Sunday, June 16, 2013

Discussing Game of Thrones: Mhysa & Final Thoughts on Season 3

* Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen "Mhysa."

Last week, we bid adieu to Game of Thrones for another year. * Sniffle* Only having 10 episodes per season is a bummer, but what an intense 10 episodes they were. Surpassing the all-out mayhem of the previous episode, “The Rains of Castamere,” was no easy feat, and “Mhysa” didn’t quite do it for me. Episode 9 seems to be the showcase episode for each season, judging by “Blackwater” from Season 2 and “Baelor” from Season 1 (AKA the episode in which newcomers to A Song of Ice and Fire learned that no character’s life is safe. Ever.). Still, I’d hoped to see a few last-minute fireworks go off, but I thought “Mhysa” was a little on the quiet side for a GoT season finale. Anyway, on to the details . . . .

The RW Fallout

The last thing/person I wanted to see at the beginning of this episode was Roose Bolton’s ugly, duplicitous mug, but there it was, as the desecration of anything associated with House Stark continued at the Twins. Later, Filch, uh, I mean, Walder Frey, crows about how he outsmarted the Tullys and the Starks while stuffing his shriveled face. Bolton remarks on the Blackfish’s escape, which gives me hope that the Blackfish will return one day with a vengeance. A very deadly vengeance.

Joffrey Gets Put Down for a Nap

So I really wanted to see this little turd finally get what’s coming to him this season, but alas, the worst thing that happened to him was getting sent to bed early. Really bad idea on his part to accuse his gramps of hiding under Casterly Rock during Robert’s Rebellion. And I feel very sorry for Tyrion every time he’s summoned to a Small Council meeting these days; it’s like everyone’s just waiting to harass him about something.

What’s in a Name?

Reek, Reek, it rhymes with meek. I’m sorry—I couldn’t help myself because once you write “reek,” you have to finish the line. Theon has a new name, and his torturer’s identity was finally revealed: Ramsay Snow, Roose Bolton’s bastard. Clearly, extreme sadism runs in the family.

Go North, Young Bran

Bran, Hodor, and the Reeds are camping for the night when someone pops out of the well. It’s none other than Sam, followed by Gilly and her baby. As soon as Sam spots Summer, he knows who Bran is, and he offers to take him to Jon. But Bran tells Sam that his destiny lies beyond the Wall, and Sam hands over the dragonglass he found so that Bran and the Reeds will have some kind of defense against the Others.

Arya Gets Stabby

Arya and the Hound pass by some Frey soldiers joking about the RW and how Grey Wind’s head got sewn onto Robb’s body. At first Arya approaches them meekly, and then she proceeds to stab the holy heck out of one dude. A fray (no pun intended) breaks out, with the Hound joining in and getting all slash-happy with his sword. Valar morghulis, indeed.

This Is Not the Time for a “You Know Nothing, Jon Snow”

Jon is trying to clean up his eagle-clawed face when he looks up to find Ygritte aiming an arrow at him. She’s in no mood for his excuses and starts shooting away. Riding back to Castle Black can’t be much fun when you’ve got arrows sticking out of various limbs, courtesy of your now ex-girlfriend.

It’s Been a Long Trip from Harrenhal

At long last, Jaime and Brienne arrive in King’s Landing. The first place Jaime goes? To see Cersei, of course. That was disappointing, after all he and Brienne had gone through together, but it wasn’t a surprise, either.

Let’s All Go to the Wall

Davos, now able to read thanks to encouragement from Stannis’s daughter, Shireen, is alarmed by the call for help from the Night’s Watch, re: The Others Are Coming! The Others Are Coming! Stannis is peeved at Davos for helping Gendry escape, but after Melisandre pronounces the letter legit, it’s decided that they all need to hightail it up North to the Wall. The Gods help the Night’s Watch if Melisandre is headed up there . . . .

The Return of Some Familiar Faces

This has to be one of the biggest casts on TV, and not all of the characters have continuous story lines, so obviously, some faces come and go. It was nice to see Maester Aemon, Pyp, and even Balon and Yara Greyjoy again. Theon’s daddy was quite a jerk, blaming Theon for bringing his misery upon himself and refusing to help him. Yara (who’ll always be Asha in my mind, as she’s called in the books) was pretty badass in this scene, banding a rescue party together and setting out to rescue her brother.

