*** Editor’s Note *** This is a 6-part recap of Telltale’s Game of Thrones series. It will be followed by an entire series review. Link to Episode 1 coverage!
After the initial turmoil of Iron From Ice, the characters venture into episode two, The Lost Lords and settle in for a long journey toward an uncertain destiny. Each of them starts to find their place in the world and discovers that fulfilling their particular role is all about accommodating other people’s perceptions.
The episode opens in Yunkai where we finally meet Asher. Our knowledge of him from the first episode was limited to Ethan and his mother’s argument where Asher was described as dangerous and hot-headed, a sort of sociopathic monster. So it is perhaps unexpected to find him seemingly well-adjusted and normal (perhaps just because we control him). Asher displays compassion, and he wants to go home and help his family. Doing so is of course going to be complicated.
Asher needs to raise an army and return home, two things that may require him to continue at least with the appearance of the apparently lawless life of crime he’s been leading. Asher’s character is somewhat strange. He seems conflicted between wanting to be a good person and wanting to let loose and kill everyone. Some of the struggle may be between the prebuilt narrative and the player’s control within that narrative. As presumably level-headed “normal” members of society we, more often than not, would probably choose to have Asher make “normal” level-headed decisions. Even if his character is intended to be reckless or dangerous, by placing him under our control he will naturally shift away from those extreme tendencies toward a more moderate center. We the players are a calming influence, a sort of self-help group designed by Telltale to soothe the savage souls of the troubled citizens of Westeros and Essos.
At the same time, however, we know what must be done to survive in the cruel world of Game of Thrones. We know that you can’t always be a nice person, that you sometimes have to play a part that you might not find appealing. As players this means that we might make decisions for the characters that we don’t personally agree with but that we understand are for a greater purpose. And as characters in the universe, people like Asher know that whatever they do they will be at the mercy of the violence of others. So they’d better be as tough as they can. This is the lesson, in many ways, that Ethan didn’t have time to finish learning in the last episode.
After the credits we’re surprised with the discovery that Rodrik, presumed dead at the battle at The Twins is in fact “not quite dead yet.” An enterprising gravedigger or corpsehauler is attempting to sell the bodies of House Forrester’s dead back to their families but Ser Royland is having none of it. Only we know that Rodrik is among the bodies and that he’s still alive. Unable to cry out loudly enough, we as Rodrik fumble furiously with our game controller to eke out enough strength to push ourselves out of the departing cart and reach out toward anyone who might recognize us. It works, but Rodrik is in bad shape.
Throughout his recovery process Rodrik’s appearance is emphasized above anything else. His face is mangled, and he’s worried what other people will think of him. His family shuts him up in his room, afraid his physical weakness would dishearten their soldiers and embolden their enemies (namely the Whitehills, who’ve garrisoned troops within Ironrath). Only Ethan’s twin sister Talia understands that Rodrik’s presence is required, whatever his appearance might be. She helps him hobble to the great hall to perform his duty as lord.
Just like Ethan in the last episode, Rodrik must put on a show both for his allies and for his enemies. Despite the fact that the wounds he suffered at The Twins “would have killed any other man,” he must appear physically strong to prove his worthiness as lord and to prove that his house isn’t doomed. This results in a lot of posturing and threatening. Rodrik attempts to make House Forrester strong again through sheer force of will. To some extent this is exactly what needs to be done: confidence and courage go a long way toward bolstering the strength of an army. But the fact remains that the physical army the Forresters command has been decimated and when it actually comes to fighting (as it inevitably will) they’re going to need more than the ability to believe that they’ll win. They’re going to need more men.
No sooner is the problem articulated in the great hall of Ironrath than a solution presents itself. A strategic marriage with House Glenmore would provide the military support the Forresters require. Eleana Glenmore was apparently betrothed to Rodrik before this whole mess started but now there is significant question surrounding the matter (he was, after all, dead until very recently). Under pressure from both families, Rodrik and Eleana discuss the subject after she arrives at Ironrath.
“Winning” the heart of Eleana is ostensibly something that Rodrik genuinely wants to do but his family’s scheming makes it all seem like a bit of an act. On top of that, as players of the game the whole romance is turned into a series of challenges that must be overcome, challenges which any self-respecting video game player will stop at nothing to defeat. Lying and faking our way through the courtship is a means to an end: the desired larger outcome of the story. Of course, beyond any such considerations is the simple truth that Telltale’s saga will play out the way they want it to whether we succeed or not. It’s all a game.
Rodrik and Eleana seem to recognize this, to some degree, and like last episode there’s always the feeling that events are already set in motion and are going to turn out the same way no matter what. The couple reminisce about their childhoods together, clearly aware that any feelings they have for each other are the product of their parents’ meddling. So it’s fitting that in the end their relationship is orchestrated not by the whims of their hearts but by the presses of buttons on a game controller.
At the Wall, Gared must prove himself worthy of the Night’s Watch, with the hope of becoming a ranger (to fulfill his uncle’s cryptic command). To do so, like all the new recruits, he must give up his past and don the black uniform that homogenizes everyone at the Wall. The past counts for something to some people in the Watch, but it’s the present that really matters. In addition to giving up his past Gared must also prove himself strong and adept enough to serve as an elite member of the Watch. More than any of the other obstacles the characters in this episode overcome, Gared’s are almost self-consciously game-like.
While in the real world questions like “can you shoot a bow?” and “can you swing a sword?” would be answered by the vast majority of players of Telltale’s game with a resounding “no,” that same population of players is intimately familiar with performing those tasks using a game controller. And the versions of “combat” we’re tasked with in this primarily story-based game are laughably rudimentary (as, arguably, they should be). So while Gared struggles to lift a giant barrel of pitch we simply hold down the move stick and twiddle our thumbs until the scene is over. We perform the duties required of us, just as Gared does, to achieve a greater goal.
And all the while, Mira is getting in over her head… somehow. The schemes behind the scenes at King’s Landing are always a little confusing but the circumstances leading to Mira’s late night subterfuge-turned-stabbing-spree in the garden are anything but comprehensible. (Tyrion did warn us that Mira would be in danger, but would she have ever ventured to the garden at the behest of a secret and poorly-scrawled note left in her ransacked bedroom if she didn’t on some level suspect it to be sourced from the mysteriously omnipresent coal boy? And given his eventual presence at said rendezvous is there any reason to believe he wasn’t involved in some way? In which case, unless he is in league with the Whitehills, the whole encounter in the garden is obfuscated at best.) The players are just as in the dark as Mira is as she flees the scene and washes the blood off her face.
Mira’s is the storyline most overtly filled with performance and pretense, but it’s a constant theme of the series as a whole and of this episode in particular. While many of the characters in the series (video game or otherwise) are aware of this, even mentioning it from time to time, the fact that this particular Game of Thrones story is an actual game makes it all the more relevant. We really are just playing a part.
As they go forward into the next episodes the Forresters will have to decide how important it is to stay true to themselves rather than allowing the expectations of others to shape their actions. Their house is known to be strong-willed (“ironwood doesn’t burn easily”) but even the purest of hearts can be corrupted by the promise of power.
My Choices:
- Mira forged Margaery’s letter
- Rodrik refused to kiss Lord Whitehill’s ring
- Rodrik won betrothal to Elaena Glenmore
- Gared stood up for Cotter after he stole Finn’s knife
- Mira killed her attacker
Tune in next week as we continue our play through!