What did everybody think? This was definitely one of the most anticipated episodes... as we knew something major was about to happen. Did it live up to the hype, where you let down, was it better than you expected?
The wildlings in Mole's town, Ygritte's decision?
Reek, Theon at Moat Cailin?
Jorah Mormont and the letter... Khaleesi's reaction?
Grey Worm and Missandei?
Littlefinger with the Lords of the Vale... Sansa's performance and change?
Arya and the Hound... the laughter, their future?
Tyrion's tale of the beetles....
And of course the trial by combat? The fight itself, the camera work, the actors, the result... the confession, the verdict?
Damnt- I had a long reply disappear. Try again
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ReplyDeleteHa so did I - I'm using MS Word now.
ReplyDeleteWildling in Mole's town- don't care. Ygritte- not surprised at all. Jon Snow may know nothing but he's not falling in love with a heartless barbarian.
ReplyDeleteReek, Theon- in any other story I would expect Theon to somehow emerge again and either play a role in killing Ramsey and co or die trying but I doubt that happens because GoT doesn't play by those rules. Grantland was nice enough to explain to me the importance of "The Neck" and why Moat Cailin was so important to the Boltons to grant Ramsey his father's name.
Jorah and Khaleesi- I've never really cared about Jorah so I didn't feel much for him here- Grantland did remind me of the convo Arya witnessed back in Season 1 between Varys and the guy who arranged Khaleesi's wedding about not being ready for war yet so that was cool.
If not for the big fight they could have titled the episode "The Pillar and the Stones" good one Dany. Just because Varys chooses not to have desire doesn't mean the Unsullied can't have desire. I see muff-diving in GreyWorms future.
Sansa was fantastic- the best lies contain elements of the truth. Littlefinger was a little too on the nose afterward when he pointed out that she had chosen devil she knows better than the devil she doesn't line.
There's not much to Arya and the Hound that isn't to like. Everyone feels sorry for Arya, but the Hound is just as much alone in this world as she is and he will never have the ability to blend in. Hopefully the two of them can survive the wars and move east and star in a series of buddy cop movies.
Tryion's tale of the beetles- apparently not in the book. Grantland's Hollywood Prospectus podcast theorized that the HBO writers were getting super meta with the scene in that cousin Orson is George RR Martin and the Beetles represent all of the lovable characters dying off without reason.- deep shit right there.
Fight choreography was great. Needed more shots of Cersei worriedly pounding wine. It's a shame though that in one scene they kill off and sentence to death the 2 most likable characters remaining. Hopefully something saves Tyrion like the realization that events in the north are finally getting real and they need someone with brains alive. Probably won't happen though because GoT doesn't worry about my feelings.
I hope that's true about the beetle speech. It was a great scene. How badly does HBO want Peter Dinklage to win another Emmy? Only question is whether or not he should be in Lead Actor or Supporting Actor? (Same can be said for McConaughey in True Detective. I hope they split em, give Dinklage lead & McConaughey supporting. Dinklage would have to be the first guy to win supporting and lead for the same character if that happened, right?)
DeleteThe beetles speech was very much like something out of a Coen brothers movie. A long story seemingly unrelated, but thematic if you really think about. Grantland's GRRM as Orson reading works. I'm thinking less meta such that the world all these characters exist in is Orson, constantly grinding people up with no discernible purpose. People like Tyrion can try and find 'secret meaning of all life' (thanks, True Detective) but that presupposes there is one, or that it's knowable.
ReplyDeleteI also think the fight needed more reaction shots. I feel like Cersei's composure should have broken once the Mountain falls on his back, or Tyrion should have had more urgency on his face. Tywin being stone-cold throughout was appropriate, but his children are more hot-blooded.
Loved Arya's single scene, but not sure how she gets to where she needs to go from here. The next episode is presumably all Wall, so there's a lot of stuff that needs to happen there.
No idea where Sansa's going next, since all her book stuff through Dance With Dragons is now basically over. Loved her coming down the stairs with her new hairstyle and dress. Love that she's finally ready to start taking control. That should be her last appearance this season.
