Synopsis: The Hound is judged by the gods; Jaime is judged by men. Jon proves himself; Robb is betrayed. Tyrion learns the cost of weddings.
My thoughts: Well, in tonight’ episode… there was a lot of movement in the relationships of many of the characters.
1. In order to stop the Tyrell’s from marrying Sansa to their homosexual son, Tywin tells Tyrion that he will be marrying Sansa. He also told Cersei that she will be marrying Loras. Even as they protest, you know that these two kids have their hands tied. There is no way they can go against their father’s wishes, especially when he thinks so little of them. Of course, Tyrion’s marriage to Sansa will upset the Tyrells and Littlefinger, but they are in the same plight as Tyrion and Cersei.
2. After being called a crow and making the wildings a little less secure about Jon Snow’s loyalties, Ygritte forces Jon to follow her into a cave where a warm spring is. She stripps naked and he pounces and eventhough he is a “maiden” he proves that he has a magical tongue. As they jump into the water and Ygritte expresses that she longs to stay in this cave with Jon and for a brif moment you forget that everyone is in a state of war.
3. Robb is betrayed by the Karstarks when their leader kills the two young defenseless Lannisters that Robb was holding hostage. After disregarding the sound advice of his mother and wife, Robb hangs all of Lord Karstarks accomplices and chops off the Lord’s head. All looks lost for Robb, but then with the help of his wife he learns that he has one group to rely on and that is the family he was supposed to marry into. The general outlook for Robb’s current wife and even Robb himself is not really that great.
4. Stannis Baratheon returned home and eventhough there was a sketchy and odd exchange between he and his wife who is bonkers w/ grief over what she cannot give to Stannis, what was really interesting about this whole story line is that we got to meet his little girl. She was the bright spot of the episode, because even with knowing that her close friend, Davos, is a traitor and in a jail… she goes to the dungeon to check up on him and encourages him to allow her to teac him to read. Such a genuine moment.
5. Finally, Jaimie and Brienne reached a new level in their relationship when Jaimie confesses what spurred him on to kill the Mad King. There is a level of trust between these two that transcends whatever would have initially prohibited them from allowing each other to rely on one another so much. In hindsight, I wonder if Jaimie thinks that all of this madness that is happening (including the loss of his hand) around him could have been deterred if he just killed his father as the Mad King requested. Anywho, by disclosing this information, we finally understand how much this has weighed on Jaimie. This disclosure also changes how Brienne looks at Jaimie.
There was a touching moment between Arya and Bericas they spoke of his many resurrections and asks if it is possible to resurrect her father, which clearly shows that her father’s death is still an open wound.
This was a stellar episode and I cannot wait for next week’s…
Next time: Littlefinger continues his ascent. Tywin plans strategic unions for the Lannisters. Melisandre pays a visit to the Riverlands. Robb weighs a compromise to repair his alliance with House Frey. Roose Bolton decides what to do with Jaime Lannister. Jon, Ygritte and the Wildlings face a daunting climb.
.