Following the aftermath of last week’s shocker, Westeros is shaken up again. Read on for my review of episode 3: Breaker of Chains.
As always this review contains spoilers
Episode 3 takes off right where the second left off as we follow Sansa in her escape of the city. She is led by her companion, Dontos, who she saved from Joffrey’s wrath. It seems only right that he should in turn lead her to safety. But Sansa’s real saviour turns out to be none other than… Petyr ‘little finger’ Baelish. Interesting. It was a nice surprise to see Little Finger back but at the same time I have to seriously question his motivations – Little Finger has had an odd fascination with Sansa ever since she set foot in King’s Landing in season 1. He always obsessed over Catelyn Stark and now it seems he feels the same obsession for Sansa. And he’s taking her ‘home’? Where exactly is home, back with him? Sansa doesn’t really have a home, she’s a lost bird, a constant victim of the corruption of men with power. For that reason alone, it’s great to see her finally move on from King’s Landing – she’s one of the few characters who have stayed in the same place for nearly the whole show. I love that Sansa has been increasingly more wary of the world around her and now she seems to just about be getting the hang of things; though she has once again found herself running, she is in the best situation since her father died. Correction – I hope. Little Finger is a very suspicious man and unsettlingly clever.
So, moving on, Tywin quizzes Tommen on Good king material, determining that wisdom is what makes a good king. Tommen seems decent enough, though the likelihood is he will either die or become a monster. Cersei and Jamie have a moment alone to reflect on their dead son. Cersei being the heartless cow we know her to be, instructs Jamie to kill Tyrion. Jamie refuses and then er.. yeah, rapes her. As much as I hate Cersei, this disappointed me as I’d really grown to like Jamie.
On the subject of people I like doing things I really don’t approve of, the Hound and Arya continue their journey towards the Eyrie. The unlikely pair come across a farmer and his daughter who take them in and offer the Hound work, who in return knocks the man down and steals his money. Arya clearly isn’t happy with this decision, and I have to say I totally agree, despite the lengths men have to go to in order to survive in the world.
Back north at the wall, Sam becomes increasingly worried about Gilly and her situation, and quite rightly so; as the only female in a place full of celibate rapists and criminals, I don’t fancy her chances. I feel bad for Sam getting the cold shoulder; he’s only doing what he believes best for her but Gilly can’t seem to see that. Sam takes her to a near town to find her safety, or at least a little more. The woman offers to take Gilly as a prostitute but Sam insists that she is only to cook and clean, however I have a horrible feeling something bad will happen there.
Through Davos’ eyes, we see Stannis growing impatient for action. I know the feeling, bro, let’s work on that. Davos goes a little behind his back, trying to raise money for an army.
Tywin has an interesting proposition for the Dawnish Prince Oberyn; he will help him bring the mountain to justice in return for the investigation of Joffrey’s death, Oberyn having studied poisons. We see Tyrion in prison for the first time, who is to be tried in a fortnight by his father, Mace Tyrell and Oberyn. There is an unknown force at play, trying to pin the blame on Tyrion and there was a heartbreaking moment where his squire Pod lays himself on the line for Tyrion.
We didn’t see any progression with the wildlings last episode but they’re back in episode 3, slaughtering (and eating) villagers and moving south towards the wall. The night’s watch prepare to defend themselves just when a couple of men return from Craster’s, bringing word of the mutiny. Jon Snow voices the problem with this in relation to the wildlings and yeah.. they’re pretty screwed if they don’t get there first.
The episode ends with an awesome Daenerys scene. Well, a lot of the awesomeness comes from Daario but Danny tops it off with a classic Danny speech, leaving us on the brink of battle. Damn you, serialisation! I want awesome battles now!