Miss last night’s episode? Here’s what you need to know about GAME OF THRONES’ “The Night Lands”
AIRDATE: 4/08/12 WRITERS:: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss DIRECTOR: Alan Taylor SYNOPSIS: As Daenerys and her dwindling Dothraki tribe continue to struggle to stave off starvation in the desert and doe-eyed Arya makes friends (and enemies) on her road to Winterfell, the rest of Westeros attempts to shore up their armies in preparation for the impending fight for King’s Landing. Or to be more specific: Davos and son Matthos Seaworth enlists the help of pirate Salladhor Saan to join fight at Stannis Baratheon’s side, while Theon Greyjoy returns home to the Iron Islands after nine years to reunite with his father, and much to his surprise, sister as well. Also of note, the curious case of Craster and what exactly he’s doing handing off poor baby boys to mysterious creatures North of the Wall. INTRODUCED: A serious headache for those of us GAME OF THRONES neophytes attempting to keep track of the countless new characters thanks to the introduction of Theon Greyjoy’s less than understanding father Balon, his sister Yara and Pirate Salladhor Saan. NOTABLE QUOTABLE: “The one true God is what’s between a woman’s legs, or better yet a Queen’s legs,” was Salladhor Saan’s way of stipulating his price for his services in the fight for King’s Landing. LESSON LEARNED: Well aside from the not-so-stunning revelation that newly appointed commander of the City Watch Bronn would do just about anything for a price, Mater of Whisperers Varys cements his status as the cat with nine lives, warning newly appointed hand of the King Tyrion Lannister, “Storms come and go, the big fish eat the little fish, and I keep on paddling.” CRITIQUE: Despite the fact that last night’s episode did little to alleviate our fears with regards to the show’s penchant for cramming too many characters and stories into each episode, our reaction upon realizing that an hours worth of sexposition flew by within a span of what felt like mere minutes means co-creators Benioff and Weiss are obviously doing something right. Thus, rather than bemoan the fact that “The Night Lands” barely scratched the surface when it came to delving into many of our favorite characters we’ll simply applaud the episode for some seriously stand-out moments including: Yara’s memorable introduction to brother Theon (“This is a homecoming I’ll tell my grandchildren about”), the dynamic duo that is Arya and Gendry (“M’lady”), and any scene involving Tyrion and Cersei trading barbs. GRADE: B
GAME OF THRONES airs Sundays at 9PM on HBO (HBO Canada) Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv