Game Of Thrones is getting deep into the second half of its 2013 season, and I couldn’t be happier about the show at the moment. Last night’s episode was no different.
Curiously enough, this was an episode which spent most of its time dealing with the couples of Westeros and giving more than the usual amount of breathing room to their interactions. Jon and Ygritte continue to be lovely, with her fake swooning and wide-eyed wonder at a windmill shows that they can have a laugh every now and again. I only feel this is all going to end in doom when they finally get to the task of fighting.
Much more on the dramatic front, the brilliant relationship between Brienne and Jaime took another massive step in cementing itself as the highlight of season three, as we got to see him rescue her from a rather nasty encounter with a bear and actually make us think that it might not only be Tyrion that’s got a heart in the Lannister family. Easily the highlight of the episode, this thrilling finale had me all out of my seat and everything.
We also get some happy moments with Robb and his wife Talisa, where he learns that perhaps breaking a treaty and being constantly distracted from the war has the upside of an impending little baby. Robb’s continued attempts to become the most bumbling revolutionary in the land are making his kingly overtures seem all the more misguided.
Talking of kings, in a delightful scene, we got to see Charles Dance have a nibble on the scenery and dominate both the screen and Joffrey. Tywin is such a magnetic presence that it’s sometimes hard to remember that he’s the most manipulative, cold-blooded and brutal individual in Kings Landing.
Theon’s torment continues to be by far the darkest of the storylines on show, taking another gruesome twist as his tormentors have moved from his least to most valued body part. This is one of the first times the show has been genuinely disturbing, as even an ardent horror nut like me is starting to think this is going too far. The biggest question isn’t whether Theon will get out of this horrific situation intact, but exactly why the utterly twisted Ramsay (a name I only found on the show’s IMDB page) is not only taking such delight in punishing Theon, but why he’s torturing him at all.
Over the sea, we pop back in to Daenerys’ continued march across the wastelands and see that she’s now truly become a threat. Her growth has been incredible since her introduction as a bargaining chip, as shown by her incredibly negotiation scene with the Yunkai slaver this week. Strong, pragmatic yet also with a conscience, she’s quickly becoming the show’s only genuine good-guy with her quest to become a dragon-wielding Abe Lincoln.
With Gendry learning his true heritage, Arya getting snatched by The Hound and Tyrion’s life continuing to go down a black hole, there was much more to this week’s episode than I have time to go into, but it’s shaping up to make the final trio of excursions absolutely incredible.
What were your thoughts on last night’s episode? Let us know in the comments below.
Tagged in Game Of Thrones