For example, Asher's plea to Daenerys to provide an army is rushed and flat, and no matter what you tell her, she continues to threaten you. There's a lot of verbal fencing, but none of it reaches anxious heights of, say, Mira's first conversation with Cersei Lannister in Episode One. Most of the major choices in Sons of Winter revolve around the heroes trying to please one person at the expense of incurring another's wrath-something you've been doing in more exciting, meaningful ways for three episodes already. We last left Gared Tuttle at the Wall in more trouble that he's ever been, with Mira out of favor with Margaery Tyrell, with Rodrik trying and failing to regain control of Ironrath, and with Asher at the feet of Daenerys Targaryen. I can't list all those things here, as doing do would spoil nearly every turning point for the episode, but I can say that if you're familiar with the arcs of Sansa Stark and Jon Snow, you will find few surprises here. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire-with the introduction of new characters and scenarios that come across as though detailed on a writer's checklist of necessary plot points. But their story is starting to to mimic the tale of the Starks-the downtrodden family at the center of George R. It's been thoroughly delightful (and painful, in that masochistic, enjoyable way) to watch Mira evolve into a sneaking schemer, to see Rodrik struggle to balance the demands of Lady Forrester and his sister Talia without letting either down, and to uncover the mystery of the fabled North Grove with Gared. I've praised the the game's focus on the Forrester family before they are always the most interesting characters on screen at any given time, overshadowing cameos from the TV show's stars. That's not to say Sons of Winter is without its bright points, however: they come in the form of the episode's secondary characters, who unravel their own backstories and add more interesting dilemmas. I'm applying this moniker to Sons of Winter, the fourth episode of Telltale's Game of Thrones, because it marks a departure from the series' dramatic tension and, unfortunately, is starting to mimic its source material in all-too-predictable ways. A friend once joked that HBO's Game of Thrones should be renamed "A Series of Meetings," given its string of recent episodes featuring more exposition and chatter than action.
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