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Game of Thrones: Dragonstone (2017)
The Calm Before The Storm (SPOILERS ALL)
"Dany in Westeros makes Game of Thrones a new show."
That was a direct quote from writer Bryan Cogman in an interview with EW, and his words could not be any more true. From the get-go, something feels different about this episode of Game of Thrones, and it took me a while to put my finger on it. In fact, I'm still not sure I have my finger on it. This jarring change could probably be credited to the fact that this episode is shot like a movie, blocked like a movie, and paced like a movie (or at least the first hour of one). It takes a while to get used to this change in format, making the 59 minute episode feel a bit odd in the stomach.
Despite that minor gripe, however, Game of Thrones' return to television is worthy of the long, long wait that preceded it.
Some could be disappointed that the premiere isn't as explosive as the trailer footage would lead you to believe, but any smart individual should expect a more subdued episode to start off the season. There's a lot of talking in this episode, a lot of shuffling pieces across the board. It's the calm before the storm, and, lucky for us, the calm is just as interesting as the storm.
Our time with the Hound and the Brotherhood this episode proof of that sentiment, showing that this series excels in character moments above all. Ever since he was nursed back to health by Ian McShane, the Hound has slowly become a changed man. Still retaining his dry and cynical humor, yes, but a changed man nonetheless. And through the deceased farmer and daughter whom he wronged back in Season 4 (whose manners of death were particularly heartbreaking), the changes he is going through are only exasperated. The Hound of seasons past would never have felt too bad about their deaths. The Hound of seasons past would never have dug their graves in the dead of a winter's night. And the Hound of seasons past would certainly not have dared to stare into the flames, the first step in him hopefully overcoming his fear of fire – and by thematic extension, overcoming the darker shades of his moral compass.
Back at Winterfell, the rift between Sansa and Jon continues to grow – and with very little assistance from Littlefinger. Despite understanding Sansa's intentions and frame of mind, I have to side with Jon on this one. To strip the Karstarks and the Umbers of their lands and titles would not help in the slightest against the war against the Walkers, and publicly questioning the decisions of the King in the North is in no way a smart or respectful way to convince the King in the North of anything. Seriously
that was way out of line, Sansa.
Sansa and Jon better make up rather than break up, because wrath is raining down on them from the north and the south, and in the south, Cersei rules from the Iron Throne – with the potential backing of Euron Greyjoy. (While on the subject of Euron, I feel the need to say that his costume makes him look like a washed-up member of a post-punk British band.)
But the Queen has more pressing matters at hand, what with a majority of her 'seven' kingdoms rising up against her and her relationship with Jaime becoming more troubled by the minute. I'm glad that the show didn't have Jaime immediately abandon Cersei, seeing as she's the love of his life and all. But the cogs are definitely turning in Jaime's head. You can see it when they talk about Tommen, about Euron – about a majority of everything, really. He's growing disillusioned with Cersei, and perhaps the Kingslayer will become the Queenslayer.
But if Jaime won't eventually kill Cersei, Arya definitely will. Arya completing her vengeance on House Frey was the real highlight of the night. The best of the show's very few cold opens, the scene started off as a headscratcher. How is Walder Frey still alive? Is this a flashback? And as the truth slowly dawned on the audience, the tension and pacing of the scene ratcheted up, David Bradley's magnificent performance grew more and more intense, and the excitement climaxed as Arya pulled off her mask while the Frey sons toppled to the floor.
But on a technical level, Arya's revenge has some fierce competition. The montage of Sam's life at the Citadel is an editing masterpiece, one that brought a little smile to my face despite it dealing with inordinate amounts of poop. I have a soft spot for quick-cut montages like that, and the scene really filled the Better Call Saul-shaped hole in my heart.
Daenerys didn't make as much of a showing as many would assume. She and her crew are squared off to the final five minutes of the episode, where Daenerys has an emotional return to her place of birth. The writers make the most of this landmark landfall in an incredibly inventive way – not a word is spoken. As Dany and her advisers open the gates, climb the steps, tear down the Baratheon banners, admire the throne room, and enter the chamber of the Painted Table, no one says a word. Not until Daenerys reaches the end of the table does she utter the words that ring through the end credits: "Shall we begin."
And with an ending as great as that, I say, "Yes. Yes, we shall."
The Walking Dead: Rock in the Road (2017)
'Rock In The Road' is a return to form for a show in struggle
'Rock In The Road' marks the return of The Walking Dead after it's winter break, and offers a great deal of hope regarding the future of the show. The first half of Season 7 was, for the most part, dull, meandering, and miserable. The entirety of those 8 episodes could have easily been fit into 5 - hell, there are whole episodes that didn't need to exist.
But with 'Rock In The Road', the show is hopefully changing course. Although the episode mostly consisted of Rick and his group going from community to community, trying and failing to convince everyone to join them in their fight against Negan, 'Rock In The Road' felt tighter, and seemed like the show was actually building towards something. It can be compared to the early-season episodes of Game of Thrones, where each scene is a purposeful move of a chess piece, the payoff of which will almost always be of epic proportions. Granted, the show can squander it all by returning to it's usual, meandering ways, but it is worth pointing out the feeling of momentum in 'Rock In The Road'.
The dark, dreary tone of Season 7A has been replaced with a more thrilling, fun sort of feel - it even ends with a shot of Rick grinning! About half-way through the episode, there's a fantastic action sequence where the group retrieves explosives from a walker trap set by the Saviors. It might be a dumb, pop-corny sort of set piece, but it was riveting to watch nonetheless - and it's always enjoyable to see the Walkers actually pose a danger to the group. But despite how enjoyable the scene was, it felt like it was just thrown in to give the episode an action sequence. While the dynamite will probably play a role in future episodes, the scene didn't contribute to the immediate plot and wasn't mentioned at all afterward.
The episode also felt very sporadic and all over the place at times, mostly due to the sheer amount of places the core group visited. They're at the Hilltop, now they're at the Kingdom, now they're on the outskirts of the Sanctuary, now they're at Alexandria. It's a lot to fit into 50 minutes, and the pacing was very rushed at certain points in the episode.
Other weakness of 'Rock In The Road' have less to do with the episode, and more of the show as a whole. Dialogue is one place where the Walking Dead can struggle. The show has had no shortage of awesome lines and fantastic exchanges, but there are many instances of the dialogue feeling forced, or just downright stilted and unnatural. For instance, the titular 'Rock In The Road' speech had the potential to be this rousing, inspiring oration, but mostly came off as a semi-desperate ramble said in the hopes of recruiting Ezekiel.
But all that rabble might have been for nothing, as the episode ends with the introduction of yet another community. While the scene ended with that nice shot of Rick grinning like an idiot, the rest of it was just infuriating. The show already has enough characters, many of which don't receive nearly enough screen time, so why introduce a completely different community? Yes, Rick's group needs a source of manpower and weapons in order to defeat Negan. But the writers should have made the Kingdom posses more manpower and weapons, rather than introduce a THIRD community (not including Alexandria or the Sanctuary).
Despite the gaping flaws of the episode, 'Rock In The Road' was something of a return to form for the Walking Dead after a middling first-half of the season. Here's hoping the show will continue this upward trend, and not fall back into the same-old, same-old.
STRAY COMMENTS - It's great to see most of the group back together again. - That steel-wire gag was ridiculous and awesome at the same time. - Assuming Gabriel was taking all those supplies to hide them from the Saviors, it's great to see his character grow and transform. - The show needs to stop with the jangly-guitar music whenever the Kingdom is shown. It doesn't work.
FINAL SCORE: 8.2/10