Game of Thrones TV Thread **HBO-Purists ONLY**

[boost]

Not interested in them making a return. Except, perhaps, if Littlefinger is able to manipulate them; he can make lots of things fun. But the Eyrie sucks and I don't want to know more about it

Ha, I thought the scenes there were great, and it's a sweet local, but yeah, without Tyrion, or another big player for the setting to come alive around, it's not of much interest.

[a500lbgorilla]

As a book reader, I can confidently say that I've read the books.

My one complaint is that I wish it felt like there was still a war on. Rob's position is clearly constrained and Tywin has set up camp and everyone is angling to get the first good strike in, but it rather feels like wedding season trumps the great struggle for the realm.

[wufwugy]

Yes, that has been a significant problem. From the standpoint of plot, this season has failed miserably. It has yet to exit the exposition phase for Robb's, Bran's, and Theon's story lines, as well as others. The whole thing is backwards, and I expect the inciting event to happen at the end of the season, when it's supposed to happen at the beginning. Granted, this will probably set up s4 well.

This continual exposition has put the plot in the doldrums, and each episode is just repeating what we already know. For this reason, it doesn't even feel like a war anymore, and the conflicts all seem manufactured and easy to solve. Fortunately, however, the Dany, Arya, Jaime, and Snow story lines haven't succumbed to this.

[wufwugy]

Dammit, Sam, pick up the knife (looks more like a spearhead). Totally called it. Was kinda obvious when they found those blades on the Fist of the First Men though

The lamb sacrifice analogy could be foreshadowing that Meli turns on Stannis. I don't see it happening though, was probably just meant for the suspense with what she was going to do to Gendry

Dude sent to kill Dany looks like Jaqen

If Robb, Balon, and Teh Joff die, the Lord of Light has cheat codes. I had half a mind that was the direction they were going and Joff was going to try to rape Sansa in the bathroom and she or somebody like Loras would kill him. That probably would have been a good death, as it would have been unpredictable and thrown things into chaos. I've got him living a while though, he's just too good a king.

Hound is the best character. Jaqen could be if he was anywhere to be found. Grey Worm could be a contender if he gets more screen. That line was fucking awesome. I would really like to see him kill something

[wufwugy]

Should add that I'm pleased with Tyrion. It takes balls bigger than Bronn's to say that

[wufwugy]

Man I love Stannis. Actor is perfect. Nothing breaks his cold, calculating demeanor, and beneath that, there's a spark of intelligence and emotion

Melisandre is my milf pick for the show. Not sure why, there are hotter ones, but she is enticing. At certain angles, her face looks quite good

Gilly is hot too. Don't ask me why, but I have a thing for girls that look a little like mouth breathers

My guess as to the meaning of the leeches thrown in the fire is that each region of Gendry's body that each leech sucked blood from will be the region that each corresponding name will be stabbed or cut. So basically Robb gets stabbed in the chest, Balon gets stabbed in the gut, and Joffrey gets his dick sliced. Tyrion threatening Joffrey's cock may or may not be an allusion to this plan. The whole thing doesn't make too much sense though. The regions would mean that only Robb dies, which could happen since all he does is make shit decisions that are bound to get him killed, but Balon is nowhere to be found and I can't imagine much way that Joffrey will get his dick lobbed off. It's a long shot, but something explicit has to happen to each of those names and there is likely a reason why placement of the leeches matters (otherwise why even put it in the script that one is put on his dick?). In a way, this was like offering up names like Jaqen said the Red God could require. It'll be quite ridiculous if it has a big effect though, since it would mean that they could kill everybody just by throwing Baratheon blood in the fire

This is shaping up to be a gods vs gods story. Clearly the Old Gods have a place in their hearts for the walkers since that tree was next to the shack and the crows landed on it and the walker came. The Red God is foreign to Westeros, but it appears the Night and its Terrors is referring to the Coming Winter. I'm not sure what the role of the New Gods is though.

[Penneywize]

best episode of the season IMO, will check back later with my shitty 6th-grade-level interpretation.

[JKDS]

I move to ban wufwugy for being a spoily book reader. HE KNOWS TOO MUCH

You've gotten off easy this time wufbooky. Im watchin you >.<

[wufwugy]

You've gotten off easy this time wufbooky. Im watchin you >.<

My bad

In other news, I heard in the next episode Jorah and Barristan have an epic twenty minute staredown, Theon gets a horn shoved up his ass, and Arya adds another fourteen names to her kill list.

