Game of Thrones: Season Seven, Episode 4 – “The Spoils of War”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Bronn, Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, Conleth Hill, Daenerys Targaryen, Davos, Diana Rigg, Dragons, Dragonstone, Drogon, Ellie Kendrick, Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones, Gemma Whelan, GoT, Gwendoline Christie, Highgarden, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jaime Lannister, Jerome Flynn, Jon Snow, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham, Littlefinger, Maisie Williams, Meera Reed, Michelle Fairley, Missandei, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ned Stark, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Olenna Tyrell, Ramsay Bolton, Rory McCann, Sansa Stark, Sean Bean, Sophie Turner, Television, Television Review, The Hound, The Queen's Justice, The Spoils of War, Theon Greyjoy, TV, TV Review, Varys, White Walkers, Winterfell, Yara Greyjoy

via timeinc.net

“The Spoils of War” picked up where the previous episode left off; at Highgarden. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was packing gold into the back of a cart whilst contemplating what Olenna (Diana Rigg) told him at the end of “The Queen’s Justice”, and Bronn (Jerome Flynn) was trying to claim the vacated castle as his own. As mentioned in previous reviews, I like it when there’s continuity on television because it makes a series easier to binge-watch at a later date, so it’s hard for me to complain about this opening scene.

However, in a way starting this episode with Jaime continuing his duties as head of the Lannister army lessened the impact of last week’s conclusion. Neither the opening scene nor “The Spoils of War” as a whole answered the question that was on my mind after last week’s episode; how will Olenna’s reveal effect Jaime’s relationship with Cersei (Lena Headey)? Jaime’s geographical separation from Cersei means that any payoff on this front has to be limited, but the fact that Jaime continued to stand up for Cersei’s leadership disappointed me greatly. It’s not that I expected him to immediately hate her – that would be ridiculous – but portraying the character as though nothing substantial has changed is a mistake.

via slashfilm.com

The episode then logically cut to King’s Landing where Cersei was discussing her victory with Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss), the representative from the Iron Bank who also appeared in “The Queen’s Justice”. I’m not going to say too much about this scene because it felt like filler when I was watching it, but given the fact that Cersei’s conversation with Tycho last week proved to be very significant it may end up that this one was as well – for now we just don’t know. Still, I thought that the information that was conveyed to the audience in this scene could’ve been put across in a more natural way because it felt quite forced to me.

The next scene was much more interesting as we were treated to an interaction that I wasn’t expecting. Given Littlefinger’s (Aidan Gillen) past discretions I expected him to stay as far away from Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) as possible, even though he’s sure to be dubious about Bran’s supposed powers, so to see the two have a face-to-face conversation was a welcome surprise. It’s well-established now that unfortunately I don’t like Hempstead-Wright’s acting on the show, but the scene itself was actually pretty good.

via wetpaint.com

One of the best things about this season of “Thrones” so far is that characters that we never thought would come together are becoming connected through either circumstance or narrative necessity. I personally didn’t consider the possibility of these two characters ever having a conversation, so seeing it happen was genuinely exciting even if the scene itself wasn’t anything to write home about. Littlefinger tried to manipulate Bran into thinking that he was an ally by giving him the dagger that the assassin tried to kill him with in season one, before using the word ‘chaos’. This led to Bran repeating the phrase that Littlefinger once said when speaking to Varys (Conleth Hill) back in season three – ‘chaos is a ladder’.

The conversation that was being referenced is a little bit obscure given the time that has passed since it happened on the show, but personally it’s one of my favourite lines from a time when “Thrones” was offering up some of the best dialogue on television. There was a nice blend of tension and comedy in this scene because it was clear that neither person was genuinely concerned about the other, and Bran revealing that he knew what Littlefinger was up to in the way that he did was clever writing because it was simple yet impactful.

Still, I can’t stay positive for too long and I have to say that the next scene left a lot to be desired. Meera (Ellie Kendrick) isn’t a well-developed character on the show and in fact we don’t know a lot about her at all, but she was likeable and it was frustrating to see her treated poorly. It wasn’t exactly clear what she wanted from Bran after essentially dragging him to safety, and I suppose most people don’t care about her anyway, but personally I find it difficult to justify Bran treating people badly just because he’s omniscient.

via wetpaint.com

This is a writing tool that you see a lot in comics, particularly within the superhero genre when characters like Brainiac and Doctor Manhattan treat emotion as secondary to logic and reason. It seems like there’s the same kind of implicit suggestion going on here which is that because Bran knows so much he deems it necessary to shut out all of his emotions and desires. This doesn’t really add up to me because although being omniscient might lead you to favour a more external perspective on your life and your future, it doesn’t logically follow that you should be numb to things which occur naturally and are caused by your physiology, unless you’re sociopathic.

Maybe Bran has come to the realisation that human emotion is meaningless and without useful application, but he’s still human and sometimes the chemicals in our body make us react to stimuli in surprising ways. Bran (as he’s written on the show) might think that emotions are destructive, corrosive, or perhaps just pointless, but I don’t see how this knowledge would stop him feeling or expressing said emotions at certain points. I’m probably thinking too deep into this because the real issue with the scene was that the writers didn’t respect their audiences’ intelligence, using Meera’s exit to force-feed us obvious information and to emphasise the fact that Bran isn’t the same as he was before, but I think it’s important to note that the characterisation of Bran is too simplistic and reductive.

via watchersonthewall.com

The episode continued at Winterfell as Arya (Maisie Williams) made her long awaited return to her family’s ancestral home. Once again I was frustrated by the speed at which she managed to reach her destination, but at least this time the character was absent for an episode whilst presumably travelling. The notes I made on this moment will not translate well to this review because they are very aggressive, but to put it mildly I hated this scene.

I’m as pleased as anyone to see Arya return to Winterfell and it gets the narrative moving in the right direction, but the execution was idiotic, offensive, and devalued the moment completely. Arya’s presence at Winterfell should’ve been greeted with optimism and cheers from the audience, yet before we got to see her meet Sansa and Bran we had to endure an interaction between her and two condescending guards. We just didn’t need this! It didn’t tell us anything that we didn’t already know about the character and it wasn’t fun to watch; it was just pointless! It was by far the worst scene of the episode; it wasn’t poignant, wasn’t clever, and grossly mishandled a major moment in the narrative.

via ign.com

Nevertheless, when Arya did finally meet up with Sansa (Sophie Turner) it made for good television. Having the pair talk in front of a statue of Ned (Sean Bean) was a nice touch and both Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams did what they needed to do. I tried to enjoy watching the moment play out rather than overanalysing it which I think improved my perception of it, but it was a decent scene.

It’s a shame that Arya’s character arc has been botched ever since she left The Hound (Rory McCann) in season four because now it’s hard to know how to feel about her when she’s letting her guard down. The writing for the character hasn’t been strong enough to make it feel as though she’s fundamentally changed since the series began; she’s not the same as she was and she’s certainly more ruthless, but she’s wanted to be a warrior since the start of the show and all that’s changed is that now she is one. There was a time when she felt hardened and vicious, but since then the show hasn’t done enough to cement this; she basically does whatever the narrative demands and it’s very difficult to route for her as a result.

I’m conflicted about the next scene as well for the same reason because although it was fun to see Bran, Arya, and Sansa plotting together, the scene as a whole felt hollow. This wasn’t helped by the fact that Bran brought up Arya’s list, something which was brought up in the previous scene as well, because it felt as though the writers only chose this aspect of Arya’s story to reference because Sansa already knew about it. Bran could’ve talked about blindness, The Hound, or even something vague about the Faceless Men, and going with any one of these choices would’ve been more entertaining for the audience. It was intriguing that Bran gave Arya the Valyrian steel dagger because given what he knows this might be significant further down the line, but overall this was a safe, middle-of-the-road scene.

via timeinc.net

A moment I did enjoy in the North was when Arya and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) reunited, because although they’ve only been on screen together once there was a sense in which this marked the completion of Brienne’s story arc. Ever since Renly (Gethin Anthony) died it’s been Brienne’s mission to rescue the Stark girls for Catelyn (Michelle Fairley), so the fact that she’s now inadvertently achieved this could be of real consequence for her character. Whether or not this means that Brienne faces a heroic death later this season or in season eight is debateable – she could make it right to the end of the series – but just the fact that she’s done exactly what she set out to do is quite rewarding to watch on a show which oftentimes is devoid of happy endings.

The sparring between the pair was also entertaining as their styles collided, and although this scene was a bit over-the-top I liked how it was shot. It was simple but we could clearly see what was happening which is rare for fight scenes on television. Arya’s explanation that ‘no one’ taught her how to fight was also a fun nod to the last couple of seasons; it was a bit on the nose but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate it.

via wikiofthrones.com

Elsewhere, Jon (Kit Harington) and Dany’s (Emilia Clarke) relationship seems to have become more positive as the pair are now speaking to one another with honesty and less hostility. Jon took Daenerys into the mines to see the dragonglass, with dramatic music played over the top of the scene just in case we didn’t realise that this substance was going to be significant in the future.

I liked this sequence but I don’t think it was executed brilliantly. Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke are likeable on screen together and they have chemistry, and as mentioned in my previous “Thrones” review their characters mesh well together because they’ve gone through similar experiences, but there was a glaring issue with what we were shown. The issue I’m referring to is that the cave drawings that Jon used to give weight to the existence of White Walkers were unbelievably convenient, to the point that it’s almost insulting to the audience to use this as a plot device.

It’s not just that they happen to be in the ideal location to keep the plot moving forward, it’s also the fact that Daenerys didn’t question them at all. Jon could be an expert stone carver for all she knows and he could’ve snuck into the cave overnight to etch the drawings himself; after all, the timeline has been completely abused so we have no idea how long Jon has been at Dragonstone at this point! I’m not going to drag this criticism out because it’s a problem which explains itself, but surely the showrunners need to take more care with how they present their narrative if they want the audience to take it seriously?

via theverge.com

When the pair left the cave they were greeted by Tyrion and Varys who unfortunately brought some bad news about Highgarden. This scene was fine and I don’t have much to say about it in terms of positives or negatives; it was quick and it did what it needed to do in setting up the climax of the episode.

Later at Dragonstone Jon and Davos (Liam Cunningham) discussed the size of Daenerys’ heart… among other things. Again I have to be honest and say that I didn’t like the direction that this scene took because although having characters come together and build relationships can make for good television it doesn’t work when the motivation is so transparent. Jon and Davos bumped into Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) who was stood waiting for them; they talked about Missandei’s past and eventually came to the topic of Daenerys and her character, with Missandei giving her a glowing reference.

This scene was clearly designed to fast-track a stable relationship between Dany and Jon, which I understand, but I take issue with the fact that the writers pretended that the scene was about developing Missandei. I didn’t have a massive issue with it but it was cheap and didn’t actually achieve anything when it was over.

via screenrant.com

Following this scene we were treated to another interaction that I didn’t expect to see again on “Thrones”, as Theon (Alfie Allen) washed up on the shores of Dragonstone to be greeted by his former rival, Jon Snow. The pair stood quietly for a moment before Theon broke the silence with a simple greeting and began to walk towards Jon. Jon then grabbed Theon and threatened him, explaining that the only reason that he wasn’t dead already was because of what he did to Sansa.

This was an incredibly weird turn of phrase because Jon was referencing the fact that Theon saved Sansa from Ramsay (Iwan Rheon), an act which was noble enough for Jon to spare Theon’s life. This was something that Theon did for Sansa rather than to her. The implication of doing something to someone is usually that you’ve wronged them in one way or another, so using this phrase confused the scene quite noticeably. I don’t know whether or not this was a mistake by Kit Harington that the director chose to overlook or whether this phrasing was actually in the script, but either way it was wrong.

Much like in the previous episode this scene with Theon was used to transition into a more important one, as Theon explained that he needed Dany’s help to rescue Yara (Gemma Whelan) before being told; ‘the queen is gone’.

via ign.com

From here the episode sparked into life and skyrocketed in quality, culminating in a beautifully shot sequence in which Daenerys used the Dothraki and Drogon to decimate Jaime’s forces and destroy the supplies he’d taken from Highgarden. I loved this sequence from start to finish, with my only issue relating once again to the fact that travel on “Thrones” has become superfluous.

The scene started slowly before a rumbling in the background could be heard. The Lannister forces got in formation and awaited their enemy who then appeared on the horizon screaming and ready to kill. The Dothraki on their own are scary enough, but to top it off Jaime, Bronn, and the rest of the Lannister army saw a dragon flying straight for them. The score and the cinematography were sublime during this sequence and you really have to applaud “Thrones” for doing things on a scale that you normally don’t see on television.

via ign.com

It was another visceral battle sequence in the vein of the Battle of the Bastards and the Battle of Blackwater, although admittedly it didn’t have a whole episode dedicated to it like those battles did. The tracking shot of Bronn making his way to the ballista was awesome and the fact that he actually managed to hit Drogon with one of the arrows was a genuine shock.

Whether or not somebody significant like Bronn should’ve died during the battle is a point worthy of discussion, but personally I was glad that everyone important ended up surviving the sequence.

Overall, “The Spoils of War” was an episode of varying levels of quality, but the extended 10-15 minutes sequence at the end was spectacular and left me more than satisfied. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next week as Daenerys addresses the Lannister army, and with things getting a little too close for comfort for Littlefinger in Winterfell the season is wonderfully poised.

7.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Seven, Episode 3 – “The Queen’s Justice”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Cersei Lannister, Charles Dance, Daenerys Targaryen, Diana Rigg, Ellaria Sand, Emilia Clarke, Euron Greyjoy, Game of Thrones, Gemma Whelan, GoT, Indira Varma, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Jaime Lannister, Jon Snow, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Littlefinger, Maisie Williams, Missandei, Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Olenna Tyrell, Peter Dinklage, Pilou Asbaek, Sansa Stark, Sophie Turner, The Mountain, The Queen's Justice, Theon Greyjoy, TV, TV Review, Tyrion Lannister, Tywin Lannister, Yara Greyjoy

via nerdist.com

Once again this episode started at Dragonstone. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) appeared on the shore with Davos (Liam Cunningham) by his side, having travelled across Westeros with ease. This immediately bothered me as a fan of the earlier seasons because although a faster pace means that plot twists happen more often, this also means that the show’s timeline and its personality suffer.

