Season finale review: Game of Thrones ‘Mhysa’ – Let Them Remember

As we learn at the episode’s close, ‘Mhysa’ is a word for ‘mother’ in whatever language they speak at Astapor (Valyrian, I suppose?), so it makes sense that ‘Mhysa’ spends a lot of times on mothers and children – and feels even more logical after the close of ‘Rains of Castamere’, which saw the death of the mother and son of the Stark family. Is it a satisfying season finale? It’s hard to say – knowing that this season was essentially half of Storm of Swords makes it hard to view anything that happens in the episode as a resolution, instead it feeling more like a stepping stone or a place marker for the events to follow (and at that, does a pretty solid job).

After the massacre of the Stark family (which we see the tail end of at the episode’s open), ‘Mhysa’ spends a lot of time watching people around Westeros react to the news and take stock in their own lives and situations. Easily the most compelling of these comes in King’s Landing, where Joffrey parades around like a child with the news of Robb’s death, demanding it returned to be served up in front of Sansa at his upcoming wedding feast. All the while, Tyrion sits there in astonishment, warning Tywin that the north remembers, and nobody will ever forget the butchering ordered by Tywin at the sacred event of a wedding.

But Tywin doesn’t give a shit – he doesn’t give a shit what anybody in Westeros thinks, much less the king or his children, who will do his bidding and remember that everything is done for family. His speech about family to Tyrion is a bit obvious – as we’ve seen with the Starks, at the end of the day family is all anybody really has – but it does provide us with a nice bit of backstory: Tywin considers the big “sacrifice” of his life the day he didn’t throw baby Tyrion in a river to drown. What a nice guy, right – but he kind of has a point (just like Joffrey has a point when he calls Tywin a coward for hiding in Casterly Rock while Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark took King’s Landing, with the unsolicited help of Jamie); in a world where the man who wears the crown holds none of the power, everything in the world comes back to your name, and defending it.

He also makes another great point to Tyrion that Cersei is quickly learning: sometimes you gotta love somebody, just because they’re family. As much as Cersei clung onto Joffrey in her darkest times, she’s feeling equally as abandoned now that he’s terrorizing the kingdom, no respect for anybody but himself and indulging in his most vicious, violent fantasies. She had a young boy she loved once – but all young boys grow up sometime, and even the most dedicated, obsessive mothers can’t control what their children are going to become. Not everyone has kids like the Starks – and like the men in his family before him, Joffrey is arrogant, violent, and dismissive of anyone beneath him – but she can’t bring herself to hate him, because he’s her son, and that goddamn family name is always there to remind her of that.

There’s a lot of the family bug going around – even up in the Iron Islands, where we see Baelon and Yara (for the first and only time this season) receiving the news of Theon’s capture – and his dick in a box, just as a nice reminder. Although Baelon quickly dismisses Theon, not willing to save a person who can’t carry on the family name, Yara knows that the meaning of family runs deeper, sailing off in a fast-ass ship with some murderous folk to get her tortured family member back – who probably won’t even know he’s still a Greyjoy by the time she arrives, being beaten by Ramsey (revealed to be Roose’s bastard son, confirming my thoughts on the Bolton’s involvement) into believing his name was Reek (because he smells like shit, and really is nothing but a piece of valuable meat to the Bolton family).

The Greyjoy plot really marries the two big themes of the episode together in a way that kind of seems unsuited to one of the vaguer, more thumb-twiddling plots of the season: along with the idea of family, ‘Mhysa’ is about how family can skewer perspective and affect-decision making. There’s a stark difference drawn between the decisions made by men like Baelon, Stannis, and Tywin for the good of their families, and those underneath them, who think out of love, honor, or the other qualities that separate humanized men from the ruthless, unshaven war machines sitting at the head of the table. For Catelyn, releasing Jamie Lannister was an act made out of love for her family: and ironically, it was the decision that destroyed her entire family, as Robb found himself dedicated to love over honor (choosing Talisa over his vows to a Frey girl) and the other leaders lost their respect for a man who allowed his mother to make emotional decisions with massive consequences on the war effort. Although the final nail in the coffin was probably Robb turning on his own “family” (that is, beheading one of his generals), there’s definitely some blame to be found on the part of both himself and his mother, people driven by duty to family, but ultimately cursing themselves over selfish decisions.

That idea of family and how it can cause many to make odd decisions comes home with Dany, who closes the season with her too-long scene of celebration and acceptance by the people of Yunkai, chanting their word for ‘Mother’ over and over again. Like all journeys, Dany’s began out of duty to her family (and her belief that she’s the rightful heir to the throne, following the footsteps of her family), and while everyone else’s sigil in Westeros gets smaller in numbers, the Targaryen army continues to grow – and although these are not Targaryen-born people, they all view her as their protector, their mother, and their queen. They’re ready to fight for family – and in the end, that’s what Game of Thrones is about: the fight for family vs. the fight for self, the unstable balance between duty and desire that drives and conflicts every character in Westeros.

And so ends the third season of Game of Thrones, which at times felt more disjointed than previous seasons, as more characters and locations were introduced and manipulated, and mysterious plot lines took up lots of time, ending with an explosive Red Wedding that seems to have had some impact on the world around it, although what impact isn’t quite clear as ‘Mhysa’ spends a lot of time with people in Westeros taking stock of their situations within this fight for power – and ominously hinting at what is to come, as everyone talks about dragons and dead armies and the like. It’s not as cohesive or satisfying as the ends of the first two seasons (for example, there is no cliffhanger or final reveal in this finale, just a predictable resolution), but it’s still just as entertaining, brutal, ambitious, and grandiose as ever – and isn’t that why we tune in, in the first place?

Grade: B

Season 3 Grade: B+

Other thoughts/observations:

– Tyrion’s getting awful mouthy with the king – he better be careful.

– Even though Shae will never have Tyrion’s last name, she still clings to him and Sansa like her family, refusing to leave Westeros even when Varys promises her safety and riches. The heart wants what the heart wants: and she’d kill for both Sansa and Tyrion (well at least Sansa, right?)

– the best scene was between Davos and Gendry, who bond over their shitty childhoods and the unique opportunities given to two lowborn men, mostly out of luck.

– Yara’s going to Dreadfort with 50 men – how many are waiting for her there?

– Tywin: “you really think a crown gives you power?” Following that, he sends Joffrey to bed without supper, ’cause he’s just a bad motherfucker like that.

– seeing Robb’s headless body with Greywind’s head on top of it is such a sad sight.

– does it mean anything if Arya says “Valar morghulis” without giving the coin to anyone? I thought that was part of the deal – though I suppose the moment is meant to be symbolic, a way to tell the audience that Arya’s ready to become a killer and begin her trail of vengeance leading to the doorstep of Tywin Lannister.

– Davos reluctantly became a Lord for the sake of his son’s future: family + duty = tragedy, every damn time.

– the Jon/Ygritte break up is quick but effective, as a heartbroken Ygritte shoots Jon full of arrows on his way back to the wall.

– Aemon to everyone in Westeros: SHIT IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN.

– why did Roose turn traitor? He was pissed that Robb ignored him, despite the fact he was defeating the Lannisters in the field. What a bitter asshole.

– and that does it for season 3. Hope you guys enjoyed reading; see you in 2014!