GAME OF THRONES Season 4 Episode 6
Episode Title: “The Laws of Gods and Men”
Writer: Bryan Cogman
Director: Alik Sakharov
Previously on “Game of Thrones”:
After weeks of buildup, the trial of Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) finally occurs in “The Laws of Gods and Men,” However,Tyrion isn’t the only one on trial this week on “Game of Thrones.” But only one person walks away from his trial with the desired outcome. And that man is Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham).
“Game of Thrones” checks in with Dragonstone so infrequently that it may be easy to forget that Davos is in pretty dire straights with Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane). Stannis blames Davos for letting Gendry (Joe Dempsie) escape his fate as a sacrifice to the Lord of Light. And Stannis is probably also holding a grudge because Davos advised him to leave Melisandre (Carice van Houten) at home for the invasion of King’s Landing. Considering that the Lord of Light’s followers have demonstrated actual powers, that could have made all the difference in the Battle of Blackwater.
Instead, Stannis is on the verge of ruin and he let it be known that Davos’ reprieve from execution is nearly up. But when the moment of truth arrives, it is Davos who breathes new life into Stannis’ cause.
From this point on, there are full spoilers ahead for “The Laws of Gods and Men,” so if you missed last night’s episode of “Game of Thrones” then you should probably skip this review or else the Dragons will be eating more than just a few goats.
I never expected to actually see Braavos on this show, and the “Game of Thrones” visual effects team delivered a stunning shot of the city as Davos and Stannis sailed into port before meeting with the Iron Bank of Braavos.
“Game of Thrones” has been known to hide its exposition dumps with beautiful naked women to distract the viewers. Here, the show’s creative team hides the exposition in Davos’ impassioned appeal to Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss) and the other officers of the Iron Bank. The message is simple: the Lannisters can only hang on to power as long as Tywin (Charles Dance) is alive. Of the remaining leaders in Westros, only Stannis is a viable option as king.
Stannis doesn’t make the appeal himself, as he probably feels that groveling is beneath him. Davos honestly believes in Stannis, but I think he’s projecting the qualities that he wants to see in Stannis. The truth is that Davos would probably be a better king than Stannis because he has compassion to go with his sense of justice. Unfortunately, Davos doesn’t have any noble blood in his family and he hasn’t realized that it’s only his leadership that keeps Stannis’ forces together.
Ned Stark has been gone a long time, but somewhere along the way, Davos has stepped up to become the voice of moral authority on this show. Cunningham gives Davos a sense of purpose and humanity that makes him far more compelling than the man that he’s following. Davos even demonstrates his sense of humor when recruiting his pirate friend, Salladhor Saan (Lucian Msamati) with the gold that he procured from the bankers.
Elsewhere in Essos, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) doesn’t fare quite as well with her trial. This is Daenerys’ first real chance to act like a queen and she attempts to be a benevolent ruler. However, Daenerys has already undercut herself with the people of Meereen by crucifying the masters in retaliation for their murder of the slave children. Much to her horror, Daenerys learns from Hizadahr zo Loraq (Joel Fry) that she ordered the execution of his father, a man who had been one of the few to oppose the murders of the slaves.
To cap things off, Daenerys’ dragons are getting out of control and it’s unclear how much she can influence them. In another impressive CGI sequence, one of the dragons terrorizes a herd of goats before making off with his lunch. Daenerys seems to think that she’s being magnanimous by paying off the goat farmer for more than the value of his herd. But this isn’t a problem that Daenerys can just throw money at. Taken together with the reprisal crucifictions, Daenerys may already be losing the hearts and minds of her new subjects.
Over at the Dreadfort, the former Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) fails a test that could have restored his identity. Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan) stages a daring raid of the Dreadfort to retrieve her brother, but Theon isn’t Theon anymore. He’s so thoroughly buried himself in his “Reek” persona that Theon actually bites his sister to get away from her! Afterwards, even Yara has written off her brother as Theon stays behind in the custody of his master, Ramsay (Iwan Rheon).
Without Joffrey around, Ramsay has taken the title of the creepiest villain on “Game of Thrones.” When rewarding Reek for his loyalty with a bath, Ramsay has an undeniably look of pride and pleasure on his face when he sees the scars of what he’s done to Theon’s body. Ramsay even treats Theon like a pet while bathing him and Reek returns the affection out of fear. I guess in this world, the captive loving his captor phenomena should be called Dreadfort Syndrome. To prove his devotion to Ramsey, Reek is told that he has to impersonate Theon Greyjoy to help the Bolton family reclaim a fort taken by the Iron Born.
Before Tyrion’s trial in King’s Landing, Tywin’s new small council, including Prince Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal), and Lord Mace Tyrell (Roger Ashton-Griffiths), get an update on Daenerys’ latest conquest and the sighting of the Hound, Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann) in the Riverlands. That’s potentially bad news for Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), as her traveling companion gets a price on his head. But it’s also ominous for Daenerys, as Tywin finally decides to act against the Mother of Dragons.
Oberyn took a noticeable interest in the Hound’s whereabouts, but he also proves to be knowledgeable about Daenerys’ Unsullied army. His line about the Unsullied being less impressive in bed was the best joke of the episode. Note that Oberyn was the only one who didn’t stand when Tywin entered the Small Council chamber and Oberyn is the only one who is really asking questions at Tyrion’s trial. Oberyon may not care about Tyrion’s fate one way or the other, but he knows a fixed trial when he sees one.
Tyrion also knows, which is why he barely fights back as Cersei (Lena Headey), Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) and Ser Meryn Trant (Ian Beattie) testify against him. Using partial truths to damn Tyrion, they paint him as a demented man who abused his king and plotted his murder.
But the only one that really hurts Tyrion is Lord Varys (Conleth Hill), who echoes the charges against him in his testimony. Varys and Tyrion had an odd friendship, but it’s not enough for Varys to stick his neck out for him. Varys has done exactly what he told Tyrion that he would do in this situation. The only thing that Tyrion can do is to try to make Varys feel remorse by reminding him of how Tyrion saved the city from Stannis.
Rather than let his brother face imminent execution, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) tries to strike a deal with Tywin. In return for taking his rightful place at Casterly Rock, marrying and having children with the Lannister name, Jaime hopes to spare Tyrion’s life. But from the speed with which Tywin accepts his offer, it’s clear that Jaime has played right into his father’s hands. And the best outcome that Tyrion can hope for is a lifetime of exile at the Wall.
King’s Landing without Tyrion would probably be a lot less interesting. But Tyrion is right to be suspicious. Afterall, that offer didn’t exactly lead to a good outcome for the late Ned Stark. King Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) isn’t the sadist that his brother was, but if Tywin wanted Tyrion dead then Tommen would probably order it.
We never quite know for sure if Tywin would keep his word because Tyrion is shattered by the crown’s surprise witness: Shae (Sibel Kekilli). Apparently of her own volition, Shae testifies that Tyrion plotted Joffrey’s death with Sansa (Sophie Turner) and she humiliates Tyrion with intimate details about their time together.
In Shae’s mind, she is probably justified in sending “her lion” off to his death because she feels scorned. But she’s apparently unable to realize that Tyrion sent her away to save her life. This betrayal kills all hope of a happy ending between them and it may still kill both of them.
With a rage unlike anything we’ve previously seen from him, Tyrion interrupts the trial to confront his father and the citizens of King’s Landing with the truth: he saved the city and he didn’t murder Joffrey. Rather than go off meekly to his death, Tyrion demands a trial by combat. It’s a fantastic moment that should earn Dinklage his fourth Emmy nomination. I don’t know if it will be enough to beat Woody Harrelson and Aaron Paul this year, but it’s among Dinklage’s most compelling scenes in the entire series.
The question now is who will stand for Tyrion in the trial by combat. Bronn (Jerome Flynn) would be the obvious choice, but his absence here is suspicious. Bronn was supposed to have seen Shae off to her ship, but he clearly did not. The next viable option for Tyrion is Jaime, but that would require Jaime to openly oppose his father and his sister/lover. As a dark horse candidate, I’d almost suggest Prince Oberyn as Tyrion’s champion, if only because he seems to have some sympathy for him. But I don’t know if a judge can suddenly stand for the accused under the laws of the seven kingdoms.
Before the trial sequence, “The Laws of Gods and Men” was only a good episode of “Game of Thrones.” The trial sequence alone elevated this episode into the upper tier of “Game of Thrones.” As a way to kick off the second half of season 4, it’s hard to ask for more than we got in this episode.
