The Small Council: A look back at “Sons of the Harpy”

“Sons of the Harpy” had it all: swordfights, history lessons, religious extremism, maddening cliffhangers, and more. It was an eventful episode that inspired plenty of discussion. Now that a little time has passed, the WiC writers give their takes on what worked, what didn’t, what was intriguing, what was tiresome, what pleased them, and what made them want to light their own heads on fire. The Small Council is in session.

DAN: It’s funny—when I saw “Sons of the Harpy” for the first time, I thought it was the weakest of the first four episodes of Season 5. I still think it’s got issues, but a lot of fans have reacted well to its intensity, and it’s inspired more discussion than any episode since the premiere, so it’s doing something right.

And indeed, I enjoyed many of the scenes in isolation. Stannis’ heart-to-heart with Shireen nearly made me tear up, and it was hilarious to see Tyrion break down Jorah’s entire life story in all of 30 seconds. Also, both fight sequences were thrillingly choreographed. Still, I don’t think the scenes were in conversation with each other the way they were in, say, “High Sparrow,” when many of the characters were trying to negotiate new identities; or in “The Wars to Come,” when they were looking forward to bleak futures.

Still, I give the episode credit for delivering a solid gut punch at the end. That final cliffhanger did its job—I was staring at the screen, incredulous, dying to know what happened next. Well played, Game of Thrones.

And now, I’d like to shift into bitter book-reader mode. While I’ve generally been happy with the changes the show has made this season, I think we’re losing a lot of valuable context when in comes to the Sparrow stuff. In the books, it’s clear that people are becoming Sparrows because their lives have been decimated by the War of the Five Kings—they’re turning to religion in desperation. Cersei mentions Septs being burned and Silent Sisters being raped in this episode, but the Sparrows still seem to have sprung up out of nowhere, which makes them look like a cheap invention to generate conflict.

Also, I don’t like how Cersei’s motivations are being narrowed. Yes, she arms the Faith Militant in A Feast for Crows in part to mess with the Tyrells, but she also does it to save the Crown money and to bother Stannis. Simplifying her plan makes her character seem less rich. Considering how important she is to this season, that’s a problem.

There are plenty of beats left to play in this story, so the show still has time to meet my unreasonable demands. What did you guys think of “Sons of the Harpy?”

KATIE: I have to agree with your take on the Sparrows/Faith Militant, Dan. As an Unsullied viewer, I’m just not getting much from them. While “Sons of the Harpy” provided a little more information, I feel like, at best, they’re religious extremists without a cause or, consequently, a purpose. Most of the time I don’t feel as though I’m missing out on anything huge by not reading the books yet, but I’m not getting the punch I think these guys are supposed to pack. We’ll see how it shakes out by season’s end, but as of now I’m still not feeling it.

Unfortunately, I feel similarly about the Sand Snakes. After all the hype, I expected more from their first appearance. I mean, obviously they’re brilliant with their respective weaponry, but aside from that skill, I wasn’t feeling their intensity the way I feel Ellaria’s. Perhaps it was just the scene itself, since there wasn’t much to it, but either way I was hoping for more than we were given. I’m still hopeful, though, that their next scene will give them more to work with, and then we’ll really get to see what all the fuss was about.

All that aside, and despite my still-fresh grief over Papa Bear Barristan, I really did enjoy the episode. There’s a lot of forward momentum. Everyone’s going places, and that keeps things exciting.

On the subject of moving forward (and my obligatory Sansa speculation)… Anyone else starting to get the feeling from the Episode 5 trailer that Ramsay’s line, “You remember what happens to people who bore me,” is directed at Myranda? I’ve been thinking that Sansa’s been a red herring, and Myranda’s the one who’s really in danger here. That’s not to say that Sansa’s in the clear, but she’s new to Ramsay, and he needs her to solidify his claim to the North; meanwhile Myranda is disposable. Despite the fact that Petyr peaced out in “Sons of the Harpy,” leaving Sansa on her own and not knowing who to trust, this episode makes me think all these “DANGER” breadcrumbs that have been seemingly leading to Sansa are going to veer off in another direction.

