We pick up right where we left off, and the sweet sight of Joffrey’s lifeless, purple face gives us cause to cheer once more before we are reminded of the grim reality Game of Thrones deals with. The realm is a world far removed from our own, and the writers were out to remind us of that in ‘Breaker of Chains.’
The Hound and Jamie Lannister have developed from brooding, despicable characters to sympathetic fan favourites, so when they do something morally reprehensible it’s really up to us whether we are going to judge the characters by our own standards, or try empathise with them and see where they are coming from (in the world they are coming from). Though, this is much more applicable to The Hound than it is to Jamie, who quite absurdly raped his sister right next to their son’s corpse. Comparatively less despicable, but just as frustrating, was The Hound’s pillage of a kind elderly man who took him and Arya in, fed them, and offered them work. Here are two reminders of just how little the show cares for the viewers’ sensitivities, and the online fallout will be a reminder of how values will get in the way of thoughtful critique time and time again.
The typical trajectory of a fan favourite isn’t something Game of Thrones cares for, and it was necessary for the show to have their characters disappoint the viewers in order to re-focus on the harsh landscape we are watching. With that being said, if the writers wanted Jamie to do something terrible, surely they could have found an action more in-line with his current characterisation, rather than turn what is a consensual sex scene in the books into a hard-to-watch rape scene. Aside from the plethora of angry blog posts that are going to be thrown around this week accusing the showrunners (as well as anyone who even tries to slightly stand up for them) of misogyny – as if we forgot that rape is nothing new on Game of Thrones, or HBO for that matter – it just felt like a jarring sequence that was only there because of its brutality. Whether or not it was a necessary book-vs-TV change is still yet to be seen, but that surely won’t stop people straight up dismissing the show.
Let’s rewind for a bit. That loveable fool Ser Dontos of House Hollard helps Sansa escape in a small boat, instantly telling us that this was a planned assassination, and one which involved several conspirators. It’s pretty clear who one of the primary string-pullers is once Sansa boards a gloomy ship and her saviour is revealed to be none other than sly-faced Littlefinger. His murder of poor Ser Dontos was cruel – and upsetting – but necessary and completely congruent to the cunning man we know he is. There is so much room for development here now that Sansa is seemingly free from King’s Landing and will go from a mere pawn to hopefully someone with more freedom.
Margaery is put back on her family-furthering path by grandmother Olenna (“The next one should be easier”) in a quick scene, before the most beautiful exchange of dialogue we have been given so far in Season 4. Mostly every time Charles Dance’s Tywin Lannister opens up his mouth you just know that the scene is going to be genius. His coaching of young future-King Tommen was incredible to watch, as he stalks around Joffrey’s dead body and allows his grandson to conclude that wisdom is the necessary ingredient which previous Kings have lacked.
The showcase of Cersei’s powerlessness starts here. The Queen Regent is the only person mourning Joffrey, and her plea for respect is ignored twice – once by Tywin and once by Jamie. Next, the highly controversial rape scene is a more explicit way of stripping Cersei of her power. If the writers wanted to remind viewers that Jamie is not to be liked, then this was their quickest and easiest way of doing it. I’m not at all downplaying the horrifying instance of the portrayal of rape in any TV show, but I am assuming that the writers changing this into a rape scene was far more economical than spending an entire episode setting up a storyline for Jamie just so they could remind us that he is no hero.
It was nice to spend some prolonged time with a few storylines, as compared to jumping in and out of arcs with only a few minutes dedicated to each. However, some of these sequences worked better than others. While Sam is a really likable character, he is far less interesting when all he is concerned about is protecting Gilly. His main purpose this episode was to slip her out of Castle Black – where “there are 100 men lying awake at night picturing you” – and into a nearby brothel. Somehow I don’t think Gilly will be any safer among drab conditions and without anyone who cares about her, at all. It was a strange decision on Sam’s part and weakened his character a bit.
