Proving last week’s stellar season opener wasn’t a fluke, “I Found You” is an excellent follow-up episode. Despite the supernatural nature of the show, True Blood’s final season is unfolding with a heavy dose of realism–the actions and emotions of the characters are right on point, and even the brief touches of humor feel natural and earned among so much horror and dread.
When it comes to a show as thoroughly and consistently shocking as Game of Thrones, it’s easy to feel like we’ve already seen it all and that eventually there’s going to be a dip in the steady level of quality. Yet somehow showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss continue to wow their viewers again and again. On the heels of last weeks all out action spectacle, the audience might have expected a quieter more subdued episode in the vein of previous season finales. In that regard our expectations were properly set and toppled with enough major game-changers occurring in “The Children” to fill an entire season.
Game of Thrones, Season 4, Episode 9: “The Watchers on the Wall” Directed by Neil Marshall Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO It is a Game of Thrones tradition that episode nine, the penultimate episode of each season, has been the crown jewel. Season one saw Ned …
As Meyer’s presidential campaign suffers setbacks, her political career receives an unexpected boost, leading to varying reactions from her staff in a strong finish to the season.
Game of Thrones, Season 4, Episode 8: “The Mountain and the Viper” Directed by Alex Graves Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Let’s begin with Molestown. The opening sequence is bound to be overlooked by the 45 minutes which follows, but the sequence is noteworthy for several …
Meyer faces off against the other presidential candidates, giving Amy her first test as campaign manager in an entertaining outing that further illustrates the destructive pressure of the campaign.
Dan’s ongoing stress issues comes to the fore once again as Meyer and her campaign team go to the UK to fulfill her vice-presidential obligations, in a compelling yet funny episode that leads to some major shakeups.
“Mockingbird” isn’t as well structured as all previous episodes of Season 4, but the episode named after House Baelish’s emblem, marches along with considerably more assurance and smoothness than most anything else found on television. There are several excellent moments here – enough to hold us over for two weeks (Game of Thrones is taking Memorial Day weekend off).
Meyer’s campaign team scrambles to correct numerous issues as Selina has a minor fling and a second encounter with a Finnish ex-head of state in an entertaining episode
Mike and Gary both face personal troubles that impede their job performance, as Meyer gains new contempt for her team in a compelling episode.
“First of His Name” directly refers to Tommen, as the episode opens at his coronation. It doesn’t take long before we get a new King sitting on the Iron Throne, and judging by the conversation Cersei has with Margery, it doesn’t take long to realize one of the episode’s major themes: In “First of His Name,” the show places a focus on how several characters come to understand and accepting the roles they are required to play. “First Of His Name” brings the fourth season of Game Of Thrones to its midpoint, and leaves viewers questioning just how much power The Lannisters actually hold.
Dan gets back into form as he manages to manipulate Jonah, while Amy gets a glimpse of her value should she ever decide to leave Meyer’s staff in another superbly funny outing of what’s shaping up to be a fine season.
Let’s begin in the south, where Daenerys’ army grows ever larger. Turns out catapulting broken chains over the walls of Meereen didn’t exactly spark an outright rebellion, so Grey Worm and the Unsullied go undercover, sneak into Meereen to bring the slaves an assortment of weapons to help incite an uprising. It’s great to kick things off where last week’s “Breaker of Chains” ended, but how disappointing is it that once again, we are denied any sort of intricate battle? All we get to see is three masters trapped in an alley, and a Targaryen banner perched atop a high tower, and that’s about it. In return for the 163 children that were nailed to posts along the desert path to Meereen, Dany shows no mercy, and goes against Ser Barristan’s advice to answer injustice with justice – a decision we can assume will come back and bite her in the ass.
Meyer formally begins her presidential run with some unhappy concessions in an excellent episode that pushes Dan further towards a nervous breakdown.
Unlike the disappointing post-Red Wedding episode last year, “Breaker of Chains” is a fluid episode, full of conspiracy, double crossing, and plenty to talk about. In dealing with the direct aftermath of King Joffrey’s untimely death, “Breaker of Chains” focusses heavily on loyalty, with just about everyone questioning who they can trust after an event like The Purple Wedding. The episode does a superb job of acknowledging the big picture, while focusing specifically on moving secondary characters forward emotionally.
As Meyer and her group make the first moves in her presidential campaign, the staff scrambles to establish Selina’s position on a major issue, in an insightful yet funny episode.
It would be an insult to say the “The Lion and the Rose” merely lives up to its hype; it utterly destroys the meaning of hype. Alex Graves directs an extraordinary instalment, grandly conceived, brilliantly executed and incredibly entertaining. It has passion, raw emotion, true terror, and a palpable sense of evil. Despite knowing George R. R. Martin insists on ending each wedding with a gruesome death, as a non-book reader, I was shocked with the end result. It’s also worth mentioning that Martin himself wrote this particular episode, only the third after “Blackwater” and “The Bear and the Maiden Fair.” This time around, he’s given us a royal wedding and and in doing so, kills King Joffrey, His grace, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. Martin’s teleplays are so well structured, constantly subverting fantasy tropes and switching things up, I can’t help but wish he wrote more.
“Two Swords” isn’t necessarily the most explosive season opener, but it is smartly bookended around two blades belonging to the Starks, beginning on the death of Ice and ending on the resurrection of Needle; the title, of course, evidently refers to the pair of blades Tywin has forged from Ned Stark’s enormous Valyrian steel sword. Ned Stark’s most prized weapon (and also the sword that took his head), Ice is melted down into two smaller blades, with one of them given to Jaime Lannister, now without his fighting hand. The mythology surrounding Valyrian steel is interesting in itself: it’s nearly indestructible and Ice is an heirloom that has been in the Stark family for four centuries.
Certain characters undergo major shakeups as the third season of Veep sets off a new path for Selina Meyer and her staff, in a hilarious episode.
Looking’s season finale ends where it all began, with Patrick and Richie living together as roommates, watching The Golden Girls on their laptop in bed. For a relationship that has been framed as the central one of the show, the writers seem not to be very interested in it. Patrick’s season long arc was to get himself into a half-hearted love triangle with a hot British videogame designer and an even hotter Mexican barber. Agustín spent most of the season moping around and being casually racist before being brutally dumped by a blank slate of a character whom I’ve just now learned is named Frank. It would have really served the show to focus just one episode on Patrick and Agustín’s friendship, if that is the relationship the viewers are ultimately supposed to be invested in.
Rust and Marty close in on the man with the scars, revealing their true natures and how they’ve changed in the process, in a strong finish to an excellent first season.
The investigation into the murder of Dora Lang and similar cases moves completely into 2012, as the viewers learn how time has changed Rust and Marty.
After two promising episodes in a row, “Looking for a Plus-One” reverts back to some of the most egregious problems of previous weeks. The central event of this installment is Patrick’s sister’s wedding. Weddings are often petri dishes for latent resentments and issues families have with one another. Unfortunately, we get little insight into the specifics of Patrick’s family and his relationship with his parents and sister.