WARNING: For the words are dark and full of spoilers…
Season Four, Episode Six: “The Laws of Gods and Men”
Written by Bryan Cogman and Directed by Alik Sakharov
This week’s episode is filled with first-times for show-watchers. It’s the first time we see the city of Braavos in person, the first time Daenerys sits the throne acting as queen of Meereen (it’s not the Iron Throne, but I suppose it’s good practice), and the first time this season that we visit with Yara Greyjoy, the sister of Theon/Reek. On top of that, there’s a lot we’ve seen before too. Ramsay Snow is still crazy as hell; a public event in King’s Landing shockingly is rigged up to get someone killed; and we witness another compelling performance from Peter Dinklage that likely could (assuming he is nominated again in the category of best supporting actor) win Tyrion Lannister another Emmy.
Quick Breakdown
The big news from this week is Tyrion’s trial (and Dinklage’s accompanying performance, which is incredible). It’s been built up for the past four weeks. We spend nearly the entire last half of the episode in King’s Landing, watching it unfold, and its events are some of the most resounding for Tyrion’s character in the entire series. The testimonies are surprising, and the resulting monologue from Tyrion is as strong as you’ll find (both in content and performance) on television. But we’ll talk more on that later. Let’s start from the beginning:
This week’s episode opens with an incredible bird’s-eye shot of the eastern city of Braavos. It’s our first look at the place, although we’ve heard about it several times before. Stannis and Ser Davos are visiting the Iron Bank to follow up on a letter sent out a few episodes ago hoping to secure a loan from the bank to aid Stannis in the war against King’s Landing. The plan is to convince the Iron Bank to back Stannis so that he and his armies can defeat a shared enemy in the Lannisters. The throne — and specifically Tywin Lannister — has borrow a large sum of gold from the bank, and, so far, they haven’t paid any of it back (A Lannister always pays his debts… eventually). Ser Davos believes this common goal is enough to get the bank’s support, and he turns out to be right.
There’s a short discussion between the two parties (Team Stannis and a representative of the Iron Bank) about the Baratheon bloodlines, the true heir to the throne, and how King Robert’s children aren’t actually his at all. The bank initially declines the request for funds, but they reconsider when Ser Davos gives a pretty convincing campaign speech that paints Stannis as the Westerosi version of Jesus. He shows the representatives of the bank his half-hand (the one where Stannis cut off all his fingers) as proof that Stannis is a man of his word. “He doesn’t just talk about paying people back,” Davos says to them. “He does it.”
After that, we catch up with Yara Greyjoy, who we last saw setting off heroically to rescue her brother from an extended vacation with Ramsay Snow. Instead of a postcard in the mail, she got his balls, which made her decide she loved Theon enough to try to save him. Unfortunately for the both of them, her ship is really slow. It took her six episodes to get to him, and, by that time, he had made the full transformation into Reek.
Yara and a small crew of men sneak into the Dreadfort and take out several guards. They find Theon/Reek and set him free, but he chooses not to leave. She tries to wrestle him out of his cage for a while until Ramsay shows up; they battle it out for a while (although neither gets hurt because, ya know, continuity), and she eventually runs away. “My brother’s dead,” she tells the ship’s crew.
This scene offers an interesting look into Theon/Reek’s character (what’s left of it, anyway) and gives us an idea of just how brainwashed he is, but it really should have been conveyed some other way. Here’s why: In the season three finale, we get that small scene I mentioned before where Yara sets sail to rescue Theon from the Dreadfort. She goes against her father’s wishes, and her actions, especially when compared to how Theon was treated by his family before, seem pretty noble. The trouble is that this journey never happens in the novels. That means that, basically, Theon can’t be rescued, and neither Yara nor Ramsay can die. They’re needed later in the series.
Yet, there is this inevitable confrontation that has been written in and has to end somehow. What we get is a decent action scene with some neat choreography that ends really poorly. Ramsay pulls out a key to the dog’s kennels in the middle of a fight, and everyone pauses and waits for him to act like they’re suddenly characters in a turn-based Final Fantasy game. He releases the hounds, and Yara and her men flee without Theon. That’s it. That’s how a season-ending cliffhanger that took six episodes to resurface concludes. It’s piss-poor writing that stands out in a major way in an otherwise fantastic episode.
In Essos, Daenerys and her armies have finally settled in somewhere. She’s taken the throne in Meereen, a coastal city whose navy she captured and slaves she liberated. She’s approached, one by one, by the citizens of Meereen looking for her council. The first is a goat herder. His goats, in an earlier scene, were attacked by one of Dany’s dragons (which, by the way, is seriously huge now). They were all either burned or eaten (or both), and now he has nothing. Dany offers to pay three times what the asking price is for each goat he lost, much to his delight.
The next visit, however, doesn’t go as well. It’s from Hizadahr zo Loraq, who requests simply that his father (one of the many Meereenese masters crucified by Daenerys’ command) be given a proper burial. “Is it justice to answer one crime with another?” he asks her. After some discussion, she grants his wish. Dany is the one person vying for the Iron Throne who seems the most fit for it, but this scene proves that even she has a lot to learn about what it takes to rule.
Back in King’s Landing, there’s a small council meeting. It plays out like conversation from a high school cafeteria lunch table filled with girls — as in, there’s lots of gossip and bickering. Mace Tyrell is kind of a smarmy guy, which seems to bother Prince Oberyn, and Obyern is disinterested, which bothers everyone else. They talk briefly on a few topics, such as the Hound, who’s been spotted in the Riverlands (no mention of Arya, though), and Daenerys, who is getting too powerful and must be “dealt with.”
Later, Lord Varys meets with Oberyn in the throne room. The topic shifts to desire (Oberyn’s favorite) and Varys’ lack of it. “When I see what desire does to people, what it’s done to this country, I am very glad to have no part in it,” he tells Oberyn. “Besides, the absence of desire leaves one free to pursue other things.” Varys looks at Oberyn and nods to the throne. It’s unclear whether he is suggesting that he wants it for himself or if he believes Oberyn should pursue it, but in either case, it’s obvious: Varys’ desires aren’t so different from anyone else in Westeros, whether he believes they are or not.
And now we’re back where we began: Tyrion’s trial. Tyrion is escorted into the throne room in chains by a member of the Kingsguard and locked to his seat. His father Tywin, Mace Tyrell, and Prince Oberyn sit as judges in place of King Tommen, who excuses himself. (Side note: Tommen’s delivery of the necessary trial decree is much more genuine and level-headed than anything Joffrey ever did. They’re nothing alike, and I think Tommen, however long he lasts, will be a much better king.) The Crown then begins calling witnesses. Most of these are expected; people like Ser Meryn Trant, Grand Maester Pycelle, Cersei, and Varys. They all paint roughly the same picture — Tyrion is guilty of murdering Joffrey as an act of revenge against Cersei. He stole poison from Pycelle’s shop, used his wife Sansa’s necklace to smuggle it into the wedding, and then he dropped it in his nephew’s wine.
The trouble is, this was all fudged from the start. Tyrion didn’t kill Joffrey. We know that. I’m willing to bet that some of these other witnesses knew that too (such as Pycelle, who states factually that Tyrion robbed him of the poison, which couldn’t have happened). It doesn’t matter, though, because Cersei wants this conviction, and she is the Queen Regent. She gets what she wants. If these people don’t testify against Tyrion, truth or not, they’ll be punished themselves. There’s no justice in this justice system.
Jaime knows that, so, during a court recess, he approaches his father to help Tyrion out. “Cersei has manipulated everything and you know it,” he tells Tywin. He strikes a deal with his father — Jaime will give up his place in the Kingsguard to return to Casterly Rock. There, he’ll marry, father Lannister children, and continue the bloodline and family legacy. In exchange, Tyrion will be found guilty, but will be allowed to exchange his guaranteed execution for a spot in the Night’s Watch. He’ll be exiled from King’s Landing, but at least he’ll live.
Tyrion flips this entire plan end-over-end, however, when he sees the Crown’s next witness: Shae. Most of what she says on the stand is either partially fabricated or just completely untrue. It’s clear here that she’s acting mostly out of spite; she’s obviously still upset that Tyrion sent her out of King’s Landing back in episode two of this season, and — more importantly — it’s even clearer that she has no idea about the real reason he did it: to protect her. Her testimony guarantees a guilty verdict and breaks Tyrion’s heart. Credit here goes entirely to Peter Dinklage, who took an already intense scene in the novels to an entirely different level. The emotion on his face and in his body language, even when he isn’t speaking, is palpable. The anger in his voice feels genuine, and what he says rings louder to its audience than any witness testimony. It’s an already powerful monologue reinforced by an inspiring performance.
Here are some excerpts:
Tyrion, to the crowd that is cheering for his conviction: “I saved you… I saved this city and all your worthless lives. I should’ve let Stannis kill you all.”
“Watching your vicious bastard die gave me more relief that a thousand lying whores.” — Tyrion, delivered with fire to Cersei and Shae. (Side note: This, if I’m not mistaken, is the first time someone has publicly called out the birth status of King Joffrey in King’s Landing. He wasn’t the true heir to the throne, and most everyone knows it secretly, but here Tyrion opens that can of worms in front of everyone. It flies a little under the radar though, in the middle of such a dramatic scene.)
Tyrion, again to the onlooking crowd: “I wish I was the monster you think I am. I wish I had enough poison for the whole pack of you. I would gladly give my life to watch you all swallow it.”
And, finally… To Tywin, the judges of the trial, and anyone willing to listen: “I will not give my life for Joffrey’s murder, and I know I’ll get no justice here, so I will let the gods decide my fate — I demand a trial by combat.”
The episode ends with the stunned faces of pretty much everyone attending the trial. It’s one of the strongest cliffhanger endings of the season, and the one that I have personally felt the most anticipation to see resolved. There’s just so much that is involved: Who fights as Tyrion’s champion in the trial by combat? Will it be Jaime? And, if so, how do Tywin (who doesn’t want to lose his chance of carrying on the family name) and Cersei (who doesn’t want to lose her brother/lover) respond? Who fights as the Crown’s champion? Like with any good cliffhanger, there are so many questions left unanswered, and we’ve all got a week to think on them. Next week’s episode may not be the best ever, but it is as anticipated as any I can remember.
Rating
A-
I’m annoyed by Yara’s small part in this episode (and more so by what led up to it), but everything else is great. We’re starting to see some of these story arcs come back together (Stannis and his funding means he’s bound to assault King’s Landing again soon, and Dany’s power grows by the day). Additionally, Tyrion’s trial for the murder of Joffrey is one of the more gripping sequences in television that I remember. It was as enraging as it was captivating. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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