Game of Thrones S4x05 “First of His Name”

Warning! Major Spoilers!

We may only be five episodes into Game of Thrones but we’re actually already halfway through. This is something that’s been affecting everyone who’s watched the series in the past, the realization that whilst yes, we’ve only had five episodes, there’s incredibly only five left. Five more weeks and that’s all of the Game of Thrones we’ll get until next year. But don’t worry though, because these five weeks are going to be, if The First of His Name is any indication, television at its best.

We open with Tommen being crowned King of Westeros.  He already has made a considerable difference from Joffrey (as in, not being hated by everyone) and has already become one of the more likable characters on the show. As a result, this allows the focus to move away from King’s Landing as any real threat is no longer present, with Littlefinger gone – taking Sansa away from the Capital at long last.

There were still some good scenes at King’s Landing this week though. Whilst they suffered from being a tad exposition heavy in places, it did allow for some good moments between Margaery and Cersei. There wasn’t much of the likes of Jamie and Tyrion this week, but Cersei’s storyline was relatively solid even if it wasn’t the main focus of the episode.

Arya is one of my favourite characters on Game of Thrones so it was great to see her in the spotlight this episode, getting some good moments with the Hound in something that turned out to be among the more satisfying parts in this episode. Syrio was also brought up again here – and whilst he obviously hasn’t been on the show since he was killed off in season 1, it was good to see that one of my favourite characters from the earlier seasons got a mention.

Bran also got some good moments this week, possessing Hodor and using him to help the group’s escape. It was another satisfying moment that this show delivered on very well, with him coming so close to a reunion with Jon, who also had plenty to do this week proving that he would make an effective leader of the Night’s Watch. As a result a large amount of characters get some excellent development and it’s good to see that aside from the Cersei/Jamie scene a few episodes ago, this season has pretty much been getting almost everything right.

Dany also has started to lose grip on her newly liberated cities in her brief scene this week. Unfortunately it was only a minor scene, but still an important one – with old plots being brought to the forefront as she discusses the idea behind invading Westeros once more. But first she may have to deal with Yunkai and Astapor again as both cities have once again fallen into slave trading, and is faced with the choice of capitalising on the weakened state of Westeros or staying where she is and consolidating her rule once again.

However, I haven’t mentioned the biggest scene yet this week, and that came from Littlefinger, as it is revealed that he, not Cersei and Jamie – was responsible for the death of Jon Arryn, which of course without this we wouldn’t have had a show in the first place. Littlefinger also got to reunite with Lysa Tully, who got some good scenes this week as it was welcoming to see her back on screen, even if she’s now got a larger cast of characters to deal with.

Regardless though, The First of His Name was another strong episode of the series as it reaches its halfway mark for Season 4. This show once again is continuously proving why it’s among the, if not the best on TV, and next week should be interesting indeed.

What did you think of the episode, and what’s your favourite of the series so far? Let me know in the comments section below.