Curious to know more about the distorted mind of our Editor-in-Chief here at WotW? When it comes to the death of a loved one and an episode named after the jackass that killed her, she will choose you to write up a memory about it.
Sorry, but there is something undeniably wrong with that.
Welcome to today’s chapter of How the Westeros Was Won. Game of Thrones Episode 7 of Season 4 featured a man seeking a champion, a young lady seeking her Aunt, and a misunderstood mentally damaged woman seeking reciprocating love. But the mockingbird had other plans…
“Mockingbird” originally aired on May 18, 2014 and was the 37th episode in the series. It was written by Lysa-killers David Benioff and D.B Weiss and directed by Lysa-killer Alik Sakharov. Since a man is a non-book reader, I can only assume it was originally planned by Lysa-killer George RR Martin.
The Mountain returns to KL at the request of Cersei. As he empties human bodies of vital organs for no good reason other than to remind viewers of his beastly strength, Cersei tells the Mountain that he is to serve as the Champion in the trial by combat for the fate of Tyrion.
A captive Tyrion is visited by various acquaintances that may potentially be able to offer support. The first is his brother, but Jaime would decline due to his inability to fight effectively with only one hand.
The next would be Bronn who fought as his champion at the Eyrie in Tyrion’s first escape of a trial by combat. However, Bronn would decline citing the strength of the chosen opponent and his bright future with Lollys Stokeworth.
The Stark and the Hound maintain their odd couple adventures en route to the Vale to see Aunt Lysa. And the Hound continues educating Arya on efficient and effective killing procedures as they come across the dying man.
Shortly after the mercy killing, Arya’s old friends and former cell mates of Jaqen would reappear in a poor attempt to collect the bounty on the Hound put forth by Tywin Lannister. Biter takes a chunk out of the Hound’s shoulder before having his head almost twisted completely off, and then Rorge meets needle.
Meanwhile at the Wall, Jon returns and suggests that the best course of action in facing 100,000 wildlings would be to seal the tunnel. But in true Alliser form, he denies the request (a decision that he would later admit to Jon was a mistake).
Daario visits Dany and requests that she send him to what he does best… kill her enemies. Much to the delight of women worldwide, Dany requests he do that “other” thing he does best and take off his clothes. The next morning Jorah passes Daario and suffers the burn of all burns when Daario tells him “she’s in a good mood.” Jorah discovers that Dany has sent Daario to Yunkai to retake the city.
Because D&D apparently believe in equal opportunity nudity, Red Velvet enjoys a bath while speaking to Selyse about magic and potions and their upcoming trip. Shireen’s inclusion on the trip is also discussed. For those of you keeping score at home, this was yet another time in which I speculated that Shireen would eventually be sacrificed, and most of you told me I was nuts.
Arya and the Hound would share another bonding moment as the Hound attempts to sew himself up. Arya would point out that the wound needed to be burned. But as we were already aware, the Hound doesn’t care for fire and tells Arya more about the incident between him and his brother and that ultimately, the incident was over a toy.
And what would a season be without an appearance by the Pie? Bri and Pod would stop by the Inn for some pie and would get more than they bargained for. Thanks to Hot Pie, the other odd couple would learn that Arya was indeed alive and as a result would make the decision to head for the Vale.
And we can’t overlook the Pie baking advancements…
Later, Tyrion’s champion would arrive in the form of Oberyn Martell. Oberyn tells Tyrion of the story of when he was a baby and how he was mistreated by Cersei after their mother died. This matchup was not necessarily a surprise to viewers as Oberyn had mentioned his disdain for the Mountain as early as episode 1 of season 4. The stage was set, and it was a damn good place to end the episode.
But, oh hell no. No one of significance had died yet.
So there was this…
Then this…
which led to this…
And ultimately this…
Most of you are well aware of my feelings surrounding Lysa. In contrast, most of you could venture an educated guess on how I subsequently feel about Littlefinger. If you were paying attention, the occurrence itself was not overly shocking. Baelish has always been about positioning himself to be in an advantageous situation to survive, if not to win the game itself. With Lysa gone and Robin still young and immature, her death would leave the Vale and its knights controlled by LF.
