Breaker of Chains

Came to 'Game of Thrones' fairly late in the game and due to being so busy the binge-watching was gradual. Have found myself truly loving the show, very quickly becoming one of my favourites. It totally lives up to the hype and not only does it do the brilliant source material justice (a rarity in television) it is on its own merits one of the finest, most addictive and consistently compelling shows in recent years and quality-wise it puts a lot of films in recent years to shame.

"Breaker of Chains" is a slight let down after the incredible "The Lion and the Rose", nevertheless it was an excellent episode. Can totally see where people are coming from regarding the much-talked about controversial scene, and while it is open to interpretation that doesn't stop me from not being the biggest fan of the scene respectfully. It was uncomfortable to watch and not only added nothing, other than reminding us of what Jaime is capable of, but didn't fit with the rest of the episode. Personal opinion though.

Really liked the story development and direction it's going. It is very hard to follow on from an episode as special and emotionally impactful as "The Lion and the Rose" but "Breaker of Chains" does so very well if not quite as powerful. The tension and emotion are great, the storytelling absorbs and it is always great to see Daenerys getting meaty scenes and Cersei being more interesting than she has been in a while. Tyrion and Jaime are especially well written here.

While all the acting is never less than fine, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey and particularly Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau are the standouts here.

Visually, "Breaker of Chains" 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 "Breaker of Chains" 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.

All in all, excellent. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The best moment of the episode came when Tyrion says to his squire that he is the most loyal squire ever lived. Tyrion is the only real good man in that witty world.

An excellent episode with great finale! Epic moments once again!

This week's episode, "Breaker of Chains," is cleverly designed to provide some answers as well as some further complications to this mystery.

Danaerys' plotline: shows how smart she is to attack a corrupt and unjust society at its weakest link. And also why battle horses usually are armored all over, including a "helmet" of sorts.

The visuals in the Merreen episode are truly epic and astonishing, giant desert cliffs, an enormous pyramid, cool harpy statues. Makes me wish they'd come up with a spinoff series based in Essos or maybe further flung unexplored regions.

The scene with Tyrion and Podrick was truly touching. The sequences with the Hound and Arya were once again a dose of reality tossed in the audience's face. Of all the characters, the ones with the most realistic and unromanticized notion of the world are Varys and the Hound.

The sequence with Cersei and Jaime was...uh...what was the point of that? Maybe they didn't want us to think that Jaime had become an unalloyed heroic/sympathetic character after his adventures with Brienne? He has a sense of honor, he's Tyrion's only true friend (other than Bronn and Podrick, who work for him) but he's also a messed up Lannister.