Game of Thrones – Season 2 Episode 8 – Video Recap & Review – The Prince of Winterfell

I just love Game of Thrones so much! Here’s my recap and review (with video) of Season 2 Episode 8: “The Prince of Winterfell.”

The wheels are spinning. There are some intense battles ahead, but first, why not a love scene with Robb Stark and his girlfriend? That should get us in the mood for war. Also: Theon Greyjoy does not get the approval he was looking for, Tyrion Lannister prepares King’s Landing for the siege, Jon Snow captured, and Arya Stark makes her move.

Recap Video

Watch: Game of Thrones – Season 2 Episode 9 – Video Preview – Blackwater

Game of Thrones – Season 2 Episode 8 – The Prince of Winterfell

Winterfell

Theon Greyjoy ordered all the ravens killed in Winterfell so no messages can come out. His sister Yara Greyjoy arrives with a handful of men, not the army Theon expected. She looks unimpressed at what he has accomplished.

She tells him that it was stupid of him to kill the only two Starks in Winterfell — the most valuable asset there — and says, “I have come to bring you home.”

Theon wants to stay in Winterfell. But Yara reminds him that the power of the Greyjoys comes from their ships.

“Everyman in the North wants to see you hang,” she reminds him.

“I will keep Winterfell,” he says.

She tells him a story of how they both loved their mother and tolerated their father, and how Theon was a terrible baby that never stopped crying. He only stopped when he saw her face. Yara leaves telling him, “Don’t die. Stay far from the sea.”

Frostfang Mountains

Ygritte brings Jon Snow (Kit Harington) to the Lord of Bones known as Rattleshirt. Qhorin Halfhand had also been captured by the wildlings. Rattleshirt thinks that Qhorin was a better prize and orders Jon killed — but Ygritte tells him that Jon Snow is the bastard of Ned Stark and might be valuable to Mance Rayder. Jon’s life is spared and Ygritte tells him that they are even.

“I couldn’t do it,” confesses Jon to Qhorin about killing Ygritte.

“We looked for you, but they found us before we found you,” says Qhorin. The rest of the group had been killed by the wildings. “See that it wasn’t for nothing,” he adds.

While they march to Mance — Qhorin tells Jon that “one brother inside Mance’s army is worth more than a thousand fighting against him.” Jon says Mance won’t trust him. “They might,” says Qhorin and then starts arguing with Jon calling him a “traitor.”

“He’s not yours to kill,” says Rattleshirt.

Back at the Night Watch camp, Dolorous Edd, Grenn and Samwell Tarly are digging trenches. They talk about how Jon and Qhorin could be dead already. While digging, they discover an old Night Watchman’s cloak with a cache of dragonglass.

The North

King Robb Stark and Lady Talisa Maegyr are in the Crag. They talk about Ned Stark, but Robb is obviously courting her. He explains that he is engaged to a Frey girl in exchange for a bridge.

“An important bridge,” he says. Back in Season 1, Catelyn Stark arranged Robb to get married, so the Stark army can cross the Twins — the castle bridge of the House of Frey. The army was supposed to storm King’s Landing to save Ned Stark (but Robb ended up becoming King in the North as the “War of the Five Kings” rages).

A bannerman arrives telling Robb, “The Kingslayer escaped in the night.”

Robb returns to his mother’s tent. “Why?” he asks.

Catelyn explains that it was for the girls Sansa and Arya who she believes are both still prisoners of the Lannisters.

Robb cannot believe that his own mother betrayed him and sends out men to get back Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer.

“Make sure she’s guarded day or night,” he tells the guards.

Catelyn Stark’s guard Lady Brienne of Tarth has been tasked to bring Jaime back to King’s Landing. He tries to sweet talk her, but she’s having none of it.

Later, at his tent, Robb tells Roose Bolton to let his bastard know that they will allow any Ironborn who surrenders to go back to the Iron Isles… all except Theon. Roose leaves as Talisa arrives.

“How are you?” she asks.

“How am I? I’ve had to arrest my mother. The Lannisters have my sisters. The man who I considered my closest friend has seized my home and my brothers. I’m fighting a war and I don’t know if I should march south or north.”

The talk some more, this time Talisa sharing why she decided to be doctor. When she was a girl, a slave who saved her brother from death inspired her to leave Volantis and societies with slavery.

That sealed the deal for Robb. “I don’t want to marry the Frey girl,” he confesses.

“I don’t want you to marry her. But you needed that bridge. I hope it’s a very beautiful bridge”

They kiss.

They have sex.

Yes.

