Reviews of the Bosch

          So this has been a turbulent season to say the least. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss decreased the length of the last two seasons presumably because they didn’t have enough material to get through full-length ones. This seems partially true as they have all their major scenes, but they don’t have enough material for the scenes between major scenes as it were. This has caused season seven to feel rushed, and will likely impact season eight as well. But “The Dragon and the Wolf” includes some satisfying developments which arguably should have already happened, and concludes the arcs that aren’t important. But how good is it as the final episode to leave us on before the last season?           Well, we begin in Kings’ Landing (there is a brief scene at Casterly Rock between Jamie and Bronn, but it’s pretty pointless. Dany’s team arrives there to meet with Cersei and discuss truce in light of the threat up north. Brienne and Pod...

          First off I want to apologize for forgetting to make the obligatory Magnificent Seven , A-Team , or Suicide Squad joke at the end of the last review. In lieu of that I would like to point out however, that much like the movie Suicide Squad , all but the most expendable character survived. Funny that.           The penultimate episode of a Game of Thrones season has gotten the reputation of being the big one of that season. Both Ned’s beheading and the Red Wedding took place there, as did the Battle of Blackwater, the Battle at the Wall, and the Battle of the Bastards. But this season is a little different as it’s already had a few battles and it’s three episodes shorter than the seasons preceding it. “Beyond the Wall” may be disappointing in that it’s not the best of the season, though there are moments where it really could be.           There are a few problems in the ‘beyond the wall’ story...

          Any time on Game of Thrones an episode title is a location you know some big battle is going to take place there at the end. But then again that’s not really a bad thing, as this show has a history of good battles, including the one that ended the previous episode. So imagine my surprise when that’s not what happened. Nice twist, but the title doesn’t make much sense then, as Eastwatch doesn’t appear until the last five minutes. Otherwise this was a mostly solid episode.           So as was pretty clear, Jamie survived his plunge into the water. Bronn did too, and once they surface, Jamie can’t believe how much damage was done by just one dragon and a Dothraki horde. Knowing there are two others he’s very quickly lost hope the Lannisters could win. Bronn also makes clear he rescued Jamie just because of the debt owed him and that with dragons now involved, he’s done. Not far off, the survivors (all fifty of them it appears...

          Game of Thrones is a show that has certainly grown in scale. It’s come from the more constrained production of the first season to “The Spoils of War” being the third episode in a row to end on a battle. With such a budget, you would hope it’s going to good use. The latter third of this episode certainly seems to earn that.           There are only a few storylines we follow this week. The briefest of which is at King’s Landing, where Cersei seems to be winning over Mark Gatiss (I know he has a name, but much like Jim Broadbent, I only see Mark Gatiss). Apparently Qyburn is trying to acquire a new ally for her in Essos by hiring an army of sellswords. Good luck with that. Nothing is really accomplished here, but a little exposition being dropped that’s likely to pay off in a few episodes’ time.           In Winterfell, Bran says goodbye to Meera who’s heading back to her home after protecting hi...

          As I’m sure many have noted, everyone’s moving around very quickly this season. Though Jon left Winterfell just an episode ago, he’s already made it halfway down the continent to Dragonstone. It makes sense of course, given how few episodes are left, and it would be awful to waste time on the road. But it does draw attention to the passage of time in this world, which has to work a little harder to stay consistent across the various storylines. However it’s a good thing, things move so quickly in Westeros as it led to one of the moments fans have been waiting for for a long time.           Yes, Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow meet for the first time in this episode and it’s both as expected and unexpected as predicted. To start, when Jon and Davos first get off the boat at Dragonstone it’s immediately striking how out of his element Jon is. This is the first time we’re seeing him outside of a winter climate and it’s a litt...

          These past couple seasons we’re beginning to see characters who’ve never crossed paths before running into each other. Again, this is expected with the world of the show shrinking seven seasons in. But it’s nonetheless a little surreal for long-time viewers to see Sam Tarly with Jorah for example or Dany meeting Melissandre. This episode takes steps to further that with Jon getting the summons to Dragonstone and Arya changing her course. These kind of developments of course promise a lot and that’s why we’re excited for them. But “Stormborn” in addition to this, reminds us that this show is unrelenting, and things aren’t just going to be smooth now that Daenerys has returned home. Sometimes lords disagree with their kings, sometimes slimy guys hit on teenagers, and sometimes a whole fleet can be lost to one asshole with crazy eyes.           The episode begins appropriately on a dark and stormy night at Dragonstone where D...

          Game of Thrones is nearing the finish line and everything about “Dragonstone” serves to set up that fact. There are only seven episodes this season, and six next season which will finish off the series. By that point it’s possible George R.R. Martin will have the penultimate book published. As with many season openers of this show, the episode moves the pieces around to set up the final positions. Bran is moving back towards Jon, Arya moving towards Cersei, and everyone overall just seems to be coming closer together. And with the episode ending on the long-awaited return of Danaerys to Westeros it’s a sign the action and geography’s going to be a lot tighter and more immediate, the fat of many minor subplots and characters are going to be trimmed, and the endgame, where somehow I’m sure dragons are going to be pitted against white walkers, is nigh. In doing this, the episode serves an important purpose, if not necessarily being all that exciting ...

          Game of Thrones season six has generally been good but bumpy, entertaining but nothing all that special. Yeah we got Jon Snow and the Hound back, yeah we got to see Jon and Sansa reunite, yeah we got to explore some of the history of Westeros before the events of the show, but it hasn’t been the most thrilling. Then last week they gave us “Battle of the Bastards” a spectacular epic show that I declared the best of the season before this episode brought the season to an end. I’m not reneging on that statement; “Battle of the Bastards” I still think is better, but damn, “The Winds of Winter” named for George R. R. Martin’s yet to be released book, comes pretty close. If anyone had problems with the direction of the season or some of the storylines, these last two episodes easily make up for it.           Hell, the first twenty minutes alone are pretty damn spectacular and shocking with a body count that rivals anything in t...