Tommen may be the king that Westeros deserves, but will he live long enough to be so?
What They Say:
First of His Name – Cersei and Tywin plan the Crown’s next move; Dany discusses future plans; Jon Snow begins a new mission.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While we didn’t have any big moments on the scale of a wedding in the previous episode, we had a really good transitional one as journeys began and changed in many ways. The end piece i particular was fascinating, particularly for fans of the books as it was entirely new and teased some of what’s to come from the bigger picture, but we also had a lot of other very good moments. While I’m still hoping for a Podrick and Brienne spinoff series, I really liked what we saw of what’s to come for Jon Snow while going to Craster’s ad what we saw goig on there with Bran and his group after being captured. The small threads continue to be tugged and we can see various ways it’s all being pulled together. And that’s still not saying much about Dany as she has cemented more power overseas with the freeing of so many slaves and overthrowing so many masters. That dynamic change to the lands is one that certainly will have repercussions.
Of particular subplot fun is what Margaery is up to in trying to get closer to Tommen, especially now that he’s been crowned king. He’s giving her all sorts of boyish grins amid things and Cersei has finally caught on to it as well. That obviously doesn’t sit well with her though as Cersei has enough issues with losing Joffrey the way she did but there’s also the realistic side of things as well. Cersei is always scheming and looking for her angle to work to gain more power and control over events and people. And she can use hard truths to get to it, including talking about Joffrey with the way that he actually was. Cersei knew exactly what Joffrey was but accepted it since he was her firstborn. With Margaery, she sees a potential path that could be best for Tommen as Cersei sees the boy as potentially the best king that the Seven Kingdoms may have had in the last fifty years. It’s an unusual potential alliance brewing there.
Of course, Tommen may be on the Iron Throne when Dany and her forces cross as we see her talking more about what they have on hand and what they’re capable of doing when they cross the Narrow Sea. It’s definitely an interesting challenge since Jorah points out that while they could take King’s Landing overall, that doesn’t truly give them control of the lands and just embroils them in a longer war. Unfortunately, distractions locally are cropping up around her as the Masters in Yunkai have retake the city and enslaved the freedmen that where there. That’s dispiriting news to say the least to her because it calls into question by herself that she can’t truly win over the trust of those she needs if she can’t follow through on the promises made to those she freed. It’s a legitimate line of thought and one that pushes her more towards truly being a ruler rather than just a force to be reckoned with.
Sansa’s story is one that has taken quite a turn this season since being whisked out of King’s Landing, though it moves quickly to bring her and Littlefinger to the Eyrie. With a touch of history that explores the pass to the mountain, the Bloody Gate the protects it and how impregnable it is, it’s actually really surprising how it plays out as we get to the Eyrie itself. Littlefinger is quite close with Robin, who is still quite odd in his own way, and there’s an interesting dynamic that plays out as we see how Littlefinger has connived to gain position here with Lyssa. With Sansa taking on the name of Alayne, being Littlefingers niece for the duration, it’s fun to see how Lyssa is so intent on simply being with him now. He’s running quite the long game here and using her to be sure, but it’s gaining him a lot if it all pays off. As he said before, sometimes you hedge your bets but sometimes you really have to risk big in order to get what you want.
The Lannister family is one that is always interesting to watch and that’s no exception when Cersei and Tywin sit down to talk, particularly since she’s the best son that he has when you get down to it. While she has things she really doesn’t like, she also knows the value in what her father does and securing the family name and line. It’s intriguing what we get out of Tywin about why they’re trying to become bound more to the Tyrell’s, particularly since there is no trust between the two of them. Light talk of the Iron Bank, the lack of gold being mined in Lannister lands these past years and the way the world truly works with it being the bankers that control it all, it helps to clarity more of what some of the larger plot points are for the series. And seeing how Cersei is so clear on all of it actually seems to make it feel like Tywin is finally seeing her in the light she always wanted to be seen in.
Interestingly, Cersei is certainly making her way around in things this episode as she goes and seeks out Oberyn as well to see what she can discover of him. His goals are quite clear overall as Tywin has sussed him out well enough, but there’s always little twists and turns that Cersei can draw out since the conversation can go in different ways between a man and a woman as opposed to two men. Cersei also has additional reason to talk to him to try and find out what she can of Myrcella since news if rare to be sure. Oberyn is certainly accommodating in all of this since there is that parental side they both have and a connection through Myrcella now so it’s definitely an interesting bit of dialogue between the two, particularly when she asks him to bring her daughter a ship she’s having finished out in the bay to be given to her. That feels like it has a lot bigger meaning ahead of it.
Events at Craster’s continue to be pretty bleak as the deserters continue to just act as you’d expect of bottom feeding mercenaries that didn’t take their oaths seriously. With Jon and his group getting closer, we see the first blushes of investigation into the area to try and figure out what they need to do in order to secure the information from falling into the wildlings hands. It does give us some interesting time with Bran, Jojen and Meera as Bran and Jojen talk about where it is where they’re supposed to be going in the long run with the beautiful tree that they’ve both seen. Jojen for his part is seeing quite a lot of visions amid all that he’s going through, things that the others obviously don’t see, and it’s definitely fun to see how there’s a disconnect between it.
When Snow and his group does attack, the timing is definitely good since Meera was about to be butchered with all of them watching. Unfortunately, there’s betrayal in Jon’s ranks as one of them intends to take Bran for his ow goals. That’s dangerous enough in itself, but seeing what Bran does to save himself is hugely challenging in a couple of ways, especially for what it doe to Hodor who unwillingly has blood on his hands. You almost expect him to break down over it in some way. For Bran though, it’s all about his goals and achieving them and he has to grudgingly admit that going with Jon will keep him from that. He at least frees Summer first before sneaking out amid the chaos so they can get further north to find the three eyed raven. With a decent struggle that plays out between the Crows and the deserters, we get closure for all of them and it’s pretty nicely done overall with the right bit of brutality. And even a great little reunion towards the end that brings Ghost back to Snow’s side.
In Summary:
Game of Thrones works through a good number of storylines in this episode and gives us more of a look at how various aspects of it are going to go. The bigger moments revolve around the leadership side of events as we see Tywin and Cersei cementing various plans, Dany figuring out her path in a clearer and new way and how Jon is leading his men and doing what needs being done. There’s a lot to like with all of these stories and it moves it all right along, especially the way we get so much out of what’s going on with Lyssa and Littlefinger. But we also get some good fun as we get to watch the Podrick and Brienne show in a great way and some really sharp moments between the Hound and Arya as well as they continue on their journey. A solid episode overall that shows us how everything is turning in the world.
Grade: B+
