Game of Thrones

For those of you who think that you're getting this on Tuesday because Monday was a holiday in Utah, that isn't it. Actually, I used to write these on Sunday and schedule these to pop Monday, while everyone was at work because web traffic isn't great on the weekend. Now I can't write much of anything on Sunday because I go straight from recording the audiobook for DbC 2 into a Legend of the Five Rings game Sunday night. Also, I promised a guy at my hair salon I'd write about Game of Thrones and I don't get to watch that until Monday, so I'm writing these Monday night now. Still setting these to pop in the middle of the afternoon, because I'm a slave to pointless tradition.

So Game of Thrones. And, uh, in case you didn't guess...SPOILERS.

We're two episodes in. The first took its time. It built tension. It laid a lot of groundwork, reminding us where all the pieces stood, so I'll mainly talk about the two episodes as a whole. And I'm mainly going to talk about characters.

Cersei. What is there to say about Cersei. She earned a lot of sympathy at the end of last season. She's spent most of it already. I liked the way she handled Euron Greyjoy. Her back is against the wall. I know how the War of the Roses ended. I don't see how Game of Thrones ends the same way. I just don't see it at this point.

Jon Snow and Sansa. Sansa is so cold now. So hard. It's not terribly surprising, seeing what she's been through. John, on the other hand, has grown, but he hasn't really changed. Of all the characters in Game of Thrones, he might have kept to who he was the most (the other contender might be Tyrion). Jon Snow has merely become more expert at being Jon Snow. It's interesting how Sansa has more reason to trust Tyrion, but Jon Snow actually puts more faith in him. Then again, maybe Sansa is right...

Tyrion. Ah, we love our Imp. "All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes." Tyrion has really grown into his role here. (Please don't take that as a pun.) It's no wonder he gets top billing on the IMDB page. And his move in episode two with the armies...cold. Just cold. If I was to think Sansa was right to not trust him, that she has some special insight into his secret soul from being married to him, it is because of that scene. Tyrion's charm hides a special brutal cunning.

Daenerys. My coworker is really worried she's turning into her father. However, I'm not terribly worried about that at this point. Her father would do more than attack King's Landing. She takes a hard line with Jon Snow, but what other choice does she have, as an opening position? She intends to reclaim the seven kingdoms. She can't do that starting from a position of weakness, and right now, she has most of the cards. It's too early in the game to start handing them away. She freed the slaves. We'll see where her moral compass points when she finds out about the white walkers.

Arya. I love me my Arya. We see her as a total bad ass in her first scene (my viewing companion called that, credit where credit is due). The scene with the soldiers was great. And she finally found out about Winterfell and Jon Snow. And you aren't convincing me that wasn't Nymeria. You aren't convincing me she won't come back when it's important. THAT STORY WILL HAVE A HAPPY ENDING, DAMMIT. I'm a romantic and I demand it. (Don't tell the women I date. It's a secret.)

Jaimie and Brienne. Isn't much to say about them yet, but I couldn't skip them. We'll see.

Samwell and Jorah Mormont. Dammit, I've been waiting seven seasons for that reaction when Sam hears Jorah's name. I didn't think those plotlines would ever connect. That scene with the greyscales...chilling. And so Sam. I'd forgotten that Daenerys ordered Jorah to find a cure. I'm so glad that Sam's relationship with his father, as distant and roundabout through Jon as it might have been, might be the impetus for that cure.

So that's it.

Oh. Wait. Something did happen, didn't it? Right there at the end. Did Theon leave Yara to die?

I'm not sure Theon made the wrong call there. He might have made it for the wrong reasons, but I saw the look in Euron's eyes the same as he did. I saw the crazy there. I don't doubt that Theon was sure that if moved forward, she died. I don't doubt that for a moment. Did he run to save himself? Maybe. Did he run because she died if he didn't? That must have played some part of it too.

We see a woman hanging from the masthead at the end, but we don't know its Yara. Euron said he's bringing Cersei a gift. I think it's Yara. I think she's a better gift alive. I think if Theon charged, he would have settled for dead. So did Theon make the right choice? Probably? He probably made it for the wrong reasons, but I think that he likely saved his sister's life.

Those are my thoughts for now. Lets see how next week develops.

Amendment: Adding this Sunday morning, before Episode 3 airs. On a careful rewatch I caught something I must have missed on my first viewing. When Euron's men take Ellaria she tells them to kill her and they purposely don't. So obviously she's the present. I thought on my first viewing that he'd taken or killed her without realizing she'd killed Cersei's daughter.