Game of Thrones (TV Series) The Ghost of Harrenhal (2012) User Reviews

Fire Is Power

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 23 April 2014]

Catelyn and Renly agree to join their armies but out of the blue, he is assassinated by the shadow creature in front of Catelyn and Brienne that are forced to flee from the camp. Renly's army joins Stannis's army and Tyrion foresees an attack to Cersei that is not worried. Tyrion forces Lancel to tell him what she is plotting and he tells that she had contacts with the alchemists. Tyrion learns that they have thousands of pots of the dangerous flammable Wildfire for the protection of the King's Landing. Arya stumbles with Jaqen that is now a guard and he promises three deaths for her because she saved his and two other prisoners' lives and she asks the torturer Tickle. Daenerys is welcomed in Qarth and Xaro proposes to marry her and help her to retrieve the Iron Throne.

"The Ghost of Harrenhal" shows the weird shadow creature and how dangerous the witch Melisandre is. The smart Arya is doing well working for Tywin Lannister and now she has the chance to eliminate three enemies. Daenerys may be in danger in the mysterious Qarth, but she has a good adviser protecting her. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "The Ghost of Harrenhal"

One less king

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 19 October 2015]

As this episode opens Catelyn Stark and Renly Baratheon negotiate an alliance between their forces and Renly promises that his forces will crush those of his brother Stannis in the morning. He doesn't get chance though as a strange creature, like a man made of smoke, appears and kills Renly before vanishing just as quickly. Catelyn tells his guard, Brienne of Tarth, to leave with her as she is accused of the killing.

Back in King's Landing Tyrion Lannister learns some details of his mother's plans; she has been ordering the manufacture of wildfire; a liquid that burns like dragons' breath. Joffrey intends to catapult it onto any invading fleet; an idea scoffed at by Bronn who states that is a good recipe for burning down the capital.

Across the Narrow Sea Daenerys' and her people have been allowed to enter the great city of Qarth and people are taking an interest in her, and her dragons. Some are sinister while others are almost seductive; Xaro Xhoan Daxos offers her half the content of his vault and the Iron Throne… if she marries him; something Jorah Mormont counsels against.

Elsewhere Arya who is now serving as cupbearer to Tywin Lannister learns that she is owed three favours; because she saved the lives of Jaqen H'ghar and his two companions they will take three lives for her… any three lives. North of the wall the Night Watch are approaching Mance Rayder's Wildlings and Jon Snow asks to be allowed to join the small raiding party that is to attack them.

As is usual this episode contains multiple story lines and us usual we spend just the right amount of time in each location. The opening scene came as quite a shock even though we'd seen the birth of the 'smoke man' at the end of the previous episode. The special effects were impressive but not overused; once the creature has slain Renly it vanishes leaving Brienne to face those who rush to the scene; while the character isn't the most talkative Gwendoline Christie does a fine job in the role. It isn't a surprise that Peter Dinklage continues to impress as Tyrion Lannister; he is ably supported in most of his scenes by Jerome Flynn who plays his bodyguard Bronn. The scene between Maisie Williams and Charles Dance, as Arya and Tywin Lannister, is notable in that little happens but there is the feeling that Arya could be exposed at any moment… it was great how the younger actress could hold her own against the older, well established, actor who was also on top form. While not much happens in the scenes north of the wall that doesn't mean they are boring; they show us just how bleak it is up there and tell us more about the as yet unseen Mance Rayder. Likewise the scenes in Qarth are more about hinting at what is to come… what is in the wealthy Xaro's famed vault and who is the sinister character who approached Daenerys at the reception. Overall another fine episode that hints at interesting things to come.

Best Episode Of Season Two So Far At Midway Point

[slightlymad22 · 8/10 · 11 November 2014]

At the midway point of the second season this, is my favourite episode so far.

Plot In A Paragraph:A King falls as the end of the Baratheon rivalry forces Catelyn to flee with Brianne. At King's Landing, Tyrion's source alerts him to Joffrey's flawed defence plan and secret weapon. Theon sets sail to prove he is worthy to be called Ironborn. In Harrenhal, Arya receives a special promise from Jaqen H'ghar, one of three prisoners she saved from the Gold Cloaks.

