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'Game of Thrones' finale, the Fire will meet the Ice, some thoughts

By April MacIntyre Jun 4, 2012, 12:46 GMT

The “Game of Thrones” season two finale, “Valar Morghulis” brought us the winter, which we knew was coming. Our cliffhanger sees an uncertain fate for Sam, unable to get to the wall fast enough as the zombie hoardes of the undead White Walkers have converged at the base of the wall.

Spoilers - please go away if you have not seen the finale.

"Joffrey is not the sort of boy who gives away his toys." —Littlefinger

My first thought at the last scene of the "Game of Thrones" finale was, 'oh please let the White Walker General eat King Joffrey's spleen in front of him...' That would be some must-see TV.

I think we are all pulling for a righteous gory death for the insufferable twat that sit-eth on the Iron Throne.

Cunning Margaery Tyrell (remember her as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors?) played by the sultry Natalie Dormer wiggled her way into court and totally threw it down in front of hapless Sansa, lurking in the wings. Cersei and the court were gleeful and all in favor of ditching the Stark lass for this more lucrative union.

Sansa (Sophia Turner) sniffles off, only to have LittleFinger manipulate her. What she needs is her big hairy fan Sandor (The Hound) to bust into her chambers and haul her off under the cloak of night. Sansa is the most lackluster female character so far, I am hoping she makes a break for it.

“Valar Morghulis” and last week's “Blackwater” were exceptional episodes in a fantastic season of the women.

The “Game of Thrones” season two finale, “Valar Morghulis” brought us the winter, which we knew was coming. Our cliffhanger sees an uncertain fate for Samwell, unable to get to safety fast enough as the zombie hoardes of the undead White Walkers have converged at the base of yet another imposing Northern wall.

Now we fully understand the Fire and Ice elements of Martin's prose. Daenerys Targaryan and her dragons are recharged and growing in power in the south. The Walkers to the North. Will the Dragons save all people south of the Wall, commanded under the good heart of Daenerys? There will be epic battles to come.

More on the White Walkers' mythology here

So it’s over for now, and the finale, “Valar Morghulis” paints the perfection of the imperfect canvas that George R.R. Martin has given us. There are few heroes, valor and honor are liquid depending on circumstance and good people die young and tragically.

The season's best man was Tyrion Lannister, Peter Dinklage's wry politically adroit Hand of the King who showed more heart than any man in the series.

He languishes after battle, wounded, pushed off by his own family, yet finds solace with Shae (Sibel Kekilli), the whore who has taken him to her heart and given him strength.

The compelling dangling thread is the action across the narrow sea, after a season of wandering and groveling, odd propositions and lies, our Daenerys Targaryan (Emilia Clarke) emerged last night as the true “Mother of Dragons.”

Daenerys faced the trickery in the House of the Undying, fought the liars' mirages of temptation, not sitting on the Iron throne, then turning from her beloved Khal Drogo and their baby after a brief exchange to return to the dragon's prison cell. She summons her power and the dragons have reached a lethal milestone, bad news for the blue magician who intended life imprisonment to the dragons and Daenerys.

Great moment as our blonde Khaleesi steals all the gold in Xaro's palace to buy a ship. Loved when she locked him and his whore inside the empty vault.

Another wonderful dangling thread is our heroic Knight Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), still with her prisoner Jaimie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster Waldau), who tries but cannot make her flinch. Her bravery and deft hand with a sword gives him a moment to rethink his incessant taunting.

I think all women loved her dispatching of the three Stark soldiers who laughed at her and gloated on the hanging dead women, two of whom had a merciful "quick death." Brienne returns the favor of “two quick deaths.” Great scene and another great female character

My biggest questions remain for Arya's (Maisie Williams) Knight H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha), and how his face changes into another. Not having read the books, I can only ask those of you who have to fill me in on what this portends.

The wildcard Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) still looms. Melisandre (Carice van Houten) nearly gets choked out by the least charming of all the Baratheon brothers but is saved by something he sees in the fire. I believe she has pulled a 'True Blood' "glammer" move on him somehow.

King Joffrey is bolstered by his returning grandfather, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance). The once mighty Starks of Winterfell are scattered and sacked. The Targaryan empire looks to be on its way for rebuilding, and the Dothraki influence will be interesting to see meld with a wholly different culture.  

Despite his mother's Lady Catelyn's arranged marriage for him, Robb Stark (Richard Madden) crosses the Freys, and marries his battlefield love. The Starks need friends (and a bunch of carpenters, masons and workers to rebuild their Winterfell) and this was a bad move in the Game.

Poor Theon (Alfie Allen) and his stand at Winterfell tries to fire up his 20 men as a whole army outside waiting for him. "I've known you many years, Theon Greyjoy, and you're not the man you're pretending to be. Not yet." says wise Maester Luwin(Donald Sumpter).  The men knock the fired up Theon out and drag him off. Theon is unwanted and unloved, the sad bastard of the series.

Kleenex moment last night came as Maester Luwin was mortally wounded at Winterfell, and tries to buck up little Bran and Rickon in the woods, as he fades from this mortal coil.

This season two ends with big action up North of the Wall.

Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Qhorin Halfhand (Simon Armstrong) prisoner swordplay ends with a death, and the wildings trust Jon to come to the King of North of the wall.

Our beloved Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) is caught and trapped by a rock as the White Walkers descend. Will he survive?

Season three will tell us.

"Or maybe I refused to enter the Night Lands without you." —Khal Drogo