Samwell Tarly – Simon’s Incoherent Blog

Game of Thrones: Season 8, Episode 1 – Winterfell

“We don’t have time for all this. The Night King has your dragon. He’s one of them now.. The Wall has fallen. The dead move south.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

So, I’ve been quiet on the blog of late, I know. The CELTA course was so intensive that I spent all my time writing lessons and assignments, teaching and planning. As I’ve moved into the real world of doing this for money, I’m still spending all my creativity putting lessons together, rather than writing here.

But more about my life in Barcelona will follow! For now, though, Game of Thrones is back for its very last season. I’ve been blogging every episode since season two, so teaching work aside, I’m going to see it through to the end 🙂

Game of Thrones: Season 7, Episode 1 – Dragonstone

“Shall we begin?”

(SPOILER ALERT!)

In these ratings-hungry times, most genre shows tend to open their new seasons with slam-bang episodes full of action. There’ll be lots of explosions, or a giant space battle, or hordes of marauding zombies. Game of Thrones, secure in its audience, doesn’t need to do that (well, maybe the zombies), and its season openers tend to be more sedate. With its multitude of major characters and intersecting, complex plotlines, showrunners Benioff and Weiss usually choose to catch us up on where they all are, what they’re doing, and what they’re planning to do next. It’s like the opening gambits in a game of chess. Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 7, Episode 1 – Dragonstone”

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 6 – Blood of My Blood

“The Crown and the Faith are the twin pillars that hold up the world. Together, we shall make the Seven Kingdoms great again.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After all the recent sturm und drang, this week’s Game of Thrones felt like it was taking a hit of a breather. In actual fact, it wasn’t – once again, there was lots going on. It’s just that after the emotional punch of last week’s climax, it couldn’t hope to top that.

Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 6 – Blood of My Blood”

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”