'Game of Thrones' Recap: Season 3 Episode 7 'The Bear and The Maiden Fair'

Aside from the event of which the title gets its namesake, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” was very much an exercise in character building and background. While context is always welcome, usually enriching the show and its characters, when as much is plopped onto the audience’s plate as was in this episode it can not only seem daunting but also dull – especially since Game of Thrones seemed to be picking up momentum for the final four episodes after last week’s “The Climb.” This week, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” was bogged down by its desire to check in with every plotline, which was accompanied by copious exposition on things not entirely relevant.

The previous two episodes George R.R. Martin, author of the book series A Song of Ice and Fire upon which the TV show is based, had written were the epic penultimate episodes for the first two seasons. Therefore it would have been fair to assume that this week’s episode would have featured a grand set piece that would have seen at least one plot altered in a very surprising and meaningful way. And no offense to Jamie but his rescue of Brienne was not nearly as foundation shaking as what Martin’s previous episodes had been about. Instead Martin decided to focus heavily on developing his characters, which was much needed in the beginning of the season but now feels a little too late in the game to shove so much exposition onto the audience at once.

The Bran scene was chief amongst the offenders. Bran’s storyline is plodding at best, and that’s when he’s having his warg dreams, but the Bran scene this week was completely unneeded. While it is important to remind Bran and travellers of the dangers north of The Wall, having Osha regale the group with an in depth tale of why she fled didn’t do much to continue the story along. Osha’s manic and angered retelling of her story seemed to come out of nowhere and added nothing to Bran’s plot or the audience’s knowledge of his upcoming journey. The audience already knew of the impending threat of the white walkers and what to expect from them and could easily foresee an instance in which Bran and crew may encounter them on his journey. Add to the fact that the audience already has seen Osha’s stance on the Reeds and this scene added next to nothing. In a show that is already so strapped for time, this was a big waste.

Likewise, the Melisandre and Gendry scene didn’t add much other than to see Gendry’s reaction to being told he is Robert’s bastard son (and, remind the audience just in case they had forgotten). It isn’t so much that the information given in this scene is inconsequential but more so that the scene was not doing anything to move along the plot. If Melisandre’s plan is to build up Gendry’s self esteem then she’s doing a terrific job but this could have been better doled out in conjunction with some foreshadowing or hint of what Melisandre was going to do with Gendry.

Even in scenes where the characters were about to make an important decision or “groundbreaking” revelation there were nonsensical beats that lessened the importance of what was going on. The scene with Jon finally showing some courage to tell Ygritte what would happen to her if the wildlings attacked was earned and much needed. Jon putting his foot down now that he’s back south of The Wall, in his own territory, and making sure Ygritte took what he had to say seriously came from Jon finally feeling comfortable around Ygritte after so many scenes where he let Ygritte lead. The forcefulness in his warning/worry was well done and Ygritte’s initial reaction of being taken aback was well done. However, her next reaction to makeout with Jon seemed completely out of place. While it is her character to act flippantly sexual towards danger the gravitas of the scene was lost in that weird transition.

The same could be said for when Jamie finally stands up for Brienne and decides to return to Harrenhal to save Brienne. Not that his decision didn’t make sense based off of what Qyburn had told him about Locke’s immediate plans for Brienne but both Jamie and the audience had to wade through Qyburn’s backstory to get there. There is nothing wrong with letting the audience know where Qyburn had come from and why he is where he is now but it muddled the thrust of the scene and made Jamie’s decision seem a little more unnatural than it should have been. The transition between Qyburn’s backstory and Jamie’s decision was clumsily handled.

“The Bear and the Maiden Fair” wasn’t all bad, however. Dany’s audience with the ambassador from Yukai was very well done. Dany seems to be a little too big for her britches currently and it showed in her overconfidence while meeting with the ambassador. Her idealistic desire to free all the slaves on Essos, while noble, is also perhaps too much for her to bite off and chew. It was clear that Dany still has a long way to go before becoming regal and it showed. The scene also saw her send Jorah to gather some information on Yukai, which furthered her plot along.

Tywin’s scene joined Dany’s in terms of quality. It has been a long time coming to see Tywin put Joffrey in his place and he did it finally happened this week. Seeing Joffrey squirm is always a treat but to see Tywin completely control Joffrey in a way that no one else in Westeros can just goes to show the power Tywin exudes over everyone. His false air of respect directly contrasted with Dany’s lack of respect, which just goes to show why Tywin has such longevity and how much more these young rulers have to learn.

Arya’s escape, a bit too easy, into the Hound’s arms could be very interesting for the two characters as Arya continues to careen between captors. Sansa continues to chide herself for being a hopeless romantic but doesn’t seem to ever learn her lesson. Now that Theon has no more to lose he may finally reach solace and perhaps be released by his captors.

Unfortunately, “The Bear and The Maiden Fair” ended up being an episode that lacked rhythm and flow making the season lose any momentum it had begun to build in “The Climb.” In fact the final scene where Jamie saves Brienne from Locke and the bear pit epitomizes the entire episode. The premise was sound and could have made for an exciting scene and some enthralling character development but instead never reached the emotional heights it had set out for. Perhaps George R.R. Martin should stick to episodes with epic consequences so that he has some driving focus for the episode.