On today’s trip down memory lane we revisit the haunted halls of the notorious dragon fire melted castle in the season’s fifth episode, “The Ghost of Harrenhal.” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the episode premiered on April 29th, 2012 and was directed by David Petrarca. Featuring notable scenes such as the death of Renly Baratheon, Tyrion’s discovery of wildfire, and Arya speaking her first name to Jaqen H’ghar, this episode was chock-full of character defining moments.
The episode opens horrifically when Renly is murdered while agreeing to an alliance with the Starks. The shadow Melisandre gave birth to takes the form of Stannis and plunges a blade through his heart. Stannis is his own undoing as this sends the Tyrell siblings right into the arms of Tywin Lannister. Catelyn and Brienne are the only witnesses, but Renly’s Kingsguard places all blame on Brienne.
If Gwendoline Christie didn’t win your heart after striking down Loras, her acting here will surely do the trick. Brienne is beyond devastated when her beloved king is murdered before her and Christie conveys this perfectly. Her loyalty is unfailing and contrasts Stannis’ backstabbing fratricide. She is distraught not only at Renly’s death but at failing to protect him. Enraged, she brutally slaughters the knights who try to apprehend her and escapes with Catelyn.
As Stannis’ fleet is fast-approaching, Littlefinger seizes the moment amidst chaos (as he’s known to do) and sways them to Joffrey’s side. He chooses to do so through the recently widowed Margaery who lost not only a husband but the Throne.
Margaery Tyrell: Calling yourself a king doesn’t make you one, and if Renly wasn’t a king, I wasn’t a queen.
Littlefinger: Do you want to be a queen?
Margaery: No… I want to be the Queen.
While we already know Littlefinger is prone to schemes, this reciprocation from Margaery shows that she too is an ambitious player in the Game of Thrones. By involving House Tyrell, Baelish also sets the course for Joffrey’s demise. Whether he knows or not at the time, we can probably guess.
Naturally, Margaery’s bold comment inspired fitting fan art from her supporters. After seeing her actions in Flea Bottom post-Blackwater, anyone would support her over Cersei which also begins to set up her prophecy from Season 5.
While Cersei is enjoying the news of Renly’s demise, Tyrion seeks to enlighten her on Stannis’ imminent attack. Cersei states that Joffrey has military plans in place and such will be shared with Tyrion if the King chooses to. Bitter over Tyrion’s plans for Myrcella, Cersei lords knowing more over him as he responds with sharp wit and by outsourcing Lancel Lannister.
Another Lannister pair up I thoroughly enjoy seeing onscreen together, Lena Headey and Peter Dinklage channel the vicious sibling rivalry Cersei and Tyrion share. When Tyrion corrects Cersei, he uses the same witty deflection he does with Tywin. Being a common psychological defense mechanism against stress and trauma, it’s no surprise he responds with this reaction to the cruel members of his family. It also differentiates his intentions as the King’s Hand with his family’s selfish ones and singles Tyrion out as the “good Lannister.” We see this more when the street protestors blame him over Cersei. He’s actually hurt by the reputation the common folk have of him considering he’s attempting to tame and teach Joffrey. They judge him wholly on his reputation as The Imp and Cersei’s as The Queen. This will come back into play for both of the Lannisters during Tyrion’s trial in Season 4 and Cersei’s punishments in Season 5.
At Pyke, Theon begins his betrayal of the Starks. Frustrated by the lack of respect from his family and crew, he forms a strategy of his own to draw the defenses away from Winterfell.
On a first watch it was here most viewers began to dislike Theon. Yet when you reexamine Theon’s journey to here and after, you feel a sense of empathy only Alfie Allen could incite. While growing up the hostage-ward of Winterfell, Theon was constantly facing opposition. From the Starks themselves (Robb belittling him constantly), to guests scoffing at him (Tyrion and Jamie Lannister when they visit and Osha questioning his lordship), and even his own family turning on him once he finally returns home, it’s no wonder Theon feels an immense sense of condemnation. At the time, it’s hard to feel remorse for Theon, especially after he sacks Winterfell, but when he undergoes excruciating punishments at the hands of Ramsay, we’re compassionate for the fallen kraken. Season 5’s exciting conclusion of helping Sansa escape Winterfell brings the possibility that Theon may be seeking redemption for the choices he made from here.
