It’s time for another Wedding in Westeros.
What They Say:
The Lion and the Rose – Tyrion helps Jaime; Joffrey and Margaery host a breakfast; STannis loses patience with Davos; Ramsey finds a purpose for his pet.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The fourth season of Game of Thrones started off predictably enough as we get the right touches of recap that was necessary but also the prodding forward it needed to show where some of the main threads will go. With so many things ongoing from the third season, it was good to touch base with a number of characters as they cope with their situations, be it Tyrion and his issues and seeing how Jaime is handling being back in Kings Landing. But we also got some excellent material with Arya that helped to flesh her out a bit more and to show how she’s coping with life now that more of her family is dead and her options are shrinking day by day. It also gave us a really good couple of bits with the Hound and how he handles himself in the outside world while taking Arya to the Erie in order to basically sell of Arya.
While we get a little fun with Ramsay at first that shows us how he’s totally broken Theon at this point, the interesting pieces we get comes when we see how the Lannister brothers are handling their lives with all the changes. The two have long had a very close relationship in their own way and there’s a certain honesty between them that’s refreshing considering the way that Kings Landing operates. With Jaime revealing that he has no real skill at this point due to the loss of his hand, he’s concerned on a number of levels about his position but also about truly performing his job. That has Tyrion offering up someone to train him in a bit in secret, to help him re-hone his skills where it needs to be. And that means Bronn’s the man for the job, which brings its own special humor. Bronn continues to steal just about every scene that he’s in during the course of this series and having these two work together definitely works well, especially with the kind of snark that Bronn brings to the table to balance the more serious and almost despondent Jaime.
When it comes to Roose Bolton, he had some key scenes to be sure in the third season, but events take an intriguing turn here as he ends up with Ramsay finally and that reveals the tensions that exist between father and son. A connection that I don’t recall made clearly during the third season, but it’s definitely fun to watch as it comes out here with Bolton making it clear that he is the one that’s in charge and that Ramsay has made some critical missteps in his handling of Theon, particularly since Bolton wanted to exchange him for someone else later on. Bolton’s in a tight spot since he’s been given the title of Lord of the Dreadfort, but Tywin has not given him the means to truly take the north and what he needs there. And as Bolton watches what Ramsay has done, he’s definitely increasingly realizing that he’s made some serious missteps here with his son. But there’s still some usefulness to it all since Theon has a secret that he no reveals about the Bran and Rickon Stark boys. And that provides both danger and opportunity for Bolton.
King’s Landing is, of course, just as dangerous in a great many ways and we see that coming through clearly as the wedding approaches and there are so many people about. While Tyrion is worrying about event with Shae and how they’ve been spotted, the greater threats comes from simply being near Joffrey. As supplicants come and offer gifts, friends and family alike, there’s just that sense that Joffrey could strike at anyone in an instant in a huge way. When he gets a Valyrian sword, one that comes from Ned Stark’s own sword, he makes it clear that he’s just as unbalanced as always. And all of that danger is truly eating at Tyrion, especially the more that he sees how Joffrey is acting and knowing what his father will do. It’s brutal and rough, but the way he has to push Shae away is definitely well played out with both actors hitting it in a way that doesn’t overplay it but certainly comes across honestly enough.
Just as dangerous is life in Storms End where Melisandre has plenty of people that are falling to death because of her beliefs and what she’s convinced others of. With Stannis completely bound to her at this point in so many ways, he’s resigned to the path he’s taken because he believes it to have a worthy goal and that a true king will do the hard and difficult things in order to achieve it. It’s interesting watching the tensions that are going on here with how it’s unfolding, especially since Selyse has gone over completely to the teachings of Melisandre and she’s so very dismissive of her daughter. But Stannis still has something in him when it comes to his daughter and lays down the commands that he can to protect her, but that can go only so far when you have so many mischievious people around you. And Selyse comes across as completely untrustworthy.
Surprisingly, when it comes to the wedding of Margaery and Joffrey, it goes pretty quickly and without the tension or fun that was Tyrion’s wedding. That allows us to get to the actual celebration itself, which is laced with a lot of interesting bits of banter, especially with Tywin being called out on the throne’s debts a bit by the Tyrells. And the whole thing has such a sense of threat about it when you see how Oberyn watches everything and has a look of venom about him. There’s so many little tensions that it’s just engaging to watch, from Jaime and Loras talking and trading barbs to the way that Brienne has such a disdain for Joffrey that she can barely suppress it. Brienne is in a good bit of danger herself here as Cersei sees her as a bit of a threat when it comes to Jaime. And even though Cersei has largely put Jaime to the side for the moment but she won’t brook any kind of competition when it comes to her brother.
Joffrey is what makes the celebration what it is, and when we gt him showing some true amusement as a form of history by having a lot of dwarves run around playing up as the Starks going up against a dwarf version of him, it is comical but you can’t help but to feel that it’s going to go horribly in some way that will offend, especially when you get the costuming of it all. Since it involves so many people in the little play fight that unfolds, it has the chance to offend many and it does just that, though some are better at hiding it than others. And naturally, it’s hardest on Sansa to watch since it’s just seeing the loss of her family in comically awful fashion. But there are those that understand her pain and share in the distaste for it all, which in its own shows us that Sansa is not alone, even as Joffrey laughs unreservedly over it all since it delights him as it would a child.
But Joffrey always finds a way to overstep, and that leads to him pushing Tyrion to join in with the dwarves and show his own skill in battle. Tyrion has no interest in dealing with this though and pushes back with words, suffering some abuses along the way, which leads to a great deal more tension. The look Tyrion gives Sansa in that small moment before he goes to serve as cupholder to Joffrey as punishment is almost sweet. And in complete opposite, the way Cersei delights at her brothers humiliation is just as sad. This all moves us slowly towards the outcome though, which plays out quite different in some ways from the book, as Joffrey dominates Tyrion through humiliation since nobody may deny the king. And as they get distracted by the pie, it leads to Joffreys demise in the most comical of ways, since it involves the pigeon from the pie, a bit of choking and one of those moments where you utterly and deeply cheer at the death of a character.
In Summary:
Weddings in Westeros are probably the most dangerous even in the lands and this episode reinforces. With a new death in the mix that will change the flow of events in many places going forward, it’s one that you know will have many fans squealing in delight and little in the way of sadness, though perhaps some shock will factor into it. The episode brings us a lot of little bits of intrigue and nuance with the politics of King’s Landing and so many Houses and there is a whole lot to like there. Every little bit makes ripple effects on others and as it covers a good range of characters, it’s easy to get caught up in each of the stories even as a lot of those out there aren’t included here. With a big change in the mix now, it’ll be interesting to see the fallout from the purple wedding.
Grade: B+