“The Ghost of Harrenhal” was the sort of episode every showrunner dreams of making. It grabbed us from the opening scenes and really didn’t let us go until the very last image. From Arya’s boldness to Brienne of Tarth’s oath and Jorah Mormont’s plea, it showcased the best Game of Thrones has to offer in terms of characters and storylines, all that without the less attractive and more controversial bits.
“Garden of Bones” was many things. It was intriguing with the woman on the battlefield who forced the new king in the North to try and justify his actions. It was petty with King Joffrey doing what he does best. It was cunning and noble with Tyrion Lannister wrapping his hand around the seat of power and educating the king. It was even attractively scary with the red priestess. But above all, it was fiery and majestic with Daenerys Targaryen at Qarth.
“What Is Dead May Never Die” saw, for the first time this season, Game of Thrones really using the profusion of characters to its advantage. In this week’s episode, whether we dreamed with Bran Stark, enjoyed the intrigues at King’s Landing or witnessed the real homecoming of Theon Greyjoy, everything seemed to flow naturally and to push us further in the game of thrones.
After the first season and the many events that arguably looked more like preparatory steps, the new season premiere of Game of Thrones felt like a positioning of the pieces. It paved the way for “The Night Lands,” an episode in which the game of thrones seems to have truly begun. Whether it was Daenerys Targaryen receiving a message from a rival Dothraki Khal, or Tyrion making his way into the politics of King’s Landing, or even Theon Greyjoy’s trip to the Iron Islands, the episode seemed to show the first open moves toward the clash of kings.
About a year ago, The New York Times published an utterly dismissive review of HBO’s Game of Thrones written by Ginia Bellafante, a female writer who, among other things, found the series lacking any appeal for women. Following the success of the show and, perhaps, the relative backlash generated by the article—including from female fans and writers—the Times’ review this year is clearly less disdainful, but is not quite conciliatory. Written by Neil Genzlinger, the review shares the same categorization of the typical audience of the show, the “Dungeons & Dragons types.” Even if at this point in the series that is a sweeping generalization, I believe it might be a sign of troubles to come.
“The North Remembers,” the second season premiere of HBO’s Game of Thrones, was not so much about the North or Northerners as it was about the realization that the kingdom—more than that—the entire world of Westeros was whirling toward an internal strife, toward “A Clash of Kings.”
HBO has released a 22-minute long video to help catch up on what happened in the first season of the epic fantasy series Game of Thrones. The video features executive producers and writers, as well as actors who provide some insights into the world of Westeros and paint an intimate portrait of the main characters, presenting their motivations and values while brushing on the actual events of the first season.
I think that it is apt to say that George R.R. Martin is in a pretty safe place financially. Once his books were made into an HBO series (that has done quite well), his popularity skyrocketed, and now, with the release of the video game coming quite soon, Martin has reason to like how the near future looks. The coverage for Game of Thrones has been a bit spotty, but from what I have seen, it looks (stylistically) like something like Dragon Age: Origins, but the gameplay system seems to remind me of something like Call of Duty (not in the fact that it is a first person shooter, but in the fact that there are multiple characters that are already set that you may or may not alternate between). From the information that I have heard, there are two playable characters, one from the Night’s Watch (who will most likely be a warrior/tank), and one character who is a Red Priest, which will most likely be a rouge/mage type of character. There will be two people from the television series that will reprise their roles in the game, yet they are characters that may not be as big as people may want. The first of the two that will make an appearance is James Cosmo, who plays Jeor Mormont, the leader of the Night’s Watch. His role in the first season was fairly light, but I would guess that he would serve as one of the main quest givers for the Night Watch character that you will be playing as. For the other reprieved role, Conleth Hill will be voicing Varys, who was the eunuch aid to the King. Varys had a bit of a larger role in the show, but for the most part, was a tertiary character. With this being said, it will be nice to have some characters voiced by the actors that actually play them.
“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.” One of the most highly critically acclaimed book series, turned TV series, turned board-game, turned RTS will now be taking a dip in the online massive multiplayer player pool. George R.R. Martin’s, A Song of Ice and Fire series will be transformed into a browser-based, free to play MMO designed by Bigpoint and called (aptly) Game of Thrones.
Prepare to have your minds blown! HBO released the second official trailer for Game of Thrones season two via its streaming service, HBO GO. Although season two of the series will premiere on April 1st, the network has been keeping the public up to date regarding recent developments on the show. Game of Thrones was a massive success last year and the upcoming season promises to exceed our wildest expectations. The show, which already flaunts an impressive cast to begin with (despite Sean Bean’s exit), will have additional characters introduced this season including Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon, Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth, Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth, and Carice van Houten as Melisandre.