DAVID (RAZOR): “Sons of the Harpy” felt like an episode where the producers were like, “Hey, we’ve got some extra time…f*@k it, let’s kill Barristan!” Don’t worry, this won’t turn into a rant, I’ve got a whole article dedicated each week to that (shameless self-promotion /wink), but in all seriousness, it was not my favorite episode of this season.

Let’s start with what I did like: 1.) Stannis has a heart, and it’s not as cold, dead, and black as he’d have us think. That moment was a departure from the books and I’m glad they had it. However, I fear this portends danger for young Shireen. Whenever a character is given a touching and vulnerable moment, you can bet that the viewers are getting set-up to have their hearts ripped from their chests. 2.) I really enjoyed the fun dynamic between Bronn and Jaime…but that’s to be expected, as Bronn is everyone’s favorite medieval-merc with a mouth. 3.) Barristan and Grey Worm’s final moment together, while not my favorite departure from the books, was actually done quite well. I may not be happy that Barristan the Bold was taken out by a jerk in a Mardi Gras mask, but to have him take about 10 Sons of the Harpy down with him was worthy of his reputation, and the look of concern of Grey Worm’s face before he passes out was heartbreaking.

What I did not like: 1.) The Sand Snakes’ introduction to Game of Thrones felt forced, terribly produced, and awkwardly acted. There was no chemistry between the Snakes and Ellaria, despite the fact that Tyene kept hugging her mother like some lost girl with mommy issues. I really want the Sand Snakes to work and I hope that Benioff and Weiss will give them some better scenes. 2.) I despised the fact that Loras was arrested, without incident, by a bunch of homeless men with anger issues. The Loras I am familiar with (from the books), would have cut a bloody path through that group of Faith Militant lunatics before he would have allowed any one of them to touch him. 3.) Finally, I HATED that Melisandre has been turned into what amounts to a creepy Cougar. Allow me to elaborate…Melisandre has been made better by the show and by Carice van Houten’s excellent performance. However, I feel that her role as a powerful woman is diminished by the fact that she does not seem able to keep her robes on. Seriously, she raped Gendry (for all practical intents and purposes), and awkwardly fondled Jon Snow despite the fact that he was clearly not into her. I feel like sometimes the show needs to fill a quota of full frontal nudity and gratuitous sex scenes before they can tell the actual story. Game of Thrones is a fantastic show that does not need to do this, and Melisandre is a wonderful character who does not need to take her clothes off for everyone she thinks has royal blood flowing through their veins.

CAMERON: This episode generated way more discussion than I thought it would, even considering the very notable death at the end. (By the way, I hold to my belief that this one is coming fairly early on in The Winds of Winter; it made me sad, but it didn’t surprise me the way it seemed to surprise everyone else). My favorite scene of the episode remains the Stannis/Shireen scene, since it’s heartwarming and of a different timbre than most Stannis scenes, where he’s either doing something weird with Melisandre or ordering people around. More importantly, Jaime/Bronn is turning out almost as good as Jaime/Brienne; I think that rests entirely on the strength of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Jerome Flynn, two very handsome and charismatic dudes who work well together. It’s an example of a change the show made to the books that works by recognizing that sometimes, a TV show is not a book.

ANI: I have to agree with Cameron. Once we figured out from the clues before the season started that it was Barristan EW was quoting, everything fell into place. He needed to die before Tyrion arrives, so that there’s a space on Dany’s Small Council for Tyrion to take. With Tyrion’s story ultra-streamlined the way it is, it just had to come earlier than it did in the books.

I don’t know if it was Barristan’s death, the Sand Snakes in a $10 Tent, or the confirmation that Littlefinger either has no clue about Ramsey or really doesn’t care for Sansa’s safety, but I was really surprised how negative the reaction to this episode was over all the on line forums I frequent. Even my Unsullied friends texted me negative feelings, with one saying, “Worst Episode EVER.” I wouldn’t say that. After all, Stannis finally showed heart. And someone finally mentioned the Year of the False Spring, Ahead of Winter and only a season or so after I hoped it would turn up. But then again, perhaps it’s proof that, no matter what happens in an episode, I always give the producers the benefit of the doubt. Like Littlefinger, they are playing the long game, and while I am still terrified for Sansa and mentally composing curtain calls for Bronn, I’m always seeing the show in the brightest light possible.

• Published on 05/08/2015 at 4:00 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:04 PM CDT