Game of Thrones: Season 4: Episode 3
Breaker of Chains
TOMATOMETER
95%
Reviews Counted: 37
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 2
Reviews Counted: 37
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 2
While "Breaker of Chains" is a letdown after the Purple Wedding, the episode expertly weaves together a number of necessary plot points -- and still manages to deliver a very memorable scene.
Episode info:
In the frenzied aftermath of the royal wedding, Tyrion gets a visit from a loyal subject, but wonders if anyone in his family will help him out of his current predicament. Meanwhile, Tywin offers to work for the common good with a presumed enemy; Sam takes stock of the personnel at Castle Black; the Hound gives another life lesson to Arya; and Daenerys makes a decision outside the walls of Meereen.
Genre: Drama����� Network: HBO����� Air Date: Apr 20, 2014
Critic Reviews for Game of Thrones: Season 4: Episode 3
ATTENTION: SOME OF THE QUOTES BELOW CONTAIN SPOILERS
The episode "Breaker of Chains" reminded us that, despite the compelling stories of Starks and Lannisters, Daenerys Targaryen is the real star of this series.
There are threats in Westeros -- on many fronts, taking many forms. "Breaker Of Chains" excels at reinforcing the current state of imbalance in this world.
"Breaker of Chains" looks to establish the idea of an inevitable and dreadful outcome as part of the throughline for not only each and every arc currently running, but also for the series as a whole.
"Breaker of Chains" was a sturdy, lengthy episode filled with long scenes. And that's a good thing, right? We like it when the show spends longer amounts of time with certain people and situations than when it just pops in and out of their lives quickly.
Game of Thrones takes no time to bask in the relief of Joffrey's removal, instead showing how so many of the characters now face only more peril.
Indeed, "Two Swords" biggest payoffs are often its least over-the-top moments.
I recognize that there are many stories that need to be advanced, and the creative team maintains its gift for providing memorable individual moments in many of our stops in the Seven Kingdoms.
I found "Breaker of Chains" to be a wildly satisfying hour across the board.
While it was a wise choice by director Alex Graves and writers David Beioff and D.B. Weiss to make Daenerys' story the last one we see, it doesn't quite erase the harrowing memories of objective obscenity from earlier in "Breaker of Chains."
The first half was a bit slow but a letdown is expected after the insanity of last week's episode. The second half, however, especially the fantastic scenes with Tyrion and Daeny, was stellar.
It's hard to believe so much was crammed into one hour - but the pace and depth of each scene seemed anything but during a superbly scripted episode.
If someone chops off Jaime Lannister's other hand, will he stop raping his sister? Because we could all use a break from that. Don't force us to feel sorry for Cersei.
An episode this good that draws mostly on the imaginations of Benioff and Weiss would be good news under any circumstances. But it's particularly good news given where the series may be headed after this season.
The list of suspects is long, but Tyrion is being set up. Across the Narrow Sea, Dany is unstoppable. In the north, the Wildlings might be, too. The game is far from over.
This was a transition episode that moved some plots forward incrementally but mostly served to set up the rest of the season.
The episode may lack the kind of gotcha cliffhanger ending that sent us reeling last week, but in a way, there are several cliffhangers: Joffrey's death has set all kinds of things in motion. The fragile peace is a thing of the past.
Westeros did not break out in flowers and songs in the wake of the tyrant king's death. It's problems are systemic, not based on any one sociopath's edicts.
Bad funeral and all, I'm going to take a stand and call this another solid episode, even if it didn't quite live up to the excellent season premiere or the extra-excellent Purple Wedding.
[They] made the correct choice to follow [the] episode 2 finale with the same image [starting] episode 3. But Joffrey's death doesn't have the immediate impact one might expect, as the many separate storylines continue to descend to darkness.
I want to give major props for Gleeson, Peter Dinklage, and Lena Headey for their superb acting skills in this episode.
After liberating the strongholds of Astapor and Yunkai with astounding speed, Daenerys Targaryen sets her sights on Meereen ? the mother of all slave cities.
No huge plot twists this time, but a little breathing room/character development after last week's big death was welcome. It's good to be reminded that flawed folks like Jamie and the Hound are definitely NOT getting warmer and fuzzier as time passes.
Whilst this week was thoroughly enjoyable, it was no Purple Wedding.
Okay so maybe "Breaker of Chains" didn't involve a jerkface king being murdered or a tree giving away spoilers for future seasons of Game of Thrones, but it was still top-notch entertainment.
While I've never been Cersei's biggest fan, I've always appreciated the complexity of her character and I certainly don't feel she deserved what happened to her in this episode.
Regardless of how you feel about the morals of the various people in Westeros, it's tough not to get invested in relationships that seem properly lived in.
This being Game of Thrones, there was no shortage of possible candidates for who poisoned Joffrey last week. But even in Game of Thrones, rape is still rape.
Yes, fans will and should perceive Jaime differently from now on. But Jaime wasn?t all good before, and he won?t be all bad now.
Westeros is full of passion. Littlefinger perving on underage Sansa, Jaime forcing himself upon his sister and Prince Oberyn primed to screw everybody in King's Landing.
Game of Thrones impersonates a fairy tale, with its dragons and maidens and knights and the rest. All the more to shock and revolt us when petty, power-mad opportunists splatter with the screen with gore.
The third episode was another well-crafted, and very difficult, installment that not only picked up all the pieces of the 'Purple Wedding' but seamlessly wove the other locations into the fold.
In the opening scene, the aftermath of Joffrey's assassination, we find ourselves right back where we started: standing before a carefully orchestrated murder that threatens to upset the balance of power.
"Breaker of Chains" started out as a solid episode, but devolved into a perfect example of so many criticisms that fans have about the show.
In the wake of Joffrey's fatal spit take, we've got ourselves a good old-fashioned whodunnit, with Sunday's episode making a compelling case for several suspects.
What's most important is that the show communicates the forward momentum of its major characters. With this episode, it accomplishes a lot of that.
In a show full of over-the-top narrative decisions, having a one-handed man rape his weeping twin sister next to the corpse of their illegitimate son rates pretty high.
It's hard to think of another single hour of this series that's more engorged with incidents and ideas, or rich enough to sustain entire Tumblrs' worth of analysis.
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"A Foreshadowing"
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Trailer #3: "Secrets"
Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow & more
Tony Decafoto
I loved this episode too, in spite of its lack of action
Apr 22 - 02:11 AM