I’m so insanely bummed out. Season two of HBO’s Game of Thrones ended last night, and now I am going to have to wait god knows how long to get more. Saddest of all pandas.
Anyways, my five thoughts on the season finale, titled “Valar Morghulis,” can be found below.
1. Whoa.
Now that was a busy season finale. How many characters had major moments in that episode? Arya (along with Jaqen), Sansa, Joffrey, every former lover/bride of Renly, Stannis, Melisandre, Varys, Tyrion, Shae…okay, it might be quicker to just say everyone had a big, season finale worthy moment.
With about fifteen minutes left, I realized that Dany and Jon Snow hadn’t shown up yet and I became deeply concerned. Of course, I had nothing to worry about because Team GoT managed to fit them both in flawlessly, telling their stories in a perfectly measured and powerful way. Hell, we had the opportunity to get some sweet action with good ol’ Sam the Night’s Watch man. If you’re looking to find a show that ties up loose ends well in a finale without sacrificing anything, Game of Thrones put on a clinic with this episode.
2. All men must die
With so much going on, it would be easy to say there was too much awesome to have one favorite part. But that wouldn’t be true. Easily my favorite part was Arya meeting up with Jaqen H’Ghar. The former character undoubtedly became my favorite this season, and the latter was the breakout awesome-fest of season two. Every time Jaqen H’Ghar showed up, I was glued to my TV. And in this episode, he saved his best trick for last, offering to show Arya how to take out the men who have wronged her herself, then giving her a coin that, when paired with speaking the words “valar morghulis” to a man from Braavos, would make Jaqen appear, and. finally, COMPLETELY ALTERING HIS FACE LIKE MAGIC. It was wild, and I did not see it coming. Just when I thought he couldn’t get more interesting, a man up and changes his face.
Damn. That was awesome.
3. Dany makes it rain…fire
Two straight seasons the primary narrative wraps with Dany (this season ends with a little taster that I will get to), and it’s starting to make me think that maybe, just maybe, she might be the key to the whole story. While she had a pretty incredible episode, managing to thwart Xaro and the creeply warlock guys, the key for me was her unleashing her dragons to save them and herself. Right when the warlocks thought they had her where they wanted her, she showed them the true meaning of power. It was a most triumphant moment, and a major turning point for the character and her arc.
4. Dead men walking
One horn blast. Two horn blasts. Three…horn blasts. That’s what Sam and friends from the Night’s Watch were faced with at the very end of the episode, and you know what that means…WHITE WALKERS! GoT’s very own zombie breed showed up in force at the end of this episode, and it looks like just when things couldn’t get worse for oh, well, pretty much everyone, they absolutely did. How active they’ll be in season three is uncertain, but more so than ever, the white walkers are on the table. That’s some really wild stuff.
5. Tyrion Lannister and the Power of Love
Just when his power and his emotional wall powered by his intellect are crumbling, Tyrion, a giant amongst little men, is saved by something he’s wanted his entire life: true love. While I preferred the power of the Arya/Jaqen scene, the scene between Shae and Tyrion, as she effectively tells him “I love you and I’ll never leave you, even though your face basically got cut in half” was the emotional knockout of the entire episode. It helps that Peter Dinklage is a giant amongst men and Sibel Kekilli has proven to have significant rapport with him, but man, every facet of that sequence was just perfect.
Bonus points too in that part where Varys reveals himself to being a true friend of Tyrion in that he knew the whole time Shae and Tyrion were together…but told no one. An atypically unselfish move for any denizen of King’s Landing, let alone everyone’s favorite bird enthusiast eunuch.
