It’s taken me more time and many more re-watches than usual to get around to writing this recap, because I had so many conflicting feelings about the Game of Thrones season two finale. I did a fair amount of crying during my viewings, but also spent some time feeling a little disappointed and even angry at the writers for some of the decisions they made for this episode.
Those who have read the A Song Of Ice and Fire series were not too worried about Tyrion after his head injury last episode, but the fears of those who haven’t read the books were kindly immediately abated by his appearance in the very first scenes this week. Stripped of all of his power, he became intensely conflicted and vulnerable, lashing out at Shae unkindly during a later scene which was truly fantastic; when she told him “I am yours, and you are mine”, Tyrion started crying, I started crying, and my cat didn’t actually start crying but she definitely looked at me with some concern.
Sansa was finally freed from her obligation to marry Joffrey and celebrated with a very brief skip and a smile, before Littlefinger slimed up to her and started crushing her hopes and dreams. Elsewhere, Robb was happily entering into a very unwise marriage with someone who’s confusingly called Talisa instead of Jeyne. If Robb was asked to recite the words of House Tully, it can only be assumed that his version would go something like “er … Childish Crush, War, Swords and Stuff, Family, Duty, Honour.” For a character who spends a lot of time attempting to be honourable and just, he’s not particularly hesitant about backing out of his deal with the Freys so that he can marry someone he seems to have only known for a couple of weeks. Well done, Robb.
Theon Greyjoy was being predictably awful back at Winterfell, and I laughed aloud when somebody cut him off mid-speech with a well-timed blow to the head. I stopped laughing very quickly, however, when in the next few seconds somebody stabbed Maester Luwin. Later when Bran and the gang found Luwin in the Godswood, seeing him lying beneath that tree immediately reduced me to tears. His farewell speech to the Stark boys and the image of Winterfell burning as they headed north to the Wall felt like watching Bran and Rickon say goodbye to their entire childhoods, and it really hurt. Top notch heart-breaking, Donald Sumpter.
Daenerys’ experience in the House of the Undying wasn’t at all what I was expecting; in the book series it’s much darker and more complicated than a series of Game of Thrones location sets, but I did still enjoy parts of those scenes. It was enthralling to watch Daenerys approach the Iron Throne, and the scene with Khal Drogo and their strangely hairy baby did strange things to my heart. I wasn’t expecting to see Jason Momoa at all, and I honestly felt as if I was just as shocked as Dany was when she walked into that tent, so in response I did what I do best; I cried for twenty minutes, and then I reblogged ten gifs of the scene on Tumblr. The aspect of Daenery’s storyline that really bugged me this week was the way that Doreah apparently so quickly and easily turned traitor; I’m a little confused, but I assume that she was supposed to be responsible for the the deaths of almost all of the Dothraki, and for the theft of the dragons. Doreah has always had a much stronger bond with Daenerys and the dragons than anybody else, and seems quite disdainful of men in general. To have her completely betray Dany for almost no reason at all seems like awful, lazy writing, and I was really unimpressed. I know that a lot of people were shocked by her punishment, but I was far more shocked by how completely out of character and ridiculous her actions were.
The end sequence with Sam and the White Walkers was perfect. I was absolutely terrified, and I’ve been playing zombie shooter games all week. The CGI was a little questionable, as it often is with Game of Thrones, but I still didn’t want that thing on that horse coming anywhere near me. And then it was over! All over for another year! The wait is always difficult, and I’m sure I’ll have to devour the books again to tide me over until the next season, but hey; at least we all finally know how to pronounce “Valar Morghulis”.
