Finally after two long years of waiting the show that brought good will back to Game Of Thrones and then lost a good deal of it with it's season 2 finale is now back for season 3. This is a show that I and many others have been eagerly awaiting for and despite the fact that the season 2 finale was a bad episode just based off of this episode alone there does look to be some small promise still left in the show and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FILLED review of the episode that gives us a different theme song for the first time in years with the episode in question being called simply just "Salt And Sea, Fire And Blood" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is war comes ever closer to Westeros and Corlys Velaryon and his men run into trouble in the sea one which results in a deadly confrontation. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. To put it bluntly this episodes plot is alot more better then the plot of the previous which for better or for worse could be seen as being both a good and bad thing it's a bad thing in that this episode plot does feel alot more like the plot of a series finale and not a series premiere as the episode doesn't really set up any plot lines for the forth coming season of the show. Yet it's also a good thing as it does mean that the season gets the chance to start out with a bang and give us a rally good plot that will have people talking for the next week or so be it for good or bad reasons which is something with the episodes plot even doing something that alot of first episodes have forgotten to do and that's make you want to watch the next episode as the plot of this episode does have alot of promise and it does give you all of the things that you want to see in the first episode for a Game Of Thrones show but at the same time tho it was hard to work out just what the plot of this episode was meant to be alot of the time as the episode doesn't really focus on its main plot with them instead focusing on other things which is something that does make the plot of this episode feel alot more like an after thought when it should have been something that was the only thought but to be fair tho this is the more stronger plot that the makers of this episode could have had to start out on with the plot of this episode being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen and Emma D'Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. Also starring in this episode is Olivia Cooke as Queen Alicent Hightower , James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower , Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon , Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole , Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong , Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria , Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen , Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen , Harry Collett as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon , Phia Saban as Queen Helaena Targaryen , Bethany Antonia as Lady Baela Targaryen , Jefferson Hall as Ser Tyland Lannister , Abubakar Salim as Alyn Of Hull , Clinton Liberty as Addam Of Hull , Phoebe Campbell as Lady Rhaena Targaryen , Kurt Egyiawan as Grand Maester Orwyle , Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower , Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers , Kieran Bew as Hugh , Tom Bennett as Ulf , Joplin Sibtain as Ser Jon Roxton , Paul Kennedy as Lord Jasper Wylde , Max Wrottesley as Ser Lorent Marbrand , Phil Daniels as Maester Gerardys , Nicholas Jones as Lord Bartimos Celtigar , Tommy Flanagan as Lord Roderick Dustin , Abigail Thorn as Admiral Sharako Lohar , Archie Barnes as Lord Oscar Tully , Ben Dilloway as Ser Soren , Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne and Annie Shapero as Alysanne Blackwood.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. This is something that really isn't all that surprising as the acting in tis show has always been top notch even in the shows more weaker episodes with the acting in this episode following suit by being really good as all of the episodes actors do bring there A game even those that are only in this episode do bring some really good performances to the episode which is something that does help to make this episode all the more better because of it. With the best actor in this episode is Phoebe Campbell as Lady Rhaena Targaryen as she does get alot to do in this episode and wile alot of her stuff is mainly in quick scenes when she does appear in the episode she does leave a lasting impact on you long after her scenes have finished and while it would have been super easy to say that someone like Matt Smith is the best actor in the episode it has to be Phoebe Campbell due to the fact that we do get to spend alot of time with her which is something that does give somewhat of a chance to show off just what it is that she can do as an actor with her going from scared to joyful and back to scared again all throughout the episode with this being something that does not only help her performance in the episode but it also shines through in her performance. With the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will com out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.
