Season premieres of “Game of Thrones” have the unenviable task of catching the audience up on all of the multitudinous characters and sprawling storylines. The best starts have had scripts with a uniting theme or literary device that could tie everything together. The first episode of season two, “The North Remembers”, is a standout, using the red comet to act as a point of reference for all of the characters even as they spread out further and further geographically.
Season five opens with “The Wars to Come” and with it comes a great theme. Early on, Cersei (Lena Headey) remarks that actions have consequences, usually unintended. This is a theme that comes up again and again as we check in with each main character. This is the perfect theme to explore after the dramatic shift in power and plot at the end of season four.
Lannister:
The episode opens with the first ever use of flashback. Young Cersei and her friend venture into the woods hoping to track down a strange witch. Book readers will recognize Maggy the Frog (Jodhi May) but Cersei is disappointed the rumored hideous looking witch is an average, boring looking woman. Soon, Maggy looks into Cersei’s future and foretells she will marry a king but be usurped by a younger, more beautiful girl. This is the moment the Cersei we have seen throughout the series was formed. Her hardened demeanor and instant dislike of Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) all stem from a place of self-preservation.
Back to the present, Cersei and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) have to deal with the aftermath of Lord Tywin’s (Charles Dance) death. Cersei and Jamie have been at odds before but this may just be the most antagonistic we’ve seen them. She doesn’t recognize it, but Cersei allowing Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) to morph into the monster he was before his death, has landed her family in this situation. Jaime is more inclined to see the chain of events for what they are and is trying to prepare for other families to attempt to fill the power vacuum. They couldn’t be further apart even when they are standing next to each other.
Meanwhile, Tyrion is finally released from the shipping crate we saw him stuffed into at the end of last season. He has arrived in Pentos, across the Narrow Sea and Varys (Conleth Hill) fills him in on the larger plan that has been in motion since the series began. Two disparate characters are now on a collision course and it has the potential to change Westeros forever.
Targaryen:
Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) has to deal with two threats, one immediate and one that could fester until it becomes untenable. The immediate threat is the Sons of the Harpy. The Sons are going around Meereen killing Unsullied to send a message that the changes Dany is instituting are not wanted and neither is her rule.
The other threat, the more amorphous one, comes in the form of a request. A Yunkish citizen presents himself before the queen and asks that the Fighting Pits be reopened in Yunkai, the last city Dany conquered (or liberated depending on your point of view). The pits are where slaves were forced to fight other slaves to the death for the amusement of the Masters. Does she reopen the pits and tacitly condone blood sport? Does she keep them closed and disrespect the tradition of the people she claims to benevolently rule? The answer could prove vitally important to Dany’s legitimacy.
Tyrell:
Margaery is preparing for political battle. She is heading into the lion’s den by attempting her second marriage to a Lannister boy-king. We’ve seen Margaery scheme before but now with the Lannisters weakened by Tywin’s death and Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) and Varys fleeing the capital, she can be much more aggressive and strike while the power in King’s Landing is in flux. Margaery is just as formidable politically as most knights are physically.
The Wall:
The Nights Watch is learning how to live with Stannis (Stephen Dillane) taking up residence. Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) argues against forcing Mance Rayder (Ciarán Hinds) to either kneel to the king or be put to death. Stannis ignores his council and Jon’s prediction of Mance choosing death over fealty is proven correct. Jon perpetrates an act a defiance as the episode closes, one that could split loyalties among those at the Wall for a long time to come.
Power is shifting on both sides of the Narrow Sea. “The Wars to Come” gets this fifth season off to a strong start and pushes it into new territory as its plot propels past the published novels. I’ll discuss the Starks next week as the show is sure to slide into its normal rhythm of focusing on a smaller number of characters per episode.
What did you think of this first episode? What kind of consequences do you expect everyone’s actions to have as the season progresses? Chime in below!
