I liked how Olenna was honest with Maergaery aobut Joffrey without giving away whodunit.
Tywin's talk about kings with a noble characteristic but that failed as rulers reminds me of the book talk about bad Hands.
I didn't like how the sept sex scene was rapey here; that's even worse than the books' period joke.
Stannis seemed uncharacteristically harsh to his old friend Davos, though that did seem somewhat justified by the tension
The sensitive Sam/Gilly scene was great, while acknowledging the reality of the Night's Watch criminal element.
I did like how the Oberyn scene defended not being straight. Then Tywin showed up. As with Olenna, I liked how Oberyn seems like one of the one of the few people who can rival Tywin's force of personality.
I didn't expect a cut to a wildling raid scene. I liked seeing more focus on the Wall in general without ignoring other plotlines, a problem the last episode seems to have in spending too much time in King's Landing.
Daenerys was at her imposing best, including the righteous fury of her speech. Who championed for her and how was unexpected. I liked the reversal of the "piss on you" taunt. I wondered what Daenerys' catapults were launching. Ah, literal broken chains. A great ending to another mostly-great episode.
Stannis is done terribly on the show. He is adamant and doesn't believe in the ***** Mel is doing and deep down trusts Davos. he knows he needs Mel but there is doubt. The show's Stannis is not strong and is clingy to Mel.
Jaime's development is getting butchered as well. I hope they fix it...
Stannis is done terribly on the show. He is adamant and doesn't believe in the ***** Mel is doing and deep down trusts Davos. he knows he needs Mel but there is doubt. The show's Stannis is not strong and is clingy to Mel.
Jaime's development is getting butchered as well. I hope they fix it...
Your second point is one of the many problems with that sex scene
Was a week behind but caught up with Episode 4 just before Episode 5
Missandei teaching Grey Worm was a pleasant surprise as something new. At first I thought the strained English was more Shireen teaching Davos.
Grey Worm inciting a slave revolt seemed like an improvement in the handling of Essos slave characters, but that seemed somewhat negated by the reprise of the Mysha scene
This Olenna-Margaery scene was surprisingly explicit talk, 'explicit' in both the sexual sense and being clear aobut Joffrey's death
I liked more of Jon in his element on the wall. I like the foreshadowing of him as Lord Commander.
Excellent portrayal of the severe strain in the Cersei-Jaime relationship
Littlefinger is his great creepy self.
Yeah, Margaery stunned Tommen, that's for sure. Even better than Arya staring at shirtless Gendry as an insta-puberty moment, because of Margaery's romantic touch here.
I liked how the Craster's Keep raid was explained as important to the Watch as a whole, rather than just Jon Snow's personal business. The mutineers' depravity seemed over the top, but in keeping with televised GOT's theme of gratuitous sex scenes. The mutineers capturing Bran and co seemed liek a good way to link those storylines. I loved seeing Jon having his moment.
It was great to see Jaime deciding to do the right thing, and it was awesome to see how much it meant to Brienne and Pod.
I quite liked White Walker POV as something different.
Now for my comments on Episode 5 itself:
Discussing a raid on King's Landing seemed to come further than in the book, but that helped
I wonder why they presented Sansa as Petyr's niece and made the truth known even in private. Maybe since it would be true via his marriage to Lysa, it would be easier to keep their story together. There was some interesting added information about Catelyn's history. Otherwise, they did a good job with canon exposition of that plotline.
The Arya-Sandor rivalry is still brilliant.
The Craster's Keep battle was a great fight scene. It is ironic but necessary that Bran and co separate anyway. The attempted rape of Meera was just ridiculous, a low point of the episode, a kind of thing that was also problematic with this plotline in episode 4.
I liked how burning the keep was poetic to destroy the bad memories as well as practical (the usual creamation so White Walkers can't raise the corpses as wights)
TYRION. That speech. So good. As a person who has not read the books, I cannot wait. We watched the last few minutes multiple times. One of the best moments of an already great season. On a side note, I am unhappy yet unsurprised with the direction of Daenerys.
Peter Dinklage is just a great actor overall, that speech just highlights how deep he can go. Honestly an emmy award winning performance right there.
I'l agree with Daenerys crappy direction but it has to happen otherwise they would have to explain how she suddenly wised up on the sea route to Westeros
I liked how the opening scene was an immediate followup on the last episode, and showed both the sense and lackthereof of what Tyrion had done.
I thought the Arya-Sandor scene was a great view of how war had gone.
I understand Bronn finding involvement in the duel to be a bad idea.
I liked the interesting tension of the Daario-Daenerys scene.
Melisandre's nudity was grauitous and msot of that scene seemed unnecessary except for the explanation of the powders. (Well, that is to be expected of Game of Thrones. At least the sexuality wasn't violent)
Nice bit of Jon being shut down for speaking truth to power.
