That’s What Ygritte SaidWeekly Game of Thrones Musings by Sam Ryu

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“Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph” -Roger Ebert

I kept coming back to this quote in the aftermath of King Joffrey’s demise. Everyone’s initial reaction to the boy king’s death was probably a mix of disbelief and, eventually, relief. And while some I know cheered and celebrated with sustained joy, I couldn’t revel in his death for too long. A bit of gloom settled over the whole affair because, really, I’m going to miss that little shithead of a king. And though Roger Ebert’s quote about villains doesn’t apply to all films/TV shows (the Joker is a much better villain than The Dark Knight is a movie), it does in most (HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey immediately comes to mind). It definitely applies in the case of Game of Thrones. There’s no one as universally unlikeable and there will never be another villain with such a slappable face. Does the show move forward using a villain-by-committee model? Or will someone step up to epitomize evil? Maybe Game of Thrones no longer needs a centralized villain because everyone in Westeros is screwed up in their own way. It’s easy to forget what a fully realized character Joffrey was (especially given how the cast/crew always talks about how nice of a guy he is in real life) because of how much time we spend hating him—deservingly so, however. Speaking of Batman...——————————————————————————————————————

Season 4, Episode 2 — “The Lion and the Rose”

It appears we’re beyond the “wait until Episode 9 for the crazy shit to happen” structure of this show. Episode 9s will still serve as a season’s climax for the foreseeable future, but the preceding eight episodes are no longer just moving chess pieces around—this started with Daenerys’s mic drop in the fourth episode last season. Note: we’re only on the second episode. Though most of the focus was on the “Purple Wedding,” we were also served a sample platter of the different religions, reminded of Ramsay Snow’s own evil, and teased at the prosp—LOOK, THE PIE!

April 20, 2014

As much as I want to turn this week’s newsletter into a game of Clue, there were some important events that happened in the first half of the episode that I first want to talk about.

Left: Myranda (right), a Bolton servant, who “tortures” (read: gives blue balls to) Theon in S3E7.Right: Myranda (left), expert archer, who shoots down a poor girl for sport in the opening scene. The girl Myranda shoots isn’t the same blonde one from the first picture and I don’t know how important she will be in coming episodes, but anyone who can hang with Ramsay Snow on being a heartless motherfucker is worth noting.

Lannister Love: This week on Lannister Love—sibling affection, the not creepy edition. It appears from the Jaime/Tyrion conversation over spilled wine that all the talk about Jaime being a great swordsman even with his left hand was just him showboating. Tyrion is the only one Jaime opens up to about his insecurities. Now that Cersei had Tyrion arrested, will Jaime come to his defense? Jaime might be the only Lannister who genuinely cares for Tyrion. They’ve shared many knowing glances around the table and Jaime nearly started the war himself when Catelyn took Tyrion as prisoner in S1E5. Remember when he meets Ned outside of Littlefinger’s brothel just before Ned is about to leave King’s Landing? He stabs Ned’s right-hand man (Jory) in the eye and has a great fight with Ned before one of the Lannister soldiers stabs Ned in the knee with a spear.

Meet Fat Walda. (I’m not being mean, that’s her real nickname.) Was a Frey, now is the wife of Lord Roose Bolton. When Lord Bolton and Lord Walder Frey were scheming against the Starks, Lord Frey proposed that Lord Bolton marry one of his many granddaughters (knowing that if they succeeded with Operation Red Wedding, that Lord Bolton would become Warden of the North) and offered her weight in silver (S3E9). Lord Bolton shares this with Catelyn and boasts

that he picked the fattest one because of the dowry. And while we’re talking about Lord Bolton, one more thing: He now knows that Bran and Rickon are both alive, which makes his title as Warden of the North even more shaky. If the word gets out (only Theon, Ramsay, Roose, Fat Sam, and Jon Snow currently know) there might be a surge of support for the living Stark heirs.

April 20, 2014

Quick Hits: Joffrey got the other Valyrian sword that Tywin made in S4E1—who gets it now? Grandma Olenna references the Iron Bank of Braavos (also mentioned in S3E3 when Tyrion takes over for Littlefinger as the Master of Coin) and how much the crown owes them—uh oh. Bran sees the same snowy throne room in his vision that Daenerys saw while inside the House of the Undying in S2E10. He also sees dragon shadows flying over King’s Landing—past or future?

