TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Ten "Mother's Mercy" SPOILER ALERT

Long Live the King...

After ten glorious weeks of Game of Thrones, Season Five has now come to an end, and what an end it has left us with. The death of one of the programmes most beloved and sacred characters will inevitably produce shock-waves across the fandom whilst those conniving book-readers who knew such a fate was set to occur can laugh at us whilst our emotions completely pour out in front of them. Although there was also a sense of inevitably around the death of Jon Snow, the one shining bright light in the terrible realm of Westeros, his death was still incredibly hard to witness, topped off by young Olly, the killer of Snow's lover Ygritte, landing the final blow. Of course, this is Game of Thrones, and not everything is always as it seems, particularly when you take the timely arrival of Melisandre into account who finally realised Stannis was not the King she and her Lord of Light had been looking for and instead, had maybe come to the realisation that Jon was that person all along. 

Whatever it means, the "death" of Jon Snow topped off a fantastic episode which carried all the elements of what makes Game of Thrones tick in a season which suffered from a range of difficulties amidst some exciting and memorable plot-lines that ultimately will lead into another exciting season next year. 

Aside from the death of Jon Snow, we also said goodbye to Selyse Baratheon who decided to hang herself after causing the death of her only child, whilst Myranda was murdered by the hand of Reek, who finally began to redeem himself in the eyes of Sansa who was subsequently aided in her escape from Ramsey and the Bolton's. Although lost and defeated in the snow-ridden lands of Winterfell, Stannis's supposed sentence to death from Brienne was not captured on-screen, meaning he could well have been saved, yet such a scenario is very unlikely with Brienne's vengeful nature for the death of Renly obviously engulfing her, so much so that she missed Sansa's call for aid. The rushing of the battle at Winterfell made the death of Stannis rather anti-climatic in all honesty, and although there was a lot the show-runners had to get through in a short space of time, I felt the episode could have handled that particular scene much, much better. 

One scene that was handled terrifically well however was Cersei's atonement in which she was forcefully made to walk stark naked through the streets of Kings' Landing after committing her crimes to the High Sparrow. Although Cersei has been the evil Queen of Westeros since the beginning of the show, her bloodied feet and pained expression brought about the smallest amount of sympathy from me for her, whilst reinforcing Lena Headey's sheer dedication to the role of one of Game of Thrones' most hated, yet brilliantly thought out characters in the whole of the Seven Kingdoms. Elsewhere, the poisoning of Myrcella by the ever-vengeful Ellaria was rather predictable, whilst the return of the Dothraki left Daenerys in a rather ambiguous turn of events which left Tyrion, who was finally reunited with Varys, in charge of Meereen. Braavos once again was the platform for weird, eerie scene of the week with Arya finally getting her revenge against Meryn Trant whilst ever-further being trained by the masterful ways of Jaqen H'Gar who warned her against the use of a new face on someone that is "no-one", resulting in Arya seemingly going blind. 

Overall, Season Five of Game of Thrones has suffered at times from dragging its' heels into the land of boredom whilst also offering scenes of sheer excitement and tension, particularly in the second half of the season with the battle at Hardhome and Daenerys' dragon rescue in the previous episode being the highlights that first come to mind. The death of some major characters this season will inevitably have repercussions heading into the next season, as it always does, whilst the fact that the TV series has finally overtaken the books and heading into the unknown makes the future of Game of  Thrones an exciting proposition to say the least. Until next year, Game of Thrones. 

Overall Episode Score: 9/10  

Overall Season Score: 8/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Nine "The Dance Of Dragons" SPOILER ALERT

Dungeons and Dragons

The curse that has befallen on the ninth episode of any Game of Thrones series has led to it having more expectation and hype than any other around it, even its successor, the season finale, which tends to deal with the aftermath  of events that happen in the previous episode, a strange, if brilliant, way of managing a TV show. With the excellent quarter of an hour that concluded "Hardhome", episode nine was bound to pick straight up from where we left off, and boy does it. In fact, "The Dance of Dragons" is hands down the most bloody, most intense, and simply the best episode of Season Five, with a final act that concocted a mixture of emotions beginning with sheer horror and concluded with tears of joy as I beheld the sheer awesomeness that was occurring on-screen. Game of Thrones, you've outdone yourself once again. 

Before that final act is dissected and discussed, one of the most disturbing deaths in the entire Game of Thrones history must be recognised, with Stannis giving in to the wishes of Melisandre and handing over the life of daughter Shireen to the Lord of Light via a The Wicker Man-esque death by fire in order to gain a supposed military advantage in the fight against the Bolton's at Winterfell. As soon as Stannis gave that heart-felt speech about saving Shireen's life right back at the beginning of Season Five, something was bound to happen, particularly when Melisandre first asked for such a sacrifice and although at first, refusal was the clear option for Stannis, Ramsey's attack on their food and supplies forced him into a decision that was indeed sinister, but in the long run, may be necessary. Don't get me wrong, the death was incredibly horrific with kudos to Kerry Ingram whose final screams made the scene both ear-splitting and difficult to watch, but may also be the turning point for Stannis and co in their battle to obtain the Iron Throne. Unless Davos returns and kills him first, which would be justified to say the least. 

Elsewhere, Jon Snow returned to Castle Black after the battle at Hardhome with the wildlings, much to the disgust of pretty much everyone there, whilst Jamie and Bronn were released from captivity in Dorne, much to the horror of Ellaria Sand who was forced to yield to the wishes of her King. Although it has been great to finally see the surroundings of Dorne this season, it feels like that particular storyline has been one of the weakest with not much actually occurring when you think about it. But hey, we still have one more episode to go don't we? Weird scene of the week went to Braavos where Meryn Trant highlighted his desire for seemingly underage girls, all while Arya was plotting her revenge against him, a scene which most definitely will occur next week. Bring it. 

And now, that final scene. Wow. If Gladiator-esque battle scenes weren't enough for you, then how about a massacre, redemption, and a flippin' dragon? At first, I can safely say I was rather confused when Jorah decided to launch that blade in the direction of Daenerys, but to see it strike a member of the Sons of the Harpy, my expression was swiftly changed from confusion to, "oh s**t" with Dany and co, including Tyrion, being massively outnumbered by the murdering onslaught bearing down on them. Amidst all the madness however, we said goodbye to Hizdahr , and welcomed back Jorah into the land of the friend-zone, with Dany seemingly finally accepting his apology in a time when she definitely needed it most. As soon as Dany and co were surrounded however, it was inevitable Drogon was set to appear in proper Hollywood fashion, and that he did, spraying fire as he majestically flew down and air-lifted Daenerys to safety. And then, it was over. And breathe. Although "The Dance of Dragons" may not have lived up to the mouth-gasping efforts of previous episode nine entries such as "The Red Wedding" and "Baelor", it was a masterpiece in its' own right, with intense action sequences, heart-wrenching deaths, and dragons. What more do you need? 

Overall Score: 10/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Eight "Hardhome" SPOILER ALERT

Fight of the Living Dead

Oh yeah, that was the episode everyone has been waiting for. After weeks of not much going down aside from the soap-esque drama that we all have come to know and love in the land of Westeros, we were finally treated to one of Game of Thrones' greatest and freakiest battle scenes ever in the history of the show so far. A battle between the living and the dead was always set to appear in the imminent future of GOT but I hardly expected it to come so soon or in such brilliant fashion, with the white walkers/zombified dead being both terribly frightening and relentless in their desire to kill everything that stood in their way, even Jon Snow. It comes to light how unforgiving a show GOT has become when every fight scene with the top-billed characters always carries a sense of unease with it, something of which I feel can not be attributed to any other show currently on television. If films like Lord of the Rings and most recently Interstellar are examples of the cinematic experience being pushed to the limits of what can be accomplished, then GOT is definitely the prime blueprint of what a show designated for a role on the television can become with its' acting, sound, cinematography and effects all being pushed to the realm of excellency in the last twenty or so minutes in this latest episode of one of TV's greatest ever programmes. 

Aside from the battle of Hardhome, fans were finally treated to the forging of Lannister and Targaryen when the first official meeting between Tyrion and Daenerys took place in Meereen, with the latter accepting the former's opportunity to provide her with aid during her rule as Queen, whilst we finally put the "break the wheel" speech seen in the trailers to context when Tyrion argued there was no true aid for Daenarys across the Narrow Sea. In Winterfell, preparations were beginning from House Bolton for Stannis's inevitable invasion of the North which I suspect will be the basis of next week's episode, whilst Reek finally let Sansa know that both Rickon and Bran were very much alive after admitting to killing two others during his taking of Winterfell back in Season Two. Finally. In other news, suffering continued for Cersei during her stay in one of those lovely looking (not) cells whilst Arya continued her training in Braavos. With storylines intertwining and impending battles gaining pace, the next two episodes of Game of Thrones are set to be as epic, if not more, than this week's offering. Bring it. 

Overall Score: 9/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Seven "The Gift" SPOILER ALERT

In The Light of the Seven

Yes! After weeks, actually, years of Cersei Lannister playing it calm and collective as Queen/Queen Regent, regardless of her crimes, it seems her penance has finally caught up with her thanks to the dynamic duos of Littlefinger/Olenna and High Sparrow/Lancel Lannister. It was interesting to wonder to what extent High Sparrow was under Cersei's thumb throughout the past few episodes and whether he had just become another avenue to exploit further power and influence on Cersei's behalf, but oh how wrong that proved to be, with Cersei's plan completely backfiring and ending up in a rotting, stinking cell herself after Lancel who, probably after a little push from Littlefinger, confessed all crimes of incest et.al, in order to royally screw over his beloved aunt. And how we all rejoiced. Top marks go to Jonathan Pryce and Diana Rigg who aside from both getting nostalgia points due to their influence in the Bond universe, fully engage themselves in their characters, making their scene together about old age and weakening limbs a marvelous wonder to behold. 

Only a short review this week I am afraid, so I may have to cut to the chase in regards to some of the storylines such as goings on at the Wall, where Jon Snow rode off in support of the Wildlings, a decision that inevitably did not go down too well with the remaining brothers who seemed to immediately turn their attention to inflicting harm on poor old Sam who although nearly ended up getting beaten to death when protecting Gilly, was rewarded with some after-hours pastimes, something of which he seemed to rather enjoy. Iconic death of the episode went to Maestor Aemon, a figure who single-handedly has withstood four and a half whole seasons of GOT, a high accolade in itself. Elsewhere, Stannis and Davos argued about the snow and the forthcoming war with the Bolton's at Winterfell, whilst Melisande asked for the blood of Shireen to ensure victory in the wars ahead, something of which was not taken too lightly by her father, understandably. Ramsey continued to act in a Joffrey-esque, psycho manner towards Sansa, who although attempted to alert Brienne and Pod to her continued danger, ultimately failed, and was rewarded with the sight of another flayed Stark supporter. Eugh. Please stop.

Comical moment of the week went to Dorne and the captivating scene in which Bronn was too easily seduced by Tyene Sand and her umm neckline, whilst Tyrion finally introduced himself to Daenerys after Jorah was once again rejected and left in the friend-zone, even after declaring himself champion in the fighting pits. So all in all, another pretty solid and interesting week of developments in the land of Westeros, THREE EPISODES LEFT. And they are bound to get tasty. 

