Mockingbird (Game of Thrones)

"Mockingbird" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 37th overall. The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss,^[1] and directed by Alik Sakharov.^[2] It aired on May 18, 2014.^[3]

Plot

In King's Landing

In the dungeons, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) berates Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) for his outburst against the people of King's Landing and ruining the deal Jaime had made with Tywin Lannister. Tyrion angrily counters they both know that deal was Tywin's plan all along, and it felt good to take that from him. Tyrion asks Jaime to be his champion, but Jaime declines due to his poor performance with his left hand. Tyrion then asks Jaime to locate Bronn (Jerome Flynn), and asks who their sister Cersei (Lena Headey) has named as champion. Her champion turns out to be Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson), whom Cersei greets while he executes several prisoners. Days later, Bronn visits Tyrion and informs him that Cersei offered to wed him to Lollys Stokeworth, a highborn lady with good prospects of a rich inheritance, and admits his own fear of The Mountain's fighting prowess. He states that he will not face the Mountain on Tyrion's behalf. Though Tyrion believes himself dead already, they part as friends.

At night, Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) visits Tyrion and recounts that he visited Tyrion in his infancy and has long been aware of his sister's antagonism towards him. A broken Tyrion admits that Cersei "always gets what she wants", to which Oberyn counters that she cannot give him what he wants; vengeance for the murder of his sister, Elia, and her children. He then announces he intends to commence his revenge by championing Tyrion's cause in the ring, thus giving him the perfect chance to confront and kill Ser Gregor.

At Castle Black

Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his remaining men return to Castle Black. At a meeting, he implores Ser Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) to block the passage through the Wall to prevent Mance Rayder's army from coming through, but his request is denied.

At Dragonstone

Queen Selyse Baratheon (Tara Fitzgerald) visits Melisandre (Carice van Houten) in her chambers, and discusses their plans to depart Dragonstone. Selyse tells Melisandre that she does not want her daughter, Shireen, to come with them, but Melisandre convinces her that the Lord of Light needs Shireen to go with them.

On the Kingsroad

Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) and Podrick Payne (Daniel Portman) eat at an inn and are served by Hot Pie (Ben Hawkey). When Brienne inquires about Sansa Stark, Hot Pie nervously ends their conversation. The following morning, Hot Pie approaches them in private and tells them about his journey with Arya Stark, who was believed to be dead, having not been seen since her father's execution. Hot Pie tells them that the Brotherhood Without Banners took her and planned to ransom her. Podrick informs Brienne that Lysa Arryn is Sansa and Arya's last living relative with money, and since Riverrun is now ruled by Walder Frey, who betrayed and murdered the Starks at the Red Wedding massacre, they decide to head for the Vale.

In the Riverlands

Arya (Maisie Williams) and Sandor "The Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann) continue their journey east. Along the way, they come upon a badly wounded man (Barry McGovern), whom the Hound kills out of mercy. Immediately after, they are attacked by Biter (Gerard Jordan) and Rorge (Andy Beckwith). Biter bites the Hound's neck, and the Hound kills him. The Hound believes that the outlaws are trying to kill him because he insulted King Joffrey Baratheon, but Rorge explains that Joffrey was poisoned at his wedding and that the bounty on the Hound's head is for killing Lannister soldiers. Arya recalls that Rorge had previously threatened to rape her, and, after learning his name, stabs him in the heart. Later, while the Hound tries to stitch his neck wound, Arya offers to cauterize the wound, but the Hound refuses due to his pyrophobia. He recounts how his brother Gregor caused his facial burns by pressing him into a fire, and she assists him in stitching the bite.

In Meereen

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) finds Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman) in her quarters. He requests that she make use of his talents in either war or women, to which she responds by ordering him to take off his clothes. In the morning, Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) encounters Daario as he leaves Daenerys' chambers, and counsels her on whether it is wise to trust Daario, who betrayed and killed the other captains of the Second Sons. Daenerys tells Jorah that she has ordered Daario and his army to retake Yunkai, and kill all remaining masters there. Jorah notes that, had Ned Stark taken the same approach toward him when he sold slaves, he would not be there to advise her. She relents, and orders Jorah to tell Daario to take Hizdahr zo Loraq with him, to advise the masters of Yunkai in conforming to her rule.

At the Eyrie

When snow begins to fall in the Eyrie, Sansa (Sophie Turner) builds a snow replica of Winterfell. Robin Arryn (Lino Facioli) arrives and tells Sansa that when they get married, they will be able to kill anyone who bothers them with the Moon Door. He tries to make a Moon Door in the replica of Winterfell but accidentally destroys one of the towers, and when Sansa criticises him he responds by throwing a tantrum and destroying the replica, prompting her to slap him. Shortly afterward, Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen) arrives and discusses his true motives with Sansa, telling her that he greatly loved her mother, Catelyn, and the reason he had Joffrey killed was to avenge her. Petyr then kisses Sansa, but before she pulls away from him, Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie) sees them. She later summons Sansa and confronts her near the Moon Door. Lysa grabs Sansa, and pushes her down to her knees near the opening of the door, telling her that all her enemies have gone through it. Petyr arrives and tells Lysa to release her, promising to send Sansa away. Lysa releases Sansa, and Petyr goes to her, but he admits that he only ever truly loved Catelyn, and pushes Lysa through the Moon Door to her death.

Production

"Mockingbird" adapts material from A Storm of Swords chapters 65, 66 and 80 (Arya XII, Tyrion IX & Sansa VII).^[4] It also adapts chapter 20 (Brienne IV) from A Feast for Crows as well as chapter 2 (Daenerys I) from A Dance with Dragons.

Reception

Critical reception

"Mockingbird" received critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes reported a score of 100% based on reviews from 31 critics. The site's consensus is that "Though [the episode] mostly sets the table for future events, it remains chock-full of action, suspense, surprise, and raw human emotion."^[5]

Television ratings

The episode was watched by 7.20 million viewers during its premiere hour, setting a new series high.^[6]

Accolades

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Mockingbird

• "Mockingbird" at HBO.com
• "Mockingbird" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Mockingbird" at TV.com