The big battle has finally come. I usually structure my reviews by locale, but due to the scale of events happening this week, the entire episode takes place at King's Landing. The focus gives the episode a clarity that a few of the preceding episodes were lacking because of having to jump around and serve so many stories. I wonder if the show could do this more often without viewers losing the threads of the stories left out.
For an episode about a battle, it takes its sweet time getting to it. We see Davos and his son, Matthos, waiting and wondering what the reaction of the city will be. Stannis stands steadfast on his own ship. Tyrion spends a possible final night with Shae. The Hound and Bronn, two similar men with very different dispositions, nearly come to blows before the ships are spotted and the alarm is sounded. Varys and Tyrion discussing secret passages, dark powers, and reminding us of Tyrion's squire, Podrick Payne (who becomes important later). Davos calls for the drums and as the people on both sides gear up for the battle we gear up for it as well. Sansa gets a nice little jab at Joffrey before he heads out stating that of course he'd be in the vanguard leading the charge, being the king and all.
The buildup makes the episode better by increasing our anticipation more and more until the eventual release. And how wonderful that release is. Every cent that they scrimped throughout the season, even at some points in this very episode, was worth it for that spectacular explosion. Tyrion's Wildfire ploy erupts the Blackwater Bay, destroying a large portion of Stannis' fleet. Matthos is almost certainly killed in the explosion while Davos' fate is left unknown. Stannis sees this as a setback, but not a dealbreaker; their going to row to shore from their and begin the siege.
Meanwhile inside Maegor's Holdfast in the Red Keep, Cersei is getting drunker and more truthful as the battle continues. Her scenes with Sansa this year have been pretty great, but the work in this episode was step above. Cersei sees herself in Sansa, being married off to a man she doesn't love and will most likely treat her badly. She keeps trying to impart advice, but coming from her, everything has a sinister twinge to it. Things get very sinister when she finally reveals that Ser Ilyn is there to kill them all to prevent their capture if the city falls. Cersei also comes close to discovering Shae's true identity before good old Ser Lancel barges in to give bad information. Eventually Cersei breaks and Sansa shows that she's better at carrying queenly duty than the queen by keeping everyone calm.
Back on the battlements, the Hound has decided there is entirely too much fire in this battle. He reaches his breaking point when a man on fire comes barreling towards him before Bronn takes him out. The Hound has been nothing but loyal to Joffrey for the entire series, but flashbacks to the Mountain burning half of his face leads to the wonderful kiss off he gives the king before he abandons the fight. He goes to Sansa and offers to take her back to Winterfell. While Sansa is normally terrified of the Hound, she finally comes to the realization that he has a soft spot for her and will not ever hurt her. I've said it before, but Sophie Turner has really come into her own the season and plays the scene very well. Stannis is the first up his ladder, being the exact opposite of Joffrey who leaves as soon as he has an excuse.
After Joffrey abandons the fight, it's up to Tyrion to rally the troops and he gives one of the best speeches this show has ever had. He hits home by appealing to their homes. They don't really care about protecting the king, especially now that he's left them, but they do care about protecting their home. Tyrion leads the charge and successfully takes out the squad trying to break the gate, right before an even larger force comes barreling down the beach. In the commotion Ser Mandon Moore of the Kingsguard attacks Tyrion, putting a large gash in his face. Luckily Podrick is there to spear him in the face and save Tyrion. It seems someone gave Moore orders to take out Tyrion in the battle and all signs would point to Cersei. After all, she believed the Tyrion was going to do the same to Joffrey.
As Tyrion passes out and Cersei is preparing to kill young Tommen instead letting the enemy do it, Tywin rides in to safe the day. He comes with friends, too, the Tyrell force led by Ser Loras. It seems Littlefinger managed to convince Tywin while we were wondering if he would recognize Arya or not. The city is held and King Joffrey gets to rule another day. It's a strange juxtaposition as the battle plays out. We hate Joffrey and would love to see him taken off the throne, but we love Tyrion and want him to see him win. That's a concept Martin, who wrote this episode, weaves very well into the novel series. There are very few good guys and bad guys in the books, mostly various shades of gray.
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