A major theme of Game of Thrones , at this dot , is deception . People are take up on false identities , or otherwise pretending to be someone they ’re not , or hiding their true intentions . But last night ’s Thrones showed the other side of the coin : bullies can make you into a unlike person , and change your very identity , as well .
Westeros is a land of rowdy , really . The whole societal structure is maintain by bullying , and ferociousness and cruelty are used to put people in their place . Someone like Tyrion expend a lot of time preempting other people ’s taunts , despite his high social status , and yet it still does n’t prepare him for his father ’s abuse .
The most memorable scene in last night ’s Thrones happens towards the close , when King Joffrey shows off his fancy new crossbow to his betrothed , Margaery Tyrell . Margaery has just occur from hear just what a colossus Joffrey is from Joffrey ’s old fiancée , Sansa Stark . But she still has to marry him , so she puts on a big show of letting him browbeat her into talk ill of her previous husband , the would - be king Renly . ( She does n’t flinch when Joffrey suppose he ’s thinking of making homosexuality a capital offence . )
And then she figure out what Sansa never did — the path to Joffrey ’s centre . ( He already has a affair for her , because of how much she upsets his manipulate mother , Cersei . ) She bang Joffrey is a sadist who enjoys inflicting painfulness and death , so she lets him see that he can reshape her in his own image . She , too , will be a act of a sadist for her husband .
Meanwhile , we see Theon Greyjoy get another bully know that he ’ll be whatever that yobo wants him to be . The former capturer of Winterfell is string up and being torture by a man who wo n’t give his name , and who interrogates him — not to get information , but just for bang . Or maybe to get Theon to give the “ proper ” answers .
( Theon ’s nameless capturer is most likely Lord Roose Bolton ’s bastard son Ramsay , whom we know Roose sent to retake Winterfell last season . In this instalment , Roose bends the truth somewhat , and says the Iron Islanders were already gone when Ramsay got there , and also that the castle was already burn down before Ramsay arrived . )
Theon is being torment in a fairly nasty fashion , with some finger - slicing and some fundament - nookie — but the matter that seems to freak out him out more than anything is being hooded so he ca n’t see anything . He ’s undone by the sensory deprivation , to the point where he ’ll state his torturer whatever the man wants to hear . And then Theon apparently has a rescuer — a servant who ’s been sent by his sister Yara to get him out of there . If only Theon can keep himself from giving his saver aside with his constant beggary not to be entrust alone .
Fat caper
I mean I fall back count of all the fat jokes in this installment — in particular , Samwell Tarly is back to being call “ piggy ” by his fellow penis of the Night ’s Watch . One of them in finicky , Rast , wants Samwell to lie down and die so the rest of them can move faster . And Rast ’s brow - licking of Samwell works so well , he actually makes Sam give in and fall over . Some of the other crows , including Grenn , go back for Samwell and sample to help him up — but it ’s only when a bigger bully , the Lord Commander , comes and tells Rast that it ’s his chore to keep Sam alive that Sam ’s hereafter is fasten .
Meanwhile , Jaime Lannister expend the whole episode doing psychological warfare against his guard , Brienne of Tarth , essay to get under her cutis so he can get the drib on her . He taunts her about her size of it , and her lack of scintillating wit , and her affection for her former liegeman lord , the recent Lord Renly who wanted so ill to sit on a stool made of hammer . And at last , Jaime catch his wishing — he generate hold of one of Brienne ’s two swords , and gets destitute .
But Jaime ’s movement to weaken Brienne blowback in a few ways . First , she ’s already pee at him so she does n’t take heed when he advises her to kill the farmer who acknowledge Jaime ’s face — and who later turns Jaime in to one of Lord Roose Bolton ’s human being . secondly , she ’s in reality a way good swordfighter than he realized , and she kick his prat , even though she ’s try out not to bruise him and he ’s trying to kill her . And finally , all of his jackassery keeps them exposed in plain pile on a bridge , where their pursuer take hold of up to them . Jaime has been adjudicate to make Brienne doubt herself with his intimidation — but in the end , all he manages to do is cut down her effectiveness as his protector .
