Review Roundup: Season 5, Episode 1 “The Wars to Come”

Season 5 is finally here, and with it comes the cascade of commentary on the show. Each week, I’ll be highlighting what the critics are saying about each episode, going over the major talking points and charting how peoples’ opinions of the season change over time. There was plenty to talk about this week, so let’s jump right in!

On Cersei, Margaery, Loras, and Lancel:

The episode opened with the show’s first ever (and much-hyped) flashback scene, depicting Cersei’s visit to fortuneteller Maggy the Frog. Almost everyone agreed that the scene provided some much-needed insight into Cersei’s character, though not everyone thought that Li’l Cersei’s insult game was on point. Vulture’s Nina Shen Rastogi writes that “Li’l Cersei was not the most inventive of mean girls” while the A.V. Club’s Unsullied reviewer Erik Adams called it a “very Cersei-like putdown.” (Incidentally, Li’l Cersei seems to be the agreed-upon name for the child Cersei, played to perfection by Nell Williams.)

In the present, of course, Cersei buries her father and re-encounters her cousin. What’s interesting to me here is how Cersei is still viewed as a villain by most–a holdover of thinking of the Starks as the heroes of the piece, no doubt–yet people seem more trepidatious about Lancel’s religious awakening. Washington Post’s Alyssa Rosenberg: “”Lancel Lannister’s (Eugene Simon) grappling with his own sins has lead him in a decidedly more active – and sinister – direction.” Huffington Post’s Erin Whitney: “After his conversation with Cersei, it’s clear Lancel will become a major nemesis to her this season.” It’s not that I think that Cersei hasn’t done “bad things” per se, but I am interested in tracking whether peoples’ opinions of her change this season, perhaps mirroring the way some book-readers came around to Cersei when she became a POV character in A Feast For Crows. If they do, I expect it’ll be because they are skeptical about this new religious order.

As for the Tyrells, there was some amusement about the scene with Loras and Olyvar, particularly regarding the use of Loras’ birthmark as a way of seeding Dorne’s arrival to the show. We were also reminded that Natalie Dormer can take one word and make it sound sweet and sinister at the same time. Your word this week was “perhaps.” Use it in a sentence today and see if you can strike fear in the hearts of men! On the subject of Margaery, most of the non-book-reading reviewers (such as Julie Hammerle) jumped to the conclusion that she was the “younger and more beautiful queen” referred to in Cersei’s prophecy. Book-reader Myles McNutt (the Expert reviewer at the A.V. Club) is, like me, curious about how the Unsullied will interpret it.

On the Wall, and things to come in the North:

Jon Snow’s act of mercy was the biggest thing that happened this week up north (Nerdist’s Alicia Lutes: “You at least know a thing or two about empathy, which is in super short supply ’round these parts”), and just as with book-readers, show-watchers continue to be divided on their opinions of Jon Snow. But I think Alan Sepinwall had the best summary of why the Wall’s storyline should strike a chord with viewers this year: “Apart, Stannis can be a stone-faced thug and Jon Snow a bit dull in his suffering nobility. Put them together, though, in a situation where each man respects the other but has a different agenda, and there’s suddenly a new charge through both characters as they feel each other out.” That sense of a world of disparate characters coming together was also felt in the brief crossing of paths between Brienne/Pod and Sansa/Littlefinger; even though the two groups didn’t meet, the idea that the show is beginning to draw some threads together exciting people. TV Guide’s Hanh Nguyen even jokingly references NBC’s Heroes: “Save the Winterfell heir, save the world!” People also dig Mance Rayder’s principles, which worked out really well for him up until he started burning to death.

Amusingly, though, the scene that garnered the most comments was the elevator scene between Jon and Melisandre. Washington Post’s Unsullied reviewer David Malitz writes “At least where I work, HR would frown on this type of elevator small talk,” while Price Peterson at Yahoo! writes “Yup, the Red Woman called Jon for a meeting and took the opportunity to hit on him and also brag about never having to wear a jacket. We get it, lady; you’re into fire and stuff. Relax.” E! Online’s Sydney Bucksbaum: “That can’t actually be good if she thinks it is! Run away, Jon! Run far, far away!” This feels like a shift in tone from the books, but after all, a lot of things at the Wall are left inconclusive at the end of A Dance With Dragons, so maybe David & Dan know something I don’t know.

On Daenerys, who is NOT the Mother of Unsullied, and Tyrion:

There were plenty of comments on the brothel scene in Meereen, but I feel like Vulture’s Nina Shen Rastogi summed up everyone’s reactions quite well: “Soothing. Maternal. Have we ever seen a scene like this b/w a man and woman OH DAMMMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.” (For the record, yes, I think this might be one of the most maternal scenes we’ve seen in the show to date.) On the whole, though, Dany’s storyline in this episode is largely just setting up the major conflicts, and also establishing that Rhaegal and Viserion are basically moody teenagers now. Here’s HuffPo’s Erin Whitney with the understatement of the night: “The kids are not happy.” Price Peterson: “They were definitely going to need some family counseling if she ever expects a breakthrough.” Interestingly, Alicia Lutes makes a rather hard-hitting connection that Daenerys may be acting as an abandoned mother: “Without Dany’s presence in their daily lives, are they beyond saving? HMM THIS SMELLS LIKE A METAPHOR OR SOMETHING!” I hope that, in between the political stories driving the Meereen plots, we’ll be able to get inside Dany’s head-space a little more this year. She’s a fascinating character on the page, and there’s only so much that Emilia Clarke’s performance can convey.

Everyone is excited about Tyrion’s storyline intersecting with Dany’s. Not everyone is excited about Tyrion’s “delightful” new drinking habit. It’s weird to see everyone suddenly taking Varys at his word, but given how much this storyline has already been altered from the books, I guess that’s okay. Meanwhile, please enjoy our GIF of Tyrion vomiting wine after speaking the most-quoted line of dialogue of the night: “The future is shit, just like the past.”

Other Quotes of Note:

“Brienne’s unique model of feminine protectiveness: Unlike a protector like Catelyn or even Dany, the framework Brienne operates within isn’t maternal, but chivalrous.” —Nina Shen Rastogi, Vulture

“Game Of Thrones isn’t just a viscerally entertaining fantasy story—it’s now the most thoughtful political show on television, and perhaps the best since The West Wing. And in a lot of ways, it’s even better, because while Aaron Sorkin acolytes revel in the walk-and-talk witticisms and trumpet the glorification of the American political machine, The West Wing was terrible at offering up competing viewpoints without favoring one over the other. Sorkin was never evenhanded or ambiguous.” —Kevin McFarland, BoingBoing

“There’s a reason people stop watching the news. Sometimes, looking out the window at the world around you becomes too horrible to bear, and this is when life is never more dangerous. What happens when people stop talking about, caring about, and paying attention to the horrors in the world around them is that things get even worse. What Varys understands inherently, and what he’ll hopefully bring Tyrion around on in short order, is the fact that the only way to get people organized and motivated and focused, is to give them something to believe in, something to hope for.” —Libby Hill, Salon

• Published on 04/15/2015 at 9:30 AM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:05 PM CDT