I had been looking forward to a new USA Sky Atlantic import called Game of Thrones which someone has described as the Sopranos in Middle Earth, because it featured Sean Bean in a major role, representing the House of Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North in the land of Westeros with his family who all feature in this first episode of what is said to be a faithful reproduction of the first of book of the same name 807 pages published in 1996 under overall title of A song of Fire and Ice. Three other volumes have been published since in 1998 969 pages, 2000 1128 pages and 2005 with 978 pages, the fifth planned for July of this year and two others to follow.
My first impression of head of house Eddard or Ned Stark (Shaun Bean) is that he is a realist as well as a man of hinour and loyalty. He is also satisfied with his role in what appears to be a cold and barren landscape with a loving wife and six children, one of whom by another woman. He is a devout follower of the Old Gods, Gods of the first men, those who live in the forest and the original inhabitants of the Kingdom.
He is a friend of the King with whom he was brought up at wards of a Lord who was ordered to kill the young men after which they launched a rebellion and the Lord is now the chief adviser to King
The series opens with three night guards leaving the city and finding a scenes of violent in the forest which appears to have been caused by White walkers, a kind of undead, and one of the guards flees with the other two are killed. He is then captured by the Bean’s men who severed head for desertion in order establish the law. Although. Although there are signs of wild killings of animals after the other bodies have disappeared, the account of the re-emergence of the undead is not believed, as according to Bean it is thousands of years since they terrorised the living. One of the animals, a wolf has six cubs and there are taken for the children and my understanding is that the creatures will have significance.
Bean insists that his ten year old middle son witnesses the execution. The boy appears not very good at learning to shoot arrows while the youngest daughter appears an expert, tomboyish and a scamp. Not much has registered about the the older brother but the illegitimate son does feature as someone brought up within the household but always an outsider in terms of recognition and position (I know that feeling well).
Bean’s series wife arrives at one of his favourite spots to announce that a raven has delivered a message from the Kingdom’s capital to say that the man who raised them both has died and that the King with his family is on his way to visit. The Queen’s oldest brother suggests he should be the adviser but he says this is not a job he wants. The King and his retinue arrives, greeting each other’s members of the family with the exception of the younger brother of the Queen who has made his way directly to the nearest brothel where he engages in visible sex. The king announces that he wants Bean to be his adviser and later admits he is also concerned at the way their father figure died and other threats to his rule. This persuades Bean to go but leaving his wife and family with the eldest son taking on the role as Warden of the north.
The king also suggests that the 11 year old daughter of Bean, Sansa, who in response to a question from the queen says that she had not yet bled, should become betrothed to the Kings son. The young people like each other and the daughter pleads for the marriage to be agreed so that one day she will become Queen. So far so good.
The scene switches to another kingdom where an effeminate claimant to a throne, Viserys Targaryen whose family once riled the Kingdom, is a guest which his 13 year old sister who has recently grown into womanhood after her body is inspected by her brother and where the family have a tradition of incest line perpetuation. He announces that Daenerys is marry the head of a race of warriors with a force of 40000 who will be used to regain the former lands. He tells the girl he would have given her to all 40000 to be enjoyed if this was needed to regain the kingdom. There are scenes of debauchery and killings at the wedding feast and the girl is graphically taken by the warrior leader.
The ten year old son, Bran, has one skill, that of climbing the walls of the castle much to the horror of his mother who tries to make him promise to stop. Knowing that he has no intention of doing so. The first episode ends with boy undertaking another climbing venture to watch the departure of his father with the Kind. For some reason the rest of the family stay behind and thus the boy catches sight of the Queen and her brother in a comprising situation and she demands that action is taken because they have been seen. The brother pushes the young boy off the wall, presumably to his death, commenting the things ones does for love!
Thus it is a tale of paedophilia, incest, rape, execution without trial, families plotting to take power against each and within families, demons and so on. I can understand why the books became popular and the description of the books as the Sopranos in Middle Earth. I shall view more.
My first impression of head of house Eddard or Ned Stark (Shaun Bean) is that he is a realist as well as a man of hinour and loyalty. He is also satisfied with his role in what appears to be a cold and barren landscape with a loving wife and six children, one of whom by another woman. He is a devout follower of the Old Gods, Gods of the first men, those who live in the forest and the original inhabitants of the Kingdom.
He is a friend of the King with whom he was brought up at wards of a Lord who was ordered to kill the young men after which they launched a rebellion and the Lord is now the chief adviser to King
The series opens with three night guards leaving the city and finding a scenes of violent in the forest which appears to have been caused by White walkers, a kind of undead, and one of the guards flees with the other two are killed. He is then captured by the Bean’s men who severed head for desertion in order establish the law. Although. Although there are signs of wild killings of animals after the other bodies have disappeared, the account of the re-emergence of the undead is not believed, as according to Bean it is thousands of years since they terrorised the living. One of the animals, a wolf has six cubs and there are taken for the children and my understanding is that the creatures will have significance.
Bean insists that his ten year old middle son witnesses the execution. The boy appears not very good at learning to shoot arrows while the youngest daughter appears an expert, tomboyish and a scamp. Not much has registered about the the older brother but the illegitimate son does feature as someone brought up within the household but always an outsider in terms of recognition and position (I know that feeling well).
Bean’s series wife arrives at one of his favourite spots to announce that a raven has delivered a message from the Kingdom’s capital to say that the man who raised them both has died and that the King with his family is on his way to visit. The Queen’s oldest brother suggests he should be the adviser but he says this is not a job he wants. The King and his retinue arrives, greeting each other’s members of the family with the exception of the younger brother of the Queen who has made his way directly to the nearest brothel where he engages in visible sex. The king announces that he wants Bean to be his adviser and later admits he is also concerned at the way their father figure died and other threats to his rule. This persuades Bean to go but leaving his wife and family with the eldest son taking on the role as Warden of the north.
The king also suggests that the 11 year old daughter of Bean, Sansa, who in response to a question from the queen says that she had not yet bled, should become betrothed to the Kings son. The young people like each other and the daughter pleads for the marriage to be agreed so that one day she will become Queen. So far so good.
The scene switches to another kingdom where an effeminate claimant to a throne, Viserys Targaryen whose family once riled the Kingdom, is a guest which his 13 year old sister who has recently grown into womanhood after her body is inspected by her brother and where the family have a tradition of incest line perpetuation. He announces that Daenerys is marry the head of a race of warriors with a force of 40000 who will be used to regain the former lands. He tells the girl he would have given her to all 40000 to be enjoyed if this was needed to regain the kingdom. There are scenes of debauchery and killings at the wedding feast and the girl is graphically taken by the warrior leader.
The ten year old son, Bran, has one skill, that of climbing the walls of the castle much to the horror of his mother who tries to make him promise to stop. Knowing that he has no intention of doing so. The first episode ends with boy undertaking another climbing venture to watch the departure of his father with the Kind. For some reason the rest of the family stay behind and thus the boy catches sight of the Queen and her brother in a comprising situation and she demands that action is taken because they have been seen. The brother pushes the young boy off the wall, presumably to his death, commenting the things ones does for love!
Thus it is a tale of paedophilia, incest, rape, execution without trial, families plotting to take power against each and within families, demons and so on. I can understand why the books became popular and the description of the books as the Sopranos in Middle Earth. I shall view more.
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