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Watching great drama frequently includes a certain strain of masochism, and few current shows are mining that vein as well as HBO’s medieval fantasy, Game of Thrones. Two seasons have already seen a fair amount of tragic turns and the deaths of beloved characters—enough that the series has earned a reputation for ruining many Sunday nights for its most ardent fans. One might even consider not watching, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s just so resoundingly well done.
Season three adapts approximately the first half of A Storm of Swords, the third book in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. The War of Five Kings for control of the continent of Westeros has seen one contender fall and another dealt a severe blow. The two most powerful camps, the sitting King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), backed by powerful House Lannister, and the rebelling King in the North, Robb Stark (Richard Madden), have been tearing the countryside apart in a series of moves and countermoves. Meanwhile, dragons are growing in the east under the guidance of exiled princess Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), and an army of ice demons and zombies is amassing in the far north beyond the massive wall.
While the fantasy elements continue to slowly creep in around the edges, Game of Thrones keeps the focus tight on the characters and the consequences of their various power plays and quests for revenge. Personal agendas collide, schemes hatch and backfire, and nearly everyone pays some kind of price for their choices. The centerpiece of the season is a harrowing sequence that you may have already heard of: a buffet of horror known as the Red Wedding. As one particularly sadistic character remarks, “if you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.”
It’s fascinating and complex material, but it can be tough on a viewer. Thankfully, the series also maintains its reputation for nuanced acting and impressive production design. As the world expands and more characters and subplots come in, everyone raises their game to compensate. One of the best developments of the season tracks the mismatched friendship of disgraced knight Ser Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and the warrior woman Brienne (Gwendoline Christie). Also, while the series will never be particularly easy to follow, it rewards attentive viewing with a continually rich level of detail. Some of the more arresting visuals include Daenerys finally unleashing her dragons and a force of Wildling barbarians scaling the 700-foot-tall wall.
Game of Thrones delights in throwing unexpected swerves at the audience, frequently to the detriment of their favorite characters. Even those darkest moments are fully earned, though, and they land with a resonance that few series can match right now. This is one of those shows worth getting invested in—even with the emotional wringer of the Red Wedding waiting for you.
Blu-ray Review:
Game of Thrones season three arrives on Blu-ray with 10 episodes and 12 commentaries (only the first episode goes without a single commentary track, which does seem odd). The pivotal ninth episode gets extra treatment with a special viewing option that includes interviews, story notes, and production videos as well as multiple options for viewing the Red Wedding.
Featurettes include a lengthy summary of season two (an excellent refresher before diving back in), a primer on the Wildlings, the politics of marriage in Westeros, and a handful of deleted or extended scenes.
My favorite ongoing feature in this set is an optional in-episode viewer’s guide that lets you access short character biographies, location descriptions, and history lessons while watching. It’s incredibly helpful for keeping everything straight without taking you too far out of the experience.
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