Week 5 (S3E05-S3E10)

Episode 25: Kissed By Fire

“By what right does the wolf judge the lion?”

Major Plot Points: Jon performs the Lord’s Kiss.  Robb follows his father’s honor system.  Arya witnesses a resurrection.  Dany learns about slave names.  Sansa is a pawn in the great game.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Tormund had a more jovial personality.  He was almost constantly making lewd jokes and yelling “Har” after each one.  He also constantly talked about his member.  I enjoy both versions of the character.  The gritty one works well on television.
2. The cave Jon and Ygritte consummate their relationship in was described as having small tunnels run out the back of it.  Ygritte told Jon a story about how a wilding party once got lost deep underground trying to find a way under the Wall.
3. The Karstarks are ancestral relatives of the Starks, hence their name.  Their 2 houses have been united for hundreds of years. 
4. The song Shireen sings is actually a song her court jester, Patchface, constantly sings.  Patchface is not in the show, but is a terrifying presence in Davos POV chapters.  He was said to have nearly drowned once, and since coming back is completely insane and grim.  For some reason Shireen loves to have him around, and many people theorize that the crazy things he sings and tells people, are actually prophecies.  Melisandre even tells Jon Snow that she sees Patchface in her flames and considers him dangerous.
5. Barristan served on the small council. He was the one that tells Dany about how Jorah used to spy on her for Varys and King Robert.
6. Cersei was offered by Tywin to be wed to Willas Tyrell, heir to Highgarden, and the Tyrells refused. Loras wasn’t able to marry anyone in the books, since he was granted a spot on the Kingsguard after the Battle of the Blackwater.

Other Points to Notice

1. When Thoros prays before the trial by combat, the music playing in the background is the same theme that plays whenever Melisandre begins talking about or praying to, the Lord of Light.
2. Jon is lying badly about there being 1000 men left at Castle Black.  In reality, it’s less than 100.
3. We hear Beric talk about how every time he comes back, he loses a part of himself.  I don’t believe we ever hear Jon talk about this when he comes back.  It almost seems like the show purposely ignores the cons of being revived from death.
4. Littlefinger finds out about Sansa’s proposed marriage, and immediately uses this knowledge to get the Lannisters to marry her off to Tyrion.  He couldn’t allow her to go to Highgarden out of his clutches.

Stray Observations:

1. Do you think this is the first time Kit Harrington saw his future wife naked? It almost has to be right? That’s hilarious
2. Roose Bolton did a great job trolling Jaime. 
3. Maybe Dean-Charles Chapman got the part as Tommen because he did a great job dying?
4. The scene in the baths between Jaime and Brienne is among my all time favorite Game of Thrones scenes.  We learn a lot about who Jaime really is, his true reasons for killing the Mad King, and why it broke him so much to see Ned Stark viewing him with disgust.

RIP: Rickard Karstark, Lord of Karhold. Pretty badass last words.

Episode 26: The Climb

“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder”

Major Plot Points: Arya loses a friend to religion.  Theon gets tortured.  Jon goes for a climb.  Jaime overplays his “position”.  Sansa and Loras enjoy a romantic stroll.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. At this point, Sam and Gilly were being guided by Coldhands.  Coldhands then left Sam at the Wall and waited for Bran to arrive.  In the show, Coldhands was Benjen Stark and only appeared in Season 6.
2. Arya and the Brotherhood never meet Melisandre.  Her and Thoros immediately saw each other as priests of the Red God, which is why Thoros was so quick to trust her.
3. Gendry stayed with the Brotherhood when Arya left.  He is still with them. 
4. Robb’s plan was to retake the North, not Casterly Rock.  Robb was going to take back Moat Cailin from the Greyjoys.  Moat Cailin is a fortress guarding the road to the north, surrounded by swamp lands.  It had never been taken, but Robb never lost a battle.

Other Points to Notice

1. Melisandre learning from Thoros about Beric coming back to life was the main reason she believed Jon Snow could arise from the dead.
2. Mel also gives Arya an almost prophetic speech about all the lives she would take.  But the more interesting part is when she tells Arya, “We will meet again.”  This indicates in Season 7 these 2 will confront one another.  It should be a fun reunion.
3. How does Theon not realize he is at the Bolton home, the Dreadfort?  He served with Roose Bolton, and knew his sigil was the flayed man on a wooden X.  He is also hanging on a wooden X.
4. If Edmure refused the marriage proposal, and Robb lost his Frey alliance, he may have survived.
5. Littlefinger was able to tell Ros betrayed him, because only she knew of his plans to leave with Sansa. 

Stray Observations:

1. Sam is incredibly smooth. “Ah you know your fires!”
2. Ramsey finally brings out the horn he used to torture Theon behind the walls of Winterfell.
3. Roose Bolton almost certainly gave Jaime a dinner that required a fork and knife on purpose.  He was a sick dude.
4. Hilarious how non subtle Tyrion was about trying to get Shae to leave him and Sansa alone.

