The second episode of The House of Black and White turned up the heat with faceless men, cobragrams and the (short-lived) return of the prodigal dragon. It also made it clear that the epic series is not only leaving chunks of plots from the books behind but is also breaking away from their slow pace.
Storylines introduced in episode one picked pace with almost every leading character faced with tough decisions. The heat is tad more on the leading women including Arya, Cersie and Daenerys.
Arya reached the House of Black and White in Braavos and will now begin a harder journey to become a "no-one" like Jaqen H'ghar. Her list of people she wants dead, meanwhile, has grown longer. Maisie Williams has potrayed the young Stark girl to perfection -- be it her struggle, anger or determination.
In episode two, Williams' acting found support from the script with dialogues like "nothing's worth anything to dead men".
Some more stellar acting came from King's Landing, where Lena Headey juggled many emotions (primarily spite) for her character Cersie Lannister.
A cobragram from Dorne that seemingly threatened her daughter Myrcella's well-being was met with "I will burn their cities to the ground if they touch her".
For those needing a refresher, Oberyn Martell -- who's face was crushed to death by The Mountain -- was the prince of Dorne. That's not it. Oberyn's sister Elia Martell was (also) raped and murdered by The Mountain after he killed her daughter and infant son in front of her.
That right there is Game of Thrones for you.
When she wasn't snapping at Jaime with "you've never made anything better" and a taunt about being one-handed, Cersie was busy sorting the King's council. Maester Qyburn who has somehow effortlessly found a place in her short list of people she likes, has now also made it to the Council.
Technically, Cersie may be the "queen-mother, nothing more" but being one of the most manipulative characters has its perks.
In the East, Daenerys continues to make immature decisions and this time she's started a riot in Mereen. For a change the khaleesi looked a bit scared and perterbed until she found her missing dragon Drogon, but that moment didn't last very long.
A note for the screenplay here that among other things highlighted the stark rich-and-poor divide in Mereen, where the slaves may be free but the masters remain the richest.
For Jon Snow things are looking up for now, with Stannis offering a chance to rid him of the 'bastard' tag and taking the Stark name. The price -- allegiance to Stannis, the "one true king". By the way, , The Wall has a new commander.
The paths of Littlefinger, Sansa, Podrick and Brienne also met during the episode with the rendezvous ending in a ton of violence, as expected.
We also saw glimpses of Tyrion and Varys on their road to Mereen and Prince Doran (Oberyn's brother) and a ticked-off Ellaria (Oberyn's lover) in Dorne bickering about the fate of Myrcella.
Technically, Cersie may be the "queen-mother, nothing more" but being one of the most manipulative characters has its perks.
In the East, Daenerys continues to make immature decisions and this time she's started a riot in Mereen. For a change the khaleesi looked a bit scared and perterbed until she found her missing dragon Drogon, but that moment didn't last very long.
A note for the screenplay here that among other things highlighted the stark rich-and-poor divide in Mereen, where the slaves may be free but the masters remain the richest.
For Jon Snow things are looking up for now, with Stannis offering a chance to rid him of the 'bastard' tag and taking the Stark name. The price -- allegiance to Stannis, the "one true king". By the way, , The Wall has a new commander.
The paths of Littlefinger, Sansa, Podrick and Brienne also met during the episode with the rendezvous ending in a ton of violence, as expected.
We also saw glimpses of Tyrion and Varys on their road to Mereen and Prince Doran (Oberyn's brother) and a ticked-off Ellaria (Oberyn's lover) in Dorne bickering about the fate of Myrcella.
Lastly, a special mention for the some great background score (especially during Arya's entry in Braavos) and stunning moments of screenplay that were interspersed through the episode, like this one:
All-in-all, the second GoT installment kept up the series' tradition of fueling fans' curiousity and keeping them hooked.
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