Every Monday, our resident Game of Thrones fanatic E. Spencer Kyte will recap the previous night’s episode. Here’s his take on Season 4, Episode 7—Mockingbird.

Warning: what follows is a review and analysis of what happened on Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones. If you haven’t watched it and don’t want to encounter spoilers, I suggest you go read something else on this site. Consider yourself warned.

Much love and respect to the production team behind Game of Thrones — they could have easily started Sunday’s seventh episode, “Mockingbird,” in any number of lands, but they dropped us right back into King’s Landing the wake of Tyrion Lannister’s trial and it proved to be a great starting point to another strong episode.

Let’s run it back, shall we?

The Imprisoned Imp

After last week’s brilliant speech about why he’s really on trial, we pick up back in the cells as Jaime gives his younger brother grief about screwing up the deal their father had agreed to. The way Tyrion sees it, the deal sucked and by taking the route he’s chosen (trial by combat), there’s a chance that he lives to piss off his father a little more.

It’s at times a tense back and forth between The Brothers Lannister, as Tyrion correctly declares Jaime “The Golden Child” that can do no wrong and then proceeds to list his many major mistakes in life, ending on boinking his sister, which prompts Jaime to caution him that “(He’s) the only friend he’s got left.”

Tyrion suggests his brother fight in his name, but Jaime says he cannot thanks to the whole “lost my good hand” situation. The thought of both male Lannisters perishing on the same day and how annoyed it would make Lord Tywin amuses Tyrion, who then wonders who Cersei will select as her champion.

Enter Gregor Clegane, better known as The Mountain. Nothing like getting introduced to a man by watching him slice a helpless sap’s intestines on the ground. As you’d expect of someone named “The Mountain,” the elder Clegane is a behemoth and appears unbeatable.

Lady and The Hound

Still trudging through the countryside on the way to Crazy Aunt Lysa’s, Arya and The Hound come across a dying man whose farm has been ransacked. He’s sitting there slowly bleeding out of his belly, The Grim Reaper taking forever to show up at his side. This leads to a quality to-and-fro between Arya and the dying man:

“So why go on? Nothing could be worse than this” questions the youngest Stark girl.

“Maybe nothing is worse than this,” counters Charlie Slow Death.

“Nothing is just nothing,” retorts Arya.

The Hound gives him some water and then puts him out of his misery, only to have some jackass jump on him from behind and bite his neck. That dude, of course, gets his own neck snapped before The Hound turns around to discover his partner — it’s one of the men Arya encountered on the road to The Wall way back when; the guy that said he was going to do vile things to her.

Clegane asks if he’s on Arya’s list, she says he’s not because she doesn’t know his name. The Hound asks the man his name, he replies and Arya promptly stabs him in the heart. She’s learning.

Later, The Hound is tending to his wound, but having no luck with it. Arya wants to sterilize the wound with fire in order to fend off infection, but that’s not happening, you know, what with Clegane’s aversion to fire and all. After a heart-to-heart where The Hound drops a “you think you’re alone?!” on the young Stark, he allows her to help with his wound.

Hot Pie!

Brienne and Podrick stop for a bite to eat and their server is good old Hot Pie, the doughy child baker who was traveling with Arya and Gendry (still no sign of him) back in the Brotherhood without Banners days.

Brienne tells him they’re looking for Sansa, and Hot Pie gets all twitchy, denouncing the Starks as traitors in the tavern. The next morning when they’re leaving, he stops them, explains that he was with Arya a couple months back, and presents them with a baked good in the form of a wolf to deliver to her when they find her.

No Love in the North

Having returned from killing the mutineers, Jon Snow is still getting the cold shoulder from the higher ups in the Night’s Watch.

Jon wants to barricade the tunnel that runs under The Wall to keep Mance and his raiders out, suggesting they don’t bother defending in the North anymore because, you know, the Wilding army is massive.

The old dude that is worried about losing his place in charge of the Watch (Alliser Thorne is his name) denies the motion and takes more pointless jabs at Jon, declaring that he and Sam Tardy can sit atop The Wall until the next full moon, keeping watch for this army Jon thinks is quickly approaching. Pride cometh before the fall, and me thinks Mr. Thorne has been mighty proud these last couple weeks.

Back in the Dungeon

Bronn stops by to visit Tyrion, who is hoping his right-hand man will once again be his champion, but it’s not to be. Turns out Tyrion’s sellsword friend has struck a deal with his sister — new threads, a wife, and a castle, provided his new bride’s older sister happen to die sometime soon.

Bronn hasn’t come to the decision easily and Tyrion understands that. There relationship was started as a financial arrangement with promises of great spoils, and now a similar promise is bringing their partnership to an end. Bronn won’t risk his life for Tyrion a second time, not against The Mountain.

Friends and Lovers in Meereen

Daario sneaks into Dany’s chambers, explaining that he has two talents — war and women — and makes a plea to be able to put them to use. “The Mother of Dragons” tells him there are many women in Meereen he can bed, but Daario the Lothario coyly says there is only one he wants.

So Dany orders him to do what he does best… and disrobe.

The next morning as Daario is making the Stride of Pride from Dany’s chambers, he bumps into Jorah, Lord of the Friend Zone, who isn’t very happy that Dany has taken a lover. When he asks her about it, Dany explains she’s dispatched Daario to kill the slave masters in Yunkai, but Jorah explains there is good and evil on both sides in a war and that he once was a slave master.

If Ned Stark took her same approach, Jorah wouldn’t be around today to be here BFF, longing for her from the Friend Zone. Surprisingly, Dany not only changes her mind, but tells Jorah to inform Daario that he’s the one that changed it.

I’m not sure if that’s the “Take that, Pretty Boy!” victory Jorah was hoping for, given that Daario has seen Dany in her birthday suit, but it’s a win none the less for our favourite love-struck sidekick.

NEXT: Those guys, vengeance, why you keep the moon door closed and Spencer’s thoughts…