Spoilers for last night’s Game of Thrones are below
I’m impressed with how well Game of Thrones continues to bring it every week. I’ve never seen a show get so many headlines the day after it airs, to the point where I’ve given in and am covering it today instead of Tuesday. Last night’s episode gave us some answers and apparently veered quite a bit from the books. Many people have noted that one particular plotline, Bran Stark’s capture at Craster’s Keep, varies so much from the books that it’s hard to know what will happen next.
First off we learned that Littlefinger plotted along with the Queen of Thrones, Oleanna (Margaery’s grandmother) to murder Joffrey. Littlefinger confessed this to Sansa, while Oleanna half admitted to Margaery that she plotted to murder Joffrey. Oleanna cooed “You don’t think I’d let you marry that beast do you?.” Here’s more, thanks to MTV, which has a nice overview:
The episode, titled “Oathkeeper,” took some major departures from the books — the Craster’s Keep sequence, and Locke’s infiltration into the Night’s Watch, are two examples. And then there’s the big one: The White Walker ending, which is by far and away the most we’ve ever seen from the bone-chilling killers beyond the Wall.
In other words, it was an extraordinarily exciting night for book readers and show-only viewers alike. Here are seven of the big questions we’re still chewing on this morning.
What Do We Make of Jaime?
He was the nicest guy in King’s Landing this week — until you remember his sexual encounter with Cersei last week. Except, the show didn’t seem at all interested in exploring the ramifications of what’s easily one of “Game of Thrones’” most divisive scenes ever. How are we supposed to feel about Jaime now, when the writers aren’t even acknowledging his brutal actions whatsoever?Are You Surprised About Olenna?
There’s your answer, sports fans. The Queen of Thorns was the one who partnered up with Littlefinger to take out Joffrey. It all happens on screen, if you care to go back and take a look. The real shocker, though, is how naughty Olenna was once upon a time. Flashbacks, please!Was That the Best Night of Tommen’s Life?
Uh, duh.Is There a Stark Reunion on the Horizon?
Jon Snow is on his way to Craster’s Keep. Brandon Stark is there as a hostage. The two crossed paths once before, albeit unknowingly, when Jon fought alongside Bran-in-Summer against the wildlings. Are we about to get an actual, full-on reunion between the two half-brothers? Or will the dastardly Locke, the deadliest mole since Nina Myers, get in the way?What the Hell With That Ending?
The White Walker, the baby, the White Walker King Thing anointing the baby — all of that craziness was brand new not for just the viewers of “Game of Thrones,” but for the book readers as well. It was a brand-new scene that nobody’s seen before, a clearer look at the menace in the great white north than has ever been offered up. Pretty wild and crazy stuff. We’ll see how it develops.
I’m glad we got to see the baby get frozen by the White Walkers instead of being eaten. It was a creepy yet darkly satisfying ending.
I expected Margaery to seduce Tommen that night, but she’s playing the long game. She’ll get the boy on her side for sure.
As for Jaime’s plotline, I’m still confused. I found myself rooting for him as he helped Tyrion and had to say goodbye to Brienne, but then I kept remembering that he raped his sister at her dead son’s wake last week. That episode’s director, Alex Graves, claimed that the rape scene, which was consensual in the book version, showed that Cersei got into it toward the end. That’s offensive, but I guess it explains why Jaime is the hero now. So he’s not really a rapist? I don’t get it.
At Craster’s Keep, I felt sorriest for Hodor, who was unnecessarily tormented by the former Night’s Watchmen. Will Bran and co. escape unharmed? I tend to think they will, and that the caged direwolf will play a part.
Such a great show!!
I can’t believe they are still defending that rape scene. It was clearly rape! Consensual sex does not involve a man repeatedly saying “I don’t care” to his partner when she is sobbing and pushing him away. And maybe Cersei kissed him back prior to that but she clearly changed her mind, yet Jaime continued to have sex with her. Consent can be revoked! And Cersei was clearly adamant about not wanting to have sex with her brother. Maybe she didn’t want to do it in the sept or next to her dead son’s body. Whatever the case, she STILL DIDN’T WANT TO. It’s rape.
