TV Review: This Week on Game of Thrones (S4 Episode 4/ April 27, 2014)

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EPISODE 4: Oathkeeper

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). Damn. Now that’s what you call an ending, but I’ll come back to that. We open with Greyworm learning to read. It was a cute scene, and I say ‘cute’ because you can tell he’s hot for teacher. I like him as a character, but his story is extremely sad. Glad to see their trying to expand on him—and he gave a sweetass speech too. The assault/conquering of Meereen didn’t take long, and despite being warned against it, Dany hands out the proper justice as far as I’m concerned. I mean, come on, these fools were crucifying children as land marks. Eye for an eye is the right message. I know I’ve said that Dany’s story has been a little tedious of late, but I do like her. She’s the queen of justice alright, but I’m worried that if she head’s to King’s Landing, her and her dragons will level the damn place or die trying.

I’m loving the pairing of Jamie and Bronn, and what’s not to love about two wisecracking warriors going back and forth? Backhanding him with his own hand, oh god, that was priceless. And then when Jamie asks if he talked that way to Tyrion, Bronn smiles and responds, “All the time.” Say what you want about the guy’s morals, but Bronn’s as solid a friend as Tyrion could have, and not only defends him as such, but puts Jamie on the spot for not doing so sooner. Jamie and Tyrion’s visit in the dungeon was fantastic, and the intensity these two show one another when the truth comes out makes you feel just how deep their bond truly is. It’s a great moment. Cercei’s reaction to this truth…not so much. She won’t believe Tyrion is innocent, nor will she rest until Sansa’s head’s on a spike. She tries to get Jamie to go after Sansa, but Jamie has a plan of his own.

Now as for Sansa, she’s treated to some truth of her own (everyone’s spilling the beans tonight), as she confronts Littlefinger about Joffrey’s murder—and then we have Granny Tyrell getting in on the truth too with Margaery, although she ends up sharing a little too much once she delves into the sexcapade stories. I don’t think Sansa expected to be a pawn in this ordeal, but it’s clear she’s now realizing that, Eyrie or not Eyrie, she’s not ‘safe’ with Littlefinger. Jaime’s decision to send Brienne after Sansa was handled beautifully. The armor he gives her is flawless, joined by the Valyrian Steel sword given to him by his father. The look on her face when he tells her it was made from Ned Stark’s sword was perfect, as is her decision to name the blade Oathkeeper. I love the dynamic between these two, and I hate seeing them split, but pairing her with Podrick is bound to keep things interesting, and at the very least, humorous.

GAME OF THRONES SEASON fourth episode was roaring on all cylinders as everyone’s making moves or setting them up. Jon Snow pushes for a raid on Craster’s Keep, not knowing Thorne is secretly hoping it becomes a suicide mission—or that his newfound friend is a spy for Roose Bolton. Add to that, the fact that Bran and his friends (poor Hodor) also wander into Craster’s Keep and get taken prisoner—now I know where Ghost is. But all that is nothing compared to the final scene with the white walkers. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Honest Trailer guy (he’s hilarious and should look him up if you’re not), but he said it best when doing a trailer for the first three seasons of this show. He was describing the fact that everyone is fighting over the throne while ignoring the ice zombies plotting to kill them all, and added, “Shouldn’t someone get on that?” We finally see a bit more of what’s going on with the walkers, and suffice to say, it’s blood curdling, but in a good way. Here’s to another fantastic episode.

SEX/NUDITY: There’s some raping going on at Craster’s (oops, hope that didn’t offend anyone), and Granny Tyrell talks about how ‘good’ she was back in the day. Oh, and I’m pretty sure Tommen’s going to have sweet dreams.

VIOLENCE: The slave masters of Meereen had a rough night, and there’s some torture going on at Craster’s. Hodor!

SHARPEST QUIP: : Bronn takes it when he says, “That, was me knocking your ass to the dirt with your own hand,” after unhooking Jamie’s gold hand and smacking him with it during a sparring match. Awesome.

MOST EPIC SCENE: It should be obvious, but clearly the final scene with the white walkers (I thought Sam killed the leader guy, but I guess not). It’s one of those scenes that you know is epic, but feel bad admitting to it because of the baby. Either way, it was something to behold.

FINAL VERDICT :

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And, here's a preview of next week's episode "First of His Name"