Game Of Thrones Season 4 Premiere Recap: Meet Prince Oberyn Martell

It’s finally here! The Season 4 premiere of ‘Game of Thrones’ aired on April 6 and we meet Oberyn Martell and catch up with the Lannisters, Starks, Jon Snow, and Daenerys and her ever-growing dragons. Recap below!

Season 4 of Game Of Thrones has finally arrived and we can barely contain ourselves. During the April 6 premiere, we meet Oberyn Martell, a no-nonsense, hellbent-on-revenge kinda guy. We also catch up with Sansa and the Lannisters at King’s Landing, Jon Snow at the Wall, Arya and Sandor Clegane on their bloody pilgrimage, and finally, Daenerys, in her plot to amass an army large enough to eventually, gloriously, take over Westeros. Read on for our full recap!

‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 4 Premiere Recap: Lannisters, Martells And Tyrells, Oh My!

In King’s Landing, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) is telling his son Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) that he no longer need to remain on the Kingsguard, now that the King is safe and Jamie is one sword hand short. Tywin tries to get him to take over Casterly Rock, but Jamie is not interested in a quiet life, in settling down.

House Martell is arriving at King’s Landing to attend the wedding of King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Lady Margeary Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), part of the welcoming party along with Bronn (Jerome Flynn), are told that Prince Oberyn is attending in place of Prince Doran whose poor health keeps him on his throne in Sunspear.

Prince Oberyn (Pedro Pascal), however, can be found picking out women in a brothel, because this is Game Of Thrones, and what’s an episode of GoT without a brothel full of naked women? Just as Oberyn and his lady, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma), are about to get down to business, they hear singing from another room. It’s a group of Lannisters, and they begin taunting Prince Oberyn, which turns out to be a terrible idea, as Oberyn then stabs one of the Lannisters in the wrist — “quite a lot of veins in the wrist.” Yikes.

We learn from a conversation between Tyrion and Oberyn that the real reason for him being in the city is not to attend the wedding, but to seek revenge against the Lannisters who took King’s Landing by force from the Targaryens and murdered his sister, Elia Targaryen (née Martell) and her children — but not before The Mountain, Gregory Clegane, raped her, and cleaved her in two with his sword. It’s all very grim, and Oberyn parts with this: “Lannisters are not the only ones who pay their debts.”

‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 4 Premiere Recap: Daenerys & Her Dragons

Meanwhile, over in Meereen, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) is hanging out with her dragons, who are getting bigger and more violent. When she tries to quiet them as they fight over a sheep, they snap at her. “Dragons, Khaleesi. They cannot be tamed. Not even by their mother,” Jorah (Iain Glen) tells Daenerys.

‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 4 Premiere Recap: Sansa Can’t Eat; The Lannisters Have Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems

Sansa (Sophie Turner) is refusing to eat — perhaps hoping to starve herself to death. Really, who can blame her? Her husband, Tyrion (remember how that’s a thing?!) asks for a moment alone with her. He tells her he can’t let her starve, that he swore to protect her. She can’t eat, because all she can do is think about how her brother and mother were murdered. She excuses herself.

Tyrion enters his chambers to find Shae (Sibel Kekilli) reclining there, which is a terrible idea of the highest order, considering that Tywin will kill her if he finds out. She tries to get down to business, but Tyrion is like, um, I have several pressing problems right now:

1. Joffrey, his King, his nephew, wants to murder him.
2. His wife hates him because his father murdered her family.
3. Oberyn wants to murder, like, all of the Lannisters

Put out, she leaves. Someone spots her.

Meanwhile, Jamie is getting outfitted with a golden hand — and he’d better like it because Cersei (Lena Headey) spent “days with the goldsmith getting the details just right.” “Days?” “Better part of an afternoon.” Love Cersei. Jamie notes that she drinks more than she used to. She, like her brother Tyrion, gives a pretty reasonable list as to why:

1. Jamie started a brawl in the streets with Ned Stark and disappeared from the capital.
2. “My husband died in a tragic accident.” “That must have been traumatic for you.”
3. Her only daughter was shipped off to Dorne.
4. They suffered through a siege.
5. She’s marrying her eldest son to a “wicked little b*tch from Highgarden”
6. She’s to marry Margaery’s brother, Ser Loras Tyrell, a “renowned pillow-biter.”

