6 Thoughts on Game of Thrones Season 3
My favorite TV show on the air right now is HBO’s Game of Thrones. It’s deep, it’s sprawling, and it’s one of the most exciting TV shows I’ve ever seen. Production values are better than most movies these days. And the rich tapestry of characters is unlike any other show in history. That alone makes every episode an adventure, because there are so many characters and so many plots, there’s always something to like. The third season came to an end a few weeks ago, and just as I did for the first season of Arrow, I’ve decided to start reviewing TV seasons in Lists of Six.
I may be a few weeks late, but if you all saw the climax of season 3, then you know stuff like that takes some time to settle in the mind.
Dun Dun Dununah
This list was suggested by friend-of-the-site Xavier. If you have any List of Six suggestions, or there’s a topic you’d like to see me write about, don’t hesitate to shoot me an e-mail at Hench4Hire@gmail.com.
I’m going to put a SPOILERS tag on this article, just in case some of my readers haven’t seen the full season yet. But at the same time, I’m going to assume anybody eager to read a list like this has already seen season 3. I’m going to be talking about the season and characters in depth, so please be warned. There’s a lot to talk about, I’m sure. And some more professional, academic bloggers might have some more in-depth analysis. But I’m just a dude who likes a TV show, and here are my six thoughts on Season 3 of Game of Thrones!
6. I liked it
Praise be to the blonde woman!
Simply put, I was very happy with Season 3. I’ve been enjoying the show right along since the beginning, and Season 3 has been as good as everything that’s come before it. Game of Thrones has been quality from the very beginning, and it just keeps getting bigger and better. Sometimes I’d prefer if they focused on only one of two characters per episode, but that’s a minor quibble. Somehow they manage to juggle all of the storylines expertly, keeping each of them moving at a nice pace, and usually each episode has a strong moment or two for each story. And I’m enjoying all the stories. I’ll list some of my favorites below, but everyone, even the villainous Lannisters, have their own stories going on. I can’t wait to see what comes next in Season 4.
I’m reading the books, but only after I’ve seen the full seasons. I won’t be reading A Storm of Swords until after the fourth season ends, so I can’t really comment on what’s been changed from book to show for Season 3. By this point, we should all be willing to trust the show-runners to handle the adaptation well and give us a good show. They haven’t let me down yet. Well…I do have one complaint about Season 3…
5. Who had it worse? Theon? Or us?
Probably Theon
Way, way too much attention was paid to Theon’s storyline. I think we checked in on Theon at least once every episode, and every time it was just some new form of torture. Even when Theon was ‘rescued’ and taken out into the woods for an extended adventure, it was still just a part of the horrible torture. I hated Theon for betraying Robb as much as the next guy, but even I just got bored with scene after scene of Theon being tortured by his sadistic warden. We didn’t even learn who that guy was or why he was torturing Theon until the very last episode. Theon’s storyline was a waste of time and space, and Game of Thrones is already packed tight with stories. They could have put that time to better use.
Though I am excited to see what Yara brings to the table next season. Seeing her rally her troops to rescue her brother in the last episode was pretty cool. But I think Game of Thrones is pretty clear about what happens to people who rally an army to set out on adventure.
4. What the heck happened to Tyrion?
‘Tis but a scratch
Everybody’s favorite character on the show is Tyrion Lannister, played by Peter Dinklage. That’s a given. But sadly, the little dude’s role in the show was greatly diminished in Season 3 (no pun intended). What was up with that? Obviously that’s probably how it went in the books, and his lot in life isn’t too great right now, but it’s never fun when Tyrion is put in the corner. I imagine with the book, George R.R. Martin probably just didn’t write a Tyrion chapter for awhile. But the show has Peter Dinklage at the top of the credits. They can’t not use him. So Tyrion was left to flounder around King’s Landing nipping at his father’s heels. How depressing was it that Tyrion got schooled by Lady Olenna of the Tyrells? And then time after time, Tyrion was put in his place by his dad. I was taken by complete surprise when Tyrion was ordered to marry Sansa, then by even more surprise when he actually went through with it!
Of course, I’m sure this is all building towards something. Varys (who also had a reduced role) spoke the truth when he said Tyrion is one of the few who might actually be able to save the realm. So every time Tywin puts down his son, it’s just more fuel on the fire for what will hopefully be a wonderful bit of revenge. And how cool was that insult to Geoffrey on his wedding night? Show-stopping!
3. Where Tyrion falls, several characters rise
Up we go!
Tyrion’s story may have hit the skids this season, but that just means several other characters had the chance to step up in a big way. Game of Thrones isn’t just about Tyrion, after all. Daenerys is finally on an adventure with some meat on its bones. Her dragons are definitely one of the coolest parts of the show, but it’s kind of obvious that she’s not going to arrive in Westeros for several seasons. So it was great to see her finally kicking butt and burning people alive. Several cities fell under the might of her army this season, and she got an army! I can’t be the only one who just wants to see her burn a hot path across the countryside, right?
Obviously not
I liked Sam Tarly’s story, even if the overall Night’s Watch adventure has been disappointing. Remember the end of Season 1, when it seemed like a huge deal that the Night’s Watch was going to ride beyond the Wall? They never ended up really doing anything. They set up camp, never found Mance Rayder, got slaughtered by zombies and then ran back to Craster with their tails between their legs. And I don’t know about you, but I was totally on the side of the rebels who wanted to kill Craster. That bastard had it coming, especially from the Night’s Watch. Though I was less than thrilled when poor Papa Mormont tasted steel. And now those frat boy-esque former Night’s Watch twerps are gonna be a pain in the butt, just you wait and see. At least Sam is being awesome. And he’s the first person in centuries to kill a White Walker. That’s pretty badass.
One character/story that really took me by surprise was Stannis Baratheon. For most of the season, he was his usual uninteresting self. But the idea that Stannis might lead the charge against the White Walkers is very, very exciting. I’m dying to see everyone’s reaction to the news from the North. For some reason, I really dig it when everyone starts taking the Night’s Watch seriously. I want to see Tywin’s reaction, and Tyrion’s. But for now, we saw Stannis and his Red Woman start gearing up, and that was pretty damn cool.
Winners of ‘Cutest Couple’
One of the best storylines this season was the cross-country roadtrip of Jamie and Brienne. Both of those characters really came into their own, and the showdown in the bear pit was fantastic. I think out of all the cliffhangers in the season finale, I most want to see what happens next to the two of them. Do they fall in love? Does Jamie have to defend Brienne against his family? I can’t imagine she’s going to do well in the care of the Lannisters. And what will Jamie do in the larger picture now? Surely he’s a changed man, and that change has been fascinating to watch. Does he finally care about something? Will he honor the promise to rescue the Stark girls? Is he ready to step up and be the hero of the series? Is that even his fate? I can’t wait to find out.
2. Arya is totally going to train to be an assassin, right?
There’s murder in those eyes
Speaking of badass team-ups, this season was all about putting unlikely allies together. Jamie and Brienne, Tyrion and Sansa, and then Arya and the Hound. I did not see that one coming, but it’s absolutely fantastic! The Hound is just a big ole softy at heart, and I bet he’d be a great mentor figure. Arya is all piss and vinegar, and while it would have been great to see her reunite with her family, it’s going to be even cooler to see her cross the sea to start training to become a Faceless Man. Because that totally has to happen, right? I will gladly trade the cute romance of Arya and Gendry for the badass adventures of Arya and the Hound on her journey to become a killing machine.
Speaking of killing machines…
1. MY VERY SOUL HAS BEEN RENT ASUNDER!
You horrible, cruel world!
Oh God. The Red Wedding. For the love of…Man…it’s just, wow. I didn’t know what to think after watching that episode. Like I said, I’d never read the book, and I had avoided all spoilers leading up to that episode. After hearing about how Martin kills our favorite characters, I had assumed that the ‘Red Wedding’ referred to Geoffrey’s wedding, and that surely Tyrion would be the one to be killed. I kept watching and waiting for the episode to cut back to King’s Landing. But it didn’t. It stayed at the Twins. And then it killed Robb, his pregnant wife and Catelyn, in horrible, bloody, brutal fashion. It was the most insane thing I have ever seen on TV. It was monstrous!
And that’s exactly what it was supposed to be. My hat’s off to George R.R. Martin.
I read an interview with Martin immediately after the Red Wedding, where he explained to TVGuide why he had done it, and the answer was obvious: he wanted to defy expectations. We have all been trained by years of fiction to believe that good will always triumph over evil, and that the handsome, young hero will always win in the end. So it’s perfectly reasonable to write your story in order to upend those expectations. It’s why Ned Stark was killed in the end of the first book. And it’s why Robb and his war had to die: because we expected them to win. We expected Ned to uncover the Lannister plot and succeed. We expected Robb’s army to crush the Lannisters and kill Geoffrey. But if either of those things had happened, where would we be? What kind of story would there be left to tell?
