 Tagline: Winter is coming. Once upon a time in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, a land where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime, a king arose, donned his crown, and went hunting in the wilderness. Based on the bestselling book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin, this sprawling new HBO Drama is set in a world where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime. From the scheming south and the savage eastern lands, to the frozen north and the ancient Wall that protects the realm from the mysterious darkness beyond, the powerful families of the Seven Kingdoms are locked in a battle for the Iron Throne. This is a story of duplicity and treachery, nobility and honor, conquest and triumph. In the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die. Storyline: Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Political and sexual intrigue is pervasive. Robert Baratheon, King of Westeros, asks his old friend Eddard, Lord Stark, to serve as Hand of the King, or highest official. Secretly warned that the previous Hand was assassinated, Eddard accepts in order to investigate further. Meanwhile the Queen's family, the Lannisters, may be hatching a plot to take power. Across the sea, the last members of the previous and deposed ruling family, the Targaryens, are also scheming to regain the throne. The friction between the houses Stark, Lannister and Baratheon, and with the remaining great houses Greyjoy, Tully, Arryn, and Tyrell, leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war and political confusion, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond. Written by Tfilm78 and Cajunman 4.01 Two Swords - Tywin Lannister oversees the reforging of the Stark ancestral sword into two new swords, one of which he gifts to his son Jaime, who tries and fails to return to his earlier life before the loss of his sword-hand. Prince Oberyn, brother of Prince Doran Martell of Dorne, arrives in King's Landing to attend the royal wedding in his place and is welcomed by Tyrion Lannister, and later reveals his true plans for his visit: revenge against the Lannisters for the rape and death of his sister. In the North, while Styr and his group of cannibal Thenns reinforce Tormund Giantsbane and the other wildlings, Jon Snow has returned to Castle Black and is released after confessing what he did during his stay with the wildings. Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen leads her army on a march towards Meereen, the last of the three great slave cities. While, in the Riverlands, Arya, accompanied by Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, reclaims her sword Needle from Polliver, and uses it to kill him the same way he murdered Lommy Greenhands, to get belated retribution for her friend. (Disc.1) 4.02 The Lion and the Rose - Roose Bolton returns to the Dreadfort to meet up with his bastard son Ramsay Snow and sees first hand how Theon Greyjoy has been brutalized into a subservient persona, dubbed 'Reek'. His next objective is to find and kill the remaining Stark children — Bran and Rickon, who threaten the legitimacy of his new title. Beyond the Wall, the visions of the Three-eyed Raven compel Bran and his companions to travel further northwards, despite growing hunger. At Dragonstone, Melisandre orders several people to be burned as a tribute to the Lord of Light, to the delight of Queen Selyse and the disgust of Davos and Shireen. In King's Landing, Tyrion breaks up with Shae to protect her from his family and tries to ship her off across the Narrow Sea. Meanwhile, Jaime begins training his left-handed swordplay with the help of Bronn. Later at the Royal Wedding feast, tensions fly high between Joffrey and Tyrion. The feast is abruptly cut short when Joffrey is poisoned and dies. A grief-stricken Cersei accuses Tyrion of murdering the king and orders his arrest. (Disc.1) 4.03 Breaker of Chains - Tyrion is immediately arrested and imprisoned under suspicion of Joffrey's murder while Tywin begins to groom Tommen to be the next King. Meanwhile, Sansa is smuggled out of King's Landing with the help of the fool and former knight Dontos Hollard, who brings her to Petyr Baelish's ship. In the Riverlands, Arya and the Hound continue their journey, where they meet a kind farmer and his daughter. However, the Hound robs the farmer, much to Arya's shock. At Dragonstone, Davos tries to figure out how to replenish Stannis' depleted forces, and requests a loan from the Iron Bank of Braavos to pay for a new army. In the North, Sam, fearing for Gilly's safety, has her moved out of Castle Black to Mole's Town, despite Gilly's desire to stay. Meanwhile, the wildings continue to raid northern villages. Jon warns them that the wildings want to lure the Night's Watch brothers out of Castle Black, and they should instead focus on fortifying their defenses. However, they then receive word that a band of Night's Watch mutineers have set up camp at Craster's Keep. Jon tells the Night's Watch to organize a party to attack the mutineers, as they cannot risk having any information about the weakness of Castle Black's defenses leak to Mance Rayder's approaching army. At Meereen, Daenerys lays siege to the city, and after Daario defeats Meereen's champion, she tells the slaves to rise up against their masters. (Disc.2) 4.04 Oathkeeper - Daenerys successfully captures Meereen, and immediately seeks justice for the