The Walking Dead - Season Five: No Sanctuary

The fourth season of The Walking Dead ended on quite a cliffhanger; Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors were captured by the people of Terminus and imprisoned in a train car to await an uncertain fate. The episode ended in such a way that the fifth season premiere would pick up immediately from where it left off (in previous seasons there has been a clear lapse of time; weeks or months). But before we get a chance to see an escape attempt we get a cryptic prologue depicting several members of the Terminus community, similarly trapped in a train car, lamenting the fact that they had put up signs, which had allowed “them” to find their sanctuary. Watching this episode for the first time I completely bought into this trick, assuming that Rick’s group had turned the tables on their captors and imprisoned them; I also made the snap-assumption that the ensuing storyline – Rick overthrowing Terminus – would cover the first half of this season.

I was wrong, and I don’t mind about that!

The escape plan doesn’t work out, because the people of Terminus have pretty intensive and methodical security measures, and Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob are gagged, bound and lined up over a trough along with four nameless expendable characters. There’s no holding back on the gore – and no time is wasted on these people we know nothing about – as one by one they are cracked over the back of the head with a baseball bat, and then their throats are sliced open. Terminus as a community seems to operate by a number of rules, but we don’t really stay there long enough to find out about them. All we need to know is that Gareth arrives just in time to impose one of these rules before Glenn can be taken out.

There is some genuine tension for a moment as Gareth threatens to kill Bob (the most expendable member of Rick’s group) if Rick doesn’t co-operate, but then an explosion shakes the whole building and Gareth leaves to inspect it, but not before stupidly telling his men not to kill Rick or the others. Once upon a time this show used to make a big deal about not killing living survivors, but that was a long time ago, and since the two goons don’t kill Rick, he cuts himself free and kills them both. Pretty awesomely, I might add.

Fans of the show had strong suspicions that the people of Terminus were cannibals, and any ambiguity was dismissed as we see some really hideous images of butchered corpses hanging from meat hooks. Rick takes this in, and gives the order not to leave anyone from Terminus alive.

This episode deals pretty heavily with the theme of “kill or be killed” (or “butcher or the cattle” to use the show’s phrasing). In the narrative we have now reached a point where that seems to be the only means of continued survival. Tyreese and Carol capture one of the people of Terminus, and after Carol leaves on a mission of ‘being all kinds of awesome’ (I’m assuming that’s how it was phrased in the script) he continuously berates and challenges Tyreese. It’s impossible to be a good person in this world, because people who try to live by their morals, and do the right thing all the time, are always at a disadvantage. The Governor had this mentality before a lot of others, when he remarked that if he’d been that way from the start, his daughter would have been afraid of him, but she would have been alive too.

Sure enough, Tyreese’s good nature is abused as his prisoner threatens to murder baby Judith, and with his hands around her throat he forces Tyreese to drop his weapons and then step outside to face the Walkers unarmed. But of course he’s not dead, because The Walking Dead wouldn’t waste a major character death by having it take place off-screen, and sure-enough after an uncomfortable silence he bursts back into the cabin and brutally beats his tormentor to death.

Meanwhile Carol manages to camouflage herself with Walker-entrails, and gets herself to a vantage point from which she proceeds to blow-up Terminus (or at least blast a great big hole in it). The escape from the sinister would-be sanctuary isn’t going to be a drawn out multi-episode affair, it’s happening right-damn-now!

We then alternate between Rick being a badass, and a Carol being a badass (of course Daryl gets a look-in as well, but for a change it’s not his moment to shine), but with Terminus in flames and a big herd of walkers swarming through it, everyone else wants to get in on the “it’s my turn to be a badass now” action. Everyone – apart from Eugene – gets a few walker-kills in before they get the hell out of there.

This episode is very heavy on action, but there are some nice character moments as well: Carol and Daryl are reunited, and Rick and Carl finally discover that Judith is still alive. These reunions are handled very nicely, as the show finally slows down allowing the audience to catch their breath.

Then we return to the people of Terminus trapped in their train car, and realise that this was a flashback (not a flashforward) as they are seen being tormented by evil men. This cruel treatment drove them to become violent cannibals, luring people to their bastardised sanctuary for the purposes of butchering them. It is an interesting approach to find out all of this, now that Terminus is no longer a threat, but Gareth is definitely still alive and will be eager to get revenge on Rick and the others.

And then, after the end credits there is another big event: Morgan Jones is revealed to be following the same road as Rick. The last time we saw this character was in Season Three, and he had gone mad due to the loss of his son. It will be interesting to find out what has happened in the meantime; Lennie James has done a fantastic job of playing this character, he’s only been in two episodes so far, but both times he’s been incredible.

The Walking Dead often catches a lot of criticism for being relatively slow-paced for the majority of each season, and this episode seemed to be the writers’ way of challenging that criticism. I was really amazed at how much took place in this single episode: about half a season’s-worth of storylines were packed into forty-five minutes (they even had Eugene reveal his ‘cure’ despite having been hyper-secretive about it up until now). They could definitely have afforded to have spread some of these plotlines over the next several weeks, but they decided instead to kick things off in a huge way. Then again, the second half of the fourth season had been almost entirely spent building up to this episode, so I can’t really complain – this is the finale that people were waiting for. No Sanctuary was a spectacular opener, but my concern coming off the back of it is that the season will not be able to maintain the standard it has set.