In the early seasons of “Thrones” travel was integral to the plot and important in establishing the characters. They wouldn’t just go from point A to point B; they’d learn things about themselves and they’d develop so that by the time they reached their destination we understood them that little bit better. The work that the writers did on this front is why “Thrones” is a relevant show today, so to ignore what made it great is not only shortsighted but also serves to devalue previous seasons.

Still, in isolation the opening scene was okay. It captured the tension of the moment because although the audience knows that Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) can be trusted (sometimes), Jon certainly does not. Stark men don’t do well historically when they venture South, something which this episode referenced on various occasions, and Jon’s apprehension in giving over his weapons and method of transport made that clear.

Luckily, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) was on the beach to calm Jon’s nerves, although the Dothraki were also present and did the exact opposite by taking his boat. The pair had a quick interaction in which they exchanged pleasantries and referenced the scars that they’ve picked up since they last spoke, both physically and emotionally. It was fun to see the two men talk to one another after such a long time, and although there wasn’t a lot to this scene it did its job in getting “The Queen’s Justice” off to a strong start and paying off the set-up from the previous episode.

via watchersonthewall.com

From here we followed Tyrion, Jon, Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), Davos, etc., towards the castle. Jon said that he wasn’t a Stark, which I’m sure was designed to remind the audience that he’s actually a Targaryen, and this tied in nicely to the fact that he was going to see Daenerys. A dragon then flew over Jon’s head and he was visibly shocked by both its existence and its appearance. This was another fine scene capped off by Tyrion telling Jon that he’ll never get used to seeing dragons roam the sky, but it annoyed me slightly that Jon was so shaken by the fact that he’d seen a dragon when he’s seen ice monsters and giants beyond The Wall.

We then followed Jon into Dany’s throne room. The latter was sat waiting for him and was introduced with a barrage of titles by Missandei, prompting Davos to try to do the same by simply saying ‘this is Jon Snow… he’s King of the North’. Regardless of whether or not this attempt at comedy worked for you as an audience member I think that this scene was a resounding success once the formalities were out of the way because, although it would’ve been nice to see Dany and Jon embrace instantly, it made complete sense that they were standoffish.

Both Dany and Jon have endured pain and misery every since “Thrones” began and both have been stabbed in the back at one point in time. As such, having the pair come to blows over petty politics and clashing goals was both refreshing and surprising, making them seem much more real than they would’ve done if they’d acted amicably. Neither Jon nor Dany acted villainous in this scene, although Emilia Clarke did do her best to make Dany seem slightly crazy, and at the end of the episode the alliance that they formed felt much more rewarding as a result.

The only issue I had with this scene was that in my opinion it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for Dany to believe in White Walkers given that she’s already given birth to dragons, but I think that this problem was addressed somewhat by the fact that the writers framed her cynicism in a distrust of Jon Snow rather than in the specific information he was presenting.

via winteriscoming.net

After addressing the war in the North the episode turned its attention to King’s Landing, (after a transitional Theon (Alfie Allen) scene), where Euron (Pilou Asbæk) was greeted like a hero after bravely capturing Ellaria (Indira Virma), Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers), and Yara (Gemma Whelan). Euron came across as a little too sure of himself here, feeling more like a caricature than a character, particularly when asking Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) if Cersei (Lena Headey) liked a ‘finger up the bum’. I’m all for crazy characters on “Thrones” because experience tells us that they work on the show, but Euron going full Russell Brand really didn’t work for me.

The sequence itself was decent overall, with Lena Headey pulling off multiple emotions with just a glance at Ellaria, but I could’ve done with a bit of restraint regarding the characterisation of Euron.

via slashfilm.com

Next came my favourite scene of the episode, in which Cersei flaunted the power that she now has over Ellaria and attempted to crush her spirit before most likely destroying her body. This scene had moments where it was obvious that the writers were recapping important information for the audience but it also had awesome acting and clever misdirection. Lena Headey did a fantastic job of coming across as almost justified in her actions whilst simultaneously seeming completely out of her mind, and the presence of The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) meant that Cersei’s plan for Tyene was surprisingly well hidden.

I should also mention that Indira Varma was really good in this scene which is both a positive and a negative. On the positive side of things it’s always nice to see actors giving strong performances, especially when they haven’t been showcased on a show up until the point where they give said performance, but looking at things from a negative perspective this only further highlights how poorly the showrunners have handled the Dorne storyline.

Personally, I think that the Dorne storyline started a little too far down the line for the audience to take it seriously, because by the time the Sand Snakes were introduced we really didn’t care about Oberyn’s (Pedro Pascal) death anymore. This might sound silly because barely any time passed from the point when Oberyn died to the point when the Sand Snakes first appeared on the show, but in my opinion we would’ve cared about them much more if they’d been introduced prior to Oberyn’s death – that way we could’ve at least seen them have a relationship with him.

In any case, the Cersei/Ellaria dynamic in this episode made for good television and I think that it will make the Dorne storyline more palatable on a re-watch of the series further down the line.

via metro.co.uk

Sadly, I didn’t enjoy the next scene with Cersei quite as much, mainly because it didn’t feel completely necessary. Cersei went from psychologically torturing Ellaria to initiating sex with Jaime, which is fine, but feels a little below “Thrones” to me. By this point the audience is fully aware that Cersei uses Jaime and probably doesn’t love him, even if she tells herself that this isn’t true. Whether or not Jaime thought that this act was real and meant something really isn’t that relevant at this point because he knows what Cersei is like and sex is just sex between them – it doesn’t feel like it matters anymore. Cersei allowing one of her servants to see Jaime in her bed the next morning was funny and showed that she’s past the point of no return, but in the grand scheme of things this was a scene which didn’t need to happen and stunted the pace of the episode.

We then watched on as Cersei explained to a representative from the Iron Bank of Braavos that ‘the Lannisters always pay their debts’, and that they would be better off funding her attempts to maintain power than Daenerys’ efforts to take it. This was another scene which was perfectly serviceable in isolation – it was one of those scenes where you find your hands drifting towards your phone to check for any notifications you might’ve missed since the episode began, but it wasn’t bad. However, after watching the episode in its entirety the scene became much more significant and on my second watch I liked it a lot more. It’s definitely a good scene and was well written; it’s just hard to care when you don’t know what’s coming next.

When Cersei was done being Cersei the episode turned its attention back to Dragonstone where Tyrion and Jon had a conversation about how to convince people, (like Daenerys), that the White Walkers are real. This was okay and some of the dialogue was good, but at times I find it hard to watch Kit Harington act. He’s not awful but he can be quite bland when his material isn’t brilliant, particularly because the character he’s portraying is quite one-dimensional. I don’t know if it’s Harington’s fault or if Jon Snow has become a stale character since he was brought back from the dead, but either way I’m not enjoying the show as much as I used to when he’s on screen.

The Daenerys/Tyrion interaction which followed was much less jarring, partly because their relationship is now well-established and partly because they’re two of the best talkers on the show, and it was nice that Dany didn’t take Olenna’s (Diana Rigg) advice from the previous episode to heart. Tyrion convinced Dany to extend a show of trust to Jon in the form of the dragonglass that he needed to fight the White Walkers, rightly pointing out that Dany doesn’t have any use for the dragonglass herself anyway so it makes more sense to use it to her advantage, (by offering it as a show of good faith), rather than to horde it away out of spite.

via winteriscoming.net

This facilitated a conversation between Dany and Jon where this decision was revealed, set in front of the beautiful backdrop that is Dragonstone. This was a gorgeous scene which brought two of the show’s heroes together, and the subtle mentioning of Rhaegar (who is Jon’s real father) by Daenerys was smart on the part of the writers. I enjoyed this scene because the parallels between the characters made their interaction seem natural, and although Jon ended up getting what he asked for it didn’t make Dany look weak in my opinion; rather, it made her seem like she was willing to compromise when required.

A sequence I didn’t enjoy nearly as much involved Sansa (Sophie Turner) and her long-lost brother, Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright). The sequence started with Sansa wandering around Winterfell whilst trying to seem like she was in charge. I didn’t have a problem with this per se because it made sense to show the everyday workings of Winterfell without the input of Jon Snow, but I have to say that it annoys me that Sansa allows Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) to follow her around when he clearly isn’t on her side.

via ign.com

Littlefinger gave Sansa a small but clever speech about fighting every battle in her mind at once so that she can never be caught off guard, which was acceptable and fits his character, but you have to question this kind of rationale from a man who right now seems to have one plan and one plan only… to sleep with Sansa. Don’t get me wrong, Littlefinger wants this for a multitude of connected reasons, but he’s still a man trying to escape the friendzone rather than a political genius – at least for the time being.

This speech led to Bran’s return to Winterfell, something which ironically Sansa had not planned for, and once again we were treated to some of the most tiresome acting on television today. I don’t personally feel the need to justify my hatred of Bran as a character or Hempstead-Wright’s increasingly clichéd approach to playing him, but given that one commenter last week decided to stick up for the “Thrones” equivalent of a “Bad Robots” Reception Bot I think it’s best that I explain in detail.

Bran in this episode is supposed to come off as passive. He isn’t written to be emotive or invested in the interpersonal relationships that he built before the series began because he’s processing all the information there ever was in his brain at once – I know this. However, Hempstead-Wright’s problem isn’t a lack of emotion or even a lack of understanding of the character that he’s playing, it’s a lack of understanding of how to play it convincingly. He plays his role as though he’s watched someone else play it earlier in the day and thought; ‘I’ll do that’. Bran doesn’t feel like a real character, he’s just there and you can’t help but wish he wasn’t. Hempstead-Wright doesn’t feel like a star in any shape or form and he brings the quality of an episode down simply by appearing in it. If you don’t like that opinion then please explain to me what he does that 100,000 aspiring actors can’t do when they leave college/university; other than get the role, turn up on set, and follow simple direction. I mean, come on, he doesn’t even sound Northern.

The sad thing is that the scene in which Sansa and Bran talked beneath the weirwood tree wasn’t a bad one on paper. Bran’s indifference could’ve been creepy and his bringing up Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) was interesting in its own way, but it came across as forced and silly because of the acting. At this point I’m so done with Bran that his affiliation to a storyline makes that storyline feel unimportant regardless of its ramifications to the overarching plot, and frankly I’m dreading his next appearance on the show.

via metro.co.uk

Moving swiftly on… Jorah (Iain Glen) and Sam (John Bradley) picked up where they left off at the Citadel, with the main difference being that Jorah is now officially cured of greyscale. This scene was good for what it was and all the actors did what they needed to do, with Jorah’s line about the cure coming from ‘rest’ genuinely making me chuckle. The only issue for me here is that Jorah has been cured too quickly, and although it’s clear that the procedure would hurt it doesn’t make sense that no one has done it before. If you can cut off the infected area and treat the wound then surely that’s worth the pain if it means that you can live out the rest of your days in peace, so why hasn’t anyone tried it in the past?

Where Jorah goes from here (narratively speaking) is anyone’s guess, but personally I’m worried that now that he’s healthy he’ll revert back to the character we saw early on in the series. It seems like he’s gone back to square one at this point which is a shame because he’s actually grown on me quite a bit over time, but right now I suppose that the right thing to do would be to hope for the best whilst preparing for the worst.

From here we slowly worked towards the episode’s climax, as Tyrion explained how The Unsullied would enter Casterly Rock without taking unnecessary damage whilst the audience watched the scenario(s) unfold. I enjoyed these sequences although they were quite short, and the reveal that Jamie had taken a page from Robb Stark’s (Richard Madden) playbook by accepting defeat in order to win a greater prize was very satisfying. Satisfying might seem like a strange choice of word, but at this point the battle for the Iron Throne feels secondary to the fight for survival in the North, so seeing the bad guys win is still rewarding when done well.

via winteriscoming.net

The twist in the tale was that Jaime had given up Casterly Rock in order to take Highgarden from the Tyrells, which in turn solved the issue presented by the Iron Bank earlier in the episode as the Tyrells have vast amounts of gold. By defeating the Tyrells, Jaime was able to take their gold and use it to repay the Iron Bank whilst also destroying a powerful enemy, effectively killing two birds with one stone.

This would’ve been exciting enough on its own, but to top the episode off we were then treated to a dying monologue by Olenna after she drank poison that Jaime gave her as a mercy. This was a noble gesture from Jaime, so it was a shock that Olenna repaid his kindness by telling him that she killed his son.

Of course, in reality there was a lot more to the scene than that, as Olenna revealed this information to Jaime in order to hurt Cersei rather than to seem ungrateful. Olenna went out in disgrace but she had the final word, which was fitting for her character, and she achieved what she wanted to achieve by pushing Jaime closer to the conclusion that Cersei really is a monster.

Jamie now knows that Tyrion didn’t kill Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and that in fact Cersei caused Tywin’s (Charles Dance) death, something which he’s likely blamed himself for ever since given that he set Tyrion free. Because of Cersei’s vindictive nature Jaime lost not only his father but also his brother, and if Daenerys takes the Iron Throne he will know that it was Cersei who destroyed House Lannister. Whether or not this realistation alone is enough to turn Jaime against his sister is debatable, but with Euron causing trouble as well it’s easy to see Jaime finally getting the redemption he deserves and ridding himself of Cersei once and for all.

So, overall I enjoyed this episode but it wasn’t amazing. I appreciated that it gave significant moments the time to breathe, and I’m glad we spent more time with Dany and Cersei because they’re the most interesting characters on the show right now, but certain scenes fell flat. Thankfully the episode ended strongly once again and the season is now well poised to get better as it goes on, so my outlook remains positive and I’m looking forward to next week’s episode.

