Tyrion welcomes a guest to King's Landing. At Castle Black, Jon stands trial. Daenerys is pointed to Meereen, the mother of all slave cities. Arya runs into an old enemy.Tyrion welcomes a guest to King's Landing. At Castle Black, Jon stands trial. Daenerys is pointed to Meereen, the mother of all slave cities. Arya runs into an old enemy.Tyrion welcomes a guest to King's Landing. At Castle Black, Jon stands trial. Daenerys is pointed to Meereen, the mother of all slave cities. Arya runs into an old enemy.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDiana Rigg's surprised exclamation towards Gwendoline Christie's height, when the latter approached her table, was quite genuine. Rigg was aware that Gwendolyn was taller than most women, but was unprepared for just how tall. The producers kept it since it fit in so well with her character.
- GoofsThe process shown at the beginning of the episode is called casting, and cannot be used to make swords - they'd be too brittle; forging is a much more elaborate and lengthy process. If the secret of the steel is lost, as both Tywin and Jaime mention, it is impossible to just melt an old sword to make a new one. It is necessary to cut the old sword into parts and reforge it, and to know the exact method (i.e. "secret") to do that, and even then, it'd be a totally different steel.
- Quotes
Polliver: You know what? You should come with us.
[Polliver points at the innkeeper]
Polliver: His kind, they've always got something hidden away somewhere. Gold, silver, more daughters, always something if you know how to make 'em talk. And there's plenty of in-between here and King's Landing. You could do well for yourself. We certainly have been.
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: I'm not going to King's Landing.
Polliver: Think about it. We could do whatever we like, wherever we go.
[Polliver taps his surcoat]
Polliver: These are the king's colors. No one's standing in his way now, which means no one's standing in ours.
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: [leaning forward] Fuck the king.
[long, uncomfortable silence]
Polliver: When I heard that Joffrey's dog had tucked tail and run from the Battle of the Blackwater, I didn't believe it. But here you are.
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: Here I am. Bring me one of those chickens.
Polliver: You got money to pay for it?
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: YOU paid for it?
Polliver: [chuckles] No. But we're the king's men. So, you got money?
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: Not a penny. I'll still take that chicken.
Polliver: Tell you what: we'll trade you. One of our little chickens for one of yours.
[Polliver turns to look at Arya]
Polliver: Give us a go at your friend.
[Polliver turns and motions to one of his men at another table]
Polliver: Lowell there likes them a bit broken in.
[pause]
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: You're a talker. Listening to talkers makes me thirsty.
[the Hound reaches across the table, grabs Polliver's drink, and drains it]
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: And hungry. Think I'll take two chickens.
[Polliver turns and looks at his men, then turns back to the Hound]
Polliver: You don't seem to understand the situation.
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: I understand that if any more words come pouring out your cunt mouth, I'm gonna have to eat every fucking chicken in this room.
Polliver: You lived your life for the king. You gonna die for some chickens?
Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane: Someone is.
[another long pause, then everybody draws their weapons and a fight breaks out]
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Game of Thrones Quotes (2016)
"Two Swords" may not be 'Game of Thrones' at its best, then again it is a season opener with character introductions and further plot advancement so things are not quite settled, but is a great start for Season 4. It does a fabulous job with introducing new characters and re-introducing past ones, while advancing what was shown before. One just wishes that more thought was put into the casting change for Daario, the lack of physical resemblance is too jarring and didn't feel like the same character.
In terms of standout scenes, the highlight for me is the final one between Arya and Sandor. All the acting is superb, the always-never-less-than-great actors such as Peter Dinklage, Charles Dance and Jack Gleeson still shine, Sophie Turner has really grown as an actress and the new characters make a strong impression, Pedro Pascal particularly note-worthy. Direction is fine.
Visually, "Two Swords" 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 "Two Swords" 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.
On the whole, great season opener if not quite a show high-point. 9/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jan 22, 2018
Details
- Runtime58 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1