The Kingsroad

The second episode of Game of Thrones builds nicely on the excellent opening. Looking at it now it is moving to see characters saying farewells as they go on journeys from which we know some will not return for a long time, if ever. We see the Starks starting to split up to follow different paths with Jon Snow riding off to 'take the black' and Ned riding to King's Landing.

Acting is brilliant across the whole cast and the very well written dialogue is intelligently supporting the intriguing plot. At this point the show is not quite up to top speed but is establishing itself with incredibly high standards.

One grumble I have with the transition from episode 1 to this episode is that when Bran's direwolf Summer is shown, the animal is strikingly large when at the end of episode 1 it was still a very small pup. It is established that only a few weeks has passed between these two points so even for a fast growing direwolf in a fantasy setting it seems jarringly improbable that it could have grown so much in such a short time. An avoidable lapse in internal logic perhaps but not a major one and really that fault lies with the first episode not this episode. Within this episode there is no issue.

On the plus side the plot moves on well increasing the level of interest for a new viewer. This episode also starts to establish Daenerys' character (Emilia Clarke) strongly with her showing some strength and drive. The star of this episode is probably Jack Gleeson's Joffrey though. His brilliantly slimy, cocky and nasty little turd of a Prince is wonderfully brought to the fore in a scene where Arya's direwolf bites him. This also leads to some moving scenes as well as letting Maisie Williams as Arya show that she too is a real little star. Mark Addy and Sean Bean play the father figures with aplomb and Lena Headey as Cersei is already a manipulative bitch Queen.

9/10

This episode was a worthy successor to the iconic pilot! Its still thrilling, engaging, and we got to see more characters reveal their true colors and intentions!

I always appreciate the characterwork in ghe early seasons, and how with some clever dialogue and writting, you get an idea of the complexity of this world!

This episode further establishes the Lannisters as the antagonists, as you really start to hate them, most notably Joffrey and Cersei who didn't do much in the pilot, but really starts to show who they are in this episode!

I also enjoyed the stuff with Danerys who starts to realize, that she should play the situation into her own favor!

The last shot was iconic and makes you wanna keep watching!

The Wall. And the Dothraki. And Nedd Stark as the Head of the King. And the nuances of a familiar story who is so far by you , being part from you. An episode about power and sacrifice, in which the delicacy of Daenerys and the greed of her brother are basic pillars to define a cruel, savage and , in bizarre way, Medieval world.

Kit Harrington, Peter Dinklage, Maisie Williams, Sean Bean and Jack Gleason I salute you.

In the second episode of Game Of Thrones, there is a bit more fleshing out of the characters but the pacing is still quite quick though. And whilst it was not as enjoyable as the first episode, it's still a good episode.

On the whole, it's a pretty depressing episode, with most of the characters being very unhappy.

There are a few scenes that I particularly liked,

The first one featuring Jon Snow and Arya Stark. This episode is the first to really give Maisie Williams as Arya really decent scenes, and she does wonderfully, she is very cute and endearing in the scene with Jon, and then later she is brave and feisty during her confrontation with Prince Joffery. One with Tyrion and Jon en route to The Wall, and again one featuring Jon. This time with Caitelyn by Brandon's bedside. I do need to praise Michelle Fairley, because her acting in these scenes is very good. As he is pivotal to three of my favourite scenes I need to add Kit Harrington is doing an awesome job as the bastard Jon Snow. As is Peter Dinklage, he simply steals every scene that he is in.

This is the first time, I have found myself liking a character played by Sean Bean. He is not someone whose work I have ever enjoyed, but his vulnerability as a noble Ned Stark who's prepared to do what he must (albeit with a heavy heart) is one I am particularly taken with. Jack Gleason deserves special praise too, as he simply makes you despise Prince Joffery.

And the final moment? Once again I needed to watch the next episode straight away

Soundtrack : (8.9/10) Dialogue : (9.5/10) Story : (9.1/10) Cinematography : (9.1/10) Character development : (9.8/10) Conflict : (9/10) Excitement : (8.8/10) Reasonableness : (9.6/10) Overall : (9.2/10)

Pros:

• more interesting relationships between characters ex: (Jon and Robb, Jon and Arya, Jorah and Daenerys, Jon and Ned, Tyrion and Joffrey etc...)

• more loving/hating characters

• more background stories of the characters

• action in the ending with strict decisions that plays with the audience's emotion

• a great hangcliff

Cons

• the same-slow pacing which can be a bit boring to some people

• complex stories in a short period which results in some difficulties in understanding the whole story.