Overall Score: 8/10 

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Six "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" SPOILER ALERT

The Dread Wedding

Well, that ending was pretty terrible. After weeks of Sansa being built up as the new heroine figure of the Game of Thrones saga, such a notion can only be regarded as "on hold" after another controversial scene which must have made even the strong-willed of GOT fans feel a little uneasy. Much like the Cersei/Jamie situation last season, the final scene of "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" is set to breed headlines in the next few weeks or so, or maybe until Sansa (hopefully) gets her own back and violently stabs Ramsey in the eye or something. We're a nice lot aren't we? Game of Thrones has never shied away from the subject of rape or other sexual violence but to see Sansa, who already has witnessed more tragedy than everyone put together in the Seven Kingdoms, be the newest victim of such was a hard sight to see. We hate you Game of Thrones. We flippin' hate you.

Aside from the worst eloping ceremony since the Red Wedding, Jamie and Bronn failed spectacularly in their attempts to steal back Myrcella, who under the watchful gaze of soon-to-be-hubby Trystane Martell was faced with the two hunting parties of Uncle/Father and the Sand Snakes, each with their different reasons for taking her away from the wonders of Dorne, which once again was given much too little screen-time to fully engage in its' supposed beauty. There was however much more screen-time for Arya at Braavos, who after weeks of cleaning the dead was given the opportunity to witness what was in the crypts below, something of which could only be classed as "eerie", a word which perfectly suits the entire Arya storyline so far with their being not much to go on but enough to constantly ask, "what they heck was that?" 

The soap that is King's Landing continued to blossom, with this week's drama being based around the infidelity of the Tyrell's, particularly Ser Loras who was royally screwed over by ex-lover Olyvar in his testimony. of which, subsequently resulted in Margaery herself being put on trial. All we needed was the EastEnders drum roll and I would have been sold. Thumbs up too for the return of Olenna and Diana Rigg who always seems to have the knack of having the greatest comical lines in the entire history of Game of Thrones. Popping up for the day too was Littlefinger who once again threw his allegiances into the land of ambiguity by proclaiming his loyalty to the throne, which to Cersei meant the Lannister's but to everyone else meant whoever suited Littlefinger best. It is constantly amusing how the entire backlog of story within Game of Thrones has pretty much been orchestrated by Littlefinger himself making him not only the slickest person in Westeros, but the luckiest to be alive. 

With Jorah now infested with the horror that is dragonscale, it was no surprise really to see him go along with Tyrion's escape route from recent capture by the slavers which will see him enter the fighting pits in the coming weeks, something of which I am very much looking forward to. Tear-jerk moment of the week too was the scene where Jorah was made aware of his late father's death by Tyrion, and with Jorah seemingly not having much time left himself, it seems Bear Island is set to lose two of its' most famous home-grown talents, unless Jorah bumps into the same medic that saved Shireen Baratheon. I can only hope so. In conclusion therefore, Game of Thrones served up yet another controversial episode which is bound to see repercussions in the coming weeks, both in Westeros itself and the forces that be within the World's media. With just four weeks to go, it is fair to say that viewers should start sitting even more comfortably. Stuff is gonna go down. 

Overall Score: 8/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Five "Kill the Boy" SPOILER ALERT

A Game of Stones

Now that we are officially at the half-way stage of the latest Game of Thrones season, it is blindingly obvious that these first few episodes are essentially buildup to the chaos and carnage that is likely to occur during the next five weeks or so, something of which that although was the blueprint for most of the earlier seasons, seems rather unsubstantial in comparison to Season Four which had constant edge-of-your-seat storytelling throughout its' ten episode run. I may be being slightly harsh on GOT as Season Five was never going to live up its' predecessor, but once again I am left with the overall impression of, "solid, but not spectacular," when it comes to "Kill the Boy", and unless the series propels itself into another level ASAP, I fear that will be the feeling of the season overall. Enough of all the negativity anyhow as Game of Thrones is still miles better than anything on TV at this very moment in time, with this week's offering including all the standard tropes of what's expected in a GOT episode such as dragons, nudity, and death. GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!