At Winterfell, Bran’s all too vivid Three-Eyed Raven dreams start to disturb the young lord as they carry warning of Theon’s attack. It foreshadows the invasion as well as the death of Ser Rodrik. He confides in the wildling Osha who declines any interpretation of his dreams. We get the sense that she’s withholding information and will soon become crucial to Bran’s journey.
We open across the Narrow Sea as Drogon breathes fire for the first time! Dany attends a party in her honor in Qarth as she’s tempted by marriage and magic. Xaro Xhoan Daxos attempts to bait Dany with wealth while sinister Pyat Pree flashes his sorcerous tricks. Both are at an attempt to steal Dany’s dragons as the masked Quaithe warns Jorah. We see in Qarth that magic not only exists but is practiced as Pree invites Daenerys to The House of the Undying.
In Harrenhal, Tywin holds council to form new strategies against Robb with Arya serving as his cupbearer. Though he doesn’t know her true identity, he sees she’s of Northern descent and begins asking her opinion of Robb. The wolf snarls at the lion and defends her brother by showing no fear in the face of the enemy.
It’s a powerful moment for both characters as Arya’s elusiveness and fearlessness prove to be her greatest allies. We’ll see these allies become greater forces when she begins her training at the House of Black and White, but for now she’s still able to outsmart the renowned Lannister. This victorious moment for Arya is a loss for Tywin as it foreshadows his oversight will prove to be his downfall. He’ll demonstrate the same underestimation and pride in himself in Season 4. With such an exciting one-on-one, it’s wild to see who holds the power here.
Scenes like these really bring out the best of Maisie Williams. She expertly exhibits the aura of confidence and untamed nature of Arya which quickly made her a fan favorite. Her unwavering relentlessness at such a young age makes her the absolute perfect casting choice.
Despite Arya’s size, she’s ferociously tenacious throughout the series even against enemies as big as the Hound or as powerful as Tywin Lannister. She also refuses to conform to the expectations of her gender and in such, becomes an admirable rebel. It’s moments like the above with Tywin that display her true inner strength which even rivals her brother. She stands before his enemy unmoved which is far closer than Robb got. In the face of utmost adversity and alienation, she not only survives but thrives. It’s no wonder she admires the warrior-queen Nymeria so as she could be her reincarnation.
The title of the episode also comes to play here when Arya gives Jaqen her first name. She chooses the Mountain’s torturer, the Tickler. There’s a woman’s cry from the courtyard and the Tickler is found dead as Jaqen lurks above. By creating such an effect on the castle, Arya becomes the Ghost of Harrenhal.
The character development we’ve come to expect from D&D episodes is especially rich here. It’s a big one for the underdogs and the gothic style David Petrarca brought to the episode made those developments noticeably vivid.
Introductions: Hallyne the Pyromancer; ironborn raiders Lorren, Drennan, and Dagmer; the clairvoyant Quaithe of the Shadow; and north of the Wall, Qhorin Halfhand.
Deaths: Renly Baratheon, members of Renly’s Kinsguard Emmon Cuy and Robar Royce, and the Tickler.
Favorite Quotes:
“You have a good claim: a title, a birthright. But you have something more than that: you may cover it up and deny it, but you have a gentle heart. You would not only be respected and feared, you would be loved. Someone who can rule and should rule. Centuries come and go without a person like that coming into the world. There are times when I look at you, and I still can’t believe you’re real.” – Jorah Mormont
“You should stand sideface.” – Arya “Why?” – Gendry “Smaller target.” – Arya [looks around] “Am I fighting someone?” – Gendry “You’re practicing for a fight. You should practice right.” – Arya
“Even torturing you is boring. Just get out. Oh, Lancel, tell my friend Bronn to please kill you if anything should happen to me.” – Tyrion Lannister “Please kill me if anything should happen to Lord Tyrion.” – Lancel “It will be my pleasure.” – Bronn
Creative Fandom:
The Death of Renly Baratheon by Robert Ball from his Beautiful Death collection
Arrested Westeros’ take on Pyat Pree’s introduction to Daenerys:
Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi’s beautiful Greyjoy anthem:
Join us tomorrow for the riotous Episode 6: “The Old Gods and the New.”
