User reviews

This is the third episode of the second season of Game of Thrones. This is one of my favorite episodes of the season so far. I loved the themes of betrayal and cunning stealth. Peter Dinklage steals the show as the Hand of the King who uses his cleverness to prove loyalty to him. There is a good amount of action, especially when it comes to the end of the episode. The episode may be free of Vaenarys, but this is still an engaging episode.

In this episode, "What Is Dead May Never Die," Tyrion wants to prove the loyalty of the council, so he decides to test them. Theon Greyjoy is given a command of a ship as they decide to attack the North while Robb's forces are at war. Tyrion wants his new girlfriend, Shae to become a handmaiden of Sansa's. Bran is having his dreams, but he comes to realize they may be visions. Jon Snow is reprimanded after his encounter with Craster. Catelyn Stark meets with Renly Baratheon to see if he would join Robb's forces. Finally, Arya is taken captive.

Overall, this is an outstanding episode in part to Peter Dinklage's amazing performance as Tyrion. The main reason to watch is just to see him outfox his council foes. But I found the other story lines to be actively engaging which makes this a very strong episode.

My Grade: A+

Instantly continuing where we left off, "What Is Dead May Never Die" is calming the audience after a what I thought to be supremely ominous cliffhanger in the previous episode. Jon Snow is alright and Samwell gets to have his romantic moment. Sort of. Meanwhile, we have Catelyn starting her negotiations with the charismatic gay king Renly, a character that I'm very pleased to see again, Tyrion proving that he is a really smart cookie, and Theon having to decide which side of his two families he's on. And last but not least, there is a small but powerful battle scene at the end of the episode involving Arya.

What stands out in this episode is clearly the way Tyrion, the new Hand of the King, detects Cersei's snitch – a method thoroughly entertaining to watch if you haven't read the books. Even if so, I'm sure you'll find pleasure in watching Peter Dinklage outshine everyone in the same room with him. I, however, found some flaws in Sansa encountering Shae for the first time, a scene that obviously needed more takes, in my humble opinion. Another con was Theon confronting his father, which didn't felt genuine and quite nondescript to watch. I simply dislike the whole idea of him coming back to Pyke and none of the scenes until this point as well as none of the scenes in the next two episodes (I've already seen them) made change my opinion about that.

In the end, those two things didn't bother me a lot because as usual, the good stuff was predominant and I had great fun with the introduction of Margaery Tyrell in particular. Natalie Dormer is an utterly talented young actress who manages to keep her character interesting not only in a sexual sense (she's still hot, though). Gwendoline Christie does a fine job as Brienne of Tarth yet I have the same issue as with the Theon story part: I don't like the original idea by George R. R. Martin. The other returning cast members, Gethin Anthony and Finn Jones, sustain their good performances from season one while still keeping their relationship juicy.

Altogether, this makes for some entertaining 50 minutes filled with the usual good acting, pretty set design, well-written dialogs, great score, and a final scene just as enthralling as the ones in the first two episodes.

Seriously. Watching him troll all of the Lannisters is very satisfying.

I like the bit where they threatened to chop the old mans willy off

Season 2, episode 3. Jon in the wilds learned of the wildlings ways but not exactly what it was that took the boy child. Theon is torn between his family and swearing loyalty to Robb Stark. Tyrion tests loyalty of three men and one of them tells the queen and thus put into a cell. Catlyn is steady making alliances. Arya and Gendry Baratheon are taken away along with some of the others who were out looking for Gendry.

9.5/10

At the Red Keep, Tyrion plots three alliances through the promise of marriage. Catelyn arrives in the Stormlands to forge alliances, but King Renly, his new wife Margaery, and his lover Loras Tyrell have other plans. At Winterfell, Luwin tries to decipher Bran's dreams.

What I Liked:

As usual, it is impossible not to be impressed by the high-quality production value, as well as the meticulous attention to detail. Again, acting all around is solid.

Tyrion is starting to become the best character on the show, brilliantly playing the game as the temporary hand of the king. His scenes are a highlight of this season so far.

While there are many characters and arcs to establish, it is truly remarkable how this show manages to balance them all out, giving each one an appropriate amount of screentime. Also, this episode introduces two new characters, Margaery and Brienne, who appear to be solid additions to this show.

