(Photo courtesy of HBO)It’s almost time for another scorching summer in the Valley, but with winter arriving in Westeros, taking refuge in front of the television will be a rewarding summertime prospect.
Sunday’s season three premiere of HBO's "Game of Thrones" began right where it left us at the end of last season: in the cold cinematic tundra North of the Wall with the threat of White Walkers lingering and the Night’s Watch stumbling to figure out how to deal with this otherworldly problem.
Also North of the Wall, we find Jon Snow (Kit Harington) attempting to infiltrate the ranks of his captors, the wildlings.
Snow casts off his Night’s Watch armor and pledges his allegiances to the rag-tag outfit of wildlings, and we find ourselves wondering for the first time about the motives and allegiances of the usually honest and forthright character.
This set the tone for the episode, appropriately titled "Valar Dohaeris," or "All men must serve," and sets up an interesting dynamic for the season moving forward as Snow tries to use his cunning to stay alive behind enemy lines, while his former brothers attempt to quell the Wight problem — which is looming larger than any political conflict back in Westeros.
As Snow is being marched through the wildlings arctic home base, the audience encounters its first fascinating surprise and it is literally of monumental proportions.
A “shy” giant. According to Ygritte (Rose Leslie) the wildling, who warns a jaw-dropped Snow not to stare too long for giants get angry quickly, giants have been known to “pound a man straight into the ground like a hammer on a nail.”
The visual effects used to produce the giant leave no question as to the immense nature of the being we are looking at and the visually superb details further establish the show’s effects producers as the best in the business.
Meanwhile, back in King’s Landing, a mutilated Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) has made an epic fall from grace, as he was yanked from the position of Hand of the King and is seen rotting behind large wooden doors (which are fittingly locked from the inside) in the shadows of what feels like a dungeon cell.
A paranoid Tyrion struggles with his new ignoble existence, but we find out through an exchange with his sister Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) that the wit in the imp’s spirit has not been extinguished as Dinkelage familiarly delivers familiarly biting and comical lines.
Later, in a conversation with his father Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), Dinkelage maneuvers Tyrion comfortably, if not brilliantly, between the comedic and dramatic registers. Like a sad clown, we find Tyrion in yet another interaction that serves to remind us how melancholy his situation truly is and the beautiful irony behind his often-jocular musings shines.
Also in King’s Landing, we find an older Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) seeming more mature when it comes to wielding insults toward his mother but still sophomoric in his cowardice and juvenile demeanor.
Like Tyrion, he, too, is tucked away. However, it is inside of a shrouded royal palanquin, and he is carted by his entourage through a destitute area of King’s Landing were he was once hilariously hit in the face with flying feces.
His new bride to be, Lady Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer), makes it a point to stop and engage the local orphans who have just lost their fathers in the battle at Blackwater Bay and — is if we needed any reminder — we notice yet again just how flimsy Joffrey is as he cowers in his covered cart. This begs the question of how long such a timid king will last in Westeros.
As Cersei openly disagrees with Lady Margaery’s seemingly authentic knack for charity and belief in equality, Joffrey’s new marriage already appears to be more than the Lannisters bargained for and serves to set up an undoubtedly problematic relationship for Joffrey and his entitled family.
The scenes at King’s Landing are perfect examples of what is perhaps "Game of Thrones" strongest faculty: Its ability to present drama with Shakespearean monumentality by exploring contemporary themes such as hereditary inequality, but placing them in an unusually exotic and manifestly magical world.
Meanwhile, Joffrey’s first wife Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), who has become a mere hostage to the Lannisters, is approached with an offer from by Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish (Aidan Gillen) whose means always seem to be serving a selfish end.
Sansa will attempt to escape King’s Landing and return her to her family with Littlefinger’s help, but his nefarious intentions are foreshadowed and another painful deception of a naïve and overly-trusting member of the Stark family seems inevitable.
At Harenhall, we find a sobering situation and an even more impactful reminder of the somber state of the Stark House as Robb Stark (Richard Madden) enters the castle with his mother Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) in tow as his prisoner only to find a slew of his soldiers who have been slaughtered and left for dead by the Lannisters.
The apparent demise of the once powerful, but now fractured Stark family invokes empathy and recalls of the fragile nature of power in Westeros leaving the viewer wondering if and how the Starks will reconcile their collapse.
The premiere’s final scene was particularly fitting as, across the Narrow Sea on the boat of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), we finally got a taste of what we have all been truly waiting for — dragons.
Daenerys’s fire-breathing offspring appear in a stage of adolescence as they ardently kill and fry fish, pouncing about the ocean like winged dolphins. A closer interaction with their mother reveals their colorful scales and complex expressions, and the CGI is so astounding that it leaves the viewer feeling like the fabled animal was pulled out of a zoo and trained.
The Khaleesi and her famously friend-zoned henchman Ser Jorah (Iain Glen), dock their boat at Astapor in Slaver’s Bay and we find her in a moral quandary, as she scrutinizes the idea of buying an elite army of enslaved mercenaries.
As the final scene comes to a close, Daenerys attempts to engage a mysterious local girl who is eerily reminiscent of elusive season two, dragon thief Pyat Pree in her fiendish looks and warlock abilities. Has Pree morphed into a new body since he met his demise at the hands of Daenerys’ dragons or is the girl part of his family of warlocks? Either way, revenge seems imminent.
The strange girl uses her magic to attempt to assassinate the Khaleesi but not before Barristan Selmy (Ian McElhinney), a much revered warrior and former King’s Guard commander under Robert Baratheon, saves and declares his allegiance to her.
With this brilliant and intriguing final stroke, Daenerys officially moves into the forefront, not only as the best potential usurper of the Iron Throne, but also as the most intriguing of the show’s many characters and storylines.
This season is poised to be the best yet as the premier elaborated on past storylines, while setting new ones into motion in an even more seamless manner.
Moreover, the elaborate settings and seemingly infinite lush environments used in "Game of Thrones" seem to be ever growing as they transport viewers into unique states of being, none quite like the last yet all equally as visually detailed, endlessly breathtaking and flawlessly fitting for each storyline they present.
Without skipping a beat the best show on television took its rightful place on TV’s Iron Throne on Sunday, and left us with no choice but to tune in and watch the cinematic masterpiece unfold.
Reach the reporter at npmendo@asu.edu.
