Varys smuggles Tyrion onto a ship leaving Kingâs Landing, and upon hearing the bells in the Red Keep, realizes his absence may be too suspicious, and decides to stay.
By âstayâ you mean stay on the ship with Tyrion, right? I took the scene as Varys thinking that a spider left in the Red Keep was sure to be squashed, so he was leaving Kings Landing earlier than he did in the books. Iâm hoping the deviation means next season is going to be a Varys and Tyrion version of a Bob Hope & Bing Crosby Road Movie.
The visual parallel of the crateâs similarity to that in which Varys showed Tyrion the castrating sorcerer was interesting.
As was the heart-breaking scene of Daenerys chaining her children then sealing them in darkness as they cried for her.
Iâm pretty sure this is why/when he leaves in the books, too.
Some pretty satisfying plot developments in the finale. Nice to see Jon finally getting a bit of traction (last ep too), but Melisandreâs interest has to be bad news⌠also good to see that pompous, doddering Pycelle shit-heel shafted⌠but obviously the new guy is going to turn what remains of the Mountain into some sort of abomination; perhaps some variety of tame white walker or something? And Cerceiâs on a roll; itâs nice to be able to sympathise with her when sheâs being horrible. Of course, her dadâs even worse⌠but in that scene with Jaime, sheâs beyond the pale again; too selfish and transparently manipulative once more. Although it sure was interesting; brimming with tangles of implied complexity⌠Jaime has his work cut out choosing his path.
As for Daenerys, Iâm finding her story a bit slow-moving⌠I want to know whatâs up with the missing dragon. Those critters arenât gonna be much use to her if she canât even bring them to heel. Something tells me locking them up could come back to bite her on the arse⌠And what of good old Mormont? Never heard from again? Surely not.
Nice to see Branâs finally reached his destination, undead notwithstanding, but itâs a shame he doesnât get to walk again⌠wonder what the three-eyed crow dude meant by flying? What, like Neo at the end of The Matrix or something? He can already warg into birds. I love when he wargs Hodor and Hodorâs dipshit expression flicks off like a switch⌠two massive handicaps temporarily on hold. Anyway, his storyline seems like itâs about to get interesting.
And the meeting of Brienne and Arya! That was so cool. And you know the Hound is about to finish his shit any second and things are gonna get hairy⌠the whole time through that escalating exchange between him and Brienne, Iâm on the edge of my seat, simultaneously hoping they can talk their way out of a fight, and wanting to see them go at it. And that was a damn good fight, I reckon⌠had a desperate, vicious sort of authenticity to it. You get the feeling the Hound was probably a little too arrogant going into it⌠but Iâm gonna miss that curmudgeonly scumbag. Heâd really grown on me this season. Apparently not so much on Arya though; if the Hound was to get his mercy killing, maybe he shouldnât have reminded her that he was on her shit-list. That Arya, sheâs a proper badarse these days.
I was overcome with glee at Jaime springing Tyrion; I didnât quite expect him to come through⌠and like many, Tyrionâs my fave - Iâve been preoccupied by his fate over the last few weeks. So when he turned around at the door, I was like, âNoooo! Dude! GTFO!â But hey, a manâs gotta do what a manâs gotta do⌠I thought that was Cercei in bed at first, but the murmur of Tywinâs name puzzled me⌠until I realised it was Shae - that gold-digging bitch! I wouldnât hate her guts so much if she hadnât made out like she was mad with jealousy over Tyrion for so long. Fuck her. A fitting end, choked by the gold she was after all along. And then, when Tyrion still didnât GTFO, Iâm thinking, shit man, how far do you want to push your luck? Tenterhooks. The door swings open to reveal Tywin on the crapper⌠oh man, this is fucking sweet. Just desserts (almost) all round. Fuck yeah, Tyrion. Mad props to Varys, too. Smart move, changing his plans so quickly⌠heâs got a head on his shoulders. And we can look forward to more wonderful conversations between a couple of the smartest characters in the show, thankfully.
Now we have to wait until 2015, dammit. Hereâs hoping civilisation lasts long enough for this to conclude.
Something I have actually enjoyed in this series have been the pairings. I never had that feel in the books, but in the TV version of the story it feels like theyâve continued to give us this partner in crime odd couple pairings constantly. Hound & Arya, Tywin & Arya, Snow & Sam, Varys & Tyrion continue this.
