Episode 30 – Mhysa – Newbie Recap

Oz of Thrones provides his final newbie recap of this season. Read on for an Unsullied’s take on last night’s season three finale.

Spoiler note: The discussion in this post is primarily for non-book readers (book fans can discuss the show here). We ask all the series veterans to refrain from posting spoilers in the comments here, veiled or otherwise. This show is best viewed without knowing all the surprises beforehand, so please be respectful of your fellow fans. Thank you!

Oz of Thrones:  The final Unsullied Episode recap of the year is here!  Read it slowwwwwwwwly.  It will be a while before we get another one.

It is quite hard to wrap my head around the fact that Season 3 is already over.  I know it’s cliché, but it honestly seems like a few short weeks ago when I was preparing to write my very first newbie recap of Episode 21 for WiC.  Time flies when you are having fun I guess, and this season has been quite extraordinary for a number of reasons.

Yet, here we are and if you are like me, you are wondering what we are going to do for next nine and half months.  Football anyone?  Another post perhaps.

Alright, we have a lot to cover, so do that to me one more time…….

Flay and Frey:  We open up with the continuing slaughter of the Stark men at the Twins, and a gruesome wolf head attached to Robb’s body.  I hope Walder Frey dies a very slow  and torturous death one day.  The Hound wisely grabs a Frey banner and rides out with Arya.  We find out that Edmure is in the dungeon but the Blackfish somehow escaped.

Later on, the truth is finally revealed that Walder was dealing with the Lannisters and Bolton was doing the same and was named the Warden of the North.  Of course, this was all very predictable after the way in which the RW went down last week.  It was still quite interesting to hear the two converse about it including how Frey seems to have felt disrespected over the years and Bolton mentions Robb consistently ignoring his advice.  And then, finally, there was another reveal…..

Pork Sausage:  Our Theon torturer is in fact, Bolton’s bastard.  His name is Ramsay.  And the guy is a freaking lunatic.  I felt somewhat guilty for laughing during this scene given what Theon has endured this season, but Iwan Rheon plays the role of Ramsay pretty damn convincingly.  Theon requests that our Boy just kill him, but I think we all knew he wouldn’t.  The question is, how much longer can this go on?

Balon?  Yara?  Is that you?:  We head over to the Iron Islands where Balon received a letter from Pork Sausage stating that all Iron Born must leave the North or more pieces of Theon will be sent to him.  Oh, and there was the box that Yara opened with that important piece of Theon enclosed.  In fact, it was so important that Balon didn’t think it was worth the time or effort to go save his only surviving son.

Admittedly, the Greyjoys are not my favorite characters.  However, I really like that Yara stood up to old man Greyjoy and set off with 50 of her best soldiers to get her brother back.  I think this will set up an interesting story line for next season and maybe a great battle between the Boltons and the Greyjoys.

The Half Man:  We see Tyrion and Sansa becoming better acquainted with an unhappy Shae following behind as they discuss putting dung in mattresses.  Their prank-induced conversation is interrupted by brothel favorite Podrick Payne who tells Tyrion that a meeting of the small council had been called.

As expected, the meeting was called to announce that Robb and Catelyn were killed at the wedding.  Tyrion was not amused, especially when Joffrey tells them all that he will serve Robb’s head to Sansa.  One of my favorite aspects of this season has been the handful of instances when Tyrion stands up to Joffrey, although I fear it may one day get him killed.  But Joffrey wasn’t done…

Paw Paw Hand vs. Grandson King:  Joffrey either has balls of steel or is a complete idiot.  After Tywin makes a statement about winning the war for Joffrey, Joffrey foolishly returns serve at Tywin about hiding under Casterly Rock when his father (Robert) won the real war against Rhaegar.  Tywin then reminds the boy King who the boss is and tells him it’s his night-night time.

I have been predicting a power struggle between these two for some time now.  Paw Paw is running the show.  Joffrey doesn’t like being told what to do.  This story line between the two intrigues me and I am really fascinated to see how this struggle turns out next season.

In a related incident, Shae is approached by Varys who offers her diamonds to leave King’s Landing and to end the danger that her presence has on Tyrion.  Since the two can never be together, Varys insists that she move on and live a happy life elsewhere.  Shae declines which is a decision I believe will come back to haunt her and the half man later.

Bran and the Echoing Hodor:  Pure one word comical genius as Hodor “Hodors” which echoed through the Nightfort and House Oz.  Bran and company make it to the abandoned castle to take shelter and are awakened in the middle of the night by none other than Samwell Tarly. Gilly and Baby Sam.  This was a great scene as Sam and Bran realize they know each other through Jon.  Sam shows Bran how to get north of the wall and gives them all dragonglass to use against the White Walkers.

