House Lannister.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As Daenerys prepares to give her Hitlerian
speech to the troops, I was amazed at just how many Unsullied and Dothraki were
still there. I thought most of them had been wiped out at the Battle of
Winterfell, and I’m certain she set more than a few of them on fire last week
as necessary casualties, yet it looks like there are more now than were at the
beginning of Winterfell. Which was a little odd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys says something in thanks to
everyone who aided her: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To the Dothraki: “Blood of my blood. You
kept all your promises to me. You killed my enemies in their iron suits. You
tore down their stone houses. You gave me the Seven Kingdoms!” Drogon roars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To Grey Worm: “You have walked beside me
since the Plaza of Pride. You are the bravest of men, the most loyal of
soldiers. I name you commander of all my forces, the Queen’s Master of War!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To the Unsullied: “All of you were torn
from your mothers’ arms and raised as slaves. Now… you are liberators! You have
freed the people of King’s Landing from the grip of a tyrant! But the war is
not over. We will not lay down our spears until we have liberated all the
people of the world! From Winterfell to Dorne, from Lannisport to Qarth, from
the Summer Isles to the Jade Sea. Women, men and children have suffered too
long beneath the wheel. Will you break the wheel with me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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It’s a powerful speech, and if you listen to it and imagine yourself one of the
people she’s addressing, you’d follow her to the ends of the Earth. She
liberated everyone in front of her, and they’ve followed her this entire way.
They’ve seen her at her very best, and they saw King’s Landing as a place of
rot. If some innocents got killed along the way… oh well; it’s a sacrifice for
the greater good. Having a queen who would take the throne and liberate all of
Westeros is more important than a few measly lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Her idea isn’t a new one. And historically,
it’s not always seen as a bad one. Do you think the British troops in WWII made
sure not a single German civilian died in the war? That the American troops in
Vietnam made sure there wasn’t a single innocent casualty? Last week as Drogon
was immolating most of King’s Landing, I said to my husband, “It’s like
napalm.” And guess what? Napalm was invented—and dropped—by the Americans, the
“good guys,” during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and as far back as WWII.
They did it in an effort to quash Communism, and killed untold numbers of innocent
people along the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh well; it’s a sacrifice for the greater
good. And it’s OK that the Americans did it, because, you know, freedom and all
that. But Daenerys? First of all, she’s a woman, and secondly, she speaks some
foreign tongue. Better do away with her then. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I actually love how the writers frame this,
because in the end, I don’t think anyone is suggesting that what ultimately
happens to her was the right thing; it’s all about perception. Arya and Jon saw
people being burned alive in the streets in a single day in a horrific act;
Daenerys and the Unsullied and the Dothraki have seen people live their entire
lives in chains, and have liberated them. When she says, “You have freed the
people of King’s Landing from the grip of a tyrant,” we’re supposed to think,
“Um, look in a mirror!” She talks about liberating people across Westeros, and
says, “From Winterfell to Dorne,” and a dark cloud goes over the faces of Jon
and Tyrion. They read that as, “Because that tyrant Sansa Stark is keeping
people under her thumb” when the Unsullied see it as, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we were just there, and there are a lot of people being treated badly
in Winterfell; did you see the way they treated those servant girls?</i> Of
course, Dany very much <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could</i> have
meant, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we’ll unseat that tyrant Sansa
Stark</i>. We’ll never know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Side note: throughout this scene, I kept
thinking, Tyrion and Jon don’t actually speak Valyrian; we saw how badly Tyrion
bungled it last week trying to see Jaime, and there’s no way Jon is fluent in
anything beyond his own language, nor has he been given the opportunity to
become so, since even the wildlings speak the Common Tongue. So… how do they
understand a word of what she’s saying here? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But anyway, this is a very complicated
scene because of the way one speech is interpreted by various people. And the
reason it works <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so well</i> and makes us <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so angry</i> is because it mirrors what’s
happening in the world today. Fans have wondered why <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has changed so much. But it’s always been a kind of
reflection of our own world, and the world has changed very much from 2011 to
now. Could you imagine your 2011 self being suddenly zipped to 2019? You’d be
reeling from how different the world is politically and ideologically. And
watch Dany’s speech, as the woman speaking for the people. She says something
that the progressives behind her don’t like, and their faces are nothing but
scorn. But the people in front of her hear every word differently and are
willing to overlook the bad things she’s done. Nah, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> doesn’t look like a certain rally that we see regularly done
by a certain politician who doesn’t seem to get that he’s already won an
election and can stop campaigning now. Many people actually love him, and
they’re not all morons, despite what you might think. They’re people who are
desperate, who feel like their leaders have never helped them no matter how
many times they’ve appealed to them. They didn’t get what they’ve been
promised, so they vote in someone who looks like a monster to some people; a
savior to others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As Dany makes her speech, the camera zooms
in on Tyrion, who slowly walks forward. My heart stopped; I was so worried he
was going to do something stupid in front of too many witnesses. She looks at
him with scorn. “You freed your brother; you committed treason,” she says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I freed my brother,” he concedes. “And you
slaughtered a city.” And with that he rips the Hand of the Queen brooch off and
tosses it down the stairs. Dany’s face is a bundle of emotions. Deep down, she
knows what she did, but she has to remain stone-faced… “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Greater good, greater good, greater good</i>” she must be saying to
herself. Jon watches Tyrion escorted away as prisoner, and then realizes she’s
watching him. He says nothing, and neither does she. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As she walks away, Jon turns to see Arya
suddenly standing beside him, creepily appearing out of nowhere, as Arya
brilliantly does. Arya immediately refers to her as “your queen,” and he says,
“She’s everybody’s queen now.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Try telling that to Sansa,” says Arya. And
with that, she turns the screw a little deeper into Jon. Torn always between
the family he loves and his loyalty to his queen, he knows that one is in
serious danger from the other. But as Arya says next, Sansa’s not the only one
in danger; Dany knows that Jon has doubts, and she won’t abide a threat to her
regency. “I know a killer when I see one,” Arya says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRZKHNHWP6XzcBmj9rwl8Y_SpRpMk1i_By3PL5aBiU0YlCgfDrDh1u3cC44r-ayhyphenhyphenTCyjbC46v4LgS3rDNRvyjK5KJHOkVoyVNbtcB3TMM-7TXUO4flgCekTeHAWI7Db1TtaHjA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.39.09+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="1282" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRZKHNHWP6XzcBmj9rwl8Y_SpRpMk1i_By3PL5aBiU0YlCgfDrDh1u3cC44r-ayhyphenhyphenTCyjbC46v4LgS3rDNRvyjK5KJHOkVoyVNbtcB3TMM-7TXUO4flgCekTeHAWI7Db1TtaHjA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.39.09+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jon goes to see the imprisoned Tyrion, who
immediately asks for wine (a Lannister through and through). Tyrion has been
sitting and thinking about how he’d betrayed Varys and watched him burn, and
that Varys must be thinking, “TOLD YOU SO” from wherever he is. (Interesting
side note if you don’t follow me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nikkistafford108">Facebook</a>: my friend Mary
pointed out an awesome tidbit from Reddit that had gone right over my head, but
last week when Varys was talking to kitchen girl Martha about how Dany wasn’t
eating, and he said we’ll try again later, it seemed like such a throwaway
scene; except what many of us missed is that he was actually trying to poison
Daenerys, and she wasn’t taking the bait. When he removed his rings, that was
likely a payment to Martha, who would collect it later. BRILLIANT.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion asks Jon if there’s any life after
death, and Jon says there wasn’t in his experience. Tyrion is thankful for the oblivion
that awaits him, and says he asked for this fate: he’d strangled his lover,
killed his father, betrayed his queen… and he’d do that last one again. He is
where he is as a result of a series of choices; the people of King’s Landing
weren’t so lucky. Jon reassures him that the war is over now. Tyrion says, “OH
REALLY?!” and reminds him of the war speech (that, again, I don’t think either
of them fully understood, but perhaps they were going on body language alone,
which was pretty telling). Tyrion gives that flip side perspective I was
talking about earlier, saying she “liberated” the people of Slaver’s Bay and
King’s Landing, and will go on doing so until she can rule over everyone that’s
left. Jon reminds him that TYRION was the one counseling her, until today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9ouh7kkztNcMqPNy0xgVzGwIG0K-rxJaRujlGAGcNbGHWHbH-tkMuD_bT-9HfdQwThL5FagCdqoawU7ipYD4tPKcPyZAt8K5Rw4z62tYGsigJYzudNJ-CEQcNd1u2GamhIP49Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.39.26+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1275" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9ouh7kkztNcMqPNy0xgVzGwIG0K-rxJaRujlGAGcNbGHWHbH-tkMuD_bT-9HfdQwThL5FagCdqoawU7ipYD4tPKcPyZAt8K5Rw4z62tYGsigJYzudNJ-CEQcNd1u2GamhIP49Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.39.26+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I LOVE the back and forth that happens next,
which pretty much mirrors the fandom battles I’ve seen all week: Jon is the
apologist, explaining exactly why Dany did what she did: she saw her best
friend beheaded; her child had been shot out of the sky. She’s not her father,
and shouldn’t have to bear the banner of her House just because her last name
is Targaryen, no more than Tyrion should have to apologize for the sins of
Tywin Lannister. Tyrion counters: my father and Cersei killed a metric
shit-tonne of people in their lifetimes, and still didn’t come close to what
Dany did in a single day; the city burned for her grief, and they didn’t
deserve it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“It’s easy to judge when you’re standing
far from the battlefield!” says Jon. But Tyrion says, “Would you have done it?”
knowing the answer to that question, just like he and Varys knew the answer to
that question two episodes ago. Jon says he knows nothing, but Tyrion doesn’t
accept it. “Does it matter what I’d do?” asks Jon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7t-D3WzjRDfUPuYbY0fv6XxI-rBu1qVmPOsHbNdX491bRfU5tqOmAU76hrGvieJ8QcTw-mf7-7mtQIQ9UnVd9wi3SBscXim_IncIntGCYXgtzGMiYdtrFIhpXb-j-JIkpMuB5w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.40.08+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1257" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7t-D3WzjRDfUPuYbY0fv6XxI-rBu1qVmPOsHbNdX491bRfU5tqOmAU76hrGvieJ8QcTw-mf7-7mtQIQ9UnVd9wi3SBscXim_IncIntGCYXgtzGMiYdtrFIhpXb-j-JIkpMuB5w/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.40.08+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“It matters more than anything,” says
Tyrion. Tyrion reminds Jon, as if he’d read my words in the blog last week, of
all the people she’s burned in the name of them being evil, but once they were
killed no one could argue they were anything else. They “stood between her and
Paradise,” and she killed them, Tyrion says. Jon is devastated. He knows the
truth, but he loves Daenerys. And Tyrion concedes that. “I know you love her… I
love her too. Not as… <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">successfully</i> as
you [ha!]…” but he believes her. And he says love is more powerful than reason.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Love is the death of duty,” says Jon, such
a brilliant little parable that even Tyrion asks if he came up with that one
himself. No, Maester Aemon said it. “Sometimes,” Tyrion says, “duty is the
death of love.” He says Jon’s entire life he’s tried to protect people. He’s
never been the sword; he’s been the shield. Who’s the biggest threat to the
people now? Shouldn’t he be doing his civic duty?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion knows what he’s asking, and he
apologizes for it, but just as Arya had said earlier, Jon is a threat to the
Iron Throne, and she won’t leave him alive. “That’s her decision,” says good
ol’ Jon, “she IS the queen.” And Tyrion stands there, wondering if he’d been
speaking gibberish this whole time. So he tries one more thing: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“And your sisters… do you see them bending
the knee?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhft8duu_5C2SEVp-tHxthlq7fHY9ywMpdK4HUAV4-K-SRo38yVRJwWae-RmKNzHJcq7bOnAgOHe58C7sM8UxzFgqfPnNwBF92VIpJFWubJPyv6bT4PuCJwxfCEiwoZIWtaak8HaA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.40.25+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1274" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhft8duu_5C2SEVp-tHxthlq7fHY9ywMpdK4HUAV4-K-SRo38yVRJwWae-RmKNzHJcq7bOnAgOHe58C7sM8UxzFgqfPnNwBF92VIpJFWubJPyv6bT4PuCJwxfCEiwoZIWtaak8HaA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.40.25+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jon pauses, looks stricken. He says they’ll
be loyal. “Why do you think Sansa told me the truth?!” Tyrion pleads. Jon says
they don’t get to choose, and Tyrion says, “No, but YOU DO. And you have to
choose now.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zL42LAI8t4k4GbYuFuJ02K0r3ddQxNqYhLPhaG4fZ5OkMT3jmEknQdj6mQKeps2gQ200OBc-udDD-UIn6Zzd7IWVIdIb0U_8l5nTy8TID7f7hSvhWMY4c9FNdjb9cuQiTADSow/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.40.38+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1274" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zL42LAI8t4k4GbYuFuJ02K0r3ddQxNqYhLPhaG4fZ5OkMT3jmEknQdj6mQKeps2gQ200OBc-udDD-UIn6Zzd7IWVIdIb0U_8l5nTy8TID7f7hSvhWMY4c9FNdjb9cuQiTADSow/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.40.38+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And Jon leaves to go see his queen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Before I continue with the recap, I need to correct you on a
specific point: Benioff & Weiss were not forced to bring GoT to a quicker
conclusion than they would have liked. HBO was happy to let them do two
ten-episode seasons for seven and eight, but they made the choice to condense
them. I bring this up because I’d also assumed that the studio execs were
repeating what they’d done to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deadwood</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rome</i> (and the ghost of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Firefly</i> haunts us all), but no—the
choice was artistic rather than fiduciary, so I’m not overly sympathetic to
B&W’s blunders. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Jon walks purposefully to see Daenerys,
we have what is, on rewatch, the most comical part of the episode: the pile of
snow shifts and moves and Drogon emerges. Presumably the attack on King’s
Landing really took it out of him, enough that he fell asleep long enough to
become covered in snow. But the erstwhile Targaryen scion’s approach is enough
to wake him (or perhaps he’s just standing guard) and he turns to regard Jon
quite closely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This moment is very interestingly shot: we
do not get a close-up, as we have in the past, of Jon facing the dragon from
just a few feet away. Instead, the moment unfolds from a distance. Drogon
stares at Jon for long enough to make it anxious, but then curls up again in
his snowdrift. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPZwvQwtxpLbW4Sf0Jrp9YFPUDWLZ-L1zABbHayNblTSdr_ZjUaRGFjK7V90xMz6ev9z82z5j73yMRrP6eDrNkuL7miSiMUuGzKxQfrhsQUwVrFQttwU4Gj49tdNuDANtdLDclQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.40.52+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1274" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPZwvQwtxpLbW4Sf0Jrp9YFPUDWLZ-L1zABbHayNblTSdr_ZjUaRGFjK7V90xMz6ev9z82z5j73yMRrP6eDrNkuL7miSiMUuGzKxQfrhsQUwVrFQttwU4Gj49tdNuDANtdLDclQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.40.52+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSOEWyG2YsO_dcgsCUb3Bs37w1QJpQVqWYr-wiE1SOHtAt1YzMgb2A7TPRoQdAj_w4KDht2DI3aqE2AmY6zrivPkW-nSR34oKf0Vt6Lqbm1v1IVWMRWtIp-A3El_cZLRaQIhefA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.41.21+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1278" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSOEWyG2YsO_dcgsCUb3Bs37w1QJpQVqWYr-wiE1SOHtAt1YzMgb2A7TPRoQdAj_w4KDht2DI3aqE2AmY6zrivPkW-nSR34oKf0Vt6Lqbm1v1IVWMRWtIp-A3El_cZLRaQIhefA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.41.21+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it now:
dragons are just giant cats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jon enters the Red Keep, and in a
transition that is both symbolic and quite nicely done, disappears into
darkness as Daenerys emerges from it—him descending into the dire task he must
perform, her seeing for the first time the light at the end of her long tunnel.
She emerges into what remains of the throne room, which isn’t quite as she saw
it in her vision. There is more roof and walls missing, for one thing. But
sitting (miraculously) intact is the Iron Throne itself, and Daenerys walks
slowly toward it as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord of the Rings</i>-esque
music plays. The music is a nice touch, as it evokes precisely the kind of
generic clichés we expect from traditional fantasy—the Chosen One approaching
the throne of destiny, etc. One imagines that that is the narrative unspooling
in Daenerys’ mind as she regards the object of all her labours. She approaches the
throne; she touches it; but, crucially, she does not sit in it. Either sensing
or hearing him, she turns to see Jon Snow standing in the entrance. And in that
moment, just briefly, the Music of Destiny switches to a few notes of the GoT
theme. I missed that on my first viewing; whatever else one might complain
about the final season, the scoring of this show has never been anything less
than top drawer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvC5M6IiMjwsK-KsQGpLEk4SyUedVlUKri92pZmu3FnZml-d_kA-22LEmMws5XA2JT8fJagpV0YGdPFHl62rTbnUgj2mBmIkLlz4jufGm0ArI4JTYpVqo3zhJuT3nfC14svZcSg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.42.07+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="1254" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvC5M6IiMjwsK-KsQGpLEk4SyUedVlUKri92pZmu3FnZml-d_kA-22LEmMws5XA2JT8fJagpV0YGdPFHl62rTbnUgj2mBmIkLlz4jufGm0ArI4JTYpVqo3zhJuT3nfC14svZcSg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.42.07+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys regards Jon, then turns back to
the throne, and tells a little story. “When I was a girl, my brother told me it
was made with a thousand swords of Aegon’s fallen enemies.” This, indeed, is
the story of the Iron Throne as told in the novels: the swords of defeated
enemies, forged into a throne by dragon fire. (Devotees of the novels like
myself cringed the first time we saw the series’ version of the Iron Throne: it
was too perfect, utterly unlike the mass of misshapen steel and iron described in
the novels, with points and edges protruding so that an unwary monarch might
cut him or herself; Aerys the Mad King was described in his later days as
always having scabs on his hands and arms from these hazards, and in a key
scene King Joffrey cuts himself while in the midst of a tantrum while sitting
on the throne). Daenerys continues, with childlike wonder, to remember what it
was like to try and imagine what a thousand swords might look like. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And now I’m here</i> is the obvious
end-point of her narration, but Jon doesn’t let her get there. “I saw them
executing Lannister prisoners in the street,” he practically spits at her.
“They said they were acting on your orders.” “It was necessary,” Daenerys
responds, obviously a little irked to be distracted from her reminiscence, but
Jon is having none of it. “Have you been down there?” he demands, outraged.
“Have you seen children—little children!—burned!” Daenerys’ response—that it
was Cersei’s fault for using them as human shields—is of course weak tea. She
is similarly unsympathetic to Jon’s plea that she forgive Tyrion, reminding Jon
that he, too, has been ruthless with people who betrayed him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV_spe_oIRVSsm2-mn74s-o71CXPgz8eDLcJFE9jIHZlI_mEwZ8x55x8Ob3NCRhy4U2B-fbJauUy05uRPj_JYgoRSX7ubCqtLeZG8KZiIJI_EstNZxlnOOvu9mr28NxsWZOa-qg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.43.41+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1274" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV_spe_oIRVSsm2-mn74s-o71CXPgz8eDLcJFE9jIHZlI_mEwZ8x55x8Ob3NCRhy4U2B-fbJauUy05uRPj_JYgoRSX7ubCqtLeZG8KZiIJI_EstNZxlnOOvu9mr28NxsWZOa-qg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.43.41+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I kind of wanted Jon, in this moment, to
give her an itemized list of the people he has executed. Did he behead Janos Slynt
so as to make an example and cement his authority as Lord Commander? Well, yes,
but the man was a treacherous cock napkin. He killed Mance Rayder as an act of
mercy. And the others he executed? THEY MURDERED HIM. Nothing really in the
realm of “I let my beloved brother escape and he ended up dying anyway.” Duty
is the death of love, indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He pleads with her to forgive everyone, and
in this moment we see how, had he been able to see past the incest ickiness and
marry her, he might just have been an ameliorating element in her reign. But,
having burned an entire city to the ground, Daenerys is at her Macbeth moment:
“I <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">am in blood / Stepped in so far
that, should I wade no more</span>, / <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Returning
were as tedious as go o'er.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Her
initial response to Jon is one of the most interesting lines from the episode,
and indeed from the entire season: “We can’t hide behind small mercies.” It
evokes what she said in the previous episode, about how Cersei saw mercy as
weakness, but Daenerys’ rule will be all about mercy—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for future generations</i>. The “greater mercy” becomes synonymous here
with “the greater good.” Jon doesn’t see or accept the distinction. “The world
we need won’t be built by men loyal to the world we have,” says Daenerys. “The
world we need,” Jon counters, “is a world of mercy. It has to be.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This
episode, and the season leading up to it, will be justifiably pilloried for
lacking nuance and subtlety, but this moment is an exception … alas that we
don’t get a more sustained argument on these points. Because both Daenerys and
Jon are right. Daenerys’ Nuremberg speech was chilling in the way it spelled
out precisely the kind of utopian vision that can only be realized through
blood, and which quickly becomes the opposite of what it intended. But she’s
not wrong here when she says that change cannot be effected by people invested
in the status quo. At the same time, Jon articulates one of the most basic
principles of any just society, which is that “cruelty is the worst thing we
do.” Small mercies in his perspective are not qualitatively different from
large mercies, and that foregoing small mercies and small-g good in the name of
the Greater Good is ultimately self-defeating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Daenerys
promises that the new world order will be one of mercy. “It’s not easy,” she
says, “to see something that’s never been before.” This line made me think of
our long-standing fascination with post-apocalyptic narratives: from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Road</i> to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking Dead</i>, one of the key points of these stories’ appeal is
our inability to think outside of our current system, making the prospect of
burning it all to the ground appealing (which I’d also argue is one of the
biggest factors in Trump’s election, but that’s a WHOLE nother blog post); that
Daenerys quite literally burned everything to the ground is a key element here,
as is what follows on this argument between her and Jon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jon Snow
may know nothing, but he’s not a complete idiot. He’s loyal and honourable to a
fault, but also recognizes megalomaniacal delusion when he sees it. When
Daenerys promises him that her new world order will be good, he asks her how
she can be sure. “Because I know what is good,” she says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Yeah. A
shiver ran down my spine when I heard that too, dude. All that was missing was
her adding “Believe me!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“What
about everyone else?” he asks desperately, still hoping for a lifeboat. “What
about the other people who think they know what’s good?” And, reading from the
tyrant’s handbook, Daenerys replied, “They don’t get to choose.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Well,
that tears it. Daenerys implores Jon to help her build this world and break the
wheel with her, and he says, “You are my Queen, now and always,” but “always”
in this instance means “for at least the next twenty seconds.” They kiss
passionately, but are interrupted by the inimitable <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">schhhkk</i> sound of a blade being slid home … at which point we have
our answer to the question of who would be the one to kill Daenerys. Jon of
course weeps over her body, and in the background we hear Drogon’s
perturbations as whatever psychic link he had with Daenerys is cut. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpB8_zWcvk1ep40pFRno2wyX_vIfq5bT8I6sgIEFrlGo9yand_pQa0b1znmmVRkDy6QWocorcV-dlz1LQF-LDL4wauhyphenhyphenRr3gRM9xE75Ahxxd80320uWhBY2epmlBeUBTyUHwh3Zw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.44.44+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1279" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpB8_zWcvk1ep40pFRno2wyX_vIfq5bT8I6sgIEFrlGo9yand_pQa0b1znmmVRkDy6QWocorcV-dlz1LQF-LDL4wauhyphenhyphenRr3gRM9xE75Ahxxd80320uWhBY2epmlBeUBTyUHwh3Zw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.44.44+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I want to
say that the true grief in this scene belongs to the dragon: Jon might have
loved Daenerys, but it is the moment when Drogon nudges her inert form—and
makes little mournful sounds—that made me cry a little. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Drogon
then rears up over Jon and screeches his grief and rage more loudly, and for a
few moments we wonder if this is the end of Jon Snow, too—will he be immolated,
in spite of his Targaryen blood, for the murder of Drogon’s mother?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For a
moment it looks like it, as Drogon opens his maw wide and we see the tell-tale
signs of fire at the back of his throat … but instead he lets loose not on Jon,
but on the Iron Throne itself, melting it down to molten metal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As I
mentioned earlier, I called this moment, though not in this particular way:
I’ve been saying all season that an appropriate and satisfactory end to the
question of “Who sits on the Iron Throne?” would be (á là the Faceless Men) “no
one,” and that the best way to accomplish that would be having Drogon burn that
damned thing to slag. But I’d always imagined Daenerys being the architect of
that choice … unlikely, but a more radical way to conclude a fantasy narrative
(or perhaps not that radical, as it would be of a piece with Frodo tossing the
Ring into Mount Doom—the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">destruction</i>
of power). Instead, it is the dragon that makes that choice, which is … well,
interesting. One of the funniest things I’ve read about this episode suggested
that Drogon is either extremely intelligent or just kind of dumb—either he
recognized that the Iron Throne was the object of his mother’s desire that
corrupted her and perverted her good nature, or he saw the dagger sticking out
of her chest and thought “DIE, YOU CHAIR OF KNIVES!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Whatever
his motives, he tenderly picks up Daenerys and flies off, leaving Jon Snow
looking more bewildered than usual. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fade to
black. And then we’re back to Tyrion, lying in his cell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: I’m with you that Drogon is the true
sympathetic character in this scene, and he made me well up, too (made worse
when my husband quietly said, “He’s… sad.”) And it didn’t surprise me that he
intuited that the throne was the cause of all of this, that, as I said last
week, they could have stayed across the sea and have been perfectly happy,
three dragons and their mum, but she wanted that damn throne. After all, as you
and I have insisted from the beginning, the dragons are very, very large cats
with wings. And anyone who thinks a cat doesn’t walk into a room, immediately
intuit the situation, and show its utter disdain or delight based on a number
of complicated machinations in their brains… doesn’t own a cat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-VqKWMMJ-spd_U27wOOoJWzbyxyV8wrvW01pFI-sycE66zr3cDV6mydlSa1aqW1a_lpSBRixb-YwDYYjBSE9p2UUjXhNdtO4Ws1pramaYeGFUQpoVQzx5lpfTUPt9JEVJRRnvA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.46.14+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1273" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-VqKWMMJ-spd_U27wOOoJWzbyxyV8wrvW01pFI-sycE66zr3cDV6mydlSa1aqW1a_lpSBRixb-YwDYYjBSE9p2UUjXhNdtO4Ws1pramaYeGFUQpoVQzx5lpfTUPt9JEVJRRnvA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.46.14+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">One
question I have about the section you covered: You mentioned that Drogon is
covered in snow and rises up out of his snowbank, but do you think that might
be ash? After all, just earlier that same day the sun was shining and it was
hot out, based on the clothing the people of King’s Landing were wearing, and I
don’t think winter came that suddenly to King’s Landing… (especially since
we’ll see three weeks later it’s hot again). But I wondered if it was supposed
to be an indication of just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how much
stuff</i> Dany burned, that there was that much ash still floating around,
enough to entirely cover Drogon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But now
our queen is dead, and I’m in mourning along with Drogon. I adored Daenerys,
right from the beginning, and had pledged my loyalty to her House, and despite
everything, I miss her already, and I’m gutted to see the end of her. She could
have been so amazing for Westeros before things went wrong. And as my husband
said, he thinks if a man had made those decisions or said the things she did
leading up to the penultimate episode, they would have listened, but he thinks
in the end, Varys didn’t want a woman on the throne. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I will
admit… during the scene where Jon shivved Daenerys, I was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">convinced</i> it was Arya wearing his face, thinking there’s no way Jon
could actually do this. But it was Jon. I keep thinking we’re going to get a
callback to the Faceless Men, but there’s a reason we don’t: Arya doesn’t think
of herself as no one anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But oh my
god, what a beautiful corpse Dany made. :::tears::: I cried a lot as we saw
Drogon flying over the sea, Daenerys clutched carefully in his left claw. She
was born in the middle of a great storm, and now she returns, disappearing into
a stormy sky. It was so beautiful and sad and I can’t believe her story is
over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And then
the screen goes black. And then it opens on Tyrion, who looks like Tom Hanks in
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cast Away</i> and I was like wait, what?
What’s happening? </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(I guess if you’re going to do this in six episodes—and wow,
thank you for clarifying that bit about it being B&W’s choice, which makes
it even more aggravating—you have to skip over some finer details to move this
story along.) It’s a few weeks later, and Grey Worm shows up and lets Tyrion
out of his cage, and takes him to a council meeting at the Dragonpit—ironically
an area built by the Targaryens as a place to keep their dragons, and famously
the place where all of this bloodshed could have ended if only Cersei and
Daenerys had managed to hash out a deal last season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Sitting
there are the most powerful people in Westeros, all united in one council. I
wasn’t 100% sure who everyone was there, and perhaps Chris can chime in on his
pass to fill in the blanks, but here are the ones I knew: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The first
three were Samwell Tarly (obvs), someone I didn’t recognize, but who might be
associated with Highgarden? His outfit was a little flowery. Beside him is <s>Frank
</s>Edmure Tully, that dipshit brother of Catelyn’s who, unfortunately, is the
Head of House Tully, I presume, and whose sentences are always cut off when
he’s trying to do something noble (see below). I poke fun, but I was THRILLED
to see Tobias Menzies appear one last time on the show!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEK4fmd3bD4AeGBtaXtwiSxPnps_4SVnpaSa8Wk76uqe9_54jPuCOx0MWC_XA_29FiZNJGL_upUm5_SSrzb8vEIFT-Smd23uCVS3JEaGUjUQmwriZ5I1H49xQfKVpHOAWoU_49A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.55.46+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1237" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEK4fmd3bD4AeGBtaXtwiSxPnps_4SVnpaSa8Wk76uqe9_54jPuCOx0MWC_XA_29FiZNJGL_upUm5_SSrzb8vEIFT-Smd23uCVS3JEaGUjUQmwriZ5I1H49xQfKVpHOAWoU_49A/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+11.55.46+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Next,
House Stark is super-represented in Arya, Bran, and Sansa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Next, we
have Brienne, who doesn’t seem to be representing a House, per se, but is
definitely one of the most powerful people in Westeros (to which I say… YAY
YOU!); Ser Davos Seaworth, who isn’t exactly from a great House either but
having served as such an important advisor, I’m glad he’s seen as being a VIP;
Gendry Baratheon; and some other dude I couldn’t place, perhaps from a House
loyal to House Baratheon, which, until Daenerys recently legitimized Gendry,
had been an extinct House. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Next is
another person I don’t know, but I will presume he’s from the North given his
fur collar; Yara Greyjoy, looking fierce; and another unknown whom I think we
can safely presume is the Prince of Dorne, given the golden robes and the fact
he looks exactly like the other Dornish princes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Finally,
as I exclaimed on Facebook… ROBIN ARRYN looking shockingly good-looking after
an entire run on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>
looking vaguely inbred, here to represent the Vale as the head of House Arryn;
Yohn Royce, whom we all remember as the advisor to Robin, given that Robin was…
vaguely inbred; and another man I can’t place but who looks sort of familiar:
I’m assuming he’s a Northman and we’ve seen him at Council meetings at
Winterfell? Or maybe he’s just Kenny Rogers, not sure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And of
course, we have Tyrion, last of the House Lannister, and Grey Worm, leader of
what’s left of Daenerys’s followers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ANYWAY…
suffice to say, these are some important folks. But before anyone can talk
about Tyrion, Sansa wants to know one thing: “Where’s Jon?” He was supposed to
have been brought out along with Tyrion, presumably to represent House
Targaryen, although it’s not clear who actually all knows that fact (or if they
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">want</i> anyone knowing that). Grey Worm
explains that King’s Landing is now the city of the Unsullied, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i> decide what happens to Jon. Yara
Greyjoy speaks up and says the Ironborn do not give up their loyalties lightly:
they’d pledged fealty to Daenerys Stormborn and Jon Snow killed her; he should
die. Arya tells her to say one more word and she’ll cut her throat. It’s an
interesting back-and-forth, given that Yara let her brother go to defend the
Starks and die with them at Winterfell, but the Starks don’t know that about
her. All they know is Jon Snow did what he did to save his sisters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Thankfully,
Ser Davos is the reasonable one (natch) who stands up and says let’s stop all
this talk of slitting throats, and he thanks the Unsullied for fighting with
them in the North against the Dead, and for sacrificing so many of their men in
that battle. He suggests the Unsullied go to the Reach and start their own
House. He calls for an end to war. Grey Worm argues that they don’t want
payment; they want justice. Jon Snow took the life of the woman who liberated
them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Tyrion
cuts in and says it’s not for him to decide. Grey Worm shouts at him, but
Tyrion keeps going. He says it’s up to the queen or king to decide. Kenny
Rogers says they don’t have one, and Tyrion says, “You’re the most powerful
people in Westeros, so choose one!” Grey Worm tells them to go ahead. Everyone
sits silent, and looks at one another, or faces the floor, and of course, the
absolute most qualified one stands: Edmure Tully. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It’s an
extremely funny moment, as he stands and begins to speak with such gravitas about
his experience in two wars (where he spent one as a POW, but he doesn’t mention
that) and his experience in statecraft (which is negligible at best) and at
this important juncture—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Uncle…
please sit,” says Sansa, cutting him off mid-sentence. Edmure looks at her with
surprise, and, rejected, turns to sit, banging his sword against a pole. It’s a
fantastic moment, and Menzies is SO good in this scene. (You can actually see
Maisie Williams looking like she’s trying not to laugh once he’s sat down.)
Yohn says they have to choose <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">someone</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And
that’s when Sam stands up. He explains that whoever is king or queen will rule
over everyone, so shouldn’t the decision be up to… everyone? And for a moment,
I thought oh my god please don’t make this a cheesy moment where they break the
wheel by embracing democracy and changing everything in one fell swoop—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But the
supporters of the Vale all begin laughing, and Edmure asks if they should give
the dogs a vote too. If you listen closely, you’ll hear, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cough </i>Trump <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cough </i>gerrymandering
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cough</i> electoral college” and the
laughter continues. Whew. They want to move forward, but not THAT far forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Grey Worm
asks if Tyrion wants the job, and he says no, of course not. He steps forward
and asks, “What unites people? Armies? Gold? Flags?” No. “Stories. There’s
nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No
enemy can defeat it, and who has a better story, than Bran the Broken? The boy
who fell from a high tower and lived. He knew he would never walk again, so he
learned to fly. He crossed beyond the Wall, a crippled boy, and became the
Three-Eyed Raven. He’s our memory, the keeper of all our stories. The wars,
weddings, births, massacres, famines. Our triumphs, our defeats. Our past. Who
better to lead us into the future?” He’s right. Think of how many people in
your Facebook or Twitter feeds whose politics are the opposite of yours, but
who watch all the same shows, read all the same books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sansa looks shocked. She points out that Bran’s not interested and he can’t
father children. Tyrion says that’s what makes him the perfect choice. They all
know what the children of kings can do, and “his will never torment us.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">He turns
to Grey Worm. “That is the wheel our queen wanted to break. From now on, rulers
will not be born, they will be chosen. On this spot by the lords and ladies of
Westeros, to serve the realm.” He approaches Bran and says he knows he doesn’t
want it, nor does he care about power, but if they choose him, will he wear the
crown? The camera pans in, and Bran says in that infamous monotone, “Why do you
think I came all this way?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I will
admit, it’s only on thinking about it later, he seems like the perfect choice:
someone who doesn’t want war, who isn’t power-hungry, who barely speaks, who
knows everything that has ever happened in Westeros and why, and what’s to come
so he can avoid the bad and focus toward the good. But, in the moment, I went,
“<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BRAN?!</i></b>” Ahem. Yes, Bran. And
with that, we get a Stark on the throne. Not Robb, not Sansa, not Jon Snow… but
Bran. And everyone else sitting there agrees. Except, of course, his sisters,
who are like, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mom always loved you best
and now this godDAMmit</i>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Sansa
turns to her brother and tells him she loves him, and will support him, and
he’ll be a great king. But the people of the North have seen too much to ever
bend the knee to anyone ever again. “The North will remain an independent
kingdom, as it was for thousands of years.” Bran quietly nods, in complete
agreement as a Northman himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“All hail
Bran the Broken, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord
of the Six Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.” To which Bran says, “Um,
thanks, but… could we discuss this whole <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Broken</i>
nickname?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">He
immediately tells Tyrion he wants him as his Hand. Tyrion very quickly turns it
down, saying his counsel was terrible when he was Hand. Bran refuses Tyrion’s
rejection, Grey Worm disagrees and refuses to hand over his prisoner, and Bran
reassures him Tyrion will spend the rest of his life trying to redeem himself.
Nope, says Grey Worm, not good enough. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And so,
in a scene I swear was filmed last—note how Kit Harington’s hair is about six
inches shorter in this scene than it is in the very next one—Tyrion goes to
give Jon Snow the bad news. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: I will confess that I am ambivalent about
how all this falls out. On one hand, we’re witnessing incremental progress:
kings or queens whose rule is established not by patrilineal descent and divine
right, but by being chosen by the representatives of the kingdom’s power
brokers. A number of reviews I’ve read have suggested that Westeros is inching
toward parliamentary democracy, but really, it’s more of an extreme version of
the electoral college, with the executive’s term limit being his or her
lifespan. And keeping the title of king or queen is not just a misnomer, but
misleading. I wasn’t expecting the kind of pure democracy Sam proposes, but
perhaps something more along the lines of pre-imperial Rome would have been workable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Also,
Tyrion’s rationale for Bran as, essentially, the “keeper of the stories,” only
works for Bran’s reign … unless, at some point in the near future, Bran trains
a new Three Eyed Raven to take his place, at which point the principle of the
monarch selected by the newly struck electoral college falls apart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(Also,
I’m with you on being delighted to see the return as Tobias Menzies as Edmure,
though for me he’ll always be Brutus from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rome</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There is
also the rather sticky question of why the North gets to be its own kingdom,
while the other six don’t seem to be particularly concerned about submitting to
the rule of King Bran. When Yara first pledged her loyalty to Daenerys, she
hedged—would the Iron Islands be forced to bend the knee, or could they be
their own fiefdom? As I’ve mentioned previously, Daenerys was far more elastic
on that question than she ever was with Jon or Sansa, but then that was back
when she was still in Essos and needed a fleet of ships to bring her home.
Yara’s loyalty to Daenerys in this scene is quite staunch, but one wonders
whether the notoriously independent people of the Iron Islands would be
quiescent about surrendering their sovereignty when the North refuses to do so.
The same goes for Dorne, which in the novels is characterized as almost as
reluctant as the Iron Islands to suffer the rule of a king or queen not of
their own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(Again,
questions that could have been answered with world enough and time).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">When
Tyrion gives Jon the “bad news” that he has to go back to the Wall, Jon asks
the question that I think most people watching had: “There’s still a Night’s
Watch?” Because … well, seriously. Why is there still a Night’s Watch? The
ancient enemy that first prompted Brandon the Builder to raise the Wall is no
more, and the lesser enemy that had become the Night’s Watch’s primary foe
(i.e. the wildlings) are now something resembling allies. So why in the name of
the old gods and the new do we still have a Night’s Watch? “The world will
always need a home for bastards and broken men,” says Tyrion. Seriously? So
this is basically now a make-work project? Will we at least be changing the
terms of reference for the men in black? Perhaps they can be something like the
Peace Corps now? “I am the shield that guards the realms of men” doesn’t have
quite the same resonance when there isn’t really anything to guard AGAINST. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Perhaps
the Night’s Watch functions in this way just as a means of saving Jon: the
Unsullied want him dead, his family want him freed, but this is a useful compromise,
even if the actuality of “taking the black” isn’t really a thing any more
(you’ll talk about this in your final pass, Nikki, but my own sense of that
last scene when Jon rides north of the Wall with Tormund and the wildlings was
that he wasn’t going to return—he was heading north to live as he did for a
time with Ygritte). It hasn’t escaped many commentators that Tyrion’s
observation “No one is very happy” could easily apply to fans of the show. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Was it
right—what I did?” Jon asks. “It doesn’t feel right.” Tyrion gives what, in my
professional opinion, is a very professorial answer: “Ask me again in ten
years.” Which is to say: in this moment, I have no idea. Let’s let time and the
consensus of history have its say, and I’ll get back to you. Tyrion places a
comforting hand on Jon’s shoulder, and turns silently to go. “I don’t expect
we’ll ever see each other again,” Jon rasps at Tyrion’s back. Tyrion pauses,
and replies, “I wouldn’t be so sure. A few years as Hand of the King would make
anyone want to piss of the edge of the world.” I rather loved this line, as
it’s a callback to the first season: Jon, frustrated by his status as a bastard
and inspired by his Uncle Benjen, decides to join the Night’s Watch; Tyrion, in
Winterfell with the king’s retinue, doesn’t return with them but heads north to
see the Wall and “piss off the edge of the world.” He ends up in the group
traveling with Jon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">From
there, we follow Jon’s sprung-from-prison steps down to the docks, where he
suffers Grey Worm’s hateful gaze, glaring down at him from the poop deck of a
ship—we learn through some brief exposition—bound for Naath. Missandei might be
dead, but the dream still lives: having turned down the offer of lands and
titles in Westeros, the Unsullied are making like trees and getting the fuck
out of the continent. It’s uncertain whether their arrival will be welcomed by
the peaceful inhabitants of Missandei’s home island, but presumably future
slave-catchers will have to negotiate with the business end of a shit-ton of
spears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jon
carries on to where he meets up with his siblings. Sansa is apologetic about
the deal that was struck. “Can you forgive me?” she asks, and for a long moment
it seems … maybe not? But then he says, “The North is free, thanks to you.”
“But they lost their King,” Sansa replies, albeit with the slightly smug tones
of someone who no longer has to kowtow to whom she’d once understood as her
bastard brother. Jon observes something we’ve all known for a few seasons now:
that Sansa is the best the North could ever ask for. They embrace. When Jon
tells Arya she’s welcome to visit him at Castle Black, we learn her plan: to
sail west beyond what has been mapped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Not sure
what I think of Arya’s ending … I suppose it makes a certain amount of sense,
as eight seasons’ worth of learning to fight and kill has rendered her unfit
for any role besides hired assassin—which, of course, being a basically decent
person and having rejected her membership in the Faceless Men besides, is not
really a career option. So … she now means, like Tennyson’s Ulysses, “</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To sail beyond the
sunset, and the baths /<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of all the western stars, until I
die”? Or is it meant more as an evocation of the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lord of the Rings</i>, in which Frodo, too marred by his
experiences as the ring-bearer, departs for the west across the sea? I suppose
it’s a sentimentally symbolic choice, which means it’s entirely out of step
with the sensibility of GoT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And then, he kneels before the new King. “Your Grace,” he says. “I’m
sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.” “You were exactly where you were
supposed to be,” Bran replies, in that cryptic monotone that, I’m predicting,
is going to drive his royal subjects a wee bit batshit in the coming years. Jon
then walks down the pier to where his tender awaits, and his siblings watch him
go … the remaining trueborn children of Ned Stark watching their erstwhile
bastard half-brother, actually their trueborn cousin, take his “punishment” and
head north.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(I just want to ask: are we supposed to believe that Jon is genuinely
aggrieved that he has to go to the Wall? He doesn’t seem happy, but it made me
think of Ricky Gervais’ bit of stand-up about the Book of Genesis, when God’s
punishment for the serpent is that he has to crawl on his belly for all
eternity. “But … Oh, no. Wait. Yeah. You got me. Crawl on my belly? Is this how
I do it? I wish I could fly, like normal”). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">From that
scene we cut to what is my favourite moment of the episode (though it goes
without saying, it would have been infinitely more affecting if we’d had time
to see Brienne and Jaime’s relationship properly disintegrate). Brienne—now the
Lord Commander of the Kingsguard—sits with the book in which the Knights of the
Kingsguard’s exploits are chronicled, and she turns to the entry for Jaime Lannister.
We’ve been here before, back when Jaime was the Lord Commander; his paltry
entry was given more weight in the novels, but also played in the series. Now,
Brienne looks at the scant text, which reads:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Squired
for Barristan Selmy against the Kingswood Outlaws. Knighted and named to the
Kingsguard in his sixteenth year for valour in the field. At the Sack of King’s
Landing murdered his King Aerys the Second at the foot of the Iron Throne:
pardoned by King Robert Baratheon.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And then
in a different hand, Jaime’s own: “Thereafter known as the Kingslayer: After
the murder of King Joffrey by Tyrion Lannister, served under King Tommen I.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Brienne,
being Brienne, reads this laconic entry, and starts to write—as is one of the
duties of the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, to faithfully record the
exploits of his or her fellows. She fills the rest of the page, and turns the
leaf over. (And just for the record, Brienne’s penmanship is ON POINT). She
details everything Jaime did, from his capture at the Whispering Wood to his
oath to Catelyn Stark to the bit of misdirection that sent the Unsullied to
Casterly Rock while he took Highgarden. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And his
last deed—which could not have been easy for Brienne to write—was “Died
protecting his Queen.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">After she
finishes writing, she has a moment in which it seems tears might come, but they
don’t quite, and she closes the ponderous tome. It’s our last real Brienne
moment, and can I just reiterate now and for all time just how much I love
Gwendolyn Christie? She has been SO GOOD in this role.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And then
we shift to the true downslope of the denouement, with Tyrion as Hand of the
King essentially re-enacting a scene from several seasons ago as he fussily
shifts chairs around the Small Council table. But I will hand off the final
commentary on this episode to you, Nikki … bring us home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">My watch
is ended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: Now I’m gonna cry. (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hold it together, Nik, hold it together.</i>) I too loved Brienne’s
moment, it was so quiet and lovely, and like you, I commented aloud that clearly,
at some point in her childhood, her father must have given her calligraphy
lessons in order to try to make her more “womanly.” I also wondered if she’d
write something like, “Slept with another knight after the Battle of
Winterfell, but then fucked off to King’s Landing to screw his sister, whom
he’d been shagging all along.” But no, our Brienne rose above it (she’s better
than I am) and I felt like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i> was
the ending her character deserved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But now
onto the Small Council meeting. As Chris said, I loved Tyrion shifting the
chairs, and then muttering grumpily when everyone comes in and bangs them
around. And to be honest, it’s been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so
long</i> since we’ve seen a proper Small Council meeting, it was like we were
back in an early episode, and it made my heart swell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And then
Ser Davos enters. I love that he gets his due for all the honest counsel he’s
given over the years; who would have thought Ser Davos would outlast Stannis,
the Red Woman, Varys, and Daenerys. He’s a man with reason and love, and I’m
happy he’s here. He’s the Master of Ships, which is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perfect</i> position for him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But he’s
with Bronn. Now, I understand for many, this is going to be a shrewd decision
on Tyrion’s part: making him the Master of Coin makes sense on the one hand,
because no one can negotiate a bargain better than Bronn. Keep your enemies
close, and all that. But it’s freakin’ BRONN. Of all the other people in the
series who have been reasonable, good people, HE is the one who gets a seat on
the Small Council? A guy who, if he went to Braavos to secure a loan for
Tyrion, and they said, “For double what he’s paying you, we’ll pay you to put a
knife through Ser Brienne,” he’d do it. Only if Tyrion didn’t offer him double that
to NOT put the knife through her. He’s a backstabbing blackmailer, and while
he’s been great for one-liners, he’s about as trustworthy as Joffrey running
the King’s Landing daycare. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Sam Tarly
is there, in the white Grand Maester’s robes, a position that he’s clearly
gotten through taking some quick online Coursera courses and some
string-pulling on Tyrion’s part. The Grand Maester is seen as the most senior
of all the Maesters throughout the kingdom, and Sam isn’t exactly… senior. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">However</i>, I don’t think it would be a
stretch to think that possibly, all the Maesters in the kingdom have been wiped
out, and that Sam, having studied the texts of the Citadel, would know more
than they do. Besides, Bran is a walking Citadel library, with all of the books
in his head, more or less, so they don’t need a senior member. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But
here’s why Sam as Grand Maester works for me: I think this is yet another
example of breaking the wheel. Why should the most important Maester position
in the kingdom go to the eldest? Pycelle was an old fart who didn’t care about
the laws as much as currying favour with the Lannisters. Why not make it a
meritocracy? Not the eldest Maester, but the most qualified, the best one for
the job. Tyrion’s known Sam long enough to know he has no designs on power, and
is wise (he found Jon’s true heritage, as well as figured out how to cure
greyscale). I think he’s perfect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">He hands
Tyrion a massive book: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Song of Ice and
Fire</i>. How… meta. (My favourite bit here is where Sam says, “I helped him
with the title,” and then looks at the others, beaming with excitement, darting
his head from one face to the other, while they just stare back. Oh Samwell,
how I adore you.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I don’t
know how much time is supposed to have passed, but I think it’s safe to say…
quite a bit? The Red Keep is looking like it’s been mostly fixed, the floor of
the map room is still broken but cleaned up, the place is livable again. (Of
course, some of this could have happened while Tyrion and Jon were still locked
up.) There’s been time for Tyrion to assemble a Small Council, and for Samwell
to rise to the position of Grand Maester. But even then, I would say it’s only
been a few months? I say all of this because I’m trying to figure out how
Maester Ebrose found the time to write that entire MASSIVE tome in a matter of
months when we’ve been waiting approximately 143 years for GRRM to write volume
6 of HIS version of events. (For those keeping track, Archmaester Ebrose was at
the Citadel, and was played by Jim Broadbent last season.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But let’s
look past the quickness of writing by hand 1,500 giant pages in perfect
calligraphy (cough). Tyrion immediately begins flipping through the book with
the same concern anyone has who finds out a friend of theirs has written a
memoir: what do they say about me in it? (I will admit to always flipping to an
index of a pop culture academic book to find my name, and it’s often there, but
mostly so the academics can disagree with something I wrote in my books. I also
had an acquaintance write a memoir and found my name in the index, and what he
wrote was neither good nor bad, it just was. Which was disappointing; we kind
of hated each other, and I wanted it to be horrible, which would have been far
more interesting. But the rest of the memoir was shite, too, so what can ya do.
HA.) Like me, Tyrion wonders if he’ll be criticized. Or maybe he’ll be kind?
Tyrion begins flipping pages. “I… I don’t believe you’re mentioned,” stutters
Sam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">HAHAHA!
Frankly, this revelation made this whole meta silliness worth it, mostly
because it’s a perfect representation of the history books: Tyrion was behind
the scenes at every turn, and is arguably THE star of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> in a story with about 65 other people vying for
that position. But throughout history, it’s not the kings and queens making
decisions, changing the course of every day: it’s their advisors, the people in
backrooms, the people in the kitchens, the people hiding in alleyways. Their
names don’t end up in the history books, but they were the catalysts for so
many things along the way. Queen Cersei and King Joffrey will be all over the
pages of Grand Maester Ebrose’s book, but it’s Tyrion who was doing the real
backroom deals, making the decisions. It was Littlefinger and Varys who were
changing the course of history. It was Olenna Tyrell who was ordering the deaths
of people who got in her way. They won’t be listed in the book, either, or, at
best, they’ll be footnotes. The beautiful thing about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> is that it showed the people who play the game
aren’t necessarily the ones who want that throne. I loved this little tidbit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And, side
note, when the episode was over, I immediately went over to my first <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> book and flipped it open
to see if Tyrion was actually, in fact, the first perspective chapter of the
entire series… but it wasn’t. It was Bran. Of course. (The answer was there the
whole time, Dorothy!) And then it flips to perspectives of various Starks
before the first non-Stark entry: Tyrion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Bran
enters, wheeled in by Brienne. He begins speaking in that monotone that yes, I
agree with you, Chris, will drive the citizens of Westeros (and mostly this
poor, wretched, Small Council) completely batty in the coming years. Could you
imagine him doing the King’s Speech? “Hello. It is Christmas. Snow is falling.
Falling like ash. Ash upon the fields. Fields of the dead. I have seen the
dead.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Meanwhile,
people across Westeros are wondering why the hell Samwell Tarly invented the
bloody wireless radio so they have to listen to this shit every year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Anyway,
he immediately notes that they’re missing a Master of Whisperers, a Master of
Laws, and a Master of War. Tyrion reassures him he’ll be looking at suitable
candidates for all those positions, and it made me wonder who they would be? I
suppose even after a wheel has been broken, you’ll still need a Master of
Whisperers because people continue to conspire. The other two are necessities,
although frankly, Bran could do all three: he can see everyone at all times
(ew) and would know who’s conspiring. He knows all the laws of the past,
present, and future, and he already knows what wars have happened, what ones
are coming, and what would be the best strategies for each. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Seriously,
how are they going to deal with this guy in every—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Oh wait,
he’s leaving Small Council to go warg into Drogon and figure out where he is.
You can just see the “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” looks on
everyone’s faces. (Note that “Ser Podrick” comes out of the shadows to wheel
Bran away—he’s a knight!) I guess one good thing about Bran is, he doesn’t need
an Iron Throne because he’s got a cool chair of his own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Before I
forget, though, I just wanted to call back to one character I don’t think has
gotten her due: Meera Reed. Remember her? Along with Osha and Meera’s brother
Jojen, they’re the ones who accompanied Bran through a large part of his story
and him becoming the Three-Eyed Raven, and for, like, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">three seasons</i> she dragged that sled with Bran on it. I’m thinking
he owes a lot of his survival to her. I hope he sends her a Christmas ham on
the day of his next speech. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As Bran
leaves, Tyrion ham-fistedly bids his king adieu with the proper honorifics,
ending with “Long may he reign” and the others, scattered, say it with various
levels of conviction. “That will improve,” Tyrion says sheepishly as Bran is
wheeled out of the room. Ha!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Now
Tyrion reveals that Bronn is Master of Coin (look at Ser Davos’s unconvinced
face when he does), and asks if the Crown’s debt has been paid. In full, he
says. After all—say it with me—a Lannister always pays his debts. And Tyrion
begins conducting business. After listing all of Bronn’s titles, he asks about
securing more money for the kingdom to rebuild. Then Tyrion tells Ser Davos
that they’ll need to rebuild the ships as well. Davos says he can do that, once
the “Master of Coin and Lord of Lofty Titles” secures the money. Bronn snarkily
responds that first he has to ensure they’re not wasting coin, “or soon there
won’t be no more coin.” “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Any</i> more,”
corrects Davos. “Oh you’re Master of Grammar now too?” Bronn says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">At which
point I sat up and said, “OMG there’s a Master of Grammar?? I COULD TOTALLY BE
ON SMALL COUNCIL.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Grand
Maester!” shouts Tyrion to try to move away from the little toddler boys
fighting at the head of the table. He asks about water purification, and Sam begins
to speak before Bronn cuts him off, and instead wants to discuss reconstructing
the far more important brothels of King’s Landing. (Seriously, someone shoot
this guy with a crossbow NOW.) Sam doesn’t agree with this, and Brienne says
the ships should take precedence, as the camera slowly pans out of the room,
showing us that the Small Council is a new world… and much of the same one it’s
always been. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYZkb4_vHKMjTb6GPuiIrNW9apXkjVHo3r3EBkDy_Hs5y2u0fxVrl5558lrIac1vf86dcjE_9-K44AdXMw0M8CrBsqdsU_uRDf-E5dmrExpM2Yvix1fN9sJSGfwOm6u-QLFj_tQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.20.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="1277" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYZkb4_vHKMjTb6GPuiIrNW9apXkjVHo3r3EBkDy_Hs5y2u0fxVrl5558lrIac1vf86dcjE_9-K44AdXMw0M8CrBsqdsU_uRDf-E5dmrExpM2Yvix1fN9sJSGfwOm6u-QLFj_tQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.20.31+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I feel your pain, Tyrion. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And then
Tyrion says, “I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel…” I
laughed out loud. This is an onrunning joke and a callback to previous seasons,
and it’s the third time Tyrion has begun to tell this joke but WE HAVE NEVER
GOTTEN THE PUNCHLINE. In season one, standing before the horrid Lysa Arryn,
Tyrion is asked to confess his sins, and he begins telling one lewd story after
another, nearly every one involving his penis. When he gets to, “I once brought
a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel…” Lysa shouts for silence.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Again in
season six, he’s sitting with Missandei and Grey Worm, and they’re drinking
wine and laughing. Grey Worm is looking at Missandei with so much love (sniff)
and she’s giggling and begging Tyrion for jokes. “I once walked into a brothel
with a honeycomb and a jackass,” he begins. “The Madame says—” and then they’re
interrupted. Since then, fans have tried to come up with the ending of that
joke, and a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Retro21">fan on Reddit</a>
came up with a BRILLIANT one that I wish the writers had incorporated into this
episode: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background: white; color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tyrion walks into a brothel with a honeycomb and a jackass.</span><span style="color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white;">Madame: What can we do for you?</span></span><span style="color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white;">Tyrion: I need a woman to lay with, for mine has
left me.</span></span><span style="color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white;">Madame: Whatever for? And what's with the
honeycomb and the mule?</span></span><span style="color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white;">Tyrion: My woman found a genie in a bottle, and he
granted her three wishes. The first was for a house fit for a queen, so he gave
her this damn honeycomb. The second wish was that she have the nicest ass in
all the land, so he gave her this damn donkey...</span></span><span style="color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white;">Madame: And what about the third wish?</span></span><span style="color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white;">Tyrion: Well... she asked the genie to make my
cock hang down past my knee.</span></span><span style="color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white;">Madame: Well that one's not so bad eh?</span></span><span style="color: #171107; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white;">Tyrion: Not so bad!? I used to be six foot
three!</span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Seriously,
how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tyrion</i> is that joke?! I’m
convinced that’s where he was going with it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And… our
watch ends at the Night’s Watch and Castle Black. We see Jon Snow approach the
gates, like he did in season one, for a life of celibacy and isolation, for…
what, exactly? I’m with you, Chris, to me, this was the least satisfying bit of
the entire finale. Tormund stands on a parapet looking down at Jon as he enters
the grounds through the gate, and like you I was like, what, exactly, do they
do at the Night’s Watch now?? The wilding is RIGHT THERE inside the grounds.
And seriously, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only reason Jon is
there</i> is because Grey Worm has demanded it. And as you pointed out, Chris,
he’s fucked off with the rest of the soldiers, so why didn’t Jon just go North
to Winterfell and be done with it? Is it because Sansa could feel threatened by
his presence? She knows as we all do that Jon has zero designs on the throne,
so I have no idea why he did the good thing and continued to the Wall. Other
than the fact he’s Jon Snow and has always done exactly what he’s been told. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But at
least I was going to get the reunion with Ghost. And then… the screen went
black. OH COME O—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Oh, it’s
not done yet. The next scene opens on the hilt of Jon’s sword, and that little
direwolf head that always looks a wee bit comical to me in a war scene. And
from this point, as the staggering music of Ramin Djawadi—the true MVP of the
entire series, who has NEVER let us down—plays, we get a montage of where
everyone has ended up. Sansa is suited up with an utterly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stunning</i> new dress that has the red leaves of the weirwood tree on
it; Jon walks up the steps of Castle Black; Arya rolls up her maps and her
telescope and walks onto the deck of her ship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7djiQYsH3HRi0fOAksf2XMWNWrFyjgLLmEXkay3kR9sU3Z61IaJVwtbX4STrjx-zhJ_S27sc0iMuahc78ZHe6mqsDbH5i2e-NyrvtPdQeMbIJgWZ5g1LBdBOiA0fHY4f1Ir6cQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.21.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="1255" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7djiQYsH3HRi0fOAksf2XMWNWrFyjgLLmEXkay3kR9sU3Z61IaJVwtbX4STrjx-zhJ_S27sc0iMuahc78ZHe6mqsDbH5i2e-NyrvtPdQeMbIJgWZ5g1LBdBOiA0fHY4f1Ir6cQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.21.14+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(And I
know this is a deadly serious and beautiful montage, but I started singing,
“Arya Arya Arya the Explarya!” and my husband joined in. I do hope her
cartographer is a flamboyantly gay man who sings, “Here’s the map, here’s the
map, here’s the map, here’s the map, HERE’S THE MAP!” while First Mate Boots
looks on.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ANYWAY
BACK TO SERIOUSNESS NIKKI. Arya is the commander of her ship and watches the action
around her, as Sansa walks majestically down an aisle flanked by northerners
(you deserve this, Sansa), and Jon walks through the grounds, flanked by
wildlings to see… YES it’s Ghost, minus one ear and looking a little scuffed
around the face but it’s Ghost oh yes WHOSAGOODBOY and Jon FINALLY crouches
down and gives him the big pet he’s deserved for eight years, and the one we
all wanted a few episodes ago. I’m so happy to see this reunion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Back to
Arya’s ship, now revealing a massive Stark direwolf head on the prow (OMG
tears) and Arya looking calm, happy, and in control for the first time all
season. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The gorgeous, small crown is placed on Sansa’s head and she sits on her
throne, to shouts of “Queen of the North!” by the Northmen who crown her. This
is such a sublime moment, because it takes us all the way back to the first
time we saw Sansa, sitting in a window and sewing with the ladies. Her
obsession with Joffrey wasn’t so much that she was smitten with him, but
smitten with the idea of one day being queen, being led around on the arm of
the King of the Seven Kingdoms, with people bowing down to her because she was
married to the king. This youthful fantasy soon turns into an absolute
nightmare for her, and she’s tossed around from one man to another and
mistreated again and again until she decides to own herself, own her fate, and show
others who Sansa Stark really is. And now men are bowing down before her NOT
because her husband is the ruler, but because SHE is. What an incredible
journey Sansa’s has been. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdiNUko58kLX0WUl0DgRHaWjcTEV1FuqElRz7KuHFxmd-eFK18ZBw49ukH0mOkCwI1OmpVnzIaztUFUJqj-Z7S7cxX0xa1JEkQoai6ZIYcWSV-HYCOXNvYr-GtEUFH9oGYABKdLw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.25.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="1276" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdiNUko58kLX0WUl0DgRHaWjcTEV1FuqElRz7KuHFxmd-eFK18ZBw49ukH0mOkCwI1OmpVnzIaztUFUJqj-Z7S7cxX0xa1JEkQoai6ZIYcWSV-HYCOXNvYr-GtEUFH9oGYABKdLw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.25.13+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Arya has
been someone who’s roamed around Westeros, has seen and met so many people, all
with one reason for moving forward: to kill the people on her list. But now
there’s no list, there’s no vengeance; only peace. And it’s left her content—her
brother is on one throne, her sister on another, and at the moment there’s no
danger of anything happening to them. So she can go back to her wandering ways,
but since she’s been along every road in Westeros, she’s now branching out to
discover America, apparently, since she’s going west of the very
British-seeming Westeros. If Drogon is flying east and she’s moving west,
perhaps they’ll somehow meet in the middle. (Unless GRRM is a Flat-Earther, in
which case they’ll just fall off the edges when they get there.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCeAUnOiqJSzdIDc6wl8W19MaFBZwa0VR7CvNRrT9gHxb2uBDLxhgCbmM2dWa8yC02u4EW7YH9JdNVNr5u881QdCy8D8Ivlye_hzDJP9gqcnsUG07pp5Z4RmuhHDb8PneNey2gQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.23.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="1262" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCeAUnOiqJSzdIDc6wl8W19MaFBZwa0VR7CvNRrT9gHxb2uBDLxhgCbmM2dWa8yC02u4EW7YH9JdNVNr5u881QdCy8D8Ivlye_hzDJP9gqcnsUG07pp5Z4RmuhHDb8PneNey2gQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.23.27+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And we
end with Jon Snow. The man who would be king, who’s been the main character of
the story all along. Who couldn’t die because he was integral to the ending. He
ultimately broke the wheel, has devoted his life to peace and protection, has never
done a single bad thing… and now he’s exiled to the Wall. But in the time he
spent up North, he met Ygritte, and as you say, Chris, that was where he
actually felt like he was at home, among the wildlings. I’m with you. The way
he looks back at the closing gate indicates to me that he’s not returning. Jon
Snow will go and live up in the far north among his people, and he’ll probably
never see his family again. But he has his new family, the people he managed to
bring into the fold for the first time in the history of Westeros. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And as
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> theme song rises
up, we see him, and Tormund, and Ghost, and the free folk on foot, as they
disappear into the trees of the North. And I don’t think it’s an accident that
as they first set off, the camera is filming from the ground, where we see a
green spring plant sprouting up from the snow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Summer is
coming, and with it a new hope for the future of Westeros. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVXzz6krAwup6T0-k-j1YshmpqfJ1MoyPM5Efv19FvwP12lJqUt7BpC6_OKhp6coCKie6XOkr5qeFB5LdrkKx5yJXjyrEG44WXAXmEsANi9bwy0X4IIz9-i9iw1Dn9DqoY3pszQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.30.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1288" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVXzz6krAwup6T0-k-j1YshmpqfJ1MoyPM5Efv19FvwP12lJqUt7BpC6_OKhp6coCKie6XOkr5qeFB5LdrkKx5yJXjyrEG44WXAXmEsANi9bwy0X4IIz9-i9iw1Dn9DqoY3pszQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-21+at+12.30.14+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And… that
is it. The end of easily the most spectacular-looking TV series of all time, a
sweeping epic that was so far-reaching it often required multiple viewings,
books, guides, and Christopher and I recapping along the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And now
that my watch, too, has come to an end, I wanted to send out a huge thank-you
to Christopher Lockett, my Brother of the Night’s Watch, my fellow knight, my
associate Keeper of the Book, who has studied at the Citadel far longer than I
have, who shares my passion for the humour of Lord Homer and Lady Marge, who
has joined me week after week for eight years to bring his knowledge of the
books and his knowledge of pop culture to all of us, enriching our experience
of watching this show. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And I’d
really like to thank all of you, who somehow make it to the end of these posts
every single week (my husband constantly says, “NO ONE reads all the way to the
end, you know that, right? We live in an age of soundbytes and your posts are
too… wordy” and I just have to show him the comments to prove otherwise). You
read, you comment, you offer corrections and more insight to what we said here,
and when we were late, you would send notes saying, “Where’s that post?” which was
so flattering. It wouldn’t have been worth missing work two days a week for the
duration of the seasons and massaging sore fingers without knowing all of you
were reading what we said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I feel
like I now need to go and rewatch the whole series in light of the ending, and
probably will. Until the next great TV show comes along, I say to you: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The day
is bright and full of hope.</span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-59562007138185253342019-05-15T16:40:00.001-04:002020-08-14T15:52:30.080-04:00Game of Thrones 8.05: The Bells<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US">Whew. That was probably the most divisive,
exhausting, and emotionally difficult episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> we’ve gotten yet, and they’re doing it with only
one more to go. Settle in for this blog post: my co-writer, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>, and myself have some strong views about it (sometimes not in agreement, so this one will be fun!) and we offer a lot of explanation for those views. I
still feel like I have so much more to say about the episode and what’s to
come, so perhaps I’ll have an interim post in the next day or two, before the
FINAL EPISODE on Sunday, May 16. I can’t believe we only have one more to go.
Allow me to lead off… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">OK. The episode ended about 20 minutes ago and my
heart is still beating a mile a minute. On the one hand, it was a devastating
turn of events that once and for all turned me against the one person I’d been
rooting for all series. But on the other hand… it was strangely cathartic, like
that weird feeling we get when a show we follow gets cancelled: sad that it’s
gone, but secretly relieved that now there’s one less show you have to keep up
on. King’s Landing is gone, the Lannisters are out of the picture, Daenerys has
lost her GoT-damn mind… and the Starks are still standing. And… I gotta say, I
was kinda thrilled about this episode. I’m writing this immediately after it
ended, and as with every week (continuing a tradition on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i>), I never read a single article about the episode until we’ve
posted our blog recap and a lot of the time it’s like, “Oh. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That’s</i> what everyone else was thinking.
And here I was with my own opinion that differed from everyone else’s… ah
well.” I’m going to assume that people hated this episode and all the awful
things that happened in it… well let me just lead off by saying I fucking loved
it. LOVED IT. (And, again, I haven’t had much time to actually think about it
and haven’t yet rewatched the episode because it’s 11:15 at night and I have to
be up early tomorrow but I need to get this first pass over to Chris…but I just
want that first gut feeling out there on the record. Tomorrow I might loathe
it; you’ll have to wait until my next pass to see what happens next.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A few weeks ago I was mapping out how the
rest of this season would go with some friends: episode 3 would be the giant
battle, episode 4 would be the planning and siege on King’s Landing, episode 5
would be the actual battle of King’s Landing, and episode 6 would be the
denouement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fuck</i>
denouement… it looks like episode 6 is going to be SO much more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">First things first. Chapter One: The Varys
Problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So our episode begins with Varys in his
chambers, writing missives that he’ll no doubt send by Secret Spider Raven, and
here’s what we can make out: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsXdSoda4_l_ZLcgwX47O5zjJ1nb0pr0v-cosevK2kA5-Ld6xishmJqfzdPSbKox-iH5ZCPPRFxqBZdYanPBFAaaP1h2tl17ewYScxEI0K2yVKp7fvntrp5hjUJ3k-3mHVw24WQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.18.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1342" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsXdSoda4_l_ZLcgwX47O5zjJ1nb0pr0v-cosevK2kA5-Ld6xishmJqfzdPSbKox-iH5ZCPPRFxqBZdYanPBFAaaP1h2tl17ewYScxEI0K2yVKp7fvntrp5hjUJ3k-3mHVw24WQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.18.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">…is not the only Targaryen left, Rhaegar
and Lyanna…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">…their son lives still, hidden by Eddard
Stark. His name…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">…he is the true heir to the Iron Throne…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I think we know enough to fill in those
blanks, but the question is, to whom was he sending these? Iron Islands? Dorne?
Across the sea? Who? If he’s opening by mentioning that Dany’s not the only
Targaryen left, presumably Varys is appealing to a region that’s loyal to House
Targaryen. This could be Meereen or any one of the places that pledged fealty
to Daenerys. If it’s not a place loyal to the Targaryens, I doubt he’d be
saying, “I know you hate Targaryens and believe they have no right to the
throne, but hey, I found another one!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Enter Martha, the little kitchen girl that
Varys has employed as one of his spiders. She says Dany won’t eat anything, and
adds, “I think they’re watching me, her soldiers.” Varys assures her that
that’s their job, and she repeats his mantra to him: “The greater the risk, the
greater the reward.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The next day, Varys meets Jon at the beach
where he’s arrived, with Tyrion standing above him on the cliff, watching with
concern. Varys reports that Daenerys is not eating, not leaving her chambers,
won’t talk to anyone. Jon is sympathetic (and I’m glad <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">someone </i>is, since everyone thinks she’s lost her mind when she’s
actually a mother—and best friend—in mourning over losing two very important
family members). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQVDdIecdbLXJbgMZ6ctOomC-hvwgCOVAn252eXO-Nd6Xl0QPvvkQVo-uzaYHn9Ax8nYAHjo62YnVWSp-kVwR6KyhckQDn7Lag4mdUQPDcy9z_q21QYlwdK2HszBdg61Ld7tKmw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.18.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="1325" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQVDdIecdbLXJbgMZ6ctOomC-hvwgCOVAn252eXO-Nd6Xl0QPvvkQVo-uzaYHn9Ax8nYAHjo62YnVWSp-kVwR6KyhckQDn7Lag4mdUQPDcy9z_q21QYlwdK2HszBdg61Ld7tKmw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.18.53+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then Varys plays his hand, and lets Jon
know exactly what he knows. “Every time a Targaryen is born,” Varys says, “the
gods toss a coin and the world holds its breath.” Jon guffaws and says, “Aw
shucks, bald man, where’s I come from we’re not much fer jokes, da-HUH!” So
Varys says they both know what Dany’s going to do now. Jon says she’s the
queen, she has every right. (Sigh.) Varys says, “Men decide where power
resides, whether or not they know it.” And while we cringe at the sexism of
that statement… it’s unfortunately truer today than ever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jon stops walking, wants to know what Varys
wants. Varys says he wants the right ruler on the Iron Throne, same thing he’s
always wanted. “I still don’t know where her coin has landed,” he says. “But
I’m quite certain of yours.” Jon just stares at him, again repeating she’s the
queen. “I’ve known more kings and queens than any man living,” Varys explains,
“I’ve heard what they say to crowds and seen what they do in the shadows.” He
admits to having done terrible things to help them succeed, but says out of all
of them, he sees Jon and knows he’d rule wisely and well. But Jon is unbending.
Once again, he insists he doesn’t want it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And in light of what happens by the end of
this episode, I’m thinking we have to assign some of the blame to Jon and
Tyrion on this one. They both were told by Sansa, Arya, and Varys what was
going to happen, and they refused to listen, instead pledging fealty to a queen
they’ve known a fraction of the time they’ve known everyone else. And look what
happened as a result. When Jon insists, “SHE is my queen,” the camera pans back
up to Tyrion, still looking on with concern… but unfortunately that concern is
NOT that he’s worried Jon is wrong. It’s that he knows what Varys is going to
do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So Tyrion goes to see Daenerys, who has
aged about 10 years in the past three days, but it turns out her little birds
are even chirpier than Varys’s: she knows someone has betrayed her, she knows
it was Jon Snow. He corrects her, “Varys.” But SHE corrects HIM. Varys only
knows because Tyrion told him, and Tyrion knew because Sansa told him. And
Sansa knew because Jon told her—so… it was Jon. In the very next breath Tyrion
refers to Varys as the Master of Whispers but considering that Dany was privy
to conversations in the Godswood and on the parapet with only Sansa and Tyrion,
I’m thinking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she</i> is the one who’s
mastered this art. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hKJDruIpFF6He4_IM4MQdwAqbHook1jAmp-9jA5FW_qSNLH72QkHeI55BnuO9RcTpmwHg3UwShv7MzBY9Kn49zl9-pUSrjGpMsJB2151428AH3SO7Zql9pDdLRc7ydk6luApNA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.19.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="1343" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hKJDruIpFF6He4_IM4MQdwAqbHook1jAmp-9jA5FW_qSNLH72QkHeI55BnuO9RcTpmwHg3UwShv7MzBY9Kn49zl9-pUSrjGpMsJB2151428AH3SO7Zql9pDdLRc7ydk6luApNA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.19.22+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Why did Sansa tell you?” she asks. “She
trusts you. She trusted you to spread secrets that could destroy your own
queen… and you did NOT let her down.” But Tyrion quickly tries to correct her,
saying they all want what’s best, and he’s still convinced she’s the one who’s
best. And then he leaves… sealing the fate of one of the most elusive
characters on the show. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We cut to Varys, who continues writing
missives in his room, until he hears the footsteps coming his way. We know some
of those letters probably already got out, so this is a new one, which he
quickly burns in a bowl, and then quietly removes his rings, a look of
resignation on his face. As Grey Worm enters the room, we know this is it. Grey
Worm takes him out to the cliffside, where Tyrion, Jon, and Daenerys are all
standing. Tyrion admits, “It was me,” and Varys, clearly appreciating the candor,
faces his accusers and says, “I hope I deserve this, truly I do. I hope that
I’m wrong.” And with one last look at Tyrion, he says, “Goodbye, old friend,”
and we get a sudden look of regret across Tyrion’s face. Because, yes, he’s
sacrificing an old friend for a new idol. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiNh9hfUEV_turtzclKeBmH-fvbUMD9oJKBoc46hYGgdUeYHQxrrWh_TLRybzdUhM-VtVShyphenhyphen5H6mIE6jAZcQYdPJ8hGLOV_2jfletWU9wFbr28iLM_pIyy_7VeyEKK9jYadFI_g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.20.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="1335" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiNh9hfUEV_turtzclKeBmH-fvbUMD9oJKBoc46hYGgdUeYHQxrrWh_TLRybzdUhM-VtVShyphenhyphen5H6mIE6jAZcQYdPJ8hGLOV_2jfletWU9wFbr28iLM_pIyy_7VeyEKK9jYadFI_g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.20.04+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">I
hope that I’m wrong</span></i><span lang="EN-US">. But Varys wasn’t wrong. Jon
and Tyrion are the ones who are wrong in this moment, but they’ll pay the price
for what they do here. As two glowing eyes suddenly appear behind Dany in the
darkness, she sentences Varys to death, and Drogon’s giant head comes into the
light, and he instantly immolates Varys on the spot, so hotly and fiercely that
Varys doesn’t even have time to scream. Jon and Tyrion look unsure of
themselves as Varys’s body sizzles off-screen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And this moment isn’t even close to the
worst of the now Mad Queen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Christopher</b>: I didn’t hate this
episode, but it did make me angry. VERY angry. Not because of its narrative
choices, but because there wasn’t enough time to build to them. I was thinking
back to when they first announced that season eight would be the last season,
and everyone scratched their heads, saying “How are they going to wrap
everything up in just one season?” And THEN they announced there would be only
six episodes, and the incredulity ramped up to eleven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But because it has been so long since the
end of season seven, we’ve had time to get used to the idea of six episodes …
until “The Bells” made it crystal clear why a scant half-dozen installments
isn’t remotely enough to properly bring this ship into harbour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’ll stipulate first that, having spent
seven seasons building Daenerys’ character, watching her mature and develop a
certain amount of wisdom and become what is unfortunately still that rarest of
species in popular culture—not just a “strong woman,” but one who is flawed,
subtle, complex, and, yes, strong, around whom key plot elements turn—only to
drop her off the madness cliff and elevate a man into the role she’s been working
toward, is pretty shitty. It is not, however, as if the show hasn’t laid the
groundwork: we’ve seen her despotic and vengeful tendencies before, and she has
become increasingly monomaniacal in her insistence that all should bend the
knee. Remember, she only won the loyalty of the North because Jon Snow decided
that giving up his crown was a price worth paying in the battle against the
dead. But not everybody has Jon’s overdeveloped Eddardesque sense of duty and
honour. Dragon or not, Daenerys was always going to have an uphill battle in
Westeros, and she’s been showing she doesn’t deal well with not being called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mhysa</i> anymore. Hence, it’s not out of
the realm of possibility that Daenerys should go the route of her father.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And to be fair to the series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> and the novels on which
it is based have always been about subverting generic expectations. The most
honourable man in King’s Landing, a designation that would be plot armour in
traditional fantasy, doesn’t survive the first season. Knights are not romantic
and chivalrous figures, but trained killers. Warfare isn’t ennobling but
horrifying. The nobility are concerned only for their own power and don’t see
or don’t care to see the suffering their wars inflict on the commons. When
there is a populist insurgence of the commons, it is populated by religious
fanatics and bigots. The ascendant King in the North is defeated not on the
battlefield but by bloody subterfuge. And so on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Given the way in which GRRM sets up a whole
host of fantasy conventions only to knock them bloodily down, it makes a
certain amount of sense that one of the big ones—the trope of the Chosen One or
the King (or Queen) in Waiting—should also fall prey to his de(con)structive
tendencies. Daenerys is established as the Chosen One from the outset, a status
cemented at the end of season one with the birth of her dragons. She is
Aragorn, King Arthur, Neo—or she would be in a typical fantasy narrative. The
revelation of Jon Snow’s parentage in a typical fantasy would mean that OF
COURSE he and Daenerys would marry and rule jointly (the question of incest
having been obviated by the longstanding convention that, in Westeros, bees do
it, bears do it, but, especially, hot Targaryen pairs do it). But this ain’t
Tolkien. Daenerys’ descent into vengeance and cruelty makes a certain perverse
sense when seen against the background of GoT’s subversion of expectations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">BUT—and this is where I get angry—the way
that descent into vengeance and cruelty was handled was terrible. As were any
number of other plot elements that suffered from hasty treatment. We really
needed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">at least</i> one more episode;
many people would have been annoyed, as people always get annoyed by
placeholder episodes, but the best drama of this series has always come after a
long, slow burn. Imagine, just for a moment, if Jon Snow had sided with Sansa
about giving their armies time to recuperate; we’d have had another episode in
which to lay out more carefully the distrust the Westerosi have for Daenerys,
and her increasing resentment and paranoia; we’d have had time in which we
might have seen Jaime start to regret his romance with Brienne, and feel the
inexorable pull of his self-destructive love for Cersei; we’d have had time on
the road with the Hound and Arya to plant the seeds of disquiet in her mind so
that when the Hound tells her not to follow him into the Red Keep—and she
doesn’t!—it might actually be a comprehensible moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Considering the careful work <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has often done with its
storytelling—not being afraid of going slowly and meticulously as it built this
world and these characters— this fevered, headlong rush into the endgame is an
affront both to the audience and to the actual story up to this point. The rage
lighting up social media at this episode is anger at betrayal. I think it’s
safe to assume that Daenerys’ immolation of King’s Landing was always going to
piss people off, but the worst offense is that this truncated season made it
not just indefensible but incomprehensible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But we’ll come to that when we get to that
scene. End of rant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I found the death of Varys quite
distressing, not least because I love Conleth Hill’s realization of the character.
But I was also waiting for the bait-and-switch: for him to walk to what he
assumed was his execution, only to have Daenerys forgive him. But then Drogon
loomed out of the shadows, and I realized should have known better. It was at
that moment that I knew this episode would not end well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRvF-mmCUqka6H5ttA6xSMrpqujhgjbWhzSvWJiSTGjPLWEk40Pr9VGzIqpysJouapMghJIi3M3pOqrd9Id5gNC4kwKHtO6KDtWht7quq83KVxduILDxW4bQR6uPV5cJbII_LvQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.20.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1342" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRvF-mmCUqka6H5ttA6xSMrpqujhgjbWhzSvWJiSTGjPLWEk40Pr9VGzIqpysJouapMghJIi3M3pOqrd9Id5gNC4kwKHtO6KDtWht7quq83KVxduILDxW4bQR6uPV5cJbII_LvQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.20.52+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The scene immediately following, in which
Daenerys contemplates Missandei’s sole possession (aside from, I’m guessing, a
wardrobe full of dresses tailored to be almost-but-not-quite as attractive as
Daenerys’), her former slave collar. It’s a quiet moment, and one that speaks
to Daenerys’ state of mind, and her unforgiving execution of Varys—her closest
friend and confidante murdered by her enemy, and here was Varys plotting to put
Jon Snow on the throne. She gives the collar to Grey Worm, who makes it clear
that he’s on the vengeance ride-or-die train. The life he’d imagined for
himself and Missandei having gone up in smoke like the collar does in the
flames, he’s obviously living solely for killing and more killing, until every
Lannister loyalist is in the ground. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTzAFX54i3RIZGQYj6FGhfaotM5fAeie3077uKQ7hRGLtzXvyk4oaz8QdPUtAEeE4r55Sc0kjCwpB7xrY423qpbdB1K0YAZRfSfaUNDdUnvgLEXYd5tAPfwqq2_YMu3AuJF4f7g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.21.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1329" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTzAFX54i3RIZGQYj6FGhfaotM5fAeie3077uKQ7hRGLtzXvyk4oaz8QdPUtAEeE4r55Sc0kjCwpB7xrY423qpbdB1K0YAZRfSfaUNDdUnvgLEXYd5tAPfwqq2_YMu3AuJF4f7g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.21.13+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jon Snow arrives and, after Daenerys
dismisses Grey Worm, he stands before her in one of the more awkward silences
we’ve seen on this show … broken when Daenerys basically says “I told you so,”
re: sharing his secret parentage. And here, again, is where we would have
benefited from another episode: her characterization, implicitly, that Sansa is
her enemy—the execution of Varys, Daenerys says, is “a victory for her”—and her
resentful observation that “there is no love” for her in Westeros needed more
space and time for germination before she flies off the handle and destroys AN
ENTIRE CITY with dragonfire.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I really think Varys needed to know Jon
better, to have been privy to his obtuseness—then perhaps he wouldn’t have been
so eager to supplant Daenerys. “Nobody loves me here,” she says, to which Jon
says “I love you.” NOT THE POINT SHE WAS MAKING, NUMBNUTS. In perhaps another
indication of her mental instability, Daenerys responds to his assertion that “You’ll
always be my queen” by switching gears rather suddenly. “Is that all I am?” she
asks, thirstily, and tries to change the tenor of the scene from court intrigue
to clumsy porn. But Jon, methinks, has had time now to digest the whole, “Yeah,
you’re my aunt” thing. “All right then,” Daenerys says when he breaks the kiss.
“Let it be fear.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExHhHO_tvcgUHZdB1YG7KbrpYmmKfziVJHfCjkHwqw3Y7IaJMEtN9VTVIvOjyvfX_ePaD5uD30mgTM5EFCYpxlh-_35K2w4vIOFSiGnD2fzenUFBIPseHu5JQJc7xKj3BnIBjRw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.21.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="1337" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExHhHO_tvcgUHZdB1YG7KbrpYmmKfziVJHfCjkHwqw3Y7IaJMEtN9VTVIvOjyvfX_ePaD5uD30mgTM5EFCYpxlh-_35K2w4vIOFSiGnD2fzenUFBIPseHu5JQJc7xKj3BnIBjRw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.21.41+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And on that note, we cut to the Dragonstone
throne room, with Tyrion imploring Daenerys to be merciful—comparing the people
of King’s Landing to the people of Meereen, whom she liberated. Daenerys points
out that the people of Meereen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">themselves</i>
rose up against the masters, which strikes me as rather weak tea, argument-wise
… or at least missing the point of the differences between Slavers Bay and
Westeros. The people in Meereen who rose up were slaves, largely; the people
seeking refuge in King’s Landing are free men and women (or as free as they can
be in a feudal system) who know Daenerys not as the Breaker of Chains, but as a
foreign Usurper who comes with dragonfire and Dothraki screamers. The fact that
Daenerys does not seem to comprehend this not-particularly-subtle distinction
is another symptom of the accelerated narrative. Perhaps she has embraced fear
over love, and perhaps she has convinced herself that anyone “choosing” loyalty
to Cersei isn’t innocent, but that doesn’t change the fact that eventually—if
all goes according to plan—she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will</i>
have to govern these people. For a moment she seems to be on the same page,
asserting that Cersei’s assumption that mercy is a weakness is wrong: “Mercy is
our strength.” But Daenerys’ mercy doesn’t seem to be for the people in the
present moment, so much as “future generations” who will not have to suffer
under the heel of a tyrant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj357KF_S3LafffElVk_yw0OLjjGUNAQ-jWgRm6KIlw-Mgdoauq6wLVabPBkbtcbBHqVqpMFtn-nk1iT8N-8tgyRyHvtkhBBANOUWVq-0J1zGiLTeNRnzmvM0Y7PlYdzUZqGa493A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.21.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1333" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj357KF_S3LafffElVk_yw0OLjjGUNAQ-jWgRm6KIlw-Mgdoauq6wLVabPBkbtcbBHqVqpMFtn-nk1iT8N-8tgyRyHvtkhBBANOUWVq-0J1zGiLTeNRnzmvM0Y7PlYdzUZqGa493A/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.21.59+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, Daenerys. Can you even hear yourself? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion at least manages to eke one
concession from her, but only barely: if the city rings the bells to signal
surrender, she will call off the attack. There is a very long silence, in which
Peter Dinklage offers some very good face acting: undoubtedly thinking about
his last argument with Varys, and wondering if he’s made the right call. But
before he can make his exit, Daenerys informs him that Jaime was taken trying
to sneak through their lines. “It seems he hasn’t abandoned your sister after
all,” she observes. “The next time you fail me will be the last time you fail
me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion exits, and from there we cut to
people crowding through the gates of King’s Landing, and then to Jon and Tyrion
coming ashore in a boat where their army is camped. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: OK, so I peeked, now that it’s Tuesday morning (sorry, everyone; I
was away all Monday so it delayed us slightly here). And yeah, looks like most
people hated it. So I’m climbing onto my dragon and doubling down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">OK, not really. Because I completely agree
with you, Chris, that the way they’ve handled the writing this season is
ham-fisted at best, and I think that has everything to do with the limited
number of episodes. Let’s conclude a story that GRRM first published almost 23
years ago, making epic, sweeping changes to the direction of the story, and
we’ll do it in, oh, six weeks. Considering how patient readers have been just
to get book 6 this many years in, don’t you think they deserved a little more
than this? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I still frickin’ loved this episode and
will have a lot more to say about the why of that later. BUT I will state this
absolutely: when I was watching season 7 of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Buffy</i>,
I thought it was the best season of all of them. Week after week, twists and
turns and changes in characters and huge developments and characters dying and
wrapping up seven-year storylines and it was so amazing and exciting. But… it
doesn’t really hold up to rewatches, because while the forward momentum of the
plot was there, it was hurtling towards a pre-ordained endpoint, one that was
exciting when you were on the edge of your seat and didn’t know what was going
to happen next, but very disappointing on rewatch when you realize what was
sacrificed along the way to get there. It’s possible that’s how I’ll feel about
this episode on a rewatch… but I don’t know, it was pretty damn spectacular.
But again, more on that later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And I forgot to include this in my first
pass on Sunday night, but on the weekend I read this really interesting Twitter
thread by one TV writer on the difference between writing a show about
characters and then a show that’s plot-driven, and why people are disappointed
in this final season. Check it out <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/DSilvermint/status/1125856091261136896">here</a>,
it’s really worth a read. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back to Tyrion, Ser Davos, and Jon in the
early evening. Davos says the rear guard is ready to fight at daybreak, and
Tyrion says Daenerys wants to attack <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i>.
They all look at each other and Jon says, “Daybreak at the earliest,” which
feels like a tiny rebellion, this kernel that, you know, just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maybe</i> Daenerys isn’t making the best
decisions right now so we’ll alter them ever-so-slightly. Tyrion then reminds
Davos he’s the greatest smuggler alive and Tyrion needs a favour. “I’m not
gonna like this favour, am I,” says Davos bluntly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Next the Hound and Arya are on their way to
the castle, and are stopped by a guard. Arya says coldly that she’s Arya Stark
and off to kill Cersei, and the Hound reasons that hey, let us through and let
the little girl kill Cersei, et voila; no battle tomorrow and you might even
live. We see a glimmer of a smile on the guard’s eye, and a nervous turning to
the tents behind him. We’d like to think that soldiers are fearless, but
they’re human beings. They’re being thrown into a war to fight for one side or
the other, while they’ll gain nothing by it. Of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">course</i> they don’t want to die, and of course they’re afraid. This
is foreshadowing the later scenes, reminding us that it’s not just women and
children we should be thinking about at the end of the episode, but the
soldiers who were simply trying to do their job and not get killed doing it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This is followed by an amazing scene where
Tyrion stumbles his way through really bad Valyrian in trying to speak to a
guard outside where Jaime is being held prisoner. “I drink to eat the skull
keeper… I want to eat the skull keeper… I want to see the…” The best part of
this is the camera going back to the face of the guard, unchanged, just staring
at Tyrion and clearly enjoying every second of this. He finally puts Tyrion out
of his misery—“We speak the common tongue”—and Tyrion talks his way into the
tent, using his rank as Hand of the Queen to gain leverage… for the last time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This scene between Jaime and Tyrion is
beautifully done, at the level of episode 2’s character-building before the
Battle of Winterfell. Tyrion doesn’t just love Jaime: he worships him, and
always has. He’s seen his brother’s flaws, he knows his brother has been in an
incestuous relationship with his twin sister his entire adult life—a sister
who’s been nothing but hateful towards Tyrion—he knows Jaime has made mistakes,
has been a vicious killer, and in many ways seems irredeemable. But he loves
him anyway. Jaime says Cersei once called him the stupidest Lannister, and you
see Tyrion nod his head, almost inadvertently, behind Jaime’s back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But Tyrion has a plan. He’s willing to
swallow his hatred of Cersei to give Jaime an out and to save his beloved
brother’s life. He has a key to unlock Jaime’s chains (clearly given to him by
the World’s Greatest Smuggler™), and he tells Jaime about that passage under
the Red Keep, where the dragon skulls are (again, foreshadowing of the future
and reminders of the past), where he’s left a dinghy at the base of the caves
and that all Jaime needs to do is retrieve Cersei, get her out, and the two of
them can row away to a life together in Pentos. Jaime begins pointing out the
flaws of the plan: the Iron Islands ships will be waiting in the harbor; Cersei
will never go for it… and Tyrion counters each one. Cersei will fight for her
child; the Iron Fleet will be taken out first in the battle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVS6jpxuQkA9GSpaLue6hNb4dd-6im35ZAhWRDhC__dsaQ5pIUkD1bDUuIQPMeHPaD-QZLHI4ZssDh7jmp01231HoZ04Ij50gP5b54P2pDnCuAqs1-a91RLQGgDUDoy5gO_A63fw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.23.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1333" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVS6jpxuQkA9GSpaLue6hNb4dd-6im35ZAhWRDhC__dsaQ5pIUkD1bDUuIQPMeHPaD-QZLHI4ZssDh7jmp01231HoZ04Ij50gP5b54P2pDnCuAqs1-a91RLQGgDUDoy5gO_A63fw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.23.27+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Swear to me,” Tyrion says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“You have my word,” Jaime replies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion wants him to ring the bells of the
city and open the gates, which will signal they’ve gotten away and they can
stop the bloodshed. Tyrion isn’t just here to save his brother, but all the
people in King’s Landing. In a weird twist, he’s actually hoping to play on
Cersei’s love of her unborn child to curb Daenerys’s blind rage, and that maybe
they can appeal to the Dragon Queen to have mercy. Jaime says Dany will murder
him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion counters, “Tens of thousands of
innocent lives; one not particularly innocent dwarf. Sounds like a fair trade.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jaime just stares at him, clearly trying to
hold back his emotions. “If it weren’t for you,” Tyrion says, “I would never
have survived my childhood. You were the only one who didn’t treat me like a
monster. You were all I had.” And then the two brothers embrace—eight years
melting away in a heartbeat—in the most touching moment of the episode (at
least I think that’s what happened; I was crying so hard I could barely see the
screen). I knew then that they’d never see each other again. After all, can we
really end this series knowing that a future Lannister bastard is out there who
will fight for that throne in 20 years with his mama’s help?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Daybreak. And that handlebar-mustached
douchebag Euron steps on the deck of the ship, as each of the Scorpions is
armed, chains pulling back, waiting for Drogon to arrive. The soldiers wait on
the ships, on the parapets, in the streets of King’s Landing. The people
shutter their doors, mothers hold their babies to their chests, the citizens
rushing through the streets heading to the gates of the Red Keep for “safety.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Among them is a hooded Hound, with a
determined Arya. In another street is Jaime, with his golden hand (the dead
giveaway for him and how he was caught by Daenerys’s people in the first place)
unsheathed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Outside: silence. The Essos army awaits.
Tyrion, Jon, and Ser Davos stand on a hill. Tyrion’s hands are in nervous fists
by his sides as he tells Jon to wait for the bells to ring, and to call off his
men. Jon just stares at him, doesn’t agree, and walks away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then, there she is: Cersei, striding
toward the very window from which her son Tommen jumped, with a smug smile on
her face, watching the people of King’s Landing swarm into the Red Keep like
little deflector targets. A mother and her daughter rush towards the gates until
the Hound and Arya push her aside, and push their way in instead as the gates
close behind them. Luckily the mother and daughter rush out of the way before
the people begin to crush each other against the gate. Further back in the
crowd, Jaime begins swinging his golden hand around, trying to get the notice
of the soldiers, but no one is paying attention to the once head of the
Kingsguard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Cersei stares over the city, and Tyrion
waits on a hill, and Jaime rushes up some back stairs, the gorgeous music quietly
plays some strains of “The Rains of Castamere,” which then quickly blends into
other motifs we’ve heard throughout the series. (Once again, the music was
sublime in this episode.) So much of what is about to happen is a result of the
Lannisters, the Targaryens, the Baratheons… the large Houses who fight and
fight in a constant, bloody desire for a throne made of swords, at the expense
of the people from whom they expect love and fealty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Douchebag Greyjoy looks at the sky, and his
eyes squint as he looks closer. And then… there he is: Drogon. The terror of
the Seven Kingdoms, and he’s coming right for the Iron Fleet. This isn’t a
retread of just a few days earlier; there’s no brother dragon who is injured.
It’s just Drogon with a very, very angry mother on his back, and he immediately
takes out all the ships beside Euron. “Turn it around!!” Euron shouts to his
crew, who all work laboriously to try to turn this massive Scorpion around to
get a different angle. And in this moment we see the flaw of the dragon-killing
machine: it’s too big, heavy, and slow. It can’t react in a moment the way
Drogon can. It takes so many men just to reposition it that it can’t follow a
dragon that’s whipping through the air at lightning speed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And the Scorpions are pretty much the only defense
Cersei’s got in her pocket right now. Uh oh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: One of the side effects of a rushed storyline is that there end up
being a bunch of contrived elements, not least of which in this episode was
that Euron just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">happens</i> to come
ashore at precisely when and where Jaime makes his way to the caves that lead
into the Red Keep. But there’s also the fact that Daenerys’ destruction of the
Iron Fleet and the scorpions on the walls feels just really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">easy</i> after the previous episode when
Rhaegal was taken down so quickly. Granted, we must allow for the fact that
Daenerys has undoubtedly been thinking hard about her tactics, and we see that
she has amended them accordingly—diving down out of the sun, burning the ships
before they can fire, being too fast and agile for the other ships to properly
aim, etc. Still, it feels like she was able to somehow squeeze in a semester at
Top Gun since the last episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That being said, the whole initial sequence
is pretty spectacular, and watching Euron get his ass handed to him is
certainly one of the more satisfying moments in the series. Also: how much did
Cersei pay for the Golden Company? Because they end up being nonentities: if it
weren’t for the fact that she has many more pressing concerns, she would be
thinking of getting a refund. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That moment, however, when the gates
explode in flame behind them and their ranks are consumed is one of the best
instances of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex draconis</i> from
the show, and is not at all denuded by the fact that we know precisely what is
coming. Poor Harry Strickland, commander of the Golden Company: we hardly knew
ye. Knocked flat by the blast, he struggles to his feet to see the Dothraki
screamers bearing down on him, and for just a moment we get a visual callback
to The Battle of the Bastards when Jon Snow faces Ramsay’s charging cavalry.
Unlike Jon, however, Harry does not defiantly draw his sword, but turns and
runs (wisely, as he is not about to be rescued as Jon was by his own forces).
The Dothraki overtake him, but he falls to Grey Worm’s thrown spear … and by
the look on Grey Worm’s face, we can see that papa’s got a lot of killin’ to
do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With Drogon having helpfully breached the
walls, the Dothraki, Unsullied, and Northerners flood into the city,
overwhelming the Lannister soldiers and Daenerys continues to knock out the
remaining scorpions, and then, almost as an afterthought, proceeds to
annihilate the routing remains of the Golden Company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One of the things I did love about this
episode is the switching back and forth between the chaotic carnage down in the
city and the deathly quiet of Cersei’s perch high above. It is, among other
things, another visual callback to when Cersei watched the obliteration of
Baelor’s Sept from a similarly vertiginous height; but her smug triumph of that
moment is contrasted now by her increasing desperation as everything literally
falls apart around her. Cut from her expression of dread as she watches Drogon
bank for another pass to Drogon incinerating yet more of the hapless scorpions,
and then to Tyrion walking through the piles of dead outside the walls, and
back again to still more scorpion-killing.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then back again to Cersei in her tower,
clinging to the last thread of hope. “All we need is one good shot,” she says.
“The scorpions have all be destroyed, Your Grace,” Qyburn informs her. But the
Iron Fleet! Nope, burning. Also, the gates have been breached and the Golden
Company destroyed. “Our men will fighter harder than sellswords ever could,”
she insists, adding, “they will defend their queen to the last man.” Also: “The
Red Keep has never fallen. It won’t fall today.” Hoo-kay, keep telling yourself
that, Queenie … and remember those words when the Red Keep is LITERALLY FALLING
DOWN AROUND YOU.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Qyburn’s expression during this exchange is
very Bluth family: “I’ve made a terrible mistake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Daenerys’ forces, led by Jon
Snow and Killy McGee (aka Grey Worm) march purposefully through the breached
gates, pausing to kill random Lannister men who for reasons passing understanding
run singly at the column. They arrive to find a standoff—a group of Northerners
facing a somewhat larger group of Lannister soldiers, none of whom seem eager
to keep fighting (whatever Cersei may believe). The two sides stare at each
other for a long, tense moment, while Tyrion approaches the still-burning gates
and stares at one of the city’s bell towers in the distance. Cut then to Jaime
running up narrow stairwells, and then to Cersei. Is this the moment of
surrender? Then Drogon comes swooping down out of the sky, terrifying the
civilians, landing on a rooftop and roaring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Aaaaand … that does it for the Lannister
men. One guy drops his sword, and then another, and soon they’re clattering to
the ground like plates at a Greek wedding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As much as elements of this episode irked
me, it is undeniably one of the most beautifully shot ones. As the soldiers
drop their swords in surrender, the camera cranes up, and once again we get a
stunning shot of King’s Landing’s labyrinth of narrow streets, and as the
camera turns to take in the Red Keep, we hear people crying “Ring the bells!”
loud enough for Cersei to hear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then a quick montage of cuts: Jaime
snatching up a sword as he runs through an alleyway, Tyrion staring at a bell
tower with desperate intensity, Daenerys on Drogon’s back, Cersei looking down
at her burning city, back to Tyrion, who now looks to where Drogon perches,
then Daenerys again, her expression inscrutable, and then back to Cersei.
There’s a quick cut from Cersei’s profile to Daenerys’, and the hatred between
them is palpable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then, FINALLY, the bells start to ring.
Jon sighs in relief, Cersei closes her eyes, and Tyrion stares up at where
Daenerys sits. Daenerys, for her part, stares at the Red Keep, her breath
becoming shorter and her expression starting to crease as it sounds as though
she might start sobbing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OK, let’s pause here, because this is the
moment where (I’m assuming) the average viewer’s reactions were about to go
from “Huzzah! Victory!” to “WTF?” It’s crucial to note that, whatever her claim
to the Iron Throne, and even if Jon Snow had the brains the Old Gods gave a
flea and kept his trap shut about his parentage, crowning Daenerys was always
going to be a hard sell: a foreign conqueror with a foreign army and shaky
alliances at best. “Let it be fear then,” she said to Jon Snow, abandoning the
hope that the people would love her; and, yes, watching a dragon immolate a
defending army literally in minutes is fear-inducing, but it is also impressive
and awe-inspiring. And fear tinged with awe and respect is one thing; fear
laded with hatred, however, is quite another. Because what happens now
basically means that she CAN’T be queen—in systematically destroying the better
part of the city and killing thousands of innocents, Daenerys makes herself a
war criminal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, when I say she can’t be queen, I mean,
well, of course she can BE queen—because, honestly, who’s going to fuck with
her now?—but she cannot be the queen she has long professed to be, and nor, it
soon becomes apparent, will she be able to retain the loyalty of those around
her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Speaking of this moment, which they do
frame explicitly as a descent into madness, showrunners David Beniof and D.B.
Weiss have said that in that moment when Daenerys stares hatefully at the Red
Keep, she’s thinking about what the Lannisters did to her family two decades
before. (For those who have not read the novels, the sack of King’s Landing is
an event that looms large in the cultural memory, much more so than in the series;
the first forces to arrive at the city gates were those of Tywin Lannister,
whom the Mad King believed to be an ally. In truth, Tywin had been biding his
time in Casterly Rock, ignoring the King’s order to come defend the city
because of a host of personal slights; he watched and waited, not wanting to
ally himself with the losing side. So when it became apparent that Robert
Baratheon’s rebellion was winning, Tywin hurried his army to King’s Landing.
Still thinking Tywin an ally, the King opened the gates, and the Lannister army
promptly began massacring soldiers and civilians alike, making as brutal a show
of it as possible to counterbalance his laggard arrival. In particular, they
moved to wipe the Red Keep clean of every last Targaryen. Gregor the Mountain
Clegane raped and killed Rhaegar’s wife Eli née Martel, and killed her daughter
and infant son. King Aery’s queen, pregnant with Daenerys, had been spirited
away to Dragonstone along with the young Viserys). That Daenerys might be so
enraged at the sight of the Red Keep and the thought of what the Lannisters had
visited on her family is fair enough, and really, quite understandable. So when
Drogon lifts off from the rooftops, my assumption was that Daenerys was going
to attack the Red Keep and put a quick end to things by killing Cersei. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which—and I want to be very clear about
this—would have been excessive but understandable, and also tactically sound
if, in fact, fear is to be her key motivator. Imagine: the entire populace of a
city watching as a single dragon handily destroys a castle everyone had always
thought impregnable. That would frighten me into bending the knee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But … no. Sigh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: No indeed. Because what happened took me, you, all of King’s
Landing, and the whole damn world off-guard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And therein lies the reason I loved it.
Because lately, so much of movies and television is so utterly predictable it’s
become tiresome. And with the trajectories of all of these 28,000 characters on
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> over eight years, I
feel like, as exciting and thrilling as it’s been, very often, as we’ve watched
Daenerys and her dragons immolate the slave-drivers of Meereen, for instance,
we were excited and cheering, but… we totally knew she was going to do that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When this series is over, it’s the
beheading of Ned Stark I’ll remember. Was I happy about it? Of course not. But
it was SO unexpected, it was an incredibly thrilling moment. It’s the Mountain
crushing Prince Oberyn’s head. It’s Tommen jumping out a window. It’s Tyrion
shooting Tywin. It’s Jaime pushing Bran out a window. It’s Stannis allowing his
daughter to burn to death at the stake. It’s Hodor’s death. It’s the Red
Wedding. It’s all those moments that were terrible and took people I cared
about (for the most part) and killed them when I least expected it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s the moments we don’t see coming that,
in life, are the worst ones. But when it comes to my entertainment, I want the
opposite. Don’t give me happy endings and perfectly tied-up threads. Don’t let
the good guys win and the bad guys lose. Give me surprises. Make me
unexpectedly like someone I loathed, or hate someone I thought I loved. We live
in an age where the greatest characters of the past 15 years are the
anti-heroes: Walter White, Tony Soprano, Don Draper. Well I say bring on the
female anti-hero. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course, Daenerys isn’t exactly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> at this point, because we’re not quite
rooting for her during what happens next. But at the same time, I don’t think
we could be surprised. What bothers me the most is that I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">didn’t</i> see this coming. As I mentioned earlier, we cheered when she
burned the slave-drivers of Meereen alive. But we didn’t notice that look of
pure smug victory on her face as she watched her “children” act so viciously.
We were sad when Khal Drogo died, and considered their love to be everything…
despite the fact she was underage when he married her, and he raped her the
first night they were together. Her brother was a piece of shit, but one who
actually protected her a lot of her life, caring for her when she was a newborn
infant. Yet she didn’t flinch when the Dothraki crowned his head with molten
gold, and he died an agonizing death. Daenerys isn’t exactly Anne of Green
Gables. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I would say what happens next, in theory,
was foretold, foreshadowed, and not out of the blue. However, what I WILL
concede is that it’s handled too quickly from a writerly point of view. We
didn’t get that gradual build-up to it, and instead the writers just forced the
actors to do it, telegraphing the shock and horror and outrage by their faces,
instead of doing it through dialogue. Is that lazy writing? Bad writing? OR…
were we not paying attention? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Imagine you come from across the sea.
You’ve spread your version of love throughout the lands, you’ve birthed your
three dragons from fire, and you’ve proven that despite the patrilineal nature
of your family tree, you are the last true Targaryen standing. You’re the
breaker of chains, the one who has allowed the slaves to go free, yet… you stay
a little bit longer than planned in Meereen and suddenly people are questioning
you. What the hell? Why are YOU questioning ME? I’m the breaker of chains,
dude, you should be happy you’re not IN them right now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then along the way you meet Jon Snow.
He tells you of a terrible thing that’s happened north of the Wall, so you
bring the armies you’ve spent several years amassing, and your three beloved
children, north of the Wall, and you fight the white walkers to save the people
of the north. In doing so you sacrifice many of your soldiers, and one of your
children. You return to Winterfell… and nothing. People slapping Jon Snow on
the back, questioning his fealty to you, wondering aloud why the hell he’s no
longer King of the North. You have Sansa Stark glaring at you. Sansa didn’t
just lose a child in that battle; Lyanna Mormont didn’t lose half her men north
of the Wall. But they’re going to question YOU, the person without whom none of
this would be possible. You suggest strategies for how the Battle of Winterfell
will play out, but Tyrion and Sansa begin questioning you in front of everyone,
making you look like you’re not any good. You don’t have any of the people
following you, you haven’t received their love, yet you’ve sacrificed more for
them than you have any other place. And right before you’re about to go
headlong into yet another battle… Jon Snow tells you oh hey, guess what? I’m
also a Targaryen. Tis my butt that is the rightful butt for that sharp-ass
throne. But don’t worry, baby, I don’t actually want it. I’ll totally let you
have it. You won’t be on that throne because you deserve it; you’ll be on it
because I won’t take it first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1AvjyyE40HmHBbQ_RMUsGi5wUYKuNC1BD3Qc3ArX7RqlFA-8zNk09mJD1WBwoWa1rnHAJocdPJAvh8EVugsDUdSku3k9zmZtB16Ke2s2x6MtFRKTgIoTY_gfF_gh-YEc87J_eA/s1600/IMG_9396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1AvjyyE40HmHBbQ_RMUsGi5wUYKuNC1BD3Qc3ArX7RqlFA-8zNk09mJD1WBwoWa1rnHAJocdPJAvh8EVugsDUdSku3k9zmZtB16Ke2s2x6MtFRKTgIoTY_gfF_gh-YEc87J_eA/s400/IMG_9396.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After everything you’ve done, everything
you’ve sacrificed… it’s possible you won’t get the one thing you wanted at the
end of it. You could have kept your dragons across the sea, had a quieter life
leading the people who loved you in these smaller cities, but you wanted more.
You wanted to make your dead ancestors proud of you. You wanted to live up to
the promise of the Targaryen name and take the throne in their name. And now
THIS doofus is going to get the throne instead; not because he wants it, but
because every other person wants him on it despite that fact he’s never given
them armies or given them dragons—YOU did. And holy shit he’s also your nephew
but let’s leave that nasty business for another day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So you go headlong into the NEXT battle,
and another child is wounded, most of your soldiers are massacred… and Arya
Stark, who distrusts you, is the one who claims the biggest victory. You sit in
the banquet hall afterwards while the guys pat Jon Snow on the back and say
“DUDE you rode a fucking DRAGON?! That is SO badass!” and he keeps his back to
you. He’s weird around you now because he knows you’re his auntie. His sisters
despise you. No one loves you. You will never be queen of these people. And so
you ask him to do one favour for you, just ONE thing… and he doesn’t. And
immediately, like THE MOMENT they think you’re unfit for office because here’s
a male idiot who isn’t really as qualified but hey, he’s a dude and he’s OUR
dude so we’re going to vote for him… they begin to work behind your back to
make sure you won’t get there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It made me think, let’s be honest: if
Hillary Clinton had one dragon and a small army that would follow her the day
after the election in 2016, isn’t it possible she would have just gone apeshit
on the people, fuck love and democracy and unity? Haven’t we all had that
feeling, but just didn’t have the dragon to help us follow through?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Love and loss can do terrible things to a person,
and Daenerys has reached a breaking point. She’s been used, abused, raped,
tortured, and hated. She’s been loved and adored, and as that love was poured
into her, so she poured it back out. But the moment she came to the land of the
people she one day hoped to rule, none of that resumé mattered anymore: she was
an outsider, untrustworthy, unloved, and alone. She’d lost her husband, her
unborn child, two of her dragons, the man who loved her and would have moved
mountains for her, her entire family, and now her best friend. Jon Snow is
being pulled from her, and her Hand no longer trusts her. The slow descent of
Daenerys’s mind has had a quick push in these final episodes, and yes, I agree
that it would have been nice to have had two or three more episodes to flesh it
out, but it’s also painfully obvious what has happened to her. In this moment,
she reacts with anger and pure id. There’s no reason, no thought. She’s given
in to her basest instincts, and the whole world is going to burn. They will
never have her as queen; she’d be on that throne for only a few months before
the Starks would come and boot her off it. And she knows it. You’re right,
Chris; she can never be queen now. But she knew that before she started burning
the people. They were never going to have her as queen. And if they aren’t
going to accept her as their queen, she’s going to leave no kingdom to reign
over at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Drogon begins breathing fire on the
people of King’s Landing, Jon Snow just stands there in shock. “Oh… fuck.” Cut to
Tyrion, who gasps and takes a step backwards. The Lannister soldiers, who had
just surrendered, turn to Daenerys’s army as if to say, “OK, guys, we’re on the
same side now… I think?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6a-FzuNnR6BVieDmbaUgMbtd6OOtkNo1bGnXoLRJJrH7uvdTyAauzM2cJKM7_Sdf8F8oFtKaf6zCAtGmeVaAEB1jGEJLz7CK6Q717qbQvqSirmKGfa8bZgAuuDh53P-1xIbRFw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.45.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="1338" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6a-FzuNnR6BVieDmbaUgMbtd6OOtkNo1bGnXoLRJJrH7uvdTyAauzM2cJKM7_Sdf8F8oFtKaf6zCAtGmeVaAEB1jGEJLz7CK6Q717qbQvqSirmKGfa8bZgAuuDh53P-1xIbRFw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.45.39+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But they’re not. Because anyone with an
ounce of Valyrian blood feels what Daenerys feels. Grey Worm is mired in the
same grief as the Dragon Queen, and he picks up his spear and lands it in the
chest of one of the Lannister men. As some of the Dothraki and Unsullied run
forward, Jon tries holding them back. He’s lost in this moment and has no idea
what to do. He’s pushed aside, and they begin the slaughter. And when the
Kingsguard begins to rush Jon Snow, he does the only thing he can: he chooses
the side of Grey Worm, and begins to kill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The look on Cersei’s face is amazing. She
watches Daenerys and Drogon set fire to the city, moving back and forth, street
by street, in a wave as if King’s Landing is a giant version of Lombard Street,
that weird curvy street in San Francisco. In this moment, she realizes she
can’t live: if Daenerys will kill them, how could she spare Cersei? Tyrion
looks on in horror. Standing on the hill outside King’s Landing, he can see
everything going on in the air. His head trembles as he watches what she’s
doing. The Unsullied continue to methodically kill everyone who’s not one of
them. Ser Davos rushes to the side, trying to ferry the people out of the city,
pointing a way to safety. Jon stands in the middle of the battle, screaming for
everyone to stop. Women are killed by the Unsullied as their children watch, a
whole new generation of children to grow up and hate the big Houses that have
done this to them. (If she survives, of course.) Jon walks through the carnage
as if deaf, only the sound of his breath and the wide eyes, and the knowledge that
he backed the wrong ruler on this one. He sees a northern soldier grab a woman
and drag her into an alleyway as if to rape her, and he impales him on his
sword, shouting at the woman to find a place to hide. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Zjv81NrWo7IM2gcIBp6jfIC8Lu_qQ6BlrtC8l0bLwJFXGo4AzdgkK6HpOhXoBclPNdf0NS533jIw9qR1-W5OcCoW06O9esYnaBLd92taM1mMvER6oo08Zru4bojWwbvLc8uzKg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.46.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="1288" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Zjv81NrWo7IM2gcIBp6jfIC8Lu_qQ6BlrtC8l0bLwJFXGo4AzdgkK6HpOhXoBclPNdf0NS533jIw9qR1-W5OcCoW06O9esYnaBLd92taM1mMvER6oo08Zru4bojWwbvLc8uzKg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.46.33+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lDzQonMUaCrvzqXKMTT2MC77pEUV4PnpR2V3RzviFTaP7eyi9xWWgwRmKolLyt6ZRwjoHjL5eKP4lxE0P5holD71-CMkxhkuBBNU9S4htkMFvfjTsL74VrlT0vjyNT1IlqkiWg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.46.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1273" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lDzQonMUaCrvzqXKMTT2MC77pEUV4PnpR2V3RzviFTaP7eyi9xWWgwRmKolLyt6ZRwjoHjL5eKP4lxE0P5holD71-CMkxhkuBBNU9S4htkMFvfjTsL74VrlT0vjyNT1IlqkiWg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.46.40+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Cersei continues to stand on her perch, watching
Drogon come closer, but he turns at the last minute, banking along the side of
the Red Keep and taking out more buildings. Oh, he’s coming for her, all right,
but she’ll have to wait. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Question: what is Drogon’s power source:
How the heck does he have THAT MUCH FIRE in him??? I assumed he’d have to
recharge his batteries at some point, but is a dragon fuelled by hate? Because
that’s the only explanation I have for how it’s like he’s got a gas line shoved
up his ass and never stops for the entire episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But I also LOOOOOOVED the look of the
dragon’s-eye views over the city as the fire lit it up. And I also loved the
way, every once in a while, we see a green explosion, reminding us of that
wildfire that Cersei once planted all throughout the city. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, as you say, Chris, in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Euron ex machina</i>, Douchebag Greyjoy
comes up onto the shore at the very moment Jaime walks by (like come ON) and
the two of them engage in hand-to-hand combat, resulting in Jaime getting a
dagger to the lung and another one to the ribcage, with Euron getting a karate
chop to the larynx by Jaime’s golden hand. (NICE.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Aaaaand, up in Cersei’s tower, Qyburn vs.
Cersei 2019 continues as she keeps missing what’s right in front of her in
1080p HD (and seriously, during the daytime so it’s not like it’s the Battle of
Winterfell or anything…). Qyburn once again tells her it’s time to GTFO, and
she counters, “The Red Keep is the safest place in the city.” He tells her the
Unsullied could breach the gates of the Red Keep, even if the dragon doesn’t
get to her first. He tells her she should be in Maegor’s Holdfast, which is
that area inside the Red Keep where Cersei’s bedroom is, with spikes
surrounding it, and a drawbridge being the only way in or out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And that’s it. A single tear rolls down
Cersei’s cheek, and she begins rocking back and forth and audibly crying. She’s
given up. For eight years we’ve seen these moments of vulnerability, but they
pass as quickly as a cloud in the sky, and then back comes hard-edged Cersei.
But those days are over. She’s played all of her cards, and she’s only got a
lousy two of clubs left. She’s done. Now all she can do is run. Quiet violins
play “The Rains of Castamere” in the background as she turns to take Qyburn’s
hand. It’s interesting to note that here, at the end, she has Qyburn and the
Mountain in her corner, and while that’s basically Frankenstein and his
creature, it’s two more people than Daenerys has now. (Although I feel like
Grey Worm would still be loyal to her.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Aaaaand, meanwhile down on the beach, Jaime
gets up and shoves a sword in Euron’s belly (NIIIIICE!) as Euron arrogantly
says, “Another king for you.” Yeah, sorry, asshole, I don’t think you’re
exactly a king notch on Jaime’s bedpost. As he looks above him to Drogon flying
over, his last words, with a smile, are, “I’m the man who killed Jaime
Lannister.” Misguided arrogance to the very end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Cut to the Hound and Arya, bold and
determined as they stand on the floor map we saw in season 7. The Red Keep is
crumbling around them, and it’s taking chunks out of the map on the floor,
destroying this representation of Westeros in a symbolic gesture. The kingdom,
as we’ve known it, is gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, with any luck. You’re absolutely right, Nikki, that GoT’s
greatest quality has been its twists and surprises. My only argument with what
you were saying above is that Daenerys’ abrupt decision to start
indiscriminately killing civilians was not surprising in the least. Or rather,
it was one of two possibilities we’ve been primed to expect: would she go the
route of restraint, as counseled by Tyrion and Varys, or would she go the full
Targaryen on the city? One of the lovely touches of her systematic strafing
runs (and I’m with you on wondering just HOW MUCH FIRE Drogon can spew before
he needs to recharge his batteries) is the occasional bloom of green fire
emerging from the conflagration—wildfire, presumably from the hidden caches her
father had ordered hidden all through the city two decades ago, which has been
his scorched-earth tactic to deny King’s Landing to the Usurper. Remember,
Jaime’s choice to betray his oath and kill the King was made to prevent Aerys
from burning the city to cinders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ironic, that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But as to the question of unexpected
twists: given that Tyrion and Varys have basically been imploring Daenerys to
show mercy to the city for two episodes, we can’t be surprised she chose not
to. Nor would we have been surprised if she had. What would have been
surprising? Daenerys smashing through the ceiling of the throne room and having
Drogon melt the Iron Throne to slag, having realized that her monomaniacal
desire for it was destroying her. Your observation, Nikki, that the rubble
falling onto the map of Westeros is symbolic of the kingdom’s end is, I think,
spot on. And I still think that is how this all ends: but at this point it has
to end without Daenerys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I look forward to the final sequence of the
last episode, which I now predict will be Jon Snow walking north on the Kings
Road, Littlest Hobo-style. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But back to the Hound and Arya: as I’ve
already mentioned, this is a moment that needed more of a build, not least
because it could be extremely poignant. As it is, it is difficult to imagine
that Arya, after everything she has done and suffered and learned, having traveled
all the way from Winterfell with the sole purpose of killing Cersei, could be
dissuaded from that determination because of a brief moment of sentiment from
Sandor Clegane. “Go home, girl,” he says. “Fire will get her. Or one of the
Dothraki. Maybe that dragon will eat her. Doesn’t matter, she’s dead. And
you’ll be dead too if you don’t get out of here.” Well, none of the above
there, Sandor. But thanks for playing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVzN_WWAt4Gb63C-JdfoErstvNQsfG2hVMbcFCLEZUYYTVmMKC0NcJDe6PTYacaR9YT5jQWE4GKzVOm4KYEFZt-djnRP6V5WA9Lu1vyN4BDBWyBEZn46JYI-l4xcxulVVPcHn_g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.48.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1327" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVzN_WWAt4Gb63C-JdfoErstvNQsfG2hVMbcFCLEZUYYTVmMKC0NcJDe6PTYacaR9YT5jQWE4GKzVOm4KYEFZt-djnRP6V5WA9Lu1vyN4BDBWyBEZn46JYI-l4xcxulVVPcHn_g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.48.15+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT1hF-zmD_KSLXqDHHJvOaySWcfb8o7kYkHGyrrKs1jQ4jEeKJVhSC_Awt9x3ESLyv8grTL6iAboOINVdWyvLpi9Hfqe8QvvhEijlTHWpXA1dA4GOwk0OFNI-Cj0g8JP-zu4hpw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.48.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="1293" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT1hF-zmD_KSLXqDHHJvOaySWcfb8o7kYkHGyrrKs1jQ4jEeKJVhSC_Awt9x3ESLyv8grTL6iAboOINVdWyvLpi9Hfqe8QvvhEijlTHWpXA1dA4GOwk0OFNI-Cj0g8JP-zu4hpw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.48.30+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Arya, of course, is not to be deterred. Or,
well, at least not after just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one</i>
argument. The Hound stops her walking past him. “Look at me!” he says, and
tells her that revenge has basically been his entire reason for being his
entire life. “You want to be like me?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What follows is a tender moment that isn’t
precisely out of character—after all, the Hound has had a lot of time to get to
know Arya and develop respect and affection for her, even if he’d never say as
much—but seems unlikely at this eleventh hour to convince Arya to drop Cersei
from her murder list. I guess we can never know what conversations they had on
the road to King’s Landing, but then that’s sort of my point … for the purposes
of good storytelling, we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should</i> know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well, whatever the reason, his heart or his
shoes, the Hound’s sole moment of sentiment has the desired effect, and Arya
abandons her murderous quest. (I will confess, there was an earlier moment when
I half-expected Qyburn to stab Cersei and remove his face to reveal Arya’s.
Alas). “Sandor,” she says, and he turns back to look at her. “Thank you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">No worries, Arya. There will be another
queen on your murder list before this episode is done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">From here we cut to Cersei and her
Queensguard making their way down the Red Keep’s stairs as the castle falls
apart around them. The ceiling collapses, and Cersei is protected by the
FrankenMountain, who doesn’t seem at all perturbed by huge rocks falling on
him. Others in their group don’t fare so well, as the stairway transforms into
something a little bit more al fresco. When Cersei and Qyburn find their feet,
they see two things: open sky, and the Hound standing at the foot of the
stairs. “Your Grace,” he greets her. All the surviving members of the
Queensguard save the FrankenMountain charge down at him, and meet their bloody
end in a short enough time that I wonder if maybe they weren’t REALLY the best
of the best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Hello, big brother,” Sandor greets the
Thing That Was Gregor, and whatever programming Qyburn had instilled into his
zombified frankenbrain is apparently not enough to overcome Gregor’s antipathy
for his younger brother. “Ser Gregor!” Cersei says, desperately, “Stay by my
side!” This order is met with his impassive, red-eyed gaze. He ignores her, and
when Qyburn tries to stay him, the mad scientist meets with his inevitable fate
when the FrankenMountain grabs him by the neck and slams him into what remains
of the wall before hurling him down what remains of the stairs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dude really should have read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Frankenstein</i>, or watched season four of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Buffy</i>. This is how it ALWAYS ends, Mr.
Premodern Prometheus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And now it’s that moment we’ve all be
waiting for: Clegane Bowl! Cersei, however, is uninterested in the event,
excusing herself down the stairs as she mutters, “I think I left the stove on.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOY5fBEjP5vv5Iu_FTO0lBpmKsFaQVQ0iTkugh5A5psrvz-1qOf2X4HSuMa9olZabmN4O9BGbFG5ipbfQ7VzrYfYmSTjopKUWT-UKCF5xOBZCljKsqeCkoJ_f1E7yA53NCTZdJ9Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.48.54+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1337" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOY5fBEjP5vv5Iu_FTO0lBpmKsFaQVQ0iTkugh5A5psrvz-1qOf2X4HSuMa9olZabmN4O9BGbFG5ipbfQ7VzrYfYmSTjopKUWT-UKCF5xOBZCljKsqeCkoJ_f1E7yA53NCTZdJ9Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.48.54+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Not that either of the brothers care. The Hound attacks, landing sword blows
with no effect, finally knocking off Gregor’s helmet so we can finally see what
his reanimated face looks like. “Yeah, that’s you,” says Sandor. “That’s what
you’ve always been.” And while that is a poignant comment on the ugliness of
Gregor The Mountain Clegane’s soul, there was a point at which he’d have been
dead much sooner into this fight. But we’ll come to that in a moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Cersei has made it down into the
map room and encounters Jaime, who has—in spite of the multiple stab wounds he
received from Euron—made it out of the bowels of the castle to find her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">OK … give it up to Lena Headey. Her
expression, the mingling of despair and shock with her incredulity at seeing
her beloved twin at the end of all things, and the happiness and love that
surface on her face in spite of everything else, was genuinely touching, and
actually made me a little sad for her. They embrace amidst the falling
rubble—and in that moment we see why Jaime threw everything away to return to
her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJp7-ZrcS0ip85I8RtiN868viyrISRtFRx8o6O8ZiCRzhdtFOVngOx5nEuP4HH5pR2_tqAzd0mjgRxB7VxnuuuKfw6-9Tk3HD_ZwQEym5FHyoXYQHHfJTmYMEVb9VdyxAi6rBbzw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.49.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1325" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJp7-ZrcS0ip85I8RtiN868viyrISRtFRx8o6O8ZiCRzhdtFOVngOx5nEuP4HH5pR2_tqAzd0mjgRxB7VxnuuuKfw6-9Tk3HD_ZwQEym5FHyoXYQHHfJTmYMEVb9VdyxAi6rBbzw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.49.23+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But back to the Cleganes! The fight is not
going well for the Hound, for the simple reason that nothing he does—including
driving his sword deep into the FrankenMountain’s belly—has any noticeable
effect. Nor does plunging a dagger into his neck, at which point I was saying
“Zombie rules! Kill the brain!” Except … not so much that, either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Arya finds herself in the midst
of a city being annihilated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDx4zy1Dyy-_byiREDx3lyuudTizSpHQhHU7dveh02ztq8xuTRR8VKyG8rC1L4HrojAo9e6MNNGR1CYUxEf528JBAxQIsoZfGv5FDRFdQ_L51tj_JD0M-kkx8yapcBqoVN7rTx7Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.50.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="1330" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDx4zy1Dyy-_byiREDx3lyuudTizSpHQhHU7dveh02ztq8xuTRR8VKyG8rC1L4HrojAo9e6MNNGR1CYUxEf528JBAxQIsoZfGv5FDRFdQ_L51tj_JD0M-kkx8yapcBqoVN7rTx7Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.50.07+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Arya begins moving through the streets of King’s Landing, with
rubble in her hair, seeing dead women lying in doorways—not killed by
dragonfire, but with clear abdomen wounds that could only have happened with a
sword. The bewilderment on her face is palpable. Some guy who honest to god I
thought was Gendry rushes up to her and yells, “Have you seen my wife?” in a
panic and she just stands there, completely disoriented. The world has gone to
hell while she was in the Red Keep (if you think about it, she and the Hound
would have already been inside when Daenerys lost her mind, so she’s just
piecing together that, just like the final season of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>, things haven’t gone according to plan). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And that goes for her own plan, too. Since
she saw her own father beheaded right in front of her, she’s had a
single-minded purpose that has helped her fall asleep at night and get up in
the morning. That has pushed her down the Kingsroad, through many an adventure,
surviving rapists and marauders, even joining a cult that taught her how to
become the world’s best assassin. And now, like you said, Chris, that purpose
is gone in one unconvincing snap of the fingers. And she’s lost. No purpose,
nowhere to go, uncertain of who’s side anyone is on anymore. It’s Cersei vs.
Daenerys, so… if she hates Cersei, she must be on Daenerys’s side? Nope. There
are so many sides you’d have to throw a 20-sided die to ascertain who you’re
with now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDI4vY1pry3jmDcgYKc6h8apBspxY4_FE5-CB6WssV40Jr7SJoobyFWO7Q3dxE2jE_K4voslrrVP7yzfhHrOP4vL5UfUjSD4VSXRwKsogxMrGcZ0QYnZMyJ8bcMdeJid1_3v9yxw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.54.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1321" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDI4vY1pry3jmDcgYKc6h8apBspxY4_FE5-CB6WssV40Jr7SJoobyFWO7Q3dxE2jE_K4voslrrVP7yzfhHrOP4vL5UfUjSD4VSXRwKsogxMrGcZ0QYnZMyJ8bcMdeJid1_3v9yxw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.54.14+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As I was driving somewhere yesterday and
thinking through this episode, it occurred to me that the actions of the two
key female protagonists of the series were spurred by seeing the head removed
from someone they love: Arya at the end of season one, who turns into a cold
assassin as a result; Daenerys at the end of season eight, who pretty much does
the same. Arya’s is on a quiet and personal scale; Daenerys’s is on a giant and
mighty one. But maybe if someone had given Arya a dragon, things would have
been different. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s worth going back to watch the
choreography of this scene, of Arya moving from confusion to shock to horror to
fear as she begins running, and to watch how the rubble falls behind her as she
moves through the streets, nearly running into so many people. Again, I know
I’m coming out of the story and pointing out production here as I often do, but
imagine how difficult a scene this was to pull off, nearly all one take, making
sure the actors hit their marks, the people above are hurling down rocks and
rubble on cue… this is a scene where it doesn’t look like much CGI was
involved. I love TV moments like this one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But back to the story. The camera pauses
repeatedly on several dead and wounded people in doorways, to show us the
destruction and agony that Daenerys has wrought. Arya gets out of the alleyway
and into a crowd of people, rushing in the same direction like salmon spawning…
and she slips. At this point the action moves back and forth between her and
the Hound, with Arya being trampled as the Hound is being beaten by Darth
Unmasked. As Gregor beats the Hound and he falls, we cut to Arya actually
hitting the ground. She tries to stand up, but Gregor kicks the Hound back
down. It’s a lovely bit of symmetry that shows just how inextricably linked
these two characters are—the unlikeliest of allies—and how they might both die
in this moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKaHQqWm6b_XUtz84rI_YqLGkJsOkr-7oe9iimk8SrydgZncrURLSantzW55R5GfeKxXSBVU55CVYtGeqH1BkVtvQA3BXAhu_Ayd-h2QR14KCXPz33D3y9y974oLWQAdQ7WOZTQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.51.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="1339" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKaHQqWm6b_XUtz84rI_YqLGkJsOkr-7oe9iimk8SrydgZncrURLSantzW55R5GfeKxXSBVU55CVYtGeqH1BkVtvQA3BXAhu_Ayd-h2QR14KCXPz33D3y9y974oLWQAdQ7WOZTQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.51.44+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But Arya is suddenly rescued by that woman
who had tried to get through the gates earlier, and had been pushed aside by
the Hound (an actress whom I’ve heard is actually from series 5 of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Line of Duty</i>, which I’m still DYING to
see but it hasn’t yet aired here). She’s quickly pulled away from the woman as
she gets pushed instead through the streets of spawning salmon, her face a
portrait of terror. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHiZncLIEF-eiYkOS_Nuyjvg-WKEI3T3vCf00HV_uLTlwv3WiZSphS6pkZVVYLSWv9xLlE1thyDiWdLzxBLiAaN54Py4pJ7iY4nYD3LEV1NNmeclGxplxQtYXch_8zHWXHkFWVQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.51.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1309" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHiZncLIEF-eiYkOS_Nuyjvg-WKEI3T3vCf00HV_uLTlwv3WiZSphS6pkZVVYLSWv9xLlE1thyDiWdLzxBLiAaN54Py4pJ7iY4nYD3LEV1NNmeclGxplxQtYXch_8zHWXHkFWVQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.51.01+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And… back to the Cleganes. Jesus, this
fight. I was yelling, “Oh my god, just DIE already!” by the end of it. And
then, echoing the thoughts of everyone at home, the Hound says just that—“FUCKING
DIE!!” he bellows as Gregor has him up against the wall, held up by his throat,
and Sandor repeatedly stabs him over and over and OVER again with the dagger.
And then… the Mountain moves his thumbs into the Hound’s eye sockets… and
squeezes. As if it wasn’t bad enough to see him do this to Prince Oberyn, we’re
now going to be subjected to watching Sandor’s head explode like a cantaloupe,
too?? NOOOOOOO… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">…OOOOOOOOOO…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">…OOOOOOOOOO…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGKtLqPIqQxNVdxgetTw4sYJCdAem3K_b71bB22BnnXUR34VDzA3TfrCCEsBSVSjdOI5ge3Va-02We9_MQhbjRRIgKnHqeplhucouADyXlm4W4jB__LLsq3b5iB-POmXEfzXyXg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.53.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="1335" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGKtLqPIqQxNVdxgetTw4sYJCdAem3K_b71bB22BnnXUR34VDzA3TfrCCEsBSVSjdOI5ge3Va-02We9_MQhbjRRIgKnHqeplhucouADyXlm4W4jB__LLsq3b5iB-POmXEfzXyXg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.53.00+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">…and then Sandor stabs him in the eye and
right through the brain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Which, of course, doesn’t stop him. Fuck. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Me.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And so, realizing he can’t kill this
thing—this one-time brother who was a monster even as a child, once pushing the
Hound’s face into a fire just for kicks—Sandor moves on instinct. You burned
the side of my face and made me live like this my whole life. So I’ll push your
face—and the rest of you—into burning hot lava, and we’ll both die. The scene
is beautiful, as they pitch over the edge of the parapet and down the long wall
of the Red Keep, straight into the burning inferno below them as the orchestra
swells. I was sad to see the Hound’s story end like this, and yet it felt
rather perfect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaA27rJUC6LL_LOF1fHfKNsWmqo-j_myjwbXqkEm_-eYl10x_lToX5KSxsukHMvGSL6BHLcWVFe2u6NxACeeaOmtwCHvcEklgkondZKOkepLnZP4RpUa5D-KEjjD5UNd9L-7Mdg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.53.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1336" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaA27rJUC6LL_LOF1fHfKNsWmqo-j_myjwbXqkEm_-eYl10x_lToX5KSxsukHMvGSL6BHLcWVFe2u6NxACeeaOmtwCHvcEklgkondZKOkepLnZP4RpUa5D-KEjjD5UNd9L-7Mdg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.53.31+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And now we cut to Jon Snow. I’ve poked a
lot of fun at him this season, but his look of devastation, of being utterly
lost, is heart-rending. He’s gone with the flow his whole life: he accepted
what his father told him was truth. He went to the Wall as a bastard. He fought
alongside his brothers, and has always been a protector and defender rather
than the one starting anything. He befriended the wildlings through his mercy.
He never looked for accolades or love, he just did what he thought he was
supposed to do. He met Daenerys and bent the knee to her because she told him
to and she seemed like the rightful person to have that throne. He followed
her, and when his family questioned his loyalties, he remained calm and kind to
them, torn between the love of the people he grew up with, and his new love and
loyalty to his queen and lover. When he was told the truth about who he was, he
didn’t rise up to usurp her; he told her he didn’t want the throne, not
realizing that wasn’t the correct answer. Of course, if he’d never told her or
his sisters anything, and it had remained a secret between him, Bran, and Sam,
perhaps none of this would have happened. But it’s that honesty Jon’s always
had that gets him in the end, the same honesty Ned Stark had (well, honesty
with everyone except that tiny detail of Jon’s parentage, but ANYWAY…). And at
every turn, by simply doing the right thing, even though it wasn’t always the
smart thing, he did right by everyone around him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But now, as a result of him backing the
madwoman on the back of that dragon, thousands and thousands of people have
died. Northerners who have pledged loyalty to him are raping women in the
streets. Arya is lost. Daenerys’s mind is lost. Innocents are being
slaughtered, and he’s helpless to stop any of it. (I couldn’t help but think, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you know, the moment you’re separated from
your direwolf, BAD THINGS HAPPEN, JON</i>.) And in this moment he decides he’ll
no longer be a part of the bloodshed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpn0yTxabQK8B0liE-qdO3jlZLJhocpjOfJg4l2ON0brUx862D09uam3_wH5bWRJPC-ufYhd6-m4w1PxPhs61CMyfcg3ge_WPvf_aAYbficuSqwcJNkNcHgYZ2uplvJoiC4XExg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.54.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1317" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpn0yTxabQK8B0liE-qdO3jlZLJhocpjOfJg4l2ON0brUx862D09uam3_wH5bWRJPC-ufYhd6-m4w1PxPhs61CMyfcg3ge_WPvf_aAYbficuSqwcJNkNcHgYZ2uplvJoiC4XExg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.54.28+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With Ser Davos looking on from across the
square, Jon sheathes his sword and begins helping people out of King’s Landing,
shouting for his armies to retreat. Barely anyone is listening to him, but he’s
going to do the right thing, again, and he hopes with more positive
consequences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then we return to Arya, lying in the
street, covered in ash. There’s a beautiful look of the ash falling from the
sky like snow (and I’ll let you explain the symbolism of that one and how it
relates to the ending, Chris), but I couldn’t help but think of the historical
nature of ash falling from the sky. Nuclear fallout, Hiroshima… and Auschwitz.
The atrocities committed in King’s Landing are mind-boggling, yet not
unrealistic.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’ll turn what Arya does next and the final
Jaime and Cersei scenes over to you, Chris, but I just wanted to agree with
your earlier comments: I thought the way these two fell into each other’s arms
in the map room was beautiful. They’re broken, and have done horrible things,
but when they’re together they’re none of those things. The only time Jaime
doesn’t feel like a bad person is when he’s with Cersei. Brienne simply
reminded him of all the things he could never be. And when Cersei looks into
his eyes, for a brief moment she’s not a monster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: It IS a lovely moment, but it lands better on rewatching it,
knowing what happens to them—on the first go-around, all I could think was that
they bloody well not let Cersei of all people get away. In that moment she’s
not a monster, but that hardly absolves her of every single other moment in the
series. But their escape is not to be, as they find their way out blocked.
Making their way down through the bowels of the Red Keep, they pass the old
dragon skulls standing in mute testament to the Targaryen dynasty, whose scion
now lays low the very city the first dragon-kings built. The skulls’ very
presence this deep in the fortress is yet another reminder of Robert Baratheon’s
usurpation of the Mad King, as he banished them from the throne room to erase
the memory of the Targaryens; and then to cement his alliance with the Lannisters,
he married Cersei. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The general reaction to the death of Jaime
and Cersei has been that it was unsatisfying—after eight seasons of villainy,
fans wanted something more visceral, whether by dragon fire or Arya’s blade. I
admit, I was at first a little underwhelmed by it; but on reflection, it all
seems eminently appropriate: having spent so much of her time of late standing
in high windows, looking down on the city she that is the seat of her
power—which she both covets and despises—finding her end buried beneath the
rubble of her hubristic ambitions? To quote Buffy, as justice goes it’s not
unpoetic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcFDel_9kBwYfSs1jPwMQqqVgYYMtm1P0nQvwG86GQtYb7SF7EVpY5-1_fhJFjqB9XJ0FTvw-s-mWV4YcxadhgEmoM1khXqQIwcqChQ1dxuwCJjrsKIjZaaKYo_qm4xDtKjFP6g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.55.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="1340" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcFDel_9kBwYfSs1jPwMQqqVgYYMtm1P0nQvwG86GQtYb7SF7EVpY5-1_fhJFjqB9XJ0FTvw-s-mWV4YcxadhgEmoM1khXqQIwcqChQ1dxuwCJjrsKIjZaaKYo_qm4xDtKjFP6g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.55.59+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The tragic figure in this drama, however,
is Jaime. His journey in this story effectively began at another window in
another tower. “The things I do for love,” he said as he shoved Bran out. But
even though he received something approaching absolution from Bran just a few
episodes ago, he still ends his time realized that he could never manage to cut
the ties tethering him to Cersei. As with so much else I’ve complained about in
this episode, that realization really needed an episode or two’s worth of development
to make this moment genuinely tragic; but it is tragic nonetheless. “Nothing
else matters,” Jaime says, over and over. For him this much is true: only
Cersei has ever mattered to him—not honour or duty or ambition. His other
tragedy, of course, is that Cersei has never reciprocated this sentiment. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Everthing</i> matters to Cersei, and as a
result she fears death above all else. “Don’t let me die!” is her repeated
plea, and even if the castle <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wasn’t</i>
collapsing on her head, she would have to realize there is no escape for her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The final moment of the chamber collapsing
gives way to a sky full of ash drifting down like snow. As you say, Nikki,
there is an apocalyptic quality to the scene—earlier, we saw Arya covered in
grey but for the blood on her face, lying as if dead. She rises, coughing and
retching, witness to the devastation wrought by Daenerys. You thought of
nuclear fallout and Auschwitz, Nikki; my first thought was September 11<sup>th</sup>,
and the images of survivors in Lower Manhattan staggering about covered in ash.
