Episode 7 Mockingbird (Spoliers)-If love was strong enough

www.ontheredcarpet.com

'If love was strong enough to overcome strength and duty.'

If we were in any doubt about Petyr Baleshe's marriage to the deranged aunt of Sansa Stark, the issue were cleared up with the shocking yet expected murder of Lysa. Petyr has only ever loved one woman, and used her sister. As a person scared of heights, my least favourite place in the Game of Thrones world is that moon door, and whenever anyone gets close to the moon door its my clue to go and find something else to do for a few minutes.

What will happen now between Sansa and Petyr is anyone's guess.The revelation of the deep rooted motive that Petyr had for murdering Joffery (the Red Wedding and the death of Catlyn Stark), is revealed to Sansa and probably the most 'anti romantic' scene, which inevitably was going to end with (aunt) finding out and doing something irrational. The tension had been building of a potential 'affair' between Sansa, or rather Petyr's real intentions in saving her from a capital embroiled in Cersei hunt for revenge after the murder of her son have been the subject of a great deal of Lysa's paranoia. Though I am pretty sure Sansa has no feelings for Petyr.

It was another fantastic and draw dropping episode from the Game of Thrones, with many unexpected twists. I do not think there was a single missed beat or disappointing scene. Opening straight into Jamie confronting Tryion about the inevitable consequences of his final and fantastic outburst, what follows is scene after scene of character development and interesting dialogue.

It was satisfying for Tryion to deny his father everything he has ever wanted (Tryion at Castle Black, and Jamie as heir), as it was satisfying to watch. On one side is 'justice' in the form of Oberyn fighting for Tryion to avenge the death of his sister, and on the other is the psychopathic Mountain instrument for the brutality of Cersei who still believes herself to have 'justice' on her side. In an echo of season 1, Oberyn self confidently declares that King's Landing is the perfect place to find the justice he craves, contrary to all previous opinions.

I couldn't have predicted Stormborn having an affair with Daario Naharis. Ser Jorah  finally confronts Stormborn about her tendency to see the world in black and white.

The Hound finally discloses his deepest psychological and physical wound to Arya, inflicted by his brother the Mountain, who will be Cersei's Champion.

In the North, Lord Snow begs Ser Alliser Thorne to close the passage through the wall to stop Mance Rader's army coming through, to no avail. Brienne and Podrick meet Hot Pie and find out more about the fate of Arya Stark, and decide to head to the vale to locate Sansa. And finally Queen Selyse and Melisandre discuss plans to leave Dragonstone. Selyse would rather leave her heretical daughter behind, but apparently according to the mysterious Melisandre she is needed by the Lord of Light.

And so ended 'Mockingbird'. Though the episode was mostly building for events to come towards the end of the series, it was still worth watching in its own right.

The Laws of Gods and Men (contains spoilers season 4)

"Across the Narrow Sea your books are filled with words like 'usurper' and 'madman' and 'blood right'. Here our books are filled with numbers. I prefer the stories they tell. More plain. Less... open to interpretation." ―Tycho Nestoris to Stannis Baratheon

Opening on another visual delight, the Game of Thones has had a fantastic run of three episodes, and looks set to continue to provide quality entertainment. The coldness of the Iron Bank's logic and numbers is perfectly represented by Martin Gatiss, up against the passionate but stoical Stannis. True to form, the Iron Bank was mentioned in the previous episode whilst Tywin uncharacteristically let Cersei into his plans. Stannis walks away with the gold he needs to continue to fight for his blood right, and so the war is not yet over.

The action moves directly to the Dreadfort, and the sadistic machinations of Ramsey Snow, enjoying another sexual encounter (which may or may not have ended violently judging by the bloody scratch marks on his chest). We are reminded of the sister of Theon Greyjoy and her heroic attempt to save her less than fortunate brother. Any hope of Theon's redemption from his current form as Reek are totally dashed as he himself thwarts his own rescue, proving to what extent Ramsey has managed to destroy any sense of self in Theon. He is reduced to a mere puppet, and sleeps with the dogs. Even though Theon as a character receives mixed feelings from me, it is not a fate I would personally wish on anyone.

