Article originally written for Seat42F.
Season five of HBO’s GAME OF THRONES begins with the various
characters worried about “The Wars to Come.” Those with serious power in
Westeros are now almost all dead, and the ones left behind fight for seats they
are not worthy of holding. Across the sea, a new ruler struggles to find her
own bearings, but some help is on the way that may just get her over the hump,
if she can trust it.
The last sentence in the introduction paragraph refers, of
course, to Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia
Clarke). Unlike the rest of the both their families, these two have been the
reasonable, strong fighters, who overcome the odds to succeed, and actually
care about the people under them. Either would make a wise, just leader, but
together, they could be unstoppable.
Tyrion starts “The Wars to Come” in a box, secreted across
the sea by Varys (Conleth Hill), now also on the run. Varys believes Tyrion is
the type of leader that the Seven Kingdoms need, and wants to introduce him to
Daenerys. But they are still a long way away from her yet, and lots can happen
on a journey. One thing I’ve learned about GAME OF THRONES is that plans made much
in advance rarely come to fruition.
Daenerys could really use the assistance about now. Having
spent four seasons rising in power, she has stalled in her current land. Apart
from her dragons, whose trust she has lost, her closest advisor sent away, and
the nobility she displaced rebelling against her, she is not doing well. Fans
love Daenerys and know she can be a good queen, but Daenerys isn’t yet ready
for the challenge peace brings. She can wage campaigns and battles fine enough,
but like many in history, she has a hard time adapting in the aftermath of war.
Tyrion has proven himself capable in both situations, so
hopefully they find and help one another.
Back in King’s Landing, a conflict is brewing between Cersei
Lannister (Lena Headey) and Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). Both seek to
control Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman), the current boy on the Iron Throne.
Cersei is starting at a disadvantage, though. Drunk and sick with anger and
grief over the loss of her father and her brother, Jaime’s (Nikolaj
Coster-Waldau), betrayal at setting free Tyrion, she is not thinking clearly.
It seems that a prophecy she is told as a little girl in the opening scene of
“The Wars to Come” may very well come true, since Margaery doesn’t seem
hampered by either thing. But I can’t help but think neither of these women are
going to matter in the end, not strong enough to hold two kingdoms, let alone
seven.
Lastly, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is having a hard time of it
up on The Wall. Caught between Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) and Mance
Rayder (Ciaran Hinds), both stubborn men, he tries to broker a compromise that
lets both walk away. That fails, and Stannis publically executes Mance. Rather
than watch a great leader he respects suffer, Jon puts Mance out of his misery
with an arrow through the heart.
Will Stannis let Jon’s actions stand? Technically Stannis
has no control over the Night’s Watch, an independent body that Jon is a part
of. But when has the exact rule of law ever stopped Stannis? He is a bitter man
with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. Surely, he cannot be happy
at all with Jon’s decision. Stannis thinks he knows the type of man Jon is, but
“The Wars to Come” proves that not to be the case. Stannis and Jon are not
going to be friends.
As usual in GAME OF THRONES, there are more than three
threads in “The Wars to Come.” I only choose these three, though, because they
seem the most important, and the ones likely to have the biggest effect on the
next few hours. It’s a very full show with a lot going on, beautifully
balanced. It serves these grand stories well, while giving us meaningful bits
with Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and Brienne
(Gwendoline Christie) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and others. It may
actually be hard to predict which of those minor moments will be important
later. Thankfully, the show has done a fine enough job defining the characters
and situations that it is no longer hard to follow along in this complex web,
and if they do matter, many will remember them.
GAME OF THRONES airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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