Crowd Surfing, GoT Style

Getting back to how there are so many characters on this show, did Daenerys really need to get the last scene of the season spotlight again? I mean, wasn’t her moment back in Season 1, when the dragons hatched? All of her new subjects declaring their love for her was a little over the top for me, and a bit of a dud as a close to the season.

Peeps (and Direwolves) We Said Goodbye to This Season

RIP: Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark, Talisa Maegyr, Rickard Karstark, Ros, Jeor Mormont, Craster, Orell, Grey Wind. (And anyone else I forgot.)

Final Thoughts on Season 3

I loved it! I’ve been shipping Jaime and Brienne since I read A Storm of Swords two years ago, so this season really delivered for me. My favorite moment was Jaime’s confession to Brienne about what led him to kill the Mad King, Aerys. Jaime’s been derided as the Kingslayer ever since, and almost no one knows how he saved the people of King’s Landing that day.

Of the new characters, my two favorites were Lady Olenna Tyrell and Ser Brynden “Blackfish” Tully. Lady Olenna wasn’t afraid to put anyone in his/her place, including Tywin Lannister. And the Blackfish—no one’s ever made scaly armor look so cool.

I thought we’d see more of Mance Rayder, but it looks like the Wildlings’ assault on the Wall is being held over until next season. Joffrey and Margaery’s nuptials also appear to be slated for some time in the fourth season. Speaking of Season 4, there was a great article on Entertainment Weekly’s site about the future of the show, namely what could happen if the show catches up to the books. It also brings up a good point about the potentially challenging adaptation of the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, for television; key characters are absent in that book and don’t reappear until book 5, A Dance with Dragons. Best case scenario: George R. R. Martin gets The Winds of Winter done and we don’t have to worry about running out of material for a little while more.

Well, that’s it for these recap posts until next year. They’ve been a lot of fun to write (and occasionally vlog), and they’ll be back for Season 4! If you missed any from this season, you can find all of them listed on the Features page.

6 comments:

  1. I put off watching the series until I read the books, and the Hubs and I recently watched all 3 seasons. Even though I've read all the books, HBO has switched some stuff up and it made for some surprises. I really love the show, despite the almost constant boob shots, and can't wait for season 4! So, so, so ready to see Joffery's wedding feast. ;)

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    1. I can definitely do without all of the nakedness on the show, but I think that's pretty much standard for HBO's original series, lol. It'd be great if Joffrey and Margaery's wedding were toward the beginning of the next season, just to start things off with some serious drama.

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  2. The last scene was kind of ridiculous, but it's something that will always get a laugh from me (and my sister). I was hoping they were going to end it with Lady Stoneheart, but perhaps they'll wait until next season, since it's not something that happens until the SoS epilogue. I enjoyed this season, but I think Season 4 really has the potential to be the best season ever with The Purple Wedding, Sansa's escape, Tyrion's trial, and Stannis helping The Night's Watch. I'm really looking forward to it. I enjoyed these recaps, so thank you for doing them! :)

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    1. I was in a bit of disbelief at Daenerys getting carried around on everyone's shoulders. I feel the show's gone out of its way to make her look extra heroic, when in the books she's just as flawed as everyone else. Seeing Lady Stoneheart would have been perfect, but you're right, that doesn't happen until the epilogue, and this season didn't cover all of ASoS. Season 4 should be epic, with all of those events you mentioned to look forward to!

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  3. I saw Martin on Conan a couple of weeks back and he made a comment about how he's always known how the story ends but that doesn't mean the show will follow suit. I think they may be ready to take some creative liberties to keep the show moving regardless of the books. As long as Martin is heavily involved, I think it could work. I'm sad the season is over, it was so good. On the plus side, my daughter has finally decided that it is time to watch from the beginning so I've been re-watching with her.

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    1. I think I'll also be OK with the show runners having to get extra creative in the event that the show catches up with the books, as long as Martin has a lot of input. His background in writing for TV also puts me a little more at ease because he can see things from the perspective of both a novel writer and a television writer.

      This was such a great season; Ally and the rest of the family who watches the show just got to see the last 5 episodes of Season 3 the other day. We had like a 5 hour GoT viewing marathon, and it was awesome!

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