any Game of Thrones guys here?

This topic has 72 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 3 months ago by Billy_T.

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June 25, 2016 at 3:16 am #47050

zn
Moderator

Just curious if there’s a conversation in it.

I have a schizophrenic relation to GoT.

Some plot threads are brilliantly written and acted.

And some are as clunky as an average Star Trek the New Generation episode.

To me, the brilliant ones are worth everything else.

June 25, 2016 at 6:43 am #47055

TSRF
Participant

Yes.
I’m the short guy.

Just kidding, don’t watch it. Accidentally caught the last few minutes of one last night. A dog ate the face off some dude who was tied up. Not my cup of tea.

June 25, 2016 at 6:54 am #47056

zn
Moderator

TSRF wrote:

Yes.
I’m the short guy.

Just kidding, don’t watch it. Accidentally caught the last few minutes of one last night. A dog ate the face off some dude who was tied up. Not my cup of tea.

That moment isn’t representative of the entire show. In context, it is a fitting end to one of the most sadistic monsters in the series. He used those same dogs to kill his baby brother so he could maintain his position as his father’s heir. He also killed his father. The woman watching the scene is his wife from an arranged marriage, and he had raped her. There is all sorts of violence in the show, but that’s not all there is, not by a longshot. You just picked the wrong scene.

Having said that, that kind of thing–shocking moments like that–is part of it too. Just A part, but a part.

June 25, 2016 at 9:28 am #47057

wv
Participant

I’ve seen most of the episodes that are on dvd.

Its a very uneven series. Some of the writing is really dull
and some is good. Peter Dinklage is so good he can take bad writing
and still make it work.

The Ice Wall is a nice concept, i thought.

I thought the scenes where John Snow got kilt
were good.

The Dire Wolves should have been much bigger, btw. Wolves are never
scary on tv cause they always look too small.

w
v

June 25, 2016 at 10:33 am #47060

Billy_T
Participant

I like the show, but agree it’s uneven. Its production values sometimes seem as if several different organizations are involved, each taking its turn, etc. Last week’s episode was excellent, for example. And the episode last year with the fight against the wights and the Night King was incredible. Other episodes seem cheap, thrown together.

I’ve read all the books, which was a real departure for me, as an inveterate book snob. Martin’s prose is clunky, IMO. It’s not really good prose at all. But his books are page turners all the same. I was hooked, despite my snobbery. Looking forward to the next two as well. Though, now, the show itself has kinda usurped the story arcs, and it may mess up my enjoyment of the books. Up until this season — if memory serves — the books were ahead of the show. Now the show is ahead of the books, and on its own.

Anyway . . . a fan of several of the actors, like Lena Headey, Peter Drinklage, Emilia Clarke, Nathalie Emmanuel. And a huge fan of their locations. It’s one of the best TV shows, evah, in finding beautiful landscapes and really cool castles.

June 25, 2016 at 2:46 pm #47068

zn
Moderator

Typical game of thrones dialogue exchange:

A: see what you did? you’re stupid
B: this, coming from the man who has failed himself in countless ways
A: I would die in your service

I make fun, but as stated, a lot of it is very good.

June 25, 2016 at 4:06 pm #47073

Billy_T
Participant

ZN,

Another thing I like about the show. With exceptions, it seems pretty consistent as a world. It rarely makes you say to yourself, “No way they would do this. That’s not at all logical or likely, given what we know about them.”

The stories are filled with fantasy elements, of course, obviously, which never could happen here, now. But they seem consistent within the general frame of that fictional world. They work within the world as it is.

The one exception, off the top of my head, is bringing back various characters to life. I get that Jon is thought to have a special destiny by the priestess of the Lord of Light. But what is Beric Dondarrion’s? I must have missed it in the books. But I don’t get why he’s considered special enough to keep bringing him back from the dead. Why him and not, say, Robb?

June 26, 2016 at 12:55 pm #47138

zn
Moderator

When GOT is first-rate, it’s 1st rate.

Take this scene for example.

Set-up. Lord Tywin Lannister is at war with the Starks, his goal being to keep his grandson on the throne.

Arya Stark is lost between the lines and trying to make her way back to the Stark-held lines. She was picked up as a stray and made a prisoner by Lannister troops and Lord Tywin chooses her as a cupbearer.

