Game Of Thrones: 5 Winners And 5 Losers In 'The Laws Of Gods And Men'

This article contains SPOILERS, but you already knew that, right? €˜The Laws of Gods and Men€™ finally brings us the much-anticipated event of Tyrion€™s trial. For a couple of episodes now, we€™ve been watching the show just so that we could get to this moment. Well, the moment is finally here, and it was certainly worth the wait. Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage gives us his best performance of the series thus far, with a passionate delivery no doubt inspired by the trials of his own life. But Dinklage isn€™t the only star of this episode, with Liam Cunningham and Charles Dance showcasing their vast performance experience, proving yet again that they are the most consistent actors on the show. If there were a world cup of stern glares that could kill, those two would contest the final. It was difficult to pick this week€™s winners and losers, not for a lack of contenders, but because some of them deserved an entry on both sides of the equation. We have, however, managed to whittle it down to the (un) lucky few, and we will now call our first witness to the stand€

The Winners:

5. The Iron Bank Of Braavos

In the Season 4 trailer €˜Secrets€™, we were teased with an image of the free city of Braavos, and for a while now, various characters have been alluding to the introduction of the aforementioned city€™s famous Iron Bank. We first learned of the crown€™s debt to the Iron Bank when Tyrion became Master of Coin in Season 3. As he explains to Bronn, the crown owes them €œtens of millions.€ Before Joffrey€™s infamous wedding, Lord Tywin brushes off the subject with Lady Olenna, who sees right through his feigned disregard for the matter. Later, he changes his tune in the presence of family, admitting to Cersei that the crown does indeed owe a €œtremendous amount€ to the foreign bank. With all this foreshadowing €“ coupled with the trailer tease and the casting announcement of Mark Gatiss as banker Tycho Nestoris €“ it was only a matter of time before the grand bank made an appearance, and it certainly is grand.

The set they€™ve constructed for the bank hall is truly impressive; it is exactly how we imagined a medieval corporation would look like. Our impression begins with the visual of the city itself, as Stannis€™ ship passes beneath the Titan of Braavos: a giant statue of a warrior that is testament to the city€™s wealth and power. We then enter the bank€™s interior, ordained with marble floors, powerful stone walls, and very large doors and windows. The hall€™s centerpiece is its majestic table, which is more like a solid stone altar and is complete with luscious, throne-like chairs for the bankers, and what amounts to expensive park benches for the guests. The Iron Bank has a distinctly auspicious stonemason vibe going on. Enter the bankers themselves, and we finally meet Gatiss€™ Tycho Nestoris, who is exactly whom we imagined when we heard the casting news. It seems Gatiss has a gift for playing unhelpful figures of authority, and no matter who sits on the Iron Throne, it€™s becoming all too clear who really controls the future of Westeros.