We thought it could only happen once. After the execution of Ned Stark, we didn’t think it was possible to ever be that shocked or hurt again by anything that happened in the world of Game of Thrones. After Ned died, our understanding of the story shifted, and we adapted and hardened along with the characters.
Until “The Rains of Castamere” played, blades were drawn, and we realized it was happening all over again. Then we were left adapting to the new shape of Game of Thrones once more.
“Mhysa,” the season 3 finale written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and directed by David Nutter, plunges us into the immediate aftermath of the Red Wedding. With Robb Stark’s desecrated corpse on display, as his little sister Arya looks on, there’s no hope: we’ve lost Robb, Catelyn and Talisa, and the ramifications will loom large throughout the season finale, and the rest of the series.
The Freys emphasize their takedown of the King in the North by ghoulishly attaching Grey Wind’s head to Robb’s body, and finish off butchering the Stark army while Roose Bolton watches on from above. The Hound manages to rescue Arya from the madness, flinching from the flames, but she sees Robb’s body: one more scar on her young soul.
As is expected in every GoT season finale, practical business is sorted out for the viewers’ clarity. Bolton is appointed Warden of the North, and Walder Frey wins Riverrun, formerly the Tully seat. In their convenient exposition-laden chat, the men confirm that the Blackfish escaped the Red Wedding slaughter during his incredibly well-timed piss break.
Roose also solves a season-long mystery in the conversation: he offers a connection between himself and the young man who has been menacing and torturing Theon Greyjoy all season long. If the X-shaped crosses and flaying didn’t make it obvious, the “Boy” who captured Theon is Ramsay Snow, Bolton’s bastard who had been sent to retake Winterfell from the Ironborn. Being the Ramsay we’ve come to know and swear at, he somehow burned Winterfell out instead of simply taking it but he flayed a lot of Ironborn, and took control of Balon Greyjoy’s son so Daddy Bolton isn’t too displeased.
Ramsay taunts Theon about his de-penising, and decides on a new name for his prisoner. After more beating and pain, the man finally breaks and accept his new name: Reek (rhymes with weak). Ramsay celebrates the occasion by sending Balon Greyjoy a dick in a box, and not the fun kind. Balon writes off the son he’s cast aside before, but Yara resolves to save her little brother and sets sail for the North. (She should’ve planned for dogs.)
Meanwhile, Arya and the Hound have ridden away from the Twins, and the night has passed. They come across a group of Frey soldiers bragging about their crimes the night before, and Arya decides to act out her feelings in a knifey way that is probably unhealthy but was very satisfying for viewers.
Afterward, she touches the iron coin gifted to her by Jaqen H’ghar and intones, “Valar Morghulis.”
We check in briefly with Sansa and Tyrion as newlyweds. They may not be in love, but it does seem like they could develop cautious friendship and respect. Oops- not going to happen. Their walk is interrupted when Tyrion’s called away for a meeting with major news: the King’s Landing crew has just received word that the Starks have been murdered en masse at the Tully-Frey wedding.
Tyrion understands the long-ranging effects of this act- and the more immediate fact that this will devastate his young wife- but Joffrey is simply reveling in it. He is straight up getting his life from the carnage, and wants to serve Sansa her brother’s head on a plate. Everyone is appropriately horrified and Tywin sends the teenage king to bed.
Discussing the matter with Tyrion, Tywin admits he helped set up the Red Wedding. He presents his own ruthless logic about it saving more lives than a messy war but in the end, all his actions serve himself. Tyrion points this out, so Tywin takes the opportunity to say more terrible things to his son about the day he was born, because well, Tywin gotta Tywin.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss offer their insight into Tywin and Tyrion’s intense discussion in the “Inside the Episode” video for the week, along with their comments on other scenes:
In “Mhysa,” we don’t see Sansa notified of her family’s death- we only see her tears afterward through Tyrion’s persective, and frankly it feels like a bit of a cheat. Overall, the scene feels like it’s more about Tyrion having to deal with her pushing him away, after they’d tentatively been getting along, which dovetails with the feeling that this is no longer a show centered around the Starks.
