I’ve changed my mind again. Last week I talked about why season two of Game of Thrones is the best season, a revision from the week before that where I said the first season was. I’m confident(ish) I won’t change my mind this time, so let’s jump straight in with the first of my five reasons that season three is the best season of Game of Thrones.

‘Chaos Is A Ladder’ Speech

I’m fairly sure this is the greatest speech in any television show, as within it Littlefinger outlines the many ways he has out-smarted those convinced they are out-smarting him, as well as providing a new definition to the word ‘chaos’. No, he isn’t here to kill chaos..

There’s something about Aidan Gillen’s voice that subtly changes while delivering this speech to Varys in the throne room, a new level of insidious willpower which makes every syllable feel like a sharp blow to the head in its delivery.

That moment when someone gets a little too friendly in the spa

One of the scenes shown during the speech is the whore Ros, previously under the protection of Littlefinger, now dead in King Joffrey’s bedroom. Killed by the king himself with his custom made crossbow, whilst the death itself is not shown, this is the first and only instance in the entirety of Game of Thrones where Joffrey kills someone himself as opposed to ordering their death as an execution. He shows no remorse or understanding for what he has done, demonstrating how much more cold and ruthless that he will become if given the chance to do so.

If Vaas is the most famous fictional character for providing the definition of ‘insanity’ then Littlefinger is the same for ‘chaos’.

Olenna Tyrell

The Queen of Thorns is one of the Game of Thrones characters I had managed to entirely forget about in my two year break from the franchise, so her appearance at the beginning of season three was a very welcome sight. Immediately setting to work with her venomous put-downs and one-liners, Olenna Tyrell replaces Tyrion from the first two seasons for me as being the highlight character for the majority of episodes.

“I would get up but, f*ck you” – Olenna Tyrell Probably

From a war of wits with Tywin Lannister to engaging in shady small council politics with Varys in a bid to secure Sansa Stark a husband, Olenna Tyrell proves straight out of the gate that she is a force to be reckoned with. Controlling one of the largest armies in the Seven Kingdoms, with a well honed mind at manipulation and out-manoeuvring other participants at their own mind games, Olenna is a welcome addition to the players of the game of thrones.  

Burning The Masters

Season three sees the beginning of Daenerys’ crusade against the masters of Slavers Bay, and her bid to ending the cruel practise of slavery once and for all. Conquering the city of Astapor in the first four episodes of the season before moving onto the second of three cities, Yunkai, Daenerys wastes no time at all in proving just how formidable she is.

Tricking the master of Astapor into trading his entire stock of Unsullied slaves for one of her dragons, Daenerys informs him upon completion of their exchange that a dragon is not a slave, and not something she can just give away. Negotiations break down fairly quickly following that, as Drogon (the dragon) burns the slave master alive, while Daenerys commands her new army to put all slavers in the city to the sword, and to spare and release all slaves they find.

I’d say one of the spears would do Dany…

The season ends with Yunkai yielding to Daenerys and the slaves opening the gates to welcome their liberator to the city.

Jaime & Brienne

In last weeks article I talked about how well Arya and Tywin Lannister share the screen together, but since then it has become clear that Jaime and Brienne are the superior unlikely duo. If Arya and Tywin had shared a bath for a scene that would have been more than just a little weird, and while they are a good double act leading up to it, it’s not until they wind up having a bath together that Jaime and Brienne really start to bounce off each other well (not in that way).

I believe the ratio of bath water to urine has shifted unfavourably

We of course don’t know in season three that their relationship will continue to develop in interesting ways right through to season eight, though given how amusing and interesting they are together in season three I think we are all happy to wait.

The Red Wedding

You don’t need me to tell you about the Red Wedding. I’ll hear no arguments: This is the most shocking plot twist in the history of fantasy TV, and even though I knew it was coming having read the books, my jaw still dropped into my lap from the severity of the episode’s final scenes. It’s only really in season three that Catelyn and Robb Stark start to evolve from just interesting characters to truly captivating ones, and the fact they are so suddenly and unceremoniously cut down at a wedding is beyond brutal.

Mums always know before you do…

The scene is made so much more shocking in the following episode where we see what is done to Robb’s body after he is killed, and later hear from Sansa what happened to Catelyn’s. Those who have read the books will be smugly smiling at this stage, but that’s a whole other story for another time..

Thanks for reading why I have changed my mind once again. Let me know in the comments if your favourite season is one I haver already covered or if I am yet to cover it, and what it is, and I will be back next week. It will likely be something season four related, but it’s too early to tell just now..