"High Sparrow" is the third episode of the
fifth season of
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
television series ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
.'' The 43rd episode of the series overall, "High Sparrow" was written by series co-creators
David Benioff
David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of ''Game of Thrones'' (20 ...
and
D. B. Weiss
Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. R ...
, and directed by
Mark Mylod
Mark Mylod is a British television and film director and executive producer. He is known for his work on the television series '' Succession'' and '' Shameless'', as well as for directing the horror-comedy film ''The Menu'' (2022).
Career
Mar ...
, his directorial debut for the series.
It first aired on HBO on April 26, 2015.
In the episode,
Cersei Lannister
Cersei Lannister is a fictional character in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones'', where she is portrayed by Bermudan-English act ...
meets with the
High Sparrow
The High Sparrow is a fictional character in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of high fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones''.
The High Sparrow first appears in ''A Feast f ...
, the leader of a growing religious movement;
Tommen Baratheon
Tommen Baratheon is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones'', Tommen Bar ...
marries
Margaery Tyrell
Margaery Tyrell is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones'', where she is portrayed by English actress Natalie ...
;
Petyr Baelish
Petyr Baelish, nicknamed Littlefinger, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 1996's ''A Game o ...
reveals to
Sansa Stark
Sansa Stark, later Alayne Stone, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. Introduced in ''A Game of Thrones'' (1996), Sansa is the eldest daughter and second c ...
that he has betrothed her to
Ramsay Bolton
Ramsay Bolton, previously known as Ramsay Snow, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''.
Introduced in 1998's ...
; and
Jon Snow chooses to stay at the Wall and rule as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Across the Narrow Sea,
Arya Stark
Arya Stark is a fictional character in American author George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' epic fantasy novel series, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones'', where she is portrayed by English actress Maisie Williams. She ...
proves her loyalty to the Faceless Men, and
Tyrion Lannister
Lord Tyrion Lannister, also known by the nicknames the Halfman or the Imp and the alias Hugor Hill, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its televisi ...
and
Varys
Lord Varys is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''.
Introduced in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones'', Varys is a form ...
travel through Volantis. The episode
achieved a viewership of 6.71 million in the United States, and received positive reviews from critics.
Prior to airing, the episode, along with the other first four episodes of the season, were leaked online.
Plot
In Braavos
Jaqen helps a man drink from a pool of water. The man dies and Arya realizes that the pool of water is poison for those who seek a quick death. After Arya has an altercation with fellow acolyte the Waif, Jaqen asks her how she came to be surrounded by things owned by Arya Stark if she is no one. She throws her possessions into water, but does not want to discard Needle and instead hides it.
In King's Landing
Tommen marries Margaery Tyrell, who manipulates Tommen to persuade Cersei to return to Casterly Rock, but she declines. Cersei goes to visit Margaery and finds her telling her handmaidens about her wedding night, and leaves defeated.
After being attacked by Lancel and the Sparrows in a brothel, the High Septon asks the Small Council to execute their leader, the High Sparrow. Cersei instead meets the High Sparrow and tells him that he will replace the High Septon as head of the Faith. Cersei has Qyburn send a message to Baelish.
In the North
Roose Bolton tells his son Ramsay that they cannot rely on the Lannisters now that Tywin is dead, and that they will cement House Bolton's position by having Ramsay marry Sansa. Sansa is horrified, but agrees after Baelish tells her that this will be an opportunity to take revenge for Robb and Catelyn Stark's murders.
At Winterfell, Baelish tells Roose that they have no reason to fear the Lannisters. Roose shows him Cersei's letter. Baelish reassures him of their alliance, but Roose requests to read his reply. Meanwhile, Reek goes out of his way to avoid being seen by Sansa.
Baelish and Sansa have been secretly followed by Brienne and Podrick. Stopping at Moat Cailin, Brienne recalls Renly Baratheon's assassination and her intent to kill Stannis, whom she holds responsible.
At the Wall
Jon refuses Stannis' offer of legitimization, and assigns new positions to his brothers, making Alliser First Ranger and giving Slynt charge of restoring Greyguard. Slynt refuses and insults Jon, who executes him.
