The land of Braavos has been mentioned fairly frequently
throughout the series – there have been characters such as Syrio Forel and
Jaqen H’Ghar who have come from Braavos – and during more recent seasons the
Iron Bank of Braavos has also come into mention. The ever-changing opening
credits scene revealed that we would finally be visiting Braavos – there was a
very nice shot of the Titan of Braavos as the ship arrived – and the Iron Bank
in this week’s episode. And that’s how things begin, with Stannis finally away
from Dragonstone, appealing for the support of the Iron Bank.
Mark Gatiss played the head banker Tycho Nestoris and it
required very little effort to point out how weak Stannis’ current cause is,
regardless of the strength of his claim. He has a tiny army, a small fleet of
ships, and Dragonstone has very little value as far as produce is concerned. However,
Davos is able to sway the tide in Stannis’ favour, arguing that once Tywin dies
the Lannisters will be a much weaker household, and then showing the four
stumps where his fingers used to be as proof that Stannis is a man who delivers
on his promises. All of a sudden Stannis’ cause does not look quite so weak (there’s
also the blood magic to consider – of the Five Kings from the war, now only
Stannis and Balon Greyjoy remain). I was very pleased to see Davos get a decent
speech in this episode, and Liam Cunningham continues to do an excellent job in
the role.
Meanwhile back in Westeros, further north Yara Greyjoy
arrives at the Dreadfort with her posse, armed to the teeth and ready to rescue
Theon. To begin with the rescue mission appears to be going well, as they kill
several Bolton men and locate Theon in the kennels, but something that Yara
didn’t consider was the state that Theon would be in when she found him. Theon
has been so damaged by Ramsay’s torture that he refused to be rescued – or to
even acknowledge his true identity, he’s truly become Reek now – for fear of
angering Ramsay and being tortured even more. There is a face-off between the
Greyjoy fighters and the Bolton men, but it doesn’t last long – and Yara
decides to flee once Ramsay unleashes the hounds. Obviously the fact that Theon
refused to be rescued is a significant factor into why this rescue mission
failed, but this outcome does make the Greyjoys look rather weak.
Theon/Reek’s subservience to Ramsay was then solidified even
further in a very uncomfortable scene in which Ramsay offered him a bath as a
reward for his loyalty. Ramsay then told Reek that he’ll need his help
recapturing a castle, and to do this Reek is going to hav to pretend to be
someone he’s not: Theon Greyjoy. I’m very interested to see where this little
psychological mind-game is leading.
The viewers are granted a good long look at one of the
dragons – who are very big now – as Drogon attacks an unsuspecting flock of
goats. This becomes a problem for Daenerys who is now ruling Meereen as Queen. She
is able to pay the goatherd for his losses, but her lack of control over the
dragons will likely continue to be a problem. She is then approached by a
Meereenese nobleman named Hizdahr zo Loraq, who calls her out on the
crucifixions she ordered. He wishes to uphold the traditions of Meereen, and
grant them all burial – one of whom was his father. During this scene there is
a strategic shot of Ser Barristan over Dany’s shoulder (all of a sudden the
appeal for ‘Mercy’ doesn’t seem so foolish). She is finally encountering some
problems after things had been going so smoothly for so long – and with a whole
city to rule, it’s not likely to get any easier any time soon.
After this the remaining episode was spent in King’s Landing,
mostly for Tyrion’s trial, although there was also a Small Council meeting –
with a greatly altered Small Council that now includes Mace Tyrell and Prince
Oberyn. Varys hasn’t featured in this season very much, so it was nice to see
him get a bit more of his enigmatic dialogue (an un-seducible man, who serves
the realm). I was also pleased to hear Tywin finally address Ser Barristan’s
dismissal from the Kingsguard (although it’s about three years too late, it did
at least occur).
The trial scene served to prove just how serious Tyrion’s
situation is, and the stakes are even higher than his previous trial in the
Eerie. The trial commences with the boy-king Tommen excusing himself from the
trial, a clever move from Tywin, as Tommen is very fond of his uncle and it
wouldn’t do to have any supporters for the accused. This also results in Tywin
sitting on the Iron Throne – which is a very strong image. Time is given to a
variety of characters who are all more than willing to testify against Tyrion,
including Meryn Trant, Grand Maester Pycelle, Varys and of course his sister
Cersei. Pycelle’s story about Tyrion plundering his stores is complete
bullshit, but Varys, Meryn and Cersei’s stories are for the most part true,
although tailored to suit the situation and strategically ignoring certain
details.
Jaime approaches Tywin and states that the trial is a
complete farce – which it is – but then the ultimate goal becomes clear. Jaime
will leave the Kingsguard and go to Casterly Rock to continue the Lannister bloodline,
while Tyrion will plead guilty and be sent to join the Night’s Watch. Tywin has
masterminded this whole situation brilliantly, but then Tyrion changes
everything with his ‘confession’.
Jaime tells Tyrion of Tywin’s true intentions, and that the
best thing for him to do is to keep his mouth shut. But then Shae is brought
out as the next witness, and she betrays Tyrion, telling the courtroom everything
they want to hear, even though it’s clearly a lie. This proves too much for
Tyrion, and what follows is one of Peter Dinklage’s greatest moments on the
show (to go alongside about fifty others!) He confesses that his true crime is
being a dwarf, something that his father his always held against him. He goes
on to say that he didn’t kill Joffrey, but he wishes that he had – and that he
regrets saving the city from Stannis’ assault, as they were more than happy to
ignore his efforts and turn against him. He then locks eyes with his father and
– much like in his previous trial – demands a trial by combat. There is then some
brilliant cinematography of Tyrion and Tywin’s faces in response to this,
before the credits roll.
This episode chose to focus on just a small number of
storylines, there was nothing at the Eerie, or with the Wildlings, or at the
Wall or beyond. The tighter focus worked well, and allowed for the trial to
have a big impact, and the absent storylines will leave fans wanting more,
which they will get soon enough. Another very strong episode, which was rounded
off with stellar performances from Peter Dinklage and Charles Dance. Now, who
will be selected to fight for either side…?
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