- Network: HBO
- Series Premiere Date: Apr 17, 2011
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Critic Reviews
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The crisp editing of the Arya sequence, exploiting dramatic irony right up to the breaking point, was one among numerous scenes that seemed to indicate Thrones isn't just keeping up to its old standards but actually learning new tricks. Another was the introduction of Samwell Tarly's life in Old Town--who knew this show, which has mastered wartime action but had never produced a quickfire sequence quite like this one, with its repetitive chamber pots to be emptied, could be quite this sharp?
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As per every premiere episode of Game of Thrones, the pace is slow. Setting up each new carefully constructed season--the complex weave of story lines, the huge cast, the breathtaking locations--takes time. But Benioff and Weiss have pulled it off once again, if not with a bit more humor than in previous seasons.
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The season premiere of Game of Thrones was thoroughly satisfying, a transporting hour that brilliantly reestablished the chessboard for the new, penultimate season.
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There are very few shows that can deliver as much action and excitement as the season six Game of Thrones finale and there are perhaps even fewer shows that can make a table-setting episode this much fun, so it's all the more bittersweet that not only is winter here, but the end is in sight.
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Once an engrossing but problematic show that alternately decried brutality and wallowed in it, that simultaneously valorized and exploited its women, Game of Thrones has become more empathetic, complex, and progressive in its final leg (though its racial politics remain iffy).
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If “Dragonstone” was familiar in its structure and pacing, it was also for the most part a very satisfying return to the world of Westeros, resetting the chess board as the endgame draws perilously close.
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The season premiere had a lot of table-setting storytelling--at once self-recapping the saga and pointing it toward its future--but it did so with a satisfying forthrightness.
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Game of Thrones continues to be as gripping and relevant within its own context as ever, and in terms of a single episode that has to set up an entire season of unfamiliar territory for all fans, “Dragonstone” doesn’t disappoint.
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Game of Thrones, as always, leaves us conflicted and confused. It remains a show that hates the weak, but loves its small victories. It is the most delicious of cheeseburgers, but also hard to evaluate without seeing more.
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Scenes in the middle of the show with Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) cleaning bedpans and serving soup at the Citadel dragged. ... The show thrills when concentrating on its formidable female characters.
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Even when an episode feels slower-paced than others, as this one does, Weiss’s and Benioff’s plot structuring keeps the action moving. And subplots circle back on themselves, with purpose.
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The episode played out like the slow-moving and exposition-heavy premieres of seasons past. ... But still, Thrones has often found as much greatness in its smaller moments as it has in wildfire explosions and murderous weddings. Sam highlighted this best. His bedpan-heavy montage was perhaps unnecessary, but added some levity and was an excellently edited bit of filmmaking.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 817 out of 1044
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Mixed: 105 out of 1044
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Negative: 122 out of 1044
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Jul 25, 2017
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Dec 10, 2018Again, now we know what Benioff and Weiss are capable of, without Martin's books.
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Jul 16, 2017