[postlink]https://plythroug.blogspot.com/2012/06/game-of-thrones-recap-valar-morghulis.html[/postlink]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-W8l3E4NVwendofvid
[starttext] 'Game of Thrones' Recap: Valar Morghulis
So the bad news is, Game of Thrones is officially on hiatus until next spring. The other really bad news is that you probably won't sleep until then, because the episode's final sequence, which finally revealed the gathering numbers of White Walker zombies descending upon Westeros, was absolutely petrifying. Kudos to showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for ending the season on yet another visually haunting high note that will keep people talking for months, and kudos to Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) for just showing up. But more on that later.
Tonight's finale did a great job of setting the stage for a sure to be dynamic season three, without relying on cheap cliffhangers or sex and death just for the sake of sex and death. We know where most of our characters will be headed when the action resumes, and in Thrones' case, that's even better than wondering what the hell happened to so-and-so when he got into that fight with what's-his-face. In other words, the episode did a great job of wrapping up the season's plethora of plot lines, while simultaneously opening up newer, deadlier paths to explore. God, I'm excited. Let's break it down by character so we don't get a headache.
Theon:
Theon's end was interesting, as it diverted so far from A Clash of Kings that I really have no idea where it could possibly be going. Also, his final scene with Maester Luwin revealed a level of tragic self-awareness that we've never seen from book-Theon, making his pathetic "defeat" almost sympathetic. All in all — I liked it!
As promised, Robb Stark's men arrived at Winterfell, where they patiently waited outside for the usurper to surrender — if "patiently waiting" means blowing a horn repeatedly to annoy Theon half to death until he met them outside. Unfortunately he never got there, because his own men knocked him out cold after he made his best attempt at a motivational battle speech in Winterfell's yard. They dragged him away to God-knows-where, but the most important thing I took from Theon's scenes was this: TV Theon is fully aware of the fact that he messed up — that he is now the bad guy. He explained to Luwin that having to hear how lucky you are for being a kindly-treated lifelong prisoner is maddening, and it's even worse when you finally return home to your true family and they ridicule and practically disown you. He knew he had done the wrong thing by deserting Robb, but he also knew that it was too late to hope for any redemption. "I've come too far to pretend to be anything else," he said. Theon's next chapter is a mystery even for readers at this point, and I'm very excited to see what sort of man emerges in season three.
Tyrion/Sansa/King's Landing:
We didn't have to wait very long to find out who gave Tyrion that nasty face-cut during the battle at Blackwater: It was Ser Mandon Moore, a now-deceased knight who was most definitely in Cersei's employ. Tyrion woke up to find a much different King's Landing than the one he fell asleep in: Order seemed to be restored, but he was no longer a part of it. Grand Maester Pycelle — the one that Tyrion put in jail earlier this season — gleefully informed Tyrion that Tywin had won the battle, and was now officially the Hand of the King. Bronn had been fired from the city watch, and the rest of Tyrion's allies had been promptly dispersed — even Varys couldn't risk their friendship anymore. Shae suggested an escape to Pentos where they could "eat, drink, f**k, live," but Tyrion insisted that his place was in King's Landing, where all of the devious action was.
This recent shift in power was bad for Tyrion, but probably even worse for Sansa: Because Tywin had won the battle with the help of his new allegiance with the powerful Tyrell family, Joffrey would now wed Margaery instead of Sansa. At first, Sansa seemed to be elated by this news. Who wouldn't be? But then Petyr Baelish, the man responsible for brokering the Tyrell deal, hit her with an unfortunate truth bomb. "He'll still enjoy beating you," he said. "And now that you're a woman, he'll be able to enjoy you in other ways as well. Joffrey is not the sort of boy who gives away his toys." Ay yi yi! Things are never good for Sansa. Baelish said that he would help Sansa escape to honor his lifelong love for her mother, but Sansa insisted that her home was in King's Landing. Smart.
Elsewhere, Varys approached the eternally suffering whore Ros with a proposition that we didn't actually get to hear. All we got was this: "Littlefinger looks at you and sees a collection of profitable holes. I see a potential partner." Varys was seething when Littlefinger was offered Harrenhal as a gift for brokering the Tyrell deal, so I would safely bet that Varys has a nasty plan up his sleeve for next season. Don't doubt the spider.
