Game of Thrones

The storytelling seems to have hit a new peak of relaxed confidence. In every scene you get a sense of steady forward motion. New characters are introduced and old characters deepened, and devious new plots are laid out so deftly that it's not until midway through episode three that you look back over everything that came before and laugh at yourself for not having seen a particular surprise coming

The acting is sublime, the writing wicked sharp, the sets and camera work astonishing, and in terms of ambition, be it narrative, creative, logistical or geographic, no other series comes close.

"Justified" and Game of Thrones, each in its own way, has done its share to raise that bar to dizzying heights.

Game of Thrones continues to tease out the most meaningful stories from George R.R. Martin's still unfinished fantasy series, "A Song of Ice and Fire," straying where necessary to highlight a possibly neglected character or perhaps just to produce something slightly less depressing.

As they have for three years, the blend of function and character within the dialogue is breathtaking. One of the best shows of the last several years feels as creatively vital as ever.

It's sexy, violent, witty, emotionally devastating and visually spectacular--those dragons are bigger and more unruly than ever--delivering an experience not unlike how the glorious Diana Rigg (as Lady Olenna, Queen of Thorns) responds when she first lays eyes on the Amazonian warrior Lady Brienne (Gwendoline Christie): "Aren't you just marvelous, absolutely singular!" Yes, she is, and so's the show.

Game of Thrones continues to impress with its ability to depict how intimate choices can have epic consequences, and vice versa. Each of the actors rises to that challenge, whether playing opposite one person or a multitude of extras.

Still TV's best--dive in while the water's warm.

Game of Thrones isn't afraid of change: It's the lifeblood of the series, and just one of the reasons we keep watching.

Even when the show is scene-setting mode (as it is in these early episodes), GoT now excels at slipping exposition into meaty character moments, and the cast is terrific at nailing what's in the scripts and much more beyond that.

HBO’s fantasy series is as stirring in its action, as rich in characters, and more sweeping in scope as ever.

Watching this season’s first three episodes, one is struck by how sumptuously far this epic now spreads.

The first three episodes of the epic fantasy's fourth season reach new heights at times, offering enough twists, shocks and action to make us forget last season's mind-blowing Red Wedding.

It is--and continues to be in Season 4--a total storytelling masterclass.

The consistency of excellence in Game of Thrones is truly something to behold. Even in three episodes, viewers will sense things tightening up-- that winter and war are coming and they are coming at a full run.

Martin’s fantasy world, with its ruthless lust for power, is surely not for the faint of heart, and the sheer number of subplots invariably means that one or two start to sag. Such criticisms, however, amount to nitpicking on a show that operates at such a consistently high level, from the spectacular cast to the sweeping and diverse backdrops, consistently conjuring a summer-tentpole feel.

The sharply written, slow-paced premiere ratchets up the tension on what’s reported to be the bloodiest 10-episode season yet.

A sprawl of engrossing setup. [4 Apr 2014, p.61]

The first three episodes of season 4 grab the wide-flung stories of this epic and assemble them into a crackling narrative. [7 Apr 2014, p.41]

Game remains one of the more challenging shows to follow, but one of the most rewarding.

In these first three episodes, it shows no signs of getting stale.

Game Of Thrones has not moved away from “sexposition,” prostitution, and casual rape as titillating plot points, and that will always tarnish what is otherwise a groundbreaking show. But the good outweighs the bad. Game Of Thrones was and is an astonishing achievement.

In its fourth season, Game of Thrones finally strides with the purpose and fearlessness of a great battle-tested behemoth through the sprawling, violent landscapes of Westeros.

Season four promises more of the same while expanding on stories in the books and in some cases improving on what could be long literary slogs.

All of this unfolds at a snail’s pace--at least in this first episode--and for some, that may be a bit of a let-down after last season’s violent conclusion. But that’s fine. This is a series that has already proven its mettle.

It’s a pretty grim lot, but ever thus in the nasty, brutish world of George R.R. Martin. Regardless, it’s so good to see all of their bruised, brooding faces again.

Due to all this ambitious sprawl, Game of Thrones only occasionally puts together a satisfying standalone episode. There is too much going on, the one-hour limit too arbitrary.... It’s the particular power of Game of Thrones that as these characters descend further into the muck and the grime, the besmirching totality of violence, we’re still pulling for so many of them.