Episode 27: The Bear and the Maiden Fair

“You waste time trying to get people to love you, you’ll end up the world’s most popular dead man”

Major Plot Points: Sansa and Tyrion fret about their upcoming nuptials.  Jaime rescues a maiden.  Theon is tortured.  Arya is stolen by a dog.  Jon makes Ygritte swoon. Daenerys threatens an entire city.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Jeyne Westerling, Robb’s wife, was never pregnant.  Or even if she was, it was terminated.  She stayed at her castle, while Robb went to the Red Wedding.
2. Shae did not fight against Tyrion being married to Sansa.  It gives a bit more credence to the theory she was playing him the whole time.
3. Jaime tells Roose to inform Robb Stark “Jaime Lannister sends his regards”. This was changed to just be “The Lannisters”.  The reason for this change is lost on me

Other Points to Notice

1. Robb promises Talisa to go with her to Volantis.  Just another promise he breaks.
2. Sansa is still very poor at playing the game.  She can’t sense any of the manipulations from Margaery. 
3. Joffrey was correct when he told Tywin they were not worried enough about Daenerys and her dragons.  In his arrogance, Tywin never even considered to look into it.
4. We see Miranda often from here on out.  She seems to be a complete psychopath that weirdly loves Ramsey obsessively.
5. “Tralalalalallyday” is not a real place.
6. Ygritte clearly knows that Jon isn’t really a wildling deep down.

Stray Observations:

1. Orell is weirdly in love with Ygritte.  But he comes on far too strong. 
2. We finally get Arya and the Hound together.  Best duo in Westeros.
3. Jaime takes his first real step to redemption when he saves Brienne.

RIP: The next poor prisoner that Locke throws in the bear pit to satisfy his primal urges. 

Episode 28: Second Sons

“The usurper Robb Stark. The usurper Balon Greyjoy. The usurper Joffrey Baratheon”

Major Plot Points: Arya and the Hound head for the Twins.  Daenerys meets with mercenaries.  Tyrion and Sansa get hitched.  Sam meets an ancient evil.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Daario Naharis looked very different.  He had blue hair and a blue beard that was kept in 3 prongs.  He also was a captain in a different mercenary company, the Stormcrows, he did not serve with Mero, the Titan’s Bastard.
2. Mero was not killed by Daario.  He was killed by an angry mob after trying to attack Daenerys when she claimed Yunkai.
3. Melisandre does leech Edric Storm (Robert’s bastard that Stannis kept at Dragonstone), but doesn’t seduce him the way she seduces Gendry in the show.  Also her leech burning ritual is far more effective, since all of the kings mentioned die shortly after. 
4. Tyrion and Sansa never actually had sex, but he did get in bed with her. He backed out at the last second due to how wrong it felt.
5. Sam killed the White Walker while with Grenn and Pyp. No other brothers believed him and mockingly called him “Sam the Slayer”.  He also sorta accidentally fell on him. 

Other Points to Notice

1. The Wise Master from last episode, Razdal mo Eraz, takes back the city of Yunkai soon after Daenerys leaves.
2. Stannis shows his kind side when he visits Davos in the dungeons.  Stannis knows that Davos would disagree with killing Gendry, and him going to talk to him shows that Stannis wanted Davos to stop him from letting Melisandre murder the kid.
3. No coincidence Cersei tells Margaery (and the audience) the meaning behind the song “Rains of Castamere” this episode.  The Red Wedding takes place next episode, and of course the episode is named “The Rains of Castamere”.  Kind of a giveaway.
4. Samwell Tarly may be the first human to kill a White Walker in over 8000 years.  Unreal.

Stray Observations:

1. The Hound does not like Arya as much as Sansa.
2. Not only did the actors for Daario change, but the personalities did as well.  The original Daario is much more soft spoken, and less mercenary-ish than the new one.
3. Tywin giving Tyrion a lecture about his need to perform is objectively hilarious.  “I am the God of tits and wine.”

Daenerys Boob Counter: 1

Overall Count: 3.5

RIP: Mero, “The Titan’s Bastard” What a pleasant man.

Episode 29: The Rains of Castamere

“Mother”

Finally.  If Ned dying put this show on the map, it was this episode that forced the series into every household across the globe.  No episode of any TV show has come close to what the Red Wedding did to viewers at home.

Major Plot Points: Arya travels to meet her brother.  Jon goes on a raid.  Daenerys devises a plan.  Robb gets brutally murdered at his uncle’s wedding.  Catelyn watches her oldest son get brutally murdered at her brother’s wedding, and then is also brutally murdered at her brother’s wedding.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. More was revealed at Robb’s final council.  First, Robb is informed that Balon Greyjoy is dead. Robb then devises a brilliant plot to take back his home.  Finally, he writes a last will, and in it named Jon Snow as his successor.  This letter was sent to the swamps of the Neck, and the theory goes that Howland Reed came into possession of it, and is waiting for the right moment to present it to the remaining Northern lords.
2. Robb’s wife was not present at the wedding.  This was just pure cruelty by D & D.
3. It is theorized that Rickon and Osha went to the island of Skagos, where cannibals and unicorns roam free.
4. The entire wedding is seen through Cat’s POV.  There is a sense of dread building the entire time.  The first major scare is when she sees Roose Bolton is not drinking and wearing chainmail under his clothes. She also notices the band barely knows how to play their instruments. Then of course when the drums start to bang and the Rains of Castamere play, her dread comes to a climax.
5. Cat does not kill Walder’s wife.  She kills his mentally challenged son.  When she threatened to kill him, Walder Frey responds; “Then I’ll get a new son.” She also calls Robb her last son, since she believes Bran and Rickon to be dead. 
6. As Cat watches Robb die, she goes completely hysterical.  As the knife comes to her throat she scratches her face until it bleeds and begs them not to cut her hair, because Ned loves her long hair.
7. Roose Bolton says “Jaime Lannister sends his regards”.  This matters later since Catelyn comes back as Lady Stoneheart.  More on that later.

