bill bodkin fills in …
The Game: The Hound (Rory McCann) is proven innocent in the eyes of The Lord of Light … but the Lord proves he works in the most mysterious of ways. Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) finally has sex Ygritte (Rose Leslie) and then proves that he actually does know something. Lady Olena (Diana Rigg) lecture Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) on finances of the kingdom. The Lannister hostages are murdered by two of Robb Stark’s (Richard Madden) most trusted men including Lord Karstark and then Robb is forced to deal with him. Arya deals with the rules of The Brotherhood. Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) visits his wife in prison and sees his daughter who is terribly scarred. We learn the story of Jaime Lannister’s “betrayal” of The Mad King. Tywin (Charles Dance) and Cersei (Lena Headley) conspire and execute a plan to marry Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) to Tyrion then Tywin turns on Cersei and commands she marry Sir Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones).
The Bed and Body Count: Jon Snow and Ygritte get it as does Loras and his squire. Five traitors die at the hand of Robb Stark’s rule.
Favorite Performance: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister slayed it. Pun intended. His monologue in the baths was his best work to date. We saw a different, tender, sorrowful and humane side of Jaime. He tells us how his actions which lead him to be The King Slayer was actually acts of heroism and valor, sparing thousands of people. It was a great moment.
The Supporting Scene Stealer: He’s always been a solid cast member, but in this episode, Richard Madden as Robb Stark was excellent. His fire was palpable as was his sorrow and regret. His beheading of Lord Karstark
The Best Part of The Episode: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister slayed it. Pun intended. His monologue in the baths was his best work to date. We saw a different, tender, sorrowful and humane side of Jaime. He tells us how his actions which lead him to be The King Slayer was actually acts of heroism and valor, sparing thousands of people. It was a great moment.
The Part We Could’ve Done Without: Not to be squeamish, but we didn’t need to see the stillborn children of Stannis Baratheon.
The Little Thing We Loved: It was a small spot, damn Grey Worm was pretty awesome. His short scene was intense and underscored Khaleesi’s mission statement of making her men free.
Final Thoughts: This week’s episode was a fantastic follow-up to last week’s very thrilling installment of GOT. It had some great acting all-around and from places one wouldn’t expect it — like from Jamie Lannister and Robb Stark. It was also nice to see Jon Snow finally do something right for once and who knew he could really please a lady. The Arya storyline is also ramping up and it’s interesting to see where it goes. Robb Stark’s revelation is one that’s going to be a big game changer as is the double Lannister arranged marriage.
