“Game of Thrones” Recap 107: You Win or You Die (Duh!)

First, a recap disclosure. Yes, I’ve read the books that this series is based on, but only once, and it was YEARS ago. As I’m writing these recaps, I’m also doing research to try to get my facts and names straight, and I have some supporting materials that were provided to journalists by HBO.

And I’m still getting things wrong!

(I hasten to add that these, like all AfterElton.com recaps, are generally written after midnight on the night the show airs, even on holiday weekends, as we rush furiously to get the article up by the next day, when it’s still relevant and people can discuss the episode in question while it’s fresh.)

But the point I’m making is that the fact that I’m getting details wrong is not entirely my fault.

This may be the first TV series in history that’s really more of a “companion” to a series of existing books.

Sure, you can watch this show without having read the books, and you can certainly enjoy it. But it’s so complicated, with so many different characters, that you simply can’t truly make sense of all the nuance unless you’re taking even more copious notes than I am – or unless you’ve read the books (recently).

I’m not sure how this thing could’ve been adapted otherwise, but I think it’s a flaw that the series isn’t really “stand-alone.” On the other hand, I’ve been listening to my geek friends complain for years how so many classic fantasy projects based on comic books, video games, and novels have invariably been dumbed down and simplified for TV and the movies. So maybe this entire series is Hollywood’s first honest nod to them.

All this said, I am still enjoying Game of Thrones, even if I feel like I’m researching a doctoral thesis every Sunday night.

Hey, that's Ian McElhinney (who was in Queer as Folk with Aiden "Littlefinger" Gillen)!

We open on a scene of Jamie Lannister with his father, Tywin, as they try to figure out what to do now that Jamie has attacked Boromir, and Boromir has responded by basically calling out the entire Lannister family.

Tywin says lots of things like, “You spend too much time worrying what people think of you … A lion does not concern itself with the opinion of the sheep.”

Which is exactly the attitude I’m going to strike the next time I write an article here that doesn’t go over well with readers. “Sheep! You’re all sheep, and I’m a lion!”

And I’ll be gutting an elk when I say this, just mark my words. (Tywin’s elk-getting during the speech was real subtle, wasn’t it?)

In last week’s episode, we saw Boromir begin to figure out that Prince Prissypants is not King Robert’s ACTUAL son – he’s the “love child” of Cersei and her brother Jamie, and he is not, therefore, the true heir to the throne. This is all based merely on the fact that Prince Prissypants is blond, and Robert’s Baratheon ancestors are all “dark of hair.” But this is an era before DNA testing, so what are you gonna do?

They cut the scene where Boromir sent Prince Prissypants' DNA to a lab for testing

This week, Boromir confronts Cersei with his suspicions – and also jumps to the conclusion that Bran must’ve seen Cersei and Jamie together (which I think is another pretty big leap!).

(Incidentally, part of me was thinking here: “Should he really be having this conversation in the very courtyard that Littlefinger pointed out to Boromir was absolutely chock-full of spies for the kingdoms’ various factions?” On the other hand, maybe the show is reminding us – and doing a little foreshadowing – about just how horrible Boromir is at playing the game of thrones!)

Then Cersei says the line that has become the tagline of the show: “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.” Which is another thing I’m going to say the next time someone criticizes one of my articles here – even if it makes even less sense than the “lion and sheep” line.

Anyway, since I remember enough about the books to know who wins and who dies, I can say she’s absolutely spot-on. Duh!

Next Page! More gratuitous lesbian sex!