There were some great bits of humor as Jorah disapproved of Daario ******* Daenerys. Then his presence became another great serious discussion of Daenerys' brutal response ot the slavemasters.
It was awesome to see Hot Pie reappear serving Brienne and Pod.
The Oberyn sexuality comment didn't seem so gratuitous this time, as it was a way of bonding with fellow prostitute fan Tyrion. Oberyn's reveal of his history of Tyrionw as stunnign and a great buildup to the champion declaration.
Robin was an interesting mix of sweet boy and obnoxious.
I like how Petyr's appearance was a good mix of his power scheming and romantic creepiness. That helped make his rteveal to and murde rof Lysa a fittign closer to the episode, especially after impact of the Oberyn scene.
I thought I had posted on E6, last weeks, the one with the Tyrion rant, but that post didn't go through.
Overall it was a solid nuanced story with some great moments.
Well, Tyrion sure went out with a bang.
I was interested in hearing from the Iron Bank as soon as I saw Stannis and Davos going to Braavos personally. It came off as a great realistic angle on Stannis' situation, both good and bad.
Asha sure had a hell of a rousing speech, and it was a solid fight scene. Theon resisting being freed was a great tragic illustration of how broken he's become. However, I can understand how he'd see it as another ruse by Ramsay.
Oberyn's sex life still seems overemphasized but this episode did seem to have a bit more focus on other aspects of his character.
I think the nobleman's son's speech did a great job of giving a nuanced view of the crucifying.
Sure, the trial was a farce, but insisting on the choking story seems a mistake, and some of the things Tyrion really did say and do before seems suspicious now. I was pleasantly suprised to see Jaime call it out in character. I wondered how the Jaime-Tywin deal was going to fall apart. As a distant second thought, I wondered if the TV show would have dared change something that big. Ah, Shae's betryal caused Tyrion to snap, or maybe he distrusted the whole idea.
I liked how the opening scene was an immediate followup on the last episode, and showed both the sense and lackthereof of what Tyrion had done.
I thought the Arya-Sandor scene was a great view of how war had gone.
I understand Bronn finding involvement in the duel to be a bad idea.
I liked the interesting tension of the Daario-Daenerys scene.
Melisandre's nudity was grauitous and msot of that scene seemed unnecessary except for the explanation of the powders. (Well, that is to be expected of Game of Thrones. At least the sexuality wasn't violent)
Nice bit of Jon being shut down for speaking truth to power.
There were some great bits of humor as Jorah disapproved of Daario ******* Daenerys. Then his presence became another great serious discussion of Daenerys' brutal response ot the slavemasters.
It was awesome to see Hot Pie reappear serving Brienne and Pod.
The Oberyn sexuality comment didn't seem so gratuitous this time, as it was a way of bonding with fellow prostitute fan Tyrion. Oberyn's reveal of his history of Tyrionw as stunnign and a great buildup to the champion declaration.
Robin was an interesting mix of sweet boy and obnoxious.
I like how Petyr's appearance was a good mix of his power scheming and romantic creepiness. That helped make his rteveal to and murde rof Lysa a fittign closer to the episode, especially after impact of the Oberyn scene.
Two scenes I loved from this episode.
1. The scene with Tyrion and Bron. Great interaction between the two. It was almost touching the way these two cynical, pragmatic characters actually acknowledge that they've become real friends. In the end though, they are who they are and neither one is going to commit suicide for the other. But they each understand that and respect each other's honesty.
2. The scene with Daenerys and Jorah. I love that they brought up Jorah's past crimes as a direct counterpoint to what they're currently doing with the slaves and slavemasters. I thought it was a very effective illustration, and Danni did seem to really take it to heart. I think this scene really emphasized Danni's maturity as a leader, that she is confident but still willing to let someone she trusts and respects change her mind if they make a compelling case. Also very creative of her to come up with a fitting alternative so quickly. I don't really like the way that Danni seems to toy with Jorah sometimes, but it was nice that she gave him that message for Daario on his way out at least.
I liked how the opening scene was an immediate followup on the last episode, and showed both the sense and lackthereof of what Tyrion had done.
I thought the Arya-Sandor scene was a great view of how war had gone.
I understand Bronn finding involvement in the duel to be a bad idea.
I liked the interesting tension of the Daario-Daenerys scene.
Melisandre's nudity was grauitous and msot of that scene seemed unnecessary except for the explanation of the powders. (Well, that is to be expected of Game of Thrones. At least the sexuality wasn't violent)
Nice bit of Jon being shut down for speaking truth to power.
There were some great bits of humor as Jorah disapproved of Daario ******* Daenerys. Then his presence became another great serious discussion of Daenerys' brutal response ot the slavemasters.
It was awesome to see Hot Pie reappear serving Brienne and Pod.
The Oberyn sexuality comment didn't seem so gratuitous this time, as it was a way of bonding with fellow prostitute fan Tyrion. Oberyn's reveal of his history of Tyrionw as stunnign and a great buildup to the champion declaration.
