Valar morghulis.
Game of Thrones is a 2011-2019 fantasy television series created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, produced by HBO Entertainment, Television 360, Grok! Television, Generator Television, Startling Television, and Bighead Littlehead, and distributed by HBO. The fourth season is based off of George R.R. Martin's 2000 novel, A Storm of Swords. It stars Peter Dinklage and Kit Harington.
"The Lannisters aren't the only ones who pay their debts." - Oberyn Martell
Plot
The King in the North is dead. The Lannisters seem to be on the way to victory in the War of the Five Kings. However, the arrival of a charming prince from Dorne and a malicious plot to tear them apart from the inside makes things difficult in King's Landing. At the Wall, Jon Snow and the rest of the Night's Watch prepare for Mance Rayder's imminent attack on Castle Black. And, in Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen prepares to invade Westeros while attempting to keep control of Slaver's Bay.
The Sweet
People often cite the fourth season of Game of Thrones as the best. I can understand why.
As of writing this review, I am on season seven, so I'm nearing the end, and I can confirm that season four is one of the strongest seasons and definitely the best in the first half of the show. This is the final season where the writers truly adapt George R.R. Martin's novels. Seasons five and six take some things from A Song of Ice and Fire, but they aren't direct adaptations. Season four feels like the true payoff to everything that happened in season three, and I think that that makes it feel like one of the best and most satisfying.
The thing that makes season four great is that there's no build-up. We come straight out of the trauma of the Red Wedding into season four and we see Joffrey immediately begin to celebrate their victory. And then, two episodes in, we have another shocking wedding (although this is much more satisfying than traumatizing). Joffrey Baratheon is poisoned at his own wedding and dies a gloriously horrific death, setting the stage for an explosive season of twists and turns and some of the peak moments of Game of Thrones.
The thing that makes season four great is that almost all of the plot lines are compelling, and for entirely different reasons. The King's Landing plot line is obviously the highlight here. Tyrion cements himself as one of the show's best characters. He gets treated brutally in this season, and we see that all come out in his incredible monologue at his trial. Peter Dinklage is truly a force to be reckoned with. He's always been great in this role, but his performance in this season is some of the most heart-breaking stuff in the show.
I also thought that the other characters occupying the King's Landing plot were the most compelling they've been throughout the whole show. Jaime remains one of the best and most improved characters after his sympathetic turn in the third season. We see that he actually loves Tyrion and does not want him to die. He stands up to Tywin and Cersei to advocate for Tyrion. It's amazing how lovable he is considering that he was truly one of the worst people on this show in the first two seasons.
Tywin also makes a case for the strongest antagonist in Game of Thrones here. We see his twisted view on the world and how he views the legacy of his family as the most important thing. He is this proud, cruel man...and that ends up being his downfall. Throughout the series, he has always rejected Tyrion, but he cannot see that Tyrion is the smartest and probably most similar to him of his children. The irony of him getting shot on the toilet, this proud, sneering man, is just one of the coolest things that Game of Thrones has done.
This season also delivers on the action front. The Watchers on the Wall, the penultimate episode of this season, made a case for my favorite episode of the series (until season six). We have seen spurts of the Night's Watch in action, but this was a full episode-long battle between the Night's Watch and the wildlings. It was incredible. Full of awesome fight scenes, tense sequences, and, of course, tragic drama as we see Jon and Ygritte reunite right before Ygritte dies.
Another highlight of this season is Arya and the Hound. Now, obviously, Arya and the Hound were together in the previous season, but we get to spend basically the whole season with them and it is so much fun. Maisie Williams just embodies Arya Stark perfectly, and her feistiness and anger matched with the Hound's grumpiness and cynicism is so fantastic. It's clear that neither of them really like each other (which is especially embodied when Arya lets the Hound die) but they have such an interesting relationship. I don't even know how to describe it, but it's so much fun.
This season also really delivers on the emotional front. As great as Game of Thrones has been, I feel like it's never quite hit emotionally. Of course, Ned's death is very sad, but it's so shocking that it feels like you cannot process it and be sad about it. The Red Wedding is so horrifying that sadness isn't even really the emotion that you feel. This season tugs on your heartstrings. Tyrion's trial is one of the most devastating sequences in the show. As I previously said, Ygritte and Jon's relationship comes to a tragic end. This season just nails this more emotional aspect that it feels like Game of Thrones has been missing.