The Lannisters and the Boltons take the forefront much of the time in “Mhysa,” and that is fitting because they’ve decimated the Starks, taken over the North, and solidified their position in Westeros. But how long will that remain true?
“Mhysa” sets the stage for season four in other ways: Varys attemps to send Shae away with a bag of diamonds. She refuses, believing in her and Tyrion’s love. Elsewhere in the city, Jaime and Brienne return from their journey as two completely changed people. Cersei barely recognizes Jaime when he walks in the room and calls her name. There’s so much space between them now, they’re no longer twins.
One interesting thing that occurred after the airing of “The Rains of Castamere” in fan discussions is that many complained that the seriousness of “guest right” was never conveyed on Game of Thrones. Within the Red Wedding episode, Robb Stark and company are shown eating bread and salt in a ceremonial fashion as they’re welcomed by Walder Frey, but the full weight of the gesture isn’t thoroughly explained.
Behold, in the next episode, we have Bran sharing the story of the Rat Cook while hunkered down at the Nightfort with his traveling companions. The strange tale of cannibalism and violated guest right shows the seriousness of harming those you’ve taken into your home and fed. The eerie story Bran tells offers a promise that there will be retribution for the Red Wedding from the gods.
One of the pleasures of “Mhysa” is that we get to see storylines crossing- Samwell and Gilly pop up into the Nightfort and meet Bran and his friends. They spend a small amount of time together before Sam and Gilly return to Castle Black, with a warning of White Walkers to share. Aemon has Sam send warning to the kings and lords down south.
Another brother is headed back to the Wall as well: Jon Snow is on the move after abandoning the wildlings and his lover. Chasing him down, Ygritte fills Jon up with arrows, because hell hath no fury like a fiery-haired wildling scorned. He tells her he loves her, and she shoots him anyway, with tears in her eyes. Good for her. He makes it back to Castle Black to be greeted by his black brothers, Sam and Pyp.
At Dragonstone, Davos saves Gendry from being sacrificed for his king’s blood. Thus begins the Boat Trip That Never Ends (Though It Goes On and On, My Friends.)
Davos’s Hooked on Phonics lessons with Shireen pay off, and he uses the Night’s Watch letter asking for help to convince Stannis to act like a king, and to aid the realm rather than simply claim it. Surprisingly, Melisandre is on board with the idea; the true war is in the North, she has seen and her often-enemy Davos is meant to be there, too.
Now, let’s talk about the episode’s big finish. Which some don’t particularly see as a big finish.
In the episode’s final scene, Daenerys is greeted as “Mhysa”- which means “Mother” in the Ghiscari language – by the newly freed slaves of Yunkai. She’s uncertain how they’ll react to her, but when she steps out, the people call for her and embrace her, lifting her high over them in joy and adoration.
The writers were apparently looking to create some sort of uplifting emotional catharsis for Dany, but unfortunately it looked more like Emilia Clarke was crowd-surfing at Coachella. And…that was it, that was the final scene. For some it worked. For me and many others- no, it didn’t. Even setting aside the racial discussion and the debate that followed on the internet (which I won’t bother rehashing because everyone’s already made up their minds), the moment itself just didn’t carry enough weight to leave a mark on me, to haunt me in some way until the next season with curiosity and excitement like the birth of dragons in season 1 or the advance of the White Walkers in season 2. Even Arya’s finale-ending scene for season 4, while less dramatic than the first two seasons, still left viewers wondering where she was headed.
There was one other thing hanging over book-readers’ heads at the time we originally watched this episode. A good portion of the ASOIAF readership had convinced themselves that a character would be appearing in the finale, presumably at the very end. People convinced themselves that the episode title had multiple meanings (it didn’t) and scoured the soundtrack for clues. We listened to every bar, every dark ending note for a sign- but alas, no dice. The music and the finale simply was what it was. (You think people would learn but the same thing happened during seasons 4 and 5. We’re nothing if not consistent and hopeful fans.)
