Game Of Thrones And The Women Of Westeros 4/1
Two Swords
Most season openers of Game Of Thrones are just a bit uneventful up until the end. Not that it makes them dull. But this is a large world full of characters all over the landscape of Westeros and first episodes almost always spend time reminding us of these people and their history before the action gets under way, usually in the very last scene. This is no exception. But more on that last scene later.
The “previously” seems to want to remind us that Joffrey is a “monster” and that Sansa stopped him from killing Ser Dontos, and that Jon Snow went undercover with the Wildlings to help the Night’s Watch. The Wildlings are trying to kill and pillage their way south to escape The Others, something most of Westeros see as a long-dead threat. The Wildlings discovered Jon’s a double agent and tried to kill him. Ygritte, the Wildling woman he fell in love with even as he deceived her, is the closest to actually doing it before he makes it “home” to Castle Black.
Jaime Lannister and the wonderful Brienne of Tarth were captured by Roose Bolton’s men and Jaime’s good hand was severed. Daenerys Targaryen really hates slavery. Sansa and Tyrion (who some call half-man, some call the imp, and I just call my Official Game Of Thrones Boyfriend) were forced to marry, whether they wanted to or not (they did not). Tyrion is in love with his mistress, Shae, who has been working as Sansa’s lady’s maid. Tywin Lannister is forcing Cersei to marry Loras Tyrell, despite Loras being same-sex oriented. Arya Stark had previously been captured by some Lannister-hired ruffians who killed her friend and stole her sword. And, of course, there was the bloody double-cross they call The Red Wedding that killed Catelyn Stark, Robb Stark, and his new wife on the order of the Lannisters. Finally, we are shown Ned Stark’s sword in action up to the moment it is used to kill him.
Basically, a lot has happened and I can’t wait for this season to be over so I can revisit the older episodes and go over all of it in detail… except for how that means this season will be over and I’ll have to wait nearly a year for the next. So no. This season can’t be long enough.
As I said last time, I’m going to try to leave the books out of it, even though I’ve read them — maybe twice. My main focus is the women and issues relating to them, but I will leave room for general worship or censure when either is earned.
In a nutshell…
In Two Swords, we first meet Oberyn Martell, brother of Elia, who was brutalized along with her children when the Lannisters switched loyalties and killed all Targaryens and offspring they could. We also meet his paramour, Ellaria Sand. They like to party with pretty girls and boys. Tywin Lannister cements his family’s rule by melting down Ned Stark’s Valyrian steel sword into two and giving it to his son and grandson. Jaime has returned only to find himself rebuffed by his sister/lover, Cersei, and disrespected by his nephew/son, King Joffrey, and practically disowned by his father for refusing to leave the King’s Guard.
Tyrion worries about Oberyn’s threat that “the Lannisters aren’t the only ones who pay their debts,” about Sansa wallowing in grief, and for Shae, who he’s been hiding his relationship with for her safety. Sansa is dead inside after the Red Wedding and runs into Ser Dontos, who reminds her of the one triumph she had in King’s Landing — sparing his life. Jon Snow is under scrutiny for cavorting with Wildlings, no matter his reasons, but is allowed to keep his head with some suspicion. The Wildlings form an alliance with the cannibalistic Thenns. Dany is directed to Meereen by a trail of dead slaves. I think we all know how she feels about that after last season. Arya, who had only killed accidentally or indirectly up till the end of last season, killed a Frey man in a fit of vengeance after the Red Wedding. She adds two more kills to her belt at the very end. The Hound might not be the best influence.
The Women Of Westeros…
Daenerys Targaryen is still at the top of the food chain across the Narrow Sea. Whatever advice Ser Barristan or Jorah have to give, she gives an order and it’s followed. She might find Darrio Noharis attractive, but is very dismissive of his attempts to flirt as she’s very focused on gathering her army and making her way north. If it weren’t for those darned slavers, she might already have her ships and be marching on Westeros with her growing dragons. As it is, she can’t seem to resist stopping the injustices she sees along the way. It’s definitely noble, but not the quickest way to get herself on the Iron Throne.
