Game of Thrones
Episode Title: “Unbowed,
Unbent, Unbroken”
Channel: HBO
Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Writer: Bryan Cogman
Genre: Action,
Drama, Fantasy
Runtime: 55 min
Rated: TV-MA
Original Air Date: May 17, 2015
I'm going to get the big, uncomfortable
thing out of the way to start things off. This week the audience got
to see Sansa back home and preparing for her wedding. There was one
moment while Myranda, Ramsay's former mistress, was doing her best to
intimidate Sansa. Sansa was not to be deterred, and dismissed the
woman in a fashion that seemed to say she was coming into her own.
Theon escorted her to the godswood for her marriage ceremony and with
little pomp or flare she and Ramsay were married. I knew things were
going to be rough for Sansa in this situation, every other time she's
been in a dire situation she's had someone there to act as a safety
net. That is not the case in Winterfell at present. Ramsay ordered
her to undress, forced Theon to watch, and then raped her. It was a
tough scene to watch and one has to wonder if Littlefinger had any
idea how bad things would become for Sansa when she became married to
Ramsay. Theon's reaction had me believing more a moment that he
might risk stopping things, but ultimately he was unwilling to
intervene. All we can hope for now is that the indignity Sansa has
suffered will be avenged, preferably by her own hand.
Arya is continuing her training to
become a Faceless Man. Things aren't going smoothly for her, she
can't let go of who she is/was and it makes the lies she tries to
tell Jaquen as part of her training transparent. The best part about
the scene in which she tries multiple times to sneak a lie past
Jaquen, getting walloped by a switch the punishment for a discernible
lie, was when she was forced to admit that she didn't hate the Hound.
She'd been telling herself she did for so long the that her lack of
hatred came as a surprise, even to herself. We then saw her first
successful lie, as she ushered a sick little girl into the next life
by having her drink from the fountain at the temple's center. This
was enough to convince Jaquen that she was ready for the next step of
the process. He revealed to her a chamber beneath the temple that
houses thousands and thousands of faces, unveiling the secret of what
happens to the dead after they're washed. To close out Arya's
scenes, Jaquen tells her that she might not be ready to be nobody;
but it is time for her to become someone else. After the slow
progress that Arya's story has been making so far in season five it's
good to see it finally going somewhere.
In King's Landing there's a lot of
intrigue. Littlefinger was stopped on his way to a meeting with
Ceresi by the Sparrows, but they let him pass. His meeting with
Ceresi featured him telling her about Sansa's presence at Winterfell,
and then volunteering to take an army northward to flush out the
traitorous Boltons. Littlefinger's ability to play both sides
against each other, ensuring that no matter the outcome of a battle
at Winterfell, has left him in what seems like a good position. The
same cannot be said of House Tyrell. First, the Queen of Thorns has
returned to King's Landing. The verbal sparring between Olenna
Tyrell and Ceresi was one of the better moments to occur in King's
Landing this season. The audience also so the Faith's inquiry into
Loras Tyrell and his, according to them, blasphemous behavior. The
High Sparrow questioned by Loras and Margaery, who both lied in order
to keep Loras from having a trial. Then the Sparrows ushered one of
Loras' lovers into the chamber. The man was Loras' squire, with whom
Loras had also been intimate with. The damning evidence was his
knowledge of a birth mark on Loras' thigh. While the audience knows
the truth this seemed a little to easy a way to prove his supposed
crimes. As a squire wouldn't the witness have helped Loras dress and
whatnot, it seems easy to argue that through the course of normal
squiring that is knowledge that would have been easy to come by.
Either way, the Sparrows hauled of Loras so that he might face a
trial. Then, in a twist, they seized Margaery as well for bearing
false witness. Tommen sat idly by and let his wife be escorted from
the room, much to Ceresi's pleasure.
Jaime and Bronn eventually made their
way to the Water Gardens and attempted to free Myrcella.
Complications arose when Myrcella didn't wish to leave, and the Sand
Snakes showed up. I'm all for some action to break up the intrigue,
but this fight sequence was sorely lacking. The editing was strange
and the action itself was awkward. Perhaps the oddest moment in the
fight choreography was when Areo put his axe to Jaime's throat. I
had expected the man safeguarding the ruler of Dorne to be quicker
and more dangerous, his movement was so ponderous that his claim that
were Jaime whole it would be quite a fight couldn't be taken
seriously. Also, it is difficult to care about the Sand Snakes
grievances. They're all forgettable, which is disappointing
considering how much Oberyn Martell added to season four. Let's see
there's the one with the whips, the one with the knives, and the one
with the spear. Dorne has been a missed opportunity this season.
Instead of offering a new setting, one with grand new things to see,
we've been relegated to watching every Dornish scene take place in
the same tiny section of the grounds.
The unlikeliest of of traveling
companions, Jorah and Tyrion, had some quality time this week. They
discussed their pasts and seemed to at least build a grudging respect
for each other. Unfortunately for them they were accosted by
slavers. Some quick thinking and humor on Tyrion's part kept them
both alive for the time being. They've still been captured and now
Jorah is bound for the newly reopened fighting pits. No matter who
is in charge of Tyrion's travel arrangements it is inevitable that
he'll end up before Daenerys.
Conclusion:
Some of the story lines that had up to this point been boring are
starting to come around. Arya's story in particular finally seems
to have some direction. While I suppose Sansa's fate on her wedding
night isn't a surprise given what we know about Ramsay it was still
hard to watch. Ceresi might have maneuvered the Tyrells into a
comprising situation, but it seems she's forgetting what the Faith's
opinion on some of her past transgressions might entail.
Rating:
8/10
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