The Mhysa music that bore the most scrutiny:
One last note: Bran’s story of the Rat Cook teased vengeance against those who broke the sacred protection of guest right, and the powerful architect of the Red Wedding, Tywin Lannister, died within a season. Joffrey, who cheered on the deaths, died sooner. How long before the Boltons and the Freys face retribution from the gods?
MIA: Gendry: This was the last we’ve seen of Joe Dempsie as Gendry, the lovable bastard. He’s still rowin,’ we hope.
We haven’t seen the wicked Walder Frey since “Mhysa,” but he’ll be back in season 6.
Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy was last seen in this episode. I think we’ll see him in season 6 also. There’s some unsettled business between him and a leech.
Ed Skrein made his final appearance as Daario Naharis in “Mhysa,” before departing the show.
Mhysa, Beautiful Death:
Creative Fandom:
Because Ghiscari isn’t the easiest language to understand.
Robb’s post-death condition inspired many artists- here’s a couple:
Ho-no!
Good finale this.
In my opinion the end scene was the best finale ending so far because atleast for me it lifted my hopes up after being totally rekt by red wedding
The scene with Arya and the Hound after the Red Wedding is heartbreaking. Arya’s entire arc is so tragic. 🙁 Death would be a gift.
I loved the Rat Cook story. So many casuals (including some I know) don’t get the hints there.
I could have done without the white savior scene at the end. No thank you. I know they’re hinting at Dany making it on the throne, but that scene doesn’t work for me either.
The last scene was so bad.
The Hound looks sad in that picture. Seems like he felt sad for Arya.
Same here. I loved it.
New cast interviews
Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth): The first episode, the kick-off with her [points to Carice Van Houten], is astonishing.
Carice Van Houten (Melisandre): Yes…! But it’s not what you think it is, it’s something else. I knew it was coming at some point, people had talked about it before to me, but I wasn’t sure when it was going to happen… oh, this is really vague… but it should be. And it’s in Episode 1 already.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/04/03/how-the-game-of-thrones-cast-avoid-revealing-season-6-spoilers
Loved the ending!!!
I was expecting her too ride with her horse like in the books. Witch I think was preaty ”meh”
But I loved how they did the Mhysa scene. Best ending ever.
Alright, what’s wrong with the final scene? I liked it and its music
Personally I’m OK with the ending (still isn’t close to ending scenes from Seasons 1 and 2), but then again I’m not from a country with a history of racially sensitive issues. I fully acknowledge that for a lot of people the scene may carry problematic undertones.
Ramin’s score is brilliant though. One of his best tracks.
El Germán,
People complained the slaves where ”brown” and Dany is ”white”
Pointless complaints in my opinion and among the silliest ones.
I loved the scene Tywin had with Joffrey.
“I. AM NOT. TIRED!!!”
Mr Fixit,
I myself saw nothing racist there.
Vincent Stark,
Again… Charles Dance is a god of acting. That’s it.
My question for Sue, who has her ears to the ground as keenly as anyone I know…
Straight talk: do you think Joe Dempsie was fired? They went through the trouble of making him Main Cast for season 3, which usually implies a long term stay and implied long term story usage. Since he was headed for Kings Landing, I wonder if he was originally going to be Brienne’s traveling companion.
Any sign that they gave him the Ed Skrein/Conan Stevens/ Clive Mantle treatment?
For me the end scene worked, even though I’m not the biggest Dany fan (I still hope she’ll end up the villain as she basically is a good hearted psychopath).
Regardless of the quality of the scene, “Mhysa” is still the most beatifull piece of music Ramin Djawadi as ever written for Game of Thrones and that says a lot, he’s written some many memorable music for the show. But “Mhysa” gives me chills everytime I hear it.
That’s one of my favorite scenes of the series. Lol at Tyrion when he says “killed a few pups” to Joffrey when he comes into the room smirking.
