The Second Watch is a weekly Game of Thrones column by Focus Editor Erin Yarnall, recapping each week’s episode.

On April 12, “Game of Thrones” returned for its fifth season without a bang, but with a promising look forward on to what will be an exciting season.

The season premieres of the hit HBO show have always started slow, and season five was no different. It takes time to recover from a season finale like “The Children” from season four: the remaining wildlings became surrounded by Stannis and his army; Bran finally found the three-eyed raven foreshadowed since Jaime Lannister pushed him out of the tower in season one; Daenerys found out that her most beloved dragon/child, Drogon, killed a three-year-old; Tyrion is sentenced to death, freed by his brother, Jaime, and then kills his father, Tywin.

Tywin’s funeral is one of the opening scenes, and while it was odd to see one of the most powerful men in all of Westeros laying on a slate with stones over his eyes, what’s most fascinating is the power switch between Jaime and Cersei. The last time they were alone together at a funeral, Jaime raped Cersei, in a difficult to watch and much-critiqued scene from season four’s “Breaker of Chains.” In this funeral scene, it is Cersei with all the power over her brother as she mercilessly insults his intelligence, and he has no response.

But the very first scene was most interesting of all, following a young Cersei Lannister as she meets a witch who allows Cersei three questions to ask about her future. While the witch’s predictions started to sound like rambling nonsense, “(In regards to Cersei’s children) gold with be their crowns, gold will be their shrouds,” she actually spot on.

The witch predicted that she will marry the king, which she did, Robert Baratheon. When Cersei asked if they’ll have children, she was told the king will have 20 and she will have three. Robert had 20 bastards, while Cersei had three children through incest with her brother, Jaime. The witch’s initially cryptic message is up to the interpretation of the viewer, but I took it as the gold crowns of Cersei’s children were their hair (which helped Ned Stark realize they were Jaime’s children, not Robert’s), and their shrouds means they will all die. Joffrey was already killed last season, so that leaves the viewers wondering what is going to happen to now-King Tommen and Myrcella.

The most important line, especially concerning Cersei’s plot line this season was the witches response that Cersei would be a queen one day, “until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.” Cersei takes this to mean Margaery Tyrell, who was formerly married to Cersei’s son, King Joffrey, and now, after his death, is moving on to Cersei’s younger son, King Tommen. Cersei’s interpretations are valid. Margaery is younger, beautiful, and willing to marry anyone to become queen — even her brother’s lover, Renly Baratheon, but I think the witch meant someone else entirely: Daenerys Targaryen.

It will probably be Dany that casts Cersei down, but she’s going to have to get out of Meereen first. It feels as if she’s been in that city for the entirety of the show. Despite the fact that she is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, despite the fact that she has a solid chance at taking it back and despite the fact that she has three dragons (which is unthinkable, literally — everyone else in the world thought they were extinct) Dany’s plotlines have become increasingly uninteresting. She is constantly facing danger from citizens of Meereen, but this constant threat of danger from angry slave owners and nothing really ever happening to Dany is making me, for the first time ever, become disinterested in an aspect of one of my favorite shows on television.

The fact that Tyrion and Varys are on their way to aid Dany (best line of the episode was from Tyrion when asked if he wanted to go to Dany, “Can I drink myself to death on the road to Meereen”) gives hope for the future of this plotline. It’s not because Tyrion and Varys will find their way to her,  but because her plotline will have to move on. Dany will somehow move on from Meereen before Tyrion and Varys get there (because, really, why would anything go to plan for a character as beloved as Tyrion Lannister).

We’re finally seeing the aftermath of the disastrous battle at The Wall, between the Wildlings and the Night’s Watch with help from Stannis’ army. Mance Rayder, the man who united more than 90 clans of wildlings, is captured, and Stannis wants to force the King-Beyond-the-Wall to pledge loyalty to him. Any viewer knows this isn’t going to happen, so it was sad to watch Mance Rayder be burnt alive — but not surprising in the least bit. What was surprising was Jon Snow ending Mance’s suffering and shooting him in the heart with an arrow while he was being burnt. Jon Snow is a noble character, but going against Stannis whose army has kept him alive during the battle is risky. Jon has spent four seasons following orders at the Night’s Watch and this action shows he’s a capable leader, too.

Predictions:

Lancel Lannister’s new religious cult has him feeling too guilty about his actions in previous seasons (drugging Robert Baratheon, which led to his death; sleeping with his cousin, Cersei). He’s going to come clean and really mess things up for Cersei.