The Hound is still on Arya's kill list (Picture: HBO) Game of Thrones reached the midpoint of its fourth series with an episode focusing on its characters' decisions, both past and present, and the wider consequences of those choices.
Back to the beginning
Petyr Baelish has operated mostly on the periphery of events in King's Landing, but in successive episodes we have learned that he has been instrumental in two of its most pivotal moments.
Last week we discovered that he orchestrated Joffrey's murder. This week's bombshell is bigger still, as we learn that he persuaded Lysa to poison her husband Jon Arryn, leading to King Robert appointing Ned Stark as his Hand, which in turn led to, well, everything that has happened in the entire series.
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All of a sudden Littlefinger, who has always been a shadowy political influence, is elevated to the role of puppet-master. What will his next grand scheme be?
Sansa herself remains a pawn, though. Having escaped King's Landing, she finds herself promised to Lysa's less than stable son Robin. Out of the frying pan into the fire?
The power to choose
Elsewhere, we find that power is not so much about position as it is about the ability to exercise choice.
Tommen is crowned as the new king, theoretically making him the most powerful person in Westeros. But behind the scenes we see Cersei pulling strings with Margaery, Tywin and Oberyn to get the outcomes she wants.
Margaery – giving as good as she gets with Cersei (Picture: HBO) Margaery gives as good as she gets, wondering if she should call Cersei 'sister' (as Loras' impending bride) or 'mother' (in anticipation of wedding Tommen) and making her proposed marriage her choice as much as the Lannisters'.
Tywin and Cersei discuss their alliance with the Tyrells, given the parlous state of the crown's debts to the Iron Bank of Braavos. It's not a desirable decision, but it is a necessary one.
In Meereen, Daenerys learns that both Yunkai and Astapor have fallen back under tyrannical rule in her absence. Instead of continuing her journey to King's Landing, she decides to stay and become more than a liberator of cities – to become a ruler.
MORE: Game Of Thrones – Is Aidan Gillen's Littlefinger getting more and more Irish?
Bran wargs into Hodor to free himself from Locke and kills him during the attack on Craster's Keep. He then chooses not to take the easy path of reuniting with his brother Jon after he kills the sadistic Karl Tanner, opting to continue north in pursuit of the three-eyed raven.
Despite being useless as a squire – he can neither ride a horse or cook rabbit – Pod upholds his duty to Brienne, even though she offers to release him from his oath.
Arya chooses to keep her travelling companion The Hound on her nightly prayer of people she has sworn to kill. Sandor is not impressed. The pair's relationship is becoming increasingly confrontational and must come to a head sooner rather than later.
Looking back, moving on
Turns out Littlefinger is pretty much the puppet master of Westeros (Picture: HBO) As we reach this series's midpoint, this episode skims through a mass of background material to move key pieces into place for the final five episodes, while at the same time circling back to earlier events to remind viewers of the context of certain storylines or place characters (such as Littlefinger) in a different light.
Events rooted way back in previous series are touched on without even a pause for expositionary dialogue.
The mystery of Jon Arryn's death is explained. And we're reminded of the much-loved Braavosi swordsman Syrio Forel. Maisie Williams' agility and dexterity as she practises her water dancing moves are exquisite to watch, not least because it's clear that the actress is performing most of the moves herself rather than relying on a double. Kudos.
Having spent large parts of this episode glancing back into its past, it should now be full steam ahead for the rest of this series. I can't wait.
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Source : http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/06/game-of-thrones-season-4-episode-5-first-of-his-name-littlefinger-turns-out-to-be-biggest-threat-in-westeros-4718000/
