Fuck. I – shit. Son of a bitch. Only twice has Game of Thrones elected to use silence over its end credits – tonight’s episode and season three’s “The Rains of Castamere” – and both cases were pretty goddamn traumatizing.
First I said “Oathkeeper” was the best episode of the season, then I said the same thing about “The Laws of Gods and Men,” so I’m just going to say that “The Mountain and the Viper” continued GoT‘s fourth-season streak of great episodes. Expertly directed by Alex Graves, the episode pulled off the seemingly impossible feat of checking in with almost all of GoT‘s major characters, and it did so without feeling rushed or cluttered.
Reek is going undercover as Theon Greyjoy to help capture Moat Cailin for Ramsay. The Ironborn within don’t seem to hold him in high regard, and even doubt his identity. The leader, Kenning, even asks if Reek is a woman, and you can see Reek visibly shaking. Kenning spits in Reek’s face, and that is somehow more emasculating than his castration. It’s one thing to be tortured and mutilated by a captor, but to be given such treatment by your own men? No wonder Theon so quickly adopted the persona of Reek: he’s never been at home in the Iron Islands, whether it’s because he was given to Ned Stark as a hostage, or because he was shunned by his father, sister, and countrymen. Reek offers safe passage to the Ironborn, only to see them killed and flayed by Ramsay anyway. I can’t stress this enough – why would you trust anyone who’s sigil is a fucking flayed man? Anyway, Roose Bolton finally legitimizes the bastard, allowing him to call himself Ramsay Bolton. I could expend 1,000 words talking about Iwan Rheon’s performance as Ramsay, and the way he’s turned what could have been a one-note sadist into one of the best villains on TV.
Dany’s subplot was the second-most heartbreaking of the night. She finds out, via Ser Barristan, that Jorah entered her service under false pretenses, namely that he was acting as a spy for Varys. Iain Glen is given more to do than make googly eyes at Emilia Clarke, and he makes the most of the opportunity. He pleads, futilely, that his loyalty is to her – now. Clarke’s voice is pure steel as she dismisses him, and she should be applauded for not going the easy route and screaming at him. She’s a commanding presence, and her banishment of Jorah is a bummer because of all the twists and turns of every relationship on Game of Thrones, Jorah and Daenerys have always been together.
Littlefinger is put on trial at the Eyrie, and if you think Aidan Gillen seemed untrustworthy on The Wire, you should see him here. But it’s Sansa who saves his ass, delivering a tearful monologue about her aunt’s insane jealousy and Littlefinger’s selfless devotion to the daughter of the woman he loved. Of course she ascribes more nobility to Littlefinger than he actually possesses, but Sophie Turner delivers an amazing performance, and honestly we should thank the old gods and the new that Sansa Stark is actually interesting again.
But this episode is called “The Mountain and the Viper,” so I suppose we should talk about Gregor Clegane and Oberyn Martell. The fight, quite frankly, was a masterpiece, and probably the best – and most brutal – fight I’ve seen on TV since Dan Dority fought the Captain in Deadwood.
It was so much more about revenge for Oberyn. He approached the fight like a dance, twirling and spinning out of the way of the Mountain’s sword. His mantra of “You raped her, you killed her, you murdered her children!” was as hypnotic as it was chilling. He wanted the Mountain to admit what he’d done, admit that Tywin Lannister ordered him to do it, to expose the rotten core at the heart of the Lannister family in front of the whole court. But alas, the old adage proved true, and Oberyn, in his quest for revenge, ended up digging two graves.
By which I mean, the Mountain went full Gallagher and crushed his fucking head. It was a horrible, ignoble way to die. The first rule of Game of Thrones is “don’t get too attached to anyone,” but this was still hard to watch (and I say this as a book reader who knew it was coming). Honestly I’m getting bummed out just writing about it. But that’s what made “The Mountain and the Viper” such a powerful episode of television. The performances were excellent across the board, the direction was intuitive and precise, and the emotional impact was well-earned. This is a high water-mark for the series.
A Few Thoughts
– Arya and the Hound continue to be the best. Arya’s laughter at the news of her aunt’s death was one of this episode’s few moments of levity. The Hound’s get-rich-quick schemes will never work, will they?
– So long, Pedro Pascal. We didn’t know how much we needed you
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