Doing the CGIA for this episode is PixStone Images , Pixomondo , Outpost VFX , RVX , Red Visual Effects , Rodeo FX , The Third Floor London and Viridian FX. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. Again much like the episodes acting the fact that this episode does have some really good CGI in it isn't something that's all the surprising for the fact that this show has always had some really good looking CGI in it. While tho the dragons in the episode do look good there are scenes where the characters do seem to be fully replaced by a digital double and they do stand out a mile as they do look really bad with the makers of this episode not really giving the effects teams enough time to create convincing looking digital doubles of course tho this is something that could be proven to be false but as the the behind the scenes featurettes haven't been released in full yet and won't be until the DVD and Blu-Ray of this season comes out, there are also times where the episode does go fully animated when it really didn't need to with those effects again not looking bad but they also aren't that good either but hen this episode does create some really good looking effects like all of the scenes at sea for example then we do get something that does look really good but it's those smaller thins that do hold the episodes effects back as it does appear as if the makers of this episode put alot of focus on the more bigger an important scenes that the smaller scenes do end up falling through the cracks.
SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In what was a really shocking move we actually get quite alot of character deaths in this opening episode with Lord Jason Lannister , Admiral Sharako Lohar , Vermax and Prince Jacaerys Velaryon all dying in the episode. This was something that will catch alot of people off guard as you don' usually expect character deaths in the first episode of a new season rather they are something that you expect to happen nearer the end of the season as that's when they will have the most impact and while there is nothing wrong with having them here in the first episode it does mean that for example Sharako can't leave that much of an impact as she was only introduced in the previous episode with her dying in this episode before she has the chance to do anything that's really actually important to the main plot of the show. However tho all of the deaths in this episode are really well done with them all taking place during this big sea battle over the course of the middle to the end of the episode with all of them getting killed of in really fun and gory ways which is something that is oddly befitting for this show and while more time with Sharako would have been nice as she did seem like a fun and cool character having her be killed of with some the more established characters in the show does now make us the audience wonder which one of the main characters can now die as while Jacaerys and Jason aren't main characters by any stretch of the imagination they are close enough to being main characters that them dying does make you go that any of the main characters can now die with Jacaerys having a pretty cool death as after his dragon is shot out of the sky with him on it he crash lands in the sea and has to struggle to get himself free from Vermax and yet when he does and he does reach the surface he gets shot several times in several parts of the body with arrows which was a really shocking way to end the episode.
In what was a shocking move this episode does introduce a new version of the Game Of Thrones theme song. With this new version still being as good as the original one was but it now sounds oddly more classical with a slight rock twist to it which is something that would have been fine if this was a new show as then it would help to set the show apart from Game Of Thrones but is this the shows third season and it's ending next season therefor changing the theme song now even if it is just a new recording of it doesn't make all that much sense but to it's credit tho it does go well with the seasons new intro which now does keep alot of themes from last seasons intro but it's now been made alot more darker with alot more bloodier images added to it. In what might be another shocking turn of events Daemon doesn't actually get to do all that much in this episode with him feeling more like a side character even tho Matt Smith is quite literally the first actor listed at the start of the episode with him really only appearing in the one scene very early on in the episode where he finds some new recruits in the form of Stark soldiers to help him and Rhaenyra win the war and that's really it and that is something that des seem like a waste for his character as his character is at it's best when he's there with Rhaenyra and not off on his own doing his own thing as we know just how powerful of a fighter that he is but what we want to see from him is what it is that makes him tick and we want to see more scenes of him trying to outwit his opponent by talking to them and not sticking them with the pointy end as that is something that would get old rather quickly and while this is only the first episode of the season and while he is acting on his orders from the previous episode we should be seeing more of Daemon and not less of him given what this show is building towards in season 4 as now is the time that the makers of this show should be getting us to really like all of the characters even the ones that are the bad guys as then when we do reach that final episode of next season it will be all the more impactful.
