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Game (oT) On!

Frayed Knot Apr 04 2019 07:07 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 05 2019 12:53 PM

I've recently re-reviewed the recent G-o-T seasons in order to get caught up for the stretch drive coming up here (Apr 14). So when we last left off … Ayra was back at Winterfell where Sansa is concerned that baby sis is a stone-cold killer. But the sisters have, at least for now, formed a truce long enough to dispatch of Littlefinger. Brandon is also back at Winterfell where he sits as an all-knowing yet emotionless cypher. Jon only knows that Sansa is there and hasn't seen Arya or Brandon in years. Tyrion & Jon Snow were last seen at ‘The Wall' with a collection of misfits forming what passes for their army: Tormund, ‘The Hound', Gendry, that odd ‘Brothers Without Banners' crew, plus assorted ‘Free Folk', as well as Danerys who rescued them from being surrounded by zombies north of the wall with the help of her dragons. BUT one of the dragons was killed in the battle and as is now a blue-eyed zombie-dragon under the direction of the ‘Night King'. Also she and Jon got it on behind closed doors although Tyrion was witness to Jon entering her room (even if not him entering her) and is clearly worried and/or jealous about it. Of course we all know, but they don't yet, that they are in fact biologically aunt and nephew which further complicates things. Cersei has pledged to help that motley crew to fight the walking dead but then immediately told Jamie that she had zero intention of following through on that pledge and basically told Jamie that he's an idiot for thinking she should honor her promise. What she plans to do whilst everyone else is off fighting the dead guys is take back whatever lands the Lanisters lost in earlier wars. On yeah, and she's pregnant with another in-bred brat. Euron Greyjoy stormed off, supposedly for home because he was spooked by the ‘White Walker' that the crew brought back from their battle, but did in fact sail off secretly to Essos to buy an army of mercenaries with money that Cersei got from the ‘Iron Bank' on the promise of paying it off by taking whatever is left of Dorne and ‘Highgarden' after killing off all the Tyrell clan. Yara Greyjoy is theoretically still alive but we don't know that for a fact. Bronn is currently with Jamie but only for as long as he thinks that there's $omething in it for him. That could theoretically change quickly. Sam, who probably doesn't know (and likely doesn't care) that his father and brother were flambeed by Danny's dragon, wound up back in Winterfell and pieced together with Brandon that not only is Jon the product of a Targarian and a Stark (Ned's sister) but that those two were legally married at the time making him neither a commoner nor a bastard. The final scene to date involved the zombie-dragon melting the wall and opening a path for the walkers to just stroll into Westros and kill everything in their path. They are vulnerable to both fire and dragonglass but does anyone have enough of either? Anything I'm leaving out anything relevant here?

