Game of Thrones: Valar Dohaeris - Episode Review/Discussion/Summary

Game of Thrones

S03E01: Valar Dohaeris


So Game of Thrones is finally back on our screens after a year of us fans holding our breath. And already the show has set piracy and viewing records with its Season Premiere Valar Dohaeris. As a fan of the books and the show, I was eagerly anticipating this episode, and it did not disappoint. In this review, I am going to talk about some of my favourite moments from Valar Dohaeris, as well as some of the changes made from A Storm of Swords, the book on which this season is based. However, if you have not read the books, don’t fear, you won’t find any book spoilers here. Just stay away from these reviews if you’re not up to date with the TV Show. But if you’re reading this, I assume you have seen Valar Dohaeris, so let’s talk.


Prologue

The Season opens with the sounds of the Battle of the Fist of the First Men. Unfortunately, we never actually see the battle. After the sounds of sword and steel we skip straight to Sam being found by Lord Commander Mormont and what’s left of his men of the Night’s Watch. This scene is of a fairly small scale (at least in comparison to where Season Two left off), as we only see one Wight, and the battle between the Wights and the men of the Night’s Watch is skipped altogether. Reassuringly, this is likely because the show is waiting until towards the end of the Season to pull out its big guns, similar to the Battle of Blackwater at the climax of Season Two. However, this still served as a great opening to the Season, and sets up the epic adventure that Season Three of Game of Thrones is undoubtedly going to be.


Beyond The Wall

We then join Jon Snow who has been taken before Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-The-Wall, by Ygritte and the Wildlings. Not only did the Wildling camp look great with a lot of clear effort put into creating a believable home for the Wildlings. But we also got our first look at Giants in Game of Thrones. As a fan of the books, I wasn’t sure whether or not the TV Show would even include the Giants, despite them being crucial later on in the story. However, I was very happy to see at least one Giant at the camp and it’s certainly reassured me that this Season will be very faithful to the source material, which is a very good thing indeed. 


In the Seven Kingdoms

Although we didn’t see anything of Bran and Rickon, Jaime and Brienne, or Theon or Arya this episode, we still saw a lot of our favourite characters in the Seven Kingdoms in Valar Dohaeris. There’s a lot to cover here, but I have to mention my favourite scene of this episode; Tyrion confronting his father. I was eagerly anticipating this scene as, in the books, it set the tone for Tyrion’s story in A Strom of Swords, and made his motivations and goals clearer than ever before. Tyrion and his father Tywin have some of the best chemistry between any of the characters and, thanks to perfectly-cast incredible actors Peter Dinklage (Tyrion) and Charles Dance (Tywin), the show more than did this scene justice. We finally see that Tyrion is simply a son seeking some form of approval from his father, and won’t stop until he gets it. We also see the dark side of Tywin Lannister that Season Two seemed to shy away from during his interaction with Arya. This scene cements Tyrion as one of the most likable, and now sympathetic, characters on the show, but also gives an explanation as to the friction between Tyrion and his father that has always been there, and why it always will be.


Across the Narrow Sea

Although Daenerys is not my favourite character, I definitely feel that her storyline picks up when she arrives at Slaver’s Bay. And although I’m still not a huge fan of Daenerys’ story, I can safely say that everything here at least looks incredible. Whether it’s Dany’s Dragons or The Unsullied, this episode’s visuals never failed to astonish. The Dragons look better than they ever have, I gasped at how incredible they looked when I first saw them flying. And The Unsullied are probably one of the most perfect representations of anything from the books to the TV Show yet. The fearlessness and the brutality of The Unsullied was summed up not only by their menacing look, but by the simple yet shocking anecdote told by their owner. And of course, there was a surprise in the final moments of this episode as an old character returns to serve “the rightful Queen”. However, I did later release that some (maybe few) non-book readers may have been scratching their heads trying to remember who Barristan Selmy even is. Either way, it was great to see this character again, and this certainly makes me all the more excited for Daenerys’ story which appears to be taking the spotilight of Season Three. And for the first time, I don’t mind.


Verdict

Although it’s hard not miss characters such as Jaime and Bran, it was great to be back in Westeros at long last with this first episode that, although didn’t pack quite as much a punch as Season Two’s final episodes, begins to setup what could be the best Season of the series so far.

I give Valar Dohaeris: ★★★★


So please let me know your thoughts on Valar Dohaeris. Did it live up to the hype? Did you choose this over The Walking Dead finale? If so, did you make the right decision? Let me know if you've read the books and how you thought the series has compared. Let me know anything you want about Valar Dohaeris, and thanks for reading!