Two Swords (Game of Thrones)

"Two Swords" is the first episode of the fourth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 31st overall. The episode was written by series co-creators and showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss,^[1] and directed by Weiss.^[2] It premiered on April 6, 2014.^[3]

Plot

In King's Landing

Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) has the Stark family's ancestral greatsword, Ice, melted down and reforged into two new swords. One is given to his son Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who, as the new Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, is hopeful to learn to use the sword with his left hand. Tywin informs Jaime that he is to be dismissed from the Kingsguard, and sent to Casterly Rock to rule in his place, but Jaime refuses and leaves. Outside the city walls, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), his squire Podrick (Daniel Portman), and the sellsword-turned-knight Bronn (Jerome Flynn) await the arrival of Prince Doran Martell and his entourage, but are informed that his younger brother, Prince Oberyn (Pedro Pascal), will be attending in his stead. Oberyn, having already arrived, maims a Lannister soldier at one of Lord Baelish's whorehouses before Tyrion arrives. Oberyn reveals to Tyrion that he is in King's Landing to seek vengeance for the death of his sister, Elia, and her two children. Elia had been married to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, who was next in line to the throne before Robert Baratheon killed him, and King's Landing fell to Tywin's army. Oberyn wants to kill Ser Gregor Clegane (The Mountain), who is rumored to have raped Elia during the siege, and split her in two with his sword. Outside, Shae (Sibel Kekilli) tries in vain to get Sansa (Sophie Turner) to eat. Sansa reveals to Tyrion that she cannot eat or sleep since hearing that her brother Robb's direwolf's head was sewn onto his corpse, and her mother Catelyn's throat was cut to the bone and her body thrown into the river. Tyrion himself admits that what happened to them ("The Rains of Castamere") was a "terrible crime." When she leaves for the godswood, Tyrion returns to his chamber where he rebuffs Shae's attempts to rekindle their romance, and their argument is overheard by another of Sansa's handmaidens.

In the castle, Jaime is fitted with a gilded steel hand by Qyburn (Anton Lesser). When he departs, Jaime and his twin sister, Cersei (Lena Headey), discuss the state of their relationship before being interrupted by Sansa's handmaiden, with information for the Queen. In the gardens, Lady Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) and her granddaughter, Margaery (Natalie Dormer), plan the royal wedding before Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) asks for a word with Margaery to discuss how Lord Renly was killed ("The Ghost of Harrenhal"). Elsewhere, King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) chastises Jaime for his absence during the battle of the Blackwater and also makes fun of his age, the loss of his sword hand, and lack of accomplishment as a member of the Kingsguard. Afterwards, Brienne tries to make Jaime live up to his vow to return the Stark girls to safety, though Jaime argues the matter is now complicated by Catelyn Stark's death and Sansa's marriage to Tyrion. While leaving the godswood, Sansa is approached by Dontos Hollard (Tony Way), the former knight turned king's fool. Dontos thanks Sansa for saving his life on Joffrey's name-day celebration ("The North Remembers"), and gives her his mother's necklace as gratitude.

In the North

Awaiting orders from Mance Rayder, Ygritte (Rose Leslie) argues with Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) about their next move before they are interrupted by Styr (Yuri Kolokolnikov) and his group of cannibal Thenns. At Castle Black, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is tried before Ser Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale), Janos Slynt (Dominic Carter), and Maester Aemon Targaryen (Peter Vaughan). Jon admits to killing Qhorin Halfhand, and sleeping with Ygritte, but also reveals what he has learned of the wildlings' plans. Slynt calls for Jon to be executed as a traitor, and Thorne, who is acting Lord Commander of the Night's Watch following the death of Commander Jeor Mormont, is inclined to agree with him, but Maester Aemon ultimately has him released.

Across the Narrow Sea

After breaking up a gambling match between Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) is disturbed at how her dragons are growing less tame as they grow larger. She leads her army on a march towards Meereen, the last of the three great slave cities. On the way, Daario attempts to romance Daenerys, and warns her that if she plans to rule the land, she must learn more about the lifestyle and the culture of the slaves she is freeing. Their progress is halted by the discovery of a dead slave girl nailed to a mile-post. It is said that there is one dead child slave nailed to every mile marker on the road to Meereen. Daenerys resolves to look upon every dead child's face on the march.

In the Riverlands

Sandor "The Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann) tells the captive Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) that he intends to ransom her to her Aunt Lysa in the Vale, before they come across an inn with several of The Mountain's men (Lannister soldiers) inside. Arya notices Polliver (Andy Kellegher), the man who stole her sword, Needle. She makes for the entrance before being stopped by The Hound, but they are discovered by one of the soldiers and enter the inn. Though several of the soldiers are fearful of the Hound, Polliver makes conversation with him. After trading insults, they engage in a fight, where the Hound kills many of the soldiers, Arya reclaims Needle from Polliver, and Arya uses it to kill him the same way he murdered Lommy ("What Is Dead May Never Die"). The two then depart from the tavern, Arya now in possession of a stolen pony. The camera pans out to reveal the Riverlands, now left black and desolate by The Mountain and his men.

Production

The episode was directed by the writing team itself,^[2] although to comply with the rules of the Directors Guild of America only Weiss is credited for directing.^[3] They previously co-directed the season three episode "Walk of Punishment", in which Benioff received sole directing credit.^[4]

Writing

"Two Swords" was written by executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on George R. R. Martin's original work from his novel A Clash of Kings, chapters Sansa II and Sansa VIII, and A Storm of Swords, chapters Jaime VII, Tyrion V, Tyrion IV, Jon VI, Jon IX, Daenerys V, and Arya XIII.^[5]

Casting

With this episode, Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) and Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane) are promoted to series regulars. The episode has the introduction of new recurring cast members Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell) and Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand), while Michiel Huisman replaces Ed Skrein as the recurring character Daario Naharis. Owen Teale (Alliser Thorne), Dominic Carter (Janos Slynt) and Tony Way (Ser Dontos Hollard) make return appearances after an absence of several years (Teale in the first season, Carter and Way in the second).

Reception

Television ratings

"Two Swords" broke the viewership record for Game of Thrones, which was set by episode six last season. 6.64 million people watched the premiere airing,^[6] and when coupled with encore airings, that number rose to 8.2 million total viewers.^[7] This is HBO's highest ratings for any show since the finale episode of The Sopranos.^[8] In the UK on Sky Atlantic, "Two Swords" was top in the week with a viewership of 1.21 million.^[9]

Critical reception

The season premiere obtained 97% positive reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes.^[10]

Reviewing it for IGN, Matt Fowler gave the episode a mark of 8.5 out of 10, and wrote that "'Two Swords' was a solid GoT premiere, though it certainly didn't hide the fact that the show, post-Red Wedding, is going to possibly meander more than people might enjoy or expect."^[11] Two reviews from The A.V. Club were written, with one intended for those who have read the novels and one for those who have not. Reviewing for the novel readers, Todd VanDerWerff gave the episode an "A-",^[12] while Erik Adams, who reviewed for the non-readers, rated the episode a "B+".^[13] Myles McNutt at Cultural Learnings also gave the episode a positive review, singling out the final scene with Arya and Sandor as the episode's best sequence.^[14]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Two Swords

• "Two Swords" at HBO.com
• "Two Swords" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Two Swords" at TV.com