I absolutely love the title sequence and love watching it change every time, and the Braavos one with the Titan is perhaps the most impressive one yet. Great visual effects, and including the gorgeous overhead CGI shot of the city in the opening scene, rivaling that of Meereen's. It's a testament to how big this show has gotten.
Being a fan of Sherlock I was interested to see how Mark Gatiss would do as the Iron Bank representative. His calm aloofness is perfect for representing such a powerful company, and I feel Stannis is finally hitting his stride as a character willing to do anything to win the Iron throne. Ser Davos, however, was the one who stole this scene. It's telling how honourable and dedicated he still is to Stannis' claim. It's a cutting critique of the condition Westeros is in under the Lannister rule, so easily tipped into chaos by the smallest imbalance.
Yara's monologue over his love for Theon, the prince of the Iron Islands was a very powerful bit of dialogue and set the tone for the rescue attempt. The score at the same time quickens and adds to the tension, making for a very emotionally charged reunion. Alfie Allen is hands down the best actor of this show. His portrayal of Reek is finally complete as he painstakingly begs his once sister to leave him alone, not even able to comprehend the thought of escape. Overall, the end result was a bit anti-climatic, although it may be a sign of Yara recognising how Theon was beyond repair. Iwan Rheon doesn't miss a beat as the psychotic Ramsay. It's chilling how they can make something like a bath so threatening and foreboding. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for some torture device hidden in the water.
The clear and sunny scenes over in Essos make for a nice change from the dark dungeons and rooms of Westeros. More the better for the CGI to flourish, and that it did. Such a powerful scene showcased just how immense and frightening Drogon can be, and how large he is already. The introduction of Hizdahr was quite telling as it is the first sign of Dany making a mistake. She may in time learn of the consequences of her takeover of Meereen and her stance on slavery.
Oberyn is a fan favourite and rightly so. Small things like not rising for Tywin show he is still at odds with the Lannisters and Tywin knows he cannot rebuke him for it, or risk starting a war. It's quite contrasting how everyone on the small council bar Cersei is worried about Dany over in Meereen, she is still as naive as she was last episode. The talk between Varys and Oberyn was interesting as they traded blows, and I get the feeling that Varys is doing much more behind the scenes than he accounts for.
But the big scene everyone was waiting for was the trial of Tyrion. What a tense moment set up in the great hall and how crestfallen Tyrion looks after so much jail time. It's a nice little speech by Tommen to establish that Tywin really is in charge of orders, symbolic of him sitting on the Iron throne.
A great callback to the slapping of Joffrey after the riot in season 2 and all the other ways in which Tyrion ruled over Joffrey as hand. It's utterly staged towards Tyrion being made in bad light and his chances diminished with every testimony. Even more damning is the evidence of Dontos and the necklace of Sansa. It's a nice touch by Littlefinger to leave that to further incriminate Tyrion as the accused. We flashback to Blackwater and Tyrion's threats to Cersei after capturing Ros, which set up the shocking reveal of the whore Shae to betray him.
The look on Tyrion's face as she walked in was heartbreaking to see. Even more so after she swears to tell the truth, then blatantly lying and backstabbing him. And Tywin telling her to reiterate that she was a whore only made it worse when looking back at their relationship and how it disintegrated.
Keep your mouth shut, no more outburst, Jaime said. But Peter Dinklage should take a bow for the following confession. The hatred on his face as he announces his hatred for the populace was stunning, and his guilt for being looked down upon as a dwarf. His absolute rage and delirious joy at watching Joffrey die is perhaps the best acting I have seen in this show yet, and his delivery of the final line was perfect in its loathing and malice.
What an absolute brilliant episode. There was no scene wasted, no spare line of dialogue, no holds barred as Tyrion escalated his trial to a whole other level of tension. I eagerly await next week.
9.5/10
Being a fan of Sherlock I was interested to see how Mark Gatiss would do as the Iron Bank representative. His calm aloofness is perfect for representing such a powerful company, and I feel Stannis is finally hitting his stride as a character willing to do anything to win the Iron throne. Ser Davos, however, was the one who stole this scene. It's telling how honourable and dedicated he still is to Stannis' claim. It's a cutting critique of the condition Westeros is in under the Lannister rule, so easily tipped into chaos by the smallest imbalance.
Yara's monologue over his love for Theon, the prince of the Iron Islands was a very powerful bit of dialogue and set the tone for the rescue attempt. The score at the same time quickens and adds to the tension, making for a very emotionally charged reunion. Alfie Allen is hands down the best actor of this show. His portrayal of Reek is finally complete as he painstakingly begs his once sister to leave him alone, not even able to comprehend the thought of escape. Overall, the end result was a bit anti-climatic, although it may be a sign of Yara recognising how Theon was beyond repair. Iwan Rheon doesn't miss a beat as the psychotic Ramsay. It's chilling how they can make something like a bath so threatening and foreboding. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for some torture device hidden in the water.
The clear and sunny scenes over in Essos make for a nice change from the dark dungeons and rooms of Westeros. More the better for the CGI to flourish, and that it did. Such a powerful scene showcased just how immense and frightening Drogon can be, and how large he is already. The introduction of Hizdahr was quite telling as it is the first sign of Dany making a mistake. She may in time learn of the consequences of her takeover of Meereen and her stance on slavery.
Oberyn is a fan favourite and rightly so. Small things like not rising for Tywin show he is still at odds with the Lannisters and Tywin knows he cannot rebuke him for it, or risk starting a war. It's quite contrasting how everyone on the small council bar Cersei is worried about Dany over in Meereen, she is still as naive as she was last episode. The talk between Varys and Oberyn was interesting as they traded blows, and I get the feeling that Varys is doing much more behind the scenes than he accounts for.
But the big scene everyone was waiting for was the trial of Tyrion. What a tense moment set up in the great hall and how crestfallen Tyrion looks after so much jail time. It's a nice little speech by Tommen to establish that Tywin really is in charge of orders, symbolic of him sitting on the Iron throne.
A great callback to the slapping of Joffrey after the riot in season 2 and all the other ways in which Tyrion ruled over Joffrey as hand. It's utterly staged towards Tyrion being made in bad light and his chances diminished with every testimony. Even more damning is the evidence of Dontos and the necklace of Sansa. It's a nice touch by Littlefinger to leave that to further incriminate Tyrion as the accused. We flashback to Blackwater and Tyrion's threats to Cersei after capturing Ros, which set up the shocking reveal of the whore Shae to betray him.
The look on Tyrion's face as she walked in was heartbreaking to see. Even more so after she swears to tell the truth, then blatantly lying and backstabbing him. And Tywin telling her to reiterate that she was a whore only made it worse when looking back at their relationship and how it disintegrated.
Keep your mouth shut, no more outburst, Jaime said. But Peter Dinklage should take a bow for the following confession. The hatred on his face as he announces his hatred for the populace was stunning, and his guilt for being looked down upon as a dwarf. His absolute rage and delirious joy at watching Joffrey die is perhaps the best acting I have seen in this show yet, and his delivery of the final line was perfect in its loathing and malice.
What an absolute brilliant episode. There was no scene wasted, no spare line of dialogue, no holds barred as Tyrion escalated his trial to a whole other level of tension. I eagerly await next week.
9.5/10