TV

I worry that we’re entering the “flashback to the reason Jack has tattoos” phase of Game of Thrones.

So, for context, the last geeky, extremely serial adventure series that I watched obsessively every week and got really into was Lost. I loved Lost. The first podcast I ever listened to was the official Lost podcast. I was active on forums, I scoured wiki pages, I tried to suss out the mysteries. Lost was my jam.

But Lost, after two pretty solid first seasons, was starting to lose its way in Season 3, you could feel it. The single-character-centric flashback conceit that had defined the show was clearly running out of new and meaningful stories to tell about these by now well-defined characters. A bunch of new story threads and characters were being introduced. It became hard not to ask: “where is this all going?” Continue reading →

Better late than never!

The Great Sept is back to recap “Home,” the second episode of the sixth season of Game of Thrones.

Where the first episode was a pretty middling affair establishing where everyone is for the start of the season, this one was a little more all over the map, both geographically and in terms of quality. It has some excellent things in it which I liked a lot (including how they paid off the episode’s big final reveal), but also has several scenes which I found pretty weak, and one moment that I think is the worst scene Game of Thrones has had, possibly ever. Continue reading →

Once more into the fray!

After last year recapping (most of) season 5, I’m back to recap Season Six. Thanks to friends who have encouraged me on this. It’s a project I really enjoy.

Season Six begins with an episode not unlike previous season premieres: essentially a more detailed version of the show’s opening animation, showing us where all the various pieces are on the board following the events of the previous finale.

In performing that function, it succeeds. In getting me excited about what’s to come..? Eh. There’s always next week.

Let’s get to it, deconstructing “The Red Woman.” Continue reading →

We’re back from our hiatus!

I was on vacation all of last week, and then spent most of this week getting caught up on work. But it’s here, we’re back, and hooray!

This week’s episode, “The Gift,” is one of the better episodes in what has so far been a very good season of Game of Thrones. But despite the consistent quality, this episode (and the non-recapped one before it) has me starting to get a little bit restless with the show.

I explain, below the jump: Continue reading →

A handful of main storylines go under the microscope for this week’s episode as we reach the halfway point in this season of Game of Thrones.

“Kill the Boy” isn’t the most dynamic or exciting of episodes the show has ever done. But it is one of the most interesting, and frequently one of the most tense. I was simultaneously miserable with dread and enjoying the hell out of it.

Spoilers follow for “Kill the Boy”: Continue reading →

At about 48 minutes from opening credits to closing ones, “Sons of the Harpy” is one of the shorter episodes Game of Thrones has ever had.

It is also, despite its runtime, perhaps the slowest episode of the season. And probably my least favorite.

Not that it’s bad – even the worst episodes of Game of Thrones are generally leaps and bounds better than most things on TV – but it just isn’t the strongest, and coming on the tails of several very good episodes, it stands out as particularly weak.

Spoilers for “Sons of the Harpy” follow after the jump. Continue reading →

After an episode in which most of our characters were regrouping after the cataclysms of Season 4, the second episode of this season, “The House of Black and White,” starts moving the pieces around the game board and setting up the conflicts for the season ahead.

The result is a more dynamic episode than last week’s, and a solid one, if perhaps not a particularly memorable one.

As always, spoilers for those who haven’t seen this week’s Game of Thrones follow below the jump. Continue reading →