Rebel TV Show Review: 'Kissed By Fire' (Game of Thrones - S3EP05)

So here we are, at the mid-way point of season 3. I'm going to keep this opening paragraph short so we can both jump straight into main bulk of this review! Because yet again, in true Game of Thrones style, this episode is full of interesting moments that are just begging to be spoken about!

As said previously, I am a HUGE fan of both the books and the television series, so I will be reviewing each episode of season three as and when they come out. There'll be spoilers, there'll be opinions, I'm going to try and compare the content from the episodes to the content in the books, and after this season finishes I'm going to bring everything together and list all ten episodes in order of best to worst.

!SPOILER ALERT!

!READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I thoroughly enjoyed season 1 and 2 of 'Game of Thrones'. I remember telling people, both those who watch the show and those who I were trying to convince to watch it, that season 1 was the best television I had ever seen. I ended up repeating that comment at the end of season 2, having to redefine the scale of how amazing it had been, it having surpassed all expectations. I now know I will once again be telling everyone the same thing when season 3 comes to it's inevitable finish. And so without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you my quick-fire summary of the episode:

Fire's are being started. Stannis' wife is insane. Robb finally steps into Eddards boots. Jon Snow knows SOMETHING! Jamie steals the show.

I'll begin where the episode begins, with the long awaited trial by combat between Ser Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) and Sandor "the Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann)! I vividly remember this scene in the books and it was every bit as exhilarating and intense as it was to read, if not more so. Before the battle even takes place Thoros (Paul Kaye) aids Dondarrion by setting his sword ablaze, much to the Hounds utter fear and disbelief. However the battle isn't a long one, and after an impressive start it is Dondarrion that is cut down and killed by Clegane. Shock resonates through the Brotherhood without Banners and Arya (Maisie Williams) wastes no time in pulling a weapon and moving to kill Clegane herself, but is stopped by Gendry (Joe Dempsie) before she can. In an unexpected twist the three are then astounded to find that Dondarrion has been resurrected by Thoros! The Hound is then freed, his victory taken as righteous proof of his innocence.

I find two things particularly interesting about this scene: the first is how well the Hounds pyrophobia (fear of fire) is portrayed in this scene when he is surprisingly attacked with a sword kissed by fire. I think it might even be shown somewhat better than it was done in the Battle of the Blackwater. The second is the fact that we finally get some sort of idea about Thoros truly being a Red Priest! Unlike Melisandre, the Red Lady, who so far has only really used her powers for darker purposes, Thoros instead sets a blade alight and even brings Dondarrion back from the dead (six times so far in total, as we later find out); it is almost as if Melisandre and Thoros are near polar opposites. I'm interested to see how this religion and the powers within it develop as the story continues.

We are finally introduced to Queen Selyse Baratheon (Tara Fitzgerald) and Princess Shireen Baratheon (Kerry Ingram) in this episode, and within the first minute of each of them being on screen I was instantly able to get a full interpretation of how their characters are. King Stannis (Stephen Dillane) confesses his infidelity to his wife, his honour getting the best of him, but to his - and my - surprise she already knows, and is perfectly fine with it; in fact she encourages it. We begin to get a larger picture of just how much the Lord of Light and that entire religion is truly shaping the events of the land and the people within it. If her reaction wasn't enough to show how insane Selyse is, the unborn foetuses of her sons casually floating in jars to one side of her chambers do; I think she's officially made my top ten list of twisted characters for the show.

In contrast I found Shireen to be absolutely adorable. Locked away in her chambers by her mother, who is disgusted by her because of the disfigurement at the hands of the Grayscale disease she suffered from as a smaller child, Shireen is still a happy little thing. Smiling and excited to see her father, we get a clear sense that Stannis loves his daughter even if his wife doesn't; it's quite the touching moment, showing a softer side to the hardened Baratheon King. Upon hearing that her friend, Ser Davos (Liam Cunningham), has been imprisoned for being a traitor, she ventures to the dungeons to visit him, and in an even more touching scene she begins to teach the poor Onion Knight how to read. I hope to see more of Shireen and Davos in future episodes.

