Game Of Thrones: Garden Of Bones Review

Our verdict on the fourth episode of Sky Atlantic's Season Two re-run!

It’s great to see the second season of Game Of Thrones finally beginning to pick up the pace with this week’s instalment Garden Of Bones. Perhaps that’s what lies in the core strength of this outstanding episode, a blistering plot romp that features staggering narrative developments for just about every character with a role to play in the War. Here’s hoping that the writers keep the ante up in the next six weeks (well, sixteen with Season Three!), because there are great signs of promise here.

The storyline developing between Stannis and Renley Baratheon was pushed to the forefront here, as the sexual relationship that ties Stannis to a dark sorcerer is becoming a source of real intrigue, especially given the astonishing cliffhanger. That Catelyn is tied up in the midst of the action between Robert’s brothers is no coincidence either, placing her in precisely the right position for Tyrion to attempt a negotiation through the return of Ned’s body and indeed through her attempts to quell the violence that is being spurred on in the Baratheon family. Indeed, Michelle Fairley did a fantastic job of bringing across the immense pathos we feel for Catelyn as she sees the remains of her late husband, and one hopes that her talents are put to increased use in the weeks ahead.

In particular, though, it’s Peter Dinklage’s portrayal of Tyrion that’s fast becoming the talk of the town regarding the show as a whole. Where few viewers could have anticipated the increased role this Lannister dwarf would have in proceedings in Season Two last year, it now seems like a natural progression, with this flawed character having seeming to become the series’ new central protagonist. Another standout performance this time around came from Jack Gleeson too, whose portrayal of King Joffrey is every bit as fearsome and terrifying as George R.R. Martin originally depicted the character in his A Song Of Ice And Fire novels.

Garden Of Bones isn’t quite the perfect Thrones adventure, though- the final scenes involving the red-headed witch and Liam Cunningham’s Davos did feel somewhat at odds with the tone of the instalment as a whole, and indeed Danerys isn’t given much more than the short stick this week with only a brief (though undoubtedly memorable) persuasion of the leaders of Qarth to allow her party entry to the kingdom. With any luck, this minor development for her side of the tale will mean bigger things to come in the second half of this season and indeed come Season Three, where it seems the last true Targyerean will take the battle across the seas and into Westeros, bringing her fabled dragons into the fray.

No matter what the episode’s minor flaws, however, it’s certainly one of the better episodes of this second season so far. Game Of Thrones: Garden Of Bones is a stellar return to form for the show, and its cliff-hanger in particular made it certain that I cannot wait to see how the rest of the season progresses and reaches a climax, and indeed how Season Three will subsequently follow on with ten more exciting blockbuster adventures.

4.5/5