Half way through the fifth season of “Game of Thrones” and writer Bryan Cogman delivers a crackerjack episode. After the action packed freneticism of last week’s episode, “Kill the Boy” slows things down and only focuses on three story lines. “Game of Thrones” has more than its fair share of episodes where characters are moved into place for future events to unfold, this week certainly falls into that category, but the script hones in on the emotions of this smaller cast of characters and I couldn’t get enough.
I mentioned in my recap of the season premiere that the show is at its best when it can find a unifying theme that makes all of the disparate stories and characters feel cohesive. All of the characters in “Kill the Boy” are trying to establish their place in the world in which they find themselves. They are also well, and truly preparing for the wars to come. Survival in Westeros is a dubious proposition and trying to thrive there seems like a fool’s errand. No one has told these characters though, they are going to try.
Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) has to deal with the aftermath of the latest Sons of the Harpy attack which took down one of her fiercest warriors and sidelined another. She seems to finally find the intensity to rule in Meereen, something that’s been missing since she saw the dragon charred remains of the Meereenese child last season. Seeing the fire return to Dany both literally and figuratively is absolutely welcome to kick her story into high gear.
The biggest development to come out of Meereen this week is Dany’s decision to reopen the fighting pits. Every episode of the season so far has seen Dany grapple with the decision and Hizdahr zo Loraq (Joel Fry) pleading with her to do so. Now that she is agreeing to allow free men to fight for glory, opportunity is opened up for the future of Meereen and Daenerys’ position as ruler. I can’t wait for this plot to come to a head.
At the Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is still finding his legs as Lord Commander. He is in a similar situation as Daenerys, coming into power with far too little experience but with massive expectation. He feels he needs to offer safe haven to the Wildlings, knowing the abominable threat the White Walkers pose. Jon is unsure of himself, not unsurprisingly, but when in front of his men, he stands strong and asserts his leadership (again, not unlike Dany). Seeing a Stark act nobly is always welcome and with Stannis (Stephen Dillane) finally marching south towards Winterfell, Jon is now free to lead entirely on his own.
Speaking of Winterfell, the scenes with Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) both together and apart, are absolute highlights of the episode. The subtly of the writing and acting is mesmerizing.
The main complaint I’ve been hearing about changing up this storyline from the books and bringing Sansa to Winterfell to marry Ramsay is that it puts her in a situation similar to the one she was in when she was with Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). I don’t see it that way. Contending with the sadistic whims of Joffrey was a terrible lot to be sure, but for me, Ramsay is worse. Joffrey was physically violent with delusions of being clever. Ramsay is as psychologically abusive as he is physically.
Sansa’s predicament could not be worse but as she is reminded this week, she is not alone. Several northerners express their solidarity to the oldest (or as most believe, only) Stark child and this story is set to explode. The story with the Boltons at Winterfell does happen in the books, but adding Sansa into the mix opens up all kinds of possibilities and I can’t wait for it to forge its own path.
Finally this week, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is treated to the awesome sight of Drogon in full flight. He’s heard the stories of Dany hatching new dragons but seeing one, especially one the size of Drogon, silences a man who usually has something to say about everything. Tyrion is the one who hasn’t known his place in this world for a very long time. Since coming across the Narrow Sea, he’s settled into a kind of resigned defeat. Seeing the dragon in flight seems to snap him out of it by putting his place into perspective. I don’t know if he would have fought so hard to survive against the stone men if he had not just been inspired by true power.
Were you as impressed by this episode as I was? What do you think of Sansa’s predicament? Now that Jon is at the Wall without Stannis do you think he’ll seize power or will it all fall apart? Did you miss checking in at King’s Landing? Let’s discuss!
