While I need no introduction amongst the older fans on here, some of the newbs might need a small one. SO here goes I am ATC aka Aegon the Conqueror aka Gerhard Obi-Wan van Staden aka king of all things geek as well as the foremost African authority on all things of Ice and Fire (I challenge any African who disputes that statement to a duel of honour!)
Anyways it is my privge and honour to be writing the official reviews for this site (as determined by DIBS several months ago LoL).
I hope you check into this thread regularly and lemme know your thoughts and feelings on said episode as well as my criticism. I'll try to have them up within two days of the episode airing everyweek.
Hope you enjoy them, here's to the best bloody season of television until season 4! Huzzah!
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
I’m sorry to say this review will start of on a bit of a low point. Fret not, I am not about to turn into she-who-will-not-be-named from Westeros. No I still love this series as much (if not more) than the books.
Within the first minute of Season 3 I was disappointed. After ending on an incredibly tantalising cliff-hanger with thousands of wights moving towards the fist of the first men, I spent the entire off season looking forward to the massacre of the Night’s Watch, wondering how on earth they were going to do it. Well the answer is by lowballing us ala Tyrion vs the Starks season 1 (I thought the budget was raised for this season). The moment I saw Sam’s beard had grown substantially I groaned inside. The badass wight made up for some of it, but not all. Just one question, where the hell did Ghost come from?
On to Jon Snow who has one of the best storylines for this season. Now this was a scene that did not fail to disappoint in any way. My goodness the giant! Oh how I freaked out about the giant! Now all I need is a mammoth and I can die a happy man. I’m sad to say the wildlings all still dress exactly the same, seems there is only one tailor north of the wall. But beside the point, Cirian Hinds is Mance Rayder! His first moments did not fail to impress in a scene that was taken from the book and quite funny at that. The only change however is Jon’s reasoning why he left the Watch, I wonder if their decision to shorten Quorin’s story last season won’t come back to haunt them. Will less informed fans realise what Jon is really doing there?
Tyrion’s scene with Cersei was a bit tedious and over reaching, paranoid is not a way I would usually describe our little Imp. I did however roll with laughter at Cersei’s jape about Tyrion losing his nose. Absolutely brilliant writing that and a wonderful nod to fans of the book. Do we need any more reasons to love Bronn? Badass enough to take on the Hound, badass enough to take on two members of the King’s Guard, badass enough to blackmail Tyrion for more money.
It appears most peoples’ guess as to how Davos would be introduced was correct and I must say it was a joy to watch Sallador Saan once more. I was one of the many people who was disappointed by his lack of story time last season. Hats of to Liam Cunningham, for a brilliant piece of acting, the sunburnt skin, the bags underneath his eyes, the shivering as he realises his next words could cost him his life and yet he stays true and loyal to his King no matter the consequences. An absolutely stunning scene I most enjoyed.
I’m a little disappointed in the way they keep portraying Stannis, I have not met one person who only watched the series and not read the books that like him. He is portrayed as a cold, easily manipulated religious Tyrant. I would much more like to see the reasons behind is doing so, as explored in the book. I however enjoyed how clearly the “Gandalf of Ice and Fire” explained that she would have brought victory upon Blackwater had she been there.
Where is the Greatjon? With tears in my eyes I wonder what in universe story there is for his absence. The Harrenhal scene was a bit of a mess in my opinion. Where did the two hundred north men come from? How did the Mountain capture so many? How did Qyburn end up with them? One thing is clear though, Roose Bolton’s best hunter Locke aka Vargo Hoat is after Jamie and fans of the book will lick their lips in anticipation of that which is to come. Speaking of the Kingslayer, I missed him and Brienne so in this episode.
In what can be described in arguably the greatest scene of this episode was Tyrion trying to reach out to his absent father. The acting was absolutely brilliant by both Charles and Peter, if this performance was any indication, it seems Peter is pissed at being snubbed for the Emmy for best supporting actor last season. This scene was a great counter balance to the pragmatic, warm and grandfatherly Tywin we saw last season. Showing that even the great Patriarch of the Lannisters is not above base emotions, blaming his son for the death of Joanna and despising his “low cunning.” The words “rewarded with a suitable wife” is a tantalising reminder of what is to come later this season. However things are becoming more clear to Tyrion, whilst his father lives, he will never receive his rightful due.
However the absolutely best scene for me in this episode was Margeary in Flea Bottom taking care of the orphans of soldiers from Blackwater. The absolutely fearlessness with which she walks the streets of Flea Bottom was an inspiring sight and a stark contrast to the petty cruelty of Joffrey. The lines have been clearly drawn between her and Cersei in what might seem a confusing situation to non book readers. What reason could Cersei possibly have to resent Margeary after pushing the marriage? I suspect many people will become Margeary fans this season for her revolutionary ideas. They are perfectly set up against one another, Margeary walks unharmed into the most dangerous areas of the city without soldiers while the Lannisters nearly lost their lives in a riot. I might be mistaken but it seems to me Joffrey quite likes Margeary, enough so to humiliate his mother in front of their guests. This is a rivalry I cannot wait to see come to fruition.
My they do like to keep us waiting don’t they? The Dragons have lost all their cute appeal from last season and I suppose no one wants one of these as simple pets anymore. After spending the whole of last season dreading almost every Dany scene, I could not wait for this one. Astapor at last, and what a beautiful sweeping sight the city was, the Harpy in all its glory looming over the walls. The Unsullied are beautifully brought to life with their training described in gruesome detail and their disciple beautifully portrayed. Missandei was a joy to watch and more than a little titillating in that revealing dress. I do hope we get to see “more” of her this season.
A scene I had mixed feelings about was the introduction of Arstan Whitebeard (where’s my strong Belwas?) The attempted assassination scene was awesome and really creepy. There is a lesson Dany would do well to learn in there concerning appearances. Yet knowing what is to come in ADWD, we know she won’t learn it.
While I can understand it is difficult to introduce Selmy as Whitebeard and keep it a secret for as long in the books, I do however wonder how they are going to play this. As there is a reason the man kept his identity hidden for so long. I can only hope we will finally get some more back story on the Targeryen lineage.
So in closing, this is a standard opening episode. Enough to get the series moving again, but not enough to satisfy us. With such a sweeping storyline, and so many characters there is only so much you can do in your first episode. I do however hope the longer episodes and slower pace will flesh out more of the stories and characters that was so miserably lacking in season 2. I still fully expect this will be the greatest season of television in the history of the world ever. I very much look forward to be able to write about something other than scenes that are only there to set the tone for the series. Did anyone else hum along with the opening credits?
Things I liked
The wight
The Giant, Mace Rayder, Tormund Giantsbane
Badass Bron
The Bromance of Salla and Davos
The father son relationship of Tyrion and Tywin
Margeary Theresa oops I mean Martell
The new dragons, Astapor, the Unsullied, the creepy assassin, the fact that we get to see Ian as Selmy once more,
-- Edited by Aegon the Conqueror on Tuesday 2nd of April 2013 10:05:01 AM
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
I liked him a lot, it felt like he came straight from the books pages. His farting joke was right in character and i sincerely hope we hear how he got the nickname Husband to Bears. I also liked that we finally got a look at lord of bones without the skull.
Not so positive about this review felt like there was something lacking. But this could also be cause i felt the episode was lacking something.
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
Very good review, your Grace. Complete, concise and to the point. Agree with pretty much everything you mentioned. I also would have liked a review of who were the Northmen slaughtered, besides allies of the Tullys.
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Rhaegar, despite wounding Robert, was struck down with a massive blow from Robert's warhammer, which scattered the rubies encrusted in Rhaegar's armor under the water. Rhaegar died with Lyanna Stark's name on his lips.
I felt Thormund was a lot more bawdy and loud, kinda like GreatJons spiritual brother. Didn't he have a great story how he buggered a she-bear? They did make him a lot younger than his book counterpart, who knows the season has just begun.