Robin was an interesting mix of sweet boy and obnoxious.
I like how Petyr's appearance was a good mix of his power scheming and romantic creepiness. That helped make his rteveal to and murde rof Lysa a fittign closer to the episode, especially after impact of the Oberyn scene.
Two scenes I loved from this episode.
1. The scene with Tyrion and Bron. Great interaction between the two. It was almost touching the way these two cynical, pragmatic characters actually acknowledge that they've become real friends. In the end though, they are who they are and neither one is going to commit suicide for the other. But they each understand that and respect each other's honesty.
2. The scene with Daenerys and Jorah. I love that they brought up Jorah's past crimes as a direct counterpoint to what they're currently doing with the slaves and slavemasters. I thought it was a very effective illustration, and Danni did seem to really take it to heart. I think this scene really emphasized Danni's maturity as a leader, that she is confident but still willing to let someone she trusts and respects change her mind if they make a compelling case. Also very creative of her to come up with a fitting alternative so quickly. I don't really like the way that Danni seems to toy with Jorah sometimes, but it was nice that she gave him that message for Daario on his way out at least.
Tyrion and Brann's interaction was priceless. Two of the characters that have really made me love the show coming full circle.
I totally ate up Oberyn declaring himself Tyrion's champion. That scene was perfect. I'm also looking forward to the fight. Folks who have read the books have been foreshadowing that this season was going to drop off in intrigue, but this promises for some fireworks.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
One of these day I have to get myself organizized.
I agree with what brasswire and TrappedUnderIce said about Episode 7 and had noticed much the same things
Episode 8 was great for more than just the fight.
Ah, so the party scene was Gilly at Mole's Town. It took me a moment to figure out what was going on there. I can understand how the Night's Watch men don't want to chase after the diversion.
At least the Missandei topless scene was followed up on in the plot, so it didn't seem too gratutitous, at least by GOT standards. The idea that Grey Worm might still be interested made an interesting point aobut sexuality and their nonsexual friendship.
Ramsay's malevolence came off quite well again, and he had an interesting point about krakens away from the sea. I liked how Ralf saw through the act, although he had to get out of the way for the sake of sticking to the book plot.
Likewise, I liked how the Vale lords saw through Littlefinger being Littlefinger. Sansa seemed relatively honest given the circumstances and that was a wonderful performance by Sophie Turner.
I'm not sure about the circumstances of the Jorah pardon either, and I like how that was addressed in character. The confrontation with Daenerys was another moment of particularly impassioned acting.
I don't know what's going on with Arya breaking out in laughter.
Sansa's black feathery dress reminded me of two of my favorite Katniss pieces form Catching Fire.
I liked how the climactic fight scene didn't take up too much of the episode, and the Jaime talk was a great lead in but the beetle talk dragged on too long. No wonder the crowd wanted Pycelle to hurry up with the formalities. A pole weapon did seem to be the way to fight someone of Gregor's reach. I know eking out the public confession was Oberyn's goal, but in the context of the fight it may have been a way to goad Gregor into making a rash move. In delaying finishing him off for this reason, he lost the fight, though. As I noticed in a past episode, Oberyn accuses Gregor of killing both Elia's children, instead of Aegon while Amory Lorch killed Rhaenys. Is this a mistake on Oberyn's part or an understandable simplification of backstory for the show? I suppose Gregor technically won since he died slightly after Oberyn. Tyrion's death sentence was a great last line.
The one thing on my mind is that Oberyn might be the most colossally stupid man in the GOT universe at that point in time. He had everything he wanted, all he had to do was be more careful, and disable Gregor so that he could continue to egg him on. The way he died was especially gruesome, even by GOT standards.
I love the development Sanza is getting.
I think that the laughter is just Arya breaking a bit. Nothing good ever happens to her, it's like her life is one big, cruel joke. I'd say it's a mixture of shock and disbelief at how unfair her life is.
I really like Jorah and hope that he doesn't get shunted off screen for awhile. Of course it's GOT, so something tragic could also happen. Daenarys has gotten away with a lot of late.
I really wonder where the Ramsay storyline is going. Is he going to be the new Warden of the North at some point? He is getting a lot of screen time.
I loved the episode and it had a lot of stuff jam packed in. Can't wait for next week.
Sure glad gore doesn't disrupt my appetite. I was in the middle of eating for the fight. I thought Oberyn had that one, too.
My assumption is that Arya was laughing because they traveled all that way for the Hound to get paid off by rich aunt only to have here die just before they got there. The Hound's reaction was pretty much "well, damn, what now?".
I saw some other comments that Arya's laugh was reaching a breaking point at yet another thing going wrong. Agreed, and y'all said as much. I agree Oberyn was an idiot, but I wasn't grossed out.
I had long since noticed the technicality in the Night's Watch oath that Sam points out, so I was glad to see that mentioned in character.
