TV Review: Game of Thrones
Season 3, Episode 5: Kissed By Fire
WARNING: This review contains spoilers! If you haven't watched Season 3, Episode 5 of Game of Thrones, drop everything and watch it now (then read the review!).
A delicate balance in a world bursting at the seams with characters you either love or hate; that's what Game of Thrones has struck us with this week. Season 3's midway point manages to briskly increase the momentum of the narrative while at the same time introducing new characters to the fray without remotely batting an eyelid.
Ultimately it's good to know that the show isn't insulting our intelligence - characters who haven't been seen since Season 1 are reintroduced, and if you haven't been paying attention...well, your loss. As well as that the episode is paced very nicely, turning the usual storytelling technique on its head by hitting us with an action packed intro and a devastating final confrontation.
Writer Bryan Cogman may have had one of the most difficult episodes to pen this season, however he pulls it off brilliantly by allowing some more breathing space for characters who have been getting a raw deal recently, namely Stannis Baratheon and Robb Stark (no Bran again this week. Oops). Robb's rebellion isn't exactly going to plan what with his soldiers losing faith in their cause, not to mention the sudden murder of two obscure Lannister children at the hands of one of his most important banner-men Lord Carstark.
Being his father's son, Robb's decision to "honourably" deprive Carstark of his head may have serious repercussions if he still plans to win the war, with the loss of Carstark's soldiers and a decent army with which to fight the Lannisters. Finally, the storyline which should have been the most action packed and exciting is starting to heat up with reflections of Ned Stark's honourable methods shining through his son - but we all know how that ended up for poor old Ned-without-a-head...
Speaking of which, anyone with high hopes for his return to the show will be very disappointed as, in one of the most emotionally hard-hitting scenes of Game of Thrones so far, Arya questions whether anyone decapitated can be resurrected.
Why does she ask? Well, she'd just witnessed the best one-on-one sword fight that this show has ever seen, with The Hound and Beric battling it out for supremacy in a trial by combat. The mystical result surely had many a viewer thinking the same as her after Beric's apparent departure from the world of the living but alas, it shall not be so and Northern Ned shall remain dead.
In fact, Kissed By Fire feels like an episode built upon giving some further emotional depth and sadness to these characters who grace our screens. It came as a surprise to me that Stannis Baratheon, for all his determination and bitter glory hunting is actually a very sad individual whose neglected wife and daughter have been hidden in the background for a while.
Their introduction to the story is a little clunky now that we've known Stannis for a full season already but they add a lot more weight to his story, giving him a further purpose to desire the iron throne. Although why his wife keeps their stillborn babies in jars of ooze like something from The Walking Dead is anyone's guess...
Up in the cold of the North, things are heating up for Jon Snow as he and Ygritte start doing that thing that couples do when they love each other very much. Only, for Jon, it's starting to feel as though his cover story is better than his actual story. The wildlings are just trying to survive by breaking back into Westeros - is that really so bad?
At the end of the day though, King's Landing is the heart of both Westeros and Game of Thrones as a whole. This is where the key movements are made and Kissed By Fire represents the best material that King's Landing's characters produce, with various individuals finding their lives changed for better or for worse on a weekly basis.
For Tyrion it's sadly the latter, having been forced by his father to marry Sansa Stark, a girl who has apparently smiled far too much recently and needs to be hammered down a peg or two. She certainly wins the award for worst timing ever - Littlefinger's offer to whisk her away silently away from the dangerous capital was refused, right before word got back to the dastardly Tywin Lannister that the Tyrells wanted her to marry Loras. You can't fault his cunning, however. With Sansa engaged to Tyrion, Winterfell (remember that?) effectively belongs to the Lannisters. Keeping up so far?
Still, it's not all bad - there's a dark satisfaction in the brilliantly executed moment when Cersei is ordered to marry Loras. Credit has to go to Charles Dance, injecting such malice and cruelty into Tywin that it's hard not to hate his ruthless ways despite his character being a fan favourite (although really, which character in Game of Thrones isn't a fan favourite?). Poor Sansa.
Most affecting of all this week though was Nikolaj Costar-Waldau's amazing monologue as Jaime; missing a sword hand and slowly losing the will to live, Jaime's huge tale of the day he killed the mad king brought Brienne to tears and for good reason. Ever since we first discovered his infamous reputation as the "kingslayer" our curiosity for his side of the story has ebbed in the background of the narrative.
