“Kissed by Fire” S03E05 Game of Thrones Review

I’m in a bit of a quandary with this series of Game of Thrones. The problem is that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss created such a fantastic show that after series two and having just received a brand spanking new Kindle, I had to find something to read. Step forward George R. R. Martin.  But it was ok, because I was just going to read the first two books to get in line with the show. I didn’t want to take away the thrill at the end of each episode. The discussion about what they would do next, was so and so still alive, who was going to suffer from that decision. So of course, I’m now three books down the line and now the discussion is, well the series finale is bound to be that bit, oh good they kept that in, I reckon that’s going to be in episode three. Which is what I’m sure the creators wanted to do: generate debate about logistics. It’s my own stupid fault, I knew the rule as does everyone else: the only adaptation that can be watched after having read the book with the same level of enthusiasm is the BBC series of Pride and Prejudice and that’s it.

So, although this review will not be pondering the who, what and why to the extent of those that don’t know how it ends, I shall try to look at it with fresh eyes. Which is made easier as the creators are so loyal to the original text. It infuriates me when adapters decide to throw out dialogue in the novel and replace it with their own, when the original was perfectly suited to the task, what with it being from a very popular book that people were particularly fond of (see every Harry Potter film written by Steve Kloves, which is all but one). It’s a very pleasant feeling to hear lines that you recognise because instead of shouting ‘Jaime wouldn’t say it like that!’ you can focus on how Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has achieved something I wasn’t sure he could: make Jaime layered, interesting, fragile and very, very likeable. The bath scene was another piece in the puzzle with the eldest Lannister boy, and a puzzle I’m glad they are putting together for us. In the earlier series he was a bit of an identikit baddie, enjoyable but not much there, but this series we are starting to see what makes this man tick and I like him even more that when he pushed Brann out of the window. We also get to see a lot more of Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne and wow.  The costume department has done a fine job, though having read up a little bit about Christie’s determination to get the role, she deserves a lot of that praise as well. As Brienne she has always delivered and continued to in this episode. I hope they keep these two together for much of the series. Though I am disappointed by the omission of Jaime constantly referring to her as wench.

There were quite a few great scenes this week. The opening fight was thoroughly entertaining and kudos to Rory McCann for conveying the Hound’s horror at a flaming sword with just a split second look. The goodbye scene between Arya and Gendry was heartbreaking (‘you wouldn’t be my family, you’d be milady’), with Maisie Williams skilfully handling Arya’s abandonment issues with flair so rarely seen in an actress so young. With Gendry going off to the Brotherhood without Banners I certainly hope the pair will see each other again, mostly so Joe Dempsie can reprise his role (assuming we lose him from our screens in his new gang). Diana Rigg as the matriarch of the Tyrell clan is a joy and the writer Bryan Cogman was wise to create a scene just to give Olenna some more screen time. Then of course there’s the flesh picking scene with Jaime and Qyburn (their choice of Anton Lesser who played Clarence in The Hour, leads me to believe we’ll be seeing more of him) was just brilliant: ‘I’ll scream loudly’.

We did have to suffer some Stannis however. This is no fault of Stephen Dillane, who plays him so well he sucks the warmth out of every room he enters, including your own living room. We do get to see his family side, which explains a lot. His wife is a grade A nutbag, with a side of jar foetuses. His daughter, despite her parentage, seems fairly normal and judging by the slight upturning of one side of his mouth that he manages when he sees her, Stannis is particularly fond. Though we had to endure her singing, and as we know I’m not a fan of that.

The actual plot trundles along, with the Karstark’s inevitable betrayal finally coming to fruition, which naturally brings out the Stark in Robb. When I say Stark I mean Ned, he really is his fathers son. Has Robb not learned that honour and justice get you nowhere? This is all leading to something, though very, very slowly. The pacing in this series is a little off, due to the fact the third book is pretty much plod, plod, plod, plod . . . oh my god! Bloody hell! Shhhiiiittttt! There are several things I would have brought forward or moved back to spread out the action, though stick with it. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.

8/10