Game of Thrones 4.07 “Mockingbird”

This week, again, belongs to Peter Dinklage. Anyone who had a scene with Tyrion elevated his or her performance.

Not that anyone has been slacking off.

Throughout the episode, Tyrion looks for someone to save him. A champion. Champions are few and far between in Westeros. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) can’t fight. He’s rubbish without his sword hand. Bronn won’t fight. True to his nature, the fight doesn’t carry enough profit for him.

Bronn.

You can’t blame him for not helping Tyrion. He was honest about his nature from the very beginning. When Tyrion reached for his hand and wouldn’t let go, I wanted to reach into the screen and put my hand on theirs. Didn’t you? Jerome Flynn has been a revelation in this series. Honest, brutal at times, funny. I have a feeling we won’t be seeing much of him for the rest of the series. Pity. At least we’ll see him again in Ripper Street. Season Three beginning in 2015 (wink, wink, nudge, nudge to my editor)

Hey! We found out who’s going to represent the crown in Tyrion’s combat: The Mountain! The third Mountain in the series so far. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson makes an impressive entrance while honing his swordplay on helpless prisoners. This will be a good fight, as long as Tyrion doesn’t have to defend himself in combat.

Arya (Maisie Williams) and the Hound (Rory McCann) continue on their way to the Eyrie and run across a dying man sitting among the ravaged remains of his homestead. There’s a beautiful symmetry in this scene by Arya and Sandor and a charming compliment to our last encounter with the two. They both kill in this episode, one for mercy, the other for revenge. They seem to be rubbing off on each other. I believe the Hound gained some respect for his tiny traveling companion and, later, Arya gained some compassion for one of the people on her list as she dressed the Hound’s wounds.

At the Wall, Jon (Kit Harington) continues to run into resistance from the interim leadership. Owen Teale plays such an obtuse ass as Alliser Thorne. I love to hate him. Let’s hope some of the Brothers in Black make it out alive after they’re overrun by Wildlings.

A bit further away, Dany (Emilia Clarke) has a booty call with Daario (Michiel Huisman). After, she sends him off to Yunkia to execute every Master he finds, regaining control of the city. Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont lends the voice of reason. It was Ned Stark that showed Jorah Mormont mercy when he sold men into slavery. His experience changes Dany’s mind and perhaps his standing in her regime. Time will tell.

Melisandre (Carice van Houten) spent some naked time with Selyse Baratheon (Tara Fitzgerald). It was a scene of rare candor as Melisandre, unclothed, reveals some of her tricks to control the faith of those easily led. We’ve seen her produce actual horrors, though so even this conversational honesty feels like trickery.

Hot Pie! The rotund baker’s boy (Ben Hawkey) from Season Two is back and gives Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Pod (Daniel Portman) some information on the presumed dead Arya Stark. Off to the Eyrie they go for what could be an interesting confluence of plot.

Back in Tyrion’s cell, Oberyn Martell reveals a shared story from their childhood. It seems he met Tyrion as a baby, expecting to see the monster he had heard so much about but instead, met a malformed infant who suffered at the hands of his older sister. Pedro Pascal has such a fantastic voice for such a story. I want him to read me the newspaper. Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel. Oberyn will fight for Tyrion and challenge the Mountain to gain justice for his defiled, dead sister. Hero moment. Worth every second of airtime.

Sansa (Sophie Turner) truly revealed herself this week. She’s a closet architect. Did you see that sweet friggin’ snow castle? Holy, crap!! Then Robin “have I mentioned the Moon Door lately?” Arryn (Lino Facioli) had to knock it down. I’d have slapped him, too. She slapped Robyn because he represents everything she hates. Spoiled rich kid. Cruel. He’s a cage. She’s been in a cage since she left home in one form or another. In this scene she sits at the bottom of the cage with many eyes looking down. Robin was looking down on Sansa, Petyr (Aidan Gillen) was looking down on the two of them, Lysa (Kate Dickie) was looking down Petyr, Sansa is looking down at Winterfell, now destroyed. Again.

Again, with the creepy Uncle thing, Petyr kisses Sansa and Lysa sees it all. Things got very tense when it looked like Sansa might fly right out of the Moon Door if not for Petyr who talks some sense into Lysa at the last moment.

Then pushes Lysa Arryn out her own Moon Door. I swear, this show gives me a tiny heart attack every week.