Game of Thrones: “A Man Without Honor”
We seem to be hurtling toward the end of this season of Game of Thrones now, and it saddens me that only three weeks remain. It’s just one of those shows you could watch forever, and I don’t know many that would complain if each episode was four hours long.
Last night’s “A Man Without Honor” might be one of my favorite entries of the season. Yes, there was blood and guts and the plot leaped forward in many ways, but it was the quieter moments that really showed how the show shines because of its writing and performances, not spectacle alone.
I’ll start with my favorite scene from the episode, one that both humanized Jamie Lannister for a moment, then made him perhaps the most monstrous soul in the land a moment later. You know of what I speak.
The eagerness of his distant cousin recounting the day he got to squire for him, and him matching the story with one of his own about Barriston Selmy was a fantastic conversation that made us believe perhaps there was more to the Kingslayer than murder and incest. But as he bashed the poor boy’s head in to open the door for an escape attempt, it’s clear that Cersei was wrong, Joffrey really is like Jaime, he’s just a lot less subtle about it.
I liked that scene between Cersei and Tyrion as well, as it’s the only time the two have actually bonded in recent memory. Similarly well done was Cersei’s talk with Sansa after “becoming a lady.” Cersei almost seems tired of her games, and seems to realize the end is nigh with Joffrey the vicious idiot on the throne. She’s seeing what her scheming hath wrought, and she doesn’t particularly care for it.
Jon Snow’s trip with Yvette in the North reminded me a lot of the tale of when Jesus trekked through the desert with the devil tempting him at every turn. Although here the devil is a promiscuous redhead, and the desert is full of ice and snow. You could tell she was really getting to him at the end, and I do think he’s starting to regret his commitment to the Watch. But now he’s a POW, and I’m definitely curious to see what life is like inside Wildling society. Yvette doesn’t exactly seem savage to me, and the “you’re just like us” statement seems to hold true.
“I thought he was done and then he said ‘turn around.’ “
Arya continues to impress Tywin in Harrenhal, but she’s going to have to decide whether to have him killed by her assassin before he figures out who she really is. He’s clearly got the scent. If he found out, would he use it to his advantage, or would he spare her because of his newfound attachment to her? He is a Lannister after all, so I would suspect the former.
Daeneyrs has gotten herself into quite a pickle down in Qarth. As I suspected, the creepy wizard did in fact take her dragons to the House of the Undying, but I did not think it was all part of a ploy to take over the city with the guy whose name I can’t pronounce. That’s quite the magic trick, killing the entire ruling body of Qarth in an instant with spectral clones. If he was a charlatan before, did the birth of the dragons give him access to real, powerful magic?
“Oh! Oh no!”
There were two lingering questions at the end of this week’s episode. One, did Lady Stark kill the Kingslayer with the sword Brienne gave her? I doubt it, but what else do you do with a sword in that circumstance? And Jamie Lannister’s head on a platter would make a hell of an opening to next week’s show. But again, that might be a little too jarring of a plot development, even for Game of Thrones. Maybe she’s just giving him a haircut. He does look rather scruffy.
The second question is if Theon actually killed Bran and his brother by burn-hanging them. The answer to this one is a very clear no. Don’t spoil it if I’m right or wrong I suppose, but those two bodies are most certainly those of the two orphans that were talked about and seen on that farm. The real troupe is still at large after giving the Greyjoys the slip.
This has to be Theon’s dumbest plan yet. And I didn’t think you could get much stupider than turning on the Starks and invading Winterfell for a family that hates you. In an effort to save face with his sister, father and the men under his command, he’s going to actually pretend to have KILLED TWO STARK KIDS? Are you kidding? An entire war was started when they just put one Stark in JAIL. Theon was dead before, but now if word of this gets out, the Lannister war will get put on hold until his head is on a spike. I know he was in between a rock and a hard place, but damn, bad move Theon.
Idiot prick.
I guess there’s a third lingering question, one that isn’t pressing and won’t get resolved soon. I’m just wondering as to who the masked woman is in Qarth, and how she knows so much about Ser Jorah, and that he once plotted to betray the Khaleesi. Curious.
And I really can’t wait for Barriston Selmy to show up again at some point. Maybe they can have him kill Jamie for a bit of cosmic justice.
Discuss below! No book spoilers as always please.
You have a thirst for blood that will not go un-quenched haha
Let me preface this by saying that I have NOT read the books, but as far as I understand Jamie is not killed, though he apparently sports (or rather, doesn’t sport) a particular defining trait for the rest of the series. I’m suspecting this might be where that occurs.
And I believe it’s Ygritte, not Yvette. Not that you can tell from the way they pronounce names on this show.
“who the masked woman is in Qarth” — No spoilers, cause she’s just a plot device created exclusively to advance the story via exposition.
I really didn’t like the whole Jaime thing. He’s an asshole for sure, but he’s never THAT monstrous. It seemed a bit out of character for me.
There’s one other plot development that I didn’t sit well with me, but I can’t discuss it until next week. Still fantastic though, overall.
How could I not love an episode with all that Hodor – he makes me smile =)
I hope when award season rolls around this year that this show starts raking in more nominations, especially for the acting…Dinklage should be a lock for the rest of the years this show is on but again I must state my love for the actress who plays Cersei – she’s just fantastic. Also, as much as I usually detest child actors, Arya is excellent.
When they killed the 13 in Qarth reminded me a little bit of Revenge of the Sith. “The time has come. Execute Order 66.”
In the amoral universe George R.R.Martin has created being dumb is just about the greatest sin a character can commit. Ned Stark was an idiot, for example..
Jamie’s too much of an important character to kill. Quite possibly Lady Stark brought out the sword to dismember an arm or a leg.
As a huge fangirl of the books, it’s getting hard to give you spoilers. A lot of the things from last night’s episode were added. None of Dany’s current story line was in the books. I went into a nerdrage at the end of last week’s episode until I read a comment stating that it was fortunate they were spicing up her story. It’s true. At this point in the books, her story was pretty dull.
That said, I have a hard time with what HBO is doing because it’s so so wrong. I can’t seem to separate the books from the show, despite by best efforts. I’m always interested to read your review because you haven’t read them. It’s neat seeing the PoV of virgin eyes. =o )
My biggest complaint about last night was the Jaime scene. As DocDoom said, it was out of character for him, and may impact future plot depending on what HBO decides to do.
I can’t say anything else without possibly dropping spoilers. Can’t wait to read next week’s review.
hodor
Seriously DocDoom, Jamie never seemed that monstrous. How about when he pushed a 10-year-old boy out of a window?
Yeah, to me what Jamie did was just him being Jaime, what Jaime sees is an opportunity, he is a lovable asshole but he is an asshole nonetheless, to me this is the closest I have seen Coster-Waldau to play Jaime, he hasnt been featured as much as other characters but it was until this episode that I truly saw the real Jaime in him, like Jaime did not intend to kill his cousin an use him to escape right off the bat, he wasnt just plotting while talking, it was just something that probably popped into his head mid conversation and then he quickly went into the plan.
I am liking Daenarys plot now, its just that it has become interesting whereas for me the books piss me off when I get to a Daenarys chapter, or a Jon one.
Speaking of Jon, i dont like whats going on here, they have taken way too much liberties here with Ygritte and the Wildlings, I dont know how thats gonna work.
BUT I totally nergasmed when Yggritte finally said You Know Nothing Jon Snow, although I always pictured her saying it quickly, not paused like she did, more mockingly not acknowledging.
Having read the books, I think HBO has made an excellent minor twist on Daenerys’ story line; after all, the unfolding of the book’s critical plotline in Qarth is not in any way damaged by HBO’s spicing.
Thus, without saying WHAT that plotline is, I think the television series will merge smoothly again with Martin’s story.
Yes Earth, that is pretty despicable, but that was something he did because he loves Cersei and his family. I can’t go into too much because I don’t want to spoil anything, but trying to hold on to his family is one thing; making him go into cousin-kill mode just felt like making him do something evil so you remember he’s a “bad guy”.
Meh, this series became sad and boring parody of Song of Fire and Ice.
[*]
he was escaping! after spending the better part of the session tied to a pole, shitting himself and be mocked and taunted… yeah his cusine was a nice and naiv boy, I gues Jamie wasn’t happy to kill him, but come on, sitting is your own shit for almost a year…
Best line from the episode:
“What was that bastard’s name?”
“Brienne”
“No that wasn’t it”
hahahahahahaha
AHAHAHAHA Yeah i lost it at that line indeed. I loved how he begins to mock Brienne instantly, too bad we wont be seeing their exchanges until next year.
I have read the books and the Jamie scene really pissed me off, the twist on Daenerys is quite good as her role in the books was stagnant for Clash of Kings.
I’m not sure how they are going to progress Jon’s role as it has differed from the book.
Killing (or pretending to kill) Bran and Rickon was a good idea. There was no turning back once he took Winterfell and killed some of its inhabitants. Theon was never gaining the Starks or any Northerners trust back.
So considering he’s already past the point of no return, why not Kill Bran and Rickon to show your family loyalty? (Theon lost two older brothers to the Starks/Baratheons in the last war, so this is decent revenge for the Greyjoys) Plus it shows his own men that he is serious and not a boy to be trifled with (even though he really is).
Jon’s story line has been butchered this season in the TV show.
– We do not see him grow into a man.
– We do not understand his motivations.
– We do not even get to see the cool action sequences he is a part of.
– Qhorin Halfhand is like a god damn action hero in the book, a fantastic character in this world, instead he got relegated to a weird old guy plot device (that did not even really work as a plot device).
Dany’s story line has been butchered this season as well.
– If she demands something and calls herself blood of the dragon one more time I’m going to laugh myself to death
– They’ve killed off really interesting characters from her story for seemingly no reason.
– I can’t see how any viewer likes Dany at all
Paul, I wish you could invoke a strict “no talking about the book” policy. I love your reviews and would like to discuss them here, but all that talking about the book is just too annoying. I don’t want to hear if they are butchering the story lines or that something is different in the book. Let’s just talk about the series WITHOUT comparing it with the book.
