1x05: We Light the Way
The fifth episode marks the end of the first half of the season, and it surely delivered with great performances by the young cast, and shocking developments in the story.
Weddings have always been cursed in Westeros, and the Green Wedding is no different, with a slow but confident build-up into the crazy resolution at the end, which leaves a lot of open possibilities for the upcoming episodes.
SHORT DISCLAIMER: The transcriptions are not always in the same key as the pieces I put as example, and sometimes they are simplified to make it clearer and more concise
The very first sequence introduces Daemon's wife, Lady Rhea, and her fate at his hands. Djawadi introduces some dark tones, that play around with one of Daemon's themes, the one we heard in the previous episode, as he entered the throne room. In a similar fashion, this theme plays in this episode, when he arrives at the banquet hall, during the wedding sequence. Most of his remaining scenes are scored with his dark drone ambience, because he remains a nebulous and unpredictable character.
Rhaenyra's theme, which was quite prominent in previous episodes, here is relegated to a couple of token appearances, in two different scenes with her in the ship, on her way to Driftmark. And her love theme introduced for her and Sir Criston Cole in their lovemaking scene in the previous episode gets briefly referenced when they talk at the ship, right before he offers her a way out of her forced marriage.
Also, House Targaryen theme makes an appearance after Corly and Viserys conversation about the succession line, but it doesn't make much of an impact, because here Djawadi doesn't want to overpower the episode with his more familiar themes, but he prefers to leave some space for some minor themes to take the spotlight, and be developed properly, like Alicent's Theme or the House Velaryon themes.
But before I get into those, I want to briefly mention a theme which might be finally earning its meaning in this episode. It's a sinister, ondulating melody that has been popping around since the first episode, like in Daemon's speech at the brothel, Rhaenyra's night escape and encounter with Daemon and the brothel, and the aftermath of that, which leads to Otto being rid of his charge as Hand of the King. In this episode, it plays after Alicent talks to Lord Larys, and she realizes that Rhaenyra lied to her about her encounters with Daemon.
This scene cements the idea that is a sort of overarching "betrayal theme", used when characters are betraying the trust of their close ones, and also accompanies the consequences of those actions. Great scoring on Djawadi's side!
Betrayal Theme
House Velaryon Theme
House Velaryon Theme really gets a lot of moments to shine, as many members of the family get important roles in the story. It plays in its exotic setting a couple of times, when King Viserys arrives at Driftmark, and meets Corlys at his throne room, or when Rhaenyra talks to Laenor at the beach. But the moment where it gets to shine with all of its mighty power is when they enter the banquet hall, with percussion, voices and their characteristic exotic instrument, proclaiming the theme as the noble house it represents. Truly a highlight of the entire episode!
I also want to mention a new idea associated with House Velaryon that plays a couple of times, and perhaps it has something to do with the new found alliance between Rhaenyra and Laenor, as it plays when Laenor talks about her to his lover Joffrey, and then again when they are flying their dragons, later in the episode
But without a doubt, the hight point of the episode, both musically and from a storytelling perspective, is the development of Queen Alicent. A theme for her had already been faintly introduced in episode 2, when she talks to her father, and in episode 4 when she talks to Rhaenyra about her loneliness.
This episode then expands upon that mournful sound with a couple of similar iterations of her theme, when she talks to Otto right before he leaves, or when Sir Criston Cole reveals his secret to Alicent. The theme here is sad and tragic, reflecting her sorrow and helplessness. It's a theme for someone who has given up, and is fed up with her current life state.
The Green Dress scene is very important for her character, because is when she finally makes a decision by herself, and stands tall and proud in front of the crowd, making them realize that she is the Queen, and should be treated as such.
Djawadi takes advantage of this stunning moment to let Alicent's theme shine as it hadn't before, in a lush orchestral arrangement that steals the spotlight from the rest of important themes of the episode. Here, she's finally making herself worth, after many years of being treated as a joke, and little more than a child bearer without personality. Certainly, one of the entire highlights of the season so far, and Djawadi delivers!
Alicent Hightower Theme
The wedding dance is supported by source music, based around percusive rythms, and different melodies, which don't have any particular references to previously established themes. Djawadi here allows the images themselves to tell the story and build the tension until that chaotic and insane burst of violence. Here, Djawadi unleashes dark orchestral passages, with percussion and distorting sound effects, which don't allow for any thematic references.
The aftermath of this act of violence is then scored beautifully by a gorgeous and mournful rendition of the Heir Theme. We hear both sections of the theme on piano, with some extra instruments being played on top, but the theme soon turns darker, the theme being transfigured to fit the grim outcome of this event. The theme here achieves greater meaning, reflecting on the terrible consequences the fight over the heir to the throne is having on all the people involved. Then, a sorrowful statement of Alicent's Theme plays over the credits, closing the episode on a downbeat note.
And this is it for the fifth episode, which marks the midpoint of the season, and offers farewell to the young cast which have already shown their impressive acting chops, and have helped to craft a stunning first half of the season.
I hope you enjoyed this analysis. Be sure to check out my analysis of previous episodes if you haven't already. Feel free to share it with anyone you think might enjoy it and be sure to stay tuned for upcoming episodes!