Game of Thrones – Mockingbird

There’s a sense of unpredictability hanging over Game of Thrones this season, or an instability underlying the structures of Westeros and the people propping them up. Part of it comes from the show exploring new territory, going off the map for book readers as we’ve discussed previously, but it’s not just that shaking the foundations. More than ever before, characters are acting on impulse, panicking and getting rattled, or simply failing to keep up with events out of their control. It’s getting closer to chaos, in other words, and “Mockingbird” points all too clearly to who’s going to benefit from that chaos.

“Murdered my wife!” *JAZZ HANDS*

I haven’t always been thrilled with the show’s depiction of Petyr Baelish, perhaps the closest thing Westeros has to an overarching villain who isn’t made out of ice and dead babies. Aiden Gillen’s doing an admirable job playing a dead-eyed sociopath whose utter calm and keen eye for weakness allow him to stay one step ahead of the game, but that’s not quite the Littlefinger we know and love to hate from A Song of Ice and Fire Book! Petyr is a charming, clever, harmless little man whose ruthlessness and talent for manipulation, legendary as they are, aren’t quite as much of an asset as his capacity for being underestimated. Gillen and GoT pull back the veil on that, making it clear not only to the viewers but to a large portion of his fellow characters that Petyr Baelish is not a man to be underestimated or trusted; he survives not because people don’t think he’s worth stamping out, but because they’re afraid of what will happen if they try.

So when Littlefinger ascends the dizzying heights of villainy, making his grotesque intentions towards Sansa clear and disposing of his unwanted wife with a one-liner for the ages, it doesn’t quite have the “Oh SHIT!” factor of the print counterpart; instead, it’s more of the culmination of a slow build. This guy’s been monologuing and scheming and threatening for ages, and now it’s paying off. There’s always been something a little sympathetic about Littlefinger – in the books it’s the aw-shucks charm of the skinny kid who challenged Ned Stark’s big brother to a duel, and in the show it’s the moments where he takes a flailing stab at human feelings and comes up disappointed – so naturally the show both plays off those sympathies and rubs our noses in just how dumb of us it is to feel them. That crack in the facade, that aching declaration of just how much he loved Sansa’s mother, is really just a sleazy pick-up line to justify his interest in a teenage girl who’s at his mercy anyway. Petyr really is at his best when he’s a scheming megalomaniac, because when he’s not, he’s just a really gross dude.

But gross or not, if Littlefinger thrives off of chaos, this is his time. Witness The Hound, one of the most dangerous men in Westeros, wasting time and blood on a couple of two-bit convicts driven by desperation and greed. Selyse Baratheon wrestles with her own guilt and shame and is drawn further into fanaticism, with no good omens for her daughter. Jon Snow, theoretically returning triumphant and armed with information that could help defend the Wall, is given a traitor’s welcome and a mocking dismissal. Even Daenerys, getting a handle on a delicate political scenario, might just be getting herself deeper into a delicate personal one. Oh, and the Mountain is back in King’s Landing, spreading his unique brand of joy and cheer to the huddled masses. All in all, things look primed to get worse before they get better.

God, I wish I cared about anything as deeply as he cares about gravy.

Of course, that’s the funny thing about these sort of chaotic scenarios – you never know how they’re going to end. Woven through an episode packed with dark turns and ominous portents are some of the absolute funniest moments of the season, mostly due to the all-world comic stylings of Podrick and Brienne, and of course, Hot Goddamn Pie. I honestly feel like I wouldn’t have been disappointed with that as just a comic interlude, and at least a temporary happy ending for one of our more hapless cast members. Instead, it ended up as a solid lead for Brienne, with bonus points for Pod showing his critical thinking skills. Brienne’s travels in A Feast For Crows play a lot of bait-and-switch with which particular Stark girl she’s getting a bead on at any given time, and it’s kind of fun to watch the show follow suit.

Mind you, Sansa could probably use the help more at this point. Arya’s doing alright for herself, at least, in terms of physical health, but her sister’s prospects seem to get rockier the “safer” she gets. Sansa’s learning an entirely different set of survival skills, but even if her mentor can stay on top of the mountain, he probably has much worse designs on her than the Hound does on Arya (“educational” backhands and all.) It’s fun to watch Sophie Turner, a tremendously game actress with a growing range, mature as a performer at the same time as she backslides as a character. She probably shouldn’t have hit Robert Arryn, but damn if it wasn’t satisfying. Little wacko.

It’s a little callback to the famous moment in Season 1, Episode 2 that endeared Tyrion to a nation, and in the long run was the show’s first seed of his inevitable downfall. And if Littlefinger is the prime architect of the chaos sweeping Westeros, Tyrion is our best illustration of how it works. Last week, a fit of impulsive defiance caused him to reject his best hope of leaving King’s Landing alive; this week, the only two people who might rationally be expected to put their lives on the line for his, summarily rejected him. And then his savior arrived, not a friend or a brother, but a foreign prince who doesn’t particularly like Tyrion but hates him a lot less than he hates everyone else named Lannister. It’s worth noting that book Tyrion is a bit more active of a participant in this encounter, telling Oberyn Martell what he wants to hear, but it’s not much of a change – either way, it’s the Red Viper’s idea, and Tyrion hardly needs his scheming credentials burnished at this point.

The three visits to Tyrion’s cell were all excellent scenes, drawing on two of the show’s great strengths (black humor and pairs of good actors riffing off one another), but the third was the best – Pedro Pascal getting to display a gravitas his role hasn’t really called upon yet, backing up Oberyn’s usual mocking charm, and supported by perennial GoT MVP Peter Dinklage’s Face. And of course, they set up a clash that’s been telegraphed through the season, and fan-cast, speculated, and awaited for years by book readers. Next, in this very ring, Oberyn Martell and Gregor Clegane! The Red Viper and The Mountain That Rides! Single-minded vengeance versus mindless brutality, with no title belt on the line but the life of an innocent man hanging in the balance! The Royal City Rumble, The Grandstanding in King’s Landing, Playing For Keeps In the Red Keep, Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!

Or, the Sunday after next, because it’s Memorial Day. Balls.

Stray Thoughts:

-One complaint: it’s pretty heavily implied that Melisandre wants Shireen along on whatever trip House Baratheon is taking so she can have her sacrificed. King’s blood, and all that. I think this is a kind of stupid development. Last season already used Gendry for the “Stannis wants to sacrifice an innocent, and Davos manages to stop him from doing it and steer him back onto the right course” arc. Why are we revisiting it? I’m hoping for some kind of clever bait-and-switch, or at least for Stannis to arrive at the ethical conclusion on his own this time.

He looks extra sad because he’s wearing a Snuggie.

-Good stuff from Rory McCann this episode. The Hound’s rare moments of vulnerability could easily become pathos, but he underplays them well. I wasn’t sure about his sullen, gloomy Sandor in the first couple seasons, but it’s paying off now.

-By the way, talk about getting jobbed. Rorge and Biter are a pretty significant menace in the books, playing a role in Arya’s adventures in Harrenhal and Jaime’s maiming before cutting a swath of terror across the Riverlands in A Feast For Crows; here, they’re disposed of before the audience can properly remember who they are. I’m not too fussed about it; GoT has ably filled out its quota of one-dimensional psychopaths (sup Karl Tanner, how you been), and also, that was way funnier than a teenage girl stabbing a man to death ought to be.

-Bronn’s new clothes didn’t actually look that impressive, and I kind of wonder if that was done on purpose. He doesn’t really know how to wear them yet. He’s a survivor, though. He’ll figure it out. Also, that was a surprisingly touching scene.

-I’m not ashamed to admit that I cheered the appearance of the Breadwolf. You can’t go wrong with a good brick joke.

-Robert Arryn (or Robin, I forget if they actually renamed him) is a sickly little boy in the books, prone to seizures and fainting spells, and that ties pretty heavily into Littlefinger’s long-term plan in the Eyrie. Remains to be seen if the show will address that.

-Okay, two complains: the final line really should have been “Only Cat.” The audience can figure that one out, and it’s such an iconic line and so much more brutal. “Your sister” is a little too soap-opera.

-We’re really getting to know Carice Van Houten’s breasts pretty well.

-Oh, and on the subject, I actually sort of liked the way the show handled Dany’s inevitable romp with Daario Naharis. The book equivalent is not George RR Martin’s finest hour, a rather ham-handed attempt at capturing the psyche of a sixteen year-old girl needing some release from her day job as a conquering empress. Here, it’s a lot simpler – Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, rightful Queen of Westeros, wanted to get laid. So she did. Because it’s probably not that complicated when you’re [see above titles].

-The show is heavily playing down any infatuation Jorah has for Dany at this stage, even given the opportunity to make it more evident. So either they’re losing that angle, or planning a reveal that probably won’t be that surprising to anyone.

-Sansa’s snow Winterfell is one of those things that just makes book readers happy and it can’t really be explained why. It was a beautiful scene, I guess. I don’t know. Is it dusty in here? It’s spring. I’m chopping onions. Fuck you. Strong men also cry, Mister Lebowski.

Also in this episode, Bronn brought the concept of “Swag” to Westeros.

Power Rankings

5. Tyrion Lannister, based on the simple fact that he was definitely going to die and now he has a fighting chance – specifically, a dude-who-is-actually-good-at-fighting chance.

4. Arya Stark, now capable of casually seeing off hardened killers (if they’re not wearing good armor, anyway).

3. Daario Naharis, doing pretty alright for himself.

2. Ser Bronn of the Blackwater

1. Petyr Baelish, of course. “Only Cat.” That’s what I hear in my head.