To the episodes credit we do get to see that Alicent is actually scared of her son as we see her planning to give Rhaenyra the throne and when that doesn't go the way she planned we see her looking afraid of Aemond Targaryen as even she knows that he is close to going to insane. This was such a good thig to have in the episode as it does let us the audience know that there is danger even in one of the places that one of the main characters is meant to be the safest with the danger coming from the one person who she wouldn't expect to harm her should he do so and while this is something that would have worked just as well being a little bit later on in this oddly short season it works just as well here as it does mean that us the audience get to see Aemond Targaryen possibly fall even more into insanity then he already has done before. While Alicent does get a little bit more screen time then Daemon got in this episode she doesn't have much of an impact on the episode as a whole as alot of her scenes involve her sneaking around Aemond Targaryen and while the theme of sons and mothers is something that does run through this episode as we see Jacaerys go against his mother and have her locked up in her room when she says that she's going to help Corlys in his fight against Sharako and her men which granted with the added benefit of hindsight was the right thing to do otherwise it would have meant that she would have died and not him and it now also means that Rhaenyra is now going to be less likely to end the war should she find out that another one of her sons has died in her name with this being something that is going to make episode 2 alot more interesting to watch as now we know that she is going to be on the war path and given the fact that her side does have alot of dragons it does mean that no one is safe.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and five minuets and thirty six seconds. This is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this how with this episode really needing that amount of time as the episode does have alot of characters to not only catch up no but also help to set up there arcs for the season and it wouldn't be able to do that and still tell a good enough plot with a smaller running time and while this is the kind of running time that you would expect a season finale to have it works just as well for this episode due to the fact that it does allow for us the audience to truly live and breathe in this world that little bit longer with the episode having more then enough plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. Yet even with this in mind the episode still doesn't use its running time all that wisely as the episode doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot which is something that would have been passable if this was episode nine of season two as then you could argue that the previous episode did all of the set up that was needed but this is meant to be the start of a new season and therefor the episode really can't be acting like its the final episode of the season as it has to spend time on developing things like the plot as this episode very well could be used to set up things that are important to the rest of the season but as the makers of this episode are far more interested in showing us alot of pointless with Lady Rhaena Targaryen and her new dragon Sheepstealer the plot of this episode is left feeling more like an afterthought. This is also true for the episodes character development as well although here you very well could make the case that alot of the episodes characters have the previous seasons to get there character development and therefor they don't need to get it here which us something that is a fair enough case to make but then you get to characters like Sharako who only appeared in one other episode before this one and yet here she gets no character development with nothing being added to her character when the makers of this episode should have done exactly that to make us feel something for her when she dies but it does seem like the makers of this episode were more focused on spending ALOT of time on the Battle Of The Gullet then they were in giving any of the characters any form of character development but I really will admit hat this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. The very fact that this episode even has an action scene in it right away makes it alot more better then the season two finale but even so alot of the time this episode does cut away from the action only to cut back to it when alot of the stuff that we actually want to see has already happened like for example the episode cuts to the end of a war with Daemon and his soldiers and yet that is something that we would have wanted to see as it would have made for a really cool action and yet tho when the episode does allow us to actually see an action we do get something really special. With the best action scene in the whole entire episode being the Battle Of the Gullet as we get to see these two ships just trying to outwit each other and making moves that they know the other will follow in the hopes that it will lead them to there doom but then things get better when both Baela and Jacaerys join the battle on dragons and burn down alot of the attacking fleet but then just when you think that things can't any more dramatic Sharako and her men pull out a device that they use to help to injure the dragons something which is made all the more important when Rhaena and Sheepstealer come into play as Sheepstealer gets startled and starts attacking anyone friend or foe all the while down below Sharako and her men have boarded the queen who ever was and start attacking Corlys and his crew the fight only ending when both Sharako and Jacaerys are killed in action with the rest of the episodes action being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Overall whilst this episode is a good episode and is a solid way to start of the new season of the show it does feel very much like that this episode would have been better served being as episode none of season 2 rather then episode 1 of season 3 and with this season also being eight episodes it does make you wonder if this season will end on the same lackluster note as the previous season did but this episode is still a great start to the new season in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad thigs that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of an 8 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very revie from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.