I feel a bit of sympathy for Jack Gleeson.  His performance as Joffrey has been so pitch-perfect that a number of viewers find it impossible to separate the actor from the role.  I can only hope that he goes on to opportunities that allow him to show his range.  On the other hand, would this episode have been quite so satisfying if he hadn’t been so good at showing how vile Joffrey really was?

Of course, since this is an episode written by George R.R. Martin, we are reminded that Joffrey is only the tip of the psychopathic iceberg.  Ramsey Snow is one of the more terrifying villains of the entire story so far, because he literally believes that everything he does is justified in some twisted way.  He wants to be a true Bolton, and so seeks to transcend his lack of bloodline by living up to the name to the nth degree.  That he pulls others into his crazed orbit, like Miranda, is just a demonstration of how base human nature can be.

That scene wasn’t just a nice reminder of how well he’s conditioned Theon into “Reek”, but his father helps to put matters in the North into perspective.  Roose Bolton was intending to use Theon as collateral against the Greyjoys, to force them into conceding some of the territory they have claimed along the northeastern shore (Moat Cailin).  It’s also a good reminder that Roose Bolton was a key part of the Red Wedding, and effectively the head of the Lannister plan to takeover of the North.

Another takeaway is that the Boltons now know that Bran and Rickon are still alive.  This doesn’t seem to matter much in the case of Rickon; I’m not sure even Martin remembers that the kid is still alive!  But Bran is still journeying north above the wall, and not only has his Warg ability become far more substantial, but it seems linked to a new addition to the mythos.  Something communicated with him through that tree, and we get a reminder of Bran’s vision of a three-eyed crow.

This brings up an interesting question.  When it comes to the magical tree (and it certainly looked different from all the rest of the trees around it), what did the others in the group see?  The Reeds have shown a bit of ability themselves, and they know enough to counsel Bran on the dangers of running about as Summer too much.  Yet they seemed a bit baffled when Bran was communing with whatever (whoever?) was in that tree, pointing them further north.  Something is very different about Bran, but what that might be is still unclear.

Even as Bran seems to be touching on something very old, perhaps even something connected to the Old Gods, things are heating up at Dragonstone with Stannis and Melisandre.  It’s telling that Stannis’ wife has become a true believer, to the point of offering her brother to the Lord of Light, and Stannis is still convinced that his only option is to go along with it all.  It makes the notion of Melisandre spending any time with Shireen far from comforting.

While Davos continues to push his luck, thus keeping the tensions going, this is probably the weakest of the subplots in the episode.  When it comes to the Boltons and Bran, there is at least some sense of where it is going.  There is very little indication of what is coming next for Stannis and his people, other than getting slowly but surely offered to the Lord of Light.  A bit more substance would have been nice.

Of course, there was plenty of substance over in King’s Landing!  And the bulk of the episode and the post-episode discussion will be on the final moments.  But there was a lot more happening than the death of Joffrey Baratheon, first of his name.  In many respects, this episode was all about Tyrion and the swift collapse of the world around him.  Tyrion has been on thin ice ever since his father returned to take control of the kingdom, especially once it was clear that even Tywin wasn’t going to try to keep Joffrey in line.  Tywin is all about maintaining control over the Seven Kingdoms, and if that means letting Joffrey be a brat, so be it.

But Tyrion is actually a decent man, if a bit self-loathing, and so he tries to navigate these waters as best he can.  His offer to have Bronn help Jamie with his training is a solid example, and considering that Jamie is beginning to get the Tyrion-esque treatment himself, this is a good way for them to bond.  Jamie has come very far from the man who pushed Bran out of the window in the series premiere.

Tyrion’s dismissal of Shae was incredibly harsh, but it was also an act of love.  Tyrion knows his father all too well, especially given what happened with his first marriage.  He knows Tywin is more than willing to kill Shae and do it in the most horrifying manner possible, right in front of Tyrion, just to make it very clear what the price of defiance is.  I don’t think for a second that Shae is safe just because she’s on that boat, and the fact that we didn’t see her actually get on said boat and had many reminders that Bronn is a mercenary concerned only with coin makes me very nervous.

Joffrey has been obsessed with punishing Tyrion for all those slights and insults back in the second season, and given that Joffrey is a complete psychopath, he uses his own wedding to the ever-gorgeous Margaery to deliver insult after insult on top of humiliations on his beloved uncle.  Granted, he made sure he tortured Sansa along the way, but considering that she was married off to Tyrion, that’s like two for the price of one.

This being a wedding in Westeros, there was no way that anything good would come of it.  There were far too many people at the reception who wanted the Lannisters in general and Joffrey in particular dead.  Olenna is only one of the prime suspects.  They took a lot of time to get Sansa to tell them how awful Joffrey really was, and one could imagine that it was to decide if Joffrey should survive once Margaery was crowned.

Meanwhile, Oberyn was making it very clear that he was aware that Cersei was no longer in power, and he has been hinting at Martell vengeance since the moment he arrived in King’s Landing.  Somehow I doubt that he’ll shed any tears after Joffrey’s demise!  And since Oberyl reminded all of us that Myrcella is living in Dorne, the death of Joffrey could play very well into the apparent plans of the Martells to wait out the war before making their move.

Putting the finger on Tyrion is all too easy, especially when Ser Dontos is whisking Sansa away at that exact moment.  Was this opportunity, or simple coincidence?  Very little in Westeros is coincidence, so that bears keeping in mind.  But there were enough people at the reception who know better than to think that Tyrion had the opportunity to poison Joffrey.  The fact that Tywin, more perceptive than most, allows Cersei to make her accusations without comment is telling.  Perhaps even Tywin was willing to let Joffrey die.  After all, the next in line is Tommen, who is far more controllable.

One should not forget Varys, either.  Granted, he was a small part of the episode, but when meeting with Tyrion earlier on, he reminded Tyrion that his operating mandate was to preserve the good of the realm.  Varys is all about order at all costs; would killing Joffrey and weakening the Lannisters fit into his conception of the “good of the realm”?  For that matter, where was Littlefinger?  He has made it very clear that he is willing to tear everything down in the name of controlling the rebuilding process.  His absence is actually very suspicious.

Whatever the case, for the moment, the true identity of Joffrey’s assassin is almost moot.  Tyrion is in a terrible position, and he is once again fighting for his life.  The kingdom is in an ever more precarious position now that yet another of the next generation of rulers has fallen.  For all that the war was supposedly over, it is clearly just beginning.