The Awesome:
In which Littlefinger reminds viewers of some key and yet obscure facts while also being hilariously patronizing: This is probably the first review during which I won't be raging about how poorly GoT generally deals with large swaths of exposition. The combination of Aiden Gillen's wry sense of humour, Sean Bean's constant glowering, and Jane Espenson's Janeespensonyness made for one of the funniest scenes of the series to date. I hope that the head writers continue to use characters like Littlefinger to their advantage.
In which Daenerys' plot, for the first time all season, isn't completely nonsensical: Now that I have gotten over much of my disbelief with regards to the evolution of Danys' relationship with The Khal, I can move forward with the rest of her story. Emilia Clarke made a very strong impression as the Khaleesi coming into her power this episode. Watching her struggle to eat a horse's heart was intensely disturbing and yet we really got the sense of how far she's come. Harry Lloyd as Viserys was also particularly excellent. I adored his wonderfully pathetic conversation with Ser Mormont. This of course lead to one of the main highlights of the episode during which, as the title of the episode promised, Viserys received "A Golden Crown." Ah Viserys, we hardly knew ye. Even though he was an incestuous bully bordering on insanity, it's a testament to Lloyd's acting that I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. 
In which Tyrion outsmarts everyone ever: I think it's safe to say that most people have a soft spot for the underdog. As a dwarf in a family filled with unpleasant and powerful noblemen, he is looked down upon; however, his quick wit and occasional bouts of kindness have endeared him to us, the viewers. As Tyrion pointed out to Jon Snow, he has embraced what most would see as his weakness and made it his strength. Who could imagine such a small and unassuming individual manipulating a room full of knights and noblemen into freeing him from almost certain execution? His amusing banter and deep pockets were able to convince a mercenary by the name of Bronn to fight for his freedom. Seeing as how Tyrion's imprisonment set the stage for Jaime's assault on Ned last episode, it'll be interesting to see what Tyrion's freedom will do to set things right (or not).In which Raging Spaniards prove themselves to be ridiculously awesome: That's pretty much all I have to say about Syrio and Arya's latest dancing lesson. Please give us more of these oh mighty HBO Gods.
The Bad:
In which Theon pays Ros (The Whore) for one final flash: I felt that this scene was 100% unnecessary. Sure, it serves to show us that he's a creepy/lonely/creepy man, but it was so out place between scenes that were fairly serious business.
The Predictable:
In which Ned solves a mystery that most viewers had figured out several episodes back: It's really too bad that my favourite episode yet contained the worst scene of the entire season. As a reader, I knew that Ned was going to discover the secret of "The Seed Is Strong", but the show's version lacked subtlety and was just awful. Not to mention the fact that genetics hardly works like that. In the books, Ned at least looks up Lannister/Baratheon pairings before reaching his conclusion. All of my frustration with heavy foreshadowing aside, the main problem with the scene was Ned's reading aloud. I found it incredibly tacky. "Wait, this Baratheon had Black Hair? This Baratheon ALSO HAD BLACK HAIR! BLACK HAIR BLACK HAIR BLACK HAIR!?" I actually laughed aloud. We could have had a bunch of quick edits focusing on the words "black hair" within the book, or perhaps scene some crude drawings of these black haired Baratheons. *Rant Over*Alright fellow GoT fanatics, Black Hair Aside, on the scale of :'( to :D, I'm going to have to give this episode a really great (9.25/10.0). Let me know what you all thought as well! Was the mystery of the seed as predictable for non-readers? How are you all liking Dany's story at this point? Anyone else missing some Jon Snow? See you all next week!
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Episode 1: Initial Thoughts
Episode 1: Full Review - 7.75/10.0
Episode 2: (Darq's) Recap/Review - 8.25/10.0
Episode 3: 8.75/10.0
Episode 4: 8.50/10.0
Episode 5: 9.00/10.0
- Cadence
Although what happened to Viserys was pretty brutal, he'd had it coming. His petulant, spoiled brat entitlement combined with his callousness towards everyone else, especially his sister, met the ultimate karma.
ReplyDeleteWell, I already thought after the pilot that Joffrey is Jaime's son, so I guess it was predictable for non-readers. I didn't really notice the hint of Cersei talking about her dead black-haired girl as there's so much other information to take in.
ReplyDeleteI totally forgot about Jon Snow until I watched the promo for the next episode. As I said, there's so much to take in, I personally liked Snow and Harrington's performance, but the 2 main characters I particularly wait for are Tyrion & Littlefinger, because they are just brilliant. Besides those 2 other characters, especially one's that don't really have a clear purpose yet, others can be forgotten because so much other stuff's happening.
