Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Enter Search Term. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. If no results appear, use Enter to do a full site search.
Forum Closure ×
Canucks Community
Forum Closure

A Game Of Thrones: To the point of the TV show, no spoilers beyond that

Mr.Noodles

By Mr.Noodles
in Off-Topic General

 Share

Recommended Posts

:D Canucks Star

:D

Posted
Posted (edited)

Watched the last 6-7 minutes of the episode twice. Goosebumps

But the early scene with Varys opening the crate was the best of the episode.

Edit: Also, Margaery Tyrell was smokin' hot again this week

Edited by :D
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
avelanch Canucks All-Star

avelanch

Posted
Posted

i gotta agree with dee, the opening was the best, as i called the ending since the end of the episode before it, and I haven't read the books. I was REALLY hoping she spoke their language too, which was the icing on the cake that i didn't think i'd get to taste.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
:D Canucks Star

:D

Posted
Posted

the scene with the crate and the old wizard was amazing... that wasnt in the books, or else I'm just forgetting it..?

I don't recall it... watching the episode, I had no idea what was in the crate. But it's been years since I read through it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wetcoaster Canucks First-Line

Wetcoaster

Posted
Posted

The episode was titled "And Now his Watch has Ended" - it should have been titled "Enter the Dragon(s)". ::D

It was easily the best episode thus far this season and IMHO ranks up there with some of the best in the series.

Plus this was a very Varys centric episode with Varys the spy master and The Spider spinning his web - his back story and some insight into his motivations. I find Varys one of the more interesting characters and was happy to see him featured.

The theme of the episode was revenge and betrayals - revenge is a dish best served cold (Varys) or served hot (with the Night's Watch and spectacularly with Danaerys) and planning for revenge is good (Tyrion) and may give you a reason to live (Jaime) or be considered just desserts (Arya Stark and The Hound).

And as we saw revenge can be done quietly and with clever manipulation (Varys and Lady Olenna Redwyne, the Queen of Thorns and the matriarch of House Tyrell as played so well by Dame Diana Rigg).

0x600.jpg

And sometimes revenge plans can go wrong as Cersei discovered when she tried to manipulate her father to act against the House Tyrell. And what revenge is being visited upon Theon and by whom and for what reason - the betrayal scene is great.

All in all an excellent episode. If you just ignore Bran and the three-eyed crow as that story line would be glacial, if it sped up.

The episode was named for Lord Commander Mormont whose end as Commander in the Night’s Watch comes in a dramatic betrayal at the hands of his own brothers. Lord Commander Mormont forgot that the Watch is mostly comprised of thieves, rapists, and killers rather than honourable men or the bastards of noble lords. And he paid for that oversight. At least the thoroughly despicable Craster was dispatched with him and Sam manages to get out alive with Gilly and her son.

The scenes with the the Brotherhood without Banners and their notion of upholding the ideals of Ned Stark and dispensing justice are well done. An interesting glimpse into the character of Sandor “The Hound” Clegane who was says he was just carrying out orders of kings and lords. He denies being as cruel and murderous as those he serves or as his brother - mind you Arya has a different take on things because of his killing of the butcher boy although it seemed to give The Hound pause when he learns that the boy he killed in fact did not strike Joffrey as he was led to believe which gave him cause to act. The interrogation scene is very well done.

The opening shot of Jaime with his new fashion accessory (his severed sword hand) hung around his neck was jarring. When he tries but fails to use his other hand to wield a sword but is driven in the mud and ends up drinking horse piss, you can literally see the desire to live draining out of him. It is up to Brienne who after noting that she knows what he did to stop her being raped and Jaime saying his sword hand was in essence him, that he needs to quit whining like a woman and plan to take his revenge on those who have wronged him. And surprisingly he actually listens. They may not like each other all that much but they have developed a healthy respect for one another - a very interesting dynamic. A new fantasy version of The Odd Couple?

And it illustrates another background theme in the show - people are complex and that no one can be pained in black or white. Who would have thought after Seasons 1 and 2 we would have felt sympathy for Jaime Lanister???

And betrayals great and small as a theme.

Tyrion seeks to find the truth of his betrayal on the battlefield from Varys and if there is proof his sister Cersei was behind it. He learns of "actual revenge" from Varys and that it can take time as shown in the crate scene where Varys has contained the wizard who made him a eunuch and watched his bits burn.

