(Seriously, what are you waiting for, Daenerys?) If there was ever a time to make a power grab, it's now, when pretty much everybody is licking their wounds. And the country has seen the untimely deaths of two kings in as many years. The Night's Watch has dwindled to record-low numbers at a time when they've never been needed more. As Tywin revealed last week, the Lannisters' famed gold mines were tapped out three years ago. Of course, this hasn't exactly been a boom time for anyone in Westeros. That cold logic is bad news for wannabe king Stannis Baratheon, whose 32 ships, 4,000 men, and total lack of resources makes him look like a pretty shaky bet. By the time Missandei completes Daenerys' introduction as "Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons," along with a dozen other titles, it's hard not to roll your eyes at the self-importance of it all - particularly in an episode that reminds us how quickly Theon Greyjoy, the once-proud Ironborn prince, was remade as "Reek." "The Laws of Gods and Men" takes perverse pleasure in letting its characters rattle off the innumerable titles they've been awarded (or have awarded themselves). When Renly Baratheon attempted to buck the birth order and declare himself king, his brother Stannis had him killed. The War of the Five Kings began when Ned Stark openly questioned Joffrey's right to the Iron Throne. So much of Game of Thrones has been wrapped up in those questions of usurpers and madmen and blood rights. It's an entirely new way of thinking about power in Westeros, where the blood-drenched history books are invariably written by the winners. "Here, our books are filled with numbers. "Across the narrow sea, your books are filled with words like 'usurper' and 'madman' and 'blood right,'" says Braavosi banker Tycho Nestoris in his conversation with Stannis Baratheon. Despite its grandiose title, "The Laws of Gods and Men" suggests that those laws aren't as reliable as many Game of Thrones characters would like to believe (which won't shock anyone who saw Tyrion Lannister or Ned Stark on trial).
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