Episode of the Week: ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3, episode 9, ‘The Rains of Castamere’
Sometimes, we like to have a little bit of drama and discussion when it comes to our Episode of the Week feature. At other points, you really have to wonder if there was ever a reason to doubt at all.
This past week’s choice was so obvious, even a dire wolf without a nose would have been able to sniff it out. Sure, you could argue that it was assisted mightily by a summer schedule that is still waiting to be filled out a little bit by other shows, but this would have been at the top of the list at just about any point this year.
Episode of the Week – “Game of Thrones” season 3, episode 9, “The Rains of Castamere” (HBO)
Need we go into extensive detail about why this episode had the honor of winning this award? It really should be pretty obvious to just about everyone who watched it. Robb and Catelyn Stark were murdered in the most dramatic way imaginable that caused jaws to drop and people to weep. Anyone who read the George R.R. Martin books before watching the show likely yelled “don’t do it!” at their screen when Robb announced that he was paying a visit to Walder Frey, but he didn’t listen. Heck, he didn’t listen to anyone, and that’s why he and Michelle Fairley’s characters are both dead now.
This episode not only did an exceptional job at ripping out our heart and showing it to us, but also changing how some shows can remain spoiler-free if fans are respectful enough. While there were of course some trolls out there, many actually chose to be nice and let viewers experience this for the first time. To those, we say Bravo!
Runners-up
“Mad Men” season 6, episode 10, “A Tale of Two Cities” (AMC) – A step up from most of “Mad Men” this season, as we saw Joan have a lot more screen time and Don Draper start to hallucinate. Plus, we now have all of those crazy theories about Megan to sift through. Thanks, AMC.
“Awkward” season 3, episode 9, “Reality Check” (MTV) – We know that it’s a comedy, but when are people going to actually start to take this show seriously as something worth watching for all ages? Compare this show’s depiction of high school to “Glee,” and you’ll be pretty surprised as to who wins out.
Want to read more of our Episode of the Week features? The best way to do so is to head on over to the link here.
Photo: HBO