Finally after many cold months at the foot of The Wall, HBO’s hallmark production Game of Thrones returns, and it presents itself back to its international cavalcade of fans in truly spectacular style. The opening episode of Season 4 is one deeply rooted in family politics; be they marital, congressional or merely vengeful. One thing is for certain however – no other show quite delivers heavy-dialogue drama in such an entertaining and entrancing manner.
As audiences are welcomed back to Westeros, clearly the mood is still uneasy and many of its inhabitants continue to reel in the aftermath of the Stark slaughter. Lady Sansa (Sophie Turner) has become somewhat of a recluse since the events which almost vaporised her family, refusing to eat or partake in formal affairs. She even struggles to communicate with her ‘husband’ Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) who endeavours to comfort her in a handful of ways whilst dealing with the arrival of the infamous Price Oberyn (Pedro Pascal) of House Martell who arrives in King’s Landing to attend King Joffrey’s (Jack Gleeson) wedding which will see the joining of the Baratheon-Lannisters and the Tyrells.
Oberyn has a personal settle to score and proclaims “the Lannisters aren’t the only ones to pay their debts”; he plans to destroy the famed name at Casterly Rock after the butchering of his beloved niece and nephew, and the rape and murder of his dear sister Elia Targaryen at the wicked hands of Ser Gregor Clegane. More goings-on at King’s Landing include the particularly unwelcome return of Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) who is presented with an almighty new sword by his father and Hand of the King Tywin (Charles Dance) for use in his remaining single hand. A shiny and delicately detailed metal hand is attached to his wounds with little impress from the ‘Kingslayer’. Cersei (Lena Headey) isn’t joyful at his arrival either; he took too long to get back to her and left her isolated so their incestuous affairs may be stilted for the foreseeable future.
After Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) leaves Ygritte (Rose Leslie), she and Tormund are busy discussing his betrayal to her and the Night’s Watch as he flees The Wall and returns home to Winterfell. Their sharing of opinions is abruptly seized however by the arrival of Styr and his army of cannibalistic soldiers, the Thenn. Despite leaving his post, Snow isn’t out of the dark just yet and has to go in front of a council of brothers at Castle Black to determine his fate; the punishment for treason is not something taken too lightly in any kingdom or region in Westeros…
‘Mother of Dragons’ Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) has her work cut out too as she struggles to tame her famed flame-throwers who are becoming more radical and dangerous as they grow. Now she has enlisted her new army, it seems her authorities mixed with her placid good nature makes her rather desirable. Daario (Michiel Huisman replacing Ed Skrein); member of the Second Sons who aided Kaleesi in her victory over Yunkai clearly wants to make his romantic intentions apparent. She may be a soft touch aesthetically, but her calm exterior is merely a façade for the strong-willed woman after her rightful throne. Whether something further will blossom will be greatly interesting to watch unfold.
With such an expansive world and a plethora of characters, showrunners David Benioff and D.B Weiss have a mammoth task on their hands at getting each family story across without neglecting particular locations or fellow identities. Smartly, the focus for Two Swords is on the show’s principal personas; the ones which keep audiences returning and new viewers arriving. Here we get the trademark wit of Tyrion and Bronn (Jerome Flynn), the empowering nature of Daenerys and the complex smut behind the closed doors and gardens of King’s Landing. However, the episode’s highlight comes at the hands of the best of the remaining Starks; Arya (Maisie Williams) and her reluctant protector The Hound (Rory McCann).
Journeying across country, the pair stumble upon a tavern which is housing an old foe who murdered her friend and took her pointy sword ‘Needle’. The Hound begins a strong verbal exchange with those inside which soon erupts into a savage battle; six on one in fact. Arya hides and watches in feared amazement as The Hound stabs, slices and punches his wave through waves of goons, but soon she is called into action and helps her protector at the last breath moment. She reclaims her prized sword in quite spectacular fashion.
Throughout Season 3; particularly in regard to The Red Wedding, the Starks have been on the receiving end of their fair share of heartache and defeat. It is great to see the best of the remaining bunch claim some form of victory and enter this fourth season with moderately high sprits given that her father, mother, brother and aunt have all been placed six feet under. Game of Thrones makes its comeback with truly fine style here; the hour is littered with tension and heft, humour and surprises, and of course, the trademark grit which mixes beauty and brutality almost seamlessly. It is a fair guess that the forthcoming nine episodes are set to follow in this manner, and potentially better it. Two Swords is how all great television shows should return.
Game of Thrones Season 4 returns to UK screens on Sky Atlantic HD tonight at 9pm.