I'll hit on this week's episode a little, but I'm mostly looking ahead...
ReplyDeleteI’m beyond excited for next week’s episode. “Blackwater” was the “high water mark” of the series for me, and to get an episode that looks to be in the vein of that episode that is also being handled by the same director should be epic. I have no idea what’s going to happen. My gut instinct is Jon Snow accidentally kills Ygritte and The Wall is saved. Game of Thrones has a track record of favoring the underdog (MUCH more on that in a second).
I feel like we closed off a lot of stories this week. Probably finished with Reek & Ramsey – it’s impossible for Reek to really convince anyone he’s Theon at this point; he’s pretty much a husk. We also seem to be done with Slaver’s Bay for a while – sad what happened to Jorah, but it was expected. Dany isn’t exactly one for forgiveness. I’d say Arya and The Hound are also wrapped for the most part – great laugh by Arya, she’s full-on bonkers now.
And Sansa FINALLY becomes interesting. The turn there wasn’t entirely unexpected. She’s not much different from Littlefinger. (Let’s not forget how badly she wanted to be queen in season one.) This is another story I think we’re done with for the season, save something slightly interesting with Brienne in two weeks maybe. Seriously, who expected a Sansa/Littlefinger power couple?!
In truth, who expected any of the power-holders to be where they are? Watch an episode from season one – who are those people?! Game of Thrones has yet to have a death that isn’t shocking, and usually occurring when someone is at the height of their invincibility. Ned looked unkillable b/c he was the main character, but he was at least vulnerable. Since then – Renly Baratheon, Stannis’s army at Blackwater, Robb, Joffrey, Lysa, and most recently Oberyn – all cut down when they appeared at the height of their power.
So, using that theory, I think the two most likely marked for not making it out of this season alive, Tyrion and Jamie, are going to wiggle free somehow. And the two Lannisters that would make no sense getting knocked off, Cersei and Tywin, should start watching their backs yesterday. Now, that could also mean that, since I’ve finally recognized this pattern, the doomed character is indeed doomed, Tyrion will have his head chopped off, and Game of Thrones will be a sad, sad place.
HBO submits for Emmy's as a network, so there's no way they would put McConaughey and Dinklage in the same category. Game of Thrones has only ever submitted an actor for lead once, in the first season, and that didn't work. I'd bet McCounaughey wins Best Actor, edging out Cranston because Breaking Bad happened so long ago, plus the afterglow from his Oscar win. The last three episodes have been as good as Dinklage has ever been on Game of Thrones, and he's going to be equally great in the finale, but the Best Supporting Drama Actor category is always crowded. You could justifiably fill it with just actors from HBO shows. A nomination's a lock, but I'm doubtful on a win.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see who they submit... Dinklage and Pascal both have valid cases to win something. It'd be great to see Dinklage win a Best Actor nod, but your scenario here seems more likely.
DeleteThere's category fraud all the time. For instance, Harrelson is likely to go for Supporting Actor so he doesn't compete with McConaughey, though they're both clearly leads. Dinklage, though, is no way a lead. He's one of six or seven main characters who split time with another 2 dozen side characters. For a character to be a lead, the entire show should revolve around them, like Tony Soprano or Walter White. Tyrion's actions have very little to do with Jon Snow or Dany.
DeleteOr.... do they!?
DeleteI'll go with Tyrion and the fight first... as that's the entree' of the episode.
ReplyDeleteInteresting take on the beetles. I would love it to be about GRRM, but it lacks for me. Nobody cared about the beetles... not even Tyrion. He really didn't question what Orson was doing, only why. I don't think there are many of us question why GRRM is killing off people we care about and are invested in the same vein as Tyrion. But if it is so... I wonder what the mule kicking Orson to death implies! Really, I wish they would have spend those minutes on more of the fight scene or even some more plot development elsewhere. As Jon set... a lot of things need to happen if they are trying to get to certain places in the story this season.
I enjoyed the fight scene, but didn't think it was amazing by any means. Pedro Pascal is easily the star...but that's true of pretty much ever scene he was in. For me, I think i wanted to see it drawn out, and more of the precise movement and attacks from Oberyn... give me slow tedious looks at the weak spots in the Mountains armor while Oberyn jabs in and out to no avail, talking and getting into Inigo Montoya mode... then show me the precision at which he can strike that point. Show me how he toys with the Mountain... but not to entertain the crowd... only to mentally and physically chip at Clegane.
Again, I enjoyed it and as much as I try to separate the show from the novels... there will always be some comparison and times where I think a certain feeling or focus should be portrayed. I think the changes they made to the fight were fine, I just wanted a better view of it and more focus on Oberyn pushing Clegane mentally and physically. I also think the reactions could have been better shown.. especially from Cersei and Tyrion.
The fight was just... so fast. Which i understand with Oberyn's style and speed... but here are the time/shot stats for the scene:
Total fight length: 107 seconds
Total cuts: 124
Average shot length: 0.86587 seconds
Median shot length: 0.765 seconds
Shortest cut: 0.250 seconds
Thoughts on the cuts, views and speed of the action?
As for the other things..
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sean on Mole's town. It's just a lead up for next episode as the wildlings are bringing their action in the Wall's direction. I kind of wish there was a more intense built up to this, but this was a good minor scene.
I thought the Reek/Theon scene was great... showing how hard it is for him to even pretend to be the person he was, and at a time had so much pride in being. And then to see Ramsey become a legitimate Bolton... The world sort of expects bastards to be liars, killers and crazy... but a Lord of a house with growing power. Yikes.
We all knew it was going to come back to haunt Jorah... while we haven't heard anything about him being the spy since Robert's small council years ago, nobody liked him much. I'm more interested/confused with Daeny's blank stare over his head. I have to assume this is intentional, right? Was this the... "I'm so betrayed that i can't even look you in the eyes' gaze? I would think as she comes into her own and grows as a ruler, she should be able to stare into the eyes of anybody and let her Targaryen violet eyes do some of the talking for her. I've also read a bit of criticism concerning Emilia Clarke's portayal of Daeny, saying hers could consistently be the worst acting on the show. I'm not sure she's that bad as some of the others (Pascal, Dinklage for sure) have been THAT good).
I think scene's about Grey Worm's desire have been done well... I'm just curious as to what their point is. I don't think we necessarily need an extra romance story (although, the world seems lost of much of it right now)... especially when there are so many interesting things they can say and show about the major story lines. Perhaps it's leading to something that I haven't recalled or caught on to yet.
I agree with everybody about Sansa. It's good to see her grow and start to become a player in the game. I see no reason that she can't steadily rise and become pretty powerful, especially if she plays the game like Petyr.... I do wonder, however, how close it could bring her to being like Cersei instead of Catelyn...and what would that do to Littlefinger's perception of her? I thought the power dress and that scene seemed a little strong (my sister realllly didn't like it), but I get it.
The major things I didn't like about all of this, was Littlefinger. I noted before that I thought it was out of character to allow Robin to know Sansa's true identity... and he just seems off his game this season. Why? He had this plan... yet all of a sudden when he gets to killy Lyssa, he sort of falls apart and doesn't have his story and set and backed? While there may be a time to see Littlefinger's grip loosen, this wasn't it... he planned for what happened to happen, only to be baffled and shown up by Sansa. I think it would have been more apt and powerful for them to do this together with the same sense of confidence as she learns through and with him.
I only brought up Arya...because I loved her laugh here. I don't think she's bonkers, not in the least. I think she's genuinely amused at the Hound's plight and completely inability to have a break go his way. My real question is.. how do the Hound and Arya Stark show up anywhere, announcing their name and not immediately be brought in. Will the just be allowed to walk away? Does the Hound think he'll be able to offer Arya up to Petyr...would he even care to try after this? Knowing a bit more on their futures, I'm really curious about this story line and how they flesh it out.