Game of Thrones
“Sons of the Harpy”
(HBO)
B+
“Sons of the Harpy” opens at night with a fisherman getting punched in the face — to the point of knockout — by Ser Jorah Mormont, recent captor of Tyrion. This sets up this episode nicely, considering the wallop it packs. It’s easily the most violent episode of the season thus far, but we’ll get to that later.
Although it leaves us with very little between Tyrion and Ser Mormont, we are treated to an exchange (well, not really) between the two later in the episode. After an annoyingly muffled tune performed by Tyrion, Mormont removes his gag so the little captive can speak — and speak he does. This is the Tyrion whom everyone has come to love: smart, spunky, and quick to exasperate his company. The “conversation” does end with a, um, sort-of-deserved slap across the face, but at least it reminded us that Tyrion still has it.
I haven’t read the books, but I know there are plenty of fan theories out there, and one (obviously) is: What is Jon Snow’s true heritage? He is notoriously the bastard of Ned Stark, but in this episode there is a lot of hinting going on. I had to do my research a tad to make sure I wasn’t crazy, but there are three hints:
1. Jon is tempted by the fire-haired, king temptress, Melisandre. We all remember her giving birth to Lost’s black smoke monster after having sex with Stannis, right? Well, here she is trying to seduce Jon, which he politely, but firmly, rejects. The question isn’t why Jon turns her down, but why she wants this from Jon. She “senses” kings’ blood in him. So is Jon the rightful heir of the Seven Kingdoms?
2. Littlefinger approaches Sansa as she pays respect to her dead ancestors, telling a story of Lynna Stark (Ned’s sister). Lynna was supposedly raped and murdered by Rhaegar Targaryen. When Sansa brings this up, Littlefinger grows quiet and changes the conversation.
3. Rhaegar Targaryen is brought up right before the attacks of the Harpy, by Ser Barristan to Daenerys. Rahaegar is the older deceased brother of Daenerys and Barristan tells a story of him singing songs to the poor. Not exactly the behavior of a maniac rapist.
Between these three scenes, I’m with the theory that Jon is the prince of Lynna a Rhaegar and that the tale of what transpired between the two is hearsay — or a straight up lie to cover up the past. Either way, the show hints at possibilities, knowing that it will be leaving the well-tuned audience scratching their heads and connecting the dots. This season has presented much more mystery behind Jon’s identity.
“Sons of the Harpy” wasn’t without a little humor and camp. Jamie Lannister accidentally catches a sword’s blow with his iron prosthesis, allowing him to kill his attacker after arriving in Dorne with Bronn. A little bit of swordplay in Game of Thrones is always happily accepted. Then the three Oberyn daughters, also known as the Sand Snakes, are introduced by showing their allegiance to their mother’s plot for revenge, but also with their weaponry skills. (One throws a spear through a dude’s head!) Their introduction was that of a corny action movie: three dangerous sisters with different fighting styles bent on revenge. If that isn’t indication of more bloodshed, then I don’t know what is.
Speaking of bloodshed, the ending is brutally intense. As two semi-popular characters die after a vicious attack by the “throat-slitting” Sons of the Harpy, we are left with a cliffhanger to see if they survive. There are some new characters, and the older ones are getting closer to their goals. There was also plenty of foreshadowing around Jon, letting us know that there is still a lot of mystery left and reminiscent of when Ned was uncovering mysteries in the first season. But this episode was at its best in the final scene: Fights, plain and simple.
