'Walk of Punishment' is quite comfortably the best installment
of the season so far, with a combination of superb writing and
direction, some stellar performances, sparkling dialogue and a palatable
momentum to the narrative working in tandem to keep the viewer on the
edge of his or her seat. It's mightily impressive that David Benioff and
D.B. Weiss not only wrote the episode but directed it too, and that it
didn't feel rushed or lacking at all. These guys deserve more credit
than they get. Anyhow, on to the lavishing of the praise...
First
and foremost, Jamie and Brienne. So beautifully written and acted.
Gwendoline and Nikolaj are just made for these roles; the scene on
horseback is a superb marriage of sarcasm and genuine emotion. And then,
of course, there's the final sequence, which is just a delight from
start to finish, brilliantly portraying the horror of the scenario while
keeping everything on a knife's edge. I'm really enjoying the work of
whomever's playing Noah Locke; he's expertly subtle, which just adds to
his menace. And, of course, we have the hand-chopping... a moment book
readers have been looking forward (or otherwise!) to for some time. And
it doesn't disappoint. Yup, guys, that's his sword hand gone. Pleasant. I
personally loved the segue into the Hold Steady's 'The Bear and the
Maiden Fair' over the end credits but it seems fan reaction is rather
mixed. Some feel it jars. I think it's a great juxtaposition. Each to
his/her own.
Other 10/10 sequences: everything involving Dany.
Her storyline continues to go from strength to strength. Emilia Clarke
is just brilliant in her scene with Kraznys (and, yet again, the actor
portraying him absolutely nails it). Kudos to Iain Glen and, er,
Barristan Selmy for doing a great job with the Rhaegar material too
and let's give some serious props to the actress playing Missandei.
Everyone just hits a home run in these two scenes and does an incredible
job of conveying this horrifyingly brutal slave society. And the walk
of punishment... man oh man, so gruesome. It's the details that make
this scene such a joy to watch: Benioff opens with a wide shot of the
river and the city walls, a really beautiful landscape shot, and then
slowly backs away to reveal the horror being inflicted within its walls.
The contrast just intensifies the reaction. Oh, and while we're on
Astapor, how about the Harpy, eh? That shot was fucking magnificent.
Next
bout of praise: Riverrun. Wonderful to see it in the title sequence
(it's about time!) and just about everything about these scenes was
absolutely top drawer. Some excellent detail in the mise en scene.
They've really done a superb job of bringing Riverrun to life. As
expected, Clive Russell is just a joy to watch as the Blackfish and I
expect him to be a major draw for future episodes (and seasons!) Tobias
Menzies is also great as poor, poor Edmure, who gets something of a
harder time of it than in the novels, but I'm okay with that. It gave
Richard Madden a chance to flex his acting chops as much put-upon Robb
Stark. And then there's the Cat/Blackfish scene, in which Michelle
Fairley puts in her best work in the series to date. A genuinely moving
two minutes of television.
Right... what else? The Small Council
meeting. An exercise in masterful comic timing, the effectiveness of
minimalist writing and the skill of the GoT cast. Everyone is brilliant
in this scene, and it just illustrates the power plays and extent of
Tywin's influence so well. The looks on Varys and Cersei's faces are
absolutely priceless and as usual, Peter Dinklage is just a delight.
Elsewhere, we have some great stuff with Arya and the Brotherhood,
albeit rather fleeting, with touching exchanges with Hot Pie (an example
of something that isn't in the books but is actually really well done)
and of course, cracking dialogue between the Hound and Anguy. There's
Theon's escape, which I don't want to touch on too much for fear of
spoiling things, but suffice to say, I like where this is going and that
they haven't toned down the brutality too much, and a nice glimpse of
Stannis and Melisandre. There are some who have objected to Stannis's
portrayal as out of sorts with the novels here but I don't agree. He's
desperate and he's clinging to the only possibility he sees for victory.
It would appear, though, that his strand is going to be season three's
Arya/Dany season two, in that it will move away significantly from the
novels. To be fair, I think this is no bad thing; Stannis doesn't
actually get all that much to do in part one of ASOS and if they're
doing what I think they're doing with this story, I reckon it'll make
for some cracking TV (the clue is in Mel's comment that 'there are
others with your blood in their veins' (or words to that effect)).
The
only negative, I felt, was the whole 'Pod gets laid' sequence which,
while setting up some important narrative stands in the dialogue (the
Iron Bank of Braavos, Tyrion being made Master of Coin), felt somewhat
gratuitous and unnecessary. Oh! I forgot some more positives: Jon/Mance
was nice (especially "I'm going to light the biggest fire the North has
ever seen!") but what about the Craster's Keep stuff, huh? Some
beautiful, beautiful direction there. Cracking dialogue again (Craster
is deliciously vicious) and wonderfully subtle script decisions that add
a shit tonne to the scene: the reveal of the gender of Gilly's baby and
the subsequent horror (show, don't tell), Craster being able to sense
that this is a very different Night's Watch to the one who visited
him last season etc. Just great, great stuff. So yeah, a solid 9/10
(with half taken off for Pod). Very encouraging. Cannot wait for next week - guys, I reckon we're in for some big moments if the novels are any guide. So stoked!
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