Let's open this baby up.

What happened yo my "first"?

Here's to a better season!!!!!

Kill them all, Arya, man I love her . Jaime's talk with Brienne, my blue rose (thanks for throwing us that bone, D&D ), the Queen of Thorns with Brienne and Tywin is still a flaming ass hole. Red Viper was good but I liked Ellaria (sp?) and Bronn . I don't think I can bear much more of Dany though, ugh.

Meh.

So I guess next week we'll get Bran, the Aerie, Stannis and maybe the remaining Tullys? And I hope, hope, hope for Yara.

The prince from Dorne is completely unattractive. Sorry folks. Just gross. Although his paramour is lovely. He's interesting though. He ought to make this season really interesting.

-- Edited by Black as Snow on Sunday 6th of April 2014 11:06:26 PM

Where to start. First of all I thought it was a strong opener, the first episode is usually all about laying down the foundations for the season but I felt D & D handled it really well and gave us a finale that would please Emperor Commodus. Seriously the Hound turned that poor inn into Hostel Part IV.

Pros

The prologue - Ok it wasn't particularly jaw dropping or as good as any of the book's prologues but it was a nice treat for the hardcore fans of the series. If you're a big fan of Jaime's arc you should of geeked out during Oathkeeper's creation.

Jaime Jaime Jaime !!! This was Nikolaj's episode and he knocked it out of the park as usual. Jaime's facial reaction when Cersei says "you took too long" breaks my heart every time. Loved the scene with the King's Guard journal that was a nice nod to AFFC and an important development for the character. Oh and how great was it to finally see someone stand up to Tywin and not back down? Oh someone please find a gif of Jaime waving with his golden hand :teehe:

Sansa in the Godswood - This scene surprised me. I've not been a fan of the casting or the way D & D have handled Ser Dontos but his speech to Sansa combined with the gift he gave her was very touching IMO. I'll look forward to future scenes between those two if there are any.

No Bran - sorry I just had to say it. His arc is my least favorite in the books. The downside though is no Hodor

Arya and The Hound - Who would of thought The Hound would of become one of the most likeable characters in the show? "A mans got to have a code"  Maisie performance as Arya blows me away every time, she's such a talented young actress who's grown up very quickly for a mature role and has handled it extremely well. So has Sophie Turner for that matter.

Dreadfort - Seeing it in the title sequence made me squeal a little.

Daario Naharis - No offense to Ed but Michael is just a far better fit for the role, more charisma, charm and IMO is a better looking guy.

Drogon asserting is dominance - Having him snap at Dany so early in the season was a smart idea. I can't wait to see how they handle him in later episodes.

Oberyn's debauchery - Ok I admit it I WAS WRONG! Pedro Pascal is perfect for the role. Nice to see D & D didn't shy away from the lewd bisexual orgies, it's HBO after all but even still at least they're staying true to the book.

Dr Lector would be proud - Those Thenn's looked creepy/badass. Seeing Magner tower over Tormund was a scary sight to behold.

Cons

No Stannis, Davos, Melisandre, Hodor, Osha, Theon, Ramsay, Roose etc but that's really just a nitpick I completely understand the exclusion of those characters due to time constraints. Although to be fair if those characters aren't going to appear why include the locations in the title?

Tyrion and Shae - I get why the scene is there but I just didn't feel it.

Winterfell in the title sequence - Why? I don't see any point in it being there.

That's all that I can think of, you really have to nitpick to criticize the episode.

Overall I'd give the first episode four shots of Whiskey from the Gem Saloon.

-- Edited by Al Swearengen on Monday 7th of April 2014 08:18:03 AM

-- Edited by Al Swearengen on Monday 7th of April 2014 08:51:05 AM

-- Edited by Al Swearengen on Monday 7th of April 2014 09:12:54 AM

BTW Joffrey's gaudy statue

I remember watching the first season of GoT with Mr. Macha and him saying “You know, this reminds me of Rome.” Indeed, back then for us Rome felt like a landmark in television. And starting to watch GoT again, I suddenly realized (or remembered) the staggering amount of work that goes into this. Perhaps that’s why I’m more inclined to forgive its faults with writing and storytelling, because if I look at the production value of this beast and the effort it takes to produce this (*and *to polish it further with each new season), and the sheer passion D&D and their crew have for this, well….it’s pretty fantastic. It doesn’t feel like a show anymore it feels like an experience. And luckily, I’m still loving every minute of it.

