game of thrones

[Boges]

Okay so that's what Ros was brought in for.

Generic Whore #1

I suspect that scene wasn't in the book. Giving Tyrion a love interest is kind of odd I don't believe that he really loves her.

The sexual tension between Theon and his sister is icky.

What's to stop Jamie Lanister from tipping that canoe? I reckon someone without armour swims faster than someone without even if his hands are chained together. Didn't appear this legs were.

[Black Dog]

Generic Whore #1

I suspect that scene wasn't in the book. Giving Tyrion a love interest is kind of odd I don't believe that he really loves her.

Shea is in the books, though. I have a feeling Cersei knows about her too.

The sexual tension between Theon and his sister is icky.

I didn't get that at all. I thought their scene was great, that was the first time she has actually looked human.

What's to stop Jamie Lanister from tipping that canoe? I reckon someone without armour swims faster than someone without even if his hands are chained together. Didn't appear this legs were.

Well, she's taking him back to King's Landing, so I don't see why he'd bother escaping and risk running into some other Northerners who might not be so willing to let him go/live.

[Boges]

Here's what's really engaging about this show. You don't really know who are the Good guys and who are the Bad guys.

Well you think all the Starks are good guys. But not all the Lannisters are bad, so you don't really know how you should feel about the Battle of King's Landing where Tywin bails out his family.

Joffery and his mom are horrible but Sansa, Braun and Tyrion are all likable characters.

You'd think Tywin is a heel but after hearing his conversations with Arya you aren't quite sure.

One of my favourite scenes in cinematic history is in the second Lord of the Rings where the battle of Helm's Deep looks to be lost and then Gandolf and the Riders of Rohan bail them out.

That happened in this episode but it was the Lannisters who got bailed out. Joffery gets to stay king and Cersies gets a reprieve from going Magda Goebbels with her other kid.

Great episode! I Wonder what happens to the Hound now that he's been shown to be a pussy when it comes to fire.

[Melanie_]

I've read all 5 books, and the thing I really love/hate about the series is that no one is sacred. Don't get attached to anyone, you never know when their head will roll.

[wyly]

Here's what's really engaging about this show. You don't really know who are the Good guys and who are the Bad guys.

Well you think all the Starks are good guys. But not all the Lannisters are bad, so you don't really know how you should feel about the Battle of King's Landing where Tywin bails out his family.

Joffery and his mom are horrible but Sansa, Braun and Tyrion are all likable characters.

You'd think Tywin is a heel but after hearing his conversations with Arya you aren't quite sure.

One of my favourite scenes in cinematic history is in the second Lord of the Rings where the battle of Helm's Deep looks to be lost and then Gandolf and the Riders of Rohan bail them out.

That happened in this episode but it was the Lannisters who got bailed out. Joffery gets to stay king and Cersies gets a reprieve from going Magda Goebbels with her other kid.

Great episode! I Wonder what happens to the Hound now that he's been shown to be a pussy when it comes to fire.

well I never saw that coming, should've expected it after shaun bean got his head lopped off that no one is safe in this show...that's what I like about GoT unlike 99.99% of tv or movies I can't predict what's going to happen next, who lives and who dies very much like reality, the good guys don't always win...

[kimmy]

I've read all 5 books, and the thing I really love/hate about the series is that no one is sacred. Don't get attached to anyone, you never know when their head will roll.

well I never saw that coming, should've expected it after shaun bean got his head lopped off that no one is safe in this show...that's what I like about GoT unlike 99.99% of tv or movies I can't predict what's going to happen next, who lives and who dies very much like reality, the good guys don't always win...

This is the reason I've been sticking with my plan to not read ahead of the TV show. I want to feel the all the jaw-dropping surprises that are waiting, and I think watching it unfold in live action is a real treat. It's also the reason I have been trying very hard to avoid this thread, despite the temptation to peek. I just watched episode 9 last night, and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I loved the final scene with Cersei and Tommen, and the vial and the throne room door.

I enjoyed the Hound's rather abrupt abandonment of Joffrey. It of course makes perfect sense that he's haunted by fire... and Joffrey has treated him like crap since day one. Sandor's soft-spot for Sansa was something that's long been hinted at, and despite his professed love of killing, he has an odd sort of nobility to him. Hopefully he can get around to hunting down his horrible brother now. Then he can join this mysterious Brotherhood everybody has been talking about, or maybe get together with Brienne of Tarth and raise immensely large, powerful, and unattractive children.

One night last week my cat woke me up in the middle of the night, and while I was trying to get back to sleep, it suddenly hit me that Robb is going to regret letting Roose Bolton talk him into sending Roose's son to retake Winterfell. I'm not exactly sure of the specifics, but I suspect we will hear news on that front tomorrow night. It occurs to me that we don't actually know what Jaime Lannister was up to during his brief escape. He might have visited Roose with an offer that was too good to turn down. The handling of Robb's bannermen is once again a little confusing. In season one they more or less turned Lord Greatjon into a composite character that represented the whole group of them. In season two, we have no sign of Greatjon, and Roose Bolton-- who I don't think has even been given a name on TV yet-- is everpresent at Robb's side.

I liked the scene with Theon and Yara Greyjoy in episode 8. In front of her dad and her men, Yara is all about busting Theon's balls, but when she sends her men away so she can talk to him alone, she's like "We both loved our mother and endured our father... please, don't die too far from the sea." Like the other women on the show, she has to keep up a strong front. As I write this, it occurs to me that many of my favorite scenes on this show are conversations where the characters reveal a little of what's behind their facade.

We're almost at the end of season 2, and it seems almost like they could just hit "reset" and restore peace to the kingdom. Tywin turns to Loras and says "thank you for your assistance. Let this mark the end of hostilities between our lands." Jaime returns to King's Landing, Sansa (if she took the Hound's offer) returns to Winterfell, and nobody needs to go to war anymore. Robb and Tywin call a truce, Robb returns north to kick the crap out Theon and his kin. If everybody were sensible, they wouldn't need to be at war anymore. But somehow, you just know that's not how it's going to happen...

Reading through the thread, I have seen a lot of controversy about Rather Attractive Roz. She might be, kind of like Greatjon, a composite character. My thoughts are that when she's been on the screen, there's generally been a purpose, even though the sex and nudity has been entirely gratuitous. In the first season she was a prop that allowed the show to provide some characterization for characters like Theon and Littlefinger and Grandmaester P. In season 2, more of the same: she was our "eyes" in the scene where Joffrey's men murder the infant in the brothel, and in a scene that makes the extent of Joffrey's sickness more clear. The books only have a certain number of "point of view characters", and as readers we have access to their thoughts and memories. On TV, we don't have POV characters, but neither do we have access to thoughts and memories unless a character shares them with you. As a would-be writer, I have found that one of the hardest things to do is provide expository information in a way that doesn't seem forced or hand-held or clunky. And it's that much harder in live action, because it has to be conveyed to the viewer in real-time through dialog. So, in season one we had Littlefinger telling us why he was going to betray Ned Stark in a long-winded monologue while Roz had sex in the background. And unfortunately that was about as clunky and forced as it could have been. It's tough to do exposition well. I do think that's the intent with Roz, though: she's a device through which we get to observe characters. Whether she's been helpful in that regard is debatable-- I'd say for the most part yes-- but I think that's the intent.

I agree with the complaints about pacing. On a related note I've been a little annoyed that many of the characters vanish for episodes at a time. It sometimes seems a little haphazard-- "we've got a couple of minutes left to fill this episode, why don't we have a shot of Jaime talking to a rat in his cell?"

A few odds-and-ends:

-the scenes with Tywin and Aria were wonderful, all of them. Charles Dance owns the show whenever he's on the screen.

-pretty much any scene where Cersei and Tyrion were together was also great. My favorite was the conversation where Cersei lets down the wall for a moment and talks about how guilty she feels for raising a piece of crap like Joffrey. I've also enjoyed Cersei's little chats with Sansa. She's a ruthless, wicked, evil woman, but she does have a great clarity of purpose-- do whatever it takes to make sure her children "win". Even though she sees Joffrey for what he is, her dedication to him seems absolute and unflinching.

-k

[Melanie_]

Deleted for being a spoiler. Sorry folks, nothing to see here, move along.

Edited June 4, 2012 by Melanie_

[Boges]

Zombie armies are always cool! Why didn't the White walkers go BRAAIIIIIIINNNNNNSSS!!! on Samwise?

Not sure if slowly dying in a dark locked vault with a beautiful woman is a good thing or a bad thing.

Apparently in the book Tyrion gets his nose cut off. I guess that doesn't translate to TV as well as a cool scar.

I have no idea why the army sent to liberate Winterfell ended up destroying it or didn't stop those 20 pirates from razing the city. Am I missing something?

There's something really endearing about the Wildling girl, The big guy used as Bran's Rascal Scooter, Bran, Runt Stark and the two wolves.

Edited June 4, 2012 by Boges

[kimmy]

Zombie armies are always cool! Why didn't the White walkers go BRAAIIIIIIINNNNNNSSS!!! on Samwise?

Not sure if slowly dying in a dark locked vault with a beautiful woman is a good thing or a bad thing.

Well, considering they had no light source, she could just has easily have been a very ugly woman. Does that figure into the calculus?

They mocked her dragons. "The size of cats," they said. MWAHAHAHA. Dany does seem to be becoming a little arrogant, though.

Apparently in the book Tyrion gets his nose cut off. I guess that doesn't translate to TV as well as a cool scar.

Poor Tyrion... we all knew this is what would happen, though. His determination to stay in King's Landing... promises lots more intrigue next season, at least. Maybe he and Varys can join forces. They'd make a great team, and they both seem to be on the side of sanity. Hopefully Tyrion can exact some sort of revenge on his kinsmen.

I have no idea why the army sent to liberate Winterfell ended up destroying it or didn't stop those 20 pirates from razing the city. Am I missing something?

I wondered the same thing... we don't actually know who razed Winterfell, but it seems like a lot for 20 pirates to accomplish in a rush.

Poor Luwin. This season's death toll was pretty light, with Renly, Roderick, and Luwin being the only major characters to buy it; and none of them spent a lot of time on our screens.

There's something really endearing about the Wildling girl, The big guy used as Bran's Rascal Scooter, Bran, Runt Stark and the two wolves.

There is, for sure. Osha (I had to look her name up-- I keep wanting to call her Nymphadora Tonks for some reason) has got to be the nanny of the year. Considering she was trying to kill Bran when we met her and spent most of the first season in shackles, her devotion to the little lords is pretty remarkable. Maybe she's truly heroic... but there might be an ulterior motive. Maybe she recognizes Bran's dreams/visions as something special relating to the Forest Children myths that Maester Luwin has mentioned.

Surprising that Stannis made it out of King's Landing. Things didn't look good for him last episode. I assume the Lord of Onions character died when the fleet got blown up. Too bad, he seemed like a good guy. On this show, good guys tend to get undone by their allegiance to bad guys.

One of my favorite moments this episode (after the incineration, of course) was the momentary look of pure delight on Sansa's face as she leaves the throne room after getting un-betrothed. Then Littlefinger shows up to remind her that she's still hooped.

-k

[wyly]

Surprising that Stannis made it out of King's Landing. Things didn't look good for him last episode. I assume the Lord of Onions character died when the fleet got blown up. Too bad, he seemed like a good guy. On this show, good guys tend to get undone by their allegiance to bad guys.

I can't figure out how stannis escaped...we never saw the onion king actually die, will he back next season?

One of my favorite moments this episode (after the incineration, of course) was the momentary look of pure delight on Sansa's face as she leaves the throne room after getting un-betrothed. Then Littlefinger shows up to remind her that she's still hooped.

yeah she must be 2nd guessing her decision not to go with the pedophile hound choosing instead to stay with the more appealing sadistic psychotic Joffery...

[Melanie_]

Has anyone read GRR Martin's short stories about Dunk and Egg? They take place in Westeros, about 80 years before the books/tv series, so they provide a bit of interesting history, mostly about the Targaryans. I found one just the other day at Chapters, in a collection of short stories called "Warriors" ($10 in the bargain section). Apparently he has written 3 so far, and intends to write anywhere between 6 and 12 altogether.

[kimmy]

If you can't get enough Game of Thrones, The Game of Thrones Home Game of Thrones is for you!

-k

[Boges]

This is a very complicated show. Just watched the season premier. I hope they spend lots more time with the dragons and hot blonde.

I grow tired of these petulant Lannisters and Baratheons. That Scottish redhead makes the Jon Snow storyline more interesting, I read that he goes down her wall, if you know what I mean, this season.

The new Queen being a charitable lady will rub all those evil Lannisters the wrong way for sure.

[kimmy]

OMG! It's here already?! OMG! OMG! I had no idea! I am so stoked!

-k

[GostHacked]

I stopped watching this after season 1. I had never hated a character as much as Jeoffrey. I have heard some sweet revenge on him does happen later on, but I simply hate him. Otherwise really well done show, the sets, actors and costumes are quite awesome.

[Boges]

Every show needs a heel. In this show Joffery and his mother are the obvious heels, everyone else has moments of redemption and moments of being immoral.

This past episode had Joffery sort of smitten with his new wife to be, You sort of can't blame him for being the way he was considering who his parents are and the fact that he was inbred.

The mother is the real heel in this show. But from what I can tell, Stannis is, as bad, if not worse.

[Mighty AC]

I don't watch any TV show on a regular basis, but I am actually sad when this show ends and I have to wait a week to watch the next episode. I hear the budget, story and sets are all bigger this season. According to critic who has watched the first 4 shows, the first 3 are great and build the story well but number 4 will blow your mind. Can't wait.

[Boges]

Why not be one of those people that download the entire season in June?

Or better yet buy the DVD set next March when everyone is getting ready for Season 4.

I honestly don't know why people buy boxed set DVD's/Blue Rays anymore.

I watched the first 3 seasons of Breaking Bad on Netflix within a few weeks. It's a good way to watch any given show but there's something to be said about looking forward to the new release of a single episode every week.

[Mighty AC]

Yeah, physical media is on life support. I've caught up on a couple of shows in that fashion but then couldn't stay committed when I had to wait for shows to be released. Boardwalk Empire is an excellent show but I don't watch it on a week to week basis. GOT is different though, I have to watch it as soon as they're available.

[The_Squid]

I stopped watching this after season 1. I had never hated a character as much as Jeoffrey. I have heard some sweet revenge on him does happen later on, but I simply hate him. Otherwise really well done show, the sets, actors and costumes are quite awesome.

I think this was on purpose. He was never meant to be a likeable little boy....

[Bonam]

Well, season 3 is in full swing! Can't wait to see more. Kimmy, do we get to look forward to your detailed commentary on each episode this season?

[Bonam]

Awesome ending for today's episode!

[Boges]

I had heard about the Red Wedding before this evening's episode so I knew it was coming but it still was rather shocking to see such main characters killed all in one scene.

I'm really looking forward to the finale next week.

[Guest Peeves]

The carachters are well developed, great acting,plots are involved and complex. All in all 'good stuff'.

I've watched every episode and an hooked. As a movie buff I suggest that unless you see it sequentialy you'll loose continuity and enjoyment and may well give up.

There are occasional real twists that shock.

[kimmy]

AAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!

AAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!

AAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!!

-k