Came to 'Game of Thrones' fairly late in the game and due to being so busy the binge-watching was gradual. Have found myself truly loving the show, very quickly becoming one of my favourites. It totally lives up to the hype and not only does it do the brilliant source material justice (a rarity in television) it is on its own merits one of the finest, most addictive and consistently compelling shows in recent years and quality-wise it puts a lot of films in recent years to shame.
'Game of Thrones' first season continues to keep going from strength to strength. There is not a bad episode for me in the first season and, while not quite one of the season's very best episodes like "Winter is Coming" and the previous two episodes, "You Win Or You Die" doesn't disappoint. The overlong, repetitive and gratuitous expositional sex/prostitute scene with Littlefinger is the one drawback to a wonderful episode.
"You Win or You Die" has many scenes that work very well indeed. The final showdown with the Lannisters, the confrontation between Ned and Cersei, Drogo's rant regarding his son and the Iron Throne and Ned's moral dilemma between stubbornness and honourable intentions are particularly good, and Robert's final scene is very movingly written and acted. It was good to see the villainous characters given the spotlight, as it was to see the Dothraki at their most interesting and Khal Drogo emerging as an interesting character.
Visually, "You Win or You Die" looks amazing. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. The visual effects are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.
One cannot talk about "You Win or You Die" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.
It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is once again. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions such as suspenseful tension, poignant pathos and witty humour. As well as being one of the most thematically rich ones of Season 1, the story is paced beautifully, structured with such nuance and attention to coherence, a high emotional level and is done with intelligence, passion and sensitivity.
Helped by the superb character and multi-layered writing throughout, the acting is hard to find fault. There couldn't have been a more perfect choice for Lord Tywin than Charles Dance, while Sean Bean's dignity, Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau's ability to convey so much of the tension between him and Tywin with few lines, Mark Addy's poignancy, Emilia Clarke's expressive understatement, Jason Momoa's steely-eyed intensity and Aidan Gillen's broodiness also stand out greatly.
Overall, with the exception of one scene this is wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox
'Game of Thrones' first season continues to keep going from strength to strength. There is not a bad episode for me in the first season and, while not quite one of the season's very best episodes like "Winter is Coming" and the previous two episodes, "You Win Or You Die" doesn't disappoint. The overlong, repetitive and gratuitous expositional sex/prostitute scene with Littlefinger is the one drawback to a wonderful episode.
"You Win or You Die" has many scenes that work very well indeed. The final showdown with the Lannisters, the confrontation between Ned and Cersei, Drogo's rant regarding his son and the Iron Throne and Ned's moral dilemma between stubbornness and honourable intentions are particularly good, and Robert's final scene is very movingly written and acted. It was good to see the villainous characters given the spotlight, as it was to see the Dothraki at their most interesting and Khal Drogo emerging as an interesting character.
Visually, "You Win or You Die" looks amazing. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. The visual effects are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.
One cannot talk about "You Win or You Die" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.
It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is once again. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions such as suspenseful tension, poignant pathos and witty humour. As well as being one of the most thematically rich ones of Season 1, the story is paced beautifully, structured with such nuance and attention to coherence, a high emotional level and is done with intelligence, passion and sensitivity.
Helped by the superb character and multi-layered writing throughout, the acting is hard to find fault. There couldn't have been a more perfect choice for Lord Tywin than Charles Dance, while Sean Bean's dignity, Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau's ability to convey so much of the tension between him and Tywin with few lines, Mark Addy's poignancy, Emilia Clarke's expressive understatement, Jason Momoa's steely-eyed intensity and Aidan Gillen's broodiness also stand out greatly.
Overall, with the exception of one scene this is wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox