By John Keegan and Gregg Wright

Well, how was that for an opening? Just like that, Renly Baratheon is totally out of the picture. Sure, it may not beat the sheer boldness of storytelling on display in the death of Eddard Stark, but at the very least, I was much more surprised by this scene than I was by Ned's death. True, part of that was due to my being spoiled ahead of time that Ned would lose his head. But I was spoiled about Renly's death as well. As with Ned, I knew that Renly would be killed, but knew little of the circumstances or the timing. I expected him to be killed at some later point in the season. So to have him be killed so suddenly, at the very beginning of the episode, and in a manner that totally defied my expectations, was enough to leave my jaw agape.
I'd gotten rather used to how "Game of Thrones" is typically structured. I didn't expect such an immediate follow-up to the ending of the previous episode, given the overtly supernatural element to the scene. And I really thought that Renly would be around for quite a while longer. "Game of Thrones" often does such a good job of lulling me into a false sense of security, it manages to repeatedly hit me with moments like this. The scene is startling in its sudden ferocity; not just because Renly is killed, but because of the aftermath in which Brienne of Tarth is forced to kill the two guards who think that she was the murderer.

This is the first time we've actually gotten to see Brienne engaged in real, bloody combat, and it's pretty impressive. Even in the midst of her grief, she makes short work of the two guards, sending her on the run with Catelyn. The great thing about Renly's death is that it will give side characters like Brienne and Margaery Tyrell their chance to develop and stand on their own. Looking back, it now seems clear that Margaery was always intended to be a more important figure than Renly was. Renly's death has done little to dampen her considerable ambitions. And Brienne? She just wants someone worthy and honorable to serve. Looks like she's found that someone in Lady Stark.

Anyways, it's a good thing my bet was on Stannis. He has "The Lord of Light" behind him. Davos really did have a point about the irony of this "Lord of Light" demanding that they travel in darkness. That irony seems even stronger when one gets a look at this monstrous shadow figure that vaguely resembles Stannis. Why does a Lord of Light seem to deal in such darkness? Davos also makes a good point when discussing his recent experience with Stannis. Even if he does take the Iron Throne, who's victory will that really be? Perhaps when this is all over, we'll see Melisandre sitting on the Iron Throne. Or, perhaps, Shadow Stannis?

There's a fairly obvious parallel here between Stannis situation and Daenerys situation. And in both cases, we have a scene where the trusted adviser to each implores their dear leader to avoid making deals with the devil and make their own way. In Dany's case, the situation isn't quite as obviously sinister, but Jorah's warnings still hold weight. As much as it might seem like the smart play to marry Xaro, it would probably be better in the long run for Dany to maintain sole power and earn it the hard way. And how will Xaro react to Dany's refusal? I suspect that he will continue to aid her anyway. It would be foolish of him to simply take no for an answer and let her get away from him, or even worse, make an enemy of her. An alliance with her could still prove to be quite valuable in the long run.

As this season progresses, it's almost as if I begin to hear the sound of some deranged sports announcer yammering away in my head: "And in this corner, we have Daenerys Targaryen! Otherwise known as Daenerys Stormborn! OH! Looks like Renly Baratheon is down for the count! Here comes Stannis Baratheon to..." You get the picture. And really, the analogy is a pretty effective representation of what this show is all about. It is a "Game of Thrones" after all. It's a big, never-ending competition for power in Westeros, always with multiple parties fighting for control of the ball. And every win is only temporary.

So now, the remaining candidates left vying for the throne include Stannis, Daenerys, Balon Greyjoy, and maybe Margaery. There are other, slightly less obvious possibilities, but these three are the individuals who have made their intentions clear. There is, of course, ample reason to suspect that Robb will be forced to reluctantly take the throne himself. Perhaps the fact that he doesn't want to be King makes him the most noble choice. I've already mentioned Melisandre (or perhaps someone/something altogether more supernatural). And heck, while I'm at it, Tyrion could be said to be a contender. He's not exactly interested in the job, but given how successful his maneuvers in King's Landing have been lately, the possibility can't be discounted.

I don't see Balon as a very strong possibility, in spite of Bran's prophetic dream. He will have a pretty impressive sea presence. But I don't think that he is capable of much more than distracting and/or weakening the North, unless, of course, this Drowned God that the people of the Iron Islands worship turns out to be real and wants to compete with the Lord of Light for the throne. Really, what interests me the most about the upcoming power plays is the alliances that are likely to form. Margaery has already teamed up with Petyr, which makes a kind of sense, given that both are more inclined to eschew brute force in favor of more subversive tactics. Maybe Margaery will end up marrying Joffrey? I wouldn't put it past her. And then there's Tyrion, who is happy enough to ally with whoever he has to in order to stay alive.

I haven't even mentioned the events occurring north of The Wall yet, which still have the potential to represent yet another horrifying threat of supernatural destruction. Seriously. It always feels like everything is building and converging on some absolutely cataclysmic future event involving gods, monsters, and mere mortals stuck in the crossfire. Anyways, the White Walkers are not the immediate concern of Jon Snow and the other men of the Night's Watch. Apparently, there's a former Night's Watchman who seems to have gone Col. Kurtz and now leads the Wildlings who are still north of The Wall. The episode leaves us with Jon Snow, in more of a ranger role now, heading off with a party of men to investigate. It makes sense to deal with the human element in the area before delving directly into the White Walker threat. Its time will come. And besides, we really don't know enough about these so-called Wildlings yet. They're probably more than just simple barbarians, as is already evidenced by Osha.

Finally, the last area of discussion stems from the episode's title: "The Ghost of Harrenhal". Having seen the episode, I'm still not entirely sure who or what the titular "ghost" is supposed to be, but I have a guess: Jaqen H’ghar. He certainly is quite the mystery man, and yet another intriguing addition to the show's already impressive roster of characters. (He's also another amusing example of someone who saw through Arya's disguise in an instant). Jaqen seems to have his own unusual code of honor. He has the air of an experienced assassin. Along with Gendry, he could prove to be a very useful ally. Arya's story continues to be one of the more fascinating areas of the show, and Maisie Williams is surprisingly capable of carrying her own story thread (I'm not quite as impressed by Bran, but I'll withhold judgement for now). I'm looking forward to seeing what type of person Arya eventually becomes and how she factors into larger events.

John Keegan is Editor-in-Chief for Critical Myth, a partner site of SciFi Vision. Gregg Wright is Critical Myth's reviewer for Game of Thrones.