Game of Thrones: Season Six Preview – Part Two

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This preview will contain spoilers for everything that has happened on the series so far, as well as some book plot points that haven’t appeared on the show and two well-documented fan theories.

The Greyjoys

The Greyjoys haven’t really been done justice on the show so far, with Theon’s (Alfie Allen) resentment of his father and jealously of his sister being our main connection to their storyline. This year it seems like this might change, as Euron (played by Pilou Asbæk), the younger brother of Theon’s father Balon (Patrick Malahide), has been introduced. (SPOILER ALERT) In the books Balon dies in a fall, but there’s speculation that in fact his death was an assassination at the hands of Euron, which is all but confirmed by the season six trailer. This, as well as the kingsmoot which will follow, could make the Greyjoys a much more important family on the show than they have been in previous seasons.

King’s Landing

The first thing that comes into everyone’s minds when they think of King’s Landing is the ongoing battle between Cersei (Lena Headey) and The Faith Militant’s conniving leader The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). Last year’s shaming ceremony was clearly a big deal for both characters, and it will likely start a war between them in upcoming episodes – still, that war will probably be fought mainly by Robert Strong, aka Zombie Mountain (Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson), and the Sparrow’s many followers.

What many people forget when they think about what will be happening in King’s Landing this year is that at the end of last season Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) witnessed his daughter/niece die due to a kiss of death from Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma), which will probably be a more immediate issue when this season opens. I don’t think that Cersei is going to be very happy when her lover/brother returns home from Dorne with her daughter’s corpse accompanying him, so revenge will definitely be on the cards.

There’s also the small issue of the Tyrells, with Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and Loras (Finn Jones) both sitting in a cell. From the trailers it looks like Jaime is going to try to help the Tyrell army in forcing their release, but there’s still going to be a lot of resentment between Margaery and Cersei when the pair are both free. (It seems pretty obvious that Margaery is going to be freed at some point this year because Natalie Dormer has talked about filming in Spain, and filming in Spain wouldn’t be very practical if she’s just going to be sitting in a dark room for the majority of the season).

Cersei just isn’t going to have a great time of it this year unless she has a hell of a lot of luck, because whilst she has a man-mountain (pun intended) as a protector, she also has enemies everywhere and an upcoming trial. The main fan theory relating to this trial is usually called the Cleganebowl, and relates to a possible trial by combat between The Mountain, and his possibly dead brother, The Hound (Rory McCann). The idea here is that Cersei would want to avoid a real trial because she knows that she can’t sway The High Sparrow with riches or cripple him with fear, and would therefore request a trial by combat believing that The Mountain was unstoppable. The faith would then need a champion, with The Hound being a perfect choice if he is still alive because 1) he’s a great fighter, and 2) he’ll want to kill his malevolent older brother.

Of course, in the season four finale it was suggested that Sandor Clegane would succumb to his injuries at the hands of Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), but if fans of the series are to be believed then our favourite Clegane brother is very much alive. The theory that I am referring to here is known as the gravedigger theory, and has been given extra weight by the fact that actor Ian McShane (recently cast on the show) has reportedly said that he will resurrect a well-known character this year. The obvious choice would be Jon Snow (Kit Harington), but it’s pretty obvious that he isn’t the character that McShane is talking about, otherwise we’d be talking about a highly publicised law suit.

Tyrion in Meereen

In Meereen things have been getting pretty hectic, so I’m hoping that this year they settle down with Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) in charge. I know that the Sons of the Harpy will still be in full swing, trying to oust control back for themselves, but that doesn’t mean that things can’t be a little more political than they were last season.

We don’t know a whole lot about what Tyrion is going to be doing this year, other than trying to rule in Daenerys’ stead (Emilia Clarke), but we do know that he’s going to come face to face with two very angry caged dragons. The trailer also appears to show that there will be a new Red Woman introduced to the story in Meereen, which could be really cool. For me, this is probably the most interesting aspect of the story this season, because it’s something new and I have literally no idea what kind of character she’s going to be. Will she be working with or against Tyrion? Is she going to be tied to other events on the show from the past? I just don’t know, and I can’t wait to find out.

Daenerys vs. The Dothraki

Finally, we have Daenerys, stumbling her way towards the Iron Throne by flying thousands of miles away in the wrong direction. The scene in the fighting pits last year was one of the most exciting and important yet on “Game of Thrones”, as it proved that Daenerys has a hold of her most powerful dragon and that that dragon isn’t yet large enough to conquer a kingdom.

However, it also left the main contender to the Iron Throne stranded, and at the mercy of a Dothraki horde. Still, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because in the books Quaithe (played briefly on the show by Laura Pradelska when Daenerys was in Qarth) cryptically tells Daenerys that ‘to go north… [she] must go south, to reach the west… [she] must go east. To go forward… [she] must go back and to touch the light… [she] must pass beneath the shadow’. This could mean that Daenerys’ backpedalling will be her salvation, and bring her one step closer to the Iron Throne, because she really is right back where she started.

It’s unclear right now exactly how being with the Dothraki again will help Daenerys, but she could make a similar sort of deal to the one that her brother made back in season one, offering herself in marriage to the new Khal in order to gain an army with which to cross the Narrow Sea. This would still be as dangerous to the rest of the Seven Kingdoms as it was when Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) was in charge; especially given that Daenerys now also has three dragons and an army of Unsullied by her side.

It would make a lot of sense if Daenerys did propose marriage to the new Khal, because last year she proved that this is something that she is willing to do to improve her chances at taking the Iron Throne, as she married Hizdahr (Joel Fry) despite the fact that she detested him. This would also explain why Hizdahr was killed off so unceremoniously in episode nine of season five.

Nevertheless, it does appear that at the start of the season the Dothraki will mistreat Daenerys – although their actions on the trailer seem tame given their nature – which will probably enrage Drogon, who we know will be flying around the area. What this will mean is again unclear, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a Dothraki BBQ at some point in season six. If this does happen then it wouldn’t necessarily mean that the Dothraki would turn against Daenerys and refuse to back her claim for the Iron Throne, because we know from experience that the Dothraki respect power above all else, and having your dragon-baby burn your enemies alive is a pretty clear display of strength.

My Thoughts on Season Six and The Possibility of Seasons Seven and Eight Being Shortened to Eight Episodes Each

via buzzfeed.com

With talk of characters and their journeys this season out of the way, I’d like to address a couple of things that perhaps the mainstream “Game of Thrones” audience won’t be aware of right now. The first is that there has been a suggestion that the final two seasons of the show – seasons seven and eight – will be cut down to eight episodes each, sort of in the vein of “Breaking Bad” and its final season. This is a big decision, because it would mean that we as an audience got less “Game of Thrones” than we were expecting, and that storylines would have to be streamlined to allow the main narrative to progress naturally (which I would probably find disappointing from a personal perspective).

However, if this is a creative decision which best serves the story then I’m all for it! The only thing that really matters to me personally is that every character gets the right amount of screen time, and that the series has a significant pay-off at the end, which could still happen in 16 episodes + the 10 that we’ll get this season. Nonetheless, there are a lot of story arcs to wrap up on the show, and I have to admit that I’m a little worried that 26 episodes isn’t enough time to give everyone’s story a respectable conclusion – the last thing that I want is for the rest of the characters to face the same lacklustre end as Stannis (Stephen Dillane) did in season five.

I have to say that I still think that putting the finale on the big screen would be the best way to end the series, and would make everyone involved a tonne of money, but the rational side of me doesn’t believe that this will happen because HBO gets a lot of its money from a subscription model in the US.

As far as my thoughts on this upcoming season are concerned, I think that from a story perspective it has every chance of being the best yet. There are very few plot points that fans can really feel they have a grasp on, due to the fact that the show has caught up with the books, so things should feel even more tense than they already did on a show where (almost) anyone can die.

