Tuesday 15 August 2017

TV Review: Game of Thrones Season Seven Episode Five - "Eastwatch"

"We Either Serve And Die Or Fight And Die. I've Made My Choice..."


Beginning with perhaps the most obvious rescue in Thrones history, "Eastwatch" was a curiously intriguing episode, one which swapped action set pieces for cleverly maneuvered interactions, resulting in a swiftly paced hour of television which saw the return of long lost characters, the reunion of old friends and enemies and a game-changing couple of narrative tweaks which had fans screaming at the television with frustration the one minute and then applauding with joy the next. With Bronn inevitably the saving grace behind the cliffhanger of last week's episode, allegiances seem to be at some sort of an end between the two after the latter understandably quipped, "dragons is where our partnership ends", and whilst Bronn may have lost a selection of fans for his attack on Drogon last week, the comedic chemistry between himself and Jamie is still rife and effective as ever, even after witnessing an abundance of soldiers being shot up in flames. Furthermore, the death of both Tarly father and son raised an interesting predicament for Daenerys' characterisation, with her villainous streak seeping out once again and arguably becoming more jarring by the second, yet with the vessel of Jon Snow by her side, you would expect each to learn from each other and ultimately level each other out, particularly after Dany's shocked reaction to Drogon's response to Jon. 


Fitting in as many storyline developments as humanly possible within the second half, "Eastwatch" managed to swing in a glossed over historical game-changer, the long-awaited return of Gendry and the forming of Thrones' own magnificent seven who ventured out beyond the wall in an attempt to begin preparations for the battle with the dead. Whilst this week's episode was indeed low on blockbuster action, the low-key smuggling attempts and shadowy meetings in the dark made the episode feel almost Season One-esque, particularly with Littlefinger having the screen time to return to his more dastardly means at Winterfell, and whilst the travelling times for particular characters in Westeros has somewhat been subsided, "Eastwatch" was a thoroughly enjoyable episode, one which crammed in as much information as possible with a sole purpose of setting the ground for the remaining two episodes which are guaranteed to be explosive entertainment. We are ready. 

Overall Score: 9/10

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