Game of Thrones is back and there’s plenty to get excited about. For one thing, blonde Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) finally threatens to live up to her Queen of the Dragons nickname. After pretty much doing nothing except talk in subtitles and transport eggs around for most of the last series, we finally get some serious action from her here. Will she ever get far enough across the map in the opening titles to interact with the other characters though? We shall have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, things continue to go badly for the remaining members of the Stark family, as the tyranny of the Lannisters and sadistic spoilt adolescent brat King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) continues. What else? A giant makes an appearance as do new cast members Diana Rigg (as a sharp tongued Maggie Smith type), Mackenzie Crook, Paul Kaye and Ciaran Hinds. At the same time, the series continues its unflinching capacity to occasionally suddenly kill off major characters without warning. Elsewhere, Peter Dinklage continues to enjoy himself as Tyrion Lannister in what is perhaps the best written TV part for a little person actor that there has ever been.
This is truly an epic series that looks genuinely lovely and crisp on Blu-ray. Perhaps the only real criticism is that with so many separate story strands, some characters barely get time to advance much at all. One chap, after all, does little other than get tortured in a dungeon for pretty much the whole series (I won’t give his name him as I don’t want to spoil it. And I’ve forgotten it anyway). Some others, when all is said and done, do little other than walk about for a bit on some snow. It should also be noted that this, the third series of the show, is based loosely on just the first half of the third of George RR Martin’s massive books. There will be at least four more of these novels and Martin hasn’t even finished writing them yet.
So potentially we could be seeing more Game of Thrones series on our screens throughout the rest of this decade and well into the next. And if they can keep up this standard and can bring all the storylines together satisfactorily, then as Daenerys Targaryen would say: “dkkk tuk garahan. Or something else in Dothraki. It would be a good thing anyway.
Overall Verdict: Another glorious blood soaked tapestry of sexuality, sorcery and slaughter in a season which is just as good as the excellent Season 2.
Special Features:
A Gathering Storm (Recap) Featurette
The Politics of Marriage Featurette
Inside the Wildlings Featurette
New Characters Featurette
Deleted Scenes/Extended Scenes
Cast and Crew Audio Commentaries
The Rains of Castamere Unveiled Featurette
Reviewer: Chris Hallam