Knee-Jerk Reactions to “Winterfell”—Five Best and Worst Moments
FLEA BOTTOM BROWN FIVE: Cheesy good, but still cheesy.
The dragonflight romp between Jon Snow and Daenerys was fun. Jon’s uncertainty at mounting a dragon was cute, and it was great to see the good guys have a time-out from war for some love and flirtatious flying-reptile play.
This joyous sequence flirted at the edges of a Valyrian Steel moment, but extended, ecstatically happy joyrides like this are just a bit too sweet for Thrones.
FLEA BOTTOM BROWN FOUR: Please stop wasting Varys.
Remember how delightfully enigmatic and manipulative Varys the Spider was in the early seasons of the show? Now his character rarely makes a showing, and when he does he only gets a few lines and spends a lot of his time with his hands in his sleeves looking cold. He’s too good a character to leave in the dustbin this long.
FLEA BOTTOM BROWN THREE: Sam rebounds like a superball.
Samwell Tarly is a resilient guy, we know. But he’s also sensitive and a bit of a mushball. So when he learns from Daenerys that she barbecued his father and brother we fully expect him to be torn by feelings of sadness and rage, and he was. He walks outside with his face all screwed up, has Bran tell him to tell Jon about his parentage, and walks into the crypt to explain the secret to Jon as if nothing brutally astounding had just happened in his own life. Talk about compartmentalization.
FLEA BOTTOM BROWN TWO: Lannister girls are easy.
Cersei sleps with Euron?I mean, okay, but despite the case he made that he’d earned some lovemaking, didn’t it seem like Cersei could have asked for another quest or two before jumping into bed? Euron isn’t the most stable dude, after all.
FLEA BOTTOM BROWN ONE: Cersei just doesn’t get it.
Cersei again! She’s seen the undead wight (poor Biff) with her own eyes, seen the fear in the faces of the Stark/Targaryen company and heard the impassioned pleas of her own two brothers, and yet Cersei still thinks she can outwit everybody, including the Night King. The lady may be vengeful and arrogant, but she’s also a survivor, and too intelligent to be this stupid.
BONUS VALYRIAN STEEL MOMENT: The new opening credit sequence was fantastic, much more interior than before (probably due to far fewer geographic locations), and fully reflected the now-telescoped showdown scope of the new season.
WRAP IT UP AND PUT A BLOODY BOW ON IT: Overall, “Winterfell” was a success, largely because it didn’t rush things. Some pairings like the Hound/Arya and Theon/Yara might have got short shrift, but each managed at least one memorable beat.
No mind-blowing action here, but it wasn’t necessary. We’re starting out with a slow burn. Kinda feels like the showrunners cleaned house for the upcoming stampede, doesn’t it?
What did you guys think? And see ya next week for “Episode 802!”
To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels