I know that the recent season for Game of Thrones had ended a few weeks ago, but I really wanted to talk about one of my favorite episodes so far. The second last episode of the season, The Battle of the Bastards had to be one of my favorite episodes. The episode had me on the edge of my seat hoping to god that no one I liked would die. Watching it as well, I noticed a number of things that really struck out to me about the episode that I loved in a cinematographic sense. I wanted to go over some of the parts that I love the most.
One of my favorite parts was when Ramsey let Riccon run across the field as he shot at him from afar. The show had an excellent use of montage as it went to and fro between Riccon, John, and Ramsey. The way that the show cut between the three of them in different shots that shortened in length. When Riccon was finally shot I had forgotten about Ramsey because they had stopped cutting to him as he shot the arrows. I thought it was really well down how they stopped all the sound and used slow motion as John sat there on his horse in disbelief.
One of the most amazing shots was when John Snow drew his sword as the cavalry charged at him. In the scene, there is a close-up on John as he looks back at his own army, then in front of him again. The shot changes to John facing forward as the cavalry rushes at him. What was really amazing with that shot as well, is that it was completely real. When they had shot the scene they had Kit Harington, John Snow’s actor, standing still with a sword drawn as forty horses charged straight at him. It’s amazing what they accomplished in that scene when considering how much time and energy went into creating that shot.
The next shot that I loved was the battle itself when the two armies clashed. There seemed to be so much chaos in such little time, but we still focus on John’s character. As the battle raged and people crossed swords left and right, there was a long single shot that stayed on John through the battle, showing multiple moments where he almost died on the battlefield. The way in which the camerawork was done where it circled around him and showed the ensuing chaos that made up the set established the setting in such a definitive manner.
One of my other favorite shots in the episode had to be when John finally broke through Winterfell and faced off against Ramsay Bolton. I loved the over the shoulder shot when John approached him and how it flipped from that shot to a close up of John’s face as he blocked each arrow with his shield up until the point when he pounced on Ramsey. I thought the way that the scene was shot created a lot of tension and almost a kind of bond between the two characters, effectively showing how each one was locked into defeating the other.
Overall, I have to say that The Battle of the Bastards is one of my favorite episodes because of its cinematography. I really hope that in the future episodes to come that we will see more camerawork and action as amazing as what was given to us in this newest season.