The first 20 minutes were some of the best the show has done to date. The rest of the episode, not so much.
Jack Bauer 24,
“But it’s not what you think it is” :
.
Wild guess here : the scene he’s mentioning
“Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy was last seen in this episode. I think we’ll see him in season 6 also. There’s some unsettled business between him and a leech.”
Isn’t he confirmed to be back? He was in the official photos released in February.
LMAO… Ian Beattie… that was priceless comment!!
Out of the 5 seasons this was my favourite finale scene. It wasn’t as impactful as the last scene of season 1 or season 5, true, but it felt more conclusive, like they were reminding us there is still a glimmer of hope in the got universe. And the soundtrack is amazing.
Well sure, but as I said, some people come from countries where this kind of color-coded savior stuff can be considered problematic, to put it mildly. It’s a legitimate criticism that shouldn’t be lightly dismissed. You and I come from places where the “collective consciousness” hasn’t had to deal with such historical and cultural baggage.
Jack Bauer 24,
Exactly! Everyone in that scene is on fire. I miss the presence Charles Dance brought to the show – his scenes with Dinklage were always great, and the expanded Joffrey x Tywin scenes that weren’t on the books were an welcome addition to the show.
On the one hand, I’m annoyed they didn’t introduce Robb Stark’s crown so they could nail it to Grey Wind’s head — WHY haven’t they shown crowns on the rival kings that much?
On the other hand….in my mental image, it never occurred to me in the book-verse to have the Freys “triumphantly” PARADE Robb’s desecrated corpse around the castle. So kudos to them, I’d have never thought of that for some reason.
The Daenerys crowd surfing thing wasn’t that good….I mean, I think it was as you said, them trying to make some emotional high-point after the low of the Red Wedding. Not even considering the racial complaints.
And to be honest, I don’t think they meant anything racial by it (ignorance does not mean malice), and next season they were more careful about showing the slaves and slave-masters as both racially diverse. So in the grand scheme of things I just consider that a minor speedbump, might have retweaked it, but I’m more worried about other stuff.
zod,
Just wanted to add that this could also fit the VFX challenge that has been put off for 2 seasons but is supposed to happen in S6.
Andrew,
I do think there was some behind the scenes rejiggering between Seasons 3 and 4. Not only Gendry, but I suspect something more was planned for Yara as well. I sincerely doubt they included the scene with Balon and her and had Yara go all dramatic and speechy if they planned for her to show up in for 5 minutes in a single episode next season.
That’s neither due to ignorance or malice. They were filming in Morocco, so when they asked for extras Moroccans showed up. Is it that hard to understand?
zod,
Great thought. It will be interesting if they spend any time with Mel’s backstory and what she actually is (in the books her one POV chapter gives some interesting hints).
Loved the final scene of this one, as long as noone starts talking about racism or some bs like that. The music, the visuals, perfect ending scene.
I’ve heard people say that it’s bad because the finale should always be a cliffhanger, or at least something that makes you thirst for the next season, but that wasn’t really necessary after the Red Wedding; What fans needed was a hopeful reminder of how beautiful, awesome and hopeful this show can be, and that final scene delivered.
What I meant by “ignorance” is only the loose sense of “lack of foresight” – not trying to be harsh, not best choice of words. Just “they didn’t anticipate that this might look a little weird to some people” – and I think they were genuinely surprised when that criticism circulated, took it to heart, and did a better job of such matters in Season 4.
I’ve never heard anything negative about Dempsie. Nice guy, and he’s good friends with lots of people in the cast.
Jack Bauer 24,
Yeah- when I wrote it I couldn’t remember off the top of my head if he was confirmed in the public’s eye, and I didn’t check before I published.
The scenes with Joffrey losing it, and Tyrion and Tywin are just excellent; as is The Hound and Arya witnessing the Frey “celebration” with Robb’s corpse. Davos and Shireen too. Plenty of very different emotional moments in this season finale.