Cersei Lannister always seems to have a drink in hand these days, probably because she’s in a miserable position. Her father’s forcing her to marry Loras, taking her away from her position as Queen Regent. She has no control over Joffrey, who’s marrying a woman she also can’t control, and now her brother/lover has returned to her maimed and disfigured. She can think of nothing else to do but halfheartedly gather secrets against Tyrion in a feeble attempt to have power over someone. And I suppose she feels secure in her power over Jaime, whether she enjoys wielding it or not.
Sansa Stark — now Lannister, but always a Stark to me — is like a ghost in this episode. She refuses to eat or speak at length. It’s understandable as more and more details on the atrocities of the Red Wedding come to her. And she has to suffer through everyone except her unwanted husband acting as if this was some triumph of the crown. She does give a hint of a smile on meeting Ser Dontos again. I think it’s because, with all the humiliation Joffrey has made her suffer, she did have one triumph in convincing him to spare Dontos’ life. He gives her a necklace with seven stones to thank her. Remember that. It will be important later.
Shae is caught between taking care of Sansa and resenting her for the threat she thinks Sansa poses to her relationship with Tyrion, something made clear in her scene with Tyrion. Though I think she does genuinely care for and feel sympathy for Sansa’s position in all this, she can’t seem to help hating that, by virtue of birth, Sansa can be a wife while she has to hold the tenuous position of mistress of a second son. I still can’t figure out whether Shae truly loves Tyrion or simply likes the security being his paramour gives her. Either way, her position is on shaky grounds as Tyrion is not in the mood these days, even if he assures her he loves her.
Ellaria Sand is in an interesting position in contrast to Shae. Paramours in Dorne are treated with respect, paraded around openly rather than hidden away like a shameful secret. They never do say where Shae is from. Maybe she is from Dorne as she seems very frustrated with having to hide who she is to Tyrion. Ellaria revels in her position. She seems to have a lot of influence over Oberyn, who lets her have her choice of Littlefinger’s ladies to play with. I like her outspoken ways and how she refuses to be ashamed of her birth. I’m definitely looking forward to more of her.
Ygritte is lost and angry with herself. She knows she could have killed Jon Snow easily. The fact that she let him live is eating at her. I don’t know if she wants to find him and finish the job or join him at the wall. Wildling women seem to be almost like Ancient Celtic women. They can choose to be warriors and be treated with the respect they fight for, literally. I think she’s lost some of the respect of her cohorts and herself for having been taken in by Jon Snow. Poor Ygritte.
Brienne of Tarth is also in a difficult situation. She’s gone from serving, perhaps loving, Renly Baratheon to being accused of his murder. Being essentially a knight, she needs someone to swear loyalty to and a quest to give her purpose. And she’d found that in Catelyn Stark and the mission to trade Jaime Lannister to his father and return Arya and Sansa to their family. But what does she do now? There is only Sansa to be found in King’s Landing and no Starks to send her to. Arya is missing and the rest are believed to be dead (and no one ever counts Jon Snow as a Stark). She tries to convince Jaime, as he made the same vow to Catelyn that she did, that Sansa, now a Lannister, is not safe in King’s Landing. He calls her a pain in the ass and walks off, which means he knows she’s right. Neither seems to have a solution, though.
Brienne also seeks out Margaery Tyrell to clear the air about her innocence in Renly’s murder and vow revenge on Stannis. Margaery dismisses the idea and insists she is loyal to Joffrey now. Margaery Tyrell isn’t an idiot. She knows she’s marrying a sick, twisted boy. “Perhaps I should just let Joffrey choose [jewelry] for me,” she says. “End up with a string of dead sparrow heads around my neck.” Her grandmother is quick to warn her not to be so free with her disdain.
