This Week’s Game of Thrones Awards: The Best Scene of the Entire Series
Season 4, Episode 7: Mockingbird
Greetings, and welcome! My name is Ben and what you have stumbled upon here is the ONLY Game of Thrones recap on the entire internet. From now until the end of the season I will be summarizing every episode, giving out highly prestigious awards, and counting how many times Hodor says “Hodor.”
Here’s hoping my next apartment has a moon door!
The final scene of “Mockingbird” was the high point of an otherwise uneventful episode. The revelation that Littlefinger had Joffrey killed as payback for the murder of Catelyn Stark felt true enough, but given the character involved I can’t trust it. At this point the show runners could probably fill an entire hour with Peter naming various completely viable reasons for committing the deed. And then there was the always amusing/horrifying behavior of Robin Arryn. Kids like Robin can be found in grocery stores across the country, kicking and screaming about the things they want because no one has ever told them that they can’t have them. Sansa slapping him was almost as satisfying as her husband, Tyrion, slapping the now deceased king in season one.
The death of Lysa Tully was choreographed for the last few minutes of the episode, but it was effective thanks to her facial expression when she thought Littlefinger was about to declare his undying love for her. I will have nightmares about that look until the end of my days. It was also an interesting moment in the sense that Peter finally had to do some of his own dirty work.
Just because I called the rest of the episode uneventful doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of solid character development. While the Hound is literally incapable of admitting that he enjoys Arya’s company, sharing his backstory and letting her clean out his wound was about as close as he’ll ever come. Or maybe by season eight they’ll be braiding each other’s hair…stay tuned! But on a serious note, it was simultaneously adorable and sad to see her imitating the Hound by cleaning her sword on the clothes of their latest victim.
Across the Narrow Sea, we saw Daenerys presented as a woman with needs and, more importantly, as an actual person instead of the beacon of liberty she has been the last few seasons. Jorah manages to change her mind about the course of action that should be taken against the masters of Yunkai, which also serves to remind us that while she may be a great leader, she’s also still young and unsure of herself.
Perhaps the most touching scene of the episode, and one of my favorites of the entire series, was Prince Oberyn’s visit to Tyrion’s cell. While people have been coming and going all season, basically throwing their hands up in the air and saying “gee shucks, can’t help you bud,” the dignitary from Dorne gives our favorite imp some real hope. He offers to be Tyrion’s champion in the trial by combat against the Mountain, a man he has wanted to kill for some time. Oberyn’s story about the first time he met Tyrion, when the latter was just a baby, brought out some of the finer acting of the season from both men.
Quotable Quotations:
“Can I have a drink? Dying is thirsty work.” –An unnamed old man, seconds before the Hound kills him.
“Making honest feelings do dishonest work is one of her many gifts.” –Tyrion on Cersei
Awards:
-The weekly “We Missed You” award goes to Tywin Lannister. While he’s not one of the most beloved characters, Charles Dance gives the most powerful man in Westeros such onscreen presence that whenever he sits out an episode his absence is felt.
-Our brand new “You mad, bro?” award goes to Daario Naharis, who tries to twist the knife in Jorah Mormont as they pass each other just outside of Dany’s chambers. “She’s in a good mood,” he says. Well played Daario, well played.
-The “Stop Talking Directly to the Viewer” award goes to Tyrion, whose dialogue with Jamie at the episode’s open felt like an unnatural attempt to make sure everyone’s following along with their father’s machinations.
-The “Future Hardy Boys” award goes to Brienne and Podrick, who manage to logically work their way toward a very likely location of the Stark girls. They’re half right, anyway.
–Game of Thrones likes to deliver uncomfortable moments, and our last honor of the week is a good example of that. The “That Made Me Want to Take a Shower” award goes to Littlefinger and Sansa’s kiss. Just…eww.
Official Hodor Count: 0
“If you want Hodor…you’ve come to the wrong place.”
On Next Week’s Episode…
There is no episode next week. Let’s make the bad people at HBO fly!
Did you catch episode 7?