Episode 1x03: Foreshadowing & Symbolism
Jul 26, 2016 21:21:18 GMT -5
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Post by Envie on Jul 26, 2016 21:21:18 GMT -5
~ Lord Snow ~
Episode 3 - Foreshadowing & Symbolism
While not everyone's favorite episode of Season 1, there were still plenty of great moments of symbolism and foreshadowing of the story to come for many of the characters in this dialogue heavy episode.
Throughout the episode, we see various characters playing upon one another's personalities, weaknesses and perspectives. This episodes theme is about seeing people for how they really are, not how they are often labeled or misunderstood. It's an episode I like to call the "True Colors" episode. We will see again and again how misconception and misunderstanding often color the characters opinions and treatment of one another for both good and bad.
The Small Council: "The Little(finger) Rulers of Westeros"
One of those gray areas about Ned Stark happens when he is confronted by Jaime in the throne room. Ned sees Jaime as a traitor for killing Aerys Targaryen despite the obvious fact Jaime points out about how the mad king killed Ned's brother and Father in that very room and no one lifted a finger. He said it felt like justice when he killed the king. Ned asks him if that's what he tells himself at night so he can sleep, that he was a servant of justice. Jaime asks if it would have made a difference if he'd stabbed Aerys in the belly instead of the back. "You served him well, when serving was safe..." says Ned, implying that Jaime was loyal until it served him to be a traitor. Ned refuses to bend his idealistic rules.
Here again we see Ned's loyalty ideals too black and white for an obviously very gray situation Jaime was in at the time. "Burn them all" we know meant a lot bigger threat for everyone. Jaime later admits this to Brienne (the bath scene) ... "What right does the wolf have to judge the lion?" Ned's perception and Jaime's are obviously very different and the situation was clearly not just a case of Jaime betraying his king.
~~~
Next at the small council meeting, we get another hint of how different people are turning out to be compared to what is outwardly perceived.
First Ned is surprised to find out Robert never even bothers to attend the council meetings himself. The kingdom is being run by these four men: Littlefinger, Varys, Pycelle and Renly.
Talk about Ned suddenly having regrets about taking the job!
Ned then learns that the kingdom is six million in debt and that Robert's been squandering it away while Littlefinger has been borrowing money from the Lannisters. Each of the council members also shows Ned a reason to be mistrusted. Pycelle who served the Targaryen king before Robert, Varys who is full of spying and lies, Littlefinger who clearly still has feelings for Catelyn and even makes mention of how he was cut open by Ned's brother Brandon in a duel. Ned does not trust these men and has every reason not to despite being put in a position to have to work with them.
Cersei & Joffrey: "A Cat of a different coat"
The short scene between Cersei & Joffrey is perhaps the most blatant example of seeing people for their true colors and intent in the episode. It's here we see how Cersei manipulates Joffrey into believing he's right by telling him "The truth is what you make it" when he protests that he didn't slay the beast that bit him but instead was a coward who cried.
The symbolism here is of lying and deceit to make yourself into something you're not. Joffrey's very existence is a lie which Cersei has fabricated to make him Robert's son, even though Joffrey himself unwittingly says "I'm not like him ..."
We also get to see what a terrible ruler Joffrey will be. It's a bit of foreshadowing that Joffrey's idea of ruling involves punishing the northerners and forcing them to do his bidding because he commands it. This is exactly what he'll do later after Robert dies. Cersei, to her credit, actually has a shrewd political mind in this scene, reminding Joffrey that an outsider will never be accepted to rule the north.
Ned Stark: "War was easier than Daughters."
Previously I mentioned how Ned was ill-prepared for the job he'd signed up for and this is again obvious in two scenes with Sansa and Arya. We are able to get a better idea of the type of Father he is to his daughters. Kind and loving, but completely out of touch with who they are and their feelings.
In the scene with Arya and Sansa at dinner, he sends Arya to her room while indulging Sansa with a doll he had made for her in an attempt to appease her unhappiness about Lady's execution. This doll, by the way, looks like a rather creepy Varys look-alike to me!
