Jon Snow
The 998th Lord Commander of the Nights Watch
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| Jon executes Janos Slynt |
Kings Landing
A Place where all your dreams come true.......
if you're Margaery or Tommen.
Margaery
Margeary has final become THE QUEEN, and King Tommen is about to live every teenage boys fantasy.
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| Queen Margaery and King Tommen |
The happy couple and Cersei's worse nightmare. It is also the official start of Cersei vs Margaery.
Margaery and Tommen
First, I have been a fan of aging Margaery up, and the scenes with Cersei in this episode are exactly why I love it. The writing for the scene with Tommen was spot on, as was the writing for my favorite one, Margaery vs. Cersei. However, I know the actor who plays Tommen is 17, but physically he looks 15, and frankly, did not look as if he was capable of having sex. It was a poor choice by the writers, and it made the scene with Margaery very uncomfortable to watch. They could have chosen an actor who was physically more mature, and still play a clueless teenager, who was afraid of his psycho brother, and is besotted with Margeary. The second problem, which I touched on in an earlier recap, is that Cersei treats Tommen, is if he is Book Tommen, who is 8 years old.
Margaery, who has now taken a teenager's virginity, immediately gets to work. She knows that Cersei has her claws in Tommen, and Margaery needs Tommen to man up, and break ties with Mommy. Book Margaery is 16 years old and Book Tommen is a child, and he is easily influenced, so this is the same dynamic.
Margaery and Tommen
First, I have been a fan of aging Margaery up, and the scenes with Cersei in this episode are exactly why I love it. The writing for the scene with Tommen was spot on, as was the writing for my favorite one, Margaery vs. Cersei. However, I know the actor who plays Tommen is 17, but physically he looks 15, and frankly, did not look as if he was capable of having sex. It was a poor choice by the writers, and it made the scene with Margaery very uncomfortable to watch. They could have chosen an actor who was physically more mature, and still play a clueless teenager, who was afraid of his psycho brother, and is besotted with Margeary. The second problem, which I touched on in an earlier recap, is that Cersei treats Tommen, is if he is Book Tommen, who is 8 years old.
Margaery, who has now taken a teenager's virginity, immediately gets to work. She knows that Cersei has her claws in Tommen, and Margaery needs Tommen to man up, and break ties with Mommy. Book Margaery is 16 years old and Book Tommen is a child, and he is easily influenced, so this is the same dynamic.
But Cersei, during the chat on the ramparts, starts, as Margaery did, saying all of these wonderful things about Margaery, and she calls him her "sweet boy". Tommen goes on and on about her going to Casterly Rock , and how he wants her to be happy. Naturally, alarm bells are going off, and poor Tommen has become a bouncing ball between the two Queens.
Let's get into my second favorite scene of the episode.
Margaery vs Cersei
I have never been a fan of HBO Cersei, and this scene is an example of that. I am not convinced that she seems to be giving subtle clues that she is playing Margaery, which I know that she is trying to do, but I don't see it.
But, I still loved every second of this confrontation, and again, this is why aging up Margaery was an amazing choice.
Margaery and her ladies, are having girl talk, and talking about how amazing the young Tommen is in bed. They are all laughing and it is all quite lovely, and then Cersei shows up, with her guards.
Margaery: Mother! I am so happy to see you! Will you join us for tea and lemon cakes? "I wish we had some wine for you! It's a bit early in the day for us. " (she is laughing and very enthusiastic, and it is fantastic)
Cersei: Mother is fine, and welcome to the family. I have never seen my baby boy so happy.
Margaery: We are ecstatic and I am exhausted! The King never tires, after all he is both lion and stag, right girls? You might be a grandmother, very, very soon!
Cersei: This is wonderful, but I had wanted to let you know that if you need anything, I am here for you.
Margaery: You are so kind, but I am very busy training Tommen, and he will be ready to run the kingdom, with me at his side.
Cersei: You are so welcome, but you will either be in prison, or dead, so you will never rule this kingdom.
Margaery: The King belongs to me now, but we are still disappointed you will not stay for tea.
Margaery: 1
Cersei: 0
Cersei leaves, supposedly giving the impression that she has been humbled and realizes she is no longer THE QUEEN. Her face belies nothing, as she hears Magraery laughing and acting like school girls.
Speaking of crazy Cersei, let's see what's happening with the High Septon.
Cersei and The High Septon
The High Septon is having an audience with Cersei, and her new Hand/Master of Whispers, Qyburn. He had been attacked in the brothel, where he was choosing his prostitute, as they were walking around him dressed as one of the Seven. The Sparrows had dragged him, naked, into the streets, and he was humiliated. He tells Cersei that this group is reporting to someone called the High Sparrow, and he is very dangerous.
Cersei hears this, and has a brilliant idea, that she and this High Sparrow, must become fast friends.
Cersei and the High Sparrow
Cersei goes to see the High Sparrow. He is the poster boy for the leader of religious fanatics, and is working in a homeless shelter. He is barefoot, and wearing some type of potato sack, and saying how everyone is equal in the eyes of the Seven.
Cersei, being her foolish self, informs him that The High Septon, has been imprisoned. Why? He is no longer the appropriate representative of the Seven. She believes that he would be the perfect person to assume this role, while simultaneously making the worse decision of her life.
Creepy Qyburn
We end our visit to Kings Landing, with Cersei visiting Qyburn in his house of horrors. She has come to check on his "work", and asks that he send a message to Littlefinger. She asks that he ensure that Littlefinger understands that now, means now. We are then left, with the movement of some large body on the table, who we know is the Mountain/Frankenstein.
Braavos
Arya
The Temple
Our girl is doing her favorite thing, sweeping, and gazing at all of the gods represented in the temple. There is a pool (I imagined the room as much larger, with the pool being in the center of the room and there are several bodies), and Jaqen giving a cup, to a man. The man remains there, and dies quietly, as the pool is filled with poisoned water. Book Arya sees people coming in, and drinking, and it's very morbid and tragic, as people are there to commit suicide. I may be wrong, but there are people beside the pool, crying, as they take a drink. She sees the other bodies, and believes that they are sleeping, until she sees people coming in and taking away the bodies.
Our girl, who always has questions, asks Jaqen when the training will begin; as she has been sweeping for days. He says that she has must learn to serve (Valar Dohaeris) and become "no one". She must learn about The Many Faced God, his name, and his gift. Oh, and she wouldn't be Arya, unless she asked where they bodies were going, and Jaqen ignores the question.
One of the things that you will notice as she goes through her training, is that her questions are often greeted with silence.
Good-bye Arya Stark
Our girl is in her small room, and suddenly HBO's version of the waif, who I will just call the Girl, walks in and is very unhappy. She starts hitting Arya with some kind of cane, and asking "Who are you?", and knowing the correct answer, Arya says "No one". The girl keeps hitting her, and Arya gets angry and grabs Needle. But just as Arya is about to get into it with the Girl, Jaqen shows up, and scolds the Girl. She is playing HBO's version of "the lying game", which is called the "the game of faces", and says that Arya does not deserve to be one of them. Jaqen tells her to take a hike, and that Arya is not ready to play this game. Arya is a very angry little camper, and says that she is ready to be "No one", ie. when am I going to be a Faceless Man, so I can start knocking names off my list.
Jaqen informs her that she is still Arya Stark, so how can she be "no one"? He says that everything in the room, her clothes, Needle, and her other trinkets all belong to Arya Stark. The next time we see Arya, she is on a dock, throwing away all of her possessions.
We see her clean and in a potato sack, which is the first time we see her in a different outfit, since Season 1. She is throwing away her clothes, and then she picks up Needle.
I was shedding some tears, while watching this scene, because we all know that Needle is more than a sword. I saw somewhere that D&D said that she is sad, because Needle is a tool of revenge, which is not entirely true. It does represent her fight for survival, but it truly represents her family. She believes that all of them are dead, except maybe Sansa, and she knows that Jon is alive. The show does not illustrate the continued importance of the relationship between Jon and Arya, since Season One. Book Jon never forgets about her, and in the end, Arya cannot throw away Needle, because it is Jon's smile. I shed many tears during this scene, as it has been easy to forget how much Arya has lost, and she is still in there.