We learn more about Prince Oberyn’s bastard lover, Ellaria Sand, and how the culture in Dorne is much more accepting of bastards (hence, a prince being with a bastard). In contrast to the North and elsewhere in the Seven Kingdoms where even the bastard of a highborn (Jon Snow, son of Lord Stark; and Ramsay Snow, son of Lord Bolton) carry around their region-specific bastard names like a badge of dishonor. Check out this map (right) of bastard names by region.

Religions of Westeros: More in-depth details to come, but a brief refresher for now on the prominent religions of Westeros (and what the hell people mean when they say “the Old Gods and the New.” The Old Gods of the Forest are what most Northerners worship. This includes the trees with faces on them, which Bran touches and has visions. The “New Gods” refer to the Faith of the Seven (represented by the seven-pointed star we see everywhere), which is the main religion in the Seven Kingdoms. The eponymous “Seven” are the Father, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Warrior, Smith, and Stranger. If that sounds familiar it’s because in every wedding vow we’ve seen, the man and wife swear to these Seven. There is also the Lord of Light a.k.a the Red God that... well, you know. Smoke assassin babies, penis leeches, resurrecting the same man (Beric Dondarrion) six times—most recently in S3E5. They say “the night is dark and full of terrors” a lot too. There is also the Drowned God that the Iron Islanders (Theon Greyjoy’s home) worship. The God of Death gets a few name drops from the great swordsmen of Braavos (Syrio Forel, Arya’s first “dancing” teacher; and Jaqen H’ghar, the faceless assassin). Unsurprisingly, Arya claims the God of Death as her one true god (S3E7).

Conspiracy Theory of the Week: (Before we get to the real conspiracy.) After Stannis’s wife (Selyse Baratheon) is filled with glee as she sees her own brother burn at the stake, Melisandre pays a visit to Stannis’s daughter (Shireen Baratheon). We know that Melisandre is always looking for “king’s blood” to perform her dark magic—I’m pretty sure Shireen’s blood qualifies. After Davos helped Gendry run away, Melisandre doesn’t have another source of royal blood. The only warmth we’ve seen from Stannis are in his moments with his daughter. If this is what the Lord of Light requires, does Stannis allow it? How far is he willing to go?

Fun Trivia: The band that plays “The Rains of Castamere” at the wedding is none other than Sigur Rós. They manage to make the song (previously sung by The National) even more haunting.Also if you ever hear that song at a wedding/reception, get the hell out of there!

April 20, 2014

Whodunit?: This excites me almost as much as the prospect of Game of Thrones becoming a courtroom drama. Before we breakdown the leading suspects, let me point out that Joffrey’s younger brother (Tommen “Baratheon”) is next in line to become king, because the marriage with Margaery was not consummated. You might remember Tommen as the little boy Cersei had on her

lap and was planning on mercy-poisoning during the Battle of Blackwater (S2E9) before Tywin saved the day. But Tywin might be the acting King until Tommen comes of age. Even if that’s not the case and Tommen starts ruling, he will just be a less evil (from what we know, he is much nicer than Joffrey) puppet for Tywin.

Top: “Drink up, little Tommen,” said the worst mother (but still a mother) in all of Westeros.Bottom: Tommen (far left)—another Season 4 recast—laughing at dwarves while sitting next to his uncle Tyrion.

I’m fairly certain I know who poisoned Joffrey (email me if you want to know and compare notes), so the order of the possible culprits will be random. I’m not including the case against each person, to not give it away.

Varys - He attempted to kill Daenerys (on King Robert’s orders) in a similar fashion. He hires a wine merchant to get Daenerys to try a “special” (read: poisoned) barrel of “dry red from the Arbor” in S1E7. Varys has always been about putting the Realm before all else.

Tyrion - Because Cersei says so! Definitely not from her motherly rage or hatred for her brother. He tells Podrick to pay the dwarves and that “we’ll have to find another way to thank the king.”

Sansa/Dantos - Both have motive. “Poison is a woman’s weapon” and probably the only way Sansa would have the opportunity. Dantos was there to escape with Sansa as shit went down.

Prince Oberyn - Hates the Lannisters. Is from Dorne, so he has access to poison the wine supply.

The Pie - There were freaking dead doves inside! It could’ve been contaminated with an early form of the avian flu.

Grandma Olenna - Started collecting info about Joffrey the moment she came to King’s Landing. Sansa tells her that Joffrey is a “monster” (S3E2) and she doesn’t want to put her granddaughter Margaery through that. “Killing a man at a wedding—horrid,” she says to Sansa. Verbal irony?

Tywin - He can control Joffrey, but it became a pain in the ass. Tommen is easier to control.

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April 20, 2014