GAME OF THRONES Season 4 Episode 10
Episode Title: “The Children”
Writers: David Benioff & D. B. Weiss
Director: Alex Graves
Previously on “Game of Thrones”:
For the final “Game of Thrones” episode of 2014, you can read our full review of “The Children’ here. This is our weekly recap of “Game of Thrones,” and there are huge spoilers ahead! Don’t say that we didn’t warn you!
We Do Not Kneel
Beyond the Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) gets his meeting with Mance Rayder (Ciarán Hinds) to discuss a peaceful ending to the conflict between the Wildling army and the Night’s Watch. But while Mance seems willing to make a deal, he quickly realizes that Jon just wants to kill him to splinter his Wildling army.
Jon is saved by the timely arrival of Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) and his newly hired sellsword army. After introducing himself as Ned Stark’s son, Jon convinces Stannis to spare Mance’s life and to burn all of the bodies of the dead. Later, Jon gives Ygritte (Rose Leslie) a private funeral pyre on her side of the Wall as a farewell to the woman that he loved.
The Truth
Feeling particularly bold after the triumph of Ser Gregor “the Mountain” Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) in Tyrion’s trial by combat, Cersei (Lena Headey) decides that now would be the perfect time to demand that she not be forced into marrying Loras Tyrell. Tywin (Charles Dance) laughs off Cersei’s demands… until she threatens to reveal that she and her brother, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) have been lovers for years.
Although he is taken aback, Tywin claims to not believe Cersei. So Cersei leaves him behind and throws herself into the arms of her brother, who barely minds that someone may walk in on them.
Dragons Will Be Dragons
Across the Narrow Sea, the rule of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) is not going well. Former slaves want to sell themselves back into slavery because they have no other viable ways to live. More disturbingly, the dragons are beginning to reject Daenerys’ hold over them. To drive home this point, a distraught father brings Daenerys the charred remains of his three year old daughter.
With Drogan missing, Daenerys lures her two remaining dragons into the catacombs beneath her new palace and she places chains around their necks. When Daenerys turns to leave, she is clearly upset… and so are the dragons. What will happen when Daenerys inevitably needs her dragons again? Will they still follow her commands after this?
Skeleton Warriors
Beyond the Wall, Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright),Jojen (Thomas Brodie Sangster), Meera (Ellie Kendrick) and Hodor (Kristian Nairn) finally find the giant Heart Tree from Bran’s visions. But they are attacked by reanimated skeletons that fatally wound Jojen and force Bran to once again use Hodor as a deadly weapon.
The group is saved by a child of the forest (Octavia Selena Alexandru) who shoots magical fire from her hands. The child leads Bran and his friends into the cave near the Heart Tree where they meet a man claiming to be the three-eyed raven (Struan Rodger) from Bran’s dreams. And he tells Bran that he will never walk again, but he will fly.
Father and Son Bonding
Back at King’s Landing, Tyrion is surprised and grateful when Jaime frees him from the dungeon and sets him on a path to meet Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) and escape. Rather than leave immediately, Tyrion goes to see his father one last time… and he finds Shae (Sibel Kekilli) in his father’s bed!
Shae grabs a knife, but it’s Tyrion who emerges the victor after choking his former lover to death. Minutes later, Tyrion holds a crossbow as he confronts Tywin on the toilet. Despite Tywin’s attempts to talk Tyrion down, Tyrion fatally shoots his father twice. In the aftermath, Varys is forced to flee with Tyrion when Tywin’s murder is discovered.
The Hound Vs. Brienne
On the road to the Vale, Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Podrick (Daniel Portman) come across Sandor “The Hound” Clegane (Rory McCann) and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams). After realizing who Arya is, Brienne attempts to bring her to safety. The Hound objects because there is no safety in Westros for Arya and he is her protector.
Brienne and the Hound duel in an increasingly brutal fight. Despite Brienne’s attempts to de-escalate the situation, the Hound persists and Brienne matches him each step of the way. Finally, Brienne manages to win when the Hound is fatally injured from a fall. But Arya is nowhere to be seen.
All Men Must Die
Later, Arya finds the Hound dying and he begs her to give him a quick death. The Hound grows increasingly desperate to be free of his suffering and he tries to goad Arya into ending his life. Instead, Arya steals his gold and leaves him to die as he pleads for release.
Finally, Arya comes across a ship and she attempts to book passage to the Wall. When the Captain refuses and mentions that they are going to Braavos, Arya hands him the iron coin given to her by Jaqen H’ghar. The Captain is so stunned by the coin that he immediately agrees to bring Arya along with him on the trip.
That’s the end of “Game of Thrones” for this year! If you want to read our review of this episode, click here. And be sure to let us know what you thought of the episode in the comment section below!