And in Mereen, Danys holds her first court as Queen, after her run as a slave liberator and fighter for the people, she is taking steps to find out who she is as a ruler. The advise she ignored, 'do not answer injustice with injustice, comes back to haunt her,' and for the first time I felt some doubt in the character's judgment, that perhaps the Crucifixion of the masters was a step too far, and demonstrates a black and white moral view point, without considering deeper complexities of the society which she was conquering. The character strikes me as a parallel to King Robert, who was a fantastic solider and hero, when justice was on his side, but a failure as a King.

Perhaps if he had spent the time soul searching, as Daenerys Stormborn seems to be doing, he might have been more successful, rather than drinking and whoring. The dragons are out of control and killing cattle without check, how can she take Kings Landing if she can not control a single city, and three dragons? Danys has her work cut out for her.

And finally we witness the 'trial' of Tyrion, wrongly accused of the murder of Joffery. Filled with betrayal, hypocrisy and lies, Tyrion darkest secrets, even the love of his life Shae are laid open and cruelly miss judged. Tyrion was once centre stage of this entire serious and arguably it was worth watching GoT just for a humorous comment from this character alone, however, Tryion has been pushed aside and even snubbed by Lord Oberyn of the House Martell, who has take a lot of the comic line-light this season. The sacrifice which Jamie makes for Tyrion (to leave the Kings guard and become heir for Tywin) in the hope of saving Tyrion's life is unexpected as it is touching.

Perhaps a rift has finally grown between Jamie and his sister and lover Cersei over the accusation of Tyrion, and her determination to destroy their younger brother. Though it is argued that the speech in Breaker of Chains made by Stormborn is the best in the series, I would argue Tyrions final outburst to be the more satisfying.

And so ends another installment of GoT, which is starting to sound like Gin and Tonic in my head...for some bizarre reason.

Why I watch the Game of Thrones? (Recap)

Why? Its the question I ask myself when it comes to this programme. It is violent, unrelenting, and totally un-idealistic. There are few if any characters you could confidently base your life upon, and I certainly recommend if you want to stay free and not imprisoned, not to try at home what you see whilst watching the Game of Thrones. Scene upon scene of sexual violence and mutilation, torture, and just plain old fashioned violence, its pretty amazing that I can not get enough of this one programme (yes I am spelling programme, programme, not program). I am not the 'violence type'. I can not even get through Saw I without two good friends and a blanket to hide behind, even then I would probably find an excuse to spend the evening in the kitchen.

I got into the 'game', so to speak, whilst living in China. I got into a lot of things out in China, I do not know if this was the 'best' habit I developed, or one of the worst. I do know that what attracts me to the Game of Thrones is the complexity and the moral ambiguity that encompasses this universe, as one reviewer stated, much like our own world. I think of Arya and the Hound whilst writing this. Arya's sense of virtue is played off wonderfully against the Hounds pragmatism, and true to life, I have had similar experiences (though minus losing all your family brutally, or being on the run, or taking revenge with a sword called needle). For Arya, whether she realises it or not, this is coming of age, the time you find the dreams and ideals of youth do not always quite match up to brutal adult realities. This is survival, so to speak, not a sermon on the mount.

If Merlin and its clear cut morality was ideal for one's late teens and early twenties (and probably early fifties), Game of Thrones is the grown up version. The way things are, so to speak, in the real world. If anything I watched GoT fascinated by how power worked, how politics worked, how man betrayed man, because it was still an alien concept for me. I am not saying that the world, as in the real world, is reflected perfectly by the GoT, but I am saying that parts of it certainly is. Passed a certain age, why shy away from it?

You might be shocked by the nudity, the endless nudity, or you might think, well people get naked sometimes in real life, why is the human body so abhorrent in other contexts?

GoT is challenging viewing, it is anti heroic, it will never allow you to feel comfortable, it will always keep you guessing or screaming. The good guys are never just going to beat the bad guys, not going to happen.

The moment Jamie lost his hand, I was in shock for a good ten minutes. The death of nearly every single of the Stark family member in the Red Wedding probably should have destroyed nearly every reason to continue watching, but it did not. The rape of Cersei by Jamie nearly did make me finally give up with the GoT. Here it is clear that the makers of the series departed from the books in a significant fashion, and what was consensual in the books became really ambiguous on the TV. And nowhere was this dealt with in the episodes that followed to my frustration.

And yet here I am watching episode six, I think.

So in this blog of mine, I will explore the universe of the Game of Thrones, its themes and its ambiguity, for your interest and pleasure. Enjoy, if that is the right word for it.