Again, more rape yesterday, with those terrible mutineers at Craster’s Keep. It’s getting really hard for me to watch the show, to be honest. And yes, poor Hodor. I don’t read the books but I already sort of knew it was Littlefinger anyway. That guy is shaaaaaaady.
I don’t know how i feel about Dany’s storyline? I think Emilia Clarke is a weak actress but I used to be really into Dany and her whole journey to empowerment but now it just feels like she’s not all THAT different from the people she claims to hate so much. I’m not making sense, am i? I don’t know, there’s just something off about her storyline and character development to me.
I think the scene in the sept was really, really poorly handled and presented.
Within the context of the books, and taking into consideration the history of Cercei and Jaime’s icky relationship and G.R.R.M’s love of shocking readers, it was a little more . . . no, I’m not going to say ‘acceptable’, because it definitely wasn’t and didn’t come across that way on the page, but it wasn’t nearly as jarring as this episode; going from rape on screen in ‘Breaker of Chains’ to what amounted to a frosty morning-after moment in ‘Oathkeeper’ was a really bad rupture in tone. If that makes sense.
I don’t think I’m articulating this particularly well.
I think you’re bang on the money about Dany – I think that may be partly the point – to win the Game of Thrones, you must be ruthless, but is that really what she wants at the end of this? To be as bad as everyone else?
Anyway; highlights –
Aiden Gillan being brilliant as LF – that ‘everything’ was so subtly creepy.
Ser Pounce.
Oh, and Pod.
I totally agree with Jaime and Cersei’s interaction in Oathkeeper. It was just weird. And yes, i completely agree with Ser Barristan about showing mercy now and then might be more honorable than this eye for an eye justice Dany employs.
Bless Pod, he couldn’t kill a fly to save his life.
The director and writer said that it wasn’t rape and that they made an editing oops where she gets into it.
Still, she’s a murderess and I’m not sure I have a lot of sympathy for her. Yes, terrible to say but she’s had people killed, didn’t care when babies were killed by her son, is a horrible individual, so…whatever.
Well, what they did put out was rape so there’s no point in saying what could’ve been or what was.
I’m no Cersei sympathizer but rape is just… i wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, let’s put it at that.
Yes but there’s no excuse for rape, ever.
I disagree, Rin. Rape is a despicable crime – she might be an evil piece of work who’s done countless terrible things, but I sympathise with her over sexual assault. No-one deserves that (barring rapists themselves, perhaps.)
I agree. There is NO character development whatsoever. But Clarke is such a bad actress I’m not even sure she’d be able to handle more serious material – she has about two facial expressions, and I’m being generous.
Ha! I totally agree. Makes you wonder how she got that Golden Globe? Emmy? nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Is her character development that same in the books? I’m really curious. No need to go in-depth of course but i want to know how similar Book Dany and Show Dany are. My friend reads the books and he says Dany is really annoying in them although he likes Show Dany because she is “hot” *eyeroll*
Look at the rape scene from the show’s point of view – women being treated as property is the norm of that time. You can’t expect Danny to tell Khal that she has headache and will not have it tonight. Those were the things that women had to endure and move on. Cersei had to endure drunk Robert, she was married to him. The only thing she could do was to avoid having his children.
That does not mean that the rape was ok, but from Jaime’s point of view Cersei was his. So, I can understand why they don’t linger on that too much. In the world of GOT not everyone gets what they deserve.
Re: Daenerys plotline. Most fans – both book and show – want Dany to stop screwing around in the east and join the main plotline over in Westeros. That said, I wouldn’t say that Dany is receiving no character development. Dany’s a compassionate person who wants to end slavery and while in an ideological sense, that’s a really good thing, the world is more complex than that. I think the Meereen plotline is supposed to show the complexity of ruling and that Dany, despite all her noble intentions, could become just as bad as those masters in Meereen.
