Mira Forrester stands out in Telltale’s “The Sword in the Darkness”

Allies are hard to find in Westeros. In a world where everyone plays the game of thrones, altruism is a means to an end, and the only person really looking out for your best interests is you. Telltale drives this point home with episode 3 of their ongoing Game of Thrones series, “The Sword in the Darkness.” From the icy Wall to the fiery cavern of Drogon (!) to the fateful wedding of Joffrey and Margaery, House Forrester is desperately searching for friends to save their besieged family.

A lot of the conversations and decisions in this episode revolve around this theme: Asher tries to broker peace between Malcolm and Breskha; Mira is trapped in the den of vipers that is King’s Landing and its politically-motivated residents; Rodrik finds an unexpected friend in the Whitehill home; and even Gared must make peace with Finn and Cotter if he is to survive the far north’s endless chills. All the while, the Whitehills bear down on the weakened Forresters, confident that their support of Roose Bolton secures them the freedom and safety to do as they please.

Interestingly, Mira’s story continues to be the most fascinating part of the game. There are two main reasons why…

The first is that, unlike the rest of the game’s cast, Mira’s story is not modeled on an existing character arc from the main series. It’s kind of interesting to learn more about the North Grove from Duncan Tuttle, but otherwise Gared’s story is a rehash of Jon Snow’s, a comparison the game encourages by having Snow hang around Gared a lot of the time. Asher’s story is Daenerys meets Tyrion. The Tyrion influences are especially pronounced, given that Asher was exiled because of his love for Gwyn Whitehill. Rodrik, of course, has characteristics that remind players of Ned Stark’s pride and honor as well as Robb Stark’s drive for vengeance.

But Mira does not neatly fall into any particular archetype. She has shades of the Stark sisters, sure, but she’s not nearly as outwardly ferocious as Arya, and she’s not feeling the bars of an invisible cage like Sansa was during her time in the capitol. Indeed, Mira is well-placed to become one of the game of thrones’ best players. But if she truly wants to follow these ambitions, she may have to leave her family in the dust.

This brings us to the second reason why Mira’s story is the most compelling: her decisions are not nearly as cut-and-dry as the rest of the characters. Gared and Asher both face life-or-death decisions in their stories, while Rodrik must decide to cowtow to the arrogant Gryff Whitehill or try to enforce Forrester claims over Forrester domains. But Mira has a whole host of characters who could make her life easier, or turn it into a living hell. Should she serve Margaery loyally? Stand up to Cersei? Is it safe to be in Tyrion’s good graces? (This one loses a bit of punch, admittedly, since everyone knows what happens at Joffrey’s wedding.) And what does Tom the coal boy really want from her? For Mira, any sign of hesitation is defeat or surrender. But finding the right allies is not an easy path, and with every new friend she makes, a new enemy appears as well.

Much like with the show and books, it’s hard to make out the endgame from this, the midway point of the series. But at this point, the political aspects of the series remain intact. Mira’s decisions feel the most separate from the rest of her family’s, but it’s likely that they are the ones that will have the most impact going forward. Rodrik must act on the faith he has in his family, knowing full well that Asher may never return and Mira may well be lost to him forever. Asher must act on sentiment, for Breskha or Malcolm or Gwyn Whitehill, as his unfortunate run-in with a dragon leads him to a certain self-proclaimed queen. Gared must act on loyalty, whether it lies with the wildling in the Night’s Watch’s midst or with his new brother Finn, whose outward anger hides mortal fear. But Mira is in a position to act on behalf of others, and in so doing, help herself climb to greater heights. Whether that makes her an ally to House Forrester or not seems to be in the hands of the player, and that is, appropriately enough, one of the most intriguing decisions Telltale has made with this game.

• Published on 03/27/2015 at 3:00 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:05 PM CDT