MY GOT REVIEWS - Summary
Written by: Bryan Cogman
Directed by: Brian Kirk
Tried to do this review in video format, recording my immediate reactions. Impossible. Apart from the technical difficulties, I can't concentrate on the ep if I talk over it. And this one was really dense with good dialogue. Congrats, Bryan Cogman!
General considerations: expository but not boring, the atmosphere is terrific, the characters are almost all spot-on. (I still can't warm to Robb; Theon, though despised, is much more expressive.) Shallow thought: are all men that attractive in Westeros and beyond? Or is it just me and armour? I guess it's because I can't smell them. If they keep it up, the Blackfish will be smoking hot. Maybe that's why they haven't cast him yet, they don't want to set fire to TV screens everywhere.
Whenever I see the "snow-static" HBO logo I expect "Band of Brothers" to begin. In the case of this ep, it's almost true. And did I say the title credits and music are awesome? They've also fixed the sigils.
Bran's dream. He's such an intense child. Loved the crow alighting on the wolf statue, leading Bran into the crypts and turning to reveal he has 3 eyes. I can understand that at this point (and others) non-readers would question the sanity of the creators, but for us readers it was a treat. Hodor appears to carry Bran and it's such a welcome sight. Great job, Kristian Nairn!
Bran wakes up. Summer snarls at Theon, rightly, he's being an a$$hole to dear old Nan; also, Robb is NOT lord of Winterfell - Theon has his back a little too much, methinks. And indeed later Robb specifies "while my father is away". I really dig Yoren, I'm waiting for a certain scene on Baelor's steps. I can't say enough about the Dinklage so I'll keep it to a minimum. Despite his words, Tyrion treats Bran like a person and not a cripple. Love Hodor's eager helpfulness. The famous saddle scene is perfect. Another fave line: "I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples, bastards and broken things." Makes one think that Tyrion would get along well with Sam, but one thing at a time. Grey Wind has a sort of noble solemnity.
Theon-Tyrion parting. We learn Theon's surname in this scene (but not his name yet), and the name of his father Balon, and that he's a squire/hostage of the Starks after a rebellion. Once again I wonder if Roz = Kira. But then, why not naming her Kira? (Theon's hair looks darker. Or he has naturally changeful hair.)
The Wall! Jon's previous nemeses have become his allies and there's a lot of camaraderie. You can see it especially in the gazes they exchange when Samwell Tarly (drawn straight from my mind) is beaten up by Rast. Nice bit of continuity from E3 when Robert claimed to have killed a Tarly - they are keeping the names fresh in our minds. And thanks, writers, for respecting our intelligence and not changing names to avoid confusion, e.g. Tarly-Tully, Tyrion-Theon, Jory-Jorah.
(Another one of my pet peeves: Ridley Scott thought we would be too stupid to distinguish Raymond and Reynald in "Kingdom of Heaven", so he changed the name of Jeremy Irons' character, and also his history. I hate that.)
I find myself loving Ser Alliser Thorne, even though he's not as I imagined him at all. Charismatic, hard but no-nonsense. Brilliant casting. Bit distracting that throughout the Sam-beating scene there are two guys behind Jon who are only going through the motions. Love that Jon still fights with his feet and elbows as much as with his sword. Then the Night Watch Support Group tries to help Sam, and we even get Pyp teasing Grenn. Fantastic!
Vaes Dothrak. Awesome horse statues. Awesome Jorah. What an incredible choice, picking Iain Glen for the role. Physically the opposite of Jorah, he conveys all his lordliness, loneliness and ambiguity. He even has a slight bearish growl in his voice as he explains his story in a few words.
Doreah-Viserys. Once again, what seemed like a gratuitous sex scene in the previews has a much deeper meaning. We get some more history, made palatable by two beautiful people in a bathtub. We even get more anticipation with Asshai, faceless men, pirates - Ewww spit (sorry /13-y-o/). Then Viserys has one of his mood swings and destroys the atmosphere for poor Doreah. It did seem too good.
Sansa-Septa Mordane. I like this Sansa very much: haughty, suffering, hopeful despite herself. And the septa is duly hateful. More mentions: Jeyne Poole, Aegon, Maegor, and the murder of Brandon and Rickard Stark.
Poor Ned at the Small Council. Forgot the name of the guard talking to him. (EDIT: Janos Slynt, thanks WiC posters) The others are all awesome and true to the books. Ned pursues his investigation on Arryn's death and discovers the lineage book Arryn wanted. Interesting that he opens it to the Umber page. Will the Umbers be prominent in the future (like the Tarly mention last ep), or is it just another interesting name-dropping? We also get the famous phrase "The seed is strong". The pieces are falling together. Is it just me or there's the noise of the sea lapping outside? Brilliant. You really feel immersed in this world.
Arya! I have no words. "Every warrior should study cats!" I want this as my motto. Very tender father-daughter scene, ending with "That's not me." I expected her to add "That's Sansa."