Harrenhal

Tywin Lannister learns that Winterfell has been taken by the Greyjoys and decides to attack Robb’s army while he’s distracted. He assigns Gregor Clegane in charge of Harrenhal and leaves Arya Stark with him.

Alarmed that Tywin is going to attack his brother’s army, Arya looks for Jaqen H’ghar with the intention of giving Tywin’s name as the third of Jaqen’s favors for her.

Tywin has already marched off when she finally finds him. She tells him that she needed Tywin dead “right now” but Jaqen says it is impossible.

She then gives him a third name: Jaqen H’ghar!

“A man can go kill himself,” she says.

“Unname me please,” he demands.

She says she’ll unname him if he helps her and her friends escape.

“This would require more than one life, that is not part of our bargain,” he says.

“Fine. Jaqen H’ghar.”

He relents.

“A girl and her friends will walk through the gate at midnight…”

Awesome.

That night, Arya, Gendry and the fat boy Hot Pie are at the gate. They find that the guards are dead, then they walk out.

King’s Landing

Tyrion Lannister and Bronn are planning the defense of King’s Landing from Stannis Baratheon’s impending attack.

Varys arrives and compliments Bronn on how thievery has been reduced in the city lately. It turns out that in preparation for the attack, Bronn and the Gold Cloaks have rounded up the known thieves in the city. Since things will go crazy when they are attacked he’s made sure that the thieves don’t loot the entire city when it happens.

Tryion identifies a likely place that Stannis might attack, the closest weakest gate: the Mud Gate.

Their only defense?

“Pig shit.”

At Queen Cersei’s quarters, Tyrion has just finished his meal.

“I hear Joffrey plans on fighting,” he tells her.

She’s still bitter about Myrcella being shipped to Dorne, and is now even angrier that Tyrion is sending Joffrey out to fight to his death.

“Do you know why Varys is so dangerous?” she asks.

He says because he has thousands of spies and knows everything they do before they do it.

“He doesn’t have a cock,” she says. (Varys is a eunuch).

“Neither do you.”

LOL!

“Perhaps I’m dangerous too. But you on the other hand are a fool like any other man.”

This leads her to talk about Tyrion’s whore — which is the love of his live and his “weakness.”

She tells him that she has her and brings her in.

To Tyrion’s relief, it’s the wrong whore. It’s Ros. Ros however does not reveal anyting to Cersei and asks Tyrion not to forget her.

“I will free you,” he says.

Well played.

Tyrion then rushes to his true love Shae.

“I’m yours and you are mine,” she tells him.

Meanwhile, Stannis Baratheon is sailing towards King’s Landing. He has a talk with Davos who apparently has an onion as his sigil as he has embraced his “smuggler past”. Stannis tells him of his bitterness that his brother the late King Robert Bartheon had given the Stormlands to their younger brother Renly — even if Stannis defended the castle with 500 men and little supplies. Stannis believes he is the rightful king and names Davos his Hand.

The next day, Joffrey, Tryion and Varys are overlooking preparations for the siege. An overconfident Joffrey however thinks that they should strike the Stark forces since they are distracted. In a private chat, Tyrion and Varys discuss how Tyrion has been a better Hand than his predecessors and enjoys “the game.” Varys gives Tyrion news from Qarth: Daenerys Targaryen lives and has three dragons.

“It will be years before they are fully grown, and then there will be nowhere to hide,” says Varys.

“One game at a time my friend,” says Tyrion.

Qarth

Jorah Mormont tells Daenerys that he has a ship that will take them to Astapor. She insists however that they cannot leave her dragons behind. He tells her that going to the House of the Undying is a trap — but she reminds him that her “magic” is powerful too after surviving the witch’s fire which gave birth to her dragons.

Winterfell

Theon tells Dagmer to put down the charred bodies since the villagers aren’t getting the message anyway. He then hands Dagmer some gold to compensate the farmer for his troubles.

Dagmer tells him that the farmer’s troubles are “done.”

“You want to keep a man silent, you silence him.”

Meanwhile, Maester Luwin spots Osha going to the crypts with some bread! OMG!

He meets with her later, and Osha tells him that the boys should not know about the farmer’s boys who died because Bran would blame himself.
However, Bran is awake listening to them while Rickon and Hodor are alseep.

Bran and Rickon are alive in the crypts in Winterfell! Yes!

I love this show. I cried with joy knowing that Bran and Rickon are still alive. It gave me back hope (for now). “The Prince of Winterfell” it turns out was Bran.

Watch: Game of Thrones – Season 2 Episode 9 – Video Preview – Blackwater

Inside the Episode