There was great setting building on the Wall and amongst the wildling raiders, including jilted!Ygritte's rant.
However, there were some weird unnecessary philosophical conversations, a repeat of the beetle speech from last episode.
Aliser sounded more like a modern officer this episode. Even though that fits with his hardass personality, and was good in and of itself, there was something odd about the change in tone.
Overall, the battle scene seemed very well shot.
I notice they made it clear that Jon was not the one to fire the shot that killed Ygritte.
There was some great reflection on the losses and what they still faced.
I was surprised it took up the whole episode; most GOT episodes aren't that focused. However, I liked this particular focus, and it was an interesting structure.
Okay, huge fan of the show, the books, & even bigger fan of the wild conspiracy theories that Game Of Thrones/A Song Of Ice And Fire generates. While I wait with extreme impatience for the next episode to air (COME ON, ALREADY!) I am wondering if any of ya'll ever discuss things that are hinted at & have evidence but are not hard facts as presented by the show or the books.
I noticed there were crows on the corpses, a preview of the "feast for crows" theme.
Not only were Stannis' men riding in an orderly arrangement, they seemed to be operating a pincer formation. Both did a good job highlighting their discipline.
There were great meetings of the minds all over the known world; this show often has great performances like that and tonight was no exception.
The old teacher scene offered a great perspective on the aftermath in Meereen, so I liked that apparent addition.
I liked the wildling practicality about the lack of funeral ritual, but Jon burning Ygritte personally north of the Wall was a great touch.
That skeleton attack on Bran's band came out of nowhere, and the girl and the old man was a great setup to the next stage of Bran's mystical storyline. I noticed they purposely used his full name Brandon at a few points.
I didn't expect a cut to Brienne. Pod screwing up (supposedly) was a great bit of flavor. I was afraid things wouldn't work out well for Arya this time either. However, the Brienne-Sandor fight scene was very well executed. I liked how it featured punching and grappling as well as swordplay.
The Sandor dying scene was well done too; I can understand why Arya didn't want to give him mercy after all.
Tyrion's escape was a great conclusion to the episode and season. I knew what was coming and thought it was pulled off very well.
I thought Arya riding off alone on her way to Braavos was an interesting choice for the very last scene.
I noticed there were crows on the corpses, a preview of the "feast for crows" theme.
Not only were Stannis' men riding in an orderly arrangement, they seemed to be operating a pincer formation. Both did a good job highlighting their discipline.
There were great meetings of the minds all over the known world; this show often has great performances like that and tonight was no exception.
The old teacher scene offered a great perspective on the aftermath in Meereen, so I liked that apparent addition.
I liked the wildling practicality about the lack of funeral ritual, but Jon burning Ygritte personally north of the Wall was a great touch.
That skeleton attack on Bran's band came out of nowhere, and the girl and the old man was a great setup to the next stage of Bran's mystical storyline. I noticed they purposely used his full name Brandon at a few points.
I didn't expect a cut to Brienne. Pod screwing up (supposedly) was a great bit of flavor. I was afraid things wouldn't work out well for Arya this time either. However, the Brienne-Sandor fight scene was very well executed. I liked how it featured punching and grappling as well as swordplay.
The Sandor dying scene was well done too; I can understand why Arya didn't want to give him mercy after all.
Tyrion's escape was a great conclusion to the episode and season. I knew what was coming and thought it was pulled off very well.
I thought Arya riding off alone on her way to Braavos was an interesting choice for the very last scene.
You Eastern Timezone jerkface, I've still got awhile until I can get my GoT fix on. Sounds super awesome though, good to know you enjoyed it!
Okay, huge fan of the show, the books, & even bigger fan of the wild conspiracy theories that Game Of Thrones/A Song Of Ice And Fire generates. While I wait with extreme impatience for the next episode to air (COME ON, ALREADY!) I am wondering if any of ya'll ever discuss things that are hinted at & have evidence but are not hard facts as presented by the show or the books.
Not in this thread as there have been a number of different issues when people have brought up things that occur in the books to early. So I am going to reiterate my earlier instruction.
This thread is just for discussion about the TV series alone. If you wish to discuss the books please create a thread in Printed Media.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag and start slitting throats.
- H.L Mencken
I Became insane with long Intervals of horrible Sanity
All Religion, my friend is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination and poetry.
- Edgar Allan Poe
Yeah, I'm in the Eastern US, watching and posting about it live. I did spoiler ir, seems you were just jealous I got to see it earlier.
The jealousest! Game of Thrones time can't come soon enough for me, I was dying for that whole hour. I don't mind spoilers, I've read the books & I generally have a pretty good idea what's about to happen in any given episode, I just like watching.
Don't know how I'll fill my Sunday evenings until the next season now, though...
Not in this thread as there have been a number of different issues when people have brought up things that occur in the books to early. So I am going to reiterate my earlier instruction.
