Arya has acquired a taste for killing.
In the latest episode of Game of Thrones (Sundays, 9/8c, HBO), the youngest Stark daughter realizes that just by uttering a name, she can condemn a person to death at the hands of Jaqen H'ghar, a mysterious man who claims he owes her three deaths to repay her for saving his and two others' lives. And although this proxy murder is shocking, it's not the first time Arya has taken a life. Last season, the pint-sized girl impaled a stable boy with her sword in self-defense. The act serves as a rite of passage and a gateway for kills to come.
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In its first-season finale, Game of Thrones tied up its loose ends as well as a sprawling fantasy epic could be expected to. More importantly, it left us wanting more by introducing us to Daenerys Targaryen's little ... friends. We bid our spoiler-filled goodbyes below.
TVGuide.com's Hanh Nguyen is an avid scripted-TV watcher, a horror-avoider and someone who's read George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series, on which HBO's Game of Thrones is based. Colleague Rich Juzwiak rarely watches scripted television, is a gorehound and became alerted to Martin's existence just recently, as he started researching this new swords-and-sandals (well, boots) series. He knows nothing of these sorcerers (if that is indeed what they are), while Hanh is something of an expert (read: fantasy/sci-fi nerd). Each week, he'll try to make sense of this crazy new show by enlisting Hanh's expertise. It may turn out to be a test of tolerance: in this case, the Games begin after the TV is off...
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