As Varys explains this fact to Shae, he’s being pragmatic: he’s trying to help someone whose very existence at King’s Landing threatens her own life and the life of the man she loves. Varys acknowledges that she has made Tyrion better. Varys acknowledges that hers is a true love. And yet Varys also gives her a collection of diamonds, telling her to sail to Pentos and start a new life for herself so that her love can do something good for Westeros without the threat of a single-named woman hanging over him.
It’s dark advice, advice that Shae refuses to take. Despite the fact that we just saw both Robb Stark and Talisa die for following true love over pragmatism, and despite the fact that Jon Snow just took three arrows from the woman he loves, Shae proves what many…
SPOILERS: Don’t read if you have not yet seen or don’t want to know details from the latest episode of Game of Thrones.
Flayed ManRoose Bolton (Michael McElhatton) stabs Robb Stark (Richard Madden)
6) The flayed man (symbol of House Bolton) features prominently in the tactical scene between Robb and Catelyn. Bolton plays a key role in this ep.
Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) cloaks his bride, Rosalind Frey
5) “The gods love to reward a fool,” Blackfish Tully comments to his niece Cat re: nephew Edmure’s marriage to (the unexpectedly pretty) Rosalind Frey. Edmure escapes death as a result of this union.
Talisa (Oona Chaplin) and Robb share a happy moment.
4) “It’s treason to strike a king,” Robb playfully tells Talisa. Bolton, the Freys, and their men colluded to kill their king- Robb.
Walder Frey (David Bradley)
3) Bolton says that:
a) Lord Walder Frey has promised him one of his granddaughters as a future wife (“anyone I choose”) and paid him well for it;
b) He doesn’t drink alcohol because “it dulls the senses.” It was pointed out before (during his dinner with Jaime and Brienne).
The feast at the “Red Wedding”
2) The musicians play The Rains of Castamere on their violins. We know from Margaery’s comment (in the previous ep) that this song is often played at court (in King’s Landing). It’s a song in support of House Lannister, thus explaining the looks of concern and fear on Cat’s face.
Lady Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) discovers what Bolton truly is- a traitor!
1) Cat (growing suspicious by the second) pulls back Bolton’s sleeve to reveal chain mail underneath. That doesn’t fit at a wedding feast!
SPOILERS: Don’t read this review if you have not yet seen or don’t want to know details from this episode of Game of Thrones.
Never were such devious “sisters”- LOL!
Didn’t you love the scene between Cersei and Margaery? Not only did we learn the cautionary tale of the Rains of Castamere (a long-dead/upstart noble family that rivaled the Lannisters), more was revealed about these two wonderful/layered/complex characters. (Check out a fun tee for ladies who love Margaery and her machinations: Blossom Queen T-shirt.)
Yet another indignity for Sansa- being given away by Joffrey
I thought that Sansa handled herself with class during a very tough situation, which happened to be her wedding. Joffrey was more horrid (than usual), esp. after the ceremony. UGH, I can’t wait until something horrible happens to him! (The music seemed funereal, but not overly so, in this whole section.)
Sansa will now be under Tyrion’s protection
Since Joff took away the step stool, Tyrion (looking so forlorn) had to ask Sansa to bend down during the cloaking. Notice how one glare from Tywin hushed up the guests? We know who’s really in charge!
Tyrion raises a toast to Ser Loras (in balcony above)Lord Tywin confronts Tyrion about his behavior
Tywin (who doesn’t change his dark clothes) is disgusted once again by his son’s behavior. He expounds on duty, telling Tyrion that he must have a child with Sansa ASAP. But when Tyrion lashes out at Joff (a no-no), Tywin calmly comes to his son’s aid. This scene was very well done!
After the wedding, Sansa and Tyrion go off to his chamber. Tyrion admires and comments upon her long neck. He’s shocked to learn that she’s only 14 (though Sophie Turner is actually 17). He decides that he doesn’t want to be with her until she agrees. Peter Dinklage- what MORE can we say about his talents!?
Arya learns that The Hound is taking her to relatives.
Arya tries to bash in his head w/ a rock, but The Hound is actually trying to help her. He tells her that he’s taking her to The Twins (where her uncle will soon be wed to one of the Frey girls) and not to King’s Landing.
Even behind bars, Davos is a great counselor.
Finally, we get to see Ser Davos (how I missed him)! I love how he’s learning to read, too. Stannis, who (deep down) doesn’t want to see his kin dead, goes to get Davos’ opinion. Melisandre wanted to kill the young blacksmith- a sacrifice to The Lord of Light. The Onion Knight talks freely w/ his lord, unafraid of the consequences. Stannis listens to Davos, as he respects and trusts him.
Melisandre gets her leeches into Gendry- EWWW!
The Mel and Gendry seduction scene was also very well done. (I liked Joe Dempsie’s low-key approach.) Gendry is the ordinary man put into a very weird situation b/c of his parentage. I was quite worried for Gendry for a minute there!
Jorah talks about the sellswords- The Second SonsDany and Daario have GREAT chemistry already!Daario does what he likes, we learn.Dany has a new ally (and perhaps more?) in Daario.
Dany’s story takes an interesting turn- she meets three leaders of The Second Sons, who command 2,000 skilled sellswords. One of the finest warriors, Daario Naharis (Ed Skrein), is young, handsome, and very confident. Later that night, he presents her w/ the heads of the two leaders who wanted her dead. Instead of killing her, he pledges himself to Dany. (This actor’s looks and demeanor remind me of Jonathan Rhys Myers.) Dany gets out of the bathtub and reveals herself to him fully. This is a power move, not only a show of romantic interest.
Every season of Game of Thrones has built to a big event in the season’s ninth episode. As a result, the end of each season has continually created a conflict between those who have read the books and those who haven’t: the pattern means that both parties know the season is building to something major, but only those who have read the books know what that is. This wouldn’t be as much of a problem if those people didn’t really, really want to talk about it.
In the first season, I would say fans mostly tried to keep quiet about Ned Stark’s death. The first season hinged on Ned’s story, and the initial shock of his beheading gave the show its big hook that could make casual viewers into fans and help sustain…
Knightleyemma 