TV REVIEW: Game of Thrones - The Broken Man

Spoilers...

Is it really episode seven? This season has absolutely flown by, and has to be one of the most consistently brilliant so far, with The Broken Man, which is another great episode. And it doesn't waste any time in reintroducing a great character from previous seasons who had been theorised to return; The Hound aka Sandor Clegane, who is found being part of a religious commune building a sept. The show had taken Sandor on an interesting journey previous, having shifted not only loyalties but morality, with a somewhat different take on things after being paired with Arya.

Here, Clegane's story is given significant heft, with the episode structured around his story, itself a sad reminder of the inevitability of war in the world of Game of Thrones, and its effects on everywhere - nobody is safe, no matter how far, remote, or peaceful they are. And for a man with a history of violence, it's almost impossible to escape. He seems content as part of the commune, if still as cynical as ever, but it's fascinating watching his conversations with the leader Ray - played by Ian McShane - who has had seemingly as dark a past as Sandor. McShane's casting is a masterstroke, bringing wonderful gravitas and depth to a tiny part (in the scheme of things) which has a crucial role in reintroducing Sandor.

The warrior's attempt to get away is shattered by the Brotherhood of Banners, who kill everyone in the commune for no discernible reason - something we're unfortunately used to seeing in Game of Thrones. Joffrey may have become the king we all loved to hate, and Ramsay is doing a similar job, but they both did cruel and inhuman things not for tactical or leadership reasons, but because they wanted to and they had the power to do so. The episode ends powerfully, with Sandor finding the bodies of the commune members strewn across the field. In his scenes he was shown to be chopping wood with an axe, almost as a redirection of power from his previous use of similar items, but the final shot has him picking up the axe from a tree stump, his motivation clear.

Speaking of Arya, she's not having a wonderful time trying to escape Braavos and the faceless men, and after booking passage on a ship she was approached by an old lady who, hugely predictably, turned out to be the waif. It was a bit uncharacteristic for Arya to let her guard down like that, but it was after a little moment where it felt like was saying goodbye to the city - and ready to become a Stark again. She was stabbed quite a few times, although while the episode left her looking bleak, you know it's not going to kill her off (it doesn't help that you see her in the preview for the next episode afterwards). The other Starks aren't getting on particularly well either: While Tormund was able to rally the wildlings to Jon's cause, House Glover had no interest, and while House Mormont pledged their allegiance, they only have sixty-two men. Nevertheless, the young leader of House Mormont was a charming girl of ten years old who happily talked smack to Jon and Sansa, with Davos eventually getting through to her, possibly thinking of Shireen.

Things in King's Landing are beginning to pick up, and we finally have a bit more of an idea of Margarey's plan after she secretly passed a drawing of the Tyrell rose to her grandmother, confirming her allegiance under the watchful eye of the faith militant. Olenna had a brilliant scene with Cersei where she just absolutely railed against her leaving her absolutely struck dumb, and hopefully she'll stick around in the show even though she's back off to Highgarden. Cersei undoubtedly has something up her sleeve, and chances are the theorised "Cleganebowl" is about to come true with Cersei choosing zombie Gregor as her champion, and The Mountain versus The Hound sounds like a fantastic way to go.

PS Yara likes the ladies. Never saw that coming.

- Charlie

You can read Charlie's look at previous episode, Blood of my Blood, here.

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FILM REVIEW: Snow White and the Huntsman

After escaping from imprisonment by Queen Ravenna, Snow White journeys into a decaying land where she realises that her destiny lies with defeating the evil queen with the help of a huntsman, a Prince and eight dwarves.

Released the same year as another Snow White tale, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman always looked like the better candidate. Moodier, darker and altogether more atmospheric than its more pantomime-y cousin, my interest was peaked early for Rupert Sanders' debut effort and I have to say, it had so much potential but fell short of delivering.

The plot is a reworking of the familiar Snow White tale although with a few added twists to keep things modern and fresh. Snow White (Kristen Stewart) is a girl famed for her beauty throughout the land and, after Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) murders her father, she is imprisoned in the tower to live out her days being watched by the Queen's creepy brother while she sleeps (a dig at Twilight perhaps? I hope so). However, after the Queen learns that Snow White is both the one who can undo the curse she has set upon the land, but also the one who can give her immortal life, Snow seizes the opportunity to escape. Although hired by the Queen to track her down and bring her back, the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) joins forces with the fugitive princess and, with the aid of her childhood friend Prince William (Sam Claflin), they seek to defeat Ravenna once and for all.

Visually, the film is stunning and Sanders, with his background in advertising, has created a rich world from the terrors of the dark forest to the sanctuary that Snow visits with the dwarves. Considerably more Middle Earth than some fairytale adaptations, the landscapes link well with the Snow White as a child of nature theme, giving the film a real earthy quality that builds well into the rest of the narrative. Charlize Theron's costumes are just fantastic and I had serious dress envy with some of the outfits that she wore, particularly near the beginning of the film. But unfortunately, even the most impressive special effects, creepy granite soldiers and beautiful foliage could not disguise that what the film was really lacking was a decent script to go along with it.


When you're told continually that a character is fiery and rebellious, you expect to see it. Admittedly, Kristen Stewart is good with what she's given, displaying a decent English accent and more facial expressions than Twilight ever allowed, the screenplay doesn't give her anything to do outside of running after Chris Hemsworth (which, as occupations go, isn't the worst) and shout a bit when given a speech. We're meant to believe that the titular characters are sparking off each other, going through the traditional adversarial banter before admitting to themselves they actually quite like each other, but it's never seen. Hemsworth is given a bit more to do and outshines his co-star considerably, showing the Huntsman's conflict whilst giving the film a much-needed sense of humour despite the slightly dodgy Scottish accent. The dwarves (eight to avoid copyright issues) also add to this with some great interplay between Hemsworth and Ian McShane and Nick Frost and Ray Winstone is the grumpier pair but even they failed to inject enough humour to rescue the po-faced affair.

I feel sorry for poor Sam Claflin too as the rebooted Prince Charming, William, who gets even less to do than Stewart; he cuts a dashing figure and displays some badass bow skills but he has all the character development of a wooden spoon. Thankfully, Charlize Theron's Ravenna gives us someone to truly get involved with, a woman torn between looking beautiful and growing old gracefully. Thankfully, she choose the former and gives a fantastic performance as a woman on the edge of both sanity and death. Snarling, shouting and emoting at all the right moments, she's easily the most memorable character in the film. Fairytales were originally morality-based, educating young girls on how to behave to get your prince (and still, insidiously, do this) so it makes sense that in our female-age-obsessed culture, we get an evil queen doing everything she can to stay young and beautiful.


Sadly, the film just doesn't build enough to warrant its bombastic, battle-fuelled climax. It feels as if there is about 20-30 minutes of the film missing, somewhere in the middle where everyone goes from being their assigned fairytale archetype to their heroic future self. Snow White herself goes from being slightly helpless maiden in the forest to experienced leader of men, giving heroic speeches and fighting off guys twice her size in the space of a scene. Her relationship with the Huntsman is frequently alluded to and Hemsworth manages to convey that he cares about her but it doesn't appear reciprocated nor built on anything seen in the formative scenes between the pair. Had the film decided to opt solely for a coming of age tale, it may have helped develop Snow White more into the fiesty heroine everyone kept describing.

Had the film had a great screenplay to go along with everything else, it could have been a truly entertaining fantasy romp. It's enjoyable enough but it's let down by a lack of development in both the characters and the plot. Sure everything looks pretty, but a glossy sheen doesn't help disguise Snow White and the Huntsman's flaws.

**

- Becky