Nevertheless, there’s still a chance that this season could start a decline if the writers don’t strike the right balance with all the characters and their respective storylines – this was something which I felt was happening last season, so it could become a trend. Emilia Clarke has spoken recently about how she didn’t think that it was possible to fit so much into one season of television as has been slotted into this one, which worries me greatly. I really want things to start meshing together this year rather than become more convoluted, so I hope that when she says that there’s a lot going on she means that there’s lots of excitement within focused narratives, rather than just a lot of content.

In my opinion, “Game of Thrones” is still the best dramatic series on television – it has amazing writers and a committed cast, so I remain confident that my concerns will be quashed by the end of this season.

P.S. I still think that Stannis’ death was really weird last season. I believe that he died, but part of me wonders whether or not we’ll see him again. Melisandre (Carice van Houten) believed that she saw him fighting a great battle when she looked into the fire – what if she saw him fighting for the wrong side? Just a theory, but it’s one that I wanted to have down in writing just in case!

Game of Thrones: Season Five

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For years now “Game of Thrones” has been my favourite show on television, but this year’s season has been a mixed bag. I didn’t hate what I saw, and there have certainly been some exceptional episodes, but it wasn’t up to the standard that we’ve come to expect. The series spent far too much time building storylines and developing characters like Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and Hizdahr (Joel Fry) only to conclude their arcs in dissatisfying and lazy ways. The standout episode of the series, “Hardhome”, promised an epic conclusion given that it was episode eight, and we often see the best that “Game of Thrones” has to offer in episodes nine and ten, but the series failed to build on the spectacle that occurred as the White Walkers made their grand entrance.

Of all the storylines this season only one managed to have a compelling beginning, middle, and end. Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) arc over the course of this season was pretty great, even if it ended in a disappointing fashion for me. Jon began as a merciful killer, ending Mance Rayder’s (Ciaran Hinds) life so as to save him from the pain of Melisandre’s (Carice van Houten) fire. He then became commander at The Wall due to his popularity with his brothers, and cemented that position by taking the head of Janos Slynt (Dominic Carter). He learnt from Stannis and staved off Melisandre’s sexual advances, as well as surviving the White Walker onslaught at Hardhome, saving hundreds of lives in the process. Throughout the season he tried to do what was best for everyone, and almost all of his scenes were satisfying… except the last one.

(SPOILER ALERT) At the end of the season, Jon’s kindness and sympathy for the Wildlings got him killed, as Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) led a band of his brothers in a mutiny that they claimed was ‘for The Watch’. This should’ve been shocking, but instead felt slightly lacklustre, because the writers have worked so hard to give him a way back. It wasn’t a grand betrayal like The Red Wedding, or even a particularly bloody one, and it was far too obvious. I have to ask everyone who reads this – do you really believe that Jon is gone? Personally, I don’t think they set up Melisandre’s interest in him or the R + L = J theory to have him killed off. How he’ll survive is unclear, perhaps ‘survive’ is the wrong word, but Melisandre’s magic could save him with minimal fuss.

via watchersonthewall.com

Other storylines had their promise, particularly Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) as she had to navigate the treacherous political landscape in Meereen. A lot of good moments came out of Meereen this season, like Tyrion’s (Peter Dinklage) conversations with our favourite Dragon Queen in episode eight, and when Daenerys fed one of the Masters to Rhaegal and Viserion in episode five. However, the content surrounding these moments was far too inconsistent, and in the end the season finale took everything that was great about Daenerys’ arc and spat on it. I hate the fact that Daenerys is now right back where she started. There’s no way that the showrunners can make me believe that she could survive that horde – they’d rape her and kill her, as we saw in season one with every expendable extra that the Dothraki’s came across.

The season also crushed my dreams for Daenerys’ dragons, particularly Drogon, because he struggled to fend off the Sons of the Harpy and was then too tired to help Daenerys, begging the question of how he will ever be able to carry her to King’s Landing. He just seemed so weak, so average, so small. I thought that the dragons were Daenerys’ trump card, her ace in the hole, because she doesn’t offer much in terms of political understanding or physical strength, but right now they seem like a decent asset and nothing more.

Whilst Daenerys’ arc this season was mediocre, Jaime’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Arya’s (Maisie Williams) were plain awful. Arya’s storyline in Braavos did have its moments, as we saw her change her face and kill Meryn Trant (Ian Beattie) in the finale, but none of her scenes lived up to what we’ve seen from her before, and she felt far too disconnected from the rest of the story. She didn’t have The Hound (Rory McCann) or Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) to play off, and with Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) being a pretty boring character, her scenes lacked the depth that we’ve become accustomed to.

via nerdist.com

Jaime’s scenes this season were all terrible, in fact, everything that came out of Dorne was woeful. Nothing interesting happened until our interest had died out completely – yes, Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free) was killed off, but does anyone really care? I know that I don’t. The whole story felt like Jaime’s final redemption, as he proved his worth as a father by saving his daughter from the perils of a foreign land, but that didn’t feel relevant on a show filled with people who rarely do nice things. We didn’t need to see Jaime become a pseudo-hero, we know that he’s a backstabbing Kingslayer who sleeps with his sister, and we’re fine with that. Of course, I’m being a bit silly because we all like character development, but Jaime’s had his evolution already, so I don’t see why this story was needed. My hope is that he’ll lose it a bit and start a war with Dorne, because he has Trystane (Toby Sebastian) at his mercy, but we shall see.

The Sand Snakes weren’t developed at all, I couldn’t even tell you which one was which, and Ellaria (Indira Varma) is completely one-dimensional. The only character that captured my interest in Dorne was Prince Doran (Alexander Siddig), because he does feel as though he has a plan, but we spent barely any time at all getting to know him.

I touched on Tyrion when I said my piece on Daenerys, and I don’t have much more to add. His arc this season was very much tied to Daenerys, and it did give us their fantastic first interactions, but he spent a little bit too much time getting to Meereen and his journey was full of frustrating conveniences. The writers took away his faith in the world last season, so his story this year was very much focused on rebuilding hope. He believes in the world again now, having seen Daenerys ride Drogon to what he assumes is safety, so the story fit its purpose despite its underwhelming nature.

via theverge.com

My favourite arc of the season was Stannis’ until his disappointing failure in the finale. Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) looks to have killed him, although I have my reservations on that front, and after a season of building up to an epic battle between the Boltons and his army I found his story very anticlimactic. He made his ugly and difficult decision in episode nine, and I wanted to see the pain of that decision etched on his face as he lost his final battle, but instead he was apathetic, accepting his fate as Brienne drew back her blade. I don’t fully understand what the writers were going for here, and I feel like my time was wasted in previous episodes getting to know the character, given that his only role seems to have been to give Melisandre a reason to save Jon Snow.

Sansa’s new found agency was deployed, but it didn’t get her very far, and although I thought her scenes were well-executed throughout the season I can’t really say that I enjoyed them. I don’t agree with those who say that she reverted back to her old ways, being the pawn in an evil ruler’s game, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to praise her scenes either. She did have agency – she chose to go to Winterfell, she chose to marry Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) being fully aware of the repercussions, and even in the finale she chose to escape – but nothing she did was very exciting. I don’t feel like she gained anything by going back to Winterfell, because her marriage was a complete waste of time. The only thing to come out of her story this year was Theon’s (Alfie Allen) act of heroism and the knowledge that Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and Rickon (Art Parkinson) are alive.