While it's easy to accuse Sansa of being a petulant shit in this scene where she tells Ned she hasn't played with dolls since she was eight and then asks to leave the table, we should try to remember she's a teenage girl who is going through a pretty turbulent change in her life and also has a crush on a prince who is a real class A jerk. Sansa's still living in a teenager's idealistic fantasy right now and she's angry at her Father instead of the real culprit -- the jerk and his Mother who killed her direwolf. Again, Ned is completely at a loss for words in this scene and doesn't seem to realize how much Sansa has grown up at this point, being 13 and hitting puberty.
The symbolism in this scene, as with the next one with Arya is that of innocence lost and a Father losing his daughters as they grow and change into different people (women) which he has no idea how to understand.
~~~
Next we see Ned struggle to understand Arya as he talks to her about Needle. His first words are "Little ladies shouldn't play with swords" Again, as with Sansa, Ned has no idea who Arya really is, sadly. But in this scene we see Ned reaching a part of Arya that he does understand. Her sense of family loyalty.
Arya blames herself for Mycah's death since she wanted him to play-fight with her. She also hates Sansa for lying in front of the king. Ned struggles to try and explain why Sansa had to defend Joffrey because she's going to be married to him someday. Arya can't understand why Ned would let her marry someone like that. (She has a good point Ned can't answer) ... again, we're seeing complicated things here and how people are perceived vs. the reality of who they are. Arya knows Joffrey is an asshole yet her Father is still letting the marriage happen.
Ned does manage to hit a strong note with Arya when he has her repeat their house words and warn her of how they needed to stick together as a family (pack). Ned mentions the long summer and how Arya has never known of hard times but that winter is truly coming now.
"I don't want to frighten you, but I won't lie to you either. We've come to a dangerous place. We cannot fight a war amongst ourselves."
And thus we see again how Ned's growing concern about what he has gotten himself and his daughters into coming to King's Landing.
He senses it but seems unable to change the course they're all on.
This becomes even more apparent at the very end of the episode when Ned is watching Syrio train Arya with the sword. At first he is smiling as they practice fighting. But as they move, and Syrio playfully says "Dead!" whenever he strikes Arya in a vital spot, Ned's look turns grim and almost fearful. We are again seeing Ned sense the dangers ahead for his daughters and how easily Arya or Sansa could die. Little does he realize this foreshadowing is for his own life.
Bran: "Sweet Summer Child"
A crow lands on the windowsill of Bran's room at the start of this scene. Old Nan says something curious... she tells Bran not to listen to it, "Crows are all liars."
I liked this strange little line for it's symbolism and 'fortune telling' attributed with the ravens and that of being message bringers and omens of dark tidings.
Here in Winterfell, another member of the Stark family is surly and unhappy. Bran has woken up but is bedridden and crippled. Obviously depressed and bored. Old Nan is trying to entertain him with tales of old but he doesn't want to hear them. He says it's the scary ones he always liked best.
It seems to me the children are all upset but don't understand why yet. Again, the foreshadowing is heavy here that things are not quite right and despite the positive situations, it's not all it seems to be.
Old Nan also gives us one of the most iconic and ominous speeches in the books/show:
"Oh my sweet summer child. What do you know about fear?"
Fear is for the winter, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep.
Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides for years and children are born and live and die all in darkness.
That is the time for fear, my little Lord, when the White Walkers move through the woods."
(here is the first time Bran turns to look at her)
"Thousands of years ago there came a night that lasted a generation.
Kings froze to death in their castles, same as the shepherds in their huts.
And women smothered their babies rather than see them starve, and wept and felt the tears freeze on their cheeks.
So is this the sort of story that you like?"
(Bran nods)
"In that darkness, the White Walkers came for the first time.
They swept through cities and kingdoms, riding their dead horses,
hunting with their packs of pale spiders big as hounds -- "
The symbolism of this tale is obviously quite heavily dark and foreboding with the coming of winter and the White Walkers who are in fact real, and not just a "scary story" told by old women to scare little children.
In that moment, we're all Bran. We all like that sort of story!
Jon: "Lord Snow"
The last part I want to cover (there are lots of other little details in the episode to talk about) is the subject of the episode's title.
