Ep 3.8 "Second Sons"

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SPOILER ALERT:  This is a recap of the episode, so if you haven’t watched it and don’t want to know what happens, exit now…

This episode was filled with Second Sons and not just the ones that kill for gold.  Stannis is a second son, Tyrion is a second son and even Sandor Clegane (“The Hound”) is a second son.  I’m not sure how much double meaning, if any, laid in the naming of this episode but it did seem to be pretty coincidental.

Fortunate or not, Arya is now “The Hound’s” captive.  She gets the chance to try and  kill him thinking she can crush his head with a rock while he lay asleep.  As she is creeping up to him he opens his eyes and tells her to give it a try.  If she kills him then she is free, if she doesn’t he will break both her hands.  She decides to put down the rock.  They must share a horse on their journey across Westeros.  Arya see’s water and asks if it is Blackwater.  She believes Sandor Clegane is taking her back to King Joffrey and Queen Cersei in Kings Landing.  He tells her he is no longer in league with the two of them.  He is taking Arya to The Twins where the Frey’s live.  Her mother and brother will be there for her Uncle’s wedding and he wants to collect her ransom. 

Gendry arrives at Dragonstone with Lady Melisandre.  He meets Uncle Stannis before being shown to his room.  Melisandre tells Gendry she will visit him later then talks to Stannis about her plan to sacrifice him.  Ser Davos is still in his cell working on his reading.  Stannis comes to see him.  He says he is sorry about Davos’s son’s death and also tells him about Gendry arriving at Dragonstone.  Ser Davos realizes that Lady Melisandre plans sacrifice Gendry and he tries to persuade Stannis not to kill his own flesh and blood.  Killing Renly was justified as he claimed the throne even though he had no right, but Gendry has caused him no harm.  Stannis proclaims he didn’t choose to be king, but he must do his duty.  (I’m not buying that.  He has an ego just like everyone else who is claiming the throne.)  Stannis claims he will free Davos if he promises not to attack Lady Melisandre ever again.  Ser Davos says he will not try to hurt her, but he may still speak against her.  Davos knows Stannis is releasing him because he needs his advice and knew he would speak against killing Gendry.  Stannis says he saw a vision in Lady Melisandre’s flames of a great battle in the snow.  He admits he can’t deny her god is not real and reminds Ser Davos of what he saw her give birth too in the cave.  Melisandre visits Gendry in his new chambers.  She talks of how he has been chosen by the Lord of Light and then seduces him.  Once she has him on the bed she ties up his arms and legs and covers him with leeches.  Stannis and Ser Davos walk in and Melisandre shows them why a king’s blood is powerful.  She hands each of the leeches to Stannis to thrown in the fire.  As he tosses them in he names his adversaries.