Other Points to Notice

1. When Walder gives bread and salt to Robb and his men, it signifies that they are under his protection.  It was one of the oldest traditions in the land. 
2. This is the first of two times that Bran and Jon get within arm’s reach of each other without actually interacting. 
3. When a warg dies, they inhabit one of their animals.  They slowly lose all that is left of their human consciousness.
4. When Daenerys asks Jorah about Daario, you can see the friendzone hit him in the face.
5. Robb saying “Perhaps I made a terrible mistake.” , and then talking about naming his son Eddard Stark is so cruel.  They really lay it on thick.
6. When the Rains of Castamere start playing, Catelyn has the same reaction as the audience.

Stray Observations:

1. Rickon had some pretty good acting when he left Bran.  This was also the last time he ever speaks on the show. 
2. This episode is still incredible.

RIP: Walder Frey’s wife.  Also King Robb Stark, the Young Wolf, Lord of Winterfell, King in the North, and firstborn son of Lord Eddard Stark.  Catelyn Stark, formerly Catelyn Tully, eldest daughter of Lord Hoster Tully.

Episode 30: Mhysa

“Monsters are dangerous, and just now Kings are dying like flies”

Major Plot Points: Arya sees the Young Wolf one more time. Tyrion questions his father.  Sansa learns about her brother.  Sam meets Bran at the Wall.  Jon returns home.  Daenerys gets carried by slaves.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Arya started going crazy when she saw her brother’s corpse.  As she was running she was hit in the head and it seemed like she was killed.  Obviously it was just the Hound, but it seemed for a bit that she also died at the Red Wedding.
2. Sam and Gilly arrive at the Nightfort and tell Bran that Coldhands led them there.  We also hear the story of the Night’s King.  A Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch who fell in love with a female White Walker.  He declared himself the King of the Nightfort, and ruled for 13 years committing countless atrocities.  The Night’s Watch, the Lord of Winterfell, and the King Beyond the Wall had to join together to stop him.  The show seems to borrow his name for the leader of the White Walkers.  The Night King instead of the Night’s King.
3. Balon Greyjoy was dead at this point.  Robb was dead, and Joffrey also died soon after.  This really bolstered Stannis’ faith in Melisandre. 
4. Ramsey would never sign anything as “Ramsey Snow” He refused to let anyone call him that, and not Ramsey Bolton. 
5. Jaime did not arrive back at King’s Landing until after Joffrey died.
6. Stannis was not as mad at Davos about freeing Edric.  He was much more reasonable, and agreed with Davos about heading North.

Other Points to Notice

1. Just as Tyrion seems to be getting Sansa to like him, Sansa learns about the Red Wedding and all hope for her not despising him forever evaporates.
2. Tyrion’s threat about kings dying like flies, comes back to bite him very hard after Joffrey’s death.   
3. The Blackfish apparently escaped by swimming down the river. Very appropriate.
4. We finally learn that Ramsey is Roose Bolton’s bastard.  It was pretty obvious beforehand though. 
5. Shae really seems to love Tyrion.  It makes it weird how she instantly betrays him, even when everything he warned her about was true. 
6. The scene of Dany looking up while surrounded by a mob is imitated in season 6 when Jon stares straight up after surfacing from a mob at the Battle of the Bastards.  It is supposed to symbolize their births into who they really are.

Stray Observations:

1. Pycelle clearly dropped the note on purpose.  That old bastard. 
2. You could see the air drop from the room when Joffrey went after Tywin. 
3. Gendry rowed down that stream for 4 seasons.
4. Somehow the Hound killing all those men with Arya was a sweet moment

RIP: All the Frey men Arya and the Hound slaughtered. 

Season 3 is over. Some incredibly memorable moments, including the best show moment of all.  Looking forward to the Red Viper and Season 4.

Things I Liked:  The entire Red Wedding sequence was incredible.  They did a great job capturing the building horror of the situation.  The Jon and Ygritte scenes were also a highlight, they were only in a handful of episodes but their chemistry worked well.  Another highlight was the bathtub scene between Jaime and Brienne.

Things I Did Not Like:  I can’t understand why the show kept Balon Greyjoy alive so long.  I also was not a fan of how unreasonable Stannis was when it came to Davos.  When Davos freed Edric Storm in the book, Stannis was disappointed but he certainly did not sentence him to death.  I sometimes feel like D & D never really understood his character and made him a bit too much like a villain, instead of the nuanced character he is.