Finally! Finally, finally, a great Game of Thrones
episode again. It feels good, doesn’t it? It feels
right. It feels like Lysa falling out of the Moon Door and Tyrion getting
a champion and Brienne and Pod stumbling upon information they never knew they
didn’t have. DRINK IT IN, GUYS. This is as solid as it gets.
Sure, this episode felt a bit more scattered than
usual—were those check-ins at the Wall and Dragonstone really necessary? Probably
not—but I thought the theme of siblings was really well done, and reverberated
around practically every pairing. Melisandre is almost treating Selyse like a
little sister, even though she’s been sleeping with her husband in the name of
their god. The Hound, after slapping Arya around a couple of weeks ago, looks
on like a bemused older brother when she kills yet another man. Jon Snow doesn’t
really have any siblings left, so he relies on direwolf Ghost for
companionship, but Alliser Thorne wants the two separated. And then there are
Oberyn and his dead sister Elia, the screwed-up Lannister kids, on and on and
on.
There was sadness and guilt and regret and rage in
practically every scene this week, and an emotional onslaught like that could
turn into an avalanche—but “Mockingbird” felt controlled, well executed. You
know that with only three episodes left, we’re building toward something
huge—and how these relationships come into play will undoubtedly be important.
So, let’s recap the five most important things that
happened in “Mockingbird.” And, as always, SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.
+ “It is rare to
meet a Lannister who shares my enthusiasm for dead Lannisters.” Week after
week, in these recaps and in our PDC podcasts, I’ve been saying the same thing
over and over again: Oberyn Martell is the shit, and the Red Viper is one of
the best characters George R.R. Martin has ever created, and when the glory
comes, you will know it is here. HERE IS THE GLORY. HERE IS OBERYN MARTELL
BEING GLORIOUS. Because with that very simple proclamation, “I will be your champion,”
he completely changes Tyrion’s fortunes while also finally moving toward his
own desires. In practically every interaction Oberyn has with anyone, he says
the same thing: justice for his sister, justice for her children, justice for
Elia and her daughter Rhaenys and son Aegon. It’s his calling card; it’s his
life’s quest. And now, finally, he has the opportunity to get it, since Cersei
names her champion as Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that Rides, Sandor/the Hound’s
older brother who burned his face and the man who killed Elia’s children and
then raped her while covered in their blood. If there’s anyone who deserves to
die, it’s him.
This all happens after Jaime admits that he can’t fight
for Tyrion because of, you know, the whole one-hand thing (after Tyrion’s assessment
of him is pretty correct: “You could kill a king, lose a hand, fuck your own
sister; you’ll always be the golden son”) and after Bronn admits that he’s been
knighted and engaged to marry a highborn woman, Lollys Stokeworth (who is
mentally disabled and, in the books, gang-raped by a King’s Landing mob,
resulting in a bastard pregnancy; I don’t remember if they kept this storyline
in the show?), so he can’t fight for Tyrion, either. Gotta love how sellsword
Bronn keeps it real in their interaction: “I have gold. What could I buy with
gratitude?” and “I’m your friend. And when have you ever risked your life for
me? I like you … I just like myself more.”
But could Tyrion want a better champion than Oberyn?
Doubtful. And I’m SO HAPPY that this episode included my favorite story
ever about the Lannister children, which
I shared with some coworkers just last week. Because didn’t that memory from
Oberyn about visiting Casterly Rock back in the day and coming face-to-face
with Cersei’s petty cruelty and bitchiness, even all those years ago, give you
so much context about the Lannister kids and how fucked up Tyrion’s life has
been? After his birth, rumors swirled that he was a monster and a hermaphrodite,
but as Oberyn says, “‘That’s not a monster,’ I told Cersei. ‘That’s just a
baby.’” But it’s so telling what Cersei says in response to Oberyn—“He should
not have lived this long”—and gives us so much understanding for everything she’s
done until this point. Since his birth, Cersei has been trying to kill Tyrion, “making
honest feelings do dishonest work,” and even attempting to convince Jaime into
helping her murder their little brother. How much more terrible can one woman
get?