Special praise for this episode must go to Maisie Williams, I have been vocal about my praise for her, and now she ups the game and is even more brilliant in her scene with Charles Dance. Both are superb. She also shares a brilliant scene with Jaqen H'ghar, the brilliant Tom Wlaschiha. I hope we get to see a lot more of him, given his promise to Arya it looks like we will.

A Solid List of Events buy I Worry the Shadow Man Is a Bit Much.

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 30 April 2015]

Catelyn and Renley decide to join forces but he is suddenly killed. The armies decide to unite. Back at the castle, Tyrion discovers that the king and his mother have pots of wildfire to be used in case they are needed to squelch the enemy. Arya is given three wishes by Jaqen for saving his life. She is recognized as a girl and asked to serve the master. Meanwhile, Daenerys and her followers goes to Qarth. They are about to be turned away and then are welcomed in, thanks to an intervention by one of the Thirteen. He later offers her marriage as a way to finance her rise to the iron throne. She must think this over because she is warned that this would make her beholden to these people. Things are ready to boil. However, I am concerned about that shadow man because it injects an element of the supernatural that even in a fantasy story, kind of breaks the rule. At least the dragons are a part of the established world and known of from the beginning.

As in the first series with 'the wolf and the lion', the story heats up in episode 5!

[fatwelshhippie · 10/10 · 1 May 2012]

After the somewhat weak episode last week, It looked like episode 3; what is dead may never die, would be the the strongest episode of the first half of the season. However the ghost of Harrenhal proves that wrong - covering every storyline except Robb and Jaime's and greatly pushing the plot forward. The Jaqen three death scenes were fantastic, as were the Tyrion kings landing scenes. The only problems i can find with it is that Renly's death was not as shocking as in the books and the tickler died instead of wheeze - cutting out his awesome death scene in book 3. This is tiny nit picking though. The story was exciting, the politics was interesting and the hints of what is to come make as always the wait to next week excruciating. Again the acting was absolutely phenomenal from everyone involved. The gold stars go this week to Jerome Flynn, Tom Wlaschiha and Gwendoline Christie as Bronn, Jaqen and Brienne who all seem like they've made the characters literally jump out of the book into reality. The stage has been set up for everything to kick-off in the second half of the season. An exciting end to the first half to the second season!

Another Good Episode

[Rainey-Dawn · 9/10 · 16 September 2018]

Season 2, episode 6. Catelyn and Brianne form an alliance after the death of one of the Baratheons. Daenerys has agreed to sail to Westeros with her hatchlings. Tyrion finds the secret weapons. Theon sails to prove he is of Ironborn against Robb Stark. Jaquen H'ghar helps Arya by granting her three deaths for the 2 men plus himself that she saved.

9/10

Yet another excellent episode

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 19 December 2017]

Came to 'Game of Thrones' fairly late in the game and due to being so busy the binge-watching was gradual. Have found myself truly loving the show, very quickly becoming one of my favourites. It totally lives up to the hype and not only does it do the brilliant source material justice (a rarity in television) it is on its own merits one of the finest, most addictive and consistently compelling shows in recent years and quality-wise it puts a lot of films in recent years to shame.

"The Ghost of Harrenhal" is another excellent episode, if not quite one of the best. My only complaint is, like other critics criticising the scene, the treatment of Renly. It just seemed so out of nowhere and rushed, judging from the aftermath too what should have been shocking came over as indifferent.

Everything else is brilliant though. Standout scenes were two. One was the exchange between Arya and Tywin, which is very powerfully written and acted with one of the cast's most experienced and charismatic actors in Charles Dance being matched by a younger and less prolific one in Maisie Williams. The other is Brienne and Catelyn's pledge, with superlatively powerhouse performances from Gwendoline Christie and Michelle Fairley.

Visually, "The Ghost of Harrenhal" looks amazing. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. The visual effects are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. A standout is the dragon, which actually looks real. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.

One cannot talk about "The Ghost of Harrenhal" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.

It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is once again. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions such as suspenseful tension, poignant pathos and witty humour. The story is paced beautifully, structured with such nuance and attention to coherence which is truly remarkable for so much going on in narrative and characterisation, a high emotional level and is done with intelligence, passion and sensitivity.

