BadHat Posted January 7, 2014 Game of Thrones is quite a good show. slowpoke.jpg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLastBaron Posted April 2, 2014 I was going to watch Game of Thrones because all my friends want to watch the next episode on Sunday or whatever, but I ended up just rewatching Seinfeld. Oh well I tried. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted April 3, 2014 What... is up... with all these dragons? Where did they come from? Are they illegal immigrants? "Hey, you can't come here, you don't have a visa! Go burn your own country." [bassline, clicking sound] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merus Posted April 3, 2014 I would hope that if Jerry Seinfeld did a bit about dragons it would at least be a bit about how you wouldn't want to put them in your luggage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted April 7, 2014 Uh-oh. Ever since GoT season 3 there's been a growing feeling that I can't quite place. Watching the episode I'm very excited and I love seeing all the scenes, but then when I reflect on the total it rarely holds up. Interesting dialogues abound, but it's all just a bit of the same again, isn't it? Apart from the marquee moments (you know the ones), this show is all just people slogging through forests and having conversations. Wait, that actually sounds great, so what am I missing so sorely? Perhaps it's a sense of purpose to any individual episode. You know, like Breaking Bad had, where every ep had a specific theme and story arc. GoT always gets stuck in this never-ending mire of ensemble snippets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted April 7, 2014 On 4/7/2014 at 5:04 PM, Rodi said: Uh-oh. Ever since GoT season 3 there's been a growing feeling that I can't quite place. Watching the episode I'm very excited and I love seeing all the scenes, but then when I reflect on the total it rarely holds up. Interesting dialogues abound, but it's all just a bit of the same again, isn't it? Apart from the marquee moments (you know the ones), this show is all just people slogging through forests and having conversations. Wait, that actually sounds great, so what am I missing so sorely? Perhaps it's a sense of purpose to any individual episode. You know, like Breaking Bad had, where every ep had a specific theme and story arc. GoT always gets stuck in this never-ending mire of ensemble snippets. I know what you mean. I think there are just too many characters and too many subplots, so the writers have to have a lot of walking-and-talking scenes to compress exposition and avoid cutting content. I wish they had cut more content, especially a lot of what surrounds (but doesn't directly pertain to the development of) Jon Snow, but I understand their hesitance, since they still don't really have much of an idea where the story's ultimately headed. I agree that the episodes could be written to be more self-contained and purposeful, although it never occurred to me that I'd want that until you said it. The chapters of the books are heavily anchored around a single character's perspective and a handful of specific events, so it wouldn't even be that hard to do, given a good writing staff, but I guess the show's already committed to the whole "Now we're in King's Landing! Now we're in Bravos! Now we're beyond the Wall!" style that just makes me feel tired, really. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted April 7, 2014 I pretty much agree with both of you. I'm still enjoying it, but having just finished Season 3, it left a lot to be desired. I'm glad I was watching it 2 or 3 episodes at a shot, as I think just one episode at a time would have left me feeling like it was just treading water even more than it was. There was one specific storyline in Season 3 that damn near turned me off the whole thing though (Theon's story). Reveal hidden contents I cannot fathom why they focused so much on what happened with Theon. In the books, this is completely skipped. It's implied what happens, but never really shown. The show must spend a total of 40+ minutes focusing on what is just pure torture porn. Sure, it's establishing the sociopathic nature of the Boltons, but it feels like that could have been done in a lot less time while an entire episode worth of content could have been devoted to more interesting storylines. On 4/7/2014 at 5:58 PM, Gormongous said: ...but I understand their hesitance, since they still don't really have much of an idea where the story's ultimately headed. The people in charge of the show do know how the series ends, Martin has outlined all of the major plot points and arcs for major characters, so that in the event of his death or if the show is ready to finish before the novels are, they can finish it. GRRM could always change his mind, but as it stands now, the show writers aren't just guessing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merus Posted April 8, 2014 I believe when they started they also had a basic outline of what was important, which is why some stuff in Season 3 is there when it turns up in the books much later. Also it's a TV show so they keep the actors happy when they're in as many episodes as possible (and the actors do sort of resent how quickly their characters can be