I’m going to assume that the imagery used here isn’t accidental, but
deliberate, meaning to evoke such apocalyptic scenes. (In case we don’t get it,
the first sequence ends with the collapse of the bell tower that had signaled
surrender). After Jaime and Cersei’s quietus, we return to Arya as witness,
walking shellshocked with an expression on her face I don’t think we’ve seen
before. We’ve seen Arya distraught, terrified, enraged … but with each
successive trial and trauma she has developed a calm and equanimity to the
horrors of the world, secure in the knowledge of just how dangerous <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she</i> has become.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZK0Rh1xG1U7xuEVn-Ls6fxUJ8BDE2FW3ms3qP_kzJ3gC41A6qOkJNf9kTdY2pwYqc-ubQdfEfO9UP1A5hyphenhyphenwAh9Ey-jKJ_l_gI32sqlUf05u8H11TtOqNKvD5eLQBJGIjBV1ELA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.54.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1325" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZK0Rh1xG1U7xuEVn-Ls6fxUJ8BDE2FW3ms3qP_kzJ3gC41A6qOkJNf9kTdY2pwYqc-ubQdfEfO9UP1A5hyphenhyphenwAh9Ey-jKJ_l_gI32sqlUf05u8H11TtOqNKvD5eLQBJGIjBV1ELA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.54.45+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This is something new, something she cannot
absorb with calm and equanimity. The ash, as you say Nikki, is deeply symbolic,
not least because it evokes something Varys once said of Littlefinger: “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He would see this
country burn if he could be king of the ashes.” That was a crucial line, as it
marked a clear distinction between the two schemers: Varys was as much a master
of the game of intrigue as Littlefinger, but did it for the good of the realm.
Littlefinger’s boundless ambition was the key reason Varys loathed him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Varys
is now ash, immolated because he betrayed someone in whom he saw similarly
indiscriminate ambition. “I hope I’m wrong,” are his last words. Arya, covered
in ash in the midst of a blasted cityscape, is testament to just how right
Varys was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
we also now realize that in the vision Daenerys had of the throne room with its
ceiling destroyed, it isn't snow drifting across the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whatever
narrative failings brought us too hastily to this moment, it is nevertheless
haunting. The arrival of the white horse might seem a bit too blindingly
symbolic—hope in the midst of catastrophe, life in the midst of death, etc.—but
it is visually stunning. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywMTnqyBFuicA0UV_6MUBvtW_h1F7pwMu9ABizgAnANTm_Qm3Z1LCMkGSHsUI8EyTGf3nkoQkkms2XrBeU7koftYiPIFnfBNiwGVDkrokDbTFy-NKHcBdFV7KPRZqSd4cdOBWSw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.56.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="1336" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywMTnqyBFuicA0UV_6MUBvtW_h1F7pwMu9ABizgAnANTm_Qm3Z1LCMkGSHsUI8EyTGf3nkoQkkms2XrBeU7koftYiPIFnfBNiwGVDkrokDbTFy-NKHcBdFV7KPRZqSd4cdOBWSw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.56.56+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jlvjbRNRpE-Cset34OA6Pve-nzjtyvwWuHAEhk-52gA1DH9NrnDYi-yG15VrMEY1Aj09SAsCKlqUsORD1zwqyq2iFqFdto7iNCu5X6cOxuBH7Tmt0S8mwCK_dgD_3jZqj82yOQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.57.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1341" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jlvjbRNRpE-Cset34OA6Pve-nzjtyvwWuHAEhk-52gA1DH9NrnDYi-yG15VrMEY1Aj09SAsCKlqUsORD1zwqyq2iFqFdto7iNCu5X6cOxuBH7Tmt0S8mwCK_dgD_3jZqj82yOQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.57.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk99ROYi6GOoEc8bbVo39lorztFxXC2C_6uU-JlEBKCmJf0l1fk7v66-wLVQ75MUTF-ElQAfUlBDF-sCq-kd_NYaLWtlbdvkyQzfXTW-Af3_u42WrhIZFXdRoIk60nsxvZg4RKZg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.57.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1327" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk99ROYi6GOoEc8bbVo39lorztFxXC2C_6uU-JlEBKCmJf0l1fk7v66-wLVQ75MUTF-ElQAfUlBDF-sCq-kd_NYaLWtlbdvkyQzfXTW-Af3_u42WrhIZFXdRoIk60nsxvZg4RKZg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-15+at+3.57.44+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The final shot of Arya riding the horse out of the
still-smoldering city may also function as an indication of what to expect,
given that since season one, Daenerys has always ridden the white horse that
was her wedding gift from Khal Drogo. Is this an indication of how the
Khaleesi’s fortunes with run in the final episode?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well,
I guess everyone will just have to tune in here this time next week … </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-32736170675859929612019-05-08T13:30:00.000-04:002019-05-08T13:30:04.366-04:00Game of Thrones 8.04 The Last of the Starks<!--[if !mso]>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeMRKYTUNG4iOwC8g8tIodXetqh2bdwuudr-Isfml5pQ4Gh-2K0Er7e55ENR2U70gT5kHfcPdCdiQYdnDftGwsHG43zqJNFln7YnKH8IGBsW0hIOs6PJM1gbXguWYw8eFTNnjTA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.53.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1198" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeMRKYTUNG4iOwC8g8tIodXetqh2bdwuudr-Isfml5pQ4Gh-2K0Er7e55ENR2U70gT5kHfcPdCdiQYdnDftGwsHG43zqJNFln7YnKH8IGBsW0hIOs6PJM1gbXguWYw8eFTNnjTA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.53.41+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We follow last week's epic battle sequence with another character-building, ploughing-towards-the-ending bridge episode, and one that is already creating controversy among fans (and not just because of the to-go coffee cup that appears in one scene... and has already been edited out for repeated showings). This is the episode that will divide loyalties to the show, and will divide loyalties among fans. It's a doozy... and as usual, my cohort, the amazing <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>, and I, have a lot to say about it. Settle in, folks. (Also, these screencaps are now 100% more viewable!) </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Two-thirds of the way through the final season, we’re seeing what
has always been something of a contradiction embedded in GoT: the tension
between the more typical and traditional fantasy narrative of Light v. Dark,
Good v. Evil, and the more innovative and subversive preoccupation with power
and politics. I spoke of this at somewhat more length in an <a href="https://cjlockett.com/2019/04/28/the-daenerys-paradox/">interregnum post</a>
I made before the previous episode, but the TL;DR is basically that GRRM has
from the start been having his cake and eating it, with the looming conflict
between the living and the dead comprising the series’ background noise, while
more immediately the competition for the Iron Throne has been the greater substance
of the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That background noise, which has
occasionally made it into the foreground, is the stuff of Tolkienesque fantasy:
the grand conflict á là God and Satan, Gandalf <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">et al</i> and Sauron, Harry and Voldemort, etc. It is, to be fair, a
staple of the genre. But what has always set A Song of Ice and Fire—and
likewise <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>—apart is the
greater preoccupation with the fraught complexities and grey areas of political
power, and the ways in which those complexities lend depth and nuance to the
people involved. Jon Snow’s Churchillian moment in episode one of this season
laid out the stark (heh) contrast between the warring sides, as did Bran’s dire
characterization of the Night King’s singular desire to wipe out all life.
Those stakes don’t exactly make it difficult to choose loyalties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well, the easy choices shattered along with
the Night King’s transformation into party ice. And if there was a sense that
the resolution of the “great battle,” as Daenerys calls it, was a bit too <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pat</i>, a bit too <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">easy</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sudden</i>, remember
that all of Sauron’s power came crashing down when a ring fell into some lava.
The difference there being that that was the End: everything that followed was
denouement. Here, we’ve resolved the Tolkienesque narrative, but still have to
resolve the Shakespearean one. And based on this episode, I’m already missing
the Night King’s ethical purity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But at least we get a brief respite: to
mourn, and then to celebrate. We begin with the camera’s slow movement over a
body we soon recognize as the corpse of Ser Jorah. A distraught Daenerys kisses
his brow and whispers words we don’t hear into his ear. We then get a similar
moment of Sansa weeping over Theon’s body; in a moment of great significance,
she removes a brooch of the Stark direwolf and places it on his breast—confirming
for him, in death, that he is as much a Stark as a Greyjoy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3a3mwDK_JbGh_5rJXEPrhWngGjqFzreCpNjHFQ1QmLLR4oxzcURWeDV1KiqtJyACpIHAYo5k0xBdAInveIjtUJJ2GmpocoSN12TR5jK0BE1Sps6XTbeSiIndSiBLR5Vk5Lzwhw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.21.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1257" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3a3mwDK_JbGh_5rJXEPrhWngGjqFzreCpNjHFQ1QmLLR4oxzcURWeDV1KiqtJyACpIHAYo5k0xBdAInveIjtUJJ2GmpocoSN12TR5jK0BE1Sps6XTbeSiIndSiBLR5Vk5Lzwhw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.21.32+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It becomes apparent that this is a mass
funeral: Jon and Sam and Bran, along with the other survivors of the Battle of
Winterfell, stand in serried ranks before a huge number of pyres on which lay
the dead—Dothraki and Unsullied, Northerners and all others who fought.
(Perhaps most importantly, among the ranks of the survivors, we see
Ghost—having sustained some wounds in the battle, but not looking nearly as
mournful <sniff> as he will later in this episode). <o:p></o:p></sniff></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NHqKgSPoCI3hTpwKXcvrnFxKT5S5gcUlXgyvk53IxpcrNQwAaaeM0jrGoVdDI0mqSSVwzRmHgcZKEp4O-jHiAoANSLUW8iLZH6zKeuWA26uvtj_6S_Ii3iSEW0z88po95WgVfQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.22.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1255" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NHqKgSPoCI3hTpwKXcvrnFxKT5S5gcUlXgyvk53IxpcrNQwAaaeM0jrGoVdDI0mqSSVwzRmHgcZKEp4O-jHiAoANSLUW8iLZH6zKeuWA26uvtj_6S_Ii3iSEW0z88po95WgVfQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.22.13+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SUCH A GOOD BOY.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I found this a very moving scene, not least
because, as characters came forward to put torches to the pyres, there were a
handful of silent tributes—Arya looking down at Beric, Sam at Edd Tollett, Jon
at Lyanna Mormont—even as we catch glimpses of anonymous others who died. The
flames begin to consume the pyres, and the smoke obscures the camera’s eye as
it looks down at the mourners. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYJBaQ3AZ6QRvdN8OgGAAXHbxUiy_zJecpvquYwKdi1PRDlmliZaX-UmfZIT4fpOrpdp4h_pclM2NF_oivzSpI5Hwz7hXSAXzMCWIFWQyenYVsJb_eyoTeiC_e3sXXdhrVwD_sg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.22.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1250" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYJBaQ3AZ6QRvdN8OgGAAXHbxUiy_zJecpvquYwKdi1PRDlmliZaX-UmfZIT4fpOrpdp4h_pclM2NF_oivzSpI5Hwz7hXSAXzMCWIFWQyenYVsJb_eyoTeiC_e3sXXdhrVwD_sg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.22.26+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The scene then shifts to something we
haven’t seen in some time: a feast, though at the start it is somewhat subdued.
The Great Hall is crowded with long tables and people getting down to the
serious business of eating. At first, there isn’t much in the way of
conversation: at the head table, everyone seems lost in thought, and when Jon
turns to look at Daenerys, she basically stares stolidly into the middle
distance. The first words of the scene are Gendry’s; he looks around the room
and then turns to the Hound, asking her if he’s seen Arya. Their conversation
is a bit cryptic, but the suggestion seems to be that the Hound knows Gendry
and Arya have become rather more than friends. “You can still smell the burning
bodies, and that’s where your head is at?” the Hound asks, but then makes clear
that his words aren’t a rebuke. When Gendry protests that “it’s not about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>,” Sandor calls bullshit. “Of course
it’s about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>, yeh twat,” he says.
“Why shouldn’t it be? The dead are dead. You’re not.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As always, the Hound has no patience for
pretense or bullshit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, on rising to go look for Arya,
Gendry attracts the notice of the Queen, and becomes the first piece placed on
the board of the post-Night King game of thrones. Daenerys tortures him for a
moment, pointing out that his father, Robert Baratheon, was responsible for her
family’s destruction and exile. But, well, bygones can be bygones—especially if
it means she has a lord of a powerful house in her debt. “You are Lord Gendry
Baratheon,” she tells him. “Because that is what I made you.” Gendry,
understandably, is taken somewhat aback; and in a moment of symmetry, Davos—who
was of course the Hand of another Baratheon of note, and both saved Gendry from
Melisandre and retrieved him from King’s Landing—is the first to rise and hail
him by his new title. The entire room follows suit. “See?” Daenerys says to
Tyrion when he observes she now has a Storm Lord in her debt, “you’re not the
only one who’s clever.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys’ move does not go unnoticed by
Sansa, who looks positively worried when she exchanges a glance with Tyrion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Perhaps it is the celebration of Gendry’s
new status, or perhaps it has just gotten to that part of the evening, but a
definite party vibe settles on the room. Jaime plays the role of enabler,
removing Brienne’s hand from her cup when she tries to prevent him refilling
it. “We fought dead things and lived to talk about it,” he says. “If this isn’t
the time to drink, when is?” (To be fair, that’s a pretty good argument). But
even as the room starts to come to life, Davos broods about Melisandre, telling
Tyrion he promised to kill her—but that she killed herself, or was killed by
her god, before he got the chance. And here we have an interesting little
moment of reflection on what I’ve been calling the Tolkienesque narrative:
Melisandre has essentially played the role of the voice of prophecy, the
spokeswoman for the deity ostensibly at odds with the Night King and his
hordes. All the way along, her purpose has been to find the person or people
who can act as her god’s tools. Having been present for the great battle and
helped in a substantive manner, her work was done, and her death was the last
pre-credits shot of the previous episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Davos and Tyrion effectively sum up the
contradiction I’ve mentioned: “The Lord of Light,” Davos says in a vaguely disgusted
voice, “We play his game for him. We win his war. And then … he fucks off. No
signs. No blessings. Who knows what he wants?” It’s a good question—having won
the cosmic war, does the cosmic entity just leave the field? One way or
another, there is now a new and far more complex reality to deal with. Or as
Tyrion puts it, “We may have defeated Them. We still have Us to contend with.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of this episode, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: This episode was what most of us thought it would be: the aftermath
of the great Battle of Winterfell, and the movement toward the culmination of
the overarching theme of the series. As I said the other day, this series is
called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>, after all,
and we’ve been here since Day One just to see who’s going to win that damn
game. And I thought this episode hit the perfect note of both bridging the
battle sequence of the previous episode to the battle sequence of the next
episode (my GOD what did this season cost them?!) while not only moving the
living characters forward but properly mourning the dead. I was a little
worried that those who died in the previous episode, would never be mentioned
again, but as you pointed out so well, Chris, that opening scene paid proper
tribute to them. And Jon was the one to stand over Lyanna (I was weeping in
this scene). What was amazing about this episode is how many characters
realized they need to change the way they were doing things: they’ve looked
Death right in the eye and believed they didn’t have a hope of surviving, and now
they realize today is the time to act because there might not be a tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My concern with this episode is that in
keeping with the general theme of “let’s act on things we’ve thought about, but
never done,” they’ve made some steps to change my loyalties, to throw a wrench
into the perfect works, and to hurt characters when it didn’t really need to
happen. But more on that later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After a depressing conversation with Ser
Davos, Tyrion wonders, “Who could I speak to who would be even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">less</i> cheerful after a great victory?” So
as he’s talking to Bran… he comments on his chair, which Bran says is based on
the one Daeron Targaryen had made for his crippled nephew 120 years earlier.
Tyrion is impressed by his knowledge of history, saying it’ll serve him well as
Lord of Winterfell. But Bran makes it clear he doesn’t want that—ambition to be
the head of a House or a king belonged to his brother Robb, and in a way to his
sister Sansa, but certainly not to him. He doesn’t “want” anymore, he explains.
“I envy you,” says Tyrion, and Bran suddenly looks back over his shoulder. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What the hell is he looking at??</i> I
thought, thinking he could see something we couldn’t… but in the end it appears
he was simply signaling to someone to come and wheel his chair away. “You shouldn’t
envy me,” he says, with a bit of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real
emotion OMG</i> actually entering his voice. “Mostly I live in the past.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion, as most people do when speaking to
the Three-Eyed Raven, simply looks confused. This was a really interesting
moment for me, because while we see Bran as this weird all-seeing, all-knowing
entity (I hesitate to even call him a person), imagine if you could see across
all time, all the time, and unlike Billy Pilgrim from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Slaughterhouse-Five</i>, you don’t see definite futures but possible ones.
The possible futures are probably all so desolate that you prefer to live in
those past memories. His comment worried me a bit for the episodes to come: is
that it? Is that why he doesn’t live in the future? Because there isn’t much of
one left?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now it’s over to Tormund, who’s trying
to get Jon to drink to the point of passing out. “Vomiting is not celebrating,”
says Jon. “Yes it is,” says Tormund, completely stone-faced. “TO THE DRAGON
QUEEN!” says the ginger-bearded wildling, to some cheers that sound more like
the ones you hear the knights make after the narrator says, “And there was much
rejoicing” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monty Python and the Holy
Grail</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media;
gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="240" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NmPhaG1ud38" width="425"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To which Daenerys stands and says, “To Arya
Stark, the hero of Winterfell!” and the entire place erupts with cheers,
drinking, stomping, clapping. (And I said to my husband, “Where IS Arya??”) Daenerys
once again smiles broadly, hoping she’s curried some favour with these
northerners. Jon smiles at her, Sansa sees the smile between the two of them
and gets up and walks away. Daenerys sits down, alone, and watches Jon turn his
back on her to continue talking to Tormund.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Tyrion, Podrick, Jaime, and
Brienne are mirroring some viewers at home with their drinking game (Jaime just
gave a bit of a longing stare at Brienne: DRINK!), with Brienne seeming to be
the only one properly holding her alcohol at this point. We haven’t had too
many scenes with Tyrion and Brienne, but I love their friendly chemistry in
this scene. And of course, all of us have enjoyed that other chemistry between
Jaime and Brienne the Beauty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Back to Tormund, and the scene that has
everyone abuzz this morning. I will admit, I did not see this at all on my
first viewing, but it turns out even when the Dead are threatening to destroy
all of living civilization; even when some of the greatest warriors the world
has ever seen are being felled on the battlefields; even when the night is (so
so so so) dark and full of terrors… somewhere nearby, there’s a Starbucks open.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tormund talks about how amazing Jon is,
that he was even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">murdered</i> and came
back to keep fighting, that he never gives up no matter what. “He climbed on
fucking dragon, and fought. What kind of person climbs on a fucking dragon? A
madman, or a KING!” They all cheer, and Jon turns to look at Dany, who puts a
fake smile on her face and quietly tips her Grande Americano at him, probably
thinking, “I’ve been climbing on a fucking dragon for seven years but SURE,
let’s all talk about how awesome this guy is.” The look on her face is
haunting… she had it in her grasp. She had everything—the south, the north, the
islands, everything except Cersei, and she could simply use the others to get
rid of her—and now that she sacrificed her Dothraki, many of her Unsullied, her
dragon, and even her beloved Ser Jorah, to save the northerners… they’re going
to pledge fealty to Jon if they find out his heritage. She just knows it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m so torn over this. I’ve pledged fealty
to Daenerys Targaryen from Day One, as y’all know, and given my love for Houses
like Mormont, which run on matrilineal lines, I wonder if House Targaryen could
change to reflect that? Aerys Targaryen was king, and when he was killed, it
went to Rhaegar… who was killed, but his son wasn’t yet born. So Viserys was
the only living heir in that moment, and it went to him. When he dies, it
should go to Daenerys since they’re no longer in Rhaegar’s line (or does that
matter? Someone help me out on this, dear readers!)… except she’s a woman, and
the Targaryens are patrilineal. So they would want to find the male heir over
the female one. Except… there was no male heir. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Until now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys has always been about breaking the
wheel, and this has really been a show about the power of women—Cersei’s currently
ruling King’s Landing for better or worse; the Sand Snakes were the true force
of Dorne; Daenerys has been one of the most powerful characters on the show by
virtue of her dragons, her inability to be burned, her capacity for empathy,
and her ability to change he minds of people; Arya was the one who did in the
Night King; Brienne is the captain of the knights over any man; Sansa is the
true brains behind Winterfell; Yara is heading up the Iron Islands right now
(while her stupid uncle is over in King’s Landing)… so I’d be truly
disappointed if in the end they stuck a white guy on the throne. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s like watching the Democratic leader
nominees in America right now. But anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys believes this to be her
birthright. Jon doesn’t even want to be king. But it doesn’t matter what they
want: it’s about what the people want. And we all know how well THAT works out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Dany now surveys the room, seeing her Hand
cavorting with Jaime and Brienne; seeing Jon hanging with Tormund, and in the
background, in shadow, sits Varys. He has barely said a word all season, but
he’s watching. As always. (And where the hell is Arya?) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Back to the drinking game, where Brienne
has been getting Tyrion to drink like a fish, and Jaime is taking delight in
watching how Brienne’s face is entirely lit up with joy at doing so. But then
she jokes about how he was married before Sansa, and Tyrion screws up his face
in a mocking way and drinks happily. Which was a strange reaction, given that
his first wife was a woman he truly loved, and his own father made him believe
she was a prostitute who was messing with him, so he had his soldiers rape her
one by one, with Tyrion doing it last, paying her with a gold coin. It’s one of
the darkest moments of Tyrion’s life, and not one where you would roll your
eyes and go, “Oh fine I’ll drink!” But perhaps this is why Tyrion changes the
tone by saying, “You’re a virgin.” (Note Podrick taking a huge slurp of his
wine at that, HA!) Brienne just stares at him, the joy leaching from her face,
and Tyrion says, “At no point have you ever slept with a man… or a woman.” She
stands up to leave, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not so fast</i>!
The Giantsbane is here. He walks over to her, almost a foot shorter than she
is, drunkenly rejoicing over their victory. “Now which one of your cowards shit
in my pants?” he hisses, before throwing back his head and laughing that
Tormund cackle, and Brienne leaves. He moves to follow her, but Jaime stops
him, and the Kingslayer follows her instead, and suddenly a dim lightbulb goes
off in Tormund’s head as he looks down to see Tyrion pouring the rest of his
wine into the horn and Podrick grins. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWIhErn1VHxbcqpiF6W37J4kpYAcat69bRTZJ9LlemL36n7IQj1MqmGHLhnfcGSETalGo9r-3SHwOx9OHUIyNFIGn3j_2OzmeLNe0Kv609wCpJ9FvDxF7XRBVMVzYUmr6gLG1UA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.30.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="1218" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWIhErn1VHxbcqpiF6W37J4kpYAcat69bRTZJ9LlemL36n7IQj1MqmGHLhnfcGSETalGo9r-3SHwOx9OHUIyNFIGn3j_2OzmeLNe0Kv609wCpJ9FvDxF7XRBVMVzYUmr6gLG1UA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.30.25+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We cut to Tormund, eyes welling, realizing
the Big Woman is going to be with another. “My heart is broken,” he growls, and
the camera pans back to show that his listener is none other than the Hound,
who has a look on his face of absolute disgust. “Don’t touch me,” he hisses. (I
loved this scene so much.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-hwqW49n1i2HOXlgfOBc6gTWQAoTvZbcI7RzWGsFmPeZLM9_nRLp7hTnkLO_fybvl-dU9EOpSttaH_1MoJOy1ZeL-C9asGOf0y9yzGG7Q-ezZ3m2dE2-MqfIBO-dymr1WvmRQw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.30.54+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1217" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-hwqW49n1i2HOXlgfOBc6gTWQAoTvZbcI7RzWGsFmPeZLM9_nRLp7hTnkLO_fybvl-dU9EOpSttaH_1MoJOy1ZeL-C9asGOf0y9yzGG7Q-ezZ3m2dE2-MqfIBO-dymr1WvmRQw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.30.54+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“You can touch me,” says one of the women
pouring wine. And with that, Tormund happily heads off with her. I didn’t love
this ending, as if he’d pine after Brienne for this long only to get over her
in a heartbeat—so much build-up, so little pay-off. Is this the end of Brienne
and Tormund? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sansa watches the Hound sitting on his own
and brooding, and she sits with him, and he reminds her how he used to disgust
her. “I’ve seen much worse since then,” she says. He just wants her and
everyone else to go away, so, typical Hound, he says, “I heard you got broken
in rough.” Sansa’s face doesn’t change. I can only imagine he’s thinking what
IS it with these Stark girls?! “He got what he deserved,” she replies. “I gave
it to him. Hounds.” She elicits a laugh from him. “You’ve changed, little
bird,” he says, an echo of what he called her in the early seasons, when he
tried to get her to escape with him. He says if only she’d gone with him, none
of those traumas would have happened. And our Sansa puts her hand on his.
“Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would have stayed a little
bird all my life.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In a way, this scene is utterly exquisite,
because it pretty much sums up every character development on the show. Who
wouldn’t be where they are now without everything that’s happened to them? But
was it really necessary that she be raped to be a strong woman? That she watch
her own father be beheaded in front of her? That she was passed from one man to
the next, being used by each one? Did that happen to any of the men on the
show? I’m not going to turn this into a feminist rant, because I believe <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has been an
extraordinary series for depicting how powerful women can be, and I think the
fact that all of these women—Sansa, Cersei, Daenerys—have been raped on the
show, which only strengthened them more, is, sadly, showing reality. This is
supposed to be some sort of medieval type of timeline, and yet here we are in
2019, surrounded by news stories of very strong women who, at some point in their
lives, were denigrated by very small men. In the world of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>, women being treated as the weaker sex is no different
than in our world. But Sansa refuses to be defeated. Her capacity for bouncing
back is quite amazing, and it’s been a very long road to getting there. Sansa
isn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">okay</i>, and she will live with
the trauma of that rape and what was done to her for the rest of her life. But
she refuses to be a victim, and that’s integral to the development of this
complicated and fascinating character. And despite the problematic nature of this
scene, I still love Sansa and the Hound getting this one final moment together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now Gendry heads through the drunken
courtyard to see if he can find our Arya. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: There were a number of moments in this episode that either annoyed
me or left me profoundly ambivalent, and Sansa’s vindication of her abuse as a
necessary crucible of experience is Exhibit A. It’s particularly galling
considering that I argued, apropos of her horrifying wedding night with Ramsay,
that her rape wasn’t necessarily an example of the
assault/abuse-as-character-building-trope; I didn’t think so then, and I
wouldn’t have said so now except that those are the precise words the writers
put into her mouth. Gah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I suppose one way to read her
words—considering she says them as she places her hand over Sandor’s—is as a
sort of stoic comfort to him. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What
happened isn’t your fault</i>, in other words, not that he seems to feel guilt
at all. Whatever my annoyance with this interchange might otherwise be, it is a
useful throwback to seasons one and two, a reminder of the odd relationship
these two had. Sansa then was too taken with beautiful things, and the very
idea of beautiful things. The Hound with his mutilated face was a disturbance
in that dream, and despite his sour nature he proved, through his treatment of
Sansa, that he was not irredeemable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But again, then, as now, he has no patience
for pretense or bullshit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It was thus then, perhaps, inevitable that
Arya should later join him on his would-be solitary trek to King’s Landing. I
wouldn’t go so far as to say that she’s running away from Gendry, but it
wouldn’t have surprised me if she’d had an impromptu musical number of “Don’t
Fence Me In” following his rather impetuous marriage proposal. All in all, it
was rather a sweet moment, but also somewhat sad, given that Gendry was the
only person among the bajillion people watching this episode who didn’t see
Arya’s “thanks but no thanks” coming from miles off. “Be my wife! Be the Lady
of Storm’s End,” he implores her (on bended knee, no less). “You’ll be a
wonderful Lord,” says Arya, after kissing him tenderly. And then she brings the
hammer down: “And any Lady would be lucky to have you.” Ouch. Of course, anyone
who has been watching since season one knew this would be her response. “I’m
not a Lady. I never have been.” Her words hearken back to the conversation she
had with her father in the first season, when she told him she did not want to
be a “Lady.” Everything she has done since that moment has more or less
confirmed that assertion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBJK7RTRjVk93NWZfL9tKzMs61yFSEGexTd7tsvlfnM1L0AG2ClUBlRQiJ_x99u4CHxQd8egiGx9aEmEVEd4I7JW7rpIkuu9Hbqwh14Nluw2AW-_uGpQef4fmyOtV_JojKXxsSw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.33.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1231" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBJK7RTRjVk93NWZfL9tKzMs61yFSEGexTd7tsvlfnM1L0AG2ClUBlRQiJ_x99u4CHxQd8egiGx9aEmEVEd4I7JW7rpIkuu9Hbqwh14Nluw2AW-_uGpQef4fmyOtV_JojKXxsSw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.33.12+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Poor Gendry. I mean: good for Arya. But
still. Poor Gendry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We can’t know whether sex with Gendry was
good, bad, or indifferent for Arya (I’m guessing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good</i>, if for no other reason than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">damn</i>, look at the man), but it obviously hasn’t really changed
anything for her. The same cannot be said for Brienne: having established her
lack of experience in Tyrion’s drinking game, we transition to a moment a
certain subset of GoT fans have been hyperventilating about since she and Jaime
first did their Abbott and Costello routine. I must admit, I’ve been Team
Tormund since the bearded ginger first made googly eyes at her; but I can’t
complain about the way things have fallen out. Tormund might have had
unrequited feelings for Brienne, but she just as obviously has had a thing for
Jaime. So when he shows up at her door with wine and immediately starts
complaining about how hot her room is, we kind of know where this is going.
(Quick question: did anyone else flash to Jimbo Jones on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Simpsons</i>? “Wow, now my shirt’s chafing me. Mind if I take it
off?”). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgrUVggsLVJXw_9vEFNpsNURTA1l4WnjBaM3jd3Tcg4l3edFOWAuvpmSf9pis1Lt7PuLXWQRM81rlZIpDUHmFLmUefG3ElRgOv_6j-dX8EMqfFYQn-Sj-Z7KhyJDP94G3m5xhPA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.34.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="1222" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgrUVggsLVJXw_9vEFNpsNURTA1l4WnjBaM3jd3Tcg4l3edFOWAuvpmSf9pis1Lt7PuLXWQRM81rlZIpDUHmFLmUefG3ElRgOv_6j-dX8EMqfFYQn-Sj-Z7KhyJDP94G3m5xhPA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.34.37+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The scene is touchingly, and appropriately,
awkward. We’re reminded that Brienne is a virgin. What we’re not reminded of
(which is probably for the best) is that Jaime has only ever slept with one
other woman. In other words, this is the first non-incestuous sex he’s ever had
(something that may or may not resonate with his later decision to decamp for
King’s Landing). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now I am obligated to make the
following segue: DID SOMEONE SAY INCEST? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pNhZsJ9r8GqXXOA0SxwlCB-EVqqXWk11v8_uKdBOQRCFY6SLWf16Waq0kyZwsUwdHZffQ6mXizzVIQEV6ynl9UCrEiPma8jRFKO4Xc3tR9TPQR3A7rtSuT1JQLlf5C2GvuHiJA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.35.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1221" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pNhZsJ9r8GqXXOA0SxwlCB-EVqqXWk11v8_uKdBOQRCFY6SLWf16Waq0kyZwsUwdHZffQ6mXizzVIQEV6ynl9UCrEiPma8jRFKO4Xc3tR9TPQR3A7rtSuT1JQLlf5C2GvuHiJA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.35.26+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We cut to Jon Snow alone in his chambers,
doing what he does best: brooding. A champion brooder, he could have kept this
up for hours without a break, were he not interrupted by his auntie. Daenerys
lets herself in, and for a few moments it seems we’re back to where we were,
pre-crypts revelation. But of course, memory intrudes. Their brief, promising
make-out session interrupted (whether by thoughts of “Oh, shit, INCEST!” or
“Oh, shit, BETTER CLAIM TO THE THRONE!” we’ll never know), Jon and Dany fall to
discussing the fact that, yes, he is her nephew, and has the better claim to
the throne. The fact that he doesn’t want it is, of course, irrelevant, though
he seems to be the only person who doesn’t grasp this basic fact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OK: just to stipulate, for all the
arguments that ensue in this episode, and will almost certainly ensue in the
remaining episodes, about whether Jon Snow is the better choice for the Iron
Throne. HE IS VERY STUPID. Or perhaps that is unfair. He is not unintelligent,
just morbidly obtuse. He, as everyone’s favourite redheaded wildling was fond
of pointing out, KNOWS NOTHING. He might not actually be the son of Ned Stark
by blood, but characterologically he is TOTALLY NED STARK’S SON. By which I
mean: he is honourable to a fault, refuses to see the world in anything other
than black and white, and, were it not for the intervention of Melisandre, he
would have suffered a similar fate to Ned—i.e. killed for an excess of
honourable intentions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Case in point: he doesn’t want the throne.
He says as much to Daenerys. But when she begs him—literally begs him!—to keep
his trap shut about his real parentage, he says, well, no, I have to tell my
family. Because of course he does. I don’t want the Iron Throne, but I’m going
to tell people who will one hundred percent tell other people because they
don’t want <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> on the throne. Because
honour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPe1POw0jsaYilQjGCITkzuT2t8BrtDpHCVZxtWVGgtBwxMMv0bj7hXfqwU-ms7yCm6kgRY5eZFh54Zo2uoWa3qiAvlYbDBk0QCP5a5A-wnDQyoztZwMjd2BPcem_d6F2iQeYiQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.36.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1218" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPe1POw0jsaYilQjGCITkzuT2t8BrtDpHCVZxtWVGgtBwxMMv0bj7hXfqwU-ms7yCm6kgRY5eZFh54Zo2uoWa3qiAvlYbDBk0QCP5a5A-wnDQyoztZwMjd2BPcem_d6F2iQeYiQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.36.19+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Look, I’m not saying it isn’t a difficult
choice, or that Jon is in any way obliged to keep his peace … just that he has
a propensity for doing such things without having a plan. Which might be
something people wanting to sit him on a throne should keep in mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From here we cut to a brief shot of Brienne
asleep and Jaime awake beside her. The first time I watched this episode, I
didn’t really take note of this moment; it was only on rewatching that Jaime’s
expression can be read as somewhat fraught. Again, remember that Brienne is the
only non-Cersei he has slept with. Is he happy? Content? Remorseful? Caught in
a moment of post-coital self-loathing? Something we consider when we come to
his departure later in the episode …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyR1NRlJ5wH9oDzY0IHlD_-aVbXRtCD7GNDAt9zAZAkh59iZO9q0g_CSS8EjB-PhD1hz-ew-VaKJGeVAXdEpy9Uf7DPKUkQ7QJSpoDvCtEXBB26nROpNnn8_UWtv6vI3_1O26Aqw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.08.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1305" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyR1NRlJ5wH9oDzY0IHlD_-aVbXRtCD7GNDAt9zAZAkh59iZO9q0g_CSS8EjB-PhD1hz-ew-VaKJGeVAXdEpy9Uf7DPKUkQ7QJSpoDvCtEXBB26nROpNnn8_UWtv6vI3_1O26Aqw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+2.08.15+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But on to battle plans! Grey Worm gives the
bad news that half of the Unsullied are gone. As are the Northmen, Jon
acknowledges. (A Dothraki also removes pieces from the map, without noting
numbers). What is to be done? Daenerys is all about pressing their advantage,
such as it is. “We will hit her hard,” she says, “rip her out, root and stem!”
It’s worth noting that this approach meets with crickets from everyone in the
room, including her advisors. Tyrion in particular is skeptical: “The objective
here is to remove Cersei, without destroying King’s Landing,” he points out.
Varys observes that Cersei has become increasingly isolated: Dorne has declared
for Daenerys, and Yara has retaken the Iron Islands, but Daenerys seems to
suffer from a particular form of tunnel vision: so long as Cersei sits on the
Iron Throne, she can call herself queen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The singular mania of Daenerys’ ambition
comes into clear focus in this scene, enough that it has Varys later
considering treasonous actions. To be fair to Varys, his vacillation is
understandable, especially after Daenerys attacks Sansa’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perfectly reasonable</i> suggestion that their armies rest and
recuperate, characterizing it as something resembling treachery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOGxjQEI8tqpZubxHQCLJ28eYW4SlnXezzNianyqBYPQAAcD1MKruNrgmSL2fNGLrdG0QU3SWKfOaYpeAZK3lFg4vAP7EXz0yLcLINzvAOwNGro3iNAq7ZDqDUkSVatfVFMIl-A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+3.52.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1219" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOGxjQEI8tqpZubxHQCLJ28eYW4SlnXezzNianyqBYPQAAcD1MKruNrgmSL2fNGLrdG0QU3SWKfOaYpeAZK3lFg4vAP7EXz0yLcLINzvAOwNGro3iNAq7ZDqDUkSVatfVFMIl-A/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+3.52.16+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys’ impatience in this moment is …
well, out of character. Let’s not forget how long she dallied in Essos for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">express purpose</i> of learning how to rule.
Literally every single thing her advisors tell her in this scene is sensible
and, more importantly, tactically sound. Cersei wants to bring all of the
surrounding countryside into the walls of the Red Keep? Let’s see how long
their food holds out. Our soldiers are wounded and tired? Let’s let them rest
and recuperate. You came here to be the breaker of chains? Don’t kill innocents
in your maniacal drive to take the capital.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But when all is said and done, Jon decrees
that the North will submit to the will of the Queen. Which precipitates an
impromptu family meeting …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: … with an assassin, a magnificent woman-who-should-be-queen, a
full brother who was brought up as our half-brother but we consider him our
full brother even though holy shit he’s our cousin?, and… Bran. I love that
moment at the end of the war room scene where Sansa stands next to Bran, arms
behind her back and her head tilted up, Bran just stares at Jon with his arms
folded on his lap, and Arya stands before Jon, saying, “We need a word.” Jon
looks at them all and knows… shit is serious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As you so wonderfully put it, my friend (I
laughed out loud at your summary of Jon because it mirrored exactly the
conversations I’ve had with my husband), Jon Snow is… kind of adorably dumb. When
he decided to tell them in this scene <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
very thing</i> Daenerys asked him like two seconds earlier not to tell them, my
husband said, “Why the hell is he doing this? He’s such a dipshit.” And I said,
“No, he’s Ned Stark’s son. Remember when he showed up at King’s Landing and
very quietly whispered, ‘WAIT A MINUTE GENDRY IS ROBERT BARATHEON’S SON AND I
DO NOT BELIEVE THESE GOLDEN-HAIRED CHERUBS ARE ACTUALLY ROBERT’S CHILDREN AT
ALL AND I WILL PROVE THAT BLERG—’ (that’s my accurate sound effect for his head
being chopped off, by the way…), yeah… he’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>
guy’s kid. Or… at least… was raised as that guy’s kid. Nature vs. nurture and
all that.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YThZFEXE3prbdXeFtmv5bn6xgquLFdYd7ZJ1knjSdL0_1N4qhnraW7wNxK5AHcxyV_JXGduu7QgriFz3WXeb5tOb-qWDyFIUiscoI83IH0I_FQQRVr5MHa5tAB5GaMZ-yz418g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+3.55.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1220" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YThZFEXE3prbdXeFtmv5bn6xgquLFdYd7ZJ1knjSdL0_1N4qhnraW7wNxK5AHcxyV_JXGduu7QgriFz3WXeb5tOb-qWDyFIUiscoI83IH0I_FQQRVr5MHa5tAB5GaMZ-yz418g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+3.55.57+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, before any of them can speak, he jumps
in there anticipating their Dany hate and explains they needed her, that
without her they never could have won the war, and like new moms learn when
dealing with a toddler tantrum, Arya first validates Jon’s feelings, “And I
respect that” and looks at Sansa and basically says he’s right, we would have
been toast without Dany, but then says that’s why they’re right too: they
simply don’t trust this queen. Daenerys wasn’t making any friends in that war
room, and she resents that the North won’t bend the knee, but the North has
always been skeptical of anyone from King’s Landing, and she’s way south of
that. So… nah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Arya’s reasoning for why he should listen
to them is that they’re family: that’s the only argument she has, but as one of
the last four living Starks, she believes it’s the only one she needs. They
don’t need someone coming between all of them; after all, people have been
coming between them for seven solid years, and now they’re together, they need
to stay together. And that’s when Jon says he’s not a Stark. (Not true, buddy:
half your DNA is from Lyanna.) And he uses Arya’s argument against her: because
they’re family, they should swear they won’t tell anyone what he’s about to
tell them. Arya says, “I swear it” with such conviction I 100% believe her. Sansa
is hesitant, and finally says, “Smmffph.” And so Jon stands before them,
spreads his arms, opens his mouth for the most important speech of his life,
and says, “Bran, you tell them.” Sigh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7gmPEcdfrmg6JuosvNZTB-Iy75r1CgE9vzlmig_zgyVTH56qbmG8vUSRRSQRChIkJV5quiubABbGbfTN4NCmMJi1P3-sBF5aXQ8eJch6TKenAFVMM1bnKlNul5NtIoGiYaaNMg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+5.57.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="1006" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7gmPEcdfrmg6JuosvNZTB-Iy75r1CgE9vzlmig_zgyVTH56qbmG8vUSRRSQRChIkJV5quiubABbGbfTN4NCmMJi1P3-sBF5aXQ8eJch6TKenAFVMM1bnKlNul5NtIoGiYaaNMg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+5.57.03+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to suddenly nighttime again and Jaime
and Tyrion are sitting at a table, with Tyrion finally able to make “tall
person jokes” about Brienne, because one thing about Lannister men: they’re not
exactly discreet or respectful of the women they sleep with… and besides, since
Jaime’s only ever really slept with his sis, he’s never exactly been able to
kiss and tell the next day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Enter Bronn, with crossbow. As I said in my
first post of the season, he’ll follow through on this plan if it makes him
money. But as many of you pointed out, he’d never do that to Tyrion and Jaime
because of loyalty. Turns out we were each half-right: he bears no loyalty to
anyone except maybe a banker of Braavos, but he’s done the math on his journey
northward and realized that they’re going to kill Cersei, and she won’t be able
to pay up. So he wants his payment now or they’re both getting arrows through
their skulls. So Tyrion offers him Highgarden, and Bronn, after punching Tyrion
in his face (but insisting he didn’t break his nose), agrees. Crisis averted…
for now. (But as my friend Ashlie has said to me, that crossbow is going to
play a major role before this is all done… <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">remember
Tywin</i>.) The one line that stuck with me in this scene, though, was Tyrion
holding up his cup and saying, “To climbing mountains.” Let’s hope that
includes Cersei’s, and that the Hound is able to crumble that Mountain to
pieces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXeMlTMgPWRyf6-aflYV1_f2AIa_at3dsLvfHtaXTIfxk6s5Ye-PjEL7OARI-yr5VNjvYSIfpmTX4aOz0FdRM4lejL5trEWDyhtKYBNjo6jY8EoxJacxURFGQPuTZ-nV-IINRKg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+5.59.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1208" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXeMlTMgPWRyf6-aflYV1_f2AIa_at3dsLvfHtaXTIfxk6s5Ye-PjEL7OARI-yr5VNjvYSIfpmTX4aOz0FdRM4lejL5trEWDyhtKYBNjo6jY8EoxJacxURFGQPuTZ-nV-IINRKg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+5.59.42+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with that, we cut to the Hound, who is
taking the Kingsroad by himself until Arya joins him, which immediately pisses
him off. He grunts short sentences at her—he likes to be alone, he doesn’t
intend to return—for her to respond “Same” in equally curt answers. The Hound
and his apathy clearly left an impression on Arya, and have shaped a lot of her
character. Neither one intends to return to the North, which means they could
both die at King’s Landing, which I could see happening if both fulfill their
destinies, or they’ll take to another road for further adventures… a road, of
course, that forks pretty quickly so they don’t have to spend any more time
with another person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0m8IGab8PhZqtiB6joRmS8sLO_2YVuyVER5aiM4l0oL_Vi1_rNjNCWWzdORKl2I5Uf5vAHoZm0fn3anTsxHNi7XtzeKOtLmbfBX-edhKBw2sdTVEBR7G8L8MJ901uW1K9gJQfw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+6.01.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1204" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0m8IGab8PhZqtiB6joRmS8sLO_2YVuyVER5aiM4l0oL_Vi1_rNjNCWWzdORKl2I5Uf5vAHoZm0fn3anTsxHNi7XtzeKOtLmbfBX-edhKBw2sdTVEBR7G8L8MJ901uW1K9gJQfw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+6.01.17+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The cut to the next scene is not
immediately clear—it looks like a ship’s sail that’s ripped, only… oh… no. It’s
Rhaegal’s wing. Back in the war room, Sansa proposed they all hold back and
wait until the wounded have time to recover, and when Dany hissed at her that
she’d brought all of this power to the North to help them in “their” fight, and
now they were going to postpone on her, Sansa hissed back that her proposal was
for Daenerys’s people to recover as well. And that includes Rhaegal, who is a
strong flyer in the same way Nemo is a strong swimmer. One assumes a dragon’s
wing could heal given some time and herbs; or hell, some sort of device like
Toothless has in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Train Your Dragon</i>
that fixes his crippled wing. But Dany’s jonesing to get her butt on that throne,
and she will not stop to help Rhaegal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqk-W4Paeq33dgBWR6-OgU3H6Gwx7Rb3pUJZd2Zd70OOrGii1OCWJgfKDNVZ-4m_FBGBpnpS0G1TFSX-XAc6qZb7mN2dyUlBGhLShN1r9YwhLovtk_dJXWbqdHG2Nb0S3HhIoJjw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+6.02.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="1210" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqk-W4Paeq33dgBWR6-OgU3H6Gwx7Rb3pUJZd2Zd70OOrGii1OCWJgfKDNVZ-4m_FBGBpnpS0G1TFSX-XAc6qZb7mN2dyUlBGhLShN1r9YwhLovtk_dJXWbqdHG2Nb0S3HhIoJjw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+6.02.17+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCWoTqDlMmQv2DiNvdQwYZGiB0T9H6U406xCwZSPvPU9LBkZDAU40RuZf_ntF7Q3Ta6TMa-3vcA_DpS2baeaFhJBoMY-XFKB5Xr5tEfICP8VQmLXWf0kpWIvQMA6TmazO1defLw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+6.02.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1190" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCWoTqDlMmQv2DiNvdQwYZGiB0T9H6U406xCwZSPvPU9LBkZDAU40RuZf_ntF7Q3Ta6TMa-3vcA_DpS2baeaFhJBoMY-XFKB5Xr5tEfICP8VQmLXWf0kpWIvQMA6TmazO1defLw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+6.02.57+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Again, I’m as torn as Rhaegal’s wing on all
of this. I love Daenerys and her journey. If she were a man we wouldn’t be
expecting her to think everything through and take her time and make sure
everyone is well, but because she’s the mother of dragons we expect her to do
all of those things. But on that journey, Dany has been hurt, countless people
have tried to kill her, they’ve attacked her, they’ve attacked her children,
she’s lost everyone she’s ever been close to, and she’s become a little more
hardened and is just tired of waiting. I understand her need to move forward.
But… Rhaegal’s wing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As Rhaegal does his wonky flight over
Winterfell, Sansa stands on a broken parapet (though… was anyone else surprised
at how much of Winterfell was NOT broken? Damn those stone houses hold up
well…). Tyrion approaches her to try to appeal to the intelligent woman he
knows she is, telling her Dany is a good person who has the support of her
people, who wants to make the world a better place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In this moment I was very aware that one
difference between Sansa and all those leaders from all those places Daenerys
has visited and conquered is that we know Sansa. Sure, she’s not a slave master
or a torturer like some of the others were, but we also know her. She shows the
same skepticism everyone else on the show has demonstrated when Dany comes to
town, this mixture of awe, curiosity, and concern. But because we all know
Sansa and one way or the other we’re all Team Stark, even if we’re rooting for
others to be on the throne, we now see Dany through her eyes in a way we never
saw her through another’s. Yet… we also know Dany, and we know she IS a good
person, that she’s making tough calls but sometimes calls that need to be made
(I mean, come on, were the Tarlys REALLY worth saving??) She’s been fighting
through a lot for eight seasons, she’s come through fire, she’s birthed dragons
from eggs, she’s lost everyone she’s loved, and she’s fierce and smart and
strategic. But Sansa doesn’t trust her because she’s Other. And she’s only seen
Daenerys under the pressures of war, which brings out the worst in people, so
she hasn’t exactly had her fears laid to rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But that Othering is a major theme of this
episode: Arya tells Jon he’s one of them; he tells them to trust him because
they’re family. Tormund will refer to the North as the South because it’s
southern to him, and those people aren’t his people. Cersei sees her people as
Them and anyone in the castle as Us. The North and the South do not want the
same things. Sansa is skeptical of Dany because she’s from across the sea
(well, and all that stuff in the war room). Daenerys keeps referring to the
fact she helped Them, not that she helped save humanity, which would have
eventually included people across the sea. Jaime tries to prove to himself that
he could love someone other than Cersei, that he could make her Them and him
and Brienne Us, but it’s just not going to happen; Cersei will always be the
other half of Us to him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You were right in isolating that line from
Tyrion saying they still have Us to contend with, Chris, because they were
united as long as it was living vs dead, but now that the dead are gone, the
chinks in the armour have become very noticeable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And so, as Tyrion pleads with her to listen
to him, she finally asks, “What if there’s someone else? Someone better?” In
that moment, she sees herself and Tyrion as being on the same side, despite his
loyalty to Dany. That fealty is grounded in his belief that she will do what’s
right; Sansa believes Jon is the one who will do what’s right. If they both
want the same ends, perhaps they should get on board with the same means? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Next it’s to the courtyard and some
goodbyes, and I don’t know if this is the final time we’ll see some of these
characters or not. I’m hoping not, but with only two episodes left there was a
finality with all of them. Despite Tormund and Sam being two of my all-time
favourite characters, the one that hurt the most… was Ghost. The direwolf we’ve
watched grow up from his time as a wee pup. The beast who has protected Jon
from the beginning, who lay by his side when Jon had been murdered, who fought
off white walkers at Castle Black, and who was in the first line of defense in
last week’s battle. Missing one ear, with bloody scratches all over him, Ghost
stands there looking at Jon with a bit of a hangdog stare, and with all the
“good boi” memes that have been floating around regarding Ghost lately, I
couldn’t help but think he was thinking, “But haven’t I been a good boy?” You
hugged Tormund, Jon; you hugged Sam. WHY DIDN’T YOU HUG GHOST?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What is a direwolf? They aren’t just
abnormally large wolves that represent House Stark; each of them became a piece
of the child they belonged to. Sansa’s Lady was killed just as Sansa was about
to go to King’s Landing and the Sansa Stark of early days would be gone forever.
Arya’s Nymeria has gone into the forest to live on her own, a solitary wolf who
doesn’t need others to survive. Shaggydog and Summer stayed by Rickon and Bran
throughout their time in exile and fought side-by-side; Shaggydog’s head was
chucked into the room to prove the enemy had Rickon (who died shortly after),
and Summer was killed by the white walkers when they entered the cave of the
Three-Eyed Raven, just before we saw the last we’d see of Bran, and he became
something else. Grey Wind fought for Robb Stark, never leaving his side, until
he was killed moments before the Red Wedding, when Robb’s life was taken, too.
Each of these wolves has a connection to their humans, reacting like them,
acting like them, dying when they die, or when a part of them dies. They’re
intrinsically linked to them. Ghost has been by Jon’s side longer than any
wolf, and he was the runt of the litter when they found the pack of them (much
like Jon). He’s loyal to Jon, but like Jon he’s also loyal to Jon’s friends and
comrades. He will fight by Ser Jorah’s or Sam’s side as easily as he does
Jon’s, and when Jon died… Ghost didn’t die. He broke the chain. We’ve all
wondered what part Ghost played in the resurrection of Jon Snow, and I know it
was a big one. Jon lived partly because Ghost didn’t die. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So in making Ghost go North, Jon is leaving
a piece of himself there, in the place where he won over a race of people, where
he fell in love with a woman, where he was originally born and thought he would
die, where he met his best friends. Jon’s going South, but he’s leaving his
heart in the North. Perhaps saving Ghost might save Jon after all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You and I both have deep feelings when it
comes to animals, Chris, did you feel that horrible pang as Ghost stood there
staring longingly at Jon? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Such a pang. I’ve never quite understood people who don’t want
pets, or who are dismissive of the emotional connection people form with their
cats or dogs or dragons (which are really just big winged cats, when you get
down to it). I think audiences would have been down with whatever carnage John
Wick got up to in the first film, but it was the murder of his puppy (by Theon
Grejoy, of all people) that gave the action that followed a genuine pathos at
the outset.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So, yeah … I was upset with Jon for sending
Ghost north. Actually, that’s not true—I think sending him north was probably
the best for everyone involved. I was upset with Jon for hardly even
acknowledging him before he went. That just seemed cruel, and the CGI people
really nailed the look a dog can give you when it’s sad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But I think you’re right, Nikki—that
connection between the Starks and their direwolves is elemental, and I suspect
that Jon (in a rare moment of insight) recognizes that a place like King’s
Landing is terrible for such an animal. Ghost is a creature of the North, after
all; and there was something in this scene as everyone said their goodbyes that
made me wonder if, when all is said and done, Jon might not end up back there.
He certainly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">looked</i> like that’s where
he’d rather be going, and said as much to Tormund. A piece of him will be there
with Ghost, but there’s also the fact that he left a piece of himself behind
when Ygritte was killed. He may have fallen in love with Daenerys, but that
relationship will never have the kind of passion he experienced with Ygritte
(though we’re not ruling out the possibility that Daenerys will also try to
kill him before all is said and done). It would be sort of a fitting end if,
after he fulfills his last duties, Jon returns to the North. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The most touching goodbye, of course, is
with Sam. It’s worth thinking back to the hero’s journey Samwell Tarly has had,
starting as a painfully shy and cowardly new recruit at Castle Black, mocked
for his weight and his timidity. And now he can take pride of place among the
heroes of this story, having found his way to something resembling courage, and
also to love and now has a family of his own (the bit where he stumblingly
tries to explain how Oldtown was just so <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">boring</i>
at night, and all those <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">books</i>, only
to have Gilly interrupt: “I think he knows how it happens, Sam,” was perfect).
It does beg the question, however: what does Sam do now? He’s no longer a part
of any army, apparently, no longer a man of the Night’s Watch (does the Watch
even exist any more? does it need to?), so what’s up for him and Gilly? Stick
around at Winterfell? Return to the Citadel to complete his training as a
maester (and pay some hefty library fines)? Take his seat as the Lord of Horn
Hill? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRxkQkRbsGSHore6gHzpSBrViXRn3_kS_nbP-V2-r9LhwgTc_2SGlEXa_O91HSmyPdjN3lnQ6lbS6exonpD0ug6Dou1NBjldqqahxdxjE6925qTUrPctqIodUk4MSrlnINwKNrA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.31.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1212" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRxkQkRbsGSHore6gHzpSBrViXRn3_kS_nbP-V2-r9LhwgTc_2SGlEXa_O91HSmyPdjN3lnQ6lbS6exonpD0ug6Dou1NBjldqqahxdxjE6925qTUrPctqIodUk4MSrlnINwKNrA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.31.50+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But we don’t know. Jon saddles up after one
last look at Ghost <sniff>, and then we cut to the other half of the army
heading south, this one by sea. Grey Worm and Missandei stand by the railing
(and I’ve asked this before, but it’s a point of bother: does no one ever <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sit down</i> on ships in Westeros?), and
exchange a loving look as they hold hands. Which was not, I should say, a
moment I found fraught with foreboding the first time I watched the episode,
but on rewatch? Yikes.<o:p></o:p></sniff></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Tyrion has obviously shared
Jon’s wee genealogical secret with Varys, who makes the very astute observation
that when eight people know a secret, it’s no longer a secret—it’s information.
And sooner or later the small circle of people who know will expand by a
magnitude. And what then, Varys asks? He games it out: it’s not merely, as
Tyrion observes, that the revelation will lose Daenerys the North and the Vale.
He has the better claim. And even though Jon has professed not to want the
throne, Varys is smart enough to see what Tyrion tries not to—that what Jon
Snow, aka Aegon Targaryen, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wants</i> will
largely be beside the point when the truth emerges. That’s the tricky thing
about divine right: it sort of limits the choices of the person so afflicted,
and the fusion of Stark and Targaryen in a person who, while excessively prone
to making poor choices, people nevertheless are drawn to, is really too perfect
a creation <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> to have the people
acclaim him king. Also, let’s not forget the personal story and intrigue of a
man born of a secret marriage who grew up ignorant of his true identity is
precisely the kind of thing people <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love.</i>
It’s the Once and Future King all over again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The other problem with divine right, as
Daenerys is discovering, is that if the entire basis and logic of your conquest
is a rightful claim to the crown, that all goes up in smoke when the better
claim shows up. Tyrion really should have pressed her for more details when she
said she would break the wheel. How? What did that mean? If the entire point of
landing on the shores of Westeros with an army was to smash the feudal system
and replace it with an elected senate or a series of autonomous collectives,
and in the process abdicate her claim to be absolute monarch, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> would be breaking the wheel. But
no: she means to reinstate Targaryen authority, even though she is no longer
the Targaryen with the best claim to the throne.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This much, we can glean, Varys has gamed out.
And he will have more detailed thoughts later. But while those two have been
having their confab, the fleet has arrived at Dragonstone, and Daenerys with
the two dragons soar over the masts of the ships to triumphal swelling music.
Which, knowing this show, doesn’t bode well. Or as my friend said, seconds
before Rhaegal gets hit with multiple massive crossbow bolts, “Oh, PLEASE no
massive crossbow bolts!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzuE-ds6jFX3ZnXYQiDx97QsF-U6gcLC-hwHQxyUyljEIzPK8z9dVXwKrMA4eQzmsluMT46Dk79RkKG5vWsJMcz4XKGgokbfavClrGbyxOsC4-5DOIzgKlkZ2B80fZz_2HOsSJQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.36.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="1210" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzuE-ds6jFX3ZnXYQiDx97QsF-U6gcLC-hwHQxyUyljEIzPK8z9dVXwKrMA4eQzmsluMT46Dk79RkKG5vWsJMcz4XKGgokbfavClrGbyxOsC4-5DOIzgKlkZ2B80fZz_2HOsSJQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.36.12+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But … massive crossbow bolts. Made even
worse by the shit-eating smug grin on Euron Greyjoy’s face as his ships come
sailing around the headland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Rhaegal’s end is quick and brutal, and if
Daenerys has any sense left, she should see it in part as a rebuke for her
insistence on not waiting. As you pointed out before, Nikki, we see a huge rent
in his wing earlier, and he is obviously having some difficulty flying. Whether
proper time to heal would have helped him evade the massive crossbow bolts is
something we can’t know, but the fact that he meets his end while not at his
full fighting strength should give our heroes pause before they consider an
all-out assault on King’s Landing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys, enraged, dives in to immolate
Euron’s ships, but quickly decides discretion is the better part of valour as a
new volley of bolts fly up at her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(I have a quibble with her tactics here.
Yes, coming in at a low trajectory right into the line of fire is definitely a
bad idea, but these crossbows look like they have a limited range of motion,
and they’re mounted on the bows of the ships. Why not circle around from behind?
Or come in at a steep angle outside the weapons’ arc of motion? Seriously). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With the sole remaining dragon leaving the
field of fire, Euron and his ships aim their crossbows at Daenerys’ anchored
ships, making short work of them (I’m also unconvinced that the weapons would
be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> devastating at that range,
but I’ll let that one go). Tyrion jumps into the sea and a mast seems to fall
on him, and the screen goes black in a head-fake—usually that long the screen
is black means the credits are about to roll. But no: we cut to a beach on
Dragonstone, where our heroes have dragged their sodden, coughing selves out of
the brine. Everyone seems present and accounted for … except Missandei.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to the Red Keep, where Cersei looks
down from a high window on the crowds of people streaming through the castle
gate. As if the previous scene wasn’t enough of a reminder, we’re reminded that
Cersei is no fool—she knows as well as Daenerys’ advisors (and possibly better
than Daenerys) that a successful assault on King’s Landing—especially one that
employs dragonfire—will almost certainly result in thousands of innocent deaths
and casualties. It is obvious, of course, that she cares nothing for the people
of the city, except as their usefulness as human shields. But it’s becoming
clear she holds most of the cards now: Daenerys has only one remaining dragon;
her forces have been drastically reduced; Cersei has the Golden Company, which
evens the numbers; and if Daenerys defeats Cersei through sheer force, she also
defeats her own chances to claim the throne as a leader and not a tyrant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The little exchange between Cersei and
Euron is a masterclass in cringeworthiness: however hateful Cersei is in this
scene, Euron is more than a match, even if he does seem entirely oblivious that
she can’t stand the sight of him. Nevertheless, she promises that the Lions
shall rule the land and the Krakens shall rule the sea … “and our child shall
one day rule them all.” I almost feel sorry for the poor sap. Were it not for
the fact that both of these characters will almost certainly die before the
end, it would almost be worth it to see them prevail, if for no other reason
than we could start a betting pool about how long it takes for Euron to suffer
an “accident.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“So much for the Breaker of Chains,” Cersei
says as she sweeps from the room, and the camera finds Missandei, chained but
not yet broken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Seeing Missandei in chains again… ugh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now we move to the war room at Dragonstone,
a place we haven’t seen in a while, and it’s as cold as it ever was. Now Varys
and Tyrion have knowledge they didn’t have before, and watch how closely they
watch Daenerys as she reacts to everything they say. For the first time in
these situations this season, Varys takes the lead instead of Tyrion, leaning
forward onto the war table (right after she’s knocked over the Lannister Lion),
and saying, “You are making a mistake.” He explains that Cersei has brought her
citizens into the Red Keep only as protection, assuming either Dany won’t
attack the city while they’re there, or, if she does, Daenerys will be the bad
guy and everyone will turn on her and back Cersei instead. “These are the
people you came here to protect. I beg you… do not become what you have always
struggled to defeat.” Tyrion cranes his neck forward to see her face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Dany doesn’t pause. She speaks of destiny,
that she’s been sent to free the world of tyrants. Both of them have a look on
their faces like, “Crap. Wrong answer.” Tyrion asks to wait for everyone else
to arrive, to talk to Cersei in the meantime, as Grey Worm looks desperate. And
Dany gives in, but not for the reason they think. “Speaking to Cersei will not
prevent a slaughter,” she says. “But perhaps it’s good for the people to see
that Daenerys Stormborn made every effort to avoid bloodshed, and Cersei
Lannister refused. They’ll know who to blame when the sky falls down upon
them.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Crap. Wrong answer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In her defense, Cersei just killed Rhaegal.
And I’m fucking angry, too, Daenerys. They should all burn for that one. But anyway…
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when the conversation turned
(until the sun went down… NAME THAT SONG) and Varys and Tyrion talk. Y’all will
correct me if I’m wrong on this, but I’m pretty sure they’re sitting in the
same throne room at Dragonstone where Tyrion once sat with Daenerys, and became
convinced she was The One. The room where she made him Hand of the Queen as
they sat on those same steps and drank wine. And now, a few years later, he and
Varys realize there’s another possibility, and when Varys asks him who he
thinks would make the better ruler, Tyrion doesn’t even have to answer aloud;
they both agree. There’s a conversation about whether a cock is important to be
a ruler (yes, because of patrilineage, yes because the lords will support you;
no, because… Joffrey) and I found the next bit to be particularly intriguing.
Tyrion once again suggests that Dany and Jonny could rule together. Varys says
no: she’s too strong, and would bend him to her will. Tyrion says but he could
help temper her through his compassion. In any other story, Varys would be
talking about the man and Tyrion would be talking about the woman, but the
roles are reversed here. Neither one mentions that Jon can be dumb as a stump,
and I’m assuming we didn’t hear “you know nothing, Jon Snow” for four seasons
for no reason at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Varys points out that Jon is a Targaryen
and a Stark: he’s the only one who could unite the kingdoms and bring in the
North and the Vale. Tyrion disagrees: he still believes in Daenerys (Stannis rigidly
believed in the Lord of Light, though; we’ve certainly seen where zealousness
gets you on this show). Varys refuses to align himself with anything but the
realm itself, and he doesn’t believe Daenerys is the one. “So what happens to
her?” Tyrion asks. Varys simply tips his head, and we’re all drenched in horror.
We know what the Spider is capable of. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Please… don’t,” pleads Tyrion quietly. But
Varys is unbending. “Each of us has a choice to make,” he says as he turns to
leave. “I pray we choose wisely.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then it’s back to Winterfell, and one
more woman treated badly. Argh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: One of the exchanges between Tyrion and Varys I found particularly
interesting, albeit less than clarifying:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">VARYS: You know where my loyalty stands.
You know I will never betray the Realm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">TYRION: What is “the Realm”? A vast
continent, home to millions of people, most of whom don’t care who sits on the
Iron Throne.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">VARYS: Millions of people, many of whom
will die if the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wrong </i>person sits on
that throne! We don’t know their names, but they’re just as real as you and I.
They deserve to live. They deserve food for their children. I will act in their
interest, no matter the personal cost. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Varys has always, both in the novels and
the series, proclaimed himself a selfless servant of “the Realm,” and for what
it’s worth, has always walked the walk—something never more apparent than when
his sparring partner was Littlefinger, in whom Varys always saw the dangers of
boundless, selfish ambition. Say this much for Varys: he has never desired
power for himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The problem is, the “Realm” is a nebulous
entity, and one dependent—to satisfy Varys’ considerations—on having a wise and
just monarch. As such, he’s caught between two necessities: his ethical
imperative to ameliorate the suffering of Westeros’ millions, and the corollary
need to serve the monarch who will best accomplish that. Varys is no activist:
he’s what we would today call a professional political operative, albeit one of
the rarest of that species (i.e., one with a conscience). But the fact that
this system is effectively predicated on the absolute power of the monarch?
Well, that makes his self-imposed task quite possibly impossible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But back to Winterfell, where Sansa relays
the dire news of Euron’s ambush to Brienne and Cersei. “I always wanted to be
there when they executed your sister,” Sansa tells Jaime. “It seems I won’t get
the chance.” Given how carefully Sansa measures her words these days, I think
it’s safe to say that wasn’t a random thought spoken out loud, but a deliberate
twist of the knife. Brienne might have vouched for Jaime, and Sansa took her at
her word, but Sansa would know that whatever Jaime still feels for Cersei,
those feelings are almost certainly raw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to Jaime sitting by the fire, clothed
for travel, while Brienne slumbers in the background. She wakes to find him
gone, and chases him down into the courtyard where he’s readying his horse for
the ride back to King’s Landing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OK, so there are three elements of this
episode that have irked a lot of viewers: Sansa seeming to embrace her rape and
assault as character-building; Daenerys’ apparent pivot to tyranny; and
Brienne, arguably the single best fighter in Westeros dissolving into tears
because her new boyfriend walks out on her. We’ve both had things to say about
the first; the second is distressing but still unresolved (and we’ve seen hints
of Daenerys’ Mad King tendencies before—anyone remember that time she crucified
the Masters of Meereen?); and while both of those make me grumble, I found Brienne’s
meltdown both believable and heartbreaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrPpGSae9y2KdiKpb0u6-IWN7orWmoWBhXz6A7R4n3JKSdoorY2DybN7Fi3mHL4NAIO0zIl5aQzRyAkPjZS072lmxhGFXbszvUhYZ4-zvfRV83Cw6eWC1NQY9NHhLZzFWxcriZA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.49.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1207" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrPpGSae9y2KdiKpb0u6-IWN7orWmoWBhXz6A7R4n3JKSdoorY2DybN7Fi3mHL4NAIO0zIl5aQzRyAkPjZS072lmxhGFXbszvUhYZ4-zvfRV83Cw6eWC1NQY9NHhLZzFWxcriZA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.49.19+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Brienne has spent her life erecting walls,
developing a thick skin through long years enduring the taunts, insults, and
contempt of men and women who called her a freak. She endured, and overcame the
obstacles before her by becoming a better fighter than any man who went against
her. She armoured herself with pride and honour and an unshakeable sense of
duty. Which didn’t mean she became emotionless or harboured no desires: we know
she loved Renly Baratheon. The fact that she was accused of his murder hurt her
probably even more than his actual death. She’s never been entirely impassive:
we saw as Jaime’s cruelty landed and his insults hit their mark. In hindsight,
the relationship that developed between those two has been one of the more
nuanced evolutions in the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When he knighted her, we saw, however
subtly, how that broke down one of her barriers. When he came to her and she
gave into her desire, we saw her passion and her need. After a very long and
fraught relationship, she made herself vulnerable, something that had been
unthinkable after a life spent behind her walls. So when he leaves her, and
tells her coldly just what kind of a hateful person he is—as hateful as
Cersei—and rides off without another word, that betrayal is hardly going to be
met with Brienne’s impassivity. Gwendolyn Christie played this moment with such
pain that it had me crying … but I somehow don’t think she’s going to spend the
remaining two episodes locked in her room weeping into her pillow and listening
to Sarah McLachlan. I feel sorry for the people who have to face Brienne 2.0 in
battle, because I suspect my girl’s coming back fiercer and badder than ever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Also, I’ve read a puzzling number of
reviews and recaps that take it as axiomatic that Jaime is returning to King’s
Landing to get back with Cersei. I mean, I suppose that’s … possible? I think
it’s entirely more likely that one hearing the news of Cersei’s latest
enormities, Jaime couldn’t countenance staying behind in Winterfell. My guess
is that he’s either returning to kill her (or try—watch out for Arya, dude), or
join Jon’s army, or some combination thereof. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I also would put a substantial bet that
Brienne does not remain at Winterfell, either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of the abrupt end of
Brienne’s first romance, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I agree with you on it, my friend. I’m not a fan of the trope of
“Oh, it’s a woman who is the fighter in this story, therefore we MUST add a
romance element,” but Brienne, despite having the body type and ability to be a
warrior and following that passion all along, is still a human being with human
emotions. She’s a cis-gendered heterosexual woman with the needs that come with
that, and to suggest that she isn’t allowed to succumb to those urges is just
wanting social politics to overcome human reality in this instance.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime wasn’t just a guy she met on the
battlefield that she invited to her bed: he’s someone she hated, kept as
prisoner, learned to respect, and with whom she’s fallen in love. And… she’s a
virgin, so this is her first time, and whether you’re 17 or 40, your first time
is going to be important—in fact, I’d wager it’s far MORE important if you’ve
waited that long. And now, after trying out a non-family member in the boudoir
for the first time, Jaime’s jumping on a horse and leaving her. Brienne stands
there, a woman who’s never been defeated, who has won every hand-to-hand combat
in which she’s been involved—she’s not used to losing. But she’s new at this,
and as far as she’s concerned in this moment, she’s failed. And Cersei has won.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We don’t know why he’s leaving—as you say, Chris, Jaime knows that Cersei is
doing the wrong thing (and I’m not even convinced she’s pregnant; I feel like
she’s just pleading the belly like Moll Flanders in an effort to delay her
execution, and using it to manipulate idiots like Euron Fucking Greyjoy), but
his speech at the end points to who he really is: someone who could never say
no to her. Is he rushing to be by her side, or is he rushing to help them execute
her? I think either possibility could happen, and to be honest, part of me kind
of hopes he’s rushing to be by her side, because I just feel like that’s more
in keeping with his character. Jaime is a character who can’t really be fully
redeemed because he’s unable to forgive himself, and will continue to punish
himself for what he’s done in the past. He hoped sleeping with a good, honest,
loyal, moral person would wipe away his own sins, but he was just as dirty in
the morning as he was before he entered her chambers, and now maybe he’s
looking to face facts. But if he’s going to execute Cersei… then I’m very
interested in how they’ll play that one out, too. Maybe Brienne will find
happiness after all. (I’ll admit, I yelled at my screen, “Tormund, if you’d
just stayed ONE MORE NIGHT!!”) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We end this episode at the gates of King’s
Landing, with Cersei, Euron Fucking Greyjoy, and the Kingsguard standing atop
the walls of the city with Missandei as her prisoner… all looking out at about
100 Unsullied soldiers, Daenerys, Varys, Tyrion, Grey Worm, and Drogon in the
background. The dragonkilling spear cannons are along the wall, so Cersei
didn’t exactly arrive at this meeting with cookies and a smile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBL4K_W96320y7a9VsDuICnEX4MOv3ER5QaZ7k4F01O1de3VXr0eDY8-EVsWmS2hGZGkPA4efQ6gyQQPSm5ljdbLE3LUWplNu-uS2YF5hlChKhVBFi3A7D1ymuhH5lYXWDHBJYQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.49.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1208" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBL4K_W96320y7a9VsDuICnEX4MOv3ER5QaZ7k4F01O1de3VXr0eDY8-EVsWmS2hGZGkPA4efQ6gyQQPSm5ljdbLE3LUWplNu-uS2YF5hlChKhVBFi3A7D1ymuhH5lYXWDHBJYQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.49.36+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cersei just killed Daenerys’s child, but
remember: the Lannister Queen still believes Tyrion killed Joffrey, so it’s an
eye for an eye from her POV. The gates open and Qyburn steps out, and Tyrion
goes to meet him. The imp tries to appeal to Dr. FrankenHand of the Queen as
Cersei looks on (that smug look on Lena Headey’s face the whole time is
brilliant; I think Headey does some fantastic face-acting in this scene).
Tyrion demands Cersei’s unconditional surrender; Qyburn demands Daenerys’s.
Tyrion drops the formalities and says, “Qyburn… we have a chance here, to avoid
carnage. Help me… I don’t want to hear the screams of children being burned
alive.” But he’s appealing to a monster, and knows he’s getting nowhere. As
Qyburn begins to list off all the reasons why Dany will lose, Tyrion gives up
and goes straight to the source: the sister who’s hated him his whole life. The
marksmen raise their arrows, and Cersei raises her arm… and seriously my heart
stopped. I wondered if they’d just end Tyrion right here to shock the hell out
of all of us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8H65kt-l45ai1KJ9XMYg7VucwNoSmksYSIY1bU4TgyRhuX3wM-Jp1PyS8UBuXZWFBAGEIcX3WlDRS52uZhy5SD8RawV_x-Zdb8-XGH6-ZyQZqRaD3JYBR1IoLAkyYi8U9bnpLw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.50.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1215" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8H65kt-l45ai1KJ9XMYg7VucwNoSmksYSIY1bU4TgyRhuX3wM-Jp1PyS8UBuXZWFBAGEIcX3WlDRS52uZhy5SD8RawV_x-Zdb8-XGH6-ZyQZqRaD3JYBR1IoLAkyYi8U9bnpLw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.50.10+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztHcxEHBNAXFtgFEeP3rGdvKNhl3JbQWEJ1naSIj25Knw5LYofz1o2NHO8TEl4zYUIXcCAk8-8HjiHRNGWixrneAfzrm2KwlfCOsXxloneQ5oVfexOPhiU4mkCFKDrunUKOFUxA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.50.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1210" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztHcxEHBNAXFtgFEeP3rGdvKNhl3JbQWEJ1naSIj25Knw5LYofz1o2NHO8TEl4zYUIXcCAk8-8HjiHRNGWixrneAfzrm2KwlfCOsXxloneQ5oVfexOPhiU4mkCFKDrunUKOFUxA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.50.32+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But she drops her hand, and Tyrion tries to
play his: he tells her she hates her people, they get it, but she’s been a good
mother, and isn’t a monster. He reminds her of the child she’s carrying.
“You’ve always loved your children more than yourself, more than Jaime, more
than anything,” he says, as her eyes grow wet and she stares at him. I know he
believes he’s appealing to her better nature, but I think he’s reminding her of
those children, that they’re all dead, that she held one of them in her arms as
he struggled for his final breaths… I don’t think this was the right tactic.
And sure enough, it doesn’t work. Cersei glares at Daenerys, steps over to
Missandei, and tells her it’s time for her final words. Grey Worm and Daenerys
step forward, realizing there’s no stopping her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLhhf3WkmnDvYKrN_VHTxBCVlMz2u0W0QF0EiiDCXW2ZL9rXfrK1n1FbpVnVbPoNoRXmuehH216WWtyDt4Fgk1XvseyV9o61_TO5ZlQiAQrViu0ZRC5nS8WGAbDMCMc__PMFyEg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.51.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="1207" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLhhf3WkmnDvYKrN_VHTxBCVlMz2u0W0QF0EiiDCXW2ZL9rXfrK1n1FbpVnVbPoNoRXmuehH216WWtyDt4Fgk1XvseyV9o61_TO5ZlQiAQrViu0ZRC5nS8WGAbDMCMc__PMFyEg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.51.29+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Missandei, a woman whom Daenerys found in
chains, who was saved from slavery and found love with a soldier who adored her
for her peace-loving ways, who has been the most loyal and faithful advisor to
Daenerys from the moment she met her… chooses “Dracarys” as her final word:
Burn them all with fire. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCcdVR4iVmuPztnwSnRPSQm9aHyHArgLw7R4y_y0SacxnJpR_I0njBBsodRivyWdgLiAU6JyTj9X9Hu2w6svRz31dXBkoSPnxpZjwZ7c_7ejeQZCHJfXhxuoQoRJIqZlSZyjndw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.52.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1199" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCcdVR4iVmuPztnwSnRPSQm9aHyHArgLw7R4y_y0SacxnJpR_I0njBBsodRivyWdgLiAU6JyTj9X9Hu2w6svRz31dXBkoSPnxpZjwZ7c_7ejeQZCHJfXhxuoQoRJIqZlSZyjndw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.52.29+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The final choice of a lifelong pacifist was to call
for bloodshed. And as Grey Worm turns away, and her body falls off the
wall—sans head, thanks to the Mountain—the camera zooms in on Daenerys, who is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seething</i>. She will burn this city to the
ground, and everyone in it. Tyrion knows what’s happening, and turns back to
Cersei, who sneers that smug smile, knowing that Daenerys is about to become
the villain of the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_pcfoYC93HLMZ-NLMF8y_agdDV4PVk87PGNKDEzrSHn7Cq9iuZVFboADfEgVOWrTefv8EBn7qZxNdrFwWjIDBiGMkFFHNG3pay0N3TV2C4PHvLG2J3_p0sIOODuTXuRBn6-Jew/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.55.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="1117" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_pcfoYC93HLMZ-NLMF8y_agdDV4PVk87PGNKDEzrSHn7Cq9iuZVFboADfEgVOWrTefv8EBn7qZxNdrFwWjIDBiGMkFFHNG3pay0N3TV2C4PHvLG2J3_p0sIOODuTXuRBn6-Jew/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-05-06+at+7.55.52+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I don’t know how I’m going to handle these
final two episodes. But… here we go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-76328476424005061352019-04-29T21:30:00.000-04:002019-04-29T21:38:14.531-04:00Game of Thrones 8.03 The Long Night<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6Y7BaBfXwFMldirdZpRMxvuNrq9DGoADCjUsl__CwWjNuQx9SdOFp15dxzBpNrPesM6CkwMMpcftx2BMNS0_QLNX4RDJyRJz38eVRYpWPQFpWVCmnxcvu_rLYRsG5LVzM2AhHg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.43.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1600" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6Y7BaBfXwFMldirdZpRMxvuNrq9DGoADCjUsl__CwWjNuQx9SdOFp15dxzBpNrPesM6CkwMMpcftx2BMNS0_QLNX4RDJyRJz38eVRYpWPQFpWVCmnxcvu_rLYRsG5LVzM2AhHg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.43.47+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was the episode we all anticipated with glee, and feared for a week. The night was SO SO SO DARK and full of terrors (but also SO DARK), but I watched it with the lights out, and I feel like that's the way it's supposed to be viewed. This episode was filmed like a feature film, and it should be viewed like one. The deaths we did get have seemed to resonate with me more the more I think about them, and I think we've got an amazing setup for the three episodes left to come. As always, I'm joined by my Brother at the Wall, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>, as we at first thought we'd just talk about highlights and the episode in general, before we found ourselves wanting to look at it shot for shot. And still managed to get this done in one day! (Though I apologize in advance for the photos being dark; it was a dark episode cinematically, but the resolution on my computer monitor wasn't crazy high so I had to go with the best I could.) So here we go... </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">As soon as the episode was over, you and I
immediately began texting back and forth wondering how the hell we were going
to cover this episode. I think our best idea was just to film separate videos
of us crying… then cut to laughing… then cut to sitting motionless over a bowl
of popcorn with our mouths half open, and then splice the videos together.
Because honestly, how do you put this episode into words?? In a nutshell, we
didn’t lose nearly as many people as I thought we would (there was a moment in
the episode when I went from believing half of the people would die to ALL of
them dying and that the war at King’s Landing would be fought against undead
versions of all of Cersei’s closest enemies to wondering if <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anyone</i> was going to die), and there’s a
spectacular fist-punch-to-the-air ending that sort of made up for any deaths we
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i> encounter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">First, I’ll bring up the obvious: the
episode is called “The Long Night,” and throughout the episode I couldn’t help
but think of Melisandre’s constant refrain: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The night is dark and full of terrors.</i>” Let’s put the emphasis on
DARK. It’s meant to be dark, I’ll give it that, and they wanted to put us in the
position of being as confused and lost as everyone else is in that moment—it’s
part of the disorientation we’re meant to feel. But holy COW that screen was
dark. Not even the fire swords allowed me to be able to tell who was who and
what was happening. Again, I understand they wanted us to be discombobulated,
but at some point you sacrifice realism for entertainment. For the first time
watching this show I insisted on every light being off (for once I didn’t take
notes on first viewing) and even then, there was a hall light and I swore it
was FAR TOO BRIGHT because everything was so dark. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But that’s a very, very minor nitpick.
Because this episode was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fucking
spectacular</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Let’s open with the credits! As I told a
friend of mine last night, what you readers at home don’t know about behind the
scenes of me writing these is that I’m contending with a husband who likes to
fastforward through the credits. So every episode usually begins with me
throwing pillows at him and wrestling him for the remote. This season he’s
given up. Last night he was wrangling to get the kids to bed and I was yelling,
“Four minutes until it begins!!” and he yelled back down, “The opening credits
will give me an extra 10 minutes!” Blasphemer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The blocks of blue ice this week come right
up to the threshold of Winterfell, and while the battlements were in place in
the previous episode, they look more fortified in this one. One thing that was
decidedly different: when the camera swoops into the crypts of Winterfell and
glides along the floor, suddenly all the torches went out one by one. So of
course, I was terrified for everyone in the crypts right from the credit
sequence. (At King’s Landing, by the way, nothing in the credit sequence had
changed except for Cersei sitting out front on a lawn chair holding some
binoculars while Dumbo snoozed nearby. No big.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BTxtyQ3Wm7W0VsFMAixa5ZC4bi0xEFz02YRZx2j_x8CCClJP2aWsuX_CkAzqb26zymV6tTq3Da6Ds7Qu4pTKS0u4_lNSIbO5vKGazJsnkICWBeF5Q9EJV-6cMEObQ_tQxEOJUA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+3.16.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1537" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BTxtyQ3Wm7W0VsFMAixa5ZC4bi0xEFz02YRZx2j_x8CCClJP2aWsuX_CkAzqb26zymV6tTq3Da6Ds7Qu4pTKS0u4_lNSIbO5vKGazJsnkICWBeF5Q9EJV-6cMEObQ_tQxEOJUA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+3.16.29+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We then cut to Sam As All Of Us™, hands
shaking, panting and whimpering, as he’s handed two daggers, one made of
dragonglass. He moves through the Winterfell courtyard as the Unsullied go by
in that weird march that looks like they’ve got sticks up their bottoms, and he
passes by Tyrion, who now takes over this extraordinary opening scene. Theon
pushes Bran’s wheelchair through the courtyard to the Godswood as Bran just
stares creepily at Tyrion—because…Bran—and the imp grabs the essentials for
battle (i.e. a flask of wine before he departs for the crypts) and the camera
pans up after making the first cut of the episode and peers over the parapet of
Winterfell to the Godswood, the first—and virtually only—splash of colour of
the entire episode, save for the white-blue fire, the yellow-orange fire, and
Sansa’s hair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We watch the troops mobilize while the loud
bass of the soundtrack thrummed like a heartbeat in this opening scene
(seriously, composer Ramin Djawadi reached almost godlike levels scoring this
episode) builds the anticipation until it’s almost excruciating. I LOVED this
opening scene. Davos laying down the arrows, Sansa and Arya waiting on the
parapet, Arya clutching her new weapon, the scream of the dragons as Jon and
Daenerys fly over them, the Unsullied marching to their positions, the camera
slowly panning over that GORGEOUS tableau of all the soldiers standing in
perfect lines. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Dothraki and other horse riders holding the front line.
Brienne, Jaime, and Podrick… Tormund, Beric, Gendry, Tollett, and the Hound all
holding the second ground troop line. Sam pushing his way to the front of that
one to an eyerolling Tollett: “Oh fer fuck’s sake… you took your time,” he
says, uttering the first words of the episode at the six-minute mark. He speaks
for all of us in this moment: we’ve waited SO LONG for this moment, to watch
all of these people finally display the skills they’ve spent eight years
developing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then… silence. Horses pawing at the
ground. Ser Jorah on his horse, looking worried. Ghost pawing the dirt beside him.
(OMG GHOST STAY SAFE.) Jon and Dany sit with the dragons perched on a hillside.
I kept thinking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are you guys going to
enter the fray or wait until everyone is slaughtered??!!</i> But perhaps the
dragons have a limited amount of fire and they needed to wait until the exact
right time? As auntie and nephew stand on the hill, it was difficult to gauge
if their tension was due to what they were waiting for on the grounds below, or
what had just happened between them. Or a little of column A, a little of column
B. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then… a solitary rider arrives and
approaches Ser Jorah. And it’s… Melisandre. The Red Woman. And I cheered. This
is the first we’ve seen her this season, and this is a character who’s
secondary, but who has been the engineer behind SO many things that have
happened on this show. In her bid to get Stannis on the throne because she
believed he was the one true king, she killed Renly Baratheon, helped head up
the ill-fated Battle of the Blackwater, killed Stannis’s daughter Shireen, and
when Shireen actually died (she thought she’d survive being burned at the
stake) Melisandre realized she’d been following the wrong king, and she
switched her sights to Jon Snow. When Jon was killed, it was Melisandre who
resurrected him, believing him now to be the person she once thought Stannis
was. Earlier in the series she had run into Arya when she kidnapped Gendry so
she could bleed him for the Baratheon blood she needed for a spell, and she
looked into Arya’s eyes and saw the faces of the people Arya would kill, and
promised Arya they’d see each other again. So we knew she had to return, and
here she is. And with one spell, she lights up the Dothraki weapons, not only
giving our fearless warriors a leg up on this war, but finally shedding some
goddamn light on that dark, dark field. The scene of the swords all lighting up
is nothing short of spectacular (I can only imagine the domino-like
choreography that went into getting THAT one right!). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Valar morghulis,” she says to Grey Worm as
she trots by on her horse. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All men must
die</i>. “Valar dohaeris,” he responds. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All
men must serve.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Melisandre enters Winterfell in what must
be the most fabulous robe she’s worn yet, and Ser Davos rushes down from his
perch. He’s had one goal in his life for the past few years, and it’s to end
the woman who ended the little girl he loved. “There’s no need to execute me,
Ser Davos,” she says. “I’ll be dead before the dawn.” And, knowing she seems to
see things others can’t, he moves aside to let her pass. Might as well let a
walker take her, so her death isn’t on his conscience. She sees Arya again, and
perhaps she sees in her face the faces of those Arya is going to kill, and with
a look of satisfaction, Melisandre enters the castle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I want to mention how many times in this
episode it pulled back to an overhead shot of the sheer scope of the battle and
it was utterly gorgeous. I kept thinking throughout the episode how lucky we
are to have been rewarded as fans with such a stunning episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As the Dothraki charge into battle, their fire
swords light up the world around them as Jon and Daenerys sit on the cliff,
like Greek gods watching the men fight below them. And that’s when the horse
riders hit… the undead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Do they ever. And however beautiful and haunting that sequence
is—all those points of light riding into the darkness only to be silently snuffed
out—all I could really think was “Way to waste the Dothraki!” I know they live
on horseback and consider fighting on foot ignominious, but I’m not entirely
sure what use mounted soldiers have against an army of the undead. Militarily
speaking, cavalry have three principal purposes: quick movement, to flank or
harass foot soldiers; running down retreating infantry when they rout; and
intimidating shaky or shaken enemies into breaking their line. None of these
apply to the horde of ice zombies, who are too numerous to outflank, don’t
retreat, and don’t get scared. It’s uncertain whether their charge was part of
the battle plan (if so, fire whoever came up with THAT idea), or the Dothraki,
always more inclined to impetuous attack, were emboldened by their newly
flaming swords (sorry—their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">arakhs</i>).
Either way, half of Daenerys’ army is now gone, which does not bode well for
the remaining battles to come.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">ALSO. Not really liking the racial politics
of this one—eliminating the Dothraki out of the gate, and then later on it’s
the Unsullied who are tasked with covering the retreat into Winterfell? The
soldiers from Essos seem to be shouldering the balance of sacrifice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OK, end of griping. Aside from those
concerns, I’m with you Nikki on how beautifully this episode was shot. Yes, it
was dark, often to the point of obscuring the action, but as you say the
confusion and chaos was part of the point, and the not-infrequent crane shots helped
reorient ourselves. I’ve seen a few complaints online that Melisandre’s return
was random and unexpected, but I disagree entirely—in fact, I’d say if she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">didn’t</i> show up, that would be weird,
because this battle is what she’s been waiting for all her
much-longer-than-appearances-suggest life. What did we think she’s been doing
all this time? Waiting and watching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In spite of my annoyance at how the
Dothraki are wasted, it did make for an incredibly tense few moments as the
reality of what happened registers on everyone’s faces. A horde of Dothraki
with flaming swords (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">arakhs</i>) would
normally itself be the stuff of nightmares, but their charge ended in less than
a whimper. The assembled Winterfell forces watch in mounting horror as a tiny
handful of riderless horses—and a few horseless riders—make their panicked way
back to the lines, among them a haunted-looking Ser Jorah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(But no Ghost? I was concerned about this,
because if they were to kill Ghost offscreen I might be moved to violence. But
never fear—we catch a glimpse of him in the trailer for episode 4). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to Jon and Daenerys on their
promontory, who have a brief disagreement on strategy. “The Night King is
coming!” Jon says as Daenerys moves to mount Drogon. “The dead are already
here,” she snaps back. One would have assumed they’d have figured out their
priorities beforehand, but apparently not. And for what it’s worth, Daenerys
seems to be vindicated, as when dragonfire makes its first explosive appearance
on the battlefield, the troops are already hard pressed.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But before that moment … more tense
waiting, made all the tenser by the guttural croaking of the approaching horde.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then the tsunami of the dead crashes
against the Unsullied. Speaking as a great fan of the zombie apocalypse genre,
as well as someone who has written about it from a scholarly perspective, it is
my professional opinion that ice zombies are the walking dead you want to face
the LEAST. Were these the shambling ghouls of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking Dead</i>, the Unsullied <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">et
al</i> could stand against them for days. But here we have zombies who can not
only sprint, but wield weapons. Not a happy combo for our brave heroes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Indeed, mere minutes into the battle, it
looks like the defenders are being overwhelmed. We get a fantastic action shot
of Brienne bellowing “STAND YOUR GROUND!”, but even the newly knighted Lady of
Tarth finds herself swamped. In a moment of narrative poetry, Jaime comes to
her rescue; she has reverted to inarticulate screams of rage, reminding us of
the final moments of her fight with the Hound when she brutally pummeled him
with a rock as she made much the same noise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then … <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex draconis</i>, as Drogon swoops in and torches the front ranks
of the dead and giving the defenders a brief reprieve. I loved this shot, as
we’re with Jaime, who looks up in wonder, no doubt remembering the last time he
encountered dragonfire on a battlefield. We cut up to Daenerys above the fray,
and then down again to where Tormund is kicking ass and taking names, and then
to where Sansa and Arya stand on the parapet, seeing for the first time just
what a dragon can do. The look on Sansa’s face seems to say “OK, perhaps
letting her be queen wouldn’t be all bad.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7RakUoB01uHkDAzTuQNXnHTnk72BzByLW86hzKTi5y-kCHKC_4oQ1U6VLjwVQassVn0NQ5r_uIwuFXmmmDpVyHmEoMA2O_epxeHHGo3e0VvYjj-rvhWTbbBAzFh2LkOEi5RU1A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.27.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1600" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7RakUoB01uHkDAzTuQNXnHTnk72BzByLW86hzKTi5y-kCHKC_4oQ1U6VLjwVQassVn0NQ5r_uIwuFXmmmDpVyHmEoMA2O_epxeHHGo3e0VvYjj-rvhWTbbBAzFh2LkOEi5RU1A/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.27.51+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh my god this shot was so beautiful...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then Jon sees where the White Walkers
have arrayed themselves at the treeline, and breaks off to attack. Not in
itself a bad idea, except that the Night King’s not going to make it that
easy—before he can bring them his warm greetings, a blinding storm sweeps in
and envelops him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And thus begins stage two of the battle …
on the battlements, Arya twigs to the fact that shit just got real, and tells
Sansa to head down to the crypts (remember: the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">safe place</i>). Over Sansa’s protests, Arya hands her what looks like
a dragonglass dagger. “I don’t know how to use it,” Sansa says, hesitant.
“Stick ‘em with the pointy end,” says Arya, because OF COURSE SHE DOES. Full
circle, people! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, the storm rolls over the ranks
of the defenders, enveloping Daenerys and Drogon as well as they give the
wights one last blast of fire. The people on the ground look about in the newly
opaque air, realizing what Arya just did. Whatever relief from the assault the
dragons gave them? Not so much now. And of course the icy mist descends also in
the Godwood, where we see for the first time Theon and his merry men defending
Bran. (Just as an aside, in the I-wish-I’d-thought-of-that department, my
favourite pop culture critic at NPR, Glen Weldon, has dubbed him “Bran
McGuffin.”) It’s just a moment—enough to obscure everyone gathered around the
weirwood tree—but another of the many of the haunting and beautiful bits of
camera work that make up this episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then: a confused montage of our
favourites. Jorah, unhorsed; Brienne; Tormund; Jaime; Podrick; Gendry; the
Hound; and then, in quick succession, Jaime and Tormund getting jumped from
behind, and then Sam—who looks to have been acquitting himself well—knocked
down and nearly killed, but saved by Edd Tollett. And Edd, in rescuing Sam,
becomes our first Death Of A Key Player, stabbed from behind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In a brief and wordless interregnum, we
follow Sansa as she makes her reluctant way down into the crypts (pausing and
looking back for an ominous instant as she hears the door crash shut behind
her). She walks into the midst of the people crowded into the space, exchanging
a look first with Missandei, and then Tyrion. The wordless exchange with Tyrion
is perfect: no words, but perfectly articulate. He asks how the battle is
going. She replies, I’m down here now, aren’t I? And then Tyrion uncorks his
wineskin and slugs back a drink because … well, because Tyrion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ToB3_sNpKI-xFs2TH6Yt52tqMG6y2QmWjbSnQB7JPoDWUYNaWC3lHL0JDUW6Sjph5OSGmTt0ZiFxSNgo58cg-IzzsdoUmFNVv5pnjZQwglscw7aIEAsblftqv1gmKQRY4LYkGA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.31.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ToB3_sNpKI-xFs2TH6Yt52tqMG6y2QmWjbSnQB7JPoDWUYNaWC3lHL0JDUW6Sjph5OSGmTt0ZiFxSNgo58cg-IzzsdoUmFNVv5pnjZQwglscw7aIEAsblftqv1gmKQRY4LYkGA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.31.53+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jon Snow, meanwhile, still seems to be in
the first act of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Train Your Dragon</i>
as he accidentally flies Rhaegal into some treetops. Of course, visibility is
nil, which is why he and Daenerys collide, both almost falling off their rides.
The storm has taken them away from where they need to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqb85wZApvLN2FOK5qTMfRty7cerq4Ms-q6V8tNeuiqt_8aQdvHLanGt6tJwMw51KL_eEGABOEBaJKwbb6V7XhwnMUbjM5wsnWx6bAP-L6DlRgJ4Rq25W_aycKgeo66dpI2RPLg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.35.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqb85wZApvLN2FOK5qTMfRty7cerq4Ms-q6V8tNeuiqt_8aQdvHLanGt6tJwMw51KL_eEGABOEBaJKwbb6V7XhwnMUbjM5wsnWx6bAP-L6DlRgJ4Rq25W_aycKgeo66dpI2RPLg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.35.05+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Back at the gates of Winterfell, phase
three of the battle commences with the command to “Fall back!” Lyanna Mormont
orders the gates opened, admitting a stream of bloodied and broken soldiers;
the Unsullied form a rearguard to protect the retreat (again, I hope the racist
Winterfellians take note), and we get yet another lovely crane shot of the
retreating soldiers pouring through the gaps in the defenses and into the
(relative) safety of Winterfell. Jon and Rhaegal find their way to the wall
around the Godswood (looking like they did some damage to the masonry on
landing), with Jon looking around, presumably, to see if the enemy has taken
the bait.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Not yet. Back out on the battlefield, the
Unsullied show their preternatural discipline, closing ranks against the undead
and retreating one backward step at a time while the rest of Winterfell’s
forces make their way behind its walls. And then Grey Worm sounds the retreat
for the Unsullied, and gives the order to light the trench. Which doesn’t quite
go as planned, initially …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: When Melisandre initially lit up the Dothraki arakhs, I thought to
myself, “OOOH, fire melts ice!!!” But, of course, ice also extinguishes fire.
This whole battle was like a game of rock/paper/scissors where someone decides
to use a thumbs-up to represent dynamite and you never win. (That would be my
son.) So as the ice of the white walkers has moved across the ground towards
Winterfell, it’s turned the trench spears into icicles and the fire doesn’t
touch them. It’s like watching someone try to light a cigarette when their
lighter is almost out of fluid and it’s -40 outside, and they just flick and
flick and flick. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when Grey Worm sees the Red Woman stride out of the
Winterfell gates, and he commands the Unsullied to rearrange themselves to
allow her to pass. She holds onto the ice-covered log and begins chanting her
spell as the Hound slices at the walkers, as the Unsullied try to hold the
line, as the undead break through and begin reaching for her. She’s calm at
first, then, as the spell doesn’t take, there’s a waver in her voice, and it’s
only when she shouts the spell with absolute terror that the log she’s holding
suddenly ignites, lighting the entire trench. It’s yet another magnificent
moment of photography as we cut to the overhead picture of the trench as the
ring of fire shoots around Winterfell, keeping the walkers out and the good
guys in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9O18lHrsxf1X30zVSVKA593XMI6p902q3uhz6uQP_WhHVRDE0cOlwkmOvid4XyXxXrsuPd7H3juMlZc15pNGZugf2frFTWktNHdKaQR2irdY37EtSJ8TAW-AohPytOnRx7-zlA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.37.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9O18lHrsxf1X30zVSVKA593XMI6p902q3uhz6uQP_WhHVRDE0cOlwkmOvid4XyXxXrsuPd7H3juMlZc15pNGZugf2frFTWktNHdKaQR2irdY37EtSJ8TAW-AohPytOnRx7-zlA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.37.22+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course, the Hound wishes they’d used <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anything </i>other than fire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqi0Or1tzABG4NMeFvzuA2OqD6LLUaZ-apoondmzbAPl5G52izR7HxV8duPdjY-MbQoxyEwOi1NGTBPTt-d1gtinejloV9WL1amhPkSAFMBDoX9Og0aeojr-LSTDIkw76rx31bw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.37.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqi0Or1tzABG4NMeFvzuA2OqD6LLUaZ-apoondmzbAPl5G52izR7HxV8duPdjY-MbQoxyEwOi1NGTBPTt-d1gtinejloV9WL1amhPkSAFMBDoX9Og0aeojr-LSTDIkw76rx31bw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+7.37.57+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then… the white walkers just… stop. And
stand there. They’ll wait. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">safe zone</i>, Tyrion stands guard over the door while Varys cracks
wise and Sansa just glares. Tyrion hates being down there. “If we were up
there, we might see something everyone else is missing. Something that makes a
difference.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Varys scoffs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion spins around. “What? Remember the
Battle of Blackwater? I brought us through the mudgate.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“And got your face cut in half,” says
Varys. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“And it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">made
a difference</i>,” Tyrion sneers. “If I was out there right now…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“…you’d die,” says Sansa, and she says it
in a way that suggests she’s happy he’s not out there right now. “There’s
nothing you can do,” she says as kindly as she can.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_13uxwl1ueMHWbuVmRUejeApwt562UAAC28kn2Lz18p0LUUzyRefXSHzRg0WeQmnKOu77dV91ksr7iIcbd71c_7BYTSVZTENVXaanrmZadPB6u0JCFacrPEJ1jSvcqOyyZ0GgrA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.04.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_13uxwl1ueMHWbuVmRUejeApwt562UAAC28kn2Lz18p0LUUzyRefXSHzRg0WeQmnKOu77dV91ksr7iIcbd71c_7BYTSVZTENVXaanrmZadPB6u0JCFacrPEJ1jSvcqOyyZ0GgrA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.04.45+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And so he returns to the group, tossing
aside an empty flask to pick up a new full one (ha!). Sansa says the people
down there can’t do anything, that the most heroic thing they can do right now
is look the truth in the face. “Maybe we should have stayed married,” he says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“You were the best of them,” she remarks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“What a terrifying thought!!” he says with
some shock. But she’s not wrong: when compared to Joffrey Lannister, Ramsay
Bolton, and Petyr Littlefinger, Tyrion was one of the good guys. But she adds
that their marriage never would have worked because of his divided loyalties
with the dragon queen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Yes,” Missandei pipes up, showing that
EVERYONE is listening to this conversation. “Without the dragon queen there’d
be no problem at all. We’d all be dead already.” Touché. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Back to the Godswood, Theon notices the
trench has been lit, and tells Bran. Bran McGuffin (genius) turns silently and
just stares at him. Theon completes another step of his 12-step program and
tries to make amends with him, but Bran doesn’t allow him to. He says
everything Theon has done has brought him home, to Winterfell. “I’m going to go
now,” Bran says, as if he was ever really there, and then his eyes turn white
and it’s Wargapalooza Time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisETUemgzvuYIJDF-OVSyRmlT_pM5dLOhqZZo8N_1MoxeV4ymhYDPaw0T_JWOxOi_4oSBTp0q9IQ3s_TZR4Cq5yiZW-NJ4uDD82LNDYH5mY8W-wbc79htz-aRdz570_pkD4jSNA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.06.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisETUemgzvuYIJDF-OVSyRmlT_pM5dLOhqZZo8N_1MoxeV4ymhYDPaw0T_JWOxOi_4oSBTp0q9IQ3s_TZR4Cq5yiZW-NJ4uDD82LNDYH5mY8W-wbc79htz-aRdz570_pkD4jSNA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.06.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to the ravens in the trees, who swoop
over the battle as Bran’s personal drone system, and they fly into the
blizzard, knowing only they can zero in on one thing: the Night King. And he
senses Bran in them, and looking at them from atop Viserion’s back, he reaches
out to them. He’s coming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvep3iale9cU0P0E79cLvRHOxQyoT5EguZJ1d2UR6o-VSyEL4yi-QJJjlyBTO_VR-spjHlyDI9Vcyl-S4lRvbgfGq68FYr5mQGMRCW5Vb5xv7hczFNFF8P4oIsUGF404Wc8xlgQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.07.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvep3iale9cU0P0E79cLvRHOxQyoT5EguZJ1d2UR6o-VSyEL4yi-QJJjlyBTO_VR-spjHlyDI9Vcyl-S4lRvbgfGq68FYr5mQGMRCW5Vb5xv7hczFNFF8P4oIsUGF404Wc8xlgQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.07.44+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back to the stoic walkers who continue to
just stand there, and my husband and I are like, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They aren’t moving!! Shoot them with your arrows now, for god’s sakes,
just mow them down!!” </i>But everyone seems too confused to do a damn thing.
Of course, once Monsieur Roi de la Nuit shows up, it’ll all be moot anyway so
it didn’t really matter. But still. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when the undead begin throwing
themselves on the pyre. At first it doesn’t make much sense until Ser Davos
looks down the line and realizes they’re creating undead bridges for the other walkers
to cross over. I always thought the Unsullied were the greatest warriors the
world has ever seen, but when your forces have no brains and don’t really give
a shit… wow. And then everyone moves inward to man the walls, as Jon looks up
and sees the Night King arrive on Viserion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The dead hit the walls and at first you’d
think the guys on top have an advantage just by virtue of being above them, but
it’s not long before the white walkers simply begin forming an inhuman chain up
the side and climbing on top of each other, like a slower version of that scene
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">World War Z</i>. Up on the parapets
you now have many of the soldiers who’d just been holding the front lines:
Jaime, Gendry, Tormund, Brienne, Jorah, Grey Worm, and the dead—in various
states of deadness—begin climbing the walls as the entire horde behind them
approaches VERY QUICKLY. Brienne begins just Monica Selesing her way through
all of them as Sam sits on the ground whimpering and crying and realizing dead
things or not, the crypts <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">would </i>have
been the safer place. Did anyone else think Sam, why didn’t you just listen,
because Tollett already died saving you and now Jaime’s having to focus on
saving you instead of fighting the battle? I love you, Sam, but when Sansa said
the most heroic thing they could do is admit they can’t help on the
battlefield, I thought of you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9bxiM6AL0N2kOmF2PJpX-gIPwGmtEsWFYna39h92GoIMMCcVpinTHiTgfjldwuy2qeeQAkwUxTG2VdqyCW6AhhH3LONuR_wp9MvBo-5K5PAz-vn7ZWR46pF0Zou61I-K-WfBpw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.13.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1600" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9bxiM6AL0N2kOmF2PJpX-gIPwGmtEsWFYna39h92GoIMMCcVpinTHiTgfjldwuy2qeeQAkwUxTG2VdqyCW6AhhH3LONuR_wp9MvBo-5K5PAz-vn7ZWR46pF0Zou61I-K-WfBpw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.13.53+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Beric’s flaming sword slices through the
army and the knights try to hold the parapet with limited success, we cut to
the Hound standing in a doorway, breathing heavily and momentarily paralyzed,
just as he was back in the Battle of Blackwater when faced with so much fire.
“Clegane!!” yells Beric, who can’t reach him at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, on the other side of the
courtyard parapet, Arya finally unleashes her amazing weapon and goes to town.
I LOVED this scene. She seems almost invincible with this spear, using it
exactly the way Jaqen H’ghar had taught her when he took her eyes from her. But
soon there are too many of them. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5o4p-tbXl60p3t692YWlmzOoEK6IfPWMchsA-jnbR1VEGqNFtrxPrRIzcvk5YE9yNTjqUHKVUsenYPu9RRclLbEW-amzfTOvO7JLnvYbxW5DRkGtEAKAkFoduaE5jqbcsDTPu8Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.15.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5o4p-tbXl60p3t692YWlmzOoEK6IfPWMchsA-jnbR1VEGqNFtrxPrRIzcvk5YE9yNTjqUHKVUsenYPu9RRclLbEW-amzfTOvO7JLnvYbxW5DRkGtEAKAkFoduaE5jqbcsDTPu8Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.15.14+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZhmL2vt9m0FYdraIzt7I4LBmDPLsXAMBSTM6T1C46vq54rH4gGeInV74m6rGhDkDomEGBA_IMbBVt0eHnrYRxRsxRGL3gasNIdZB_BtGmGRYvBF_G6AqCCCUN7_yTnE7zygvbQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.15.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZhmL2vt9m0FYdraIzt7I4LBmDPLsXAMBSTM6T1C46vq54rH4gGeInV74m6rGhDkDomEGBA_IMbBVt0eHnrYRxRsxRGL3gasNIdZB_BtGmGRYvBF_G6AqCCCUN7_yTnE7zygvbQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.15.58+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Arya falls into the courtyard she sees (oh
my heart) the undead version of Wun Wun, who died tragically at Winterfell
when, riddled with arrows Saint Sebastian–style, Ramsay Bolton shot him in the
right eye and killed him, prompting Jon to rush Ramsay and beat him to death
with his bare hands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now Wun Wun has returned to the scene of
where he died, and standing in the exact spot where he took his final breaths,
he’s faced by the tiny but mighty… Lyanna Mormont. Whom he instantly flings
aside as if she were a hamster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We cut to Sandor Clegane, who tells Beric
that they should just give up; there’s no winning this one. “We can’t beat
them! Don’t you see that, you stupid whore? We’re fighting death. We can’t beat
death.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Tell <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her</i>
that,” Beric says, as the Hound looks up and sees Arya fighting a horde of
white walkers against the odds. Without a moment’s hesitation, the Hound races
into battle to save the only person he’s ever cared about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWKIHcZUnvyPwpaZ3jBEFyfrIzDF8OyqvgHiU5sjSqr0fv6PB5eisChbseYt1rP7shJM9XHpQc8lqf9vv6hZTkdCkI3_PMrfZaliymP2gkO-qVR3efz9suIPOZFuHP-bFhzMVSA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.17.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWKIHcZUnvyPwpaZ3jBEFyfrIzDF8OyqvgHiU5sjSqr0fv6PB5eisChbseYt1rP7shJM9XHpQc8lqf9vv6hZTkdCkI3_PMrfZaliymP2gkO-qVR3efz9suIPOZFuHP-bFhzMVSA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.17.59+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And back to Lyanna Mormont, who was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> killed by the giant, but who instead
stands up, her body broken, and, raising her dragonglass axe, she races at him
in a hobbled way, screaming the whole way with so much determination my heart
swelled. Wun Wun reaches down and grabs her like King Kong grabbing Fay Wray,
and he squeezes her. We can see her armour denting inwards, and can imagine her
ribs beginning to break one by one. My husband: “Well, she’s toast.” Me: “She’s
going to die a hero. They <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i> how
much we need that.” She knows she’s not coming back from this one, but with her
final ounce of strength she reaches up and stabs Wun Wun’s remaining eye with
her dagger, and dies a beautiful, heroic death. I know some people probably
thought she was a very minor character, but I adored Lyanna Mormont, and truly
hoped she was part of the future of Westeros. I needed a moment after this one.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggKWGEqmVu7cVGeDm9Jo76Hxl7AXGHrX0HZOSqS7Iz2OeTTvVb3QObPB8WEhZiUHvjrZ4dHqXCZ2zAlhEgPnSBamkE-9or8FH2uLfUyFZC70hNrqNn3vAgkUmAqclschw0AhxNgw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.20.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1600" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggKWGEqmVu7cVGeDm9Jo76Hxl7AXGHrX0HZOSqS7Iz2OeTTvVb3QObPB8WEhZiUHvjrZ4dHqXCZ2zAlhEgPnSBamkE-9or8FH2uLfUyFZC70hNrqNn3vAgkUmAqclschw0AhxNgw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.20.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But we don’t get moments to recover in this
episode, for it’s back to the skies and the dragons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Was that really Wun Wun, though? I mean, I definitely think we’re
meant to think so, what with the empty right eye socket and all, but the
logistics are all wonky. Wun Wun died in the courtyard of Winterfell. They
would not have sent his body back north of the Wall, and it has been custom
since season one for the wildlings to burn their dead. I suppose it’s possible
he was buried outside the castle walls and the Night King resurrected him as
his army advanced, but the episode very clearly suggests that he did not deploy
that particular whammy until after Daenerys tried to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dracarys</i> him to death. Also, in the final episode of last season,
we see among the serried ranks of the ice zombies a handful of zombified
giants. So if we’re <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">supposed</i> to think
this in Wun Wun, which I think we are, that’s just bad work on the part of the
continuity editor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But yes, back to the skies and the dragons,
where, halfway into the episode, we get the first bit of the confrontation we
think we’ve been waiting for. Except not really: a lot of the anticipation for
this particular battle had to do with the showdown between zombie Viserion and
his not-dead brothers, figuring an epic battle in the skies to mirror the epic
battle on the ground. But there’s actually not all that much dragon-fighting to
be had: the Night King comes blasting at Jon and Daenerys in a blaze of blue
fire, but just as quickly dives away toward the ground, leaving auntie and
nephew hovering above the clouds, baffled, for an unconscionable interval. I
mean, it’s really only about ten seconds, but COME ON. There’s the Big Bad—get
him!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Then we cut to Arya re-enacting the third
act of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">World War Z</i> as she sneaks
around trying desperately not to attract the attention of the undead in what
appears to be a library. Which, I have to say, is my least favourite scene in
the episode—even though it is tense and scary, it doesn’t make much sense.
There aren’t a huge number of wights, and after Arya’s previous scene of
wholesale undead obliteration, I was wondering if she’d lost her weapons,
and—oh, nope. Stabbed one in the chin. I suppose if it were any other character
(like the Hound, e.g.) we might allow for trauma breaking their ability to
fight, but this is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arya</i>—she fed
Walder Frey’s sons through a meat grinder and served them to him in a pie, for
the Old Gods’ sake. Watching her skulk about in fear is about a believable as
seeing Daryl Dixon lose their shit over a handful of zombies in season nine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcbhjK-7mCteQxtlR5sWDpK2Fim8XqY8L4kWX3zTAdrsgcelVO6dOQlDHO2mvz7VbXelmHSvo5lkurSBm0KfcSDf24XakOq20E_43lnPUpgV9BhQsf8_fbJ1yqUSKor9sNOmROw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.27.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcbhjK-7mCteQxtlR5sWDpK2Fim8XqY8L4kWX3zTAdrsgcelVO6dOQlDHO2mvz7VbXelmHSvo5lkurSBm0KfcSDf24XakOq20E_43lnPUpgV9BhQsf8_fbJ1yqUSKor9sNOmROw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.27.17+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The whole point of this sequence, it
becomes clear, is to set up Arya’s rescue by Beric … which is a bit of
narrative gerrymandering I don’t particularly care for. But that will come up
momentarily. In the interim, we cut from Arya’s panicked flight down a dark
corridor back to the crypts, where the silence of the huddled masses is broken
by the sound of bodies crashing against the crypt door, panicked cries of the
defenders, and the shrieks of the dead. And then—as we focus on Sansa’s worried
face—silence again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2RhMKGH8SoTMj2_m7_XljxWkSF1qvv4deuwy7-fO7uLiHSseO_jWcuXnVEsP98jj5UHaCI1Qq7QU8VJBoMEnoo0vyMy_ql2AoVEwRrX7kCbJyF2z1hXCyJkWZ-OAWg_grlTJvg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.27.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1600" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2RhMKGH8SoTMj2_m7_XljxWkSF1qvv4deuwy7-fO7uLiHSseO_jWcuXnVEsP98jj5UHaCI1Qq7QU8VJBoMEnoo0vyMy_ql2AoVEwRrX7kCbJyF2z1hXCyJkWZ-OAWg_grlTJvg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.27.48+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, don’t worry, people. You’ll have stuff
to panic about soon enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But first, back to the creepy dark
corridors. Beric and the Hound come sneaking around the corner, and are in
place to come to the rescue when a door is knocked off the hinges by a wight
attacking Arya. Beric saves her by throwing his flaming sword and then scooping
her off the ground and (more or less) throwing her at the Hound while a zombie
manages to stick a dagger in his calf. Arya and the Hound get away while Beric—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sans</i> flaming sword, which is why you
should never <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">throw</i> your sword—is
overwhelmed. Arya picks up an ax and is about to rejoin the fight, but the
Hound picks her up and runs while Beric, at long last, dies a permanent death
(poor Arya—she’s like a cat, nature’s perfect killing machine, but small enough
to pick up). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The fact that Beric dies in a Christ pose
is a point I’m just going to ignore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-FkAnLlWDs_UnswCLeJAnx__z3H9uT4402iSTsPs1HAtZdjnd6aC6zdxB4rR2iYg3olLiiP_d0T6sBaXUZUPK59GxyKHyja9y10pUL_mU9muovFKyQwuF25cm9IapYtgnvkopw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.28.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="995" data-original-width="1244" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-FkAnLlWDs_UnswCLeJAnx__z3H9uT4402iSTsPs1HAtZdjnd6aC6zdxB4rR2iYg3olLiiP_d0T6sBaXUZUPK59GxyKHyja9y10pUL_mU9muovFKyQwuF25cm9IapYtgnvkopw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.28.40+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Still, he’s alive enough to make it with
them into an empty room that they barricade themselves inside. He dies with no
final words as Arya watches, anguished, and the shadow behind her resolves
itself into the cloaked and hooded figure of Melisandre. “The Lord brought him
back for a purpose,” she says. “Now, that purpose has been served.” “I know
you,” Arya says, though what I really wanted her to say was, “Hey, my new
boyfriend and I were just talking about how you put leeches all over him.” (I
suppose that would not have matched the tone of the moment). And then: the hint
I really should have taken about how this episode would end, when Arya recalls
Melisandre’s prophecy that she would close many eyes. “Brown eyes, green eyes,”
Melisandre acknowledges, and then after a suggestive pause, “and blue eyes.” I
assumed at the moment she meant the legion of wights Arya had permanently
furloughed, but no …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKk9CuHgtPBWkWjETYWAL8XoBHL235zh8tSEYSGHuOvLW7ttBfWyEvQlyNYqY1WIrBISfzbgPD0R0X7Zhw-0N78PHAIi8CKOEP9yVnk3n_Q5sik106BXCd9BXeN9rkl63b3FA7Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.29.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKk9CuHgtPBWkWjETYWAL8XoBHL235zh8tSEYSGHuOvLW7ttBfWyEvQlyNYqY1WIrBISfzbgPD0R0X7Zhw-0N78PHAIi8CKOEP9yVnk3n_Q5sik106BXCd9BXeN9rkl63b3FA7Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.29.29+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“What do we say to the God of Death?”
Melisandre then asks. “Not today,” Arya replies, and they share a significant
look. And while the Hound brandishes his ax in anticipation of the dead
breaking through the barricaded door, Arya runs off in a different direction to
… where? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPcm3YOq8Ca_BLSUxikPcCilZ-YFDC4ZZHJGsod3aXbzf5owg_fmnpFXZPyLR1NUHb9URy48N46EoLjbJv1eiIuqsa7COsZFY0Zd8wbk_k7itkc8xBp1emgNiG9PAfHa-e5dI7A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.29.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1535" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPcm3YOq8Ca_BLSUxikPcCilZ-YFDC4ZZHJGsod3aXbzf5owg_fmnpFXZPyLR1NUHb9URy48N46EoLjbJv1eiIuqsa7COsZFY0Zd8wbk_k7itkc8xBp1emgNiG9PAfHa-e5dI7A/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.29.46+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Well, we get a bit of a hint when the scene
shifts to the Godswood as Theon & co. can now hear the croaks and cries of
the dead. “Here they come!” he warns, and the protective circle around Bran
ignite their arrows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But we move swiftly on from there to the
skies, and the Night King’s descent upon Winterfell. Viserion blasts the walls
with his blue fire, but isn’t able to wreak too much damage as Rhaegal hits
him, and they grapple while Theon and his men shoot fire arrows into the
marauding wights. The two dragons claw and bite at each other, and the Night
King tries to aim his ice spear, but can’t make his target. And then: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex Daenerys</i>, swooping in and
knocking the Night King from Viserion. But Jon and Rhaegal are also knocked out
of the sky, with Rhaegal making a rough landing that pitches Jon from his back.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys remains airborne, however, and
zeroes in on where the Night King touched down. He looks up at her and she
utters what should be the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">coup de grace</i>:
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dracarys.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Except … well, not so much. Apparently,
Night Kings are immune to dragonfire? Which, I assume, makes them the only
being in existence that is. Until this moment, the Big Bad has never shown
anything resembling emotion, but right now he is definitely smug. And will
remain so for the rest of the episode. He picks up his ice lance and hurls it
at Drogon; Daenerys, remembering what happened to Viserion, wisely beats a
retreat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Jon Snow, now earthbound,
unsheathes his sword and follows the Night King … who pauses, turns around, and
very theatrically raises his hands—slowly!—and does his thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: And every warrior from Winterfell looks around them and just
screams, “Oh FFS!!!!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before we get to the Return of the Living
Dead, I completely agree with you on the Arya scene in that library. After we
watched many, many episodes of her learning to fight with a spear whilst blind,
of putting on another face and killing with it, of basically being the most
ruthless assassin in the world… to have her cowering over a few walkers and
then saved by two men was a little… bah. I kept hoping she’d corner a walker,
take its face, and then pretend to be one and just take them out one by one.
Sadly that did not happen. But the one thing that did make me happy about that
scene was Melisandre saying that Beric’s entire purpose was to save one person.
She knew. She knew what was going to happen at the end of this episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(And on the Wun Wun front, I paused the
scene and slowly moved it ahead frame by frame, comparing it to previous
footage of the actual alive Wun Wun, and I’m <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pretty sure </i>it was him; I always try to make sure of these things before
making assumptions, but you never know with this show; I could be wrong. There
were only two giants left, and only one of them lost his right eye. But you’re
right; if they’d burned him, how the heck did the Night King get him? And if
they didn’t burn him, why the hell not? They had a gazillion other bodies to
burn while they were at it… Perhaps they decided to sacrifice continuity for
poetry.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But ANYWAY, back to the very fabulous Night
King, who, as you say, is incredibly theatrical—I half expected him to say,
“Showtime!” You know, if he ever had anything to say. We see the dead rise on
the battlefield, with Jon looking around thinking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">oh great here we go again</i>. We see the bodies rise at Winterfell,
with Sam and Podrick and Brienne and Jaime all wide-eyed, like this can’t
actually be happening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then Lyanna Mormont opens her ice-blue
eyes (Noooooooo!) and Tollett opens his (oh come ONNNNN) and I thought if you
make me lose my beloved Lyanna Mormont <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a
second time </i>so help me I will march on HBO myself with my three cats
marching beside me with wings tied to their backs. (Well, “march” is probably
too strong a word; they’d all have gone purposely limp by that point and I’d be
dragging them along the ground by leashes but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">it’s the principle, people</i>.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjN-gROAVypd_GlyJOx_5WosrfvWT9A3WDJzE0WzJM6sV7MIb6BHf0LyDVgYA6KKKKcD65uC4Fwe7tSgP4W22GdGwlumJsOZfaYv4v9MdGXtoIQMKOEn81TggsORoxWMRdKPfQA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.34.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1600" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjN-gROAVypd_GlyJOx_5WosrfvWT9A3WDJzE0WzJM6sV7MIb6BHf0LyDVgYA6KKKKcD65uC4Fwe7tSgP4W22GdGwlumJsOZfaYv4v9MdGXtoIQMKOEn81TggsORoxWMRdKPfQA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.34.26+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It was at this point I felt like the Hound,
and almost gave up completely. I mean, what shot do they honestly have left at
this point?? They have the white walkers PLUS their own dead companions
fighting against them. They can cut someone down, but the person will just get
up again? What’s the bloody point? The Night King just stares Jon down, and Jon
looks back at him like, “I hate you so much right now” as the dead begin to
fight him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rXpDt21YZT7eKQ-o7W_MjNfw_dzQuA5yXYtY2kTiktrQnMV8P44qdnxmViSwRcMQeT-YPCkmuh1uBuZGF_9eZhq5NAOl_mA9P70CuwtBn4mGKzcZBPaZrG-Q-C76Eq_m6K-SPw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.34.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="784" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rXpDt21YZT7eKQ-o7W_MjNfw_dzQuA5yXYtY2kTiktrQnMV8P44qdnxmViSwRcMQeT-YPCkmuh1uBuZGF_9eZhq5NAOl_mA9P70CuwtBn4mGKzcZBPaZrG-Q-C76Eq_m6K-SPw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.34.57+PM.png" width="345" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we cut to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very safe crypts</i>. Sigh. You called it, my friend. The Stark arms
began shooting out of the sides of the concrete crypts and I thought for SURE
we were going to see a reanimated headless Ned coming after them. Thankfully
the showrunners didn’t go there—my heart wouldn’t have been able to take it at this
point. These were the really old and dusty Starks, though I assume Lyanna was
among them, which makes me sad to even comprehend. Sansa, Gilly, Tyrion, and
everyone just stand there with gaping mouths like they can’t believe this is
happening. And one by one, the walkers begin grabbing the women and children
who thought it would be safer down here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEy30vh8lIKqS2AE8zjJsMayUHw65hr5I8Mh5usvTWReWTg3bVjHf4yyrzwLizNpJNthOn4V6RFixi5l5h90cODjbygFgJJzlqsDG9iTvTBM-WeDeqOofuNMVzmSCYUKbYuN3JNA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.35.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEy30vh8lIKqS2AE8zjJsMayUHw65hr5I8Mh5usvTWReWTg3bVjHf4yyrzwLizNpJNthOn4V6RFixi5l5h90cODjbygFgJJzlqsDG9iTvTBM-WeDeqOofuNMVzmSCYUKbYuN3JNA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.35.25+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now to the Godswood, where Theon and his
fellow soldiers are… actually doing a hell of a job. He turns to check Bran at
one point who, nope, still white-eyed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Bran…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Bran…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Shhh… taking in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Avengers Endgame</i>, it opened this weekend…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Bran, we don’t—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“SHHHHH.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibacSv7Eos33H02uJ-FYMFSeOdLiTGpuN6-lJB-SVdO6O0lRJ2hN7DfQa0PFHv_N6_j5O8NrTyONz7QAMxYzKiMlTHshTH5Y4UFMJ8mSigS6Yz1SkZlSFJUhOhyphenhyphen4hP-jNKYmEeYg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.35.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1600" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibacSv7Eos33H02uJ-FYMFSeOdLiTGpuN6-lJB-SVdO6O0lRJ2hN7DfQa0PFHv_N6_j5O8NrTyONz7QAMxYzKiMlTHshTH5Y4UFMJ8mSigS6Yz1SkZlSFJUhOhyphenhyphen4hP-jNKYmEeYg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.35.45+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuE_xgmtgPaoPH6It1ejkqTvWqwzmFzVSpPi7yv-tMqc6lpdlpOM0eAFxtO0lWUS4IH4w_Wq0JOWea-NiBQmjXOFsiLUui13iXqUdqWe4z59Ndeiyfzh46xTjFRuuoyTnVSeXn5Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.36.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1207" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuE_xgmtgPaoPH6It1ejkqTvWqwzmFzVSpPi7yv-tMqc6lpdlpOM0eAFxtO0lWUS4IH4w_Wq0JOWea-NiBQmjXOFsiLUui13iXqUdqWe4z59Ndeiyfzh46xTjFRuuoyTnVSeXn5Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.36.07+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut back to Jon, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">also</i> doing a formidable job at this point until, as you say,
there’s another <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daenerys ex machina</i>.
Jon shouts “Bran!” at her, and she tells him to go. But unfortunately she
watches him run away a little too long, and suddenly Drogon is absolutely
covered in ice zombies. Daenerys is thrown from her beloved child’s back, and
Drogon takes to the sky, shaking the bodies off as he flies. So NOW we not only
have white walkers and reanimated undead, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fucking bodies falling from the fucking sky</i>. Like, how amazing was
that??! Just when you think you’ve seen it all, we cut back to Winterfell and
bodies are just falling in droves from the parapets, from the sky, from the
balconies… Jon cuts his way through as we see Sam looking overwhelmed by the
fighting (OMG), Brienne and Podrick and Jaime all holding their own. Jon fights
his way through the crowd of walkers, and slams a gate closed as the arms flail
through the slats trying to grab him. “This is the best episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking Dead</i> I have EVER SEEN!” I
shouted at my husband at this point. Don’t ask why, but somehow this whole confluence
of events—raining bodies, warriors all still fighting, walkers still
coming—made me positive gleeful as a TV fan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkECvzooBihi5rIem9hwrD67kxd4_OYiPFryfyar_fpHi8F9VxIPT-7BCRGDIzSOEIlbUCNcdilUqEr4HSjo33UZAkzKOypTMgfo5OPsk-zKwHf2K1ei2Oq9pUU9GvBWWLwSu2Fw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.37.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="967" data-original-width="1307" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkECvzooBihi5rIem9hwrD67kxd4_OYiPFryfyar_fpHi8F9VxIPT-7BCRGDIzSOEIlbUCNcdilUqEr4HSjo33UZAkzKOypTMgfo5OPsk-zKwHf2K1ei2Oq9pUU9GvBWWLwSu2Fw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.37.10+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Back to Theon, who is fighting better than
I’ve ever seen him fight, as if he refuses to get scared off like he did when
Yara was kidnapped. He zings arrow after arrow, as if Legolas was his archery
teacher, until he reaches into the bucket… and there are no more arrows. So he
just starts hitting walkers with his bow, and eventually stabs one and kills
it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys isn’t so lucky, as she watches her
once-faithful Dothraki now turn blue-eyed and as menacing as the day she first
met them, and as they come at her one by one we realize Daenerys is a leader,
but she’s no fighter. She’s always used her dragons, and Rhaegal is currently
MIA and Drogon has just taken off to try to swat the walkers off him. Just as
it looks like it’s the end of our platinum-haired queen, Ser Jorah swoops to
the rescue, with Heartsbane taking out one walker after another.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, down in the safe space, Sansa
and Tyrion hide at the end of one of the crypts while listening to the
slaughter happening on the outside. Sansa realizes there’s no hope left, and
she pulls out the dragonglass dagger that Arya gave her. She looks at Tyrion,
who gives her a look of resignation. He knows they have no other choice, and he
knows this might be the last time he looks upon the lovely face of his ex-wife.
He gives her a weak smile, takes her hand and kisses it, and takes a deep
breath. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzbBVoaG3OBLjUIvuujl7fdn13GVLkyJ7LxVAxmX2KJVnxawXN-S4L6CP2z0MT_vytfbTcoOkG6h1xa35eAiExKrKXFBwFdJ2GFkHSGJ3ItF5rLnQDWUhewz-BX3KxadHXD08Sw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.38.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzbBVoaG3OBLjUIvuujl7fdn13GVLkyJ7LxVAxmX2KJVnxawXN-S4L6CP2z0MT_vytfbTcoOkG6h1xa35eAiExKrKXFBwFdJ2GFkHSGJ3ItF5rLnQDWUhewz-BX3KxadHXD08Sw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.38.43+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Here the music is extraordinary. Just a
quiet song played on the piano, with snippets of the themes we’ve heard
throughout the series. It plays loudly while the diegetic sounds fall to the
background. Ser Jorah continues to fight through the walkers. Jon dodges
Viserion’s blast and the walkers break through the gate. Daenerys cries out in
fear as Ser Jorah falls to one knee but keeps going. Theon refuses to stop
battling even though he’s long run out of weapons. The Night King walks around
the corner in slow motion with his soldiers by his side. Jaime and Brienne and
Podrick continue fighting, now mowing down the soldiers who’d stood at their
side only moments before. Sam lies on a heap of bodies, crying, as Jon forces
himself to keep moving and not stop to save him.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And back at the Godswood, Theon swings and
swings and swings… until there are no men left. As the camera pans above them,
you see scores of dead soldiers on the ground, and only Theon standing. It’s
incredible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgVWKGvbTi9lzZPuSwzjedhsdCkwjAKJErwp7INgFSe7nW37fL522K9VLsOKw6SCr5ZbJuIxd1zZPgfu6cN9ZGW6sHCE1t-b00mh2wUqDmpD-0bYL5AcooJpJh7fdlKUVS8i8_w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.40.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1600" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgVWKGvbTi9lzZPuSwzjedhsdCkwjAKJErwp7INgFSe7nW37fL522K9VLsOKw6SCr5ZbJuIxd1zZPgfu6cN9ZGW6sHCE1t-b00mh2wUqDmpD-0bYL5AcooJpJh7fdlKUVS8i8_w/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.40.22+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bran’s eyes flip forward, and Theon looks
at the Night King, flanked by his soldiers, with two large crowds of white
walkers standing on either side of the Godswood, and he knows this is it. He
can’t fight anymore. He can no longer protect Bran. As he stares at the Night
King, his eyes well up. “Theon,” Bran says behind him. “You’re a good man.”
Only it sounds like he says, “You were a good man.” Tenses, Bran… TENSES. The
camera slowly move in on Theon. “Thank you,” Bran says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0SPyhYsaMK9rtrk5u8SUVVfGtuDCCE_Pe916vlfwYsg5V1nrj3S3znD2LVV1icF34aREl_QyqAExwV0Fy1NLSnPbN0jbgt-sVlRra_xD_wS7DtUmUlcvAGL0giDtC9wpgQhaPQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.40.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1200" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0SPyhYsaMK9rtrk5u8SUVVfGtuDCCE_Pe916vlfwYsg5V1nrj3S3znD2LVV1icF34aREl_QyqAExwV0Fy1NLSnPbN0jbgt-sVlRra_xD_wS7DtUmUlcvAGL0giDtC9wpgQhaPQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.40.36+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And with that, Theon’s character has come
full circle. A casualty of a war his father started, taken as a child as a
hostage, raised as an outsider in a close-knit family, rejected by his own
family when he returns… a failed uprising, failed battles, failed reunions…
Theon’s entire arc on this show has been one of one failure after another,
until he was physically emasculated by a man he trusted, his entire being taken
from him, ground down to absolutely nothing and no one. And then he’s worked so
hard to try to rise out of that, to become a real person again. Now he stands,
on the verge of apocalypse, as the lone person between life and death of all
civilization, and he may have failed again. He’s made his amends, and Bran
telling him he’s a good man is possibly the greatest thing anyone could say to
him.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And so he does the only thing he can, and
he runs at the Night King with everything he’s got. His death is a quick one,
and Bran is unmoved (natch). Theon dies at Winterfell, the place of his
greatest sorrows, and his greatest joys. Alfie Allen did a tremendous job of
making us hate Theon for so many years on this show, and did an even more
astounding job making us like him again. Now THAT is a tour de force
performance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLlVkAh_ZsN6tgYKt2-F-CE_o8Yp3hvKTzsUpx8l9ux0zhIMOHmZSRLSETWmDc4Hh8fYqy0UCbjWDSdCwQ76016zUV4l1sd3ocw8R8NWge43e4aVU3YVvf5r4CyhJmmBFYa20ng/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.40.54+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="1600" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLlVkAh_ZsN6tgYKt2-F-CE_o8Yp3hvKTzsUpx8l9ux0zhIMOHmZSRLSETWmDc4Hh8fYqy0UCbjWDSdCwQ76016zUV4l1sd3ocw8R8NWge43e4aVU3YVvf5r4CyhJmmBFYa20ng/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.40.54+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: No, because you’re about to see the DEUS EX ARYA! (Which,
incidentally, is the text I sent Nikki moments after the episode ended).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OK, so before I get into the awesomeness,
the obvious quibbles: first, this was a pretty cheap solution to a
seven-and-a-half seasons long enmity, one that evoked at once the logic of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost Boys</i> (kill the original vampire,
and all those it sired die) and the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Avengers</i> (somehow the Chitauri all die when their home base gets blowed
up). Of course, we’ve been primed for such an ending, from the moment last
season when killing a White Walker caused all the zombies to collapse like
snipped marionettes; and it was made explicit in the previous episode when Bran
as much as said, kill the Night King and destroy all his works. So we knew this
had only one ending. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But it still felt a bit easy. I won’t get
into it here, but might do so in an another ancillary blog post in which I talk
about the contradictions of genre in GoT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But not now, and not on this day. I suspect
I’m not alone in assuming it would be Jon Snow who gave the Night King his
quietus, and was thus getting increasingly anxious at his inability to get past
Viserion. As I say above, I missed the import of Melisandre’s reference to blue
eyes. Never have I been happier to be wrong: Arya brings it, and does so with a
move she showed us when sparring with Brienne, dropping the blade from one hand
to the other. Dragonfire might not perturb the Night King, but Valyrian steel
does the trick … and speaking of full circles, we should note that that dagger
was the one that put much of the action of GoT into play: given to an assassin
to kill Bran, its ownership (falsely) ascribed to Tyrion by Littlefinger, which
prompted Catelyn Stark to abduct Tyrion and take him to the Eyrie, and which
finds it way into Arya’s hand and facilitates Littlefinger’s execution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvg4XB8h6WL9XI_-JoNoFtQMG7jX7rmvM0WcERGACZvB3__MqhkK3a5aA6fc0ga9DYSsDawHZSoBau4DunsqwOpqBh9Xudd4hq4J7HPUKrcsfJU4ddtiTm1Niz1cW8iili0fHxJw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.42.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1600" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvg4XB8h6WL9XI_-JoNoFtQMG7jX7rmvM0WcERGACZvB3__MqhkK3a5aA6fc0ga9DYSsDawHZSoBau4DunsqwOpqBh9Xudd4hq4J7HPUKrcsfJU4ddtiTm1Niz1cW8iili0fHxJw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.42.52+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqqmbGGObKJd_tqdOu60FLKAZQ-SGbCHWFodiCtS6DQxWsZGBcPvNJMerUsgqkc1AJiTL8bCsTW1s5l_lP0MZBnVJQR28ipeTDT2mDd2XievsVe-dhDlG6oYd5FnkFMvd96STH2g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.43.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqqmbGGObKJd_tqdOu60FLKAZQ-SGbCHWFodiCtS6DQxWsZGBcPvNJMerUsgqkc1AJiTL8bCsTW1s5l_lP0MZBnVJQR28ipeTDT2mDd2XievsVe-dhDlG6oYd5FnkFMvd96STH2g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.43.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Night King shatters into a million
little pieces, as do all his lieutenants, and then all the wights—including
Viserion, who was about to give Jon Snow a blast of his blue fire—fall to the
ground, to the amazement of all our heroes. And a moment after the zombies
collapse, so does Ser Jorah, what last strength he had holding him upright
leaving him. He dies in Daenerys’ arms as she sobs, but then, I have to assume
that would have been his preferred mode of death had you asked him. It’s a
lovely moment, but what made we well up was when Drogon joined her in her
mourning, sheltering her in the crook of his wing and resting his head sadly on
the ground. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVboT0MUvTrAjgCTvREJfIJlz9islvNr5bSNQNRnGlHRWZGniKa7Q6Fl2N9RzoIvaj4_biGgBx5RFLhwBMLob9kfd38UYiuxmAm-vlxIfOV-Va387F_dF6FQ_9WEpHHXk6BUpOg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.46.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVboT0MUvTrAjgCTvREJfIJlz9islvNr5bSNQNRnGlHRWZGniKa7Q6Fl2N9RzoIvaj4_biGgBx5RFLhwBMLob9kfd38UYiuxmAm-vlxIfOV-Va387F_dF6FQ_9WEpHHXk6BUpOg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.46.45+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jorah’s death is part of a montage of our
heroes surveying the ambivalent field of victory, which ends with the Hound
coming out into the courtyard with Melisandre. While he pauses in exhaustion,
she walks on out through the gates, shucking her red cloak as she passes
between the piles of the dead. Someone follows—Davos, with his hand on his
sword, as if he’s ready to make certain she will in fact die before dawn. But
he stops and watches as she walks out under the lightening sky. She tears her
necklace from her neck—the one with the glowing red stone we realized, some
time ago, provides her the glamour to appear young and beautiful—and drops it
to the snowy ground. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Davos watches as she grows small in the
distance, her hair going white and her clothes sloughing off her, until finally
she collapses into the snow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7BH9Wko6KN9l2afSclLl1ffGYiyBvy1Y6WdM4mkjTeqAsewUkEcipJpRwrnNEzQ6H9MUWxHOOmmvuDIuUUhX6D2Wwfo5d_ImiPC9_8d0-VInSpK7ZOm5Rz92f-5a3mMn1ZS8xg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.48.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1461" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7BH9Wko6KN9l2afSclLl1ffGYiyBvy1Y6WdM4mkjTeqAsewUkEcipJpRwrnNEzQ6H9MUWxHOOmmvuDIuUUhX6D2Wwfo5d_ImiPC9_8d0-VInSpK7ZOm5Rz92f-5a3mMn1ZS8xg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-29+at+8.48.17+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Gah. This episode was a kidney punch. It
was emotionally eviscerating. It had flaws galore, as we’ve cited throughout
this discussion, but its grace notes and emotional payoffs far outweighed them.
It will be interesting to see what Winterfell looks like by daylight in the
aftermath of this battle, and what happens next … and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how</i> it happens next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That’s it for this week, friends! Take a
moment or ten to hug someone you love, and we’ll see you next week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-47750449111021649982019-04-23T16:00:00.000-04:002019-04-25T14:38:09.144-04:00Game of Thrones 8.02: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US">Just when you thought you’d had your fill
of reunions, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> brings
us an episode that recalls how each of the relationships began, brings enemies
together on the eve of battle, shows characters in life-changing scenarios, and
basically makes us weep and cheer for an entire hour, one that returns to what
the show does best: character development. This is easily one of the best
episodes of the series. As always I’m joined by my rock star of a co-writer,
<a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>, who gets an opportunity—like in days of yore!—to tie a
particular moment in this episode to something from the books. So without further ado, off we go!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: If last week was all about placing the pieces on the board, this
week was the (relative) calm before the storm. And if last week was about
reunions, this week was about—what? Reconciliations? Not quite the word I want,
but close enough: Jaime facing the daughter of the king he killed, Jaime’s
apology to Bran, Theon returning to fight for Sansa and Winterfell, Jaime
putting himself under Brienne’s command, Arya and the Hound, Jaime knighting
Brienne, Daenerys being reminded of Tyrion’s value and acting accordingly,
among various others. There was a sentimental quality to this week’s episode
that every so often was a wee bit trite, but was (to my mind at least) rather
welcome. In our last post I observed that “still alive” counts for rather a lot
after seven seasons of one of the most murderous television series ever
produced; we were treated to an hour of survivors commiserating and all of them
assuming they’ll be dead by the time the sun rises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivd0e0VRKkp4eqUnsxq1TcSfwDVv44DnqUCsL0m7RNF8evCdmgYaRFJwwq6jyHpnx8Vo-vDBug-O0nNgy4-EdyXcsNB9Bu13QAB50W7_Rb7axVYCPebcVFQltdtrgNwCsdgIqg4g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.11.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivd0e0VRKkp4eqUnsxq1TcSfwDVv44DnqUCsL0m7RNF8evCdmgYaRFJwwq6jyHpnx8Vo-vDBug-O0nNgy4-EdyXcsNB9Bu13QAB50W7_Rb7axVYCPebcVFQltdtrgNwCsdgIqg4g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.11.44+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But we begin with the trial (loosely
speaking) of Jaime Lannister. Daenerys seems quite ready to feed him to her
dragons with all dispatch, telling him about how her brother used to tell her
the story of how Jaime murdered the Mad King, and the various revenges they
imagined they would exercise. Now, I do understand how finally looking at the
man who killed your father might excite certain vengeful tendencies, but as I
watched this scene, at least two thoughts occurred to me: (1) you mean that
sociopathic, creepy brother who sold you into something resembling slavery, and
whom your ex-hubbie killed by pouring molten gold on his head? … and, (2) that
father who you’ve acknowledged was a raving lunatic who has come to be the
embodiment of everything you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">don’t</i>
want to be?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US">But then, I suppose family is family. And
it’s significant that Jaime doesn’t say anything in his defense with regards to
his legendary king-slaying—probably a good read of his current audience. So
it’s a poignant moment when Brienne stands to defend his honour: Brienne, who
as far as we’ve seen is the only person Jaime has told the actual story of that
fateful day when he spilled royal blood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzHd_n_tReiEn2B4lRUIX-Vypf6-WIcbmZHQX93HHixnUSTxZKhyphenhyphenw2_ulmcbdW9wXNwkRGzFtgpOfASM4jvixPUGeJLG-q2i0sOW4v0WQZtI2phjoJR1uDThuhywOfL0arCx1Hw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.13.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1239" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzHd_n_tReiEn2B4lRUIX-Vypf6-WIcbmZHQX93HHixnUSTxZKhyphenhyphenw2_ulmcbdW9wXNwkRGzFtgpOfASM4jvixPUGeJLG-q2i0sOW4v0WQZtI2phjoJR1uDThuhywOfL0arCx1Hw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.13.56+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Brienne’s defense of Jaime is, I would
argue, somewhat less significant than Sansa’s unhesitating acceptance of her
word. Brienne is one of the handful of characters in this show afflicted with
the curse of unwavering honour; Sansa, as we’ve been observing lo these last
few seasons, has matured from someone who lives for fantasies to someone with a
clear and unerring eye for reality. If Brienne is willing to stand for Jaime,
Sansa will take her at her word, which in the moment is a stark (heh) contrast
with Daenerys’ dismissal of Tyrion’s defense of his brother. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I know my
brother,” he starts to say, only to be cut of when she says, “Like you knew
your sister?” Moments later she will upbraid him for misreading Cersei, and his
tenure as Hand of the Queen seems tenuous. “I suspect one of you will be
wearing this,” he says to Jorah and Varys, indicating his badge of office,
“before it’s all over.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVP7dgM55DLz2ofqmwm9GuVNDizEvwPO5FwfD4zDbkn3IQx-jBWoz8JCd-Gy2t5vOOwwiv0d0xkFvlqD17tZTZorMAd1MkZyy3I0Zkiu1tMYd06hWygWamG3X21VsmFysEm145w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.16.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVP7dgM55DLz2ofqmwm9GuVNDizEvwPO5FwfD4zDbkn3IQx-jBWoz8JCd-Gy2t5vOOwwiv0d0xkFvlqD17tZTZorMAd1MkZyy3I0Zkiu1tMYd06hWygWamG3X21VsmFysEm145w/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.16.59+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime is such an interesting character, and
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has done an extraordinary job in the role. While he does
not defend himself against Daenerys’ words, he is defiant when Sansa charges
that he attacked Ned Stark in the streets and waged war against the Starks,
saying that those were actions taken in a time of war, and he would do that all
again. But when Bran says, sardonically, “The things we do for love,” a haunted
look settles on Jaime’s face, the ghosts of the man he was coming to torment
the man he’d become.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we’re back in the forge, with
Gendry doing the Gendry thing, which is to say looking fetchingly begrimed and
muscular as he hammers on red-hot metal and dragonglass. The main product they
seem to be churning out seems to be spearheads, which makes practical sense—if
dragonglass is a reliable way of killing wights and white walkers, I know I’d
prefer to have it at the end of a long stick when the time came. Of course,
Arya shows up, presumably to ask about her weapon request, but spends a few
long moments regarding Gendry as he does the Gendry thing, a tiny smile tugging
at her lips as she watches him bang his hammer and sink the red-hot metal in
water so he can be wreathed in steam. “You make my weapon yet?” she demands
when he notices her standing there. “Just as soon as I’m done making a few
thousand of these,” he retorts, handing her an obsidian axe. Arya is not
impressed, suggesting that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her</i> weapon
should be stronger. “It’s strong enough!” he declares, and to demonstrate his
point slams it into a piece of wood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhh6RIWNbZEnClQ8prbZGTpsWOz3DRmH1-2pf5sOcjFi9ENGhy6xpHmTvkP2oUnYChQKCjN6p246If_8M11qkuIZKQ6VfLLyq9scb2oErpsnLtpZj6Nt8SoyMp-7Kw7DdXisrnZg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.17.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhh6RIWNbZEnClQ8prbZGTpsWOz3DRmH1-2pf5sOcjFi9ENGhy6xpHmTvkP2oUnYChQKCjN6p246If_8M11qkuIZKQ6VfLLyq9scb2oErpsnLtpZj6Nt8SoyMp-7Kw7DdXisrnZg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.17.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And Arya’s expression on seeing him do that
… OK, I won’t say exactly what I wrote in my notes at that moment, as it’s
somewhat NSFW, but the anodyne version would be along the lines of “well, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">someone’s</i> getting somethin’.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But in the meantime, for all Arya’s
admiration of Gendry’s Gendryness, she’s actually more interested in getting
some intel on the Enemy. Because here’s something where his experience trumps
hers: he’s actually fought the White Walkers and their army; Arya, keen to know
what she can look forward to, asks him extremely pointed questions. “What do
they look like? What do they smell like? How do they move? How hard are they to
kill?” All of which (I assume) are the kind of questions a trained assassin
asks upon getting a new assignment. But Gendry is at a loss: the Enemy, he
tries to tell her, is a force of nature and an existential crisis: “This is
Death. You want to know what they’re like? Death. That’s what they’re like.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4fY6tnf1t2Hlr-cZXFhjJwsOR-uwIKdhapLmssV435sJ-n4kL5ZzU-AxBboWPry-_VLTihBF8oQeY50DdH1e1Xz6PoenK2VnHHIgPSDTRAwtZNkLaCIlqZF2ApcaJGwXBtu1gw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.18.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1600" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4fY6tnf1t2Hlr-cZXFhjJwsOR-uwIKdhapLmssV435sJ-n4kL5ZzU-AxBboWPry-_VLTihBF8oQeY50DdH1e1Xz6PoenK2VnHHIgPSDTRAwtZNkLaCIlqZF2ApcaJGwXBtu1gw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.18.40+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which is something that might daunt your
average bear, but Arya has endured her own crucible. “I know Death,” she says,
flinging spearheads into a post, and presumably freaking out the dude who was
working next to it. “He’s got many faces. I look forward to seeing this one.”
(In my notes, apropos of the thrown spearheads, I wrote “nice grouping”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRT1aSXQ8x3aL9G-Gs9979P2BytmrxESiyP2CyiWCZpZ-_Js9un93Fw_EkBU_Ct8b0FRGVk9HI8-1SaeC9kDcoqfgdApnmoOYh0P-Y-tXgBldtoJGJLE0kEpo8S-Zt8FwGrBnSA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.19.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="886" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRT1aSXQ8x3aL9G-Gs9979P2BytmrxESiyP2CyiWCZpZ-_Js9un93Fw_EkBU_Ct8b0FRGVk9HI8-1SaeC9kDcoqfgdApnmoOYh0P-Y-tXgBldtoJGJLE0kEpo8S-Zt8FwGrBnSA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.19.16+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All of which totally encourages Gendry to
move Arya’s weapon up in the queue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we’re in the Godswood, where Jaime
is about to have one of the more awkward conversations of his life. What did
you think of their, um, reunion, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt;">: I <i>loooooved</i> this
episode, because it brought us back to what <i>Game
of Thrones</i> has always been: about the people. The first episode debuted on
April 17, 2011, meaning as of this week we’ve been obsessed with the television
version of this world for eight years. And that’s a very long time in
television terms. We’ve lost so many, we’ve gained so many new ones, and we’ve
watched these characters evolve in ways we couldn’t have possibly imagined. The
character development has been astounding as children were forced to grow up
quickly, adults were forced to choose sides, people made sacrifices for their
loved ones, or turned against the ones they should have been protecting. This
episode was an extraordinary one where the preparations for the White Walkers
continue in the background (more on that in a moment) but in the foreground we
see these quiet tableaux of all the characters we love having one last moment
with the ones who have been by their sides throughout the series. We know that
in the next episode, Thanos is going to snap his fingers and we’re going to
lose a ton of these characters in one go, but this beautiful episode reminded
us of the many relationships along the way, what they once were and what they
are now: Brienne and Jaime, Arya and Gendry, Jorah and Daenerys, Theon and
Sansa, Bran and Jaime, Podrick and Brienne, Tyrion and Jaime, Sam and Gilly,
Tormund and Brienne, who’s left of the Night’s Watch (of all those men, we’re
down to Jon, Sam, and Tollett), Beric and the Hound, Lyanna and Jorah, Daenerys
and Khal Drogo, Ser Davos and Shireen, Sansa/Theon and Ramsay, Missandei and
Grey Worm, Jon and Tormund, Jon and Ghost (!! FINALLY!!), Arya and the Hound…
the fact they packed all of this massive personal history into one single-hour
episode is nothing short of astonishing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglTCdAZQMGcX6stQ9d9rzp3dLF9uysFWryPi69yUNUH2o5Bvt7SayPSiPn18IwzY6nvaFiDzWcCHxjSufj8LiOXjXOBNsPuuPs5KgGo9O0Db_OnDtIwYPo_bayJfXE_47AcSpwpg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.20.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="1600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglTCdAZQMGcX6stQ9d9rzp3dLF9uysFWryPi69yUNUH2o5Bvt7SayPSiPn18IwzY6nvaFiDzWcCHxjSufj8LiOXjXOBNsPuuPs5KgGo9O0Db_OnDtIwYPo_bayJfXE_47AcSpwpg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.20.12+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But now to Jaime and his brief Reunion Tour
of Winterfell. I first want to mention how gorgeous a setting the Godswood
always is. The white, white ground surrounded by the snow-laden coniferous
trees starkly (ha) contrasts the blood-red leaves that hang from the sad-faced
weirwood trees and lie on the fallen snow. Since season 1, it’s been considered
a place of quiet and contemplation, where people go to pray or meditate or think
of their ancestors, but it’s also been a setting for escape and spying. And
now, as of later in this episode, we know that its next use will be something
far more sinister. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But for now, it’s where good ol’ Creepy
Bran sits in his wheelchair, and Jaime, doing the honorable thing, approaches
him to say he’s sorry. It sounds so… empty considering what he’s apologizing
for. “Sorry I pushed a seven-year-old boy out of a window and crippled him for
life. Oh and all that other stuff I’ve done to your family over the years.” But
Bran—whom someone said last week looks like a perfect combination of every
Beatle, and now I can’t unsee it—isn’t that seven-year-old boy anymore. And a
girl can’t help but wonder, if he has everything that’s ever happened and
everything that will happen up in his head all the time, does the memory of
being pushed out of a window even feature in the Top 100 anymore? But clearly
it still does, because it happened to him. And it was the incident that started
everything else in his life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZLPYQZ5v4FLpOpUAdXjmdMDx2gAA4t3TpEE24Vf5JRrD3Fo1hE0b8Xn7TbsQCA0bzuhjfLDE6Y_4aHqVS9C5oCrtFcQ4EwzIbib2iG1jqG2iaocEOIA_TnD1iCdyx-okt0iYGQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.20.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1600" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZLPYQZ5v4FLpOpUAdXjmdMDx2gAA4t3TpEE24Vf5JRrD3Fo1hE0b8Xn7TbsQCA0bzuhjfLDE6Y_4aHqVS9C5oCrtFcQ4EwzIbib2iG1jqG2iaocEOIA_TnD1iCdyx-okt0iYGQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.20.41+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And yet, while Bran clearly looks at Jaime
and sees only that incident (remember: he hasn’t seen him since that moment),
he’s far too stoic and zen and removed from himself to care much anymore. He
forces Jaime to look at himself and who he is, as you mentioned, Chris, because
he knows it will be important in the battle if Jaime goes in with eyes wide
open. The strange thing about Bran is, he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">knows</i>
what will happen in this coming war, and he’s already seen who will live and
who will die. If you want a perfect war strategy, maybe ask the guy in the
chair who already knows how it ends? But… I think everyone is so creeped out by
him they’re like, “Nah, I’m good.” And, as he’s explained, he can see <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">possible</i> futures—he doesn’t know which
one will be the actual one. So instead, we get bits of his cryptic knowledge,
and this scene ends with Jaime asking him why he didn’t tell the room what
Jaime had done to him. Bran had been pragmatic, he explains, knowing if he’d
have done so, Jon would have run Jaime through with a sword, if Sansa hadn’t
gotten to him first, and it’s far more important that Jaime fight in this war.
He’s one of the most formidable champions this show has ever seen, and even
though he’s down to one hand, we know that hand can fight better than just about
any other in this battle. But Jaime wonders about what happens beyond that
pragmatism: what about in the aftermath? Will Bran tell his family the truth
then? “How do you know there IS an aftermath?” creepy Miss Cleo asks. And… well,
shit.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Next we shift to Tyrion meeting his brother
face-to-face, alone for the first time since Jaime’s arrival. I want to pause
again for a moment to commend the extraordinary actions that have gone into
constructing each of these scenes in the courtyard. Imagine how many actors
have been wrangled here, how many props built, how much choreography has gone
into every single moment as Tyrion walks across the courtyard to meet Jaime.
All we care about is seeing the two brothers reunited, but I recommend readers
go back just to look at this scene again and watch just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how much activity</i> is happening around them, and to know that every
single beat was scripted. Every dragonglass sword, spear, and hatchet. Every
grimy blacksmith or lord or soldier. Every wooden crate. Every catapult under
construction. It’s absolutely mind-blowing to imagine how much planning and
effort went into constructing this incredible image of all these Houses coming
together to prepare to face their deaths. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But back to the Brothers Lannister. “Well,
here we are,” says Tyrion, as he glances up to see some pretty pissed-off
soldiers whose families were no doubt slaughtered by some aspect of the
Lannister army, and one spits angrily into the courtyard while glaring at them.
“And the masses rejoice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I couldn’t help but think, maybe a more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">private</i> spot would have been better here,
guys? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The brothers discuss their sister, who has
been nothing but a thorn in the side of one of them, and who has been a lover
to the other one. Yet now they stand as equals, both betrayed and threatened by
this sister (neither one knows of the price on their heads yet, but that’s
coming). Tyrion says he fell for Cersei’s bullshit once again, that he believed
her when she said the pregnancy had changed her. Jaime reassures Tyrion that the
pregnancy, at least, was true, but that news only seems to make Tyrion look
even more pained. I mean, a nephew or a niece would be nice, but… you know… <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Joffrey</i>. Jaime stupidly says that Cersei
has tricked him just as often as she’s tricked Tyrion, and as Tyrion is walking
up a flight of steps he turns, for once the same height as his brother, and
looks Jaime right in the eye: “She never fooled you,” he says. “You always knew
exactly what she was, and you loved her anyway.” And he continues up the stairs.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Up on the parapet—note they’ve somehow
embedded dragonglass spikes into the sides of the walls, which is a brilliant
little touch here—Tyrion talks about his impending death, that he always
assumed it would be at age 80 with a bellyful of a wine and a woman’s mouth
around his cock… a sentiment that makes Jaime not only smirk, but finish the
sentence word for word. This moment not only is a quiet nod that the brothers
know each other better than they think, but also shows just how far Tyrion has
come. He says he always assumed that would be his death, but that hasn’t been a
scenario for Tyrion for several years now; that’s the Tyrion of old. And that’s
also the Tyrion Jaime knows best, unfortunately. But Tyrion then adds that at
least Cersei won’t get to murder him. Could this be foreshadowing? Will he
survive the White Walkers only to find his death at Cersei’s hand in King’s
Landing? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And for Jaime Reunion #3, he meets up with
Brienne, who is admiring Podrick as he fights with aplomb. Amazing to think this
is the same Pod who could barely wield a dagger in the early days. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoq8SWedf0jedA5HwXiymxRafrNHD1QBn-WDuahEoumdnV_VsNQxaBfFrlFTG3rNltuc5KakexM51xCZSZY8CxhLytQ9xEHJ1NztZKWB20anXJsuIgC6NsNejBXEHYI4VoIrSlw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.24.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1600" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoq8SWedf0jedA5HwXiymxRafrNHD1QBn-WDuahEoumdnV_VsNQxaBfFrlFTG3rNltuc5KakexM51xCZSZY8CxhLytQ9xEHJ1NztZKWB20anXJsuIgC6NsNejBXEHYI4VoIrSlw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.24.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime and
Brienne exchange some soldier small talk for a short while before she loses it
on him, wondering what game he’s playing by talking to her without insulting
her. If he’s not smack-talking her, she doesn’t know how to handle him. But
Jaime becomes contrite, and tells her he’s no longer the fighter he once was,
but he’d be honoured to fight under her command. This is the first of two
amazing moments for Brienne in this episode; in this one, a lifetime of being
an outcast culminates in the admiration and acceptance of the greatest swords<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">man</i> Westeros has ever known. I wanted to
stand up and cheer, because Brienne is one of the greatest of GRRM’s creations,
and I’ve always wanted her to have this recognition. All Brienne manages in
this moment is a brief nod, before she excuses herself quickly and leaves him
standing there. So we’ll all do the cheering for her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And next, Daenerys meets up with her former
Hand of the Queen …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: …who has some wise advice for her. To wit: “Your Grace, we’ve been
emphasizing Tyrion’s mistakes an awful lot over the last few episodes, which
means that, according to the laws of narrative, he’s due for a massive eureka
moment that will probably save us all.” Jorah’s defense of Tyrion is consonant
with the tone of both this episode and the last one, which is to say, unlikely
people stepping up to have the backs of former rivals—Arya telling Jon that
Sansa is the smartest person she knows, Brienne vouching for Jaime, and in the
scene that follows, Sansa also defending Tyrion. Much of this episode is like a
long, nervous inhalation, and the survivors of seven seasons of blood and grief
find camaraderie with people that, once upon a time, they were trying to kill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Case in point: the lovely scene that
follows in which Daenerys attempts a rapprochement with Sansa. The tension
simmering between the Northerners and Daenerys’ people finds politely subtle
expression in the look Bronze Yohn Royce gives Daenerys as he exits, but the
conversation between Daenerys and Sansa seems to promise that the two women
might just be able to find common ground—if nothing else than their shared
loathing of Cersei Lannister, but Daenerys also points out that “We both know
what it’s like to lead people who aren’t inclined to accept a woman’s rule.”
This, and her observation that they’re both damned good at it makes some
headway with Sansa—at any rate, a smile ghosts across her otherwise
imperturbable face (SO MUCH good face acting in this episode, but Sophie Turner
takes them all to school). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys is smart enough to intuit that at
least part of Sansa’s worry is about Jon; Sansa points out that men can do
impulsive and irrational things for love, which if she were talking about
anyone else might seem uncharitable; but Sansa knows all too well Jon’s
impulsivity and willful blindness is a fundamental element of his character.
Blinded by his hatred of Ramsay Bolton, he ignored her advice before the Battle
of the Bastards; she then watched him as he broke ranks and charged the enemy
alone (without a helmet on, no less), precipitating precisely what their
outmanned forces could not afford, which was to charge the enemy’s greater
numbers. Were it not for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex
machina</i> of the Knights of the Vale, Jon’s reign as King in the North would
have ended almost as soon as it started. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sansa knows this all too well, and thus is
not wrong to worry that her brother might be acting according to the directives
of something other than his brain. But Daenerys makes a good point: she has put
her lifelong quest for the Iron Throne on hold for the time being, brought her
armies to the North while the hated Cersei sits unmolested (except perhaps by
Euron) in King’s Landing, and indeed lost one of her dragons because she was
convinced of the virtue and necessity of fighting Jon’s war. And yes, she loves
him, but she makes clear that the reasons are more than merely hormonal. “I
trust him. And I know he’s true to his word. He’s only the second man in my
life I can say that about.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And a moment of levity: “Who was the
first?” Sansa asks. “Someone taller,” Daenerys replies. I kind of wish she had
continued: “And broader. You know, through the shoulders. And chest. Just, you
know, generally bigger. Really, you could fit two Jon Snows in one Drogo
thigh.” “What happened to him?” “Oh, king of the oceans now, or something. I
didn’t really follow. More of a Marvel person, myself.” At which Sansa nods.
“Damn straight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course, it always comes back around to the
question of Daenerys’ intentions. Assuming everything goes well for our
heroes—a big assumption—Sansa wants to know whether the North will have its
freedom. “What about the North?” she demands, and the nice moment they’d been
having is broken as Daenerys snatches away the sisterly hand she’d been resting
on Sansa’s. It seems that bending the knee remains her deal breaker. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Fortunately, she doesn’t have to answer, as
they’re interrupted with the news of a new arrival: Theon, whose presence
surprises Daenerys and delights Sansa. He delivers the news that his sister
will be retaking the Iron Islands for the Queen, but as far as he is concerned,
“I want to fight for Winterfell, Lady Sansa. If you’ll have me.” Which, well,
of course she will. More great face-acting from Sophie Turner here—more emotion
that she’s shown, really, since the last time Theon pledged his loyalty to her.
In an episode with many emotional moments, this was a big one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut from there to Davos ladling out soup …
which seems a bit odd. I know Davos is a salt-of-the-earth person, a commoner
elevated for his service, but he’s one of Jon Snow’s principal advisors.
Doesn’t he have more important things to do than play lunch-lady? Perhaps this
is just the sort of thing he does to take his mind of affairs of state? One way
or another, it gives him a chance to also ladle out encouragement to nervous
men and to reassure a little girl—with an assist from Gilly—that she can be
just as brave protecting the people hiding out in the crypts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OK … so you know that old saying about how
a gun on the wall in act one must be fired by the end of the play? I’ve already
mentioned that Tyrion will probably use his big brain to do something brilliant
sooner rather than later, which is a good bet because so much was made about
his mistakes. Now I’m starting to get a little worried about the crypts. In
every other scene, it seems, we’re told, promised, and reassured that the
crypts are the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">safest place in Winterfell</i>.
Have anyone else’s alarm bells been ringing? Because it occurs to me that when
your enemy’s big party trick is RAISING THE DEAD, possibly the best place to
seek refuge is not somewhere FILLED WITH DEAD BODIES. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“All right,” says the brave little moppet,
“I’ll defend the crypt, then.” I have a really bad feeling that kid’s eyes are
going to be a somewhat brighter shade of blue before all this is over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Davos and Gilly however, blind to the alarm
bells, exchange smiles, and then are distracted by the sound of a horn. New
arrivals! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Speaking of face acting, I think Liam Cunningham is absolutely
superb in this scene. Like you, I thought, why is he managing the soup
kitchen?? Though, in an episode of reminders of each character’s fealty to
their families, perhaps he’s paying homage to the Seaworths in this moment. I
have no doubt there are onions in that soup. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But that little girl. What a punch in the
gut to have a little girl walk up who has half her face scarred by a trauma
from her past. The way he looks at her, his eyes speaking volumes but his face
betraying nothing to her… it was nothing short of a tour de force performance
in this moment. A lesser show would immediately flash to Shireen sitting by him
in her dark room at Dragonstone, teaching Ser Davos how to read. Back to the
little Oliver Twist girl holding out her bowl of soup, “Please sir, may I have
some more?” Another flash to Shireen burning at the stake, screaming for mercy
as her father looks on, a scene that Ser Davos could only imagine these past
few years, seeing as he was off with Jon Snow at the time. But this isn’t a
lesser show, and they don’t need these flashbacks, because they have actors
like Liam Cunningham who show us the flashbacks just through their eyes. This
little girl, the mirror image of Shireen—whose scars are on the right side of
her face to Shireen’s left—gutted me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP70lWZVbb9_l8j4-8EaiAFkL8ajMbpqFY6my6JN1Vg8zQjd5ZN-jw5fD8NP6d3Fyhu_koEutunD4n5UZ-MgerCH07tzGPb1jGIvPSHSjQk1Hggpl1XYnxwLH4aXil4UXCbDBKUQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.37.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP70lWZVbb9_l8j4-8EaiAFkL8ajMbpqFY6my6JN1Vg8zQjd5ZN-jw5fD8NP6d3Fyhu_koEutunD4n5UZ-MgerCH07tzGPb1jGIvPSHSjQk1Hggpl1XYnxwLH4aXil4UXCbDBKUQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.37.40+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then we get to the return of the
wildlings and the Night’s Watch (which consists of Tollett as the [funk] sole
remaining brother), and Tormund tackling Jon with all the gusto Tormund usually
has. They update him on the state of the Umber house, mercifully leaving out
the gory Wheel of Limbs details (though I’m sure those will come later) and
explain that “whoever’s not here is now with them.” Meaning a TON of people
have joined the Army of the Dead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Rt9AXgFFXU0Jy5CKVBjDAtQ1GL9b7HY4OF67cjbaAnuYp_DSSS0t09u48s-vRFL4lfYjsmSP858yKoI4rgZ-RU9Rd1NTVEqY03JRxn9P028F1fTqKW-flptHZJ46ggCeHkzPbA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.39.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Rt9AXgFFXU0Jy5CKVBjDAtQ1GL9b7HY4OF67cjbaAnuYp_DSSS0t09u48s-vRFL4lfYjsmSP858yKoI4rgZ-RU9Rd1NTVEqY03JRxn9P028F1fTqKW-flptHZJ46ggCeHkzPbA/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+2.39.06+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In slow-mo, Kit Harington's face is even funnier. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And then, to the delight of every fan,
Tormund says quickly, “The big woman still here?”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We then cut to Jon giving his Churchill “we
will fight them on the battlefields” speech, standing before a map that’s
curiously like the opening credits, right down to the little blue rectangles
that represent the icy demons of the dead that are descending upon them from
the North, and I couldn’t help but think, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Who
had time to put this together?! Like, shouldn’t that person have been
fashioning dragonglass spears or something??” </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">They know they have until sun-up to prepare
for the impending doom: in other words, for most of them, this will be their
last night. As Jon outlines their advantages and disadvantages, from out of
nowhere Bran begins talking. “When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of
the slide then I stop and I turn and I go for a ride, then I get to the bottom
and I see you again.” :::crickets::: “Pinky ponky pogo.” :::confused looks:::
“Where I come from, the birds sing a pretty song and there’s always music in
the air.” :::jazz music begins playing, Tyrion fights the urge to dance:::<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“He’ll come for me,” he says, silencing the
room as Bran is wont to do. “He’s tried before, many times with many three-eyed
ravens.” Cut to “da fuck?!” faces throughout the room. Quick reminder: Bran has
had visions of the Three-Eyed Raven, an old man, many times since his fall. We
had that whole bit where Bran discovered the children of the forest, who were
involved in a war thousands of years ago with the First Men, who were
slaughtering them. The children created the White Walkers to vanquish the men.
When Bran wargs to a scene involving the Night King, Blue Eyes can actually see
Bran and grabs him, forcing Bran to wake up and remove himself from the vision.
This is very different from the other moments where he would watch a scene
involving his father, for example, and Ned couldn’t see him. The White Walkers
kill the Three-Eyed Raven while Hodor protects Bran by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">holding the door</i> (waaaahhhhh), and Benjen Stark appears, taking
Bran out of there and saying the Three-Eyed Raven lives again, presumably
through Bran. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Interestingly, in one vision quest with the
Three-Eyed Raven, Bran asks if he’ll ever walk again. No, says TER, but you’ll
fly. Could we see the result of that prediction next week? Will Bran be on a
dragon? Will he fly on his own? Was it just meant to refer to the flights in
his visions? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But back to the scene at hand: Bran
basically tells them to use him as bait, putting him in the Godswood to draw
the Night King to him. “He wants to erase this world, and I am its memory.” Sam
is the only one who truly understands in a beautifully epic speech that sums up
so much of the purpose of this episode: “That’s what Death is, isn’t it?
Forgetting. Being forgotten. If we forget where we’ve been and what we’ve done,
we’re not men anymore, just animals.” He looks at Bran. “Your memories don’t
come from books, your stories aren’t just stories. If I wanted to erase the
world of men I’d start with you.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The rest of the Stark siblings will have
none of it. Jon wants him in the crypts, Sansa and Arya say no way Jose, but
Bran insists he must stay in the Godswood. And that’s when Theon pipes up,
saying he’ll stand with Bran and defend him. Theon. THEON. The guy I’ve pretty much
despised from the beginning, played delightfully despicably by Alfie Allen for
all these seasons, so sneering and entitled in the beginning, so dark and evil
when he kills two innocent farmer’s boys to hang them from Winterfell and make
everyone think he’s killed the two youngest Starks. So inept as he’s tricked by
Ramsay Bolton. So victimized by Ramsay that the Theon of old dies a horrible,
torturous death to be replaced by the servile and pathetic Reek, and like a
phoenix, out of the ashes of Reek rises Theon, a man missing the symbol of
masculinity, but a man who is more of a man than many of the others in that
room, who is still weak, but saves Yara, saves Sansa, and tries to redeem
himself over and over. I fear this will be the final redemption for Theon, but
it’s the one the truly counts: it’s the one where he finally stops being Ned’s
ward and becomes a member of the Stark family.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Next is Tyrion and Ser Davos talking about
how they will signal the arrival of the dead, and Daenerys begins to parrot
what Ser Jorah tells her, explaining she needs Tyrion for his mind and that he
must stay down in the crypts. Of course, now that you’ve espoused your theory,
Chris, I’m TERRIFIED about Tyrion being down there. But perhaps that might be
the moment you mentioned, where he comes up with a strategy that saves the
innocents who have been sent there? Gods willing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5SpNWn29l6naTP-tJ4a2hYKtnwqDuBdEbT_-L9LWGFz2yKcCevauhIzVNowy-Kqpb_B7aX2BDmMlzyLMnSbPOxxu92NmGMFK0Gw6ocDlhuSwtu0-BUeIGo4_y9hV1iKeT0ymgQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.21.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5SpNWn29l6naTP-tJ4a2hYKtnwqDuBdEbT_-L9LWGFz2yKcCevauhIzVNowy-Kqpb_B7aX2BDmMlzyLMnSbPOxxu92NmGMFK0Gw6ocDlhuSwtu0-BUeIGo4_y9hV1iKeT0ymgQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.21.23+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After discussing the dragon placement, Jon
Snow awkwardly leaves the room rather than confront his auntie, and everyone
else follows suit, leaving Tyrion and Bran in a room together. As night
descends, everyone begins to pair up with others as they wait out their final
hours, and Tyrion decides the story of Bran might be an interesting one.
Methinks he’s going to learn something through this conversation that he’ll use
later in the crypts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then #WinterfellSoWhite (your awesome
hashtag from last week) reacts to Grey Worm and Missandei, while Sam wonders
why Jon hasn’t told his auntie the truth yet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: There’s recently posted YouTube video of George R.R. Martin in
conversation with Marlon James, the Jamaican novelist who won the Man-Booker
prize in 2015 for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Brief History of
Seven Killings</i>, which is about (in part) the attempted assassination of Bob
Marley in 1976. James recently published <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Black
Leopard, Red Wolf</i>, the first novel in a fantasy trilogy that eschews the
standard neo-medieval European setting and mythos to which the genre has
traditionally hewn; James’ novel (which I only recently started reading—it is,
so far, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">amazing</i>) is instead African
and Afro-Caribbean in its sensibilities, themes, and tropes. He wrote it, as he
says in his discussion with GRRM and countless other interviews, because he has
always loved fantasy, but never saw people like himself as characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media;
gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S9AxEjlj1Q8" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I bring this up in part because even in the
eight years <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has been
aired and taken the television world by storm, we’ve also seen significant—not
huge, but significant—changes in SF/F in terms of an increasing number of
female, queer, and PoC voices finding prominence. Case in point:
African-American fantasist N.K. Jemisin winning the Hugo award for best novel
three years in a row, each win by a novel in her Broken Earth trilogy, the
first time in the history of the Hugos that has happened. (I honestly cannot
recommend her work enough). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I bring this up because I want to both laud
GRRM’s innovations in the genre and acknowledge the series’ limitations. I
won’t get into it here, because these posts already run somewhat long, but the
TL;DR is that GRRM has had a seismic effect on fantasy comparable to Tolkien,
which, I would argue, has facilitated a much greater diversification of voices.
At the same time … well, #WinterfellSoWhite, and the same can be said for
Westeros more generally. GRRM has changed the rules of the game, but without
changing the generic tendencies of his own storytelling—which is why what
racial politics we have in the show are reduced to Missandei being dissed by a
pair of ignorant kids, whose behaviour we can deplore without being required to
interrogate it in any depth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgxqZdjYMle00YC7Z-w_ImroLo7oHS15fbUtz5xYKxClxbzJt8jQXVH5cv3H1sbVO4dSbF8X6m3HXS-eADmots0uDPdgYhoGRYntN9_SpIFCS9K0PFdUBBzOrcrW6gMD1Sq8anw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.43.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="1600" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgxqZdjYMle00YC7Z-w_ImroLo7oHS15fbUtz5xYKxClxbzJt8jQXVH5cv3H1sbVO4dSbF8X6m3HXS-eADmots0uDPdgYhoGRYntN9_SpIFCS9K0PFdUBBzOrcrW6gMD1Sq8anw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.43.56+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVdKLkuWzFGJssTbgls9i9PwCOucrVHfB6Mbc9U_gIMhX6QUfnr9lFWSiIuCIY4EhQ3o1hq7rSipAHj1D0ygkCQi5X7yvYHGZs04ImUlUIaPWYKEwM8mRoYhpqoe_d353MVFM8g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.44.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1600" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVdKLkuWzFGJssTbgls9i9PwCOucrVHfB6Mbc9U_gIMhX6QUfnr9lFWSiIuCIY4EhQ3o1hq7rSipAHj1D0ygkCQi5X7yvYHGZs04ImUlUIaPWYKEwM8mRoYhpqoe_d353MVFM8g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.44.07+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(Again, not getting into the weeds on this,
but I’m happy to discuss it if you want to hit me up in the comments).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All that being said, that moment of
provincial racism sets up a touching and poignant moment between Missandei and
Grey Worm that also functions as a recognition that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this is not our home</i>. Missandei wants to return to her home on the
island of Naath; Grey Worm wants to take her there, and says that once Daenerys
has taken her rightful throne, he feels no more compunction to stay with her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s a small scene and a touching
one—honestly, if anyone deserves a tropical vacation, it’s these two—but I
found it nagging at me a little on rewatching. Daenerys has the power she does
because of the Unsullied and the Dothraki, both of which pledged loyalty and crossed
the Narrow Sea with her. It is obvious they inspire fear and suspicion among
the Westerosians, ameliorated in the present moment because of the more
dangerous enemy on their doorstep. But what happens when/if Daenerys takes the
throne? Do her subjects from Essos stay and take up residence in the Seven
Kingdoms? Do they go home, as Missandei and Grey Worm plan? Or do they remain a
standing army to threaten dissidents? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Or perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. I
should ask these questions again after the big battle, I suppose. Who knows
whether anyone’s going to survive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We then shift to Sam and Jon on the
battlements, staring into the dark, with Sam—as you say, Nikki—asking Jon
whether he’s given Daenerys the news yet. When Jon says no, Sam nods, saying
“Biding your time. Being careful. Waiting for the perfect—” at which point he’s
cut off by a look from Jon. Because, really Sam? What precisely <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">would</i> be the perfect moment to tell your
lover that she’s actually your aunt and, oh, yeah, you have the better claim to
the throne she’s been through hell to claim?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VWU6KpiZWgmeDWt9hE-6exL8ARJdACk-IioNU2ZwZPtOkio1Wvr92NpqpJQCbK8pCldsF65vM-xSF1rIBqd_OlQzt0eMLrFN-_DchE0J4kB04H_t_W-023Dg8k4h2pYjk_7yQA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.53.54+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VWU6KpiZWgmeDWt9hE-6exL8ARJdACk-IioNU2ZwZPtOkio1Wvr92NpqpJQCbK8pCldsF65vM-xSF1rIBqd_OlQzt0eMLrFN-_DchE0J4kB04H_t_W-023Dg8k4h2pYjk_7yQA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.53.54+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sam at least has the good grace to look
abashed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The best part of this scene is the return
of Ghost, who stands behind them quite cheerfully, looking at Jon as if to say,
“OMG, there’s my hooman! I missed him so much!” No explanation for his absence
… he’s just there. And you know what? I’ll take it. I just hope the writers
give him some badass moments in the battle to make up for neglecting him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Then we get the appearance of Dolorous Edd
Tollett, and a callback to when he and Jon and Sam—and Grenn and Pyp—bonded in
their early days of the Night Watch. “And now our watch begins,” Edd says,
which for some reason makes Jon inquire about Gilly and Little Sam. “They’ll be
safe,” he says, “down in the crypt.” FUCK. Stop saying that, people!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Again, a good chunk of this episode seems
to be about people sharing their bona fides, stripping their sleeves, as it
were, to show their scars (which Bran literally does). When Jon suggests to Sam
he might want to join Gilly and Little Sam in the crypt—because, y’know, it’s
so damned <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">safe</i> down there—Sam takes
that moment to remind his friends that he is not without feats of his own to
brag about … and I kind of love the fact that, in Sam’s mind, being the first
to kill a White Walker is more or less on par with stealing books from the
Citadel. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That</i>’s a frood who knows
where his librarian’s at.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Then we’re in the Great Hall, empty but for
a roaring fire and the Lannister brothers having some wine and reminiscing
about the days when they weren’t quite so fucked by fate. Jaime the Lion,
Tyrion the whoremonger … neither role either of them can ever return to. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JODEGO1t4LAWH9WeFtRAaHA_L-uoAQdprLZ-mzEbxHx8-jzHTUHTItv2-wj4Jj5JEyjSjSfP1q6rxYS_l8Psq9QIHZBUwr8ID8SsFRN048wdCEsoIYgqHe3rnYq0mryGXDMRSA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.57.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1600" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JODEGO1t4LAWH9WeFtRAaHA_L-uoAQdprLZ-mzEbxHx8-jzHTUHTItv2-wj4Jj5JEyjSjSfP1q6rxYS_l8Psq9QIHZBUwr8ID8SsFRN048wdCEsoIYgqHe3rnYq0mryGXDMRSA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+7.57.58+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As
they sit there, they’re joined by more and more people seeking out the warmth
of the fire, and it turns into something of an old home week celebration. It’s
appropriate that the first arrivals are Brienne and Pod—Jaime’s former
antagonist, and Tyrion’s former lackey, who have, through the coincidence of
their former associations, become one of the more endearing character pairings
in the series. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of this episode’s
fireside chat, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: You’re right, the people who end up at the fireside chat have been
enemies and outcasts, and here they all are, together in the final hours of
humanity. Brienne has taken on a mentor/mother role with Podrick, at first
telling him he can’t drink at all and then relenting that he can have half a
cup (which Tyrion then pours until it overflows, hiding it from Brienne as they
both smirk like naughty boys). They’re immediately joined by Ser Davos, who’s
come for the warmth of the fire and rejects the offer of a drink, and Tormund,
whose reunion with Brienne we’ve been waiting for this whole time—and Gwendolyn
Christie’s facial expressions do NOT disappoint.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tormund wastes no time reminding Brienne
that this could be their last night in this world, while Jaime looks on partly
confused, partly amused. Brienne stammers that she’s happy he’s alive, and
Tyrion offers him a drink, whereupon Tormund holds up his giant wildling horn
and says, “Brought my own.” And then he asks if anyone wants to hear why he’s
called Giantsbane. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Everybody: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tormund: Let me sit right down and tell
you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then he proceeds to tell one of the
funniest stories ever recounted on the series, where he’d killed a giant when
he was 10, then crawled into bed with the giant’s wife, who suckled him at her
teat for three months thinking he was a baby. The story is outrageous and makes
zero sense, but the way he tells it—followed by the looks everyone gives each
other, and then Tormund chugging back his horn of sour goat's milk and
letting it slop down his front as if giving a demonstration of what it was like
in that woman’s bed for three months—raises it to the level of absolute comic beauty.
But it’s Ser Davos who gets the punchline: “Maybe I will have that drink.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Arya and the Hound were together for a long
time, and when he last saw her she was a little girl who talked tough and could
fight, but wasn’t the warrior she is now. Now she’s an adult, and he has this
grudging respect—almost affection—for her. “When’s the last time you fought for
anyone but yourself?” she asks, and he answers, “I fought for you, didn’t I?”
And you realize what a special place she actually holds for him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When Beric shows up with his velvety
smoker’s voice, he begins talking about the Lord of Light. He doesn’t get far
when the Hound cuts him off mid-sentence. “Thoros isn’t here anymore so I hope
you’re not about to give a sermon. ’Cause if you are, the Lord of Light is going
to wonder why he brought you back 19 times just to watch you die when I chuck
you over this fucking wall.” Beric holds out his hand for a drink, and Arya
sees that as her moment to leave. “I’m not spending my final hours with you two
miserable old shits,” she says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Arya has other plans. Gendry has made her
the spear she wanted (which looks amazing) and he’s looking at her in a
different light now—he’d just seen her display with the dragonglass daggers,
and he knows she’s not the little kid pretending to be a boy that he met back
in season 2. He quickly admits that he’s Robert Baratheon’s bastard, stopping
her in her tracks, and things escalate quickly from there. I’ll admit it; I was
a little creeped out at first. She’s still little Arya to me, as she is to so
many people, the young girl who watched her father Ned die what feels like a
lifetime ago, but also feels like it was last week. And yet here we are, with
Maisie Williams all grown up and in a nude scene. And frankly, we should
rejoice, because as much as we’re looking at this like it’s our daughter or a
niece or a kid who seems too young to be doing this (she’s not), it also has to
be one of the healthiest sex scenes we’ve seen on the show yet: Arya instigates
it, she undresses herself. She’s not taken by force, nor is he. These are two
people who’ve known each other a long time, whose fathers were best friends.
They’re reuniting and trying to relearn things about each other, but Arya is in
as much control of the situation as Gendry, and it’s a rather beautiful moment.
Sex really can be a healthy, beautiful thing in Westeros. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And speaking of women in control, we now
move back to the ongoing fireside chat with our lovely band of misfits. After
Tyrion talks about how they might all live through this battle (meaning they
most definitely will NOT), Tormund says he can’t believe Brienne isn’t a
knight. She’s pretty blasé about it, shaking her head and saying women can’t be
knights, and she’s never wanted to be one anyway (her face says the exact opposite).
Tormund says he’d make her a knight many times over if he’d been a king. And
that’s when Jaime suddenly announces any knight can make another knight.
Tormund has a look on his face like it’s Christmas morning, and Brienne just
scoffs. Earlier in this episode she said she was uncomfortable with Jaime being
so nice to her for so long, and watch her body language in this scene, the way
she continues to scoff and pretend she doesn’t care about this because she
knows she’s about to be the butt of an enormous prank. Jaime’s going to get her
to swing her leg back and then he’s going to pull that football out of the way.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But he doesn’t. As her face begins to
register that oh my god, maybe he’s not joking, and she slowly kneels before
him, the others stand in awe, watching the Kingslayer knight a woman who might
be the greatest fighter of the realm, and they have the honour of bearing
witness to such an event. </span>Brienne’s face shines as her eyes well up, and I
don’t know about you, but I couldn’t watch this with a dry eye. In this moment,
Jaime realizes they live in a new world, where “tradition” doesn’t mean that’s
the way it has to be. One of the most dangerous sentences in our modern
language is, “Because that’s how we’ve always done it.” And Jaime says fuck that,
we’re doing it another way now.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This moment might be my favourite one in the entire series. Ser Brienne of Tarth, a champion from the moment we laid eyes on her, gets one of the best episodes of the series named for her. God, I hope this doesn’t mean she won’t make it past the next episode.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Were you blubbering through this scene like
I was, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Pretty much. Even just reading your description of the scene is
making me a little <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">verklempt. </i>What
makes the scene particularly powerful, once again, is some fantastic
face-acting … Gwendolyn Christie here gives Sophie Turner a run for her money.
It is completely understated: her lip <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just</i>
quivers, her eyes go moist but don’t actually well up. The payoff is the
incredulous little grin she gives at the end, which is basically when the
waterworks started for me.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It is also a hugely powerful scene simply
because of these two characters’ history. As you point out, Nikki, Brienne is
obviously inclined to see this as a likely prank. When it proves otherwise, it
is as much a statement on Jaime’s redemption as on Brienne’s virtues. My read
is that, in knighting Brienne, Jaime is expressing gratitude: his redemption
began with his association with her, first as her prisoner, then as her
rescuer, and now it culminates with him as her comrade-in-arms. The story he
might have told Daenerys about how he came to kill the Mad King he’d told
Brienne back at Harrenhal in season three, and it was our first glimpse into
the greater complexity of Jaime Lannister—the necessary act that saved King’s
Landing, for which everyone was secretly grateful but did not hesitate to label
him the morally bankrupt “Kingslayer.” The louche, amoral Jaime we met at the
beginning of the series was a mask, scar tissue built up over years of feigned
indifference to people’s contempt. Given that it was Brienne that was a major
factor in him sloughing off that persona, it is eminently appropriate that
Jaime should be the one to validate her own long saga of being a figure of
ridicule and contempt (and the fact that it is Tormund who makes the suggestion
to start with—and the most enthusiastic applauder—is the icing). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So, yeah. As you say, hopefully this
doesn’t mean she’s now marked for death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From there, we finally get a moment addressing
an irksome point I raised in our last post, i.e. the seeming indifference of
the northerners to the presence of Jorah Mormont. Sam makes his way down into
the courtyard to where Jorah is having words with Lyanna (who, I should correct
my previous error, is his cousin and not his niece). His avuncular concern for
her and suggestion that she should hole up in the crypts where she’ll be “safe”
(stop saying that!) has, not unpredictably, gone over like a lead balloon.
Kitted out in full armour, she declares that she will not hide, and that she
will fight for her people. Which surprises precisely no one. Still, she seems
to accord Jorah a certain respect, so one assumes the past crime for which he
went into exile has been, if not forgiven, then at least forgotten.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As she leaves, Sam approaches, his family
sword in hand. “You still have a family,” Jorah says gently, referring to Gilly
and Little Sam; and yes, Sam would love to use the sword to defend them, but “I
can’t hold it upright.” More importantly though, Sam feels keenly the debt he
owes to Jorah’s late father Jeor, formerly Lord Commander of the Night Watch.
“Your father,” says Sam, “taught me how to be a man. How to do what’s right.
This is right.” And he hands Jorah the sword. “I’ll wield it in his memory,”
says Jorah, obviously somewhat overwhelmed. “To guard the realms of men.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I love the symmetry of this moment. The
first time I watched this scene, I thought <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whoa</i>
… isn’t that a little excessive? Valyrian steel is one of the most precious
commodities in, well, the world, making a sword like Heartsbane literally
priceless. In one of the novels (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Storm
of Swords</i>, I think) it is revealed that in spite of being the wealthiest of
the major houses, the Lannisters never possessed a Valyrian steel sword, and
Tywin went to great lengths to try and acquire one—but so precious are they
that even impoverished houses preferred to hold onto their heirlooms rather
than sell them. Then after the execution of Ned Stark with the Stark sword Ice,
Tywin had Ice melted down and forged into two new swords, one for Joffrey as a
wedding gift, and one for Jaime. Jaime gave his to Brienne and charged her to
fulfill her promise to Catelyn Stark. Jon Snow’s Valyrian sword Longclaw was
originally House Mormont’s, but since Jorah’s ignominy and exile left Bear
Island without a male heir, Jeor gave the sword to Jon (though I think Lyanna
might be annoyed with that now). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now, something resembling full circle:
Sam, expressing his gratitude to Jeor Mormont, giving his own family sword to
the redeemed and deserving Jorah. It’s not Hand of the Queen, but it’s a pretty
decent compensation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I’ll see you when it’s through,” says Sam
with an optimism belied by his next words, “I hope we win.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we’re back to the fireside, with
Tyrion determined to keep the party going. “No, let’s stay a bit longer!” he
protests when Jaime suggests getting some rest. (Which is easy for Tyrion to
say, as he’ll be holed up in the crypts—you know, where it’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">safe</i>). “We’re out of wine,” says Davos,
as sure an indication that the party is about to break up as any. Unless … “How
about a song?” suggests Tyrion, and goes around the circle, meeting with many
shaken heads, until we learn that Podrick has been hiding his star under a
bushel. Singing in a mellifluous tenor, he shows us that Westeros has more
music on offer than just “The Rains of Castemere” and “The Bear and the Maiden
Fair.” The song he sings is “Jenny’s Song,” and while this is the first we’ve
heard of it in the show, it has rather a deeper significance in the novels. Pod
sings:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">High in the halls of
the kings who are gone<br />
Jenny would dance with her ghosts.<br />
The ones she had lost and the ones she had found<br />
And the ones who had loved her the most.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The ones who’d been
gone for so very long<br />
She couldn’t remember their names<br />
They spun her around on the damp cold stone<br />
Spun away all her sorrow and pain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And she never wanted
to leave<br />
Never wanted to leave.<br />
Never wanted to leave.<br />
Never wanted to leave.<br />
Never wanted to leave.<br />
Never wanted to leave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Very quickly: the song appears in the
novels when a wood witch called the Ghost of High Heart demands it be sung in
payment for a prophecy. The suggestion is that it is about a friend of hers
from her youth, Jenny Oldstones, who had an ill-fated affair with Prince Duncan
Targaryen, who abdicated his throne for her—which is how Aerys II, aka the Mad
King, ended up being crowned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is also a fan theory that the song
itself was written by none other than Rhaegar Targaryen, and that he sang it to
Lyanna Stark. Certainly we get a hint at that when Daenerys comes up to Jon in
the crypts (you know, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">safe place</i>)
and mentions that her brother Rhaegar was known for his love of singing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But as Pod sings the mournful song, we get
a montage of people waiting for the inevitable—notably, pairs of people with
powerful connections: Sam and Gilly, Arya and Gendry, Sansa and Theon, and,
perhaps most poignantly, Missandei and Grey Worm. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The only person pictured alone in this sequence is Jorah, astride his horse and staring into the darkness … his solitude, juxtaposed with the companionship just depicted, is heartbreaking and reflects on the solitude he has carried throughout the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And the song ends with Daenerys entering
the crypts to find Jon. And … well, you tell it, Nikki.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: First of all, thank you for the sword recap. When Sam handed the
sword to Jorah I was so thrilled to have this moment, but simultaneously
thought, “I’m really losing track of which sword is which.” And if I’d been
Brienne in that Podrick scene I’d have been like, “ALL THOSE DAYS we were on
horseback together, riding silently through boring countrysides, and you never
once let me know you could sing like this?!” Loved that scene. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But yes, earlier in this episode Sam asked
Jon Snow if he was waiting for the perfect time to tell Dany the truth, and
only upon hearing his own words he realized how ridiculous they sounded. So,
instead, Jon chooses the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">worst possible
time ever</i> to tell this woman about to go into battle that, oh, by the way,
he actually has a claim to the Iron Throne, too, but don’t worry, hon, we can
discuss all this when we both make it through this battle alive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">GULP. Just a sec, there, Jon, I need to
touch up the paint here on this target you’ve just drawn on your back… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is a beautifully shot scene in what
I’m now convinced is the ill-fated crypt (that is, mysteriously, completely
empty, like wouldn’t they have begun ushering <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all those people</i> down here by now?!) When Daenerys approaches Jon,
he’s staring at the statue of Lyanna. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">He gives her the weakest smile ever, like
one your kid would do on picture day when they remember you saying they need to
smile in this one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">She asks who the statue is, and he tells her. And to her
credit, she shows nothing but sympathy to this woman, even though by doing so
she’s betraying the memory of her brother Rhaegar. She says that everyone told
him he was so decent and kind, that he was charitable and brought happiness to
people, and yet he raped this woman. Even though we all know Jon’s about the
deliver the ultimate, “So about that…” it’s still worth pausing to note that
she’s grown up with this contradiction about her brother her whole life, and
how difficult that must have been to grapple with. She’s told that he was kind
and good, and yet he raped a woman. She believes this because as horrible as
Viserys could be, he had moments of caring for her as a child, but then could
turn hostile, as we’ve seen.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxw-KYH3bSC76lpzzkqeimmawEKqUvpGMO72OU6HhoF78K6qyMfYpzaBz6s-exwAR1oVhRjxxT0ocKs8Mcc1wT-aYdoJJdQzhOclQod07hcWh-MrCuzXIc3_w9xrvnHrBx5M83Bg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.22.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxw-KYH3bSC76lpzzkqeimmawEKqUvpGMO72OU6HhoF78K6qyMfYpzaBz6s-exwAR1oVhRjxxT0ocKs8Mcc1wT-aYdoJJdQzhOclQod07hcWh-MrCuzXIc3_w9xrvnHrBx5M83Bg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.22.56+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US">But Jon begins telling a different
story—about the secret marriage, her son, Ned taking the baby… that that baby,
Aegon Targaryen, is standing before her right now. Daenerys’s face is the
perfect picture of bafflement. In one minute he has changed her entire world
view. Since her brother Viserys died, she has been the last living heir of the
House Targaryen. She’s travelled the countryside, building up loyalty and trust
wherever she goes in a bid to be queen, and here comes this upstart at the last
minute going, “Oh hey, my dad’s CEO, so…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDEVEjSmPSyCL7C63HhbK-gfaRvXJ_eD-GBgejfu_-Hpc4aURRxAdKG4WmqQ0DD6m4Eoyjw8ynSkGIeHF0RJm1_4wmO1CI6kEFPc72PoQ2NGjbJSuPbUww7duLw8RK8NCvsjG9bQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.30.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1600" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDEVEjSmPSyCL7C63HhbK-gfaRvXJ_eD-GBgejfu_-Hpc4aURRxAdKG4WmqQ0DD6m4Eoyjw8ynSkGIeHF0RJm1_4wmO1CI6kEFPc72PoQ2NGjbJSuPbUww7duLw8RK8NCvsjG9bQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.30.17+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">She immediately states the obvious, how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">convenient</i> it is that the only people
with this information were Jon’s brother and best friend, but he insists it’s
true. He doesn’t absolve her worry—“You have a claim to the Iron Throne”—because
the horn is blown that the White Walkers have arrived. Noticeably, Jon turns to
the sound of the horn, but Dany doesn’t take her stricken eyes off his face.
Maybe it’s in that moment she realized “oh my god you’re also my nephew.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_IYm8D82AN7QjXnJHlOWhstiE4OeSXIVgzRZxsuBZXb-u3PMvu7RyR9A17wV4fsN_X3Er5NDptonGXJO_jGlRNv2iN_CQFFV7ZKb2B46glhIcTKfjD813mlEQ4ewqgI2t9GupA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.29.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1600" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_IYm8D82AN7QjXnJHlOWhstiE4OeSXIVgzRZxsuBZXb-u3PMvu7RyR9A17wV4fsN_X3Er5NDptonGXJO_jGlRNv2iN_CQFFV7ZKb2B46glhIcTKfjD813mlEQ4ewqgI2t9GupA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.29.40+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Outside on the wall, Tyrion stands at the
parapet while Jon and Dany join him. Jon nods to Daenerys, who simply walks
away. Well this is GREAT. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoK4P-s9anMCUW6wLV6v9FoMmNaoHaWwDSdB68rncRjLCKCT9PLL8Rbm-DJfsAwj6gDU4l-9hIT0nYNxdg0DBBVu9YVGxIjPiasy9dJWEb9MlxuEMAh8PIWdBKE9Yh_Qb8OAugQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.30.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="1600" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoK4P-s9anMCUW6wLV6v9FoMmNaoHaWwDSdB68rncRjLCKCT9PLL8Rbm-DJfsAwj6gDU4l-9hIT0nYNxdg0DBBVu9YVGxIjPiasy9dJWEb9MlxuEMAh8PIWdBKE9Yh_Qb8OAugQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.30.38+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then the music swells and we cut to the
massive, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">massive</i> army of White
Walkers standing about a mile from the castle before we cut to the end credits,
and Florence + the Machine singing “Jenny’s Song.” I couldn’t help but think
when we have that quick cut of the dead, though, that the two men with long
white hair on horses could easily be the Mad King and Viserys. Of course, they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> have white hair, so… there goes that
theory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYI8ybvRQ8XoNlHC6mVBXDxjxVk5YAaVBeA_B_sq09gAuHDeyQhZNXSBee5VuRk0QC2RTInRWDIksY_C840QV0VvGiHnA6-QuWM1Ld_Zqv9Ka3-J0u1_ms1bMKRgJfxKzSf3v5g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.32.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYI8ybvRQ8XoNlHC6mVBXDxjxVk5YAaVBeA_B_sq09gAuHDeyQhZNXSBee5VuRk0QC2RTInRWDIksY_C840QV0VvGiHnA6-QuWM1Ld_Zqv9Ka3-J0u1_ms1bMKRgJfxKzSf3v5g/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.32.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupzwyH8eHnuXWigh-qVeiSM7RaiehTYRJVcJAgYDk3HBXruDZd6E8x9-U1WIu1m8Wh6dBgRs_dvwahgubneKfv4INEL8LK519qYD7hx3CTdltZVMOEinF501Z1K1opE4jjafB8w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.33.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupzwyH8eHnuXWigh-qVeiSM7RaiehTYRJVcJAgYDk3HBXruDZd6E8x9-U1WIu1m8Wh6dBgRs_dvwahgubneKfv4INEL8LK519qYD7hx3CTdltZVMOEinF501Z1K1opE4jjafB8w/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+8.33.13+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br />
And that’s it until next week, where the showrunners have announced next week’s
battle episode will be the longest battle sequence in television history, and
will be the longest episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of
Thrones</i> ever, at 82 minutes. It took EIGHT WEEKS to film this over 55 nights.
So, first of all, how lucky are we to be here to experience such an
extraordinary thing (most movies don’t take that long to film, I would think)
but secondly, let’s take our last remaining days to think about this episode
some more and be thankful that, for these final days at least, everyone alive
in this episode is still alive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Until next week’s slaughter, thank you, as
always, for reading this far. We’ll see you next week! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-33633289424792945662019-04-16T12:00:00.000-04:002019-04-23T15:34:10.738-04:00Game of Thrones 8.1: Winterfell<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p>Hello and welcome back to our recaps of <i>Game of Thrones</i>!! First, allow me to blow the dust off this blog... </o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p>I'm currently in the process of moving this blog over to a new platform where I could breathe new life into it, and was really hoping to have done so before <i>Game of Thrones</i> got started, but... here we are. Much like this episode, we shall begin again in the same place where we began season 1. </o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p>As always, I'm joined by the amazing <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>, who has been writing these recaps with me since season 1, episode 1, and until a couple of seasons ago, was the one providing the information on how the show matched or diverged from the books. Now he's flying by the seat of his pants the same way I am. </o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p>Since we were last in Westeros in August 2017 (!!!), we couldn't remember which one of us should be starting this one, and we both wrote openings by accident. But I liked Chris's more, so we're keeping that one. And without further ado, CUE THE THEME MUSIC! Take it away, Christopher!</o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Before we get to the story proper, we need to talk about those
opening credits! Same basic idea as we’ve seen for seven seasons, but
startlingly different. For one thing, in case we didn’t remember that last
season ended with snow falling all over Westeros, these rebooted credits let us
know that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">winter is here</i>, unfolding
initially in stark (heh) black and white … and even when colour seeps back into
the picture as we move farther south, the palette remains muted and the sky
lowers darkly overhead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Also, the usual trajectory is reversed: for
seven seasons we always began at King’s Landing, the seat of power, and then
the gods’-eye view roved over all the locations that would appear in the
episode. We ended last season with Jon Snow telling Cersei that thrones and
crowns don’t matter in the great war between the living and dead; the graphics
department seemed to have been paying attention, and started us off not with
King’s Landing but north of the Wall, with a bleak image of the breach wrought
by the Dragon Formerly Known as Viserion. As we pass through the breach,
squares of the ground flip over like game-board tiles, turning from white snow
to blue ice. My guess is that this indicates the progress of the army of the
dead, and subsequent episodes will show them getting closer to Winterfell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The armillary sphere containing the sun has
also changed, and not just in the silvery sheen it now sports. The heraldry
engraved on its rotating bands is different. As with previous seasons, we get
three different glimpses of different images; in previous seasons, the imagery
depicted scenes allegorizing the (relatively) recent history of Westeros: most
specifically, Robert’s Rebellion, as we see in sequence the Targaryen dragon
juxtaposed with a phalanx of armoured men, a dragon being savaged by a
Lannister lion and Baratheon stag, and finally the stage triumphant. Now we
have what looks like ice-Viserion laying waste to the Wall; a stylized Red
Wedding, with a St. Sebastian-esque body inside a castle stabbed through with
many blades and a figure holding up a decapitated direwolf head while a lion
looks on; and finally, numerous dragons following what looks like a shooting
star. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgZFTsfiAJMsY4w61H7TppPNzndk0MjeI_tc7a1TRUiABLz4MLhTXJQrCxyGrg_EOty6tHa3eCxbkfx-rbOOdRdaFZCQaH33pB8Zq-5SWFPo2RY3_oTBBiuUqVbeZLFB-cViSWw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.02.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="1120" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgZFTsfiAJMsY4w61H7TppPNzndk0MjeI_tc7a1TRUiABLz4MLhTXJQrCxyGrg_EOty6tHa3eCxbkfx-rbOOdRdaFZCQaH33pB8Zq-5SWFPo2RY3_oTBBiuUqVbeZLFB-cViSWw/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.02.39+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the interests of seeing how much I can
glean from the credits on my own, as of writing this I haven’t yet looked on
the interwebs to see what the fan readings are … but it strikes me that the
final image is the most suggestive, as it hearkens back to the beginning of
season two and the red comet that streaked across the sky—an omen that was
variously interpreted by different characters, but accurately by only one. Osha
the wildling tells Bran that it can mean only one thing: “Dragons.” And of
course we know as much, having ended season one with Daenerys emerging from the
fire with her three “children.” But in the image, there are four dragons.
Assuming that ice-Viserion will have to get his quietus if the good guys are to
win—and that he might well take one of the other two dragons with him—does this
mean we can look forward to the birth of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i>
dragons this season? In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fire and Blood</i>,
his history of the Targaryens, GRRM writes that there was a rumour that one of
the former Targaryen dragons left a clutch of eggs un the crypts underneath
Winterfell … might this rumour prove true?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Certainly, both the teaser and the official
trailer for season eight placed heavy emphasis on the crypts; that might just
have been for atmosphere, but we go somewhere we’ve never been in the pervious
iterations of the opening credits—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">inside</i>
the clockwork buildings. When we enter both Winterfell and King’s Landing, an
emphasis is initially placed on the gates as the snap into place while we pass
though, a suggestion, perhaps, of the importance of these two strongholds in
the wars to come. But we also pass into the bowels of each castle: into the
crypts of Winterfell, and into the lower levels of the Red Keep where the
skulls of long-dead Targaryen dragons gather dust. If we recall, those skulls
once adorned the walls of the throne room, but Robert Baratheon banished them
to the castle’s nether regions in an attempt to similarly banish memories of
the Targaryens. There’s an interesting and suggestion thematic resonance here:
if the Winterfell crypts do in fact contain dragon eggs, they ironically
represent a space of rebirth; whereas the underlevels of King’s Landing contain
only vestiges and the shadows of old power, which is possibly why the city is
no longer the starting point for the credits’ tour of Westeros, but its end.
Let’s remember that haunting image from Daenerys’ vision of a ruined throne
room open to a snowy sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I’m sure the fans are weighing in already as I type
this first thing Monday morning, and I have no doubt the episode will have its
detractors, but I thought it was an amazing return to Westeros. If you take
your mind back to the very first episode of the series, we opened in
Winterfell, with all of the Stark children there and Ned preparing for the
arrival of King Robert Baratheon and his family, the Lannisters. This episode,
which feels like 20 years later, finally finally FINALLY reunites all the
living Starks, brings another royal to Winterfell, pays homage to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aladdin</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Train Your Dragon</i> in a single scene (ha), reveals the
biggest secret of the series to the person it means most to (and yay for a
beloved character being the one to deliver that news!), has a truly terrifying
scene that would make horror fans stand up and cheer, and ultimately brings
together two “old friends” for a zinger of a final moment. And that’s just
skimming the surface. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That opening credit sequence was exquisite,
but two and a half minutes later, we’re at Winterfell. And so is everyone else,
by the looks of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The writers know that of all the characters
on this show, there’s one whose death would probably cause mass mutiny, and
that’s Arya. And so she’s the first familiar face the camera zooms in on, as
she stands there excited to see the troops arriving, and anticipating the faces
of who will pass her by. It’s a moment that could be easily mistaken for fan
service—of all the people, let’s show Arya because the fans love her. But
there’s so much more going on in this scene. As with much of last season, I
believe season 8 will be the one where we keep going back in our minds to where
they all began. Arya was the little girl at Winterfell who didn’t want to be
like the other girls, who wanted to wield a sword and learn to fight, just like
her brothers. They adored her, and Jon gave her Needle, the sword that has been
at her side for most of the series. When she left at the end of season 1, she
was on her own, wandering the countryside, kidnapped, trapped, fighting,
killing, being a Girl with No Name… she’s done it all. And now she’s back where
she started, having her <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is Your Life</i>
moment of people going by: Jon Snow, her beloved brother; the Hound, the
caustic SOB with whom she travelled much of the countryside and whose
begrudging trust she earned every step of the way; Gendry, the boy who thought
she was a boy for the longest time, who had been taken by the same people who
were taking her away from Winterfell—he didn’t know she was the daughter of Ned
Stark, and she didn’t know he was the son of Robert Baratheon. And now she
watches them all parade past her, not one of them noticing her standing there,
because they’d be watching the crowds for a little girl, and that girl is long
gone. (Although we do see a glimpse of her for one brief moment when her face
lights up with joy as the dragons swoop over the crowds for the first time.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jon Snow and Daenerys are in the middle of
the massive number of Unsullied soldiers and Dothraki riders who march into
Winterfell (and even before Sansa commented on it, all I could think was, where
the heck are these guys going to sleep? What are they going to eat?) as a White
Queen (in a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fabulous</i> outfit) and a
Black Knight, two chess pieces on horses marching by their crowds of
admirers—chess pieces, I might add, who are dressed like they’re on opposite
sides of the board. I sense some foreshadowing going on here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And riding along with them, in a carriage,
is Tyrion and Varys, with Varys complaining about the cold of Winterfell and
Tyrion mocking him as he always does: “At least your balls don’t freeze off,”
he sneers. Varys asks him point blank why he takes great offense at dwarf jokes
but likes telling eunuch jokes, and Tyrion says, quite plainly, “Because I have
balls and you don’t.” Touché. I do love how these rivals have become as close
as they have, but it’s mostly because they’re probably the two most cunning and
conniving men in Westeros, and they both realize the old adage of keeping your
enemies closest.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then the queen and her knight arrive in
the courtyard of Winterfell, a courtyard that once had horses and sheep and
little boys fighting with wooden swords and blacksmiths… and now has soldiers
and hardened faces preparing for a war they don’t expect to win. Sitting in the
middle of that courtyard is Bran, who should have been dead a long time ago,
who was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reported</i> dead a long time
ago, who is stoic, unsmiling, unmoving, and a warg. And the look on Jon Snow’s
face when he sees him is worth the entire episode. Well, that and the resting
bitch face that Sansa has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perfected</i>
and gives to Daenerys moments later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This opening scene is very grey, overcast,
ominous, but also echoes and mirrors the same scene of Robert Baratheon
entering King’s Landing in episode 1 of season 1. A much smaller army; a queen
who didn’t want to be there; a jovial drunken king; an imp who had a much
younger, clean-shaven face; a sneering heir to the throne; the Kingslayer
staying close to his “queen”… the group arriving at Westeros was a very
different one all those years ago, but they were coming to Winterfell for
Robert to make one “simple” request of Ned Stark: to become the Hand of the
King. And the moment Ned takes that job, everything falls apart. “Winter Is
Coming” signalled the beginning of the great wars of Westeros; “Winterfell” is
about the beginning of the end of those wars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we move to meeting of the Houses
at Winterfell, and of course one of my favourite characters taking a stand.
What did you think of what happened when everyone was finally together in one
room, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: There was one little element that bugged me, which was that there
was no acknowledgment among the northerners of Ser Jorah—who is, after all, a
Mormont of Bear Island, and (I think) Lyanna’s uncle. He was once the Lord of
Bear Island, until he sold slaves to raise funds to keep his young wife happy;
but Ned Stark got wind and was going to have him arrested, but he fled,
basically becoming persona non grata in the North. If we remember, that’s how
he ended up in Essos (his young wife at that point having abandoned him),
spying on Daenerys in exchange for the promise of a pardon from King Robert. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s been a long, long road since then …
but wouldn’t his presence at Winterfell be looked at askance by the
northerners? I find it difficult to believe that Lyanna wouldn’t have a sharp
word or thirty to say on the matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Or perhaps she’s just too preoccupied with
the fact that the man she helped make king threw his crown away mere months
later and made the North subject to a silver-haired southerner. Certainly, her
vitriol in the meeting is scathing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rQZdcmG7IsPyhY9UrK8yKsHQtrAJ-CkZvedEZvBfzuovPJpZVNzZtQMaTNMaIJkD_dMW0tpUwRqV91eTaQPOEirMXkDDlA0sSZtpRoMNrjApuwluSy5-VD_QiBHo0sevGEXq6g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.15.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1172" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rQZdcmG7IsPyhY9UrK8yKsHQtrAJ-CkZvedEZvBfzuovPJpZVNzZtQMaTNMaIJkD_dMW0tpUwRqV91eTaQPOEirMXkDDlA0sSZtpRoMNrjApuwluSy5-VD_QiBHo0sevGEXq6g/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.15.07+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion does a good job in mollifying
everyone, lauding Jon Snow and citing everything he has done. It seems to be
going well … until he says that the Lannister armies will soon be coming north.
Peter Dinklage is great in this moment, losing whatever rhetorical momentum he
has built as he realizes that news of the Lannisters’ imminent arrival likely
won’t sit well with this crowd—what will all that war business and the Red
Wedding and stuff. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m with you, Nikki, in wondering about
logistics, and it speaks well to Sansa’s maturity as a leader that she voices the
question (however snarkily), though I worry that too much of this last season
is going to dwell on the Sansa/Daenerys frenemy dynamic; we just got through
the better part of a season’s worth of her suspicions about Arya, and her
jealousy of Jon is obviously still a thing. At the same time, Daenerys’
response to her question of what do dragons eat, anyway? is pretty awesome:
“Anything they want.” Even with just two dragons, having them pretty much
remains the ultimate trump card.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Then we cut to the unloading of carts of
dragonglass in the courtyard, as Tyrion and Sansa look on. Reunions of
characters long separated was one of the highlights of the previous season,
though not all of them are necessarily pleasant. It’s been easy to forget that
Tyrion was forced to marry Sansa, and that her disappearance after Joffrey’s
death at the Purple Wedding made things even more difficult for Tyrion—a fact
she quite tactfully acknowledges. I quite loved this particular interaction.
Sophie Turner and Peter Dinklage deliver a masterclass in understated acting,
and Sansa once again displays her hard-won gravitas, light years beyond the
callow girl we met in season one. “Many underestimated you,” Tyrion observes.
“Most of them are dead now.” It is a wise observation, but it is notable that
Sansa intuits something that escapes Tyrion—there will be no Lannister army
coming north, because it is not in Cersei’s nature to do anything even remotely
altruistic. When he responds affirmatively to Sansa’s question about whether he
believed Cersei’s promise, she says, “I used to think you were the cleverest
man alive.” And then exits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Boom. I have a sneaking suspicion that
Sansa might run out of mics to drop before we’re even halfway done this season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Poor Tyrion. As he digests that little work
of passive-aggressive poetry, he looks down into the courtyard to see Bran
looking up at him with that thousand-yard stare that, I have to imagine, is
really starting to freak the people of Winterfell the fuck out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sansa’s cruel burn finds an echo in the
next reunion scene: when Jon Snow dismisses Sansa’s dislike of Daenerys by
saying “Sansa thinks she’s smarter than everyone,” Arya rejoins, heartfelt,
“She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met.” It’s a heart-clenchingly touching
tribute, and one that—unfortunately—Jon Snow will almost certainly not heed.
Indeed, he gets his back up a bit, asking why Arya’s defending her … saying it
a little incredulously, as he remembers how Arya and Sansa used to be, when Arya
loathed Sansa’s ladylike airs and idolized her bastard brother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is much in this episode that calls
back to the very first one: the little boy running through the crowd to find a
vantage point to watch the newcomers echoing Arya doing the same thing (and
indeed, as you point out, Nikki, also doing it in this episode); the pageantry
of a royal visit; Jaime coming full circle to be confronted by Bran; but
really, the most poignant moment (to my mind) is Arya’s reunion with Jon—after
their initial deadpan exchange, delight and love creases her face, and as she
leaps into his embrace, she is, for just a moment, little Arya from episode
one, season one. But much has happened, and it seems in this scene that while
Jon feels his own experiences like a burden, he lacks the empathy to see it in
others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But the scene ends with a touching hug and
Arya’s guileless, contented smile. And from there we go Cersei getting the news
of the dead breaking through the Wall … and her response is not exactly what
one might expect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: You’re right, the family reunions are so heavy in this episode I
half expected someone to show up with a picnic table and a bucket of KFC, but
I’m with you: the Jon Snow/Arya reunion slayed me. It’s probably the one I’ve
been looking forward to the most, and it didn’t disappoint. (I also loved how
they immediately began comparing sword sizes…) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLTuAlsEidQf2i0ZqhOcj0I92kaQzgf3lofuOZuhcLzAzmTqB6wbxg3QhsgkuuOB4O0ZvJnmw78d10SqQZRcF1v-Uc8NPpX2M2FBzV8Cjy_cgC4e7rCwOwbzHtDWb1y26vPcUn4Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.22.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLTuAlsEidQf2i0ZqhOcj0I92kaQzgf3lofuOZuhcLzAzmTqB6wbxg3QhsgkuuOB4O0ZvJnmw78d10SqQZRcF1v-Uc8NPpX2M2FBzV8Cjy_cgC4e7rCwOwbzHtDWb1y26vPcUn4Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.22.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, down in King’s Landing, Cersei
has pretty much proven Sansa’s theory correct. As Qyburn tells her the Walkers
have broken through the Wall, she says, “Good.” It’s so quick, and so
unexpected, that my husband actually said, “Did she just say ‘Good’?!” Well of
course she did. Despite the zombie demonstration that was laid before her in
the previous season, we saw with the fallout between her and Jaime that she’s
pretty much lost her mind at this point and doesn’t fear the White Walkers the
way she should. She’s been so obsessed with Daenerys and her dragons that the
moment she discovered Viserion had been killed—and was now a wight—she probably
thought she and the White Walkers are on the same side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We cut to good ol’ Euron, who, if you
recall, kidnapped Yara and took out most of her crew, and Theon jumped in the
water to save himself because he didn’t have the courage/ability in that moment
to save her. But he regretted it, as we’ll soon see. As Euron reassures Yara
that he hasn’t killed her yet, and won’t, because he really wants someone to
talk to—read: someone to brag to about the royal copulation that will soon
commence, as he’s just promised—just watch her face and the hatred that crosses
it. I kept thinking, oh man, if she manages to get those shackles untied,
buddy… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Euron’s thousand ships dock at King’s
Landing, and Euron goes to see Cersei with Captain Strickland, whom he’s recruited
from the Golden Company, who tells Cersei that he’s managed to bring her 2,000
horses. But Cersei, who’s become obsessed with watching the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dumbo </i>trailer repeatedly on Pycelle’s
YouTube account, asks where her elephants are. When he explains how difficult
it would have been to transport elephants over water, Cersei’s face is
unchanging, but in her head you can see her standing up and screaming, throwing
all of her toys at the other toddlers, and stomping out of the Red Keep.
Instead, she keeps all of that inside and just glares at him. Uncle Euron
decides THIS is the moment to make a romantic move on the queen, and Cersei
just stares him down: “You want a whore, buy one,” she says. “You want a queen,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">earn her</i>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then, you know, she sleeps with him.
And complains about her lack of elephants again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cersei’s actions continue from her
unravelling in season 7. We remember in previous seasons her love of Jaime and
those sympathetic moments of a mother falling to her knees over the losses of
her children. But in season 7, Jaime was in King’s Landing with her, and they
argued the entire time. He was terrified by the zombie demo and wanted her to
join forces with the North. She wanted to leave them alone to destroy the
North. He countered that there would be only two possible outcomes: one, the
White Walkers destroy the north and then continue on to them, or two, the north
somehow vanquishes the White Walkers and then marches on King’s Landing to
destroy the family who refused to help them. Jaime talks to Tyrion behind her
back, she talks to Euron behind his, and ultimately she sics the Mountain on
Jaime, who manages to get away, telling her that he’s basically done with her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cersei has lost Robert, Joffrey, Myrcella,
Tommen, and now Jaime. Everyone has turned their backs on her, and she’s
becoming the female embodiment of Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King. Euron chides
her about sleeping with the Kingslayer, wanting to know how he measured up to
her brother in bed, and she doesn’t let this get to her the way she used to.
Instead, she’s probably just mentally compiling a list of reasons she’ll have
Euron flayed later. His final comment—“I’m going to put a prince in your
belly”—is a rich moment, because Cersei already has a prince in her belly, and
as long as she does, she believes she’s not alone in this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Qy2iEW5mURAI65eis_fuwLjcCUK9LpljsMl7N6auNmfBSeutJFgi53WpWNtc07ubuxLYlKQNhtJlR1pEhXbyj2ojBra1ApZQXkXyMf6LJicj2rzadDiKbSPkgQnS0L2DWshw1w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.26.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="637" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Qy2iEW5mURAI65eis_fuwLjcCUK9LpljsMl7N6auNmfBSeutJFgi53WpWNtc07ubuxLYlKQNhtJlR1pEhXbyj2ojBra1ApZQXkXyMf6LJicj2rzadDiKbSPkgQnS0L2DWshw1w/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.26.58+PM.png" width="286" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the middle of the Cersei/Euron scenes,
we get a brief reintroduction to Bronn, who reminded me of Dracula and his
three brides as he prepares to have a four-way (where the women are talking about Ed Sheeran's character from last season, which made me giggle), interrupted by Qyburn, a
mood-killer if ever there was one. He delivers a message to Bronn: that Cersei
needs him to hunt down Tyrion and Jaime, and kill them both. It’s a devastating
moment where we realize just how far gone Cersei is. And that Bronn is really
good at what he does, and will do whatever makes him the most money. And right
now, Cersei’s got a lot of it. I liked Bronn in the beginning, and over the
years he’s had some priceless zingers, but I wouldn’t shed any tears if
something horrible happened to him at this point. Perhaps… he’ll be reunited
with Brienne of Tarth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVz1t2D7ylfOP3UJwjdST-Zy33RGRHEwoANJ08u_yi8WWQOftJW48ij15_XRlz0V6jVuDw9AlHu2hyOQ3Bapt3vU6WcZFkI8fRCOVARuNVo7hP_tBlTsVeiQAd5n7cPzmfY8saQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.26.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1085" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVz1t2D7ylfOP3UJwjdST-Zy33RGRHEwoANJ08u_yi8WWQOftJW48ij15_XRlz0V6jVuDw9AlHu2hyOQ3Bapt3vU6WcZFkI8fRCOVARuNVo7hP_tBlTsVeiQAd5n7cPzmfY8saQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.26.06+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then it’s back to Theon and Yara, and
another redemption of Reek. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Considering just how low Theon was brought, I suppose it makes
sense that he gets multiple redemptions—and I guess he has only one last atonement,
which is to stand with the Starks against the Night King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When Yara thanked Theon for rescuing her
with a headbutt, I wrote “different families, different customs” in my notes.
Still, their final moment when she gives her blessing to him to go and fight at
Winterfell was quite touching … albeit a little funny as well, as Yara realizes
that the motto of the Iron Islands—“What is dead can never die”—doesn’t quite
work as well when the enemy is literally a horde of dead people. “But kill the
bastards anyway,” is as good an amendment to the traditional saw as any. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0M3xx8yGERxGT5xuQFxGogfgWHvWd8UE583mBcDlRIg90N6Lj6WUkcAjSlrNz6UyiPanzOOwfbbakXV1bDDcYQ2oqqnQFns53_jBkk-Ce12mPf_3M9WJHDFIfv05lIuXEhpLiQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.28.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1001" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0M3xx8yGERxGT5xuQFxGogfgWHvWd8UE583mBcDlRIg90N6Lj6WUkcAjSlrNz6UyiPanzOOwfbbakXV1bDDcYQ2oqqnQFns53_jBkk-Ce12mPf_3M9WJHDFIfv05lIuXEhpLiQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.28.47+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Then back to Winterfell and its ongoing
preparations for battle—Unsullied encamped outside the walls, trebuchets being
readied, long lines of soldiers and supplies tramping into the castle. Tyrion,
Varys, and Davos watch as the most recent arrivals, the Karstarks, are greeted,
and Davos attempts to make a point. He tells Tyrion that until just recently,
the Karstarks were the Starks’ enemies. Jon Snow managed to bring them back
into the fold and make peace. Tyrion’s boilerplate response—“And our Queen is
grateful”—misses Davos’ point. Whatever the threat posed by the Night King,
northerners are still not going to easily accept Daenerys. “The northmen are
loyal to Jon Snow, not to her,” he says. “They don’t know her. The Free Folk
don’t know her. I’ve been up her a while, and I’m telling you, they’re stubborn
as goats. You want their loyalty? You’ll have to earn it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdAT5wPq6LDftYXJd1E6DY-esOJSD6lsajZ2mhHKSvDp5QT9t_v9c28UinvXJH28tbuNR3fBj9TxfLZOvbnMOnzOGQsodv6SZ3OhIPrke3k1haVuzWLadavOFo9QZf3BZYVnQXA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.29.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="1078" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdAT5wPq6LDftYXJd1E6DY-esOJSD6lsajZ2mhHKSvDp5QT9t_v9c28UinvXJH28tbuNR3fBj9TxfLZOvbnMOnzOGQsodv6SZ3OhIPrke3k1haVuzWLadavOFo9QZf3BZYVnQXA/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.29.48+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Given that the Night King isn’t that far
off, one might argue that the common enemy will shortly obviate whatever
distrust and resentments currently exist. But Davos is thinking ahead, seeing
how the bases for further conflict might be avoided on the off chance that they
survive the coming battle. “A proposal is what I’m proposing,” he says, as the
three advisors look down from the wall to where Daenerys and Jon are obviously
at ease with each other and happy in each other’s company. The attraction
between them is obvious to most, and Davos is cannier than most … a dynastic
marriage might be just the thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course, he doesn’t yet know what we
do—that Jon is actually Aegon, and Daenerys is his aunt, a fact that may or may
not be a spoiler as the show will necessarily pose the question: just how much
incest is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too</i> much incest? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But that will have to wait until the next
episode; for the moment Jaenerys get to enjoy each other’s company, and hey—how
about a dragon ride? (Oh, and I laughed out loud when Daenerys understood
“eighteen goats and eleven sheep” as “the dragons are barely eating.” Yikes. I
feel hard done by every time I have to buy a new bag of kibble for my cats.
Dragons are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">expensive</i> pets). There
seems to be a bit of fudging here, as the understanding has always been that
only Targaryens can ride dragons. So it makes sense that Jon can (clumsily)
ride Rhaegal, but not so much that Daenerys blithely invites him to climb
aboard. Perhaps she assumes that the dragons are now comfortable with Jon? Or
so taken with his depthless eyes that she forgets that piece of family lore?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzn7JirESFKAoCL_nz4ng9YGW9-aAmQOc1xKjTb9t_m4jF3XH-F_U8MekGXe0sLC2nZMgAykR5DTWzZCwk1nSTwieQQxpGZMMhN1zg9qGaF-IrwI6VL7R_M4jHC8f8bE4jqExxw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.30.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="891" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzn7JirESFKAoCL_nz4ng9YGW9-aAmQOc1xKjTb9t_m4jF3XH-F_U8MekGXe0sLC2nZMgAykR5DTWzZCwk1nSTwieQQxpGZMMhN1zg9qGaF-IrwI6VL7R_M4jHC8f8bE4jqExxw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.30.53+PM.png" width="355" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Whatever the reason, she convinces him, and
they replicate a scene that I assume happens in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Train Your Dragon 3</i>, and end up at the base of a picturesque
frozen waterfall. Daenerys is struck by the beauty of the place, and says “We
could stay a thousand years.” Which, in an episode full of callbacks, is a
particularly poignant one, as it recalls what Ygritte said to Jon in the grotto
several seasons ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Their make-out scene is hilariously
awkward, and will resonate with anyone who has pets—that feeling many of us
have experienced when an intimate moment is made weird upon realizing that the
cat or dog is watching intently. (I have to guess that the dragons are both
thinking “Ohhhhh … OK, so he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> a
Targaryen”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut then to the forge, where Gendry and the
other smiths are hard at work transforming dragonglass into weapons. The
Hound’s axe is an impressive piece of work, but he doesn’t seem overly
grateful, offering insults rather than thanks. And then: yet another reunion as
Arya appears, telling the Hound to leave Gendry alone. “You left me to die,”
says the Hound. “First I robbed you,” she points out in reply, and it’s obvious
Sandor doesn’t know whether to be angry or impressed. “You’re a cold little
bitch, aren’t you?” he asks, then allows, “Guess that’s why you’re still
alive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_G0NntEdkjXuhcRFWBr6kv3bTxthfjwwbMn7vG7PJnVrWB_RExp7RBExJx5SRN1E94zrX3VklRp0YgPdnZSXuWAOCS5OvjQdxZP69J7tCSVW0iYk8-IKx5Y6B5yUh-FFo59KteQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-16+at+8.58.43+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="732" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_G0NntEdkjXuhcRFWBr6kv3bTxthfjwwbMn7vG7PJnVrWB_RExp7RBExJx5SRN1E94zrX3VklRp0YgPdnZSXuWAOCS5OvjQdxZP69J7tCSVW0iYk8-IKx5Y6B5yUh-FFo59KteQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-16+at+8.58.43+AM.png" width="310" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Still alive” is becoming a recurrent
theme, which, after seven seasons of players being swept from the board, is not
perhaps surprising. The characters who have made it this far and made it
through hells both literal and figurative have earned their right to be still
standing; but it also raises the question of who’ll still be standing as the
final credits roll in six weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Arya’s reunion with Gendry is somewhat
warmer, even a bit flirtatious. Are these two about to become a thing, I
wonder? In the very first episode, Robert Baratheon proposed joining houses to
Ned Stark; that of course didn’t happen, but even if it had, Joffrey was not an
actual Baratheon. Gendry on the other hand is Robert’s bastard; will the union of
Stark and Baratheon happen after all, after all this time?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Perhaps. But awkward flirtation aside, Arya
has a task for Gendry, which seems to be some sort of double-pointed spear
tipped with dragonglass. Considering that she already has Needle and a Valyrian
steel dagger (as Gendry points out), one might suggest that she’s being a
little greedy with about her weapons. On the other hand, I have to imagine
there’s all sorts of havoc Arya could wreak among the undead with just such a
thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we have, finally, a confrontation
between Jon and Sansa. What did you think of their squabble, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I just want to add that I couldn’t help but imagine Jon singing,
“It’s a whole new wooooorld” while riding on the dragon (which, HONESTLY, how
do either of them stay on the backs of the dragons as the dragon spines
violently undulate up and down the whole time…) with Daenerys reaching out to
him singing, “Don’t you dare close your eyes!” I’ve always loved the scenes of
the dragons and Daenerys riding them, but something about this scene felt a
little cheesy, I’m not sure why. Though I was amused by the fact that Jon Snow
rides a dragon the way the Greatest American Hero flies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(And I also wrote in my notes, Chris, when
they landed, “OMG it’s like when the cat is sitting on the end of your bed at
night…”) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And this is probably as good a spot as any
to say that Bran is one creepy mofo in this episode, constantly sitting and
staring at people when they least expect him to be there. As I said to someone
on Facebook, his storyline has always been the only kind of boring one, and
this season they’ve just propped him up like a broom in the corner to remind us
he’s still there (staring creepily at everyone when we KNOW he’s constantly
watching them even when they leave the courtyard) but we don’t really have to
deal with him. I couldn’t help but wonder if, when Drogon was watching Daenerys
and Jon kissing (EW)… could it have been Bran warging and watching them?
(DOUBLE EW.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR7oD7xl_W7yPIh42ttZTfUTal425z6LpViwUu2axvvngdCUUjTz66fe6U4kMp6dvan-Pdvh6q_ROGOYNq1RkE_3dXll4BKarpyAQ3uZ0FL-9c4gAGsy7JvDsm8OaPZNNUk9Ssw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.32.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="785" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR7oD7xl_W7yPIh42ttZTfUTal425z6LpViwUu2axvvngdCUUjTz66fe6U4kMp6dvan-Pdvh6q_ROGOYNq1RkE_3dXll4BKarpyAQ3uZ0FL-9c4gAGsy7JvDsm8OaPZNNUk9Ssw/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.32.21+PM.png" width="254" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But back to Sansa. I’m thinking in the past
two years Sophie Turner has used her time off well, standing in front of
various mirrors and perfecting that hooded-eyelid “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am judging you</i>” face to freakin’ perfection. Her side-eye, her
resting bitch face, and her full-on shade are at their peak this season. Sansa
was such a twit in season 1, and she’s a full-on warrior goddess now. I
absolutely adore her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwTnVtj6-p67Ie0Wu-EOA7XQYWlrK2fDIBNAcoZF1rVZzJ7bxxlOtPDrHspN9eKxQFzLwito2eaI8rl-DCv9EOP7QTE_03nEsfHW0tY70trnVbc-AmU2bjxTlQeSOhAG5OnpWIg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.11.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="784" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwTnVtj6-p67Ie0Wu-EOA7XQYWlrK2fDIBNAcoZF1rVZzJ7bxxlOtPDrHspN9eKxQFzLwito2eaI8rl-DCv9EOP7QTE_03nEsfHW0tY70trnVbc-AmU2bjxTlQeSOhAG5OnpWIg/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.11.35+PM.png" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And as for the dispute between her and Jon,
she’s basically bringing to the fore what he’s been too blind to see this
entire episode, but which everyone else sees as plainly as the noses on their
faces: he’s brought the enemy into their midst. The northerners are all dressed
in blacks and greys; she’s dressed in white. They are all northerners who live
in cold and snow; she was born of fire and brought fire-breathing beasts to
their lands. The Targaryens are the family of the Mad King, the family of
dragons, the family that has destroyed so many of theirs. There’s no way
they’re going to just accept her with open arms now that she’s shown up with Jon
Snow hanging off hers. And as we’ve seen both last season and this season,
Dany’s major flaw is her undying obeisance to protocol. She started off as the
mother figure, the saintly leader who wanted to care for her flock; now she’s
dressed similarly to Cersei (just at the opposite end of the colour spectrum)
and demands you bend at the knee or she’ll bring on the dragons. She refused to
allow Jon to retain his King of the North mantle, and so he’s given it up to
proclaim her the ruler of all the Seven Kingdoms. And the northern folk are
PISSED. Lyanna Mormont has voiced her concerns, and Ser Davos points it out to
Tyrion and Varys, as you mentioned, Chris, and here Sansa takes a metaphorical
sledgehammer and brings the point home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLDTqCrF-c14kxEP083TDGjspaZPI3wxUd1I3dHodOUy3gNiGw_UksW2MBhEsVGZzoi5vyw8IuVxwgZRRZZNRdUlZgv5H95Rs_k4Ka3uxLWmxtyMjzfi0k3uOctRbsKcTjWkKxg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.37.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="809" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLDTqCrF-c14kxEP083TDGjspaZPI3wxUd1I3dHodOUy3gNiGw_UksW2MBhEsVGZzoi5vyw8IuVxwgZRRZZNRdUlZgv5H95Rs_k4Ka3uxLWmxtyMjzfi0k3uOctRbsKcTjWkKxg/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+7.37.52+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course Jon counters with an excellent
point: she’s brought the Unsullied to them, and without her they cannot win.
She has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">two dragons</i>, for goodness’
sake. But even he doesn’t look 100% convinced. Daenerys isn’t quite the
Daenerys she used to be, for better or for worse. There was a time she was so
attuned to her dragons she could feel their feelings; and now, when they won’t
eat and my immediate thought was, “Because they’re mourning the loss of their
brother Viserion,” she simply says that they don’t like the North. But on the
other hand, her journey has been one through hell—remember, she’s 13 in the
first book and roughly 17 in the TV adaptation of the first book—and she’s come
out harder and smarter. And Jon’s right: does the North really stand a chance
without her? “Did you bend the knee to save the North,” Sansa asks, “or because
you love her?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to the return of our beloved Sam Tarly.
Sweet, lovely Sam. He meets Daenerys for the first time and shows nothing but
fealty and respect, and she thanks him for his role in saving Ser Jorah’s life.
In return she asks if there’s anything she could do for him. Well, if it’s not
too much trouble, he stutters… he could really use a pardon. For, you know,
“borrowing” some books from the Citadel, and, you know, sort of, um, lifting a
sword from his father’s palace. One that would eventually be his, you know,
but… still. And that’s when the pieces fall into place for Daenerys, who at
first is glancing at Ser Jorah with amusement and then suddenly isn’t. “Not
Randall Tarly?” she asks. And then, with all the emotion of informing him that
Baskin Robbins is out of the flavour of ice cream he asked for, she tells him
that actually, Randall Tarly refused to bend the knee and her dragons incinerated
him. Sam’s eyes grow wide with shock, and then he remembers his dad was a
complete asshole, so he stammers that at least his brother will be lord of the
castle now. And like the boss on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Office
Space</i>, she’s like, “Yeeeaaaaah… I sort of immolated him too.” :::takes long
sip of coffee::: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I was a little worried he’d start running
through other members of his family and she’d just say, “Yep… check… gone too…
yep… oh that one fought a bit but yep…” and it would be a horrible reverse of
the Stark family reunions. But instead, Sam’s bottom lip quivers and he asks
very politely if he can leave. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As Sam rushes out of the crypt in tears (oh
Sam…) he encounters none other than Creepy-Ass Bran sitting there in his chair.
Bran knows what’s just happened below because He Sees All and, just as he did
at the end of season 7, he tells Sam it’s time to tell Jon Snow the thing about
the thing. And never before has Sam ever wanted to tell someone good news and
bad news so badly before, especially since he just found out the bad news has
barbecued his family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And so off he goes to see Jon Snow, and as
I said earlier, I’m so thrilled that the one moment of the entire series gets
to be carried by the one character who never seems to have harmed a soul. In
season 7 he’s the one who discovers the revelation, and now he’s the one who
gets to carry that important news to Jon. But first, he wants to test his
brother in arms by asking if Jon knew what Daenerys had done to his family. Jon
looks slightly shocked for a moment, but recovers quickly, saying if the Tarlys
hadn’t done what had been asked of them then he guesses they had it coming.
“Would you have done it?” Sam asks quickly, his lips held tightly together as
he knows that Jon would have never done it. He’s seen Jon faced with a
conundrum, and has seen him choose mercy with the wildlings. Jon doesn’t
answer, because he knows what he would say, and that it would directly
contradict his lover’s actions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then, as the theme music begins to rise
slowly in the background, Sam tells him what we’ve been waiting eight seasons
to hear. What did you think of this moment, Chris? Is it what you’d always
wanted it to be? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Tough question to answer … mainly because, on reflection, I had no
idea how this moment would play out, and what the mechanism of revelation would
be. They leveraged it nicely against Sam’s grief, as it gives him the impetus
to argue that Jon should be the one to claim the throne. Which raises an
interesting question: by the laws and logic of patrilineal descent, Jon has the
far superior claim to the Iron Throne, as he is the heir of the heir. But as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has spent seven seasons
establishing, hereditary claim is only one factor involved in crowning a
monarch. The Targaryens, after all, arrogated the rule of the Seven Kingdoms to
themselves by right of conquest, and had ruled for a paltry three centuries by
the time Robert’s Rebellion kicked their arses out of the Iron Throne. And
let’s not forget that A Song of Ice and Fire started, in part, as a dynastic
fantasy based on the Wars of the Roses, in which hereditary right took a back
seat to armies in the field.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course, the question of Jon and Daenerys
could (and almost certainly will) be solved with a slew of “Save the Date”
cards … but then, that brings us back to the incest question and whether Jon
and Dany’s hormones can overpower the ick factor (again, I’m guessing yes).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The key question that Sam poses to Jon as
they argue over whether he or Daenerys should rule is “You gave up your crown
to save your people. Would she?” It’s a good question, and one that I suspect
will be put to the test sooner rather than later. Since leaving Meereen,
Daenerys has become more imperious, more absolute in claiming her right as
queen, less forgiving to those ambivalent about bending the knee (the Tarly men
being a case in point where she was resolutely deaf to Tyrion’s strenuous pleas
for mercy). Her preoccupation with “the people,” which was constantly
foregrounded back east, seems to have gone by the wayside. The fact that she
has not made any attempt to ingratiate herself or win the northerners over—why
on earth did she have nothing to say in the meeting in the Great Hall?—is a
huge mistake that, apparently, only she and Jon are blind to. For someone so
determined to “break the wheel,” she’s starting to behave an awful lot like her
ancestors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Fortunately or not, it doesn’t look like
she’ll need to resolve this in the short term, as we’re reminded of the
progress of the Night King and his army of the dead. Beric and Tormund, having
miraculously survived the destruction of the Wall unscathed, lead their small
band to Last Hearth—the seat of the Umbers, to which li’l Ned was dispatched at
the start of the episode … a small bit of exposition whose purpose becomes
horribly apparent after Tormund <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">et al</i>
run into Edd Tollett and his small collection of Night Watch (an encounter
which gives us the funniest exchange in the episode, when Edd thinks Tormund is
a white walker because his eyes are blue. “I’ve always had blue eyes!” Tormund
cries). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It seems li’l Ned arrived back home just in
time for him and his people to be overrun by the Night King—signs of a battle
in the courtyard, many bloodstains … but no bodies. When Beric asks Edd if
they’d seen anyone, Edd gets grim and leads them to possibly the most gruesome
piece of wall art ever. “It’s a message,” says Beric, “from the Night King.”
Well, OK … but what’s the message? We’ve seen similar such designs in previous
episodes—the split circle of body parts in the very first, a spiral almost
identical north of the Wall in season three, and the wall etchings Jon Snow
finds on Dragonstone have both such shapes displayed. Is it a message, or a
calling card? Or perhaps some kind of occult incantation? And if the last
option, did Beric inadvertently activate it by setting it aflame? (Sorry, I
just finished teaching a course on H.P. Lovecraft, so this sort of thing is
very prominent in my mind). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One way or another, it was a delightfully
creepy scene, especially when li’l Ned’s glowing blue eyes opened over
Tormund’s oblivious shoulder just before he screamed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of the encounter at Last
Hearth Nikki? And what was your reaction when you realized which “old friend”
Bran had been waiting for?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I screamed when Ned’s eyes popped open. It might be one of the
most horrific scenes we’ve seen on this show—which has certainly had its share
of them. No one is spared on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of
Thrones</i>, not even small children (think Shireen). And Ned was just so damn
cute at that Great Hall meeting, yet, like Lyanna, professional and acting far
beyond his years. Maybe we should have figured that no one named Ned on this
show is going to make it to the end of the season. When he burst into the fiery
spiral I, like you, felt like I’d seen this before. To me it looks a lot like
the Targaryen sigil, but perhaps that was also because it was, you know, fire.
But as you say, we’ve definitely seen a spiral motif like this before. Maybe
the writers are just big fans of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vertigo</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVXhP9q3dYRQTnR1rwHCSgh0gR1JUf5WXebKqH8kZoUL0I6yprlPqhvkAJtvtjnL-PP-IXrp0kzcX1l1QNe8EDFXAPIr1ckg7HeP51u9yVJocD9MxwRqRO43i9ylYO2hj_lXIUw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-16+at+8.33.20+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="496" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVXhP9q3dYRQTnR1rwHCSgh0gR1JUf5WXebKqH8kZoUL0I6yprlPqhvkAJtvtjnL-PP-IXrp0kzcX1l1QNe8EDFXAPIr1ckg7HeP51u9yVJocD9MxwRqRO43i9ylYO2hj_lXIUw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-16+at+8.33.20+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we return to The Creepy One, still
sitting in his spot in the courtyard, unmoving, waiting for his old friend to
show up. Of course, it’s not like you or me sitting in a chair in a courtyard;
I assume he’s watching some sort of Tele-Vision in his mind of pretty much
everyone in the world—right now, last week, next year… I doubt he’s bored. And
that old friend turns out to be… the one who put him in the wheelchair in the
first place. My first thought was to quote the great Senator Clay Davis:
“Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.” But I assume this is going to be far more complicated
than a normal reunion of perpetrator versus victim: Bran isn’t really Bran
anymore. Of all the Starks, none of whom resemble the person they were in
season 1, he’s the most far gone. He’s barely human at this point. And he knows
what’s coming and what needs to happen. If Jaime Lannister is important in the
fight against the dead, the least of Bran’s concerns is his spinal injury. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime doesn’t know any of this, though: he
thought Bran was dead. One can only imagine the complicated emotions running
through his head in this moment, not the least of which is that the person for
whom he put this child in a wheelchair has turned on him and is treating him
like a traitor. And, comc on, we really do want to watch Jaime blubber for a
bit at the beginning of the next episode, don’t we? But once again, just like
the episode opens the same way episode 1 of season 1 opened, it now ends the
same way episode 1 did. But this time, instead of a seven-year-old boy looking
through a window and seeing what Jaime’s doing, Bran is a young man, staring at
Jaime and thinking, “I know <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything</i>
you’ve done… and everything you’re going to do next.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZfw1a8azmcZUS97Rqzj-KQvHvpp74JFmQzVILedNI5GseHHzCRFdaQqE6tRVyh50ffpN_1mLxn4x9VYUxB1ULu29gTmC0SCOtHX0CVnzkHB2mF8vfj5A2OEoxUWnszSRlNdm2Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-16+at+8.12.52+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="1387" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZfw1a8azmcZUS97Rqzj-KQvHvpp74JFmQzVILedNI5GseHHzCRFdaQqE6tRVyh50ffpN_1mLxn4x9VYUxB1ULu29gTmC0SCOtHX0CVnzkHB2mF8vfj5A2OEoxUWnszSRlNdm2Q/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-16+at+8.12.52+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with that, the first of the final six
episodes is over, and we meme our way to next week, where Jon has to come to
terms with he’s bonking his auntie; Tormund needs to clean out his armour;
Jaime must find a way to get past that unmoving reminder of the worst thing
he’s ever done (and that’s saying a LOT); and Sansa continues to perfect that
stink-eye. Until then, thank you for reading! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-26602060277500155482017-08-31T22:25:00.000-04:002017-08-31T22:25:50.575-04:00Game of Thrones 7.07: The Dragon and the Wolf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdMI7T6_pBmIKZG8ew8sMWFa5d9UAUXz5QLVFmeVG7EcQqgfXypg7G3yDfcb5gZ9V5eL0Ui_Z1CZo_mr8UkdHKuF_Qm0tr62Yox7cqvmdKLeMoFH8zYUhBJM_ux4bTPlEiLmiqQ/s1600/_4c06d0a6-8bd0-11e7-a11b-07a9009e9c44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdMI7T6_pBmIKZG8ew8sMWFa5d9UAUXz5QLVFmeVG7EcQqgfXypg7G3yDfcb5gZ9V5eL0Ui_Z1CZo_mr8UkdHKuF_Qm0tr62Yox7cqvmdKLeMoFH8zYUhBJM_ux4bTPlEiLmiqQ/s400/_4c06d0a6-8bd0-11e7-a11b-07a9009e9c44.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh hey, remember last week when we said we'd written the longest blog post ever? We were <i>such</i> amateurs then. Welcome to THIS week's super sized blog post! As always, my compatriot Christopher Lockett has joined me to be, well, amazing. So let's get this thing started!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">This week featured some more awesome vistas,
amazing CGI, incredible acting (Lena Headey you are on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fire</i> this season!), and the loss of a <s>beloved</s> longtime
character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It begins with the Unsullied lining up in
their proper, perfect lines, as they’ve been trained to do, and then the
Dothraki racing through those lines as if to say, “Yes, we will follow military
protocol... but we’re also just here to randomly slaughter you, so...” The
music that was playing in this opening was new and awesome. It felt like a more
ominous version of the guards music from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wizard
of Oz</i>. Bronn tells the Lannister soldiers to get 500 barrels of oil in
addition to the 500 they already have, and the soldier responds, “Yes, m’lord.”
I wrote in my notes, “Bronn’s gonna love that” and then immediately he told
Jaime how much he likes being called that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bronn watches the Unsullied prepare, and
crassly (and hilariously) says to Jaime, “You wouldn’t find me fighting in any
army if I had no cock. What’s left to fight for?” Jaime counters that gold is
worth fighting for, and you use that gold to protect your family. Bronn
responds that you won’t have a family if you don’t have a cock, and Jaime
pauses for a moment and concurs that yeah, maybe all this IS about cocks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which is a beautifully ironic comment,
given that everyone who is currently in power is a woman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime looks hopeless, because he’s already
been here once before, and Bronn agrees that their chances aren’t good. “I
think we’re about to be the downtrodden,” he says. In several moments in this
episode you’ll see Jaime’s face be almost unreadable, but one thing you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can</i> read is how torn he is about
following Cersei, whom he knows is wrong. While he sits by her side, he
understands the threat in the north is far greater than anything they’re
dealing with here, he knows that she’s as murderous as everyone says she is,
and he knows that Daenerys would massacre their armies in minutes. But his
loyalty (for now, at least) is to the woman carrying his child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, on the ship, Tyrion watches as
they approach King’s Landing. Jon Snow stands beside him, and wonders aloud how
many people live in King’s Landing. When Tyrion says over a million, Jon asks
why so many people would want to be crammed all together like that. He comes
from the north, with its open moors and wide vistas of sky, and here’s a
metropolis that smells like shit with people living on the streets. But Tyrion
says for many this is their only hope of survival, and besides, the brothels
are far superior in King’s Landing. Coming home to King’s Landing is never easy
for Tyrion, but you can tell he’ll always have an uneasy fondness for the
place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the hold of the ship, the Hound knocks
on the crate and the wight sounds like a small dragon trying to fight its way out.
Even I was frightened, and I’d already seen that thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At the Red Keep, Cersei prepares for the
meeting, which she’s attending against her better judgment. She instructs the
Mountain that if anything goes wrong, he’s to “kill the silver-headed bitch
first,” followed by her brother Tyrion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As Tyrion et al disembark and enter the
royal gardens, they see where the dragons had been kept long ago in the time of
Aegon, and Tyrion comments that given the madness of the king and the size of
his dragons — which would have dwarfed Dany’s children — King’s Landing at one
time must have been the most terrifying place in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we get a ton of reunions all at
once — Brienne and Jaime, Podrick and Tyrion, Brienne and the Hound, Bronn and
Tyrion. It’s like covering off a ton of lost time in one fell swoop. What did
you think of all of these former allies/enemies all coming together again,
Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: It had me thinking about the difference between <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> and our other favourite
examples of prestige television: namely that, more than any show I can think
of, this series has been playing—of necessity!—the long game. As I’ve written
elsewhere, I’m particularly susceptible to well-written and intelligent
television for the simple fact that I’m a narrative junkie. I love a good story
well told, and love the slow burn of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Breaking
Bad</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wire</i>. Series like that
are about as close to a sprawling, chunky novel as you’re likely to find in a
visual medium, something that speaks to the fact that the most revolutionary
aspect of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“prestige” television is the
shift from episodic to serial storytelling. David Chase, creator of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sopranos</i>, more or less made this
case in annoyed response to those who said that his show had an “unfair
advantage” because HBO didn’t have to play by the FCC’s rules:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">All
of us have the freedom to do story lines that unfold slowly. We all have the
freedom to create characters that are complex and contradictory. The FCC
doesn’t govern that. We all have the freedom to tell stupid, bad jokes that may
actually turn out to be funny. And we all have the freedom to let the audience
figure out what’s going on rather than <i>telling</i>
them what’s going on. </span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">But in many cases, if not most, the laws of
television still govern on some level for most shows, and the perennial
question of renewal versus cancellation has tended to dictate that narrative
arcs describe seasons rather than entire series. Nowhere has this been more
explicit that with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wire</i>, with
each season exploring a different aspect of Baltimore within the larger context
of the War on Drugs. This innovation of David Simon’s was in part a genius
compromise with the television imperative of season-ending
cliffhangers—episodes of that show often ended surprisingly, with none of the
narratives cues that usually tell you the credits are about to roll. But
because of the thematic continuity of each season, the finales provided
definite ends, while still leaving you wanting more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Game
of Thrones</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, by contrast, is all about the cliffhangers—but
to a great extent, its cliffhangers are doubly effective because this is a
series whose endgame was established early on (arguably, in the pilot episode’s
cold open). Even though the novels are still in progress (dammit, GRRM!), it’s
been pretty clear from the start just what kind of ultimate confrontation we’re
heading to—and though we’ve seen skirmishes (Fist of the First Men, Hardhome),
we end this season with the first real battle of the great war. (It’s amusing
to speculate on just how much bigger the sales of the novels would have been if
HBO had pulled the plug after season four or so—how many people would have run
to the bookstore to see what happens in the end). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And so—to finally answer your question,
Nikki—what we’re seeing in this episode, and what we’ve been seeing in the
various reunions over the past ten episodes or so, is a deeply satisfying
narrative convergence. What did I think of everyone coming together again here?
It felt like a payoff for all the time we’ve been watching this show.
Considering that for six seasons, one half of the action was taking place on an
entirely different continent—with Daenerys building her strength, her
confidence, and her armies—having her actually in the same space as Cersei
Lannister was brilliant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfhVoK2dJTJF3I6L2AmQQb0ewRatIoPW2klWj7XoBEvZ6psjWsvzWxQWcIOgvUbMSrkbYZmSUnK1FdhGbbj9w3H7dJMqfsiqVL68Ln4ix6xUl8hiSKU_-TVWcbbwZygmE9h8LOQ/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfhVoK2dJTJF3I6L2AmQQb0ewRatIoPW2klWj7XoBEvZ6psjWsvzWxQWcIOgvUbMSrkbYZmSUnK1FdhGbbj9w3H7dJMqfsiqVL68Ln4ix6xUl8hiSKU_-TVWcbbwZygmE9h8LOQ/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0104.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But as for the leadup, I can’t tell you how
much I loved this scene—Tyrion and Pod’s heartfelt reunion, the Hound and
Brienne’s comically respectful exchange (“I thought you were dead”; “Not yet.
You came pretty close”), in which she tells him Arya is alive and well at
Winterfell; when he asks who’s protecting her, Brienne says, “The only one that
needs protecting is whoever gets in her way,” to which the Hound responds,
feelingly, “It won’t be me.” Ha! Ol’ Sad Eyes is learning some wisdom in his age.
And then, of course, Tyrion and Bronn: on reminding Bronn of his offer to
double whatever anyone else pays him, and suggesting that arranging a meeting
between him and Jaime might make Bronn suspect in Cersei’s eyes, Bronn counters
that it’s because of him that Cersei now has the option of beheading a bunch of
traitors as soon as she gets bored with their badinage, “All thanks to Ser
Bronn of the fucking Blackwater! If that’s not looking after myself, I don’t
know what is.” Tyrion’s expression is priceless—caught between knowing the
danger they’re all in, the fact that if everything goes pear-shaped that Bronn
will have out-thought him, and grudging respect for Bronn’s survival instincts.
“It’s good to see you again,” he says after a moment, and we know he’s sincere
when he says it. “Yeah, you too,” Bronn admits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jngRt0fZbOX0Y2xjRDnZ0MiQzVnwbVUDPEWCr9RTIogv49VSQ95hda6FFIJfHL6MrzgVm28XsxJ8rHPPr1m1IhzApqVX8JvEPLDBIoEyB63iNR7hA0PPp-uGHOsZHj-jHDu9rQ/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jngRt0fZbOX0Y2xjRDnZ0MiQzVnwbVUDPEWCr9RTIogv49VSQ95hda6FFIJfHL6MrzgVm28XsxJ8rHPPr1m1IhzApqVX8JvEPLDBIoEyB63iNR7hA0PPp-uGHOsZHj-jHDu9rQ/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0124.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then we arrive, everyone wearing their
game faces as they enter the Dragonpit for a confrontation we’ve been waiting
six freakin’ years to see—everyone, that is, but the Mother of Dragons herself
(the fact that Bronn and Pod leave to have a drink “while the fancy folks talk”
was hilarious—I think I’d almost rather have been present to hear their
conversation than that of the A plot). </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG_3i3wdzi6nkZVVzst3D37q1em1uhE4xJV3IVtAlc-ycNqW2ZzuKqnKz9KrxokUF96I-VcY55ZxauZf0hI4EjmYbnl8h0i9NRzF8twCq01IYp9JtqYeX17DbXPcO-PuHqvP-Sw/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG_3i3wdzi6nkZVVzst3D37q1em1uhE4xJV3IVtAlc-ycNqW2ZzuKqnKz9KrxokUF96I-VcY55ZxauZf0hI4EjmYbnl8h0i9NRzF8twCq01IYp9JtqYeX17DbXPcO-PuHqvP-Sw/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0137.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There follows several moments of
watchfulness as some of our principals—Jon, Brienne, Jorah, Tyrion, the
Hound—survey the arena for possible threats or treachery. “I left this shit
city because I didn’t want to die in it,” the Hound snarls at Tyrion. “Am I
going to die in this shit city?” When Tyrion acknowledges that possibility, the
Hound says, with equal measure venom and fatalism, “This is all your idea.
Seems every bad idea has some Lannister cunt behind it.” “And some Clegane cunt
to help them see it through,” says Tyrion through gritted teeth, and at that moment
Sandor sees his brother Gregor—surely the most poisonous of all the reunions of
the episode, even more so than Cersei and Tyrion. As the queen’s procession
passes through, there are a series of glances: Brienne and Jaime, Cersei and
Tyrion, and Euron and Theon. Before Cersei can complain about Daenerys’
absence, the Hound strides up to confront the Mountain. “What did they do to
you?” he asks. “Doesn’t fucking matter. You know who’s coming for you. You
always know.” (Ser Gregor might want to pay special attention to the upcoming
tutorial on how to kill the undead).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cersei is quite irked by Daenerys’
tardiness, quite possibly because showing up after her enemies had been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her</i> power play. But of course Daenerys
knows better than anyone how to make an entrance, and on rewatching the
sequence in which she swoops in on Drogon, I paid more attention to the
expressions of everyone assembled—and it’s more or less a masterclass in
face-acting. Jaime, presumably still somewhat traumatized by his last dragon
encounter, is fearful and nervous; Cersei, discomfited, but refusing to stand
and give her adversary the satisfaction; Euron, genuinely perturbed for once;
Davos, stoical as always; Jorah, obviously trying to suppress a grin; and Jon,
lovestruck—or possibly slightly gassy, it’s hard to tell with him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxywhV_7oQpC-MbRofQmVHfYozXcEjr-FbgKEjV9GtDK7lLb0VmRprrDmPPu0hVIMnpkojp2WBK_ru6uD6ViOOD9-_TGNAXBFLqs7fcjq_lvfGKh68qhEr0dvxUZr21AaRLLcU6w/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxywhV_7oQpC-MbRofQmVHfYozXcEjr-FbgKEjV9GtDK7lLb0VmRprrDmPPu0hVIMnpkojp2WBK_ru6uD6ViOOD9-_TGNAXBFLqs7fcjq_lvfGKh68qhEr0dvxUZr21AaRLLcU6w/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0188.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I think however that the prize for
face-acting in this entire sequence goes to Qyburn—not afraid of the dragon so
much as fascinated in a deeply creepy way … just as he is when he first sees
the wight. When he later picks up the severed undead arm, he wears an
expression that one imagines Tycho Nestoris would wear on seeing Smaug’s
hoard—one of something approaching lust. Anton Lesser, the actor playing
Qyburn, does a masterful job conveying a mad scientist’s sociopathic
fascination with stuff that could further his diabolical studies. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The things I could do with this</i>, he
seems to think of both the dragon and the wight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Truly, if there was ever a character who
might happily work for the Night King …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Also great face acting: the “WTF?” Tyrion
gives Jaime when Euron interrupts him to yell at Theon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I quite enjoyed this scene: I wasn’t sure
how it would play out when I saw the episode preview, but I loved the balance
of egos and personalities, and the way in which the good guys present their
case to Cersei. “There is nothing that can erase the past fifty years,” Tyrion
admits. A truce is the best anyone can hope for in this situation, a pause in
hostilities while the greater threat is dealt with. Eventually, it will come
down to Daenerys versus Cersei, and Cersei can see no reason to pause—as far as
she is concerned, all of this is a pantomime, designed to neuter the Lannisters
while Daenerys and Jon Snow muster even greater forces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which, to be fair, is precisely the
response they’d expected from her, which is why “We have something to show
you,” says Tyrion. Cue the Hound emerging from the Dragonpit green room with
the crated wight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xYnSEAKFrHPjjKeZaAq3aMDh2r0hDRGfsKoIe0fFIfAYGRnff918X_LTv5E7667m5_HfsIP-gSdRbzCd4D1uwOtz-A4T0J3Uu2zRuQRqixx5lLqNSpwYOejB3BpxDWv2TD6LHQ/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xYnSEAKFrHPjjKeZaAq3aMDh2r0hDRGfsKoIe0fFIfAYGRnff918X_LTv5E7667m5_HfsIP-gSdRbzCd4D1uwOtz-A4T0J3Uu2zRuQRqixx5lLqNSpwYOejB3BpxDWv2TD6LHQ/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0269.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I loved this protracted nature of the
sequence that follows: the excruciatingly slow reveal as the Hound unlocks and
unbars the crate, while Cersei shares skeptical glances with Jaime; the
expectant looks on the faces of Daenerys <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">et
al</i>; and finally, the long moment after it has been opened in which we all
wonder if perhaps the ice zombie has disintegrated in the interim … and what
that might mean for this summit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking Dead: Westeros</i>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of the reveal, Nikki,
and of Cersei’s response to it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx695A3Fg5KZdfXpm3SYdd01tkm6dmfX-2EQeS1JjUwfpGC2OsDL8lJRVFx54Kpw8J5ppC5Zlv-vT6cs901XjCmhlOcwkDbHeRMPoRGT8TWGQuLBOtQxQTuTz-gviVhXSfg4CGFg/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx695A3Fg5KZdfXpm3SYdd01tkm6dmfX-2EQeS1JjUwfpGC2OsDL8lJRVFx54Kpw8J5ppC5Zlv-vT6cs901XjCmhlOcwkDbHeRMPoRGT8TWGQuLBOtQxQTuTz-gviVhXSfg4CGFg/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0284.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I thought the same thing, that the wight was actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">completely</i> dead and not sorta dead, and
we were about to be in big trouble — of course, I was thinking this while
simultaneously knowing deep down it wasn’t, and thinking of the writers, “You
sly bastards.” Of course it’s alive, and it’s effing TERRIFYING. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Walking Dead</i>, zombies can freeze. There’s an onrunning joke that if they
would just walk north, for god’s sakes, instead of hanging around in Atlanta,
they would be in the frozen tundra and the zombies would freeze where they
stand. Here in Westeros, of course, the rules are different. When you’re
created in ice, you can move in ice, and that last battle north of the Wall was
a formidable one. And yet, this wight has been chained in a box for a few days,
and now he’s in a warmer temperature for the first time, and he just seemed to
move SO FAST. That’s not what we typically think of the slow-moving, lumbering
beasts. The audience is privy to the Cersei-cam view, and just as it runs right
at her, we see it coming for us, all sinew and bone and grey, hanging skin...
and screaming. The look on Cersei’s face when that thing flung itself at her
was one of the best moments in the series for me. She looks genuinely
terrified, but just as she tried to keep her face neutral and unimpressed when
Daenerys arrived via Dragon Express earlier in the meeting, here she similarly
tries not to show her fear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It doesn’t work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At some point Cersei moves from “I’m not
going to show anyone I might be scared” to “OMG GET THIS HORRIBLE THING AWAY
FROM ME” and her hands clutch the sides of the chair and her eyes grow to the
size of saucers and she pulls herself as far back into the chair as she can
get. To her credit, she does NOT jump out of the chair and run screaming from
the Dragon Pit, but she looks about as scared as I’ve ever seen Cersei, except
for the moment when she was kneeling by Joffrey’s side and saw the life flow
out of him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgxKDN0Z0-1GtqDcD5EaxvNEH_ekJML3nvsorfC4SPUKLIS_hNCJ5o0bM1K73R7GVt2b-ilF5ZCyuhxloi5Pi2TDP3fYGDacDkBMYsfml63_a8bpm25n9Es1QDXIz3EBvtnBP4Q/s1600/fed7ba447aa46f91190c00f41dace34f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="640" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgxKDN0Z0-1GtqDcD5EaxvNEH_ekJML3nvsorfC4SPUKLIS_hNCJ5o0bM1K73R7GVt2b-ilF5ZCyuhxloi5Pi2TDP3fYGDacDkBMYsfml63_a8bpm25n9Es1QDXIz3EBvtnBP4Q/s400/fed7ba447aa46f91190c00f41dace34f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Moments earlier Cersei had referred to the
Army of the Dead as nothing but a colossal joke, and Dany as nothing but a
usurper. Now... shit just got real. Now everyone is silenced, even the
loudmouthed Euron, who showed just how uncouth he is by interrupting the only
major summit of everyone trying to lay claim to the Iron Throne and making it
all about him just a few moments earlier. Westeros’s own Dr. Frankenstein
Qyburn, as you mentioned, Chris, looks utterly fascinated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The dead are coming back to life and they
will eat us all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We don’t stand a bloody chance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Dragons schmagons, that is a DEAD GUY in
front of us and he almost ripped out Cersei’s throat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Suddenly, all the politicking and battles
between human armies seems completely petty, and mean nothing. Cersei will
truly be the queen of the ashes if this guy persists. I mean... she’ll be queen
for one minute before she’s eaten, too, of course. Much was made of the Dragon
Pit on the way in as being the most terrifying place in all of Westeros. Now,
given what they now know is coming for them, the Dragon Pit seems positively
safe, and yet in that one moment, it truly is the most terrifying place in
Westeros. Even Brienne looked like she was about to soil her armour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Euron asks if the zombies can swim, and the
answer is no. Welp! That’s THAT, then, and he grabs his things and says he’s
running back to the Iron Islands. He leans in to Dany on his away out and tells
her she’d best head back to her island, too, because when all is said and done,
and when this winter is over, the people on the islands will be the only ones
alive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Which... seems like a good plan until we
remember that now, they can fly. D’oh. But more on that later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As he walks away, Cersei admits Euron is a
complete coward, but moves back to official business, and says she will join
forces with them and will accept their truce. “Until the dead are defeated,”
she says, “they are the enemy.” For once it looks like Cersei’s going to do the
right thing. However, she has a tiny little request in return: after the dead
have been vanquished, the King of the North needs to retreat to the north and
stay there. He cannot take up arms against her army, he cannot choose sides. He
has to be Switzerland. “I know Ned Stark’s son will be true to his word.” (At
which point GRRM, sitting in the back, stands up, looks around and says,
“Sorry, does anyone see one of Ned Stark’s sons sitting anywhere here because I
DON’T.” Ahem.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Okay, this is easy, Jon, you just look at
her and say, “Cool, cool... no problem. As soon as the wights are all dead Ima
head back to my homestead and y’all can fight this one to the end, that’s
totally cool.” Then he can turn and give a big wink to Dany when Cersei isn’t
looking and it’s all great, this is going to be ea—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">I
am true to my word, or I try to be. That is why I cannot give you what you ask.
I cannot serve two queens. I’ve already pledged myself to Queen Daenerys of
House Targaryen.</span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">GODDAMMIT JON SNOW. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyU0Lswg9dx5NHT5TF56om7N7-C7r3BO9IoHQuGSOtLCXVS81dC6LSt_UIg9nvvi6S-oj9sAO06WByxltjE8_QqMVNT7DZdvv9HWTqC7YxZtOdbhLZHqt_32PlPhWJb0yK6Mfwdw/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyU0Lswg9dx5NHT5TF56om7N7-C7r3BO9IoHQuGSOtLCXVS81dC6LSt_UIg9nvvi6S-oj9sAO06WByxltjE8_QqMVNT7DZdvv9HWTqC7YxZtOdbhLZHqt_32PlPhWJb0yK6Mfwdw/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0354.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Davos stands there, dumbfounded, suddenly
realizing he really should have counselled this kid better because clearly Jon
Snow is more of a dumb shit than even Ygritte thought he was. Daenerys goes wide-eyed.
Tyrion just closes his. Somewhere, off in space, Captain Picard is face-palming
in frustration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuoArvaClACJgiB69YQ7dtgzb5uSDHRDG5MlQsTNw2sqxFshmz4xEkIGRSwA4nm28i1JL3ATrXuecsMICNHk84s85L4n7AtLfORXemZ0qisbZpWmFAgtKJqWPNAcyUWOmO_GdOg/s1600/Captain-Picard-Facepalm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="500" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuoArvaClACJgiB69YQ7dtgzb5uSDHRDG5MlQsTNw2sqxFshmz4xEkIGRSwA4nm28i1JL3ATrXuecsMICNHk84s85L4n7AtLfORXemZ0qisbZpWmFAgtKJqWPNAcyUWOmO_GdOg/s400/Captain-Picard-Facepalm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cersei has a brief moment where she
probably thinks, “Well, good luck with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i>
one then, Dany, because Jon Snow’s armies will be marching on Dorne when they
take a wrong right turn on their way to King’s Landing. Seriously, where do you
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">find</i> these guys?!” And she stands up,
tells them there’s nothing more to discuss, and to have fun fighting the White
Walkers in the north — she’ll deal with whatever gets past them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As the King’s Landing contingent leaves the
stage, Brienne races after Jaime and tries to appeal to him. She saw how scared
he looked when that thing jumped out of the box, because it mirrored her own
face, and she knows that he knows they can’t just let it happen, that if they
deal with “whatever is left” it’ll be not only the 100,000 marching south, but
everyone in the north that will have been killed and reanimated to march on the
south. Jaime counters that he can’t help her: “I’m loyal to the queen and
you’re loyal to Sansa and her dolt brother.” (HAHA!) Brienne stops him in his
tracks when she says, “Oh <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fuck</i>
loyalty!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA880fbUTA5H4Ec5T9hPOVcoDgz5rTwx2ieTa9Ac_NAsWdle5bjnO1KQIeZLCFSRvv5ki4-RRdtiZa3Xq8BOh9cFZpjBa49Qw1o5_JRIBZmCD-fJTPdLoJauR-AToUxnphD6_YAg/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA880fbUTA5H4Ec5T9hPOVcoDgz5rTwx2ieTa9Ac_NAsWdle5bjnO1KQIeZLCFSRvv5ki4-RRdtiZa3Xq8BOh9cFZpjBa49Qw1o5_JRIBZmCD-fJTPdLoJauR-AToUxnphD6_YAg/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0369.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Whoa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Brienne is a character who is loyal to a
fault. She has actually made questionable decisions at times due to her
unbending loyalty, has put herself in harm’s way constantly for loyalty, has
even questioned her own loyalty knowing it’s not leading her down the right
path... and yet, she remains loyal to Renly Baratheon, to Catelyn Stark, to
Sansa and Arya Stark. So even Jaime almost gets whiplash when his head jerks
back at this statement coming from her, of all people. “Fuck loyalty?!” he
says. She tells him they can’t beat this alone, and he knows it, and he has to
tell the queen. At this point Cersei has stopped and is staring at the two of
them — two people, by the way, who actually became quite intimate at one time,
with Brienne being the only person who is a rival for Jaime’s affection. But he
just says, “Tell her what?” and keeps walking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back on the stage, people are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pissed</i>. Tyrion watches Cersei leave. He
knows his sister better than anyone, and knows that not only have they just
lost her army, but Jon Snow would have lost all Cersei’s respect for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> lying. She doesn’t respect honesty —
the last person she met who was this stupidly honest was Ned Stark, and we all
know what she did to him. Even Theon is standing there looking surprised in the
background, and I couldn’t help but think only Jon Snow could make Theon
Greyjoy look like a Rhodes Scholar in comparison. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Davos flat-out says, “I wish you hadn’t
done that.” Daenerys marches over and says, “I’m grateful for your loyalty, but
my dragon died so we could be here, and if it’s all for nothing, then he died
for nothing.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jon looks torn — in his heart he believes
he did the right thing, but he knows he’s just betrayed the very queen he swore
an oath to, which is the OPPOSITE of the right thing in his world. Tyrion turns
on his heel and says with evident frustration in his voice, “Have you ever
considered learning how to lie now and then JUST A BIT??” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And Jon Snow looks at them all with that
look of his and says he won’t swear an oath to uphold, because the world is
built on lies and over time words mean nothing and blah blah blah
self-righteous blah blah blah I’m ushering in a better world yadda yadda yadda.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion says the more immediate problem they
have to face now is that they’re all FUCKED. And he has decided the only way
they could possibly get unfucked is if he goes to Cersei himself. I couldn’t
help but wonder, by the way, if the Lannister army is truly the only real shot
they have against the White Walkers? Daenerys slaughtered their army in the
valley, and I know that wasn’t the entire Lannister army but it was certainly a
large portion of them. And she reduced them to fewer than a thousand men. So...
is that really their best chance? But anyway...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dany rushes to his side and says she didn’t
come all this way to have her Hand murdered by the queen, and he said neither
has he, but it’s the only way. Jon Snow offers to go himself — because somehow
even being a major player in what just happened he seems to have missed WHAT
JUST HAPPENED — and they all look at him like he’s even stupider than they
thought three seconds ago and Tyrion says NO, he will go to the queen because
it’s his sister, and he knows her. And if she kills him she kills him, but this
is the only way we’ll get anything done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And Tyrion heads off to see Cersei, but
first he has to get through his brother Jaime. I know we’ve already seen one
reunion between Tyrion and Jaime, but this one felt more like the one I wanted
to see: you can see that Jaime still has some affection for Tyrion — and
perhaps, now that he’s seen Tyrion’s queen up close and sees that Tyrion is
actually there for good reason and means well, he actually respects and feels
some awe for his brother. Tyrion is the imp who was never cared for or loved by
his mother, who was the bane of his father’s existence, who was despised by his
sister, who became a drunk who was going to amount to nothing, but who got a
lot farther by working a lot harder by being a lot smarter by being a
self-starter... and he became the Hand of Queen Daenerys. Jaime sits next to
Cersei’s throne, but only because at night she’s, you know, sitting on his. And
despite being put into the dungeon and exiled and Jaime saying he would kill
him if he ever saw him again, Tyrion has never stopped looking up to his older
brother, never stopped wanting him to respect Tyrion for everything Tyrion has
done. He believes his brother is one of the most fearsome warriors alive, and
while that respect has cooled somewhat, you could tell in this scene he’s still
seeking that approval. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion looks at Jaime and says he might be
an idiot, but he’s about to walk into a room with the most murderous woman
alive (considering how many people Dany has killed with that dragon that might
not be completely true but let’s not fixate on that). And of course, Jaime
doesn’t argue with him. He tells him that perhaps he should say his goodbye
now, and even though there’s a joke underlying that moment, you can tell Jaime
would be saddened and torn if that does, in fact, play out to be true. I loved
this quiet little scene between the two brothers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then, Tyrion walks into the lion’s den.
What did you think of this scene, Chris? Did you think in another life Tyrion
and Cersei might have made good drinking buddies? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Um, no. I can’t imagine the
circumstances in which Cersei would ever be friendly with Tyrion. There was an <a href="https://imgur.com/a/i5dsO">Imagur.com</a> visual recap of the episode
with comic captions making the rounds on Facebook; it is worth reading just
because it is hilarious, but also because it is the only thing I’ve seen that
points out that the Hound’s presence goes unremarked by the Lannisters (in
spite of the fact that he used to work for them—and was, in fact, Joffrey’s
sword shield, and that his desertion at the Battle of Blackwater Bay was kind
of a big deal for that reason):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“All ugly people look the same to me” is
perhaps something of a reductive distillation of Cersei’s worldview, but it is
not unhelpful in summing up a certain aspect of her character: she doesn’t mind
ugliness when it is coupled with power and serves her purposes (e.g. the
Mountain), but when it falls outside her use, it is beneath contempt. One
imagines that had Tyrion been born a clean-limbed version of her and Jaime,
Cersei might have been inclined to forgive him her mother’s death in
childbirth; by the same token, had he not been such a clever little shit and
rebellious to boot, she might have been satisfied with contempt as opposed to
outright loathing. Cersei’s hatred of Tyrion (in contrast to Daenerys’ valuing
of him) is representative of her congenital antipathy to anything not falling
within her very rigid sense of herself, which is also her sense of how the
world should work. Euron’s sneering comment that children born like Tyrion were
left to die of exposure reminds us of Tyrion’s first-season observation that
peasant families in Westeros did the same—that the only reason he was allowed
to live was because he was a Lannister. And for all of Cersei’s veneration of
her father, we know all too well she wishes he had treated Tyrion as the Iron
Islanders or peasant Westrosi would have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In a more metaphorical sense, though,
Tyrion represents the peasantry and all the rest of the people(s) Cersei sees
as beneath her. If her conversation with Tyrion makes anything clear (if it
wasn’t already clear), it’s that her sole and primary concern is for herself
and for her family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So no—I cannot envision a parallel reality
in which Cersei and Tyrion would be good drinking buddies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That being said, this scene between them is
one of the best acted parts of the series thus far (and as we both know, that’s
saying a lot). The intensity in this scene is remarkable, due in part to what I
mentioned before about how long it’s been in coming—but in the hands of lesser
actors, it would have been … well, less than it is. It took me some time, as
you and our more devoted readers will remember, Nikki, to warm up to Lena
Headey as Cersei—not because I didn’t think she was a good actor, but because
she was so very different from how GRRM depicts her in the novels. But she has
so totally owned this character that when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Winds of Winter</i> finally comes out in thirty years, I suspect I’ll find the
Cersei of the novels out of step with what I’ve become accustomed to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What I loved most about this scene relates
to what I was just saying about Cersei’s absolute sense of order—her anger with
Tyrion for killing Tywin has little or nothing in this moment to do with love
or grief, but rather with the fact that the death of Tywin left the Lannisters
vulnerable. Tyrion’s defense is that his father had sentenced him to death,
knowing full well he was innocent; and further that Tywin had humiliated and
belittled him his entire life. But they’re speaking different languages. Cersei
might feel grief for her children, and blame Tyrion’s murder of Tywin for that,
but the greater sin—the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">absolute</i> sin,
as far as she is concerned—is the betrayal of family, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">making vulnerable</i>. As we have seen this entire series,
vulnerability is precisely the thing that Cersei loathes and fears the most.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which is not to say there is no humanity in
her—no, that would be too simplistic, too easy, and unworthy of this series.
Cersei is, as characters from Olenna Tyrell to Tyrion himself have professed, a
monster—but she’s hardly a Bond villain or some sort of mustache-twirling, cackling
caricature of evil. What I love about this scene is the pain and fear that Lena
Headey brings to the character, roiling just beneath the surface and inflecting
the rage she professes. Everything she does in this episode is about restraint;
the genius of the summit scene was, in part, due to Cersei’s studied calm,
betrayed only in minute gestures and facial expressions. Ditto her scene with
Tyrion. Peter Dinklage gets to emote here, which isn’t at all a knock against <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his</i> performance—his speech that crescendos
with him daring Cersei to order the Mountain to kill him (and his shuddering
relief when she doesn’t) is brilliant. But the tension of that moment doesn’t
lie in the Mountain starting to unsheathe his sword so much as the close up of
Cersei’s face and the hunger there as she balances on the line between desire
and pragmatism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But of course she doesn’t accede to her own
wish to see Tyrion dead—instead, she plays him. It’s really only obvious on
rewatching—and it makes me doubly suspicious that her pregnancy is a sham—that
she seeks to fetch Tyrion in with her talk of how seeing the wight narrowed the
world for her down to concern for her immediate family. What’s brilliant about
her deceit here is that one suspects it isn’t really deceit: I have little
doubt Cersei is speaking truth when she says that the specter of the army of
the dead didn’t make her fear for the world at large, but for herself and those
close to her. If nothing else, this is what this tête-a-tête articulates to us:
that Jon Snow and Daenerys, whatever their flaws, are the good guys because
they care for the whole of Westeros and not just those close to them. Dany’s
encounter with the Night King transformed her thinking, even though it came at
the cost of one of her children. Jon Snow has always been on the side of the
masses. In the moment when she’s most obviously signaling her ostensible
pregnancy to Tyrion, Cersei wonders whether or not Euron had the right idea
about retreating to an island—and we wonder if, in that moment, she’s sincere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With that, we return to the Dragonpit, and
the next installment in the Jon and Dany chronicles. Of the various complaints
about this season, and the final few episodes in particular, those not
preoccupied with geography (guilty) have fixated on the fact that we don’t
really get a better development of the romance between these two. The most
critical have charged that there’s NO chemistry between these two WHATSOEVER,
but I disagree with that—I think there’s definite chemistry between Dany and
Jon, it just needed more cultivation. And perhaps a little more subtlety in the
writing? I mean, it seems that every time the two of them talked, Daenerys saw
fit to remind him that she couldn’t have children … which can be read as (1)
Dany already thinking about getting it on, (2) offering a caveat in advance of
a possible dynastic marriage, or (3) basically letting him know that, hey,
birth control? not an issue! That being said, the final seconds of this scene
were redolent with desire—it was totally a moment in which the two would-be
lovers really wanted to kiss, not least because Jon Snow (who might know
something after all) has, to coin an expression, the audacity of hope. When
Dany tells him that she learned of her barrenness from “the witch who murdered my
husband,” Jon asks, “Has it occurred to you that she might not have been a
reliable source of information?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really,
what’s remarkable here is that after all these years it’s JON FUCKING SNOW who
points out this rather obvious flaw in Daenerys’ reasoning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cue Tyrion’s return, in advance of Cersei
and her entourage. “My armies will not stand down,” she informs them all. “Nor
will I pull them back to the capital. I will march them north to fight
alongside you in the great war.” Awesome! Nothing could possibly go wrong now,
right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Well, as if to distract us from the UTTER
CERTAINTY of Cersei’s insincerity, we cut to Sansa’s conversation with
Littlefinger, and a further suggestion that Sansa means to do Arya harm. In
order to emphasize this, we open on her tapping a scroll on the table—news that
Jon had chosen to bend the knee to Daenerys, which is bad enough, but also
reminding us of the incriminating scroll Littlefinger had left in his mattress
for Arya to find. But it is Jon’s choice to submit to Daenerys that is the
first item of business, with Sansa (rather understandably) irked and a bit
incredulous that he would do such a thing. Littlefinger of course wants to make
it sordid: citing the rumour that Daenerys is beautiful, he says “Jon is young
and unmarried; Daenerys is young and unmarried.” An alliance, he says, makes
sense—together they’d be difficult to defeat, but though he was named King in
the North, “he can be un-named.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And here’s the point at which, in
hindsight, we wonder how much Sansa and Arya have already started plotting? Is
this entire scene a means of drawing Littlefinger out, or is this where Sansa
has her epiphany thanks to Littlefinger’s “game” of imagining worst intentions?
Is it after this scene that Sansa goes to Arya and says, “Hey, I know we’ve
been bitching at each other, but where did you get that scroll?”, or is she now
just knowingly giving him enough rope to hang himself? I guess we can’t ever
know that, but it’s still a pretty decent scene, especially considering it’s
Mayor Carcetti’s swan song. Of all the characters on this series, he’s had a
good run—of those who we met in season one, he’s one of the few who has made it
this far. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He leads Sansa through all of the worst
possible scenarios, all of the worst possible reasons Arya has acted as she
has—leading her, ultimately, to the conclusion that she wants to be the Lady of
Winterfell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If I’d really been thinking, this is where
I’d have gotten off the Sansa-vs-Arya train and realized (for certain) that
Littlefinger’s number was up. Not because I considered it unlikely that Arya
might be murderous, but because of a flaw in Littlefinger’s logic, one based in
his own desires—he assumes that everyone else has ambitions comparable to his
own, that everyone else wants power and status. Or else that everyone else can
be convinced that ostensible rivals are driven by a desire for power or status.
