Note: Holy Crap! This review, removed a few days ago by blogger due to the system failing ridiculously hard, was returned to me this morning! It's mad late, but, I figured it was still worth posting :D. At least, for the sake of archiving, it exists. Episode 5 will be up shortly.Episode 4 of Game of Thrones, entitled Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things, has been my second favourite episode to date. Episode 3, my review of which is either still forthcoming or else is never going to happen, would be my favourite. Both of these episodes have one key element in common that the first two were lacking.
The majority of characters are now in fixed locations.
That isn't to say that I have any issues with the amount of traveling the characters have had to do. Each of them was beginning his or her own emotional journey, which was mirrored by a very literal trek to some distinct new location. While this is certainly an acceptable narrative device, the developing scenery acted as a distraction from the developing characters.
Where it became particularly difficult for me to handle was in the transitions between scenes. It was never apparent how much time had passed since we'd last been privy to a particular character's story, nor were we completely aware of their current location or how close to their goal they might have been. Now, Danaerys is in Vaes Dothrak on a separate continent, Ned and his daughters are in King's Landing, Bran is in Winterfell, and Jon Snow is on The Wall. Only Catelyn and Tyrion are still moving around, although they seem to have joined paths (Tyrion rather reluctantly) in a fairly rousing final scene.
While all of the above has made following the show somewhat easier, it has also made reviewing the show a lot less difficult. Yay for me :). Time to discuss the good, the bad, and the mediocre.
The Good:
The Wall: Everything about Jon Snow's story in this episode was a joy to watch. Gone were the largely expositional swaths of mythology, in favour of wonderfully moving character moments. Besides the always charismatic Kit Harrington as Jon Snow, two standout performances were given by Owen Teale as the cantankerous Alliser Thorne and John Bradely as the pathetically lovable Samwell Tarly.Sam, a self-professed coward, is not even remotely capable of being a Night's Watchman; however, it was an easy choice between a probable death on The Wall and a certain death at the hands of his coward-hating father. According to interviews with the actor, he infused this potentially tragic character with a certain amount of humour and I felt that it definitely shined through. He and Jon share an interesting bond in that they both have arrived at this point in their lives due to their families having rejected them.
Thorne, an angry old veteran of the Night's Watch, comes across initially as a brash and unpleasant Master at Arms. He treats the new recruits harshly, no matter their level of skill. He mocks Jon for being better than the rest and he mocks Sam for being incompetent. In a twist to a story that could have simply been a tale of a heroic young man protecting a weaker peer before becoming the best of friends, Thorne recounts the harrowing tale of a short scouting expedition turned lengthy cannibalisitic journey. His recounting of this disturbing and haunting story shows us that he is hard on the recruits so that they can survive. Jon protecting Sam ultimately does them both a disservice while putting all of their "brothers" at risk. King's Landing: Anything with Arya and Littlefinger was awesome. Aiden Gillen is just killing it at being really likable and yet kind of creepy. I especially loved his meeting with Ned as they discussed how no one was to be trusted. Another well acted moment came during Gillen's expositional yet well executed telling of The Hound's backstory to Sansa. At the same time, I do wish that The Hound himself had been involved in the telling. Also, the joust had a pretty epic climax, but I was a tad disappointed at the size and scope of the tourney
Winterfell: Also, HODOR!
The Bad:
Direwolves: Yay! It's Jon Snow's direwolf, Ghost! Wait, why are we only seeing his face? Where did he come from and where has he been all this time? Will we ever see him again? It's good to know that he exists, but a little more development of his relationship with Jon would have been nice.
Vaes Dothrak: Let me be clear, I absolutely loved what this episode had to offer with regards to the Dothraki story. Getting more insight into the twisted heart of Viserys and then seeing Danaerys take command of the situation by threatening to have his hands cut off was all extremely well done. Her conversation with Jorah about how Viserys would never be capable of ruling was particularly awesome. All of these scenes were strongly acted and written.
Now that the necessary steps have been taken to make her a stronger character, I'm hoping that we'll see some more realistic character developments.
The Medicore:
On that note, on the scale of "DO NOT WANT!!!!" to "AMERICA! F*@K YEAH", I'm going to have to give this episode an 8.5/10. I hope that those of you who have bothered to read this in retrospect have enjoyed yourselves and please do let me know how you're finding the series.
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Episode 1: Initial Thoughts
Episode 1: Full Review - 7.75/10
Episode 2: (Darq's) Recap/Review - 8.25/1
Episode 3: 8.75/10
- Cadence
Bad Blogger! Good review.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of time perception has been on of my bigger gripes (although very very small compared to the positives of the show). Within the book there is so much more detail that time seems to flow even without actual dates being mentioned most times. In the series one can never tell if one scene leads to the next scene minutes later or hours later or days later.
The Direwolves thing has irked me all season too. They are more than just pets and equally as important as the dragon's eggs which get screen time every Dany scene basically. More important to the story in the first book honestly.
It's rare for me to be amazed by cast performances every week in a series. Sure, occasional scenes stand out week to week in many shows, but on Game of Thrones almost every scene has at least one actor giving an incredible performance. Sean Bean, Marc Addy, Niklaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Aiden Gillen and Michelle Fairley have not misstepped in a single scene, but I think the most surprising for me has been Maisie Williams as Arya. Her "dance" training scenes have been so much more than I expected from the books and mostly due to her subtle performances. She and Sean Bean are so effective as daughter and father... so believable!
Another newcomer that impressed me in this week (and earlier episodes) was Kit Harrington as Jon. Sometime I feel he overdoes the insecurity or pouty eyes a little bit, but he certainly is believable with sword in his hands! There have been few sword fights in the series, but Jon's training at Castle Black on the Wall have been STUNNING. So often sword fights seem a step too slow or a beat ahead of the next move. Jon comes off as a serious bad ass swordsman! Not just because he's going against untrained recruits either. His aggression and speed just add a level of intensity that I have not seen in any of the other fights thus far including episode 5.
Agreed. Ghost is definitely up there on my list of grievences, but I'm also concerned about Summer. Bran and Summer should be bonding more for various reasons that the show seems to be avoiding...
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I don't know how I've felt about the sword fights. Am I right in assuming that I have grown too used to artsy hyper-choreographed sword fighting and GoT is trying to make it rougher/more realistic? The Hound/Mountain seemed clunky and left me feeling slightly unimpressed and even Jaime/Ned wasn't as epic as I had hoped.
NCW kind of towered over Sean Bean. Also, I think it's an interesting choice to have Jaime and Ned duel directly. Westeros.org's Linda/Ellio rightly pointed out that, in the novels, Ned isn't a very good swordsmen. He's of middling ability at best. Barristan claiming that he watched Ned cut down 12 knights served to set up the Ned is worthy of fighting Jaime scene. I think that, thematically, it makes the conflict more easily grasped. Seeing the two of them square off makes the conflict more physical and personal. At the same time, it always made me happy that a character as strong as Ned wasn't the most powerful man (physically).
All of that being said, now that you mention it, the fighting sequences at The Wall ARE wonderful! Kit Harrington REALLY sells it :D!
Eeek I deleted my reaction to your review when I posted the pictures.. Wanna copy and paste it and email it to me so I an repost without having to think? XD
ReplyDeleteAhahaha, nice. Sent!
ReplyDelete