Seven Kingdoms Scoop: “Game of Thrones” recap of episode “Mockingbird”

Finally! Finally, finally, a great Game of Thrones episode again. It feels good, doesn’t it? It feels right. It feels like Lysa falling out of the Moon Door and Tyrion getting a champion and Brienne and Pod stumbling upon information they never knew they didn’t have. DRINK IT IN, GUYS. This is as solid as it gets.

Sure, this episode felt a bit more scattered than usual—were those check-ins at the Wall and Dragonstone really necessary? Probably not—but I thought the theme of siblings was really well done, and reverberated around practically every pairing. Melisandre is almost treating Selyse like a little sister, even though she’s been sleeping with her husband in the name of their god. The Hound, after slapping Arya around a couple of weeks ago, looks on like a bemused older brother when she kills yet another man. Jon Snow doesn’t really have any siblings left, so he relies on direwolf Ghost for companionship, but Alliser Thorne wants the two separated. And then there are Oberyn and his dead sister Elia, the screwed-up Lannister kids, on and on and on.

There was sadness and guilt and regret and rage in practically every scene this week, and an emotional onslaught like that could turn into an avalanche—but “Mockingbird” felt controlled, well executed. You know that with only three episodes left, we’re building toward something huge—and how these relationships come into play will undoubtedly be important.

So, let’s recap the five most important things that happened in “Mockingbird.” And, as always, SOME SPOILERS AHEAD. 

+ “It is rare to meet a Lannister who shares my enthusiasm for dead Lannisters.” Week after week, in these recaps and in our PDC podcasts, I’ve been saying the same thing over and over again: Oberyn Martell is the shit, and the Red Viper is one of the best characters George R.R. Martin has ever created, and when the glory comes, you will know it is here. HERE IS THE GLORY. HERE IS OBERYN MARTELL BEING GLORIOUS. Because with that very simple proclamation, “I will be your champion,” he completely changes Tyrion’s fortunes while also finally moving toward his own desires. In practically every interaction Oberyn has with anyone, he says the same thing: justice for his sister, justice for her children, justice for Elia and her daughter Rhaenys and son Aegon. It’s his calling card; it’s his life’s quest. And now, finally, he has the opportunity to get it, since Cersei names her champion as Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that Rides, Sandor/the Hound’s older brother who burned his face and the man who killed Elia’s children and then raped her while covered in their blood. If there’s anyone who deserves to die, it’s him.

This all happens after Jaime admits that he can’t fight for Tyrion because of, you know, the whole one-hand thing (after Tyrion’s assessment of him is pretty correct: “You could kill a king, lose a hand, fuck your own sister; you’ll always be the golden son”) and after Bronn admits that he’s been knighted and engaged to marry a highborn woman, Lollys Stokeworth (who is mentally disabled and, in the books, gang-raped by a King’s Landing mob, resulting in a bastard pregnancy; I don’t remember if they kept this storyline in the show?), so he can’t fight for Tyrion, either. Gotta love how sellsword Bronn keeps it real in their interaction: “I have gold. What could I buy with gratitude?” and “I’m your friend. And when have you ever risked your life for me? I like you … I just like myself more.”

But could Tyrion want a better champion than Oberyn? Doubtful. And I’m SO HAPPY that this episode included my favorite story ever about the Lannister children, which I shared with some coworkers just last week. Because didn’t that memory from Oberyn about visiting Casterly Rock back in the day and coming face-to-face with Cersei’s petty cruelty and bitchiness, even all those years ago, give you so much context about the Lannister kids and how fucked up Tyrion’s life has been? After his birth, rumors swirled that he was a monster and a hermaphrodite, but as Oberyn says, “‘That’s not a monster,’ I told Cersei. ‘That’s just a baby.’” But it’s so telling what Cersei says in response to Oberyn—“He should not have lived this long”—and gives us so much understanding for everything she’s done until this point. Since his birth, Cersei has been trying to kill Tyrion, “making honest feelings do dishonest work,” and even attempting to convince Jaime into helping her murder their little brother. How much more terrible can one woman get?  

Wipe your sympathetic tears for Tyrion away, guys. I know I had to.

+ “Nothing isn’t better or worse than anything. Nothing is just nothing.” In the continuing adventures of Arya and the Hound, we swing from abuse to pity this week, with Sandor finally opening to the younger Stark daughter about his burned face. Of course, they give a merciful death to a mortally wounded man first—loved “Can I have a drink? Dying is thirsty work”—and are then attacked by two men you may remember from a few seasons ago: the prisoners Night’s Watch member Yoren was transporting up to the Wall, along with Arya, Gendry, and the Hound. Back then, Rorge had threatened Arya with rape; in the present, she stabs him in the heart with Needle. “You’re learning,” says the Hound with a mix of detached bemusement and impressed pride, but during that attack, the Hound was bitten—and the wound doesn’t look good.

And so, as Arya presses him to cauterize the wound with a fiery log, we finally get the tale of what happened to his face, why his older brother the Mountain that Rides would ruin him so. The answer is something petty and silly, of course—Gregor thought Sandor had stolen one of his toys—but what was worse was the lack of punishment: “The pain was bad. The smell was worse. But the worst thing was it was my brother who did it, my father who protected him.”

There’s absolutely no doubt that the Hound is a shitty guy, someone used to following orders for years and for reveling in killing—and being good at it. But that story, that glimpse into a childhood so terrible, was affecting for all of us, no? It certainly was for Arya, who helps him wash out the wound and sew it up. I wouldn’t call this Arya going full Stockholm syndrome, but I would say she has normal human decency—something that we’re not so used to seeing in the Seven Kingdoms anymore.

+ “My sweet, silly wife. I have only loved one woman. Only one. My entire life. Your sister.”PEACE OUT, LYSA ARRYN. Have fun flying through the Moon Door and exploding into little pieces, you insane bitch. Look, I have some sympathy for Lysa, and I’ll fill you in with some more book knowledge to demonstrate why: For years she’s been overshadowed by Catelyn; she gave her virginity to Petyr, who said Cat’s name while they were in bed and got her pregnant; her father tricked her into drinking moon tea and terminating the pregnancy; and because of that, for years since, she’s had trouble conceiving; perhaps that’s why she’s so overprotective of her awful, bratty son Sweetrobin. All those things are terrible, and I totally get it! But her overwhelming paranoia, her utter disregard for Sansa, her refusal to see any flaw in Petyr manipulating her for years—those things, I cannot abide. So yes, I cheered when Petyr pushed her to her death. Sorry I’m not sorry.

But that’s not all Littlefinger did this episode! No, he also kissed Sansa after telling her “In a better world, one where love could overcome strength and duty, you might have been my child”—because kissing a girl who might have been your daughter is NOT WEIRD IN THE LEAST. Oh, we all knew this was coming, though. We knew from the way Petyr gazes at Sansa and caresses her arm and is generally a gigantic fucking creep that he sees Sansa as the second coming of Catelyn, and that in this world, he’s going to do everything he can to keep them together. And if that involves murdering her aunt, well, so be it. As Petyr himself says, “A lot can happen between now and never”—and chances are that Petyr will be responsible for every damn thing that happens. He has been up to this point, hasn’t he?

+ “Do what you do best. Take off your clothes.” DANY HAS NEEDS, OK? And she finally allows the desperately-trying-to-woo-her Daario to fulfill those needs, commanding him to get naked and jump into bed with her. Look, can’t blame her! It’s been a long time since Khal Drogo died, and she’s still a teenage girl, and I guess some people would find Daario attractive (I’ll pass, but that’s because my heart only beats for Jaime Lannister, Gendry Waters, and the late Khal). I get the appeal, even though I don’t agree with it.

But letting Daario seduce her was simultaneously a power play, right? Because she then sends Daario off to Yunkai, one of the cities she had conquered which has now reverted back to their slaving ways, with his sellswords. “Slavery is real; I can end it, I will end it,” she says to Jorah Mormont when he comes to argue with her about the decision. But when Jorah points out that he himself was a slaver once, and that perhaps mercy is more powerful than vengeance, Dany decides to call back Daario and tell him not to kill all the slave masters like she had originally intended; instead, Hizdahr zo Loraq—remember him from last week?—will accompany Daario to Yunkai as an ambassador.

Mmm yeah … keep an eye on this storyline, guys. This may not have been Dany’s smartest move. And although “They can live in my new world or they can die in their old one” is Dany talking a big game, perhaps she should look a little harder at whom she’s trusting in that “new world.”

+ “The Lord needs her.” While Stannis and Davos are in Braavos, getting money from the Iron Bank, what are Melisandre and Selyse doing? Bonding over bathtime, naturally! This was such a weird scene—and unnecessary too, I thought—but let’s briefly talk about it because it again brings up the question of, what is Melisandre’s endgame?

She’s upfront enough with Selyse to acknowledge that she’s sleeping with her husband, Stannis—“Don’t be upset. Men never crave what they already have. It’s only flesh. It needs what it needs”—and also powerful enough to reject Selyse’s idea that daughter Shireen should stay behind at Dragonstone. “The Lord needs her,” Melisandre says, and that puts an end to Selyse’s protests. But the Lord of Light needs her … for what? To be converted? To be sacrificed? To continue giving Davos reading lessons? WHO KNOWS?!

This is a storyline that I’m totally in the dark about—I think I know where it could be going, depending on Martin’s books—but given Benioff’s and Weiss’s lack of hesitance with changing things around, I’m intrigued. But that’s about all I feel with this storyline—otherwise, Selyse is a giant yawn to me.

+ Some other final thoughts:

+ We didn’t talk about the Wall this week, but Jon Snow and the other Night’s Watch men have returned from the fight at Craster’s Keep, and Jon’s ideas are still getting shut down by Alliser Thorne. With the wildlings advancing, Jon suggests that they freeze the tunnel under the Wall shut so that wildlings and giants can’t get in, but Thorne scoffs at the idea—and gives him duties atop the Wall with Sam for the next few nights. Dick move, bro.

+ We also didn’t check in with Brienne and Pod, but they, with great luck, stumble upon Arya’s old friend Hot Pie (!!! LOVED SEEING HOT PIE AGAIN), who is working at an inn where Brienne and Pod stop for a meal. From Hot Pie they learn that Arya is still alive, and was traveling to the Wall with them all that time ago, pretending to be a boy named ‘Arry. It’s useful information and helps Brienne and Pod deduce that Arya could be with her aunt Lysa—but now that Lysa is dead, is it worth continuing to travel in that direction? We’ll see.

+ Also: THE WOLF BREAD. My heart broke at the wolf bread. 

+ Some great lines for Tyrion this week as he goes back on the offensive, and one of my favorites was his analysis of Ser Meryn Trant: “I’d enjoy watching Bronn disembowel that pompous child-beater.” I don’t disagree!

+ Also great stuff for Bronn, especially his description of his new gloves: “Softer than a virgin’s thighs.”

+ “We had some good days together,” Bronn said to Tyrion, in a moment that made me rapidly blink away tears and pretend I wasn’t about to cry.

+ Oh, Jorah. DANY WILL NEVER LOVE YOU, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at his shocked face when Daario stumbles out of Dany’s private quarters, half-dressed, smirking about how “she’s in a good mood.” Whomp whomp.

+ And, in tonight’s creepiest line: “Call me Petyr.” Nah, no thanks. (Even though Sansa building the snowcastle: Jeez, that was some beautiful imagery. AND OF COURSE PETYR HAD TO RUIN IT BY DOING THE CREEP.)