Game of Thrones S2 Episode 2: The Night Lands

Balon Greyjoy as played by Patrick Malahide: not one
to Kraken a smile

By Luke Jones.

You have to feel for Arya Stark. Already in Game of Thrones she has had to give up her direwolf, watch her Dad get beheaded and have her hair chopped off by a less than hygienic looking Night Watchman. This week sees her going to the toilet outside without so much as a she-wee to aid her. Sometimes the smallest hardships can have the biggest impact.

Talking of hardships, Lily Allen's brother was getting rather hard on a ship this week. Yes it was the return of 'sexposition', the term coined by writers during the first season for those scenes where characters deliver whopping great chunks of expository dialogue while having sex. Here we got some of the background to Theon's family, the Greyjoys, who live on the Grey Isles and have a dubious attitudes towards incestuous fondling. Going into this series I was concerned that Alfie Allen would struggle with the acting burden that Theon's storyline brings with it this season, but so far he's been doing a great job reconciling the arrogant manboy desperate for respect from others with the loyal brother in arms to Robb Stark. Again the perfect casting continued as Gemma Whelan and Patrick Malahide dissolved into Yara and Balon Greyjoy respectively.

Meanwhile at opposite ends of the kingdom Jon Snow and the Nights Watch were still hanging around at Camp Crastor, while Tyrion continued to be the highlight of the show with his political machinations at Kings Landing. The great joy so far has been seeing Tyrion, so often the smartest character in the room for season 1, have to contend with the more worthy rivals of the King's court. His scenes with Cersei have been a treat, and his loaded conversation with Varys was like a scene from a James Bond film, full of innuendo and malice. 

There were a few surprises for non-book readers too, as Littlefinger showed his ruthless side and Rakharo was 'Ned-Starked'. Rakharo's death was unusual as he remains a fairly involved character in the books, but it was nice to see a nod to the source material as Irri took the news badly. Otherwise there was little for Danaerys to do other than look a bit thirsty, and it might have been an idea to simply move her scenes to an episode more focused on her party.

The most interesting addition came towards the end however, as the relationship between Stannis and Melisandre was fleshed out (literally). With her reputation for on-screen nudity it was never going to take the show's writers long to get actress Carice van Houten out of her clothes, and her seduction scene (they had sex on the painted table!) revealed a motive for Melisandre's actions that I don't remember being mentioned by the books. It made perfect sense though, and actually helps to understand a little of Melisandre is so keen to help Stannis, apart from her belief in him as the Lord of Light.

So a jam-packed episode then that sets up some explosive events in the coming weeks. Jon Snow knows what Craster does with his newborn sons. Yoren has managed to royally piss off the Gold Cloaks, and Davos has recruited a shedload of pirate ships. Roll on Episode 3, 'What Is Dead May Never Die'.