My viewing of Game of Thrones is swiftly reaching the tail end of season four and the show continues to surprise. After the previous episode I expected things to pick up in Kings Landing but what I got was a welcome to the "one plot line" and "massive battle" format last seen in the legendary Blackwater episode two seasons ago.
Its a very different battle as the Knight Watch are undermanned and under matched against the Wildlings - something that this season has set up well as the Wildlings south of the Wall have been getting closer. Not only that when the previous battle had the resources of two mammoth armies and would be kings we're in desperate last stand territory akin to the Battle of Helms Deep. One of the key areas where this episode differs is that the Battle is multi layered, we have the top of the wall, Castle Black, tunnels below and the North side of the wall. Its rather like a Russell T Davies Doctor Who chase scene. Characters are constantly changing positions as the battle turns and from an action point of view its very satisfying. We're told the Wildlings objective and we know how The Watch need to defend the wall, even if this was you're first episode the battle is clear to follow.
There are characters on either side of this battle that I care about, in particular Jon Snow, Ygritte and Sam. The show has done well to get me invested in these as well as characters like Gilly, the baby and a few Watch members. However there are a lot of vaguely familiar faces that I don't care about in the Watch, mainly Jon Snows mates 1-4. We've seen them throughout the show however they've always been side characters to Jon Snow, plus sadly a lot of the more memorable characters from the Watch have been killed - in some cases earlier this season. The battle is lacking a final twist as throughout the series the "White Walkers" have been slowly built up and I thought they'd make their presence felt in this fight, as a result we don't get a final twist that Blackwater had.
Ygritte's death is a highlight of the episode, it did feel like she was building up to a face turn at points this season but just as it looks like we're about to find out she's taken out by an arrow. For one harrowing moment I thought it was Sam that killed her - although he is indirectly responsible - and was aghast until the camera panned to the lift boy. This is the money shot moment of the episode, my favourite romance in the show is over and this is where the heart of the episode lies. Other characters get there moments such as Grenn holding the gate, the appearance of the Giants & Mammoths, the ice scythe etc and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this is one of the most highly regarded episodes. Its a 9.5/10 for me and I look forward to the end of the season.
No comments:
Post a Comment