That's why I asked before I started posting anything that the show hasn't outright stated as fact yet. I'll consider making a separate thread for it but sure, not in here, got it.
Yeah, I'm in the Eastern US, watching and posting about it live. I did spoiler ir, seems you were just jealous I got to see it earlier.
The jealousest! Game of Thrones time can't come soon enough for me, I was dying for that whole hour. I don't mind spoilers, I've read the books & I generally have a pretty good idea what's about to happen in any given episode, I just like watching.
Don't know how I'll fill my Sunday evenings until the next season now, though...
I can occupy myself fine while waiting for new episodes, though maybe I'll get anxious closer to the start of next season.
I've also read the books. Although that gives me a general idea of TV plot, I like to see how the show actually makes it play out.
S4E9 comment:
The Season 2 DVD comemntary said the Battle of the Blackwater was in darkness to cover up special effects infrastructure and I suspect something similar applies to the big Wall battle here.
I have no idea whether the following should be in spoilers or not. Just for safety, it will be in spoilers.
... Did the episode really just insinuate that Littlefinger and the Queen of Thorns conspired together to kill Joffrey?
Didn't Littlefinger just say in the book that he did it to make people and the situation just continually confused and messy? More or less what he said to Sansa in the show, without the whole "new friends" bit.
Or am I forgetting things in the book?
I know that Martin is working closely with the writers, and so pretty much everything that happens in the show can be considered canon, or at least approved by Martin, but I find this a bit too much.
It weakens Littlefinger, and makes Olenna into a bit of a monster. I always felt that she was a cunning and intelligent woman from the books, but not exactly heartless.
I say heartless because Sansa and Tyrion are directly implicated by the plot that Olenna and Littlefinger hatch. At the very least, Olenna has shown to be somewhat caring for Sansa and pities her. Yet she doesn't mind Littlefinger giving Sansa a necklace that holds the poison that kills Joffrey?
And if Olenna didn't know about that, then what exactly did she do to make herself useful to the plot? Littlefinger could have done everyone by himself.
Littlefinger is Littlefinger. As far as we know thus far, the man only cares for himself. That's what makes him so dangerous. He has no allies; only people that he uses as a means to an end. Obviously it could be the case that Littlefinger will betray the Tyrells when it suits him, but personally I don't think it makes sense for Littlefinger to collaborate with anyone, at least anyone who isn't as idiotic and easily manipulated like Lysa Tully.
And he wants Sansa, not because she's Sansa, but because she resembles her mother.
Ya, I certainly agree that they are the best people to place the blame on.
It just seemed so out of character with what I know of Olenna.
And, no, Olenna doesn't play the "game". That's sort of what made her "unique" in the book, and incredibly smart.
That's why I find the way things turned out in the show a little surprising. Olenna recognizes that all of this is going to end terribly badly for just about everyone involved, and thus why she considers her son to be such a great fool for attempting to get involved in it, especially on the "wrong" side.
Then again... it has been a while since I've read the books. My recollection of Olenna could be off. I remember her being a shrewd, intelligent woman who's trying to make the best of what's going on. But I never got the feeling that she had any real ambition besides making sure her family doesn't die.
I just got to seeing the Red Viper fight the Mountain. I dreaded watching that fight because Oberyn is one of my favorite characters in the book, and I found the way he bit the dust so sad. I mean, it makes perfect sense given his personality, but sad nonetheless. Guy practically has the fight won, but loses because he lost respect for his opponent's capability at the end.
I wonder how they're going to include the rest of Dorne now.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I liked how Olenna was honest with Maergaery aobut Joffrey without giving away whodunit.
Tywin's talk about kings with a noble characteristic but that failed as rulers reminds me of the book talk about bad Hands.
I didn't like how the sept sex scene was rapey here; that's even worse than the books' period joke.
Stannis seemed uncharacteristically harsh to his old friend Davos, though that did seem somewhat justified by the tension
The sensitive Sam/Gilly scene was great, while acknowledging the reality of the Night's Watch criminal element.
I did like how the Oberyn scene defended not being straight. Then Tywin showed up. As with Olenna, I liked how Oberyn seems like one of the one of the few people who can rival Tywin's force of personality.
I didn't expect a cut to a wildling raid scene. I liked seeing more focus on the Wall in general without ignoring other plotlines, a problem the last episode seems to have in spending too much time in King's Landing.
Daenerys was at her imposing best, including the righteous fury of her speech. Who championed for her and how was unexpected. I liked the reversal of the "piss on you" taunt. I wondered what Daenerys' catapults were launching. Ah, literal broken chains. A great ending to another mostly-great episode.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
Jaime's development is getting butchered as well. I hope they fix it...
Sexy Sig by mchief111 @ Rising Studios
EDH
G Isao
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
Missandei teaching Grey Worm was a pleasant surprise as something new. At first I thought the strained English was more Shireen teaching Davos.