From the comments I’ve come across from male viewers, it’s seems many are not considering it rape. Excuses from “the man only has one hand” to “she wasn’t trying to fight him off, if she wanted, she would have hit a lot harder, slapped etc” etc. I feel like I’m on crazy pills when I try to argue.
@Whatwhatnot
I think some people just don’t understand that rape is much more complex than often described. I was watching one (male) YouTube reviewer who basically said “It wasn’t a rape scene because if it was, she would have screamed louder and fought him off more”. When people explained to him that in many cases, rape victims don’t fight their attacker off because they are in shock or feel that it will be easier if they just disconnect, he changed tack and said that this was just the messed up kind of relationship that Jaime and Cersei have. Cersei plays up being a victim and plays mind games with Jaime’s head. This is true of Cersei’s character in the books (and the show) to an extent but it’s still very problematic. Many men and women are thought in society that a man must be assertive while a woman shouldn’t give it up too easily. As a man myself, I am often encouraged to be more pushy and aggressive with women but it’s really important to find that balance between confidence and still respecting boundaries. There are a scary number of people (both male and female) who love to play mind games with the opposite sex and I think it puts them in a dangerous situation. If you ask me, I think sexual politics suck! Just be open and honest with one another in a romantic/sexual situation and stop trying to manipulate one another! This is how situations are misread and philosophies around these situations are problematic because people are viewed as conquests rather than people.
The rape scene was a failure on both the director’s and writers’ part last week. Alex Graves says that the scene, like it was in the books, was at first something of an uneasy struggle before becoming consensual. He clearly failed in this regard based on his direction, staging and the editing of that scene. I wonder if they will go with a different edit for the DVD/Blu-ray version? I also blame the writers to an extent. I think the showrunners (Benioff and Weiss) lack subtlety in many areas of the show and seem to underestimate the audience’s intelligence. I think they made that scene darker than it was in the books because they didn’t want to show a consensual sex scene between siblings…they had to go that extra mile to show how unhealthy it was. Either way, I think the director and writers were trying to go for something controversial but overestimated and received a great deal of rightful backlash. I’m going to look on that as an insensitive mistake on the showrunners part, hopefully they’ve learned to be more careful about how they portray sensitive issues and move on.
I <3 this comment.
Funny, it never occurred to me that that was “the rape” scene everybody was talking about. Those two are screwed up enough to have wild sex on their son’s deathbed. In all honesty, she didn’t seem to be pushing him away that hard. I know, I know…..now I will get skewered by everyone.
I know, I know.. never saw it as “rape” either. Those two had similar encounters before, I’m sure. What disturbed me was the place and the time, not the manner. After today’s episode I was wondering if the next dramatic headline will be “Tommen sexually harassed by Margaery” 🙂
This was how I felt. My boyfriend & I both commented to each other during the scene, “glad they could find comfort with each other during a time like this”. I was uncomfortable with the location & the timing, not the sex.
In reality, GoT has shown PLENTY of rape & violence. I think most people aren’t so much upset about the rape, but what they view is the demise of Jaime’s *niceness* they’ve been trying to dupe the viewers into for a few seasons.
Was I the Only one that didnt stop screaming NOOO NOOOO when Margaery was in Tommen’s room until They showed Ser Pounce? (Who coincidentally was about the only By-the-book Thing this episode?)
Locke at The Night’s Guard could might have to GET. IT!
Sansa wolf will do Well to stufy at the feet of Littlefinger alright already
I was devastated by the guys in Craster’s keep Having yhe Direwolves
Oleanna Tyrell: My Dream Goon ass Grandma
I asked my boyfriend last night why these damn dire wolves keep getting captured?? They’re such bad asses in the book, but they get caught so easily on the show.
Granted Ghost and Summer weren’t even at Craster’s soooo, who knows where this is going!
