- Cripples, Bastards And Broken Things This week, some of the action takes place in the new location of Vaes Dothrak, the Dothraki capital, and as such, the opening titles feature a new city erupting from the landscape. It’s little details like this that make this author a happy fanboy. Anyway, on with the review. Cripples, Bastards And Broken Things focuses on arguably the most interesting characters and aspects of the show: Tyrion, Jon Snow, The Night’s Watch and life at The Wall. On the subject of sons who disappoint their fathers, Tyrion has returned to Winterfell to check up on the crippled Bran at the behest of his stepbrother. Bran is now being carried around by the large but simple-minded Hodor (“Hodor!”), but Tyrion, who knows his family is responsible, provides the plans for a saddle that may enable the young Stark to ride horses again. Untrusted by the rest of Winterfell, Tyrion opts to stay at a local whorehouse, but not before trading words with a character who has, up till now, remained in the background: Theon Greyjoy (played by Alfie Allen, son of Keith, brother of Lily). further reading: Game of Thrones Season 8 – Everything We Know Meanwhile, father figures are at the forefront of Ned Stark’s mind as he begins to put together why Jon Arryn, the former hand, may have been killed. It seems that King Robert had a bastard son. Considering a bastard son may jeopardise the offspring of Cersei Lannister, Ned’s suspicions are compounded when he’s confronted in his quarters by the queen, who underlines her threats that anyone who’s not her family is regarded as an enemy. When you see her scenes with the young Joffrey, her love towards him is clear, but considering her close relationship with her brother, you get the impression it’s a mere few steps from being a full-blown Oedipus complex. As Ned attempts to discover the truth, a tournament, or tourney, goes forward to honour the king’s new hand. Unfortunately, a potential witness to Robert’s bastard’s identity comes to a tragic end. It’s during scenes such as the tournament that the writers manage to try and cram in as much backstory to the characters as possible. One neat little scene sees Littlefinger educate Sansa in the history of some of the realm’s more brutal characters, such as Sandor Clegane, aka The Hound. Another ‘broken thing’ in the land of Westeros, The Hound is a hired thug who sports some disfiguring burns courtesy of his brother, Gregor Clegane, aka The Mountain. (These guys have some great nicknames!) Ar similar scene has Viserys (Harry Lloyd) educate Daenerys’ bedmaid about his family’s history, his claim to the iron throne and the importance of dragons. It’is a wonderful example of concise and succinct screenwriting. further reading: Game of Thrones Season 8 – Predictions and Theories Meanwhile, the end of episode shows that Tyrion’s days of mocking those around him may have come to head, as Catelyn rallies banner men and bar patrons to her cause to arrest the Lannister she believes is responsible for the attempted murder of her son. It’s all heating up. The only question is who will be left standing. Playing the game of thrones is a dangerous business. Game Of Thrones is screened in the UK on Sky Atlantic every Monday night.
