Game of Thrones: The fun to come

By Patrick Cochran

Staff Writer

After a year of anxiously waiting, fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones were rewarded on Sunday night with the first episode of season five.

While light on the gratuitous violence most fans expected, the episode did have many of the other aspects fans of the show love: plotting, scheming, and sex scenes with political overtones.

The episode’s opening scene transports viewers back to Cersei Lannister’s youth, the first flashback in the show’s history. In this pivotal scene Cersei confronts Maggy the Frog, a fortune teller, who warns that Cersei’s eventual death will come from her “valonqar” (means “little brother” in High Valyrian).

Author George R.R. Martin, who wrote the series of books on which the show is based, frequently uses flashbacks to tell the story.  Thrones held off on using this technique until the season five premiere.

Season five is largely based on “A Feast for Crows” and “A Dance with Dragons”, the fourth and fifth installments of Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. While the show’s past seasons followed the books’ plot, season five strays off course to create original story-lines. This means for the first time readers of the novels will not be aware of where the show is heading.

Readers will no longer have the smug satisfaction of knowing what is going to happen next. If the writers of the show want to pull off a shocking character death, they will be able to surprise the entire audience.

Cast members have been warning fans that this season will be particularly bloody. Sophie Turner, who portrays Sansa Stark, told the Huffington Post that this would be a ‘traumatic’ season. “There’s some massive moments, perhaps even more shocking than the Red Wedding.”

The first episode lacked signature moments, such as Tyrion shooting his father with a crossbow while he sits constipated on the toilet, but does an excellent job of setting up the season. New plotlines were revealed and important characters made their long-awaited return.  Lancel and Kevan Lannister appeared, but where is Balon Greyjoy?

The episode’s closing scene was particularly powerful, with main character Jon Snow showing his resolve in a striking scene featuring King Stannis Baratheon and The King Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder. With the tension at the Wall rising, the interactions among Stannis, Melisandre The Red Priestess and Jon Snow should be very intriguing this season.

This episode was all about laying down the groundwork for future plot developments this season. Episode one revealed that Cersei will be having family issues, Littlefinger and Sansa are going somewhere, and that religion will be a major theme this season.

Whatever direction the show heads, it should be a fun ride, although possibly traumatising.

pcochran@theguardsman.com