7.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Seven, Episode 2 – “Stormborn”

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Aegon the Conqueror, Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Anton Lesser, Arya Stark, Balerion the Black Dread, Ben Hawkey, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Conleth Hill, Daenerys Targaryen, Diana Rigg, Dragonstone, Ellaria Sand, Emilia Clarke, Essie Davis, Euron Greyjoy, Game of Thrones, Gemma Whelan, Grey Worm, HBO, Hot Pie, Iain Glen, Indira Varma, Iwan Rheon, Jack Gleeson, Jacob Anderson, Jaime Lannister, James Cosmo, Jim Broadbent, Joer Mormont, Joffrey Baratheon, John Bradley, Jon Snow, Jorah Mormont, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lady Crane, Lena Headey, Littlefinger, Maisie Williams, Melisandre, Missandei, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ned Stark, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Nymeria, Oberyn Martell, Olenna Tyrell, Pedro Pascal, Peter Dinklage, Pilou Asbaek, Qyburn, Raleigh Ritchie, Ramsay Bolton, Samwell Tarly, Sansa Stark, Sean Bean, Sky Atlantic, Sophie Turner, Stormborn, Television, The Sand Snakes, Theon Greyjoy, TV, TV Review, Tyrion Lannister, Varys, Winterfell, Yara Greyjoy

via alluremedia.com.au

“Stormborn” picked up where the season premiere left off; at Dragonstone. The weather had taken a turn for the worse as a storm raged all around, which was fitting given the title of the episode. Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) immediately brought up the fact that Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) was born at Dragonstone on a night like this, and from here we segued into a discussion about whether or not Varys (Conleth Hill) could be trusted given his past discretions.

Varys’ speech about how he serves the realm above all else harkened back to the kind of conversations he would have with Ned (Sean Bean) in season one. I liked the fact that the writers let Varys come across as honest and noble here despite the fact that he’s done horrible things, because at the end of the day that’s exactly what “Game of Thrones” is about. The characters are supposed to be morally grey and the more entertaining ones are able to talk themselves out of difficult spots, so this scene really worked for me. These kinds of interactions are what make the show great and the fact that they’re coming thick and fast excites me.

via vanityfair.com

However, the next scene didn’t work quite as well. In this scene Melisandre (Carice van Houten) arrived at Dragonstone with an offer of loyalty to Daenerys. She said that Dany was the prince who was promised and this led to a conversation about her past which included some incredibly transparent exposition. Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) explained that the translation of ‘the prince who was promised’ was flawed because this person could be either male or female, thus adding weight to what Melisandre was saying and boosting Dany’s ego.

This scene was similar to the first one except not as good, and in my view it was the low point of the episode. Nevertheless, I’m happy that Melisandre is back because I think Carice van Houten is awesome and for me the character is one of the most intriguing people left on the show; it’s just a shame that in this episode she was used as a plot device. She was there simply to facilitate a storyline in which Jon Snow (Kit Harington) would come to Dragonstone and ask for dragonglass – which is fine – but forced dialogue and unnatural behaviour made it feel ridiculously cheap.

via watchersonthewall.com

I found it very disappointing that on a show as smart as “Thrones” we had characters vouching for people that they hadn’t seen for years, because although it’s true that Tyrion and Jon Snow grew to like one another in season one I doubt that one would champion the other without a hint of caution.

This kind of disregard for pragmatism happened twice in “Stormborn” as Sansa (Sophie Turner) surprisingly spoke highly of Tyrion when in conversation with Jon. Again she’s right in what she’s saying, and having been with both Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) she probably would think fondly of Tyrion, but this kind of support coming from such a hardened character didn’t feel real. It felt like another scene designed to move the plot forward rather than enhance the characters involved in it, thus coming across as contrived and manipulative.

via slashgear.com

Thankfully the next scene was much more entertaining as Cersei (Lena Headey) tried to use Dany’s arrival in Westeros to her own advantage. The fun thing about this scene was that although Cersei was exaggerating the truth she wasn’t entirely wrong; the things that she was saying made sense because although Dany has a right to the Iron Throne she aims to conquer rather than liberate. She would’ve wanted to be queen regardless of whether or not Cersei was a monster, so it’s fair to question whether or not her mission is righteous at all.

A later scene involving Cersei in this episode was also pretty good as Qyburn (Anton Lesser) took her to see the skull of Balerion the Black Dread, the dragon ridden by Aegon the Conqueror during the War of Conquest. Ever since the series began people have wondered how anyone could fight back against a fully-grown dragon, so the fact that the show is addressing this head on gives me hope that what transpires won’t feel like a foregone conclusion. Moreover, the fact that the writers have bothered to introduce an equaliser, (in the form of a ballista), leads me to think that at least one of the dragons could be killed during Daenerys’ siege on King’s Landing.

via vanityfair.com

I’m also happy to say that Sam’s (John Bradley) scenes in this episode were far better than his scenes in the premiere. He still felt like a plot device but at least this week he achieved something tangible!

After formally meeting Jorah (Iain Glen) and discovering that he was a Mormont Sam felt a sense of duty towards him, (given that Joer Mormont (James Cosmo) was Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch during Sam’s time at The Wall), deciding to try to cure him of his greyscale against the advice of Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent). This was a brilliant scene because it showed that when you want to live on a show like “Game of Thrones” you really have to suffer. Jorah wasn’t getting a free pass here – he didn’t get to drink a potion or have his disease healed by magic – he had his affliction scraped off piece by piece with puss pouring from his wounds. It was a gritty moment which did a lot for both characters, making them seem stronger than they did before the episode started.

via watchersonthewall.com

Back in Dragonstone Daenerys and Tyrion explained their strategy for taking King’s Landing in detail, with an emphasis on causing as little collateral damage as possible. Personally, I was pleased that the narrative took this route because although it was obvious that it wouldn’t work out, (given the fact that this was only the second episode of the penultimate season), it made sense when considering how Daenerys’ character has been built in the past. She’s someone who will get her hands dirty when the time is right, but for the most part she wants to help the helpless and promotes freedom. Killing civilians isn’t her style and the fact that this was taken into account made her feel like a hero rather than just another character.

This was another scene which offered a lot of fan service as characters like Daenerys and Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) interacted for the first time and we even got to see Tyrion and Ellaria (Indira Varma) discuss Oberyn’s (Pedro Pascal) death. Seeing these characters come together as allies is genuinely satisfying after such a long time, and even though this scene wasn’t perfect it was hard not to feel excited for the future of the series when watching it.

Still, I didn’t appreciate Olenna’s attempt to turn Dany against Tyrion. This storyline could’ve been interesting at one point in time, perhaps when Dany and Tyrion first met, but right now it doesn’t feel believable. A degree of trust has been built between the two at this point and frankly I have no interest whatsoever in seeing them disagree. We don’t have enough time for this kind of side plot so late in the game and it doesn’t feel necessary when Jon and Sansa have already teased the fact that their relationship may become fractured by the end of the season. Perhaps the point of Olenna’s advice was to make Jon’s visit to Dragonstone less simple given that it will be Tyrion who tries to support him while he’s there, but for me this scene felt superfluous and wasted valuable time.

via photoyvolution.com

Next there was a scene which I’m still unsure about; the Missandei/Grey Worm (Raleigh Ritchie) sex scene. To me this relationship has always felt like filler on a show which is hurtling towards a bloody conclusion, so although it was executed well I can’t say that I enjoyed it. The problem for me is that this moment only serves a purpose if the relationship ends in tragedy, so the fact that it was included makes me think that either Missandei or Grey Worm will die at some point during this season.

Prior to this scene it was clear that the pair had feelings for one another so we didn’t need to see them have sex on screen, and if anything the fact that they weren’t having sex made their relationship more special. In my opinion, seeing them have sex didn’t enhance their relationship or their characters individually, and the inclusion of this scene felt like yet more fan service in an episode which was already full of it.

via watchersonthewall.com

After the Jorah scene which I already mentioned the episode turned its attention to Arya (Maisie Williams) in the North. Again this was a scene which I didn’t really care for but for different reasons. In this episode Arya had two reunions; one with Hot Pie (Ben Hawkey) and one with Nymeria. During the first of these reunions Arya sat and ate with Hot Pie whilst he apologised for thinking that she was a boy when he first met her. This was okay because it reminded the audience that Arya has changed monumentally since the series began; something which was worth mentioning given that she’s currently on her way home.

My issue with this scene was that, similarly to the Melisandre scene, it was included for expository purposes. Hot Pie told Arya that the Boltons no longer had Winterfell and that it was under the control of Jon Snow, thus leading Arya to change course and make her way back to her family’s ancestral home. This was a necessary piece of information for Arya to discover and I understand why the writers chose to hide it in this scene, but surely they could’ve found a more discreet way of putting the information across? It was a scene which should’ve been sweet and heart-warming but instead it felt forced. I know that Arya isn’t the girl that she was when the pair were friends so it makes sense that she should be a little cold, but having her treat Hot Pie like a stranger whilst he spat out exposition really wasn’t the way to make this scene work.

via collider.com

It feels like the writers are trying to re-humanise Arya after crippling her character over the last couple of seasons, but the problem is that she wasn’t actually de-humanised! Arya’s arc has made the audience believe that she’s a killer but it hasn’t made us believe that she’d treat good people badly. Her interactions with characters like Lady Crane (Essie Davis) last season and even the soldiers in the previous episode made her seem like a friendly, warm, gentle person, so it doesn’t feel earned when she treats people like Hot Pie with such a palpable level of indifference.

Her scene with Nymeria was much better, although the fact that the direwolf was shown on the teaser for the episode somewhat ruined the reveal. This scene was more emotional than I anticipated and again it served to show how much Arya has changed since the series began. Nymeria acted as a physical representation of Arya’s childhood leaving her behind, and although the audience has watched this happen over a prolonged period of time it was still powerful to see the character realise it for herself. Maisie Williams’ acting was perfect as she portrayed what Arya was feeling through her facial expressions without needing to cry or over-emote, and it was refreshing to see a scene play out which didn’t feel like it had to happen for the plot to progress.

via vox-cdn.com

Elsewhere in the North, Jon decided that he would indeed travel to Dragonstone for an audience with Daenerys. Again it was interesting to see how the people of Westeros felt about Daenerys and her inevitable attack on King’s Landing, with many of them sharing Cersei’s view on the situation. This was a scene which had to happen and it was obvious that Jon would leave Sansa in charge during his absence, but I was surprised that Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) was so forthright in voicing his intentions to Jon. The fact that he was arrogant enough to enter the crypts of Winterfell and tell Jon that he was in love with Sansa was baffling but also very entertaining, and it’s about time that Littlefinger showed his true colours again. Part of me wanted Jon to strangle him to death right then and there, but it’s probably better that he be allowed to linger in Winterfell with Sansa for the foreseeable future.

The fact that Jon is going to be gone for a couple of episodes leaves Sansa vulnerable, and I’m looking forward to seeing Littlefinger try to isolate her from her allies as much as possible. However, all signs point towards a Stark reunion at Winterfell in which the lone wolf will die whilst the pack survives.

via watchersonthewall.com

Finally, “Stormborn” ended with a brilliant sequence which undoubtedly elevated the rest of the episode. After last week it was clear that Euron (Pilou Asbæk) was going to disrupt Daenerys’ plans somehow, especially given that those plans relied heavily on travel by sea, but I didn’t expect him to be quite as aggressive as he ended up being. I think we all knew that he was going to make a nuisance of himself and perhaps kidnap one of Daenerys’ allies, but I personally didn’t expect him to deliver as much damage as he did.

Euron brutally murdered two of the Sand Snakes, captured Ellaria and Yara (Gemma Whelan), mentally scarred Theon (Alfie Allen), and set Daenerys’ fleet ablaze. The show is positioning him as a real threat this season and I appreciate that because we need someone to hate now that Ramsay is dead. Cersei could be that person but she’s a schemer and she doesn’t get her hands dirty as often as characters like Ramsay did, so it makes sense that someone crazy like Euron should take centre stage.

via timedotcom.files.wordpress.com

This sequence was intense, brutal, and beautifully shot; it made an impression and left me wanting more, so although there were parts of the episode that I didn’t enjoy my overall feeling towards it was positive when the credits rolled. The fact that Theon basically reverted back into Reek made the scene all the more impactful and generated intrigue as to what will happen next with the character, and I’m also fascinated as to how Daenerys will react when she finds out what happened.

On the whole I did have a good time watching this episode and this final sequence enhanced my opinion of it greatly. There were parts of it that I didn’t like and for me there was too much exposition, but the best scenes of the episode were also the longest and the most memorable. There’s too much going on at the moment on the show and this makes it feel disjointed, but I’m excited to see where the story goes from here and I expect the standard to steadily improve each week.

7.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Six Finale – “The Winds of Winter”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Arya Stark, Braavos, Bran Stark, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dorne, Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones, Gemma Whelan, George RR Martin, GoT, Gwendoline Christie, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jaime Lannister, Jaqen H'ghar, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Littlefinger, Loras Tyrell, Maisie Williams, Margaery Tyrell, Meereen, Melisandre, Michiel Huisman, Natalie Dormer, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Olenna Tyrell, Peter Dinklage, Ramsay Bolton, Sansa Stark, Sophie Turner, Television, The High Sparrow, The Night's Watch, The Wall, The Winds of Winter, Theon Greyjoy, Tommen Baratheon, TV, Tyrion Lannister, Westeros, White Walkers, Winterfell, Yara Greyjoy

via blackfilm.com

“The Winds of Winter” was a satisfying way to end a decent season of “Game of Thrones”. The opening sequence was excellent, as a foreboding orchestral score played behind one of the most spectacular scenes of the show so far, and storylines were left in exciting places. Cersei (Lena Headey) is now Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, Arya (Maisie Williams) is back to killing the people on her list, Jon (Kit Harington) is King of the North, and Bran’s (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) visions are confirming decade-old fan theories. All in all the show is in a pretty good place, but that doesn’t mean that the season finale or indeed the season as a whole was perfect.

Over the course of season six a couple of notable story threads were disregarded, probably for the sake of streamlining the plot given that next season and the season after are going to be shorter than this one. One such plot point was the identity of The Harpy, which was brought up in episode one but subsequently ignored in future episodes. I doubt that this being kept a secret would’ve bothered many fans of the series, but it was a frustrating aspect of the Meereen storyline from my perspective because the Sons of the Harpy had been such a menacing presence in season five. During a conversation between Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Varys (Conleth Hill) it was suggested that the identity of The Harpy would be revealed, and from my perspective this was exciting because it could’ve been somebody that we already knew acting as a kind of double agent. It’s a shame then that the Sons of the Harpy were largely cut out of season six, and that the identity of their leader was disregarded as Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and her forces set sail for Westeros in “The Winds of Winter”.

