Game of Thrones - "Valar Dohaeris" - Review

Season two of Game of Thrones was based on one of the more unfocused books in George RR Martin’s book series A Song of Fire and Ice. A Clash of Kings in many ways acts as bridge to bigger events that take place in A Storm of Swords, the book that season three is based on. If season two felt more like a hodgepodge of good (sometimes great parts) that didn’t feel like they added to a cohesive whole like the first season did, part of the blame comes down to the book it was translating to the screen. Clash of Kings has some great elements, many of which played out in a beautiful fashion in the show, but it isn’t as streamlined as the first book. The book that follows it, A Storm of Swords, on the other hand is seen as less messy (though just as digressive and expansive), more ambitious, and is widely regarded by fans (and I’m among them) as the best book of the series. However, these reviews intend to review Game of Thrones as a television series and not as an adaptation (though I may in passing mention my feelings about how the show handled particular aspects from the book).

If there is one element that carries over from the book, it’s how much more brooding and operatic this premiere feels. Largely nothing major happens (although I’d argue in one location in particular, beyond the Wall, was the exception that proves the rule) and yet everywhere we go there is a moodiness that pervades everything. Not to spoil anything but A Storm of Swords is a decidedly darker book in a series that is decidedly dark to begin with and so it fits the material being adapted. To move away from these vague references to the book I’ve sworn to not mention, it’s apparent in the production design which appears to be emphasizing darker colors (though things do lighten up a bit when we head over to Dany’s story towards episode's end). Sam and John, in particular, look more weary and battered than ever before, fittingly appropriate for their recent trials and tribulations. 

There’s plenty going on in the episode but the show aptly picks up slightly after the cliffhanger we were left on in season two. That cliffhanger was problematic for me. Its treatment of the white walkers showed a bit too much of the series’ hand; the whites probably ought to have remained a larger enigma for a little longer. But the series handles the response to the cliffhanger in a way that, though likely disappointing to many, I was relieved about. This is a television show and there’s largely no way the show (even on its comparatively large budget) could have pulled off the battle that took place between the whites and the Nights Watch. Instead it maintains much of the awe surrounding the whites (they clearly fucked shit up) and it provides an excellent starting note for the season. 

This isn’t any more members of the Watch then we’ve seen before and yet we immediately are given the sense with a handful of visual cues and lines that the battle was disastrous. There are so few who survived and those who did are drenched in blood and notably exhausted. The way the sequence is shot is great. The episode misdirects us into thinking we’ve picked up right where season two ended, Sam rushes, breathing heavy, through a hazy snow fall on a desolate, endless snowscape.  We’re led to assume he’s running away from the whites; it turns out he is, but the battle's long since over. He’s attacked by a straggling white after witnessing a decapitated watch member; John's dire-wolf leaps out and saves him, and the white is quickly set ablaze. It’s an incredibly exciting sequence and it’s the most action-packed part of the episode, and with very little information it lets us know all we need to know about what's happened and where things are heading. 

Lord Commander Mormont asks if Sam sent out the ravens to which he replies he didn’t. Exacerbated, tired, desperate Mormont tells them what they already know: they need to get back to the Wall. The ragtag crew that is the last defense against imminent doom is underfunded and undermanned, and Mormont is trying to salvage what little sense of duty they still have after the attack. The music rises in the background as he makes a speech and it culminates on that perfect coda: “If you don’t, everyone you know will be dead!” Overblown, sure, but when ice monsters are hot on your tail, it’s a justifiably overblown moment. 

After once again putting everything in perspective (the series constantly likes to remind us how the political maneuvering south of the Wall is petty and pointless), the show proceeds to reintroduce us to most of the characters. There are number of major characters missing (Theon, Arya, Bran, Brienne, Jaimie) and there are number of new players, but, for the most part, the premiere attempts to remind us where every character is at this point in time. One of the great joys and the biggest problems for Game of Thrones is how many characters and locations it is dealing with. Don’t like Jon Snow’s escapades with the wildlings, here’s Tyrion making quips at Cersei or Sansa gazing longingly with Shae at the ships in the harbor. But that means the show often feels crammed to the brim as it attempts to fit everything in. Season two’s “Blackwater” proved it can do something more focused where everything seems to add up to one cohesive whole rather than a lot of good scenes that feel totally disconnected from one another. 

In some respects season three (based on just this first episode) has gotten better at handling this problem, it knows when too much is too much and leaves some characters out (though the fanboy in me is disappointed at the absence of some, though more on that in the “Stray Observations”), and the characters it does stop in on have stories that don’t waste time getting straight to the point. In some instances, that’s a problem for the stories which could have used more breathing time or a scene or two extra (Dany’s feels this way, although, to be fair, her scenes are very good and an improvement upon last season). But the episode is much less cluttered than a number of season two episodes were (notably the season two finale which tried to jam everything into the episode it possibly could with problematic results). 

The show jumps around a lot less. Many of the characters have their story get told and then their plots are sidelined for future episodes. Jon’s storyline is quickly done away with early on. He joins the wildlings, he attempts to win over Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds), and he seems to have done the trick (though it's uncertain to what extent). And then we never hear from him again, or anyone else from beyond the Wall for that matter.

Part of this comes from what seems to be the writers trusting us more. There’s less establishment of scenes and more of a desire to dig right in. Sometimes this level of trusting the audience (or more likely a lack of episodic time to tell the story – seriously Storm of Swords is a massive book and the show has mostly made some wise choices on what to synthesize and what to cut down) just isn’t effective though. Take the Robb-Catelynn storyline for example. At Harrenhal, numerous members of the Northmen’s army have been killed or are dying. It’s not explicitly outright stated who did it and through some guesswork you can probably figure out that the Lannister’s hands were involved in this, but it’s so poorly dealt with and the exposition is so brief and passing that it barely reflects the seriousness of the event or the importance of its occurrence. Characters are also very abruptly introduced into this story. Suddenly new individuals, close counselors to the Starks, appear. To those of us familiar with the story we have an inkling it’s Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton) who will soon play a significant role in the season but for any newbies out there, this poorly handled introduction is probably confusing. There’s also a badly wounded maester known as Qyburn (Anton Lesser), and we figure he’s probably going to play a major role in events to come and so we can overlook the fact that he’s suddenly introduced and then that we never hear about him or any of the other new characters again.

Of course, the show has so, so, so much story that it has to tell and it wants to let every story get a moment to shine and these new characters simply aren’t doing anything relevant currently. Wouldn’t you rather stop in on Tyrion and Davos (the two stories that play over the longest extended period of time in the episode) and their ongoing struggles we know a good deal about rather than dealing with learning about yet another figure in an already very, very expansive cast (one that’s already so large that a number of characters couldn’t even make a brief appearance)? On a critical level it’s handled poorly, but, on a fanboy level, part of me just doesn’t mind much that these characters are left undeveloped.   

However, to be contrarian, the show does establishment of characters fine elsewhere. Margaery Tyrell is given much more storyline than we’ve previously seen from her. Apparently she has a charitable side (at least a politically motivated one for appearance sake) and stops to win over some children in a poorer section of King’s Landing. It’s an action that clearly rankles Cersei, who holds immediate disdain for anyone trying to steal away the attention of her dear Joffrey. 

When Game of Thrones starts up its theme and dashes me from location to location we’ll soon find ourselves at, I find myself excited in a way few shows manage. Did I have problems with this episode? Sure. But Game of Thrones has a world that is always nice to inhabit even for just a little while. Its world runs deep and its characters are richly drawn. This is one of the best casted series on television and continues to cast every new character with an expert eye. Some characters I have trouble imagining anyone else playing them. When Game of Thrones is throwing tons of different things in the air and the plot wheels occasionally get in the way of stuff like thematic unity, or unity of any sort for that matter, there are enough very good things taking place that it’s easy to forget the problems. Sometimes I’d like more from Game of Thrones, but it’s never a series where I say to myself, “That was terrible. Give me less”. This is a high quality production carried by one of television’s best dramatic ensembles. 

Stray Observations:

-NO ARYA! I’m just going to be upfront; Arya is my favorite character and I’m amazed by how good Maisie Williams is as a performer. A little bit of Arya goes a long way and her absence didn’t go unnoticed.

-Sophie Turner’s age is starting to get to a point where it’s going to become increasingly hard to believe the youthful naiveté of Sansa’s character. Littlefinger has Sansa convinced he can get her out of King’s Landing. The best part of this exchange, for what it reveals about the character, was Sansa’s enthusiasm upon hearing about Arya. She’s come a long way since her spoiled season one days.

-Tywin was not pleased to learn about Shae and forbids her presence in King’s Landing. Tyrion’s visit with his father makes Cersei nervous; she fears the true lineage of her children might come to bear upon her poorly. Tyrion has bigger concerns though, such as his claim to Casterly Rock, which his father does not take kindly to even the mere suggestion of. Peter Dinklage and Charlies Dance's acting during this scene was superb. Tyrion has fallen far from his station of season two days.

-Dany and Jorah are now no longer in Qarth (THANK THE LORD!), but their sudden appearance on a ship is somewhat awkwardly explained as is their sudden interest in getting an army of fearless eunuchs called the Unsullied. However, this story is altogether far, far more interesting than anything Qarth produced and so you take what you can get. The Dany story doesn’t crop up until the last twenty or so minutes of episode, at which point I went, “Oh, right, we haven’t even gotten to Dany yet”.

-The Dany plot also brings about the return of Ser Barristan Selmy, who has tracked down Dany after being disgracefully removed from the lifetime duty of Commander of the Kingsguard by Joffrey (back in season one). It’s the ending of the episode. Was there a potentially better ending? Possibly. But for those unfamiliar with the book, I’m assuming this reveal still was surprising enough to justifiably end the episode. Though I don't know if the moment takes place too quickly and therefore lacks the gravitas it should have.

-Jon discovers that the wildlings have giants at their disposal. So that's cool.

-Jon’s explanation for his “desertion” was Mormont’s failure to act upon Craster’s sacrifices of baby sons to the whites. This is a much less compelling reason than the one in the book (being a bastard left him outcasted by the Starks), but it does make much of the somewhat garbled nature of the Craster plot seem more important in hindsight.

-Jon kneels to a man who is not the King-Beyond-the-Wall, which gives him two strikes: wildlings aren’t “kneelers” and he got down on one knee for the wrong dude.

-Bronn is reintroduced in what looks like it’s going to be “sexposition” but is quickly undone by Poderick Payne requesting Bronn at Tyrion’s behest. Bronn is now a knight for his efforts in the Battle of the Blackwater, a fact that puts him at odds with some Kingsgaurd members (part of me wishes it could have come to blows but it makes sense that it didn't).

-The reintroduction of Davos could have been established better but worked due to the bedraggled look of Davos. The makeup department did a wonderful job.

-Davos plans to kill Melisandre who has taken an even greater hold over Stannis who, at her request, is burning nonbelievers. His assassination plot, however, fails and he’s thrown in the dungeons.
-The opening theme has always been excellent, but this episode's was particularly good for featuring a ruined, smoking Winterfell. It's the little things. 

Grade: B+

What did everyone else think?