The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone | The Americans, Season 1, Episodes 1-7

Sep 9

4 min read

Lots of questions around identities this week.

Geralt of Rivia admiring the scenery after settling the dispute between Gaunter O'Dimm and Olgierd von Everec - from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone

Here's what I've been watching and playing over the last seven days...

MOVIES

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

It's not been that long since I last watched this, but it's still hugely enjoyable fun and I really wish we were getting a sequel.

Independence Day

It's not a brilliant film by any measure, but it's impressive just how much death and destruction there is for a summer blockbuster, with innocents being killed in the millions - only disaster movies really do that in modern movies.

Kung Fu Panda

This remains a brilliant kung fu film that I think everyone should watch and not let the fact that it's an animated movie about talking animals put them off.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Saying that, I think I prefer this movie to the first one, just for the added emotion when Po learns about his backstory and the heroic selflessness of his mother - and Gary Oldman is phenomenal as the villain.

The Favourite

I liked this more than the first time I watched it, although it is a very slow build and it feels like three times as much stuff happens in the last third of the film than in the first two-thirds combined.

GAMES

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone

Expansion summary: Follows Geralt of Rivia coming in contact with a mysterious man known as Gaunter O'Dimm, and his connections to Olgierd von Everec, a cursed nobleman. (Wikipedia)

Years before I started playing Hearts of Stone, I'd heard how incredible the central story was in this expansion pack and, wow, were people not kidding around.

I have to agree with the sentiment that this expansion is more than worthy of being a game in its own right and I wouldn't have been disappointed if that's how it had been released.

The twin stories of Gaunter O'Dimm and Olgierd von Everec, along with another old flame of Geralt's in the form of a helpful red-headed medic, Shani, are all written and performed to perfection.

Hell, I would even say Hearts of Stone's shorter length helps avoid stringing things out and is arguably a more consistently excellent main story than the base game itself - which I really , really love!

There are additional treasure hunts and side quests to go on, but this expansion really is about the main story and it doesn't falter for even one moment, and I loved how my final choice ended the story.

There's not too much more to add as the rest of Hearts of Stone is just as good as the base game and I enjoyed it from start to finish - and that's beginning well and ending brilliantly.

A definite recommend - especially as it's now free as part of the base game, so if you own The Witcher 3, you have no excuse to not also play the Hearts of Stone content.

Hearts of Stone is an excellent addition to the world of The Witcher 3, with a fantastic main story, brilliant characters and more that all blends seamlessly together. [9/10]

TV

The Americans, Season 1, Episodes 1-7

Season summary: Two deep-cover Soviet spies posing as an American couple take on dangerous missions in 1980s Washington, D.C., while trying to balance loyalty to their homeland with their fake family life.

Episode 1, “Pilot”

Going in, I didn’t know when this show was set but the 80s makes sense and also makes for a great soundtrack.

I also didn’t know the first episode was 71 minutes long and found myself thinking “wow, they’re really packing a lot into one episode!”

Eye-straining editing in the fight scenes aside, this was a fantastic first episode. [9/10]

Episode 2, “The Clock”

A really great story about a mission under time constraints that made the episode fly by despite how much happened, continuing the strong start to the series. [9/10]

Episode 3, “Gregory”

A bit more fleshing out than forward momentum this time, but still engaging throughout and a reminder that the protagonists’ side aren’t the good guys at all. [8/10]

Episode 4, “In Control”

Another really good episode following the President being shot and both the FBI and KGB wondering who the hell did it. [9/10]

Episode 5, “Comint”

A lot of lines getting blurred in this episode, along with plenty of risk-taking on the KGB side, and a (typically) dumb response from the Yanks – great stuff. [9/10]

Episode 6, “Trust Me”

The first episode to fail to maintain the high standards of quality – I figured out what was going on with the KGB side of things very early, and the FBI side of the story felt far too quick and easy a resolution to be satisfying. [7/10]

Episode 7, “Duty and Honor”

Despite the title, this episode was more about relationships and sex, including the KGB framing someone in a far more believable manner the FBI last time out. [8/10]

I'm loving this so far and trying to keep to an episode per day so I don't rush it or let it linger, but it's so damn good so far that I may have to binge-watch later seasons!