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Review: Game of Thrones — ‘Breaker of Chains’ (season 4, episode 3) (Includes first-hand account)

As with any book-to-visual-media property, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have taken creative liberties with their telling of the sweeping saga of Westeros and the bloody battles for the Iron Throne. In many cases, these liberties have worked for the better, like developing the sweet friendship between Davos Seaworth and Shireen Baratheon or by revealing Ser Barristan straight away as a new member of Daenerys’ group (rather than in the books, where Barristan disguises himself as Arstan Whitebeard for an entire book).

But there are two instances in which Benioff and Weiss made a highly controversial choice, and both relate to whether or not sex on-screen could be called rape. The first time was in season one, when Drogo consummates his marriage with Daenerys. In the books, she is hesitant at first but quickly finds herself enjoying it. On the show, there is no doubt that it is rape.

So it goes with “Breaker of Chains,” After Tywin asks Tommen (now king of Westeros after Joffrey’s death) about what makes a king, the two leave Cersei and Jaime alone in the Sept. After a brief conversation, Jaime rapes Cersei, an act that didn’t appear to be rape in its literary counterpart. Though some might argue it was for shock value, it also erases much of Jaime’s character progression since being freed from captivity by Catelyn Stark.

Elsewhere in Westeros, others are finding their sense of safety redefined. Sansa is rescued from Joffrey’s wedding by Ser Dontos, whose life Sansa saved in season two. However, it is not Dontos who gets Sansa safely away from King’s Landing; it’s Petyr Baelish, who promptly kills Dontos and explains that he was a drunken fool who would have eventually blabbed Sansa’s secret.

As Arya and the Hound continue to roam the countryside, they come across a father and daughter who provide them with a roof over their head and a meal. Though Arya and Sandor have developed somewhat of a friendship, their relationship is strained when the Hound attacks their host and steals his money.

Meanwhile Sam and Gilly are finally back at Castle Black, and Sam perhaps takes the idea of protection a little too far. He worries about the fact that Gilly is the only female in the castle among 100 men, and so decides that she’d be safer in Flea Bottom. Except when they get there, the visuals show that Castle Black would probably be a much safer place. This becomes doubly true later on when we see a group of wildlings utterly devastate a village, slaughtering everyone but a young boy who runs off in terror.

At Dragonstone, Stannis is getting impatient with his lack of progress, which Davos argues is because he’s looking to prophecies and magic to win the war and not gold and soldiers. While Stannis has always listened to Davos’ advice, Davos seems to be at the end of his rope unless he comes up with a plan.

Finally, Daenerys and her army prepare to march on Mereen, who send out a champion on the city’s behalf. After a mocking gesture, Daenerys sends Daario to face the champion. In one swift move, the champion is killed, Daenerys then tells the city that the real captor is not her army, but the slavers.

The theme of this whole series seems to be that nobody is safe, and nobody can be trusted. As relationships continue to be redefined, it becomes less and less clear what characters want from each other and the world at large. And this moral uncertainty is what makes Game of Thrones so compelling.

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