By Zane Bixby
Overall Grade: A-
It’s hard to grade an episode sometimes, not because it’s hard to observe the show as a whole, but to separate the scenes that make the episode truly amazing and knowing that they can’t fully shore up the weaker moments of the episode, that’s what makes it difficult. I suppose I could grade the episodes by plot point but then it would just get far too convoluted. Episode 4 is a strong episode, and the ties of family are the important aspect of “Book of the Stranger,” so why is it that some of the ties feel more genuine and effective than others? Why do we feel more when Jon and Sansa meet each other again for the first time in seasons compared to when Yara and Theon do? Part of it is probably anticipation, the other part is almost definitely our own empathy. Characters who we haven’t seen in a while provide no great anchor for us into the world of Westeros, and thus a character who hasn’t appeared on screen for over a season, Yara Greyjoy, won’t give us the same heart wrenching happiness of Sansa and Jon meeting back up and talking of the future.
Once again, I’ll be splitting the episode into plot threads and by their quality. This week it was harder to split the middle ground scenes but the great ones truly shined above the rest.
Daenerys:
For the first time since the beginning of the season, a plot line other than the Night’s Watch is the strongest plot line. This is in large part due to that final scene and interestingly enough it’s fair to consider that she has the strongest plot line this episode because she was given the anchor scene of the episode. But let’s shelve that for the moment. It’s more than just the hut going up in flames that makes her scene so great. Even from the get go in the first scene we get it’s clear she has a plan of action. Dany never planned to stay forever in Vaes Dothrak, and it was easy, as the audience at least, to start to make sense of her plan. Although it’s safe to say there were very few clues that would lead anyone to assume she’d be taking control of the Dothraki as she did. Her complete confidence is what compels her forward in the early scene of the episode, and it is effective, the trust from Jorah and Daario when she states they aren’t running from Vaes Dothrak is enough to inspire confidence in anyone.
Side note, I’m glad they skipped past the complicated search Jorah and Daario were doing for Dany as once they knew it was the Dothraki it was a simple guess as to where they were going. We do however get a bit of exposition on the status of Jorah’s Greyscale, or at least Daario knows about it now so I’m sure we can expect more on this later in the season.
But it IS that final scene that makes the plot line so powerful. One could argue that Dany is reaching back into her old bag of tricks, setting the main Dosh Kaleen temple on fire with all the Khal’s there. Much like the first time she emerged from the flames, albeit with the birth of her dragons, her emergence alive (and fully naked, she has confirmed in an interview with EW that that was indeed her and not a body double) inspires faith from the entirety of the Dothraki. It’s worth mentioning that G.R.R.M has stated that Targaryens ARE NOT immune to fire, and that the birth of her Dragons was unique and part of it was Dragon Magic. So whether this scene is a clear break from the books or something else entirely it’s impossible to say for sure.
The Night’s Watch:
It was actually difficult for me to place everything that happened at Castle Black into one catch all but they all do tie together in one central way. Everything we are given on this episode points to one thing, what happens AFTER Castle Black. There’s little about this plot line that I actually didn’t like, and that goes as far as how humorous some of the characters were being when they WEREN’T talking. Tormund Giantsbane being obviously smitten with Brienne of Tarth was an unexpected but very humorous.
Sansa and Jon are finally reunited, and this is a reunion that most probably didn’t expect to be as touching as it was. The two were never very close and in season 1 when they last shared a scene together it was pretty obvious that Sansa didn’t care for Jon in the slightest. And the Jon from season 1 is a wealth of experience removed from the Jon we have now. But their reunion FEELS genuine and heartfelt. The two have both gone through a tremendous amount of change from their season 1 counterparts. Throughout the scenes with them one other thing becomes abundantly clear, their positions have very much been reversed. Jon, who when he left Winterfell was ready for war and to lead, now wants nothing more than to not have to lead. But Sansa who has been under everyone else’s control over the last 5 seasons is ready to lead. The two seem to be at ends until the pink letter, or a form of it in some way, makes its way to Castle Black and inspires not only Sansa and Jon but Tormund as well.
Davos and Melisandre get to have an interesting interaction in the episode, one that begs to question how Davos hadn’t asked about what had happened with Stannis and Shireen up until now. And wasn’t it convenient that Brienne cut in to the conversation before Melisandre had to fess up that Shireen was burned at the stake for blood magic. And yet when Davos and Melisandre try to brush off Brienne’s complaints of Renly’s death with a simple “the past is the past” she doesn’t bat an eye and tells them that she was the executioner of Stannis (thus bringing to a close any hope for those who wished that Brienne didn’t go through with killing him.) But the past is the past right?
So with that we are given what may seem to be an uneasy alliance between Melisandre, who is choosing to follow “the prince that was promised,” and Brienne, who has sworn an Oath to Sansa. Jon being the glue that will hold this group together as they inevitably march south to take back Winterfell and save Rickon.
Meeran:
What is it about Tyrion talking politics that is just so damn compelling? I could watch an entire series that is just Tyrion being political in Westeros. But it does require a certain amount of disbelief as well. The people of Slaver’s Bay have been dealing in slaves for so long their entire region is NAMED AFTER IT. And along with the Daenerys scene we at least know that the Masters of Yunkai seem to know that Dany is with the Dothraki now. So the idea that they actually parlayed with Tyrion, acting as ruler of Meeran, to discuss the use of slaves in the other cities is a bit of a stretch. Albeit, as this scene takes place before that pivotal Dany scene, it’s a bit easier to suspend disbelief that they would meet with him.
Instead the bigger issue is with the secondary meeting with the former slaves in Meeran. Having Grey Worm and Melissandei lie to support Tyrion’s claims is a bit harder to take. This is a man they have no allegiance to, only the word from their Queen that he should be trusted. But when it’s so obvious that he is acting in a way that is out of line with how Dany had conquered the previous cities it begs to question if they are just falling into line because that is the life they know.
King’s Landing:
The events in King’s Landing can easily go one of many different ways at this point. And it’s really interesting to speculate just what might happen. I’ll try to keep speculation to a minimum here but it’s hard to discuss what happened when what will happen is more important. Tommen shares with Cersei whatever secret the High Sparrow had shared with him, possibly just about Margaery taking her Walk of Atonement, and that spurs on the rest of the plot line here.
Margaery finally got out of her cell, even if only for a few moments and this leads to another scene in this week’s episode of a “strong and powerful woman” that is so prolific in this episode. But before that happens she gets to have a conversation with the High Sparrow. And much like last week his conversation with her is heavily meant to humanize him in the eyes of the audience. It’s from this conversation that the title of the episode is derived. Their conversation leads to the Book of the Stranger. One of the Seven that is rarely prayed to in this world. And the High Sparrow allowing Margaery time to see her brother may indeed be a tactic by the faith to further break them, something I am rather glad that she may have seen through entirely. So when Margaery and Loras get to meet, it’s Margaery that is still unbroken after what has now been weeks of confinement and what could be considered mind games. Loras has been shattered to pieces by the faith and he wants nothing more than for this to all be over. So it’s possible that Margaery sees taking the Walk of Atonement as a way to help her brother out.
The idea of that walk is what creates an uneasy alliance between the small council and the remaining Lannister siblings. None of them truly want the Queen to be publicly humiliated, which in truth is actually quiet odd for Cersei who very clearly has no love for Margaery. That’s where some speculation comes into play. It’s possible that this is entirely a way for Cersei to rid herself of two groups that are huge thorns in her side. If the Tyrells do march into the city toward the Faith Militant and the Lannisters just stand aside and let it happen well they can’t be considered at fault now can they? And then who knows how many Tyrells and Faith Militant will be killed off in the process making it easy for the Lannisters to then clean up the rest of what would be considered one of the strongest remaining armies in Westeros.
