The same is true of Sansa’s plot this week, which gives us by far the most unabashedly fun new character we are likely to see this season. After a talk with Shae regarding the possible intentions of Little Finger (hint: Shae doesn’t trust him, rightly) Loras comes to take Sansa to see Margaery. The vague comedy of watching Sansa flirt with the gay Sir Loris also illustrates that for all of her growth and savvy, Sansa still is very much a young girl in this world of schemers and louts.
Still, never let it be said she doesn’t attempt to put on a brave face. When Sansa meets Margaery, the betrothed future queen is in the company of the matriarch of the Tyrell family, lovingly known to some as the Queen of Thorns. It’s heartening to know that even in this medieval-tinged alternate universe there is still room for a sassy grandmotherly character who does things in her own way. Still, in spite of her hilarious and extremely welcome sass, the Queen of Thorns also shows the cloying and calculating nature of the Tyrells. Margaery knows she may be in for something awful, and with the help of her grandmother she is able to get Sansa to spill the beans on Joffrey’s cruelty.
The scene is tense, Sophie Turner as Sansa shows both subtlety and range, and it leads to another show-stopping moment wherein Margaery further cements herself as by far the most effectively cunning of all of Game of Thrones’ cast. Joffrey’s mother has been pouring poison in her son’s ear regarding Margaery, and yet she defuses all of his concerns by appealing to his egotism and pride. She dispels the doubts about her virtue and fidelity in a scene that vacillates between veiled sexual innuendo and strangely morbid evocations of the joy of murder. It’s masterfully written scene, and Natalie Dormer as Margaery acts it with all the underhanded deviousness we could want from her.
On the opposite end of the spectrum of tone but in the same league in terms of quality are the continuing adventures of Brienne and Jaime. Their patter is as fun-filled as ever, especially when Jaime tests Brienne’s bond to the long-ago slain Renly. He also tests her morality when he teases her that a seemingly innocent farmer may betray them, though it turns out that his worst-case-scenario teasing was correct. This, though, comes only after a scene of combat set on a bridge, when Brienne handily defeats Jaime’s escape attempt. It’s a damn fine scene, and an excellent way to end the episode, watching both of them slowly being lead off in bondage.
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