Among those potential threats are the Tyrells, two of whom exemplify the episode’s other overriding theme: kickass ladies in blue at a crossroads. Margaery and Olenna have become one of the show’s most dynamic pairings, providing a medieval take on what might happen if a Kate Middleton-type were groomed by Margaret Thatcher. They play their cards so close to the vest they can barely reveal them to each other, as Olenna reminds Margaery that even the non-existent walls have ears whenever she drops her “I love Joffrey” routine. Hidden behind Margaery’s Mother Teresa schtick and Olenna’s jewelry-tossing lack of propriety are the minds of two women dead set on getting ahead. “Joffrey is our king now,” Margaery corrects Brienne (also wearing blue this evening) after she swears to seek justice for Margaery’s murdered husband. Perhaps Margaery did care for Renly at some point, despite being the Tyrell sibling he didn’t want to bed, but emotion can make you take detours that distance you from what you really want.
Blue-eyed Ygritte knows this all too well, as her conversation midway through the hour with Tormund Giantsbane makes clear what many suspected last season: that she shot Jon Snow three times in the back out of love instead of one time through the head out of hate. Of all the scenes in the premiere, the weakest is this meeting between the Wildlings south of the wall and the cannibalistic Thenn tribe, who we don’t learn much about beyond their desire to feast on Crows. Still, this marks a pretty major perspective shift for the show: the Wildlings, and Ygritte in particular, matter beyond just their relationship to Jon. Though the war in central Westeros may be over, another is about to be waged up north, and the show is looking to capture both angles of that conflict, same as always.
More one-sided is our perspective on what’s happening out east, as the bulldozer of revolution that is Daenerys continues to rock the Free Cities. Color theory is convenient in analysis because it can mean just about anything you want it to, but if blue is this week’s symbol for women in power, then it’s no wonder Dany’s draped in it from head to toe. Like Tywin, success has proven a more complicated state of being for Daenerys than initially thought. Sure, it’s pretty swell to have three dragons at your beck and call, but like all children, these ones are getting harder to control as they grow older (you try telling a 10-foot fire-breathing lizard monster to go to its room). Meanwhile, her compassion for the people of Yunkai has been turned against her by Meereen, another slaver city, which lines Dany’s path of conquest with a grisly display of young slaves. Mirroring Spartacus and the Appian Way, Daenerys’ road toward freedom for all will mean death for many, and her struggle is becoming less a matter of acquiring power, and more a test of what it will take for her to wield it.
From a telescoped perspective, “Two Swords” is an assured hour, touching base but keeping things moving with many of the major ideas and remaining players of Game of Thrones. But the best scene is saved for the end, a ten-minute mix of tension, laughs and action that’s no politics, and all personal. Ned Stark and his sword Ice may be gone from the world, but Arya and Needle are still here, their reunion celebrated with a splash of red, not blue. The Hound getting loose in the inn makes for a gnarly setpiece, starting awesome, and turning gruesome. For as delightful as it is to see the unlikely pairing of Arya and The Hound kicking ass and taking names off her revenge list, The Hound’s final kill rubs our face in the violent display by brutally running a man’s face into his own dagger.
What we’re left with is Arya getting what she wants, revenge, but unlike everyone else, it doesn’t seem compromised. Really, the formula for her has been reversed: she paid upfront by having her family taken away from her, and now she’s free to commit herself to one thing – getting even. As grimly satisfying as it is to see her prick the Adam’s apple of Lommy’s killer like an overripe grape, the moment doubles as a dark act of defiance against the Lannisters. The war may be won, but it’s never over, not so long as anyone with a weapon and a grudge is still out there. And no one has longer to nurture a grudge than a child.
- Stray Thoughts
-Meanwhile, at The Wall: Jon gets a stay of execution from the ruling council at Castle Black, thanks to Maester Aemon. He’s returned from the Wildlings a more confident, assertive brother of the Night’s Watch, but certainly not a more popular one.
-This Week In Palace Gossip: Cersei trusts Qyburn to fit Jaime with his new hand (adding another Luke Skywalker comparison to his resume, what with the blonde hair, all-powerful evil father, and his sibling attraction), but also talks around some “symptoms” she was dealing with. Meanwhile, Tyrion seems genuinely surprised when Shae mentions the buy-off Varys tried to give her last season, which she assumed Tyrion was behind.
-One last bit of blue business: Ser Dontos, AKA the fool Sansa saved from Joffrey way back during the Season 2 premiere, gives her a necklace of watery gemstones. Fitting for Sansa, the symbol of her power is purely decorative.
-This is D.B. Weiss’ first time behind the camera as director, and he acquits himself quite nicely. There was a great Western vibe to the evening’s two big standoffs, first with Oberyn intimidating the Lannister lackeys (“you’re just a pink little man who’s far too slow on the draw”), and then when The Hound draws deep from his drink, before drawing on Polliver’s gang. Evidently The Hound never heard Oberyn’s advice on using a longsword in close quarters.
-Great Moments in Comedic Editing: a ridiculous statue of Joffrey transitions to Joffrey striking a ridiculously statuesque pose, and cutting away from the violence of the inn lets us rejoice in The Hound finally enjoying some chicken.
-The single most jarring thing this week? The title credits do a full 270° degree turn to get us from The Wall to Meereen. Have we ever gotten a good look at the West Coast of Westeros?
-Ideas for Bronn’s sigil: a pint of ale; a giant green explosion; a dude being kicked out of a sky hole.
-The little “harrumph” of a body jerk Brienne gives when turning to follow Jaime after he insults her by the water is everything I love about the character in one small motion.
