A Storm of Betrayal and Intrigue

My 7 Favorite Moments from Game of Thrones, Season 4

How does a show like Game of Thrones keep people coming back season after season, regardless of how many characters they may kill off? With incredible acting, an A-List Hollywood movie budget, and raising the stakes. After the infamous end to Season Three with the Red Wedding, the War of the Five Kings seems like it’s over. Yet the storm of betrayal and intrigue remains as strong as ever.

Four days remain until the final season of Game of Thrones premieres, and we continue our week of thrones with my seven favorite moments from Season Four of Game of Thrones. There were actually a lot of scenes I like this season, so picking one was hard.

#7- Drogon Snaps at Daenerys, “Two Swords”

Anyone who’s ever been a parent can attest to the fact that it can be hard at times. Now add in the fact that those kids are dragons, and you’ll see what it’s like for Daenerys Targaryen. While spending family time with her dragons, they started fighting over an animal carcass. When she tries to calm them down, she’s shocked when Drogon angrily roars at her.

We’ve seen Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion grow up with Daenerys. Through that, we can see them as characters in their own right. But this scene serves as a reminder that to Daenerys, and to us, that they are still dragons. They have the power to burn countries to the ground if they were to go berserk.

Maybe I’m over analyzing things, but could this moment be a metaphor about the dangers of letting power get out of control? Or they were just going through their rebellious teen phase. Either way, Dany was taking no chances; she locked Rhaegal and Viserion up in the Pyramid of Mereen at the end of Season Four, and they stayed there for some time.

#6- Sansa Finally Plays the Game, “The Mountain and the Viper”

After finally escaping King’s Landing and the grip of the Lannisters, Sansa ends up in more trouble when her Aunt Lysa threatens to kill her after Littlefinger kissed her. When Littlefinger kills Lysa and is made to stand trial, Sansa reveals her true identity. At the same time, she lies and says that Lysa killed herself in order to protect Littlefinger, which ends up working.

Sansa was subjected to inhumane physical, mental, and emotional abuse at the hands of the Lannisters. Her trauma wasn’t without fruit, though, as she learned to master a very important skill to surviving in Westeros: how to lie. No longer a pawn, Sansa becomes a player in the Game of Thrones in her own right. When you see where she stands at the end of Season Seven, she’s done pretty well, and this is where she started. Thank heavens that the difference between her and Cersei is that she has a conscience.

#5- Bran Meets the Three-Eyed Raven “The Children”

Ever since he got pushed from that tower and crippled, Bran Stark learned that he had powers that most people lacked. He could control the minds of others and could see into the past. After traveling Beyond the Wall and fighting through the Wights, Bran came to the cave that was home to the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven that had been appearing in his dreams since Season One

The Three-Eyed Raven was one of the biggest mysteries on the show: who was he, and what did he want with Bran? As it turns out, Bran had a greater destiny than anyone could imagine. Under the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran learned to master his powers as the new Three-Eyed Raven. With the White Walkers upon humanity, Bran will play a major role in the Great War. On my part, though, I just thought that this was a great example of the “young hero meets wise old mentor” trope. And even if Bran never walks again, he gets a wheelchair; he can rock that Professor Xavier thing!

#4-Tyrion Snaps, “The Laws of Gods and Men”

Tyrion Lannister is one of the best characters in the show, but he’s also gotten some of the worst treatment from people. His resentment to his father and sister had been simmering long before the show started, but then they accused him of killing Joffrey and put him through a kangaroo court. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when they forced his former lover, Shae, to falsely testify against him, finally causing him to snap. And by God, it was glorious!

Some of the best performances come from real-life experiences, and Peter Dinklage has plenty to draw from. In a 2003 interview, he admitted that he grew angry and bitter over his dwarfism, but learned to not let that drag him down. When he, as Tyrion, says he’s been on trial for that all his life, I could tell Dinklage was speaking from his past.

And the anger in his speech! I could practically see the venom he was spitting out at everyone. The look in his eyes as he silently disowned his father, and then the credits playing the instrumental version of “The Rains of Castamare”. It was one of the best moments in the entire show, hands down, and if Peter didn’t win an Emmy for it, then it’s their loss.

#3-Tyrion Kills Tywin

You should notice a trend in these lists by now: a lot of my favorite scenes revolve around the death of a character that I hate. I’m not ashamed to admitting a great deal of satisfaction from watching jerks get their just desserts. And since I already discussed the scene on this post’s counterpart, I want to say why I loved seeing Tywin bite it.

I do not condone murder as a solution, but I can at least understand why some people may be driven to it. Like Tyrion said, his father had been wanting him dead his entire life. He knew Tyrion didn’t kill Joffrey, and he did nothing to save him. While Westeros may see it as kinslaying, Tywin was going to do the same thing. It was justifiable, and Tywin had already committed many atrocities in his life. Most recently was organizing the Red Wedding.

It’s funny: for all his power, Tywin dies at the one time he’s vulnerable: on the toilet.

#2- Battle of Castle Black “The Watchers on The Wall”

Jon Snow’s story may have been slow throughout Season Four, but the penultimate episode brought it to a climax with the Battle of Castle Black. After four seasons of build-up, Mance Rayder and the Free Folk army launch an all-out assault on the Wall. Despite being outnumbered a literal thousand-to-one, the Night’s Watch holds them off, thanks to the efforts of most of the named cast in the Night’s Watch. Except Janos Slynt, who was as useless as they come.

The penultimate episode of each season of Game of Thrones has always been the climax. As the show has gone on, it’s gotten steadily more ambitious with its battles. And it shows in this sequel to the amazing battle in “Blackwater” back in Season Two. They even had the same person directing this episode. Thankfully, every season since then has had at least one epic battle on par with this. The Battle of Castle Black raised the bar on warfare on TV, and the final season will, hopefully, continue that trend.

#1- Joffrey dies, “The Lion and the Rose”

Since I’m a latecomer to the show, I was able to binge through the first few seasons. Meaning I wasn’t able to endure the headache that was Joffrey Baratheon for years on end like some other fans did. That said, when I saw him die, I could understand how the fans celebrated the end to this three year-long headache

And the way Cersei reacted! Even if I didn’t know the truth before hand, I knew that Cersei was stupidly jumping to conclusions by saying Tyrion did it. And eventually, her stupidity would end up killing hundreds of people over the next few seasons. Her reaction would be funny if it didn’t lead to so much pain in the end.

Do you agree with my picks? What were your favorite moments from Season Four? Let me know in the comments below.

For my list of favorite deaths this season, click here.