*sigh*...Game of Thrones has come to an end for another year. As horrible as that is, we must remember to be strong, and let the excellence of this season finale keep us going until the show returns in 2015. So, let’s recap the last episode of 2014....
We lost four characters in this finale; Jojen, who was stabbed by a Wight; Tywin, shot to death by his son Tyrion; Shae, strangled to death by Tyrion; and The Hound, who was beaten and thrown down a cliff by Brienne of Tarth. Where to start? Well, the fight between The Hound and Brienne is certainly one of the show’s best fights, and absolutely nerve shredding. Two great characters battling it out, leaving fans conflicted over who they wanted to win. In a perfect world, they both would have walked away from it. However, it was Brienne who came out victorious, beating The Hound with a rock and pushing him off a cliff. Arya finds him, and he’s in an awful state. He begs her to kill him, but she takes his money and walks away. Now, I know the point of Arya’s character is that she is unsympathetic to those she hates, but she’s not even a little bit upset? No emotion whatsoever? She even turned down the chance to kill him! Instead, she just fucks off to Braavos. Some kind of emotion would’ve been nice, they may not have liked each other but after everything they’ve been through, it was justified. And whilst we didn’t see The Hound die on screen, there’s no way he’s going to survive this. Who knows, maybe in the gap between this episode and the next, he’ll be found by someone who can help him, but for now, it doesn’t look likely. Shae wasn’t a fantastic character, and her characterisation was all over the place. But as Tyrion strangled her with her own necklace in his father’s bed, its doubtful any fans were truly upset, especially following her words at the trial. And how humiliating it must be for Tywin Lannister, Hand of the King, and one of the most powerful men in Westeros, to be killed on the toilet. Everyone was on Team Tyrion, but Charles Dance’s excellent acting made it hard to actually hate Tywin. But there was something good to be felt as he died.
Now, let’s look back at the season as a whole. It was certainly far from its best season, however these past three episodes have proven to be some of the best of the entire show. Apart from that, Season Four was a season of good moments (The best of which I shall count down soon!) rather than good episodes, but never the less it was an absolute blast. The storylines of Stannis, Daenerys and Bran proved mostly uninteresting this season, however they were made up for by the epic stories at King’s Landing and The Wall. We said hello AND goodbye to Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell, who won viewers over in minutes, and said farewell to big bad, Joffrey and Jon’s lover Ygritte. The acting was first class this year, but that was no surprise.
A lot of things will be missed, but most prominently, the relationship between Jaime and Tyrion (Who is hidden in a crate on its way to Essos) i.e. the only healthy relationship in the Lannister family. The chemistry between Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Peter Dinklage was superb, especially during their last scene together where Jaime breaks Tyrion out of his cell.
Overall, Game of Thrones has wowed audiences once again for another year running, and Season Five cannot come sooner. But when it does, I’ll be on hand to bring you the weekly reviews right here.
Valar Morghulis, everyone.