TV Review: Game of Thrones Season Eight Episode Four - "The Last of the Starks"

"You Are My Queen, Nothing Will Change That. And They Are My Family. We Can Live Together..."

Yep, that's right, get over it. No matter how many times I read a somewhat negative perspective on last week's spectacular ninety minute battle, the fact still remains that now winter has come and gone, such a resolution was always going to satisfy particular viewers whilst actively enraging the rest who wanted this theory to come true to and this person to do that, and whilst Game of Thrones Season Eight undeniably seems to be suffering from The Last Jedi syndrome of not giving in to the wishes of the disillusioned hardcore who are determined to see their beloved show end exactly the way they want, the closer we get to the final endgame of the narrative, the more I am actively enjoying it. Beginning with a fiery farewell to the fallen, the mourning survivors are given absolutely no time to rest, or in one of the more infamous goofs of the show so far, enjoy a tasty Starbucks (registered trademark) and whilst the wine, the jokes and the erm, unexpected romance and marriage proposals threatened to push the show into soap territory, "The Last of the Starks"  managed to jumble together some of the most interesting and tense-lade set pieces of the series so far. With the show in its' early years criss-crossing a dramatic blend of The West Wing meets Lord of the Rings, the fourth chapter in this divisive concluding season actively felt more "classic" Game of Thrones, utilising genuine surprises and interesting developments to make an eighty minute runtime once again absolutely fly by.

Of the more interesting narrative threads, the war is over but another one has just begun, and whilst it seemed for a time that the Northerners and the Dragon Queen would indeed be successful at playing some low-key form of happy families, her precious dragons and depleted armies seemed to mean absolutely sod all to the ever-annoying Sansa, who in her power playing game of frowning her way through the remaining episodes seemed to either have missed out on her daily dose of antidepressants or has been directed to come across as the most unlikeable Stark ever to have lived. With Jon's heritage exposed quicker than a celebrity nude in the Twitter generation, what an absolutely dire mistake it seemed to be to make even one person aware of his true bloodline, with not only the whole of the North seemingly made aware within the space of one episode, but Tyrion and Varys too, with the latter once again chopping and changing allegiances quicker than Littlefinger in the hope that after all this time, Jon may actually be a more efficient ruler. Speaking of chopping, alongside the return of the cocky, murderous Bronn which brought the episodes most interesting set piece, let us all take a minute and wave a fond farewell to Nathalie Emmanuel, whose understated and charming performance as Missandei ended in proper Game of Thrones fashion with a battle-ready final line and of course, one less head, and whilst the show has lost one of the more innocent and harmless central characters, her death signifies a turn in the tide with there now no room for bartering, no cares for surrenders and as we all pretty much expected, war, lots of war. 

Overall Episode Score: 9/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones Season Eight Episode Two - " A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"

"I Promised To Fight For The Living. I Intend To Keep That Promise..."

With the season premiere out the way and the subsequent week resulting in having to handle the burden of listening to your work colleagues and friends witter on about "how boring the opening episode was", such concerns should immediately be wiped away with one stroke of your sword-wielding hand, with long-term fans of the show being well aware that Game of Thrones is not the type of programme which tends to dive in head first into spectacle without important characterisation and depth coming rightly just before. As with this season's opening hour, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" once again felt comfortable in saving the death and destruction for week three and beyond, a second contemplative episode out of two which successfully blended interesting and emotionally fulfilling character reunions and interactions whilst setting the stage up nicely for a hotly anticipated battle sequence which has pretty much been teased ever since the show's inception. With Jamie returning to Winterfell for the first time since the show's opening hour almost exactly eight years ago, the judgemental glances of pretty much everyone this side of the Northern line in Westeros seemed to emphasise the central predominant theme in this season so far; forgiveness for the sake of the greater good, and whilst it would have been more than satisfactory to see offspring of the Stark clan successfully claim their revenge by murdering the golden-haired Kingslayer back in the early days of the show, Jamie's own journey and development throughout the show has undoubtedly been the most surprising, with the cocky Lannister shifting from being the most hated character on the show to one of the most revered and let's face it, utterly charming. 

Whilst in previous seasons characters would have taken several episodes to kiss and make up after their past discrepancies, with Ser Jorah in particular probably wishing he had the writers this season to seek redemption just a tad quicker, the sight of both Dany and Sansa outlining the many different reasons why they found Ser Jamie utterly repulsive didn't exactly last for too long, with Jon and Brienne in particular saving the day by reminding everyone that a much bigger threat awaits just around the corner. In narrative developments elsewhere, the steamiest moment of the episode strangely belonged to the usually cold-hearted, slight stature of Arya, whose relationship with Gendry went, let's just say up a slight notch, whilst with Jon deciding to drop the black hole sized bombshell regarding his heritage on Daenerys just before potentially succumbing to the will of the Night King, such an exchange was greeted with an immediate look of confused disdain from the Dragon Queen, a particularly queer but sort-of-expected reaction from a character who after all these years of torment and war is brought back to a reality where she ultimately is not the destined leader of the Seven Kingdoms after all. With oodles of character interactions both knowing and interesting throughout the episode, Game of Thrones is the type of show which knows die hard fans will crumble at the sight of the slightest and most subtle character developments, with "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" a rather touching, sentimental, and at many particular points, rather hilarious hour of rewarding television aided predominantly by brilliantly written dialogue, and as we head into next week's episode in which we see our beloved heroes seek success against the most unwinnable battle in the show's history, the Lord of the Rings style overhead sing-song to the backdrop of oncoming death means that it's time to buckle up and prepare yourself for what's about to come next. 

Overall Episode Score: 8/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones Season Eight Episode One - "Winterfell"

"I Warned You, Northerners Don't Much Trust Outsiders..."

Here we are at last. With the gap between Season Seven of Game of Thrones and the hotly anticipated concluding chapter seeming as elongated and extended as the Brexit negotiations, a joke I will continue to utilise without shame for the foreseeable future, HBO's flagship fantasy drama finally returns this week as we start our descent into the beginning of the end. Eight years in the making, George R. R. Martin's iconic and culturally majestic written word may have slightly changed during its' transition from the page to the small screen as we hit the final season, but with anticipation verging on the edge of volcanic heading in, one of the more interesting aspects is how on earth a show with so many dedicated followers can possibly satisfy every single viewer before dropping the curtain down on what has been a contemporary social phenomenon. Opening with the straightforwardly named, "Winterfell", Season Eight might only have six episodes to get the job done but it's fair to say that it's beginning hour will undoubtedly be the most low-key and reflective, a dramatic kickstarter which spends the majority of its' runtime in the heart of the North as we are treated to character reunions, ominous foreboding and narrative reveals, and whilst many would have expected fireworks from the get-go, the decision to play the action cool for the time being results in a particularly excellent and emotional season opener which simply flies by.  

Beginning with absolutely no sign of any series recap whatsoever, Game of Thrones is the type of show which expects its' audience to know every single minute detail heading in, even after an extensive two year gap, but with slight changes to the opening titles including the infamous sight of the now defunct and very destroyed Northern wall, "Winterfell" begins in very icy conditions indeed, with the titular stronghold welcoming the return of Jon Snow, Queen Daenerys and of course, two humongous fire-breathing dragons. Whilst Jon and the majority of the audience understands the importance of such alliances heading into the inevitable battle against the Night King and the army of the dead, Thrones still finds time to imbed political and personal tensions within the narrative, with Sansa's slightly immature behaviour towards the golden-haired Queen particularly jarring, and whilst the show would seem slightly lost without such stakes, it's fair to say that Sansa's concerns about supplies did seem a tad minute in comparison to you know, a zombified dragon and it's seemingly invincible leader. With a slightly cheesy, Aladdin inspired dragon ride, Cersei still finding the time to guzzle down wine even when we are meant to believe she's somehow pregnant, and a whole catalogue of camera pans when particular characters finally reunite after time apart, Game of Thrones returns with an opening hour which is indeed low on action, but when the dialogue is this rich, the effects this good and with only five episodes left to go, Season Eight reminds us that HBO's leading ticket seller remains the best thing on television. By quite a far margin. 

Overall Episode Score: 8/10