Losing Game

If you don't watch Game Of Thrones, avoid this post, as there'll be major spoilage.

Years ago, I remember calling an old friend. She was crying.  I asked what was wrong.  Turned out some character on NYPD Blue had died.  It seemed silly to me, but really, isn't that what fiction is supposed to be about--getting us so emotionally involved that we feel about the characters as strongly as we feel about real people.  The latest episode of Game Of Thrones, "The Rains Of Castamere," got that kind of reaction from quite a few viewers.  It figures it'd be the next-to-last episode of the season, since those are always big ones.  Season 1: Ned is dead.  Season 2: The landing at King's Landing.  And now...

The weird thing about this show, unlike, say, Breaking Bad, is there are already millions who've read the books and know where it's going.  Which makes it hard to read about the show on the internet since there are always people who want to spoil stuff.  In fact, I'd heard vaguely of something big happening, and in particular about some sort of "Red Wedding," but I'd kept out of it enough to still be surprised.

Before we get to the ending, let's do a quick recap.  Robb is in trouble.  Though a wizard on the battlefield, personal choices have lost him most of his troops.  His hope is a desperation play--with the cooperation of Walder Frey, take Casterly Rock. At the Twins, that old bastard Frey accepts Robb and the gang with a bit of cynicism and seems ready to work with them.

Outside Yunkai, Daario helps plan the invasion with Ser Jorah.  He'll be allowed in via a side door, and he and Jorah and Grey Worm will kill a few guards and open the main gates.  I must say, I find Daario a bit of an interloper.  Jorah has truly put in his time, and now this pretty boy waltzes in and starts making googly eyes at Daenerys.

In the north, Samwell and Gilly get to the Wall, and he impresses her with his erudition--that anyone can learn anything from books amazes this Wildling.

Outside the Twins, the Hound and Arya--another in the show's great odd couples--take over a pig farmer's cart, planning on driving it in to get to the wedding. Arya stares at the castle and the Hound notes the closer she gets the more she worries she won't make it. (Could that be...foreshadowing?)

Up north, Bran and company take cover in an abandoned tower. Meanwhile, not far away, Jon Snow and his gang go to kill a horse breeder and steal his animals.  The man races away but is caught outside the tower.  Hodor is unnerved by a storm going on outside and Bran manages to use his power to get inside his head and quiet him down. So Bran can do stuff that even other Wargs can't.  Then Bran enters into the direwolves and attacks the wildlings.  So it looks like there may be a reunion of Snow and the Stark kids (to go along with Arya finally reunited with Robb and Catelyn) but it is not to be.  The Wildlings now know Snow is not one of the them, and he races away. Though where he's going (Castle Black?) and why he leaves Ygritte behind I can't quite figure.

Back at Yunkai, Jorah isn't sure if he should trust Daario, but the plan works fine. Until more guards come. Then they're dispatched. Then even more guards.  The guys are surrounded. Is it over?

At the Twins, Edmure awaits his bride and is surprised that Frey brings him his loveliest daughter.  The marriage ceremony is beautiful. Things seem to be going well.  Does Robb's plan have a chance?

At the abandoned tower, the danger gone, Bran decides he's got to move on with Jojen and Meera, but Osha must take Rickon somewhere that's safe.  A tearful departure, but probably a wise strategic move.

At Yunkai, the results.  Jorah and Grey Worm, a bit worse for the wear, return with good news--as Dany predicted, the slave soldiers threw down their arms, happy to be liberated. They've taken the city.  But she's worried about Daario. (I was worried that he made it.) He comes in and she's thrilled. Oh, fickle Dany.

At the marriage celebration, everything seems to be lovey-dovey.  Cynical Roose Bolton sits next to Catelyn while Robb and Talisa seem happier than ever.  This can't be good. Edmure and his new wife Roslin are carried to the bedding ceremony.  Then the band strikes up "The Rains Of Castamere," a Lannister ditty.  Hmm.

Outside, Clegane and Arya drive up in the food cart, but are stopped by a soldier who says the show's over, go home.  Arya jumps off to find her own way.

Back in the castle Frey makes his play, and his men stab the pregnant Talisa's belly.  They shoot arrows at Catleyn and Robb.  Frey was not placated by Edmure's wedding when Robb ignored his vow.  Outside, Arya watches some Stark men being slaughtered and Robb's direwolf being killed.  This girl's had a rough life.  Clegane knocks her out and carries her away.  There'll be no reunion today.

