Review 313: Game of Thrones: A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold
Game of Thrones: A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold continues the shows winning winning streak as its fourth season. Based on the second half of the third book A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin.
The War of the Five Kings is drawing to a close, but new intrigues and plots are in motion, and the surviving factions must contend with enemies not only outside their ranks, but within.
The Lannisters’ control over the Iron Throne remains intact, but can they survive their own egos as well as the ongoing threats around them? While an unshaken Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillaine) continues to rebuild his army on Dragonstone, a more immediate danger comes from the south, as Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal), the Lannister-loathing “Red Viper of Dorne” arrives at King’s Landing to attend Joffrey Baratheon’s (Jack Gleeson) wedding. At the Wall, the Night’s Watch seems overmatched against Mance Rayder’s (Ciaran Hinds) advancing army of wildling, which in turn is being trailed by an even more formidable foe.
What’s more, Daenery’s Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), accompanied by her fierce trio of Dragons and an Unsullied army is poised to “liberate” Meereen, the largest Slaver City in the East, which could provide her with an imposing force to execute her ultimate plan of reclaiming the Iron Throne for her family.
In this season, things begin at a much faster rate. For the last three season, it’s traditionally a slow build toward something climatic in the final 2 episodes but that’s not the case here. Things happen at a far more brisk pace than usual
There are several climactic moments (not just in Ep. 9) that are both visually and emotionally rewarding.
The season builds upon aftermath of the Red Wedding and how it affects the characters mainly the remaining Starks. There’s tremendous clamour for revenge in the wake of the wedding. It’s about where does the show and its characters go from there.
There's a particular scene at the end of Ep. 4: Oathkeeper that really amps up the status quo in regards to the White Walkers
Returning Directors David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, Alex Graves, Michelle MacLaren, Alik Sakharov & Neil Marshall’s direction is astonishing.
Marshall, in particular, like he did in S2 Ep. 9: Blackwater, shows a tremendous of cinema level scope in his directorial choices of Ep. 9: The Watchers on the Wall, crafting an Epic battle at Catsle Black between the Night’s Watch and the wildlings topped with plenty of emotional heartbreaking casualties.
Graves, meanwhile, seems to be much more interested in the actors and getting the most out their individual performances however excellent they may be. However his work particularly stands-out in Ep. 8: The Mountain and the Viper crafting a simply spectacular fight between the episodes two titular characters.
His direction and sense of timing in staging the Purple Wedding in Ep. 2: The Lion and the Rose (you can probably guess what house sigils they represent) is masterful. The wedding itself takes up about half the episode
Longtime director and DP of the show Alik Sakharov’s work particularly stands-out in Ep. 6: The Laws of Gods and Men. Expertly stagging a trial that creates a real rift within he Lannister family. This is a family that, on the one hand, is constantly at each other’s throats and on the other is committed to their family’s legacy.
All the testimony they give is true, it’s just presented in a context that is very daming to Tyrion.
The episode also features a particularly thrilling attack on the Boltons Dreadfort from the Greyjoy’s in an attempt to rescue Theon (Alfie Allen) led by a returning Yara (Gemma Whelan)
The score by Ramin Djawadi is marvellous and shows a great deal of maturity in composer Djawadi's talents and story progression. The locations are simply stunning, the production design is tremendous, the costumes are fabulous, the cinematography is splendid and captures the beauty and exoticness of the various locations
Peter Dinklage is once again outstanding as Tyrion Lannister. This definitely the most dangerous season for Tyrion. In every episode following the Purple Wedding, he’s in real jeopardy of getting his head removed from his shoulders. Tyrion’s never been faced with this much public humiliation because usually he has an answer for it. He’s usually centre stage and better at it than the people around him. This time, the carpet has be pulled out from under him he’s left as an audience member and we get to see a more desperate and vulnerable Tyrion Lannister
Nikolaj Coster-Walker is excellent as Jaime Lannister, this season. He and Tyrion share a love and mutual respect that Tyrion doesn’t share with the other members of his family. This season that friendship is put to the test as Jaime helps Tyrion a great deal this season. He’s also a changed man following his experiences of Season 3.
Emilia Clarke, once again, owns it as Dany. Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys is approaching Meereen which is the biggest and the most vast of all the cities that they've conquered in Slaver's Bay.
