Arya and Gendry are developing a really nice dynamic. He’s so irreverent, and she’s so sarcastic. I love how in their first scene he’s second guessing her about her choices for the three names. I don’t know if that happened in the book, but it’s funny to hear him vocalize what a lot of us undoubtedly wondered. My heart jumped when she mentioned going to River Run, since that’s obviously where Catelyn and Robb are headed. I had that quick glimmer of hope before it was all snatched away.
When I heard that man with the Brotherhood singing Rains of Castamere, I was sure they were Lannister men, and thought Arya might be in for a fight. Of course, it quickly became obvious that there were far too many men for those three to take on. When the men identified themselves as the Brotherhood without Banners, I was even more confused about why they were singing Rains of Castamere. They don’t seem to be good guys or bad guys. I’m not sure what their agenda is, and I’m very much looking forward to finding out.
I enjoyed the interplay between Arya and Thoros. He pokes fun at her, but not in a mean-spirited way. And Arya’s brave front is cute. I was appalled to hear Gendry essentially identify himself as Robert’s bastard. I can’t imagine why he would be so trusting and open and clueless. I wanted to clamp my hand over his mouth and lecture him on discretion. Lol.
Exactly what happens when Thoros humiliates Arya is a bit unclear to me. Is Arya purposely hiding her skills? Is she just bad with a large clunky sword? Or is she truly that unskilled and she totally overestimated herself because of her time with Syrio? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
I was so happy to see the Hound!! I would very much like to know how the Brotherhood captured him, and how many people he killed in the process. That would’ve been a terrific scene! I was surprised that he knows Thoros, and interested in his confusion about what Thoros is doing there. There’s clearly a backstory that I hope they share with us. I just hope they don’t kill the Hound. I absolutely love his character.
The Hound’s recognition of Arya is interesting. He must be really good with faces. Lol. But the sequence when Arya and crew attempt to leave and the Hound recognizes her seemed contrived. If she had kept her head down for two minutes, the Hound would probably have been removed, and he wouldn’t have seen her. And they were so obvious about leaving. I didn’t care for it. But it sets up a very interesting situation for upcoming episodes.
The Jaime-Brienne scenes are terrifically fun to watch, besides being visually stunning. The actors play so well off of each other. It’s a great dynamic. Jaime is so bratty, and Brienne is so long-suffering. They’re highly entertaining. The toe-headed plank comment is about the funniest thing Jaime has said yet. And of course the comment about her being too much man for Renly isn’t half bad either. Wonderful dialogue. And the comment about not getting to choose who we love was just a bit poignant. That glaringly honest statement in the midst of his teasing and needling was so human. I feel far more sympathy for Jaime than I should.
The scene with the man taking his goods to town was deceptive at first. I thought it was just a fun moment of naughty Jaime playing the devil whispering in her ear, and her resisting the temptation to lower herself to his level. Once the Bolton men appear with the same man, my perception of what happened between Jaime and Brienne changed. It reminded me of the scene in season 1 where Ned confronts Cersei about her children’s parentage. Cersei clearly understands how the game is played and is willing to do what it takes to stay on top, regardless of whether it’s distasteful. Ned sticks by his principles and does what his conscience dictates, and it costs him dearly. I realized that Jaime is a ruthless realist just like his sister, even though he generally doesn’t show it. And Brienne, like Ned, sticks to her principles, much to her detriment.
I enjoyed the swordfight tremendously. Not because it was well-choreographed or anything like that. I enjoyed it because of how much it reminded me of the season 1 fight between Ned and Jaime. Jaime starts off cocky, like it’s a game. And then he finds that the situation is deadly serious, and he’s in real danger of losing the fight before fate intervenes. Jaime gained some measure of respect or Brienne when she killed the three Stark men. I imagine he’s gained considerably more respect after fighting her.
The sight of the Bolton men made my heart sink. I remembered the scene at Harrenhall when Bolton mentioned sending men after them. I want Jaime and Brienne to jump off of the bridge and make their escape. Unfortunately, I doubt they could succeed at that, especially with Brienne in full armor. So I’m hoping that if they’re taken by the Boltons, they aren’t tortured. Is that too much to hope for?
You know, I don't remember if Gendry questioning Arya about the three deaths was in the books either; I immediately thought it was a poke at the audience who must have wondered the same thing. I definitely remember book readers commenting on her poor choices, so I laughed when Gendry delivered it.
Haha, this made me remember Loras' "(huh what?....red rose?....) .................................Of course I did." Precious moment.
great posts! I just wanted to add regarding Arya's sword fighting without giving any spoiler away, Arya was trained in a fencing style for light, thin, puncturing swords, the westerosi equivalent to rapiers, where as here all she has is a heavy flat sword which has to be moved and handled in a different way, and it also requires more strength to manage. So to me, it's believable that, given she's had little practise with such swords (she might have done some sparring in the forest, but lest face it, none of the guys seem like a good enough oponent) and the other guy might have been fighting with that kind of sword for years, against oponents surely much bigger than her, that he'd disarm her quickly in her first real attempt.
