Game of Thrones: Season 3 Episode 7 Recap

This may be my last recap for a while, as I’m going to New Zealand (today!) to run around for a few weeks. If I get a chance, I may put up a few more. Can’t guarantee it, but I’ll try. If not, I’ll just have to get my GoT fix in one long weekend catch-up marathon after I’m back. Which actually sounds pretty great. One episode at a time is never long enough.

[Warning! Spoilers below!]

We open with Ygritte picking on Jon Snow’s former privilege. She asks him rather pointed questions about whether or not the guys carrying the banners get a chance to defend themselves. “It’s a great honor to carry a house sigil,” says Jon Snow with zero sense of irony. He does have a point about the Wildlings all being doomed against the more disciplined and better-armed knights of the South—but nobody appears to be listening.

Over in Robb’s tent, Catelyn Stark gets off the understatement of the century: “Lord Walder is prickly by nature.” If you haven’t read the book yet—just you wait.

Meanwhile, Sansa is miserable—and Margaery attempts to change her paradigm. Finding her weeping about having to marry Tyrion, Margaery asks: “has he mistreated you? Has he been kind to you?” Turns out the real reason Sansa doesn’t want to marry Tyrion has much to do with his last name—but perhaps more to do with height-ism. I’m crossing my fingers that Sansa learns something from Margaery, especially when she suggests Tyrion might know more than the signature Westeros-style doggy position in bed—but I don’t think Sansa’s picking up what Margaery’s putting down here.

I love how these two women are both about the same age—and yet so, so different in terms of worldliness and capability in this very difficult world. It's only a matter of time before Sansa gets eaten by something bigger and badder (like, anyone), unless she pulls her act together.

Joffrey is a twit. Tywin looks like he wants to bite his head off and is masterfully restraining himself. He rather deftly makes it clear that he is the true power in King’s Landing—and Joffrey is left looking confused. Margaery would have known exactly what Tywin was doing.

Daenerys’ dragons are getting more powerful, and she’s not above flaunting them to intimidate the ruler of the Yunkai. Selmy and Jorah advise her that taking Yunkai is pointless—but there are slaves to be freed behind those walls.

It looks like her priorities are starting to shift. The Yunkai offer her all the ships she needs to get to Westeros—but she turns that down in favor of taking the city and freeing the slaves. A worthy effort, but I’m starting to think Daenerys will eventually realize she can’t do both.

I’m starting to miss the old clever Tyrion. In this season, Tyrion is generally getting put-upon as the royal treasurer and as the reluctant groom. Here he tries to persuade Shae she’ll have an honored place in his house even after he marries Sansa—but Shae is having none of it. I hope Tyrion pulls it together soon and starts using his formidable intellect to get on top again—figuratively, of course.

Arya is starting to get more and more alienated—even to the point of telling Beric her “one true god” is Death. If she were around today, she’d be a middle-school Goth girl. Instead she manages to escape Dondarrion’s men—and get captured by the Hound.

Meanwhile, we still don’t know who Theon’s torturer is—but everybody has a calling, and torture is clearly this guy’s. Poor Theon wakes up to find two beautiful women seducing him—and just as he starts to enjoy it, Torturer Guy shows up with a really specific-looking knife-like implement and starts going for the delicate bits. Yeesh.

Bran’s plotline is actually quite compelling in the book—but in the movie, basically all he does is sit and sleep and dream of the One-Eyed Raven. There’s not much action, despite the feud between Osha and Meera. I’m pretty sure it’ll get more interesting once they’re past the Wall, but so far these scenes are just there to remind us that Bran exists, as far as I’m concerned. Osha has a monologue about what happened to an old boyfriend—but it doesn’t tell us anything new about the White Walkers.

Then we get to Jamie, who manages to convince his captor / guards to take him back to Bolton’s for Brienne. He gets there to find Brienne stuck in a pit with a bear, facing it down with a wooden sword—in a dress, no less. Jamie jumps into the pit, weaponless, to save her. You have to love his courage—and if you’re like me, you might be surprised to find yourself forgiving and rooting for a guy who’s thrown a child off a roof. That is the sign of truly outstanding character development.

And yet I’m pretty sure Jamie would throw Bran off that roof again if he had to. I don’t think Jamie’s changed, so much as what we know about him has changed as we see him in different situations throughout the series. Which, again, is brilliant.

And with that, I’m off to New Zealand!