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Thanatos

Game of Thrones Season 7

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I actually forgot about it because I was moving the weekend I was going to post the next write-up. I have reviews written for all of season one, if you guys want me to get back on schedule. :shrug:

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The Kingsroad

Season 1, Episode 2

Grade: B+

 

Bran remains unconscious through a second attempt on his life.

The Stark family separates. Direwolves prove troublesome pets.

 

One of the benefits of closing an episode with a cliffhanger is it provides natural starting point for the following episode. So it is in “The Kingsroad,” beginning in the aftermath of Bran’s fall, which gives the episode a chance to get the characters in the right places without being too boring. There is a series of goodbyes, and Ned heads south with Robert.

 

While not much happens on the titular Kingsroad, we get our share of good scenes. Ned and Robert discuss Daenerys’ marriage, which allows for more backstory. Note how slowly details of Robert’s Rebellion continue to unravel. This is the first we learn that Jamie killed the king before Robert, and the first we hear the name Rheagar Targaryen. Robert’s “There’s a war coming, Ned” speech lays the foreshadowing on a little too thick, but we’ve seen enough from Robert to know he feels isolated, and that his fears aren’t just the screenwriters creating tension. Besides, every scene between Robert and Ned is gold.

 

Meanwhile at Winterfell, Catelyn is a wreck. This show features plenty of great acting, but Michelle Fairley in this hour is, I think, the first standout performance. Despite this, however, not much has happened halfway through the episode. We’re in the middle of a nice little scene between Robb and Catelyn with Bran lying unconscious—there’s a fire. Robb leaves, and an assassin stands before Catelyn and her son. She fights him off unsuccessfully, and then Bran’s direwolf leaps into the air and bites him in the jugular, killing him and saving Bran’s life. Catelyn takes a breath, and so do we. Game of Thrones will feature plenty of action sequences, and they won’t always get a proper buildup, making them all the more exciting.

 

The attack on Bran gives the latter half of the episode the spark it needs. Catelyn is rightfully suspicious of the Lannisters and leaves Robb in charge of Winterfell to tell Ned. The march toward King’s Landing now has purpose, and our arrival there in the next episode won’t disappoint.

 

Fortunately, it’s not all backstory with Robert and Ned. The final minutes of the episode show us Joffrey being a little shit and Sansa being really stupid, but things escalate when Joffrey attacks Arya. He gains the upper hand and seems ready to seriously injure Arya, but we see our second direwolf rescue. This show has a way to blend the good with the bad, the satisfying with the foreboding. As joyful as it is to watch Nymeria munch on Joffrey’s forearm, the potential consequences prevent us from enjoying it properly.

 

The attack on the prince puts Robert in an impossible position, Sansa finds her loyalties torn apart, and Ned must again serve as executioner, this time for the sigil of his own house. This would be a fine ending to the episode, but the sequence is intercut with curious shots of Bran. Just as Ned ends Lady’s life, Bran’s eyes flicker open. Disregarding this juxtaposition as a contrived coincidence, this is the first sign that Bran’s post-fall life will be ripe with many strange connections.

 

So, the stage is still being set, and while “The Kingsroad” lacks the freshness of the pilot, the show will soon reap the rewards of its patience.

 

Odds and Ends

  • Opening credits: Pentos has been replaced with Vaes Dothrak.
  • Watching Tyrion slap Joffrey grows more satisfying with every re-watch.
  • A nice little scene: Jamie gives Jon condescending thanks for joining the Night’s Watch, and Jon sees right through him, even though Jamie gets the last word.
  • Musical connection: As Jon says his final goodbye to Bran, the music that plays sounds awfully familiar to a reveal in the season six finale.
  • Ned tells Jon, “You are a Stark. You might not have my name, but you have my blood.” He’s telling the truth, just not in the way we think.
  • Daenerys is proving herself a quick learner, both finding new ways to please Khal Drogo and learning to speak Dothraki.
  • Arya has a sad goodbye with Nymeria, but they’ll meet again.
  • “Death is so final, whereas life…ah, life is full of possibilities.”
  • “Bessie! Thank the Gods for Bessie and her tits.”
  • “Too easily words of war become acts of war.”

 

Next Week: Ned’s tenure as Hand of the King begins inauspiciously.

 

 

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These early episodes really make you think about how emotional a Jon and Arya reunion will be in season 8. Wonder if Ghost will make an appearance....

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it won't be emotional at all because the writers are hacks and they don't have original material to work with anymore.

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You guys see the season 8 plot has been leaked? I'm avoiding that shit like the plague after the leaks from last season turned out to be 100% true.

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what. The internet really sucks man.

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I am not going to google it because I don't want to stumble upon anything, but I think at one point HBO said there were going to be multiple versions of the ending in case something like this happened. Regardless, I am still not going anywhere near this.

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I mean, apparently George gave HBO an outline of the way the story will end so I'm not sure they can do that.

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I mean that they created fakes. Or.. allegedly did.

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