DRW50

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.

Robb was just stunningly beautiful. The furs were always perfect for his coloring, he wore leathers that suited him to a tee, and then toward the end when he started caring less and less and scandalized his followers with chest hair. I've always wondered if one of the reasons the Lannisters killed him was because even with all their money, he was far better dressed than they were.

Kit Harington interview. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/game-of-thrones-how-kit-harington-became-jon-snow-20140508 http://winteriscoming.net/2014/06/15/alex-graves-says-tonights-massive-finale-contains-something-david-dan-waiting-make-decade/

Emmy consideration list for GoT. http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/13/game-of-thrones-submitted-emmys/ (I'm not all that bothered that Aiden Gillen wasn't included, as his performance has been uneven...I wish Alfie Allen had been considered, but considering that he was up a few years ago and didn't get a nomination, I'm not too shocked they didn't try again).

Bill Roache back filming. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2658092/Feel-familiar-Bill-Roache-returns-scenes-filming-acquitted-rape-trial-Weatherfield-Crown-Court.html

One of the problems is that DTC was never good at plotting or pacing. His first EE stint was often shockingly paced and the stories often just stopped, usually ending with a big stunt to try to hide the lack of material. Without Santer's PR skills I guess it's not as easy. I think Dean only came back to prop Mick and Shirley, which is a shame, as Mick became much less interesting once he was clearly there just to be Shirley's golden boy. The Carters in general should be more interesting than they are. I guess I should be happy they didn't rush the self-discovery party of Johnny's story, but I've noticed that the actor who plays him has little range beyond endless "baby cry" faces. I guess considering how often Syed made those faces, that's DTC's idea of a gay man. Who knows.

Apologize to him for all those people who keep reusing Princess Bride memes.

Thanks.

I think this finale has the potential to be awesome, as some big things are happening, it's not just going to be table-setting the way the other finales were. It's all about the execution. It could be amazing, or might not be. We'll see. I hope they start allowing the big moments to have another minute or two of airtime to have more impact and allow the actors to shine.

Thanks for sharing that. Zimmerman had quite a few interviews with soap magazines, so he must have been popular. 1972 wasn't a happy year for GL fans...as this was also the year Theo Goetz died. I just saw Hulswit on an episode of Flipper. Gorgeous guy at that time. I think he was still handsome when he was fired, even if he'd clearly aged, but oh well.

Phil/Shirley is one of those couples that makes a lot of noise online, but likely had little following in the real world. I have never understood why Shirley fans desperately want her to be with a man who spent years all but putting a paper bag over her head. I do like Shirley, but not with Phil and not with the tag-ons. It's telling that the ratings and the fan interest in that family has declined since the focus shifted to their being a byproduct of Shirley's angst. I see that Saint DTC is once again giving Max nothing but stories about where his dick goes. I will say what I always say to these non-stories - at least give us an ass shot to make us care.

Well she was supposed to be pregnant...then again she always dressed in a dowdy manner. What do you think of Rick Ryan?

Emma Samms on a new BBC reality show about celebrities learning to do gymnastics. http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/tumble-line-up

Sandra Ferguson as Brooke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD_hQHqiak8

Lisa's reaction to Casey and Lyla is hilarious. It's at about 10 minutes.

Joni Ernst, defender against the war on women, once again has to address her husband's sexist comments. Hilarious. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/joni-ernst-husband-traitorous-skank That's what happens when you push selective outrage you clearly don't believe in. Looks like Kevin McCarthy will be the next Majority Leader. He's less conservative than Cantor (although he is another lackey and sycophant like Cantor), so I'm not sure how happy that true believers will be.