Another aspect of the Meereen storyline which was pushed aside this year was the involvement of Kinvara (Ania Bukstein) and the Red Priests, who largely acted as a propaganda machine. When it was announced that there was going to be a new Red Woman on the show, and that this Red Woman would be entangled in Daenerys’ storyline, I was intrigued – I thought that this new player could influence Daenerys and take her to the peak of villainy, bringing a level of depth to the character that has (in my opinion) never truly been achieved. Moreover, when Kinvara was introduced into the story in episode five I felt that the actress brought something to the table and that the dynamic she established with Varys had potential. Sadly this was ignored, and instead what we saw in Meereen was predominantly comedic filler involving Tyrion, Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel).

via nerdist.com

Now, the fact that these two plot threads were swept under the carpet this year isn’t a damning indictment of the season as a whole, after all, we could still see these ideas explored in season seven (although given the limited time we have left on the show it’s extremely unlikely). The issue is that it feels as though there was an intention at one point to explore these characters further, and it seems as though the reason that this didn’t happen was that events were streamlined. I know this is something that I’ve brought up many times, but I think it’s an important issue given that the pacing of season six has been its most noticeable problem.

One of the biggest criticisms I’ve seen levelled at this season was the way that The Siege of Riverrun was handled, and it seems to me that this was a direct result of the showrunners trying to cram far too much into a short space of time. They wanted to have characters go from A to B, do C, and then return to A in the space of a couple of episodes, when they should’ve spent a whole season just travelling from A to B! I understand that from a logistical standpoint this might’ve been necessary because Daniel Weiss and David Benioff want to wrap up the show after season eight, but it seems slightly strange to me that the show went from spending two seasons on The War of the Five Kings to spending one episode on The Kingsmoot, two on The Siege of Riverrun, two on The Siege of Meereen, three on Jon’s death and subsequent resurrection, and one on the Battle of the Bastards.

Still, these issues don’t ruin season six for me; I enjoyed it for the most part. Certain episodes fell flat, but I thought that the season finale was good and the episode which preceded it was excellent. I was much happier with the way that this year’s finale paid off storylines than I was with how last year’s handled similar problems, and I was glad that the showrunners didn’t try to end season six with another cliffhanger.

Nevertheless, I wouldn’t say that “The Winds of Winter” as an episode was perfect, in fact, it was far from it. It’s refreshing for me to watch the show with my dad because he hasn’t been particularly enamoured by the season as a whole, so when I get carried away with the good parts of an episode he’ll say something about a part that didn’t really work and I then have to actually assess what I’ve seen objectively. It’s easy to get carried away in the moment when you’re watching a show like “Game of Thrones” because it’s been on for so long and we’re all invested in the characters and their stories, but when you take a step back to think about how certain storylines have progressed you realise that parts didn’t really make sense.

via moviepilot.com

One such moment in the season finale was when Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) was led into Qyburn’s (Anton Lesser) lair by one of Varys’ little birds. This moment was satisfying because Pycelle has been a traitorous piece of work since the series began and he definitely deserved his comeuppance. However, it didn’t make complete sense that he was led into a trap to be stabbed to death when he was probably heading for the Sept of Balor anyway. Pycelle liked to feel important and this season he has turned against Cersei, so it seems obvious to me that he would have attended her trial and if necessary given testimony against her. He wouldn’t have missed it, so chances are that he would’ve got caught up in the explosion that killed Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). So, with that in mind why did Cersei have him lured into one trap in place of another?

The easy answer to this question is that Cersei wanted him to suffer; she knew that he disliked Qyburn because of his experimentation so she wanted him to be the last person that Pycelle spoke to before his death. This is a reasonable explanation given what we know about Cersei and what she did to Septa Unella (Hannah Waddingham) in this episode, but we all know that Qyburn likes to experiment on the living, so it would make more sense to have Pycelle tortured as a guinea pig if the point was to make him suffer.

Another way to get around this issue would be to say that Qyburn had taken a disliking to Pycelle because of how the latter had ridiculed him for his gruesome practices, and in an act of revenge he had Pycelle brought to him so that he could watch him die. This could be believable because Cersei wouldn’t have to know how Pycelle died – she’d just think that he died in the explosion with the rest of her victims. However, if this was the case then you’d think that Qyburn would’ve liked to experiment on Pycelle, given what I’ve already said, and as a theory it doesn’t really fit with the fact that Qyburn said that he felt ‘no ill will’ towards Pycelle prior to his death. If he’d truly wanted revenge then you’d think that he would’ve taken the time to gloat.

This is all theoretical of course, but my point is that 1) the way that aspects of this episode were handled left something to be desired, and 2) that the material should’ve been handled with more care. Maybe the missing pieces will be filled in by George R. R. Martin when he releases “The Winds of Winter” in the future, presuming that the story will progress in the same way that it has on the show, but for now I’m left feeling slightly underwhelmed by aspects of this episode which weren’t fully believable.

via indiewire.com

Other issues I had with the episode include: 1) Margaery’s death; 2) Varys’ ability to teleport (which is again the result of streamlining as I’ve previously mentioned); and 3) having to watch Sam’s (John Bradley) escapades at The Citadel. None of these issues are particularly important in the grand scheme of things, because we all knew that Margaery would die eventually given that she was desperate to be Queen, and Sam obviously has a part to play in the wider story so he needed some screen time. However, I thought it was quite disappointing that Margaery died in such a nasty and frankly uninteresting way. She’s been such a great character and I’ve always felt that she had something to offer, but now when I watch the series back she’ll just feel like a pawn in someone else’s game.

As I’ve said, Sam had to appear in this episode given that he’ll probably make a crucial discovery in the future relating to either Jon Snow’s birth or the White Walkers, but that doesn’t make the scenes he was in any more enjoyable to watch. I have to say that personally I don’t think John Bradley is a very good actor, and tonally his scenes are so separate from what’s going on elsewhere. His scenes here felt like something out of “Monty Python”, and they didn’t feel like they belonged in the season finale, especially as they followed scenes which were on the whole quite bleak.

Still, having complained quite a lot in this review I should say that the issues I’ve brought up were on the whole understandable, and there were a number of great moments to offset the problems. Tommen’s (Dean-Charles Chapman) death scene was brilliant, both in the way it was shot and in the way it was performed, and it gave a forgettable character a truly memorable end. The reveal of Jon Snow’s parentage at The Tower of Joy was handled reasonably well, and I liked how the baby’s face gave way to Kit Harington’s so that the characters didn’t have to verbally explain what was going on. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Daenerys finally feels relevant again as she has set sail to King’s Landing. Her interaction with Tyrion in this episode was heart-warming, and it was great to see her ditch Daario (Michiel Huisman) who frankly should never have been introduced into the story in the first place. With Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) and Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) on her side following the finale, as well as Yara (Gemma Whelan) and Theon (Alfie Allen), Dany is in a very powerful and exciting position.

Overall, I felt that “The Winds of Winter” was a good episode, verging on great, but it lacked in certain areas. I know that some of my criticisms could be classed as knit-picking, but to me the little issues are the most frustrating because they’re easily avoidable. Moreover, I like to focus on the negative aspects of whatever I’m reviewing, not because I want to criticise, but because anyone can say ‘that was good’. It’s easy to express your enthusiasm for something because you can just throw adjectives at it and use positive language, but to actually assess something and try to articulate issues takes real thought. The mere fact that I watch “Game of Thrones” on a weekly basis and write roughly 2,000-3,000 words on each episode should be enough for anyone reading this to realise that I like it, so I don’t feel the need to waste time saying that in a review. With that in mind, I felt that season six as a whole was much better than season five, and despite my bugbears I did enjoy it; however, for me it pales in comparison to seasons one, two, three, and four.

“The Winds of Winter” – 8/10

Season Six – 7.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Six, Episode 4 – “Book of the Stranger”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Art Parkinson, Arya Stark, Ben Crompton, Book of the Stranger, Braavos, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Conleth Hill, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Diana Rigg, Dothraki, Dragons, Emilia Clarke, Finn Jones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones Season Six, Gemma Whelan, George RR Martin, Grey Worm, Gwendoline Christie, Hardhome, Harry Lloyd, Harry Potter, Iain Glen, Iwan Rheon, Jacob Anderson, Joe Naufahu, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, Jorah Mormont, Khal Moro, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Kristofer Hivju, Lena Headey, Lino Facioli, Littlefinger, Loras Tyrell, Maisie Williams, Margaery Tyrell, Meereen, Melisandre, Michiel Huisman, Missandei, Natalia Tena, Natalie Dormer, Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Olenna Tyrell, Osha, Peter Dinklage, Ramsay Bolton, Rickon Stark, Robin Arryn, Rupert Vansittart, Sansa Stark, Slaver's Bay, Sons of the Harpy, Sophie Turner, Television, The High Sparrow, The Night's Watch, The Seven Kingdoms, The Temple of the Dosh Khaleen, The Wall, The White Walkers, Theon Greyjoy, Tommen Baratheon, Tormund Giantsbane, TV, Tyrion Lannister, Varys, Viserys Targaryen, Westeros, White Walkers, Winterfell, Yara Greyjoy, Yohn Royce

via slashfilm.com

“Book of the Stranger” was a strong episode of “Game of Thrones”. Whilst the writers struggled to fill the holes that their minefield of rushed plot points has created, they temporarily covered them with compelling dialogue and a degree of character development. Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) proved that she can hold her own against her enemies without the need for dragons and armies, Sansa (Sophie Turner) demonstrated that she’s ready to take charge of her own destiny, and Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) showed us all that there’s a person for everyone… good luck Brienne (Gwendoline Christie).

“Book of the Stranger” predictably started at The Wall, as once again the showrunners bookended an episode with its two most exciting moments. I enjoyed this scene for a couple of reasons: 1) because seeing Jon (Kit Harington) and Sansa reunite after such a long time injected a bit of hope into the story; and 2) because Edd (Ben Crompton) said exactly what I’ve been thinking about Jon over the past week.

It seems to me that Jon riding south is pretty futile because although he’s tired of fighting, he has nowhere else to go. He has no friends in the outside world, and even if he did he knows that eventually the White Walkers will attack The Night’s Watch. Edd said as much to Jon by questioning his decision and mentioning the battle at Hardhome last season, so this was a very relieving moment from my perspective. It showed that the writers aren’t completely ignorant to issues that their handling of the story presents, and demonstrated that Jon might not be the same heroic figure as he was before he died.

The only issue I had with the opening scene was that we didn’t get to see Sansa and Jon talking to one another about what has happened since they were last together, which means that we are left to assume a lot of things. We know that they both have an idea of what the other has been doing, but it isn’t clear whether or not the specifics have been discussed.

Does Jon know that Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) raped his sister repeatedly? Does he know that Theon (Alfie Allen) helped her escape? Does Sansa know that Jon has died and been resurrected? The answer to all these questions is likely to be ‘yes’ because they talked about the issues that surround the questions, but not knowing for sure what information they have at their disposal is frustrating and leaves their motivations in a slightly confusing place. You’d think that if Jon knew that Sansa had been raped by Ramsay then he would have no problem with going to kill the bastard as soon as humanly possible… wouldn’t you? If not then why are we routing for him at all? This therefore makes his initial reluctance to act more disturbing, and changes how he should be seen as a character.

via observer.com

With a war between Jon’s forces and The Boltons being teased from the start of the episode, (and in the trailers), Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) was promptly reintroduced to the story. He visited his son-in-law, Robin Arryn (Lino Facioli), bringing him a falcon as a gift to represent the fact that the boy is wrapped around his ‘little finger’ – pun very much intended. He then thrust this fact in the face of Yohn Royce (Rupert Vansittart) by accusing him of informing the Boltons of his travel arrangements, which led Robin to show everyone just how much his diplomatic skills have evolved since the series began (moon door politics for the win). Afterwards he persuaded the young lord to help Sansa in defeating her husband and his forces, which leaves Littlefinger in a good place as a loveable antihero.

We’ll have to wait and see what Sansa thinks of Littlefinger when they meet again in the next episode – she probably won’t greet him with a hug – but it seems to me that they’ll be working together for the foreseeable future. This is actually a really interesting point in Littlefinger’s story, because we don’t yet know whether or not he truly understood the extent of Ramsay’s evil, and we also don’t know what diabolical scheme he has up his sleeve should things go array. He likes to improvise when the situation calls for it but he’s always prepared, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a plan B which ends in him betraying Sansa. He wants to install people that he can trust in positions of power, and he does have a level of affection for Sansa which makes her the logical choice to rule Winterfell, but if she seems reluctant to trust him then there’s always the possibility that he could choose another ally.

via fanpop.com

Elsewhere, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) was doing some damage limitation of his own, as he tried to fix Daenerys’ mess in Slaver’s Bay. He explained to Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) that he prefers the diplomatic approach over the military approach, so rather than trying to break the wheel he did the civil thing of talking to the Masters. It’s a breath of fresh air to see Tyrion speaking to these people as though they’re on his level, because Daenerys is so arrogant and talks to everyone as though they’re beneath her. Tyrion is a pragmatist – a politician – he finds a middle ground and then he does his best to make it bear fruit. He knows that slavery is an atrocity, but he also knows that trying to end the practice in the blink of an eye is something that only a blind man would believe is possible.

The most pressing issue on his mind is the possibility of revolution and the rise of the Sons of the Harpy, so like any intelligent man he deals with that issue first by hopefully cutting off their funding and leaving them powerless – this will make ruling Meereen easier, and his offer to the Masters will also buy him time to find a better solution. In this time he and Daenerys can make allies, acquire some ships, and possibly take King’s Landing. He knows that the slaves will suffer over the seven year adjustment period that he is proposing, but if Daenerys can become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms in that time then she will have the means to end the practice for good.

For the most part I liked the scenes in Meereen this week, but I have to say that I was irritated by the fact that the writers used the joke (that wasn’t funny in the first place) about Tyrion not being able to speak Valyrian again.

via collider.com

Whilst Tyrion held down the fort, Daario (Michiel Huisman) and Jorah (Iain Glen) proceeded to bond over talk of having sex with their queen and being attached to weapons. Daario lowers the tone of the show every time he appears on screen, and I have to say that for me the fact that Daenerys is willing to keep him in her company (never mind sleep with him) brings her character down as well. I wish he’d never been introduced to the story, and so far I don’t see any reason why he was.

