Lord Baelish arrives at Renly's camp just before he faces off against Stannis. Daenerys and her company are welcomed into the city of Qarth. Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie find themselves impriso... Read allLord Baelish arrives at Renly's camp just before he faces off against Stannis. Daenerys and her company are welcomed into the city of Qarth. Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie find themselves imprisoned at Harrenhal.Lord Baelish arrives at Renly's camp just before he faces off against Stannis. Daenerys and her company are welcomed into the city of Qarth. Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie find themselves imprisoned at Harrenhal.
- Melisandre
- (as Carice Van Houten)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe episode won an Emmy Award for outstanding art direction for a single-camera series.
- GoofsWhen Talisa amputates the soldier's foot, she claims it is because the 'rot' has set in. However, the battle had only happened the night before, not leaving enough time for putrefaction.
- Quotes
[at Joffrey's command, Meryn Trant has beaten Sansa and torn her clothes, and he is about to continue beating her. Tyrion intervenes]
Tyrion Lannister: What kind of knight beats a helpless girl?
Meryn Trant: The kind who serves his king, Imp!
Bronn: Careful now. We don't want to get blood all over your pretty white cloak.
Tyrion Lannister: Someone get the girl something to cover herself with.
[Sandor Clegane gives Sansa his cloak]
Tyrion Lannister: [to Joffrey] She's to be your queen! Have you no regard for her honor?
Joffrey Baratheon: I'm punishing her.
Tyrion Lannister: For what crimes? She's not fighting her brother's battle, you halfwit.
Joffrey Baratheon: You can't talk to me like that. The king can do as he likes!
Tyrion Lannister: The Mad King did as he like. Has your uncle Jaime ever told you what happened to him?
Meryn Trant: No one threatens his grace in the presence of the Kingsguard!
Tyrion Lannister: I'm not threatening the king, Ser, I'm educating my nephew.
[Tyrion speaks to Bronn]
Tyrion Lannister: Bronn, the next time the Ser Meryn speaks, kill him.
[Tyrion turns to Ser Meryn]
Tyrion Lannister: THAT was a threat. See the difference?
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Controversial Game of Thrones Moments (2017)
"Garden of Bones" is one of the best episodes of 'Game of Thrones' up to this point, or at least to me it is. It is the most violent episode up to this still early point of the show, and one of the show's most violent overall. This wasn't a problem with me, though it is understandable why others have objected, to me it didn't seem excessive or gratuitous being important for showing Joffrey's increasingly dark side. The somewhat "what the heck" ending may confound viewers understandably but it was interesting and does fuel interest in how the magic would be dealt with.
On top of this, "Garden of Bones" also has a lot going on in the story and has a lot of characterisation going on. The good news is that it's all interesting and important, nothing is superfluous here with Quarth's introduction being one of the episode's highlights. As well as being the most violent episode up to this point, it's also the darkest and bleakest and is tied with "Baelor" as the most emotionally powerful.
Visually, "Garden of Bones" looks amazing. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. The visual effects are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.
One cannot talk about "Garden of Bones" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.
It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is once again. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions such as suspenseful tension, poignant pathos and witty humour. The story is paced beautifully, structured with such nuance and attention to coherence, a high emotional level and is done with intelligence, passion and sensitivity.
Standout moments are Sansa's humiliation (hard to watch but brings tears to the eyes), Cat receiving her husband's bones and the Tyrion and Lancel confrontation. Joffrey's dark side is chilling.
The direction is superb, one of the episode's best directed episodes, as is the acting. The meatiest material belongs to Peter Dinklage, Richard Madden, Jack Gleeson and Michelle Fairley and it shows in their performances. Dinklage continues to show why he is a show favourite, one would be here all night describing his brilliance. Fairley is very moving, likewise with Sophie Turner.
Gleeson sends chills up the spine as an irredeemably evil character (it's not just his actions that make him so, it's also that one doesn't expect a character as young as him to commit the actions he does). Madden is very authoritative.
In conclusion, a dark and disturbing episode but also a brilliant one. 10/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Dec 10, 2017
Details
- Runtime51 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1