Games of Thrones 1x05 review
May. 16th, 2011 12:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ishtar79 -Ned continues to fail at being sneaky and broadcasts “suspicious” with everything he's got. Oh, Starks, and your proto-Gryffindorness.
-That poor little Lannister squire. Serving Robert on a daily basis has got to be the worst job south of the Wall. Though I admit, as horrid as Robert is, the breastplate stretcher joke cracked me up.
-I first thought I imagined the Knight of the Flowers and Renly eyefucking each other over a happily oblivious Sansa's shoulder, but after Littlefinger's comment, it became clear I wasn't.
-WTF HORSE BEHEADING WHAT IS THIS SHIT
-Tyrion is still the best. The calm and logical way he presented his argument about how he's not behind the attempt on Bran's life to Cat (and I love that the crux of his argument was hinging on how he's too smart for such an obvious attempt) was pretty much expected at this point, but the way he chose to save her life instead of making a run for it wasn't.
-Between the the horse beheading (WTFWTFWTF) and gory battle scenes, this was high on the “ew” factor. Did they get some leftover special effects props and buckets of fake blood from Spartacus, or something?
-I could have seriously done without full-frontal Theon (and shirtless Robert, for that matter).
-If the Starks are the Gryffindors of this verse, Varys and Littlefinger are the quintessential Slytherins. These two have so many plots within plots, it's a wonder they remember what they're scheming at any given moment. And Littlefinger still has the managing of his Houses of Whores (get your underage boys, amputees and corpses at half price) which I imagine is a time consuming job, given that this show seems to have an almost Frank Milleresque obsession with prostitutes.
-Oh, Arya, my little-BAMF-in-training! Already ten times sneakier than her father, and her getting mistaken repeatedly for a boy was a nice touch, especially for those of us who've read ahead.
-That Robert is an evil bastard for ordering the murder of Dani and her baby goes without saying (though Ned did say it, albeit more diplomatically), but I'm amused at how even he is completely dismissive of Viserys as utterly irrelevant.
-My patience with Ned is growing thin. It's obvious he lacks the moral utilitarianism to serve as King's Hand, he clearly took Arya's warning seriously enough and Robert practically branded him a traitor, yet instead of grabbing his daughters and hightailing it back to Winterfell, he still fell for Littlefinger's bait and decided to play Nancy Drew some more, deciding his loyalty to a disgusting, womanizing, weak-willed child-murderer of a king is more important than his family's safety.
-Out of the disturbing things in this episode, and there were many, Lyssa breastfeeding a full-grown boy was on top of that list. Freud would have a party.
-Between the listing of Littlefinger's brothel services on offer, the weirdass Oedipal vibe between Lyssa and her son, and the obligatory chest shaving scene, this episode is looking like a particularly twisted kink_meme.
-The scene between Robert and Cersei was kind of amazing. Actually having a real conversation, their wry acknowledgment of their mutual hatred, the odd almost kinship they share after seventeen years despite their hatred...flawless scene. And while it didn't make me sympathetic in the slightest towards Robert, it was nice to see Mark Addy get to act in a different mode than “drunken buffoon”.
-That final scene would have been a hell of a lot more effective if I could concentrate on it over muttering “Ned, you IDIOT.” He knew about Cat taking Tyrion, knew he was in imminent danger in King's Landing, has no conceivable reason to trust Littlefinger...I can't fathom why he stuck around so long. And no “rah, honour, rah!” is not a satisfactory explanation.
-That poor little Lannister squire. Serving Robert on a daily basis has got to be the worst job south of the Wall. Though I admit, as horrid as Robert is, the breastplate stretcher joke cracked me up.
-I first thought I imagined the Knight of the Flowers and Renly eyefucking each other over a happily oblivious Sansa's shoulder, but after Littlefinger's comment, it became clear I wasn't.
-WTF HORSE BEHEADING WHAT IS THIS SHIT
-Tyrion is still the best. The calm and logical way he presented his argument about how he's not behind the attempt on Bran's life to Cat (and I love that the crux of his argument was hinging on how he's too smart for such an obvious attempt) was pretty much expected at this point, but the way he chose to save her life instead of making a run for it wasn't.
-Between the the horse beheading (WTFWTFWTF) and gory battle scenes, this was high on the “ew” factor. Did they get some leftover special effects props and buckets of fake blood from Spartacus, or something?
-I could have seriously done without full-frontal Theon (and shirtless Robert, for that matter).
-If the Starks are the Gryffindors of this verse, Varys and Littlefinger are the quintessential Slytherins. These two have so many plots within plots, it's a wonder they remember what they're scheming at any given moment. And Littlefinger still has the managing of his Houses of Whores (get your underage boys, amputees and corpses at half price) which I imagine is a time consuming job, given that this show seems to have an almost Frank Milleresque obsession with prostitutes.
-Oh, Arya, my little-BAMF-in-training! Already ten times sneakier than her father, and her getting mistaken repeatedly for a boy was a nice touch, especially for those of us who've read ahead.
-That Robert is an evil bastard for ordering the murder of Dani and her baby goes without saying (though Ned did say it, albeit more diplomatically), but I'm amused at how even he is completely dismissive of Viserys as utterly irrelevant.
-My patience with Ned is growing thin. It's obvious he lacks the moral utilitarianism to serve as King's Hand, he clearly took Arya's warning seriously enough and Robert practically branded him a traitor, yet instead of grabbing his daughters and hightailing it back to Winterfell, he still fell for Littlefinger's bait and decided to play Nancy Drew some more, deciding his loyalty to a disgusting, womanizing, weak-willed child-murderer of a king is more important than his family's safety.