slain slave children by nailing all the masters to posts. At sea, Petyr admits to Sansa that he was responsible for poisoning Joffrey, despite his alliance with the Lannisters. In King's Landing, Olenna encourages Margaery to seduce Tommen before Cersei has a chance to turn him against her. Jaime meets with Tyrion, and is convinced he is not guilty. However, Cersei is adamant about Tyrion's guilt, and orders Jaime to hunt down and kill Sansa. Jaime instead tasks Brienne with finding and protecting Sansa, and sends Podrick along with her. In the North, in an effort to get rid of Jon, Alliser allows Jon to lead an expedition against the Night's Watch mutineers occupying Craster's Keep. Meanwhile, Bran and his party stumble upon Craster's Keep, where they are captured by the mutineers, and Bran is forced to reveal his identity to them. Further north, a White Walker takes Craster's last newborn son to a secret ritual site, where another White Walker touches the baby's face, turning its eyes blue. (Disc.2) 4.05 First of His Name - Tommen is crowned as the new King. Meanwhile, Cersei meets with Margaery, Tywin, and Oberyn, where she discusses matters about her children. At the Vale, Petyr takes Sansa to the Eyrie, where she is to pose as Petyr's niece. While hospitable at first, Lysa quickly grows suspicious of Sansa, who she fears is attempting to seduce Petyr. Petyr is then pressured to marry Lysa that same day. In Meereen, Daenerys decides to postpone her invasion of Westeros in order to bring order to the Slaver's Bay and pronounces herself a Queen. On the Kingsroad, the Hound catches Arya practicing her water dancing, and he angers her by saying how that fighting style, and by extension her teacher Syrio Forell, are worthless. Brienne and Podrick are also on the road, where Brienne finds out her new squire is not very good at practical skills like cooking. However, she's impressed with the fact that he killed a Kingsguard in order to protect Tyrion. Beyond the Wall, Jon's group attacks the mutineers in Craster's Keep. Locke attempts to kidnap Bran in the confusion, but is killed when Bran wargs into Hodor. Bran and his company then leave while Jon kills all of the mutineers and burns down Craster's Keep. (Disc.2) 4.06 The Laws of Gods and Men - In Essos, Stannis and Davos travel to Braavos to appeal to the Iron Bank to grant them a loan. Even though the Iron Bank refuses them at first, Davos manages to convince them to back Stannis' cause, while also resecuring Salladhor Saan and his pirates to Stannis' cause. In Meereen, Daenerys attempts to take on her new role as Queen as she listens to the requests of her subjects, including Hizdahr zo Loraq and a man whose goats were killed by Dany's increasingly uncontrolable dragons. At the Dreadfort, Yara leads an attack in an effort to rescue Theon but fails when Theon refuses to come with her. After seeing Theon's current state as Reek, Yara tells her men that Theon is dead. Ramsay rewards Reek for being obedient and, in order to take Moat Cailin, tasks him to pretend to be someone he's not: Theon Greyjoy. In King's Landing, Tywin puts a price on the Hound's head and instructs Varys to continue spying on Daenerys. Later that day, Tyrion is brought to trial for Joffrey's murder. However, all of the witnesses brought in testify against him, including Meryn Trant, Pycelle, Cersei, Varys and, to Tyrion's shock, Shae who gives a false testimony. Angry and broken, Tyrion demands that his fate be determined in a trial by combat. (Disc.3) 4.07 Mockingbird - After learning that Cersei has appointed the vicious Gregor Clegane as her champion in the upcoming trial by combat, Tyrion is desperate in searching for someone to stand for him. When both Jaime and Bronn refuse to fight for his cause, Oberyn Martell steps up, seeing a chance to get even with the murderer of his sister. Daenerys has sex with Daario, before sending him off on a mission to deal with the resurgent slavers at Yunkai. Melisandre and Selyse prepare for their leave of Dragonstone and Jon Snow faces off against Alliser Thorne over the incoming Wildling threat. Arya and the Hound come across some people from her past: Rorge and Biter. The Hound is wounded but refuses treatment with fire to cauterize his injury. Also on the road Brienne and Pod meet another of Arya's companions, Hot Pie, and learn of her survival and her time with the Brotherhood. They then resolve to travel to the Vale, reasoning she would go there in search for living relatives. Meanwhile in the Vale, Sansa is unwillingly kissed by Petyr Baelish, raising the wrath of her Aunt Lysa, who threatens to push her through the Moon Door. However Baelish intervenes and shoves Lysa from the Eyrie to her death. (Disc.3) 4.08 The Mountain and the Viper - The wildlings arrive in Mole's Town and massacre the entire village. Gilly is discovered by Ygritte who spares her once she notices the infant she is holding. Sam laments his decision to leave Gilly there, as he believes her dead. Ramsay forces Reek to masquerade as his former self, Theon Greyjoy, and orders him to get the Ironborn to surrender Moat Cailin. The Ironborn surrender in hopes of returning home. However, after they open the Moat's gates, they are flayed and slaughtered by Ramsay and his army. As a reward for securing the Moat, Roose, using his power as Warden of the North, legitimizes Ramsay as they arrive at Winterfell. Across the Narrow Sea, Missandei and Grey Worm deal with the sexual tension between the two of them. Ser Barristan is delivered a letter intended for Ser Jorah which pardons him as a reward for spying on Daenerys. After confronting him, Ser Barristan gives the letter to Daenerys, who orders Jorah to leave Meereen and never return, officially ending their partnership. In the Vale, Sansa reveals to a council investigating Lysa's death her true identity and convinces the council of Littlefinger's innocence. Outside the gate of the Vale, the Hound and Arya arrive and are informed of Lysa's death. Meanwhile in King's Landing, Jaime and Tyrion share one final philosophical conversation as the trial by combat looms and arrives. During the trial, the Mountain kills Prince Oberyn, and confesses his crimes. Tywin sentences Tyrion to death for regicide. (Disc.3) 4.09 The Watchers of the Wall - The Night's Watch prepare for the coming invasion by the wildlings. Gilly arrives at the Wall shortly before Mance Rayder's army. The wildlings attack from both sides, with one army climbing the Wall, and Ygritte's army attacking Castle Black. After Ygritte and her army get through, a bloody battle ensues. The wildlings attempt to break through the tunnel leading into Castle Black with the help of several giants and a woolly mammoth, but are stopped by Grenn and five others, who die holding the tunnel. Alliser Thorne goes down to the main level of Castle Black to fight, leaving Janos Slynt in charge. However Slynt proves to be incompetent as a commander, and is tricked into going down the main level, effectively leaving Jon in charge. Pyp is shot by Ygritte and dies in Sam's arms. After watching Jon kill Styr the Thenn, Ygritte prepares to kill Jon, but is shot by Olly. Jon holds Ygritte in his arms as she dies. With the help of Jon's direwolf, Ghost, the ground level of Castle Black is secured by the Night's Watch. The wall climbers are sliced apart and completely obliterated from a massive scythe that acts as the Wall's secret weapon. The wildlings retreat, but, Jon predicts, not for long. Seeing no other choice, he goes beyond the Wall to find and kill Mance. (Disc.4) 4.10 The Children - Jon Snow treats with Mance Rayder, but their negotiations are interrupted when Stannis Baratheon and his army suddenly arrive, defeating the Wildling army and taking Mance prisoner. Later, the Night's Watch burn the bodies of their dead while Jon burns Ygritte beyond the wall. Bran and his party come upon the large Heart Tree from his visions, but as they arrive they are attacked by reanimated skeletons; though Jojen is killed, Bran, Hodor and Meera are saved by a child of the forest who takes them to the Three-Eyed Raven. In Meereen, Daenerys reluctantly grants a former slave's wish of being sold into slavery again. The next citizen brings her the charred remains of his daughter who was burned by one of her dragons. As a precaution, Daenerys chains and locks her other dragons in the catacombs. In the Vale, Brienne and Podrick come upon Arya and the Hound. Brienne mortally wounds the Hound, while Arya escapes. With the coin Jaqen H'ghar gave her, Arya buys passage on a ship bound for Braavos. Meanwhile in King's Landing, Cersei orders Qyburn to do anything to save the Mountain. She confronts her father and refuses to marry Loras, threatening to reveal her and Jaime's incestuous affairs if she is forced to. Tyrion is released from his cell by Jaime, but he later finds Shae in Tywin's bed and kills her in a struggle. He then confronts his father in the privy and shoots him with a crossbow, before escaping the city with Varys. (Disc.4) ------------------------------Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown, February 9, 2015 Game of Thrones loves nothing more than to remind its fans they're watching Game of Thrones. Blood. Betrayal. Death. Murder most foul. No matter how many times the series shocks me, no matter how deeply a twist resonates, no matter how often I'm left stunned, heartbroken or profoundly unsettled, showrunners David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and author/co-executive producer George R.R. Martin manage to lull me into a false sense of security. Every. Single. Time. After the infamous Red Wedding, I swore I'd never again forget I was watching Game of Thrones. That I'd never forget how cruel and unpredictable the Seven Kingdoms can be. Wouldn't you know it, though, two episodes into Season Four, there I was again: wide-eyed, my jaw unhinged, my mind scrambling to convene order. Alright, a clear, weary thought stammered. Next time will be different. Next time I'll be ready. Besides, I have an entire season to brace for the worst. Alas, Martin, Benioff and Weiss were wise to my expectations. Those dirty, crafty Snows. Every season has been a slowburn build towards one or two water-cooler earthquakes. But Season Four? Season Four is a different beast entirely. Game-changers arrive in almost every episode -- some small, some big, some massive -- and several are real killers. No one is safe in Game of Thrones, by the Old Gods or the New, and the series' fourth season is hellbent on making that abundantly, painfully, tragically clear. The series' fourth season of stars Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Aidan Gillen (Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Rory McCann (Sandor "The Hound" Clegane), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Conleth Hill (Varys), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), James Cosmo (Commander Mormont), Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Sibel Kekilli (Shae), Rose Leslie (Ygritte), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Ciarán Hinds (Mance Rayder), Diana Rigg (Lady Olenna Tyrell), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Jojen Reed), Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed), Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Snow) and Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell). Allegiances and loyalties shift dramatically in Season Four, as the reverberations of The Red Wedding are still being felt throughout Westeros. As the Lannisters gain even more power, the remaining Starks are hanging on by a thread, and new power players emerge from the shadows. Volatile doesn't even begin to describe the political landscape of the Seven Kingdoms, and Houses vie for control of any scraps that tumble off the Lannister table. And it's in the resulting conflicts that Game of Thrones continues to hold its sway over audiences. With its viewership on the rise -- a rarity in modern television shared only by other wildly popular cult phenoms like The Walking Dead -- there's something to death lurking around every corner that brings people back, week in and week out, eager to discover what happens to their favorite characters. Who will live? Who will die? It's contrary to the rules that have dominated television dramas for decades. Familiar faces and beloved heroes were killed off every now and then, sure. Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead didn't invent the murdered mainstay. But never have two shows taken such pride and received such audience acclaim for offing fan-favorite characters and sending such devastating shockwaves through pop culture and greater fandom. What is it that we love about not knowing what fates await our beloved Lannisters, Starks, Baratheons, Greyjoys, Tyrells and Targaryens? Like all great television, Game of Thrones -- and more specifically the showrunners' willingness to do anything and everything, no matter how much we plead for mercy -- reflects the world around us. In an internet-savvy era, with information a literal keyboard tap away, there's little room for the TV tropes of old. The good guys will win. The bad guys will get theirs. Justice will prevail. Secondary characters may die, but A-list actors? Only if they didn't want to re-up their contract. If 24-Hour News has scared us into... ahem, taught the 21st century anything, it's that the good guys don't always win. The bad guys aren't always brought to justice. And the insecurity and unease that comes with those realizations -- realizations that were always there, just buried beneath decades of denial and chronic American optimism -- can be dealt with vicariously, through fiction. We don't want fairy tales and cheap escapism. Well, not those of us who gather beneath the banners of the Seven Kingdoms. (Sorry, Once Upon a Time diehards.) We want fantasy spattered with realism. Characters whose survival isn't a certainty. Shock. Awe. Surprise. Twists. We want those emotional gut punches. We welcome them. Demand them. Wait patiently, with baited breath, as Game of Thrones delivers them in spectacular style. And we're more than happy to invest our time and money for the privilege. Breathing a word of what happens in Game of Thrones' masterfully paced, incredibly suspenseful, terribly intense fourth season feels like it would ruin all the fun, all the nail biting, all the uncomfortable shifts in your seat, all the raised hair on your neck and arms, all the chills racing up your back, all the laughs that burst out of your gut, all the cheers, the tears and gasps. So no spoiler warnings necessary. What I will say, though, is that Benioff, Weiss and the rest of the cast and crew are at the top of their collective game. The writing? Somehow sharper, smarter and more engrossing than before. The pacing and plotting, the finest the series has offered. The performances, outstanding; across the board. The casting, dead on. The changes to the source novels, clever and judicious. (I'd argue most of the alterations that are made improve upon the books, but that's a whole other debate.) The locations and production design, beautiful and evocative. The visual effects, better than ever and highly effective. The music, stirring and hypnotic. And the finale? One of the most powerful season finales of the show thus far, and one that will leave you begging for Season Five, which can't come soon enough. Final words? It's Game of Thrones. If you aren't already watching, start. If you're already watching, you're already buying The Complete Fourth Season. And if you're already buying The Complete Fourth Season, you're already itching for the premiere of the fifth this April. Thankfully (though not at all surprisingly), fans won't have anything to complain about when picking up the series' latest Blu-ray release. With another striking video presentation, another sensational DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and another feature-rich supplemental package, you won't be given any reason whatsoever to regret your latest Game of Thrones purchase. Trivia:
IMDb Rating (11/29/14): 8.2/10 from 55,004 users IMDb Rating (09/07/14): 8.2/10 from 43,493 users IMDb Rating (04/21/14): 8.2/10 from 32,892 users
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