Finally, I did like a lot of the scenes in King’s Landing, despite the slightly dull ending. I thought that Jonathan Pryce was great as The High Sparrow and it was interesting to see Cersei (Lena Headey) outplayed at deception. However, her punishment bored me and I couldn’t connect to her plight. I would’ve liked her suffering to have come slightly sooner, because it didn’t feel worthy of the finale, and I think it would’ve been a lot more fun to see her plan her revenge before the start of next season. Furthermore, the fact that Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Margaery (Natalie Dormer) were omitted in the last few episodes felt a bit strange, and I missed having all the major characters on screen, as we were given no indication as to how they were getting on or reacting to Cersei’s torment.

via bustle.com

This season of “Game of Thrones” was the worst of the lot, it pains me to say it, but it’s true. It wasn’t terrible, but many of the heavily set-up character arcs fizzled out in episode ten, and even the more shocking scenes felt insignificant because of plot devices and loopholes that are in place for the start of season six. Characters have been forever changed, but the transitions they’ve gone through haven’t been consistently entertaining, with too much time being spent building storylines that were in actual fact pointless. The series felt disjointed and we never had the opportunity to truly connect to any one storyline. “Game of Thrones” season five promised to be so much more at various junctures, but in the end it failed to live up to my high expectations and took momentum from the sails of the series going forward.

6.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Five, Episode 9 – “The Dance of Dragons”

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via winteriscoming.net

“The Dance of Dragons” was a decent episode, but it was slightly disappointing considering how late on we are in the season. For the majority of its run time it was dark and cold, but it ended with a moment of hope in which Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) really felt like this series’ protagonist again. However, this part of the episode was actually pretty weak for me, not because of the special effects, but because the dialogue and action sequences were sloppily executed.

I thought it was interesting that the episode opened with fire raining down on Stannis (Stephen Dillane), because he uses fire to his advantage so often and worships his god by utilising it. Also, Stannis’ arc in this episode ended with fire as he put his own daughter to the torch, which brought things around full circle – I’ll dig into that scene in more detail, but for now I’ll just say that I enjoyed how it was signposted at the start of the episode, and how Ramsay’s (Iwan Rheon) actions inadvertently caused Shireen’s (Kerry Ingram) death.

I liked all the scenes in The North this week, because the scenery looked beautiful and everything had the same bleak atmosphere. Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) return to The Wall was very tense, as he appealed to Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) for entry through the gates. I was surprised that Alliser was so quick to allow Jon through said gates, because I thought that moment could’ve been drawn out for a little bit longer, as we know that most of Jon’s brothers don’t want to live amongst the Wildlings. Right now things are very precarious for Jon, he’s making friends of his enemies and enemies of his friends, and he can’t trust either party.

via tyrionlannister.net

Another group that weren’t very happy this week was the Baratheon army. Stannis’ appearance this week was haunting, and his actions were absolutely horrific. To see Shireen die in such a horrible way, at the hands of her father, was very distressing and destroyed any notion of heroism that we might attach to Stannis. It wasn’t as bad as some people have made out, because we’ve seen this sort of thing before and we shouldn’t be so selective about when it’s disturbing, but when something so nasty happens to a child it is hard to watch.

The reason that people have been so affected by this scene is that the writers have worked hard to position Stannis as a possible protagonist this year; they’ve also done a similar level of work in attempting to create a positive relationship between the audience and Shireen. In my opinion, those who are complaining about this scene are actually complementing everyone involved, because they’re basically telling the showrunners that their plans have worked and Stannis’ scenes have had their desired effect.

Of all the character arcs this season I think that Stannis’ has been the best, so I was conflicted when I saw this scene – was it in keeping with the Stannis that we’ve grown attached to during season five? Well, no… but that’s not to say that character continuity has been broken.

Over the course of the last nine episodes Stannis has come across in a more positive light because he’s been fighting for what seemed to be a just cause, to take the Iron Throne (which rightfully belongs to him) and protect the world from a White Walker invasion. Plus, he’s been friendly (in his own way) with one of the most beloved characters on the show, Jon Snow, so by extension he’s been more likeable. However, this doesn’t change what Stannis really is – brutal, aggressive, and cold. It seems like over the course of this season we’ve forgotten about the terrible things that Stannis has done previously, and we’ve also overlooked the fact that he burned another important character alive at the start of the season.

via hbo.com

Stannis is a worshipper of dark magic and a murderer, so his actions in this episode make complete sense with his character as established on the show. Killing his own daughter might’ve been a level above the horrendous crimes he’s committed thus far, but his situation is also more dire; he finds himself hungry, freezing, and walking into battle unprepared, so his actions reflect that. He believes that if he succumbs to the Boltons and fails to take the throne then the whole world will be under threat – in his mind only he can save it from the White Walkers, he’s a god on earth. He’s a slave to his own ego, to the legacy that he believes is his right, and he truly believes he has no choice as far as Shireen is concerned.

Dillane’s performance was once again fantastic here – the way he sluggishly closed his eyes whilst blinking and let his head fall every now and again made everything he did appear incredibly laboured. He looked so tired and distant, a shell of the man that had left The Wall, and that was exactly what was required of him in order to convey to the audience that Stannis had reached the point of no return. Stannis’ confidence was drained and so was his spirit, which Dillane portrayed perfectly.

via denofgeek.com

Speculation is ripe regarding the repercussions of Shireen’s death, with a few different theories floating around. Shireen’s death is supposed to give Stannis an advantage, so most theories are going down that route; if that’s the way things are going to play out then there are a couple of avenues that the narrative could take:

• Things don’t have to be tangible for Stannis to gain an advantage; it could just be that his men feel rejuvenated, or that the weather becomes less harsh. Personally, I don’t think that time would’ve been wasted killing off Shireen if there wasn’t going to be an exciting pay-off, but my point is that although the Lord of Light should be on Stannis’ side, that doesn’t mean that something massive has to happen on screen.

• (SPOILER ALERT) There’s a chance that certain characters from the books will be revived as a result of the magic, characters that would inadvertently help Stannis in his war against the Boltons. One possibility here is that Lady Stoneheart will be introduced. I won’t go into too much detail about the character, because there’s a chance that people could stumble on this paragraph without reading the spoiler warning, but let’s just say that she’d have a big problem with how Sansa (Sophie Turner) has been treated this year. People wanted her to be in the finale last year, so the writers might’ve worked her into the story this time around, which I think would work really nicely given where Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) is at the moment.

Things could also work against Stannis, because despite the fact that he’s pleased the Red God there’s no assurance that he’ll be helped. I’m actually hoping that Ramsay will come out on top now, because this would hurt Stannis so much, and I believe that it would make for some fantastic scenes.

What I really want from this story is for Melisandre to betray Stannis – I keep getting that kind of vibe from her, so I’d like the twist in this story to be that she’s working against him for another cause. I thought that she’d sacrifice Shireen without Stannis’ consent after he initially balked at her plan, but now I’m hoping that she’s using her magic to solve an unrelated problem she’s seen in the fire.

(SPOILER ALERT FOR THE FINALE AND THE BOOKS) I don’t want to be overly specific, because what I’m writing about might not happen in the finale, and it really shouldn’t be spoilt, so let’s just say that by the end of the season Jon Snow might need some dark magic. If he does, this could be the real reason that Melisandre wanted to sacrifice Shireen.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Jon Snow may have royal blood, and I doubt that this was hinted at earlier in the season if it wasn’t going to count for something by the end. What if Melisandre wanted to keep Jon safe, so had Shireen killed to protect him? I think this would be amazing to see in the finale, because Stannis could fail in his battle against the Boltons and then we could cut to Jon Snow’s last scene, somehow aware of Melisandre’s scheme. It would be a crazy way to end the season, and I think this kind of twist is what’s needed to elevate the season to another level.

via winteriscoming.net

In Braavos, Arya’s (Maisie Williams) story was connected to events elsewhere by the inclusion of Meryn Trant (Ian Beattie). His appearance in this episode has given things a bit of impetus in Braavos, because we couldn’t really hate the thin man that Arya was tasked to kill. We don’t know a lot about him, and frankly we don’t have time to find out who he is – Arya’s arc needs to kick on and get out of first gear, so fleshing out side characters just won’t do right now (the finale is next week after all). By bringing a disgusting character into the story, a man that Arya personally hates, it creates friction between the duties that she has to the Many-Faced God and her own desires, and also gives the audience a reason to care about her actions.

