Article originally published as GAME OF THRONES Review Season 5 Episode 7 The Gift on Seat42F.
This week’s GAME OF THRONES gives us
“The Gift” of great story, albeit one that is leaving the book series
behind quite rapidly. Right now, there aren’t many big offensives
sweeping the Seven Kingdoms, nor armies clashing on the field of battle.
The characters are all mainly concerned with what is happening in their
own locale. But this is important, resolving a number of smaller plots
before the tale goes big picture again, as must inevitably happen.
Let’s start with, in my opinion, the
most affecting thread this week, which involves Sansa (Sophie Turner)
asking Theon (Alfie Allen) for help. Viewers may feel sympathy for Theon
last week when he cries while he watches Sansa be assaulted, though he
frustratingly does not act. When Sansa reminds him who he is and begs
him to signal for help, he agrees, but quickly betrays her to Ramsay
(Iwan Rheon).
Theon is truly Reek now, too terrified
of Ramsay to act. Those tears may have been sympathy, but they were not a
sign that he would turn on his master. As Theon tells Sansa, there are
worse things that being killed and Theon has lived through them.
Compared to his existence a year or two ago, Theon is relatively
comfortable now. He doesn’t want to risk going back to the worse.
So how can Sansa escape? Brienne
(Gwendoline Christie) remains outside of Winterfell, waiting for a sign
that won’t be coming. Theon is Sansa’s only hope that she knows of, no
one else being granted access to visit her locked room besides Ramsay
himself, and Theon no longer seems a viable option. Sansa has shown more
of a spine this season, and her grabbing the corkscrew in “The Gift”
might prove she’s willing to take matters into her own hands. Not well
experienced, though, can she be successful with such a venture?
Speaking of strong women, Tyene Sand
(Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, Mia and Me) taunts Bronn (Jerome Flynn)
through the bars of their respective prisons. Tyene reveals how
dangerous she is when her scratch almost kills Bronn. But she’s not
cruel enough to let him die, so I can’t hate her, at least not yet. GAME
OF THRONES hasn’t given us enough of the Sand Snakes yet to really
judge them, but this interaction is a fun, tense scene that makes for
good entertainment.
While Tyene and Sansa display their
resolve, Cersei (Lena Headey) does the opposite. She thinks she is at
the top of her game, reveling in the imprisonment of Margaery (Natalie
Dormer) and rubbing the victory in the young queen’s face. (I believe
Cersei is sincere about her devotion to Tommen (Dean Charles-Chapman)
but not in her promise to help his wife.) However, that leaves Cersei
vulnerable, too pleased with herself to watch her back. And so, as has
been anticipated by fans for weeks, “The Gift” finds the High Sparrow
(Jonathan Pryce) locking Cersei herself up by the end of the hour.
The High Sparrow has quickly proven to
be a very dangerous man. He’s not mean, but he has strong opinions and
beliefs and lives by them fully. If he could be persuaded to compromise
by anyone, Olenna (Diana Rigg) would have been the one to do it, but he
remains completely unmoved by her pleas, logic, and threats alike. Being
so rigid means the High Sparrow will give no credence to anyone’s
advice but his own, and that means, righteous or not, he’s an enemy that
cannot be reasoned with.
At the Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harington)
leaves, almost as stubborn in his mission, not convinced by the likes of
his First Ranger and others to change course on the Wildlings. To be
fair, Jon is in the right, but being in the right doesn’t help Samwell
(John Bradley), who struggles to protect Gilly (Hannah Murray) from his
own black brothers when he doesn’t have many friends left around to help
him. Might it be time for Sam to break his vows, and could Jon ever
forgive such an action, no matter how true Sam’s intentions, when the
punishment for such is death?
These are just some of the plots in “The
Gift,” as GAME OF THRONES has a lot of moving parts at all times. Other
highlights of the hour include Sam’s touching eulogy for the departed
Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan), Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) convincing
someone to buy him, Jorah (Iain Glen) fighting for the attention of
Daenerys (Emilie Clarke), Daario (Michiel Huisman) pointing out to
Daenerys that she’s the only one in Mereen not free, and Stannis
(Stephen Dillane) firmly shutting down Melisandre’s (Carice van Houten)
suggestion that he sacrifice his daughter. There’s a lot going on, and
as usual, it’s quite good.
My only complaint, and this is an
ongoing one, is that GAME OF THRONES starts off very faithful to the
books, and now has been completely disregarding them. It’s something
I’ve decided I have to let go, taking the television show completely on
its own from this point forward. There are likely to still be some
similarities between the two, but now the differences vastly outnumber
those. I still feel betrayed by those making the show, since this does
not seem to be their game plan at the beginning, but I do still think
the TV program is excellent.
GAME OF THRONES airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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