Games of Thrones 103 review
May. 3rd, 2011 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ishtar79-I really have no thoughts, one way or the other, about Bin Laden dying. The reactions to his death are another matter entirely. The reaction posts on my flist have been perfectly reasonable and I completely sympathize with having positive feelings about his death (I'm against the death penalty, war and assassinations on the institutionalized/legal level, but as a person, I can be as vengeful as the next) , but some of the things I've read online since the announcement have seemed naïve, full of posturing and at times downright ghoulish.
-I still haven't gotten around to watching the DW double premiere, but given by the explosion of squee I've been witnessing, I take it it's good?
-The conversation between Ned and Jamie in the shadow of the Iron Throne was just amazingly intense-layers upon layers of history, and the most openly confrontational either character has been towards anyone at this point. The quality of both actors' performances also meant that I could feel some sympathy for both of their point of views. I can see how Ned sees Jamie as a pampered, cowardly, dishonorable man even as I understood Jamie's frustration towards Ned's moralizing. Overall, the narrative is on Ned's side, and I agree with it, but as much as Ned is presented as the series' moral center, I don't think any character on the show wears a hat that's sparkly white (but more on Ned later).
-The whole scene about incompetent leadership having driven the realm into deep debt felt a little bit too topical to me.
-Littlefinger is perfect. The actor has already demonstrated he can give great “sleazy politician” in The Wire, and he played this part just right, balancing the sneakiness and machinations with enough moments that humanized him, primarily involving Catelyn.
-I'm discovering that I like Catelyn a lot better when she's away from her children and involved in the wider plot. Also, the scene where she said goodbye to Ned for the second time was the first time I was invested in their marriage-there was a playfulness to her teasing him about his jealousy and temper where you could see what had made them fall in love in the first place.
-Out of all of the unpleasant things Cersei has done so far (and it's quite a few, given that we're just three episodes in), nothing provoked such visceral revulsion in me as her version of relationship advice to Joffrey. Possibly because I don't really know any people that toss kids out of towers and have peasants executed, but I've run into that mother-son dynamic before (though granted, not made as explicit). Those sons might not be literal royalty, but believe me, as far as their mums go, they might as well be.
-Projection issues aside, that scene was both useful in providing some extra exposition on the politics of this world as well as the motivation of the Lannisters-everybody who is not them is the enemy, indeed. They don't go outside the family for allies or...anything, really. I liked how Cersei explicitely aknowledged that history and reputation are entirely shaped by those with power. I guess that's why I can't hate on show!Cersei too much. She's a villain, but she's owning it.
- Ned really doesn't know what to make of his daughters at all, does he? He did better with Arya later on, and their scene together was hard to watch for all sorts of reasons. And it really brought home how the characters on the show really don't have easy choices to make. Ned obviously adores his kids, yet he still feels compelled to marry Sansa off to Joffrey and send Jon to the Wall. He understands what this choice means, and the kind of life his children have, yet he sticks with it, even when faced with Arya's innocent incomprehension. I do love the fact he talked to Arya as if she were an adult, and arranged for her sword-training.
-The whole water dancing scene: my favorite in the episode. Both the interplay between Syrio and Arya, and the way Ned's initial pride at his little girl learning how to fight turning into foreboding that she may actually need it.
-The kid actors in this one are amazing. I absolutely love everything Arya does ever, but I also thought the little boy playing Bran did an excellent job in what had to be a subdued scene. You get the sense that he's suddenly much older than he used to be, for lack of a better description, and it really works.
-I was bummed when Tyrion left The Wall, because I've been enjoying Jon Snow the most when they were interacting. Still, at least they somewhat moved Jamie's story ahead, even though the Wall is so far not particularly interesting to me.
-Where the hell is Ghost? (I guess that counts as a book spoiler since the name of Jon's direwolf hasn't been mentioned on the show, but I figure it's minor enough not to bother anyone).
-For all of Tyrion's open mocking of the possibility of otherworldy beings beyond the wall, I wonder if some of what Benjen said made an impression.
-I've read overdramatic shipper fic with dialogue less OTT than the lines Jamie was giving Cersei. It could have been much worse with less charismatic actors, but I still giggled.
-Dear God, Robert's an ass. Almost makes you root for the Lannisters.
