TV Recap: Game of Thrones, ‘The Sons of the Harpy’

The Sons of the Harpy Plot Summary:

Cersei arranges a new alliance with the seeming incorruptible High Sparrow, militarizing his legion of zealous followers and punishing Margaery in the process. At Castle Black, Stannis reveals a softer side and Jon Snow continues to resist the temptation to break his vows. Bronn and Jaime arrive in Dorne, but not undetected, and Ellaria and the Sand Snakes plan their revenge on the Lannisters. Tyrion’s still en route to meet Daenerys, but in much more uncomfortable quarters as Jorah Mormont’s captive. In Mereen, the Sons of the Harpy ambush Daenerys’s Unsullied, in what proves to be a very costly battle indeed.

You can’t really fault Game of Thrones for getting off to a slower than usual start this season. Typically, the table-setting is wrapped up in the first couple of episodes (and by this point last season, we already had the death of one of the show’s major villains), but as Benioff and Weiss move past George R. R. Martin’s first three novels and onto the series’ often-bloated later installments, it takes a bit longer to move all of the pieces in place. Even though Benioff and Weiss have wisely excised some of Martin’s ever growing cast of characters (does anyone miss the Ironborn? Didn’t think so), there are still a ton of new faces to introduce this season and, as a result, by episode four we are still dealing with some necessary exposition and the building of the framework for just how these many disparate, yet interconnected storylines will come together by season’s end. Though a fairly strong episode, the problem with “The Sons of the Harpy” is that while things are slowly clicking into place over in Kings Landing, Dorne, and Mereen, other storylines seem to lack any forward momentum at all and were merely just idling in place.

Cersei (Lena Headey) and Daenerys are once again positioned as mirror images of each other this week, with both women dealing with uprisings (though of very different natures) in their midst. In a very misguided attempt at a power play, Cersei has apparently created a monster by militarizing the Faith Militant. Though her tip to the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) resulted in the desired arrest of Loras Tyrell (a move which, coupled with Cersei’s sending her father to Braavos, is designed to punish and alienate Margaery), it soon becomes clear – to the audience, if not yet to Cersei– that the High Sparrow and the Faith Militant are not the sycohphantic pawns Cersei typically favors in her political machinations. Not only does the High Sparrow outright refuse audience with King Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) – I have to say, it’s much harder to see poor sweet Tommen called “bastard” and “abomination” by a hissing crowd than it was to see Joffrey treated similarly – but the Faith Militant’s rigid morality (and homophobia), Old Testament-approach to justice, and the apparently sadistic joy some of its zealous followers take in their violent attack on Littlefinger’s brothel and its patrons portend trouble on the horizon and are unsettling to say the least.

While Cersei has unwittingly unleashed a monster, Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) is still struggling to get a handle on her subjects and her big public display of impartiality and justice a few weeks back has clearly not had the desired effect of swaying the Sons of the Harpy. Daenerys brief, but sweet chat with Selmy (Ian McElhinney) also sets her up in contrast to Cersei, since it’s clear that Daenerys doesn’t surround herself with sycophants, but advisors for whom she has real respect and affection (their discussion also provides a little insight into Rhaegar Targaryen’s character – something that might come into play down the road). Unfortunately, it seems as though Selmy has sung his last song after he is (seemingly) mortally wounded after coming to the aid of Grey Worm and the Unsullied during the Sons of the Harpy’s ambush on the streets of Mereen. Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) appears gravely injured in the cliffhanger fight, as well, and with one or possibly two of Daenerys must trusted allies out of the game, her already tenuous hold on Mereen is suddenly a lot more precarious (though she’s also in a position to admit two more into her inner circle, with the impending return of Jorah and his captive, Tyrion).

We also get some progress on the Dorne front his week, as Bronn (Jerome Flynn) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), after some typically entertaining banter en route, finally arrive at their destination. In addition to providing some always welcome comic relief (Bronn and Jaime both share the same type of roguish wit and play off each other nicely), we also get one of the better choreographed fights of the season so far after the two are discovered by some Dornish soldiers. Bronn, of course, is essentially a supernatural killing machine, but it was a nice touch to have Jaime’s severed hand – his greatest weakness – suddenly turn into an asset, as well. Despite taking the precaution of burying the bodies (Jaime: “Corpses raise questions and questions raise armies.”), Jaime and Bronn have not been successfully incognito and Ellaria (Indira Varma) and the Sand Snakes (again, in another smart change, culled down from the novel to just three) commit themselves to revenge against the Lannisters via Myrcella. While the introduction of the Sand Snakes was very brief, I did enjoy Tyene’s recanting of Oberyn’s fatherly advice.

Again, in dealing with such a wide cast and the pacing constraints of an hour-long drama, Benioff and Weiss have really shown themselves adept at tight, expository dialogue that perfectly introduces and sums up a character in a quick, condensed moment. When Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) talks of choosing her father’s spears over the traditional woman’s weapon of tears (hello, Sansa) and then launches her spear right through the skull of their unlucky informant, we already know exactly who she, and the Sand Snakes as a whole, are – fierce warriors bad enough to give the likes of Brienne and Ygritte a run for their money.

Speaking of Ygritte, at Castle Black we are reminded yet again that Jon (Kit Harington) is still in love with her and that he is still incorruptible when it comes to his oath to the Night’s Watch, even when tempted by another beautiful redhead. The scene between Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and Jon certainly served to provide this week’s requisite nudity, but other than that, I’m not sure how it advanced Snow’s storyline – his honorability and faithful adherence to his vows (both to the Night’s Watch and his personal faithfulness to Ygritte) have been well established, so this just felt like the show shuffling its feet until what’s coming next.

Fortunately, the other big scene at the Wall this week was much more successful, as even though Stannis (Stephen Dillane) is still biding his time until his eventual attack on Winterfell, his scene with his daughter, Shireen (Kerry Ingram in a heartbreaking performance), gave some much needed depth to the character. The added backstory that Stannis was inadvertently responsible for his daughter’s life-changing illness was a smart choice, adding a layer of guilt and regret that makes Stannis’ stoic and grim demeanor a lot more relatable, and his reassuring words to her finally showed a bit of warmth and feeling (even though hugs, no matter the circumstance, still don’t come easily to Stannis).

In another storyline given short shrift this week, we also check in briefly with Sansa (Sophie Turner) in Winterfell just long enough to learn that Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) is headed to Kings Landing, leaving her to defend herself against the Boltons. I’m really anxious to see where this story line is going, so I would have liked a little more here, although I did love Littlefinger’s parting words of wisdom that, “Dangerous men can be outmaneuvered, and you’ve learned to maneuver from the best.” Similarly, we quickly touch base with Jorah (Iain Glen) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) just to confirm that Jorah’s taking his captive to Daenerys and to allow Tyrion to showcase some of his trademark wit in sussing out Jorah’s identity and then expertly working his nerves (Dinklage’s appearances have been few and far between this season and after every one, I’m always reminded of how much I miss him).

“The Sons of the Harpy” could have benefited from paying a little more attention to the stories of Sansa and Tyrion (or even Arya and Brienne, both absent this week), but I have faith in Benioff and Weiss’ long game and, even though it’s hard to feel excited about a table-setter of an episode like this one, I’m eager to see how things play out next week and beyond.

Rating: 8 out of 10