I know this review is over a week late. Exams and whatnot
have been wreaking havoc with my schedule of late.
This week on Game of
Thrones, Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) crosses yet more lines of
depravity by murdering his way to becoming Lord of Winterfell. I've
noticed an odd change in Ramsay since last year. He doesn't seem to
enjoy killing as much as he usually does, showing what could almost
be regret as he watches his father Roose (Michael McElhatton) die
before him. I wonder if the death of Myranda has shaken his
confidence somehow, as he realises that his pet Reek isn't as
helpless as Ramsay thought he was.
I'd say Ramsay is
starting to realise that he's pushing his luck more and more. He's
marked himself out as a kinslayer, and by killing Lady Walda, he's
eliminated one of the Boltons' allies in the Riverlands – who also
happen to be one of the most prolific families in the realm. This is
Ramsay's fourth season of murder and butchery, and by law of averages
I'd say this will be his final one. Joffrey didn't last much longer
than three seasons; perhaps the producers are thinking of getting rid
of Ramsay to replace him with yet another psychopath (Euron
Crow's-Eye just happens to debut in the same episode). These murders
could well prove the beginning of the end for Ramsay, something I'm
sure we can all agree can't come too soon.
Perhaps his murders are
also meant to parallel Ellaria and the Sand Snake's betrayal of Doran
last week. From Dorne to the Wall, all the more cautious,
level-headed players are being removed from the equation, leaving the
way open for their reckless replacements. Across the realm, we're
seeing the game of thrones devolve into a rage-fuelled stab-a-thon,
which of course leaves Westeros even more vulnerable to the Others .
. .
This episode also sees
the return of the Ironborn, which I was glad to see. They may be a
pack of salty, grim-faced bastards, but it's nice to see the show
hasn't entirely forgotten its old subplots. Having Yara Greyjoy
(Gemma Whelan) and her men utterly fail to save Theon would have been
a pretty ignominious note to end on, and I can't wait to see how the
power struggle between Yara and her uncle Euron (Pilou Asbæk)
ties into the wider struggle for the realm.
That said, I thought the
pacing for this segment was a bit off. It zips from Balon (Patrick
Malahide) gloating about surviving the War, to him being
assassinated, then to his funeral, and the promise of a
Kingsmoot. This all happens within the space of ten minutes, almost
as if the show's trying to make up for two years of neglect by
speeding through the Ironborn plot. I think it might have worked
better to kill off Balon in the pilot, then cut to his funeral for
this week, just to give a better sense of the passing of time. Maybe
D&D been planning on that, only for the scenes to get shuffled
around for whatever reason.
It was also pretty sweet
to watch the odious Balon get bumped off so unceremoniously, and
frankly if you walk on a rickety bridge in a storm you deserve
everything you get. Though come to think of it, what makes Yara think
he was murdered at all? I mean, just look at those bridges!
In King's Landing, Tommen
(Dean-Charles Chapman) seems to be venturing down the path to
becoming another Joffrey, vowing to punish the people who've
humiliated his wife and mother. I personally think Tommen was more
interesting when there was a chance he and Margaery might actually
bring some stability to the realm after the chaos of the past few
years. Likewise, I think it's a shame that Jaime's (Nikolaj Coster
Waldau) possible redemption has turned into yet another revenge quest
after Myrcella's murder.
Cersei (Lena Headey) by
contrast has become more intriguing since her release from the sept.
Her quiet, soft-spoken performance makes it almost impossible to
predict where she's going to go from here – or it would if the
trailer hadn't added that “I choose violence” line. It'll be very
interesting to see how these three characters negotiate the dark
urges within them, which no doubt will be provoked even more in the
coming war with Dorne.
There's also the building
confrontation between the Lannisters and the Faith Militant. Jonathan
Pryce continues to shine as the High Sparrow, combining gentle
paternalism with an unshakeable zeal that makes him more unnerving
even than Ser Robert Strong. The High Sparrow's another character
who's hard to predict, but I'm wondering if all this fanatacism is
going to burst forward into some frenzy before the season's out.
His brief conversation
with Jaime set this conflict up decently, though I thought the
dialogue was a bit weak, between Jaime informing the people who came
in late that he's a Kingslayer, or the High Sparrow explaining why
they adorn their corpses with open eyes. That latter infodump felt
more like a blatant foreshadowing of Jon's resurrection.
In the North, Theon
decides now's a good time to leave Sansa in the protection of Brienne
and Pod. I was a bit disappointed with this development, given how
Sansa and Theon's complicated relationship gives a lot of potential
for interesting drama. Theon is Sansa's only connection with her
past, something she doesn't have with Brienne or Pod since her
connection to them has been tangential up to this point. I'm not
saying it was a bad decision on part of the writers, but I do feel
Theon staying could have led to a more interesting plotline. I'll
have to wait and see how this develops before I can judge properly.
I also don't understand
Theon's desire to go back to Pyke all of a sudden. It's not like his
family treated him any better before he lost everything. It
felt more like the writers just wanted a segue into the Ironborn
plot.
Meanwhile in Meereen,
Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) decides that Daenerys' dragons need
to be released or else they'll wither and die, like the last dragons
in Westeros. I liked the little callback to history here, and I'm
wondering if that could be foreshadowing stronger ties with Targaryen
history. We also get a scene that has been building since the series
started, where Tyrion gets to see the dragons up close and personal.
Dinklage's acting in this
scene is of course marvellous, with his usual dryness giving way to
unashamed wide-eyed wonder. I admit I kind of like the dragons'
design as well. Although their reptiles, the animators give their
faces some expression as well. They almost come across more as giant
scaly dobermans, which I thought was an interesting way to go.
But my God, how stupid
would Tyrion have to be to think that just by walking up to the
dragons and saying “I am your friend”, they wouldn't burn him
alive? This is right up there with Tyrion and Varys' casual stroll
around Meereen last week, seemingly unconcerned with the xenophobic
death cult that's out to get them.
Tyrion is certainly
showing a lot more confidence in himself if he can do all this. Let's
hope this translates into some confident politicking in the coming
weeks.
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