Charles Dance, Maisie Williams, Gwendoline Christie and Michelle Fairley in particular are just superb here, they consistently were in 'Game of Thrones' but all four give some of their best work.

In summary, excellent. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The Ghost of Harrenhal, S2 EP5 review

[mohammedadallawati · 9/10 · 3 November 2022]

Soundtrack : (9.1/10) Dialogue : (9.3/10) Story : (9.3/10) Cinematography : (9.1/10) Character development : (9.3/10) Conflict : (9/10) Excitement : (9/10) Reasonableness : (9.4/10) Overall : (9.2/10)

Pros :

• The episode starts with a shocking scene of Renly's death. Ughh... It's so sad that he died right after agreeing on teaming up with Robb, many things would've changed.

• Cersei's scenes with Tyrion are always great.

• It's fun seeing Tyrion torturing Lancel.

• Comedy is used really well, when needed and doesn't feel forced by any means

• Theon meeting his crew was amazing. The fact that he returns home just to be mocked on by his family, then his crew makes him so pathetic. This shows how it was a mistake betraying Robb. Theon tries to be another man that he just isn't.

• Arya's face off with Tywin is amazing and full of tension. We can tell that Tywin really appreciates Arya.

• Jaqen h'gar is amazing. It's so cool having the ability to kill any 3 people you name. This ability opens a new avenue that we have yet to discover.

-Brienne develops and decides to serve Catelyn in a great scene.

Cons :

• Quarth needs more conflicts as Daenerys's arc isn't as interesting as it could be.

• Many avenues opens up in Quarth such as the Warlocks and the Quaith that we never knew anything about and never will. So it feels wasted after watching the whole show.

The episode defines the season not the show.

[GusherPop · 10/10 · 1 March 2023]

Just when you think the first clash of kings promised in the book of the same name is coming, something just has to get in the way. While the Starks and Lannisters war for the North and Greyjoy of the Iron Islands prepares his assault on Winterfell, Baratheon and Baratheon ends up being something of a dud. It's hard for brother to fight brother when one brother ends up dead, a giant Tilda Swinton-alike bodyguard ends up on the run, and the Baratheon bannermen switching teams. Might the balance of power have shifted in Westeros, or does Littlefinger have his little fingers on a new pawn in the Game of Thrones? Since it seems like the show has introduced all its locations for this season, it must be said that the shooting locations were incredible this week. From the looks of the North beyond the wall, Game of Thrones must be shooting in Iceland, because it just looks cold and foreboding and terrifying where the Night's Watch are marching in their war on Mance Rayder and his wild savages. Ditto Qarth, which was one of the most impressive stages the show has had. It's so vibrant and full of life, and it only needs a few interior shots to live up to the promise it revealed when Xaro Xhoan Daxos (Nonso Anozie) cuts his hand to give her entrance. Dany is a queen in need of a king, and Xaro Xhoan Daxos is a savage from the Iron Islands in need of pedigree. As the show has established, everyone wants something from someone else. Dany needs troops and ships to recapture the Iron Throne, Xaro wants political power to go with his wealth, Robb wants freedom for the Northmen, Greyjoy wants his position back, the Lannisters want to hold onto the Seven Kingdoms, and Stannis wants his brother's old seat on the Iron Throne. Will the participants, like Stannis, make compromises to get what they want and betray their principles, or will they, like Brienne, try to do things honorably while still getting their desires met? Speaking of Stannis and his flexible morals, Game of Thrones is handling the supernatural in some interesting ways. There's power in the magic of Melisandre and her shadowy vaginal assassin, but there's more power in steel and good men at your side and in the wildfire of the Targaryens. Even Dany's dragons, small and mostly helpless now, are nothing without handlers and riders and a team to control them. Magic is fun-as we saw with Dany meeting the warlocks of Qarth-but it is of limited use in this universe. At least, so far. Power takes many forms in Westeros and, for the moment, it seems to be the least powerful form of power behind arms and knowledge. Then again, the dragons were dead for hundreds of years before making a comeback; maybe by the time the show is into season four, magicians will be fighting warlocks and magic knights will be riding dragons into battle. Will dragons and their magic fire be able to ward off the cold of the north? After all, winter is coming. They can't get everyone in every episode, but what they have been doing is finding a way to pair off characters who seem to complement one another. For example, the new pairing of Brienne and Catelyn Stark. Brienne is the brawn, Catelyn is the brains; like Tyrion and Bronn, they work well together. Another pairing that works well is Arya and Tywin. (Or Arya or anyone, really; Maisie Williams is great, and her character plays nicely with Gendry, Tywin, Jaquen, Syrio, or her late father Ned.) This allows characters to flesh out and establish relationships with one another and move the plot along briskly.

