Recap / Game of Thrones S4E4: "Oathkeeper"

This episode may contain major spoilers for the books, given the last scene. You have been warned.

Outside Meereen, Grey Worm struggles with his Common Tongue in front of Missandei, who is now his tutor. Missandei recounts her own enslavement. Grey Worm remembers nothing from before his training as an Unsullied, apart from the fact that he was born on the Summer Isles and believes himself to be worth nothing before his transformation into a killing machine. Missandei assures him that that is not true. Daenerys interrupts. "It's time." Time for a battalion of freed slaves and Unsullied to sneak into Meereen through the storm drains, Grey Worm in the lead. In a dungeon, a young believer in the Breaker of Chains is trying to convince a crowd of other bondsmen to rise up in rebellion. The older men are dead-set against this, having lived through two other failed slave revolts. Grey Worm and the incognito Unsullied arrive, delivering their own words of encouragement and an armory's worth of swords.

A Meereenese nobleman and his two bodyguards walk through the alleys. He comes across blood-red graffiti, for some reason scrawled in Common Tongue, saying, "Kill the masters." He sees the great pyramid of Meereen, now draped with the Targaryen banner. Dozens of armed slaves arrive, chanting "kill the masters". His guards flee and they turn the master into a pincushion.

Daenerys and her army seem to have taken the city the following day! She walks through a crowd of freed slaves, who all chant "Mhysa" in their joy and throw their collars at her feet. Dany steps up past a group of captured nobles, being corralled by the Unsullied and the Second Sons. She gives Grey Worm a silent order; he is happy to oblige his Queen. Ser Barristan, knowing what's coming, advises Dany to temper the fires of her conquest with the waters of mercy. But Daenerys wants fire, fire and blood. Justice for the murdered children, so she has her men crucify one hundred and sixty three masters. The Mother of Dragons then goes to overlook her fresh conquest from the great pyramid, as the screams of pain and agonized lamentations from Meereen's former masters fill the air of the city.

In King's Landing, Jaime Lannister and Bronn are sparring. Jaime has improved. They get into a Blade Lock, which Bronn resolves by pulling off Jaime's golden hand and knocking him across the face with it. Taking a break, Bronn asks Jaime if he has paid a visit to Tyrion in his cell. Jaime expresses some reluctance, so Bronn tells him of how Tyrion had named Jaime as his first choice of champion back at his trial by combat in the Vale, and encourages him to return his brother's loyalty. In Tyrion's cell, he and Jaime bond and discuss whodunnit.

Somewhere along the Narrow Sea, Littlefinger approaches Sansa below the deck of his ship. They're going to her Aunt Lysa in The Eyrie. Sansa accuses Littlefinger of murdering Joffrey. She knows it wasn't Ser Dontos, Littlefinger is too smart to "trust a drunk", and Tyrion is not the type. She's learning. Littlefinger taunts Sansa with her complicity — the necklace Ser Dontos gave her was used to smuggle the poison into Joffrey's drink, asking Sansa if she perhaps didn't notice that one of the necklace's crystals went missing during the feast. Sansa tries to understand Littlefinger's motives: how could he be so ungrateful to the Lannisters, who have been so good to him? Littlefinger says he has found new friends...

We see Littlefinger's new friends walking through the royal gardens. Olenna tells Margaery of how she had seduced her husband away from her sister rather than marry 'some Targaryen or other'. She says that she was good at the whole seduction thing but Margaery is even better, but will have to seduce Tommen quickly, while Cersei is still distracted by her grief. Olenna then demonstrates her sleight of hand, swiftly and craftily removing a piece of Margaery's necklace, implying as she does so that she killed Joffrey, to Margaery's bewilderment.