Argentinian Hodor
It was interesting the way much the episode was tied together by the theme of responsibility and questions of who is the right person to blame or credit in different scenarios: obviously, Brienne being wrongly held responsible by some for Renly’s death, but also Davos telling Stannis not to bring Melisandre to Blackwater as she will be regarded as responsible for any success there instead of Stannis himself; Tyrion realising he is being held responsible by the residents of King’s Landing for Joffrey’s poor decisions; and the title itself alluding to the ‘ghost’ in the book who is incorrectly regarded by some as being responsible for the murders at Harrenhal. So thematically I think this is one of the most cohesive episodes of season two.
I am still very disappointed though that they deleted this beautiful and moving scene from the episode of Loras mourning Renly:
I loved this scene and think it would have added something valuable to the episode and to Loras in the show in general. I know it doesn’t include any new developments for the plot, but the show has included quite a few scenes over the years, both before and after this episode, that consisted primarily of character moments to add more depth and emotion, which this would certainly have done, plus the element of Loras blaming himself for encouraging Renly in the first place would have tied in well with the episode’s variations on the question of responsibility. And Finn Jones’ performance is excellent, I was very touched, especially by the end of the scene.
Also considering what happened to Loras’ characterisation in later seasons, where it often seemed as if the writers just wanted to treat him like a joke and not show any of his deeper feelings, including this scene would have helped a lot. Having said that, I have heard that his story in season 6 will be more substantial than the last few seasons, so hopefully he will finally be given some better material again.
On another note, I think this is the only season 2 episode with no commentary on the DVD, even though it features one of the major plot developments of the season. It does seem strange that while the series includes commentary on almost every episode in each season, sometimes with more than one track each, the few they leave out often happen to be ones with major turning points for one of the main storylines, like Baelor in season one or The Gift in season five.
I wonder if (and hope) they will be more of Quaithe in the future. I find her an intriguing character
That beautiful death is amazing.
It’s worth noting that the wildfire strategy was originally Cercei’s idea, but Tyrion got credit for it (much good that it did him).
The show’s casting department rarely ever misses, but, even aside from the obvious writing issues that limited what could be done with the part, I’m not sure that Simon Armstrong was a particularly good choice to play Qhorin. You don’t really get any sense that he’s a living legend among the rangers.
The first appearance of Pyat Pree is very nicely shot.
Can anyone remember when we first got the dragons’ names in the show (not the books). I know we had Drogon’s name mentioned in the episode of season 4 where he had roasted the little girl (though we only got the aftermath) and Viserion and Rhaegal were mentioned by name when Dany visited them in the catacombs in season 5 – but were they mentioned by name earlier in the TV show.
I was Unsullied when I watched this episode and I didn’t pick up on any foreshadowing of bad things for Robb when Arya said “Anyone can be killed”. Also being Unsullied then I didn’t know about [ spoiler ] “Weasel Soup” [ / spoiler] so couldn’t be sorry they left it out.
The Arya/Tywin scenes are some my favorites from the series. It’s such a shame that D&D’s departure from canon have had dwindling success as the show moves forward, culminating in the disastrous Dorne storyline. There’s a lot riding on the next season.
The dragons were never named prior to season 4/5.
One of the most bizarre writing choices in the show, in my opinion. Literally any time Dany meets some new character you could have her explain their names and the significance of them. It should have been about the easiest bit of exposition to fit into the show, and because of the sources of the various names it’s also a character moment for Dany.
They really should have left that Loras mourning Renly deleted scene in.
