GOT Review: Episode 10 – Fire and Blood

Hey, House Martell isn’t going to appear for 3 more seasons. The title is basically a spoiler.

Here we go, out first season finale. Typically, when you have an episode with as many twists as the last did, you’re not going to get a lot of events in the follow-up. GOT has a tradition of going all out on the 9th episode of a season. Well, this one still had a few big events. Just don’t expect most finales to keep this kind of hype. Usually, they just wipe up a lot of blood.

Summary – Ayra is taken by Yoren to disguise as a boy and hide from the Lannisters. Sansa is shown her father’s head and told to like it. Joffrey gets into a lot of aggressive interests like murdering the innocent. Cat and Jaime have the best trade of barbs in season one. Dany loses everything she has and walks into a flaming pyre. Tyrion gets named Hand of the King by his father. Jon debates on whether to join Robb or stay at the Wall. Ned gets an aerial view of King’s Landing.

Quotes:

Catelyn Stark: Because of men like you

Jaime Lannister: There are no men like me. Only me.

I don’t care how much I hated Jaime at this point. That line is badass and poetic at the same time. Jaime makes mention that there are no gods, and if there were, they are unjust. That’s a good point. The above quote references Cat’s belief on why there are just gods, to counter men like Jaime. I always love when words and phrases get flipped like this. It just makes certain lines much more dramatic.

For all his faults, Jamie has full confidence in himself. I mean, his reputation is as a lethal knight, and the king slayer. He’s both admired and hated, and as he witness firsthand, he has to live up to his father’s expectation. If this is any indication, he believes himself to be borderline untouchable. Now, we all know this really isn’t true. He has doubts, fears and weaknesses like all of us. But to say that to your capture, while tied to a post, and she’s already slugged you with a rock. I think there’s good things coming for Jaime’s story arc.

He won’t be happy with tomorrow’s post though.

What worked:

Stark Grieving – I did enjoy how after the Mortal Kombat like intro of holding up Ned’s head, they showed each Stark grieving in their own way. For Arya, there is no time as Yoren has to help disguise her as a boy and get her out of King’s Lansing as soon as possible. We then see both Bran and Rickon having dreams of their father being in the Stark crypts. Nobody ever talks about Rickon’s psychic abilities but we hear about Bran’s ad nauseam. I guess you can’t fault Bran for not being able to run a zig zag though

Also, how would you feel if a few feet from where you sleep, there was a full crypt of all your dead ancestors? Pretty sure I’d be out on this.

Finally, we get Cat who acts strong around the other Lords but breaks down when she escapes everyone else. Robb also escapes everyone else to grieve, but his is through anger, slicing up a tree with his sword. Now, Robb knows they have to win the war to ever get his sisters back to Winterfell. You can feel the pain in all of these characters without them having the same reaction. It was well done.

The Hound Coming Around – After Joffrey tortures Sansa, and even makes one of the Kingsguard slap Sansa (we’ll talk about it soon, but not in the good section), we see The Hound stop Sansa from trying to kill the king and wipes the blood off her face. He tells her it’s better to give in to Joffrey and avoid some pain.

Now, this isn’t the most help we’ll see the character give, and it’s still dark as anything, but it is better than nothing. To this point, we’ve only seen the House serve the Lannisters like, well, a dog. We at least see he’s capable of recognizing what’s going too far. This is the first of many realizations for the Hound, who has one of the show’s greater character arcs without ever changing his personality. That’s extremely difficult to do. The Hound will do what he can to help protect Sansa.  Unfortunately, there’s only so much even he can do this early on.

King in the North – Preposition discussion – the phrase is IN the North and not OF the North. I’ve made that mistake 18 times during the write up. In fact, I’d bet money I screw up the phrase when I release this entry. I mean, I’m no stranger to typos.

The Northern Lords argue whether they should defend Renly or Stannis. It is Lord Umber, possibly the most insane man involved in Season 1 who chants that the North should rule themselves, naming Robb King in the North. The Lords one by one swear loyalty to him, including Theon, which will lead to be a bit of complication later.

