Tonight's episode of Game of Thrones did what no other episode has done before. Beside blow the budget out on an epic battle sequence that dazzled and amazed, I mean. It abandoned all divisions in the plot for the week, focusing everything on King's Landing and the Battle of Blackwater Bay.It was a phenomenal hour of the show, not just for the incredible thrills of the battle itself, but for the exciting character moments as well. It was an especially strong episode for Cersei, who commanded several scenes of both tormenting and educating Sansa, pontificating on the power of women, and demonstrating the extreme lengths she'd go to to keep her children "safe."
It was also a good episode for Sansa. It's probably no surprise, but I never much cared for the character in the book. But I think she has a higher wit and a slightly more acid tongue here on the show. It was still infuriating to see her reject the offer to flee with The Hound, though.
Speaking of The Hound, his moments in the episode were also great. His rivalry with Bronn, essentially added from the book, gave some great moments of comic relief in a tense episode.
And of course we had Tyrion, finally earning a measure of respect from the people of King's Landing, being both clever and brave as he defended the city from attack. It was a spectacular performance by Peter Dinklage.
Next week is the season finale, where they'll presumably touch back on all the other tabled plot lines, and get us to several fun, cliffhangery moments to leave us for the next year.
1 comment:
Good adaptation of a huge battle on a limited budget. I was confused by the night setting at first until I realized it helps a lot on CGI costs.
I liked that they made Cersei less likable again, as they were humanizing her a lot in the last few episodes. And Tyrion remains cool Tyrion with his quips.
(SPOILERS FROM BOOK 2)
Still, I'm disappointed that they didn't mention the chain at all (but not surprised, as they didn't foreshadow it at any point). I found that one of the high point of the battle in the book, showing how Tyrion change the battle setting to his advantage and forcing Stannis to attack as he couldn't retreat anymore. In the series he just become a defender with a surprise nuke that the opponent isn't aware of. Once the nuke exploded, Stannis could have retreated at any time.
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