Sansa takes the lead.
After seven episodes, Life lists the things we love and hate most about the show – with some spoilers in the mix.
HOT
“Weak” men:
There are more than enough power-hungry egos on Game Of Thrones, so it can be such a spot of sunshine when you come across a male ruler/heir who doesn’t act like an entitled little git who inherited power and “should” rule. Don’t be quick to dismiss them as wimps — the men that prefer to stay in the shadows this season have perfectly legitimate reasons that may not become so apparent upon first impression. There’s the obvious case with Theon Greyjoy who insists that his sister should rule, even though he is the male heir who supposedly should. He can barely pull himself together so it’s quite apparent, but if we remember how cocky and ambitious the old Theon was like, it’s quite commendable that the Iron-born is graceful enough to accept that he is no longer fit for the position. Not too many male characters on the show have the good sense or mercy to part with their power and to hand over the throne to sis shows how Theon’s returning to become level-headed again.
At the city of Dorne, it was maddening too that Prince Doran Martell was letting the murder of all his siblings slide by. What viewers (and Ellaria Sand) fail to realise however, is that instead of seeking revenge, he is conniving to marry all his kin into future positions of power within the ruling families of Westeros — a far more efficient and less bloodier way to get what he wants. He sees the importance of peace and although his pride is at stake, he’s aware that it’s worth sacrificing as opposed to raging out to a full-blown war. Being hot-headed got Oberyn killed, but it’s unfortunate that being sneakily sensible also gets you killed too — courtesy of the Sand Snakes. Conversely, we see lots of women rising up to take charge, be it Sansa Stark or Yara Greyjoy, as well as the late Prince Oberyn’s paramour Ellaria Sand. With all the horrendous things they’ve been through, it’ll be interesting to see if they’ll be cunning enough to manoeuvre around the politics and gore. They say it takes a woman to get anything done, so let’s see where this goes as the season draws to a close.
Magic:
We reach another level of crazy in this season, with magic officially becoming a critical component — one that allows time travel and revival from the dead. Simply put, anything is possible now. Time to really wrap our heads around the fact that even characters that have been MIA for a couple of seasons can now come back (Benjen Stark) and it’s totally legit, because you know, it’s a world where magic is part of the equation. A fantasy series after all, means it can get away with it not being silly for the lead to wake up from the dead. It’s magic too that allows us to look into the past and discover the back stories that lead to what’s going on today too. The build-up of flashbacks were one of the highlights of this season and as much as the tears Hodor’s story induced, seeing his story complete full circle portrays a great mastery of story-crafting on George R.R. Martin’s part. Hopefully this factor will make the plot lines less predictable and throw in more mind-blowing surprises along the way.
Minor build-ups:
There’s a very satisfying build-up for all the major characters that still keeps you coming back for more each time around. Still, there’s a very human component for the minor characters too, which lets you understand all the cogs in action. Who knew Varys’ whispering “little birds” were merely poor children he gave candy to in exchange for eavesdropping for secrets around the city? It’d be awesome to see each character’s story in turn around 360 like Hodor’s and we’re hoping other old characters that disappeared may come back. Not just humans, we mean you too, Nymeria. In the book, she’s apparently a queen leading her own pack of wolves near Riverlands, after Arya set her free to escape execution by command of Queen Cersei. Sansa’s wolf was executed instead, so what a hunky dory redeeming plot it would be if Nymeria pops out to save Sansa somewhere along the action.
NOT
Daenerys the Diva:
As cool as the exiled princess has been so far, her diva stunts are starting to get old and dreadfully passé. We know that she’s the charismatic, confident and compassionate saviour, but she isn’t really doing much except making conqueror speeches and pulling epic acts that usually involve fire and yes, her not getting burned in them. Yes, we get it that she’s the dragon woman with all the regal posture, brains and wit to make it out alive time and time again, no matter what sticky situation she’s in. But more action and less talk, please.
Cultish religions:
With three different faiths across Westeros that get really fleshed out this season (which worship the Lord of the Light, the Many-Faced God or the Faith of the Seven), it’s almost impossible to decide which one is the most annoying. We get to see fundamentalists in action yet, as frustrating as they are, it could not be a mirror more reflective of how societies back in the day looked at religion. Martin’s world is comprehensively thorough in all aspects — while it gives you dragons and White Walkers, it deals with very nitty gritty things other fantasy writers omit, from economy and minorities to society and religion.
High-paced endings:
After all those years of blood and tears, there’s a pattern you can pick up. It’s painfully predictable: mid-series we go through a bit of a boring spell and you can tell that nothing really happens until the last two episodes, where the wars break out. With the ninth episode titled The Battle Of The Bastards you can guess that the showdown between Jon Snow and Ramsey Bolton is about to go down, while the finale looks like the beginning of the end, being titled The Winds Of Winter. With all of the characters in the show perfecting their powers and harnessing the most skills they can from their training for the final war, the Stark wave may be one to pin your hopes on. But save yourself and don’t pin too much.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.