Fave quotes
Tywin Lannister: The king is tired. See him to his chambers.
Tyrion Lannister: The disgraced daughter and the demon monkey. We’re perfect for each other.
‘The Hound’: Next time you’re going to do something like that, tell me first!
Dragonmcmx,
Look, you’re going to get nowhere by referring to discussion of racism as “bs.” It’s a valid topic and people can discuss it if they like. I had no desire to get into the subject because I know damn well every one of you already has your minds made up which side of the issue you fall on, when it comes to this particular scene, so what was the point.
Gorgeous shot of the Hound & Arya which I got signed by Rory. I liked the show included the wolf head on Robb’s body because I didn’t think they would. However, I didn’t like it because in the books
Setting aside the value of the final scene as entertainment, it always seemed clear to me that the juxtaposition between a lily-white dragon queen and thousands of brown-skinned slaves was intentional: as subsequent seasons (and the books) have made plain, much of Dany’s arc in Slaver’s Bay is intended as a critique of the White Savior complex (or whatever the SJWs are calling it these days). The idea that an outsider can come into a society deemed “barbaric” by the West and “civilize” it through the force of their own purity is an idea that Game of Thrones rejects; as I’m sure D&D are aware, that same idea is part of what led to the fiasco of the Iraq War. So to those who claim that the scene is racially problematic, I say Yes – that’s precisely the point. And it’s a point that the narrative, as it unfolds, has made far more powerfully than any think piece could have.
There’s only two things that GRRM did in AFFC/ADWD that didn’t show up in S5 that was disappointing for me.
The second one was the Frey pies.
I remain hopeful that including the Rat Cook story is the producers hanging the gun for
This is the first time I had a problem with how the show handled Stannis. Not because it’s different in the books (regular guys and gals here know I’m a hardcore show uberlover), but because he came off as a total puppet who changes opinion instantly on Melisandre’s cue. Not too fond of Stannis heading north because of Mel…
Being unsullied at the time I had no expectations of the appearance of a certain lady and after 1 & 3/4 eps of darkness, brutality and death this scene along with the rat story was something to make amends with all the previous direness. But still the bad taste of what have happened couldn’t be washed off and despite the excellent piece of music (one of Djawadi’s best) this episode cannot be regarded as one of the top Ep10. In fact in my list it is the last 10. In retrospect I wished that the Mhyssa Dany would have followed by the un-Mhyssa lady but as I had no idea what would have been the purpose of LSH in the overall story and understanding that the way that the plot had been designed for the next seasons didn’t offer a comfortable solution for her presence I accepted the fact that in that matter would not have been a resolution until the end of this season. It only then that I will say to this lady RIP.
Eddhead,
Based on D&D’s comments after the scene aired, it seems clear that it was most definitely not intentional.
I’m a minority, and I honestly watched this and it never occurred to me to see this as “pro colonial” or “white savior”, or anything relating to real life history and politics. After reading too many thought pieces, I get where people who were taken aback by it may be coming from, but I’m not still not bothered by it personally. I just find it another piece of a wider fantasy story. Also, knowing what we know now about how badly Dany rules, you could interpret this as more being about her hubris, which actually makes the case for the people troubled by the overtones.
I love the pic of the Hound protecting Arya, and I hope they reunite at some point. The season 3 finale was awesome, minus the really stupid final scene. I’ve grown to absolutely hate Daenerys though. She’s still my favorite book character, but Emilia just butcher’s every scene she’s in. Her story’s too predictable as well. She’s not going to die, she’s going to go to Westeros, at some point. There are no surprises with her character.
I’m not keen on the final scene. Not because any of the political issues (although I understand the argument), but because for me it feels really forced. To me it is clearly D&D sitting in a room thinking “we need to end the season with an uplifting aspirational moment like Season 1”. It doesn’t feel organic and natural, it feels horribly staged. So yeah, not a fan.
But the rest of the episode is great. I was one of those not happy about the lack of guest rights info in episode 9 so I was very happy to be proved wrong in this episode. Oh an I love the Roose / Walder chat. Roose is just so damned… humourless…. just so cold and conniving…. contrasted with Walder Frey’s more emotiveness and grabbing opportunism. It is exposition heavy but I love that scene. Mopping up blood in the background while they talk… chills.
Final thing – I do wish they had made more of the Robb-wind thing. It was absolutely the most horrifying thing for me in the book and I think they could have milked it a bit more. A sudden reveal inside the hall with Robb-wind on the “throne…” – could have been really cool. I get why they brought it outside for Arya’s sake, but the scene was so dark, I’m not sure it was clear enough or impactful enough. But, a minor quibble.
I believe the show has already told us where Gendry is. When Davos sets Gendry free, Davos tells Gendry to row around the Fingers to Kingslanding. Why mention the Fingers? Who is from the Fingers?
When I first saw the episode, I honestly couldn’t tell that they were parading Robb around with the dire wolf’s head. It was just so dark and rushed. That’s a real flaw in the shooting. Then again, Maisie’s expression in that scene just emotionally crushed me. Rory’s, too. His stoicism watching her blank reaction to the violence really shows you how special there relationship was becoming in the GoT-verse.
Because in real life monarchies crowns aren’t and weren’t used for anything than very official rites. Completely impractical headgear not meant for everyday wear.
I loved the final scene remembered how surprised I was after seeing all those complaints about racism …since me and my friends come from a country where we don’t have this issues we enjoyed the scene and the music and the visuals. ..
It still is one of the best pieces ramin has produced .
I will say the ending is disliked mostly because people are disappointed that LSH did not make it and that the final scene if giving hope was given to dany of all people a main character who is hated most …so obviously it ended up as controversial..
For me its in my top 3 endings of the season ..
1 .Fire and Blood – the books and show is still yet to come up with an ending this awesome again …its one of the all time best ending I have ever read and watched …eveeything was brilliant..
2 .Arya leaving westeros- this was another good ending with another good piece of music from Djawadi ..
3.Mhysa
4 .Jon – it didn’t help that stills of jons death got leaked before the airing of the episode… And it didn’t shock me as much as red wedding because everyone knew he will come back what’s with Mel coming back and Sam saying he will always come back. But again Ramon djawadi delivered ..
2 .Sam and WW- this was meh ..to be honest I would have been happy if it ended with dany and her dragons walking out with that awesome background score in the qarth..
After the finale ,mother of dragons and Mhysa and dracarys and Breaker of chains and dance of the dragons and Blood of the dragon..am expecting another master piece from Djawadi giving for dany …
I wonder what name will be given to that score ..
Many possibilities such as.,
last dragon
The one that was promised
The dragon with three heads
And we may very well get another season ended with dany …looking forward to it …hope this season ends with dany and tyrion in meereem having the talk and hope that’s were the tyrion line in the trailer delivered about the great games and they both look over an huge table where the map of westeros is painted and outside of the window we see dragons flying and that we get the shots of dothraki freed men and unsullied and ships that are posted in the shores..
Sue the Fury,
That’s a shame, I suppose that’s what I get for having faith in the showrunners. What quotes were those?
A Thousand Eyes,
The “handsome young man” was Lancel.
Regarding the ending scene, I think it was a mistake to have it as a standalone scene. It would have worked better if it was in the same episode as the 509 Yunkai scenes, which would have provided more of a sense of momentum.
Agree with this. Did you notice the very specific close up on the one bad ass Iron Islander with scars around eyes? The next shot shows the same guy walking across the hull of a ship. I wonder if they had more plans for this character, or if they just matched the shot up with one of the extras to sync with when she says “I want the best killers from the Iron Islanders”.
I didn’t know what was supposed to happen in the books, so I was anticipating an epic show down between the Bolton’s and Greyjoy’s. I was disappointed when we only got that one sequence with Yara at the Dreadfort. It could be that it was just a place holder for the Greyjoy’s so that the audience wouldn’t forget them. But I much would’ve preferred some Bolton vs Greyjoy action instead of some of the other filler scenes we got in season 4.
