Writers: David Benioff, D. B Wiess.
Director: Alik Sakharov.
Cast: Stephen Dillane, Emilia Clarke, Iain Glenn, Aiden Gillen, Maisie Williams, Charles Dance, Burn Gorman, Sophie Turner, Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Natalie Dormer, Alfie Allen, Liam Cunningham.
Synopsis: Tyrion’s trial has come. Yara and her troops storm the Dreadfort to free Theon. Daenerys meets Hizdar zo Loraq. Stannis makes a deal with the Iron Bank of Braavos.
And breathe. After a year away, Game Of Thrones is finally back on our TV screens. After last years Red Wedding debacle we at THN decided that this show should not be watched without a support network, so this year we will be here to hold your hand through the fourth series of the show with our very own Blog of Thrones.
Remenber last week when Tywin told Cersei just how broke they were and that they owed the ‘Iron Bank’ a whole heap of money? Well we had a look into how the Iron Bank works and found that if someone cannot pay their debts – something which the Lannisters always do apparently – then the bank will simply fund somone else to go to war against the owing party. Stannis is also broke, however from what he has said he does not owe anyone any money, meaning he is the ideal candidate for an Iron Bank investment.
Poor Theon, sorry Reek, has been mutilated and is now festering in the dungeons. His father may have disowned him but sister Yara has come to the rescue. Unfortunately for her Ramsey has done such good job at Brainwashing the iron-born son that he thinks his rescue is another trick, believing himself only to be Reek. Realising it was futile Yara fled, leaving Reek alone with his captors. It would now seem that Ramsey may have been playing a game long enough to rival that of Littlefinger as having broken Theon into Reek, he is now in the process of building him up again, he ran him a lovely hot bath and everything. All he wants in return is for Reek to pretend to be someone else, Theon Greyjoy as it happens, so that he can help him acquire a castle. So he wants Theon, who believes himself to be Reek, to pretend to be Theon who he is. It’s a very brave manoeuvre by Ramsey.
What do dragons eat? Well-done goat. This is causing Daenerys some trouble with the locals. That and the fact that she crucified the wrong man. Could her reign be on the rocks already thanks to her rash decision? Hizdar zo Loraq’s plea saw her back-peddling and agreeing that he could take down his body. But what a mouthful of a title she has decreed herself with too: ‘Daenerys Stormborn Of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons,’ she’ll get fed up of saying that when she has to say it to the other 212 people in line.
The focal point of this episode is of course Tyrion’s long-awaited trial. It was all the way back at the end of episode two that he was arrested and it’s taken until now, episode six for us to be given more momentum on this particular plot. Still retaining his humour even now, jokingly asking if he had been pardoned. Unsurprisingly Tommen excused himself from the whole affair leaving Tyrion’s judges as Tywin, Lord Oberyn and Lord Tyrell.
What followed was an incredibly one-sided affair with everyone twisting their stories to push the guilt onto him even more. It is revealed as well that Joffrey was killed by a poison known as ‘The Strangler’, and Sansa’s necklace was named as the culprit, though we all know that Olenna was quite taken with Margaery’s wedding jewellery…
Jamie is clearly torn between his father, sister and brother, and in an attempt to save his little brother he struck a deal with Tywin. Tyrion will be found guilty, but not killed; he will instead to go to serve in the Nightswatch in exchange for Jamie leaving the King’s guard and fathering children with a woman of his choosing.
The big surprise witness in the trial was Shae. Clearly still exceptionally bitter about being broken-up with Shae’s fictional testimony being heart-breaking to listen to. We all know that Tyrion only made her leave so she would be safe. Her words affected him so much that he decided that enough was enough and launched into a tirade against the whole of King’s Landing. In a monologue of epic proportions he stated that he was really on trial for being a dwarf, and that the people had short memories – have they already forgotten it was he who saved them from Stannis? He then went on to confess that, whilst he didn’t kill Joffrey, he wished he had, before demanding a trial by combat.
The Laws Of Gods And Men is the episode that takes us over the half-way point, there is now fewer episodes left than have aired already and are we any closer to a resolution? The answer of course is no, but whereas other seasons of the show have had very slow, lengthy build-ups, this series is really kicking things up a gear episode on episode. Tonight we glimpsed another, albeit brief, battle, this time between Yara and Ramsey, with Stannis and Davos looking poised to join the action once more in the near future. Tyrion’s demand for a trial by combat surely means that we are in for some killer scenes too, but if it’s a trial by combat who will he be battling?
[usr=5] Game Of Thrones airs on HBO in north America, and Sky Atlantic in the UK and Ireland.