[ChipEaterMan]

I seek beauty

[ChipEaterMan]

[Penneywize]

Did anyone else find Tyrion's behaviour in this episode a tad off? Yeah, it was his wedding day and all, but it seems that the way he handled it harkens back to the debauchery-loving Tyrion we've seen very little of in this series, perhaps since that first episode where he wakes up in the pig pen or whatever. Given how he's been acting throughout seasons 2-3 I really felt like his behaviour in this ep was out of character. Everything except not drunk-fucking Sansa was decidedly un-Tyrion-esque.

[wufwugy]

I felt it was all very Tyrion-esque

He has always been a drinker. He drinks during many scenes without debauchery and, besides, the man is supposed to get sloshed at his wedding. Even if Tyrion is a better person or improving, he's still also a partier. He's always been very emotional about his dad, often viscerally so. Drunk Tyrion would act just like he did in that conversation with Tywin. Tyrion also is prone to speak his mind and defend what he thinks is right. Drunk Tyrion would say what he did to Teh Joff. We've never known him to back down. When he's down, we've only known it to be when he's beat down. The bedding ceremony was unacceptable to him, and it's not like him to back off that conviction

It's ironic how much Tywin hates Tyrion because Tyrion is more like his father than his siblings are. They're both very stubborn and savvy. The difference is that they have different morals and Tyrion is a dwarf, which are also the reasons Tywin hates him

[d0zer]

Agree with wuggy. It wasn't out of character at all.

[jackvance]

The only problem I see with Tyrion is that he has no chemistry with Shae. Looking at their body language I'm not convinced they actually care about eachother. This was most notable in the part where Tyrion came in the room to tell Sansa about their upcoming marriage, with Shae present. The way he closed the door didn't look like he had terrible guilt about betraying his supposed love, more like he was being mischievous. Other than the Shae stuff he's totally (p)imp though, consistent and good.

[Penneywize]

God damn it people. I didn't mean to insinuate that Dinklage misplayed or misinterpreted the role of Tyrion. And it is fucking out of character. RAAAAAGE!

JK

Seriously though, I suppose what I meant is that we don't see this side of Tyrion all that much. To the point where he didn't seem like himself. Do you see the brooding, pensive Tyrion we witnessed in the days leading up to the battle of blackwater acting like a total dipshit on his wedding day? I mean this as an in-story critique, not a critique of the writing or the acting.

[wufwugy]

shae is a shit role by a shit actress with shit lines. bottom line

if shae is nothing other than his love interest, im going to be pissed. but on the other hand, ive grown so sick of her that if she is special in some other way (like she has magic powers), im still gonna be pissed because i dont want to see any more of her

[jackvance]

Shae's easily my least favorite character. I want to say bad things about Talisa too but I'm still too mesmerized by her ass from ep 7.

[Penneywize]

I don't share your hatred for Shae, though I do admit her character is rather stale. Wuf, is there ever any middle ground with you? Just once I want to see you say 'such and such is a decent actor in an alright role' lol. Maybe you'd say that about Robb Stark?

[wufwugy]

I don't share your hatred for Shae, though I do admit her character is rather stale. Wuf, is there ever any middle ground with you? Just once I want to see you say 'such and such is a decent actor in an alright role' lol. Maybe you'd say that about Robb Stark?

That's a good observation. My personality has always been extremist like this.

It's also that I simply don't even care about the middle-of-the-road stuff to comment on it. As a character goes, Cat, Jorah, and Bran are neither amazing nor shit, so I rarely even care to think about them. It's the super awesome ones (like Hound) or the super sucky ones (like Shae) that receive my attention

I've probably called about 50 different movies "the single greatest movie ever made". I just have really excited opinions

[wufwugy]

BTW, when it comes to hating Shae, I think it has to do with her role simply not being any good. You'd be hard pressed to find a reason why Tyrion actually likes her. Every scene with them for the last 1.5 seasons has been her disapproving of him in some way. It's repetitive and not that believable. This romance is probably terribly lost in translation from book to show

Snow and Ygritte have great chemistry. Jaime and Cersei even have good chemistry. Sam and Gilly actually have quite stellar chemistry. Robb and Talisa have acceptable chemistry

Tyrion and Shae? They have less chemistry than Hot Pie and a carrot

[jackvance]

Snow and Ygritte have great chemistry.

