Did You Lose Count of the C-word Too? Review: Game of Thrones "The Prince of Winterfell"

Air date: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 9PM ET/PT on HBO

RATING: ★★★★★

“A king who runs is not a king at all.” – Tywin Lannister

Did You Lose Count of the C-word Too? Review: Game of Thrones "The Prince of Winterfell" 1

Is Ygritte playing Jon or trying to help him?

King’s Landing is about to be landed by a king alright. While I don’t know how the city will defend itself with a boy-king in charge, it won’t take long for us to find out. Things are really heating up in Westeros. The dragons are still missing; Winterfell is under new rule and betrayal is the name of the game.

Observations and thoughts:

Theon’s (Alfie Allen) sister Yara (Gemma Whelan) has balls bigger than he does. “Go on then, warn me,” she mocks. I can see now why Theon is floundering about trying to keep his hold on Winterfell. His sister is worried he’s bit off more than he can chew and doesn’t want to see him dead. But if he goes home after all the ruckus he’s caused I think trouble will still follow him. The Starks won’t stop until Theon gets what’s coming to him.

Did Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) commit treason allowing Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to go free? She’s a mother doing what she thinks is best to save her children. I’m not sure she’s done the correct thing here, though. She doesn’t know everything that’s going on with her four “captive” children. Let’s be honest, they’re taking care of business on their own and seem to be doing well. But now that Catelyn’s shown herself to be untrustworthy, will Robb (Richard Madden) ever be able to believe in his mother again?

The blacksmith Gendry (Joe Dempsie) is back to smithing because it’s what he’s good at. But I want to know what else he brings to the table. Is he Arya’s (Maisie Williams) friend or someone who will hold her back? We know Arya’s a smart girl and she shows it with everything she does. When her assassin, Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha), asks her to name the final person she wants him to kill, she offers up his name in a genius move. Using Jaqen’s sense of honor to turn his bargain around affords her a chance for escape, but you know there has to be some other motive for helping her. So my question is why hadn’t she thought of escaping with his help sooner? I understand her need to gather what information she can for her brother (which she hasn’t been able to get to him, by the way) but when an opportunity like that presents itself, you don’t hesitate. I can’t fathom why Arya didn’t have him kill Tywin (Charles Dance) at the first opportunity except that she’s fond of the Lannister patriarch.

Bronn (Jerome Flynn) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) crack me up. Their banter is an entertaining diversion from the seriousness in this episode. Bronn is definitely smarter than he looks and he may be more than useful to Tyrion. Who would have guessed he was so well read? Tyrion would do well to stick by Bronn’s side when the shit hits the fan.

Is Stannis’s (Stephen Dillane) need for comeuppance the reason he’s planning to march on King’s Landing? It’s possible he thinks he should be king because he was passed over for Lord of Storm’s End. I’m trying to figure out if he knows Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) isn’t a Baratheon and that’s the reason he’s going after the throne. Either way, I hope he brings it. Someone needs to teach Joffrey a lesson.

How in the hell does Varys (Conleth Hill) know everything? His spies must be high up on the food chain. There’s no way he could know half the things he does if he weren’t tapped into the political hierarchy. It’d be interesting to find out who he has collecting secrets for him.

Joffrey is beyond stupid. He equates being a king with being invincible. Yes, him putting on airs to show he’s not afraid is brave, but come on! He’s just a little shit boy and there’s no way he’ll triumph going up against Stannis. Even with an entire army behind him, Joffrey won’t win. He’s been ruling with an iron fist instead of his brain and it’ll be his end.

The way Ser Jorah (Iain Glen) looks at Daenerys (Emilia Clark) speaks volumes. You can tell how much he cares for her and would do anything for her. “You know I would die for you. I will never abandon you.” So why does she fight so hard to resist the love between them? (Seriously, the sexual tension is thick enough to cut with a knife.) Is it because she can’t stand to lose another man she loves? That’s no way to live. She’s behaving like a spinster—no longer interested in romance or marriage because of one lost love. Besides, she’s way too young to cut herself off from ever having children again. “They are the only children I’ll ever have.” Dragons don’t bring the kind of joy babies do. No matter how much she believes she’s the mother of dragons, they can’t fill that role for her. Isn’t it obvious how vulnerable her precious dragons are now? Until they reach maturity, what good will her “children” do when she tries to take back the iron throne?

Cersei (Lena Heady) is hurting, paranoid and falling apart. Her pain sets her on a path to induce misery in the others around her—like her beloved brother, Tyrion. Too bad she’s taken the wrong whore because I’m sure Tyrion would have run his sister through without a second thought. Cersei better watch out. Shae (Sibel Kikilli) means more to Tyrion than she could ever know, and he won’t let her go easily.

With two boys calling themselves kings, who will be the last man standing? The way events are playing out, I believe the boys will pave the way for the true ruler of Westeros. Daenerys will fly in on her dragons to claim the iron throne for the Targaryens. Maybe. War is coming next week. Do you think King’s Landing will be ready?

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