Both Stark sisters are unmasked
Meanwhile , both Arya and Sansa Stark have been dissembling this whole time , but in last night ’s episode both sisters let their masks precipitate reasonably .
Arya was feign to be “ Arry , ” a picayune urchin boy , in the human face of an unending serial of brutish tormentors like the betrayer guy . But Tywin Lannister see through that disguise , causing her to change her character to “ random urchin girl with a sword . ” That ’s a more complicated ruse to carry on — peculiarly when you ’re being taunted .
In “ Dark Wings , Dark Scripture , ” Arya and her companion Gendry and Hot Pie get captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners , the group of outlaws that rat guy was searching for back in time of year two . The Brotherhood title to be idealist who want to hold start the countryside from all this war and inferno . Their loss leader seems to be Thoros of Myr , a bibulous smartass , and his archer friend Anguy . They give Arya and the gang some food , but also keep demand her about her miraculous escape from Harrenhal , rally her until she shows a bit of her true colors — whipping out her steel and trying to struggle Thoros .
But still , Arya is about to make a clean getaway when the Brotherhood brings in a new prisoner : Sandor Clegane , aka the Hound , who flee the fires of King ’s Landing and got intoxicated in the heart of nowhere . Sandor identifies Arya instantly , and at last her jig is up .
Meanwhile , Sansa is still trying to profess to be the penitent poor devil , praise Joffrey and condemning her own father and brother . When Margaery Tyrell and her nan Olenna Tyrell ( Diana Rigg ! ) summon her to eat lemon cakes and tell them all about Joffrey ’s fine qualities , she does her best to muddle through as usual in the face of Olenna ’s bluff Lunaria annua .
But when Olenna push her with kindness , she break down and concede that Joffrey is “ a monster . ” It ’s like watching someone who ’s been snatch by a cult shake off her conditioning . Or someone who ’s been in an opprobrious human relationship in the end tell the truth about it . ( Although the setting plays a minuscule weirdly , and I could n’t help missing the shouting troubadour from the book version . )
Tyrion is no fun
Meanwhile , Sansa ’s handmaiden Shae goes to talk to her buff / patron Tyrion about Sansa ’s traffic with Littlefinger . And Tyrion is still rattled from his horrifying conversation with his father last workweek , in which Tywin promised to cling the next whore he found in Tyrion ’s bed — mean Shae is toast if she ’s identify . Even though Tyrion brought Shae to King ’s Landing so he could carry on their affaire , he foreclose her to come see him at all . And he ca n’t stop interrogate her about who might have ensure her coming or choke . “ Having you killed would be the high point of his week , ” Tyrion severalize Shae , of his father .
Shae pretends to be green-eyed that Tyrion retrieve Sansa is pretty , and that Tyrion slept with Ros , Littlefinger ’s personal assistant . But Tyrion is barely able to be playful , and even as Shae commence to go down on him , he keeps trying to have words her about how they ’ve come to a dangerous property — leading to the funniest part of the episode as he keep hear to say “ unsafe people ” while being perfectly distracted .
Tyrion ’s father ca n’t remold him in his own image , because he does n’t recognize Tyrion as being like him — so instead he just has to torment and crush his son , leave Tyrion anxiety - satisfy even in his moments of delight .
Catelyn feel shamed for being malign to Jon Snow
Speaking of parents who ca n’t know a child as theirs , we also see a very different side of Catelyn Stark — we ’ve seen her pissed off , ego - righteous , vitriolic and tender , but now we see her wracked with guilt . ( A side of her I ’m reasonably sure we never really see in the book . ) Catelyn has a fate to find guilty for , include letting Jaime Lannister go and helping to start this whole stage business by gaol Tyrion Lannister in the first place .