I was freaking out when this episode aired due to seeing Roy Dotrice (of the audiobooks) “reprising’ his role as Wisdom Hallyne, plus his info on the backstory of the Targaryens and wildfire. And he played it wonderfully too.
****While the street preacher’s protest was setting up the riot in the immediately next episode, I like to think that this and the riot were our first seed in the TV show of what would later become the Sparrows (in the books they had more time to show their gradual evolution)
They only started providing the names of Rhaegal and Viserion in “official materials” in Season 4…..and even then, only in the HBO Viewer’s Guide website, not “on-screen” in any way. Only referred to them by name in Season 5.
Drogon they only referred to by name in dialogue in the Season 4 finale.
Cersei’s plan was to use it in catapults – which was stupid, as they didn’t have trained, professional soldiers and all they needed was one guy to drop them for the city to go up in flames (as Bronn explained) — Tyrion came up with the idea of safely using them in fire ships out in the bay.
How did Jaqen become a Lannister soldier? Also, is this the first appearance of Littlefinger’s jet pack?
Ah… Jorah’s quest into the friendzone begins. I like Dany’s dress here. It’s probably the best one she’s worn on the show for me. Wish they had done more with Quaithe. I wonder if they knew they would give Jorah greyscale at this point in the show. The Qarth storyline feels so removed from everything.
RIP Renly. I feel so sad for my girl Brienne. You can tell she wants to do good and find someone noble to serve. I hope this finally happens in season 6.
Also, I agree with everyone about the naming of the dragons. They could have easily fit in some exposition about that in the Qarth storyline.
crowTrobot2001,
I also liked Tywin interaction with Aria. At first it looked strange and even stupid that he didn’t figure out who she was but later I decided that just like Tyrion Tywin also had a sweet spot for broken children and because of that denied the obvious. Besides that, Tyvin’s interaction with Aria revealed that he was very lonely, which added depth to his character.
Love the ending to this episode and Ramen’s theme playing into the credits.
For book readers, what was the significance of the prophetic woman whose face is covered in prisms and who talks to Jorah? Is she mentioned in the book more?
I echo the comment of another poster who was having trouble understanding why so many rate season 2 as one of the weakest seasons. To me, along with season 3, it’s one of the most consistent throughout as there aren’t very many lulls or weak story lines. To me season 3 is only better because there are more big moments, but I think I would have to rate season 2 as my second favorite season ahead of season 1 (season 1 was great but could be slow at times).
Inga,
Not to mention allowing two of the best actors in the show to interact with each other. And speaking of which, the scenes between Cersei and Tyrion that were added, especially the one where Cersei admits she knows exactly what kind of person Joffrey is, gave a little bit more humanity to Cersei that she doesn’t get in the books. Again, we see that these character moments proved D&D were more than capable of putting in new material that improved the quality of the show. It just makes a lot of the later problems so frustrating.
I didn’t mention the debut of Jaqen H’ghar when I commented on the Memory Lane post for “The Night Lands” a few days ago (technically the character first appears in “Fire and Blood”, but he was played by an extra and we never saw his face). That’s because “The Ghost of Harrenhal” is when the character makes his first real mark, and quickly proves that he’s just as adept at stealing hearts as he is at stealing lives.
Tom Wlaschiha is a brilliant actor. I’m so glad that they brought him back for Season 5 in place of the Kindly Man. I haven’t yet listened to the Season 5 DVD commentaries, but apparently the writers always intended to bring Wlaschiha back to play that role. Clearly, they knew what they had!
Sticking in Harrenhal, the first of Arya’s big scenes with Tywin is a real treat. I absolutely adore the small smile that creeps on to Arya’s face when she talks about Robb’s growing legend as “The Young Wolf”. She should know better, but she just can’t quite conceal the pride she feels for what her brother has been able to accomplish. Tywin notices, and I love the way the two stare each other down after telling Arya tells him that “Anyone can be killed”. A great moment for both characters.
I always get a kick out of the way Arya checks out Gendry at the forge, and isn’t at all subtle about doing it. Fuel for the shippers, right there.
Arya winds up naming the Tickler as the first person she wants Jaqen to kill. At the time, I remember that decision led to an outcry that we wouldn’t see Arya stab him to death at the Inn while shouting “Is there gold hidden in the village? Silver, gems? Is there food? Where is Lord Beric?” It worked out, in my opinion, as Arya still got to kill someone significant during that scene in “Two Swords” (Polliver) and when it comes to memorable quotes, we got something even better. I’ll take the Hound and his chickens any day!
Let’s get to the crazy cast of characters in Qarth! I enjoy Ian Hanmore’s performance as Pyat Pree (or “Warlock Dean Pelton” for any Community fans out there). The character is more overtly creepy and villainous from the jump, but nothing serves better to establish Qarth as a strange place than Pree’s multiplying act at the party. We’ve never seen anything quite like it on the show, before or since.
Xaro Xhoan Daxos – or “Ducksauce”, as he humorously became known – is one of the characters who underwent the largest changes in the translation from books to screen. He’s essentially a different character who shares his name and position with his book counterpart, but little else. I don’t have any problem with such changes – this is a case of a minor character clearly being altered to serve the story the writers had in mind. Whether or not you like that story is up to you (and many don’t), but I think that Nonso Anozie gives a good performance, and I personally find Xaro more compelling in this form.
In the interest of remaining civil, I’m not going to address the ugly “controversy” that was stirred up by certain bad apples in the fandom (three guesses who was leading that charge) over the casting of a black actor to play Xaro, who is famously pale-skinned in the novels. Suffice it to say it isn’t the first time such disgusting sentiments have been expressed. Nor will it be the last, I fear.
Finally, there’s Quaithe. The mask that the character wears obviously contributes to her mysterious aura, but Laura Pradelska does an excellent job of acting solely with her eyes and her voice. I love the exchange that she has with Jorah, which leads to one of my favorite quotes in the series about Dany’s children, and what they represent for the world.
“They shall come day and night to see the wonder born into the world again. And when they see, they shall lust, for dragons are fire made flesh. And fire is power.”
(I think “Fire Made Flesh” would make a good episode title. Perhaps one day).
Purely on intrigue, Quaithe is a character who I wouldn’t mind seeing come back. I doubt she will return, however. She’s served her purpose, and Quaithe’s appearance in Slaver’s Bay during ADWD is one of many threads that was severed when the show wisely decided to cut the Meereenese knot to ribbons.
Tyrion and Bronn meeting with Wisdom Hallyne about the wildfire cache is a great scene, and very funny. (“Our order does not deal in pig shit!”) I’ve never listened to the ASOIAF audiobooks, but I know that Roy Dotrice is a beloved figure in the community, a good friend of GRRM, and was originally set to play Grand Maester Pycelle before he fell ill. I’m always happy to see him.
Davos has a nice moment when he convinces Stannis not to bring Melisandre to King’s Landing. The decision backfires, perhaps, but the Onion Knight’s reasoning in the moment is sound. “Loyal service means telling hard truths,” as he says. Stannis’s response: “Hard truths cut both ways, Ser Davos.” Those two lines of dialogue pretty much sum up their entire relationship, don’t they? 😉
I also like the scene in which Brienne offers Catelyn her sword on the condition that, when the time comes, Catelyn will not hold her back from Stannis. During Season 5, people complained about Brienne’s decision to abandoning her vow to the Stark girls so that she could kill Stannis, saying it was out of character. It wasn’t. Here’s why.
To be fair, I’m guessing that at the time Season 2 was written, the writers didn’t know that Brienne would indeed be able to fulfill her promise to avenge Renly by killing Stannis. In light of what happened in Season 5, however, I appreciate that line all the more. Intended foreshadowing or not, it ties things together very nicely for future rewatches!
On the flip side of that dynamic, Catelyn promises Brienne that she will “ask no service of you that might bring you dishonor.” That line strikes me as foreshadowing for the infamous storyline that has so far not made its way into the show (I’ve expressed my apathy for that storyline many times. It has not changed). Nevertheless, it’s a good line in and of itself.