In Castle Black, Jon Snow is training Night's Watchmen. They practice fighting dual wielders. We see a lanky newcomer beat a large man into the ground. He looks familiar, almost like Locke, Bolton's pet rat (and separator of Jaime's good hand), who was sent to find and kill the Stark boys... Ser Alliser arrives and bullies Jon away, mocking his position as a steward. Janos Slynt observes to Ser Alliser that Jon is well-liked and may be chosen as their new Lord Commander when voting day comes round. He suggests Alliser approve of Jon Snow's mutineer hunt to go to Craster's Keep. Even the Night's Watch is not above The Game of Thrones. A conversation ensues between Jon and the newcomer, and it turns out that it is indeed Locke and he gives a sympathetic "stole to feed my kids backstory" and bonds with Jon to his own ends.

Back in King's Landing, Cersei calls Jaime to her chambers, she wants extra guards on Tommen's room. She tells him that she knows that he visited Tyrion earlier that day and refuses to listen as Jaime states that the visit has convinced him of Tyrion's innocence, accusing him of just taking his brother's side as a knee-jerk reaction. They then talk about Catelyn Stark's release of Jaime. He tries to imply that his oath was just words, but she tests him: would he kill Sansa if she ordered it? His silence answers her question, and she dismisses him.

We see Tommen springing awake from a noise. Is it just his cat? Has somebody dangerous slipped past the Kingsguard? No, it's Margaery Tyrell. She's here to butter up the future king. And seduce him maybe? We meet Tommen's cat, Ser Pounce, who Joffrey threatened to flay and mix with his food. The perpetually widowed Queen says that the two will soon be married and they should share everything. She gets quite close to the young lad (mercifully re-cast with an older actor). Tommen is feeling strange and the audience squicky and then Margaery goes in for a kiss... and kisses Tommen on the forehead. Though he'll be able to walk tomorrow morning (unlike the Queen of Thorns' former husband after their first meeting), Tommen is clearly smitten with her.

Brienne is reading Jaime's entry in the Book of Brothers aloud, while the Kingslayer paces, worried about his own legacy. He gives her a task, to find and protect Sansa Stark, and several gifts to help her. First, his Valyrian steel sword, forged from Ned Stark's own blade, to protect Eddard's daughter (and to stop reminding him of Joffrey, and maybe piss off dear old dad). Second, a shiny new suit of armor. And third, everyone's favorite squire: Podrick Payne. Bronn passes Pod a parting gift from Tyrion, the axe he used in the Battle of Blackwater Bay. Jaime disagrees with the Hound, the best swords have names. Brienne names hers Oathkeeper. Knowing what is likely to be in store for her on an uncertain mission through a war-torn country, Jaime and Brienne part grimly and perhaps with unspoken feelings...

At Castle Black, Jon Snow and Sam are poring over maps in the library. Sam expresses regret over relocating Gilly to Mole's Town, worried that the wildlings will strike there next. Likewise, Jon is worried about his brother Bran — having learned from Sam that Bran has gone beyond the Wall — and wants to find him. Sam and Jon realize that Bran might take shelter at Craster's Keep when Locke interrupts. Locke tells Jon that Ser Alliser wants to see him and it turns out Alliser has had a mysterious change of heart. He'll let Jon go to Craster's keep, but only with volunteers. If he can't kill Jon, he'll at least get some of Jon's allies. Jon gives a pep talk to his assembled Black Brothers, appealing to their self-interest - they're all doomed if Mance gets intelligence from the mutineers - and to their sense of duty - the Night's Watch are brothers, making Lord Commander Mormont their father. Soon Jon has a small force, Locke included. Despite being a recruit, he's ready to say his vows. And keep them.