I like not only their partnership on screen but also the very idea of them as traveling companions and friends.
I also think ahead to the end of this story of Fire and Ice. I truly believe it is a destined coming together of Jon Snow and Daenerys. And the very thought of Jonâs âsiblingsâ (if they truly are his siblings and not perhaps his cousins?) being his small council. Think of it. His sister Arya the master faceless assassin. His brother Brandon the all seeing druid. His other sister Sansa now the master manipulator (having learned from Littlefinger). How dangerous and potent a group that would be.
Maybe just wishful thinking on my part.
It is why/when he goes missing from court. A man like Varys, you can never really be sure where he might turn up. He could just as easily stay hidden in Kingâs Landing as show up across the Narrow Sea.
Just for the record, this post contains what may be considered a SPOILER, though not really much of one at that. I mean, itâs in the books not covered by the TV series yet, but if you are caught up on the series, this shouldnât contain any new revelations. Itâs more of an expression of character development anyways. Well, that should be enough rambling, consider yourself warned.
One scene/element I hope they find time to include next season - where everyone on the ship she is traveling on makes a point of introducing themselves to Arya, and when she realizes what they are doing, and why. Â Itâs seemingly simple and throw away, but to me it speaks volumes about the journey she has set herself upon.
Edit to unspoil non-readers.
Hmm, fair enough.
Hopefully you are not watching from a hotel in Homs. I wouldnât expect the internet to stay on for very long, there.
Sword of Damascus, you reckon?
Although, it would be an appropriate place to watch Game of Thrones âŚin a twisted, up close, in-your-face, eyeball-popping, neck-chopping kind of way.
The season finale was pretty cramped. Iâm surprised they managed to tie up as many story lines as they did. Everyone was clamoring for LSH to make an appearance, but there just wasnât any more room.
The new scenes were great too. I especially enjoyed the Brienne vs Hound fight. It was a great way of sending him off while highlighting just how much Arya changed. Though perhaps Brienne will come across a certain gravedigger and make up.
Also, Pod is the worst, most loyal, squire ever. You had one job, Pod. I bet you ate this too.
OK, as Iâve been asking when would Tyrion finally flip the switch and go all âTiny Hulk Smash!â
Seriously, as I asked before when it was so important to keep Tyrion and Sheaâs relationship secret - Where were the secret passages then? Likewise this was not mentioned during the Battle of Blakwater, nor was there mention of âpriest holes.â I made a big deal out of that at the time. But when it becomes important for Tyrion to use a secret passage to escape and kill Shea, suddenly now thereâs secret passages.
Is Tywin dead? In fiction people walk away from wounds like that all the time (even rifle wounds) , and basically heâs been stabbed with two chopsticks. That was not a good double tap!
Why didnât the warg kid that got stabbed enter the wolf? Weâve seen that before when the wilding escaped as an eagle. And âHe knew this would happenâ - yeah really? Well then why didnât he bring a more substantial weapon than a stick if he knew this was going to go all âJason and the Argonauts?â
All the story lines are at loose ends right now and only the war in the north has any urgency, so I guess weâll be going with that.
Btw. @beschizza, well played long ago! Donât know if you even remember.
IIRC, in the book, Varys shows him the tunnels for the first time as theyâre escaping and they pass a passage to the rooms for the Hand. Tyrion tells Varys to wait while Varys objects.
Because he wasnât a warg. He could see the future.
Very disappointed in the highly abbreviated trek North of the Wall by Branâs party. Seriously, no black rider? Ugh!
I think thereâs quite a bit of that in the books where some bit of trivia explains and otherwise implausible plot device
This week is the trope of the Secret Path
Last last week where I asked why the south side of the wall had barely any defense, but they survived The Seige
But then they faced The Last Stand
and The Fate Worse Than Death
But the writers said âOh fuck it, letâs send The Cavalry. Lunch?â
You should read the books. All of these plot devices are discussed or hinted at in advance.
Also there was a bit of red herring where the Hound fights Brienne and just before she smacks him silly he has a dagger in his hand and then you see him hitting her in the gut, so it looks like heâs stabbing her, but the knife is gone. Note that punching someone in the gut is not a finishing move when they are wearing armor!