Wipe your sympathetic tears for Tyrion away, guys. I know
I had to.
+ “Nothing isn’t
better or worse than anything. Nothing is just nothing.” In the continuing
adventures of Arya and the Hound, we swing from abuse to pity this week, with
Sandor finally opening to the younger Stark daughter about his burned face. Of
course, they give a merciful death to a mortally wounded man first—loved “Can I
have a drink? Dying is thirsty work”—and are then attacked by two men you may
remember from a few seasons ago: the prisoners Night’s Watch member Yoren was
transporting up to the Wall, along with Arya, Gendry, and the Hound. Back then,
Rorge had threatened Arya with rape; in the present, she stabs him in the heart
with Needle. “You’re learning,” says the Hound with a mix of detached
bemusement and impressed pride, but during that attack, the Hound was
bitten—and the wound doesn’t look good.
And so, as Arya presses him to cauterize the wound with a
fiery log, we finally get the tale of what happened to his face, why his older
brother the Mountain that Rides would ruin him so. The answer is something
petty and silly, of course—Gregor thought Sandor had stolen one of his toys—but
what was worse was the lack of punishment: “The pain was bad. The smell was
worse. But the worst thing was it was my brother who did it, my father who
protected him.”
There’s absolutely no doubt that the Hound is a shitty
guy, someone used to following orders for years and for reveling in killing—and
being good at it. But that story, that glimpse into a childhood so terrible,
was affecting for all of us, no? It certainly was for Arya, who helps him wash
out the wound and sew it up. I wouldn’t call this Arya going full Stockholm
syndrome, but I would say she has normal human decency—something that we’re not
so used to seeing in the Seven Kingdoms anymore.
+ “My sweet, silly
wife. I have only loved one woman. Only one. My entire life. Your sister.”
PEACE OUT, LYSA ARRYN. Have fun flying through the Moon Door and exploding into
little pieces, you insane bitch. Look, I have some sympathy for Lysa, and I’ll
fill you in with some more book knowledge to demonstrate why: For years she’s
been overshadowed by Catelyn; she gave her virginity to Petyr, who said Cat’s
name while they were in bed and got her pregnant; her father tricked her into
drinking moon tea and terminating the pregnancy; and because of that, for years
since, she’s had trouble conceiving; perhaps that’s why she’s so overprotective
of her awful, bratty son Sweetrobin. All those things are terrible, and I
totally get it! But her overwhelming paranoia, her utter disregard for Sansa,
her refusal to see any flaw in Petyr manipulating her for years—those things, I
cannot abide. So yes, I cheered when Petyr pushed her to her death. Sorry I’m
not sorry.
But that’s not all Littlefinger did this episode! No, he
also kissed Sansa after telling her “In a better world, one where love could
overcome strength and duty, you might have been my child”—because kissing a
girl who might have been your daughter is NOT WEIRD IN THE LEAST. Oh, we all
knew this was coming, though. We knew from the way Petyr gazes at Sansa and
caresses her arm and is generally a
gigantic
fucking creep that he sees Sansa as the second coming of Catelyn, and that
in this world, he’s going to do everything he can to keep them together. And if
that involves murdering her aunt, well, so be it. As Petyr himself says, “A lot
can happen between now and never”—and chances are that Petyr will be
responsible for every damn thing that happens. He has been up to this point,
hasn’t he?
+ “Do what you do
best. Take off your clothes.” DANY HAS NEEDS, OK? And she finally allows
the desperately-trying-to-woo-her Daario to fulfill those needs, commanding him
to get naked and jump into bed with her. Look, can’t blame her! It’s been a
long time since Khal Drogo died, and she’s still a teenage girl, and I guess some
people would find Daario attractive (I’ll pass, but that’s because my heart
only beats for Jaime Lannister, Gendry Waters, and the late Khal). I get the
appeal, even though I don’t agree with it.