The scene changes to Craster's Keep, where we see Karl drinking wine from Jeor Mormont's skull as he lounges on Craster's throne. He monologues about his new success in the world, his past as an assassin (a fookin' LEGEND!) in the infamous Gin Alley of King's Landing, and insults Rast. A lot. He encourages the mutineers as they rape Craster's younger daughters. An older wife comes in with a baby - Craster's last son - and the women begin to chant "A gift for the gods." Karl is ready to kill the baby, but the old maid tells him to leave him as a sacrifice, to uphold the pact Craster had made with the White Walkers. Karl, no fool, sends Rast out to do it. Rast, perhaps to hide it from his sight, or as a small Pet the Dog moment, drapes the baby's swaddling over it. And then he taunts Ghost, Jon Snow's direwolf, now caught in a cage, by pouring out his water skin in front of it. Rast then notices that the temperature suddenly makes a drastic drop as the water freezes, and hearing crows caw and something moving in the forest, he decides he'd better get the Seven Hells out of dodge.

Bran and company hear the baby's cries. Bran's "going in" - through his wolf, Summer, who stumbles into a pit trap, but not before seeing his litter-mate, Ghost in a cage. The party must go after them! Bran's party spies on the mutineers, in broad daylight, debating whether or not to approach. They're Night's Watch, they're friends! Except they vowed celibacy and yet here are abusing some wildling girls. Like any good Stark, Bran wants to rescue the wolves before they leave. Meera is more sagacious and wants to wait, but when he insists, tells them to wait here. She doesn't make it far before they're surrounded by mutineers. While the men bait and hobble poor Hodor, the rest of the group are brought before Karl. He deduces that they're nobles. Jojen has a vision seizure. As Meera goes to help him, Karl puts a knife to her throat. Bran admits that he's a Stark, and they get to live... for now.

Somewhere even further north in the Land of Always Winter, we follow a White Walker on his undead horse, carrying Craster's last son. He rides across a frozen lake, towards an ominous mountain formation wreathed by aurora borealis; once there, he brings the infant boy to a gilded altar of doom and lays him down upon it. A semi-circle of thirteen White Walkers surround the ice crystal formation. The one at the centre comes forth... but this one looks much more different from the others, garbed in dark robes and ornate black armour, his horrifyingly human face is studded by a series of demonic horns arranged in the shape of a crown, and with a terrifying rictus leer on his dead lips, he cradles the baby boy, touching his cheek with the pointed nail of one long finger. The child's skin drains of blood and his eyes change to an unnatural yet familiar electric blue with the crackle of frost and the promise of night...

