“The Wars to Come”
With four seasons under its belt, it’s amazing that Game of Thrones can still remain as vibrant and exciting as it was in the first season. Even though many changes will be ushered in this season — if the updated title sequence was any indication — there are a lot of new settings and character dynamics that will creative for some truly explosive television well into the future.
The season opens with a young Cersei having her fortune told by a witch. The scene reveals Cersei’s backstory — everyone knows she will become a queen — but also hints at some of her motivations that haven’t been so loudly voiced before. Young Cersei’s actress deserves an award for her performance; she is a perfect female parallel to Joffrey, from the imperious tone to the smug facial expressions that I had to resist the urge to smack my screen.
Back in King’s Landing, adult Cersei mourns her father’s death with her brother, who she blames for Tywin’s murder. The funeral reminded me that I’m going to miss Tywin this season, if only for Charles Dance’s stunning performance. Jamie warns Cersei that he believes that this was just the first in many actions in a political upheaval that will only become worse. There is palpable tension between the two, which is unsurprising, given the number of funerals they have had to endure together, but thankfully neither of them had any desire to get busy next to the corpse this time.
Tywin’s funeral brings about the return of Lancel Lannister, Cersei’s cousin and Robert Baratheon’s former squire—I had to Google that last fact, as Lancel has all but vanished from the show in the past two seasons. He now identifies as a “sparrow,” and dons short hair and shapeless beige robes, a far cry from his earlier appearances as a blonde, young Jamie clone. He begs Cersei to forgive his sins, admitting his responsibility Robert’s death. Cersei brushes him off.
The audience hasn’t seen Pentos in a while, but when Tyrion is finally set free from his crate, we return to where we first encountered Dany in the first episode of the series. Varys reveals his past goals to Tyrion—a Targaryen supporter, Varys has remained staunchly anti-Baratheon, and now rallies against the corrupt nature of Westeros.
Tyrion, on the other hand, has no hope for the future—for the length of time he was in a crate, I can’t say that I blame him.
Tyrion later asks Varys why he set him free. Varys believes that Tyrion has a part to play in the “war to come.” Varys believes that Tyrion can assist in restoring Daenerys to the throne of Westeros. This has been a question burning at the edges of the story since season one: Is Daenerys the true queen of Westeros? I can’t see her and Tyrion getting along well, but it’s exciting to finally have the show address that burning question head-on.
Dany’s misguided attempts to restore Meereen continue as the statue over the pyramid is sent tumbling to earth. Unsullied assassinated by the “Sons of the Harpy,” a resistance movement. Dany plans to draw them out with a public funeral for the murdered White Rat. I am excited for the addition of possible intrigue to the series, like Ned Stark’s murder investigation in season one. Hopefully the “Sons of the Harpy” plotline will be adequately fleshed out — it’s been a while since I was invested in Daenerys’s story.
Yunkai’s leaders accept Dany as their ruler, though they request that she reopen the fighting pits, the gladiator areas where slaves fought to the death. Dany won’t compromise on her anti-slavery stance, but later Daario Naharis, who was once a pit fighter himself, tries to convince her. Daario reminds her that she still has the might of her dragons, which have been caged since they scorched children to death. Dany goes to visit her “children,” who aren’t too happy about being locked up. Dany is scared of her dragons for the first time; for a ruler who relied on her dragons to rise to power, this can’t be a good sign.
Sansa and Littlefinger discuss the nature of trust. Sansa’s all-black wardrobe is truly stunning. Her naivety has melted away, revealing a girl who’s more reminiscent of Cersei than her former self. Brienne is feeling despondent, having failed to return Arya. Margaery and Loras discuss their fate now that Tywin is dead. I suspect we will see more of Highgarden as this plotline develops.
Sam and Gilly worry about their lives together now that they are back at Castle Black, while Jon Snow is brought to meet with Stannis. Of all the random meetings between characters across the past four seasons, this one has felt the most jarring—they had such disparate stories until now. Stannis wants to retake Winterfell from Roose Bolton, but he needs help. Jon says the Night’s Watch can’t help, but Stannis is really after the aid of the wildlings. Jon must convince wildling leader Mance Rayder to join Stannis’s army by sundown or else Mance will burn. Despite Ygritte’s death, Jon still hasn’t reconciled his divided loyalties.
Jon’s attempt to persuade Mance fail, as Mance refuses to sell out to the Westerosi. Mance is more afraid of burning to death before his people, which Jon mocks, but Mance wants nothing to do with Stannis’s war. When Jon tells Mance he is making a mistake, Mance says, “The freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted.” The line perfectly summarizes Jon’s awkward position amongst the brothers: he believes in the cause, but bucks against the restraints put against him as a Night’s Watch brother. Mance refuses Stannis one final time before he is set on fire upon a pyre, but Jon shoots him in the heart with an arrow to end his suffering. Trust in Jon to remain divided at the worst possible times.
