When is the war between the kings going to begin? We are now basically a third of the way through the season and the war has yet to begin, though that is not necessarily a bad thing. With a complex story like Game of Thrones, the build up to the battle can be as, if not more, entertaining than the war itself.
The fighting has begun in the North as Catelyn so eloquently told King Renly and his wife, “My son is fighting a war, not playing at one.” Score one for Lady Stark. An alliance between King Renly and King Robb would have me placing my bets with their side. They are well-positioned to complement each other on the battlefield making it an ideal alliance.
“What is Dead May Never Die” was about loyalty. Will Renly and Robb be able to remain loyal to each other? A strategic alliance is ideal, but without loyalty it will never be strong enough.
Theon showed how fleeting loyalty can be. He left the North to seal an alliance between the family of his youth, the Starks, and his birth family, the Greyjoys. Before leaving, Theon told Robb they were brothers, but quickly renounced the Starks to his father, Balon.
One of the best scenes of the episode was when Theon called out his father for giving him away, “Did he take what was yours then? You gave me away! You gave away your last boy….” And, Balon just walked away without showing any remorse to Theon, even though it was there for us to see.
While Theon thought about sending a message to Robb warning him of the coming threat, he burned it. And, not only did he burn it, he joined the fight on the Greyjoy side. He was betrayed by his father as a child, and in turn, he betrayed the only brother and family he knew. Loyalty or not?
Back at King’s Landing, Tyrion did a loyalty check of his own and surprisingly only Grand Maester Pycelle failed. Well, at least that we are aware, in this game, you can never be sure. Did Littlefinger or Varys also go to the queen? Based on Cersei’s reaction about sending her daughter to the Dorne, I don’t think so. Cersei may be a liar, but she was genuinely upset about the deal that Tyrion made.
That doesn’t mean the Varys or Littlefinger are loyal to Tyrion. Rather they just know that at this point, it is better to side with him than with the king or queen. Who had the Lord Commander sent away? And, now Pycelle? Tyrion is the one to fear and with fear comes power.
The clearest example of loyalty came from those with no power at all — Yoren and Arya. Yoren sacrificed his life to protect Arya and Gendry. He was loyal to them out of principle. And, Arya protected Gendry out of their friendship.
Others in this land, if in Arya’s position, would have saved Gendry out of fear that he would give up their true identity. But, in this case, I doubt that Arya even gave that a thought. She wanted to protect life; it’s in her character. She even gave an axe to the crazy men in the cage who ridiculed her. Hopefully, that won’t come back on her in a bad way.
From the stories outside of the coming war, the journey of Arya and Gendry is the one I’m most interested. They have the bloodlines to make a difference even if they don’t realize it yet. Where will they go now?
There were many other loyalties tested as well: Sansa remained loyal (yeah, right, nice lying, girl!) to Joffrey in front of the Queen. Sam showed his dedication to the wilding girl by giving her his mother’s thimble. The Lord Commander was loyal to the Night’s Watch by overlooking Craster’s baby boy sacrifices; he proved that loyalty sometimes comes at a cost. Margaery showed her loyalty to Renly with her willingness to do whatever he needed in order to be with her.
Through the first three episodes, the sides have begun to solidify. Alliances have been forged and others broken. Winter is coming, but so is a war.
I’ll end with an unrelated question: What is going on with Bran’s dreams? Is he able to foresee the future? In season one, he awoke when Sansa’s direwolf, Lady, was killed. And, now he is dreaming of running in the woods through dirt with blood of a fresh kill in the mouth. Is he channeling Arya’s missing direwolf, Nymeria? I hope so.
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Apr 15, 2012 @ 21:56 EST5EDT
Good observation about Nymeria; I had forgotten about that direwolf. I still think Bran’s somehow connected to his own Summer, because of the bond they already share, but that’s a good choice as well. (I’m also one who hasn’t read the books yet.)