Constantinople

Yelling at everyone in the court room that you want them dead is no way to win the crowd over. Win the crowd Maximus, and you'll win your freedom. Too late for that: An Imp who became a Hand, a Hand who became a Night's Watchman, a Night's Watchman who defied an Emperor...or something.

Follow-up questions upon second viewing 1. Is the sword in its right hand supposed to be broken? 2. Is it anatomically correct?

No, but it will vex Tywin, and he'll need to come up with another plan to get rid of Tyrion and get Jaime to agree to marry and be Lord of Casterly Rock. I do think that implicating Sansa, a.k.a, the Key to the North, in the show trial was a mistake. Theoretically she could always be rehabilitated by accusing Shae of perjury. But it would have been better not to implicate her at all, and let her be known as the unwitting dupe of the evil Tyrion. Alton didn't volunteer to die, so far as I recall. However, he is dead, which makes him among the best of the Lannisters. He's #1 for serving as an envoy between Robb Stark and Cersei. As for ranking Lannisters based on their refusal to die, they all refuse to die, so it washes out as a ranking factor.

The Starks were ever present They were the negative space of the episode, just as Varys referenced the negative space in and around the Iron Throne, not the throne itself, when telling Oberyn that the absence of desire leaves one to pursue other things. Not that the Lannisters would appreciate, or even notice, that kind of subtlety. Their idea of subtlety is a show trial that would make Littlefinger weep, the lies were so bad.

Too bad it won't be Tyrion vs. Cersei. Either way, Tyrion would be rid of his sister forever.

Things aren't looking too good for the Lannisters. The Iron Bank is sufficiently concerned that they're throwing some money Stannis's way as an insurance policy (putting one of your own on trial doesn't scream stability to bankers). It seems that Tyrion's request for trial by battle seemingly releases Jaime from his deal with Tywin, which either means 1. Tyrion's champion wins, and Tyrion is heir to Casterly Rock, or 2. Tyrion's champion loses, and Uncle Tywin sees Casterly Rock pass to his drip of a nephew, Lancel. Some of Tywin's nephews must be real Ls if Jaime can't even remember their names I knew Cersei was fooling around on Robert with Jaime. I didn't know she was fooling around on Jaime with Martyn's dad.

I think Pycelle was lying. At least his story didn't make any sense. This is the first we've heard of Pycelle's medicine/poison pantry being raided. If Pycelle's pantry was raided when he was imprisoned, the logical time to have reported it would have either been to Cersei after Pycelle was released, or, after the Battle of Blackwater, when Tyrion was unconscious and Tywin became Hand of the King again. If Pycelle just recently noticed the theft, then he's obviously so out to lunch that his testimony is not be relied upon. But we've seen Pycelle isn't the doddering old fool he uses as cover. Therefore, I think Pycelle lied about the theft, or least, the timing of it. To put it another way, if what Pycelle said was true, then his negligence led directly to the death of King Joffrey, and he should be punished accordingly. I agree that we don't know if Bronn lied to Tyrion about Shae or told the truth. We don't know if Bronn put Shae on the ship and watched it pull out of the harbor. We only know that's what Bronn told Tyrion. We also know that the powers that be haven't permitted Tyrion to speak to Bronn during Tyrion's imprisonment. Nor did Shae explain how she came to be in Lannister custody. We also know -- possible metaphorical foreshadowing -- that both Bronn & Shae are sellswords of sorts.

Littlefinger did say something about titles breeding other titles. From memory, I think Missandei announced Daenerys as Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, Queen of Meeren, Queen of the Anadals and the First Men Lord of the Seven Kingdoms Protector of the Realm Khaeleesi of the Great Grass Sea Breaker of Chains Mother of Dragons Deputy Under Secretary for Public Urinals & Grand Poobah of the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes, Lodge 26 But perhaps for the common folk such as the goat herd Missandei just goes with It's your friendly, neighborhood Mhysa. It is a bit ironic given that "free" peasants in Westeros probably have little more freedom than actual slaves. Which isn't to say that the "free" peasants aren't better off, but there's not that much difference between a system that she condemns and one which she mindlessly parrots.

I wonder what crazy person in the Riverlands or the Vale will attack the Hound, and thus Arya, for 100 pieces of silver. Someone with a fast fighting style, as opposed to a brute strength fighting style, might win if he's fast enough to get out of the way, but still strong enough to get past the Mountain's armor, or find its weak spots. That being said, the Hound fought well against the Mountain back in Season 1, though obviously he isn't available. Loras actually beat the Mountain at jousting, though I think there was some hint that perhaps Loras cheated. The Mountain was so angry he decapitated his horse and then blindsided Loras by taking a swing at him. But the Hound did comes to Loras's rescue.

I'm a bit disappointed that Oberyn didn't shake things up more at the trial. I would think the next best thing to killing Lannisters would be to humiliate them publicly, and the trial offered a myriad of opportunities. I'm also a little disappointed we didn't get to see the judges talking privately about the trial during the break.

Tyrion sure could have used Bran's YouTube clip powers last night.

That is a modern perspective. People in the Middle Ages -- particularly royals, nobles and churchmen -- were expected to defend their rights and press their claims, whether on the battlefield or in the courtroom, or both. In The Making of the Middle Ages by R.W. Southern, the author discussed a lawsuit between two religious orders over a church that lasted over a century, and at various times went before the local lord, his overlord, the King of France, the pope and multiple papal legates. Daenerys already told the man that crucifying his father wasn't a crime. In a sense that's technically true since the justice system, and criminal law in particular, is something provided by the monarch to regulate the subjects' behavior, not the monarch's. But the double standard, and acting in haste based on emotion, still looks bad.