The Wall. More Sam-Jon bonding. Jon really looks like Uncle Benjen in that light, I like it. Poor Sam sounds like he memorized his hateful father's words in his shock. And yet I see actual strength in his eyes and voice as he faces that memory.
Ned-LF. Another piece of the puzzle: Ser Hugh, Arryn's squire. Why has he been knighted? (I'm trying to reason like a non-reader here.) LF clearly knows ALL the pieces. Love the stroll among spies and the use of the word "septa", another bow to the viewer's intelligence. Despite LF's sarcasm, Ned DOES have every reason to trust Jory completely. There's a typical GRRM lesson in here; the honest and trusted will get massacred sooner or later. I think I know where they are going with Jory's character here, as the following scenes also show...
Jory-Hugh. That's what I mean when I say this show is eye-popping, even though Ser Hugh is not even in armour. Jory can't get info from him; I guess this scene is just to establish Hugh as a young, handsome knight, eager and a bit snotty, in short a person - and then skewer him.
Ned-Gendry. I've heard criticism because Gendry is too old, but the actor mixes shyness and pride perfectly in his body language. Ned totally recognizes the Baratheon stamp on his features, and indeed Gendry's frown is perfect.
Jaime-Jory. One of the highlights of the ep for me. Here's what I meant above. There's a hint of bonding, which will make it all the sadder and more poignant when, I suppose, Jaime himself will kill our favourite Stark guard. Treats for readers come in a crescendo: the siege of Pyke, the Greyjoys again, and THOROS OF MYR! Please let it be a hint that he'll appear one day. "I'll remember that till the day I die." Ah, Jory. Theon even gets a name, finally! Regarding Theon, Jaime is a better judge of character than Jory. Jaime's last expression and his last scene, alone in his white armour outside the door, are fantastic. In the last ep Ned accused him of standing by and doing nothing while his father and brother died; now we see how he might have looked that day.
The Wall. The Night Watch Support Group goes all "A Few Good Men" on Rast. With the special appearance of GHOST! I'm almost sorry for Rast. LOL at Grenn tumbling over in "pain" after Sam tries to hit him in training, but Thorne doesn't like it, and...
Viserys-Dany. Dany is coming into her own, and I loved especially the part when she hits Viserys with a certain interesting gold belt.
The Wall. More Sam-Jon bonding. Mention of Mole Town. Hilarious male chat between virgins. I love these two together. But Roz again? I resent her a little because a totally invented character has so much space while the Blackfish... oh well. Incidentally we get an explanation of bastard names. The way Jon tells it, Ned sounds like a right bastard himself. But then the boys start horsing around and I really love these parts. They are my fave Night Watch scenes in the books too. I don't dislike Jon as a character, but I like him most when he interacts with his brothers.
Annnd... in comes Thorne for his big scene. I don't remember whether it's in the books, but it's brilliant. Besides being a staple of all war stories (GoT is ALSO a war story, definitely), it explains Thorne's dourness and pent-up rage. I can even detect a nuance of compassion in him. More name-dropping: Mance Rayder!
Dany-Jorah. They both share the truth about Viserys. This is more than bonding. I can totally believe that Dany will indulge in some fantasies about Jorah. I can't believe that she could prefer scum such as Daario whatshisname, but wait, let's see how it plays out in future eps. If I remember well, Jorah doesn't put the moves on her in AGOT yet. Khal Drogo is still around, after all.
The Tourney. Poor Sansa is still so torn, and Joffrey is so chilling. GREGOR. After a quick and brilliant explanation of his nickname, LF explains the Hound's backstory. I'm not offended by this choice, because it will give Sandor even MORE to do in his great scenes with Sansa, instead of stopping to tell his story. For now, the Hound is a mystery. A bit too handsome, but I'm waiting to see him go all-out psycho. During the tourney one can see a TULLY BANNER. Also a Mormont one! Is the insistence on Hugh's death throes excessive? I don't think so, it's the truth shoved in the girls' faces. Arya's horrified expression is interesting, considering that she aspires to be a warrior. Premonition? Nice seeing Barristan in the background.
Ned-Cersei. She must have had a shower before meeting him, because her outfit has changed completely. Another interesting mention of Brandon: all this insistence about the past, beside being great for creating a believable background, HAS to lead somewhere. Flashbacks, hopefully.
Cat-Tyrion at the inn. OK, I think this scene plays brilliantly to a crescendo of pure swashbucklery, but I can't be objective on it for 2 reasons. The main one is that last year I cosplayed Catelyn at a convention (with an invented costume, no pics out yet) and re-enacted this scene. It was atrocious, I kept forgetting my lines. The second one is an epic Twitter struggle that took place a couple of days ago with no less than The Red Viper and The Blackfish (myself) on one side, swearing that there were no sigils anywhere and Cat's words were absurd, and poor Ran on the other side, insisting that there WERE. On my third viewing I've glimpsed the bat shield, but I still think that a tiny embroidered bat on the Whent guy would not have hurt. Anyway the scene is so good (poor Tyrion, clueless for a change) that I cheered at the mention of Hoster Tully and Riverrun, and even - the Seven help me - of Walder Frey!