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Game of thrones 47: The gift

5/27/2015

23 Comments

 
I thought last week's episode was one of the worst in the show's history, down there with early Season 1 and mid Season 2, but I think we're back on track after The Gift.  

Meereen: This is where the show is most clearly outrunning the books, as the Tyrion-Dany meetup is teased throughout the fifth book and never happens.  I'm very much looking forward to getting several scenes of Tyrion laying some hard truths on Dany and maybe getting back to some of his Season 2 greatness in the role of Hand of the King/Queen.  Sadly, no follow-up with the cock merchant.  I would've liked to see how they cast that part.

Dorne: Finally, some life out of the Sand Snakes, not inorganic speechifying and sloppy fight choreography.  First time GoT director Miguel Sapochnik films nudity like a pervy teenager.  I guess he didn't get a lot of practice on House or Fringe.  Glad Bronn isn't going to die from Chekov's knife wound, as he's been trying on his red shirt for the last several episodes.  Jaime is being wasted this season.  I'm still hoping he gets to actually do something, but all he's done so far is come up with a use for his fake hand and get caught.

King's Landing: I did not once think this episode that the Sparrows had too much power.  Tellingly, Cersei goes to them unsuspectingly, and is then arrested.  If Loras's hearing had taken place in the Sept last week, it would've kept some believability, but the idea that these club-wielding assholes dragged the queen and her brother out of the Red Keep is insane.  Margaery dropping the act was pretty great, as was Cersei's sick leftovers burn.  Jonathan Pryce should get a Guest Actor nod at the Emmy's as his work as the High Sparrow has continued to be excellent.  The common people have gotten short shrift for the entire series, and him as their avenging avatar is an overdue development.

Winterfell: If the end scene from last week never happened, and this was the first scene with Sansa after the wedding, I would have fewer (Thanks, Stannis), or no complaints about her Season 5 storyline.  I understand as much as possible about her situation since the wedding night, and I didn't need to see any of it.  A twist on the show, don't tell rule into hint, don't show.  Since it seems Theon is going to remain useless to Sansa, this also makes the previous episode's final shot of his face nothing but a well-acted waste.  We'll see.  Some nice quick shots around the flayed old woman, giving the appearance of restraint while still showing the viewer everything.  Sansa's now got a corkscrew that I'm sure we'll see again soon.  How awesome would it be if she saved herself, without help from Theon, the old woman, or even Brienne?

Stannis's camp: Shireen cannot die.

The Wall: Olly finding his way into frame.  Wonder what that's about.  Last season, the show followed up the Jaime-Cersei rape scene with all the rape at Craster's, followed in the next episode by Meera Reed getting threatened with rape.  This season, they follow up Sansa with Gilly in danger.  Maybe space these out a little better.  Sam and Gilly had a cute sex scene.  Good for him.

This season's building to a lot of things, with none of the mid-season climaxes from earlier like A Crown For a King, or the Sacking of Astapor, or the Purple Wedding.  Neither a negative or positive, but it will depend on how well they resolve a lot of things.  I've got a pretty good sense of what's going to happen in Meereen and the Wall.  No idea how Winterfell, King's Landing, and Dorne are going to end up, and I love it.  Three episodes to go. 
23 Comments
Sean
5/27/2015 04:09:53 pm

Sam the Slayer!!!

The next episode preview had Jorah and Tyrion talking up at Dany on her throne like they were any other people there to ask for help I wouldn't hold out hope for Tyrion the advisor for a few weeks. Looking forward to visiting the Wildlings.

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Shane
5/27/2015 04:31:18 pm

Sam is just a passionate man.

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Joe
5/27/2015 04:19:49 pm

Just curious, Jon, what makes you think Dany will make any sort of decent choice to this point? Why will Tyrion survive? I'm not sure he survives in the book or in the television series.

Also, she's still scared of her own dragons. How will Tyrion fix that?

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Shane
5/27/2015 04:30:32 pm

Dany has made her fair share of good choices to go with the bad. Her arch just shows you that being in charge is crazy hard. You have to deftly utilize a variety of skills.

Tyrion, if you recall, has read quite a bit about dragons. He knows more about dragons in an academic sense than she does. Does she even know what a warg is? I'll bet he does.

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Bryan
5/27/2015 04:46:19 pm

"Does she even know what a warg is?"

This is the funniest line in all of these side pieces. How much tape is holding your glasses together?

Shane's Underwear
5/27/2015 04:48:48 pm

I've been pulled all the way up Shane's butt crack by a mean jock named Hart Man. Help!

Bobby
5/27/2015 05:34:50 pm

At this point, a warg wouldn't interest her.. as nobody has ever warged a dragon... yet.

Few, if any that Tyrion or anybody else would know of, have even warged a human.

But I agree with Shane here... Tyrion has a lot to offer her... be it about dragons or running the kingdom she'll soon remember she wants to get to.

But I also think, he's gonna die toward the end of all this.

Jon
5/27/2015 06:06:52 pm

I think Tyrion's the closest thing to a Martin surrogate, and if he doesn't make it, it won't be til the end.