---

Tropes

• Adaptational Heroism: Bronn is just a mercenary in the books and dumps Tyrion like a hot potato during his trial. Here, he asks Jaime to defend Tyrion, even telling him that he was Tyrion's first choice for a champion, and gives Podrick Tyrion's war-axe as a souvenir for his travels with Brienne. That's more loyalty than book!Bronn showed Tyrion in the same situation.
• Adaptation Distillation:
  • Meereen's fighting pits have not been mentioned, so instead of introducing the pit fighters with any last-minute exposition, Daenerys's infiltration squad just arms and frees a group of random slaves instead. They get the job done just fine.
  • Pod joins Brienne right away as they leave the city, which saves him the trouble of having to stalk her for several miles like he does in the books and saves the writers from trying to come up with a new reason for him to do so, since the old one wouldn't make any sense.
  • Olenna's backstory has differences - while her being set to marry a Targaryen is from the books, she was not mentioned to have a sister nor did she (as far as is known) seduce Luthor Tyrell; the improvised backstory makes her proactive and adds relevance to Margaery's present-day situation, as well as acknowledging the removal of Jaehaerys II and his sister-wife Shaera from the Targaryen family tree.
• Adaptation Expansion:
  • Jon Snow's whole plotline so far this season is entirely original, since in the books Sam, Alliser, and Janos are not yet at the wall by this point (and Locke doesn't even exist).
  • Bran's whole plotline so far is likewise original, since in the books his situation at this point is markedly different.
  • The Night's Watch mutineers are given more characterization. Karl Tanner is basically a Composite Character of Karl and Dirk, whose only character trait is the fact that he carries a dirk.
  • All the scenes involving the White Walkers are original. Though in the books Craster's wives do state that the White Walkers who collect the babies are in fact Craster's sons, ^{From the books...}  Sam is informed that he must flee with Gilly's child before his "brothers" come to claim him. it's unknown whether they are right in that version.
• Adapted Out:
  • In the books, Tommen has two other cats in addition to Ser Pounce: Boots and Lady Whiskers.
  • As The World of Ice & Fire reveals, Luthor Tyrell was originally to marry Shaera Targaryen, the older daughter of King Aegon V; Shaera eloped with her brother, who later became King Jaehaerys II. Since these two don't exist in the Tv series, Adaptation Distillation was done with Olenna having a Canon Foreigner sister that was originally to marry Luthor before Olenna ensnared him.
• Age Lift: Ser Pounce. In the books he's a kitten, here he's a full grown cat.
• All There in the Manual: HBO has dubbed the mysterious White Walker leader as the Night's King. Those who have read the books or watched the Blu-ray extras of the previous seasons may recognize this name as the half-mythical 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch who fell in love with a female White Walker and enslaved his brothers with black magic. Whether this is the same character or not remains to be seen. (HBO since changed the character's name to "another White Walker".)
• Almost Kiss: Margaery nearly kisses Tommen on the lips, before deciding that a chaste kiss on the forehead will work better.
• Answer Cut: As Littlefinger talks about who killed Joffrey and his new more reliable friends we switch over to Lady Olenna and Margaery walking in the garden.
• Archnemesis Dad: Tyrion sardonically notes that one of the judges has wanted him dead numerous times. His father.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • Tyrion and Jaime dance around the subject until...
    Tyrion: Are you really asking if I killed your son?
    Jaime: Are you really asking if I'd kill my brother?
  • When Jaime is balking at seeing Tyrion.
    Bronn: He named you as his Champion because he knew you'd ride night and day to come fight for him. Are you going to fight for him now?
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Karl invokes this to boss around the rest of the mutineers.
• Artistic License – Biology:
  • The many foramina in Mormont's skull would make an impractical, if not impossible, container for holding Karl's wine.
  • Considering how long it seemed to take for the White Walker to get back to his fortress, the baby he was carrying would almost certainly be long dead of exposure.
    • This could be explained that the White Walkers explicitly control the cold, so they could keep the cold from harming their new "brother" before he was brought home.
• Badass Boast:
  • Barristan advises treating the overthrown nobility of Meereen with mercy. Despite the injustices committed against the slaves.
    Daenerys: I will answer injustice with justice.
  • Karl brags that he was a Professional Killer.
    "You know how much they paid me to kill a man in Kings Landing? SEVEN SILVERS. They told me a man's name and that man never saw daylight again; none of those cocksuckers got away from me. I haven't lost a fight since I was nine. Maybe it's time, eh? (kicks Rast) You think? Maybe you're the man? (kicks him again) I was a fookin' legend in Gin Alley. A fookin' LEGEND! I will take any knight, any time! Fookin' cunts in steel plate, fookin' cowards!"
• Bad People Abuse Animals: Invoked by Tommen, who tells Margaery Joffrey often threatened to kill Ser Pounce. ^{From the Books}  Joffrey had long exhibited a psychopathic tendancy to torture and kill animals for his own amusement. In A Clash of Kings, Tyrion learns that Joffrey once killed and skinned a fawn Tommen kept as a pet, and after Joffrey's death, Stannis relates to Davos an incident where the boy disembowelled a pregnant cat so he could see the unborn kittens, disgusting Robert so much, he punched Joffrey so hard Stannis genuinely thought Robert had killed him.
• Blatant Lies: A double-whammy. Jon asks Locke what he is doing up at the Wall. Locke gives the obvious lie that he came of his own volition because he wanted to do something for the Realm. Jon simply looks at him to prove he doesn't buy it. Then Locke whips out another story about how he stole to feed his children and that's a more believable lie for Jon to accept. To us viewers, it's total horseshit.
• Big Brother Instinct: Cersei notes that Jaime always had this for Tyrion and liked being his protector from all the abuses he faced from both society and family. Bronn all but tells Jaime that he's the only hope that Tyrion has of surviving in King's Landing and his upcoming trial.
• Book Ends: Cersei snarks at Jaime for calling her "Your Grace" but ends the conversation with a curt, "That will be all, Lord Commander."
• The Bus Came Back: Several characters we have not seen since last season appear in Craster's keep scenes. Ghost, Jon Snow's direwolf, is also back.

• Call-Back:
  • When Sansa asks Littlefinger what does he want, he replies, "Everything", the same answer he gave in his infamous Character Filibuster to Ros in Season 1.
  • The arrow Joffrey shot through the mounted boar's eyes is still there.
  • In a clue to the audience, Olenna adjusts Margaery's necklace, just as she did Sansa's during Joffrey's wedding.
  • Karl talks about how he grew up in Gin Alley; the very same place that Davos and Gendry mentioned growing up close to, back in the Season 3 episode, "Mhysa."
  • Very subtle: When Brienne names her new sword "Oathkeeper", we get to hear a few notes of Stannis' theme, implying she'd like to use the sword to avenge someone else she had sworn an oath to if given the chance.
• Canon Foreigner: Both being also a case of Composite Character with an Adapted Out character.
  • Viola Redwyne, Olenna's sister who was originally to marry Luthor Tyrell, was never mentioned in the books; there is no indication that Olenna had a sister (though there is nothing to suggest she didn't, either), and a different woman was Luthor's intended betrothed.
  • Olly is original to the series, but would later take the place of Satin when he becomes Jon Snow's steward.
• Chekhov's Skill: In this episode, Olly claims to be an excellent archer. He'll use that skill in "Watchers on the Wall".
• Combat Pragmatist: Bronn's lessons with Jaime have progressed to this. If he's going to use a sword with his off hand, he'd better learn to seize any opportunity that presents itself, no matter how "unclean" it is.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Jaime yet again faces this dilemma regarding Tyrion's trial. He loves his whole family, so should he side with Tyrion and fight on his behalf or try to win back his father's and sister's approval by being the crown's champion? Should he honor his oath and protect Sansa Stark or avenge his family and bring Cersei her head?
• Consulting Mister Puppet: Karl mockingly discusses stuff with Mormont's skull.
• Cool Big Sis: As in the books, Margaery decides this is the best way to influence Tommen, though given his Age Lift in the show, she at least experiments with appealing to his emerging sexuality, before realising it's not working.
• Dare to Be Badass:
  • Most of the slaves in Meereen are hesitant to revolt, thinking Daenerys has no chance to win. Then Grey Worm and some other Unsullied sneak in with weapons for all of them, and tells them no one can give them their freedom; they have to take it.
  • Mockingly done to Rast by Karl Tanner during his drunken boasting about never losing a fight, encouraging Rast to finally be the one to beat him for no other reason than to make the man admit that he couldn't win. Rast's bored and irritated refusal shows he's quite aware of this.
• Decapitation Presentation: Despite the fact that the beheading happened a while ago, Karl still likes showing off Mormont's skull. Especially while drinking from it.
• The Dreaded: Karl Tanner claims to be a feared cutthroat and "legend of Gin Alley." He certainly strikes fear in the other mutineers. Rast admits that anyone who opposed him would die.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Subverted:
  • Rast seems extremely conflicted about leaving a baby in the snow, but he ultimately does it anyway, covering its face first to dehumanize it.
  • Thorne's first response to Slynt's Uriah Gambit suggestion is to walk off in disdain, but he also goes through with it.
• Evil Is Petty:
  • The mutineers make a sport out of baiting Hodor with spears. Rast stabs him through the leg when they get bored.
  • Karl turns Mormont's skull into a cup.
• Exact Eavesdropping: Locke overhears Sam and Jon speculating that Bran & Co may seek shelter at Craster's Keep.
• Fan Disservice:
  • Craster's daughters (unwillingly) display copious amounts of flesh and the actresses are pretty and curvy enough, but their situation makes it decidedly unsexy.
  • To a certain extent, Margaery's attempted seduction of Tommen is pretty creepy in itself due to the latter's young age.
• False Friend: Jon Snow is oblivious to the fact that Locke is a Bolton bannerman who is trying to capture or kill him and his Stark half-brothers.
• Fee Fi Faux Pas: Pod starts calling Brienne "Ser" out of habit, then quickly corrects himself when she and Jaime both glare at him.
• Female Misogynist: Cersei continues her vile treatment of other women as she casually insults Brienne as a "cow" and refers to Sansa as a murderous "bitch."
• Foreshadowing: There's a shot of the quarrel-impaled boar head mounted on the wall from Margaery's manipulation of the last king, just before she sneaks into Tommen's room.
• From Bad to Worse:
  • The fate of Bran's group. They got captured by the mutineers and their identity is revealed...
  • We had heard about it last episode, but this time we see, that yes, Craster's daughters are really worse off.
  • Feel that the White Walkers were a little too scary for you the last time you saw them? They have a king now.
• Funny Background Event: Just after the tense good-bye between Jaime and Brienne you can see Pod in the background, ready to assist Brienne with mounting.
• Gentle Giant: Hodor only cringes from the deserters taunting and stabbing at him, causing the short-statured Rast to note bitterly, "If I was your size, I'd be king of the world now."
• Gilligan Cut: After Jaime says he has one third and final gift for Brienne as she starts her journey to find Sansa, we cut to a closeup of Podrick's happy yet slightly dopey face.
• Held Gaze: Between Jaime and Brienne as they depart.
• Heroic BSoD: Tyrion is going into this. He has little hope of a fair trial and is convinced Cersei will kill him and his friends and he appeals to Jaime to free him.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty:
  • Karl make suggestive comments about rape to Meera Reed.
  • Littlefinger is becoming more explicit (though still outwardly friendly) in this vibe towards Sansa.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Tommen is utterly confused and even a bit nervous with Margaery pretty much throwing herself at him, and despite apparently receiving The Talk from Tywin last episode, he still seems to have no idea what sex even is. He responds far better to her being kind and complimenting his cat.
• Ironic Echo: Margaery says that she can't believe her grandmother is "leaving [her] alone with these people" in reference to the Lannisters. This echoes what Jaime said in the first episode of season one about the Starks,
• I Was Quite a Looker: Lady Olenna says that she seduced her late husband, claiming, "I was very good."
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: Cersei refers to Tyrion as a "creature" during her talk with Jaime.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Cersei is drunk and cruel, but its hard to argue about her criticizing Jaime for posting only one guard on Tommen's door in the wake of the King's assassination. Especially since Margaery easily sneaks into Tommen's room at the dead of night, and she herself dismisses the Kingsguard as small fry when Tommen justifiably freaks out about her entering his quarters.
• Karmic Death: Daenerys crucifies 163 of Meereen's Great Masters in the exact same way the slave children were crucified.
• Kick the Dog: Despite being two episodes dead now, Joffrey gets a retroactive one for his threatening to flay Ser Pounce alive and mix his innards into Tommen's food for no reason other than his own sadism.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Tommen. He named his beloved cat Ser Pounce.
• Licked by the Dog: Tommen grows much less nervous around Margaery when his cat immediately starts purring when she strokes him.
• Line in the Sand: Jon asks for volunteers for his raid on Craster's Keep. A dozen or so men rise.
• Long Last Look: Missandei says that her only memory of her home is viewing the beach from the boat that rowed her out to the slaver's vessel.
• Madness Mantra: The women of Craster's Keep eerily chant "a gift for the gods" when one of them presents Craster's last son. Given who these "gods" are...
• Mama Bear: Olenna reveals she poisoned Joffrey to protect Margaery, as she knew Margaery would eventually become one of his victims given how much of a complete bastard he was. ^{From the books...}  In the novels, it's also mentioned that Olenna poisoned Joffrey to protect another family member; she knew that her hot-tempered grandson, Ser Loras, would become a kingslayer in case he, while serving in the Kingsguard, had to witness the king mistreating his sister.