It would be expected of an episode that primarily focuses its' time on proceedings in the North to be rather bland, particularly with the strangeness of Arya's storyline and the soap-esque drama of King's Landing being totally excluded when it was beginning to get rather tasty, but "Kill the Boy" manages to still effectively grasp the viewers' attention, particularly when it came to the tense atmosphere at dinner when Reek was forced to apologise to Sansa regarding the "death" of her two brothers by Ramsey who was swiftly knocked down a peg by the welcoming of a potential new, fully-blooded Bolton into the family, something of which was not taken lightly. Aside from the Bolton's, Stannis finally set sail into Winterfell, where. depending on how long it takes to get there in the episodic time-scale, the much spoke about retaking of the North is likely to occur within the next few weeks or so, something of which is a juicy prospect to say the least. 

At the Wall, Jon Snow was told to become a man and stick by his decisions, regardless of what his comrades in the Night's Watch thought of him, even when that decision was to try and save the Wildlings, something of which I think everyone disagreed with, including myself. You are going a bit soft in the head there Snow, watch yourself laddy. Aside from the North, Daenerys unleashed her anger from the death of Ser Barristan on the heads of the great families of Meereen, including zo Loraq, who must have been shell-shocked from being in front of dragons one day and then being asked to a hand in marriage to their mother the next. Oh yeah, and the fighting pits are back open. Finally. Spooky scene of the week went to Tryion and Jorah, who after deciding to sail through the desolate lands of Valryia, were attacked from the greyscale ridden stone-men, ending in Jorah being touched and thus ridden with the disease himself. Poor Jorah, nothing ever goes right for him. 

So like I said at the start, "Kill the Boy", is yet another solid, if unspectacular episode of Game of Thrones, featuring plenty of buildup for the episodes that lie ahead, whilst focusing on events occurring primarily in the North which is proving to be the most interesting place to be right now, unless you are Reek. Poor Reek. Now that we are half way through Season Five, it is fair to say things can only get better. Bring it. 

Overall Score: 7/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Four "Sons of the Harpy" SPOILER ALERT

Dorne of the Dead

This weeks' Game of Thrones episode was in serious danger of being the most lacklustre of the bunch so far this season, with a lot of exposition and plot threads being ironed out further without the pay-off of an awe-inspiring or shock-inducing scene to remember it by. That was until the last few minutes of "The Sons of the Harpy", where the titular brand of murderous, power hungry psycho's came up against the white-bearded figure of Barristan Selmy, who adhered to the notion of what happens when you mess with the esteemed elder clan of fighters in fictional universes (Saruman in TH:TBOTFA for example) and swiftly kicked ass, albeit after suffering some serious looking wounds. Oh how I would have moaned to HBO on Twitter if that last Harpy guy had executed him in the now-assigned Son of the Harpy death by neck-slice, but thankfully, good-old Grey Worm was there to prevent such Twitter rant from ever happening. Well done. I begin this week's review with the last scene of this week's episode not only because it is the one still fresh in the memory, but the execution (excuse the pun) of such, where you seemingly felt every sword clash, every dagger insertion as well as deep shock at the thought of losing one of the coolest, down-to-earth people in Westeros; Barristan Selmy himself, who although is one of the many background characters within the Game of Thrones universe, gracefully came into his own this week, showing the audience how being at the wrong end of the age spectrum doesn't prevent you from beating down a bunch of dagger-waving loonies. 

In less interesting developments. the Sandsnakes were finally introduced to us in Dorne-wall (Get it, Dorne-wall? As in Cornwall? Sorry) during a scene which although took two episodes to get to, looks like it did take place directly after Ellaria's unsuccessful attempt in persuading the Dornish King to head to war with the Lannister's in King's Landing. Elsewhere in Dorne, Jamie and Bronn made the worst attempt in trying to subtlety invade and take back Myrcella by deciding to hack to death four patrolling Dornish guards, but on the upside, Jamie finally put to use his prosthetic limb in a combat situation, something of which was quite pleasant to witness, much like the continued banter-esque discussions between himself and Bronn which this week focused on the best way to die, like you do. On the subject of banter, Cersie plotted revenge against Margaery Tyrell's digs last week by enlisting the High Sparrow to carve out justice in the capital, particularly to those who had sins of a rather sexual nature, including Ser Loras, who was captured, much to the distaste of Margaery who seemingly lost her cool when addressing the King, temporarily abstaining from her daily acting routine of being everything the King wants in order to get everything that she wants. Top marks for Margaery too for doing what everyone does when they are in a spot of bother; call Mum. 

