Jon and the wildlings scale the Wall. The Brotherhood sells Gendry to Melisandre. Robb does what he can to win back the Freys. Tyrion tells Sansa about their engagement.Jon and the wildlings scale the Wall. The Brotherhood sells Gendry to Melisandre. Robb does what he can to win back the Freys. Tyrion tells Sansa about their engagement.Jon and the wildlings scale the Wall. The Brotherhood sells Gendry to Melisandre. Robb does what he can to win back the Freys. Tyrion tells Sansa about their engagement.
- Melisandre
- (as Carice Van Houten)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTywin blackmails Olenna by threatening to appoint her grandson Loras as member of the Kingsguard (thereby preventing him from furthering the Tyrell name) is both ironic and hypocritical. It is well established in Game of Thrones lore that Tywin was furious when the Mad King did the same to him: when their relation deteriorated, the king appointed Tywin's son Jaime to the Kingsguard, thereby effectively robbing Tywin of his heir just to spite him.
- GoofsWhilst at dinner with Roose Bolton and Brienne, Jaime is initially seen in closeup attempting to cut his meat with the side of a two-pronged fork, but in the wide shot, the fork has changed to a knife. In the following wide shot, he is once again holding the fork, and is then seen setting it aside and picking up the knife instead.
- Quotes
Lord Varys: A thousand blades, taken from the hands of Aegon's fallen enemies. Forged in the fiery breath of Balerion the Dread.
Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish: There aren't a thousand blades. There aren't even two hundred. I've counted.
Lord Varys: Heh. I'm sure you have. Ugly old thing.
Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish: It has a certain appeal.
Lord Varys: The Lysa Arryn of chairs. Shame you had to settle for your second choice.
Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish: Early days, my friend. It is flattering really, you feeling such dread at the prospect of me getting what I want.
Lord Varys: Thwarting you has never been my primary ambition, I promise you. Although, who doesn't like to see their friends fail now and then.
Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish: You're so right. For instance, when I thwarted your plan to give Sansa Stark to the Tyrells, if I'm going to be honest, I did feel an unmistakable sense of enjoyment there. But your confidant, the one who fed you information about my plans, the one you swore to protect... you didn't bring her any enjoyment, and she didn't bring me any enjoyment. She was a bad investment on my part. Luckily, I have a friend who wanted to try something new. Something daring. And he was so grateful to me for providing this fresh experience.
Lord Varys: I did what I did for the good of the realm.
Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish: The realm. Do you know what the realm is? It's the thousand blades of Aegon's enemies, a story we agree to tell each other over and over, until we forget that it's a lie.
Lord Varys: But what do we have left, once we abandon the lie? Chaos? A gaping pit waiting to swallow us all.
Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish: Chaos isn't a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some, are given a chance to climb. They refuse, they cling to the realm or the gods or love. Illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.
- Crazy creditsThe introduction theme and map depiction animation of each episode of Game of Thrones depicts every "city/region" that takes place in said episode. However, for the first time in the series, though Yunkai is graphically represented in the opening credits, there is a complete absence of any storyline involving Daenerys (et al) in Yunkai's setting.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Controversial Game of Thrones Moments (2017)
"The Climb" is heavy in character interaction and exposition, and is not what one would call an action-packed episode. Instead, it is perhaps Season 3 at its most contemplative and intimate. Which is no way a bad thing, 'Game of Thrones' have done these types of episodes several times before and it's always come off brilliantly. "The Climb" may start off a touch on the slow side, but for all its intimacy it's a gripping episode where the exposition always serves a point and doesn't bog things down and characterisation is as rich as ever.
It is the truly tense scaling of the wall that is particularly memorable here in "The Climb". The interaction between Tywin and Olenna is similarly exquisite (especially in their negotiation), as are the honest and emotionally resonant writing for Littlefinger and a visually beautiful and perceptive ending. Arya and Melisandre's scene is beautifully played and written and Theon's treatment here is disturbing.
All the acting is superb, with the best performances coming from Charles Dance, Diana Rigg, Maisie Williams and Aidan Gillen.
Visually, "The Climb" looks amazing. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. The visual effects are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.
One cannot talk about "The Climb" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.
It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is once again. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions such as suspenseful tension, poignant pathos and witty humour. The story is paced beautifully, structured with such nuance and attention to coherence, a high emotional level and is done with intelligence, passion and sensitivity.
Overall, Season 3 delivers again. 9/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jan 13, 2018
Details
- Runtime53 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1