killed off). If a character's important later, they have to give the actor something to do otherwise they'll lose them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted April 8, 2014 I think there's a difference between keeping an actor involved/happy, and what they chose to do with Season 3 and Theon though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben X Posted April 8, 2014 On 4/7/2014 at 6:20 PM, Bjorn said: (Theon's story). Reveal hidden contents I cannot fathom why they focused so much on what happened with Theon. In the books, this is completely skipped. It's implied what happens, but never really shown. The show must spend a total of 40+ minutes focusing on what is just pure torture porn. Sure, it's establishing the sociopathic nature of the Boltons, but it feels like that could have been done in a lot less time while an entire episode worth of content could have been devoted to more interesting storylines. It's also "show don't tell" - they don't want to skip things and imply or report them later, that's bad telly. And in the books, Reveal hidden contents when he shows up again he's been completely brainwashed so I guess they needed to make that believable. It's always annoying to me when that kind of thing happens over only one or two scenes in a show (Person Of Interest got around this recently by having Reveal hidden contents a character broken down to reveal information over only a couple of scenes but moving the timeline on for the whole show by a month to show how long the character had taken to break down ). There probably is a more lascivious motive there as well, but iirc it was mostly Reveal hidden contents psychological torture, not Hostel-style gore shots..? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted April 8, 2014 Well, no. They just didn't show all of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben X Posted April 8, 2014 I haven't seen it since broadcast, so I can't really remember how gross it got; the stuff I remember is the Reveal hidden contents fake escape and the fake threesome/off-screen cock-chopping... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merus Posted April 8, 2014 It doesn't get too excessive from what I remember, other than standard HBO sexism; I honestly think part of it is to remind the viewer that as much as you might hate some of the S1 characters, there's even viler people out there and compared to them the Lannisters suddenly don't look too bad. It was vitally important, particularly because of the structure of Season 3 compared to the book, that they reminded viewers that they don't just have the Starks to root for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted April 8, 2014 What? People are rooting for the Starks? But the Lannisters are the heroes, they're the ones unifying the land and doing the best they can with a kingdom filled with rabble-rousers. They're clearly superior and deserve to win. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted April 8, 2014 I'm so happy S3 ended like it ended. The first episode of the new season was so much more enjoyable knowing I wouldn't have to follow that plotline. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted April 8, 2014 Clearly it bugged me more than other people, which is fine. I feel like it could have been handled better and with less time devoted to it, and still succeeded in "showing, not telling." It also ruins the introduction of Reveal hidden contents Reek, the new identity the bastard gives to Theon. To me, it's a lot more powerful to have Theon show back up as Reek, completely broken physically and mentally, and have to piece together what happened to him rather than just having it spelled out for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted April 8, 2014 Oh, I thought it was utter shit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
singing_pigs Posted April 8, 2014 Raise your hand if you never watch Game of Thrones but read wiki articles about it all the time. *hand*I dunno why, I often feel like I enjoy lore-heavy stories more if I feel like I'm "researching" them instead of watching/reading them as entertainment. Exact same thing as Lord of the Rings, I loved reading the Tolkien Illustrated Encyclopedia but couldn't get into the books/movies for whatever reason. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted April 8, 2014 On 4/8/2014 at 5:23 PM, singing_pigs said: Raise your hand if you never watch Game of Thrones but read wiki articles about it all the time. *hand* I dunno why, I often feel like I enjoy lore-heavy stories more if I feel like I'm "researching" them instead of watching/reading them as entertainment. Exact same thing as Lord of the Rings, I loved reading the Tolkien Illustrated Encyclopedia but couldn't get into the books/movies for whatever reason. I've done that with a ton of video games, stuff that I have a passing interest in, but very little interest in playing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted April 14, 2014 Game of Thrones, episode 2. Reveal hidden contents Complete comeback over my earlier misgivings. This stands as a shining example of how great it can be if they would choose to spend most of the episode around a single plot point and group of people. Instead of a bunch of random events happening in sequence to different factions, this episode was wonderfully set up around the wedding of king Joffrey, with a clear beginning, middle and end. And the good it does for it! It is immediately more engaging and memorable. And also, of course, a great catharsis with Joffrey dying a most horrible death. The consequences and mysteries are immense: who poisoned the cake? Was it really Ser Fool? I loved how both parents, Cersei and Jaime, were the only ones to rush in to save their son. But who will reign now? Margaery Tyrell is the obvious candidate, or will it be one of Cersei's other children? Legitimately, yes, but I suspect both Cersei and Tywinn will make a grab for the throne. The former to regain control, having been humiliated before, the latter to maintain Lannister power. But no doubt this will greatly unsettle things again. Stannis Baratheon will surely make another play, but I see no other likely challenger to come forward, notably since Daenarys is still frollicking in the desert. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted April 15, 2014 On 4/14/2014 at 5:50 PM, Rodi said: Game of Thrones, episode 2. Reveal hidden contents Complete comeback over my earlier misgivings. This stands as a shining example of how great it can be if they would choose to spend most of the episode around a single plot point and group of people. Instead of a bunch of random events happening in sequence to different factions, this episode was wonderfully set up around the wedding of king Joffrey, with a clear beginning, middle and end. And the good it does for it! It is immediately more engaging and memorable. And also, of course, a great catharsis with Joffrey dying a most horrible death. The consequences and mysteries are immense: who poisoned the cake? Was it really Ser Fool? I loved how both parents, Cersei and Jaime, were the only ones to rush in to save their son. But who will reign now? Margaery Tyrell is the obvious candidate, or will it be one of Cersei's other children? Legitimately, yes, but I suspect both Cersei and Tywinn will make a grab for the throne. The former to regain control, having been humiliated before, the latter to maintain Lannister power. But no doubt this will greatly unsettle things again. Stannis Baratheon will surely make another play, but I see no other likely challenger to come forward, notably since Daenarys is still frollicking in the desert. I agree, although the beginning of the episode was still more of the same. Reveal hidden contents Game of Thrones definitely finds its element as episodic TV when there's a big event around which to structure an episode, but each of Martin's books only has three or so big events, with the rest being bricklaying and gradual revelations. That lines up with there being three great episodes a season, five or six good episodes, and three or four downright boring ones that are entirely backfill. Also, less generally: Reveal hidden contents God, I hate Ramsay Snow. He is literally the most boring character, because he is unsympathetic and consistent. There are no surprises with him, even though that's something with anyone else, even Joffrey, who shows brief flickers of humanity. I can guess at every one of Ramsay's lines before he even walks onscreen and they're always just this kind of dull cruelty that serves to drive the plot forward. I hate having read the books and thus knowing that we'll be stuck with him in an escalating capacity for the foreseeable future. For those who have read the books: Reveal hidden contents I wish the writers were willing to make more substantive changes to Martin's plot, rather than just adding in implied scenes and fleshing out a few side characters, but weren't there some pretty subtle but important changes to the events of this episode? I'm sure that Shea's dismissal by Tyrion was less drawn out and heartfelt in the books, but Shea's character has in general been a victory of the show's writers over sexist source material, but didn't Tyrion also make an explicit threat against Joffrey's life immediately before the latter died in the books? Having Cersei just pull Tyrion's name out of a hat for the culprit makes her seem crazy and vindictive, when the Cersei from the book hardly needs to give that impression much more than she already does. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted April 15, 2014 Reveal hidden contents Very predictable of this show that they couldn't kill Joffrey until there was an even more boring sociopath in play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted April 15, 2014 Reveal hidden contents I have a feeling there will be another king now who will actually be more horrible than Joffrey. After all, all things considered Joffrey didn't actually do that many truly disastrous things. He was at most points checked by his family. It was more the threat of him turning into an insane murderer at some point soon that made him feel so dangerous and rotten to the core. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twig Posted April 17, 2014 AHH i just read a game of thrones spoiler before realizing that this is the first season of game of thrones where i don't know anything about it WELP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
