Game of Thrones Recap: Mother’s Mercy
At last, the season concludes lingering story lines and opens up a whole new phase of the war for the Seven Kingdoms. Let’s get started with the current occupant of the iron throne.
King Tommen remains in seclusion but his dear mother is free. After a long and unpleasant walk through the city, she is safe. Her uncle is the Hand of the King giving her a new intra-family rival. At the same time she regained her deadliest servant The Mountain that Rides in zombie form. Unfortunately, the peace between Lannister and Martell has ended thanks to the murder of Myrcella. With the Tyrells also imprisoned, they are nearly out of friends.
The gradual decline in the power of House Lannister will only tempt the other great houses to defy them whether through backing a new king or declaring themselves an independent kingdom. The Seven Kingdoms may indeed become seven sovereign kingdoms. The odds that the civil war will continue are very high.
Their enemies are numerous: Doran Martell, Olenna Tyrell, Petr Baelish, and what remains of the other great houses. Blackfish Tully still lives, as does Lady Sansa, Bran Stark (presumably), Rickon Stark (presumably), and Balon Greyjoy.
Stannis was the last major contender for the throne but has now passed on. The Red Priestess is on deathwatch. Ser Davos is all alone and I just can’t imagine him allowing her to live. With no more Baratheon challengers, Dragonstone returns to King Tommen de facto and de jure. The Sparrows have a case challenging King Tommen’s legitimacy but I doubt that lasts long. Cersei is about to unleash the vengeance on the Sept.
The only out I see for Lannister is for King Tommen to grow a pair and get Loras and Margaery released from prison. Wiping out the Sparrows is necessary. Somehow he must contain Cersei’s wrath and make sure the right criminals are punished for the murder of his sister, Myrcella.
One older claim remains: House Targeryen. The problem is timing. To take advantage of the chaos that is Westeros, Queen Daenerys must arrange alliances and unite the Lannister enemies as soon as possible. Alternatively, she could wait for the kingdoms to tire themselves out and swoop in with her army. The problem is the unsullied force isn’t that big relatively speaking, and is shrinking due to battles with Sons of the Harpy.
Her best move is to swiftly to destroy what is left of the Harpy threat, or in this case it may be Tyrion and Varys that accomplish it. Next, she appoints someone to become Lord of Meereen to rule as a warden of Slaver’s Bay. I’d also rename the Bay. Her goal is the iron throne, and it is time she makes a move for it. An alliance with the Martells would be mutually beneficial.
What will inevitably follow is a realignment. All the great houses must choose sides once again. Tyrell and Martell have geographic proximity and some cultural ties. Who is their claimant? Loras? Doubtful. His father? No way. Doran? He is in a wheelchair although has a potentially talented heir in Trystane. I think independence is the more likely path for them.
Lord Baelish planned to let Stannis and Roose Bolton exhaust each other, then intervene to destroy Bolton, and possibly restore the Stark line. Lady Sansa now knows her brothers are alive. Baelish would support a Stark revival but he cannot possibly count on Sansa to be a friend anymore. The heir of Arryn is a weakling as well. Arryn’s best move is to stand pat, possibly become an independent kingdom with the Arryn boy as the king in name only.
However, Baelish’s decision to marry off Sansa suggests an intent to destroy the Boltons, which makes sense due to his undying love for Catelyn. In which case, he may follow through on his word, invade the north, destroy the Boltons and restore the Starks.
Of course I must mention the tragic death of Jon Snow. Ned Stark’s progeny are not doing well. His loss puts the Night’s Watch out of play. The white walkers will find a way over the wall and wipe them out, head south and likely crush the wildlings as well. No one in the Seven Kingdoms knows how to kill them. And of course, where is Bran???!!!
To the east, Queen Daenerys was flown to some distant land alone. The dragon, wounded, is recovering. Unfortunately she wandered off and became surrounded by what looked like Dothraki. That scene leaves plenty of question marks.
I also need to comment on the graphic nature of the episode. Arya’s murder of the leader of the king’s guard was horrific. Cersei’s nude walk through King’s Landing was long and unnecessarily drawn out. While I think Game of Thrones usually uses nudity and violence appropriately given the story, in this case I think it was gratuitous.
I do not see a path to any kind of peace or stability, only death and destruction. The raping and pillaging will continue and the depraved shall rule. We are four seasons in and I believe three novels in, and while I’ve loved a lot of this show, I am wearing down. This is becoming too much darkness and despair. I don’t see how Martin brings us to any measure of hope without magic intervening. Such a move would not be his style at all.
With Walking Dead, Vikings, and Game of Thrones dominating television in my house, I feel like I need to find something positive and hopeful. No more constant death and despair.
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