Episode 3 of Game of
Thrones introduces us to one of the most crucial moments in the
whole series: the infamous battle at the Tower of Joy where a young
Lord Eddard Stark (Robert Aramayo) and his friends fight to save his
sister Lyanna from the remnants of Aerys II's Kingsguard. I thought
Aramayo's performance was an interesting one, as it showed the
uncertainty the young Ned must have felt during Robert's Rebellion.
Unlike Sean Bean's composed authority, Aramayo doesn't seem to quite
suit the role of a dashing knight.
That actually works in
his favour though because it shows the young Ned as more vulnerable
than we're used to seeing him. Instead of ruling the North with a
firm but caring hand, he seems quite out-of-his depth when faced with
the uber-confident Kingsguard. This is highlighted when Ned only
survives because of Howland Reed's trickery, than from actual
fighting prowess.
In the modern day, we see
the less diplomatic players continue to dominate the stage when
Winterfell is visited by the brusque Smalljon Umber (Dean S Jagger).
Umber promptly chews out Ramsay for his cruelty and his father's
treachery, then makes it clear that he's only here out of a need to
beat the wildlings than for any semblance of feudal loyalty. It's the
last thing you'd expect anyone to say to someone of Ramsay's
temperament, and Jagger's unabashed frankness makes for a pretty
amusing scene.
It quickly takes a
shocking turn however when we see that Smalljon has delivered Rickon
Stark (Art Parkinson) and Osha (Natalia Tena) into Ramsay's hands,
along with what appears to be the severed head of Rickon's direwolf,
Shaggy Dog. Like with the Ironborn, I'm glad to see the show has not
abandoned all its past plotlines. The questions now arise as to
whether this really is an amoral sell-out from the Umbers, or if the
show is paralleling the Manderly plot from the books. Perhaps Umber
is planning to sneak an army into Winterfell and needs someone who
knows the layout on the inside. I also wonder if the show is going to
try to give Rickon some depth, or will it just leave him as a plot
device so as not to intrude on the characters we already have.
In King's Landing, Qyburn
(Anton Lesser) has recruited Varys' little birds as his own
intelligence network. The scene where he bribes a horde of ragged,
wide-eyed orphans to do his bidding has a weirdly Dickensian feel
that's very out of context for a medieval-style show. But I admit I
actually liked the scene for this reason. Like the bloodriders'
absurdly macho dialogue in episode 1, the scene is somehow endearing
in its oddness.
It's also nice to get a
glimpse of how Qyburn goes about his business when Cersei isn't
around, giving the background characters just a little bit more life.
The scene however does make me wonder how loyal the children are to
Qyburn. Varys' influence can stretch across whole continents, so I
wouldn't be too surprised if Qyburn one day vanishes down some dark
alley somewhere.
Speaking of Varys
(Conleth Hill), he seems to be coming into his own in Meereen. The
scene where he threatens the son of a Meereenese woman for her
conspiring with the Sons of the Harpy restores some menace to a
character who's been greatly lacking any for several seasons. I
thought the throne room as a setting for this scene was curious on a
symbolic level. We open with Varys sitting near the throne but not on
it, symbolising how he controls the fate of monarchies despite not
having kingly status himself.
I wonder what this could
mean for his relationship with Tyrion. Obviously Vary only helps
people if they're useful for his plans (whatever they might be), but
Tyrion is clearly smarter than to be led by the nose as easily as
Joffrey or Tommen might be. Perhaps the scene isn't meant to mean
anything, except show how ruthless Varys can be in dealing with his
enemies. But given that the scene is directly followed by Tyrion
playing house (thus leaving the important work to Varys), I wonder if
we might start seeing Varys being more direct and forceful in his
ambitions.
While this is going on,
Tyrion struggles to make conversation with Missandei (Nathalie
Emmanuel) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson). I thought this was a nice
character moment that shows that Tyrion, despite being a brilliant
diplomat in Westeros, isn't so skilled when it comes to dealing with
people from a country entirely different from his own. That said, I
do hope Tyrion starts to regain his politicking mojo, as he's spent
far too much time on the sidelines. This is even more important in
case Varys really is planning to undermine him.
Speaking of characters
who haven't done much of late, Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) finally
makes some headway with the Faceless Men when Jaqen H'ghar (Tom
Wlaschiha) gives her back her sight. This comes at the cost of Arya's
old identity, which apparently has been completely rejected by now. I
wonder though how long that will last when Arya returns home and sees
the utter ruin her old home has become.
I was particularly glad
to see some development here, as Arya's time in Braavos has been one
of my least favourite parts of the series due to repetition and lack
of momentum. With the ambiguity surrounding Arya's “identity”
(What will the Faceless Men have her do now that they seem to think
she's ready?), this plotline finally has a new lease of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment