The Night Lands (8 Apr. 2012)

Arya makes friends with Gendry. Tyrion tries to take control of the small council. Theon arrives at his home, Pyke, in order to persuade his father into helping Robb with the war. Jon tries to investigate Craster's secret.

Director:

Alan Taylor

Writers:

George R.R. Martin (series of novels: "A Song of Ice and Fire"), David Benioff (creator),

Stars:

Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Dinklage	...	Tyrion Lannister
Lena Headey	...	Cersei Lannister
Emilia Clarke	...	Daenerys Targaryen
Aidan Gillen	...	Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish
Iain Glen	...	Jorah Mormont
Kit Harington	...	Jon Snow
Liam Cunningham	...	Davos Seaworth
Alfie Allen	...	Theon Greyjoy
Maisie Williams	...	Arya Stark
Stephen Dillane	...	Stannis Baratheon
Carice van Houten	...	Melisandre
Jerome Flynn	...	Bronn
Conleth Hill	...	Lord Varys
John Bradley	...	Samwell Tarly
Sibel Kekilli	...	Shae

Storyline

In the wake of a bloody purge in the capital, Tyrion chastens Cersei for alienating the king's subjects. On the road north, Arya shares a secret with Gendry, a Night's Watch recruit. With supplies dwindling, one of Dany's scouts returns with news of their position. After nine years as a Stark ward, Theon Greyjoy reunites with his father Balon, who wants to restore the ancient Kingdom of the Iron Islands. Davos enlists Salladhor Saan, a pirate, to join forces with Stannis and Melisandre for a naval invasion of King's Landing.

---

Plot Keywords:

armor | helmet | spear | severed head | violence | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Ballintoy, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Television 360, Grok! Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

54 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The episode title refers to the term which the Dothraki use for the land of the dead.

---

Goofs

When Sam and the other Rangers discuss things such as corpses farting, just before the end there's a shot over Sam's left shoulder. At the back of his fur coat can be seen the collar of a padded winter jacket sticking up with some sort of metal ring in it. When he says something about turnips and walks away, the collar's been tucked in.

---

Quotes

Cersei Lannister: You want to be Hand of the King? You want to rule? This is what ruling is; lying on a bed of weeds, ripping them out by the root, one by one, before they strangle you in your sleep!
Tyrion Lannister: I'm no king, but I think there's more to ruling than that.
Cersei Lannister: I don't care what you think! You've never taken it seriously; you haven't, Jaime hasn't! It's all fallen on me.
Tyrion Lannister: As has Jaime repeatedly, according to Stannis Baratheon.
Cersei Lannister: You're funny. You've always been funny, but none of your jokes will match the first one, ...
[...]

---

Soundtracks

"Main Title"
(uncredited)
Written and Performed by Ramin Djawadi

User Reviews

Exotic Westeros, welcomed feminism, vivid darkness but editing seams, unbalanced writing, thirsty creativity

One week was at least what I needed to recover considering the premiere propelled my spirit beyond the stars. However despite its cosmic qualities I have to admit that it wasn't as jaw dropping as Winter Is Coming. It featured many stellar scenes, like Daenerys taking care of her baby dragon or Jaime's hallucination, but it lacked a knocking out ending. This second episode delivered the cliffhanger we were hoping for but sadly I have to admit that it lacked some of the elements that made The North Remembers so outstanding.

My first complain would be about the editing. I really missed how the parts were linked using the burning comet in the past installment. The mistake had already flawed the epic A Golden Crown in my opinion because it's inappropriate to cut sharp from one point of the kingdom to an other. So let's hope the upcoming episodes will surprise us with their creativity and fantastic metaphoras because a top notch production isn't enough. It leads us to the exotic sets because from Arya's lost woods to Theon's cliffs it felt like flying above Ireland, England and Scotland !

My second major complain would go to the unbalanced development of some arcs. For instance Daenerys' one was way too short. Of course it wouldn't have been entertaining to witness their slow descent toward the river of thirst but her seeing a mirage or having a daynightmare about her precious creature could have been thrilling. In fact it seems this time the dream team behind the show decided to focus more on sexuality. The red-hot Melisandre (Carice van Houten) was back and she actually reminds me of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series. Such a feminist reference is inevitable considering the number of female characters that are now moving across the board. Theon's filthy rides were controversial and The Adventures of Lady Arya were promising. A charismatic sister, not a boy wanted by Cersei… George R. R. Martin knows his classics and Littlefinger's cheering up one of his protégés was well staged.

The fat guy's naive attitude seemed slightly misplaced but when it comes to Snow shivers are sent down my spine every time ! It feels like Martin was possessed by Stephen King while writing it and that Frank Darabont (The Mist, The Walking Dead) was hired to adapt it. Last but not least Tyrion's candles lighted face off with Cersei was wicked, one second you laugh the next you cry, and of course all the challenging mind games were exciting to follow.

Note : This review was first posted on Kritikenstein, my weblog.