The Lannisters need Arya Stark as a hostage to negotiate from strength, but, can’t find her; they do not realize this wandering stray is her, so Tywin has no idea his new cupbearer is a Stark girl pretending to be lower class (though he partially sees through her cover story, just without deducing it is Arya). Lord Tywin enjoys the company of his new cupbearer but he is also a steely, cold man.

Each character then does not know something in this scene. They are enemies, but Lannister doesn’t know she’s a Stark. Arya knows that the Lannisters executed her father, so when she maintains her cover as a lower class girl and speaks of her father it’s double-edged. At the same time, Arya doesn;t know that a knight of Lannister’s was recently murdered by poison and that Tywin, who thought he was the intended victim, suspects everyone–and is therefore actually using her to test for poison against her knowledge.

Also, the Lannisters are encamped in an old ruined castle that centuries ago was considered the strongest in the world, though it fell.

The scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UurwW4VicoM

June 26, 2016 at 10:56 pm #47175
Billy_T
Participant
First impressions of the finale? Wow. Just wow. What is the term? Prestige TV? Sheesh. This show epitomizes that and more. I don’t think anything can actually touch it for its range, its cinematography, locations, drama, climatic moments, suspense, etc. etc.

Love the aesthetics of the show and pretty much everything about it. My only quibble is something it really can’t help. The nature of the books forces them to move from story arc to story arc, and sometimes this feels like . . . wait a second. Stay with what you’re doing and don’t shift to another story arc!! But I can forgive them for this, because I pretty much love all of them . . . . well, with the exception of the Dorne stuff, which is better in the books than it is on TV . . . and it really should be great on TV. The source material is there, especially with the Sand Snakes. Great material, kinda squandered on the show.

Anyway . . . loved all kinds of moments, but especially when the little Mormont queen declared for Jon Snow. And the final scene of the armada on its way to Westeros. Too cool. Dragons, Daenarys, etc. etc. Now, seriously, how on earth is Cersei going to stop that! And, personally, I don’t want her to, at all.

A bummer that I have to wait a year to find out.

;>)
- This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Billy_T.
June 26, 2016 at 11:09 pm #47177

zn
Moderator

Billy_T wrote:

First impressions of the finale? Wow. Just wow. What is the term? Prestige TV? Sheesh. This show epitomizes that and more. I don’t think anything can actually touch it for its range, its cinematography, locations, drama, climatic moments, suspense, etc. etc.

Love the aesthetics of the show and pretty much everything about it. My only quibble is something it really can’t help. The nature of the books forces them to move from story arc to story arc, and sometimes this feels like . . . wait a second. Stay with what you’re doing and don’t shift to another story arc!! But I can forgive them for this, because I pretty much love all of them . . . . well, with the exception of the Dorne stuff, which is better in the books than it is on TV . . . and it really should be great on TV. The source material is there, especially with the Sand Snakes. Great material, kinda squandered on the show.

Anyway . . . loved all kinds of moments, but especially when the little Mormont queen declared for Jon Snow. And the final scene of the armada on its way to Westeros. Too cool. Dragons, Daenarys, etc. etc. Now, seriously, how on earth is Cersei going to stop that! And, personally, I don’t want her to, at all.

A bummer that I have to wait a year to find out.

;>)

Big body count too.

June 26, 2016 at 11:29 pm #47178
Billy_T
Participant
It probably has the biggest body count on TV. Which, if we stop and think about it, should make us stop watching it. Along with several other problematics, mostly involved with its treatment of women. Though I have a feeling the show runners have finally accepted that as a problem.

Anyway . . . it’s a guilty pleasure. And it really is a magnificently done guilty pleasure.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Billy_T.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Billy_T.
June 26, 2016 at 11:37 pm #47181

Billy_T
Participant

Btw,

I really hate zombie shit. I’ve had this debate with SanfRAM and we differ on the subject. I can’t explain it well, but zombies just ruin stuff for me. The undead ruins stuff for me. So I won’t watch what are supposed to be other “prestige TV” shows like AMC’s Walking Dead. That’s an aesthetics thing for me. And philosophical. I can deal with monsters, as long as there is something behind the eyes. Nothing behind the eyes? Pure emptiness? Um, no thanks. I’d rather watch Trump make an ass of himself than lifeless eyes.

But the GOT has altered this with the Night King and their other undead folks like Jon Snow.

It’s . . . . maybe, complicated. ???

June 27, 2016 at 12:39 am #47184

zn
Moderator

Billy_T wrote:

But the GOT has altered this with the Night King and their other undead folks like Jon Snow.

It’s . . . . maybe, complicated. ???

Yeah there’s more than one kind of undead. The Snow/Beric kind, the wights, and the Ser Gregor kind. They don’t even run in the same social circles. Heck there are even undead horses.

So, this much is certain.

GoT has brought a long needed sense of diversity to the undead.

(He said, with a twisted sense of playful irony.)

…

June 27, 2016 at 1:58 pm #47224

Billy_T
Participant

I never really considered the rights of the undead before, so thanks for that. I mean, they should have rights, too. Wights should have rights, right?

June 27, 2016 at 4:56 pm #47240

joemad
Participant

SNL meets GoT meets Naked and Afraid…..

no need to be a fan of any of these shows to appreciate a laugh or 2.

URL =

June 27, 2016 at 5:52 pm #47245

Dak
Participant

I like the show. I was a late-comer to the show, and binged on the first three seasons or so. I loved the unpredictability. Now, it seems a little more predictable. But, that’s OK. This season’s productions were amazing. That battle scene, wow, that was amazing. They did a great job with that. And, the thing with GOT, you don’t know if the heroes are going to win. It looked like Jon Snow failed. And, he did. Twice. But, for the first time, there’s a savior to erase a mistake, and a cavalry to save the day. Kind of the same thing with the slavers’ seige of Mareen, except dragons instead of the cavalry. Arya also got a lot of extra chances.

I, too, have problems with some parts of the show. There was one season where I was underwhelmed. Not a fan of the Sand Snakes. There’s way too much jumping around, and there are characters I don’t know even know they are, but they act as though I do. But, then, there are amazing scense. Peter Dinklage facing the prospect of death, talking to his brother, as we await The Viper vs. The Mountain. And, then, that fight … the most memorable battle to the death in all of TV history. (If only The Viper would have seen The Incredibles. Don’t get caught monologuing!)

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the last two seasons. Loving the dragons and the Dragon Queen. And, the White Walkers are pretty cool, har, har, har. I’m going to guess that Cersei will die a fitting death of some kind. Then, we’ll have fire vs. ice. Winter is here!

June 27, 2016 at 5:59 pm #47246

zn
Moderator

Dak wrote:

And, the White Walkers are pretty cool

June 27, 2016 at 6:04 pm #47247

wv
Participant

Billy_T wrote:

Btw,

I really hate zombie shit. I’ve had this debate with SanfRAM and we differ on the subject. I can’t explain it well, but zombies just ruin stuff for me. The undead ruins stuff for me. So I won’t watch what are supposed to be other “prestige TV” shows like AMC’s Walking Dead. That’s an aesthetics thing for me. And philosophical. I can deal with monsters, as long as there is something behind the eyes. Nothing behind the eyes? Pure emptiness? Um, no thanks. I’d rather watch Trump make an ass of himself than lifeless eyes.

But the GOT has altered this with the Night King and their other undead folks like Jon Snow.

It’s . . . . maybe, complicated. ???

================
I never much liked zombie shit until the Walking Dead series
came along. I have enjoyed many of the episodes on that show.
It’s a lot more than a ‘zombie show’.

w
v

June 27, 2016 at 6:40 pm #47251

Billy_T
Participant

I know it’s about more than that. The zombies are just a plot device, right? I hear the show is really good regarding relationships and character arcs, etc.

But that just tells me the zombies aren’t needed. I want them to go away!!

;>)

June 27, 2016 at 8:40 pm #47266

zn
Moderator

another great Lady Mormont moment.

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs4XR4fbY8U

June 28, 2016 at 9:33 am #47292

PA Ram
Participant

Huge fan of the show.

Lady Mormont is great, by the way.

One of the things I really love about the show is the way it presents the complications of “power”. It can be a complicated thing, and to hold it you need alliances, a level of propaganda(think of Margery mingling with the poor folks–while Joffrey never understood that)and it must be tended to, constantly because someone else wants it. The politics of the show are fantastic–and the behind the scenes players, from Varys to Littlefinger are fascinating characters of their own.

The show is set up now for the home stretch.

We have the “Mad Queen”, “King of The North”, “Mother of Dragons” and of course “Winter” all on a collision course.

I hear next season will only have seven episodes and the final season 6. They’re tightening things up and probably will have more money to spend on production per episode.

I can’t wait.

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. " Philip K. Dick

June 28, 2016 at 9:36 am #47293

PA Ram
Participant

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. " Philip K. Dick

June 28, 2016 at 9:43 am #47294

Billy_T
Participant

Doesn’t this all have to end with Daenarys and her dragons defeating the Night King? Isn’t it just kinda obvious that you have to fight the wights with actual fire? Though the TV show added a new twist for me. It may have been in the books, but I’ve forgotten. Unlike the wights, the white walkers can walk through fire. Didn’t know that. It’s also kinda weird that the infinitely more powerful white walkers are vulnerable to Valyrian steel, but not the wights.

Also didn’t realize until just now (wikipedia) that “wights” comes from Tolkien.

June 28, 2016 at 9:55 am #47296

Billy_T
Participant

Also,

I’m reading a bio of the The Romanovs. Currently up to Alexander’s reign, cerca 1812. Napoleon is about to make his move. Game of Thrones is supposedly loosely based on the War of the Roses in England, but, sheesh, it has a lot of analogues with Russia under the tsars. What is so striking about that history is just how all powerful and incredibly vulnerable they were at the same time. Tsars were often murdered, more often than not by their own family. Coups, counter-coups, plots within plots were common. Sons against fathers. Fathers against sons. Peter the Great, for instance, tortured his son to death out of fear of a coup. Mothers against sons as well. And the torture? Naive me. I always thought “impaling” meant through the heart. It’s, um, much worse than that.

Every now and then, “the people” would go off on the tsars or their administrations, and match them in horror. Tsars would flee for their lives and then, inevitably, some new tsar would take control and reestablish the old top down deliverance of horror. Their idea of “reform” was also interesting. Similar to what some used to say during slavery:

“Well, if we can just improve the conditions for the slaves (serfs, in this case), that will be a remarkable victory for humanity.”

June 28, 2016 at 10:34 am #47306

zn
Moderator

Billy_T wrote:

Isn’t it just kinda obvious that you have to fight the wights with actual fire?

Lightbringer is the sword of Azor Ahai, a legendary hero who is prophesied to fight the Great Other. It has been foretold in the books at Asshai that when the stars bleed and the cold winds blow, a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. That sword will be Lightbringer. The one who draws it will be Azor Ahai reborn.

June 28, 2016 at 10:42 am #47310

Billy_T
Participant

So that probably brings Jon Snow into the mix as well. A merger of Snow and Daenarys. Ice and Fire, so to speak. And now we know without a doubt that Snow is half Targaeryan and half Stark. Not Ned’s kid at all, though. Unless I’m mixing up my genealogies, Jon and Daenarys are half-siblings.

June 28, 2016 at 11:30 am #47315

zn
Moderator

Billy_T wrote:

So that probably brings Jon Snow into the mix as well. A merger of Snow and Daenarys. Ice and Fire, so to speak. And now we know without a doubt that Snow is half Targaeryan and half Stark. Not Ned’s kid at all, though. Unless I’m mixing up my genealogies, Jon and Daenarys are half-siblings.

If Jon is a Targaeryan he would be Daenarys’s nephew.

He would also be Ned Stark’s nephew.

The flaming sword to which I alluded is not associated with Daenarys.

June 28, 2016 at 11:41 am #47317

Billy_T
Participant

That’s right. Daenarys is the little sister of Rhaegar. So Jon’s her nephew, but pretty close in age. Ned’s nephew by way of his sister, Lyanna. For some reason, I was thinking Rhaegar was the father of Daenarys. That would be King Aerys II, instead.

This article breaks it all down.

Game of Thrones just revealed Jon Snow’s real parents

June 28, 2016 at 10:42 pm #47389

zn
Moderator

I would vote for Cersei over the Walkers and the Night King. I think the Night King is worse.

July 5, 2016 at 8:12 am #47886

wv
Participant

I watched the last few episodes of the latest season of GOT.

I must say, it was purty-damn-good.

In the second-to-last show, that battle scene was
claustrophobic. The film-makers did a fine job of making the viewer
feel squished and squashed and hopeless.

I also thought the special effects involving the dragons in the last
episode were really impressive.

My only complaint (which i made to a fantasy-loving-friend of mine, and I also made the complaint about Star Wars…)
is more ‘political’ than anything else. I wish George Martin (or substitute any fantasy writer, film-maker) would have added a faction, or tribe, or kingdom, or family that stood for democratic-socialism. Ya know. I mean all that “Yay for the good King” and “Yay for the bad King” stuff makes me grit my teeth every time.
I’ve said all this before, blah blah blah…

w
v
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