I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. The third episode of Telltale’s Game of Thrones series really put the words of the night’s watch into the hands of the player, with it being the first episode that truly feels like something that has been plucked straight from the television series.

 

Within the episode a lot of action is packed into it, beginning with a action-heavy cameo by one of Daenerys’ dragons. Trailing into some of the politics of the houses involving Mira, an Gared finds himself in yet even more trouble; one thing that doesn't sit right is the broken record cycle of the Whitehills occupation of Ironrath.

 

The story that Telltale is telling is starting to take form in this episode; especially the mystery of the North Grove which starts to take shape. With it Gared finally has a purpose in the story and he actually become on the strongest characters to play as, given he actually get a chance for righteous revenge; which is rare in the world of Game of Thrones and it’s nice how it may have major consequences. We all know what happens if you die north of the wall.

 

Meanwhile across the Narrow Sea, Asher Forrester is forced with decisions which you as the player carve the sort of man he is. Telltale has done a stellar job here of establishing he relationship with long time friend Beskha and his uncle Malcom. Asher’s scenes have been the most action packed so far, and this one take a step down very slightly adding in moments that lift the curtain on the type of people the characters around him are.

 

Back at Ironrath we are introduced the Lord Whitehill’s son Gryff, who is here to show some authority to the Forrester’s. Though after the conflict of Ramsay Snow in Episode 1, and the ring kissing scene in Episode 2; the scenes at the Forrester stronghold are getting slightly boring. The only moment it redeems itself in this episode is when a revelation is shared from a new source which ups the intrigue in this particular area, though we’ll have to wait until next time to investigate it.

 

The story at King’s Landing with Mira gets more tense and interesting during the episode, she’s now involved in her own coverup, and is having to avoid tensions between Margaery Tyrell and Tyrion Lannister; these weren't shown in the television show or in the books so to explore this is exactly what we have wanted from the game series. The decisions made in this episode could have big ramifications, considering how things play out during the wedding between King Joffery and Margaery, Mira’s plans to get help for the Forresters back home turn into a massive struggle, and we get to see the impact living in King’s Landing make on characters.

 

Overall Episode 3 brings together all that is good with the Game of Thrones world and ties in all the intrigue and character development we see in the television series. This was the first episode that I also didn't have any graphical and sound issues which helped with the massive amount of storytelling. I would have liked to have seen more conflict at Ironrath that made me feel bad for the Forrester residents, though with the secrets revealed could make for an interesting turn. The events at The Wall are sure to prove big for the coming episodes and hopefully this new turn for Gared could mean big things for the episodes to come. The move into the events of the Season 4 for Mira means we are moving toward some big political points which could show a different aspect for the series. It will be interesting to see how things end up when we get a taste of Episode 4.