I won’t lie, the King in the North chants induce some goosebumps. It’s the first good thing to happen to a Stark in the first 10 hours of the series. I don’t think Robb wants that kind of power, but what choice does he have? When people chant things for or at you, you have to do it. Why do you think cults are so popular?

Cat and Jaime – When this discussion happened, my opinion on Jaime began to change. I don’t care about the moral high ground with the King Slayer. I mean, I have to be on team Jaime for pushing Bran out the window. But here, in the face of death, Jaime’s tongue is so fierce he earns at least some respect.

Jaime doesn’t even get a cell. He’s just tied to a pole. That’s pretty cruel. I doubt he gets much food and is experiencing empoverished for the first time in his privileged life. How does Jaime respond to Cat when she enters? By mocking her for having an empty bed and needing a man to keep it warm.

To her credit, Catelyn smashes him with a rock for the remark. Both sides are scoring points here.

They then exchanged the quote we highlighted above, showing how confident Jaime is in himself. This is a man who lost against the Starks and is their prisoner, yet he’s still talking shit.

Finally, Jaime admits to pushing Bran out the window, saying “I hoped the fall would kill him” after being asked why. He will not sell out his relationship with his sister at any cost, even as Catelyn holds a rock to kill him. Cat leaves without doing any permanent damage. Again, I give Jaime credit for his loyalty. If only he knew how little Cersei gave him. Here’s where we can find a little sympathy for Jaime, even while he’s being a complete jerk.

Tywin the Chess Master – “They have my son.” That’s the most significant line from Tywin in this episode. We’ve seen a conversation between the father and son earlier in the season, and Jaime was roasted over an open fire. Here, he’s singing a different tune. Does he care deeply for Jaime, or is it the family name? I think it’s a little of both, with a heavier lean toward the family name. Tywin is cold as ice after all.

Tywin keeps Tyrion with him for counsel, even pouring him wine. He agrees with Tyrion’s assessment of executing Ned Stark being a political disaster. Tywin would have traded Ned for Jaime, but believes everything done to this point was foolish by all parties. Tywin will use Ser Gregor (public enemy #1), to burn the riverlands trying to get Jaime released. He’ll employ whatever tactics available to him to save his son and protect the Lannister name.

Tywin also surprisingly chooses Tyrion as hand of the king in his steed. He wants Tyrion to keep Joffrey and Cersei in line, which is putting a lot of faith in him. He also forbids Tyrion from bringing Shea to court. This is likely the biggest honor Tyrion has ever gotten from Tywin. But is it really about rewarding his son? Tywin is putting Tyrion in a tough situation where the old bastard can’t lose. If Tyrion does well, the Lannister name looks better. If Tyrion makes a ton of mistakes, Tywin can swoop in, show his son is an embarrassment and take over. Tywin is giving himself as many opportunities as possible to look good. It’s devious, crafty, and exactly what makes Tywin such a compelling character.

Jeor being a real leader – Take some notes Westeros, Jeor actually knows how to lead men. It’s super rare in this show so I was confused as first.

When Jon hears that Ned was out to death, he packs up and leaves to join Robb. It’s just too much injustice for him. However, that night, his friends from the night’s watch all repeat the oath they took and together, bring Jon back. As we know, desertion is death.

The next day, when meeting with Jeor, the commander knows that Jon had a midnight ride and tells Jon to relax. He’s not the first person to question his vows when something happened, and he won’t be last. Jeor tries to talk sense into Jon by saying he can’t bring Ned back to life And that the true battle for the kingdom is beyond the wall. Jeor isn’t about to lose somebody he knows has a lot of potential for acting like anyone else would have. I feel like the average leader on this show would have stoned Jon to death. Good for you Jeor.

The mother of dragons – As we’ll discuss in a bit, Khal Drogo is dead, killed a second time, this time via pillow suffocation. It’s the way we all predicted the Khal would go out. Now, knowing she has nothing, Dany decides to do the one thing that makes sense, light her dragon eggs and herself on fire and see what happens. No really, this is her plan.