But the rationalization doesn’t ease the pain. It doesn’t relieve the grief. It doesn’t mitigate the suffering.
Damn you David and Dan. Damn you GRRM. And damn you Littlefinger. You murdered Lysa for no other reason than to shock your readers and your viewers and to further your own agendas. You could have allowed Lysa an opportunity to be happy if only for a short time longer. You essentially owed it to her for putting the whole damn story in motion.
But you didn’t. You couldn’t even accord her with an honorable ending. Instead, it was dishonorable death by moon door.
A man will never forgive. A man will never forget. RIP my dear Lysa.
Firsts: The Dying Man, the Mountain v.3, Daario’s butt, and the first mention of Lollys Stokeworth and her sister Falyse.
Lasts: The Dying Man, Biter, Rorge, and the lovely lady Lysa.
Quotes and Memes
“You’re the golden son. You could kill a king, lose a hand, fuck your own sister. You’ll always be the golden son.” – Tyrion “Careful. I’m the last friend you’ve got.” -Jaime
“She’s dim-witted.” –Tyrion “If I wanted wits, I’d marry you.” – Bronn
“And what about what I want? Justice for my sister and her children.” – Oberyn “If you want justice, you’ve come to the wrong place.” -Tyrion
and that one led to endless possibilities for memes:
Then there’s this:
And my dear Lysa’s final scene…
Say what you will about “batshit crazy” Lysa, and it will likely be accurate. But I’m convinced that no one could have pulled off her character like Kate Dickie.
Confession: the Beautiful Death for the ep was quite creative. But make no mistake, there is nothing beautiful about it.
Death stings the victim only once, but those left behind feel the pain of loss with every passing memory every day. But a man must move on.
Two weeks, kiddos! In-season Looking Forward is just around the corner. And rumor is that there is a premiere tonight. We’re on the homestretch.
Get ready, and may there always be peace in your realm. –Oz
“Unbent. Unbowed. Unsullied.”
Follow Oz on Twitter.
Ghost!
Kind of an up and down episode for me. Melisandre / Selise scene was meh. The whole Arya / Hound at the burning house was one of the worst in the series – between the strange dialogue with the dying man and Rorge’s unnecessary reappearance and ridiculous death.
On the contrary, I LOVED the scene where Arya offers to take care of the Hound’s wound. The three prison cell scenes were good. Ending was great.
14 days. ?
Hey Oz, you gonna do some more predictions? I love reading those, and if you were correct about Shireen…
One of my all time favs right here and the scene with Sansa and the Winterfell castle made of snow is gorgeous.
An underrated episode in my opinion. Loved the 1,2.3 combo of Jaime, Bronn and then Oberyn talking to Tyrion, and changing Oberyn’s offer to be Tyrion’s champion to AFTER the trial was a genius move that gave both this episode and the preceding one a bigger dramatic push. Also very much liked Arya with the dying man and seeing Hot Pie again.
Also, whilst I didn’t like them changing “Only Cat” on first viewing, I now realise “Your sister” works just as well and for a larger part of the audience.
What was strange in the dialogue? On the contrary it was cleverly written and a foreshadow of Arya’s arc at HoBW. Additionally the man who played the dying man is, and I hope I remember it well, a professor in literature and a specialist in Samuel Beckett whose plays have similar existential references as this very dialogue.
I remember feeling soooo hyped when Oberyn offered to fight on Tyrion’s behalf.
It’s one of the rare times a TV show has made me feel genuinely exhilarated.
I actually feel sorry for those books readers who didn’t get to experience the same level of hope and excitement watching that moment on the show, since they already knew what was going to happen.
But, then again, they wouldn’t have experienced the same low when the shocking events of the trial played out either.
That scene between Oberyn and Tyrion is one of the best the show has ever done. Tyrion’s reactions when Oberyn is confirming just how unequivocally his sister has hated him ever since he was born are heartbreaking.