By the way, I just love Olenna Tyrell’s obvious delight at meeting Brienne. I love Olenna Tyrell in general. She manages everyone around her, yet with such good humor that no one seems to mind. Margaery is definitely a Queen of Thorns in training, though with less adorable snark. They both know how to put both friends and enemies at ease. Having seen the rather ineffectual Tyrell men, I think we know who calls the shots in that house. Cunning little darlings.
Last, but definitely not least, there’s Arya Stark. She has been my favorite character since the first episode and, though others come close, that hasn’t changed. She’s stuck traveling with Sandor Clegane, AKA The Hound, but actually doesn’t seem to mind much. There’s a twisted sort of respect between them. When she killed the Frey man, The Hound took care of his pals. This time, she helps him out with two nasty Lannister men, one of whom, Polliver, had been on her death-wish-list since he killed her friend and stole her sword.
You know, when Arya first started replacing her prayers with names before bed, I found it creepily adorable, but seeing it in action is making me sad. There are some differences here vs. the book. But the result is the same. I do want these people punished, but seeing Arya do it breaks my heart for her. She’s so young to be so bitter and so much of who she was is being chipped away as she becomes focused on her vengeance. We’ll never know whether Arya could have been another optimistic and noble Brienne of Tarth because her development was arrested by tragedy. On the upside, at least she got her own horse and her precious Needle back.
Passing the Bechdel Test…
Shae urges Sansa to eat various delicacies. That’s actually the only scene that helps this episode pass. While Olenna talks to both Margaery and Brienne, it is referencing Joffrey and Loras respectively. And Margaery and Brienne speak of Renly. On a technical level, those conversations don’t count. But it helps that they are about serious matters.
Other notes:
· You have to wonder if Tywin Lannister knows the real reason Jaime is so insistent on staying in the King’s Guard and whether he’s aware he’s Joffrey’s grandfather on both sides. I believe he’s entirely too intelligent not to know and might be just a little disgusted by the whole thing, but doesn’t care so much as long as it keeps his family in power. I get the impression Tywin has always thought he had the right to rule, if not by birth, then by virtue of his intelligence and how much the crown owes him in gold. Tyrion is just as intelligent as his father, but it’s tempered with the humility that comes with a life of being called “half-man.” I miss the days when he was the king’s hand.
· The Landlord’s daughter is on the verge of being raped when Arya and The Hound come in, her father powerless to stop it against the Lannister’s men “keeping the king’s peace.” I’m glad The Hound stopped it, even if it wasn’t for her sake. He just wants to survive and get whatever gold he can for taking Arya to her aunt and he’ll kill who he has to along the way. But I have some hope there’s a part of him that detests rape as this isn’t the first one he’s prevented. And he stayed eerily quiet, even for him, after Polliver suggested his men have their way with Arya.
· I hate the C word, yet I laughed when The Hound called both people who name their swords and the Lannister men “cunts.” I guess it’s all in intent. He doesn’t set out to offend anyone, but also doesn’t care if he does. He just wants to eat some chicken, take some dead men’s horses and get on with things.
Fangasms…
· Valor Morghulis or “all men must die” seems to be the catchphrase of the season. Doesn’t it just sing? I wonder if high Valyrian will become as popular as Klingon. There’s a dictionary coming.
· The credits themselves are a thing of beauty and I couldn’t love all their little mechanical movements more. As you may know, every single credit sequence is different depending on what part if this world the show is visiting. in a given episode. The only thing that doesn’t make geographical sense is that Winterfell is always shown, yet we haven’t visited there as viewers in so long. I suppose it’s just to keep the Starks in mind. They are, as a family, the closest thing this saga has to noble heroes.
· “Aren’t you just marvelous! Absolutely singular!”
· “I understand that if any more words come pouring out your cunt mouth, I’m going to have to eat every fucking chicken in this room.”
· If Arya and The Hound starred in a buddy cop movie, I would watch the hell out of it.
Previously: Game of Thrones and the Women of Westeros (an introduction)
Next: Game of Thrones and the Women of Westeros (The Lion and the Rose)
*****
All Game Of Thrones promotional images courtesy of David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and HBO.
