The Second Watch is a weekly Game of Thrones recap column by Focus Editor Erin Yarnall.
Vengeance motivates a lot of characters in “Game of Thrones.” This is especially meaningful to the remaining Stark children, especially Jon, Arya and Sansa. Each of them have found a way to get vengeance for the wrongs that were done to their family since the first season of the show, and their responses to these opportunities are what is going to be exciting to watch this season.
Though he could have his dreams come true by returning to Winterfell as Lord Jon Stark of Winterfell, noble Jon Snow turned down Stannis Baratheon’s offer of making him the Lord of Winterfell. He has passed on his chance for vengeance, in order to keep his honor intact, but was anyone expecting differently of Jon Snow — the most honorable character on the show?
Arya is training to be an assassin at the House of Black and White in Braavos, on a different continent than where she is from, but her sister, Sansa, has finally returned home to Winterfell. Littlefinger arranged for Sansa to marry Ramsay Bolton, the son of the man who killed her brother, pregnant sister-in-law and mother at the infamous Red Wedding. This was a complete change from the books, in which Ramsay Bolton tells the North he married Arya Stark, when he has actually married Sansa’s former friend, Jeyne Poole. Although she is betrothed to one of the most hated characters in the show, Sansa has finally returned home, and as the Lady of Winterfell she will be able to get her revenge on the people who wronged he (with the obvious exception of the despicable Bolton family).
Despite the fact that the episode centered around the idea of vengeance, it opened with one of the most peaceful weddings Westeros has probably ever seen as King Tommen Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell were wed. At Dany and Khal Drogo’s wedding women were raped and men were killed; after Edmure Tulley’s wedding, Robb Stark, his pregnant wife and Catelyn Stark were all murdered; Joffrey Baratheon died at his own wedding. They’ve never been the fun and loving affairs, but Tommen and Margaery’s wedding was drama-free.
Their wedding night, on the other hand, was disturbing to say the least. In the book series, Tommen is nine years old. While Dean Charles Chapman, the actor portraying Tommen is 17, he looks like he can’t be older than 12. His sex scene with Margaery is so uncomfortable.
It’s a testament to Natalie Dormer, the actress who plays Margaery, that she’s able to take a scene this awkward and turn it into an obvious manipulation of Tommen, especially when she mentions it’s “so strange” to finally be queen. But this is her third marriage to a “King,” and it is impossible that she finds anything strange about being a queen. She was raised for this position, and now with Tommen, she securely has it – for a while, at least.
The hatred that Margaery and Cersei feel for each other is enough to watch the show for. If the previous seasons of anger weren’t enough, this season is sure to be filled with sassy quips such as Margaery telling Cersei “I wish we had some wine for you, it’s a bit early for us.”
Unlike the first two slower episodes, the third ended in a cliffhanger. Although Tyrion and Varys were great together, it will be exciting to see him partner up with Jorah Mormont, even if Tyrion had no choice in the matter. The religious cult led by the High Sparrow will also definitely change King’s Landing, probably to the detriment of the highly immoral royal family. Despite these two story lines shaking up things for the Lannisters, the most exciting moment of this episode was finding out that “the North remembers,” when Sansa returned back to Winterfell.
Prediction: Ramsay Snow promised he would “never hurt” Sansa to Littlefinger. Knowing Ramsay’s character, this is impossible, but at this point in her life, Sansa is wise to the fact that the world is out to screw people. Before Ramsay is able to hurt her, in whichever way he wants, she’s going to get him. Sansa will be a rallying point for the North, which the Boltons are using her for, but she will be that way without Ramsay.
Marry: King Tommen and Queen Margaery, finally. There hasn’t been a “Game of Throne”s wedding yet that’s gone without at least one death or one completely miserable person (in the case of Sansa and Tyrion’s wedding).
Kill: Janos Slynt’s head was graphically separated from his body in this week’s episode “High Sparrow.” The new Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, Jon Snow, gave the orders for Slynt to take command of a crumbling ruin of a castle along the wall. When Slynt disobeyed, and then insulted Jon, he exercised his new power and shockingly killed Slynt. The way the Wall fluctuates from a democracy (voting for a leader) to a dictatorship (being killed for insulting the leader) is interesting, and something to keep an eye out for.
Screw: No real backstabbing in this episode, but no one knows what Littlefinger is ever up to. Is he really aligning with Roose Bolton, or is this all part of some gigantic plot that only he will ever know the full details of?