Definitely not their story
Another article I read at the AV Club helped me to understand the point of the Red Wedding a little bit more. Obviously, Geoffrey and the Lannisters are the villains of the series. And we want Geoffrey killed and punished in the worst way. Robb’s army was the most direct and obvious route to getting justice against Geoffrey. And having Robb simply war his way down to King’s Landing and kill Geoffrey is unimaginative. Remove Robb and suddenly everything changes. Suddenly there are no obvious routes to justice, and the whole world opens up. Because, of course, Robb was hardly the only storyline in Game of Thrones. With him out of the way, all of the other stories and characters take on new meaning. Geoffrey will get his comeuppance eventually (I assume), and now we have so many creative options for how that will happen. Maybe Sansa will get her revenge and kill him. Maybe it’ll be Tyrion. Maybe Danni and her dragons will burn him alive. Or maybe Arya will become a master assassin and slay him while he sleeps.
The possibilities for victory are now endless. It may take awhile longer before we get justice, but with Robb and Catelyn out of the way, that justice will be so much juicier.
Though I think the true aftermath of the Red Wedding is going to be much more sinister than any of us realize. Who we really have to watch out for are the TV executives. Those motherless dogs are going to look at the emotional reaction to the Red Wedding and get it into their heads that the way to really connect with an audience will be to kill their heroes. They’re not going to see the importance to the story. Or the repercussions for the series or the characters. They’re not going to care that Robb was only one of dozens of characters.
Oh no, my friends, these TV executives will only see that millions of viewers were shocked at the brutal murder of a hero. And now they’ll start putting it in all of their TV shows. They don’t care about story, they just want a reaction. Like when Lost became a hit and every new show to debut afterwards was an attempt to make another Lost, only without the heart and skill that made Lost so good in the first place.
Mark my words, boys and girls, this is only the beginning!
BONUS: My crazy Bran theory
Puberty hit this moppet hard
Okay, so I have no idea what’s going to happen in future books. I haven’t been spoiled by people who have read the books. And I can’t look into George R.R. Martin’s mind to find out how it’s all going to end. But after watching Season 3, I have this insane theory that I think I know at least one thing that’s going to happen, and it involves Bran.
So towards the end of Season 3, we saw that Bran has become so powerful in his warg abilities that he could control Hodor. And the Reed boy said that’s never happened before. So obviously, Bran is some kind of Super Warg, and his powers are only going to get stronger. That, I think, should probably be a given at this point. But my theory is that , in the end, Bran is going to become so powerful at controlling animals that he’s going to eventually take control of Danni’s dragons! Bran is going to become master of dragons!
Adorable though they may be
Maybe. I dunno. Like I said, this is just a crazy cool theory/prediction I have. And I’m terrible at those. And I know I’m not the first person on the Internet to suggest such a possibility. Still, it would be awesome!
——————–
What did you think of Season 3? Who were your favorite characters? Favorite stories? Least favorite stories? Let me know in the comments! And remember, absolutely NO SPOILERS from the books, please. Be cool.
Posted on July 10, 2013, in Lists of Six!, Television. Bookmark the permalink. 17 Comments.
Henchman-4-Hire 
Excellent thoughts. I really only have one thought about Season 3 of Game of Thrones:
1. I hate hate hate HATE Daario Naharis. Jorah Mormont is my favorite character because he is the best character. The End. And his arc this season has been his decline into uselessness. He was pretty necessary in season 1 when it was just him and Daenerys. His fight against the one douchey Dothraki after Drogo died was my favorite scene so far. And sadly he hasn’t topped it. He gets cool scenes (like the fight in Astapor) and he gets amazing lines (“Within every man there is a beast; and it stirs when you put a sword in his hand.”) But this season especially is there to show that if Daenerys is to become Queen of the World, then some backwoods disgraced Knight isn’t going to be Hand of the Queen material.
Let’s break it down:
Point 1: They get Barriston Selmy. He’s the greatest swordsman in the world. He is obviously going to be a better bodyguard for Daenerys. So that’s one less thing that once made Jorah useful. Also real quick aside on Barriston. This show has built him up like crazy, and I need some payoff, stat! Season one he had that scene where he was kicked out of the Kingsguard and he draws his sword on the other members and he says “Even now it would be so easy, like carving a cake.” And everyone looks at him like he probably could. Then Jamie Lannister mentions how he used to squire for Barriston and how in awe he was of his skill. He said “He was like a painter who only used the color red.” That’s high praise kids. If Barriston is going to try to steal Jorah’s place, I need to see him earn it.