She also decides to punish Artemis, who claims her screams will not be heard. After two seconds, her screams are all you hear. Dany walks right into the fire and then the scene ends and moves to the next day.

Now, you’ve seen promotional material. You know Dany survives, and now she has three dragons, though only one gets any real screen time. However the build up to this was great. Look at how many prominent characters died in the last few episodes. Would it have shocked you that Dany would go as well? Honestly, I don’t think so. This show doesn’t work like most – characters are really at risk, at least while there is book material. It raises the stakes of each scene.

This scene was built up all season – we saw how many times Dany was not burnt by heat so her assessment and gamble made sense. I don’t think this was one of the plot twists that came out of left field. They built it up appropriately.

Oh, and season 1 ends for Dany how it began, naked as anything. They had to give the crowd what they wanted one last time.

Character: Khal Drogo- This really wasn’t the way I expected Khal Drogo to go out. Especially when you think about how much his character changed over the season. For the first few episodes we see a brute who barely speaks, takes Dany’s body when he wants and shows no kindness. What he respects is strength and confidence. As the season progresses, we see Dany’s confidence rise, standing up against her brother and following the Khal customs. I don’t think eating a horse heart would have done much for me, but it certainly had an affec on Drogo. You could tell he truly did care for Dany, especially when he decided to sail across the narrow sea and when he told the Dorthraki to stop pillaging towns.

I’m not saying he was man of the year or anything, but there was some growth.

He also didn’t seem beatable in combat. We’ll never see how he would match up against knights in full armor, but something tells me there was little stopping Drogo unless it involved foul play. I think that’s part of the disappointment in his death. Sure, it needed to happen to keep Dany’s character growing, but at the same time we missed a lot of bad ass moments. He legit Mortal Kombated a guy. That’s pretty tough to do.

Alas, Drogo will live on in Aquaman, ironic considering how much he hated the sea.

What Didn’t Work

Bran using people as horses – Say what you will about Bran… As long as it’s mean things. BOOOO! BOOOOOOOOO!!

After Bran has another dream about a crow, and let’s be honest, this is getting really repetitive, Bran wants to go visit the crypts and see what’s going on as he’s having dreams about his father. Now, how does Bran travel? Typicall  by being selfish. Bran tends to use Hodor as though he were a horse, riding and commanding the large man without a shred of gratitude. In this episode, he actually uses Osha (no jokes. Do not even think about making a joke) as his main means of travel. I mean, does he really need to be carried? Couldn’t he be relegated to a push cart or a wagon. That way we could kick him down a hill and be rid of him already. Leave it to Bran to even make basic traveling infuriating and insulting to those around him.

Joffrey the Sadist – Nobody would have mistaken Joffrey for a kind king before this episode, but man did his character turn quickly from, bratty, spoiled price, to the worst human being on earth. Somewhere, a bizarre man at the Dreadfort laughs at the notion, but we’re not meeting him for a while so it’s fine.

His first act of cruelty is to force a single to play a song that mocks Robert Baratheon. One thing to take away from Joffrey’s character is that he loved his “dad”, despite the elder not paying a lick of attention to him. His father’s opinion and legacy is crucial to him, and despite not knowing his true parentage, the kid worships Bobby B. He threatens to cut the hands or tongue out of the singer, who chooses his tongue. He chooses Ilyn Payne to perform the act, which is ironic since his own tongue was once removed. Joffrey does not miss the irony and mocks him for it.

Soon after, Joffrey talks to Sansa, saying she looks nice. This is what, several days after putting her father to death? Not a good time for flirting. Then, he shoves Ned’s head in her face, making her stare at it. He also revels in the thought of adding Robb’s head to his collection. He’s getting a little too found of being around dead bodies. Sansa, to her credit, snaps back, saying that Robb might bring her Joffrey’s head instead. While it was cool to see her show some courage, it leads to her getting slapped by Meryn Trent, mostly because Joffrey refuses to do it himself. Trent takes a little too much joy in this, and actually draws blood. As much as Joffrey is despised, I don’t think people will hold parades for Trent either.

