Fantasy Weekend - Game of Thrones, Season Three, Episode Four

SPOILER ALERT FOR GAME OF THRONES, SEASON THREE, EPISODE FOUR.

As usual, the dialogue is sharp and full of wit even though Tyrion was missing from this episode. As we saw in the previous episode, Jamie had his sword hand cut off by his captors. You wouldn’t think you would pity someone who easily pushed a child off a roof but somehow you pitied Jamie. Surely, no one deserved to have his hand chopped off in cold blood. Whatever it is, Jamie had a new reality to face and Brienne chided him sharply when he refused to eat. She also thanked him for saving her earlier by telling the captors that her homeland Tarth was full of sapphires, when in fact it was known as the sapphire isle because of its waters. The look on Jamie’s face was priceless: you can’t quite tell what he’s thinking but you just might think that he’s beginning to have a soft spot for the swordswoman.

Back at King's Landing, it was painful watching Tywin Lannister putting down Tyrion during an earlier episode but it was absolutely delightful watching him dish out a similar treatment to Cersei.

(The dialogues below have been paraphrased)

Tywin’s quote of the day: “I do not confide in you not because you’re a woman but because you’re not as smart as you think you are.”

It makes you wonder, does he like ANY of his children? I mean, he doesn’t seem to be too concerned about Jaime even though he acknowledges the guy as his heir.

But the highlight of the episode came towards the end. Having concluded their agreement, Daenarys brings one of her dragons in exchange for the full force of the Unsullied army of Astapor. The slave master was as insulting as ever. He told her the young Unsullied were still green and it would be good if she could test them by raiding a few cities not far from Astapor. He would gladly buy any of the captives from those cities so that he can train more Unsullied. Daenarys doesn’t say a word until she hands him her dragon and he gives her the whip to officially close the deal. Daenarys then asked Missandei if the deal has been finalised and if she is finally the true master of the Unsullied. The slave master said yes, using his usual derogatory name for Daenarys.

Daenarys then calls out the Unsullied in the Valyrian tongue to test them. She asked them to march forward and then stop. They obeyed.

Slave master: You speak Valyrian?

Daenarys: I am a Targaryen who carries the old blood of Valyria. Valyrian is my mother tongue.

Her eyes full of determination and restrained anger, she then ordered the Unsullied to kill every slave master and to release all slaves, with the condition that they spare all children. For the slave master who was holding one of her dragons, she called out the dragon’s name and he breathed fire towards the slave master.

Once the carnage was over, Daenarys rode a white horse and spoke again to the Unsullied.

Daenarys: Unsullied, today you are no longer a slave. Any man who wishes to leave may do so. You will not be harmed. I give you my word. But for those of you who would like to stay, I ask that you fight for me, as free men.

There was a moment of silence. Then, one Unsullied started to beat his spear to the ground. He was soon followed by the entire Unsullied army. Ser Jorah Mormont and Ser Barristan Selmy watched in amazement at their queen. Like me, they were probably thinking, she’s awesome. Here was a strong female leader who was firm yet kind, determined yet wise. She then lead the entire Unsullied army together with her three dragons flying above them. The show of strength and power sent shivers up my spine. It sent a strong message: nothing will stop Daenarys Targaryen from reclaiming her rightful place on the iron throne.

Fantasy Weekend - Merlin, Season 5 finale

SPOILER ALERT FOR MERLIN, SEASON 5, LAST EPISODE.

I finally watched the last episode of BBC One series Merlin. In the second last episode, we saw Arthur marching with his knights towards Camlann to stop Morgana’s Saxon army from invading Camelot. Camlann is the scene, in the prophecy Merlin saw, where Arthur would supposedly be killed by Mordred. Unfortunately, Mordred has revealed Merlin’s identity as Emrys to Morgana and she planted a magical creature in his room that managed to drain Merlin of all his magic. Now powerless, Merlin travels to the Crystal Cave in hopes of restoring his powers, even though it meant him being away from Arthur during what might be the king’s last battle.

To cut the story short, Merlin succeeded in restoring his powers and rushed to Camlann, disguised as an old man. Once he was there, he turned the tide of the battle and Morgana’s army was defeated. Everyone there saw the sorcerer that helped defeat the Saxons but nobody except for Gaius knew it was Merlin. Nonetheless, Mordred was still around and he managed to injure Arthur using the sword forged by the dragon Aithusa’s fire. Before collapsing, Arthur killed Mordred with Excalibur.

With Arthur seriously injured, Merlin took him away before the remaining Saxons or Morgana could find him. When Arthur regained consciousness, he saw Merlin who was back in his original form, tending to him. He asked where he had been and mentioned the sorcerer that helped them earlier. Merlin finally did what he always wanted to do. He finally told Arthur his true identity.