Point 2: Daenerys gets an army. And with it she gets Grey Worm. I like Grey Worm. His awesome spear-fighting scene, the fact he kept his slave name (which is still a kinda cool-sounding name), the fact that 8000 Unsullied decided that he was the best of them, it all points to him being a really cool character. He’s definitely my favorite new character from this season. But he is the commander of Daenerys’s army. And that’s one more thing that Jorah won’t be doing anymore.
Point 3: Goddamn Daario Naharis. He’s younger, prettier, a better fighter, a better tactician, more confident, and he’s even better at being in love with Daenerys. And the big one is that he hates slavery more than Jorah does. Daenerys’s whole thing this season was to free a bunch of slaves. Which is awesome! Remember when Robb’s wife told that story about the slave who performed CPR on her little brother and how he would have been killed for pushing her out of the way. It was a beautiful way to show just how much it sucks to be a slave over in what are ironically called “The Free Cities.” This mission of Daenerys’s may not be as cool as killing White Walkers with dragons, but I’m down with it. The problem is that Jorah was a slaver. And his attitudes to slaves are not the same as Daenerys’s. He wanted to buy the Unsullied. And he made good points about how they won’t rape and pillage and that Daenerys would be kind to them, but end of the day, he was ok with slavery. And Daario isn’t. Daario won’t even have sex with prostitutes (which Game of Thrones takes great pains to point out everyone does). This show has made sure that everyone knows that Daario Naharis is a great and amazing character who everyone will love. But seriously…fuck him. I’d rather see Joffrey torture Tyrion, Jon Snow, and Arya to death than watch Daenerys pick Daario over Jorah Mormont.
I kind of hated that guy too, but mostly because, as a dork, I’m drawn to disliking arrogant pretty boys. You’re totally right about Jorah not having much to do this season, though I am liking the friendship/partnership between him and Grey Worm. Not nearly as much as Jorah and Daenerys, of course, but there’s got to be some drama in her storyline, and to have drama, you need characters. It can’t just be Daenerys and Jorah lording over the eastern kingdoms until they eventually get to Westeros. This way we’ll get stories of jealousy and love and lust and loyalty, you’ll see! And Jorah will win in the end!
In the books he is not even that pretty, in there he dyes his hair and his long beard blue except for the mustache which he dyes gold, I couldn’t make this up even if I tried, my guess is that they wanted to give a little fan service for the ladies so they made him more “pretty”, I’m not against that, considering that they made pretty much everybody more handsome than in the books, and it does make some next parts with him a little more believable, you are right that it will create more drama but, like with a lot in GoT, it doesn’t go the way you’ll think it’ll go.
The thing about Theon is that after book 2 he doesn’t even appear until book 5, most of that torture is just mentioned and remembered, by the time he appears again he is already broken and they tell how he got there, also the castration is implied but not completely confirmed so there was some doubt about it, they probably just didn’t want to go 3 seasons without Alfie Allen, so they showed what happened to him during that time, I want to see what they do with his sister because in the books she doesn’t go to save him, she does go to Winterfell to look for his body but thats it, she doesn’t know that Ramsay has him, so’ll be interesting to see where they’ll go with that.
With tyrion he actually gets a worse treatment in the book than in the show but thats because he’ll eventually get his great moment near the end, just wait for it.
I am fully behind the “warging a dragon” theory. I wouldn’t be surprised if, when the White Walkers start becoming a bigger and bigger threat, that Bran taking the reins of some dragons and torching them will be the only way to put an end to that particular problem. They seem vulnerable to dragon-related stuff and not much else, based on that one being killed by the dragon-glass dagger.
Now there’s a part I hadn’t even considered! Dragon Warg Bran roasting an entire army of White Walkers and zombies! That’s gotta be the climax! Fire is the only thing that puts those damn zombies down!
I kind of hate how the portra Theon’s “betrayal of the Starks” as objectively wrong. He didn’t owe them anything. I also agree that I don’t want to see Theon get tortured for two seasons.
Wow, you really support Theon.
How so?
By saying his betraying the Starks was justified! That guy’s a total traitor!
Sorry for the long post. He’s just a really complex character.
