There was time for love too, albeit shot through with yearning for what could be, once was and might have been. ‘ We’re probably going to die soon and I want to know what it’s like before that happens’ The moment when Theon pledged to defend Bran to the death was among the episode’s most heartbreaking, and if you didn’t think that the ghost of Ned Stark was nodding in agreement at what his once-callow ward had become then you’re a hardier soul than I. People have accused Sophie Turner of being a wooden actor, but the scene when she embraced Theon, and the various emotions that flitted across her face (remembrance of what they’d both been through, pride that he’d returned, a friendship that was also a kind of love, the silent acknowledgment that this was the only man she trusted) was beautifully handled.Ĭredit too to Alfie Allen, who has given one of the most underrated performances on this show in a role that hasn’t always been the easiest. In an episode that was also about forgiveness and acceptance – Bran’s scene with Jaime, Arya’s with the Hound, Dany and Sansa’s fragile strategic alliance – the moment that moved me most came when Theon arrived to pledge his life for Sansa.īeautifully handled. Jaime wasn’t the only one looking for redemption. ‘ I want to fight for Winterfell, Lady Sansa – if you’ll have me’ No longer the golden boy who, in Tyrion’s words, knew exactly what his sister was but “loved her anyway”, he is now a man who has had humility forced upon him and found an inner strength because of it. From the opening scene in which he refused to apologise for his attack on Ned Stark through the conversations with Bran and Tyrion to the emotional knighting of Brienne, Coster-Waldau allowed us to see Jaime’s sorrow, his pity and, most importantly, his emotional growth.
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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has always been wonderful at depicting the conflict at the heart of the older Lannister brother, his desire both for glory and death, and this episode was full of moments that allowed him to shine. It helped too that it was a Jaime-heavy episode, with the title A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms referring both to his tarnished reputation and Brienne’s more noble claims. Where last week’s opening episode was sketched in broad strokes – and arguably spent most of the hour reminding us where we were after a two-year absence – this week went deep into the relationships between various characters and was all the better for it. I’ve always had a soft spot for Game of Thrones’ quieter instalments and it helped that this was tightly scripted by Bryan Cogman (the man behind many of my favourite episodes), who managed to balance the pervading air of sorrow with some genuinely funny lines.