Anyone who, like me, has read the Game of Thrones' novels knew that tonight's events in the episode "The Rains of Castamere" approached, inexorable. Like a deadly storm on the horizon creeping towards your home, the "Red Wedding" loomed. It is a testament to the origin material that Catelyn and Rob have become beloved characters. Knowing the grim fates of the key members of the protagonist Stark clan, I admit that I dreaded this episode yet longed to see it in cinematic form. They are slaughtered in an act of betrayal made more tragic by the death of the unborn in Talisa's womb after she seems to resurrect the spirit of Ned Stark in naming her unborn. It is a shocking twist made more effective by the sumptuous nature of the presentation of the wedding. This is the appeal of Game of Thrones. The inevitable brutality of this world presents such visceral pleasure yet reaps the whirlwind of death and destruction. This episode is filled with motifs that tie in with the emotion of the moment. New journeys viz. crossing thresholds in the form of brutal death, the price to be paid for the sublime gifts of Bran's vision and Gilly seeing a world she never expected. The agonizing decision of Jon Snow when he falters to slaughter an innocent reveals his ruse and must kill his companions and cements his angst as being truly alone without allegiance, like the bastard he is. There is a bitter price to be paid for the apotheosis of physical power and spiritual enlightenment. As Roose Bolton says: "Every bride suffers the same".
The underlying theme of this episode is the illusion of beauty and happiness in the brutal landscape of this world shattered by the underpinnings of power. The true power belongs in the transcendence of the physical which makes Bran with his emerging powers a parallel to Danaeys and her dragons. The feeling of the viewer is like Bran's little brother who weeps, I don't want to leave. The road ahead is full of destruction but this is cost of the journey. Every alliance is bought with blood, each new chapter drips.
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