As for the actual scenes involving the pair in this episode… I hated them. I was frustrated by the fact that the pair were so sure that Daenerys had been brought to the Temple of the Dosh Khaleen, because she could’ve just as easily been raped and killed by a sexually charged Khal and his bloodriders. I know that Jorah has previously spent time with the Dothraki and has an understanding of their traditions, but that doesn’t make them any more predictable – they’re a fierce and violent bunch, so anything could’ve happened.

I also found the fact that Daario carried on travelling with Jorah after seeing his greyscale a little bit ridiculous, because from a practical perspective Jorah is a walking death sentence. I know that Daario is portrayed as a ‘good guy’ on the show – after all, he’s the love interest of a protagonist – but the least he could’ve done was say ‘please, for the love of god, stay away from me’. If Jorah so much as slips and touches Daario with his arm then the latter will become terminally ill and face the prospect of turning into a stone man, so I think that he has pretty good cause to leave the old man behind.

via comingsoon.net

Moving swiftly on, (and ignoring Daenerys’ first scene in the episode because it wasn’t really worth analysing – it basically served to show that she had a plan and that she didn’t need a man to rescue her), we saw Margaery (Natalie Dormer) being held captive in a grotty dungeon. She looked amazing for a woman without any means of grooming herself, which is understandable because make-up costs money and most people won’t really notice, but for me this fact broke any immersion that the episode had created.

The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) spoke to Margaery about his past as a cobbler, although his story quickly escalated into one about a playboy getting tired of orgies and fine wine. It was nice to be given some sort of insight into the life that the devout leader had led before he became a religious fanatic, although it isn’t completely clear whether or not he was telling the truth to Margaery or simply trying to manipulate her. In any case, the acting and delivery in this scene was fantastic, as Pryce and Dormer proved once again that they are two of the best actors on the show.

Once they were done talking, Margaery was allowed to see her brother, Loras (Finn Jones), presumably for the first time since the pair were taken into custody. This wasn’t a great scene, partly because I couldn’t really tell what the writers were going for and partly because it didn’t seem particularly necessary, but it was nice to see Loras again. For a moment I thought that he wanted Margaery to kill him when he said that he wanted it to stop, and I’m still a little confused as to whether or not this moment caused Margaery to give in to The High Sparrow.

In a later scene Cersei (Lena Headey) told Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) that there was a walk of atonement planned for Margaery, which left me puddled as to whether or not this was a lie that The High Sparrow had told Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) to trick Cersei into action, or something that we were supposed to have taken from the previous scene with Margaery having confessed off-screen as a result of meeting Loras. I’m still none-the-wiser after watching the episode three times, so for now I’m going to chalk this confusion down to either poor execution on the part of the writers or intentional misdirection.

via gameofthrones.wikia.com

Once the political battlefield that is King’s Landing was visited, attention turned to Theon and his journey towards redemption. The timeline for this storyline has become very messy, because it doesn’t seem like Theon could have reached Pyke at the same speed as Sansa reached The Wall, and it’s also a little farfetched that he could just get on a boat and walk into Yara’s (Gemma Whelan) chambers. Nevertheless, it was nice that the theme of reunion was present throughout the episode – Sansa reunited with Jon, Daenerys reunited with Daario and Jorah, as well as revisiting her past and the person that she was at the end of season one, and Theon reunited with his sister.

Yara didn’t seem too pleased to see her brother, but I think that this was a reaction to the fact that: 1) she lost good men when she tried to rescue him; and 2) his sudden re-emergence just before the kingsmoot was poorly timed. Let’s not forget that Theon is known for betraying his ‘family’, the Starks, and has been living with Ramsay who is a psychotic murderer intent on ruling the North. For all Yara knows Theon could be an assassin sent to kill her under the orders of Ramsay, or a contender to rule the Iron Islands intended to cement Ramsay’s hold on the North, so she has every right to be suspicious.

Personally, I like the Greyjoy storyline and I’m enjoying seeing more of them on screen, so for me this scene was a positive moment in the episode. The only thing that remains unclear at this point is exactly how Theon thinks that he can be of use to Yara, because the ironborn respect strength above all else. Theon is a lot of things, but right now he definitely isn’t strong physically, mentally, or emotionally.

via viralshack.com

Sticking with the North, and sadly for fans of “Harry Potter”, Ramsay killed Osha (Natalia Tena). This wasn’t a particularly inspired scene, but it was definitely necessary for the plot given that Rickon (Art Parkinson) needs to seem as though he is in a precarious position. The writers don’t want him to have any allies in Winterfell because they want the stakes to be as high as possible, so killing Osha off quickly was probably the right thing to do. There was absolutely no reason for the show to keep her around, and I’m glad that the writers didn’t drag out the process by having her be tortured or brutalised – we’ve seen that before and I think that the majority of the audience have been thoroughly desensitised.

A more shocking moment for Ramsay’s character in this episode occurred when he wasn’t even on screen, as Jon and Sansa read the pink letter aloud in the middle of dinner. The pink letter is sent to Jon in the books before he dies and refers not to Rickon but to “Arya” – not the real Arya (Maisie Williams) for those of you who are wondering how on earth the youngest Stark girl ended up back in Winterfell. It was great to see this moment play out on screen, even if it didn’t feel as epic as I would’ve liked, and the words that were read to the audience were suitably menacing. For those of you with an imagination like mine the content of the letter was also pretty graphic, and it served as a vicious invitation from one bastard to another. The letter sets up the upcoming battle between Jon and Ramsay perfectly, as Jon knows that if he doesn’t win then the wildlings, his sister, and his youngest brother, will die painfully. The stakes are as high as they could possibly be, particularly because if the wildlings die then The Wall will be incredibly vulnerable when the White Walkers attack, so the battle is set to be one of the biggest of the series to date.

via ligadoemserie.com

Finally, and perhaps most importantly for fans of Daenerys, The Mother of Dragons took a leaf out of her children’s books by burning her enemies alive. She called the leaders of the Dothraki ‘small men’, which in turn led to Khal Moro (Joe Naufahu) threatening her in a way which was reminiscent of Viserys’ (Harry Lloyd) threat back in season one. Daenerys then proceeded to rain fire on him and his vulgar friends, showing that she is more than willing to kill anyone who gets in her way. She presented the men with a choice and they chose wrong – as she said in season four ‘they can live in my new world, or die in their old one’.

This was an intriguing scene for a number of reasons, most notably because it marked a significant departure from George R. R. Martin’s book series. Martin has previously stated that in the books Daenerys is not immune to fire, but that when she became The Unburnt there were special, presumably magical, circumstances in play. In the TV show it seems like things have been simplified, as it appears that Daenerys is simply impervious to fire in all its forms. I have to say that I personally prefer the direction that the television series is taking as far as this plot point goes, because to me it just makes more sense – although I’m aware that that sounds crazy.

The only issue that I had with this scene was that Khal Moro and the rest of the men inside the temple didn’t think to run towards Daenerys after she began to set the place on fire. It makes sense that one or two of them would panic – fire burns after all – but it seems pretty unlikely to me that not one of them thought it would be a good idea to kill the woman before she could cause further damage. In a life-or-death situation it’s a matter of fight or flight, and most people will choose flight in that scenario, but these men are Dothraki. They’re brutal killers who constantly engage in altercations which could end in their death, so to think they would suddenly lose their minds at the sight of a few flames is just too ridiculous for me to take seriously.

Still, it’s exciting to think about what this scene will mean for the series as a whole. Daenerys now has at her disposal: 1) three dragons; 2) the Unsullied; 3) a Dothraki horde; 4) a seasoned politician in Tyrion Lannister; and 5) what remains of Varys’ (Conleth Hill) network of spies. She has almost everything that she needs to take King’s Landing; all she’s missing is a fleet of ships.

So, on the whole I thought that “Book of the Stranger” was a great episode. It wasn’t perfect, but even the most critical of fans would have to admit that it contained some of the best moments of the season so far. Moreover, the acting was a lot better than it has been in previous episodes, and the return of Littlefinger was long overdue. The only significant negative was Daario’s inclusion, but at least Daenerys’ reaction to him was akin to the audience’s – i.e. ‘go away, I don’t need you’. I’m a lot more optimistic about where this season is headed after watching this episode, and I’m looking forward to episode five – “The Door” – next Monday.

8/10

Game of Thrones: Season Six, Episode 3 – “Oathbreaker”

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Aidan Gillen, Alliser Thorne, Anton Lesser, Art Parkinson, Arthur Dayne, Arya Stark, Ben Crompton, Beric Dondarrion, Braavos, Bran Stark, Brenock O'Connor, Bronn, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Charles Dance, Cleganebowl, Conleth Hill, Daenerys Targaryen, Davos, Dean-Charles Chapman, Diana Rigg, Emilia Clarke, Faye Marsay, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones Season Six, Gendry, Gilly, GoT, Grand Maester Pycelle, Grey Worm, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, Hannah Murray, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jacob Anderson, Jaime Lannister, Jerome Flynn, Joe Dempsie, John Bradley, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, Julian Glover, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Kristofer Hivju, Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham, Littlefinger, Maisie Williams, Max von Sydow, Meereen, Melisandre, Missandei, Natalia Tena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ned Stark, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Oathbreaker, Olenna Tyrell, Olly, Osha, Owen Teale, Peter Dinklage, Qyburn, Ramsay Bolton, Richard Dormer, Rickon Stark, Rory McCann, Samwell Tarly, Sansa Stark, Shae, Sibel Kekilli, Sophie Turner, The Brotherhood Without Banners, The Citadel, The Dothraki, The High Sparrow, The Hound, The Mountain, The Night's Watch, The Sand Snakes, The Three-Eyed-Raven, The Tower of Joy, The Waif, The Wall, Tommen Baratheon, Tormund Giantsbane, Tyrion Lannister, Tywin Lannister, Varys

via screenrant.com

This episode of “Game of Thrones” season 6 was my least favourite of the three to be aired thus far. Whilst it would be a decent episode on any other show, in my opinion it was substandard given the level of quality that we’ve become accustomed to since this series began.

“Oathbreaker” started where the previous episode left off, with a naked Jon Snow (Kit Harington) rising from the dead. I have to say that after such a long build up to this moment I was incredibly disappointed with its lacklustre execution; the dialogue was uninspired, the performances were overstated, and the way that characters acted didn’t make sense given how they’d been established in previous episodes. It should’ve been one of the most memorable moments of the series so far, but instead it felt soulless.

There was no sincerity in Davos (Liam Cunningham) when he spoke to Jon, and Jon didn’t seem particularly grateful to be back, so the whole escapade felt flat for me. I’d have also liked shock to have been shown by Davos and Melisandre (Carice van Houten) in a more subtle and considered way, because rather than stumbling on their words or expressing their disbelief they pulled their best ‘oh my god’ faces and then moved on. I’m not sure when “Game of Thrones” became a soap opera, but that was the standard of this moment.

The next scene at The Wall was equally frustrating, although the conversation between Edd (Ben Crompton) and Jon made it slightly less so. I didn’t appreciate the fact that Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) gave Jon a hug, because that isn’t the way that a wildling would act, but it was interesting that when Edd looked into Jon’s eyes he asked if Jon was still in there. This was intended to remind the audience of previous scenes such as the one in which Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) told Melisandre what being resurrected by the Lord of Light was like – in this scene Beric told Melisandre that each time he came back he was ‘a little less’, which makes me wonder whether or not Jon will be significantly different now that he’s back. That remains to be seen, but I’m looking forward to watching this storyline play out in future episodes.

via winteriscoming.net

After this scene we finally got to see what Sam (John Bradley) and Gilly (Hannah Murray) have been up to since the end of last season, and it turns out that they’ve done very little. We knew that Sam would be heading to the Citadel when Jon allowed him to leave The Wall, and he’s still on that journey now. The scene served as a tool to re-establish the dynamic between the two star-crossed lovers and tell the audience what their plans were, so it didn’t really do much for me. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but it could’ve easily been cut out to give more interesting characters extra screen time.

Then we saw Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) continuing his training with the Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow), as he delved into the past in a scene which book readers have been talking about for many years. I didn’t dislike this scene, but in my opinion it was weaker than it should’ve been because of the actors that were involved. I personally didn’t feel very attached to Ned Stark because of the actor that was playing him – he didn’t look powerful or manly enough for my liking – and (as usual) Isaac Hempstead-Wright’s performance was devoid of emotion; it felt more like the work of an amateur drama student than that of a top actor. I also thought that the Three-Eyed Raven’s line about learning ‘everything’ was very cliché, and it reminded me of a comedy sketch from BriTANick (which you should definitely watch on YouTube – just type in ‘BriTANick everything’ and it will pop up).

via screenrant.com

Moving south, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) is still biding her time with the Dothraki. I’ve said before that this is a storyline that I’m not interested in, and this is only furthered by the fact that Daenerys doesn’t seem to be learning anything by going backwards and revisiting her past. She’s so arrogant and sure of herself right now that it’s almost sickening, and I’m really starting to dislike her as a character. She doesn’t respect anyone else’s traditions or views and she belittles them at every turn – just look at what she’s done to Meereen.

My biggest problem with her storyline is that it’s unclear whether or not this is the angle that the writers are going for – the plot is formed in such a way that Daenerys should be the protagonist, and I feel as though that’s what the writers are going for, yet from my perspective she isn’t. She isn’t likeable, she isn’t humble, and she’s a conqueror not a liberator. If she takes King’s Landing in the state that she’s in right now then she’ll destroy it!

via vox.com

In Daenerys’ absence Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) has been ruling over Meereen, and so far he’s had a relatively easy job (compared to the job that Daenerys had). There’s not been a lot of resistance, and with Varys (Conleth Hill) taking control of the situation he finds himself making small talk with Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) as though he didn’t have a care in the world. It’s common on “Game of Thrones” for Tyrion to spend the majority of his time enjoying the sound of his own voice, but usually his friends have something to say back; however, right now only Varys is on his level, so having a meaningful conversation is becoming difficult. This is something which this episode tackled in an attempt to create comedy, as Tyrion tried to play the game that he played with Bronn (Jerome Flynn) and Shae (Sibel Kekilli) in season one with Missandei and Grey Worm, only to be met with confusion and silence. Sadly, this scene wasn’t particularly funny, and only served to show that Missandei and Grey Worm are underdeveloped characters.

