WARNING: The following recap contains spoilers for all previous episodes of the HBO series "Game of Thrones." Nothing from the book series or the "Next Time On" episode preview will be discussed.
Midway through Season 4 of HBO's original series "Game of Thrones," tensions are high. As danger marches on the wall in multiple forms, people in King's Landing continue to pick sides as the trial of Tyrion Lannister gets closer. We're here once again to give you a scene-by-scene breakdown of what happened, what we learned, and what you may have missed.
http://www.ranker.com/list/game-of-thrones-recap-season-4-episode-4/matt-grippi,
Oathkeeper
Jaime has not forgotten about Brienne's kindness to him, and he shows this by giving her one of the Valyrian steel swords forged from Ned Stark's giant blade. (Presumably this is Joffrey's because he isn't using it anymore.) He also gifts her a new suit of armor before asking her to go find Sansa Stark and save her. Apparently Lannisters do always pay their debts, and keep their oaths. He also finds a use for our favorite squire and sex god Podrick, who is given Tyrion's leg-chopping axe from the battle of Blackwater.
What did we learn?
-The best swords have names.
-The jury is still out but maybe the Kingslayer isn't such a bad guy after all.
- Hopefully this is a backdoor pilot to the spin off "Lady Knight and Pod".
A Man With No Motive Is a Man No One Suspects
Finally we get a definitive answer to who killed Joffrey. The necklace that Littlefinger planted on Ser Dontos who in turn gave it to Sansa contained a stone made of poison. Luckily he was able to successfully predict Sansa's taste in jewelry or else the entire plan would have failed. It seems he is marrying Lysa Tully, Sansa's creepy breastfeeding aunt from Eyrie, which is where they are headed. Baelish's overall plan other than "confuse everybody" isn't entirely clear yet, but we do know who his "new friends" are. Being friends with the Lannisters was SO last year.
What did we learn?
-Pay attention to who is fiddling with your necklace.
-Being friends with Petyr Baelish is a risky endeavor.
It Will Be Our Little Secret
Maybe Cersei was right to worry about the security of Tommen's room because Margaery is able to sneak in incredibly easily. Using her womanly charm to seduce the hell out of the young man who will be king, she secures her spot as the future queen. Hopefully this one will last longer than the other two.
What did we learn?
-Sir Pounce is the internet's new favorite Game of Thrones character.
Do You Want to Fight Pretty or Do You Want to Win?
It seems that Tyrion's imprisonment and other recent events have not slowed down Jaime's fighting lessons with Bronn. Bronn reminds Jaime of his brother's fondness for him. Clearly he is the only member of the Lannister family who has ever showed Tyrion any kindness.
What did we learn?
-Making prosthetics out of solid gold and steel may look pretty but it has its downsides.
Go Find a Chamber Pot to Empty
Back at Castle Black, Jon Snow is busy trying to train the measly amount of warriors they have left, much to the disgust of the men in charge who still aren't happy about the whole "killing Halfhand and having relations with a sexy wildling" thing. Eventually they decide that they might have to send Jon to go after the mutineers at Craster's Keep, hoping that the situation will take care of itself. Jon has a quick conversation with Locke, Roose Bolton's man who is in search of Bran and Rickon, cut off Jaime's hand, and is just in-general not a very nice guy. Luckily all he knows about Jon Snow so far is that his father was "high born" and his mother was a whore.
What we learned?
-The boy who escaped from the wildlings in the last episode is apparently a great archer. Hopefully we will see his skills in action in the future.
-If you're playing a Game of Thrones drinking game, make sure to take a swig every time someone alludes to their mother being a whore.
I Was Good
Who was it who took the poison necklace bead from Sansa? It was none-other than the sneaky Lady Olenna Tyrell, who is a notorious necklace grabber, and wasn't going to have Margaery marry a complete psychopath. Olenna gives Margaery a few tips on seducing her next Baratheon husband, the most important of which is "bang him until he can't walk." Tommen is a lucky kid.
What did we learn?
-Mother-in-laws can be bad but grandmother-in-laws can be killer.
He Would Kill Us All If He Could
Back in the capital, Cersei is understandably worried about the safety of her remaining son Tommen. Jaime assures Cersei that he is safe, and tries to reason with her about Tyrion's innocence. She no longer sees Jaime as a lover, a point which she makes clear when she refers to him as "Lord Commander" instead of by his name. Ouch.
What did we learn?
-The much talked about implied rape scene in the last episode seems to not be much of a factor this week. it makes you wonder why the director of the episode would allow such a character assassination without it ever being mentioned again.
-Even though her beloved Joffrey was killed by wine, it doesn't seem to have put Cersei off of the stuff.
If It's a Fight You're Heading For...
Believe it or not, Sam is starting to doubt his decision to drop Gilly and her newborn child off in a disgusting disease-infested whorehouse. Jon Snow is still intent on going after the mutineers at Craster's Keep, but he is only allowed to take volunteers. After a rousing speech, he is able to secure a solid group for the journey, including Locke the hand-chopper himself. Whether or not this will come back to bite him remains to be seen.
What did we learn?
-The barbecue at Castle Black looks surprisingly delicious.
The Kingslayer Brothers
Jaime visits Tyrion for the first time and remarks that his prison cell is actually pretty nice as far as prison cells go. This fails to cheer Tyrion up, however, becuase he is still facing a trial for regicide in front of judges who already want him dead. Jaime wants to help, but can't do much, and he reminds Tyrion that the person who looks most guilty is still Sansa who is off on a cruise with Littlefinger. Tyrion does not believe Sansa was involved, and he was right to assume so...
What did we learn?
-"Sansa is not a killer. Not yet anyway." She's one of the few Starks who isn't a killer at this point.
Kill the Masters
The episode begins soon after the launching of the broken chains into the city of Meereen. Khaleesi and her army of freed slaves apparently called it a night and let the slaves decide their next move.
Khaleesi's translator, Missandei, is teaching Grey Worm, the leader of the unsullied, to read: adding another tally to the growing list of "learning to read" scenes on Game of Thrones. Grey Worm and Missandei discuss their lives (or what they remember of them) before they were taken into slavery. Grey Worm remembers nothing before his life as an unsullied soldier, and has no interest in anything but "killing the masters."
Under the cover of night, Grey Worm and a few of his comrades sneak into the city and give the slaves of Meereen a quick pep talk and a bag o' swords, which is all they needed to take the city. The Mother of Dragons' army has grown once again.
What did we learn?
-Even though virtually every single person in the city speaks Valyrian at all times, they still write "Kill the Masters" on the wall in English. Presumably because it looks cooler that way?
-Fighting injustice with mercy is not Daenerys' style.
-Whoever hung that giant flag is one hell of a climber.