Game of Thrones 1x03 - Lord Snow
This is late, I know, but I've got some Thinky Thoughts and Opinions, despite being quite busy the past couple of days.
First off, this was the weakest episode so far - which is not to say that it was bad in any way. There were tons of little character moments I adored, and we ran into some people that I particularly like for the first time - Petyr Baelish! Lord Varys! Renly! Barristan the Bold! The Old Bear!
But overall the episode felt almost like a second pilot - the land of exposition and backstory, introducing us to a bunch more new characters and telling us a lot about the characters we've already met, without really pushing the story forward much. This episode was very much about looking back - from Petyr introducing himself to Ned and talking about the duel with Ned's brother so many years ago, to Jaime talking about the deaths of Ned's father and brother, how he thought of them while killing the old Mad King Aerys, and of course Robert trading war stories with Barristan and Jaime. Even Old Nan's stories about the long, dark winter of thousands of years ago, that first brought the white walkers into the world.
Incidentally, I'm totally gunning for Mark Addy for an Emmy now. Just based on that one scene. Holy crap.
And then there's Dany's stuff. While I really enjoyed the scene with Viserys, showing how she's finding a bit of her strength while still letting us see how conflicted she is, and that scene with Jorah and Rakharo discussing fighting styles, wow! That was a great moment for a couple of minor characters that we don't know much about yet - the Dany-and-Drogo thing just totally fell flat. I was so disappointed. Out of nowhere, they like each other now? I was hoping for a bit more build-up.
But pretty much Syrio Forel's presence makes up for everything, ever. Just so.
By all accounts, things are only going to get better from here - which is really saying something. I AM EXCITE.
First off, this was the weakest episode so far - which is not to say that it was bad in any way. There were tons of little character moments I adored, and we ran into some people that I particularly like for the first time - Petyr Baelish! Lord Varys! Renly! Barristan the Bold! The Old Bear!
But overall the episode felt almost like a second pilot - the land of exposition and backstory, introducing us to a bunch more new characters and telling us a lot about the characters we've already met, without really pushing the story forward much. This episode was very much about looking back - from Petyr introducing himself to Ned and talking about the duel with Ned's brother so many years ago, to Jaime talking about the deaths of Ned's father and brother, how he thought of them while killing the old Mad King Aerys, and of course Robert trading war stories with Barristan and Jaime. Even Old Nan's stories about the long, dark winter of thousands of years ago, that first brought the white walkers into the world.
Incidentally, I'm totally gunning for Mark Addy for an Emmy now. Just based on that one scene. Holy crap.
And then there's Dany's stuff. While I really enjoyed the scene with Viserys, showing how she's finding a bit of her strength while still letting us see how conflicted she is, and that scene with Jorah and Rakharo discussing fighting styles, wow! That was a great moment for a couple of minor characters that we don't know much about yet - the Dany-and-Drogo thing just totally fell flat. I was so disappointed. Out of nowhere, they like each other now? I was hoping for a bit more build-up.
But pretty much Syrio Forel's presence makes up for everything, ever. Just so.
By all accounts, things are only going to get better from here - which is really saying something. I AM EXCITE.