But hey, I’ve been wrong before – maybe I’ll be wrong again…

Game of Thrones - Season Four: The Children

When I first saw that the title to the Season Four finale was “The Children” my immediate assumption was that it referred to The Children of the Forest. That was true – to an extent – but as with so many episode titles, the definition spreads further than a single factor. The title does refer to the Children of the Forest, whom Bran encounters after two whole seasons of travelling North, but also to the children of great houses (Arya and Tyrion were particularly prevalent in this episode) the ‘children’ of Daenerys Targaryen; and the innocent child whose death prompted Dany to lock her ‘children’ away. I mentioned last week that this finale episode had a lot to fit in, as an entire episode spent at the wall had left many storylines in need of some sort of resolution before the waiting starts all over again.

The episode began by immediately resolving the issues that were left hanging at the end of last week’s episode, with Jon Snow heading out beyond The Wall to pledge peace terms with Mance Rayder (a returning-from-season-long-absence Ciaran Hinds). Mance had rightfully observed from the night-long assault that the Night’s Watch had small numbers and short supplies to last much longer, and he called Jon’s bluff that there were a thousand men at Castle Black. With this advantage he offered Jon peace terms on the grounds that he open the gates and let Mance’s entire army pass through. Before this could go much further there came the sound of horses and clashing steel. Suspecting treachery Mance threatened to kill Jon, but it soon became clear that it wasn’t men of the Watch who had arrived to rout Mance’s army: it was Stannis’ infantrymen. The only King in Westeros to turn his attention to the greater threat arrived at The Wall, made quick work of Mance’s army (many of whom likely scattered following the initial charge) and made a prisoner out of the King-Beyond-The-Wall.

I had initially suspected that the surprise appearance of Stannis’ army would occur last week towards the end of “The Watcher’s On The Wall” but it made for a large scale opening to the season-ender. This will set up a big change for the next season, as two separate storyline have now converged – I think we’ve bid farewell to Dragonstone for the time-being – as Stannis, Davos and Melissandre are now all stationed at The Wall. The writers have occasionally played for time with these storylines, but now that they’ve been unified there should be a clearer purpose in the future.

Further beyond The Wall, Bran and his small party finally arrived at their destination. The cinematography was really impressive for this sequence, as the small group overlooked the large heart-tree. They then made their way towards the tree, before a rabble of ancient skeletal Wights emerged from under the snow and attacked. Bran warged into Hodor once again, but even this wasn’t enough, as more skeletons burst out to attack. The timely intervention of one of The Children of the Forest occurred in time to save Bran, but not Jojen, who seemed strangely at peace with his death.

The reason for this was revealed by the ‘Three-Eyed-Raven’ who said that Jojen knew he would die (as he was a Greenseer). Bran then learned that though he may never walk again, he will fly. Exactly what this means is just one of many things that will have to wait until next year.

Although it made for an interesting confrontation, I do have some issues with the fight between Brienne and The Hound. The circumstances leading up to this meeting are pretty questionable: first of all we now know for sure that Arya and The Hound just left the Eerie after learning of Lysa’s death, and now that Brienne has found one of the Stark girls only to have her slip away, weakens her quest (Brienne pledged herself to Renly and Catelyn, both of whom are now dead – and now she’s failed to protect one of Catelyn’s daughters after tracking her down). This scene also makes The Hound look weak, as he lost the fight pretty decisively (which I was afraid might happen as a result of the show-writers contriving a means to combine these storylines). Also, probably the biggest issue: they found Arya, and didn’t even give her the bread from Hot-Pie!

The following scene between Arya and The Hound was done very well though, as Arya coldly refused to grant him the gift of mercy, and instead left him alone in the Vale to suffer through the pain of his injuries. From this point on The Hound’s ultimate fate is left uncertain, and while we can make the assumption that he eventually died, the lack of an actual death scene leaves the possibility of seeing this character again open (just like with Syrio).

After sending away her most long-serving adviser, Daenerys is really starting to struggle with her role of leadership. The consequences of her massacring the Masters of Meereen are continuing to be felt, and an old man requested to be returned to slavery rather than her version of freedom. Things then became worse as she was presented with the scorched bones of a young girl: the latest victim of Drogon. With a heavy heart, the Mother of Dragons was forced to chain up her beloved children (ironic that the ‘breaker of chains’ must do such a thing) and keep them sealed away. She cannot control them anymore, and the bigger they get, the more dangerous they become.

In King’s Landing Cersei confronted Tywin about not wanting to marry Loras Tyrell (something that has fallen by the wayside these past few weeks, in fact we haven’t seen Loras or Margery in a very long time). She then decided to confess her deepest sin, knowing that it would truly hurt Tywin more than anything else: the rumours are true. Tywin has fought all his life to preserve the status and preservation of his family’s legacy, and in one moment Cersei brought all of that crashing down. He has waged wars and ruled the Seven Kingdom’s under the name of two king’s (Joffrey and Tommen) neither of whom had a legitimate claim. To learn that all he has fought for since the start of the series has been a farce, Tywin couldn’t find anything to say.

