Game of Thrones: "Oathkeeper"

 Spoilers Below:

There is a segment of the Lord of the Rings fan community who flipped a shit when Tom Bombadil was excised from the film adaptation because they really liked that part of the book series and anything that wasn’t hopelessly devoted to J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision was just wrong, dammit!

I think people who hold adaptations of books to that insane level of scrutiny and expectations are foolish. 

I recently saw the film adaptation of Divergent and it’s a pretty bad adaptation. It’s not the worst movie but it fails to make enough considerations for how a visual medium tells it stories and why some things that worked like gangbusters in the written form just don’t translate well to film. Game of Thrones is constantly gauging how much of the series can stay true to what Martin has written and thus satisfy the serious book fans while still working on its own terms. If the show begins to break off into its own original storylines and starts to change things it may no longer be entirely an adaption of the books but it's own different beast entirely (And this is increasingly becoming true as the show outpaces Martin's writing).

This became highly apparent last week when the show re-wrote a moment from the books from a consensual moment of sex into a rape scene. I think there’s reasons for this change, in part due to the change in placement time-wise from when it occurs in the books, but it still comes off very dark and very uncomfortable. This is not least of which due to Jaimie’s motivations not feeling completely justified or earned, even as this understandably skids into to the growing dissolution between Jaime and Cersei. But if it’s meant to be a further act of self-destruction for the once happy (though admittedly slightly creepy) relationship, it tried way too hard, and exploited us to achieve that effect. 

I bring up the books -- when I typically try to avoid this cause it's largely a fool's game (and don’t worry this review will largely avoid spoiling anything from the books except as it relates to what’s happening now in the series) -- because “Oathkeeper” does a number of things that are radical and meaningful departures from what Martin wrote. And, ya know what, that’s totally okay, and even in some instances I think it helps make the show work better as a television series.

The big changes revolve largely around events occurring in and around the Wall. Notably this whole plan to get rid of the mutineers at Craster’s Keep never takes place, and yet I find it to be an excellent departure from the books. One of Game of Thrones’ problems is that there is rarely ever story arcs carried across a single episode and that’s why it can often feel a bit aimless. Now though, Jon suddenly has a goal and he’s set out to achieve it. It’s not a particularly noteworthy story arc, and so much of how we feel looking back on it will depend on the payoff down the line when Jon and his volunteers get to Craster’s, but for now it makes the episode feel less slack.

Another big change involves Bran being at Craster’s and Jon having knowledge that Bran is beyond the Wall. In the books, it’s a lot easier to have characters set apart from one another but in a show you need known characters interacting otherwise our investment diminishes. If a character we care about gets in conflict with or talks to a nameless figure it just doesn’t work nearly as well. Having storylines click together and relate is necessary, especially if you’re going to have dozens of different stories play out simultaneously.

Sometimes this doesn’t even require making drastic shifts from the source material but by pointing out how these stories all take place in the same world and how ripple effects can be felt everywhere. Last episode Davos and Stannis discussing Joffrey’s death may not have felt like a big deal but it reminded us that these characters aren’t simply off in their own well-produced chamber dramas but are important agents off in a different corner of Westeros. Here the show has Littlefinger’s dialogue regarding the allies he struck a bargain with carry over into the scene between Margaery and Olenna. Hey, it’s not subtle but then again I think this show doesn’t always have the option to aim for subtlety.  

Again, I think the series has gotten a lot better at making these connections. It’s there in all the ways we see the episode's title playing out with people breaking or committing to their oaths. Brienne sets out, at Jaimie’s suggestion, to find and protect Sansa, as she had promised Catelyn, and Brienne, in turn, acknowledges that while Jaimie may have broken his Kingsgaurd oath in letter, and in the process earned himself the title of “King Slayer”, he didn’t violate it in spirit. Jon broke his Nights Watch vows by colluding with the wildlings to gain their trust and information, and he now seeks to kill members of the watch who broke their vows and are making Craster look like a saint. Sam broke his promise to Bran to not tell Jon that he was heading beyond the Wall, and Bran continues to ignore Jojen’s mandates to stop warging into Summer. Dany promised to free the slaves of Mereen and punish their cruel masters and she does so in highly brutal and ruthless fashion. Locke has assured Ramsay he will infiltrate the Watch to get to Bran, and he has quickly insinuated himself. Margaery has Tommen promise he won’t tell anyone about their secret midnight meetings. 

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse by pointing these things out because they feel so utterly transparent, and it’s not like we go to Game of Thrones for a series of great depths. As Sam Adam rightly noted recently Game of Thrones is not an “especially profound show” and rarely does it ever prompt very insightful conversation beyond an interrogation of how effective its plot is and how effective its more titillating elements may be. I’m not knocking those aspects of the series because at the end of the day they’re why I watch and often love the show. 

But sometimes I get to my word document and find myself incapable of saying anything more meaningful than listing what happened and trying my best not to simply say, “OH MY GOD! DID THAT JUST FUCKING HAPPEN!”

As I’ve argued I find the show to have more going on than just its plot, but sometimes I wish the different pieces of the show snapped together like clockwork. Changing around some elements from the novels and making each episode work more on its own terms is a start.

At the end of the day, we watch Game of Thrones for these characters and the intriguing stories they’re put though. But I also find that an intense level of over-thinking is one of the key pleasures to this show, keeping us guessing and wondering and engaging with what just might happen next and doing it in compelling ways. I’m as gobsmacked by that ending as everyone else and I can’t wait to find out what it fucking means. And who cares what quibbles I might have; it may not be how the book set about telling it but damn it’s intoxicatingly involving and fun television. 

Stray Thoughts:

-This episode was directed by the fantastic Michelle MacLaren who is one of the best re-occurring directors who has worked on this show (She previously directed last season's “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” and “Second Sons”), and here she creates one of the most visually memorable episodes of the season. Each scene has such a perfect, dripping sense of atmosphere and mood. 

-Another change from the books is that final scene with the Whites which is absolutely bonkers and I still have no idea what to make of. The Whites are a much more ethereal presence in the books than they are in the show. 

-The scene between Margaery and Tommen was a wonderful bit of comedy. Dean-Charles Chapman’s deer-caught-in-headlights reaction was priceless. 

-The episode’s opening scene is the most extended amount of time we’ve spent with Missandei and Grey Worm and it’s notable for giving us the perspective of the former slaves Dany is so proud to be freeing but also fails to recognize the god complex it’s helping to create. 

-Sansa acclimates to her new circumstances fairly quickly and is bold enough to ask Littlefinger a number of questions regarding Joffrey’s assassination. 

-Bronn tells Jaimie about how Tyrion’s first choice for his champion when in need of trial by combat at the Eyrie, back in season one, was Jaimie. This leads Jaimie to visit his brother and realize Tyrion was not responsible for Joffrey’s death. Cersei is furious at Jaimie for admitting this and this coupled with last week's rape leaves their relationship almost non-existent.

-With the Craster’s Keep scene, we get even more examples of violence against women, something the show has made feel almost like a natural occurrence, which only serves to make it all the more disturbing.  

-Some viewers question the level of feelings between Brienne and Jaimie. Not to get into weird shipper territory but I think that's reading a bit into their relationship; it's platonic but based on real affection, devotion and understanding. Why define the ineffable beauty of it? It just feels right.

Grade: B+