GAME OF THRONES Season 5 Episode 4
Episode Title: “Sons of the Harpy”
Writer: Dave Hill
Director: Mark Mylod
Previously on Game of Thrones:
One of the things that I appreciate the most about Game of Thrones is the show’s ability to surprise me. That’s the reason that I’m avoiding George R.R. Martin’s novels until the series is over.
And even then, some of the bigger shocks were ruined by online fans and google searches. I knew all about Ned Stark’s fate and the Red Wedding ahead of time, but I’m blissfully unaware of what’s going to happen this season on the show.
“Sons of the Harpy” was the very first episode of the season to catch me off guard and make me question whether the TV series just killed off one or more of its long time supporting characters. I love that uncertainty, as it gave the cliffhanger more power than it would ordinarily have had.
There are full spoilers ahead for “Sons of the Harpy.” You’ve been warned!
The titular Sons of the Harpy are proving to be more formidable than they initially appeared to be. Their coordinated attack in Meereen suggests that someone with either military experience or a lot of money is actively working to bring down Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). Hizdahr zo Loraq (Joel Fry) is the most likely suspect, simply because the show hasn’t given us anyone else to suspect. Once again, Hizdahr’s request to reopen the fighting pits was denied by Daenerys.
The ambush of the Unsullied was cleverly laid out by the show’s creative team. It initially appeared that the Unsullied getting killed were simply expendable characters. Then we see Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) in the mix… and surely he can’t die here. Ser Barristan (Ian McElhinney) even shows up to kick some ass… and he can’t die here. Or can he? That ending could go either way, as both Barristan and Grey Worm appeared to suffer severe injuries.
This was a busy week for Barristan, as he not only shared an amusing story about Rhaegar Targaryen with Daenerys, but he was also referenced in another story about Rhaegar as told to Sansa (Sophie Turner) by Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish (Aiden Gillen). How do we reconcile the image of Rhaegar as a street performer alongside the image of a man who would spark a war by kidnapping and raping Sansa’s late aunt, Lyanna?
Both sides of Rhaegar’s personality may be true, but I think that Game of Thrones is overdue for a flashback to Robert’s Rebellion if only to give us a glimpse of young Ned Stark, the Mad King and Rhaegar. The more we learn about what happened, the more interesting that story becomes.
In King’s Landing, Cersei (Lena Headey) made her latest move to retain power by arming the fanatical Faith Militant and directing them to arrest Ser Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones) after shipping Mace Tyrell (Roger Ashton-Griffiths) off to Braavos to face the Iron Bank. All of this comes off as a horrible idea on Cersei’s part. She may have no love for Margaery (Natalie Dormer), but the Lannisters can’t stay in power without the support of the Tyrells. I don’t think that Cersei has considered how badly this can go for her.
It was darkly hilarious that Mace was too naive to realize that Ser Meryn Trant (Ian Beattie) was meant to force him to go to Braavos rather than the honor that Mace assumed it was. Mace is a man who actually takes pride in being Master of Ships and Coin. Mace even offered Cersei a very reasonable solution to the crown’s debt problem. Cersei’s refusal of his offer demonstrated that she’s not actually interested in governing or in keeping the Seven Kingdoms in the good graces of the Iron Bank. She just wanted Mace out of the way while she targeted his children.
The only thing that Loras had ever done to Cersei wasn’t even his fault. Neither Loras nor Cersei ever wanted to be engaged to each other. And how quickly she forgets that Loras and his family helped save her life at the Battle of Blackwater. Loras’ only real crime was that he is a Tyrell, although he was imprisoned by the fanatics for being gay. Given that the Faith Militant aren’t exactly shy about mutilating their victims, Loras could be in serious danger simply because Cersei was feeling vengeful while desperately trying to maintain her power.
Cersei has only succeeded in driving a wedge between Margaery and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). It’s taken a while for Tommen to register as a character, and he doesn’t come off well when he fails to retrieve Loras. Unlike his late brother, Tommen has no appetite for violence even in the face of defiance and an angry wife. Unless that changes, the reign of King Tommen may be very short.
Dorne finally made it into the opening credit sequence this week, which fittingly had two plotlines in that kingdom. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Bronn (Jerome Flynn) continued their road trip to rescue Myrcella. It was a very illuminating episode for Jaime, as it became clear that he now hates his brother, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) for killing their father.
Some of that hatred may be directed at himself, as Jaime released Tyrion from his cell before he murdered Tywin. But now I’m really eager to see Jaime and Tyrion reunite just to watch the fallout from their last meeting. Even with that dark admission from Jaime, there was also a nice moment in which he smiled at seeing the homeland of Brienne.
Surprisingly, I have no sympathy at all for Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) and the Sand Snakes: Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes), Nymeria (Jessica Henwick), and Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers). That’s probably because their plan to avenge Oberyn hinges upon harming Myrcella, who is one of the few innocent Lannisters on the show. Although I also thought that Obara’s monologue was one of the weaker parts of the episode.
Checking in at the Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) resisted the seduction of Melisandre (Carice van Houten). However, Melisandre teased him with “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” Is she channeling Ygritte? It was also very interesting to see a more human side of Stannis (Stephen Dillane) as he told his daughter, Shireen (Kerry Ingram) exactly how far he went to save her from greyscale. It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but Shireen took it for what it was. That may be as much love as Stannis is able to express, but it’s enough to make him look good in comparison to his fanatical wife.
Back in Essos, the episode teased another potentially intriguing pairing between Tyrion and his captor, Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen). While Tyrion deduced Jorah’s identity and critiqued his plan, the timing certainly seems fortuitous for them to enter (or reenter) Daenerys’ favor. If either Grey Worm and/or Barristan is gone after this episode then the Mother of Dragons will need all the help that she can get. Unfortunately, I suspect that a good chunk of the season will pass before Jorah and Tyrion meet up with Daenerys.
Game of Thrones Season 5 hasn’t quite hit the midpoint, but this episode was an excellent step forward for most of the major plotlines.