Kissed By Fire finally answers the questions of why Jaime broke his vow and killed the king he was sworn to protect - and the story has the potential to change our perspective of this entire war completely.
We're at the midway point of Game of Thrones' third season, so it's only natural that the show is stepping things up a gear. With an action packed intro, things going amiss for Robb Stark, a deeper insight into the world of Stannis Baratheon, a horrendous revelation in King's Landing and one of the most heartbreaking monologues in TV history courtesy of Jaime, Kissed By Fire is the best episode of the season so far and one which should please both hardcore fans of the books and casual viewers like myself. Now, where the hell is Bran?
Speaking of which, anyone with high hopes for his return to the show will be very disappointed as, in one of the most emotionally hard-hitting scenes of Game of Thrones so far, Arya questions whether anyone decapitated can be resurrected.
Why does she ask? Well, she'd just witnessed the best one-on-one sword fight that this show has ever seen, with The Hound and Beric battling it out for supremacy in a trial by combat. The mystical result surely had many a viewer thinking the same as her after Beric's apparent departure from the world of the living but alas, it shall not be so and Northern Ned shall remain dead.
In fact, Kissed By Fire feels like an episode built upon giving some further emotional depth and sadness to these characters who grace our screens. It came as a surprise to me that Stannis Baratheon, for all his determination and bitter glory hunting is actually a very sad individual whose neglected wife and daughter have been hidden in the background for a while.
Their introduction to the story is a little clunky now that we've known Stannis for a full season already but they add a lot more weight to his story, giving him a further purpose to desire the iron throne. Although why his wife keeps their stillborn babies in jars of ooze like something from The Walking Dead is anyone's guess...
Up in the cold of the North, things are heating up for Jon Snow as he and Ygritte start doing that thing that couples do when they love each other very much. Only, for Jon, it's starting to feel as though his cover story is better than his actual story. The wildlings are just trying to survive by breaking back into Westeros - is that really so bad?
At the end of the day though, King's Landing is the heart of both Westeros and Game of Thrones as a whole. This is where the key movements are made and Kissed By Fire represents the best material that King's Landing's characters produce, with various individuals finding their lives changed for better or for worse on a weekly basis.
For Tyrion it's sadly the latter, having been forced by his father to marry Sansa Stark, a girl who has apparently smiled far too much recently and needs to be hammered down a peg or two. She certainly wins the award for worst timing ever - Littlefinger's offer to whisk her away silently away from the dangerous capital was refused, right before word got back to the dastardly Tywin Lannister that the Tyrells wanted her to marry Loras. You can't fault his cunning, however. With Sansa engaged to Tyrion, Winterfell (remember that?) effectively belongs to the Lannisters. Keeping up so far?
Still, it's not all bad - there's a dark satisfaction in the brilliantly executed moment when Cersei is ordered to marry Loras. Credit has to go to Charles Dance, injecting such malice and cruelty into Tywin that it's hard not to hate his ruthless ways despite his character being a fan favourite (although really, which character in Game of Thrones isn't a fan favourite?). Poor Sansa.
Most affecting of all this week though was Nikolaj Costar-Waldau's amazing monologue as Jaime; missing a sword hand and slowly losing the will to live, Jaime's huge tale of the day he killed the mad king brought Brienne to tears and for good reason. Ever since we first discovered his infamous reputation as the "kingslayer" our curiosity for his side of the story has ebbed in the background of the narrative.
Kissed By Fire finally answers the questions of why Jaime broke his vow and killed the king he was sworn to protect - and the story has the potential to change our perspective of this entire war completely.
Summary
We're at the midway point of Game of Thrones' third season, so it's only natural that the show is stepping things up a gear. With an action packed intro, things going amiss for Robb Stark, a deeper insight into the world of Stannis Baratheon, a horrendous revelation in King's Landing and one of the most heartbreaking monologues in TV history courtesy of Jaime, Kissed By Fire is the best episode of the season so far and one which should please both hardcore fans of the books and casual viewers like myself. Now, where the hell is Bran?
9/10 - Brilliant
Next Episode: The Climb
Air date: May 5th
Far Cry 5 is an exciting new ride into a world of charismatic villains, crazy enemies around every corner and beautiful landscapes. Hope County's large sandbox hides so many opportunities and activities, different weapons and vehicles, lots of characters to interact with and frantic battles in the usual Far Cry fashion.
ReplyDeleteSee more review: A Plague Tale: Innocence
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord
The Crew 2