Game of Thrones reviews – Page 7 – Simon’s Incoherent Blog

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 1 – The Wars to Come

“Things have gotten worse, not better. Westeros needs to be saved from itself.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

And so, Game of Thrones is back for its annually much-anticipated new season, now bearing the dubious accolade of the world’s most downloaded TV show. In fact, all of the first four eps of the new season have already been leaked to the internet; but in standard definition only. Like the AV snob that I am, I’d prefer to wait to see it in shiny HD, so I’ll be posting my thoughts on here at the same intervals as usual, thanks very much. Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 1 – The Wars to Come”

Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 10–The Children

“We both know that winter is coming. And if my people aren’t south of the Wall when it comes in earnest, we’ll all end up worse than dead.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Unpredictable beasts, season finales of Game of Thrones. In the past, they’ve tended to be a chance to take stock after the tumultuous events of episode 9, while also laying the groundwork for next season’s plots. This one, though, was uncharacteristically action-packed, with some game-changing plot developments that should leave even those who’ve read the books impatient to see what happens next.

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Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 9–The Watchers on the Wall

“I am a man of the Night’s Watch. I made a promise to defend the Wall, and I have to keep it. Because that’s what men do.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Another episode 9 directed by Neil Marshall (Blackwater), and like his previous effort, it didn’t stint on the action. Also like that episode, it was virtually a self-contained story, covering only the plot thread where a massive, epic battle was due so as to show the events of the battle in detail. The action was furious, breathtaking and satisfying. The emotional drama, which is what Game of Thrones stands or falls on? Well, that depends on how invested you are in these characters in particular.

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Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 8–The Mountain and the Viper

“Everybody dies, sooner or later. Don’t worry about your death, worry about your life.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

With Game of Thrones off the air for a week between episodes for the first time, my first thought was of the recent internet furores regarding the show’s sometimes gratuitous use of sex and violence. I had wondered whether, in light of the controversy, the broadcast of episode 8 had been delayed to allow for some hasty re-editing to ‘sanitise’ the show. As to the sex, that might be true, but as the ep amply demonstrated, it certainly wasn’t true for the violence (of which more later).

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Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 7–Mockingbird

“Given the opportunity, what do we do to those who hurt the ones we love?”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

With showrunners Benioff and Weiss on scripting duties again, this week’s Game of Thrones may have disappointed those who tune in for the show’s usual heady mix on action, sex, violence and intrigue. It was one of the eps the show occasionally does in which very little actually happens, but we get to spend a lot of time with the characters while they reflect on where they are, how they got there, and where they’re going.

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Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 6–The Laws of Gods and Men

“When I see what desire does to people – what it’s done to this country – I am very glad to have no part in it.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

I love a good trial scene! It’s been a few episodes coming, but it can’t have been too much of a surprise that this week, the trial of Tyrion Lannister took centre stage. What may have been a surprise to fans of the book though was the increasing diversion the various plots were taking – even though they ultimately seem to be leading to the same places.

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Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 5–First of His Name

“What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Game of Thrones episodes seem to fall into two distinct styles. There are the ones which focus very strongly on one or two of the major plotlines, perhaps paying lip service to a couple of the others, which are usually very strong. Then there are the more scattershot ones which take in so many (though rarely all) of the ongoing plots that we see little more than a tantalising vignette from each.

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Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 4–Oathkeeper

“A man with no motive is a man no one suspects.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Well, that didn’t take long, did it? As I mentioned last week, the identity of the killer (or killers) of King Joffrey, in the novels, took several volumes to ascertain for sure. In part, I think that’s because George RR Martin cast it as a fairly slight part of the plot; everyone wanted Joffrey dead, and everyone’s better off with him that way. Does it matter that much who actually did it – as long as it wasn’t Tyrion?

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Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 3–Breaker of Chains

“A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn’t.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After original author George RR Martin’s stint on scripting duties last week, it was back to showrunners Benioff and Weiss to follow up that episode’s tumultuous events. Understandably, that meant the majority of this week’s episode was centred on King’s Landing, as various interested parties took on the roles of amateur detectives – their quest for the truth, as ever, taking second place to the quest for power. Or, in Tyrion’s case, self-preservation.

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Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 2–The Lion and the Rose

“There’s been too much amusement here today. A royal wedding is not a place for amusement.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Ah, weddings. I must say, personally I have rather a dread of them. I’ve never encountered one that hasn’t been an awkward occasion, as you gingerly tread the minefield of half-understood family politics and longstanding grudges. Inevitably (in my experience), at least some part of it ends in tears, as Aunt Maisie, tipsy on complimentary cava, finally confronts Cousin Jane over the long-disputed inheritance of that cherished family heirloom, followed by the equally inevitable punch-up between their dutifully defensive and equally tipsy husbands.

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