OMG, I think I worry the most about the dire wolves! I hope they don’t die! And Bran was such an idiot! First he’s slipping in his dire wolf and when he gets captured he’s like oops, whatever. And then he endangers Hodor and the girl – seriously, kid, when your friend gets raped by these monsters it’s on you! 😉
I’m getting fed up with the tv show. The first season followed the book, but this season has gone straight to hell. Where are they going now? And I agree about Dany, she soooooo f-cking boring! And badly played. And the rapes, and naked women, just ugh. Bye bye GoT
I agree. The wolves have a more important role in the books, and they seem almost forgotten on the show. Ghost is such a badass….
Maybe I’m crazy.. but the White walkers seem like an alien kind of people to me.
I don’t think they’re as scary as the author portrays them and maybe they’ll turn up to be good people in the end? I don’t know if i make sense.
I was glad that Ramsay Bolton was nowhere to be seen in the last episode. He really messes with my mind. I’ve read some parts of the books about him and he really is the most creepy guy ever.
During the wedding scene I was sure i’ve seen Granda Tyrell pulling one of the beams in Sansa’s necklace with her right hand. And in the later scene Sansa shows a missing beam in her necklace. I was right! 😀
Yeah, The White Walkers are a mystery. I think we can probably expect some kind of twist and they are not as demonic as we’re led to believe. That final scene was beautifully shot by the way. It’s interesting to see how the show is going to play up the fantasy elements going forward because this show often feels more grounded than your typical fantasy that sometimes the magical elements feel a bit jarring. Not to me because I’ve read the books and enjoy fantasy overall but I wonder what the casual viewer thinks.
Never saw a single episode. Suddenly became interested after I saw how the soundtrack’s composer looked like:
http://thats-normal.com/2013/06/hot-guy-of-the-weekend-sdcc-style-ramin-djawadi/
I prefer his look here though (he’s the one on the right):
http://www.audiorecordingschool.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/heneindjawadi.jpg
I know, I know…he’ll never be on the show, but it was a nice surprise when I googled his name (because I loved his soundtrack for Pacific Rim) and read he had also done GoT’s one (which is pretty great as well).
The opening song is one of the best song I’ve ever heard.
Hans Zimmer or Ennio Morricone style.
I Didn’t know the dude was so hot. I’ll listen to it even more carefully from now on.
Right? He’s delicious.
Haha, Eve! Before I clicked on the link I thought he looks like Walder Frey or something – what a nice surprise. And I agree, the opening song is very cool.
Walder Frey…LOL!
By the way, apparently he does the whole soundtrack, not just the opening credits’ theme.
BOWING @ Oleanna.
SER POUNCE. That is all.
If I get a cat, name will be Ser Pounce. That is all…
I’m going to have to start reading the books. From what’s being described, the only thing the books and the show have in common are the characters.
Eh, I think the show is pretty faithful to the books. Book readers tend to exaggerate the show changes. If they think the changes the show has made are that bad, then they must not have seen many book-to-film adaptations or else they’re so caught up in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe, that they can’t accept changes.
Some storylines have been shifted around or beefed up. Some characters aren’t as subtle or nuanced as they are in the books which I think is a valid criticism. Some fans think that the showrunners have favourites and are whitewashing the television versions of Tyrion, Daenerys, Catelyn and Cersei because they love them so much while vilifying characters “they hate” like Stannis and Jaime. I don’t agree with this statement, I just think they’ve mishandled aspects of some characters, most notably last week’s bullshit with Jaime which they failed to show as anything but rape.
Overall though, last night’s episode made a few deviations but nothing wildly off-base from what’s in the book. The Craster’s Keep plotline and Bran’s plotline are the biggest changes but that’s probably most likely so they can give Bran something to do. Bran only appears in maybe three chapters of the 1,200 page third book and his chapters don’t contain anything substantial so I see why they made that change. The story with the White Walkers was something hinted at in the book which was confirmed on the show. The book is told through the point-of-view of only specific characters in the books so the show can widen its scope with certain characters. For example, we only see Margaery through Sansa and Cersei’s eyes in the book and Margaery is doing a lot of things off-stage in the novels. The show can expand on these things because it’s not limited to that one character POV per chapter structure that the books have.
