The Longest Night — Game of Thrones: ‘The Prince of Winterfell (2x08)’
“Being a lord is like being a father, except you have thousands of children and you worry about all of them.”
Writer(s): David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Director: Alan Taylor
Events: Beyond the Wall, Jon Snow is brought before the Lord of Bones, who has already captured Qhorin Halfhand — Grenn and Sam find dragonglass; Jorah implores Daenerys to leave Qarth, but she refuses to flee without her dragons; Yara Greyjoy arrives at Winterfell, where Bran, Osha, Rickon and Hodor are secretly hiding, and asks Theon to abandon the castle and return home, rather than face the North; as Stannis’ fleet approaches, Tyrion considers putting Joffrey on the front lines during King’s Landing’s defence — in retaliation, Cersei beats Ros, believing her to be Tyrion’s secret companion; Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie escape Harrenhal with Jaqen’s help after Tywin rides for King’s Landing; in the Westerlands, Robb imprisons Catelyn after she sets Jaime Lannister free with Brienne.
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As the War of the Five Kings ramps up, the impending doom facing many corners of Westeros has caused several characters to reconsider a few things. ‘The Prince of Winterfell’ finally sees them prioritise the protection of those they hold dear, in a refreshingly human episode of Game of Thrones. We open at Winterfell, as Yara arrives to inspect the damage Theon has inflicted upon its people and the surrounding North. At this point in the show, before allegiances and relationships were simplified for the audience’s benefit, it’s never completely clear whether Yara loves or detests her brother (maybe it’s both?). She’s here to keep watch at Winterfell while Theon is returned to Pyke. He’s angered the North and several houses plan to rise against him — he doesn’t have the tactical nous to defend the castle, nor does he possess the men required. He’s in danger, and as much as Yara underlines that it’s his fault, she concludes that he’s family and must be protected all the same.
It makes my job easier to write about thematically tight episodes, so I’m grateful to ‘The Prince of Winterfell’ for allowing a solid majority of its plotlines to fixate upon such a timely theme. This is a show where characters make ridiculous, foolish decisions in the name of upholding terrible traditions and maintaining honourable reputations, and they have their lives taken from them in an instant as a result. Their behaviour in this episode is irrational, erratic and, as is evidenced by Cersei’s treatment of Ros, dangerous, but it’s heartening to see each character recognise the danger over the horizon and attempt to shield their loved ones by any means necessary. Sure, when it comes to season three and four and the War of the Five Kings nears its end, we’ll eventually see these characters revert to type. But if anything, remembering that destruction and greed and foolishness is inevitable in Game of Thrones increases the value of the temporary comfort that ‘The Prince of Winterfell’ provides.
We’re given the strongest example of this theme as Robb and Talisa walk through the sunset in the south, discussing the importance of leadership and the less glamorous responsibilities of kinghood. Robb recalls Ned once telling him that “being a lord is like being a father,” except the children you worry about are the farmers and maids and soldiers, and that they’re all in need of protection. They share this conversation on the brink of the war’s most intense few weeks, as they’re caught between pressing on with their (currently) successful campaign or returning home to Winterfell to seize Theon Greyjoy following his invasion. Returning north would arguably be the safest option, but with so much progress made, turning back could equally jeopardise the mission to save Sansa and Arya. There’s nothing like impending chaos to reduce time spent on making careful decisions.
In King’s Landing, after listening to her fret and wring her hands over Joffrey’s nature in recent episodes, Cersei’s actions in this episode highlight something that many viewers and other characters have noticed for themselves in later seasons: that her love for Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella was something that significantly humanised her. She might have been caught off guard by Joffrey since his rise to the throne, but she’s still willing to protect him — even if it’s in her own violent way. After learning of Tyrion’s plans to place Joffrey on the walls of King’s Landing during the imminent invasion from Stannis, she “negotiates” in retaliation. She’s has Ros — whom she believes to be Shae — beaten as a warning to Tyrion: if he endangers the life of someone she loves, she’s willing to repay the debt. It’s a case of mistaken identity on her part, and Shae remains unharmed despite Tyrion’s immediate panic, and Cersei’s actions are deplorable, but they’re not too dissimilar to her choice in the wonderful season six finale, ‘The Winds of Winter’: she prevents Tommen from entering the Sept of Baelor to protect him, just as she destroys it and murders roughly one-hundred innocent people. The things she does for love.
After Ygritte lured him into a wildling trap last week, Jon has been brought before the Lord of Bones, one of the more prominent figures in the wildling hierarchy. He’s reunited with Qhorin Halfhand, who was presumably taken prisoner off camera. Qhorin, relying on the experience he has, knows there’s no chance of escape for them both — but out of the pair, he can engineer an escape for Jon. In the season finale, he sacrifices himself to save Jon. The process begins this week. He gives Jon a split-second warning before he engineers a fight between them (“How does it feel knowing those men all died so you could skip through the snow with your little savage girl?”). He’s seen something in Jon that’s not only worth protecting, but worth giving his own life for. Sure, he knows he’ll die once they reach the wildling camp anyway, but even his survival instincts are completely and utterly selfless. Just to compare Qhorin and Cersei’s default natures for a second — Cersei’s idea of protecting Joffrey journeys via torturing the loved one of another, whereas Qhorin would rather fall on his own sword.
8.0
Lost ravens:
— With an hour in King’s Landing scheduled for next week, this episode was a little pre-occupied with set-up. We globe-trotted, we briefly visited, but in a few places we barely sat down.
— Bran and Rickon (and Osha and Hodor and Summer and Shaggydog) are alive! They’re hiding out in the Winterfell crypts, apparently, while the Greyjoys frolic about the place. So those two burned bodies were the orphaned farm boys Bran sent to a nearby farm.
— Sam and Grenn have discovered dragonglass! White Walker-killing shards of solid fire! An interesting thing to note is that they also uncover a horn. I’m not sure if the idea was to initially have the White Walkers use the horn to break through the Wall at the end of season seven, and that the showrunners abandoned it, but wherever that horn goes, the show doesn’t follow it.
— While Tyrion plans the defence of King’s Landing, Stannis is approaching the city. As he does, he reveals his insecurities, jealousies and justifications to Davos. He’s been overlooked by Robert, by his peers, and by the country, as they crowned Joffrey despite Stannis’ claim to the throne. Now is his time to take the crown for himself, he feels.
— In Qarth, Daenerys has discovered her dragons are in the House of the Undying, trapped by the warlocks. Jorah implores her to escape Qarth and the warlocks’ wrath, but she’s not be deterred. She’s saving her dragons one way or another — she believes they’re the only children she’ll ever have, after all.
— After being set free by Cat, Jaime is escorted south by Brienne. And so, Jaime’s wonderful arc, from detestable, smug arsehole to lovable, honourable man, begins.
— Arya, Hot Pie and Gendry have all escaped Harrenhal with Jaqen’s help. It’s a shame to see Arya’s little partnership with Tywin come to an end, but at least it’s reached something of a happy one for her. Let’s face it, you either escape Harrenhal while miserable, alone and under cover of darkness, or you leave it dead and rotting away. I know which option I’d pick.
— Robb and Talisa can’t contain their love for one another any longer, and Robb decides to break his vow to Walder Frey. I’m sure that won’t cause any issues further down the line at all. Not one.
— “I will hurt you for this. I don’t know how yet but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you’ll know the debt is paid.”