But she actually feels hangdog for being such a wretch to Jon Snow , her husband ’s ( ostensible ) shit . She say her fresh girl in law , Talisa , the whole tale : When Ned Stark brought a baby home from the war , Catelyn was so jealous of the boy ’s female parent she prayed for the baby to die . And then Jon Snow got the lues , and Maester Luwin say he would only subsist if he populate through the night . feel responsible , Catelyn pray to all seven graven image for the son to live — and she promised that if he did , she would do it him as her own Word . A hope she broke , somewhat heinously .
And now she feel as though all of the misfortunes that have befallen her kinsfolk are the gods ’ punishment for her oath - breakage — rather than the resultant of some really unsound decisions , much by and by on . Of of course , if Jon Snow had n’t gotten sent off to the Night ’s Watch , he could have come in utile more than a few time when the Starks were in a jam . He could have helped defend Winterfell , for one affair .
And Jon Snow himself by all odds register the final result of growing up in a household where he was n’t loved or acknowledged — he give off the air of being someone who will never entirely fit in anywhere . He ’s now leave the Night ’s Watch and gone over to the Wildlings , who do n’t hope him at all . And Jon Snow learns that a lot of his fellow vaporing are utter from Orell , a “ warg ” who can do the same thing Bran Stark can do : Project his mind into animals .
Mance Rayder can see the pariah looking about Jon Snow , the look of someone who has never really belonged — in the books , Mance Rayder actually witnessed Jon Snow ’s bastard condition when he visited Winterfell . So Mance tells Jon Snow about quite how badly - fitting his coalescency of reject is : the marsh hate the hornfoots , the hornfoots hate another grouping , and everybody hat the cave - dwellers . ( But during National Brotherhood Week … ) These are all multitude who ’ve been beat down and oppressed and mistreated , and now they ’ve joined together — only because they jazz that they ’re zombie fodder if they do n’t get in the south of the Wall .
“ Some people will always need help ”
So if bullies form almost every social institution , and individual , in Westeros , what ’s the reply ? We get a little idealistic ginger talk from the warrior girl Meera , who ’s one of the brand name new characters who bolt down up ( as if by magic ) this week . She tells the Wildling fille Osha : “ Some multitude will always need help . That does n’t mean they ’re not deserving helping . ”
This is in reply to Osha ’s comment that Jojen , Meera ’s brother , is naked and needs his sis to protect him . Someone in that situation is always belong to take protecting , Osha observe . But Jojen seems to be deliberately defenseless — he flaunts the fact that he ’s unarmed , and he does n’t cringe or act cow when he ’s threatened . He ’s like Bran , ineffectual to defend for himself but filled with the power of wizardly visions . Except that Bran did n’t prefer to be defenceless , and Jojen actually has chosen this . Jojen and Meera total a farsighted style to find Bran , because Jojen ’s magic visions have shown him that Bran is “ the one affair that matters . ”
Jojen first look in a dream that Bran has , one in which he ’s still able to walk and he utilise a bow and arrow to start the three - eyed raven while his brothers ( and the voice of his sire ) promote him . But Jojen tells him that he ’ll never be able to kill the raven , because the raven is himself . Jojen ’s pride in being weaponless and unmighty is pretty much the most un - Westerosi thing we ’ve seen in years — and give that thaumaturgy is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the series now , his religion in the mystical arts rather than castle - devise steel might in reality sour out to be a wise to bet . possibly the return of magic means a world where bullies do n’t always have the last word of honor ?
Of course , this is Game of Thrones , so I would n’t count on it .
Random poppycock : Is Gendry rightfield that Arya “ could have ended the warfare ” if she ’d told Jaqen to kill Joffrey and Tywin ? Olenna ’s assessment of Renly ’s call to the throne is pretty refreshfully fair . I liked Gendry and Hot Pie speculate rob a jongleur . It ’s lamentable that Loras does n’t remember his first confluence with Sansa , when she was so smitten with him .
BooksFantasyGame of ThronesGeorge R.R. MartinTelevision
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