TV Review: Game of Thrones 2.5, "The Ghost of Herrenhall"
Overall this was another excellent episode, and if it wasn’t quite as intense as last week’s, that fine.
rating: 4.5
(WARNING: Significant spoilers follow!) Sic transit Renly pseudo-Rex. Poor fellow. Killed by his sister-in-laws vagina demon. A horrible end for a gay man. On the plus sideLoras is single now. And probably on the rebound. Ah, were that I could be transported to a fantasy realm Anyhow, this weeks episode wasnt quite as intense as last weeks, but did offer the significant advantage of moving the storylines of virtually everyone forward and offered not one, not two, but three great team-ups! The first real story was that of Renlys assassination as ordered by Stannis (Stephen Dillane). This came right on the heels of a negotiated truce between Renly and Robb Stark, so it was perhaps not the best timing from the Stark point of view. What was really good about this scene was the aftermath. First off, wow, who knew Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) cared that much about Renly? Her reaction when he was killed was real, pure, gut-wrenching grief, and it was fantastic to see. I also loved that we got a bit of Loras (Finn Jones) mourning the death of his beloved. Both swear revenge on Stannis, though frankly were I him, I know which of the two Id rather not have coming at me with murder in her eyes. The other great thing about Renlys death was that it lead to the first great team-up scene; that of Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) and Brienne, as they flee Renlys camp and try to get back to Winterfell. The two have a very great conversation and then Brienne gets a new job. I liked this development, and the scene itself was really well-done. The second major storyline takes place in exotic Qarth, where we have Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) playing with her dragons, trying to keep her warriors from robbing her hosts blind and getting to know Xaro (Nonso Anozie), who offers her marriage and his wealth to take the Iron Throne. Now that wasnt nearly as impressive to me as the wonderful dialogue that followed between Dany and Ser Jorah (Iain Glen). He really does a great job of presenting a case for why Dany should be the queen and how shed be one hell of a monarch. That hes in love with her doesnt lessen the value of what he says, though it may taint the ears of his listeners. The final epic team-up of the episode was that of Arya (Maisie Williams) and Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance). Hes still got her working for him as a servant, and Im 99% sure he knows full-well who she really is. The two of them have a fascinating, if brief, conversation, that I would have liked to have seen more of. That of course ends up being setup for the return of Jaqen (Tom Wliachiha), who offers to take three lives for Arya. Her first suggestion is not, somewhat to my surprise, Tywin. Instead she suggests that the cruel torturer should die, and soon enough, he does, leaving her with an interesting taste of power. Should be fun to see what she does with it next. There were a lot of other great things about this episode, but for me those team-ups were the most interesting aspects, and I hope we get to see all of them again. The other stories, such as life in Kings Landing and Bran ordering people around at Winterfell, were interesting, but are more likely to be payoffs far down the line. Overall this was another excellent episode, and if it wasnt quite as intense as last weeks, that fine. We needed something a little differently paced, and what we got was just as good.