Whilst she may be able to go through and seemingly fix all of the problems of Salver's Bay simply by snapping her fingers and getting rid of the problems, if she is going to be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and ultimately sit on the Iron Throne, she needs to know what to do once she's actually on it. So she uses Meereen as a way of exploring what kind of a leader she could be.
Meanwhile the cities that Dany has previously liberated from slavery are beginning to revolt. It’s all fine and good cutting the tie and giving people freedom but if you don’t leave them with any kind of structure or commander who shares your views and morals then it’s a free-for-all.
This is further symbolised by how she’s also slowly loosing control of her dragons. When they were born at the end of Season 1 they were merely babies who were completely devoted to their mother and couldn’t even eat without her. With each season they’ve grown and with each season they become a lot more unpredictable and dangerous. By Season 4, they’re at the point where they’re outgrowing the restrictions that Dany’s placed on them. Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) even says it “They’re Dragons Khaleesi. They can never be tamed.”
They represent a symbol of how she’s losing control of herself and what she’s doing.
She spends so much of her time ignoring the innate feminity of that's inside her and trying to be a strong woman in a mans world that she actually convinces herself that what she's doing is what any commander would do but it's not what a good leader would do.
Kit Harrington is once again terrific as Jon Snow. What’s intriguing about Jon Snow by this point is that he’s not the same character from Season to Season. There’s way to much that’s happened to him and too much that’s gone on and that he’s had to learn from. He’s in a particularly bad place as far as how he feels he treated Ygritte (Rose Leslie) and his honour because of that. Not only breaking his vows to the Night’s Watch but also breaking his vows to her. So he’s very much in loose/loose position. But he has to make good.
He’s reunited with Sam (John Bradley) after being apart and on their own separate adventures Beyond the Wall for the past couple of Seasons and they're dynamic has changed due in no small part to them being apart and on separate adventures North of the Wall for the past couple of seasons, there's more confrontation between them
Kit takes centre stage in The Watchers on the Wall, assuming the mantle of authority without particularly wanting to is as he's stepping to leadership when it's needed the most. When things are at their worst, people are at their best. He even goes through some major heartbreak in that episode and Kit certainly delivered in the acting department and stepped up to the challenge.
Maisie Williams and Rory McCann work superbly off of one another as Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane respectively, after the events of The Red Wedding, they only have each other.
They're these two people who are constantly at each others throats yet they seem to survive without the other. Throughout their travels together, they rub off of each other and learn from each other wether they like it or not and growing closer together in a way they never thought possible.
The Hound is constantly berating Arya for her sense of honour and Arya is constantly toughening up. She was always a tough kid but by this point in the show she's seen so much horror that she's practically inured to it.
The Hound, on the other hand, operates on a much more ruthless and pragmatic level, he's all about surviving
While there may be a growing closeness between them over the course of the season, she's never forgotten what he's done and he's on her kill list.
Rose Leslie is, once again, mesmerising as Ygritte. She's understandably heartbroken following Jon's betrayal at the end of last season so she's become much more cold and humourless than she use to be and absolutely. She's devastated, absolutely devastated in the wake of Jon's betrayal at the end of last season because even though she knew that it was a possibility, the fact that he actually went through with it. Also, she's given he all to him, she actually went against her own people just to be with him and he just doesn't return the favour.
Now that the mystery surrounding his character has been lifted, Iwan Rheon has officially taken over the role as the character audiences love to hate and can't wait to see his comeuppance in the role of Ramsey Bolton. He's a textbook sociopath, the personification of pure evil. Ruthless, sadistic, wild, impulsive and capable of committing unspeakable acts without batting an eyelash purely for personal amusement. His greatest goal is torturing people, his second is need the love of his father.
The Boltons were notorious in the primitive barbaric days of Westeros for taking their enemies and flaying them. Their castle/stronghold where these horrific things happened got its name "The Dreadfort" because of the dreadful things that were happening there.
Gemma Whelan is very powerful and noteworthy in her guest appearance in Ep. 6 this season as Yara, she risks her own skin to save Then from the clutches of Ramsey Bolton and it's a huge surprise for the both of them when they see each other again. Yara knows very well that Theon was tortured at the hands of Ramsey Bolton, she received the box contain Theon's "favourite toy", so she's at the very least expecting to find someone who's been damaged but until they meet she has no idea how far he's sunk.
