A Rebuttal: 9 People Who Should Have Died This Season on Game of Thrones

I happened across THIS article a short bit ago and it got me to thinking... do these people really deserve to die? Who deserves it more? Lets have a gander. **WARNING SPOILERS DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP!**

Game of Thrones: S4E9 - The Watchers on the Wall

An entire hour dedicated to the battle at the Wall. I was looking forward to it, but at the same time, dreading seeing all the death. I knew going into it that Jon Snow survives, thanks to him dropping the news accidentally in an interview that he had begun filming for season 5, so I knew I wouldn't be TOO upset. 

One of the best things about this episode is the scale of it, seeing creatures that we'd heard about in previous episodes (ie the giants), the musical score was exceptionally great.

Gilly's alive! (yay.... yay....) I'm seriously NOT a fan of this character, but she makes Sam happy, so there's that. He tells her he never wants to be away from her ever again, and the first thing he does is "Lori, I've got things... stuff and things!!" and runs off to play war with the big kids. I don't blame him. I would have too, but for very different reasons. Hell, I might have even used her to weight down a barrel. 

Remember when Mance Rayder said he would signal the beginning of the attack on Castle Black by setting the "biggest fire the North has ever seen"? Well.. he kept his word. Smokey the Bear was not pleased. 

Prior to this episode, there was debate about whether or not giants existed. There is no longer any question. OH YEAH, and they've got mammoths. You'd think someone somewhere at some point during the ranging expeditions of the Night's Watch, someone would have seen one of these fucking things. I mean it's not like you can exactly hide a mammoth.

And here we have everyone's favorite asshole, Alliser Thorne. He'd already, in no so many words, told Jon Snow that he was right, expecting an obligatory "I told you so", but it never came. He did give quite the rousing "hey lets go kill these guys" speech. He could have said "yeah I know that there's only 100 or so guys here, we're pretty much fucked, but lets go die glorious deaths!" and he didn't. He was determined that Castle Black would stand come the following morning, and he was not wrong. This time. Course, he was wounded, so for those of us who haven't gotten this far in the books yet, lets hope for the best.. and by that, lets hope the wound gets infected and he dies. 

Ygritte came looking for dangly bits to wear about her neck. I had a feeling she would choke.

He looked like he wanted her to just let the arrow fly.

Hey, remember that kid a few episodes back who was bragging about being the best shot in his hamlet? Remember how everyone laughed at him? Yeah... he wasn't kidding about being good with a bow. Unfortunately it didn't go so well.

This was probably the most heartbreaking thing I've seen all season. I didn't cry because she got killed. I cried because for all the hate she felt, for all the things she'd said, they did love each other, right up to the very last. I cried because the amount of hurt on his face just tore me to shreds. 

Of course, the prettiest of the direwolves given to the Stark children had to be a part of this battle. He knew there was a fight to get to, his eyes were already glowing blood red. I'll admit I was a little scared for him, but he came through just fine.

One lone giant made it past the first gate and charged, attempting to get past the Night's Watch guarding it. Jon had told them no matter what, that gate must hold.

And hold it, they did. Not without some fear. Okay, alot of fear. But this was probably the most bone-chilling, courageous moment I have seen yet in all of the series. As the giant begins his charge, they begin reciting the Night's Watch oath, before the scene fades to black.

Battle has raged all night, and now day has come. Thormund Giantsbane was captured and is now being held captive. Many have fallen, many others still injured. But the war is not won, and Jon knows this. So he does the only thing that makes any sense. He leaves Ghost behind, and leaves his sword in the hands of Sam, because he'd promised Lord Commander Mormont he would not lose it again, and goes off to face Mance Rayder without any weapons whatsoever. Because that makes all the sense in the world.

Finally I'd like to give a little spotlight to some of the battle tactics and weapons used during the battle, just because they were extremely awesome: 

The predator drone-sized arrow, or what my children were calling "an arrow made from the leghair of Chuck Norris"

And the Swinging Scythe of Slicing Slaughter (that has been the focus of many Miley Cyrus-esque memes.. way to ruin it for everyone, you people who thought that was funny and clever!) 