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"Robert was never the same after he put on that crown. Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.” -DN
"I’m a little disappointed in the way they keep portraying Stannis, I have not met one person who only watched the series and not read the books that like him. He is portrayed as a cold, easily manipulated religious Tyrant." You forgot badass action hero. Come on, are you seriously telling me you liked book-Stannis prior to ASoS and ADwD? Let's be real. I love this character, but let's not find excuses for what he is. He's being portrayed like that because that's what the audience should see at this point. And because it's not really that far from the truth. He *is* cold, he hasn't been separated from Mel yet (Blackwater excluded, and that episode actually did him a favor) so that the audience could see he has a mind of his own, he's done absolutely nothing at this point in the books which would make him "likeable". And he doesn't need that, that's the whole point of his character, that the man who probably deserves to be king the most is not a good, charismatic figure. The audience will have enough time to like him after the battle at the Wall and once he starts his mini-crusade up North. Besides, for the viewers that are really paying attention, there *is* more to Stannis - you only have to listen to Davos who's constantly making a case for him, and quite a good one too.
"I would much more like to see the reasons behind is doing so, as explored in the book." As explored in the book, at this point, would only mean a few lines about Renly that weren't included in the show. All of his other reasons for being such a grumpy kitten are already explained, both in the show and in the DVD/Blu-Ray extras.
Yes I loved Stannis from the get go, maybe it's cause I see a lot of myself in him, but nonetheless he has always been one of my favourites. I'll give Blackwater to you, I loved the change from the books, that was awesome. The parlay with Renly for example was one of those that gave Stannis one or two more things to like about him. At this point in the books we do not see him at all, yet he appears to be brooding and sulking even after seeing his victory in the flames. We only know that Allester Florent arrested Davos on his way to see Stannis. As for the extras on the dvd, I was talking about stuff the average viewer would not have seen.
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
Hello once more to my fellow Geeks, I write to you this week with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. Game of Thrones is back with a vengeance and in a much improved episode from last week, finally starts to deliver on the epic storyline of ASOS. I feel like the presenter of E-tv “yes I like it a lot!” Although no one except Mags and myself will get that joke.
We start this week off with a mythical green dream by Bran in which we get our first look at young Jojen Reed. It was a touching scene filled with memories and voices from season 1. A strange but welcome deviation from the books, there is only one thing I don’t understand, how can the three eyed Raven be Bran when all book readers know he is actually Bryden Rivers from Dunk and Egg.
Nonetheless I enjoyed Isaac Hemstead’s performance; though I must say the new voice threw me off just a little bit. Soon the boy will be sporting a beard! The official introduction of the Reed siblings had me jumping up and down with joy, much to the amusement of my fellow watchers (who have not yet read the books, sigh). Jojen’s control over Summer was a very good edition to the story. I just missed the fact that they did not make their famous Ice and Fire pledge to Prince Bran. Meera is in fact quite hot, I must say.
Their introduction in the story does present a few problems, slowly but surely we are starting to confront two very important aspects of ASOIAF that have so far not been adequately addressed in the series. Nonetheless these aspects are indispensable to the storyline. The first is Robert’s Rebellion and the all the implications it brings with, like Howland Reed, the Tower of Joy and the events that transpired there. The other is the mystical, prophecy and so forth. How will they bring it bear when up till now they have shunned it? It’s bloody important and time is growing short.
With the King of the North comes the title, with two messages bearing considerably ill news. The first of the death of lord Hoster Tully, the second the long awaited news of the sacking of Winterfell and the disappearance of both Theon and the Starks. Finally we will be seeing the Tullys and Rivverrun. I am quite anxious to see how they will handle Edmure where’s-my-red-beard-Tully and how exactly he will much up everything for Robb Stark seeing as how, in the books, he is responsible for Lord Tywin reaching the Battle of Blackwater. Nervous but excited. The upcoming showdown between Karstark and Stark is slowly coming to the forefront.
In what can be described as a horribly shocking moment is a tender mother daughter discussion between Cat and Talisa. Catelyn’s revelation about Jon Snow caught me off guard and left my mouth hanging open. What a terrible terrible thing to do. Serves you right to blame yourself you old hag! No wonder Ned died! From now on we blame you for everything!
Finally we reached the part of this episode I was looking the most forward to. Brienne and Jaime! Their journey seemed to get more and more hilarious with Jaime pushing and pushing Brienne and the poor woman falling for each of his ploys. The pissing scene had me on the floor gasping for air. A sadder part was the realisation on Brienne’s part that the man she loved was as gay as a pink bucked of butterflies. Nikolai and Gwendoline seem to have some real onscreen chemistry and the two are a joy to watch together.
Jaime’s darker merciless view seems to be the correct one to follow in Westeros as they will soon be betrayed by the very peasant Brienne had allowed to leave unscathed. Finally we got the duel scene and was it not quite different from the books, a beast of a different nature almost. In the books the two tangle in what is quite an epic showdown with only Brienne’s superior strength and her better conditioning giving her the upper hand. But only just with her admitting that if he was full strength he would probably have beaten her. The fight itself was a bit of a disappointment and reminded me of the duel between Sidious and WIndu in Star Wars episode 3, slow and clanky almost. It did end in spectacularly humorous fashion with poor Jaime (having spent an entire year in captivity) finding his stamina is not what it once was. In agreat cliffhanger we find them faced with Roose Bolton’s top hunter Locke, Burn Gorman EDIT: Noah Taylor being one of the things I was looking forward to most in this season. I was almost waiting for Adam Sandler to jump out behind the bushes and yell “you can do it! Chop his freakin hand off!”
Shirtess Jack Gleeson looks like he is auditioning for the reboot of Twilight lol! The Joffrey, Margeary, Cersei trio just gets more and more exciting and I was shouting “burn!” at the tv screen when Joffrey basically insinuated that his uppity mother was not very smart, not nearly as smart as Margeary.
In the most enjoyable scene for this week Sansa met the Tyrrel clan in its fuller extent. I wonder whether Loras will still be joining the Kingsguard as he has done so long before now in the books. If he’s not part of the Kingsguard, how will he lead the assault on Dragonstone in future? Oh how much I loved the Queen of Thorns, Dianna Rigg played her magnificently and the conversation between her, Sansa and Margeary was hilarious but also heartfelt. It was simply a brilliant scene, stupendous acting and terrific writing. There was only one thing I missed, where was my Bear and the Maiden Fair? Play it louder she said!
On Snow gets less story time this episode, however two things were achieved. Number one we are starting to see more and more of the very impressive charismatic personality of Mance Rayder. And two follows the theme of magic, prophecy and mysticism as we are introduced to our very first warg (outside of Bran) in the form of Orrel. One last thing! I love Ygritte!
In a strange albeit logical turn we saw a disillusioned Sam collapse under constant jeering from Rass and be rescued by the Lord Commander. The strange order of Jeor makes sense when one thinks of the mutiny that is to come and I am pretty sure that Rass will be the instigator and leader of this group.
When I saw the “previously on Game of Thrones section” showing Arya I leapt for joy, finally her story would start. I was delighted by the introduction of Thoros and Anguy, the former looking nothing than I imagined but a joy to watch nonetheless, the latter every bit as impressive with a bow as he was in the books. It was a thrilling scene to watch and had one on the edge of their seat in anticipation of what is to come. I did find it somewhat strange that the second in command of the Brotherhood would sing the Rains of Castamere. Stranger still was the fact that Thoros was drinking, if you’ll remember correctly after he resurrected Beric for the first time, he gave up the life of lewdness and tomfoolery. It is a change that does not make sense in context of the greater story and I yearn to find out why it was done in this matter.
Our little scene with Tyrion and Shae served as little else but as comic relief. That it was funny cannot be debated, seeing the little Tyrion be pushed up a wall by Shae was quite hilarious. However the scene served little other purpose except to foreshadow the upcoming marriage between the imp and the wolfling.
A scene that I found quite weird and creepy was the one between Margeary and Joffrey. However I found it subtly engaging. The way Margeary plays the innocent to fool Joffrey shows how much more world wise she is than poor Sansa. I did find it quite strange that Joffrey is as homophobic as he has just shown to be considering how little interest the boy has in women in general. The crossbow part was quite enjoyable and I must say I am greatly impressed by the boys aim from the hip vs book Joffrey who continually missed rabbits to his great frustration. However when Margeary started fingering the crossbow, speaking about killing things I frantically searched my mind for the age of Jack Gleeson. I thought for sure he would try his luck with Margeary right then and there, surely any other teenager would have done so with the lovely Natalie Dormer.
I don’t feel sorry for Theon yet, please keep on torturing him Boltons! Cut his dick off like in the books and maybe I’ll start to feel sorry for him. Evil, misguided, brilliant bastard that he is. What I did find interesting was that the character boy aka Ramsay Snow is indeed introduced much as his counterpart from the books Reek. One can only guess as to how this will play out in the greater scheme of things.
