While we work on some fresh stuff, here's a fun video based on Game of Thrones. We're all fanatics, here, so we're still filling the Thrones-sized hole that now exists in our lives now that season 4 is ended. Speaking of season 4, I will have a review of it up later this week, so stay tuned.
In anticipation of the end of Season 4 tomorrow, I figured I
better make sure I’m up-to-date on our GoT reviews before reviewing the
entirety of Season 4. So here’s our
season 3 review, obvious ***SPOILERS*** included.
If you give an aspiring Queen an army... She's going to want a throne to go with it.
As we left off in Season 2, Dany is learning to become more
assertive, and with the help of Jorah is becoming more of a queen every
day. Back in Westeros, The war is
dragging on, as Robb continues to win on the field, but starts to have trouble
amongst his own ranks. Further south,
the Lannisters still hold King’s Landing, but are struggling to contend with
continuing opposition, and even their allies are out to undermine them. Stannis, still reeling from the Battle of
Blackwater, licks his wounds, and struggles to keep himself in the game,
despite being the rightful heir to the throne.
And north of the Wall, the Night’s Watch struggles to contend with the
White Walkers, as well as the savage Wildlings.
All in all, the struggle for the Iron Throne, and the dangers to the far
north, are only escalating.
We really get to know more about the Wildling clans this season.
For Dany, the season is all uphill, with her dragons, as
well as her growing reputation, she starts to become more of an actual leader
this season. Her cause of liberating the
slaves gives her a sense of nobility, and her charisma is almost as potent as
dragonfire. However, I found the season
for Dany to be somewhat less interesting than the other storylines,
particularly after she obtains the Unsullied army. Ser Barristan Selmy appears again, adding some
new life to Dany’s story, as well as returning a favorite side-character of
mine to the show again. Towards the end
of the season her story picks up again, with the siege of Yunkai and the
introduction of the character of Daario.
Mance Raider, the King Beyond the Wall.
For Robb, the season is full of frustration, as he keeps
trying to engage the Lannisters, only finding they have fallen back, murdering
and pillaging everything they can along the way, leaving dead northerners
behind at Harrenhall in order to further frustrate Robb. Following his mother’s betrayal by setting
Jaime Lannister free, Robb starts to struggle with the difficult position of
not killing Jaime, and the resentment fostered amongst many of his supporters
for it. The growing tension amongst his
own ranks gives Robb no end of difficulty, and things come to a head later in
the season when one of his lords outright violates Robb’s orders and takes
matters into his own hands. While I
sympathize with Robb’s problems, I believe his approach was far too soft, and that
his lords are right to question his ability when Robb could lose his father,
and see the bodies of murdered Northmen and still not exact vengeance for those
loses. It makes Robb start to lose face,
and altogether lose the support of his own men.
Robb has an increasingly difficult season, trying to find justice in a world without mercy can be very difficult, and the enemies never play fair.
Since I mentioned Jaime, I should say that this is really
Jaime’s breakout season, as he struggles to get back to King’s Landing to
return to his beloved Cersei. Despite
the disturbing nature of his incest relationship, Jaime really starts to
develop as a character this season, really challenging some of the conceptions
we’ve had about him from the beginning of the series. He doesn’t necessarily redeem himself, but he certainly does a good job of walking a fine
line between hero and villain in the story, especially in a bath scene with
Brienne where to tells the story of how he killed the Mad King. I won’t spoil details, but it’s a standout
scene where he really starts to open up, and we finally see the man underneath
the armor.
Jaime doesn't have a very good season... But it's at his lowest that he really starts to shine.
Jon Snow is struggling to survive north of the Wall, and
Ygritte proves to be one of his greatest challenges yet, in more ways than
one. She challenges Jon, and helps
validate the warning Aemon gave to Jon way back in season one. This really starts to give some complexity to
Jon, who now faces the cruelty of his own vows.
While I left off after season 2 believing that the White Walkers were
finally on the warpath (I hadn’t started reading at that point), there really
isn’t that much about them this season, aside from a significant role later on
when we finally find out that they do have some sort of weakness.
Robb's allies and relatives, the Tully's.
The most discussed moment from season 3 is without doubt the
Red Wedding. I won’t go into it in this
review, besides mentioning that it is one of the greatest twists/shocking
moments of television history. It’s not
just the event itself, but the brutality of it all, as you are reminded that
this world and story takes no prisoners.
If you’ve seen it, then you know just how brutal it all is, even making
changes to the story to keep things fresh and exciting for even those that have
read the books.
Ygritte is Jon Snow's biggest test yet.
