Great point about Headey's performance. I wasn't necessarily a fan of the somewhat nicer Cersei that the show has given us but last night was the Cersei I know and hate.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the best episode of the season so far was written by GRRM and more or less stayed pretty faithful to the books.

Sansa gets a lot of fan hate, some deserved, some not but I think last night showed her , somewhat belatedly, learning to play the game. Her attempt to manipulate Joffrey into being in the front lines was excellent. Not every battle is fought directly or with swords. Arya wouldn't have lasted five minutes in Sansa's shoes.

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."
Winter is Coming

Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.