Game of Thrones S03E03: Walk of Punishment

Oh man. Walk of Punishment. HERE was the episode Game of Thrones fans have been waiting for this season. After two installments of pure set up (that were nevertheless enjoyable) this episode brought out the fire works, the plot development, the action, the intrigue, and the HOLY FUCK moments. Let’s dig in!

The talkiness of last week’s outing makes the wordless first two minutes of tonight’s episode so much more enjoyable. King Robb and Catelyn are at Riverrun watching as Cat’s headstrong yet incompetent brother, Edmure, fails miserably at setting a funeral pyre alight. Enter the infinitely badass Blackfish Tully to not only light things up (zing!) but also to provide an audience for King Robb’s impressive dressing down of Edmure in the following scene. These scenes show that Robb actually has things to do in this story besides looking kingly, like, for example, winning a war. This episode also manages to show how Robb can be winning every battle but losing the war overall.

In Astapor, Daenerys is mulling over the decision to buy a slave army(new clique-member Barristan Selmy thinks that wars are won by loyal and devoted troops, Ser Jorah, having seen the raping, looting, and burning that loyal troops are capable of, prefers the easily controlled Unsullied). Having decided, Daenerys, the slaver, and his translator get another hilarious scene together that swiftly GETS REALwhen the Daenerys offers to trade one of her dragons for all of the Unsullied in Astapor. Her bargaining and this episode’s interludes with her inner circle show Dany to be coming into her own as a leader, a planner, and a Queen.

Three’s company.

Apparently, fathering two evil ghost sons has left Stannis all loved up, making Mellisandre’s swift exit to places unknown all the more of a total burn. Poor fella.

Jon Snow doesn’t get much to do, it’s a bummer really.

Arya too gets the short end this week, her scenes not amounting to much more than saying goodbye to Hot Pie who has taken a position as a cook at an inn.

Somewhere, Theon is fleeing, and being retaken by, his captors. The folk’s who’ve read the books have some idea what’s going on here, though the show is being characteristically liberal with its fidelity to the source material, and uncharacteristically vague about who exactly is doing what. All of these scenes are showing WAY more than the book even intimates, which might end up being a bad thing, for people who do not like to see GRUESOME SPOILERY DETAILS.

Back in King’s Landing, Tywin assembles his first small council, prompting a hilarious (and blessedly wordless) scene in which all of the capitol’s schemers literally trip over one another to sit closest to the new center of power in Westeros. Tyrion and Cersei, for their part, conduct themselves with all the grace they can, each moving a chair to reflect their closeness to Tywin. This scene, though brief and mostly spent on one gag, pushed the plot forward in useful ways. Littlefinger is off to woo Lyssa Aryn, Tyrion is now master of coin. Places are shifting, people are moving.

The remaining, bedraggled Night’s Watch men make for Craster’s keep, a place which before had meant warmth and protection, but which now means abuse and neglect (on top of baby sacrifice masquerading as “godliness”). Though brief, these scenes do an even better job that the books did at ramping up the tension between the weary, angry Brothers in Black, and the slimy, incestuous Craster.

This episode’s best moments are clearly Jaime and Brienne’s scenes, due both to their chemistry and to the strength of their material. Still captured by the Freys, Jaime warns Brienne that as the less valuable hostage, the Freys won’t hesitate to rape and mutilate her. Her best chance, Jaime thinks, is to accept the rape and avoid the mutilation. Of course, this is as stupid a thing to say: Brienne is not going to accept a rape any more than Jaime would, and she doesn’t. As the Frey men (try to) beat her, Jaime uses his charm (ie: smarm) to convince their commander that Brienne is worth her weight in riches, but only if she is not “besmirched”. Agreeing to keep Brienne safe, the Frey commander still thinks that Jaime needs a lesson in manners. Jaime’s father, his money, and all of his notoriety mean nothing in the fog of war, Jaime is reminded, and then OH MY GOD A FUCKING SPOILER SMASH TO BLACK WAIT IT’S OVER?

Literally the only non-spoilery picture I could show you.

You’ve got to give this show a hand. I never would have expected them to use this totally spoilery plot point so soon, but I can see why they did. This book is dripping with plot points great and small but MOST of them come in the second half. By using this one so early, we not only share the plot point love, but also we can begin examining a changed Jaime. I’m excited to see what Coster-Waldau will do with such a huge change to a character he’s already made his own.

Sexy: Podrick Payne gets not one, not two, not three, not five, but FOUR whores as a gift from Tyrion. Did anyone else think that this scene was really just ridiculous?

Bloody: This show doled out the gore with a free hand.

Highlights: On the one hand Jaime’s scenes with Brienne and the Frey’s were the most tense, and surprising, in the season so far. On the other hand, THERE IS NO OTHER HAND.

Lowlights: Podrick: Ladykiller. Really?

Overall this episode deserves an A, no less, maybe even more. I’d give it an A+, but there were a few moments that seemed forced (Jon Snow, Podrick: Ladykiller, Stannis) that I wouldn’t have minded just not seeing in favor of strengthening the more important scenes (Small Council, Astapor, Arya). But this is just niggling over minor details in an otherwise excellent episode. This one finally got back to the show’s strong points, getting to the emotional core of the plot points, setting up the intrigue, and providing sudden, shocking game-changers.