Fman99 Apr 05 2019 03:55 AM Re: Game of Thrones

Frayed Knot wrote: I've recently re-reviewed the recent G-o-T seasons in order to get caught up for the stretch drive coming up here (Apr 14). So when we last left off … Ayra was back at Winterfell where Sansa is concerned that baby sis is a stone-cold killer. But the sisters have, at least for now, formed a truce long enough to dispatch of Littlefinger. Brandon is also back at Winterfell where he sits as an all-knowing yet emotionless cypher. Jon only knows that Sansa is there and hasn't seen Arya or Brandon in years. Tyrion & Jon Snow were last seen at ‘The Wall' with a collection of misfits forming what passes for their army: Tormund, ‘The Hound', Gendry, that odd ‘Brothers Without Banners' crew, plus assorted ‘Free Folk', as well as Danerys who rescued them from being surrounded by zombies north of the wall with the help of her dragons. BUT one of the dragons was killed in the battle and as is now a blue-eyed zombie-dragon under the direction of the ‘Night King'. Also she and Jon got it on behind closed doors although Tyrion was witness to Jon entering her room (even if not him entering her) and is clearly worried and/or jealous about it. Of course we all know, but they don't yet, that they are in fact biologically aunt and nephew which further complicates things. Cersei has pledged to help that motley crew to fight the walking dead but then immediately told Jamie that she had zero intention of following through on that pledge and basically told Jamie that he's an idiot for thinking she should honor her promise. What she plans to do whilst everyone else is off fighting the dead guys is take back whatever lands the Lanisters lost in earlier wars. On yeah, and she's pregnant with another in-bred brat. Euron Greyjoy stormed off, supposedly for home because he was spooked by the ‘White Walker' that the crew brought back from their battle, but did in fact sail off secretly to Essos to buy an army of mercenaries with money that Cersei got from the ‘Iron Bank' on the promise of paying it off by taking whatever is left of Dorne and ‘Highgarden' after killing off all the Tyrell clan. Yara Greyjoy is theoretically still alive but we don't know that for a fact. Bronn is currently with Jamie but only for as long as he thinks that there's $omething in it for him. That could theoretically change quickly. Sam, who probably doesn't know (and likely doesn't care) that his father and brother were flambeed by Danny's dragon, wound up back in Winterfell and pieced together with Brandon that not only is Jon the product of a Targarian and a Stark (Ned's sister) but that those two were legally married at the time making him neither a commoner nor a bastard. The final scene to date involved the zombie-dragon melting the wall and opening a path for the walkers to just stroll into Westros and kill everything in their path. They are vulnerable to both fire and dragonglass but does anyone have enough of either? Anything I'm leaving out anything relevant here? Looking forward to the last season. Thanks for the GoT season 7 recap. Other players not mentioned above: Theon was off to rescue his sister despite not having balls. Jorah was one of the other "misfits" in Jon Snow's army.

Ceetar Apr 05 2019 07:18 AM Re: Game of Thrones

sounds about right. They're really just shoveling money into the promotion of this. dropping thrones in Queens and elsewhere (my aunt sat on one) literally just about every product that an be branded has been branded. [attachment=0]DSC_0231 (1).JPG[/attachment]

A Boy Named Seo Apr 05 2019 08:21 AM Re: Game of Thrones

Just re-upped HBO yesterday for this shizz. Thx for the recap, FK. GF and I about do a re-watch ourselves. =Ceetar post_id=6466 time=1554470318 user_id=102] They're really just shoveling money into the promotion of this. dropping thrones in Queens and elsewhere (my aunt sat on one) literally just about every product that an be branded has been branded.

Haven't seen this much product tie-in since Star Wars episodes 1-3.

Vic Sage Apr 05 2019 10:36 AM Re: Game of Thrones

i've already book tickets for the GoT/Syndergaard bobblehead game!

LWFS Apr 05 2019 11:17 AM Re: Game of Thrones

Nice recap, although it also bears mentioning that THE DAMN WALL IS DOWN. By the way, if you're the your father. And your mother, brother, his wife and your extended family. I'm sorry I threw you out of a window...." If I'm Jamie, I think I find Brienne quickly, and like never leave her side.

Ceetar Apr 17 2019 08:25 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!! Hard to imagine someone having a more awkward time than Jamie Lannister walking around Winterfell for the first time. "Sorry I killed your father. I'm sorry I killed your father. And your mother, brother, his wife and your extended family. I'm sorry I threw you out of a window...." If I'm Jamie, I think I find Brienne quickly, and like never leave her side. Oh, and btw, that army my sister and lover promised you? not coming. Not unless you win anyway.

LWFS Apr 19 2019 10:27 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

SPOILE-- oh, forget that. It's a GoT thread, 5 days after the episode in question. You don't GET a spoiler alert. 2 things: 1) Tyrion and Jon just got dunked on relentlessly by everyone around them, from Sansa to Lil' Lyanna Mormont to Davos to short-joke cracking Arya (!), all hour long. 2) They made multiplex reference to Dany taking the Throne... which is how I'm now certain she will NEVER take the Throne.

Centerfield Apr 25 2019 01:05 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

Just an "eh" episode for me. It reminded me a lot of the scenes leading up to the Battle for Helms' Deep. Complete with the "overlooking the wall" shot of Tyrion. It's like two weeks of foreplay. Let's battle.

Frayed Knot Apr 25 2019 01:27 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

Yeah, it was strictly a build-up show, which you'd feel more OK with if the whole thing weren't down to just a couple of hours remaining. But, still, some of the interpersonal stuff was fun; nothing like a roomful of people getting drunk on the eve of quite possibly dying to bring out the best/worst in everyone. You could see the inevitable Arya/Gendry hook-up coming from at least four seasons ago -- both are young and feisty, plus he makes weapons and she likes weapons. The specifics of how it happened, her basically jumping his bones, was kind of out of the blue, although, again, there was that whole 'about to die' thing in the air and once she found out that he too was of 'royal blood', why not?* I guess she -- meaning both the actress and the character -- is now old enough to get nekkid which is something even HBO wouldn't have dared try in an earlier season. * Reminded me a bit of the scene from PRIVATE BENJAMIN: good looking French dude pulling out a laundry list of his assets for the purposes and trying to talk Goldie Hawn/PB into bed; he eventually gets to "I'm Jewish" at which point the movie cut directly to the heavy breathing scenes.

Ceetar Apr 25 2019 01:59 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

They don't really go over timelines very well, ESPECIALLY on the show, but I still kinda doubt Arya is _really_ 18. Nevermind that there's no age of consent (or uh, really the concept of consent) in Westeros or that teens certainly have sex well before 18. And all that and people are supposedly still a little upset by it. But like, trauma and off on her own and trained assassin and eve of possibly life-ending conflict? That's certainly old enough.

Frayed Knot Apr 27 2019 01:46 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

It's more about the idea that HBO doesn't want to find itself accused of getting sleazy using teen actresses or even of-age actresses portraying younger characters. Actors playing teens are almost always older than the parts they play and the Stark children in the books were younger than in the show. GRR Martin set oldest sibling Robb at 15 but the show certainly wasn't trying to pass him off as such and the muscled and bearded guy playing him wasn't either. Sansa and Arya were maybe 14 & 12(?) when things started although the two actresses were more like 16/17 and are now in their twenties. Like you said, who knows how much actual time has elapsed since Robbie B. first showed up at Winterfell with various Lanisters in tow and now when Jamie & Tyrion are back again, but it's enough to keep the producers from being accused of child slut peddling from either the actress or character end. They took some heat for the scenes from Sansa's "wedding night" w/Ramsey, but that was more for the violence/lack of consent than about age. The remaining episodes were said to be longer than usual and that looks like it starts this weekend and probably for the remainder of the run. Sunday's show is listed at 85 minutes.

Centerfield Apr 29 2019 08:07 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

Pretty epic battle. I found myself feeling a little underwhelmed for a number of reasons, but in the end I like the decision to have Arya take out the Night King. One can't help but wonder about all the bad decisions though. *Why build only one trench? *Why stop the catapults? They threw like 4 stones. *If the Night King hangs back, there is no way he loses. Instead, he puts himself in the middle of the battle and fucks everything up. *Jon and Dany just kinda flying around doing nothing. *Tyrion and Jamie. Neither of you guys thought to bring any wildfire? *Once Dany gets surrounded, she should just leap into a fire no? *I know people do it in battle all the time, but if you are in a heavily guarded castle, why do you ride out to meet your enemy?

Benjamin Grimm Apr 29 2019 08:15 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

There were too many points where I couldn't tell what was going on. A lot of dimly lit chaos. But at least they slowed down the action for the major plot developments.

