NOTE: This review contains spoilers for the episode and light references to the books.
This was far from a perfect episode, but “High Sparrow” has been the strongest effort of the season thus far. And guess what? Dany’s boring story line was nowhere to be seen. Coincidence? I think not.
We got to spend more time with Arya’s faceless man training, there was a Westerosi wedding without a murder, a coward got what’s coming to him, and most importantly, the stage was set for the North to be reclaimed. Maybe. But before we get into everything, let me say this: The show seems to be on a path to completely diverge from the books in a lot of ways, which is both exciting and frustrating. Exciting because even as a book reader, I can still be completely surprised, like with Sansa being betrothed to Ramsay Bolton. Frustrating because there are SO MANY great stories and moments in the books that are beginning to look like they might not ever happen. Griff, anyone? But for now, let’s focus on what we know.
In the North, we have three main lines that look to be on a collision course. Sansa is now back at Winterfell with the Boltons, and it’s obvious that there’s still a lot of Stark support there. The scary thing is that with Littlefinger heading back to King’s Landing, Sansa will be alone and at the mercy of Ramsay. Did anyone believe him when he said he wouldn’t hurt her? Not a great place to be. But honestly, I can’t imagine that we’re going to get yet another season of Sansa being constantly abused, so hopefully she continues to take control of her own destiny. And man, Littlefinger is such a fascinating character. There are so many different opinions of him out there on the internet. I read one review that completely believed he would have turned the caravan around if Sansa didn’t want to go back to Winterfell. I for one didn’t buy that for a second. Littlefinger cares for Sansa, sure, but he also knows exactly how to manipulate her to get what he wants, as seen in this episode. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see him back in his element when he returns to King’s Landing.
In the same general area we have Brienne, still determined to follow and protect Sansa. We got our best scene of the episode here, with Brienne and Podrick telling personal stories of how they became what they are. I think the writers are pushing Brienne into that “A” tier of characters with Jon, Dany, Arya, etc, and I couldn’t be happier. Gwendoline Christie brings so much pathos to the character, while still being a complete badass. She also took us back to season two, and renewed her vow to kill Stannis and avenge Renly’s death.
Cut to Stannis, and guess where he’s headed? Winterfell! I’m sure he could care less about avenging the Starks, but in his mind, if he retakes the North for the northerners, they’d be more inclined to fight for him in his quest to take the Iron Throne. It seems weird that he’s still trying to be king, right? That plot line is all but over at this point everywhere else. Renly is dead, Robb is dead, Tywin is dead, Joffrey is dead, and Dany could clearly care less about the Seven Kingdoms nowadays. Tommen and Margaery are ruling and all is good, right? Well not for Stannis, that stubborn dude still wants to warm his ass on that chair made of swords. And, to be fair, he deserves it. He’s the only rightful heir to the throne. Jon recommits to being Lord Commander instead of Lord of Winterfell, but we’ll see where he ends up when the war in the North starts back up in earnest.
Down south in King’s Landing, we have the war of the two queens. Margaery clearly has her claws deep into Tommen (and who could blame him for being sucked in, am I right?), while Cersei is losing allies left and right. She has Ser Meryn Trant, who’s just a dumb bully, and Qyburn, who just lives down in his murder basement being super creepy. It’s almost to the point where I feel sorry for her; just weeks ago she was the most powerful woman in the Seven Kingdoms, and now she’s just a scared mother, fresh from burying her eldest son and father, trying to protect her youngest from being ensnared by a manipulative pretty face. So, it’s no surprise that she turns to the High Sparrow, the new religious powerhouse in King’s Landing. It’s too early to tell, but I’m sure there’s some hidden motivation there. On both sides.
We got a break from Dany this week, but Arya and Tyrion got some strong screen time. We’re only three episodes in, but I’ve been very disappointed with the House of Black and White story line so far. The mystery is there, but not the stakes. Arya has been on her revenge trail for so long now, and she’s so far from home, that my interest in her is waning. Unless they plan on keeping her in Braavos through to season six, she needs to start doing something other than sweeping floors and looking confused and frustrated. She took a good first step in ditching her old possessions, but she wasn’t able to get rid of Needle. Maybe she isn’t cut out to be a faceless man.
And hey, Tyrion finally got out of his box! He and Varys took a little detour to a local brothel (shocker), but Tyrion wasn’t able to follow through with his chosen prostitute. Not sure what’s going on with him, but his proclivity for wine certainly hasn’t gone away. They also made a pit stop to listen to a priest of the Red God, R’hllor. Interesting that this is the first one we’ve seen outside of Westeros, AND the topic being discussed was Greyscale (the affliction affecting Stannis’ daughter). That’s the third reference to Greyscale in as many episodes, so I think it’s safe to assume we’ll be seeing more of that at some point in the season. The episode ended with the return of Ser Jorah, kidnapping Tyrion to bring to Dany. Looks like the rest of Tyrion’s trip won’t be as cushy as it has been. But hey, at least he doesn’t have to go back to the box.
Like I said at the top, this was definitely an improvement over the first two episodes, but I still have concerns about Arya and Dany’s story lines. It’ll be good to (hopefully) have Jorah back by Dany’s side, she sorely needs his council. And I’m glad we got a little sprinkle of “the artist formerly known as Theon,” too. Maybe the Greyjoys won’t be taking a back seat this season, after all. Final thought: That short trip to Dorne last episode looks particularly weird now, considering we didn’t go back this episode. It’s probably safe to assume that decent chunks of episodes four and five will take place there, especially with Jaime and Bronn on their way.
