Game of Thrones Episode 1.01: “Winter is Coming”

[chavalah.livejournal.com]

Welcome to my “Game of Thrones” episode reviews! Most of these I wrote during the original airing of season one, but this episode is in fact almost completely a re-write. I admit, this might be hard for me. Not so much because it’s been a year and I’m unfamiliar with the story, but because I’m too familiar with the story. :P Will be difficult to come at this with a newbie perspective, though I’ll try! But my reviews will have some spoilers from the books (mostly just pertaining to what the episode covers)and occasional thoughts about how each installment fits into the season as a whole.

The title of episode one, “Winter is Coming” refers to the official words of House Stark. Many noble houses in Westeros have words that boast their general awesomeness: “Ours if the fury,” “Hear me roar,” “Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.” In a promotional piece for the tv show, author George R. R. Martin talks about the significance of the Stark words—both literally, where seasons are of an unfixed length and winter, when it comes, is brutal; and metaphorically: “Winter is coming for all of us; in our own lives, there’s always times of darkness and death.” Consider that your warning about the atmosphere of this story, heh. Now under the cut!

( Episode Summary and Spoilers )