Summary: The Starks at King's Landing are executed and Sansa is captured. Arya escapes though Syrio is presumably killed. Sansa pleads for mercy for Ned and ultimately she gets her wish as Joffrey decrees that Ned will be spared if he confesses his sins and declares Joffrey as the true king. Robb gets word that Ned has been imprisoned and he goes to war with Catelyn. He marches south. Tyrion befriends the hill tribe and meets with Tywin's army, which is ravaging the Riverlands. Across the sea, Mago is displeased when Dany doesn't allow him to rape a girl from a village the Khalasar pillaged. Drogo fights Mago and kills him. At The Wall, two dead bodies are found but they come back as wights. Jon kills one which attacks Lord Commander Mormont's chamber.
The Good: This episode continued to deliver the exciting storytelling and non-stop action that was started in the last episode and I still really enjoy it. This episode felt really important because of that, and I think it's really impressive how the show has picked up ever since "The Wolf and the Lion". The early sequence of the Stark men being executed was very well done, and it goes to show that Ned has lost all control and the Starks have been completely dominated, making King's Landing enemy territory. I enjoyed seeing Arya and Syrio fight back though and Syrio got to presumably die in great fashion, both saving Arya and giving her one final unintentional lesson about life and death. Varys and Ned's scene together was also terrific. I loved Varys addressing how he is not a hero and is just trying to serve the realm (see: The Unknown), as it gives us more interesting information about who he is. The meat of the scene as the best part though as it all reflected on Ned's mercy, which ended up being his fatal flaw which has led to all of this happening. It's the perfect thing for him to contemplate as he sits in his cell and it paints a very sad image of what has happened to him since arriving in King's Landing. Sansa was great in this episode. It's sad to see her be so easily manipulated by Joffrey and Cersei, still swayed by her foolish and childish belief that the Queen and King are both trustworthy and brilliant individuals. It's compelling to see her in such a hostile environment without realizing it as she tries everything in her power to save Ned from harm. It's really tense to watch as we understand that anything that Sansa wants can now only be given to her by Cersei and Joffrey, two monstrous individuals. I loved seeing Robb get forced into a more major role as well since he has been a minor asset of the show so far. But the capture of his father forces him o take action, and Robb clearly shares his father's honour, recklessness and grit as he instantly calls his banners and goes to war. It's exciting to watch and also opens up yet another character arc as we now get to see the young Robb forced to immediately harden himself into a leader so he can command his army into battle. Tyrion was sublime as always. I really enjoyed seeing him talk his way out of a problem with the hill tribe by offering them tools and gold, and in doing so he gets himself a new group of allies. This also leads to a very good scene where Tyrion meets his father and we learn of his relationship with Tywin while also getting some light-hearted comedy from Bronn and more war set up as Tywin tackles the immediate threat of Robb coming south. The stuff at The Wall was really good too. I loved the wight attack as it was suspenseful, well choreographed and very engaging (aside from that one moment where Jon throws the lamp which featured some audio clips which were blatantly added in editing). The scene had my interest and paid off of 8 episodes of build up to the Night's Watch being confronted by the threat of white walkers directly. The rest of The Wall story was great too. I enjoyed seeing Jon unsettled and angry after learning about what happened in King's Landing, and it also nicely continued Jon's feud with Ser Alliser who continues to antagonize him. Also, I enjoyed Sam's increased role in the story as he has found his calling as the brain of the Night's Watch who has all of the knowledge. I'm pleased to see that he is more than just a coward. I also enjoyed seeing Dan conflicted with the rape that the Khalasar does after looting a village. It's understandable that she would sympathize with the villagers for that and is unhappy with doing that much despite being content with stealing the money from the village. This conflict also led to a nice scene where Drogo finally shows what he is capable of as he dominates and brutally murders Mago. Lastly, I really liked seeing Barristan retired by Joffrey. It's exactly the kind of evil thing that we can expect the Lannisters to do. The Bad: Arya's scene where she kills the one boy was really badly done. It was too rushed to have any real impact, which was likely because the boy proved to be a terrible actor in the 12 seconds of screen time he had. I also don't really understand who he is, which detracts from Arya killing him. It seems like he was familiar with her which I don't understand. The scene with Robb being questioned by the Greatjon was poorly done too because of a rushed pace. The scene's tone fluctuated far too quickly and that took me out of it. I also thought it was too excessive to have the Greatjon laughing moments after losing two of his fingers. The Unknown: Where has Arya gone? What does Varys mean when he says he supports the realm? Will Ned actually confess to save himself? It seems unlikely to me. Best Moment: Not much stood out, but I'll pick Tyrion's reunion with Tywin as there were some fascinating character dynamics present in that scene. Character of the Episode: I'll go with Jon for having the most interesting character development here. Conclusion: This was a very good episode with lot of solid story progression and excitement. Though nothing particularly memorable happened in this episode, it was gripping and engaging nonetheless. Score: 67
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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