0x600.jpg

Ros betrays Littlefinger, spying on her employer for Varys.

0x600.jpg

Mormont is betrayed by his own sworn brothers and stabbed in the back - literally.

Theon trying to come to grips his betrayal of the Starks - “I chose wrong,” he admits when recounting his sacking of Winterfell and then he is betrayed in turn by who he thought was his mysterious benefactor and rescuer.

Smaller betrayals - Lady Margaery’s clever manipulation of Joffrey making him think the people are actually cheering for him. Lady Margaery’s part in Lady Olenna Redwyne's planned manipulation of Sansa Stark to set up a line of succession for House Tryrell and incidentally thwarting Littlefinger while protecting Sansa. Interestingly Varys loyalty seems to be to places and ideals rather than people as evidenced by his warning about Littlefinger. Varys admission of great admiration for Ned Stark and his warning about Littlefinger being extremely dangerous seems to signal that he has ideals and that his plans and manipulations are for the greater good of the kingdom

Tywin’s brusque dismissal of Cersei and dismissing her with one of the best lines in the episode when she tells him that she was the one who actually took in his lessons on how to rule - not Jaime and not Tyrion.

And the grandest betrayal and taking revenge on a grand scale - Daenerys on the slave masters of Astapor, turning the Unsullied’s spears against them and burning the chief slaver with her dragon. The "what you speak my language" moment by the chief slaver was priceless after she has taken the whip signifying her control over her new troops. And then Danaerys delivers her version of war by "shock and awe". Dragonfire is Game of Thrones’ version of a weapon of mass destruction and we get a taste of what is to come.

Game-of-Thrones-S3E4-03.png

And for Ser Jorah and Ser Baristan as she deals with the slavers and frees her slave army who then pledge fealty to her, their worries about the fighting spirit of a slave army disappear and it seems to be dawning upon them that this is one very smart and dangerous woman. And that perhaps they do not have as much to teach her as they originally thought. The final scene with the army marching out of the burning city and dragons overhead was fitting end to a great episode.

Some questions are being answered but we still do not know why Podrick made such an impression on the three ladies in the brothel that he serviced such that they would not accept payment and cannot articulate what he did. Maybe a GoT version of the Kama Sutra???

Some excellent dialogue throughout the episode.

Tywin to his daughter Cersei (echoing what Tyrion said to her earlier) when he chides her for losing control of Joffrey and being transparent in her plans against house Tyrell:

"I distrust you because you're not as smart as you think you are"

And Cersei stung by her father's criticism of her inability to control Joffrey says

"Perhaps you should try to stop him from doing what he likes". And Tywin dryly states with conviction:

"I will."

Varys tells Tyrion of how he became a eunuch: paralyzed by a warlock who “sliced [him] root and stem,” then burned his genitals in a brazier, igniting a blue flame from which a voice issued. “I still dream of that night. Not of the sorcerer, not of his blade. I dream of the voice from the flames. Was it a god, a demon, a conjurer’s trick? I don’t know.”

And then a reference to those burned parts in the meeting between Varys and the Queen of Thorns who asks if Varys is trying to seduce her and noting it is not likely to work all that well:

"What happens when the nonexistent bumps against the decrepit?" :lol:

varyss.gif

Jaime Lannister:

"My sword hand... I WAS that hand."

Brienne putting resolve to live back in Jaime:

“You have a taste—one taste—of the real world where people have important things taken from them and you whine and cry and quit. You sound like a bloody woman.”

Theon Greyjoy realizing what he has done and who he has betrayed - just before he himself is betrayed:

“My real father lost his head at King’s Landing. I made a choice, and I chose wrong. Now I’ve burned everything down.”

Sandor "The Hound" Clegane to the Brotherhood without Banners:

"Stark deserters, Baratheon deserters. You lot aren't fighting in a war, you're running from it."

Daenerys Targaryen to the chief slaver just before he is flambeed:

“Dragons are not slaves,”

“Valyrian is my mother tongue… Dracarys!”

Next episode - "Kissed by Fire":

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GLASSJAW Canucks Star

GLASSJAW

Posted
Posted (edited)

amazing episode tonight

best of the season, by far

edit: okay maybe not by far, last weeks was good too. but this one skipped out on all the silly stuff and was just very... meaty, story-wise

edit 2: and no that isn't a pun based on the gay content

Edited by GLASSJAW
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...