Elsewhere, in King’s Landing Qyburn (Anton Lesser) persuaded Varys’ little birds into doing his bidding by offering them candied plums. This was another scene which was designed to reintroduce a character and his role in the story, as having not seen him yet this year it would be easy to forget that he is the Master of Whispers. It wasn’t a bad scene, but the fact that the writers are still wasting screen time to reintroduce characters in episode three is worrying, particularly because people like Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) are yet to appear.

One positive aspect of this scene was that Cersei (Lena Headey) revealed her intention to request a trial by combat, something which will have excited book readers aplenty. It’s been speculated for a long time that Cersei would request such a trial, and that her champion would be The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson), and it looks like that will be the case. The question then is who will The Faith choose as their champion – the prevalent theory is that The Hound (Rory McCann) will come back to fight his brother, in an epic clash that has been foreshadowed since the very start of the series, and I have to say that it’s a theory I believe.

via thewrap.com

However, there are other possibilities; in case you’d forgotten, there are two Sand Snakes running around in King’s Landing who have a hatred for both Lannisters and The Mountain – after all, the latter killed their father and their aunt. To see one of them fight on behalf of The Faith would be pretty amazing, not only because it would bring Dorne into the wider story, but also because there would be a massive size difference between the two fighters.

After Cersei revealed her plans we saw her, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and The Mountain interrupt a meeting of the Small Council. This was probably the best scene in the episode in terms of dialogue, as the sharp-tongued Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) was brought back into the fold to throw insults at the Lannisters and bring the only genuine laugh of the season so far. It’s just a shame that the scene was tarnished by a ridiculous moment in which Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) farted in fear at the sight of The Mountain. “Game of Thrones” is beloved because of its dark tone, so I can’t comprehend why the writers thought that it would be a good idea to lower the tone with such a pointless attempt at producing a cheap laugh. Whoever made that call should be paraded in the streets naked and face a trial by combat – shame.

Next we saw The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) having a civil chat about Cersei and why she deserves the punishment she’s receiving. This scene really pushes the fact that The High Sparrow is so much more than a holy man attempting to rid the world of evil – he’s a master manipulator and he preys on the insecurities of those around him to get what he wants. He lets Tommen have his say because he knows that Tommen feels powerless, but then he talks him down by presenting himself as a wise father figure, something that Tommen has never had. He talks about Cersei and Tywin (Charles Dance) as though he cares about them and he tricks Tommen into calming down.

via theverge.com

After this, the episode turned its attention to Arya (Maisie Williams) and her journey to become ‘No One’. This scene wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely my favourite of the episode. Montages are usually a cheap device to tell a story in a swift but still compelling way, and that’s clearly the case here, but it works for this storyline because nobody really wanted Arya’s blindness to be drawn out. I think what everyone would like is for Arya to leave Braavos immediately, so at least by streamlining her narrative in this way we’re getting closer to what we want. It’s another story which will feel hollow when it’s watched back on DVD, because Arya was only blind for a combined period of about three episodes, but right now it leaves her in a good place.

Moreover, a couple of smart decisions were made in these scenes which I appreciated. Through Arya’s conversation with The Waif (Faye Marsay) we were reminded of Rickon at the perfect moment (Art Parkinson) – a character who many will have forgotten all about – and also of The Hound, who may well come back this year. I also liked that she said she was confused when she made the decision to travel to The House of Black and White, as this set up the conflict that will occur in Braavos in future episodes nicely.

However, the fact that Melisandre wasn’t on Arya’s list annoyed me, because after Gendry (Joe Dempsie) was taken from The Brotherhood Without Banners in season three Arya added The Red Woman to her list, and there’s absolutely no reason why she would’ve removed her name from it.

After Rickon was verbally re-established, he was given to Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) as a gift from The Umbers. It’s unclear exactly what Ramsay is going to do to Rickon and Osha (Natalia Tena) at this stage, but it probably won’t be much fun for the youngest of the Stark children. By now the audience is pretty desensitised to Ramsay’s actions, and we’ve already seen him do deplorable things to characters we’re more interested in than Rickon, but that doesn’t mean that this won’t be an interesting development in the story. Personally I’d prefer if we didn’t see Ramsay torture Rickon at all, because his doing so wouldn’t achieve anything, but that might be wishful thinking.

From my perspective, the easiest way to move the plot along using Rickon is to introduce the pink letter, which book readers will know all about. In the books this is a letter that’s sent to Jon Snow and it relates to ‘Arya’, or rather a person who Ramsay claims is Arya. This character’s place was taken last year by Sansa (Sophie Turner) but the pink letter didn’t appear, so it would be very easy for the writers to introduce it now and use Rickon as the bait to force Jon and the wildlings into battle.

via youtube.com

Speaking of Jon, the episode ended with our favourite dead man walking getting revenge on his killers. Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) and Olly (Brenock O’Connor) were hung, to the delight of fans all over the world. It was a very satisfying scene, as two of the most hated characters on the show were killed in a pretty nasty way. Alliser took it in his stride and died honourably, if that’s possible for a man who organised the murder of his commanding officer, and Olly stuck to his guns despite the fact that if he’d asked for mercy he probably would’ve got it. Both men had their reasons for doing what they did, so it was nice that neither of them were willing to apologise.

When the deed was done Jon passed on command of The Night’s Watch to Edd, (which explains why the show has been placing the character at the forefront of the storyline in recent times), and announced that his watch had ended. This is contentious, but technically he did die and the vows he made were null and void upon his death (I still think that because the vows say ‘for this night and all nights to come’ he should be bound to them, but what do I know?). This was a great mic drop moment, and served as a cool way to end the episode, but it’s unclear exactly what Jon is going to do with his new found freedom. Hopefully he’ll still meet up with Sansa in the near future.

So, that was the episode. Over the course of about fifty minutes a total of eight locations were visited, which in my opinion is a bit excessive. Every episode feels like a battle for screen time between the characters, which for me takes all impact from the show. I like where Arya’s story is headed, but because we spend so little time with her each week it’s hard to become invested. Nevertheless, I am a harsh critic, and it would be wrong of me to say that there weren’t moments in this episode that I enjoyed. I thought that the final three scenes (Arya’s, Ramsay’s, and the execution) were quite good, and the episode definitely improved as it went on. However, if the season continues in this disjointed manner then it will definitely be my least favourite of the show so far.

5.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Five, Episode 7 – “The Gift”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Alliser Thorne, Arya Stark, Bronn, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Diana Rigg, Dorne, Dragons, Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones, Gilly, Hannah Murray, Hardhome, Iain Glen, Iwan Rheon, Jaime Lannister, Jerome Flynn, John Bradley, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, Jorah Mormont, Kerry Ingram, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Littlefinger, Maester Aemon, Maisie Williams, Margaery Tyrell, Meereen, Melisandre, Michiel Huisman, Myrcella Lannister, Natalie Dormer, Nell Tiger Free, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Olenna Tyrell, Owen Teale, Peter Dinklage, Peter Vaughan, Ramsay Bolton, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, Samwell Tarly, Sansa Stark, Selyse Baratheon, Shireen Baratheon, Sky Atlantic, Sophie Turner, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Tara Fitzgerald, Television, The Gift, The High Sparrow, The Iron Throne, The Night's Watch, The Wall, Theon Greyjoy, Tommen Baratheon, TV, Tyene Sand, Tyrion Lannister, White Walkers, Winterfell

This episode of “Game of Thrones” was one of the best that this season has had to offer. It had some of the most memorable moments of season five so far, as characters who were previously strangers finally met, and Cersei’s (Lena Headey) schemes blew up in her face. Furthermore, the dialogue was great and character interactions were well written and layered with intrigue. I enjoyed it very much, particularly because certain story arcs finally felt as though they were working towards their respective conclusions, and I felt that it was a well-made hour of television.

The episode opened with Sansa (Sophie Turner) in her bedroom at Winterfell; we immediately got to see the state that she was in following the controversial finale to last week’s episode, and we saw the harsh reality that is marriage to Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon). Sansa was beaten and bruised but she wasn’t broken – she’s in a horrible position and her life isn’t going how she wants it to, but there’s enough going on to make me hold out hope for her future. Sansa’s conversation with Theon (Alfie Allen) was interesting, because she might not want to be around him and even hate him, but she doesn’t have many friends in Winterfell right now, and the one’s she does have are getting flayed alive.

via thesupernaturalfoxsisters.com

It seems like she shares my perspective on Ramsay, as she responds to Theon’s warning that Ramsay will hurt her if she disobeys him by saying ‘he already hurts me every night’. Clearly Sansa isn’t going to sit idly by whilst Ramsay psychologically and physically tortures her, as demonstrated by the fact that she silently picked up what looked like a useful weapon during her walk with Ramsay, so we could be in for a significant casualty at Winterfell by the end of the season.

Theon is a strange character for me, because I know that he’s damaged goods, a shell of the man he once was, but there’s nothing left for him to lose. I admit that I wouldn’t want to be flayed alive, and that’s probably the only thing that could make Theon’s situation markedly worse, but I can’t comprehend what he hopes to achieve by remaining loyal to Ramsay. He says that things can always get worse, but for me that isn’t quite true, because I think I’d rather be dead than be Ramsay’s slave.

Both Sophie Turner and Alfie Allen were great in the opening scene – Allen did just enough to display Theon’s fear whilst feigning a moment of clarity, making us wonder whether or not he was actually going to help Sansa, and Sophie Turner showed her pain and distress whilst also demonstrating the urgency of her situation. I liked this scene a lot, even if it didn’t quite convince me that Theon would help Sansa, so it was a nice start to the episode.

Theon’s subsequent tattling to Ramsay was extremely annoying, even though it was obviously coming, because I was wishing that he’d do the right thing. I want Theon to earn some kind of redemption before his story is over, but right now I don’t see that being possible as he turns down every opportunity to help Sansa.

via collider.com

At The Wall, a much kinder bastard began his journey to Hardhome, leaving Sam (John Bradley) in a whole heap of trouble. Jon’s (Kit Harington) journey was followed by the death of Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan), which was a really sad scene. He’s been around since the start of the series, so we’ve had a long time to become attached to him, and I’m easily affected by scenes like this because old age is such a scary prospect to me. I felt that Maester Aemon’s death was pretty well executed overall, but I thought that the writers could’ve done a bit more with his dying hallucinations. The fact that he said he dreamt that he was old was chilling, because I suppose that old age never really feels natural; life always seems like its waiting to be lived for us, so although the body grows tired the mind waits for another day.

But my problem with the scene wasn’t the dialogue that was written, it was what could’ve been explained. I thought that he could’ve spoke more about Aegon’s actions and related them back to the problems that Jon and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) are facing, implicitly of course, which would’ve made more sense given that he is a Targaryen, and also would’ve been a smarter way to utilise his final moments in light of what’s to come.

via winteriscoming.net

(SPOILER ALERT FOR JON SNOW) – It was a shame that Jon was away when Maester Aemon died, not only because he has given him valuable advice in the past and the two have formed a bond, but also because they may turn out to be family. If Jon is a Targaryen then Maester Aemon was one of the few family members that he had left in this world, so to not have had a proper goodbye will be crushing for him if he one day makes that discovery. Plus, it’s not clear whether or not Maester Aemon knew about Jon’s parentage, (I’d like to think he did), so his dying words feel a bit like a missed opportunity given that he could’ve told Sam.

Because Jon is away and Stannis (Stephen Dillane) has begun his march towards Winterfell, the time spent at The Wall in this episode was largely devoted to Sam, which was interesting because we rarely get to see him as a fully-fledged character. I thought that John Bradley commanded the screen quite well as the camera lingered more on him than he might be used to, and the fact that he was the focal point at The Wall in this episode didn’t make the scenes there any worse for me. I was glad that his relationship with Gilly (Hannah Murray) was allowed to blossom, because normally their alone time feels like a chore to watch, as they are either complaining or placating one another. In this episode they actually demonstrated their affection, and Sam showed his bravery in attempting to save her from what would’ve been a horrible sexual assault, so I was able to feel more connected to their relationship and get a feel for how it could work if they both survive the winter.

There were a couple of things which annoyed me about the scenes at The Wall in this episode, although they probably fall more under the category of nit-picking than of serious flaws. When Aemon’s funeral was taking place I didn’t feel that Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) needed to make his comment about Sam losing all of his friends. I get that he’s supposed to be a character for the audience to dislike, but I don’t hate him as much as the show wants me to; he’s an antagonist because he dislikes Jon and he wants to be in charge, but his opinions are often valid and he fights for the right cause. He might be annoying, but the show doesn’t have to position him as a horrible human being to make him a compelling character, so lines like this just feel unnecessary. When he’s being overly nasty I’m actually taken out of the episode, because I see this behaviour as manipulation by the writers, rather than what his character would actually do.

Everyone watching the show could see that Aemon’s death was there to propel Sam’s character forward and make him more of a man before winter comes, leaving him exposed and maintaining drama at The Wall whilst its leading man is away, so the writers didn’t have to prod us with a stick so that we would make the connection. Sometimes implying a certain issue is enough, particularly if you trust the actors to do their part, so all that was needed here was a worried expression on Sam’s face and a close-up shot of said facial expression. This isn’t going to affect how I rate the episode as a whole, but it’s small decisions like this that make the crucial difference between quality and mediocrity, so when intelligence and thoughtfulness aren’t fully displayed it really gets to me.

via thegeekiary.com

Stannis’ journey away from The Wall hasn’t been very fruitful so far, as his army has been depleted by sellsword desertion and some of his horses have died of starvation. Winter is coming and his army only has so long to make it to Winterfell whilst also maintaining their advantage, so step in Melisandre (Carice van Houten) with an unwelcome suggestion – sacrifice Shireen (Kerry Ingram). It’s been apparent this season that Shireen has had significantly more screen time than she would normally receive, and the writers have obviously been trying to push the fact that Stannis is a good father with the right things at heart, so the writing has most definitely been on the wall for the character. I don’t believe that Stannis will sacrifice his daughter, because we’ve seen that he loves her and I think he’s got enough about him to choose her over victory, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’ll be spared.

