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shipperxI don't remember whether I posted about Sunday shows last week. At any rate, I found last week's Mad Men to be brilliant. This week, I thought it was mostly 'meh.' I liked the stuff with Ken but I don't have much to say about it other that Peter really was obnoxiously self-indulgent and whiney this week. More so than most of the time (and he's self-indulgent and whiney most of the time).
Titanic (Downton Abbey Version not Cameron Version) -- that was one bizarre structure. Made it excessively difficult to follow. I think the thing that amused me (but shouldn't) was of course the nicest character in the nicest couple had to die! It was like that old Charlie Sheen "Top Gun" spoof where the guy's nickname was "dead meat" (or something) because it was so obvious that he would be the one to die.
Game of Thrones This one I'll discuss in somewhat more detail.
The Red Waste:
Despite the opening credits, there was no visit across the Narrow Sea this week, which was fine because my memory of the first book was that Dany was wandering around that desert for a long time with nothing in particular happening, so I'm fine that she's off for a week. We know 'wandering the desert' is harrowing. We don't actually need to see that to understand it."
Beyond the Wall
Not a lot happening there either. Although (embarrassed) Jon looked hot once he was bloodied. That's weird because usually he looks so young to me. Beating the crap out of him... looked good (I'm not proud of that).
So, he discovered that Craster was leaving his babies to the Wights. Wonder what the Wights do to them. Do they eat them or do they raise them to be servants or part of their undead army or something? Were we given an answer in the books? I don't remember.
Then there's Sam and Gilly. I thought giving Gilly his mother's thimble was a very sweet way of reassuring her that he would be back for her. Last week, Jon actually had a point that they were continuing North rather than heading back to the wall. But if Sam just left...
Giving her the thimble as a promise that he would return was very thoughtful.
The Boys of Summer
I always thought that had circumstances been entirely different, had it been a time of peace and plenty and Renly had simply inherited the throne, he actually would be a decent king. He actually seemed concerned that people were happy. Of course, that's not particularly helpful when the only real question here is whether or not they survive. Happiness is a bit of a luxury.
And it is to be noted that Renly/Loras are actually one of the few pairings that's primarily about love. In the books, I had the impression that it was indeed love for those two.
It always amuses me when I read about people who read the books who didn't pick on on the Renly/Loras thing. Slashers everywhere must giggle. Good grief, Renly had the Rainbow Guard! And what did they think all that praying in private with just the two of them was supposed to be about? Did Renly actually come off as being that devout?
More than that, there's a scene in the book where Loras speaks of his one and only love, who did they think he was talking about? I mean, if not Renly then... who? His sister? (Actually, in Westeros that's not an unlikely assumption, it seems). But, really, other than Margery, who else did book readers think Loras was devoted to?
Speaking of Margery, cannot help but be amused by the way that she's been expanded here. Because of the way that POV's are handled in the book, Margery is always observed at a distance so what she really knows, doesn't know, does, and what she's responsible for is always left to interpretation. She's an enigma. Now we know -- the woman knows what she'd doing.
Re-watching the scene, Cat really isn't a good diplomat. She's a fairly good adviser for her son, but Cat was never blessed with great diplomacy and was blessed with a sense of righteous justification. That is her Achilles heel. Of all the Westerosi kings to play diplomat to, Renly is far and away the easiest to be diplomatic with.
The Iron Islands
First off, kudos to the guy playing Theon. Seriously. He's done a good job with the character. You can see what a douche he is... and yet he also manages to show that deep down Theon is really just weak and lost. At this point in reading the novel I was just disgusted by Theon. His POV just made him such a douchenozzle. The show though shows stuff that I think is actually there in the books but is overshadowed by what a dipshit Theon is. Theon actually has some legit grievances about his situation and we'd care about that if he weren't such a dipshit in the books. Here we can sort of understand where he's coming from (though Yara isn't wrong about her arriving at an idea of who he was and that being enough to turn her off. In the books I much prefer Yara to Theon. I can understand why she's less than thrilled about his return. But in the show -- freed of the unending barrage of his misogyny -- I can see his side of it. It isn't his fault he was sent to the Starks. I think Balon cannot stand the sight of Theon because Theon was right, for all of Balon's grand words, Balon bent the knee to the Starks. So where does he get off criticizing his son for having been raised a hostage? Balon was why Theon was a hostage. I think the reason Balon doesn't actually want Theon back is less to do with Theon's relationship with the Starks and more to do with Balon's greatest defeat. He lost to the Starks and in his mind Theon represents that.
