Dark Wings, Dark Words (S03E02)
Airdate: 7 April 2013
Written by: Vanessa Taylor
Directed by: Daniel Minahan
Running Time: 56 minutes
The sheer scope of Game of Thrones, even in its third season, remained a potent source of surprise for that portion of the audience which had not ventured into George R.R. Martin’s source novels. For those unacquainted with A Clash of Kings or A Storm of Swords, upon which this season is broadly based, the narrative continued to unfold with a density that could be both exhilarating and daunting. ‘Dark Wings, Dark Words’, the season’s second episode, stands as a prime example of this narrative abundance. Devoid of the large-scale battles or dragon-fueled spectacle that would come to define later episodes, it instead offers a treasure trove of introductions—new characters, clandestine organisations, and foundational concepts—that diligently expand the world of Westeros and tighten the psychological screws on its inhabitants.
One of the most significant concepts formalised here is that of the ‘warg’. The term is first heard north of the Wall, where Jon Snow, now embedded with the wildlings, encounters the scout Orell (Mackenzie Crook). Orell is described as a man who can inhabit the minds of animals, using a bird’s eyes to scout the haunted forest. This ability has immediate, grim utility, as Orell’s avian proxy discovers the grisly remains of the Night’s Watch at the Fist of the First Men. The scene efficiently establishes the wildlings’ tactical advantage while reinforcing the desperate plight of the surviving brothers, with Samwell Tarly’s struggle to keep pace underscoring the physical cost of their retreat.
The concept, however, resonates far beyond the Frostfangs. South of the Wall, in the wolfswood, Bran Stark’s party encounters Jojen and Meera Reed (Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Ellie Kendrick). Jojen, the frail but preternaturally calm boy from Bran’s dreams, explicates the nature of Bran’s own abilities. He identifies Bran not just as a ‘warg’—a skinchanger who can enter the mind of his direwolf, Summer—and hints at the greater ‘greensight’ he must learn to hone. This parallel introduction cleverly binds the supernatural threads of the narrative, suggesting a latent power in the Stark bloodline that may become central to the war against the encroaching cold.
While the Starks grapple with mystical destinies, the more visceral horrors of war continue unabated. Theon Greyjoy’s storyline takes a sharp, brutal turn into torture porn, as he is subjected to excruciating pain by mysterious captors. The episode deliberately obfuscates the identity of his tormentors, offering only the sly, unsettling presence of a servant boy (Iwan Rheon) who claims to be sent by Theon’s sister, Yara. This narrative choice, while generating mystery, also marks the episode’s most notable structural flaw—a rather convenient and over-elaborate enigma that feels somewhat contrived amidst the otherwise grounded political machinations.
Meanwhile, King Robb Stark, the Young Wolf, finds his campaign stalling. The news of his grandfather Hoster Tully’s death is a sombre blow, but the devastating raven from Winterfell, informing him of the castle’s sack and the apparent loss of his brothers, strikes at the very heart of his cause. His demoralisation is palpable, a stark contrast to his earlier invincibility, and signals the beginning of his tragic unravelling.
The episode’s most delightfully cynical developments occur in and around King’s Landing. Here, the political theatre is masterfully stage-managed by the women of House Tyrell. Margaery Tyrell, played with exquisite duplicity by Natalie Dormer, continues her campaign to secure the Iron Throne through marriage. Her manipulation operates on multiple levels: with Sansa Stark, she orchestrates a meeting with her grandmother, the formidable Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg). In the serene gardens of the Red Keep—filmed in the beautiful Trsteno Arboretum near Dubrovnik—Olenna, the ‘Queen of Thorns’, deploys a disarming blend of warmth and shrewdness to win Sansa’s trust and extract the unvarnished truth about Joffrey: he is a ‘monster’. This intelligence is then weaponised by Margaery in a breathtakingly audacious private audience with the king. Feigning shared trauma from her unconsummated marriage to homosexual Renly, she subtly aligns herself with Joffrey’s cruel appetites, admiring his crossbow with a thrill that suggests a disturbing compatibility. Dormer’s performance is a brilliant example of layered deception, portraying a character who is herself playing a role in a deadly game.
The casting of Diana Rigg as Olenna is a symbolic masterstroke. Rigg, who earned fame as the iconic, assertive Emma Peel in The Avengers half a century earlier, embodies a lineage of televised female strength. Her presence immediately establishes Olenna as a matriarch of immense political savvy and wit, a woman who has navigated the patriarchy of Westeros for decades and emerged as its most sharp-tongued operator. While one could read a feminist statement into this casting, the character transcends mere ideology; she is simply superb television, and her first scene instantly becomes one of the series’ most memorable.
Away from the capital, the war’s chaos breeds strange new allegiances. Arya Stark, fleeing Harrenhal with Gendry and Hot Pie, stumbles upon the Brotherhood Without Banners, led by the jovial yet dangerous Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye). This introduction is fascinating precisely because of its historical resonance. The Brotherhood is not a noble house’s army but an ad-hoc militia of peasants, deserters, and outlaws, formed to protect the smallfolk from the depredations of all warring factions. Such groups have existed throughout history during periods of state collapse, and their presence in Westeros lends the conflict a gritty, authentic texture. The scene at the Inn at the Crossroads is rich with tension and revelation, particularly when Sandor ‘the Hound’ Clegane arrives. The history between Clegane and Thoros adds depth, but the real spark ignites when the Hound recognises Arya, setting a new chain of events in motion.
The episode’s most physically compelling sequence belongs to Brienne of Tarth and her captive, Ser Jaime Lannister. Their uneasy journey towards King’s Landing is a battle of wills and weary bodies. Brienne’s rigid honour clashes with Jaime’s pragmatic survivalism, culminating in a daylight duel on a bridge. It is a pathetic, powerful fight: Jaime, malnourished and shackled, is a shadow of the swordsman he once was, and Brienne subdues him with relative ease. Their struggle is brutally interrupted by the arrival of Locke (Noah Taylor) and his men, soldiers of House Bolton. Their capture introduces a new threat and severs the fragile dynamic that had begun to develop between captor and prisoner, propelling both towards fresh horrors.
Dark Wings, Dark Words is an episode that prioritises rich, character-driven exposition over action. It successfully integrates a daunting array of new elements—from the mystical (wargs, greensight) to the political (the Tyrell matriarchy) to the anarchic (the Brotherhood)—without feeling overstuffed. Its strength lies in its commitment to the series’ foundational principle: that words, alliances, and betrayals are the true weapons of Westeros. If it stumbles slightly with the overly cryptic handling of Theon’s torture, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise meticulously crafted piece of television. The episode confirms that even in its third season, Game of Thrones could still surprise, not with shock, but with the slow, deliberate, and utterly compelling expansion of its world.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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