Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 1: The Wars to Come
It is finally back. One of the greatest shows on television. This is one of the few fantasy series that is appreciated by more than just us geeks and nerds. I suppose it can be called a crossover hit. It’s even causing people to read fantasy fiction books (a lot of people get intimidated by the details and size and quit, but still). As a lover of the genre, I can’t help but be excited by this prospect… even though we still get a few posers here and there. I’m just happy people are reading.
This show is constantly building up tension and intrigue. The best thing about it, is that you never really know what’s coming. The show proved that in season one when Ned Stark lost his head and Khal Drogo became a vegetable. Even the first episode involved incest and attempted child murder. How can one not be intrigued. It’s almost more of a period piece than fantasy fiction. There’s a little magic here and there and only recently do you see many fictional creatures.
After the action and politics of the previous season, this episode was pretty highly anticipated. We finally got the chance to see what the many, many characters are up to. And there are many characters. You will like some and you will hate others. It’s actually pretty difficult to tell who the actual main character is. I’m not even sure there are protagonist. This isn’t really a world of good and evil. It’s more of a world full of people with their own agendas.
Seeing Tywin Lannister’s funeral was very interesting. It seems Jaime and Cersei are no longer the team/siblings/lovers they once were. Even after Cersei’s harsh worlds, Jaime still seems a bit unrepentant about saving his younger brother. Even more interesting, was seeing that Cersei flashback. She knew she would be queen someday, because of a witch who told her so. She was also warned about her downfall. Now it makes sense that she hates Margaery Tyrell so much.
Tyrian seems perfectly miserable being alone with Varys on the other side of the Narrow Sea. He’s both a wreck and a shadow of his former self. He’s having a hard time being motivated, but let’s see what happens when they visit Daenerys Targaryen.
Speaking of whom, it’s interesting to see her attempts to consolidate power. She is losing the faith of those she has conquered and even her dragons aren’t treating her with respect anymore. She is lucky she has so many who are faithful to her. Maybe they will help her stay on top. Lord Varys and Tyrion arriving can only make her stronger, they are two of the smartest men in Westeros.
John Snow still knows nothing. As a brother in black, he should know better than to openly show compassion to the wildings the way he does. What he did for Mance Rayder was very unwise, especially in front of everyone. He should have let him live or die with his own choice instead of killing his allegiances with both the Night’s Watch and Stannis Baratheon with one shot. That’s the kind of behavior that got his father and pretty much everyone else who’s died in this series killed. Wrong decisions at the wrong time never end well for the deciders.
What’s interesting about this season is the fact that it marks the departure from the books. I know it’ll infuriate a lot of readers, but I think it’s an opportunity to add to the strongest part of this stories: unpredictability. Besides… I hate to be a jerk, but it’s not like Mr. Martin has even finished the books. At some point they were going to have to stray from the books anyway. To be honest, this show shouldn’t have even started when it did. I can’t see why the parties involved would say no though. If we just hold faith, I’m sure everyone will win. I think this season and beyond will go very well.
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
