The Kingsroad

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.

This is the second episode of the first season of Game of Thrones. It is a great follow-up to the pilot of the Game of Thrones. We can tell right away that the show does not have a problem being controversial, and there is yet another controversial happenstance in this episode. That being said, it's a quieter, more reflective episode, but that doesn't stop the show from being excellent. The ending is fantastic and kind of sad.

In this episode, "The Kingsroad," Ned Stark takes his daughters with him to Kings Landing where it's agreed that Sansa will marry Prince Joffey. Trouble arises when Arya's pet wolf attacks Joffey. Meanwhile, Bran is unconscious from his fall and little hope remains about his recovery. Jon Snow travels with his uncle to the Wall. Finally, Daenerys is having trouble pleasing her new husband, the warlord Khal Drogo.

Overall, this is an excellent episode. The technical side of the series remain a high point. I really enjoyed the story throughout. It started slow, but picked up steam towards the end. The ending was quite a shocker. But after the first two episodes, consider me hooked.

My Grade: A

Dead or alive ? The question shameful viewers like me, because we haven't read the novel yet, had in their mind for a week after the pilot tragic events. It was answered right after the fantastic title sequence that smooths the immersion process dramatically. At the start your mind is still thinking about your day but once the episode begins it has entered a medieval realm one can only be reluctant to leave.

Indeed all parallel stories have potential and despite their slow pace even an impatient wouldn't leave its seat for a second. Indeed on the Stark and Lannister side the boy's accident has unveiled the true nature of some characters like Cersei (Lena Headey), a Queen gnawed by anger, and Jaime (Nikolaj Coaster-Walday), the white knight a damsel in distress would regret to be rescued by. To tell the truth in Winter is Coming I had no idea they were related because I just couldn't keep up with all the names and locations. But when watching becomes nearly as demanding as reading then you know the adaptation was respectful of its source material. Still even if all these webby connections between players, because chess is a great metaphora of life, are exciting I hope their profiles are not as Manichaean as they seem. Hopefully we should know why some love while others hate. Otherwise I have no doubt about Arya Stark, the little girl vigorously played by Maisie Williams, and her mother Catelyn. Michelle Fairley revealed a palette of extreme emotions that forged her scenes like blades of steel. As for her daughter you really have to see her play with the gift one of her brothers offered her. If it had been Chucky it would have either fall in love with her or worry about its life because when Arya is angry, well she seems as dangerous as an innocent clown piranha about to have its midnight breakfast.

Juggling is both an entertaining and interesting medieval craft but now the mysterious and worried Daenerys Targaryen has convinced me to throw dragon eggs in the mix. Emilia Clarke gave a seductive performance and I like the way her whiteness contrasts with her tribal husband. Harry Lloyd's appearances as her wicked brother Viserys are rare but percussive. Will he get his crown back ? Will she free herself from him ? In fact does she even want to ? There's almost something mystical about their story and I wonder if she has other resources to survive than her exquisite shapes. But between two shy glimpses at her royal hips I also strongly recommend the audience to pay attention to the dialogs because this time they were heavy on mythology. Where do the dragons come from ? What do the fields represent for the Dothraki people ? Similar questions could also be raised considering the Stark side as some friendly battle between the bastard and the dwarf occurred in the woods. It should even make you question what happened at the very beginning of the pilot even if I have no doubt about it…

Other gems include the Dothraki language, specially developed for the show – very Tolkienian, an almost sapphic kamasutra lesson – can't wait the next, and an ongoing investigation about the boy's fall. But this short list, compared to the installment diversity and greatness, would be even more incomplete if one word wasn't added : Wolf. Indeed the story was wild every which way. What a thrilling way to use these majestuous and savage hunters ! They actually reminded me of White Fang (Jack London) and I wonder how they see things from their point of view. Wouldn't it be dazzling to actually film a scene from there ? So let's hope the other directors and minds behind the show will surprise us with their creativity. All in all it was an other awards magnet and if the end doesn't electrify you well I don't know what will !

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

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