Grey Worm inciting a slave revolt seemed like an improvement in the handling of Essos slave characters, but that seemed somewhat negated by the reprise of the Mysha scene
This Olenna-Margaery scene was surprisingly explicit talk, 'explicit' in both the sexual sense and being clear aobut Joffrey's death
I liked more of Jon in his element on the wall. I like the foreshadowing of him as Lord Commander.
Excellent portrayal of the severe strain in the Cersei-Jaime relationship
Littlefinger is his great creepy self.
Yeah, Margaery stunned Tommen, that's for sure. Even better than Arya staring at shirtless Gendry as an insta-puberty moment, because of Margaery's romantic touch here.
I liked how the Craster's Keep raid was explained as important to the Watch as a whole, rather than just Jon Snow's personal business. The mutineers' depravity seemed over the top, but in keeping with televised GOT's theme of gratuitous sex scenes. The mutineers capturing Bran and co seemed liek a good way to link those storylines. I loved seeing Jon having his moment.
It was great to see Jaime deciding to do the right thing, and it was awesome to see how much it meant to Brienne and Pod.
I quite liked White Walker POV as something different.
Now for my comments on Episode 5 itself:
Discussing a raid on King's Landing seemed to come further than in the book, but that helped
I wonder why they presented Sansa as Petyr's niece and made the truth known even in private. Maybe since it would be true via his marriage to Lysa, it would be easier to keep their story together. There was some interesting added information about Catelyn's history. Otherwise, they did a good job with canon exposition of that plotline.
The Arya-Sandor rivalry is still brilliant.
The Craster's Keep battle was a great fight scene. It is ironic but necessary that Bran and co separate anyway. The attempted rape of Meera was just ridiculous, a low point of the episode, a kind of thing that was also problematic with this plotline in episode 4.
I liked how burning the keep was poetic to destroy the bad memories as well as practical (the usual creamation so White Walkers can't raise the corpses as wights)
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
I'l agree with Daenerys crappy direction but it has to happen otherwise they would have to explain how she suddenly wised up on the sea route to Westeros
"Great moments, light and dark"
I liked how the opening scene was an immediate followup on the last episode, and showed both the sense and lackthereof of what Tyrion had done.
I thought the Arya-Sandor scene was a great view of how war had gone.
I understand Bronn finding involvement in the duel to be a bad idea.
I liked the interesting tension of the Daario-Daenerys scene.
Melisandre's nudity was grauitous and msot of that scene seemed unnecessary except for the explanation of the powders. (Well, that is to be expected of Game of Thrones. At least the sexuality wasn't violent)
Nice bit of Jon being shut down for speaking truth to power.
There were some great bits of humor as Jorah disapproved of Daario ******* Daenerys. Then his presence became another great serious discussion of Daenerys' brutal response ot the slavemasters.
It was awesome to see Hot Pie reappear serving Brienne and Pod.
The Oberyn sexuality comment didn't seem so gratuitous this time, as it was a way of bonding with fellow prostitute fan Tyrion. Oberyn's reveal of his history of Tyrionw as stunnign and a great buildup to the champion declaration.
Robin was an interesting mix of sweet boy and obnoxious.
I like how Petyr's appearance was a good mix of his power scheming and romantic creepiness. That helped make his rteveal to and murde rof Lysa a fittign closer to the episode, especially after impact of the Oberyn scene.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
Overall it was a solid nuanced story with some great moments.
Well, Tyrion sure went out with a bang.
I was interested in hearing from the Iron Bank as soon as I saw Stannis and Davos going to Braavos personally. It came off as a great realistic angle on Stannis' situation, both good and bad.
Asha sure had a hell of a rousing speech, and it was a solid fight scene. Theon resisting being freed was a great tragic illustration of how broken he's become. However, I can understand how he'd see it as another ruse by Ramsay.
Oberyn's sex life still seems overemphasized but this episode did seem to have a bit more focus on other aspects of his character.
I think the nobleman's son's speech did a great job of giving a nuanced view of the crucifying.
Sure, the trial was a farce, but insisting on the choking story seems a mistake, and some of the things Tyrion really did say and do before seems suspicious now. I was pleasantly suprised to see Jaime call it out in character. I wondered how the Jaime-Tywin deal was going to fall apart. As a distant second thought, I wondered if the TV show would have dared change something that big. Ah, Shae's betryal caused Tyrion to snap, or maybe he distrusted the whole idea.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
Two scenes I loved from this episode.
1. The scene with Tyrion and Bron. Great interaction between the two. It was almost touching the way these two cynical, pragmatic characters actually acknowledge that they've become real friends. In the end though, they are who they are and neither one is going to commit suicide for the other. But they each understand that and respect each other's honesty.
