Episode Title: ‘A Man Without Honor’
Written By: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Directed By: David Nutter
Synopsis: Jaime meets a distant relative. Daenerys receives an invitation to the House of the Undying. Theon leads a search party. Jon loses his way in the wilderness. Cersei counsels Sansa.
The Verdict: At last, after five episodes of being chained up in a cage somewhere off-screen, Jaime Lannister’s back! And talk about returning with style – Jaime’s on fine form this week, delivering plenty of killer lines, as well as plenty of killer… erm, well, kills. In one of the best scenes in the series so far, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau almost makes us feel sorry for the imprisoned Kingslayer… that is, until he murders loyal squire and fellow Lannister Alton just for a shot at freedom! Criticize GAME OF THRONES all you want, you can’t deny the writers know how to write a good villain!!
Elsewhere this week, Jon Snow continues his meandering beyond the wall with wilding Ygritte. Their scenes together are a tad better the last week’s (mostly due to the great banter between them), though story wise it’s mostly filler this week (anyone else smack their head and groan when Ygritte escaped from Jon JUST LIKE SHE DID LAST WEEK?!). That said, next week’s episode does look a bit more promising, judging by the predicament Jon finds himself in by the end of this week’s installment. Fingers crossed, eh?
Despite the lukewarm Jon Snow scenes this week, everything else here is perfection – Sansa’s terrible predicament that she cannot hide or escape from (and Cersei’s subsequent conversation with her regarding her future) is uncomfortable and terrifying to watch, whilst the scenes with Daenerys and Ser Jorah are sweet, whilst at the same time giving us plenty of reason to question Ser Jorah’s true motives. And this week’s cliffhanger is a real doozy, one that will not only have us glued to the screen next week, but also showcases the brilliant acting talents of one of the show’s unsung heroes, Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin!
Overall though, it’s a rather average GAME OF THRONES episode this week – which is still a massively enjoyable, unmissable piece of TV Drama, and a cut above the rest. If this is GAME OF THRONES by the numbers, then here’s hoping next week’s is just the same, if not better!!
Best Bit: A tough one this week – Shae threatening one of Cersei’s handmaidens; Tyrion and Cercei’s sweet and emotional scene together as they discuss Joffrey; and that bloody fantastic cliffhanger! Hmmm, I can’t make up my mind…
It’s Wossiname: Karl Davies (Alton Lannister) was long-running character Robert Sugden in EMMERDALE from 2001 until 2005, and more recently appeared alongside Stephen Fry in ITV’s KINGDOM.
Star Performance: Another tough one this week, but the winner is the Kingslayer himself: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau! Waldau succeeds in making Jaime both funny, charismatic, and nasty – something sorely lacking in the other villains this series, like Joffrey and Greyjoy!
Best Line(s):
Tyrion: ‘It’s hard to put a leash on a dog, once you’ve put a crown on it’s head.’
Stay tuned for part eight of our GAME OF THRONES Series Blog next week.
GAMES OF THRONES can be seen on Sky Atlantic 9pm Tuesdays.
