The opening night scene of last night ’s Game of Thrones set the tone . Arya Stark is in the woods , peeing by a flow . Nervously , lest she betray her big secret . The photographic camera creeps up right behind her , like the viewpoint of someone spying on her . Until at last , the voyeuristic lens gets right up to Arya , and she turns to seem at it . And we realize who ’s spying on Arya : It ’s us , the viewers . It ’s a clever use of horror film trope to underscore a all-important truth : it ’s never light to tell who ’s spy on whom , in Westeros .
Last Nox ’s episode was full of scenes where the watcher becomes the watched . Proving , yet again , that everybody think they ’re the Heron of their own story , but George R.R. Martin ’s world does n’t necessarily hold .
Spoilers ahead …
One of Jean - Paul Sartre ’s most far-famed bits of writing ( after “ Hell is other people ” ) isthe parable of the Look , from Being and Nothingness . It ’s somewhat unsubdivided , when you boil it down : There ’s a guy in a hallway , who ’s looking through a keyhole into someone ’s room , watching whatever ’s die on there . Until the guy in the hallway realizes that someone else , in turn , is find out him . ( And he ’s got some ‘ splaining to do . ) The subject becomes an object , and the guy who think of himself as just an omniscient consciousness observing other people ’s cheap dealings clear that he , too , has a physical presence that can be observe . He sees himself , because he is see .
Last Nox , Game of Thrones in reality give us a sexed - up rendition of this very panorama . At the Best Little Whorehouse in King ’s Landing , a couple is having gender and the woman is faking arousal , just as Ros teach last week . And we pull back to recognize a man is watching them screw through a peephole , while a char fellates him . He catch an supererogatory shudder from being a voyeur … . but then the photographic camera pulls back again , and Littlefinger is watching him , in turn .
But then Littlefinger is pulled aside from his spotting by a disgruntled client , who barely even touched poor Ros before she started weeping . Ro is still broken over the small matter of watching Janos Slynt slaying a babe right in front of her , and Littlefinger is profoundly charitable , telling her to take the night off … and then return tomorrow , chipper and full of that can - do spirit that he so prizes . Because the last time one of his sex worker was weepy , he sold her off to a copious man who spoil her in ways most men would n’t even think of . That woman was still sad , but Littlefinger ’s losses ? Totally palliate . Ros agree that she will have a night off , and then jerk up .
A man has a thirst
Meanwhile , even though nobody was follow Arya pee , that does n’t mean she ’s not being watched .
She ’s catch the eye of Jaqen H’ghar , one of the three murderers locked in a cage , who already cognise her name . Jaqen asks “ Arry ” for water , concern to himself in the third someone as “ a man ” — but then the other two murderers ruin everything by threaten to sodomize Arya with a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree offset . shortly after , some gold cloaks arrive from King ’s Landing with a warrant from Good King Joffrey . Arya think they ’re there searching for her — but they ’re actually look for Gendry , the former blacksmith and bastard son of King Robert Baratheon .
And Yoren , who ’s guiding Arya , Gendry and the other rejects up to the Wall to join the Night ’s Watch , proves once and for all that he ’s an ultimate badass , by show that a midget tongue can be more hefty than a big sword — if you know where and how to utilize it . The gold cloak go forth , but they ’ll be back . subsequently on , Arya trust in Gendry who she really is , and he freaks out that he ’s been peeing in front of her and babble about cocks . ( This is after Gendry explains to Lommy and Hot Pie that you do n’t have to be a knight to have armor , in one of the funniest scenes ever committed to video . Also great : “ You should n’t affront people that are expectant than you . ” “ Then I would n’t get to insult anyone . ” )
Theon ’s homecoming
So anyway , back to people who think they ’re watching , when they ’re actually being watch out . pathetic , inadequate Theon Greyjoy . He surveys the tugboat of Pyke , his male parent ’s stronghold , from the boat that ’s bring him home for the first time in nine year , and cerebrate how pocket-sized it all count . He ’s expecting a sub ’s welcome , as he severalise the boat police captain ’s girl in between have it away her brains out and process her like total crap . For he is the only living son of Lord Balon Greyjoy , sent to survive with House Stark as a surety / Mrs. Humphrey Ward after Greyjoy ’s uprising give out . Instead , nobody greets him at the wharf , and Theon is impart appear around the docks in disgust at how squalid it all is .