After this episode I wasn't really sure where the whole Dothraki/Dany story was headed. Viserys is gone and so was in my opinion the goal of attacking Westeros and regaining the iron throne. But it's finally getting really interesting, especially with Mormont who's role is quite unclear to me. And after 1x07 it's clear what's next for this group.
Agreed. I'm just sad to see the actor go. He made an incredibly unlikeable and entitled brat into something a little bit less shallow (especially in the scene where he tried to steal the dragon eggs). We really get the sense that he understands his position. He knows that no one loves him and that he isn't the next Dragon and yet, he was raised being told that he was the heir to the throne. People (like Illyrio) have told him that the common folk pray for his return. His entitlement overshadows his ability to see clearly. He's an awful awful person, but I wish he had been around or evolved a bit longer.
ReplyDeleteMormont is a really interesting character. He has a strange charm and ambiguity about him. Littlefinger is similarly charming/ambiguous, but in very different ways. Mormont seems torn between loyalty to Dany and resolving his exile, while Littlefinger seems rather indifferent to others (save perhaps Catelyn). Also, Mormont sounds like he ought to be narrating an epic fantasy novel when he speaks. It's kind of awesome. Gahh, I'm so jealous of your viewing of episode 7 :P. I hear it's even better than Episode 6!
ReplyDeleteI too love Tyrion and Littlefinger, but Jon's story is just so pleasant and simple (a tale of growing heroism and brotherhood and other similar tropes). It's less shocking and confusing than the other stories, but it's also easy to identify with him. I also absolutely loved the introduction of Sam. I'm looking forward to seeing them again!
Exactly. He was a bit of a one-dimensional character. He was incredibly arrogant, thought he was better than everyone else and acted as if he were above everybody. I already said early on that if he doesn't change he won't last long.
ReplyDeleteSo far I simply haven't built up a relationship to Jon. I like him, but there are other characters I care for more and others that I find more interesting (at least at this moment), and considering the massive cast it can happen that one character/storyline perishes a little bit.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I thought Sam was a bit annoying so far. I just thought Jon isn't really doing him a favor by getting him out of fights as Sam didn't really seem to learn anything and didn't get better at fighting. But that may be connected to my personal point of view that everyone should be treated the same way and that nobody should get treatments that make it easier for them, especially if everyone else had to go through the same procedure.
I LOVED Tyrion's scene, but I did miss some of the elements from the book honestly. Catelyn warning Lysa that Bronn is more dangerous that he looks, warning that Tyrion is too clever to allow himself to just die etc...
ReplyDeleteLoved Viserys and Dany this week and that is a first for me. It was nice to not dread the scenes on Essos.IF I was Ned I may have used the hand of the King's Hand and bach-handed Littlefinger... enough hand references? Seriously... Baelish was just asking for it when he got all mocking and reminding. Great scene, but I woulda... *WHACK*I still have a question or two if "The seed is strong" means more than just Black hair is a VERY dominant gene trait in Westeros.... but I digress.I'm shokced you haven't watched episode 7 yet... I thought you would have found a way... *ahem* I won;t tease much..... WOW. OK I'm done.
Viserys and Sansa are both incredibly one-dimensional , but we get to deal with Sansa for the rest of the series unless something changes in the future books.. OH joy! I guess she does get a little tiny bit better in the later books, but not much....
ReplyDeleteThat's actually why I found Sam so interesting! Jon really isn't doing him a
ReplyDeletefavor at all. In fact, he's screwing things up for everyone else too. Most
stories would have the hero character (Jon) save the day and all of his
weaker friends somehow, but that's not likely to happen in a story this
dark. There will probably be consequences to Jon's actions.
Jon was far more interesting in the boos honestly. More time was spent on him and 'hearing' his thought truly deepened our connection. Plus in the books he is more fun! In the series he spends half his time making a pouty face and look forlorn.
ReplyDeleteIn the books he is uber-observant and noticing everything going on around him. People's thoughts, what should be done in situations... he is so used to be on the outside looking in as the Stark bastard that he is accustomed to deciphering people and events by watching from a distance.
Looking at this it just dawned on me.... I think we have had more sightings of Ros' naughty bits than the Direwolves in the series so far...... : /
ReplyDeleteAhahahaha, too true :P.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting information. Looking forward to seeing this unfold.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing with books, you get much more information and it's easier to connect to many characters. I suppose there's a reason those books are quite massive considering the huge number of important characters.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least as a reader he has an idea what's going to happen.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, not the best news, was rather hoping she doesn't stay that dumb and naive. After all I have a Sansa mp3 player.
ReplyDeleteHaha.. True!
ReplyDeleteSansa's a very polarizing character within the fandom. She definitely does NOT stay naïve and dumb. In fact, she's one of my favourites.
ReplyDelete