• Meet the New Boss: Karl Tanner proves to be even worse than Craster after killing him and taking possession of his house and daughter-wives.
• Mordor: The abode of the White Walkers at the Lands of Always Winter. Looks like a mixture of the North Pole and Minas Morgul.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Brienne of Tarth gets her blue armor from the novels.
  • The Bed Trick Lady Olenna boasts of pulling on her sister's intended resembles the one in the novels done by Lysa to Petyr.
• Never Mess with Granny: Make no mistake—Lady Olenna is both a Cool Old Lady and a Mama Bear when it comes to protecting her family, as Margaery learns.
• No-Sell: Maergery tries being playfully seductive to Tommen. It fails, because he seemingly has no idea of what's going on. However Maergery easily changes tactics.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Meera is, for obvious reasons, visibly terrified by the treatment of Craster's daughters by the Night's Watch mutineers.
  • Rast freaks out when he notices that the water he had poured into a puddle to torment Ghost has frozen solid in seconds and hears a flock of ravens cry in the wind, realizing that there is a White Walker nearby.
  • One of the Masters has three in a row — he sees the KILL THE MASTERS graffiti, sees a Targaryen flag flying from the statue of the Harpy, then sees his bodyguards deserting him as slaves wielding sharp objects rush from all directions.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Unlike the last episode, this time Littlefinger does attempt his RP accent, but Aiden's Irish does come out.
• Orcus on His Throne: Karl has taken over Craster's Keep and sits drinking in Craster's high chair. He doesn't seem to do much else, and from his dialogue, he has no desire to.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Daenerys once again finds this philosophy suited for her, crucifying 163 Great Masters to posts, pointing at each other, like they did to the same number of slave children to intimidate her.
• Parental Sexuality Squick: Margaery, momentarily, when Lady Olenna describes how she seduced her husband (Margaery's grandfather).
• Pet the Dog: Jaime gets a huge one when he gives Brienne his Valryian steel sword and a new set of armor (and a squire, albeit one he was trying to get rid of anyways).
• Pragmatic Adaptation: In the books, Margaery gets Tommen (who is only eight years old there) some kittens to bond with him. Due to the Age Lift, there are still cats, but Margaery decides to appeal to Tommen's inner horny schoolboy instead... which doesn't seem to work, so instead she tries a big sister angle. Jaime trains in a straightforward manner with Ser Ilyn Payne because he's mute and illiterate, thus keeping his inability to fight a secret. In the show, Bronn trains Jaime to fight like a Combat Pragmatist instead of a knight (with gold buying the mercenary's silence instead of a missing tongue).
• Precocious Crush: Margaery tries to engender this in Tommen, before deciding that a Cool Big Sis approach will work better.
• The Resenter: Rast with regards of being bossed around by Karl.
• Rousing Speech: Grey Worm, to motivate the slaves in Meereen to revolt:
  Grey Worm: (drops bag of weapons in front of slaves) There are three slaves in this city for every Master. No one can give you your freedom, brothers. If you want it, you must take it.
• Rule of Three: Jaime's farewell gifts to Brienne: A Valyrian steel sword, a new set of armor... and a clumsy, but competent and loyal squire.
• Screw the War, We're Partying: The Mutineers in Craster's Keep help themselves with all the Craster's food and daughters without a care in the world. And oblivious to the Wildling army marching south, or that the White Walkers are still out there.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The two guards to the Meereen Master investigating the graffiti quickly flee his side when the slaves come upon them and suprisingly are allowed to.
• Ship Tease:
  • Missandei teaching Grey Worm follows up hints in "Two Swords" that they've formed a connection, if only a platonic one.
  • Jaime's gift of armour and a sword has been compared to buying Brienne a nice dress and a pair of shoes. More seriously; their underplayed yet emotive farewell, with Brienne turning for a Long Last Look at Jaime as she rides off.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Littlefinger is quite surprised to find that Sansa is now able to talk to him on his own level, and sees through all his BS.
• Silent Credits
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Karl Fookin Tanner, ringleader of the Night's Watch deserters, somehow manages to be this even in the world of Ice and Fire. Yep, it's that bad. It almost boarders on parody. Oh well, at least Burn Gorman looks like he's enjoying himself.
• Smarter Than You Look: Sansa has not only gained a lot of fortitude (see Took a Level in Badass below), she has also revealed a surprising degree of insight and analysis. The sudden emergence suggests she has always had it, but has been too much of a Broken Bird Extreme Doormat to actually use it until now. Littlefinger is visibly surprised and while he played up his Plausible Deniability at first, he shrugs and admits his role in killing Joffrey to her when she calls him out.
• Stealth Pun: Petyr re his unnamed allies. "Nothing like a thoughtful gift to make a new friendship grow strong." Cut to the Tyrells whose House motto is "Growing Strong".
• Take Up My Sword: A literal example when Jaime gives Brienne his priceless Valyrian steel sword and charges her with finding and protecting Sansa Stark. Pod likewise is given Tyrion's axe from the Battle of Blackwater and told to squire for Brienne.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: Craster's daughters after being victims of Domestic Abuse and rape at the hands of Karl's mutineers.
• Took a Level in Badass: A non-physical variation; now that Sansa is out of King's Landing, her carefully-crafted Shrinking Violet shell is nowhere to be seen. Her accumulated political acumen surprises even Littlefinger.
• Translation Convention: The blood-red graffiti in Meereen reading "KILL THE MASTERS" is written in English (which is usually used only in place of the Common Tongue) because the Meereenese would have no reason to read out loud the translation for the audience's benefit.
• Travelling at the Speed of Plot: How long would it take for the White Walker to ride (on a not particularly fast undead horse) from the southern part of the Haunted Forest all the way to the Lands of Always Winter to the farthest north? And how would the baby survive that long?
• Uriah Gambit: The reason Ser Alliser Thorne permits Jon to lead an expedition to Craster's Keep, after Janos Slynt convinces Thorne that Jon is a genuine rival for the top spot of the order.
• Walk and Talk: Olenna lampshades how she always seems to be doing this.
  "If I have to take one more leisurely stroll through these gardens, I'll fling myself from the cliffs. "
• Wham Line: After Margaery asks why Olenna is so confident that Tyrion didn't kill Joffrey.
  Olenna: But I do know. (Beat) You didn't think I'd let you marry that beast, did you?
• Wham Shot: In the ending scene we get to see the White Walkers' fortress, their sort of royalty and how they procreate. None of this has been in the books so far.
• While Rome Burns: The mutineers gorge themselves on Craster's stockpile of food and alcohol, even though winter is coming and there's an army of wildlings bearing down on them.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To Littlefinger and the Tyrells, Joffrey became this to them:
  Littlefinger: My friendship with the Lannisters was productive but Joffrey, a vicious boy with a crown on his head, is not a reliable ally; who could trust a friend like that?
  Sansa: Who could trust you?
  Littlefinger:(Beat) I don't want friends like me. My new friends are predictable, very reasonable people. As for what happened to Joffrey, well that was something my new friends wanted very badly.
• You No Take Candle: Grey Worm understandably struggles with the grammar while learning the Common Tongue.

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