I did enjoy Arya’s scenes this week, and I really do want to see Trant get what he deserves following his clear villainy in the brothel. At least now I’m somewhat invested in how things will play out in Braavos, but I’m still not excited for those moments – does anyone really believe that Trant will get the better of Arya?

Events in Dorne once again took away from the episode, as previous actions in the region were spat on, and it was revealed that nothing that’s happened so far will have any significance whatsoever. After nine episodes the storyline has barely moved – everything that’s happened in Dorne could’ve taken place in one episode! The stakes feel so low that it’s almost laughable; Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) wasn’t harmed for his conspiracy to kidnap Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free), and likewise Ellaria (Indira Varma) was given a pass despite her intention to murder the Princess. Jaime is now going to leave with exactly what he wanted, which basically means that he should’ve walked up to Doran (Alexander Siddig) and asked for Myrcella’s release.

Of course, Doran may have an ulterior motive, in fact it’s likely that he does given the fact that he sent Trystane (Toby Sebastian) back to King’s Landing, but that doesn’t make things feel any more exciting for the time being. Whatever plan Doran has is likely to be put on the backburner whilst Cersei’s (Lena Headey) life hangs in the balance, so we’re going to have to wait for the Dorne storyline to pick up, presuming it ever will.

via indiewire.com

I’ve yet to discuss what I assume was meant to be the iconic episode nine moment, namely Daenerys’ escape from the fighting pits on the back of her dragon Drogon, so I suppose I’d better get into it. I loved the conversations that were taking place between Hizdahr (Joel Fry), Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Daario (Michiel Huisman), and Daenerys, but I thought the last ten minutes were quite poor. That might not be a popular opinion, but I’m not just trying to go against the crowd or nit-pick, I truly didn’t like what I was watching.

First of all, I should say that my issue isn’t with the CGI. I didn’t like the moment at which Daenerys climbed atop Drogon, because I thought the way that it was designed was a bit silly – it was far too clear that what we were watching was computer generated, and it really didn’t have to be, because the camera didn’t need to linger on Daenerys so much. However, I want to stress that I didn’t think it was terrible, I can forgive thirty seconds of dodgy CGI, especially given that it was preceded by some pretty good CGI, and a lot of the budget must’ve been spent on episode eight.

What I took issue with in the last ten minutes was the fact that a lot of what happened was just plain unbelievable, and the characters relied more on dumb luck than on their wit. I have two main problems, and although they concern the finer details, I believe that they are quite damning. The first is that Jorah (Iain Glen) threw his spear at Daenerys… DIRECTLY at her! He didn’t throw it just to the side or inches above her, he relied on her moving out of the way in order to hit the Harpy assassin, yet he couldn’t be certain that she’d be able to move. He could’ve killed her easily yet he just threw it!

via indiewire.com

My second problem is that Daenerys’ moment with Drogon allowed far too much time for someone to stab her to death, or for her to be impaled by a spear. The Harpy’s were all around the arena, they could’ve attacked from any angle, so I’m yet to understand why Daenerys thought she had time to stand still and look into her child’s eyes. In this heartfelt moment she should’ve died 100 times over! Not only that, but someone decided it would be a good idea to run up to Drogon and stab him with a spear when his back was turned, even though Daenerys was right there behind him! That was the perfect moment to kill her and liberate Meereen from her leadership, yet he wasted it giving the dragon a pointless scratch. (Oh, and if you’re going to say that Drogon was shielding Daenerys then I just plain disagree. Daario threw something at a Harpy in the exact direction that a spear could’ve flown towards Daenerys – she wasn’t attacked because the story didn’t dictate that she should be).

As a moment on the show it will serve a useful purpose, because now Daenerys might do something about the Meereen problem; she could leave and let things revert back to how they were before, or she could have all those who oppose her burnt alive, but she can’t carry on doing what she was doing before. I don’t really care what she does as long as her story doesn’t stagnate any further – I just want her to move on.

I should also quickly note that there was a line of dialogue which I’m 99.9% certain was written or read incorrectly. Tyrion said to Hizdahr, ‘you’re an eloquent man, doesn’t mean you’re wrong’… forgive me if I’m the one who is wrong, but shouldn’t it have been ‘doesn’t mean you’re right’? How did that get past editing?

One thing I haven’t touched on is Hizdahr’s stabbing at the hands of the Harpy. This was a genuine surprise for me, because I truly believed that he was their leader. Everything was in place for another Red Wedding moment; Hizdahr had his chance to be the one to kill Daenerys, and it would’ve been fascinating to see him try. If he’s really dead then I don’t know why he didn’t try to kill her, because he could’ve easily pulled out a dagger and thus been the one that Jorah threw his spear towards. That reveal would’ve had a greater impact than a random Harpy being killed, so I have to assume that in reality Hizdahr has survived.

Overall, this was a disappointing episode considering the record that “Game of Thrones” has when it comes to their penultimate episodes. I still think that Dorne has been wasted this season, and scenes in Braavos carry less weight than those scenes happening elsewhere. In my opinion Stannis’ scenes in this episode made it more memorable than its overall quality gave it any right to be, and I don’t think that one character’s decent arc is enough to make an episode great on the whole. The fighting pits finale was an important scene and it did a lot for Daenerys’ story, but personally I didn’t think it was done very well, so it left a slightly sour taste in my mouth.

6/10

Game of Thrones: Season Five, Episode 5 – “Kill the Boy”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Barristan Selmy, Brandon Stark, Brenock O'Connor, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Charles Dance, Charlotte Hope, Cinderella, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dragons, Dragonstone, Drogon, Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones, Grey Worm, Greyscale, Hizdahr, Iain Glen, Ian McElhinney, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jack Gleeson, Jacob Anderson, Jaime Lannister, Joel Fry, Joffrey Baratheon, John Bradley, Jon Snow, Jorah Mormont, Kerry Ingram, Kill The Boy, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Littlefinger, Maester Aemon, Margaery Tyrell, Marvel, Meereen, Melisandre, Michael McElhatton, Missandei, Mother of Dragons, Myranda, Natalie Dormer, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ned Stark, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Old Valyria, Peter Dinklage, Peter Vaughan, Queen, Ramsay Bolton, Rhaegal, Richard Madden, Robb Stark, Roose Bolton, Rory McCann, Samwell Tarly, Sansa Stark, Sean Bean, Shireen Baratheon, Sophie Turner, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Stone Men, Television Review, The Hobbit, The Hound, The Night's Watch, The Red Wedding, The Seven Kingdoms, The Wall, The Witcher 3, Theon Greyjoy, Tommen Baratheon, TV, Tyrion Lannister, Tywin Lannister, Valar Morghulis, Viserion, Westeros, White Walkers, Wildlings, Winterfell

This episode of “Game of Thrones” season five was easily my favourite so far. The first two episodes had me slightly concerned that this season would be the start of a downturn in quality from the series, but since then it has gone from strength to strength. Each storyline is compelling and feels as though it has a clear direction, and every line carries with it a certain significance, whether it be a warning for episodes to come, or exposition to help the audience properly connect with what follows. “Kill the Boy” was another dialogue-heavy episode, but for me those are the best kind as long as the delivery is good and the words spoken carry some weight.