I love the Hot Pie / Brienne scenes too. And the scene where Sansa walks out into the snow covered courtyard at the Eyrie with the Winterfell theme playing is simply beautiful.
I’m sorry, but there was absolutely nothing sad about that death, imo. Lysa was insane and dangerous. The world is far better off without her. This was the one death, aside from Joffrey’s, that I was grinning widely at.
Though yes, Kate Dickie was fantastic in the role.
Love your recaps as always. You do it with humor, which makes for such a fun read! Sorry about Lysa, even more for Kate Dickie, she was so good or we wouldn’t have hated her so much. This was my second favorite episode, behind Watchers on the Wall, because of her shocking death, non-book reader here! And also, any predictions for season 6 that you can gloat about next year??
Hot Pie’s cameo was one of the unexpected highlights of the season. It made me realized that I missed having the character tag along with Arya.
The three scenes of Tyrion’s various would-be champions range from solid to excellent, though I think the logic in the Jaime one is a bit dubious — sure, he wouldn’t have a prayer against the Mountain, but if Jaime stood as Tyrion’s champion there’s no way Tywin and Cersei would have allowed him to die. They’d have been forced to either withdraw the challenge or nominate some schmo that Jaime could actually beat. It would have been better to state that as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard he’s not allowed to side against the Crown. The Oberyn scene is the best moment of the whole season, though. It’s too bad he’s not in this episode otherwise, because I think if he had been it would have been a stronger Emmy submission.
I rarely have anything to say against the show’s cinematography choices, but Baelish kissing Sansa isn’t done all that well. In the still in this article from a different angle you can see that Sansa is upset, but that really doesn’t come across on the show. Partly because Sophie has to actually lean down for Aiden Gillen to kiss her, but they’re so focused on holding the shot so that they can show Lysa in the shot that Sansa kind of appears to be into it.
I’ve also never been quite sure what to make of Sansa demanding to know why Littlefinger killed Joffrey again here. This is structured like a three-part questioning (between this and 404) where the questioner burrows toward the real answer, and that’s how the show really seems to play it, but…Littlefinger didn’t kill Joffrey to avenge Catelyn. The second answer, the one he gave at the end of 404, is the correct one. Or do the writers view this answer he gives here as the real one?
Maybe it was a little too clever for me. But dumb ass Rorge showing up just to pass on the info about the bounty and Joffrey and then Arya demonstrating the kill stroke the Hound taught her was especially absurd to me.
Oneminutetomidknight,
I am not so sure about the Only your sister. I was spoiled at the time and I was waiting to be Only Cat(elyn). The Only your sister was very redundant. And I don’t think that there is any excuse for this because the audience was already very well informed that Lysa is Sansa’s aunt and sister to Catelyn. There was a whole scene with the two were Lisa was talking about Catelyn quite a lot. So yes by not naming Catelyn damaged the effect of this otherwise excellent scene. It diminished the influence that Catelyn could have possibly had on LF at this very moment and the extent to which Lysa was meaningless in comparison to her. Cat is concrete and loud, a statement, your sister is vague and impersonal and it left a bitter taste…
Great scenes the one with Tyrion and Oberyn and those in the Vale, not a very exciting episode the rest of it.
Especially Daenerys… her story is dragging SO much!
I’m with you Oz on Ms Dickie. She was excellent. And made me sad.
By the way, does anyone think that Sansa follows LF so sheepisly because she has a small, subconscious crush on him?
LatrineDiggerBrian,
The still of the Hound with Biter on him is hilarious, though.
Yeah haha
407-410 is probably my favorite consecutive string of episodes of the series followed by 507-510.
Another in the run of amazing episodes. The pause between the trial by the crown and the trial by combat. Everything at KL was amazing …
I thought the Arya/Hound scene was an attempt to show the horrors of the war on the common man and to take care of two of the characters from Arya’s past … I believe they “interacted” with Brienne/Pod in the books immediately before …. Maybe this was a scene to remove from book readers all hope of a certain lady appearing? The scene at the inn loses two more characters.
