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BEWARE: SPOILERS
Where the fuck was Lady Stoneheart? That was the biggest OMG moment in Game of Thrones’ season finale. Lady Stoneheart failed to manifest. For those who don’t read the books I’ll refrain from using her true name lest it dislodge your jaws, but it was a massive let down to not see her leering face come the fade to black at the episodes close.
That said, ‘The Children’ was sublime. It was bloodier than the dreaded nine, but I did promise you lots of death after all.
Tyrion slays Shae AND Tywin
Does Tyrion die? Does he fuck! But he takes out two of his enemies as he flees Kings Landing. First Shae perishes as Tyrion strangles her with a chain of golden hands (read the books for the significance of this) and the pain on his face is heart breaking. Shae has wronged him but for all that Tyrion does love her. Her role has been vastly expanded for the show, so Shae will be a miss. But Tywin will be a bigger miss. He didn’t arrive until halfway through season one but he’s been a commanding presence ever since, stealing most of the scenes he’s appeared in. Charles Dance was perfect in this role, and his final moments were delicious as he continued to goad Tyrion, never truly believing that his son would become a kin slayer. And after that, Tyrion flees with the help of the criminally underused Varys (as a side note, how cute to Varys look siting vigil beside Tyrion’s crate?). Expect Varys to vanish for quite some time now, unfortunately…
The Wights
This entire scene was petrifying, as was its book counterpart. But Jojen survived the battle in the books, whereas he died on the show. Weiss and Benioff know more of what’s to come in ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ than anyone else bar George RR Martin, so I expect Jojen to meet a similar fate in the novels shortly. The scene was gloriously executed: the CGI was believable; Hodor had another epic moment as he hurled the wights away; and even Summer got in on the action. His role has been reduced significantly in season four, but Bran’s story this season has been amongst the best.
Brienne Vs. The Hound
Another change from the novels sees Brienne discovering Arya is alive, before battling The Hound. The battle was epic to behold, outshining Brienne’s fight with Jaime in season three, culminating in The Hounds apparent demise. Is he dead? Or will we see him again? My money is on the former. There was no maester hiding behind any nearby rocks after all. *sob*
Stannis to the rescue
Stannis finally gets to do something, and it’s a brilliantly unexpected twist. He races to the rescue and takes reign over Castle Black. But what is his plan? It’ll surely unfold next season (as another side note, why wasn’t the new Lord Commander unveiled?) as Melisandre enacts more evil and Stannis continues his conquerors reign. His story is only going to get better.
Daenerys binds her children
This was a heart breaking scene indeed. Dany has seriously been through the wringer this season, so things can only look up in season five? Wrong! Expect more death and betrayal. After all, Deznak’s Pit looms… but here we see the full extent of Drogon’s fiery rampage as he burns a three year old child (who had a MASSIVE skull for some reason). His father is naturally devastated, and Dany takes her other two dragons beneath the Great Pyramid and binds them there. They’re distraught, as is she. And so are the viewers.
The Three-Eyed Raven
Bran’s novel story comes full circle here as he finally meets the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven and learns that he too will learn to fly one day. The raven isn’t fully developed in the short scene, so expect more information on him and the children of the forest in season five. Weiss and Benioff will naturally know how Bran’s story continues, so also expect some of this to play out before we read about it in the sixth novel.
Jon and Mance
After being missing for a season and a half Mance returns for a war of words with Jon. It’s rather nice to see the King beyond the Wall toasting his fallen friends and enemies with Jon but the nice scene is interrupted by Stannis’ timely arrival. Mance will have more to do next season, don’t y’all worry.
Cersei chooses Jaime
Well that was an interesting twist wasn’t it? After being raped a few episodes back, Cersei declares her love for Jaime after revealing her incestuous secret to her disbelieving father. It would have been nice to see a showdown between Tywin and Jaime, but Tywin’s death means that their secret is still secret (for now, anyway). And they have consensual sex, too! Perhaps it wasn’t rape after all. Cersei did relent a little towards the end of their first sexual encounter of the season… but anyway, their romance will surely be short lived when Cersei discovers Jaime’s part in Tyrion’s escape and Tywin’s murder.
Kissed by fire
This scene was unnecessary, yes, but it was nice nevertheless as it gave both Jon, and the viewers, the chance to bid farewell to Ygritte. Her character was slightly uneven in parts, but Rose Leslie was perfect in her portrayal. She will be missed.
Bound for Braavos
Much like season three, this season closes on a positive note after all the death and carnage as Arya bids farewell to her life as a Stark and heads for pastures new. Her story next season will be amongst the best, for sure. Everybody loves Arya! The parting shot was a let down, however… JUST WHERE THE FUCK WAS LADY STONEHEART?!
And there we have season four. It’s surely been the best season so far, and with critical acclaim for most of the episodes and skyrocketing ratings, it begs the question whether the show has piqued? If it follows the narrative of book four, the answer will surely be a yes. Because book four is shit. But time will tell. Weiss and Benioff will definitely make more alterations. After all, if you play a game of thrones you win or you die…
Join me next week as OMGame of Thrones explores the top OMG moments of the first four seasons, and the week after as I look to seasons five and six…
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