David Benioff

TV REVIEW: GAME OF THRONES – SEASON 07 – EPISODE 07 (Season Finale)

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

the dragon and the wolfA meeting is held in King’s Landing. Problems arise in the North.

Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Writers: David Benioff
Stars: Alfie Allen, Jacob Anderson, Robert Aramayo

Review by Mary Cox

“The Dragon and the Wolf”

Anyone who didn’t see anything that happened last night coming from a mile away needs to get their eyes checked. Game of Thrones has always been a series that’s heavy-handed with its foreshadowing, but the bombs the series dropped tonight have been on our radars for a good while. That doesn’t mean that last night’s bombshell of a season finale was bad! It’s just that things are getting too predictable after seven years, and I miss the wild and unexpected turns we got in the first few seasons, like Jaime losing his hand, and Ned Stark losing his head.

Jon and Dany’s “Boat Ride and Chill” is made a lot weirder when you learn that he’s essentially boning his aunt, but this is par for the course for the Targaryens, who historically like to keep it in the family anyway. Seriously though, how creepy was Tyrion for lurking in the halls and listening in on their
hookup?

I predicted we’d have a big, heart-breaking death in this finale, and I was a little off-course considering how much Littlefinger’s been asking for it since the first season. It’s a little disappointing that Arya only slit his throat, as a full-on Ned Stark style decapitation would have been much more satisfying and tied together.

Now that the Army of the Dead have their Icy Hot dragon, how in the hell is the North going to stand against them? Even though the Night King is outnumbered two to one when it comes to fire lizards, how is Daenerys going to handle fighting and killing one of her own “children”?

Cersei is reaching Nixon-levels of paranoia and scheming, to the point where she’s finally threatened to turn her sword against her own brother. Again, what the series is implying to us through the language of cinema is that Jaime is going to rehash his Kingslayer role before the end of the final season.

This season finale has left us with a monumental cliffhanger (or should I say wall hanger, considering how Tormund barely made it out alive) and with the Night Kings marching in the direct path of Winterfell. My one hope for the final chapter of the series is that they don’t sacrifice story over time like they did with the last few episodes of this season. We’ll have to wait an entire year to find out

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TV REVIEW: GAME OF THRONES – SEASON 07 – EPISODE 06

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

beyond_the_wall_1.jpgEpisode Titled: Beyond the Wall

Jon and his team go beyond the wall to capture a wight. Daenerys has to make a tough decision.

Director: Alan Taylor
Writers: David Benioff
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington

Review by Mary Cox

As predicted, Jon Snow’s northbound traipse has ended in absolute disaster. Not only is Daenerys down a dragon, but now, the Night King has added Viserion to the ranks of the White Walkers. Killing the Undead is hard enough as it is! Real talk: why did Dany take all three dragons up North in the first place? When her Dothraki Horde went up against the Lannister Army, she only brought along Drogon.

The only clear explanation is that Dany’s got a crush on a certain boring brooding bastard. Daenerys’ conversation with Tyrion regarding naming an heir for her kingdom is yet another sign that the plot of this season is clumsily stomping towards a hookup between Jon and Dany.

This was an episode that proves that nobody in this show ever learns anything. Sansa, who somehow can’t seem to remember how this situation ended up for her father, is sending Brienne of Tarth to her death by making her respond to a summons at King’s Landing. Sansa’s poor strategic and leadership skills are starting to get a little exhausting.

Once again: what the hell does Littlefinger want, other than to stir the pot? In past seasons, his motivations have been a little clearer, as it’s established that he carried a serious torch for the previous Lady of Winterfell, but ever since Catelyn’s downfall at the Red Wedding, Littlefinger has been slouching and scheming around the Seven Kingdoms with no Modus Operandi other than a vague
interest in boning Sansa.

Predictions for next week’s season finale: at least one of our important major characters is going to die.

Knowing how this series works, there’s no way all of these characters are going to live until next year’s premiere. My money is on Brienne when she goes to King’s Landing, or possibly Cersei at the hands of Jaime. The White Walkers, armed with their new dragon, are going to successfully attempt to storm the
Wall. Sansa is going to continue making irresponsible decisions, and Littlefinger is going to lurk menacingly around a corner.
 
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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

TV REVIEW: GAME OF THRONES – SEASON 07 – EPISODE 04

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , ,

the spoils of war1.jpgDaenerys strikes back. Jaime faces an unexpected situation. Arya comes home.

