When I first saw that the title to the Season Four finale was
“The Children” my immediate assumption was that it referred to The Children of
the Forest. That was true – to an extent – but as with so many episode titles,
the definition spreads further than a single factor. The title does refer to
the Children of the Forest, whom Bran encounters after two whole seasons of
travelling North, but also to the children of great houses (Arya and Tyrion
were particularly prevalent in this episode) the ‘children’ of Daenerys
Targaryen; and the innocent child whose death prompted Dany to lock her ‘children’
away. I mentioned last week that this finale episode had a lot to fit in, as an
entire episode spent at the wall had left many storylines in need of some sort
of resolution before the waiting starts all over again.
The episode began by immediately resolving the issues that
were left hanging at the end of last week’s episode, with Jon Snow heading out
beyond The Wall to pledge peace terms with Mance Rayder (a
returning-from-season-long-absence Ciaran Hinds). Mance had rightfully observed
from the night-long assault that the Night’s Watch had small numbers and short
supplies to last much longer, and he called Jon’s bluff that there were a
thousand men at Castle Black. With this advantage he offered Jon peace terms on
the grounds that he open the gates and let Mance’s entire army pass through.
Before this could go much further there came the sound of horses and clashing
steel. Suspecting treachery Mance threatened to kill Jon, but it soon became
clear that it wasn’t men of the Watch who had arrived to rout Mance’s army: it
was Stannis’ infantrymen. The only King in Westeros to turn his attention to
the greater threat arrived at The Wall, made quick work of Mance’s army (many
of whom likely scattered following the initial charge) and made a prisoner out
of the King-Beyond-The-Wall.
I had initially suspected that the surprise appearance of
Stannis’ army would occur last week towards the end of “The Watcher’s On The
Wall” but it made for a large scale opening to the season-ender. This will set
up a big change for the next season, as two separate storyline have now
converged – I think we’ve bid farewell to Dragonstone for the time-being – as Stannis,
Davos and Melissandre are now all stationed at The Wall. The writers have
occasionally played for time with these storylines, but now that they’ve been unified
there should be a clearer purpose in the future.
Further beyond The Wall, Bran and his small party finally
arrived at their destination. The cinematography was really impressive for this
sequence, as the small group overlooked the large heart-tree. They then made
their way towards the tree, before a rabble of ancient skeletal Wights emerged
from under the snow and attacked. Bran warged into Hodor once again, but even
this wasn’t enough, as more skeletons burst out to attack. The timely
intervention of one of The Children of the Forest occurred in time to save
Bran, but not Jojen, who seemed strangely at peace with his death.
The reason for this was revealed by the ‘Three-Eyed-Raven’
who said that Jojen knew he would die (as he was a Greenseer). Bran then
learned that though he may never walk again, he will fly. Exactly what this
means is just one of many things that will have to wait until next year.
Although it made for an interesting confrontation, I do have
some issues with the fight between Brienne and The Hound. The circumstances
leading up to this meeting are pretty questionable: first of all we now know
for sure that Arya and The Hound just left the Eerie after learning of Lysa’s death,
and now that Brienne has found one of the Stark girls only to have her slip
away, weakens her quest (Brienne pledged herself to Renly and Catelyn, both of
whom are now dead – and now she’s failed to protect one of Catelyn’s daughters
after tracking her down). This scene also makes The Hound look weak, as he lost
the fight pretty decisively (which I was afraid might happen as a result of the
show-writers contriving a means to combine these storylines). Also, probably
the biggest issue: they found Arya, and didn’t even give her the bread from
Hot-Pie!
The following scene between Arya and The Hound was done very
well though, as Arya coldly refused to grant him the gift of mercy, and instead
left him alone in the Vale to suffer through the pain of his injuries. From this
point on The Hound’s ultimate fate is left uncertain, and while we can make the
assumption that he eventually died, the lack of an actual death scene leaves
the possibility of seeing this character again open (just like with Syrio).
