At the end of this episode, Baelish and Varys offer differing opinions as to the nature of chaos. Is chaos a ladder or a pit? Do you climb or wallow? In a lot of ways it doesn't really matter, because the choices these characters make rarely makes things easier for them.
The creepy kid brigade is resting in the forest on the way to the Wall, with a pissing contest between Osha, the amazing rabbit skinner and Meera Reed, the amazing rabbit hunter. Bran watches Jojen Reed have a vision and so learns that having the gift of second sight is a little like having the gift of epilepsy.
About that aforementioned vision - is Jojen's familar a raven? If so, they aren't exactly the most sophisticated of familiars are they? They can tell Jojen that Jon Snow 'is surrounded by enemies' (half correct, but a fair enough assessment for an animal), but can't seem to convey information such as activity or location. Of course, if they did, it probably wouldn't have quite the same dramatic ring to it- shuddering awake through a visionary fit and saying "I saw Jon Snow, surrounded by enemies. He's preparing to climb the wall. He should be over pretty soon. We may as well wait here, I guess."
Sam gets tips from Gilly on how to be a good scout while on the run from Craster's Keep, and reveals the 'buried treasure' he found at Fist of the First Men. The moment plays in that subtle way that suggests this dagger will have significant dramatic value but we're acting casual as though it's not. But I could be projecting.
The
'proper lover' Jon Snow and Ygritte prepare for an epic sequence
climbing the wall. This, I realised, is one of the most prolonged action
scenes yet in this series (discounting the Battle of Blackwater
whole-episode-action-sequence). Due to budgetary restraints the show
often only depicts smaller skirmishes and instances of personal violence
rather than big battle scenes. This was a chance for the show to
stretch its legs a little with a series of scenes over the course of the
episode that followed Jon and the gang ascending the wall. It felt
properly epic in a way that the show has sometimes struggled to convey.
Arya's
talent for striking at the 'face, tits and balls' (a solid set of principles in any discipline) of her straw men prompts a
little advice from Anguy the archer, but she's clearly coming along.
Her growing list of people she'd like to kill gets a new addition when
the Red Woman turns up in the middle of the forest wanting to trade some
gold for Gendry, the true heir to the throne and vessel for Baratheon
blood. Two things sure to make life hard for you in Westeros: being the
heir to anything, and being the heir of anyone.
Checking
in on poor young Theon, who is nothing if not the one true King of Rude
Awakenings, who has another terrible morning having his fingers flayed by
his oblique torturer. Robb's trying to gather forces for an attack on Casterly Rock, but Walder Frey's terms of alliance mean a formal apology for not marrying his daughter, transfer of ownership of Harrenhaal and the quick engagement of Rob's uncle Edmure to one of Frey's other daughters. Edmure balks at the suggestion, which one of Frey's sons takes as some uppity attitude towards the amount of teeth possessed by the 19 year old bride-to-be. You suspect it's not a retaliatory response. From the looks of them a full set of teeth might be a girl's defining asset. In the rougher parts of Westeros perhaps blondes are to brunettes as teeth are to gum disease.
Tywin and Lady Olenna meet in the former's chambers for a tete-à-tete about the future of the realm. The easy naturalism of the performances is the greatest thing about this scene. Charles Dance and Diana Rigg are so perfect in their roles they should have a bottle episode all their own. Stick them in a room and let them trade amazing euphemisms for 50 minutes. It would be an acting masterclass. Plus you'd have the novelty value of elder actors dropping lines like 'He's a sword swallower through and through' in the mix.
Jaime and Brienne dine with Lord Bolton and we discover the real reason behind Bolton's civility is his totally understandable fear of Jaime's father. Good call. Things don't bode so well for Brienne however, as Bolton views her as a traitor to the King of North and aims to do something about it. Jaime calmly placing his hand on Brienne's knife-gripping fist was a nice moment. Cue: Jaime's slow progress towards becoming a hero.
We're
robbed of what would surely be an hilarious scene of Tyrion fumbling
his way through explaining how Sansa is now his bethrothed, right in
front of his lover, Shae. I'm wondering whether this decision was based on the fact that the switch in tone from a wacky case of
misunderstandings to the tragic St Sebastian-esque corpse of Ros would have been too difficult to pull off.Poor Ros, who truly deserved a more worthy send-off than a mere voice-overed shot of her hanging limp and punctured like one of Arya's straw men. The effect was shocking, sure, but it was way too insubstantial for a great character we've been watching climb the ladder since the very first episode of the show.
Capping everything off, we have the stunning vista of the northern woodlands spread out into the distance, the sun breaking triumphantly through the clouds, and stood atop the Wall, Ygritte and Jon embracing as he seductively whispers "Hey, I think I can see my crippled half-brother from here."