What I’m really hoping for is for Melisandre to act against Stannis, because the consequences of that kind of action would be fascinating. I could definitely see that happening, because she has Selyse’s (Tara Fitzgerald) backing for every decision that she makes, so she could use her to get to Shireen and do the deed. If that does happen then I don’t know what the future holds for Melisandre, but I would be more than happy to find out.

Both Carice van Houten and Stephen Dillane were great in this scene, as they have been all season, and you could definitely feel the tension and conflicting thoughts in the room. Whether or not Stannis agrees with Melisandre’s approach, he still trusts her and believes that she knows what’s best, so he’s bound to at least think of agreeing to her plan. She’s loyal to him and she’s been very useful, so he takes her very seriously. It was a scene filled with emotion from both actors, as they conveyed how desperately they want to not only defeat the Boltons and take the Iron Throne, but also be around for the battle against the White Walkers. They’re the only people in this world that are playing the game of thrones whilst also looking at the bigger picture, because the Night’s Watch isn’t interested in the throne, and everyone else isn’t interested in the Night’s Watch. This season has really displayed the fact that Stannis isn’t just some warmonger seeking power, he has more on his mind than that, and as a result he’s seemed much less one-dimensional.

via thesupernaturalfoxsisters.com

This week’s foray into Meereen began with a healthy dose of sexposition involving Daenerys and the ever-insufferable Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman). I think I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, I don’t like Daario at all! I hate them as a couple, I hate Michiel Huisman’s delivery, and I just wish that the writers would kill him off. He’s only there to act as an adviser to Daenerys, usually providing a completely naïve and unwise perspective on the situations she faces, so I don’t know why he’ll be needed from here on out.

This scene broke my immersion slightly, because when actors cover up during sex scenes it annoys me and reminds me that I’m watching a television show. How Michiel Huisman’s arms were carefully positioned so as to hide Emilia Clarke’s nipples, and the sheets were just high enough to cover both of their bums, just reminds me that this is a scene put together by a director and his team who are there in the background positioning the actors. I know that this is done on basically every television show, but it still seems ridiculous to me – if you don’t want to be involved in sex scenes then don’t take part in an adult television show; at home you aren’t going to cover your body when there’s no one else around!

Having criticised the scene a bit, I should say that it wasn’t actually terrible, and it didn’t hamper how I felt about the episode. There were some pretty decent lines in there, even if they felt as though they didn’t need to be said. For example, Daario said that ‘even slaves have a choice, death or slavery’ and that was a nice piece of dialogue because there’s a few things you could take from it. I took it as Daario basically telling Daenerys that she doesn’t need to be as concerned with Slaver’s Bay as she is right now, which was backed up by his advice to round up the masters and be done with the whole situation, and that’s something which the audience thinks week in week out. Daario acts as an ignorant onlooker for Daenerys to learn from in many ways, because his advice is often foolhardy and careless, so by considering it she’s able to better understand what her role is in Meereen and what being the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms will entail.

Probably the best line that came from that scene was ‘all rulers are either butchers or meat’, because in reality being the undisputed leader of a world of diverging cultures and traditions doesn’t come cheap. If Daenerys really wants to rule then she can’t be so obsessed with justice and law, because these things are often obscured by events out of your control. When you play the game of thrones you either win or you die, and that’s not just a fun phrase to put on a poster. If you want to rule you have to be willing to make hard decisions, because at the end of the day you’ll always have enemies, and they won’t always be the epitome of evil. You can’t have people questioning your authority day in day out and sometimes the only course of action will be an extreme one.

via winteriscoming.net

I thought it was fitting that after this line was delivered we cut to King’s Landing, because we have a ruler there who is the prime example of the second option that Daario posed. Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) might as well come with cooking instructions, because he is on the far end of the spectrum as far as leaders are concerned. His wife sits in a dirty cell whilst he sits in his finery, and all he does about it is bitch and moan. He allows his mother to take the lead again, as she manipulates him into thinking that he’s somehow in control of matters so far beyond his comprehension, and in doing so he loses her as well! He’s completely out of his depth and if he isn’t careful he’ll be the one to pay, because whilst Cersei is imprisoned there’s always the worry that the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) will find out about how he was conceived.

Jonathan Pryce has been a masterful addition to the cast this year, playing a character that feels so far removed from the norm in King’s Landing but also managing to feel so settled in this world of ‘murderers, thieves and rapists’. He doesn’t play the same game as the opposition, and he’s actually the closest thing we have to a ‘good guy’ in King’s Landing, yet he’s just as much of a schemer as everyone else. There’s something incredibly unnerving about him even though he’s fighting for the gods, and seeing him exercise his absolute power right now is very entertaining.

His interaction with Olenna (Diana Rigg) was superb, and she might’ve even topped her performance in the previous episode. Her delivery was sublime and the writing for her character is top notch. She’s a joy to watch and her honesty is such a relief on a show swelling with pragmatism and deceit – however, she might have met her match in the form of the High Sparrow.

She’s a master of finding ulterior motives and understanding the finer points of human psychology, but like most of the people in King’s Landing she’s yet to fully get to grips with what motivates him. There’s no way to buy him and no way to appease him, because as far as he sees it right is right and wrong is wrong. He’s a stubborn and unmoving antagonist, so to control him will take more than bribery or words of anger. However, Olenna still managed to find a way to put the ball back in her court, as her alliance with Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) proved its worth once again by the end of the episode.

via winteriscoming.net

If there’s one scene that brought this episode down a notch it was Jaime’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) interaction with Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free). There was nothing drastically wrong with their short conversation, but just like everything else that’s happened in Dorne this season it was insignificant and unsatisfying. It basically consisted of a soap-opera like declaration from Myrcella of ‘you don’t know me’, just not in those words. It seemed to be there to push the idea that Jaime is a bad father in need of redemption, but I think the audience is smart enough to see that without needing Myrcella to say it.

Something had to be shown of Jaime in this episode so that we had an idea of how he was being treated, but I would’ve preferred if he had something interesting to say, or even if his scene had been there for comic relief. I get it, Jaime hasn’t done right by his kids, one’s dead, one’s in danger in a foreign land, and the other sits on the Iron Throne with his tail between his legs as two angry woman play tug of war with his emotions, but there’s no need to push it in our faces.

via hbowatch.com

The scene in the cells at Dorne was interesting, if not a little confusing. The Sand Snakes still don’t make a lot of sense to me, and individually they don’t have a whole lot of personality, which is worrying after seven episodes. The fact that Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) bared all to Bronn (Jerome Flynn) and revelled in the fact that he liked what he saw gave her something of a personality, but it was still unclear why she’d give him the antidote when moments before he and Jaime thwarted the Sand Snakes’ plan. Yes, it was implied that Tyene was sexually attracted to him, but when the Sand Snakes were first introduced they appeared to be a focused and vicious group, so this scene only left me feeling unsure about who they really are and what they want from the world.

I know a lot of people might be wondering why Tyene had the antidote in the first place, and they might possibly see it as a convenient plot device to keep Bronn alive, but I think it makes enough sense to be passable. If you think about it, it’s possible that her own dagger would be used against her if she was disarmed in combat, so to carry an antidote for the poison it’s laced with makes sense to me.

Finally, there were two massive moments in this episode, and together they elevated it into probably the most significant and memorable hour of the season so far. The first was my most anticipated moment of season five before it began, although I’d hoped it would come much sooner, as Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) finally met Daenerys. Seeing Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke on screen together for the first time was a BIG deal, and something which admittedly gave me goose bumps, however sad people might think that is.

via gameofthrones.wikia.com

The moments leading up to their meeting weren’t perfect, because it seemed a bit unnecessary for Jorah (Iain Glen) to take out every single fighter before he spoke to Daenerys. Obviously it made things easier, but it felt like a very showy way of making Jorah out to be a badass before he slowly revealed his identity. Also, Daenerys’ reaction to the bloodshed felt ridiculous given the fact that only two episodes ago she fed an innocent man to her dragons without remorse. I’m sorry but if you’re willing to do that then you should be more than happy to watch a little knife fight!

Still, when the scene arrived I was in a forgiving mood, as “The Gift” (a.k.a. Tyrion Lannister) told Daenerys who he was and we were finally given what we’ve wanted for so long. Daenerys now has an adviser worthy of a Queen, rather than Daario Naharis who isn’t fit for a cow. Their meeting wasn’t a 10/10 as far as execution goes, but it was exciting and the fact that there was a teasing lead up to it gave the scene a ‘will they, won’t they’ vibe that had me on the edge of my seat.

The second moment hasn’t been building up for quite so long, but it was still very satisfying when it arrived. Cersei’s detainment at the hands of the High Sparrow was so enjoyable from my perspective, because she’s been cocky and self-assured all season, working everyone over and getting what she wants, so to see that backfire so monumentally right at the end of this episode was incredibly rewarding.

via joannachayes.wordpress.com

In both this episode and its predecessor Cersei’s smugness has felt so out of place, because she really isn’t in control; I don’t know what sort of sway she thought she held over the High Sparrow, because he didn’t need her from the moment she set him loose, so to see that realisation hit her was pretty awesome. Now there’s nothing she can do, she’s out of the picture and in deep deep trouble, which is interesting moving forward and gives the scenes in King’s Landing even more urgency.

These two well-established and talented actors played off one another wonderfully here and in previous episodes, and I can’t wait to see how their dynamic shifts now that the balance of power has been placed firmly at the feet of the High Sparrow.

Overall, I think this episode was very strong. I had a couple of small issues with it, but they were mostly trivial and relate more to my preferences than anything else. “The Gift” was a very well-paced episode, filled with great performances, memorable lines, and two genuinely noteworthy scenes that will hopefully kick the season into life as it nears its close. We’re at the point where “Game of Thrones” usually excels, and this episode did a fine job of reminding me of that, wetting my appetite for what is to come. This episode offered significant payoff after a season of placing building blocks, making it both enjoyable and memorable, whilst also making me appreciate the episodes that came before it that little bit more.

9/10

Game of Thrones: Season Five, Episode 6 – “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Arya Stark, Braavos, Bran Stark, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dorne, Dragons, Eddie Redmayne, Emilia Clarke, Eugene Simon, Faceless Men, Finn Jones, Game of Thrones, Iain Glen, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jaime Lannister, James Cosmo, Jaqen H'ghar, Jerome Flynn, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, Jorah Mormont, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lancel Lannister, Leatherface, Lena Headey, Les Miserables, Littlefinger, Loras Tyrell, Maisie Williams, Many-Faced God, Margaery Tyrell, Natalie Dormer, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Oberyn Martell, Olenna Tyrell, Pedro Pascal, Peter Dinklage, Ramsay Bolton, Rory McCann, Samantha Barks, Sansa Stark, Sky, Sons of the Harpy, Sophie Turner, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Television, The High Sparrow, The Hound, The Iron Throne, The Mountain, The Night's Watch, The Sand Snakes, The Wall, Theon Greyjoy, Tom Wlaschiha, Tommen Baratheon, TV, Tyrion Lannister, Westeros

This episode of “Game of Thrones” was slightly tepid. It began slowly and carried on in that fashion for the majority of its run time, with even more exposition than usual. Personally, I never felt fully immersed in this episode, because I didn’t really believe that the stakes were as high as they pretended to be. There were some interesting moments, such as Margaery’s (Natalie Dormer) arrest, so I’m intrigued to see how the episode is received, but those moments lacked any real impact for me because the interactions between the characters weren’t as exciting as usual, and the episode was just very dull.

The final scene tried to capture the audience’s interest, and it was definitely controversial, but for me it didn’t quite do its job because there was nothing surprising about it. We all knew that Sansa’s (Sophie Turner) wedding night would end badly for her, so the fact that it did wasn’t that remarkable. It was a horrible scene, to its credit, but it only made me dislike the episode more.

“Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” began with a short visit to Braavos, which is probably the most disappointing thing about this season so far. The promise of seeing more of Westeros was very appealing before this season started, yet the time we’ve spent in Braavos and Dorne has been minimal at best, and they feel more like side attractions than the main event as a result (making both Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Arya (Maisie Williams) less compelling).

via indiewire.com

I didn’t particularly enjoy the opening sequence of this episode, because I think that right now Arya’s storyline is very weak – she doesn’t seem as strong as she did last season, which is understandable because she’s out of her depth, but in reality she’s been fending for herself for a long time and doing so with style, so to see her like this feels like a step back rather than a positive character development.

I love Arya; she’s one of my favourite characters, only matched by Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen), Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), so to see her devolve as she’s doing right now is very disenchanting. She’s becoming ‘No One’ on the show, which has the potential to be fun in the future, but right now her character is in a state of transition and she’s losing what made her so awesome in the first place. If she stops being sassy and vengeful then she may as well stop appearing on this show, because an assassin without an interesting cause is just another extra on “Game of Thrones”. I don’t want to be too critical, because I believe that she has somewhere interesting to go and will become as likeable as ever very soon, but at this stage of her development she’s quite boring, and she doesn’t light up the screen as she has done in the past.

When Arya is on screen we’re meant to feel slightly confused, because that’s how the character is feeling and we are supposed to be able to relate to her. That feeling permeates through every scene in Braavos, which is good, but rather than filling me with a sense of wonder and intrigue, it makes me feel frustrated and tired. Nothing going on in Braavos makes me excited to see what’s going to happen next, because Arya’s story feels isolated and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, similar to how Bran’s (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) arc has felt for the last couple of seasons.

via baldmove.com

It was okay for Arya’s story to feel like a side note last season, because her dynamic with The Hound (Rory McCann) was fascinating and the two actors played off of one another brilliantly. However, I don’t feel that same chemistry between Maisie Williams and Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’ghar), so things in The House of Black and White often feel lost and out of place. Ultimately, I’m not sure whether I care about Arya’s storyline enough this season, because although I love her as a character, her arc is aimed solely at turning her into someone else.

I found the scene in which Arya finally got to go to the next stage of her training slightly strange, because I wasn’t clear why she’d earned passage into the other room after lying to the young girl and basically killing her. All she did was lie about her past and tell a girl to drink some water to put her out of her misery, anyone could’ve done that; to me that didn’t demonstrate that she’d given up the truth about her old life, because this felt like something that Arya would’ve done anyway, even before she devoted herself to the Many-Faced God.