And while Theon was raised among the Starks he was not a Stark. Ned Stark was kind to Theon, but he did not treat him as a son. Theon grew up without a father and he craves his father's approval. Too bad his father is a bitter old man who sees Theon as representative of his greatest failure.
Theon is an example of what bad weakness can do. Theon actually isn't malicious. He doesn't start anything with malicious intent. But his weakness can lead him to bad decisions. Very bad.
King's Landing
Speaking of Achilles' heels, I think that in the book Cersei has Tyrion's Achilles' heel wrong. She says at some point that Tyrions greatest weakness is his need to be loved. No, that isn't it. True it is a chink in his armor, but his greatest Achilles heel is thinking that he's the smartest man in the room -- every room. It leds him to make an almost Ned-like mistake in assumption -- being too blunt in what he does. The ones who couch their plans in subterfuge and don't take credit for them last much longer. Tyrion wants credit. He's smarter than everyone else and wants them to know it (through awesome quips!). But it's also something that irritates those around him and can lead him to trouble.
That said, even in the books I enjoyed the Tyrion/Varys dynamic. Their scenes in the book struck me as though Varys met Tyrion and thought "Now this I can work with." Varys always has his own plans, and I usually have the impression that he's sizing people up based on those plans (whatever they may be). Varys and Tyrion speak sort of the same language, so I always thought that while Varys certainly won't tie himself to any one person, there's a sense of "these two can appreciate one another". They're both underestimated outsiders with above average intelligence. As long as they have a common purpose, they get along fine (if they're at cross purposes, though, that could be dangerous. I think under those circumstances... I'd probably bet on Varys even though I do love Tyrion.)
Also...
"Cut off his manhood and feed it to the goats."
"There are no goats, half-man!"
"Well, make do!"
And then tipping the prostitute... twice.
Poor Sansa. And my gosh that young actress has become tall and strikingly beautiful. I pretty much think her characterization was spot on here. She's in a horrific situation and is way out to sea. In the books she was always a character where I either wanted to hug and comfort her... or shake her. She's a young girl in a horrible situation without the necessary tools to do anything about it. And she's someone who is limited by being a young girl who has swallowed a lot of fairytales about how things 'should be' -- hence the dual reaction of wanting to comfort and coddle her and wanting to shake her in frustration. She evokes both reactions.
Ah Cersei, the woman has no problem with double standards. She holds an enormous grudge over having been in the political marriage she didn't want but she's more than willing to force it on Sansa. And she knows she's doing it, and yet when it appears the same might be done to Myrcella, she has a cow. What's sauce for goose... isn't sauce for anyone else. Then again, what did Myrcella ever do to anyone? That said, in her world, what else is there but a politcal alliance? And there are worse ones than House Martel. Tyrion isn't wrong about what would happen were King's Landing to fall. (or if there was a rebellion from within). Tyrion does actually care for his niece even if he loathes his sister. He actually isn't plotting against Myrcella.
On the King's Road
I don't remember Ayra's misadventure going by quite so quickly. I remember the fire, but wasn't the fire... bigger?
And, wasn't Lommy killed later?
Still, I can see what they were doing there so I'm more noting than quibbling about that.
Also, bright move on Ayra's part, protecting Gendry. At least Lommy served some purpose.
Poor Yoren died valiantly. And before he shuffled the mortal coil, he gave Arya the concept of a nightly 'prayer'. Arya's story always fascinated me because she started out as a very honest, open, loving child and through her eyes we see the toll of war. I worry about Ayra because of this. She's strong. She's very strong. But is that strength allowing her to survive even as it damages her in so many unseen ways? I worry about Arya.
