Game of Thrones Premiere: The Ed Sheeran Scene is Fantastic (So Stop Focusing on Him)
I know what you are thinking right now because it’s all over the internet! Ed Sheeran was front and center and took you out of the moment. You lost immersion into the story. Okay, maybe you actually did, like going back to an old show and realizing someone super famous is randomly a side character. So, basically every episode of Seinfeld.
It’s really a bummer that this is what everyone is fixating on about this scene. Move on, because if you can get over it, you can enjoy one of my favorite scenes of the episode. (The opening scene can’t be topped, let’s just face it.)
Obviously, you should be caught up with Game of Thrones before continuing. I’ll spoil something somewhere along the line, so this is your warning. Oh spoiler alert: Ed Sheeran is in the episode (and he sings). But Facebook and Twitter already ruined that for you.
The Scene
Let’s break it down. It’s a simple scene, after all. (And that’s the point).
Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) is riding through the forest alone after single-handedly bringing winter to the Freys. There’s a group of soldiers camping out, singing, but still in Lannister armor. Arya probably would have avoided them but she has no food, no shelter, and the day is waning. A group of Lannister soldiers isn’t the greatest thing for her to come across.
We are tense watching, wondering what they will do once they see her. This show hasn’t exactly had the greatest souls wandering around, especially soldiers. They are usually bullying at the best of times, and murdering and raping at the worst. We also wonder if Arya is just going to wreck all of them because it seems she’s unstoppable at this point.
Once she gets close, the soldiers do something odd. Far more jarring than Ed Sheeran being there, that’s for sure. They invite her over to be close to the fire. There’s a touch of sincerity in their voices. Arya, and every single person that has watched any Game of Thrones at all, is cautious. For me, all I kept thinking was, “when is this going to go horribly wrong, really quickly?”
The surprises keep coming. The soldiers talk to her and get to know her. They share a little about themselves, and the weirdest thing of all happens. They seem human. One misses his dad. He explains they would be out on the boat together right about now. Another knows he has a child now, but doesn’t even know if it’s a boy or girl.
Then they feed her, saying that they believe being kind to strangers will bring that kindness back around to them. Oh buddy, how have you survived this long in this world? They share some wine, the universal peace representing beverage, and everything is utterly normal.
They talk more and laugh when Arya is honest about her mission to kill Cersei. (It’s ridiculous to them, of course, and they probably don’t care all that much for the Queen’s well being. She certainly doesn’t care for theirs.)
Breaking the Fourth Wall (in a good way)
It was hard for me to get over the tension that something must go wrong at some point. And that is beautiful scene setting. It has been season after season of awful people, even some of the characters I like are just the worst! Every character that has been selfless or kind for very long doesn’t usually get past a season finale or wedding.
That feeling is purposefully cultivated, and it’s a shame that the Ed Sheeran discussion misses the point. (I guess the point of that discussion is that Ed Sheeran takes away from that scene, so I’m actually proving it in a way.) But I want to highlight the storytelling, and just what this means for upcoming episodes.
First of all, it’s brilliant that this is the first scene we see Arya after she cleans house (get it, because it’s the Frey hou….never mind). Why? Because she killed a lot of normal guys that were just doing what they were told.
Hold up one moment, my God! I know…the Red Wedding is still one of the most infamous scenes in the entire show, and many of us are still in shock after all these seasons. Walder Frey had that shit coming, and we are finally able to see some justice done for the Starks by a Stark. Also, Arya’s line “leave one wolf alive and the sheep are never safe” is the most badass writing ever. Bravo to whoever wrote that one because I still smile like an idiot, daydreaming at work, remembering it days later.
So I get it, they had it coming. At the same time, the soldiers Arya is camping with are just doing what they are told. God only knows what would happen to them if they disobeyed orders from someone who blew up a district of the very city she wanted to rule.
Would the Frey soldiers be much different? It was a horrible act, and most seem to be content, feasting and reveling in the “victory.” If stabbing pregnant women and cutting the necks of desperate mothers is a victory. But there were some that were surely just following orders.
Arya knows it too. Maisie Williams does an excellent job of showcasing the subtle mix of emotions happening in this small moment. Tension, curiosity, the heaviness of killing soldiers, maybe ones like these here, and perhaps a little wish that more were genuinely kind like these she is eating with now.
Dragons Are Coming
I’m guessing a hell of a lot of Lannister soldiers are going to be killed in some horrible fashion this season.
If they don’t fall to the sword on the battlefield, they will be burned to ash from dragon fire while running away from that battlefield. The ones that somehow manage to make it, because their Lannister buddy was just a little more flammable than they were, now have to face a pissed off Cersei, more than likely. And she is known for her forgiveness, after all.
As we cheer for the amazing battles that will be coming our way, and, hopefully, as all the characters we love gain serious ground towards King’s Landing, it will be Lannister soldier that pave that road in their blood.
The beauty of this little scene, which Ed Sheeran apparently ruined, is it humanizes the fodder that will be falling before three dragons. They aren’t just red shirts, stormtroopers, or anyone that goes up against the Expendables, they are real people. They just want to go home.
To those outside of the immense popularity of this show, it can be hard to see past the extreme violence and the scenes that seem designed just to have a naked woman in them. I’ve been asked many times why I like the show; it’s just gore and boobs. (There’s plenty of dicks too, so get your facts straight). It’s hard to come up with an answer without going into this kind of detail.
Simply put, this show is great because of scenes like this.
So go back, now knowing the shock that is Ed Sheeran, and watch this scene for what is actually worth talking about.
Good storytelling needs simple moments.
For more on all things geeky, be sure to check out The Brother’s Geek podcast I co-host with Patrick La Porte
