Another long wait between seasons is over, and Game of Thrones returns to HBO for a fifth season. Some semi-random observations on Season 5 Episode 1: The Wars to Come
1) The season begins with a solid first episode that takes about 15 minutes before we see our first scene of full frontal nudity, and about one-minute later to have someone get killed off (that might not even count – it was just an unknown member of the Unsullied). Typically, the first episode of a season starts to give us some of the emerging plot lines for the rest of the season, and tie up a few loose ends from the previous one.
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2) The most important news from The Wars to Come is that we see the end of Mance Rayder. The King of the Wildlings is presented with two options – submit to King Stannis or get burned alive. Stannis even sends Jon Snow to convince Mance to kneel, if not for his own sake, but to save the thousands of Wildlings who follow him. However, Mance fails to be persuaded, claiming that even if he did surrender, his people would not accept it.
Is Mance Rayder just in a no-win situation, knowing that he would get killed for either choice, or is he just being stubborn and wants to go out heroically defiant? It is interesting to see his reaction to learning that he will be burnt alive – it is something that Mance naturally fears, and there are a few moments where I thought he might change his mind as the flames licked at his feet. In the end he doesn’t have to undergo the pain and humiliation of death by fire, as Jon Snow sends an arrow into his chest. It is another one of those scenes that make Jon one of the best heroes of the show – he acts when all others around him just watch, unafraid of risking the wrath of his superiors, including King Stannis. Why can’t he become the new Lord Commander?
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3) King Stannis’ plan does not seem to be very sound to me – why does he need the Wildlings to help him capture Winterfell and go to war against Roose Bolton? Stannis had just easily defeated the Wildling army in the last episode, yet he thinks so much of them that he is willing to bring them south and give them land in exchange for their help. While I can see a few giants being an asset, Stannis seems to me like a man who thinks he could take out the Boltons all on his own.
4) The best lines of the night go to Tyrion and Varys, who have sailed across the sea to Pentos. While Tyrion is despondent over his situation (“The future is shit, just like the past”), Varys gives him a good pep talk (“I never said you were perfect.”) and convinces him the best course of action is to go to Meereen to support Daenerys. I think if the whole episode was just having those two talking it would be pure joy, but it looks like we will be getting to see them on a roadtrip for at least a good part of this season.
5) Meanwhile, in Meereen we can see that Daenerys is in need of some support. She still seems stuck trying to run her small kingdom, and finding little problems everywhere. Daario Naharis points out that “a dragon queen with no dragons is no queen,” a good reminder that her three dragons are what really give her awe and authority over her subjects. However, Daenerys soon finds that two dragons she locked up are in no mood to be nice to her.
6) I haven’t been much a fan of the Missandei and Grey Worm scenes, and this episode is no exception. I think I was like a lot of people who thought that the Unsullied who got murdered was Grey Worm, but it just was someone who had a vague resemblance to him.
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7) It looks like another road trip is set to begin, with Petyr Baelish and Sansa Stark heading off somewhere after dumping young Lord Arryn off with one of the nobles from the Vale. I’m curious to know where they might be headed, since it seems to me that if they really did want to get away from the Lannisters, it would be best to sail away from Westeros.
8) We get to see a lot of Cersei this episode, including a flashback to 25 years earlier, when a then young Cersei meets a witch and gets her fortune told. This was a nice take on those typical fairy tales where children meet a witch in the woods, but in the hands of George R. R. Martin the story gets to be told darker and with a little oddness to it.
9) Cersei also gets to deliver a strong tongue-lashing to Jaime over his actions, which led to their father’s death. Jaime just stands there and says nothing while she complains about his “stupidity” and failure to “look at the consequences” of freeing Tyrion. The dynamic between Cersei and Jaime is constantly changing, and you really don’t know what will happen between this brother-sister / lovers duo.