Also, so Arya could show a hint of nihilism? “nothing is nothing” And to learn where the heart is …
In the books the Hound gets a wound on his neck and makes Arya pour boiling wine over it and passes out … but avoiding the boiling wine/vinegar route and not treating the wound starts the process of weakening the Hound …
What I could quibble with in this part of their journey (and LF and Sansa’s as well) is how well the high road to the Bloody Gate was cleared of the mountain clans … no attacks such as with Catelyn and Tyrion traveling there and back. But maybe the clans died at the Blackwater or LF had been busy and had the clans cleared out … but having the Hound and Arya reach the Gate was a great scene so this doesn’t bother me in a continuity sense
Melisandre/Selyse – Selyse seemed perhaps a little too interested in Melisandre’s body … Also, I found Melisandre’s line about lies and potions bringing people into the Lord’s life when they can then see the truth interesting … both in terms of the show and in terms of religion in general (a la The Life of Pi) … perhaps creating some queestion of how real her power is …
Sansa/LF/Robin – “”I dreamt that same maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow.” This is the literal rendering of it … but what will be the actual fulfillment of the prophecy?
Dany/Daario – another fire and blood scene that has Dany’s original inclination modified by Jorah (as others by Barristan – I continue to wonder if venegence/justice will become her defining ruling mantra …
Sean C.,
Great points on Jamie (that’s what happened at the bearpit), Sansa being upset (in re-viewing it’s more obvious that it did not come across), and LF explanation for being part of Joffrey’s poisoning. I wondered why he told Sansa the more likely answer (the 404 answer) as opposed to this one from the start. From the viewers point of view it would make sense to know his “real” reason but why say that in Sansa’s earshot other than there’s no other opportunity to let the audience know. But then again I’m inclined to believe the worst in LF … did he ever truly love Cat or did he love the idea of marrying into the Tully’s and Cat was a beautiful young noble lady … how old was Petyr at the time … a teenager? But, even if he did, it would seem to me that that love had become twisted over the years, given how Brandon almost killed him and he was sent unceremoniously back to the Fingers and his and Lysa’s (first?) child aborted, with his hatred for the Starks into a twisted version of love.
Darkrobin,
Regarding Sansa slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow: I always thought It meant she would kill Littlefinger in Winterfell, since house Baelish’s sigil was the giant of Braavos before he changed it to a mockinbird.
But we’ve gotten spoilers that
I think they do. I think its obvious.
Cannot take seriously any1 who has problems with the “your sister” change.
BigMac,
I agree. That split-second splat at the end was satisfying.
I can’t be the only one that doesn’t like Hafthor’s The Mountain. Huge? Check. Strong? Check. Intimidating face? NO! He looks like a teddy bear in the face. And if not for Pedro and his double’s amazing spear performance, that fight would’ve looked boring. He barely swung the sword, at all. His sword skills were on par, in terms of being awful, with Obara and Nymeria’s weapon skills. They looked terrible. The best Mountain was from season one. He looked terrifying.
Because I’m not educated in the TV production world, why are episodes labeled in the 100s? Like, why is episode 37 called 407? Why not 4×7?
?????,
I think he’s perfect for the undead, or whatever he is, Gregor. Those sickly eyes behind that helmet are terrifying.
Anyway, over swinging is a good way to get killed. I think he fought pretty well.
BigMac,
I completely agree! I was unsullied back then and to me it was VERY satisfying when LF gave her that push, lol.
I also don’t really get the fuss about changing “only cat” to “your sister”. Imo your sister sounds even more confronting and mean.
mau,
That’ s a very strange view of the character, if that’s how the writers see him.
Seconded. Really guys, when all is said and done, who the hell cares about such irrelevant minutia.
The words themselves have no particular value. It’s not as if the line is some literary masterpiece that would be a crime to omit. It’s simply a shorthand book fans use to easily identify this particular moment in the narrative, just like they use “Red Wedding” or “Purple Wedding” to refer to those events.