[endtext]
[starttext] 'Game of Thrones' Recap: Valar Morghulis
So the bad news is, Game of Thrones is officially on hiatus until next spring. The other really bad news is that you probably won't sleep until then, because the episode's final sequence, which finally revealed the gathering numbers of White Walker zombies descending upon Westeros, was absolutely petrifying. Kudos to showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for ending the season on yet another visually haunting high note that will keep people talking for months, and kudos to Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) for just showing up. But more on that later.
Tonight's finale did a great job of setting the stage for a sure to be dynamic season three, without relying on cheap cliffhangers or sex and death just for the sake of sex and death. We know where most of our characters will be headed when the action resumes, and in Thrones' case, that's even better than wondering what the hell happened to so-and-so when he got into that fight with what's-his-face. In other words, the episode did a great job of wrapping up the season's plethora of plot lines, while simultaneously opening up newer, deadlier paths to explore. God, I'm excited. Let's break it down by character so we don't get a headache.
Theon:
Theon's end was interesting, as it diverted so far from A Clash of Kings that I really have no idea where it could possibly be going. Also, his final scene with Maester Luwin revealed a level of tragic self-awareness that we've never seen from book-Theon, making his pathetic "defeat" almost sympathetic. All in all — I liked it!
As promised, Robb Stark's men arrived at Winterfell, where they patiently waited outside for the usurper to surrender — if "patiently waiting" means blowing a horn repeatedly to annoy Theon half to death until he met them outside. Unfortunately he never got there, because his own men knocked him out cold after he made his best attempt at a motivational battle speech in Winterfell's yard. They dragged him away to God-knows-where, but the most important thing I took from Theon's scenes was this: TV Theon is fully aware of the fact that he messed up — that he is now the bad guy. He explained to Luwin that having to hear how lucky you are for being a kindly-treated lifelong prisoner is maddening, and it's even worse when you finally return home to your true family and they ridicule and practically disown you. He knew he had done the wrong thing by deserting Robb, but he also knew that it was too late to hope for any redemption. "I've come too far to pretend to be anything else," he said. Theon's next chapter is a mystery even for readers at this point, and I'm very excited to see what sort of man emerges in season three.
Tyrion/Sansa/King's Landing:
We didn't have to wait very long to find out who gave Tyrion that nasty face-cut during the battle at Blackwater: It was Ser Mandon Moore, a now-deceased knight who was most definitely in Cersei's employ. Tyrion woke up to find a much different King's Landing than the one he fell asleep in: Order seemed to be restored, but he was no longer a part of it. Grand Maester Pycelle — the one that Tyrion put in jail earlier this season — gleefully informed Tyrion that Tywin had won the battle, and was now officially the Hand of the King. Bronn had been fired from the city watch, and the rest of Tyrion's allies had been promptly dispersed — even Varys couldn't risk their friendship anymore. Shae suggested an escape to Pentos where they could "eat, drink, f**k, live," but Tyrion insisted that his place was in King's Landing, where all of the devious action was.
This recent shift in power was bad for Tyrion, but probably even worse for Sansa: Because Tywin had won the battle with the help of his new allegiance with the powerful Tyrell family, Joffrey would now wed Margaery instead of Sansa. At first, Sansa seemed to be elated by this news. Who wouldn't be? But then Petyr Baelish, the man responsible for brokering the Tyrell deal, hit her with an unfortunate truth bomb. "He'll still enjoy beating you," he said. "And now that you're a woman, he'll be able to enjoy you in other ways as well. Joffrey is not the sort of boy who gives away his toys." Ay yi yi! Things are never good for Sansa. Baelish said that he would help Sansa escape to honor his lifelong love for her mother, but Sansa insisted that her home was in King's Landing. Smart.
Elsewhere, Varys approached the eternally suffering whore Ros with a proposition that we didn't actually get to hear. All we got was this: "Littlefinger looks at you and sees a collection of profitable holes. I see a potential partner." Varys was seething when Littlefinger was offered Harrenhal as a gift for brokering the Tyrell deal, so I would safely bet that Varys has a nasty plan up his sleeve for next season. Don't doubt the spider.
[endtext]
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