But letting Daario seduce her was simultaneously a power
play, right? Because she then sends Daario off to Yunkai, one of the cities she
had conquered which has now reverted back to their slaving ways, with his
sellswords. “Slavery is real; I can end it, I will end it,” she says to Jorah
Mormont when he comes to argue with her about the decision. But when Jorah
points out that he himself was a slaver once, and that perhaps mercy is more
powerful than vengeance, Dany decides to call back Daario and tell him not to
kill all the slave masters like she had originally intended; instead, Hizdahr
zo Loraq—remember him from last week?—will accompany Daario to Yunkai as an
ambassador.
Mmm yeah … keep an eye on this storyline, guys. This may
not have been Dany’s smartest move. And although “They can live in my new world
or they can die in their old one” is Dany talking a big game, perhaps she
should look a little harder at whom she’s trusting in that “new world.”
+ “The Lord needs
her.” While Stannis and Davos are in Braavos, getting money from the Iron
Bank, what are Melisandre and Selyse doing? Bonding over bathtime, naturally!
This was such a weird scene—and unnecessary too, I thought—but let’s briefly talk
about it because it again brings up the question of, what is Melisandre’s
endgame?
She’s upfront enough with Selyse to acknowledge that she’s
sleeping with her husband, Stannis—“Don’t be upset. Men never crave what they
already have. It’s only flesh. It needs what it needs”—and also powerful enough
to reject Selyse’s idea that daughter Shireen should stay behind at
Dragonstone. “The Lord needs her,” Melisandre says, and that puts an end to
Selyse’s protests. But the Lord of Light needs her … for what? To be converted?
To be sacrificed? To continue giving Davos reading lessons? WHO KNOWS?!
This is a storyline that I’m totally in the dark about—I think I know where it could be going,
depending on Martin’s books—but given Benioff’s and Weiss’s lack of hesitance
with changing things around, I’m intrigued. But that’s about all I feel with
this storyline—otherwise, Selyse is a giant yawn to me.
+ Some other final thoughts:
+ We didn’t talk about the Wall this week, but Jon Snow
and the other Night’s Watch men have returned from the fight at Craster’s Keep,
and Jon’s ideas are still getting shut down by Alliser Thorne. With the
wildlings advancing, Jon suggests that they freeze the tunnel under the Wall
shut so that wildlings and giants can’t get in, but Thorne scoffs at the
idea—and gives him duties atop the Wall with Sam for the next few nights. Dick
move, bro.
+ We also didn’t check in with Brienne and Pod, but they,
with great luck, stumble upon Arya’s old friend Hot Pie (!!! LOVED SEEING HOT PIE AGAIN), who is working at an
inn where Brienne and Pod stop for a meal. From Hot Pie they learn that Arya is
still alive, and was traveling to the Wall with them all that time ago,
pretending to be a boy named ‘Arry. It’s useful information and helps Brienne
and Pod deduce that Arya could be with her aunt Lysa—but now that Lysa is dead,
is it worth continuing to travel in that direction? We’ll see.
+ Also: THE WOLF BREAD. My heart broke at the wolf bread.
+ Some great lines for Tyrion this week as he goes back
on the offensive, and one of my favorites was his analysis of Ser Meryn Trant: “I’d
enjoy watching Bronn disembowel that pompous child-beater.” I don’t disagree!
+ Also great stuff for Bronn, especially his description
of his new gloves: “Softer than a virgin’s thighs.”
+ “We had some good days together,” Bronn said to Tyrion,
in a moment that made me rapidly blink away tears and pretend I wasn’t about to
cry.
+ Oh, Jorah. DANY WILL NEVER LOVE YOU, but I couldn’t
help but chuckle at his shocked face when Daario stumbles out of Dany’s private
quarters, half-dressed, smirking about how “she’s in a good mood.” Whomp whomp.
+ And, in tonight’s creepiest line: “Call me Petyr.” Nah,
no thanks. (Even though Sansa building the snowcastle: Jeez, that was some beautiful imagery. AND OF COURSE PETYR HAD TO RUIN IT BY DOING THE CREEP.)