The books are great though! I would recommend them.
You won’t be sorry, FingerBinger. The books are excellent.
I’m a huge Sci Fi Renaissance Wench who usually can’t stand the Swords & Sorcery genre, but GOT is something extraordinary and worth the time.
FYI, Jaime’s a narcissistic ass, but he’s no rapist in the books. Far from it.
@Sean and Sloane Thanks. People are making it seem like the show is so much different than the books.
If the show references the Sept scene again it will be that Cersei wants something in return for what Jaime did in there. We can all identify what he did as rape, but in Cersei’s mind it’s something she can *bank* to get something she wants later on. Because what other power does she have?
What we’re witnessing are characters that are very difficult to completely support. The Sept scene reminds us that Jaime is capable of doom and that a character like Cersei, who in general is so vile, demands some sympathy.
I’m wondering how old TV atorn is supposed to be? In the books I believe he takes the crown at 7?
*Tommen not atorn (damn autocorrect)
I stopped reading the books about a quarter way into the fourth book because of all the awful things that happen at a relentless pace in the story. I got tired of reading about another horrible act of torture, violence, rape, etc. I am beginning to feel the same way about the TV series now. I am not sure if I will continue to watch it.
Since the White Walker scene is not in the books (according to the MTV story) I am assuming the TV people decided they needed to finally show this mysterious enemy out there that no one, until the last episode, has ever really gotten to see for any length of time. I was glad to see that scene because it as a viewer I was certainly forgetting about “winter coming” with all the other story lines going on.
Geo. Martin is supposedly closely involved with the TV series and I believe is also contractually bound to write a script a season, or was when the series started. I am thinking any changes seen from the books by those that have read the books are probably known by Martin and OK’d.
But, I am also wondering if the deviations from the books is the producers way of paving the way for the possibility of not having anymore material to work with because Martin is not able to get out the next book in time. It took him five years to get the last book out and not long ago an anthology where he was one of the editors and contributing short story writers was held up because Martin had not finished his short story.
*****SPOILERS ABOUT THE CREATURE AT THE END*****
The thing that turns the baby at the end is ‘the nights king’ the episode credits confirms it. From what I remember the nights king is said to have been a Stark many thousands of years ago who was a great warrior but then he fell in love with a woman (who was a white walker) and by doing so condemned his own soul. Together they ruled the wall with evilness and magic until they were defeated by the nights watch. I didn’t think the character at the end was the nights king because he is human unlike the shows one.
Where to start….
I hated where GRRM went with book Bran, but now I’m worried for them! Poor Hodor! Poor Meera! And those are some nasty bastards at Craster’s. Terrifying, even.
I couldn’t watch the thing at the end take the baby. I was too afraid to see it get eaten. So it’s nice that it didn’t.
Margaerey (I think that’s the book spelling?) is a dastardly little schemer but she feels like a pawn to me. Littlefinger says he wants everything but what does that mean exactly?
I love the show and the books. I love that I don’t know what to expect, too.
Why is everyone so caught up on that rape scene? I am puzzled. GOT is all about people behaving very very badly and that scene to me was one of the least offensive of all the bad people scenes. An evil vindictive woman gets raped by her incestuous twin in front of her equally evil dead son. Now, if the rape had happened to someone who doesn’t deserve bad things to happen to them then I might be upset about it, but as of now, I am truly mystified at all the uproar. If the rape scene bothered people I wonder why they even bother to watch GOT. Also, that one guy continually raped all of his daughters and kept having more children by his daughters. That is disturbing, why is no one upset about that? Why do feminist pick and choose what they are going to be upset about?
@TG
The reason why people are getting so “caught up” in the scene is because it was an absolutely unnecessary scene. The consensual encounter between Jaime and Cersei was messed up enough in the book but the showrunners just added rape to the scene to seemingly generate controversy. This is also a point in the story when we’re supposed to be watching Jaime attempt to redeem himself and the rape made his character regress. We’re then supposed to sweep it under the rug this week and view Jaime as a good guy again. It’s just bad writing and bad directing. Jaime is not some saint, we all knew that when he pushed Bran out the window. But he is supposed to be a messed up guy who is slowly learning the error of his ways and trying to be a better person at this point in the story. The show wants us to follow that arc too as the rape was not addressed. It doesn’t make sense from a character perspective either. Jaime saved Brienne from being raped in Season 3 and then he goes off and rapes his sister.
I’m not against rape being depicted in entertainment but I do think it needs to be handled in a sensitive way. It’s one thing to acknowledge that Craster (a villainous secondary character) raped his daughters and another to show a character we’re supposed to follow and root for (even if he has many dark, unforgivable-in-the-real-world qualities) rape another major character in a long scene and then not address it in any way. You could counter-argue that the characters are violent towards one another and attempt murder and abuse but we can all in some way look at violence and see how in some situations, it might be valid (again, you’re getting into murky territory). Rape, however, is never valid and that’s why you need to be careful in how it’s depicted on-screen.
I think all good entertainment should parallel real life in some way even if it takes place in a fictional parallel fantasy universe. George R.R. Martin is writing a fantasy story but he also wanted that world to be a fairly accurate representation of medieval times with his own fantasy flourishes. Rape was and is rampant in war-torn societies. Most of us commenting here are lucky enough to live in peaceful and enlightened countries where that is not a top shelf everyday concern (although it still clearly happens everyday to many unfortunate people). In less developed societies, both today and in the past, rape was rampant so I don’t have a problem with that playing a role in the realm of the show. However, making unnecessary deviations from the book with sensitive situations was not the way to go!
This x 1000.
@Sean – your comment was interesting and I don’t disagree with you on most of it but why is rape being singled out as something that can never be justified? I mean in my own life and in real life I 100% agree with you but we are watching a fictional show and I find myself fascinated by this show and the characters, both good and bad, but if rape is not justified why is stealing money from a farmet as the Hound did with Aria or all the torture and so on. IMO none of it is justified. I think that is why I have rooted for the Starks because they seemed to be the ones with the highest morals but as we have learned look where it got them. I would never read a novel where rape was used as something that was supposed to turn me on but I didn’t get that was the intent for the audience with Jaime and Cercei. So far no ones argument had made sense to me. There is a lot of torture and I don’t think torture or haing someone else just so you can get ahead is ever justified.
I am kind of hoping the Brien/Jaime storyline goes somewhere; I love them together.
I wish people would stop talking about the rape. It is completely in line with what we know of these characters, their history, their tendencies and the social climate of Westeros. Even in a modern age, if your husband or longtime lover raped you, would you be likely to call police and/or press charges? That is a confusing trauma for anyone, someone who you’ve willingly and gladly had sex with for a long time asserts himself on you one night, how might you react? What do you expect Cersei to do? It is her brother, who would she report this to? Spousal rape (and otherwise) is common in Westeros in the time depicted. How does Cersei react? By drinking her face off, trying to get something out of Jamie (telling him to bring her Sansa’s head) and dismissing him as coldly and formally as possible. Yep. That sounds like the exact and proportional reaction to his rape I would expect given the circumstances. Please stop asserting modern protocol into this landscape!
As for Dany, I dont get why people see her as boring – I think she’s had some of the most epic scenes of the series. Plus, her slow development lends itself to her age and her destiny – she is compiling the most bad ass army on the planet, and making her followers willingly fight for her and love her in the process. Her decision to enact “justice” last night was further development, she is learning the complexities to ruling and why tough or violent decisions sometimes are made – she is becoming more than just a savior type. I think the actress is doing a great job, appears regal and fits her destiny, and delivers the shit out of a rousing speech.