-I think Dany swapping the flowing dresses for pants did just a good a job of showing her adjusting to her new role among the Dothraki as her embracing the term Khaleesi and ordering the riders to stop did. She's not quite ready to openly stand up to Viserys (less so than she did at that point in the books), but she's definitely there. And I got a hell of a kick out of watching that Dothraki rider choke him with the whip.
-I really enjoyed the scene between Sir Jorah and the yet-unnamed-but-cute Dothraki rider bonding over weapons because it was one of the less offensive Dothraki moments so far. Which is not saying much, considering the “hilarious” dog-eating talk that followed.
-I still haven't gotten around to watching the DW double premiere, but given by the explosion of squee I've been witnessing, I take it it's good?
-The conversation between Ned and Jamie in the shadow of the Iron Throne was just amazingly intense-layers upon layers of history, and the most openly confrontational either character has been towards anyone at this point. The quality of both actors' performances also meant that I could feel some sympathy for both of their point of views. I can see how Ned sees Jamie as a pampered, cowardly, dishonorable man even as I understood Jamie's frustration towards Ned's moralizing. Overall, the narrative is on Ned's side, and I agree with it, but as much as Ned is presented as the series' moral center, I don't think any character on the show wears a hat that's sparkly white (but more on Ned later).
-The whole scene about incompetent leadership having driven the realm into deep debt felt a little bit too topical to me.
-Littlefinger is perfect. The actor has already demonstrated he can give great “sleazy politician” in The Wire, and he played this part just right, balancing the sneakiness and machinations with enough moments that humanized him, primarily involving Catelyn.
-I'm discovering that I like Catelyn a lot better when she's away from her children and involved in the wider plot. Also, the scene where she said goodbye to Ned for the second time was the first time I was invested in their marriage-there was a playfulness to her teasing him about his jealousy and temper where you could see what had made them fall in love in the first place.
-Out of all of the unpleasant things Cersei has done so far (and it's quite a few, given that we're just three episodes in), nothing provoked such visceral revulsion in me as her version of relationship advice to Joffrey. Possibly because I don't really know any people that toss kids out of towers and have peasants executed, but I've run into that mother-son dynamic before (though granted, not made as explicit). Those sons might not be literal royalty, but believe me, as far as their mums go, they might as well be.
-Projection issues aside, that scene was both useful in providing some extra exposition on the politics of this world as well as the motivation of the Lannisters-everybody who is not them is the enemy, indeed. They don't go outside the family for allies or...anything, really. I liked how Cersei explicitely aknowledged that history and reputation are entirely shaped by those with power. I guess that's why I can't hate on show!Cersei too much. She's a villain, but she's owning it.
- Ned really doesn't know what to make of his daughters at all, does he? He did better with Arya later on, and their scene together was hard to watch for all sorts of reasons. And it really brought home how the characters on the show really don't have easy choices to make. Ned obviously adores his kids, yet he still feels compelled to marry Sansa off to Joffrey and send Jon to the Wall. He understands what this choice means, and the kind of life his children have, yet he sticks with it, even when faced with Arya's innocent incomprehension. I do love the fact he talked to Arya as if she were an adult, and arranged for her sword-training.
-The whole water dancing scene: my favorite in the episode. Both the interplay between Syrio and Arya, and the way Ned's initial pride at his little girl learning how to fight turning into foreboding that she may actually need it.
-The kid actors in this one are amazing. I absolutely love everything Arya does ever, but I also thought the little boy playing Bran did an excellent job in what had to be a subdued scene. You get the sense that he's suddenly much older than he used to be, for lack of a better description, and it really works.
-I was bummed when Tyrion left The Wall, because I've been enjoying Jon Snow the most when they were interacting. Still, at least they somewhat moved Jamie's story ahead, even though the Wall is so far not particularly interesting to me.
-Where the hell is Ghost? (I guess that counts as a book spoiler since the name of Jon's direwolf hasn't been mentioned on the show, but I figure it's minor enough not to bother anyone).
-For all of Tyrion's open mocking of the possibility of otherworldy beings beyond the wall, I wonder if some of what Benjen said made an impression.
-I've read overdramatic shipper fic with dialogue less OTT than the lines Jamie was giving Cersei. It could have been much worse with less charismatic actors, but I still giggled.
-Dear God, Robert's an ass. Almost makes you root for the Lannisters.