The Young Wolf and King of the North, Robb Stark (Richard Madden), finds himself in a difficult position at Riverrun, his entire army seemingly crumbling all around him. Lord Rickard Karstark (John Stahl), still bitter over the death of his sons at the hands of Jamie Lannister and the Lannister forces, murders the two young Lannister captives - Martyn and Willem Lannister (Dean-Charles Chapman and Timothy Gibbons). Despite the advice from Queen Talisa (Oona Chaplin), Lady Catelyn (Michelle Fairley), and Lord Edmure (Tobias Menzies), who all beg him to hold Karstark as a prisoner in fear of losing those loyal to the Karstarks, Robb opts for the honourable path. Having committed treason against his King, Karstark is sentenced to death and Robb personally beheads him.

This scene is a powerful one because it instantly draws similarities from when Robb's father, Eddard Stark, did a similar thing in the very first episode of the first season. Never so much before now do we get a sense of just how well Robb has stepped into his late fathers shoes. However, knowing that he no longer has the forces to take the Lannisters on in a direct conflict, Robb comes up with the risky move to conquer Casterly Rock while the Lannisters are not there in force. But how can he achieve such a thing with his army in tatters? He intends to forge an alliance with Lord Walder Frey, the man who controls the Twins and whose daughter Robb had originally vowed to marry. A risky move? Only time will tell, but Walder Frey doesn't seem the type to let go of such large slights so easily...

Surprisingly, beyond the Wall things are just as hot as elsewhere in Westeros. After playfully stealing his sword and running into a cave, Ygritte (Rose Leslie) removes her clothes and tells Jon Snow (Kit Harington) that she is going to have him. It seems as if the sight of her like that wipes clean the rest of Jon's honour to his oath and the two have sex in quite the steamy scene. Apparently Jon know knows how to please a lady, even though he is just losing his virginity; he stuck her with his pointy end. It's an important moment in Jon Snow's development, for deeper reasons I won't go into detail about just yet, but I feel that even with this scene being done well, his story as a whole is not getting nearly enough time focused on it. Then again, neither are the other stories near and beyond the Wall, so lets hope that they fix this soon.

I'm going to finish with what I believe to be one of the greatest scenes the show has had to date, and perhaps the best performance by a cast member. After having the diseased flesh on his wound cut off in an agonising scene, Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is taken to the baths of Harrenhal, where Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) is also bathing. After a little tension, a seemingly delirious Jamie recounts the unknown truth behind the tale of how he killed the "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen. After warning the Mad King of his fathers intentions to sack Kings Landing when it appeared that Robert's Rebellion could not be stopped, Aerys ignored the warning and allowed Tywin Lannister and his forces into the capital. Under the guise of protecting his King, Tywin instead did just as Jamie had imagined and began to take the city.

In a mad fit of desperation the Mad King told his advisors to burn the entire capital city, detonating stores of Wildfire that had secretly been hidden beneath the entire span of Kings Landing. Faced with a conflict between his morality and his oath to protect the King, Jamie stabbed Aerys in the back and slit his throat for good measure, opting to silently protect the people of the city at the expense of forever being known as the "Kingslayer". His emotions rising, Jamie stands and begins to faint, Brienne catching him; “Help, the Kingslayer!” she calls as he lays in her arms. “Jaime,” he groggily replies. “My name is Jaime.” just before fainting.

I was blown away by this scene, and especially from the performance by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. I have always felt he's played an outstanding Jamie Lannister - he's witty, crude, charming, and a man we just love to hate. But in some of the best character development I've ever seen, he has rapidly started to become more and more likeable, culminating in this scene where I not only feel bad for the guy, but also respect and even like him; this a character who's sired incestuous children and pushed another out of a window! Now if that's not powerful acting and amazing writing I don't know what is.

There were also some other powerful scenes in this episode, such as Arya having a moment with Gendry as well as asking Thoros if he could bring back a man who's been beheaded (referring to Eddard), or a particularly interesting scene with an unexpected twist where Lord Tywin (Charles Dance) informs Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) that he will be forced to marry Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Cersei (Lena Headey) will also be forced to marry Ser Loras (Finn Jones), much to the utter dismay of both of them. A few other minor scenes that I've not mentioned were also interesting, but all in all I really enjoyed this episode. I think the perfect performance by Jamie really sealed it for me, and almost helped this episode claim my current favourite from this season - but not quite.

4 ½ Rebel symbols out of 5!

A very interesting episode with a show stealing performance from Jamie Lannister. Though somewhat lacking in fast paced action in comparison to other episodes, this one stands tall with the best of this seasons so far.