Here's what I liked about Game of Thrones' Latest Episode:
I rant a lot about Robb in this post.
If he's a favourite, please don't be upset with me.
I'm just venting ;)
Damn, this show! This season has been such a roller coaster, and I love that its retained quality despite outrunning the books. Normally, I'm a 'books always first' kind of person, but with GoT I just have to concede that its living up to its legacy like nobody's business.
But I'm bringing up the books because the last episode hit a point that I thought was really important.
Aside from the Arya stabbing (NO WHY JAQEN STAHP), Olenna Tyrell's special brand of basassery and Lady Lyanna Mormont (just give that little girl the Iron Throne and save yourselves, seriously), there was one scene that really got to me:
It's when Jon and Sansa approach House Glover for support in their bid to take back Winterfell. Lord Glover just shuts them down and Sansa is all 'um no, you serve the Starks' and then he just lays it on the line:
"Yes. My family served House Stark for centuries. We wept when we heard of your father's death. When my brother was lord of this castle, he answered Robb's call and hailed him "King in the North"! And where was King Robb when the ironborn attacked this castle? When they threw my wife and children in prison and brutalized and killed our subjects? Taking up with a foreign whore. Getting himself, and those who followed him, killed. I served House Stark once... but House Stark is dead."
Because YES.
Finally, a look into what Robb's choice meant for the other Houses in the North. I love him and I will always love him but whether its book Robb or series Robb, his marriage was just such a bad call.
You were the Lord of Winterfell, Robb! That means something!
You can't pull this shit when you're responsible for the entire Northern Front of a Kingdom! The Glovers, the Mormonts, the Manderlys, hell, even the Boltons...they all lost men and resources in a war that Robb started, specifically to avenge his Father's capture and show the Lannisters that the North is not to be fucked with. He made that choice for everybody as the Lord of Winterfell and he should have been the Lord of Winterfell when he was needed.
In a way, I think TV Robb's choice was at least...understandable, given that the motivation was love. One could argue that he was weary of being Lord Robb and just wanted to be a boy who was in love with a girl, for a while. It could be taken as a form of escapism or a quest for something good in a world that was suddenly very bleak for him. Talisa was his shining light.
But book Robb married Jeyne Westerling specifically to save her honour. And this is ridiculous, because even though it's in keeping with his upbringing as Ned Stark's son, Robb knew that he needed the Frey alliance to solidify his position. What about his House's honour, the North's honour? Catelyn protested so many times and he just didn't listen. It wasn't just about him. It was about everyone else who fought and died for him in his war that he started.
Either way, I think Robb specifically, gives us a lot of insight into the Starks. In the end, they're soldiers. They have a strong moral code of conduct certainly, but it's rigid and does not translate well over their decisions. This is why Ned died. This is why Robb died. Hell, this is why Jon died, even though that didn't stick (YAY). Even if, somehow, Robb had won and taken the Iron Throne, it is this reliance on 'do what is just, not what is necessary' that would have made him a mediocre, if not an unsuccessful ruler.
Of course, this is how it was always meant to be, obviously. But even after all these seasons and books, Robb's choice upsets me.
Ned always said that 'the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword'. Robb sentenced his men to death when he chose Talisa/Jeyne over Roslin Frey, and he did it with a wedding. He took up the mantle of a Lord, but in the end, he was just a boy.
You had one job, Robb.
One. Job.
If he's a favourite, please don't be upset with me.
I'm just venting ;)
Damn, this show! This season has been such a roller coaster, and I love that its retained quality despite outrunning the books. Normally, I'm a 'books always first' kind of person, but with GoT I just have to concede that its living up to its legacy like nobody's business.
But I'm bringing up the books because the last episode hit a point that I thought was really important.
Aside from the Arya stabbing (NO WHY JAQEN STAHP), Olenna Tyrell's special brand of basassery and Lady Lyanna Mormont (just give that little girl the Iron Throne and save yourselves, seriously), there was one scene that really got to me:
It's when Jon and Sansa approach House Glover for support in their bid to take back Winterfell. Lord Glover just shuts them down and Sansa is all 'um no, you serve the Starks' and then he just lays it on the line:
"Yes. My family served House Stark for centuries. We wept when we heard of your father's death. When my brother was lord of this castle, he answered Robb's call and hailed him "King in the North"! And where was King Robb when the ironborn attacked this castle? When they threw my wife and children in prison and brutalized and killed our subjects? Taking up with a foreign whore. Getting himself, and those who followed him, killed. I served House Stark once... but House Stark is dead."
Because YES.
Finally, a look into what Robb's choice meant for the other Houses in the North. I love him and I will always love him but whether its book Robb or series Robb, his marriage was just such a bad call.
You were the Lord of Winterfell, Robb! That means something!
You can't pull this shit when you're responsible for the entire Northern Front of a Kingdom! The Glovers, the Mormonts, the Manderlys, hell, even the Boltons...they all lost men and resources in a war that Robb started, specifically to avenge his Father's capture and show the Lannisters that the North is not to be fucked with. He made that choice for everybody as the Lord of Winterfell and he should have been the Lord of Winterfell when he was needed.
In a way, I think TV Robb's choice was at least...understandable, given that the motivation was love. One could argue that he was weary of being Lord Robb and just wanted to be a boy who was in love with a girl, for a while. It could be taken as a form of escapism or a quest for something good in a world that was suddenly very bleak for him. Talisa was his shining light.
But book Robb married Jeyne Westerling specifically to save her honour. And this is ridiculous, because even though it's in keeping with his upbringing as Ned Stark's son, Robb knew that he needed the Frey alliance to solidify his position. What about his House's honour, the North's honour? Catelyn protested so many times and he just didn't listen. It wasn't just about him. It was about everyone else who fought and died for him in his war that he started.
Either way, I think Robb specifically, gives us a lot of insight into the Starks. In the end, they're soldiers. They have a strong moral code of conduct certainly, but it's rigid and does not translate well over their decisions. This is why Ned died. This is why Robb died. Hell, this is why Jon died, even though that didn't stick (YAY). Even if, somehow, Robb had won and taken the Iron Throne, it is this reliance on 'do what is just, not what is necessary' that would have made him a mediocre, if not an unsuccessful ruler.
Of course, this is how it was always meant to be, obviously. But even after all these seasons and books, Robb's choice upsets me.
Ned always said that 'the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword'. Robb sentenced his men to death when he chose Talisa/Jeyne over Roslin Frey, and he did it with a wedding. He took up the mantle of a Lord, but in the end, he was just a boy.
You had one job, Robb.
One. Job.