Game of Thrones S4 Ep3 Recap
Another week, another episode of Game of Thrones! I can’t say that this week was epic, there were moments of badass-ness, but a lot of it was more talk than action. As always, there are going to be spoilers; if you have yet to watch the episode, do not read beyond this sentence!
I felt like this whole week that passed since the last episode never even happened. The beginning picked up right where the last episode ended. Joffrey is dead, Cersei is freaking out, Tyrion is getting blamed for the murder, and Sansa is finally making her escape! With help from Joffrey’s fool, Sansa escapes the capital and ends up ‘safe’ on a ship with none other than Littlefinger. With some hindsight, it is not surprising that Littlefinger was the man behind this; he always has an agenda. So it seems like Sansa is in good hands, definitely better off than she would have been if she stayed in King’s Landing.
While I’m on the topic, the craziness that comes with the Lannisters in King’s Landing continues to make me wonder which of them, if any, I should have sympathy for (other than Tyrion, obviously). While Joffrey’s lifeless body is laying on a bed in the sept, Tywin wastes no time discussing Tommen’s impending rule right over Joffrey’s body while Cersei is standing there mourning. Moments later, another incestful scene with Cersei and Jamie takes place that starts with an argument, leading to them making out next to Joffrey’s body, and ends with Jamie forcing Cersei to have sex with him right then and there. I want to say that I feel bad for Cersei in this situation… maybe even Joffrey; but they are/were both so terrible, I don’t know how to feel about it.
The rest of the episode is a montage of scenes filled with basically every other character left in the show; I will approach this as more of an unordered laundry list before getting to the final scene. Power-hungry Margaery is concerned with the fact that every time she gets close to power by marrying a king, her husband dies shortly after– talk about a ‘king-slayer.’ Stannis, on the other hand, is thrilled to hear that Joffrey is dead. Tyrion will be going on trial for the murder of his nephew. He also finds out that his wife, Sansa, has fled King’s Landing. Arya learns a harsh lesson in how things work in the Realm from her bestie so far this season, the Hound. After a random orgy that included newcomers Oberyn and Ellaria, Tywin interrupts to pull Oberyn aside and approaches him with what appears to be some sort of alliance through asking him to serve as the third Judge for Tyrion’s trial along with Tywin and Mace Tyrell. Sam gets Gilly away from the Wall. The Wildlings are coming to invade Castle Black. Busy episode, right?
The episode ends with Daenerys and her humongous army approaching the city of Meereen to free some more slaves! Obviously, she doesn’t just get to march up and have things her way just like that. First, she had to have a champion fight for her against the champion for Meereen. Daario ends up being the ultimate champion and defeats his opponent in a matter of seconds. From there, Dany continues to prove that she is a force to be reckoned with as she offers the slaves of Meereen freedom while telling them that she is not their enemy, their owners are.
So many parts of this episode provide multiple opportunities for what will happen in next week’s episode. Personally, I think there will be a huge concentration on Tyrion’s trial, the Castle Black situation, and Dany continuing to gain more power. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a whole week to see what will actually happen next!