But however creepy Sansa’s encounter with Arya and her bag of faces was, one
thing that emerged from that (and from every encounter they’ve had since Arya’s
return) is that Arya has no desire to be the “Lady”—that she has spent her life
charting a different course. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’d like to think this was the moment that
a part of Sansa’s brain called bullshit. But I guess we’ll never know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From there we cut to Daenerys’ war room,
and whether or not it’s in Dany’s best interests to fly or sail. What did you
think of Daenerys’ declaration that “We’ll sail together,” Nikki? Was she
already thinking of that sumptuous stateroom she has on her ship?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: It’s possible she was thinking of that stateroom, but more
importantly, she chose a side. Like you, as our readers know, I was late to the
“Dany ♥ Jonny” party because I really just wanted to see it as a political
match-up. (And, you know, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that whole auntie
thing</i>.) And I’d like to think that Daenerys here is ruled by her head and
not her heart and was making a solid political move in saying she’ll sail and
going against the advice of Jorah, much to Jorah’s chagrin (and he obviously
can see the attraction between the two). But then again, so what if she is
ruled by her heart? It would only show us that she’s human. She’s been involved
in so many political moves for someone so young, and the only person who’s ever
truly had her heart — Khal Drogo — was a union she was forced into, one that
began with rape. So hey, why not have her fall for the cute, dumb jock? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Mr. November leaves the war room and is
crossing the throne room when Theon stops him, and we have the only private
discussion between these two former sort-of brothers of Winterfell. Neither one
was legitimately a Stark brother, both of them had lived on the periphery,
although Jon had more stake than Theon (remember way back in season one, when
they found the direwolves, Jon got one but Theon didn’t). Theon tells Jon that
he respected what he did back at the Dragon Pit, and unlike everyone else
present, Theon wasn’t surprised by Jon’s actions, because they were in keeping
with the honourable Jon Snow he grew up with. “Every step you take [every move you
make] seems to be the right one,” he tells Jon. Jon plays it humble, saying
he’s made many mistakes, and we know he has. “Not compared to me, you haven’t,”
says Theon, and Jon immediately agrees. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Theon explains that when he was at
Winterfell he was always torn between loyalties: he had been taken as Ned
Stark’s ward away from the Iron Islands during the Greyjoy uprising against the
Iron Throne, but even though Ned took him as a prize when Balon Greyjoy
surrendered to Robert Baratheon, Ned has raised him with love, not as a slave.
He’s eaten and slept and grown up alongside the Stark children, and became very
close to Robb. And yet, he was torn. He was born a Greyjoy, and remained a
Greyjoy. He had worshipped the Drowned God as a child and had a sister, Yara
(his brothers were killed in the war). And yet, he was also a Stark, living at
Winterfell, learning archery and sword-fighting among the other Starks. In this
declaration we finally get to the central problem in Theon’s head: having grown
up torn between two loyalties, it’s difficult for him to remain loyal to
anyone. It’s why he so easily switched sides in the early seasons before Ramsay
Bolton nabbed and tortured him. And he lives with the pain of knowing how his
lack of loyalty ended up hurting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">both</i>
the Starks and the Greyjoys. Jon listens to him, and you can see his loathing
dissipate for Theon as he does, because he knows how it feels — Jon was
accepted as a Stark by Ned, but was always treated like an outsider by Catelyn
because Jon represented her husband’s infidelity. (What I would give to bring
Catelyn back to life for one minute just to tell her that Ned had never been
unfaithful to her.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Game
of Thrones</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is a story of outsiders. Tyrion is the
imp who didn’t belong in the Lannister clan. Jon Snow is the bastard who was
never fully welcomed at Winterfell. Theon Greyjoy was a boy torn between two
Houses. Ramsay Bolton lost his mind as the bastard son of Roose Bolton. Brienne
of Tarth was so large she could never be trussed up like a lady, but because
she was still a woman she could never be fully treated like a male soldier. The
Hound’s own brother pushed his face into the fire, scarring him for life and
making him an outcast. Samwell Tarly didn’t have the desire or ability to be
the military leader of House Tarly like his father wanted him to be, so he was
shipped off to the Wall. Ser Jorah was exiled from House Mormont after he had
participated in the slave trade, which shamed his family. Gendry was one of the
many bastard children of Robert Baratheon, but he lives in fear of Cersei
finding him and killing him so he can’t lay claim to the throne. The list goes
on and on. Even within the legitimate families, you have characters like Arya
who don’t fit, or Tommen, who knows he’s a bastard but goes along with the
whole “Baratheon” story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Despite his sympathy, Jon acknowledges that
Theon has been guilty of many crimes. “I can’t forgive you for all of it, but
what I can forgive, I do,” he says. And then he finally looks right at Theon
and adds, “You don’t need to choose. You’re a Greyjoy, and you’re a Stark.”
This is such an important line: all of the people I’ve just named above have
been treated as outcasts, but they are part of something. Tyrion is still a
legitimate Lannister. Theon a legitimate Greyjoy who could just as easily swear
fealty to House Stark. Despite Ramsay’s bastardy, he took over as the head of
House Bolton (well, you know, after he murdered his legit baby brother).
Brienne is the most formidable swordsperson in the Seven Kingdoms (save,
perhaps, Arya) and has been accepted into many folds. And similarly, Jon Snow
is a Stark, even if he’s not a Stark by way of Eddard (something we know and he
doesn’t). He’s been raised as one, he thinks more like Eddard than any other
character on this show, and he remains loyal to his House. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Theon tells Jon that Yara actually tried to
save him when no one else would, recalling the scene where she breaks in to
save Theon, who cowered in the back of the cage and refused to go with her.
“She needs me now,” he says. “So why’re you still talking to me?” asks Jon, and
he leaves. I was a wee bit disappointed at the very ending of this
conversation. Jon just told him he’s as much a Stark as he is a Greyjoy, and
should be proud of that. And then when Theon hints that he could use some help
in the next little bit to retrieve his sister before Euron departs with her,
Jon says, “You’re on your own.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Theon heads down to the beach to try to
conjure up help from the Iron soldiers since Jon didn’t offer any, but the men
will not be led by the man they perceive as Reek. They tell him they’re going
to start over, find an island, kill all the men, and take their women
(incidentally, this is actually part of the Drowned God philosophy and very
much what the culture of the Iron Islands is based on). In the fight that
ensues I actually thought Theon might die, but no matter how many times he
knocks him down and screams at him to STAY DOWN, Theon conjures up his inner
Rocky Balboa and stands up again. And then he gains the upper hand when the
Greyjoy soldier kicks him in the crotch... and then does it again... and Theon
just stands there grinning at him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHrEjPeqfM0ZPCC8C2O8lh3QYvy5J2a2_Fnihyphenhyphen6R5Tres4xYmjGVtEYxpWiWLyUPT1RmyjoGFfJIMxSsp-_HiGTJX9K3uuhJflJXSPGYx3QONvDeKvgvjBAShBXVI7bUbwnH0A/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHrEjPeqfM0ZPCC8C2O8lh3QYvy5J2a2_Fnihyphenhyphen6R5Tres4xYmjGVtEYxpWiWLyUPT1RmyjoGFfJIMxSsp-_HiGTJX9K3uuhJflJXSPGYx3QONvDeKvgvjBAShBXVI7bUbwnH0A/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0765.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It reminded me of that scene in my
favourite episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">King of the Hill</i>,
where Bobby Hill goes to the women’s self-defense classes and learns the best
way to take down a bully is to kick him in the crotch while yelling, “That’s my
purse! I don’t know you!” (What ensues is comedy GOLD.) And when his Mom starts
to berate him at the end of the episode, he kicks her squarely in the crotch...
and she doesn’t go down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Where Peggy Hill does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> kill her 10-year-old son on the front lawn at that point, Theon
does move in for the kill and takes out the soldier with his bare hands, which
is a pretty awesome display of ferocity, and then he moves to go get his
sister. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’ll admit the lack of the actual Yara
rescue scene was a little disappointing to me in this episode — I felt like
that’s something that could have been resolved now so we don’t have to wait
until season eight, but whatever. That said, time is of the essence at this
point, and I wouldn’t want that scene to be rushed, despite the whole Greyjoy
saga being rather peripheral at this point. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And from here we move to the scene with
Arya and Sansa. Remember last week when you said that for the first time in the
series you truly hated Arya, and then I spent about 3,000 words explaining to
everyone exactly where the sisters were in season one and how if we look at it
entirely from Arya’s point of view, it actually stands to reason that she would
hate her sister, although the only part I thought felt suspicious is when she
said Sansa has nothing to worry about if she’s innocent, when Arya’s experience
would tell her that’s not true at all? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well... this week all I have to say is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Co3Lb_griw3xt4mg2Ljs9uveqKQQWxS8-6XABE7RefDfZj-J7xCdhObmhlIy7rJ2pycDjpfFp5Nk-LbkpCcYwzCKC3CqRp-HzquY0ex701zMh6spjy_uuNKccPGPHOl0rO895A/s1600/1uvhcn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Co3Lb_griw3xt4mg2Ljs9uveqKQQWxS8-6XABE7RefDfZj-J7xCdhObmhlIy7rJ2pycDjpfFp5Nk-LbkpCcYwzCKC3CqRp-HzquY0ex701zMh6spjy_uuNKccPGPHOl0rO895A/s400/1uvhcn.jpg" width="398" /></a></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyway. I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still</i> think it was well done and fitting that Arya should go after
Sansa, and I swear not 10 minutes after we posted our blog last week, the fan
theory that Arya and Sansa were actually playing Littlefinger blew up all over
my FB newsfeed. But my first response, as I posted on my FB wall, was, if
someone is actually being played, I believe Arya’s doing it and Sansa’s not in
on it. And therefore my explanation still stands because I believe Arya was
playing everyone knowing that Littlefinger was watching and Sansa — thinking
that her sister really was about to kill her — would be able to pull him into a
trap, but at the same time, she was releasing some of the hostility and pent-up
feelings she’s had towards her sister for many years. It’s a perfect way to get
off her chest what she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> thinks
of Sansa, while at the same time going, “Well THAT was a fun pantomime of which
I didn’t mean a single word, eh sis??” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What’s come out in the last few days — I’m
not sure if you saw it or not, Chris — is that there was a deleted scene where
Sansa actually went to Bran and asked if Mr. I Can See Across Time could look
at Arya for her and tell her if she’s actually planning to kill her. They took
out this scene for time reasons, but it goes a LONG way to explaining that no,
Sansa wasn’t actually in on it, but in this moment she finally realized Arya’s
stunning endgame, and that it would help the two of them put an end to Lord
Baelish once and for all. It’s too bad they took it out, because without that
scene, it leaves the [non]-trail a little too jarring, and for a show that
shows us SO much exposition with every character, putting the audience into
their heads, it rarely falls to such trickery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That said, Arya’s dagger slice was pretty
awesome to watch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjS4VWTGkpQfIhWtQ0nt4TjuLdXZjiYOXPQ6Zaj7aHF_VEgvxIWQ2Yqa7rp4YmimSx6EBdW1bvihixCpwJtNwOTw6nZhU7I4spbS2eEWRmc8h7Xx1_UINM7oQuR9GlyYxQK9368A/s1600/la-et-hc-game-of-thrones-season-7-pg-143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjS4VWTGkpQfIhWtQ0nt4TjuLdXZjiYOXPQ6Zaj7aHF_VEgvxIWQ2Yqa7rp4YmimSx6EBdW1bvihixCpwJtNwOTw6nZhU7I4spbS2eEWRmc8h7Xx1_UINM7oQuR9GlyYxQK9368A/s400/la-et-hc-game-of-thrones-season-7-pg-143.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Though, oddly, I’ll admit, I think the show
loses a little something without Lord Baelish in it. Not only does he keep
everyone on their toes — and he’s actually put that delightful Lucky Charms
Leprechaun lilt back into his voice in recent episodes — but he’s actually a
rather sympathetic character in the books, I felt, simply because the books
provide the flashback to his childhood where you see what a sweet person he
was, always hanging back beside Catelyn trying to impress her, while Eddard was
a bit of a buffoon to him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of the quick death of
Lord Baelish, Chris? Were you at all sad to see him go, at least from the
show’s narrative point of view? <br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Christopher</b>: Before I get to that, I
want to dispute your characterization of Jon Snow as a not-too-bright jock. I’d
say rather that he’s the not-too-bright emo guy who writes really bad poetry,
but whom everyone likes anyway because he’s a genuinely nice guy. I mean, as
long as we’re slotting everyone into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Breakfast
Club</i>-style designations. He’s really kind of a combination of Ally Sheedy
and Anthony Michael Hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But anyway … I’m at once delighted that
Littlefinger got his comeuppance in such dramatic fashion (“as justice goes,
it’s not unpoetic”), and also sad to see him go—both from a narrative
perspective, but also because I just love watching Aiden Gillen do his thing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so much</i>. He’s such a good actor. The
first thing I ever saw him in was the British <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queer as Folk</i>, in which he played Stuart—the sexpot character in
the small group of friends on which the show focused. He was kind of an asshole
on that show too, but so very compelling. It’s a testament to his acting that
when the American adaptation was made, they cast an actor (Gale Harold) in the
Gillen role so good-looking that he might possibly have Greek god lineage.
Gillen is himself quite an <a href="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/14/08/480x272/gallery_uktv-queer-as-folk-2.jpg">attractive
man</a>, but he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">acted</i> his sex
appeal—there are moments in the British <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queer
as Folk</i> in which be basically exudes sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Fun fact for anyone who likes to play television series master-universe
crossover: the teenager Stuart deflowers in the first episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queer as Folk</i>, Nathan, is played by
Charlie Hunnam. So for those keeping score, Jax Teller of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sons of Anarchy</i> had his cherry popped by Lord Petyr Baelish). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">From there, Gillen went on to play
idealistic councilman Tommy Carcetti on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Wire</i>, whose election to the role of mayor starts with him having all the
best intentions, but soon he become compromised by his own ambition and ego. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1kvCk7q6VH_8SPHIzuAQ4Qws2BxTRBrywTXzOoM1CBvGBw5qChLCVn9h0UGDrymqpSBqlvRWVB4Nu4or8ugXxfytJuoA8mQW-2PybsglicT5deisKLMBoAqexKzlxE3rRD7CoA/s1600/tommycarcetti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1kvCk7q6VH_8SPHIzuAQ4Qws2BxTRBrywTXzOoM1CBvGBw5qChLCVn9h0UGDrymqpSBqlvRWVB4Nu4or8ugXxfytJuoA8mQW-2PybsglicT5deisKLMBoAqexKzlxE3rRD7CoA/s400/tommycarcetti.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When he was cast as Littlefinger, I joked (after I’d done my Dance of Joy for
such brilliant casting) that this was perfect because Littlefinger was
basically Carcetti ten years on, having lost whatever idealism he’d had at the
start. I’ll miss him for all of those reasons, and for the fact that he’s
always just a value-added character in any scene he graces (his occasional
lapses into Irish Batman notwithstanding).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But alas, Littlefinger is gone—and we cut
from his death to the shadowed outline of Cersei from behind and she walks to
where Jaime is briefing his generals (just as an aside—is it just me, or have
they been using this shot, i.e. the medium close-up from behind featuring a
character’s head and shoulders, as they walk to whatever significant meeting
they have, an awful lot this season? It could very well serve as the cover for
the DVD collection). Jaime is, unsurprisingly, doing what he does best—leading
the Lannister armies. He bites out a series of orders crisply and clearly, and
the impression we get is one of extreme competence. He’s in his element here.
So of course it’s up to Cersei to disabuse him of his assumptions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dismissing his generals, she marvels at his
stupidity—did he really imagine they were joining up with Jon Snow and
Daenerys? To be fair, Jaime isn’t the most subtle of thinkers—much to Tywin’s
dismay, his heir was, as Cersei observes, always far more interested in hunting
and fighting. Tyrion was the true thinker, though Cersei now seems to have
adopted the role of the key Lannister intellect now that the Imp has gone over
to the enemy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s worth pausing a moment to note once
again the way in which different characters have evolved over the seven seasons
of this show. Jaime Lannister when we first met him was brash, arrogant, and
amoral—something encapsulated in how he pushes Bran out the window at the end
of the pilot episode, obviously not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wanting</i>
to do so, but also more or less indifferent to the fact that he’s killing a
child. (Interesting thought—one assumes some time next season he’ll meet Bran;
will the new Three Eyed Raven bear a grudge?). Since then, he’s been captured
by the enemy, imprisoned, released, re-captured and de-phalanged, returned
home, lost his son, watched his brother convicted for a crime he didn’t commit,
helped his brother escape, lost his father to that brother’s vengeance, lost
his daughter, and lost his other son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So, y’know, he’s been through a lot. And
apparently for Jaime Lannister, that puts him in touch with his inner Ned
Stark: he’s appalled at Cersei’s plot, mostly because he’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">given his word</i>, and her betrayal means he must betray his own
honour. The amorality of Season One Jaime is nowhere to be seen; instead, we
have an older, wiser (but apparently still unsubtle) Kingslayer for whom words
actually mean something. Not so much his sister: “I’ll say whatever I need to
say to ensure the survival of our house,” she tells him, but Jaime has shifted
into a new paradigm. “This isn’t about noble houses,” he rages, “this is about
the living and the dead.” He gets it—he’s had his Saul-on-the-road-to-Taursus
moment, or what I suppose in Westeros we now have to call his Jon Snow moment.
The stakes are clear to him. He made a promise … but Cersei only concerned
about survival. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Her</i> survival, and
that of her family. All of the scenarios she outlines for him—the dead win,
they come south; the living win, they come south—she frames not perhaps as
win-win, but certainly that their would-be allies have about the same designs
on them as the wight they’d seen that morning. That is to say: there is no
eventuality in which the Lannisters are not ultimately on the chopping block.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One can almost admire her cold calculus: if
one’s only concern is oneself and those closest to you, it makes total sense
not to risk anything when your enemies will destroy each other. The one
variable Cersei doesn’t seem to have considered, however, is that if the Night
King wins, he comes south THAT MUCH MORE POWERFUL. If Jon and Dany prevail …
well, they’ll almost certainly be very depleted, to the point where Cersei’s
armies have a fighting chance. That’s an awfully big risk to take, but Cersei
doesn’t seem to have figured that out. Jaime, by contrast, has—and despite his
prospective fatherhood, Cersei’s maybe-baby is not a poker chip one wants to
play in this imminent war. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Especially not when one considers the fact
that his relatively newfound honour puts him at odds with the woman he’s loved
literally all his life. Seeing the wight pushed Jaime past a certain point, but
Cersei’s own recognition that “The monsters are real” doesn’t change her
calculus, for a reason that was made explicit to Jaime by the Queen of Thorns: though
Cersei goes on to name all the figures of myth and legend from White Walkers to
Dothraki Screamers, the fact becomes unavoidable to Jaime is that the true
monster is the woman he loves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMB9Aoz51DxIUYdcdq6JjtytAl91zPabHsKwxstyXFgBxXdC0BxqC0z1b18Eetw3O6UtbjTBeGDeazIRrlm-I5LIqevbgGAo3gI7i7ezAMa0BvthD8v7qluqXepR3s9V2ySNoIQ/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMB9Aoz51DxIUYdcdq6JjtytAl91zPabHsKwxstyXFgBxXdC0BxqC0z1b18Eetw3O6UtbjTBeGDeazIRrlm-I5LIqevbgGAo3gI7i7ezAMa0BvthD8v7qluqXepR3s9V2ySNoIQ/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0949.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What I love about this scene is that it
really is a paradigm shift for Jaime, and it makes clear the fact that they’re
no longer speaking the same language. In an effort to convince her, he falls
back on the logic of armed force and his memory of being routed by the Dothraki
and a dragon—there is no way to defeat them, he reminds her. But say what you
will of Cersei, she is nothing if not observant, having noticed that Dany
brought only two dragons to the summit. When Jaime lamely suggests that the
third might be guarding her fleet, she deals him a withering look. No, she
says: Daenerys brought her full force so as best to intimidate them. That should
have included all three dragons; the absence of one means that they’re
vulnerable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(Which is of course a moment of dramatic
irony for all of us: knowing as we do that Viserion was brought down by the
very threat to which Cersei is indifferent, and that he’ll be a weapon deployed
against the living , is something she cannot know. And we, the audience, only
come to appreciate the magnitude of that threat in the final moments of the
episode).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then we come to grasp the full extent
of Cersei’s plotting in her revelations about the Iron Bank and Euron’s
deception. I must admit, I had a grudging admiration for Cersei in this
moment—genuinely thinking a few steps ahead. One wonders what excuse Euron
would have made to beat a hasty exit during the summit if the good guys hadn’t
brought the wight? But he’s off, one way or another, gone to fetch twenty
thousand swords to bolster the Lannister host. Though it is rather questionable
just how loyal mercenaries from a different continent will prove when faced with
the army of the dead. Not really something the Bronns of the world would be
willing to face, no matter what the payday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(Huh. Writing that makes me realize: Bronn
went to have a drink with Pod at the start of the summit, and so wasn’t there
for the release of the wight, was he? Clever work, GoT writers! Because I have
to imagine that, on seeing that thing, he wouldn’t be quite so keen to have a
castle in continental Westeros—probably would have pledged his sword to Euron
at that point).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What follows then is a brief but heated
argument over betrayal and treason. Jaime is irked that Cersei plotted with
Euron behind his back; but Cersei—not unreasonably—is still angry at Jaime for
treating with Tyrion and, by extension, with Daenerys. She’s not wrong in calling
that betrayal; whether it’s treason is a matter for the lawyers, but what
becomes obvious in this moment is that Jaime has started thinking globally (as
it were). He has a bigger picture in mind, even as he worries about the
survival of House Lannister. In the end, however, he is resolute in hewing to
his promises—as I said above, he finds his inner Stark!—and basically breaks up
with Cersei here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Let me repeat that in all caps. HE BREAKS
UP WITH CERSEI.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Though not without concern for his life:
the Mountain, once again, offers the threat of death. Twice in this episode has
Cersei been challenged by one of her brothers to order the Mountain to kill
them, and twice she blinked. And while Tyrion emitted explosive gasps of relief
when he wasn’t summarily cut down, I suspect Jaime didn’t care much one way or
another—he was deserting his sister, the woman he’s illicitly loved all his
life, and if Ser Gregor had actually put up a fight, he might well have
welcomed death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQledwPpMQd-HTC8CmgDBjoXmfyM_lSuS-benJaMY7RP_ckaPLIY3_KtpG7tirBOXpci3b466ATu3B6UbLQS4TJqDRh2oqT7O3JXnnTH3hniVE_uOiO0XrRIoWIRkrxT5IhybAA/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQledwPpMQd-HTC8CmgDBjoXmfyM_lSuS-benJaMY7RP_ckaPLIY3_KtpG7tirBOXpci3b466ATu3B6UbLQS4TJqDRh2oqT7O3JXnnTH3hniVE_uOiO0XrRIoWIRkrxT5IhybAA/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0960.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Instead, he’s on the road … alone. I suppose
it was naïve of me to think he might have taken some of the Lannister army with
him. But no—he’s alone, and as he pulls a glove over his golden hand, a
snowflake falls on it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(I suppose it’s only appropriate that,
given how long this show has been saying “winter is coming,” when winter comes,
it takes an awfully long time to do so).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSxJZkHcVD0Fj7-YZP741lXbhG4jdgviXHl8Tc1BSvpr1_VynLvnI35tg8pPyKPXTVvnD2qAy2SQNUmhznw7MVQGkkKtejG3LtfCtYgKPo95FnMcAJ6jews3hUbhKGUwtaR0f2Q/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSxJZkHcVD0Fj7-YZP741lXbhG4jdgviXHl8Tc1BSvpr1_VynLvnI35tg8pPyKPXTVvnD2qAy2SQNUmhznw7MVQGkkKtejG3LtfCtYgKPo95FnMcAJ6jews3hUbhKGUwtaR0f2Q/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0972.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What follows is a rather beautiful and
poignant sequence in which we see snow and night falling—over the desiccated
jawbones of dwarf dragons, over the Dragonpit itself, and over the rooftops of
King’s Landing. (I’m having a James Joyce moment here: “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the snow falling
faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their
last end, upon all the living and the dead”). </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The falling snow provides an elegant segue
back to Winterfell, where Samwell Tarly has arrived! And for once I won’t
complain about the brevity of the journey, which really should have taken all
of next season. What did you think of Sam’s reunion with Bran, Nikki, and
Bran’s, um, exposition?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: First, I think “maybe-baby” is my new phrase, so thank you for
that! And also, while I’m with you that I would have loved to have seen Podrick
and Bronn have that break for the beer, and that not letting Bronn see the
wight means he’ll actually stick around, there was actually a more pragmatic
reason that Bronn splits at the very beginning of the scene. Turns out Jerome
Flynn and Lena Headey were very much an item, but the relationship ended <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so</i> badly that when he was cast as Bronn
on the show, both actors had it included in their contracts that they would
never, ever appear in a scene together. So the writers had to come up with a
way to have Bronn lead the group to the Dragon Pit and then immediately leave —
and sure enough, if you watch, he’s never actually in the same shot, which
means the moment of him putting a hand on Pod’s shoulder and saying “Let’s go
grab a drink” was probably filmed separately with just the two of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ah... love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But anyway, back to the scene with Sam and
Bran. First of all, I loved loved LOVED this scene, and not for the reason that
everyone else probably did (although that moment was AMAZING) but because we
actually caught a glimpse of the old Samwell Tarly. Eager to please, hilarious,
stuttering... not the world-weary Sam we’ve seen at the Citadel. He comes into
Bran’s room and finds the Bran we’ve been dealing with all season staring at
the fire, and he asks him, “What happened to you north of the Wall?” Bran
replies cryptically, “I became the three-eyed raven.” Sam stands for a moment
in stunned silence and says the way one would to a child who just showed you a
special picture they’d drawn, “Oh!” Pause. “I don’t know what that means.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbosawJgCU2qyGfBj3z10yhq6wSp0NB82GLu4sAqFnsRv-WkRNcGh8fLmj20zUPGq5ZVrg8MJTnsvGPpqhVsqP5h0mu3eTy15VFAdrtlnyQqqUI8OotnonxYWkf1Efz0XjTSoQUQ/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_0994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbosawJgCU2qyGfBj3z10yhq6wSp0NB82GLu4sAqFnsRv-WkRNcGh8fLmj20zUPGq5ZVrg8MJTnsvGPpqhVsqP5h0mu3eTy15VFAdrtlnyQqqUI8OotnonxYWkf1Efz0XjTSoQUQ/s400/GoT_S7_E7_0994.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then my favourite bit of dialogue of
the episode (for its irony): “I can see things happening in the past... I can
see things happening now, all over the world. Why did you come to Winterfell?”
I actually laughed out loud at this scene. “I CAN SEE ALL. So... um... why are
you here because obviously I didn’t see that.” Sam says he knows Jon is going
to fight the White Walkers, and he’s here to help. This makes me SO happy.
While I’ve enjoyed the glimpse of the Citadel this season, having Sam back in
the fold will be so fantastic next season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then Bran gives the big reveal to Sam,
the one we already knew but was so much fun to finally hear spoken aloud, and
the revelation that gives this episode its title: Jon Snow is the son of
Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and his last name is Sand. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhwH-glnKqAaZLNqwDI0MJIy6yXsvW6HY3I7OnvfLX-UHbv_SjYNvNvCK89sHCTvGiN_YkHtcBpzvD6a3ZKbaluIUWuMp-J88__qvXDK_3rTn0bjD9S39ZPLWsbSVK1WCfMQHyg/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_1010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhwH-glnKqAaZLNqwDI0MJIy6yXsvW6HY3I7OnvfLX-UHbv_SjYNvNvCK89sHCTvGiN_YkHtcBpzvD6a3ZKbaluIUWuMp-J88__qvXDK_3rTn0bjD9S39ZPLWsbSVK1WCfMQHyg/s400/GoT_S7_E7_1010.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At that point
Sam goes wide-eyed and excitedly explains that NO, his last name is NOT Sand,
it’s Targaryen! He tells Bran that he translated a book for the High Septon and
discovered an interesting bit of information in there (wrong: you were
translating another book for the High Septon and GILLY found the bit of
information and you then took that book from her and handed it to little Sam to
shut her up but sure, we’ll let you take the credit, because we love you) and
then we flash back to the actual wedding ceremony of Lyanna Stark and OH MY GOD
IS THAT VISERYS oh thank god no it isn’t but lord, were they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">twins</i> or something?? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgMX_82I4JpNM03PXl3Zm6e1xFxms04EzV-J9UGUPrr86LWOorhHTBv7w2KMGCysKmHT2BhRr3Dr1ZDfSsCPTtjlVqcFVobGnf3YNRLcq4Wel-07XkW8lFSkhPOsUQgx52J49NA/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_1033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgMX_82I4JpNM03PXl3Zm6e1xFxms04EzV-J9UGUPrr86LWOorhHTBv7w2KMGCysKmHT2BhRr3Dr1ZDfSsCPTtjlVqcFVobGnf3YNRLcq4Wel-07XkW8lFSkhPOsUQgx52J49NA/s400/GoT_S7_E7_1033.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when all
of history shifts for Bran. “Robert’s Rebellion was built on a lie,” he says.
Robert Baratheon invaded King’s Landing in order to get his beloved Lyanna
Stark back from the horrible Rhaegar Targaryen, whom he believed had kidnapped
and raped her, but Lyanna died in childbirth, Aegon was killed by Jaime, and
this whole “who has the right to sit on the Iron Throne” battle all started
there and has spiralled downward when the original thesis was entirely wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">D’oh.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Rhaegar didn’t kidnap my aunt and rape
her...” Bran says as the scene cuts to Jon Snow knocking on Daenerys’s door (no
no no)... “He loved her,” he continues as the door closes with him inside the
room (no no no please make it stop no), “And she loved him,” and we all throw
up in our mouths a little as we see Jon Snow — sorry... AEGON TARGARYEN... as
he makes love to his aunt and shows her that maybe she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thought </i>she was barren, but his powerful Starkaryen sperm has other
ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">They did that to us on purpose, you know.
They made that scene oogie and awful and it could have been really great but it
was like watching Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker get it on AFTER we knew the
truth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwLh9tXWB3Yn00KPBgsWyUX0aEXb7tRaWo0YAfmlOq4M0DvqrbBXGmGs9OUSuDS_ZqgaaJGVhVW14lMcEyjS0X6boHOiRa67OI8EbJB0sXRacBTAB8-xu2SM-FstAPETFreh3bg/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_1058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwLh9tXWB3Yn00KPBgsWyUX0aEXb7tRaWo0YAfmlOq4M0DvqrbBXGmGs9OUSuDS_ZqgaaJGVhVW14lMcEyjS0X6boHOiRa67OI8EbJB0sXRacBTAB8-xu2SM-FstAPETFreh3bg/s400/GoT_S7_E7_1058.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And yet still... god I loved how they
intertwined the two stories, because it was like it was daring us. The
showrunners were saying, “oh come ON, you want to look away but you are loving
this. Totally loving this.” I hate them all. And I love them so freakin’ much
for filming it that way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As we see the two of them making love —
while Tyrion glowers in the hallway — we hear Bran say in his clipped
Hemingway-like prose, “He’s never been a bastard. He’s the heir to the Iron
Throne. He needs to know. We need to tell him.” These four sentences become the
key to the entire series. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br />
And what of Tyrion standing in that hallway? Some have suggested that perhaps
he’s jealous of Jon Snow, and has been secretly in love with Daenerys this
whole time. That’s possible, although we’ve never seen any sign of that
whatsoever, and Tyrion is usually pretty open when he likes a woman
romantically. I think instead he’s seeing possible disaster ahead. Jon Snow is
now romantically linked with Dany, and that could cloud his judgment — and hers
— when they’re trying to line up battle plans. Think about it: the last time a
Stark and Targaryen got together, the world rained blood for a generation and
is still doing so. Tyrion knows his Westerosi history, and this kind of pairing
NEVER turns out well for anyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">From here we have a quick and quiet little
scene with the two Stark sisters as we once again remember Ned Stark and the
impact he’s had on the whole show. Has there ever been another series that has
gone on for eight years where a character who died in season one had such a
long-standing impact on the rest of the show? Here’s my one and only wish for
season eight: that Sean Bean returns for just ONE scene, whether it’s in
flashback or as some Mufasa-type of thing talking to Bran from the clouds (I
would totally buy that), I just would give anything to actually see Ned Stark
one more time in the form we originally saw him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Here his two daughters remember their
father, and Sansa tells Arya that she is the strongest person she knows, and
Arya smiles and says that’s the nicest thing her sister has ever said to her.
Though Sansa adds that she still finds Arya annoying, which is really funny.
And then Arya says, “I miss him.” “Me too,” says Sansa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tears. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then it’s off to the inevitable end of
the season, which has to happen north of the Wall. This has been a White
Walker–free episode, with the exception of the wight, and has instead focused
on the politics and romantic entanglements, which I much prefer, but back at
the wall, Tormund and Beric spot the White Walkers approaching much quicker
than they thought they would. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTRn0yN3p-JlFFbKbM0CeRK09vuFWJNe-NIjMlGa42LA2eHYRSHO67q1VoyNiJogsu58UOkQQY9giG7pm9bAo5uRs-zlO5nIb4zzgtummwIWL61J4JviANS5Zaf07RoOA46OssA/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_1126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTRn0yN3p-JlFFbKbM0CeRK09vuFWJNe-NIjMlGa42LA2eHYRSHO67q1VoyNiJogsu58UOkQQY9giG7pm9bAo5uRs-zlO5nIb4zzgtummwIWL61J4JviANS5Zaf07RoOA46OssA/s400/GoT_S7_E7_1126.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But just as they’re probably thinking, “We’ll
send a FedEx raven and surely Jon and Daenerys can get from Dragonstone to the
Wall in 20 minutes on season seven time...” Tormund’s eyes widen as he sees
Viserion fly in, with the Night King on its back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUYnzJ6QRip5UNWEkeAuvKzs1_5JQ5mRAhgKoIECWz5k-lDrLlQAH2aPcYyZ-nl7FcpZAqhbQRFiZZWzQOy7DDIWwPl5jVSM9VbOSX4bL2STHC4Ik6uvxpzUT-foxYZO5zeb1-Q/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_1152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUYnzJ6QRip5UNWEkeAuvKzs1_5JQ5mRAhgKoIECWz5k-lDrLlQAH2aPcYyZ-nl7FcpZAqhbQRFiZZWzQOy7DDIWwPl5jVSM9VbOSX4bL2STHC4Ik6uvxpzUT-foxYZO5zeb1-Q/s400/GoT_S7_E7_1152.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I don’t know about you, Chris, but while
this scene was truly awesome, it was also so sad for me to watch. Viserion’s
wings had holes in them, and he’s clearly rotting. The Night King just
doesn’t... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">belong</i> on his back
(especially considering Daenerys only rode Drogon and not the other two). As
the men on the Eastwatch section of the Wall race down the rickety stairs in a
vain attempt to reach the bottom, Viserion just blasts away at the Wall with
his new butane flame breath as the rest of the Army of the Dead just stand and
watch. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzoXJS-56jRMALlQVW3lOr1ojIK1whDOuuV-lTXtvYpDhY_l1pGXr8AUjere_cLeGCV5AGexxHdPxWn1LdqpmqzQ9uythYJkAg1VdihXL6WcHzOdZ_dKZRxAYuKtZ3m99xOoygw/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_1183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzoXJS-56jRMALlQVW3lOr1ojIK1whDOuuV-lTXtvYpDhY_l1pGXr8AUjere_cLeGCV5AGexxHdPxWn1LdqpmqzQ9uythYJkAg1VdihXL6WcHzOdZ_dKZRxAYuKtZ3m99xOoygw/s400/GoT_S7_E7_1183.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And as the last of the Wall crumbles — seconds after we see Tormund and
Beric still standing on it — the White Walkers advance south of the Wall and
make their way into Winterfell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcrBcdt-P1O_ge-UJVkrseK9V5LuoEq0isGEjOF8eGYxGJAhhc107-b1qS4edp1qzEhTIoKYXzEh3NVpGj6iXcKxQaVGhrCjjqbyLF6POSH3ir2agw2B7hhYdR7w3SGHe7CvbCg/s1600/GoT_S7_E7_1196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcrBcdt-P1O_ge-UJVkrseK9V5LuoEq0isGEjOF8eGYxGJAhhc107-b1qS4edp1qzEhTIoKYXzEh3NVpGj6iXcKxQaVGhrCjjqbyLF6POSH3ir2agw2B7hhYdR7w3SGHe7CvbCg/s400/GoT_S7_E7_1196.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Is Tormund dead? Will he never get to make
those giant babies with Brienne? Has Beric finally found his final resting
place without Thoros of Myr to bring him back to life? How long before the dead
reach Winterfell? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">ALL QUESTIONS FOR NEXT SEASON, MY CHILDREN!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But first, I just want to address one fan
theory that’s been circulating the past couple of days: that Bran is actually
the Night King. We see him warg right before the dead march on Eastwatch, and
even though it cuts to the ravens to show how he’s watching this happening,
some fans have noticed that the dead seem to form what appears to be the Stark
sigil as they enter the north: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBsnPoG_WG877u0ol0RkJS6mRU1FvdSzaevqJyTr2tUwLx-9aZB4HhC_KkbZ3nz0fls97BD7UEkbmDccsr4gwNl48P_Sdzz8jyAcXkfRddsBIuXKsOg7Pq9-Isds9zL3P1IO8ew/s1600/hd-aspect-1504001454-bk-nypc0c6fpn2xz1nuej-fvk1kcs5pie78o451dycs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBsnPoG_WG877u0ol0RkJS6mRU1FvdSzaevqJyTr2tUwLx-9aZB4HhC_KkbZ3nz0fls97BD7UEkbmDccsr4gwNl48P_Sdzz8jyAcXkfRddsBIuXKsOg7Pq9-Isds9zL3P1IO8ew/s320/hd-aspect-1504001454-bk-nypc0c6fpn2xz1nuej-fvk1kcs5pie78o451dycs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlx8Nd8GOYATV699iX5mFYPDLV9tOFVV7hLVY3QLC0YJDFQmXo0ZAJHsoMv6NI7C_GNO65QBM1Ob-nYY7ufvNLPg_odcV0gCG_EWgW0oQR7XUvURgLD7SJNgKCAfOWJlmdtMuuA/s1600/sd-aspect-1504002376-wallpaper-stark-1600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlx8Nd8GOYATV699iX5mFYPDLV9tOFVV7hLVY3QLC0YJDFQmXo0ZAJHsoMv6NI7C_GNO65QBM1Ob-nYY7ufvNLPg_odcV0gCG_EWgW0oQR7XUvURgLD7SJNgKCAfOWJlmdtMuuA/s320/sd-aspect-1504002376-wallpaper-stark-1600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This has fans in a tizzy, and instead of
seeing this as a cool Easter egg showing that the first House that will hit
will be Winterfell, someone on Reddit has jumped from point A to point M and
seems to think this means Bran is the Night King himself, and that the Night
King was the good guy all along. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erm. Okay. Maybe I’ll be wrong a year or so
from now, but I’m going to lean to no on that one. Remember, just a couple of
episodes Bran was warging into a raven and saw the Night King and nearly fell
out of his wheelchair when he was spotted by him. And it was made very clear
that he can warg into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">living</i> things,
and the Night King isn’t exactly living. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But who knows. This show has made greater
leaps. In my opinion, this isn’t going to be one of them. We have bigger things
to worry about with only six episodes left. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And whether those episodes are going to be
90-120 minutes long, as some rumours are suggesting, or whether the season
won’t actually begin until 2019, as some other sources are saying, only time
will tell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Well, we’ve officially topped our longest
post with this one. I want to extend another huge thanks to the brilliant
Christopher Lockett, without whom I simply couldn’t do these. Thank you for
joining me once again, and thank you to everyone who actually manages to read
these to the end! (My own husband rolls his eyes and says NO ONE reads anything
this long on the internet.) We will see you back here for season eight, and until
then, stay warm and beware of... actually, pretty much everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-73379431675633053472017-08-23T20:00:00.000-04:002017-08-23T20:00:18.822-04:00Game of Thrones 7.06: Beyond the Wall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBb964vBOxSywku7lRvb-JGUfF5HZCVslDQOFwrDuIAIZRUkjbET4r68kjh_SzSW0u8fxuQgz2vqsjjdRLvgXVVEnDir_pO6EQarFQ7Td7wUVDyfEIA9wvPz4HFflf28GG8IdVg/s1600/Screenshot-949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBb964vBOxSywku7lRvb-JGUfF5HZCVslDQOFwrDuIAIZRUkjbET4r68kjh_SzSW0u8fxuQgz2vqsjjdRLvgXVVEnDir_pO6EQarFQ7Td7wUVDyfEIA9wvPz4HFflf28GG8IdVg/s400/Screenshot-949.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Hey guys! It’s the penultimate episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>, and this week <a href="https://cjlockett.com/">Christopher</a> and I have a lot of fun tying many
of the threads of this episode to previous seasons and episodes, while
nitpicking the fact that time and space and, well, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">logic</i> seems to mean absolutely nothing in this week’s installment.
(We don’t care... we love the hell out of this show regardless.) And you should
probably grab a drink or a snack or something, because you’re about to read the
longest blog post we’ve written yet on a single episode (Chris is actually
going to have four passes on this one, and I’ll make it up to him by doing four
passes next week). As I texted to Chris at one point, the reason my final <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i> book was so damn fat is because I
had to tie every action to previous actions in order to show how it was all
coming together in the end. And I’m afraid you’re going to have to read a lot
of that this time, but I’m hoping you’ll discover new things about this episode
you didn’t previously notice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now let’s all don our caps for what, for
me, has been the most difficult loss of life in the show so far, and I’ll let
Chris begin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I’m going to lead off by saying that I was about ready to give up
on this episode about three quarters of the way through—as I’ve observed
before, the show has pretty much given up on anything resembling a realistic
sense of scale when it comes to geography, and so the whole premise that a
raven could get to Dragonstone and Daenerys could get back with her dragons in
the space of twenty-four hours was just obnoxious (the North is BIG, people—as
is observed several times in the novels, the North is pretty much as big as the
other six kingdoms combined. No way a raven could make that trip without several
stops on the way, especially not if it was gripping a coconut by the husk).
Also, the whole cunning plan to kidnap a wight and return it to the south was
always just fakakta.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Also, Arya was REALLY pissing me off this
episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">BUT … the episode retroactively redeemed
itself by giving us a critical mass of heartbreak and plot twists in the final
fifteen minutes or so. I’m still not inclined to forgive the geographical
discrepancies or the sheer stupidity of the wight-napping plan, but they do
fade somewhat into the background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We begin with an interesting opening shot,
a long slow track up the map-shaped conference table at Dragonstone, moving
from south to north until we’re past the wall—which would be a nifty little way
to geographically situate Jon Snow and his merry band (assuming we’d completely
forgotten the end of last week’s episode), if it weren’t for the fact that the
episode then proceeds to completely fudge the distances involved. That being
said, the first extreme long shot of Jon and the others is of a piece with this
season’s self-consciously epic use of landscape porn. Every episode, we’re
treated to gorgeous images of characters dwarfed by sea, sky, and cliffs—or in
this case, snow and mountains. Which is, again, tonally and practically out of
step with the ease with which characters seem able to traverse great distances,
but I’ll let that one go for now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ft6okL5Yg10n8L8SlLt5wj1SCRrqAu-FLn8m5X2kB3ukIdbtfWxSJriDgpSpE8i32R6mLoLIJjb6iVENgs04AZfu972fj5ymRmsAdFz-2rP2E8CT4cvkJuru8XCMNYdatnT5ZQ/s1600/Screenshot-712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ft6okL5Yg10n8L8SlLt5wj1SCRrqAu-FLn8m5X2kB3ukIdbtfWxSJriDgpSpE8i32R6mLoLIJjb6iVENgs04AZfu972fj5ymRmsAdFz-2rP2E8CT4cvkJuru8XCMNYdatnT5ZQ/s400/Screenshot-712.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However idiotic the wight-napping plot, my
favourite part of this episode was the series of conversations that transpires.
There’s a lot of exposition, which can often weigh down an episode; and while
there are moments that have a “the story till now” feel, they are mostly really
rather entertaining—due in part to good writing and good chemistry between the
actors. We begin with the assertion of geographical relativity: Gendry’s never
been north, and as far as Tormund is concerned, Winterfell is the south. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We also have Tormund dropping a hint about
one of the ways the episode will end: when Jon tells him that Daenerys will
only help them if he bends the knee, he says, “You’ve spent too much time with
the Free Folk. Now you don’t like kneeling!” Once upon a time, that would have
been the highest compliment Tormund could have paid Jon. But his own
experience, both north and south of the Wall, seems to have tempered Tormund’s
views on the matter. “Mance Rayder was a great man,” he reflects. “Proud man.
The King-Beyond-the-Wall would never bend the knee. How many people died
because of his pride?” The fact that even a wildling like Tormund is now
reconsidering the wisdom of Mance’s absolutism signals the stakes for which
they’re now playing, and also works like Chekhov’s proverbial gun on the wall
in act one, which is fired at the end when Jon (metaphorically) bends the knee
to Daenerys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The next expository dialogue is between
Gendry and the Brotherhood—reminding us all of the fact that Beric and Thoros,
for reasons both faith-based and pecuniary, essentially sold Gendry to
Melisandre. For all intents and purposes, Gendry provides a decently
“Previously on ..” in his complaint: “I wanted to be one of you,” he says. “I
wanted to be a member of the Brotherhood, but you sold me off like a slave!” Of
course, his initial description of what Melisandre did to him—“She strapped me
down on a bed, she stripped me naked—“ doesn’t seem quite such a hardship,
especially to those who’ve <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seen</i>
Melisandre. Though the next bit is about leeches, the Hound’s question, “Was
she naked too?” suggests that perhaps Gendry’s initial fate wasn’t as bad as
he’s making out.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4fgzyctrmX_XKAhlUhpFQNzlbmEnuqPlG2LHjHU6yFjhIXOqzNv4sT9fVREZzih7cgC8P4F6w-j8HA2yndjIREQdAQw3CLdyyzybz1vsYxrQ4DK5tZUEg9oRcd6v0CFvE8v6qQ/s1600/Screenshot-720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4fgzyctrmX_XKAhlUhpFQNzlbmEnuqPlG2LHjHU6yFjhIXOqzNv4sT9fVREZzih7cgC8P4F6w-j8HA2yndjIREQdAQw3CLdyyzybz1vsYxrQ4DK5tZUEg9oRcd6v0CFvE8v6qQ/s400/Screenshot-720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We know we’ve passed a certain threshold
with this particular fellowship when the Hound dismisses Gendry’s charge that
Melisandre <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">at al </i>meant, ultimately,
to kill him: “But they didn’t! Did they? So what’re you whinging about?”
(Incidentally, the Hound’s statement that “Your lips are moving, you’re
complaining about something, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that’s</i>
whinging” is now on par for me with Buffy’s comment to Cordelia that “Your
mouth is moving and sounds are coming out—that’s never a good thing” as one of
the world’s greatest put-downs). Indicating Beric, he continues, “This one’s
been killed six times, you don’t hear him bitching about it.” This dismissal of
Gendry’s basic complaint, along with Tormund’s insinuation that they might all
use Gendry for their sexual pleasure, capped with Thoros giving the boy a drink
from his flask, all has the feel of a hazing ritual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The cap to this sequence is the bonding of
two figures separated for most of this series, but whose fates were pretty much
inscribed from day one (though the fact that the name “Sam Tarly” STILL hasn’t
apparently come up makes me as crazy as it does you, Nikki). History is
burbling up at an accelerated rate now, as we’ll see in the Sansa-Arya
conflict; here, at least, it’s conciliatory—Jorah acknowledging his transgressions
and the justice of Eddard Stark’s sentence, as well as the rightness of his
father’s disownment of him. Jon, having characterized his father as the most
honourable man he ever knew, feels compelled to return Longclaw to Jorah and
House Mormont—but again, Jorah’s a stand-up guy, and refuses Jon’s largesse. As
well he should.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Considering that we cut from the myriad
bromances budding out on the ice to the cat fight brewing between Arya and
Sansa, can I just pause and ask whether anyone else felt that this was
something of an egregiously gendered contrast? It wouldn’t bother me as much if
the conflict between Arya and Sansa wasn’t so fucking contrived. My argument
with this episode as a whole is about its narrative logic—the idiocy of
wight-napping and the erasure of geographical distance on one hand, but the
antagonism between the Stark sisters on the other. I grant we can expect Arya
to have developed a certain amount of suspicion and cynicism in her long
sojourn apart from her family, but at no point did we see her relinquish her
intelligence. Yes, coming home to Winterfell to find Sansa in charge would be
expected to bring all those old resentments back—but not to this extreme, not
to the point where she seems to threaten to kill Sansa and take her face. Is
the idea that her time with the Faceless Men drove her insane? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I hate narrative conflicts that could be so
easily solved by someone <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">asking the
obvious question</i>, such as “Wait, where did you get that scroll?” If the
series had made Sansa blindly trusting of Littlefinger’s council, this current
dispute would make a certain amount of distressing sense. But LITERALLY
EVERYONE WHO MATTERS distrusts Littlefinger! All it would take is for Arya to
say “Oh, I found this in Baelish’s mattress,” and suddenly she’s fighting
Brienne for the right to put Mayor Carcetti’s head on a pike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Argh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But speaking of Brienne—it’s a measure of
my love and regard for you, Nikki, that I now pass the gauntlet to you to speak
about what is possibly my favourite conversation from the entire series so far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Yeah, as episodes this season go, this one was definitely the one
I liked the least, even if it gave me 30 heart attacks in the final 15 minutes.
The defiance of all laws of time and space rankled with me the whole episode,
too (I half-expected Gendry to return in the goddamn TARDIS) and a friend of
mine and I were joking about whether they now use Raven FedEx or Raven Email,
given the swiftness of those birds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But more on that later, I assume. Because
what this episode lacked in actual common sense, it more than made up for with
deep emotional resonance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Last year we had the Battle of the
Bastards, and in this episode we get the Smackdown of the Sisters. And it’s as
emotionally painful to watch as I could have imagined. Now, I’ll agree with
you, Christopher, that watching this scene made me want to tie Arya to a chair
and force her to watch every Sansa scene from the past seven years... but that
was the point, and the reason that I actually thought this scene was brutally
realistic. If either Arya or Sansa had acted any differently in this scene I
would have cried foul, but I thought it was as close to perfect as it could
have been. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">First we have to recap Arya and Sansa in
season one... these two were always at each other’s throats, and almost
immediately after Robert and his entourage arrive at Winterfell, Sansa is
betrothed to Joffrey. Sansa has always responded positively to being trained in
“ladylike ways” — she has perfect handwriting, as Arya points out in this
episode, and happily sewed when Arya pushed against societal norms and wanted
to be out in the courtyard practising sword-fighting and archery like her
brothers. All Sansa ever aspired to be was a lady, so when given the
opportunity to marry Joffrey Baratheon — with the promise of becoming queen one
day — it was every girly-girl’s dream come true. And it made Arya want to gag. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPijAHDf9l9OJsXGc3WdePSePesAc9zraZWj0eZZGHIfe5sIXgDrgKk9CSixpPvVUpFmWuNo5nDGhI9zivVhBcazgkRTqtlUK_MPKV9WkNALEd-ykwi4tSETjWeYHqruhdOJfJQ/s1600/game-of-thrones-arya-stark-sansa-stark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="625" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPijAHDf9l9OJsXGc3WdePSePesAc9zraZWj0eZZGHIfe5sIXgDrgKk9CSixpPvVUpFmWuNo5nDGhI9zivVhBcazgkRTqtlUK_MPKV9WkNALEd-ykwi4tSETjWeYHqruhdOJfJQ/s400/game-of-thrones-arya-stark-sansa-stark.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ned packed up his daughters and took them
to King’s Landing, and they took their direwolves with them. When Arya
accompanied Joffrey and Sansa to the river and Joffrey threatens Arya, Nymeria
bit him (as we discussed a couple of weeks ago on this blog) and Arya forced
Nymeria to run away so she wouldn’t be hurt. What many of us have forgotten,
though, is when they went back to King’s Landing and were questioned about what
happened, Sansa played dumb, and said she didn’t see anything but she’s pretty
sure it wasn’t Joffrey’s fault. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjKxdedfSGOCt7UB7Rf7NgYAsHC3jve9mLZxOnI46fo_8a0reQxFV-ks0PTnDTGCuE2HFkVedrhHhth7fdKMxkGR8zQXd-rXaqk02c5ygVKMhohW8PHdluVYhEnwajPfGesDFsw/s1600/sansa-stark-and-joffrey-baratheon-sansa-stark-29432072-800-450.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjKxdedfSGOCt7UB7Rf7NgYAsHC3jve9mLZxOnI46fo_8a0reQxFV-ks0PTnDTGCuE2HFkVedrhHhth7fdKMxkGR8zQXd-rXaqk02c5ygVKMhohW8PHdluVYhEnwajPfGesDFsw/s400/sansa-stark-and-joffrey-baratheon-sansa-stark-29432072-800-450.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Arya was beside herself, even when Sansa’s
direwolf was the one sacrificed for Sansa’s lie. Arya never forgave Sansa for
that betrayal, and eventually when Ned glommed onto the Lannister incest and
was captured by Cersei, Sansa was “kept safe” and told to write the letter
begging Robb to bend the knee before Joffrey, while Arya was forced to live on
the streets. The last time Arya saw her sister, Sansa was standing on the
scaffolding with a fancy dress and outrageously styled hair, while Arya had
been eating pigeons and trying not to be killed (and, by the way, had already
inadvertently killed a man). One can only imagine that image of Sansa burning
into Arya’s retinas and searing into her memory, and Ned was beheaded by
Joffrey, with Sansa standing right by his side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Arya hasn’t seen her sister since. But if
those are her memories of her, of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">course</i>
she despises her. She’s had Joffrey at the top of her kill list from that
moment, and was disappointed to find out someone else had the joy of killing
him first. She returned to Winterfell and didn’t fall into Sansa’s arms, but
instead kept her distance. She’s not at Winterfell for Sansa, but out of
loyalty to the Stark clan. And now that she’s got the proof in her hands that
her sister was a conniving accomplice to the Lannisters — and therefore part of
the reason their father is dead — it’s brought back all those memories to her,
and the loathing she’s always felt for Sansa since season one rises to the
surface. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Remember, we all thought Sansa was an
insipid, annoying, awful character in those first seasons, but we’ve had the
privilege of watching her every move since then, while Arya hasn’t. We’re
expecting Arya to have respect for a sister whom she hasn’t seen grow in
character and maturity the way we have. All she sees is that conniving sister
who wormed her way into the Lannisters’ hearts and has now taken over as Lady
of Winterfell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile... Sansa remembers Arya being the
little annoying twit who was trying to get between her and Joffrey. Her
direwolf is dead because Arya wanted to play swords with Joffrey, and while she
knows she’s to blame for what happened with the Lannisters, Arya as a child was
always that voice yipping in her ear telling her she was just as bad a person
as she feared she might be. Arya tried to stop her from becoming queen by
getting her into trouble with the Lannisters, and is now standing between her
and the lords of the northern Houses. While Sansa doesn’t harbour hatred for
Arya, she harbours a deep annoyance, and her actions and words in this scene
come from that feeling. She knows Arya is unpredictable and rash, and that very
rashness could get them both killed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sansa has been in the midst of several
battles, narrowly escaped being married to a man she knew would torture her for
the rest of her life, was a suspect in his murder, was whisked away by a man
who fancied her mother and now doesn’t seem to notice she’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> her mother (ew), learned from the
inside by watching and listening just how to duck and parry her way through the
political machinations happening around her, was then married to Ramsay Bolton
and raped repeatedly for their entire marriage, narrowly escaped from his
clutches, and then called on Littlefinger — the very person who married her to
Bolton — to help save Jon Snow from the battle, thus winning the Battle of the
Bastards, regaining Winterfell for her family, and still taking second chair to
a brother that isn’t even a proper Stark while possessing more political
knowledge and experience than many of the people in that room. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Arya lived hand to mouth for years,
pretended to be a boy, and (in no particular order) narrowly escaped Melisandre
and the Brotherhood Without Banners, travelled with the Hound and his
unfeeling, unemotional ways, met Brienne (and Brienne remains the only real
connection between Sansa and Arya in all these years, since she served both of
them), was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this close</i> to reuniting
with her mother and brother before hiding in the stables as she heard their
screams as they were slaughtered by the Freys, narrowly escaped being killed
and tortured by Tywin Lannister, met and was saved by Jaqen H’ghar, then
trained to be a Faceless Man — where she was beaten and belittled by Jaqen and
the Waif, was blinded, continued to train, taught to be devoid of emotions, and
eventually came out of there a warrior — and along the way has killed <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so
many people</i>. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Their paths diverged long ago, but both of
them have been brutalized in many ways that are unfathomable, and yet each one
imagines there’s no way the other one has been through as terrible a time as
they have, and they say as much in this scene. Seven years ago, Ned’s daughters
couldn’t have possibly imagined their lives turning out the way they did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What’s interesting is that when Bran showed
up, he instantly knew <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything</i>
Sansa had endured, and she had to walk away from him because knowing that her
baby brother had watched her in his weird timey-wimey way as she was raped by a
monster was too much for her to handle. The problem with Arya, on the other
hand, is that while Bran knows <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything</i>
that’s happened to Sansa but is unable to show any emotion because of the
mystical state he’s in, Arya knows <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing</i>
of what has happened to Sansa out of her arrogance that no one could have
possibly gone through what she has. And Sansa has never asked Arya what she’s
been through, either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAdvwVXMrQESQmHyPXW7TCmFEI5JYEDFVUiM-m9fZRl3I3Hdn7cPl89Y2zIUd6xJjQ8tSjXmdYq1lEz5cU6pzO4HQO2CfZxhETpmF_ve_cRUoY3vKqelQM9_MLkAttsIzaoA4Fg/s1600/Screenshot-733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAdvwVXMrQESQmHyPXW7TCmFEI5JYEDFVUiM-m9fZRl3I3Hdn7cPl89Y2zIUd6xJjQ8tSjXmdYq1lEz5cU6pzO4HQO2CfZxhETpmF_ve_cRUoY3vKqelQM9_MLkAttsIzaoA4Fg/s400/Screenshot-733.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At the top of this scene Arya remembers
standing all alone in the courtyard shooting an arrow and hitting the bullseye,
and looking up to her father’s slow clap up on the balcony. Interestingly, many
of the details in her story are wrong, which seems to have been done on purpose.
She wasn’t alone (Bran was having his archery practice and Robb and Jon were
standing nearby), Catelyn was with Ned, and he didn’t slow clap. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="239" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3XH9Ti0wKbs" width="425"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i>
hit that bullseye, and her father <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i>
watching. Time and experience have faded the other parts of the scene for her,
but I loved that she remembers being all alone — after so many years of being
exactly that, she no longer remembers being surrounded by people who loved her.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">She ends the little reverie, however, with
words that seem to foreshadow what’s coming next; the underlying threat is
unmistakable: “I knew what I was doing was against the rules but he was
smiling, so I knew it wasn’t wrong: the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rules</i>
were wrong. I was doing what I was meant to be doing and he knew it.” And then
she adds, “Now he’s dead, killed by the Lannisters, with your help.” Sansa had
been smiling on this little memory until that moment, where the shift was
something even someone who has come to expect anything... didn’t expect. They
discuss the day Ned was beheaded, and Sansa discovers for the first time that
Arya was in the audience (when Ned was killed, Sansa feared her sister had been
killed by soldiers). As Arya talks about Sansa standing on that scaffold doing
nothing, Sansa counters that if Arya was in the audience, why didn’t she just
rush the stage and save all of them? Then she uses the kind of words that Sansa
used to use when they were kids, the very thing that would drive Arya mad in
this scene: “You should be on your knees thanking me,” she says, and she’s
right: if not for Sansa and her brilliance, Winterfell would not be in the
hands of the Starks right now. She explains exactly what she did at the Battle
of the Bastards, which SHOULD have opened up a line of dialogue for the two of
them to sit down and tell each other exactly what they’ve been through. But
neither of them is interested in a catch-up chat, especially Arya, who seems to
have kept Sansa off her kill list only because they share DNA. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Arya believes Sansa has sat around being
pretty for seven years; Sansa believes Arya has been travelling the world as a
carefree vagabond while she’s been working to take back Winterfell. “While you
were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">training</i>, I suffered things you
could never imagine,” she hisses at Arya. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Oh, I don’t know about that, and I can
imagine quite a lot,” Arya replies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And that’s the moment where most <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones </i>fans probably screamed
in frustration. Sometimes dramatic irony REALLY SUCKS. (I actually gasped aloud
and went, “Arya, NO!”) Sansa counters by saying, “You never would have survived
what I survived,” and again, viewers around the world gasped a eollective gasp
and yelled, “Sansa, NO!!” A few weeks ago, when Arya re-encountered Nymeria and
I said she shouldn’t return to Winterfell because there is nothing between her
and Sansa, I did so with regret because I wanted to see a happy reunion. But
deep down I knew this is what would happen, and that Arya should have turned
that damn horse the other way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I hope the context I provided above might
help us move through this scene a little better and understand the perspective
each of these young women brings to this scene, but there is one moment where
Arya actually seems to affirm Sansa’s notion that she’s too naive, and that’s
when she begins taunting Sansa about the letter, saying there’s no reason Sansa
has to be nervous because if she hasn’t done anything wrong, she won’t be
punished. Even Sansa responds with an exasperated, “Arya!” How did Arya get
this far thinking that only villains are punished, innocent people are never
hurt, and the good guys always win? Of COURSE she knows if she shows that
letter to anyone it’ll hurt Sansa even if Sansa was innocent — there’s always
someone in the shadows waiting to twist things to their advantage, and 75% of
the time that person is Littlefinger. But Arya’s not actually that naive; she’s
just mocking Sansa to terrify her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The only one who says anything remotely
correct in this scene is Sansa, who points out that if Cersei could see them
now, she’d be thrilled. Sansa maintains that she was a child when she penned
that letter, and Arya points out that tough, take-no-shit Lyanna Mormont is
younger, but she would never write a letter like that. The scene ends with
Sansa saying, “Sometimes anger makes people do unfortunate things,” and Arya
countering, “Sometimes fear makes people do unfortunate things. I’ll go with
anger.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones</i> fans everywhere sob. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then it’s back to the north, where time
and distance mean NOTHING, with the Hound making comments about gingers, dicks,
and Brienne. What did you think of this lovely little bit of fan service,
Chris, with Tormund imagining a, um, romantic future with Brienne? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, that was a very nice way of reminding me of all the
emotional baggage weighing down the Stark sisters. Perhaps their conflict is
not quite as contrived as I suggest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But Arya’s still pissing me off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One little correction to your account
before I go on: you suggest that Arya is misremembering or misrepresenting her
story about practicing archery, alone, in the Winterfell courtyard, citing the
scene in the very first episode when she intrudes upon Bran’s shooting—with Ned
and Catelyn looking on, and Jon and Robb helping. As Bran keeps missing his
mark, suddenly Arya appears and shoots a perfect bulls-eye. But the episode she
recounts to Sansa is a different one entirely—I took that story to mean she
picked up the bow and shot again and again, earning her father’s approbation,
so that when she shows Bran up in the first episode, she’d already practiced
enough to hit the bulls-eye with ease. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But back to the North! And thank you for
letting me talk about what is my favourite scene in this and probably ever
other episode. Tormund and the Hound—if ever on this show there were brothers
from another mother, it would be these two. Both big, violent, but ultimately
good-hearted men. Already by the time of my writing this there’s half a dozen
remixes on YouTube reimagining this scene as a sitcom of one stripe or another.
From Tormund’s first line—“You’re the one they call the Dog!”—you know this is
going to be comedy gold. And it’s doubly hilarious because we hear Tormund lay
out clearly what the show has left un-verbalized, namely his infatuation with
Brienne.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But before we get there, we get more
indications that Tormund is one of the smarter and more insightful characters
on the show. Certainly, he’s verbally dexterous—“Gingers are beautiful!” he
says in cheerful response to the Hound’s insult. “Kissed by fire—just like
you!” He reaches a finger out to indicate the Hound’s scars, which (surprise
surprise) is not met with smiles and kisses. “Don’t point your fucking finger
at me!” he snarls, smacking away Tormund’s hand and stalking away. But Tormund
only grins, and pursues his quarry. Not, it should be clear, in a mean-spirited
manner—he’s not interested in antagonizing the Hound, he’s just … interested. A
curious nature speaks to an active mind, and his questions betray an actual
interest. When the Hound admits he was pushed into the fire (if we recall, it
was his older brother Gregor, The Mountain, who pushed young Sandor’s face into
a brazier when he caught him playing with one of his toys), Tormund says “And
ever since, you’ve been mean!” (I imagine this entire conversation unfolding in
a psychiatrist’s office, with the Hound reclining on a handsome leather couch
and Tormund making careful notes as he speaks). In what has to be one of my
favourite character observations in the series, Tormund says, “I don’t think
you’re truly mean. You have sad eyes.” I might have actually said “Wow!” while
first watching this; coming from anyone else, such dialogue would have seemed
trite, but from Tormund it has the undeniable ring of truth … not least because
it rather pithily articulates something we’ve all known about the Hound for
some time now—that he is a man driven by loss and anger and, since his
“rebirth” following Arya leaving him for death, atonement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course, the Hound is a reluctant patient
at best, and tries to shut Tormund down with a classic masculinist
attack—charging that the wildling is gay, and that his disturbing insights into
the Hound’s character are really just an expression of homoeroticism.
Hilariously, this attack founders on a basic misunderstanding: apparently,
“dick” is not a colloquialism used north of the Wall. But once Tormund
understands the Hound’s attempted insult, it allows him to wax poetic about the
true object of his affections: “I have a beauty waiting for me back at
Winterfell … if I ever get back there. Yellow hair. Blue eyes. Tallest woman
you’ve ever seen. Almost as tall as you!” And then the Hound twigs to what he’s
saying. “Brienne of Tarth?” he demands incredulously. “You’re with Brienne of
fucking Tarth?” Which of course means Tormund has to demure, admitting that
they’re not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">actually</i> together, not
yet, but “I want to make babies with her! Think of them! Great big monsters!
They’d conquer the world!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I want to pause here to note that in our
last post I said that if Tormund “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and Brienne don’t get together and spawn a bunch of massive
lethal babies, a large number of GoT fans will be storming HBO’s main offices.”
Obviously I’m on the same wavelength with Tormund. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
then in yet another in the snowballing number of hints that Jon Snow is not the
son of Eddard Stark, Beric says “You don’t look much like him.” What follows,
however, is a theological discussion about the Lord of Light, with Beric
finding common ground with Jon—both have been brought back from the dead
(Beric, admittedly, many more times than Jon). Beric has little to offer Jon in
terms of concrete knowledge—all he can say, ultimately, is that the Lord of
Light moves in mysterious ways (cue the U2). But he also expresses a certain
consonance with what Jon Snow has been on about for two seasons—namely, that
this war has little and less to do with the game of thrones, and everything to
do with the greater existential threat posed by the Night King. “Death is the
enemy. The first enemy and the last.” When Jon points out the obvious—that we
all die—Beric says, “The enemy always wins. But we still need to fight him.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
loved Beric’s fatalism here, and was gutted by it—his acknowledgement that he
finds no joy in life any more. His confident assertion that neither will Jon is
somewhat undercut at the end of the episode, but in the moment, his words seem
to resonate. “I am the shield that guards the realms of men,” Jon says, quoting
his Night’s Watch oath. “Maybe that’s enough,” says Beric.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not
to harp on the geography issue, but the Hound then spots the mountain shaped
like an arrowhead he saw in his vision. It’s unclear how long they’ve been
walking at this point, but if Gendry can sprint back to the gate without
slowing to a walk, they can’t have been on the road that long. And if they’re
really less than a day out from Eastwatch, THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE
THE MOUNTAIN FROM THE TOP OF THE WALL. It really should have been in their
sights from the beginning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Argh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
then we’re back to those who sit at wait at Dragonstone. What did you think of
the exchange between Daenerys and Tyrion, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: I love that in
an episode that seemed not to have the same depth as the rest of this season,
you and I are going to stretch it out to be the longest <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">GoT </i>post EVER. Hahaha!! (And you’re probably absolutely right about
Arya; I just thought it would be really poetic if her character misremembered a
scene involving her entire family and reduced it to her and her dad all alone
and against the world, which is how she lives her life: alone, with Ned’s
spirit inside her.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
chat between Daenerys and Tyrion finally makes it clear that despite me
desperately wanting the look in Dany’s eyes to be one of respect, she’s got a
thing for The Man Who Knows Nothing, and despite me thinking Jon had an
emotionless face, Tyrion saw a lustfulness for Dany there. I just can’t stop
thinking about her being Auntie Dan, although as you point out, Chris, this is
a land where incest is the order of the day. Dany tells Tyrion that she’s happy
he’s not a hero (to which Tyrion hilariously mumbles that he’s been heroic on
occasion and points to the scar bisecting his face), that heroes are the people
who do stupid things and then they die. She mentions specifically Drogo, Jorah,
Daario, and Jon Snow, and Tyrion points out they’re all people who fell in love
with her. For the first time in a long time she comes off as a teenage girl
going, “oh my GAWD Jon Snow is not in love with me get OUT!” and he says, “He
IS in love with you, bae, I could TOTALLY see it in his eyes” and she said “oh
shut UP stupid, you are cray-cray!!” (I may be paraphrasing.) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She counters that
Jon Snow is too little for her (as a joke) and then realizes whose ears that
joke just fell upon. (D’oh.) They switch gears to discuss meeting with Cersei
once the Avengers bring back the wight, and Tyrion says Cersei would torture
Daenerys terribly and then murder her, and that no one trusts his sister less
than he does (note proper use of the word “less”). Tyrion says they need to keep
their eyes open on this one — after all, they was caught by surprise at
Highgarden, and then caught the Lannisters by surprise at the valley, so she
knows it’s her turn to get stabbed in the back. She wonders if Cersei could be
laying a trap for her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
tells Daenerys that when they enter King’s Landing, they will do so with their
two armies and three dragons, and it’ll be unavoidable to everyone there that
there’s no way Cersei is stronger. However, he advises her that if you rule in
fear, then everyone below you will simply want you dead, much like his sister
who knows only how to rule with fear. He tells Dany that Cersei is going to say
something to provoke her, and she cannot be provoked or she might do something
impulsive (here it comes...) Daenerys spins around, eyes aflame, and says what
exactly has she done lately that was impulsive? He stands still for a moment
and then mutters that maybe she could have killed the father and not the son...
or just let them rot in a prison... just sayin’... and she explains that no,
killing the Tarlys was a well-thought-out action and she will not be called
impulsive for doing what she did. (And we can’t help but wonder if a male
leader would be questioned the same way here...)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
reminds her of the discussion they had at that table two seasons ago when she
said she wants to create a new society by breaking the wheel. He says, “After
we break the wheel, how do we ensure it remains broken?” He wants to discuss
succession, but she responds to it the same way people do the first time they
have to make a will, and says, “Um let’s talk about this later k bye.” Or, in
her words, she won’t discuss this at all until she’s wearing the crown. You can
tell she’s becoming annoyed by him — first he’s questioned her actions with the
Tarlys, something he’s suggested wasn’t merciful enough (remember, last episode
he discussed it with Varys but not Dany), and now he’s imagining her death and
wondering who would take over from her. In a season where, as you’ve pointed
out a couple of times now, Chris, Daenerys seems to be suspicious of everyone,
suddenly having Tyrion ask about who would succeed her when she dies and making
sure everything would be fine would be enough to send her over the edge. After
all, just because she’s paranoid doesn’t mean Tyrion isn’t looking to unseat
her. (We know that’s not the case, but Daenerys has been betrayed too many
times.) Not to mention, Tyrion has just returned from having a chat with Jaime,
and so she comes right out and asks if perhaps imaginings of her death were
part of Tyrion’s discussion with his brother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Daenerys
also mentions here and later in the episode with Jon Snow the fact that she
cannot bear children. This is a callback to season one, when Daenerys was
pregnant with her and Khal Drogo’s child and Drogo took a wound in battle that
got seriously infected. Dany brought in a woman who was a healer (whose entire
village had just been massacred and raped by the Dothraki) and asked her to do
what she could to heal Drogo. When Dany goes into labour she becomes
unconscious, and when she awakes she discovers that Drogo is a vegetable, and
her child has been stillborn and misshapen, and the healer smiles as she takes
credit for what’s happened. The woman had suffered greatly at the hands of the
Dothraki, and tells Daenerys that she’s cast a spell over Dany and Drogo so
that neither he nor his son will ever cause any more suffering. And from that
point forward Daenerys has assumed she is unable to bear children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But...
what if she’s wrong? Hm... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
from there it’s back to the north (I feel like cuing the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hamilton </i>soundtrack here all of a sudden and singing, “After the
war I went BACK to the north!”) and they find a motherfucking undead bear on
the motherfucking wintry tundra. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOi69FFyflM0xuVywycm1Y6nsP-ovjVIy0BROgNvOLPfQcuyib7IU9M-VNIZKcJmygETaBL_5WZRzLIAkonxzCeDKY7yubXq5RV8geaTNP73sGvA0nbqrxdgAcanSo-nJLYVLZg/s1600/Screenshot-783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOi69FFyflM0xuVywycm1Y6nsP-ovjVIy0BROgNvOLPfQcuyib7IU9M-VNIZKcJmygETaBL_5WZRzLIAkonxzCeDKY7yubXq5RV8geaTNP73sGvA0nbqrxdgAcanSo-nJLYVLZg/s400/Screenshot-783.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You made a bear! Undo it! Undo it!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That scene was hellishly freaky, and in it we
see what each person’s strength and weakness is. Thoros and Beric’s swords
flame on... which is slightly terrifying to the pyrophobic Sandor. Jon and
Thormund fly into the battle with their swords, and Jorah doesn’t hesitate
going after it (although all of them seem to disappear for long periods of time
once the bear has tackled Thoros of Myr, as if they were battling snowflakes in
the meantime or something). Thoros isn’t able to get out of the bear’s grip
without suffering serious wounds — and it doesn’t help that the flame swords
have set the beast on fire, which keeps the Hound at bay. The bear is
eventually vanquished, but Thoros “I just got bit by a dead bear” is pretty
much done for at that point. Beric kneels before the man who has brought him
back from the dead six times and cauterizes his wounds with his flaming sword
(ouch).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meanwhile
back at Winterfell Sansa tells the Artful Dodger about the letter with which
Arya confronted her, but Baelish plays dumb and says he can’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imagine</i> where her sister might have
found that letter. Earlier Arya had accused her sister of being guilty of a
crime due to her fear about that letter, but here we find out Sansa’s deepest
worry mirrors that of just about every woman who’s ever tried to be in power:
it’s that it doesn’t matter how capable she has proven herself to be, she is in
control of 20,000 men of the northern Houses who will fight for Jon, but not
her. And they’re asking them to join this fight in the midst of the worst
winter they’ve ever seen. (And in the case of Sansa, she’s never seen a White
Walker so she’s going on faith here.) She reminds Baelish that the lords of the
north are about as loyal as a cat who hasn’t been fed: if someone else is
holding the can, they’ll forget you in a heartbeat. How can she count on these
Houses to back House Stark if they switch sides like windvanes? Just as Bran
has become a stranger to her, she tells Baelish that she doesn’t know Arya
anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
was surprised that after Sansa declared earlier in the season that she knew
exactly what Littlefinger wanted and that you have to keep one eye open with
him at all times that she’d just unleash everything here. It’s interesting how
Sansa said Cersei would be thrilled to see them fighting, yet she seemed to
have missed that Littlefinger would <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">also</i>
be thrilled to see them fighting, or notice that he’s the one who orchestrated
it (or, as you said Chris, that Arya never told her where she got that piece of
paper). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baelish
tells Sansa that Brienne could be the one to help her out. He reminds Sansa
that Brienne had sworn to protect both of the sisters, and then asks, “If
either of you were going to harm the other, would she intercede?” It’s a
cunning question, because Sansa knows that Brienne has been at her side more
recently, but that she’s also sworn fealty to Arya. And Brienne also loathes
the Lannisters. Is it possible her sister could turn Brienne against her?
Brienne was obviously impressed by Arya’s swordfighting skills in the
courtyard; could she align herself with Arya and the two women come after
Sansa? After all, Arya’s holding a piece of evidence that would make Brienne’s
heart turn cold if she thought for one second that Sansa was in cahoots with
the Lannisters. Despite all of us knowing that Brienne is one of the rare
characters who waits to get all of the information before acting, Sansa
believes she would protect Arya, and Sansa would be in danger. Of course my
first thought was, “Of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">course</i>!
Brienne could absolutely protect Sansa and make sure that Arya doesn’t hurt
her,” but for some reason, as we’ll soon see, Sansa’s brain made the opposite
calculation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
then we’re back to the north, where Thoros of Myr ain’t doing so well, and our
gang discovers a shocking twist in the “how to kill a wight” saga. What did you
think of this revelation, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Christopher: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, it’s certainly convenient—doubly so that
when Jon Snow kills the White Walker, there was only a single wight in his
group that he apparently did not resurrect. But then, I suppose it makes
sense—not unlike the variation on vampire mythology that says killing the
eldest will do in all the vamps he sired. Especially considering that the
zombification of wights is effected by magic, it makes sense that there is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">source</i> of that magic, and that killing
it cuts off the lifeline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Still,
the merry band has their captive ice-zombie to parade before Cersei’s skeptical
eyes, though not before it’s able to screech out a distress call to the horde
not far on its heels. Realizing what’s about to happen, Jon sends Gendry
sprinting back to Eastwatch to send a raven to Daenerys—though at first I was
baffled by why they didn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> run
back, though I suppose Jon made a split-second decision that they couldn’t
outrun them as a group, and so made for defensible ground (a decision he
apparently communicated telepathically, as no one seemed confused, or suggested
that running might be the better option). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So
they find themselves literally on thin ice, something that actually saves them
when they’re able to make it to the island in the middle of the frozen lake,
but the wights start crashing through the ice. Which brings us to fun fact
number two in the How to Kill Your Wight instruction book: apparently, they
don’t do water. So instead they line the banks of the frozen lake, patient as
stones, as their White Walker herders look on. I guess the Night King has no
qualms about letting them die of starvation or the cold. I mean, his planned
war on the south has been in the works for centuries, perhaps millennia, so
what’s another few days to turn Jon into a Snowsicle? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meanwhile,
Gendry makes it to Eastwatch and, like Pheidippides collapsing before the gates
of Athens, crashes to the ground and can’t get up. Fortunately, he has gotten
to the Wall, and is revived by Davos. “Raven!” Gendry gasps out, “We need to
send a raven!” and sets up the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex
draconis</i> in what is probably the most explicitly telegraphed rescue in
television history. But as we shall see, it’s not the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rescue</i> that’s the plot twist …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
return to our besieged heroes the following morning to find that Thoros has
died in the night. So: no more resurrections for Jon or Beric, not unless they
make nice with Melisandre. But really, that seems like less of a concern than
the vast army of the dead surrounding them. Making certain Thoros does not join
their ranks, Jon says they need to burn the body. Somehow it seems a fitting
tribute that he pours the last of Thoros’ rum on him to act as an accelerant;
with the help of Beric’s ZippoSword™, they send Thoros to meet the Lord of
Light. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meanwhile,
as they play the waiting game, there’s some time for exposition—in answer to
Jorah’s question, Jon’s speculation more or less confirms the fact that when a
White Walker is killed, all of the dead it had resurrected also die (again).
Which leads Beric to suggest that their best bet is to kill the Night King
himself, considering that he is the one responsible for the entire army (and
presumably for the creation of other White Walkers—if we think back to season
four, episode four, “<a href="https://cjlockett.com/2014/04/29/game-of-thrones-4-04-oathkeeper/">Oathbreaker</a>,”
it ends with our first glimpse of the Night King, taking Craster’s infant son
and touching his cheek with a fingernail, at which point the baby’s eyes turn
ice-blue—a moment echoed at the end of this episode. Which raises the question:
if they kill the Night King, will the other White Walkers die?). Beric argues
that he and Jon have been brought back to life for a purpose—perhaps this is
that purpose? But Jon isn’t convinced, or at least doesn’t say anything one way
or another in response. It <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i> seem
a bit of a suicide mission, considering how unlikely it is they’d make it past
all those wights, and also considering that it seems only Jon and Jorah have
the weapons for the task, Jon with Valyrian steel, and Jorah with his obsidian
dagger. See, this is where dragonglass <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">arrowheads</i>
would be a great idea—try and pick off the White Walkers from a distance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
leave Jon staring with loathing at the Night King to find that events in the
wider world have not ceased, as Sansa receives a missive inviting her to King’s
Landing for the Daenerys-Cersei summit. Your thoughts, Nikki, about
Littlefinger sowing a seed of doubt about Brienne seem to bear fruit here:
Brienne is to go in Sansa’s stead, even though Brienne is far more clear-eyed
about who poses a danger to whom, and about just how insidious Littlefinger’s
whispers can be. “I have many guards who would happily imprison him or behead
him, whether or not you are here,” Sansa says dismissively. “And you trust
their loyalty?” Brienne demands. “You trust he hasn’t been speaking to them all
behind your back?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
there it is—truth to power, and Brienne is rewarded for her loyalty and honesty
by being sent off rather peremptorily. In the Who Kills Littlefinger pool,
Brienne’s odds just got shorter. I completely understand why Sansa simply won’t
go to King’s Landing while Cersei’s on the throne—I’d completely understand if
she refused to go one way or another—but sending Brienne is simply a stupid
idea. If she was thinking straight, she’d send Littlefinger, clearing
Winterfell of his whispers for several weeks while at the same time giving him
an honour he could hardly refuse—speaking on behalf of the Lady of Winterfell.
And who knows, perhaps he has an accident while there? Dangerous place, King’s
Landing … but alas, Sansa is not thinking straight, which leads her to later
invade Arya’s chambers in search of—what? an indication of what she’s thinking?
planning?—and finds a more disturbing trove than she could have imagined.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenjY0jJjVjSJ4So3sxaSS_ZgWrxQRWCNdKGbuBFtoBuiRU3xJaS0AiElfojyIlEJ_Y_WHg82w7sxc-c3Fs-x0wUoNeK5iEnGrfNla6g7p_tnXdm_Uzlzh_ftdhzLdGH-jc988JA/s1600/Screenshot-879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenjY0jJjVjSJ4So3sxaSS_ZgWrxQRWCNdKGbuBFtoBuiRU3xJaS0AiElfojyIlEJ_Y_WHg82w7sxc-c3Fs-x0wUoNeK5iEnGrfNla6g7p_tnXdm_Uzlzh_ftdhzLdGH-jc988JA/s400/Screenshot-879.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
that scene only comes after the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex
draconis</i>. Again, completely telegraphed—but I should have known something
was up when we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">see</i> Daenerys—dressed
for northern climes in a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fabulous</i>
long fur-trimmed coat that really only needed one of those fuzzy Russian hats
to complete the look—launching her dragons to fly to the rescue. OK, we know
the rescue is coming, we know we’ll see dragons encounter the army of the dead
for the first time, so I should have been primed for a twist. Silly me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of
course, Tyrion is dead set against Daenerys putting herself in danger. “I’m not
doing nothing again,” she tells him, and in spite of the huge loss she’s about
to experience, it’s the right decision, as she sees for herself the scope and
scale of the threat against them. It’s also a good decision in terms of being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seen</i> at the forefront of the battle, as
opposed to cowering in the rear. Tyrion’s thinking is very much a sort of
Secret Service mentality, which dictates the safety of the sovereign at all
costs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
because it would be anticlimactic for Daenerys and her dragons to come roaring
over the mountaintops while the wights stand motionless on the shore, the Hound
feels compelled to goad them into attacking. Was I the only person who,
watching the Hound throw rocks at the wights, suddenly flashed to Boromir
throwing stones into the black pool at the doors of Moria? Either way, the result
is similar … bad things happen. (Though to raise <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yet another</i> quibble, the wight looks down at the rock that did not
break the ice in a moment of comprehension—though from everything we’ve seen,
the ice zombies have about the same level of brain function as your average <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Walking Dead</i> ghoul. Are we to assume
some vestigial thought process?). </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdrw2yfuXS6Xsh0spNve-3PoLedHV2GJ2_9ME9GGOk4NySYDF2pLRdO68EKxJ59c4GDT-C_YHg2MZzYhuTY9sKPtpyXr0SpO0d2gOGLwSgeOuD5ASMm37aNsFTJd3rUPP6q41tg/s1600/Screenshot-898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdrw2yfuXS6Xsh0spNve-3PoLedHV2GJ2_9ME9GGOk4NySYDF2pLRdO68EKxJ59c4GDT-C_YHg2MZzYhuTY9sKPtpyXr0SpO0d2gOGLwSgeOuD5ASMm37aNsFTJd3rUPP6q41tg/s400/Screenshot-898.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The wight starts across the newly-frozen ice,
and then the dam breaks. Chaos. Mayhem. And a protracted battle in which yet
more wildling redshirts die while our heroes survive (though for a moment it
looked like Tormund’s number was up—my girlfriend and I were screaming “No, not
Tormund! He can’t die! He has to make massive babies with Brienne!” That he’s
saved by the Hound is a narrative imperative, but it was still a great moment).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
then—dragons! And I will admit, in spite of my quibbles, the scene is pretty
awesome, and deeply satisfying to see those pillars of flame gouging canyons
through the army of the dead and tearing up the frozen lake. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But if you’ll permit
me some back-of-the-napkin math before I continue? [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pushes glasses up nose</i>]:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
distance from the <a href="https://atlasoficeandfireblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/westeros-size-estimates.png">Wall
to Dragonstone</a>, conservatively, is 1500 miles as the dragon flies. Assuming
that Daenerys’ departure from Dragonstone took place shortly after dawn, and
being generous and assuming she swoops in on Jon <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">et al</i> just before dusk, that means she made the journey in about
twelve hours. Which makes for an average speed of 125mph, or about 200kph. I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">suppose</i> that’s possible, given that
dragons are an unknown factor, and that that’s more or less the speed of a WWI
biplane. What I don’t buy is that a person could cling to a dragon’s back for
twelve hours in the freezing cold with hurricane-force headwinds. Daenerys
didn’t even have a hat or aviator goggles (at least she wore gloves). And that
isn’t even getting to the fact that the raven sent from Eastwatch would have
had to make the same distance, when most bird flight (not counting dives) tops
out at 60mph. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ahem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But yes, still a thrilling scene. And then
…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZSb71uHMqbQp1gEwkyPyV14VZrnZsi8lKJQhKx3PVu__GzS2rVBRmIn6Oa1DFBvG_lMD235Jq-4Sc4XGsdh8NdIVeLiiTrfc82MPrD8avkLdpc67mXeBObFKE3rKnZ1K5eQfHg/s1600/Screenshot-957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZSb71uHMqbQp1gEwkyPyV14VZrnZsi8lKJQhKx3PVu__GzS2rVBRmIn6Oa1DFBvG_lMD235Jq-4Sc4XGsdh8NdIVeLiiTrfc82MPrD8avkLdpc67mXeBObFKE3rKnZ1K5eQfHg/s400/Screenshot-957.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: And then my world fell apart. I’m not alone in being one of those
people who can watch people die in television shows and movies, but you show the
death of a family pet or any sort of animal and I am a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mess</i></b>. And we’ve seen
these dragons grow from the size of birds to cats to lions to MASSIVE
DRAGONS... we’ve watched their first little puffs of smoke... we’ve watched
them purr as babies and snap at Mommy as toddlers... despite seeing them
constantly in season seven it still takes my breath away to watch them swoop
overhead. But as much as I was right there with you and your girlfriend
screaming that they cannot kill Tormund, when the Night King turned and took
that spear and aimed it, I felt my whole body turn to ice. I couldn’t look
away, and said to my husband, “Oh my god... ice kills fire.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For the record, I don’t remember THAT
dichotomy in Rock Paper Scissors. Just sayin’. (My notes simply have NOOOOOOOOO
written in increasingly devastated scrawl across the page.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, I’ll admit: picking Drogon out of a
lineup is easy because he’s the biggest of the three dragons, and I’m sure
there are uberfans out there who can tell the difference between Viserion and
Rhaegal, but I honestly didn’t know which one had just dropped to the ground
(spewing black blood out of his stomach oh my god it was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">terrible aaaaahhhhh</i>) but my first instinct was Rhaegal. After all, considering
all three dragons were named after men who were killed, Rhaegar was the first
namesake to die. But as soon as the dragon went through the ice and the rest of
the cast of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking Dead: Westeros
Edition</i> looked on, I said to my husband, “Oh my god... they’re going to
reanimate him.” And then I knew it had to be Viserion — because of course if,
in the final battle, Dany is forced to face one of her own children, it would
be the one named after her horrible brother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But let’s focus on that moment of Viserion
being hit. In an episode filled with unlikely coincidences (I was laughing out
loud reading your bird speed math, Chris, imagining you were right there with
me in thinking, “WHAT is the air-speed velocity of a well-laden swallow?” while
watching this episode), somehow the Night King managed to throw a javelin
unlike anything any of us have ever seen, prompting memes like this one to
appear everywhere on the internet that same evening: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDh-Wvp0kStmSjpGO7zyH6IMnEMcI75S7YDTolfJUIgocmkLlIWa6QAzKWCLbO94WpxFMRzaHmGgSaIGtefRJeBopW_05aO8kjP3u1IGvoWEUai1mMYkHvXsG99AAxIkwEEg21w/s1600/aDzdM4x_700b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="700" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDh-Wvp0kStmSjpGO7zyH6IMnEMcI75S7YDTolfJUIgocmkLlIWa6QAzKWCLbO94WpxFMRzaHmGgSaIGtefRJeBopW_05aO8kjP3u1IGvoWEUai1mMYkHvXsG99AAxIkwEEg21w/s400/aDzdM4x_700b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Does he decide to go for the one sitting on
the ground while riders climb onto its back? Hell no... might as well go for
the one twisting and turning in the air. Even though the one on the ground is
also the biggest, and would be the one you’d want to recruit for your army of
the undead but whatevs. Daenerys looks like she’s in shock, and she probably
is, and sits there in her fancy white coat from the limited Targaryen
Winterwear™ collection unable to move, watching one of her children as it
plummets to the earth and then slowly sinks under the water. It’s a horrifying
moment. Watch how Tormund, Beric, and the Hound — who, incidentally, have never
seen dragons until a few moments ago — stare stunned at the hole in the ice
where Viserion has just disappeared, but Jorah’s eyes move to his Khaleesi. He
was there when the dragons were born, and he has watched them grow; not only
that... he’s the one who gifted her the eggs in the first place. If not for
Jorah, these dragons wouldn’t even exist, and the pained expression on his face
speaks volumes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWcf688XjgBQZanTmn2NM44dZYcsDo1PfYD4-_BST9TzTkM-HoHbJTE3Xbw7qf-DXgHsi5xHb5_63m-yHE7LSxx12Rn_qaNoUyvceVV6i-o69CrS6yBEHg0sGg-piuKZP6KSTBA/s1600/Screenshot-963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWcf688XjgBQZanTmn2NM44dZYcsDo1PfYD4-_BST9TzTkM-HoHbJTE3Xbw7qf-DXgHsi5xHb5_63m-yHE7LSxx12Rn_qaNoUyvceVV6i-o69CrS6yBEHg0sGg-piuKZP6KSTBA/s400/Screenshot-963.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But Jon immediately throws himself into
action, sees the Night King grab for a second javelin, and screams for Dany to
take off NOW before the Night King can take his second Olympic gold medal. Daenerys
hesitates until she sees Jon get pulled under the water by two wights, and then
she assumes he’s gone the way of Viserion and she takes off. The Night King
throws the javelin and Drogon lists to the left, and no doubt all of the
first-time riders on his back pee their pants because oh my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">god</i> could you imagine how terrifying
that ride would be? Jorah slips off but doesn’t fall, and it seems like a bit
of a cheap moment because of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">course</i>
he wasn’t going to fall — the writers wouldn’t have undercut the death of
Viserion or the abandonment of Jon Snow with a second death of a character we’d
known since the beginning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHd8VD7njgFi5wRrch_xrawqtGEwwk6HoiX1ny6SfxWsE-BzfpBBRaZ3T8SpRRRDCTvIAHlZE9P-fDbiUGNmfQl4lmEy2S_YmoBcmGtY6ll62tSr4SFwL3OXiIrjvLLs2QgiMv3A/s1600/Screenshot-973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHd8VD7njgFi5wRrch_xrawqtGEwwk6HoiX1ny6SfxWsE-BzfpBBRaZ3T8SpRRRDCTvIAHlZE9P-fDbiUGNmfQl4lmEy2S_YmoBcmGtY6ll62tSr4SFwL3OXiIrjvLLs2QgiMv3A/s400/Screenshot-973.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut back to the water and... Jon Snow pulls
himself back up onto the ice in yet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">another</i>
unlikely scenario. Weighed down with about 100 pounds of wet clothing, with two
wights scrambling at him under the water (who don’t have to breathe), he
somehow escapes and swims to the top. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cool. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, I’ve seen several people sharing an
article with a headline saying that the eyeballs on the direwolf on Longclaw
suddenly open in this scene, which I just don’t buy. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1duGFy55_-kAR67tXRXfGkk-T0w5i2srUT1pWEJ_2l1yXk9LNLhCx24dpzHRLqM4UJlYLUof6bdhJ9enbabzjxb4H-trMkpbj_c91ARFLntZokY3sU9h7W8XSc1GzBuRE_PRyYA/s1600/Screenshot-977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1duGFy55_-kAR67tXRXfGkk-T0w5i2srUT1pWEJ_2l1yXk9LNLhCx24dpzHRLqM4UJlYLUof6bdhJ9enbabzjxb4H-trMkpbj_c91ARFLntZokY3sU9h7W8XSc1GzBuRE_PRyYA/s400/Screenshot-977.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkDIbPzDZ_9cTcRv3XV2cjzphiYkFRW4i5eLMrYug3aIYzhQbPtArXr88E07Mx73UNmxuUe7uLxeXph7GP5KP9rowCd5r_p94ijX1IHL-5pwOmZjQXfWmhNuadQ0U3FuD0Xn50A/s1600/Screenshot-980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkDIbPzDZ_9cTcRv3XV2cjzphiYkFRW4i5eLMrYug3aIYzhQbPtArXr88E07Mx73UNmxuUe7uLxeXph7GP5KP9rowCd5r_p94ijX1IHL-5pwOmZjQXfWmhNuadQ0U3FuD0Xn50A/s400/Screenshot-980.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There’s a fan theory that
Bran can warg into anything, throwing out the logic that he can warg into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">living</i> things, and that the eyes are
white and suddenly black when he comes out... The eyes are crystals, and before
Jon rises to the surface all that was reflecting off them was the sky, and when
he moved into view a cameraperson no doubt stepped to the side and the crystal
reflected the dark figure and looked black. I truly don’t believe he wargs into
the damn sword, but maybe I’m wrong (and if I’m wrong, I’ll be really
disappointed in this twist...) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile the wights (who, I agree, Chris,
seem to have a sentience that is NOT ALLOWED in zombie lore!) realize there’s a
live being among them and charge again... and along comes good old Uncle
Benjen, whom we last saw with Bran in season six. When Bran headed towards the
Wall, Benjen couldn’t accompany him because he said there was magic in the Wall
that he couldn’t get through. His last words to Bran were, “The great war is
coming and I still fight for the living. I’ll do what I can . . . as long as I
can.” And once again he does exactly that, fighting for Jon, giving him his
horse, and taking out a few wights with his lantern before being consumed by
them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmZY2WTqF73QwVyT3C_GBMGLNJHz2FeikSFwgcaFjLChHUoXwgvCWHpjTCsinGwk9auQEC-z1Vw4-A0Z7R_pxcP1TucWlK3qjg0uOtzgQ2T9sZwgy6EJrB8whM0Li1U5W3hrwuw/s1600/Screenshot-988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmZY2WTqF73QwVyT3C_GBMGLNJHz2FeikSFwgcaFjLChHUoXwgvCWHpjTCsinGwk9auQEC-z1Vw4-A0Z7R_pxcP1TucWlK3qjg0uOtzgQ2T9sZwgy6EJrB8whM0Li1U5W3hrwuw/s400/Screenshot-988.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, I know this is going to be an
unpopular opinion, but here’s the thing: I gave up on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking Dead</i> because I found the storylines tiring, repetitive,
and frankly the gore was beyond escapism and was just painful to watch. And I
watched it for many, many years. Instead, I watch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>, with its superior storytelling, its political
machinations, the long epic quality of the storyline, the division of power,
the role of religion, the character development... I just don’t want a zombie
storyline to dominate this show. I want the final showdown to be between the
various political Houses, and the thought that the very final episode of the
entire series could come down to man vs. zombie is so deflating to me. I think
one of the reasons why this episode didn’t fly for me is because I’m simply
over the whole Night King thing. I care about the people on this and how they
hurt one another. Do they really think the viewers find the Night King vs. Jon
Snow tension worse than the Sansa vs. Arya tension? Because they don’t. But
anyway, that’s all I’ll say about that. I’m just happy to get back to the actual
series for next week’s finale and be rid of this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">TWD </i>knock-off. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Back at the Wall, the Hound loads the wight
onto the boat as Beric tells him they’ll meet again someday. “Fuckin’ hope
not,” Sandor snarls. All I could think of was... will Daenerys be super pissed
when she discovers that she just sacrificed a dragon to catch a wight to prove
to Cersei that the dead can be reanimated... only to be met at the castle door
by the reanimated corpse of The Mountain? Meanwhile, Daenerys stands at the top
of the Wall staring into the frozen tundra that is now a graveyard for her
child as Drogon circles overhead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUENJEVbOJFvw7qSc3btgwjIUlZW_8Jp4zF-0bZx6QGftB0KAa4u0vH7R20xogiQdVixXwLR2VnD3Bli9yF2Y22fC1-0Cn3jvwCtxXQvS8Tv7AM2M2GREtyhp00_ibU95vY7UrQ/s1600/Screenshot-998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUENJEVbOJFvw7qSc3btgwjIUlZW_8Jp4zF-0bZx6QGftB0KAa4u0vH7R20xogiQdVixXwLR2VnD3Bli9yF2Y22fC1-0Cn3jvwCtxXQvS8Tv7AM2M2GREtyhp00_ibU95vY7UrQ/s400/Screenshot-998.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br />
(Did... anyone else notice that Rhaegal seemed to have disappeared partway
through the battle scene? As soon as Viserion went down you never see a third dragon
after that, and only a single dragon is flying around in the sky at the Wall. I
had assumed maybe she only brought the two with her, but watching the battle
scene again you clearly see all three of them at one point. It could be a very
simple explanation, like the CGI for two dragons at the end is double the cost,
and we have the same effectiveness to just have one, but it seemed odd that he
was just gone.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4jrzU1RbHn6AbL7jszaHm5r_ExXtr1i_UXf-XvCnnkqmEYUA9hyxagRbL3TGQPg3Re3QJAypxIrBCACG4C988eYr-4diAdfS4Vxq3SqgI3Ii0YDHCKENstU6Fi5W2ZCjDyMjbQ/s1600/Screenshot-1001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4jrzU1RbHn6AbL7jszaHm5r_ExXtr1i_UXf-XvCnnkqmEYUA9hyxagRbL3TGQPg3Re3QJAypxIrBCACG4C988eYr-4diAdfS4Vxq3SqgI3Ii0YDHCKENstU6Fi5W2ZCjDyMjbQ/s400/Screenshot-1001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And just as Dany’s about to give up waiting,
Jon Snow’s horse comes limping through the trees and into the clearing, and you
hear screams of “Open the gate!!” The scene cuts to Jon on the ship with Davos
and Gendry tending to his wounds, which are rather severe (though, given this
is Jon Snow, every fan went, “Meh, I’ve seen worse on the guy”). There are what
appear to be sword slices, or perhaps claw marks, on his chest, as well as his
body being a faint shade of blue from probable hypothermia from being
underwater and then having his clothing turn to solid ice on horseback.
Daenerys looks on, concerned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXOWkLQvHMl-FmJnlF9P9NoU3mtcX90QLcdyt9sTBGKZBFwGQO_0cTzJz2JfoDzCaEz2xg4219XmaM0WR5DZOqpBPFyUWaLdKvl0IqfYyda4EnOqPD08PJBcjeZ5h8qXh25B9Rg/s1600/Screenshot-1006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXOWkLQvHMl-FmJnlF9P9NoU3mtcX90QLcdyt9sTBGKZBFwGQO_0cTzJz2JfoDzCaEz2xg4219XmaM0WR5DZOqpBPFyUWaLdKvl0IqfYyda4EnOqPD08PJBcjeZ5h8qXh25B9Rg/s400/Screenshot-1006.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, blog tradition has it that Christopher
and I do three passes each to finish up the episode, but given that this
episode was almost 20 minutes longer than normal (and next week’s episode will
be 80), I’m going to pass it back to you, Chris, for the final pass, especially
since I’ve already spent a ton of time talking about Sansa and Arya and you can
discuss the final scene between the two of them, where, even I’ll admit, I
wanted to pop Arya. (And for anyone <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still</i>
reading, bravo!!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">Bravo indeed. Welcome to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ulysses</i> version of the Chris & Nikki co-blog (“Yes I said yes
not Dany I said yes my Queen”). But if you’re still with us, let’s soldier on
into the “Why do you have faces in your satchel?” part of the episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG09hA4mMgOKjyrMsvEc5X-DoixfhzGUXB_odmDw3n2Jkyqk5YCf9OBbhUNnVJJnfik8hXuKQNov1CVqus7iySG1K73nFXJq8CUbws5Hzy2fsvmBN4fNgqw7fwEi-4DmxpmHSWCg/s1600/Screenshot-1010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG09hA4mMgOKjyrMsvEc5X-DoixfhzGUXB_odmDw3n2Jkyqk5YCf9OBbhUNnVJJnfik8hXuKQNov1CVqus7iySG1K73nFXJq8CUbws5Hzy2fsvmBN4fNgqw7fwEi-4DmxpmHSWCg/s400/Screenshot-1010.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Leaving aside the wisdom or lack thereof of
Sansa’s intrusion, and her perfectly reasonable reaction to Arya’s bag of
faces, I think it’s worth actually just jumping to Arya’s little monologue:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">We both wanted to be other people when we
were younger. You wanted to be a queen, to sit next to a handsome young king on
the Iron Throne. I wanted to be a knight, to pick up a sword and go off to
battle. Neither of us got to be that other person, did we? The world doesn’t
just let girls decide what they want to be. But I can now. With the faces, I
can choose … I can become someone else. Speak in their voice. Live in their
skin. I can even become you. </span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">At which point she picks up her Valyrian
steel dagger and seems as though she’s threatening Sansa—only to reverse the
blade and hand the hilt to her, and then walk out of the room … leaving Sansa
right freaked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LlKOOKVMQ1kd0DtUTYw04l6l2AavAwFSFEy6E8XPIcLw2ze3sBOQlFTGxVz0iuK_jX6CIHpzJiMWxNU5sGEeS23Z2FLhLdrogl-gFniGKTW8z3MysKIleUcNIE-Jj66XN4F-1w/s1600/Screenshot-1015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LlKOOKVMQ1kd0DtUTYw04l6l2AavAwFSFEy6E8XPIcLw2ze3sBOQlFTGxVz0iuK_jX6CIHpzJiMWxNU5sGEeS23Z2FLhLdrogl-gFniGKTW8z3MysKIleUcNIE-Jj66XN4F-1w/s400/Screenshot-1015.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A question: in hindsight, how precisely did
Arya manage to simply walk away from the Faceless Men? Granted, Jaqen let her
go, but isn’t it in the interests of an ancient and deeply ethical (by their
own rules) society of assassins to not allow for rogues? Arya’s acting rather
erratic at this point, and whether or not her threat to Sansa is sincere, don’t
the powers that be in the House of Black and White have an interest in
curtailing the proliferation of their skill set? Or are they waiting for Arya
to actually do something egregious? (Imagined conversation back at Faceless HQ:
“She killed ALL the Freys!” Shrug. “Yeah. But they were assholes.”)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One way or another—bet Sansa’s rethinking
sending Brienne away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we’re at sea, with Daenerys
sitting at Jon Snow’s bedside. He wakes and says the words that have the Tenth
Doctor’s lawyers coming at him for copyright infringement: “I’m sorry. I’m so
sorry.” But though Jon wishes they had never gone, Daenerys rejects that
thought: “If we hadn’t gone I wouldn’t have seen. You have to see it to know.
Now I know.” Which is a net good for the battle between light and dark, but
doesn’t bode well for their ultimate plan to convince the Lannisters with a
captive wight—not quite the same thing as seeing the army of the dead and
watching one of your dragons killed by an ice javelin. What odds Cersei sees
the skeletal thing and has her conversion on the road to Tarsus? I don’t hold
out good odds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But still: Daenerys is on board, though we
don’t get to that point without more discussion of her dragon children and
inability to create human ones. The show is started to hit this point rather a
lot—and the fact that Daenerys makes it to a nearly-naked Jon Snow starts to
raise questions, as you point out, Nikki; did the witch-woman who cursed
Daenerys’ womb count on Stark-Targaryen uber-sperm? (yes, I just wrote that
sentence. For those who’ve read this far, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you’re
welcome</i>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBk3oDW07LSUwqg9RM7F1XfXaQy0_so66cyQAYailuCQ7l1RjO4EKE8bH3d56-sOD3kHfb4fvjM1vUOFTrmZMiQYT9dR1Te33bY62N6mCQOeD_Ptl-beij_ULBeNfgLZGNHXL7gA/s1600/Screenshot-1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBk3oDW07LSUwqg9RM7F1XfXaQy0_so66cyQAYailuCQ7l1RjO4EKE8bH3d56-sOD3kHfb4fvjM1vUOFTrmZMiQYT9dR1Te33bY62N6mCQOeD_Ptl-beij_ULBeNfgLZGNHXL7gA/s400/Screenshot-1024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But the upshot is that she is now committed
to destroying the Night King, and to doing it with Jon. “Thank you Dany,” says
Jon, which is not quite welcomed by Daenerys. The last person to call her that
was Viserys, who is not “the company you want to keep.” To which Jon responds,
“All right. Not Dany. How about my Queen?” Jon’s ready now to bend the knee,
though he’s not in the proper physical condition to do so; “They’ll see you as
I do,” he says when Daenerys asks about his lords. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I must say: the show has done a good job
with these two—considering the time they’ve had and the weight of fan
expectation, they’ve played it out well. Even here, at a moment when they might
have been forgiven for going in for the kiss, the show shows some restraint,
with Daenerys visibly getting her senses back and departing. “You should get
some rest,” she says, somewhat abruptly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSggFU2s8AhU9GhJUxz-IFET7ID1URh4UFluE3xQ3-g7TCOMk07K8rcX8-hx7RhXb0wIwE-fPB3akOCND4SPSb4UkxHhgZBszHddbt9xfdH6PcCzKK7eZ9HOYLx_Jl1bAMHpdaw/s1600/Screenshot-1023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSggFU2s8AhU9GhJUxz-IFET7ID1URh4UFluE3xQ3-g7TCOMk07K8rcX8-hx7RhXb0wIwE-fPB3akOCND4SPSb4UkxHhgZBszHddbt9xfdH6PcCzKK7eZ9HOYLx_Jl1bAMHpdaw/s400/Screenshot-1023.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which would be as good a time as any for
the credits to roll, but NO! I have no idea where the Night King got such
massive iron chains, but we see the army of the dead toiling away—bringing the
dead Viseryon up from the depths of the frozen lake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlIv9ivUC-TXCHC-OsgWVrmQmDse4FZDLK06baJ1TDU4wwvDk5IAT9pixuUiTlYOZNr-LhTYqC-0W-Kg-Y2frJy-fCdvyWXHZ2U8iHmAi5tpAP_wn6uHgAzGsFScbznb5k4V9dg/s1600/Screenshot-1031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlIv9ivUC-TXCHC-OsgWVrmQmDse4FZDLK06baJ1TDU4wwvDk5IAT9pixuUiTlYOZNr-LhTYqC-0W-Kg-Y2frJy-fCdvyWXHZ2U8iHmAi5tpAP_wn6uHgAzGsFScbznb5k4V9dg/s400/Screenshot-1031.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Considering that the moment that most
gutted me in this episode wasn’t Viseryon getting struck with the ice javelin,
or his pained flameout, but rather his slow slide back into the water, seeing
him brought back above the ice was so very sad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then … ZOMBIE DRAGON.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRevErAaCJ4TCh_NAc-nsPV2mBUB-OiqmgbJOis2l2OxkwIgbsyIeipC_QuBYw39TSdAb9qhmo-Vojba4hxzaUA7wXH_Dj1BGOt8TqFguw_20oCETchywgRBgAiumjfHoYUaSXFA/s1600/Screenshot-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRevErAaCJ4TCh_NAc-nsPV2mBUB-OiqmgbJOis2l2OxkwIgbsyIeipC_QuBYw39TSdAb9qhmo-Vojba4hxzaUA7wXH_Dj1BGOt8TqFguw_20oCETchywgRBgAiumjfHoYUaSXFA/s400/Screenshot-1041.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">R’Hllor save us all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And that’s it for us this week,
friends—thanks for sticking with this INCREDIBLY LONG POST, and meet us here
next week for the final episode of season seven. Yes: the FINAL episode. In the
meantime, be good, work hard, and make sure you have a healthy supply of
dragonglass arrowheads. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-9704745948696924802017-08-17T07:14:00.003-04:002017-08-17T07:14:43.967-04:00Game of Thrones 7.05: Eastwatch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Big revelations, groups reuniting or uniting for the first time... and a new possibility for a dragon petting zoo... are all features of this week's <i>Game of Thrones</i> episode! Which begins with me thinking, "Can Jaime and Bronn just lie there like that or will they be captured?" and ends with me thinking, "Doesn't anyone wear a damn toque north of the Wall? For god's sakes your ears will be frostbitten in minutes!" As usual I'm joined by my own fellow Suicide Squad member, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>, and this time it's my turn to go first. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">WOW! Every week we marvel about how many threads
from the series are being brought together but oh my GOD this week was just one
of those, “you better have paid attention for the past six seasons or you are
going to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">looooooost</i>” episodes. We
actually had to pause the episode a few times because I simply couldn’t keep up
with my notetaking. The Avengers of Westeros are starting to assemble (on more
than one front), a character I’ve waited to see since season THREE has returned
and is back in the fold better than he ever was before, and Gilly has a perfect
moment where she finally confirms something fans have waited to have confirmed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">since the beginning of time</i> and gets cut
off by Sam in the midst of it (and then puts on that face every woman puts on at
some point that says, “Sigh... interrupted by a man in the midst of an
important revelation AGAIN.”) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sIkg-LOj2xMcQxfBrJ-hd73b7mdj2j7ys-YU5VD6K_oYb96FPHIyUVP4O_dooYLN7tvzsSCp67O77VacHwzlSSmJMQBs5O_3-kzFM-nLqyCl5j7MgA_DI0h-LEewzQeZZxsU2g/s1600/Screenshot-417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sIkg-LOj2xMcQxfBrJ-hd73b7mdj2j7ys-YU5VD6K_oYb96FPHIyUVP4O_dooYLN7tvzsSCp67O77VacHwzlSSmJMQBs5O_3-kzFM-nLqyCl5j7MgA_DI0h-LEewzQeZZxsU2g/s400/Screenshot-417.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But let’s start back at the beginning!
Watch closely in the opening credits and you’ll see Eastwatch added to the end
of the sequence showing the Wall, and then we continue immediately where we
left off in the previous episode. Jaime and Bronn appear back on the opposite
shore from the one where Drogon just tried to broil them alive (and somehow
Bronn has dragged Jaime up from the 5,000-meter depth despite Jaime wearing
full armour, and Jaime’s golden hand is back on despite it seeming to NOT be
there in the final sequence of the previous episode, but that could have been
my eyes playing tricks on me) and Jaime’s first words were, “You could’ve
killed me.” Ha! Bronn chastises him for being an idiot, and tells him that
until he gets his full pay (which he lost in the midst of the battle), no one
gets to kill Jaime except Bronn. The two men realize that the war at this point
seems hopeless: despite the fact last week I pictured Cersei mass-producing the
dragon-killing machine, Jaime just pictures three of the creatures he just saw
mowing down all of Westeros. And even Bronn knows when things have gone too
far. “Dragons are where our partnership ends,” he says. Jaime’s just upset that
he has to be the one to tell Cersei.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, on the other side of the
battlefield, Tyrion walks amongst the carnage and sees what destruction
Daenerys and Drogon have wrought. He watched the Lannisters burn people alive
with wildfire, and he knew what they were doing was wrong because it was in the
name of keeping the kingdom and keeping that throne. He was fighting on the
side of the Lannister army because he was part of the family at the time, and
believed he could prove himself to them. They didn’t care who got caught in the
middle of it. Daenerys, on the other hand, fights for the poor and the meek and
the helpless, and yet lately seems more concerned with people bending the knee
before her than for any meek or helpless. Once again Tyrion is fighting on the
side of the victor, but wonders if he’s sold his soul once again to do it. As
Tyrion steps over the ashes of dead Lannister soldiers, we wonder how many of
them were from Fleabottom and had no other choice in life but to join the army
if they were going to be fed. Did they deserve to be immolated like this? (I
also couldn’t help but marvel at the how much work went into the set itself in
this moment, to make it look like thousands of men and horses and carts had
been instantly turned to ashes. The set is remarkable.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And just as we’re thinking that, we flip to
Daenerys standing before the remaining Lannister soldiers they managed to round
up from the battlefield and take prisoner. She tells them that Cersei has told
them a bunch of lies about her, saying that she’s the daughter of the Mad King
and will come to burn them all alive. But Daenerys rejects that notion, and
says instead she wants them to know that Cersei is the evil queen, not her.
She’s the kind one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then her actions sort of, you know, say
the opposite. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One of the key titles that Daenerys uses is
“Breaker of Chains”: she stands to free all men and women from slavery. And yet
here she stands before the soldiers, telling them if they don’t bend the knee they
will be killed. They have no choice; they have no freedom in this matter. There
are about 200 men standing there; Cersei’s thousands have been reduced to a
handful of survivors. They are broken and destroyed, yet managed to survive
what seemed to be an unsurvivable onslaught. And instead of showing any respect
for any of them for having done so, she treats them the same way she treated
the slavers or anyone who has harmed or threatened her. These men aren’t
threatening anyone. Even the formidable Randyll Tarly looks defeated, still
glaring at her with his black eyes, but saying nothing. She tells them to bend
the knee, and many of them do, showing not that they respect and love her, but
that they fear her. Only a few remain standing. For the first time in the
series, I actually respected Randyll Tarly: he knows he’s going to die, but he
remains standing. Tyrion, of course, calls out the hypocrisy of this action: he
flipped sides pretty quickly away from House Tyrell and over to House Lannister
when it seemed to suit his purpose, and wouldn’t it suit his purpose now to
bend the knee to the one who will otherwise KILL HIM? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ah, but then we see what’s really going on,
and I once again went back to hating the sonofabitch. Turns out Tarly’s a
modern-day Republican. He’ll follow the insane queen who will burn her own city
alive and start useless wars with people just to fuel her own narcissism, but
damn it to HELL if he’s going to listen to a damn immigrant!! I mean, is she
really even from this area? Has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anyone</i>
seen her birth certificate??!! Cersei Lannister is going to Make Westeros Great
Again and he’s going to stand behind her gulldarnit! Unfortunately, our new
hero DICKON is going to follow his father into the cremation chamber, despite
Tyrion’s plea to not do this. In the final moments, Tyrion pleads with the
Tarlys to stop being so stupid, pleads with his queen to stop acting like his
sister, but no one listens to him. Daenerys has tasted power and sees anyone
associated with the Lannisters as being part of the family that dethroned her
family in the first place and murdered her brother and father, and she can’t be
stopped. So... that’s the end of Samwell’s dad and brother. Daenerys turns to
the remaining Lannister soldiers, who instantly drop to the ground. She smiles
in triumph, and Tyrion drops his head in defeat. Just as they would with
Cersei, they bend the knee out of fear, not love or respect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And speaking of the alcoholic who sits on
the Iron Throne, Cersei clearly has received word that she’s lost, but Jaime’s
come to tell her how. What did you think of his explanation and her reaction,
Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> As this episode makes clear, Cersei is in a tight spot—her only
options are victory or death. She knows too well that she will not survive a
loss, that there are no circumstances in which surrendering to Daenerys might
allow her to live out her years in a small estate overlooking the ocean. Not
that she would consider that a life—at this point, Cersei has become as
power-mad as any Targaryen king. Jaime would likely throw everything away if it
meant he could live out his years with his sister in a humble cottage raising
goats, but Cersei would sooner die. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“How many men did we lose?” Cersei asks.
Jaime’s answer, “We haven’t done a full accounting,” is a prevarication: on
hearing her question, I’d expected him to say, “All of them.” Because while I
imagine there were some deserters who managed to flee, it appeared as though
Daenerys’s victory was more or less total … something Jaime is too aware of,
something that haunts him as he tries to convince his sister of the impossibility
of their position. But knowing she has no choice, Cersei reaches for whatever
straws are at hand. “It’s not only armies that win wars,” she says. “We have
the Tyrell gold, we have the Iron Bank behind us. We can buy mercenaries.”
Considering the rather calculating terms Bronn laid out for Jaime in this
episode’s first few minutes, we know this hope is rooted in delusion—dragons
are a deal-breaker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime makes this point obliquely, but
builds to it in classic debate club fashion. First, he makes his basic point
about mercenaries: “I just saw the Dothraki fight,” he says. “They’ll beat any
mercenary army.” Then, he adds, “They’ll beat any army I’ve ever seen. Killing
our men wasn’t war for them, it was sport.” So even if it was just the
Dothraki, the Lannisters and whatever swords they can hire are pretty much
fucked. Of course, that’s not all they face: “Her dragon burnt a thousand
wagons,” he continues. “Qyburn’s scorpion fired bolts bigger than you, they
couldn’t stop it, and she has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">three </i>of
them.” Jaime had the same thought I did after last week: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this is what just </i>one<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> dragon
can do</i>. He comes to the obvious conclusion: “This isn’t a war we can win.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But if Jaime speaks with a soldier’s
pragmatism, Cersei speaks with a tyrant’s fear, the fear of knowing that her
position, and indeed her continued ability to draw breath, rests on maintaining
power. She is not one who enjoys the love of the people; her only leverage is,
ironically, fear. So long as she can make her people fear Daenerys, she can
maintain her authority. And she has no illusions about the violence that led to
her reign, not just recently, but historically. When Jaime suggests something
like détente with Daenerys, Cersei reminds him, “I sit on her father’s throne,
the father you betrayed and murdered.” In other words: I might piss her off by
sitting on this throne, but you turned your cloak to kill her father. Even
given Daenerys’ ostensibly clear-eyed understanding of the Mad King’s crimes,
she’d probably be less than sympathetic to the man who quite literally stabbed
him in the back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s a measure of where Cersei’s at that Jaime’s
revelation that it was Olenna who killed Joffrey and not Tyrion doesn’t sink in
with her until he lays it out for her in stark strategic terms: Joffrey was
erratic and intractable, and indeed insane; Tommen was young and
impressionable; who best for Margaery to manipulate? Whom would the Queen of
Thorns want her granddaughter married to? I have to imagine that only a season
ago, Cersei would have much less receptive to Jaime’s argument. But now, having
lost all her children and inhabiting a world in which the perpetuation of her
own power is her primary consideration, she sees the truth quite quickly, and
regrets her mercy: “I shouldn’t have listened to you,” she grates at Jaime.
“She should have died screaming.” Considering the hell Ellaria Sand must be
enduring at the present moment, all those of us who loved the Queen of Thorns can
quietly thank Jaime for his humane intervention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I must admit, there was a smug
satisfaction, after a few episodes of Lannister victories, in watching Jaime
and Cersei face the facts of their situation. In the end, all of Jaime’s
arguments run up against the obstinate wall of Cersei’s brutal calculus: “So we
fight and die or submit and die; I know my choice!” Experienced viewers of
course know that, when this sort of scene occurs at the start of an episode,
something will happen by the end to complicate it. But for now, let’s luxuriate
in Cersei’s hopelessness, shall we?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then go back to Dragonstone, where Jon
Snow—presumably taking a break from all his arduous dragonglass mining—is once
again brooding on a cliff’s edge when Daenerys returns on the back of Drogon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Let me pause here to expound on my pet
theory that dragons are basically cats. They’re capricious, they kill things
just because, and they act like dicks to you until you hold out your hand for
you to sniff. This is basically what happens in this moment: Drogon lands, and
in spite of the fact that his “mother” is on his back, looks for all the world
like he’s about to have the King in the North for a snack. Jon, to his
credit—because he’s brave to a point of idiocy—stands his ground, and has the uncommon
sense to remove his glove and touch Drogon’s nose … which has the effect of
mollifying the beast, much as though he’d just scratched him behind the ears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That being said, I would be remiss if I
didn’t observe that this is a HUGE moment. HUGE. Why? Because, as every fan
site has been chattering about since thirty seconds after this episode ended,
dragons supposedly only respond in this way to people with Targaryen blood. So
while Daenerys (justifiably) calls the dragons her “children,” we the audience
know that Jon Snow is also a Targaryen (something that is confirmed later in
this episode, but more on that later). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Further to my theory about dragons as
cats: my girlfriend pointed out that, after Jon Snow touched his nose, Drogon
blinked slowly … which is something cats do when they trust you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Anyway … Daenerys is impressed. Her
expression suggests equal measures of incredulity and desire. Though she is
less than pleased when Jon does not immediately agree that her dragons are
beautiful. His backpedalling is funny, but speaks to an element of Daenerys’
disconnection—we’re seeing her settle more and more into the role of “mother of
dragons,” which has less and less relation to how other people see things. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Her
conversation with Jon Snow says as much, as she callously observes that she has
fewer enemies than she had before she left; observing that Jon is not entirely
comfortable with what she has done—something he acknowledges—she says, “We both
want to help people; we can only help them from a position of strength.” This,
of course, is a variation on every ends-justifying-means political argument
that says “We can only do good <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if we win</i>.”
When she acknowledges that “Sometimes strength is terrible,” it is a callback
to the opening minutes on the episode in which Tyrion picks his horrified way
through the burnt remains of Lannister soldiers frozen in Pompeii-like corpses
by dragonfire. That scene, to my mind, is the most powerful of the episode, and
evokes the Duke of Wellington’s adage that the only thing worse than losing a
battle is winning one.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Fortunately for Jon, Daenerys’ curiosity
about Davos’ slip about his “knife to the heart” is interrupted by the return
of a beloved character. What did you think of Ser Jorah’s return, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: First of all, I just want to say that your girlfriend and my
husband had the same reaction to Drogon. As he landed and Jon Snow held out his
hand (with its darkened fingernails), my husband said, “I’ve said it before and
I’ll say it again, these dragons are like cats!” And then when Drogon sniffed
and blinked, and you could see its inner eyelid cross the eyeball, he said,
“They ARE cats!!” And then we wondered if, like our cats, they pee everywhere
to mark their territory. (Sigh.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But yes, Ser Jorah has returned, and
Daenerys embraces him and shows a level of affection towards him that she’s
shown no one else in recent times. She embraces him fondly, though he doesn’t
hug her back (after all, she’s the Khaleesi, and you’re not supposed to touch
her, even if she’s hugging you). Her embrace shows not only her affection, but
her lack of fear over his recent greyscale affliction. She asks him if he’d
found a cure, and he says he wouldn’t be back here if he hadn’t, and I kept
muttering, “Say Sam’s name, say Sam’s name...” but he didn’t. In an episode
full of reunions and groups coming together, I still wanted to see Jon Snow’s
face as he recognizes the name of his old friend. What’s interesting about this
scene is the way Jorah immediately sizes up Jon, as if he thinks Jon is
Daenerys’s new Daario. Jon tells Jorah that he served with his father (remember
Lord Commander Mormont, who basically took on Jon as his personal assistant and
treated him like a son) and Jorah has a moment of pause. The last time someone
mentioned his father to him was when Sam came into his room to cure him and
said he would do so out of respect and honour to his father. Perhaps in this
moment Jorah realizes that Jon knew Sam, but he says nothing. Instead he
continues to watch Jon suspiciously the whole time. Daenerys willingly accepts
Ser Jorah back into her service, and he’s back where he’s always wanted to be:
by his Khaleesi’s side. (Well, I think we all know he wants to be even closer
but that doesn’t look like it’ll happen, so...)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we cut to Bran warging with the
ravens, who are flying north of the wall and who are spotted by the Night King.
Bran de-wargs (I have no idea what the actual technical term is here) with a
jolt and tells the Maester that they need to send ravens immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to the Citadel, where the maesters have
received one of those ravens and read the missive that a crippled boy from
Winterfell has seen the army of the dead moving southward. With a dismissive
chuckle the maesters wave off the concern, but Sam Tarly is standing nearby and
can’t help himself. He knows they’re talking about Bran and says so, and says
not only has he met Bran and has seen his powers at work, but he’s seen the
White Walkers as well, and they really are a threat. Once again, just like two
episodes ago where he discovered the cure to the plague of Westeros in a book,
he’s inches away from effecting action that could create a major power shift
with the White Walkers. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Archmaester Ebrose pauses and listens, and Sam says to
tell every House to send their men north, tell every maester in the Citadel to
search the books and scrolls for ways to fight the dead, and they could defeat
them. And then as Sam holds that goofily hopeful smile on his face, Ebrose’s
attention moves back to the maesters, where he says Sam makes interesting
points, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">let us discuss this a lot
more and do nothing right now</i>. Again, pointing out the ineptitude of the
scholars at the Citadel. They have all of the answers to everything at their
fingertips, but they live in a world of theories and discussions, not one of
action. Outside the walls of Oldtown, everyone else lives in a world of action,
but they don’t have the knowledge to go with it. Ebron’s response isn’t an
unreasonable one — after all, let’s imagine any one of us reacting to a letter
like the one he’s holding in his hand — but Sam’s frustration oozes through our
television screens and we can’t help but shout at the idiocy. As Sam leaves the
room in a defeated huff, one of the maesters asks Ebrose if he’s told him about
the deaths of Randyl and DICKon, but he hasn’t been able to bring himself to do
so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then they all giggle about the previous
notes they’d gotten about the Children of the Forest and the Drowned God rising
up and destroying Aegon the Conqueror — both as mythical as the White Walkers,
in their eyes — and we wonder... what other disasters in Westeros have happened
because the scholars at the Citadel ignored the pleas and warnings of the
people depending on them? The Children of the Forest accidentally invented the
White Walkers. Aegon the Conqueror (the first of the Targaryens) has been
mentioned on the show a few times, and it’s important that his name should come
up now, because much like his descendant, Daenerys, he was the first to show up
in Westeros with the determination to rule the Seven Kingdoms. He had three
enormous dragons — Tyrion mentioned them a couple of seasons ago when he was
talking about how Daenerys’s are small in comparison because they were locked
up and no longer had the ability to grow — and he was the man who forged the
Iron Throne. The Drowned God that the maesters mention is the god that the
people of the Iron Islands pray to, the one who has sparked their “what is dead
may never die” mantra. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And Aegon the Conqueror is exactly whom
Tyrion is worried Daenerys is turning into. As he sits with Varys, drinking (a
sure sign that Tyrion is back on the downswing), he tries to justify her
actions. He’s traumatized by seeing the destruction she’s left behind,
imagining all of Westeros looking like that one day if she is left to destroy
everything the way Aegon once conquered all, but he’s trying to make excuses.
Varys just stares at him like his bald conscience. Tyrion continues to gulp the
wine while saying look, I can’t make her decisions for her... and Varys
remembers when he tried to explain away his own complicity in the Mad King’s
actions the same way: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">“That’s
what I used to tell myself about her father. I found the traitors but I wasn’t
the one burning them alive. I was only a purveyor of information. It’s what I
told myself when I watched them beg for mercy. <i>I’m not the one doing it</i>. When the pitch of their screams rose
higher, <i>I’m not the one doing it.</i>
When their hair caught fire and the smell of their burning flesh filled the
throne room, <i>I’m not the one doing it</i>.”
</span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">While Varys talks, even he drinks from the
wine goblet (and winces) and we can’t help but think, oh man, we are SCREWED if
Varys is drinking now. But when Tyrion argues that Daenerys is not her father,
Varys agrees, with a caveat: “And she never will be... with the right counsel.”
He tells Tyrion that he must make her listen. Her father, and her ancestors,
refused to listen and just wreaked havoc with abandon. The attack on the
Lannister army in the previous episode has left a beautiful valley in ruins and
has turned thousands of lives to soot. Earlier in the season Cersei said she
would be fine being queen of the ashes, but if Daenerys keeps this up, she will
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">literally</i> be the queen of the ashes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when Tyrion notices that Varys
is holding the same raven scroll that Ebron had been holding in the previous
scene. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion:
Who’s that for?<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Varys:
Jon Snow.<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Tyrion:
Did you read it?<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Varys
[taking fake offense]: It’s a sealed scroll for the King of the North!</span><span lang="EN-US">Tyrion:
[long gulp of wine]</span><span lang="EN-US">Tyrion:
...</span><span lang="EN-US">Tyrion:
What’s it say?<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Varys:
Nothing good.</span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ha! Even in a serious scene, we still get a
great laugh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then it’s to the War Room, where the
beginnings of the plans for the rest of the series take shape. What did you
think of the plan to get to Cersei, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Blerg. Honestly? I had the same feeling in this scene as I did in
season five of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wire</i> when it
becomes apparent that McNulty intended to manufacture a fictional serial killer
story in order to loosen the municipal purse strings. More specifically: it
feels like an unnecessary plot twist. Now, that being said, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> is not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wire</i>, and can likely sustain a
cockamamie plan much better than Daniels, Freamon, and Bunny Colvin could, but
it still made me have a WTF moment. Really? Capture a wight and cart it one
thousand miles south? What makes you think it will even survive the journey
intact? I somehow doubt Cersei will be impressed with a properly functioning
ice zombie, never mind a sad bag of bones. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But all things being equal, I suppose this
makes more narrative sense than a war of attrition in which Daenerys and her
dragons grind away at the Lannisters while Jon Snow waits impatiently for them
to finish and come north. This at least gets Jon away from Dragonstone, and
hopefully back to Winterfell. I’ve skipped over the affecting intro to this
scene, where Jon reads the news that both Arya and Bran are alive; as Daenerys
observes, he doesn’t seem happy—but of course Jon is too aware of the fact that
he’s far from home and effectively a prisoner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At least that is about to change. When
Tyrion hatches his scheme to capture a wight, Ser Jorah leaps into the breach:
“You asked me to find a cure so I could serve you,” he says to Daenerys. “Allow
me to serve you.” And when Davos points out that the Free Folk won’t follow
Jorah, Jon Snow says “They won’t have to.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Right. So this is the third episode in
which Jon Snow has been on Dragonstone, and we’ve watched the attraction
between him and Daenerys build. You mentioned, Nikki, that Jorah looks at Jon
as if he might be the new Daario, but neglect to mention Jon’s own
look—wondering if this is his romantic interest’s boyfriend returning. Of
course, Ser Jorah is irrevocably in the friendzone, and if we wondered about
that on his return, Daenerys’ expression when Jon makes it clear that he means
to head north clarifies things (as does his expression when he looks back at
her).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jon Snow’s speech, when Daenerys points out
that she hasn’t given him permission to leave, more or less distills his
character and is another reminder of how much he learned from his putative
father. The key word is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">trust</i>—and of
course Daenerys cannot gainsay his words, however much she obviously wants to
keep him close (also, and perhaps I’m just projecting here, but she is so
obviously turned on by what he says). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So the cockamamie idea gets royal assent.
And as Jon Snow makes his way to the Wall, people back at Winterfell are
getting irate by his absence. Arya walks into the—what, meeting room? The
Winterfell people have to get their shit together and make Jon Snow a throne
already—in time to witness some of the Stark bannermen getting stroppy over the
fact that Jon isn’t present. “The King in the North should stay in the North!”
declaims Lord Glover, whom I think I might rename Lord Windvane (to be fair,
Robett Glover is played by Tim McInnerny; all those years in the service of
Edmund Blackadder have probably given him trust issues). He goes on to suggest
that perhaps they were wrong—perhaps they should have made Sansa queen instead.
And while Sansa rejects these suggestions, Arya isn’t wrong when she says that
Sansa took too long in doing so—that she’s starting to have her own designs on
the Northern throne.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Arya’s misgivings are obvious when she
gives Sansa shit for occupying what was once their parents’ bedroom. While it’s
nice to see that Sansa no longer has patience for prevarication—“Say what you
mean!” she tells her sister—I do wonder why she didn’t just say that Jon insisted
she have the room. First, that’s true; second, Arya obviously trusts Jon’s
judgment more than her sister’s. But instead, Sansa lets Arya make a thing of
it, and Arya falls back into her dislike of Sansa circa season one. “You always
liked nice things,” she says. “Made you feel better than everyone.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I think this is the only moment in the
series (so far) where I hate Arya. Both sisters have come so far from where
they were six years ago (our time), by way of very different paths. Both have
suffered, but in this moment I’m totally Team Sansa. Arya’s suggestion about
lopping off the heads of Jon’s bannermen reflects the ruthlessness she’s
learned; Sansa’s diplomacy reflects her far subtler education about human
nature. Arya might suspect Sansa of ambition, but in truth, she has learned how
to rule—and it’s hardly surprising she might look at Jon Snow’s empty chair and
entertain certain speculations. “How can you think such a horrible thing?”
Sansa asks Arya when Arya suggests she’s unwilling to be ruthless because she
wants to maintain support in the event of Jon’s death. “You’re thinking it
right now,” Arya retorts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And again: Team Sansa here. It’s in her
interests to maintain Jon’s coalition whether he returns or not. While I loved
the back and forth here between Sophie Turner and Maesie Williams, the actual
logic of the scene pissed me off. Is Arya really that resentful, still, of her
sister? Is she incapable of seeing the larger picture? Can she not understand
that if Jon doesn’t come back, “Lady Sansa” is the best eventuality? It’s not
as though Arya the Assassin has any designs on power herself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course, anyone who’s been paying
attention these past six and a half seasons knows why everything is going a bit
pear-shaped down Winterfell way. But we’ll get to Littlefinger later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Tyrion and Davos return to
King’s Landing, and both have bad memories of the place. “The last time I was
here, I killed my father with a crossbow,” Tyrion says. To which Davos rejoins,
“The last time I was here, you killed my son with wildfire.” Have I mentioned
lately how much I love Davos? I’d hesitate to call him the moral compass of the
show, but he’s close—he follows whom he believes to be right, but has a
pragmatism that eludes all the ideologues from Stannis to Jon Snow, and a
common sense we all wish we could bash into their heads. In response to
Tyrion’s incredulous question of whether he means to stay with their boat, he
says simply, “I have my own business in Flea Bottom.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We’ll see what that business is soon
enough, but in the meantime we are treated to Bronn and an exasperated Jaime,
walking through the dragon room of the Red Keep basement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion and Jaime’s reunion is about as
awkward as one might expect, with Jaime silent and glowering in the face of
Tyrion’s banter until he mentions their father—the one real point of contention
they have, given Olenna’s revelation that she killed Joffrey. “He was going to
execute me,” Tyrion says. Tywin was willing to kill his own son in spite of
knowing he was innocent, because he saw Tyrion as a monster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A pause here to address a fan theory, of
which I am becoming increasingly convinced: in the novels, but even more
explicitly in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The World of Ice and Fire</i>,
GRRM hints that Tyrion might not be Tywin’s son—he might actually be the
product of the Mad King Aerys’ rape of Lady Joanna Lannister. Aerys’ desire for
Joanna and his jealousy of Tywin for marrying her is mentioned in the novels,
and while there hasn’t been (to the best of my recollection) anything like this
in the series, it has been pointed out that Tyrion’s interactions with the
chained dragons in Meereen—in which he emerged un-singed—indicates that he
might have Targaryen blood (just as Jon Snow’s ability to soothe Drogon makes
the same suggestion). One way or another, Tywin’s suspicion that Tyrion might
be Targaryen spawn certainly accounts for his irrational hatred of his most
intelligent son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I must say that my two favourite scenes of
this episode are sibling showdowns: Arya and Sansa, and Jaime and Tyrion.
Though as I point out that the logic of the former, narratively, is idiotic, it
doesn’t detract from the performances of the actors; and in the latter, well,
we all know Peter Dinklage is brilliant. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been a
fantastic Jaime, but here he matches Dinklage. Such a powerful scene. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From there we cut to the Street of Steel,
and apparently Gendry stopped rowing a while back. Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I’ve long had this niggling feeling in the back of my brain that
Tyrion could be a bastard, since much has been made of him aligning himself
with other bastards and comparing his lot in life with them, but I didn’t
actually know it was a fully realized fan theory. That’s fascinating (and I
agree; Jon Snow petting Drogon this week immediately put me in mind of Tyrion
not getting eaten by him a few seasons back). And one note I wanted to add
about the Arya and Sansa scene (where, like you, I felt a little ill because
for the first time I thought Arya was a petulant know-it-all who seems to think
she’s the only person who’s gone out in the world and done stuff, which was
incredibly annoying): to me it hearkened back to the scene with Jon Snow
standing before the heads of the northern Houses and calling for mercy on the
traitors, while Sansa was arguing for them to be relinquished of their titles
and sent out into the cold. It’s interesting that both Arya and Sansa lean to
the hard-nosed side of things, despite Ned being a more forgiving type like
Jon. (I think the young women are more like their mother than their father in
that regard.) But as you point out, even Sansa wasn’t calling for their heads. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But yes, over to Gendry! It’s been a while
since we saw this guy, and a quick recap: many of the wheels of this show began
turning when Ned Stark figured out that Jon Arryn had been in Flea Bottom
seeking out Baratheon bastards so he could kill them, and Ned figured out that
Gendry was Robert Baratheon’s son. When Robert is killed by the Lannisters (and
Ned killed by them as well), Gendry escapes the city with Hot Pie and Arya. He
eventually figures out that Arya is a girl (and insists on calling her My Lady,
to her chagrin), and Hot Pie stops his adventures at an inn while Gendry and
Arya continue on with the Brotherhood Without Banners and the Hound. The Brotherhood
sells Gendry to Melisandre and Arya eventually takes off with the Hound, and
Melisandre takes Gendry back to Stannis where his blood is leeched through a
sacrifice after Davos convinces Stannis not to kill his nephew. But his pleas
are soon ignored when the Red Witch bends Stannis’s ear, and, sensing that
Gendry’s life is in danger, Davos whisks him out of the castle at Dragonstone
and gives him a rowboat so he can split. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Whew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And now we find him a few years later, a
blacksmith back in Flea Bottom, where he’s been hiding right under the
Lannisters’ noses. I loved the way the camera built up to the revelation that
this was Gendry, where many viewers knew the moment they cut over to him, and
others may have needed the memory jog (or that moment on the couch where one
viewer says, “Wait, who’s that guy?” and as the camera pans around the
blacksmith shop the other viewers can explain it to them). Davos believes he’ll
have his work cut out for him in trying to convince Gendry to leave this life
and come with him, but he no sooner ekes out, “So I was thinking that maybe...”
than Gendry has grabbed his war hammer and is out the door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2bGLTE2KwuuupR2D2_oShMqiHJnh2wZo4wTPIkcFL4Mjv15-9e1F2zLSlbPnGT4vZkQT4DYrNbVTOAMpWaJK5qUd_Cx9N2loa5u-U6D695vbzjTem7MxQEnF5ZvoaGujEr_qYA/s1600/Screenshot-586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2bGLTE2KwuuupR2D2_oShMqiHJnh2wZo4wTPIkcFL4Mjv15-9e1F2zLSlbPnGT4vZkQT4DYrNbVTOAMpWaJK5qUd_Cx9N2loa5u-U6D695vbzjTem7MxQEnF5ZvoaGujEr_qYA/s400/Screenshot-586.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We then get an amusing scene that turns
nasty pretty quickly (involving fermented crab as an aphrodisiac, and, like you
Chris, Davos is my favourite character at the moment and this scene was
fantastic) before Gendry shows he’s lived up to the threats he was uttering at
Hot Pie in season one when he was swinging a sword at him when they first met.
