The first four episode titles for Season 4 of “Game of Thrones” have finally been released by HBO and in the wake of all of the promotional images and trailers, these simple phrase, surprisingly enough, may actually provide fans with the best indication of what to expect in the start of the new season. The Season 4 premiere episode which debuts in a mere 34 days on April 6th are entitled “Two Swords” and it will have a run time of 58 minutes. Following the “Game of Thrones” premiere episode, Season 4 will continue on April 13 with episode 2, “The Lion and the Rose,” which has a run time of 52 minutes. Following episode 2 will be “Break of Chains” episode 3, which runs for 4 minutes longer than it’s predecessor, and finally episode 4 “Oathkeeper” will premiere on April 27th and run for 54 minutes. But while these seemingly simple phrases may not mean anything to you, note that to HBO and “Game of Thrones” show runners David Benoiff and D.B. Weiss these are calculated and carefully crafted clues. So what exactly does each episode title reveal, well lets break it done one by one, starting of course with the premiere episode.
Warning spoilers for Season 4 of “Game of Thrones” ahead. Do not read any further if you do not want to know what will happen in the first four episodes of the forthcoming season.
The “Game of Thrones” Season 4 premiere will of course play a bit of a catch up, allowing new viewers and of course, us returning loyalists, to once again be acclimated to the intricate world of Westeros. However, in addition to the recap of Season 3 fans will be treated to the introduction of new characters mostly in King’s Landing. The Martells will surely be introduced, most specifically the Red Viper due to his prominent role in the developing plot in Season 4. But I think the episode title reveals more about the relationship between Jaime and Brienne, we know that they have a long and complicated history, but after the son of Tywin Lannister pulled her from the bear pit, its safe to say these two are allies. The phrase “Two Swords” does very specifically refer to Jamie and Brienne, when Brienne sets off in search of Sansa Stark after returning Jamie to Kings Landing, he gifts her with a very specific and telling gift, a sword. But not just any sword, it is “Oathkeeper” a sword which was given to him by his father and forged from Eddard Stark’s sword “Ice” which was once the ancestral Valyrian steel greatsword of House Stark. A matching sword was also forged from “Ice” it was named “Widow’s Wail” and given to King Joffrey Baratheon. These two swords are set to have a very different journey in life, and their owner’s plots are only just beginning in Season 4.
Joffrey’s plot line gets even more dramatic following “Two Swords” because in episode 2, “The Lion and the Rose” the young King celebrates his wedding to Margaery Tyrell. The sword “Widows Wail” is gifted to him by his grandfather on the morning of his wedding but the jubilation of the marriage quickly ceases, because the young king is poisoned during the feast and dies. Cersei immediately blames Tyrion and Sansa for the deed and has her younger brother arrested and locked in the black cells under the Red Keep. But the clever imp will not stay there for long because the title of episode 3 “Breaker of Chains” most certainly has a duel meaning. Despite the accusation that Tyrion killed Joffrey, the son of Jamie and Cersei Lannister, unlike his twin sister, Jamie doesn’t believe that his brother was the perpetrator. Jamie with the help of Varys literally breaks his brother’s chains and helps him escape from the black cells and Kings Landing. But Jamie is not the only character in episode 3 of “Game of Thrones” who is breaking shackles. The episode titles more directly references Daenerys Targaryen, who will be encountering the slave city of Meereen in Season 4. Here she will build a kingdom before moving on with her plan to sit upon the Iron Throne, but Dany does not want to rule a city of slaves, she wants to be a Queen to free men and women, therefore she abolishes slavery and frees them, but not everyone in Meereen is pleased with decision.
Finally episode 4, “Oathkeeper” which will once again directly relate to the two swords forged from Ned Stark’s “Ice.” This time though we will watch as Jamie is confronted with his oath as a member of the Kingsguard, and Brienne most likely leaves Kings Landing in search of Sansa Stark, which was the oath, she promised to Catelyn Stark before she was murdered at the now infamous “Red Wedding.” Another oath that will be discussed in “Oathkeeper” is the words said by Jon Snow in refrence to the Night’s Watch. Now that Ned Stark’s bastard son has returned to the Men of the Night’s Watch he must deal with the repercussions of his time with the wildlings.
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