<3 Bae <3
SPOILER ALERT (obvs…)
The Hound is alive! I knew it! Oh my gosh I was so devastated when it seemed he’d been left to die in such a messed up way. He is my absolute favourite. Ungrateful Arya! Speaking of whom, how could she possibly not be prepared in any way, shape or form for that attack? I’m hoping it was on purpose to maybe slip from their clutches, feigning death, otherwise it’s disappointing, especially given that we saw her preparing in the dark for a face-off (lol)
against the Waif in last episode. It would have been good to have used her experience being blind as an advantage there.
Speaking also of the Hound and Faceless Men, I heard a good point in last week’s Game of Microphones podcast (never listened before but it was good and made me want to chime in so bad!) about whether the Gods are actually real, or whether there is just magic and the followers of certain religions (eg, Melisandre) are just able to manipulate this magic to make it seem like there is. Very interesting! I think it would certainly explain why it seems so arbitrary, and why Melisandre had her crisis of faith but still able to perform acts (whether of the God of Light or magic) – because of her own abilities and her faith that makes her able to do this. Also interesting to note that the High Sparrow doesn’t seem to have any kind of magic or proof of the Seven, but Maester (is he still Maester?) Qyburn is seemingly a necromancer. We’ve seen plenty of evidence for magic – whether dragons, giants, re-animation, fairies, or invulnerability to fire, but no sign of any Gods or their will in particular. I’ll keep a closer eye out.
Sansa, as usual, is haughty and stuck up. It seems as though she’s learned nothing from her past experiences where arrogance has gotten her into trouble. I really dislike her character a huge amount, apart from the fact that she is always doing sneaky and stupid things for no reason except that she thinks she is perfectly warranted in doing anything she wants because of her nobility. Something that I had completely forgotten that was remarked upon in this ep – isn’t she a bigamist; being married to both Tyrion (although it was never consummated) as well as Ramsay? How is that just looked past in a world where so many people are often caught in technicalities?
This episode seemed more of a filler or set-up episode, but it was good to see Bronn back, as well as the Blackfish’s ability to call a bluff. It was strange seeing Tim McInnerny (forever Blackadder's Percy to me!) and Tobias Menzies from Outlander, and how to feel about them after they were such nasty characters (although I've only seen the first season), but such is their talent I suppose. Also silently cheered when Jamie brought those miserable Frey sons under command - we'll see how that turns out though. It sets up a bit of a predicament with the siege of Riverrun, because of course everyone relates to Jamie, but also wants the Blackfish to succeed and join forces with Jon and Sansa. Hopefully Brienne will intervene soon, and the point the Blackfish made about Jamie fulfilling his oath to Catelynn Stark (which I had completely forgotten) to bring back Sansa and Arya, will have sway on Jamie’s decisions. Personally, I hope/believe he will defect, which ultimately perches on Cersei.
Cersei seemed to realise or accept that what Olenna was saying about her being effectively washed up was the reality, and I don’t see much reason for her to stay around in King’s Landing at this point. Even though Margaery is playing a part (I knew it! She’s a one-trick pony, even if that trick is effective), it doesn’t look good for Cersei either way, even if she can reign in the Sparrow and his cult. Maybe to finally end the Sparrow’s influence, everyone will have to band together with the North and take back King’s Landing, just in time for Daenerys to arrive with the Greyjoys fleet and her dragons for the ultimate battle for Westeros.
A final point – why is Loras so persecuted for being gay, while Yara can be so open about her Sapphic tendencies? Is it because of the locale, or is it just the Seven’s fundamentalism? I haven’t read the books yet, I’d rather wait until the series is over, and while I like reading other people’s takes, I don’t want to spoil too much for myself in reading up too much on the ‘lore of the land’, so to speak.
I wonder what other people think? I’d love to hear comments, theories, etc…without spoilers!
SPOILER ALERT (obvs…)
The Hound is alive! I knew it! Oh my gosh I was so devastated when it seemed he’d been left to die in such a messed up way. He is my absolute favourite. Ungrateful Arya! Speaking of whom, how could she possibly not be prepared in any way, shape or form for that attack? I’m hoping it was on purpose to maybe slip from their clutches, feigning death, otherwise it’s disappointing, especially given that we saw her preparing in the dark for a face-off (lol)
against the Waif in last episode. It would have been good to have used her experience being blind as an advantage there.
Speaking also of the Hound and Faceless Men, I heard a good point in last week’s Game of Microphones podcast (never listened before but it was good and made me want to chime in so bad!) about whether the Gods are actually real, or whether there is just magic and the followers of certain religions (eg, Melisandre) are just able to manipulate this magic to make it seem like there is. Very interesting! I think it would certainly explain why it seems so arbitrary, and why Melisandre had her crisis of faith but still able to perform acts (whether of the God of Light or magic) – because of her own abilities and her faith that makes her able to do this. Also interesting to note that the High Sparrow doesn’t seem to have any kind of magic or proof of the Seven, but Maester (is he still Maester?) Qyburn is seemingly a necromancer. We’ve seen plenty of evidence for magic – whether dragons, giants, re-animation, fairies, or invulnerability to fire, but no sign of any Gods or their will in particular. I’ll keep a closer eye out.
Sansa, as usual, is haughty and stuck up. It seems as though she’s learned nothing from her past experiences where arrogance has gotten her into trouble. I really dislike her character a huge amount, apart from the fact that she is always doing sneaky and stupid things for no reason except that she thinks she is perfectly warranted in doing anything she wants because of her nobility. Something that I had completely forgotten that was remarked upon in this ep – isn’t she a bigamist; being married to both Tyrion (although it was never consummated) as well as Ramsay? How is that just looked past in a world where so many people are often caught in technicalities?
This episode seemed more of a filler or set-up episode, but it was good to see Bronn back, as well as the Blackfish’s ability to call a bluff. It was strange seeing Tim McInnerny (forever Blackadder's Percy to me!) and Tobias Menzies from Outlander, and how to feel about them after they were such nasty characters (although I've only seen the first season), but such is their talent I suppose. Also silently cheered when Jamie brought those miserable Frey sons under command - we'll see how that turns out though. It sets up a bit of a predicament with the siege of Riverrun, because of course everyone relates to Jamie, but also wants the Blackfish to succeed and join forces with Jon and Sansa. Hopefully Brienne will intervene soon, and the point the Blackfish made about Jamie fulfilling his oath to Catelynn Stark (which I had completely forgotten) to bring back Sansa and Arya, will have sway on Jamie’s decisions. Personally, I hope/believe he will defect, which ultimately perches on Cersei.
Cersei seemed to realise or accept that what Olenna was saying about her being effectively washed up was the reality, and I don’t see much reason for her to stay around in King’s Landing at this point. Even though Margaery is playing a part (I knew it! She’s a one-trick pony, even if that trick is effective), it doesn’t look good for Cersei either way, even if she can reign in the Sparrow and his cult. Maybe to finally end the Sparrow’s influence, everyone will have to band together with the North and take back King’s Landing, just in time for Daenerys to arrive with the Greyjoys fleet and her dragons for the ultimate battle for Westeros.
A final point – why is Loras so persecuted for being gay, while Yara can be so open about her Sapphic tendencies? Is it because of the locale, or is it just the Seven’s fundamentalism? I haven’t read the books yet, I’d rather wait until the series is over, and while I like reading other people’s takes, I don’t want to spoil too much for myself in reading up too much on the ‘lore of the land’, so to speak.
I wonder what other people think? I’d love to hear comments, theories, etc…without spoilers!