The episode began where the previous one had left off, letting the audience know the fates of Barristan Selmy (Ian McElhinney) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), so as to not keep viewers waiting any longer than necessary after a week of anticipation. It wasn’t too big a surprise that Selmy was the one to bite the dust, because he seemed to take the worse injury and had less of a clearly defined role to play in the future. His death opens up space to have Jorah (Iain Glen) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) at Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) side, if that’s the direction that the show is going to take, so it made sense to have his story come to a close. Grey Worm on the other hand is the only Unsullied that any of the audience actually knows, so to kill him off wouldn’t make a lot of sense, because I’m sure that they’ll have battles in the future that we will presumably need to be invested in.

Grey Worm’s death also would’ve made his interactions with Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) in previous episodes extremely pointless – they already feel that way to me, but to have him die with no pay-off to their clear attraction to one another would’ve been a bit odd. That pay-off came in this episode, as the pair kissed for the first time, but I have to say that I don’t feel invested in either character or their relationship. It’s good to have side characters with defined motivations, but it’s not so good to take time away from a very strong episode for something which ultimately feels worthless.

via gameofthrones.wikia.com

The scenes in Meereen have been hit and miss for me since the start of this season; there have been some interesting moments, but most of the time I find Daenerys frustrating. However, in this episode she felt more like the character that we loved in season one – a girl out of her depth, who despite everything still manages to be a badass. We want to see the Mother of Dragons and potential Queen of The Seven Kingdoms as a strong woman making her own choices, so it was nice that she finally started doing that in this episode, even if she seemed more like her infamous father than we’d like!

My suspicions regarding Hizdahr (Joel Fry) were all but confirmed by this episode, as Daenerys had him and the other heads of Meereen’s great houses taken into the chambers of her two shackled dragons. It was nice to see that Daenerys still has power over them and that they aren’t just going to hate her forever, because I think that the audience needed to know that going forward. The reason that I think Hizdahr is going to be the antagonist in Meereen is that Daenerys treats him like he’s harmless, which is never a good sign on “Game of Thrones”. In this episode she had ample opportunity to make him a tasty meal for Rhaegal and Viserion, but instead she let him live, and dropped the bombshell that she’d decided to marry him for the sake of her leadership! I just can’t see that ending well for her.

I also thought it was strange that when he faced death he said ‘valar morghulis’ because he’s been made out to be a coward all along, yet now he has the balls to face death as it comes. He isn’t all he seems, so unless there’s a different twist for his character in the works I think he’s the big bad in Meereen. The marriage between the two adds weight to that theory for me, because it’s not all that likely that Hizdahr will be riding one of the dragons to Westeros if Daenerys eventually makes a play for King’s Landing.

via pixcelation.com

Despite the fact that Daenerys made what I take to be another crucial mistake by allowing Hizdahr to live, she showed that she’s the one with all the power – if she wasn’t a kind character then she would definitely have the capacity to be the villain on the series. She has dragons, she has an army, and she has a group of powerful men backing her in the hopes of a Targaryen restoration. Plus, she’s willing to let her enemies become dragon food if needs be!

I really wasn’t expecting that scene, and the way that Daenerys acted as her children mercilessly killed a human being was quite a surprise. She almost seemed to enjoy it, which made sense because it must’ve felt like revenge for Barristan Selmy’s death, but it was vicious from Daenerys considering that it wasn’t entirely necessary. The lighting in the scene made it all the more tense and exciting, because the flames from the dragons reflected off the walls in the dark room and made Daenerys glow, also showing sweat on the faces of her enemies as they feared for their lives. It was an awesome scene, and details like the lighting are all the more impressive when you remember that there aren’t really any dragons casting that light, it’s all being artificially produced in one way or another. This was the best Daenerys scene since the start of season three, and probably the best moment of the episode.

Following these scenes at Meereen we made the long journey to The Wall. The political landscape at the Night’s Watch is intriguing right now, as Jon Snow (Kit Harington) attempts to broker a Wildling-Crow alliance in order to give both parties a better chance of survival, once winter finally arrives. The dilemma for Jon is a serious and complicated one, because if he leaves the Wildlings to fend for themselves North of The Wall then it’s likely that they will be added to the army of the dead, which will make the eventual battle between the Night’s Watch and the White Walkers all the more difficult. However, if he allows the Wildlings to take shelter at The Wall, or gives them land, he’ll be helping the people that killed his friends. There’s no easy decision to be made, but one choice is about sentiment and the other is about survival, and Jon is more interested in the latter.

via collider.com

One of my favourite moments in the episode was when Jon sought advice from Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan). He’s had a lot of great monologues since the start of the series, particularly in the first season when it was revealed to the audience that he was a Targaryen, but this was probably my favourite so far. The episode is entitled “Kill the Boy”, and when I saw that title I was expecting some crazy plot twist regarding Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) and an assassination plot, or something of that ilk, but instead it relates to Maester Aemon telling Jon to become a man and do the thing which is best for his people. Whether or not Jon will be able to kill the boy inside of him and become the leader that The Watch needs remains to be seen, but I think it could perhaps also be a foreboding nod for what’s to come – beware of Olly (Brenock O’Connor). Either way, this was a brilliant scene, well-acted and well-written – I am loving The Wall in season five.

Stannis (Stephen Dillane) began his journey to Winterfell in this episode, which while exciting, makes me slightly sad because he’s been such a great addition to The Wall so far this season. I think the blow will be eased by the fact that Jon is going to go to Hardhome with the Wildlings, because we probably won’t see much of The Wall in the next few episodes anyway, but I do wish we could’ve had as much time seeing Jon and Stannis interact as we did seeing Stannis twiddle his thumbs in previous seasons.

Before leaving Stannis managed to have one more memorable scene at The Wall, as he spoke to Samwell (John Bradley-West) about his escapades beyond The Wall, and displayed what felt like respect for his efforts. He seemed to value the fact that Sam was trying to learn more about his enemy, which I wasn’t expecting because Stannis is such a fierce character, but when I think about it he also puts a lot of thought into how he can overcome his foes in battle, so it made sense that he’d appreciate what Sam was up to. To be a great war commander you have to understand the worth of those people who research your enemy, because it’s their efforts which ultimately allow fighters to get the upper hand.

via entertainment-focus.com

So far this season Stannis’ focus has been on the Boltons, as he needs to take the North in order to stake his claim for the Iron Throne, but there are other things to worry about, so it was good to see that whilst the throne is his primary aim, he hasn’t forgotten about the enemy that lurks beyond The Wall. It was also really interesting to hear that they have dragonglass (obsidian) at Dragonstone, because that would seem to suggest that Stannis could get hold of some and make weapons for the Night’s Watch. This scene more than any other so far has led me to believe that Stannis might be along for the long haul on this series, which I was previously unsure of because of how much they’re pushing his character this season prior to meeting the Boltons in combat.

On “Game of Thrones” when you are becoming likeable and being given more screen time it’s likely that your head is edging closer to the chopping block, so recently I’ve felt concerned for Stannis as the showrunners have endeavoured to demonstrate that he’s both a good leader and an honourable man. However, this scene has renewed my hope that he will face a fate that is at least better than death – of course, the writers could still just be placing the rug beneath us, so as to pull it away when we’re getting comfortable.