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10) This episode ran a little short – just over 50 minutes – but I am beginning to think the show runners prefer to have the episodes run a little short or long instead of having to add in or cut certain scenes. HBO doesn’t seem to mind, and I think these minor deviations from standard television faire also help make the show standout.
Another long wait between seasons is over, and Game of Thrones returns to HBO for a fifth season. Some semi-random observations on Season 5 Episode 1: The Wars to Come
1) The season begins with a solid first episode that takes about 15 minutes before we see our first scene of full frontal nudity, and about one-minute later to have someone get killed off (that might not even count – it was just an unknown member of the Unsullied). Typically, the first episode of a season starts to give us some of the emerging plot lines for the rest of the season, and tie up a few loose ends from the previous one.
2) The most important news from The Wars to Come is that we see the end of Mance Rayder. The King of the Wildlings is presented with two options – submit to King Stannis or get burned alive. Stannis even sends Jon Snow to convince Mance to kneel, if not for his own sake, but to save the thousands of Wildlings who follow him. However, Mance fails to be persuaded, claiming that even if he did surrender, his people would not accept it.
Is Mance Rayder just in a no-win situation, knowing that he would get killed for either choice, or is he just being stubborn and wants to go out heroically defiant? It is interesting to see his reaction to learning that he will be burnt alive – it is something that Mance naturally fears, and there are a few moments where I thought he might change his mind as the flames licked at his feet. In the end he doesn’t have to undergo the pain and humiliation of death by fire, as Jon Snow sends an arrow into his chest. It is another one of those scenes that make Jon one of the best heroes of the show – he acts when all others around him just watch, unafraid of risking the wrath of his superiors, including King Stannis. Why can’t he become the new Lord Commander?
3) King Stannis’ plan does not seem to be very sound to me – why does he need the Wildlings to help him capture Winterfell and go to war against Roose Bolton? Stannis had just easily defeated the Wildling army in the last episode, yet he thinks so much of them that he is willing to bring them south and give them land in exchange for their help. While I can see a few giants being an asset, Stannis seems to me like a man who thinks he could take out the Boltons all on his own.
4) The best lines of the night go to Tyrion and Varys, who have sailed across the sea to Pentos. While Tyrion is despondent over his situation (“The future is shit, just like the past”), Varys gives him a good pep talk (“I never said you were perfect.”) and convinces him the best course of action is to go to Meereen to support Daenerys. I think if the whole episode was just having those two talking it would be pure joy, but it looks like we will be getting to see them on a roadtrip for at least a good part of this season.
5) Meanwhile, in Meereen we can see that Daenerys is in need of some support. She still seems stuck trying to run her small kingdom, and finding little problems everywhere. Daario Naharis points out that “a dragon queen with no dragons is no queen,” a good reminder that her three dragons are what really give her awe and authority over her subjects. However, Daenerys soon finds that two dragons she locked up are in no mood to be nice to her.
6) I haven’t been much a fan of the Missandei and Grey Worm scenes, and this episode is no exception. I think I was like a lot of people who thought that the Unsullied who got murdered was Grey Worm, but it just was someone who had a vague resemblance to him.
7) It looks like another road trip is set to begin, with Petyr Baelish and Sansa Stark heading off somewhere after dumping young Lord Arryn off with one of the nobles from the Vale. I’m curious to know where they might be headed, since it seems to me that if they really did want to get away from the Lannisters, it would be best to sail away from Westeros.
8) We get to see a lot of Cersei this episode, including a flashback to 25 years earlier, when a then young Cersei meets a witch and gets her fortune told. This was a nice take on those typical fairy tales where children meet a witch in the woods, but in the hands of George R. R. Martin the story gets to be told darker and with a little oddness to it.
10) This episode ran a little short – just over 50 minutes – but I am beginning to think the show runners prefer to have the episodes run a little short or long instead of having to add in or cut certain scenes. HBO doesn’t seem to mind, and I think these minor deviations from standard television faire also help make the show standout.
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