(The following dialogue has been paraphrased)

Merlin: It was me. I’m the sorcerer.

Arthur (looking at him incredulously): Don’t be ridiculous.

Merlin: It was me.

Arthur looked at him in confusion and when it finally dawned on him, you could see a look of fear and betrayal. Merlin was pretty scary earlier; he used conjured lightning bolts to take down the enemy. It was clear that Arthur was conflicted. One part of him feared magic, a little like how Uther feared magic, and another part of him was hurt that Merlin, whom he had come to eventually see as a friend, didn’t trust him enough to tell him his secret.

Merlin: I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t. You would’ve chopped my head off.

Arthur: I don’t know what I would’ve done.

Merlin: That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. You would’ve been conflicted.

Arthur (looking at him in disbelief): That’s the reason you didn’t tell me?

Next, we see the two of them struggle with the aftermath of Merlin’s revelation. Arthur, alternating between anger and betrayal, told Merlin to leave him be. Merlin clearly couldn’t do that since Arthur was gravely injured and he wanted to do anything he could to stop the prophecy from happening. When Gaius came to bring medicine, he gave a dark prognosis: a piece of Mordred’s sword is embedded in Arthur’s flesh and it was working its way towards Arthur’s heart. Since Mordred’s blade was forged by dragon fire, only the Sidhe’s magic would be strong enough to stop it. Merlin would have to bring Arthur to Avalon, where the Sidhe dwells.

The scene after that was quite tense since you know what would eventually happen but at times, you hoped that the creators of this series would take a different route. After all, everyone seemed hopeful that if anyone could save Arthur, Merlin could. Just as they were about to reach the ancient isle of Avalon, Arthur told Merlin to stop because he wanted to say something.

Merlin: I hope it’s not goodbye.

Arthur (looking at him earnestly): Thank you.

After that, Arthur lost consciousness and in desperation, Merlin summoned the dragon to help transport them to the ancient isle. After dropping the two of them, Merlin said there was no way he would let Arthur die.

Dragon: Some people decide their own destiny but for others, their fate has long been prophesised and there’s nothing you can do to change it.

Merlin: But Arthur is the saviour of Albion!

Dragon: He is the once and future king. When Albion is in need, he will come back.

Merlin then realised the reality of the situation but it did not make Arthur’s passing any easier. That’s when the waterworks came. The ending showed Guinevere continuing Arthur’s work as queen of Camelot, with the support of the knights and Merlin, sending Arthur’s body into the Avalon lake. Merlin also threw Excalibur towards the lake, which was promptly received by a hand that emerged from within the lake.

In the last scene, you see the tower on the ancient isle of Avalon and when the scene pans out, you see a truck zooming past on a tar road. We then see Merlin, as an old man, trundling down the road. Does it mean Merlin is immortal and is well and alive in modern day Britain? Or does it mean that he has been reborn and that Arthur has been reborn as well? I like this last scene because it leaves the interpretation of it entirely up to the viewer.

I thought the series ended well. Season 4 and Season 5 were getting a bit repetitive in terms of the plotlines but I still like the series overall. This series has its flaws but it’s the chemistry between Merlin and Arthur that was the main pillar of the show. I also like the interaction between Arthur and Guinevere and how it eventually blossomed into love.

Post GE13

We went, we voted and then we waited. For many of my friends and I, we were disappointed with the results and disturbed by the many incidents of phantom voters, late ballot boxes and blackouts. Not too mention the supposedly indelible ink that could easily be washed off.

Facebook was on fire with the many GE13-related comments. Around 1am on Sunday, a lot of people started to change their profile pictures to a black square in protest of the results and also a kind of pun to the blackouts that happened at a few counting centres. As I witnessed more and more people on Facebook changing their profile pics to the black square, it kinda reminded me of this scene from the Hunger Games movie:

This scene is where the residents of one of the districts show solidarity against the Capital dictatorship.

I thought we could move on now that the GE13 results are out but irresponsible comments by leaders of the ruling coalition threaten to flame racial tensions. Bringing up the race card is very hypocritical on their part since not too long ago, they were the advocates of the 1Malaysia concept. It's a very simplistic view which shows a lack of thought and maturity.

Thank goodness for the many people who are spreading messages of unity online. I guess at the end of the day, if we want to change something, we need to do it ourselves.

No more judging!

Once again, I've been proven wrong in terms of my judgment of people. I'm really bad at judging people and so I should really stop judging people based on first, second or even third impressions. People are never what they seem.