[rating=8.00] “The Sons of the Harpy”
After a conspicuously meandering start to the fifth season, last night proved to be one of the most compelling, densely packed and brilliantly paced episodes so far. The repeated callbacks to it’s elaborate, built-in backstory balancing out the ongoing story arcs of those who have survived thus far, and we’re reminded throughout that they are defined by their character, rather than their circumstance.
Beginning with Jamie, en route to Dorne with Bronn, where he intends to retrieve Myrcella without the unfortunate side effect of starting a war. When Bronn, the worldly pragmatist that he is, inquires as their decided lack of an army, Jamie states plainly “it has to be me,” asserting that Myrcella is his niece with a determined, yet transparent severity.
Given that Jamie has seen significant redemption to the show’s audience (honestly, who would’ve imagined we’d be rooting for the guy who arrogantly provoked a street fight with Ned Stark midway through the first season), he desperately wants to return to the good graces of Cersei, who while not openly pining for the loss of Joffrey, clearly blames Jamie for the loss of their father, Tywin. While Jamie freely admits he freed his brother from his cell, he credits Varys with his escape, before somberly proclaiming that he’d “split him in two” for retribution for murdering the Lannister patriarch.
“Perhaps the gods need a sword of their own.”
While this season seemed to elude to the fact that Cersei’s power was slipping away rather quickly in the wake of her father’s death, she reasserts herself with a malicious cunning that satiates both her immediate desire for revenge as well as secures her power and placates a seemingly important fringe of the King’s Landing populace.
By emboldening the High Sparrow (a gratuitously miscast Jonathan Pryce), she manages to imprison Margaery’s brother Ser Loras, while dangling a carrot in front of her father, Lord Mace, by luring hi
m to Braavos to haggle with the Iron Bank. Though his being accompanied by Ser Meryn seems to indicate a much more Godfather 2-esque end to their journey.
Throughout all of Cersei’s conniving, she’s still able to plausibly deny her involvement to Tommen, the naïve boy king, and make Margaery’s entire attempt at manipulating her way to power to seem dilettante by comparison. Underscored by her expression and tone as she leaves the king alone in his inability to assert his authority, and proclaiming her need to be with family and undoubtedly reassess their plan.
In the meantime, Maester Pycelle observes that Cersei’s hand-picked Small Council grows smaller as a result. To which she coldly replies “Not small enough.”
Back at Castle Black, Stannis continues to man-crush on Jon Snow, despite his refusal to not fight alongside him, and to deny his offer of Lordship of Winterfell, as well as proclaim him a Stark. Oh, and for his defiantly “humane” method of executing Mance Rayder instead of being burned alive at his command. Who knew the foremost military commander in Westeros was such a pushover?
Even as Melisandre, seemingly forgoing any magic or smoke-monster impregnation techniques, attempts to seduce Jon Snow, he proclaims Castle Black his home, and refuses her advances out of devotion for Ygritte. His steadfast commitment to his Night’s Watch oath, the only honor he’s ever known in his life, continues to be what defines him, to the point it evokes a rancorously familiar reply from Melisandre as she leaves, clearly not used to rejection.
“As it happens, I am a betting man.”
Having returned to Winterfell under the deceit of Littlefinger, Sansa lights candles in the tombs of the home she never thought she’d see again. Specifically, her aunt Lyanna, who’s accompanying back-story is provided with Littlefinger’s typically lecherous narrative. His tale of the Harrenhall tourney, however brief, resonates throughout the tombs, as we hear the episode’s first mention of Rhaegar Targaryan, this one to set up the possibility of the widely accepted R+L=J theory.
After his trip down memory lane, reiterates his plan, which is hinging on Stannis’ invasion of Winterfell and subsequent victory, declaring it an inevitable act of vengeance on her part while netting him a larger part of the Seven Kingdoms regardless of the outcome. It’s an effective scene, particularly the tale of characters gone by, though it leaves a glaring omission to Roose Bolton’s outright distrust of him we were shown in the prior episode.
“I’ve had an exciting life. I want my death to be boring.”
As their sneaking into Dorne provided a satisfying return to form for Bronn, Jamie struggles with even the most basic swordplay, something tied deeply to his identity he lost, along with his right hand, back in the third season.
However, while deflecting what surely would have been a fatal blow, his metallic appendage turns into a life-saving reflex, if not a heavy-handed (pun intended) parable to the episode’s larger character over circumstance theme. Though his insistence on burying the bodies, followed by his immediate reclusion of himself from any digging harkened back to the spoiled, arrogant rich kid we were introduced to initially.
The inevitable segue introduces us to Prince Oberyn’s bastard daughters, The Sand Snakes. They have a perfectly reasonable introduction, if not a bit too close to a Medievel Times intermission act, as they torture, intimidate and ultimately murder the ship captain responsible for bringing Jamie Lannister into their country.
Given that Oberyn Martell had a spectacular, scene-stealing run last season, the necessity of a subplot in the wake of his death does come off as a bit trite, especially considering their leverage is Myrcella, a character we haven’t seen since early on in Season 2, making any vested interest seem forced at best.
Meanwhile, with disparate plotlines finally hint at converging, Tyrion’s arrogance as a captive is rekindled, as he through casual observation not only pieces together who his captor is, but Jorah’s idyllic ambitions in delivering him to “The Queen,” by which he meant Daenerys, not Cersei, as I wrongly accounted for last week.
Tyrion, finding himself in a desperate enough situation where his self-destruction takes a backseat, openly mocks Jorah for his attempts at reconciliation with the Queen who exhiled him in the first place. Though it’s cut short, it resonates the notion that Tyrion’s need to self-destruct is dwarfed (again, pun intended) by his ultimate will to survive.
“Rhaegar never liked killing. He liked singing.”
Having omitted any Daenerys subplots from last week, this week’s episode epilogues with one, and begins with another of Ser Barristen’s history lessons.
Where last he explained to her the meaning of her father’s nickname, The Mad King, Barristen again speaks of Rhaegar, her older brother. Instead of tales of war and destruction, he spoke of his desire to sing, and the generosity that would typically follow in its wake. She dismisses Barristen with the kind of earnest sincerity that painting a giant target on his back would have been a bit more subtle.
This is intercut with a particularly violent series of fight scenes layered with ambush and betrayal akin to the first unsullied we see murdered at their hands, though the larger scale attempt does little else than make The Unsullied seem like particularly easy targets to dupe and subsequently murder.
Barristen, of course, wandering the streets in the Seven Kingdoms equivalent of “two weeks away from retirement” hears the bells in time to live out yet another mindless cop movie trope.
While the severely wounded Grey Worm nearly overpowered (again, this makes The Unsullied look as effective as Stormtroopers), Barristen shows up in the knick of time to deliver a sword-swinging swan song, beautifully accented by a musical score echoing the show’s main title to undercut the brutal, but noble death of an important secondary character.
Now, with the stakes raised and storylines finally beginning to overlap with one another, along with the show’s built-in history, the fifth season appears to be the most high-stakes and consequential season yet.
Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 8 pm on HBO
