Game of Thrones: The Gift—Analysis

Every so often, Game of Thrones hands us an easy one. There’s nothing to tease out about this week’s theme. “I am the gift!” proclaims Tyrion as he stands before Dany in the practice ring. But so many characters tonight could have said the same thing, from the opening moments with Aemon being allowed to touch Gilly’s baby and remembering his own childhood, to Littlefinger’s gift of Lancel Lannister to Olenna. In a world where nearly everything is bought and sold, and everyone has an ulterior motive (and a price), tonight was about offering one’s self up for free. But of course, gifts are rarely given without some sort of strings attached. Sooner or later, payment will be due.

Aemon: “Egg, I dreamed that I was old…”

Let’s start with the gift that gave us the title of the episode: Tyrion Lannister. Unlike in the books, where he continues to dither, plot and plan outside the Walls of Meereen, tonight we shortcut our way directly to having him meet Daenerys.

This season, Tyrion has been reverting into the man we met in Season 1, back before he became the “browbeaten bookkeeper” Olenna found so disappointing, and he becomes more and more enjoyable with each passing scene. His mouth is fast and his mind faster, even if the plans are only half-formed. He’s also quick enough to use his dwarf stature to his advantage, beating up the man holding his chains for the crowd’s entertainment, in order to get himself bought along with Jorah. He even uses his slave chains as the perfect prop, making him look even more like Jorah’s prisoner. Will it work? Time will tell what payment will be due for presenting himself as a gift to the Queen, but we can all hope Tyrion will soon be in a position to give advice that might counter Daario’s blunt but effective “butcher them all.”

Daario: “You are the only person in Meereen who is not free.”

In other parts of the world, payment is coming due. Stannis has known that he must pay for the gifts Melisandre gives him. Her sex, her comfort, her “wisdom” her magic—all come with a price. Before, he could pay in bastards. But we all knew eventually it would come down to the child he worked so hard to save as a baby, and that he loves so dearly. There was only one reason Shireen would be traveling with an army—an army, for the record, that doesn’t even want to be there, stuck in the snow, starving, sick and cold. If Stannis was too stubborn to see why Melisandre thought it was a good idea to bring her along in the first place, we can only hope that he remains stubborn enough to keep his daughter alive for a little while longer. But as the snow deepens and his forces grow hungrier, it’s only a matter of time before the price will have to be paid.

Back at the Wall, we the viewers received the gift of a very un-Game of Thrones-like moment. After the rapes and the murders and the blood and the vengeance, it was nice to see Aemon die a natural, peaceful death, the first one to occur onscreen in five years of the show—perhaps there’s something to be said for staying out of the games and the schemes and the plans. Meanwhile, Gilly and Sam have what could perhaps be the gentlest sex scene in the history of the show, a gift from Gilly to Sam, and to us.

It was a short reprieve. Within minutes we were back to Sansa, now locked away in her bedroom, as Ramsay Bolton uses her gift of legitimacy to rule Winterfell in the horrifying ways he sees fit. Sansa may think she’s gained at least one ounce of control (and that weapon she scooped up) as she pushes him on his bastard status. But it’s a short-lived fantasy, as in turn she receives her own gift—she learns who her husband truly is. “It can’t get any worse” she says innocently to Theon. Seeing how her husband likes to decorate the courtyard with flayed bodies is both a gift of knowledge she will need in order to plan more effectively next time, as well as her ongoing payment for her trust in Littlefinger.

Littlefinger: “The future, that’s all that’s worth discussing.”

Amusingly, our youngest Sand Snake was the first to outwardly demand payment right away for her gift: odes to her beauty in exchange for the gift of life, in the form of the antidote to her poisoned blade. But one can sense that’s only the beginning of Bronn’s payment for his life. Chances are those Sand Snakes haven’t given up on their revenge plans, not yet, and this gift will carry further strings. Meanwhile, Jaime sits in a prison cell—albeit a nice one befitting his noble birth—waiting for his captor to bring him forth to discuss terms of his leaving without causing a war. As for Myrcella, she has no understanding of why her Uncle is there, or how she’s supposed to accept that just as she found happiness in doing her duty, it can all be ripped away again. He thinks he’s bringing her the gift of taking her home, but she wants none of it.

Speaking of gifts that people don’t want, let’s not forget Margaery tossing that bowl of venison across the cell rather than eating at Cersei’s pleasure. Margaery is obviously starving and miserable, but she’s still too proud to accept food from the woman who put her there, and who only brought it to gloat over how far her enemy has fallen. She should have saved it, though. It would have made a nice meal to go with the gift of listening to Cersei’s own screams of “I am the queen!” as they dragged her to her cell. Those cries did Margaery little good, and they’ll do Cersei even less.

High Sparrow: “What will we find, when we strip away your finery?”

Ah yes, our final gift this evening was watching the downfall of Cersei Lannister. It was only a matter of time before the High Sparrow she assumes was under her control turned on her. As the High Sparrow pointed out to Olenna, a lifetime of wealth and power makes people blind in one eye. Olenna has never met someone who didn’t have an ulterior motive, and neither has Cersei. She assumes since she gave the Sparrows power, she has the reins, but, as the High Sparrow asked, what happens when the many stop fearing the few? Though she could not buy the freedom of her grandchildren, Olenna did get one valuable piece of information: a man who cannot be bought and sold is no more controlled by your enemy that he can be controlled by you. Unlike Cersei, who has been blind to this reality, Olenna puts two and two together quickly. There is only one thing to do, and that’s to give back as good as she’s got.

If Cersei can get Littlefinger to gift her Olyver, then she can get the man to gift her Lancel right back. And Littlefinger’s repayment for these gifts is watching two great Houses tear each other to shreds in the public square. Cells for all the sinners, and let the people sort it out. At least Margaery has the advantage of being beloved of the people, as repayment for her bringing them food and walking among them, when it comes time for her trial.

• Published on 05/25/2015 at 11:30 AM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:04 PM CDT