Overall, season 3 keeps the trend going of turning up the
dial, throwing twists and turns your way, all the while fooling you into
believing you have this show all figured out.
It’s this tightrope walk between defying expectations and still giving
the audience something to go on. It’s a
dangerous line that few shows have ever thought to walk, and none have
successfully done. George R. R. Martin
has earned a reputation as a literary sadist in the way he writes, but if this
story was only about “bad” guys winning, it would still fall into the same
predictable patterns as any other show.
It’s not knowing where or when the twists will come that keeps this show
so interesting, and the depth of character makes it all stay fresh and
exciting, never formulaic or dull. Like
the rest of the show, the complexity and depth make it all so incredible to
watch, and a masterpiece in modern television.
Good:
-More incredible story and characters, some new, mostly old.
-More twists and turns than you know how to cope with.
-A continually rich, visceral world that captivates with its
scale, intrigue, and utter brutality.
Bad:
-Not really a bash on the show… but ‘dem feels, bro.
(Note)
The first paragraph contains most of the detailed spoilers, but there will
obviously be a few around in the reviews, so be warned.
*Season
1 spoilers*
With the rise of the new Lannister dynasty following the
death of Robert Baratheon, and the revelation that king Jeoffrey is no true
heir to the throne, there is now a civil war erupting over the Iron
Throne. Following the news of Jeoffrey’s
lineage, Robert’s brothers, Stannis and Renley, each fight for the crown. In the North, Robb Stark seeks to avenge his
father’s murder and false accusation of treason against the crown, and to free
the North from the Iron Throne, and become the first King of Winter in over 3
centuries.
*End
Spoilers*
And remember, it does.
This season picks right up with introducing us to the
contenders for the War of Five Kings, with an introduction to Stannis
Baratheon, which we never had last season, as well as his “Red Priestess,”
Melisandre. Stannis’ “Hand,” Davos
Seaworth, is concerned over the influence this woman holds over Stannis, and
that leads to many interesting scenes in this season, as Melisandre constantly
makes the audience wonder whether her intentions are truly in Stannis’ best
interest, or if her unnerving magic is leading him astray. Most of the other main characters are simply
the ones we met last season, with a couple new additions of note appearing
within the season.
Lord Stannis, King Robert's brother, and Melisandre, the mysterious "Red Woman"
The War provides a truly compelling element that we lacked
in most of season one, actively pitting these characters against each other. While season one contained a lot of politics
and plotting, with a fight here or there, the war adds a military element to
the game that keeps everyone on their toes.
While the Lannisters clearly have the other houses beat in terms of schemes
and wealth, even their massive army isn’t invincible when contenders like Robb
Stark and Stannis Baratheon prove to be very capable strategists. Even at the end of the first season, we saw
Robb prove himself a capable leader on the field.
Davos is another addition, and a very relate-able and honorable man, despite his past.
Across the Narrow Sea, Dany is still struggling to recover
from the end of last season, and her dragons (that’s right, she has DRAGONS
now) are still too young to do her any good.
Still, Ser Jorah is at her side, guiding her and trying to help her back
to power, but life is difficult without armies, wealth, or friends, so she has
to strike out anew with her small band of followers to try to start over, which
offers her a new perspective on the world and the importance of power and how
it’s wielded.
Brienne of Tarth is another new face, and she place an important supporting role in the story.
In the north, the Night’s Watch moves beyond the Wall, to
try to find out what threats lay beyond.
This journey takes most of the season, but we get a lot of added lore
for the Night’s Watch, as well as some of the history and legends in the North. The savage region is home to wildlings, and
worse, as we’ve begun to see. While this
storyline seems to be isolated and not so important to the kingdoms, you
quickly realize that these events are laying the groundwork for important
events to come, and Jon Snow is forced to make some difficult choices.
Renly, Stannis and Robert's brother, has raised his own banners to take over Westeros.
This season is interesting, because the lines have been
drawn, and the banners gathered, but clearly this is anybody’s game right from
the outset, with nobody truly holding all of the cards. Robb Stark and Renly Baratheon are certainly
the most favorable men to lead of the group (both by the majority of the
audience and by the majority of their subjects), but Renly lacks experience and
the will needed to truly rule, while Robb lacks the soldiers and wealth that
the other contenders have. Tywin is
certainly the favorite to win, with the deepest pockets, massive armies, and
extensive experience in the field, but he finds himself with enemies at every
front, and Robb in particular proves to be troubling for him because of his
brilliant mind for both battle tactics and broader strategy.
"Impin' ain't easy."
After the end of season one, I wasn’t sure if I would
continue to enjoy the series, due to how events played out in the story;
however, I found myself still very much hooked, and characters such as Robb,
Tyrion, and Davos, as well as some of the other new additions, actually manage
to fill the void left after season one with much larger and stronger roles in
this season. Tyrion in particular
becomes a standout character of the series, walking in a moral grey area where
he isn’t a hero, but isn’t nearly as bad as his fellow Lannisters. This, as well as Peter Dinklage and his
excellent acting, actually make the show feel even better, somehow.
If there's one thing you need to know about GoT, it's that we HATE Joffrey... He is the Justin Beiber of Westeros, plain and simple.
The first season had a 10 rating from us, and season two,
with its expanded visual effects, which you’ll see later in this season, truly
adds to the sense of scale of this war, and just how dangerous the “game” has
started to become, making the series even greater. All of the storylines manage to progress at a
natural, yet exciting pace, keeping the show well balanced between excitement
and suspense, while not relying on action to keep those feelings going.
Robb is in a tough position, but there's hardly a better man alive for the job than him.
If you have yet to pick up this series, or didn’t want to
continue after season one, I would highly recommend you do so. Despite the reservations even I had at some
of the twists and turns this story took, the show still keeps going strong,
getting even better in many ways, as I’ve already said. As soon I started season two, I was hooked
all over again, and for all the same reasons.
The story is original, suspenseful, exciting, and the twists and turns
keep on coming. While the raw and
unrestrained elements definitely will alienate a sizeable part of potential
viewers, as I’ve said of season one, it manages to entertain those who
appreciate fan-service while adding to the brutal, dog-eat-dog feeling of the
series as a whole. Life in Westeros…
well, everywhere actually… is brutal, and people survive however they can, and
that’s one important element to this series that makes it feel original and
unpredictable, and keeps people like me coming back for more time and time
again.
Good:
-More excellent story
-Standouts like Robb and Tyrion, who have expanded roles
from season one, as well as the extensive list of amazing characters that join
them.
-THERE BE DRAGONS… even if they are still small.
-More twists, turns, and just plain awesome than you can
shake a dozen sticks at.
Bad:
-Still a very RAW series, which doesn’t hurt my rating but
should always be noted for potential viewers.
In Game of Thrones,
there are several prominent families, each rulers of one of the Seven Kingdoms
of Westeros. When the show starts out,
you are shown a patrol in the far north, beyond The Wall, with the Night’s
Watch, guardians of the Seven Kingdoms from threats that lay beyond, which in
their eyes is always Wildlings, savage nomads that try to go south to raid
settlements. However, there is soon
another, much more dangerous threat that reveals itself, and sets up for a
menace not seen in Westeros for thousands of years. However, the most interesting part of this
show doesn’t lie in this conflict, it lays with the conflict between the ruling
families in the Seven Kingdoms; among them the Starks and Lannisters, who are
the focus of most of the first season.
However, across the sea, the last
two Targaryans (the former ruling family) seek a means of regaining their lost
throne in Westeros, which adds another faction to the mix.
A better way to let you glimpse what is going on in Game of Thrones
The conflict starts out right in episode one, with a
conspiracy over the death of the Hand of the King, an official who helps govern
the Seven Kingdoms for the King, Robert Baratheon. After the death of the previous hand, King
Robert rides to the Northern castle at Winterfell, under the rule of lord
Eddard “Ned” Stark. Stark, like his
ancestors, is deeply bound by honor, and is perhaps the only person in the
Seven Kingdoms that Robert truly trusts.
However, the Lannisters have plans of their own, and between their deep
political connections and even deeper pockets, they sit high and mighty in
Westeros. Suspicions run right that the
Lannisters have many secrets to hide, and that it may have been what led to the
previous Hand’s death. Lord Stark
decides to try to get to the bottom of things, and the best way to do that is
to serve as the new Hand of the King.
What ensues is a mix of political strategy, gripping suspense, and a
raw, unrestrained feeling that this show runs with to create a truly unique
experience that sets itself apart from anything else on television.
Some of the set designs are simply beautiful, and really help give atmosphere to the show.
Game of
Thrones is easily my favorite show right now, and there are several
reasons why: the characters are all amazingly well-written, and are all complex
enough to where even after watching three seasons you still can’t always
exactly nail down what makes a person tick.
Some are decent, honorable, but have a couple of stains on that honor,
others are out to manipulate, to pit the powerful against each other in order
to clear their own path to power, but may have compelling reasons for doing so. There are no real “heroes” in this series,
nor are there entirely pure “villains,” either.
