Season four is phenomenal. It is easy to see why Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey were nominated for Emmy Awards. Hell, Charles Dance, Pedro Pascal, and Maisie Williams could have easily been nominated as well. Actually, you could probably pick just about anyone for awards during this season.
It was such a great idea to begin the season by killing Joffrey and having the rest of the season be the trial of Tyrion. Dinklage is amazing during the trial when he lays into the audience. Every word he shouts just drips with venom. My favorite moment from that sequence actually happens a little earlier, when Jaime goes to Tywin and says that he will leave the Kingsguard and become the Lord of Casterly Rock, if Tywin spares Tyrion. The way Charles Dance says deal, and the look on Jaime’s face when he realizes his father manipulated this situation to get exactly what he wants, proves that Tywin is playing 4-D chess while his son is playing checkers.
Here are some other thoughts on the season…
-Tommen & Ser Pounce–probably the best, most wholesome duo in the entire series. It was just such a fun, cute moment in a show that does not have many of those.
-Jamie giving Brienne the sword and armor, and the charge of protecting Sansa is another of those top moments for me. (I am thinking I may need to do a top ten when this is all over). It is like the beginning of the redemption of Jamie’s soul. Also, Brienne battling the Hound was great, it was a fairly brutal fight, and it proves that Brienne is equal to any knight in Westeros. Not saying she would win, but she could hold her own.
-In retrospect, seeing Daenerys at Mereen, knowing what we know now…there were glimpses of her harshness. The way she dismisses Jorah, crucifying the masters…
-The Mountain and the Viper…if only Oberyn just stuck him and let him die without trying to force the confession. Also, no matter how many times I watch it, when the Mountain squeezes Oberyn’s head, and it pops, I jump or wince.
-What the hell was Jon Snow thinking? He heads out to kill Mance. Also, I may have missed this before, but Mance mentions that he sent more men to scale the Wall and head around like Tormund’s band. Never really understood why they did not send a larger force that way. I guess they were still worried that the Wall was properly manned.
-As I did the last time, I want to take a second and question Littlefinger’s plan. He is not very patient. I feel like his control of the Vale should have given him enough power to make different moves. He has some large bargaining chips: marriages to Sansa and Robin. Now, if his goal is to help Sansa retake the North, there are better ways than the route he took. He could have found a Northern family that was still loyal to the Starks (Umbers, Glovers?). OR maybe he marries Robin to Wylla Manderly (she was not in the show) or Lyanna Mormont. I suppose there are other families that Sansa could look to for help. I mean, the Martells hate the Lannisters, there could be a willingness to help her out, but they are soooo far away.
What if Littlefinger reached out to Stannis? Imagine if he formed an alliance with Stannis, sending the army of the Vale north earlier. They band together and defeat the Boltons. How does Stannis return Winterfell to the Starks? At this point, Jon Snow has refused that offer, so that would lead Sansa. Does he make her Lady of Winterfell? Well….no. Roose would probably still be alive if this had happened sooner, and Ramsay would not have killed Rickon, so after the entire thing, Rickon becomes Warden of the North. Stannis finds a suitable husband for Sansa…Littlefinger! Stannis and Littlefinger agree to another marriage: Robin and Shireen.
See what could have been Lord Baelish???