I just don’t care about Bran’s story and the White Walkers. I just……..I just can’t. That’s the boring shit to me. And the fantasy/magic elements are where the show loses its footing to me, it is no longer grounded in the complexities of human relationships, power & politics. It’s silly.
I think we are being prepped to be hopeful for a Bran/Jon reunion, then we will assume one will die because they’re Starks. But really I think Bran and his crew will escape via Bran worging (whatever you would call it) into one of the direwolves and will just miss Jon. Another close call, but perhaps not as tragic as most Stark almost reunions. Kind of predictable if one dies based on Stark history.
Totally agree on Cersei and Dany. Very good points!
Really good points, Davy. I agree about Bran and Jon and the likelihood of a reunion. Not too freaking likely. I also wonder what will happen to Bran if Hodor is killed. This is a huge deviation from the books but I suspect show Bran will wind up back on book Bran’s path, which I didn’t enjoy. It is probably my least favorite storyline.
“she is learning the complexities to ruling”
I respectfully disagree. Dany has good intentions and a kind heart, but she’s a hothead, and when she’s (rightously) outraged at injustice or betrayal, she can be way too cruel. She could’ve just beheaded the masters. And Mirri. And Xaro. And Doreah. But instead Dany ordered her people to torture her enemies to death (nail them to crosses, burn them alive, starve them/suffocate them/force them to kill and eat each other).
And altough all these exetutions can be justified with the horrors these people commited against Dany/her child/her beloved servants/innocent slave children, we cannot deny that there’s a very troubling pattern. Dany considers herself a good person, and I think she has the best intentions, however, she has a selective compassion. I don’t even want to know what she would’ve done to the “traitor” Eddard Stark AND his family had she given the chance to hurt them.
If she was really trying to learn about ruling, she would’ve been listening to Ser Grandpa (or at least considered listening to him). Barristan isn’t a softie, and I’m sure he didn’t advice Dany to be merciful because he felt sorry for the masters, but because as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard he spent at least 30 years with observing the disastrous ruling of the Mad King and Robert Baratheon. He knows how politics works.
But yeah, panem et circenses. At least the slaves of Meereen, aka the newest members of the Daenerys Fanclub may be happy for seeing their former masters suffer. (But I wonder how many of those executed masters had anything to do with the death of the children, and how many of them were simple but rich folks who never hurt their slaves.)
And don’t even get me started with Dany fawning herself over her great slave-trader husband.
no, Jamie is not a “rapist”, he’s a little bit more complex character and his relationship with Cersei is also twisted and perverse – probably too twisted and layered for an average viewer to understand. I love how you try to impose the 21st century notions of proper sexual behavior on a fantasy movie based in a world that resembles Middle Ages and then you’re surprised it doesn’t seem to work (“so he’s really not a rapist? I don’t get it”). Since YOU define this as a rape, it had to be rape for Cersei as well.
In regard to the rape scene, women have been raped and/or used as sexual objects the entire show. There are constant references /scenes where women are being used for sex and if they don’t like it they are killed or raped. Yes, it was upsetting as all rape scenes are but was it unexpected and out of place on the show? In my opinion, no.
Ser Pounce < 3
There is a clear division amongst the ranks regarding the rape scene.
It WAS rape. It was the very definition of rape. Cersei said no repeatedly and Jaime kept going. The director meant for it to be rape (at least that's what he initially said)/ D&D and GRRM didn't want the scene to be rape. I choose to believe it was the director's screw-up and thus isn't canon in any way. Anyone who has read the books knows rape is one thing Jaime utterly abhors, and he would certainly never rape the only woman he has ever loved or slept with.
Show is so overrated. They bring in all these characters and plotlines and I guess we are supposed to just figure out what is happening. Who was the bad guy at the end who took the kids prisoner? I don’t remember seeing him earlier, are we just supposed to know? And that crap with the baby at the end with the skeleton thing, what was that? Overrated