Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Discussing Game of Thrones: The Gift

* Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen “The Gift.”

Hey—I actually posted a recap before Friday, lol! It wasn't without some difficulty, however. I tap my episode notes in the Evernote app on my Kindle while watching (because if I had to rely on memory alone, there wouldn't be much of a recap). I try to watch each episode twice, just to make sure I haven't missed anything important. I was rewatching "The Gift" late Sunday night and somehow, in my state of tired, completely erased my notes as the episode was just about over. Poof. Gone. I have no idea how I accomplished this, but I can tell you that my idiocy greatly annoyed me because I usually copy and paste my notes from Evernote straight into Blogger and polish the post from there. So I scrambled to jot down as much as I could remember while it was still pretty fresh, and I think we're OK.

Off to Hardhome

Jon is preparing to leave Castle Black for Hardhome with Tormund Giantsbane. Tormund is led out, and Dolorous Edd removes his shackles. Once unbound, Tormund gives Alliser Thorne a pretty awesome "Come at me bro" look. Jon gives command of the Night's Watch to Thorne in his absence, and Thorne cheerily lets Jon know that this is a foolhardy mission he's about to embark on. Jon thanks him for his honesty. Then Jon and Sam have a nice bro moment as they say goodbye, and Sam sends him off with some dragonglass, to be used in case of White Walker emergency. The next scene also takes place at the Wall, where Sam and Gilly are watching over a dying Maester Aemon, who urges Gilly to take her baby south before it's too late.

Your Name Is Theon Greyjoy

Theon brings Sansa's meal to her in her locked room. She's covered in bruises and begs Theon to help her. He tells her to do as Ramsay wants, otherwise Ramsay will hurt her. Sansa insists that she still has friends and gives him a candle so he can light it in the broken tower. He goes to Ramsay instead. Cut to Brienne watching the broken tower for Sansa's signal.

And Now His Watch Is Ended

Maester Aemon dies, and Sam speaks at the service before the body is burned. Thorne tells Sam that he's losing all of his friends.

I Can't Unsee That

As snow falls steadily around them, Ramsay tells Sansa that she's made him very happy. He then mentions that Stannis and his army are on the move but hampered by the snow. Sansa asks him what will happen if his stepmother, Walda, has a son, a touchy subject with Ramsay. He insists that won't matter since he's been legitimized by the Iron Throne, plus, Jon Snow is a bastard and now he's Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. The news surprises Sansa. Ramsay then shows her the flayed body of the loyal Winterfell servant who was trying to help her.

We March Now or Else

The snow is wreaking all kinds of havoc for Stannis. Davos advises marching back to Castle Black to wait for the snow to clear, but Stannis says they have no idea how long the winter will last. They have to march now. After Davos leaves the tent, Stannis asks Melisandre if she's sure they're heading in the right direction. She says she's seen herself walking along the battlements at Winterfell. But, to ensure victory, she wants to sacrifice Shireen! Stannis orders her out.

Sam the Man

Two of the Night's Watch find Gilly alone and try to assault her. Sam tries to defend her but takes one hell of a beating from his "brothers." And then Ghost turns up! Gilly tends to Sam's injuries and then the moment we've been waiting for between these two happens.

Tyrion Negotiates a Package Deal

After exaggerating some of Jorah's achievements, the slaver sells him. Tyrion insists that he must go with Jorah because they're a team and attempts to prove he's a fighter, too, by knocking his captor to the ground and whaling on him with his chain. Thanks to his antics, which come across more amusing than fear-inspiring, Tyrion gets to stay with Jorah.

Daario's Proposals Get Shot Down

Daario tells Daenerys to marry him instead of Hizdahr, but she says she can't. He then advises her to gather all the masters on the day of the great games and slaughter them all, an idea that draws even less enthusiasm than his previous one.

Olenna vs. the High Sparrow

Lady Olenna goes to see the High Sparrow and offers him gold if he releases her grandchildren. The High Sparrow is not having it; he replies that he serves the gods and the gods demand justice. Outside the sept, she receives a message from Littlefinger.

I Love Her

Tommen is with his mother and vents his frustration over being King yet unable to do anything to help his wife, whom he loves. Cersei offers to speak to the High Sparrow on his behalf.

In Other Teen Angst. . .

