‘Game Of Thrones’ Recap: Cersei Lands Behind Bars; Tyrion Meets Dany

Game of Thrones returned Sunday with an episode that finally showed Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) meeting Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), while his sister Cersei (Lena Headey) gets punished by the High Sparrow.

Game of Thrones Recap

Castleblack: At The Wall, Jon Snow has Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) released from his shackles, much to Alliser Thorne’s (Owen Teale) displeasure. Even though Jon tells Alliser that he has command of Castle Black while he is on the road bringing Tormund North of the Wall to get his people, Alliser warns him of the mistake he could be making. Before Jon heads off, Sam gives him dragon glass in case he encounters any White Walkers.

Later that night, it becomes clear that Master Aemon’s (Peter Vaughan) health is failing. He keeps calling for his late brother Aegon to Sam (John Bradley) and Gilly (Hannah Murray). Gilly eventually encourages Sam to go to sleep, because he will likely have to speak for Aemon in the morning. As Gilly expected, Aemon does die. After Sam speaks at his funeral,  Alliser notes, “You’re losing all your friends Tarly.”

With Jon off with Tormund and Aemon dead, the men of the Night’s Watch spring on Gilly, the only woman at Castle Black. When Sam walks in, he pulls a sword on the men. Though they beat him to the ground, Jon’s direwolf Ghost arrives and the two men run off. Gilly treats Sam for his wounds and asks him not to interfere if he sees anything like that again, and just worry about taking care of Little Sam. After Sam says he will also always take care of her, they kiss and have sex for the first time.

Not far from Castle Black, Davos (Liam Cunningham) warns Stannis (Maxwell Laird) against pushing forward in the snow. Stannis insists on continuing on to Winterfell because he does not want to be known as the ‘king who ran.’ After Davos leaves, Stannis asks Melisandra (Carice van Houten) if she is certain that he proceed with his plan. She says that he should, but that he needs more royal blood and wants him to use Selyse’s – which means he’d have to have his own daughter killed. Stannis refuses her.

Winterfell: It’s been some time since Sansa’s (Sophie Turner) wedding to Ramsay (Iwan Rheon), and he’s been locking her up during the days and hurting her every night. When Theon (Alfie Allen) goes to deliver Sansa’s food, she tells him the horrors of her new life. He advises her to do as Ramsay says to spare herself worse punishment. But Sansa is determined to get away, and asks Theon to light a candle and put it in the window in the tallest tower. Though he says he can’t and calls himself Reek, she reminds him who he is and he promises to do as she asks.

On a rare occasion, Ramsay summons Sansa during the day, calling her his beautiful wife. As he talks to her about Stannis’ army, she picks up a knife and hides it. In a moment of further boldness, Sansa points out to Ramsay that he will not have the strongest claim to the throne if his step-mother bears his father a son. Ramsay counters that bastards can rise high and points out that her brother Jon Snow is now the commander of the Night’s Watch. He then remembers why he had called for her, and shows her the flayed body of the elderly woman who was her friend of the North.

Mereen: The slavers who captured  Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) and Tyrion put them up for auction in Mereen. After Jorah is bought, Tyrion starts to beat a neighboring man and gets purchased along with him. Together, they’re brought to the Mereen fighting pits where Dany is to oversee the blood sport event. When Jorah sees that Dany, who is now married to Hizdahr, is about to leave, he busts out of the holding area to join the fray. He’s the last man standing and removes his mask. Dany tells Jorah to get out her sight, causing him to beg her to let him explain, and says that he has a gift for her. Tyrion, who also manages to escape of the holding area, comes out just in time to present himself to Dany.

Dorne:  Though Jamie was captured by the sand snakes, he’s given nice quarters and a meeting with Myrcella. He explains to her that her mother is worried about her and wants her to return home, but Myrcella insists that she is home and that she’s in love with Tristane. While Jamie is told by his daughter that he doesn’t know her, Bronn is in a cell outside of which the sand snakes are gathered.

King’s Landing: Still trying to get her grandson out of jail, Lady Olenna (Dianna Rigg) goes to meet with the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). Though she has some good points about how he’s a hypocrite who has been hired to do Cersei’s dirty work, the High Sparrow is unmoved. Meanwhile, Cersei tells Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) that no good will come of starving himself, and that it would not get Margaery (Natalie Dormer) out of prison. He threatens to start a war, take back the Sept and kill every last one of the Sparrows. She tells him not to do anything rash, and offers to go see the High Sparrow for him.

As Olenna goes to the brothel to make a deal with Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen), Cersei does as she promised Tommen and, after a short visit with a knowing Margaery, goes to see the High Sparrow. The High Sparrow expresses his glee in taking take down the Tyrells, then adds, “What will we see when we strip away your finery?”  He then begins to tell a story of one of his Sparrows, which sounds remarkably like that of Cersei’s cousin Lancel (Eugene Simon) with whom Cersei had an affair. There’s no doubt when Lancel comes out. Soon, Cersei is being dragged away into her own cell. “Look at me! Look at my face!” she screams at those who are imprisoning her. “It will be the last thing you see before you die!”