They call him the Young Wolf

[dannylee-78082 · 8/10 · 16 February 2022]

1. Renly is killed.

2. Arya puts out a hit 3. Daenerys gets proposed

Exciting episode with lots of actions. The battle for the throne is in chaos now that Renly's force is dispersed for the most part. Tywin Lannister's stern leadership combined a generous heart, shown when he let all the prisoners live, render him an interesting character to me. I am curious to see what role Arya will play now that he is in his inner circles.

Oh man, the Night's Watch looked so cold. I wonder they filmed it if it wasn't CG.

Daenerys out there just doing her own things basically unwatched because Robert was the one who wanted her dead. It's unclear if people are sent out to kill her still or if Joffrey cares at all.

I want to praise the show's time allocation to each character. There's a lot of subplots to cover and they are all mostly interesting. I think they divide up the time expertly, never losing the pacing or the drive in each show. And it doesn't feel formulaic because each episode has a different focal moment.

Some interesting developments

[IamInge · 8/10 · 23 June 2019]

This and the previous episode does not constitute the best stretch of the series. Still, this episode nicely sets the stage for interesting things to come.

"Anyone can be killed" - applicable as well for the show's flawlessness

[stillworkingfortheknife · 17 August 2013]

Sure, Tywin Lannister's conversation with Arya Stark, his new cupbearer whose identity he's unaware of, was phenomenal work by the screenwriters and the actors. Agreed, Qarth is just as fabulous in this episode as it was when we got a quick glimpse at it in "Garden of Bones". Just as important, the mindblowing landscape shots in Iceland, the setting used for the trek of the Night's Watch. And as always, the debate between Tyrion and Cersei is such fun to watch.

But there is another major story part that ruined the whole episode for me: Renly's death. I disliked the ending of the previous episode already, however, the story worsens again and I ended up being more disappointed than at any other occasion in the whole series. It's not that I'm enraged about his character dying, but in my opinion, this was so cheaply done by George R. R. Martin and had me losing my faith in Game of Thrones for a moment. A mythical shadowy creature coming into Renly's tent, killing him, and then disappearing again? Are you kidding me? I couldn't help but laugh at the silliness of this scene and even more so the ones that followed. Brianne pledging fealty to Catelyn somewhere in the woods looked like the beginning of a bad lesbian porno movie, Finn Jones did a terrible job at portraying the emotions of his character after his lover died, and Aidan Gillen bugged me due to him reading his text like a vegetable. Natalie Dormer was very interesting, however, as we unexpectedly got to see a new side of her character.

Stannis and Davos conversing wasn't especially well-made either and the protracted scene got a bit boring. Same goes for little schoolboy Theon getting repeatedly bullied by his pals, his sis, and his daddy – lame! But then, the pros of "The Ghost of Harrenhal" made it worth my while after all, even though it took some time to get them. During the episode's first 20 minutes, we were presented an assemblage of everything I disliked about it and the quality only slowly improved after that. Near the end, though, we got Jaqen H'ghar defeating Tyrion in terms of awesomeness, while the very token imp was busy discovering a huge secret Cersei tried to hide from him. Informant for that was, by the way, the prettiest girl in King's Landing: Lancel Lannister.

What made me fell in love with at least the second half of this episode were the scenes at Qarth. The rich independent city somewhere in the complete desert gives us some of the coolest character introductions of the whole season and one of television's most beautiful settings with its market place. Additionally, Khaleesi Daenerys finally gets to be pretty again and, as we've seen in parts of season one, her impersonator, Emilia Clarke, is extraordinarily talented at that as long as she isn't stranded in the dirt without anything to eat.

Now, how profound are the scenes I disliked in my rating? It adds up to the worst rating I've ever gave a Game of Thrones episode, yet the looming war makes me stay positive about the series' and this season's future.

