Game Of Thrones
For the Tywin!
Release Date: 16 February
2014 | 18 | Blu- ray/ DVD Showrunners: David Benioff, DB Weiss Cast: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster- Waldau, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Charles Dance, Pedro Pascal
Four years
into HBO’s adaptation of George RR Martin’s saga and life in Westeros isn’t getting any easier. This time, however, there’s at least the sense that the tide of misery is about to turn – bad things have finally started happening to bad people, as well as the good ones who’ve been on the receiving end since day one.
Impressively for a show made up of so many disparate story threads, there are few weak links here. Most of the mammoth cast get something meaty to chew on, though it’s newbie prince Oberyn Martell ( an instant rival to Tyrion as coolest character in the show), and Arya and the Hound’s unconventional odd couple road trip that really stand out.
While there’s nothing to quite rival season three’s Red Wedding for shock value, this year has its own moments of epic action ( the assault on Castle Black), gore ( the duel for Tyrion’s life) and even a wedding of its own. In the quieter moments, meanwhile, the character interplay is as good as anything on TV – no show does scheming and betrayal like Game Of Thrones.
Even if you look past the usual comprehensive Blu- ray- only in- episode guides and rundowns of Westeros mythology, this is a solid package whichever breed of shiny disc you buy it on. Both Blu- ray and DVD viewers can enjoy cast/ crew commentaries on nine of the ten episodes. Episode three (“Breaker Of Chains”) is the one to miss the cut – could its absence have anything to do with the season’s one misstep, an extremely unpleasant scene where Jaime sexually assaults his sister, Cersei? It’s hard to imagine what the speakers would have been able to say.
In terms of behind- the- scenes stuff, the banners are raised by “Behind The Battle For The Wall” ( 35 minutes), an in- depth doc about the making of the season’s epic episode nine, and “The Fallen Roundtable” ( 28 minutes), an entertaining sit- down discussion with the actors whose characters have learned that season four’s “All Men Must Die” tagline is painfully true. There’s also a featurette about “Bastards Of Westeros” ( seven minutes) – that theme must be a first for a DVD extra. A handy recap of season three ( 25 minutes), brief deleted scenes ( three minutes) and a fun gag reel round out the package. Richard Edwards