Good episode. The complaints about ”Only Cat/Your sister” are a utter joke. The “Olly/Edd” anger in S5 I can understand to some degree but this I can not comprehend.
Liked Arya’s speech about ”nothing is nothing” thought it was clever and forshadowed her S5 arc nicely.
Would’ve preferred COnan Stevens, but I thought Hafthor’s look was fine. Couple that with Richard Riding’s dub job, and he got the job done in the key battle scene.
?????,
I disagree. Watching the Oberyn/Mountain fight again the other day I thought The Mountain’s swordsmanship was fairly impressive.
The way he parries Oberyn’s spear attacks with that huge greatsword in one hand, especially in one moment where he advances at Oberyn while just batting away the jabs of Oberyn’s spear with his sword like he’s swatting a fly away, I think portray his ability as a swordsman quite well.
Of course, they had to make him come across as more lumbering, less agile and more monstrous than Oberyn for the benefit of the contrast and dynamic between the two characters.
But I think they did well to portray The Mountain as a fairly decent swordsman and not just completely reliant on his physical advantage.
And the “cheesiest death scene of the entire series” award goes to…
Shit, just realized that I’ll have to split this one.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
Well said.
This is one of the weakest episodes of the season for me. The Selyse/Mel scene was meh and unnecessary, the Daario/Dany scene was rushed, and the events at the Vale happened way too fast.
The events of the latter scene should have been spaced out a bit. Other issues I had with the Vale scene: no people (it looked like Sansa, LF, Lysa, and Sweetrobin were the only people in the castle….did they run out of money for the extras?), really bad acting, LF’s ever-changing accent (it’s like he’s not even trying at this point). I feel like D&D didn’t really like the Vale portion of Sansa’s story, so they wanted to streamline it as much as possible, but they still could have spaced out the scenes.
Unlike other fans, I don’t care about “Only Cat” being replaced by “Your sister”. It’s not that important.
Sean C.,
Why can’t Littlefinger have more than one motivation for killing Joffrey? Just because Littlefinger gives Sansa this answer in this moment doesn’t make it the final, authoritative position for the character or for the writers. In this moment, Littlefinger isn’t the master player – he’s the besotted teenager smitten by a young woman who’s the spitting image of the girl he once loved. He wants to impress her, and he answers accordingly.
Whenever I’m trying to puzzle out Littlefinger’s complicated feelings for Sansa, I always go back to this clip that George R.R. Martin made for the episode, where he addresses the topic. I believe that the show and the books are aligned with the view of Littlefinger’s motivatons that Martin expresses here. Martin characterized Baelish’s feelings for Sansa in three ways.
“It becomes apparent to Lysa, who is obsessed with Petyr Baelish and has loved him since she was a girl and he was a fosterling at Riverrun, that Petyr’s feelings towards Sansa are not entirely paternal. They’re partially paternal, because Littlefinger has very mixed feelings here too. I mean, sometimes he sees Sansa and she’s the daughter he never had, the daughter that he might have had with Cat if he and Cat had been married as he dreamed when he was a small boy living in her father’s castle and was so madly in love with her.
“But at other times, he detaches himself from that and he’s less Petyr and he’s more Littlefinger and she’s just another piece in the game of thrones, another valuable that he’s going to use to get what he wants.
“And at yet other times, she’s not Cat’s daughter, she’s like young Cat. She’s his teenage fantasies returned again. And then his feelings toward her are sexual and romantic. And those feelings overcome him in the moment when he sees Sansa in the snow, so beautiful in the snow, building the snow castle of Winterfell. It reminds him very much of the young Cat, and he reacts to that by kissing her. And unfortunately, Lysa sees that, which is not something she wanted to see.”
This mindset can also extend Littlefinger’s multiple answers to Sansa about why he arranged for Joffrey’s death. Most likely, his primary reason for the assassination was because he viewed it as a necessary and important move during his own quest for power – as he basically says in “Oathkeeper”. But ultimately, Catelyn wound up being murdered by the Freys during the Red Wedding, which was Lannister-sanctioned. Of course, Littlefinger bears heavy responsibility of his own because his actions started the War that led to Cat’s death. But I doubt that her death was his explicit intention, it’s easy to see how he could find a way to avoid shouldering that blame and pin her death on the Lannisters instead. Wars are chaotic, and chaos can’t always be controlled.
