This week’s episode began to put the spotlight onto various characters
who will likely be taking on more prominent roles, and also served as a
reminder as to where the biggest threats lie. There has been a lot of talk
about how dangerous Littlefinger is, but up until now there has been very
little proof regarding the truth of such statements. After the final scenes,
people will be far more wary of him and his intentions.
But that comes later. First of all, the episode picks up on
several storylines that were absent last week. Sam and Gilly are making their
way to The Wall from beyond, whilst Bran and his group of followers are bound
for the same destination, except from the other side. Sam tells Gilly about
some of the men serving at Castle Black, and mentions of Hobb the cook, and
Dareon’s singing voice should please those who have read the books (although
people who haven’t may be confused, as I don’t think either of those characters
have actually appeared). Sam also proves to be as clumsily likeable as ever,
not the most effective guardian that Gilly could hope for, but significantly
preferable to her previous arrangement with Craster!
Meanwhile there are tensions in Bran’s encampment, as Osha and
Meera bicker over who is better at skinning rabbits. This pointless argument is
interrupted by Jojen suffering from a seizure of sorts, during one of his
visions. When he comes to, he reveals that he has seen Jon Snow, but he is
beyond The Wall and surrounded by enemies. This could potentially affect their
plans as they were hoping to meet with Jon at The Wall.
Speaking of Jon, this episode gave him several scenes, which
continued to strengthen his relationship with Ygritte. She tells him that they
are not important from the perspectives of their commanders, but they are the
only thing that matter to each other. The development of the bond between these
two characters was particularly helpful with making Ygritte more likable. She has
always been very smug and all-knowing, but her scenes in this episode were very
strong, and helped the viewer in caring more about her.
Such redemptive moments are usually a sign that something
bad is about to happen to whichever character is concerned, and this was teased
during the Wall climbing sequence. It appeared as though Ygritte was about to
suffer a very nasty fall, when a large chunk of ice broke away, taking out all
of the expendable characters in a single move. With only named characters left
climbing The Wall the stakes were raised, and Orell chose to cut Jon and
Ygritte loose, since they were essentially dead weight. Fortunately Jon Snow
makes the save, because he has had far too much character development to perish
the same fate as a bunch of extras. This eventually leads to the final image of
the episode where Jon and Ygritte share a passionate kiss at the top of The
Wall, while the panoramic view of the realm and what lies beyond can be seen. It’s
quite an image!
There was a significant deviation from the books, as
Melisandre arrived at the encampment of the Brotherhood. An interesting notion
is presented when she tells Thoros that he was originally supposed to convert
Robert Baratheon to their religion. If this had happened the entire story could
have been different. She also revealed that Beric’s resurrections should not be
possible, appearing genuinely shocked, which is surprising since she has done
impossible things in the name of her God. Thoros gets some exposition, in which
he explains that he had lost faith in the Gods, and was a very sinful man. But
now he believes in R’Hollor: The Lord of Light, as his power has been proved.
Beric Dondarrion clearly has a greater purpose; otherwise his resurrections
would not have occurred.
Arya learns how to shoot arrows whilst reciting a part of
her ‘prayer’ and would apparently shoot Joffrey in the face, Cersei in the “tits”
and Ilyn Payne (The King’s Justice, who beheaded Ned in case you’re wondering)
in the balls. Arya is certainly developing as a fighter, having learned
swordplay from Syrio, and now being taught archery by Anguy. Both of them
provided her with cryptic advice about using one’s eyes. Melisandre then looked
into Arya’s eyes and saw darkness and death in her future. Gendry was then
taken away by Melisandre and her (Stannis’) men, because he has royal blood. He
is after all, Robert Baratheon’s bastard son.
My gripes about last week’s episode were acknowledged, as
Lord Frey’s envoys stated that he would continue to support Robb’s cause he met
their terms. The phrasing last week suggested that Walder Frey had remained
neutral, but that was clarified here. Since Robb broke his previous oath, he
has to formally apologise for this, and Edmure must marry one of Lord Frey’s
daughters within a fortnight. I felt sorry for Edmure, being chastised because
of one of Robb’s errors. Yet, he consented to do the honourable thing for the
good of Robb’s war effort, despite not being happy about it.
There was a very enjoyable scene between Tywin and Lady
Olenna, which was a particular highlight. So far the Queen of Thorns has
managed to get the better of everyone through her wit, but she couldn’t get the
better of Tywin. That’s not to say this was a one sided verbal joust, as both
characters held their own against the allegations thrown at their houses. The line
“we don’t tie ourselves in knots over a discreet bit of buggery” is perhaps my
favourite Olenna line so far. Eventually though, Tywin’s manoeuvring is enough
to settle an agreement between the two, and Olenna remarks that “a man who
lives up to his reputation” is a rare thing indeed.
Theon undergoes more torture as he attempts to decipher who
his assailant is. Iwan Rheon has done an excellent job of playing his – still unnamed
– torturer, at times playful, and at other times deadly serious, but always
getting some sadistic joy out of seeing Theon in pain. He’s almost like the Game
of Thrones equivalent to The Joker! I knew that flaying was involved in Theon’s
torture, and so at times I had to look away for fear of how much would be
shown.
Finally the episode reaches its climax during another one of
Varys and Littlefinger’s throne room confrontations. I always enjoyed these
scenes in the first series, but back then much less was known about these two
(those scenes are worth re-watching now). The difference between then and now
though is that the dialogue is less cryptic, and more direct. Littlefinger
tells Varys that he knows about his agreement with Ros, and had her dealt with.
Just in case people had forgotten how much of a sadistic little shit Joffrey
is, the visual image of Ros’ corpse struck through with crossbow bolts should
serve as a reminder.
Elsewhere Jaime managed to revert back to his arrogant
drawl, although this was juxtaposed by his feeble efforts to cut meat with one
hand. It seems that the Jaime/Brienne partnership is going to be split up. Also
Cersei and Tyrion shared a rare moment of unity, both resentful of their father’s
decision to have them married off. Sansa also appeared to regret not taking
Littlefinger up on his offer, as she watched his ship sail away.
The final minutes of this episode are a major talking point,
with images that should linger in the collective consciousnesses of viewers
until next week’s show.
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