![]() After a vision-filled journey through the House of the Undying that includes a glimpse of the Iron Throne covered in snow, as well as a brief interlude with her dead husband (Kahl Drogo) and child, she manages to recover her stolen dragons and use them to kill the warlock, Pyat Pree (Ian Hanmore). In doing so, Dany is once more poised to become a major player. Most impressive, though, is the way the episode takes the elements that have largely existed as the nonessential story lines (Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), and positions them to be the catalyst for season 3. Along with Osha (Natalia Tena) and Hodor (Kristian Naim), they set out in search of Jon at the wall. The young Starks, Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Rickon (Art Parkinson) emerge from hiding to find their home in ruin and Maester Luwin (Donald Sumpter) knocking on death's door. Instead of running to the Wall, though, Theon is simply dispatched by his own men despite a stirring speech that's tantamount to a call for suicide. ![]() Speaking of the North, 'Valar Morghulis' largely resolves the issue of Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) occupying Winterfell, after a sympathy-inducing moment where he reveals that his fate at the hand of Ned Stark set the tone for his life as an outcast - and now he is truly a man without a home. Though this puts Joffrey into the hands of someone more equipped to handle his particular temperament, Sansa is warned by Lord Baelish (the newly-named lord of Harrenhal) that Joffrey is not one to give up his toys so readily. After Margaery Tyrell ( Natalie Dormer), steps in to take the hand of King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) - which takes the collective effort of his mother, Cersei (Lena Headey), and Pycelle to convince the teenage tyrant it's best not to marry the daughter of a traitor - Sansa is ostensibly freed. Having turned down an offer from the Hound (Rory McCann) to return to Winterfell, she receives yet another opportunity to flee north, but refuses it, too. Unfortunately, the same can also be said for Sansa. It seems, for the time being, Tyrion has no plans to run from King's Landing. The plan sounds ideal except for the fact that Tyrion has finally found his place in the world: it's not lazing about drinking and fornicating - it's participating in the process that recently spat him out. In a moment of rare tenderness, Shae (Sibel Kekilli) suggests the two run away and live their lives doing what they do best. And if what Melisandre (Carice van Houten) says to Stannis ( Stephen Dillane) is true, then the event that unifies the characters will be raging for years to come. To ensure Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) has as much reason to take up precious screen time as Jon Snow (Kit Harington) or Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), there must be a shared knowledge of current events to keep them all relevant. The difference is these are attributes given to well-established characters that have a history long before the War of the Five Kings. There are other elements at play such as, the general knowledge that Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) knows what everyone, everywhere, is up to at any given time - or that Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen) can be counted on as long as the end helps satiate his lust for wealth and power. Often times, the trouble with world building on this scale is the struggle to make such varied characters relate to one another, but in Game of Thrones the shared experience that has gripped nearly every kingdom acts like a bridge between stories. In doing this, the writers crafted a solid second season that united its characters and their various story lines through the omnipresent threat of conflict. Weiss – taking into account they had but 10 (or so) hours to tell multiple intertwining (and sometimes disparate) stories and make them work as a cohesive whole. Here, the sheer size of Westeros and the number of characters contained therein could have proved a logistical nightmare for David Benioff and D.B.
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