“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.”

Varys and Littlefinger have a good old chat about the realm.

Writer(s): David Benioff & D.B. Weiss

Director: Alik Sakharov

Events: Tywin Lannister and Lady Olenna discuss the potential of Cersei marrying Loras — Tyrion then informs Sansa that he is to marry her. Littlefinger informs Varys that Ros has been murdered by King Joffrey. The Brotherhood sell Gendry to Melisandre. Robb Stark agrees to marry Edmure Tully to one of Walder Frey’s daughters. Roose Bolton sends Jaime Lannister back to King’s Landing but keeps Lady Brienne under arrest. Jojen’s visions cause him to have seizures during his sleep. The “cleaning boy” continues to torture Theon. Sam shows Gilly a dragonglass dagger and teaches her about the Wall. Jon and Ygritte almost fall to their deaths while climbing the Wall but make it to the summit together.

THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS.

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The majority of ‘The Climb’, the first step into the latter stages of Game of Thrones’ third season, is simply spent with the characters sat around campfires, talking quietly. Sam and Gilly open the episode hunched around one that Sam has haphazardly built; Jon and Ygritte prepare their climbing gear with burning logs between them; Thoros of Myr, Beric Dondarrion and Lady Melisandre’s conversation concerning the Lord of Light is accompanied by the sight of a calmly glowing fire in the background; even as Ramsay continues to torture Theon, a burning candle sits between them on the table. On the one hand, the presence of flames is a neat visual motif that indicates towards the emerging influence of religion in the show — of fire gods, red gods, and lords of light. But on the other hand, the conversations that take place around them are a sign that we’re stuck in the halfway between the action. We’re waiting for the pieces to slot in place and bring us towards the latter episodes — we’re sitting around campfires, anticipating the next major developments.



The problems with ‘The Climb’ are only slight, it must be stressed, but an example of where this episode falls slightly short in making its various visits to the half-dozen locations is Meera and Osha’s tiff. They spend a good two minutes of this relatively short episode — by Thrones’ standards anyway — arguing over which of the pair is more adept at skinning rabbits. Osha’s suspicious of Meera and the vague powers her brother has, and we’ve known this for two or three episodes. Meera has arrived into the show looking capable of holding herself in any environment, and we’ve known this since she entered the action while holding a knife to Osha’s throat. It’s not a point worth repeating. Perhaps the episode could have spent time explaining why Jojen and Meera left their family home to find Bran instead? Jojen suddenly seizes up in his sleep, with Meera explaining that the visions “take their toll”, but that’s all we’re given. It’s all a little vague with them at present, and even on this side of season seven, Jojen’s task and intentions — beyond delivering Bran to the Three-Eyed-Raven — still seem a little uncertain. Taking these three-or-so minutes to delve in their journey from Greywater Watch might have served up something with serious narrative consequence further down the line.



Adaptation-era Thrones is one of the finest examples that modern television has to offer when it comes to crafting expert drama from very minimal scenes. It doesn’t need ginormous spectacles to carry the weight of the source material because the dialogue is frequently memorable and provides a momentum all its own. The performances during these scenes are consistently wonderful as well. But ‘The Climb’ only contains a handful of said scenes, and any narrative consequence is buried too deep to unearth for first-time viewers.



For example, when Roose Bolton agrees to send Jaime Lannister back to King’s Landing and promises not to alert the Starks, all while holding Lady Brienne under arrest, something stirs for re-watchers. Roose is keeping his enemies closer for a reason. Of course, the Red Wedding is drawing ever closer as each week passes, and this scene is a ginormous clue: the Boltons are a house who, up until this point, have been shown to be loyal to the Starks. They re-took Winterfell for them and captured Theon Greyjoy, and Roose camped with Robb and Catelyn before that. They’ve now got hold of their most prized prisoner in Jaime Lannister, but they’re setting him free and allowing him to return home. The clues are there if you’ve seen the Red Wedding enough times to map out the process that lead up to it, but fresh viewers would be left feeling somewhat impatient during this hour.



