Maybe noticing during the opening credits that Michelle MacLaren had directed this week's episode set unfair expectations. MacLaren, if you don't know, is one of television's most gifted behind-the-camera talents, a master of building suspense who has lensed some of the best episodes of not only Game of Thrones, but also Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. So, at first, it was a little disappointing to find her helming such a low-key hour as we move into season four's middle section. Not a lot happens in "Oathkeeper," which mostly concerns itself with characters taking stock of their current situation and attempting to reposition themselves to their advantage.
It looks like, with Joffrey dead, Margaery will be marrying Tommen instead, so Olenna has Margaery begin paying him nightly visits to get her hooks in him before Cersei can start twisting his brain. It also becomes apparent tonight that Olenna was the mastermind behind Joffrey's murder, which surprisingly isn't treated as some great reveal but more like just a casual info drop.
Meanwhile, the "Oathkeeper" of the title is Jaime, who's torn between the promise that he made to Catelyn to keep her daughters safe and his desire to please Cersei, who wants Sansa's head for her suspected involvement in Joffrey's death. In appearance, Jaime seems committed to the former. He gives Brienne his sword made of Valyrian steel (she names it "Oathkeeper" — another reason for the episode title) and orders her to find Sansa and protect her. But who's to say this isn't step one of acquiring Sansa so he can bring her back to King's Landing and turn over to Cersei. He certainly looks conflicted about what he's doing at several points during the episode, though I suppose he'd feel so either way. The show seems committed to keeping the viewer guessing about Jaime's motivations, and it's possible that last week's controversial rape scene served no other purpose than to muddy those waters. (If so, there's certainly an argument to be made that perhaps that's not the best reason to stick an off-putting rape sequence in the middle of your show, but, in fairness, Game of Thrones has never shied away using terrible, terrible acts to develop its characters.)
The MacLaren touch does factor in a bit in the episode's second half, which is devoted entirely to an impending clash at Craster's Keep, where the Knight's Watch members who mutinied last season are still hanging out, raping Craster's daughters and being huge dicks. First we see Jon Snow formulate a plan to stage an assault on the Keep. He wants to silence the mutineers before they can cough up info on the Watch to Mance Rayder. He also suspects Bran could be in the vicinity, and guess what? He's right! After Jon rallies some troops to fight at his side, we cut to Bran and his peeps who stumble upon the Keep and are apprehended by the mutineers, who now are imprisoning two of the Stark family direwolves. Which says to me these guys are getting themselves deep into some shit they will not be able to handle.
MacLaren effectively handles the build-up to this inevitable throwdown, but I couldn't help feel cheated that she wasn't directing the payoff. Until, that is, I checked the Net and discovered she's behind the camera for next week's episode too. Now that makes a lot more sense, especially if we treat "Oathkeeper" as the "set-up" half of a two-part story. I assume we'll see the conclusion to the Craster's Keep arc next Sunday, and I expect it will be spectacular.
A few more thoughts on "Oathkeeper" …
– So is the baby at the end now a White Walker or a wight or what? Either way, I assume it will age, as a little blue-crystal-eyed baby wouldn't seem to be good for much. Maybe he'll grow at an accelerated rate? As a non-book reader, the mythology of the North as presented by the show seems incredibly vague to me. Cool, no doubt … but vague.
– "Always keep your foes confused. If they don't know who you are or what you want, they can't know what you plan to do next." — from page 28 of Littlefinger's Guide to Surviving Westeros.
– Emilia Clarke's delivery of the "I will answer injustice with justice" line was pretty much perfect. Preach it, sister.
– Also great: Bronn telling Jaime, "That was me knocking your ass to the dirt with your own hand."
– That wasn't the only guffaw-worthy one-liner in this episode. Each hour of Game of Thrones always manages to fit in a good laugh or two, but this week's ep seemed stuffed with dialogue that was worth at least a solid chuckle.
