The main part of the story in this episode is the marriage of Edmure Tully to one of the granddaughters of Walder Frey. It starts a little uncomfortably as Robb apologises for breaking his vow to marry one of Walder's daughters but things get better; Edmure is certainly not disappointed by his bride and as the celebration progresses everything seems happy
right up until the moment it becomes obvious that Walder Frey doesn't except Robb's apology and intends to have his very bloody revenge! While all this is going on we also see Arya and Sandor Clegane getting closer to the site of the Wedding where Arya looks forward to being reunited with her family. Elsewhere Daenerys's forces move against the city of Yunkai and Bran and his fellow travellers take shelter in a mill and are almost found by the group of Wildlings that includes his brother Jon Snow.
This is a series that hasn't been scared of killing off major characters but I didn't expect the cull we get at the infamous 'Red Wedding'. Not having read the book and having avoided spoilers this was a real shock when I first watched the episode. The other events are inevitably overshadowed but are still enjoyable; most notable the events at the mill where Bran shows that his skills as a worg a far more powerful than suspected and we learn whether Jon has truly switched sides or if he is still a member of the Night's Watch as Orell suspects. The battle of Yunkai is less action packed then one might expect, no doubt the budget had been spent elsewhere! It still features a decent fight though and the way it is told means we don't learn the outcome before Daenerys, who was waiting in her camp. To use a cliché the episode is a roller-coaster of emotions although unlike a roller-coaster it comes crashing down at the end not near the start. The shock of what happened to the Stark's is emphasised by Arya's arrival and her realisation that something is terribly wrong. The cast did a fine job; most notably Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark when she begs for her son's life and David Bradley as the vengeful Walder Frey. Overall a brilliant episode that was shocking without being gratuitous.
This is a series that hasn't been scared of killing off major characters but I didn't expect the cull we get at the infamous 'Red Wedding'. Not having read the book and having avoided spoilers this was a real shock when I first watched the episode. The other events are inevitably overshadowed but are still enjoyable; most notable the events at the mill where Bran shows that his skills as a worg a far more powerful than suspected and we learn whether Jon has truly switched sides or if he is still a member of the Night's Watch as Orell suspects. The battle of Yunkai is less action packed then one might expect, no doubt the budget had been spent elsewhere! It still features a decent fight though and the way it is told means we don't learn the outcome before Daenerys, who was waiting in her camp. To use a cliché the episode is a roller-coaster of emotions although unlike a roller-coaster it comes crashing down at the end not near the start. The shock of what happened to the Stark's is emphasised by Arya's arrival and her realisation that something is terribly wrong. The cast did a fine job; most notably Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark when she begs for her son's life and David Bradley as the vengeful Walder Frey. Overall a brilliant episode that was shocking without being gratuitous.