Game of Thrones Season 4 Episode 3 – “Breaker of Chains” Review

Another great episode in Game of Thrones. 
 After the insane twist with Joff’s death, we see the plot slowly unfolding before us. 

At King’s Landing, Sansa becomes a fugitive with the help of Ser Dontos. She arrives at a hidden ship and we see Littlefinger (after a 6 episode absence) being a part of this conspiracy against the King. Baelish kills Dontos and is planning to take Sansa to safety (High Garden perhaps?)  
Lord Tywin, now, is preparing young Prince Tommen for the throne. It’s quite possible for a marriage between him and Margaery to be prepared (since the Lannisters cannot break their alliance to the Tyrells). 
Cersei is devastated, looking for revenge for her son’s murder. She is convinced that Tyrion is the culprit and asks Jamie to avenge him and kill Tyrion. 
Jamie refuses and goes on to… rape Cersei. Now why that happened is beyond me.  I do not compare the books to the Tv Series (EVER) so I guess  the rape could be translated into Jamie’s effort to gain control despite being a broken cripple now (or not…). 
Lord Tywin, confronts Prince Obreyn and asks him whether he had anything to do with his grandson’s assassination. Oberyn denies everything and in turn asks Tywin if he had ordered Elia’s and her children’s murder with Tywin following the Prince’s example. Now something interesting happens. 
Tywin asks from Oberyn to be one of the judges for Tyrion’s trial and offers him a place in the King’s Council. He admits that he has too many enemies coming his way and that the Dornish were the only ones who could fight off the Dragons. This is very interesting as it places Oberyn not only in the main cast but in a position of power, and promises viewers that he will play a big part in both the King’s Landing plot but also the war in general. 
One thing is for sure, Oberyn does not seem the kind of man who will become one of the Lannisters’ puppets. 
We also get to see Tyrion in his sell, finding out from Pod that he has no witnesses for his defense. Even Pod was asked to testify against him and Tyrion before ordering him to bring Jamie, asks of Pod that he leaves before “they” kill him. 
 
At Dragonstone, Stannis and Davos get the news of Joffrey’s death and believes that the Red Witch’s spell caused this.  
Stannis blames Lord Davos for letting Gendry go, since he believes that with Gendry he could have made a move towards the the capital. 
Ser Davos now trying to gather an army for his King (before Staniss’s claim is forgotten), decides to send a letter to the Iron Bank of Bravos to ask for a loan. 
Will we get to see Bravos? That would be very exciting since this is the birth place of Arya’s sword master and the city of the Faceless Men. 
 
Now to Arya, little is seen, with her and Clegane, (pretending to be a family) seeking refuge into a kind man’s house for the night and The Hound 
despite Arya’s protest, robbing the man of his silver, since he believes that the man will be dead when Winter comes and dead men don’t need silver. 
 
Across the Narrow Sea, Mhysa arrives at Meereen and is greeted by the city’s champion. The champion insults her and her army and challenges one of her men. 
Dario Naharis offers to kill the challenger and succeeds in doing so (no matter how un-knightly his methods are). Daenerys gives a speech to the slaves of Meereen, telling them that in every city she has been to, the slaves were released and stand now free by her side. She tells them that their Masters are the true enemy and throws barrels on the city walls, quite the goose bump moment) full of slaves’ collars.  
 
Well, it’s been since last season that my interest was at Daenerys’s story, but with that last scene with the collars, I have to admit, I can’t wait  to see what happens at Meereen. Sure, Tyrion’s trial is coming up, he is left friendless and alone but I believe that hi might just find a friend in Jamie. 
Many things to wait for and yet again, Game of Thrones’ “Breaker of Chains” was far from a disappointment. 
 
Ta ta.

Game of Thrones S04E02 “The Lion And The Rose” – What the hell?!

*spoilers ahead obviously*
*I mean it.  If you haven’t watched Episode 2 of Season 4, don’t even look. I cut right to the chase*

A day of joy has finally come!  
One of the most hated, despicable characters in Game of Thrones is gone! 
King Joffrey is dead!  Banzai!!! I guess GRRM has a thing for weddings. To the point. What the f*ck writers?! Can’t say I didn’t expect that to happen eventually but… on the 2nd episode?! They way you’re are at it, by the end of the season there will be no enemies for Daenerys’ dragons to slay! (Just kidding!) Today’s episode just proves that Game Of Thrones is not a series one should EVER take lightly.

This episode is almost as exciting and surprising as the Red Wedding episode!  
And I say almost because, I am sort of a conspiracy freak. Let me explain. 
Some of us remember Lady Melisandre’s promise on episode 8 (“Second Sons”) of season 3. 
To help refresh your memory, Melisandre had captured Gendry, and had used his royal blood to cast a curse on three men: 
Rob Stark, Joffrey Baratheon and Balon Greyjoy. I am not saying that she actually caused this to happen but we have indeed seen that her God of Light is pretty effective so far;  Lord Beric Dondarrion is said to have been resurrected plenty of times by Red Priest Thoros of Myr  and let’s not forget about the creepy shadow-baby Melisandre gave birth to, that killed Renly. 
Taking all that into consideration, Joffrey’s death might not be an accident and I’ve got to be honest, I expect Balon to go down soon. 
Be it the sociopathic Ramsey Snow who kills him or just some supernatural force, I have a feeling he’s already signed his death warrant.  No matter what, you have got to say, that Red Lady is one lucky b*tch. 
 
Now, as to the murderer of Joffrey. We have to think, who would pull off something  like that? 
Because Tyrion is way too smart for something as dumb as that. On the other hand,  framing Tyrion IS smart. We’re talking evil Rain Man smart,  as no one could have predicted that Tyrion would end up serving Joffrey wine.  
But it’s not only about who has the brains or cojones to poison Joffrey, it’s also about whose hate and lust for vengeance was great enough? 
The obvious choice for the culprit is Sansa. She had every reason in the world and was fortunate enough to get the timing right. 
She picks up the cup for Tyrion, could have easily put some kind of poison inside. However that’s dumb on her behalf because Tyrion is awesome  and now, 100% utterly f*cked. So, was it Sansa?

Nope! Before the whole “let’s make uncle feel like a fool to prove our manliness”, Lady Olenna of House Tyrell approaches Sansa and very discretely touches her necklace (the one Ser Dontos gave her as a “thank you” for saving his life).
Next thing we know a piece of her jewelry is missing. And don’t forget Olenna’s line “…killing a man at a wedding. Horrid. What kind of monster would do something like that?”
Also, we should keep in mind that the bottle of wine was right in front of Grandma.
Ok. And why would House Tyrell benefit from the death of Joffrey? That’s simple.
Margaery is already loved by the people. She makes an even better Queen without Joffrey around.
Grandma Tyrell, probably guilty.

Now dear writers… why did Joffrey have to die so soon? Is this season going to be full of blood and twists? I guess there are a lot of happy fans out there.
I can almost see Arya Stark making a happy sword-dance and Stannis burning a few of his best friends just to celebrate this lovely turn of events! But some are pissed off, saying that things are moving too fast. Well, I am with the happy folks.
King Joffrey was a sick son of a bitch.  
(And I mean that literally, I now officially hate Cersei. Don’t know why. No reason.) 

As far as this episode is concerned, I think we should not forget Bran’s awesomeness gradually unfolding.
He s going to be a badass. I’m sure.
Cersie is jelous of Brienne, Jamie jealous of Ser Loras and Loras is probably having a threesome with Oberyn and his Sand girl.
I am already in love with Prince Oberyn, the way he spoke to the former Queen Regent, priceless!
He might just pay his debt to the Lannisters after all.

To sum up. Despite the fact that I am still in a bit of a shock, the smile I got on my face when I saw Joffrey taking his last breath hasn’t faded!  
(Sorry Jack Gleeson, this just proves you are an AWESOME actor! And I will miss you.) 
Anyway. Now that Joffrey’s gone, WHAT THE HELL IS NEXT?!  
One thing’s for sure, Game of Thrones season 4 is going to be sick!
Till next Sunday, don’t forget. Valar Morghulis.

Things might just change after Homeland Season 3 finale.

*spoilers ahead* 

Even though I never expected to like a political thriller THAT much, Homeland has made my (perhaps-too-long) top list.
And I find no reason to deny, that Brody was one of the main reasons I enjoyed that show so much.
Damian Lewis’ performance was outstanding; his constant battle with his demons, figuring out who he is, struggling with too many secrets.
No matter how you see it, he was excellent. Watching episodes like “Tower of David” or “One Last Thing” not only provided Lewis
with an opportunity to unravel more of his talent but also gave a little twist to the story, making it even more captivating.
With that being said, I believe it is easy to understand how frustrated I was when he… died.
In no way am I to imply that the role of Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin has not been important or that their performances were less than inspiring.
HOWEVER it is undeniable that the character of Nick Brody was one of the strongest elements that made this show as successful as it was.  “The Star” was a huge shock and it might have just changed everything.

There has been talk that the writers had intended to kill Brody in season 1, however for various reasons (we could all think of) they didn’t. Good choice. So, what changed now? Some could say that Brody had to be killed in order for the series to move on,
but the whole idea is not different.
The CIA still is trying to catch terrorists using assets and inside men, Carrie is fighting with her illness trying to use it as a weapon rather than allowing it to weaken her and Saul is off being the brilliant, righteous Saul. Sure, the plot has thickened with all the internal conflicts in the CIA and new characters like Fara Sherazi (Nazanin Boniadi) the new Analyst and Senator Andrew Lockhart (Tracy Letts) have been introduced but that does not mean that Brody’s character is old news.
The goal is still the same. And it seems like the world is never short on bad guys waiting to be caught.
Well, I know it might be silly, but an absurd resurrection would be just awesome (definitely better than flashback and dream appearances).
Ok. I know that fans and viewers cannot always get what they want. And the writers are not known for letting viewers down so far.
However, if Carrie, a character with a great sense of justice and integrity, can just turn her back on Brody after he was more or less betrayed by some of her people, sure, weirder things could happen.
But the biggest question now is: Will Homeland, with the absence of Brody, be enough?

Alors. I don’t know what is going to happen in Season 4, how good or not so good it will be and how killing off Brody will affect the ratings.
What I do know is that I will wait and find out. Whether it is a return from the dead or an exciting new plot twist, I sure hope that
Homeland will give us a great season.

Ta ta.

Game Of Thrones Season 4 premiere. “Two Swords” review.

From the first few seconds in the GOT season 4 premiere, I was blown away.
Something as simple as the forging of two swords, in the hands of a master like D.B. Weiss gave the audience goose bumps
and marked the epic beginning of the 4th season of one of the most thrilling, exciting shows on television.
In this season, the show writers waste no time in recaps and summaries as to what we saw last year
and march on to introduce a new character who will no doubt play an important role in the series plot.
Pedro Pascal is cast as Oberyn Martell, the brother of Elia, the Last Dragon’s (Rhaegar Targaryen) wife.
Oberyn, a strong, arrogant prince with evidence of a sociopathic disorder (typical Westeros male) has returned to the capital
seeking revenge for his sister’s death by the Lannisters.
In this season we expect more characters and houses to be added to the ever-growing Lannister hate club. And though no one would argue that House Lannister has indeed committed atrocious crimes we get to see a glimpse of the change in Jamie Lannister’s behavior (perhaps due to the influence of righteous and honorable Brienne of Tarth).
What is more intriguing is the possible shattering in the Jamie-Cersie bond since the writers are giving hints that perhaps now, Jamie has more things in common with the black sheep of the family, Tyrion, rather than his other siblings.
Tyrion seems to be going through some tough things, as always, whether it is his family wanting to murder him or his wife going anorexic or even his girlfriend giving him a hard time.

In the Riverlands now, we have The Hound and Arya Stark traveling to the Vale, where Arya is supposed to be sold back to her aunt. Perhaps it is just me, but the Hound-Arya duet looks very promising.
The two characters are slowly but steadily bonding and gaining appreciation for one another with their relationship turning
from captor-captive to one of two travel companions with nothing left to lose.
Perhaps the best scene of the episode is when Arya takes revenge for the killing of her friend by the man who also stole her sword, marking once and for all the end of her childhood.

To the North, we have the Wildlings, plotting to take over the Wall (promises for an other epic battle?)
and John Snow, in a trial where he confesses his crimes but also shares all information he had gotten while living with the enemy.
Snow is spared, despite having broken his vows, with the help of Maester Aemon Targaryen (a very interesting character in my opinion who could shed to light to several King’s Landing mysteries).

In addition to all that, we get to see some more of the long journey of Daenerys Targaryen and her army.
It is certain that Mysha will continue her crusade of freeing the slaves and adding more people to her company
(something that might cause her problems at some point, seeing that she could have more women and children to feed than soldiers to fight for her, or is it just me?).
We also have a cast replacement since Michiel Huisman portrays Daario Naharis, one of The Dragon Mother’s knights.
Another captivating moment, in the Narrow See Arc, is seeing how dangerously the dragons have grown.
Will Daenerys be able to keep them tamed or will she, like her enemies, be taken away by the vicious force of their destructive nature?
Well, all in all this was an exciting episode that handles well the balance between introducing new characters
and showing us what is happening in all parts of the world. All this information is just enough to keep the audience waiting on edge for next Sunday’s episode.
There’s a lot more to see, secrets to be revealed,wedding guests to be slaughtered, plots to be plotted.
Doesn’t matter that they seem to never end making the story even more complicated, we wish they don’t.
Since, like Jamie said, the war is not won.

Ta ta.

