Game of Thrones Episode 10 Overview: Valar Morghulis

That was it. The season finale of Game of Thrones, and after ten weeks of excitement we will now have to wait ten months to find out what will happen next. I have mixed feelings about the finale. Firstly, I feel a lot was still left unanswered from season one that I hoped would be answered in season two. However, the season finale left me with more unanswered questions that need answers in season three. Secondly, not much actually happened in the finale. The previous episode was amazing, it was full of action and it was fast paced, they could have ended the season there, but I understand why they couldn’t. That episode focused solely on King’s Landing, and they needed to wrap up the rest of the characters story lines. So, although this wasn’t my favorite episode this season, I still enjoyed it and can’t wait for season 3.

Tyrion: “Tell them I am very much alive”

There is one reason why I am glad that the battle of King’s Landing wasn’t the season finale, and that reason is Tyrion. I would not have lasted ten months without knowing whether he was alive or not, I would have been in physical pain. Dramatic? Possibly. Untrue? Not likely. So while he is a little bruised and battered at least he is alive. My favorite character survived the fight, long live Tyrion. However, it looks like there are some people who wouldn’t like Tyrion to live much longer. Next season we will see a completely different role for Tyrion. He is no longer hand of the king now that his father is back, and I don’t doubt that his sister has a few more assassination plots up her sleeve for her dear brother. I wonder how Tyrion will react to this new lack of freedom/power that he got so used to over the past season. This could either end well, or horribly.

Joffrey, Cersei and Sansa: “I would ask it in your heart to do us the great honor of joining our houses”

This right here was the shock of the episode for me, and I don’t know why. Clearly I never believed that Joffrey and Sansa were ever going to be married, but man was that harsh. I never liked Joffrey, and would expect him to completely shame Sansa in front of the court as he usually does, but Cersei’s actions were what I wasn’t expecting. Last week she finally showed a part of herself that I liked. I thought she was changing, but I guess that was too much for me to ask for. They survived the battle and I guess she believes that are invincible again, and that she no longer needs the Stark girl. I’m just so confused though, because she was the one who claimed the marriage was necessary and now she is the one advocating against it. Therefore, once again, I am back to disliking Cersei. It’s a love hate thing. But it looks like Marjorie is finally getting what she wants: to be the queen. I wonder how long it will take Joffrey to start terrorizing her? Of course, we can’t forget about Sansa here. What will she do now? She should have ran while she had the chance, and King’s Landing will be an even more miserable place for her now. I only hope that next season we see her free of that place.

Robb and Catelyn: “My fathers dead, and the only parent I have left has no right to call anyone reckless”

Not much happened at the Starks base camp in the season finale. Robb is still bitter over how his mother betrayed him, and Catelyn is still begging for him to understand. The current status of their relationship doesn’t worry me too much at the moment, I know they will eventually make amends. However, I’m not sure how quickly that will come about after what Robb has done. Umm, HELLO, Robb had a secret wedding ceremony? I can’t wait to see how this pans out next season and he will obviously have to deal with the repercussions of his actions.

Brianne and Jamie: “But none of them were strong enough…I’m strong enough”

Jamie is an asshole. Brianne is a beast. I feel like there’s nothing else I need to say here. If I were Brianne I would have kicked Jamie in the balls by now, a few times, mind you. I don’t know how she manages to control her anger when he constantly is spouting bullshit at her. On the other hand, I don’t know how much more Jamie will be testing her patience after what he saw her do to those Stark men. She took them down in a matter of minutes! Girl knows how to wield a sword. However, there seems to be more to Jamie and Brianne’s relationship than just all of that, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. There seems to be a sort of comradely bond forming between them, and while Jamie makes fun of her all the time, he seems to also be fascinated by her. Especially after she murdered those Stark men. I’d dying to see how the rest of their Journey to King’s Landing goes, and I doubt it will be her just simply dropping him off and going back to Catelyn. There’s got to be more.

The Losers: Stannis and Theon

“I fought for your god in Blackwater Bay”
After he lost the battle at King’s Landing, Stannis did the only thing he could do: run back to his little witch Melissandre. They are honestly the creepiest pair on the show. She’s like a puppet master and he’s the sad little boy that wishes he were King. After that creepy ghost she gave birth to a few episodes, I have to desire what soever to see what she showed him in the flames. The sooner they are gone, the better.

“I know I’m surrounded, cause I stood on the battlements and saw that I’m surrounded”

Theon hasn’t had a good season, or life apparently. He was a prisoner for the majority of his life, his father didn’t want him, and his father won’t come to his aide when he is surrounded. So I guess he does have a right to be pissed off, but I can only feel so bad for him. He had opportunity after opportunity to change his ways after he occupied Winterfell, but he chose to remain an enemy and try to lead his men to their own deaths. Luckily, his men have more sense than he does, and while that was an incredibly powerful speech he gave I couldn’t help dying of laughter after his men knocked him out. Seeing that was worth watching all of the dumb-ass decisions he made over the season.

Daenerys: “The warlocks kill with sorcery, not steel”

What would the season finale be without listening to Daenerys talk, or scream, about her dragons one more time? Finally we got to see the House of the Undying, and it was very similar to a fun house. Daenerys obviously found herself trapped in their by herself without her trusty guards. In my opinion, she found her dragons a little too easily. I wanted more of a struggle, but instead she walked through two rooms and there they were. So simple. Why didn’t she go get them earlier? I do have to admit though that there was one cool moment in this scene, and I liked it so much because we saw a side of Daenerys that I never though existed: her cruelty. I never expected her to lock one of her own handmaidens in the vault; I never expected her to lock anyone in the vault, but hopefully this experience will make her stronger and next season she won’t come back so…winey?

Arya: “The girl has many names on her lips”

The coolest scene in the entire episode, and my favorite scene in the entire episode was Arya’s. I have loved Arya’s plot line this season; it was amazing, especially her story line with Jaqen H’gar. I never expected him to change faces like that, holy shit, and although I know why Arya couldn’t go with him, I wish she did. Arya is meant for so much more than what Winterfell has to offer her, and I hope that after she fins her family she finds a man from Bravos and says, ‘Valar Morghulis’. Of course, what she is going home to now, I have no idea. Her mothers at camp with her brother, and the two little ones have fled because Winterfell has been burnt to the ground. She essentially has no home anymore, and I’ve no clue what she’s going to decide to do once she sees the wreckage that was left in her brother’s wake.

Beyond the Wall

I have to admit that the entire last five minutes of the show confused me beyond belief. I have no idea what Jon is getting himself into with the Wildlings, I can’t even wrap my head around why he had to murder his fellow Nightwatchmen. However, what really had me reeling was finally getting to see what the entirety of Westros fears. I almost forgot that there are things that need to be feared beyond the Wall, and after seeing them I’m definitely excited to see how they are going to play into next season. An army of ghosts! I never thought that that was what was beyond the Wall, it did remind me a little of the Return of the King, but they looked cool nonone the less, and there are thousands of them. It looks like the potential kings will have to stop fighting each other for a while to focus their attention on what is headed their way from the North.

What did you think of the season finale? What do you wish made the cut, and what are you most looking forward to seeing next season?

Possibly Related Posts:

• The Far Reaches Reviews: “Void” by Veronica Roth
• The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Well Run”
• Friday Fiction: Talking to A Ghost – Part 4
• It Came From The Archives “All Systems Red: An Uneven First Book”
• The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Pet Project”