Luckily , a cleaning woman shows up and offers him a ride to the palace , and he gets to check her out exhaustively while he free on her sawbuck . He ’s so meddlesome looking her over and decide she might be desirable to deal his swaggering bedchamber , it never even hap to him that she might be look him over as well . Until they reach the rook , and he finds out she ’s his sister Yara ( and I will never get used to her not being distinguish Asha ) . While Theon ’s been gone , she ’s become the commandant of her belated brother ’s ship . “ She ’s dominate men . She ’s killed man . She live who she is , ” says Lord Balon under his big Oliver Stone kraken carving .
Theon want his father to join forces with King Robb Stark against the Lannisters and Good King Joffrey — but Balon says that nobody will give him a crown . He ’ll take his crown by military unit , and it ’s not the Lannisters he ’ll be fight down . Theon looks deflated , and not just because he was groping his babe ’s boobs on horseback . He thought he was go to await down on his family and his citizenry , and instead they ’re look down on him .
Tyrion bang how this biz is played
This episode has two notable instances of someone being lift up on . First and first , there ’s Janos Slynt , the horrible babe - kill Commander of the City Watch , who is gaze down Tyrion Lannister without realizing there ’s someone standing right behind him .
Janos Slynt thinks he ’s have a friendly dinner with Tyrion at first , until Tyrion bring up the unpleasant business concern of all that regrettable baby - slaughter . And also the fact that Slynt betrayed Tyrion ’s predecessor as Hand of the King , Ned Stark . Slynt says Tyrion is questioning his purity , but Tyrion say not at all : He is denying its existence . Slynt think he can pull ahead a gaze contest with Tyrion , given his height advantage and his braggadocio about friends at Court — until he turn around to see Bronn the Awesome surveying him , with obvious amusement .
Janos gets carted off to the Wall , to fight zombies as part of the Night ’s Watch . ( A threat that Tyrion professes to be quite concerned about , in a meeting of the Small Council . ) And then Tyrion asks Bronn , the new City Watch commanding officer , if he would kill a baby without question . Nope , pronounce Bronn . “ I ’d ask how much . ”
But Tyrion is not immune to being spied on — because Lord Varys the Spider sees everything . Tyrion come home at one point in the episode , to feel Varys and Tyrion ’s own private concubine , Shae , whooping it up together . Shae is pretending she encounter Tyrion when she was a cook , and he raise her up . “ You should try out her fish Proto-Indo European , ” Tyrion advises Varys , who seems unappetized . And then Varys does the dark - insinuation thing that ’s so popular in King ’s landing place , and Tyrion train offence at being jeopardise . If Varys seek to blackmail or threaten the Imp , he ’ll be throw into the sea . Tyrion might be disappointed in the upshot , says Varys , because no matter what , “ I keep on paddle . ”
Meanwhile , Tyrion seek to win over his sister Queen Cersei that she ’s being watched by “ the people ” — and they ’re call on against her . I recall this is the first time anybody has mentioned “ the people ” as something to be interest about , rather than this lord or that lord . Cersei react to concern about the multitude the accurate same fashion she does to report of zombies in the North — it ’s just crazy talk . But the people are the ultimate unseen viewer , and when wintertime lastly does show up and they ’re starving , they will plot Cersei ’s overthrow , now that she ’s a babe - cause of death . Cersei does n’t repent the baby - killing , even though Tyrion guesses it was n’t her doing . She order : “ This is what ruling is : lying on a bed of gage , ripping them out one by one , before they hamper you in your sleep . ” Which is a routine of a assorted metaphor , but never mind . Tyrion says he reckon there ’s more to ruling than that , and this turns into Cersei bring in up Tyrion ’s first and good witticism : their mother ’s last giving nascency to him . The look of heartbreak on Tyrion ’s typeface is terrible to lay eyes on .
Daenerys and Davos
We only get one scene of Daenerys and her small group of followers in the Red Waste this week , and it ’s a barren , bleak one . Last week , she sent three riders on her last continue horse cavalry to go search for cities or water supply . And this calendar week a horse returns — with no passenger , but the oral sex of Rakharo , her most dependable follower . His stiff has been cloud and his tress cut off , probably by Khal Pono . ( Please , no jocularity about being pwned by Pono . ) The Khals do n’t wish the idea of a adult female leading a khalasar , says Jorah Mormont . “ They will like it far less when I am done with them , ” says Daenerys . And she foretell to build Rakharo a funeral funeral pyre , so he can still ride with his ancestors . ( Or at least , his head can . Futurama - style , maybe ? )
We pull back to an ultra - wide barb of Daenerys , alone in the center of the wasteland , with nothing but grief for ship’s company . In an episode that ’s full of scenes that dead pull out back to show the heavy photo , this is the most disturbing example .
Meanwhile , Davos Seaworth is caught between two very different perspectives : that of Salladhor Saan , a saucy Lysene pirate with 30 ships , and his own Logos Matthos . They are both going to follow King Stannis , for very different reasons that are not entirely well-grounded .
Salladhor Saan require to help oneself sack King ’s landing place because he hopes to seize a ton of gold in the process — and he thinks his name will be sung about afterwards . ( really , Davos ’ arguments for Salladhor joining their movement are mutually contradictory . On the one paw , he says few pirates live long , but then he also says plagiarisation is too easy and Salladhor needs a real challenge . Which is it : Is this a direction to populate longer , or to take a bigger risk ? ) And then Salladhor goes off on a weird tirade about wanting the chance to score Queen Cersei , and the only god being between a woman ’s legs . ( And actually , this was the one scene in the episode that needed an edit , because that material seemed superfluous and bizarre . )
Meanwhile , Matthos is a true believer in the fire religion that Stannis has reluctantly bless on to , the worship of R’hllor . He ’s deeply appall by Salladhor ’s desire to make this all about him — because it ’s all about Stannis , the “ Lord of Light . ” Meanwhile , Davos does n’t worship gold , like Salladhor , or R’hllor , like his Logos — he worships Stannis , who raised him up and gave his son an pedagogy and a time to come . Both Davos and Salladhor say that all over the world , people worship different immortal , but prayer never works . Matthos points out that Davos always issue forth home safely from his sea ocean trip . Davos responds that he was n’t beg , but Matthos says that he was the one praying for his forefather ’s safe take .
Oh , and then after Davos and his Logos visit King Stannis and Melisandre the fire priestess , she whisper creepily in Matthos ’ ear about the wonderful purity of death by fire . And then once alone with Stannis , she blab out him into screw her on top of his war mathematical function , so she can give him a son . Ah , that old meter religion .
Jon Snow ’s young lady trouble
I mentioned above that there are two scenes where someone gets sneaked up on in this instalment — the second comes at the very goal . Jon Snow is sleuth on the secret name ( creature ? ) who carries away the freshly - bear son of Craster , the valet de chambre who marries his daughter and sacrifices his Son . And then suddenly , Craster comes up behind Jon Snow and whacks him in the head teacher , proving that sometimes going from being the security guard to the watched can be a terrible experience .
Snow has been seek to follow the rescript of the Lord Commander Jeor Mormont ( Jorah ’s father ) last sequence : to keep his lip keep out and turn a blind eye to the wrongness of Craster ’s family . But Samwell Tarly has n’t helped , what with befriend one of Craster ’s daughters , the fraught Gilly . ( The same girl who parrot the word about being secure with her lord Craster last calendar week . ) Jon Snow quite reasonably points out that he and Samwell ca n’t do anything for Gilly — but then when he sees Craster go into the woods with a baby boy , he ca n’t stand firm following and seeing what happens to the baby — which lead to the aforesaid wallop on the back of the straits .
Game of Thrones is a show that features blinding reversal on a super steady basis — but last Nox ’s episode was just pickle - jam with them . Rakharo goes from the steadfast savior to a caput in a old bag . Janos Slynt goes from a high lord to an exile , in an flash . Theon goes from the lofty returning Logos to a preening disappointment . Ros learns to plow her frown top - down . And so on . And many of these reversals have to do with a basic fact of life in the Seven Kingdoms : there are eye everywhere , and you never know who ’s watching — and what they ’re going to make of you .
BooksGame of ThronesGeorge R.R. MartinTelevision
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