The Gift (Game of Thrones)

"The Gift"
Game of Thrones episode

Tyene Sand talking to Bronn in the prison cells of Dorne.
Episode no. Season 5
Episode 7
Directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Written by David Benioff
D. B. Weiss
Featured music Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by Fabian Wagner
Editing by Crispin Green
Original air date May 24, 2015 (2015-05-24)
Running time 59 minutes
Guest actors

"The Gift" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 47th overall. The episode was written by the series' creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Miguel Sapochnik.[1] It aired on May 24, 2015.[2]

Plot

At the Wall

Jon (Kit Harington) leaves for Hardhome with Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and some rangers, in spite of Ser Alliser's (Owen Teale) complaints. Before they leave, Sam (John Bradley) gives Jon a bag of dragonglass weapons, reminding him of their use against the White Walkers. Afterward, Sam and Gilly (Hannah Murray) visit Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan), who has fallen ill. After sitting with him until nightfall, Aemon dies, and in the morning Sam eulogizes him before lighting his funeral pyre. Afterward, Gilly is attacked in the dining hall by two brothers, but Jon's wolf, Ghost, comes to her rescue. Sam is badly beaten, and Gilly takes care of him before the two have sex.

At Winterfell

Reek (Alfie Allen) brings food to Sansa (Sophie Turner), who has been imprisoned in her bedchamber by Ramsay. She begs for him to help, asking him to light a candle at the top of the broken tower, the aim of which is to send a signal to Stark sympathizers to rescue her. Instead, Reek tells Ramsay (Iwan Rheon), who reacts by flaying and killing the old lady from whom Sansa learned the signal. As Ramsay is talking to Sansa, however, she discreetly steals a corkscrew from the top of a barrel. Meanwhile, Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Podrick (Daniel Portman) wait out in the snow for the signal to no avail.

In the North

Stannis's (Stephen Dillane) troops have made a camp and are trapped by the snow-storm. Davos (Liam Cunningham) meets with Stannis and tells him that supplies, as well as horses, have been lost to the winter. The Stormcrows, a group of 500 sellswords, have abandoned the camp during the night. Davos suggests returning to Castle Black, but Stannis replies that such would delay them for years, since winters in Westeros can last for years at a time. After Davos leaves, Stannis asks Melisandre (Carice van Houten) if she is sure of his victory. Melisandre assures him that she saw a vision of Stannis winning, but she asks for permission to sacrifice his daughter Shireen to the Red God. Stannis is disgusted and refuses, and dismisses Melisandre.

In Meereen

Jorah (Iain Glen) is sold by the slave traders to a Meereenese noble, Yezzan zo Qaggaz (Enzo Cilenti). Before Yezzan leaves, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) convinces Yezzan to purchase him as well, by showing fighting prowess by attacking with a chain a slave herder who had been whipping Tyrion during their march to the slave auction site.

Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and Daario (Michiel Huisman) discuss her pending marriage to Hizdahr zo Loraq (Joel Fry). Daario advises her to kill all of Meereen's nobles when the fighting pits get re-opened, but she declines.

Yezzan takes his fighters to Meereen, where they fight in front of Daenerys. When Jorah realizes that Daenerys is present, he enters the pits and easily defeats the other fighters before revealing his identity to Daenerys, who orders he be taken out of her sight. Jorah tells her he brought her a gift, and Tyrion enters the arena, where he reveals his identity to a stunned Daenerys.

In Dorne

Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free) is brought to speak with Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and asks why he came to take her back to King's Landing, when what she wants is to stay and marry Trystane. In the cells, Bronn (Jerome Flynn) is taunted by Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) exposing her breasts to him, before learning that her daggers, with which he'd been cut in the previous episode, had been coated with a slow-acting poison that would activate when his heart rate increased. He slowly succumbs to the poison, but Tyene gives him the antidote after he gives in to her request that he call her the most beautiful woman in the world.

In King's Landing

In the Sept of Baelor, Olenna (Diana Rigg) meets with the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) to discuss the imprisonment of her grandchildren, Loras and Margaery (Natalie Dormer). She demands that he release them, but he declines, stating they will be punished for their crimes. The High Sparrow tells her that the laws of the Faith must be applied to everyone equally. Olenna first tries to bribe him but upon seeing that he cannot be bought, threatens to end the Tyrell support for the capital by stopping shipments of food. The High Sparrow, however, remains unfazed. He counters that she and the rest of the nobility are outnumbered by the smallfolk, and tells her to consider what will come when the smallfolk stop fearing the nobility. On her way out, Olenna receives a letter from Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen). In the Red Keep, Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) anguishes over his inability to help Margaery. Cersei (Lena Headey) offers to speak with the High Sparrow for him, and advocate for Margaery and Loras's release.

