Game of Thrones: Mhysa, Review
The third Game of Thrones season ends with the desire for more bloodletting and the most entertaining family on television....
Ten episodes are over. And now my watch begins. Every year amazes at how fast a season of read more: Game of Thrones Season 8 Predictions and Theories A little further from the capital, Dragonstone is also having a bit of an upheaval. Fearing for the boy’s imminent immolation, Ser Davos sends Gendry on a rowboat toward King’s Landing. It is a good thing too, because Melisandre and Stannis are so flabbergasted by this noble treachery that they even laugh as they order the Onion Knight to his death. In the worst change of the season, Davos’ life is spared not because of a note he revealed from the Night’s Watch. Yes, that tantalizes audiences with the reveal that Stannis is going to sail North toward the Wall to fight Ice Zombies. But instead of that letter saving the Onion Knight’s life, Stannis still plans to see him burn. It is Melisandre saying Davos will have use in the future war that spares him. The writers of the show are really going out of their way to ensure we hate Stannis. Still, it promises that we are shifting to a new stage for viewers. The War of the Five Kings is over. Renly and Robb are dead and the Ironborn are little more than nuisance. Stannis is not relinquishing his claim to the Iron Throne, but he is departing, thus ending, that War for another. “This War of Five Kings means nothing,” hisses Melisandre. “The true war lies to the North.” ICE ZOMBIES! Here we come! Which brings us to the North. A lot happened up there. Firstly, Ramsay Snow (we finally discovered his name compliments of a Lord Bolton monologue about his bastard son) tortures Theon Greyjoy by eating a penis-shaped sausage. Luckily, we all knew it was a trick because there is no way Theon was that gifted. Otherwise, Ros would have never left. But he does break the last mental block in Theon the Eunuch’s pride until he accepts that his name is Reek. Hey, that rhymes with meek. Which sounds like weak. Which is what Reek is. The penis in question did find its way to Pyke, the biggest of the Iron Islands. There, Ramsay gave new meaning to “Dick in a Box” when it arrived for Balon Greyjoy and sister Asha. It also came with a promise for more bits of Reek (that is name now) to come unless the Ironborn give up their stupid land grab in the North. Balon Greyjoy, proving himself twenty times the monster previously thought, simply shrugs at the Lonely Island joke sitting on his table. “He cannot further the Greyjoy line,” the father condescendingly explains to Asha. Not only does he no longer care if Reek lives, dies or comes in small pieces, he will not even attempt a rescue. Reek, you betrayed Robb Stark for this?! Asha also sees Balon’s reaction as one of pathetic cowardice and an inability to face reality. Hence, she promises that next season she will sail up the Narrow River with 50 Ironborn and bring Reek back! Are you taking note, Starks? If you say you are going to do something, then do it! To his credit, Bran Stark is a man of his word. The boy, along with the Reeds, Hodor, and furry Summer, reached one of the decrepit Night’s Watch castles where Sam and Gilly happened to be. It is so freaking rare for storylines to overlap that I made special note to enjoy this. It may be the only time Bran and Jon’s stories directly interact. It is only a few moments, but it felt as earned as The Avengers to see Samwell Tarly and Bran Stark share the same screen. Sam even suggests Bran him back to Castle Black in hopes of meeting up with Jon. But alas, George R.R. Martin and HBO do not want us to have too much of a Stark reunion, lest it ruin our tears. Thus, Bran forces Sam to show him a way through the castle and to the great frost Beyond the Wall. After his good deed for the episode, Sam returns to Castle Black with Gilly like he is running things. He stands up to Maester Aeomen when the old Targaryen suggests that he fathered Gilly’s child. He gets Gilly room and board and when asked if he his writing is better than swordsman ship, he boasts “by miles.” You kill one Whitewalker and you think you’re hot stuff now? Good on you, Sam the Slayer. Less happy is Jon Snow. Last week, I was honestly surprised they chose not to have Ygritte hit Jon with an arrow. In the book, Ygritte wounds Jon during his escape and that is it for a while. I actually thought the show was softening this love story. In short, I’m a fool. They saved it for a new scene where Ygritte alone finds Jon and shoots him not once, but THREE times. Jon even declares that he loves her, but that he has to go home. When you profess your love to a girl and she pokes you with multiple projectile objects, chances are it’s over. For all the Jon/Ygritte Shippers, it was a rough week. First Robb Stark and then Jon Snow?! Does HBO just not want women between 18-35 watching this show? But fears were rested when Jon’s horse brings him back to Castle Black safe and