Before you read this I will forewarn you that I have read all of the books! But there are NO SPOILERS in these power rankings! None! Of course, my prior knowledge of what is to come can't help but seep in a little here and there, but there are no blatant spoilers for anything major or minor that is going to happen. I HAVE WRITTEN THIS AS THOUGH I HAVE NOT READ THE BOOKS! You can read this post and still enjoy season four completely unspoiled. Get it? Got it? Good.
Also, one other note before I get started. I deeply dislike the new actor playing Daario Naharis. It's not even that he's a bad actor, I just get extremely annoyed when characters are recast, especially characters that got as big of an introduction as Daario did last season. And if they were going to change the actor, couldn't they at least have given him a blue beard?
Honorable Mention: Prince Oberyn Martell (Pre-season: Not listed)
The Royal Wedding between Margaery and Joffery is almost here, which means the guests are starting to arrive. Of course, the crown is obligated to invite dignitaries and rulers from all over the Seven Kingdoms, including Dorne, the southernmost part of Westeros. The Lannisters were expecting that Prince Oberyn's more level-headed older brother, Prince Doran, would be attending. However, due to his failing health, Prince Doran sent his hotheaded brother in his place. Prince Oberyn not only is a hothead, but he has a great dislike of the Lannisters. During Robert's Rebellion, when the Mad King Aerys was defeated, Tywin Lannister's forces carried out a sack of King's Landing. Aerys' oldest son, Rhaegar, was married to Elia Martell, Oberyn's sister. When the city was sacked The Hound's older brother, Gregor Clegane, also known as The Mountain, raped and murdered Elia and also killed her children. For this, Oberyn not only blames The Mountain, but Tywin and the rest of the Lannisters as well. Last night, he told Tyrion that the Lannisters are not the only ones who pay their debts. Could Prince Oberyn be considering a play for the Iron Throne?
Fifth Place: Daenarys Targaryen (Pre-season: Fourth Place)
Oh, Dany. What are you doing? Your dragons are bigger, you have a whole army of slaves who would gladly follow you to the grave, and many would argue that you have the rightful claim to the Iron Throne. So why are you insisting on going to Meereen to free even more slaves. Don't get me wrong, it's admirable. But get the Iron Throne while you can! You can always come back and free the slaves later. For her lack of motivation, Dany drops a spot this week.
Fourth Place: Stannis Baratheon (Pre-season: Fifth Place)
The Lord of Dragonstone was absent from this week's proceedings, however he moves one spot up the rankings thanks to Dany's actions. Luckily for Stannnis, these rankings aren't based on which characters are the most interesting or he'd be off of the list completely.
Third Place: Joffery Baratheon (Pre-season: Third Place)
There was only one scene with the King of Westeros this week, but it was more than enough to remind us why he is one of the most disliked characters in the history of television. As if mocking his Uncle/Father Jaime wasn't enough, he was wearing an extremely obnoxious golden cape, or something like that. Anyway, despite the fact that he sits on the Iron Throne, Joffery is definitely not the most powerful person in Westeros. His grandfather, Tywin, is clearly the one running the Kingdom, and once Joffery gets married to Margaery it's likely he will become even more susceptible to her charms.
We didn't see much from the Tyrells this week, but what we saw was encouraging. Margaery is keeping up the facade that she is glad to be marrying Joffery, while being aware of his sadistic nature at the same time. If she can continue to to manipulate Joffery like she did last season, Margaery will have practically complete control over the kingdom once she marries him. While he might not be the most pleasant company, marrying Joffery could very easily cement the Tyrell's place as the most powerful entity in all of Westeros.
First Place: Tywin Lannister (Pre-season: First Place)
The top of the rankings remain static after the first episode of the season. Tywin Lannister was firmly in control at the end of Season 3 and remained so through this episode. Never was this more evident than in the cold open, when Tywin melts Ned Stark's sword, Ice, into two smaller swords. The Starks have been eliminated, he has complete control over King Joffery, and basically everyone is terrified of him. Everyone, that is, except his son Jaime, who flat out refused to return to Casterly Rock as Tywin commanded. This apparent falling out between father and son could spell trouble for Tywin if the relationship should deteriorate further. Also, Prince Oberyn is waiting in the wings, desperate to avenge his sister Elia. These things could be trouble for Tywin, but for now, he sits happily atop of the Power Rankings.
Missing the Cut
Jaime Lannister was in for a rude awakening upon returning from captivity. He doesn't get along with his Dad, Cersei no longer wants to hook up with him, and all he got was a cumbersome golden hand. I agree that a hook would be better...Cersei Lannister used to be one of the head honchos in Westeros. However she is outranked and overpowered by her son, her father, and her future daughter-in-law. Her new love for wine definitely doesn't help her case in the Power Rankings either...Sansa Stark is still helpless in Kings Landing but at least Tyrion seems to truly care about her. Also, she got an awesome neckless from Ser Dontos. Seriously, that neckless is awesome...Jon Snow is far from the center of the power struggle in King's Landing, but the fact that he avoided execution for breaking his vows to the Night's Watch has to count for something...Tyrion Lannister's fall from grace since the end of Season 2 continued in this episode. He became a glorified welcome wagon for the Dornish and he might be in trouble now that one of Cersei's spies saw Shea leaving his room...Arya Stark continued her path of revenge she started out on in last season's finale. She crossed one name off of her list in Poliver and depending on how many more she can eliminate it might not be long until we're talking about Arya on top of these rankings.
No comments:
Post a Comment