Jaime gets to speak alone with Myrcella and says that her mother is worried about her safety and wants her to return with him to King's Landing immediately. A defiant Myrcella declares that she loves Trystane and is going to marry him, and they're not leaving Dorne. Meanwhile, Bronn is locked up in a neighboring cell alongside the Sand Snakes. Jerome Flynn has such a lovely singing voice; if there's a sequel to Game of Thrones: The Musical, this guy NEEDS to be in it! Tyene starts messing with Bronn and reveals that she coated her dagger with poison. He starts feeling the effects, and after Tyene has had her laughs, she tosses Bronn the antidote.

Littlefinger's Gift

In his sacked brothel, Littlefinger meets with Olenna. She warns him that if House Tyrell goes down, he will too because they plotted to kill Joffrey together. He says he has information that Cersei doesn't.

YES! THIS REALLY HAPPENED!

Daenerys and Hizdahr are attending a kind of preliminary round for the great games. Jorah spots Daenerys in the crowd and makes his way into the fighting pit. He puts on an impressive display and whips off his helm, face all expectant, to which Daenerys says, get him out of my sight. Tyrion then makes a fantastic entrance and introduces himself to Daenerys Targaryen, an event that readers of the books still await.

Karma!

Cersei pays Margaery a visit in her cell, and obviously, Margaery is NOT pleased to see her. Cersei is unbearably smug in her triumph, but, not so hasty there, Cersei. The High Sparrow has a surprise for you: Lancel has spilled the beans about her sordid deeds and now she's under arrest, too. Serves that hateful bitch right.

In the Next Episode

Tyrion and Jorah go before Daenerys. It's Cersei's turn to not look queenly. Long time, no see, Rattleshirt!

4 comments:

  1. It sucks all your notes were erased, but you still managed to give a great recap.

    I lol when Jon was all like Thank You for your honesty. Obviously he give no damns about what Alliser or any of them think at this point. I hate that he had to leave Sam, and I kind of don't like that Sam, Gilly, and Maester Aemon weren't sent off to Oldtown. And although I knew it was coming I am still sad that Aemon died.

    Theon....i am BEYOND done with him for his betrayal. May him and Ramsay be stabbed repeatedly in the balls, be flayed, and die a slow and painful death. I am livid that that poor woman was flayed because of Theon's scary ass.

    Melisandre had MAJOR balls to suggest to him to burn his daughter. Out of every possible scenario that suggestion NEVER even crossed my mind! I so should have seen that coming. But with them going along but being left behind in the books, ain't no telling what is going to happen now.

    And I was shouting in my room when Ghost made his appearance and was all y'all bitches gonna leave the homies alone! And Sam...bless his heart for at least trying to protect Gilly. I'mma need him to seriously try and get his fighting skills up though. Things have gotten infinitely more dangerous for him and Gilly on the wall.

    The verbal sparring between Lady Olenna and the High Sparrow...LOVE. Ain't nothing like two stubborn old folks trying to have their way and throwing uber shade at each other. I'm here for it.

    And simple simple Tommen. He's so naive and trusting. Reminds me of the male version of Sansa when she first left Winterfell for King's Landing.

    I really don;t even know what to think about the Dany/Tyrion meeting as it has not happened yet. So now I'm hoping the show doesn't spoil the next book for me! And she is obviously still salty with Jorah. Though I think she should give him another chance.

    And I LOVE that Cersei was caught in the same trap she set for the Tyrells. It is past time for her to start reaping all the vileness and foolishness she has sown.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're certainly packing a lot of stuff into the episodes now that we're nearing the season finale, aren't they? Lol. I have the same concern that you do about the show overtaking the books- how much of what we see on TV is also going to be in the upcoming novels? Have any of the characters' arcs in the books been spoiled, or does GRRM still have a ton of surprises in store for the readers? Quite a few characters who are still alive in the books have been killed, so how are the books going to handle that? ARRGH- so many questions!

      Delete
  2. I thought they're going to meet that Targeryan dude? Agon? My son told me about it! What happened??? I want to see another silver haired dude!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your son is right- Aegon should be in there if the show were following the fifth book, but there have been a lot of major changes from the books this season. I wonder if Aegon is ever going to show up at all on TV- it's a pretty damn important plotline!

      Delete

We love hearing from our readers and do our best to reply. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!