sound and ready for a next season. Good thing too, because not only is Winter Coming, but so is Mance Rayder’s army. Not to mention Ygritte. The girl Kissed by Fire is as mad as Hellfire and in Westeros, castration is an unfortunate way of life…Perhaps Jon should just stick his head in the snow before she gets there? The episode chose to end on a somewhat euphoric note. Dany, who went a whole hour without being present, takes pleasure in the spoils of her victory last week over Yunkai. In a surprisingly beautiful sequence, some 200,000 slaves pour out of the city’s front gates to greet Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons. She tells them that they are free and they tell her that she is their mother. They even let her do a little Crowd Surfing as the trio of dragons fly by. It is a moving sequence because after the bitter pill of the last two episodes, this moment reminds us there are happy or optimistic moments to Game of Thrones. Indeed, the writers are practically begging us to recall Episode 4 of this season when Dany roasted Astapor to the ground. Like the perpetually incoming Henry V, Dany is the lost king (or queen) destined to rise up and give her homeland a happy ending from those damned French Lannisters/Whitewalkers. Yet, I would be remiss not to worry about what this will do to Dany’s psyche. Let’s just keep in check that the Targaryens are not exactly the most rational and levelheaded of people. After her son with Drogo died, she chanced fate by roasting with her dragon eggs. She latched onto those three winged dinosaurs like a cat lady and now she has 200,000 people calling her mother. The last thing I think any Targaryen needs is MORE ego stroking. This may be the birth of Westeros’ greatest hero or tyrant. And so ends Season 3. Overall, the finale is about what anyone should expect at this point. Entertaining with a side of promising hooks for next season, but nothing astounding. Besides Daenerys’ amazing dragon-birthing scene to send Season 1 off on a high note, none of the Season Finales in this show have been that spectacular. Game of Thrones strangely defies traditional television logic in that way. Rarely do the best bits happen in either the Season Premiere or Season Finale. Rather, the greatest stuff is nigh exclusively in the episodes between. Like the closing of a book, the final chapter is a resolution for the crescendo reached earlier. In this case, that climax was Roslin landing her fish and wolf pelts. Given that Season 3 ends in the middle of the book, they could have chosen an amazing cliffhanger (as a book reader, I can think of at least three they chose to leave for next year), but that is the nature of the beast. And like a Pavlovian Dog, I think I am starting to enjoy that. Beyond this tradition, Season 3 has proven itself a cut above what came before. Both Seasons 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones were superb. But whereas one was weighted down by heavy exposition for half of its season, the other suffered from an unanchored pacing and television writers trying to figure out how to draw a smooth plot around a pure ensemble. In Season 3, they finally found that balance. Each week moved effortlessly into the next as the tension built and the amazing moments increased. Unlike the first two seasons, there was not a slow episode. Some viewers may have not felt the mounting sense of impending war (or battle) like the first two seasons, but now that the last glass of Frey wine has been spilt, I think we see it is so much more rewarding not knowing where this season’s elopement would end. And along the way, there were so many amazing moments that could have been Season Finales as big as Ned Stark’s head: Jaime losing his hand; Tyrion marrying Sansa; Jaime and Brienne going into the bear pit; DAENERYS STORMBORN TARGARYEN DROPPING THE VALYRING D-WORD (DRACARYS) ON ASTAPOR. But nothing will beat that Red Wedding. There have been amazing TV deaths (read about them HERE). But none has been as mercilessly stunning in the breadth of its cruelty and horror. It is a TV moment that makes Ned and Blackwater look like the good ol’ days in comparison. Where most shows start to stumble, Game of Thrones ends its third season at its peak. Not just for the series, but for whatever is on television. You may be furious that the Lannisters, Freys and Boltons got away with it. You may even be swearing off the series forever as you wipe away tearstains on your Family Stark Posters; cursing out this review for even posting this image: But you will be back. Like Arya, where else can you go except for the jugular? This reviewer is already expecting Season 4 and all the shocks, blood and death that will come with it. Until then, game well played. Den of Geek Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
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David Crow is the movies editor at Den of Geek. He has long been proud of his geek credentials. Raised on cinema classics that ranged from…