I guess it’s just because I read the books. I don’t know if you do, but if you don’t or you watched the show first that might influence the way you see Theon’s actions. To betray the Starks he would first have to owe them loyalty. In the books the Starks don’t like Theon, they don’t trust Theon and when Ned and Cat think about him it’s usually in his capacity as a hostage to keep his family in line. Ned’s not a father to him. In fact, Ned and Cat treat Theon the same way Cat treats Jon. With distance and mistrust which is why I hate the “My real father lost his head in Kings Landing. I had a choice and I chose wrong.” line (which is only from the show). Part of the reason Theon’s so intent on winning his fathers approval is that he doesn’t have a home in the North. The Northerners didn’t like him because he’s a Greyjoy and the Greyjoys are their traditional enemies, but when he get’s back home he realizes that he’s been with the Starks so long that his family is unwilling to accept him.
Another thing that he never does, is swear fealty to Robb. Theon was the heir to the Iron Islands and by swearing fealty to a Stark he’d essentially be giving up his claim to the Seastone Chair.
Given the way they portray his “betrayal” and Theon (in the book he’s a good fighter, occasionally clever, handsome and good with women where as in the show he’s just a loser in pretty much everything he does) it’s unsurprising that people just see him as a traitor, but if we take a look at his history it becomes clear why he does what he does. Theon was raised with two abusive brothers. For the most part the rest of his family loved him. Then at 10 he’s taken away from his family, friends and people under the threat of death to Winterfell. While the Starks aren’t cruel to him just for the sake of being cruel, they still don’t like, trust or accept him. He’s raised with them, but not as one of them. Getting to see them grow up with their families in a loving home. One that he’s denied. The only person in Winterfell he bonds with is Robb Stark, who becomes his best friend. Theon goes home to bring his father to Robbs side as an ally (not swear fealty like in the show) and he thinks he’s going to be welcomed home with open arms. Instead, his father, sister and uncles (this is limited to his family) disrespect and humiliate Theon at every turn.
In the hopes of winning his fathers approval he turns against his Robb (His only friend in the North), in the hopes that he can regain the love of his family. So his father gives him 8 ships (not 1 like in the show) to raid the Stony Shore. To win his fathers approval he thinks a tactically brilliant scheme to lead the Winterfell garrison out and take the heart of the North. In the show the got rid of the line, but Asha says that it was a brilliant plan and had he burned Winterfell to the ground and left with hostages he would have won the war for the Iron Born. What keeps him from capitalizing on this plan and sacking the place, is his attachment to the the North. He wanted to be both a Stark and a Greyjoy, and in the end it destroyed him.
Another thing they’ve done, is the changed Theon’s relationships on the Iron Islands. In the show everyone on the Iron Islands hates him. In the books he’s not hated by them. He’s disrespected, but it mostly comes from his family. There are two people in the books that he’s closer too than Robb. Dagmer Cleftjaw and his mother. In the show Dagmer betrays Theon and hands him over to the Boltons (in the books his crew decides to stay and die fighting with him) and his mother is dead (in the books she’s very much alive, although she’s been driven insane over the deaths of her sons and her youngest son being taken away from her as a hostage).
Again. Sorry for the long post. He’s one of the more complex characters in the books. I’m not the biggest fan of Theon, but I just can’t get behind this idea that he owed any loyalty to the family that tore him away from his home and kept him as a hostage under the threat of death anymore than I think Sansa owes loyalty to the Lannisters.
Your argument is very well reasoned and makes complete sense. But it pales in comparison to the simple fact of ‘bros before krakens!’ Nah, I’m kidding. You make a lot of sense, but everybody liked Robb (or at least the Starks) and nobody likes betrayers.
Then Sansa’s in trouble and it seems Theon was doomed no matter what he does. He’d either have to betray Robb (the only Stark he owed the slightest bit of loyalty to) or his family and people. I can’t hold that against him.
Also, I liked Robb more in the books. In the books he’s less “Badass” (Ned Stark is to for that matter, because in the books he’s nowhere near good enough to get the upper hand on Jaime Lannister). He’s young, at times immature and insecure, but it makes him a much better character.
I think I liked Robb better in the books too.
You’re blog is my favorite, by the way.
Thank you very much!
Success begets success, to more than a small degree. In addition to
this, traders also look for a good amount of withdrawal methods.
The capital acumen why bifold options are so acknowledged nowadays it’s the actuality that
it is the simplest way of trading, and bodies like simple things.
Nonetheless, you discover you do not have the instant money in order
to negotiate the deal as well as probably won’t be in a much better situation for
your next 6 months. These digital contracts involve short term speculation on the movement
of an assets price and can see a trader up and running
in just a matter of minutes. The Put ontract – This contract pays out within the occasion the alue ends lower than the entry value.