Season four of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” began last Sunday with an episode entitled “Two Swords.” Nine months is still too short a time to fully grieve over the traumatic events of season three’s  Red Wedding, but alas, we must move forward. The season four premiere is wonderful and tense in all the ways that we have come to expect of this show. Lust, intrigue and death are all masterfully weaved into a single episode. Both old and new faces contribute to the success of this premiere.

The episode begins with Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance, “Alien 3”) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, “Oblivion”) engaging in a conversation. Tywin grants Jaime a newly forged Valyrian steel sword. The new sword was forged from “Ice,” the sword owned by Ned Stark in season one of the show, clearly demonstrating that the Lannisters believe they have decimated the Starks. However, their conversation quickly turns to the idea of Jaime giving up the King’s Guard and returning to Casterly Rock. Above all else, this single conversation seems to be foreshadowing some intra-family bickering that will continue throughout this season.

Jaime two siblings also make appearances this episode. Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey, “300: Rise of an Empire”) seems to be quite upset with Jaime’s absence from King’s Landing. It will be interesting to see how her dissatisfaction with Jamie will play out this season. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage, “The Station Agent”) is present for a lot of the episode. He seems to be caught in the middle of his love for Shae (Sibel Kekilli, “When We Leave”) and his marriage to Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner, “The Thirteenth Tale”). Attempting to balance the two will no doubt pose problems for Tyrion in the future.

Tyrion is also the one to greet the newest character to the cast, Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal, “The Adjustment Bureau”). You may not have heard of Oberyn before, but you have heard of his sister, Elia Martell, who was married to Rhaegar Targaryen. Mark my words, Oberyn will be one to watch this season. He has a strong distaste for the Lannisters, who killed his sister in Robert’s Rebellion, and his arrival in King’s Landing for the royal wedding will put him in direct conflict with many of them.

Up at the Wall, we see Jon Snow (Kit Harrington, “Pompeii”) mostly recovered from his arrow wounds. He is forced to face a panel of the elite members of the Night’s Watch to account for his time with the Wildlings. He tells them why he killed Qhorin Halfhand, (Simon Armstrong, “Edge of Love”) and he is forced to reveal his affair with Ygritte (Rose Leslie, “Downton Abbey”).  Members of the panel seem hostile to Jon, but Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan, “Brazil”) defends him. Regardless, Jon is poised for trouble within the Night’s Watch which is sure to surface this season.

Staying in Westeros, we see Arya Stark (Maisie Williams, “Corvidae”) traveling with the Hound (Rory McCann, “Clash of the Titans”). Still fresh from escaping the aftermath of the Red Wedding, the pair continue onward where Arya discovers that the Hound intends to ransom her to her aunt in the Vale. Seemingly defeated, Arya exclaims that she has nothing left and nowhere to go. However, her actions in this episode should prove otherwise. What she does may shock and surprise viewers, but hopefully you will see it as a sort of sweet justice.

Crossing the Narrow Sea, we find Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke, “Don Hemingway”) still on her path of liberation. After freeing the city of Yunkai in last season’s finale, she now moves her army to the city of Meereen, and her dragons are a sight to be seen. The “Mother of Dragons” now has three teenagers on her hands with teenage attitudes as well. After this episode, it is unclear to what extent she actually controls her dragons. There is no doubt that this issue will come up again this season.

Any fan of “Game of Thrones” knows that the character list is quite extensive. Numerous characters have been listed in this review, yet there are, of course, countless other characters in this episode that were not mentioned. Characters that are absent, though, are more fascinating than the ones that appeared but were not listed. The storylines of Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright, “The Awakening”), Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen, “Atonement”) and Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane, “King Arthur”) have yet to be continued. On a side note, “the Spider,” Varys (Conleth Hill, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”), is absent as well which raises some interesting questions. No doubt these characters and many others will resurface in season four.

This premiere has set a good, slightly fast pace for the rest of this season. Considering how slowly season three went, this change of pace is greatly appreciated. In all honesty, this season has the potential to be the best season yet, which is saying a lot. While there will not be any event as dramatic as the Red Wedding, this season will have multiple events that will transform the entire series. Some of these events will be with great enthusiasm, while others with great dread. One thing is certain his season—no one is safe because of those fateful words “Valar morghulis: All men must die.”