Plot threads are moving towards some big moments as the second half of the season begins, and this becomes very apparent by the time the trial of Tyrion Lannister comes to something of a close.  Those familiar with how events proceed from here can all but map out the rest of the season, but that doesn’t mean that it will be any less incredible to watch unfold.

 

Tyrion has been fighting the inevitable since the moment he awoke after the Battle of Blackwater Bay.  It was clear throughout the third season that he was going to be lucky to hold on to his dignity with his father and sister in firm control of King’s Landing, and everything that has happened this season is essentially Tywin getting what he has always wanted.  He’ll never have one of his children killed, or he would have done away with Tyrion years ago.  He simply wants Tyrion out of the way, and that means sending him to the Wall.  Should he die there, well, it’s hardly Tywin’s fault at that point, right?

 

And had the humiliation been simply spin on his own actions and choices, then I think Tyrion would have accepted his fate.  Tywin’s decision to crush Tyrion by having Shae take the stand and cruelly rake Tyrion over the coals was several steps too far.  (Granted, it may have been Cersei, but ultimately Tywin is staging this show; he wouldn’t allow it if it didn’t serve his interests.)  Pushing Tyrion that far is never a good idea, even if it results in one of the best speeches and moments of the entire season.

 

The problem is that Tywin is making the mistake that so many other players of the game make: he feels entirely too comfortable sitting on that throne (even if it is technically in Tommen’s stead, but let’s be serious!).  He has orchestrated his family’s rise to power so well that even with the shocking death of Joffrey, he was able to spin it to his overall advantage.  It never occurs to him that it would be his own children that would prove the hardest to control.

 

Invoking the “trial by combat” calls back to the first season, when Tyrion was in a similar show trial, fighting to survive the wrath of Catelyn Stark at the Eyrie.  It will be interesting to see who ends up fighting on Tyrion’s behalf.  Even without prior knowledge from the source material, there has been some foreshadowing in previous episodes that points to a memorable and meaningful confrontation.

 

Meanwhile, beyond the trial, the game continues.  While Tywin doesn’t spend any time debating whether or not Stannis is a threat, he should have been paying attention.  Daenerys has the potential to be a problem down the line, provided she ever makes it out of Slaver’s Bay, but Stannis is making a move that is far more meaningful.  Swaying the Iron Bank of Braavos to fund his next moves in a war that is far from over, he effectively shines a light on the serious debt of the current regime.  And it also means that Stannis now has the means to rally support and strike where he chooses.  Or rather, where Melisandre chooses, as he does little without her guidance.

 

As if to remind the audience that the North is a complete and utter mess, Yara invades the Dreadfort in the hopes of freeing Theon.  This is not a scene in the source material, but it serves a dual purpose.  First, it reminds us that the Ironborn are still out there and part of the whole mix, and have taken territory that others wouldn’t mind taking back.  Second, it highlights just how damaged Theon really is, to the point where Ramsey’s suggestion that he play Theon Greyjoy for his next scheme actually sounds like a role Reek will be playing.

 

Over in Meereen, Daenerys is beginning to see how different ruling can be from conquering.  Frankly, she had it easy when all she had to do was have her army kill some folk who were used to ruling by fear.  Now she has to deal with the consequences of her decisions, because there are people still around to call her out on it.  She can’t control her dragons, she can’t ignore those in Meereen who she has gravely insulted, and she can’t simply change her mind and move on, because using Slaver’s Bay as a lesson in empire building is precisely the point.

 

It’s worth noting that something significant took place in this episode, something that might easily have been missed, given the spectacle at the very end.  Varys has a rather uncomfortable conversation with Oberyn, one in which it is very clear that Oberyn is trying to insult Verys into some kind of reaction.  It’s petty, but it ends with Varys making it very clear that he is playing the game as much, if not more, than anyone else in King’s Landing.  And that is something to take into consideration.  Since Varys has no claim to title that would allow him to take the throne, who might he be seeking to put on the Iron Throne?  Especially as he seems to indicate that it isn’t those currently in the running?

 

In the final analysis, this episode simply underscored the reason why Peter Dinklage is the very first name we see when the opening theme begins.  There are many capable performers in the cast, but Dinklage takes one of the best characters of the entire story and renders him perfectly.