North of the Wall, we get our first look at the Fist of the First Men (which is awesome), and meet Qhorin Halfhand (less so). I’ll talk more about Qhorin tomorrow, but suffice it to say that I think this is one of his better scenes.
Arya’s scenes with Tywin aren’t just some of the best non book editions, they’re just some of the best written and acted scenes in the show’s entire history. Every single scene is a little masterpiece between Maisie and Dance.
Ravyn,
I totally agree. And for me that is what makes Game of Thrones such a pleasure to watch. It was a brilliant dance between the lion and the wolf and the little wolf not only stands proud and strong against the lion it totally strips the lion of its mane and makes him look old and weak and lonely as a fellow commentator rightly said.
The two Q’s though were a bit of disappointment Qhorin because his presence felt rushed and Quaith because she created expectations that haven’t been materialised in the following seasons. But not great harm. Other than that another top episode. In my opinion ep 3,4&5 are much better episodes than the widely acclaimed episode 9. But I suppose in this I belong to the minority…
Everyone loves the scenes between Arya and Tywin ; ) some people maybe too much, judging by the creepy fanfic.
I liked the recap, very well made.
ace,
This season was shot before they had the talk with George,they probably found out that she doesn’t really contribute to anything special in the future and decided to cut her out like many other characters . Or maybe they were just like me and they didn’t enjoy the lame prophecy thing,thank god they kept that to a minimum .
Thanks.
Just like to add my love for the deleted Loras scene. I thought it was really nice, which is a word that certainly doesn’t apply to many aspects of the show. I liked him and Renly as they were one of the few couples who seemed to be together because they were in love, rather than to suit other people. Most of the deleted scenes, for me, wouldn’t have made much difference if they’d been included, but this would have added some depth to him I think. Not sure why it was chopped, possibly when they decided on his relationship with Olyvar?
I really enjoy Season 2. If I had to rank them it would be 4 > 5 > 2 > 3 > 1 (still love Season 1 and it is almost interchangeable with Season 3 for me).
i said this before…but I got zero feedback…as usual…but, I thought of something else that doesn’t make sense besides saying jon snow got stabbed in the heart, yet….the still off him bleeding out shows no knife wound or even any blood anywhere near his chest…..and that is…..most of the nw that stabbed him have seen the white walkers and know what they are capable of….the last thing they would want is a jon snow ww wielding longclaw…..why wasn’t the first thing they did after stabbing him…burning him? As a matter of fact….why didn’t they think about having a bonfire prepared just for the occasion…..doesn’t make any sense. Do u think it was just an oversight by the producers and the director?…or is it something more sinister?
Ahhhhhhhhhhh Gendry… remember that guy? Good times
Agreed. It’s Peter Dinklage’s best season; what’s not to like? I put it down to short attention spans…(too much subtle psychological dialogue; not enough ‘big’ pyrotechnic moments). I tend to prefer the seasons based on the better writing of the first three books; the last two books have dragged (sacrilege to say it, I know, but someone has to) and the corresponding screen adaptations have also been less cohesive. Notably, Dany’s storyline is also better before she gets to Mereen…it’s all downhill from there in the boredom department, as she predictably waits for her cue to invade Westeros.
jymion,
We don’t know what happens to Jon after he’s killed because the scene ends right after his close-up. Based on the info we have, turning into a wight is not instantaneous. The wight in the first season doesn’t reanimate until long after the dude was killed and there had to be a significant amount of time lapse before they burned all the bodies after Stannis saved the Wall. Maybe the proximity of White Walkers has something to do with the time frame of turning (i.e. Hardhome.) Like a lot of stuff with this series there’s a ton of incomplete, and often misleading, information.
The Dragon Demands,
Fair dues. Not as clever as she thinks she is. Still, one begins to see the foundation of her constant, suppressed rage.
they turned and walked away ffs???…are u serious?
they turned and walked away crow….how the fuck would they know how long it took…they were all dumb rapists and murderers….u saw that long shot of snow dead in the snow…there was not a soul to see anywhere…why would u prefer to argue with me than agree??are u one of those?