In Kings Landing it is Tyrion and Sansa’s wedding day.  Tyrion visits Sansa before the wedding to tell her that he knows she is not excited about marrying him and that he didn’t ask for it either, but she will be treated well and will not be a prisoner as she was with Joffrey.  He will do whatever he can for her.  He tries very hard to be sweet, but Sansa cannot see past the Lannister crimson.  On the way to the wedding Margaery talks to Cersei of how they will soon be sisters.  Cersei reminds her of the song “The Rains of Castamere”.  The song is about a family that used to be the second richest family in the kingdom (now the Tyrell’s are).  The Rain family rebelled against Tywin Lannister and as repayment Lord Tywin had them all slaughtered in a brutal bloodbath.  Cersei threatens Margaery telling her if she ever refers to Cersei as her sister again she will strangle her in her sleep.  I’m not even sure I can “love to hate” Cersei.  She is so bitter and conniving.  She can’t stand to not be the woman at the center of attention and I am hoping that will eventually be her downfall.  It seems as if everyone is an enemy to her and she will not pretend to like any of them.  I guess she never heard the phrase “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”.  Joffrey shows up to walk Sansa down the aisle and give her away since her father is not alive.  As he walks her up to the precipice he grabs the stepping stool that was left for Tyrion.  As part of the marriage ceremony Tyrion is supposed to put a Lannister cloak on Sansa’s back and he cannot reach without the stool.  As Joffrey wanted, Tyrion is embarrassed and the guests start laughing.  I’m not sure if Sansa was so nervous that she didn’t realize what happened or she wanted Tyrion to feel bad as well.  Finally, he asks Sansa to bend down so he can put the cloak on.  At their reception Lady Olenna Tyrell explains the new family tree to Ser Loras and Margaery, laughing at the hyprocrisy of it all.  Margaery’s brother will also be her father in law.  Tyrion gets completely drunk.  Sansa excuses herself for a moment and Joffrey finds her and threatens to rape her in the night.  Lord Tywin chastises Tyrion for being so drunk and informs him that he must consummate the marriage and make Sansa pregnant.  Joffrey takes another chance to abuse Sansa and Tyrion by trying to start the “bedding ceremony” which seems to be undressing the husband and wife and carrying them to their marriage bed.  Tyrion refuses to let this happen and after much insistence from Joffrey, he draws a dagger and threatens to castrate the King.  Joffrey starts to show his psychopathic true colors, but Lord Tywin comes to the rescue.  Tyrion says he was just joking with Joffrey because he is jealous of his manhood.  Ser Loras finds Cersei and tries to be nice and talk to her.  She basically cuts him off before he begins telling him she doesn’t care what he has to say, before stomping off like a child.  Tyrion and Sansa arrive to their bedchamber.  Tyrion tries to make Sansa feel comfortable.  He asks how old she is and she reminds him she is fourteen.  He tells her what his father said about bedding her and she goes to the bed and starts undressing.  He tells her to stop.  He will not bed her until she wants him too.  She asks him what happens if she never wants to and he jokes that his “Watch has begun” (referring to the vows of the Night’s Watch to stay celebant).  Tyrion sleeps on the couch and lets Sansa have the bed.  The next morning Shae storms in unannounced.  She helps Sansa get dressed and cleans the linens off the bed.  She notices there is no blood on the sheets and understands Tyrion did not bed Sansa.

Outside of Yunkai Jorah, Dany, and Ser Barristen are watching two thousand sell swords enter the city.  The group is called the Second Sons and is led by a man named Romero also referred to as “The Titan’s Bastard”.  Daenerys invites him to talk with her and he brings his two lieutenants.  “The Titan’s Bastard” is vile and obnoxious even asking to see Dany naked to decide if she’s worth switching sides for.  She tells him he can have two days to decide, but he says he will stay with the Yunkai and rape her when the battle is over.  Dany tells Ser Barristen that if it comes to battle to kill him first.  When they get back to the Second Son’s camp “The Titan’s Bastard” decides that one of the three of them (he or his two lieutenants) will sneak into Dany’s camp and kill her that night.  They each pick coins and Daario Naharis (I know I’m spelling that incorrectly) wins the task.  In Dany’s camp Missandei is helping her in the bath.  She discovers that Missandei speaks nineteen languages including Dothraki.  Dany speaks Dothraki with her and learns she was not as fluent as she once thought.  Daario Naharis sneaks in and holds a dagger to Missandei’s throat.  He tells Dany he was chosen to kill her, but he doesn’t want to.  He says he wants to join her.  She asks why she should trust him and he drops Romero and the other lieutinent’s heads in front of her.  He killed them because they wanted to kill her.  Dany asks him to swear an oath.  He gives her the Second Sons and his heart because she is beautiful.

Sam and Gilly are still trying to make it to The Wall.  They come across a cabin to stay in for the night.  Sam is not able to start a fire and Gilly tells him to come share her furs.  Sam asks if she’s thought of a name for her son yet and she starts to get defensive.  They hear a mass of ravens screeching outside and Sam goes to check it out.  He tells Gilly to stay back.  She tells Sam it’s one of the “White Walkers” coming to take her son.  Sam pulls out his sword as one approaches but the creature grabs and crushes it.  Sam remembers the dagger he found and stabs the wraith with it.  The dagger destroys it and Sam and Gilly run.

Only two episodes left this season and next week’s is called The Rain of Castamere.  After hearing the story in tonight’s episode I’m predicting a slaughter next week, but whose slaughter will it be?

Until next time…