Tyrion tries to see who he can trust in the Small Council. Catelyn visits Renly to try and persuade him to join Robb in the war. Theon must decide if his loyalties lie with his own family or... Read allTyrion tries to see who he can trust in the Small Council. Catelyn visits Renly to try and persuade him to join Robb in the war. Theon must decide if his loyalties lie with his own family or with Robb.Tyrion tries to see who he can trust in the Small Council. Catelyn visits Renly to try and persuade him to join Robb in the war. Theon must decide if his loyalties lie with his own family or with Robb.
- Rodrik Cassel
- (credit only)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTyrion finds out which of three members of the small council (Pycelle, Varys or Littlefinger) is spying for his sister, by giving each suspect a different unique piece of information, and then seeing which one his sister finds out about. This method, commonly known as "Barium meal test" or "canary trap" (the latter term was coined by Tom Clancy in the novel "Patriot Games"), has been used in real intelligence agencies for decades.
- GoofsTyrion says "Myrcella will wed their youngest son", referring to the Martell's son Trystane. In the following seasons, however, Trystane is established to be an only child.
- Quotes
Lord Varys: You will be pleased to know our mutual friend is doing quite well in Lady Sansa's service.
Tyrion Lannister: Good. One of my better ideas.
Lord Varys: And it seems the Grand Maester has found his way into a black cell?
[Tyrion shrugs]
Lord Varys: Well played, my lord Hand. But should I be worried? Janos Slynt, Pycelle... the small council grows smaller every day.
Tyrion Lannister: The council has a reputation for serving past Hands poorly. I don't mean to follow Ned Stark to the grave.
Lord Varys: Power is a curious thing, my lord. Are you fond of riddles?
Tyrion Lannister: Why? Am I about to hear one?
Lord Varys: Three great men sit in a room: a king, a priest, and a rich man. Between them stands a common sellsword. Each great man bids the sellsword kill the other two. Who lives, who dies?
Tyrion Lannister: Depends on the sellsword.
Lord Varys: Does it? He has neither crown, nor gold, nor favor with the gods.
Tyrion Lannister: He has a sword, the power of life and death.
Lord Varys: But if it's swordsmen who rule, why do we pretend kings hold all the power? When Ned Stark lost his head, who was truly responsible? Joffrey? The executioner? Or something else?
Tyrion Lannister: I've decided I don't like riddles.
[pause]
Lord Varys: Power resides where men believe it resides. It's a trick. A shadow on the wall. And a very small man can cast a very large shadow.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Game of Thrones Deaths (2015)
What stands out in this episode is clearly the way Tyrion, the new Hand of the King, detects Cersei's snitch – a method thoroughly entertaining to watch if you haven't read the books. Even if so, I'm sure you'll find pleasure in watching Peter Dinklage outshine everyone in the same room with him. I, however, found some flaws in Sansa encountering Shae for the first time, a scene that obviously needed more takes, in my humble opinion. Another con was Theon confronting his father, which didn't felt genuine and quite nondescript to watch. I simply dislike the whole idea of him coming back to Pyke and none of the scenes until this point as well as none of the scenes in the next two episodes (I've already seen them) made change my opinion about that.
In the end, those two things didn't bother me a lot because as usual, the good stuff was predominant and I had great fun with the introduction of Margaery Tyrell in particular. Natalie Dormer is an utterly talented young actress who manages to keep her character interesting not only in a sexual sense (she's still hot, though). Gwendoline Christie does a fine job as Brienne of Tarth yet I have the same issue as with the Theon story part: I don't like the original idea by George R. R. Martin. The other returning cast members, Gethin Anthony and Finn Jones, sustain their good performances from season one while still keeping their relationship juicy.
Altogether, this makes for some entertaining 50 minutes filled with the usual good acting, pretty set design, well-written dialogs, great score, and a final scene just as enthralling as the ones in the first two episodes.
- stillworkingfortheknife
- Aug 15, 2013
Details
- Runtime53 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1