by Tabinda Murshed
via screencrush.com
This week’s episode of “Game of Thrones” would perhaps be best described in one word–gory. From the beginning till the end, the mood of the episode was incredibly, with continuous scenes of brutal killings, tortures and the supernatural.
The episode begins with a seemingly light hearted conversation between two soldiers in the Lannister camp’s night watch, including jokes about penises and farts. But soon it takes a gory turn, as Robb Stark’s direwolf munches through one of the soldiers and the Lannister camp is attacked and obliterated by the Stark army, in the dead of the night.
The plot then shifts us away to Kings Landing, ruled by my favourite character of the week, the vicious and sadistic King Joffrey. There are very few characters in the show who are as one dimensional as Joffrey. He is sadistic and vindictive through and through and there is never a redeeming moment in his storyline.
This episode, he expands the boundaries of sadism, by first, assaulting and stripping his betrothed in public and in the very next scene forcing one of two prostitutes (his uncle Tyrion sent to him as a gift) to beat the other bloody. That particular scene was perhaps the most disturbing of the show’s to date. As a critic however, I must appreciate Jack Gleeson’s tactful acting. He manages to find a balance between a spoilt young prince and a sadistic king whose nature is defined by his cruelty.
Although this week’s theme is gore, I have to mention one scene that truly warmed my heart. Tyrion coming to Sansa’s rescue whist she was being assaulted at Joffrey’s court was really touching. As a female viewer, I found the cunning and will to survive displayed by Sansa empowering. And even though he is scheming and plotting for most of his screen time, Tyrion proves that honour and cunning can coexist in one personality.
As the episode reaches its climax, we have my favourite scene of the week. The cast and crew of “Game of Thrones” break new boundaries as they show us the full frontal view of a birthing scene. But what makes this birthing scene extremely frightening is not the blood and fluid associated with child birth but rather the black smoky monster that comes out of Stannis’ High Priestess Melisandre. This was officially the first scene in the series where I had to cover my face in absolute repulsion. All in all, this episode made up for any lack of gore in the previous episodes of the season.
Tabinda Murshed is a contributing writer. Email her at entertainment@nyunews.com.