The reveal of all the faces was cool as an idea, but it would’ve been nice if the lighting was a bit better so that we could see the intricacies on each individual face; that would’ve given the scene a bit more impact. We all want to know how the Faceless Men change their appearance, so it’s good to have that going on now, but seeing that the Faceless Men use the faces of the dead wasn’t all that illuminating. We still don’t know how they manage to wear someone else’s face, or when that practice began, or why – it’s not as if they’re doing a Leatherface and sowing them on – so nothing all that interesting was told to the audience.

via sciencefiction.com

Miles from Arya, things went from bad to worse for Tyrion. It was interesting to see him reveal all to Jorah (Iain Glen), because he hasn’t really addressed the fact that he killed his father yet this season. However, that scene was lacking the kind of magic we’ve come to expect from Tyrion’s dialogue on this show, because the way that Peter Dinklage delivered his lines felt rushed and detached, almost as if he was bored. I found myself completely taken out of the episode by the fact that Dinklage’s delivery lacked any real passion or anger – this emotional void isn’t too surprising given where Tyrion is at as a character this season, but while recalling that moment I think he should’ve been at least a bit more emotional.

The scene ended with some extremely clunky exposition, which was probably there to make us feel something for Jorah before greyscale takes a hold of him, rather than to provide a meaningful plot point. Tyrion inadvertently told Jorah that his father was also dead, taking the conversation full circle, which was smart because it reminded the audience that not everyone is in the know in Westeros. Jorah has been worlds away from The Wall, and it’s not as if he can pick up a newspaper to see what’s been happening across the sea. However, it didn’t feel like it meant all that much for the wider story, because Jorah hasn’t mentioned his father once, or if he has it hasn’t been important enough to stay in my memory – I don’t see how knowing that his father is dead will impact his decision-making going forward; it’s not as if he was ever going to see him again anyway.

Still, this scene served as a reminder of what happens when you lose support as commander of the Night’s Watch, because that’s what spelled the end for Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo) at Craster’s Keep. I don’t know whether or not this was intended to forebode what’s to come for Jon Snow, but it seems strange that it would be mentioned in the episode after Jon divided the Night’s Watch by announcing that he intended to help the Wildlings survive the winter. I can’t see any other purpose for the information, other than the fact that it related back to what Tyrion was talking about, so personally I’m worried for our favourite bastard’s health.

via thirdmanmovies.blogspot.co.uk

The conversation that Tyrion had with Jorah about Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) was markedly better than their previous one; it was nice to have Tyrion’s wisdom put to the floor, because he showed the kind of insight he could offer to Daenerys if he was allowed to be part of her council, and he also posed a lot of the questions that viewers are asking regarding how this series will end. Ultimately, I don’t think that it’s fair that Daenerys should conquer King’s Landing and take the Iron Throne – she’s been the good guy of “Game of Thrones” since the very beginning, but now that Stannis (Stephen Dillane) is being set up as a hero, and a child sits on the throne, it’s unclear why we should support Daenerys if she plans to leave her enemies in ashes.

The people of Westeros might not want her to rule, and if she serves a just cause that should matter to her. There are plenty of potential rulers out there that could do just as good a job as her; Stannis would make a harsh but strong king, Jon Snow would make for an honourable and just king, Margaery would be a pragmatic and thoughtful queen, and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) could grow to become a great leader. Only one person can come out on top at the end of this, so it doesn’t seem right that any one of them should just kill the rest to win the prize. These are the kinds of thoughts that seem to be swimming around Tyrion’s head as he effectively asks Jorah, ‘and then what?’, regarding their journey to meet Daenerys.

Jorah’s character now has a clear direction – it was obvious that he was going to be a warrior in the fighting pits, it was on the trailer after all, but before now we didn’t know why. I initially thought that it would be a way of earning favour from Daenerys by killing one of her foes, but now that the season has moved on I can see what the writers are going for.

via watchersonthewall.com

There are a couple of possibilities for what part he could play given what we’ve already seen in the trailer: 1) He just so happens to be in the fighting pit when the Sons of the Harpy attempt to attack Daenerys, earning Daenerys’ trust again by saving her life. 2) He is in the fighting pits and Daenerys notices this, venturing down into the pits to face him which in turn forces the Sons of the Harpy’s hand. I like both of these possibilities, because Jorah is on the path to redemption, but taking Tyrion to Daenerys wasn’t the best way to get it. He needs to do something brave and noble, and now that opportunity presents itself.

Still, because Jorah has greyscale I’m not sure if this will go down how we all want it to. There has to be a purpose for the disease, but that purpose is unclear in the grand scheme of things. One idea I’ve had is that because he knows that he’s dying, he will sacrifice himself for Daenerys, which would end his story in a positive vain. If the writers want to tug at the heartstrings they could give Daenerys a moment where she speaks to Jorah before he dies and offers him her forgiveness (think Eponine (Samantha Barks) and Marius (Eddie Redmayne) in “Les Miserables”), but that wouldn’t be necessary to get the point across. The only issue with it is that I’m not sure where Tyrion fits in, which matters a hell of a lot more than whether or not Daenerys pardons Jorah.

via racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com

Elsewhere, Littlefinger arrived in King’s Landing, only to be greeted by a stern warning from Lancel Lannister (Eugene Simon). I said in an earlier review that Littlefinger’s head was on the chopping block, because he’s planted enemies at every turn. He might speak as though he’s in control, but in reality he has Cersei (Lena Headey), the Boltons, and the Faith Militant who would probably like to see him dead, and I don’t think he’ll be able to juggle them all. That theory was only reaffirmed by Littlefinger’s quick conversation with Lancel, and particularly by the antagonistic line, ‘we both peddle fantasies, mine just happen to be entertaining’. It didn’t seem necessary for Littlefinger to provoke Lancel in that way, given the stakes he’s playing with, and it felt like a mistake he couldn’t afford to make. I could see Littlefinger manipulating Cersei and getting what he wants, strutting through King’s Landing as though he’s just won the World Heavyweight Championship, only to be stabbed in the back by Lancel.

I really missed King’s Landing last week, because the political intrigue and cryptic dialogue always reminds me of the calibre of the show that I’m watching, as each line is delivered perfectly, and feels as though it’s layered in deceit. Seeing Lena Headey and Aidan Gillen play off against one another once again, (it’s been a while), was awesome, and it’s something that “Game of Thrones” has missed as its characters have spread around Westeros in previous seasons.

I don’t know what Littlefinger’s plan is here, I wish I did because I feel like I’m missing something obvious, but I believe that he wants Sansa to survive. I don’t know what he hopes to gain by telling Cersei of her whereabouts, because I feel like he could’ve twisted it slightly differently so that she’d still name him Warden of the North, without having to put Sansa in danger. Still, I’m sure that all will be revealed in time, and that it will be worth the wait – when Littlefinger is involved it invariably is.

via gameofthrones.wikia.com

The Dorne situation got a lot more exciting this week, as we finally got to see Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free) in action, and we learnt a bit more about her motivations. She actually cares for Trystane Martell (Toby Sebastian), and by all accounts she isn’t having that bad a time of it. She’s a young girl enjoying her time in the sun, care free and in love, living a normal life. However, that doesn’t mean that Jaime was foolish to go on a rescue mission to save her, because if he hadn’t intervened she’d probably be dead! I have to say that I really didn’t like this scene, because it was incredibly convenient that the Sand Snakes made their move just as Jaime arrived to take Myrcella away; it was as if they’d organised it just so that the audience could see Jaime doing the right thing for his child.

It was cool that the Sand Snakes finally did something, because after six episodes you’d hope that they’d stop twiddling their thumbs, but the fight scene didn’t last nearly long enough for my liking, and the stakes never felt that high. The story in Dorne hasn’t developed at all yet, so it was far too early to kill off all of the Sand Snakes – one could’ve died to spur the others on, but I never believed they’d all die, because there’d have been no point in introducing them in the first place! I didn’t believe that Jaime would die either, because it feels as though he has at least one heroic moment left in him, and that hasn’t arrived yet.

Nevertheless, there is a chance that the fight produced a casualty, because Bronn (Jerome Flynn) was cut by one of the Sand Snakes. It looked innocuous, but we know from previous experience that Oberyn (Pedro Pascal) laced his blades with poison before battle, that’s how he managed to ensure The Mountain’s (Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson) death after all. It isn’t too much of a stretch to think that Bronn could now face a similar fate, because why else would he get such a minor injury in the fight? I don’t want Bronn to die, because he’s a funny character, which are few and far between on this show right now (most of the comic relief characters are either dead or in extremely depressing situations – think Tyrion and Podrick (Daniel Portman)), but I think he’s had his time and we will see him succumb either next week or the week after.

via gameofthrones.wikia.com

The most interesting character in the episode was Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg), who lights up the screen whenever she’s present. In this episode she was so blunt and forthright, which on “Game of Thrones” is incredibly endearing; her conversation with Cersei was enjoyable on a number of levels, as the dialogue between the two demonstrated a stark contrast in attitude. For every word Cersei speaks another ten are implied, but Olenna says exactly what she’s thinking. Her line – ‘what veil’ – regarding the threats she was putting to Cersei was just brilliant, and it let us all know exactly what she’s about.

The funny thing about this scene was that Cersei acted as though she had all the power; she thought she was on top and looked down on Olenna, but the audience knows that you ignore Olenna at your own peril. Cersei was unknowingly talking to the killer of her son, yet she treat her like an old woman that needed to go back home!

Despite the fact that I enjoyed that scene, it didn’t do a very good job of convincing me that Loras (Finn Jones) would make it through his hearing unscathed. It was obvious that things weren’t going to go well for him, given the ferocity of Cersei and Olenna’s conversation. The back and forth was great, but its content was slightly hollow for the viewer, because the threats being made needed to be backed up by the events that followed. If Loras had simply been set free then the conversation would’ve been rendered pointless, which wouldn’t make a lot of sense for a show that doesn’t have enough time to tell its story as it is.

via playbuzz.com

The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) gave the episode a much needed shove in the right direction, as he arrested both Loras and Margaery, the former for being a homosexual and the latter for lying before the gods. That scene was great, because it made everything feel so much more urgent, as Margaery will now be at war with Cersei, presuming she’s set free. Cersei has caused all these problems, so the Tyrells aren’t going to be happy (another poor political move from Cersei Lannister, put another pound in the jar).

Cersei’s cockiness felt so out of place in this scene, because nothing good will come of this situation for her. Margaery’s separation from Tommen is likely to be temporary, because although she faces a trial, there’s no direct evidence that she was aware of Loras’ ‘crimes’ – I don’t think they have CCTV in Westeros. Furthermore, she’s let out a soft-talking beast in the form of The High Sparrow, and it’s only a matter of time before she becomes the object of his interest. Once he’s rounded up all the sinners in King’s Landing she’ll be what’s left, and she’ll be punished just as harshly. All he’s doing is saving the best for last!

via gameofthrones.wikia.com

The best scenes in the episode, whether you liked them or not, came from Winterfell. That might be a controversial thing to say, but it’s something that I firmly believe. It was nice that Sansa showed her guts by basically telling Myranda (Charlotte Hope) to piss off, because she’s needed that kind of scene this season so that she could come across as having a bit of agency. Sansa is playing her own game, she knows what these people are, so hearing that Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) is a monster shouldn’t change much. She showed her authority, which so many people were complaining about last week, so that was pleasing.

It was very annoying that Theon (Alfie Allen) didn’t tell Sansa the truth about Bran and Rickon (Art Parkinson), because he had ample opportunity to do so. I still don’t really understand Theon as a character, because although he’s been tortured and fears Ramsay to a degree that I doubt many people can comprehend, that shouldn’t entail that he will take even more torture. What doesn’t make sense to me is that he’s afraid of acting against Ramsay because Ramsay will hurt him, but Ramsay is hurting him anyway, so why not do something about it? Maybe he doesn’t trust Sansa to keep quiet, so he doesn’t want to tell her about her brothers, but it’s still incredibly infuriating.

The wedding was a good scene; the snowy scenery was mesmerising and the characters were glowing, bringing beauty to an otherwise bleak situation. Ramsay’s evil smile when the job was done was absolutely hilarious, he looked like he was doing a Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) impression, but it was still scary, because it let the audience know exactly what Sansa was in for when she got back to her chambers (as if any of us were holding out hope anyway).

via vaguevisages.com

A lot has been said about the final scene of this episode, with certain people saying they’d give up on the show altogether, and others saying that that was an overreaction. I’m not interested in that debate – take it as you will, it wasn’t nice to watch but we don’t write the show. What I will say is that although I didn’t want to see it, I disagree with those who say that it wasn’t necessary for the plot. Rape isn’t a plot device, that’s not what I’m saying, but for a wedding to count in this universe it has to be consummated, so one way or another this scene had to happen for Littlefinger’s plan to progress. That’s all I have to say about that, because it isn’t a nice thing to try to write about, and if it offended people that is completely understandable.

I really do hope that the writers use that moment to propel Sansa forward, because if this ends up being another Theon situation I will be very very annoyed. I don’t want to see Sansa hurting for no reason, if she has to suffer I want her to get revenge and come out on top, even though this is “Game of Thrones” – please let this scene spell the beginning of the end for Ramsay.

If seeing Sansa being subjected to such vile treatment doesn’t make Theon a man again then I don’t know what will! He knows who he is, he said the words himself at the wedding, and it’s about goddamn time that he stood up to Ramsay and stopped being such a coward. Kill him for God’s sake! I want Ramsay dead, so if he doesn’t get flayed pretty soon by Stannis, Theon, or Sansa, I’ll lose it.

There was a lot of talking in this episode… A LOT. I’ve said already that I don’t mind episodes with an excess of dialogue, but this one went overboard. The balance wasn’t quite right, and there wasn’t enough to keep me engaged. The crazy finale made the episode memorable and got people talking, for better or worse (pun intended), and it gave the show a genuine villain again. I can only assume that the battle between Stannis and the Boltons will come before the end of the season, because everyone is going to want to see Ramsay die as soon as possible (which probably means that he’ll make it to the end). If it wasn’t for the controversial final scene I think that “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” would’ve been utterly forgettable and frankly quite boring, but the fact that that scene was controversial didn’t improve the episode as far as quality or enjoyment are concerned. I didn’t like this episode, and although it laid yet more groundwork for episodes to come, for me it was very disappointing.

5/10