Episode 2 – The Kingsroad – Recap

Still hard to believe that we are getting new episodes of Game of Thrones every week now! Episode two, The Kingsroad, has just aired. Here is my recap and reaction.

Spoiler Note: This post is for those who have read the first book. As such the post itself and the comments will contain spoilers. If you haven’t read the first book yet, click here for a new viewer recap and discussion thread.

The show opens on Drogo’s khalasar as they ride across the Dothraki Sea. The khalasar is still a bit unimpressive, it would have been cool to get one CGI-enhanced shot of a 40,000 strong column of riders. But I suppose this kind of stuff just isn’t possible on a TV budget.

Anyway, we see Dany isn’t really adjusting to the Dothraki life too quickly. She dislikes Drogo and horse jerky (I don’t blame her, in either case). Jorah tries to reassure her things will be better, although he sure has a funny way of doing that as he tells her about how the Dothraki believe one day the ghost grass of the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai will cover everything and this is how the world will end. A bit depressing, but cool to hear this bit of lore make it from the book onto screen.

Back in Winterfell, Tyrion is waking up in the stables after, what we can only assume was, a night full of drinking. I absolutely LOVE this scene. I think I’ve watched it close to a dozen times already. Dinklage is amazing. “The prince will remember that, little lord.” “I hope so. If he forgets, be a good dog and remind him.”

Then, the breakfast scene. Myrcella speaks! Nice job, Aimee. Lena Headey with some subtly excellent acting here. She is understated, but you can see what is going through her head. More Dinklage awesomeness, “And become celibate? Why the whores would go begging from Dorne to Casterly Rock!” (Confirmation that Dorne hasn’t been cut from the show, for those who may still be worried about that).

Then, our first totally new scene of this episode, and it is one we have known about for a long time as it leaked out in a casting side back before the pilot was even filmed. I have a feeling this scene is going to be pretty controversial as it changes Cersei’s character a bit from the books. However, I don’t mind it. It makes Cersei a bit more human and sympathetic. And of course, it ties into one of the central mysteries of the first season: the seed is strong.

Another new scene, Jon and Jaime meet in the courtyard as Mikken puts the finishing touches on Needle. Coster-Walder is perfectly arrogant as Jaime. Fun fact: the guy playing Mikken in this scene is a member of Tommy Dunne’s blacksmithing team. I love the deadpan look he gives Jon as Jaime walks away. Hilarious! If the blacksmithing thing doesn’t work out for him, I think he has a future in acting.

Then a scene most of us saw as the first reward of The Maester’s Path, Jon giving Arya Needle. This scene has much more warmth now that we’ve seen it uncut. Arya trying to show off Nymeria, Jon and Arya hugging, a great scene for the fans. Jon continues his farewells, going to visit Bran next. A touching scene, well-acted by Kit Harington. While Catelyn shows her hatred of Jon, she doesn’t utter the infamous line, “It should have been you.” Perhaps David & Dan thought it was a little too harsh?

More goodbyes, first Ned to Catelyn. Some exceptional acting by Fairley here. And I like how Ned is pretty much like, “I’m going, deal with it” in this scene. “You can. You must.” Not even a goodbye kiss. Guess that is just how these Northerners roll. And then Ned says goodbye to Jon. “Next time we see each other, I’ll tell you about your mother. I promise.” A tear-filled-wink-and-a-nod to the fans there.

Dany continues her rough life as a khaleesi. I know the haters like to say Thrones is like a soft-core porn with all the sex and nudity. Yet none of the sex scenes so far have been erotic in anyway. So I really don’t get that complaint. Another Maester’s Path reward scene, Ned and Robert on the Kingsroad. Love the chemistry between these two. Jon and Tyrion on the way to the Wall. Nothing exciting, but a good scene nonetheless.

You want exciting? How about an assassination attempt? “You’re not supposed to be ‘ere.” Catelyn grabbing the knife. Ouch! It was hard to read, and even harder to watch. The as-of-yet-unnamed Summer to the rescue! The blood spurting towards the camera was a little much and kinda fake looking. The final shot of the scene is of Cat with bloody hands.

Cut to Dany getting her damaged hands bandaged. Clever editing. Much of the dialogue here is straight from the book. Although this scene is out of order based on what happens in the books (there is a scene in episode 3 that takes place before this scene in the book), it still works. And as we will see in a few minutes, provides a nice character arc for Dany in this episode.

The Wall. It looks even better here than it did in the first episode.

Cat does some CSI work, not something that happens in the book that I can recall. And then a meeting in the godswood. Cat announces her plans to head to King’s Landing. Rodrik and his whiskers will accompany her.

Back to Dany, she uses what she learned from Doreah to please Drogo, wrapping up a nice character arc as we continue to watch Dany grow.

Hey San/San fans! Our first Sansa and Sandor interaction. Enjoy it as it seems some of their later exchanges have been cut. Ilyn Payne looks hilariously awesome. Joffrey is a jerk. The encounter by the Trident is good, although the direwolf attack seemed a bit cheesy to me. I guess that is why they say not to work with animals. I’m sure this was a tough scene to film. At any rate, Arya throws Lion’s Tooth into the river and runs for it.

As we know, the final scene was moved from Castle Darry in the books to the Crossroads Inn for the show, which is a change that makes sense. Consolidating the key locations keeps the budget down. The scene plays out pretty closely to the books in other respects. I love Cersei’s smug satisfaction as she asks, “Where is the beast?” And I think Sophie Turner does well here, showing some real emotion at losing Lady.

Ned goes to find Lady and passes the Hound with Mycah’s body slung over Stranger’s back. “He ran, but not very fast.” Not a huge fan of McCann’s delivery of this line. I always thought Sandor said this with a cruel sense of humor, not the matter-of-fact, almost disinterested way, that McCann delivers it here.

That being said, the final scene packs the emotional punch that maybe McCann’s line lacks. Sean Bean is a great actor. And I like how they cut between him and Bran and just as Lady is executed, Bran awakes. Beautifully shot and edited. Only thing missing? “His name is Summer.”

Overall, I know some people were down on episode two, but I really enjoyed it. I think I liked it more than the first, because of some great (and funny!) scenes and some excellent acting by Dinklage, Bean and Headey in particular. I also felt that Dany had a nice storyline for the episode and Clarke did well. The final shot of Bran waking up is a nice way to end it to keep the hooks in those new viewers.

What did everyone else think of The Kingsroad?

• Published on 04/24/2011 at 10:01 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/20/2016 at 6:04 PM CDT