Well…no, except for Dany. 

I was not crazy over this episode but that may be because I already read enough spoilers to know it by heart. Felt a bit like a checklist, I suppose that’s to be expected in a season opener though. Scenes like Brienne and Margaery served no purpose other than an obvious recap of how who is who and who killed who etc.

But back to the goodies. Ned’s montage at the beginning was sooo good! Unexpected, and soo good. My blood froze when I saw Tywin come into the frame with Rains playing in the background. That scene has to be one of the best the show has done to date, not to mention it didn’t have any dialogue.

Now why would you show me Dragonstone if no one on Team Stannis was in the episode? Someone messed up the credits sequence again.

Oberyn, I never cared much for you in the books but hellooooooo….! Never seen Pedro Pascal in anything but he’s nailing it so far.

Grey Worm and Missandei? Oh yes pweease.

Creepy over-the-top cannibal Thenns? YES GOOD.

“Sometimes I want to hate you” Aaaaaw Sam, everything you say is perfect. Loved Jon’s scene with Thorne and Co., and loved Kit’s acting. This new Jon Snow suits him.

Didn’t much like Ser Dontos.

What the fuck’s a Lommy? When did I start to love the Hound? Hell knows, but he’s delicious, with his chickens.   “Someone is”. UGH, his delivery was perfect.

And that shot of the Riverlands burning at the end, goodie good good.

Okokok

Imma gonna have to post my thoughts after the rewatch, but man, it is good to be back in Westeros!

She sent it back to Winterfell. She tells the silent sisters to bring them back

Lyanna Stark wrote:

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And Sir Arthur Dayne mentioned and Duncan for 4 pages

-- Edited by Lyanna Stark on Sunday 6th of April 2014 11:41:59 PM

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 I was not sure if I should cry or yell of happiness! so I did neither. Just like them to throw the book readers all sorts of shout outs. They could have totally left Duncan the Tall out of it, you know...

TormundsWoman wrote:

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 Ooh, we of little faith! :)

I did think Pedro will be good for the role. However I never thought they would make the intro so good for him.

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 How would you know this since you don't watch the show, sugarbritches? Or so you say.

-- Edited by Atreyu on Monday 7th of April 2014 07:09:56 PM

Ok, I think I made some kind of promise and I can´t bitch about the show. Episode 1 is always hard anyway. The whole thing with Ned´s sword was really good and really creepy to me and says a lot about Tiwyn.

The acting is always very good but Kit Harington really surprised me, whoever was squeezing his the last 3 seasons, obviously, let him go. I drink to that. First time I like him. Can´t say the same for Khaleesi, she still suck.

Hound´s chicken talk was very funny to me! and Lommy´s joke, but I don`t really like the chemistry between the Hound and Arya.

Oh and give us Jorah´s  sweaty V neck back, dammit.

Now that Cary made those genius new emoticons imma use them with Jon Snow... or in Jon Snow or on Jon Snow.

 

 

 

 

-- Edited by andrea on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 10:52:33 PM

I think Grey Worm and Missandre are bro and sis, not lovers.  I've seen people at WiC speculating.

-- Edited by Rygar on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 08:13:02 AM

Rygar wrote:

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I think Grey Worm and Missandre are bro and sis, not lovers.  I've seen people at WiC speculating.

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 Yes, that I was saying in the other thread with spoilers, to me they are brother and sister.

Watched Elio and Linda's review last night and it was mostly positive. I agreed with them regarding the Olenna and Marg's scene that was pretty weak, the only reason I can think of as to why it was there was to remind the Unsullied that a wedding is around the corner.