Oberyn might do it if the other champion was the Mountain. It might be harder for the Mountain to cheat in such a public fight. But I still don't understand why Oberyn didn't have the Mountain killed years ago. I'd be surprised if it was Loras since he's betrothed to the woman prosecuting Tyrion. I don't know if Jaimie has had enough practice to fight to the death yet. I doubt Meryn Trant. The Hound has a pretty dim opinion of Ser Meryn's skill, as does Bronn. I suspect the Lannisters have some idea as well. Storms come and go The big fish eat the little fish And Varys keeps on paddling.

It's too bad cross examination wasn't permitted, except for that one useless question Tyrion asked Varys. If it were, and by someone who wasn't on trial, they'd cut witnesses to ribbons. Not that it would likely make much difference in the end result, but you'd at least emphasize what a show trial it is, and that the true killer hasn't been caught. I don't recall that Bronn forced Jaime to help Tyrion. I thought Bronn just told Jaime that if he wants to know how Tyrion is doing, he can go visit Tyrion himself. Does the Strangler have any medicinal purpose? If not, why did Pycelle have it in his possession? Where there's money, there's usual violence or the threat of violence, so it didn't seem like much of a disconnect to me. I think it was something along the lines of "Joffrey might have been the sane one" or "Shit! They're eve n crazier than I thought". I guess they are "backing" him, but I'm thinking it was more along the lines of hedging their bets. Tyrion said that Mace will vote whichever way Tywin tells him to vote. Given that Mace is willing to fetch quill, paper and ink for Tywin, I think that's highly likely.

Everyone agrees that X is deplorable, if not immoral or reprehensible. But most only truly care about X if it befalls a family member. And if a family member should do X, suddenly the family words become "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil".

Jeffrey Dahmer took days off too.

I'm sure Her Grace had nothing but the kindest intentions. No doubt the poor, not accustomed to such sumptuous fare, would have become ill upon dining on such rich food, even if it weren't poisoned. Thankfully, Cersei saved the day, just as she saved that poor Tyrell handmaiden from Pycelle's clutches.

I think Daenerys is unique in being the "ruler" and not a regent for an under age son, such as Cersei or Lysa. I suppose that could change if Stannis 3rd leech takes out Balon Greyjoy and Yara becomes Queen of the Iron Islands. I think only Jorah & Daario want to play hide the dragon with her. Barristan doesn't seem interested The Unsullied & the Second Sons are soldiers, so they may as well follow somone who has been successful leader, at least up till now. It's either that, or the fun's over. From here on out, they're Mr. Low Profile, just another douchebag with a job and three pairs of Dockers. If they're lucky, a month from now – best case scenario – they're managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.

To: Arya of House Stark a.k.a Arya Stark of Winterfell Re: Updated Death List in S4E5 I've noticed you've added Beric Dondarion and Thoros of Myr to your death list, presumably because they sold your friend Gendry to the Red Woman. Sometimes you can act a bit rashly when you get your dander up, so here's a tip. Be sure to take out Thoros first. Otherwise, you'll never get Beric off your list. Yours truly - A viewer

Bronn's a sellsword and has been pretty adamant that he sells his sword, he doesn't loan it out to friends. So I don't see accompanying Tyrion in any kind of internal exile. For that matter, if he should ever somehow get wind of the state of the Lannister gold mines, I imagine he's sell his sword to someone with actual money ,and not just a charge card from the Iron Bank.

I hope we get a Small Council meeting with Oberyn. It would be nice to see one that's not 100% Lannister bootlicker. Tywin didn't mention a specific title, ex. Master of This,That or the Other, so I wonder if he's a Minister without Portfolio.

I think that makes sense since Bran and Rickon were already in the North. It would be safer for them to travel to the Wall then head south and risk running into Iron Islanders or anyone still running around the Riverlands. That I don't understand since I'd think the Vale would be closer to King's Landing than the Wall. I'd also think Brienne would know that Lysa Arryn is Sansa's aunt, or if she didn't, that Jaime would have told her. Perhaps Brienne is thinking Sansa would want to flee the realm of politics, which would mean skipping the Vale and going to the Wall. Yoren was using the Castle Black Express as cover to take Arya to Winterfell, where he could stop along the way. That was before Winterfell was trashed and Yoren could expect there would be family there to take care of Ayra. If the Night's Watch is going to fight the White Walkers and win, they'll have to provide competitive child care services. Right now the Walkers are winning that battle hands down.

More musings from the Prince of Poets: Lyanna's a slut Rhaegar's a cad Thinking about them Makes me sad

If/when Daenerys cleans up her mess in Slavers' Bay, and she still wants to free people from the shackles of slavery, she could always torch the Iron Bank.

After all she's been through, Sansa might be amenable to picking-up some self-defense skills from Brienne. Nothing like slicing a man in two with a broadsword, but something more ladylike, like a dagger (too bad they don't have stilettos in Westeros; Sansa could be deadly with one of those). Sansa's late, great departed brother has in-laws in Volantis, but I don't know if Sansa or Brienne know about this if Robb's in-laws know about this and, if they do If they'd be willing to do anything for the Starks