The fourth season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones premiered in the United States on HBO on April 6, 2014, and concluded on June 15, 2014.

[1] The season is adapted primarily from the second half of A Storm of Swords, along with elements of A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, all novels from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R.

After the death of Robb Stark at The Red Wedding, all three remaining kings in Westeros believe they have a claim to the Iron Throne.

Game of Thrones features a large ensemble cast, including Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington.

The season introduced a number of new cast members, including Pedro Pascal, Indira Varma, Michiel Huisman and Dean-Charles Chapman.

[16][17] The fourth season adds previously recurring actors Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Snow), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane) and Hannah Murray (Gilly) to the series' main cast.

[citation needed] Paola Dionisotti and Rupert Vansittart were cast as Lady Anya Waynwood and Bronze Yohn Royce.

[28] After an absence of at least a season, Owen Teale returns as Alliser Thorne, Kate Dickie as Lysa Arryn, Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt, Tony Way as Dontos Hollard, Andy Beckwith as Rorge, Gerard Jordan as Biter, Andy Kellegher as Polliver, Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn and Brian Fortune as Othell Yarwyck.

[32] In the commentary for episode 2, "The Lion and the Rose," the showrunners revealed that parts of Joffrey's death scene had been filmed in California.

The Thingvellir National Park in Iceland was used as the location for the fight between Brienne and The Hound,[33] and the Þórufoss waterfall was the background for Drogon's attack on a herd of goats in episode 6.

[35] The Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós appears in the second episode, as a group of musicians serenading the royal couple at their wedding reception with "The Rains of Castamere."

The site's critical consensus reads, "Game of Thrones continues to be one of the best shows on TV, combining meticulously-plotted character arcs with the spectacular design of the Seven Kingdoms.

"[37] Variety praised the "spectacular cast" and "the sweeping and diverse backdrops" of the season,[39] while Andy Greenwald of Grantland specifically highlighted its "stately pace".

"[42] The Hollywood Reporter gave the season a positive review and stated, "The consistent excellence in Game of Thrones is truly something to behold.

"[43] The emotional weight, action sequences, performances, visual storytelling and narrative payoff was praised by James Poniewozik of Time[44] and Hank Stuever of The Washington Post.

Club gave it a score of 'A−' and stated, "Game Of Thrones was and is an astonishing achievement-a vast web of world-building and map-reading and politicking in made-up languages, while still relying on the close-up camera shot of a single actor's face to draw the most drama out of a scene.

"[46] Maureen Ryan of HuffPost gave the season a positive review and stated, "To me, the excitement of Game of Thrones, and the hope, exists in the margins, where the smartest characters often lurk.

"[47] TheWrap termed it a "gorgeous spectacle" and said that "aside from the Star Wars saga, I can't think of any on-screen story that creates such a vast, believable world out of imagination.

"[53] The only major publication to give the season a negative review was IndieWire, who gave it a score of 'C+' and stated, "Game of Thrones is a slog through fluctuating politics and random instances of gore with only brief moments of true excitement, when you can distinguish good from evil.

However, the third episode attracted criticism for the inclusion of a scene in which Jaime Lannister appears to be raping his sister and lover Cersei in the Great Sept of Baelor.

[65] For the 67th Directors Guild of America Awards, Alex Graves was nominated for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for the episode "The Children".

[106] Blu-ray exclusive: Between January 30 and February 5, 2015, the last two episodes of season four were shown in 205 IMAX theaters in the U.S. Game of Thrones is the first TV series released in this format.