Conspiracy .throne. new pretendant

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 4 June 2022]

I found the episode still slow in the developpment and take time to tell the objectives of all the characters . We witness a strange shadows who murdered the future king .we still dont know what is that shadow. Daenerys will fight for the trone and have maybe a new husband ? A the end another guy get killed . The epsiode is still pretty interesting and we wait to know how all of this will end.

Standard Game of Thrones Episode.

[ououzaza · 8/10 · 11 April 2019]

• Story (4/5)
• Soundtrack (5/5)
• Dialog (5/5)
• Graphic (4/5)
• Reasonableness (3.5/5)
• Entertainment (3.5/5)
• Overall (4/5)

A lot of story

[aazziizz-85383 · 10/10 · 21 May 2019]

You must See the episode again !! There is a lot of story

GOT Binge...

[jcbsn · 8/10 · 22 June 2016]

As predicted, Satan is a great killer to have in the battlefield. Tyrion figures out that his sister is even worse at war than she is at maintaining relationships with people who aren't blood related to her, and she is sitting on a mega silo of fire bombs to be launch at the enemy. Lesbian knight is pretty torn up over the gay king wannabe getting attacked by Satan and commits herself to lady Stark. The public seems to think that Tyrion is actually the one who is making their lives more terrible throw the king, but he doesn't seem to care all that much. Hopefully that doesn't come back and bite him in the butt later.

Looks like we're going to see Jon Snow in action soon. And Arya has found a new friend that is going to help her kill some people after she kept him from being burned alive. So that will be good.

Wow

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 16 June 2020]

Great episode lots of killing and fighting and stuff

Fantastic midpoint episode

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 3 September 2020]

THE GHOST OF HARRENHAL is the midpoint episode of the second season and it's a really fantastic one. There's a kingly twist that's up there in the shock stakes with the Red Wedding itself, although much lower key. The scenes with Tywin and Arya are beautifully written and the Jaqen character is a real highlight of the show at this point. The rest of the plotlines are moving incredibly fast so this is an episode that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Another good episode, but not nearly as great as the first four

[gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297 · 8/10 · 14 April 2016]

The Ghost of Harrenhal is another good episode for Season 2, but it isn't nearly as great as the first four. My two quibbles is that the dialog is a mixed bag. There are some smart moments in the relationships, but some of the dialog didn't as engage me as I hoped. Also, while the story's still good and the writing's fine, very little happens and it left wanting to see what would happen next.

Anyway, like I said, the story's still good and the script is well-written. The performances are still great from all involved, the pacing is still good, the direction is solid, and the music score continues to shine. So, overall, not nearly as great as I hoped, but another good episode for this season.

Game of Thrones: S2E5 "The Ghost of Harrenhal" Review - King Cadmium

[kingcadmium · 7/10 · 5 March 2022]

The Baratheon rivalry ends, driving Catelyn to flee and Littlefinger to act. At Kings Landing, Tyrion's source alerts him to Joffrey's defence plan - and a mysterious secret weapon. Theon sails to the Stony Shore to prove he's worthy of being called Ironborn.

What I Liked:

As usual, it is impossible not to be impressed by the high-quality production value, as well as the meticulous attention to detail. Again, acting all around is solid.

While there are many characters and arcs to establish, it is truly remarkable how this show manages to balance them all out, giving each one an appropriate amount of screentime.

What I Disliked:

The shadow killing Renly is, to this point, the most far-fetched and ridiculous scene in this show. I am not a fan of the magical elements of late, removing the sense of realism this show has built, even in the fantasy genre.

Daenerys' storyline has been uninteresting up to this point. There is no sense of agency to any of her scenes, feeling more like filler when compared to the best storylines of this sophomore season.

Overall:

While still a good episode, this is perhaps the most flawed instalment in this fantastic show so far. However, one cannot deny that this has been a high-quality sophomore season to this point.

7/10

King Cadmium.

It was a classic mid-series episode... most of the action was expository rather than climactic.

[punch87 · 7/10 · 18 October 2019]

I feel like this show has done such a good job courting folks who don't like fantasy that all those converts were a little shocked when it turned out they were watching...a fantasy show.