Westeros is not somewhere I’d ever like to live. It’s dark, brutal, and defeating, full of liars, manipulative Littlefingers, and selfish Queens who do not put the same amount of value in life as we (most of us) do in the real world. If you’re looking for justice, you’ve come to the wrong place. George R.R. Martin has imagined a world that is full of terror and gone through unbelievable lengths to expose every inch of darkness (and sometimes light) there is in the characters that occupy this cruel and torturous land. What’s genius about Game of Thrones and it’s source material is just how much these characters and their decisions make sense in the setting their put in; how they react in these situations is in-line with what we’ve come to know and expect from the show. So why are people angry?
Something terrible happened to Sansa Stark at the end of “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”, something that was hard to watch but was honestly not unexpected, especially given that Ramsay Bolton is now in the picture. Ramsay – played brilliantly by Iwan Rheon – is one of the most sadistic and sociopathic characters in recent television memory, easily outweighing Joffrey with his brutal and imaginative means of psychological torture. We’ve seen it time and time again with Theon-cum-Reek, and now we’re seeing it with one of the most sympathetic characters, Sansa.
Sansa was raped on her wedding night and Reek was forced to watch. We didn’t see it on screen but we heard the screams, saw the fear on Sansa’s face, and saw the effect it had on Reek. A lot of viewers are now very angry with the writers, and will remain so for a few days.
Screams that this ruins all the character development for Sansa, with the show gradually building her into a strong and capable young woman, seem a bit ignorant here. As with Jamie and Cersei’s controversy last season, we need to be reminded that character development is not a linear process; there is nothing black and white about it and this world that has been created for Game of Thrones is, on the surface, far removed from our own.
Is rape being used as a plot device here? The alternative was probably to have Sansa flayed, or have a body part mutilated (like what happened to Theon). Book readers know that what Ramsay does to his book-bride would have broken our hearts even more had it happened to Sansa. If the showrunners needed Ramsay to do something terrible and soul-destroying to Sansa, while at the same time having it push Reek’s development forward, then this scene, as unfortunate as it is, made sense.
This song isn’t all about the ending though. “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” contained some really interesting, subtle power plays and developments that shied away from action for the sake of high-stakes drama. We got to see the very welcome return of Dianna Rigg as Lady Olenna, rushing to Kings Landing from High Garden because Cersei has gone crazy with her use of the Faith Militant. The snappy back and forth between Olenna and Cersei was a fantastic scene and had both actresses at their finest. The following court scene was also well done, leading to both Loras and Queen Margaery being taken away by a force more powerful than the king. Cersei is winning her power play here, but it will be interesting to see if it all backfires on her, seeing as she did sleep with her cousin Lancel once upon a time – something the show reminded us of in Season 5’s first episode.
Perhaps the most interesting development in this episode came for Jorah and Tyrion as they were captured by pirates/slavers (MR EKO FROM LOST! ADEBISI FROM OZ!) and saved by one of Tyrion’s famously desperate lies. Jorah is now pegged as a feared warrior who will be used in the recently re-opened fighting pits to make the pirates some mean cash – and also bring the duo to Dany. We also found out that such a thing as a “cock merchant” exists; a man specifically in the market for decapitated penises; dwarf penis fetches a very high price, but the cock merchant must know it’s from a dwarf; hence Tyrion is kept alive for now.
Again, the worst part of the episode comes courtesy of the Sand Snakes and some stiff over-acting from Obara (or as Ellaria pronounces it, “Obada”), played by Keisha Castle-Hughes. All of this Dorne material feels super rushed and wedged in, involving only because it let’s us follow the team of Bronn and Jamie. Our heroes quickly find Myrcella who is in no rush to be rescued, only to have a rushed fight with all three Sand Snakes in the Water Gardens. This is broken up by the very intimidating Areo Hotah and all five, plus Ellaria, are captured. What stems from this will probably be the most interesting thing to happen in this storyline so far, but as it stands, this has all been mishandled and saved only by the great chemistry between Jerome Flynn and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Arya’s training at The House of Black and White continues here, raising the stakes with Jaqen H’ghar as her mentor. Arya’s hopeful transformation into a Faceless Man, or silent assassin, is quiet and delicate with the show showing great patience with her, compared to every other character. It was great watching Jaqen call out all of Arya’s lies, not because it’s nice to see Arya get whipped, but because it was heart-warming to know that Arya hating The Hound is one big lie [I miss him so much!]. It’s also nice to see that Jaqen is making some concessions in his strict training; he recognises that Arya does have the capacity to be a killer, but one a bit more gentle and human than the standard Faceless Man. She isn’t going to become ‘no one’ anytime soon, but she’s ready to not be Arya anymore.
Littlefinger returns to Kings Landing and I was wrong to underestimate how interesting he can make a scene. Him telling Cersei about Sansa was a big surprise and once I couldn’t have seen coming, and then, in a great scene, he colours in the rest of his plan. Littlefinger is making a big play for Warden of the North, and his purpose of delivering Sansa to Roose Bolton was to peg the Bolton’s as traitors through Lannister eyes. Littlefinger will use his position at the Vale to wipe out whoever wins between Roose and Stannis, and he will have the backing of House Lannister. He is a genius.
With plenty of subtle pushes towards the second half of Season 5, “Bowed, Unbent, Unbroken” was very much about preparing for the action ahead and reiterating that this world these characters live in is as psychologically taxing as it is physically.
Review Score: THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights:
– Tyrion and Jorah fooling the slavers
– Olenna vs Cersei
– Littlefinger’s sly plan continues to take shape
– Shades of Theon coming out from Reek
– Bronn singing
– Sansa standing up to Myranda
– Arya lying about hating The Hound
Lowlights:
– Sand Snakes very underwhelming
– Entire Dorne sequence felt rushed
Game of Thrones airs in Australia on Showcase, Foxtel every Monday at 11am with a second screening at 7:30pm
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