The long awaited fourth season premiere of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has arrived, brilliantly laying out all the upcoming drama, battles, revenge and alliances that will unfold in the world of Westeros. Here we recap a few of the pivotal moments from Sunday night’s episode.
[Warning: Spoilers from this point on]
1.
The Lannisters might all be reunited once again, but it’s definitely bittersweet-at least for the no-longer-captive Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) now confronted with the difficulties of trying to fit right back into his role at King’s Landing. Not only is urged by his father Lord Tywin (Charles Dance) to return to the family home in Casterly Rock and forgo his old post in the King’s Guard, his nephew (er, son) King Joffrey (Jack Gleason) can’t resist a few cruel remarks about whether Jaime is even fit to protect him now that he only has one hand. But the ultimate blow comes from his twin sister-lover, Cersei (Lena Headey) who rejects his advances, claiming he took too long to return to her. Given the closeness (understatement) of these two twin siblings, it’s going to be interesting what this means down the road, especially since family loyalty is big for the Lannisters.
2.
Trouble is brewing in the form of Prince Oberyn Martell from Dorne (Pedro Pascal), whose arrived for Joffrey and Margaery’s (Natalie Dormer) nuptials. It seems there’s bad history between the Lannisters and the Martells of Dorne, which becomes evident when Oberyn confronts two Lannister men and stabs one of them on the wrist while visiting a brothel with his paramour, Ellaria Sand. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) arrives at the scene and tries to work a bit of diplomacy with the Prince. As the two converse, Tyrion asks the prince why he’s really here. We find out what is motivating Oberyn to King’s Landing: revenge. Oberyn tells Tyrion about the last time he was here was for his sister Elia’s wedding to Rhaegar Targaryen. Although his sister loved and bore Targaryen’s children, he left her for another woman–sparking a war which only ended with the arrival of Tywin Lannister’s army to the city. Unfortunately, Elia’s children we’re brutally killed and it was said that Elias was raped and killed by a Lannister henchman nicknamed “The Mountain”. He warns Tyrion that if the rumors are proven true, “The Lannisters aren’t the only one who pay their debts.” Why do we have a feeling bloodshed is coming in the near future?
3.
It looks like Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) might be catching a break, as she gains an unexpected ally. Devastated by the death of her mother and brother Robb, Sansa is urged to eat by a concerned Shae (Sibel Kekilli). Tyrion tries to comfort his grieving young wife, but Sansa rejects his comfort as she can’t overlook the fact that his family organized their murders. She decides to go nearby a Gods’ Wood not for prayer but for peace and quiet. It’s there she comes across Ser Dontos Hollard (Tony Way), the disgraced knight, whom Sansa saved during a tournament. He thanks her for what she did for him, and promises to help her escape King’s Landing, not before giving her a keepsake necklace. We hope things look up for her, goodness knows living with the Lannisters can’t be easy.
4.
Since Tyrion married Sansa — albeit reluctantly–we’ve seen his relationship with his lover Shae get worse and worse.Things aren’6t looking good for Tyrion and Shae in the season premiere. When Shae’s amorous advances are thwart, she asks Tyrion if he’s fallen in love with his new wife. He denies this by saying that things are just simply tense right with conflicts in the family and the new arrival of Oberyn Martell. When she accuses him of trying to send her away with money, he has no idea what she’s talking about, which she then bluntly asks him if he wants her to stay. Unfortunately he hesitates, and angered by this, Shae walks out of his chamber. Unbeknownst to the two is that Sansa’s maid has seen and overheard their exchange and immediately brings the information to Cersei. How our favorite cunning Lannister is going to get out of this one is beyond us.
5.
A debt still owed. During a short exchange with Jaime, Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) reminds him of his promise to Catelynn Stark to protect the Stark children. But he says there’s no longer a reason for him to fulfill the promise now that Catelynn tis dead, and points out that Arya hasn’t been seen ever since and Sansa is safe at King’s Landing. Brienne scoffs at this and asks him if he truly thinks Sansa is safe here. With his relationship with key family member unraveling, we wonder if Jaime will indeed switch to the other side to protect the remaining Stark offsprings. This could definitely get interesting, and a bit awkward at court.
6.
Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) dragons are quickly growing up, and growing more untamed. We see Khaleesi sitting on a rock, petting one of her dragons on the outskirts of Yunkai. The other two dragons arrive, fighting over a dead animal. As the three dragons get more animated in their sparring, Dany tries to intervene only to get an angry growl from one of the trio. Witnessing this exchange, Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) warns her: “Dragons can never be claimed, even by their mother.” Since the show has played a huge emphasis on power of the Targaryens and their dragons, we wonder if the unstable nature of dragons will be a defining factor when the kingdoms face each other at war.
7.
A darker Arya Stark (Maisie Williams). Sure, Arya has always been that prickly tomboy we’ve seen and loved from the beginning, but season 4 is proving to show us an edgier side of Arya we haven’t seen until now. Last time we left the precocious Arya was after the Red Wedding deaths of Robb, his wife, and Catelynn Stark. She now travels with The Hound (Rory McCann) who has every plan get ransom money to her aunt in Vale. When the pair step into a tavern, they unfortunately encounter the vile Polliver Payne (Andy Kellegher), and a fight ensues right after. While The Hounds combat skills are definitely impressive, we couldn’t take our eyes of Arya as she slides a sword through Polliver’s neck and watches him die. She then reclaims her old sword, Needle. Now that’s poetic justice if we’ve ever seen it. With revenge heavy at her heart, we have a feeling Arya’s bloodlust has just begun.
It’s safe to say, “Game of Thrones” Season 4 is going to have us on the edge of our seat.
Let us know what did you think of the “Game of Thrones” premiere?
