Ep 4.4: Oathkeeper

Missandei is teaching Grey Worm how to speak the common tongue.  They talk about her homeland and what she remembers of it before she was taken away.  She came from an island called Naarth, while he comes from the Summer Isles.   She asks if he remembers his home, but he says no, once an Unsullied always an Unsullied.  Dany enters and asks how the lessons are coming and tells them it is time.  Time for what?  For Grey Worm and some of the other Unsullied to sneak into the city of Mereen late at night through the sewers dressed as slaves.  At the same time, the slaves of Mereen have gathered to discuss whether or not they should turn on their masters in the hopes that Daenerys will take the city.  Grey Worm finds where they are gathered.  He hears a slave saying he doesn’t want to die, so he enters saying “valar morghulis” (all men must die) and then says that a single day of freedom is worth more than a lifetime in chains.  He informs them he was taken as a child to become one of the Unsullied, but Daenerys, Breaker of Chains, freed him and now he fights for her.   One of the slaves notes that being an Unsullied means Grey Worm was trained as a soldier from the time he was a baby, but the slaves in Mereen are not soldiers.  Grey Worm and the other soldiers lay down sacks filled with weapons for the slaves to use.  He tells them that no one will give them freedom, they must take it.  And just like that Daenerys conquers Mereen.  She has all of the masters nailed up along the road to pay them back for doing the same with the child slaves.   Ser Barristen advised her to show mercy, but she chose justice.

Bronn and Jaime are still practicing swordplay with Jaime’s left hand.  Jaime is getting better, but Bronn grabs Jaime’s golden hand and smacks him with it.  Jaime asks Bronn if he thinks Tyrion killed Joffrey and he says he doesn’t.  Bronn asks why Jaime didn’t just ask Tyrion that question himself and finds out Jaime hasn’t gone to see his brother yet.  Bronn asks Jaime if he knows how he came into his brother’s service.  Jaime only knows that Bronn fought for Tyrion when he chose a trial by battle when Catelyn Stark had taken him.  Bronn tells Jaime that he was Tyrion’s first choice, but Lady Aryn insisted the trial be that day.  That was the only reason he picked Bronn, but he was content to wait for Jaime because he knew his brother would travel day and night to fight for him.

Jaime goes to see Tyrion.  He tries to make him feel better by telling him that he had to sit in his own waste outside in a cage when he was a prisoner.  He apologizes to Tyrion for not coming sooner.  They talk about the upcoming trial.  Tyrion knows he is not going to win, especially since one of the judges has wanted him dead since he was born and it’s his father.  He knows Cersei would be happy to avoid a trial all together by having Tyrion killed.  Jaime confesses that she did ask him and Tyrion asks if he should turn around and close his eyes.  Jaime asks if he killed Joffrey.  Tyrion replies, “do you really think I would kill your son” and Jaime asks “do you really think I would kill my brother?”  Jaime asks if there is anything he can do for Tyrion.   He asks Jaime to set him free, but Jaime says he can’t do that.  He tells Tyrion that Cersei has also promised a knighthood to any man that finds Sansa.  Tyrion doesn’t think she had anything to do with Joffrey’s murder, but Jaime points out that she had more motive than most and she disappeared the same day Joffrey was murdered.  Tyrion concedes that it is a coincidence, but Sansa is not a killer.

Sansa is still on the boat with Littlefinger.  She wants to know where he is taking her.  He tells her he is marrying her Aunt Lysa at the Eyrie and she will be safe there.  Sansa asks if he killed Joffrey.  He says he’s been gone for weeks so how could he.  Sansa says she knows it was him.  He tells her she had a part in it as the poison was in one of the stones on her necklace.  She asks why he would move against the Lannisters when they had given him so much.  He says that Joffrey was too vicious and couldn’t be trusted to rule, so he made new friends who very much wanted Joffrey dead.

Then we come to Margaery and Lady Tyrell walking through the gardens (Lady Tyrell who talked to Sansa just before the wedding feast and even touched her.  Did she poison Joffrey?  And did Margaery help?)  Lady Tyrell is going back to Highgarden and leaving Margaery in Kings Landing.  She asks if her granddaughter has been to see the new king Tommen yet, but she has not.  She tells Margaery that she needs to go see him and get betrothed to him otherwise Cersei will turn him against her.  Then she basically confesses to Margaery that she had Joffrey killed. 

Jon and Gren test new recruits at the Wall.  Roose Bolton’s man Vargo Hoat happens to be one of them.  Alliser Thorne comes out and tells Jon he is a steward and has no place teaching the new recruits how to fight.  He should go empty a chamber pot somewhere.  Jon starts to argue, but thinks better of it.  Janos Slynt tells Alliser Thorne he should be careful because the men like Jon and they will soon have to pick a new Lord Commander.  Vargo Hoat makes friends with Jon by pretending to be a thief that was stealing for his children.