Cersei might regret parting with her father on such terms however, as it turns out she’ll never speak to her father again. Jaime – with the help of Varys – sprung Tyrion from his cell, and lead him to safety: a ship leaving Westeros. Tyrion however – after bidding his brother farewell – decided that he had unfinished business before departing. He made his way to the Tower of the Hand in order to confront his father about condemning him to death, but on his way he discovered something unexpected: Shae, in Tywin’s bed. The two of them scuffled, but then, in his rage, Tyrion strangled her to death with a golden chain.

He then took up his nephew’s crossbow and thus armed, burst in upon Lord Tywin on the privy. Being caught in such an uncompromising position, Tywin tried to reason with his youngest son, saying that he never intended to have Tyrion executed. A lifetime of mistreatment and abuse from his father, meant that Tyrion was unmoved by this suggestion, and so he fired a bolt right into his father’s chest. Although non-fatal, the wound meant that Tywin realised he would not be able to negotiate his way out of his predicament. He renounced Tyrion, saying that he was not his son, and received a second bolt (fatal this time) for his troubles.

 

The death of Tywin is a huge deal for the politics in King’s Landing. I’ve used to term ‘game-changing’ several times before, but this moment truly is game-changing. Who will rule as Hand of the King now? What will become of House Lannister after their powerful patriarch is discovered murdered? Varys, upon hearing the bells ringing to signify Tywin’s death, decided to leave Westeros on the same ship as Tyrion.

Speaking of leaving Westeros, the fourth season concluded with Arya presenting her iron coin – given to her by Jaquen H’Ghar – to a Braavosi sea-captain, and saying the words “Valar Morghulis” to which he reciprocated “Valar Dohaeris” and promptly offered her a cabin on the ship. As far as Arya is concerned, her family are dead and her home is in ruins – there’s nothing left for her in Westeros, so it’s time to leave. It makes for a satisfying ending, closing the page on a significant chapter for her character, but it wasn’t the ending that I (and many others) were anticipating. I suppose that will have to wait for next season, but it’s a shame it wasn’t included here because it would have really caused people to sit up and take notice. No more need be said about it at this juncture however, no need to talk about what didn’t happen.

This was a very good episode, which offered resolutions to a number of storylines (short-term resolutions at least), significant developments to a number of plot-lines, and saw the deaths of quite a few long-standing characters: Tywin Lannister, Shae, Jojen Reed and (maybe) The Hound. I am very pleased that Stannis finally got a shining moment to prove his effectiveness as a ruler, and although I’m sad that there won’t be any more of Tywin – or, more to the point Charles Dance – the question I present to combat this is: would you rather lose Tyrion or Tywin?

The fourth season has had its share of problems (probably more than the previous seasons) and these generally tend to stem from the deviations from the books. Obviously there are always going to be differences between the two mediums, but the larger deviations create these problems, sometimes unnecessarily. Ultimately though, the quality of the show will be judged on the overall product – and when re-watched as a whole, a lot of the pacing and distribution issues will not be such factors. I’ve had a few gripes with this season, but I have still really enjoyed it, and can’t believe that now the waiting has to begin all over again!

Herd Runners (Album) - Cherry Ghost

I’ve always felt very pleased to know about the music of Cherry Ghost; it’s not obscure and yet it seems to have passed many people by. Both of the band’s previous studio albums – Thirst For Romance and Beneath This Burning Shoreline – are packed full of stellar songwriting and outstanding arrangements. I’ve never really been one to seek out B-sides, but in the case of Cherry Ghost it seems that quality goes hand in hand with just about everything they touch, and some of my favourite songs of theirs are B-side tracks (‘Four Eyes’, ‘Please Come Home’ and ‘Dancehall To Daybreak’). I saw the band perform live at the Cavern in Exeter back in 2010, a few months after the release of Beneath This Burning Shoreline and ever since that time I’ve eagerly awaited the release of album number three. Sadly it would be a fairly long wait, with very sparse news and updates alluding to when the new album would come out. Prior to the announcement of the latest Cherry Ghost outing, the band’s frontman Simon Aldred released a solo album under the pseudonym Out Cold, which harkened back to the dance music of the 80s. As much as I like Aldred’s songwriting, I gave this one a miss (although it received positive reviews) as it wasn’t really my sort of thing.

Somewhat surprisingly then the announcement of Herd Runners almost passed me by, and I didn’t hear the lead single ‘Clear Skies Ever Closer’ until nearly two weeks after it was released (it turns out I’d ‘liked’ the wrong Cherry Ghost facebook page, and was missing out on all the latest updates). Nevertheless I was delighted to finally have a new Cherry Ghost album to listen to, after a near four year wait.

The album opener, and lead single (the aforementioned) ‘Clear Skies Ever Closer’ is probably the most immediate track on the album. It grabs the listener right from the start, bursting into life and boasting a triumphant, memorable chorus. Tonally, it’s one of the most upbeat numbers the band has ever released, and it is an absolute gem. Aldred has earned comparisons to Frank Sinatra, and this is one of several tracks on this album that I can easily imagine being performed by ‘old blue eyes’ himself.

