Image
  • Writing
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • About my Novels & Writing
    • All Writing Posts
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Scrivener – Writer’s Word Processor
    • iPad for Writers
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Books
    • Book Review Index
    • Favorite Fantasy Novels
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Short Story: Harvard Divinity
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • About the Book
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Games
    • My Video Game Career
    • Post Archive by Series
    • All Games Posts Inline
    • Making Crash Bandicoot
    • Crash 15th Anniversary Memories
    • World of Warcraft Endgames
    • Getting a Job Designing Video Games
    • Getting a Job Programming Video Games
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Movies
    • Movie Review Index
  • Television
    • TV Review Index
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    • A Game of Thrones
  • Food
    • Food Review Index
    • Foodie Club
    • Hedonists
    • LA Sushi Index
    • Chinese Food Index
    • LA Peking Duck Guide
    • Eating Italy
    • Eating France
    • Eating Spain
    • Eating Türkiye
    • Eating Dutch
    • Eating Croatia
    • Eating Vietnam
    • Eating Australia
    • Eating Israel
    • Ultimate Pizza
    • ThanksGavin
    • Margarita Mix
    • Foodie Photography
    • Burgundy Vintage Chart
  • Other
    • All Posts, Magazine Style
    • Archive of all Posts
    • Fiction
    • Technology
    • History
    • Anything Else
  • Gallery
  • Bio
  • About
    • About me
    • About my Writing
    • About my Video Games
    • Ask Me Anything
  • Contact

Game of Thrones – Episode 15

Apr29

Title: Game of Thrones

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Watched: Episode 15 – April 29, 2012

Title: The Ghost of Harrenhal

Summary: A very even and great episode

ANY CHARACTER HERE

If last week’s theme was torture, this week’s is revenge.

We open with the deadly mystic consequence of last week’s final scene. A revenge of sorts? Perhaps, but it certainly begets thoughts of same. Brienne swears vengence and flees with Cat, then Loras and Margarey  Tyrell swear as well. Marg hints at her ambition. But it’s also worth noting here that the production spent on some scope they didn’t necessarily do last season. For example, a CGI shot of Stannis’ ships. It wasn’t totally necessary, but helps give things a bigger look. There is still room to go, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Tyrion and Cersei talk, which is always amusing. My favorite is Ty’s line: “Schemes and plots are the same thing.” News sure travels fast in Westeros, in the books there is a little more sense of the passing of time. Then Ty extracts Joff and Cersei’s secret from Lancell. Is it me, or is his litter dwarf sized?

Davos and Stannis talk about Renly’s death and the future. And while I do think Davos in particular is well played, I just can’t get too excited about their scenes.

Back in King’s Landing, they’re eating eels, which any reader will know, is a homage to the lamprey pies of the books. Ty and Bronn walk and talk through the city giving us some local color. This is more of that spend as that was certainly an expensive way to do the exposition. Camera work is still a little close, but good try, and the costumes are great. Ty offhandedly mentions the poor prostitute he sent to a terrible fate at his nephew’s hands, and all we get is “the king is a lost cause.”

The Theon scenes feel slightly awkward, and this one sure starts off that way. It’s almost Three’s Company embarrassing to watch him with the crew and his gloating sister. Then his mate triggers his ideas. Uh oh. That’s a nice moment. Theon cuts a fine, if slightly awkward figure. His casting reeks of tough choices to come.

Arya is serving the evil Lord Tywin in Harrenhal. But mean as he is, he’s pretty rational. This serves to give us the Lannister perspective and Arya does her usual great job when quizzed. Then what I’ve been waiting for — and the revenge theme — when she has a little conversation with Jaqen H’ghar, the mysterious man in the cage. His way of speaking and his manner is great. Although I’m not sure that TV only viewers will have any sense of his mystical side. I wished they showed him changing faces, and hopefully they will yet, so it’s a little mysterious how he ended up in the Lannister guard. By the way, what happened to the Mountain? Maybe he was sent off to make some more mischief. In any case, I loved the talk of the debt owed the death god. I love creepy divine obligations. But what does Jaqen H’ghar call it the red god? I always viewed this as the same deity as Arya’s “dancing master.” And did he mention being a were? Are the writers trying to merge some of the mystical elements?

John, Morment, and the crow crew are trekking through Iceland… achem, far north of the wall. It looks great. Very frozen and barren. They mention the Halfhand, subtly introing him. “There’s only one Halfhand.” Then when they set up at the Fist of the First Men we see Ghost just loitering about. Nice. As I noted his gratuitous absence last season was annoying. They listened.

