After that season 6 finale of Game of Thrones, I have so many feelings and thoughts. For now, however, I would like to focus on the women.


This episode proved that season 7 of Game of Thrones is going to be the "season of women." In the first six seasons we have largely been experiencing the universe through male power dynamics and attempts to resolve age old male conflicts. However, season 6, episode 10 has set an unprecedented number of women (at least in Westeros) into positions of great political power. We have Daenerys and Yara Greyjoy teamed up and moving from Essos to Westeros, Darth Cersei sitting on the Iron Throne (*gulp*), Sansa Stark, although under Jon, certainly has her spoon stirring the Northern plot, wildcard Arya is seeking to finish her kill-list (only Cersei and the Mountain to go!), and Lady Olenna and Ellaria Sand plotting it up with Varys in Dorne.


Yara and Daenerys are going to be a force to be wreckoned with. Between Dany's dragons and Yara's extensive fleet of ships, the current Westerosi powerhouses had better brace themselves for a bitter battle if they have any chance at holding their positions.

Cersei has always been a bit dark, but this episode seems to be pushing a comparison between Cersei and the Mad King. He prepped the fire to "burn them all" and Cersei actually took action. Unfortunately for her, she may be sorry she used up the wildfire before the White-walkers arrive on the scene. If nothing else, it seems that Jamie has finally come around the the position he holds in the books of being 100% OVER Cersei's BS. Did you see that look he gave her as he watched her take the throne? Something tells me that Jamie may have to decide whether or not to take out a second "Mad" ruler. This would, after all, complete the Valonqar prophecy.


Although I specifically mentioned Arya as a wildcard above, I would argue that this is actually true of each of the Stark sisters. Ever since Sansa's time with Baelish, the audience has been exposed to a back and forth tendency in Sansa where we are not quite sure where her loyalties lie. In fact, I would argue that the hardships that she has faced have her becoming more and more like Cersei (which is obviously quite troubling). Arya, on the other hand is pretty clear about who she is and what she wants, but I am unsure how this is going to impact the overall power structure of Westeros. We saw at the end of this episode, however, that her ability to take faces is one that will allow her to get close to her enemies and perform her kills and taking out the last two people on her kill list will most certainly shake things up.


I am still a bit unsure how Lady Olenna and Ellaria Sand will play into things but the season finale suggests that Varys is going to put these powerful ladies to good use in some one or other of his own plots.

Clearly season seven is going to be largely about the ladies of Westeros. It will be interesting to see if there might be an argument to be made about the difference in rule and political problems in gendered terms. But for now...we will have to wait and see. Is it next year yet? I'm already singing Beyonce ("Who run the world? Girls!") and waiting impatiently...
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Let's talk about Arya...and the Waif. The internet has had a bit of time to express their excitement to see the Waif finally meet her end by Arya's hand.

We're all glad the Waif is dead, but what we REALLY want is for Arya and the Hound to get the band back together #GameofThrones

— michelle (@me_carter) June 15, 2016

Arya was badass.
Waif is dead.
Arya killed her.
Arya is going home.
I am a happy happy girl #GameofThrones

— Edward's Lamb (@AffatKiPudia) June 13, 2016

But people are also a bit disappointed that the Waif's death is not actually shown on-screen.

2 gripes with #GameofThrones this week. The blackfish dies offscreen, arya kills the waif and they don't show the battle. #Letdown

— Lou-E (@Lou_E_) June 14, 2016

seriously those minutes of Tyrion telling drunk jokes could've been a scene how Arya kills that Waif. 😒#GameofThrones #ThronesYall

— Maria Patricia (@pattieserrie) June 13, 2016

Considering the violent precedent that the Game of Thrones show runners have set for themselves, I find the fact that Arya's epic chase scene with the Waif was not followed up by a more gruesome/satisfying depiction of the Waif's final moments. However, this seemingly strange move on the part of the show-runners has me convinced that there is more going on than the viewers are being led to believe. Perhaps, just as Arya left the Waif to fight her in the dark, so too are the show-runners leaving viewers to search for answers while they have left us in the dark about the actual fight that takes place in that room.


The Blogosphere has already pointed out the strange inconsistency of Arya's survival after the Waif stabs her. Just check out this article that outlines just how many times similar actions have led to drastically different ends. So why does Arya have the distinctly lucky pleasure of being an obvious exception to what is the usual Westrosi rule of death? I have a few thoughts.

First of all, I am unconvinced that Arya is...well...Arya. Sure, we see the Waif's face adorning the wall in the House of Black and White, but can we be certain that the blood we see is not actually that of Arya?


In the time that Arya trained with the Waif, she was exposed to some bizarre - if not unlikely - psychological tests that seem a bit counter intuitive to the pursuit of attempting to turn a "someone" into "no-one." Seriously, what was the purpose of having Arya revisit and divulge her life story to the Waif? Although an unlikely method of turning Arya into a "no-one," it would have been a good way for the Waif to put herself into the position of having enough intimate knowledge of Arya's life that she would be able to wear Arya's face and take her place.

It seems likely that in a world where practically everyone is striving to work their way up the ladder in pursuit of power positions, it stands to reason that the Faceless men might also want a piece of the power pie (so to speak). Being in possession of a face that belongs to a person of stature puts this group in a better position to achieve such an end. Because Arya becomes uncooperative, the Waif exchanging Arya's face for her own may be a solution to put the Faceless Men back on track to achieving whatever ends they are pursuing through possessing Arya's face. If this theory has any weight, I am certainly curious to know what the Faceless Men are actually up to and how they will use Arya's face.

I realize this may be a bit of a far fetched theory, but very little is ever a coincidence in the GOT world. Some things about this story-line and the way it was presented just do not add up or fall in line with the usual narrational progression of this universe. Frankly, I refuse to believe the show-runners would be so boring about the much anticipated death of the Waif unless there is a much bigger twist to come!
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I am particularly fond of the Game of Thrones episodes in which we are treated to parody pieces of theater that depict recent Westrosi history. This episode is particularly interesting in that it serves as a twisted source of information for Arya Stark.




This street theater performance is clearly a narrative device to shock Arya's system, to remind her of her old values, the person she once was, and from where she comes. However, Arya has been decidedly absent from being "in the know" regarding political activities and scandals for the past several years. Past the experience of re-living her father's decapitation via parodic performance, the following information she receives from the play is essentially new to her (e.g. Sansa and Tyrion).


Although Arya seems to be incredibly understanding of the "fun" of the parody at the beginning of the scene, the falsehoods begin to affect her as they clearly cause dissonance when portraying her father as less of an honorable man and more of an idiot. Although historical plays are often both exaggerations of events and means of flattery towards those in power - in this case, the Lannisters, we as audience members of the show must understand how this skewed portrayal of events might affect Arya. Arya is often beholden to her reactions to events and this scene seems to suggest that she has not completely allowed herself to see the scenario with complexity. She clearly understands the falsehood of the beginning of the play but has no frame of reference for the rest. As a result she may take more truth from the scene than she should.

So the question becomes, how will this all play out? If Arya, as I suggest above, views the play as containing more truth than is warranted, there is a possibility that she now has a considerable bone to pick with Tyrion. Arya is obviously not predisposed toward erring on the side of trust - nor does history indicate that she should - when it comes to the Lannisters. However, in a bit of dramatic irony, we the audience know just how kind Tyrion was to Sansa, a truth that Arya will be unlikely to seek out on her own. Arya may end up with an unwarranted sense of anger towards Tyrion. We also know that Arya's anger tends to result in death (or at least the promise of it). Will Tyrion be a name that Arya secretly adds to her list?


I have been under the impression for some time that Arya's time in Bravvos will come to an end at some point. Either she will be released by Jaqen H'gar or she will go MIA upon completing her training so that she can pursue her own interests. If this comes to be, Tyrion is not really all that far from her as they are both currently in Essos. Geography suggests a showdown between these characters is definitely possible.

Here's to hoping that Arya's seemingly negative reaction to the play will not result in the death of the only likable Lannister and that we as viewers learn a lesson not to take historical plays (or other pieces of historical extertainment) at face value. Even Shakespeare was known to elaborate a bit when it came to portraying certain historical figures in ways that would appease the powers that be. Clearly truths and lies can comfortably co-exist and if we do not do our due diligence to seek truth from several angles, someone may suffer the consequences.
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So we are now at the end of season three and the much anticipated Red Wedding has assaulted the eyes and hearts of those that are participating in this blogging project. I think that Maisie Williams gave the best breakdown of the situation to date:



I wanted to touch upon the use of sound and images in this particular scene.

As the scene opens, the audience is invited to participate in what seems to be a normal wedding festival. The music is joyful. And why should it not be? We learned during the actual wedding that Walder Frey had been hiding away the attractive, Roslin and Edmure Tully gets to enjoy the fruit of his obedience to Robb.


As Edmure and Roslin are carried away for their bedding ceremony, the camera settles on Robb and Talisa who have a conversation concerning their unborn child. Talisa suggests, if it is a boy, they will name it Eddard. Robb is clearly pleased with this choice and the two embrace.The camera moves out wide, blurring Robb and Talisa, and focusing on Catelyn looking on in the background. While Talisa and Robb embrace, Catelyn is undeniably alone; A stark reminder to the audience of the fact that this child's namesake was murdered by the Lannisters.