Bobby
5/27/2015 06:20:22 pm

When he falls off the back of a dragon during his drunken celebratory lap around King's Landing

Jon
5/27/2015 04:33:10 pm

There's two seasons to go. Tyrion might bite it by the end, but the show, or the books, without him are near-inconceivable. The big characters that die are primarily the powerful. Tyrion's closer to powerless, and therefore, I would call him safe for the time being.

I think Tyrion will take the place of a book character that gets their own POV chapters in book 5, solely through a process of elimination. Whenever Dany's presented with competent people to surround herself with, she allows them to do so. Whether she takes their advice is another story.

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Shane
5/27/2015 04:22:37 pm

Tyrion meeting Dany was fan-fucking-tastic. Was it convenient she was at that event? Maybe, but whatever. It was going to happen sooner or later.

At least the Sand Snakes were a bit more interesting. Of course it took Bronn to give them some decent banter. Still, their narratives and monologues are a bit much. But that scene had me concerned we'd lose Bronn too soon.

The stuff at The Wall was good, but it's odd to see so many people in denial of THE DEAD ARE COMIGN BACK TO LIFE TO FUCKING KILL YOU. I guess it is human nature to hate other humans more than actual threats, though. FUCKING ZOMBIES, SER ALLISTER.

Riggs v Pryce was another highlight. What an excellent bit of banter. Glad we have the Queen of Thorns back in the city. That leads to the Cersei stuff. The High Sparrow can claim to be humble as much as he wants, but he certainly has a flair for the dramatic. Of the three royals in prison, Cersei has the most to lose by confessing. Headey did an excellent job in this episode when she wasn't speaking, especially wincing at Tommen's professing of love.

Good to see Sansa being proactive. She's using Theon for her own good, even though that path fails. It's important that she picks up whatever she picks up though. It makes me wonder if the Theon thing could be part of a long-con. Let Ramsay see you do something slightly devious and he won't be looking for something more devious. I doubt that's the case, but I'm hopeful.

That leaves us with Stannis, who is now a fan favorite. I don't think he's down for killing his daughter, so I wonder what Melisandre will do now.

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Jon
5/27/2015 04:36:11 pm

I've read speculation that Selyse does something crazy in spite of Stannis. This screen grab from the trailer freaks me out. I have no idea what the context would be.

http://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e07082c3a410724da4f1a36b8570b019?convert_to_webp=true

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Shane
5/27/2015 04:52:02 pm

Oh man. If they kill off that little girl, it'll be the hardest scene of the entire series for me personally. The two kids in Winterfell are bad enough, but at least we get to say, "Hey, at least it isn't the two kids we know and love." Which doesn't make it better, but emotionally makes sense.

Bobby
5/27/2015 05:44:58 pm

To go along with what i said above.. I think that's showing Selyse pleading for Shireens life... to which Jon responds, doing his duty to protect the people of the ream.

Shane
5/28/2015 05:10:38 am

What happens to Selsye when she disobeys Stannis? Could this be her pleading for mercy?

Bobby
5/28/2015 06:22:12 am

Do Queens, even if by marriage, have royal blood that can be used? Does Selyse become a potential sacrifice?

Jon
5/28/2015 07:09:55 am

I'd be very much behind Selyse getting thrown on the pyre.

Bobby
5/27/2015 05:43:44 pm

Shane and I chatted a bit about this episode already, and we agree on most of it.

Although, I'm not sure I consider this episode as Sansa being proactive... as much as scared, hurt, and desperate enough to think Theon will snap out of it and get it right. Which pretty much counters all the people who said she knew was she was getting into and playing the game here. I still think she ends up there and all, but this short visit to Winterfell this week did nothing to change my view on that storyline.

No way Stannis just agrees to let his daughter... my guess, Jon gets Shireen out of there. At least... that's what I'm hoping for.

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Bryan
5/27/2015 04:44:54 pm

I thought this episode was uneventful, but Shane's synopsis makes me question my memory. I'm pretty down on this season in general. Not enough game pieces moving.

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Jon
5/27/2015 04:49:25 pm

Things have to start wrapping up by next episode. I'd expect several characters to have their last scenes of the season this Sunday. It doesn't seem like there's going to be one of those one-location episodes. There's still a lot to do.

Reply
Bobby
5/27/2015 05:37:48 pm

Depends on how they give us Winterfell... that could be a near one-location episode... they do love their battle scenes

Jon
5/27/2015 05:41:41 pm

We know the next episode is going to be a typical one, and the ninth is called Dance of the Dragons, give or take a preposition. That implies an episode with at least one dragon in it, and there's nothing so significant in Mereen that would require a whole episode. With so many characters converging on Winterfell, I would've liked it to have its own episode, but it doesn't seem likely.

Bobby
5/27/2015 05:49:30 pm

Fair points... and Nutter hasn't directed any real one location episodes, but he did give us Rains of Castamere (Red Wedding), and a couple of other solid ones.... so i'm hopeful for a good finish with 9 and 10.




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