Quickly, with his first taste of power, Joffrey has let it go to his head, and all of his cruel, twisted fantasies seem to come to life. It’s a jarring change, but one that makes sense. He’s responsible for the death of a very important man and seems to realize as king, there is no consequence for his action. He’s got some Mad King in him.

And no, for the record I don’t think he’s related to the Mad King somehow, but there’s theories about Jaime and Cersei secretly being the Mad King’s kids. I think that’s way out of left field. Don’t believe the hype – it’s  a little late in the game for that reveal

Cersei’s Southern Hospitality – While Jaime is held a prisoner, refusing to give anything up about his sister, Cersei is the exact opposite. She shares her bed with Lancel while it’s still warm. Now, I understand this isn’t a traditional love story, but Jaime is head over heels for Cersei and nobody else. Even his remarks to Cat Stark were all hubris – Jaime has only ever wanted Cersei at this point in his life. Meanwhile, not only is Cersei unfaithful, she won’t even date outside of their family. Boy is that a messed up sentence.

And not for nothing, she chose Lancel? Lancel?! I know he’ll change as the story goes, but at this point, he’s like the biggest pushover in the series. And he was sure quick to jump in that bed. I guess it runs in the family. So gross.

Drogo is a Vegetable – Dany doesn’t have her best day in this episode. First her son doesn’t make it through the night. Artemis tells Dany the child who was born was a monster with leather skin. However, she also advises Dany that her son was exchanged to bring Khal Drogo back. This was never a part of their arrangement. So that’s a fun little twist for everyone, right?

Also, all of Dany’s Dorthraki army are gone, save for a handful, who likely missed the first bus and had to await the next shuttle. She’s been abandoned because Drogo died AND because she tried using cursed magic to bring him back. It was a lose lose situation for her.

Despite all this, Artemis says she kept her word, and presents Drogo to her. He is, how can I put this kindly, fit for soup? Part of a carbless diet? Feed for goats?

Yeah, Drogo is a soulless vegetable. To say he’s alive is a stretch. Artemis justified her actions and lies by saying the world is better off without the Dorthraki murdering and pillaging everyone they see. I mean, she’s got a point here. She also mentioned by the time Dany ordered the Dorthraki to save her, many of the villagers she personally cured were killed, her house was burnt to the ground and the Dorthraki had raped her three times. It wasn’t good. She gave Dany blood for blood – taking both her husband and her son. I mean, Dany has to actually suffocate her husband, who granted has no fight left in him now. It’s tough to watch. Who would have guessed somebody from the Always Sunny Cast would be out for themselves first?

People who root for an Arya Gendry Pairing – So Arya is now disguised as a boy, as suggested by Yoren, to protect her from wandering eyes. It’s definitely safer to travel as a boy than a girl in this time frame, and nobody is looking for a Stark boy. Well not yet at least.

Arya takes some verbal abuse from a few of the kid’s in Yoren’s group, but she quickly alpha’s her way to the top by mocking Hot Pie, calling him fat and saying she killed somebody just like him a little while ago. None of these statements are false. These conversations end when Gendry comes and tells everyone to knock is off. Arya was outalpha’d quickly, though to her benefit.

Now, my problem isn’t anything with the scene itself. No, this is more for the sick fan base out there who wants Gendry and Arya to get together at the end of the series. Now, in the book maybe it wasn’t so obvious but in the show, let’s notice the age gap. Arya is likely 14 in the show, and the actress can’t be much older than that in season 1, if at all. Gendry is a man in his 20s, and have you seen how much they leveled up him here? He’s about as shredded as anyone else in this show (that’s how you knew he’d be important). Personally, I don’t need 10+ year age gap relationships in this show, especially when the gap is almost as old as the girl. No, stop this fan base. This is only slightly better than all the Jon + Arya pairing people write about. Stop being weird.