The second episode in the new series re-introduced us to
Bran, through a dream-sequence which illustrated just how much has happened
since the series began. The image of Robb Stark, Jon Snow and Bran all together
was a rare thing, as was the sound of Sean Bean’s voice, which hasn’t been
heard since his characters’ execution. I’d be very interested to see more dream
sequences like this one, as it is likely the only way through which we’ll ever
see all the Starks in one place again. I know that Sean Bean stated in an
interview a while back that he’d be open to appearing in flashback sequences. When
Bran and Jojen were talking about Howland Reed saving Ned Stark’s life during
the rebellion, I began to wonder if there will be a flashback to that
particular moment at some point. It probably won’t happen, but if it does it
will be something pretty special.
I really enjoyed the introduction to the Reed siblings,
Jojen as the mysterious one, and Meera as the tough (yet likeable) one. There
were complaints from fans of the book last season due to the fact that these
characters make their first appearance in the second book. Once again, this was
a change that didn’t concern me too much, as their introduction here was done
in a way that was memorable, and made sense at this stage in Bran’s narrative.
There were several other new characters making their first
appearances, in particular Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr, a Red Priest (the same
religion as Melisandre). I didn’t know what to think when I found out that Paul
Kaye had been cast, as I’d never been a huge fan of his, but he was a lot of
fun to watch here. He didn’t take the entire spotlight in his scenes though, as
we were also introduced to Anguy, the highly skilled archer, who had his fair
share of memorable lines as well. An interesting side note concerning the books
is that both of these characters were winners at the Tourney of the Hand,
Thoros winning the melee and Anguy the archery competition. The secondary
characters connected to Arya’s storyline are always amongst my favourites, and
now that the Brotherhood Without Banners has been introduced, I’m looking
forward to seeing the leader of the Brotherhood: Beric Dondarion.
Another first timer was Mackenzie Crook as the Wildling
Warg: Orell. His scene was brief, and acted as another test of Jon’s loyalties,
as they checked his response upon hearing that men of the Night’s Watch had
been killed at the Fist of the First Men. Additionally Iwan Rheon, had a short
appearance during Theon’s torture scenes. I know that we’ll be seeing more from
him in the coming weeks so I’ll say no more right now.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Diana Rigg as
the ‘Queen of Thorns’ Lady Olenna. There was a lot of excitement concerning
this casting decision, not least from the series author George R.R. Martin
himself, who recalled having a crush on her back when she was involved in ‘The
Avengers’. That must be something pretty special. Rigg was great in her
introductory scene, almost like a female equivalent to Tyrion Lannister, being
quick witted and very down to earth, and clearly the smartest member of her
family. This scene also finally allowed Sansa to speak her mind about Joffrey,
without fear of getting beaten.
Speaking of Joffrey, there was a really nice status-game
going on in the scene between himself and Margery, when you wonder who is truly
in control. Joffrey is the King, and a tyrannical one at that, but his lack of
intelligence and unwillingness to listen to counsel from just about anyone,
make this character dynamic particularly interesting. Margery has already shown
that she is able to get the people on her side through her compassionate nature
(something Cersei never did) but she is also highly intelligent, and has more
control over Joffrey than anyone else. This is something he doesn’t pick up on,
as he always believes he’s in control.
The real star performance of this episode was from Michelle
Fairley as Catelyn, as she did so much with the two scenes she had, which
explained so much about the emotional burden she is struggling with. Taking stock
for a moment, and one can’t help but feel sorry for Catelyn: her husband has
been killed; her eldest son is fighting a war, whilst holding her prisoner;
both her daughters are lost to her; she has just learned that Winterfell was
destroyed, and that there is no news on her two youngest children; her Father –
whom she hasn’t seen in years – has just died; and to add to all of that, she
also bears the guilt around the way she mistreated Jon Snow. That is a lot of
baggage, and Michelle Fairley deserves praise and recognition for her performance here.
I’m pleased that some time has been taken to further
establish the characters of Robb’s bannermen, Rickard Karstark, and Roose
Bolton. These characters both have significance to the story, and I’m glad to
see them getting some screen time. It does make me wonder if we’ll be seeing
any more from Clive Mantle as Greatjon Umber, who was terrific in the first
season and conspicuous by his absence in the second.
There was also a greatly anticipated swordfight between
Brienne and Jaime Lannister, which played out in a similar manner to the books.
Jaime is impressed by Brienne’s strength, but isn’t at his best after having
spent months as a prisoner, and so appears to be losing when they are interrupted.
A lot is said about Jaime’s prowess as a swordsman, but in the books this is
the only real fight that we see him involved in (as the duel with Ned Stark
doesn’t happen in the books) and even that is hampered by him being manacled
and malnourished. Vulnerability is what makes these characters so much more
engaging than most other characters in fantasy stories.
I couldn’t help but thinking that the fans were speaking
through certain characters at times during this episode: Gendry’s quizzing of
Arya concerning the names she gave to Jaqen H’ghar, and why didn’t she say “Joffrey”
etc. Also the fat jokes made by Thoros and Anguy about Hot Pie. I’d call these
jokes cheap, but they were well delivered, and they made me laugh. My favourite
one though had to be from Ben Crompton as Dolorous Edd, where he very bluntly
stated that Sam is “fat and slow” as his honest response to why they left Sam
behind.
This episode was great, it packed a lot in and introduced a
healthy offering of new characters. I’m still looking forward to seeing Richard
Dormer as Beric Dondarrion, and also seeing more from all of these new faces.
Until next time.
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