What I’m Watching: Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 4 “Sons of the Harpy” (B+)

When I think of the few characters whose name and function I can clearly identify on this show, I remember Jorah as the face of reason and optimism, and it’s clear that exile has not served him well. Predictably, he was unamused when Tyrion started laughing since he was on his way to meet Daenerys anyway prior to his kidnapping. The big casualty of the episode was the other more loyal Daenerys advisor, Ser Barristan, who went out valiantly and now represents a serious blow to Daenerys’ hold on the city that I don’t expect Tyrion of all people will be able to rectify. Margaery had an interesting moment of speeding up her manipulation of Tommen with a perfectly legitimate request: to free her brother. Cersei telling Tommen that he and not she was the one who could decree such things was almost worse than him not having the power since it was an embarrassment, though kudos to this particular king, a very different character than his brother, who chose not to push it because he didn’t want it to lead to violence. That’s something that’s sure to follow as Ellaria prepares to strike down vengeance on the Lannister family before Jaime arrives to save the day. With his missing hand, Jaime is now playing second fiddle to Bronn, a terrific character I’m glad to see back and featured again, one of the few champions of Tyrion’s respectability left in the realm, an attribute that no longer fully applies to his brother Jaime.