 

How I Met Your Mother finale not what fans had in mind…

And they said the Dexter finale was bad…
This episode review is going to be very subjective and very personal, but I do need to get it out.
Disappointment is not enough to describe what I’m feeling after watching the HIMYM finale.
And on some level, I am not that surprised since every other episode we’d see Ted’s character
going back to the whole “It’s Robin” thing. And sure, it was cute the first… 4 seasons.
BUT why write an excellent, convincing romance plot around Robin and Barney and why spent an ENTIRE season surrounding  their wedding (alright, it helped us know The Mother better – I’ll get to that soon…) just to have them split up in 10 minutes in an awkward, forceful and unconvincing manner?
Sure. A small percentage of viewers might have been still rooting for TedXRobin (yes, maniacs do exist) however Barney and Robin had developed a true love scenario which with the help of NHP and Smulders and their incredible chemistry had made a great number of HIMYM fans become BarneyxRobin fans.
So, no dear writers, producers and other HIMYM-finale-advocates, you shouldn’t have broken Barney and Robin up in the first place. We spent too much laughing and crying over their awesome relationship.
Yes. We are NOT happy.
After making clear why them getting a divorce was a complete ****, I shall move on to the ridiculous “Barney being a father in 48 seconds” story. Seriously? No, seriously???
In my opinion, throwing a baby into Barney’s life is almost insulting to one of television’s most loved characters. After being dumped by Robin, Barney has got to find something interesting to fill his on-screen time so… why not give him a child? He sleeps around too much anyway.
Could happen to the best of us. Nope. No. Not buying it.
And with Barney becoming a father, for absolutely no reason, we have Robin, confessing that she still has feelings for Ted.
That, to me, was simply ridiculous and perhaps an omen as to what was going to happen afterwards. Ok, maybe I am being harsh but the most tiresome thing to watch in this series had always been the TedxRobin relapses especially after season 5.
It seemed absurd, after the wedding and the “baby-implying” hotel scenes in episode 18 where you’re left with a good feeling of this wedding and Bobin’s future (yeah, that’s lame)
you suddenly see Robin thinking of Ted who according to the plot, didn’t get to see her often since she was traveling all over the world.
Another foul.
Moving on. Oh… Yeah. The Mother issue.
I know I’ve been asking a lot of questions but there are a lot of gaps to be filled.
Alors. Why on earth cast such a lovely actress to play The Mother if you are going to kill her in the end?
Because, it is no lie that Milioti was adored by fans, her portrayal of the nerdy, cute, kind and wise
version of Ted Mosby was a big hit for the writers. I personally was not only impressed with the casting choice and Cristin Milioti’s
effortless acting but also with the character as a whole. Tracy was 100% “love of Ted Mosby’s life” material without coming across as forced or fake. She was part of season 9, fans were given the chance to find out more about her, to see that she was everything Ted really wanted and she became an actual fans-approved member of The Gang.
Killing her was one of the finale’s biggest turn-offs.
Having Ted live happily ever after would not be too much.
Having him, hell, having EVERY couple on the show, following the Lilly-Marshall example would have been awesome.
Cause everyone loves Ted and seeing him happy, with his wife entering the room with
– I don’t know – a plate full of freshly baked cookies, offering them to the kids after listening to their dad’s story for 9 years, well, that wouldn’t have been that awful.
Definitely not as awful as the actual ending.
Finally, the whole  “Ok, my kids accept that I am in love with another woman and since I have their blessing I better call her and be with her despite the fact that we never worked out and she neither wanted or could have children but that’s ok cause I had some with that other love of my life.” thing. For the sake of argument let’s forget about Robin having been married to one of Ted’s
best friends. That didn’t stop him from hitting on her during their wedding weekend, or before that, or after that (as we recently found out).
It’s ok anyway. Barney’s got a kid now.
But even despite that whole eternal “love triangle” situation, having Ted end up with Robin in the end is plain weird.
Giving viewers this feeling that she was always “The One” for him just doesn’t do The Mother justice.
After all, no matter how eagerly the writer’s were trying to revive the TedxRobin sparkle (pun intended) for the past 3 seasons, it was long gone.
Moving on, Tred and Bobin and Milly all happy, would be best. And it did seem awesome too, until 10 minutes into “Last Forever pt 1”  episode.
If the writers had already this in mind when they started the show, as some people say, then they should have just given up this all-stupid-theories-validating idea when they started making the TedxRobin thing so problematic or when they made the BarneyxRobin thing so lovable or even
before they started showing so much of The Mother and her relationship with Ted. Plenty of chances there. Instead, “the coming together of a full circle” that looked pretty much broken and forgotten only 1 episode before the finale.
Worst part of the last episode for me? Probably the line by Ted’s daughter. How the story featured so little of their mother, it’s only obvious Ted’s still in love with Robin and should go get her.
After that, I was plain annoyed.
All in all, disappointing, silly, not too convincing and completely unfair to both the characters and the viewers of HIMYM.
And that’s the How I Met Your Mother finale review for you all.

Ta ta.