Written By: David Benioff & D.B Weiss
Directed By: David Nutter
Synopsis: The victors celebrate the end of the War of the Five Kings in the aftermath of the Red Wedding; Jaime returns to Kings Landing; Ygritte confronts Jon Snow; Davos attempts to council Stannis.
The Verdict: Recovered from last week’s harrowing game-changer yet? You have? OK, well here’s an episode to twist the knife just a little bit more. From the moment we see Robb’s body with the head of Grey Wind sewn on in place of his own, to Joffrey’s glee at the death of his enemy, right through to the scene where Lord Bolton and Walder Frey celebrate their victory, it’s clear that the writers are determined to make us poor viewers hurt just a little bit more.
But those horrible moments aside, MHYSA is a surprisingly hopeful episode. Well, hopeful by GAME OF THRONES standards. Jon’s return to Castle Black bodes well for an exciting battle next season, and to see Sam reunited with Jon at long last is great. Gemma Whelan’s return as Yara Greyjoy sets up some great potential storylines for next year, whilst Davos freeing Gendry and convincing Stannis to help save the realm instead of waging war is some much needed boost to both their plot-lines.
It’s not a perfect episode. THRONES finales by their nature are usually slow and light in terms of major plot twists and game-changing events, but whilst MHYSA has more incident then previous finales, it’s overlong and bloated. Characters like Jaime, Brienne, Shae and Varys should perhaps have been kept out and left until next season, their appearances here feeling more like contractual obligations then anything else. The episode’s extended running time is hardly justifiable when half of the scenes here are nothing more then tiny cameos for the main cast members.
The final shots of the episode are a silver lining in a season that’s slowly gone from dark to wonderfully miserable in the space of ten episodes. Despite being a long and occasionally taxing final installment, MHYSA boasts some inspired performances and plot-twists, and most definitely bodes well for a fantastic fourth season.
Best Bit: Arya taking out her grief on the Freys who murdered her mother and brother is some much needed karma. Brilliantly gory, and a real punch the air moment, capped off with a great one-liner from Rory McCann as the Hound. Its not the revenge we want, but for now, it will at least help to dull the pain!
Best Line(s):
Tywin Lannister: Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king.
OR
Tyrion Lannister: It’s not easy being drunk all the time. Everyone would do it, if it were easy.
Game of Thrones returns next year. Join us in 2014 for THN’s Game of Thrones Season Four Blog.