After sending away her most long-serving adviser, Daenerys
is really starting to struggle with her role of leadership. The consequences of
her massacring the Masters of Meereen are continuing to be felt, and an old man
requested to be returned to slavery rather than her version of freedom. Things then
became worse as she was presented with the scorched bones of a young girl: the
latest victim of Drogon. With a heavy heart, the Mother of Dragons was forced
to chain up her beloved children (ironic that the ‘breaker of chains’ must do
such a thing) and keep them sealed away. She cannot control them anymore, and
the bigger they get, the more dangerous they become.
In King’s Landing Cersei confronted Tywin about not wanting
to marry Loras Tyrell (something that has fallen by the wayside these past few
weeks, in fact we haven’t seen Loras or Margery in a very long time). She then
decided to confess her deepest sin, knowing that it would truly hurt Tywin more
than anything else: the rumours are true. Tywin has fought all his life to
preserve the status and preservation of his family’s legacy, and in one moment
Cersei brought all of that crashing down. He has waged wars and ruled the Seven
Kingdom’s under the name of two king’s (Joffrey and Tommen) neither of whom had
a legitimate claim. To learn that all he has fought for since the start of the
series has been a farce, Tywin couldn’t find anything to say.
Cersei might regret parting with her father on such terms
however, as it turns out she’ll never speak to her father again. Jaime – with the
help of Varys – sprung Tyrion from his cell, and lead him to safety: a ship
leaving Westeros. Tyrion however – after bidding his brother farewell – decided
that he had unfinished business before departing. He made his way to the Tower
of the Hand in order to confront his father about condemning him to death, but
on his way he discovered something unexpected: Shae, in Tywin’s bed. The two of
them scuffled, but then, in his rage, Tyrion strangled her to death with a
golden chain.
He then took up his nephew’s crossbow and thus armed, burst
in upon Lord Tywin on the privy. Being caught in such an uncompromising
position, Tywin tried to reason with his youngest son, saying that he never
intended to have Tyrion executed. A lifetime of mistreatment and abuse from his
father, meant that Tyrion was unmoved by this suggestion, and so he fired a
bolt right into his father’s chest. Although non-fatal, the wound meant that
Tywin realised he would not be able to negotiate his way out of his
predicament. He renounced Tyrion, saying that he was not his son, and received
a second bolt (fatal this time) for his troubles.
The death of Tywin is a huge deal for the politics in King’s
Landing. I’ve used to term ‘game-changing’ several times before, but this
moment truly is game-changing. Who will rule as Hand of the King now? What will
become of House Lannister after their powerful patriarch is discovered
murdered? Varys, upon hearing the bells ringing to signify Tywin’s death,
decided to leave Westeros on the same ship as Tyrion.
Speaking of leaving Westeros, the fourth season concluded
with Arya presenting her iron coin – given to her by Jaquen H’Ghar – to a
Braavosi sea-captain, and saying the words “Valar Morghulis” to which he
reciprocated “Valar Dohaeris” and promptly offered her a cabin on the ship. As far
as Arya is concerned, her family are dead and her home is in ruins – there’s
nothing left for her in Westeros, so it’s time to leave. It makes for a
satisfying ending, closing the page on a significant chapter for her character,
but it wasn’t the ending that I (and many others) were anticipating. I suppose that will have to wait for next season,
but it’s a shame it wasn’t included here because it would have really caused
people to sit up and take notice. No more need be said about it at this
juncture however, no need to talk about what didn’t happen.
This was a very good episode, which offered resolutions to a
number of storylines (short-term resolutions at least), significant
developments to a number of plot-lines, and saw the deaths of quite a few
long-standing characters: Tywin Lannister, Shae, Jojen Reed and (maybe) The
Hound. I am very pleased that Stannis finally got a shining moment to prove his
effectiveness as a ruler, and although I’m sad that there won’t be any more of
Tywin – or, more to the point Charles Dance – the question I present to combat
this is: would you rather lose Tyrion or Tywin?
The fourth season has had its share of problems (probably
more than the previous seasons) and these generally tend to stem from the
deviations from the books. Obviously there are always going to be differences
between the two mediums, but the larger deviations create these problems,
sometimes unnecessarily. Ultimately though, the quality of the show will be
judged on the overall product – and when re-watched as a whole, a lot of the
pacing and distribution issues will not be such factors. I’ve had a few gripes
with this season, but I have still really enjoyed it, and can’t believe that
now the waiting has to begin all over again!
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