If he never intended Cat to be collateral damage, it’s not surprising that he might take some perverse pleasure in hurting the Lannisters when he arranged for Joffrey’s death. He didn’t kill Joffrey for that reason – he killed him to weaken the Lannisters’ position and facilitate his own rise. But that doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy it as well, and view Joffrey’s murder as a small measure of revenge for the death of the only woman he claims he ever loved.
As for why Sansa would ask him yet again why he killed Joffrey, I find that easy to answer as well. She doesn’t trust him (as well she shouldn’t). None of his answers sit quite right with her, because none of those answers are the whole truth. So she keeps asking him, trying to see which answer he’ll give, and gauging her own response to see which answer feels the most true to her.
The moon door scene is one of my favorites because I was unsullied/unspoiled when I read it in ASOS–so much so that I would have chosen “Only Cat” as my WOTW user name if I had not thought that someone else would have selected it. When I heard “Your sister” in the episode, my impression was that the writers had selected it because casual viewers do not always remember all of the characters’ names and relationships (I have watched the entire series with a friend who still calls Cersei “Incest Lady”). Although I was disappointed, I accepted that the show’s line is every bit as effective as the book’s original for most viewers.
On an unrelated note, I appreciate Pedro Pascal’s performance more with every viewing!
Sean C.,
I do think the show portrays the revenge motivation as the “real,” or at least more authoritative, motivation behind his killing of Joffrey. The Lannisters had Cat killed so he wants to mess with the Lannisters. I agree that the reason he gives in 404 makes more logical sense (although I don’t think one cancels out the other). After all, the Lannisters themselves aren’t really hurt that much as far as power dynamics by Joffrey’s death; of anything, Tywin, the Lannister most responsible for Cat’s death, becomes more powerful when the wild card Joffrey is replaced with the more maleable Tommen. It’s Tyrion’s killing of Tywin that dealt such a big blow to the Lannister power. So yeah, I don’t really get how the killing of Joffrey, who was not really that involved in the Red Wedding anyway, constitutes payback for Cat’s death.
Love this episode. It was in my top 10 before Season 5. An example of an episode that visits a lot of characters but still has really meaty material for each of the visits (except maybe Jon Snow, which is more just expositions setup for the battle). Even liked the Mel and Selyse scene. Showed some vulnerability with Selyse, and the discussion about Shireen is particularly weighty now in retrospect. The Lysa, Hot Pie, Daario stuff was fun, Hound stuff was great, and Oberyn with Tyrion is one of the best scenes of the series.
dothrakian raven,
I disagree. The audience knew immediately and exactly to whom “your sister” referred, and thus, imo, it took nothing away from Catelyn. Had they stuck with the line as it appeared in the books, I think the majority of the audience (non book-readers, that is) would have likely needed a moment to figure out to whom LF was referring, and that would have taken away from the immediate impact of him making the psycho woman fly.
If the line in the books been “only Catelyn,” I would have seen absolutely no reason whatsoever to change it. However, like I said, I think most viewers (again, those who had not read the books at the time) would have gone…”huh? Who the hell is “Cat?” Ohhhhh, yeah, didn’t they refer to Catelyn that way a few times. Got it.” By that time, the credits would have been rolling, and the immediate recognition and impact that came with it would have been lost.
Wise words of The Hound #463
Rorge: There’s a price on your head.
Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane: Guess that’s what the king does when you tell him to fuck off.