Petyr Baelish and the Vale:
It was rather intriguing that we had to wait until the fourth episode of the season to see Petyr again. He’s a character so wrapped up in his own ego and plans that it can be difficult to track everywhere we have recently seen him. But it’s a welcome sighting of him, even if his sole scene of the episode came across as rather lackluster. We already know from experience how great of a manipulator he is, so seeing him pull out another trick to get the commander of the Knights of the Vale so firmly under his thumb (and seeing it work so smoothly) isn’t as satisfying as it could have been. Assuming the Knights of the Vale do head north to assist Sansa we could easily be seeing the start of the power struggle in the North all over again. But I have a sneaking suspicion that Jon Snow and any army he does pull together is going to have little knowledge of the Knights of the Vale until they come in for a daring flanking maneuver that turns the tide of a fight. And if that is in fact the case it turns Petyr’s deceptions and plans into nothing more than a plot device.
Now granted, many things in this series are plot devices. But when it becomes glaringly obvious to the point that it threatens drawing you out of what is happening on screen it becomes just a bit difficult to stomach. Hopefully I’m wrong in that matter because it would be such a disservice to the character.
Winterfell:
We really aren’t given much here, but the little bit we are given is a bit lackluster. Much like Dany reaching back into her bag of old tricks, which worked for her, we are given a clear distinction as Osha attempts to do the same and it doesn’t work for her. Osha is an excellent character in the show and her death felt horribly lackluster for a character that had been gone over the past season. In truth it felt included more as a way to squash any fans from theorizing that their appearance in Winterfell was an elaborate ruse to get Rickon back into the public eye and to instead spur conflict to get Jon and Sansa heading back south to Winterfell. Other than this the only real benefit we get from Winterfell and Ramsey is that letter sent up to Castle Black.
Pyke:
Why is it that this scene and plot line doesn’t work? Is it because Yara hasn’t been on screen for the last season so why should we care about her claim to the Iron Isles? Is it because the chemistry between actors with Yara and Theon is weak? Or is it because the other scenes of the episode overshadow it so heavily? I think it’s a bit of all of this. The actors here are great and with the right material can be truly compelling but when we were already given two family reunions in the episode (Jon and Sansa, Margaery and Loras) a third doesn’t quite have the same effect. And instead of using the time to really set up more of Kingsmoot, other than ensuring that Theon wasn’t attempting to make a claim in any way, the scene provides no real anchor to make us care about the characters. The reason we care about characters like Jon and Sansa are because we have been so connected to these characters for so long that we can see the changes that have happened over the seasons. But with Yara we know next to nothing. Yes, she seems to care for her brother and yes she’s pretty clearly capable of leading the Ironborne but much of this is hearsay and speculation for us. I hope in the coming weeks they give us more to care about when it comes to the Iron Isles because right now I’m caring as much about the Kingsmoot as I am with whatever is happening in Dorne, and that is basically zilch.
About Last Week…..
So this is a new section I’m adding to each review. As I’ve come to realize after I post these reviews I think deeper about the episode and always seem to come up with a bigger realization about the episode, or remember something that I had seemingly missed. So this section will be dedicated to those blunders or additions to the prior week’s review in relation to this week’s review.
I sort of completely glazed over Gilly and Sam’s plot last week but it was so unimportant that most people I had talked with about the show had forgotten they were there too. I’m hoping Sam gets directed back north soon because part of his character helped push Jon in the right direction so many times.
Although we heard mention of Cersei’s Trial by Combat last week it seems to be getting swept completely under the rug now. This might dash the hopes of anyone still hoping for the Cleganebowl to be a thing, something I have pretty much started to expect isn’t going to happen as we have had no set up for the Sandor Clegane resurrection to happen.
After I posted last week I was actually starting to consider Rickon’s sudden reappearance was a trick by the Umbers but this week sort of dashed that theory, unless of course they were planning on Osha dying. This is rather hard to believe though as Rickon did care for Osha and I doubt he would just be okay with sending her to her death. Unfortunately that may actually be Shaggydog’s head that we had seen in episode 3.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ZaneBixby, I try to tweet during the show but often get to distracted or caught up in what’s happening. I also tweet about gaming news and complain about League of Legends eSports!