Theon went through hell last season to the point where his identity has been submerged, maybe drowned and this is a truly shocking discovery for her and she can't bring herself to believe it initially, but ultimately he's truly dead to her.
One very notable addition to the cast is Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell. He’s the one wild card - a deeply passionate, dangerous and charasmatic person but who's also good. To put it plainly, he's either going to kill you or have sex with you.
He's the second son of House Martell who are a very powerful family from the reigon of Dorne, in the South of Westeros which is semi-renegade; one part of the Seven Kingdoms that's never truly accepted the rule of the Iron Throne. They've always chafed under the yoke of the Lannisters.
He’s come to King’s Landing on his own agenda. His motivation is revenge. His feelings for the Lannisters go beyond disdain and then to hatred. He uses his invitation to Joffrey’s wedding as an excuse to come and seek his vengeance. The loss of his sister, niece and nephew is something that has really shaped his identity and has given him his life's mission.
Operating with Tyrion throughout the season and with his own agenda, Oberyn Martell ends up being on the most fascinating characters that Game of Thrones has to offer.
We're also introduced to Mace Tyrell (Roger Ashton-Griffiths), father of Margery Tyrell and son of Lady Olenna. Described by as a buffoon aka Lord of Oaf, according to Ashton-Griffiths, however, Mace is in fact a wise old cookie and he's just bumbling along, playing the fool. Regardless, he is interested in the well fare of his children in that he wants to them to sit on the Iron Throne.
We also meet Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss), a representative of the Iron Bank of Braavos.
One very interesting as well as dangerous additions to the show is Styr (Yuri Kolokolnikov), the "Magnar" or leader of a clan of the Free Folk known as the "Thenns". The Thenns are, for all intense and purposes, the worst of the Free Folk very akin to cannibals and are the most feared of all these Northern tribes even amongst the Wildlings who are a pretty combative group, they're the most warlike and everything for them is fighting, warfare and killing. Styr is easily the most intimidating of them as well as a brutal killer to boot.
The Wildlings that we've seen up to this point are kind of like the Hells Angels, they're a rough and tough group of people but if you and me where on the good side, they'd be fun to hang out with.
The Thenns, on the other hand, are pretty much the worst of the Wildlings have to offer. Everything for them is fighting, killing and warfare.
We're also reintroduced to Jaime and Cersei's youngest son, Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman), Tommen is he polar opposite of Joffrey. Whereas Joffrey is insanely cruel, sadistic, arrogant, narcissistic, tyrannical and cowardly, Tommen is completely innocent, humble, gentle, polite, kind and sweet to a fault. Unfortunately, being so pure, innocent and trusting are Tommen's Achilles Heel as he proves to be extremely easy to manipulate. When he is crowned King, it's in name only. In truth Tywin rules the land through him.
It's clear that he's intelligent but that doesn't make him perceptive to those who manipulate him.
There are several climactic moments (not just in Ep. 9) that are both visually and emotionally rewarding.
The season builds upon aftermath of the Red Wedding and how it affects the characters mainly the remaining Starks. There’s tremendous clamour for revenge in the wake of the wedding. It’s about where does the show and its characters go from there.
There's a particular scene at the end of Ep. 4: Oathkeeper that really amps up the status quo in regards to the White Walkers
Returning Directors David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, Alex Graves, Michelle MacLaren, Alik Sakharov & Neil Marshall’s direction is astonishing.
Marshall, in particular, like he did in S2 Ep. 9: Blackwater, shows a tremendous of cinema level scope in his directorial choices of Ep. 9: The Watchers on the Wall, crafting an Epic battle at Catsle Black between the Night’s Watch and the wildlings topped with plenty of emotional heartbreaking casualties.
Graves, meanwhile, seems to be much more interested in the actors and getting the most out their individual performances however excellent they may be. However his work particularly stands-out in Ep. 8: The Mountain and the Viper crafting a simply spectacular fight between the episodes two titular characters.
His direction and sense of timing in staging the Purple Wedding in Ep. 2: The Lion and the Rose (you can probably guess what house sigils they represent) is masterful. The wedding itself takes up about half the episode
Longtime director and DP of the show Alik Sakharov’s work particularly stands-out in Ep. 6: The Laws of Gods and Men. Expertly stagging a trial that creates a real rift within he Lannister family. This is a family that, on the one hand, is constantly at each other’s throats and on the other is committed to their family’s legacy.
All the testimony they give is true, it’s just presented in a context that is very daming to Tyrion.
The episode also features a particularly thrilling attack on the Boltons Dreadfort from the Greyjoy’s in an attempt to rescue Theon (Alfie Allen) led by a returning Yara (Gemma Whelan)
The score by Ramin Djawadi is marvellous and shows a great deal of maturity in composer Djawadi's talents and story progression. The locations are simply stunning, the production design is tremendous, the costumes are fabulous, the cinematography is splendid and captures the beauty and exoticness of the various locations
Peter Dinklage is once again outstanding as Tyrion Lannister. This definitely the most dangerous season for Tyrion. In every episode following the Purple Wedding, he’s in real jeopardy of getting his head removed from his shoulders. Tyrion’s never been faced with this much public humiliation because usually he has an answer for it. He’s usually centre stage and better at it than the people around him. This time, the carpet has be pulled out from under him he’s left as an audience member and we get to see a more desperate and vulnerable Tyrion Lannister
Nikolaj Coster-Walker is excellent as Jaime Lannister, this season. He and Tyrion share a love and mutual respect that Tyrion doesn’t share with the other members of his family. This season that friendship is put to the test as Jaime helps Tyrion a great deal this season. He’s also a changed man following his experiences of Season 3.
Emilia Clarke, once again, owns it as Dany. Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys is approaching Meereen which is the biggest and the most vast of all the cities that they've conquered in Slaver's Bay.
Whilst she may be able to go through and seemingly fix all of the problems of Salver's Bay simply by snapping her fingers and getting rid of the problems, if she is going to be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and ultimately sit on the Iron Throne, she needs to know what to do once she's actually on it. So she uses Meereen as a way of exploring what kind of a leader she could be.
Meanwhile the cities that Dany has previously liberated from slavery are beginning to revolt. It’s all fine and good cutting the tie and giving people freedom but if you don’t leave them with any kind of structure or commander who shares your views and morals then it’s a free-for-all.
This is further symbolised by how she’s also slowly loosing control of her dragons. When they were born at the end of Season 1 they were merely babies who were completely devoted to their mother and couldn’t even eat without her. With each season they’ve grown and with each season they become a lot more unpredictable and dangerous. By Season 4, they’re at the point where they’re outgrowing the restrictions that Dany’s placed on them. Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) even says it “They’re Dragons Khaleesi. They can never be tamed.”
They represent a symbol of how she’s losing control of herself and what she’s doing.
She spends so much of her time ignoring the innate feminity of that's inside her and trying to be a strong woman in a mans world that she actually convinces herself that what she's doing is what any commander would do but it's not what a good leader would do.
Kit Harrington is once again terrific as Jon Snow. What’s intriguing about Jon Snow by this point is that he’s not the same character from Season to Season. There’s way to much that’s happened to him and too much that’s gone on and that he’s had to learn from. He’s in a particularly bad place as far as how he feels he treated Ygritte (Rose Leslie) and his honour because of that. Not only breaking his vows to the Night’s Watch but also breaking his vows to her. So he’s very much in loose/loose position. But he has to make good.
He’s reunited with Sam (John Bradley) after being apart and on their own separate adventures Beyond the Wall for the past couple of Seasons and they're dynamic has changed due in no small part to them being apart and on separate adventures North of the Wall for the past couple of seasons, there's more confrontation between them
Kit takes centre stage in The Watchers on the Wall, assuming the mantle of authority without particularly wanting to is as he's stepping to leadership when it's needed the most. When things are at their worst, people are at their best. He even goes through some major heartbreak in that episode and Kit certainly delivered in the acting department and stepped up to the challenge.
Maisie Williams and Rory McCann work superbly off of one another as Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane respectively, after the events of The Red Wedding, they only have each other.
They're these two people who are constantly at each others throats yet they seem to survive without the other. Throughout their travels together, they rub off of each other and learn from each other wether they like it or not and growing closer together in a way they never thought possible.
The Hound is constantly berating Arya for her sense of honour and Arya is constantly toughening up. She was always a tough kid but by this point in the show she's seen so much horror that she's practically inured to it.
The Hound, on the other hand, operates on a much more ruthless and pragmatic level, he's all about surviving
While there may be a growing closeness between them over the course of the season, she's never forgotten what he's done and he's on her kill list.
Rose Leslie is, once again, mesmerising as Ygritte. She's understandably heartbroken following Jon's betrayal at the end of last season so she's become much more cold and humourless than she use to be and absolutely. She's devastated, absolutely devastated in the wake of Jon's betrayal at the end of last season because even though she knew that it was a possibility, the fact that he actually went through with it. Also, she's given he all to him, she actually went against her own people just to be with him and he just doesn't return the favour.
Now that the mystery surrounding his character has been lifted, Iwan Rheon has officially taken over the role as the character audiences love to hate and can't wait to see his comeuppance in the role of Ramsey Bolton. He's a textbook sociopath, the personification of pure evil. Ruthless, sadistic, wild, impulsive and capable of committing unspeakable acts without batting an eyelash purely for personal amusement. His greatest goal is torturing people, his second is need the love of his father.
The Boltons were notorious in the primitive barbaric days of Westeros for taking their enemies and flaying them. Their castle/stronghold where these horrific things happened got its name "The Dreadfort" because of the dreadful things that were happening there.
Gemma Whelan is very powerful and noteworthy in her guest appearance in Ep. 6 this season as Yara, she risks her own skin to save Then from the clutches of Ramsey Bolton and it's a huge surprise for the both of them when they see each other again. Yara knows very well that Theon was tortured at the hands of Ramsey Bolton, she received the box contain Theon's "favourite toy", so she's at the very least expecting to find someone who's been damaged but until they meet she has no idea how far he's sunk.
Theon went through hell last season to the point where his identity has been submerged, maybe drowned and this is a truly shocking discovery for her and she can't bring herself to believe it initially, but ultimately he's truly dead to her.
One very notable addition to the cast is Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell. He’s the one wild card - a deeply passionate, dangerous and charasmatic person but who's also good. To put it plainly, he's either going to kill you or have sex with you.
He's the second son of House Martell who are a very powerful family from the reigon of Dorne, in the South of Westeros which is semi-renegade; one part of the Seven Kingdoms that's never truly accepted the rule of the Iron Throne. They've always chafed under the yoke of the Lannisters.
He’s come to King’s Landing on his own agenda. His motivation is revenge. His feelings for the Lannisters go beyond disdain and then to hatred. He uses his invitation to Joffrey’s wedding as an excuse to come and seek his vengeance. The loss of his sister, niece and nephew is something that has really shaped his identity and has given him his life's mission.
Operating with Tyrion throughout the season and with his own agenda, Oberyn Martell ends up being on the most fascinating characters that Game of Thrones has to offer.
We're also introduced to Mace Tyrell (Roger Ashton-Griffiths), father of Margery Tyrell and son of Lady Olenna. Described by as a buffoon aka Lord of Oaf, according to Ashton-Griffiths, however, Mace is in fact a wise old cookie and he's just bumbling along, playing the fool. Regardless, he is interested in the well fare of his children in that he wants to them to sit on the Iron Throne.
We also meet Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss), a representative of the Iron Bank of Braavos.
One very interesting as well as dangerous additions to the show is Styr (Yuri Kolokolnikov), the "Magnar" or leader of a clan of the Free Folk known as the "Thenns". The Thenns are, for all intense and purposes, the worst of the Free Folk very akin to cannibals and are the most feared of all these Northern tribes even amongst the Wildlings who are a pretty combative group, they're the most warlike and everything for them is fighting, warfare and killing. Styr is easily the most intimidating of them as well as a brutal killer to boot.
The Wildlings that we've seen up to this point are kind of like the Hells Angels, they're a rough and tough group of people but if you and me where on the good side, they'd be fun to hang out with.
The Thenns, on the other hand, are pretty much the worst of the Wildlings have to offer. Everything for them is fighting, killing and warfare.
We're also reintroduced to Jaime and Cersei's youngest son, Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman), Tommen is he polar opposite of Joffrey. Whereas Joffrey is insanely cruel, sadistic, arrogant, narcissistic, tyrannical and cowardly, Tommen is completely innocent, humble, gentle, polite, kind and sweet to a fault. Unfortunately, being so pure, innocent and trusting are Tommen's Achilles Heel as he proves to be extremely easy to manipulate. When he is crowned King, it's in name only. In truth Tywin rules the land through him.
It's clear that he's intelligent but that doesn't make him perceptive to those who manipulate him.
5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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