I don't agree on this one. There is great chemistry from Ygritte's side, but seeing more and more of Jon Snow, the actor always keep the same 'I'm lost, and feel conflicted' look on his face. Throughout it all. You'd expect him to open up more already through all of this.

Jaime and Cersei even have good chemistry. Sam and Gilly actually have quite stellar chemistry. Robb and Talisa have acceptable chemistry

Agreed on the rest (hearing Cersei talk about Jaimie, wishing Joff had been more like him, she sold it). Only I don't like Talisa much, but that's mainly because she's costing Robb the war, damn that woman!

[wufwugy]

Naw you're right, Snow isn't that dynamic. He's not awful though. Ygritte is a much better personality. They're quite busy keeping Snow naive and stalwart in demeanor

[wufwugy]

I'd rather watch all the males in House Arryn run a pearl necklace train on Lysa's tits than see another scene with Shae

[Penneywize]

I'd rather watch all the males in House Arryn run a pearl necklace train on Lysa's tits than see another scene with Shae

So would I, but then again I'd rather watch that than a lot of things.

[Penneywize]

Hey since we're on the topic of shitty acting. That slave girl from Astapor you've got a hard-on for takes the cake as worst-on-show, imo. Don't agree with me? Watch this scene again and decide. I've never seen such poor and robotic delivery on a program of this quality.

http://youtu.be/rvBXx2MZA5Q?t=5m42s

[Renton]

I wouldn't blame the actress for that. That was a crummy scene all around, but it makes sense for Missandei, a slave, to speak to her new master like that. For her to talk to her without reverence or in a casual manner might be punishable by death.

[Penneywize]

Yeah, I agree, she probably had a more natural delivery in mind but was probably told to seem more 'afraid' or 'submissive' towards Dany. Still, I mean. The line "No family living." is just delivered so dispassionately. Imagine it being said in a lower tone, like saying it actually hurt her. She could have still sounded submissive. As it stands, it sounds very scripted, as though she'd been asked the same question a million times; maybe that's what they were going for, I don't know.

[bikes]

best episode of the season IMO, will check back later with my shitty 6th-grade-level interpretation.

rofl.

i thought this was def def one of the weaker eps by far

[Penneywize]

rofl.

i thought this was def def one of the weaker eps by far

?

Beheaded douchebags

Naked Dany

Naked Melissandre

Drunk Tyrion

Shae being a bitch

Fat guy killing Old Man Winter


What's not to like?

[bikes]

?

Beheaded douchebags

Naked Dany

Naked Melissandre

Drunk Tyrion

Shae being a bitch

Fat guy killing Old Man Winter


What's not to like?

[wufwugy]

Slaves are probably difficult to direct since nobody involved can empathize. A lot of them wouldn't have much feeling for their family because they never had one or they've been so thoroughly subjugated that they've lost senses of romanticism, individuality, or connectedness. Astapor appears to be a particularly brutal form of slavery, and its subjects would reflect that.

[Penneywize]

If you're not going to back up your arguments with reasons then you oughtta keep your condescending facepalms to yourself, twiggy.

[bikes]

Naked chicks does not good television make sir.

Examples of why this episode was the bads.

Stannis the Mannis. Outta no where. "HEY BRO I KNOW I LOCKED YOU UP FOR TREASON IN THIS SHITTY CELL. BUT! IM SORRY FOR YOUR SON, ALSO YOU ARE SUDDENLY FREE FOR NO EXPLICABLE REASON"

I hate Shae. Hate. Damn whore tits.

Rains of Castamere meaning seemed extremely forced.

Dick leeching is not cool.

Sam biggest pussbag in Westeros suddenly man modes the white walker. And then runs away without his fire or dagger.




Redeeming qualities of this ep.
Arya.
Oleana.

[jackvance]

i thought this was def def one of the weaker eps by far

Me too.

[Penneywize]

Naked chicks does not good television make sir.

Examples of why this episode was the bads.

Stannis the Mannis. Outta no where. "HEY BRO I KNOW I LOCKED YOU UP FOR TREASON IN THIS SHITTY CELL. BUT! IM SORRY FOR YOUR SON, ALSO YOU ARE SUDDENLY FREE FOR NO EXPLICABLE REASON"

I hate Shae. Hate. Damn whore tits.

Rains of Castamere meaning seemed extremely forced.

Dick leeching is not cool.

Sam biggest pussbag in Westeros suddenly man modes the white walker. And then runs away without his fire or dagger.




Redeeming qualities of this ep.
Arya.
Oleana.

Thanks.

I will say this much. Perhaps after last week's episode, this one finally seems as though we are building towards some type of climax (semi-midseason climax? I mean, given that this season represents only half of the third book...). Dany's plot is moving on nicely and the siege could begin by next episode. We had some nice exposition time with the Hound and Arya. Tyrion was shown in an entirely different light than we're used to, but perhaps know he is capable of. Cersei acting like a total bitch to both Margaery and Loras makes us detest her even more (though I agree the rains of castamere story was... well, it lacked nuance, let's say). And I am liking the Sam / Gillie plot as well.

Hell just not having continuations of Bran's painfully boring storyline and Robb's shitty decision-making is reason enough to label this episode best of the season

Edit: Oh yeah. And I fucking love Stannis. I bet something was lost in translation between the book and show given the suddenness of his decision to release the onion knight from his cell, but I am willing to forgive that. It didn't seem completely out of left field, anyway. As for the dialogue between those two, I mean, damn. Stannis is just enthralling. He's pained by the path he must take, but he's a man of pure resolve. I love it.

[wufwugy]

I agree, the Stannis/Davos thing worked fine for the show. Some of the backstory about Davos consenting to lose his fingers as payment for his pirating even though he saved Stannis and was being made a knight by him makes it all plausible to me. Stannis has less sentimentality than anybody who ever lived, and Davos is the most loyal person to ever live

This episode benefited from only using the plots that have been moving forward all season. The previous episode was as bad as it has been due to mostly using the plots that haven't

[wufwugy]

Not a fan of Daario so efficiently explaining why he pledges to nobody right before he pledges to Dany. Also not a fan of how he snuck in there. Barristan was busy carving cake apparently

Jorah better not get squeezed. The sausage is getting pretty tight up in Dany's tent, but Jorah has been the best friend she's ever had

[jackvance]

They're all guys with a history and their own place in the story, I think it will be used for further intrigue now that she's getting ahead having an army and followers and effectively taking part in the game of thrones.

[ChipEaterMan]

[ChipEaterMan]

[ChipEaterMan]

Jaime = Prince of Shrek

[Penneywize]

No Game Of Thrones tonight? What is this Sorcery?!

[Renton]

there was a big dip in ratings in previous seasons due to memorial day, so they are skipping it this time

[jackvance]

No Game Of Thrones tonight? What is this Sorcery?!

I stayed up til 6 in the morning yesterday to download it only to find out there is no episode :/

[ChipEaterMan]

[ChipEaterMan]

[Penneywize]

Fuck that episode preview!! Why did I watch it! Now I know too much and have to hate myself for being one of them D-bags who knows too much and spoils shit for others

jk

Can't believe we have to wait ~6 more days for this shit.

[ChipEaterMan]

[wufwugy]

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I quite dislike the plot strategy of this season. It has revolved around the idea that a twist makes for a good climax. It doesn't, but the idea is why we don't know that Bolton's bastard is doing the torturing. It's a very strange thing though because the show has made it quite explicit while also trying to be cryptic about it. I don't know how many of the climaxes of this season will be in twists and reveals, but the Bolton one is def one of them. And if it's not and we're "left hanging", it's even worse writing

At the very least, I think this problem is created by breaking book 3 in half, but the bright side is that it is all setup for an action-packed s4

[Renton]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dramatic+irony

Not sure why people are so bothered by the theon stuff. Dramatic irony is quite common in GoT. The supposed death of Bran and Rickon is another example. People were concerned that they made it too obvious that the boys weren't dead but missed the point that the show was portraying them as obviously alive but all the players thinking they are dead.

[wufwugy]

Bran's and Rickon's death is definitely dramatic irony, but I would not call Theon's torturer that. We know that Bran and Rickon were never dead because we were shown that, but can only know who is torturing Theon through induction. The show has been too cryptic about the whole thing. For normal dramatic irony, we would get scenes with/about Bolton's bastard that don't involve Theon

[d0zer]

std bookreader being all bookreadery amirite?

[Renton]

Is it a problem for a show to work both as mystery for the casual watcher and dramatic irony for the shrewd watcher?

[wufwugy]

Is it a problem for a show to work both as mystery for the casual watcher and dramatic irony for the shrewd watcher?

Naw I think that's fine. What I don't like is the plot revolving around it. Apparently the plot outline for Theon is to have the mystery (and torture) the tension buildup (rising action) and the reveal the climax (or part of it). It just doesn't work that well and is why I think nobody is interested in the Theon story right now.

[jackvance]

It also has to do with Theon's personality development. Betraying those that raised him, and in an idiotic way.. he's a pretty pathetic guy. That makes it uninteresting for me, because he's so uninteresting.

[Penneywize]

Yeah, I've heard having your cock cut off tends to build character.

[wufwugy]

Honestly, I'm rooting for Theon. I want him to make a complete turn around and become an important puzzle piece in making good things happen. If done well, that arc would make him one of the best characters of all time

The story composition problems aren't exclusive to Theon either. At this point, nobody cares about Bran or Robb because there has been no tension buildup in their plots whatsoever. Bran's is probably the worse because he and his band of merry men have encountered precisely zero significant conflicts. Each scene has been TWD-lite where they just talk about their feelings. Robb's has been the same. They argue about stuff, don't have any battles even though theyre supposed to be in the thick of it, and are now gallivanting their way up to a wedding. This really is TWD-esque plotting

Fixing Bran's doldrum plot wouldn't be that easy since it has to logistically match up with lots of other stuff, but my suggestion would have been to make the search for the crow in Bran's dreams far more meaningful and direct. Each of the six or whatever Bran scenes we've had could then focus on the continual tension buildup of what that bird means and then show some brief exposition about it with his fellow travelers. That would be the first change that needs to happen, but probably not the only. As it has been, the crow and Bran's search for him is meaningless. All he does is see it in the woods and try to grab it or shoot it. And it caws. But that's it. We need something more than this. What we need is instead of explaining through dialogue that crow warging is premonition stuff, we are shown Bran in a dream with that crow in a place we've never seen before where something we only partially understand is happening. Then each new Bran scene is a continuation of that dream and gets deeper and deeper both is mystery and practical meaning. Come to think of it, Carnivale did something similar to this

[jackvance]

Bran's subplot is even worse than Theon's. I like Rob though. Atleast with him there's always the feeling something relevant to the real story can happen at any time.

[boost]

Well, really, the three stories have been one in the same previously, and likely will converge again. Theon could get wind of the fact that House Bolton is playing the game for themselves, and somehow alert Robb of this and that his brothers are still alive and on the run.

[bikes]

but now the rains, weep o'er his halls
and not a soul to hear.




GRRM SENDS HIS REGARDS!

[boost]

holy fucking shit... That was more shocking than Ned-- by far.

[bikes]

awwwww yisssss

https://twitter.com/RedWeddingTears

[boost]

I laughed out loud when I saw this. Then I remembered how shocked/awful I felt as it was happening and I felt anger at myself for finding it funny. Then I watched the gif loop a few more times and laughed some more.

[boost]

awwwww yisssss

https://twitter.com/RedWeddingTears

I'd be super careful on this, almost guaranteed to be future spoilers posted.

[jackvance]

holy fucking shit...

Those are the exact first words I came here to post. Everything about this episode was amazing, the tension rose all the time, plots converged, Arya is the best actress ever, Jon Snow finally showed character, Danni the prettiest girl of the show finally became a conqueror, the unexpected tripple murder twist ending, everything about this episode was off the charts. Like in season 2 episode 9 is gonna be the best one.

[wufwugy]

Well Bolton and Frey betraying Robb was the spoiler I guessed at back in ep3-4 that got me banned from 2p2. Glad it's finally over. Honestly ruined a lot of my enjoyment of this season

[boost]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. That's really awful. The writing had been on the wall, like all season. Bolton was even suspicious in s02 iirc. Like he suggests torture, and when Robb shoots him down since his father outlawed it, you can see Bolton's quiet rage. The man wears a flayed man on his chest and flies it as his houses banner, and Robb's dad outlawed torture. Clearly they weren't going to be BFF.