Cersei is drunk when Jaime comes to see her.  She wants to know why Catelyn Stark set him free.  He tells her that he promised he would send her daughters to her.  Cersei says he made a promise to their enemies.  He says he doesn’t know where either daughter is so he can’t even keep his promise.  She asks him if he would go find Sansa and bring back her head.  He doesn’t answer.  She tells him that she knows he saw Tyrion.  Jaime tells her that Tyrion didn’t do it.  Cersei tells Jaime she wants 4 men at Tommen’s door day and night and coldly dismisses him.

Margaery sneaks in to see Tommen in his bedchambers that night.  She tells him they are to be married and she thinks they ought to get to know each other before they spend their life together.  She gets to meet his cat, Ser Pounce, who Joffrey once threatened to kill and feed to Tommen.  Margaery says that was very vicious and that she doesn’t think Tommen is cruel.  He says he doesn’t think he is either and she says that is good because when they get married she will be his forever.  She then gives him a kiss on the head, asks if she can come visit him again and leaves.  (Man she is good!)

Jaime has Brienne read his page in the history of the Kingsguard.  Of course it ends with him being the Kingslayer.  He says there is still room left on his page and still time to fill it with good deeds.  He shows her the sword Lord Tywin had made and gives it to her.  She says she can’t take it, but he says it was made from Ned Stark’s sword and she will take it to defend Ned Starks daughter.  He also gives her a new set of armor.  He wants her to find Sansa and make sure she comes to no harm.  She says she will do it for Lady Catelyn and not for him.  He tells her he has one more gift, Pod.    Brienne says he will only slow her down, but Jaime says he was Tyrion’s squire and he has nowhere else to go.  Jaime and Brienne say goodbye.  He tells her all the good swords have names so what should it be named.  She says “Oathkeeper” and they exchange a look.  A look of her knowing that Jaime Lannister is not the same man who was taken captive by Robb Stark’s army.  A better Jaime Lannister.  This was my absolute favorite scene of this episode!

Sam is having second thoughts about leaving Gilly in Molestown.  He wants to go get her, but they aren’t allowed to leave the castle.  Jon says he is worried about Bran north of the Wall.  Apparently Sam told him he bumped into Brans group.  (He doesn’t in the books, but then Vargo Hoat didn’t come to the Wall to see if Jon knew where Bran and Rickon were.)  Hopefully Vargo Hoat gets killed in the wildling attack. Sam says he tried to talk Bran into coming with him, but he wouldn’t.  Jon looks at a map wondering where Bran might be.  He decides they might be at Craster’s Keep.  Vargo Hoat comes in then to tell Jon that Alliser Thorne wants to see him.

Alliser tells Jon he can move forward with his idea of going to Craster’s Keep and capture the mutaneer’s holed up there before Mance Rayder learns what they know.  However, he won’t order men to go with him, they must volunteer.  Jon gives a speech to the men about how the mutaneer’s killed Lord Mormont and how he deserves justice.  He asks for volunteers and gets more than he expected, one of them being Vargo.  Jon thanks them all.

The mutaneers at Crasters Keep are a great bunch of guys you’d want to be holed up with.  Raping Craster’s daughters and drinking wine out of Lord Mormont’s skull.  An older woman comes in with the last of Craster’s children freshly born.  It’s a son.  The main douchebag asks if he should kill it like Craster did before it could grow up and kill it’s father.  The woman tells him that Craster didn’t kill the boys, but gave them as an offering to the White Walkers.  He sends one of the other men out to leave the baby in the woods.

Bran and his group hear a baby crying.  Bran uses Summer and goes outside to see where it is.  Summer gets caught in a trap next to a cage with Ghost.  They go after Summer and Ghost but get caught by the mutaneers.  The head douchebag questions them and threatens them long enough for Bran to tell them he is Brandon Stark of Winterfell.  One of the men realizes its Jon’s brother.

Meanwhile, the same White Walker that came after Gilly’s baby has taken Craster’s new son.  We see a whole group of White Walkers.  He gives one of the other’s the baby.  The wight touches the babies face with its finger and it’s eyes turn blue like theirs.

End credits…

Winter has definitely come!  Is Sansa better off with Littlefinger than she would have been back in Kings Landing.  He seems a little creepy with his obsession over her mother and now her.  Hope things get better for her.  It seems like Margaery will have no problem seducing an unsuspecting Tommen.  Cersei’s going downhill fast.  How long until she self-destructs?  And what about the new Jaime?  Can we finally get back to the story of his character becoming better and just forget that semi-rape scene from last week?

Until next week!

#gameofthrones