‘Don’t Leave Me Here Alone’ interestingly slows things down after the bright and pacey opener, and the slow pace continues through ‘Fragile Reign’ and ‘Sacramento’. It’s a very different approach from previous albums, and I think that the album would benefit from a bit of re-ordering: no song needs to be taken off the album, but I think if the tracks were shuffled around it would improve the album’s flow. This doesn’t mean that any of these songs are poor (far from it) but to have three slow-paced tracks in succession is a curious choice. There are some sumptuous vocal hooks in ‘Don’t Leave Me Here Alone’ and ‘Sacramento’ – after a 4AM-style fade-in – contains some great storytelling-lyrics, that are complimented by a subtle, yet layered guitar arrangement.

‘The World Could Turn’ raises the tempo again, and has a solid beat to it, containing some elaborate metaphors. I see it as being like a lighter companion piece to a track like ‘Black Fang’ from the previous album. Then comes the understated masterpiece of Herd Runners: ‘Drinking For Two’ a stunningly poignant love song that somehow manages to find new ways to express age-old sentiments. The simple arrangement enables the lyrics to shine through, it is a fragile, tender ballad: a ‘One For My Baby’ for this generation.

After this comes the title track, a moving nostalgic number about a desire to be a part of the crowd, whilst simultaneously embracing what makes him unique (at least, that’s how I interpreted it). Aldred then takes on a falsetto tone for ‘My Lover Lies Under’, yet another romantic ballad that despite its relatively simple arrangement has a sense of scale to it at the same time. This is another stand-out track from the album – once again showcasing Aldred’s uncanny ability to find fresh approaches to old ideas.

‘Love Will Follow You’ ups the tempo one final time, and is a breezy and enjoyable number; and then all of a sudden we’re at the final track, so soon. ‘Joanne’ has a few shades of ‘Diamond In The Grind’ to it, but is not quite on a par with that number. It is a decent enough track, but it doesn’t feel like an ending to an album.

Overall Herd Runners is another strong album from Cherry Ghost, and although I have a few criticisms, the quality of the content is solid and consistent. I’d expect nothing less from such a reliable group. My only real issues with the album are that the pace during the first half could be improved upon with a bit of reshuffling, and there aren’t a few more tracks on it. Nevertheless, I’m perfectly content with this offering, and am already optimistic about whatever the band release next. 

La Petite Mort (Album) - James

I was incredibly excited when I learned that James would be releasing their first full-length album since their 2008 return Hey Ma. I really liked that album – as well as the two mini-albums that followed, The Night Before and The Morning After which contained some beautifully poignant tracks, such as ‘Dust Motes’, ‘Kaleidoscope’ and ‘Rabbit Hole’ as well as the pounding ‘Ten Below’ and the anthemic ‘Shine’. Everything released by the band since their reunion demonstrated that they weren’t resting on their laurels, and instead were continuing to strive to produce music of a consistent high standard. The announcement of La Petite Mort therefore provoked great excitement from me. It also meant that the band would be touring again, and I finally managed to secure tickets to see them live in Bristol this November.

La Petite Mort has been described as an “uplifting” and “life-affirming” album, and that really shines through on the opening track ‘Walk Like You’ which, at seven minutes in length, feels like a miniature musical odyssey. It is an instantly captivating song, commencing the album with and shimmering and majestic piano riff, before Tim Booth’s familiar voice is heard. There are some powerful lyrics throughout this song, which demonstrate the band’s progression and evolution: “Welcome to our coming of age / To embrace, all that we’ve become” as well as a passionate declaration of “Let’s inspire, let’s inflame, create art from our pain”, which really appeals to my artistic and creative mind – and is my favourite track from the album.

Up next is ‘Curse Curse’ which has a very different feeling to it; a dance-anthem sound pulsates throughout, and yet it’s very accessible. Tim Booth described the song as sounding like “a different type of James song from any [they’ve] released”. It’s exciting and energised, and is compelling enough in its content to break through my lack of interest in dance/clubland music, and completely hook me in.

‘Moving On’ is an instant-classic of a James track, with an element of familiarity about it courtesy of the ‘Ring The Bells’-esque trumpet fanfares that blare out during the chorus. Like so many of James’ singles, there is a greater depth to the lyrics which will allow the song to endure and stand the test of time. One of the reasons I believe that a song such as ‘Sit Down’ holds up so well, is because there is a lot more to the song than just a memorable chorus, as the lyrics are about depression; and in the case of ‘Moving On’ the theme of death is prominent.

‘Gone Baby Gone’ is, for me, one of the less memorable tracks on the album, but it finds itself situated between two of the album’s most catchy and instantly memorable tunes (‘Moving On’ and ‘Frozen Britain’) which perhaps just make it seem inadequate by comparison. ‘Frozen Britain’ is charged with the energy that ran through the 2010 mini-albums, and acting as a call-to-arms urging people to get up and dance through its overtly sexual lyrics. It’s a little bit like ‘Bones’ by The Killers (only better!).

