No one is safe on Game of Thrones. Tonight's penultimate episode has left me with a feeling of dread for my favorite characters. At least, those that are still alive.
We must, of course, first deal with the untimely death of Ned Stark (Sean Bean), who I was sad to see go. Ned was informed early in the episode that Sansa had begged for his life, and Joffrey had agreed to grant him mercy if he would admit his treason and publicly confirm that Joffrey was the king. But Ned is an honorable man and was unwilling to lie in order to protect his life. Until Varys rightly reminded him that it wasn't only his life that hung in the balance: all of his children were threatened and he should take whatever means necessary to protect them.
In the end, Ned stood in the public square and lied in order to gain mercy for himself and his children. Sansa witnessed the confession from her place beside Joffrey and Cersei. We learned that Arya had obviously been living on the streets after escaping the palace in the previous episode. She ran to the square to see her father's confession. At the last moment it appeared that Joffrey would accept Ned's fealty and banish him to serve the rest of his life at the Wall, but he demanded Ned's head, against Cersei and Sansa's protests. Then Ned Stark was no more.
The question is what Robb will do when he learns of his father's death. Because Robb now has Jaime Lannister as his prisoner. A very expensive prisoner who came at a great price: nearly 2,000 of his soldiers.
The other family in danger is Daenerys, her son and Drogo. The witch's prediction from the previous episode had come to pass and Drogo's wound had become infected. After he collapsed and death was all but a certainty, Daenerys asked the witch to perform a bloodmagic spell - which involved the sacrifice of Drogo's horse - to save the Khal's life. But internal fighting over Daenerys' authority as Khaleesi and the succession of the position as Khal prompted Jorah to defend Daenerys' honor and kill one of the Dothraki. A moment later, Daenerys went into labor. But with the midwives refusing to help, Jorah had to go to the witch for help and, we were left to believe, disrupt the spell that was to save Drogo's life.
In next week's episode of Game of Thrones, it's clear that the Stark family is grieving over Ned's loss, but this makes them very dangerous. Tywin knows they have Jaime and he's concerned about his son's safety, while Catelyn swears to Robb that they will defeat their enemies and avenge Ned's death. Joffrey seems determined to marry Sansa, despite her pleading to be sent home. And Daenerys asks Jorah for his assistance.
The season finale of Game of Thrones will air on June 19. You can watch the promo for the season finale below. (Note: if you have any problems with the embedded video below, you can watch the promo here, at HBO's site).
Get The Latest Updates on Tv Series Follow us on twitter @thetvseries
Tags:
tvnews