We begin this season, appropriately enough, with the traditional Valyrian response, "Valar Dohaeris," which translates to "all men must serve."įair enough: all men must die, and, until they do, all men must serve. We ended last season with an episode entitled " Valar Morghulis," which-though the show has not explained this yet-means "all men must die" in the language of Valyria. However, some minor references to the books are unavoidable, particularly if the show is going to call upon them, as it has done in the last couple of episode titles. This is no fairy tale, and the odds of anyone living happily ever after are getting slimmer by the season.Īs usual, I'll be reviewing each episode of Season Three as an hour of television I try not to constantly compare the show to the novels, and I go out of my way to avoid any spoilers from the books. Yes, the show features kings and queens, princes and princesses, witches and warlocks, dragons and giants and magic-but don't let any of that fool you.
Welcome back to Game of Thrones, and brace yourself. We hear screaming, and fighting, and dying, and the high-pitched shriek of something unnatural and unimaginable announcing itself from the darkness. But before that-before the first shot, before the first words, and even before the opening credits-what we hear is the screaming. Winter is no longer coming: winter is here.
The first shot of the episode is of a barren landscape with a winter storm rolling in: we hear a howling wind, and we see everything obliterated by white. From the very first moments of "Valar Dohaeris," we can probably guess what kind of season it's going to be.