As we move into the second half of the album, the tone shifts once again; ‘Interrogation’ is a solid enough track, although it doesn’t quite do enough to warrant a near six-minute length (I think that ‘Walk Like You’ had already set the bar too high). ‘Bitter Virtue’ is a quieter and more intimate sounding track, with a sensual rhythm and Tim Booth’s relaxed purring vocals. One particular lyric in this track stands out to me: “No place for artists, fucked up and human, we’re not getting in”; I don’t think artists are (necessarily) any more ‘fucked up’ than anyone else, they’re just more aware of it.

‘All In My Mind’ has a beautiful piano tune, and a relatively simple arrangement by James’ standards, and yet is hugely effective. The song has a great chorus, and a feeling of understated majesty to it, with a grand crescendo in the Middle-8 that transitions smoothly into the final chorus. ‘Quicken The Dead’ then picks up the pace, and contains elongated vocal hooks that harken back to tracks like ‘Waltzing Along’ – the track continues the album’s recurring theme of ‘death’ yet there’s nothing morbid about this approach.

Album closer ‘All I’m Saying’ starts slowly and builds gradually, gathering momentum towards a dramatic and powerful chorus. Once again the death-imagery is prevalent throughout, as the song is about communicating with the dead. Tim Booth recently lost both his Mother as well as one of his closest friends, and so the desire to communicate with them via séances and dreams feels justified, and also enables the albums potentially depressing theme to feel positive and life-affirming.

La Petite Mort is an excellent album, which continues to justify the band’s reunion. They are out to create new and exciting music, not to simply cash in on their past glories (as many other reunited bands did). I’m very excited to finally be getting the chance to see them live, and look forward to hearing some of these songs in Bristol when November comes around.

Game of Thrones - Season Four: The Watchers On The Wall

Ah, episode nine! Always the ‘big’ episode of any season of Game of Thrones, and this season makes no exception. Akin to Season Two’s Blackwater, The Watchers On The Wall takes place in a single location, and the narrative unfolds during a single night. This big battle at the Wall has been building up for most of the season (as well as throughout Season Three) and although the build hasn’t been perfectly handled – the attack on Craster’s Keep was entertaining, but it was a sign that the writers were playing for time – this episode delivers in a big way.

Mance Rayder’s army have arrived at the Wall, and Tormund’s scouting party are ready to attack Castle Black from the south, and once the signal goes up: “the biggest fire the North has ever seen” it’s time for an all-out assault on the already greatly-weakened Castle Black.

The episode feels very similar to Blackwater (unsurprisingly, as it has the same director) and makes use of the ‘calm-before-the-storm’ moments, to give focus to all the significant characters who are to be involved in the approaching conflict. Although many characters at the Wall aren’t major characters – as the heavily abridged opening credits will attest – they have been long-standing presences on the show since the first season. Jon Snow and Sam are significant characters, but there’s also Grenn, Pyp, Edd, Alliser Thorne, Maester Aemon and Janos Slynt based at Castle Black. We also check in with the Wildling raiders, and although we may not be as invested in their plight, the show deserves credit for developing characters such as Tormund and Ygritte, as well as establishing the threat of characters like Styr the cannibalistic Thenn. We spend time with all these characters before the fighting starts, and it is well paced and well distributed amongst them.

Interestingly the character who received the most focus during this section was Sam. From a tense conversation with Jon Snow at the top of the Wall, about the women they love/have loved; to learning some wise counsel from Maester Aemon (Targaryen), and then reuniting with Gilly. John Bradley does an excellent job with each of these scenes; he’s always played a big part in making Sam such a likeable character, but here he takes the character much further. He’s not a hero, nor a great fighter, but he knows his duty – and even though he’s terrified of the prospect of what’s to come, he’s found a different form of courage as he’s got something to stay alive for. “Love is the death of duty” Maester Aemon tells him, but in Sam’s case it’s not entirely true – as he remains loyal to both Gilly and his duties to the Wall.

One of my favourite inclusions in this episode was the enhanced involvement of Ser Alliser Thorne. I’ve always enjoyed his character in the show – thanks largely to Owen Teale’s portrayal – because he’s a necessary evil for the Night’s Watch. He’s not meant to be likeable, but he’s a seasoned fighter and not a coward. The sort of man the Night’s Watch need on their side if they’re going to survive. This is mentioned by Commander Mormont back when the character was introduced, but here we finally get a demonstration of Thorne’s worth. The moment when he admits to Jon that he was right about wanting to seal off the tunnel, is handled brilliantly, as Thorne remains true to character all the time; begrudgingly conceding that he was wrong, and making it clear that he still doesn’t like Jon and likely never will.

Thorne is an effective battle commander, who’s able to whip the undisciplined young men of the Night’s Watch into shape – and then is right in the thick of the conflict when the raiders make their appearance. This is juxtaposed by Janos Slynt’s useless and ineffective command, denying the existence of giants despite the fact that they’re standing in plain sight, and revealing his cowardly nature for all to see (he’d previously played a part in stabbing Ned Stark’s men in the back, and murdering a defenceless baby). Fortunately Grenn was able to lure Slynt away from the top of the Wall, allowing Jon to take command.

The rest of the episode is devoted to the fighting, and yet never seems to become repetitive or dull. Neil Marshall deserves praise for being able to stage such a lengthy battle sequence, and yet keep it varied and engaging throughout. Plenty of small stories are told, and interspersed with moments of pure spectacle.

I felt genuinely tense during the fight between Ser Alliser and Tormund, because I like both characters yet I felt that the show could very easily kill one (or both) of them off. I’m glad that they didn’t go that route, and managed to find a way to keep both characters alive, without making either look weak. As Thorne was being dragged away, with a deep cut in his side, he continued to shout orders to his men.

Pyp was killed off in a moment reminiscent of so many war films, abruptly shot through the neck after raising his head above cover, having just successfully killed a Wildling. Grenn was also killed off, although he was granted a much more heroic last stand. With a small group of his sworn brothers around him, he faced off against a Wildling giant, who was threatening to break down the gate. This death goes to a different character in the books, but in the show it makes more sense to have Grenn take the fall. Still, of all the Game of Thrones deaths, to die whilst killing a giant is a pretty impressive way to bow out. Even though these characters don't die in the books, such casualties were necessary to get the seriousness of the situation across.

Jon also gets his moments to shine, after proving his capabilities as a commander at the top of the Wall, he makes his way down into the courtyard after Ser Alliser falls. He fights his way through multiple raiders, before facing off with Styr, who swings his giant axe around in a frightening manner. Someone is going to have to make a tally of the number of times Jon Snow gets disarmed in this show, because he seems to lose his sword all the time – but a forceful blow with a hammer, smashes through the skull of the sinister cannibal.

Jon then turns to see Ygritte, and everything slows down. It’s very rare for Game of Thrones to use slow motion, but here it works. Time is taken to see the expressions on their faces; Jon, unarmed, looks almost resigned to his fate, as Ygritte has an arrow pointed at him, while she – having shot down numerous crows throughout the night – hesitates, unable to loose the arrow. She is then shot by the young boy whose family were killed by the raiders (actually, wasn’t it Ygritte who shot his dad?) who then – hilariously – give Jon ‘the nod’. She then dies in his arms, but not before saying her catchphrase on last time. Even if you don’t like the character, you have to admit that this moment was well done.

The Wildlings retreat after suffering heavy losses, but still outnumber the Night’s Watch by a great deal and will likely regroup and attack again. The raiders are completely routed, yet Tormund refuses to yield and continues to fight as he’s dragged to a cell. It’s an ending of sorts, but unlike Blackwater there are still things to be resolved in the Season Finale. Jon Snow has gone to parlay with Mance Rayder, or attempt to assassinate him. I’m a little disappointed that this whole storyline wasn’t concluded here, but at the same time it means that there is a lot of momentum going into the finale. Consequently my only real concern is that there is so much to wrap up in just one episode, will the finale be able to address it all? I guess I’ll have to find out next week.

Game of Thrones - Season Four: The Mountain and The Viper

I’m not going to wait until the end of the review to address the biggest talking point from this episode – the way it ended. I have to say that I’ve never actually felt unwell following an episode, but this one finally provided an image that made my stomach turn over. And I knew exactly what was going to happen, because I’ve read the books – yet it didn’t make any difference. The show has killed off beloved characters before, and in horrific ways (we all remember the “Red Wedding”) and yet the manner in which Oberyn Martell met his demise was so brutal, it will probably be one of the hardest scenes in the show’s history to re-watch.

Probably the most shocking thing about this particular death is the fact that it was a well-established character, and the close-up shots really lingered on his ruined face – whereas in the past the show has shown some discretion (we never actually saw Ned’s beheading due to a strategically timed cut-away, nor did we witness the mutilation of Robb Stark’s corpse). I’ve seen horrendous deaths in shows like The Walking Dead, and last week I performed in an excessively bloody production of Titus Andronicus (which compensated for the lack of Game of Thrones) and yet Oberyn’s death felt like a step too far.

Viewers of the show who have made it this far, must surely be aware by now that when a character has a just motive, they will rarely be allowed to see it through. Oberyn was very much like Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride to the extent that he was driven by vengeance against Ser Gregor Clegane (and by extension Tywin Lannister) and even had his mantra that he repeated throughout their fight to the death: “You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children.” (It’s not quite “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!” but it’s pretty close). The difference here though is that the wrong man won the duel. Oberyn had the fight won, but he was serving his own purpose more than Tyrion’s, and would not let the Mountain die until he had forced a confession from him. Then he got the confession, but not exactly as he would have wanted it: “Elia of Dorne. I raped her. I murdered her. Then I smashed her head in. LIKE THIS!” (For all the discretion that they didn’t show, I’m surprised they omitted the word ‘fucking’ from The Mountain’s line – crazy priorities!) I also have to give Indira Varma credit for her reaction, which completely sold the moment perfectly.

With all this hysteria aside, the trial-by-combat was a brilliant scene – wonderfully executed, and so very like the books – the fight choreography was exciting and intense, and there was a real sense of danger as Tyrion’s life was also on the line, and high stakes because of the way Oberyn built it up since his arrival at the start of this season. I’m just sad that it means the end of Oberyn, as Pedro Pascale did a fantastic job with the character. As for Tyrion, we’ll have to wait until the season finale to see what becomes of him.

