#GoT Episode 4: And Now His Watch Is Ended

 

Spoilers! 

Do not read this if you haven't seen this week's episodes. Do not blame me if you keep reading and see something you don't want to know.

Whoa. Well this week's episode was not a placeholder.

Favorite moments:

• Jaime and Brienne realize they like each other. In a platonic way. But when have we ever seen Jaime Lannister have a friend before? This is a big step for him in terms of personal growth. He spent a lot of time feeling sorry for himself.
• Tywin tells Cersei "You're not as smart as you think you are," and assures her that he will stop Joffrey from "doing what he likes." Huh. Interesting. I think Tywin is one of the more interesting characters on the show, and not just because I've had a lifelong crush on actor Dreamy Charles Dance, ever since he played Guy Perron in "The Jewel in the Crown," which I first saw in high school. He's always got something going on, which of course was why his relationship with Arya Stark last season was so hilarious. Someone put one over on him! I assume Tywin knows what's what with Joffrey's parentage. I wonder what will happen next!
• Daenerys kicks some serious butt with her dragons and turns her slave army into an all-volunteer force with impressive efficiency.
• Poor Sansa. So naive. Yes, dear, marry the Knight of the Flowers. I really want to make a joke about turkey basters but I try to keep it clean on Boston Bibliophile.com. 

I didn't see the twists with Daenerys coming, though I did figure that her dragon was not going to passively accept the transfer in ownership. It was a pretty great sequence though. 

• Craster got what he had coming to him. I have to say he is probably the most odious character on the show and that's saying a lot.
• The Night's Watch descended into chaos after that guy from "Torchwood" gave Craster a taste of steel-tipped karma, and Samwell Tarly ran off with his girl crush Gilly.
• Arya confronted the Hound with his murder of the butcher's boy way-back-when and earned herself some more respect points from the Brotherhood.
• Something weird happened with Tyrion but I don't remember what exactly.
• Margaery introduces Joffrey to the fine art of sucking up to the public. Cersei seemed disturbed by this.
• Various people conspire over Sansa's fate, with the end result that Margaery suggests that Sansa marrying Margaery's gay brother is a realistic and desirable possibility. Of course Sansa has no idea about that, she just has a crush on him cause he's handsome. Somehow I don't think that's going to work out though.

This episode flew by for me. We didn't have any weepy Catelyn, except in one of Bran's dreams (his sequence was mercifully short) and no mopey Robb either. Also no mopey Jon Snow, but that means no Ciaran Hinds so you win some, you lose some.