<em>Game of Thrones</em>' Problem With Quests
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Douthat: Okay, this was a bit more like it. Movement, development, momentum, a climactic mutilation—everything that Episode 2's slow-motion stage setting conspicuously lacked, Episode 3 delivered. True, until Jaime Lannister was severed from his swordhand and Theon's pursuers were turned into pincushions, this episode was still longer on setup than on payoffs. But more than last week it gave us a feeling for where this season's action is going, and what the payoffs might ultimately be.
Start with Riverrun, where we were (finally) introduced to Catelyn's family—her uncle Brynden, alias "Blackfish," and her headstrong brother Edmure (played by Tobias Menzies, whom I placed, finally, as Brutus from HBO's ). More importantly, we were given a better sense of the military situation, and how Robb Stark can be winning every battle but, like many an outmanned general before him, still find himself losing the war. On the other side of the battle lines, meanwhile, the new Hand of the King finally got around to giving some marching orders: Littlefinger was dispatched to court Catelyn's sister Lysa and bring her into the war on King Joffrey's side (no easy task: Viewers who remember her Season One appearance will remember how she feels about the Lannisters), and Tyrion was boosted into Littlefinger's position