The bar scene with Arya and company was quite cool with the poor girl realising that in the world of men, she still has very far to go before becoming that accomplished killer she so wants to be. With the exclusion of the character Hobb from the Stark household, I was wondering how the Brotherhood would discover her true identity when in walks Sandor (my favourite) Clegane. This is one of the things that made ASOS such a great book and will make season 3 so great. Now please bring on Beric!
This was an episode that surpassed the previous one in almost every aspect. An episode that made my toes curl in pleasure and made me want to run for my copy of ASOS. Please can we start airing episodes back to back HBO?
Things I liked
The Reed siblings, especially Meera
The first real mention of the Tully’s
Cat’s Jon Snow Revelation
Jamie and Brienne
The Tyrells with and especial shout out to the Queen of Thorns
Ygritte
Thoros and Anguy
Margeary’s subtle manipulation
The Hound’s return
Locke’s appearance
Things I didn’t like
The lack of exposition on the Rebellion
Thoros drinking
No Bear and the Maiden Fair
The lack of real story time Robb seems to be getting (come on it’s our last season with him and you mucked up the last one pretty badly)
What are your thoughts on the episode? Anything you agree or disagree with? Let me know.
-- Edited by Aegon the Conqueror on Wednesday 10th of April 2013 02:50:50 PM
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
Wonderful review, bit of a correction, Locke is played by Noah Taylor. Burn Gorman is expected to be one of the Night's Watchmen we haven't seen yet, probably at Craster's Keep.
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"There's no cure for being a cunt." Bronn "King Stannis is my god." Davos "Who the fuck is Jon Snow?" Locke
Your Grace, I posted in another thread this, but I though Tom O'Sevens was supposed to be singing in that scene in the book, am I mistaken?
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Rhaegar, despite wounding Robert, was struck down with a massive blow from Robert's warhammer, which scattered the rubies encrusted in Rhaegar's armor under the water. Rhaegar died with Lyanna Stark's name on his lips.
No you are correct. I wonder when Snow Patrol's lead singer will be making his appearance.
Waiting with baited breath !!
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Rhaegar, despite wounding Robert, was struck down with a massive blow from Robert's warhammer, which scattered the rubies encrusted in Rhaegar's armor under the water. Rhaegar died with Lyanna Stark's name on his lips.
One of your dislikes, Thoros of Myr drinking comes with what it seems they combined aspects of Lem Lemoncloaks with Thoros. I think it works quite well, making the BwB more of a Robin Hood and his merry men gang. At least we have to see how they behave around their boss Beric, this might just be them how they are when the Cat's away.
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"Robert was never the same after he put on that crown. Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.” -DN
Thoros not drinking in the show would make zero sense since we have never been introduced to the "book 1" Thoros. Why make a character a dull bore if it has no impact on the viewer whatsoever? There are way too many boring people in this show anyway. This way they can set up the Uncat-scene with him making the "serious" transformation there, where it will make the most impact.
Also, did you really shout "Burn" at your tv-screen? I hope one of your friends gave you a correcting slap.
-- Edited by JapieQ on Thursday 11th of April 2013 02:12:22 PM
Great review Aegon , I really enjoyed that. I can never remember half the things I want to say ... ha ha ! I too enjoyed Ep 2 way more than 1, probably for the same reasons . I always took the three eyed crow to be a symbol of the third (inner) eye . So what Jojen said made perfect sense to me. I have screen capped quite a few moments and will hopefully get around to painting them .
Well here it finally is fellow geeks, this week’s review of Game of Thrones, but let me first start of by saying one or two other things. This week’s episode followed closely on the heels of the Spartacus season finale and I must say what I saw therein made several aspects of Game of Thrones pale in comparison. It was arguably the best season finale I have ever seen and featured a battle so large it made Blackwater pale in comparison. This episode proved that gigantic battles are now quite capable of being done on television. Also D@D would do well to hire the stunt and sword master of Spartacus now that his job is done. Looking at the slow and clunky fight between Brienne and Jaime and comparing it to any of the epic one on one sword fights found in Spartacus is like comparing a child’s finger painting to the Mona Lisa. To use Jaime Lannisters word, “he was an artist, but he only used one colour...red”.
Ok now that I’ve gotten that little rant out of the way, let us commence...ahem. We finally saw the directorial debut of D@D in an episode that improved on it’s predecessor. If every episode gets better as the show picks up its momentum, we are in for one hell of a season.
This week’s episode is aptly named Walk of Punishment, and it refers to far more than the wall of crucified slaves. If you paid close attention you would’ve seen that Edmure, Catelyn, the remnant of the Night’s Watch, Theon, Jaime and Brienne have all taken walks of punishment, to varying degrees.
We open with finally seeing the Tully’s at Lord Hoster’s funeral with a scene taken straight from the books albeit with one minor change. Gone are the empathetic words of Bryden Tully identifying with Edmure for missing with his bow. Replaced rather by a shove and grunt that shows how little he thinks of his nephew. I miss Edmure’s beard, but I absolutely adore the Tully scale armour. Whoever designed this particular suit was a genius. As you’ll recall in the books they are armoured in plate and mail, but the scale armour fits in perfectly with their sigil.
I was wondering how exactly Edmure was going to (for lack of a more suitable word to describe this catastrophe) fuck up Robb’s campaign. In the books he halts Lord Twyin’s army at the fords of rivverun, holding him back, forcing the man to take the long way round. This delay leads to him riding to the defence of King’s Landing and smashing the remnant of Stannis’ host. Instead this sequence is replaced with Edmure defeating Gregor Clegane and sending him scurrying back to Casterly Rock. It was a scene I very much enjoyed with a righteously angry Robb Stark playing well of an embarrassed Edmure realising the folly of his situation and a cool and collected Blackfish. I especially loved the high value that Robb places upon his troops. I hope however that they clearly show how horribly wrong this campaign has turned thanks to Edmure’s “valiant” efforts.
The scene between Bryden and Catelyn was quite touching, augmented by a stunning view of one of the two rivers at Riverrun. The scene accomplished a few things; it showed of the character, wisdom, and stubbornness of Bryden as well as illustrating the family ties between the Tullys. However what I did not like, in fact it downright irritated me, was Catelyn mewling about her children again. The book character is so diverse and complex with multiple layers. However series Catelyn has been stripped down to one shade, a sad and weepy mother. Michelle Fairely is a wonderful actress that I most enjoy; the problem lies not with her, but in the script.
In a filler scene we were introduced to the two Lannister hostages. This episode served three purposes: one to introduce the two ill fated boys, two to show they are quite innocent of evil and three to foreshadow desecration of Robb’s body (how dare you GRRM grrrrrr!) My copy of ASOS is still damaged after my first reading resulted in it being flung through a window.
In what was a somewhat comic scene, we saw the first complete meeting of the small council since last season. I loved the political undertones that played through it. Cersei might consider herself her father right hand “man”, but it’s clear Tyrion sees himself as his father’s equal and to the Seven Hells with anyone who disagrees. So now we see Tyrion coming into his most difficult assignment yet, Master of Coin. Also we see plans being made for the marriage between Littlefinger and Lysa Arryn. We knew that the Arryns would be in this season, however it raises a few question. The foreshadowing of the marriage between Tyrion and Sansa has already taken place, how soon will it be till we see this as this absolutely must happen before Petyr leaves for the Eyrie. So when will it be and when will Petyr “rescue” poor Sansa?
Tyrion discovers a threat far greater to the realm than any amount of rebel armies, a threat his sister will soon fail to see. The Iron Bank of Braavos and the millions of dragons the crown owes it. Die Cersei Die! It is disturbing however to see how close Petyr has come to guessing Tyrion’s most dangerous secret.
My favourite scene for this week was Podrick’s added one. The boy seems to be quite talented and I loved the reactions of Tyrion and Bronn. “we are going to need details...copious details!” My friends and I were squealing with laughter The acting was absolutely brilliant especially from Peter Dinklage and Jerome Flynn. In fact I’ll go as far as to say it deserves some kind of an award. Is there an Emmy for best comedic scene?
I like the Brotherhood more and more with Thoros at the forefront. We see Gendry coming into his own as the blacksmith for Brotherhood, well on his way to earning his knighthood. In a strangely touching scene we saw the comic farewell of Hot Pie. Goodbye dear fat boy we will miss you. (Btw saw Lommy Greenhands in Da Vinci’s Demons this week and age has not been good to the ugly chinless bugger).
In the North the wildlings have finally reached the Fist of the First Men and what appears to be a swirling Horse Graveyard. I have just one question, why didn’t the horses reanimate like the one we saw the White Walker riding in the finale of season 2. What I liked is how we saw the healthy respect Mance has for Jeor Mormont. We saw the making of the plan to sack the near defenceless Castle Black from the South. There is one point of concern, if Tormund leads this party, how the hell is he going to come back as they will all be slaughtered at Castle Black thanks to an escaping Jon Snow. As you readers will remember the man becomes bloody important to Jon Snow in ADWD.
I still cannot figure out why the hell Ghost is following Sam around. It seems like he abandoned Jon to look after his friend. The sombre mood, many women and complaints about the food make it obvious that trouble is on its way to Craster’s Keep faster than Winter seems to be coming. We got a first person view at the birth of Gilly’s baby and the horrid realisation that this kid will soon be offered to Craster’s gods. Poor poor Sam, life in the Tarly’s household never prepared him for this. I loved the look of pleading in Gilly’s eyes, begging Sam to help her and Sam scurrying off before he does something stupid.
In a storyline that seems to be getting weirder and weirder we saw the escape of a tortured Theon from what I am guessing is the Dreadfort. I knew he would be hunted and I was expecting dogs to follow him. What I did not expect however was his near sodomy experience to be broken up by Ramsay Snow. I have to wonder what game he is playing at. I’m somewhat lost at the moment. Anyone have a clearer theory as to what is going on?
I will address the Stannis and Mellisandre bit next week, but I will say this. I think Mell has gone to pick up some leeches.
I look forward every week to Dany’s scenes (alas this won’t hold for long past season 4) and this pne did not disappoint. I love the rivalry between Sers Barristan and Jorah and their argument with Jorah clearly making the better one. When he spoke the famous Rhaegar quote straight from the books I had a geekgasm as big as when Captain America told Hulk to “smash” in Avengers. In a stroke of genius (you will know this only if you have read the books) Dany sold one of her dragons in order to buy eight thousand Unsullied as well as the grown up Missandei. TV viewers will be no doubt be as perplexed at the idea as Dany’s two knights are. I am loving little Missandei and I believe I will be forgiven for hoping to see her and Dany in a passionate embrace so aptly described in the books between Irri and Dany. One of whom we have been robbed by the cruel writers.
Any coach of a team sport knows the value of having a team suffer together. What doesn’t kill them makes them stronger, but also has the uncanny ability of forging the team together in a united front. The captivity of Jaime and Brienne seems to have the exact same effect with Jaime surprisingly (most of all to himself) coming to the rescue of Brienne after she spurned his advice. I’m loving the character of Locke more and more and I enjoy him much more than Vargo Hoat. He played Jaime brilliantly and I was sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for the Arahk to come out. Turns out it was one wicked carving knife (I want one!) This is the catalyst for Jaime transformation. In a change from the books and a very good one at that, we saw Locke throwing the name Lannister and the power of Tywin at Jaime, illustrating how utterly useless Jaime is without those two properties. This realisation is exactly what will catapult him into becoming his own man. I did not like Jaime’s scream at the end, it failed to convince me and was a bit of a let down on Nikolaij Coster Waldau’s part.
The strange debut of the Bear and the Maiden Fair was a brilliant addition by D@D. It is a poetic device whereas to contrasting themes illuminate the horror better. The shock moment of Jaime losing his hand was emphasised by the whimsical and silly folk song of a Bear dancing with a Maiden (which may or may not be about sex). I however am not a fan of this version, it failed to deliver in every aspect and is a poor counterpart to the Brilliance of Rains of Castamere. It is far too slow in my opinion.
To illustrate my point I have added two videos, one my favourite verson by Irish Moutarde and the show version. Now ask yourself, which one would you rather be dancing and singing drunkenly to in an Irish Bar?
Things I liked
The Tullys
The Tully armour
The chemistry between Blackfish and Catelyn
I loved Podrick, Tyrion and Bronn
The strange twist Theon’s story has taken
Hot Pie’s farewell
Vargo Hoat
Things I didn’t like
Catelyn’s mother issues
Talisa
The bear and the maiden fair
Horny Stannis
Jaime’s scream
-- Edited by Aegon the Conqueror on Wednesday 17th of April 2013 05:27:02 PM
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
Great review Aegon, agree on all except on two things...
Comparing the series finale to one show, to a one-off battle in another show's second season seems a bit unfair. I am willing to bet that the series finale of Game Of Thrones ( if it ever gets written ) will be enormous and I am willing to bet it will blow the Spartacus finale away.
I think you are the only person that has qualms with Jaime's scream, I dunno what you were expecting? A true scream comes from a persons gut and they have no control on how it sounds. I personally think Jaime's scream was more one of suprise and horror rather than pain...or were you expecting the Wilhelm scream?
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"Robert was never the same after he put on that crown. Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.” -DN
Well The Borgias does better battles than GoT, and that doesn't make it a better series, not by a long shot. So I don't see why this should matter. GoT simply focuses on other things. Cary, I loved the Bolton men singing that song, and I had the version from the credits stuck in my head for the rest of the day after watching it. So whatever D&D wanted to achieve with that, it sure worked on me. Also, I'm with Don pointing out that Jaime's scream wasn't one of pain in that moment, as the brain doesn't register pain straight away. He looks at his hand and he's shocked, with the scene cutting away before you could see him experiencing the real pain - which I'm sure we'll get to see a lot in the coming episodes.
-- Edited by Macha on Thursday 18th of April 2013 04:43:30 AM
DNA this season of spartacus featured several gigantic battles each of which was bigger than Blackwater. The finale was just huge and bigger than anything i have ever seen on tv. I have no doubt that the series finale will be bigger seeing its many years away and tv technology is coming forward in leaps andbounds.
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
I was not calling Spartacus a better series, i was simply pointing out that on a technical cinematic scale it far surpasses GOT. Also GOT needs a better swordmaster, the last epic fight we had was Ser Jorah's in season 1.
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
I think it has less to do with the sword master but more on who the director is. Camera placement, blocking and editing can greatly affect the way a fight looks onscreen.
I think the different feel of the fights can be atributed that it unlike the Ned Vs Jaime and Jorah Vs Dothraki Douche #2, this one was a weakened Jaime vs a defensive Brienne. She certainly had no intention to kill him and he was not at his best, so how could it have been the same speed and brutality like the ones from season 1?
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"Robert was never the same after he put on that crown. Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.” -DN
KK, your Grace, wonderful as ever! You wanted input on what the Ramsey/Theon deal is? My theory: Ramsey is "the boy". He is the one who has been playing "his sister's friend". They are on their way to the Dreadfort, but not there yet. Someone else has been doing the torture so far. He lets Theon go, tracks him down, acts like he is Theon's friend, only to get him to the Dreadfort to show him what pain really is. Did he kill his own men? Yep. My
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Rhaegar, despite wounding Robert, was struck down with a massive blow from Robert's warhammer, which scattered the rubies encrusted in Rhaegar's armor under the water. Rhaegar died with Lyanna Stark's name on his lips.
Let me put it this way, its a week since I watched the spartacus finale and i am still reeling. Never before have i cared so much about tv characters before. I get sad and emotional whenever i think of the episodes end. The emotional drama thatbthis show delivered with very few resources was amazing!
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
Once more I come bearing dark words. There is a problem with our internet line which makes it all but impossible to log on to the internet from my pc. Writing this from my mobile. As a result I am unable to post the review (which sucks cause I really enjoyed writing this one). I thank you for your patience, will have it up as soon as I am able.
My apologies once more
Things to look forward to in this review
Margeary the politician Cersei the mumbling fool A treatment on the arms and armour of the Unsullied An ode de Jeor Mormont So that's why Loras isn't a kingsguard.
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
, priceless Macha.
!!
You wanted input on what the Ramsey/Theon deal is? My theory: Ramsey is "the boy". He is the one who has been playing "his sister's friend". They are on their way to the Dreadfort, but not there yet. Someone else has been doing the torture so far. He lets Theon go, tracks him down, acts like he is Theon's friend, only to get him to the Dreadfort to show him what pain really is. Did he kill his own men? Yep. My 