😀
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
It is not so important after all. But every time I watch the scene I feel that “the only your sister” takes something from its impact. “Catelyn” could have worked as well. I explained why to name her would have been more impactful. As to the “audience” excuse it really is so weak because after 3 seasons and the RW nobody could have any doubts who was she who had this name. The “audience” that started watching GOT from S4, according to your logic, would not get in the very few secs that the scene lasted who that sister is anyway. But as I said I have no problems to sleep even with that little miss 🙂
dothrakian raven,
It certainly seems important to you, given you not only brought it up, and used a phrase like “no excuse,” you try to discount my observations by calling them “so weak,” “excuses,” and making questionable leaps of reason “according to my logic.” People who haven’t read the books, and even people who have, have a difficult enough time keeping everyone’s names straight, much less their nicknames. I think, given it was just established Lysa was Sansa’s Aunt, there was no confusion to whom “Your Sister” referred.
At least we can agree LF simply saying “Catelyn” would have worked perfectly, as it would have had the impact of her actual name, plus no one could have possibly had to stop and think…”who’s Catelyn.” Then again, there still would have been some who bitched about the line being changed, at all.
I was hoping that Oz would be the one to write up Lysa’s final episode so that he could pay appropriate tribute to her. Does it make me a bad person that I’m glad he was called upon to relive his dearly departed’s death for our enjoyment? Yes. It probably does. But I was already going to the Seventh Hell anyway, so screw it. Well done, sir. 🙂
“Mockingbird” is probably the quietest episode in the stellar back half of Season 4, but it’s an excellent hour, and a big part of why this five episode run is my favorite of the series to date. While it’s not in my personal Top 10, it would make my Top 15, I think.
For all the well-deserved accolades that Peter Dinklage received for his performance in “The Laws of Gods and Men”, I think that his work in “Mockingbird” is his best of the season, and some of his best work in the series. As Tyrion jokes and reasons and pitches his case to each of his three prospective champions, Peter Dinklage makes sure that the quiet desperation he’s feeling is never far from the surface. It’s achingly apparent in his joking-but-not-really pitch to Jaime about dying together and ending the Lannister dynasty, and in the way he holds on to Bronn for an extra second, not wanting to let go, until Bronn reaches down and gives his hand a gentle clasp.
“Why are you sorry? Because you’re an evil bastard with no conscience and no heart? That’s what I liked about you in the first place.” Bronn does have a conscience – it’s just not strong enough to override his survival instincts. The show did an excellent job of cultivating sympathy for both characters in that scene. While we might desperately want Bronn to stand for Tyrion yet again, it makes perfect sense why he wouldn’t, and like Tyrion, we can’t blame him for putting himself first.
Tyrion and Oberyn’s conversation is a Top 5 scene for me. On the Memory Lane post for “Breaker of Chains”, I mentioned that Tywin instructing Tommen about what it means to be a good king was one of my favorite scenes. This conversation between Oberyn and Tyrion is one of the very few scenes that can compete with it.
The decision to keep the camera on Tyrion’s face as Oberyn tells his story was perfect, as it allows us to witness Tyrion’s shell slowly crack and see the tears slowly welling up in his eyes. Hell, I still tear up a bit when I hear Oberyn say “That’s not a monster, I told Cersei. That’s just a baby” and “Everyone says he will die soon. I hope they’re right. He should not have lived this long.” It’s one of the few scenes that still elicits that reaction from me, no matter how many times I watch it. Even after enduring a lifetime of abuse and scorn from his sister, Cersei still has the ability to hurt Tyrion. He would have loved her if she’d allowed him to, but she never gave him that opportunity. Her heart was closed to him from the moment their mother’s heart ceased to beat, and when Tyrion is finally confronted with just how deep that hatred runs, his sardonic stoicism can’t help but waver. He never stood a chance.
I’ve previously mentioned that the decision to move Oberyn’s story about meeting Tyrion as a baby from their initial meeting outside the city (where it happens in the novels) to his dungeon cell was a brilliant call. Had that scene been in the premiere, it would have come across more as Oberyn mocking Tyrion than anything else. By taking essentially the same dialogue and transplanting it to a moment when Tyrion is at his lowest emotional ebb, it ceased to be yet another example of Oberyn antagonizing the Lannisters and became one of the most powerful moments in the season, if not the series.