Stannis faces a formidable foe in Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), which the writers tried to portray in this episode by revealing that Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) was conceived through rape. Roose thinks back to this event with fondness as he reveals it to Ramsay; he doesn’t show any shame or remorse, instead he revels in the pain that he’s caused. He shows us all that he isn’t just an opportunist willing to stab a friend in the back; he’s a cruel and vicious man down to his core. Up till now Roose was just the man who killed Robb Stark (Richard Madden) to further his own agenda, which doesn’t make him a villain on this show. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) threw Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) out of a window in the first episode of this series, and he did so in order to preserve the incestuous relationship he had with his sister, which in turn produced one of the most brutal kings The Seven Kingdoms had ever known! Is Jaime a villain because of those actions? I’d guess that many would say no, so Roose’s actions at The Red Wedding don’t make him a villain.

via theverge.com

Nevertheless, the way that Roose talks to Ramsay in this episode does show that he’s a villain – words might seem a lot less sharp than daggers, but the mark they leave on an audience can be just as deep. Roose is a man who enjoys being bad, he feels nothing for the people he has harmed and doesn’t need a good reason to cause pain and anguish; he’s manipulating his son to do the things that he can’t do, because if he was flaying people alive left, right, and centre, he’d probably seem overzealous and unpleasant. He might be the man who killed Robb Stark, but he isn’t a tyrant yet – better to have Ramsay do his dirty work because everyone already knows how deranged he is.

The way that the writers are setting things up is intelligent, because they want us to hate Roose as we begin to like Stannis; they want there to be a clear fan favourite when it comes to the clash for Winterfell. What’s clear is that the stakes are high for that battle, because Roose isn’t going to show mercy to his enemies, and Ramsay would do terrible things to characters that the show wants us to like, such as Shireen (Kerry Ingram). A lot of people I’ve heard talking about Shireen’s character seem to think that Melisandre (Carice van Houten) has unholy plans for her, which could well be the case given the power of the royal blood which runs through her veins, but I could just as easily see her being killed by Ramsay, which would be harsh even for this show.

Probably my favourite scene at Winterfell in this episode was the one in which Ramsay struggled to keep Myranda (Charlotte Hope) in check. We didn’t know a lot about her prior to this episode, but this scene did a great job of quickly introducing her motivations and her dynamic with Ramsay, so that she could be a key antagonist in the rest of the season. The writers are clearly trying to make it seem like Myranda is just as evil as Ramsay, which is intriguing because it puts Sansa (Sophie Turner) in a lot of danger and gives us one more reason to feel concerned about her in episodes to come.

via winteriscoming.net

The writers did a good job of making Ramsay seem like the bad guy in the interaction between himself and Myranda, because he was very blasé about their relationship but also very controlling at the same time, but what was intriguing was that it also seemed like Myranda was playing him to a certain degree. She wanted him to be angry and she could give as good as she got; she enticed him by biting his lip and made him reaffirm how he felt for her by threatening that she would marry someone else – she has sway over him, at least on some level. Of course, that could backfire badly for her if she gets too cocky, but for now it’s exciting to guess what she’ll do next, given how unstable she seems to be, and I’m hoping she can get away with quite a lot of mischief before she gets her comeuppance.

Myranda’s primary role in this episode was simply to make Sansa seem in even more trouble than we already knew she was, but she also did something very significant by reintroducing Theon (Alfie Allen), a.k.a. Reek, to Sansa. After we were taken full circle, seeing the Broken/Burned Tower where this series really began, Myranda took Sansa to the kennels for a ‘surprise’. That surprise wasn’t presents and cake, instead, it was revealed to Sansa that the supposed murderer of her two brothers was sleeping with the dogs as Ramsay’s personal slave/servant. It’s been so long since the two last saw one another that there was almost a sense of relief behind Sansa’s disgust, because as Ramsay pointed out, Theon is the closest thing that Sansa has to family at Winterfell, but I could definitely see Sansa seeking revenge at some point.

Seeing the two be reunited, even in their dire circumstances, was a great moment in the episode, as it served to show just how much Jaime’s actions in season one changed the course of history and ultimately made the show what it is today. If that had never happened then Sansa might’ve been Queen, which wouldn’t have been great for her, but perhaps it would’ve been better if Ned (Sean Bean) was still alive. If Jaime hadn’t hurt Bran then perhaps Ned wouldn’t have snooped around so much, so he never would’ve realised the truth about the Lannister’s dirty secret, and he could’ve simply been adviser to Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) in King’s Landing. As for Theon, he would’ve been adviser to Robb at Winterfell, helping him decide how to best deal with winter and probably living a fairly mundane life – so Jaime really did make things worse for everyone.

via gameofthrones.wikia.com

A lot of people were disappointed by the scenes at Winterfell, because it’s been said that Sansa is still acting like a pawn, and that her dialogue isn’t as pragmatic and nuanced as we should expect given that she’s been learning how to play this game for so long. She’s seen Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen), Cersei (Lena Headey), Ned, Tyrion, Tywin (Charles Dance) and even Margaery (Natalie Dormer) playing the game as they see fit, so a lot of people are disappointed that those experiences don’t show when she talks to people like Ramsay and Roose.

However, I disagree with this line of thought, because the smartest thing for Sansa to do right now is be obedient and quiet. She’s stayed alive by doing that so far, so maybe the best thing for her to do is bide her time and to know which lessons apply to which situations. If she suddenly decides to be a smart-arse with the Boltons then she has no one in the immediate vicinity to rescue her – The Hound (Rory McCann) isn’t going to swoop in and save the day this time. She’s alone, so she has to be careful, and that’s how I view these scenes. At any moment things could go array, and I think it’s in these moments that we’ll see if Sansa has truly changed, not at the dinner table surrounded by crazy men. If Sansa has the guts to end a life then she’s changed, and I can definitely see her getting that triumphant moment in the future.

via vanityfair.com

The episode ended with Tyrion and Jorah, as they continued their journey to meet Daenerys – although it’s probably not the best time to be a traitor or a Lannister on your way to Meereen! I haven’t said much about Tyrion in recent weeks, but that’s mostly because he hasn’t been up to much, and to be honest I haven’t enjoyed his scenes. He’s in a place as a character that Daenerys often has been, whereby we like him and want to keep track of his movements, but nothing compelling is really happening while he’s on screen. That changed this week, as Tyrion and Jorah finally faced some adversity to spice up their journey.

Jorah and Tyrion travelled through the ruins of old Valyria, which had many a fan in awe, because there’s never really been a description of what it would look like in the books, and it’s also new terrain on the show. It looked beautiful, and it was very quaint for a few moments as Tyrion and Jorah delivered some poignant lines, but this was merely the calm before the storm. First, the scene we’d all been waiting for since the season five poster was revealed finally arrived, as Tyrion saw Drogon soaring above him, looking as powerful and graceful as you would expect him to in the open air. This was a great moment for the show, because up until now Tyrion has never seen a dragon – now that he has, he shouldn’t need quite as much motivation to want to side with Daenerys!

Second, as Drogon flew out of the shot and into the distance, a shadowy figure in the background fell into the water below. That scene was very cool, because the creature just seemed to let himself fall without a care in the world. It seemed like something straight out of a horror film, and I actually rewound immediately in order to get a better look at what had fallen before letting things play out. I was a bit disappointed in the appearance of the Stone Men once they were up close, because they did just look like middle-aged men with make-up on, but the stakes were still high and the scene itself was quite well choreographed. Thinking back, it was nice that in a couple of episodes before this one we had greyscale properly explained to us, because that saved time in this episode so that the characters didn’t have too much exposition to get through whilst they faced the prospect of death (something which bogs down a lot of film and television – particularly the “Hobbit” movies, and every Marvel film).

via entertainment-focus.com

When the dust settled and Tyrion had been saved from a watery grave by Jorah, things never felt right. Both characters said that they hadn’t been touched by the Stone Men, but it ended up that both had! It wasn’t clear if Tyrion had lied for a reason, but I don’t think he has greyscale, I think he just said no because none of the men actually touched his skin and he wanted to be left alone. The reveal at the end that Jorah had contracted greyscale was an interesting way to end the episode, because it could potentially spell the end for him, and it will likely add an extra layer of intrigue to the trip to Meereen, which now seems as though it will take even longer.

I don’t know what this means for Jorah as a character, but my best guess would be that this will be the reason that he ends up in the fighting pits. In the trailer a person that looks like Jorah seems to be fighting there, which makes a lot more sense now that Jorah has basically been handed a death sentence, because to prove himself to Daenerys he could fight for her against an enemy, or perhaps he could do something really interesting like fight on behalf of Tyrion – a third trial by combat isn’t completely out of the question! He could even be fighting for himself in that case, because as Tyrion pointed out in the previous episode, Jorah is just as likely to face execution as he is.

This episode of “Game of Thrones” was full of intrigue and promises much for the future. Not a great deal happened again, it has to be said, but I have no particular qualms with that because the pieces are there if you’re truly interested and want to put them together, and the fact that not a lot has been achieved so far just means that they’ve got a lot left to give in the season. We’re halfway through right now, and the episodes are only getting better, which bodes well for the second half of the season. There’s plenty of potential for another crazy ninth episode as well, as we could see Daenerys’ troubles in the fighting pits, a White Walker showdown with the Wildlings (and Jon Snow), or perhaps even Stannis’ battle with the Boltons (although I don’t think that’s on the horizon just yet). The only issue I had with the episode is how many characters it missed out, because we don’t want the show to have a fractured timeline and feel disjointed, but that’s something which can’t be criticised properly without first seeing how next week fares.

9/10

Game of Thrones: Season Five, Episode 4 – “Sons of the Harpy”

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Aidan Gillen, Barristan Selmy, Bronn, Carice van Houten, Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dorne, Emilia Clarke, Finn Jones, Game of Thrones, George RR Martin, Grey Worm, Gwendoline Christie, Hizdahr zo Loraq, Ian McElhinney, Iwan Rheon, Jaime Lannister, Jerome Flynn, Joel Fry, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, Kerry Ingram, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Littlefinger, Loras Tyrell, Maraery Tyrell, Mark Addy, Meereen, Melisandre, Michael McElhatton, Michelle Fairley, Michiel Huisman, Natalie Dormer, Ned Stark, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Oberyn, Pedro Pascal, Raleigh Ritchie, Ramsay Bolton, Roose Bolton, Sansa Stark, Sean Bean, Shireen Baratheon, Sons of the Harpy, Sophie Turner, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Television, The Faith Militant, The High Sparrow, The Hunger Games, The Sand Snakes, The Wall, TV, Winterfell

This review contains spoilers for the fourth episode of “Game of Thrones” season five, as well as a fan theory which could end up being a spoiler for a major character’s background. The fan theory spoiler will be clearly signposted so that you can avoid it if you want to.

This episode, entitled “Sons of the Harpy”, set the groundwork for the rest of the season, as character’s pasts and futures were explained implicitly to the audience. For those of us watching carefully enough there were numerous nods to a particular fan theory which could play a pivotal role in the story going forward, and there was also a lot of foreboding for what we might see before the end of the season, whether it be Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Bronn’s (Jerome Flynn) conversation regarding how they would like to die, or Littlefinger’s (Aidan Gillen) final lesson to Sansa (Sophie Turner) before he left for King’s Landing. It wasn’t the most exciting episode ever, but it did a lot of the hard work for this season, introducing the Faith Militant properly, the Sand Snakes, and the aforementioned fan theory, which will no doubt give future episodes much more clarity.

The next section contains possible spoilers for the future of the series, relating to a fan theory about a certain character’s parentage.

This episode more than any other has taken us past George R.R. Martin’s books and into new territory, through what seemed to be the beginning of the end regarding the mystery of Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) parentage. There’s a pretty popular theory among fans that R + L = J. This might not mean much to people who haven’t been paying close attention, but as far as I’m concerned it has to be right, and I can appreciate the series so much more because of that fact.

In this equation, R stands for Rhaegar Targaryen, son of the Mad King and brother to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). Rhaegar was killed by Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) during Robert’s Rebellion, and he has been mentioned before on the series, most notably in the first episode when Robert and Ned (Sean Bean) were talking in front of Lyanna’s grave in the crypts of Winterfell.

L stands for Lyanna Stark, Ned Stark’s sister, who died long before the start of the series. The tale of Rhaegar’s affection for Lyanna was told by Littlefinger in this episode, followed by Sansa’s scathing comments about the supposed subsequent kidnapping and rape, although Littlefinger didn’t confirm or deny that theory, he simply smirked and carried on.

Finally, J stands for Jon Snow, meaning that, according to the theory, Jon Snow isn’t actually Ned Stark’s son at all; he’s the bastard child of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Without going through it too much, this makes a lot of sense and from the moment I heard about it I was sold, but the series hasn’t really made much of an effort to confirm the theory until now, other than the strange scene in the first season in which Ned refused to tell Robert who Jon’s mother was (the theory explains why he wouldn’t want to tell Robert, because Robert loved Lyanna and he wouldn’t like it if he knew that Rhaegar wasn’t actually a villainous rapist).

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In this episode the writers wove this theory into the dialogue and the story beautifully, first with Stannis’ (Stephen Dillane) observation that sleeping with a woman other than his wife was very unlike Ned, second with Melisandre’s (Carice van Houten) sexual advances towards Jon (because she wanted to make another shadow baby, which requires royal blood – Targaryen and Stark would do pretty fine on that front), third with Littlefinger and Sansa’s conversation in the crypts of Winterfell, and finally with Barristan Selmy’s (Ian McElhinney) slightly out of place tale of a kind and gentle Rhaegar, who liked to sing and meet the people.

I don’t believe for a second that these comments were wasted words, rather, to me they seemed like a subtle nod from the writers to the fans, letting them know that something big is coming, and that they should all be ready. The way that the writers fit this theory into the episode really was impressive, because it wouldn’t take you out of the story if you didn’t have any idea who Rhaegar was before turning on your television, but if you do know the theory then you can appreciate the whole story right from the first episode that little bit more.

To someone casually watching the show these conversations would just seem like world-building, idle talk based around settings and the theme of leadership, yet in reality they are the beginnings of a pay-off that we’ve been waiting for since day one. The true brilliance of this episode is how the theory was worked in; how the writers winked at the audience and said ‘here we go’. That’s why I’ve taken time to spell it out, because this episode could seem completely ordinary and perhaps even lacklustre to someone who didn’t understand the bigger picture, but once you realise just how well the writers have done to not give away too much whilst also teasing their more enthusiastic fans, you see just how awesome the episode actually was.

From here on out there will only be spoilers for this episode and those that have preceded it.

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My favourite scene in this episode was Sansa and Littlefinger’s conversation in the crypts of Winterfell, not because of the theory which I’ve already mentioned, but because it gave me a better grasp of their relationship. I was slightly suspicious of Littlefinger’s motives before this episode, because no matter how nice Littlefinger is trying to be, there’s usually a good reason for his trying. For example, in episode three he told Sansa that if she didn’t want to marry Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) then she didn’t have to, he would turn their caravan around and they could go wherever she wanted to go, but he only did that to give her the confidence to make her own decision to go to Winterfell and go through with the marriage. He’s a manipulator, so it’s really hard to know what’s going on in his head.

This scene made me feel like Littlefinger actually cares for Sansa in his own disgusting and slightly perverse way. He’s a father figure to her, coaching her on the ways of the world and how to get by with the skill set she’s been given, but he also kisses her on the lips and seems to have projected his love for Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) right onto her. Despite the strange nature of his affection, it was almost sweet to see him give her a pep talk and leave her with a plan – if Stannis gets the better of the Boltons she will have the North, if he doesn’t she must make Ramsay give it to her by giving herself to him. Littlefinger always has a plan B, and I enjoyed him putting the cards on the table for Sansa before leaving her with the Boltons, even if he was perhaps doing so for the audience just as much as he was for her.