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“Fear is a strange soil. It grows obedience like corn, which grow in straight lines to make weeding easier. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.”
The Tyrells are fascinating. Ser Loras is the perfect, attentive gentleman as he escorts Sansa. He’s been as well-groomed for court as his sister.
Granny Tyrell is my favorite of the new characters so far. A strong matriarch who doesn’t mince words. She’s not necessarily wise, but she understands how to wield power and her no-nonsense style is funny and endearing. It’s clear that she is the source of Margaery and Loras’ political savvy. What’s also clear is that Margaery hides her real ambition from her grandmother. Apparently granny never heard Marge’s comment about wanting to be THE queen.
The interplay between Marge, granny and Sansa is fascinating. Margaery greets Sansa with gentleness and affection, as if they were friends. And Olenna (I just looked it up) is similarly sweet. I realized that it’s probably the kindest anyone has been to Sansa since she arrived in King’s Landing. The confusion and bewilderment on Sansa’s face was a nice bit of acting. The poor girl doesn’t know who to trust. When she asked them not to stop the wedding I wanted to hug her. I had tears in my eyes. What was interesting was the look of dismay that passed between Margaery and Olenna when Sansa described Joffrey as a monster. It wasn’t horror or distress I saw, just disappointment…as though his sadism was an inconvenience but certainly not a dealbreaker. Clearly this was the point of the meeting with Sansa. To confirm the rumors that are no doubt circulating about Joffrey’s behavior. So that begs the question of whether the Tyrells are as kind as they appear to be or if they use sweetness as the main tool in their arsenal to build and keep power. I suspect it’s a mixture of the two, just as in the scene with Marge and the orphans.
Margaery’s ability to wield the information she gained from Sansa is impressive. The scene between Joffrey and Marge is wonderful. He seems so sweet and solicitous at first, and then threatens her. She quickly takes on a Sansa-like demeanor, right until she sits next to Joff and takes control of the situation. When she put her hand on the crossbow, the symbol of his sadism, I almost fell over. Her appeal to and acceptance of his sadism is so clever. By becoming his partner in it, she assures that she will not become victim to it. And poor Joffrey…he never stood a chance against her. For all of Cersei’s scheming, she utterly failed to teach her son how to insulate himself against this sort of manipulation. And what's unfortunate for Cersei is that Joff seems to have grown immune to her attempts to manipulate him.
-- Edited by Black as Snow on Sunday 14th of April 2013 03:38:05 AM
You totally proved that no there's no need to be a book reader to understand very deeply what are the stakes in the serie.
Good sum up. And for Arya's choices, in the books, i was so involved in her POV that i only realized at the end of the chapter that she didn't use her wishes correctly (because it strikes her, not me as a reader !).
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Je voudrais un croissant et une chaussette mignonne...
great posts! I just wanted to add regarding Arya's sword fighting without giving any spoiler away, Arya was trained in a fencing style for light, thin, puncturing swords, the westerosi equivalent to rapiers, where as here all she has is a heavy flat sword which has to be moved and handled in a different way, and it also requires more strength to manage. So to me, it's believable that, given she's had little practise with such swords (she might have done some sparring in the forest, but lest face it, none of the guys seem like a good enough oponent) and the other guy might have been fighting with that kind of sword for years, against oponents surely much bigger than her, that he'd disarm her quickly in her first real attempt.
Thanks Tir. And I agree wholeheartedly. The broadsword looked unwieldy in Arya's hands, so that seemed like the most likely explanation. I wondered if it was my love of Arya's baddassery that made me want to excuse her failure, so I'm glad you concur. And of course, you would know, being a badass with a rapier yourself!
@Asha. Thanks. I appreciate your kind words. I think more than anything, it's excellent acting that makes those dynamics clear.
Poor Arya, you can tell getting beaten so easily shook her up a little bit even though the odds were so against her. I'm really wondering how she's going to handle this situation with the Hound, now, with someone in her list so close by and her ego bruised.
I just wanted to add regarding Arya's sword fighting without giving any spoiler away, Arya was trained in a fencing style for light, thin, puncturing swords, the westerosi equivalent to rapiers, where as here all she has is a heavy flat sword which has to be moved and handled in a different way, and it also requires more strength to manage. So to me, it's believable that, given she's had little practise with such swords (she might have done some sparring in the forest, but lest face it, none of the guys seem like a good enough oponent) and the other guy might have been fighting with that kind of sword for years, against oponents surely much bigger than her, that he'd disarm her quickly in her first real attempt.
