TV – Game of Thrones: Season 4: A+

A+
This season’s “All men must die” tagline certainly proved apt, and the show continued to reenforce how choosing favorite characters is not a good idea. The Red Wedding from last season saw the deaths of many major players, but not since Season 1 have we seen so many fall, and in such creative, satisfying ways. The full-episode battle at The Wall was easily the best battle scene I’ve watched on television. There were of course plenty of great performances, especially The Hound, Tywin, and predictably, Tyrion. Lots of interesting developments left most characters at the ends of arcs, so that the season felt wrapped up, but with plenty of intriguing uncertainty about where things will go from here.

Movie – X-Men: Days of Future Past: A

A
Massive casts like this are only possible in sequels, and Days of Future Past shows how to do it right. They picked the best characters from the original trilogy and from First Class, and swept the less interesting ones out under the rug, but not in a particularly jarring way. Then they introduced some great new characters, especially Blink, who makes all the “future” action sequences so utterly fantastic (well the awesome future sentinels certainly helped too). Fassbender continues to excel, Lawrence is still great, and Dinklage performs admirably. And of course I can never get enough Patrick Stewart. But Quicksilver easily gets the best sequence in the whole film. He steals the first half, and I was incredibly disappointed he got left behind for the finale.

TV – Game of Thrones: Season 3: A+

A+
It’s nearly impossible to review this season without focusing on the divisive penultimate episode. While it can be argued that it crossed too far past “bold” or “daring” into something more akin to “sensationalist”, no one should claim it was boring. But the lead up to that beautiful episode had loads of fantastic moments too. Jamie underwent some interesting character “growth” and Peter Dinklage further showed why he earned his accolades. Arya continued to entertain, mostly due to her hanging out with the coolest minor characters on the show. Daenerys had a great moment of badassery mid-season but then her story got a bit redundant.

TV – Game of Thrones: Season 2: A

A
There was quite a different tone than season 1; with significantly more magical goings-on. Though I enjoyed the first season more, I think that may have been from watching it all in one sitting, rather than weekly as I did this time around. The stakes seemed higher this season, but the consequences weren’t as dramatic. There were some incredible moments though, especially in the penultimate episode (written by Martin himself.) I loved some of the new characters, anxiously wondering about their inevitable demises. The wait for season 3 will be painful.

TV – Game of Thrones: Season 1: A+

A+
Like most shows with such a numerous cast, it took a bit to establish each of the characters, but they did so quickly enough that I wasn’t ever lost. Lots of different plot lines with different emotional underscores melded seamlessly as I discovered the goals and faults of all the various central characters. I raged at the characters I was supposed to hate, felt for those for whom sympathy was expected, and celebrated those who I couldn’t help but root for. I eagerly await season two.