Petyr meets with Olenna in his ransacked brothel, where they share a tense conversation. Olenna reminds Petyr of the role they both played in Joffrey's murder, and warns that, should her house fall, she won't keep his involvement a secret. In the Sept, Cersei meets with Margaery and brings her food, but Margaery refuses and angrily orders her mother-in-law to leave, knowing full well that she was responsible for imprisoning both her and Loras. Cersei then meets with the High Sparrow, and after a brief discussion on Margaery and Loras, he reveals that her cousin Lancel (Eugene Simon) has informed against her of their illicit relationship as well as the part they played in the death of her husband Robert Baratheon. Cersei tries to leave but is stopped by a tall septa (Hannah Waddingham), who proceeds to take the protesting Queen Mother to another cell. Before she is locked up, Cersei tells the septa to look at her face and warns it will be the last thing she sees before she dies. The septa silently ignores Cersei and locks her in the cell.

Production

Writing

This episode was written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the series' creators. It contains content from George Martin's novels A Feast for Crows, chapters Samwell II, Samwell IV, and Cersei X and A Dance with Dragons, chapters The King’s Prize, Tyrion X, and Daenerys IV.[3]

Like other episodes in season 5, this episode differed considerably from Martin's novels in places. Aemon's death takes place at Castle Black rather than at sea, which Myles McNutt of A.V. Club notes, "establish[es] a shifting of the guard at Castle Black and marking Sam’s reemergence as a more significant character."[4] In what Sara Stewart of the New York Post calls "the biggest departure yet from the books," Tyrion actually meets Daenerys at the end of the episode, which has yet to happen as of A Dance with Dragons.[5] The decision was largely approved by critics from The Atlantic and other publications.[6] David Benioff cited the television adaptation's faster pace as part of the rationale behind this decision.[7]

Reception

Ratings

"The Gift" was watched by 5.5 million and a 2.5 in the key 18-49 demographic during the its first airing.[8] This is significantly fewer viewers than the previous episode, "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," which had an audience of 6.2 million. According to Business Insider, likely causes for the lower ratings include backlash from the rape scene in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," in response to which many fans announced they would stop watching the show, and increased use of streaming through HBO Now.[9] Rebecca Martin of Wetpaint, however, maintains that the Memorial Day weekend air date was probably the only reason for the decrease in ratings.[10] The season two episode "Blackwater," which also aired on Memorial Day weekend, also suffered a notable drop in ratings.[11] Whatever the reason, the ratings for the episode immediately after "The Gift," "Hardhome," were higher than those of either "The Gift" or "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken."[12] With Live+7 DVR viewing factored in, the episode had an overall rating of 8.87 million viewers, and a 4.5 in the 18-49 demographic.[13]

In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 2.293 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.176 million timeshift viewers.[14]

Critical reviews

The episode received very positive reviews. It scored 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a rating average of 7.9/10 and the consensus reading: "'The Gift' is a jam-packed installment that delivers long-awaited plot turns in a satisfying manner, even though it continues a disturbing theme from the previous episode."[15] Erik Kain of Forbes called this a "terrific, exciting, tense episode," though, like Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club, he questioned both the "anemic" Dorne storyline and the gratuitousness of Tyene exposing her breasts in the prison scene.[4][16]

References

  1. ↑ Hibberd, James (July 15, 2014). "'Game of Thrones' season 5 directors chosen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Shows A-Z - game of thrones on HBO". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  3. ↑ Garcia, Elio; Antonsson, Linda (May 24, 2015). "EP507: THE GIFT". Westeros.org. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  4. 1 2 McNutt, Myles (May 24, 2015). "Game of Thrones (experts): “The Gift”". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ Stwart, Sara (May 25, 2015). "‘The Gift’ lives up to its name on ‘Game of Thrones’". New York Post. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ Kornhaber, Spencer; Orr, Christopher; Sullivan, Amy (May 24, 2015). "Game of Thrones: The Meeting Viewers Have Been Waiting For". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  7. ↑ Hibberd, James (May 24, 2015). "Game of Thrones: Why those two iconic characters just met". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ Bibel, Sara (May 27, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: NBA Conference Finals Win Night, 'Game of Thrones', 'Silicon Valley', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Veep' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  9. ↑ "'Game of Thrones' ratings are falling: Here are two possible reasons why". Business Insider. May 28, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  10. ↑ Martin, Rebecca (May 28, 2015). "Game of Thrones Ratings Drop — Is It Because of Sansa Rape?". Wetpaint. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  11. ↑ Hibberd, James (May 30, 2012). "'Game of Thrones' ratings dip for 'Blackwater'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  12. ↑ Bibel, Sara (June 2, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Tops Night + 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Silicon Valley', 'Naked and Afraid' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ Bibel, Sara (June 8, 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Leads Adults 18-49 & Viewership Gains, 'Orphan Black' Tops Percentage Increases in Live +7 Cable Ratings for Week Ending May 24". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Top 10 Ratings (25-31 May 2015)". BARB. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  15. ↑ "The Gift - Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 7". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  16. ↑ Kain, Erik (May 24, 2015). "'Game Of Thrones' Season 5, Episode 7 Review: 'The Gift'". Forbes. Retrieved May 26, 2015.

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