Television Review: What Is Dead May Never Die (Game of Thrones, S2X03, 2012)

What Is Dead May Never Die (S02E03)

Airdate: 15 April 2012

Written by: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Directed by: Alik Sakharov

Running Time: 52 minutes

The epic scope of Game of Thrones is both its greatest strength and its most persistent narrative challenge. When a television series constructs a world as sprawling as Westeros, populated by dozens of factions, each with their own histories, motivations, and internal conflicts, entire hour-long episodes can pass without advancing the plot in any meaningful sense. Instead, these episodes function as elaborate exercises in exposition, moving chess pieces into position for the apocalyptic clashes yet to come. What Is Dead May Never Die, the third episode of Season 2, is a textbook example of this phenomenon. Its primary purpose is to introduce new factions, new characters, and their respective agendas, laying the groundwork for the chaos of the War of the Five Kings without delivering any major set-pieces or dramatic reversals of fortune. It is, for all its craftsmanship, an episode of preparation rather than payoff.

The most significant introduction in the episode is the faction supporting Renly Baratheon. By conventional criteria at this point in the series, Renly has the best chance of emerging victorious from the ensuing civil war. His army is the largest, boasting the greatest number of men, and his claim, while legally inferior to Stannis's, carries the weight of popularity and southern wealth. Yet Catelyn Stark, who arrives at his camp to negotiate a potential alliance, immediately identifies the rot beneath the surface. She notes that most of Renly's manpower consists of young knights hounding for glory and opportunistic nobles who expect a short, triumphant war. These are men unprepared for true hardship, for the brutal realities of siege and scorched earth that define warfare in Westeros. They are tournament fighters, not killers. Renly's other significant vulnerability is his homosexuality, a fact of which his wife Margaery Tyrell is acutely aware. Margaery, played with considerable intelligence by Natalie Dormer, warns her husband that he cannot afford to have his supporters whispering behind his back. Any nasty rumours must be put to rest, and the most effective way to do so is for her to conceive. This scene establishes Margaery as a pragmatic political operator, one who understands that perception is often more important than reality in the game of thrones.

While Renly's camp enjoys the comforts of the south, another faction prepares for war in the north. Theon Greyjoy learns that his father Balon intends to invade the North, whose lands have been left undefended because the Starks have sent all their forces south to fight Joffrey. Balon's plan is opportunistic and ruthless, and he assigns his daughter Yara thirty ships for the invasion while giving Theon a single, humiliating vessel. Theon briefly contemplates warning his old friend Robb about his father's treachery, a moment of genuine moral conflict that speaks to his fractured identity. He is caught between the family that raised him and the family that birthed him. In the final moment, he changes his mind and decides to follow his father, symbolically confirming his allegiance through a baptism ceremony. The scene, scored by Ramin Djawadi's powerful music, is one of the more memorable moments of the season, capturing Theon's desperate need for belonging and his tragic choice to embrace the worst aspects of his heritage.

Further north, beyond the Wall, Jon Snow has survived his encounter with Craster, the wildling who sacrifices his sons to the White Walkers. Craster allows the Night's Watch rangers to leave his keep but demands they depart immediately. Jon reports what he witnessed, only to learn that the Lord Commander was already aware of Craster's practices. The old man explains this with the cold pragmatism of the Watch: they must sometimes ignore the questionable practices of their assets beyond the Wall in order to maintain access and intelligence. It is an uncomfortable lesson in moral compromise for Jon. Meanwhile, Samwell Tarly promises Gilly that he will help her when the rangers return to Craster's keep, a vow that plants the seeds for future conflict and demonstrates Sam's quiet courage.

In King's Landing, Tyrion Lannister continues to establish himself as the true power in the city. He hides his lover Shae by employing her as Sansa Stark's personal servant, despite Shae's obvious lack of experience in such matters. But his most effective manoeuvre is a brilliant piece of psychological warfare. He decides to marry off his teenage sister Myrcella (Aimee Richardson) to forge a much-needed alliance for the weakened Lannisters. He informs three Small Council members—Pycelle, Varys, and Baelish—of his intentions but tells each a different groom, warning them all not to inform the queen. When Cersei arrives furious over Myrcella being shipped to Dorne to secure an alliance with House Martell, Tyrion knows that Pycelle betrayed him. He has the old maester arrested and thrown into a black cell. Baelish is furious at being manipulated, but Tyrion offers him a diplomatic mission towards Renly and Catelyn Stark, turning a potential enemy into a useful tool. This sequence represents some of the most effective political theatre in the series so far, and it is followed by Varys's speech about the true nature of power, which would become one of the most quoted passages of dialogue from the entire show.

On the road northwards, Yoren's caravan is intercepted by Lannister men. Yoren puts up a fierce resistance, and in the ensuing chaos, Arya frees prisoners from a burning cart, including the mysterious Jaqen H'ghar. Yoren dies in the attack, and Polliver (Andy Kellegher), a Lannister man-at-arms, kills the wounded boy Lommy Greenhands (Eros Vlahos). Everyone, including Arya and Gendry, is ultimately captured. When asked where Gendry is, Arya points to Lommy, who has been holding Gendry's helmet before he died. It is a moment of quick thinking that saves Gendry's life and demonstrates Arya's growing survival instincts in a world that has shown her no mercy.

What Is Dead May Never Die also represents the directing debut of Alik Sakharov, a filmmaker previously renowned as a director of photography for HBO shows, including the first season of Game of Thrones. Sakharov would continue his career as a director and go on to make many memorable episodes, bringing his visual expertise to bear on the narrative demands of the series.

The most important part of the episode is the introduction of Renly's camp. Renly's army is supposed to be the strongest and provide the biggest spectacle of the season. Yet the scene looks remarkably underwhelming. This might be explained less by budgetary constraints and more by logistical issues and weather problems on the Irish locations. The result is a camp that feels smaller and less impressive than it should, undermining the visual argument for Renly's superiority.

Margaery Tyrell, played by Natalie Dormer, is arguably the most physically attractive character in the series, but Dormer brings far more than mere looks to the role. Having previously broken out as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors, she handles the role with considerable skill, despite some creative choices by the producers, such as casting a 29-year-old actress to play a character who is 15 in the books. Dormer dutifully disrobes herself in front of the camera, but the scene, far from being exploitative, shows Margaery as an extremely pragmatic character who does her best to overcome the problems that her husband's homosexuality might create for their cause.

Another important introduction is Brienne of Tarth, a female knight who excels through her extraordinary height and androgynous looks, earning a position in Renly's Kingsguard. Gwendoline Christie excels in a role that would define much of her career. The introduction of Brienne, although the character was faithfully adapted from the books, marks the start of a trend in which HBO tries to cater to the progressive sensibilities of its millennial audience, bringing content that challenges the rigid patriarchal world of Westeros. This trend would be brought further by the increasingly "girlboss" portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in later seasons.

An interesting production note concerns Julian Glover, who played Pycelle. Unlike Dormer and so many of his younger colleagues, Glover refused to appear naked in the scene of his arrest, when he is caught in the company of a nude prostitute. His character was ultimately allowed to keep his robes in the scenes, a small but telling detail about the different standards applied to veteran actors.

What Is Dead May Never Die is an episode of careful positioning. It introduces Renly's flawed strength, Theon's tragic choice, Tyrion's cunning, and Arya's hardening resolve. It lacks the spectacular moments that define the series at its best, but it provides the essential context that makes those moments meaningful. It is an episode of exposition, but exposition executed with intelligence and purpose.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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