One cannot truly appreciate this scene unless you have read the book, but nonetheless, the scenery is stunning and accentuates how painful this is for Arya. But HBO Arya, hides the sword, as does Book Arya.
The next time we see her, she is sweeping, and is watching a corpse be moved into a small room. Jaqen appears, and without a word, takes her into the room, where the Girl, is cleaning a body. Arya picks up a rag, and begins cleaning the body with the Girl.
Volantis
Tyrion and Varys
Tyrion has finally reached his breaking point, and decides that he must leave the Wheel House ASAP.
He has cabin fever, and that he will be of no use to Varys, if he goes insane. They leave, and make their way through the markets on the Long Bridge of Volantis. Varys talks about how the slaves are organized by tattoos, which is disgusting, but it reminds us of the importance of slave culture, and why Dany has caused so many civil wars.
They cross the bridge, and Tyrion is hiding himself (or so he thinks) by pulling a hood over his head. We see a Priestess of R'hllor, and former prostitute, is chanting the Red God mantra "For the night is dark and full of terrors" . She is speaking to the people of how Dany is their savior and mentions the Stone Men (another reference the greyscale). Tyrion mumbles to himself about how prayer won't be curing greyscale anytime soon, and for some reason the Red Priestess turns and stares directly at Tyrion. Will this have meaning at some point this season? I don't know, but it may be foreshadowing some type of connection between Tyrion, and perhaps dragon flame?
The Brothel
Tyrion decides that he must go to a brothel. They grab some beers, although Varys does not seem to be drinking. We see a prostitute dressed as Dany, naked from the back, because we needed to meet our nudity quota. It is also sign that Dany is so mainstream, men want to see prostitutes cosplay her, in the brothels.
We have the scene of Tyrion speaking with a prostitute, who he finds lovely, and says aloud, how he used to have money, and pay all of his debts. However, when she decides that he would be a great client, he acts very un-Tyrion like, and turns her down. I assume we're supposed to think that he is scarred from Shea's betrayal, and the guilt from killing her.
However, while all of this is happening, we see a profile, of someone we know to be the disgraced Jorah. Tyrion decides to take a bathroom break off the dock, and Jorah grabs him.
See you for 5.04 "Sons of the Harpy"!
All images and quotes are owned by HBO, "Game of Thrones" 5.03
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| Did Margaery ask you to get rid of me during pillow talk? |
Margaery vs Cersei
I have never been a fan of HBO Cersei, and this scene is an example of that. I am not convinced that she seems to be giving subtle clues that she is playing Margaery, which I know that she is trying to do, but I don't see it.
But, I still loved every second of this confrontation, and again, this is why aging up Margaery was an amazing choice.
Margaery and her ladies, are having girl talk, and talking about how amazing the young Tommen is in bed. They are all laughing and it is all quite lovely, and then Cersei shows up, with her guards.
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| May I call you Mother? I am not sure if it is Queen Mother, or the Dowager Queen? |
Cersei: Mother is fine, and welcome to the family. I have never seen my baby boy so happy.
Margaery: We are ecstatic and I am exhausted! The King never tires, after all he is both lion and stag, right girls? You might be a grandmother, very, very soon!
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| We lost our virginity together, and it was mind blowing! We can not get enough of each other! |
Margaery: You are so kind, but I am very busy training Tommen, and he will be ready to run the kingdom, with me at his side.
Cersei: You are so welcome, but you will either be in prison, or dead, so you will never rule this kingdom.
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| You may have won round 1, but you will never rule this kingdom |
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| Damn I'm good; I'll be leading the Council meetings any day now |
Cersei: 0
Cersei leaves, supposedly giving the impression that she has been humbled and realizes she is no longer THE QUEEN. Her face belies nothing, as she hears Magraery laughing and acting like school girls.
Speaking of crazy Cersei, let's see what's happening with the High Septon.
Cersei and The High Septon
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| The Sept of Baelor |
Cersei hears this, and has a brilliant idea, that she and this High Sparrow, must become fast friends.
Cersei and the High Sparrow
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| I am but a humble servant of the Seven |
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| Are you the High Sparrow? How do you feel about working for, I mean, with me? |
Creepy Qyburn
We end our visit to Kings Landing, with Cersei visiting Qyburn in his house of horrors. She has come to check on his "work", and asks that he send a message to Littlefinger. She asks that he ensure that Littlefinger understands that now, means now. We are then left, with the movement of some large body on the table, who we know is the Mountain/Frankenstein.
Braavos
Arya
The Temple
Our girl is doing her favorite thing, sweeping, and gazing at all of the gods represented in the temple. There is a pool (I imagined the room as much larger, with the pool being in the center of the room and there are several bodies), and Jaqen giving a cup, to a man. The man remains there, and dies quietly, as the pool is filled with poisoned water. Book Arya sees people coming in, and drinking, and it's very morbid and tragic, as people are there to commit suicide. I may be wrong, but there are people beside the pool, crying, as they take a drink. She sees the other bodies, and believes that they are sleeping, until she sees people coming in and taking away the bodies.
 |
| Valar Morghulis |
One of the things that you will notice as she goes through her training, is that her questions are often greeted with silence.
Good-bye Arya Stark
Our girl is in her small room, and suddenly HBO's version of the waif, who I will just call the Girl, walks in and is very unhappy. She starts hitting Arya with some kind of cane, and asking "Who are you?", and knowing the correct answer, Arya says "No one". The girl keeps hitting her, and Arya gets angry and grabs Needle. But just as Arya is about to get into it with the Girl, Jaqen shows up, and scolds the Girl. She is playing HBO's version of "the lying game", which is called the "the game of faces", and says that Arya does not deserve to be one of them. Jaqen tells her to take a hike, and that Arya is not ready to play this game. Arya is a very angry little camper, and says that she is ready to be "No one", ie. when am I going to be a Faceless Man, so I can start knocking names off my list.
Jaqen informs her that she is still Arya Stark, so how can she be "no one"? He says that everything in the room, her clothes, Needle, and her other trinkets all belong to Arya Stark. The next time we see Arya, she is on a dock, throwing away all of her possessions.
We see her clean and in a potato sack, which is the first time we see her in a different outfit, since Season 1. She is throwing away her clothes, and then she picks up Needle.
I was shedding some tears, while watching this scene, because we all know that Needle is more than a sword. I saw somewhere that D&D said that she is sad, because Needle is a tool of revenge, which is not entirely true. It does represent her fight for survival, but it truly represents her family. She believes that all of them are dead, except maybe Sansa, and she knows that Jon is alive. The show does not illustrate the continued importance of the relationship between Jon and Arya, since Season One. Book Jon never forgets about her, and in the end, Arya cannot throw away Needle, because it is Jon's smile. I shed many tears during this scene, as it has been easy to forget how much Arya has lost, and she is still in there.
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| Needle |
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| We see a heartbroken Arya, as she thinks of everything she has lost, as she holds Needle |
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| Valar Dohaeris |
Volantis
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| The Long Bridge of Volantis |
Tyrion has finally reached his breaking point, and decides that he must leave the Wheel House ASAP.
He has cabin fever, and that he will be of no use to Varys, if he goes insane. They leave, and make their way through the markets on the Long Bridge of Volantis. Varys talks about how the slaves are organized by tattoos, which is disgusting, but it reminds us of the importance of slave culture, and why Dany has caused so many civil wars.
 |
| The Red Priestess; looking directly at Tyrion |
The Brothel
Tyrion decides that he must go to a brothel. They grab some beers, although Varys does not seem to be drinking. We see a prostitute dressed as Dany, naked from the back, because we needed to meet our nudity quota. It is also sign that Dany is so mainstream, men want to see prostitutes cosplay her, in the brothels.
We have the scene of Tyrion speaking with a prostitute, who he finds lovely, and says aloud, how he used to have money, and pay all of his debts. However, when she decides that he would be a great client, he acts very un-Tyrion like, and turns her down. I assume we're supposed to think that he is scarred from Shea's betrayal, and the guilt from killing her.
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| We're going to Meereen! |
See you for 5.04 "Sons of the Harpy"!
All images and quotes are owned by HBO, "Game of Thrones" 5.03
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