Readers beware. Spoilers are coming. HBO's Game of Thrones continues to deliver in Season 4 with a healthy balance of drama and action.
In this week's episode, "The Lion and the Rose," karma seems to be the overall theme. First, when watching this episode, we must remember Cersei's famous warning in Season 1, "when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die", but to be frank she missed the mark a little bit.
What the warning should have been was "when you attend a wedding in Westeros, you wine or you die".
While everyone may be singing "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" none have seemed to put much thought into the career hazards of the position.
At this point in the series, no king yet has kept a firm grip on the crown or their head, especially when they attend a wedding. Jeoffrey is the latest casualty in the matter of royal murder. We can just add him to the list of Robert Baratheon, killed during a "boar hunt;" Rob Stark, killed during the Red Wedding by musicians with impeccable aim; and Renly, who was killed by his own brother, to name a few.
In this show, growing attached to any one character is almost as dangerous as the impending battle with the Wildlings, due to George RR Martin's rather sick fascination with killing off everyone.
It is nice to finally see the show's most villainous character get offed. With Jeoffrey's psychopathic ways and sick need to torture for almost four seasons now, it was high time he literally choke to death on wine at his own wedding. Fortunately for Margaery Tyrell she didn't have to consummate the marriage with the psychopath, a stroke of good luck if any.
However, as it often is in life, all good things come with a price. In this particular instance, it is Tyrion who is taking the fall for the murder, thanks to big sister Cersei.
As he stands there holding the goblet from which Jeoffrey was poisoned, it doesn't look good for our friend, and neither do the circumstances leading up to the event. With Jeoffrey's public humiliation of him and his demanding that Tyrion bring him his wine, it doesn't exactly seem far-fetched that he might have pulled the trigger, figuratively speaking of course.
While beyond the walls of the Purple Wedding, the name of the latest wedding with a murder, the stage is set for our other houses as well.
We get a brief look at Theon Greyjoy, who quite frankly has had the worst transformation of any character this series has seen by far.
Lord Bolton's bastard son Ramsey Snow has now taken the role of "evil bastard", making Jeoffrey look like a singing Disney character, however the confrontation between the two in which Lord Bolton reveals Ramsey has screwed the pooch by flaying Theon like a catfish, in ways that will be revealed later.
Lastly we get a look at Bran who is still making his way north. Not much to report on that, but we do get some good foreshadowing with his visions.
The cinematography, visual effects, acting, and all other facets of the show have taken on a life of its own and season 4 continues to become a must see. Game of Thrones airs all new on Sunday at 8 central time.
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