Review: 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Episode 4 "The Last Of The Starks"

"The Last Of The Starks"

Writer: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Directer: David Nutter

Review by James Stone

The unbelievable events of last week's episode meant that it was always going to be a tough act to follow. "The Last of the Starks" brings us back down to reality with an emotionally charged episode.
The opening is dark, moody and very tense, as we say goodbye to the fallen from the battle of Winterfell. Some beautiful wide shots over the graveyard, accompanied with some pitch perfect music, gave the scenes a real sombre mood.

I really enjoyed the post battle celebrations in this episode. Seeing those that survived being able to relax for a short time, have a drink and enjoy themselves gave the series a nice tonal change. Happiness doesn't last too long though, as even with the joyous celebrations, we start to see division amongst the ranks and new alliances being formed.
For me personally I found this episode quite slow and quite uneventful at times. If this was a 10 - 12 episode series then I would have been happy with this as a way to catch our breaths mid-season. Unfortunately, with this being episode 4 of a 6 episode run, I don't think enough happened.

One thing I was happy to see this week was the return of Cersei. Arguably the most hated character in the show, but she always brings the drama and doesn't fail to deliver. Cersei has had very little screen time this season, however I feel that is about to change with the conflict finally arriving at Kings Landing.
The lack of action this week was compensated with the sheer amount of plotting and scheming that we got to see. Something Game of Thrones does better than any other show on TV is create drama and tension. With two episodes remaining we are none the wiser as to who will win the Game of Thrones. Cersei, Jon Snow, Daenerys and Gendry all have a genuine claim. Two of them don't want it and two of them will do anything to win. Never knowing exactly who will support who, the final two episodes are sure to bring us more political conflict.

Not my favourite episode this season but I understand the importance of building conflict amongst the ranks. I hope next week brings us more fighting and more deaths, hopefully some more significant characters as we are quickly making our way through all the supporting cast.
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