Titanic (Downton Abbey Version not Cameron Version) -- that was one bizarre structure. Made it excessively difficult to follow. I think the thing that amused me (but shouldn't) was of course the nicest character in the nicest couple had to die! It was like that old Charlie Sheen "Top Gun" spoof where the guy's nickname was "dead meat" (or something) because it was so obvious that he would be the one to die.
Game of Thrones This one I'll discuss in somewhat more detail.
The Red Waste:
Despite the opening credits, there was no visit across the Narrow Sea this week, which was fine because my memory of the first book was that Dany was wandering around that desert for a long time with nothing in particular happening, so I'm fine that she's off for a week. We know 'wandering the desert' is harrowing. We don't actually need to see that to understand it."
Beyond the Wall
Not a lot happening there either. Although (embarrassed) Jon looked hot once he was bloodied. That's weird because usually he looks so young to me. Beating the crap out of him... looked good (I'm not proud of that).
So, he discovered that Craster was leaving his babies to the Wights. Wonder what the Wights do to them. Do they eat them or do they raise them to be servants or part of their undead army or something? Were we given an answer in the books? I don't remember.
Then there's Sam and Gilly. I thought giving Gilly his mother's thimble was a very sweet way of reassuring her that he would be back for her. Last week, Jon actually had a point that they were continuing North rather than heading back to the wall. But if Sam just left...
Giving her the thimble as a promise that he would return was very thoughtful.
The Boys of Summer
I always thought that had circumstances been entirely different, had it been a time of peace and plenty and Renly had simply inherited the throne, he actually would be a decent king. He actually seemed concerned that people were happy. Of course, that's not particularly helpful when the only real question here is whether or not they survive. Happiness is a bit of a luxury.
And it is to be noted that Renly/Loras are actually one of the few pairings that's primarily about love. In the books, I had the impression that it was indeed love for those two.
It always amuses me when I read about people who read the books who didn't pick on on the Renly/Loras thing. Slashers everywhere must giggle. Good grief, Renly had the Rainbow Guard! And what did they think all that praying in private with just the two of them was supposed to be about? Did Renly actually come off as being that devout?
More than that, there's a scene in the book where Loras speaks of his one and only love, who did they think he was talking about? I mean, if not Renly then... who? His sister? (Actually, in Westeros that's not an unlikely assumption, it seems). But, really, other than Margery, who else did book readers think Loras was devoted to?
Speaking of Margery, cannot help but be amused by the way that she's been expanded here. Because of the way that POV's are handled in the book, Margery is always observed at a distance so what she really knows, doesn't know, does, and what she's responsible for is always left to interpretation. She's an enigma. Now we know -- the woman knows what she'd doing.
Re-watching the scene, Cat really isn't a good diplomat. She's a fairly good adviser for her son, but Cat was never blessed with great diplomacy and was blessed with a sense of righteous justification. That is her Achilles heel. Of all the Westerosi kings to play diplomat to, Renly is far and away the easiest to be diplomatic with.
The Iron Islands
First off, kudos to the guy playing Theon. Seriously. He's done a good job with the character. You can see what a douche he is... and yet he also manages to show that deep down Theon is really just weak and lost. At this point in reading the novel I was just disgusted by Theon. His POV just made him such a douchenozzle. The show though shows stuff that I think is actually there in the books but is overshadowed by what a dipshit Theon is. Theon actually has some legit grievances about his situation and we'd care about that if he weren't such a dipshit in the books. Here we can sort of understand where he's coming from (though Yara isn't wrong about her arriving at an idea of who he was and that being enough to turn her off. In the books I much prefer Yara to Theon. I can understand why she's less than thrilled about his return. But in the show -- freed of the unending barrage of his misogyny -- I can see his side of it. It isn't his fault he was sent to the Starks. I think Balon cannot stand the sight of Theon because Theon was right, for all of Balon's grand words, Balon bent the knee to the Starks. So where does he get off criticizing his son for having been raised a hostage? Balon was why Theon was a hostage. I think the reason Balon doesn't actually want Theon back is less to do with Theon's relationship with the Starks and more to do with Balon's greatest defeat. He lost to the Starks and in his mind Theon represents that.
