As the Seven Kingdoms crumble from within, those in power play at life and pleasure.
What They Say:
Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Because of its origins in the world of novels, adapting this into serial television form can be a difficult thing as it can have a period of time where little seems to happen, but much is conveyed as it builds the world that the characters inhabit. It may not exactly be thrilling television to some as there’s little in the way of action, but the layering and approach used gives the viewer a whole lot to absorb and lots of material with which to see how it can go so many ways. The land of the Seven Kingdoms has so much history to it, even just the recent history that’s serving as the back drop to which the various powers are at play, that it can be a bit overwhelming in a way. But for the portion of the audience that comes from reading novels and series that involve such carefully detailed world building, it is thrilling to see it all come to life like this.
This episode has a good deal of maneuvering going on across a number of fronts and it’s all quite engaging. In Winterfell, there’s a definite change of atmosphere with Robb Stark taking over running things while his father is off at King’s Landing being the Kings Hand. Whereas you can imagine Eddard taking a more roundabout way of dealing with Tyrion since his return from The Wall when it comes to his blade being the one involved with the attempt on Bran’s life, Robb is fairly blunt about it, though he doesn’t outright come out and say what it is that he’s accusing him of because of the potential blowback in dealing with a Lannister. And one as sharp as Tyrion is. Interestingly, as Tyrion is unaware of what he’s being talked to about, he actually provides some very useful things for Bran as he grows that will help him deal with the lack of use of his legs. It’s a confusing moment for those in the room since they’re so assured of what he’s been involved in that it does slow them down and allows the moment to pass. It’s a wonderful sequence that shows a lot about some of the defining elements of these characters.
One area that this episode spends a lot of time with, and is where we do get some amount of swordplay to be involved, comes with Jon. His time at The Wall has been a lot of fun to watch as it’s showing us how a very key area of the Seven Kingdoms has fallen over the years after it’s had such a lengthy period of overall piece, outside of some simple and rather basic incursions by the wildlings that are out there. Because of that, we’ve seen through Jon how those that are brought there to serve aren’t what’s needed and only a few are truly able to do anything to help stem any potential issues. This is made even more clear with the arrival of a new recruit, Samwell. He’s almost like a child in an oversized man’s body with a soft rounded face that matches his body. He’s completely ill-equipped to handle this and it’s really beaten into him. Jon, being who he is, puts himself at risk in order to try and protect him which is something that will likely cause him trouble later. But it makes clear the character that he is.
One of the more entertaining sequences within this episode involves a little bathtub talk between Viserys and a handmaiden that’s in with him, completely naked of course, that’s making sure he gets as clean as he needs to be. While it’s a bit of obvious sexuality, one that definitely fits in with Visery’s personality, it’s a calm enough moment, a disarming one in fact, that relaxes him enough that he talks about his background a bit with her. Getting a better handle on what’s driven him all these years, as well as some of the softer side of him that shows he’s not just a complete ass is definitely welcome, making him a more layered person than he might be otherwise. There are definitely issues in his past and with what happened to his family that obviously haunt him, but also are seen through a very particular perspective, much like King Robert who has his view of what has happened. Getting a bit more of Viserys’ side adds new color to it all.
A good bit of time is spent with the elder Stark’s as well, though they’re dealing with completely different issues. Eddard’s time in King’s Landing has shown him how badly things are being run there and the kinds of frustrations that come with it. While there’s plenty of coin to be had for big events, providing for enough guards and security for the throngs of people coming in is far from being important on the list. Eddard starts to get a bit more of a clue about the longer history of those who have ruled as the sage old one on the council has some cryptic comments to make, but it helps to put him on a path to investigate that should yield some interesting results. Equally interesting, though a bit shorter and far more engaging in a way, is following Catelyn on her tra-vels as she ends up coming across Tyrion along the way, and that isn’t exactly something she expected, and certainly not Tyrion. While Tyrion’s time in this episode isn’t long, he continues to be the most engaging of the characters and one that I find myself oddly rooting for to see what situation he’ll end up in next.
In Summary:
A Game of Thrones continues to be a very engaging series as it covers several really interesting storylines that you know will all come together at some point. While at the start of the series there were some stories that you could see as not being terribly interesting, everything is turning out to be a lot of fun to watch. Tyrion continues to be a favorite, but I’m quickly becoming much more enthralled with the entire Dothraki storyline as we see Daenerys gaining a stronger position and unexpectedly turning the tables on her brother. The whole setting has a very different feeling as well compared to all the other tales going on here. And lurking in the background is the entire subplot with The Wall, which really hasn’t been tackled since the opening minutes of the series, that promises even more big moments to come. There’s so much to like here that it’s one of the few shows where the end of each episode is painful as there’s a whole week to wait for more of it. Few shows leave me feeling like that over the years, which is good, since getting one can be highly frustrating, even if ultimately satisfying.
Grade: B+