I'd never thought of the sword scene as an homage to Conan until Elio mentioned it, that was really cool.

http://i.imgur.com/FGzZccq.gif

-- Edited by Lyanna Stark on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 04:07:00 PM

I had a feeling Bronn would charm the socks off of Oberyn. I wouldn't advise Oberyn to grope his crotch though.

Okay, all of my thoughts:

I loved the season opener. In the past, episodes with this much stuffed into them have seemed rushed and disorienting. I didn't feel that way about this episode at all. Ending with a series of Hound/Arya scenes was fantastic.

I didn't catch on at first that Tywin was melting down Ned's sword. I thought it was Robb's sword and Robb's wolf's pelt until Tywin mentions the sword having been large enough to make two. I imagine Tywin had planned to give Jaime the two-handed sword, but changed plans once a one-handed Jaime returned. Tywin sending Jaime off to Casterly Rock was a good idea. It gets him away from Cersei and the King's Guard, and it forces him to take on his role as Tywin's heir. Of course, Cersei will supposedly go be Loras' bride in High Garden soon enough (but I have my doubts about that ever happening).

I liked the new characters from Dorne. I don't think Oberyn is attractive at all, and his hatred for the Lannisters makes me think that Myrcella might not be any better off in Dorne than Sansa is in King's Landing. Having a vengeful prince running around in King's Landing might make for some fun scenes. It would be nice to see Tywin uncomfortable for once.

I'm thrilled that Arya found Needle! Now she needs her wolf back. :) When I saw that inn, I wondered if she might be reunited with Hot Pie, even if just for a scene. I was surprised Arya waited so long to jump into the fight. I know she wants the Hound to die, but the consequences would have been horrific for her. I like that she got her first taste of revenge. It reminded me very much of the scene where Brienne kills that last Stark soldier who raped the tavern wench.

The new Daario...I don't know how I feel about him. If they had cast this actor originally, I'm sure it would be fine. They should at least have put him in a long wig, so he doesn't look like every other male in the series. He also doesn't have the same swagger as the S3 Daario. He's acting like a lovesick puppy. The flower scene was just lame.

Cersei's rejection of Jaime surprised me. I guess it goes to show how wrapped up in herself she truly is. All sorts of random rejection going on all of a sudden. Tyrion not being in the mood struck me as wrong for his character. He went from having unquenchable lust to disinterest because...he's stressed? He's married? Huh? It makes no sense to me.

So my questions after this episode (that I don't want answered):

I'm wondering whether the necklace Ser Dontos gave Sansa was the same one the Queen of Thorns threw into the bushes, or if it really was a family heirloom. The necklace obviously will have some significance.

Did Tywin really disown Jaime? That doesn't make sense, since (I assume) that truly does make Tyrion Tywin's heir. I thought Tywin was pretty clear about his thoughts on that eventuality.

I probably should not have put those meme/gifs/whatever on this thread, probably belong on the humerus gifs thread or whatever it is called, can't recall if a mod/admin. wants to move it to the proper place, please feel free.

"I have more family than you care to know".
I adore these reviews. ADORE THEM.

I've thought a lot about the necklace that Ser Dontos gave to Sansa. And it came up in our rewatch, so I thought I'd mention it. At first I thought he had found the necklace Olenna threw in the bushes and was passing it off as a "family heirloom." But now I'm thinking that something will happen where Sansa will need to explain why it's in her possession. Maybe Ser Dontos kills someone, and they use it as evidence that Sansa is involved? I don't have a good feel for the possibilities here, but I think the necklace will have significance at some point this season.

I'm curious about those Thenns. Can't remember much from the books, seems like they're building them up for the show and I'm really loving them so far.

Black as Snow wrote:

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Could Jon Snow somehow convince the Night's Watch and the Wildlings to work together against the White Walkers and zombies?

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 This is interesting, because we already know it can be done, as far as the Wildlings are concerned. If Mance managed to unite them to flee, perhaps they can be united to fight back with or without the Watch. Somehow I'm getting the feeling that if there ever was any hint of a chance that the Watch and the Wildlings could ever work together, the show threw that off the window with this introduction of the Thenns.