What I Disliked:

I do not particularly care for the scenes involving Theon and the Ironborns. While these scenes are not weak by any means, they are noticeably less enjoyable to watch than just about every other storyline this season.

Overall:

Game of Thrones delivers another fantastic episode early in its sophomore season. Just about every element combines to create a highly enthralling viewing experience.

9/10

King Cadmium.

Plot In A Paragaph: Tyrion schemes to weed out Cersi's spy. Theon is torn between where his loyalties lie, the gold cloaks return for Gendry, Caitalin goes to meet Renly hoping he will join Robb and we meet Brianne of Tarth.

At Renly's camp we are introduced to new characters "the Maid of Tarth", Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer)

There is no Danaerys or Stannis in this episode. The centerpiece of this episode, the thing that gives it its title, is Theon's story takes up a lot of time in this episode. (Alfie Allen's performance is excellent) another character Im taking to is Varys (Conleth Hill is perfect. Varys comes to life whenever he speaks). Tyrion's ruse to find out which of the three members of the small council was likeliest to be Cersei's spy is one of my favourite scenes of the season so far. I have often spoke of my admiration of Peter Dinklage, he is superb.And another favourite of the season do far is the final scenes of the episode with Yoren (Francis Magee is great) telling the tale of his murderous prayer to Arya.

For me adventures with out some action is just another TV drama. Tyron Lanister is the light in the dark in this season 2 so far. No other characters or stories have been of any interest for me.

I am happy that some action finally appeared. THough I had hoped that the annoying girl we have been following the three S2 episodes had died.

This episode I give 4 stars, as the first 2 S2 episodes I give stars for Tyron Lannister. and this episode 1 extra for the battle, and 1 star for the extremely hot red head who got it on the war command table. She saved my day!

Now I am looking forward to see episode 4 tonight. It can only get better. I hope!"!!!

There is more carnage. Fighting goes on. Jon is expelled because he has failed to obey the monster who is killing his own sons, feeding them to some unknown entity. The point attempted to be made is that no matter what the cost, the overall goal is good in the sight of the gods. Think of all that has been done in the name of religion and lust for land and power. Theon unwittingly puts moves on his own sister as she take him to the castle of his father. He is disgusted with her but should be with himself. She is a warrior and his father has no faith in him. There is an ugly scene but it is soon resolved that he will carry the flag of his father.

Tyrion tests the loyalty of the peripheral lackeys of the queen. He has one of them put in a "black cell" because the minute he received a secret, he went right to the queen. Tyrion continues to be the true ruler and treats King Joffrey like the child he is, the impetuous little snot he is.

Catlyn Stark continues to make alliances with other kingdoms. Joffrey's thugs continue to look for the bastards of the dead king.

This episode moves both the plot and several characters (new and familiar ones) nicely forward.

1. Tyrion schemes 2. Renly might have a thresome 3. Arya lies good

Much better episode than the previous one. We have some brilliant political drama going on with Tyrion playing the part perfectly. I found it slightly weird that Tyrion had the power to marry off the Princess even hypothetically. Definitely felt bad to be a woman back then.

No appearance of Daenerys on this episode, which is a good thing honestly. Each episode is keeping track of many different characters in different places and jumping around too much would make the show difficult to follow.

Really curious what the role Gendry would play down the road. His existence in itself is a threat to the throne but he doesn't have a rightful claim on it because he is a bastard. It's actually kind of funny that the Starks stopped mentioning Arya at all. I think they are assuming she is dead somehow.

Untimely death of a king always brings chaos and we are witnessing that right now with different powers trying to seize their moments. 3 episodes in and this season is already promising.

