*** Editor’s Note *** This is a 6-part recap of Telltale’s Game of Thrones series. It will be followed by an entire series review. Click HERE to see our coverage of Episode 4!
Back before he was locked up in a cell drinking wine with Mira, Tyrion described King’s Landing as a “nest of vipers.” In this episode of Telltales Game of Thrones, it’s not just the capital city that’s filled with peril, as essentially every character finds their life in danger and many don’t make it out alive.
Death is a constant occurrence in Game of Thrones in general, but it often feels random or fickle. As we’ve seen over the entirety of Telltale’s series so far, every character’s fate is already sealed. If the programmer gods say you’re going to die, there’s nothing you can do about it. This is frustrating, both as a player and (presumably) as a character in the game itself. But in A Nest of Vipers the narrative attempts to give some meaning to the various deaths that take place in its part of the story. Death can serve a purpose, and in this episode it serves several.
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The end of the episode provides one of the most pivotal choices so far in the series. Presented with an unwinnable situation, Rodrik and Asher must choose which of them is going to sacrifice their life for the other. These choices come at the end of a long string of decisions made within the context of death. Asher has built a reputation as a killer, and has gathered an “army” through his prowess as a fighter. Rodrik has attempted to navigate the constant death around him and find a path for his family to survive. On some level choosing Rodrik means choosing to fight against death and choosing Asher means choosing to side with it.
Back in Essos, before everything has fallen apart, Asher gains the approval of his rag-tag soon-to-be-team of pit fighters by… murdering one of them. These fighters are explained to be a weird and savage bunch of dudes so it makes some amount of sense. Death here is a rite of passage, something you have to do to be counted as a member of the group, and it works, almost instantly, which is maybe a little disconcerting. If these maniacs are going to follow anyone who is good at killing folks we might not want to introduce them to the Whitehills (or to Ramsay).
Rodrik similarly has the choice to kill or spare the traitor (in my case Duncan, which seems very out of character… for the people who picked Duncan as their Sentinel I assume it is much more expected to discover Royland as the traitor). While Asher used death as a tool to get what he wanted, Rodrik can use the opposite in the same way. He can spare the traitor’s life to further his agenda. It might come back to bite him, but this choice, along with Asher’s in the pit, show a utilitarian approach to killing.
Rodrik’s decision in this case is perhaps influenced by the cavalier attitude Ramsay has about killing. At the beginning of the episode we find, after the cliffhanger from last episode, that the Glenmores have been sent home and Eleana’s brother Arthur is in the process of being tortured by Ramsay and his men. Ramsay doesn’t so much want information as he wants to send a message to Rodrik and anyone else who might defy him. More manipulatively than that he actually wants Rodrik to try to fight him right then and there. He could probably get away with just killing Rodrik, but it would be much more fun (presumably) and easier to explain if Rodrik tried to kill him first. Ramsay’s general tactic seems to be to get everyone as pissed off as possible while not quite pushing them over the edge.
Rodrik’s response is to try to maintain some semblance of power, either by restraining himself or by demonstrating his ability to kill Ramsay. Either way, death takes on a very symbolic role in the narrative. When it comes down to it, power is all about death; either you control it or you resist it. Since Rodrik isn’t powerful enough to kill his enemies (yet?) he must attempt to weather the storm.
In King’s Landing we find Tyrion locked up, heading toward what he perceives to be a certain demise. The artifice of law and order preclude random killings like Ramsay is so fond of, but the power of Cersei, and the throne in general, is on full display. Locking Tyrion up and creating a public show of his trial serves to demonstrate the strength of those in power. The threat of death, in this case, is much more convincing than the actual execution.
And yet Cersei still needs Mira to gather information, or so it seems. It’s possible that Cersei’s true motive is to sow seeds of doubt and panic in Tyrion. It’s doubtful that she really has any concern about an unexpected witness at the trial, which is all the more evident by our foreknowledge of what actually happens and of the futility of any defense Tyrion might mount (she even provides her own false witness). It’s all another demonstration of Cersei’s grip over everyone around her.
While death may be the end for most of the characters in this episode, it’s rarely permanent north of the Wall. After a whole lot of bickering it seems like Gared’s quest for the North Grove might be falling apart — but then the zombies show up. An enemy that can’t be killed is a powerful foe indeed, and the white walkers become a sort of physical embodiment of death. Asher, Rodrik, Ramsay and Cersei might all use death for their own ends, but in the end death gets to do what it wants. All men must die, so death is the most powerful force there is, and when it comes to get you, you’d better look out.
Sadly, the most unfortunate death of the episode comes at the hands of the white walkers: Finn. Maybe if we hadn’t brought him along he would be just fine, roasting marshmallows at Castle Black or whatever it is those guys do in their spare time. Or maybe he would just die some other pointless way. Just when he seemed to be turning into a nice guy, the sort of loveable oaf you can’t help but get along with, he gets killed by the white walkers. Of course, knowing what may-or-may-not happen to Jon Snow back in the regular television series might just give us a hint that this isn’t quite the last we’ve seen of Finn….
My choices:
- Rodrik did not stab Ramsay
- Asher killed Bloodsong
- Mira Told Tyrion that Cersei sent her
- Rodrik chose to imprison the traitor
- Asher stayed behind