In Volantis
Tyrion and Varys arrive in Volantis, where they observe a red priestess telling slaves about the "savior," Daenerys Targaryen. Tyrion goes to a brothel and is kidnapped by Jorah, who declares that he is taking Tyrion to "the queen."
Production
Writing
![D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/D._B._Weiss_and_David_Benioff.jpg)
This episode was written by executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and contains content from two of
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
's novels, ''
A Feast for Crows
''A Feast for Crows'' is the fourth of seven planned novels in the epic fantasy series '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. The novel was first published on October 17, 2005, in the United Kingdom, with a United ...
'', Arya I, Cersei III, Arya II, Cersei V, Cersei VI, Alayne III and elements of Brienne III and Brienne IV, and ''
A Dance with Dragons
''A Dance with Dragons'' is the fifth novel of seven planned in the epic fantasy series '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. In some areas, the paperback edition was published in two parts, titled ''Dreams and Du ...
'', chapters Jon II, Reek III, Tyrion VI and the Blind Girl.
Like other episodes this season, "High Sparrow" deviated from Martin's books in several places. For example, Tyrion's storyline has been sped up,
and Tommen is old enough to consummate his marriage with Margaery.
In what ''Forbes'' called "the biggest surprise in Sunday night's episode," Sansa Stark goes to Winterfell to marry Ramsay Bolton, a role that is played in the book by a minor character impersonating Arya.
Busis describes mixed feelings regarding these changes but stated "at the very least, this is going to give Sophie Turner some real meaty material."
In an interview, show writer David Benioff explains that Sophie Turner's strength as an actress was one of the reasons that they decided to give her character more dramatic scenes and Bryan Cogman added that it made more sense to give the Winterfell storyline to a proven actress who was already popular with viewers than to bring in a new character.
Casting
With this episode,
Michael McElhatton
Michael McElhatton (born 12 September 1963) is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for playing the role of Roose Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He joined the series as a guest star in the second season, and continued t ...
(Roose Bolton) is promoted to series regular. The episode has the introduction of new recurring cast members
Jonathan Pryce
Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2021 he wa ...
, who plays the High Sparrow, and
Faye Marsay
Faye Elaine Marsay (born 30 December 1986) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Anne Neville in '' The White Queen'' (2013), the recurring character Candice in '' Fresh Meat'' (2013), Steph in the film ''Pride'' (2014), Amy in ''Need ...
, who plays the Waif.
Reception
Ratings
"High Sparrow" was watched by an estimated 6.71 million American viewers during its first airing, and received a 3.5 rating among adults 18–49. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 2.196 million viewers, making it the highest-rated non-terrestrial broadcast that week. It also received 0.174 million timeshift viewers.
Critical reception
The episode received positive reviews, with critics highlighting Jon's storyline and the High Sparrow's introduction. Based on 30 critic reviews, the episode received a 100% rating score approbation in
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
from 30 reviews with an average score of 8.1 out of 10 and with the consensus "'High Sparrow' expertly weaves together characters from Game of Thrones' sprawling stories, though the episode ultimately belongs to Jon Snow, whose new position highlights unexpected qualities."
Critical response to changes from the books and to original material written specifically for the episode were mixed. Critics seemed to be reserving judgment on the decision to bring Sansa to Winterfell, but ''Entertainment Weekly'' commentator Hilary Busis described this as "massively gross to watch
ommen'sTV counterpart sleep with Margaery knowing that in ''A Feast for Crows'', he’s still playing pretend with his beloved kitty,"
but Myles McNutt of ''A.V. Club'' found that the character's age gave him more agency.
Both Busis and McNutt noted that the changes may make the story less cluttered, with Busis saying, "combining Sansa and
he Arya impostors storylines allow Benioff and Weiss to trim a good bit of fat from ASOIAF and give already-introduced characters more stuff to do."
Awards and nominations
References
External links
* at
HBO.com
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:High Sparrow
2015 American television episodes
Game of Thrones (season 5) episodes
Television episodes about weddings
Television episodes written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss