Journey to the End: Game of Thrones Sn 1 Ep 01
By: Kevin Mcmahon
Tags: Game of Thrones, Review, TV, Binge Watching, HBO

As most of you are well aware, the final season of Game of Thrones starts on April 14th. I have long been a fan of the series, though almost all of my fandom is from the TV show not the books. I started to realize lately that I feel like I have forgot more from the 7 seasons of shows we have received than I remember, and had in passing thought about watching the complete series before the finale season begins.

At first the idea would be to binge every episode in 3–4 days leading up to the final episode. A large task that would include over 70 episodes mostly bad things happening to all the actual good people of Westeros. If I were 25, and did not have kids, that would be a realistic plan. As it stands, that is not the case.

So instead, there are exactly 7 weeks until the premiere of season 8 if you start on Sunday February 24th, and watch one season per week. Little more than an episode a day. I probably spend more time dilly-dallying around on Facebook to account for that hour or so everyday, so here we are. I just watched episode 1 again for the first time since, probably near the air date back in 2011. The only season I have for sure watched more than once is season 7, because I watched it in a day and half with my mom last summer. Join me if you wish, and I plan to talk about each episode for now, and if it becomes too much, maybe halfway and end point of each season. No more explanation, here, we, GO!

Winter Is Coming

Thanks Ned, we know, winter is coming. One of the most infamous meme’s out there, maybe only second to Sean Bean’s equally well known, one does not simply walk into Mordor from Lord of the Rings. I only read the first book in the series, and thus only had minor things to gripe about with season one. most of the changes were minor, and either had no impact or allowed for easier storytelling in the TV series as we do not get to spend as much time with each character.

The first episode lays out the groundwork of the Stark story. GoT leans on the story of the Starks pretty heavily from early on, as they are the catalyst to most of the forthcoming conflicts. Seeing characters at the beginning of this story, without the extra scars, still possessing all of their limbs and body parts that later will go missing, is refreshing though they don’t start with as much hope as I remembered.

The first scene is beyond the wall where we see dismembered bodies. Dead children, heads on pikes, naked bodies with entrails strewn about. It is an early warning that this is not Lord of the Rings or some other PG fantasy romp. There is sexual nudity, two beheadings, and a kid being pushed out of a 4th story window all in this first episode. That does not let up through the 7 seasons of Thrones.

We get a long look at the Starks, Lannisters, and King Robert Baratheon as they get together int he North because of the passing of the previous hand to the king. Robert is in Winterfell to ask Ned to become his new hand, and that Roberts son Joffrey and Ned’s daughter Sansa should be married. We get insight to the problems within each family, especially the King and the Lannisters, the Queen is Cersei Lannister, but we also get small peaks at what is happening far to the South East and across the Narrow sea with that last surviving Targaryen children. Long story short, they ruled the 7 kingdoms from the iron throne until Robert Baratheon, with the help of the Starks, the Lannisters and others, defeated them and took back the throne.

I have recently been watching Counterpart on Starz, a must watch in my opinion, and became aware that Harry Lloyd also plays Viserys the brother of Daenerys Targaryen. He is mostly a likable character in Counterpart, Viserys on the other hand is one of the most vile characters that I have encountered in any series, and he is nicer in the TV series than the book, that is saying a lot. His ambition to take back the thrown is overwhelming and he treats Dany as his slave to wed off and treat like a commodity to gain his own power and influence. She gets married to the leader of a tribal people without any say, and now must do as he pleases essentially.

For a series that seems to try and hide who it’s main players are, even in this first episode they do a very bad job at hiding Jon Snow, the bastard son of Eddard(Ned) Stark. Of all the things that happen, this and the treatment of one other character who shows up later on bother me a lot. They try to keep Jon on the sidelines for a while pretending that he is not one of the few linchpins of the series, even when it is plain as day he is absolutely a main character.

A couple other things happen, they find a litter of dire wolves that each of the 5 Stark children and Jon get to keep. Some power struggles between Theon Greyjoy and Jon as second ranked members of the Starks. Clearly disdain from Cersei for anyone not her son or brother. 10 seconds of the Hound, another series favorite for many.

As far as an opening episode goes, Winter Is Coming does everything it needs to in terms of showing us the world of Westeros, dishing on who the main players are for now, and not sugar coating how much of this ride is going to be. It probably is not one of the iconic episodes of the series, but does everything right, and sets a full plate for everything to come.

I counted 3 “winter is coming” lines in the episode, though I am sure someone has an official counter by episode out there somewhere. Onward to episode 2, The Kingsroad tomorrow.