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

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Given it’s a fantasy show, Game of Thrones is peculiarly characterized by how grounded in reality it actually is. Maybe even more so than a lot of “serious” non-fantasy shows. (I’m looking at you, Breaking Bad and Homeland.) On a lesser show, the victors are decided on the battlefield—the contending king with the strongest army, best swords, and biggest dragon wins. But the titular game on this show is played in the courtrooms, the banks, and the chambers. (In fact, I think we’ve only seen one full-blown battle scene throughout the course of the show, S2E9.) This show is more concerned with things like basic macroeconomic principles (Team Stannis has a horrible GDP, due to its nonexistent exports—as the Iron Bank points out). It revels in the sweet irony that the most powerful house in Westeros might have to change their most used catchphrase from “A Lannister always pays his debts.” to (a not as quotable) “A Lannister is sometimes late on installment payments for large Braavosi loans.” It makes a prospective queen take a break from her Justice Crusade and actually work for her title by giving her 212+ supplicants worth of office hours. On paper, this is nowhere as sexy or intriguing as how Game of Thrones and similar shows/movies are marketed (Dragons! Forbidden love! Massive CGI armies!). In execution, however, the show is better off for its focus on the small details and harsh pragmatism of this fictional world.

——————————————————————————————————————Season 4, Episode 6 — “The Laws of Gods and Men”

We are now firmly in the second half of Season 4 and you know what that means. To kick off the craziness, we got the courtroom drama I’ve been waiting for since Joffrey died in Episode 2—which took up the last half hour of the episode, similar to how Joffrey’s wedding episode was structured. We finally got to visit Braavos (both in the gorgeous opening credits and during the episode), we saw Tywin look the most comfortable anyone has looked sitting on the Iron Throne, we had the first episode ever without any of the Starks, we learned that the Iron Bank’s coin dispensers look like lightsabers, and we got to witness Tyrion Lannister channeling both his family’s official motto (Hear Me Roar) and Jack Nicholson—YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

May 18, 2014

Today in History of Westeros, we ask: “Why is Ser Davos missing his fingers again? I thought Jaime was the only one missing manual appendages.” During Robert’s Rebellion, Stannis (Robert’s younger brother) was being surrounded in Storm’s End (the seat of House Baratheon). Davos smuggled onions into the castle to help Stannis’s forces survive. Davos reminds us yet again that he didn’t steal the food, just smuggled it. Stannis—being the poster boy for blind justice he is—punishes Davos for his smuggling crimes by cutting off his fingertips and then rewards him with knighthood for helping win the battle. Hence, Ser Davos a.k.a. the Onion Knight.

Quick Hits: Bathhouse dweller Salladhor Saan is Davos’s pirate friend, who in S2E2 agreed to lend his ships to Stannis for the Battle of Blackwater in return for gold and (basically) dibs to rape Cersei after King’s Landing is sacked. He also rescues a shipwrecked Davos in S3E1. Though the Ramsay and Theon/Reek bathtub scene can be seen as homoerotic, it might just be straight up sadistic that Ramsay wants to see Theon’s lack of genitals. Like an artist admiring his own art.

Unsolicited Advice of the Week: Yo Daenerys. Maybe if you shortened your introduction before each supplicant, you might get through all 212+. How about just “Queen D” instead of Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons. (Is it sad that I typed more than half of that without looking?) And if you had a No-Blowing-Smoke-Up-the-Queen’s-Butt-About-How-Beautiful-and-Kind-She-Is policy for each supplicant before they ask for what they really want. Kind of like the No-Clapping-Between-Names policy at graduations.

Let’s also talk about Jaime’s negotiating skills with his father Tywin. My favorite course in college was Negotiation and Persuasion. One of the first things we learned was that when you make an offer (though you should never make the first offer) and someone agrees immediately, then you’ve already lost. When Jaime offers to leave the Kingsguard and go back to Casterly Rock as Tywin’s heir if Tywin would spare Tyrion’s life, Tywin—without missing a beat—says “done.” Remember when Tywin gives Jaime the Valyrian steel sword in S4E1 and tells him to get honorably discharged from the Kingsgaurd and go back to Casterly Rock? Jaime refuses then, but now plays right into Tywin’s hands. Jaime has shown that he is the only Lannister who loves Tyrion. But his plea to Tywin might also come because his main reason for staying in the Kingsguard was so he could stay in King’s Landing with Cersei and not have to marry (and therefore feign love for) another woman. His post-rape relationship with Cersei is on the rocks, so we don’t know where they stand.

None of things the witnesses during Tyrion’s trial say are necessarily false. But they are lies. Whether a lie by omission, by false attribution, or by recontextualization of facts. We’ve seen Tyrion wear his emotions on his sleeve before, but we’ve never seen pure rage seep out of his face like we do. As he snarls at the court crowd, he begins to look like the monster they think he is. Let’s overanalyze the scene and the major reaction shots.

May 18, 2014

Jaime realizes how rigged this trial is. Oberyn seems like he knows too, but has fun with it regardless. These two seem like the most likely champions for Tyrion’s trial by combat. Note that the champion that Tyrion names has to actually agree to fight for him. This leaves the pool of possible champions at three: Bronn, Jaime, and Oberyn.

Why Bronn: He volunteered to fight for Tyrion (and a sack of gold) during Tyrion’s first trial by combat at the Eyrie in S1E6. Bronn is also the most savvy fighter of the three.Why Not Bronn: He has very little to gain (and more to lose) by fighting for Tyrion. He also (half-jokingly) has reminded Tyrion a few times that their relationship works because Tyrion pays him.

Why Jaime: Tyrion initially named Jaime at the Eyrie, but Lysa wouldn’t allow it at the time. Also, choosing Jaime as the champion would put Tywin and Cersei (who will have to name a champion of their own) in a tough spot. If Jaime is fighting for Tyrion and loses, Tywin has no more male heirs. If Jaime wins, then Tyrion is deemed not guilty.Why Not Jaime: He’s missing his sword hand. We know he’s been training with Bronn using his left hand, but we don’t know how good he is yet.

Why Oberyn: He’s a huge wildcard. Very unpredictable. He has shown an affinity for Tyrion before (S4E1) as a fellow second son. He also hates the Lannisters. If Tywin and Cersei name the Mountain as their champion (likely), then Oberyn would have all the reason he needs to volunteer as Tyrion’s champion. The Mountain killed Oberyn’s sister and her kids. Oberyn is an expert fighter.Why Not Oberyn: Other than revenge, he really has nothing to gain (that we know of) by fighting.

Other reactions: Margaery knows Tyrion is innocent because she knows Olenna is responsible. Though it is disappointing to see Varys testify against Tyrion, he is just being pragmatic. Even if he came to Tyrion’s defense, the case is so stacked against Tyrion that it wouldn’t matter. Varys sang a similar tune while visiting Ned in prison before the execution, saying he is no hero and that he has a role to play. His role here is to lay low and serve the realm. Shae’s motives are the most ambiguous. Though it is likely that Tywin or Cersei bribed/threatened her to testify

(remember Tywin tells Cersei to “have her brought to the Tower of the Hand before the wedding.” in S4E2), she seems genuinely pissed off and is just nasty about it. Fucking whore. Literally.

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May 18, 2014