Intro: I’m watching Game of Thrones for the first time. I don’t know anything about it more recent than this episode.
Meereen: Daenerys returns to her quarters in the huge pyramid, presumably exhausted after another day of listening to petitioners. Daario is there! She asks how he got in with the doors guarded; he says the windows are not guarded. They exchange flirtatious banter and she orders him to remove his clothes…
Later, Daario leaves, just as Jorah arrives. Daario says Daenerys is “in a good mood”, and Jorah gives him a lingering glare. Daenerys tells Jorah she has ordered Daario to take his men to Yunkai and recapture the city, and execute the Masters of the city. Jorah argues that the punishment is too harsh, and will only show the freed slaves that violence is an acceptable means to an end. Daenerys is initially firm, but relents, ordering Jorah to tell Daario that the Masters should be given the choice of submitting to her rule or facing execution. She also tells him to tell Daario that he convinced her to change her mind.
It’s pretty clear that Jorah has fancied Daenerys from afar for a long time, and now Daario has stepped straight into her bed in front of him. Jorah seems level-headed enough to deal with this at the moment, but who knows how this will play out in the future. I think given a chance to find an excuse to get rid of Daario, Jorah would leap at it.
Dragonstone: Melisandre is taking a bath when Stannis’s wife enters to discuss things. It seems they are planning to sail with Stannis in his attempt to conquer Westeros, and his wife doesn’t want their daughter to go with them. But Melisandre says that it’s the will of the Lord of Light that she accompany them. Who knows why? She’s been introduced as a sympathetic character who we’ve seen a few times, so she might turn out to be important in some way, but it’s not clear to me how.
King’s Landing: Cersei has summed Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane to be her champion in Tyrion’s trial by combat. That was a surprise! As I said last time, I expected her to choose Jaime, but I’d forgotten that Jaime had lost his sword hand and was still struggling to learn to fight with his left hand. In Tyrion’s cell, Jaime laments that he’s not fit to be Tyrion’s champion either. Never mind, Tyrion says, Bronn did it once (back at The Eyrie), and will do it again.
Later, Bronn appears and tells Tyrion he won’t do it. Although he likes Tyrion, he’s already helped him and Tyrion is in his debt, and he has no fancy to fight The Mountain either. And what’s more, he’s going to marry a woman and become a respectable land owner. Tyrion basically says “fair enough”, and resignedly lets Bronn go.
Prince Oberyn visits Tyrion, and Tyrion is pretty much resigned to his fate and asks, “Well, what do you want?” Oberyn tells him that they met once many years ago; Tyrion says he would have remembered any meeting. Oberyn tells him it was when he was a baby, and his older siblings (Cersei and Jaime) were saying he was a “monster”. Oberyn expected a beast of some sort, but when he saw Tyrion he was just a baby with stubby arms and legs. And Cersei pinched and hurt the baby Tyrion. Oberyn says he wants vengeance for The Mountain killing his sister, and he looks forward to fighting him – he will be Tyrion’s champion!
Well. I don’t recall ever seeing Oberyn fight anyone, so who knows how good he is? He must be pretty sure of himself though to volunteer to take on The Mountain, who we’ve seen slaughter dozens of men. Oberyn’s motivation is strong – kill the guy who killed his sister, and thwart Cersei’s plan to do away with Tyrion as well. But how does he plan to do it? Sheer fighting skill, or some dirty trick? And although Bronn has gone off on his own path, the parting with Tyrion seemed on good enough terms that he could reappear later (assuming Tyrion survives this trial).
Castle Black: Jon Snow urges commander Alliser to seal the tunnel through the Wall, to stop the White Walkers and giants and whatever other horrors are out there from getting through. Alliser refuses, saying Castle Black has held for thousands of years without sealing the tunnel. He asks his Building Master if he recommends sealing the tunnel. The Building Master hesitates – you can see that inside he thinks it might be a good idea – but he fears Alliser more than the giants, it seems, since he meekly says there’s no need. Jon stumps off in a huff.
This is pretty obviously the old “sensible guy recommends action to avoid disaster, and authorities say there’s no danger” plot. Jon Snow is Chief Brody in Jaws, and Alliser is the town mayor. Yeah. Expect about the same sort of disaster when the monsters attack, and Jon to be all “I told you so!”