-I think Dany swapping the flowing dresses for pants did just a good a job of showing her adjusting to her new role among the Dothraki as her embracing the term Khaleesi and ordering the riders to stop did. She's not quite ready to openly stand up to Viserys (less so than she did at that point in the books), but she's definitely there. And I got a hell of a kick out of watching that Dothraki rider choke him with the whip.
-I really enjoyed the scene between Sir Jorah and the yet-unnamed-but-cute Dothraki rider bonding over weapons because it was one of the less offensive Dothraki moments so far. Which is not saying much, considering the “hilarious” dog-eating talk that followed.
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 04:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 02:59 pm (UTC)Also: "hilarious dog-eating talk" is one of the funniest things I've heard in days.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 03:15 pm (UTC)Doctor Who was stellar... watch it soon so we can discuss... (we are already discussing it at FoV, or have you forgotten the group? Sorry... no guilt trips).
I am not celebrating Bin Laden's death....I cannot celebrate anything that cost almost 10 years, billions of dollars, and so many thousands of lives. Now if it means we (the USA) are getting out of Afghanistan, THAT would be reason to celebrate!
no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 03:20 pm (UTC)And thank you! Your icon is the prettiest thing I've seen in days.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 03:23 pm (UTC)And no, I haven't forgotten the group, but given that my final project for the MBA is due in early June, now is a really inconvenient time to catch.
And yeah, I hear you. All I can think of is to bloody wars, supposedly to accomplish what some guys with guns did in an afternoon.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 03:33 pm (UTC)My mind was officially blown this morning: evidently President Obama and his staff got to watch the operation (the killing of Osama Bin Laden) in real time because one of the Navy Seals (or whoever the guys w/guns were) had a camera on his helmet that was was relaying everything to the White House. Yikes.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 03:34 pm (UTC)prettier than this one???
Date: 2011-05-03 03:43 pm (UTC)Yeah, I liked the king but he feels so bad for himself... Meanwhile I loved what happened to the brother of that lady who married Ronon the Barbarian. A little neck-whipping is just what he needed!
Re: prettier than this one???
Date: 2011-05-03 04:07 pm (UTC)Viserys getting whip-choked was the highlight of the episode. I could watch terrible pain inflicted on him all day. Or on Joffrey.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 04:09 pm (UTC)I wonder how long until that video ends up on Wikileaks.
Re: prettier than this one???
Date: 2011-05-03 04:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 05:11 pm (UTC)Littlefinger isn't what I'd always pictured visually when I read the books, but damn, the actor has the role/attitude down perfectly, doesn't he? Ditto Varys.
Syrio and his interaction with Arya were pretty damn perfect, hee!
Agreed: where the HELL are the wolves, especially Ghost?! Their significance is hardly touched upon at all, WTF.
I'm still not sure what I think of this portrayal of Cersei. I'm definitely starting to dig Jamie, though.
You know, I didn't really think that the dog-eating talk was supposed to be funny. That's pretty much right out of the book, innit? The Dothraki are nomads who live in harsh conditions. They simply take advantage of whatever resources are available to them -- horses, dogs, whatever. It's pragmatic.
Yeah, I agree that the Dothraki have been... underdeveloped. It's not so much the portrayal of them as the fact that the reasons for their cultural practices being what they are have been left largely unexplained. They could have used a good anthropologist on this project. ;P
no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 09:23 pm (UTC)I don't know why the wolves are downplayed either. I heard that there were some practical issues in working with the animals.
I like Jamie a lot better than I did in the books, but the same goes for show!Cersei. When she's not interacting with Joffrey, at least.
I think the way the Dothraki were written in the books was...iffy to begin with, not helped by the fact there's no Dothraki POV character.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 11:06 pm (UTC)Yeah, I`m annoyed at the lack of direwolves, they are such an integral part of story, imo. Also, TV direwolves are adorable.
Really hope they develop the Dothraki a bit more in the show than what we`ve been sown so far - give Dany`s handmaidens or that rider a bigger part or some memorable scenes. It´s one of those aspects that I really don`t mind if they deviate from the book and its one dimensional portrayal.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 07:58 am (UTC)Arya is one of my favourites in the books, so I'm doubly pleased about the casting. All the kid actors are awesome.
I read that the wolves' roles got cut down due to the practical aspect of working with animals.
I definitely wouldn't mind some creative license when it comes to the Dothraki. I think featuring the young rider was a good step in that direction.