-Out of the disturbing things in this episode, and there were many, Lyssa breastfeeding a full-grown boy was on top of that list. Freud would have a party.
-Between the listing of Littlefinger's brothel services on offer, the weirdass Oedipal vibe between Lyssa and her son, and the obligatory chest shaving scene, this episode is looking like a particularly twisted kink_meme.
-The scene between Robert and Cersei was kind of amazing. Actually having a real conversation, their wry acknowledgment of their mutual hatred, the odd almost kinship they share after seventeen years despite their hatred...flawless scene. And while it didn't make me sympathetic in the slightest towards Robert, it was nice to see Mark Addy get to act in a different mode than “drunken buffoon”.
-That final scene would have been a hell of a lot more effective if I could concentrate on it over muttering “Ned, you IDIOT.” He knew about Cat taking Tyrion, knew he was in imminent danger in King's Landing, has no conceivable reason to trust Littlefinger...I can't fathom why he stuck around so long. And no “rah, honour, rah!” is not a satisfactory explanation.
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 11:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 01:26 pm (UTC)Did you eat while watching? Because yeah, this wouldn't be the show for it (mind you, I sometimes eat while watching Dexter, so I'm not one to talk).
no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 04:42 pm (UTC)And Littlefinger still has the managing of his Houses of Whores (get your underage boys, amputees and corpses at half price) which I imagine is a time consuming job, given that this show seems to have an almost Frank Milleresque obsession with prostitutes.
*snorts*
am I the only one who thinks the Starks are more like Hufflepuff than Gryffindor?no subject
Date: 2011-05-17 07:01 am (UTC)am I the only one who thinks the Starks are more like Hufflepuff than Gryffindor?
I can see it, I guess, because of the loyalty, but they're so impulsive and bad with the planning, it's kind of Gryffindorish.
(Hi, btw, thanks for the add back!)
no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 11:56 am (UTC)As opposed to the Lannisters who are just wannabes, you mean? ;)
The scene between Robert and Cersei was kind of amazing. Actually having a real conversation, their wry acknowledgment of their mutual hatred, the odd almost kinship they share after seventeen years despite their hatred...flawless scene. And while it didn't make me sympathetic in the slightest towards Robert, it was nice to see Mark Addy get to act in a different mode than “drunken buffoon”.
Yeah. For the most of the time, I really like the scenes they've added in the adaption. Of course, I pretty much like any scene with Cersei, so... Out of all the characters, she's probably the one who's least like how I imagined her in the books, but she's absolutely perfect.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 01:31 pm (UTC)Out of all the characters, she's probably the one who's least like how I imagined her in the books, but she's absolutely perfect.
I agree 100%. I wasn't even a Cersei fan in the books, but LH's version of her is made of win.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 12:13 pm (UTC)I almost had this exact same thought. Isn't there a point at which this would become tiresome for both of them?
no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 12:39 pm (UTC)was the horse beheading necessary?
did we have to linger over the sword through the eye and out the back of the head (lest we think he might have survived! lol)??
and the breast feeding of the boy creeped me out on behalf of the young actor who will be messed up by it... I hate having child actors asked to do overly creepy stuff (Linda Blair never really recovered from The Exorcist).
Ewww
no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 01:46 pm (UTC)Ick, I didn't even think of the child actor!
no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 07:36 pm (UTC)I'd never caught any subtext between Loras and Renly in the book either, not until I read a comment about it somewhere. I like that it's made obvious in the show.
Tyrion continues being awesome and I love Catelyn more and more (not that I didn't already!) I'm not sure if Robert Arryn seemed as much a loathsome brat as he is in the book, but knowing he is, I found him loathsome enough. No wonder he is, the way Lysa treats him.
I kind of hate Theon but wasn't bothered in the least seeing him that way. ;)
Overall, I love the scenes they've added (like the Cersei & Robert one - that was beautiful) and how they set up later things.
muttering “Ned, you IDIOT.”
Me, I was, "Noooo, Jory." :( Even though I knew it was coming. And yes, Ned IS an idiot. IDIOT. It's so frustrating watching it now.
Er, apparently I had a lot to say. I don't know why I don't write a post.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-17 06:41 am (UTC)Finally a more fucked up mother-son dynamic than Cersei and Joffrey!
I'll miss Jory too. :(
And heh, apparently we both had a lot more to say, considering that marathon phone call.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-17 12:26 am (UTC)I really liked the additional scenes - they're really used the 360 degree viewpoint to their advantage and it helps get across some backstory that they wouldn't have time for otherwise. The Loras/Renly scene felt like something that probably did happen and I think Renly's plot will make so much more sense because of it. Littlefinger and Varys in the throne room was maybe a little over the top, but I am a little bit obsessed with Littlefinger and Varys so I loved it so very much.
But Cersei and Robert definitely took the prize. I think overall the show is done very well, but Cersei is just over the top phenomenally well done. She's so spiteful and petty and power-hungry but you can't help but feel a little bad for her even as you want to wring her throat. I really hope they get as far as the FFC season just to see more of her (though how they're going to retcon this whole "women can't inherit" thing has me beat)
I think it probably says something not so good about me that the series is making me love Cersei and Littlefinger even more.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-17 06:43 am (UTC)YMMV, obviously. He's all yours! :P
The extra scenes were great, and I agree, Cersei/Robert took the cake.
Hey, whatever it says about you, it goes for me too. I *love* the show's take on Cersei and Littlefinger.