Those who’ve been watching Game of Thrones know that one of its strengths – and weaknesses – is its juggling of multiple plot lines across a massive landscape. So, it was a bit of a surprise to see this week’s episode focus on only five plotlines in total and only three in depth. Two of them, the stories of Arya Stark and Samwell Tarly, are only used, respectively, to begin and end the episode.
Spoiler Alert!
The primary focuses are on Daenerys, who plans to attack the slaver’s city of Yunkai, Stannis Baratheon, who plots sorceries with Melisandre to advance his claim to the throne and Tyrion Lannister’s painful, unwanted arranged marriage to Sansa Stark.
This strategy – one of deep dives into smaller parcels of plot – is a wise one for the episode, and one the show should consider doing again. While Game of Thrones could never do a bottle episode and focus on only one character or plotline, it could certainly do what “Second Sons” does again.
We begin with Arya, now a prisoner of Sandor Clegane. The opening frame of the episode is a close-up on a rock in Arya’s hand, while she is out of focus in the left foreground. Naturally, she moves to brain The Hound with it, but he’s a light sleeper and quickly disabuses her of such a ridiculous notion. Granted, he has no desire to harm her or give her to her enemies, planning instead to sell her to her mother as a hostage. While monetary gain isn’t exactly a wholesome motive, The Hound is right when he says that most others who found her alone in the forest would have treated her far worse.
On Dragonstone, Melisandre is convinced that the blood of Gendry, King Robert Baratheon’s bastard son, can be of aid to Stannis. Davos Seaworth, who’s been imprisoned since this season’s premiere, is freed to witness the, um, ceremony at which Gendry’s blood is taken. Davos fears the boy will be straight-up murdered, with good reason, but instead sees the end result of something less fatal but more depraved.
The boy is fucked into complacency by Melisandre and then drained of some blood with leeches (including ONE ON HIS COCK WTF), which Stannis tosses into the fire to represent each of his enemies (Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy and Joffrey Baratheon). Only time will tell if it will have any effect, but given the track record of Melisandre’s sorcery – it’s killed every person who’s been its direct target, as we saw in Season 2 – those three kings have much to fear. This effectiveness is the subject of one of the episode’s best scenes between Stannis and Davos, when the king asks his right-hand man how he can manage not to believe in the Lord of Light in the face of terrifying proof.
The other royals we saw this episode were quite busy themselves. Just outside the slaver’s city of Yunkai, Daenerys attempted to negotiate with a company of sellswords (mercenaries) called the Second Sons, hoping to sway their loyalty from Yunkai. Her hit streak continued this episode, as she suffered through the repellent, misogynistic come-ons of the Sons’ leader Mero with a self-assured smile and queenly grace, breaking her cool only after he leaves and she immediately orders Ser Barristan to kill him first if they meet on the battlefield.
That ends up being unnecessary. In the meeting between Dany and Mero, he is flanked by two apparent flunkies, one of whom introduces himself as Daario Naharis, a tall, longhaired swaggering warrior who seems out of place among such savage men – all without seeming anything less than deadly.
He proves this difference by sneaking into Dany’s camp and tent after being ordered to kill her by Mero. Despite that fact, he surprises her during a bath, presents her with Mero’s head and pledges the Sons to her cause. The moment where Dany rises slowly from the tub to confront Daario head on, before he bows to her, serves as an intriguing example of how nudity in film can be artistic, non-exploitative and utterly empowering when properly employed. That is something to celebrate, considering how much of season 1 Daenerys spent nude and in a sexualized way that earned the show much criticism as a result.
In King’s Landing, Joffrey Baratheon had some of his most vile moments to date, which is saying a lot. Threatening to rape Sansa Stark, his uncle Tyrion’s current wife and former betrothed? Check. Taking away Tyrion’s stepstool during the wedding ceremony so the beleaguered dwarf had to beg Sansa to kneel so he could give her his wedding cloak? Check.
Tyrion has long been the ultimate favorite character for many Game of Thrones fans, and Peter Dinklage plays him to a fucking T. So, it was remarkable to see the actor step his game up a whole new level this episode. The tenderness and respect that Tyrion shows to Sansa, a woman he knows desires him not a jot, is heartbreaking.
The apoplectic fury he directs at Joffrey when he can take no more of the royal psychopath’s taunts is truly frightening. Upon Joffrey’s shout of “There will be a bedding ceremony, if I command it,” Tyrion slams his knife into the table and says, “Then, you’ll be fucking your own bride with a wooden cock.” Oddly enough, Tywin Lannister, a man with little to no care for his second son, comes to Tyrion’s rescue and plays the threat off as a drunken joke. Tyrion quickly picks up on his father’s ruse and acts the part of the lecherous boozehound he was once known to be. (This makes for some seriously meta acting, as Dinklage masterfully plays a drunk man who is playing an even drunker man.)
For the final ten minutes of the episode, we head back up north to check in on Samwell Tarly, the wildling girl, Gilly, and her unnamed baby. We have some truly sweet moments between the two of them, as Sam explains seemingly basic concepts to her (like last names) without sounding condescending. He’s too kind for that, and it’s a welcome respite from all the drama to see these near-broken people find comfort in each other.
This is but a brief interlude from horror. Later that night, a white walker comes for the baby, and Sam finally finds his courage in a moment where many men who’d claim to be braver than him would likely whimper and run. He fumbles for the dragonglass (volcanic obsidian) dagger as a last resort, after the walker destroys his steel sword, and discovers the only way that these creatures can be killed. He and Gilly rush headlong into the woods for their lives, pursued by a massive flock of ravens, before the credits roll, and we in the audience freak the fuck out with anticipation for the next installment.
Liam Green can be reached at lgreen@thoughtpollution.com.