Game of Thrones Review: It's For the Best
Chris O'Hara
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On Game of Thrones, Joffrey is dead, but Cersei seemed to be the only one really broken up about it.
Tywin and others busied themselves with taking advantage of her familial tragedy. By the end of Game of Thrones Season 4 Episode3, Tyrion still remained the scapegoat for the Purple Wedding, but the full extent of its fallout was yet to be fully realized.
Baelish never explicitly admitted to being behind poisoning Joffrey, but his orchestration of Sansa's escape using Ser Dantos was rather timely. Tyrion raised an interesting theory, though.
Perhaps Tywin was behind Joffrey's murder. The reasoning that the young king was proving too difficult to manage makes sense, especially after seeing how well Tywin's first counsel with Tommen went.
What a great scene that was. Tywin had no time for the dead - or respect for that matter - as he openly insulted Joffrey's short reign. Tommen, for as mild mannered as he is, didn't so much as flinch either at hearing his grandfather say as much.
The only look of shock was the one on Cersei's face when her son guessed "wisdom" was a king's single most important quality.
If I were Cersei, however, I wouldn't be so quick to slap the "My Child is a King's Landing Honor Student" bumper sticker on the wagon, though. He did need four guesses to arrive at the answer.
Congrats to her and Jaime for once again raising the bar on the dysfunctional family front. All the good favor Jaime earned from fans last season surely went out the window (no pun intended) as he forced himself on his sister... next to the corpse of their inbred son.
Twisted a scene as it was, it was interesting to hear Cersei reference their love.
Please Jaime you have to. He was our son, our baby boy.
Cersei
Will Cersei end up pregnant with another false heir after this last encounter?
I've often wondered what kind, if any, birth control exists in this land, but I'm pretty sure that was a condom we saw getting washed out at the new home Sam arranged for Gilly.
Sam doesn't want Gilly having safe sex or sex of any kind, which is why his choice to relocate her might prove to be a poor choice made with the wrong head.
If the wildings continue on like they did this week, it won't really matter where Gilly is after they make their way to the wall. The numbers are staggeringly against the crows, but I have to think having the high ground on that massive structure will prove to be somewhat of a field-leveling advantage.
Elsewhere, Melisandre's magic is a nice arrow in Stannis's quiver, but Davos knows wars are won by soldiers on the ground. Thanks to Shireen, he seemed to have an epiphany of how he might be able to better his standing with her father.
She was so great as she laid into him for being late for their reading lesson.
You won't be a very good hand if you see the word knight and say "ka-niggit."
Shireen
Tywin may have a prized new pupil, but he also knows his family needs to bolster their allies. It was quickly clear Oberyn wasn't behind Joffrey's murder as Tywin began his questioning, but did he believe the lead lion when he denied having any part in the Mountain's murder of his sister?
To increase his chance of getting justice for such, he seemed willing to at least take Tywin at his word for the moment.
Sandor might not be as bad as his brother, but he showed tonight why they are indeed related. The Hound is a realist, though, and is trying to survive in a world of kingdoms without a house to call home.
He has also managed to keep Arya alive this long. Maybe she should cut him some slack, even if questioning his tactics does made for some of the funniest scenes we've seen on Game of Thrones Season 4.
Arya: You don't have a map?
Sandor Clegane: No I don't have a map.
Arya: Maybe we should get one.
Sandor Clegane: Aye just point out the next map shop you see and I'll buy you one.
The scene of them downing that rabbit stew was a recipe for magic GIF soup. So was the scene where Arya said how she hoped to travel to Braavos to see friends.
Sandor was gentleman enough to turn his back to Arya as he urinated, but not as he blew a snot rocket after saying he doubted she knew anyone there. For now, though, he is her best chance for survival.
Dany got a look at all the public urination she could stomach as Daario dispensed with Meereen's champion. You knew he was going to take out the horse first, but bravo to his style in doing so.
Then Dany went and one upped his showmanship by launching the barrels full of slave collars over the walls. I was waiting for the projectiles to explode, but instead their contents will surely ignite a fire of rebellion inside the walls they breached.
It's hard to believe so much was crammed into one hour - but the pace and depth of each scene seemed anything but during a superbly scripted episode.
Here is your first look at Game of Thrones Season 4 Episode 4, "Oathkeeper."
