A few other points just to clear up plot before we go. We find out that Wogs are people who can see through the eyes of animals, and that Bran happens to be one. Bran and Rickon are joined by some odd and knowledgeable new compatrtiots, one of who happens to have some of the same gifts as Bran.
Elsewhere, Sam continues to be a worthless piece of shit both in terms of being a soldier and a character. Every time someone threatens his life and calls him a weight on their progress I agree with them. Theon Greyjoy, meanwhile, is still alive but being tortured, though someone is saying they will get him out. Still no idea what exactly is going on here.
But the most emotionally affecting moment is also the most startling. Until this point we have only seen Catelyn make terrible decisions and act rashly. She took Tyrion hostage, then let Jaime go, and all the while she seems surprised at how she’s being treated. This episode gives her a reason to have been behaving this way, exposed in a perfectly calibrated monologue fleshing out her guilt over her treatment of Jon Snow and her jealousy regarding him. The scene gives a deeply personal tinge to what has gone on before, while also giving the vaguest bit of sympathetic motive to every stupid thing Catelyn ever did.
Oh, also The Hound is back and he is not happy to see Arya with the Brotherhood.
In all, this episode advances plots and actually engages in actual artistic expression and craftsmanship in a way the season premiere did not. Thus we can mark it as a win, and a continuation of the kind of quality of storytelling that keeps me coming back to this mud-soaked soap opera week after week.