Ty is in good form when he visits the Pyromancers. The writer’s do capture a little bit of their creepy nature calling it “the substance” even if the scenes are quick. The cool locked door to the storage room is a nice touch and I like having Bronn around as Ty’s foil. In fact I’m very much liking Bronn as a character.

And finally, to Dany in Qarth. We get our first taste of actual dragon since the season opener. They look good, but the budget is stingy with them. In the same vein, a little CGI would have been nice as Xaro Xhoan Daxos’ house, while pretty, felt cramped and I missed that gorgeous vista we saw last week. The introduction to the Warlocks was cool though. The guy certainly looks creepy and the whole doppelgänger bit interesting. At least they aren’t totally avoiding the magic — although, again I would have liked to have seen the Jaqen switch his face.

Brienne and Cat have a nice moment in the wood, which looks suspiciously like the same woods as behind Winterfell. Their oaths are heartfelt. I’ve always liked oaths, what fantasy guy doesn’t? Certainly the revenge bit enters again here.

Speaking of Winterfell, we finally return to Bran. We even see Rickon for 30 seconds, which given his behavior, is about all we need. Shouldn’t have sent those 200 men away is all I can say. I like the 3-eyed raven bit, and Osha is evasive. Why exactly she doesn’t tell him, I don’t know, but revenge is hovering. I’m pretty much certain now that she’s going to triple duty for the fey twins from the Moat. The producers need cast reduction.

Back in the frozen north with John and we meet the Halfhand for real. He isn’t introduced, so I wonder what new viewers will make of him, but I like the casting. John is finally about to get his adventure. Maybe it will knock a bit of that petulance out of him.

And back to Qarth for some discussion of what everyone wants, which is pretty pointed. Xaro makes Dany an unromantic proposal, but it’s nicely done and he mixes it up with a good dose of truth. This has her looking at Jorah in a new light. Here, also, we have some realistic delay of news. She finds out only now that Robert is dead, nearly a whole season late. But that’s actually very reasonable given her location and the fact that she’s been hanging out in the red waste. Internet service there is terrible.

Finally, back to Arya, the titular Harrenhal, and revenge. We get a quick glimpse of Gendry and his rat free abs. Their lives sure have improved since last episode. I think a little too much. In the books you still felt this looming sense of dread for her. But the death of the Tickler and her realization of her newfound power is well done.

Overall, this is a very solid episode that really moves everything along. In fact, we have most of the threads present, even if only briefly. The only major players left out are Robb and Jaime. Poor Jaime, he really doesn’t get much to do in the first half of A Clash of Kings. And with the credit roll we are halfway through the whole season. I can’t believe it, and I can’t imagine how they are going to cram it all in. Really, we needed at least twelve episodes!

P.S. In what is perhaps a GOT first, there is no sexposition at all.

See my review of A Dance With Dragons.

If you liked this post, follow me at:

My novels: The Darkening Dream and Untimed

or all my Game of Thrones posts or episode reviews:

Season 1: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Season 2: [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]

Season 3: [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]

Season 4: [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]

Season 5: [41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50]

Season 6: [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Episode 14
  2. Game of Thrones – Episode 12
  3. Game of Thrones – Episode 13
  4. Game of Thrones – Episode 5
  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 6
By: agavin
Comments (8)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: A Dance with Dragons, Arya, Characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, Historical fantasy, Major houses in A Song of Ice and Fire, World of A Song of Ice and Fire
Watch the Trailer or

Buy it Online!

Buy it Online!

96 of 100 tickets!

Find Andy at:

Follow Me on Pinterest

Subscribe by email:

More posts on:



Complete Archives

Categories

  • Contests (7)
  • Fiction (404)
    • Books (113)
    • Movies (77)
    • Television (123)
    • Writing (115)
      • Darkening Dream (62)
      • Untimed (37)
  • Food (1,765)
  • Games (101)
  • History (13)
  • Technology (21)
  • Uncategorized (16)

Recent Posts

  • Happy Hibi
  • Eating Naples – Palazzo Petrucci
  • Eating San Foca – Aura
  • Eating Otranto – ArborVitae
  • Eating Lecce – Gimmi
  • Eating Lecce – Varius
  • Eating Lecce – Duo
  • Eating Lecce – Doppiozero
  • Eating Torre Canne – Autentico
  • Eating Torre Canne – Beach