This moment is interrupted by a guard making his way to the doors. The audience's attention moves with Catelyn's perspective and focuses on the door being closed and the large ominous thud of the act. Immediateely following the door's bellowing latch, the music begins again. However, instead of the joyous tunes that were being played before, the tone changes to something distinctively ominous. Caitlin picks up on this song choice, almost immediately by the look on her face. The song that is being played is one that is well known in Westeros, it is called "The Rain of Castermere."  Here is a version with the lyrics. It is strangely/hauntingly beautiful. I will admit I have been listening to it on repeat as I have been writing this post.


This song is understood in Westeros to be associated with the Lannisters (Tywin in particular). Although those viewers who had not read the book first would have largely had this fact lost upon them. The song has not been very present in the series. However, the above version was present in at least one other episode in the series. Bronn and some of the Lannister men sing it just before the Blackwater battle and the song is also played over the credits of that same episode (season 2, episode 9). Appropriately, the credits (and thus this song) role immediately after Tywin Lannister is revealed at the end of the Blackwater battle to have "saved the day."


Additionally, Cersei uses an explanation of this song to intimidate Margaery Tyrell in the episode before.


The significance of the song playing at the Frey/Tully wedding was, likely, lost upon the viewer unless they were paying particularly close attention or had previously read the books. That being said, I feel the show did adapt the red wedding scene with justice, particularly in reference to this song changing the tone of the scene.

I also wanted to provide a few comments on the choice to end the episode with silence over the ending credits. I think this was a particularly bold choice but one that was extremely effective. In another somewhat Hitchcockian move, there is a loss of two major characters, characters that, through three full seasons, the audience has been able to become fond. The silence, in some ways reminded me of Ned's death, where the ruckus and noise was drowned out to represent the emotional trauma of Arya. But in this instance, we, the audience are the traumatized in need of a moment of silence to process the loss we have suffered.


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After watching the first episodes of the third season, I am feeling so torn as I try to pick a topic to blog about this week. How is it that this part of the process gets so much more difficult the further we get. First I was thinking about how we are being introduced to so many more magic/supernatural elements this season, which really got me thinking about some theories regarding how some of those bits will end up playing out in the long run...but writing about such things right now would mean exposing WAY too many juicy spoilers. Considering a large number of my classmates are newbies to the series, I would like to stay away from such revealing topics.



So in the interest of keeping Game of Thrones plot secrets, instead I thought I would chat a bit about the scene in which Catelyn Stark reveals the story of the time that she prayed for Jon Snow's life (when he had the pox). I must say that the second time watching this season, I was struck by this scene in much the same way that I was the first time through the series. This entire scene feels both incredibly genuine yet contradictory at the same time...which is strangely normal feeling for this particular series.



This conversation takes place with Talisa, who offers to assist Catelyn in making some sort of dream-catcher that, along with prayer, is supposed to help with healing. Catelyn refuses Talisa's help, claiming that it is a job that only a mother can do. Strangely, she reveals that she has done this twice before, once for Bran (after his fall from the tower) and another time for Jon Snow (...who is not actually her son...). I find it intriguing that Catelyn both prays for Jon's death but then feels guilty enough to pray and make promises to the god's to save the life that she was just asking for them to take away.  I suppose, however, that for a mother, this feeling between love and hate for a child that is both innocent but reminds you of a betrayal is one that is hard to navigate.



I think that the most interesting reveal in this scene is when Catelyn tells Talisa that she refused to keep the promises that she made to the Gods for keeping Jon alive. Catelyn feel that this broken promise has resulted in the misfortune her family has suffered.



Interestingly, Talisa herself is a symbol of a broken promise. Robb was supposed to marry one of Walter Frey's daughters but after a short (and narratively strange) romance with Talisa, Robb feels he can no longer make good on that promise and weds whom he wants (Talisa) rather than the person to whom he has promised himself. Although I do not wish to spoil too much of the coming episodes...let's just say that this particular choice does not end well for dear old Robb. Like his mother, a broken promise results in consequences for the Stark family.



Because Catelyn seems to have an understanding of the power of a broken promise, I find it incredibly unnerving that she would allow Robb to break such an important diplomatic promise without thinking through the possible ramifications of such an act. Of course last season Catelyn does naively mention that she does not feel that Frey would ever hurt her (she's known him since she was young...) but one would think that the twists and turmoil of Westeros would make one weary of such general assumptions.



Perhaps this whole thing demonstrates that the Stark clan is best served by not breaking promises. We will have to see how all of this plays out now that Jon is North of the wall breaking his oath to "join" Mance Rayder's tribe of Wildlings.

But really, this scene illustrates that the Stark bunch are not as honorable as we tend to think....
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