Ceetar Apr 29 2019 08:21 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

Yeah, every five minutes "Here's Jon and Dany, who's clearly be frozen to death, flying through an ice storm" I think you/we/they are giving the Night King a little too much sentience. Even the idea that the dead would just stop and then consciously build a body wall over the fire. And that those bodies, even with fire having trouble starting, wouldn't be extremely flammable once released from the Night magic? But Bran sort of explained it. In a way the dead were only headed towards Winterfell because Bran was there. The entire battle, the entire everything, was all a front to draw this confrontation. Maybe there's more unity in Martin's head (I won't say books, since they don't exist and might never) about the religions, but it's kinda weird that Bran is seems very weirwood/7 gods like the Starks and hanging out in that sacred wood but the whole battle is very much a R'hllor vs. Night King one, though we don't hear much about it the past two episodes. Why did we get Jon Snow back btw, if he wasn't actually the champion of the Lord of Light, his cousin was? What purpose did he serve, unlike the other guy who at least died holding back the guys from Arya? Jon didn't even really do anything, and arguably his chasing the Night King only caused him to pause and raise the other dead? Jon has to be fireproof too right? I don't know if the ice dragon is really breathing cold fire or some nonsense like that. I was all ready for Jon to survive that blast, slay the dragon, and get to Bran just in time.

Centerfield May 06 2019 07:30 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

This was stupid. How do you let an entire fleet of ships sneak up on you, at sea, when you're flying a friggin dragon. And you'd think once you have all-knowing Bran on your side, you pretty much don't get surprise attacked.

MFS62 May 06 2019 07:48 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

So many people to kill. So little time left. Later

Frayed Knot May 06 2019 08:34 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

So I missed it, but apparently in the early scene in the banquet hall (or whatever they call that room) a plastic cup of Starbucks was sitting in front of Danerys side note: do you suppose Gary Cohen pronounces her name as Dan-O-Rees?

A Boy Named Seo May 06 2019 08:57 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

=Centerfield post_id=9247 time=1557149418 user_id=65] This was stupid. How do you let an entire fleet of ships sneak up on you, at sea, when you're flying a friggin dragon. And you'd think once you have all-knowing Bran on your side, you pretty much don't get surprise attacked.

Yeah that was stupid. Plus after the second round of spears missed the other dragon, you would flame the shit out of those boats, no? They probably take a half hour to re-load.



Other things that bugged me were Missandei just showing up captured at Cersei's joint and Jaime's weird 360 redemption psych-out. The coffee cup distraction was the best thing going for this turd of an episode.

Fman99 May 07 2019 05:22 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

They are limping to the finish line. It's GRRM's fault for writing a bunch of shit-ass prequels instead of finishing the actual books on time.

Willets Point May 07 2019 08:52 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

I think I'm in the minority but I'm finding the writing/storytelling/plotting vastly improved over Series 7. Mind you, it still suffers from having to be built on what happened in Series 7, but it's been a decent recovery so far.

LWFS May 07 2019 09:42 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

They are limping to the finish line. It's GRRM's fault for writing a bunch of shit-ass prequels instead of finishing the actual books on time. They really, really are. Don't get me wrong-- I'm enjoying a lot of it. But with the possible exceptions of Episodes 1 (free pass) and 2 (skillful, satisfying, night-before-the-storm character work), this season's been seriously problematic. Characters acting mostly in plot-convenient ways that may or may not make sense from a character standpoint, unearned/rushed surprises and twists, on-the-nose/tell-don't-show dialogue ("If not for that, I wouldn't be the person I am today," e.g.) between characters with history... Mostly, I HATE that they're essentially dumbing down Dany to even the odds in the Cersei battle and artificially jack up stakes/suspense. An earlier season would have given us some sort of menacing interaction between Cersei and Missandei, shown us Arya/Sansa's reaction to the Jon/Aegon revelation, or given us an elegant Jon/Ghost goodbye, say, alongside the big, dumb, expertly-shot but terribly-plotted action sequences and look-what-we-can-do VFX-enhanced panoramas. It's frustrating.

MFS62 May 08 2019 05:46 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

Limping to the finish line, but still winning the race as an all-time achievement for television. Later

MFS62 May 13 2019 06:46 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

Ann Coulter wishes she had a dragon. Later

Centerfield May 13 2019 09:55 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

This whole season is just eh. There was a season (maybe season 6?) where Dany and her army were crossing the sea. That was perfect. Maybe the show should have ended there.

smg58 May 13 2019 09:58 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

An earlier season would have given us some sort of menacing interaction between Cersei and Missandei, shown us Arya/Sansa's reaction to the Jon/Aegon revelation, or given us an elegant Jon/Ghost goodbye, say, alongside the big, dumb, expertly-shot but terribly-plotted action sequences and look-what-we-can-do VFX-enhanced panoramas. It's frustrating. An earlier season would have run ten episodes. I hope they have a better reason for not doing that with these last two than the amount that they're paying the star players per episode. And now to yesterday: I knew they were leading Dany to the ethical precipice, I suspected that getting what she supposedly wanted all along would not actually depend on her choice, but... wow. Eight seasons of buildup turned into a tragedy that would have made Shakespeare shudder. I give Martin credit (I can't imagine THAT decision wasn't ultimately his) for choosing to go where nobody in his audience really wanted him to go, because that was the story he wanted to tell. I am still processing what it all means, and probably will for a while. I perversely kind of enjoyed that the much-anticipated "Cleganebowl" was an exercise in utter futility -- with the possible exception of finishing Arya's transition to re-becoming someone. More dialogue at some point might have answered the question "why?", but refer to my first comment. The horse has symbolic value. Hopefully I can figure out what that value is by next Sunday. So we are left with a handful of well-intentioned but flawed characters, who've backed the wrong horse more than once and whose decision-making skills have contributed enormously to the problem, to save humanity (after just thinking that they had already done so) from it's true greatest enemy -- itself.

Ceetar May 13 2019 02:52 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

I mean technically the last book was two seasons so it's more than 10 not less than? and these are pretty long. The previews for next week were pretty short, but it reminded me of President Coin's victory in The Hunger Games. might be a similar result too. Maybe Jon Snow does get to be the leader of the 7 Kingdoms, though perhaps as actually Jon and his parentage is never revealed? I think Drogon dies too. More likely now might be going backto 7 kingdoms, with Jon in the North, and a loosely joined union with no actual capital.

Fman99 May 14 2019 04:56 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

=Centerfield post_id=9854 time=1557762923 user_id=65] This whole season is just eh. There was a season (maybe season 6?) where Dany and her army were crossing the sea. That was perfect. Maybe the show should have ended there.

Yep, seasons 7-8 have mostly been dumbed down and s'ploded up for the mass appeal. This show had much more to offer in the early years when it was paced a little less frenetically.

Centerfield May 14 2019 07:45 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

People are saying that Dany's turn is consistent with her character. I don't think so at all. She's always been ruthless at those who opposed her, compassionate to those that joined her. Sure, she burned the Tarleys. But gave them many chances to bend the knee. And more importantly, she not only spared the other soldiers, but took them in and allowed them to join her. Two episodes ago, she fought a war against the dead in the north out of loyalty to Jon Snow. She's never been irrational. She's been driven by her desire to take the throne, but never shown any propensity to be cruel for the sake of being cruel. And now, we're supposed to believe she torched an entire city of innocent people just for the hell of it? I don't see it. Ever since we found out about Jon Snow's true identity, the show was set up for a dilemma between two protagonists and one throne. And I guess it was possible that they get married and rule happily together, but that's not really the Game of Thrones way. But instead, they wussed out on the dilemma, turned one of them into a monster. It's just a copout. I really do think they were handcuffed by the shortened season. I guess this was due to the budget? I don't know. I really don't get how things work. Why the most popular show in the world has to be cut to 6 episodes meanwhile Grey's Anatomy runs for 15 years with 25 episodes a season. I think one of the best parts of Thrones was that it never rushed its pacing. Even when fans were like "omg, move the plot along", it took its time telling the story. All of that is gone over the past two seasons. It's a shame.

Ceetar May 14 2019 07:59 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

typically when you're wrapping up things, it, well, finishes. Typically faster. The resolution is always faster than the buildup. This season doesn't seem inconsistent with the others, and reading meaning or intention into some of the plot twists was always folly. Hell, one of the biggest taglines is "Winter is Coming" which was inferred to mean all sorts of things, from the rise of the Starks, to the fall of the Lannisters to a grand human vs. the dead reckoning, when all it really meant was "it's gonna be cold and there are magical dead creatures animated by the season" There's this whole faction of humanity dedicated to defending against it but mostly we've forgotten that and just treat it to expunge nobles we don't want to execute. It seems glaringly obvious they wanted the last half of "Book seven" to be grandiose. They've promoted this season every which way and have build this grand epic movies and cinematic masterpiece, worrying less about the plot and the resolution. I don't think Martin ever had, and I think he's confirmed this, an "end game" situation that he was writing towards. Building up storylines and then just letting them get killed, as they would in real life, because something else happened.

LWFS May 15 2019 02:20 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

An earlier season would have given us some sort of menacing interaction between Cersei and Missandei, shown us Arya/Sansa's reaction to the Jon/Aegon revelation, or given us an elegant Jon/Ghost goodbye, say, alongside the big, dumb, expertly-shot but terribly-plotted action sequences and look-what-we-can-do VFX-enhanced panoramas. It's frustrating. An earlier season would have run ten episodes. I hope they have a better reason for not doing that with these last two than the amount that they're paying the star players per episode. The showrunners apparently had a standing offer from HBO to take as much time as they needed-- and a more or less blank check-- to finish the story; ending in eight seasons, with the last two being so drastically abbreviated, was entirely Benioff/Weiss' call. Now there were likely some other issues at play (actor contracts, this burgeoning "Confederacy" monstrosity they're moving onto etc.). But since pretty much all of the issues with this season appear to be compression-derived... what does that tell you about their priorities?

seawolf17 May 15 2019 02:23 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

=LWFS post_id=10067 time=1557951605 user_id=84]The showrunners apparently had a standing offer from HBO to take as much time as they needed-- and a more or less blank check-- to finish the story; ending in eight seasons, with the last two being so drastically abbreviated, was entirely Benioff/Weiss' call.

If this is true, then eff those guys, man.

LWFS May 15 2019 02:35 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

The showrunners apparently had a standing offer from HBO to take as much time as they needed-- and a more or less blank check-- to finish the story; ending in eight seasons, with the last two being so drastically abbreviated, was entirely Benioff/Weiss' call. If this is true, then eff those guys, man. Oh, it is. [BLOCKQUOTE]BENIOFF: HBO would have been happy for the show to keep going, to have more episodes in the final season. We always believed it was about 73 hours, and it will be roughly that. As much as they wanted more, they understood that this is where the story ends.[/BLOCKQUOTE] So much thought put into every aspect of the show-- pretty much all of which are operating at all-time-high-levels-- excepting the overall... y'know... plot/character thing. But it's not like you could have solved any of those nagging "unearned"-twist issues with a few minor changes or anything. Good luck with your show about a world where the Confederacy still exists, guys-without-massive-racial-blindspots!

Willets Point May 16 2019 08:22 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

It would've made more sense if Dany attacked the Red Keep first, and then went into a frenzy when the Lannisters tried to defend it, but then I guess we would've been deprived of all those scenes of Cersei looking out the window.

Centerfield May 16 2019 08:28 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

So yeah, fuck them. Lazy, terrible writing.

Ceetar May 16 2019 08:44 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

It wasn't about Cersei. It was about fear and power.

LWFS May 21 2019 08:24 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

So... let's list some things we LIKED about that last episode. I'll start: the music was exquisite, as usual. And Sansa's crown at the end, even more so. I'd wear a wedding ring that looked like that.

smg58 May 21 2019 08:37 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

The game was won by somebody who didn't play. Tyrion redeemed himself. Jon Snow's destiny was to be Jon Snow.

LWFS May 21 2019 08:47 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

I liked the doggo. Doggo was good boi! Um. I think I'm out of stuff.

Ceetar May 21 2019 08:53 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

I enjoyed it. Basically things happened, there's no overarching theme to the series, it's just characters acting on stuff. Like a D&D campaign. You could say it was all about the battle with the dead if you like, Jon was reborn to bring in Dany to fight them off, and then they're both expendable. The game continues. Mostly people are where they are. Arya's off on adventure while her sister is the responsible one. Jon was never one for the Game, retreats to be free. Tyrion is still sitting on the Small Council. I don't think taking a small modicum of power from the monarch and moving it to a collection of nobles is particularly odd, and is very typical of medieval Europe? Bran is such a juxtaposition from the fun loving climber he was before. But as an aloof outsider (he wasn't born in the realm he's king of) I guess he's somewhat palatable to start with. Once the dust settles I'm sure one of the more scheming families will try to off him when they feel they have a candidate people will support.

LWFS May 21 2019 11:45 AM Re: Game (oT) On!

I enjoyed it. Basically things happened, there's no overarching theme to the series, it's just characters acting on stuff. Like a D&D campaign. You could say it was all about the battle with the dead if you like, Jon was reborn to bring in Dany to fight them off, and then they're both expendable. Never mind the story itself; if you don't detect a significant difference in how the story was told between the we're-adapting-the-books and we're-telling-the-next-plot-points-beyond-the-books periods... I don't know what to tell you. Congrats? You've got a thing that disappoints you less, so that's good for you, at least. I think this Scientific American article (!) might just nail the meat of the matter. (Emphasis mine.) [BLOCKQUOTE]At its best, GOT was a beast as rare as a friendly dragon in King's Landing: it was sociological and institutional storytelling in a medium dominated by the psychological and the individual. This structural storytelling era of the show lasted through the seasons when it was based on the novels by George R. R. Martin, who seemed to specialize in having characters evolve in response to the broader institutional settings, incentives and norms that surround them. After the show ran ahead of the novels, however, it was taken over by powerful Hollywood showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Some fans and critics have been assuming that the duo changed the narrative to fit Hollywood tropes or to speed things up, but that's unlikely. In fact, they probably stuck to the narrative points that were given to them, if only in outline form, by the original author. What they did is something different, but in many ways more fundamental: Benioff and Weiss steer the narrative lane away from the sociological and shifted to the psychological. That's the main, and often only, way Hollywood and most television writers tell stories. This is an important shift to dissect because whether we tell our stories primarily from a sociological or psychological point of view has great consequences for how we deal with our world and the problems we encounter... ... Told sociologically, Dany's descent into a cruel mass-murderer would have been a strong and riveting story. Yet in the hands of two writers who do not understand how to advance the narrative in that lane, it became ridiculous. She attacks King's Landing with Drogon, her dragon, and wins, with the bells of the city ringing in surrender. Then, suddenly, she goes on a rampage because, somehow, her tyrannical genes turn on. Varys, the advisor who will die for trying to stop Dany, says to Tyrion that “every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.” That is straight-up and simplistic genetic determinism, rather than what we had been witnessing for the past seven seasons. Again, sociological stories don't discount the personal, psychological and even the genetic, but the key point is that they are more than “coin tosses”—they are complex interactions with emergent consequences: the way the world actually works.[/BLOCKQUOTE]

Ceetar May 21 2019 12:19 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

the coin toss line is straight out of the book though. I'm not saying I didn't detect a difference, but that that difference just didn't matter to me. I wasn't in love with the first 5 seasons anyway, they aggravated (and the books did too) and ways that I didn't necessarily enjoy. Was her descent into madness not told sociologically? It was most presented to us by her interactions with Tyrion and Jon no? There was the scene with Sam and Sam's father. But this is still similar to what I was saying. The story was always about how characters interact with their environs, their situations, with each other. the 'Socialogically' if you want. But there needed to be a conclusion. We needed to reach some 'final' point. It's all arbitrarily based on this period of time from Robert's Rebellion until..until what? Until the last Targaryen is was dead? The story always had to shift, was always going to shift. In a way, this whole thing was still Robert's Rebellion. A few of the houses upset at the Targaryen's, decided to overthrow them. One* of them escapes and a lot of the story is about them trying to solidify power and establish authority and root out the last of the Dragons and those Dragons trying to come back. That it ends with Daenerys dead and Aegon disgraced and/or taken a vow to not participate is pretty appropriate and logical.

smg58 May 21 2019 07:55 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

=smg58 post_id=10655 time=1558449468 user_id=62] The game was won by somebody who didn't play. Tyrion redeemed himself. Jon Snow's destiny was to be Jon Snow.

Something green was popping up through the snow in the last scene.

Ceetar May 21 2019 09:06 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

=smg58 post_id=10714 time=1558490150 user_id=62] Something green was popping up through the snow in the last scene.

last book is called 'A Dream of Spring'



I figured with the defeat of the Night King, winter ends

Frayed Knot May 24 2019 05:11 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

Endings of long running shows are always tough, especially so because most of the fan-boyz & fan-girlz are already pissed off just by the fact that it's ending in the first place. SOPRANOS fans were pissed off; M*A*S*H fans weren't happy; MADMEN fans took exception with the choices that show made; etc. Overheard Monday morning from a guy walking by and talking (WAY too loudly of course) on his cell phone: ”Even after the way they fucked up the first five episodes I STILL could have written a better final than those guys”. Yes sir, I'm sure you could have, that's why you're in Hollywood … Oh wait, you were about as far away from Hollywood as it's possible to be and still be in the continental United States! Other than that: -- So that last remaining dragon apparently understood the symbolism of the Iron Throne. Who Knew dragons were that deep and/or steeped in local history? -- Winter may have been a long time in coming, but it was pretty durn quick in leaving. During that confab of the remaining (read: Living) leaders of Westros, the trees behind them on that outdoor set were all lush and green “only a few months” (according to Tyrion) after the battle in the snow. For a land with erratic seasons where this long-coming winter was supposed to be one of the longest ever, that nice pow-wow under the gazebo didn't make it look so bad. And the weather must have been responsible accounted for yet another!! modern drinking vessel visible on the set. This time it was a plastic water bottle behind Sam Tarley's foot. -- Speaking of Sam, safe to say that his dream of democracy for Westros didn't go over too well, eh? Maybe Arya, since she's sailing west with the obvious intent of discovering America, will have better luck on that front. -- Miranda Priestly, the Anna Wintour-type character played by Meryl Streep in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, couldn't have rendered Edmund Tulley any more irrelevant than his niece Sansa did with her cold and dismissive; “Sit Down” after he decided that he himself was the one with the gravitas to kick off the Westros restructuring plan.. Cat Stark's brother was always kind of a wimpy character anyway so it all kind of fit. -- Bronn continued to get more than his share of the best lines right to the very end: ”Ay, so you're the fucking Master of Grammar now too?” he asked of Ser Davos. Best line of his since last season when he dismissed Sam's brother Dickon Tarley with the line; ”Yeah, men shit themselves when they die. What, they didn't teach you that in ‘Fancy Lad School'?” -- And poor Jon Snow. The Knight's Guard is a (usually) non-voluntary gig with a lifetime hitch from which there is no escape … and he managed to draw that assignment twice! That's tough to do. He also wound up killing both of the women he loved in his life (or maybe that should be: one in each life). I think it would be only fair to warn any candidate for GF#3 about this pattern before she commits too strongly, no?

Willets Point May 24 2019 06:49 PM Re: Game (oT) On!

=Ceetar post_id=10729 time=1558494396 user_id=102] =smg58 post_id=10714 time=1558490150 user_id=62] Something green was popping up through the snow in the last scene.

last book is called 'A Dream of Spring'



I figured with the defeat of the Night King, winter ends


I figured that scene was some time - maybe several years - later and Jon is leading a group of free people to resettle north of the wall, abandoning the Night's Watch for good.