What makes the characters so compelling is that they all occupy
different shades of grey, and even then, those shades can change.
Costume design is phenomenal, too.
I love the action, the cast is impressive, and the story is
epic, yet very detailed and intricate.
You really don’t know where this story is going, or where it will end
up. What makes things even more
suspenseful and tense is knowing that nobody is ever truly safe. Having seen a lot of “good” television, you
notice that there are usually predictable paths that a show can follow, and the
only real twists come from outside interference that the audience either can’t
expect, or simply involves the audience not being privy to some detail that was
deliberately left out. Now, you will
still find hints of that in GoT, but most of the surprises come from within,
when circumstances change, or characters make a difficult or sudden choice, and
that’s what makes this show great. Not
everything works together smoothly, and that makes it all feel much more real,
since things rarely fall into place, and characters are all trying to adapt as
events unfold.
Tyrion has always been a fan favorite. Not sure if it has to do with his whit and charm, or if it simply stems from being the only Lannister you don't want to see dead.
Now be warned, this is HBO, with sex, nudity, and blood. However, it all really suits the story well,
surprisingly. I generally feel that any
use of sex appeal is a cheap attempt to generate fans, but this show works it
in more naturally, with just as much, if not more, than most movies that use it,
but it all works towards this feeling of a raw, uninhibited story that holds
nothing back, and challenges the viewer to both accept the reality of what is
going on, while also challenging the viewer to keep up with the many storylines
and plots. There is only one source of
criticism that I could even make about the show, since so many storylines mean
that you only get a small bits of each during an episode, and many would likely
find it difficult to follow. However,
this really works for me, because the details of each story have an impact on
events taking place elsewhere. For me,
it’s not a weakness at all, since it shows the intricacy of the story and
characters, and the transitions are all well-timed while driving the narrative
forward.
Later on in the series you can tell this is all CGI, but the reason is because in the story, Direwolves grow to be the size of a horse, so finding an actual dog after puppy-hood is impossible. But man, are these dogs I would love to have.
An amazing story, exceptional cast, and epic scale with a
rare attention to detail make this the most incredible how on television for
me, hands down. Without getting into
spoilers, this show will surprise you.
Many who have either seen the series, or heard about it, will probably
already have a good idea what I’m talking about, but still, the show will
almost certainly surprise you in some way.
It doesn’t cater to fan expectations, it outright defies them,
sometimes. That’s what makes me fall in
love with this show the way I have. Too
many writers cater to whatever fans expect, forcing romance or switching
loyalties just to make sure you wear a smile on your face throughout. This show will not do that; it will be bold,
making choices that people won’t always appreciate, but doesn’t completely turn
away from what it believes fans would find acceptable, neither. This bold measure means I honestly have no
idea what to expect, and that you truly feel like this is a story that stands
on its own, not being pulled and changed by fan outrage or expectations in any
way.
What kind of epic fantasy story doesn't have dragons?!?!? I'd still rather have a direwolf, though.
This is a drama/epic-fantasy/action/suspense series that
continues to surprise me even after 3 seasons.
If you don’t want to buy this series without knowing what you’re buying,
borrow it, stream clips, do what you have to, but I can’t do this show enough
justice. It’s bold, original, raw,
challenging, full of deep and original characters, and always full of suspense.
To call it the best series in recent history would be insulting it by
comparing it to other shows. This show
is truly unique, and impresses me throughout. It doesn't pander to expectations, but that only makes me respect it more, and feel compelled to keep watching, just to see how everything eventually turns out. This is the best show I've seen in a long time, maybe ever. It is a masterpiece that sucks you into its world of intriguing realism, and overwhelms you with an epic scale of characters, both in quantity and quality, and a brilliant originality that quenches a thirst I didn't even know I had in television.
Good:
-Outstanding story.
-Very detailed, intricate, original characters that
challenge the audience and each other.
-Unpredictable, with no set destination or single
over-arching goal to steer the story, besides survival and whatever motives the
characters have.
-No real favoritism, some are more likeable than others, but
there is no clear cut protagonist to hog the screen.
Bad:
-Not a real fault of the show, but it IS and HBO series,
with nudity, sex, and violence.
Not for the weak of heart or stomach.
So forget about it, kids, unless your mom and dad say you can.
New GoT trailer... 'nuff said. It's right around the corner, and I can't wait. In honor of the release of season 3 this week on DVD/Blu-Ray, he's this awesome trailer, and maybe a little more this week, who know?