What’s interesting about this scene is that it raises a lot of questions for the future; Littlefinger is heading back to King’s Landing to deal with Cersei (Lena Headey), who could have a nasty plan for him, given how she’s been treating everyone else in her inner circle. There’s also the fact that Roose (Michael McElhatton) knows that Littlefinger is headed back to King’s Landing, and he could, should he wish, tell Cersei all about Littlefinger’s betrayal (even leaving out Sansa’s inclusion if he wanted to). If Roose did that he’d have his alliance with the Lannisters back, which is arguably a better position for him to be in than having an alliance with Littlefinger. Finally, the Faith Militant are now running around King’s Landing invading whorehouses and locking up those who go against the gods, which doesn’t spell good times for Littlefinger, especially given that the whorehouse they invaded in this episode was his.

I’m extremely worried that Littlefinger could die in the next few weeks, because everything is stacked up against him, and going back to King’s Landing could be his first strategic misstep. The fact that he told Sansa all about his plan and tried to make her feel more at ease, finally showing his softer side, only heightens this worry. It feels as though the show really wants us to become invested in the pair, which usually means something bad is going to happen to at least one of them. Littlefinger’s death would also propel Sansa forward, possibly making her even more hateful of the Boltons, and giving her the motivation she might need to overcome Ramsay. It would also give Brienne’s (Gwendoline Christie) storyline a push in the right direction (although I think the mere fact that Littlefinger won’t be at Sansa’s side will have that effect). It’s a difficult time to be a fan of Littlefinger, which I most definitely am, so let’s hope that he makes it out alive!

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In King’s Landing things are heating up, and it feels like it won’t be too long until they reach boiling point. Cersei is playing her usual games and this time Loras (Finn Jones) is the one to suffer. I’m extremely interested to see what becomes of him in the future, because he’s always been a bit part player in “Game of Thrones” – he feels expendable, but at the same time he’s been around since the start of the series so if he was to go I think it would be a shame. He hasn’t really been explored as a character, and now it feels like he’s just there to act as a catalyst for Margaery (Natalie Dormer) to come to blows with Cersei, so perhaps it’s time for him to bite the dust, even if only so  that Margaery finally shows her true colours.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve actually felt sorry for Cersei, because despite how vile a human being she is, she loves her children and she’s seeing them slip through her fingers. However, this episode changed all that, because now she’s manipulating her son just like she does everyone else, just so that she can get back at Margaery. Sending Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) to speak to the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) was a really despicable and foolish thing for Cersei to do, because it could’ve quite easily resulted in his death. I think that he did the smart thing by walking away from the Faith Militant, because if he’d told his men to attack he could’ve been caught in the ensuing melee, and he might’ve also caused a riot, due to the fact that members of the crowd behind were heckling abuse such as ‘bastard’ and ‘abomination’.

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At The Wall, Stannis showed his love for his daughter, proving that whilst he is a stern and formidable leader, he’s also a man that can feel something for other human beings. He’s a man with pride and honour, even if he can be overly harsh and too eager to punish. I’ve never been overly keen on Stephen Dillane’s acting in the series, because I’ve often felt that he hasn’t given the character a clear voice or direction. However, Stannis has been a far more interesting character since he arrived at The Wall, so I’m starting to think that it was Stannis’ story, rather than Dillane’s acting, which was previously lacking.

With more to do at The Wall Stannis has become one of my favourite characters, and his mannerisms now make sense to me. The scene in which Stannis told Shireen (Kerry Ingram) that she belonged with him was one of the more touching moments on the series to date, and it was also very well acted, as Dillane looked intentionally awkward and avoided physically displaying his affection, standing upright and remaining cool, before finally looking his daughter in the eye and basically telling her that he loved her. The scene fit with Stannis’ character, but also displayed another dimension to him, which in turn gave me a deeper understanding of the character and will make me care about his fate in upcoming episodes.

In warmer climates, the Sand Snakes were finally introduced, and they were… disappointing. I don’t like their accents (although one of them sounded like Oberyn (Pedro Pascal), which was sort of cool), and I don’t think I’m going to like their storyline. I have to say that all in all I’m not incredibly invested in what’s going on in Dorne. I feel like Jaime has had his arc and has become a slightly miserable and lonely man, which makes me wonder what his purpose is going forward. If he died I’d be disappointed because he’s a likeable character, but I don’t know what he offers to the series going forward after this storyline has played out. There was a bit of foreboding as he talked about how he’d like to die with Bronn, which could be a sign of things to come, but it also might’ve been a tool to make the audience think that their fight scene later in the episode was potentially a fatal one.

I hope that things in Dorne get a bit more interesting in coming weeks, but for now I’m not convinced that it can live up to the already established settings which we see on the show.

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Lastly, in Meereen the stakes were raised once more, and Daenerys is yet again facing a set-back. After having a cheerful and warm exchange with Daenerys, Barristan Selmy went into the city to be with the people. He heard a ruckus and went to investigate, finding Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson, also known by the stage name Raleigh Ritchie) in a lot of trouble, as the Sons of the Harpy surrounded him, ready to kill. Selmy killed plenty of the masked men, displaying the fighting prowess that he was known for in his younger years, and possibly saving Grey Worm’s life in the process. However, it seems like his efforts were his last, because he was stabbed and at the end of the episode he laid in a pool of his own blood, presumably dying from his wounds. Grey Worm was also injured, but it was unclear whether or not his injuries were as serious as Selmy’s, so I’m not quite sure yet if his efforts were all for nothing (although I expect not).

It was a good way for Barristan Selmy to go, because he got to show off the skills that made him who he was, and he also hopefully saved the life of a friend. I have to say that I wasn’t overly surprised by what happened, because I predicted that Selmy would die before the start of the season, but I thought it was a smart way to end what was a very dialogue heavy episode. The scene didn’t feel completely convincing to me, because given the no nonsense history of the show I don’t think that Grey Worm would’ve made it; there were points in the fight at which he was surrounded, yet only one man would go to attack him, which didn’t make a lot of sense or fit with the nature of the show. Still, it was what it was, and I’m sure some people enjoyed it.

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A final point regarding Daenerys and the story at Meereen relates to Hizdahr zo Loraq (Joel Fry), who has been a recurring character on the show, and I actually like watching him quite a bit. Until now he’s not had a lot to do, because he’s basically there to convey demands to Daenerys and attempt to sway her opinion, but this episode led me to believe that he’s got a much larger role in the grand scheme of things. The way that the characters referred to him as harmless was just a bit weird, so it seems to me like he’s being set up to be the bad guy in Meereen. Somebody has to be leading the Sons of the Harpy, so perhaps it’s him – if it is then I’m on board.

I was hoping that Daario (Michiel Huisman) would be a secret villain, because he’s such a waste of a character, and I’ve never connected to him as a hero, but Hizdahr would probably be the next best thing. He’s got a real authority in his voice and looks quite scary when he’s just being normal, so I think it would be very cool to see him suddenly turn on Daenerys later on in the season. It’s also worth noting that on the trailer there’s a scene in which the Sons of the Harpy are surrounding Daenerys in what appears to be the fighting pits, and those pits are Hizdahr’s main focus right now, so perhaps that adds weight to the theory.

All in all, this was another very solid episode. There was a lot of dialogue, but that’s not a problem in my view, because I usually find the conversations between the characters much more compelling than the occasional action sequence. “Sons of the Harpy” had a lot to get through; it did very well in setting up the future of the season whilst also keeping me engaged in both the characters and the isolated plot of the episode, and it was overall a really good hour of television.

8.5/10