Game of Thrones: First of his name

The impossible has happened. Cersei has had three consecutive scenes without saying a bad word about anyone.

 

In the wake of the crowning of Tommen Baratheon as the new king, Cersei for the first time in a long time managed to show her softer side in this episode. She shares a tender moment with Oberyn and she tells him how much she misses her daughter.

 

Cersei is a complex character, who one who is constantly shifting between evil and at times an almost empathetic humanity. This scene gives us some insight into how much trauma she has had to deal with and in turn it goes a long way towards explaining (without justifying) some of her actions.

 

There is a lot of made-up language in the Game of Thrones series. So let us go ahead and coin a new term for Petrys Baelish's mixture of charm, intelligence and scheming. I propose Baelishian.

 

 

In the first of many Baelishian moments littered throughout this episode, Petry managed to enter the Bloody Gate in the Vale of Arryn with Sansa by disguising the girl's identity. He rationalises the move by saying it's for her own safety, and he edges even closer towards convincing Sansa he cares about her well-being. Once they are in, Sansa meets her aunt Lady Lysa Arryn but it is less than a happy family reunion as they eventually fight because Lady Arryn suspects that Sansa is sleeping with Petry. Lady Lysa Arryn is not what you might refer to as the most stable character around and her mistrust of her niece could land Sansa in a lot of trouble - or even worse; back in King's Landing. 

 

Petry has worked hard to convince Arryn that he loves her, but I am sure even his pretentions and a wedding will soon not be enough. It's also revealed that Petry has successfully managed to kill before with Lady Arryn's help and a little poison, begging the question how many people has Petry had killed whilst simultaneously avoiding suspicion, and who's next on his hit list?

 

News of Joffrey's death has finally reached Daenerys and surprisingly she is not too quick to act and to try and take the capital whilst it's vulnerable. She instead wants to entrench her rule of the slave cities. A good idea when you consider she still has a small army and she needs to prove that she can rule. Getting the buy-in of the people of Westeros that she is a fit queen if she manages to take the crown will be key in ensuring she rules for a long time. 

 

Arya, on the other hand...

 

The poor girl does not know what is going on other than the fact that she is still wanted in King's Landing. So it was very brave of her to let The Hound know that he is on the list of people she intends to kill, along with The Lannisters. It will make for quite an emotional scene when it happens because as much as Arya won't like to admit it, in a weird way she is fond of The Hound - as we all are. There is something very comforting about a man so simple, who seems to have no regard for agendas, in a world founded on conspiracies and ulterior motives. 

 

To stand a chance to win a Game of Thrones DVD box set, tell us what new word Sihle has coined. Email your answer to [email protected] with the subject line 'Game of Thrones: First of his name'