[wufwugy]

A little surprised that Robb and Cat died, but I don't know what my speculation on their role would have been if I hadn't been spoiled because I tried to avoid thinking about it.

Not a fan of the warging. Professor Xavier is imba

Very not a fan of the slave city battle. Amateur move to not show the surrendering of the slaves because they thought it would make for a nifty tension builder. It didn't

Grey Worm will die sometime because he wore his face-covering helmet while Jorah did not. Important characters never have their features covered by too much.

Don't know how I feel about Snow ditching Ygritte. I think his plan involves coming back for her because he ran into her to keep her from killing one of the wildlings, which he thinks will keep them from thinking that she betrayed them. So they'll keep her alive and she and Snow will meet again. Not well thought through, not portrayed that well cinematographically, but oh well. This is a strong story, regardless

Now Tyrion is heir (ish) of the North. Starks (and Tullys) probably still have more people loyal to them than Freys and Boltons combined, and now the Lannisters have the last remaining Stark. Nobody will like the betrayal, and the usurpers will get swatted sooner or later

Looks like one of the three leeches resulted in a death so far. inb4 Gendry accidentally pricks his finger and an entire town gets the plague. Unless ofc Bran slides into his mind first :rollseyes

[boost]

Meh, it is only imba if they let it be imba. Professor X was imba, because the limits to his power were poorly written. As long as they somehow limit Bran's powers and do it in a consistent and reasonable way, all will be well.

[wufwugy]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. That's really awful. The writing had been on the wall, like all season. Bolton was even suspicious in s02 iirc. Like he suggests torture, and when Robb shoots him down since his father outlawed it, you can see Bolton's quiet rage. The man wears a flayed man on his chest and flies it as his houses banner, and Robb's dad outlawed torture. Clearly they weren't going to be BFF.

Yeah it was all over the place. Even 2p2 figured it out around ep 7-8. I honestly thought it would happen mid-season and would be the catalyst to create tons of tension leading up to the finale.

Anyways, I saw it during the episode where Robb and the Karstarcks left Bolton behind and were riding up towards Frey territory (whom Cat said to never cross like a million times) and the flayed sigil showed up twice in the ep. This basically told me it was going to lead up to something. It got really heavy later in the season though with things like when Jaime rode back into Bolton's camp to save Brienne, they acted like something was really wrong because the camp was abandoned. That was basically telling the audience that Bolton took his army with him to the wedding.

[wufwugy]

Meh, it is only imba if they let it be imba. Professor X was imba, because the limits to his power were poorly written. As long as they somehow limit Bran's powers and do it in a consistent and reasonable way, all will be well.

Yeah they'll find ways to limit it. I'm just a sad sally over these kinds of things. But I'm positive there will always be an explanation why it cant be imba just the way that Melisandre couldn't make another smoke monster because Stannis magically grew weak for whatever reason

[jackvance]

You know I too was spoiled for this exact fact. I stupidly read the comments of some torrent and it said robb and his wife were gonna die at a wedding. But I didn't believe it and actually totally forgot about it. I only remembered after Bolton's armor was shown, so I wasn't too spoiled but it still sucked because the rest I knew. Catherine's death came as a surprise though. The slave battle not being shown was a bit of a cop-out indeed, but for me it was compensated by Danni's facial expressions when she heard of the victory. She radiated power so crazily good.

[wufwugy]

It seems there is no way to interpret the meaning of the dire wolves. Previously, it could be said that Robb's wolf was strong therefore Robb is strong, but now that Robb died before his wolf and Sansa's wolf died forever ago, all bets are off. In order to keep some motif going, it would have to be that Robb's wolf was trapped in a cage just like Robb was trapped in the throne room cage, and that's what allowed him to die. But I think the pattern and symbolism is dead, so all's game

I want Hound to be a good guy so damn bad. Probably my favorite character. If I was writing this I would have Arya want to kill everybody who killed his brother and mother, and have Hound be all like "yeah so I like killing things a whole bunch, I'll help."

[boost]

Ha, I'd watch that.