Game of Thrones – Page 4 – Simon’s Incoherent Blog

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 5 – Kill the Boy

“Kill the boy – and let the man be born.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After a hectic flurry of excitement last time, this week Game of Thrones was back to plotting and intrigue in a sedate but grim episode. No surprise that it was grim, with the focus very squarely on events in the dour, chilly North; no sign of the Lannisters, Dorne or King’s Landing this week. Despite a couple of brief (but significant) interludes with Dany in Meereen, and a quick catchup with Jorah and Tyrion, Bryan Cogman’s script mainly dealt with just two of the ongoing plots – the turmoil up at Castle Black and Sansa’s unfortunate situation in Bolton-occupied Winterfell. Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 5 – Kill the Boy”

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 4 – The Sons of the Harpy

“Wars teach people to obey the sword, not the gods.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After some patient scene setting and a week of musing on the mystical, this week Game of Thrones seemed to really pick up the pace, with the scheming and the character depth balanced by some real (and really gory) action. Having set plotlines running in those first few weeks, they’re now starting to pay off with some interesting consequences. Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 4 – The Sons of the Harpy”

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 3 – High Sparrow

“There is but one god. A girl knows his name. And all men know his gift.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After two weeks of political wrangling and intrigue, it was a more mystical episode of Game of Thrones this week. The focus was very much on religion, and how it intersects with the machinations of power we’ve already seen. To this end, while the intrigue was still very much ongoing, we got various musings on the various religions of this fantasy world – the Seven, the Many Faced God, and the Lord of Light, not to mention glancing references to the Old Gods of the weirwood. Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 3 – High Sparrow”

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 2 – The House of Black and White

“The Mad King gave each of his enemies the justice he thought they deserved. And every time it made him feel powerful and right. Until the very end.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

If, after last week’s rather low-key season opener, you were hoping for a return to Game of Thrones’ usual slam bang action, sex and gore, you may have been a bit disappointed by this week’s offering. Effectively, it was more of the same – a series of brief vignettes that spent more time examining the characters through well-crafted dialogue than actually advancing the plot. Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 2 – The House of Black and White”

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”

Your Christmas TV Highlights!

It’s the time of year again when normally sensible TV genre shows abandon all logic in favour of doing “the Christmas episode”. While Christmas episodes sit well in comedy shows, they always seem oddly forced in shows like, say, The X Files, Supernatural or Grimm. Unfortunately it now seems de rigeur, especially for US shows – though we in the UK have the wildly fluctuating in quality annual Doctor Who special, which this year seems to have outdone itself by actually including Santa.

It’s only a matter of time before even critically acclaimed dramas will be obligated to produce a “Christmas episode” every year. What could that look like? Let’s find out…

Continue reading “Your Christmas TV Highlights!”

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.

Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 10–The Children”

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.

Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 9–The Watchers on the Wall”

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).

Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 8–The Mountain and the Viper”

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.

Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 7–Mockingbird”