The second season of Game of Thrones is six episodes in and things are really, and I mean really, starting to heat up in the race for the Iron Throne. Everyone wants the seat but only one can have it. The stakes are high and those who are in pursuit of power are beginning to realize that the road to the throne won’t be easy. More blood is shed, more betrayal emerges and more ambitions arise, all on this week’s episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones.
We start off with Mr. Theon Greyjoy, who has just arrived in the North, more specifically, at Winterfell. He’s taken the castle and has declared himself prince and Lord of Winterfell, much to Bran’s dismay. His first act as Lord of Winterfell is the execution of Ser Rodrik, who courageously disrespects Theon upon his arrival. No one at Winterfell is happy about the new Lord, which is why the wildling servant Osha creates a ruse to help Bran and his brother Rickon escape Winterfell, which works.
At Qarth, Daenerys Targaryen arranges a meeting with The Spice King. She wants ships from him but he’s not so eager to give them to her. Disappointed, she walks away, not knowing that even more trouble awaits her. Later on, she discovers the dead bodies of Qarth guards and realizes that her dragons have been stolen. Though we don’t see who stole them, we do see a mysterious hooded figure running off with them, who can it be?
Meanwhile, in the Westerlands, good old Robb Stark is continuing his conquest. We see him flirting with the field nurse from earlier in the season, Talisa. HIs mother sees this too and warns him that he’s been promised to someone else. While talking with her son, a messenger arrives and informs Catelyn and Robb of Theon’s betrayal. Of course, Robb makes plans to re-capture Winterfell, and personally execute Theon.
Beyond the Wall, Jon Snow manages to capture a wilding prisoner named Ygritte. When ordered to execute her, Snow finds himself unable to do so, which leads to Ygritte escaping. After chasing after her, Snow re-captures her but can’t find the rest of his party. As night approaches, the two get ready for sleep.
Back in King’s Landing, Myrcella Baratheon heads to Dorne as promised and her family sees her off. On their way back to the castle, Joffrey and crew are attacked by unhappy citizens who try to revolt. A riot starts and the royal family is ushered to safety. They all make it back without harm, aside from Sansa who is nearly raped before being saved by The Hound. Once back in the castle, Tyrion gives Joffrey a reprimanding for being a foolish and idiotic king.
Finally, at Harrenhal, Arya’s cover is almost blown when Petyr Baelish arrives. Luckily, he can’t quite figure out how he knows her though. Later on, the young girl tries to steal a paper that has some of Tywin’s war strategies on it but she’s caught by Ser Armory Lorch. She’s able to escape but knowing that Lorch will alert Tywin, she rushes to Jaqen H’ghar, who still owes her two of the three lives he promised. As expected, he takes care of Lorch and once again Arya manages to conceal her identity.
So, lots of plot development this week and it’s all really meaty. I love the direction that the show is going in and we’re really starting to feel the race for the Iron Throne take off. Seeing everyone vying for the top position of power is really exciting.
Arya’s storyline is becoming pretty interesting, despite getting off to a slow start. There was a lot of suspense with her this week and having never read the novels, I’m constantly on edge fearing for her safety. The last part of her plotline especially was great, when Lorch is assassinated. Plus, Charles Dance is fantastic as Tywin and I absolutely love watching the scenes between himself and Arya. With Lorch’s death he knows that not all is right and tensions will only continue to rise.
The absolute best moment of the season came this week when Tyrion slaps Joffrey. Not only was it more than satisfying but Peter Dinklage continues to be completely freaking awesome, stealing every scene he’s in. Speaking of satisfying, seeing the mini-revolt against Joffrey was great. He’s such a loathsome character and to see people finally standing up to him was very pleasing. I especially love the reprimanding that Tyrion gave him, one of the season’s best scenes.
Finally, I’m really enjoying seeing Daenerys continue to make moves for the throne. I’ve always really enjoyed her character and I like how she thinks she’s entitled to the throne since her dad sat on it. She thinks she can just stroll in there and take it when in reality, she has no idea what’s in store for her. Like I said, I haven’t read the novels but I’m interested to see how she’ll re-act when she finds out just how big the “game” she’s entered herself into really is. Does she know what the race for the Iron Throne has in store for her?
There’s only four episodes left in season two of Game of Thrones and there’s really no telling what will happen, unless you’ve read the books of course. I’m excited to see how this all plays out and as always, you can check back on the site each week for our recaps.
