Title: ‘The North Remembers’
Written By: David Benioff & D. B. Weiss.
Directed By: Alan Taylor.
Synopsis: Determined to avenge his father’s death, the newly proclaimed ‘King in the North’, Robb Stark, continues his war against the Lannisters and the boy king Joffrey. But there are more claimants to the Iron Throne, including Stannis Baratheon, who is supported by a priestess of a strange god…
The Verdict: First of all, we here at THN welcome you, dear reader, to the new GAME OF THRONES ‘Series Blog’, a weekly series of articles, reviewing each new episode as it airs, in our usual critical but irrelevant manner. Nuff said, now, on with the show…
So, where to start? Well, its safe to say that Episode 1 of Season 2 kicks off in much the same way Season 1 did – really good, but at the same time being a nasty little tease, slowly introducing the characters from last year whilst at the same time merely hinting as to where the story is going to go next. It’s a brave move, and obviously one that will pay off as the series continues, but there is that nagging feeling that things could be a bit faster.
However with that said, what we do get is still a cut above what claims to be good TV drama nowadays. The scene between Robb and Jaime is by far the highlight, a wonderful one-on-one that sees the two actors on fine form as captive and captor, whilst elsewhere Jack Gleeson turns in a wonderfully nasty performance as Joffrey, one full of spite and malice, a performance which the young actor has certainly grown into and improved upon this year. And the scenes featuring newcomer Stephen Dillane as Stannis are extremely intriguing, hinting at plenty more to be explored in the show’s mythology.
Overall, a good start for the show’s second season. The episode, whilst slow in moving on events, certainly brims with confidence, and if this is a mediocre episode by GAME OF THRONES standards, then I for one can’t wait to see what happens when the show kicks it up a gear. (Which it most certainly will!)
Best Bit: The cliffhanger is a brilliant little out-of-nowhere moment, beautifully handled by director Alan Taylor. Gruesome and moving, just how we like it!
Promotion: Peter Dinklage takes over top billing duties from Sean Bean during the opening titles (those multiple best supporting actor awards probably helped… and the fact that Bean’s character Ned went to the great Winterfell in the sky at the climax of last season). Very deserved!
Star Performance: And following that, well, it has to be Dinklage, who is on top form as Tyrion Lannister this week. Dinklage is on top form here, delivering all the best lines, and obviously having plenty of fun with the great material he’s been given. More Dinklage please!
Best Line(s):
Jaime: Three victories don’t make you a conquerer.
Robb: It’s better than three defeats.
OR
Tyrion: You love your children. It’s your one redeeming quality. That and your cheekbones.
Stay tuned for part two of our GAME OF THRONES Series Blog next week.
GAMES OF THRONES can be seen on Sky Atlantic 9pm Tuesdays.