This season also has the first real semblance of payoff. The first three seasons of Game of Thrones is a lot of build-up. Season one is essentially a prologue. Season two does have the Battle of Blackwater Bay, which is awesome and pays of Stannis's attack on King's Landing, but we get payoffs to some things that have been sitting in the aether for a very long time. Obviously, Joffrey's death is a major payoff. Stannis reaches the Wall and joins forces with Jon. Bran meets the Three-Eyed Raven. Brienne goes looking for Arya and Sansa. And Arya goes to Braavos to train with Ja'qen. I just thought this season was such an awesome blend of the greatest aspects of Game of Thrones.
Negative Aspects
I don't have a ton of negatives here, but I do think that Daenerys's plot line is significantly weaker than most of the other ones. Having seen up to season six, I can tell you that Daenerys stays in Meereen for a while. And I think this season is really the weakest part of that. She isn't given a ton of screentime, and it feels like they didn't really know what to do with her. She can't get to Westeros yet, so she needs to sit on the throne in Meereen and just kinda...sit around for a while. It also felt like the other plot lines were so compelling that anytime we would cut back to Daenerys, I would just want to go back to Westeros.
I also think that the answer to who killed Joffrey is a bit underwhelming. I don't think it takes away from Joffrey's death at all; that sequence is absolutely incredible. However, I just think that it should've been emphasized more who did it. It's very much implied to be Olenna Tyrell and Littlefinger, but it's never really confirmed. Littlefinger straight up tells Sansa that he did it, and Olenna implies to Margaery that she did it. But this just creates confusion rather than understanding exactly how it went down.
I also think that this is the season where the White Walker teasing is the weakest. Season four feels like the peak of the King's Landing story. The Lannister-Stark conflict that has been going on since season one comes to a head here, so that is, of course, the most interesting thing about the season. Because of that, most other things seem weaker. The White Walkers show up a few times and Sam actually kills one to protect Gilly. We get our first look at the Night King. But every time we see them, it just feels like a mandatory reminder that "Hey, the White Walkers are still coming!" when I really just want to focus on the Lannisters and the Starks.
Final Thoughts and Score
Season four of Game of Thrones is the first peak of the show. The characters are the most compelling they've ever been and the action and shocks are at an all-time high. This is an awesome season of TV.
I am going Sweet here. Age range is 17+.
SWEET N' SOUR SCALE
Sweet (Great) Savory (Good)
Sour (Bad) Moldy (Terrible)
"Game of Thrones"
Fun Factor: 9/10
Acting: 9.5/10
Story: 9.5/10
Characters: 10/10
Quality: 9/10
Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Rated TV-MA for strong bloody violence, graphic sexual content and nudity, language, frightening themes and images, thematic elements
Premiered on April 6, 2014
Episode runtime: 60 minutes
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
Kit Harington as Jon Snow
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister
Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister
Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon
Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell
Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
Rose Leslie as Ygritte
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane
Rory McCann as Sandor "The Hound" Clegane
Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth
Jerome Flynn as Bronn
Sibel Kekilli as Shae
Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont
Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth
Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon
Carice van Houten as Melisandre
Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy / Reek
Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark
Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton
Conleth Hill as Varys
Aidan Gillen as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish
Hannah Murray as Gilly
Owen Teale as Alliser Thorne
Peter Vaughan as Maester Aemon
Ciarán Hinds as Mance Rayder
Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Jojen Reed
Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed
Kristian Nairn as Hodor
Richard Brake as The Night King
Dean-Charles Chapman as Tommen Baratheon
Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle
Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Mace Tyrell
Finn Jones as Loras Tyrell
Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell
Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell
Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand
Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne
Anton Lesser as Qyburn
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane
Tara Fitzgerald as Selyse Florent
Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon
Michael McElhatton as Roose Bolton
Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy
Kate Dickie as Lysa Arryn
Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn
Michiel Huisman as Daario Naharis
Ian McElhinney as Barristan Selmy
Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei
Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm
Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq
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