The memorable moments, the ones that define ‘The Climb’ almost five years on from its original air date, are crammed into the final quarter, as Jon and Ygritte climb the Wall either side of Littlefinger’s “Climb” monologue. Jon and Ygritte’s climb is a tense scene that, in a cutthroat world, could have easily provided two more heart-breaking deaths, as they twice prevent themselves from falling seven-hundred feet. But it’s only once the intensity drops that the scene finds the subtle effectiveness this episode often searches for but doesn’t quite find. Exasperated and relieved, Jon and Ygritte first stare out beyond the Wall and appreciate the miles they’ve marched since they first met. As they turn around, however, the sun comes out — another campfire of sorts — and they gaze at the green North, realising how far they must still travel. They kiss passionately, and there’s a palpable sense of achievement, relief, tenderness, loyalty, and appreciation for pastoral beauty as the camera pulls up. Positioned as the final act of an episode concerned almost exclusively with plot development, it arrives rather too late in the day to brings its overall quality to the level of its surrounding episodes — but as Jon and Ygritte look out onto the North, their future path, their emotions somewhat mirror those of us on this side of the screen.



The episode’s other memorable scene is the exchange between Littlefinger and Varys in the Throne room. Littlefinger’s obsession with the Iron Throne is exposed by his analysis of it — there aren’t a thousand blades, it’s all a myth, a lie, a story people agree to tell each other — and a repeat of his understanding of politics soon follows. The realm, he argues, is also a lie, and the process of controlling it isn’t a glorious one. It’s about causing chaos and weaving a path through to the other side, no matter how much blood needs to be on your hands by the end. Ros is murdered in brutal fashion, having been discovered as Varys’ confidant and handed over to Joffrey by Littlefinger. It’s a powerplay reveal wrapped in an enticing monologue, with one of the show’s most memorable lines finishing it: “Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.”



We’re past halfway now, and we’re eager to continue.



7.5



Lost ravens:

— Olenna and Tywin battle over whether Loras should marry Cersei or Sansa, and Tywin emerges victorious. Tyrion, having confronted Cersei over his attempted murder during the Battle of Blackwater, will now marry Sansa, and they’re both devastated at the news. Their wedding in two episodes’ time, however, is the centrepiece for one of the season’s very best episodes.



— Gendry is sold off by the Brotherhood to Melisandre, who demands a king’s blood for the next stage of her plan. During her visit, she’s fascinated by Thoros’ sway wit the Lord of Light, having resurrected Beric six times. She sees him as something of a deserter, impure, and she’s taken aback by his talents. Arya loses faith in the Brotherhood very quickly once Gendry is sold, however, she makes her plans to leave them behind.



— Edmure is married off to the Freys. We all know what’s coming there. There’s a decent moment of necessary reflection for Robb, whose decision making during the War of the Five Kings has put holes in his brilliant effort. Marrying Talisa cost him the Freys, beheading Lord Karstark cost him half an army, and now he’s forcing a relative into a loveless marriage just to keep his campaign going: “I’ve won every battle, but I’m losing this war.”

- Ramsay continues to torture Theon in some brutal but patient scenes here. David and Dan tease us here, as Ramsay plays a game with Theon that we’re all involved with: the game is to guess who he is. Of course, we know it’s Ramsay Bolton now because we’re a season on from his fantastic death at the hands of Sansa Stark, a character he’s yet to encounter, but he’s currently just “cleaning boy” for now. Is he an Umber? A Karstark? Well, we believe so for a second, but it turns out he isn’t after all. The visual clues are all there — he’s flaying Theon alive on a giant X, for god’s sake, but fresh viewers will remain perplexed.



— We close this week with the opening scene of the episode, as Sam and Gilly sit by the fire and discuss dragonglass (which Sam doesn’t know the usage of just yet), the Wall, and Castle Black. One thing Gilly does know, however, is how to build a good fire. Less is more, apparently. Sam has plenty of world and book knowledge, but the practical stuff is all Gilly’s.