Hey, remember the deleted scene from Game of Thrones Season 3 that HBO screened at Comic-Con earlier this summer? HBO finally released it, so now everyone outside of Hall H can finally get a look at the incredible transformation of Grand Maester Pycelle from befuddled old man to secret badass.
We'd seen hints before that there was more to the mumbly Maester than meets the eye, particularly when the seemingly frail advisor leapt up after a romantic interlude with a prostitute, did some vigorous squats, and then appeared to shift back in Tottering Grandpa Mode as he left the room.
Here, we see Pycelle try to run his game on Lord Tywin, the one man who never misses a trick, as the Lannister pater familias engages in a rare moment of recreation. "Am I the only one to see through this performance? Is it possible for so many to be so stupid for so long?" says Tywin. As someone who has read the rest of the Song of Ice and Fire series ... yes.
The moment where Pycelle draws up and transforms into the his true form is a startling little piece of acting by Julian Glover, but the character explains the savvy political motivation behind his deceit: "So many flowers, my Lord, each wanting to grow the tallest, bloom the brightest. Then one by one, sooner or later, they all get plucked. I don't want to be the tallest or the brightest. I only want to remain in the garden until my time comes to return to the dirt."