I joke, to some extent, throughout this post, but really it was a great episode, and I refuse to read the full-on articles regarding the season finale, but there's rumors that the finale is going to be the best yet. I desperately hope so, given how lackluster the season 3 finale was, following the buildup to the Red Wedding. Everyone seems to think Lady Stoneheart will be making her appearance soon, and I'm more than ready for the show to put a little more focus on the threat of the White Walkers as well.

Game of Thrones: S4E8 - The Mountain and The Viper

It's time again to reiterate that I have not reached the point in the books that coincides with the current plot in Game of Thrones, so please, no spoilers. I will read the books, but I would like to get there in my own due time without knowing too much about what's coming, or how it differs from the books. It's truly sad that I have to even emphasize that everytime I post, but there's always that one person that will say something that they think to be harmless. When I watch the show, I'm watching from the perspective of someone who hasn't read all of the books. That being said, let's get on to the episode.

There are several key points in this episode that I will touch on: Sansa's evolution, Jorah's banishment, Theon's torment, Tyrion's discussion about the beetles, and finally the Trial by Combat.

Sansa... There is alot that could be said about her. When the show started, I despised her, simply because she had no depth. There was little to her besides whining about Arya, whining about the unfairness of her direwolf being killed, whining whining whining. Then it all changed. Her father was beheaded, and she wore the stigma of his betrayal. She bore the brunt of Joffrey's cruelty, she put up with being treated like absolute crap by Cersei. Very few people treated her with any kindness at all, whether it was because they feared Joffrey's wrath or because they truly just didn't have any use for her.


Yet, through all of it, she still managed to survive it, learned a few things, and after her aunt was pushed through the Moon Door by Petyr, she showed us all a different side of her. The side that says "I have finally come into my own. I have the ability and the means to get the revenge I deserve, for myself and for my family. I dare you to cross me." Of course the means by which she showed us that side is true to her nature, coming off as the sensitive, mistreated, poor little orphan that no one loves, but it worked and that's what counts. I don't think it will be too much longer before she is a force to be reckoned with all on her very own. I don't much like her having to be allied with Baelish at this point, but it appears that is exactly how it is going to have to be in order for her to accumulate the strength she's going to need in the seasons to come.

Jorah was approached by Ser Barristan with a message which contained Jorah's official pardon from Robert Baratheon, for spying on Daenerys. Barristan pulled no punches, giving Jorah the option to go to Daenerys himself and admit what he had done. And so he did, and she was, expectedly, furious. It honestly very nearly broke my heart that she ordered him to leave and never return. He loves her, it's obvious that she loves him, and everything he has ever done has only been for her safety. Sure, he initially reported what she was doing and where she was going, but that stopped. He has proven himself time and again. I cannot let myself believe that their storyline is over. He'll pop back up at some point and earn his way back into her good graces, hopefully before she makes a terrible error in judgment. He has been the voice of reason that has pulled her back from the edge more than once, and she needs that. Barristan, she really won't listen to when it comes right down to it. He doesn't speak to her in a way that will make her see things from another perspective. Daario, well, she basically treats him like a piece of meat, and he does the same to her. Grey Worm will not speak up as an advisor, at least not right now anyway. Jorah is that one person that she will listen to.

Theon, poor Theon has been through hell and back that began with his captivity by House Bolton, specifically Roose Bolton's bastard son who is absolutely 8000 different kinds of batshit crazy. Theon's captivity has resulted in a loss of a penis, and going around calling himself "Reek". It's absolutely disgraceful, the depths his torment and torture have gone to. Theon had alot of promise as a strong character who could do alot of good, but instead he chose to go the route of personal glory, and this is what it's gotten him. When his sister attempted to rescue him, he practically turned into Gollum, refusing to come out of the cage, and she was unwilling to risk dragging him out. Why she didn't just knock him out and carry him out of the keep is beyond me. This most recent episode, Theon has to "win" a keep for Ramsay Snow, by convincing his own people to surrender and leave. The guy he's talking to balks, and Theon starts muttering about his name being "Reek" and it looks like he's going to have a complete breakdown right then and there. One of the others kills the leader, who is already obviously ill, just on the promise that they'll be allowed safe passage home. These guys all end up flayed, Roose praising "Reek", and winning his father's "love" as well as being recognized as a Bolton. I'd say he rather won it by default given that Roose has no other living children, and so, no other heir to his name. Theon, though, is becoming harder to watch with each passing episode, and I keep waiting for that moment when he cracks and goes apeshit, kills Ramsay all the while shouting "MY NAME IS THEON FUCKING GREYJOY!" Regardless of the things he's done, no one deserves the hells that have been visited on him.

