After the shocking events of last week’s “Purple Wedding”, the third episode of Game of Thrones’ new season saw people reeling all over Westeros – or at least anywhere that didn’t have more important stuff to deal with.
To recap: Joffrey is definitely dead, his brother Tommen is preparing to warm the Iron Throne, Cersei is seeking vengeance, Tyrion is behind bars awaiting trial, and everybody else seems hella confused about what actually happened.
Was Joffrey poisoned? Who did it? And what the hell has happened to Littlefinger’s accent?
Then there was Tywin, at his Machiavellian best. As Tyrion noted this episode, Tywin is not one to waste the opportunity of a family bereavement, and this week we saw him working fast to make the best of his grandson’s death. Alongside establishing the beginnings of an alliance with Dorne by way of Oberyn Martell, Tywin also worked his magic with young Tommen.
In one of our favourite scenes of the series so far, Tywin filled his remaining grandson in on what makes a good king, making it clear that he plans to entirely dominate Tommen’s rule. Pragmatic to the point of cruelty, Tywin conducted this whole conversation in the presence of Cersei as she mourned over Joffrey’s dead body.
Elsewhere, Mance Rayder’s wildlings and their new human-munching allies (the Thenns) massacred a village to get the attention of the Night’s Watch. We also witnessed Daenerys boldly challenge Yunkai’s slaves to free themselves, Davos stumble upon an idea to gain Stannis more support, and Sansa discover that her escape from King’s Landing was executed by Petyr Baelish.
All in all, though, this episode is likely to be remembered for one thing: Jaime Lannister’s rape of his twin sister Cersei. Viewers have been quick to respond to this moment, criticizing its inclusion as an unnecessarily provocative and problematic change from the book. Certainly it was no easy scene to sit through.
We watched as Cersei, crying over her son’s corpse, rejected her brother’s sexual advances only for Jaime to force himself on her. Shot in a way that traded gratuitousness for grim reality, it was a scene that – though troubling to watch – reminded us of something very important: those who commit rape are not always strangers lurking in the shadows.
If it’s a bit of a leap to suggest that Game of Thrones might be prioritizing such a message, then it’s certainly important to note that this is a series which consistently reminds us how complicated its characters are.
Ultimately, this moment was not dreamt up for shock value. It is one that served to illustrate that no matter how much we love the new and improved Jaime, he will always be the man who pushed Bran out of a window, gleefully attacked Ned Stark and, well, had three children with his own sister.
If we haven’t yet said farewell to a beloved character this series, we have perhaps finally bid adieu to our readiness to trust anyone. Or, at least, anyone whose last name isn’t Stark.
Aired on Monday 21 April 2014 on Sky Atlantic.
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