I’ve been waiting for this episode all season and it didn’t disappoint. Peter Dinklage especially didn’t disappoint. But we have a few things to talk about before we get to the courtroom drama of Tyrion’s trial.
The subplot with Yara trying to free Theon was non-book-canon filler material, just as the battle at Craster’s Keep was, but in this case it worked well. The problem with Craster’s was that none of the characters learned anything or got anywhere. At the Dreadfort we got a lot. We saw the depth of Yara’s caring for her brother, which in turn revealed the depth of her character. She may be a pure Iron Islander, hard as the name implies, but she’s still loyal and devoted to her family.
More importantly, we saw the damage Ramsay has wrought on Theon. The brainwashing was so complete that Yara declared her brother dead and retreated. Alfie Allen superbly conveyed Theon’s (or Reek’s?) terror, pitifulness and Stockholm syndrome toward Ramsay. Iwan Rheon’s Ramsay, too, was never so chilling as when he gave Reek a taste of kindness. Those two have built up a great, if disturbing, chemistry onscreen and given their respective characters a nuance that would be easy to overlook, especially since Theon’s torture and transformation happens mostly off-screen in the books.
Across the sea, Daenerys was faced again with the realities of her conquest when Hizdahr zo Loraq made her reconsider the morality of blood for blood. She handled the situation well, but the scene was really just meant to give Hizdahr a proper introduction. He’ll be important later. Joel Fry portrayed him as well spoken, bright and bold enough to earn the khaleesi’s respect. In all, a promising character.
The last thing I want to discuss before the trial was that conversation between Varys and Oberyn. It was largely pointless, but one gem came from it: Varys verbally and clearly identifying himself as asexual. That is huge. How much asexual representation is there in the media today? Very, very little, if any. I applaud Game of Thrones for this, especially since Varys’ sexuality or lack thereof was never discussed in the books beyond some mean-spirited speculation. For a show that’s sometimes criticized for mocking homosexuality and lacking diverse representation, this was a step in a very good direction.
Now, the trial. It was very well written, if over too quickly. It almost didn’t leave me much to talk about, to be honest.
The show did a great job of capturing what a hopeless farce the trial was for Tyrion. The book drew it out for pages and pages (to great effect), but the episode conveyed the same agonizing feeling in a fairly quick sequence. It was heartbreaking to see Tyrion’s better words and actions used against him, and not to mention the people closest to him either powerless to help or betraying him.
For me, though, the most heart wrenching moments were Jaime’s. Seeing him trade his life as a member of the Kingsguard for Tyrion’s survival was beautiful. He doesn’t do that in the books. Jaime, with degrees of love and loyalty virtually unheard of in King’s Landing, does everything in his power to save his little brother (not unlike Yara earlier, probably not coincidentally). If it weren’t for Shae, he probably would’ve succeeded.
Tyrion’s heart-stopping speech was the best performance I’ve ever seen from Dinklage. In the books Tyrion says nearly all the same things, but I at least read his tone differently. He was bitter but defeated. Here, Tyrion is not defeated. He’s liberated. Now that everything is lost he’s free to let loose all his rage, hurt and aggression in the most satisfying and bone-chilling roast Westeros has ever seen. Dinklage’s delivery –shaking with fury, snarling, choking, growling, with a terrible fire in his eyes – wow.
And then he said the words: trial by combat. And the camera panned to the shocked faces of the bystanders while “The Rains of Castamere” played in a slow, deep, ominous howl.
The episode ended at 9:52. Eight minutes too early. For the first time since episode two, I was on the edge of my seat and disappointed to see the credits roll.