A fair point Drester, but considering the scope of Unreality (Gaming, Movies, TV, General Nerdiness), I felt compelled to point out that this episode was my breaking point.
The TV show can change a lot and I’ll deal, but frankly the show has lost the “soul” of the book and I wanted to say it here. If I can change Paul and others minds because they don’t mind reading, I want to do it. You SHOULD read the books.
If you are looking for precedent, look no further than a few weeks back when Paul talked about the book/movie “I, Robot.” https://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2012/05/04/now-i-understand-why-everyone-was-so-offended-by-i-robot/
All that said, If the general format of this review going forward is no book talk, well then I’ll respectfully preach elsewhere.
Jon Snow’s storyline so far is not as compelling as season one, but the introduction of Ygritte has really spiced things up. Did anyone else think Tyrion and Cersei should just hug it out? My full thoughts on this episode are on my Game of Thrones blog.
i’m pretty sure Theon’s arc in this episode is about the only one that’s staying true to the books, but even that’s changed, because there’s no “Reek” character. almost every scene has been added or drastically altered.
that being said, i stopped being a purist weeks ago, and i’ve really enjoyed most of the departures.
i LOVE the Arya/Tywin scenes, i like what they’ve done with Cersei losing control of Joffrey, i agree that spicing up Dany’s story is worthwhile (as long as the House of the Undying scene is well done, it seems fine to me!). i’m a little confused about the way the story is taking Jon, Ygritte, Halfhand, and the rest of the crows and wildlings, but i’m anxious to see how that turns out. Kit Harrington even talked in an interview last year about the end of Jon’s arc in the second book, and how that was the part he was most looking forward to in the entire series. i’m not sure how they’re going to reach that point, but the fact that he loves the scene gives me hope that they’ll do it justice.
*sigh* only 3 more episodes left. what will we GoT / ASOAIF fans have to keep us going after that?
oh, also, not happy with Jaime killing his cousin. he’s many different kinds of monster, but he’s never been a kinslayer. i seem to recall him making the distinction at some point that yes, he’s a kingslayer, but never a kinslayer.
@ Monchofosf
I know what you mean about that Ygritte line, its probably one of my favorites from the whole series. I think it shows how much the readers and Jon Snow don’t know about his importance in the overall picture of the series.
@truant
I’m sure they will add “Reek” later in the show because he is an important character, but as of the second book it was just an introduction for him. Just like the Reeds are important characters I feel like they have to add them in later. I know what you mean about Jon Snow’s arc, but it might not be as exciting or fulfilling as you what. I think that the actors didn’t read the books to spoil their characters or something like that so Kit might be excited over something that is subpar to the book. But as for what do we have to be excited for after this season is over, I think I’m going to read the books again to look for evidence of a couple of interesting theories I’ve read about.
As for the differences and the changes between the books and the show, I think that people have to stop getting upset that there are differences. Earlier in the season I got upset at the changes and it stopped me from enjoying the show, but then I realized that was dumb. I just see them as different mediums to tell the same general story, so certain details will be different based on the limitations of the mediums. They are certainly things the books do better than the show, as they are certain things the show does better than the books. GRRM told the producers of the show how he will end the series, so they are creating a show that fits it all in. Based on budget and all these other constrictions that don’t really apply to a book, they have to create the same story, so there are going to be some corners that are cut. A scene in a book is not nearly as expensive as a scene in a TV show. The producers are doing the best they can with what they have. Its not like they are making this show without the consent of GRRM.
My take on the Qarthian Mask chick (Quaithe): She’s the Qarthian version of Verys/Melisandre.
According to Wikipedia, Quaithe of the Shadow is an enigmatic priestess of Asshai.
If that alone doesn’t tell you about her character’s potential, I don’t know what does.
Jamie is in fact a monster…in fact his character reminds me of Patrick Bateman. Whenever I try to introduce people to GoT, I just show them the pilot, where at the end he calmly throws Bran out the window, while half shrugging and pronouncing, “The things I do for love.” Every person I’ve showed that episode to, has IMMEDIATELY wanted to see Episode 2. And that’s not to mention, that his nickname is Kingslayer, because he killed the previous King, who he had vowed to protect. The only time his character is NOT a monster, is when he’s with Cersei or Tyrion.
Serious, you don’t know how much of a mindfuck the next episodes and next season are going to bring to you.
I’ve read your blog for the past 6 months and it’s pretty amazing, but that is my first comment. Just my two cents.
Guess I was the only one waiting for a *Poof* and whistle sound when Jorah stabbed one of the shadow clones. Instead they went all star wars with it and he just vanished out of his robes. Bummer
I had assumed that Catlyn somehow used the sword to set Jamie free before the horde came to kill him. I could be wrong though.
i like Jamie yes he killed a king but everyone watch as the king butcher the innocence he has honour just realize there are to many vowel and if they contradict what do u do protect the innocence defend the weak defend the king but what if the king massarces the innocence