That brings us now to Tyrion's discussion with Jaime about their beetle-smashing simpleton cousin. For two weeks now, we have dealt with previews and buildup to this trial by combat, and 40 minutes into the show we have to stop and yammer on for almost 10 minutes about someone smashing beetles? I was annoyed to say the least, but there has been no scene in 4 seasons now that has not had some kind of poignancy to it. This one is no different. I won't profess to know what the point of it was, whether it was drawing parallels between Tyrion's cousin and George R. R. Martin, or whether it was to illustrate the blessing of being a simpleton. Given how Joffrey turned out, and the fact that the Lannisters are, by definition, ruthless, this child was dropped on his head and rendered simple... imagine what he might have smashed had he had full mental capacity. I shudder to think. And then there's the obviousness of it once you look back on the full episode: Oberyn's skull-crushing moment. Perhaps it's foreshadowing that ultimately everyone on the show are bugs, and Tyrion will be the only one left standing out of the current storyline. Who knows.

The Trial by Combat: This is probably the moment I've most dreaded throughout the entirety of this season. Why? Because Tyrion is my absolute favorite character (I love many of them, but he will always be the most favorite). The results of this trial determines if he lives or dies. I had hoped that Oberyn would get to avenge his sister, because the Mountain has brought too much pain into the lives of others and well, he's had it coming. There is not one single redeeming quality about this character who's appeared in maybe 3 episodes (I'm including the recasting.. it's about the character not the actor).

Oberyn comes into the scene pretty much like Inigo Montoya.. "You killed her children, you raped her, then you killed her". He might as well have said "Hello... My name is Oberyn Martell.. You killed my sister. Prepare to die". He fights with alot of flair, but it's pretty obvious that he is a skilled combatant. For a minute, it looks like he's going to win it, and then..... he gets too cocky, too sure that he has this whole thing in the bag. He should have simply finished off the Mountain, but no... no that would be too easy. The Mountain ends the life of the much smaller Oberyn, popping his head like a grape, and presumably passing out dead himself. I'm not going to lie and say I loved Oberyn, he was never really more than means to an end. The big deal that was made over him being brought into the show said to me that he had an important part to play, so I presumed it would last much longer than it did. When he wasn't engaging in various sexual exploits, he was actually a rather charismatic character, and would have been a good addition to the show in a long-term fashion. But the thing I keep thinking is "Thank the old gods and the new that it wasn't Jaime.. or Bronn". 

Now, it's pretty obvious they're not actually going to execute Tyrion, I mean he IS one of the most popular characters on the show, but after the Red Wedding last season, and The Walking Dead's beheading of Hershel, I trust nothing when it comes to shows I watch. Without reading the books, it's hard to really imagine where they might go with this, how they might save Tyrion from execution. I suppose they -could- opt to send him to the wall, allow him to take the Black and live out the rest of his life in the Night's Watch, but he's far too clever to allow that to happen.

Next week's episode should be rather interesting, as we haven't heard anything out of Stannis Baratheon in awhile, and at last count he was busy borrowing money from the Iron Bank. I don't foresee him and his armies reaching the Wall in time to face the initial onslaught at Castle Black. I'm still curious as to what happened to Benjen Stark as well, since it was never determined whether he'd been killed or what. All I can say is I rather hope Thorne gets it, he's beginning to get on my nerves.

Reboot Time!

My previous postings can be found here: The Untempered Schism  which will not open in a new window on it's own. (right click>open in new window if you must). Changing and implementing the old blog to a new one would involve too much work, so from now on any new content relating to shows and all manner of things I love to geek about will be posted here.