After a slow, but no less welcoming, start to the new season,
Dark Wings Dark Words introduces us to new characters and new plotlines, laying the groundwork for the foreseeable future and as always, things dont look like theyll end well in Westeros. For those who havent had a chance to catch up with Episode 2, for your benefit I shall keep the details to a minimum, though be warned, there will be some minor spoilers.
Dark Wings Dark Words takes a little more time in reintroducing the characters that we missed off the premiere list. The likes of Brandon, Arya, Jaime and Brienne all make their debut appearance for the new series and each of them being set off of their next journey to where, we do not know. To be honest there is little depth to their stories, at the moment. The purpose of this episode mainly felt like it was setting up the board for whats to come, making sure the pieces are where they need to be, but by the end of this episode, all seems to be in its place. Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) role in the current season becomes a lot more interesting, with the introduction of the mysterious Jojen Reed (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and his feisty sister Meera (Ellie Kendrick) who start to offer a bit of explanation as to why Bran can see through Summers eyes and the whole theology of Wargs, aided by a quick detour Beyond the Wall where we meet a new Wilding who possesses the same skill. Though they only appear together for a short scene, a clear relationship is established between Jojen and Meera and though it would appear that Jojen is dependent on his sister, for protection reasons, its almost as if they are dependent on each other. Though he might not look like much, there is a certain charisma in Jojen that makes him seem far more powerful than he appears to be. Another additional to the cast is the iconic thespian that is Diana Rigg, who plays the cunning and wise Lady Olenna, otherwise known as the Queen of Thorns. Not only does Diana portray the character beautifully, her character carries a heavy weight in terms of the upcoming events of the season. With her granddaughter, Margarery (Natalie Dormer) betrothed to Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), it becomes apparent that she intends become a player in the Game of Thrones. Her interview with Sansa (Sophie Turner) speaks volumes that the Tyrells dont intend to be undermined by the Lannisters and sets up a foreboding tension between the two houses, with the Queen of Thorns herself at the head. This similarly translates in a meeting between the two betrothals in which Joffrey, repulsive as ever, seems to be both threatening and seducing Margarery at the same time. For the entire scene it is unclear whether Margarery is in danger or not, but what was much more interesting was seeing her use his character to adapt her skills of manipulation, to tame the lion. And with Cersei (Lena Headey) constantly losing control over her son, the Tyrells are setting themselves up for whatevers to come. Meanwhile, Arya (Maisie Williams) and her entourage cross paths with the Brotherhood Without Banners, with which we are introduced to a rather unconventional red priest (according to the books anyway) and a recent resident of Kings Landing gets caught up with them. Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) proceeds with escorting Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to Kings Landing which doesnt come without its problems. The script writers for this episode certainly have had their fun with the banter and insults that Jaime throws at the warrior woman and for each scene youll be egging Brienne on to kill him and be done with it, though she certainly teaches him a lesson for his insolence when they cross the bridge. What will surprise the book-readers among you will be the presence of Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) in Season 3. Now I will state that I fully understand that the books and the HBO series are to be perceived as two separate formats, but Theon disappeared off the pages, only to reappear back in Book 5
ADance with Dragons. But it appears that whatever happened to Theon between Book 2 and Book 5 seems to be getting a bit of context and its not going to be pretty, featuring some gruesome sequences and the worst is still yet to come. Without spoiling anything, I will say this. Those of you who have been following the speculations and rumours of who is to play the Flayed Man himself will be in for a bit of surprise and chances are you won t be able to hold back a smile when a certain actor appears on screen. But for now, I shall remain quiet. Overall,
Dark Wings Dark Words completes the set up for the following season, including a few teasers for what is to follow. Our unconventional priest was introduced whilst singing that infamous song The Rains of Castemere which is sure to bring many a tear to the eye when it true meaning is revealed. With new characters, new tensions and new plot threads, episode three and the episodes to come promise to bring much pain and misery to the characters of Westeros. For the Night is Dark and Full of Terrors.