Shakespeare’s influence is felt in Telltale Games’ “Sons of Winter”

No one really knows how the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets started. As Romeo & Juliet opens, the long-standing bitterness between the two families is accepted as fact, as relatively harmless verbal jests escalate into violence. But not knowing how the feud started is troubling. For Shakespeare, who was writing a tragic romance, it didn’t matter when or where it began, because he intended to end it with the deaths of the title characters. For Game of Thrones, where violence frequently begets more violence, things are more complicated, less easy to seal off with a kiss and a royal decree from a prince.

The question of who provoked whom is at the heart of this episode of Telltale’s ongoing Game of Thrones series, “Sons of Winter.” Facing the consequences of his fight with Britt atop the Wall, Gared’s version of the story matters little to the Night’s Watch leaders, at least not without Finn voicing his support. More importantly, the Castle Black story expands upon a theme currently being explored on the show by focusing on Cotter, a wildling who secretly joined the Night’s Watch and who allegedly has knowledge of the North Grove. The conflict between the wildlings and the Night’s Watch is pivotal (especially with the Battle at Castle Black looming large) but is also one where the animosity is a matter of legacy, not reason. The Night’s Watch brothers inherited their biases towards the wildlings, and vice versa.

Meanwhile, Asher and his crew find themselves at the mercy of the Mother of Dragons, who is preparing her attack on Meereen. She, too, denies the idea of Drogon being violent, insisting instead that Asher provoked him. But she’s willing to help Asher and friends in exchange for leading a nighttime assault on the alert beacons located at compass points inside the city. Daenerys, as Season 5 is showing, has much to learn about how feuds begin. She believes that the masters went to war with her when they chose the path of slavery, but by attempting to conquer Meereen, she is already laying the foundation for a counter-attack, one in which the assailants can claim that Daenerys provoked them by ransacking their city. “Sons of Winter” places this matter in context through Beskha, who was a former slave forced into the fighting pits as a child. In one of the most adrenaline-pumping sections of the episode, Asher must decide whether and how to take the life of Beskha’s former master.

At Ironrath, Rodrik strikes back against Gryff and makes a tough deal with Lord Whitehill in order to save his family and restore honor to his house. The Forrester/Whitehill feud is the most alike to the one in Romeo & Juliet. The influence is everywhere—Asher was exiled for loving Gwyn Whitehill, and Rodrik’s connection to Elaena Glenmore helps drive the action in Rodrik’s story to Whitehill’s own hall, where the stakes for a highly tense negotiation are the titular children of Northern houses—the “sons of winter.” Furthermore, both plots are incited by an escalation to violence. In this case, it’s the death of Lord Gregor at the Red Wedding, or perhaps even the brutal murder of Ethan by Ramsay Bolton. If there is a path to peace through love, either through Asher or Rodrik, then Telltale is keeping those cards close to their chests. But, well, Robb Stark married for love, and his reward was the event that kicked off this series.

In any case, Telltale continues to guide players to an exciting conclusion through well-plotted action sequences, including two thrilling nighttime strolls (such as they are) in Meereen and Castle Black, and a delightfully low-stakes espionage setpiece for Mira at Tommen’s coronation feast. And as more is revealed about the characters populating each story, the decisions ahead seem almost impossible to face. But the question of who provoked whom shadows Forrester and Whitehill alike. For the many split factions in the series, it may be time to start setting aside differences and seeking out common enemies. After all, the White Walkers are still out there in the far north (where Gared “still has to fetch the fucking wine”; squire he may be, but he is a Forrester in spirit), and all the bitter hatred in the world won’t save either family from the displeasure of Ramsay Bolton, this series’ Bizarro Prince Escalus, something that Rodrik, Talia, and Lord Whitehill may soon learn to their dismay.

• Published on 05/30/2015 at 1:30 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:04 PM CDT