The third series of Game of Thrones marks a temporary lull in the constant threat of battle of the previous series. Stannis’s attempt to take King’s Landing has failed and Theon has given up Winterfell, if you can call ‘giving up’ being deserted by your men and happily handed over to the other team. However, the absence of battle, or the imminent threat of one, doesn’t make the series any less exciting. Daenerys Targaryen is finally gaining the kind of military power that you would expect of a woman with three dragons and a claim to the throne (although she is admittedly not the only one to have the latter), while Jon Snow discovers that joining the Wildlings and no longer having to keep your vows of abstinence isn’t so bad.

The new season continues to show us that it’s never as simple as one side against another in Game of Thrones. The return of Tywin Lannister and the family’s new alliance with the Tyrells may have re-secured King’s Landing as the stronghold of the South, but the clashing of personal prerogatives within the palace only intensifies with the addition of a new noble family. Joffrey and Margaery’s engagement causes a wave of further match-making schemes, creating surprising combinations which rarely satisfy both personal and political desires.  Rob Stark’s execution of one of his leading officers causes a significant part of his army to desert him and the Night's Watch turn on each other beyond The Wall. The series continuously creates and breaks up attachments – whether they link families, friends, mutual interests or whole armies. This season shows us that these dynamics don’t need to foreground impending battle to be entertaining, and keep us guessing as to who will be fighting who.

As ever, the show isn’t afraid to be dark and Theon has so far been tortured for three episodes in a row. But season three proves that the series is also not afraid to be funny. Political meetings are intermingled with Cersei and Tyrion’s sibling rivalry, and the mock-medieval euphemisms for homosexuality are hilarious. New romances arise, facilitated by some very conveniently placed hot springs in the case of Jon Snow and Ygritte, and political interventions into individuals’ romantic lives prove to be tragically amusing.  The combination of light-hearted moments with violence and power dynamics may seem incongruous, but the delicate balance makes us believe that these characters are living these struggles instead of being created for them.