Catelyn, holding a knife to Frey's wife, begs to be taken hostage if Frey will let the wounded Robb go.  But it's too late. Roose kills Robb, saying hello from the Lannisters (a nod to The Godfather?). Catelyn gets to see it all, kills Frey's wife (not that Frey cares) and then is killed herself.  Cut to the credits.

Quite an ending.  In the first season, the Starks were established as the central family, and Ned was the protagonist. You figured, following how stories are usually told, that he'd get away somehow. His death told you everything was up for grabs. Still, if any cause was sympathetic since then, it's been Robb's honorable quest to right that original wrong.

Killing Robb and Catelyn means there are no more true Stark adults around.  You've got Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon, but can they do anything? (Actually, Bran can do a lot even without the use of his legs, and Arya has got that cold-eyed killer thing going).  But if the show ever had a center, it's gone.

Dramatically, though, it was a good play. (I haven't read the novels, but I assume the effect is similar in them).  It's not unlike being in a tough chess position.  You're not sure how to get things moving, but then you realize if you sacrifice a major piece, it breaks the board wide open. (But it's still hard to sacrifice a king).

Still, it was easier to kill these two than most others.  They had their moments, and a decent storyline, but Robb and Catelyn, along with Talisa, were among the more earnest, less interesting characters, so getting them out of the way allows for more fun.  Though it's especially hard on Catelyn, who had her husband die, and then believes all her sons are dead and probably her daughters. She didn't even get a peek at Arya, just outside--knowing any child was still alive might have allowed her to die in peace.

It's not as if their deaths hadn't been foreshadowed. The first time they make a deal with Walder Frey, Catelyn makes clear this is not a man to cross.  And we've already seen Roose making deals with the Lannisters.  Robb was a brilliant war strategist, but weak on the political side.  As he was told himself earlier this season, the moment he married Talisa was the moment he lost the war.  And Catelyn was no better--her desire to save her daughters made her set Jaime Lannister free, which led to Robb's army breaking up.  Tywin is no fool, and I'm glad to see he took advantage of the situation.  Even the Hound was aware of the wedding, and Tywin knew that Robb was low on strength--what better time and place to doublecross him?

I'm reminded of Lost, early on, when it was clear they'd kill off regulars.  I even did a post on the odds regarding who'd make it. I figured there were certain characters who were so popular they'd let them live, while characters not working out (like Boone and Shannon, as it turned out) would be the first to go.  Game Of Thrones is different in that it's got to follow the George R. R. Martin books, but the books themselves, even if Martin is trying to defy expectations, still probably try to avoid killing off truly beloved characters.  So that's why Arya is stopped just outside the wedding feast.  Killing off Robb and Catelyn made readers and viewers angry enough, but if he'd thrown in beloved Arya they'd have chased down Martin and done something to him.

So where are we in the Game?  Well, Renly is long gone (it was clear he wouldn't make it, but I thought he was dispatched too easily) and Robb's march has been stopped.  Stannis is still licking his wounds, but he's ready for a comeback. Dany the liberator rises ever stronger in the East, and she's pretty powerful even without her dragons. But she's still got a ways to go before she can make her play.  Bran and Snow are struggling just to stay alive. (And Theon is still being tortured? Kill him off or let him go already). The Wildlings are crossing the Wall while the Night's Watch is weaker than ever, but all that's nothing compared to the White Walkers in full bloom.  And the North won't be happy with Walder Frey, or the Lannisters.  Also, in King's Landing, there's a struggle for power with the regular gang of Lannisters, Tyrells, courtiers and others.

And what have we learned?  Well, in the first season Robert was willing to go to the ends of the Earth (or whatever planet this is) to kill all remaining Targaryens, which Ned thought was outrageous. But Robert's looking wiser each day. Even Joffrey looks smarter for trying to kill all Robert's bastards. As we've seen, just allowing one youngster to live and swear vengeance can really cost you. Not just Dany--Bran seems to have a bright future and Arya a dark one, and the bastard that got away, Gendry, is central to Stannis's plans.  When you've got an enemy in Westeros, kill the entire family.  As Varys once reminded Ned, who was in chains at the time, some good people are now dead because of your mercy.

Another lesson. Don't let Brienne of Tarth swear allegiance to you.  She swore to protect Renly and five minutes later he's dead.  Then she swears to serve Catleyn who ends up dying the most tragic death the show has ever seen.

Also, don't break oaths. But then, don't count on others not to break oaths.

Next week is the season's final episode.  We've got a lot of of ground to cover. We need more than ten episodes a year.