Heading to The Eyrie: Sandor “The Hound” Clegane and Arya come across a farm where the farmer lies dying from a stomach wound after raiders attacked his farm. They chat with the farmer for a while, and he is pretty chipper, all things considered. He’s philosophical about the fact that’s going to die but just hopes it won’t take too long. Sandor dispatches him quickly by putting a dagger into his heart, showing Arya the correct place.
As they prepare to leave, two raiders appear and one jumps on Sandor and bites his neck in the fight, but Sandor kills him. They face off against the other man. He says there’s a price on Sandor’s head, and tells them Joffrey has been poisoned. Arya recognises the raider as a soldier in the group who held her prisoner and that he had threatened to rape her. Sandor casually asks if he’s on her list of names of people she’s going to kill. She says no, she doesn’t know his name. Sandor asks the raider his name, and he is slightly puzzled but answers… at which point Arya lunges forward with her sword and pokes it right through his chest and into his heart, killing him instantly. Sandor says, “Now you’re learning.”
Later Sandor is trying to stitch his bite wound. Arya says he needs to urn the flesh off to kill any infection first, but Sandor is afraid of fire and doesn’t let her. He says his brother The Mountain pushed his face into fire when they were kids. She leaves the fire and helps stitch him up.
Awww… they’re bonding. Arya is going to be a much more efficient and ruthless killing machine thanks to this time with Sandor. One wonder just how soon she’ll need those skills in interactions with other people – possibly when she gets to The Eyrie, as things there are getting complicated (as we soon see…).
Also heading this way, Brienne and Podrick stop off at an inn. And who is serving them a pie but Arya’s old fat friend! Brienne lets slip that they’re looking for Sansa Stark, and he says he knows Arya – he’s seen her after she disappeared after Ned’s execution. He tells them that Arya has been taken away for ransom. But the only living relative with any money is Lysa at The Eyrie. Brienne decides that if Arya is being taken there, then it might be a good place to look for Sansa too. So their route is now chosen.
Looks like it could be a big family reunion at They Eyrie. Which will be interesting because:
The Eyrie: Sansa is building a model of Winterfell from snow. Although she’s older than Arya, she is so much more child-like. Lysa’s insane son Robin comes out and asks Sansa where the Moon Door is – because obviously all towns need a hole overlooking a huge cliff, so you can toss people out on a whim if they upset you. When Sansa tells him Winterfell didn’t have a Moon Door, he throws a tantrum and smashes her snow construction. This kid is Joffrey on red food colouring. Hopefully someone will poison him before long.
Petyr Baelish comes out and saves Sansa from Robin, sending him away. Petyr then does a super creepy thing where he tells Sansa how much he loved her mother, but now she is even more beautiful… she is clearly freaked out, but he kisses her as she tries to get away. But we see in the background, Lysa emerging at the perfect time to get the wrong impression.
Inside the Eyrie, Lysa summons Sansa to speak with her next to the Moon Door. She accuses Sansa of kissing Petyr, and flies into a jealous rage, trying to push Sansa out to her death. Petyr arrives just in time to save Sansa, telling Lysa that she’s mistaken, he only loves her. As Sansa crawls away to safety, Petyr admits to Lysa that no, he only ever loved Cat and never her… and pushes her through the Moon Door to her death…
That was pretty predictable. And now Petyr’s actions make more sense. I was confused earlier when it was revealed that he was “in love” with Lysa and going to marry her, but now it’s clear the whole thing was just a ploy to get Sansa. Oh dear. Poor Sansa – how many times have I written those words? (I just searched. Twice verbatim, once as “poor girl” referring to Sansa, and one “poor naïve Sansa“.) Now she’s in over her head again, and this time there’s no Tyrion to save her, nor indeed Petyr himself as he’s now turned into the threat. Arya can’t arrive soon enough. I hope she does arrive soon. I kind of liked Petyr before, but this twist is just disgusting.
Oh, and I have no idea why this episode is titled “Mockingbird”.
Petyr Baelish’s sigil is a mockingbird. I think he uses a pin to hold his cape that is a mockingbird too.