Meanwhile within the walls of Dragonstone, Stannis and Davos do little more than dawdle and bicker over financial issues. I’m not sure we needed much time to see Davos’ reading lessons spark the idea of borrowing from the Iron Bank of Braavos, but at least the plot is moving somewhere; albeit slowly. Seeing how Stannis’ arc is moving at a snail’s pace, we may have to wait until the season finale until we find out if the Iron Bank will lend him some of that free-city cash. Such tension!
Tywin’s use of Joffrey’s death as means to placate Prince Oberyn and attempt to draw Dorne back into the fold, offering Oberyn The Mountain in return for being a judge in Tyrion’s trial, is very intriguing. This furthers Tywin as a cold strategist who is less concerned with family setbacks than he is furthering the Lannister’s power. I have a feeling this trial is going to be one of the biggest moments of season 4, and I hope it takes place soon rather than the last few episodes (Tyrion said “Trial in a fortnight” so perhaps it will be in episode 5 or 6).
It’s rather interesting watching Tyrion play sleuth while the other Lannisters are either mourning or playing chess. Surprisingly touching was his concern for Podrick, and the young squire’s refusal to betray Tyrion even if it meant certain death. I suspect that the show will kill Podrick off now that we are nice and attached to him, but at least we got a really great scene between the two.
Over at Castle Black some rangers return with news of the mutiny at Craster’s Keep. With the brutal Wildlings/Thenn edging closer to the wall, Jon Snow deems it necessary to deal with the traitors before they even think about reinforcing against the inevitable invasion. It feels like this excursion to shut Karl, Rast and company up for good will just be filler for Jon Snow’s story line; hopefully the whole thing is dealt with quickly.
Rightfully, after the powerlessness of Sansa and Cersei was shown, ‘Breaker of Chains’ finished with an exciting Daenerys sequence in which she leads her army to the gates of the visually-impressive Meereen. Expository dialogue reminds us of the key players in Dany’s fearful army and we are given Daario Naharis and the writers attempt to re-establish him as a capable warrior, after the massive change of casting inevitably reset his character. This new Daario (Michiel Huisman) was pitted against Meereen’s champion in a brilliant sequence; the shot of the rider falling off his horse and Daario quickly disposing of him was nice and effective, wasting little time and reinforcing how swift Dany’s army has become.
Dany’s arc, travelling the lands and making slavers’ lives a living hell, could easily turn stale and routine, but the writers made it so her siege on Meereen was thoughtful and incredibly clever. Inspiring slaves to do her dirty work for her, sending symbols of broken slave-collars flying into the city, is pure genius and continues the evolution of Dany as an effective ruler; when she could easily have just become one of the more predictable characters.
‘Breaker of Chains’ didn’t really have many events which will have people praising the show around the ‘watercoolers,’ but rather one scene that will unfortunately be the focus in the coming days. Discussions on the way gender is portrayed in Game of Thrones is nothing new, but any perceived wrongdoing by the writers has always been justified in the end because this show is so hard to hate.
Most are going to look past the ill-advised decision to have Jamie rape his sister; on the other hand, there are going to be posts out there which will over-analyse this episode and try to convince you that the showrunners – people the blog writers likely don’t know at all – hate women (or even worse, are ‘rape apologists’). Don’t buy into that. The show is what it is and the world George RR Martin created many years ago is cold, confronting, morally outrageous, and often unfathomable to us, especially if we use our own moral compass to navigate the realm. This is one series we shouldn’t be trying to censor, for the sake of storytelling; only time will tell whether or not that rape scene was included to further the story – save the ‘necessary vs unnecessary’ talk until then.
Review Score: THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Positives:
Tywin teaches Tommen
Tyrion farewells Podrick
Littlefinger revealed as Sansa’s saviour
Negatives:
Sam’s way of protecting Gilly
Jamie raping Cersei felt unnecessary
Jon Snow storyline
Three episodes in and still no catch-up with Gendry, Brotherhood Without Banners, House Greyjoy, or House Frey.
Episode M.V.P: Tywin
Game of Thrones airs Mondays at 3:30pm on Showcase
Promo trailer for episode 4 “Oathkeeper”
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