And Pedro Pascal as Oberyn – this scene is the pinnacle of his superlative performance (I’d also consider his introductory scene in “Two Swords”, if only because it establishes the character so brilliantly and efficiently). It’s crazy that this was the first scene he filmed in character, and that he did so during his first day on set. To reach that high note right out of the gate, opposite one of the show’s very best actors, is truly impressive.
Your observstions that I oposed was oonly one observation the one about the audience’s ability to remember the name Catelyn after 3Seasons and RW. And it was not me who brought it up. I commented on someone elses observation. And no I am not really bothered at least no more than you who put your seriousness at risk (as some commentators stated above) by continuing this discussion 🙂
dothrakian raven,
I think we’re missing each other, somewhere, although I did think you brought it up, so my bad on that. I never argued people wouldn’t remember the name “Catelyn,” only that they would have needed a moment or three to figure out who “Cat” was. I have no clue what you mean by putting my seriousness at risk by continuing this discussion, but whatever.
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
Yes let’s leave it where we agree, that is to a reference of the full name 🙂 About the seriousness I was referring to the commentator above who said that s/he cannot take seriously anyone who has problems with the Only your sister. But it’s hype time so anything goes 🙂
Probably my favorite episode of Season 4:
*Everything in the Eyrie/Vale with Sansa, Sweetrobin, Lysa, Littlefinger
*Jail cell discussion between Oberyn and Tyrion
*OMFG the return of Hot Pie! Encountering Brienne and Pod. None of that was from the novels but every word of those scenes was utterly brilliant. I like how Axey put it: many of us were overjoyed to see him….just because surviving through four seasons of Game of Thrones and remaining alive and relatively comfortable is an accomplishment unto itself! (Particularly when you’re an “expendable” minor character)
*Also liked that they were giving Daenerys some romance stuff with Daario, giving us some even-handed sexposition for a change.
All in all a close competitor for top two or three of the entire season. Really, episodes 2, then 6 through 10 were all great. 1 was necessarily setup but pleasant. 3, 4, and 5 had good elements but also some not great filler material.
Nah….after 2 years, I’m well-adjusted and I still prefer “Only Cat.” LF would have used a term of endearment to make Lysa hurt more in her final moments. He wouldn’t use a generic social abstraction in that instance. He is too well-calculated (although a strong argument can be made that Cat’s unexpected casualty embittered and enabled him even more). 🙂
Jared,
You know, Jared, you should compile these daily posts of yours on all the episodes and publish them as a single huge, brilliantly written essay. 😉
Jared,
Very well written comments. Esp loved this: Even after enduring a lifetime of abuse and scorn from his sister, Cersei still has the ability to hurt Tyrion. I have a relative who has that ability on me, and during that entire story, I hurt for him so much because I know full well how that felt when it was done to me. Wanted to take away his pain. The whole scene was amazing; in fact the whole episode is one of my favorites.
Loved the Lysa scene (sorry Oz, ) and had no problem with the change of wording (just silly to argue over it, really) I did think the way the book presented the sequence of events made more sense but the way the show presented it kept me glued to the seat, tho I knew what was going to happen
Mr Fixit,
this.
Mr Fixit,
We’ll see. I shudder to think just how long such a document would be. 😉
ash,
Thank you! I’m so sorry to hear that you have firsthand experience with a similar relationship. That must be extremely hard for you. I hope you’re OK. 🙂
Jared,
Oh yeah, I have been for a while, haven’t let it affect my life. But after 59 years, I still remember the hurt, and ache for anyone else who has the same. but thanks, that was sweet 🙂
In the name of the Seven, why has nobody mentioned the most important piece of wisdom to come out of this episode?
No gravy; no pie!
That was one of the best episodes in my view. And was part of one of the best grouping of episodes ever on GoT. Can’t remember offhand (am only rewatching season 5 right now), but I loved 4 episodes in a row in Season 4, including Mockingbird and ending with the Mountain and the Viper (the next Big 9 wasn’t bad, but I was ‘overhyped’ and subsequently felt a bit letdown).