Remember in season 5 when Myranda leads Sansa into the kennels to show her Theon? I thought that was lame, for all the build up, to just lead her to Theon. This is the point where they could’ve had Rob sitting on a makeshift throne with the dire wolf attached to his head. Maybe the Frey’s shipped the body back.
“Mhysa” is probably the last Game of Thrones season finale to date that I would classify as a quieter episode for the show – “The Children” and “Mother’s Mercy” don’t really fit that mold. Nevertheless, I think it’s a very strong hour. I’m impressed with how deftly it handles both the massive fallout of the Red Wedding across the country and also attends to the usual business of tying off certain storylines and setting up others for next season.
The post-Red Wedding Small Council scene (including Tyrion and Tywin’s follow-up conversation) is one of my favorite sequences in Season 3. It contains so many great lines and moments, many of which are taken directly from the book, but all of which are impeccably delivered. I particularly love the cold venom Peter Dinklage infuses into Tyrion’s words when he says “Oh, I’m a monster. Perhaps you should speak to me more softly then. Monsters are dangerous, and just now kings are dying like flies.”
I’m floored by the way Tywin actually cracks when Tyrion asks him what he’s ever done that wasn’t directly in his own best interest, and Tywin retorts “The day that you were born!” Listen to him when he articulates his desire to carry his infant son into the sea and let the waves wash him away. It’s one of the only times in the series Tywin’s normally thunderous and commanding voice wavers, and it’s striking to hear.
Later, Cersei visits Tyrion and the two have yet another of their remarkably honest conversations over wine. They shared several such scenes in Seasons 2 and 3, and this is the last one (since Cersei charges Tyrion with Joffrey’s murder two episodes later). It’s a shame – imagine how much fun those two could have drinking together if they actually liked one another!
Yet in many ways, it’s because Cersei hates Tyrion – and because Tyrion harbors no illusions about their relationship – that they’re free to be so honest with one another. It leads to one of my favorite exchanges between the two – a remarkably succinct description of life in the Seven Kingdoms and the great game itself.
“How long does it go on?”
“Until we’ve dealt with all our enemies.”
“Every time we deal with an enemy, we create two more.”
“Then I suppose it will go on for quite a long time.”
And hopefully it will! For a few more seasons at least. 🙂
Jaime only has two very small, very brief scenes in this episode, but I love them both. First, there’s his arrival in King’s Landing, where he promptly gets elbowed out of the way by the common merchants who have no idea who he is after he’s been stripped of all his finery and trappings of power. Brienne witnesses this humbling moment, and it speaks volumes about how far they’ve come together that she only offers him a sympathetic smile.
That scene leads directly into his reunion with Cersei. This is a scene I’ve watched more times than you might expect given that it’s very brief and only contains one word of dialogue.
I’ve always thought Lena Headey looks just extraordinarily beautiful here (not that she ever doesn’t). For some reason, Cersei looks softer in this scene than the character usually does. Part of it is that she’s wearing a sleeveless dress, which is a rarity for Cersei (in practice, those sleeves are probably a way to cover up Lena’s many tattoos). With the light streaming in through the window, she’s also bathed in kind of a warm glow – which is another atypical setting for a character that is usually presented in a colder and more imperious fashion. I’m guessing these stylistic decisions were made to emphasize how breathtaking she must look to Jaime after he spent so long trying to get back to her, and to sharpen the contrast between her with Jaime’s own haggard and haunted appearance even further.
I also find it interesting that Cersei is looking at a box filled with seashells when Jaime arrives. It isn’t directly explained, but I remember that the very first time we meet the Lannister twins in “Winter is Coming”, she and Jaime reminisce about jumping off the cliffs at Casterly Rock. I wonder if Cersei’s thinking about that here – a distant time in her life when she was happy, and neither of them were afraid. Her smile certainly seems as genuine as any she’s ever given on the show – at least for one wasn’t offered up to celebrate the terrible misfortune of someone she despises.