He knows how to wield that hammer. But now that they’ve left two guards with
their heads bashed in on the shore, Tyrion, Davos, and Gendry jump into the
boat and get out of there fast. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br />
But Tyrion’s visit has left an impact. Jaime returns to Cersei’s quarters
(where Cersei is mysteriously saying to Qyburn, “That won’t be necessary,”
making me wonder what the hell they were just talking about), and once the
Weirdo Hand of the Queen leaves the room Jaime bluntly says, “I met with
Tyrion.” The loooooooong WTF look on Cersei’s face, which is like stone, is
kind of hilarious for how long Lena Headey holds the pose, just staring at him,
until he continues by saying that Daenerys wants to discuss an armistice
because an army of dead men is marching on the Seven Kingdoms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjN2UzXpGSxW6Q5XEZoiQHlkNTdKUR2Uzsw6bHTiQgDB2AjJngSB6s6mjX9oBLipfqmdx5MS5Bu6mJPb81cWPgKR254T8KUvHBIaGHGylivCjUVAYc2Io8JcJ7PEhQreRghvNsw/s1600/Screenshot-605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjN2UzXpGSxW6Q5XEZoiQHlkNTdKUR2Uzsw6bHTiQgDB2AjJngSB6s6mjX9oBLipfqmdx5MS5Bu6mJPb81cWPgKR254T8KUvHBIaGHGylivCjUVAYc2Io8JcJ7PEhQreRghvNsw/s400/Screenshot-605.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yeah, that line will win friends and
influence people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Cersei, of course, shows that she’s the new
Varys and clearly has little birds everywhere, because she already knew that
he’d met with Tyrion, and that Bronn had set up the meeting. She tells Jaime
that Bronn betrayed him, which seems to her to be an important point her
brother has failed to mention. But in addition to being a few steps ahead of
Jaime, she’s already a few steps ahead of Daenerys. She wants to join forces
with her so she can ultimately betray her and take the Seven Kingdoms for
herself. “Dead men, dragons, and dragon queens,” she says. “Whatever stands in
our way, we will defeat it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then she announces that she’s pregnant.
(Oh cripes.) As Jaime hugs her passionately, once again remembering how they
felt before all of this had begun, she keeps her mind in the moment: “Never
betray me again,” she purrs into his ear. Which seems to me like some pretty
dark foreshadowing that he will do exactly that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And after that brief interlude we’re back
with the Davos gang. And lemme tell you... if you’re planning a surprise party,
DO NOT TELL GENDRY. Holy cow that guy can’t keep a secret for four seconds, but
I was so glad he couldn’t, because not only do we get to see Classic Davos Face
when he immediately undercuts Davos’s instructions to not say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anything</i>, we finally get something out
in the open immediately so we don’t have to work through more secrets. Besides,
Gendry’s move was a smart one. What better way to immediately ingratiate
yourself to the King of the North than to say hey, I’m a bastard too! And not
only that but my illegitimate father was best mates with YOUR illegitimate
father! He will be a much better use to Jon in the coming fight if Jon knows
who he is and what’s at stake. Gendry tells him he can’t use a sword, but that
he certainly knows how to fight (as we just saw back on the beach at King’s
Landing), and not only that, he doesn’t question Davos’s story about the White
Walkers. He believes they are coming (Davos has given him every reason to trust
him, after all) and he’s here to help. After all, it doesn’t matter who is from
what House or who is a bastard and who’s legitimate if they’re all dead. And
Davos is going along because, as someone who, as he puts it, has done nothing
more than “live to a ripe old age,” what does he have to lose? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFa03mqbUY8hZVNusl0DO7OhyspBuzeX0iLVEnKDVDecrPPcrjZDDbgpFKdoWUQw95JKecwLMboN4WQmaMrkTDioz2jTmeXLRq-Mn_bkv5Yg0GW-KGDfZpl2QhrA6pjILKSVfgw/s1600/Screenshot-615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFa03mqbUY8hZVNusl0DO7OhyspBuzeX0iLVEnKDVDecrPPcrjZDDbgpFKdoWUQw95JKecwLMboN4WQmaMrkTDioz2jTmeXLRq-Mn_bkv5Yg0GW-KGDfZpl2QhrA6pjILKSVfgw/s400/Screenshot-615.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then just as they landed on shore,
they’re back in a boat heading to Eastwatch: Davos, Gendry, Jon Snow, and Ser
Jorah, among others. Tyrion tells Jorah that he’s actually missed him, adding,
“Nobody glowers quite like you.” He gives him the coin that Yezzan the slaver
had given him back in season five (when Yezzan bought Tyrion and Jorah to use
in the slaving pits, Tyrion tells him that he and Jorah should be paid so Queen
Daenerys wouldn’t accuse Yezzan of slavery, and Yezzan flips him a coin and says
that should last them the rest of their lives) and tells Jorah to bring it back
when he returns. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3Wavtx3QibUfqGCgvlUBJwj4O-qugQ4sklXJL7UUSaeKN76kn6tLhyphenhyphen9wkDJ7bPsvvHPhNFzImBByPx5yFYsWsIWu71Sbq7sF73PuTkkwDDAALRvZVZqLcYEBtLhq1FZgDMv6ew/s1600/Screenshot-622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3Wavtx3QibUfqGCgvlUBJwj4O-qugQ4sklXJL7UUSaeKN76kn6tLhyphenhyphen9wkDJ7bPsvvHPhNFzImBByPx5yFYsWsIWu71Sbq7sF73PuTkkwDDAALRvZVZqLcYEBtLhq1FZgDMv6ew/s400/Screenshot-622.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys fondly says goodbye, and Jorah glowers like he’s
never glowered before, giving quick glances over to Jon Snow the whole time. We
know how long and far Jorah has travelled to be by his queen’s side again, and
here he is leaving not one day later, it seems. There hasn’t been a single look
of calm or happiness on Jorah’s face since being reunited with his Khaleesi, as
if he had fantasized a very different reunion that didn’t pan out. Daenerys
tells Jon she’s finally grown used to having him around, and I think this scene
could be interpreted equally one of two ways: she’s actually interested in him
in a romantic fashion (or just has a fondness for him and his earnestness), and/or
she has a sense of respect and awe for a man who showed up and won over the
always-skeptical queen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92rukOwpSpGf65g6aWHOSJYPpVL6kiYpoVBY2JMGBUdRZ84n_0-nhK-QSxZy6JsihWumj0s8SlorY3BF8krC3QuuEaw5GI8HvRcY5JOnUGAC-ntldLmq_F3inusw4YHiM6J7xew/s1600/Screenshot-625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92rukOwpSpGf65g6aWHOSJYPpVL6kiYpoVBY2JMGBUdRZ84n_0-nhK-QSxZy6JsihWumj0s8SlorY3BF8krC3QuuEaw5GI8HvRcY5JOnUGAC-ntldLmq_F3inusw4YHiM6J7xew/s400/Screenshot-625.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then we switch over to Sam and Gilly,
and a quiet little scene that tucks in a whopper of a revelation. We finally
had it confirmed that L+R=J last season, but now we have LEGITIMACY, which sets
up a whole new series of possibilities. But of course Sam mansplains Gilly out
of finding out anything more and that’s that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Because I know you’ve been waiting three
times longer than I have to know this for sure, Chris, I’ll let you take over
and unpack this scene. (I was watching it and imagining you fanboying out while
watching!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: To be perfectly honest, I almost missed it! I was both enjoying
Gilly’s delight in the interesting but useless trivia she could now discover
with her newfound literacy, and sympathetic with Sam’s irritation—irritation
not so much at Gilly as the Citadel’s inertia. So when she comes across the
passage detailing Rhaegar’s annulment and remarriage, my response was “Wait.
What?” Which is unfortunately more than Sam can say, so preoccupied is he with
his own brooding thoughts. “These maesters!” he grouses, interrupting Gilly as
she reads what is perhaps <i>the most
important detail</i> in the series so far.</span><br />
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<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">They
set me to the task of preserving that man’s wind accounts, accounting and
annulments and bowel movements for all eternity, while the secret to defeating
the Night King is sitting on some dusty shelf somewhere, completely ignored …
but that’s all right, isn’t it? We can all become slavering murderous imbeciles
enthralled to evil incarnate, just so long as we can have access to the full
record of High Septon Maynard’s fifteenth thousand, seven hundred and
eighty-two shits!</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I love stroppy Sam, almost as much as I
love how unfazed Gilly is when she corrects him. “Steps. That number was
steps.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But whatever the reason, his steps or his
shits, Sam has had enough—like a put-upon grad student suddenly having a
nervous breakdown in the midst of grading endless undergrad papers, he
basically says “Fuck this shit,” and, raiding the restricted section of the
library for an armload of books, makes tracks with Gilly and Little Sam in tow.
He has a moment of remorse as he pauses, looking up at the massive mirrors that
light the library by day, framed by the soaring stacks that so enthralled him
at the end of last season; but he soldiers on, loading up his wagon. “I’m tired
of reading about the achievements of better men,” he says wearily when Gilly
asks him if he’s sure about this. Of course, he’s been through more, see more,
endured more, and has demonstrated more courage, than most of the people he’s
read about … but it’s not in Sam’s character to recognize that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKcwFVpg_J6weZFHPU4ZG1zeXeb35WjbssdZ2x_q6DcMs32OmDvW-zCXKcBdbdEed-FpCjrIZvfQNNc1YlvfO4vlTSP9kKm1n4_4PG_V9SS4UzSwEtHYgGxDZnC2rRuf76Leu6w/s1600/Screenshot-640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKcwFVpg_J6weZFHPU4ZG1zeXeb35WjbssdZ2x_q6DcMs32OmDvW-zCXKcBdbdEed-FpCjrIZvfQNNc1YlvfO4vlTSP9kKm1n4_4PG_V9SS4UzSwEtHYgGxDZnC2rRuf76Leu6w/s400/Screenshot-640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I do rather hope he tossed High Septon
Maynard’s book in with the rest of his heist; I speculated last week that it
will have to be Bran who reveals Jon Snow’s true parentage, but having the
historical record support him will be key. And not only does Maynard’s account
help establish Jon’s parentage, it shows that he is <i>not a bastard</i>—that he is in fact the legitimate and legal son of
Rheagar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. And not only is he their legitimate son,
that means, according to the laws of patrilineal descent, he actually has a
stronger claim to the Iron Throne than Daenerys, as the son of the crown
prince. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Not that that is such a crucial
consideration any more: perhaps ironically, the Targaryen conquest occurred
only three centuries before the start of our story, and that was the first time
the Seven Kingdoms had been brought together as a single realm. That’s
relatively recent, which makes it unsurprising that the death of Robert
Baratheon gave rise to a cluster of new kings, only three of whom (Joffrey,
Renly, and Stannis) were keen to rule the entire continent. The other two, Robb
Stark and Balon Greyjoy, were happy to call themselves king of their respective
territories. Now we’re down to three monarchs: two queens and a king in the
North, each of whom represent rather distinct preoccupations and philosophies.
Jon Snow, of course, doesn’t give a fig for the Iron Throne, concerned only
with the existential threat from north of the Wall; Daenerys sees the Iron
Throne as her birthright, but grasps the need to rule from a position of trust
and justice (her immolation of House Tarly notwithstanding); and of course,
Cersei is a classic despot, a tyrant whose only choice is between maintaining
power or death, because she is unlikely to be forgiven for the crimes she
committed to claim the throne to start with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another exemplar of power and its exercises
awaits us in Winterfell, as what we all suspected at the start of the episode
is made clear: namely, that the discontent among Jon Snow’s bannermen and the
groundswell of support for Sansa to be promoted from Lady Stark to Queen Sansa
is the product of Littlefinger’s whispering and manipulation. </span>At first it looks
as though Arya has his number: spying on him as he pays off a servant girl for
something, and as he has a murmured conversation with Lords Royce and Glover.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RQ6WU-fu2s_5CaL0fvOqg-1ahLDgVzGyc9lpZScfTuer57JXYYYbofkuzqA8e7inqDfL_jy5H-v-6ZOHPjwThLHqff2T7nDN7mfnCWAsyMsh6G3pXF9tug1LsgrmC9bKIL1TyQ/s1600/Screenshot-650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RQ6WU-fu2s_5CaL0fvOqg-1ahLDgVzGyc9lpZScfTuer57JXYYYbofkuzqA8e7inqDfL_jy5H-v-6ZOHPjwThLHqff2T7nDN7mfnCWAsyMsh6G3pXF9tug1LsgrmC9bKIL1TyQ/s400/Screenshot-650.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then she watches as the maester brings him a scroll, for which he searched
through the late Maester Luwin’s archives. “Lady Stark thanks you for your
service,” says Littlefinger, and that’s the moment we should realize that
perhaps Arya isn’t a stealthy as she thinks. She breaks into Littlefinger’s
chambers and finds the scroll, but as she makes her exit, we see Littlefinger
standing more or less precisely where she had stood, watching Arya leave.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My first thought was “Oh crap, he’s rumbled
her.” But then on rewatching, I paused when Arya opened the scroll. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTe3fVct01h9v7GcUK4WpmuSnWz9Uia8LojdqhyVdhl3ti6NHiJ2wzTkJ61Rb2cRTj2AkBUN-n3Bwzckz7BsylozzgGKlW_hbVrXG_EkwMQCpiqESpMsZi9057lJCy2Orgp3YPg/s1600/Screenshot-670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTe3fVct01h9v7GcUK4WpmuSnWz9Uia8LojdqhyVdhl3ti6NHiJ2wzTkJ61Rb2cRTj2AkBUN-n3Bwzckz7BsylozzgGKlW_hbVrXG_EkwMQCpiqESpMsZi9057lJCy2Orgp3YPg/s400/Screenshot-670.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was the
message Sansa wrote to Robb and Catelyn when Ned Stark was in the dungeons; she
wrote it under duress, out of fear for her father’s life, at a time when she
was still young and naïve. In the letter, she says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Robb, I write to you with a heavy heart. Our
good king Robert is dead, killed from wounds he took in a boar hunt. Father has
been charged with treason. He conspired with Robert’s brothers against my
beloved Joffrey and tried to steal his throne. The Lannisters are treating me
very well and provide me with every comfort. I beg you: come to King’s Landing,
swear fealty to King Joffrey and prevent any strife between the great houses of
Lannister and Stark.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was when I
realize that Arya’s been played—Littlefinger <i>wanted</i> her to find the note, and that was why he very specifically
mentioned “Lady Stark” to the maester. Arya’s already primed to be suspicious
of Sansa; what will she make of a letter begging Robb to bend the knee, calling
their father a traitor, and referring to her “beloved Joffrey”? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clever, clever
Littlefinger. I’m now putting my money on Arya killing him—possibly while
wearing the face of the servant girl he paid off—but in the interim, he’s going
to cause an awful lot of chaos. Because ladders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBwTVR0BfVI8bLDmXPwtqDq6O1jhUJLRscPwXojgJmTVRGgB0wtyoJxbwhYe_VV-avI0s5nvV0nigMHrk-89UulMEGfH-25SJhhWYAf7j6mvVhl76OQexOQJjgXoX1QLp7rLSCA/s1600/Screenshot-671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBwTVR0BfVI8bLDmXPwtqDq6O1jhUJLRscPwXojgJmTVRGgB0wtyoJxbwhYe_VV-avI0s5nvV0nigMHrk-89UulMEGfH-25SJhhWYAf7j6mvVhl76OQexOQJjgXoX1QLp7rLSCA/s400/Screenshot-671.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But we end this episode with Jon and
company reaching the wall, and being reunited with Tormund—who isn’t at all
happy with the plan they’ve concocted. “Isn’t it your job to talk him out of stupid
fucking ideas like this?” he growls at Davos, who has to admit that he hasn’t
succeeded much on that front lately. I love Tormund: he has a great talent for
cutting to the chase. He delineates between the two queens as “the one with the
dragons, or the one who fucks her brother,” and quite candidly agrees with
Davos when he notes that he’d be a liability. Nor is he pleased with Jon’s
response when he asks how many men he brought. “Not enough,” Jon admits. And in
what is easily my favourite line from the episode, Tormund asks hopefully, “The
big woman?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ah, poor lovesick Tormund Giantsbane. If he
and Brienne don’t get together and spawn a bunch of massive lethal babies, a
large number of GoT fans will be storming HBO’s main offices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But as it turns out, there’s a handful of
unlooked-for volunteers for Jon’s expedition. Beric Dondarrion, Thoros, and the
Hound are all mouldering away in Eastwatch’s dungeon, captured as they made
their way to the Wall (which begs the question: what happened to the rest of
their men? Did they say thanks but no thanks to the prospect of meeting the
army of the dead, or did they die on the way?) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnILAfVaMJv7T7YAlQ22nUMTDmZZIGHuCNYoI9fGzL7KI8K7x4ndQtptOoLSqvYhPQbajegfaveSrImO9b8QyehyKXAC7K1CJn5hi3sDdHkr2a3x9V58FBTcXHYwfBH0AHaCtiA/s1600/Screenshot-689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnILAfVaMJv7T7YAlQ22nUMTDmZZIGHuCNYoI9fGzL7KI8K7x4ndQtptOoLSqvYhPQbajegfaveSrImO9b8QyehyKXAC7K1CJn5hi3sDdHkr2a3x9V58FBTcXHYwfBH0AHaCtiA/s400/Screenshot-689.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The scene that follows is entertaining in
the way it establishes the vectors of dislike and distrust running in various
directions: Gendry’s memory of being sold to Melisandre is still fresh, Tormund
is irked to discover that Jorah’s a Mormont, and the Hound is just generally
good at antagonizing whomever he meets. But as Jon Snow points out, they’re all
on the same side. “How can we be?” Gendry asks incredulously. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“We’re all breathing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGV0RtIgN7fK-3F-frHwJ9wp8Ye8NmOEnH63pvuzok-wl4vgT0zYljVBbG48oAOmSpbOk3UrZh5NtKeYqMt_uIM3cNnIY2dUHiaHSSuhiHR1SfNK7ef-vunELOEl2aWimfP1vxkA/s1600/Screenshot-699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGV0RtIgN7fK-3F-frHwJ9wp8Ye8NmOEnH63pvuzok-wl4vgT0zYljVBbG48oAOmSpbOk3UrZh5NtKeYqMt_uIM3cNnIY2dUHiaHSSuhiHR1SfNK7ef-vunELOEl2aWimfP1vxkA/s400/Screenshot-699.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us
to the end of another week of <i>Game of
Thrones</i>, with a scant two episodes left in the season! We’ll see you hear
again next week. In the meantime: be good, work hard, and always assume that
Littlefinger is two steps ahead of you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-41697979994764712392017-08-08T22:50:00.000-04:002017-08-08T22:50:00.026-04:00Game of Thrones 7.04: The Spoils of War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAjW45G_4HL4b0EgNAL42pWCOyEeWvT2v56PZQi3bLcQ3PK8TCzF-_O_r8hkXNp0hpLR0BvOtCuRPCuhYWPodlR64FHOLJACpQ_Mu8ax0itEktxXS2kcNkYV8-WFtO8tYzErPFQ/s1600/game-of-thrones-spoils-of-war-daenerys-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAjW45G_4HL4b0EgNAL42pWCOyEeWvT2v56PZQi3bLcQ3PK8TCzF-_O_r8hkXNp0hpLR0BvOtCuRPCuhYWPodlR64FHOLJACpQ_Mu8ax0itEktxXS2kcNkYV8-WFtO8tYzErPFQ/s400/game-of-thrones-spoils-of-war-daenerys-03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And welcome to week four of this season of <i>Game of Thrones</i> (only three more episodes to go NOOOOOO) where we have been blessed with the most SPECTACULAR battle sequence in a show with a history of spectacular battle sequences. Take it away, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>!! </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: We begin in the immediate aftermath of Jaime’s fraught audience
with Lady Olenna, soon enough that he’s still is a pissy mood despite his
victory—something noticed by Bronn. Jaime opens up one of their wagons laden
with Tyrell gold and hands Bronn a conspicuously heavy bag. “You’ve just won
the biggest prize in the world,” Bronn snarks as he attaches the bag to his
saddle, “What could you possibly have to be upset about?” Jaime’s silence
speaks volumes, more perhaps than he’d like, as Bronn is no idiot: “Queen of
Thorns give you one last prick in the balls before saying goodbye?” To which
Jaime responds that he’ll save his confessions for the High Septon. “There is
no more High Septon!” “No! There isn’t, is there?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I quite liked this exchange. It offers a
subtle glimpse into Jaime’s mindset: still irked by Lady Olenna’s revelation
that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she</i> murdered Joffrey, but not
about to share that detail with Bronn, one suspects that he’s been thinking
over all the choices that brought him to this point. And not just his own
choices: perhaps just as disturbing as Olenna’s dying words was her piercing
insight into Jaime’s devotion to Cersei, and her statement of the
now-undeniable fact of her monstrosity. Jaime has never been much of a leader
or decision maker, living his life according to the twin goals of staying close
to his sister and killing a lot of people with his preternatural sword skills.
But now those skills are mostly gone, taken away along with his right hand, and
his sister has turned into a grotesque parody of the Mad King. She tells <s>Mycroft</s>
Tycho Nestoris that she wants “control of this continent and every person in
it.” The first half of that statement is understandable and indeed necessary in
order to be a monarch—it is, after all, what Daenerys aims at—but the second
half articulates the difference between ruler and despot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Jaime, who has hitched his wagon
to Cersei basically since birth, does not have the option Tyrion did of
renouncing family and deserting (though, granted, that option was basically
forced on him by Cersei too). But if there’s a benefit here, it’s that he is no
longer subject to the disapprobation of others. Last episode, he panicked when
Cersei let a serving girl see him in her bed; but here, in his sarcastic acknowledgement
that yes, the High Septon <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> dead, he
seems to be saying—to himself as much as Bronn—that he no longer answers to a
higher authority … <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> higher
authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which makes Bronn’s demand to be paid a
little tone-deaf for a man who intuited that Jaime’s meeting with Olenna did
not end well. Then again, he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> a
mercenary, and “getting paid” could well be his house motto when he gets around
to it. Jaime patiently points out he has a massive sack of gold now affixed to
his saddle; but Bronn will have his castle, dammit, and isn’t Highgarden now in
need of a new landlord? Though Jaime is remarkably patient with him, this
moment reminded me of the scene in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Richard
III</i> when Buckingham, having colluded with Richard and put him on the
throne, is asked to be complicit in one crime too many: the murder of Richard’s
nephews. He asks for </span><a href="" name="26"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“some breath, some little pause, my lord</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> / <a href="" name="27">Before
I positively herein</a>” (4.2:26-27), which is totally not what Richard wants
to here. And when he returns to demand what had been promised him, the newly
crowned king is less than forthcoming:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">BUCKINGHAM: <a href="" name="97">My
lord, I claim your gift, my due by promise,</a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="" name="98">For which your honour and your faith is pawn'd;</a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="" name="99">The earldom of Hereford and the moveables</a></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="" name="100">The which you promised I should possess.</a> (4.2: 91-94)</span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To
which Richard responds, after basically ignoring him for several minutes, “<a href="" name="127">I am not in the giving vein to-day.</a>” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
somehow doubt that Jaime will treat Bronn in the same way, but he makes his
impatience plain by giving him the task of harassing farmers with the point of
his sword—and as an extra special fuck you sends him off with Randyll Tarly,
whom we can expect to treat a jumped-up lowborn mercenary with all of the
contempt the lord of a proud and long-standing house can muster (which, as we
saw when Sam stopped in at home, is an awful lot of contempt). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before I move on to the next scene, I
should say that I quite loved the way this episode is bookended: watching that
long wagon train of plunder from Highgarden, my first thought was “if only
Daenerys could catch them with her dragons!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The next sequence between Cersei and Tycho
made for an interesting contrast with Bronn’s demand for land and titles.
Bronn’s desire is for a key element of the feudal system; the Iron Bank
represents a distinctly modern understanding of capital and credit, one more or
less global in scope. I’ve frequently argued that the comparisons some make
between <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord of the Rings</i> are well-meaning but
wrong-headed; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>, for
all of its classic fantasy trope, has far more in common with the typical HBO
themes seen in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wire</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deadwood</i>, which have to do with power
not as an extrinsic principle, but as fluid and constantly shifting—for which
the most potent metaphor is money. “Money don’t got owners,” Omar tells Marlo
Stanfield in season three of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wire</i>,
“just spenders.” Tycho’s little joke about how upset some members of the Iron
Bank will be to have the Iron Throne’s debt paid in full, because they’ll miss
the interest payments, will probably fall flat to anyone with credit card debt
of any significance. Like a credit card that raises your limit when you pay it
off, Tycho is eager to loan Cersei as much as she needs to win her war—and is
more than happy to put her in touch with people who can help (presumably for a
small finder’s fee). Of course, such help, financial and otherwise, is
contingent on repayment: “You can count on the Iron Bank’s support … as soon as
the gold appears.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Speaking of Jaime’s poor choices—or at
least, actions performed on behalf of Cersei—we get a sharp reminder of the
things he does for love as we cut to Winterfell. In the aftermath of his fall,
Bran did not remember how it happened; now that he’s the Three-Eyed Raven, has
that fog of memory burned away? Does he remember that Jaime pushed him out that
window in season one, episode one? Perhaps more importantly, does he care?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What do you think, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I assume Bran does know, but as you say, doesn’t care. Pushing a
little boy out of a window and making him a paraplegic is the sort of thing
that alters lives of the individual and his family, but not necessarily the
world around him. Bran’s fall means nothing in the grand scheme of things, and
now all Bran can see is the grand scheme of things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And knowing that Bran is back and this is
yet another Stark to be manipulated, good old Bae is back to give him the
Valyrian steel dagger and say hey, no hard feelings, eh bub? Because what
better gift can you give a long-lost person than the very knife that was once
used to try to kill them? Man, Baelish... someone seriously needs to teach you
some social conventions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But let me repeat: Bran knows ALL. And that
means all the little conversations and machinations that Baelish has been
involved in all along the way. He tells Bran that he would have stopped the
dagger that cut his mother’s throat with his own heart (and part of me believes
that in his heart he truly believes that, but in the moment Petyr never would
have had the guts to do that). Bran simply looks at him and asks where the
dagger came from. Littlefinger plays dumb, of course. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is the dagger that the cutthroat used
when he climbed into Bran’s window and attempted to kill him when the little
boy couldn’t move. Catelyn carried it around showing it to everyone, but
couldn’t get to the bottom of who would have ordered the hit. Littlefinger
eventually pointed the finger at Tyrion, who denied it vehemently, but Catelyn
never believed in Tyrion’s innocence. Ned took possession of the dagger when
Catelyn headed up to the Riverlands to arrest Tyrion for attempting to murder
her son, and later, after Ned was beheaded, Petyr took it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We saw the dagger briefly in the first
episode of this season, as many eagle-eyed fans have pointed out: as Sam Tarly
was leafing through the stolen manuscripts, he paused on a particular page that
has a clear drawing of the very dagger Petyr gives to Bran in this scene, which
suggests it might play a role in stopping the White Walkers. But more
interestingly, Bran lets Baelish know very subtly that he knows what he’s been
up to when he says calmly, “Chaos is a ladder.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, I’ll admit I looked at my husband and
said, “Did he say chaos is Alanna?” We had no idea and backed it up. “No, I
think he said chaos is Aladdin.” Turned on the closed-captioning. “Oh, a
LADDER!” and then suddenly something pinged in my brain and I knew I’d heard it
before, so I looked it up. And sure enough, it’s from an exchange between Varys
and Littlefinger from way back in season three:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="239" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iRS8a8HjqFs" width="425"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Varys:
</b>What do we have left when we abandon the lie? Chaos: the gaping pit waiting to
swallow us all.<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US"><b>Littlefinger:
</b>Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail, never get
to try again. The fall breaks them. And some, they’re given a chance to climb,
but they refuse. The cling to the realm, for the gods, for love. Illusions.
Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is. </span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is one of the key moments of season
three (the speech turns into a voiceover as we see Joffrey post-massacre of
Ros) and shows how Littlefinger exists outside of many of the others, hoping
for something else. It could be a foreshadowing of all of the players on the
show who are currently climbing the ladder: Daenerys, Cersei, even Littlefinger
himself. (Jon Snow isn’t climbing anything; he’s trying to stop impending
doom.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But most importantly, it’s Bran saying, “I
know what you do and say when no one else is in the room. And I know what
you’ve done, and what you still plan to do.” Apparently Littlefinger memorizes
all of his super-deep speeches because the moment Bran utters those words, he
looks startled, and leaves the room very quickly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meera comes into the room and says she’s
leaving, and is upset by the lack of emotion Bran shows, but as I pointed out
last week, Bran is really no longer capable of showing anything. She says she’s
sacrificed so much to save him, and then says with a pleading voice, “Bran.”
And he says, “Not really, not anymore.” Just as Arya said “That’s not you” to
Nymeria, Bran is admitting that he’s not Bran anymore. And Osha agrees. “You
died in that cave,” she says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we get to Stark Reunion #2. I said
with much regret last week that I didn’t think Arya was going to come to
Winterfell, but thank goodness I was wrong! First we get her arguing with the
bumbling Monty Pythonesque guards (and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one going,
“NO YOU IDIOTS!” and worried that Arya would change her mind and we’d have come
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this close</i> to the reunion only for it
to slip through our fingers), but thank goodness that doesn’t happen. She tells
the men she wants to see Rodrick and Maester Luwin, and when the guards tell
Sansa that, she knows that her sister is in the crypt, visiting these very
people along with all the other dead. Just imagine how many people have died
since the last time Arya was in that crypt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But before we get there, I want to pause on
that lovely moment of Arya waiting for the guards to deal with things as she
glances around the Winterfell courtyard, a small smile playing on her lips.
Season seven is definitely the one for retrospection, since, as you pointed out
last week, Chris, all of the threads are starting to finally weave themselves
together. As she looked around the courtyard I couldn’t help but think of how
much of it was the same as when Arya is little, and how much as changed. In a
way, she must feel like she’s returned home; in another way, she must feel like
a complete stranger in a strange land. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The reunion between Sansa and Arya is a
little less emotional and a little more jokey between Sansa and Bran. When
Sansa finds her little sister all grown up in the crypt, Arya says flatly, “Do
I have to call you Lady Stark now?” And with little hesitation, Sansa says,
“Yes.” They hug, and comment on the statue that was built for Ned and how it
doesn’t really look like him. “Everyone who knew his face is dead,” Sansa says
sadly. In this one brief scene, you can tell there’s strangeness between them.
Sansa looks at Arya like she barely knows her, and chuckles when Arya says
she’s keeping a list of people she’s going to kill. (The “no really” look on
Arya’s face doesn’t seem to convince her sister at all.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But Sansa thinks you know what? At least
she’s not speaking in a monotone and having visions about me being raped on my
wedding night, so... yay? And with that she takes Arya to meet their brother to
have a big ol’ happy family re– oh wait, maybe not. <s>George Harrison</s> Bran
is sitting out in the weirwood grove (goddammit, Sansa just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">don’t go near him in the weirwood grove</i>)
and Arya smiles as she sees him, but the smile quickly fades as Bran begins to
tell her things as well, that he saw her at the crossroads, and knows about her
list. He told Sansa he’d seen the worst thing that ever happened to her,
perhaps because he didn’t think his sister would understand anything subtle,
but it just takes these mentions to let Arya know that he sees all. And also to
show her sister that no, she wasn’t joking about that list of people. “Who’s on
the list?” Sansa says with incredulity. “Most of them are dead now,” Arya says
with a look and Sansa knows without a doubt that her little sister is all grown
up and has become someone new. The women see Bran holding the dagger, and Sansa
immediately shows that she hasn’t been pulled in unknowingly by Baelish, when
she warns her brother that he won’t give anything as a gift unless he thinks
he’ll get something back from it, but Bran doesn’t want it, and hands it over
to Arya instead. FORESHADOWING. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As the three Starks return to Winterfell,
they make a motley crew. Lady Sansa sweeps behind them in a majestic wool coat;
Bran stares dead-eyed as his wheelchair is being pushed by his warrior-like sister,
who’s lost that childhood giggle and knows more about the world than any one
person ever should. And watching from a distance is Brienne and Podrick, who
marvel that somehow all of the living Starks ended up back together. Podrick
tells Brienne that she kept her word and the two sisters are alive, and despite
trying to argue with him, Brienne gives in and just takes the compliment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we’re back at Dragonstone, where
Missandei is just about to add TMI to the conversation with Daenerys when Jon
Snow appears and has something to show her. What did you think of the scene in
the caves, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t repeat the joke that people
started making IMMEDIATELY on Twitter, which has to do with what happened the
last time Jon Snow took a woman into a cave …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://twitter.com/Joemagician42/status/894378529567191041">https://twitter.com/Joemagician42/status/894378529567191041</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The look Daenerys exchanges with Missandei
doesn’t help things—of course it’s because she was sharing hints about
Missandei’s sexytimes with Grey Worm, but the sequence can also serendipitously
communicate the sense of, “Oh, that cute emo boy wants to talk to you now.”
Given that Jon Snow is ice and Daenerys is fire, and given that the fact that
they’re related doesn’t matter in the long history of Targaryen incest, it has
long been a fan assumption that these two ultimately get together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And it is a measure of the trust Daenerys
has developed for Jon Snow that she orders her bloodriders to stay behind—maybe
they’re not quite ready to kiss, but at least she’s comfortable in her
assumption that he won’t kill her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqzNEMfb0EZ-zJtcG1CrKSKLgfml2DvzhSQ69JBkDlQrY-lzxRmndQ4SKIkw3iSZt4ymwxGcysRl_R_r2EnaRQwKYFldXLZM8JyXoJUxjGMhaCCqUXi6q9EIuUrF30zvVLGeFeQ/s1600/GoT_S7_E4_0487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqzNEMfb0EZ-zJtcG1CrKSKLgfml2DvzhSQ69JBkDlQrY-lzxRmndQ4SKIkw3iSZt4ymwxGcysRl_R_r2EnaRQwKYFldXLZM8JyXoJUxjGMhaCCqUXi6q9EIuUrF30zvVLGeFeQ/s400/GoT_S7_E4_0487.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The cave drawings illustrate (sorry) an
interesting aspect of George R.R. Martin’s worldbuilding that departs from traditional
fantasy. The literary critic Farah Mendelsohn, in her book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhetorics of Fantasy</i>, points out that history as presented in much
fantasy is meant to be taken as plain and indeed absolute fact—there’s no
hearsay in the “download of legend” as she terms it, whether it’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Silmarillion</i>’s prehistory of
Middle-Earth or the random sage telling the accidental tourist who has fallen
through a portal the Story Till Now. But GRRM plays games with the historical
record in his novels, giving his world civilizations that evolved from
equivalents to our Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages; and more importantly, there’s
no <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">definitive</i> history, but rather a
series of competing and contradictory stories and legends. The series hasn’t
delved into this particular aspect of the novels all that much—and with Bran’s
new talents, we’re getting in both what amounts to an authoritative account—but
the cave drawings Jon shows Daenerys carry the symbolic power with which we
imbue archaeological traces. “They were standing where we’re standing,”
Daenerys says in awe, “before there were Targaryens or Lannisters or Starks.
Maybe even before there were men.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4L8UPRWo5wGR-WilnPCajNtsvmuAhfyiCD3NpYE8lhGlFs1hSYnaxZUT1QGVp_MNJyNyg7Il566-rzAskkAHnQ6y6WDXaqBGZZXUs1ao8JAOs94BvWOBUzemd_fSGq7R6MSTEQ/s1600/GoT_S7_E4_0503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4L8UPRWo5wGR-WilnPCajNtsvmuAhfyiCD3NpYE8lhGlFs1hSYnaxZUT1QGVp_MNJyNyg7Il566-rzAskkAHnQ6y6WDXaqBGZZXUs1ao8JAOs94BvWOBUzemd_fSGq7R6MSTEQ/s400/GoT_S7_E4_0503.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But no: there were people, who were allied
with the Children of the Forest against the White Walkers. And, Jon Snow points
out, they survived—because they fought <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">together</i>.
Now, given the fact that the Children of the Forest <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">created</i> White Walkers (as Bran saw in a vision) in desperation
because these interlopers were wiping them out, as well as the fact that they
are now all but extinct, Jon’s emotional plea doesn’t perhaps have the
strongest historical footing. But hey—he doesn’t know that, and neither does
Daenerys, who starts to come around to Jon’s point of view. She pledges that
she’ll fight for the North … if he bends the knee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jon is kind of between a rock and a hard
place with Daenerys’ demand for fealty. One suspects that, while not a matter
of indifference to him, he would still be inclined to bend the knee if it were
only up to him. He did not seek the Northern throne, after all, and is far more
concerned with defeating the existential threat of the White Walkers than with
Westerosi power struggles. That being said, he is still deeply a Northerner and
very much Ned Stark’s son (in spirit if not in fact), and he knows too well how
little his people would think of a return to Targaryen rule. He is also aware
of the technical illegitimacy of his claim, but in a nice bit of rhetorical jiu
jitsu Daenerys turns that around on him, pointing out that it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">precisely</i> because of his illegitimacy that
we know his people trust him: “They chose you to lead them. They chose you to
protect them.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Again, we’re saturated with dramatic irony
here, and a man wonders how the truth of Jon’s parentage will be revealed.
Actually, it’s less a question of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how</i>
than when and where, seeing as how the only person who can speak that truth is
Bran. He witnessed Jon’s birth in the Tower of Joy, so one has to assume it
will be he who drops the bomb. Hence the timing of his arrival, after Jon’s
departure for Dragonstone—no overlap there in which Bran could have said, “Oh,
say hi to your aunt for me.” So now the question is: what plot twists will the
show employ to keep Jon from hearing that news? (Because however unimportant
Bran might consider his own injury at the hands of the Lannisters, one assumes
that the unification of ice and fire would be as important to him as it was to
Melisandre). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The camera plays a little trick on us as
Jon and Daenerys exit the cave: perhaps it’s inadvertent, but it really sort of
looks like they’re holding hands until we see them from the front (and even
then it looks a little like they are until it’s apparent they’re not). There’s
a tension building between these two; it’s not a sexual attraction just yet,
but it’s obvious she’s coming to trust him. The revelation in the cave makes it
seem for just a few moments that Daenerys is convinced—and maybe she is, but
she’s not about to drop her claim to all seven of the seven kingdoms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">They exit the cave to the good news / bad
news about Casterly Rock. “Your strategy has lost us Dorne, the Iron Islands,
and the Reach,” she snarls are Tyrion, who right now is not looking like quite
the master strategist he was just a few episodes ago. “If I have underestimated
our enemies—” he starts to say, but she cuts him off. “Our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">enemies</i>? Your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">family</i>, you
mean! Perhaps you don’t want to hurt them after all.” Ouch. Granted, Tyrion was
outmaneuvered by Cersei, which is hurtful enough, but in this moment Daenerys
questions not just his competence, but his loyalty. Is this something we can
expect to see more of? She challenged Varys’ flexible loyalties in episode two;
that appeared to be a fairly cool and calculated interrogation, whereas this
one was spoken in the heat of anger, but perhaps we’re starting to see some
cracks in Daenerys’ confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlk7XK8i92f8TUXohDS31dCPO1XnHJiDDqV61wUqgVCSN7jOJaJoSForjv98q37KgJT8tSPD_7dcwlbqjtjK5edNJcwgEMCHmdAdlHiEAsJBl7P3L4-SxGz46QQO_vDbdvRCzsw/s1600/Daenerys-Jon-Varys-Missandei-Tyrion-Spoils-of-War.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlk7XK8i92f8TUXohDS31dCPO1XnHJiDDqV61wUqgVCSN7jOJaJoSForjv98q37KgJT8tSPD_7dcwlbqjtjK5edNJcwgEMCHmdAdlHiEAsJBl7P3L4-SxGz46QQO_vDbdvRCzsw/s400/Daenerys-Jon-Varys-Missandei-Tyrion-Spoils-of-War.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s a measure of Daenerys’ growing regard
for Jon Snow that she asks his advice—turning from her Hand and other trusted
advisors to question a Northern bastard. The looks on Varys’ and Missandei’s
faces made me laugh out loud: what is she doing? They probably assume he’s
going to confirm her worst idea and egg her on to turn King’s Landing to
cinders. But no. Check out the wisdom on Jon Snow! I always wondered if he had
it in him:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I never thought that dragons would exist
again. No one did. The people that follow you know that you made something
impossible happen. Maybe that helps them believe you can make other impossible
things happen. Build a world that’s different from the shit one they’ve always
known. But if you use them to melt castles and burn cities, you’re not
different. You’re just more of the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Perhaps hearing it from Jon Snow, who, as
Tyrion pointed out, has more reason to hate Cersei than anyone, makes the
difference here; perhaps it’s just hearing it from a new voice; or perhaps
Daenerys is starting to see Jon as something more than just a potential ally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We shift from Jon laying down a wisdom bomb
to Pod once again getting the shit kicked out of him by Brienne. He doesn’t
seem to be improving much, does he? But then, as Arya says, perhaps the lesson
he should learn is “Don’t fight someone like her in the first place.” Which, of
course, Arya will proceed to do, with Sansa and Littlefinger looking on with
increasing incredulity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There’s always been a running debate over
who was the best fighter on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of
Thrones</i>—Jaime Lannister before he lost his hand, Loras Tyrell, Khal Drogo,
the Hound, Oberyn Martell, Brienne of Tarth. Given Jaime’s amputation and
Oberyn and Drogo’s deaths, Brienne’s defeat of both Loras and the Hound would
seem to leave her in the top spot … until she meets Arya, who is simply too
quick. The best line of the episode is when Brienne asks her who trained her.
“No one,” she replies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktgrEEFcKe4MMLAwcxWX-eWj114E2ROz6y7LRblKMbxoql5eLbzJqAiNEePrQpk8jMGf9s-_UH4XkSk6gmQDs89nidyNp0ngMUz4_-LPPt4hrXd3h-oGPcLtrI-CE2sv1r_PifQ/s1600/game-of-thrones-spoils-of-war-brianne-of-tarth-arya-stark-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktgrEEFcKe4MMLAwcxWX-eWj114E2ROz6y7LRblKMbxoql5eLbzJqAiNEePrQpk8jMGf9s-_UH4XkSk6gmQDs89nidyNp0ngMUz4_-LPPt4hrXd3h-oGPcLtrI-CE2sv1r_PifQ/s400/game-of-thrones-spoils-of-war-brianne-of-tarth-arya-stark-15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The looks on the faces of Littlefinger and
Sansa are interesting: Sansa, perhaps unsurprisingly, looks deeply
discomfited—even though her reunion with Arya was warmer than the one with
Bran, there is still, as you point out Nikki, the sense that she’s an entirely
different person now. Watching her handily fight Brienne to a draw confirms
this, and Sansa’s expression is heartbreaking—a reflection of how much her
family has lost. Her eyes downcast, she leaves Littlefinger standing at the
rail looking down into the courtyard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Littlefinger, by contrast, seems oddly
pleased with everything he sees below. What is he thinking? We can’t know, but
can surmise that he sees in Arya a new piece on the board, one that might work
to his advantage if he can gain her trust. He smiles down at them, and Arya,
seeing the distasteful expression on Brienne’s face as she looks up, follows
her gaze. Littlefinger smiles and makes a little bow before following Sansa;
Arya however throws what can only be characterized as some epic shade.
Something tells me that it might not be too long before Littlefinger ends up on
a certain list. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then we’re back in Dragonstone. What
did you make of Jon’s banter about bastardy with Missandei, Nikki? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Arya brought some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">serious</i>
Buffy moves to that fight. That was definitely one of many highlights of this
season so far for me. And, like I said earlier, I couldn’t help but remember us
watching Arya in season one, looking down on Bran in the courtyard fighting
with his little wooden sword and lamenting that she didn’t get to fight like
the boys. And now those boys <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wish</i>
they could fight like her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Also, I couldn’t help but giggle to myself
in the cave scene, wondering if earlier that day Jon Snow was standing in the
caves madly etching pictures of the White Walkers and hoping Daenerys didn’t
notice how new they looked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But yes, back to Missandei and Davos’s
discussion, summed up in a variation on the Dr. Pepper jingle: “I’m a bastard,
you’re a bastard, he’s a bastard, she’s a bastard, wouldn’t you like to be a
bastard, too!” Missandei has never considered herself a bastard, simply because
in Naath there are no marriages. If you are all born out of wedlock, then no
one is a bastard. She explains that she was bought by slavers at a young age
(sort of snapping us out of thinking of world as being utopian in any way) but
Daenerys freed her. Davos counters by saying that’s all well and good, but
haven’t you basically traded one slaver for another? After all, you serve
Daenerys. Missandei smiles the smile you give to someone who is intellectually
inferior, and says no, that she could leave at any time. Davos smiles the smirk
you give to someone who is a naive little lamb, and says, oh really? And you
think Daenerys would let you go? Missandei says she would, in a heartbeat.
“She’s not our queen because she’s the daughter of some king we never knew,” Missandei
says. “She’s our queen because we chose her.” Davos looks over at Jon and
mentions casually that he’s about to switch sides. Ha! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I loved this scene because, as earlier with
Missandei and Grey Worm in his chambers, we once again get the perspective from
the “common folk.” These aren’t magical people or kings or queens from great
houses, these are people who were sold into slavery and have discovered a way
to find choice in their lives. But even more importantly, these are two common
people who have risen far above their station. Missandei was sold into slavery,
and now she’s the most trusted advisor of one of the key players in the game of
thrones, a woman who sees herself as the rightful ruler of all of Westeros.
Davos still carries that Fleabottom accent with a little bit of shame, and yet
he’s the trusted advisor to Jon Snow, the King of the North. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And</i> he’s gone from being illiterate to
correcting Jon Snow’s grammar, a moment I found hysterically funny (yay, hat
tips to the editors like me out there!) Not only is the “less than/fewer than”
dichotomy a pet peeve of mine, but this was a nod to an ongoing little joke
that the show has looked at before. I’ve pointed out twice before that Stannis
Baratheon can’t be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> bad because
he’s a total grammar Nazi, as he’s corrected Davos on the less/fewer mistake
before: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="239" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u0wj38qTtFU" width="425"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Which is what made Davos now correcting Jon
Snow such a clever little full-circle moment. (And notice Davos similarly says,
“Nothing,” when Jon asks him what he just said.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">BUT ENOUGH GRAMMAR, THEON JUST SHOWED UP. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Cripes, I thought. Three awkward Stark reunions
in the span of two episodes?! While Jon is a Targar– ahem, I mean... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Snow</i>, and Theon is a Greyjoy, both of
them were actually raised at Winterfell by Ned Stark, with Jon being the
bastard son and Theon being the ward he took on as a prize. They were raised as
brothers, but this is the first time they’ve been face to face since Theon went
nuts and took Winterfell by storm (and pretended to kill Bran and Rickon). Jon
grabs him by the collar and snarls into his face that if Theon hadn’t saved
Sansa, he would kill him now. Theon doesn’t even argue, since he doesn’t
disagree with anyone anymore. He just quietly says he has come to see if
Daenerys will help him get his sister back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8viiWkCGo3P21bxUVes4yxctqHYxB8EKfsSbmnN9IfoZAwj9UUiWGHv0ptml3Tyo2xxOewlKl_By19MHPbMGJHfq94-jdMbpRLqd7gMgC2ICGTgNS0YZsvGLD7oYfAikl3MQiGQ/s1600/game-of-thrones-the-spoils-of-war-additional-photo007-1502127689783_1280w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8viiWkCGo3P21bxUVes4yxctqHYxB8EKfsSbmnN9IfoZAwj9UUiWGHv0ptml3Tyo2xxOewlKl_By19MHPbMGJHfq94-jdMbpRLqd7gMgC2ICGTgNS0YZsvGLD7oYfAikl3MQiGQ/s400/game-of-thrones-the-spoils-of-war-additional-photo007-1502127689783_1280w.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s interesting: Jon Snow has made some
mistakes and is constantly being picked on for “knowing nothing,” and Theon has
made <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">major</i> mistakes and has paid for
it in massive ways and is essentially a broken man, but here are two men who
stand as the eldest sons of their houses, neither of which is actually looking
to gain the throne. Both of them are on quests to save their loved ones: Theon
knows he screwed up yet again and was unable to save Yara’s life, and Jon wants
to save all of humanity. Daenerys tells Jon to bend the knee so she knows she
has his loyalty, but all these two care about is staying alive. I love these
little moments where you can see that everyone is on a desperate mission, but
all for very different reasons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But Daenerys isn’t there right now so Theon
can’t talk to her. Why? Where did she go? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Cut to the Lannister army in a deep valley
and me grabbing my hair and going, “Oooooh SHIT!!!!!” and knowing any second
now, THERE BE DRAGONS. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And honest to GOD I wish the writers and
directors on this show (in this case the director is Matt Shakman) would direct
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">every single battle scene ever</i>
because as I’ve said many times before, NO ONE does battle scenes like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>. SO FREAKIN’ GOOD!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But I’ll let you get us started on this
one, Chris! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: It’s battle scenes like this one that speak to the huge success of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>. No longer is money
quite the concern it was: in season one, the great climactic battles between
the Lannisters and the Starks happened off-screen; the first real sense of
scale we got was toward the end of season two with “Blackwater,” and even then
they tweaked the details of that battle (principally, doing it at night so they
didn’t have to pay for huge CGI armies and navies) to make it more economical.
But as the popularity of the show has grown, so too have the purse strings at
HBO loosened, to the point where we reliably get spectacles like Hardhome, the
final battle of Meereen, the Battle of the Bastards, Euron’s assault on Yara’s
fleet, and now this: really, what we’ve been waiting seven seasons for, which
is Daenerys and her dragons laying waste to the Lannisters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Granted, it’s just the one dragon this time
(which, frankly, might have been a tactical error), but it has the sense of a
teaser: if this is what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one</i> dragon
can do, along with just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one</i> of
Daenerys’ armies, the Seven Kingdoms better sit up and take notice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Because this is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>, we can’t have an unequivocal victory: everything
is always tainted with loss. Tyrion won the Battle of the Blackwater, but
suffered grievous wounds and was then humiliated by his father. Hardhome was at
best a pyrrhic victory. Daenerys won the battle of Meereen, but only after much
hardship and loss; ditto Jon and Sansa at The Battle of the Bastards, which
claimed the life of Rickon and could only happen because of Sansa’s Faustian
bargain with Littlefinger. Here, the Lannisters accomplished the principal
mission of delivering Tyrell gold to the Iron Bank, and Qyburn’s weapon showed
that Daenerys’ dragons are vulnerable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In addition to which, there’s the queasy
fact that we sympathize with the bad guys. Jaime is no longer the black hat he
once was, and I think we’d all mourn Bronn. The more I think of the episode’s
final shot, the more I appreciate it. I would be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i> surprised if Jaime dies, but then this is a show that defies
such narrative certainties. I think Bronn’s survival is even money: he saves
Jaime, but it wouldn’t be beyond the pale for this show to sacrifice
him—especially after that shot we get of his blood money spilled on the ground
when his horse goes down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But I’m getting ahead of things. One thing
I want to mention before I pass it over to you, Nikki, is how this sequence
gets military tactics right … mostly. A friend of mine who is both a fellow GoT
nerd and military history nerd sent me a message saying “</span><span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thought
you'd be interested to know that Drogon (subbing for artillery) and the
Dothraki were an absolutely textbook example of how to ‘break’ an infantry
square in the Napoleonic Era, which was super cool to see,” along with <a href="http://www.napolun.com/mirror/napoleonistyka.atspace.com/infantry_tactics_4.htm#infantrycombatsquares6">this
link</a>. By way of explanation: ever since we’ve had cavalry vs. infantry, the
infantry learned that horses are generally smarter than people, and will not
charge a wall of shields bristling with spears, pikes, and/or bayonets. So as
long as infantry had the discipline to hold firm against a cavalry charge and
not break and run in a panic, the cavalry was helpless to hurt them. Unless, of
course, they could outflank them—which gave rise to the “square” formation, in
which the infantry would form into a square that presented spears or bayonets
on all sides. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Game of Thrones</span></i></span><span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
has been pretty good with its realistic depiction of medieval military
formations—the Battle of the Bastards a case in point—so I was pleased to see that
they (mostly) hewed to realism in this scene. “Realism” here is, of course,
dragon-adjusted … though as my friend points out, Drogon plays the role of
artillery: once armies graduated from steel to gunpowder, the logic of the
square formation remained, but now there was the possibility of blasting a hole
in the line with cannons—a hole through which the cavalry could charge. When
Jaime tells Bronn, “We can hold them,” he’s hewing to his certainty as a career
soldier that a well-disciplined shield wall can hold off cavalry indefinitely.
Of course, as soon as he says that, we hear Drogon’s screech … and, really,
that’s the ball game. It’s basically how World War One would have proceeded if
the Allies had had even a single squadron of Spitfires (pun intended: for my
fellow military history nerds, the more appropriate planes to mention would be
fighter-bombers like the Typhoon or Tempest, or American planes like the P-38
Lightning or P-47 Thunderbolt). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Drogon’s first blast of fire blows a hole in the Lannister
line through which the Dothraki charge, and anyone who knows their military
history knows that the battle ended right then. There are, however, a few other
moments when the Dothraki charge is not dismayed by the shield wall, but
plunges through. The argument <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could</i>
be made that the soldiers were panicked by the sight of their fellows being
immolated, and thus had lost their discipline; or perhaps that they were pretty
much panicked from the moment the Dothraki crested the rise. Perhaps. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One way or another, it was so deeply satisfying after six
and a half seasons to see dragons in Westeros again. It was worth the wait.
What do you think, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nikki</span></b></span><span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:
You’re right: after six and a half seasons, this is the moment we have ALL been
waiting for. (Along with Daenerys and Jon finally meeting [check], the Stark
siblings being reunited [check], and Daenerys having her showdown with Cersei
[TBD].) This battle sequence was so spectacular that as soon as it was done, we
backed up the show by 15 minutes and just watched it again. (And not just for
Bronn laughing at the way Jaime’s soldier says “Dick-on,” which was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hilarious</i>.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I love that link you just posted: it doesn’t surprise me
that they followed actual military tactics to the letter. That’s another reason
why <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> is so successful:
the writers and directors are so smart they do their research. The opening of
the battle sequence actually made me think of the American Revolution. From
what I remember of this war’s tactics when I took it in high school history
class, it was military style versus guerilla warfare that won that one: the
Redcoats all lined up in style and marched the way they were supposed to, while
the rebels hid in the woods, jumped them from behind, and simply followed very
few rules whatsoever, which helped them beat their enemy who was too busy
towing the line to realize that every man for himself warfare might actually
fare better. And then of course George Washington called in his dragon and the
war was won. (I believe it’s a deleted track on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hamilton</i> soundtrack...) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I talked a few weeks ago about the lousy Ed Sheeran cameo
and how it was too distracting, but this time there was actually a cameo in
this sequence that worked EXACTLY how a cameo should work. I knew in advance
that NY Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (a favourite of my son’s, who has a
framed jersey card of his) was going to be in the episode, but in the midst of
the battle, I completely forgot and didn’t even see him when he showed up. His
cameo is very quick, he’s barely recognizable, and he’s immediately immolated
by Drogon (which will no doubt keep him on the DL even longer than he’s been
this season). Now <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> is how you do
a cameo. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Easter eggs aside, this scene is just astounding. From
the rumble in the distance and the fear as the Lannister soldiers quickly try
to get themselves in line while we wait for what seems like an eternity for the
Dothraki to show up on the crest of the hill; to the burning anticipation of
the dragon — which is SO AMAZING when it does happen that I couldn’t help but
shriek with delight — to the incredible moment where you discover Daenerys is
riding on his back; to the look on Jaime’s face as he tries to keep his cool
while panicking inside; to the stoic and ambivalent look on Tyrion’s face as he
watches his Queen destroy her enemies while recognizing that these were once
his own men, and that despite everything he loves his brother and doesn’t want
to see him fail outright; to the revelation that the Lannister army brought
along the Dragon Killer with them (I don’t remember the last time I was this
scared in a scene)... this entire sequence is simply not for the faint of heart
and is thrilling on every level. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And what did the Dragon Killer achieve? Well, it brought a
dragon out of the sky and down to Earth. The dragon can still breathe fire (and
it turned Bronn’s weapon to ashes and smashed it with its tail in one fell
swoop) but just imagine what a thousand of those machines will do. And we know
Cersei is already starting the production line right this second. Drogon has
been hit in the shoulder, and he’ll survive and be fine, but if Bronn’s aim had
been just a little bit better, and he’d gotten it right in Drogon’s mouth and
through the back of his skull, that would have been the end of both the dragon
and its mother. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Daenerys’s surprise attack is amazing for so many reasons,
not least of all because of the karma she doles out: you put a sneak attack on
Highgarden, kill the old woman and strip an old, barren castle of its gold;
I’ll find your entire army and reduce it to ashes on a hillside and leave
Cersei with nothing. But it also speaks to Jon Snow’s wisdom earlier in the
episode: he said if you come at the Red Keep with your dragons and kill the
queen, burn the castle, and kill innocent civilians in a bid for the throne
you’re no better than your own father. And so she instead attacked the army
when it’s nothing but the army: no queen, no castle, no civilians. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And what of Jaime? As he sank to the bottom of the water
(where you could see a strange structure sticking up from the bottom that might
be an old ship, but it wasn’t clear), my husband said, “And that’s the end of
Jaime,” but I don’t think so. Because I just don’t think we’re done with his
story. He’s the only one who knows the truth about who killed Joffrey, and I
believe it’ll be an important plot point for him to tell Cersei that. I’d love
to see him be reunited with Brienne one last time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But also, I’d love to see him and Tyrion have one final
scene together. I really wanted him to look up and see the imp standing on the
hill, but it was Tyrion watching Jaime throughout, not the other way around. And
Tyrion knows his brother well enough to know what’s running through his mind as
he sees Daenerys trying to pull the spear out of Drogon, her back to him. Tyrion
mutters under his breath, “Flee, you idiot,” as he sees Jaime pause on the
midst of the burned-out battlefield. As Jaime instead grabs a nearby spear and
begins charging towards Daenerys like he’s at a jousting tournament, Tyrion’s
face turns to dread as he mutters, “You <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fucking</i>
idiot,” and we all hold our collective breaths as Drogon pulls his head down
over his mother’s, and opens his mouth and you get to see exactly what it looks
like to anyone just before they’re immolated... and then Bronn grabs Jaime and
pulls him into the water. The weight of the armour is going to pull Jaime to
the very bottom, but I don’t believe that’s the end of him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What a show. We thought they had too much ground to cover
for a mere 13 final episodes but now they have nine of them left and I’m
thrilled, thinking they can do so much more but they’ve already given us some
of the very things we’ve waited years to see. This week is going to feel like
an eternity... I cannot <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wait</i> for next
week’s episode!! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="3oh-"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Thank you to everyone who has read this far, and for continuing to read and
leave comments. I love reading your feedback and your thoughts on every
episode. Until next week! </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-42739742488522728192017-08-03T22:08:00.002-04:002017-08-03T23:00:18.816-04:00Game of Thrones 7:03 The Queen's Justice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwx6oTGDGAwZ6UkDPm5Cx0aO0Fy-O5UmQX4vMfryHVnyCqJqyRQejPA8DHPY27QAjXE9Aw2r_KT3JRyNEuuz4ePY7IoYoPcf95RhJ2nhYGV5w5iG2CQv6nAdKTWeATMBXarTcmA/s1600/jon-dany2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1365" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwx6oTGDGAwZ6UkDPm5Cx0aO0Fy-O5UmQX4vMfryHVnyCqJqyRQejPA8DHPY27QAjXE9Aw2r_KT3JRyNEuuz4ePY7IoYoPcf95RhJ2nhYGV5w5iG2CQv6nAdKTWeATMBXarTcmA/s400/jon-dany2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And welcome to week 3 of <i>Game of Thrones</i>! This has got to be one of the best episodes of the show yet, and there's a LOT to say, so without further ado let's jump right in.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">What an episode! We got two reunions, one moment of
two seven-season leads sharing the screen for the first time, we watched the
Westerosian chess pieces move around the board yet again, and saw the best
chugging of wine in TV history (followed by one of the greatest moments ever on
this series). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Throughout this episode, the recurring
theme seemed to be monstrosity: who/what are the true monsters in Westeros?
What constitutes monstrosity? And what should the Westerosians be afraid of —
should the strongest armies be engaged in a battle amongst themselves, or
should they be joining forces to fight the dead that will end them all,
regardless of the outcome of the game of thrones? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ23daugxaFBluLEr1oiD33GHFUYzcTTMf46VUr7WScvBszEsYCS2Qw5I4iW60abQcs8nOq24xl6VWsHOktZTisEhYpt04qhbI9DfEY0rNk7NY4OOPm6WpaXEqpEKelTQuWfaYSg/s1600/pyke.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="500" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ23daugxaFBluLEr1oiD33GHFUYzcTTMf46VUr7WScvBszEsYCS2Qw5I4iW60abQcs8nOq24xl6VWsHOktZTisEhYpt04qhbI9DfEY0rNk7NY4OOPm6WpaXEqpEKelTQuWfaYSg/s400/pyke.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After the credits (where I keep meaning to
mention: despite Pyke not being shown this season, they keep showing it in the
credits because it’s the Greyjoy stronghold, and I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love</i> the way the two bridges swing wildly when the three towers
rise and lock into place at the beginning of each episode), we immediately open
with Jon Snow arriving with Davos at Dragonstone as Tyrion and Missandei await
his arrival on the shore. This is the first time Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister
have been reunited since Tyrion left the Wall in season one. They glare for a
moment, acknowledging each other, with Tyrion addressing him as “the bastard of
Winterfell” and Jon calling him “the dwarf of Casterly Rock,” before each man’s
face breaks into a sly smile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSf3VIRo2PXZrZOJucJZBcMA-zxJyXFOfgDsEZUAjjftYQ28S8LAl1dZ2uhLSKQLBWhdcS80OP2NQbq_G8qhsigz4wgcdKiM0-86FJ_JWKQGvdysCKu4JPLSXogMJ1BJR67iRpBw/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1600" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSf3VIRo2PXZrZOJucJZBcMA-zxJyXFOfgDsEZUAjjftYQ28S8LAl1dZ2uhLSKQLBWhdcS80OP2NQbq_G8qhsigz4wgcdKiM0-86FJ_JWKQGvdysCKu4JPLSXogMJ1BJR67iRpBw/s400/image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s an fun moment for fans that calls back
to the very first episode, when the Lannisters arrived at Winterfell and Tyrion
noticed that bastard son standing apart from the others:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion: Let me tell you something, bastard.
Never forget what you are — the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor
and it can never be used to hurt you.<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Jon: What the hell do you know about being
a bastard?<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Tyrion: All dwarfs are bastards in their
fathers’ eyes. </span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In this moment the two men find a
connection: each one is the son of a man who doesn’t acknowledge them as a
rightful son. In Jon’s case it’s a wee bit more complicated (since Ned isn’t
actually his father), but Jon doesn’t realize that. And now, seven seasons
later, Jon is on his own but has risen above Ned’s achievements, and has been
deemed the King of the North, while Tyrion has murdered his own father and has
been ousted by his siblings, who would kill him on sight if given the chance.
He has become the Hand of the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and now that he
seems to have put his alcoholism to the side, has become a trusted advisor to
Daenerys. As Tyrion acknowledges to Jon, “It’s been a long road, but we’re both
still here.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After Jon and Davos are stripped of their
weapons, they begin the ascent to Daenerys’s throne room, with Jon being
dwarfed by the Dothraki soldiers as he chats with Tyrion. Davos tries to make
small talk with Missandei, but doesn’t get very far, simply muttering to Jon
that things have changed around here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion asks about Sansa, anticipating Jon’s
questions or comments before Jon has the chance to ask them (which we know he
wouldn’t have done in any case). He tells him it was a sham marriage, and
unconsummated. He tells Jon that Sansa is smarter than she lets on, to which
Jon amusingly replies, “She’s starting to let on.” Ha! Jon is actually less
interested in hearing about the marriage his sister was forced into, and more
interested to find out how Tyrion became the Hand of the Queen, but Tyrion just
waves it off, saying it was a long and blessed ceremony, and adding, “To be
honest I was drunk for most of it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If Jon weren’t there to try to save all of
humanity against the white walkers, and Tyrion weren’t dodging deeper questions
of what really has happened to him over the past seven years, this scene would
have looked like two old friends catching up after a long absence. But there’s
a deep gravity to the situation, and Jon has to remind himself that he’s there
to see Daenerys. The reminder comes quickly when one of her dragons swoops low
overhead, knocking both Jon and Davos to the ground in abject fear. I couldn’t
help but remember the look on Tyrion’s face as he stood on that boat and saw
Drogon for the first time. I assume one never forgets their first dragon, and
the looks on Davos and Jon’s faces are priceless... and pretty much what Tyrion
looked like a couple of seasons ago. Tyrion holds out a hand to help up Jon,
and reassures him, “I’d say you get used to them, but you really don’t.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then before the big meeting between Jon
and Daenerys — for which we’ve been waiting SEVEN YEARS — we flash up to
Melisandre and Varys chatting in a tower. “I’ve brought fire and ice together,”
she says, but he’s sussed out that she’s afraid of something. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Melisandre: My time whispering in the ears
of kings has come to an end.<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Varys: Oh, I doubt that. Give us commonfolk
one taste of power, we’re like the lion who tasted man. Nothing is ever so
sweet again. </span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Melisandre isn’t scared of Varys, and
she’ll have none of his chit-chat, reminding him instead that neither one of
them is commonfolk anymore. She knows that Davos has sworn to kill her if he
ever lays eyes on her again, and she won’t taunt him by letting him know she’s
there. As you and I have said many, many times before, Christopher, Davos is
one of the best characters on the show simply because he’s possibly the most
honourable. He has intense loyalty, but knows when something is morally wrong.
He is one of the most trustworthy characters on the show, and when he says
he’ll do something, he’ll do it. And Melisandre knows that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then we cut to the moment we’ve been
waiting for. Missandei introduces her leader to Jon and Davos: “You stand in
the presence of Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, rightful heir to the
Iron Throne, rightful Queen of the Andals and the First Men, protector of the
Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the
Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There’s a pause as Jon and Davos stand
there in awe for a moment, before Davos realizes he’s supposed to do the same,
and he says, “This is Jon Snow...” Beat. “He’s King of the North.” It doesn’t
exactly trumpet in Jon with a parade and bagpipes, but it’s all they’ve got
right now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAbputVyqeamAJmpaS5K4G6yJcyi0UBycSubaf3DbpspAs8IXSqACWJPP-dNYzBurkyQvtMJDLarRa3xRMmic_FGZqzryYrk2H4lzQ2t0tKV0dmPlzarl21nr0fThKsP7uEf7mw/s1600/jon-davos3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1365" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAbputVyqeamAJmpaS5K4G6yJcyi0UBycSubaf3DbpspAs8IXSqACWJPP-dNYzBurkyQvtMJDLarRa3xRMmic_FGZqzryYrk2H4lzQ2t0tKV0dmPlzarl21nr0fThKsP7uEf7mw/s400/jon-davos3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of this meeting we’ve
all been waiting for for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so long</i>,
Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: It was brilliant. As was this entire episode. Before I talk about
the long-awaited encounter between Jon and Daenerys, however, let me say just
how much I loved this episode. It is one of the best ones of the series, but
unlike some of the great episodes that function almost as standalones and rely
upon epic spectacle (“Blackwater” comes to mind, as does “The Battle of the
Bastards”), “The Queen’s Justice” is brilliant specifically because of the
cumulative power of this series. We’re seven seasons in, and narrative threads
initially spun out at the very beginning are starting to resolve into tapestry.
We’ve lived with these characters for so long now—especially Jon, Daenerys, and
Sansa, as well as Jaime and Cersei—that seeing these events unfold carries such
emotional weight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But that in and of itself is only half the
story here—the other half is just how good the writing is, and how beautiful
this episode is to look at. All of the dialogue has a kinetic energy that is
reminiscent of Aaron Sorkin at his best—not sententious, speechifying Sorkin,
but dynamic, rhythmic Sorkin, in which the cadences of conversation reflect the
intelligence and intensity of the characters. How many amazing interchanges do
we experience? Tyrion and Jon, Jon and Daenerys, Varys and Melisandre, <s>Mycroft</s>
Tycho Nestoris and Cersei, Ebrose and Sam, and of course—the cherry on the cake
of this brilliant episode—Jaime and Olenna. And as I say above, so much of
these exchanges is based in our familiarity with these characters. Seeing
Tyrion and Jon meet again was worth the price of admission; Jon sparring with
Daenerys was what we’ve been waiting six seasons for; but then those moments of
humour, like when Tyrion complains that he can’t brood in the vicinity of Jon
Snow because he’d feel like an amateur, are similarly payoffs that come from
the slow burn of a long, well-tended narrative. Ditto for the moment you
mention, Nikki, when Davos’ best response to Daenerys’ lengthy CV is to simply
say “This is Jon Snow.” It’s a hilarious fish out of water moment, reflective
of both Jon Snow and Davos’ discomfort with the trappings of rank, but also
manages to communicate something about Jon Snow’s simplicity of purpose, and
simplicity of self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And before I get into Jon’s encounter with
Daenerys, let me rhapsodize a moment longer on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just how beautiful this episode looked</i>. Mark Mylod, who directed
this episode, made extraordinary use of the natural landscapes in which they
shot:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6nC5osegZva8Antpune3a75Xdoo8YRtewHVqM_Bl4CI60SAtF6RKOut36ic8EmNhtnkMKPfWtQ4wUEyiNOW7CaNN9hw4wxHhbtUintGDYhcnP_6qA-TaZUT6sdqdRNfbbq2vaw/s1600/beach_landing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="1440" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6nC5osegZva8Antpune3a75Xdoo8YRtewHVqM_Bl4CI60SAtF6RKOut36ic8EmNhtnkMKPfWtQ4wUEyiNOW7CaNN9hw4wxHhbtUintGDYhcnP_6qA-TaZUT6sdqdRNfbbq2vaw/s320/beach_landing.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64sRIyike8myA5FTOv5n-sjTaQjllBCv-x8MUl5iOKHZyi_8GL-mxWccQI_QOqVCi5SEOyNCFmOvwk3OirYW0pkiwpnvGzPypbflSPT7lX8pdixDc7POfeUrgNKtoNhJQlYNpmQ/s1600/varys_mel_cliffs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1440" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64sRIyike8myA5FTOv5n-sjTaQjllBCv-x8MUl5iOKHZyi_8GL-mxWccQI_QOqVCi5SEOyNCFmOvwk3OirYW0pkiwpnvGzPypbflSPT7lX8pdixDc7POfeUrgNKtoNhJQlYNpmQ/s320/varys_mel_cliffs.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’ll let those stills speak for themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. This is
the classic definition of dramatic irony, no? At this point we all know, when
Daenerys says, “I am the last Targaryen,” that NO, no you’re not! Dude standing
in front of you? Your nephew! Which is weird in a variety of ways and ever so
slightly creepy (especially with all the Daenerys-Jon ‘shipping <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/jon-snow-daenerys-incest-game-of-thrones.html">that
has already begun</a>), but it makes all this maneuvering and negotiation at
least somewhat moot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That being said, what I loved most about
this scene was the weight of history lying upon it, something that has been a
common trope for this season so far. Tyrion observes that, had he been Jon’s
advisor, he’d have argued vigorously against meeting Daenerys—as he says,
Starks have not fared well when they travel south, a point raised by pretty
much every other person at Winterfell. When Daenerys demands that Jon Snow bend
the knee, he reminds her of precisely what Sansa reminded him, that their
grandfather and uncle had been burned alive by the Mad King. And while Daenerys
has the good grace to ask his forgiveness for her father’s transgressions, she
still expects him to honour the oaths sworn by his forbearers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I think one of the things I loved most
about this scene is the way it shows the weakness of Daenerys’ claim. Yes, she
is (excepting Jon Snow) the last scion of the Targaryens; by the laws of
patrilineal descent, she has a claim on the throne, but that claim was, for all
intents and purposes, obviated by Robert Baratheon’s usurpation of her father.
I kept wanting Jon to say, “The Targaryens ruled for three hundred years!
That’s, like, thirty seconds in the history of Westeros!” (Fun historical fact:
given that GRRM based his novels in part on the Wars of the Roses, it’s worth
noting that the Plantagenets—the royal family that features in Shakespeare’s
history plays—essentially ruled England from Henry II’s coronation in 1154
until the death of Richard III in 1485, a span of 331 years. So the Targaryen
dynasty syncs up with that history a little). Daenerys believes herself the
rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms by law, but her ancestor Aegon took the
Iron Throne by right of conquest. He forced the kings of Westeros—including
Jon’s ancestor Torrhen Stark—to swear fealty, or else be turned into cinders by
the same dragonfire that forged the Iron Throne. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which is an option that Daenerys has at her
disposal, but one which, as Jon Snow points out, she is reluctant to deploy.
“You haven’t stormed King’s Landing,” he says. “Why not? The only reason I can
see is you don’t want to kill thousands of innocent people.” A point that we
know is true, because we heard Daenerys say as much in last week’s episode—and
an indication that she grasps the weakness of her position from a legal and
historical perspective. She learned hard lessons in Meereen, a city in which
her only authority, ultimately, came from the people themselves. Though she
might claim her family name gives her rights to Westeros, she knows a wise
ruler wins the people.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This does not, however, prevent her from
telling Jon Snow that, however batshit her dad was, her family name gives her
rights to Westeros, and she is annoyed that he is reluctant to swear fealty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(Just as an aside, was anyone else
remembering Daenerys’ willingness last season to entertain the idea of letting
the Iron Islands be a separate kingdom in exchange for Yara’s allegiance and
her fleet? Where’s that open-mindedness with Jon Snow?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If we realize in this scene how tenuous
Daenerys’ legal claim to the throne is, we also realize how ludicrous Jon
Snow’s warning about White Walkers is. One wonders if Daenerys would have
tolerated his apparent gibberings had Melisandre not primed her that (1) Jon
Snow was someone of substance, and (2) she needed to listen to what he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One way or another, Jon’s impassioned plea
is cut short by the bad news of Yara’s fleet being waylaid, and we segue to
Theon being fished out of the drink. And from there, we go to Euron making his
triumphant way through the streets of King’s Landing, with his prisoners in
tow. What did you think of his presentation to Cersei, Nikki? And perhaps more
importantly, what did you think of Cersei’s long monologue to Ellaria?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Excellent summation of a scene we’ve been waiting to see for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">years</i>, my friend, and I agree: it’s
episodes like this one that make long-form television worth watching. I wanted
to add three things: one, I couldn’t help but think while watching it... Jon
Snow is standing before Daenerys talking of the dead coming back to life and
walking south, and tells her he’s seen it. That Ice has defied all logic, all
laws of nature, and is resurrecting the dead and they will vanquish the living.
And she looks at him like he’s some nutjob who just climbed down from the crazy
tree. And yet... Daenerys Targaryen cannot be burned by fire. He has seen Ice
defy logic, but with Daenerys, Fire defies all logic. She has emerged unburned
from several fiery moments, and oh, by the way, she owns three motherfreakin’
DRAGONS that she hatched from the funeral pyre of her husband from which she
emerged not only alive and unburned, but with a full head of hair when
technically she should have been bald as a cueball. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So I thought it was interesting that she
thought of his account as a bunch of “myths” when her entire life story sounds
like some jacked-up Brothers Grimm tale. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Secondly, I loved the moment where Davos
starts to talk about Jon Snow’s resurrection and Jon leans in like,
“Hush-hush-hush-zipit!!” It reminded me of Basil Fawlty marching around Fawlty
Towers and saying loudly around the Germans, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">DON’T MENTION THE WAR!!!</i>” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And thirdly, one of our readers, Audrey, wondered
on my FB wall if, when the dragon swooped down at Jon on his walk up to the
castle, is it possible the dragons can sense another Targaryen in their midst?
HMMM...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But on to King’s Landing! Yes, let’s gloss
quickly over Euron’s triumphant return and Yara and the Sand Snakes having to a
do a walk of shame similar to Cersei’s and then him being a dick to Jaime. I
can’t wait to see terrible things happen to Euron (and yet, as I mentioned two
weeks ago, I kind of love watching him at the same time because he’s just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so</i> slimy!) He will be the naval captain
and Jaime will be the army captain... and both men want Cersei. But let’s get
to the meat of what happens next. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My husband thought that when Ellaria and
Tyene got there, Cersei would go to town on Ellaria. But I said to him, no,
that’ll never happen: she’ll go to town on Tyene, and make Ellaria watch. It’s
the kind of revenge any mom would enact on another mom if the argument involved
one of their children being hurt. And that’s exactly what Cersei does. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Lena Headey is extraordinary in this scene
— I don’t think she’s been better in this entire series. She’s angry, vengeful,
but about to see her deepest fantasy come true. Yet she can’t help but betray
how broken she still is over the death of her daughter through the waver in her
voice, the bitterness of her words, the jabs she takes at Ellaria’s expense.
She’s matched in this scene only by Indira Varma, who has an even more
difficult task as she must convey all of those same things — anger and
brokenness over the death of Oberyn, fear for her daughter’s life, pleading —
all without saying a word. Her eyes brim with tears throughout the scene, her
forehead has veins pulsing out of them in terror, and she strains at her chains
in an effort to gouge out Cersei’s eyes one minute, plead for any shred of
sympathy the next. The two actresses are remarkable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The best way to go through this scene is to
actually quote Cersei’s words, because her monologue is brilliant, and as you
point out, Chris, the dialogue is SO well written in this episode. This is
probably my new favourite monologue of a series that has featured so many:
“When my daughter was taken from me — my only daughter — well, you can’t
imagine how that feels unless you’ve lost a child,” she begins. This one
sentence contains so much. We know she’s about to be brutally honest with
Ellaria and tell her how Ellaria’s actions affected her. We hear the resentment
in the way she says “only,” and there’s also taunting there — she says the
sentence in a way that indicates Ellaria couldn’t possibly know what this feels
like, despite the fact Ellaria’s other daughters were killed just hours
earlier. It’s vicious and heartbreaking. And then Cersei continues: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">I fed her at my own breast even though they
told me to give her to the wet nurse. I couldn’t bear to see her in another
woman’s arms. I never got to have a mother, but Myrcella did. She was mine and
you took her from me. Why did you do that?!</span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">At this moment Cersei’s voice wavers for
the one and only time in her monologue. She’s never gotten over the pain of
losing Myrcella, who was clearly her favourite. She was devastated after
Joffrey’s death, yet there was a part of her that was perhaps relieved — even
his own mother knew he’d turned into a monster. Myrcella was innocent and good
and kind, and was pulled into this as an innocent casualty. Cersei has never
gotten past that. Tommen was similarly sweet and kind, but he took his own
life, which Cersei has taken to be a judgment on her actions, and a betrayal by
him that he would leave her in such a way. Myrcella’s death is the one that
resonates the deepest for her. But then she composes herself and talks about
Tyene’s Dornish beauty, and how she guesses Tyene is actually Ellaria’s
favourite, too. She says we shouldn’t choose favourites, but sometimes the
heart just wants what it wants. “We all make our choices,” she says. “You chose
to murder my daughter. You must have felt powerful after you made that choice.
Do you feel powerful now?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ellaria knows what’s coming. She doesn’t
know when, and she doesn’t know how, but she knows something terrible is about
to befall Tyene. And then Cersei actually, unknowingly, aligns herself with
Arya by saying she doesn’t sleep well at night, instead imagining how she will
hurt the enemies who have hurt her. Turns out, much like Arya (for whom Cersei
is at the top of the list), Cersei has a kill list as well. Probably every
character does. She tells Ellaria she imagined crushing her skull the way the
Mountain crushed Oberyn’s, but that would be too quick. She imagined him
crushing Tyene’s skull instead, but that would be a terrible waste of her
beauty.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then... she kisses Tyene on the lips,
and the horror of what Cersei has just done washes over Ellaria. Her eyes bulge
in terror, her body goes rigid, and her mind must be travelling at a million
miles a second. In that moment she probably regrets everything she’s done to
get to this moment, nothing more than the death kiss she herself planted on
Myrcella’s lips. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cersei quietly wipes her own lips and takes the antidote as
Qyburn explains it could take hours or days to die, but death will be certain.
And then Cersei deals the final blow, which even I didn’t see coming: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Your daughter will die here in this cell.
You will be here watching when she does. You’ll be here the rest of your days.
If you refuse to eat, we’ll force food down your throat. You will live to watch
your daughter rot, to watch that beautiful face collapse to bone and dust, all
the while contemplating the choices you’ve made. [to the Mountain] Make sure
the guards change the torches every few hours — I don’t want her to miss a
thing. </span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with that, Cersei sweeps out of the
room. Tyene’s fate is sealed, and Ellaria doesn’t just have the burden of
watching her daughter die, but of watching (and smelling) her daughter’s body
as it rots. The rest of her (possibly many) days and years will be spent watching
her daughter disintegrate, and they will be filled with unspeakable torture.
It’s the worst revenge anyone could have on a mother, and Cersei’s done it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And here’s the part where I go dark: it
felt deserved. Yes, I said it. I despise Cersei, but Myrcella had no role to
play in any of this other than to be the pawn that Ellaria drew in to the
battle. Ellaria killed a little girl, and destroyed her mother. Yes, Ellaria believes
that Cersei is responsible for Oberyn’s death, but as Chris and I both pointed
out in that episode, and as Cersei mentions at the top of her monologue in this
scene, Oberyn COULD have won that battle. He had the upper hand, but he had to
prance around the ring, sucking up the accolades, giving Clegane the
opportunity to get back up and crush his head like a melon. Cersei didn’t kill
Oberyn: his own pride did. And Ellaria killed Myrcella out of revenge. If
someone had killed my child, I would want the worst possible thing to happen to
that person, and I can’t think of anything worse than what Cersei has put on
Ellaria (I wouldn’t be able to actually do it, but one has to admire Cersei for
being able to do it... when you have nothing to lose, you can do anything). As
Cersei leaves the room, my heart went out to Ellaria and Tyene, straining at
their chains, their mouths gagged, able to see each other but not hug each
other for comfort or touch each other in any way. But another part of me felt,
Ellaria deserves this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A Lannister always pays her debts, indeed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we cut to Cersei walking into
Jaime’s chambers and kissing him full on the mouth, and all I could think was,
“OMG I hope she really wiped off that Long Farewell from her lips!” She and
Jaime sleep together for the first time since Myrcella’s death because for
once, Cersei feels like she might be on the path to becoming whole again.
They’re awakened by a page (who shares Cersei’s haircut for some reason, though
hers looks better than that shaggy mess on Cersei’s head), telling her the man
from Braavos has arrived. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then Mycroft shows up, and basically
explains that the Bank of Braavos places its bets on the side that they believe
will win, and the Lannisters owe a huge debt to Braavos that has never been
paid back (a debt that goes back to her spendthrift husband, Robert Baratheon).
Cersei has an answer for everything, reminding him that the Bank of Braavos has
put a lot of money into the slave trade, and how’s that working out for them
now that Daenerys has freed the slaves? Mycroft pauses and says, “The slave
trade has seen a... downturn.” She tells him Daenerys isn’t a queen so much as
a revolutionary, and revolutionaries aren’t worth banking on because they’re
not about the money. Cersei, on the other hand, will show him who’s worth
banking on. Cersei explains that she needs two weeks to prove him wrong, that
the Lannisters will be the stronger party, and that she will pay off what she
owes because “A Lannister always pays his debts.” Mycroft smiles and remarks
that Cersei is definitely her father’s daughter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now it’s time for Tyrion and Jon Snow
to brood on the same cliff. What did you think about their conversation post–Daenerys/Jon
meeting, Christopher? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I know that I’m supposed to be super stoked that Jon Snow and
Daenerys have finally met—and I am—but I think my favourite parts of this
episode were Tyrion and Jon reuniting. Tyrion is whom Jon needed these past six
seasons—he needed that voice of pragmatic wisdom guiding him, correcting all
the bad instincts he learned from Ned Stark. These two characters have
incredible chemistry, something we’re reminded of when, after their stilted
greetings on the beach, they both smile. A “sly smile,” as you say, Nikki—a
less restrained pair of actors might have broken into grins and laughter and
embraced, but here we have a world of respect communicated subtly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As I say above, I love the bit of humour
that begins this scene. “I came down here to brood over my failure to predict
the Greyjoy attack,” Tyrion tells Jon Snow. “You’re making it difficult. You
look a lot better brooding than I do. You make me feel like I’m failing at
brooding.” Well, of course he feels that way: Jon Snow is an Olympic-level
brooder. If brooding were a Nobel category, he’d be a laureate yesterday. He
could give Angel a run for his Byronic money. If Springsteen ever recorded a
single titled “Born to Brood,” it would have Jon Snow on the cover. This we all
know, because we’ve been watching for six seasons, so Tyrion’s little gibe is
at once a vintage Tyrion <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bon mot</i> and
a lovely shout out to the audience. It’s also a subtle little preamble to the
wisdom the Dwarf of Casterly Rock will be laying down on the King in the North.
Brooding is certainly aesthetically pleasing when done by the likes of Jon
Snow, but there’s a metric fuck-tonne of practical considerations with which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>, as a fantasy series, is
almost fetishistically obsessed. Logistics, money, politics, and of course the
great grey area between good and evil into which pretty much every character on
this show falls. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jon Snow is a character who would have
fared so much better in Narnia or Middle-Earth—virtuous and pure of purpose,
he’s a Peter Pevensie or an Aragorn, but in Westeros such people don’t tend to
do well. They need a Tyrion to guide them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In our first post of the new season, I
compared Jon Snow to a climate change activist beset by deniers and people who
don’t see the severity of the threat. That comes through in this episode as
well, especially in terms of Jon’s frustration with everyone. And frankly, his
frustration is not entirely reasonable: when he says “it’s hard for me to
fathom, it really is—if someone told me about the White Walkers and the Night
King …” he trails off, as if suddenly recognizing that, well, he’d probably not
believe it either. Tyrion puts it in perspective, saying “People’s minds aren’t
made for problems that large.” There’s a great line in Ian McEwan’s novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Solar</i>, in which one character says she
can’t let herself think about climate change, because if she did, she wouldn’t
be able to think about anything else. As Tyrion says, people can deal with
concrete and understandable monstrosity more than they can with something
enormous but abstract: “The White Walkers, the Night King, the army of the dead
… it’s almost a relief to confront a comfortably familiar monster like my
sister.” But “conventional wisdom” necessarily gives way to evidence, and a
wise person knows to trust the trustworthy. “It <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> nonsense, and everybody knew it,” he tells Jon. “But then
Mormont saw them. You saw them. And I trust the eyes of an honest man more than
I trust what everybody knows.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The other key theme in this scene is
patrimony, and the mistakes and sins of parents carried by their offspring.
When Jon Snow laments that perhaps he’s just repeating his father’s mistakes,
Tyrion tells him “Children are not their fathers … luckily for all of us.” This
is an episode preoccupied with fathers: I said above that the weight of history
lies upon the action, and it makes itself most poignantly present in the memories
of fathers no longer present, but whose actions in life still affect the
behaviour and expectations of the living. Tyene will die in Ellaria’s presence
because of Ellaria’s revenge for the death of Tyene’s father; both Cersei and
Jaime are compared to Tywin, while Tyrion orchestrates the Unsullied’s sack of
Casterly Rock by way of a task Tywin once gave him to humiliate him; Daenerys
must struggle upstream against the trauma inflicted by her father on an entire
kingdom; Jon Snow sees himself repeating his father and grandfather’s mistakes;
but in the episode’s great dramatic irony, we know who his true father was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But Tyrion, perhaps because at this point
he has little more than contempt for the memory of his father, is having none
of it: telling Jon Snow, basically, not to be an idiot—that it is entirely
unreasonable to expect Daenerys to accept the words of a man she’d never met
after a single meeting, a meeting in which he has all but rejected her claim to
the throne. People are rarely what they seem, that there is more to “Northern
fools than meets the eye,” and, by the same token, that Jon would do well to
familiarize himself with what Daenerys has done and why. “She protects people
from monsters,” he tells Jon, “just as you do.” As you say in your opening
comments, Nikki, this is an episode about monstrosity and the forms it takes,
and the question of which monsters are worse. Tyrion’s point here is to raise
that very question to Jon Snow: he protects his people from monsters, but
sometimes the human ones—like Ramsay Bolton—are at least as bad as the
non-human ones. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I hope when they make their submission for
Peter Dinklage’s Emmy nomination this year that they include this episode,
because he’s so damn good in this scene. Tyrion lays it all out for Jon Snow;
it’s such a great contrast between the single-minded ideologue living in
frustration because nobody sees his simple, glaring Truth, and the talented
political operative who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">knows how to get
shit done</i>. Tyrion believes Jon, but is also very aware of what is possible
and what is not. Jon is ready to decamp almost immediately because Daenerys is
unreceptive to his pleas; Tyrion puts him in his place, pointing out “It’s not
a reasonable thing to ask,” but then saying, “So, do you have anything <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reasonable</i> to ask?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As it turns out? Yes. Yes, he does.
“Dragonglass?” Daenerys asks incredulously, and Tyrion finds himself patiently
explaining to his queen—who chooses at this moment to be as obtuse as her
nephew—why they should grant this request. “We just lost two of our allies!”
she says petulantly. “Which is why,” Tyrion responds slowly, almost as if he’s
sounding out the words for a dunce, “I was meeting with Jon Snow—a potential
ally.” When she asks if he believes Jon’s tales, Tyrion makes a pretty commonsensical
point—that he wouldn’t have come if he wasn’t under great duress, and that
letting him mine the dragonglass earns Daenerys a potential ally in exchange
for a resource that is worthless to her and which she was unaware of anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">While I’m irked by the fact that this will
be a short season, I have to admit that it seems to be making for a much
brisker narrative progression. I had more or less assumed that the long-awaited
meeting of Daenerys and Jon Snow would come at the very end of the episode, frustrating
viewers by drawing this particular drama out. But no: not only do they meet at
the start, but we get TWO <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tête-a-têtes</i>
between the characters that have become, for all intents and purposes, the main
characters in this sprawling ensemble. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Their second scene together, however brief,
is powerful, and we begin to see the first stirring of an alliance based in
trust. She tells him that she named two of her dragons for her brothers, and
then notes that he lost two brothers as well. I have to imagine Jon is being
polite when he doesn’t correct that number—as far as he knows, he’s lost <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">three</i> brothers, as he doesn’t yet know
Bran is still alive, as Sam swore to keep Bran’s secret. (Wait … did he? I know
he did in the novels, but now I can’t remember if he did in the series). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And speaking of Bran … what did you think
of the latest Stark reunion, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Oh man, you ask a good question at the end there, and I’m sure our
readers will let us know the real answer, but I’m pretty sure Theon told Sansa that
he didn’t, in fact, kill Rickon and Bran, and so she knows they’re alive at
that point (I’m thinking that was end of season five? Damn, I need a rewatch).
So she would have told Jon that, but they would also know that Rickon is now
dead because Jon watched him die at the Battle of the Bastards when Rickon
wouldn’t frickin’ zig-zag. So my thinking is, they know he lived, but they
don’t know if he’s still alive because he’s out there on his own and is
crippled. For the time being, Jon isn’t going to count him among the dead until
he knows for sure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But yes, speaking of Bran, onto that...
awkward... reunion. I’ve been dying to see the Starks actually get a bit of
happy news, and knowing how close-knit the family is, and how devastated
they’ve been over the deaths of Ned, Catelyn, Robb, and Rickon, finding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anyone</i> who shares their DNA would be a
happy moment right now. So when there’s a knock at the gate and Sansa is
called, I thought, “OMG I WAS WRONG IT’S ARYA!” And... it wasn’t Arya. Last
week I suggested that after seeing Nymeria, perhaps Arya realizes she doesn’t
actually belong at Winterfell and was turning to go south instead. And if
that’s the case, maybe we’ll never get that long-awaited reunion between her
and her family. Instead, we get Bran. Dead-eyed, robot-sounding, George-Harrison-looking,
prominent-Adam’s-apple, three-eyed-raven Bran. The best part of this scene is
the look on Sansa’s face, the swirl of emotions that rises up in her, the fact
that her brother was just a tiny little thing the last time she saw him,
crippled, and that she’s already mourned his death once and here he is, finally
back from the dead. All of those things pass over her face in an instant
(Sophie Turner does a beautiful job in this scene) and she rushes to his side and
grips him in a huge bear hug. And Bran... doesn’t hug back. Um... I thought he
was a paraplegic? What the heck happened to his arms?! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You and I have lamented throughout the
series, Chris, that the Bran sections are the snoozefests, and the show is best
when we don’t have to deal with Bran (remember that joyous season five?) And he
should be an interesting character: he’s a Stark, he’s the unfortunate victim
of Jaime and Cersei’s canoodling way back in season one, he’s the breathing
example of why we can never 100% forgive Jaime Lannister, he’s a warg, he is
one of their best hopes in the war against the white walkers. But there’s just
something so unsettling about this kid. He’s gone away a boy and come back some
mystical guru changed by a cult, and Sansa has to sit there going, “Ehhh...
yeah, I’m gonna be over there now bye” after spending a whole two minutes with
him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The gist of the conversation is basically: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Sansa: You’re the lord of Winterfell now.</span><span lang="EN-US">Bran: I can’t be the lord of anything, I’m
the three-eyed raven.</span><span lang="EN-US">Sansa: WTF is that?<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Bran: Sorry, you wouldn’t understand.<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Sansa: Uh, try me?<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Bran: I can see everything, past, present,
future, all in weird little bits, but I need to train more so I can see the
picture more clearly. I know all of this because the three-eyed raven told me.<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Sansa: I... thought... YOU were the
three-eyed raven?<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US">Bran: I told you it would be too
complicated, and by the way, you looked so beautiful that night Ramsay
violently raped you on your wedding night. </span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jesus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Christ</i>,
Bran!!! First he mansplains the teachings of the three-eyed raven the way
Kellyanne Conway would explain the tweeting of the small-handed man, and then
of all the moments he could touch upon to let Sansa know he can see all, he
points out the single most traumatic moment of her life? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is How <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Not</b> to Reunite With Family 101. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sTo0QBTzseCVOHt9El4MtZ0IhKbxilS2em_sGl87C3n1aIXaKARHoS5ZHGRW7qiD8NReDSX5Gg8NKnc_KPe0e9vw2bKr32_VtHNDdF1lWOnNHzEAgsqRF5R6lud92pHlp7kbXg/s1600/Screenshot-111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sTo0QBTzseCVOHt9El4MtZ0IhKbxilS2em_sGl87C3n1aIXaKARHoS5ZHGRW7qiD8NReDSX5Gg8NKnc_KPe0e9vw2bKr32_VtHNDdF1lWOnNHzEAgsqRF5R6lud92pHlp7kbXg/s400/Screenshot-111.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But now... Bran’s defense, because I’ve
thought about this a lot and I believe this is the only way these scenes could
have gone. If you could see everything that’s ever happened, and everything
that will happen, but only in bits and pieces you could barely put together,
there are several ways you could handle this. Most people would simply go stark
raving mad, screaming and screaming whilst clutching their heads in agony. Or
you would kill yourself because NO ONE wants to live with the pain of the
history of the universe in their heads. Or you could adopt this Zen-like
attitude, shutting down all emotions because emotions will kill you. And Bran
has done exactly that. He can’t experience human emotions anymore because the
moment he feels pain over seeing his sister get raped, he’ll feel pain over
Rickon’s death, he’ll watch Ned’s head get chopped off in an endless loop,
he’ll see his mother’s throat slit, his brother’s unborn baby stabbed... he’ll
see every Stark ancestor, every person in the history of Winterfell be raped
and killed and mutilated throughout history. He needs to shut down emotions and
simply read this information the way a computer would. Bran simply cannot hug
Sansa: that would express happiness or gratitude or relief over seeing his
sister, and he can no longer feel those things. He can’t feel sympathy or
empathy in any way. He’s an automaton. He is one of their greatest weapons in
the fight against the white walkers (as long as he can figure out how to
control his powers) but he can no longer <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">feel</i>
anything emotionally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He has given up his very soul in order to
give himself over to the cause. In a way, Bran IS dead, because this is not
Bran anymore. Of all the Starks, he is the one who no longer bears even the
slightest resemblance to his former self, not physically, emotionally, or
personality-wise. And as Sansa walks away from him, she knows it. He’s now an
ally, but he’s no longer her brother. There will be no more family chats in the
weirwood tree grove. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now I skipped past the scene that preceded
this one, so I’ll touch on it briefly, but just before the knock at the gate,
Sansa is talking to Baelish and showing that while the boys are entirely focused
on war, the women can get down to the practical matters of how to stay alive
during the war. She sets about filling their grain stores, contacting local
Houses, setting up alliances as they head into the long winter. Meanwhile
Littlefinger is yip-yip-yipping into her ear telling her that he knows Cersei
better than anyone (to which she briskly and curtly replies, “No, you don’t”
and then points out, ooh, you think it’s a revelation that the woman who killed
my mother, brother, and father is evil? OLD NEWS, BUDDY) but he tells her that
the best way to live from this point on is to imagine every single possibility,
every outcome, is happening at once, so she will never be surprised. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then along comes a brother who tells
her he can see everything that’s ever happened and will happen all at once.
Excellent timing, dude! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But now we move over to Sam and Sir Jorah.
The Maester inspects the wounds and says it’s like someone peeled off the
greyscale and put some sort of ointment on them. Sam tries to play dumb and
Jorah says nope, he just happened to wake up this way. The scene is really
funny just for their ridiculous attempts to put one over on the Maester, who
clearly knows he’s dealing with a couple of clowns who have figured out how to
conquer greyscale. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The triumph that Jorah Mormont will actually live and will
once again see his Khaleesi is undercut by the hilarity of the scene, which
then cuts to Sam in the Maester’s office. Archmaester Ebrose knows exactly what
Sam has done, and Sam sees a future of nothing but fecal duty from this point
on, until the Maester expresses how impressed he is that Sam did that. And he
asks how he did it. How in a place where they’ve all been trying to figure out
a cure did he just figure one out that quickly? Sam says, simply, “I read the
books and followed the instructions.” Ha! The Citadel is crammed full of books,
it’s built on books, it’s surrounded by books, and they spend all day looking
at books. And yet, somehow, it never seemed to have occurred to anyone to, you
know, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">check the bloody books</i>. And so
he says Sam has proven himself well, and we have this moment of thinking OMG
Sam just fast-tracked himself to a quick grad school graduation and will be
given a class to teach... but no. He’s basically sent to the photocopier room
and told to make copies of the old, musty books sitting there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I know we’re supposed to regard this as a
funny outcome, that them’s the breaks and Sam is not going to be able to
leapfrog over someone with more seniority, but I also read the scene as
pointing out everything that’s wrong in situations like that, whether it be
academia or other institutions. In a place where people are in agony and dying
of a disease, one man found a cure (whoa, that sentence sounded like the
opening of a movie trailer...) and used it to save the life of a man who seemed
beyond saving. And instead of immediately setting to work to save every other
person in the place, he’s sent off to yet another menial task as everyone else
gets back to whatever useless task they were doing before. Sam proved that the
answers can lie in books — not only did he figure out the cure for Ser Jorah,
but he discovered where Jon could find copious amounts of dragonglass — but the
other scholars say no, you’re moving too fast, young buck, let’s just slow down
and spend the next 200 years searching through these books slowly to find the
very things you found in a week, shall we? Sam will have to continue to be a
rebel if the Citadel is going to be any help at all against the white walkers,
because the other scholars are clearly too blinded by their own hierarchies and
traditions to see when someone has a better way of doing things. Here’s hoping
there’s a dazzling answer to everything somewhere in those scrolls (I’m hoping
for the Roman numeral 42 to be at the top of one of them!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And from here we move back to the war room (“You
can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”) and Daenerys and Tyrion enacting
their very important plan to trick Cersei. And I’ll let you take this one to
the end, my friend! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Before I carry on to the end of the episode, one more aesthetic
observation: the stills from this episode could fill an art gallery, and they
seem evenly divided between the kind of epic landscape shots I cited above, and
people in rooms bathed in light from a window. We’re back in the war room, as
you say, and Daenerys and her chief advisors are framed in a nimbus of light
behind them. But throughout this episode, we have similar shots, from Ser
Jorah’s deeply symbolic moment of salvation after Ebrose’s diagnosis, to the
low-angle show of Tycho Nestoris, to the first glimpse we have of Lady Olenna
in her room, brooding as she awaits her fate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I have little doubt that if one went back
and combed through the series from the start, we’d see lots of such shots—after
all, it is set in a world <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sans</i>
electricity, so the directors and cinematographers have to be inventive with
torchlight and candlelight and sun streaming through windows. But it does seem
to me that this episode was particularly invested in this strategy, perhaps as
a visual balance to the proliferation of epic landscape <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mise-en-scène</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But to the war room! Daenerys wishes to
chase down Euron’s fleet personally and burn them to their waterlines with her
dragons—which, I must confess, I think is the best response. Yes, it puts the
queen at risk, but … dragons! How better to wipe that smug grin off Euron’s
face than with fire as hot as the sun? Fortunately for her advisors, who are
not keen on the idea, she allows herself to be distracted by Tyrion’s battle
plan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And we’re back to fathers and sons.
“Interesting thing about my father,” says Tyrion, “He built our house up from
near ruin. He built our army, he built Casterly Rock as we know it … but he
didn’t build the sewers.” No, he gave Tyrion that job to punish him for being
Tyrion—and Tyrion took advantage of his father’s arrogance to build a back door
into an otherwise impregnable castle in order to better continue his nocturnal
debauches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Just as an aside: why is Tyrion just
telling Daenerys <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">et al</i> about this
plan <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i>? Would this not have been a
conversation they had when he first proposed sacking Casterly Rock? “But it’s
impregnable!” someone says. “You might think so,” he replies, “but listen to
this amusing anecdote about my father’s self-destructive need to humiliate me!”
But no, apparently he just convinced Daenerys to throw the Unsullied against
the seat of Lannister power on the strength of “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you my
plan later”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We get a Bronn echo in this monologue:
“Casterly Rock is an impregnable fortress,” Tyrion admits, “but as a good
friend of mine once said, ‘Give me ten good men and I’ll impregnate the bitch.’”
That was Bronn’s boast in season one in response to Tyrion’s comment that the
Eyrie was impregnable. The fact that these lines are spoken in voice-over as
the Unsullied run through the main gates like a flood of sperm is … well, on
one hand, a bit overdone; on another hand, at least a little ironic.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Not included here: Lockett’s tedious professorial
lecture on the semantic significance of “impregnable” as having the same root
as “impregnate” and the fact that in Shakespeare un-sacked cities are referred
to as “maidens” and that the military conquest of towns and fortresses is
explicitly figured as sexual violation. See <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Henry
V </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Rape of Lucrece</i> if
interested). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, the bait-and-switch of these
episodes—we watch with increasing glee as Daenerys’ forces overcome the
Lannisters, our feelings stoked by Tyrion’s “why we fight” voice-over … only to
realize our heroes have been out-maneuvered <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">again</i>.
Grey Worm suddenly realizes that Casterly Rock is manned by, essentially, a
skeleton crew; and he mounts the battlements to see Daenerys’ fleet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">again</i> surprised and routed by Euron
Greyjoy. “Where are they?” Grey Worm demands of a dying Lannister soldier.
“Where are the rest of the Lannisters?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to Jaime riding through the serried
ranks of soldiers the Unsullied had expected to rout. And we see who his allies
are …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Earlier in this post I commented on the
symbolic role of the absent father, so it’s interesting to note that the one
father who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> present in the episode
is Randyll Tarly—having obviously decided to betray House Tyrell and throw in
his lot with the Lannisters, we see him riding alongside Bronn as the Lannister
army marches on Highgarden. It’s an interesting little reveal: Randyll Tarly,
however much of an asshole he is to his son Samwell, has a reputation for
honour rivaling Ned Stark’s, something we caught a glimpse of in the last episode.
But here he is: though Jaime was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">technically</i>
correct last week in saying that his loyalty to the throne supersedes his
loyalty to House Tyrell, the state of the throne is such that Cersei’s
legitimacy is hardly a done deal. More certain is the legitimacy of the
Tyrells, but Randyll has obviously rationalized his betrayal and his elevation
to Warden. Meanwhile, his disinherited son has embraced that fate and found an
almost equally censorious father figure—though one that at least recognizes his
talents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But more poignantly, we see the approaching
army from the perspective of the Queen of Thorns. Looking down at the attacking
army from her perch, she turns away and waits for the inevitable. Jaime strides
through Highgarden, passing heaps of Tyrell dead. The sequence is actually
quite unusual for the show: mostly a camera following Jaime from behind, with
jump cuts between different parts of the castle as, once again, “The Rains of
Castemere” plays. “It’s done?” Olenna asks Jaime when he enters her chambers.
On hearing the affirmative, she says, with a touch of mockery at her
sentimentality, “And now the rains weep o’er our halls,” citing the very song
playing. (“</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And so he spoke, and so he spoke, /</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That lord of Castamere, /</span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But now the rains weep o'er his hall, </span>/
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With no one there to hear). </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Fighting, Olenna says, “was never our
forte,” a line that echoes her season three excoriation of House Tyrell’s motto
“Growing Strong,” and its choice of a rose as a sigil. She seems unsurprised,
somehow, to be in this position—as if in her long life she has learned not to
rely too heavily on hopeful expectations. Tyrion’s gambit, it turns out, did
not work, at least in part because he did not know how precipitously Lannister
fortunes had declined. Jaime makes clear to Olenna that he values Casterly
Rock—for purely sentimental reasons, and will eventually take it back … but for
the moment, it has no real value. There’s a sad bit of symbolism there for our
episode’s theme of patrimony: Tyrion wanted Casterly Rock, had in fact demanded
it of his father, and been rebuffed in insulting fashion. That he makes this
error now—committing Daenrys’ precious Unsullied to taking a fortress that no
longer has any strategic value—feels entirely like Tywin has checkmated him
from beyond the grave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But for all of our heroes’ frustrations at
being outmaneuvered, there is at least one gleam of satisfaction in Olenna’s
final barb. Jaime the Merciful will allow her to die without pain, in spite of
all of Cersei’s baroque torture and execution fantasies. Poisoned wine—a poetic
end, and she herself acknowledges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But before I get into that, let me just say
that in a brilliant episode whose brilliance was the writing and dialogue, this
final scene was just. So. Good. I’m sad to bid farewell to Olenna Tyrell, but
happy that she left this world delivering the barbs (or thorns) she dealt while
in it. She drinks her poisoned wine quickly, so Jaime cannot change his mind
about the method of her execution, but then explains why a painless poison is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so very different</i> from the way she
murdered his son. “Not at all what I intended,” she says, having gulped down
her death. “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There are two great moments of face acting
in this episode: Ellaria, when she realizes that Cersei has killed Tyene, and
Jaime, when Olenna’s words land. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with the latter, the episode ends. That
it ends not with a huge spectacle or plot twist, but with the revelation of a
truth <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we already knew</i> speaks to the
power of this episode’s writing. Things are coming together; Jon Snow meets
Daenerys, but secrets like Olenna’s murder of Joffrey are coming to light. We
don’t necessarily need Bran to be the Three-Eyed Raven to tell us what’s
what—shit’s getting real one way or another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with that, we’re done with another week
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>! Thank you all,
and we’ll see you next week. In the meantime, call you dads and tell them you
love them … you have no idea what might happen otherwise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-17810125448226174832017-07-27T15:40:00.000-04:002017-07-30T20:31:35.309-04:00Game of Thrones 7.02: Stormborn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello and welcome to week 2 of our <i>Game of Thrones</i> rundown! As usual I’m
joined by my fellow Ironborn brother, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/">Christopher
Lockett</a>, as we discuss this week’s episode, filled with political jostling,
the return of some old faces, and the promise of some exciting things to come.
Chris, take it away!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, we’re in it now! We begin with Daenerys’ first major war
council, and end with her first major setback, as Yara’s fleet is waylaid by
Euron’s while en route to Dorne. So much for the best laid plans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Remember last week when I said the brooding
gloom of Stannis’ Dragonstone scenes had been replaced with the sun and blue
skies of Daenerys’ homecoming? Well, that didn’t last long. We open on
Daenerys’ new seat of power barely visible through the sheeting rain and
dark—we might be on the island of Dragonstone, but the castle feels like
Otranto. It’s such a wonderfully gothic intro, I couldn’t help wondering if
Qyburn had relocated his cadaver reanimation lab to one of these towers, along
with a supercilious hunchback assistant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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If ever I need to define pathetic fallacy
to classes of mine in the future, I think I will just show them this scene: the
hope of triumph of last week has given way to the stormclouds of distrust (yes,
I just wrote that sentence), in a suitably portentous way. As Tyrion observes,
it was on Dragonstone on just such a tempestuous night that Daenerys was born.
(A quick recap of <i>Thrones</i> history:
Daenerys was still in her mother’s belly when the queen was forced to flee
King’s Landing with her young son Viserys and a handful of loyal followers,
just before the Lannister army sacked the city. They sailed for Dragonstone,
and it was in the throes of a terrible storm that she was born. Her mother died
soon after). Daenerys, however, does not seem particularly happy. “I always
imagined this would be a homecoming,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like a
homecoming.” Whether it’s the foul weather or the dawning awareness of the
enormity of the task she’s taken on, the Mother Dragons seems to be in a bit of
a mood—and less inclined than usual to deal with anyone’s bullshit. When Varys
speaks encouragingly of how disliked Cersei is by any measure, suggesting that
Daenerys’ arrival will erode even more support for the newly crowed queen,
she’s having none of it. Flatterers and knaves had long pumped up Viserys’
dreams with lies about how the common people of Westeros drank secret toasts to
him and prayed for his return; and all the while, aggrandized by such
illusions, he’d abused and demeaned his little sister and his enablers
facilitated her sale to Khal Drogo.</div>
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I will admit, Daenerys’ castigation of
Varys seemed to come from nowhere; and it felt entirely unfair, but only
because Varys has come to be one of my favourite characters. At first I was
affronted on his behalf, but as Daenerys added to the list of charges, I
couldn’t help but think … well, yes—he <i>has</i>
been playing all sides. He <i>was</i>
complicit in essentially enslaving her to the Dothraki. She navigated herself
through that magnificently, as Varys points out, but that doesn’t really negate
his willingness to use a helpless girl as a pawn on his board, and to assist a
cruel and capricious fool in his quest for power.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So where <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i> Varys’ loyalties lie? His response is one of my favourite Varys
moments yet, and it is a speech I kind of want to send to every Republican in
Congress cynically working with Trump:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Incompetence should not be rewarded with
blind loyalty. As long as I have my eyes I’ll use them. I wasn’t born into a
great house. I came from nothing. I was sold as a slave, and carved up as an
offering. When I was a child, I lived in alleys, gutters, abandoned houses. You
wish to know where my true loyalties lie? Not with any king or queen, but with
the people, the people who suffer under despots and prosper under just rule.
The people whose hearts you aim to win. </span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daenerys comes around to his perspective,
making him swear he’ll tell her if she forsakes her duty to the people. It’s an
interesting moment, and an interesting question for a fantasy series that has,
for all intents and purposes, progressive politics: how to square a
contemporary, democratic worldview with a neo-medieval narrative? One thing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has done well—both the
novels and the series—is complicate the traditional regressive tendencies of
fantasy, which as a genre is nostalgic about rather emphatically undemocratic
politics, i.e. hereditary monarchy. As a rule, the genre cheats: employing the
trope of fate or destiny, the suggestion is always that the person or people <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">destined</i> to rule will always be great
rulers simply by dint of being destined (Aragorn, King Arthur, the Pevensie
siblings, e.g.). One thing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thrones</i>
has made clear is that hereditary kings and queens—and the absolute power they
wield—are pretty much a nightmare, and the best you can hope for is a ruler
that isn’t actually sociopathic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then we shift from Varys’
quasi-egalitarian and vaguely humanist manifesto to an audience with someone
who is all about the destiny. What did you make of Melissandre’s return, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I’m a huge fan of the complexities of Melisandre, and I think the
actress playing her is astounding, so I was thrilled when she showed up. And
it’s so interesting to think, in a way, that she’s literally back where she
started when we first saw her: at Dragonstone, where she was with Stannis
Baratheon in the season two premiere. And as Dany points out, her timing is
rather fortuitous. Just moments earlier Tyrion stood between Daenerys and Varys
as they went back and forth, and watched the two of them like a tennis match, occasionally
interjecting with support for Varys. You could tell he was nervous: the Mother
of Dragons seemed suddenly pissed, and, you know, she has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dragons</i> so all the little birds in the world weren’t going to help
The Spider in that moment. And now we have Melisandre, standing before Daenerys
and telling her that she needs to ally herself with Jon Snow, King of the North
(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cough</i> your nephew <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cough</i>), to stop the White Walkers. Once
again Daenerys begins to challenge the person standing before her, and once again
Tyrion jumps in to stick up for Jon Snow. He seems A) surprised to hear that
Jon Snow is still alive, and B) impressed at how far he’s come, and happy to
advise Dany to align herself with him because he knows Jon Snow is a man of
honor. Daenerys replies that she will allow Jon Snow to come and talk to her
directly, but under one condition: he needs to bend the knee to her. As I’ve
often said, the main difference between Daenerys and Jon Snow in the game of
thrones is that she actually wants it; he does not. But all I could think of at
the end of this scene is, “EEEEE, we’re finally going to see Daenerys and Jon
Snow in the same scene!!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I love your summary of Varys’s scene above:
I mentioned to you in one of my emails last week, Chris, that I was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this close</i> to mentioning politics in my
post last week but decided against it. But now, two weeks in a row, much like
you I can’t help but mention how easy it is to read the insane politics of the
real world into the insane politics of this show. It’s not that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has changed — I mean,
this has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">always</i> been a show about
politics, and we’ve been discussing and analyzing the different political
stances of the characters for years now — it’s that Western politics have
changed so drastically in the past year that now we’re seeing real parallels
between our world and Westeros. No more having to reach back through history to
talk about parallels between this show and real leaders: we just have to check
yesterday’s Twitter feed to do that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Last week we had Sansa and Jon going toe to
toe, with Jon taking more of the position of the left — yes these Houses may
have been against us but we are willing to forgive to keep our promises and to
keep the government moving forward — versus Sansa’s more right-wing strategy —
they betrayed us, and this is every man for himself and if betray us, we leave
them behind. Neither side took an extreme position, but it was an excellent
demonstration of how each side has its positives and negatives. Jon comes off
looking weak in his pursuit to keep things moving, and Sansa comes off looking
heartless and filibustering in her pursuit to deter others from making the same
move. And yet Jon also looks like he has a heart, whereas Sansa looks like
she’s got a good point: if we let anyone betray us and we forgive them, won’t
more people betray us?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we had the discussion between
Samwell Tarly and Archmaester Ebrose during the autopsy last week. As Sam is
lamenting the white walkers coming and the world descending into madness and
wondering how they’ll ever get out of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i>
one, the Archmaester reassures him that actually, the world was descending into
this terrible place before, and they survived it once. Sam is like, “But but
but the white walkers are different, and they’re carrying banners saying
they’re going to make Westeros great again!” but the Archmaester waves off his
concerns and says that the white walkers used to carry banners with swastikas
on them and we survived that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now we have Lord Varys being brutally
honest in the opening that it’s not that he’s disloyal, but he will call out
any leader who is no longer leading the people in the manner they deserve. In a
monarchist system, he’s the one imposing a measure of democracy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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What’s really interesting is that you and I read the scene the same way, Chris,
because we’re both pretty entrenched on the left. I imagine a viewer who
supports Trump probably read it entirely differently, cheering equally loudly,
thinking that Varys would be the one to unseat a despot like Obama and make
sure the people’s voices are heard through Trump. (But even if Varys ever DID
think something like this, six months into this presidency I would assume he
would be infiltrating the Russians just to figure out a way to burn down Trump
Tower.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And from this scene we move to Cersei,
sitting on the Iron Throne and twisting the truth about Daenerys so far it’s
screaming for mercy when she makes up a bunch of lies. She tells them that as
the Mad King’s daughter, she’ll similarly destroy all of Westeros. She’ll
destroy the castles, and her Dothraki will butcher small children. They are the
foreigners who will invade their free land and rape and pillage their people (I
half-expected her to propose a wall). Daenerys will open a pizza parlour in
Dorne and traffic children through it in the basement (despite the fact it has
no basement) and by the way this bullshit about winter coming being blamed on
the environment is crap because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">climate
change isn’t real!!!!</i> Cersei is charismatic, and has every person hanging
on her every word. She takes real things and twists them into what she knows
her people want to hear. She whips her people into a frothy angry mess until
they’re all willing to go after the Dragon Queen, while certain viewers at home
(like me) are yelling, “FAKE NEWS!!” the whole time. And it seems that she’s
got them all in the palm of her hand until Lord Randyll Tarly steps forward
(yes, that would be Samwell Tarly’s cruel and horrible father) and wants to
know exactly how they plan to stop three full-grown dragons. Qyburn says don’t
worry, we have a solution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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While Cersei sits on the throne waving her
small hands around and shouting epithets, Jaime takes Lord Tarly aside to try
to woo him. He knows Tarly is powerful, as is his House. He also knows that the
Tarlys’ strongest allegiance is to the Tyrells, who are now their worst enemy
after Cersei managed to blow up Olenna’s grandchildren real good. Tarly is
hesitant: once you swear an oath, you should stick to it, but Jaime reminds him
that Olenna Tyrell was the one who brought the Dothraki to their shores. (If
you’ll recall, at the end of season six, Ellaria Sand talked Olenna into
joining forces with her, and then Varys stepped out of the shadows to offer
revenge in return for the Tyrell ships, and it’s those ships that carried
Daenerys and the Dothraki army and the Unsullied to the shores of Westeros.)
Jaime tells Tarly that if he switches his allegiance from the Tyrells to the
Lannisters, he will make him ward of the South. And you can see in Tarly’s eyes
that his allegiance just changed.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From there we’re back over to Oldtown (now
with far fewer scenes involving fecal matter!). What did you think of the scene
in the Citadel and Jorah Mormont’s diagnosis, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I’m loving Sam’s continuing education, what few
scraps of it we’re party to—it’s become obvious that Archmaester Ebrose is his
mentor, or advisor, or however they designate that relationship in the Citadel.
Sam shadows him, and apparently acts as his research assistant as well (more on
that in a moment). And in the course of such duties, he’s present for the
Archmaester’s diagnosis of Ser Jorah, who is now well and truly afflicted by
greyscale (though, fortunately, leaving his ruggedly handsome face untouched). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One of the things I loved about this
episode was the serendipitous intersections that occur—after six seasons, one
has the sense of things starting to come together. Tyrion’s moment of surprise
on hearing Jon Snow is King in the North; Arya encountering Hot Pie again, and
hearing from him the same news; and of course the heartbreaking scene in which
Arya is briefly reunited with her direwolf Nymeria. But for me it was so
affecting to see Sam’s expression when Ser Jorah tells Sam his last name.
“Mormont?” Sam repeats the name, almost incredulously. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Is it the knowledge that Jorah is related
to his belated, beloved Lord Commander that inspires Sam to attempt a desperate
cure? One assumes so, though before he goes rogue he has to run the idea past
Ebrose—who is far more preoccupied with his own research project, which is a
“chronicle of the wars following the death of King Robert I.” As he leads Sam
through the labyrinth of the stacks, loading him up with an increasingly
vertiginous pile of books, he lectures him pedantically about the need to split
the difference between conscientious research and an engaging writing style. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEprSlNUAbxKWq4JdjolIpXKa9UWClJGt8VXb9yYqqOUFhbltCxDazulYd2KbxjiKFTgVUFGyiy8tmR1wPHVFNZdxXVSDRviiV_9j9I66ojuLSsB0KrdDN-I33DAxj6o3G4xEKw/s1600/game_of_thrones_season_7_stormborn_sam_jim_broadbent_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="670" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEprSlNUAbxKWq4JdjolIpXKa9UWClJGt8VXb9yYqqOUFhbltCxDazulYd2KbxjiKFTgVUFGyiy8tmR1wPHVFNZdxXVSDRviiV_9j9I66ojuLSsB0KrdDN-I33DAxj6o3G4xEKw/s400/game_of_thrones_season_7_stormborn_sam_jim_broadbent_0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I like this moment because it makes clear
the fact that the Citadel is basically a medieval / early modern university. It
may seem odd to contemporary sensibilities that a physician would also be
engaged in writing history, not as a hobby but as part of his scholarly
pursuits; but the model of scholarship outlined by GRRM is one in which
maesters earn their chain of office by mastering different disciplines, with
each link in their chain forged from a different metal symbolizing a specific
area of expertise. Given that we live in an age of hyperspecialization, it’s
worth remembering that, once upon a time, the premise of the university was
built into that very word—i.e., universality. The last vestiges of that
philosophy are present in the way we make students take representative courses
in humanities, social science, and science … the holdover of a time when one
could actually become an expert in most things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It occurred to me that Ebrose is basically
writing the story we’re living—again, “a chronicle of the wars following the
death of King Robert I.” “What?” he says to Sam. “You don’t like the title?
What would you call it then?” As tactfully as he can, Sam replies, “Possibly
something a bit more … poetic?” Something, perhaps, about thrones? And the
games people play to get them? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m just spitballing here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But Sam has been doing some research of his
own, and thinks he’s found a way to cure Ser Jorah. And of course, his advisor
quashes the idea, as advisors have been doing since the dawn of academe. But
Sam is undeterred: we fade to Ser Jorah writing what we assume is his final
missive to Daenerys (all that is legible is “Khaleesi, I came to the Citadel”
before the text blurs into unintelligibility); as in a brief moment earlier,
when Ebrose said he’d give him an extra day “to use as he wished,” Jorah pauses
to look at his sword—the rather obvious suggestion being that he intends
suicide rather than be sent to Valyria to live among the stone men. But enter
the Samwell ex machina! Who tells Jorah he knew his father, and was there when
he died, and that Jorah will not be dying today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A very poignant and touching
moment—followed by one of the more excruciating sequences since Ramsay’s
torture of Theon. Yikes. “Have you ever done this before?” Jorah asks. The
expression on his face when Sam says no is such a lovely bit of wordless acting
by Iain Glenn: communicating, even before Sam says as much, that this is his
only choice, and that there’s no question that he’ll suffer whatever he’s
subjected to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6wnN3VHgzjdI0Jt0BfgntEiVQGCmckzhJe5GkjkfjkBtOT7jzFw-_8TfkxXxI-cG1SrCuvCoikrlwczcL2-98TVWmSdMVbbIWa1hxMl-zTa6spcTo55RSYHCneIRpMOZ4PhZbw/s1600/game-of-thrones-jorah-greyscale-crops-pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6wnN3VHgzjdI0Jt0BfgntEiVQGCmckzhJe5GkjkfjkBtOT7jzFw-_8TfkxXxI-cG1SrCuvCoikrlwczcL2-98TVWmSdMVbbIWa1hxMl-zTa6spcTo55RSYHCneIRpMOZ4PhZbw/s400/game-of-thrones-jorah-greyscale-crops-pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The less said about the cut to Arya’s scene
the better. Suffice to say, I won’t be eating chicken pot pie any time soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But in skipping to the possible cure for
greyscale, I’ve leapfrogged some key scenes. What did you think of Daenerys’
meeting with the allies, of Tyrion’s war plan, and Olenna’s advice? And what
did you think of the consummation of Grey Worm and Missandei’s love?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Yeah, I’m with you on that one. I just bought a bunch of meat pies
and they’re in my freezer. They might be there for a while now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the midst of Sam dealing with Jorah’s
greyscale, we see Cersei descend into the caves with Qyburn where he shows her
his device, the very thing he believes will give her an edge over the Mother of
Dragons. They stare at the skull of a dragon that once belonged to Aegon, a
dragon even bigger and fiercer than Drogon, Daenerys’s largest and most beloved
“child.” Qyburn leads Cersei to a giant crossbow armed with a spear, and tells
Cersei that in a recent battle one of the dragons had been hurt by a much
smaller spear. He allows her the honour of pulling the lever of the crossbow,
and this massive iron spear pierces the dragon’s skull, taking out the eye
cavity and back of its head. Cersei stands there smiling slyly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_a9nvj3krNUtSlfN90fjG-bbUmzm-yZFU_KqAtUFxq9QW_4ipoypf_6NqHtCESlinV9ZiqixWbNLD-ssYf4YeIT4qFBBS5mTZFTozX8q1yQhX3geOiUmsSPw8dKToGj7t4wiCQ/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_a9nvj3krNUtSlfN90fjG-bbUmzm-yZFU_KqAtUFxq9QW_4ipoypf_6NqHtCESlinV9ZiqixWbNLD-ssYf4YeIT4qFBBS5mTZFTozX8q1yQhX3geOiUmsSPw8dKToGj7t4wiCQ/s400/image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s interesting how many times revenge has
been wreaked on Cersei’s offspring. When Cersei had Oberon killed, Ellaria got
her revenge by killing Myrcella. When Olenna Tyrell had had enough of the
Lannister sister, she killed her son, Joffrey. And when Tommen had had enough
of his mother, he killed himself. So now that Cersei is faced with possibly the
biggest challenge to her Iron Throne, she decides to go after Daenerys’s three
children the same way people came at hers. I can’t even begin to imagine what
Dany would do if Cersei hurts her dragons. But knowing this show, we’re gonna
find out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMTuy4DCEETm7V0EX5gl9uCJPjvwJ9m5pMpl4cPzHcmiu0z_sCSdlmFhP2K9DBw_w0KBhTxvqKwe6mlbato7blqpsInZl8UVjskS8oxn8JgIIvKZmiNGW6ZmEkGUOLubQ18AwCQ/s1600/Daenerys-Dragonstone-meeting-Stormborn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMTuy4DCEETm7V0EX5gl9uCJPjvwJ9m5pMpl4cPzHcmiu0z_sCSdlmFhP2K9DBw_w0KBhTxvqKwe6mlbato7blqpsInZl8UVjskS8oxn8JgIIvKZmiNGW6ZmEkGUOLubQ18AwCQ/s400/Daenerys-Dragonstone-meeting-Stormborn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, at Dragonstone, Dany is meeting
with her allies — Yara Greyjoy (with her brother Theon standing silently behind
her), Ellaria Sand (with the Sand Snakes backing her), and Olenna Tyrell, who
needs <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no</i> entourage. They’re skeptical
at first, and Olenna looks upon Dany as one who is too young and inexperienced
to possibly go up against Cersei. They believe the only way to win this is to
lay a siege upon King’s Landing. When Daenerys declares that she will not be
queen of the ashes, Olenna explains that Margaery was the most beloved queen of
all time (whitewashing that history just a wee bit) and now she’s nothing but
ashes. But Daenerys holds strong: she won’t attack King’s Landing. And that’s
when Tyrion steps up and states his plan: the Tyrell and Dorne armies will
surround King’s Landing and starve out Cersei. And meanwhile, the Unsullied will
attack and take Casterly Rock, the ancestral home of the Lannisters. Olenna
smiles, and gives her permission for the attack to take place, as do the rest.
But when the others leave the room, Olenna cautions Daenerys that Tyrion is a
clever man, but that doesn’t mean she needs to follow everything he tells her
to do. “You’re a dragon, not a sheep,” she tells her, and reminds her that
she’s a powerful woman going up against a powerful woman (and listening to the
advice of a powerful woman). Westeros is not the sort of place where women heed
men. All of the power on the show currently resides in the hands of women. And
while it seems like a good plan, let’s not forget that the one place Tyrion
would want more than any other would be Casterly Rock. What better way to
return to the world in blazing glory than to take his father’s home from the
conniving siblings who have ousted him from everything he’s owed?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvktur7Q-NB2xgX0TskhFe0cI_aYhm_-tbv2MKLkuDNw7JpO0uUNjr8tilBawcimk-XRviC3r7efsTaKv2nl4yvt22UPk98-CQqROqD7Ly3ofjEVYped__IX5UlBP1uRK2olta2Q/s1600/e6e209fd_322c_416e_84e1_8c5ff76e5b5b.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvktur7Q-NB2xgX0TskhFe0cI_aYhm_-tbv2MKLkuDNw7JpO0uUNjr8tilBawcimk-XRviC3r7efsTaKv2nl4yvt22UPk98-CQqROqD7Ly3ofjEVYped__IX5UlBP1uRK2olta2Q/s400/e6e209fd_322c_416e_84e1_8c5ff76e5b5b.0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">BUT... I think Tyrion’s plan is sound. We
saw the way Cersei was twisting who Daenerys is, and portraying her and her
armies as the foreigners who were going to come into their land and sully
everything by destroying King’s Landing. Tyrion knows his sister, and knows
this is the sort of thing she’s going to say, and so by going to Casterly Rock
they make it personal, and don’t alienate all of the people who live in King’s
Landing. They’re looking to take out Cersei while keeping the civilian
casualties to a minimum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then we get the moment of boom chicka
bow bow with Grey Worm and Missandei. I shouldn’t actually minimize it, because
it was a beautiful moment between two people who have been tortured and treated
like animals their entire lives, who have had their freedoms and sense of
agency stripped from them, and in this one moment they finally do something
both of them want to do, and it involves the wishes or desires of no one but
them. Though I couldn’t help but think the scene went on for a long time, and
when we have only eleven episodes left after this one — ELEVEN! — there’s a
part of me that feels like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we don’t have
time for this!!!</i> But then again, maybe that’s the point: we’re so caught up
in the giant politics and the Houses and the chess pieces moving all over the
huge map of Westeros that we’re forgetting about the little people, the ones who
don’t belong to great houses, the ones whose lives won’t fundamentally be
changed by whoever is sitting on that throne, who are focusing on the things
they could gain and the things they could lose in this war. We spend so much
time on the key families — the Lannisters, Starks, Targaryens, Greyjoys,
Tyrells, Mormonts, Tarlys, Baratheons... and several bastards — that we never
actually see anyone outside of them. And it’s lovely to see them. BUT LET’S GET
BACK TO THE ACTION. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6pHe79FkWUgiu29ESeEbBpferbfFpXLQbia2MbMG6yzSLMpMNIVUs8bIGCxLJh46Ve1LBTH8BF6froHG1qmzMfFMVm-rZJcIC0-qYdU5RLVn6GftuKuDNJjkfduLWLheiGXXVQ/s1600/missandei-grey-worm-sex-scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="650" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6pHe79FkWUgiu29ESeEbBpferbfFpXLQbia2MbMG6yzSLMpMNIVUs8bIGCxLJh46Ve1LBTH8BF6froHG1qmzMfFMVm-rZJcIC0-qYdU5RLVn6GftuKuDNJjkfduLWLheiGXXVQ/s400/missandei-grey-worm-sex-scene.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I actually loved the camera cut here again,
Chris. Just as earlier they did the oogy camera cut from the pussy scab to the
oozing pot pie (NOOOOOOO), here they cut from Grey Worm about to put his head
between Missandei’s legs to... Ebrose sliding his hand sideways between two
books. I laughed right out loud. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And now over to Arya, who, as you
mentioned, is reunited with Hot Pie. I was so happy to see him again! I think
he last saw Arya in season three when she left him at this inn and he gave her
a lumpy little loaf of bread sort of shaped like a direwolf. When Brienne
returned to the inn (a meeting he mentions here), he gives her another one, and
this is a very highly skilled shape of a direwolf. Now it seems his cooking
skills have improved once again as Arya tucks hungrily into his food. I loved
watching the way she eats, all messy and constantly wiping her hand across her
face. I couldn’t help but once again remember her back in season one, with
Sansa complaining that she’s not ladylike and Arya complaining that that’s
simply not who she is. I hope the reunion with Sansa includes Sansa sitting
there slightly disgusted while Arya slurps up her stew. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But after he gives Arya the shocking news
that Jon Snow has won the Battle of the Bastards and Ramsay Bolton is dead, she
goes outside and changes direction. No longer is she heading for revenge on
Cersei; she’s realized being with her family is what she really wants, and
she’s been alone for far too long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when we get the scene I’ve been
waiting for since season one. We’ve both maintained that that direwolf is out
there somewhere, and when Arya is at first surrounded by wolves I thought, but
she’s from House Stark; would wolves automatically stand down knowing that she
used to have a— and just then, the giant direwolf steps up. I leapt right off
the couch when it happened, stammering through my words as my husband said, “Is
that a direwolf?” “It’s HER direwolf oh my GOD it’s Lady NO WAIT that was
Sansa’s it’s the one she let go when she thought Joffrey was going to have it killed
it’s NYMERIA!!!” This scene was BEAUTIFULLY done. There’s no way anyone else
would have walked away from that moment alive, but Arya recognizes her direwolf
right away. She walks up to it tentatively, and after a few moments of baring
her teeth, Nymeria recognizes her human and steps back to look at her for a
moment. Arya tries to coax her to come with her, to tell her that she’s
returning to Winterfell... but the direwolf makes eye contact, they have their
moment, and then it’s over. Arya says, “That’s not you,” as Nymeria leaves her,
and all of the other wolves from her pack follow her. I took the line to mean
that Arya was speaking for both of them in that moment. Just as I mentioned the
rough eating reminded me of Arya saying she’s not meant to be ladylike, and
now, all these years later she’s proven that’s exactly the case, Nymeria, too,
wasn’t meant to be someone’s direwolf. We can’t imagine the things she’s been
through or seen, but being by Arya’s side is no longer her place. She has her
own life now, and it’s not with Arya. She acknowledges that she remembers her
human by looking right at Arya and leaving her intact, but she’s going to
return to her pack now, and go on with her life. And, perhaps, Arya’s life no
longer requires a direwolf to be at her side, either. I can’t stress how
gorgeous I thought this scene was. It played out exactly the opposite of how we
wanted it to, and yet it seemed perfect. The last time Nymeria saw Arya, Arya
hugged her and then shooed her away into the woods, and despite Nymeria
constantly looking back, pleading with her eyes to return to her, Arya
continued to shoo her away. She can’t just ask the direwolf to return now: she
has her own life, and it doesn’t include Arya. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgINZlcTCRTISTLedYDoOzBE1jPm067ShhDti0V4e49zscM8qjFf85J9F2audpxa07HuzCbsf3Gsbtk4FbOzQ0VN_UTTikK14E9OnomKQRBiEQj6E1vnnLBNlG4_YC3FJB4wNuFsA/s1600/promo324686537.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgINZlcTCRTISTLedYDoOzBE1jPm067ShhDti0V4e49zscM8qjFf85J9F2audpxa07HuzCbsf3Gsbtk4FbOzQ0VN_UTTikK14E9OnomKQRBiEQj6E1vnnLBNlG4_YC3FJB4wNuFsA/s320/promo324686537.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi35hnT5RoDuAUS8w_EEBr7qY-fYgP5olUOxWj3mFOkxolIizj6dVXVrZTghJx9uOaHXU2LfEd23zJIxItYNW7hMvh_dhfiDh4ftMglGSWbPRh2yuW2NIPjotmgzDiugOU-_S0QSg/s1600/gallery-1500868191-nymeria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="768" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi35hnT5RoDuAUS8w_EEBr7qY-fYgP5olUOxWj3mFOkxolIizj6dVXVrZTghJx9uOaHXU2LfEd23zJIxItYNW7hMvh_dhfiDh4ftMglGSWbPRh2yuW2NIPjotmgzDiugOU-_S0QSg/s320/gallery-1500868191-nymeria.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and now.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when I couldn’t help but
think... does Arya even belong with the Starks? I joke about the eating scene
with Sansa, but could you imagine the two sisters actually living together
beyond that initial reunion? I can think of so many characters Arya would be
better suited to hang out with than Sansa — hell, the Hound comes to mind — and
it’s unclear now if Arya will continue on to Winterfell, or turn that horse
around yet again and head back to where she was originally going. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But speaking of people coming together that
I cannot WAIT to see happen, Jon Snow has gotten Dany’s raven, and he insists
he’s going to see her. And we get a reprise of the government scene from last
week. What did you think of Jon Snow’s performance before the Houses of the
North this week, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, first it begins with a brief scene in which Jon pores over a
map, which seems to be becoming a key motif this season. The solitude of power:
here he is, alone, weighing his, and the North’s, options. His maester arrives
with Sam’s message about dragonglass on Dragonstone, and whatever question he
had about responding to Tyrion’s message is suddenly resolved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As I said last week, Jon is a single-issue
leader: the threat from the Night’s King consumes him, and whatever qualms he
might have had about meeting Daenerys in person are overruled by the prospect
of access to the weapons he needs to win that war. In the earlier scene when
Davos points out that dragonfire would be a great asset against the wights, I
wrote in my notes “Davos gets it!” Which is of course unsurprising—Davos has
proven himself to be one of the smartest and most astute characters on the
show. The fact that Jon means to travel to Dragonstone with him speaks both to
this fact, and to Jon’s own occasional bout of common sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But I’m getting ahead of myself. How did he
do with the northern houses? Like last time we had this scene, he has to deal
with Sansa’s objections; unlike last time, he has to deal with the unanimity of
opinion against his decision. The houses, it seemed, could go both ways on the
question of who should get the traitorous houses’ castles; but they’re all
pretty united in the idea that Jon needs to stay put. Even Lyanna Mormont,
usually the reliable voice of dissent, says “Winter is here, Your Grace—we need
the King in the North <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in the North</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We feel the weight of history in this
scene: “A Targaryen cannot be trusted,” Yohn Royce tells Jon. “Nor can a
Lannister.” The spectre of the Mad King lies over Daenerys—whatever his
actually crimes, the intervening years have augmented them and the Targaryen
name by association. The weight of recent history pervades as well. Lord Glover
reminds Jon that his brother Robb died when he went south, not on the field of
battle, but in a craven trap set by the Lannisters. Why would he willingly put
his head in the lion’s mouth, as it were, knowing everything that has happened
before?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I think it’s safe to say we’ve all smacked
our heads in the past at Jon’s poor judgment. At least here we, as the
audience, have the gods’-eye view that lets us know this is the right
choice—his instincts about Tyrion are correct (and vice versa), and we know
Daenerys is not her father. So it’s an odd turn on dramatic irony to watch this
scene and want to scream at the people trying to dissuade Jon as opposed to the
other way around. Plus, we’re all just SO FUCKING STOKED to finally have
Daenerys meet the only other living Targaryen (even if both are oblivious to
the fact).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But of course, he still needs to convince
his people that he’s making a good decision, or at the very least that he’s not
leaving them in the lurch. “You’re abandoning your people!” Sansa accuses him.
“You’re abandoning your home!” Jon’s declaration that the North will be Sansa’s
until he returns seems to satisfy the room, including Sansa—whose expression
(Sophie Turner is so good in this moment) is a beautiful mélange of surprise,
happiness, and anxiety. Of course, the expression we then cut to is
Littlefinger’s, which is somewhat less confused—Sansa will be in charge? How
delightful! We can see the gears turning right away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(Speaking of conflicted expressions, both
Brienne and Davos look at best ambivalent, possibly because both have the same
misgivings about Littlefinger as EVERY HALFWAY INTELLIGENT PERSON IN THE
WORLD).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Speaking of Littlefinger, I can only
imagine it’s because he was emboldened by Jon’s declared intention to (1)
transfer power to Sansa and (2) leave Winterfell for an indeterminate time,
that he felt compelled to join Jon in the crypts and tell him lies about his
relationship to Ned. And then—and this is where he gets brazen—tell truths
about his love for Catelyn and now Sansa. Jon reacts predictably, in fact
reacts precisely the same way as Ned did in season one when Littlefinger,
promising to bring Ned to Catelyn, brings him to a brothel. You’d think the man
would get weary of being choked by Starks, but here we are … <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaq_se4Ny0i47uOFZsHPmJFgogeLVbHoHZvkWX-mrWFd8MB1h3q8dpFWK5tvVF-esGxHa7wHDIcgI8HzWYBlu-aN0SStJqet5cxvHOgstF6XF7_cep54bkRwUEBZtTMdEmI4-dXw/s1600/game-of-thrones-7-2-jon-petyr-530x353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="530" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaq_se4Ny0i47uOFZsHPmJFgogeLVbHoHZvkWX-mrWFd8MB1h3q8dpFWK5tvVF-esGxHa7wHDIcgI8HzWYBlu-aN0SStJqet5cxvHOgstF6XF7_cep54bkRwUEBZtTMdEmI4-dXw/s400/game-of-thrones-7-2-jon-petyr-530x353.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Touch my sister,” Jon growls, “ and I’ll
kill you myself.” He stalks off, leaving Littlefinger to catch his breath and
smirk. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Right now I’m hoping Littlefinger dies a
particularly gruesome death before all is done, and I hope Varys presides over
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Which brings us to the final spectacular
scene of the episode, which unfortunately begins with the Sand Snakes
squabbling and with what qualifies as some of the worst pre-coital chat I’ve
heard outside of “Yeah, I’m here to fix the cable?” What did you make of this
episode’s ship-burning finale, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: No one does fiery battles like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones</i>. The special effects are spectacular and jaw-dropping... this
show can’t be topped when it comes to scenes like this one. It hearkened back
to the Battle of the Blackwater: ships on the water, fire floating atop it,
major characters’ lives at stake. And with us coming down to the final episodes
of the series, there’s so much at stake now the tension seemed to be fraught
the entire time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The scene began below decks with Yara
coming on to Ellaria, who immediately takes the bait and moves over to the
other side of the table to have her way with the Greyjoy daughter... although I
couldn’t help but wonder if Ellaria was pulling her into a Sand trap in that
moment and was going to stab her in the back for reasons I hadn’t yet figured
out and didn’t need to because OMG what is happening above decks?! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizllrZ7g4hNi4CYBHcNwONO_FvQioUO6Ln3ds25G-dbGkuLkVaIx4LyHwsi_fbjLPzFIDeEpkYnuO5zbjcsNIDmRkvPgEM5OUg1p8TXLhA__uRGcoFBEmcRUn6VCkouJxB-Gz7Og/s1600/636364505706504258-Helen-Sloan---HBO-Photo-5-1-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="580" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizllrZ7g4hNi4CYBHcNwONO_FvQioUO6Ln3ds25G-dbGkuLkVaIx4LyHwsi_fbjLPzFIDeEpkYnuO5zbjcsNIDmRkvPgEM5OUg1p8TXLhA__uRGcoFBEmcRUn6VCkouJxB-Gz7Og/s400/636364505706504258-Helen-Sloan---HBO-Photo-5-1-.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And sure enough, good ol’ Uncle Euron has
shown up to the Thanksgiving dinner pissed again, and everyone’s going to pay
for it this time. I won’t go into detail on the battle itself — it just needs
to be watched, and I simply stopped taking notes because I couldn’t take my eyes
off the screen — but the Sand Snakes immediately jump to the decks to protect
their mother... and don’t fare so well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Before I say anymore, I must admit that
I’ve been a little disappointed by the Sand Snakes. They were built up <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so much</i> by the readers of the books that
I feel that they were more well-rounded in GRRM’s version, because over here
they talk a tough talk, but we rarely see them actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i> anything. It’s like I’ve spent the entire time they’ve existed
on the show just waiting for the moment they’ll be truly spectacular, and that
moment has never come. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And so, when Obara is killed first (my
favourite Sand Snake, but only because Keisha Castle-Hughes plays her and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Whale Rider</i> is one of my all-time
favourite movies), I was actually quite upset. Not because we’ve lost someone
who was a great character, but because we’d lost someone who had the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">potential</i> to be a great character and I
was still waiting for her moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoDWZSuqudKcOTVfts0PQN1FLKQ9Nx9fksoKCt8d0lZOELSorrLhQyJkMoyR_hZXAuJdyLTcESJ_kgQno67wTVtLg-igH5XuzmlmHVQu0OmPsYHHq3-RjzCvs5Wx1-aLqg4kuDg/s1600/Euron-fire-fight-Stormborn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoDWZSuqudKcOTVfts0PQN1FLKQ9Nx9fksoKCt8d0lZOELSorrLhQyJkMoyR_hZXAuJdyLTcESJ_kgQno67wTVtLg-igH5XuzmlmHVQu0OmPsYHHq3-RjzCvs5Wx1-aLqg4kuDg/s400/Euron-fire-fight-Stormborn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The next one to go was Nymeria — how
strange that one episode showed the reappearance of Nymeria the direwolf, and
the death of Nymeria the Sand Snake — who is strangled by her own whip. My
husband was quick to call both of the now-deceased Sand Snakes “useless” in
this moment, but I will say they fought a hell of a lot harder and longer than
I would have done. Again, I think they had the potential to be formidable foes,
but in a story that so far has featured 27,741 main characters, there just
wasn’t a lot of room for three more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But speaking of how useless I would have
been in a fight, we now come back around to Theon. Or, should I say... Reek.
