Chris: Good morning Andrew. Last night’s Game of Thrones episode was, in my opinion, excellent. Overlapping thematic consistency, mixed with the crescendo of plot leading to two excellently performed moments: Oberyn’s speech to Tyrion, and the Flying of Lysa. A lot happened. So let’s get going. What did you think of last night’s Game of Thrones?

Andrew: …

Chris: Forgive me. You’re on vacation this week. I’ll take it from here.

Last night left me thinking about strategy for the game. Is it an advantage to play the game of thrones with an emotionless, deliberate zeal? Or better to be reactive, emotional, pliable? I would never have asked that question prior to “Mockingbird” but it seems there is some distance being drawn between these options as we close in on the end of season 4. We saw several paths to the throne last night. One is the path of Daenarys Targaryen.

Dany is reactive, pliable and knows she has much to learn. Her long term plan may be to take the Iron Throne, but that’s no plan at all. For now, she’s learning. In Mereen, she sleeps with Dario-indulging her own pleasures (I love that Dany pours only 1 glass of wine, for herself, beforehand)-then sends him and his men out to sack Yunkai, another city ruled by slavers, with orders to kill all the masters. Dario leaves and immediately Ser Jorah arrives to argue against her plans. Killing all the master uniformly pretends they are all uniformly evil. “There is good and evil on every side in every war ever fought”, Jorah tells Dany. “Let the priests argue over good and evil,” the Mother of Dragons responds. “Slavery is real. I can end it.” The dialogue here may be a bit on-the-nose (a problem at times for Dany, I think), but the scene is powerful for showing the true nature of Dany as a ruler: One who listens and responds. When Ser Jorah says he “wouldn’t be here if Ned Stark had done to me what you want to do to the masters of Yunkai,” Dany changers her mind and her plans.

The other path is taken by Petyr Baelish. Littlefinger strikes me as the most dangerous man in Westeros. Every move he makes has the feel of extreme dedication to the plan. He observes everything, and strategizes constantly. Watching Sansa play with, then slap, Robin; speaking sweetly to Sansa, then kissing her; defending Sansa to Lysa , then throwing Lysa to her death out of the Moon Door (also, HOLY SHIT!). I cannot watch Littlefinger without thinking about his deliberation. He is responsible for the death of two kings. He married his way up the ladder only to murder his wife. It is no accident that the poisoner of kings has made his way to the Eyrie. Like Dany, he wants the Iron Throne, but his plans are crafted with care, completely secret, and so far entirely successful. Whether Littlefinger is ruled by his love for Catelyn Stark-not likely-or a desire for power and glory-likely-there’s no questioning the clarity of his craft. He now rules the Vale from its impenetrable stronghold. Baelish is a zealot for power, and, perhaps even more dangerous than his zeal is his attention to detail.

There are others of course, Stannis and his witch, the Tyrells, each with their own plans, too. But I’ve yet to see exactly what kind of players they’ll be. Regardless, watching strategic mindsets of those seeking the Iron Thrones has always been one of Game of Thrones greatest pleasures. And as we near another season finale, it will be exciting to see whose plans pay off.

But even more exciting (Andew, come back and help me segue!) these days than those trying to win the Iron Throne are those with simpler interests, like revenge, or not dying. “Mockingbird” gave extended time to Tyrion’s search for a champion, Brienne and Pod’s search for Sansa Stark, and Arya and the Hound’s wandering about the landscape.

We also met The Mountain, brother of the Hound and one who cuts out guts, who will represent Cersei in Tyrion’s trial by combat. Leave it Game of Thrones to introduce a character through unexplained gore and violence. Who exactly was the Mountain hacking up with his broadsword outside the walls of King’s Landing? What does it matter? The point is he’s very muscular and violent. We got the point.

And Tyrion’s champion? After Jaime refuses due to being reduced to a mediocre one-handed swordsman, and Bronn is bought off by Cersei with a marriage and a promise of wealth, Tyrion finds himself represented by an unlikely ally, Oberyn Martell. The smoothest man in Westeros, a lover and a poet and a man of refined tastes, Oberyn Martell has never hidden his purpose for coming to King’s Landing: to exact revenge upon the Lannisters for the murder of his sister, a murder carried out by…The Mountain.

Not to get redundant, but Pedro Pascal as Oberyn has been one of the great delights of season 4. Pascal wasted no time finding the heart of Oberyn’s character (it starts in the posture and neck movements), but the writers have rewarded him with some of the juiciest dialogue in return: “It is rare to meet a Lannister who shares my enthusiasm for dead Lannisters.” (Pascal makes Oberyn’s hatred of the Lannisters wondrous to behold). Oberyn’s visit with Tyrion in prison, and his story of visiting the Lannister family upon the birth of the monstrous dwarf child, was moving, but also revalatory story-building. Peter Dinklage and Pascal make great work of a soft-spoken but momentous scene, one of the best of the season.

We’ve got to make mention of the Stark children because they’re undergoing an interesting switch in my head: Sansa is getting more and more interesting, as Arya becomes less so. Still, with everything happening in Game of Thrones, I cannot shake the feeling that whenever this long and winding story comes to a close, the Stark girls will be the final piece of the puzzle bringing the picture to completion. Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but who cares. I love these gals.

Arya continues to create the mask of stoic murdering avenger, and again it slips and we see her as a child in too big boots. When Arya tells the dying man on the road that nothing is not better or worse than anything else, because “nothing is just nothing,” it’s apparent how hard she must work to maintain her new life. Once again, Arya kills a man in her attempt to convince herself of her new role. Once again, she bickers with the Hound as they’re relationship takes shape. Once again, she’s is moved by the Hound, this time the story of being burned and his fear of fire, and despite the Hound’s name being on her list, she finds she cares for him, and aids him with treating his wound. And so Arya becomes a little more like The Hound: pretending to be a stoic, emotionless brute, but in reality is filled with emotion and hurt. I’ve come to love both of these characters. And I hope they find something to do soon because last night was basically a rerun of Arya and The Hound (make a great cartoon).

Which brings us finally, to Sansa Stark. Above I spoke of the divergent paths to the Iron Throne represented by Dany and Littlefinger. Both strategies depend upon being able to manipulate lesser pieces in the game, and to these players, Sansa is a central piece. The world believes Sansa Stark always swims out of her depth, a child afraid, a pawn to be traded or married away, or whisked to safety for yet another round of manipulation. Time and again Sansa’s life is carried by others-last night as Lysa held her above the Moon Door-yet Sansa carries on, here and there as needed, always outlasting the plans of others. Since the beginning of season 1, this has been the Sansa Stark Westeros has experienced, and most believe still exists.

But this forgets what Sansa has endured. She was to wed Joffrey, become daughter-in-law to Cersei, and member of the family who beheaded her father and had her mother and brother murdered. Where Arya pretends to be hardened against the world that orphaned her, perhaps Sansa only pretends to be soft, and in need of men like Tyrion or Petyr Baelish to protect her. Her role is to play the sweet child. But Sansa’s no fool to what’s unfolding around her, right? I have no idea what is going to happen in the Eyrie, with Petyr Baelish skeeving on her in the place of his dead lover. But I’m confident that whatever happens, Sansa will survive this too.

Okay, well, we’ll see you next week Andrew, when you’re home from your vacation. This isn’t nearly as fun without you. For anyone.