Jaime just stops and looks at her for a moment, transfixed. When he calls her name and she turns to look at him, her first expression is one of relief, but that quickly gives way to shock at how ghastly he looks, and a sharp intake of breath at the sight of his missing hand. Given how low Jaime had sunk around the middle of the season, he’s rebounded to a remarkable degree in the past few episodes. Yet when he sees her reaction, he looks down, ashamed. The spell is broken. Cersei’s hold over him remains strong, but things will never be quite the same between them again.
I’ll be monothematic as always. 60% and 3 seasons done, and before the end of the next, we’ll be over the Red Carpet premiere and will be hopefully thoroughly spoiled as to just what Carice and Liam are talking about when they talk about ‘not this thing, the other thing’ in episode 1.
Also, episode titles.
Why do you want to be spoiled before watching the first episode? I don’t get that.
LatrineDiggerBrian,
I love being spoiled. Simple as that.
Boy do I hope the Hound will be back…
I bet that’s the S6 cold open.
Ross,
I’m totally the opposite. I think the way it was shot gave it some necessary realism and enhanced the impact.
A bunch of ghouls parading their monstrous desecration in the torchlight in the middle of the night, as the murders and executions continue around them.
It kind of reminded me of the very ending of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the sacrifice scene in The Wicker Man. Just this horrific event taking place in isolation in the middle of the countryside with only the viewer and a sympathetic character or two comprehending the full horror of it.
It was portrayed as the sort of fleeting abomination that, in a medieval world, would have been witnessed by only a relative handful of people but which would have been gossiped about and mythologised (as we saw the Frey soldiers doing around the campfire later in the episode) for years to come.
The fleeting glimpse we viewers are given puts us in the same boat as everybody else at the Twins that night and like Arya and The Hound. We were there. We saw it. Unlike everybody else across Westeros and Essos.
Come the morning light Robb’s body would most likely have just been thrown in with the rest of the bodies and burned.
As we saw in the conversation between Roose Bolton and Walder Frey the following day the issue was done and dusted as far as they were concerned. Robb was dead and the Starks were ruined, and now they held the power. There was no need to linger on the insult.
I think putting Robb’s body front and centre in any shots in the cold light of day, or as a kind of “jump scare” for Sansa or some other character further down the line, would have unnecessarily over-egged the shock and horror of what was done to him.
Jared,
Jared, I paid close attention to the Tyrion/Tywin scene. At the end, Tywin does not say that he saved Tyrion because Tyrion was his son. He said that he did it because Tyrion was a Lannister. This, in combination with the earlier scene in which Tywin said, “I cannot prove that you are not mine,” leads me to believe that the show will
What do you think?
I have been meaning to say this for a while: your comments are fantastic! I wish I had the time or the ability to express my thoughts about the show and my appreciation of all of the little details as well as you do.
Lonely Cat,
Thank you! 🙂 I have a lot of fun revisiting old episodes of this show I love so dearly. I hope I’ll be able to keep doing it.
You’re right that in this particular scene, Tywin does only say that Tyrion is a Lannister and that he brought him up as his son – not that he is his son. [Tywin does call Tyrion his son at other points in the series, but it’s generally when he wants something from him – be it to serve as Hand of the King (“Baelor”) or to not kill him (“The Children”).] Interesting.
tkk,
One thing really bugs me about it, though …
Dany asks Missandei what “mhysa” means and she explains it means mother in Ghiscari.
Except … according to previous episodes, it also means mother in Valyrian, because I heard both Dany and other characters use the word (and helpfully with the supporting English translation on screen, so there is no doubt about it).
So, if she heard the word “mhysa” meaning mother in Valyrian, why wouldn’t she say to Missandei, “are they calling me mother?”, which Missandei could confirm, pointing out it means the same in Ghiscari.
It struck me as an accidental stuff-up, rather than something that was done deliberately.