Beyond the Wall: This Week on Game of Thrones (S3 Episode 9/ June 2, 2013)

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EPISODE 9: Rains of Castamere

THE PLOT : The long summer is at an end, winter truly is coming and with it the cold winds of war as five self proclaimed Kings claim dominance over Westeros, but there can be only one winner when you play the game of thrones.

THE LOWDOWN: (The following column contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so I don’t recommend reading this if you haven’t watched this episode). One thing Martin’s not afraid to do with this series is take sharp turns, turns that end up bloody. None more so than the infamous Red Wedding. Having read the books I’ve been dreading it all season, watching them give Robb extra things to do to build his character and thus, build the drama, made me wince every time. Tonight’s aside between Robb and Talisa, discussing the baby, is a perfect example of this—my entire body squirmed inside my head. As far as the scene itself goes, it was beautifully done, from the small nuances and looks between characters, to the brutality and tension that builds until the last man (and woman) falls. It was beyond emotional, a definite blindside to anyone unfamiliar with the books, but a damn fine piece of television.

Daenerys was around for a little, and though her screen time was short, the battle between Daario, Jorah, Grey Worm and the Yunkai guards was also well done. Grey worm’s battle prowess was especially impressive to behold. This show is famous for its “tell rather than show” tactics, but for the most part I’m cool with that as we don’t need to see every battle in its entirety. Why they bothered showing Sam and Gilly at all is beyond me. I laughed when she called him a wizard, but that was it. I also have no idea how that damn baby’s able to withstand the freezing cold. Incest must boost your immunities.

Arya and the Hound are a blast to watch. The Hound’s definitely one of my favorite secondary characters to begin with, but Arya stands up to him like a champ. Threats (the promise of a sword through the eye), and pretty much calling him a bitch when it comes to fire. It was all gold. The look on her face when she realizes everything’s gone to shit at the Twins is downright heartbreaking. And when they kill the direwolf, and you see his head under the cage door, it’s almost too hard to watch. I sincerely hope they don’t do in the show, what they do in the book when it comes to the direwolf and Robb’s bodies—I guess we’ll find out next week.

GAME OF THRONES SEASON 3’s ninth episode is as emotionally crippling to watch as Ned Stark getting put to the sword. To my delight, we get some action on the Bran and Rickon front—FINALLY! Yes, it starts out as boring filler, but picks up when it crosses over in Jon Snow’s storyline. Jon makes his stand tonight and its marvellous watching him gut those fools, but even better is Bran letting loose on the warg front and mind controlling the direwolves to help a brother out. Yes, it would have been ten times cooler to have Jon actually realize they were there, take out all the wildlings, and score a much needed win for team Stark (got knows they could use it). No such luck. Jon takes off, and Bran’s group breaks up. We’ve covered a lot of ground so far this season, and as much as I’m pumped for the finale, I’m equally sad for the year long wait.

SEX/NUDITY: : Edmure thinks he’s getting some ass. He’s dead wrong.

VIOLENCE: The Red Wedding is a bloodbath of treachery and death. We get some fighting on the Daenerys front, and Jon’s alliance with the wildlings comes to a bloody end.

SHARPEST QUIP: Walder Frey has no shame, because he knows how the night will end. His dogging of Talisa is terrible, but entertaining. “I can always see what’s going on underneath a dress, been at this a long time. I bet when you take that dress off everything stays right where it is. Your king says he betrayed me for love, I say he betrayed me for firm tits and a tight fit.”

MOST EPIC SCENE: The final bout with Robb and Catelyn as the Red Wedding comes to a close is a masterpiece. It doesn’t get much more epic than that.

FINAL VERDICT :

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