Speaking of Tyrion, it seems that Peter Dinklage can do no wrong in this role – his lengthy monologue about his beetle-crushing cousin, could have seemed pointless or excessive in the hands of a lesser actor. The significance of this monologue became clear after the trial-by-combat, as The Mountain (a violent and aggressive brute) crushed Oberyn like a beetle, not for any real purpose, just because that’s the sort of person he it. Tyrion’s monologue will likely be analysed further, and I’m actually interested to revisit it myself.

Tyrion’s monologue is a shining example of how deviations from the book can work well, but elsewhere there are deviations that create problems. Having kept Arya and The Hound together for so long did lead to Arya’s Titus Andronicus moment, as she laughed hysterically at her latest misfortune, rather than become overwhelmed with emotion (“I have not another tear to shed”) but in the long term it creates problems. Are they just going to leave now? What do they do next? They also seem to be getting on pretty well now, which makes several of their scenes together throughout this season lose their impact (such as Arya adding “The Hound” to her list of names, also The Hound said that “no ransom is worth getting killed over” in the last episode). I enjoy their scenes together, but it does seem that the writers have taken too much of a good thing, and are having to go around in circles by drawing things out too long.

Another problem that has stemmed from deviating from the books is Jorah’s dismissal. It needed to happen, but its placement doesn’t make a lot of sense. In the books Ser Barristan was a member of King Robert’s Small Council, and so knew that Jorah was a spy right away. Having it occur at this stage in the story, after Jorah has proved his loyalty to Daenerys multiple times, gives the indication that the writers lost track of things and then suddenly realised that they’d missed it out and quickly had to write it in again. Jorah was completely in the right when he said that it was all Tywin’s plan to weaken their cause, but Dany ignored the advice of her most devoted and longstanding companion, and had him sent away.

Theon/Reek proved to Ramsay that he is completely broken and bent to his will, unwittingly causing the deaths of all the Ironborn men who had claimed Moat Cailin. It was surprising that the show treated Ramsay’s ascension from base-born to true-born (‘Snow’ to ‘Bolton’) with a strange feeling of reverence. Are we supposed to be pleased? The Bolton’s now rule the North, as the Starks are believed to be wiped out.

Sansa took a big step in this episode, proving to Littlefinger that she has learned from him, and knows how to lie convincingly. After a lengthy mistreatment at the hands of Joffrey and Cersei – and a brief mistreatment at the hands of her Aunt Lysa – she’s finally decided that she’s done being a pawn, and is set to become a player in the Game of Thrones. This is a big game-changer for her character, although it’s also rather unsettling. The private exchange between her and Littlefinger seemed to imply that the two of them slept together, which isn’t beyond comprehension in this world, but is rather tragic (and gross) if that is indeed the route they’ve decided to go.

Elsewhere, there was a scene in Mole’s Town where I was actually longing for the Wildling raiders to show up, a sub-plot between Grey Worm and Missandei, all about “the Unsullied who learned how to love”, that doesn’t interest me all that much (but it seems likely that it will become an ongoing plotline), and there was a pretty good scene between Jon, Sam and some of the other Brothers of the Night’s Watch – but since next week’s episode is set to focus entirely on the battle at the Wall, I’ll have plenty of opportunity to discuss these characters next time around.

This was a very strong episode for the most part, although some storylines and their mishandlings came to fruition here. This didn’t hinder my enjoyment too much, but I think that this season has struggled with storyline distribution in places. Characters disappear for too long, then return to rush into something more significant, whilst at other times characters have too much screen-time, but little to do. The content is good, but the distribution has created problems at times. Anyway, in spite of this, it was a great episode – and one that will certainly leave a lasting impression.

Game of Thrones - Season Four: Mockingbird

Things start getting really interesting in this latest episode, hopefully interesting enough to sustain the most avid viewers of the show who will have to wait an extra week before they find out what happens next.

One of the most prominent storylines in this episode focussed on the continuation of Tyrion’s trial – now set to be a trial-by-combat – and this lead to several really strong scenes. The state of Tyrion’s relationships with his brother Jaime and close associate Bronn were really tested under the seriousness of the upcoming trial; Jaime is no longer the highly-skilled swordsman he once was, and Bronn values his friendship but would not be willing to die for it.

Before I go into further detail on these scenes I want to address the re-emergence of The Mountain (Cersei’s chosen champion for the trial). The actor in the role has changed once again – this is now the third Mountain – which is in some ways a relief as the actor in Season Two was not imposing in the slightest, whereas this new Mountain certainly looks the part. Ser Gregor Clegane is now played by Icelandic Strongman Hafbor Julius Bjornsson, and receives his (re)introduction mercilessly slaughtering slaves in King’s Landing. Bjornsson’s size and stature is able to get over the threat of the character, but despite the violent actions he performs he doesn’t really look that mean (his face looks a bit too mild). In Season One The Mountain was played by Conan Stevens, who – despite a small amount a screen-time – was completely believable in the role, had the right voice, looked physically imposing and genuinely scary. It will always be a frustration for me that he wasn’t able to stay in the role throughout. Nevertheless, Bjornsson’s version of The Mountain should at least look impressive when the trial-by-combat occurs.