Jon has finally come to realize (like Ned at King's Landing previously) the reality of what he's gotten himself into by joining the Night's Watch.
First we see Jon practice fighting with some of the other boys and beating them pretty badly. He's angry and taking it out on them, much as Arya was taking out her anger on the table with a dagger. Ser Alliser Thorne is the one to point out the perceived difference (again, perception is everything in this episode):
"Lord Snow here grew up in a castle. Spitting down on the likes of you."
Of course, we know that isn't entirely true about Jon. He grew up privileged, yes, but he was not arrogant nor was he considered better than anyone else in his house. Perhaps it's this turnabout where Jon suddenly feels superior to the men of the Night's Watch that is the symbolic irony of his attitude towards them?
Thorne then tells him: "Well Lord Snow ...
Jon is starting to realize that the fantasy he imagined of a heroic Night's Watch is far from the reality.
Jon gets a wake up call ...
In the equipment room, the three boys he fought against jump him and Grenn holds a knife to his throat. The fight is dispersed with some choice words from Tyrion who arrives in time to see it. He threatens to write a letter about this to his sister, the Queen, which effectively breaks it up.
Jon then says something very telling to Tyrion:
"Everybody knew what this place was and no one told me. No one but you. My Father knew and he left me to rot at the wall all the same."
This is a great scene where Tyrion then reminds him that Grenn's Father left him too ... outside a farmhouse when he was three. Pyp was caught stealing a wheel of cheese. His little sister hadn't eaten in three days. He was given a choice: His right hand or the wall."
We learn that these boys are not what they seem ... just as Jon has assumed wrongly about everything too.
"They hate me because I'm better than they are." quips a petulant Jon...
Tyrion responds back: "It's a lucky thing none of them were trained by a Master-at-arms like your Ser Rodrik. I don't imagine any of them have ever held a real sword before they came here."
And in this moment, Tyrion has taught Jon his first hard lesson. People are not always what you think they are, nor are you better than they are because of your false impressions. Learning to get along with his peers would be a better idea than fighting against them. Nowhere is this message more clear than Jon's own dealings with people who hate him for who he is (bastard) and for everyone who doesn't know who he really is.
Later we'll see a great scene were Jon has changed his attitude and is helping Grenn and Pyp learn to fight rather than fighting against them. He is forging friendships instead of enemies. Tyrion watches him from a doorway and smiles approvingly. Tyrion has a good effect on people with is advice.
~~~
Here are a few other small moments I found as strong foreshadowing and symbolism in this episode:
- Catelyn's words to Ned about Littlefinger: "He's like a little brother to me Ned. He would never betray my trust..." (Me-Oh-My that was hard to re-watch - how wrong you are Catelyn!)
- "The war for Cersei's cunt" was a hilariously antagonistic thing for Jaime to say to his sister. He clearly does this to work her up and she slaps him. This aggressiveness is apparently a turn on for him.
- When Robert's having his drunken scene he asks about Aerys Targaryen and what did the mad king say when Jaime stabbed him in the back? "He said the same thing he'd been saying for hours ... Burn Them All!" Robert's mouth drops open a bit. I don't think the idea ever occurred to him how it must have sounded from Jaime's view.
- Benjen telling Jon he's not a ranger when Jon expects to go with him on the trip beyond the wall. Jon again tries to say he's better than everyone else, but Benjen tells him he's better than no one and "Here a man gets what he earns, when he earns it." He also tells Jon they'll speak when he returns which is exactly what Ned told him too.
- ETA: Nearly forgot the scene where Viserys loses his status and Daenerys gets the first hint of becoming a Queen ... a Khaleesi. Jorah ignores Viserys' demand to kill the Dothraki who attacked him and defers instead to Daenerys. Rhakkaro then forces Viserys to walk without his horse, a sign of disrespect and low status amongst the Dothraki. Viserys is left standing there in his Targaryen jacket of shame:
What other clues did you pick up on from all the dialogue in episode 3? I felt it was really a series of scenes depicting how strangely twisted the view of everyone else is in the story. We the audience are seeing the characters for their true colors as other characters are figuring it out as well. It was interesting for character building.