Thirty per cent of the rewatch complete. Another great post in the series. Thank you.
35 days 🙂
Jack Bauer 24,
Still five weeks. 🙁
I like this episode overall, but the death of Renly was extremely poorly directed. It sapped all of the suspense out of the scene in my opinion.
We’ve come a long way since the Season 5 finale in June 40 weeks ago. 5 more is nothing 🙂
One of my best episode this
Sorry – Off Topic but my sister told me that she heard that Angelina Jolie is somehow involved with GoT S6 (LS?)-
But she was half asleep when she heard this. Has anyone else heard about this or was she dreaming? Thanks folks!
Nope, this is rock solid evidence. We will add her name to the cast list immediately.
Felt Pelt,
LOL – along with Pitt as RT
I still can’t believe they cut that Loras & Margaery scene. Heavens forbid they have scenes alone and are fleshed out to become more than just foils for other characters.
Lulus Mum,
A beautiful scene. Loras was in despair for losing his beloved and Margaery stood by him, as a caring sister. I liked that they looked like common people facing tragedy, not like noble siblings with an agenda.
jymion,
As crowTrobot2001 said, corpses don’t become wights immediately, so they had time. Several hours had passed between the Battle of the Wall and the burning of the bodies. The mutineers wouldn’t want to be discovered with the body, so they left it there for somebody else, presumably a Jon loyalist, to discover it. They would then burn the body afterwards.
I think it was handled fine, my biggest problem with it is Gethin Anthony’s reaction to being stabbed. He’s normally a great actor, but I thought he kind of just made a weird face lol. I suppose it’s hard to picture it when an imaginary shadow baby is stabbing you though.
Sean C.,
Quaithe is foreshadowing Jorah’s trip through the Smoking Sea, which I think is a nice addition.
Inga,
Some very good points here, and a well written statement. I think we differ on opinion of the obviousness of Arya being a Stark, though… what’s obvious to the viewer isn’t always obvious to the characters. I think that it wouldn’t have been as obvious to Tywin that the youngest girl of Eddard Stark would be capable of anything like living right under his nose, pouring his wine at dinner.
On another note… Poor Myrcella. Always someone’s pawn.
Maybe I am, jmion, maybe I am. But I prefer my motives to be ambiguous due to an unreliable narration.
Shy Lady Dragon,
Evening fire-breathing one *you know what my donkey ears are doing*. Strangely enough this scene reinforces my sense of unease with Marg’s intentions; I really don’t trust her. Going on show Marg alone, as I don’t know the book version, I do wonder how much of her apparent concern for others is genuine rather than simply to further her own aims. Mind you, I seem to remember reading an interview with Natalie Dormer where she says that herself so perhaps I’m getting exactly the feeling they mean us to have about her.
Bryan Cogman was asked about the dragon names after season 2 and seemed surprised they had not been mentioned. He was asked again after season 3 and became defensive about it.
So it is still a mystery as to why it took till season 5. Some details of the story they seem indifferent to even when they would be useful in the future.
I remember people who did not like the Tywin-Arya exchange because they did not set up Weasel Soup. Seeing that they could not fit that story in this was a brilliant rework and I loved it. Especially liked the M’lord / Mi Lord exchange that was great!
Lulus Mum,
I salute your donkey ears!
I’m afraid you might be right, poor fellow! In the books you can’t see Margaery’s thoughts and plans, she’s rather allusive. I think she is the tender-hearted selfish type, the one who sheds a tear when hears something about orphan children in Africa, but doesn’t care for them the next minute, paying attention to some other piece of news. I do think she loves her grandma and brother in the way a selfish, ambitious person could love, but she wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice them if it comes to that.
Kosten,
It was a good scene. It gave some depth to Loras and was a touching moment. Wondered myself why they didn’t include it. Supposed they wanted to tidy things up and make the focus on Brienne instead. Oh well.
Shy Lady Dragon,
So Hillary! 😉
LatrineDiggerBrian,
I didnt pick this up the first time around, but when she is asked her name, she says ‘no one’