If the last few weeks have highlighted the sheer cold-hearted nature of Stannis at Castle Black, then this weeks' episode presented a much user-friendly side to him, evidenced during his speech to daughter Shireen, who when questioned if she was an embarrassment to her father, was made tear-inducing reassured that she was still a vital part of the Baratheon family, even if her mother seemingly felt ashamed to call her her one and only offspring. Elsewhere at the Wall, Jon was presented with an opportunity to combine the power of both man and woman by Melisandre which he swiftly refused, highlighting the love for Ygritte as the reason for such. Shout out to Melisandre for obviously being a Jon Snow fangirl by uttering the esteemed Kit Harrington welcome words of, "you know nothing, Jon Snow." He must be sick to death of that by now. No Arya this week, but the other Stark sister, now in Winterfell, was made aware of Littlefinger's plan of attack against both Bolton and Lannister strangleholds of power, something of which sounds good on paper, but is going to take some work to come into practice. One can only hope. 

So another week, another solid Game of Thrones episode, but solid is starting to become quite repetitive in an abstract kind of way, where although GOT is clearly the best thing on the box at this particular moment in time, the series doesn't seem to have the intrigue of those before it. Of course, I may have to eat my own words in the next coming weeks, and for once, I am kind of hoping I have to. Stay strong Game of Thrones. 

Overall Score: 8/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Three "High Sparrow" SPOILER ALERT

Keep Your Friends Close...

 When it comes to weddings, Game of Thrones has a serious knack of putting everyone in the Seven Kingdoms in a serious case of cold feet, with the traditional wonder of marriage now being associated with death, betrayal, and "Look, the pie!". In this weeks' offering however, the ceremonial bonding of  Tyrell and Lannister went without such tragedy (or relief in Joffrey's case) and instead finished with Tommen and Margaery getting it on, something of which was quite an odd thing to comprehend (I mean, what's the age difference?). Aside from Margaery finally becoming Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, her short term in power seems to have gone quickly to the forefront of her mind, abruptly teasing Cersei Lannister about the loss of her title as Queen Regent, whilst making her aware of her sons's newly found sexual prowess. Weird. King's Landing seems to be the place to be at the moment for the soap-like action on Game of Thrones, with Margaery loving life as the new Queen Bee, along with her rather obvious stranglehold over her newly acquired husband, whilst Cersei feels the pressure of a loss of control not only over King's Landing, but her family too. Good to see Jonathan Pryce turn up too as the titular High Sparrow, as the A-List cast on GOT continues to grow. 

Up in the North, Sansa seemed less pleased when offered the chance to marry full-on loony tune Ramsey Bolton, adopted son of traitor Roose, famous for being one of the key instigators behind the Red Wedding, something of which Sansa, and seemingly the rest of the North have kept in mind, yet with Littlefinger at her side all the way, revenge seems to be the key motive in this arrangement. Maybe we shall witness a wedding massacre we can be on the side of this time (I sound crazy). Good to see a flayed man/woman too. Always good to see those. Not. Before his re-appearance, I completely forgot about poor old Reek, who although seems to be completely broken and lost, still hid at the sight of Sansa at Moat Cailin. Was such reluctance to greet his long-lost sister (ish) born out of fear or out of embarrassment? I'm sure we shall see in the near future. Keeping a watchful eye on proceedings in the North was Brienne and Pod, with the latter being given the chance to fight like a Knight via the help of Brienne, who reminisced the first time she met Renly whilst outlining her cause for revenge against Stannis for the death of her long-lost King. 

On the subject of Stannis, the Wall once again proved to be the highlight of the show, where not only did Jon seemingly go easy on Ser Alliser by making him first ranger, but simultaneously became ultimate badass when lopping off Janos Slynt's head despite his last-ditch attempt to cry mercy. Although Jon refused Stannis's offer to become Jon of House Stark, it was made clear by Davos that although on the outside, the one true King is as cold as a December morning in Fraser, Colorado, the admiration for Jon still remains, albeit in the same way it was for Ned (RIP, Mr. Bean) proving to be both a compliment and warning at the same time. In Volantis, Tyrion is still seemingly on the longest holiday trip ever whilst STILL being hounded by Varys about the potential threats upon leaving their most cosy of people carriers. Such advice probably should have been adhered to a bit longer however when Tyrion is captured by friend-zone himself, Jorah Mormont, who obviously hopes to get back in Daenerys' good-books by supplying his new friend to the Queen. It might actually get Tyrion to Daenerys quicker however so I am all for a good kidnapping. Shout out too to the Dragon Queen prostitute. I bet she is making a killing. 

Finally, Arya continued to be slowly but surely tutored by the hands of Jaqen H'ghar, who forced her to dispose of all belongings attributed to Arya Stark, including Needle, who was the subject of tear-moment of the episode. It shows how deep the characterisation is in GOT when you end up weeping at a flippin' sword. So all in all, another solid episode which continues to enhance the storylines of all the key people in the Seven Kingdoms, even without a slight appearance from Daenerys. I'm still waiting for something to happen in Tyrion's storyline but his recent kidnapping should bring that to fruition in the coming weeks. Good to see you again Jorah. 

Overall Score: 8/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode Two "The House of Black and White" SPOILER ALERT

Democracy, Dragons and Death

If Game of Thrones has succeeded in doing anything, it has succeeded in making me excited for Mondays, something of which is a rare and certainly outlawed statement to make, but where else can you go for blood-fueled, dragon infested, incest-ridden entertainment on a Monday night? Answers on a postcard please. This week we are treated to "The House of Black and White", and as you can see from the picture above, Arya's back people, and according to the guests on Sky Atlantic's Thronecast last week, that is something we should all be looking forward to with the Starke-ette having arguably the best storyline of the season. Let's see shall we?

With Arya now in Braavos on the hunt for Jaqen H'gar, mercifully killing pigeons as she goes, "The House of Black and White" didn't exactly wet my appetite when it comes to her story-line, although the return of Hagar was a most welcome sight after a season-length absence. Yet, with the storyline being only in its' first stages yet, I am willing to wait the long game. Arguably the most interesting developments took place in Meereen, where not only did Daenerys see the return of her bad-ass dragon Drogon, looking stupendous as always (CGI is seriously getting better and better) but revolt in action between slaves and masters after a hard, yet justified, decision to execute Mossador after taking the law into his own hands. On his way to Meereen still, is Tyrion, locked in the confines of his travelling bus, accompanied by regular groupie Varys, still moaning about the latters' serious drinking problem. Considering Dinklage is the main man when it comes to Game of Thrones, his storyline so far seems to be taking a while to heat up. But like I said before, I am more than happy to wait. 

In King's Landing, Cersei seems to be partaking in a psychic battle with Tyrion regarding who can drink the most, no surprise really after receiving a gift from Dorne, reminding her of how Myrcella is still in their hands and may become the subject of revenge for the death of Oberyn last season. Such a threat however seemingly died at its' feet when Trystan Martell was introduced to us in Dorne, who refuses to carry out such acts of vengeance, despite being pleaded to by Ellaria Sand. Elsewhere in King's Landing, Jamie once again bowed down to the wishes of Cersei and decided to take "diplomatic action", by visiting Dorne in attempt to rescue Myrcella from any potential harm, although not by himself. Yes, Jerome Flynn. That's right, Bronn is back.

