In Game of Thrones’ “The Bells,” Miguel Sapochnik once again uses every visual trick he can find to try reanimate a show long past its prime. Esther, Søren and guest host Josh Lewis discuss.
Stark Contrast: Episode 20 “The Winds of Winter”
Game of Thrones comes to a satisfying conclusion with “The Winds of Winter” from director Miguel Sapochnik. Once again he puts focus on framing and makes stylistic choices we rarely if ever see in this show including locked-down shots and montages. This helps elevate an already quality set of narrative moments as Thrones moves into its final stretch. […]
Stark Contrast: Episode 19 “Battle of the Bastards”
Thank god for Miguel Sapochnik. Almost every week J and I tend to harp on the editing and camerawork in Game of Thrones. It’s been a bit better this season, but in general we’re both fairly underwhelmed with the technical side of the show. That’s why it feels like a breath of fresh air having […]
Stark Contrast: Episode 18 “No One”
“No One” continues an unfortunate lull in Game of Thrones, a character episode that has as many brilliant moments as it does head-scratching. The plot inches forward for characters like The Hound (Rory McCann) while going almost nowhere for the likes of Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and the Blackfish (Clive Russell). Despite this, we […]
Stark Contrast: Episode 8 “Hardhome”
If last week’s “The Gift” represented a shift in the right direction for Game of Thrones, “Hardhome” is the fullest realization of its potential. From clever use of narrative symmetry to payoffs in nearly every major storyline, this week was the show at its very best. J and I parse out each thread before culminating in […]
Stark Contrast: Episode 7 “The Gift”
Following last week’s ho-hum episode, Game of Thrones returns to form this week with “The Gift.” Sansa’s characterization resumes while Stannis is faced with a tough decision and Cersei’s machinations finally backfire on her. While not everything landed this week—romantic subplots faced something of a nosedive at The Wall and in Meereen—most of the stories managed […]