Favorite Posts

  • I, Author
  • My Novels
  • The Darkening Dream
  • Sample Chapters
  • Untimed
  • Making Crash Bandicoot
  • My Gaming Career
  • Getting a job designing video games
  • Getting a job programming video games
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • A Game of Thrones
  • 27 Courses of Truffles
  • Ultimate Pizza
  • Eating Italy
  • LA Sushi
  • Foodie Club

Archives

  • May 2025 (4)
  • April 2025 (4)
  • February 2025 (5)
  • January 2025 (3)
  • December 2024 (13)
  • November 2024 (14)
  • October 2024 (14)
  • September 2024 (15)
  • August 2024 (13)
  • July 2024 (15)
  • June 2024 (14)
  • May 2024 (15)
  • April 2024 (13)
  • March 2024 (9)
  • February 2024 (7)
  • January 2024 (9)
  • December 2023 (8)
  • November 2023 (14)
  • October 2023 (13)
  • September 2023 (9)
  • August 2023 (15)
  • July 2023 (13)
  • June 2023 (14)
  • May 2023 (15)
  • April 2023 (14)
  • March 2023 (12)
  • February 2023 (11)
  • January 2023 (14)
  • December 2022 (11)
  • November 2022 (13)
  • October 2022 (14)
  • September 2022 (14)
  • August 2022 (12)
  • July 2022 (9)
  • June 2022 (6)
  • May 2022 (8)
  • April 2022 (5)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (2)
  • January 2022 (8)
  • December 2021 (6)
  • November 2021 (6)
  • October 2021 (8)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (2)
  • June 2021 (3)
  • January 2021 (1)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (11)
  • March 2020 (15)
  • February 2020 (13)
  • January 2020 (14)
  • December 2019 (13)
  • November 2019 (12)
  • October 2019 (14)
  • September 2019 (14)
  • August 2019 (13)
  • July 2019 (13)
  • June 2019 (14)
  • May 2019 (13)
  • April 2019 (10)
  • March 2019 (10)
  • February 2019 (11)
  • January 2019 (13)
  • December 2018 (14)
  • November 2018 (11)
  • October 2018 (15)
  • September 2018 (15)
  • August 2018 (15)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • June 2018 (14)
  • May 2018 (13)
  • April 2018 (13)
  • March 2018 (17)
  • February 2018 (12)
  • January 2018 (15)
  • December 2017 (15)
  • November 2017 (13)
  • October 2017 (16)
  • September 2017 (16)
  • August 2017 (16)
  • July 2017 (11)
  • June 2017 (13)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (4)
  • January 2017 (7)
  • December 2016 (14)
  • November 2016 (11)
  • October 2016 (11)
  • September 2016 (12)
  • August 2016 (15)
  • July 2016 (13)
  • June 2016 (13)
  • May 2016 (13)
  • April 2016 (12)
  • March 2016 (13)
  • February 2016 (12)
  • January 2016 (13)
  • December 2015 (14)
  • November 2015 (14)
  • October 2015 (13)
  • September 2015 (13)
  • August 2015 (18)
  • July 2015 (16)
  • June 2015 (13)
  • May 2015 (13)
  • April 2015 (14)
  • March 2015 (15)
  • February 2015 (13)
  • January 2015 (13)
  • December 2014 (14)
  • November 2014 (13)
  • October 2014 (13)
  • September 2014 (12)
  • August 2014 (15)
  • July 2014 (13)
  • June 2014 (13)
  • May 2014 (14)
  • April 2014 (14)
  • March 2014 (10)
  • February 2014 (11)
  • January 2014 (13)
  • December 2013 (14)
  • November 2013 (13)
  • October 2013 (14)
  • September 2013 (12)
  • August 2013 (14)
  • July 2013 (10)
  • June 2013 (14)
  • May 2013 (14)
  • April 2013 (14)
  • March 2013 (15)
  • February 2013 (14)
  • January 2013 (13)
  • December 2012 (14)
  • November 2012 (16)
  • October 2012 (13)
  • September 2012 (14)
  • August 2012 (16)
  • July 2012 (12)
  • June 2012 (16)
  • May 2012 (21)
  • April 2012 (18)
  • March 2012 (20)
  • February 2012 (23)
  • January 2012 (31)
  • December 2011 (35)
  • November 2011 (33)
  • October 2011 (32)
  • September 2011 (29)
  • August 2011 (35)
  • July 2011 (33)
  • June 2011 (25)
  • May 2011 (31)
  • April 2011 (30)
  • March 2011 (34)
  • February 2011 (31)
  • January 2011 (33)
  • December 2010 (33)
  • November 2010 (39)
  • October 2010 (26)
All Things Andy Gavin
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved
Programmed by Andy Gavin