Across into the Eyrie, Pod and Brienne finally catch up with Sansa and Littlefinger, and although Stark-ette two, follows in the footsteps of her sister by refusing Brienne's service, she still vows to fight on and adhere to the vow she made to Catelyn in series three. Good for her. Finally, in a time where election looms and the future of the UK government is ambiguous to say the least, it was good fun to witness Jon Snow become Lord Commander, beating off competition from Ser Alliser, with a little help from Maestor Aemon, who smirked like the rest of us when Sam highlighted to the fact that Janos Slynt hid with the women when the fighting was taking place. Tear-jerk moment of the episode came when Jon was given the opportunity to become a fully-formed Stark by Stannis, although that seemingly has become less of an option with Jon as Lord Commander, but for the short time it was up for consideration, it was a nice touch. For a show so famous for ripping out the hearts of its' fans, this weeks' Game of Thrones, was rather pleasant, with Jon getting the chance to lead his brothers' at the wall, Daenarys being reunited with Drogon, and Arya finally catching up with Jaqen H'gar. I'm pretty sure the good times aren't set to last forever mind, so for now, make the most of it. 

Overall Score: 8/10

TV Review: Game of Thrones - Series 5 Episode One "The Wars to Come" SPOILER ALERT

Return of the King

So here we are at last, TV's most addictive and talked about programme has finally returned for it's fifth series (or season, whatevs), and like the hype before the return of every Game of Thrones series, it is tipped to the be the best one yet. One thing that is certain about this particular return is the series' trip into the unknown, where the show has finally caught up with the books and is now set on overtaking them, meaning readers can stop threatening to spoil everything to the TV viewers, and instead TV viewers can threaten to ruin the lives of those dedicated to the books, who may have to begin tasting sweet, sweet revenge. But myself, as the lay, casual viewer, who stopped reading the A Song of Fire and Ice franchise after book two (University Work prevails) and who is also clever enough to stay off social media to avidly avoid spoilers, Game of Thrones is always a joy to behold, and helps bolster the armory of social subjects that can be talked about whenever, and to whoever. Within this weekly offering therefore, I will be writing SPOILER-FILLED reviews on the latest gossip from Westeros, beginning with the hotly anticipated series premiere, "The Wars to Come." Enjoy.

With the craziness that occurred during the latter stages of Season Four, the first few episodes of Season Five were inevitably going to deal with the aftershocks, especially in regards to the death of Tywin Lannister and Tyrion's subsequent escape, aided by the hand (pun intended) of Jamie and Varys, who now finds himself in Pentos, offering the chance for Tyrion to aid the best suitor for the Iron Throne; Daenerys, who still holds fort in Meereen, and whom is still unable to control her two locked-up dragons. The sequence where Dany attempts to reconcile with them was a highlight of the episode, with it showing that they may be lost to the Mother of Dragons forever, implying that as well as losing her dragons, she may ultimately be losing her power. As Daario perfectly puts it, to Daenerys, "you are not the mother of Unsullied, you are the mother of dragons."

Meanwhile, Littlefinger and Sansa still remain thick as thieves and journey off into the west, away from the Vale, and far away from the grasps of Cersei in Kings' Landing, who after mourning the death of her father is warned by Jamie that trouble might just be catching up on them after all this time. The juiciest section of the premier was undoubtedly at the Wall where Jon Snow was asked by Stannis to reason with Mance Rayder, and to make him bend the knee in order to take back the north from Roose Bolton and co with the help of his now captured wildlings. Game of Thrones is renowned for its' no-holes-barred approached to death and violence, yet painful as it was to watch Mance Rayder burn at the stake for ultimately refusing to surrender his belief, it was relieving to see Jon Snow finish him off quickly, proving unlike many of the characters in Westeros, he still has a heart.

"The Wars to Come" therefore is a strong, if subtle, start to the fifth season of Game of Thrones, mourning in the loss of some major characters from the season previously, whilst attempting to begin threading plot lines for the next 9 episodes, all of which you would expect from a series' premiere. Although activities at the Wall were the most interesting this episode, the arrival of Tyrion in Meereen, and into the hands of Daenerys is something I will be looking forward to in the upcoming weeks. Welcome back. 

Overall Score: 8/10