Our winter storms may be behind us, here in the real world, but winter is still coming on “Game of Thrones,” as is another wedding.
Photo by: HBO
Before we collectively shudder at the thought of a third “GoT” wedding, let us address that opening scene with the Starks’ old greatsword. (“Ice” was its name, if you never knew.) As the flashbacks reminded us, Eddard Stark was executed with this sword — which was also his own sword. And now, Tywin Lannister has melted it down for his own pair of swords to be made out of its Valyrian steel, along with burning its wolfskin sheath. It is a well-written scene in that not a single word is spoken during the course of it. There is no need for words. What more can be said? With the death of Robb Stark, the King in the North, a new era has overtaken the world of “GoT” — and its sigil is a lion. Here, have a tissue.
Immediately after, we are treated to a handsome face it feels like we have not seen in ages. Jaime Lannister appears before his father — to receive one of the newly-crafted Valyrian swords — clean shaven, devoid of muck, but also devoid of one right hand. What he is not lacking is character development. Where once stood a shallow, incestuous and entitled jerk is now a man trying to stand for something he believes in, a man with depth. Truthfully, his character had begun to get a little stale before the Bolton crew took his hand.
Photo by: HBO
Losing his hand and being held prisoner seems to have granted Jaime some clarity, particularly as it pertains to his family. He finds that his father really is a manipulative windbag, his sister is a spoiled drunk and his inbred son/nephew is a horrible little bastard. Joffrey may be clueless about the fact that Jaime is his real daddy, but that doesn’t excuse his rudeness towards Jaime for trying to protect him despite his disability. He’s still a repugnant brat king. What’s Jaime to do? Why, he hangs out with his only warrior friend that is a girl (and his conscience). Am I the only one rooting for an awkward couple to be made here?
Aside from Jaime’s new look and growing perspective, there is little else new in the castle thus far. Shae is still jealous. Tyrion is dejected. Elsewhere, new faces are introduced. A new actor was cast for Daarios Naharis, some gnarly looking cannibals called Thenn showed up and a swinger Dornish prince with a dagger to grind against the Lannisters, Oberyn Martell, popped up too. Their roles in the larger scheme of things have yet to clearly be revealed. Right now, they’re just blips on the radar we’ll have to continue monitoring — like everything else in the episode.
Should you have paid close attention, it was said several times that the war was over and the king was safe. Given what we have come to know about weddings on “GoT”, this should give us all much pause. It was just said one too many times for me to be totally comfortable with. This is “Game of Thrones”, afterall, not “Game of Hugs.” If only it were. Sansa seriously needed a hug this episode. I also need her to take a page out of Arya’s book and grow some ovaries. Speaking of, Arya and the Hound had the best scene. Arya was always fierce, but good grief! She’s ice cold these days and I want more.
The premiere episode for season four was, on the whole, a very subdued re-entry to a post-Red Wedding world. Not much was revealed and the only thing we know about the activities of our “Mother of Dragons” is that she’s on her way to another slave city, Meereen. I hope we can look forward to more Daeneyrs, more interactions between Jaime and Brienne and more Hound-Arya tag teams. Hold on … Where the heck is Theon?
Photo by: HBO