Director: Matt Shakman
Writers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey

Review by Mary Cox

Tonight was an episode focused on both reunions and revenge. There haven’t been this manyStarks in the same room since the first season. We’re finally getting to see the plots we’ve been following for close to a decade now intertwine, and it is SO rewarding. Seeing Arya go one-on-one with Brienne of Tarth was incredible! Jon, who still believes that Theon murdered Bran and Rickon, barely manages to control himself when the last of the Greyjoys wash up on Dragonstone.

An obvious highlight of tonight’s episode is the battle between the Lannister army and Daenerys’ dragons. The tension between Bronn at the Scorpion and Daenerys on Drogon was incredible. After a close call with Drogon, some unknown person shoves Jaime out of the path of fire and into the bottom of a lake. Is this really how the Kingslayer dies? Probably not.

One question I keep having is: what is Littlefinger up to? His character seems almost undirected while he’s surrounded by a court of pragmatic Northerners who don’t give into manipulation as easily as the nobles at King’s Landing. Obviously, his long-term goal is Sansa, but how is he planning on getting there?

Something to watch out for in future episodes: Tyrion seems to be having his doubts about which side he wants to be on while watching his fellow Lannisters fall victim to the flames of Daenery’s dragons, but is he willing to throw away his alliance with the Targaryen queen for the sake of his blood? I doubt it.
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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”

 

GAME OF THRONES Season 7 EP3 Review: THE QUEEN’S JUSTICE

festreviews Mary Cox, television, Television Reviews, tv, TV Reviews, Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,

the queens justice.jpgDaenerys and Jon meet. Cersei gains a new ally. Sansa receives an unexpected visitor. Sam is confronted for his actions.

Director: Mark Mylod
Writers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey

Review by Mary Cox

After seven long seasons of waiting, Daenerys’ plot has finally intersected with that of the Starks. Those who were hoping for an instant love affair between Jon and Dany must have been sorely disappointed. Some might be surprised by Daenerys’ open hostility towards Jon, but she is the Mother of Dragons after all. The need for good relations between the North and Dragonstone has obviously been increased by Daenerys’ military failures in her first foray into the Great Game, but will Jon repeat the diplomatic mistakes of Ned Stark, or will he take after his (alleged) bio-dad, Rhaegar Targaryen?

This was another episode jam-packed with dramatic deaths that highlight the differences between Jaime and Cersei Lannister. Before her death by poison, Olenna castigated Jaime for his overwhelming pussy-blindness, and forescasted his eventual downfall at the hands of Cersei. Even though it’s sad to see her go, it’s rewarding knowing that Olenna went out with a bang by confessing that she was behind Joffrey’s death at the Purple Wedding.

What’s notable here is the difference in diplomacy between the last two Lannisters in King’s Landing. Cersei’s brutal execution of Ellaria and Tyene Sand is miles apart from how Jaime handles his murder of Olenna. It seems that even though the Targaryens are back on the scene, Cersei is the one who is following in the steps of Aerys, the Mad King. As we all know, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. As the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister is no stranger to cutting down an out-of-control monarch, but does he have the ability to make that call when it comes to his sister wife?

 

 

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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t

Happy Birthday: David Benioff

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davidbenioff.jpgDavid Benioff

Born: September 25, 1970 in New York City, New York, USA

Married to: Amanda Peet (30 September 2006 – present) (3 children)

[on the ‘Game of Thrones’ series] Wiser network heads might have said ‘You can’t kill Sean Bean nine episodes into your show’. Guess what? The lead dies. That’s why HBO is HBO. They break all the rules.

While working on Game of Thrones, he and co-creator D. B. Weiss worked all through the year, non stop. They would write an outline for each season and then started writing the actual scripts while managing production at the same time. The scripts had to be all done by the time they started filming the season, and as the large production it is they were filming for months with several units in several countries at the same time, while they did re-writings of parts of the scripts and made perfections. They also made sure there’s always a man from the writing crew at one of the filming units, to supervise. Almost immediately after finishing filming, they started writing the outline for the next season. At the same time, the previous season was in post production phases like editing and sound mixing, and they had to oversee all these procedures while writing, and later deal with marketing of the upcoming season as well. David and Dan would occasionally say in interviews that all they want to do once they finish with the show is to “get some sleep”.

 

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