Game of Thrones is making sure that we never really know what is going on in Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms. “The Sons of the Harpy†gave us the character development we’ve been craving in Stannis Baratheon as well as the blood and fighting we love to see on the show. This season has only just begun and we are already well on our way to the pivotal episodes that will change lives forever.
King’s Landing is becoming unrecognizable while under King Tommen’s rule, or should I say Cersei’s rule. Cersei sits down with the High Sparrow to discuss her proposal of reinstating a Faith Militant. She wants to arm the Sparrows with weapons that they can use to carry out justice in the capital. She claims that she wants the Sparrows to carry out the justice that the rich cannot, but Cersei is selfish and only does things for herself. She tells the High Sparrow that she can give them a sinner in their midst who deserves justice, but he’s protected by gold.
Lancel Lannister and the other Sparrows get a mark carved into their foreheads, presumably to brand them as part of the Faith Militant. They go through the streets of King’s Landing to dole out their justice. It seems they are starting with gay men. They pull a couple of men from a brothel; then, they go after Ser Loras Tyrell. Lancel says to Loras, “You have broken the laws of gods and men.†Loras asks who they are, and Lancel replies, “Justice.â€
After Loras is taken into custody, Margaery throws a fit and demands that King Tommen get her brother out of jail. Tommen, always wanting to please his new queen, goes to the see the Sparrows. He demands to see the High Sparrow but is told that he is praying and can’t be disturbed. Behind him, people in the streets are yelling obscenities at Tommen. The rumor that haunted the Lannisters in the first season has slowly but surely spread. The people call Tommen bastard and say that he was born in sin. It seems to be only a matter of time before Tommen is overthrown for not being a true heir to the throne.
Meanwhile, Jaime and Bronn are out doing Cersei’s bidding. It was nice that they throw a small Easter Egg at us when Jaime asks about a land mass. It was Tarth, the home of Brienne, Jaime’s companion in the previous season. Bronn is one of the smartest people on the show, and Tyrion was the only one who could see it. Bronn knows that Jaime isn’t going through all of this trouble for his “niece,†and he realizes that Jaime is the one who let Tyrion go. But, when Bronn says that if Jaime sees Tyrion again he should give Tyrion his regards, Jaime snaps. Jaime is furious with Tyrion for killing their father, Tywin. Hopefully, Tyrion won’t have to face Jaime ever again; even with only one hand, Jaime is still the Kingslayer.
Jaime and Bronn get up to the shores of Dorne. They are hiding on a beach when four Dornish guards come searching for them. Bronn and Jaime take on these four guards, who were on horseback. Bronn proves his worth by taking out three of the men, while Jaime inadvertently uses his fake hand to literally grab a sword. The guard’s sword got caught in Jaime’s fake hand giving Jaime enough time to kill him. Along a separate beach in Dorne, Ellaria Sand is gathering recruits, including her children, to avenge Oberyn themselves. They know that Jaime Lannister is in Dorne to take back Myrcella. They plan to get to Myrcella first.
Jorah Mormont steals a man’s boat to take Tyrion to “the Queen.†Tyrion mistakes Jorah’s queen as being Cersei, his sister. He tells Jorah that they are going the wrong way, but Jorah explains that Daenerys Targaryen is the queen who he serves. It doesn’t take long for Tyrion to laugh at this. He was already planning on going to see Daenerys, so the kidnapping is actually a wasted effort. Tyrion also immediately figures out who Jorah is and that Dany exiled him for sending back information to King’s Landing. I hope we get to see more of this duo.
In Meereen, all hell is breaking loose for Daenerys. The Sons of the Harpy are wreaking havoc in the city and slaughtering the Unsullied. Greyworm and a few Unsullied get into an unwinnable situation, outnumbered by the Sons of the Harpy. Thankfully, Ser Barristan Selmy heard the fighting and comes to help. Selmy and Greyworm are the remaining two against more than half a dozen Sons of the Harpy. They fight bravely, but sadly, Ser Barristan Selmy did not come out of the fight alive. Greyworm is wounded, but hopefully he will recover. We can only imagine what Dany will do when she sees the damage caused by the Sons of the Harpy.
Moving up north, where they are constantly preparing for winter, Sansa Stark and Petr Baelish are still up to no good in Winterfell. Cersei has sent for Baelish to return back to King’s Landing. Sansa doesn’t know what she will do alone. Baelish calms her by telling her that he is certain that Stannis Baratheon is on his way to take back Winterfell and The North. He will most certainly remember that Eddard Stark was on his side and crown Sansa as Wardeness of the North. When Sansa asks what she will do if this doesn’t work out, Baelish says that she should manipulate Ramsy Bolton and make him hers. After all, Baelish reminds her that she learned from the best. Then, just when you start to like Littlefinger again, he gets creepy and kisses Sansa goodbye, on the lips.
At the Wall, Jon Snow is coming into his own as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. Sam has Jon signing many letters requesting more men for the Night’s Watch. Jon refuses to sign one to Roose Bolton, but Sam reminds him of his vow. Nothing seems to come between Jon and his vow to the Night’s Watch, especially now that he is Lord Commander. Melisandre tries to test his vows by asking him to leave the Wall and take over Winterfell with Stannis. She tries to seduce Jon, and for a moment, it seems like he will give in. Then, he reveals that he is still in love with the late wildling, Ygritte, and resists the temptations from Melisandre. As she leaves, she says to Jon, “You know nothing, Jon Snow.†What other powers does Melisandre possess that she would know something like this?
Easily the best storyline in this episode was with the cold and unmoving Stannis Baratheon. Thus far, Stannis has remained stoic and seemingly unkind. His wife doesn’t seem to like their daughter, Shireen, even calling her a deformity. We finally hear that Stannis in fact doesn’t think she is a deformity and actually loves her. When Shireen asks if he is ashamed of her, Stannis takes too long to answer her, so long in fact that I thought he never would.
Stannis launches into the story of how Shireen came to be infected with Greyscale. As a baby, Shireen was given a wooden doll, which she immediately pressed to her cheek. Once they realized that this doll was giving Shireen greyscale, Stannis did everything he could to save his daughter. After being told that she would not survive the night, Stannis wouldn’t take no for an answer. He brought in every maester and healer in the lands to save his daughter. Luckily, they stopped the greyscale from spreading to the rest of her body and saved her life. No matter what happens, Stannis finally proves his love for his daughter and how he always wants her by his side.