Anyway, I’m pleased that the character has finally re-emerged as he has become one of those characters who has been talked about more than he’s actually appeared (particularly noticeable since The Hound’s involvement has increased). But who can Tyrion find to fight The Mountain on his behalf? During his previous trial-by-combat his initial choice to be his champion was his brother Jaime, but then Bronn stepped in and defeated Lysa Arryn’s Captain of the guard (and secured his position as a fan-favourite in the process: “No…he did!”) Tyrion approached both of them to fight The Mountain on his behalf, but to no avail. The scene between Tyrion and Bronn was surprisingly moving, a rare moment of sincerity between the two. It was interesting for a character like Bronn to actually admit to being afraid, something he’s never done before. Peter Dinklage – as ever – did a fantastic job showing Tyrion’s heartache, facing almost certain death, and not even able to rely on his few remaining friends any more.

But help came from a slightly more unexpected source, as Prince Oberyn willingly offered to be Tyrion’s champion, after a great speech. This was Pedro Pascale’s ‘Inigo Montoya’ moment, and he really made it count. Tyrion was clearly overwhelmed with gratitude (seriously, Peter Dinklage took it up a notch this week) as well as anger as he learned more about how much his sister had always hated him, even as a baby. Oberyn has already had plenty of great character defining moments, but this one really stood out. I mentioned back at the start of this season that I wish certain other character’s had received as much focus and more development (Qhorin Halfhand, Beric Dondarion, and Barristan Selmy amongst them).

Brienne and Podrick’s journey continued, and the two of them decided to take things easy by staying at an inn as opposed to sleeping rough. This just happened to be the inn where Hot Pie decided to stay after part ways with Arya’s group (as well as the same place that Ned Stark was forced to execute Sansa’s direwolf) and the travelling duo encountered Hot Pie who, despite not being prompted, talked at length about his love of pies. It is true, you cannot give up on the gravy! Despite his lack of wisdom, Hot Pie was able to prove his loyalty to Arya by not giving her away within earshot of everyone else at the Inn – but then he helped Brienne before she left, and showed off how much his bread-making skills have improved in the process. These were some nice scenes, that were able to provide a little bit of light-relief in amidst the heavier and more serious plot-lines, but they also served a clear purpose.

Arya and The Hound encountered a dying man on their travels, who was beyond saving. There was some philosophising over the notion of death, including a line about nothingness from Arya (it wasn’t one of the show’s best philosophical lines – they tend to come from Jorah) before The Hound did the merciful thing and gave the man a quick death. There was a nice parallel between this scene and the one with the Mountain, showing the difference between the two Clegane brothers. They’re both killers by nature, but one is capable of mercy, the other isn’t. The Hound was then surprise attacked by Biter (one of the black cell prisoners who was travelling to the Wall with Arya) who bit him in the neck, before having his neck snapped. Clearly the show’s writers had no plans for this character, as it wasn’t even clear who he was until his companion Rorge appeared. Rorge’s death also demonstrated a lack of commitment to his character, as it was almost comical (Arya simply pulled out Needle and stabbed him with it) although it gave Arya another cool moment, and showed that she won’t kill anyone unless she knows their name first – a method she’s taken from Jaqen H’Ghar.

There was then a rare moment of vulnerability for The Hound as Arya attempted to treat his bite wound by burning away the infection – but his lifelong fear of fire drove him to refuse. He then talked about his scarred face, and that the thing that hurt most of all was the fact that it was his own brother who did it to him. The partnership between Arya and the Hound has lasted much longer than I thought it would, and with the changes that are being made from the books I actually don’t know what’s going to happen with them next.

I was very pleased that the writers finally included a scene that saw Daenerys listen to someone else’s advice. In last week’s episode the Small Council discussed that fact that she has two seasoned knights counselling her, but for the last couple of season’s she has barely heeded a word of their advice. I assume that this was done to demonstrate her leadership skills, but it undermines both Jorah and Barristan making them look ineffective, and it also meant that Dany’s scenes became rather repetitive. To have her finally admit that she isn’t always right felt like a step in the right direction, and may result in a bit more character development.

And finally, things came to a head at the Eerie with Sansa and her crazy aunt Lysa. First of all though there was a scene I remember very clearly from the books: Sansa building a replica of Winterfell in the snow. It was a very moving moment in the books because Sansa – of all her siblings – was always eager to get away from Winterfell, but now after all that has happened and all the family and friend’s she has lost, she wants to see it again. This is made even sadder when her fragile snow castle is destroyed by the irritating Robin Arryn. She is then approached by Littlefinger – call me Petyr – who kisses her in the courtyard, under the watchful gaze of Lysa.

Lysa then confronts Sansa about this and threatens to throw her out of the Moon Door. Call me Petyr intervenes and then consoles Lysa by reassuring her that he has only ever loved one woman in all his life. I’m sure everyone knew that someone was going through the Moon Door, and sure enough Lysa – in the knowledge that Petyr never loved her, only her sister – was sent plummeting to her death in a very memorable ending to an episode.

This was a very good episode that made big steps for several plotlines, I really cn’t believe that it’s already really close to the end of the season. The next episode is called “The Mountain and The Viper” so there will be no more delaying of the trial by combat (other than a week’s hiatus of course!) and I know that I am very excited about seeing it.