The third episode of the third season opens with perhaps the
longest scene to contain no dialogue in the show’s history. More new characters
are introduced as the episode begins with the funeral of Lord Hoster Tully
(much like Jon Arryn in the first season, we see nothing of him aside from his
corpse). More is seen of Lord Hoster in the books, but none of his scenes were
included in the show: it’s likely that Catelyn’s storyline is tragic enough
without adding in scenes where she sees her father on his deathbed, and he is barely
able to recognise her. Clive Russell makes his first appearance as Cat’s uncle
Brynden (AKA ‘Blackfish’) and is very believable as a grizzled veteran of war,
as well as a respectful and courteous figure. Himself and Michelle Fairley
exchange a very touching scene later on, where we see their relationship, learn
about the unseen Hoster Tully, and also see Catelyn dealing with the grief of
believing that her two youngest sons are dead.
Also introduced in the opening is Tobias Menzies as her
younger brother Edmure Tully. Edmure does not get the greatest of
introductions, first unable to land a flaming arrow onto the funeral pyre (or
boat, if you want to get pedantic) despite three separate attempts to do so, and
then proving his lack of wartime strategy to King Robb, which could prove to be
a costly error in the grand scheme of things. While not a good scene for Edmure’s
character, Robb is at least given some time to shine. This scene proves that there
is more to warfare than just winning battles, and Robb gets to show off his military
mindedness for the first time since what seems like ‘Baelor’ way back in the
first season – which was the episode where Ned Stark got executed, so a long
time ago!
The following scene – much like the opening – also makes use
of aesthetics, and the politics of one’s placement around a table becomes the
focal point for nearly two whole minutes, before eventually someone speaks. This
scene would make for a fascinating analysis, concerning the ‘game’ that is
being played: Tywin being the figure of power and authority, Littlefinger the
highly ambitious one places himself closest to where the power is, Cersei
changing the established rules by moving her seat closest to her father, and
Tyrion breaking the rules and positioning himself furthest away. The rest of
the scene plays out and sees the proposition of a marriage between Littlefinger
and Lysa Arryn, as a means for strengthening the Lannister’s standing in the
war. This then leads to Tyrion taking over as the Master-of-coin, which
provides the much needed light relief throughout the rest of the episode.
There is some foreshadowing throughout this episode in
several storylines, hinting at where various characters are heading: Jon Snow
is bound for the wall, only this time on the side of the Wildlings (or is
he...?); the surviving Night’s Watchmen have returned to Craster’s Keep, where
Sam sees Gilly again, as she gives birth to a boy (which as we already know, is
not good); and Theon has been rescued twice by his mysterious benefactor. Hints
at this man’s identity have already emerged from his use of the Stark words: “Winter
is Coming”, and also that he doesn’t take kindly to being called ‘bastard’. He has
appeared very caring towards Theon, but has also proved his ruthlessness
through the single-handed murdering of four men.
Daenerys’ moved things along in her storyline, offering up
one of her dragons in exchange for an army. This decision was met with concern
from her advisers: Ser Jorah and Ser Barristan, who both believe that Dragons
have more value to her than any army, but Dany shows qualities of being a Queen
and a leader, in addition to having a caring heart. I appreciated the mention
of Prince Rhaegar during Barristan’s scene, as well as Jorah’s line taken
straight from the books “Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, and
Rhaegar died”. Such a statement is very telling for the series as a whole:
anyone can die, regardless of their allegiance, their intentions, or their strength
of character.
With the arrival of so many new characters this season, some
spaces need to be opened up, and this episode saw what was – presumably – the last
appearance of Hot Pie. I felt that this was handled very nicely, as it not only
proved that characters don’t necessarily have to be killed off, but also the
fact that not everyone is a fighter, or a member of a great house, and that
some people are better off staying away from war. His farewell was charmingly
clumsy, and the image of the fat boy standing alone as the rest of the
Brotherhood rode away, was actually a little sad, although not overdone.
But of course I can’t avoid mentioning the final scene,
which will undoubtedly lead to many terrible ‘hand’ related puns. Having read
the books I knew that Jaime was going to lose his sword hand, and as such I
actually felt sorry for him when his captors created the pretence of helping
him. On a second viewing, tell me that you don’t feel bad for him when he says
the line “I do like partridge”, knowing what’s about to happen. Jaime also
proved himself more honourable than he likes people to believe, by convincing
Locke (the TV series’ non-lisping equivalent to Vargo Hoat) not to rape
Brienne. Even the most hated characters in the show can have moments of redemption.
I was not expecting to see the amputation in full, as I thought the camera
would cut away to Jaime screaming in pain, but the show proved me wrong there!
One final point concerning the song over the end credits. Last
season when The National performed “The Rains of Castamere” over the
end-credits to ‘Blackwater’, I legitimately got goosebumps. “The Bear and the
Maiden Fair” was never likely going to be a song to evoke such a reaction, but
its presence in the show – when sung by the Bolton bannermen – worked just
fine. The punk-rock style performance by The Hold Steady however, really didn’t
do it for me, especially following Jaime’s amputation scene. “The Rains of
Castamere” was a perfect fit, coming in just after Tywin Lannister’s triumphant
declaration of victory, and the ominous rumbling of the song underscored the
credits beautifully. This performance of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” was
jarring, and seemed poorly placed.
Regardless of that, this was another good episode, and I’m
sure that next week’s will really see things moving forward in a major way. The
predicaments of several characters at the end of this episode will lead to some
shocking moments in the not-too-distant future, I’m sure of it.
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