For yes, he’s back, and in a poignant moment that actually made my chest hurt,
the show didn’t shy away from Theon’s inability to perform in this moment to
save his sister. Nor did it hang on to the fiction that he was going to be just
fine. As I’ve maintained before, he will now always be Reek, because he’s
broken. He will never be whole again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yara fights brilliantly, but her uncle
overpowers her. As Euron grabs Yara and holds his axe to her throat, he begins
to goad “little Theon” to come and save her. And for a brief moment Theon
doesn’t hesitate, and moves to do exactly that... until he hears the screams of
the men around him. He looks down, and sees Euron’s men torturing the Ironborn
army, and you can see the PTSD flash through his brain and return in an instant.
His face takes on a different look, and he begins to jerk his head with that
strange tic he developed when he became Ramsay’s dog. And as Yara looks on, the
hope fades from her eyes as she sees her brother disappear and Reek pop up in
his place, and she knows she’s a dead woman. Moments before she’d been telling
Ellaria that Theon would become her bodyguard and advisor, but she had tricked
herself into thinking her brother was somehow better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAf7BZF-okm4nFg3By-0svP0dzYcOm9INgxz9mCPAvyEhtImXIF9qNkruoXz9_41O9x_jBSQ9snHaqqsR7GQLrInvz1f2W1LXQGiy-dJBRf66xlG8gBTK0lDGL0mkX18PZ4kErw/s1600/MW-FQ878_got_eu_20170724132235_MG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="569" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAf7BZF-okm4nFg3By-0svP0dzYcOm9INgxz9mCPAvyEhtImXIF9qNkruoXz9_41O9x_jBSQ9snHaqqsR7GQLrInvz1f2W1LXQGiy-dJBRf66xlG8gBTK0lDGL0mkX18PZ4kErw/s400/MW-FQ878_got_eu_20170724132235_MG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I loved this moment, because in the midst
of a spectacular battle scene, we have this small moment where the show deigns
to touch on a severe mental illness that’s been brought on by the torture of a
man, and that one moment changes the course of the entire battle. The Theon
Greyjoy of old might have had a shot against Euron Greyjoy (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">might</i>) but Theon left the building a few
years ago. Reek can do nothing but jump overboard as Yara resigns herself to
her fate, tears of anger and hopelessness running down her face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As the episode ends, Theon floats on some
driftwood in the water looking at the ships on fire around him. He can’t board
any of them, he’s let down his sister and his leader, and he watches Euron
Greyjoy’s boat sail away with Obara and Nymeria impaled and hanging on the prow
of the ship, like human figureheads. Theon has nowhere to go now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7ZhtNhsUb40oYPyM0RH-IdPEfYnp70JntPYcrNkxfsmJ-ZOwCM1NuNj5aqFP3ulx1aMrhX2EqKuSr6d7PgYkTZeChDqgXV-vMOVq2Z2DqslXJZGV36Z3IkfEughRVZ-yFNRqTg/s1600/Untitled-design27.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="940" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7ZhtNhsUb40oYPyM0RH-IdPEfYnp70JntPYcrNkxfsmJ-ZOwCM1NuNj5aqFP3ulx1aMrhX2EqKuSr6d7PgYkTZeChDqgXV-vMOVq2Z2DqslXJZGV36Z3IkfEughRVZ-yFNRqTg/s400/Untitled-design27.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And Euron Greyjoy sails back to King’s
Landing, with Ellaria, Yara, and Ellaria’s daughter... and now he’s got his
gift for Cersei. Last week I said, “I wonder who’s head it will be?” but he’s
not bringing back heads — he’s going to let Cersei do the torturing. I’m
thinking he hands her Ellaria and Tyene and keeps Yara for himself. And Cersei
is going to make Ellaria watch as she tortures Tyene. Ugh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This was such a packed episode — deaths, a
great battle, small moments, political movements forward, and lots of old
faces. But it definitely had a recurring theme as we come to the end of this
incredible series, and that is that people have been changed fundamentally.
Just as Arya says, “That’s not you” to Nymeria, recognizing that the direwolf
has changed, and so has she, we look at so many of the characters on this show
and realize they’ve changed, too. Theon Greyjoy will never be the same because
of the events of the last few years. Arya has changed, Sansa has changed and
become much tougher politically... Sam Tarly never would have had the guts to
do what he’s doing right now before he’d fought in the Night’s Watch and saved
Gilly and her baby... Cersei has become even colder and more heartless than she
used to be. And yet Daenerys and Jon Snow seem to be moving along in the same
course they always were, never wavering from their original beliefs. They’ve
both been changed forever, and yet intrinsically they remain the same. I can’t
wait to see them on the screen at the same time next week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br />
And that concludes yet another week of our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones</i> chat. Thanks for reading this far, and we’ll see you next
week!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-42331486342818819862017-07-19T20:54:00.000-04:002017-07-27T15:41:13.694-04:00Game of Thrones 7.01: Dragonstone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijY_bjH9Jd8zBk8oFdlL4eWYeeCMSLu_aGmYDxCApiQRIDrPzKF1-3Hchhh6s0FtmSd_uVLMjH2wGrW-dahMmV3vy_29aKnpMnTd81QsCUhbApx6-e5wSTMobHNEubjOZnosNk9g/s1600/Dragonstone_%2528day%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijY_bjH9Jd8zBk8oFdlL4eWYeeCMSLu_aGmYDxCApiQRIDrPzKF1-3Hchhh6s0FtmSd_uVLMjH2wGrW-dahMmV3vy_29aKnpMnTd81QsCUhbApx6-e5wSTMobHNEubjOZnosNk9g/s400/Dragonstone_%2528day%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
And... it’s back!! Wow, the last time I
actually posted on this blog was June 29, 2016 (and the 29th of June is a
weirdly auspicious date for me when it comes to endings, so I just noticed that
with some surprise), and here we are over a year later. Yeesh, here’s hoping
that at the end of this season I could actually continue to keep some life on
this blog. It’s deader than a mulberry bush north of the Wall right now.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">But welcome to season SEVEN of <i>Game of Thrones</i>! It’s been TOO long a
wait for its return, so I’m thrilled we’re finally here. And while this episode
was certainly not as action-packed as the season six finale (I mean, come on,
how could it be) it still had some great twists, some surprise turns of luck,
some beautiful imagery, the mocking of man buns, and... Ed Sheeran. (Well, I
guess the episode couldn’t be ALL perfect. <i>Cough</i>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br />
As always I will be joined this season by my fellow member of the Night’s
Watch, Christopher Lockett, who has been with us since season one and brings
his vast knowledge of the books of GRRM with him, along with intelligent
criticism that saves our blogs when I devolve into tears or squeeing or general
rantiness (I mean, come on... have you heard that guy’s music?! Sigh). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So without further ado, I shall start us
off. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">The episode opens not with its trademark credits,
but at a party that looks suspiciously like the Red Wedding. Walder Frey is
holding court in front of the people who aided him with the Red Wedding, which
happened ages ago... or, wait, no, maybe this is a flashback, since we all saw
Arya feed Frey some beautiful finger food (snort) in the previous episode
before slicing his throat in the same way her own mother’s throat had been
sliced at the wedding. So... if he’s alive and chatting, maybe we’re seeing a
flashback to shortly after the wedding happened. But wait, there’s that frumpy
wife of his who just became his wife recently, I think. He’s got his
harem/daughters/who knows anymore pouring wine for all of his soldiers,
thanking them for their work at the Red Wedding, and adding that they did a
good job killing a bunch of innocent people (cue WTF looks being passed around
by the soldiers) but they didn’t actually kill all of the Starks. “Leave one
wolf alive, and the sheep are never safe,” he says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then the men start dropping, which we
knew would happen. They die in horrific ways, much the same way Joffrey died at
his own wedding. (Might I say that the wine murders are highly effective on
this show.) And then, just as viewers are starting to catch on — if they hadn’t
when Frey was talking — Frey pulls a Scooby-Doo, yanks off his face, and it’s
our beloved Arya Stark. She turns to Frey’s shocked wife and says that if
anyone asks what happened here, “Tell them the North remembers. Tell them winter
came for House Frey.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm91vlIXSetLINtZUfXMthpvGFcJU1rsplUwRxmUmEIG7FpdPFlwCRjfhQzJJFzyRBkOBb1BocAYvRFnY7qdhD4RY7Fq29CoINSDFXUiTqhlsc5-DOgJDyts-eAHEttceQx0fReA/s1600/arya.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="1000" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm91vlIXSetLINtZUfXMthpvGFcJU1rsplUwRxmUmEIG7FpdPFlwCRjfhQzJJFzyRBkOBb1BocAYvRFnY7qdhD4RY7Fq29CoINSDFXUiTqhlsc5-DOgJDyts-eAHEttceQx0fReA/s400/arya.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">YES!!! And with that, cue credits. What a
wicked opening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Because the writers have to cover a ton of
territory from this point on, we get a flash of <i>The Walking Dead: Northern Exposure</i> as the white walkers come in a
swirl of blizzard, moving southward while bringing the storms with them (and holy crap they've got Giants). Then
there’s a quick cut to Bran arriving at the Wall with Meera (Eeee! Reunions are
coming!). And then we cut to Jon Snow and return to the main story.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What I really loved about this episode is
that at the end of season six we were left with a few “certainties”: Sam Tarly
had the best job ever, Jon Snow and Sansa were aligned in their leadership in
the North, Jaime was going to probably kill Cersei for what happened, Euron was
going to take a while to get to King’s Landing... and many of those
expectations were undermined in this first episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of Jon Snow’s meeting
when we see him for the first time this episode, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, first, let me just say it’s amazing to be back discussing
this show with you, Nikki, especially after having to wait two and a half
months longer than usual. Worth the wait, though—that cold open was, to my
mind, the best the series has given us (not that it has much
competition—there’s only been a few in the entire run of the show). And I had
the same Scooby-Doo vibe when Arya pulled off her Walder Frey mask, though it
occurred to me that it was a reverse Scooby-Doo—in which the werewolf / ghost /
vampire pulls off his own mask at the end to reveal Old Man Jones, who laughs
at the success of his evil plan while the gang all lie dead at his feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Yeah, my mind takes dark turns at times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sansa is right when she later tells Jon
“You’re good at this.” He is—he carries authority well, and commands the room,
no thanks to Sansa herself. But more on that in a moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As always, Lyanna Mormont is the star—this
time telling off one of Jon’s lords when he scoffs at the notion that he should
put a sword in the hand of his granddaughter. It was a wonderful speech, but it
also left me thinking “would this hard-bitten Northman really cede authority to
a woman, much less a girl, so meekly?” Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally team
Lyanna in this; and the look on Brienne’s face as she’s speaking is worth the price
of admission. But for a fantasy series that invests so much of its capital in a
certain amount of historical realism, I found the lord’s diffidence a bit of a
stretch. To be certain, the larger portion of the ass-kicking that has happened
on this show (literally and figuratively) has been doled out by women, but I
hardly expect Lord Wossname from the remote North to have internalized such a
fact. At least a little truculence or annoyance on his part would have made the
scene more believable (and would have set us up for a deeply satisfying moment
at a later date when Lady Lyanna saves his ass). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqKgMIu7ZxsWMv1Q3oFllDOLStqwLmZOprjZyzAjO-DtbvP7XU0BS2uDcswxgLwklhT8jhJO6dDZlloIHrIEsD3B3h5mJqf3iumd-kJSrygp2_rPqb0ZqFrwqdhs-6H9eD8pmjg/s1600/lyanna-mormont-got.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="620" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqKgMIu7ZxsWMv1Q3oFllDOLStqwLmZOprjZyzAjO-DtbvP7XU0BS2uDcswxgLwklhT8jhJO6dDZlloIHrIEsD3B3h5mJqf3iumd-kJSrygp2_rPqb0ZqFrwqdhs-6H9eD8pmjg/s400/lyanna-mormont-got.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Most significantly, of course, what this
scene sets up is what will likely be one of the sticking-points of the season:
a conflict between Jon and Sansa, aggravated by Littlefinger’s whispers. We saw
that coming a mile off at the end of last season; Jon is stubborn and doesn’t
recognize that Sansa has a subtler mind than him (“So I should listen to you?”
he asks. “Would that be so bad?” she responds); after several seasons of being
by turns passive, victimized, and abused, Sansa has come to recognize her own
abilities, and is clearly frustrated to be sidelined. Jon would do himself a
great favour by in fact <i>listening</i> to
her, but I did more or less agree with him that it’s a bad idea for her to
undermine him in front of the lords. Their argument about the castles could
really go either way for me—rewarding loyalty with land elevates those you
trust; on the other hand, Northerners are deeply invested in tradition, and
Jon’s reluctance to disenfranchise families with centuries of fidelity because
of the actions of a few just recently likely resonated with many of the people
in the room—but Sansa’s opposition on a potentially very divisive question
could have the effect of sowing dissension at a dangerous time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But again, to be clear: Jon needs to listen
to Sansa. I have a sinking feeling I’m going to be spending much of this season
smacking my head over the bloody-mindedness of Jon Snow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Incidentally, Sansa throwing “Joffrey
never let anyone question his authority” in Jon’s face totally effaces any
moral standing she might have had here, which she seems to recognize a few
minutes later when she has to admit that Jon “is as far from Joffrey as anyone
I’ve ever met.” Yet that comes to be a bit of a backhanded compliment, as she
makes clear that the kind of pure virtue that is the antithesis of
Joffrey—which Jon embodies—is its own detriment. “You need to be smarter than
Father,” she says. “You need to be smarter than Robb”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However this division develops, I do hope
they don’t make it about jealousy or resentment. It was clear in this episode
that Jon and Sansa have what might prove to be incommensurably different
worldviews, which each arrived at by way of how they learned hard lessons over
the previous six seasons. Sansa’s maturation occurred in the stew of King’s
Landing intrigues, and her personal experience of just how cruel people can be
to one another; when she tells Jon she “learned a lot” from Cersei, that’s shorthand
for learning not to trust other people and looking out for oneself. Her concern
at this point is worldly politics: the Lannisters are a threat, she thinks it
folly not to disenfranchise formerly disloyal houses, and is generally
preoccupied with her own survival and the survival of those closest to her. Too
much honour, she tries to tell Jon, got their father and brother killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRT8TYtmDDKAwRAUGz_p5qZ8-AwWidMJk9X-JMJfmu1-ELAvouS9EqmBw1bZVz4FofOeqcoQVTQRwWL5PIov1A2tU3rV-Iz4yr7xMR018CrTJkBLoVsIFiQil2BA4pIYR3fG72ww/s1600/e6xYzGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="650" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRT8TYtmDDKAwRAUGz_p5qZ8-AwWidMJk9X-JMJfmu1-ELAvouS9EqmBw1bZVz4FofOeqcoQVTQRwWL5PIov1A2tU3rV-Iz4yr7xMR018CrTJkBLoVsIFiQil2BA4pIYR3fG72ww/s400/e6xYzGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jon, by contrast, is preoccupied with
otherworldly concerns, and I don’t just mean the supernatural threat from the
North. Though we now know he wasn’t Ned Stark’s son, he’s nevertheless very
much Ned Stark’s son, if by temperament rather than birth. And he has
internalized the North’s deep obsession with tradition and honour, and its
long, long history. The idea of disenfranchising families with centuries of
loyalty to the Starks, however they might have acted in recent days, in
nonsensical to him … as, probably, is the notion that he can have “too much”
honour. With regard to the White Walkers and the threat they pose, he sees the
big picture—or rather, having been confronted by the big picture north of the
Wall, he’s disinclined or simply unable to see anything but. “I’m consumed with
the Night’s King because I’ve seen him,” he says. “And believe me, you’d think
of little else if you had too.” As far as he’s concerned, the squabbles of
warring houses are all but irrelevant in the face of the White Walkers; unless
everyone can get on the same page, they’re all going to die anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And while, as I said, I do more or less agree
with Jon that undermining each other in public is a bad idea, he needs to
listen to Sansa. She’s the pragmatic one; he’s the wide-angle guy. I came away
from their argument thinking that he’s the equivalent of someone who recognizes
climate change as an existential threat. Everyone else, including Sansa and
Archmaester Quincy, Medical Examiner, seems inclined to downplay the threat:
“the wall has always stood” is the Westeros equivalent, it seems, of recycling
and buying a hybrid car. And that’s not even getting to all those White Walker
Deniers. But at the same time, arriving at a solution requires a certain amount
of political savvy, which is increasingly looking to be Sansa’s forte.
Together, they could be a pretty formidable team, if only Jon would listen and
Brienne could relieve Littlefinger of his head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What do you think, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Agree with you as usual, my friend, and I love how close our notes
are at times. I’ve written down that awesome throwdown line from Lyanna — “I
don’t plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me” [under her watch the
TARDIS would have never allowed a man inside yet] — and then beside it I have
written “OMG Brienne’s FACE.” Every season you and I mention what spinoff
road-trip-show pairings we want, and my new one is Lyanna and Brienne. With
Tormund bringing up the rear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The scene was very well played, as you
point out, with Jon saying one thing, Sansa another, viewers trying not to
reach into the TV to smack Jon in the head, but then realizing well, ok, he’s
got a point, and then Sansa saying something else, Jon contradicting her, Sansa
posting angry emojis under Jon’s comments on Facebook, Jon blocking her from
his feed... and all the while Baelish smiling to himself in the corner while
all our stress levels rise steadily. The Karstarks and Umbers will keep their
family castles, but the only people left in those families are children (and I
can’t be the only one who thought Alice Karstark was Sansa’s younger double).
Now, when it comes to Lyanna, we certainly can’t undermine children in any way,
but this also isn’t <i>Lord of the Flies</i>:
will they be able to fight the White Walkers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Though, you know, something tells me Lyanna
could have them turning tail and running. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Like you, I’m hoping I don’t spend the
season flipping out over Jon and Sansa. They must get on the same page, and I
don’t want to see Littlefinger smiling smugly in the corner anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then Jon gets a raven from Cersei
demanding fealty, and as he says to Sansa, he was so caught up in the enemy of
the North, he forgot the one in the South. Just as Sansa had made the Joffrey
comment earlier — almost making it sound like Jon fell short of that little
bastard by not being like him — now Sansa tells Jon not to mess with the
Lannister queen, because she’ll murder anyone who gets in her way. “You almost
sound as if you admire her,” he says. “Learned a great deal from her,” Sansa
replies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Like you said, Chris, just because Sansa is
listening to whispers from Littlefinger and making comments about Joffrey and
Cersei that are... questionable... doesn’t mean we should not listen to her.
Cersei and Baelish might be the bad guys but they also know a thing or two
about power. And with Sansa’s knowledge of how they work, funnelled through Jon
Snow’s inherent goodness, they might have something here. Together I would
think these two could be nearly unstoppable, he just needs to pay attention to
her and give her the respect she’s more than earned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But now let’s to King’s Landing, where
Cersei is drinking (natch) while walking on a giant map on the ground, since
apparently a small one drawn in a book wouldn’t have been good enough (listen
closely and you hear a very quiet version of “Rains of Castamere” playing in
the background... it’s like Cersei’s personal breakup music or something).
Dragonstone might have a wooden slab with little people on it that Stannis
could move around, but Cersei’s going to have a goddamn map drawn on the floor,
to scale, by someone she will no doubt kill as soon as he’s done. It’s a beautiful
visual, though, when the camera peers down from the ceiling: Cersei, standing
mighty over the kingdoms of Westeros, in the centre, and as she walks around
she talks about how Daenerys is going to land at Dragonstone to the east, that
Ellaria and her Sand Snakes threaten her from the south, the Tyrells are in the
west, and the Starks are in the north. She’s surrounded, but unfazed. In her
new black get-up, she stands over these kingdoms and proclaims she will
prevail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime, standing off to the side, quiet,
wonders why they’re bothering. They’ve lost everything — all three of their
children they’ve created together — all for this, and yet, without them, what
does it mean? Cersei is saying she wants to have a dynasty — not one with Joan
Collins and Linda Evans, that’s a DIE-nesty, and Cersei quite Britishly calls
this one a dinnesty — but as Jaime adeptly points out, a dynasty suggests it’s
being passed down to future generations, and does he have to repeat himself
that they no longer have any children?? Cersei then basically says she’s going
to do it for their own honour, that they’re the last of the Lannisters “who
count” and that she will win this bloody war, dammit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then again, her army consists of an
orange-haired musician who can’t bloody well act so WHAT DOES SHE KNOW. #whenstuntcastinggoeswrong<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">ANYWAY... and while Daenerys was already on
her way over to Dragonstone at the end of the previous episode, but Euron had
to build a thousand ships in order to get to Cersei, somehow he <i>beat her there</i> and here he is on
Cersei’s steps pledging himself to her. (And yes, I know people are going to
say that the ships are probably being built and he headed over there on a
single ship but I found some of the way these storylines lined up seemed a
little odd timewise.) There’s something about Euron I kinda love, I don’t know
why. I tend to hate the Greyjoys on principle, and he’s a complete dick, but I
love that he shows up looking totally different from when we last saw him with
this new rock star appearance: shirt opened at front, hair shorn closer to his
head... still giving off a distinct Oliver-Reed-as-Bill-Sykes vibe but now with
a distinct Noel Gallagher swagger about him. And he has the nerve to show up at
the steps of what is probably the most powerful woman currently in Westeros and
say, “So, yeah, whaddya say: you, me, few goblets of wine, we could spend the
rest of our days plotting the deaths of our family members, amirite?!” like
he’s somehow the greatest catch in the land. In fact, this gave me the one big
laugh-out-loud moment of the episode when he proclaimed himself the greatest
captain of the 14 seas, and Cersei mumbles, “But not the most humble.” Ha! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cersei, to her credit, declines. She knows
if he could stab his own brother in the back, what the hell would he do to his
wife? “You murdered your own brother,” she says to him. “You should try it,
feels wonderful,” he responds with a sneer. Jaime shuffles and hopes this isn’t
foreshadowing. But Euron’s not giving up, and says he’s going to come back with
a gift. Whose head will it be, I wonder...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then... the montage from HELL. As I
said on Facebook, at the end of the previous season, when we saw that
spectacular library of the maesters, I said if I could be one character on the
show, it would be Samwell Tarly. I take that back now. What did you think of
this, um, shitty symphony that was Sam’s new life, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, first I just want to add how much I loved </span>Pilou Asbæk’s performance
in that scene—I was underwhelmed by his turn as Euron last season, but he’s
definitely upped his game. And he has one of the two best burns of the episode:
“Here I am with a thousand ships and two good hands!” he leers, as Jaime looks
on angrily (the other best burn being Sansa’s elegant “No need to seize the
last word, Lord Baelish—I’ll assume it was something clever.” Ouch!). <o:p></o:p></div>
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As for Sam … well, about halfway through the oddly rhythmic
books/bedpans/food montage, I said “Ah! Sam’s a grad student now!” Considering
that at least half the people with whom I watched the episode are former and/or
recovering grad students, it got a big laugh. </div>
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But of course, such drudgery is
something we should have expected; though both you and I ended last season in a
Sam-like state of bibliophilic bliss looking at the Citadel’s unearthly library
(both of us, as I recall, likened it to our own first visits to U of T’s
Robarts Library Rare Book Collection), the truth of any apprenticeship
(academic or otherwise) is one of tedium and drudgery punctuated by moments of
epiphany. (I can’t possibly be the only person who saw Sam sneaking by night
into the restricted area and thought of Hermione’s forays into the forbidden
sections of the Hogwarts Library). Sam is training to be a maester, which is
not exactly something one can fast-track. His exchange with Archmaester Ebrose,
aka Quincy, was a few moments of quiet brilliance in the way it articulated
both the virtue and drawback of the scholarly mindset. The Archmaester employs
the Westrosi equivalent of Occam’s Razor to Sam’s claims: “The simplest
explanation for your grating obsession with the White Walkers,” he says, “is
that you’re telling the truth. And that you saw what you say you saw.” Not that
that means he’s about to aid Sam in his quest. “In the Citadel, we lead different
lives,” he tells Sam. “We are this world’s memory.” And as the world’s memory,
they stand aloof from the occasionally catastrophic events of the realm, always
enduring. He echoes Sansa’s assertion that the Wall has always stood, and that
winter always ends. <o:p></o:p></div>
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His speech is a paean to knowledge and scholarship, and hearkens—for the
real world—back to the role played by monasteries in the dark and middle ages
of Europe in archiving books and knowledge. For me, however, his words resonate
with the ostensible role of the university, whose oft-maligned “ivory towers”
maintain spaces of inquiry and research free from the pressures and incursions
of quotidian politics. Of course, this characterization bears little
resemblance to the reality, but the Archmaester’s words strike a chord because
the inertia of the academy is at once its greatest virtue and its greatest
flaw. In the context of <i>Game of Thrones</i>,
we know that his complacency is foolishness; in the present moment, we in the
university environment with the privilege of full-time positions are being
shaken out of our institutional torpor by the pressures of austerity economics
and the push toward corporatization. And yet that torpor is slow to slough
off—too many of us assume the Wall will always stand.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ahem. Sorry. Sometimes these university analogues strike too close to
home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On a lighter note: Twitter was ablaze after this episode with the Ed
Sheeran cameo, and I can tell you have some, er, rather strong thoughts on the
subject. Tell you what, Nikki: considering I wouldn’t know an Ed Sheeran song
if it walked up and bit me in the arse, I leave commentary on that bit of
casting to you. I will however say that my fangasm came during the autopsy
scene when I realized that the archmaester was played by Jim Broadbent. Not
sure what that says about me, but here we are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We shift from Oldtown back to Winterfell, and witness the next stage in
Tormund’s courtship of Brienne. Gotta say—dude has to up his game. If all he’s
going to do is make googly eyes and waggle his eyebrows, the Lady of Tarth is
going to remain resolutely unimpressed. Though given his wistful observation
that Pod is “a lucky man”—just after the poor boy has been made to faceplant
into a snowdrift—it might be that he’d be happy just receiving arse-kickings
from Brienne. I hear some men like that sort of thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What did you think of Sansa’s wintry conversation with Littlefinger,
Nikki? It’s obvious he means to stir the pot, and just as obvious that we’re
being primed for conflict between Jon and Sansa, but she seems about done with
his shit. “He wants something,” says Brienne in her role as Captain Obvious. “I
know precisely what he wants,” Sansa replies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What gives? Is Sansa seriously ready to kick him to the curb, or is she
just playing it close to the vest?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Nikki</b>: I <i>loved</i> Sansa in this scene, because there
are moments in <i>Game of Thrones</i> where
you glance at a character and can’t help but think of how far they’ve come in
the past seven years. This was one of those moments. In season one, Sansa was
an insufferable girly-girl who needed Arya to start acting girlier, who giggled
and flirted with any boy who looked in her direction, and who left the real
thinking to the men. And look at where we are now. She’s strong, she never even
looks at Baelish once in this scene the entire time he’s talking to her, and
she just stares off into the fighting grounds with her eyelids heavy, as if his
very presence bores the hell out of her. Baelish remarks that Brienne is “an
impressive woman” and Sansa’s face looks like she’s fighting back an eyeroll,
as if to counter, “Brienne isn’t an impressive woman, you twerp, she’s an
impressive fighter, period. For god’s sakes the Ghostbusters are women, Wonder
Woman has the best superhero film out there, and the main hero of <i>Star Wars</i> is Rey, get with the effing
program, you twat.” Instead, she just holds back that eye roll. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Baelish asks her why she’s not happy, and what will make her happy, and
she simply says peace and quiet in a bid to get rid of him. But I couldn’t help
but look at her in that moment and think, in the past six years she’s lost her
parents, her siblings, and she believes she’s the last Stark standing. The only
one left is her bastard brother who is currently at odds with her on how to
lead, and despite the leaps and bounds she’s made in her life she’s still
struggling to earn anyone’s ear or respect. As Littlefinger leaves in his
rather Cersei-ish gown (did anyone else sense a weird flip of gender
stereotypes between Sansa and Baelish’s body language?), Sansa mutters to
Brienne that they <i>do</i> actually owe him
their lives, and that without the Vale the battle would have been lost. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And then we cut to Sansa’s sister, who was having a nice, peaceful ride
through the woods until she heard the voice of an angel breaking through the
trees. Arya pauses for a moment, thinking, “Oh wow, I feel like I know this
voice but usually his songs are so bland and boring and yet this is intriguing
and...” and... yes it’s Ed Sheeran, one of the Lannister soldiers (as IF, worst
casting ever) singing “Hands of Gold.” I had to look it up to see if this was a
song that actually existed in the books, and turns out it does. (Chris can
probably elaborate more for context in his next bit.) Apparently a singer in
book three finds out about Tyrion and Shae and writes this song about them,
threatening to tell everyone. Tyrion pays him blackmail money but eventually
orders Bronn to kill him, and as Tyrion kills Shae with the golden chain around
her neck, he sings one of the lines of the song: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He
rode through the streets of the city,</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Down
from his hill on high.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">O'er
the winds and the steps and the cobbles,</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He
rode to a woman's sigh.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For
she was his secret treasure,</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">She
was his shame and his bliss.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And a
chain and a keep are nothing,</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Compared
to a woman's kiss.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For
hands of gold are always cold,</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But a
woman's hands are warm!</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For
hands of gold are always cold,</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But a
woman's hands are warm!</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course, during the song I couldn’t help
but think that the lyrics seemed to fit Jaime: his hand is made of gold, and
it’s even referenced earlier by Euron, as Chris pointed out. And he does ride
and sail to get to the woman who is both his shame and his bliss. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But back to the horrible stunt casting of
Ed Sheeran. And, a wee bit of behind-the-scenesery here. As many of you know,
Chris and I write this in stages. I write my bit, send it to him for his pass,
he lobs it back to me, etc. It usually takes a few days, and during that time I
avoid other reviews of the show and try to avoid anyone’s comments on social
media because I don’t want anyone else shaping my opinions. I assumed I was
going to be in the minority on Ed Sheeran because he’s a hugely popular singer
whose popularity has always surprised me, because his music is sooooo boring to
me. But then I saw an article that showed I was actually in the majority, and
that people didn’t just hate his cameo, they <i>loathed</i> it. So much so that he’s been getting a ton of hate mail
via Twitter and as of Tuesday, actually deleted his account. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYdzgxHrvhmFYyneT0fle7a8d6sEAu3ekOYJy7Mu_V9LB0pvOLsw9Cm9zd4zKu4Xyj8XQyPu3x4ZLZmmb8gpk23IqjmQ5iTTJfZ6X7JfGdti2TaSr7iaVGlXQZZnVT2hDDukN-w/s1600/promo324555068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYdzgxHrvhmFYyneT0fle7a8d6sEAu3ekOYJy7Mu_V9LB0pvOLsw9Cm9zd4zKu4Xyj8XQyPu3x4ZLZmmb8gpk23IqjmQ5iTTJfZ6X7JfGdti2TaSr7iaVGlXQZZnVT2hDDukN-w/s400/promo324555068.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While he was deleting his Twitter account,
I was writing a vicious takedown of his appearance in this scene. And then I
found out that happened, and I’ve deleted it. Because here’s the thing: I don’t
actually hate Ed Sheeran. I don’t even think of Ed Sheeran. He’s just not my thing
and I find his immense popularity kind of baffling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But he was cast in this role as a surprise
to Maisie Williams, who is a huge fan. Which... is cute, but... seriously? This
is the biggest show on television and they’re now basing their casting decisions
on what would make their young stars giddy? We all love Maisie, but that seems
a bit much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Now, for those who are Sheeran fans, I know
what you might be thinking: you were jumping up and down, Nikki, when members of the
National appeared at the Red Wedding. You were squeeing with delight when Sigur
Ros played the troubadours at the Purple Wedding. But the thing is, they were
cast to play musicians and then disappeared from the scene. The problem here
isn’t Ed Sheeran. The problem is the writers who thought it would be fun to
keep him in the scene, having him sit next to his biggest fan, and then give
him NOTHING to do. My original takedown talked about how he just sat there like
a big grinning idiot with a brain injury. But that’s the thing: what <i>else</i> was he supposed to do? They didn’t
give him any lines, they just made him sing and then he was forced to sit
there. And he’s ED SHEERAN, meaning many, many, many people were going to
recognize him. Even Sigur Ros fans don’t know what Sigur Ros look like, so when
they were fumbling on the ground for the money Joffrey nonchalantly tossed at
them, they just looked like three extras. But Ed Sheeran is a massive star, and
instantly recognizable to a lot of people, and for that entire scene we were
taken out of Westeros and it was made abundantly clear that this is Ed Sheeran
sitting next to Maisie Williams, who is trying desperately not to make eye
contact with him. She ceased being Arya, he was never a soldier for the
Lannisters, it was just two stars sitting on a log with her giggling and him
giggling and viewers taking to Twitter to tell Ed Sheeran he’s the worst actor
in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My daughter begged me to take her to <i>Pitch Perfect 2</i> last year. Aside from
being two hours of my life I’ll never get back, the movie had an Ed Sheeran
cameo that was actually kind of funny. Now, he was playing himself, and he
wasn’t in Westeros, so it worked. Making him a soldier with no lines who has to
sit through a scene that now feels SO MUCH LONGER than it should have been,
didn’t work. The fault isn’t with Sheeran: who among us would say NO to Benioff
and Weiss if they asked us to appear in an episode of <i>Game of Thrones</i>? Not one of us. It’s the fault of the writers for
doing this. They could have found a way to use him in a funny way, perhaps even
just having him sing to himself in a ditch as Arya was passing by, maybe even
have her make a comment about how grating she finds his singing to be ironic,
and we would have all found that amusing. Yes, for that one brief moment it
would have been Maisie and Ed, but it still would have been funny. This scene
simply didn’t work, and now I’m actually sad to know that Sheeran has deleted
Twitter, is probably having one of the worst weeks of his life, and will
probably never be able to watch the show ever again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I remember being infuriated when Ashanti
was cast in an episode of <i>Buffy the
Vampire Slayer</i>, and yet, oddly, they made it work. The gal could actually
act. But the writers just couldn’t make this scene work at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But enough about terrible stunt casting and
back to the episode (see, <i>Game of Thrones</i>?
You pulled me so far out of the world of Westeros I’m talking about <i>Buffy</i> again... but I won’t get into that
time Oberyn was on <i>Buffy</i> or we’ll be
here all day). So let's just post a pic:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5t0qvjbM7tVjldBgv2HlojU21D9rGBXgmAoRZle4dyG2VudqRzHZgPpAp8VenvAF2_T7CvEf0kvqwIQ2BS_Or92rNadWMHJojCNVozpsCqomb270dMCRGSxKax94l5aMXAgfIQ/s1600/Pedro-Pascal-in-Buffy-The-Vampire-Slayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="786" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5t0qvjbM7tVjldBgv2HlojU21D9rGBXgmAoRZle4dyG2VudqRzHZgPpAp8VenvAF2_T7CvEf0kvqwIQ2BS_Or92rNadWMHJojCNVozpsCqomb270dMCRGSxKax94l5aMXAgfIQ/s400/Pedro-Pascal-in-Buffy-The-Vampire-Slayer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So Sheeran and his fellow <s>troubadours</s>
soldiers have been sent up from King’s Landing to the Riverlands because they
heard there were problems at Frey’s. Arya keeps her poker face the whole time
and then flatly tells them she’s going to kill the queen. There’s silence, they
all stare at each other, and then they start laughing. Because <i>of course</i> I’m not going to kill the
queen I mean OH MY GOD did I just say that out loud hahahaha! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then we cut away to the next scene. I
assume that she gets on her horse and travels away from them and they head off
to Frey’s where Ed Sheeran’s character contracts dysentery. A girl can dream. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR9Jb24BvF29DpUVjTtOxI3mZ_hY3xVRFhjTJxpZDMleT6HZg7kIiNUfAVDUtoYas7qfj3w2rTayIq1Wll_79z9Miz35uVTHZOA3nLBaMJ_HMRtkNMaFjSoAPssJZGNiqmaGXnw/s1600/you-have-died-of-dysentery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="473" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR9Jb24BvF29DpUVjTtOxI3mZ_hY3xVRFhjTJxpZDMleT6HZg7kIiNUfAVDUtoYas7qfj3w2rTayIq1Wll_79z9Miz35uVTHZOA3nLBaMJ_HMRtkNMaFjSoAPssJZGNiqmaGXnw/s400/you-have-died-of-dysentery.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And we’re back to the Hound, making fun of
a guy’s man bun (HA!) in a scene that <a href="http://nikkistafford.blogspot.ca/2014/04/game-of-thrones-403-breaker-of-chains.html">harkens
back to a scene from season four</a>, when the Hound and Arya came upon a
little house with a man and his daughter. The farmer was kind to both of them,
and offers to give them some money, but when the Hound realizes the man has a
bag of silver he takes it from him, leaving the man hurt and the little girl
tending to him. Arya is angry, but the Hound argues that they’ll be dead by
winter anyway. And now, in the present, the Hound is back at that farmhouse and
he sees their corpses, but enough of their bodies remain that he can see the
agony on their faces, and knows what he’s done to them. In the midst of
starving to death — probably due to a lack of funds to buy any seeds or food —
the farmer killed his daughter for her own good, before taking his own life. We
all know the Hound is not one to show sentiment, but we know he feels it. He
was fond of Arya, and he cares about people. Unlike his brother he’s not an
automaton that was put on this earth to bring misery, so when he actually does,
he atones for it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMM8fppNWQg4nB8j0AfcyLLzVZBLUfLQ4HTfC-nW2lRYGg0xYrkZCkReaKfWon_aKAIJfuKmXIUWUqm8AvT64p8sWbpjvv86BclCTgenYyvrS9TvVRYl_U321EG8HV4GSQ7OQnQ/s1600/game-thrones-hound-gravedigger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="961" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMM8fppNWQg4nB8j0AfcyLLzVZBLUfLQ4HTfC-nW2lRYGg0xYrkZCkReaKfWon_aKAIJfuKmXIUWUqm8AvT64p8sWbpjvv86BclCTgenYyvrS9TvVRYl_U321EG8HV4GSQ7OQnQ/s400/game-thrones-hound-gravedigger.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Clegane snidely refers to the “fire
worshippers” who make up the Brotherhood Without Banners with whom he’s now
travelling, and he comments that he distinctly remembers seeing Beric at the
tournament at King’s Landing, Beric being the man who keeps dying and is
brought back to life by Thoros of Myr. Thoros tells Sandor to come and look at
the fire. If there’s one thing the Hound is afraid of, it’s flames (it’s how he
lost one side of his face) but he very carefully comes close to the fire... and
sees something. And in a moment that surprises everyone in the room — most of
all, Clegane — he sees an image of the Wall, the castle, and the dead marching
towards that castle. The show has had so much destruction on it, but with fewer
than two seasons left now, we’re going to start seeing solutions. If Beric was
brought back to life, could there be an answer coming soon as to how?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We know that the Hound will never become an
acolyte, it’s simply not in his nature. Later he buries the bodies of the dead
farmer and his daughter, and Thoros comes out to find him there and help him.
Sandor begins to say a prayer to the Seven, but forgets how it actually goes
and says some pithy words that they deserved better than to die like this.
Thoros ascertains that the Hound actually knew the people, and that’s why he’s
burying them, but the Hound brushes him off. This isn’t going to be a guy
dressed in robes and chanting around a fire, but perhaps his skepticism has
been shaken a wee bit now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What did you make of the Hound’s vision in
the fire, Chris? <br />
<br />
<b>Christopher</b>: I didn’t love it. It
makes a certain perverse sense that the flame-phobic Hound should be the one to
see a crucial vision in the fire, but the whole scene was played without any
affect. I find it difficult to believe that someone as cynical and skeptical as
Sandor Clegane could suddenly find himself having a vision, and be so blasé
about it. Where’s his incredulity? His anger and resistance to the whole thing?
It was a little too pat for me, which is unfortunate, because Rory McCann is
otherwise so brilliant in this episode. He does such an amazing job of bringing
a sense of humanity to a person who has otherwise only known brutality,
violence, and cynical self-preservation his entire life. His atonement and
redemption narrative is subtle and nuanced precisely because we understand just
how little use he has for the ideas of atonement and redemption while desiring
them in spite of himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When he tells Thoros that he’s “burying the
dead,” it occurred to me that this is the Hound’s <i>raison d’etre</i> from here on in: burying the dead of his past both
literally and metaphorically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">From there we move to Sam and Gilly and
Little Sam, where Sam is forcing himself to read in spite of his exhaustion and
Gilly’s remonstrance. Once again, overtones of grad school! He pores over his
ill-gotten texts, finally coming to a map of Dragonstone with the island’s
wealth of dragonglass clearly marked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhQUSgbeykwd7IqFEY58ywMMXWWOTcQyfN110yrTeqFFW08eBjjZcVIv3r9T4rENtCmqbe0WlcfgkZrCQLtRrkklll18XC3AvBnvsaS6hpsZIW-Ltj47RiHsztTJiDN6n0SOlQQ/s1600/Samwell_GoT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhQUSgbeykwd7IqFEY58ywMMXWWOTcQyfN110yrTeqFFW08eBjjZcVIv3r9T4rENtCmqbe0WlcfgkZrCQLtRrkklll18XC3AvBnvsaS6hpsZIW-Ltj47RiHsztTJiDN6n0SOlQQ/s400/Samwell_GoT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Did you notice how maps are a crucial motif
in this episode? We see Cersei plotting her next move as she paces around an
unfinished map of Westeros, the episode ends with Daenerys entering the map
room of Dragonstone (more on that in a moment), and Sam discovers what will
presumably be a key plot point in episodes to come almost literally marked off
like a treasure map. Two maps that represent dreams of conquest, and a third
that promises salvation: we begin every episode with a reminder of Westeros’
geography in the opening credits, and it seems to me that, as we move toward
the endgame, the show is intent on hewing to the “game” metaphor by giving us
maps on which the players will place and move their pieces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sam’s discovery of the Dragonstone map sets
us up for Daenerys’ arrival—finally!—at the island itself, but there’s a brief,
poignant scene in between that acts almost as a connection between Sam and
Dany. In yet another tedious task, Sam takes empty food bowls away from what
look like prison cells. But as we realize, it’s more of a sanitarium, in which
people infected with greyscale are kept quarantined. Including, as it turns
out, Ser Jorah Mormont, who begs Sam for news of the Dragon Queen. Sam of
course knows nothing, but presumably that will change as news of her landing
spreads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The last we saw Jorah, he’d been sent away
with orders from his Queen to find a cure for his disease—a quest that seems to
have led him to the Citadel. Judging by the progression of the disease and the
quality of his voice, Jorah’s in a bad way. Will the Citadel be able to cure
him? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The reminder of his plight tempers the
triumph of Daenerys’ long-awaited return home—as she is rowed up to the beach,
it is hard not to think of Jorah’s despair and what he would be feeling if he
could be there with her. That being said, it is a deeply affecting scene:
beautifully shot, and done without words until the final moment. (I couldn’t
help thinking as we see the craggy spur of land to Daenerys’ right as she
approaches the beach, that there’s where the dragonglass is). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When last we saw Dragonstone, it was
inhabited by Stannis Baratheon and his forces, and it was invariably dark and brooding—most
of the scenes took place at night, and we never really saw the castle in all
its glory. Here it is the precise opposite: seen in beautiful and sunny
weather, the oppressive castle of Stannis’ days is breathtaking in its
architecture and the rugged cliffs from which it rises. Though the symbolism is
not overt, the suggestion is the dawning of a new day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Walking through the throne room (pausing to
tear down a Baratheon banner on the way), she passes into the room with the
ornate table carved into a map of Westeros by her ancestor Aegon the Conqueror,
who plotted his Westrosi campaign in that room. Again, the set design here is
stunning, especially the dragons carved in bas-relief into the walls. I loved
Tyrion’s quiet awe—one senses in Peter Dinklage’s expression Tyrion’s sudden
apprehension of the enormity of what they are about to attempt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then: “Shall we begin?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Yes. Yes we shall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That’s all for this week, friends and
neighbours! It kind of sucks that we’re only getting seven episodes this time
around, but we’ll make the best of it for you. Once again, Nikki, it is a
delight to team up with you on this ride. For everyone else, stay warm and beware
of stingy old men who suddenly want to give you wine.</span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-51523450142698080102016-06-29T08:30:00.000-04:002016-06-29T08:30:21.027-04:00Game of Thrones 6.10: The Winds of Winter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And welcome to the final recap of season 6, and just as I was proclaiming last week's episode to be the best episode of <i>Game of Thrones</i> ever, they go and one-up themselves by bringing us the most insanely amazing and shocking episode we could have imagined. It was a super-sized episode with a super-sized recap to match (and the most glorious library EVER), so without any further ado, I'll let Chris start us off. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has
gotten us used to having a pretty spectacular penultimate episode, followed by
a finale that is more about housekeeping than anything else, with perhaps one
or two “Holy shit!” moments to prime us for the next season (see: Jon Snow,
murder of). But I think it’s safe to say that this finale was wall-to-wall holy
shit moments. To wit: Cersei blows up EVERYBODY real good; Tommen offs himself;
Varys shows up in Dorne; Jon Snow’s lineage is CONFIRMED, and he’s named King
in the North (much to Littlefinger’s, and possibly Sansa’s, dismay); Arya,
having presumably left Braavos with a bunch of spare faces in her carry-on,
feeds Walder Frey’s sons to him and cuts his throat; Daenerys finally sets sail
for Westeros; and Cersei, dressed like every evil sorceress from every 80s
fantasy film, is crowned the MOTHERFUCKING QUEEN OF WESTEROS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All I can say is: enjoy it while you can,
Cersei. Dragons a-comin’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We begin with a rather lovely view of
King’s Landing, as Cersei looks down from her rooms over the city, peering
specifically at the Sept of Baelor. Then follows an interesting musical montage
of several key individuals dressing (or in the case of everyone but the
Sparrow, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">being </i>dressed). Knowing as
we do that Cersei and Loras’ trials are nigh, this sequence feels not unlike
the sequence in a sports film when the athletes don their gear. It is, in
essence, a pre-battle scene, except that two of the four people pictured do not
show up: only the Sparrow (clad in what I assume is his formal burlap) and
Margaery go to the sept. Tommen remains broodingly in his chambers, and Cersei
is well into her morning wine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I loved the use of music in this sequence.
It was just this side of verging on overdone, but the rather anachronistic
piano score lent the scenes a melancholic, almost dirge-like quality—especially
when, as Lancel is stabbed, it changes from piano to pipe organ. And it’s worth
noting that there was a lot more cutting between scenes than this show tends to
employ: usually we have little parlor dramas that go on for five to ten minutes
before cutting away to a different story. In this case however, we get the
scene in the sept, Cersei in her chambers, Tommen in his, Pycelle’s murder, and
Lancel’s discovery of the wildfire. All of which is brought together as we
watch Cersei watch the Sept of Baelor go up in flames. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I should note that there is an
interestingly tangential intersection with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
Dance With Dragons</i> in terms of Qyburn’s use of murderous children to do
away with both Lancel and Pycelle. Two episodes ago, Varys departed from
Meereen for unspoken reasons, referring cryptically to a “mission” he was
undertaking. I, and presumably everyone else who has read the novels,
speculated that perhaps he was heading to King’s Landing to stir the pot. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dance</i>’s epilogue has Ser Kevan Lannister
(who is a far more sympathetic character in the novels) cautiously optimistic:
having done her walk of shame, Cersei seems properly contrite and sedate, and
unlikely to rock the boat; and after a long period of unrest, things seem to be
settling down in King’s Landing, and in the Seven Kingdoms more generally. He
receives a message from Grand Maester Pycelle asking to see him, but when he
arrives at his chambers he finds him dead. He is himself shot with a crossbow …
shot by Varys, in the eunuch’s first appearance since he abetted Tyrion’s
escape in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Storm of Swords</i>, two
novels ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Why has he killed Kevan? Because he was
“threatening to undo all the queen’s good work,” by which he means Cersei’s
catastrophic misrule that has continued the chaos of the war. In bringing
stability, Kevan threatens to undermine Varys’ ultimate goal—the
re-installation of Targaryen rule in Westeros. And while Varys has shot him
with a crossbow, it is not the eunuch that deals the killing blow:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Ser Kevan was cold as ice, and every
labored breath sent a fresh stab of pain through him. He glimpsed movement,
heard the soft scuffling sound of slippered feet on stone. A child emerged from
a pool of darkness, a pale boy in a ragged robe, no more than nine or ten.
Another rose up behind the Grand Maester’s chair. The girl who had opened the
door for him was there as well. They were all around him, half a dozen of them,
white-faced children with dark eyes, boys and girls together. And in their
hands, the daggers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But as it turns out, Varys has gone to
Dorne, to stir the pot in an entirely other fashion. More on that later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, the children with daggers are in
the employ of Qyburn, and visit death first upon Pycelle in a manner that very
closely mirrors Ser Kevan’s death in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dance</i>.
Qybrurn’s apology, indeed, is almost identical to Varys’ in the novel. And one
of the children lures Lancel away into the vaults in what is, unfortunately, a
rather contrived sequence. Why does he follow the child? What does he care if
some urchin runs down the cathedral steps? His task, after all, is to go and
bring Cersei, kicking and screaming if necessary, to her own trial. I have to
imagine this is a task he relishes. But no, he follows the kid down into the
basement of the sept, only to discover that part of Bran’s wildfire vision was
not of the past, but the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Margaery, meanwhile, gets the screaming
heebie-jeebies when Cersei doesn’t show, and when she attempts to share her
fears with the Sparrow, is condescendingly mansplained to. It is unthinkable to
him to end or postpone the trial—this, after all, is his moment of triumph. He
has cowed and humbled two great houses, robbing one of its heir; he makes it
clear that he’s entirely prepared to level judgment on Cersei whether she shows
up or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then … BOOM. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of this episode’s
opening, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I’ve often referred to episodes of television that cause one to
feel all kinds of emotions (sorry, I can’t bring myself to use the term “all
the feels”) as the best kinds of rollercoasters. But if other TV episodes are
rollercoasters, this is the Leviathan. I don’t recall ever screaming, gasping,
and throwing my hands up in the air as often as I did with this one. There were
no tears, so I guess that would be the only thing it was lacking, but to use
the word “lacking” with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> part of
this episode would be nitpicking in the extreme. I think the episode was damn
near perfect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the previous episode, as Daenerys talked
about burning her city down, Tyrion calmly reminded her that her father had
once stuffed all of King’s Landing’s underground tunnels with wildfire, and
that the reason her father was truly the Mad King is that he was willing to
burn to death every man, woman, and child, every innocent person in the way,
just to get to the few people he wanted to kill. Only a truly mad person would
do such a thing. I wondered why they were repeating this story — just last
season he told the same story to Daenerys as the two of them sat across a table
and he explained what her father was really like, and how in her quest to
become queen she must never, ever be like him. And now I realized they needed
that story fresh in our minds, because as Tyrion is warning Daenerys about her father
planting the explosives in the first place, it never even occurs to him that
his own sister might be the one to use it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And use it she does. My GOD when Lancel
looked up and I saw the glowing green goop on the ground I dropped my pen and
gasped aloud. “WILDFIRE!!!” And immediately the consequences of the action —
before it had even been set off — were in my head. She’s going to kill <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everyone </i>in the Sept of Baelor. A few
episodes ago Cersei was told that the “little birds” had returned and that the rumours
were true. What rumours, we wondered. And now it would appear the little birds
found all that wildfire under the city, and from that point on, Cersei has been
planning this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, I will admit to some, um, stupidity on
my part. It never occurred to me that the sept and the castle were in two
completely different locations — for some reason I always pictured them as
adjacent to one another. They always seem to be in their chambers, then say,
“Walk with me” in an Aaron Sorkin sort of way and then... they’re in the sept. I
thought the buildings were pretty much attached. And yet now I realize well
DUH, Cersei had to have done her walk of atonement from the sept to the castle,
and therefore they must be in two different spots. But I never realized they were
THAT far apart. That was one <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">long</i>
walk of atonement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I also had a horrifying moment when the
Mountain stopped Tommen in his doorway that Cersei — bedecked in her black
dress as if vying for the role of Evil Queen in some King’s Landing Disney
musical production — had actually ordered her own son’s death in retaliation
for him removing her right to choose a champion and have a trial by combat. And
I was baffled: no matter what Tommen would do, she would NEVER kill one of her
children. They mean everything to her. Of course, she wasn’t going to kill
Tommen — she was just going to destroy him emotionally and psychologically, and
kill everyone he ever loved. No big. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We go from the wildfire killing everyone
and everything to Cersei waterboarding a nun (or maybe “wineboarding” would be
the more accurate word), and I couldn’t help but think, “Cersei, seriously,
you’re OK with wasting all that wine?” The only person worse than Cersei in
this scene is Septa Unella, who has been a hateful, horrible character from the
moment we first saw her. Despite everything Cersei had done, watching Unella
ring that bell and shouting, “Shame!” in that holier-than-thou voice of hers
put our sympathies with a Lannister, and for that alone, she should be
punished. Cersei tells her to confess that she enjoyed torturing Cersei, before
Cersei happily lists all of her favourite things. And no, they don’t include
whiskers on kittens or snowflakes that stay on her nose and eyelashes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I drink because
it feels good to be drinking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
killed my husband because he was stinking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
fucked my brother and clipped Sparrow’s wings,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These
are a few of my favourite things! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But she can’t reach Unella and her
piousness. The nun just looks at her smugly and says she’s ready to meet her
god. To which Cersei has a hearty chuckle, and in lumbers Ser Gregor Clegane. I
was chatting about what to expect in this week’s episode with another parent at
my son’s soccer game last week, and both of us thought they were going to show
the Mountain’s face this week. I didn’t want to see it; he totally did. “This
is Ser Gregor Clegane,” says Cersei as she walks out, leaving Septa Unella to
untold amounts of torture. “He is your god now.” And with the tiniest bit of
joy she can muster, Cersei begins chanting, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” as she shuts
the door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And we cut to Tommen looking out over the
city. You mentioned the gorgeous score in this episode, Chris, and because it’s
so different than the music we heard before, you’re right in that it stands out
a lot. It was gorgeous. But in this scene, there’s no music whatsoever — the
only score is the screaming coming from the streets below as green smoke
billows out of the Sept of Baelor. Which is why no one was prepared for what
happened next. When Tommen removes his crown and turns to leave, the camera holds
on the window for what seems like too long a time, I suddenly gasped in horror
about two seconds before Tommen came back into view, realizing exactly what was
going to happen. It’s a horrifying moment, and he acts quickly before he can
think his way out of it. And there’s no heightened drama in the moment at all —
no music, no sound effects, no opening of his arms and screaming, nothing. He
simply walks back to the window, steps up onto the windowsill, and falls forward
silently, like a log. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His mother has just killed his wife without
a second thought. And his wife’s father and brother. And the High Sparrow and
the acolytes — to which Tommen had just pledged his fealty. He loved Margaery,
even if she didn’t love him, and he was willing to change his entire belief
system to match hers. And now he realizes his mother is a monster. That his
personal happiness doesn’t mean anything to her because if she doesn’t like
someone, she will have them killed. It doesn’t matter if it happens to be
Tommen’s beloved wife. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with that, Cersei has lost all three of
her children. Joffrey died because he was a sadistic tit, but he had always
been that way, urged on by Cersei, who never said no to him and who encouraged
his evil ways. Myrcella died because Cersei made the ill-fated decision to have
the Mountain squash Oberyn’s head like a melon, and it forced Ellaria to wreak
her revenge on Cersei in the most painful way. And now Tommen, her youngest,
who was just a kindergartner when this whole story began, is gone. All their
deaths were caused by her desire for power, but we know she would do anything
for her children. They’re all gone. How does a mother continue after this? What
is there left to even live for? Any piece of humanity that Cersei had left in
her body went out the window with Tommen, and her heart is nothing but a sliver
of flint now. She wept and screamed and raged at Joffrey’s death. She cried
quietly when Myrcella died and wondered if she’d just lost the only thing that
reminded her she was a good person. And now, with Tommen’s death, she bears it
without even changing her demeanour. “Burn him and bury his ashes where the
sept once stood,” she says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And all of THAT, our dear readers, was just
the opening of the episode. Jeepers. The only downside to all of this? Now
we’ll never know what Margaery had been planning all this time. But one thing’s
for sure: Grandma Tyrell is gonna be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pissed</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now we’re back over to Riverrun and
Walder Frey, who is aligned with the Lannisters. (Snicker.) What did you think
of Jaime and Bronn’s verbal sparring here, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">It was a lot different on rewatching as I realized
that the girl Bronn’s initially ogling, whom he assumes is all hot and bothered
for Jaime, is actually Arya in disguise. The first time around, the scene was
just vaguely annoying—I love Bronn as a character except when he goes all
frat-boy—but the second time around the coy look the serving girl gives Jaime
is vaguely chilling. Knowing that’s Arya, in my head I was imagining her
calculation: “Can I kill Walder Frey AND the Kingslayer? Nah, best to stick
with Frey. Jaime was never on my list.” That little shiver up Jaime’s back is
his lizard brain being suddenly grateful that Arya doesn’t know he shoved Bran
out a window.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m beginning to think that the worst fate
in Westeros is to be born a Frey, as it seems to entail being congenitally
petty, incompetent, and jealous of other people’s successes. Walder Frey’s
little speech at the beginning of this scene is quite possibly the most
insufferable bit of oration we’ve heard in this series, and I’m including all
of Joffrey’s pronouncements. His suggestion that from this day forth, everyone
in that room should accompany killing blows to their enemies with the words
“The Freys and the Lannisters send their regards!” is a bit of piggybacking
self-aggrandizement that would make Erlich from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silicon Valley</i> blush.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Walder Frey is one of those characters I
can insult just because of whom he played in another fantasy franchise. During
his speech I kept thinking, “Oh, just shut the fuck up Argus Filch, you fucking
squib wizard wannabe”). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime is quite obviously unimpressed. Wait,
did I say unimpressed? I think I mean he would sooner cut off his other hand
and use it to gouge out his eyes than listen to another word from Walder Frey.
But these are the tasks nobility drops on the 1%, I suppose. His indifference
to Bronn’s frat-boy banter is one indicator of his desire to be Anywhere But
Here. He manages to divest himself of Bronn by being wing-man extraordinaire,
but must immediately regret his helpfulness when Bronn’s seat is immediately
taken by none other than Frey the Elder himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I loved Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in this
scene. I think he’s done a fantastic job of realizing Jaime Lannister anyway,
but in this moment he’s the audience’s proxy, radiating contempt for this
useless cocknapkin of a lord, and finally expressing what we’re all thinking
throughout the scene: precisely what fucking use ARE you, Walder Frey? The
expression on his face as Frey tries to equate himself with Jaime is priceless.
“Here we are now. Two kingslayers! We know what it’s like to have them grovel
to our faces, and snigger behind our backs. We don’t mind, do we? Fear! It’s a
marvelous thing.” If we <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ5oRxgphRc">recall
Jaime’s account</a> of what led him to kill the Mad King, it’s a bit of
miraculous self-control that he doesn’t just beat Frey to death with his golden
hand. Instead, he settles for pointing out that no one fears the Freys—they
fear the Lannisters, and if the Lannisters have to ride north to recapture the
Riverlands every time the Freys lose them, “then why do we need you?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We cut from a discomfited Walder Frey to
Sam, Gilly, and Little Sam as they arrive at Oldtown—which is a moment probably
somewhat more poignant for readers of the novels, as this ancient southern city
has been imbued with so much myth and legend and significance. It is the site
of the Citadel, the university (basically) that trains maesters, as well as
being one of the oldest cities in all of Westeros. It’s worth noting that as
Sam and Gilly arrive, they see a flight of white birds leaving the city—one of
which we later see gliding into Winterfell. Theses are the white ravens, which
in the GoT world are sent from the Citadel when the Maesters agree that yes, in
fact, winter has arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I loved this scene, as Sam’s first view of
the Citadel’s library is essentially book lovers’ porn. I remember having a
similar expression to Sam’s the first time I walked into the Robarts Library
Rare Books Collection at U of T … except that the stacks there are far less
impressive than what CGI has done for the Citadel. I also loved that Sam’s
nascent feminism founders on the shoals of books. “No women or children!” the
functionary at the desk thunders at Gilly, and Sam’s expression—in which
apology wars with excitement—is priceless. “Sorry, babe. I’d express solidarity
with you, but … BOOKS!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I hope that next season we just cut from whatever
momentous events are happening to Sam reading an ever-growing stack of books.
Just a few seconds. DRAGONS LAYING WASTE TO LANNISTERS! Sam reading. WHITE
WALKERS ASSAULTING THE WALL! Sam reading. CERSEI DRINKING WINE! Sam reading. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Repeat as necessary, GoT writing room.
You’re welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We then cut to of those white ravens Sam
and Gilly see (Jeebus, these birds fly as fast as Yara’s ships can sail)
gliding down to Winterfell. Jon is having a bit of difficulty adjusting to his
new position, observing to Melisandre that he was never permitted to sit at the
high table during feasts. “It could have been worse, Jon Snow,” she points out.
“You had a family. You had feasts.” Good observation, murderous red woman! It’s
that kind of common-sense advice we’ll miss because you thought it was a good
idea to burn the innocent child of the would-be king whom you thought,
erroneously, was the child of prophecy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">How awesome was Liam Cunningham in this
scene? Twelve years ago I saw <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Much Ado
About Nothing</i> at Shakespeare in the Park in New York, with Sam Waterston as
Leonato. The speech he delivers to Claudio, in which he accuses Claudio of
essentially killing his daughter, Hero, from grief, was spoken with such
spitting, shuddering, barely contained rage that even sitting in the back row I
felt it in my bones. That’s what I thought of while watching Davos put
Melisandre on the spot. “If he commands you to burn children, your lord is
evil!” You know what? That’s a fantastic rule of thumb when it comes to
choosing your deity. “I loved that girl!” Davos thunders. “Like she was my own!
She was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good</i>, she was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kind</i>, and you KILLED her!” Honestly, my
heart was breaking in these moments. Davos has lost everything—his sons, his
family, the man he believed should be king. And he’s lost Shireen, the little
girl who taught him to read and who might have given Lyanna Mormont a run for
her precocious money. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In a promising moment of wise compromise,
Jon Snow sends her south. He can’t ignore the fact that he’s only alive because
of Melisandre, but he also cannot ignore the enormity of her trespass. I doubt
Davos thinks it sufficient, but it’s a good first gesture for the man who’ll
become the King in the North by the end of the episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jon watches her ride away from the
battlements, and is joined by Sansa, who addresses the fact that she hadn’t
shared her communications with Littlefinger with him. In our last post, I said
that Sansa’s omission was bad writing; others have suggested that Sansa is
actually far more savvy and ruthless than I was giving her credit for. What did
you think of her apology, re: Knights of the Vale, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: First I just have to concur that Sam walking into that room of
infinite books almost made me forget every other moment of the entire series.
If you get to choose your heaven where you will spend all of eternity, the
showrunners just gave everyone a glimpse of mine. I pictured Gilly and little
Sam sitting out in the waiting room for YEARS as little Sam grows up, hits
puberty, moves out of the Citadel, all while Sam Tarly just stood in that same
spot, mouth agape, staring at the wonder and beauty that surrounded him. And
Chris, I thought EXACTLY the same thing when I saw it: I had the same reaction
you did when I walked into the Robarts Rare Book room (maybe you and I were in
the same bibliography class?) and when they pulled out the original Shakespeare
folio I thought I was going to faint. I remember putting on the gloves to
slowly turn the pages of a first edition of Dickens, and my eyes kept glancing upwards
at all of the stacks of books around me all the time. GLORIOUS. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">People always imagine what character they’d
want to be on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>. In
that moment, it was clear to me: I want to be Samwell Tarly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But now back over to our Sansa. Yes, you said
Sansa’s omission was bad writing, others said it was just more evidence of
Sansa’s stupidity and that Rickon’s death was on her head, while I held my
ground that we all know Littlefinger is a complete dick so why are we assuming
that Sansa knew he was coming and that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she</i>
is the bad guy? And of course this scene didn’t really answer anything. All she
said is that she’s sorry she didn’t tell him, but she didn’t elaborate what
there was to tell: that she’d sent the raven to Littlefinger? That she’d gotten
a raven back saying he was coming? That she knew all along or that it was a
mere possibility? Either way, Jon is clearly far more forgiving than the fans,
and has a much longer memory and knows they’re stronger as a family than
breaking apart. He knows what his sister has been through, and he knows that
where he was shuffled off to the Wall, she was betrothed to Joffrey, mocked by
the court, ridiculed by Cersei, watched her own father’s execution, became a
prisoner, thought she would die at the Battle of Blackwater, heard of the
deaths of her mother and brother, assumed Arya was dead, was married to a
monster against her own will, escaped at the last minute before she could be
executed for standing nearby while Joffrey died, was brought to the Eyrie and was
there when her aunt died, had creepy Uncle Baelish come on to her, then was
shuffled off to House Bolton where she discovered what a REAL monster was and
where her memories of Winterfell would forever be tarnished, thought her two
brothers had been murdered, was raped and beaten repeatedly before finding the
fortitude to escape, found out what her ward/brother had gone through at the
hands of Ramsay, escaped through the snow chased by Ramsay’s dogs, and THEN was
reunited with Jon. So yeah, she’s been through some stuff, and while the men
have been trained in weaponry and war from the moment they were big enough to
pick up a wooden sword, she was trained in embroidery and how to curtsey, and
yet by osmosis this little girl has grown into a woman who can help strategize
against the enemy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In that moment he realized the fault was as
much his as it was hers — she didn’t tell him about Littlefinger, and he didn’t
listen to her when he should have. He tells her they have to trust each other,
because right now, they’re all the other one has. He tells her that he’s going
to have the lord’s room made up for her — she should have the chamber that had
previously been occupied by Ned and Catelyn. She says <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i> should have the room, because he’s the lord. (It wasn’t clear to
me if their chamber was the same one in which Ramsay had repeatedly raped her —
if it was, I can imagine it’s not a room she’s keen on having.) He shakes his
head and says no, he can’t, because he’s not a Stark. “You are to me,” she
says, and for all they know, she’s the last surviving Stark, and if she says
he’s a Stark, he’s a Stark. (Even though we know he’s also something else, but
more on that later.) She tells him that a white raven has come from the
Citadel: “Winter is here.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I don’t know about you, but that line
elicited a gasp from me that was as loud as anything else in the episode. For
SIX YEARS we’ve heard that “Winter is coming,” which was something Ned Stark
said all the time. And it seemed like it would never come — it was just that thing
that everyone warned about, but I started to wonder if the show would end with
winter still on the horizon. Here come the white walkers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But as the snowflakes swirl in the air
above Winterfell, we now move to Dorne, where Lady Olenna is dressed all in black,
showing us that she knows, and she is FURIOUS. And she’s gone to the one place
where she knows she has a bunch of women with a SERIOUS beef against the
Lannisters, and most importantly, Cersei. Olenna has never hidden her disdain
for Cersei Lannister, as if she knew if House Tyrell ever had a downfall, it
would be at Cersei’s hand. But of all the Tyrells Cersei killed, she left the
most powerful one still standing, which is her biggest mistake. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As I said
earlier, everything that has happened to Cersei happened because of her own
mistakes — the deaths of her children, the rise of the High Sparrow — and two
of the three children died because someone took revenge on them to get back at
Cersei. And in the case of the first child, it was Lady Olenna who did it. And
now she’s back. She can’t come at Cersei through her children, so she needs to
think bigger. Cersei took away her future — she killed her son and both
grandchildren. What does Cersei have left? King’s Landing and Westeros. OK,
let’s take that from her. Ellaria looks at Olenna (who is not threatened one
bit by the Sand Snakes, telling them to shut the hell up and telling Elbara she
looks like an angry little boy) and tells her that she will give Olenna her
heart’s desire. “And what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> my
heart’s desire?” asks Olenna, with an eyeroll and a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pfft</i>. “Vengeance,” says Ellaria. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Justice.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Varys. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Last week the soccer dad and I were
discussing where Varys could have gone, and we both agreed it was Dorne. If he
basically lives to see Daenerys Stormborn take back Westeros, who are the
people who hate Cersei the most? Who are powerful enough to topple empires like
they did in Dorne? Who are, like Daenerys, women? (Her alliances now are with
the Sand Snakes and Yara Greyjoy.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Fire and blood,” he says as he emerges
from the shadows, all Doctor Evil–like. And... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We cut to the fire: Daenerys Targaryen.
Guys, it is ALL COMING TOGETHER!!! Daenerys is making her plans to go to
Westeros, and tells Daario that he has to stay to keep peace in Meereen, but
he’s having none of it. And she’s having none of him having none of it. She
holds her ground and tells him she needs to think politically now, and needs to
marry someone with power to gain power, but Daario loves her fiercely, and
won’t let her go. She just stares at him coolly and tells him his instructions
are awaiting him, there shall be no more dalliances with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i> dragon. It’s a heartbreaking scene, mostly because of the lack
of emotion she shows and Daario having nothing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but</i> emotion. He blames Tyrion, and she says this isn’t Tyrion, it’s
her decision (it’s Tyrion’s) and Daario pleads with her. “Let me fight for
you,” he says. But Tyrion knows Daenerys really does have a single-minded
purpose, and Cersei didn’t: Cersei wanted the power, but she loved her children
so much she allowed her enemies to get at her through them. When you love
someone, they will become your greatest weakness. And Daenerys can’t afford any
weaknesses right now. “You’ll get the throne,” says Daario. “I hope it brings
you happiness.” He tells her that he pities the lords of Westeros right now,
for they have no idea what’s coming for them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">She shows far more emotion with Tyrion, and
tells him that she just said goodbye to a man she loved and felt nothing. And
we realize what she just didn’t wasn’t some tough love act to save Daario’s
life — she truly never loved him the way he loved her. Tyrion says this is all
happening right now: all she’s ever wanted are ships, armies, and dragons, and
now she has all of them. “You’re in the great game now,” he tells her. “And the
great game is terrifying.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then, like Spike to Buffy in the
penultimate episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Buffy the Vampire
Slayer</i>, he looks at her and tells that he’s never believed in anything in
his life. He was taught to believe in certain gods, in family, in power, in the
monarchy, in the military, in his father, in his brother and sister, even in
himself, and believing in any of those things never got him anywhere. “And yet,
here I am,” he says. “I believe in you. It’s embarrassing, really... I’d swear
you my sword, but... I don’t actually have a sword.” And with that she makes
him the Hand of the Queen, even pinning the brooch on him that Ned Stark wore
back in season one. The pin didn’t get Ned anywhere positive. And when Tyrion
himself wore it as Joffrey’s Hand, things were just as bad. But he’s not
following Robert Baratheon, or Joffrey Baratheon — he’s the Hand of Daenerys
Stormborn, a woman who has shown herself to be an excellent leader, and who has
learned to listen to her advisors, which is something no other monarch in
Westeros has done in recent memory. He looks genuinely touched, and bows before
her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyE_KQSvhDOINOQOd2yoiwN91Dx0gaLs4R5gMDAPZY8oiLMA3YwST3NQ5wxzw-VPy_CB3NrO81jgb4Xzdn1ryeGSZMdaMORC9ZS6tRSJAN1tcNVwx2z_8LOFTPfjCjbAO1OGSfDg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-28+at+11.08.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyE_KQSvhDOINOQOd2yoiwN91Dx0gaLs4R5gMDAPZY8oiLMA3YwST3NQ5wxzw-VPy_CB3NrO81jgb4Xzdn1ryeGSZMdaMORC9ZS6tRSJAN1tcNVwx2z_8LOFTPfjCjbAO1OGSfDg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-28+at+11.08.32+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And from there we cut to Walder Frey eating
what looks to be a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">delicious </i>pie! How
much were you squeeing in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i> scene,
Chris?? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Squeeing and
throwing up a little in my mouth. That finger in the pie didn’t look like it
had been washed. That’s how you end up with the Norwalk virus, you know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It occurs to me that Arya’s actually done a
pretty impressive job of checking the names off her death list. A man wonders
if she’ll be the one to finally take Cersei off the board? Wouldn’t that piss
off Olenna and the Dorne women!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There isn’t much to say about this scene
aside from how perfect it is. As revenge killings go, it’s almost as satisfying
and poetic as Ramsay’s. Walder Frey spent his long life obsessed with the
status of his family, creating many Freys with his succession of young wives,
to the point where he’s not sure if the serving girl is his daughter. And when
he is assured that she is not, he proceeds to be gross and gropey. Ick. That
just kind of puts the cherry on the vengeance cake, though, as the random girl
he feels so entitled to take liberties with fools him into literally eating his
family legacy before revealing the face of a Stark Who Got Away. It’s
particularly satisfying that he dies while sitting in the very same seat from
which he presided over the Red Wedding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A lot of viewers have expressed
dissatisfaction with Arya’s sojourn in Braavos. Two seasons worth of
apprenticeship to the Faceless Men, only to finally reject them and head home?
Isn’t that just a whole lot of wasted storyline? I must admit, I felt a little
like this myself … until this moment. If the payoff of the Braavos storyline is
that Arya becomes an uber-assassin who starts knocking off Stark enemies,
starting with the man who killed her mother and brother, then I say that was
time well spent. It’s almost a little sad that Joffrey is no longer around for
her to kill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From one Stark daughter to the other, we
cut from Arya’s satisfied smile to the Winterfell godswood, where Littlefinger
finds Sansa hanging out under the weirwood tree, reflecting on all the times as
a child she’s prayed to be elsewhere. She’s come full circle, returning to one
of the sites of her childhood, and in this moment we see how much she has
grown, learned, and matured. She has certainly learned enough not to trust
Littlefinger. “What do you want?” she asks him, and he responds with one of the
more shocking revelations of the season. “Every time I’m faced with a
decision,” he tells her, “I close my eyes and see the same picture. Every time
I consider an action, I ask myself: will this action help to make this picture
a reality? Pull it out of my mind and into the world? And I only act if the
answer is yes.” As he speaks he leans in closer to her, his voice dropping
conspiratorially, suggesting that he’s about to confess his love and desire for
Sansa. But what is the picture in his head? “A picture of me on the Iron Throne,
and you by my side.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Wow. I’m not surprised or shocked that
Littlefinger’s end game will be a play for the crown; I’m gobsmacked that he
would say it out loud, and make clear his overweening ambition to Sansa. We’ve
always known, as Varys once put it, that Littlefinger would watch the world
burn if he could be king over the ashes, but it seems at least a little
presumptuous to declare as much when there’s really no path for him to claim
the throne outside of outright conquest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sansa has learned enough to take everything
he says with a boatload of salt, and the moment she pushes him away when he
goes in for the kiss made me cheer almost as much as I did when Arya pulled off
her disguise. He might have told her that the picture in his head includes her
at his side, but Sansa knows too well by now that if he had a choice between
the Iron Throne but no Sansa, or Sansa but no Iron Throne, you wouldn’t get the
sentence out before he plunked his arse down on the ugly old chair. “It’s a
pretty picture,” she says dismissively, and when he points out that he has very
publicly allied himself with House Stark, she says, “You’ve declared for other
houses before, Lord Baelish. It’s never stopped you from serving yourself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I think it’s safe to say that this is the season
in which Sansa came into her own (and I may or may not have said “You go,
girl!” when she tells him off), but Petyr Baelish is not so easily ignored.
“Who should the North rally behind?” he asks her. “The trueborn daughter of Ned
and Catelyn Stark of Winterfell? Or a motherless bastard born in the south?”
Sowing the seeds of dissension already … I have a feeling that next season will
see a lot of that sort of thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Maybe Arya will arrive and take care of
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We then cut to “the motherless bastard born
in the south” by way of a quick scene far to the north as Benjen brings Meera
and Bran to the Wall. He cannot pass the Wall, he tells them, as it has ancient
spells carved into its foundations. “And while it stands,” he says, “the dead
cannot pass.” Which raises an interesting question for the coming war: will we
see the destruction of the Wall when the Night King and his minions come south
in force? Because if they’re just kind of stymied by the Wall, standing there
saying “Well, fuck,” that would be a bit anticlimactic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But having arrived at a weirwood tree, Bran
is like an impatient binge-watcher who’s been away from the DVR too long, and
just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">has</i> to get back to the
interrupted story of his father. “I’m the Three-Eyed Raven now,” he tells
Meera, “I have to be ready for this,” but really, he’s just saying “Let me get
back to my stories already!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyf6dXoQxXd6Bnaa9l2GEM7IqRUrbNzQ7hpkyLTXAfC6IGZJaILYUo6jlkjRTSJKiaRBMqELXqQsb84EAhn_8jRoN46rENVGI4Yu1LXRT2aiandBmLY1Vy72jiKwPdbqv-drGnMA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-28+at+11.20.54+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyf6dXoQxXd6Bnaa9l2GEM7IqRUrbNzQ7hpkyLTXAfC6IGZJaILYUo6jlkjRTSJKiaRBMqELXqQsb84EAhn_8jRoN46rENVGI4Yu1LXRT2aiandBmLY1Vy72jiKwPdbqv-drGnMA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-28+at+11.20.54+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which, let’s admit it, is what we were all
thinking, and what we have been thinking since Bran first had his vision of the
Tower of Joy. FINALLY, we basically have confirmation of the most pervasive fan
theory about Jon Snow’s parentage. Or … well, mostly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To back up a moment for those casual
viewers who somehow missed all the hints (but honestly, I doubt that any of
those strange creatures would be reading this blog), it’s always been suggested
that Jon Snow is not, in fact, Ned Stark’s son. Rather, it’s believed by almost
everyone now that he is in fact the child of Rhaegar Targaryen (Daenerys’
brother) and Lyanna Stark—the latter of whom we see in this scene. The
“official” narrative put about after Robert Baratheon took the throne was that
Rhaegar kidnapped and raped Lyanna, and that she died from his abuse. Is
however more popularly believed (and there are a lot more hints to this effect
in the novels than in the show) that Rhaegar did not kidnap Lyanna; that the
two of them were in fact in love, and she willingly ran off with him; and
furthermore that the child she births in the Tower of Joy is Jon Snow, whom Ned
pretends—at Lyanna’s desperate plea—to be his own bastard fathered on a
nameless woman in the south.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This he does to protect Jon. Remember, the
Targaryen dynasty is toppled, and Robert Baratheon has a very acute and
specific loathing for them—he sends assassins after Viserys and Daenerys, and later
Ned attempts to resign the Handship when Robert tries to have Daenerys
murdered. Anyone with Targaryen blood would be a threat to the crown, and
therefore in danger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It is one of the sticking-points of Ned’s
character in the novels that Mr. Honour would have dishonoured himself and his
new bride (he married Catelyn to cement the allegiance between Houses Stark and
Tully) by fathering and acknowledging an illegitimate son. It is the one
grievance held by Catelyn in their marriage. If you’ll recall, way back at the
start of season one, just as Ned heads south to King’s Landing and Jon heads
north to the Wall, Ned promises that when he sees Jon next, they’ll have a long
and serious talk. Presumably, he meant to reveal to him his parentage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But of course, Joffrey put an end to that
when he peremptorily decided to execute Ned rather than let him take the black.
Can Qyburn resurrect him too, so that Arya can kill him all over again?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course, the scene does not unequivocally
establish, as the equation on the interwebs has gone, that R + L = J. We don’t
hear what Lyanna whispers to Ned, but the graphic match edit that cuts from the
face of the baby to that of Jon Snow makes it pretty damn clear that he’s not
Ned’s son, but Lyanna’s. The scene that follows, in which the northern houses
pledge their loyalty to the new King in the North, plays a little ironically on
what we now know. Littlefinger has planted the first seed of doubt for Sansa,
and we see her smile fade when she meets his gaze at the end of the scene. The
North rallies around a “motherless bastard” whom they all assume is Ned Stark’s
son; but we (think we) know that he is in reality equal parts Stark and
Targaryen, which would seem to signal that he will be one head of the
three-headed dragon when Daenerys finds out his parentage and discovers that he
is, in fact, her nephew. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which probably means she’ll marry him. To
paraphrase something Sterling Archer once said, Westeros sometimes seems like
the Alabama of fantasy worlds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I love that it’s everyone’s new favourite
character, Lyanna Mormont, who consolidates Jon’s leadership. As the crowd
grumbles and rumbles, we get a quick shot of Littlefinger’s calculating
expression, and Jon’s own blank one as he peers out over the room. But young
Lyanna isn’t taking anyone’s shit, and calls out all the other lords who did
not stand with the Starks against the Boltons. The scene ends with a callback
to season one, when all of Robb Stark’s bannermen acclaim him “King in the
North.” It’s a stirring scene, but also a worrisome one, for that very reason …
and because we don’t quite know how to interpret the look that passes between
Sansa and Littlefinger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From the King in the North to the Queen in
the South—Jaime Lannister rides up to King’s Landing and is treated to the sight
of smoke rising over the city, and the episode ends with images of rival
queens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Take us home, Nikki.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I have my money on Daenerys and Podrick, for the record. Ahem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Yes, I agree that the scene of all of the
houses of the North chanting, “King in the North!” was meant to hearken back to
Jon Snow’s brother — er... cousin? — Robb when he was proclaimed the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sbWyt2lCT31F6-ytW5Lris_CyoOt-4p0znz7-ctFhrm7ewQBD2kIgQjhglY_zWNrxoh0IbGuxBTiaI2E7f45gL6CibwTlC0elMNjOzCgd0H4g9u_HbV7qVVFb12qi_bHOB547w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-28+at+11.21.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sbWyt2lCT31F6-ytW5Lris_CyoOt-4p0znz7-ctFhrm7ewQBD2kIgQjhglY_zWNrxoh0IbGuxBTiaI2E7f45gL6CibwTlC0elMNjOzCgd0H4g9u_HbV7qVVFb12qi_bHOB547w/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-28+at+11.21.41+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">While Daenerys, Cersei, and Littlefinger
have their eye on the Iron Throne, Jon is looking no further than to unite the
north and help lead them in their battle to defeat the white walkers. Cersei
and Daenerys don’t have a clue about the white walkers, so they can continue
their little battle to the south, but for now, they have a much bigger problem
on their hands in the north. And if the white walkers manage to get past
them... gods help those who live in warmer climes. The problem is, he’s seen
them — as far as the other houses are concerned, the white walkers are just
bogeymen they use to scare their children out of staying in their beds at
night. He’s going to have his work cut out for them on that front, but he can’t
even get them to unite behind him. They all grumble and complain about the
winter coming, and since no one thought to put winter chains on their horses’ hoofs
they’re itching to get home right now. And as you said, Chris, it’s Lyanna
Mormont — Lyanna Stark’s namesake, we shouldn’t forget — who stands up and
tells off the room. Here is a room full of the leaders of ancient houses, of
Free Folk and warriors, of men who just fought in a battle and who are now
weary, all arguing amongst themselves, and sitting in the middle, quietly
surveying the room, is a 10-year-old girl.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Let’s just ponder that for a second: she’s
10. The first time we heard of her was last season, when Stannis was at Castle
Black and trying to get the northern houses to rally around him, and Lyanna
sent a raven to him basically telling him to fuck right off, that she would
only bend at the knee for House Stark. And she has stayed absolutely true to
her word. She stands up and reminds the first dissenter, Manderly, that his son
had been killed at the Red Wedding. “But you refused the call.” She then turns
to Glover, and reminds him that despite his fealty to House Stark, “In their
hour of need, you refused the call.” Then she turns to the young head of House
Cerwyn, and tells him that his father had been flayed by Ramsay. “Still, you
refused the call.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“But House Mormont remembers. THE NORTH
REMEMBERS. We know no king but the king in the north whose name is Stark. I
don’t care if he’s a bastard, Ned Stark’s blood runs through his veins. He’s my
king, from this day until his last day.” And then she sits. YAAAAAAASSSSSS!!!!!
Oh how I love this young woman. All these men do is fight in every meeting, and
then a girl stands up, tells them exactly who each one of them is (and she’s
right on all counts, including suggesting that Stark blood runs in Jon’s
veins), and they begin to respond, and agree they’ve all been pretty shit at
running the houses of the north, and that they should have bent the knee to Jon
Snow long ago. Jon just looks gobsmacked, like he doesn’t know where this girl
came from but maybe SHE should run the North. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Fiercest 10-year-old EVER. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then Jaime returns to King’s Landing to
see it burning to the ground, and his face is a mix of shock, confusion, and
“Oh my god, she didn’t” all over it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We cut to Cersei Lannister walking solemnly
and singlemindedly into the throne room, marching straight for the throne with
purpose. And can I just pause to comment on that outfit? I don’t know what sort
of Badass Queens R Us boutique just showed up in King’s Landing, but I’m so
glad she opened an account there. Black leather dress punctured with holes that
make it look like metal studs are over it, with actual metal shoulder pads and
a chain connecting them in the front, that outfit was ca-ray-zee, and SO
PERFECT for this moment. “The Rains of Castamere” begins playing somberly in
the background as Jaime wanders into the gallery, and listens to Qyburn make
the announcement. “I now proclaim Cersei of the House Lannister, first of her
name, queen of the Andals and the First Men, protector of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Some people die on battlefields to become the ruler of Westeros. Some are
simply born into it. Others burn down the whole fucking city and walk into the
room. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As she sits on the Iron Throne and glances
over to the gallery and sees Jaime standing there, her face doesn’t change at
all. And we know what he must be thinking: his son is dead. The only way Cersei
could be sitting on that throne is if their son is dead. What a way to find out
you no longer have any children. And not only that, but there’s nothing behind
her eyes but complete deadness. He knows the Cersei he has loved for so long is
gone, and what is left is this black-leather-clad person who once loved him and
their children. Now all she has is that throne. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And, as I wrote in my notes, “Don’t worry,
Cersei, Daenerys will soon be there to ruin <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything</i>.”
For here she comes, riding across the waves in the fleet of ships that Yara and
Theon brought to her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Long ago, when Robert Baratheon wanted to
have Daenerys killed because he found out she was pregnant, Ned Stark talked
him out of it. He said there was nothing to fear with the Dothraki, because, as
he said, “I’ll fear the Dothraki the day they teach their hoses to run on
water.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">They didn’t have to teach them to run on
water; they’ve simply boarded them onto the ships that are now making their way
over to King’s Landing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As the majestic music swirls over this
glorious final scene, we see the Greyjoys and their armies on the ships, we see
the Dothraki and the Unsullied steering others, and we pan up into the sky to
see Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion flying freely over the water, where we
finally zero in on the front ship, where Daenerys stands proudly at the prow,
Tyrion by her side, and Varys and Missandei right behind her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Winter has come to the North, and fire is
coming to the South. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with that, we end what is probably the
best episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>
ever... and now we have to wait another 10 months for more. Uggggghhhhh... What
will be next? Will Arya come straight to Winterfell or will she sneak her way
through the countryside, being the girl of many faces? Or could she come to
Winterfell not as Arya but as another person, just to check up on her family
and see where their loyalties still lie? Speaking of loyalties, will Sansa
remain loyal to Jon Snow or could there be dissension between the two? After
all, he was named King of the North when she is actually the true heir of Ned
and Catelyn’s (as far as they’re concerned) and she was the one who brought the
army that won back Winterfell. What will happen between Jaime and Cersei? He
already killed one mad monarch for threatening to burn down King’s Landing —
will he be forced to kill another for actually following through with it? The
Sand Snakes weren’t on any of the ships; are they going to be pulled out as
Olenna’s wild card later in the game? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All of these questions and many more will
be answered... in approximately 300 more days. Sigh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Thank you to everyone for reading our posts
week after week, especially this 8600-word one (yeesh). And thank you, as
always, to my partner Christopher Lockett, who peppers his brilliant commentary
with phrases like “formal burlap” that have me spit out my tea laughing every
time we pass these back and forth. I can’t believe we’ve already come to the
end of another season. Until next time, Valar Morghulis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-23232654175882223982016-06-21T16:44:00.000-04:002016-06-21T16:44:24.095-04:00Game of Thrones 6.09 Battle of the Bastards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US">I've written about a lot of television episodes in my years as a writer. I've recapped some really great episodes, and some poor ones, and many really good ones. But every once in a while an episode comes along that is so stunning it raises the bar of what quality television should be. "Battle of the Bastards" is one of those episodes. Yes, this season has had a different tone than the seasons before it, and yes, there are times it's moving too quickly, and other times things are happening that don't seem to have any rhyme or reason, and it's possible the show is hurting by not following the books at this point. But this episode proved that <i>Game of Thrones</i> still has a lot of ground to cover, and the battle for Winterfell is one of the best hours of television I've ever seen. Before I begin, I wanted to point out something I noticed as I was collecting photos to accompany the post. Maybe I spent too many years dissecting <i>Lost</i> and now I just see light/dark images everywhere, but check out this screen capture of Jon Snow about to be suffocated in defeat by Ramsay's army: </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The scene seems to be the dark version of a scene of victory in a much earlier season: </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Coincidence, or foreshadowing? </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As always, I'm joined by my banner brother, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett,</a> and this week I'll go first. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">Welp, in true <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones</i> fashion, the penultimate episode was SPECTACULAR. Which means
next week’s will probably be a wrap-up episode with a lot of exposition in the
first half, a few surprises in the second, and something huge happening in the
final two minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As is often the case, this episode leaned
heavily on the battle (I think every even-numbered season has a battle in
episode 9, and the odd-numbered seasons have shocking deaths in episode 9). We
all knew this episode would feature the showdown between Jon Snow and Ramsay
Bolton (I love that on Father’s Day the show featured a fight between two men
whose fathers wouldn’t legitimize them, ha!) but first, we start off in Meereen
and another battle that’s already waging. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The episode opened with the men working for
the slavers (seriously, that word to me looks like slayers with the y having
been cut off) loading catapults on their ships, which they are expertly aiming
at various sites on Meereen. Meanwhile, inside the pyramid, Tyrion is discussing
the state of affairs with Daenerys. When she was taken away, it seemed she had
some grumblings happening, but things were mostly under control. Now she comes
back and after a few weeks under Tyrion’s control, the place appears to have
gone to shit. The thing is, as he explains, it’s like many cases of new
leadership. A new leader is nominated to come in and clean up a country’s mess,
but when he first comes in, he encounters so many problems he’s suddenly blamed
for everything. But it’s not necessarily his fault — it was the previous leader
who caused all the problems, and now it’s his job to use his cunning and
patience to actually fix them. Daenerys didn’t fix the city’s problems by
freeing the slaves, she simply created new ones by angering the masters for
destroying their way of life. As he tells her, the rebirth of Meereen is the
cause of all the violence. If her way succeeds, it sends a message to all that
a city without slavery proves that no one needs a master. And the masters can’t
have <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> little tidbit getting out,
now, can they? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So, Daenerys has a simple solution. She
will crucify the slavers, she will destroy their ships, she will go to their
cities and burn each one to the ground, and she will win. And so Tyrion must
once again stop her and remind her — as he did last season — about who Aerys
Targaryen really was. He reminds her that the Mad King had buried wildfire
throughout King’s Landing and was planning to set the city on fire, to kill
every man, woman, and child in order to get to the few leaders he needed to
wipe out. And so Jaime Lannister had to stop him in order to prevent a mass
slaughter. If she follows through with her plan, she’ll be no different than
the monster her father was, and they need to rise above that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And so, he says, they need to come up with
another plan. Cue the meeting at the top of the pyramid with the three masters
Tyrion already spoke to. They tell the slavers they’re here to discuss the
terms of surrender. With a smug smile, the masters begin explaining the terms
they want Daenerys and Tyrion to follow, before Daenerys cuts them off and
apologizes for miscommunicating — what she meant was, they’re here to discuss
the terms of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">masters’</i> surrender.
Cue faces ranging from shocked to angry to amused. That last one doesn’t last
for long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As we all knew would happen, Drogon shows
up and Daenerys climbs on his back. Watching him grow for six seasons is
totally worth it (well, it was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">always</i>
worth it) just seeing the looks on the masters’ faces when he lands in front of
them. She flies off and Viserion and Rhaegal emerge from the chamber where
they’ve remained all season despite the fact Tyrion let them go several
episodes ago, but perhaps they needed the scream of Drogon to draw them out
through the wall of the place. And now that they’re flying for the first time
in months, they get to have some playtime, flying around the harbour and
burning everything in sight. It’s a beautifully shot scene as Daenerys,
stone-faced, leads her children through the skies and orders them to immolate
everyone working for the slavers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course, this only takes care of the
people on the ships — the Sons of the Harpy are on the ground, getting all
stabby with the slaves and Daenerys followers on the ground. Hm... if only
Daenerys had someone loyal to her who could handle th— <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cue Dothraki. We can only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imagine</i> the fate of the Sons of the
Harpy, but I think it’s a safe guarantee that what’s left isn’t gonna be
pretty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, back up on the pyramid, the
masters watch in horror and realize they’ve lost. Tyrion gives them a chance to
help him choose one master who will die, and two of them immediately push a
third one forward, mentioning he’s low-born and not one of them. As the third
one bows and begs for mercy, Grey Worm steps forward and in one motion, slashes
the throats of the other two masters. Tyrion steps over to the third one and
places a hand on his shoulder. He tells him they will let him go, and he needs
to go and find the others, and “remind them what happened when Daenerys
Stormborn and her dragons came to Meereen.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This isn’t just an episode about battles,
but about preparation for and strategy within those battles. Daenerys was just
going to push headlong into pure destruction before Tyrion calmed her down and
explained that there was a better way to handle this, and he was right. We’ll
see more scenes in this episode of discussions for what to do in battle, where
not everyone will be as open to the proposed strategies as Daenerys was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From here we move over to Jon Snow meeting
his monstrous brother-in-law for the first time (a scene that included my new
favourite character, Lyanna Mormont). What did you think of the initial meeting
between the bastards, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I thought it set a particular theme and tone that
ran throughout the episode, which might be best summed up as the sins of the
fathers. Bastardy versus trueborn, illegitimate versus legitimate sons, as
we’ve seen over the course of six seasons, is a fraught and freighted issue in
Westeros. In this respect, GRRM is more indebted to Shakespeare than anyone
else: Edmund in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">King Lear</i> and
Falconbridge in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">King John</i> are two of
the most compelling of his creations, both of them attractive villains whose villainy
proceeds from a grievance with the universe—and their fathers—that they were
born “base,” and therefore ineligible to inherit wealth or titles. “</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=30892649" name="6"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why
bastard? wherefore base?</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> / <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=30892649" name="7">When my dimensions are as well compact,</a>”
Edmund asks, “<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=30892649" name="8">My mind as generous, and my shape as true,</a> / <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=30892649" name="9">As honest madam's issue?</a>” Jon Snow has always nursed resentment that
he was the odd one out, but of course has given the lie to the charge of
bastardy’s “taint.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Indeed,
he has never been more his father’s son than in this episode, and by the same
token neither has Ramsay. Ramsay himself might seem to be an argument for the
corruption of the bastard; Roose himself explained his proclivities as its
product, but it is hard to make the argument that Ramsay is somehow different
in kind from his father, or from his family’s historical fondness for cruelty
and torture. Roose rebuked him at the beginning of the season for letting his
“habits” occlude his strategic common sense where Sansa was concerned, but it
has been obvious from the moment Ramsay murdered him that his cold cunning and
ruthlessness has metastasized into Ramsay’s sociopathy. Like Jon, Ramsay is
very much his father’s son, bastard or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The parley between Jon and Ramsay is itself
broadly symbolic of the traits that originally set the narrative rolling way
back when: courage versus cunning, honour versus calculation, justice versus
ambition. Or to phrase it another way, Stark versus Lannister. In spite of the
fact that the former categories have not fared well, in Jon Snow we see their
distillation, and that should give us pause. It certainly does for Sansa, who
explodes in anger and frustration at Jon when they’re alone. In the preceding
war council, both Jon and Davos lay out a sound strategy. Let them come to us.
With any luck, anger and confidence will send them charging full tilt. Hold
your ground. “They’ve got the numbers,” Davos says. “We need the patience.” He
then lays out what has often been a winning strategy for inferior forces: let
the center give, and surround them on three sides. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sansa, however, raises a crucial point that
Jon is unwilling, or more likely unable, to grasp: that Ramsay is
unpredictable, and whatever Jon thinks he understands about him is simple
delusion. Sansa <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">understands</i> him in
the most horrible and terrifying ways possible. Jon does not, and cannot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jon, however, so completely misunderstands
Sansa’s concerns that I want to shake him by his man-bun. “I’ve fought beyond
the Wall against worse than Ramsay Bolton,” he retorts. “I’ve defended the Wall
from worse than Ramsay Bolton.” Oh, Jon—this isn’t about your honour, courage,
or masculine pride. Of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">course</i> he’s
fought worse than Ramsay, at least in terms of scale (defending the Wall), and
in terms of the enemy’s implacable malevolence (Hardhome). But in both of these
cases, he fought an enemy singular of purpose and uncomplicated in motive—the
White Walkers, who seek the destruction of all that is living, and the
wildlings, who just wanted to get the fuck away from the White Walkers. It’s
worth noting that the only time he’s fought an enemy with nuanced motives, they
murdered him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ramsay, by contrast, has no desire or
purpose beyond the accrual of power to better facilitate his own pleasure and
cruel entertainment. He will play with enemies for the sheer fun of playing
with them. Jon is thus as uniquely unfit to deal with Ramsay as his father was
with Littlefinger and Cersei Lannister. In this respect, for all his experience
with battle, Jon is little better than a naïf beside Sansa, who brings not only
her knowledge of Ramsay, but her experience of watching her father executed,
her torment at Joffrey’s hands, and her confusing sojourn with Littlefinger at
the Eyrie. At this stage in the game, she has the equivalent of a postgraduate
degree in power and its abuses, while Jon has yet to pass his GED. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If we were unclear on this point, Sansa’s
brutally realistic assessment of Rickon’s life expectancy shows us how much she
has learned: “We’ll never get him back. Rickon is Ned Stark’s trueborn son,
which makes him a greater threat to Ramsay than you, a bastard, and me, a girl.
As long as he lives, Ramsay’s claim to Winterfell will be contested, which
means … he won’t live long.” Sansa’s words prove prescient, as it is precisely
with Rickon that Ramsay will taunt Jon into abandoning his careful battle plan.
Two Starks with one stone, one might say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I thought Sansa was pretty magnificent in
this episode, save for one crucial inconsistency. Why has she not told Jon
about Littlefinger and the Lords of the Vale? It is understandable that she
would have held back that information when she was determined to reject
Littlefinger’s help—shortsighted and selfish, perhaps, but understandable
considering the hatred she must feel for the man who married her to a monster.
Considering that we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i> she’s sent a
raven asking for his help after all, why would she not tell Jon? It’s not as
though he’s ecstatic about attacking a force three times the size of his. “No,
it’s not enough!” he shouts, a tinge of despair entering his voice. “It’s what
we have!” It really makes no sense to withhold this from him, and that one
point nagged at me throughout what was otherwise one of this show’s best
episodes ever. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQ8Quw5rt7WY0lCRhd00d9CxxFtOLn7z4wgDnaHsNYWBD9aJdNx6FzBAHNA6_sb5BUTvbDlH03KcLhhFkx_00b586zPM_GSrJMJQgfEKxfR2YTCRSZo1RxREIr-HIXfDymPdfmA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.21.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQ8Quw5rt7WY0lCRhd00d9CxxFtOLn7z4wgDnaHsNYWBD9aJdNx6FzBAHNA6_sb5BUTvbDlH03KcLhhFkx_00b586zPM_GSrJMJQgfEKxfR2YTCRSZo1RxREIr-HIXfDymPdfmA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.21.21+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But whatever her reason, her heart or her
shoes, she refuses to give Jon Littlefinger’s news. Which leads to bleak
parting words that hearken back to season four. Sansa avows that she will not
go back to Ramsay alive. When Jon promises to protect her, she says bitterly,
“No one can protect me. No one can protect anyone.” I don’t know about you,
Nikki, but this line made me think of Cersei’s sad reply to Oberyn’s claim that
they don’t hurt little girls in Dorne: “</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Everywhere in the <i>world</i>,” she says, “they hurt little girls.”
Jon’s promise is no doubt sincere, but again, she knows more of the world than
he does, and he can never understand what she’s been through. He’s been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">murdered</i>, and he can’t grasp what she’s
been through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">She leaves Jon alone
in his tent, brooding, and Davos’ question to Tormund gives us a sound bridge
over the edit: “So do you think there’s hope?” War makes for strange
bedfellows, none stranger than these two. “You loved that cunt Stannis,”
Tormund growls, “and I loved the man he burned … I believed in him. I believed
he was the man to lead us through the Long Night. But I was wrong, just like
you.” Perhaps, Davos counters, believing in kings is the mistake. Between
Mance’s failure and the (not literal) demons whispering the Stannis, between
Tyrion’s remind to Daenerys about her father’s madness and Daenerys’
acknowledgement that she, Tyrion, and Theon and Yara all had terrible fathers
who left the world a worse place … we get a mini-seminar in this episode about
the potentially corrosive aspects of power, and how desiring, getting, and
possessing it can deform the mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBe0p7q49Hpi83pL0o_dNK4Zx_Tfpunene2FaHAY1tg7ZSDCfzM9YzZ46YZ-NFFNGXiTmHnnRs5MWoKxtdBEkxIQh3uNKP9ucGgzIU12Ai1Tb7JnpvnlNw132EK9JI5btkBIJNw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.14.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBe0p7q49Hpi83pL0o_dNK4Zx_Tfpunene2FaHAY1tg7ZSDCfzM9YzZ46YZ-NFFNGXiTmHnnRs5MWoKxtdBEkxIQh3uNKP9ucGgzIU12Ai1Tb7JnpvnlNw132EK9JI5btkBIJNw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.14.45+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And speaking of the
demons whispering in Stannis’ skull, our next stop on our Night Before Battle
Tour is Jon visiting Melisandre. Before you comment on that, Nikki, I’m
curious: when Tormund thought Stannis’ demons were literally real, did you
flash to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Guardians of the Galaxy</i> and
Drax the Destroyer’s inability to understand metaphor? Or was that just me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Nikki</span></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">: Hahahaha!! Tormund was the BEST in this episode. When Davos says
Stannis had demons talking to him, and Tormund says matter-of-factly, “And did
you see those demons?” I laughed and laughed. I want to see Davos and Tormund
do “Who’s on First” together. Though... I guess then you’d have to explain the
concept of baseball to the guy and... yeah, probably wouldn’t be as funny as
Abbott and Costello doing it. (Though Abbott and Costello never finished a
routine with the punchline, “Happy shitting.”) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And one quick word
about Sansa: I could be completely wrong on this one, but my thinking is, Sansa
didn’t know Littlefinger was coming until the day of the battle. We saw her
send a raven; we never saw her receive one. I’m sure many fans are probably
coming down hard on Sansa (though it never occurred to me they would until I
just read your thoughts above) but when I watched this episode, I automatically
assumed she brought in Littlefinger’s troops the moment they arrived. And leave
it to that cock to show up at the last minute after Rickon was already dead. I
don’t think Sansa would risk Jon being killed because she wanted to make a
dramatic entrance. Petyr? Yes. Sansa? No. I think she was hoping Jon would
reconsider the battle, and part of her desperation in begging him to do so is
that she hadn’t yet heard back from Baelish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And why didn’t he
RSVP? He received the Facebook invitation saying the battle would be happening
on Saturday, and by god he wasn’t going to show up a full night early and have
to pay for all of his soldiers to stay at the Best Westeros, so instead he just
brought them in the day of, and they showed up a wee bit late. But just in time
to stop things from becoming atrocious. Besides, I don’t think I have to go out
too far on a limb to assume Baelish is going to want something in return (duh)
and that something is Sansa Stark. And since he ALSO wants the North, I would
assume he would be quite happy if every other Stark kid died off so Sansa would
be the last heir, and he would become king. If Sansa knew he was coming, she
would be able to warn Jon to hold off on the beginning of the battle, thus
possibly saving Rickon’s life and ensuring Jon wouldn’t die. Baelish ensured
the youngest Stark would die and was probably hoping Jon had already been
crushed by the time he showed up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It never occurred to
me that Sansa was withholding information — I don’t think she had a clue
Baelish was actually coming until he rang her doorbell on Battle Day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But we’re getting
ahead of ourselves here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Back to the night
before the battle, Jon Snow goes to the Red Woman to seek her advice on the
battle, but more importantly to ask her not to bring him back if he should die.
She tells him it’s not within her control; if the Lord of Light wants her to
bring Jon back, she must do it. “What kind of god would do something like
that?” Jon asks. “The one we’ve got,” she replies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uxf-uwB9qOmN_s4zL_rLoLZQK7ygTh7hLvwMhJMTC8ZPd-FKhyF7vhR9VSl3KHCYq2nTMY_0E_Rf18J4BrhLPzOWsQ9DHU7iDNUchunaOuDSZA5z4vroREAIDy9X2Xli3RkJsA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.15.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uxf-uwB9qOmN_s4zL_rLoLZQK7ygTh7hLvwMhJMTC8ZPd-FKhyF7vhR9VSl3KHCYq2nTMY_0E_Rf18J4BrhLPzOWsQ9DHU7iDNUchunaOuDSZA5z4vroREAIDy9X2Xli3RkJsA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.15.08+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Meanwhile, Davos goes
on his traditional walk the night before battle, and finds Shireen’s stag. It’s
a gut-wrenching moment where you can see the wheels turning in his head, and he
turns back to the camp with only one thought: what monster have I brought into
this fray? The same one who gave life to Jon Snow and is vowing to follow him
to the end took Shireen’s life when she had vowed to follow another. Remember,
it was last season’s penultimate episode where Shireen died, so the show took
an entire season to bring it full circle. Also, on a purely production note, as
Davos stood on the hill with that gorgeous sunrise behind him and the dark,
dark sky above, I thought how long did it take them to line up that perfect
shot? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQF4HaQEzwSm0Y_RUOeA75tvNu_Dlq1UfSg1zFNwvQS0d9uVzEjJrDUvBinDIoNBSpzyAUiFDhRCft_5CczU19MDXZwDfmpShwyhQvhhyphenhyphen1z1DST6QhDOH2B5qwyqtOxr1ILRvfA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.15.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQF4HaQEzwSm0Y_RUOeA75tvNu_Dlq1UfSg1zFNwvQS0d9uVzEjJrDUvBinDIoNBSpzyAUiFDhRCft_5CczU19MDXZwDfmpShwyhQvhhyphenhyphen1z1DST6QhDOH2B5qwyqtOxr1ILRvfA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.15.30+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And these two quick
scenes bring us back over to Meereen, where Tyrion and Daenerys are meeting with
Theon and Yara. As you mentioned, Chris, apparently they took a TARDIS to get
there that fast, but hey, let’s give the writers some artistic license. After
all, we really can’t rule out that the Doctor may have spent some time in
Westeros.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I really loved this
scene. Tyrion won’t let Theon get off easily after making the remarks about his
height way back in season one. A Lannister might always pay his debts, but it
also seems that a Lannister never forgets. He reminds him of some of the ruder
things he said about his dwarfism before telling him how unoriginal they are,
and topping it off with a, “So how have things been going with you since then?”
Ha! I know Theon has been through hell, and he’s actually become a character I
quite like, but I despised him in season one as much as Tyrion despises him
now, so I understand why Tyrion would have held onto his resentment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But the far more
important connection in this scene was that between Yara and Daenerys. Half
girl-power, half flirtiness, the little smiles and knowing looks between the
two were priceless. Theon explains that he’s handing rule of the Iron Islands
over to his sister because he’s not fit to rule, but she is. Daenerys looks
surprised, and asks Yara, “Has the Iron Islands ever had a queen before?” “No
more than Westeros,” says Yara, cunningly. And Daenerys gives her quite the sly
smile when she says it. Yara and Theon explain that their uncle Euron plans to
come to Meereen and give her his cock in the form of a marriage proposal, and
if they were to pledge the Iron Islands back to Yara, that wouldn’t happen. “I
imagine your offer is free of marriage demands?” asks Daenerys flirtily. “I
wouldn’t demand it, but I’m open to anything,” says Yara. And the two queens
smile knowingly at each other again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwURQBNX_q6trUUvRWTwykvQJzv975or85CnpVZcLtz1xsH4L6T_UXaqIsRPnNoo7kUoyO2hSsMrE9_fcHPv9rrBNAA-aZRscflaAVetOUY-L6bTqguyjD97v9scsz7mOfTgh5hQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.15.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwURQBNX_q6trUUvRWTwykvQJzv975or85CnpVZcLtz1xsH4L6T_UXaqIsRPnNoo7kUoyO2hSsMrE9_fcHPv9rrBNAA-aZRscflaAVetOUY-L6bTqguyjD97v9scsz7mOfTgh5hQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.15.56+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This bit of banter
ranked right up there with meeting Lyanna Mormont for the first time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Daenerys acknowledges
that everyone in the room had shitty fathers who were shitty leaders, and that
it’s up to the four of them to bring about change in the world. Again, the
Father’s Day is about learning to be better than the piece of crap their
fathers were. (Now if that doesn’t have the trappings of a Hallmark card, I
don’t know what does.) Daenerys steps up to Yara and tells her they have a deal
under the condition that the Ironborn can no longer rape, raid, or pillage.
“But that’s our way of life,” says Yara, without even the slightest touch of
irony. But if she wants to leave the world a better place than her father did,
she must change. And with that, Daenerys and Yara grasp hands, and the
Daenyara/Yarnerys ship is born. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Before we get to the
play-by-play of the final battle, were you as thrilled with this scene as I
was, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I thoroughly enjoyed it, TARDIS and/or jet-powered
longships notwithstanding. I was particularly pleased that Daenerys seems to be
learning. At least, that is what I took from her willingness to grant the Iron
Islands a measure of self-determination in exchange for Yara’s loyalty. She
corrects Tyrion when he voices his concern that other regions might demand
their independence as well, saying, “She’s not demanding, she’s asking. The
others are free to ask as well.” It’s early days, of course, but Daenerys
appears to be thinking in terms of alternative political models—perhaps this is
part of what she had in mind when she spoke of “breaking the wheel.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which brings us to the final battle, which
is easily the most spectacular and well-shot of the entire series. And,
unsurprisingly, the most expensive—between the dragons routing the slavers’
fleet and the Battle of the Bastards, this episode cost around $10 million to
make, the most the show has spent to date. It was money well spent, especially
in the latter battle. While the fight for Meereen was necessarily CGI-heavy, for
the Jon and Ramsay throw-down, the director (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0764601/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Miguel Sapochnik</a>,
who last season gave us “Hardhome”), went a much more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord of the Rings</i> direction, eschewing the CGI for a far more
tactile depiction, employing a legion of extras rather than an army of computer
animators. CGI was of course employed, but it is far harder to see where it
ends and real people begin than at any other point in the series so far. Though
the battle took twenty-four days to shoot, it pays off in one of the dirtiest,
bloodiest, and most realistic battles I’ve seen outside of the beginning of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gladiator</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It actually has a bit of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gladiator</i> feel to it, especially in the
opening moments when we see the serried ranks of the forces facing them across
the field, as Jon Snow walks his horse to the front. Jon, alas, is no Maximus
however, and this battle demonstrates the truth of Ygritte’s repeated charge:
he really does know nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before getting into a discussion of Jon’s
rash stupidity and respond to your thoughts on Sansa’s silence about the Vale
knights, Nikki, I just want to point out something that should have been
obvious to me but wasn’t until I happened across <a href="http://mashable.com/2016/06/20/game-thrones-battle-bastards-history/#UaMXoCGReSqO">this
article</a>. Namely, this is the first time <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones</i> has treated us to a proper set-piece battle. By that I mean a
battle in which opposing forces draw themselves up on opposite sides of a
battlefield and close on one another, with the various stages of the battle
itself shown in some detail. All of the other battles we’ve seen on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> have been sieges and/or
assaults on fortresses, such as the Battle of Blackwater or the wildlings’ attack
on the Wall; ambushes or routs, like Stannis’ attack on the wildling or his
defeat by the Boltons; or small but bloody skirmishes, like Jon’s attack on
Craster’s Keep. In fact, the show has done a scrupulous job of keeping all of
the other set-piece battle off-screen, usually just showing us the
aftermath—perhaps most notably in season one, when Tyrion gets knocked out just
as the Lannister army is about to take on the Starks, and he wakes up
afterward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This reluctance to depict large-scale
battles in all their brutal glory is understandable. Such spectacles are
extremely expensive to shoot, as this episode’s price-tag attests, and can too
often end up being underwhelming when not done well (the Battle of Phillipi in
season two of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rome</i> comes to mind). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F7XFAfX-Y_8" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But they got this one right, from start to
finish, and as the article I mentioned above points out, it demonstrates a
solid grasp of historical military tactics, to the point where the original
conception was based on the Battle of Agincourt, with Jon &co. playing the
part of the beleaguered English. Though this idea had to be abandoned because
of the ever-niggling question of budgets, the prominence of longbows as a
crucial weapon lingers on in the thick flights of arrows punctuating the
battle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In fact, never mind <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gladiator</i>. It occurs to me just now that this battle’s closest
filmic cousin is Kenny B’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Henry V</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hFFDVxZRp-0" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The difference of course being that Henry V
was not a raging idiot, and was not goaded into a suicidal charge by the
Dauphin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, Jon Snow. You really do know nothing. I
wrote in my notes “LISTEN TO SANSA!” as soon as Rickon appeared at the end of
Ramsay’s rope. There’s that moment of tension as he raises his dagger over
Rickon’s head, but it’s only tense for the characters in the scene and anyone
who, for whatever reason, just started watching <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> with this episode—all the rest of us know that
Ramsay’s not going to make things so simple. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And Jon, not unpredictably, falls for it.
Sigh. As I said, he is his father’s son. Can we imagine a scenario in which Ned
Stark would stand still when a loved one is in danger? Sansa’s dire prediction
about Rickon is realized the moment we see him at the end of that rope. The one
chance Rickon had of surviving, we realize, was to have been left moldering in
the Winterfell dungeon by an overconfident Ramsay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Again, this battle proves to be a
distillation of Jon and Ramsay’s characters. Jon is honourable and brave to a
fault; Ramsay is cruelly cunning, but also cowardly. He remains comfortably
ensconced in his rearguard, from which vantage he can enjoy watching the blood
and brutality of the battle. And his weapon of choice throughout this episode
is the longbow, which symbolizes both his precision and unwillingness to close
the distance between himself and his foe. It is worth remembering that among
our first encounters with Ramsay were his “hunting” escapades, when he and the
late unlamented Miranda shot fugitives like deer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">By contrast, none can fault Jon for his
courage—nor for his skill. While he seems to have a preternatural capacity for
avoiding arrows, he is in the thick of the battle from the start. When we’re on
the ground and in the midst of the blood and mud, here the filmic analogue is
more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Private Ryan</i> than
anything else. The chaos and confusion is visceral, and Jon’s struggle to
escape the press of bodies was not good for my claustrophobia. The sequence did
a fine job of shifting between shots establishing the overall shape and
geography of the battle, and the ground-level anarchy of the melee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before handing it back to you, Nikki, I
just want to say another word or three on Sansa’s recalcitrance, re:
Littlefinger and the Vale knights. Considering just the story in and of itself,
it seems likely that yes, Sansa did not want to say anything because she didn’t
know if (a) her message would bring allies, or (b) her message was received at
all. But that still makes no sense, mainly because this is no longer the naïve
Sansa of season one. Which is why in this case I have to step outside of the story
itself and just say that this was bad writing. I understand the need to bring
things to a keen dramatic pitch, but in a season that has over-relied on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex machinas </i>anyway, this was just
hamfisted … especially when there was a way to have the Vale cavalry ride to
the rescue <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> keep Sansa’s behavior
consistent. Basically, the arrival of the Vale forces could have been revealed
as something orchestrated by Jon and Sansa. If they’d had their fierce argument
about the paucity of their forces just one episode ago rather than at the
eleventh hour—perhaps ending with Sansa saying something like “There is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one</i> possibility …”—we could have had the
Vale cavalry summoned by a signal from Davos after Ramsay committed all his
men. In this scenario, the battle would have been won by strategy rather than
mere chance, it would have been consistent with both Sansa’s character and,
well, LOGIC, and it wouldn’t have been yet another <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex machina </i>but a clever tactical coup. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">End rant. Thoughts?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_toOn_h8D_Zzc5ZyCv7RSJzzL_C5162RJfRb5Lc7yLbjMKOhovsuDcBuJK9mTZJUoQUh3UW6qDNvB1FA1Tdsr0RzSac6oNn067Sqz-DrB_oLSy_k4UhmBcXhKCnOgZjJUoo0Hw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.18.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_toOn_h8D_Zzc5ZyCv7RSJzzL_C5162RJfRb5Lc7yLbjMKOhovsuDcBuJK9mTZJUoQUh3UW6qDNvB1FA1Tdsr0RzSac6oNn067Sqz-DrB_oLSy_k4UhmBcXhKCnOgZjJUoo0Hw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.18.52+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I so agree with you on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gladiator</i>
comparison, and Branagh’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Henry V</i>. I
kept expecting to hear the soaring music from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gladiator</i> in this scene (and while we didn’t get it, the score was
gorgeous, and kept our hearts pounding throughout the sequence). I’m going to
stand my ground that Sansa didn’t know Littlefinger was coming, and yes, she
could have mentioned something about having sent the raven, and that in itself
was a mistake not to have said something (even Brienne commented on that) but I
don’t believe she knew he was coming. I, of course, could be proven 100%
incorrect on this in the next episode and if so I’ll admit my mistake, but for
now, I’m going to say that one of the themes of this episode was about leaders
and advisors. Daenerys wanted to go in headlong and kill them all, but when
Tyrion suggested an alternative, she listened to him. Jon Snow wanted to go in
headlong and kill them all, but when Sansa suggested an alternative... he
disagreed with her. As you pointed out, he believes he knows battle, and as much
as he loves Sansa, she’s a girl. What does she know? Daenerys easily and
handily wins her battle. And while Jon Snow ultimately wins his, it’s at a very
grave cost, and only after Sansa saves them from annihilation at what I’m going
to continue to contend was an 11½th hour arrival by Baelish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But you’re right, Chris, in evoking the
modern-day war imagery in what Jon Snow goes through on the ground. We always
get the sweeping overviews in these medieval battles, with men on horses and
men with arrows and swords. But in WWII epics we get the men in the trenches,
in the mud, covered in the blood spatter of their victims while trying not to
sink in the muck that surrounds them. This episode featured both. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And I’m going to take this opportunity to
announce that my husband has NO FAITH in Jon Snow whatsoever. After Rickon met
his horrible and inevitable death at the hands of Ramsay (my notes are just a
frantic scribbling of ZIG ZAG... DAMN YOU, ZIG ZAG!!! Isn’t that how you outrun
an alligator? Wouldn’t it have worked to throw off Ramsay? Sob...), Ramsay
unleashed his army and they went headlong at Jon. “Well, that’s the end of Jon
Snow,” said my husband. “No it’s not,” I replied, with an “are you effing
KIDDING me?!” tone to my voice. “He doesn’t stand a chance, that’s the end of
him,” he persisted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So I guess they had SOME viewers convinced
he was going to die. I wasn’t one of them. From a purely writerly standpoint,
it doesn’t make sense to bring him back to life, wander around the north for a
few episodes, and then kill the guy again. That would be terrible writing, and
then what? Just bring the dude back to life again? Even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I </i>would consider giving up the show if they pulled a stunt like
that. That said, this scene was BRILLIANTLY filmed, where you don’t see Jon’s
army at all, and when they come it’s an utter shock. Just beautiful. I can’t
remember seeing anything like that in any other show. And then the choreography
of Jon Snow dodging the horses and swords as he spins throughout the chaos —
incredible. Yes, yes, I have no doubt it was green screened but I don’t care.
Short of having Lyanna suddenly ride in with a Xena yell and kill them all with
her superpower sonic hand cannons, this was everything I could have hoped for
in the scene. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzDgdnCYAfpUUVWak_-p3r0rrLtS7EcpgoySHf4F6O-4mMp8lHO5vPPXctfU7jnfChwjCObOGFX2AAbc7ciYVevolDSpLRrip3Dsw9rTYpw-hHYggpXAducadBmYJDblXp5jgJA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.18.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzDgdnCYAfpUUVWak_-p3r0rrLtS7EcpgoySHf4F6O-4mMp8lHO5vPPXctfU7jnfChwjCObOGFX2AAbc7ciYVevolDSpLRrip3Dsw9rTYpw-hHYggpXAducadBmYJDblXp5jgJA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.18.19+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The episode didn’t back down on the gore,
as you said, Chris. The pile of bodies that form a human death wall is enormous
(and I couldn’t help but think, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">man</i>,
whoever ends up taking Winterfell in the end is going to have to deal with one
hell of a stench in a day or two) and Jon ends up falling beside a horse just
on the edge of the body wall. As the men use him to climb over, not realizing
he’s not a dead body, he begins to roll under the actual dead bodies, quickly
buried (once again my husband figured this was it for the bastard), and one can
see how easily something like this could happen in battle. How often throughout
history have men died in battle, not from a gunshot wound or an arrow or a
sword, but simply being buried under the dead bodies of their fellow men? The
idea is horrific. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBieMa0hyQpXKEIYqOgBgsDOUhcbEZ7hnV9I71OYmNVFRn6_cZOWkrBjQDQgBXyTd6KvzO4G8ny3LnnwqbcPkn3jPILee40fbZvq5h-I0L8_NFkyx73l6lV_L9tIgYEIiYDAkLg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.19.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBieMa0hyQpXKEIYqOgBgsDOUhcbEZ7hnV9I71OYmNVFRn6_cZOWkrBjQDQgBXyTd6KvzO4G8ny3LnnwqbcPkn3jPILee40fbZvq5h-I0L8_NFkyx73l6lV_L9tIgYEIiYDAkLg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.19.59+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then Smalljon Umber’s men come flying
down the hill, and for one brief hopeful moment I thought they were going to
turn traitor, and actually mow down Ramsay’s men in fealty to House Stark.
Sadly, that wasn’t the case, and his men suddenly make the death tally in
Snow’s column rise even more quickly than before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But before Snow can be completely
suffocated, he manages to pull himself free, and uses the shoulders of his
comrades to pull himself up on top of them. But by this point, Ramsay’s men
have surrounded them with shields, and are pushing inward, bit by bit, until
they’re being crushed like people in the front row at a Morrissey concert. At
this point, I’m yelling, “STOMP THEM, WUN WUN!! STOMP THEM!!” But our poor last
giant on earth is being slowed down by the vast number of swords that are
hitting him. And then Sansa shows up with Baelish’s men, and they make
mincemeat of Ramsay’s men. Or, in the case of Tormund, he, like, eats one of
their faces. AAAHHH!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And just as you said, Chris, what happens
next? Ramsay turns and runs as fast as he can in the opposite direction,
because he’s a coward. And Jon—who is the opposite of a coward— is in hot
pursuit, along with Wun Wun and Tormund. I just want to pause here and say that
this season has not been kind to the giants of the show, whether literal (Wun
Wun) or gentle (Hodor). And in both cases, a door is involved right before they
die. Hodor dies holding the door, and Wun Wun dies opening it. There was a part
of me that wondered if this might have been a merciful end to the creature;
after all, there are no other giants alive besides him, if the legends can be
believed, and therefore he is alone. He doesn’t sit around campfires gabbing
with the Free Folk; he sits apart. They only want him for battles, where he can
take out 15 men in the time it takes them to kill one. Otherwise, I imagine
he’s pretty alone. But it’s because of him that everything that happens next,
happens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7x5_cJgxOcI_662Povl1tDcj3e-6G2o_2KvqZ-sIqD4mZ5YlnlGGAwvr_rljX6WP2739KKtpexYzhVzbW2vgRTy3HdeO120zLwtGxgIFZ0bJUmB7BZr1lyYUjgmA2-Yduk2QfKg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.22.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7x5_cJgxOcI_662Povl1tDcj3e-6G2o_2KvqZ-sIqD4mZ5YlnlGGAwvr_rljX6WP2739KKtpexYzhVzbW2vgRTy3HdeO120zLwtGxgIFZ0bJUmB7BZr1lyYUjgmA2-Yduk2QfKg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.22.16+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And I will leave you to break down what
happens next, and the very end of the episode, Chris. My last words on this
episode are twofold: when the direwolf banner unfurled along the wall of
Winterfell, I thought I was going to weep tears of joy. What a beautiful thing,
even if at such a cost. And secondly, I think someone got off easy at the end—they
could have funded the next 10 years of Winterfell upkeep just selling tickets
for people to come and take one thwack at him like a pinata. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Chris, take us through the rest of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">The simple image of the Stark banner is perhaps the
most poignant visual in this episode, much more so than that of Daenerys’
dragons burning the slavers’ fleet—precisely because of what it cost. By the
same token, the retaking of Winterfell is far less triumphal than Daenerys’ victory.
Her victory was quite literally unequivocal, both in terms of how completely
she crushed the slavers, and also because (whatever Tyrion’s mitigating
influence) it came without compromise. Indeed, Daenerys returned to Meereen
more powerful than ever, as the Sons of the Harpy learned when the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">khalasar</i> came thundering around the
corner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However many problems she had in ruling
Meereen, Daenerys nevertheless comprises a sort of revolutionary ideal, or,
perhaps more accurately, an idealized revolutionary. Breaker of chains, freer
of slaves, she is an unequivocal saviour and hero.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By contrast, Winterfell represents the
accrual of blood and pain and sacrifice that comes with war. The Starks limp
into Winterfell battered and nearly broken. The defeat of Ramsay came at a
staggering cost, and everyone is somehow compromised. Winterfell is Sansa’s
home, yet it will also always be the site of her rape and systematic
brutalization at Ramsay’s hands. For all they know, Jon and Sansa are the last
of the Stark children. Rickon was killed. Robb and Catelyn were murdered by the
people who took Winterfell from them. Jon came within a hairsbreadth of losing
everything. The last of the giants gave his life for people who, a mere year
ago, would have happily seen him dead. Davos looks with loathing at Melisandre,
who he now knows was Shireen’s murderer. And lest we forget, victory came at
the cost of Sansa putting her trust in the man who handed her over to Ramsay to
start with. We don’t know what the cost of that compromise will be—what will
Littlefinger name as his price?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimseCW-jC4MfEbT-rsXuG6xyOyHb1eaCfLjOtBWgxw028vgMWBhS8DYJNInckw2HlWsfX3ZizXqBTsyQoJBVGYOK_QqSjqZTCCIEU0JGO-pQfLpBxdjm8OXbzHCDzbZdZVLwofVA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.22.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimseCW-jC4MfEbT-rsXuG6xyOyHb1eaCfLjOtBWgxw028vgMWBhS8DYJNInckw2HlWsfX3ZizXqBTsyQoJBVGYOK_QqSjqZTCCIEU0JGO-pQfLpBxdjm8OXbzHCDzbZdZVLwofVA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.22.36+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That being said, it is not as though the
final moments of this episode, from the appearance of the Arryn forces to
Ramsay’s ultimate demise, don’t possess a significant number of deeply
satisfying elements. Ramsay’s face as the scope of his defeat dawns on him was
definitely worth the price of admission; ditto for Jon advancing implacably
through his hail of arrows to beat him bloody. And of course his final fate. A
few episodes ago, a friend and I started gaming out the Ramsay Death Odds,
figuring that there was a reasonably good chance he wouldn’t make it out of
this season alive. Given that most of the big bads’ deaths have been at the
very least ironically appropriate, I put Sansa killing him at 2:1, and being
eaten by his own hounds at even money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">How about that? Called it! As big bads’
deaths go, I rate it Five Tywins On The Shitter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUveJBgQ-HdEndjtTmu1AsDFloUm7tjIEDpTnsi-abKYAFlW5TrAkalHg49hN0CHwZS25fRCgDlYw-4pse-hr5GB5VvHdaurdgSHrhRGLXto-4GodEBJvIq-qKnoDiMUgzy2v1g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.23.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUveJBgQ-HdEndjtTmu1AsDFloUm7tjIEDpTnsi-abKYAFlW5TrAkalHg49hN0CHwZS25fRCgDlYw-4pse-hr5GB5VvHdaurdgSHrhRGLXto-4GodEBJvIq-qKnoDiMUgzy2v1g/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-21+at+2.23.07+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The final scene was a testament both to
Sansa’s evolution as a character, and the quiet strength and dignity Sophie
Turner brings to her. She remains silent as Ramsay speaks, until he says “You
can’t kill me. I’m part of you now.” His words reflect his particularly
pernicious species of evil, which is not merely his penchant for cruelty and
torture, but his need to break people, as he did in turning Theon into Reek. It
was obvious he had similar plans for Sansa. When she stands outside his cell,
with the guttering torches in the background and snowflakes drifting by, it is
a visual callback to last season and the shot of her through the cross-hatched
casement window as she prepares for her wedding. Though she still carries the
trauma of that night and the many that followed, she has survived. The shot
through the window turned her tower into a figurative prison cell, but now she
looks in on Ramsay in his literal one. The tableau could only have been
improved by letting Ramsay know that, as they speak, Theon is on the other side
of the world, bargaining with a queen to win his sister a throne.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Your words will disappear,” Sansa tells
him. “Your house will disappear. Your name will disappear. All memory of you
will disappear.” As she speaks, the camera pans down Ramsay’s battered profile,
until we see the hound framed in the open door beside him. “They’re loyal
beasts,” Ramsay protests. “They were,” she corrects him. “Now they’re
starving.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US">As I tweeted after watching this episode:
to quote Buffy Summers, as justice goes it is not unpoetic.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Well, that’s it for now. Join us next week
as we wrap up yet another season of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones</i>. Thanks for reading, and remember: it’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">never</i> a good idea to starve your pets for a week. Not hounds, and
especially not dragons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-41373991289380835612016-06-15T13:00:00.003-04:002016-06-15T13:00:47.847-04:006.08 No One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US">Heads popping off, axes in the chest, virgins getting drunk, and people escaping quietly by boat. No, it's not the annual Thanksgiving gathering at Uncle Herman's, it's this week's <i>Game of Thrones</i>! As always, I'm joined by a man who is someone, Christopher Lockett, as we discuss this week's shenanigans in Westeros and abroad. And this week, I'm going to let Chris begin. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: We begin with yet another theatrical retread of the Purple
Wedding, this time focusing on Lady Crane’s portrayal of Cersei’s grief over
Joffrey’s death. Much of what we have seen of this play has been broad and
crude, with a reliance on fart jokes and highly stylized acting, and a great
deal of mugging for the audience. But “Cersei’s” speech is much closer of what
modern audiences expect of a stage play: though the speech is written in verse,
and declamatory in delivery, Lady Crane nevertheless brings a measure of
naturalism to her performance that conveys a palpable sense of grief and brings
much of the audience to tears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The fact that we have now seen segments of
this play several times develops several themes, not least of which is a greater
sense of how the events in Kings Landing have developed into a narrative
divorced from historical reality. The first time we watched the play along with
Arya, we felt the profound disconnect: between the play’s presentation of an
oafish Ned, murderous Tyrion, noble Joffrey, and maligned Cersei, and our own
experience as audience to the “actual” events. There was ironic humour to be
found in just how wrong the play gets things, but we were also given pause by
the parallel between the play’s broken-telephone storytelling and the truth of
Ned’s fight with Ser Arthur Dayne, as witnessed by Bran. And this moment, where
Lady Crane channels Cersei’s grief at her son’s death, reminds us of how
powerful truths can emerge from fabulation and fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cersei did not, of course, deliver a moving
speech over <a href="https://youtu.be/E-nvkOi4q0s">Joffrey’s body</a>. She was,
in fact, all but inarticulate until she started hurling accusations at Tyrion.
But her grief was real, and in this moment of stage acting, Lady Crane
communicates a mother’s grief well enough to move an audience; and I cannot
speak for anyone but myself, but I was impressed with her
performance-within-a-performance, not least because it evoked one of Cersei’s
few redeeming features. We might laugh when the Queen of Thorns muses about
whether or not Cersei is in fact the worst person <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ever</i>, but we cannot doubt the love she has for her children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As it turns out, Lady Crane’s eulogy for
“Joffrey” effectively sets the key theme for this episode. Coming away from it,
I reflected that the title is a red herring: Arya’s erstwhile process of
becoming “No One” was all about divesting herself of worldly attachments, of
leaving behind name, family, loves and hates, and (apparently) any sense of
morality or ethics. But this episode is very much <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">about</i> such attachments, the way in which individuals’ attachments
to their very personal wants and needs—whether they be about love of another,
the desire for vengeance, a sense of honour, hatred or grievance—drive the affairs
of state. Jaime will do anything to get back to Cersei; the Hound thirsts for
vengeance, and damn all who stand in his way; the Blackfish will not sacrifice
his ancestral home to aid his niece; Brienne will fight Jaime if need be, in
order to remain true to her oath to Sansa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And Arya will desert the Faceless Men at
her own peril, to embrace her name and her idiosyncratic sense of self.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I kind of love the fact that, in fleeing
the Faceless Men, Arya finds her way to the theatre troupe as a way-station,
and that Lady Crane ends up being her saviour, after a fashion. The show has
used the theatre and the play (and the players) to good thematic effect this
season, not just in terms of highlighting the role played by story and
narrative, but also as an interesting parallel to Arya’s apprenticeship with
the Faceless Men. The role of an actor is not to become “no one” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">per se</i>, but to dissolve one’s ego into a
role; hence, the best actors are often those who can be literally
unrecognizable when playing a part. Acting mimics the way in which the Faceless
Men go about their business, and so when Lady Crane tells Arya, “I’ve got a
feeling you’d be good at this sort of work,” we’re a little obliged to nod in
agreement. (Just as an aside, she adds that they’ll be needing a new actress,
as she did something horrible to Bianca; were Arya to join them, would she end
up playing Sansa? Weird to think about). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So Arya’s safe—for the moment—and falls
asleep in Lady Crane’s care. But on the other side of the sea, the man she left
for dead begins his <archer voice="">RAMPAAAAAAGE!</archer>.
What did you think of the Hound once again embracing a wee bit of the
ultra-violence, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: You hit the nail on the head with that introduction, Chris. People
commented back near the beginning of this season that the episode on Mother’s
Day felt like it had been written for Mother’s Day, but to me, this episode
spoke even more to that. The best shows, in my mind — <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Buffy</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angel</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Babylon 5</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Breaking Bad</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sopranos</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Six Feet Under</i>, just to name a few — use plot as a device to convey
the deep connections people have to one another, and the sacrifices they are
willing to make for those people. Interesting that it was Arya who told Lady
Crane to change those words in the opening, and it was only on relying on her
imagination of Cersei’s connection to Joffrey — connection being the very thing
Arya was supposed to divest herself of — that Crane turns the Punch and Judy
show into emotional theatre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then we have the Hound, the first of
the Clegane brothers who has a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i>
busy day this week. Yeesh, I don’t know what Mama Clegane fed these boys for
breakfast, but man... As we see the four men sitting and talking like drunken
high schoolers, in the background you can see the Hound coming up on them
quickly with the axe in his hand, already swinging, and it’s equal parts
thrilling and terrifying to watch. He cuts down the first two in no time,
before taking out the third and finally burying the axe in the single most
painful place one can imagine (I’m a woman, and it still had me crossing my
legs and squealing in imagined pain). And before he finishes him off, he allows
the man a final word. And when the guy fails at that, Sandor gives him <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">another</i> chance at a final word. And when
even that comes from the Al Swearengen Big Book of Final Words, Sandor gives
up, kills him with one blow and says, “You’re shit at dying, you know that?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, how I’ve missed the Hound. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, over in Meereen, Tyrion is
patting himself on the back for welcoming the Lord of Light acolytes into
Meereen and bringing peace to all. “You made a pact with fanatics,” says Varys.
“And it worked,” Tyrion replies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Yeah, that’s what your sister said, too,”
says all of the viewers at home. Varys tells Tyrion that he’s heading off on a
secret mission, but that he’ll return soon. But in order to do so he needs to
take leave of Tyrion, because his mission won’t be so secret if he’s seen being
accompanied by the most famous dwarf in the city. Tyrion corrects him — “the
most famous dwarf in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">world</i>” — and
in doing so, made me realize that Dinklage himself might actually hold that
honour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And speaking of Lannisters who allowed
religious fanatics into the city and perhaps later regretted it, we’re off to
the Red Keep with Cersei and that other Clegane brother who’s come back from
the dead. What did you think of the Mountain v. Sparrows death match, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">As I mentioned last week, something that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> is quite good at doing
is tweaking the audience’s hierarchy of hatred. Cersei for a long time was one
of the bad guys (and in some ways still very much is), and of course we hate
the Mountain for crushing Oberyn’s head like a melon—to say nothing of the fact
that we’re really creeped out by Frankenmountain. But for many, many episodes
now, the Sparrows have been infuriatingly untouchable, and the High Sparrow too
smug by half. So when Cersei forces a confrontation and chooses violence, there
is a certain guilty satisfaction to it, especially considering that Margaery’s
gambit denied us the viewing pleasure of watching the Tyrell soldiers storm the
sept. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is, however, a certain amount of
pathos to the scene, as we’re all too aware that Tommen has ceded yet more
ground to the High Sparrow, and that with every yard he yields, it takes him
that much farther out of Cersei’s orbit and influence. For a scene that ended
so bloodily, it began with great stillness: Cersei sitting alone at a table
with her back to the door, her ever-present glass of wine at her elbow. The
news that members of the Faith Militant have entered the Red Keep means, as
Cersei divines, that Tommen continues to allow the High Sparrow to dictate to
him. The Red Keep, after all, is the seat of the Crown in King’s Landing: Tommen
allowing the Sparrows to enter is a surrender of sovereignty, and the High
Sparrow’s newfound arrogance in summoning Cersei speaks to his worrisome
influence over the king. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That new influence is not lost on Cersei,
nor is the knowledge that if she leaves the Red Keep and enters the Sept of
Baelor, she surrenders what little protection she has left. “I choose
violence,” she says, but she hasn’t actually been left much of a choice—and
backing Cersei into a corner isn’t precisely the wisest of courses, as one poor
(now headless) Sparrow learns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I do hope her moment of smug satisfaction
as she watches the Sparrow’s blood run into the drain was worth it. “Please
tell his High Holiness he’s always welcome to visit,” she adds as a parting
shot in classic Cersei fashion, but her defiance looks to have some negative
consequences. Arriving at a royal announcement for which she was apparently
left off the email list, she has to suffer the dual humiliation of being
relegated to the gallery “with the other ladies of the court,” and seeing the
loathed Grand Maester Pycelle whispering in her son’s ear. And then the boom
comes down: after consulting with the High Sparrow, Tommen has decided to
outlaw trial by combat … Cersei’s one ace in the hole, the means by which she was
to avoid the humiliation of being found guilty, by unleashing the
Frankenmountain on whatever hapless knight they send against her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But no more … and the pathos of the earlier
tableau is deepened as we watch Cersei watch her son depart the throne room,
unable to make eye contact, unable to reach him any longer. All she has left
now is the Frankenmountain … and Qyburn, who cryptically tells her that the
“rumour” she had mentioned to him was something much more than just a rumour.
Is this her new ace in the hole? One of the things I like about this season
being off book is that I honestly have no idea. It will be interesting to see
what Qyburn has up his voluminous sleeves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Cersei scenes are juxtaposed with
Brienne’s arrival at the Lannister camp, and her tete-a-tete with Jaime. The
serried rows of red tents are not what she had expected or hoped for. “Looks
like a siege, m’lady,” observes Podrik. “You have a keen military mind, Pod,”
Brienne replies sardonically, as she scans the camp and espies Jaime. This much
is a boon: one imagines that if they had arrived before the Lannisters invested
the castle, the Freys would not have been very welcoming. She sends word down,
and is cordially received, leaving Pod outside to be tormented by Bronn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This was one of those moments from the
trailer for this season that looked more threatening than it was: Pod suddenly
grabbed from behind, which had some fans speculating that he might be joining
the ranks of the GoT dead. But no … just Bronn, having a bit of fun, and
reminding us that, once upon a time, they had both been in the service of
Tyrion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I never thought you’d find her,” we hear
Jaime say while Bronn coaches Pod in the art of dirty fighting. “I just assumed
Sansa was dead.” In answer to Brienne’s incredulity about the question, he
shrugs, “In my experience, girls like her don’t live that long.” Brienne’s
observation—“I don’t think you know many girls like her”—is quite possibly my
favourite line from this episode. It is freighted with everything we have seen
Sansa endure, and Gwendoline Christie delivers it with a deadpan gravity that
similarly articulates both Sansa’s hard-won resilience and Brienne’s respect,
admiration, and devotion to her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Despite the fraught situation without
Jaime’s tent, this reunion is a guardedly happy one—though Jaime reminds us
that nothing is simple, given that Cersei still wants Sansa’s head on a pike in
the belief that she was complicit in Joffrey’s death. But Jaime is not Cersei,
and he is quite open to being reasonable. Hence he agrees to Brienne’s proposal
that, if she can convince the Blackfish, he will allow the Tully army to march
north unmolested to join Jon Snow’s forces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, what a beautiful dream … how perfect
would it have been for everything to have fallen out precisely that way? Jon
would get the men he needs, the Tullys would avoid bloodshed, Jaime would
fulfill his mission. But as I said in my opening comments, the movement of the
pieces on the board are far more subject to the vicissitudes of personal passions,
attachments, and desires. The Blackfish will not be moved, not even by the
words of his grand-niece who has, as he says, become very much like her mother.
“Find a maester,” Brienne tells Pod. “We need to get a raven north to Sansa.”
With what message? he asks. “Tell her I failed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Not all matters of state are quite so
weighty, however … what did you think of Tyrion’s efforts to get Grey Worm and
Missandei to drink and tell jokes, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Poor Tyrion, stuck with the two unfunniest people in Westeros. I
couldn’t help but think, I don’t drink, but I think I’ve been to this party.
(And I might have been Missandei in that situation...) Like Missandei, I’m a
teetotaler, mostly because wine makes me feel funny, and unlike 99% of the
population, I don’t like the funny feeling. But according to Tyrion, “That’s
how you know it’s working.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br />
We’ve always looked to Tyrion as the voice of reason and intelligence on the
show, the man who, though small in stature, often stands above everyone. And
yet it’s in moments like this one we’re reminded he’s the family joke not just
because of his size, but because he long ago turned to prostitutes and alcohol
as a way to dull the pain of being emotionally abandoned by his father and
loathed by his sister, of being the one whose very birth caused the death of
his own mother. He has a weakness, and he gives into it time and time again.
While he possesses a mind that could win the Iron Throne, he instead dreams of
one day having a wine called “The Imp’s Delight” that he would give only to his
friends. And once Grey Worm rejects the wine — “it tastes like it’s turned” —
and Missandei discovers that the red stuff isn’t so bad after all, Tyrion
settles in and asks them both to tell him a joke. So Missandei tries her hand
at it, and it’s surprisingly humorous. Grey Worm one-ups her by telling her
it’s the worst joke he’s ever heard... and then has to explain the punchline
that it’s the only joke he’s ever heard, having been a member of the Unsullied,
where jokes are few. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s all fun and games until someone
screams, and when that happens, Grey Worm runs from the room to find out what’s
going on. These scene stands in stark contrast to when we’ll return to this
group, where Tyrion — the leader, who urges them to give in to his favourite
pastimes — shows that his political cunning isn’t so hot after all, and it’s
the terrible joke-tellers who end up taking over and leading them all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But now back over to Riverrun, where Jaime
and Edmure have a chat inside the tent where Eddie is being kept prisoner. I
was glad they had a lengthy Tobias Menzies scene; Menzies has become quite a
sought-after British actor, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of
Thrones</i> nabbed him relatively early, so I wondered if we were just going to
get quick scenes with him. But the scene between Jaime and Edmure is excellent,
and ties in to what you talked about in your opening, Chris. Edmure might be
ineffectual as a Tully, as a fighter, even as a man, but despite only being his
with his wife for a single night, he cares for her, and the baby that their
single night of lovemaking produced. Jaime comes into the tent and acts
sympathetic towards Edmure, telling him that he’ll make sure he’s made more
comfortable. But Edmure’s having none of it. “Do you understand you’re an evil
man?” he asks Jaime. Jaime is smug and aloof throughout this scene, but despite
the humour of last week’s fake-out throat-cutting scene, Edmure has been
tortured for the past three years while other events have been playing out. His
wedding ended with the murder of his sister, nephew, and nephew’s wife and
unborn child. He thought he was marrying a rare beauty, only to have her
snatched from him as he was thrown into prison. And it was all due to the
Lannisters and Boltons aligning with the Freys to get back at the Starks. He
asks Jaime how he lives with himself, how he tells himself he’s a decent man. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime tells Edmure that he was once
imprisoned by Catelyn, who hit him with a rock. He says that she hated him, but
he admired her because she’s a mother, and everything she did was for her
children, whom she adored more than anything. And in Catelyn he saw the same
devotion he’d always known of his sister, Cersei, who, as you pointed out
earlier, Chris, and as we’ve discussed many times in these posts, is
unfailingly devoted to her children. She would do anything for them. Lady
Crane’s portrayal of Cersei at the outset of this episode was truthful in her
devotion to Joffrey, and we know the pain with which she endured the death of
Myrcella. Now we’re seeing Tommen going down a rocky path, and the internal
struggle Cersei is going through — will she end up betraying the only child she
has left? How will she get out of this one? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But it’s in that devotion to one’s children
that Jaime comes at Edmure. He knows that Edmure cares about the child he’s
never seen, and by mentioning his anger that he’s never gotten to see his son,
Edmure accidentally shows his hand. Jaime has also lost his children, and he
has one left, but there’s only one person he’s ever been 100% devoted to, and
that’s Cersei. And as he says to Edmure, he will slaughter every Tully who ever
lived to get back to her, if that’s what he has to do. He threatens Edmure’s
child, saying he will strap the baby to a catapult and launch it into Riverrun
just to get the Blackfish’s attention. He doesn’t care about filial ties—all he
cares about is Cersei. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And that’s when he gives Edmure an offer he
can’t refuse. What did you think of Edmure going to the gates as the Lord of
Riverrun, Chris? Was that something that was in the books? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">That was indeed something that happened in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Feast for Crows</i>—right down to the
threat to launch Edmure’s child from a catapult. I was wondering how they meant
to play this, whether they would sync this narrative up with the novels, or
make another departure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And, well, they’ve <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mostly</i> been faithful to the text here: Edmure was indeed
responsible for negotiating the surrender of Riverrun, though it did not
proceed as it does in this episode. Edmure orders the castle’s surrender, but
arranges for the Blackfish to make his escape by swimming down the
river—something that angers Jaime, as the Blackfish’s freedom is something that
could be a problem down the road. Instead, he allows Brienne and Pod to escape
(or rather, they make their escape before anyone notices their departure), and
Jaime sees them as they row off down the river. Further, the Blackfish
ostensibly dies fighting—though given that that happens offscreen, it leaves
open the possibility that he also escaped. A possibility, but not a likely one,
as it seems improbable that Jaime’s men would lie to him about that, and it
would be suspicious if a body could not be produced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Riverrun scenes were ultimately more
about Jaime and Brienne than they were about Edmure, the Blackfish, or the
Tully fortunes. We’ve come a long way from the original Jaime & Brienne
roadshow, with her suffering his jibes and mockery with every step, and him the
subject of her withering contempt. There is now a deep and mutual respect:
Bronn’s idle speculation to Pod on whether or not they were having sex serves
as a comic, if crude, contrast to the actual regard they have for each other.
Brienne might protest to the Blackfish that Jaime Lannister is not her friend,
and it’s entirely likely that she still doesn’t actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">like</i> him, but she sees past the simplistic labels he’s been marked
with and grasps the complexity of his character, just as Jaime sees past the
negative connotations that attach to a woman wearing armour. He refuses to take
his sword back, which is a huge gift considering the rarity and value of
Valyrian steel; but it is the salute they share as she floats down the river
that speaks volumes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From one siege to another, we move from the
fall of Riverrun to where Meereen is under assault from the masters of Astapor
and Yunkai. I don’t have much to say about this scene, aside from that it was
my least favourite in the episode—both perfunctory and predictable, it at least
means that we won’t have a protracted siege of Meereen played out over several
episode. Daenerys is back, her dragons will make short work of the attacking
ships, and she has an entirely new army to add to the men she already has. With
Yara’s ships making their suspiciously fast way from the Iron Islands, I’m
laying even money on Daenerys’ departure for Westeros as the final shot of the
season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">More interesting is the Hound’s encounter
with the Brotherhood Without Banners, which answers my lingering question from
last episode: namely, had this formerly altruistic band of do-gooders gone bad?
Had the endless, soul-destroying task of fighting the power driven them onto
the Dark Side?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To which this episode replies: well, some
of them. But Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr are still with the living, and
pass sentence on their men who rape and pillage. Their sentence is too lenient
for the Hound’s liking, but he doesn’t say no to hanging two out of the three.
Considering how messily he butchered the others, these ones got off easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Thoros and Beric make the case for joining
the Brotherhood, and though Clegane is skeptical, it’s fairly obvious this is
how things will go. They appeal to his sense of idealism, which is perhaps the
wrong tack. “Lots of horrible shit in this world,” he retorts, “gets done for
something larger than ourselves.” Having seen the Faith Militant at work, as
well as Melisandre’s numerous excesses, it’s not a sentiment we can necessarily
disagree with. But having passed through a life of indiscriminate violence,
through atonement, and now vengeance again, there is one dimension to the Hound
that Beric identifies unerringly, and one that Clegane cannot deny: “You’re a
fighter,” he says. That he is in spades, and it looks pretty obvious that he’ll
be continuing in that capacity alongside Beric and Thoros.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This episode, and indeed the previous few
episodes, develop the strong sense of the pieces being arranged on the playing
board. The die is cast for the battle of the bastards, which may or may not
feature the Vale armies playing Rohan to Jon Snow’s Gondor; Daenerys is back
and, we assume, ready to make her return to Westeros; the Hound will likely
rejoin the fight on the side of the angels; and one other key character is
ready to reclaim her birthright and also go home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of the climactic
showdown between the Waif and Arya, Nikki? And what did you think of her
embracing her name and home again?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I loved the final Arya story of the episode. We begin back at Lady
Crane’s flat, where she has given Arya a sleeping draught and is reaching up to
the top shelf to grab something else (it’s unclear what it is, since we know
the milk of the poppy is already sitting on the side table). And no sooner had
I written in my notes, “Boy who looks like waif appears” then the boy who looks
like the waif kills Lady Crane in a rather grotesque fashion — and, naturally,
it turns out to be the waif herself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IWgMaIAPnSAYqc4Try_0X2gxCcgeV7579SJObILNFu0dh75CclkMhxS41nODdWvhnV_Wn92yjnV8JPJL3jukVo87OUSTRdRjUPgsFHcfwXG5seZwi6bCVeOyWqO-nUgGDxAoKg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-15+at+12.29.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IWgMaIAPnSAYqc4Try_0X2gxCcgeV7579SJObILNFu0dh75CclkMhxS41nODdWvhnV_Wn92yjnV8JPJL3jukVo87OUSTRdRjUPgsFHcfwXG5seZwi6bCVeOyWqO-nUgGDxAoKg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-15+at+12.29.53+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was sad to see the death of Lady Crane,
but it was a strong symbol for Arya and her story. Until now she’s been playing
a role. We knew the moment she buried Needle and refused to give it up that
there was no way she ever become a selfless, faceless person. She could walk
around calling herself “a girl” and pretending to be one of the faceless
assassins, but Arya cares too much for her family, her name, and who she is. If
she had given up her very self, she’d be turning her back on Sansa, Bran,
Rickon, Jon, and the memory of her parents. She’d betray the memory of her
brother Robb, who became King of the North and was the first Stark to do so.
The Starks are a strong family, and it’s arguable that Arya is the strongest of
the bunch — for her to give up her very self would be giving up everything. And
besides, after this season word has it they’re pulling a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Breaking Bad</i> and giving us two shorter 7-episode seasons, so it’s
not like they have a ton of time to take Arya on a journey of utterly losing
herself and then finding it again. It’s time to get Arya back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Lady Crane was a woman who played another
woman on stage, an actress who was caring and kind to those who showed her the
same, but, from what she says earlier in this episode, wreaks ruthless
vengeance on anyone who doesn’t. (Much like the woman she plays.) Arya was the
one who told her she needed to introduce a tone of vengeance into Joffrey’s
death speech, and in doing so, perhaps she instilled the very idea into Lady
Crane. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lady Crane played a character,
and then began to embody parts of that character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So, too, has Arya been playing a character
all this time, and yes, she’s taken on parts of who that character is. Before
she met Jaqen, Arya had a death list, and she would soothe herself by repeating
the names on that list to herself over and over again. But it was only when
Jaqen arrived and she saw what it actually meant to be an assassin that she first
questioned her future as a cold-hearted killer, and then embraced parts of it.
Arya resists doing things she doesn’t believe in — she couldn’t bring herself
to poison Lady Crane, for example — but when she believes it’s right, Jaqen has
taught her how to get the job done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The dead actress in the apartment signals
the end of Arya’s acting, and she runs for her life, away from the waif who is
hellbent on killing her. A theory had been going around the internet recently
(I only read the headline and didn’t bother with the theory itself; if it’s
true, I don’t want to be that spoiled) that the waif doesn’t actually exist,
and that this would turn out to be some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fight
Club</i>–inspired thing where the waif is simply another side of Arya, part of
her imagination at war with her. Thankfully, that didn’t turn out to be true (I
don’t think that scenario would be suited to the world of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>) and Arya leads the waif on a long, painful journey
right to Needle’s nest. And then, just like a blind Audrey Hepburn smashing all
the lights in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wait Until Dark</i> when an
intruder comes into her apartment, Arya cuts out the candle. She knows how to
fight whilst blind — and the waif doesn’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQo3w5NMha_u8yIOT9xRH4HcwE2gNv4I98h5fhFsmK0MKJs7hPkw4WgL5K_hOHtW7_GKEKKPaF-D-SkXo90uPWw0aNdYceP9o522PKBdrYtBeRAfDPCS8v3gGdFTvqszZ42_7bw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-15+at+12.30.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQo3w5NMha_u8yIOT9xRH4HcwE2gNv4I98h5fhFsmK0MKJs7hPkw4WgL5K_hOHtW7_GKEKKPaF-D-SkXo90uPWw0aNdYceP9o522PKBdrYtBeRAfDPCS8v3gGdFTvqszZ42_7bw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-15+at+12.30.25+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’ve had the sense for some time that Arya
is a favourite of Jaqen’s, despite him being so hard on her. He never has a
smile for the waif, who is filled with hatred and jealousy at every turn. He
knows the waif believes she is selfless, but this constantly loathing she has
prevents her from truly being one of the faceless men, because she feels that
hatred too strongly. Jaqen doesn’t kill out of hate: he kills because the
person whose name has been chosen... has been chosen. And he needs no more
reason than that. He holds nothing personal against those whom he kills. With
Arya, I think he saw someone he could shape and mould, but I was never
convinced that he believed she could become one of the faceless, nor did he
want her to be. When the waif asks to kill Arya, and he makes her promise to do
it quickly, I wonder if he meant for her to die quickly, as if he already knew
Arya would best her. Did he blind her so she could learn how to fight in the
dark? Did he strip her of everyone so she would find the will and the power to
overcome the waif in their final battle? Did he know she would triumph and then
head back to Westeros to help take back Winterfell? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He knows when a new face has been added to
the wall. He descends the stairs amidst the firepots (who keeps all of those
going, by the way? Seems a wee bit excessive, but anyway...) And when the face
turns out to be the waif’s, and Arya comes up behind him, he looks neither
surprised nor disappointed. “You told her to kill me,” Arya says, as she holds
Needle out to him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Yes, but here you are, and there she is,”
he says, moving his body against the tip of her sword. “Finally, a girl is no
one.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell,” she
says, “and I’m going home.” And with that, a small smile plays at the corner of
Jaqen’s lips, as if he knew this was how it was to play out the whole time. As
if he’s actually proud of Arya for refusing to slough off her very self, and
for returning to the place she should have been this whole time. It’s a
fantastic moment, and one of the highlights of this season so far. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gTJcSSb38Fr7XozcIgX_iTA1yUCP8cv1DvlEyha_g86KkL9AapqniVTZzPyyCMgMGxJz2F97GvncqFXp-ZUge13Ry0EB3GKP1hNmWW1rBFe0ZUMPMluf05E7t4PtUNCFVPYJjg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-15+at+12.30.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gTJcSSb38Fr7XozcIgX_iTA1yUCP8cv1DvlEyha_g86KkL9AapqniVTZzPyyCMgMGxJz2F97GvncqFXp-ZUge13Ry0EB3GKP1hNmWW1rBFe0ZUMPMluf05E7t4PtUNCFVPYJjg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-15+at+12.30.46+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And with that, as you say, Chris, we seem
to be putting the pieces in order. As the credits rolled I said to my husband
that things are moving very quickly now. I wondered aloud if next season was
going to be the fight for Winterfell, and the final season the battle for all
of Westeros. And then the “Previously on” section showed after the credits and
I realized oh. Maybe we don’t have to wait so long for one of those things to
happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Thanks to everyone for reading, and we’ll
see you next week for the penultimate episode!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-70139445414879984672016-06-08T13:11:00.002-04:002016-06-08T13:11:42.277-04:00Game of Thrones 6.07: The Broken Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRStiP77GYs8YQlQAfu8OFnKGYpSyGGc76vZI_hthgEhI_8kCaok9UWNhRPt439a0mG-I_ExOwWv3oi-04HI_zFTSM_g8D-0hgkZ3Lt_yCNweyuenX5FsMp0fl9XvGIBKP6JtDxw/s1600/Game+of+Thrones.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRStiP77GYs8YQlQAfu8OFnKGYpSyGGc76vZI_hthgEhI_8kCaok9UWNhRPt439a0mG-I_ExOwWv3oi-04HI_zFTSM_g8D-0hgkZ3Lt_yCNweyuenX5FsMp0fl9XvGIBKP6JtDxw/s400/Game+of+Thrones.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And welcome back to our weekly recap of <i>Game of Thrones</i>, where this week we welcome back Al Swearengen to our screens (eeeeeeeee!) along with what might be the greatest child actor this show has ever seen — and this is a show with some extraordinary child actors. And while this is also a show that has included its fair share of stabbings, the one at the end of this episode elicited a scream from me, mostly because I just didn't see it coming. Which I'm kicking myself for now, because how could I have NOT seen that coming?! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As always, I'm joined by my own fellow acolyte, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>, and this week I shall begin! </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">The episode begins with what we thought was a
technical problem: where’s the epic opening credit sequence? We had already
zipped past the “Previously On” bit, and suddenly we’re in the episode. We
backed it up again, nope, we didn’t appear to have missed it, and just as my
husband is asking if they’ve ever had an episode without the credit sequence
and we’re watching some Tower of Babel–type building going on, who should come
striding towards us but Ian McShane!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNm8HISj-GdL95rQD_4f2ia-_6yeSQmSESHlAXXEYBhOB4ww11xVIikHqDHLqw8qp8HPiS7Cbg0JyDSgycznXQjbv6E-0YecugDsNIRGjllDrv08OJS9AlYAY7WYvaAdQNbCcH3g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+7.19.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNm8HISj-GdL95rQD_4f2ia-_6yeSQmSESHlAXXEYBhOB4ww11xVIikHqDHLqw8qp8HPiS7Cbg0JyDSgycznXQjbv6E-0YecugDsNIRGjllDrv08OJS9AlYAY7WYvaAdQNbCcH3g/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+7.19.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And I swear, in that moment, I heard the loudest
squeeeeee, followed by a thunk, from my writing partner Christopher Lockett as
he fainted with joy several provinces to the east of me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Last week we joked about what it would be
like if Swearengen played Randyll Tarly, and suddenly, as if we conjured him by
wishing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very hard</i>, here he is. And
the writers didn’t disappoint: in the first full minute of his speech, he says
the words “shit” and “fuck,” though I was a little disappointed they didn’t
throw in a single gratuitous “cocksucker” for all of us <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deadwood</i> fans. But I guess we can’t have everything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br />
And also last week, when discussing Benjen, I mentioned that if GRRM doesn’t
actually show someone die, they probably aren’t dead. And once again, that
statement came through this week with the reveal of The Hound. The thing is, we
thought we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i> see him die. Arya sat
there and watched him die, as you pointed out in our discussion of the episode
at the time, Chris. And only after she watches him die slowly — refusing to
give him the mercy of pushing a sword into him herself — she gets up and
leaves. She removed him from her list, and moved on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu_9IVO_ioENKaUT43yq1uot02lRAjO92H9bvI8rABg_T0kPD8SlmyX4HZ3k9dIyXBdyTu_jRqTMD_RfzHltt3dfnf7oX_aMqSFPLbxXfjjVC8y8MeUaHVTURbRPfyVywjOxoNg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+7.20.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu_9IVO_ioENKaUT43yq1uot02lRAjO92H9bvI8rABg_T0kPD8SlmyX4HZ3k9dIyXBdyTu_jRqTMD_RfzHltt3dfnf7oX_aMqSFPLbxXfjjVC8y8MeUaHVTURbRPfyVywjOxoNg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+7.20.22+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And when Brother Ray (McShane) finds him,
he thinks he’ll just be there to bury him... and then Sandor coughed. “What
kept you goin’?” Brother Ray asks him. “Hate,” Sandor replies. But that hate
has turned into shame, and it seems Sandor has been doing his own Walk of
Atonement these last few months/years (it’s very hard judging how much time has
passed on this show, to be honest...) He doesn’t lie about what happened to him
— he could have embellished and said it took an entire army of men to bring him
down, but instead he fesses up that it was one... woman. Brother Ray laughs and
laughs, and Sandor goes back to chopping wood. Sandor has done terrible things
in his time, and he knows it. They talk about religion (Brother Ray appears to
be heading up some sort of group of penitents, including himself), and Brother
Ray doesn’t subscribe to any one belief — as he says, maybe the Seven are real,
maybe they’re not, maybe the Lord of Light is real, who knows. All he knows is
whatever god(s) is out there, it has big plans for Sandor Clegane. “If the gods
are real,” Sandor asks, “Why haven’t they punished me?” Brother Ray glances
over at him. “They have,” he replies, and leaves him alone to continue eating his food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I couldn’t help but wonder if the “god” who
has big plans for Sandor Clegane might have the initials GRRM, and if so, I
can’t wait to see what they do with him next. He is clearly the Broken Man of
the title of this episode, but he’s going to take that brokenness and turn it
into something useful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">While the Hound is going through his own
walk of atonement, Margaery continues to brilliantly pull the wool over the
High Sparrow’s eyes. I’m actually loving her character in these scenes, because
I haven’t fallen for her crap once, and always assumed she’s playing him like a
fiddle (I’m just sad to see Tommen caught in the middle of all of it). What did
you think of our fair maiden this week, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I will confess, she actually had me going a bit …
last week I observed that her little maneuver with Tommen and the High Sparrow
actually left her and House Tyrell in an advantageous position, with the
Lannister’s sidelined, Cersei awaiting trial, Jaime sent off to Riverrun, and
Tommen effectively functioning as Margaery’s puppet. It seemed unlikely that
her conversion was genuine, and yet this week there were one or two moments
when I found myself thinking “Wait … she doesn’t really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">believe</i> any of this, right?” Of course, as soon as she passed her
little note with the Tyrell flower on it to Olenna, we knew she’s still the
same Margaery, just somewhat more subtle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before I go on with the intrigues at King’s
Landing, however, I want to acknowledge my squee upon seeing Ian McShane grace
the screen. He’s such an amazing actor, and while his turn as Al Swearengen
remains my favourite role of his, I have yet to see him be anything less than
mesmerizing on the screen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I should also point out that, while <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> has certainly been
parsimonious with its cold opens, there have been a few down through the
seasons, most obviously with the very first episode when we get our first
glimpse of the White Walkers. There were also cold opens for episode 3.01,
“Valar Doheris,” which features Sam fleeing through a blizzard and attacked by
a wight; and 4.01, “Two Swords,” in which Tywin watches as the Stark sword Ice
is melted down to make new swords for Jaime and Joffrey. I seem to think there
might have been one or two others, but cannot call them to mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This episode’s opening was done for
dramatic effect, but also to take viewers by surprise, so they saw the
resurrected Hound before they saw Rory McCann’s name in the credits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqlNAjH94WfUNLAl0SUT6ihpcex1E7licGdOGkyZ6XG1jFL5cPQSrOIhqJzY7hZq1BhKxEJGS00rH-446uE0Un-AhdRn5BVZrWBH2FM5jeDJ7QAzRSZbvElo2D_oB1D5jyV-vEA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+7.20.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqlNAjH94WfUNLAl0SUT6ihpcex1E7licGdOGkyZ6XG1jFL5cPQSrOIhqJzY7hZq1BhKxEJGS00rH-446uE0Un-AhdRn5BVZrWBH2FM5jeDJ7QAzRSZbvElo2D_oB1D5jyV-vEA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+7.20.58+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But back to Margaery … we come upon her in
the High Sparrow’s favoured chapel, apparently deep in study, reading the Book
of the Mother—reading a verse whose premise is that it is the woman’s role to
smooth out man’s rough and jagged edges. “As water rounds the stones,” the
Sparrow begins to recite, but Margaery takes over, “smoothing what was jagged,
so does a woman’s love calm a man’s brute nature.” It is a lovely bit of
contrast: the Sparrow, didactic and sententious, is pleased when she proves to
have memorized the verse herself, while remaining oblivious to the nuances of
her words. Here and there in this episode I wondered if the Sparrow has truly
been taken in by Margaery’s pretense, or whether he’s playing along for
tactical reasons; but in this moment he seems entirely taken with her, and
perhaps even a little too pleased with himself for making such a significant
convert. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The subtleties of power at play in the room
are completely at odds with the simplistic sentiment of the scripture, which is
such unreconstructed religious misogyny that it plays to contemporary audiences
quite simply as cliché. The metaphor of the water and the rocks rehearses
all-too-typical conceptions of gender roles: men are hard, women soft; women’s
role is to smooth down men’s jagged edges; men are brutes by nature, and women
are obliged to accept that fact and do what they can to soothe their savage
tendencies as best they can. Hearing Margaery of all people mouth these
platitudes introduces a profound dissonance into ideas that are already (I
would devoutly hope) entirely discordant with today’s audiences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But the scene does not stop there: the
Sparrow’s business is to address Margaery’s absence from the marriage bed since
her reunion with Tommen. It is her duty, the Sparrow tells her. But Margaery
counters by saying that the desires that once drove her are now absence. To
which the Sparrow asserts: “Congress does not require desire on the woman’s
part … only patience.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In my mind I imagined a chorus of disgust
hurled at millions of television and computer screens around the world in
response to the Sparrow’s words. Certainly, there were a handful of scornful
harrumphs in my living room at this moment. It was, I thought, a clever gesture
by the writers to taint the High Sparrow’s broader message of equality and humility
and to undo whatever sympathy he might have garnered by this point. Mind you,
if we pull back for a wider-angle view, it’s not as though women have much in
the way of rights and agency in Westeros at large; the women of GoT who do are
among the privileged elite who either have the ability to play the game
(Margaery, Olenna, Cersei), the strength and skill to disrupt social mores
(Brienne), the will to persevere with the help of provisional support systems
(Arya, Sansa), or in the case of Daenerys, possess a talismanic family name,
preternatural charisma … and, well, dragons. The dragons are important. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With this in mind, the argument could be
made that the Sparrow’s world-view, while scripturally reinscribing women’s
subordinate place in society, nevertheless would eliminate the larger economic
inequalities in Westeros. To which I would say: interesting thought, but you
don’t think the Sparrow ultimately gets to win, do you? After the show just
made us viscerally hate him? This is one of those moments when the possible
broader socio-economic implications of the scene are at least somewhat besides
the point: more significant here in the way the scene plays thematically is
watching Margaery play the penitent and rehearse scriptural words so completely
at odds with the character we’ve come to know (and in Nikki’s case,
instinctively dislike). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Margaery’s audience with the Sparrow ends
with an implied threat against her grandmother: he speaks admiringly of Lady
Olenna’s strength and character, while calling her “an unrepentant sinner.” It
is Margaery’s obligation, he says, to teach her the new way, “Or I fear for her
safety … body and soul.” In this warning, he makes clear the newfound
confidence and audacity of the Faith Militant, with the King and Queen under
his sway: confident enough, he implies, to wrest august lords and ladies out of
their homes and subject them to the same punishment Cersei, Margaery, and Loras
have endured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Segue to the irascible Queen of Thorns
herself, grating against the fact that Margaery is accompanied by an unsmiling,
implacable septa, whose expression does not change even when Olenna threatens
her with a beating. It is quickly obvious there can be no private conversation,
and throughout Margaery maintains her calm and pious demeanour in the face of
her grandmother’s ire—even when Loras is mentioned. And Loras’ only recourse
makes clear just how much power the Sparrow has arrogated to the faith: he can
confess his sins and repent, but as part of his repentance he must surrender
his family name and live out his days as a penitent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This, to Olenna, is madness of course. It
is only when Margaery begs her to return to Highgarden, a note of pleading
entering her voice, that she seems to listen. Unfolding the paper Margaery
slipped into her hand, she sees the charade she has been playing, and hears the
true warning in her words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From the penciled image of a flower to the
frozen north, where Tormund pleads Jon’s case to the wildlings. What did you
think of the Giantsbane’s speech, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I’ve never wished more for Brienne to be present in a scene than I
did that one. Maybe she wouldn’t be so disgusted by the guy after all. The
various stories in this episode are broken up by Jon Snow, Sansa, and Ser Davos
gathering as many pledges of fealty as they can so they can lay a siege upon
Winterfell and take back the North. And they begin with the Free Folk, arguably
the strongest army they know, and the one with which they have the greatest
chance of aligning themselves. At Castle Black, it seemed that the Free Folk
were a no-brainer, but now that the battle lines are being drawn and armies are
being formed, they’re not so sure. Dim argues with Jon that they were willing
to help the Night’s Watch when they were fighting White Walkers and wights, but
that’s because it was on their turf, and it was their battle. This, he argues,
isn’t their battle.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tormund steps up and argues that Jon Snow
was the one who saved them all, and without him they’d be dead or captured by
the king. Dim spreads his arms to show the extent of the wildling army, and
says they were once legion, and there’s barely anyone left, so why should they
go with Jon? He says if they fight, they’ll be the last of the Free Folk. Jon argues
that if they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">don’t</i> join forces with
him, they will definitely be the last of the Free Folk. He agrees: it’s not
their fight, they shouldn’t have to join him, but he needs them. “I need you
with me, if we’re going to beat them, and we need to beat them if we’re going
to survive.” Tormund tells them Jon Snow died for the wildlings because he was
sticking up for them. And if they’re not willing to die for him, then they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deserve</i> to be the last of the Free Folk.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s a fantastic scene, with some of the
best courtroom back-and-forth of the episode, and what makes it so great is
that everyone is right. Dim is correct — they’ve been decimated because of
joining forces with the south, and generations of Free Folk have been wiped out
completely. But Jon is correct in saying that it’s in their best interests to
help them. And Tormund is correct in his argument that Jon Snow has sacrificed
everything for them, so their sacrifices were merely a return favour. This last
argument seems to be the most convincing one, and suddenly the giant stands up.
Wun Wun looks around, then stares right at the former Lord Commander, and
simply says, “SNOW.” And with that vote cast, everyone else falls in line. Jon
has secured his wildling army. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Back at King’s Landing, Olenna is sitting
and writing letters, presumably letting her family know she’s coming home.
Cersei enters the room with the Mountain, and demands to know why Olenna would
leave, when her son is rotting in a jail. “Loras rots in a cell because of you.
The High Sparrow rules this city because of you. Our two ancient houses face
collapse because of you and your stupidity.” And Cersei... agrees with her. She
says she made a mistake, she led an army of fanatics to their doorstep, but now
they must fight them together. Olenna looks up. “I wonder if you’re the worst
person I’ve ever met,” she says. “At a certain age it’s hard to recall. But the
truly VILE do stand out through the years. Do you remember the way you smirked
at me when my grandson and granddaughter were dragged off to their cells? I do.
I’ll never forget it.” Cersei tries another tactic. She agrees that Olenna
loves her grandchildren, just like Cersei loves her own children. “It’s the
only truth I know,” she says. She says they must defend them. But Olenna will
not be coaxed. She’s leaving King’s Landing before that “shoeless zealot”
throws her into a cell, and warns Cersei that if she’s half as smart as she
thinks she is, she’ll do the same. Cersei says she’ll never leave. But Olenna
says her brother is gone, her family has abandoned her, her people hate her,
her enemies are all around her. “You’ve lost, Cersei. It’s the only joy I can
find in all this misery.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I adore whoever writes Olenna’s dialogue.
Cersei has an answer for everything. But now Olenna has a new purpose: she
knows her granddaughter is planning something, and she knows there will be an
end to this torment. She’s received Margaery’s warning, and is leaving, knowing
that Cersei will NOT win. Cersei brought the High Sparrow to King’s Landing for
the sole purpose of landing Margaery and Loras in jail, and ridding herself of
both of them. Now she’s stuck having to fight with the Tyrells to get them out
because she must save her son and get the High Sparrow out of the city. But
Highgarden is no longer going to be played that way. Two episodes ago, Cersei
entered the High Council with her brother and the Mountain, and convinced the
Tyrells to join forces with her. That backfired spectacularly when Margaery had
other plans, and pulled Tommen over to the side of the High Sparrow whilst
planning her own escape from him. And now Cersei is stuck: her son is aligned
with the High Sparrow, the Tyrell army is leaving her behind, Margaery is going
to leave all of them high and dry while she finds a way out, and Jaime has
headed off to Riverrun. She truly is alone, and it’s unclear how she’s going to
get out of this one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, in Riverrun, it’s the Blackfish
versus, well, everybody. What did you think of the scenes of Frey’s army coming
up against the Lannisters, Christopher? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">Can I say how much I loved this scene? Not least
because, out of a season where we’ve gone off map, this one scene unfolded
almost precisely the way it did in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
Feast for Crows</i>, and the series captures it perfectly. The ineptitude of
the Freys, Jaime’s towering contempt for them, the towering contempt of the
Blackfish for Jaime … yup, it was all good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One exception to the overall fidelity of
this scene to the text is the presence of Bronn—who by this point has more or
less faded into the background of the novels. I’m glad the writers have made
the obvious choice to keep him around, considering that Jerome Flynn’s
portrayal of the cheerfully cynical sellsword has been one of the best
performances of the series (and that is saying a LOT). One of the delightful
things about the way he’s been written and played is that, unlike his
novelistic other, he has developed and evolved. Jaime, like Tyrion, sees his
worth—but Jaime, unlike Tyrion, can give him a more significant role to play in
the larger affairs of war and peace. “Now that is a sorry attempt at a siege,”
Bronn says as he surveys the deportment of Frey forces. “Someone needs to teach
those fat twats how to dig trenches.” To which Jaime replies, with a suggestive
sidelong look, “Someone certainly does.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bronn’s irritation is hilarious: reminding
Jaime of everything he’s been promised, he interrupts him when Jaime begins to
repeat the Lannister mantra, re: debts and payment. “Don’t say it,” Bronn says,
disgusted. “Don’t even fucking say it.” This would easily be the funniest line
of the episode, were it not the episode in which we meet the ten-year-old Lady
Mormont of Bear Island. But more on her later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The little tableau in which the Freys
threaten to hang Edmure while the Blackfish looks on plays out almost exactly
as it does in the novel, and it serves to cement our sense of the Freys as
shrewd and opportunistic, but inconstant and militarily hapless. Oh, and whiny.
Did I say whiny? As they shout their threats at the walls of Riverrun, we get
our first glimpse of the Blackfish, played with understated strength and
gravity by Clive Russell, since season three. He is unmoved by the Freys’
threats to Edmure. “Go on, then,” he says contemptuously. “Cut his throat.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(I’m using the word “contempt” a lot in
describing this scene, aren’t I? Well, I think if we had to identify the
dominant emotion expressed between the characters involved, “respect” or
“affection” wouldn’t exactly make the list). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Does the Blackfish have the measure of the
Freys, or does he just not have much regard for his nephew? Considering the
dressing-down he gave Edmure back in season three, and the irritation with
which he snatched the longbow out of his hands after Edmure three times missed
his shot to ignite Hoster Tully’s funeral boat, I have to imagine he doesn’t
think his nephew’s life is a fair exchange for a castle. But as the scene
progresses, we come to understand that the Freys in charge of this travesty of
a siege don’t exactly grasp the basics of making effective threats. In what
would otherwise be my favourite moment of the episode (again, but for Lady
Mormont), Jaime calmly says, “Only a fool makes threats he’s not prepared to
carry out. Let’s say I threatened to hit you unless you shut your mouth … but
you kept talking. What do you think I’d do?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">BAM. Again, precisely as it occurred in the
novel, and it was just as satisfying to see it play out on the show as it was
to read it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There aren’t many occasions when Lannister
arrogance evokes sympathy, or for that matter fist-pumping exultation, but in
the hierarchy of audience hate in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones</i> world, the Freys may rank below Ramsay and Joffrey, but above
Lannister entitlement. Watching Jaime and Bronn high-handedly take command of
the siege and put the Freys in their place is deeply satisfying—not least
because we see the Freys learning something they should have known already,
namely, if you ally yourself with House Lannister, don’t ever expect to remain
in command.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But even as we’re happy to see Jaime
humiliate Catelyn Stark’s murderer, his Lannister arrogance founders on the
rock of the Blackfish’s contempt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before we get to that charged
confrontation, however, we cut to the next stop on the Jon and Sansa tour, and
the introduction of the best new character since … well, I’m not sure whom. But
before I get to young Lady Mormont, I do want to observe that the pacing and
the plotting of this episode is a refreshing change from how this season has
been trending. In many past episodes, while we often have a unifying theme,
narratively it has felt like the writers have been checking boxes: we get our
ten minutes of Sansa, ten minutes of Daenerys, ten minutes of Arya, and so on …
with whatever the most important storyline is that week getting two, perhaps
three, installments. This week was much tighter, with shorter scenes and more
of them. It served the rhythms of the episode well: Jon and Sansa’s attempts to
flesh out their army thread their way through like a connective tissue, almost
acting as a counterpoint to the four scenes featuring the Hound. The only
standalones are Theon and Arya, but the pace of the episode is such that they
don’t feel like the writers ticking boxes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At any rate … Lady Lyanna Mormont! I don’t
know where the casting directors of this show go to find their child actors,
but they are batting one thousand. I haven’t seen this many talented preteen
and tween actors since season four of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Wire</i>. Though but a ten year old girl, she is formidable, and precociously
smart. She does not seem inclined to risk her few fighting men, until of course
Davos addresses her.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I love Liam Cunningham’s portrayal of Davos
for many, many reasons, but one of the biggest has to be his ability to
communicate both Davos’ humility and his sharp intelligence. He knows well
enough how to treat Lady Mormont—he knows not to talk down to her. He loved
Shireen Baratheon like his own child, but he also respected her intelligence,
submitting to her tutelage in reading and writing, something a prouder or less
self-effacing man would never do. He brings these qualities to the table on
Bear Island as he addresses Lyanna:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I’m here because this isn’t someone else’s
war. It’s our war … Your uncle, Lord Commander Mormont, made that man his
steward. He chose Jon to be his successor because he knew he had the courage to
do what was right. Even if it meant giving his life. Because Jeor Mormont and
Jon Snow both understood that the real war isn’t between a few squabbling
houses—it’s between the living and the dead. And make no mistake, my Lady: the
dead are coming.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This isn’t the first time his common sense
and simple, no-nonsense demeanour has proved persuasive when others’
aristocratic miens failed to impress. We recall especially his intervention at
the Iron Bank of Braavos when Stannis’ prickly pride and sense of royal
entitlement fell flat with the pragmatic bankers. I think if I were to assemble
a dream team of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>
characters for the fantasy equivalent of fantasy football (fantasy fantasy?),
I’d always be sure to have Davos in my corner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And from here we switch back to Jaime’s
confrontation with the Blackfish … but considering how long I’ve gone on here,
I’ll throw that back over to you, Nikki. What did you think of their meeting?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: First, I wanted to concur that the Lady Lyanna Mormont scene was
my favourite one of the season thus far. The actress playing her — Bella Ramsey
— is stunning, and I rushed off to google her after the episode to find out who
the heck this glorious actress was. And she has only a couple of (impressive)
credits to her name, and wasn’t, as I had wrongly suspected, a girl who had
played Matilda in the London West End musical. But she is STUNNING. And like
you say, Ser Davos is the only one who knows how to talk to her. He doesn’t
talk down to her the way Lady Sansa compliments her beauty, and instead treats
her as if she were the head of any other house. And it’s only when he does that
she pledges her allegiance to them. I love when they go to all the effort to
procure her army and then she declares that the army consists of a total of 62
men, each of which, she adds, fights with the strength of 10 men of any other
army. To which Ser Davos replies, “If they are half as ferocious as their lady,
the Boltons are doomed.” Best line in the episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYPiEqpqYso27Rl3w4XonOI5VqtQQkCowZbBOMAxHIOPq6TIIo5hM2IqbKG17TR75J18rdsHZLjisrgRtor_ghG5jtBRfCb3eHuW0J8yxAp6F1gERaSp32SoYT_ELOxaLfE9epA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+8.04.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYPiEqpqYso27Rl3w4XonOI5VqtQQkCowZbBOMAxHIOPq6TIIo5hM2IqbKG17TR75J18rdsHZLjisrgRtor_ghG5jtBRfCb3eHuW0J8yxAp6F1gERaSp32SoYT_ELOxaLfE9epA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+8.04.21+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But now, as you say, back over to Jaime and
his discussion with the Blackfish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
you pointed out, Chris, the Blackfish has basically given up on Edmure (why <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wouldn’t</i> you?) and says his nephew’s
been marked for death already, so just slit his throat already and be done with
it. Jaime tries to bully him into submission, pointing out their forces
compared to Brandon’s, and the Blackfish merely smiles and says they have
enough provisions to last everyone in the castle two years without ever having
to come out, so if the Frey/Lannister armies are simply going to wait to starve
them out, they have a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">long wait</i> ahead
of him. Jaime falters, because of all of the responses he’d envisioned, he
wasn’t expecting that one. And then the Blackfish delivers the crushing blow,
when he leans in and says he really wanted to see Jaime Lannister — the
Kingslayer — in person so he could get the measure of him. The result? “I’m
disappointed.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjag618vcNqMg5x8zixK5Rg-84q_UrQ5FNJ-0k4r3QgkeoSIc291Q6HnzlS9lhoarRu8mdKIC9lnJWlp1sNgGW-9jgj561Y9jRYSpsSI3wLbpMhUF3nJaYY7pxk1w2NX3RNZxxS4w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+8.06.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjag618vcNqMg5x8zixK5Rg-84q_UrQ5FNJ-0k4r3QgkeoSIc291Q6HnzlS9lhoarRu8mdKIC9lnJWlp1sNgGW-9jgj561Y9jRYSpsSI3wLbpMhUF3nJaYY7pxk1w2NX3RNZxxS4w/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+8.06.06+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You know when your parents used to rail and
scream and send you to your room or spank you or whatever they did because they
were angry? The WORST — absolute WORST — punishment was when they did nothing,
and simply said, “I’m disappointed in you.” I don’t think there was a more
brutal thing he could have said to Jaime. And with that, he turns on his heel
and walks back into the castle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And we return once again to the Continuing
Adventures of Jon Snow and Company, as this time they go to House Glover. What I
liked the most about this storyline (aside from Lady Mormont) was that you
really got to see the effects of this ongoing war on the other houses. Since
season one, we’ve seen the effects on the key houses — the Starks, Lannisters,
Boltons — but what about all of the smaller houses. Lyanna Mormont mentions
that she lost her mother in battle (a mother who clearly taught her daughter
everything she needed to know about being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fierce</i>).
The Free Folk argue that under Mance Rayder their numbers were legion, and now
they’re but a fraction of who they once were. This isn’t their war, Dim
argues... until Jon Snow says actually, it is. When they visit Lady Mormont,
she echoes Dim’s words: “Why should I sacrifice one more Mormont life for a war
that isn’t mine?” she asks. And Davos, as you quoted above, Chris, explains,
much like Jon Snow did with the wildlings, that it actually IS their war. It’s
everyone’s war. And as with Dim, Lady Mormont agrees and hands over her army.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64tDnYyanuZvTykBbQHIA5mnU_qkfKJ_1UIWMcWs6rl45WXK9vRFySxR0A3Gc1lWX-H3A2jKU6LPERXrt1iK9xwgT86sDFBXuiaEUQMLyNngB30mK2xahJUVN_fpDg2H1hfeUaw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+8.06.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64tDnYyanuZvTykBbQHIA5mnU_qkfKJ_1UIWMcWs6rl45WXK9vRFySxR0A3Gc1lWX-H3A2jKU6LPERXrt1iK9xwgT86sDFBXuiaEUQMLyNngB30mK2xahJUVN_fpDg2H1hfeUaw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+8.06.26+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now Jon, Sansa, and Davos face the head
of House Glover. Like the others, he refuses. As they’ve done before, Jon and
Davos argue that this is everyone’s war, and that they should help. And then
Sansa steps in and reminds him that his house is pledged to House Stark, and he
needs to keep that oath. Robett Glover turns and strides right back over to
Sansa, and asks where was King Robb Stark when the Iron Born took his family,
imprisoning his wife and children and leaving him all alone? Oh right, he was
marrying a foreign “whore,” he spits at her. “I served House Stark once, but
House Stark is dead.” And with that, they’ve lost Glover’s army. He’s right:
perhaps House Stark no longer shares his values, but considering the
alternative — Ramsay Bolton as King of the North — maybe it’s best to just unify
the houses to make sure HE doesn’t get in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br />
Cripes, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> is feeling
more and more like the U.S. election every day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now we head over to Theon and Yara,
where she’s taken him to a brothel because, like many a soldier before her, she
wants to get it on with a beautiful woman before heading into battle, and she
tells him that she’s not worried about what’s going to happen to them. But
Theon is. And that’s when Yara finally has The Talk with her brother. I
mentioned earlier that The Hound was the broken man of the title of this
episode, but Theon Greyjoy was broken long before The Hound was, and it’s not
clear if he will ever be able to put himself back together. The only chance he
has is Yara believing in him. She tells him to drink his ale, and he does, and
she says he must enjoy himself. She says that she needs the real Theon Greyjoy
back, because she wants to sail to Meereen, make a pact with the Dragon Queen,
and take back the Iron Islands. And the only way she can do that is with her brother
by her side, and not a shell of her brother, but her brother and who he used to
be. He looks her in the eye and promises that he will be that person. And then
she orders him to drink again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I really liked this scene because we’ve
never really seen much tenderness between Yara and Theon. But what was truly
unsettling about the scene is, Yara ends the scene confident that she’s going
to get Theon back, and she strides into the brothel with all the confidence in
the world. But the Theon she used to know is gone. Watch how, throughout this
scene, every time she orders him to “DRINK” he immediately picks up the cup of
ale and does so, just like Reek would have followed every order Ramsay gave
him. He’s a shivering mess of a man, not the confident jerk he used to be. The
old Theon would have pushed Yara out of the way to get to the brothel and would
have already drunk most of a keg of ale before even getting there. And then he
would have been too shit-faced the next day to actually engage in battle. That was
the old Theon. And to be honest, despite what she says, she does NOT want the
old Theon at her side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGc3Qm0-kY8w9o4sOlLFJbASz_n0k7Xf5fWIRGXCw_ubOeE_pbZNl_OSXfp3xhYlWBZBIIlTQCjIXr4l8ootYJaXa0ySShA7cnsWKK07fRDVtum0oGsyBJ1z6_sebtCH9lclBIXA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+8.07.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGc3Qm0-kY8w9o4sOlLFJbASz_n0k7Xf5fWIRGXCw_ubOeE_pbZNl_OSXfp3xhYlWBZBIIlTQCjIXr4l8ootYJaXa0ySShA7cnsWKK07fRDVtum0oGsyBJ1z6_sebtCH9lclBIXA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-06+at+8.07.53+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For now we have the new Theon. The guy who
has been humbled, who knows the dangers of being overly confident, who has had
his own arrogance stripped away to the point where he no longer thinks of
himself at all. He worries about everyone around him. He takes orders from her,
and she’s an excellent leader. His focus is on their future, the battles ahead
of them, and their uncle who is coming to get both of them. He is not
distracted by the beautiful women around him, or by the ale in his cup. He is
entirely focused on the obstacles all around them. His recovery will be a slow
and long one, and he’ll never truly be healed emotionally, but Theon was a despicable
character in the early part of the series, and now he’s one of the most
sympathetic characters on the series. That’s not because Ramsay did something
wonderful; it’s because Theon’s true character has been able to come to the
fore in the face of the atrocities that Ramsay foisted upon him. And I’m really
intrigued about what’s in store for him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now it’s back over to Jon in the North
once again, before we head back to the Hound and a scene involving something
Dead hanging from the Wood. (Didja see what I did there?!) Jon, Sansa, and
Davos have time to go over what they’ve achieved and what they’ve lost in their
campaign. What did you think of their conversation and what Sansa does next,
Chris? Any thoughts on who she’s writing to? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">Two things before I answer that: while I was
watching the scene with Robett Glover, I kept thinking, “Who is that actor?” He
looked so familiar … and then it came to me. Tim McInnerny! A venerable British
actor with a ton of dramatic roles under his belt, but whom I most fondly
remember in the recurring role of Lord Darling in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blackadder</i>. Robett Glover has somewhat more gravitas than Darling
ever did, but he doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Second thing: what the hell kind of ships
did Yara and Theon steal? They’re in Volantis already? That must have been one
hell of a following wind. The show has often fudged the geography of GRRM’s
world, which would be more forgivable if the opening credits weren’t a FREAKING
MAP. To give the casual viewer a sense of the distance traveled:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If their ships were US Navy frigates, that
still would have been an amazingly fast journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ahem. But to get back to your question,
Nikki …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Having made camp in the same location as
Stannis once did seems to have spooked Jon. Davos is sanguine about it,
pointing out its defensibility and practicality; but Jon can only think of
Stannis’ failures, and worry about the threat of a winter storm. “Aye,” Davos
admits. “The snows defeated Stannis as much as the Boltons did.” (Well, that,
and the fact that half his men deserted him for burning his daughter at the
stake). Sansa is naturally concerned about their numbers; Jon is naturally
concerned about time, and has obviously come to the conclusion that continuing
to woo the smaller northern houses would take too long for too little return. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We see the anxiety in Sansa’s face as Davos
and Jon storm off to intercede in a fight—anxiety, and the fact that she traded
away an army in her rage at Littlefinger. Not that she wasn’t totally justified
in hating the man who sold her to the Boltons, but she was still uneasy in her
dishonesty to Jon in not telling him, as emerged in her answers to Brienne’s
questions a few episodes back. The most obvious answer to the question of whom
she has addressed her letter to is Littlefinger—swallowing her pride and anger
in the name of taking back her ancestral home. I honestly can’t imagine who
else it could be, and I’m dying of curiosity to see how this plays out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78OoNN1i6L-zRUAHteyapmXPkptSj4V9NINRG4Umvs8DiZ7OdtkZsa5c_jWNogzymvkh2-PC8tjGgWJoQZsXqadBExkfAUheMHOgWZ-AmgoAG8kPQnxbQ8K4z4_phRUD_BuE3pA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.48.06+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78OoNN1i6L-zRUAHteyapmXPkptSj4V9NINRG4Umvs8DiZ7OdtkZsa5c_jWNogzymvkh2-PC8tjGgWJoQZsXqadBExkfAUheMHOgWZ-AmgoAG8kPQnxbQ8K4z4_phRUD_BuE3pA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.48.06+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We move from Sansa’s letter-writing back to
where Brother Ray preaches to his flock, confessing his war crimes from his
days as a soldier. There was a lot of speculation within A Song of Ice and Fire
fandom that we would hear the now-famous “broken man” speech that appears in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Feast for Crows</i>. In the early stages
of Brienne’s search for Sansa, she falls in with an assortment of other
travelers, one of whom is a mendicant septon named Meribald. It is the
aftermath of the War of the Five Kings; the countryside has been ravaged, and
outlaws and broken men prey on unwary travelers. When Podrik asks the
difference between broken men and outlaws, Septon Meribald says that while
outlaws “are evil men, driven by greed, soured by malice, despairing of the
gods, and caring only for themselves.” Broken men, by contrast, “are more
deserving of out pity, though they may be just as dangerous.” The speech is
lengthy, so I won’t quote it all, but the gist is this: broken men are almost
always commoners, called to arms by their liege lord, for whom the thought of
war at first is attractive, “a fine adventure, the greatest most of them will
ever know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But when they taste battle, it changes for
them as they experience its blood and horror. Some men break right away, others
are worn down by countless battles, new wounds taken before the old ones heal.
And one day, a man breaks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“He turns and runs, or crawls off afterward
after the corpses of the slain, or steals away in the black of night, and he
finds some place to hide. All thought of home is gone by then, and kings and
lords and gods mean less to him than a haunch of spoiled meat that will let him
live another day, or a skin of bad wine that might drown his fear for a few
hours. The broken man lives from day to day, from meal to meal, more beast than
man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The title of this episode made many assume
and/or hope that we would be treated to this speech. But while the writers
acknowledge it, and Brother Ray’s speech gestures toward it, they have tailored
his words to be, not about the trauma of violence inflicted, but the violence
one inflicts—in other words, sentiments more specific to the Hound. “It’s never
too late to come back,” Brother Ray says, looking directly at him. Brother Ray
confesses his own atrocities; and if we only get Ian McShane for one episode,
I’m glad they gave him a character worthy of his talents. As we’ve observed, he
would have made a particularly terrifying Randyll Tarly, but there is something
particularly poignant and nuanced in his portrayal of a man hollowed out by war
and blood. His words are powerful, but it is his haunted eyes that speak
volumes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEI3NPKWU8bsrWiuXxBJ_MHRwLNaZphbMhXh-KQ4p3LcgKbOmgMwL8pglqX6hrdWLu5fe9qUpJd9-34YWSexwKpTydB1UkcyBVF9M7Xte-ZQ78kXxIEGLaYQckh5c6zk0ndb9sQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.48.23+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEI3NPKWU8bsrWiuXxBJ_MHRwLNaZphbMhXh-KQ4p3LcgKbOmgMwL8pglqX6hrdWLu5fe9qUpJd9-34YWSexwKpTydB1UkcyBVF9M7Xte-ZQ78kXxIEGLaYQckh5c6zk0ndb9sQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.48.23+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It is a particularly clever bit of casting,
too, because those of us who loved <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deadwood</i>
see the tortured soul of Al Swearengen lurking beneath this surface, and Brother
Ray’s confession of a brutal past is that much more present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Hound hasn’t quite got religion yet,
however. When Ray tells him, “Violence is a disease. You don’t kill a disease
by spreading it to more people,” he replies with a fairly unavoidable truth. “You
don’t cure it by dying, either,” he says. We assume that the Hound is the
broken man of the title, but in another sense he is one of many: Brother Ray,
the brigands from the Brotherhood Without Banners, and perhaps to a lesser
extent … Arya.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZB9b_H6fZ-bGR-nmkMIE_FOtM8oWhPPRMhqqs6LeHi9wKsuOoF3naG2A6tg7b-DwO_gNOAs7NeEdcmVqyOu0bFeCLAy9q3V4buH3fbWizK4A1eVBc2deYUnhgZZoVQBREbvL6g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.48.35+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZB9b_H6fZ-bGR-nmkMIE_FOtM8oWhPPRMhqqs6LeHi9wKsuOoF3naG2A6tg7b-DwO_gNOAs7NeEdcmVqyOu0bFeCLAy9q3V4buH3fbWizK4A1eVBc2deYUnhgZZoVQBREbvL6g/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.48.35+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Arya is not broken, though one could argue
that the process of dissolving her sense of self into “no one” was precisely
about breaking her. How do you come to kill indiscriminately? By losing
yourself, by detaching from your humanity. “We weren’t animals,” says Brother
Ray. “Animals are true to their nature, and we had betrayed ours.” Arya might
have learned to kill, out of anger and vengeance and the need to survive—but
she balks at killing someone whose only crime is being a better actor. And in
the waif, we see someone who, though she has apparently passed all of the
Faceless Men’s tests, is not so “faceless” that she has transcended petty
hatred and jealousy. Her dislike of Arya has been palpable, and the delight she
takes in shanking her on the bridge too obvious for anyone to believe she’s
genuinely dispassionate (especially considering she has ignored Jaqen’s
directive that Arya should not suffer). In this moment she is not an assassin
but a straight-up killer who gives the lie to the Faceless Men’s ethos.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Arya escapes, albeit with a grievous wound,
and the last we see of her, she disappears into the crowds of Braavos. Does she
find her way to the theatre troupe? Does she make her ship’s dawn departure? Is
there a doctor in the house? Stay tuned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExynlfi7ZR5JrbClhJHasAhptI7s2EWkG9J6zu-UiN4iM4m5WxQDrke_W94I6iBKDp17XP0d1ZXY13-RRXBDsci2DY4Bm2BKZJJvWuX8iFHZ8uzKq_C6WOr5FsX4iNGDt8UTJXw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.49.37+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExynlfi7ZR5JrbClhJHasAhptI7s2EWkG9J6zu-UiN4iM4m5WxQDrke_W94I6iBKDp17XP0d1ZXY13-RRXBDsci2DY4Bm2BKZJJvWuX8iFHZ8uzKq_C6WOr5FsX4iNGDt8UTJXw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.49.37+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We end with the (mercifully) offscreen
massacre of Brother Ray and his followers while the Hound is far enough away
that he can only return for the aftermath. The perpetrators, we assume, were
the Brotherhood Without Banners, which raises at least one pertinent question:
what the hell has happened to these guys? The last we saw of them, they were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">genuinely</i> the protectors of the common
folk, and had a reasonable sense of justice. What has happened in the interim?
Have they become such fanatical devotees of the Lord of Light that they will
cheerfully kill nonbelievers? Or have they, in the process of fighting endless
battles and skirmishes, themselves become broken men?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZp9b_jAGZj0z7jZgpT9XXc4NeKRtJgcy6_-vjVOotM-lXX3eDS_BA0Kho9vG2-Z0w32pGU4qt_g_F68rOzFDTexWNTslwSFvvZNZEfTSQQkmtmmdu1i9uta-BrfKr8kJ6YqnHw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.49.59+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZp9b_jAGZj0z7jZgpT9XXc4NeKRtJgcy6_-vjVOotM-lXX3eDS_BA0Kho9vG2-Z0w32pGU4qt_g_F68rOzFDTexWNTslwSFvvZNZEfTSQQkmtmmdu1i9uta-BrfKr8kJ6YqnHw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-07+at+11.49.59+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Perhaps we will learn as much in the next
few episodes, but for now it is enough to note that they would seem to have
interrupted the Hound’s process of atonement. The last shot of the episode is
him striding purposefully off, only pausing to grab an axe—a symbolic moment in
which a tool of peace becomes a weapon of war.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US">Phew. That one went on a bit long, but in
our defense, there was an awful lot going on in this episode. Thanks for
reading, and we’ll see you again next week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-41954710284656713052016-06-02T10:12:00.000-04:002016-06-03T12:45:16.725-04:00Game of Thrones 6.06: Blood of My Blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJTpsIoSYYljFCtMz9MxPQkscexEn1-uYIasPKH3tDIcCW26OuMSvvA6Qb5tweAg4fDSP-IXXp-cUcb126eT1nMX0Tbo-HHxlgGXzsoxijTzBnZB6JRLVCcLqWTrzsx0h1GUv6g/s1600/Game+of+Thrones.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJTpsIoSYYljFCtMz9MxPQkscexEn1-uYIasPKH3tDIcCW26OuMSvvA6Qb5tweAg4fDSP-IXXp-cUcb126eT1nMX0Tbo-HHxlgGXzsoxijTzBnZB6JRLVCcLqWTrzsx0h1GUv6g/s400/Game+of+Thrones.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
Hello and welcome to week 6 of our Game of Thrones recap. As always I'm joined by the fannishness of my fannishness, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Christopher Lockett</a>, who will offer some insight into how this season is still following certain aspects of GRRM's books, while we both discuss the new directions the show is going. Something about this week's episode just felt like without the books, the writers are really starting to speed things up a bit, and no longer are we going to have characters in one spot for an entire season. But without further ado, I turn the mic over to Chris!<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: It occurred to me at a certain point during this episode that we
need to do a special retrospective blog post when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Winds of Winter</i> comes out, in which we talk about the
deviations from GRRM’s story the series has made, but also what aspects of the
novel the series has now revealed in advance (I don’t want to say “spoiled,”
because that’s not entirely accurate). This week’s episode has revealed a whole
bunch of plot twists that may or may not be consonant with the novels, so it
will be interesting to see which ones bear out. Do Margaery and Tommen embrace
the Faith and side with the High Sparrow against their houses? Does Arya rebel
against the Faceless Men and reassert her own sense of self? Will Daenerys turn
her and her dragons’ noses toward Westeros after her capture by the Dothraki? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The one twist that rings true, if for no
other reason than that it has long been fan speculation, is that Bran’s
mysterious benefactor Coldhands (as he is called in the novels) is actually his
long-lost Uncle Benjen. We first meet Coldhands in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Storm of Swords</i> as a strange, almost wight-ish figure riding an
elk, who aids Sam and Gilly in their escape south from Craster’s Keep. Sam and
Gilly make their way south of the Wall through a secret passage under the Nightfort,
encountering Bran and his entourage as they do. This of course also happens on
the show (episode 3.10), with Sam showing Bran <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">et al</i> the way north and promising not to tell Jon; in the novels,
however, Coldhands is there to meet Bran and guide him north. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The absence of this character from the
series was broadly assumed to be yet another instance where the show chose to
pare down the novels’ ever-increasing ensemble, so his appearance at this late
stage makes me wonder if any other elided characters will be making surprise
appearances. It also makes me wonder, as I write this, whether or not GRRM
intended for Coldhands to be Benjen—might this be an instance of the series
listening to fan speculation and deciding that it was expedient to satisfy us
on this one point and bring back a character to be this week’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex machina</i>? Did it just happen that
the actor in question (Joseph Mawle) was available to step back into the role
after a five-year hiatus? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGpT3CnmFiHnx9hCqrWxe_LJ_NGMeGNU3TdX07GH_kdJwEbL0mif7ZotfU2rIPFhUNtP0VKQ_LZ8wHM1rHakauWsxM_u5_DGnu6RJ-Otew40YMXcB9vCccox01pIw2RHDBR25lw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.16.16+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGpT3CnmFiHnx9hCqrWxe_LJ_NGMeGNU3TdX07GH_kdJwEbL0mif7ZotfU2rIPFhUNtP0VKQ_LZ8wHM1rHakauWsxM_u5_DGnu6RJ-Otew40YMXcB9vCccox01pIw2RHDBR25lw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.16.16+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Like I said: we need to do a special <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Winds of Winter </i>post, which at this
point will probably be around 2025.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I think I said something a few posts ago,
apropos of the wildling rescue of the Snow loyalists, that the writers need to
be more parsimonious with their use of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus
ex machina</i>. Such is the case here: we know that Hodor bought Bran and Meera
a few minutes with his heroic sacrifice, but not much more than that. Meera is
not Hodor: she is struggling rather desperately to drag Bran’s sledge, but her
strength is flagging, and Bran is meanwhile stuck in his visionary stupor. It’s
pretty obvious that they’re about to need rescuing, and I have written in my
notes “Coldhands?” And lo and behold, here he is, though sadly not riding an
elk (perhaps because he was too embarrassed to do so after watching <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies</i>),
but armed with a sweet flaming morningstar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Can I argue a point of logic here? Meera
pauses in mid-flight to desperately try to wake Bran up. Is this really the
best use of her energies? Not to sound ableist, but it’s not as though there’s
anything more he can do while awake). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bran himself seems to be stuck in
information overload, bombarded by a welter of images from the past—many of
which we’ve seen in the course of the show, and some of which he experienced (such
as his fall from the broken tower)—but many of which he was not present for,
such as the execution of his father. And we see some new scenes: most notably,
we get a glimpse of the Mad King Aerys sitting on the Iron Throne, shouting
“Burn them all!”, along with images of wildfire being poured into vessels and
being detonated. Hopefully this means that in future episodes we’ll be treated
to scenes of the last days of the Mad King, whose paranoia and insanity brought
down the Targaryen dynasty. Until now, we’ve only had stories: most memorably,
the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ5oRxgphRc">story</a> Jaime told
Brienne back in season three. Once again, the embedding on the video is
disabled, but it’s worth revisiting. Jaime asks Brienne if she’s familiar with
wildfire. “Of course,” she retorts, and he says, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“The Mad King was obsessed with it. He
loved to watch people burn. Have their skin blackened, burnt, melted off their
bones. He burned lords he didn’t like, he burned Hands who disobeyed him, he
burned anyone who was against him. Before long half the country was against
him. Aerys saw traitors everywhere. So he had his pyromancer place caches of
wildfire all over the city. Beneath the Sept of Baelor. The slums of
Fleabottom. Under houses, stables, taverns. Underneath the Red Keep itself.
Finally, the day of reckoning came. Robert Baratheon marched on the capital
after his victory at the Trident. But my father arrived first, the whole
Lannister army at his back, promising to defend the city against the rebels. I
knew my father better than that. He’s never been one to pick the losing side. I
told the Mad King as much. I urged him to surrender peacefully. But the king
didn’t listen to me. He didn’t listen to Varys … But he did listen to Grand Maester
Pycelle … ‘You can trust the Lannisters,’ he said. ‘The Lannisters have always
been true friends of the crown.’ So, he opened the gates. My father sacked the
city. Once again, I came to the king, begging him to surrender. He told me to
bring him my father’s head. Then he turned to his pyromancer. ‘Burn them all!’
he said. ‘Burn them in their homes! Burn them in their beds!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Apologies for the lengthy quotation. I
transcribed it with the thought of editing it down to its pith, but it occurs
to me that this moment is germane to this episode—not just because it calls
back to that moment Bran sees in his vision, but because this episode is fairly
explicitly about family and blood. “Blood of my Blood” is the title, which
references the Dothraki bloodriders’ oath to their khal, and which Daenerys
invokes in the episode’s final scene. But blood and family, in all its fraught
incarnations, is at the center of this episode: Sam returning to his family
home, to his mother’s love and his father’s contempt; Tommen and Margaery
taking sides against their families; Arya choosing her own sense of self as a
Stark against the Faceless Men; Walder Frey revealing that he means to use his
hostage Edmure Tully against the Blackfish; and of course in this moment, Bran
being reunited with a long-lost uncle who is not, strictly speaking, the same
uncle he last saw five seasons ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At any rate, after Coldhands/Benjen lays
waste to a slew of wights and has his John Connor moment (seriously, did anyone
else hear him say “Come with me” and mouth the words “if you want to live”? Or
is that just me?), we segue from the white north to the green south, and catch
up with Sam and Gilly. What did you think of Sam’s homecoming, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: As always, Sam and Gilly just have a knack of making me smile
every time they’re on screen; they’re just so darn sweet together. He’s
bouncing little Samwell on his lap as he talks incessantly about the kinds of
trees that grow around his home, what they look like in summer, what the
colours look like in the autumn, and Gilly gleans right away that he’s nervous
as hell, hence the jabbering. The last he saw of his family, he was being
banished to the Night’s Watch as a convenient way for his father, Randyll, to
be rid of him. His father, a military man, gave him a choice: go to the Night’s
Watch or be put to death. The reason? Because Sam was overweight and loved
books, rather than being the muscular military man that his father wanted him
to be. There was no way Randyll was going to allow Sam to be his heir, but he
couldn’t skip him and give it to his other children, because Sam was the
eldest. Banish him to the Night’s Watch, et voila: Sam divests himself of the
Tarly name and any claims he has to the household. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And... now he’s back. And his father is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">furious</i>. But as they approach the
ENORMOUS castle (like, seriously, did anyone else gasp aloud and scream some
obscenity about the freakin’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">city</i>
that is their home?!) Sam makes a deal with Gilly: little Sam is his son, and
Gilly is most certainly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> a wildling.
Little Sam will get a good education, and Gilly will have a place to stay while
Sam travels to Oldtown to become a Maester. But let’s just go over this again:
whatever Gilly does, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><s>don’t... mention...
the war!</s>! </i>she can NOT say that she’s a wildling!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MZ2FHWnAzqdF1_Fu-KRDfEv41uw7OA0-6hiqdI5BXs8u9XVQ3NXViPoBOD26nZmbmH8lMZerwY7WD8iMiG10YTsnkh1k0set24bTZQhrKN9oi9wMnvvsMPteAgHznTPsZVMK_Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.17.06+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MZ2FHWnAzqdF1_Fu-KRDfEv41uw7OA0-6hiqdI5BXs8u9XVQ3NXViPoBOD26nZmbmH8lMZerwY7WD8iMiG10YTsnkh1k0set24bTZQhrKN9oi9wMnvvsMPteAgHznTPsZVMK_Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.17.06+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">They arrive at the castle and Sam’s mother
Melessa is over the moon to see him, and one minute with this character and you
realize where Sam gets all of his goodness from. His little sister Talia is
also standing there, immediately complaining about the fact that she’s going to
be married off to some horrible man that she hates, before her mother lovingly
shushes her. Melessa addresses Gilly as if she’s wearing a royal gown — not the
animal skin she has thrown over her — and welcomes her and little Sam into the
castle. Melessa is that rare character in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones</i> who seems to be nothing but goodness. How she ended up with
Randyll is utterly baffling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Except not really, not in this world. Talia
complaining about her impending arranged marriage is still echoing in our heads
as we move to King’s Landing. Tommen is now friendly with the High Sparrow, and
rather than condemning him for forcing Margaery to do the Walk of Atonement,
Tommen is explaining that he doesn’t quite know how to deal with it. The High
Sparrow allows Tommen to finally see Margaery, and I wrote in my notes,
“Margaery is pretending to be pious.” We saw her in Loras’s cell, where she
explained that they can’t let the Sparrows see them broken. Loras, on the other
hand, said, “Just give them what they want, and make my pain end.” At the time
I took the look on Margaery’s face to be one that suggested she was giving up
on her brother, but now I see it as a light going on in the attic, where she
suddenly thought wait, that’s the answer. Give them what they want. If I let
them think I’ve atoned and have become one of them, they’ll let Loras go. And
so, she’s doing exactly that. And she’s doing a damn good job of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m often hard on Margaery (she can be a
rather annoying character), but she’s also a woman in this world, and as we’ve
seen with Daenerys, and Brienne, and Yara, and Sansa, and Arya, and Cersei, and
even Melessa... it’s not easy being a woman in this world. You have to fight
hard to rise up, but the thing is: the women ARE rising up. Brienne and Sansa
have joined forces; Arya is proving she will not be controlled by the Faceless
Men; Daenerys has won over the Dothraki, Yara has stolen all of her uncle’s
ships and might be heading for Daenerys right now to see if she could join her;
Cersei has another trick up her sleeve; and Melessa maintains her goodness in
spite of her husband being a complete and utter boob. Margaery is a
manipulator, but clearly she learned at a very early age that it was her only
choice in this world. Go along with everything and reap the rewards. She
married Renly, who was gay, and allowed her gay brother into their bedroom so
he could fulfill her husband’s needs while she got to wear the crown. Not
ideal, but better than many women have fared in Westeros. Then she ended up
betrothed to Joffrey, but Olenna took care of things there — Olenna probably
did the same things Margaery did to rise up, and she wasn’t about to let a
monster destroy her granddaughter. And now she’s with Tommen, and that’s not
going so well, but she’s going to figure out a way out of this mess just like
she has every other time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As she speaks with Tommen, there isn’t an
ounce of anger or vengeance in her voice, despite the fact that he’s been
utterly ineffectual at getting her out of her predicament, and instead she
smiles sweetly at him and makes him believe 100% that she’s a convert. She
tells him that Loras needs to atone, and comes off as completely legit. She’s
learned quickly that Tommen is about as malleable as a ball of play-doh, and
she knows this will be an easy one. What she intends to do with him only
becomes clearer later in the episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we’re back with the Tarlys at a
friendly dinner party, where Gilly tries to use cutlery and everyone is staring
at her. It made me remember the first time I visited the UK in my late
twenties, and I was at dinner with my friend’s family, and I suddenly became
aware that someone was staring at me. I looked up, and there was my friend’s
grandmother staring at me, horrified, and she said, “You... hold your fork
like... an... AMERICAN.” I immediately looked around the table and noticed I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> holding my cutlery slightly
differently than everyone else, and immediately amended what I was doing,
cheeks bright red and feeling like I’d just been disciplined like a child. So I
know how Gilly felt in that moment. (The next day, by the way, the family
ordered Chinese takeout and it turns out they’d never done so before. As they
sat around poking at the chicken balls not knowing what to do with them, and
one of them went to smash a fortune cookie with his fist because he wasn’t sure
how else to get to the piece of paper inside, I was relieved that, as it turned
out, I wasn’t the only barbarian at their table.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And what did you think of this happy family
gathering, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aside from
being utterly painful to watch, it was a beautifully executed scene—not least
because we see all of Sam’s personal growth and development completely negated
by simply being in his tyrannical, contemptuous father’s presence again. I’ve
had a small handful of friends in my life who are ebullient, outgoing, the life
of the party, and the biggest personality in the room, but who crumple into
mouselike diffidence in the presence of a certain parent for whom nothing they
do can ever be good enough. On such occasions when I saw it happen, it was
always baffling and disheartening—but it always drove home the power that
parents can wield, especially for people who crave approval or affirmation.
Watching Sam—who was never, of course, the biggest personality in the room, but
who earned the respect of his Brothers on the Wall, to say nothing of finding
courage in the face of foes who would (literally) freeze the souls of most
people—crumble in such a manner before Randyll Tarly was like a kick in the
gut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We haven’t gotten to this point in the
novels (if we ever do), but we have met Randyll Tarly: Brienne meets him in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Feast for Crows</i> as she searches for
Sansa, at a town Tarly had “liberated” from the Northerners, where he now sits
and dispenses harsh judgment on petty crimes. Randyll has, as we would expect, little
more than contempt for her: “You never should have donned mail, nor buckled on
a sword,” he sneers at her. “You never should have left your father’s hall. This
is a war, not a harvest ball. By all the gods, I ought to ship you back to
Tarth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Except that Brienne has a writ from Jaime
Lannister to carry out “the King’s business.” She tells him she is searching
for Sansa Stark, and means to go to the Vale to speak with Lysa Arryn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Lord Randyll gave her an contemptuous
look. ‘Lady Lysa is dead. Some singer pushed her off a mountain. Littlefinger
hold the Eyrie now … though not for long. The lords of the Vale are not the
sort to bend their knees to some upjumped jackanapes whose only skill is
counting coppers.’ He handed her back her letter. ‘Go where you want and do as
you will … but when you’re raped don’t look to me for justice. You will have
earned it with your unjust folly.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Aside from this one encounter (he does
appear once or twice more, but this is the clearest picture we get of him), he
has a reputation as one of the best soldiers in the Seven Kingdoms, and for
being iron-willed and uncompromising. It is also generally known that he is
responsible for all of House Tyrell’s military successes, though Mace Tyrell
(shown in this episode in all his self-important oafish glory) has always been
happy to take credit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As always, the casting here is spot on.
When the announcement was made that Ian McShane would be appearing in a brief
but significant role this season, all of the good money was that he would be
playing Lord Randyll. And seriously: can you just imagine how terrifying Al
Swearengen would have been in this scene? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But that being said, the actor they did
cast—James Faulkner—is simply perfect, capturing Randyll’s taciturn, unyielding
contempt for anyone who doesn’t live up to his martial, masculine code, as well
as the way in which he weds that code to the feudal system of class and status.
He would accept a “Moletown whore” for the simple reason that it means his son
acted at least once “like a man,” but a wildling is simply beyond the pale—and
this from a man who has lived his life in the warm and fecund south, with no
experience or knowledge of wildlings besides his conviction that they are
barely human. “Is this your way of getting back at me, boy? Bringing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> to my table,” he snarls, “and
making me dine with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">it</i>?” In Randyll’s
eyes she is barely more than an animal, to the point where young Sam is “a
half-breed bastard!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(One can only imagine what he’d think if he
knew that Sam’s ostensible bastard is in fact Craster’s son.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One of the other things Faulkner captures
is Randyll’s brute intelligence. He may loathe the idea of his son with his
nose in books, “reading about the achievements of better men,” and the
less-than-manly career of a maester (in the novels, Sam reveals that once, when
he had voiced his desire to be a maester, his father had said “If it’s chains
you want, then come with me,” and manacled him in the Tarly dungeon for three
days, declaring that no son of his would don the maester’s chain, a symbol of
servitude); but Randyll misses nothing, watching and listening carefully, and
instantly picking up on Gilly’s slip. “Your way <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">down</i> to Castle Black?” he says, and we know the game is up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Also, can I take a moment to laud Hannah
Murray’s performance as Gilly in this scene? She is wonderful as she stands up
to Randyll on Sam’s behalf, even though she does inadvertently give the game away;
but I was impressed with how well she communicated her discomfort and
awkwardness in the finery she’s given to wear. She does it without the clumsier
expedient of an ill-fitting dress. The colours aren’t particularly flattering,
but the dress fits her well. She is, as Sam gushes, beautiful—but what this
fish-out-of-water moment manages to say is that she was actually more beautiful
before, dressed in her shapeless woolens and with her hair unstyled. When you
see images of Hannah Murray rocking the red carpet, it’s clear that the actress
is no stranger to finery, but Gilly most certainly is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sam’s ultimate decision to leave with Gilly
is stirring and lovely, though I confess I balked at him taking the Tarly
sword. “It’s my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">family</i> sword,” he
tells Gilly, and defiantly says his father can bloody well come and get it … but
I’m reasonably sure he has no legal leg to stand on here. It is his family
sword, and ownership passes to the next Lord of Horn Hill—which, because
joining the Night’s Watch entails surrendering one’s birthrights and family
name, means it will never be him. And there’s also the fact that his father is
still alive. Presumably, Randyll won’t care that Sam has fled with Gilly and
the baby—no wildling and bastard to take care of any more—but somehow I imagine
the theft of the sword will upset him. Just a little.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with that we cut from Sam sheathing an
ancient and priceless Valyrian steel sword, to a stage prop sword being swung
by the actor playing Joffrey, and we get to relive the events of the Purple
Wedding. Which, if I recall correctly, Nikki, you <a href="http://nikkistafford.blogspot.ca/2014/04/game-of-thrones-402-lion-and-rose.html" target="_blank">greeted</a>
two years ago with a squee and a variation on “Ding-dong, the witch is dead!”
What did you think of The Ongoing Story of Westeros (Redux), as told by Richard
E. Grant and friends?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: That was an excellent recap of that scene, Chris, and thank you
for linking it back to the book. I could totally picture this actor delivering
those lines to Brienne — I agree with you that it’s pitch-perfect casting.
(Though, if Ian McShane <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had</i> been cast
as Randyll, it would have upped the “cocksucker” quotient in that scene.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now we move over to the play and get to
relive the Purple Wedding and Tywin’s Death Whilst Dumping scenes. The Girl Who
Has No Name watches the show and, at Joffrey’s death, is the only one laughing
while the others watch solemnly. Even though everyone seems to know that Joffrey
is the result of incest, that the Lannisters are generally terrible people, and
that Joffrey was a wretched king, it’s interesting that they still show
gravitas and some respect at his death scene and look at The Girl With No Name
with such scorn for giggling through it. The events in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> are meant to hearken back to some sort of medieval
time, when news was passed orally by town criers, and yet this scene still felt
very much like a comment on who we are today. The town criers are the people on
Facebook who post stories, or the people who comment on them. They’re the first
ones on Twitter with RIP announcements when celebrities die. It’s CNN having to
fill a 24-hour news cycle and giving you bare bones and wrong information
before they have time to fact-check it. When celebrities break up, we say, “Ooh,
it’s because he cheated with the nanny,” or “Ooh, she’s a gold-digger and
that’s why she’s making these allegations,” or “How DARE you say that, she said
she was abused and therefore she was abused,” or “The only reason he cheated
with the nanny is because I heard she refused to have sex with him anymore.”
How much of this is true? Probably less than zero percent, but hey, if everyone
is saying it and it’s been verified on Wikipedia and Twitter, then it MUST be
true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And the same goes for this audience. We
have seen everything happening behind the scenes, but these people see a
deformed imp and they assume he’s the killer of Joffrey, the molester of Sansa,
and has no moral centre whatsoever. We watch Tyrion and we see an intellect, a
man who is braver than he seems, a man who has a kind and gentle side, but
those who simply see him in royal portraits see a monstrosity, and therefore he
MUST be blamed for everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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But the Girl With No Name knows the truth. She knows Joffrey was scum, and she
questions Tyrion’s guilt, and for god’s sakes I hope she and Sansa are reunited
at some point soon because I would love for them to be able to catch up the way
Sansa has with Jon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Backstage, The Girl With No Name puts the
poison into “Queen Cersei’s” cup and then waits for things to happen... until
“Queen Cersei,” actually Lady Crane (played by Essie Davis from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Babadook</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miss Fisher’s Mysteries</i>), begins to talk to her, and she realizes
she is human. When Richard E. Grant’s character, Izembaro, begins badmouthing
her and treating her like crap, while Fake Sansa is a young thing who sees Lady
Crane as standing in the way of her getting bigger roles, it’s clear that the
backstage politics of a travelling acting troupe are no different than the main
stage backstabbing going on throughout Westeros. Men keep the women under their
boots, no matter how smart and capable those women are, while younger women do
their best to push the older women out of the way, stomping on them on their
way to the top... a top that includes being beaten back down by the men. The
theatre troupe simply acts as a microcosm for the very people they’re parodying
on stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And it’s when The Girl With No Name sees
this, she snaps, knocks the cup out of Lady Crane’s hand (as the Waif watches),
and once again becomes our Arya. She goes back to the waterfront and fishes
Needle back out of its hiding place (YES!!!!) before returning to a hiding
place, where she sits and waits for the Waif to come. And the Waif hasn’t
hesitated in rushing back to Jaqen and telling him what she’s seen, getting
permission to kill Arya. He betrays that he does have some (limited) tenderness
for Arya when he asks that the Waif do it quickly without pain. I think we all
know it’ll be the Waif who feels the pain in this match-up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now it’s back over to King’s Landing,
where Margaery is NOT going to do that Walk of Atonement if the Mayor of
Munchkinland has anything to say about it!! What did you make of the scene with
the Tyrell army facing off against the Sparrows, Chris? (And also, I’m pretty
sure that was actually Nikolaj Coster-Waldau riding the horse up the stairs for
that stunt, and if so, IMPRESSIVE!!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">HA! Mace Tyrell DOES look like he represents the
Lollypop Guild, doesn’t he? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My thoughts on this scene are pretty
consonant with yours, re: Margaery and her shrewd maneuverings. Even though
Olenna bitterly says “He’s beaten us, that’s what’s happening!” to her clueless
son, I wonder if perhaps she isn’t giving Margaery credit. Do we really think she’s
had a come-to-Jesus moment, or is she playing the hand she thought she had? Her
expression as she watches the Tyrell army arrive is interesting: surprise, with
a little intake of breath, and then a glance at where the Sparrow stands a few
steps in front and beside her. It’s hard to tell the meaning of that look, but
my guess is that Margaery had (1) given up on being rescued, and (2) given up
on her brother, disappointed by this weakness; and faced with the humiliation
of the Walk of Atonement, she plays the one card she has—Tommen. I think your
read on their earlier scene together was spot-on, Nikki; she plays the young
king like a cheap banjo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Is that expression on her face as her
father’s soldiers file into the square a moment of thinking, “Oh, crap—they did
come for me after all!” Even if it is, she can’t be too displeased with the way
she’s moved the pieces on the board. Even if Lady Olenna isn’t pleased with the
prospect of a born-again granddaughter, she’ll have to recognize the fact that
Margaery has effectively empowered the Tyrells while marginalizing the
Lannisters—all without bloodshed. Next week’s episode will (hopefully) tell,
but for now it seems that Tommen is disinclined to blame his wife’s family for
the confrontation in front of the sept and instead punishes his uncle, ejecting
him from the Kingsguard and sending him away from King’s Landing to retake
Riverrun from the Blackfish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It is worth noting in this scene that the
Lannisters aren’t entirely marginalized: Kevan Lannister apparently remains
Hand of the King, and stands at Tommen’s right. He does not seem particularly
sympathetic to Jaime, however, and we know the amount of contempt he has for
Cersei. Even with him advising the king, however, Lannister power looks
completely fractured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One small detail: when Tommen emerged from
the sept, surrounded by members of the Kingsguard, all of them are now wearing
cuirasses bearing the seven-pointed star of the Faith; Jaime, by contrast,
wears the former sigil, a crown. This as much as anything signals the
substantive shift of power: Tommen has essentially merged the Faith and the
crown, something further communicated by the smug look of triumph the Sparrow
gives Jaime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So, if we’re right and Margaery is making a
power move, things will get interesting: let’s not forget that the High Sparrow
and the Faith Militant were initially empowered by Cersei in her mistaken
belief that she could manipulate them to her own ends. Now Margaery seems to
want to ride that tiger. Will she learn from Cersei’s errors? Will the Sparrow
outmaneuver her as well? He is, after all, no fool—does he believe her
conversion to be genuine, or is he playing her?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We shift from Jaime’s (literal)
dressing-down in the throne room to Walder Frey, whom we haven’t seen in some
time, dressing down his sons over the loss of Riverrun. Casual viewers of the
show might be forgiven for asking “Wait, didn’t he get thrown off a bridge?”,
as there’s not a lot of daylight between Balon Greyjoy and Walder Frey in how
they’re depicted on the show. Frey is somewhat more petulant, but no less
unreasonable in his demands. Yes, losing Riverrun was something of a gaffe, but
it’s not as though Frey seems to have done anything beside sit at his high
table, drink, enumerate his grudges, and terrify his child bride. This scene
didn’t do much besides set up next week’s confrontation at Riverrun and the
return of the Blackfish, and reintroduce the hapless Edmure into the mix (he’ll
always be Brutus from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rome</i> to me),
who has evidently spent the last three seasons rotting in a Frey dungeon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But given the fact that the Freys are not
strong enough to retake Riverrun themselves, they appeal to the Lannisters,
giving Tommen a convenient way to effectively exile Jaime. I should point out
that with Jaime heading out to the Riverlands with an army, the series squares
up again with the novels. Jaime’s entire storyline from the moment he frees
Tyrion has been a deviation from the books: in the novels, he does not voyage
to Dorne, nor does he have a romantic reconciliation with Cersei in King’s
Landing. He basically spends the second half of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Feast for Crows</i> at the head of a Lannister army tying up the
war’s loose ends—including the siege of Riverrun, which has been held by the
Blackfish under Stark banners. It will be interesting to see if the siege plays
out as it does in the novels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before we get to the climactic scene of the
episode and Daenerys’ St. Crispin’s Day speech, we’re treated to something that
this season seems to be specializing in: a Stark that isn’t actually dead! What
did you think of the return of Uncle Benjen, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: So many older characters are being reintroduced it’s enough to
make a viewer’s head spin. Viewers will remember Edmure Tully, the nitwit
brought in before Walder Frey, as Catelyn’s brother, who, at their father’s
funeral was supposed to shoot the flaming arrow to light his father’s funeral
pyre on fire. After three failed shots that simply kerplunked into the river,
his uncle — the Blackfish — pushed him aside and lit it up with one clean shot.
We last saw Edmure at the Red Wedding — which was actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his</i> wedding — when Walder Frey married him off to one of his
daughters. If you’ll recall, Walder wanted to marry one of his daughters to
Robb Stark in order for him to join his house to that of House Stark. Robb was
already married, so he offered up Edmure, his uncle, who immediately assumed
Walder was going to marry him off to one of his, erm, less attractive
daughters. But at the wedding he was pleasantly surprised to see that she was,
in fact a beauty, and he happily married her... only to be taken away and
thrown into a dungeon on his wedding night, where he has remained for three
seasons. I’ve often thought that House Tully isn’t exactly bursting with
promise: between Edmure and his sister Lysa (whom we last saw sailing through
the moon door), Catelyn’s siblings are pretty ineffectual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I swear that casting Tobias Menzies in a
role is simply casting director shorthand for “this guy is a sleazebag.” See <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rome</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Outlander</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Night Manager</i>...
I swear the moment he shows up on screen in any series or movie, I think,
“Ah... and here is the villain, then.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjze0d4Usvu8HOz9P96rSqsF-VnyNTJHnsyUnsT_7lJcDwaxQ-ZK8CXsOUlAYr1CoeaiEonmldkG1fJkg-iryHgqY-OSqrdfmIp7ZN4X4k1ZHOxcJR37jGHQG22mxcBBlmkRmhrfw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.55.35+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjze0d4Usvu8HOz9P96rSqsF-VnyNTJHnsyUnsT_7lJcDwaxQ-ZK8CXsOUlAYr1CoeaiEonmldkG1fJkg-iryHgqY-OSqrdfmIp7ZN4X4k1ZHOxcJR37jGHQG22mxcBBlmkRmhrfw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.55.35+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But now off to Benjen. You did an excellent
job of bringing us up to speed on him in your opening, Chris, so I don’t have
much more to add to what you said. Benjen was always that quiet hero in the
background of the show. In season one, when Ned beheads that man for abandoning
his post (and accuses him of lying by saying he’d seen a White Walker), it’s
Benjen who shows up at Winterfell and says actually, the man wasn’t lying, and
Ned had killed a good man. He’s the one who suggests Jon Snow join the Night’s
Watch, and accompanies him north to the Wall. Benjen heads north of the Wall on
a ranger expedition, but only his horse comes back, and later his two men are
found dead. But no Benjen. Since then we’ve only heard his name a couple of
times, but with no hard evidence that he was dead, many fans have speculated
he’s still up there somewhere (when GRRM kills someone, he SHOWS you that he’s
killed someone). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We saw little Benjen in one of the visions
that Bran had with the Three-eyed Raven, when he was swordfighting with little
Ned, so that was an early hint that we were going to see him again, since they
were putting his name back into our heads in those scenes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And now he’s back. And he looks, um, a
little worse for the wear. But his story is incredible: he’d been attacked by
White Walkers, and one of them had impaled him on an ice sword, but before he
could turn into a wight he was found by the Children of the Forest, who pushed
a piece of dragonglass into his chest. Once again reminding us of the name of
GRRM’s book series, and that the end of this story is going to come down to a
war between Ice and Fire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchuEK90PL2ao37AWY5VT254m6zMBCVWSZErx8SgJmecU0zH0ZtpIb84BIaBPZaZPa9gCrfcrEBC7s_EXcuWnqDPbXmIQiR0Ox2I2m-_SEnpJ7qAwrwMISR8ykWhsm9g_okSSRAw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.56.16+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchuEK90PL2ao37AWY5VT254m6zMBCVWSZErx8SgJmecU0zH0ZtpIb84BIaBPZaZPa9gCrfcrEBC7s_EXcuWnqDPbXmIQiR0Ox2I2m-_SEnpJ7qAwrwMISR8ykWhsm9g_okSSRAw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.56.16+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And speaking of fire, Daenerys and Daario
are riding from Meereen to go to Westeros (FINALLY) because, as she insists,
she’s going to take back what is hers. Daario isn’t sure this is the best use
of her time. “You weren’t made to sit on a chair,” he tells her. “You’re a conqueror,
Daenerys Stormborn.” And he’s right. So many long to capture the Iron Throne,
but once you have it, it’s one hell of an uncomfortable hunk of metal and wood,
and after only a few days of listening to people gripe, you’re probably wishing
you’d just stayed at home the day of the Conquering. There <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">must</i> have been something good on TV that day, right? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But she wants what is hers, and then she
shows the blood riders exactly how she’s going to get it when she disappears
into the canyon and comes back riding a truly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ENORMOUS</i> Drogon. Man, when Tyrion talked about how much more the
dragons grow when they’re not in captivity, I had no idea he meant THAT big. He
must be three times bigger than he was when we last saw him saving Daenerys
from the gladiator ring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNKBATa0qXv6c7ZXjKv6MdUMSPUFzS9hW_QGqP5HbQWtwpFmbYlkSalXyYNaERn4qhrMvSBz8l_QcPJocOWkXxH05dZK-zXjmVs5AsWPT3gZSbVWkaGvk_swiFvJbYhNcQr3yYA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.56.39+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNKBATa0qXv6c7ZXjKv6MdUMSPUFzS9hW_QGqP5HbQWtwpFmbYlkSalXyYNaERn4qhrMvSBz8l_QcPJocOWkXxH05dZK-zXjmVs5AsWPT3gZSbVWkaGvk_swiFvJbYhNcQr3yYA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.56.39+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The blood riders have never followed a
woman in their history, so their immediate and wholehearted pledge of fealty to
Daenerys seems a little disingenuous, but then again, she IS on the back of a
dragon, so... I’m sure High Sparrow would be bowing and scraping by now, too.
But as much as I loved the reappearance of Drogon, and the fact that we’re
another step closer to House Targaryen taking back the throne, I wasn’t a huge
fan of this ending of the episode. SO MANY episodes end with some spectacular,
epic scene of Daenerys — usually accompanied by a dragon — giving some epic
speech and being loved by all around her, that it’s really losing its flavour
for me. Season one ended with her stepping out of the fire with dragons on her
shoulder, and THAT was freakin’ cool. Season three ended with her being carried
on the shoulders of the Yunkish people as they shouted “Mhysa!” over and over.
We’ve had her epic speeches to the Unsullied, her epic speeches to the Yunkai
people, her epic speeches to the people of Meereen. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjzSmpgb3UwI3ifUBSmJEqe86jJXnjYKhLGZwPu6iILYrXiE4BogaxeiLuBJ94v7sT0FyPvX1bvYRkrdPIG-q_uuoJQO5YdbOLch5s_HJSyJrxuIYhv6sLdTcpGZoDv56oH3zBA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.56.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjzSmpgb3UwI3ifUBSmJEqe86jJXnjYKhLGZwPu6iILYrXiE4BogaxeiLuBJ94v7sT0FyPvX1bvYRkrdPIG-q_uuoJQO5YdbOLch5s_HJSyJrxuIYhv6sLdTcpGZoDv56oH3zBA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.56.58+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One episode ended with
Drogon swooping in and taking her away from the gladiator ring. Another ended
with her naked before a fiery temple that she’d just burned down. I love
Daenerys, and I find this focus on her seems to be hinting at her right as the
head of Westeros (which I think she’ll share with Jon Snow, fulfilling the Ice
and Fire quotient of the book’s promise) but she always has to be standing in
the midst of some epic moment, with that stalwart look on her face as fire
rages around her and the dragons swoop in as some sort of deus ex machina, and
for the first time, I found Drogon swooping in to be a little anticlimactic.
And her speech even more so. And the fealty of the bloodriders even more so.
Mostly because I’ve seen it all before: slightly different speech with the same
tone; different race but same loyalty; same dragon who was larger than the last
time I saw him. So as much as I loved seeing ginormous Drogon, I hope they can
come up with a new shtick for Daenerys before she becomes Queen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And that’s it for another week! We will see
you next time, in Riverrun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-91882998533061987182016-05-25T17:09:00.006-04:002016-05-25T17:09:56.656-04:006.05 The Door<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello my friends, and welcome to this week's heartbroken recap of a heartbreaking episode, in which our favourite Hodor meets his demise at the precise moment when we discover exactly why the only word he can utter is "Hodor." In the days that have followed, tributes have ranged from the crass — doorstoppers with Hodor's pained face on them — to the lovely — people putting stickers of Hodor's face next to elevator "Hold Door" buttons. The task of discussing that final scene will fall to my comrade-in-arms, Christopher Lockett, this week, so I shall begin. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">The first thing that must be pointed out about this
fantastic episode is who directed it. You should have seen the look on my face
when “Directed by Jack Bender” flashed across the screen. For those of you who
didn’t obsess over every moment of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i>
(in which case, how, exactly, did you come to read my blog?!), Jack Bender was
the lead director and one of the executive producers of the show. He’s
responsible for most of the best episodes of that series, and the images that
we remember most vividly from it. He directed the series finale, as well as
every season finale that preceded it. He directed 30 other episodes, including
“Walkabout” and “The Constant” — in other words, when you have a key episode
that could change everything, you bring in Jack Bender. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And considering the revelations, lies, and
that devastating ending, this was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">definitely</i>
a key episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We begin with Sansa and Brienne as they
face Littlefinger, who has sent Sansa a raven to meet up with him in Mole’s
Town. We last saw this place when the wildlings, led by Tormund and Styr,
attacked the town and killed everyone in it. Gilly has been hiding out in the
brothel with Sam, and she huddled in the back where Ygritte found her and told
her to stay quiet. She survived (obviously) and escaped back to Castle Black. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now Sansa, Brienne, and Baelish stand
amidst the wreckage left behind, and she gets to confront him in a glorious
scene of retribution we’ve been waiting for. With Brienne having her back,
Sansa glares at Littlefinger and dares him to tell her if he knew what he was
getting her into by leaving her there. Of course, Baelish wants to skip by the
answer, so he stammers his way through a round of shrugging before Brienne
holds her sword and says menacingly, “Lady Sansa asked you a question.” Sansa
then helps him out: “If you didn’t know, you’re an idiot,” she says, “And if
you did know, then you’re my enemy.” We watch Baelish staring at Sansa, knowing
he betrayed the daughter of the woman he’s loved his entire life, a girl who is
the spitting image of her mother. Despite the fact Littlefinger’s heart is made
of stone now, in this moment we catch a glimpse of him actually appearing to
feel a tiny ounce of remorse for what he put her through. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFpw81_3Tk24TMNZHYfR-U7h1lx3yUdj1AitFTmRi9yIZ72PrzjEiEwfzjzRJrQg3XRR28Z2bqsq_oHME48jQaJ2QRZ7LEAbNSZ3iaQG945cbSHcAIgBkNpavd5fKZk_0wKt7VA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-25+at+4.46.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFpw81_3Tk24TMNZHYfR-U7h1lx3yUdj1AitFTmRi9yIZ72PrzjEiEwfzjzRJrQg3XRR28Z2bqsq_oHME48jQaJ2QRZ7LEAbNSZ3iaQG945cbSHcAIgBkNpavd5fKZk_0wKt7VA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-25+at+4.46.41+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">She tells him she can still feel what
Ramsay did to her, not just in her heart but in her physical body. She tells
him over and over again to imagine exactly what Ramsay did to her: mind, body,
and soul. He didn’t touch her face, because he needed that, but he destroyed
every other part of her body that could be covered up. Sansa stands like stone,
as Brienne looks more enraged by the second yet maintains that cold glare. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I’m... so... sorry,” Baelish says with
phony empathy, and says he had wanted to protect her, and will do anything to
protect her now. “You wouldn’t even be able to protect yourself if I told Lady
Brienne to cut you down right now,” she spits back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“You freed me from the monsters who
murdered my family, and you gave me to other monsters who murdered my family.”
And in that one sentence, she sums up exactly the hell she has lived through
for years. The Starks were just a quiet family living in the North who had the
misfortune of being chosen to be the Hand of the King, and in doing so became
the target for every other family jostling for position. Baelish saved Sansa
from the Lannisters, who had murdered her father, and he handed her off to the
Boltons, who had murdered her mother, brother, and a sister-in-law she’d never
met. He tells her that he will do anything to undo what’s been done to her, but
you can tell from the look on Sansa’s face, there is no undoing what’s been
done to her. But what it HAS done is made her stronger, willing to fight. She’s
a strategist now, now some girl doing embroidery in the background while the
men do the real fighting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And as he leaves, realizing she’s not going
to come with him (not that he ever thought that — I always feel like Baelish is
10 steps ahead of everyone) he tells her that he’s been in contact with her
uncle, Bryndan the Blackfish, and that he’s gathered an army that would be
willing to fight with her. She says, “I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i>
an army.” Oh right, he says sarcastically as he passes her in the doorway,
“Your brother’s army...” and then he corrects himself, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Half</i> brother.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Someone needs to push this guy through the
moon door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sansa was my hero in this episode. Of
course, what she does with Littlefinger’s information is suspect, and I can’t
help but picture Admiral Ackbar jumping out of a doorway and yelling, “It’s a
TRAP!!” but let’s give her a round of applause for making Baelish pause for
even three seconds to actually consider what he’s done to Catelyn’s daughter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And from there we move over to Arya, where
she’s forced to watch a rather difficult reel of “Previously, on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>.” In verse. What did you
think of our Arya this week, Chris, and that very brief but squee-inducing
cameo? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">To be honest, I completely missed Withnail on my
first viewing—it was indeed very brief, and I must have been looking at my
notes. When I rewatched the scene, I was thinking “what cameo?” … and then I
saw him. Good old Richard E. Grant—he never disappoints.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">I loved the Arya scenes this week. She
hasn’t had very much to do this season yet, so it was great to see her story
moving along. What was interesting was the way in which her identity as a Stark
continues to stick to her, however much she might protest that she is “no one.”
What precipitates this uncertainty is her poor showing against the Waif in
their fight training; indeed, the Waif is so superior to Arya that one wonders
if she was feeling ill on the day when Arya bested her in spite of her
blindness. Plot inconsistencies aside, however, the Waif’s insistence that “You’ll
never be one of us … Lady Stark” segues into Jaqen’s acknowledgement that this
might, in fact, be the case. “She has a point,” Jaqen says, and proceeds to
expound on the history of the Faceless Men: that they were a society founded by
former slaves, who fled Valyria after—he seems to suggest—they killed all their
masters and overseers. “Where did they go?” Arya asks, and Jaqen reveals that
the free city of Braavos was in fact founded by the Faceless Men.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Arya’s struggle to lose herself has become
an interesting reflection of the significance of naming and names, especially
when her scene is juxtaposed with Sansa’s determination to win back the North,
and Littlefinger’s snide observation that Jon Snow is only Sansa’s half
brother. It’s a seemingly throwaway aside that cuts as only Littlefinger knows
how: at once reminding Sansa of how she mistreated Jon in the past because she
didn’t consider him a true Stark, while also pointing to the issue of his
legitimacy: he might putatively be Ned Stark’s son, but as a bastard he lacks
the legal rights of a trueborn, and unlike Ramsay was never legitimized by his
father or by a reigning monarch. While Sansa and Jon will struggle to assert
the rightfulness of the Stark name in the North, Arya struggles to set her
legacy aside, but it clings to her like a burr. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All of which is made even more glaring by
the play she attends. Did Jaqen know what the play was about when he sent Arya
off to reconnoiter her assignment? If so, it’s a cruel little twist of the
knife and, I would assume, one more test for Arya. The recapitulation of the events
of season one calls to mind Karl Marx’s assertion that history repeats itself
first as tragedy, then as farce: the tragedy that Arya experienced first hand
is repeated for her as a crude pantomime replete with farts, slapstick, and
gratuitous nudity (all right, so that bit was accurate). It would appear that
the Lannister propaganda machine has worked well: Cersei and Joffrey are
depicted as fair and generous, Ned Stark as an oafish usurper, and Tyrion as
the ultimate villain of the piece who arranges for Ned’s execution in spite of
Joffrey’s leniency, humiliates Sansa, and slaps the new king (which, I must
admit, is still deeply satisfying to watch even though it’s a fake Tyrion and
Joffrey). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Maisie Williams does some lovely
face-acting throughout the play, communicating that, however much she has
committed herself to the Faceless Men, she is in fact still Arya Stark—and
seeing her father misrepresented on stage obviously pains and angers her. These
events are still very much a part of her, and she is a product of her personal
history. Shucking all that to become “no one” is not easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this
season is doing a lot of calling back to the first season, giving us echoes of
where all of this started. “Don’t you wish we could go back to the day we
left?” Sansa asked Jon last week. “I want to scream at myself, ‘Don’t go, you
idiot!’” Unbeknownst to Sansa, her brother Bran has been doing something close
to that, momentarily distracting young Ned Stark as he starts to climb the
Tower of Joy. It’s hard not to read Arya experience of this pantomime as
thematically parallel to Bran’s astral travelling, especially considering the
way in which the play shows history as fungible: it distorts the facts of
Robert Baratheon’s death, Ned’s execution, and the Lannister seizure of power,
but for all intents and purposes that has become the standard narrative as it
is popularly understood. By the same token, we get confirmation this week of
something only suggested previously: that Bran’s virtual travels are not merely
passive viewership, but can and do affect and change the past and therefore the
present. The broken-telephone telling and retelling of Ned’s execution that
produces a comic play broadly correct in the narrative but profoundly wrong on
the details presages the way in which an imperative given to Hodor in his youth
transforms into his only word and, as it turns out, his one mission in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But I’m getting ahead of myself. The
pantomime Arya watches is the most overt call-back of the season so far, and as
anyone who has done Theatre Studies 101 knows, any time you see a
play-with-a-play (or in this case, a play within a TV show), it’s a
meta-theatrical gesture calling attention to the play’s very theatrical framing
and artifice. And much like “The Murder of Gonzago” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hamlet</i>, this pantomime catches the conscience—not of a king, of
course, and not just of Arya in her desire to dissolve herself into no one, but
also that of the audience. I might be alone in this, but watching the play as
Arya watches it, and seeing the distortions time and distance lend to the
story, made me think of the increasing disparities between the novels and the
series, and the ways in which the viewing experience is transformed for me now
that we’re past the point where I, as an avid reader of the novels, had a
narrative roadmap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This sense was only heightened by the fact
that this episode offers a handful of revelations, and a man wonders whether
these will be consonant with the novels, or whether the showrunners are taking
liberties. The first of these revelations happens after Arya’s scenes. What did
you think of the fact that the White Walkers were created by the Children of
the Forest as a weapon to fight humans, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: That was certainly a shock. The Children of the Forest are far
more fleshed out in the books, and have only been touched on in the show,
occasionally mentioned by others as a race that had died out and has been
forgotten. Now that Bran is with them, we see some of them survived. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I saw some confusion on social media the
day after this episode aired, and some of it was directed at the Children of
the Forest. Who are these tree women, and where did they come from? The
Children of the Forest, according to the legend depicted on the show, were the
first inhabitants of Westeros, and lived in harmony with the weirwood trees...
until man came along. The legend that has been told to us so far is that they
engaged in battle with the White Walkers, and were killed off, with this small
handful of Children driven north to where Bran is. The White Walkers not only
slaughtered the Children of the Forest, but the giants. The key figure you see
with Bran is Leaf, and she seems to act as a de facto leader of the Children of
the Forest. So when she reveals that the White Walkers — the enemies of the
Children — were created by the Children themselves, it’s a shock. Think back to
when Sam Tarly killed one of the White Walkers with that piece of dragonglass.
He says in that episode that the Children of the Forest used to carry
dragonglass daggers. Now his anecdote comes full circle and we discover that
they are created by dragonglass, and it is dragonglass that destroys them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I remember once visiting Barbados, and a
local man was telling me a story of how settlers first arrived in Barbados and
brought rats with them. Soon the island was overrun with rats so they brought
in snakes to eat the rats. When the snakes got the rat population under
control, the island suddenly had a snake problem. So they brought in green
monkeys to rid of them of the snakes, but the green monkeys multiplied so
quickly they were soon <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everywhere</i>.
They have yet to figure out how to get rid of the monkeys. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I thought of that anecdote when I was
watching this scene last night. The Children of the Forest were living in
relative harmony until man came along and destroyed that peace (typical). So
they created a monster to eradicate the humans, but that monster ended up
killing the Children of the Forest instead, then the giants, and then turned on
man. It was a shock to learn, but in retrospect, it made total sense. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">We shall return to Leaf, Bran, and Hodor.
(sniffle... Hodor...) But now we turn to the Iron Islands, and Yara making a
play for the throne. These men will not follow her, they say. They’ve never had
a queen and they don’t plan to start now. She rolls her eyes and says no one
pays attention to them anymore, and she will bring attention to them on a world
stage. But they argue that they shouldn’t have to follow her as long as Balon
Greyjoy’s male heir has returned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cue camera on Theon, who was gorging
himself on the canape table and didn’t realize everyone was about to look at
him — “ye mean me?!”... OK, not really, it’s more like Theon standing there <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hoping</i> they weren’t going to look at
him, because he knows what they must be thinking about him, and how it must
look that Balon’s son has returned, and yet it’s his daughter who is vying for
the throne. The newly shorn Theon steps up, clears his throat, and addresses
them. “I am Theon Greyjoy, last living son of Balon Greyjoy... and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she</i> is the rightful ruler.” He tells
them she is a leader, a warrior, and iron born. “This is our queen,” he says,
on the verge of tears. Theon wanted to rule the Iron Islands, and Ramsay has
taken away his dignity (among other things) and he can barely show his face
here, but at least pushing his sister to the forefront might make up for his
misdeeds. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">And... then the dickhead shows up. Euron
Greyjoy steps forward and says HE is the rightful ruler of the Iron Islands,
and through his travels he has learned everything about this world and will
help them rule it. Yara is shocked; the moment she sees him she knows he was
her father’s murderer, and announces it in front of everyone — to which Euron
basically says, “Yeah, what of it.” He points out how useless Balon was (no
argument here) and that he was leading them nowhere. Theon speaks up and says
Euron was gallivanting around the world while Yara and Balon were here ruling
the Iron Islands and led them thus far. But Euron knows exactly what’s happened
to Theon, and tells everyone, including the loss of Theon’s member. It’s a
devastating moment — Theon is only just barely holding it together throughout
this scene just with the thought that they might know something of what
happened to him when he was Reek, but now there’s no doubt that they all know.
The laughter and hissing from the crowd is like another finger being removed,
and Theon winces at it. Euron turns to the crowd and says he will build a fleet
of a thousand ships, and tells them of Daenerys. He says he will sail across
the channel and give her the fleet, along with something else (he grabs his
crotch) and in that moment I thought, “Ah. You are not long for this world, my
friend.” If this show has taught us anything about women, and especially
Daenerys, a cock who shows up waving his cock is swept away before you can sing
the theme song (which, granted, is about half an hour long, but you catch my
drift...) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And so, they make him king, baptizing him
by killing him (this is clearly not a very advanced people) and chanting, “What
is dead may never die” while Yara and Theon sneak off with Pyke’s best ships.
Euron puts on his crown — which appears to be a piece of driftwood? — and
announces that his first act as king is to murder his niece and nephew, before
he realizes they’re already gone. And so he orders them all to build him those
thousand ships, because he has some vengeance he needs to wreak. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">I loved that Yara and Theon are now
sticking together; we’ve seen them at each other’s throats so much, but if one
tiny good thing came out of Ramsay’s abuse of Theon, it’s that Theon has been
humbled by everything, and is finally following the right person. Though I do
feel like Professor Marvel at the beginning of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wizard of Oz</i> film, looking off into the distance as the storm brews
and saying, “Poor kid... I hope she’s all right.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Before we move to the next scene, I just
wanted to mention that the casting director for this episode was brilliant,
especially with matching characters with their relatives. Euron looked like a
dead ringer for an older Alfie Allen (Theon) — I couldn’t believe how much they
looked alike. And when you see the flash of Ned Stark’s father, it looked so
much like Sean Bean it was uncanny. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">From the Iron Islands we sail to Vaes
Dothrak, where Daenerys has a quiet and lovely scene of reconciliation that
made me very happy. What did you think of the scene with her and Ser Jorah,
Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> It was a very sweet and powerful scene right up to the moment when
Daenerys commanded Jorah to find a cure for his disease. And that last moment
was made even more annoying by just how touching the preceding moments were: Daenerys’
affectionate frustration with Jorah’s stubbornness (“I banished you. Twice. You
came back. Twice.”), giving way to concern and grief when he shows her his
greyscale. “I’m so sorry,” she says, and we hear the tears in her voice. “Don’t
be,” he replies. “All I’ve ever wanted to do was serve you.” At this moment in
Jorah’s face we see regret eclipsed by a momentary happiness that shows the
truth of his words: faced with certain death, he can take comfort in the fact
that he has in fact served Daenerys, and served her well—and here, facing his
end, he can admit that he loves her. He is ready to head off and face his fate.
“Goodbye, Khaleesi.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">But she calls him back, refusing to release
him from his vow to serve and obey her. Except, not really—he must still go,
but with her command to find a cure and return to serve her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Seriously? She is a queen with a whole host
of new subjects, as well as her people in Meereen, and—I’ve got to
assume—hundreds of message ravens they can send to all corners of the
continent. What about, “We will send for the finest doctors in all the land to
tend to you!” And yes, greyscale is contagious, but what about giving him a
comfortable apartment in a remote part of the pyramid while healers are brought
in to help him? She’s sending him off—alone!—in an inhospitable wilderness with
what I’m assuming is not very much money, in an attempt to find a brilliant
physician who can cure a deadly disease. And even if he finds it, the doctor
will help him out of an overdeveloped sense of charity? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Nope. That didn’t work for me, and it was
made worse by the fact that it was the one weak point in an otherwise wonderful
espisode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We shift from Daenerys riding from Vaes
Dothrak, presumably toward Meereen, to Meereen itself, where Varys asks Grey
Worm to recount the instances of violence in the city since their pact with the
Masters. A fragile peace has taken hold, he observes with some satisfaction.
“For now,” says Grey Worm darkly. “For now is the best we get in our
profession,” Varys points out, but Tyrion is not satisfied: “It’s not enough
for Meereen to have peace,” he argues, “They need to know Daenerys is
responsible for it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What it boils down to for Tyrion is a
question of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">story</i>—the Sons of the
Harpy have a good story, he says, a simple and straightforward one: resist the
foreign invader. Daenerys’ is even better, more heroic and grandiose. But in
and of itself, it is not enough. “The people know who brought them freedom,”
says Missandei, obviously a little offended at Tyrion’s perceived slight to her
queen. Tyrion, however, is more pragmatic: freedom needs to be coupled with
security, and the newfound peace has to be indelibly associated with Daenerys.
As we have seen, and as we have commented over the past few episodes, Daenerys
is far better on the campaign trail than actually holding office—as a ruler she
tends toward a top-down managerial style and is given to authoritarian
tendencies at times. She makes for spectacular symbolism; Tyrion would like to
see her associated with a few more humble but profound accomplishments,
something best accomplished by someone perceived as honest and incorruptible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There’s a lovely echo from last season when
Tyrion is able to repeat Varys’ line—“Who said anything about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">him</i>?”—and we shortly learn that he means
to employ the red priests and priestesses of R’Hllor as his propaganda outfit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His decision to ally them with the Red
Priestess Kinvara is shrewd, but risky. Kinvara is only too eager to take up
Daenerys’ banner, as Tyrion knew she would be, having overheard (as she cannily
observes) the street sermons being delivered in Volantis. Her speech about
Daenerys, her accomplishments, and her dragons makes it clear that the red
priests and priestesses of R’Hllor see in Daenerys everything they could desire
in a Chosen One: freer of slaves, born in fire, dragons at her (sort of)
command to immolate unbelievers.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Her evangelicism, however, makes Tyrion
somewhat nervous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">KINVARA: The dragons will purify
nonbelievers by the thousands. They will burn their sins and flesh away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">TYRION: Ideally, we’d like to avoid purifying
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too</i> many nonbelievers. The Mother of
Dragons has followers of many different faiths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Kinvara promises to send for her most
eloquent priests, but Varys is skeptical. He reminds her of Stannis, of his
failure at King’s Landing, and his most recent defeat in which he was killed.
“It’s most hard for a fanatic to admit a mistake,” he says. “Isn’t that the
whole point of being a fanatic? You’re always right. Everything is the Lord’s
will.” I loved this little speech of Varys’—not least because it very pithily
sums up my own dislike of fanatics, religious or otherwise—but Kinvara’s
response reminds us that there is more at work here than mere power politics. There
is also magic, ancient magic at that, and her offer to tell Varys who spoke
from the fire that fateful day a sorcerer mutilated him says that there is more
on heaven and earth than is dreamt of in Varys’ philosophy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A point that is brought home rather
powerfully when Bran decides to go astral surfing without his guide. What did
you make of his encounter with the Night King and his army of ice zombies,
Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I mentioned earlier that the casting in this episode was
particularly excellent, and that includes Kinvara (or, as I think of her, Idina
Menzel... or, as John Travolta thinks of her, Adelle Dazeem), who carried
herself very much like Melisandre, right down to that very specific accent she
uses when she speaks. I noticed Kinvara was also wearing the same necklace that
Melisandre wears, so presumably she is also much older than she appears to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But now over to Bran, who wargs alone, and
somehow turns into Carl on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking
Dead </i>(and should have just stayed in the fucking cave). This time, without
his guide, winter has come. At first, as has been the case in his other warg
adventures, he appears to be unseen, moving among the wights as they stand like
statues and pay him no attention... </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJh915kALC-gUzzbhq59ovFW5drC6b9sAOzLaFhH4dhyphenhyphenifVSY3ypgzeYDULIUSIgYGKl48vlWhah_R_cp6suEPv77ZvsGvoO8d3WAVJhdcoYtALfxOFzvoFO4AbiCmyb4DMeJmvQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-25+at+4.53.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJh915kALC-gUzzbhq59ovFW5drC6b9sAOzLaFhH4dhyphenhyphenifVSY3ypgzeYDULIUSIgYGKl48vlWhah_R_cp6suEPv77ZvsGvoO8d3WAVJhdcoYtALfxOFzvoFO4AbiCmyb4DMeJmvQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-25+at+4.53.04+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Until, in one terrifying moment, the Night
King spots him, and then suddenly, all of the wights turn around and can see
him. The scene abruptly transforms into the “Thriller” video, with the camera
swirling around him as he turns back to the Night King, who’s now standing
right beside him and grabs his arm. Bran screams, and wakes up. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s too late. He has the silvery mark on
his wrist, and they have seen him. The three-eyed raven tells Bran that the
Night King knows they’re here, and the mark on Bran’s arm is their entry pass
to the cave, which, until now, has magically kept them out. He, Meera, and
Hodor must leave. Meera begins frantically packing, while Hodor sits,
immobilized, just muttering, “Hodor,” over and over again, quietly. The
three-eyed raven tells Bran that it’s time he become him, and when Bran looks
at him and says, “Am I ready?” the raven looks at him, and quite
matter-of-factly says, “No.” And with that, Bran wargs one more time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m going to let Chris take that final
scene when we get there, but I wanted to bring things back around to my opening
bit, and say this episode felt more like a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i>
episode than any other before it, not least because Bender is directing. In
season 5, when the Losties travelled back in time to the mid-70s, it took a
while for Hurley to come to grips with the basic concept of time travel that
diverged from what he thought he knew in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Back
to the Future </i>— when time travelling, anything that happens back then
always happened. Keep that in mind when watching that final scene: on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i>, the Losties learned that they had
always gone back in time, and that their actions always happened. They weren’t
changing the past — they has always gone back to the past and had been a part
of it. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i> was always about love,
loss, connections with people, and a general WTFness pervaded every episode,
and this episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>
carried with it that same sense of an emotional rollercoaster. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But before I sent Chris into the fray to
dissect that moment (I don’t think I’d be capable of doing it without
dissolving into tears), let’s stop over at Castle Black for a second, where Jon
has a map on the table and says they must take Winterfell and they need more
men. The Umbers and the Karstarks have aligned themselves with Ramsay, he says,
and he also mentions the Mormonts and the Tullys. The Tullys are Catelyn’s
family (who would certainly help Sansa, but it’s unclear if they would help
Jon) but I was more intrigued by the mention of the Mormonts. Could this be the
tie between Jon and Daenerys that I’ve been waiting for? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sansa tells the table that her uncle, the
Blackfish, has an army, and then lies about where she got the information.
Brienne immediately shifts in her seat and looks uncomfortable (it won’t be the
last time in this episode that Brienne makes that face), because she knows
exactly who gave them the information, and she doesn’t trust him as far as she
could throw Tormund. Brienne confronts Sansa outside, and Sansa sends Brienne
to Riverrun so she can check things out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sansa</i>...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="239" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4F4qzPbcFiA" width="425"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sigh. Brienne isn’t worried about her own
safety, but is more concerned about leaving Sansa behind. “With Jon?” asks
Sansa. “Not him. I think he’s trustworthy. A bit... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">brooding</i>, perhaps.” It’s Davos and Melisandre she’s concerned
about. We can’t forget that for as much as we love Davos, she saw him help
Stannis cut down Renly, whom she loved as a knight and perhaps as a woman. She
cut down Stannis herself, but he was alone, already abandoned by Melisandre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“And that wildling fellow with the
beard...!!!” she adds, with a look of disgust on her face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But Sansa knows Jon, and she reassures
Brienne that he will keep her safe. “Then why did you lie to him when he asked
how you learned about Riverrun?” she asks. Sansa has no answer. Out in the
courtyard, the sister gives her brother a coat that was modelled after the one
Ned used to wear, while Tormund gives Brienne the eye in an instantly gifable
moment that is equal parts hilarity and awesomeness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="269" src="//giphy.com/embed/kPeKwoW7kyDra" width="480"></iframe><a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/everything-brienne-tarth-kPeKwoW7kyDra">via
GIPHY</a><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And as they all leave — Brienne to
Riverrun, and the others to find Houses that will pledge fealty to the Starks —
Edd realizes he’s suddenly the de facto Lord Commander, and immediately
embraces the task. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And with that, we go back to Bran and the
others at the cave, and the part you’ve all been waiting for. And with a gentle
“Hodor,” I pass the reins over to you, my friend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">You night have had your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost </i>moment with this episode, but afterward I couldn’t help
imagining the whining, grinding noise of the TARDIS appearing, either back at
Winterfell, or as Meera runs with Bran off into the winter storm … because at
this point in my life, anything involving time travel invariably makes me think
of the Doctor. “Can we go back … and save Hodor?” “Fixed point in time and
space. Nothing I can do. I am. So. Sorry.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’ll get to Hodor’s final act of heroism in
a moment, but first I want to just run through a few details from this final
scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">First: knowing that the Night King is on
his way, why are Bran and the Raven lost in visions of Winterfell past?
(Possible answer below).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Second, I can’t say I’m entirely down with
the Children of the Forest’s weaponry. They made for some impressive
explosions, but I couldn’t stop thinking of them as Holy Hand Grenades. Also:
while they were only moderately effective against the ice zombies (and totally
useless against the Walkers), they would have been devastating against the
bronze age humans they were ostensibly fighting when they created the White
Walkers to begin with. Or was this weapons technology they devised in the
interim years?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Third: R.I.P. Summer. Barring some unseen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex machina, </i>this episode saw the
death of yet another Stark direwolf. This means that, of the original six,
there are only two left—and of those two, only one, Ghost, is still with his
human (Arya having chased Nymeria off to spare her Lady’s fate). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">OK. Now onto the main event.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvkWzZSOwEhLb-ldgtQnBQ-zjJFyL-gZnbbE_DpX0SfSIHcUpBdWNhY_aIpXTH4-v74z2Nd2vtJXs03-UjCC86Y4SUAP-Y29ITkJsTDgZ0efhUEylVebtm9ko2CTbnXfH2mTyqw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-25+at+4.55.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvkWzZSOwEhLb-ldgtQnBQ-zjJFyL-gZnbbE_DpX0SfSIHcUpBdWNhY_aIpXTH4-v74z2Nd2vtJXs03-UjCC86Y4SUAP-Y29ITkJsTDgZ0efhUEylVebtm9ko2CTbnXfH2mTyqw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-25+at+4.55.46+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I rewatched this scene about five times
(and cried each time) just to make sure I got the sequence of things right:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">After
seeing the Night King and his hordes, Meera tries to wake Bran from his
reverie, saying “We need Hodor!”, as Hodor has fallen into a panicked,
very nearly fetal paralysis of hodors.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">Bran
hears her voice in this midst of his vision of Winterfell, and the
Three-Eyed Raven says “Listen to your friend.”<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">Bran
looks over at young Hodor; in the cave, present-day Hodor’s eyes go
briefly milky.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">Hodor
stands and grabs Bran’s sledge, and they start to make their escape.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">The Night
King walks up to the Raven and swings his scythe; at Winterfell, Bran sees
the Raven’s demise as him shattering into a thousand dark shards and
swirling into nothing (at a certain point, it becomes hard not to start
making analogies to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Matrix</i>).
<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">Hodor,
Meera, and Leaf—with Bran in tow—are now basically in the midst of a
zombie chase, replete with sound effects that sound like they were lifted
from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking Dead</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">Hodor,
Meera, and Bran escape through the back door (Leaf having sacrificed
herself), and Hodor hauls it shut. As she runs off with Bran, Meera cries
repeatedly, “Hold the door!”<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">At
Winterfell, Bran hears Meera’s entreaties. Looking over at young Hodor, he
sees his eyes roll back and he falls into a seizure, all the while crying
desperately “Hold the door!” Which becomes … well, you know the rest.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
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<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The main question, as I ask above, is why
were Bran and the Raven warging right then, when they knew full well the Night
King was on his way? And why were they in so deep that Bran couldn’t bring
himself out, even after he’d been parted from the tree roots? Why didn’t the
Raven send him back before he died?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I wasn’t being entirely glib when I brought
up the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor Who </i>chestnut of a
“fixed point in time and space,” as it strikes me that a possible answer to
this question is that it was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">necessary</i>
for Bran to be virtually at Winterfell as all this went down. What becomes
painfully, heart-wrenchingly obvious in the final moments of this episode is
that Hodor’s entire self has been focused on this one act of heroism: that the
hijacking of his mind, his agency, his very capacity for speech—and as we saw
in Bran’s earlier visions, though he is big and humble, he had a nimble mind
and a wry sense of humour—occurred so that one day he could save Bran Stark. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It is a heartbreaking moment, not least
because Hodor has always been the embodiment of the gentle giant, guided by
little other than simple love and loyalty. The two instances of him being
possessed in this episode—in the present and in the past—made me think of
season four, episode five, “<a href="http://nikkistafford.blogspot.ca/2014/05/game-of-thrones-405-first-of-his-name.html">First
of His Name</a>,” which featured Jon Snow’s attack on the mutinous watchmen,
who had killed the Lord Commander and taken over Craster’s Keep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ll recall, the mutineers had also
taken Bran, Meera, Jojen, and Hodor captive—and while Jon’s men carried out their
attack, Bran warged into Hodor when Locke (Roose Bolton’s agent) tried to carry
him off. (There’s a link <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4dsV9r_u20">here</a>
to the video—unfortunately, embedding was disabled). Possessed by Bran, Hodor breaks
his bonds and gives chase, running down Locke and killing him with his bare
hands. He then comes to, seeing the dead body at his feet and the blood on his
hands; as you put it in our post, Nikki, “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bran turns Hodor into a
killer, which resonates so deeply as Hodor stares at the blood on his hands in
confusion and heartbreak.” It resonates so deeply because we know too well what
a gentle soul Hodor is, and in that moment the liberty taken by Bran in
possessing him is deeply discomforting.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23fhtpwcuDCdF7I8v5kId_iF-AyHmjN00P1XhemWQfOO1blSYndNXUbzPcWGJA2G0LhYrTxagJ76BBSoCIlUCpQcpSabDwiwfAXILYrndoDEI9XdAIEUMRSzEfyGuTGK-zE-p6w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-25+at+4.58.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23fhtpwcuDCdF7I8v5kId_iF-AyHmjN00P1XhemWQfOO1blSYndNXUbzPcWGJA2G0LhYrTxagJ76BBSoCIlUCpQcpSabDwiwfAXILYrndoDEI9XdAIEUMRSzEfyGuTGK-zE-p6w/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-25+at+4.58.09+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As it is in this episode—but even more, by
a magnitude more, because it isn’t just a few moments of possession in this
instance but the better part of a lifetime. One of the things I love about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> and its source material,
as I love about other contemporary fantasists like Neil Gaiman, Terry
Pratchett, and Lev Grossman, is that the standard fantasy trope of fate and
destiny tends to get upended. And in those cases where we see a certain
determinism at work, as in Hodor’s death, it upsets the apple cart. We see
Hodor’s end not so much as a grand fate, as his subjugation to forces we might
otherwise consider benign—in this case, Bran’s fledgling flights of vision,
which accidentally appropriate young Willas’ life and turn him into Hodor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">None of which detracts from Hodor’s final
act of heroism, or the sorrow with which we bid him adieu.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So that’s it for this week, friends. Be
well, stay warm, and hold that door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-52804776936395463372016-05-19T10:00:00.000-04:002016-05-19T10:00:12.355-04:00Game of Thrones 6:04 Book of the Stranger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwfaGAmdQdzdh9JuIisYdyhVeI6nzkrycGqjIo9QN-qeM1WE-DfwM5OBtw5i4lJyeefy_bEdTrVhOihlHBf4IUPw5Uo0L42AveGGYyTW7vwAYdcJefH3f7eiyjq2Tb9BCHsRIZQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.43.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwfaGAmdQdzdh9JuIisYdyhVeI6nzkrycGqjIo9QN-qeM1WE-DfwM5OBtw5i4lJyeefy_bEdTrVhOihlHBf4IUPw5Uo0L42AveGGYyTW7vwAYdcJefH3f7eiyjq2Tb9BCHsRIZQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.43.24+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And it’s another week of mayhem in the
Seven Kingdoms, and we’ve written almost as much as GRRM would this week, so
without further ado, I will get my trusty cohort, <a href="https://cjlockett.com/">Christopher Lockett</a>, to begin!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: While there have been a handful of gasp-worthy and/or fist-pumping
moments in the first three episodes, the consensus thus far on the interwebs
seems to have been that this season started slowly. More than a few reviews
I’ve read have been chomping at the bit for some of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>’ patented operatic moments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well, now we know. The last three episodes
have been building to this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Or not entirely. But mostly. Or at least,
that’s how it felt watching this episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Am I not making sense? That might be
because I’m writing this mere moments after watching that final, climactic
scene. Let me take a deep breath and focus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I had a couple of friends over to watch
tonight’s episode, and we were speculating about what might transpire based on
the trailer, which suggested strongly that Brienne and Sansa would arrive this
week at Castle Black. As we’ll recall, last week’s episode ended with Jon Snow
handing over the mantle of Lord Commander to Edd Tollett, saying “My watch has
ended,” and seeming to walk out through the main gates. Did that mean he has
departed? Would Sansa come looking for sanctuary from her half-brother, only to
find he had deserted? It was, we decided, precisely the kind of thing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> would throw at us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkiKpGm83hd6qdYyciPffp4ako_aQdp3r4doi4nGdKVsCns0BjsEUJ5eZlFPwwPquJEBSAqETi9NDSdqxXcwZKqk6UzzuTXuzgEfKapIHj4BUFQYV8bIwmQ_Y2Y162CsgOtGdAQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.31.47+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkiKpGm83hd6qdYyciPffp4ako_aQdp3r4doi4nGdKVsCns0BjsEUJ5eZlFPwwPquJEBSAqETi9NDSdqxXcwZKqk6UzzuTXuzgEfKapIHj4BUFQYV8bIwmQ_Y2Y162CsgOtGdAQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.31.47+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With that in mind, the first shot had me
confused: Jon’s sword Longclaw, given to him by his predecessor Jeor Mormont,
sitting in the foreground. It is picked up by Edd Tollett. My first thought was
that Jon had been wearing the sword as he seemed to leave Castle Black, but
seeing Edd holding the sword made me wonder for just a second whether Jon had
left it with Edd as part of the Lord Commander’s outfit. But no—a moment later
we see Jon, and Edd grills him about what he means to do, and where he means to
go. Jon’s answer is at once glib and heartfelt—he means to go south, so he can
get warm again—but Edd is having none of it. He reminds him about Hardhome,
saying, “You know what’s out there. You know what’s coming here. How can you
leave us now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s a powerful question, as it goes right
to the heart of Jon’s reasoning behind the very actions that got him murdered,
that is, granting passage south of the Wall for the wildlings. Everything he
did in the final episodes of last season was in the name of drawing a line between
whom he saw as the true combatants in the wars to come: between the living and
the dead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It strikes me that this episode is very
much about the drawing of battle lines. Later we see an uneasy truce between
Cersei and Olenna, drawing a line between their houses and the High Sparrow;
Theon pledges himself to his sister in her bid for the Iron Islands’ throne;
and the spectacular ending of this episode is essentially Daenerys drawing a
line between herself and the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jon Snow, by contrast, is initially
reluctant to re-enter the fray. When Edd asks him, “How can you leave us now?”
Jon reminds him that he was murdered by his brothers. “You want me to stay here
after <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>?” he demands, but once
again Castle Black offers up a very timely knock at the door—though instead of
a furious giant this time, it is a horn announcing the arrival of visitors, as
my and my friends’ dour speculations are very happily proven wrong. For Brienne
and Sansa (and Pod, of course) have arrived, and they ride into Castle Black’s
courtyard to stares of consternation—some, we assume, directed at Sansa, but
most at the tall and imposing figure of Brienne. Tormund in particular seems
quite gobsmacked, something that will be played to comic effect later in the
episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Like a cracker given to a starving man, the
scene of Jon and Sansa’s reunion is overwhelming. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> consistently offers action, thrills, triumph, and
not a little bit of humour mixed in with what is more often than not an onerous
and cripplingly dire set of circumstances. Tyrion and Varys’ banter leavens the
mix; Brienne riding to the rescue makes us cheer; and sometimes there are
dragons, and sometimes Joffrey dies. But there are precious few moments of
genuine love and joy: the moment of recognition when Sansa looks up to see Jon,
and their subsequent desperate embrace, was a balm to the soul of this show
that, at this point, I didn’t realize it needed—so inured was I to the
bleakness. And full credit to the actors: Sophie Turner and Kit Harrington so
inhabit Sansa and Jon now, that their reunion is genuinely a thing of joy on
the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvegCGxv2qmmO8kqJ0cmH59NyysQ8QyceOD57dFaNrojfq_ty9omRGdxB75OIXJO2OsHrUONXTTKBxtVcshZ66HnkdhH6xDEwlvccsgLVXbYLJAwYvtYSQucMGfZ7Lz07Mo88QAw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.32.09+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvegCGxv2qmmO8kqJ0cmH59NyysQ8QyceOD57dFaNrojfq_ty9omRGdxB75OIXJO2OsHrUONXTTKBxtVcshZ66HnkdhH6xDEwlvccsgLVXbYLJAwYvtYSQucMGfZ7Lz07Mo88QAw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.32.09+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But to return to Edd’s question: “How can
you leave us now?” he asks, and Sansa is, if not the answer, certainly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">an</i> answer. “Where will you go?” she asks
Jon, and he corrects her, “Where will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we</i>
go?” They are family, they are reunited, and the argument that ensues—in which
Jon professes his battle fatigue and unwillingness to fight any more—is
understandable but perhaps somewhat disingenuous in the circumstances. We can
certainly empathize with Jon’s fatigue, but Sansa—who, incidentally, in spite
of not dying, arguably suffered far more than Jon—sees things more
pragmatically. She tells him that Winterfell is their only home, and that she
will take it with or without him, but the gist of what she says is plain: there
simply is no way forward without fighting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And as we sense battle lines being drawn,
we begin to see factions emerging. Melissandre, we are utterly unsurprised to
learn, will follow wherever Jon Snow goes. As will Davos, probably, but he has
some questions he wants answered. What happened to Stannis? It seems odd that
he has waited this long to ask her, but then perhaps her prior moping precluded
such discussions. What happened to Stannis? He was defeated, she replies. What
happened to Shireen? he then demands, a somewhat trickier question for her to
answer … and she receives the mixed blessing of an interruption from Brienne.
“I saw what happened,” she says, in a little moment of misdirection, as what
she has to say is about Stannis and the battle, and not Shireen. But really,
Brienne is there to say that she served in Renly’s Kingsguard and saw him
killed at the hands of “blood magic.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNR7Bci7tUfJiNdOwYEc1BQkeL_a2fPE2mrCJ6NUuZ2iw2Lqa2ttS_jeVnD5eSqVMxINrPpWRaAeBLkxTcexM0XOYg1ds2MbTEx8TpHhg70ep8ihxSSkoPJa_IXJoiuV4V9qz8aQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.33.27+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNR7Bci7tUfJiNdOwYEc1BQkeL_a2fPE2mrCJ6NUuZ2iw2Lqa2ttS_jeVnD5eSqVMxINrPpWRaAeBLkxTcexM0XOYg1ds2MbTEx8TpHhg70ep8ihxSSkoPJa_IXJoiuV4V9qz8aQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.33.27+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Uncomfortable silence. “That’s … in the
past now,” says Davos. “Doesn’t mean I forget,” Brienne replies. “Or forgive.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">BRIENNE: He admitted it, you know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">DAVOS: Who did?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">BRIENNE:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stannis. Just before I executed him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Brienne turns and walks away, and in my
notes I wrote MIC DROP. Battle lines are being drawn, but on this front we’re
looking at some strange bedfellows. Jon and Sansa are now together one way or
another, but Brienne, sworn to Sansa, has more or less thrown down the gauntlet
to Melissandre, who will walk into fire for Jon (perhaps literally). I suspect
we will see some tension in this northern alliance down the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then we turn to the Vale
and—finally!—the return of everyone’s favourite sleaze, Littlefinger. Were you
happy to see Mayor Carcetti again, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Ha! I loved your opening because I thought Jon had walked out on
Castle Black, too, and was confused about that opening. It’s like having a huge
argument with a boyfriend and going, “That’s IT! I am OUT OF HERE!!” and
slamming the door and leaving the house dramatically... only to realize you
left your shoes, coat, and car keys inside. And for a second I thought, Did Jon
just storm out of the place and then go, “Oh crap, forgot me clothes” and have
to sneak back? It was definitely a bit of misdirection at the end of last
week’s ep. I also thought it was very strange when Davos asked after Stannis
and Shireen. Wha?! How is it bloody possible that the ravens deliver news of
everything from imprisonments to the latest euchre results in King’s Landing
and yet he hasn’t yet heard what happened to Stannis and Shireen? What the hell
did he think Melisandre was all mopey about? It seemed a bit of a blunder on
the part of the writers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWux53oMdyR5e__69zB7hqkKYGWbsz3WM_nOdZqdeDDcgpORCjiy2RTRyjKtmDIOQaxKvMoeydr1ZDk3DHIa_i8EImO8Q05w2pKLm7N4TWVQmvZooiM81G36VPIo2Ay6q6Amgusg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.33.08+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWux53oMdyR5e__69zB7hqkKYGWbsz3WM_nOdZqdeDDcgpORCjiy2RTRyjKtmDIOQaxKvMoeydr1ZDk3DHIa_i8EImO8Q05w2pKLm7N4TWVQmvZooiM81G36VPIo2Ay6q6Amgusg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.33.08+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And now over to Brave Sir Robin, the sweet
little inbred imbecile who runs the Vale. Throughout his scenes I was thinking
he reminded me of someone. And then, dear readers, our Christopher went and
posted something on Facebook that had me HOWLING with laughter, and 100% nailed
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exactly</i> whom I’d been thinking about:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUg4G4plOLK-K0QaW0Pw8MXoQ1CnUgqdOMinndOjq48VS7ZIwk9kAw24VpPCA8SRf5ZWU2WOT5dw_Bdet1yZX__7ssyesJ_-afjpRsdnkr4_vlwGCDtcgz1N2NrjIZpFK-EN6yA/s1600/13173974_618006967986_7535178750989940110_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUg4G4plOLK-K0QaW0Pw8MXoQ1CnUgqdOMinndOjq48VS7ZIwk9kAw24VpPCA8SRf5ZWU2WOT5dw_Bdet1yZX__7ssyesJ_-afjpRsdnkr4_vlwGCDtcgz1N2NrjIZpFK-EN6yA/s400/13173974_618006967986_7535178750989940110_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">HAHAHA!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyway, Lord Baelish is back and showing
that just as Tywin stepped in, put his arm around Tommen and immediately began
teaching him how to be a king, Littlefinger has shown up, handed Brave Sir
Robin a falcon, and won him over. On a whim I googled, “Falcon symbolism,” and
got this back: “In Christian symbolism, the wild falcon represents the
unconverted, materialistic soul and its sinful thoughts and deeds. The tamed
bird symbolizes the Christian convert pursuing his lofty thoughts, hopes, and
aspirations with courage.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And from what we know of Brave Sir Robin
and Littlefinger, they would <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">definitely</i>
fall under the second category. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Cough</span></i><span lang="EN-US">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So! A wild falcon, then. Ahem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Littlefinger’s arrival interrupts an
archery lesson Robin is having with Lord Royce, where Robin is showing some
keen marksmanship... if his target had actually been the ant in the grass about
three feet in front of him. If so? NAILED IT. As Baelish begins immediately
manipulating the stupid creature, Royce instantly gleans what is happening. He
wants to know where Sansa is, and Baelish plays dumb, saying they’d been
attacked on their way by Bolton’s people and no matter what he did,
Littlefinger simply couldn’t stop it. Royce immediately adopts a “Dude, I’m not
Sir Robin so you can cut the bullshit” look on his face and tells him that sounds
about as plausible as Brave Sir Robin being a Rhodes scholar, but Baelish
doesn’t back down. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4aSm-9QfAGwM4R2cLFTKuLlzfuaL2kBocC7C5zChLEVZ2Rr4SfdLcAvOTwAmHUMAmhzkGoyd3y_JNzVWfVNvOM6q2nGFR607C73Tzqn3WWpCbTmfqfhnxqSpnf4uV5E3x13E7nw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.33.50+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4aSm-9QfAGwM4R2cLFTKuLlzfuaL2kBocC7C5zChLEVZ2Rr4SfdLcAvOTwAmHUMAmhzkGoyd3y_JNzVWfVNvOM6q2nGFR607C73Tzqn3WWpCbTmfqfhnxqSpnf4uV5E3x13E7nw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.33.50+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He says actually, only one person knew exactly where they
were going, and that was Lord Royce. Then he stands back and twirls his evil
villain mustache while a couple of neurons spark in Sir Robin’s head, and a dim
lightbulb switches on (before immediately cutting out again) registering with
Robin, “Waaaaitaminute, you is traitor?!” and Baelish helps the poor creature
out a bit more, and says, “My goodness, Robin, what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shall</i> we do with someone like this?” Robin, whose maturity hasn’t
inched forward one iota since his mom was still breastfeeding him (which,
granted, was when he was like 17 or something, but anyway...), repeats the same
mantra he did back then: “Shall we throw him through the moon door?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Despite the underlying hilarity of the
scene, it’s actually quite serious and ominous. Baelish can’t control the
Lannisters or the Starks, so he’s come at this a different way. Make Brave Sir
Robin an orphan, and then control the poor idiot boy and essentially take the
Vale. Meanwhile you see the look on Royce’s face, where he realizes his life of
fidelity to the Arryns will end in betrayal. But that would be too easy for
Baelish, so instead he says to Robin that if they could trust Royce’s loyalty,
he would make a capable commander, and maybe they should give him a second
chance. Robin agrees. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Baelish is officially ruling the Vale now.
Surmising that Sansa is heading to Castle Black, he declares, “Gather the knights
of the Vale — the time has come to join the fray!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjad62H08J_Vjhet9bjwZnwxJ1J59x0uvClL0v_mM6Q4Dlry7wqN5jPMcQU84CHapbRvtpHIy1nyvmSLlTX5VzCZSTazZ0rWYik4JB7eZM5XuiJs824_0qPabH6Q0XAH0QXUl_lZQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.34.07+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjad62H08J_Vjhet9bjwZnwxJ1J59x0uvClL0v_mM6Q4Dlry7wqN5jPMcQU84CHapbRvtpHIy1nyvmSLlTX5VzCZSTazZ0rWYik4JB7eZM5XuiJs824_0qPabH6Q0XAH0QXUl_lZQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.34.07+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, over in Slaver’s Bay, Tyrion is
negotiating with the slavers, something that has made Grey Worm and Missandei
very uneasy. The slavers want their old lives back, and they explain Daenerys
is no different than they are; she’s simply the new master of Meereen, and
slavery will never end. Tyrion lobs back that he’s not here to change the
world, but that, interestingly, there haven’t been slaves in Westeros for
hundreds of years. So he comes up with his compromise: slavery will cease
effective immediately in Meereen, but will be allowed to carry on for seven
more years as they gradually end the practice in other areas. The slaveholders
will be compensated, and need to cut off ties with the Sons of the Harpy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOl9xd5W0JpcwlCFh-SIU35veKmyg-UIrCLGgupr4QY1qsqq4axaXNyyVomXGlCWHJqiGVa4YCI7CHppNZpuGsUgqX2GkTGcw6w2R7NI53dNmM3i4Tb7d5Qo2xokoRLgFOXoVOw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.34.47+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOl9xd5W0JpcwlCFh-SIU35veKmyg-UIrCLGgupr4QY1qsqq4axaXNyyVomXGlCWHJqiGVa4YCI7CHppNZpuGsUgqX2GkTGcw6w2R7NI53dNmM3i4Tb7d5Qo2xokoRLgFOXoVOw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.34.47+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Grey Worm and Missandei are saddened by the
turn of events, but when challenged by the former slaves in the Hall, Grey Worm
simply says he wants peace, and Missandei quotes Tyrion: “A wise man once said,
‘We make peace with our enemies, not our friends.’” Tyrion smiles to think they
both have his back, but as they walk away from the slaves, they tell him what
they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> think: that seven years
might not seem like a long time to him, but it’s an eternity to a person in
chains. Grey Worm explains, “When they look at me, they see a weapon. They look
at her, they see a whore.” Tyrion counters, “They look at me and they see a
misshapen little beast. Their contempt is their weakness.” Tyrion is confident
that once again, his intelligence will get them through this. But Missandei and
Grey Worm have been enslaved their entire lives, and they see it very
differently. Tyrion thinks he has the upper hand, but Grey Worm warns him, “You
will not use them: they will use you.” Tyrion was able to use his knowledge to
trick his own family and throw all of King’s Landing into turmoil, but that’s
because he understood the politics of the Lannisters. This is a very different
situation altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then it’s off to Jorah and Daario, who
actually seemed like a more entertaining duo this week. What did you think of
their discussion in the hills overlooking Vaes Dothrak, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I think the most telling line in this scene is
Daario’s resigned, “We’ll all disappoint her before long.” I found his fairly
constant needling of Jorah about his age revealing; he doesn’t want to fight
him, because he loses either way, either the guy who kills an old man or is
killed by one; and he taunts Jorah over the fact that he has slept with
Daenerys, suggesting that, however much Jorah loves and desires her, that the
sheer exertion of her carnal attentions would likely overwhelm him. “It was
hard enough for me,” he says, “and I’m a young man.” There has always been a
rivalry between these two men, but Daario’s need to taunt Jorah, to constantly
point out the disparity in their age, and to remind him that he’s known
Daenerys’ bed, gives the lie to his cockiness—and shows the pathos of a man who
loves a woman he knows has limited use for him. It’s less a matter that he’ll
disappoint her than that she’ll ultimately need something far greater than he
can offer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His macho braggadocio thus comes across as
somewhat pathetic, and when the time comes to surrender his weapons, the knife
hilt carved in the shape of a wanton, naked woman has an adolescent quality to
it. I cannot remember now if we’ve seen that dagger hilt before so clearly, or
if such attention has been drawn to it. Certainly, the Daario of the novels
frequently has his sword hilts described, but there they are very much of a
piece with a character who is far more flamboyant, dangerous, and mercurial.
Michael Huisman’s Daario retains elements of the novel Daario’s audacity and
recklessness, but is ultimately more muted, and actually rather more nuanced. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We also have a moment in which Daario sees
Jorah’s greyscale, which I thought was handled with a deft hand—very few words,
and the expression on Huisman’s face was a lovely, subtle recognition of the
fact that his cracks about Jorah’s age were perhaps a bit close to the bone, as
the older man’s days were numbered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I wonder, too, if they’re making Jorah more
vulnerable and fragile as a function of his affliction: we open the scene with
him panting and wheezing, only keeping up to Daario with difficulty; and in his
fight with the Dothraki, at no point does he have the upper hand, ultimately
needing rescue from Daario and the dagger he decided to bring after all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Adding insult to injury (for Jorah, at
least), is the fact that their “rescue” of their queen was, if not strictly
unnecessary, was at least redundant, as once again Daenerys demonstrates her
own ingenuity. I don’t want to steal your thunder, Nikki, as you’ll be playing
us out this post with your discussion of the final scene, but I do want to
raise one of the show’s more problematic issues, which starts to show itself in
the Dosh Khaleen scene: namely, its racial politics. Sitting with the other
widows, Daenerys listens to the elder who had been so stern with her on her
arrival, now speaking in more conciliatory and friendly tones, trying to make
her feel welcome by dismissing the belief of some that Dothraki should only
marry Dothraki. She suggests a sort of melting pot view of their history,
though hardly in utopian or even positive terms. She introduces her to a
Lhazareen girl who survived the slaughter of her village only to be taken by a
khal at twelve, who then a year later gave birth and was beaten for the sin of
having a girl. Moments later, Daenerys finds out the girl was widowed at
sixteen—not soon enough, Daenerys observes, eliciting a sad laugh from her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In contrast, the elder tells her, the
widows of the Dosh Khaleen have a better and more meaningful life than many, as
their wisdom is valued. Here, we might surmise, is where Daenerys has the first
stirrings of her plan: acknowledging that their lot is better than most, but
with the unspoken sentiment that (a) their lot is still pretty dire, as they
are literally prisoners to a patriarchal tradition, and (b) that this speaks to
the brutal injustice experienced by the vast majority. “That is more than most
have,” Daenerys agrees with the elder, though the word she elides in this
sentence is “women.” The Dosh Khaleen are afforded respect and something
resembling a comfortable life, but only within very strict parameters, and only
as the widows of powerful men, and only in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">service</i> of powerful men. Daenerys is a revolutionary: as she said
last season, she wants to “break the wheel,” to destroy the set of assumptions
and practices on which life in the Dosh Khaleen can be seen as an honour and
privilege. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In this, her motivations are admirable. But
here also is where it gets somewhat cringe-worthy, in that she steps into the
all-too-familiar role of the white saviour: the hero who not only liberates
people of colour from their chains, but also from their ignorance, who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tells</i> them that there is another way to
live because they cannot be expected to arrive at such thoughts on their own.
The story told by the Lhazareen girl reminds Daenerys of her revolutionary
instincts, but also serves to characterize the khals as essentially bestial and
savage, the better to prime us for Daenerys’ fiery retribution in the end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is a degree to which both the novels
and the series work to undermine this mythos, by having Daenerys play the role
of the white saviour with lofty ideals and high-handed tactics only to become
mired in the practical imperatives of ruling in the aftermath of her conquests,
in which arrogance and ignorance of local nuances prove pernicious. But this
episode feels a little like the showrunners are hitting the reset button: while
Tyrion, Varys, Grey Worm, and Missandei struggle to deal with the mess that is
Meereen, Daenerys gets to start over with a new mass of non-white people in yet
another spectacular display. The apt analogy of the moment would be to say that
she campaigns brilliantly, but is utterly unsuited to ruling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I think that in some ways, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>—both the novels and the
series—has become something of a victim of its own success. When he started
writing the novels, GRRM was actually doing a number of innovative and
progressive things in the context of the fantasy genre, which by the late 1980s
had become somewhat moribund and regressive. A Song of Ice and Fire introduced
a far more nuanced conception of power and politics into a genre that, as I
commented in a previous post, tended to equate virtue with birthright and
depict monarchy as a perfectly fine system provided the right arse is on the
throne. Further to that, he broke down a lot of the genre’s clichés, and
peppered the voluminous character roster with complex, strong,
three-dimensional female characters. If the books had been merely successful,
their more regressive tendencies would not, perhaps, have rankled quite so much.
But in becoming an international phenomenon—coupled with the fact that the
television show’s visuals make the racial dynamic that much starker—these
elements become inescapable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’ll throw that particular ball high in the
air for you to dunk, Nikki, when you deal with the episode’s final scene. For
the time being, what did you make of the King’s Landing scenes this week?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: You commented last week on how beautifully the High Sparrow’s
dialogue is always written, and this week was no exception. Margaery is taken
before him, where she sits at his feet as he tells her the story (which may be
true, may be a parable, it’s never clear with him) of how he had once been a
shoemaker, creating the most beautiful pairs of shoes for the highborn. He
explains that people are always in pursuit of finery, money, and power — and
that by saying she wants to see her brother and family, she’s pursuing exactly
those things — but the real precious commodity each of us has is time. And it
took so much time to make a single pair of shoes, and then the highborn wore
his time on their feet. They wore someone else’s time on their backs, drank the
wine of another’s time. It’s a beautiful conceit, and beautifully told, and one
that makes you seriously think about what your time is worth, and is anyone
taking advantage of it? And then he tells her how he had wine and pretty girls,
and one night was with friends at a rather bacchanalian gathering, where they
all ended up naked and drunk, lying amongst one another, next to the fine clothes
that represented the time and hardship of someone else. And in that moment, he
saw all of them naked, and realized without our clothes, without our fine shoes
and robes, without the time of others that we wear, we are no different than
they are. And with that he turned and walked out of the place, barefoot, and
has remained so ever since. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He took on the mantle of the beggar,
realizing that beggars are closer to the truth than he was. And with that, he
offers his hand to Margaery and says he will take her to see Loras. She has
listened to his story, interjecting only once to demonstrate an understanding
of the stories the High Sparrow and his followers believe (and then explaining
that it’s because Septa Unella likes to read them at her), but when he proffers
his hand, she looks at it with astonishment. For all the ways she thought the
story was going to end, finally going to see Loras — the pinnacle of decadence
and depravity, as far as the Sparrows are concerned — was not one of them.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Not surprisingly, Loras is broken, an empty
shell that has been no doubt mistreated and tortured, his immorality questioned
and dissected for weeks, his very character degraded over and over again. If
Margaery had to put up with Septa Unella reading at her, one can only imagine
what Unella did to Loras, what she said to him, told him. In many scenes with
Cersei and Margaery, the Sparrows have said they should be ashamed of
themselves chiefly for caring about Loras. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And by the looks of it, it’s worked.
Margaery remains strong and determined to cut down this new obstacle, but Loras
has nothing left. He begs her to just give in to them, make it all stop, just
let them win, take what they want, and let him go. She reasons with him and
tells him that he’s the future of the family, and he says no, he just wants it
to stop. As she embraces her brother — the only person for whom I believe she
has ever felt even a modicum of fondness — there’s a look on her face much like
the one Melisandre has been wearing all season long. Maybe she’s been going
about this all wrong, and protecting Loras to help further her own cause, when
in fact, if proving that she no longer has any fidelity to Loras will help her
position with the High Sparrow... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Pycelle continues to not die, which
is surprising in itself (I swear he will outlive <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everyone</i> on this show) and is attempting to windbaggingly advise
Tommen. As usual, he gets caught talking about Cersei just as Cersei enters the
room, and she tells him to leave. He takes three years to finally get out of
there, and then Cersei turns to her last remaining child, who tells her that
they must be careful around the High Sparrow and confesses that he’s spoken to
him, and that he told her something. He asks if she even likes Margaery, and Cersei
tells the truth: that it doesn’t matter whether or not she likes Margaery, all
that matters is getting rid of this infestation that she herself brought to
King’s Landing. As the mournful cello sounds of “The Rains of Castamere” begin
to sound, Cersei tells him that whatever the High Sparrow told him, he can tell
her: “I am your mother — you can always trust me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to Cersei marching into the Small
Council, where Olenna rolls her eyes as only Olenna can do, where she has
finally figured out the card she needs to play to win over the head of House
Tyrell: Margaery. She tells them all that while they might have been rather
thrilled by Cersei’s own Walk of Atonement, Margaery is set to do the same, and
they are scheduling the walk to happen immediately. And like that, Olenna
forgets how much she despises Cersei and the Lannisters and says NO, she will
not. She orders the Tyrell army to King’s Landing, and will join forces with
the king. Ser Kevan (Cersei’s uncle, Tywin’s brother, for those keeping score at
home), says the Kingsguard cannot be seen entering the fray with the Sparrows,
and Cersei, like she just did with Olenna, appeals to his own filial ties.
“Don’t you want to save Lancel?” she asks (Lancel being his son, Cersei’s
cousin that she was sleeping with in season one — as one does in this family —
and the one who administered the wine who killed Robert Baratheon... and now
one of the High Sparrow’s chief Sparrows). She explains that the king can’t do
anything against the Sparrows, but he can do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing</i>. He can let the Tyrell army overrun King’s Landing and take
out the Sparrows. As she speaks and Kevan listens and Olenna agrees to support
her, the strains of “The Rains of Castamere” get louder and louder, until it’s
almost overpowering the scene. Once again, Cersei proves she won’t stay down
for long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And speaking of families coming together to
find strength, Theon has made his way back to the Iron Islands and to his
sister. What did you think of the scenes in Pyke this week, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">This episode was a whole lot of brothers and
sisters, wasn’t it? Jon and Sansa, Margaery and Loras, and then Theon and
Yara—three very, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i> different
reunions, to be sure, but a persistent enough motif that it puts family at the
heart of the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Pyke scene wasn’t much in itself,
beyond being a setup for what is to come—namely, the Kingsmoot at which the
Ironborn elect their king (which is a very progressive political system for a
society whose economy seems largely based on looting and pillaging). But I
appreciated the way it worked thematically with the other two scenes that come
before our return to Daenerys. All that really happens here is Theon
apologizing, Yara telling him to stop apologizing, Theon crying, Yara telling
him to stop crying, Yara being suspicious of Theon’s motives and the
serendipity of his return on the eve of the Kingsmoot, and Theon finally
pledging himself to her cause. But the callback in this scene to Yara’s failed
rescue attempt—which failed because Theon was too broken to go with her—and all
that Theon suffered at Ramsay’s hands gives a thematic bridge into the next
scene, at Winterfell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From the moment we saw Osha and Rickon
unhooded last week, we knew their lives were about to get really shitty really
quickly. My stomach sank when I saw Osha ushered into Ramsay’s presence; to be
honest, my stomach sinks whenever Ramsay’s on screen, but the dread he evokes
is vastly worse when he’s in the company of a sympathetic character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The scene begins well for Osha, as she
actually seems to give Ramsay momentary pause:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">RAMSAY: You’ve seen my banners?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OSHA: The flayed man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">RAMSAY: Does that worry you at all?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OSHA: Do you eat them after?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">RAMSAY: [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pause</i>] No.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OSHA: Then I’ve seen worse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Both of them are putting on a show here:
Ramsay mentions his banners as he peels an apple, a bit of business meant to be
intimidatingly suggestive. Osha’s no fool and most likely sees through it, but
she makes a mistake in thinking she has the upper hand. Ramsay puts down the
knife and the apple. Is the knife a deliberate temptation for Osha? One way or
another, her eyes briefly flit to it before she begins her attempt to seduce
Ramsay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OSHA: I can give you what you want.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">RAMSAY: And you’re sure you know what that
is?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OSHA: Same thing men always want.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, Osha. You should have listened more
carefully to the rumours about this monster. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The way these scenes are linked provides a
subtle and cruel irony. We have just come from hearing Theon talk about
Ramsay’s torments; we know Osha is willing to strategically seduce men, because
we have seen her do it before—with Theon, as a means of distracting him so that
she, Bran, Rickon, and Hodor could escape. Theon was an easy mark back then,
easier than most because of his preening vanity. But Ramsay, as we know all too
well by now, is not so simple. He has set a trap: he knows that Osha was
instrumental in Bran and Rickon’s escape and that her pretense of
self-interested cynicism is a façade, precisely because he broke Theon and
learned these details from him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And with that, Osha joins the ranks of
GoT’s butcher’s bill—a mercy, in some respects, as a quick death under the
Bolton roof is preferable to the alternatives (in my notes, I’ve written “Tonks
had to die AGAIN?”). It was still shocking and had the same feel as the Sand
Snakes’ murder of Doran and Areoh—that is, that the writers are seeking to cull
the flock somewhat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At the same time, Ramsay’s casual brutality
and his mention of his banners links to the episode’s penultimate scene, as we
see the Bolton sigil on the back of a messenger arriving at Castle Black under
a flag of parley—an ominous sign, though before the message is received we are
granted a few moments of levity. Sansa and Brienne appear mildly unimpressed
(which is to say, revolted) by the food before them and the table manners of
the wildlings and Night’s Watch, but make a herculean effort to be polite. This
effort is not made easier for Brienne by the scrutiny of Tormund, who if we
remember was visibly gobsmacked at the sight of her in the episode’s opening
moments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If this episode provided a close-to-tears
moment with the reunion of Jon and Sansa, it also provided my biggest belly
laugh of the season so far with the image of Tormund the Giantsbane making
googly-eyes at Brienne of Tarth. I’m not the only one to think so, as GoT
fandom has already started ‘shipping these two, speculating about whether
they’ll get together and make huge babies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoeCspoXTVo0PnfD9VpE2Hi7ZE8kzBWS5ORyd6uWKjaXfisy6cyR3-4rJo7MFuakqQttCw7HNaUzcB73btF108_rjdpGJqgjBLEWvGRA5jWdM0jCbL3w9B1kE0eB3GHUV6nP8Jw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.38.43+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoeCspoXTVo0PnfD9VpE2Hi7ZE8kzBWS5ORyd6uWKjaXfisy6cyR3-4rJo7MFuakqQttCw7HNaUzcB73btF108_rjdpGJqgjBLEWvGRA5jWdM0jCbL3w9B1kE0eB3GHUV6nP8Jw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.38.43+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">course</i>
Tormund would be rapt at the sight of Brienne. All of her qualities that make
her undesirable among genteel Westerosi—her height, her strength, her refusal
to play the lady, her ability to take you apart with her bare hands and put you
back together like a deformed Voltron—would be catnip to this dude, who in the
novels is constantly bragging about once having slept with a bear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I do so hope we have a scene of Brienne
handing his ass to him in the training yard, and him falling ever more deeply
in love because of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Our moment of levity is broken however by
the arrival of Ramsay’s letter to Jon Snow, and it is just as awful as we all
assumed it would be. Its tone is taunting and arrogant, but is also literally
apocalyptic. The refrain “come and see” is a direct allusion to Revelations
6:1-8 in the King James Bible, in which the four seals are opened and St. John
the Divine sees the four horsemen of the apocalypse emerge:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I saw when the Lamb opened one of
the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts
saying, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Come and see</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I saw, and behold a white horse:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and
he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth
conquering, and to conquer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And when he had opened the second seal,
I heard the second beast say, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Come and
see</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And there went out another horse <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">that was</span> red: and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">power</span> was given to him that sat
thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another:
and there was given unto him a great sword. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And when he had opened the third seal,
I heard the third beast say, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Come and see</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and
he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I heard a voice in the midst of the
four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley
for a penny; and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">see</span> thou hurt
not the oil and the wine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And when he had opened the fourth seal,
I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Come
and see</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I looked, and behold a pale horse:
and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.”</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Whatever Jon Snow’s reluctance prior to
receiving Ramsay’s missive, he is now committed to the fight—not least because
Ramsay’s arrogation of the titles of Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North
to himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As I said before, this is an episode of
battle lines. Before you get into the episode’s final scene, Nikki, what did
you think of this moment at Castle Black?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: First, this — <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her height,
her strength, her refusal to play the lady, her ability to take you apart with
her bare hands and put you back together like a deformed Voltron—would be catnip
to this dude, who in the novels is constantly bragging about once having slept
with a bear</i> — might be my favourite thing you have ever written. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The scene of Thormund looking at Brienne
like she was a juicy steak after years of porridge was hysterical, made better
only by the WTF look on Brienne’s face the entire time. She looked like she’d
just smelled a bad smell (and considering the conditions at Castle Black and
the fact these are all a bunch of bachelors with no actual showering area, that
could very well be the case) but I was instantly shipping them in my head, too.
Brimund? Thorienne? THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN. Mostly just so we can watch her utterly
dominate him to the point where he has little Looney Tune pink hearts in his
eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now back to Vaes Dothrak, where
Daenerys is about to stand trial and they’ll decide what to do with her. They
keep saying the best-case scenario would be for her to live out her days with
the other khaleesis in the temple, and haven’t exactly articulated the
worst-case scenario: until now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then it’s a whirl of insanity for the
next few minutes, the Cliff’s notes version being: blonde hair, Dothraki talk,
angry guys, macho threats, fire fire fire, people bowing, boobs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But if our readers know anything about us,
it’s that we don’t resort to Cliff’s notes (as much as they probably would like
us to at times). I really liked your assessment of the issues with the scene at
the end, Chris, where you talked about how there’s this sense of colonialism
that we can’t exactly avoid when watching or discussing it. On the surface one
can read it as: white person comes in, kills the bad brown men, tells the other
brown people they will from now on be ruled by the white person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXiDVqhLHFZ-WPicNU3qlUH82Hb1P9hriNs6kmdGOvFoNzcGkQJqGMb-Zp2wNSD9ePfv1pv-BfMdgh7XkRlzaZB-FUC4dfPbABZKbI2CW0hESrh1TzbWpuBBUrwraKq_BtNNaqw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.40.54+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXiDVqhLHFZ-WPicNU3qlUH82Hb1P9hriNs6kmdGOvFoNzcGkQJqGMb-Zp2wNSD9ePfv1pv-BfMdgh7XkRlzaZB-FUC4dfPbABZKbI2CW0hESrh1TzbWpuBBUrwraKq_BtNNaqw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.40.54+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But in another sense, I don’t read this
scene that way. This isn’t about colour, this is about gender. Daenerys,
despite her very white skin, is an outsider, alone, the last of her kind. Her
people have been conquered and wiped out, and now she walks among the other
races and people, other languages and customs. She has seen the worst that the
world has to give to people — she has seen Grey Worm and Missandei mistreated
by slavers who have whiter skin than they do. But more than that, she has seen
what the world does to women. She has seen them beaten down, raped, dismissed,
killed. She knows that Sansa could be the head of her household, but that’s not
going to stop some bastard from raping her. She knows that Brienne could knock
down any wildling, and yet even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she</i>
is now seen as a piece of ass. Jaime Lannister will never be stripped down,
beaten, and forced to walk in shame down the street: that honour is reserved
for his sister. She was nothing but a bartering chip to her brother, and the
books of legend and history are filled with the names of men, not women. She
knows that she will have to work twice as hard to earn half as much, and she’s
pretty pissed that Hollywood actresses aren’t being paid as much as their male
counterparts. She is woman, and you will fucking hear her roar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And roar she does.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">She reminds them of the great plans her
husband once had, and how he was going to do the things she’s now doing. She
reminds them that while the world is in turmoil, and evil people are on the
throne, the “Great Khals” all sit together talking about what little villages
they will raid, what women they will rape, and what horses they will plunder.
“You are small men,” she says to them, standing confidently among the firepits
as they stare at her, gobsmacked that this little girl is actually trying to
take on an entire room of men. Every word she says to them is true, and true
not only of this series but everywhere. How dare these men decide the fates of the
women? How dare they suggest the wives of these great leaders — wives who are
every bit as brave and strong as their male counterparts — get shoved into a
temple to live out the rest of their days? Why should the world of men continue
to decide the fates of the world of women? She holds up a mirror so they can
all see exactly how small they are. “None of you are fit to lead the Dothraki,”
she says. “But I am.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">She smiles. “So I will.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Zjk-AT3LjaVIFzqMW2oxylCc2UFtOg2XHIQjTaaGvXNhnKYCQaovZaLdvN9iHqVYPFAQWb8PbtUxOCR_Hs_aIjlXxAwQt626sPOgkgB8X6z1qP3Xg9_EcMoDGY7jS-qRaOZb5A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.41.46+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Zjk-AT3LjaVIFzqMW2oxylCc2UFtOg2XHIQjTaaGvXNhnKYCQaovZaLdvN9iHqVYPFAQWb8PbtUxOCR_Hs_aIjlXxAwQt626sPOgkgB8X6z1qP3Xg9_EcMoDGY7jS-qRaOZb5A/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.41.46+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And they laugh. And he tells her that the
Khals will take turns raping her, and the bloodriders will rape her, and then
when they’re all finished, they’ll let the horses have a turn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And Daenerys’s smile just gets wider and
wider. Look at these little men, she thinks. I’m showing them that they need to
start thinking with their heads and not their dicks, and they respond by
telling her how they will think, act, and live by their dicks. You can just see
it in her eyes. They are so puny, so insignificant, and yet have somehow
convinced everyone that they are the leaders and they must be obeyed. He tells
her he will not serve her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89lyh6OSmxDSXGUPZq7RFLHGORVhf4uGJqFqlnVIEtVhouywSwLoJR_4VeV62NHq2x4NSmpQiPgLXpdcTqIW6aK9gqaXg8ubfZCBepahVNwFForMhdxuPEgDBxgAAhbNtMYthxA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.42.00+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89lyh6OSmxDSXGUPZq7RFLHGORVhf4uGJqFqlnVIEtVhouywSwLoJR_4VeV62NHq2x4NSmpQiPgLXpdcTqIW6aK9gqaXg8ubfZCBepahVNwFForMhdxuPEgDBxgAAhbNtMYthxA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.42.00+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“You will not serve,” she says. “You will
die.” And with that, she turns the firepits over, setting the temple on fire.
The Khals all run, screaming, trying to escape, but the doors have been locked
from the outside. Daenerys stands, unharmed, in the centre of the fire, and
turns the last of the firepits over to incinerate all of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpHVo0t6jebqT47ddAIC4Ml4pLFTlNarDdvJUgBAE8ZfMA61hDYXxjNl8TnHlEB5d8VWoDJLLOtZlVJYv7P3hBAPtuv_qDkTDag0iBl6MychsZj_bOmT47P55D0VuAIrhGCwE8Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.42.42+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpHVo0t6jebqT47ddAIC4Ml4pLFTlNarDdvJUgBAE8ZfMA61hDYXxjNl8TnHlEB5d8VWoDJLLOtZlVJYv7P3hBAPtuv_qDkTDag0iBl6MychsZj_bOmT47P55D0VuAIrhGCwE8Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.42.42+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Outside the temple, as the bloodriders and
their long-suffering women all rush to see the carnage, the door caves in, and
Daenerys emerges, naked and unharmed. Even her silver hair is inflammable. The
Dothraki all fall to their knees, as well as the widows, and she stands there,
nose in the air, staring at all of them as they worship her. As Daario and
Jorah approach, her face doesn’t change. Daario looks at her, mouth agape. He’s
heard the stories, but now he sees it. He thought he’d been sleeping with a
queen, but now he realizes she’s a god. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokDeGturhJHrkenpp70nukKlO6QMgh1pTBBv0kF2EeCPBDBSjq5WNDQEPdGuHz5sqH_M_we-9VVfEb8FOi2wAepOYS_s5_XlQf3_tb26Ji2QvI74TORAnIlhESLzm7vKUS6dsDg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.44.12+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokDeGturhJHrkenpp70nukKlO6QMgh1pTBBv0kF2EeCPBDBSjq5WNDQEPdGuHz5sqH_M_we-9VVfEb8FOi2wAepOYS_s5_XlQf3_tb26Ji2QvI74TORAnIlhESLzm7vKUS6dsDg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-19+at+9.44.12+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s a glorious scene, beautifully filmed
and scored. On the one hand, Daenerys has pretty much proven 100% that she’s
not one of the people, that she stands above all mortals and is not killed by
fire, by cleansed by it. But on a symbolic level, she’s done it as a woman.
She’s shown them that women are to be honoured and respected as much as the
men, if not more. They are the bringers of life, they weather emotional and
physical storms that the khals can’t even imagine, and they are the mothers of
dragons. Some dragons literally fly and breathe fire; other dragons have so many
soccer, baseball, and fastball practices that they make Mom late on her blog
post every week. But on a show where we have seen women beaten, raped,
degraded, and murdered, Daenerys is that woman who shows it doesn’t have to be
that way. And she stands there before men, fully naked, as if daring them to
suggest there’s something wrong with doing so, the way women have been told that
since the dawn of time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And now that we’ve written a post longer
than all of the scripts this season put together, I shall stop here and thank
you very much for having read so far! We will see you next week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-39530500186913432912016-05-11T22:15:00.002-04:002016-05-11T22:15:34.187-04:00Game of Thrones 6.03: Oathbreaker<div class="MsoNormal">
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Hello everyone, and welcome to week 3 of our season six recap of <i>Game of Thrones</i>. The lateness of this week's post is entirely my fault; my work/life balance has been grossly out of whack for the past few weeks and until I figure out a way to slow it down, these posts take a back seat. But here's to managing my time better next week. Without any further ado, let us begin!! </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">After the one-two-three punch of last week’s
episode, it stood to reason that this week’s would be a bit slower, and it
definitely was. With the exception of a couple of gasps, it was pretty much a
bridge episode, but it still had some great stuff. In an episode called
“Oathbreaker,” I thought Brienne would play a larger role, but she didn’t even
appear.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We’ve been waiting all week to see what the
reaction will be at Castle Black to the Christ-like resurrection of Jon Snow.
And it was one of my favourite moments of the episode. First we see the
awakening of Jon, as he gasps for air before sitting up, and then gaping with
shock and horror at his Saint Sebastian–like wounds. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuX3uTWLaEgGYq_eo_3mz0HCdD1DOuF-QAl5H5fhQPfAlhl6RHAFWhXbo2pB9Hkk4x_Hykf4gsyrOXDrENzAwIYi67_Sj_X-a5PHP0tKGS-8vsDdP1UQT4W6PsGC3TNDxrx1eEA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-11+at+12.32.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuX3uTWLaEgGYq_eo_3mz0HCdD1DOuF-QAl5H5fhQPfAlhl6RHAFWhXbo2pB9Hkk4x_Hykf4gsyrOXDrENzAwIYi67_Sj_X-a5PHP0tKGS-8vsDdP1UQT4W6PsGC3TNDxrx1eEA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-11+at+12.32.13+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He doesn’t know why he’s
alive, and while the Red Woman has brought him back to life, she clearly hasn’t
taken the pain of the wounds away. Davos’s eyes are saucer-like as he slowly,
carefully, makes his way back over to Jon Snow’s side, unsure of what rough
beast has just awakened on the table. Even Ghost isn’t so sure about things, as
he whimpers in the corner and stares at the person who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should</i> be Jon Snow, but couldn’t possibly be Jon Snow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And yet, it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> Jon Snow. This isn’t some creation of Victor Frankenstein,
cobbled together with pieces of flesh and organs, this is the same man who was
stabbed to death by his traitorous men, and the first thing he says to Davos
is, “Ollie, he put a knife in my heart.” It’s the boy who’s hurt him the most,
the boy he thought he was helping, the boy he wasn’t noticing seething in the
corner at every turn. And the fact that Jon pinpoints this as the worst part of
the incident told me that that, without doubt, was still Jon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Melisandre comes rushing back into the room
and, like a light switch, her faith instantly reignites. She wants to know what
he saw, and you can see her eyes shining with hope. Moments ago, she was
staring despondently into a fire, mourning the loss of her faith and coming to
terms with a world in which the Lord of Light does not exist. But now that Jon
is sitting there, impossibly back from the dead through the power of the Lord
of Light, she has her proof. And she asks him what he saw. You can tell she
wants to hear that he saw the Lord’s face, or a beautiful world shining where
it was no longer dark and full of terror. But he disappoints her. “Nothing.
Nothing at all,” he says. But she’s undaunted. “The Lord let you come back for
a reason,” she says, her resolve strengthening by the second. She declares she
was wrong about Stannis, that he wasn’t the prince: it was Jon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But Jon doesn’t have time for this. To him,
no time has passed: moments ago he was being stabbed to death and now he’s
sitting here. “I did what I thought was right, and I got murdered for it. Now
I’m back. Why?” While Davos still isn’t clinging to any Lord of Light crap — he
knows a miracle has happened, but he’s not about to attribute it to some unseen
god — he does agree with Melisandre that perhaps Jon is some sort of Chosen One
who is destined to save them all. Davos sits with him and tells Jon, “Fight for
as long as you can. Clean up as much shit as you can.” But Jon says he’s
failed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Davos: “Good. Now go fail again.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I love the idea of Davos teaming up with
Jon Snow, and I hope, despite the end of this episode, that that will be the
case. Davos has always been one of my favourite characters, marred only by the
fact that he aligned himself with someone like Stannis Baratheon. Now that both
he and Melisandre have switched gears and are backing Jon instead, it promises
to be a much more interesting group. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But now Jon has to show his face to
everyone else, and he steps out onto the wooden staircase in front of the
courtyard of wildlings, who stare at him in utter silence and disbelief. As Jon
slowly and painfully walks through the group, they part, staring at him as if
he’s a ghost, until he reaches Thormund, who had been in the room when
Melisandre was working her mojo. Thormund tells him that they all think he’s
some kind of god now. “I’m not a god,” says Jon bluntly. “I know,” Thormund
reassures him. “I saw your pecker. What kind of god would have a pecker that small?”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He then moves to Eddison, who stares at Jon
with apprehension and awe, and asks if it’s really him. Jon reassures him that
it is, and jokes, “Hold off on burning my body for now.” “That’s funny,” Edd
retorts. “Are you sure that’s still you in there?” And then he gives him a bear
hug, one that clearly hurts a LOT by the look on Jon’s face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s a great opening, where all signs point
to the man before us as Jon Snow. Of course, the end of the episode will take
away that certainty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And from here it’s off to Sam and Gilly,
sailing for the Citadel. It’s lovely to see them again, and clearly the sea air
is good for Gilly, since she looked brighter and happier than I think I’ve ever
seen her. Sam, on the other hand, is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>
handling the waves well, and hangs his face over a bucket (I know I’ve said it
before, but my #1 pet peeve of TVs and movies is showing someone vomiting. I
cannot handle it AT ALL. Blergh.) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s a brief scene, where he tells her she
can’t go into the Citadel so instead he’s taking her to his mother and sister,
who will take care of her. And she, in turn, refers to him as the father of her
son. It’s a lovely little moment before we move back to the past once again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Christopher, did your jaw equally hit the
ground when you saw the actor playing a young Ned Stark? WOW! I feel like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I</b> had gone back in time!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">Unfortunately, no, given that that scene has had
the life promo-ed out of it, and has further been painstakingly dissected by
fandom … one of the unfortunate results of which is that it was something of a
disappointment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Let me back up: one of the key mysteries of
A Song of Ice and Fire, as we know, is that of Jon Snow’s parentage. Was he
really Ned Stark’s bastard, or the product of some other union? I don’t think
it’s a spoiler any more to say that the good money for a long while now has
been on Jon being the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark—the latter of
whom’s ostensible abduction and rape by the former was the spark that lit the
powderkeg of Robert Baratheon’s rebellion. There are innumerable clues
scattered throughout the novels suggesting that Rhaegar did not abduct Lyanna,
but that she was in love with him and went willingly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">By the same token, Ned Stark has a number
of dreams and flashbacks in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Game of
Thrones</i>, in which he remembers holding a dying Lyanna in his arms as she
pleads “Promise me, Ned …” He further has memories of facing down Ser Arthur
Dayne and another member of the Kingsguard; he has six men with him against
their two, but in the end only Howland Reed (Jojen and Meera’s father) survives
with him. These memories are fragmentary and unspecific, but hint powerfully
that the “official” narrative of Robert’s Rebellion, in which Rhaegar is a
monstrous figure and Lyanna a tragic victim, is not entirely—or even
remotely—true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All this is by way of saying that, five
seasons and five novels into this series, fans have arrived at the firm belief
that “R+L=J,” and so the snippets of this scene shown in the trailers have
evoked more than a little excitement … and the speculation was that this
episode was going to reveal Jon Snow’s true parentage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I admit to hoping as much myself, but
really we all should have known better. Of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">course</i>
the show is going to tease this out over several episodes, if not in fact the
entire season. I just wish this scene hadn’t been so prominent in the
trailers—it would have been amazing to watch it unfold without having been
forewarned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All that being said, the scene was well
done: tense and kinetic, with some nice fight choreography. And the actor
playing young Ned (Robert Aramayo) is a great bit of casting—not only does he
look like Sean Bean, but he gets the inflections of Bean’s Yorkshire accent
precisely right. If I have a quibble, it’s that <nerd voice=""> while Ser
Arthur Dayne, the “Sword of the Morning,” was famous for being the greatest
swordsman of his age, he was just as famous for his Valyrian steel greatsword
Dawn. He would not have fought with two swords, but with his single, two-handed
sword. </nerd> Lack of fidelity to the books notwithstanding,
watching Dayne dispatch Ned’s men in quick succession, it’s easy to believe his
(dead) comrade’s boast that if they had been at the Battle of the Trident,
where Rhaegar met his doom, it would have been Robert Baratheon pushing up the
daisies. There’s a nice moment as young Ned finds himself facing Dayne alone,
and his expression is a fine little bit of face-acting: a mingling of
determination and the recognition that he will not survive this fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Though of course he does, but only through
the dishonourable action of Howland Reed, who stabs Dayne in the back, much to
Bran’s shock and confusion. “I’ve heard the story a hundred times,” he had said
just moments before, and the expression on his face calls to mind so many of Sansa’s
in seasons one and two, as she repeatedly learned the hard lesson that stories
and reality often bear little resemblance. Ned then deals the finishing blow,
an action whose motivation is ambiguous at best: was he dealing Arthur Dayne a
merciful end? Was it a moment of vengeful rage, as his expression might
suggest? Did he do it so when he claims in the future that he killed Arthur
Dayne, there will be a germ of truth in the tale? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Whatever his motive, his brief reverie is
broken by the sound of a woman’s agonized cry, whom we assume to be Lyanna.
Bran of course wants to follow and see what is in the tower, ignoring at first
the Three-Eyed Raven’s admonitions. He calls out to Ned, and for a moment it
seems as though he is heard: Ned pauses, and turns to look at nothing. Back
under the tree, Bran insists that his father heard him, and the Raven appears
to grant the possibility, though he insists that “The past is already written.
The ink is dry.” But is it? His warning to Bran that “Stay too long where you
don’t belong, and you will never return,” suggests that their astral voyaging
into the past is rather more involved than merely screening scenes from some
magical archive, that Bran is more than a passive observer when he travels to
these remotes times and places. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What is Bran? He is a warg, able to inhabit
Summer’s body (and sometimes Hodor’s); he has apparently sorcerous abilities,
and seems to be turning into that ubiquitous fantasy trope, the Chosen One: one
thousand years the Raven has endured his solitary, static existence, because
he’s been waiting for Bran. Not because Bran is the heir apparent, his
replacement to operate the Tree of Seeing Things—no, Bran will ultimately leave
and return to the world, though for what purpose we do not know. And heavens
forbid the crusty old mentor should ever speak in anything other than stern and
cryptic riddles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Speaking of Chosen Ones, we’re now up to
three of them in one episode: Jon Snow, Bran, and of course Daenerys, though
her status as a former Khaleesi apparently earns her no respect. She is not
granted the dignity of a horse, and is kicked and told to move her ass. Here we
are again in Vaes Dothrak, which we saw in season one, when she came here with
Khal Drogo to consecrate her marriage by eating a raw horse’s heart, and Drogo
finally gave Viserys a golden crown—though one that sat somewhat more
uncomfortably on his head than he’d hoped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(There’s a lot of full-circle moments so
far this season, by which I mean there’s been two—last week’s echo of the
opening scenes in Winterfell, and now Daenerys’ own déjà vu at being back in
the Dothraki “city.” I don’t having anything insightful to say about this, just
that it will be interesting, going forward, to see whether we continue getting
echoes of season one). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Her humiliations continue at the hands of
the other Khals’ widows, stripping her of her queenly garb and dressing her in
simple leathers. She is sternly reminded of the fact that she broke Dothraki
custom in going out into the world rather than immediately returning to the
Dosh Khaleen, and that for this transgression her fate might be more dire than
living our her days with the other widows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I admit that, when this episode ended, I
was momentarily at a loss as to why it was titled “Oathbreaker.” Like you, I
thought it might have something to do with Brienne and her sword, but I think
it’s a more general descriptor: in this case to Daenerys’ failure to conform to
Dothraki law (for which we can hardly blame her), but also to her apparent
abandonment of Meereen. What did you think of the Meereen scenes in this
episode, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Just to jump back a bit, yes, I’ve been in the R+L=J camp for
quite some time, which is why Jon Snow’s death at the end of last season felt
like such a kick in the head. Everything I believed, the direction I thought
the story had been going the whole time, had just been destroyed and now I had
to start over. (I guess I understand a bit how Melisandre felt...) However, I’m
a spoilerphobe of such epic proportions I’m only realizing now that I am
apparently a complete master of it, because I knew <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing</i> about what was happening this season. I didn’t know about
the casting of young Ned, didn’t know about this scene in particular, and I
don’t even watch the “Next Week On” previews at the end of the episodes, so I
guess I shall happily sit alone as the single Unsullied <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> fan. Publicity is great, but man, surprise can be
SO much better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, in Meereen, Varys wonders how
the guards can stand all that leather while he waits for Vala to arrive. This
is the prostitute who lured White Rat into her chambers before he was massacred
by the Sons of the Harpy in the last season. Vala is clever, refusing to speak:
she tells Varys that Daenerys has come in to Meereen and is destroying their
history, and ruining everything. But Varys is cleverer, and he knows her weak
spot: her son, Dom. He tells her that her perspective is a valid one, and he
will try to see things her way, but then he mentions her son... “Dom, is it?” And
the smug look on her face suddenly disappears. Her eyes widen, and Varys knows
he’s once again caught a poor fly in his web. He explains that he’s not exactly
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">threatening</i> her son, but she
conspired against Daenerys’s soldiers, and there’s really only one way that can
play out. How will poor Dom get on without his mother, he wonders aloud,
“especially with that breathing problem.” Suddenly she’s begging him,
explaining that she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can’t</i> talk or
they’ll kill her, and Varys once again arranges for a ship to take her away
with some silver. And suddenly, she’s singing like one of Varys’s favourite
birds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, waiting in the next room is
Tyrion, Missandei, and Grey Worm, having the world’s most boring conversation,
if one could even call it a conversation. As Tyrion realizes that every
icebreaker he’s ever tried involves heavy drinking or sex games, and he’s
looking at two non-drinkers who aren’t interested in the latter, he has nothing
to talk about. So he asks Grey Worm to spark a conversation, and he says he
could talk about his patrol, what he sees on patrol, people on patrol, what he
learned on patrol, and one thinks wow... he and Missandei need a television. “A
wise man once said a true history of the world is a history of great
conversations in elegant rooms,” Tyrion tells them. “Who said this?” they ask.
“Me, just now,” he answers, pouring himself another drink. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s a very funny moment in the episode,
and a chance for the writers to give Tyrion a witty throwaway line, but it also
shows just how different they all are. Tyrion comes from a world so far removed
from that of Missandei and Grey Worm that he can’t even talk to them for 10
seconds without getting bored. There’s no common ground here, and their
conversation is simply a microcosm of the much bigger problem in Meereen: that
Daenerys has come in to give the people what she thinks is best for them,
without really knowing them at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then Varys enters and tells them that
the Sons of the Harpy have been bankrolled by the masters of Astapor, Yunkai,
and Volantis — Astapor was the city of the Unsullied; Yunkai was the city
Daenerys conquered where all of the slaves called her Mhysa, and Volantis is a
city with Valyrian ties: Aegon Targaryen invaded the city with his dragons. All
three of these cities rely heavily on slave labour and the divide between haves
and have-nots, and as such, they see Daenerys as a major threat. Knowing where
the threat is, the group can now figure out a way to fight against it. “Men can
be fickle, but birds I always trust,” Varys says, and with that we’re back over
in King’s Landing with the creepy Victor Frankenstein guy himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of Cersei adopting one
of Varys’s best methods of spywork, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ha! In
Cersei’s hands it becomes rather more dystopian than when Varys was the
spymaster … Varys, while always more or less inscrutable in the early seasons,
at least communicated a sense of balance, and loyalty to something greater than
himself—especially in contrast to Littlefinger, beside whom Varys was a model
of civic responsibility. On one hand, Cersei’s use of Varys’ former network (by
way of Qyburn) marks an evolution in her character, an acknowledgement that
subtlety can be preferable to blunt force; but then, her checklist of information
she wants makes clear that she’s more interested in punishing slights against
her and her family than in building a genuinely useful intelligence dossier. If
Varys was always a charming but vaguely creepy snooper, Cersei makes it clear
she wants to be the NSA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I do have to say, I think my favourite
little moment in this scene is where Jaime tries to goad the Mountain—in the
process making it clear that he never had much esteem or respect for the
hulking thug even before he was a reanimated Frankenstein’s monster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We move from Cersei’s audience with Qyburn
to the Small Council, and the welcome reappearance of the Queen of Thorns.
Grand Maester Pycelle is in the process of holding forth (at length) about the
iniquities of Qyburn and the monstrosity he has created (interesting to note
that they’re just calling him Ser Gregor now, as opposed to his AKA “Ser Robert
Strong”—I guess reanimating a man whose moniker “the Mountain” was an
understatement doesn’t leave much room for disguises), which of course dictates
that the object of his scorn will enter while he blathers on obliviously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Here is a rare moment of Cersei and Jaime
being the most reasonable people in the room: the most pressing matter at hand
is the declaration of war by Dorne in the form of Myrcella’s murder. “Do you
consider the murder of your own blood a ‘troublesome issue’?” Cersei asks her
uncle, and Jaime points out that Dorne has essentially undergone a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">coup d’etat</i> by a cabal that would
cheerfully murder all Lannisters. But Ser Kevan is having none of it, and walks
out with the rest of the Council, leaving Jaime and Cersei alone with the
Mountain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The person to watch in this scene—which
should surprise no one—is Lady Olenna. She has little to say beyond the barbs
she trades with Cersei, and yet is the most dominant presence in the room. The
camera cuts to her reaction shots at a few key moments, and the expression she
wears is one of interested evaluation—however much she might loathe Cersei, we
get the distinct sense she sees more in her assertions than in anything Kevan
or Pycelle have to say (and has a few lovely eye-rolls when her son speaks).
She departs with the Council when they go, but I suspect there will be an
uneasy truce between her and Cersei soon (and I’d think that even if I hadn’t
watched the trailer for next week’s episode).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Next up is Tommen accosting the High
Sparrow at his prayers, and demanding that Cersei be allowed to see Mycella’s
resting place. After rewatching this scene several times, I have decided that
it is my favourite of the episode. It makes me want to know what the dynamic of
the GoT writers’ room is like: is there someone, or a handful of someones, who
consistently write the High Sparrow scenes? Because while I have had much cause
to praise Jonathan Pryce’s acting and the gravitas he brings to this character,
he’s hardly had to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. The lines they give
him have a depth and subtlety that stand out in a show that so often
distinguishes itself for its writing. And as so frequently happens with him, we
are treated to a discourse that is simultaneously inspiring and deeply
manipulative ... which I suppose is fair enough coming from an inspiring
religious leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I also want to know if there was any
consideration given to the timing: did someone, way back when this episode was
being scripted, say “Hey! Do you think this might air on Mother’s Day?” Between
the Sparrow’s disquisition on motherhood and the hint that Lyanna was in the
Tower of Joy birthing Jon Snow, this was something of a mother-centric episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But back to Tommen and the Sparrow: last
week we saw Tommen despairing of the fact that he wanted to be strong but
wasn’t, and this week we see him desperately trying to present a tough visage
to the High Sparrow. And, well, failing … he’s still a little kid, after all,
and so his attempts to be commanding are by turns adorable and pathetic. His
main problem, of course, is that he lacks a subtle enough mind to match the
Sparrow’s preaching; one could easily imagine Tyrion at that age doing a much
better job (and indeed, in my notes I wrote “Octavian from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rome</i> would totally outclass this dude”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There were two elements in this scene at
war with each other for me as I watched it: the first was my growing irritation
with the Sparrow’s arrogation of the gods’ will to himself, his blithe
insistence that he knows their minds, which with the backup of his armed thugs
trumps (apparently) any royal decree. The revolt of the poor should be a
galvanizing and cathartic narrative for us the viewers; I can only speak for
myself of course, but the fact that it is grounded in an explicitly patriarchal
and misogynist (and fundamentalist) religious movement makes it decidedly
dystopian, something emphasized by the High Sparrow’s sententious pronouncements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The second element, however, is the fact
that the Sparrow’s faith is rooted in a conception of humanity’s good nature,
even as he deploys it in manipulative fashion. He deflects Tommen’s anger about
his treatment of Cersei with a powerful disquisition on mother’s love. “There’s
a great deal of falsehood in Cersei,” he says, “but when she speaks of you, the
mother’s love outshines it all. Her love for you is more real than anything in
this world, because it doesn’t come from this world. But you know that. You’ve
felt it.” Tommen agrees, and the Sparrow notes that he did not himself ever
know<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a comparable mother’s love. “Envy,”
he says, wistfully. “One more sin to atone for.” At which point, citing the
pain in his knees, he begs the king’s leave to sit. One can well imagine Tywin
Lannister or Daenerys denying him, forcing him to acknowledge their authority,
but Tommen of course grants his wish … and at the Sparrow’s behest, also sits,
and cedes whatever last vestige of kingly presence he’d brought. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of Tommen’s attempt to
cow the Sparrow, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I agree with you 100%. In my notes for this scene, I wrote, “If
conquest of King’s Landing fails, High Sparrow has future writing Mother’s Day
cards for Hallmark.” As you say, this is a brilliantly written scene, crackling
with energy and power plays, where Tommen has arrived to wield his kingly
power, but the High Sparrow knows dealing with a young and inexperienced king
is basically swatting away a pesky fly. When he sat on the bench and patted the
seat beside him, I was mumbling, “Don’t sit... don’t sit...” and... he sat. In
doing so, he not only acquiesced that they were equal, but that the High
Sparrow now had the upper hand, in that the king obeyed his request. Poor
Tommen. His brother was a sadistic little shit, his sister has been murdered,
his uncle has murdered his grandfather and chief advisor and is now on the run,
and his other uncle is actually his father, and deep down he knows it. His wife
is being tortured and he can’t stop it and knows that should he ever get her
back, she will neither love nor respect him, and his mother is the one who
brought this evil into his city in the first place. How can this kid possibly
win? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From our brave but ineffective little king
we return to Arya, where the waif is slowly turning her into Daredevil. Blind
but now able to anticipate the next blow, Arya has proven herself to be a
willing fighter, but has also consistently refers to “Arya” in the third
person, in the past, as someone who perhaps was once her, but is no longer. We
hear her speak dispassionately about the very people who had enraged her
before. We see her speaking to the waif, answering each of her questions, and
she lists off the people on her list: Cersei Lannister, the Hound, Ser Gregor,
Walder Frey. We know that list is much longer than that, although names like
Joffrey and Meryn Trant have disappeared because they are dead. But Melisandre
is not there, nor is Ilyn Payne. The waif notices the list seems short now, and
asks her about the missing names. “Which name would you like a girl to speak?”
she replies, rather than simply telling the waif what she wants to know. And
the waif looks slightly taken aback, as if knowing Arya has figured out the
game, mastered it, and is beginning to regain control. In the fighting ring she
stands up again where before she’d fallen quickly. And by the end of the
training, she’s smelling the various powders and mixing them properly; she’s
able to anticipate the waif’s blows and return them in kind... and she seems to
have removed all of Arya Stark from her person. Then, and only then, does Jaqen
restore her sight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One of our readers pointed out last week
that it would be a shame if we ultimately DO get the reunion of the Starks, but
Arya remains hidden and watches her remaining siblings pass her by. But we’ve
already seen one person — Theon — be apparently stripped of everything he is,
tested by Ramsay, and proven himself to be Reek, a physical shell of who he
once was with no Theon Greyjoy left. And after months of proving that to both
Ramsay and the viewers at home, Theon suddenly shifted and showed that no, he
could not erase who he was, and that Theon Greyjoy will always reside in there.
When it came to his “sister” Sansa, Theon returned and did what he could to
save her. I believe Arya is in there, too, and always will be. She can trick
the Faceless Men, but doesn’t need to become one of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Speaking of Ramsay, he begins looking for
loyalists, and comes up against something he’s not used to: resistance. Times
change, and the loyalties are beginning to change, and when Smalljon Umber
shows up, he’s not willing to give in to the bullshit ceremonies that have
proven useless in the past. As Ramsay waxes on about his “beloved father,” Jon
cuts him off, saying, “Your father was a cunt, and that’s why you killed him. I
might have done the same to my father if he had not done me the favor of dying
on his own.” It’s a fantastic moment where the camera flips back to the WTF
expression on Ramsay’s face. Smalljon refuses to bend his knee before Ramsay,
and tells him straight up that he hates House Bolton and had sided with the
Starks. But now, out of necessity, he needs to align with House Bolton to
protect the North against the wildlings. His castle, Last Hearth, is the one
closest to the Wall, and the first one attacked should the wildlings come
south. He wants Ramsay’s help, but will not swear fealty to House Bolton, nor
will he perform any of the other redundant rituals that would be traditional in
this sense. No, he won’t give in to that, because it has proved meaningless, as
other people have gone down on bended knees before houses and then turned
traitor on them later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">No, instead he’ll give Ramsay what he
really wants: Rickon Stark. And with that, he brings him in with Osha, and
Ramsay just stares in shock (as did I: we haven’t seen this kid since season 3!
He’s, uh... grown.) When we last saw Rickon, he had ben sent away by Bran for
his own protection, with Osha leaving to help protect him. They said they were
headed for Last Hearth, a place that, as Smalljon says in this meeting, had
remained loyal to the Starks, and was therefore a safe haven. But Greatjon
Umber is dead, and his son clearly doesn’t have the same fealty to the Starks,
and so he simply offers these two refugees up as bait. It’s a shocking moment
that suddenly turns heartbreaking when, to prove to Ramsay that this is indeed
Rickon, they bring in the head of Rickon’s direwolf, Shaggydog, on a spike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I swear the deaths of the direwolves is as
upsetting to me as the deaths of the people. They were one of my favourite
aspects of the early seasons, and we’ve seen so many of them die. Sansa’s wolf
was killed first, by the orders of Robert Baratheon. Robb’s was killed at the
Red Wedding. And now we see the head of Shaggydog. The only wolves left are
Ghost, who accompanies Jon, Summer, who is with Bran Stark, and Nymeria, Arya’s
wolf, whom she let go back in the first season after Nymeria bit Joffrey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">God help Rickon, is all I can say now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And that brings us to the final scene of
the episode, and I’ll let you handle that one, Chris. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the past
year, since we saw the life drain out of Jon Snow in the final seconds of last
season’s final episode, there has been rampant speculation about how Jon Snow
might be resurrected. Few people (understandably) seemed willing to accept his
death, but the mechanics of him coming back were speculated upon endlessly.
Would he live on in Ghost’s consciousness? Would he come back as a wight, or a
White Walker? Would Melissandre revive him, as Thoros of Myr did with Beric
Dondarrion? And now that he has been brought back, in perhaps the most
predictable fashion, the question has become an echo of Edd Tollett’s: is that
really Jon? What can we expect from someone who has looked into the abyss?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It is worth looking back at season three,
and Arya’s encounter with <a href="https://youtu.be/wboON-Z-eqI">Ser Beric
Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr</a> (unfortunately, the embedding on the clip has
been disabled). Ser Beric lost his life six times, each time being revived by
the dissolute red priest Thoros. But it was not something that happened without
a cost. “Every time I come back,” Beric tells Arya, “I’m a bit less. Pieces of
you get chipped away.” What aspects of Jon Snow have been “chipped away”? There
has been speculation that perhaps Jon will become harsher, crueler; perhaps
even that he will turn evil. The former seems more likely than the latter, and
not necessarily as a by-product of soul erosion: his despairing words to Davos
in this episode’s opening scene may come to seem like an epiphany in the days
to come. One wonders if whether Ned Stark, if he could have been brought back
(as Arya wistfully imagines in the Beric scene) would have continued to be the
same bastion of honour, or whether he would have adopted a more cynical
outlook. Jon may well be making that very sort of change, considering that for
all his attempts to do right, he was murdered by his own people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The scenes at Castle Black bookending this
episode are about faith: not religious faith <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">per se</i>, but people’s beliefs in the world, in what is right and wrong,
in what actions will be virtuous and beneficial. Alliser Thorne is given a
moment of dignity before his death. “I had a choice, Lord Commander. Betray
you, or betray the Night’s Watch,” he tells Jon. “If I had to do it all over,
knowing where I’d end up, I pray I’d make the right choice again.” He is
confident in his principles. Melissandre very nearly had her faith broken by Stannis’
defeat and death, and then Jon’s; his return breaths new, if desperate, hope
back into her. But Jon’s own faith has been sorely shaken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It is Davos who offers the most pragmatic
way forward—Davos, whom we would not fault for saying “Fuck this shit” and
taking the fastest horse south. His sons have been killed, his king shows
himself to be as monstrous as those he fights before he himself gets killed,
and the cause to which he committed himself is in tatters. His stoicism reaches
existentialist levels:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">DAVOS: You go on. You fight for as long as
you can. You clean up as much of the shit as you can. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">JON: I don’t know how to do that. I thought
I did, but … I failed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">DAVOS: Good. Now go fail again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When Davos said this,
my friend and I immediately quoted Samuel Beckett to each other. “Fail again!
Fail better!” This line, which has (so, so very ironically) been adopted as a <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/01/samuel_beckett_s_quote_fail_better_becomes_the_mantra_of_silicon_valley.html">mantra
by billionaires everywhere</a>, comes from the novella <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Worstward Ho!</i>, one of the very last works Beckett penned before his
death: </span><span lang="EN-US">“All of old. Nothing else ever. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try
again. Fail again. Fail better.” I have no idea whether this was a deliberate
allusion, but it is weirdly apposite. Leaving aside for the moment that Castle
Black and the Wall would be ideal for staging a Samuel Beckett theatre
festival, “Oathbreaker” is at least in part about its characters’ existential
crises.</span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfuquSQZO28na2dWMIJ3BvlqU0KTANogB6MUo8z2wQbgMC2WEx3aNFv9PMt-dAJKFxJVfoTcGEcnH0AHMGeVH_QUne45-x3N3j9tM7XJSiZ_n1Fbb2UbUcwKGdINns9uBIYzkDg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-11+at+12.41.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfuquSQZO28na2dWMIJ3BvlqU0KTANogB6MUo8z2wQbgMC2WEx3aNFv9PMt-dAJKFxJVfoTcGEcnH0AHMGeVH_QUne45-x3N3j9tM7XJSiZ_n1Fbb2UbUcwKGdINns9uBIYzkDg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-11+at+12.41.26+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I said
earlier in this post that I wasn’t certain what the episode’s title referred
to, but that it possibly resided in Daenerys’ lack of fidelity to Dothraki
tradition and her apparent abandoning of Meereen. I think that still holds, but
that we can also read a more subtle allusion to the Castle Black scenes. In the
final moments, Jon abdicates not only the position of Lord Commander, but also
his role as a sworn brother of the Night’s Watch. Does this constitute the
breaking of his oath? Considering that the second sentence of that oath is “It
shall not end until my death,” perhaps we can assume Jon is on solid, if
unprecedented, legal ground. But oaths are tenuous things anyway, grounded as
they are in the character and honour of those swearing the oaths to begin with.
In so much classic fantasy, individual honour stands in for such modern notions
as jurisprudence (which, before my medievalist friends go all Alliser Thorne on
me for saying so, I hasten to add is a conceit of fantasy that ignores the very
real judicial systems of the Middle Ages); and honour is an absolute quality in
the Aragorns of the fantasy world, but in GRRM’s retread of such tropes, honour
is a more fickle beast—and the breaking of oaths is what drives so much of the
action in Westeros. Robert Baratheon rising up against his liege lord, Jaime Lannister
killing that same king, Roose Bolton and Walder Frey betraying Robb Stark. If Smalljon
Umber’s refusal to bend the knee to Ramsay is an acknowledgement of this fact,
is Jon Snow’s departure at the end a progression or regression for his
character? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Well,
that’s all for us this week—until next episode, my friends, stay warm and don’t
let your direwolves talk to strangers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-84853067040117096652016-05-03T11:31:00.003-04:002016-05-03T11:34:25.823-04:00Game of Thrones 6.2: Home<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4BImHznISWDWB2PoIF8SxQvLF0joADC0s2KCO3pVz34EGaNxfwvIj6pEl2si6fA6PvSqsUlmXJqpnQAYE2HPFuq-DPPIxtg7KgzNLJN2f_EF5hRetm7Ttlx-omxTzwET7hn2Xg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+11.34.03+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4BImHznISWDWB2PoIF8SxQvLF0joADC0s2KCO3pVz34EGaNxfwvIj6pEl2si6fA6PvSqsUlmXJqpnQAYE2HPFuq-DPPIxtg7KgzNLJN2f_EF5hRetm7Ttlx-omxTzwET7hn2Xg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+11.34.03+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
Hello again, everyone, and welcome to week 2 of our <i>Game of Thrones</i> recaps. I'm joined, as always, by <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">Ser Lockett</a>, who still offers the GRRM perspective even though the series has gone off-book. Before we get started, last week a couple of people asked why I'd come down so hard on Margaery, and to be honest, that is an excellent question. She hasn't committed a fraction of the crimes Cersei has, and in many ways has been a victim of the game. But my issue with her is entirely a personal one. As a mom whose daughter has been dealing with a group of mean girls for the past three years, I noted quite a similarity between Margaery and the queen bee of the group, who has been tormenting my daughter and many other girls for a few years now. Margaery is a loathsome social climber, a woman with no emotional ties to anyone but her brother, who will marry and befriend purely if it helps her social status, and will claw her way through and over anyone who gets in the way. When she and her fellow worker bees were badgering Cersei last season, and ganging up on her the way these girls gang up on my daughter and others at lunchtime, I instantly despised her, and I've never stopped. So no, from the outside perspective, Margaery certainly doesn't deserve our wrath in quite the same way as Cersei. As my mental representative of all the little bullying mean girls I've had to deal with over the past few years, I want Margaery pushed off a short pier into a very deep, concrete ravine. Ahem. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So now, without any further ado, here's Christopher to start us off! </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: The general consensus about last week’s premiere has been that it
was a decent enough episode, but a slow start—which really shouldn’t surprise
anyone who has been watching <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of
Thrones</i> since the beginning. Season openers have tended to be a little
lugubrious, as their main job is usually to resituate us in this world after
ten months away. But they always end with a bang, with a shock or a revelation:
season one saw Jaime push Bran out the window, season two was the massacre of
Robert Baratheon’s bastards and the realization that Gendry is one of them; in
season three, Barristan the Bold saves Daenerys from assassination, Arya kills
Polliver with Needle in season four, and last season saw Mance Rayder burned at
the stake—and mercifully killed with an arrow by Jon Snow. And of course last
week was the Melissandre reveal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After which, we’re usually off to the
races, and this week’s episode should have satisfied people’s need for action
and surprise: the wildling rescue of the Jon Snow loyalists, Ser Robert
Strong’s showing what happens to those who tell tales about Cersei, the
appearance of Euron Greyjoy and sudden dispatch of Balon … to say nothing of
everything that went down among the Boltons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, and that little ending bit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There were also a lot of lovely moments
that were by turns quiet or tense, like Tommen’s reconciliation with Cersei or
Tyrion freeing the dragons. But I think I most loved where this episode began. After
an entire season plus one episode away, we finally meet up with Bran & co.
again, more or less where we left them, in the caves under the weirwood tree of
Bran’s visions. There are any number of questions left unanswered about the
timeline, though the unavoidable fact that Bran has grown since last we saw him
suggests that he has spent however long last season was supposed to have lasted
underground, training with the Three-Eyed Raven. (Who, we should point out, is
being played now by legendary actor Max von Sydow). And whatever training he
has had seems to have paid off, as he can now travel through time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjArYM1l9grNjCM4kDEYgX9JX0mfDAJhyphenhyphenKZpKjElApgCFQEA5jcuNdDlrylhb4oBWmJl6776JatP79a139KNwo-fauKQEjAEG5IZNfEVw8AkXwQIYoXzfuZdoXtWHn_BKQr1-Ot1Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.13.46+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjArYM1l9grNjCM4kDEYgX9JX0mfDAJhyphenhyphenKZpKjElApgCFQEA5jcuNdDlrylhb4oBWmJl6776JatP79a139KNwo-fauKQEjAEG5IZNfEVw8AkXwQIYoXzfuZdoXtWHn_BKQr1-Ot1Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.13.46+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His vision of Winterfell past lends the
start of this episode a sense of déjà vu, as this was where the series
effectively began: with Bran in this same yard practicing his archery with the
encouragement of his brothers and his father. Here he sees his father at around
the age he was when the series began, sparring with Benjen. “They were all so
happy,” Bran says with something like wonder in his voice. “So were you, once,”
the Three-Eyed Raven reminds him, and we recall that brief moment of peace with
which the series opened, shattered along with Bran’s spine at the end of
episode one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We also see the infamous Lyanna, whose
abduction at the hands of Rhaegar Targaryen precipitated the end of the
Dragons’ dynasty, show here young and wild and obviously more confident in the
saddle than her brothers (“Stop showin’ off!” young Ned says petulantly); we
see the young version of Rodrik Cassel, already rocking the mutton chops; and
most touchingly and surprisingly we see Hodor when he was still called Willas
and capable of speech. I love how obvious it is that, even back then, he was a
gentle soul, and obviously well-loved by the Starks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4vtHK_64u-5bCiC5yjyiOX1Esaw6vvIp3uaUStKuQfRWR0kmDc8myv77fKp87XcgamHxbiYYel4Df-ROgMZovVA4vu_XtnVc3qMyDuRKm5kMAGcWJ_VP4bKPxmeW6pO8XnkMfw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.11.27+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4vtHK_64u-5bCiC5yjyiOX1Esaw6vvIp3uaUStKuQfRWR0kmDc8myv77fKp87XcgamHxbiYYel4Df-ROgMZovVA4vu_XtnVc3qMyDuRKm5kMAGcWJ_VP4bKPxmeW6pO8XnkMfw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.11.27+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But just as we, along with Bran, become
sentimental for the past, it is time to return to the troubled present.
Ignoring his plea to stay longer, the Raven brings Bran back to the cold cave
and his useless legs, admonishing him that such journeying is like swimming
under the sea, in that “if you stay too long, you drown.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I wasn’t drowning,” retorts Bran. “I was
home.” This episode is titled “Home,” so it’s interesting to think of the ways
that motif wends its way through the story. What is home for these displaced
characters? Bran has a vision of Winterfell, but all of the surviving Starks are
scattered around the world, and Winterfell itself has been stolen by the
Boltons. Theon decides that he must needs return to his home in the Iron
Islands, Tyrion is doing his level best to adopt Meereen, and Tommen has the
realization that without his mother he is missing the better part of himself.
Home is a safe space, but there are vanishingly few of them in this world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of this episode, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, now that I’ve been able to sit for a moment after <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">dancing merrily around my house for hours</b>,
I can say this episode was a spectacular return to the action we’ve come to
know and love with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>,
and as you beautifully pointed out, it does so right from the very beginning.
The Bran material was well handled, and for a moment, as you mentioned, I
actually thought we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">were</i> back in the
beginning of episode 1 of the series. I expected to see a very young and surly
Arya looking out the window as she longed to be wielding a sword and not
wasting her time in embroidery lessons. I loved it, and especially loved seeing
a young Hodor, who reminded me of Samwell Tarly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then we’re back at Castle Black, and a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still dead</i> Jon Snow, with Davos behind
the door as Thorne, lying through his teeth, stands outside and promises him
safe passage if they simply come out with their hands up. Even Ghost isn’t
buying <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> one. As they all
unsheathe their swords as a not-so-subtle message to Thorne that they will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>, in fact, go quietly into that good
night, and Ghost braces himself between all of them, teeth bared and growling,
Thorne has one of his men begin to break down the door. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsH1A7a_N8TdRhgDjLOjxBH2HhRW7Txu3Hz2fP8GitHysGdeZF1CCY8KsPK2t-BPLpBu8UzLs34swjCzIphlXeWrdH0VT2zXR7B7mJKg5nmfkVP5XkxV9yrisUYzA29uyL8thuw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.14.47+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsH1A7a_N8TdRhgDjLOjxBH2HhRW7Txu3Hz2fP8GitHysGdeZF1CCY8KsPK2t-BPLpBu8UzLs34swjCzIphlXeWrdH0VT2zXR7B7mJKg5nmfkVP5XkxV9yrisUYzA29uyL8thuw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.14.47+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And just as I started
to wonder if this might be the end of Davos (please no!) while at the same time
REALLY looking forward to watching Ghost go straight for Ser Alliser’s throat,
there’s a second banging that stops the current action and pivots everyone’s attention
to the outside walls. I fist-pumped. “Wildliiiiiiiiings!” I sang quietly from
the couch, tense with anticipation. And then it was even better: Wildlings +
giant. And when the wiener on the parapet decided to shoot his tiny, tiny arrow
that bounced off the giant’s neck with a wee little *ping* sound, what the
giant did next made the Hulk’s throttling of Loki in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Avengers</i> look amateur in comparison. And the rest of Thorne’s
army dropped their weapons quickly, eliciting an almost whiny “Oh <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">COME ON, GUYS!</i>” from Thorne that was
hilarious in its frustration and expression of broken dreams. Off to prison
with Thorne and the Annoying One (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Buffy</i>
reference) and... it’s over to King’s Landing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And we open on King’s Landing with this
Eric Idle type standing in the street doing his version of Monty Python’s
“nudge nudge wink wink” sketch involving an unlikely story about Cersei giving
him the eye, a little monologue that causes the Mountain to smash the Facebook
angry dislike button so hard that even I made a noise of disgust. (“Say no
more!!”) This is the most we’ve seen of the Mountain since he was raised from
the dead and has turned into nothing more than a meat-based killing machine
(which, granted, is only a sidestep from what he was before he died), and that
thick neck, grey face, and deadened eyes behind the mask lend a particularly
horrifying element to him. I hope he never takes off that mask, because it’ll give
me nightmares for life. But the appearance of the Mountain and what he does
here looms large over the rest of the episode, so by the time we get to the
events at the end, we’re not quite so sure about this whole <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">raising from the dead</i> thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As Cersei descends from the Red Keep with
the Mountain at her back, she’s stopped by King Tommen’s guards, who stand
before her in a YOU SHALL NOT PASS manner and explain, heads bowed, that
despite her being the king’s mother and despite her destination being the funeral
of her daughter, she is not allowed to leave the Red Keep. This is possibly the
lowest we ever see Cersei, and despite everything she has done, you can’t help
but feel badly for a mother who cannot say goodbye to her own daughter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The show then takes us to Jaime and Tommen,
standing at Myrcella’s side. Those creepy rocks with the wide-open eyes painted
on them are lying on her face, and we remember that less than two years ago,
they were standing in the same spot. Only when it was Joffrey on the slab,
Cersei was standing at his side, cursing Tyrion’s name and convincing her twin
brother that the imp had been behind it, as Tywin put his arm around Tommen’s
shoulders and led the young boy away, establishing himself as Tommen’s chief
advisor. How the times have changed: Cersei has been humbled to the point where
she can’t even attend the funeral, Jaime has calmed down and it’s uncertain
whether he still thinks Tyrion killed Joffrey, Tommen is a reasonable king who
listened to the advice given him and is still making his way through
everything, and Tywin is dead, by Tyrion’s hand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tommen confesses to Jaime that the reason
he has yet to visit his mother is simple: shame. He should have stopped what
the High Sparrow did to her, he should be stopping what they’re doing to
Margaery now, and he doesn’t know how to face either woman when he’s let them
down so colossally. And right on cue, the High Sparrow emerges from his perch
and begins to descend to where Myrcella’s cold body lay on a slab, as Jaime
sends Tommen away to speak to his mother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of the conversation
between the High Sparrow and Jaime, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As always, I
am in awe of certain actors on this show, and Jonathan Pryce is a prime
example. Jaime, we can see, is coming close to a breaking point: reunited with
Cersei, having seen his daughter die and his family under siege, he seems ready
to return to his violent tendencies and familial retrenchment. His fury at the
High Sparrow is chilling in how cold and controlled it is, but for all intents
and purposes the High Sparrow calls his bluff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Not that Jaime doesn’t call out his
hypocrisies. “Your sister,” says the Sparrow, “sought the gods’ mercy and
atoned for her sins.” “What about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my </i>sins?”
Jaime demands, and provides a litany of his misdeeds, from the killing of the
Mad King to setting Tyrion free. “What atonement do I deserve?” It is the one
moment in which the High Sparrow has no answer—for what could he say to that?
The subtext of this conversation is the uneven dolling out of punishment, which
disproportionally hurts women, and which is more preoccupied with sexual
transgression. Cersei and Margaery suffer torture and humiliation, and we’re
not certain of what is being inflicted on Loras. But Jaime’s laundry-list of
sins has not garnered him anything more than the label Kingslayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jaime’s mistake is overplaying his hand: he
should have let the silence deepen, and let the High Sparrow attempt an answer
that would have further shown his hypocrisy. But Jaime is not Tyrion, and so
before the High Sparrow can become properly discomfited by his question, he grasps
his dagger in a threatening manner, allowing the High Sparrow to deflect his
words. “You would spill blood in this holy place?” he asks. Jaime’s response,
that the gods are bloodier than all mortals put together, is a nice piece of
rhetoric but comes off, ultimately, as empty bravado. Better to have pointed
out that he has spilled blood in the throne room of King’s Landing and bring
the question back around to what atonement he deserves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One way or another, Jaime’s implied threat
effectively summons the High Sparrow’s muscle, who array themselves around the
sept but do not approach. And it is here that the High Sparrow stares down the
Kingslayer, daring him to kill him. The face acting between these two is on
point here: Coster-Waldau has a wonderful look of surprise and consternation
when he’s invited to kill his foe; and Pryce very subtly communicates an
instant of trepidation in making the challenge, replaced by his mounting
confidence as he looks over Jaime’s shoulder to see that his Faith Militant
have arrived. The Sparrow is still in danger from Jaime Lannister, should the
latter choose to roll the dice and wager that he could fight his way out of the
sept; but he knows that the calculus has changed, and it is far more likely
that the Kingslayer will choose to fight another day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And more importantly, it gives him fodder
for one of his speeches: “No doubt many of us would fall,” he says of the
prospect of Jaime cutting his way out. “But who are we? We have no names, no
family … every one of us is poor and powerless. And yet, together? We can
overthrow an empire.” The look he gives Jaime as he takes his leave falls short
of open disdain, but it’s clear he knows he’s just owned the Kingslayer—and
Jaime knows it too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It does seem, however, that the High
Sparrow’s estimation of his nameless, poor legions of the Faith Militant will
be put to the test. Heeding Jaime’s advice, Tommen visits his mother to make
his own atonement. He apologizes, and in the substance of his words we see a
Lannister-in-training: “I should have executed all of them. I should have
pulled down the sept onto the High Sparrow’s head before I let them do that to
you.” Certainly, that would have been the path taken by the
late-not-quite-lamented Lord Tywin; hearing the words from Tommen emphasizes
again the familial retrenchment of the Lannisters, and the danger this could
pose both to themselves and to the kingdom at large. “You raised me to be
strong,” he continues. “I wasn’t. But I want to be.” In this moment, Cersei
gets something resembling recompense for all her humiliations, but it does
raise a few questions, re: Margaery. They’re still married, after all; she is
still, in fact, the queen. If Tommen is returning to his mother’s tutelage,
what kind of relationship can we expect him to have with his wife, assuming he
manages to break her out? Cersei’s plotting late in last season effectively
turned Margaery into her devoted enemy, and Margaery is hardly someone who will
humbly accept the role of submissive wife. What role does House Tyrell have in
the context of the Lannister wagon-circling? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We then segue to Meereen, where Tyrion’s
alcoholism elicits Varys’ disapproval, which itself provokes Tyrion to make
eunuch jokes, and banter ensues. As so often happens, Tyrion has my favourite
lines of the episode, the first of which I’m seriously thinking of putting on
my business cards. When Missandei asks him how he knows so much about dragons,
he replies, “That’s what I do. I drink, and I know things.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But as it turns out, he does more than just
drink, venturing into the dungeon to unchain the dragons … presumably because
no one else was willing to do so. What did you think of our time in Meereen, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Tyrion and Varys were a highlight in an episode full of
highlights. Just when you think you’re starting to know Tyrion, he surprises
everyone with a lot of talk about dragons. He’s certainly expressed his awe of
them before — witness the look on his face when he first saw Drogon flying
overhead when he was in the boat with Ser Jorah. But now we discover he knows
far more about them than the myths and legends: he knows how to actually take
care of them. He explains that, like many animals in our world, in the wild
dragons are massive creatures, but in captivity they can be quite small
— he says in the great time of dragons, when they were all in captivity,
they were the size of cats. (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cats!!</i> I
want a cat dragon!) And his explanation makes perfect sense. Our family
actually has a pet bearded dragon. When he was little, we had to keep
increasing the size of his cage or he would actually stop growing so he would
never exceed his environment. I’m happy to report that at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some</i> point they do stop growing, but last year my son and I went to
a reptile show, and there was a bearded dragon there from the wild that was
four times the size of ours, and ours was considered full-grown. So the writers
have actually culled this little fact from real-world creatures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As Missandei, Grey Worm, and Varys look on,
stunned, Tyrion explains to them that the dragons must be unchained, or they
will die, and he will be the one to do it. “I am their friend!” he proclaims.
“Do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i> know that?” Varys
understandably replies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The scene in the dungeon was so tense I
could barely blink. Tyrion slowly descends the staircase as Varys stays safely
by the door, and confronts the two dragons who have been left behind. Drogon,
Daenerys’s favourite (and the largest of the three) is the one that’s out on
the loose, and Tyrion slowly walks up to Rhaegal and Viserion. It’s
interesting, in a sense, that there were three dragon siblings: Rhaegal are the
smaller and more contemplative of the three, whereas Drogon is the largest and
most aggressive. Tyrion’s family was the opposite: the two older ones were
larger and more aggressive, while he was the smaller and more thoughtful of the
three. Where Drogon, the large one, has left the nest, Tyrion, the smallest, is
the one that’s been banished. And now he approaches the dragons. First we see
four glowing eyes in the darkness, followed by a large head and a furnace burning
brighter in the back of one of the throats... but the pilot light quickly goes
out, as the dragons don’t have the energy to breathe fire at the moment.
Tyrion, wide-eyed, is like a little boy coming face to face with the creatures
of his wildest imagination, as he bows his head and begins speaking to them
with great reverence. He is at once terrified, yet astonished to be in their
presence. “I’m friends with your mother,” he tells them. “I’m here to help. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don’t</i> eat the help.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He explains that the only thing he ever
asked for on his name day was a dragon, but everyone laughed at him. “My father
told me the last dragon had died a century ago. I cried myself to sleep that
night... but here you are.” He reaches out a hand and oh-so-tentatively touches
its head before suddenly reaching out and grabbing the nail holding the chain
together. At which point the other dragon bends its head forward, extending it
so Tyrion can do the same. And the moment they are freed, the dragons lumber to
the back of the cave. Tyrion stands, amazed, for one moment, before hustling it
back to Varys. “Next time I have an idea like that,” he says, “punch me in the
face.” It’s a brilliant, beautiful scene, where our favourite character meets
our favourite creatures. Wow, what a combination they could make. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And speaking of punching in the face, a
girl with no name is attacked once again by the waif, and this time the girl
formerly known as Arya is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pissed</i>. She
grabs that staff and swings in every direction, screaming and yelping... until
the staff is suddenly stilled by the hand of Jaqen. I was thrilled to see him
(I thought we’d seen the last of him) and in a very biblical moment, he tempts
her with shelter, food, and even her sight if she’ll just tell him her name. “A
girl has no name,” she replies, and then he leads her away. Will Arya see
again? I can only imagine what Jaqen has in store for her next (but I hope she
gets a good knock or two at the waif beforehand...) ;) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then we get to the Boltons, the most
depraved lot on a show filled with depravity. Once again Ramsay wants to do
something drastic — in this case, storm Castle Black — because he’s thinking
ahead and knows that’s where Sansa is going (and he’s right). Clearly no one
has sent out a raven yet, and word that Jon Snow is dead has not been sent out
as quickly as word like that usually moves (I swear the ravens in Westeros are
faster than Twitter) but Roose, as usual, is cautious, and thinks moving on
Castle Black is neither the right nor the politically astute choice at the
moment. And just then it’s announced that Lady Walda has just given birth to a
baby... boy. The child who will take the throne away from Ramsay, for a
legitimate child always trumps a bastard, even if that bastard has been given
his father’s last name. Roose looks to Ramsay, and embraces him, saying,
“You’ll always be my first-born,” in a surprisingly touching moment... which is
immediately cut down by Ramsay plunging a dagger into his father’s chest and
killing him on the spot.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This moment was definitely one of the most shocking
I’ve seen on the show — I didn’t see that coming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">at all</i>, despite everything that had happened leading up to it. And
when Ramsay calls for Lady Walda and the baby, it just gets worse. We know what
he’s done to Theon, and we know what he’s done to Sansa. We know how he uses
those hounds, and when he lures Lady Walda into the kennel, it’s so much worse
than the fate his father endured. I couldn’t move as I watched this scene, at
once horrified and hoping against hope in my mind that this one time might be
the moment Ramsay lets someone go (seriously, Nikki, do you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ever</i> learn??) I imagined standing there
in the same way, and how, knowing how this would play out, it would probably be
more merciful to smother the child on the spot than let the hounds take him.
And in the final moment we see on screen, it looks like that might be exactly
what she does. Notice how she turns away from the camera and falls forward, and
you never hear a baby’s scream in that scene. I was incredibly thankful the
directors didn’t show us <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> moment.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of what happened at
Winterfell, Chris? Was it a complete surprise or were you suspicious it was
going to move in this direction? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I had a brief moment of confusion when Ramsay
stabbed Roose, thinking at first it was the other way around—that with the
birth of a son, Roose had no need for his bastard any more. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That</i> would have been shocking, but of
course it would have ended Ramsay’s storyline, and I have a slight suspicion
the showrunners want him around for some time yet, and will presumably
(hopefully) give him a properly gruesome death. Perhaps we can start taking
odds on who gets to kill him in the end? I’m saying Jon Snow 10:1, Brienne 5:1,
his own hounds 3:1. Sansa? Even money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But no, it’s too early in the season for
Ramsay to go, but not too soon for Roose. It was still a surprise, though to
quote a Buffyism, as justice goes it’s not unpoetic. In the world of GoT,
certain things are sacrosanct, among them the laws of hospitality and the taboo
against kinslaying. In aiding and abetting the Red Wedding, Roose violated the
former—and one of the reasons the Boltons’ hold on the North is precarious at
best is that many of the other houses look upon the Boltons as cursed for that
transgression (a point emphasized more in the novels than in the series). That
Roose loses his life to the monster he has cultivated, and who—as the rest of
the scene demonstrates—is quite happy to kill his kin, is about as close to
justice as we’re likely to get in Westeros.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And as we have seen, things in Westeros
always get worse before they get better (wait—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i> they ever get better?). It is doubtful that the psychotic Ramsay
can hold together the alliance he will need to win the North (and potentially
defend against a Lannister army), but he can do a whole lot of damage in the
meantime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Brienne, Sansa, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">et al</i> seem to be in a bit of a holding
pattern: of all the scenes in this episode, this one feels like the most
extraneous, as its main purpose seems to be for Brienne to tall Sansa about her
encounter with Arya, and for Theon to announce that he’ll be leaving them. The
logic behind his reasoning isn’t entirely clear, but then I don’t know that
logic is necessarily going to obtain with Theon at this stage. The only thing
that is clear is that after all he has done, there is only one place left for
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When he says “Home,” we then cut to the
castles of Pyke, the seat of power in the Iron Islands, where Balon Greyjoy is
in the midst of an argument with Yara, Theon’s sister. The gist of their
dispute is Yara’s pragmatism in the face of Balon’s stubbornness, with her
pointing out that islanders are ill-equipped to take and hold mainland
fortresses. He will have none of it, storming out (ha!) onto what seems to me
to be a rather rickety bridge between buildings. And here we meet a new
character, Balon’s younger brother Euron, whom we glean has been away for many
years, sailing to the ends of the earth. His time away seems to have … well,
affected him somewhat. Which is to say he’s batshit, referring to himself as
both the Drowned God and the storm itself before committing this episode’s
second instance of kinslaying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m not sure what I think of this new story
line. In the fourth novel of the series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
Feast for Crows</i>, GRRM introduces both the Iron Islands and the Dorne
subplots. Given that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Feast</i> eschewed
the Jon Snow and Daenerys storylines (thus making it the least favourite of the
books among fans), these new dimensions in the Ice & Fire world could be
presented with an economy of storytelling (or what passes for economy of
storytelling in this series); but they came to complicate book five, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Dance With Dragons</i>, making it the most
shambolic of the books so far. Reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dance</i>,
a friend of mine said in an apt analogy, was like pulling taffy. Given the
difficulty of teasing out all these threads in a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">novel</i> meant that the television show was ill-suited to take all of
them on, and there was a general assumption when we undertook the Dorne plot
last season that the series would ignore the Iron Islands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But here we are, and I’m worried—in part
because the Dorne storyline was so clumsily mishandled, and we’re still stuck
with it. And now the Iron Islands on top of it? Fingers crossed, but I’m
worried we’re hitting Peak Narrative right now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On the bright side, they will likely be
mining <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Feast for Crows</i> for content,
so at least there will be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one</i>
storyline I’ll have an inkling about this season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which brings us to this episode’s final
scenes, which I assume you have one or two thoughts about, Nikki. But before
that, a few final thoughts on this episode:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">Davos
apologizing to the others for what they’re about to see as he draws Jon’s
sword is classic, and a perfect line for that character. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">The
showrunners really want to be a bit more sparing with their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex machinas</i>. Brienne riding to
the rescue last week was great, but the wildlings’ appearance at Castle
Black was so utterly predictable you could have set your watch to it. I
found myself thinking “I wonder how many blows they’ll get on that door
before Edd returns with Tormund?” Which isn’t to say it wasn’t a thrilling
sequence, just that it’s not necessarily a good pattern to fall into.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">It’s
official: crushing skulls is the Mountain’s preferred method of killing.
Dude doesn’t even need a sword.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">“Next
time I have an idea like that, punch me in the face” is my other favourite
Tyrion line of the episode, though “Don’t eat the help!” is pretty good
too.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US">I’m
REALLY happy they cut away from Walda when the hounds attack, but the
sound effects were almost as bad as seeing it.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<span lang="EN-US">That’s it for me. What did you think of the
episode’s ending, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I’m sure there were a lot of people out there who thought the
final three seconds of the episode were as predictable as it gets, but I’m not
one of them. This show has thwarted hopes and expectations more often than not,
and because it was so drawn out, with Melisandre making numerous attempts to
raise Jon and failing every time, I thought there was a possibility that we
would end with a quiet camera hold on Jon, fade to black. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of course, that was while I was in the
moment. In retrospect, fans would have stormed the HBO studios over it, and
they knew that. They couldn’t have possibly gone in that direction, and so of
course it had to end the way it did, but in that moment, I just wasn’t sure if
they were going to go for it or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The final scene began with Melisandre
sitting gloomily in her room listening to country music — the music of pain.
(Dude, that’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">three</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Buffy </i>references in a single recap, this
is some kind of record for us!!) Fans have been up and down with Melisandre
from the beginning. I think she’s the most stunning looking person in the
entire series, and I absolutely love the way the actress carries herself and
speaks. Some other viwers find her grating. I found her rather unsettling in
the beginning, when we first found her with Stannis, and she’s been utterly
unpredictable in her actions every step of the way except in one aspect: her
unwavering belief that her convictions are correct. She never questioned that
the Lord of Light was leading the way, and that Stannis was his vessel on
earth, and that he’d lead them all to glory. And when Stannis died, she
stumbled, and went to Castle Black and said, “OK <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i> I’ve got it right, it’s... Jon Snow!” and then Jon Snow was
killed, and she doesn’t know what to believe anymore. She’s wasted so much of
her life having faith in one thing that when it collapses, she has nothing more
to live for. (To the point where last week, one of our readers wondered if
Melisandre removed the necklace so she could lie down and die, a notion I
confessed I’d also considered when I saw that scene.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Many of us have had that feeling, whether
it’s in a relationship or a job or anything you’ve been involved in for several
years. But it’s one thing to say, “Aw, man, I worked at that company for 12
years and I should have moved on years ago”; it’s quite another to have devoted
your entire being to worshiping a god for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">centuries</i>,
only to realize you were a wee bit incorrect on that one. She’s utterly
despondent as she sits in her room, and the old, confident Melisandre has
turned to ashes in the fire. “I assume you know why I’m here,” Davos says. “I
will after you tell me,” she replies. The old Melisandre would have chided him
for even questioning what she knows, and of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">course</i>
she would always know why he’s there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But Davos won’t let her wallow, and he
pushes her. He wants to know if she knows any magic that can bring back the
dead, and she tells him that she met a man once who came back from the dead,
but it shouldn’t have been possible. She knows the implications of this (anyone
who’s seen any genre TV or movies knows the consequences are never good). She
stares ahead, unblinking. “Everything I believed, the great victory I saw in
the flames, were lies.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Davos will have none of it. He steps
forward, and tells her you know what? He’s not looking for the bloody Lord of
Light, master of nothing, he’s asking for help from the woman who showed him
that miracles do exist. The Lord of Light might be a lie, but she’s not. And
she is pretty incredible. And with that, Melisandre finds the tiniest glimmer
of hope within her, and follows him to Jon’s side. She cleans all of his
wounds, like Mary washing the body of Christ, until they are just red
half-moons all over his body. She cuts his hair (I’ll admit to wincing through
that, like, I know you’re trying to bring him back from the dead and all, but
do you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> have to cut his hair?)
and throws it into the fire, along with some of his blood. Ghost sleeps through
the entire process, which I found a little odd: you’d think the direwolf would
be standing at the ready, even knowing that Jon was dead. (And at one point I
was yelling, “Put some of Ghost’s fur into the fire!”) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37kmYeOaNLZlvvuOEMSPkhH80ntqpFb-fF1i7MM_IjBOwrk3uhHvdm-_gGVP1pEiQGsdeCPXGfG5NbuWDvleodiPl7aHx8tLzCfMxsx9wR9abDHT84m9M9bTxmQQ64QOdZv9umw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.23.05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37kmYeOaNLZlvvuOEMSPkhH80ntqpFb-fF1i7MM_IjBOwrk3uhHvdm-_gGVP1pEiQGsdeCPXGfG5NbuWDvleodiPl7aHx8tLzCfMxsx9wR9abDHT84m9M9bTxmQQ64QOdZv9umw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.23.05+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">She lays her hands upon
him, and says the incantation, and... nothing. She tries it again, nothing. We
watch the hope fade from her face as she tries it again and again. Tormund
turns and walks out of the room, waving them off like he couldn’t believe he’d
gotten caught up in this stupid charade in the first place, but Davos’s face
remains steadfast. He doesn’t take his eyes off Jon, waiting for something to
happen. Melisandre’s chant becomes more and more feeble, with less and less
conviction, until finally she just gives up. Head hanging, shoulders low, she
turns and leaves the room, as one by one they all leave. And only Jon and Ghost
are left behind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then, Ghost stirs. And, I will admit, I
went, “Oh my god, his spirit went into GHOST!!” but as soon as the words were
out of my mouth I thought wait, no, that would just be weird. Even weirder than
this show usually is. And as the camera closes in on Jon as Ghost begins making
noises, we all know what’s going to happen, and it does. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEb92MyXicBlnbFXmiE-uqYOV-cf6CVdgehuuTgdnErZRYE94blS-lwD9tz6nsWREGnqr7orjNpDyh2HPsedDjVxspSJo_vkiY5Lr5WzyTtiyZDxliVAKzlenCJXh4vLdKAoikVA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.23.27+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEb92MyXicBlnbFXmiE-uqYOV-cf6CVdgehuuTgdnErZRYE94blS-lwD9tz6nsWREGnqr7orjNpDyh2HPsedDjVxspSJo_vkiY5Lr5WzyTtiyZDxliVAKzlenCJXh4vLdKAoikVA/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-03+at+10.23.27+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Didn’t stop me from fist-pumping the air
and going, “YAAAAAAAAASSSS!!” And my joy was so full that I didn’t turn to the
person beside me and say, “YOU were wrong and I was right because I never
wavered in my conviction that he was coming back and HA-ha ha-hahaha.” Oh wait,
no... that’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">totally</i> what I did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Thanks again for reading, and I look forward
to chatting again next week! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-78992398735661811492016-04-26T22:10:00.002-04:002016-04-26T22:16:49.382-04:00Game of Thrones 6.01: The Red Woman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjrFxm42sTJ6bNq-QP7vSvMJ8T9dkithHYHyc-cuO_fjrqkC6Pt-En2YZXhhKvFEhW1ufL5LZS3ALguLzJNSerWBYC5zfsG89JU4M6IuHS0nZMTx3uSa3wDSuvOTZkphC3v36Nw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+9.58.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjrFxm42sTJ6bNq-QP7vSvMJ8T9dkithHYHyc-cuO_fjrqkC6Pt-En2YZXhhKvFEhW1ufL5LZS3ALguLzJNSerWBYC5zfsG89JU4M6IuHS0nZMTx3uSa3wDSuvOTZkphC3v36Nw/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+9.58.52+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b>
Hello and welcome back to yet another season of <i>Game of Thrones</i>!! As with every season previous to season six, I will be recapping each episode with my comrade-in-arms, the lovely and talented Christopher Lockett, who will be posting it <a href="https://cjlockett.com/" target="_blank">over on his blog</a> simultaneously (but with different pictures). Until this season, Christopher has been the guy who knows the books inside and out and has commented on how each episode worked as an adaptation, whereas I just talked about the episodes in and of themselves. Now that we're officially off-book, both of us will be analyzing and discussing the new season in how it fits in the pantheon of what came before, and where we see it going.<br />
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So without further ado, here's Christopher to start us off!<br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Christopher</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Well, we begin precisely where we left off last season, with the
lifeless body of Jon Snow in the courtyard of Castle Black. We’re treated to an
artful overhead shot skimming the edge of the Wall and craning down into the
yard, coming in close on Jon’s lifeless face. Wolves howl in the distance, and
the silent emptiness of the yard is broken by the rattling of a locked door.
And then we see Ghost: locked in a room, in answer to your question, Nikki, in
our last post of season five. Where was Jon’s direwolf as he was stabbed to
death? Safely imprisoned, apparently.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As openings go, this was pretty deftly
done: not least because every single fan of this show ended last season in a
state of either trauma, denial, or rage (or all of the above) at the thought
that Jon Snow was to be added to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of
Thrones</i>’ butcher’s bill. If they’d been cute and started this episode
anywhere else, I have to imagine that rage would have been volcanic. But no …
we close in on Jon, deserted by his assassins who, we will shortly glean, have
scarpered to the mess hall in order to justify their mutiny to their fellows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Leaving poor Jon to be discovered by …
Davos. There, the Onion Knight is joined by Jon’s friends, and together they
carry the body indoors. That it is Davos who first finds him and takes command
in short order is significant. Here is a man who has quite literally lost
everything: his sons killed at the Battle of Blackwater, himself sidelined by
his king to stay at Castle Black, and subsequently left without a king or an
army after Stannis’ calamitous defeat at the hands of the Boltons. Yet here he
is, siding with a small handful of Jon Snow loyalists. I have had many
occasions to praise the casting on this show, and I can think of few actors who
have better inhabited GRRM’s characters than Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth.
He radiates gravitas, and so beautifully and subtly communicates the pathos of
a man whose loyalty and service were undeserved by the object of his devotion,
Stannis Baratheon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All of which is at least a little beside
the question that everyone waiting breathlessly since last year has been
asking: is Jon Snow really dead? Well, yes. Quite dead. But will he remain
dead? Will he become a wight? Had he thrown his consciousness into Ghost? Will
Melissandre resurrect him? This last question will rebound on us when we
discuss this episode’s final moments, but for now we can safely say: Jon Snow
is dead. At least for the entirety of this episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What’s interesting is the possible battle
lines that have been drawn: Dolorous Edd Tollett has been dispatched, presumably,
to recruit the wildlings to the cause of Jon Snow’s friends. Davos makes it
clear that he has no truck with Jon’s assassins. Ghost is seriously pissed. Meanwhile,
Alliser Thorne and his co-conspirators paraphrase Brutus’ post-assassination
speech from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Julius Caesar</i> in the mess
hall, apparently successfully. The stage has been set for some serious shit to
go down at the Wall, with or without a live Jon Snow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of this season’s opening
salvo, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: I loved it (all except that part where Jon Snow didn’t magically
come back to life, of course). But I’m also glad they’ve kept it a secret.
Season 5 ended with the death of Jon Snow; perhaps season 6 will end with him
coming back to life. It would be really interesting if they draw it out, either
to keep our hopes up or to divert our attention elsewhere. The thought of
Tollett returning with a band of wildlings is exciting — as Davos says, “You’re
not the only ones who owe your lives to Jon Snow” — and I wonder if this might
be where Bran could re-enter the picture this season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, over in the Super Happy Fun
Times Castle, Ramsay strokes the face of his dead lover before declaring that
she’s “good meat” that should be fed to the hounds (we all, um, grieve in our
own way, I suppose?) before Roose takes him out into the hallway to chastise
him for the way he handled his ragtag battle. He’s lost Sansa and Theon, and he
says the North will never back them if they don’t have Sansa Stark, and they’ve
lost the heir to the Iron Islands. And then he hints that perhaps the newest
Lady Bolton is carrying a son, which once again reminds Ramsay that he’ll be
once again relegated to bastard status: heir of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Sansa and Reek have been running
from Ramsay Bolton’s castle and forge an icy stream (where Sansa, for some
reason, doesn’t remove the 100-pound cloak from her back and hold it over her
head so they can use it later as a blanket) before finding solace under a
felled tree. I LOVED the scene where we saw another glimmer of Theon, where
Sansa is both so physically and emotionally numb she can’t move, and he
embraces her, rubbing her back to keep her warm, but also to let her know that
her “brother” is back. And when Ramsay’s hunters catch up to them, Theon throws
himself in their path as a sacrifice, trying to save the girl who was raised as
his sister and right all the wrongs he’s done to the Starks. It doesn’t work,
however, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">juuuuuust</i> when you think
oh NO, they have to head back to that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bastard</i>’s
castle... along comes Brienne and Pod. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You know a show is great when you’re
cheering for joy on the couch and it’s less than 15 minutes into the premiere
episode. The fight scene was fantastic, where Brienne holds her own, but not
without some trouble. She’s large, she’s strong, and she’s an excellent
fighter, but these men have horses, and — not to put too fine a point on it —
they’re men. And she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still</i> manages to
better them, with the help of Podrick and Theon, who guts one of them. She
ignores their cries for mercy because she has one goal and one goal only: to
save Lady Stark, whose life she has pledged to keep safe. And when she kneels
before Sansa and once again gives her that pledge — and I was half expecting
her to say, “NOW will you come with me, you jerk?!” — and Sansa accepts it
(with some help from Podrick when she can’t remember the formal language), it’s
a joyous moment. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And to be honest, I couldn’t help but think to myself, I would
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love</i> a Brienne:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“See that woman over there, Brienne? She
told me off at the PTA meeting, and is one of those moms who volunteers for
everything and makes me feel bad that I don't. And her daughter’s a bully who
made my daughter cry last week. Deal with her.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Yes, m’lady!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Sssshhhhhink</span></i><span lang="EN-US">!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">OK, back to reality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">From here we move to King’s Landing and the
Lannisters. What did you think of the reunion of Jamie and Cersei, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">On a purely emotional level, it was my favourite
scene of the episode. I too was fist-pumping as Brienne rode to the rescue, was
aghast at the events in Dorne, loved the buddy comedies unfolding in and
adjacent to Meereen, and was gobsmacked by the episode’s final moments … but in
this reunion I think we got some of the finest acting we’ve seen from Lena
Headey and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau yet—which is saying a lot, as neither of them
have exactly been slouches in the previous five seasons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If there’s something this show does well,
it’s making us sympathize with otherwise hateful characters, and making us
cringe when the supposedly likable characters do hateful things (the obvious
exceptions being the requisite sociopaths like Joffrey and Ramsay, whom we just
loathe unreservedly and with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns). We
know what’s coming—we know as soon as Cersei receives word that her twin has
returned that her joy at the prospect of seeing him and her daughter will turn
to ash. And while she’s a character for whom we would be well justified for
indulging in some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">schadenfreude</i>, the
scene is instead heartbreaking, for reasons Cersei herself identifies. “She was
good,” she weeps. “From her first breath, she was so sweet. I don’t know where
she came from. She was nothing like me. No meanness, no jealousy. Just good … I
thought if I could make something so good, so pure … maybe I’m not a monster.”
Her grief in this moment is wildly different from her grief for Joffrey, which
was almost feral in its rage and fear. We might interpret that as Cersei
valuing her male child over the female, but I think not—it was, I’m inclined to
believe, her unspoken recognition of her son’s monstrosity, seeing herself
reflected in it, and her visceral reaction to being attacked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Her grief for Myrcella is quieter, more
fatalistic, the shock at the death of innocence. It is a moment of rare
self-reflection on Cersei’s part, in which she sees her own machinations and
ruthlessness rebound upon her. Except that we know her well enough to know she
would not be surprised to have the revenge of her numerous enemies visited upon
her: Myrcella’s death at the hands of the Sand Snakes is yet one more innocent lost
in the larger war, and we soon see her erstwhile fiancée similarly dispatched
back in Dorne—dead for the sin of having the wrong parents. It was a moment
that called to mind the murder of all Robert Baratheon’s bastards in season
one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As I’ve mentioned many times in the past
five years, Lena Headey as Cersei was always one of the few bits of casting
that never entirely sat right with me—not because she’s not a good actor, but
because her portrayal is dramatically at odds with how Cersei is described in
the novels, and for that reason she’s had more of an uphill battle in this role
than almost everyone else in the show. But I must say, she has come to own this
role, and in moments like this brings more nuance to the character than GRRM
gives her in the books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And she’s well matched in this scene by
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, whose impassioned “Fuck prophecy! Fuck fate, fuck
everyone who isn’t us!” is one of the more eloquent employments of the f-bomb
I’ve seen since <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deadwood</i> ended. A
point I raised several times last season is the way in which this show depicts
radicalization: the way in which circumstances drive certain characters and
groups of characters to extremes. The rise of the sparrows is the most obvious
example, but we see it also in the scenes in Mereen, where the red priests look
to be getting traction with the disenfranchised ex-slaves. Jaime’s “fuck
everyone who isn’t us!” mirrors such sentiments on a smaller and more intimate
scale, a reactionary clenching in the face of fear and loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Speaking of the sparrows, we segue from
Cersei and Jaime to where Margaery remains imprisoned, subjected to the shaming
of a septa who seems to take a little too much pleasure in her duties. What
think you of the fortunes of House Tyrell, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Oh, Margaery. Just as you said with Cersei, there’s a part of me
that wants to see her suffer for everything she’s done to the people around
her. But then you see her on the ground being badgered by a nun, and...
actually, yeah, I’m still OK with her suffering at this point. When the High
Sparrow enters the room after Sister Ratchet has been ordering her to confess,
Margaery once again tells him that she has nothing to confess. “You believe you
are pure, perfect, wholly without sin?” he says to her. “None of us are,” she
replies, and despite the cringe-worthy grammatical error in that line (move on,
Nikki, MOVE ON) it’s one that sums up every person on this show. Everyone is
seeking revenge on someone else for harms that person has done to them, all the
while harming other people. Margaery was justified in the actions she took
against the House of Lannister, but she’s been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so</i> awful and bitchy that I just couldn’t stand her anymore.
Meanwhile, Cersei and Jaime in the previous scene are lamenting what’s been
done to them by everyone, and yet Cersei is the one who brought the High
Sparrow to King’s Landing in the first place, and she’s also the one who had
Oberyn killed, which led to the murder of her daughter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And the Sand Snakes aren’t stopping there.
Now that they’ve gotten to Cersei through her daughter, they turn their sights
to the House Martell. Prince Oberyn’s brother Doran, the ruler of Dorne, is a
quiet, pensive leader who is a lot calmer and more calculating than his younger
brother, whose head was smooshed like a cantaloupe when he got too cocky in the
midst of battling the Mountain. When Ellaria Sand raced to Dorne to tell Doran
what had happened to her lover, Doran did not rush to exact revenge on the
House of Lannister — he knew doing so would simply start a war that he wanted
to avoid. And so he said no, let’s wait, come up with a plan, and find a way to
fix all of this. The problem is, this isn’t the first time the Lannisters —
and, specifically, the Mountain — had torn their family apart. Remember that
before the events of the series, Rhaegar Targaryen — Daenerys’s beloved
older brother — had been married to Elia Dorne, and when Robert Baratheon’s
army moved on Rhaegar, with Baratheon himself killing the Targaryen, Tywin
Lannister then moved his army into Rhaegar’s castle, and the Mountain not only
killed Elia’s older child, followed by her infant son, before her very eyes,
but then raped her violently before killing her, too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The effect this would have had on Oberyn
was immense, as he was very close to his sister, and Ellaria vowed revenge on
that day, but Prince Doran refused to move against the Lannisters. Now that
they’ve killed both his brother and his sister and he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still</i> refuses to move, Ellaria can no longer wait for something to
happen. “Your son is weak, just like you, and weak men will never rule Dorne
again.” And as Doran lies on the ground, gasping for breath after Ellaria has
stabbed him through the lung, his last thought is that his son is next. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And he is. In one of the gorier moments on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> — and one most viewers
probably saw coming, since A) no one turns their back on Obara and gets away
with it, and B) Obara would like nothing more than to take a satisfying kill
away from Nymeria — Obara pushes her spear diagonally through Trystane’s back
and up through his face. Thus endeth the House of Martell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And from there we move to Meereen, where
Tyrion and Varys return (and there was much rejoicing... yaay...) and Varys
stops Tyrion from a potentially embarrassing baby-eating incident. What did you
think of the return of our favourite twosome, and the rumblings of rebellion in
Meereen? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I would be happy with a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> spin-off that was just Tyrion and Varys on a road
trip. To say that these two actors have amazing chemistry might suggest that
they don’t have great chemistry with everyone else in the cast, which they do;
but there’s a particularly good match between these characters that the series
has exploited to much greater effect than the novels. They are both
marginalized figures who more than compensate for their outsider status with
their shrewd intellects; and both work for a greater good in spite of the fact
that they receive no gratitude for it. I’m reminded of the moment in season two’s
final episode, after the Battle of the Blackwater, when Varys sits beside the
gravely wounded Tyrion’s bed and informs him that he cannot expect any
commendations for his valiant defense of the city. “There are many who know
that, without you, the city would have faced certain defeat,” Varys says sadly.
“The king won’t give you any honours, the histories won’t mention you … but we
will not forget.” That “we” is vague, but suggestive, hinting at a silent
majority—the people themselves, the forgotten, who are so often crushed by the
great wheel Daenerys spoke about last season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuPuj5HDMm-RCa5NYKU4VOhbbHT1s5QgljwT4YaRp-HqEr9rnQozz0FaTvrz4XokkhBMYhaxwY4m3kZp6rj4Ihj4jpOiL6RT4H4S6UDx6GzWDyKcLIy_DB3Ei9nx0y7XV5KKC9w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+10.01.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuPuj5HDMm-RCa5NYKU4VOhbbHT1s5QgljwT4YaRp-HqEr9rnQozz0FaTvrz4XokkhBMYhaxwY4m3kZp6rj4Ihj4jpOiL6RT4H4S6UDx6GzWDyKcLIy_DB3Ei9nx0y7XV5KKC9w/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+10.01.57+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This little scene is one of the subtler
bits of writing we’ve seen: one of the things this show is good at is depicting
the monumental difficulty of ruling in a just and equitable manner. Nothing is
easy, and this in a genre that has so frequently figured the difference between
bloody war and utopian peace as merely a matter of sitting the right arse on
the throne: whether it’s Aragorn’s coronation at the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord of the Rings</i>, the Pevensie children
ascending to Cair Paravel in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lion,
the Witch, and the Wardrobe</i>, or young Arthur pulling the sword from the
stone, ruling is a matter of destiny rather than statesmanship and diplomacy. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> dispenses with this
trope almost entirely. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Almost</span></i><span lang="EN-US">—there is still the vague sense of destiny floating in the air,
especially in terms of Daenerys’ ostensibly inevitable return to Westeros, but
the sojourn in Meereen has proved such a catastrophe so far that the mere <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rightness</i> (or what seems like rightness)
of Daenerys’ motives falls far short of what is needed to actually run a
kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tyrion’s first line in this scene—“We’re
never going to fix what’s wrong with this city from the top of an eight hundred
foot pyramid”—sums this point up rather pithily. Daenerys arrived in Meereen
with noble intentions, but ruled in a literally top-down fashion that ignored
nuance. Tyrion brings Varys down to ground level, but his drab merchant’s garb
can’t efface his privileged background: “You walk like a rich person,” Varys
says, skeptical. “You walk as though the paving stones were your personal
property.” Tyrion may have excommunicated himself from his family and fortune
and been subjected last season to a host of indignities, but he is still a
Lannister. The bit of comic business in which Tyrion inadvertently offers to
eat the destitute woman’s baby is emblematic of the serial miscommunications
that marred Daenerys’ reign, and as he and Varys continue through the city,
there is a palpable sense of imminent danger. The red priest urges the people
to take things in their own hands rather than wait for the queen’s return;
graffiti highlights Daenerys’ own conflicted status, and the disillusionment of
the people she sought to save; and as Tyrion and Varys enter what appears to be
a deserted part of the city, the apparent absence of people is belied by their
unseen watcher lurking in the shadows. The sense of a city holding its breath
is broken by tolling bells and the screams and cries of people in flight, and
we see what appears to be the Sons of the Harpy’s next attack: the burning of
the fleet in the harbor. “We won’t be sailing to Westeros anytime soon,” Tyrion
grimly observes. Given that Daenerys’ absence and the city’s chaos mean that
her return to the Seven Kingdoms was a ways off in the future, the burning of
the ships is more significant for the fact that it obviates the possibility for
escape. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which brings us to a somewhat more awkward
buddy narrative as Jorah and Daario find the site of Daenerys’ capture, and
Jorah finds the ring she left behind. Of course, we also get a requisite glance
at Jorah’s forearm to remind us of his creeping greyscale, whose progress says <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tempus fugit</i>—his days are numbered, and
the time he has to find Dany is limited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Speaking of the erstwhile Mother of
Dragons, she is back in the familiar context of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">khalasar</i>, except this time as a captive and slave. What did you
think of Daenerys’ scenes in this episode, Nikki?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Agreed on that scene being one to rush over. I like Daario, but I
like him more when he’s in Clone Club. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The scenes with Daenerys were fantastic.
First, as she’s being pulled along in the dust and desert while the two riders
speak Dothraki in front of her, assuming she can’t understand a word (all the
while with her face showing the “as soon as I get the upper hand again, you two
asshats will be the first to be flame-broiled by my dragon” look), and then
when we get to the tent where Khal Moro unwittingly enters a Spanish
Inquisition sketch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Moro: The absolute BEST thing in life is
seeing a naked woman for the first time. Seeing a naked woman and killing
another Khal okay the TWO best things in life are seeing a naked woman for the
first time... and killing another Khal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Moron #1: And conquering a city and taking
people as slaves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Moron #2: And removing the idols back to
Vaes Dothrak...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Moro: OK THE FOUR, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FOUR</i> best things in life are seeing a naked woman for the first
time, killing another Khal, conquering a city and taking the people as slaves,
AND taking her idols back to Vaes Dothrak. And breaking a wild horse and
forcing it to submit to your will OK AMONG THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE... is seeing
a naked woman for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Actor Joe Naufahu is brilliant in this
scene, simply by tilting his head and looking off into the distance while his
yahoos try to outwit him and prevent him from making a very brief and
terrifying point to his prisoner, and it’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hilarious</i>.
And completely unexpected in the midst of a Dothraki scene. Meanwhile Daenerys
has this “are... you... kidding... me...” look on her face the entire time that
makes the scene even better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrv7tcBix7PbG31hOjOku3_2-BZ1anIziIKE_mKL0M2-cLFNVUEBOOrEZFDRQXANBoogAFEIIjSBqGVUJzHCMK4j1SkmGVWlBJ6ff5t25XQeRQeqGI7boJvfv7Zx85k5W7dtD9A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+3.26.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrv7tcBix7PbG31hOjOku3_2-BZ1anIziIKE_mKL0M2-cLFNVUEBOOrEZFDRQXANBoogAFEIIjSBqGVUJzHCMK4j1SkmGVWlBJ6ff5t25XQeRQeqGI7boJvfv7Zx85k5W7dtD9A/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+3.26.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But on a more serious note, throughout this
scene we can’t help but move back in our memories to a very similar scene in
season one, when she was first trotted out to Khal Drogo, who similarly looked
at her like another possession, was taunted by his fellow riders and women
sitting nearby, and was terrified. Her brother Viserys had put her up to it
back then, but this is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i>
different Daenerys who is facing them this time. This one is a queen, a mother
of dragons, a woman who not only conquered Viserys, but made Khal Drogo worship
her, who has loved and lost and risen above everything, who commands armies and
who has a very serious shot at taking back the throne of Westeros. This isn’t
the young girl from season one (only 13 years old in the books when it
happens). This is a powerful woman. And it’s no surprise when he suddenly steps
back, cuts her bonds, asks her forgiveness, and acquiesces to the power of
Daenerys... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">...except that’s not exactly what happens.
Instead of being let go, she’s told that as a widow, she will be forced to live
out her days in the Temple of Dosh Khaleen, a place where widowed khaleesis go
to live out the rest of their days. (And... apparently as he was dying a
horrible, painful death, Khal Drogo didn’t think to mention this to his wife?
Yeesh. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Men</i>.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Things are about to get interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, as the show continues in its
quite anti–Happily Ever After vein, Arya is now blind and begging for coins on
the streets when she’s met with her old roomie from the House of Black and
White, who beats the utter living snot out of her with a staff in what appears
to be the beginning of a truly violent series of lessons that will teach Arya
to see in a very different way (think blindfolded Luke in lightsaber training
as he tried to block the shots coming from the Marksman-H... only imagine it if
Luke missed every shot and came away half-dead). Just as Daenerys’s scene
reminded us of how far she’s come since season one, this scene reminds us of a
young Arya as she had her “dancing” lessons with Syrio Forel... all these years
later, the training is far more vicious, and Arya is no longer the little girl
she was back then. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What did you think of the “training” scene
with Arya, Chris? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Christopher:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I think one of the best lines of this episode was
when Daario says he hopes to live a long life, because he wants to see what the
world looks like when Daenerys is done conquering it. That’s a sentiment that
resonates on a host of levels with this series, both the macro and the micro.
What <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will</i> Westeros look like after it
gets the Daenerys treatment? But on the micro level, what will survival of
these tempestuous, indeed catastrophic times mean for all of these characters? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s a question I find myself asking at
each stage in Arya’s evolution—from tomboy daughter of a noble house, to a
fugitive cutpurse, to a girl suddenly faced with the fact of her family’s
destruction, to an assassin-in-training required to surrender her sense of self
in the name of becoming Faceless. What is being required of her in the House of
Black and White is nothing less than the dissolution of her selfhood, to truly
become “no one” in order that she can assume myriad identities. That loss of
self is chilling enough a prospect to consider in the abstract, but even more
so when it is a character so compelling and complex as Arya. I don’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">want</i> her to become no one! I always want
her to be Arya Stark in all of her stubborn idiosyncrasies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And it is difficult to watch her broken
down and humiliated in this way. On one hand, it is reminiscent of every kung
fu movie ever made in which an apprentice suffers at the hands of a master, and
perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that entry into the most elite society of
assassins is slightly more brutal than becoming a Navy SEAL. On the other hand,
a man wonders what will be left of Arya when all is said and done (assuming she
survives). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VZYVpGlJth0pD_f-OvrSpX6uje9EQCgbXqwesh4qj-ADS8s965_bw27yoy9m2HoL0X9YYNgMYjtYTt4wMLaJM8JFvJ7Gh0FPycalmlmrrkuJlYDidsQESQDt1Ktm6GsK1VHD-g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+10.03.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VZYVpGlJth0pD_f-OvrSpX6uje9EQCgbXqwesh4qj-ADS8s965_bw27yoy9m2HoL0X9YYNgMYjtYTt4wMLaJM8JFvJ7Gh0FPycalmlmrrkuJlYDidsQESQDt1Ktm6GsK1VHD-g/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+10.03.31+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One way or another, the writers aren’t
really giving us any room to sympathize with “the waif” (which is apparently
what we’re calling that tween girl version of R. Lee Ermey). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But speaking of loathsome characters, we
haven’t yet talked at any length about Ser Alliser Thorne doing his very best
Brutus-addressing-the-mob impersonation back at the Wall. A quick note of
correction: you suggested that perhaps Edd Tollett’s mission to go bring the
wildlings back might bring Bran back into the picture, but the point is that
the wildlings are now <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">south</i> of the
Wall—that was the mutineers’ main quarrel with Jon, that he let the Night
Watch’s traditional enemy through to settle the lands that they had always
raped and pillaged in the past. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“He forced a choice on us, and we made it,”
thunders Thorne, at once acknowledging that he broke his oath in killing Jon,
and justifying that act as Jon’s own fault. Here as elsewhere in this world,
there is a tension between tradition and revolution, between the way things
have been and what they have to be. Jon Snow recognized that the enmity between
the Watch and the wildlings was small beer compared to the imminent war between
the living and the dead, but Thorne and his ilk are too stuck in old hatreds to
remember that the Wall was not built to keep wildlings out, but to defend
against a far more profound threat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioY39QC1vKkInP3hYJeud7EQChFAyRECum4qpRPTOGbCH_UHTIxXvZbyRshxu5Xuak8om4wcFoYUNIZJQ1z8VfL81noNyXLXa1pDboegBABKy-XDQf-sKck2HDM6L7IYTRGEfY5g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+10.09.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioY39QC1vKkInP3hYJeud7EQChFAyRECum4qpRPTOGbCH_UHTIxXvZbyRshxu5Xuak8om4wcFoYUNIZJQ1z8VfL81noNyXLXa1pDboegBABKy-XDQf-sKck2HDM6L7IYTRGEfY5g/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+10.09.22+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Perhaps unsurprisingly, it takes an
outsider to recognize as much. Davos sees what Jon Snow saw, and what Alliser
Thorne cannot. But the battle lines have been drawn, with Davos and his fellow
loyalists given an ultimatum that they all recognize as false: “In my learned
opinion, if we open that door,” Davos begins, and one of Jon’s friends
finishes, “And they’ll slaughter us all.” Their only hope is with the
wildlings—or is it? “There’s always the red woman,” Davos counters, and is met
with skepticism. But, “You haven’t see her do what I’ve seen her do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Cut to a despondent Melissandre in her
chamber: all the bets she’s staked seemed to have failed. Stannis is dead; Jon,
whom she saw in the flames “fighting at Winterfell,” is dead. She stands before
her stained mirror and—surprise!—opens her dress. My friend with whom I watched
this episode snarked with mock surprise that it had taken them a whole fifty
minutes to get to their first boob flash of the season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But then … well, I’ll leave it to you,
Nikki, to play us out with this episode’s closing shocker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nikki</span></b><span lang="EN-US">: Ha!! Sounds like your friends and I were on exactly the same page.
As Melisandre stood looking at her mirror, completely bereft, I said out loud,
“Undo the dress, Melisandre... there’s no way HBO would have greenlit this
episode without at least <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one</i> boob.”
And she complied. To which I said to my husband, “Man, no matter how many
seasons this show is on, that woman’s breasts are spectacular and perky.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then she removed her necklace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And I immediately said, “Ohmygod I take
that back.” Because, turns out, Melisandre is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">old</i>. Like, beyond elderly... we’re talking fairy tale witch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">old</i>. That gorgeous ubiquitous ruby
necklace has actually had a purpose in keeping Melisandre looking young, but in
fact, she looks like she could be quite ancient, give or take a century or two.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjce7Qm6CXXgsgQMobFvgXdoJ6vxjvO_ZnPskJO7Gy92sXKUYR6cTx_nwTPvse5f3ww1oFUUC9sZpLEgsc_GPSSHaGMH9lq9kukleP0ej-B0AWduF0MJ5xdD_4e9A36_KfySJDMlg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+10.03.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjce7Qm6CXXgsgQMobFvgXdoJ6vxjvO_ZnPskJO7Gy92sXKUYR6cTx_nwTPvse5f3ww1oFUUC9sZpLEgsc_GPSSHaGMH9lq9kukleP0ej-B0AWduF0MJ5xdD_4e9A36_KfySJDMlg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-04-26+at+10.03.53+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And of course the mind begins to run back
to her seduction of Stannis and Jon Snow, of the fact that her way of speaking
is always slow and measured, wise and mature. She speaks like someone who not
only believes in the Lord of Light, but knew the guy personally at one time. And
now that we see her remove the necklace to go to bed, I wonder if she has to do
this every night? What magic beyond the necklace creates the illusion that
Melisandre is indeed a young, beautiful woman? Does it take an enormous amount
of strength? Where did she get the necklace? Who created it for her? How many
years has she been doing this, and why? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Regardless, this episode left me with only
one really major thought: please tell me there’s some sort of WesterEtsy shop
where I can buy one for myself... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Thanks for reading, everyone, and please
join us again next week! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-77765685771051692222016-01-17T15:41:00.000-05:002016-01-17T16:04:15.324-05:00We Could Be Heroes: Losing David Bowie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlXPF9_1jQ6dBmZWcb5qEnU1MhRfaWEJJYyW8dJn-lR_J0rBSZO5S7A1yFBUI3xnTsE3spz8pt3fGHKNCiBZ8bQ-I7U_poUBOmrhpJ5QzAEM_ymBi_xCHuzVyAaVeA6MIBWMGvA/s1600/david-bowie-2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlXPF9_1jQ6dBmZWcb5qEnU1MhRfaWEJJYyW8dJn-lR_J0rBSZO5S7A1yFBUI3xnTsE3spz8pt3fGHKNCiBZ8bQ-I7U_poUBOmrhpJ5QzAEM_ymBi_xCHuzVyAaVeA6MIBWMGvA/s400/david-bowie-2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This past Monday, I woke up and glanced at
my phone on my nightstand. I’m not one of those people who typically reads my
phone when waking up in the morning, but for some reason I pushed the button
just to see if there had been any messages in the night. Inexplicably, I’d
forgotten to set the alarm the night before, so where I usually woke up to the
CBC — and would therefore have awoken to the sombre news I was about to receive
— I instead discovered it through a text. A friend of mine who lives in the UK,
and who would have been grieving through this news for the past five hours, had
sent me a text just saying, you’ll be hearing some devastating news this
morning, and I know it’ll upset you the same way it upset me. I’m so sorry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I didn’t even have to turn on my phone. I
knew David Bowie had died. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But I did anyway. I rushed to Facebook and
saw friends posting their shock and agony, and I said to my husband, who was
just waking up and turning on his phone (and who is the biggest Bowie fan I know), “Oh my god David
Bowie died.” He snorted, and said, “No, you’re reading a hoax,” and continued
nonchalantly looking at something on his phone. I suddenly started crying, “No,
it’s true. He died.” He went silent as he, too, clicked on Facebook and looked.
And saw. I got up and went into the shower, where I started crying in shock.
How was it possible? His album had only come out a couple of days earlier. I
was just posting happy birthday messages to him on my Facebook wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">How was it possible I was now living in a
world that didn’t have David Bowie in it? I’d never lived in that world. I
didn’t want to do so now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’ve seen some people posting about
grief-shamers on the internet, people saying it’s ridiculous to mourn for
someone you never actually met. I’m thankful to say that not one person in my
Facebook or Twitter newsfeeds said anything of the sort. I’m assuming I merely
surrounded myself with the right people, because we were all similarly mired in
grief. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Why do we mourn for someone we’ve never
met? <a href="http://nikkistafford.blogspot.ca/2014/08/robin-williams-so-much-pain-brought-so.html" target="_blank">I pondered this question 18 months ago when Robin Williams died</a>. And the
only reason I can come up with is, we may not have known them, but we felt like
we did. They managed to speak to us, and, in some ways, allowed us to see
ourselves in new ways. That was certainly the case with David Bowie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I can’t claim to be able to sing every
lyric to every song, or to even be able to name without fail what album each
song was on. I leave that to my husband, who has been a fan since he was 13,
and who got me hooked on his music when we began dating five years later. I
still remember him asking me if I liked David Bowie, and I said, “Like...
Modern Love and Let’s Dance?” He smiled, and knew he had a lot of work ahead of
him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But David Bowie meant a lot to me, and the
last time I saw him will stay with me always.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUB-bC83inLhLL9crGEQdQfmFdTs5-X04rXmemSC0_4vDmUmzLeIs8HiTnuvrNFQlz_H8s89qN2oT5VfW5HEe9WJAyv2578rABAO5_F4a3rpr_WdL9DkHwdl1a-9J-InhEeZSIVQ/s1600/tin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUB-bC83inLhLL9crGEQdQfmFdTs5-X04rXmemSC0_4vDmUmzLeIs8HiTnuvrNFQlz_H8s89qN2oT5VfW5HEe9WJAyv2578rABAO5_F4a3rpr_WdL9DkHwdl1a-9J-InhEeZSIVQ/s320/tin1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I saw him for the first time when he came
to Toronto with Tin Machine in December 1991. My husband had already seen him
once on the Glass Spider tour in 1987, and twice on the Sound + Vision tour in
1990. But this was my first time. It was at the Concert Hall, the old Masonic
Temple that was my home away from home in the ’90s, where I’d just seen the
Pixies two days before and was about to come back two days later to see someone
else (I can’t remember who). My husband, then-boyfriend, had given me my first
ring a year earlier, and right before the show, I realized it wasn’t on my
hand. So throughout the show I was fretting about it, and determined to look
under every car seat and scour the car later. I looked for that ring for
months. It was only later I realized it must have fallen off in the car, and
when I’d opened the car door it probably fell out into the snow just outside
the Concert Hall. (I still have dreams of finding that little ring, with the
black pearl, the white pearl, and the two tiny diamonds.) I remember the rush
of Bowie walking on stage and being in the same room as him for the first time.
That suit, the rock and rollness of it all. I was in heaven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The next time I saw him was September 1995,
when he came back to Toronto for the Outside tour. That album is so underrated,
and I still think it’s one of his very best. Problem was, the album wasn’t
released until the week <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after</i> the
show, and it’s a highly conceptual work, so while Bowie’s stumbling around
onstage in a hospital gown and clawing at the air, the audience mostly reacted
with a “what the HELL is he doing” kind of response. I wish I could have seen
him again after that to have truly appreciated what was going on, but I
listened to the album endlessly and loved every second of it.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The coolest thing about that show was that
the opening act was Nine Inch Nails. They were amazing, and near the end of their set the drummer
got up and walked off and was replaced by another.
Then the guitar player switched on the next song. Then the bass player. And
finally, Bowie walked on and we realized this was his backing band, and there
would be no break between opener and the main show. Reznor stayed on stage for
a couple of songs — they sang Nine Inch Nails material before moving to Bowie — and it was fantastic, and then the performance art began. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Two years later, in September 1997, he came
back to Toronto and played the Warehouse, of all places (this is a smallish
club, the sort of place you’d see My Bloody Valentine, not David freakin’
Bowie), and the show was incredible. Gail Ann Dorsey had joined the band at
that point on bass, and she did this version of Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman”
that I can still picture. David stood off to the side, beaming at his new
discovery as she wowed the audience. You can listen to the actual recording from
the Warehouse here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DNYLDCDE8pU" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then it was a long wait, until August
2002, when we could see Bowie again, this time touring as part of the Meltdown
Festival with Busta Rhymes and Moby. Shockingly (to us), Bowie and Moby would
trade places as the headliner each evening. The night we saw him, at the Molson
Amphitheatre in Toronto, Moby was the headliner so Bowie got to go first. We
got to see Bowie just as the sun was setting, shining spectacularly on him like
a celestial spotlight, as he walked onto the stage with a royal blue tie just
hanging around his neck, looking dapper and gorgeous. He grabbed the mike and
sang, “It’s a godawful small affair,” and my husband, who is normally quite
reserved, actually swooned. He hadn’t heard “Life on Mars” live in years, and
he never thought he’d hear it live again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And then Bowie toured for Reality. At this
point we were wondering if it might be near the end of his touring career, and
now we had a bit more money, so we decided we’d see him as often as we could
(though we’re still kicking ourselves that we didn’t see him even more...) But
it was this tour where my adoration for Bowie became far more personal. It’s
because of the events of this tour that I’ve been so grief-stricken all week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">December
13, 2003: Montreal Bell Centre</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’d been trying to get pregnant for months,
and month after month was met with the sad reality that it just wasn’t
happening. But there was something about the past month and how I’d been
feeling. I was convinced that THIS was it. Maybe I was finally pregnant. The
show was fantastic: during this tour (also with the lovely Gail Ann Dorsey),
Bowie not only performed a bunch of songs from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reality</i>, but went back into the catalogue and sang hits from all of
his previous decades as a recording artist. In each set he’d dig deep and pull
out a number that he wouldn’t do in any other show, so there was always that
excitement, wondering what it would be this time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Then he sang “Heroes.” Partway through the
song I suddenly felt this sharp pain in my abdomen. It was brutal, but lasted
only about a minute and then faded. That night we floated back to the hotel
room, thrilled at how amazing the show had been and excited about the three
shows we still had yet to see. In the middle of the night, I awoke to horrible
cramps. I literally fell out of the bed and crawled to the bathroom. I’d never
felt anything like it, although I was pretty sure it meant one thing: I wasn’t
pregnant. I sat on the floor of the hotel bathroom and cried. I took some
Tylenol and waited for it to have an effect, and eventually wandered back into
the room and went to sleep, the tears on my pillow sapping the joy from earlier
that evening. As we drove back to Toronto the next day, we stopped at a
friend’s house, and they revealed that, surprise! They were pregnant and
expecting in about five months. I tried to look excited, but inside I was
dying. I was never going to be pregnant. I was going to have to smile through
the announcements of the pregnancies of all of my friends, and it was never
going to happen for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Turns out, a very small percentage of the
female population can actually feel the sensation of the fertilized egg
implanting itself into the uterine wall. For most, it happens and the reality
of pregnancy is a surprise a few weeks later. But, unfortunately for me, I felt
it. That horrible stabbing pain in my abdomen that I’d felt during “Heroes”? It
was the very moment that my body became pregnant. And I’d felt it while Bowie
sang in the background. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbQFD7jWPXW6MPUKLD-FMyv8bhU69PCFul0ttvO9Q7OrNcRptg8rqpAMiMbVFITzM5xkCWo3lDa_yDzInx0sb6_sFfA9YtqQW6mqx87Npl5FqYLEJBLpqIUYrfbCmTytwaPmQwQ/s1600/bowe1_TDMS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbQFD7jWPXW6MPUKLD-FMyv8bhU69PCFul0ttvO9Q7OrNcRptg8rqpAMiMbVFITzM5xkCWo3lDa_yDzInx0sb6_sFfA9YtqQW6mqx87Npl5FqYLEJBLpqIUYrfbCmTytwaPmQwQ/s400/bowe1_TDMS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">April
1, 2004: Toronto Air Canada Centre</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The show was glorious. The Polyphonic Spree
were opening, all in their white choir gowns as if welcoming us to a church.
And in a way, for many of the people sitting there, that’s exactly where we
were. I had been doing that terrible thing that all first-time pregnant women
do: reading every book I can get my hands on so I can work myself into a
panicked frenzy about why this or that didn’t happen in Week Whatever.
Apparently I was supposed to have felt her by now, but I hadn’t. I had somehow
felt the egg implant itself but I couldn’t feel her??<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then... “Heroes.” The opening chords
started, and that long guitar wail, and the whole place was up and dancing. We
were all singing along, and then I felt it. Just the tiniest flutter, in the
bottom left of my abdomen, like a butterfly beating its wings in there. There
she was. She’d made her very existence known the last time I’d seen Bowie sing
this song, and now here she was, letting me know she was growing, and saying hi
for the first time. I will never forget that feeling, and exactly how he was
standing and how the spotlight was glowing on him in that moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">May
14, 2004: London, Ontario, John Labatt Centre</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">David Bowie was actually playing my
hometown. This was beyond exciting. We made the drive back to London from
Toronto to see him and the show was as amazing as it had been every other time.
I’d like to say that I had some transcendent experience during “Heroes” for
this show, but in fact, by this point the kid was doing jumping jacks in there
constantly, and she went for an aerobics routine that lasted through about five
or six songs (now, to be fair, part of that could have been because Mom was
also dancing up a storm while watching the show). But during “Heroes,” she let
loose one helluva wallop that actually doubled me over. Laughing, mind you (at
this point it was an inside joke between me and my husband that “Heroes” had a
weird effect on our unborn child, so he thought this was particularly
hilarious), but man. Could that girl kick. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">May
25, 2004: Buffalo Shea’s Performing Arts Centre</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This was not a happy day for me. Late
morning it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t felt my baby move at all that day.
She was usually quite an active child (see above) but on this day, nothing.
Now, I should mention that if there were photos in thesauruses, you’d see one
of me next to the antonym of “hypochondria.” My mother is a hypochondriac,
constantly thinking she’s dying of one disease or another. Consequently, I
actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could</i> be dying and would
think, “Ah, it’ll pass.” So I was putting off calling anyone, hoping that any
minute now, she’d announce that she was okay. But it wasn’t happening.
Mid-afternoon, I couldn’t wait any longer, and I called my doctor. She told me
not to worry, that this was a common concern among first-time moms, and drink
some orange juice or eat something spicy and that might kick-start her into
doing something, but honestly, sometimes babies just sleep for a couple of days.
I hung up the phone, drank about a litre of orange juice, and then we had to
hit the road to drive to Buffalo. The whole way there, I worried about not
feeling her. “It’ll be fine,” my husband kept saying, and I wondered if maybe
we shouldn’t go to the show: should we go to an ER instead? He asked if I
wanted to, and I thought about it and said no. The doctor said it’s a normal
thing that a couple of days of quiet might go by without anything. We arrived
at the show and despite my concerns, I will admit I was crazy excited about this
one. We had the best Bowie tickets we’d ever had: second row centre. The stage
was rather low, and as soon as he came out, everyone climbed up onto their
seats and stood on them, as if to attempt to be face-to-face with the man
himself. He came striding out on stage in that beautifully tattered black coat
of his, grinning from ear to ear. I could see the differently sized pupils, we
were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that close</i>. He sang a few songs
and while I was enjoying the show immensely, I kept thinking, “Come on, baby...
wake up. Bowie’s here.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then... “Heroes.” The whole place went
up into a screaming frenzy, and Bowie sang the first verse in his quiet way,
everyone else singing along. And then he went into the second verse. “I... I
could be king!” he shouted. “And you...” and he looked me in the eye, and then
pointed RIGHT AT ME. “...you could be queen!” And just then... whoomph!! David
Bowie had just looked right at me, and my baby walloped me so hard I was
gasping. I was grinning ear to ear, my arms up above my head, dancing with
abandon as the tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I’m sure other people
thought I was having one of those religious experiences one has when faced with
one’s idol pointing right at them (as I said to a friend a couple of days ago,
I’m sure the woman sitting right behind me said he was pointing at her, but she
would be wrong), but I wasn’t. My baby was okay, and the world was wonderful
again, and I was dancing along to my favourite performer and I couldn’t have
been happier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It was the last time I ever saw him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Three months later, my baby girl was born,
beautiful and perfect. We had said all along that we were going to bring a CD
player and that my husband would turn on “Heroes” at the very moment she
emerged, but in the frenzy of labour pains and just getting to the hospital, we
completely forgot. It didn’t matter. The first time I held her, I knew already
that she was going to be my hero. Eleven years later, she has the voice of an
angel and has actually sang before thousands at the very venue where we saw
Bowie in London. She loves his music and sings it all the time around the
house, and the day he died she knew that her parents were devastated, and she
spoke in quiet tones all day long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I don’t believe that David Bowie is some
sort of Christ figure who made my baby move or imbued her with some special
singing powers or anything like that. But to me, key moments in my pregnancy
are inextricably tied to the last time I saw him tour. Just last weekend, on
January 10, before David told his family he was feeling fatigued and went to
bed, never to wake up again, my husband and I were tidying up the kitchen as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blackstar</i> was playing in the background,
and we were discussing how much we’d spend to see Bowie one last time, and we
agreed that we’d fly to any place in the world, and, within reason, would pay
whatever it took to see him. If it was easily done, we’d take the kids so they
could finally see this man who had shaped so much of our life together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But now, the cost of those tickets would be
too steep, and the show will be too far away for us to attend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I loved seeing my Facebook feed inundated
with Bowie memories and grief on Monday. It was a terrible day, where I kept
finding myself crying when I’d least expect it, where everyone was trying to
figure out what had happened, where I got nothing done. The next day, sitting
at my desk listening to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blackstar</i>, he
sang, “Where the fuck did Monday go?” and I thought wow... not only was his
final video a hint that he was dying, but he even predicted how I’d feel the
day after I first had to grapple with the fact that he had died. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On Tuesday night, my husband emerged from
his music room in the basement and said he needed my help. I went downstairs
and he’d recorded himself doing a stripped-down version of Bowie’s “Blue Jean.”
But he said something was missing, and he needed my help. We’ve been together
for 26 years, and both of us are musical, but we never collaborate (we’re both
headstrong and probably would fight the entire time). He's asked on occasion, and I say no, and I've suggested it on occasion, and he says no. So I will admit to being
surprised, but where I would have usually said no, that maybe he should get our
daughter to do it instead, I just acquiesced. I knew this had been a tough
couple of days for him, so I figured I’d just do this and he’d either cut it
out of the song or, who knows, it might work. And we were both surprised by the
final effect. He looked at me after he played the finished version back (<a href="https://soundcloud.com/black-heart-machine/blue-jean-1" target="_blank">whichyou can listen to here</a>) and said, “Wow. Maybe we should work together more
often.” I’m not sure that ever would have happened if it hadn’t been for the
circumstance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A single individual came into this world
and changed so much of it while he was here. And when he left, millions of
people feel like there’s a giant hole in the world that will never be filled. But
the world is such a different place because Bowie was in it, and after that
grief is gone, it’ll be thrilling to see what people do with what they learned
from him. The entire musical soundscape has changed as one band after another
has been influenced by Bowie for decades, and I think twice as many people
realize that now than they did a week ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For the first time, I’m living in a world
that doesn’t have David Bowie in it. But it will always have his music in it, and
for that, I’m grateful.</span> </div>
<br />Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.com11