HBO: Game of Thrones

[Skin]

I think everything I've seen so far has potential to slowly burn into interest, but it's not quite there yet for me.

I know I don't care about the vagina wars between Cersei and Margery in any variation, but I do want to see what will come of the little factions in Kings Landing that Cersei is creating and trying to chancellor --she's weakening the power base where she lives and that will come back to haunt her, everything is going to blow up in her face and I think it will weaken the monarchy for all the current regents, not just herself. Cersei always had the benefit of her father standing tall behind her in all occasions, and now she has no such luxury. Margery and Cersei will be there own downfalls.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Skin

[quartermainefan]

I do believe Littlefinger told her this marriage was about revenge, so we'll see,

[DRW50]

Littlefinger is and has always been an idiot, but even if he wasn't, it makes no real sense to put her amidst a lunatic and his sociopath of a father for some complex revenge plot. For all he knows she could be left hanging on the front door of Winterfell tomorrow.

The whole thing involves every character involved completely changing what we know of them in order to advance the plot. And it involves Sansa moving past manipulation and having the ability to use mind control, because that really is the only way I would buy her having any sort of ability to work anything with either of them.

[Vee]

But Littlefinger knows she won't be, because Roose Bolton is determined to hold the North and needs Sansa to do that. Roose told his son that much.

I think it will be a rough ride for Sansa to be sure, but I don't think it's there just to make her a victim or degrade her. Whatever happens in the short term I think the Boltons are going to get theirs.

[DRW50]

Hopefully you're right. I don't have enough trust in the show at this point to give them the benefit of the doubt, which is my fault, I realize...

[Vee]

Meanwhile, Rose Leslie and Vin Diesel are, in the words of Bloc Party, hunting for witches.

I still haven't watched Leslie's recent horror flick Honeymoon on Netflix, but I'll be doing that soon.

Edited April 30, 2015 by Vee

[Bright Eyes]

[quartermainefan]

Cersei sure went out of her way to get out of this marriage. It never even dawned on my that this is why she even bothered with this. Her son seems like such a nice kid, it's a shame he is surrounded by these people. I like the Bronn/Jaime story, they make a good team and t seems Bronn is just a character that would work well with anyone. I guess the most interesting scene was Stannis and his wife discussing Jon Snow, and Stannis throwing out this comment about Ned not being the type to fall for some slut, or whatever the term was. I guess that is clue enough that by the time the last episode airs it will be Jon who will be king. Just my theory.

Whatever happened to Jon's uncle, the reason he joined the watch in the first place?

[Juliajms]

The clues were flying all over the place in this episode. That discussion between Sansa and Peyter on Lyanna and Raegar pretty much ended all doubt for me, along with the fact that the Red Priestess wants to screw Jon and make shadow babies. She knows he has royal blood. That makes Dany Jon's aunt. I wonder if they will get married in incestuous Targaryen tradition? Doesn't really seem like there is time for that, if the show is ending at season 7.

[heffer]

I got a "I really don't watch Game Of Thrones, but I want to play dress up" vibe from Wiig. The GOT Weekend Update skit on SNL this weekend was MUCH better.

[DRW50]

So...you know that you're going to have characters arrested for being gay.

Do you:

a) develop airtime and relationships for them over the years to make viewers feel more strongly that this is a terrible injustice

b ) make it clear that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to be gay or love your own gender, that you will be brought down no matter what by bigotry and hate

or...

c) make both gay men ciphers, cast one of them in a negative light (a prostitute who sells out his clients), make the other as frivolous as possible season after season (gives up family secrets in exchange for a hot ass, makes sex eyes with total strangers at his sister's wedding, only interest in a political marriage to Sansa that would pay huge dividends is that he got to plan the wedding), and then make sure the latter is warned about being so indiscreet about his sexuality, so that viewers who feel gay men "flaunt" their sexuality will feel justified in believing that both men deserve whatever they get (with the only other affected characters being extras in a brothel).

Choosing c, and making this religious cult look like that cult in the DW episode where Donna Noble and David Tennant went to Pompeii, guaranteed that these scenes had all the dramatic power of Podrick Payne doing the funky chicken.

I would guess that 90-95% of the viewers don't give a rat's ass if Olyvar or Loras die, or if all gay characters on the show (who are treated as irrelevant and invisible) are shunted off somewhere, and who can blame them, really? That's what happens when showrunners go for a half-assed attempt at being topical and don't even have the integrity to present Loras and Olyvar as anything but somewhat skeevy plot devices.

And how stupid did Margaery look in expecting anything from her child husband when she knew he had no ability to lead at his age and she knew that his mother controlled him?

Did she get a lobotomy in early season 4?

Edited May 5, 2015 by DRW50

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

This was the episode that made me very sick and highly annoyed. That and the ending. And judging from the previous it doesn't look like my favorite character with Dany is going to make it.

I have to hope that this is not all what's going to happen in the books because its utterly stupid and ridiculous. Yeah I get they did it to amp the action (even though it wasn't really any violence to satisfy the blood thirst of the viewing audience) but it was just a very bad way to portray gay people. And more importantly none of this happened in the books. The show is making it seem like the Faith Militant are this anti-gay army that just solely focused on stopping all types of sex that they view as unholy when in fact there's a lot more that they're about.

[Bright Eyes]

PoS, you mentioned when the first four episodes were leaked that there was a scene you were very happy about as it was true to the books. Being spoiler free, I couldn't ask then, but since that time has passed I'm curious. What was the scene?

[Juliajms]

I liked the Stannis/Shireen scene so much, although it made me wonder if the red priestess is either going to sacrifice her or try to.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I was referring to the Jon beheads Janos Slynt scene from the 3rd episode. For the most part they captured the true essence of it all. Aside from the corny way they had him stay in the room and finish his drink (which I rolled my eyes at) I thought it was well excecuted. In the books Jon contemplates three different options within his mind/head within a split second and this being a tv show of course there was no way to do that. But I did love how they captured the look of approval/understanding between Jon and Stannis Baratheon.

I don't like how they just added the scene of Melisandre trying to seduce Jon. While I guess that it would happen in the show, it has not occurred at all in the books (although they're have been signs that it could happen). I just pin that down to HBO wanting to show more boobs for the male audience.

I slowly watched the preview for next week and all I can say is thank God the sex scene isn't between who I thought it was. That would just be wrong and make me physically sick.