Jon is brought before Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall, while the Night's Watch survivors retreat south. In King's Landing, Tyrion asks for his reward. Littlefinger offers Sansa a way ... Read allJon is brought before Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall, while the Night's Watch survivors retreat south. In King's Landing, Tyrion asks for his reward. Littlefinger offers Sansa a way out.Jon is brought before Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall, while the Night's Watch survivors retreat south. In King's Landing, Tyrion asks for his reward. Littlefinger offers Sansa a way out.
- Melisandre
- (as Carice Van Houten)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode marks the introduction of a Low Valyrian language (sometimes just called "Valyrian" for short), spoken by Missandei and others in Slaver's Bay. High Valyrian ceased to be a living language after the fall of Valyria four hundred years ago, and became a lore-language similar to Latin in Medieval Europe. The Low Valyrian languages are heavily derived from High Valyrian, similar to how Latin influenced the Romance languages Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian.
- GoofsAt the dinner scene with Joffrey and his mother, Margaery comments, "They tell me a hundred wagons arrive daily now from the Reach." There is an audio cut where "hundred" was dubbed in; she clearly mouths "thousand".
- Quotes
Cersei Lannister: [referring to Tyrion's new quarters] A bit of a comedown from chamber of the Hand. But then I don't suppose you need much room.
Tyrion Lannister: Grand Maester Pycelle made the same joke. You must be proud to be as funny as a man whose balls brush his knees.
"Valar Dohaeris", with my review summary referring to its English meaning, is a great Season 3 opener. Even if there were episodes from the previous two seasons that were bigger and bolder and understandably new ideas and characters gave the impression of still settling. They for my liking weren't quite used enough, with the episode deftly reminding us briefly but deftly of events from Season 2 and expanding them. Just my personal opinion. It may sound like "Valar Dohaeris" is not a good episode, actually as said already it's a great one with so much done brilliantly.
The characterisation of the older and popular characters continues to excel with some memorable scenes and subplots that weren't as interesting or developed in Season 2 expanded. Appreciated highly the advancing of Daenerys'. In terms of memorable scenes, the exchange between Tywin and Tyrion packs a big emotional punch and is one of Season 3's strongest moments dramatically.
Peter Dinklage, Charles Dance, Kit Harrington and Emilia Clarke are particularly wonderful here and Ciaran Hinds in his introductory appearance is a welcome addition.
Visually, "Valar Dohaeris" looks amazing. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. The visual effects are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.
One cannot talk about "Valar Dohaeris" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.
It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is once again. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions such as suspenseful tension, poignant pathos and witty humour. The story is paced beautifully, structured with such nuance and attention to coherence, a high emotional level and is done with intelligence, passion and sensitivity.
Direction is superb as is, even more so, the acting with not a single weak link.
In conclusion, great and a great sign of what was to follow. 9/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jan 5, 2018
Details
- Runtime55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1