Monday, May 13, 2013

Game of Thrones - Season Three: The Bear and The Maiden Fair


For the most part this episode seemed more like a transitional one, developing storylines and character arcs, as opposed to providing action. However the final scene should certainly allow this episode to remain a memorable one.

It turns out that I was wrong in my review of last week’s episode ‘The Climb’, when I said that all of the expendable wildlings were killed when part of The Wall broke away, as a fairly sizeable group made their way through Westeros amongst less snowy terrain. There were tensions between Jon and Orell concerning the Warg’s attempt to cut him loose during the climb. Orell then had a scene with Ygritte when he revealed that he has feelings for her, and so has even more reason to dislike Jon Snow (in addition to not trusting his allegiance). 

This lead to several scenes between Jon and Ygritte; where the woman who supposedly ‘knows everything’ mistook a windmill for a palace. Unfortunately Jon Snow lacked the sass to pay her back for all the many times she has told him that he ‘knows nothing’, with a catchphrase of his own. Then again, I don’t think that sassiness would suit his character very much. After some playful dialogue between the two, Jon told her that the Wildlings will fail, revealing his concern for her wellbeing. She reminded him that they have to remain loyal to one another no matter what happens, and that if they are both going to die, then they should live first.

Jon Snow’s progress has had a significant effect on Bran’s journey, as he’s no longer heading for Castle Black, instead going beyond The Wall to find the mysterious Three-Eyed-Raven which has been appearing to him ever since his fall. Surely his visions and dreams must mean something, and if he is able to find the Three-Eyed-Raven then perhaps he can find out what it really means. Osha has her misgivings about this plan, however, and reveals that she loved a man once. Unfortunately she had to kill the man she loved when he became a wight. As a result of this she has no desire to journey beyond The Wall, because nothing good can come from travelling to a place where dead men come back to life.

Bran is not the only character to have notions of a higher purpose, as Melissandre revealed to Gendry who his real father was. This is a completely new scenario that doesn’t take place in the books, so I’ll be very interested to see where this is heading. This scene also showed the wreckage of Stannis’ fleet, which was destroyed by the wildfire during the Battle of the Blackwater.

Torrential rain slowed down Robb’s progress en route to The Twins for the wedding between Edmure and Walder Frey’s daughter. Blackfish revealed that he has no love for Lord Frey, eloquently comparing him to “wet shit”. There was then a scene between Robb and Talisa when Robb finally had something go right for him for the first time all season, when Talisa revealed that she was pregnant with his child. Robb has suffered a great deal this season, as his war effort has been slowed down by his grandfather’s funeral, the Karstark betrayal, and the news that Winterfell was burned down, so it’s about time he had something go right for him. He was even allowed to ‘leave the war for one night’ to spend time with his Queen.

In King’s Landing talk revolved around the upcoming marriages. Sansa revealed her displeasure at the idea of being married to Tyrion, although the counter-argument was posed by Margery, pointing out that she has to marry Joffrey, so who’s truly getting the worst deal? Tyrion meanwhile had a discussion with Bronn, who didn’t exactly offer his sympathies. Speaking of Bronn, where the hell has he been these last few weeks? Receiving no helpful advice from the sellsword, Tyrion attempted to make amends with Shae by giving her expensive jewellery (well, why not?) but this doesn’t work out so well either. Tyrion has allowed himself to grow too attached to Shae, but because she is a whore their relationship will always be complicated. 

The best scene in King’s Landing this week though, was between Joffrey and Tywin. I’ve been looking forward to this scene all season, and it did not disappoint. With barely any effort at all Tywin was able to make Joffrey look completely pathetic – which he obviously is! It’s high time someone was able to put Joffrey in his place, and this scene was truly satisfying. Jack Gleeson has done a great job of making Joffrey such a detestable character, but seeing him unable to look Tywin in the eye, and hearing the shakiness in his voice was a thing of wonder. Also, Joffrey has always been surrounded by guards which have given him confidence, but here he looked completely helpless and alone, and when Tywin climbed the steps towards the Throne and stood above him there was no doubt as to who is really ruling the Seven Kingdoms. Tywin’s casual formality at the end of the scene was such a great sign-off, I found it more satisfying than seeing Joffrey getting slapped!

Once again Theon had a scene which had me preparing to look away from the screen, knowing where it was eventually leading. At first it appeared that Theon was being offered some relief, and also HBO must have come to the conclusion that there hasn’t been enough nudity these past couple of weeks! But of course it was all just a trick, and after reminding Theon of how much he loved whores, his assailant – STILL unnamed – pulled out a very ugly looking blade and prepared to remove his ‘most precious body part’. Fortunately this wasn’t shown! 

Then we come to the final scene, where Jaime Lannister had a moment of heroism, revealing than in spite of himself he has grown attached to Brienne. Having been released by Roose Bolton – who is now heading to The Twins for Edmure’s wedding – Jaime left Harrenhal without his female companion. Qyburn revealed to Jaime that Locke had plans for Brienne, which were not going to be anything good, especially since his trick with the sapphires was revealed to be a lie. Jaime then returned to Harrenhal, claiming that he had left something behind, and discovered Brienne still wearing her pink dress and attempting to fend off a bear with a wooden sword. The last time someone was armed with a wooden sword on this show it was Syrio Forel, and he took down a group of Lannister soldiers with it, however a wooden sword is not so effective against a bear, nor is Brienne as fast as Syrio. This prompted Jaime to leap into the pit and make the save. I thought for a moment that Jaime was going to push Locke into the pit, but instead he simply signed off with the line “sorry about the sapphires”.

Syrio’s presence was also felt during a short scene between Arya and Beric, where she revealed that she believes in the God of Death, and not the Lord of Light. Feeling betrayed by the Brotherhood she ran away, only to be caught by The Hound. He may have had a soft spot for Sansa, but he doesn’t have the same affection for the younger Stark daughter.

After being absent from last week’s episode Danaerys revealed her newfound power, and that Jorah’s statement back in season one that “having a few dragons makes things easier” is certainly true!

This may not have been the most exciting episode of the season, but the scene between Joffrey and Tywin is worth the proverbial ‘price of admission’ alone! There was a lot of character development, as things continue to build towards the season finale.

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