Paul Brian McCoy">
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • Q Clearance

      Paul Brian McCoy
      March 4, 2021
      Fiction, PDI Press Writers
    Recent
    • Q Clearance

      Mike Burr
      March 4, 2021
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      psychodr
      December 31, 2018
    • VOICES FROM THE NIGHT: The Living Dead Tell Their Stories

      John E. Meredith
      October 31, 2018
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Chaos Walking (2021)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      April 13, 2021
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Chaos Walking (2021)

      Nate Zoebl
      April 13, 2021
    • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      April 2, 2021
    • Zack Snyder’s Justice League: A Review, Comparison, and Breakdown

      Paul Brian McCoy
      March 24, 2021
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Chaos Walking (2021)
  • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
  • Zack Snyder’s Justice League: A Review, Comparison, and Breakdown
  • Psycho Goreman (2021)
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
Reviews

Game of Thrones 4.01 “Two Swords”

Paul Brian McCoy
April 8, 2014
Reviews, TV

Welcome back to the world of Game of Thrones! Oh how we’ve missed you!

As usual, the opening episode of the new season tends to hold back on the dramatic plot movements, instead serving as a launching pad for the myriad plot threads that will ultimately weave into a complex tapestry of loves, lusts, betrayals, bloodshed, and dragons. Which is to say, don’t expect a whole lot of movement this first installment.

GOT401-Swords

Instead, what we get is a brief reintroduction to most of our main players, as well as an opening scene farewell to everyone’s favorite grimly doomed father figure, Ned Stark (Sean Bean), as Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) melts down Ned’s unreasonably huge sword to make two more feasible-sized swords he can keep in the family.

And speaking of keeping it in the family, Jaime’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) back and fitted with an awesome (and, I would imagine, heavy) new golden hand. It’s not fully functional, though, and relations are strained between he and Cersei (Lena Headey). Similarly, his relations with Father of the Year, Tywin, are stretched to the breaking point. Seems all the Kingslayer wants to do is get things back to the way they’d always been, nestled in next to his sister and protecting the world’s worst king.

Alas, tis not to be.

GOT401-Nope

Not only is Cersei not having it, neither is the Royal Pain in the Ass, Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). I keep having to remind myself that Gleeson is a remarkable actor, otherwise I’d want to kick his ass all up and down the road if I ever happened across him. He makes Joffrey such a horrible prick that I can’t believe people aren’t lining up to assassinate him (the character!!).

The last Lannister to check in with is everybody’s favorite, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), and things are not looking up for the cleverest man in the kingdom. He’s getting no respect from anyone, not even his favorite sell-sword, Bronn (Jerome Flynn) – and when this guy

isn’t respecting you, things are looking bleak. But he’s not only getting dissed by his best friends, his new wife Sansa (Sophie Turner) can’t stand his touch, and the love of his life, Shae (Sibel Kekilli) is being written as the most shrewish bitch on the show – which is saying something.

On the plus side, there is at least one (maybe two) strong women on this show who aren’t just bitches, whores, or bloodthirsty. The always delightful Dame Emma Peel – I mean Diana Rigg – is a splash of sunshine in every scene she’s in. There’s something especially satisfying about watching her say whatever she wants to whomever she pleases in this tightly-wound, coiled spring of a society.

And I’m truly hoping that Margaery (Natalie Dormer) lives up to her grandmother’s expectations.

GOT401-Dragon

Who am I forgetting? Oh yeah. The Wildlings are still nursing their wounds and meeting up with some allies from beyond the Wall – nasty buggers with a taste for human flesh. The Night’s Watch have some stern slaps on the wrist for Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) for killing allies and sleeping with the enemy. And across the ocean, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) keeps marching her liberated slave army onward, growing as they go.

And those dragons are growing, too. In fact, Drogon is getting a bit too big for his britches, and is noticeably larger than his siblings, Rhaegal and Viserion. That’s something to keep an eye on.

But with all of this going on, the two most interesting elements of the Season Four premiere are the introduction of a new character, and the repositioning of two old ones.

GOT401-Viper

Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, (Pedro Pascal) is an intriguing new wild card character that introduces and element of chaos and danger to the capital. He’s got old grudges and, according to his reputation, the inclination to act on those urges. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s got Indira Varma at his side as Ellaria Sand. With a veteran of Torchwood, Rome, and Luther in the mix, you can expect quality work.

The real heart of the show (at least for this first episode), however, is Arya (Maisie Williams) and the Hound (Rory McCann).

GOT401-Arya

I know, I know. Nothing good can come from this. But clearly Arya brings out the best in the Hound, and he’s teaching her some things about survival in a brutal world. And in a CLEARLY if I’m wrong I don’t want to be right moment, I was cheering when Arya pulled Needle out, said a few choice – if somewhat psychotic – lines and then killed the bastard who’d killed her friend a season or two ago. But hey, one Stark sword was lost, and another was found. Nice balance there.

It’s going to be a dark path these two travel, and I can’t wait to see what happens. I’d almost go so far as to say that theirs is the story I care about the most – almost to the exclusion of most of the others. Give me an hour each week of a big, badass murdering bastard teaching a young girl to survive by any bloodthirsty means necessary and I’m a happy man.

Shut up! This is my therapy!

(Visited 30 times, 1 visits today)
Game of Thrones 4.01 "Two Swords"
4.0Overall Score

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Game of ThronesPaul Brian McCoy

Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge 1.02 “Return of the Skeksis”
Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince (1971)

About The Author

monsterid
Paul Brian McCoy
Co-Founder / Editor-in-Chief / Dreamweaver

Paul Brian McCoy is the Editor-in-Chief of Psycho Drive-In. His first novel, The Unraveling: Damaged Inc. Book One is available at Amazon US & UK, along with his collection of short stories, Coffee, Sex, & Creation (US & UK). He recently contributed the 1989 chapter to The American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s (US & UK). He also kicked off Comics Bulletin Books with Mondo Marvel Volumes One (US & UK) and Two (US & UK) and PDI Press with Marvel at the Movies: 1977-1998 (US & UK), Marvel at the Movies: Marvel Studios (US & UK), and Spoiler Warning: Hannibal Season 1 - An Unauthorized Critical Guide (US & UK). Paul is also unnaturally preoccupied with zombie films and sci-fi television. He can be found babbling on Twitter at @PBMcCoy.

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Daily Top Ten

  • The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) by Jessica Sowards
  • Lost in Translation 224: Mutant XLost in Translation 224: Mutant X by Scott Delahunt
  • Adventure Time 6.07 “Food Chain”Adventure Time 6.07 “Food Chain” by Dave Hearn
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 (1984) vs The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 (1984) vs The Hills Have… by Corin Totin
  • Sick Flix: Cannibal Holocaust (1980)Sick Flix: Cannibal Holocaust (1980) by Corin Totin
  • Chaos Walking (2021)Chaos Walking (2021) by Nate Zoebl
  • Scream 4: Sidney’s Final KillScream 4: Sidney’s Final Kill by The Final Girl
  • Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964) by Rick Shingler
  • Cadia: The World Within (2019)Cadia: The World Within (2019) by Nate Zoebl

PDI Press Bestsellers

Entertainment Earth

Weekly Top Ten

  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • Sick Flix: Cannibal Holocaust (1980)Sick Flix: Cannibal Holocaust (1980) by Corin Totin
  • Chaos Walking (2021)Chaos Walking (2021) by Nate Zoebl
  • All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016)All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016) by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
  • If It Ain't Funk He Don't Feel It: Howard the Duck (1986)If It Ain’t Funk He Don’t Feel It:… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Page to Screen: The Boys Season OnePage to Screen: The Boys Season One by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
Entertainment Earth

Latest Reviews

  • Chaos Walking (2021)

    Nate Zoebl
    April 13, 2021
  • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    April 2, 2021
  • Zack Snyder’s Justice League: A Review, Comparison, and Breakdown

    Paul Brian McCoy
    March 24, 2021

Latest Columns

  • Lost in Translation 377: Pacific Rim – The Black

    Scott Delahunt
    April 16, 2021
  • Anything Joes: S01E15 – G.I. Joe #5 / Tanks For The Memories

    Greg Engle
    April 15, 2021
  • Anything Joes: UNBOXING: G.I. Joe Classified Flint and Lady Jaye

    Greg Engle
    April 12, 2021

INSTAGRAM

psychodrivein

Today at http://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transla Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 377: Pacific Rim - The Black

Pacific Rim: The Black expands the setting, showing more of the world introduced in Pacific Rim and the effects of the kaiju invasion on people.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #PacificRim #TheBlack #PacificRimTheBlack #Kaiju
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Greg and Jaren Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Greg and Jaren take a look at the MOBAT's big day out as it strolls through a parade and tries to survive a Cobra ambush!
---
Check out Greg and Jaren's video at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #ARealAmericanHero #MarvelComics #Mobat @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Chaos Walking ( Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Chaos Walking (2021)

Chaos Walking has been shrouded under the ominous reputation of “troubled production” from its very inception.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#ChaosWalking #DaisyRidley #TomHolland #MadsMikkelsen #DougLiman #FedeAlvarez #DavidOyelowo #PatrickNess
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: UNBOXING: G.I. Joe Classified Flint and Lady Jaye

Jaren takes a look at the newest Classified figures to hit shelves: Flint and Lady Jaye!
---
Watch Jaren's video at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes @AnythingJoesPod #GIJoe #GIJoeClassified #LadyJaye #Flint #Unboxing
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Beautiful Creat Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Beautiful Creatures: Night of the Lepus (1972)

Night of the Lepus is genuinely a science-fiction/horror in name only.
---
Read more of Dan's article at the link in our profile!

#BeautifulCreatures #NightOfTheLepus #JanetLeigh #RoryCalhoun #DeForestKelley
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 9 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 9: Blood Quantum (2019)

Blood Quantum satisfies all my zombie film cravings and is one of the strongest genre entries in years.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #BloodQuantum #JeffBarnaby #BrandonOakes #ElleMaijaTailfeathers #ForrestGoodluck #GaryFarmer #KiowaGordon #MichaelGreyeyes #StonehorseLoneGoeman
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 8 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 8.2: [Rec] 4: Apocalypse (2014)

Anyway, [Rec] 4: Apocalypse is a perfectly fine zombie movie set on a boat.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Rec4Apocalypse #IsmaelFritschi #HectorColome #PacoManzanedo #ManuelaVelasco #JaumeBelaguero #ManuDiaz
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 8 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 8.1: [Rec] 3: Genesis (2012)

Granted, [Rec] 3: Genesis doesn’t really break new ground, but it is solid at what it does.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Rec3Genesis #PacoPlaza  #DiegoMartin #LeticiaDolera
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 7 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 7.2: [Rec]2 (2009)

[Rec] 2 opens with the final shot of the previous film before shifting our focus to a new set of cameras.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Rec2 #ManuelaVelasco #JonathanDMellor #JaumeBalaguero #PacoPlaza #ManuDiaz
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 7 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 7.1: [Rec] (2007)

[Rec] is a film that puts people in peril and then steps on the gas, refusing to let up until the shocking final moments.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Rec #JaumeBalaguero #PacoPlaza #ManuelaVelasco #PabloRosso
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 6 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 6: Dead Shack (2017)

Dead Shack is not heavy on scares and the zombies are practically an afterthought, but if you like juvenile humor there’s a dark streak to this film that delivers in the end.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #DeadShack #Zombies #PeterRicq #LaurenHolly #DonavonStinson #MatthewNelsonMahood #LizzieBoys #GabrielLaBelle #ValerieTian
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Godzilla vs. Ko Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

If there was ever a film that deserved to be seen on as big a screen as possible, it’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#GodzillaVsKong #Godzilla #Kong #Kaiju #LegendaryPictures #MonsterVerse #AdamWingard #MechaGodzilla #AlexanderSkarsgard #DemianBichir #EizaGonzalez #EricPearson #JulianDennison #KayleeHottle #KyleChandler #MaxBorenstein #MichaelDougherty #MillieBobbyBrown #RebeccaHall #ShunOguri
Load More... Follow on Instagram

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Ray
Ray - 3/3/2021
The Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about Racism, Rape, and Remorse
Bad review. Ethan doesn’t reject the family or society at the end, he realizes there is no place...
Amari Wolfe
Amari Wolfe - 12/11/2020
Popcorn Cinema: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Don't know why, but the mention of Whammo Air Blasters made me laugh until it hurt. Very nicely...
mega leo
mega leo - 12/5/2020
Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
To torture someone takes a cold kind of sadism. One that exceeds rage or revenge. One that shows a...
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: