Game of Thrones S03E06: There's a Cog in the Works

This week's episode of Game of Thrones seems to have slowed things down a touch. In comparison to the absolute action-packed and satisfying cunning that has been the rest of season three, episode six feels a little stretched, trying to cover many plots. Some how, they are making it work though. With a bit of attention, and some faith in the next four episodes, viewers will hopefully realise that we need to get out the nitty gritty before we can get to the action. We hoped you paid attention! If not, we can offer some important points you should make a note of for future episodes.

Jon Snow can handle the Cold
This week Jon and the other Wildlings climb the wall. Their intentions to take the Wall from the Night's Watch have driven them upwards, and the climb is trecherous. The Warg they travel with tries to cut Snow and Ygritte lose as they climb, but it seems at least one of the men in the North can cheat death, and Snow manages to take hold of the wall again before they plummet to their deaths. When they reach the top, Ygritte and Snow share a very romantic embrace, looking out over Westeros. Who knows what the crass Wildling girl and her cold, handsome 'bastard' boy will get up to?

The Red Lady makes Arya Red in the Face
Its the woman you don't even like to hate. The very shady Woman in Red tracks down the brotherhood this week in her search for Barathean blood to aid her wounded Stannis. For those who missed season one of Game of Thrones, it was established that Genry was a bastard child of the deceased Robert Baratheon, and therefore may have some claim to the throne should he find out. The Red Lady trades two bags of gold for the boy, promising him he will change the state of the war. Arya of course, who seems to be the only character left with a moral compass pointing north, protests, but can do nothing. When she confronts the Red Lady, the priestess reveals that she knows of a darkness inside the young Stark, and that they will meet again.

 Who's Down in the Dungeon with Poor Theon?
Even after his betrayal of the Starks, Theon doesn't deserve this. Nobody does (okay maybe Joffrey). Theon continue his plight in the dungeon, tortured once more by the maniac that feigned helping him to escape and then brought him back. He offers Theon the chance to guess who he is, and when Theon guesses he is a Karstark, it seems that we have finally discovered who exactly is torturing the Greyjoy Lord. However, he was lying, and as punishment for guessing wrong, Theon is tortured until he begs for the removal of his finger. The torture scenes are very sickening; whoever this guy is, we think maybe he would get along well with Joffrey. The young Prince makes a small appearance this episode, after torturing and killing a prostitute sent to him by Little Finger. Both boys are very sick indeed.
 

Robb Bargains for an Army
Sadly, Robb broke his promise and married another woman. Unfortunately, this rather wounded Warden Frey is now demanding a formal apology; seems easy enough. He also wants Harrenhal once the war is over. Well, okay. But he also demands that Robb's uncle, Lord Edmure Tully, to marry his 19-year-old daughter. Edmure is obviously outraged, and does not wish to go ahead with the marriage. However he is swayed by the cooky character, Blackfish, and Robb himself. Its just another wedding to add to the ever-growing list of betrothals now all lined up in Westeros.


Speaking of Weddings...
Unfortunately, Tywin Lannister is holding firm and both Tyrion and Cersei are to be wed. The usually sassy Lady Olenna Tyrell is even forced into a corner by Tywin, and must agree to the marriage between her grandson and the aging Cersei. Tyrion is left to tell Sansa the news, and unfortunately for him, Shae demands to be present when he does. We would remind viewers that Shae is still Tyrion's current love interest, making for a very awkward situation in deed. Little Finger also leaves Kings Landing at last, and Sansa cries as she watches her last chance of leaving the city sail away.



Make sure you check in next week for what is sure to be an action-packed episode! And don't worry Team-Dragon, Daenerys will return next week. Check out the preview below!

~ Written by Jessica Sheridan

Image Sources:  Sidequesting, Forbes

Game of Thrones is All Coming Together

Where to begin? This week's episode of Game of Thrones seemed to want to touch on everyone and everything. So if you missed it, or got a little lost amidst it all, we can give you a recap of this week's episode. We are half-way through the 10-episode season, and things are certainly starting to snowball coming into the last half of season three.

Stannis Baratheon
The defeated King Baratheon is still following the One Lord - the Lord of Light - and visits his wife in her tower. This is quite a creepy place indeed; his wife, who has suffered three still-births of sons, has kept the three baby bodies in fancy jars in her bedroom, and she talks to them as though they are alive and listening. No wonder he keeps her in the tower. We also learn that his wife did give birth to one child, but it was a girl. He is there to visit her too, and at first viewers might be confused as to why he keeps his daughter locked away. We soon discover that his daughter Shireen has an awful scar across her face from when she had greyscale (a disease) as a babe. The girl is incredibly sweet though. Later in the episode, she visits 'the Onion Knight' in the dungeon, where he has been sent for challenging the Lord of Light and the Red Lady. The young girl brings him a book and offers to teach him how to read. One can't help but be touched by the sad but sweet girl's story.

Lions in King's Landing

Tywin Lannister must hate his children. Tyrion and Cersei are put in their place this week, when the issue of the Tyrell's planning to marry-off Sansa becomes learned by Cersei through Littlefinger. Knowing that Sansa is the key to the North (remember everyone seems to think Bran, Arya and Rickon are dead) Tywin puts forward his remedy; Tyrion will marry Sansa. Cersei of course finds this hilarious, but she is soon silenced when Tywin orders Cersei to marry Willas Tyrell - the man the Tyrells are planning to have Sansa marry. This puts quite the cog in the Tyrell plans, and means Sansa might have to go with Littlefinger after all. The mighty Lions don't seem so mighty all of a sudden, as Tywin pulls two of his three children into line. Tyrion and Cersei are left devastated by the news.

SPOILER! Will the Marriages go ahead as planned?
We can reveal that only one of the two proposed Lannister marriages will go ahead, but we won't yet reveal which one. Either way, the Tyrell plan will be ruined, so we will keep you on your toes guessing which Lion will have to marry for the second time.

The King who Lost the North
Robb is having some trouble, poor bloke. A mutiny in his ranks sees the two Lannister boys he was holding killed while they slept. Lord Karstark was the mind behind the treason, and so Robb himself executes him, despite being urgently advised against it. As a result the Karstark men leave the army, and so Robb's forces are halfed. He is left in quite the predicament, charged with being the King who Lost the North. Desperate, he plans to move on Casterly Rock, which is undefended while the Lannister's focus their forces elsewhere. This means relying on Walder Frey, the man whose daughter he was supposed to marry. This might pose a bit of a problem for Robb, since we can't imagine Frey will take kindly to hearing Robb married someone else. It seems this might be Robb's last chance.

The Brotherhood without Banners
The Hound is ready to stand trial by duel, and just as he is laughing confidently with sword and shield in hand, his opponent prays to the One Lord and of course, his sword lights up with fire. This would be a problem for any regular joe-blow, but lets remember that the Hound is deadly afraid of fire. That being said, the Hound is victorious, striking his enemy down to surely die. But a prayer to the One Lord brings him back to life! It seems the Lord of Light isn't as crazy as the Lady in Red makes him out to be. Arya is 'kind of' held hostage now, with the Brotherhood planning to take her to her brother in exchange for coin. But its hard to view these friendly drinking chaps that seem to radiate a Robin Hood vibe as villains. Gendry, unfortunately, has decided to stay at the Brotherhood as a blacksmith - much to Arya's and no doubt fan's disappointment. The scene is incredibly heart-breaking.

The Kingslayer?
Jaime and Breanne have finally found some kind of salvation. Their captors take them to Lord Bolton, who orders the removal of their chains and the mending of their wounds. Jaime's decapitated stump is treated to many a cry of agony, but it is a later scene that draws enough sympathy for the old Knight of the Kingsguard to perhaps forgive him even of his attempt on Bran's life. He intrudes on a bath Sir Breanne is enjoying, and shares the story of when he slayed the mad King. Turns out things are not all as bad as they seem for Jaime; the mad King had ordered Jaime to kill his own father, and his Pyromancer to burn thousands of innocent people while they slept in order to fend off the encroaching rebellion. He refused to surrender, and so, to save the lives of many, Jaime killed the king and his Pyromancer, thus ending the Targaryen rule. When Breanne asks why he never shared his story, Jaime declares that the honorable Ned Stark who found him standing over the King's corpse would not hear his side. Even after all he has done, we can't help but feel for the crippled Jaime.

Beyond the Wall
Bow chikka wow wow! It was inevitable that Jon Snow would eventually make love to the wild girl Ygritte, and at the half-way mark of the season they finally do. The love scene occurs in a cave with hot springs, and it seems old Snow is quite a talented young pup! At least from what Ygritte can tell us. How many men of Westeros are good at sex now? Although the scene feels rushed, the couple share a cute embrace afterwards, and Ygritte expresses her desire to stay with Snow, and hide away from the war. The Wildmen plan to attack the wall, and in the next episode we hope to see their attempts at last. Check out the preview for next week to see just what we mean!

Make sure you don't miss next week's episode as we start the second half of the season. The drama is well and truly building now, and we expect the next five episodes will be very action packed!

~ Written by Jessica Sheridan

Information Source: A Wiki of Ice and Fire

Image Sources: Strathmore Standard, Geekbinge, WallStreetJournal, Rickey, Facebook, Forbes