Tyrion and Cersei could really get along if they would just set aside their differences.

Jamie tries to put the moves on sister dearest, but Cersei is upset that he was gone so long — you know, being captured, getting his hand cut off, etc. She has cooled on him. The palace snitch enters, clearly about to tell on Tyrion for his dalliance with Shae.

‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 4 Premiere Recap: Beyond The Wall & Castle Black

The Wildlings are still smarting over Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington‘s) betrayal. Ygritte (Rose Leslie) is blamed for letting him escape. The Wildlings are met by a group of Thenn — the oldest, smartest, and most violent wildling clan —  who threaten Ygritte and Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and basically convince them to overtake Castle Black and all the overfed, pampered crows within.

At Castle Black, Jon is facing trial for his time spent beyond the wall and his murder of Quorin Halfhand. He admits to breaking his vows by “laying with” Ygritte (such a gentleman). Jon warns them of what’s coming for them — over 100,000 Wildlings, including giants. His only ally, [old person], convinces Jon’s jury that he’s telling the truth, and that they’re in danger.

‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 4 Premiere Recap: Brienne Of Tarth Gives Jamie Lannister The What For

In King’s Landing, Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) tells Margaery that one day she will avenge their king, Renly Baratheon, Margaery’s former fiancé. “Joffrey is our King now,” Margaery replies, with that sly little smile on her face. This girl is going to take over Westeros, we swear.

Meanwhile, Jamie continues to catch sass from everyone in King’s Landing. While looking through the Book Of Brothers — the book in which the great deeds of the Kingsguard are written down — Joffrey snarks to Jamie, “someone forgot to write down all your great deeds!” Joffrey, don’t be rude to your “uncle.”

Later, Brienne gives Jamie hell for not keeping Sansa safe, as was his vow to the late, great, Catelyn Stark. Jamie points out that Sansa is alive and well, and Brienne levels him with a look and is like, gurl please. King’s Landing is the last place where Sansa could ever be considered safe.

Elsewhere in her gilded cage, Dontos (Tony Way) catches up to Sansa and gives her his mother’s necklace for saving his life. When we last saw the once-Ser Dontos, he showed up to Joffrey’s birthday celebration drunk. Not Dontos’ best idea. Just as Joffrey was to execute him, Sansa stepped in and suggested that Joffrey make Dontos a fool of the court, instead. Glad to see Sansa has got some people looking out for her in King’s Landing.

‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 4 Premiere Recap: Daenerys Is Going To Go Off On Some Slavers

As Daenerys travels with Jorah, Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman), Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and her huge army of Unsullied, they come across a slave girl who has been killed and put on a stake as a warning from the slavers who are none-too-happy about Dany’s slave-freeing regime. She orders the girl’s collar to be taken off before they bury her. This is not going to go well for whomever put that girl there.

‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 4 Premiere Recap: Arya Stark & Sandor Clegane — On The Road Again

Arya (Maisie Williams) and Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann) are traveling. Sandor is taking her to her aunt Lysa Arryn (née Tully; her mother’s sister) in the Vale; Sandor is convinced that Lysa will hand over a ransom for her thought-to-be-dead niece.

They fall upon an inn where some of Arya’s former captors are staying. They’re the ones that took her to Harrenhal. She recognizes Polliver (Andy Kellegher), in particular, as the one who stole her sword, Needle, and stabbed her friend Lommy through the neck.

Inside the inn, Polliver recognizes Sandor instantly and tries to make friends, but Sandor is not impressed. He makes a compelling offer — tells him that they can do whatever they want because they are King’s Men — but Sandor says “f*** the King” and that kind of sours their budding friendship. Sandor has a strange sort of honor — he seemed particularly annoyed by the suggestion that Polliver and his men take Arya and… well, do with her what they will. A fight breaks out.

If we weren’t already certain that Arya will do anything for revenge, we are now. Sandor gains the upper hand against the group of Lannister bannermen, Arya smashes some pots on some heads, and, Needle back in hand, she stabs Polliver in the neck — tit for tat – making sure that he knows who she is and what he did to her before he dies. Hardcore.

What did you think of the premiere, HollywoodLifers? Who do you think will die next? Because, you know: it’s only a matter of time. Is Arya going too far off the deep end? Is it wrong to simultaneously hate and love Cersei as much as we do? Let us know!

Via:HollywoodLife