Game of Thrones said a few pointed things about its characters last night, but perhaps none so much as a few characters making returns.
Note: Happy Monday! Go watch Game of Thrones. Or read about it. We’re not really picky.
Game of Thrones, for once, had a lot to say with the clothes of its men. It certainly didn’t hurt that there were two big moments of characters coming back into the narrative after either a long absence from both the audience and the characters, or a relatively short one for the audience but a long one for the characters.
Much as we might all like it to be, this post will not completely be about Joe Dempsie as Gendry, but if you want to stop after we start talking about Jorah Mormont … there’s not much we can blame you for, is there?
So, here he is, warhammer and all:
Joe Dempsie as Gendry – Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO
Because we actually haven’t seen Gendry since season 3, it’s really shocking to see how much he’s grown up in that time, and it helps that his hair is so much shorter than it was when Davos put him in that rowboat.
But there’s something else to pick up here, too. A lot of Gendry’s lines in the episode have to do with him talking about his father, and you can pick up faint yellowish tinges in the leather he has on, and then dark brown/black underneath. He might not be trueborn, but he has the Baratheon colors on all the same, just a little dirtied and hidden. Robert Baratheon also famously favored the same weapon perhaps his only living son has now picked up.
Plus, you know, Gendry’s good looking and less broody than Jon Snow can be. Note that he actually made Jon smile when they first met, and there was a lot of talk about how their fathers were allies (although Jon Snow isn’t actually Ned Stark’s son, the belief is there at this point).
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont – Photo: Macall B. Polay/HBO
Check out Jorah Mormont getting the fashion memo for anyone who’s loyal to Daenerys Targaryen. Though it’s not shown in this photo, his black armor is also studded with silver. When did he have time to get this all made for him on the way to Dragonstone from Oldtown? Well, he was gone for a couple episodes, and Tyrion went to King’s Landing and came back in the same episode, so it makes sense, sort of.
Okay, there are just two more men to discuss briefly:
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister – Photo: Macall B. Polay/HBO
For all their differences, Jaime and Tyrion have similar dark color palettes here, albeit rendered in slightly different materials — Jaime has leather, Tyrion both cloth and leather. (Jaime looks like he’s wearing black, but a look at the episode shows it’s more of a reddish-brown.) It’s interesting that Jaime actually lets Tyrion speak…
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister – Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO
…Only to go back to another Lannister in black, well-made cloth, in a different dress than the one she had on in her earlier scene.
Next: Game of Thrones season 7: 5 predictions for episode 6
Well played, costuming department, well played.