The wonderful thing about Game of Thrones is that it is easily consumed. In hour-long chunks, it's just enough episode to keep you interested; every individual episode contains something worth talking about, be it the awesome action sequences, the brilliant writing, or the incredible acting. To prepare for this season, I watched the entirety of the first season in two days. I got the DVD on Friday night and by Sunday I was caught up. Burning through the season wholesale makes it a bit easier to follow along with, but getting it in smaller doses gives viewers more time to ponder what happened and to digest events. As new kings spring forth from every corner of the seven kingdoms, the game is afoot in King's Landing, and Tyrion Lannister has shown more ability to play the game than well-meaning, loyal Ned Stark ever could. In a brilliant series of triple match-cuts, Tyrion feeds information to the members of the small council in an attempt to root out any potential traitors in the midst. Wisely, Tyrion chooses not to trust the eunuch who alluded to blackmailing him, the man who betrayed the last hand of the king, and the man who may or may not have allowed the hand of the king before the last hand of the king to die a poisony death. In this case, a mole is rooted out and the small council gets even smaller, as Varys puts it so succinctly. Plus, there's the whole thing about the king being an emotionally-unbalanced tween with a lust for murdering people for poorly-thought-out reasons thing to deal with. Arya Stark, Gendry, and their pals are all still headed towards The Wall, and those Gold Cloaks aren't exactly going to let them go quietly. They said they'd be back, and they returned (after a wonderful scene between Maisie Williams and Francis Magee) to claim what is theirs. Fortunately for Gendry, they're pretty stupid. What Is Dead May Never Die was brilliantly edited, even for a show with brilliant technical prowess behind it. There were multiple transitions this week that were impressive, either due to their wit or due to the way they were executed. Director Alik Sakharov brought his cinematographer sensibilities, and his ability to wrap a scene around the camera added an extra layer of subtle, impressive artistry to the show's usual glorious parade of nudity and bloodshed. I'm thinking of Bran Stark's close encounter with his pet direwolf, but that's only one of multiple moments of beauty this week-Sakharov was the cinematographer for the opening and closing of the first season, so he's no stranger to grandeur.

• Story (4.5/5)
• Soundtrack (4/5)
• Dialog (5/5)
• Graphic (4/5)
• Reasonableness (5/5)
• Entertainment (4.5/5)
• Overall (4.5/5)

BONUS - Arya & Tyrion is so smart.

Came to 'Game of Thrones' fairly late in the game and due to being so busy the binge-watching was gradual. Have found myself truly loving the show, very quickly becoming one of my favourites. It totally lives up to the hype and not only does it do the brilliant source material justice (a rarity in television) it is on its own merits one of the finest, most addictive and consistently compelling shows in recent years and quality-wise it puts a lot of films in recent years to shame.

Season 2 started off great with the previous two episodes. "What is Dead May Never Die" is even better than both and is from personal opinion one of the best of the season. Like "The Night Lands", there is a lot of exposition while not introducing us to as many characters as "The North Remembers", a good move with a lot of storytelling and characterisation (especially with Tyrion) being even richer. It is just as moody as before, if not as dark, and is even more intriguing, and doesn't have anything superfluous this time round.

Visually, "What is Dead May Never Die" looks amazing. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. The visual effects are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.

One cannot talk about "What is Dead May Never Die" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.

It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is once again. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions such as suspenseful tension, poignant pathos and witty humour. The story is paced beautifully, structured with such nuance and attention to coherence, a high emotional level and is done with intelligence, passion and sensitivity.

"What is Dead May Never Die's" directing is superb, a contender in this particular regard for the "Baelor" of Season 2. The acting can't be faulted either, with Peter Dinklage managing to be even more brilliant as Tyrion as he already was. Maisie Williams is up to his level, as are Natalie Dormer and Gwendoline Christie.

Overall, fantastic episode and has seen the second season getting stronger rather than dying in one of its best episodes. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Another strong example of the fine balance of "Game of Thrones," she joins the cadre of empowered women ruthlessly vying for power, though her techniques are atypical.

Family lessons are engaging along with the funny charm of Theon Greyjoy, enough gold nothing special about it, encient formula about old-fashioned craftsmanship and skill! Kin of the tyrant, a dynasty failed fog clouds my thoughts in a terrible tale drive it away with a swift dragons thought, so finding the source of it all is just heroic. Everything is in your mind about ours folk psychology deliberately disobeyed for crowd, that remains faithful to the genre for victory. Back then, ours nature wasn't so much revered as ignored or fearless. Previous generations used to hunt freedom to protect their wealth, selling the skills to the future counselor now traders!