By ALEXANDER PECHA
Arts Editor
Another season of the worldwide TV sensation “Game of Thrones” has begun, with all the violence, sex, politics and tears you’d expect. The premiere episode, “The Wars to Come,” isn’t as intense as some previous episodes, but instead takes the time to set up the rest of the season and resolve plots from the previous season. Like previous seasons, the episode’s attention is split between the various characters and settings of the epic fantasy world for usually one to three scenes before jumping to the new area.
In the North, at the Wall, Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch deal with the consequences of their grand battle last season. Namely, the fact they have a claimant to the Westerosi throne hanging around like that annoying friend your roommate has, and the now-defeated Wildling army camping out like it’s a freezing Woodstock.
In the South, in King’s Landing, Cersei and her boyfriend/brother deal with the fact that their father, Tywin, was killed last season, as well as the fact that without their dad to keep the family on top, they are going to be eaten alive by the other noble families.
Across the ocean, fan favorite Tyrion has become something of a drunk after being shipped away like a FedEx box, and it’s up to now-ex-spymaster Varys to be his walking AA machine.
A little further east, Daenerys “Mother of Dragons” Stormborn deals with the fact that taking over a kingdom might make the previous rulers mad, as a secret movement wages a guerrilla war against her soldiers.
In the Vale, Petyr “I can’t talk in a normal tone” Baelish and Sansa Stark deal with the fact that the little lord they’re watching over is a wimp, and try to find a way to get Sansa to a truly safe place.
Finally, there was also a brief prologue featuring a younger Cersei, who has apparently always been a brat, visiting a witch. I’m not entirely sure what the point of that was yet.
It’s a packed episode that is mostly catch-up from last season, and that’s entirely fine. It’s nice to be slowly re-immersed into the world of “Game of Thrones,” instead of thrown in the deep end.
There are a few intense moments, but most of the episode is catch up and foreshadowing for the rest of the season. The episode manages to end on a very tense and emotionally engaging moment, however, so don’t think the episode is slow in any way, shape, or form.
As usual, the actors involved bring their A game. It’s hard to single out anyone who really excelled, since everyone was just nailing it. If I had to choose, I’d say Kit Harrington was the MVP of the episode due to the last few minutes, which I won’t spoil. I will say that they show Harrington’s range as an actor even though he’s barely talking.
The CGI has improved in the series as well. There are a few scenes that are obviously computer generated, and they are leaps and bounds ahead of the “Jason and the Argonauts” skeletons we saw at the conclusion of last season. There’s a scene with the famous dragons that also shows off the fact that they’ve buffed up their CGI budget, probably because there won’t be a huge battle this season.
Overall, “The Wars to Come” lives up to its name. It hints at the bigger things to come while acknowledging the past, and that’s just what we needed from the show. It finds a good balance between catching up and setting up to keep us interested and ends on a big moment, in traditional “Game of Thrones” fashion.
I will admit that I’m more excited for the next episode, since we will finally get to see Dorne next season, as we will get to see the aftermath of Oberyn’s head getting smashed watermelon-style last season, plus I’m something of a fanboy of Alexander Siddig, so seeing him play a scheming southerner instead of a nerdy Federation officer or Arabian noble really appeals to me.
“The Wars to Come” has set up and wrapped up quite a bit, and I can’t wait to see what the show runners do with all the potential in front of them. Hopefully they don’t mess it up like they did Lady Stoneheart.
