Game of Thrones ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ review
You’d best get your notebooks out, because this episode contains a lot of talking. Much like last weeks episode, the entire hour long run time is composed of various scenes of characters making their peace with one another, or setting the stage for a continued rivalry.
There’s even less violence than last weeks ultra-tame episode, and at times it feels difficult to keep track of who’s due to have a conversation with who. In fact, the most violent part of the episode is an anonymous peasant woman being trained with a dragonglass spear in the background to one discussion. This episode also contains the first and only scene where two women are left alone in a dark room in Winterfell to have a conversation. While this is a welcome relief from two or more men doing so, the fact that it’s taken a third of the season for it to happen is a little disappointing.
There’s even less violence than last weeks ultra-tame episode
However, while the endless discussion in gloomy rooms and occasionally the gloomy crypt and the gloomy Godswood does leave you wishing for the Night King to turn up and cull a few characters, the later parts of the episode are undeniably good. With the Night King’s arrival imminent, the characters enjoy their last night before the arrival of the undead horde, and the atmosphere of underlying tension helps to relieve some of the repetitiveness of the earlier part of the episode. The sight of our favourite characters enjoying what could be their last night alive together is an enjoyable one. Significant steps are also made towards resolving the true main plotline of the show: the weird sexual tension triangle between Tormund Giantsbane, Brienne of Tarth and Jaime Lannister.
The sight of our favourite characters enjoying what could be their last night alive together is an enjoyable one
Game of Thrones has been criticised in recent seasons for allowing characters to survive increasingly improbable situations, straying away from the core message of earlier seasons that nobody was safe. With the Night King and his army of the dead fast approaching, next weeks episode has the chance to demonstrate that Game of Thrones has not gone soft. By the time the sun comes up, any number of beloved characters could be dead.
The past two episodes have done a good job of reminding us who everyone is, and some characters have had excellent development scenes. While this does mean that the emotional punch when some of them eventually die will be all the greater, we’re a third of the way through the series and nothing much has happened yet. Hopefully that will all change next week.
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