Game of Thrones, Season 5 Episode 1 – “The Wars to Come”
by Jessica Grey
*sings*
“At laaaaast
My show has come back on
My Iron Throne-less days are over
But Ned Stark’s head is still goooone…”
Okay, you got me: I’m no lyricist. But I am very excited about the return of Game of Thrones! After the long, cold winter of waiting to see how the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros would be affected by the twists and turns of last season, hearing the first notes of the iconic theme song was like stepping into the light of the Seven.
The first episode was a bit slower than the last few exciting episodes of season 4, but the focus was to lay down the groundwork for the action and political maneuvering to come. In this episode, we see Cersei and Jaime in the wake of Lord Tywin’s death. Tyrion and Varys are across the Narrow Sea in Pentos, and we are reacquainted with the constantly mounting tension on The Wall, ever complicated by Stannis Baratheon’s presence. We see Sansa and Littlefinger leaving the Vale toward an as of yet unknown destination, we witness the end of the King Beyond the Wall, and we see Daenerys still trying to establish her power in Mereen. Also, dragons! We finally get to see the dragons again. Well, two of them – but, like Meatloaf says, “two out of three ain’t bad.” They are not very happy dragons, but YAY DRAGONS!
What I loved:
-I mentioned the dragons, right?
-Margaery interrupting her brother’s romantic interlude and then clearly checking out his lover. Natalie Dormer’s facial expressions are just gold.
-Seeing the ways in which Sansa Stark and Jon Snow are continuing to come into their own.
-Tyrion. Even when he’s in self-pity mode, his wit is just on-point.
What could have been better:
I don’t know that there are many ways this episode could have been improved upon without sacrificing some of the details about the current state of things on either side of the Narrow Sea, many of which I am sure will be quite important as the season progresses. That said, I know that more than a few fans have been very anxious to take a peek at Dorne, home of our dearly departed Oberyn Martell. Unfortunately, we must continue to wait a bit longer.
What I am looking forward to:
I cannot wait to catch up with Arya, and I am very excited to see Dorne! And, as the title of this episode suggests, there are soon to be more clashes throughout the Seven Kingdoms that will surely add rungs to the ladder that is chaos.
Best lines:
“You have many admirable qualities. Self-pity is not one of them.” – Varys
“I am not a politician. I am a queen.” – Daenerys
“The freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted.” – Mance Rayder
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