Later, Sam and the fam make it to Castle Black and meet with Maester Aemon who allows Gilly to stay after being told about the White Walkers.  The Maester directs Sam to send every Raven they have to every corner of Westeros with word about the White Walkers.

Davos and Gendry:  Davos pays a visit to Gendry in the Dragonstone Inn where they realize they are both from the same neighborhood.  As a result, Davos risks his own life and frees Gendry when he discovers that Stannis and the Red Woman will sacrifice him.  Davos is sentenced to death by Stannis only to be saved by Melisandre after receiving the letter about the White Walkers and apparently seeing a vision in the flames.

Thank you Davos.  I am not ready for Gendry to die.  Speaking of almost dying….

Dammit Jon Snow!:  Pay attention.  You are lucky she didn’t kill you, because I totally believe she could have.  Instead you got arrows in non-vital areas.  I am glad she still apparently cares about you.  Otherwise we might have been reading your curtain call this week.

I was happy to see Jon make it back to Castle Black safely.  Now, we have to wait for Mance to light the biggest fire.

Jaime:  The odd couple (Jaime and Brienne) make it to King’s Landing.  Jaime appears in Cersei’s room where they exchange an awkward stare at his missing hand.  Although it is needless to say this, I will anyway……… I had high expectations for a scene with Jaime being reunited with Cersei and/or the rest of his family, and this was a let-down in my opinion.  I don’t know if Season 4 will pick up right where this left off, but I am willing to bet that when we get back to the show, Jaime will be clean cut and fully recovered from his travels.

Mhysa:  See overall thoughts below.

Episode 310 Personal Awards

Favorite Scene:   The small council scene had some great dialogue, and I will always be left wanting more Tywin, Tyrion, and Joffrey in the same room.

Favorite Action Scene:  Arya stabs a Frey bannerman after she hears him bragging about the killing of Robb.  Then the Hound destroys the rest of them.

Favorite Quote:  “You just sent the most powerful man in Westeros to bed without his supper.” –Tyrion to Tywin in regards to Joffrey

Favorite Quote #2:  “Next time you’re going to do something like that, tell me first!”  –The Hound to Arya

Overall Thoughts:  As a whole, I really enjoyed this final episode.  There were enough questions answered to fill my need with enough questions left to keep me wishing for the next nine and half months to pass quickly.  Ozzette pointed out that this episode did not have that “big moment” like the other season finales have had in the past (the hatching of the dragons at the end of Season 1; Sam and the White Walker army at the end of Season 2), and I agree with her.  But I will admit that I wasn’t expecting a huge finish,  probably because I knew that this season ended at around half of the third book (was I supposed to know that?  did someone spoil me?).

With that being said, I was really left underwhelmed by the final scene with Dany.  It was a beautiful scene with the dragons and the army, and when she is held up at the very end with all the hands reaching toward her, it definitely looked neat (although it somewhat resembled crowd surfing at a music festival).  I guess I just failed to see the magic in the moment.  While liberating thousands from Yunkai is a great accomplshment, I am just not sure how it will contribute to her story line later on.  But as many of you have pointed out before, we are the Unsullied and we know nothing.

Even with the Jaime let-down and the ending Dany scene, I still thought the finale was great.  It definitely gave me some food for thought for a Looking Forward Season 4 if you guys and gals are interested and a man is fortunate enough to get to stay on with Winter and the Gang.

What did all of you think about the finale?  Shoot me your thoughts in the comments.  And remember….. NO SPOILERS HERE!  We are the Unsullied non-book readers.  Keep us that way!  Oz thanks you in advance. 

Personal Note:  I just wanted to take a minute and say a few words to the great readers of WiC and the wonderful people that run this site…… Thank you all for allowing me to be the newbie recapper and Looking Forward guy for this season.  I know that many readers are accustomed to the regular writers here as you should be…. each one of them are excellent at what they do.  As a new writer on the site, I did not know how open the readers would be to an unheard voice.  To my surprise, the vast majority of you embraced me.  It is quite an honor to love a series like GoT and be able to share my thoughts and views with you all on a weekly basis, and even more of an honor to receive the feedback and participate in the discussion that we all shared throughout the season.

I do believe that WiC is one of the best sites on the internet.  And I do believe that WiC readers are the most passionate and intelligent of any internet community in existence.  You’re damn right I am biased, and I have no shame about it.  You guys and gals are awesome.

So, again, thank you!!  You put up with my silly predictions, the crazy halftime show, and all of the other weird shit I did this season.  And then you asked for more, which means that you are all likely crazier than I am.  Cheers my good friends!  I sincerely hope to stay on and provide more!

Post-Season party at my place….. BYOB.  Ozzette and I will provide complimentary pork sausage.

Most importantly, may there forever be peace in your realm.  -Oz

• Published on 06/10/2013 at 11:05 AM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 12:01 PM CDT