And while Theon was raised among the Starks he was not a Stark. Ned Stark was kind to Theon, but he did not treat him as a son. Theon grew up without a father and he craves his father's approval. Too bad his father is a bitter old man who sees Theon as representative of his greatest failure.
Theon is an example of what bad weakness can do. Theon actually isn't malicious. He doesn't start anything with malicious intent. But his weakness can lead him to bad decisions. Very bad.
King's Landing
Speaking of Achilles' heels, I think that in the book Cersei has Tyrion's Achilles' heel wrong. She says at some point that Tyrions greatest weakness is his need to be loved. No, that isn't it. True it is a chink in his armor, but his greatest Achilles heel is thinking that he's the smartest man in the room -- every room. It leds him to make an almost Ned-like mistake in assumption -- being too blunt in what he does. The ones who couch their plans in subterfuge and don't take credit for them last much longer. Tyrion wants credit. He's smarter than everyone else and wants them to know it (through awesome quips!). But it's also something that irritates those around him and can lead him to trouble.
That said, even in the books I enjoyed the Tyrion/Varys dynamic. Their scenes in the book struck me as though Varys met Tyrion and thought "Now this I can work with." Varys always has his own plans, and I usually have the impression that he's sizing people up based on those plans (whatever they may be). Varys and Tyrion speak sort of the same language, so I always thought that while Varys certainly won't tie himself to any one person, there's a sense of "these two can appreciate one another". They're both underestimated outsiders with above average intelligence. As long as they have a common purpose, they get along fine (if they're at cross purposes, though, that could be dangerous. I think under those circumstances... I'd probably bet on Varys even though I do love Tyrion.)
Also...
"Cut off his manhood and feed it to the goats."
"There are no goats, half-man!"
"Well, make do!"
And then tipping the prostitute... twice.
Poor Sansa. And my gosh that young actress has become tall and strikingly beautiful. I pretty much think her characterization was spot on here. She's in a horrific situation and is way out to sea. In the books she was always a character where I either wanted to hug and comfort her... or shake her. She's a young girl in a horrible situation without the necessary tools to do anything about it. And she's someone who is limited by being a young girl who has swallowed a lot of fairytales about how things 'should be' -- hence the dual reaction of wanting to comfort and coddle her and wanting to shake her in frustration. She evokes both reactions.
Ah Cersei, the woman has no problem with double standards. She holds an enormous grudge over having been in the political marriage she didn't want but she's more than willing to force it on Sansa. And she knows she's doing it, and yet when it appears the same might be done to Myrcella, she has a cow. What's sauce for goose... isn't sauce for anyone else. Then again, what did Myrcella ever do to anyone? That said, in her world, what else is there but a politcal alliance? And there are worse ones than House Martel. Tyrion isn't wrong about what would happen were King's Landing to fall. (or if there was a rebellion from within). Tyrion does actually care for his niece even if he loathes his sister. He actually isn't plotting against Myrcella.
On the King's Road
I don't remember Ayra's misadventure going by quite so quickly. I remember the fire, but wasn't the fire... bigger?
And, wasn't Lommy killed later?
Still, I can see what they were doing there so I'm more noting than quibbling about that.
Also, bright move on Ayra's part, protecting Gendry. At least Lommy served some purpose.
Poor Yoren died valiantly. And before he shuffled the mortal coil, he gave Arya the concept of a nightly 'prayer'. Arya's story always fascinated me because she started out as a very honest, open, loving child and through her eyes we see the toll of war. I worry about Ayra because of this. She's strong. She's very strong. But is that strength allowing her to survive even as it damages her in so many unseen ways? I worry about Arya.
