Game of Thrones, episode 6
Yet another violent episode. Let's break it down.
First scene we're treated to an excellent bit with Robert, Eddard and Cersei. Mark Addy continues to impress me, whether he's showing happiness, anger, irritation, or being melancholy. His frustration with both his Hand and his wife was excellent. I do wish we'd gotten Ned's fever dream of his battle at the Tower of Joy, but the show seems to be light on dream sequences thus far and I expect it to stay that way throughout. We've only gotten a small bit of Bran's dream with the three-eyed crow, but dreams are the most important to Bran...
The bit with Robert in the Kingswoods was also very nice. What I love about this show so much is how it builds on the books. We get to see relationships and interactions that the books never showed us. Here, we get to see Robert and Renly together and see their dynamic. Looks like Loras's little talk with Renly worked, because Renly is showing some backbone and ambition. I like that. It gives a little more meat to what is a relatively minor character.
Ned Stark had several great moments in this episode as well. His stubborn refusal to bend to Robert's will and his order to bring Ser Gregor to justice show, perhaps even better than the book, his iron will. In A Game of Thrones we get that Ned has a powerful sense of honor and justice, but that's tempered by the fact that he's the main character. I was rooting for Ned the whole time I read the first book, despite the stupid mistakes he made. Now I can only groan and lament as he drags the realm into war for the sake of his honor. It's a truly great moment as he condemns Ser Gregor to death.
Now, Tyrion. Oh, Tyrion. Who didn't love Tyrion in this episode? His 'confessions' to Lysa had me laughing out loud, and this here is another moment I'm glad for deviation from the books. The battle between Bronn and Ser Vardis was very well done, and I liked it being held in the throne room. It gave the two warriors more to interact with and increased the intensity. Putting the Moon Door on the floor was also cool, and leaving it open was another good choice (but I think we all saw the outcome, given the open portal...) The Eyrie looks very different than I imagined it, as I previously said, but I'm very pleased with the throne room and all they've done with it.
However, when Tyrion begs Mord the jailor to help him, it's done with more desperation than I would have liked. Tyrion's a clever man, and usually thinks himself in control, so to see him so panicky and desperate was off-putting for me. Tyrion gets in way more trouble later on.
As Loras persuaded Renly to seek the crown, so to does Theon urge Robb to ride to war. In the books we only really get to see Robb through Catelyn's PoV, so it's nice to see Robb on his own, sort of.
And here was also Viserys's last hurrah. He had plenty of time to shine in his episode too. There's more than just greed and ambition to his character now, we see at the end. There's jealousy, and bitterness. We've seen him rage at Dany before, but now we see how much he resents her, and I like that. It makes him more complex, and Viserys is far from the most complicated character in the series. He also had a nice moment with Ser Jorah, but it really shows more about Ser Jorah I think. And it was done very simply too.
And Sansa. They really are making us despise her now. I just wish she wasn't so much a jerk about it. I only recall Sansa being oblivious and air-headed in the book, but she's nasty here. That all changes, though, and I'm eager to see her in Season 2 when she becomes a far more interesting character.
And Ned's 'Ah-ha' moment when Sansa mentions having blond children with Joffrey. Very well done, both on Sean Bean's part and the writers for giving us that moment. I fail to remember how Ned comes to the conclusion in the book (perhaps just a moment of being clever on his own), but I like this better.
We've now gone two episodes without Jon. I expect he'll be in the next one, since some events go down at Castle Black before the book's up.
Here's a cool interview with Harry Lloyd explaining how he played Viserys. www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2011/5/21/harry-lloyd-explains-how-to-wake-the-dragon.html It just goes to show that the villain always thinks himself the hero of his own story...
That's all I got for now. Keep checking this space for more reviews and updates!
~Josh
First scene we're treated to an excellent bit with Robert, Eddard and Cersei. Mark Addy continues to impress me, whether he's showing happiness, anger, irritation, or being melancholy. His frustration with both his Hand and his wife was excellent. I do wish we'd gotten Ned's fever dream of his battle at the Tower of Joy, but the show seems to be light on dream sequences thus far and I expect it to stay that way throughout. We've only gotten a small bit of Bran's dream with the three-eyed crow, but dreams are the most important to Bran...
The bit with Robert in the Kingswoods was also very nice. What I love about this show so much is how it builds on the books. We get to see relationships and interactions that the books never showed us. Here, we get to see Robert and Renly together and see their dynamic. Looks like Loras's little talk with Renly worked, because Renly is showing some backbone and ambition. I like that. It gives a little more meat to what is a relatively minor character.
Ned Stark had several great moments in this episode as well. His stubborn refusal to bend to Robert's will and his order to bring Ser Gregor to justice show, perhaps even better than the book, his iron will. In A Game of Thrones we get that Ned has a powerful sense of honor and justice, but that's tempered by the fact that he's the main character. I was rooting for Ned the whole time I read the first book, despite the stupid mistakes he made. Now I can only groan and lament as he drags the realm into war for the sake of his honor. It's a truly great moment as he condemns Ser Gregor to death.
Now, Tyrion. Oh, Tyrion. Who didn't love Tyrion in this episode? His 'confessions' to Lysa had me laughing out loud, and this here is another moment I'm glad for deviation from the books. The battle between Bronn and Ser Vardis was very well done, and I liked it being held in the throne room. It gave the two warriors more to interact with and increased the intensity. Putting the Moon Door on the floor was also cool, and leaving it open was another good choice (but I think we all saw the outcome, given the open portal...) The Eyrie looks very different than I imagined it, as I previously said, but I'm very pleased with the throne room and all they've done with it.
However, when Tyrion begs Mord the jailor to help him, it's done with more desperation than I would have liked. Tyrion's a clever man, and usually thinks himself in control, so to see him so panicky and desperate was off-putting for me. Tyrion gets in way more trouble later on.
As Loras persuaded Renly to seek the crown, so to does Theon urge Robb to ride to war. In the books we only really get to see Robb through Catelyn's PoV, so it's nice to see Robb on his own, sort of.
And here was also Viserys's last hurrah. He had plenty of time to shine in his episode too. There's more than just greed and ambition to his character now, we see at the end. There's jealousy, and bitterness. We've seen him rage at Dany before, but now we see how much he resents her, and I like that. It makes him more complex, and Viserys is far from the most complicated character in the series. He also had a nice moment with Ser Jorah, but it really shows more about Ser Jorah I think. And it was done very simply too.
And Sansa. They really are making us despise her now. I just wish she wasn't so much a jerk about it. I only recall Sansa being oblivious and air-headed in the book, but she's nasty here. That all changes, though, and I'm eager to see her in Season 2 when she becomes a far more interesting character.
And Ned's 'Ah-ha' moment when Sansa mentions having blond children with Joffrey. Very well done, both on Sean Bean's part and the writers for giving us that moment. I fail to remember how Ned comes to the conclusion in the book (perhaps just a moment of being clever on his own), but I like this better.
We've now gone two episodes without Jon. I expect he'll be in the next one, since some events go down at Castle Black before the book's up.
Here's a cool interview with Harry Lloyd explaining how he played Viserys. www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2011/5/21/harry-lloyd-explains-how-to-wake-the-dragon.html It just goes to show that the villain always thinks himself the hero of his own story...
That's all I got for now. Keep checking this space for more reviews and updates!
~Josh