Game of Thrones episode review: "The Dragon and the Wolf"

Image from IMDb.

THROND'S CHOICE

dir. by Jeremy Podeswa

writ. by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

The new blockbuster iteration of Game of Thrones is maybe the most popular the show has ever been. It's hardly surprising: newbies and longtime viewers alike can revel in all the fan service, and all the superficial crowd-pleasing has made it an easier watch than ever. It fills the fantasy niche and offers a level of spectacle which you rarely get outside of a movie theatre. All the things which have made it less distinctive and less sophisticated also make it more accessible, so of course it's only ever gotten more and more popular. 

And you know what? It's not so bad. A quickened pace, some great special effects, and what's now seven years worth of character development make for a show which is no longer great art, but is still a lot of fun. Season 7's finale, "The Dragon and the Wolf," slows the pace down, and while it still rushes some crucial moments, it also has several of the season's best scenes, and clarifies the show's intriguing thematic conflict. It took me a while to be convinced, but this new Game of Thrones is alright. 

Game of Thrones episode review: "Beyond the Wall"

Image taken from IMDb.

dir. by Alan Taylor

written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss

This year, Game of Thrones has thrived on balancing its blockbuster impulses with the nuances of its character relationships. When that balance works, we get "The Spoils of War", where everything falls into place and even easy narrative tricks like big battles and small reunions can be emotionally evocative and deceptively deep. For the most part, it has worked very consistently, and while season 7 is still eager to please, it's been intelligent enough to elevate its pandering in ways which season 6 wasn't. 

Unfortunately, "Beyond the Wall" neglects a lot of that intelligence in favour of brainless spectacle and contrived tension, caring more about action and epic sweep than the grit and intricacy which once defined this show's main appeal. The story has been gearing towards epic blockbuster fantasy for some time now, and it's still often good at delivering the bombast, even when it's illogical and predictable as it is here. But when even the recent years of the show have accomplished so much more than this, it's hard not to be disappointed. 

Game of Thrones episode review: "Eastwatch"

Image taken from IMDb. 

dir. by Matt Shakman

written by Dave Hill

To the disappointment of some fans, Game of Thrones can't be epic action every week. After last week's poignant reunions and exciting battle, this week we're back to table-setting in an episode which is predominantly exposition and setup for storylines which are going to pay off later. As always, the show does this very well, and this season's exposition benefits both from a breakneck flow of information and the nuances of character relationships from over six seasons of development. 

But even considering that, "Eastwatch" is much more exciting than similar episodes from earlier in the series, and part of that is because there's simply more novelty to the storylines set up here. With Cersei facing imminent defeat and Jon desperate for help against the White Walkers, the show has finally regained a sense of political intrigue, and even the slower scenes retain a sense of momentum and importance. Best of all, even though the show leans heavily on major revelations this week, it clips through them so quickly in pursuit of its novel plot threads that they don't get in the way of good storytelling. 

Game of Thrones"episode review: "The Spoils of War"

Image taken from IMDb.

dir. by Matt Shakman

written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

Reviewing a serialized show on an episode-by-episode basis can be challenging, as you won't really get a satisfying narrative arc within any single hour of the season. Perhaps this is why so many people writing about these shows call their pieces "recaps" rather than "reviews," as it's easier to relay what happened and insert snippets of editorializing here and there than to nitpick at individual character interactions or technical qualities which are common to the show in general. Individual episodes often have different directors and writers, but especially in the case of Game of Thrones, narrative arcs move slowly enough that critiquing specific episodes can come down to picking at little details. 

And yet, I can still tell when an individual episode is above the rest, and "The Spoils of War" is where this season really kicking into high gear. There's emotional reunions, powerful moments, and even a few fun one-liners, and it all concludes in one of the show's most exciting and spectacular battles to date. There's still some clunky exposition here, but this week the show has decided to even further emphasize the nuances of character relationships, and if that doesn't quite compensate for the show's continued lack of intrigue, it's starting to come close. 

Game of Thrones episode review: "The Queen's Justice"

Image taken from IMDb.

dir. by Mark Mylod
written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss
Game of Thrones's recent push towards the finish line has led to a lot of episodes consisting primarily of exposition and foreboding. Small character moments and striking outbursts of violence, often the bread-and-butter of the show, still appear, but have tended to be buried under a lot of straightforward table-setting. This isn't to say that the first two episodes of season 7 were at all bad - both were fairly solid for what they were - but the real meat of the story only begun midway through last week's episode, and much of the season's setup could be awfully dry.

Because of that, the quiet, lingering tension of "The Queen's Justice" feels genuinely triumphant, focusing entirely on dialogue and performance while focusing primarily on a small handful of storylines. Narrative progress is only incremental, and yet the episode is so patient with those small jumps forward that each one feels earned, and in some cases even relieving. It's the later scenes, which more briefly cover the other storylines, which feature more surprises, but this week, Game of Thrones made foregone conclusions feel thrilling.

Game of Thrones episode review: "Stormborn"

Image taken from IMDb

dir. by Mark Mylod
writ. by Bryan Cogman
Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that this season of Game of Thrones has consisted largely of buildup. Next season will be the show's grand finale, and the showrunners have a lot to establish if those final episodes are to be big enough to satisfy. As it outpaces George R. R. Martin's novels, it increasingly abandons their intricacy in favour of more conventionally pleasing elements, with character reunions, answered questions, and big battles being the most common of these. It's good at what it does, but it's also become less essential and less singular.

While "Stormblood" follows the usual formula of reunions, answers, and battles, its table-setting has much more narrative momentum than that of the premiere, it continues the show's championing of little character moments and begins to provide some tension in this season's narrative. It's still a bit minor, yes, but a show as focused on broader narrative as this needs these episodes from time to time, and this one is handled pretty well.

Game of Thrones episode review: "Dragonstone"

written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
dir. by Jeremy Podeswa
HBO's Game of Thrones has been struggling to find its way without its source material for a season and a half now. Season 5 suffered under the weight of excessive brutality and the uninvolving Dorne storyline, and season 6 frequently resorted to feel-good pandering. Going forward, HBO has reduced its order from 10 episodes to 8, and it remains to be seen whether this will serve to reduce the show's bloat and repetition, or if it'll simply cramp the storytelling.

As always, the premiere is not the right place to judge the quality of a season. "Dragonstone" is dedicated primarily to setting up the season to come, and as a result is packed with expository conversations and minor developments. But these minor developments show promise, and the episode ditches the hacky sentimentality of season 6 in favour of moments of quiet observation. Ultimately, the world and characters of Game of Thrones are still compelling enough to make even its slowest patches enjoyable, and "Dragonstone" satisfies most of all by setting almost every one of the show's storylines into motion.

Spoilers follow.