Another amazing episode down, only...2 more?! :'( WHY?!?! It's all going by too fast!!!
I'll just jump right into the good stuff.
Everything JONThis episode had my pulse pounding for a variety of reasons but none moreso than the must understated revelation in the show's history. Gilly casually reading about 'Ragger' getting an annulment to marry..!!!!! I mean, are you serious?! That's all we get?! lol
Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed. Not disappointed in the delivery, but it's occurrence in general. We all have heard the theories about Rhaegar's 'secret' marriage but I never thought it would actually happen. I'm disappointed because GRRM, a man who has authored a fantasy series that routinely bucks the common tropes of fantasy, has just derived the most common fantasy cliche in literature history...'
the low born orphan/bastrd whose long lost parents were actually royalty, thus making him/her heir to the throne.' I mean, that plot device is so overused that even Wreck-It-Ralp had it (Apologies for the wreck it ralph spoiler).
That was my main point of contention during debates I've had with the 'secret marriage' proponents. I didn't think it fit with GRRM's style. He doesn't need to check some 'hero box' checklist for Jon Snow to be of true blood. He's a hero for simply conducting acts of heroism. Why can't it be just that? *
sigh*
Beyond that, and my second point of contention, it felt SOOOO contrived. A secret marriage? An annulment to invalidate his previous marriage? Seriously? That seems like such a worm-weasel way to make it happen. Original, sure, but also extremely....gimmicky? Idk, I'm struggling for the right word. I'm not disappointed because I was just proven wrong. I'm disappointed because it simply just didn't feel right. Way too modern. Too....common to happen in a complex and fantastical world such as Westeros.
At this point I can't help but concede the notion that Tyrion may actually be a Targaryen. The same reasons I argued against Jon being a true born son are largely the same as to why Tyrion shouldn't also be a Dragon. It would be too convenient. Too narrow focused for such a broad tale. It would taint the journeys of these 2 fascinating characters. A Bastrd and a Dwarf rising above their stations, not based on blood rights, but merit. All that would be gone. Instead we'd get a tale about the Westerosi equivalent of the Skywalkers. Characters inherently awesome due to the nature of their parentage. Just seems cheap.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still hyped for the show and Jon's journey, I'm just trying to explain my feelings.
Moving on to the the 2nd coolest scene...Jon pets Drogon!!! I was laughing to myself after that scene because it reminded me of a real world scenario I'm sure a lot of you have had. I felt like Dany was like that girl with the really annoying dog and she brings a guy over but warns him that her dog just doesn't like boys. And then when the boy meets the dog, it doesn't bark at all and the girl is just like so shocked, "OMG, I can't believe she likes you!! She doesn't like ANYONE." haha That's kinda how I saw that scene playing out.
Anyways, I'm still not sure if HBO wants to have Aunt on Nephew relations.but I'm pretty certain that Dany does.
WinterfellLittlefinger doing littlefinger things. I hope Arya is smart enough to see through this non sense. Based on the season preview with Sansa quoting 'wolves and the pack surviving' I still believe Arya and Sansa will remain firm in their allegiance, but it is certainly intriguing now that some drama has been injected into the politics of Winterfell.
Other points of intrigue:- Gendry is back and he looks completely badass!
- I love the conflicting desires the show portrays between its characters and its audience. For instance on one hand, the show is portraying the beginnings of a Dany and Jon romance, 2 noble characters who obviously find the other attractive, but the audience knows they are relatives and conflicts us as viewers in cheering for that proposition. On the other hand, Jon and Gendry bro out over their father's friendship, while we all know that Gendry's father actually killed Jon's father.
- Davos flexing his smuggling muscles was awesome. We got to see firsthand that his prowess resides in his rhetoric and ability to relate.
- Peter Dinklage remains the most talented actor on this show. The emotions he portrayed when speaking with Jamie about his relationship to Tywin was heartwrenching.
- The Avengers of the North assembling was cool. I feel like Brienne is the only BAMF missing from that crew.
- Jorah Mormont is back in the fold. I thought it was weird that none of the Dothraki recognized him, but I guess it's unlikely that his face would be known to the entire army.
As far as the 'absurdity' of Jon's quest to 'capture' a Wight. I just wanted to point out that that plan has also played out in the books. Early on in the series, when Tyrion was still Hand in King's Landing, Allister Thorne (the grumpy master at arms of the Nights Watch) was sent to KL by LC Jeor Mormont with the severed hand of the Wight that attacked him. This was in hopes to convince the crown to send reinforcements to the Wall. Unfortunately, Tyrion was kinda a dick and didn't even entertain Thorne's audience until the severed hand had withered and evidence of its unnatural state had worn off. I'm not sure if this expedition will succeed at all, but part of me wonders if it does, that it will likely meet the same results as the books. So yea, I'll agree that it does seem a bit....futile to spend precious episode time on a quest that will most likely prove unsuccessful in its objective, but I'm hoping it will have a bigger payoff than convincing people of the WWs existence (Maybe a certain prophesized sword will make an appearance?)
Overall, the episode wasted no time in moving the plot along. As with almost every scene this season, each second of screen time seemed to serve a distinct purpose. I know a lot of people wanted to criticize the Jamie/Bronn sequence, and I think there's some legit cause for complaint, but if that's the price we have to pay for the previous episode and shot of Jamie charging Drogon, I gladly accept those terms.