Thus far, Game of Thrones' fourth season has been sublime. Dropping the traditional slow burn of Game of Thrones' usual opening episodes, we've had shocking deaths, huge action sequences and a plethora of brilliantly memorable conversations. Which is why it's such a shame that First of His Name drops the ball a little bit.
I have no doubts things will pick up again next week, but this episode suffered from, simply, a lack of anything interesting. The Jon Arryn reveal was well handled (and nice to finally be solved) and the final moments were refreshingly action packed, but everything in between felt tuned down. Although, it was nice to see Cersei represented in a positive light for once. She's certainly one of the more interesting characters of the show, and it was good to see her portrayed as human again. She has an endless, undeniable love for her children. This has always been my favourite quality in Cersei.
But, unfortunately, all was not well. While it was still a notch above most other TV dramas, nothing was really advanced her. Dany still just moped about for a while, Arya and the Hound just argued again, Brienne scowled at Podrick and Sansa looked sad. This is pretty much what we've seen in every episode this season. It's time to pick things up again guys.
Also, Jon's final victory over Karl was not something I expect from Game of Thrones. Could it have been anymore cliché? Sp,e random girl we've barely seen randomly appears and gives Jon the upper hand. Really? This is something I expect from the likes of The Following, certainly not Game of Thrones.
Finally, is it me, or is Game of Thrones not as good now as it once was in terms of keeping us informed with every character? I mean, where is Varys while all this is going on? Are we ever going to see Theon again? Does Stannis still care about the Iron Throne? Midway through the season and Theon has piped up once. Game of Thrones has always been commendable for its strong hold on the characters, I really don't want them to lose their grasp on that now.
Whilst tonight's episode was pretty sub-par, it still offered strong dialogue and a few interesting developments. Just pick up the pace again in the next episode please.
I have no doubts things will pick up again next week, but this episode suffered from, simply, a lack of anything interesting. The Jon Arryn reveal was well handled (and nice to finally be solved) and the final moments were refreshingly action packed, but everything in between felt tuned down. Although, it was nice to see Cersei represented in a positive light for once. She's certainly one of the more interesting characters of the show, and it was good to see her portrayed as human again. She has an endless, undeniable love for her children. This has always been my favourite quality in Cersei.
But, unfortunately, all was not well. While it was still a notch above most other TV dramas, nothing was really advanced her. Dany still just moped about for a while, Arya and the Hound just argued again, Brienne scowled at Podrick and Sansa looked sad. This is pretty much what we've seen in every episode this season. It's time to pick things up again guys.
Also, Jon's final victory over Karl was not something I expect from Game of Thrones. Could it have been anymore cliché? Sp,e random girl we've barely seen randomly appears and gives Jon the upper hand. Really? This is something I expect from the likes of The Following, certainly not Game of Thrones.
Finally, is it me, or is Game of Thrones not as good now as it once was in terms of keeping us informed with every character? I mean, where is Varys while all this is going on? Are we ever going to see Theon again? Does Stannis still care about the Iron Throne? Midway through the season and Theon has piped up once. Game of Thrones has always been commendable for its strong hold on the characters, I really don't want them to lose their grasp on that now.
Whilst tonight's episode was pretty sub-par, it still offered strong dialogue and a few interesting developments. Just pick up the pace again in the next episode please.