DRW50

Maisie Williams interview. Spoilers. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/23/game-of-thrones-star-maisie-williams-on-arya-stark-s-s4-journey-and-her-crush-on-andrew-garfield.html I wish she could put this on billboards....

Didn't some people accuse Yolanda of distancing herself from Brandi because of public opinion?

Good chapter. I'm not a fan of Cass and Frankie, but their reunion here was sweet.

Block would have been better as Rick, yes. Another example of how consistently weird and abrasive Lucinda was in these years, likely spurred on by Liz Hubbard's ad-libs. I got a good laugh when Tonio asked why she was still friendly with Barbara, and she says, "I like her. She's pretty. I like her." Then we get into lady mob boss with "if you can't handle yourself better, do not expect to inherit my kingdom. I'm talking you and me, Tonio. Do not expect to inherit the kingdom. Not mine." Hubbard is truly one of a kind, because with almost any other actress being that mannered, Lucinda would have been a drag on the show. Instead, she's just so endlessly fascinating, and adds so much to daily episodes that can often blur together. For all the talk of how homogeneous this era was (and generally it was), few shows have ever had a character like Lucinda Walsh. It's at about 35 minutes. This episode also has the hilarious image of Rick Ryan eavesdropping outside Dr. Michaels' door to get dirt on Emily and James.

Browne came before Corinne Jacker, or after? I think that period is all generally seen as listless and lacking stability.

NBC was climbing the ranks in the mid-80s so AW may have benefited no matter what, but DePriest's material did raise the ratings and likely bought the show more time. I haven't watched that era closely but I do think some of it works. I think bringing Mitch Blake back was a great idea. It's just that things like MJ/Adam and the misogyny of her exit story (and of much of the treatment of women at this point) bother me. I like MJ quite a bit and hated to see her leave on such a low point. I wanted to mention that AWHP now has some audio collections available for download as well. Eddie Drueding is asking for some money to help cover site costs, but it's not mandatory.

He went from supporting to pretty much an extra this season. This was a very packed season but I think having Margaery and Loras both MIA (Margaery from episode 5 on, Loras everywhere but episode 2) was a misstep. I think they needed at least one Cersei/Loras scene. I know one of the main GoT wiki pages had Rickon as being in this season, which clearly didn't happen. I guess it was cute. I hope we get a deleted scene.

That's Gendry, Renly's nephew. According to the guy who played him, yes, he is. https://twitter.com/joedempsie/status/479055824414076928

Really? Wow. Well congrats to the actor. We barely got to see his range on GoT so I can't say how he'll be in the role.

Is it me or is Hillary Clinton just sort of imploding in a slow motion trainwreck way these last few weeks? It feels like 2008 again.

It tells you how much or how little screentime can mean. Shireen's scenes were some of my favorites this season and she clocked in at about 3 minutes. I was a little surprised at Dany's relatively small amount of airtime, but it makes sense.

Lena's great there. I love this so much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjyK0R-lD8I Someone made a list of screentime for each character this season, and over every season. http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/112748-a-game-of-screentime-season-4/ Some of this is misleading, as, for instance, Jorah/Missandei/Selmy spent a lot of time this season standing in the background. Kit Harington interview. http://www.accesshollywood.com/game-of-thrones-kit-harington-on-jon-snow-meeting-a-king-and-his-season-5-melisandre-prediction_article_95621

This is from a week or two ago, but it's an interview with Carice van Houten and Liam Cunningham (who was at the World Cup apparently, going by a photo on tumblr). http://www.westeros.org/GoT/Features/Entry/Season_4_Interview_Carice_van_Houten_Liam_Cunningham

Queen Elizabeth is going to visit the studios. I can't see her agreeing to sit on the Throne, but that would be hilarious and brilliant. http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/18/queen-of-england-game-of-thrones

http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/game-of-thrones-finale-spoilers-tywin-shae-dead-battle-1201220973/

I was much more upset with the dragons scene than I thought I'd be...I guess because Rhaegal and Viserion were still her babies, yet they were the ones who paid the price. Emilia Clarke really sold the pain Dany was going through. I know in the book there was a lot more effort about trying to trap Drogon. I'm kind of glad they didn't do that here. What did you think of the Ygritte funeral? Wasn't that new for the show? I'm glad they had that. Stephen Dillane interview. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/blogs/the-tribal-mind/why-stannis-would-rather-solve-murders-than-seize-the-iron-throne-20140614-3a3s6.html Maisie Williams. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/06/15/maisie-williams-on-arya-stark-the-hound-and-the-game-of-thrones-finale/ The episode director on

Great stories. Fascinating. Geraldine Court was on AW in 1979. Eddie Drueding has some of that material available on his site if you ever want to see it. It was quite a different role from Jennifer, to say the least. I remember some of her scenes in that material being very dramatic and frenzied.

Up to now i'd always assumed Tywin knew. I think maybe he had just deluded himself into thinking it couldn't be true, one of those, "If I don't see it, it didn't happen," mindsets.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/15/game-of-thrones-showrunners-on-season-4-finale-twists/ http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/15/game-of-thrones-hound-brienne-finale-fight/ http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/16/game-of-thrones-finale-martin/

It doesn't matter to me either, per se, I was just saying that I won't be surprised if that becomes some common opinion, and that even if it does, I still thought the episode was pretty good overall. There was some of that with the TWD finale too, for a while, but I also thought that was pretty good. I do hope next season we get a Stark reunion. Just one.

I wasn't really talking about the general fans, I meant the critical elite types, who have their own level, and often drive conversation. I was just reading the AV Club review and they enjoyed the episode, but said it showed how GoT is "coming apart at the seams." I don't think Game of Thrones is falling apart, I think it's a massive show in structure and that will have to fray with each passing season, but I do think this season has shown some of the strains of that structure. There are three certain types of fans of the show online, it seems like - the one who just enjoys the show, the one who mostly looks at the show from the POV of the books, and then the critics, who are often focused on trends or on how to stand out. So there are often three different reactions.

As for the episode... Dany's story has been up and down this season (I think a lot of viewers have struggled with her now that she isn't the conquering savior, and at times the show has too), but her scenes were among the most powerful of the episode. I teared up when she had to chain up Viserion and Rhaegal. One of them nuzzling her hand to the end was just too much for me...so sad. And they were generally the "good" dragons. I know "good" dragons can still hurt and kill innocents, and of course, Drogon isn't bad, he's just breaking away and wants his own world, but I just felt terrible for them. Emilia Clarke did a wonderful job here. The scenes with the slave who didn't know where to go or what to do was also a strong moment for the story. This story is extremely timely, as we are seeing in the news every day that "liberating" is not enough, and can cause even more problems. Dany just is not a good leader. She may be learning, but time is running out. Moving on to the second best... A part of me felt like everything with Brienne, The Hound, Arya and Pod (who is way too hot for the dunce role he plays) was just jumping up and down to stall plot, but that fight with Brienne and Sandor was, as Antoyne said, the best fight I can remember on the show. Arya refusing to kill him and instead taking his money was the perfect end to their relationship, absolutely the best. He certainly taught her well. Rory McCann's best work on the show (that last scene with Arya). I smiled when she wanted to go see Jon, even though this was foiled reunion attempt #543. The final shot on the boat was beautiful...it reminded me of Queen Christina. I have never connected to Arya, but I was impressed with her here. Maisie Williams was generally excellent in this episode, and she has this real glow and charisma about her that stood out tonight. If she stays in the business she's going to really be something. The rest... I don't have a problem with Jojen dying (other than being sad, because I thought he was a great character), but the actual death scene was very anticlimactic. The most moving part was when Meera was torn over whether to stay with her brother or move on from the person she essentially existed for. If she is just there to be Bran's love interest, I will be annoyed, because that would be unnecessary, but I do like her. The Children were very Mad Max-esque, which worked. I had to pause at Bloodraven, because at first I thought they had put a man in some sort of Fu Manchu makeup, but I don't think that's what they were doing. I felt sad for Bran when he actually thought he might be able to walk again. I wonder where this story is going. I'm interested but this story really needs more airtime. King's Landing drama...this is tough to talk about because there were a lot of things they went into and didn't go into. Book spoilers I'm not as upset over the changes as some fans are, because that stuff was just so so heavy and gross and I don't think it really fit the characters on the show. I do think the changes made Tyrion's murder spree a little less easy to believe, even with the change to Shae grabbing the knife. I just wonder why they'd spent most of seasons 2 and 3 with Shae so sympathetic. She was very much a plot device in her final appearances. Peter Dinklage was amazing, as was Charles Dance, who always brought such dignity and strength to what could have easily been a cheap throwaway domineering father type. Season 3 had so many delicious Tywin moments I will always remember. I also loved Lena Headey's work. I have to admit the sept scene made me much less drawn into the Jaime/Cersei stuff here than I would have been otherwise, but I still loved seeing Cersei at full blast. I've seen some talk that this was OOC for Cersei, but when you think about it, Cersei no longer had any reason to look up to her father. He had failed her children, in spite of the supposed Lannister family loyalty. He had failed to keep the family in money. He was doing nothing that, in her mind, she couldn't have done better. After a lifetime under his thumb, she'd had enough. We've seen Cersei amassing her own power base, with Qyburn (I love the actor in this role - he's just terrific), and now possibly with what remains of Gregor Clegane. She's coming into her own, and while that is a delusion, because we've repeatedly seen just how bad she is at major decisions, I can see why she thinks it's her turn. I was oddly proud of her in those moments. I was also a little shocked when it seemed like she was going to blow him. Frankly, I thought I'd stumbled into AO3.... Jaime's character is a hash, but Nicolaj was perfect in his supporting scenes, especially his goodbye with Tyrion. I missed some of the Wall scenes, but I'm really glad they let Jon take Ygritte's body and burn her like the warrior that she was. That was respectful to her and to their relationship. I'm also glad that Stannis and co (the longest-surviving character group at this point - three seasons and counting without being separated, aside from Davos being presumed dead for an episode) saved the day. Given that The Wall is all about paying lip service to "duty," while actually flouting it in favor of gameplaying and ego, it's only suited that someone whose entire life is Duty Duty Duty has shown up to help. I wish we'd seen more of Mance Rayder before now, but then part of me thinks he works best in the shadows. I was so busy expecting , but I'd sort of prepared myself for that not happening, so I wasn't ENRAGED HULK SMASH the way some book fans were. To be honest, but I guess I get the fan furor. Overall I thought it was a pretty good episode. The show is now at the point where the story threads are so disparate, it's never going to have the skill of the first season, because so much has to be devoted to keeping characters further apart, but the individual scenes still have a great deal of wonderful acting and some good writing. I have a feeling it's going to become fashionable to say this finale sucked. Overall I thought it was fine enough, something I'll have to watch a few times to process.