Game of Thrones Series Blog – Dark Wings, Dark Words

This week’s installment of Game of Thrones may not have been action packed, but we got a great opportunity to see more about the inner workings of Westeros. Dark Wings, Dark Words brought back Bran and the gang (along with the two mysterious Reed siblings), Jamie and Brienne’s trek to King’s Landing, and Arya’s perilous journey to Riverrun.

Olenna Tyrell, Game of Thrones’ answer to The Duchess of Grantham, is the matriarch of the Tyrell clan and Margaery’s grandmother. Dianna Rigg does an excellent job of portraying the wickedly clever woman, who seems to know the games that the nobility play better than anyone. Margaery seemed less than concerned upon hearing of Joffrey’s true nature, which implies that she may not be the perfect, obedient bride that Joffrey wants.

Jamie and Brienne make quite the pair – Brienne does her best to deflect Jamie’s razor-sharp banter. Their skirmish is one of the first times we get to see Jaime’s true fighting abilities – he’s able to hold off Brienne for a while, despite his sorry state. We also find that even Brienne is fallable, as they are sold out to the Bolton bannermen.

Catelyn and Talisa begin to talk, and whilst it is clear that Lady Stark holds some hostility towards her, she opens up, telling her the heartbreaking story of her struggle to love Jon Snow. It will be interesting to see how the relationship between the two characters changes as they continue to travel together.

A few special mentions must be given. The Hound’s ability to recall someone he’s barely met even when he’s blind drunk is something quite astounding. Margaery’s fabulous manipulation of Joffrey even makes it hard for the audience to believe that she’s not as twisted as him. Best of all, Tyrion’s furious backtracking in an attempt to subdue Shae’s jealousy lays waste to his typical eloquence.

Overall, Dark Wings, Dark Words is slightly lacking in action, but packed with plot development and the beginnings of intertwining storylines. As a backer of the Targaryen claim to the throne, I was slightly disappointed not to see Danaerys. However, ‘Thronecast’ revealed that we will be catching up with the Khaleesi next week, along with rejoining Stannis and Melisandre at Dragonstone. The tantalizing cliffhangers will be plenty to draw viewers back in next week.