Once again, it’s time to return to
Westeros.
When I went into ‘Valar Dohaeris’,
I knew that it was going to be tough to top all the drama in last
season’s ‘Valar Morghulis’. This episode was more subdued
because it had the tough job of both recapping what happened last
time and laying the foundation of what we should expect this season.
This said, ‘Valar Dohaeris’ is a
great episode. Though we do not wander far from King’s Landing, we
get a good look at life beyond the Wall and insight into why Jon Snow
has chosen to desert the Night’s Watch. With the addition of
Danaerys’s attempts to rally a slave army to help her take the Iron
Throne, we have a more focused storyline in the episode despite over
five simultaneously occurring plotlines. It’s a pretty strong start
to season three.
Granted, the Stark army and Stannis’s
fallen forces were squished in there too, but it’s brief and
relevant enough not to be jarring.
I don’t know if I simply never
realised it before, but I couldn’t help but notice the prominence
of house colours in certain storylines. For example, the brief look
into what was going on with Stannis’s army was through a green
filter, the Starks and the Night Watch got a dreary grey, Danaerys
and her Dothraki were red(dish) and the Lannisters got that bright
gold that they love so much. It was a handy tool to keep track of
which set of heroes was on-screen.
Though the focus is on King’s
Landing, we get more plot twists and new ingredients in the other
storylines. As much as I love Tyrion and wanted to punch Tywin in the
face after last season, there were all these tantalising little
details dangling in front of me that kept getting yanked away to
focus on the Lannisters. Then again, the focus on Tyrion and newcomer
Margaery was hardly a letdown.
Danaerys has always seemed more passive
than the other main characters and her only function so far has been
to hatch dragon eggs. One of the things that I liked about this
episode was we got to see her do more than complain and act entitled.
Her reservation towards using the slave army and playing with the
child at the end are small events in the hour long premiere, but I
found myself caring about her storyline despite wanting it to go away
last season.
Jon Snow is a character I’ve felt has
a similar problem in terms of being self-entitled, but not to the
extent that Dany is. We see him take action, achieve great things and
grow into a mature adult. The part of his storyline that really
shined last week was his speech about being on the side that’s
stopping the White Walkers. Last season he was told to infiltrate the
wildling army so the power of the speech is compromised, but it had
me wondering just how much his defection was an act. Only time will
tell.
Speaking of details, regular viewers
might notice that there is not a smidge of sex in this episode. Yes,
at one point we have Bronn talking into a woman’s crotch, but given
the common complaints I get about Game of Thrones and sex, it
was great to see an episode that doesn’t have any.
King’s Landing
needed to be the focus after last season’s plot explosion, but I
hope that the next episode will focus on something else…like what
happened to the six other characters I care about. It might not have
a lot in the way of the swordfights and sex that the show is known
for, but it is a strong start to an interesting plot.
Review by Greta Rehak
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