A look at Game of Thrones’ third season so far

A common refrain in the second half of the last season of Game of Thrones was Daenerys Targaryen shouting — to anyone that would listen — “Where are my dragons?!?” (Ironically, it was a question fans had been asking most of the season, even prior to their abduction.) In this week’s episode, Drogon in particular, showed up and answered Dany’s — and fans’ — question with ash and fire.

But the attack on the slave masters of Astapor was really just the exclamation mark at the end of a phenomenal episode, representative of an incredibly good season overall. As the “first act” of this third season comes to a close, this week’s Beyond the Wall will take a look back at the season so far.

But first, a spoiler warning: For those who are new to these parts, please be warned that Beyond the Wall is meant for those who have read the A Song of Ice and Fire series of books that Game of Thrones is based on. So, if you don’t know why the Tower of Joy is anything but joyful, you should probably skip this post.

Ivey: So far in the third season of Game of Thrones, we’ve seen people captured, people tortured, hands cut off … and we’re talking about the main characters! That’s not factoring in the Old Bear’s death, the return of Barristan the Bold and even a reason for Sansa Stark to smile. Oh, yeah … and dragons.

I’m really digging the way this season has gone so far, for all of those reasons and more. Especially in these last two episodes, we’ve seen the storytelling speed up to the breakneck pace that is most of A Storm of Swords. S0 much happens in the the third novel, to the point that in retrospect it feels like the entire second book — and season of the show — was all set up to get us here.

Bob: Indeed. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself when I heard so many folks complaining about the show being slow at the beginning of the season. With a world this big and a story with this many characters, it’s going to take a little time to get moving. I’m not sure why so many viewers forgot about that. Any “slowness” (and I, for one, was never bored), is gone now, with each episode seemingly building upon the last in terms of plot, suspense, and great moments.

Looking back on the first four episodes, a few things do stand out to me. I couldn’t go without mentioning the end of the last episode (even if you already have), which is probably my favorite Dany moment of the entire book series. Her burning of Astapor was as epic, impressive, and satisfying as it was on page. Dany has become a very bad ass, and Westeros better watch out.

One of the biggest things that stands out to me is the way the show has presented Jaime and Brienne’s relationship. It’s been one of the high points so far and is translating really nicely from the page. Kudos to both actors for making the characters sing (especially Gwendoline Christie who is filling an almost un-castable role).

Ivey: It took my second readthrough of the series before I began to care about Brienne at all, and even then it was only marginally more than the first time around. But there’s just something about Christie’s performance that has forced me to look at the Maid of Tarth in a different light. In the book, her “honor” became — especially in A Feast for Crows — almost a detriment to her character being interesting. But here I find myself respecting it, much as I believe I was supposed to have in the books.

One my favorite parts of the season thus far has been trying to examine every move that Tywin Lannister is making to see just how much foreshadowing that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are going to fold into the story. As these last couple episode aired, I was specifically looking to see if I could read the text of his letters (that he was writing has he spoke with Tyrion before, and Cersei this week) that I couldn’t make out on the screeners HBO sent out (no more bragging about those, by the way … we’re all now at the same point in our viewing). Sadly, there wasn’t a great deal to potentially discern about what might have been in those communications.

Bob: Well, we readers of the books certainly know what’s going on with the letters. Tywin has been a great asset for the show, and I think I appreciate him a lot more on screen than I did when reading the novels. I think Charles Dance adds a subtleness to the character that I didn’t pick up on while reading. In the books he was a total douchebag. I don’t know if it’s the accent or the beard or something else, but Dance adds a little bit of charm that makes the character slightly less horrid. I think his scenes with Arya last season did a whole lot to further that goal as well.

I’ve also really enjoyed the prominence of the Tyrells in King’s Landing. We got a little bit of Margaery last season, but she and Joff make a far more interesting duo than she and Renly. I’ve loved watching her scheming and the fact that Joffrey is completely oblivious to her obvious manipulations is perfect. What a rube. Diana Rigg has been perfect as Olenna too, stomping around King’s Landing and ruffling feathers as only a wily old lady can.

Ivey: What? There’s someone named Margaery Tyrell on this show? I guess I should be paying better attention! … But seriously folks, I’ve been infatuated with Natalie Dormer’s performance since the minute she appeared on the scene last season. Show Margaery is an infinitely more interesting character than book Margaery could imagine being. And yes, Diana Rigg owns the screen anytime she’s on it. I’m a little curious as to why the Tyrell contingent in King’s Landing is limited to these two ladies and Loras, but I’m sure Mace will make his appearance eventually.

If there’s anything we should mention that we haven’t yet touched on, it is has got to be the plight of Theon Greyjoy. As interesting as his story has been so far, I’m hesitant to form much of a specific opinion about it yet. We all know who the “Boy” helping Theon actually is, but how his identity will be revealed is still a little bit of a mystery — which, frankly, I welcome. It isn’t always the best thing knowing exactly how the story will play out.

Bob: I agree, it’s always nice to have a surprise here and there for the book readers. Plus, with the epic betrayal that Theon pulled off last season, I think viewers would have been robbed if all his torture was off screen like in the books. Now we just need that “Boy” to reveal his identity and start cutting parts of Theon off!