Much like last week’s “Oathkeeper,” this week’s episode exists largely as a means of setting up the major events that will occur this season. However, this episode picks up the pace with an intense fight scene near the end of the episode and the blossoming of several plotlines.
But first, a coronation. With Joffrey dead, Tommen finally receives his crown, marking him as the new king of Westeros. The first individual Tommen smiles at is none other than Margaery, something that Cersei immediately notices. As per usual, the acting in this show is top-notch — much of the scene is subtext until Margaery and Cersei speak directly, and even then the conversation veers away from what’s noticeable on the faces of the two women. Margaery’s manipulation of Tommen seems to be working, and Cersei is more than a little displeased that she might be losing control of her son.
Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys makes a momentous decision of her own. After hearing that much of her planning to free Mereen’s enslaved from the Wise Masters doesn’t go as plan, she decides to abandon her plan to re-take Westeros — at least for the time being. She decides instead to stay and rule.
Sansa gets a lesson in power of her own when the boat finally arrives in Vale. We’re re-introduced to Lysa Arryn and her son, who haven’t been seen since the first season. At first, it appears that Lysa has calmed down somewhat, but a scene with Sansa later shows that she’s still as dangerously unstable, and it’s unclear if the always-confident Petyr will be enough to protect her from her aunt’s wrath.
The final important scene comes in the “off-book” battle at Craster’s Keep, where Bran, Mira, Jojen and Hodor are held captive by former members of the Night’s Watch. The biggest emotional beat comes from a near-miss — Bran gets a glimpse of Jon Snow, who has come to dispel the trouble (via a spectacularly-choreographed fight), but decides the safety of everyone matters more than reuniting with this half-brother.
The other two segments of this episode focus on two relationships — that of Ayra and the Hound, and that of Brienne and Podrick. The former relationship is clarified in a quick scene in which Arya is reciting the names of the men she wants dead, and keeping up Sandor in the process. After a brief conversation she ends her list with none other than the Hound. While the two seem to be developing some sort of friendship, it’s also clear that they could quite literally kill each other at any moment. Brienne and Podrick’s relationship doesn’t change much, but does show that Podrick’s inability to survive (who would think to cook a rabbit without skinning it first?) will add some much-needed humour to the otherwise cheerless Brienne.
The show is already at its halfway point, and as more and more pieces move into place, the potential for major conflicts come up. No matter how far the distance, nothing that occurs in Westeros (or Essos, for that matter) occurs in a vacuum.
