GAME OF THRONES: Season 4 Episode 3
Episode Title: “Breaker of Chains”
Writers: David Benioff & D. B. Weiss
Director: Alex Graves
Previously on “Game of Thrones”:
Following last week’s insane ending, “Breaker of Chains” wastes little time in answering questions about who was behind the assassination and how it was done. And for once, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) has been outmaneuvered by someone whom he probably doesn’t even realize is moving against him.
Not that it stops Tywin from making a few new moves of his own to shore up his family’s power base. More surprisingly, Tywin acknowledges that Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), the Wildings and the Greyjoys are legitimate threats to the crown. It’s a small touch that brings the various story threads together for a moment. But there’s at least one threat unmentioned in the form of the White Walkers. And Tywin is probably underestimating Stannis (Stephen Dillane) as well.
There are full spoilers ahead for “Breaker of Chains,” so if you missed last night’s episode of “Game of Thrones” then you should probably skip this review or else there won’t be a boat waiting for you in the fog.
As much as I appreciate a good mystery, it was refreshing that we immediately learn that Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish (Aiden Gillen) planned the death of Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and paid the King’s Fool, Dontos (Tony Way) to set up Sansa (Sophie Turner) and spirit her out of the city. Remember when Tywin was pissed at the Tyrells for trying to steal the North out from under him? Littlefinger just did it. Littlefinger always wanted Sansa’s mother for himself. Is he now willing to settle for having her daughter instead?
Now that we know that the poison was in the necklace that Dontos gave Sansa in the fourth season premiere, there’s really only one person who could have delivered the poison. Watch last week’s episode again and keep an eye on Sansa’s necklace and who was touching it. I’m not going to spoil it for you here. But I am curious about this person’s motivation for working with Littlefinger.
This assassination plot may not have been Tywin’s idea, but it almost feels like it should have been. In one fell swoop, his least favorite son, Tyrion is in chains and facing a trial for his life while Tywin’s insane grandson is off the throne. Prince Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) seems far more reasonable and easily controllable for Tywin. Tywin also takes the opportunity to strike a deal with Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal). Oberyn hates the Lannisters, but Tywin offers him almost everything that he could want: a seat on the Small Council and a confrontation with The Mountain, Ser Gregor Clegane.
In short, Tyrion is screwed and only Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Podrick (Daniel Portman) even entertain the possibility that Tyrion had nothing to do with Joffrey’s death. Pod also reveals that the fix is in on Tyrion’s trial, as he was offered a knighthood if he testified against Tyrion.
Tyrion’s emotional good farewell to Pod was extremely moving and heartbreaking. Dinklage and Portman really sold the bond between Tyrion and Pod. As Tyrion says, Pod truly was the most loyal squire… and it’s a quality that may get him killed if he doesn’t take Tyrion’s advice to leave King’s Landing.
Never let it be said that “Game of Thrones” is a show that let’s the audience get comfortable with its characters. After a season of making us forget that Jamie once threw Bran out of a window to protect his secret by making us care for him, “Breaker of Chains” depicts Jaime forcing himself on his sister, Cersei (Lena Headey) near the body of their dead son. This was immediately after Cersei urged Jaime to kill their brother.
According to the “Game of Thrones” producers, Cersei was a willing participant by the end of that scene with her brother. But it was still troubling to watch. I feel like I’ve lost my sympathy for Jaime after that.
Meanwhile at Dragonstone, Stannis credits the death of Joffrey to Melisandre (Carice van Houten) using Gendry’s blood as a sacrifice while threatening Davos (Liam Cunningham) for failing to rally enough men to his cause. In an amusing touch, we also see that Stannis’ daughter, Shireen (Kerry Ingram) takes after her father in a way. She’s a very stern teacher for Davos, but Shireen also provides him with the inspiration to save his life and hire a new army by approaching the Iron Bank of Braavos.
Out in the North, the Wildings are running wild and even Ygritte (Rose Leslie) is killing innocent people. At Castle Black, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) concedes that the Night’s Watch can’t fight Ygritte’s hordes without playing into Mance Rayder’s hands. However, Jon quickly points out that if they don’t kill the rebellious Night’s Watch members at Craster’s Keep then Mance will realize that the Night’s Watch is severely outnumbered.
That’s just laying the groundwork for things to come at the Wall and it was effective enough. The less effective subplot at Castle Black involved Sam (John Bradley) shipping off Gilly (Hannah Murray) and her baby to Mole’s Town because he wants to protect her from the rapists among the Night’s Watch. Sam has the best of intentions, but he’s letting Gilly down and it’s such a poorly conceived decision that it can’t end well. Either Gilly will be endangered by the Wildings or she’ll come to resent Sam for leaving her in squalor.
In the Riverlands, we get a short lived spinoff of sorts as The Hound (Rory McCann) and Arya (Maisie Williams) find sanctuary with a farmer and his daughter. The Hound and Arya are so much fun together that it’s easy to forget just what he’s capable of doing. After accepting the farmer’s offer of employment, The Hound robs the man of his silver and justifies it by declaring him to be weak.
Arya really wanted to stay with the farmer and his daugher for a while. She even encouraged the Hound to take the deal. It was probably a preferable fate to living with her crazy aunt in the Eyrie. But The Hound let her down. From his perspective, it was the only practical action. The Hound can be heroic, but he is definitely no hero.
The one truly hopeful plotline of “Breaker of Chains” revolved around the breaker herself, Daenerys Stormborn. In a masterful move, Daenerys ignored the slave owners completely and made her appeal directly to the slaves of Meereen before pelting the city with thousands of broken slave collars. It’s an unmistakable message to the slaves and an elegant ending to the episode.
On a side note, I really enjoyed Michiel Huisman’s new take on Daario Naharis in this episode as he became Daenerys’ champion and hilariously made short work of Meereen’s champion. This Daario seems more interesting than his last incarnation.
After the seismic shift of Joffrey’s death, “Breaker of Chains” was largely a transitional episode. But as the players change, the story feels more unpredictable than ever. I love that feeling.
