Game of Thrones
Season Two, Episode 7 – A Man Without Honor
Directed by David Nutter
Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Starring Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Emilia Clarke, Liam Cunningham, Charles Dance, Stephen Dillane, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Conleth Hill, Carice van Houten, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden, Patrick Malahide, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maisie Williams, and Issac Hempstead-Wright

Early on in Games Of Thrones Episode 7, “A Man Without Honor,” Theon (Alfie Allen) states, “It’s just a game,” which obviously serves to comment on the series as a whole, but it also describes most of the characters’ intentions throughout the episode: each one of them is playing a smaller game in the context of a much larger and deadlier one.

Arya (Maisie Williams) and Tywin (Charles Dance) continue to be my favorite part of the show week to week. After last week’s killing, Tywin is searching top to bottom for the man who “made an attempt on his life” punishing those who aren’t giving up the proper details. The two go back and forth in another powerful scene, each trying their hardest to either get or hide information from one another. The scene is a perfect example of how the entire series works as a whole, scaled down and played out over the course of several minutes and plays for beautiful television.

However, the same cannot be said with the Starks and the Kingslayer. With Robb (Richard Madden) away to pick up medical supplies, the Northern camp turns to chaos as Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) kills his former squire and the guard watching over him. It’s not long before the Kingslayer is captured, but nothing can contain the pain of a grieving father, pitting members of the Stark’s bannermen against each other. Things get worse when Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) decides to face Jamie, leading to an ending that could send her down a very dark path.

Meanwhile, Theon’s occupation of Winterfell continues to show an incredibly powerful dark side of the Greyjoy. His hunt for the lost Stark boys drives Theon mad, causing him to take several drastic measures that place him fully in the dark. Theon has become a rabid dog and it’s only a matter of time before he’ll need to be put down.

Things finally heat up in Qarth with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke, as Daxos’ (Nonso Anozie) true plan comes to light, but not before Jorah (Iain Glen) is tipped off about it by the mysterious woman from a few weeks ago. However, the revolution in Qarth places Dany and Jorah in one of the most interesting circumstances of Dany’s story so far: it looks like she’ll need to fight for what she wants and it won’t be an easy battle.

“A Man Without Honor” feels like another setup episode, but the amazing character work for the Lannister family propels this episode to one of my favorites of the series. I feel it’s a more subtle approach, creating a powerful and depressing episode that hooked me from start to finish.

Quick Thoughts:

– I’m still not loving Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) and his storyline, but the introduction of Ygritte (Rose Leslie) has significantly improved his story.
– A very good episode for Cersei (Lena Headey) who shows that she does have a heart. Her conversations with both Tyrion (Peter Dinkage) and Sansa (Sophie Turner) were truly sad as we learn just how much this woman has lost.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Sound off in the comments below.