Obviously if you haven't seen the episode yet, SPOILERS ahead. The story picks up pretty much immediately after last season's closer, as we catch up with the various characters scattered around Westeros. Dany and her newly hatched Dragons find themselves at the mercy of a seemingly endless desert, and along with Jorah Mormont and the rest of her "Kalasar" they must try to decide on the safest road forward. Tyrion returns to Kings' Landing as the new Hand Of The King, much to the chagrin of his sister Cersei who is gradually losing her motherly hold over the psychotic boy-King Joffrey. Elsewhere, Robb - still seeking vengeance for his Father Ned's execution - sends his peace terms to the Lannisters, terms he knows well they will not accept. North of The Wall Jon Snow and the Nights' Watch take refuge at Craster's Keep. Craster, a Wildling, has a lot of daughters. Daughters who also happen to be his wives. And we are also introduced to some new characters. Stannis Baratheon, his sorceress Melisandre and his adviser Davos Seaworth. Melisandre worships the mysterious Lord Of Light, and has made converts (willing or otherwise) of Stannis and most of his men. He believes he is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, and will allow no one - even his own brother Renly - to stand in his way.
It's a great scene setter for what to expect from the season. The cast are all on top form, with Peter Dinklage once again stealing the show as Tyrion. But he has strong competition this time from Lena Headey as Cersei. She didn't have that much to do last season but that is about to change, and if her performance in last night's episode is anything to go by Headey will be a very welcome sight in the coming weeks. She demonstrates her power in a scene with Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) in which she shows just how easy it would be to have him killed should she tire of him. But then shows some vulnerability as she realizes her vicious son may not allow the fact that she is his mother stop him from executing her if he has to. Another highlight is a face off between Robb Stark and the captive Jaimie "Kingslayer" Lannister, in which we are introduced to a now near fully grown Direwolf. It's a mixture of CGI and a real wolf, and looks pretty fantastic.
Towards the end of the episode, Joffrey's men begin to search out the late Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children in order to eliminate them to strengthen Joffrey's hold on the throne. One scene in a Brothel, where we are treated to another of the show's trademark sex scenes, ends with the brutal slaying of an infant, followed by more scenes of violence against children and teenagers. The actual murder of the baby happens off screen, but it is still a graphic and disturbing moment. Now the show has had its share of them, and any fan will expect to see some pretty hardcore stuff in most episodes of
Game Of Thrones. But there are those that feel they might have taken things a bit too far this time. Personally I think it could have been handled a bit differently, the murder of the bastards is not even described in any real detail in the book, and is only mentioned almost in passing. On the other hand the scene certainly does its job in showing just how ruthless Joffrey and his cronies are, and what a dangerous place Westeros has become under his rule. What do you guys think?
Anyway, all in all a very good season opener. The writers and director (
Thor 2's Alan Taylor in this case) do a great job of juggling the many characters from last season, as well as some new additions. It will be interesting to see if that can be maintained as we are introduced to even more new faces in the coming weeks.
Here is a promo for next week's ep, "The Night Lands"..
And the new "Weeks Ahead" trailer with some great new footage..