2. The scene with Daenerys and Jorah. I love that they brought up Jorah's past crimes as a direct counterpoint to what they're currently doing with the slaves and slavemasters. I thought it was a very effective illustration, and Danni did seem to really take it to heart. I think this scene really emphasized Danni's maturity as a leader, that she is confident but still willing to let someone she trusts and respects change her mind if they make a compelling case. Also very creative of her to come up with a fitting alternative so quickly. I don't really like the way that Danni seems to toy with Jorah sometimes, but it was nice that she gave him that message for Daario on his way out at least.
Tyrion and Brann's interaction was priceless. Two of the characters that have really made me love the show coming full circle.
I totally ate up Oberyn declaring himself Tyrion's champion. That scene was perfect. I'm also looking forward to the fight. Folks who have read the books have been foreshadowing that this season was going to drop off in intrigue, but this promises for some fireworks.
Episode 8 was great for more than just the fight.
At least the Missandei topless scene was followed up on in the plot, so it didn't seem too gratutitous, at least by GOT standards. The idea that Grey Worm might still be interested made an interesting point aobut sexuality and their nonsexual friendship.
Ramsay's malevolence came off quite well again, and he had an interesting point about krakens away from the sea. I liked how Ralf saw through the act, although he had to get out of the way for the sake of sticking to the book plot.
Likewise, I liked how the Vale lords saw through Littlefinger being Littlefinger. Sansa seemed relatively honest given the circumstances and that was a wonderful performance by Sophie Turner.
I'm not sure about the circumstances of the Jorah pardon either, and I like how that was addressed in character. The confrontation with Daenerys was another moment of particularly impassioned acting.
I don't know what's going on with Arya breaking out in laughter.
Sansa's black feathery dress reminded me of two of my favorite Katniss pieces form Catching Fire.
I liked how the climactic fight scene didn't take up too much of the episode, and the Jaime talk was a great lead in but the beetle talk dragged on too long. No wonder the crowd wanted Pycelle to hurry up with the formalities. A pole weapon did seem to be the way to fight someone of Gregor's reach. I know eking out the public confession was Oberyn's goal, but in the context of the fight it may have been a way to goad Gregor into making a rash move. In delaying finishing him off for this reason, he lost the fight, though. As I noticed in a past episode, Oberyn accuses Gregor of killing both Elia's children, instead of Aegon while Amory Lorch killed Rhaenys. Is this a mistake on Oberyn's part or an understandable simplification of backstory for the show? I suppose Gregor technically won since he died slightly after Oberyn. Tyrion's death sentence was a great last line.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
I love the development Sanza is getting.
I think that the laughter is just Arya breaking a bit. Nothing good ever happens to her, it's like her life is one big, cruel joke. I'd say it's a mixture of shock and disbelief at how unfair her life is.
I really like Jorah and hope that he doesn't get shunted off screen for awhile. Of course it's GOT, so something tragic could also happen. Daenarys has gotten away with a lot of late.
I really wonder where the Ramsay storyline is going. Is he going to be the new Warden of the North at some point? He is getting a lot of screen time.
I loved the episode and it had a lot of stuff jam packed in. Can't wait for next week.
My EDH Decks!
BUGDamia, Combo-Control QueenBUG
RGWort, the RampmotherRG
WWWKemba, Voltron ExtraordinaireWWW
UBDralnu, Pure ControlUB
URHail to the DracogeniusUR
My assumption is that Arya was laughing because they traveled all that way for the Hound to get paid off by rich aunt only to have here die just before they got there. The Hound's reaction was pretty much "well, damn, what now?".
I saw some other comments that Arya's laugh was reaching a breaking point at yet another thing going wrong. Agreed, and y'all said as much. I agree Oberyn was an idiot, but I wasn't grossed out.
I had long since noticed the technicality in the Night's Watch oath that Sam points out, so I was glad to see that mentioned in character.
There was great setting building on the Wall and amongst the wildling raiders, including jilted!Ygritte's rant.
However, there were some weird unnecessary philosophical conversations, a repeat of the beetle speech from last episode.
Aliser sounded more like a modern officer this episode. Even though that fits with his hardass personality, and was good in and of itself, there was something odd about the change in tone.
Overall, the battle scene seemed very well shot.
I notice they made it clear that Jon was not the one to fire the shot that killed Ygritte.
There was some great reflection on the losses and what they still faced.
I was surprised it took up the whole episode; most GOT episodes aren't that focused. However, I liked this particular focus, and it was an interesting structure.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
I noticed there were crows on the corpses, a preview of the "feast for crows" theme.
Not only were Stannis' men riding in an orderly arrangement, they seemed to be operating a pincer formation. Both did a good job highlighting their discipline.
There were great meetings of the minds all over the known world; this show often has great performances like that and tonight was no exception.
The old teacher scene offered a great perspective on the aftermath in Meereen, so I liked that apparent addition.
I liked the wildling practicality about the lack of funeral ritual, but Jon burning Ygritte personally north of the Wall was a great touch.
That skeleton attack on Bran's band came out of nowhere, and the girl and the old man was a great setup to the next stage of Bran's mystical storyline. I noticed they purposely used his full name Brandon at a few points.
I didn't expect a cut to Brienne. Pod screwing up (supposedly) was a great bit of flavor. I was afraid things wouldn't work out well for Arya this time either. However, the Brienne-Sandor fight scene was very well executed. I liked how it featured punching and grappling as well as swordplay.
The Sandor dying scene was well done too; I can understand why Arya didn't want to give him mercy after all.
Tyrion's escape was a great conclusion to the episode and season. I knew what was coming and thought it was pulled off very well.
I thought Arya riding off alone on her way to Braavos was an interesting choice for the very last scene.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
You Eastern Timezone jerkface, I've still got awhile until I can get my GoT fix on. Sounds super awesome though, good to know you enjoyed it!
Yeah, I'm in the Eastern US, watching and posting about it live. I did spoiler ir, seems you were just jealous I got to see it earlier.
I didn't miss that too much, but now that you mention it, I suppose.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
Not in this thread as there have been a number of different issues when people have brought up things that occur in the books to early. So I am going to reiterate my earlier instruction.
This thread is just for discussion about the TV series alone. If you wish to discuss the books please create a thread in Printed Media.
- H.L Mencken
I Became insane with long Intervals of horrible Sanity
All Religion, my friend is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination and poetry.
- Edgar Allan Poe
The Crafters' Rules Guru
The jealousest! Game of Thrones time can't come soon enough for me, I was dying for that whole hour. I don't mind spoilers, I've read the books & I generally have a pretty good idea what's about to happen in any given episode, I just like watching.
Don't know how I'll fill my Sunday evenings until the next season now, though...
That's why I asked before I started posting anything that the show hasn't outright stated as fact yet. I'll consider making a separate thread for it but sure, not in here, got it.
I can occupy myself fine while waiting for new episodes, though maybe I'll get anxious closer to the start of next season.
I've also read the books. Although that gives me a general idea of TV plot, I like to see how the show actually makes it play out.
S4E9 comment:
The Season 2 DVD comemntary said the Battle of the Blackwater was in darkness to cover up special effects infrastructure and I suspect something similar applies to the big Wall battle here.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
I have no idea whether the following should be in spoilers or not. Just for safety, it will be in spoilers.
... Did the episode really just insinuate that Littlefinger and the Queen of Thorns conspired together to kill Joffrey?
Didn't Littlefinger just say in the book that he did it to make people and the situation just continually confused and messy? More or less what he said to Sansa in the show, without the whole "new friends" bit.
Or am I forgetting things in the book?
I know that Martin is working closely with the writers, and so pretty much everything that happens in the show can be considered canon, or at least approved by Martin, but I find this a bit too much.
It weakens Littlefinger, and makes Olenna into a bit of a monster. I always felt that she was a cunning and intelligent woman from the books, but not exactly heartless.
I say heartless because Sansa and Tyrion are directly implicated by the plot that Olenna and Littlefinger hatch. At the very least, Olenna has shown to be somewhat caring for Sansa and pities her. Yet she doesn't mind Littlefinger giving Sansa a necklace that holds the poison that kills Joffrey?
And if Olenna didn't know about that, then what exactly did she do to make herself useful to the plot? Littlefinger could have done everyone by himself.
Littlefinger is Littlefinger. As far as we know thus far, the man only cares for himself. That's what makes him so dangerous. He has no allies; only people that he uses as a means to an end. Obviously it could be the case that Littlefinger will betray the Tyrells when it suits him, but personally I don't think it makes sense for Littlefinger to collaborate with anyone, at least anyone who isn't as idiotic and easily manipulated like Lysa Tully.
And he wants Sansa, not because she's Sansa, but because she resembles her mother.
Ya, I certainly agree that they are the best people to place the blame on.
It just seemed so out of character with what I know of Olenna.
And, no, Olenna doesn't play the "game". That's sort of what made her "unique" in the book, and incredibly smart.
That's why I find the way things turned out in the show a little surprising. Olenna recognizes that all of this is going to end terribly badly for just about everyone involved, and thus why she considers her son to be such a great fool for attempting to get involved in it, especially on the "wrong" side.
Then again... it has been a while since I've read the books. My recollection of Olenna could be off. I remember her being a shrewd, intelligent woman who's trying to make the best of what's going on. But I never got the feeling that she had any real ambition besides making sure her family doesn't die.
I just got to seeing the Red Viper fight the Mountain. I dreaded watching that fight because Oberyn is one of my favorite characters in the book, and I found the way he bit the dust so sad. I mean, it makes perfect sense given his personality, but sad nonetheless. Guy practically has the fight won, but loses because he lost respect for his opponent's capability at the end.
I wonder how they're going to include the rest of Dorne now.