Knee-jerk reaction to “Oathbreaker:” Five best and five worst moments
VALYRIAN STEEL (BEST) MOMENTS
VALYRIAN STEEL FIVE: Arya is No One. I have to say, Arya got a bigger piece of the action this week, and because of that, het story felt more substantial. The girl took a beating and kept coming back for more. Announcing she was No One after drinking from the well (symbolically dying, or killing her old self) and announcing she was No One was a bit on the cheesy side, but at least this time I felt like she earned it.
VALYRIAN STEEL FOUR: Varys plies his trade. I enjoyed watching Varys work his psychological magic on the Meereenese prostitute, something we really haven’t gotten to see him do much of in the first five seasons. This scene more than made up for the flat humor of the scene with Tyrion, Missandei, and Grey Worm. Sorry Tyrion, but the best lines went to Varys this week.
VALYRIAN STEEL THREE: The faces! Oh, the faces! The opening of “Oathbreaker” was one of the best parts, with the closeups of Ser Davos being incredulous (until he flips it and becomes Mr. Practical) and Melisandre finding the faith again. Also, a bow to Kit Harington, who artfully plays a rapid-fire maelstrom of emotions through the gasps of a man whose lungs haven’t worked for a little while.
VALYRIAN STEEL TWO: Bury my heart at the Tower of Joy. We all knew this one was coming, and in my opinion it, delivered. The young version of Ned worked. The swordfight was excellent (Barristan Selmy’s reputation deserved a sequence like this in the alleyways of Meereen) and Ser Arthur Dayne is given his due as “The Sword of the Morning” by mowing down Ned’s company almost single-handed. Bran’s realization about the truth of his father’s victory over Dayne is a superb moment in the unfolding Game of Thrones mythos.
VALYRIAN STEEL ONE: No gallows humor here. When Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch hang Alliser Thorne, Olly and the assassins, I felt this whole sequence bit hard on the bullet in a good way, and also really pumped up the volume leading into next week. Jon’s immense uncertainty lingered in a ‘why-am-I-alive-and-walking-around-executing-my-executioners?’ sense. It seemed to drown him even as he listened to the last words of the condemned. The actual hanging was well-done, with the graphic elements of mortal death playing hard against the fact that Jon had himself cheated death. And as Jon hands his Lord Commander’s cloak to Edd, we all knew what was coming, but as with Jon’s resurrection, it arrived with clarity and deep impact. When Jon says “My watch has ended,” it not only gave me goosebumps, but a great sense of anticipation regarding what lies ahead.