Jun 23 2011

GOT: Finale

Category: Uncategorized — podrey @ 6:40 pm

Too soon, it’s over, but what a ride it’s been!

This episode started right where the last, heart-wrenching episode left off – with the bloody sword that chopped of Ned’s head. Despite being dead, Ned does make one more appearance in the form of a head sitting atop a spike, which King Turd, first of his name, forces Sansa to look at. The scene between them atop the wall is great, and the murderous look in Sansa’s eyes is wonderful. She is set up for amazing growth next season, and i think all the people who hated her this season will grow to love her as i have.

There is a little more plot development, but most of the episode is setting up each character’s adventures for Season 2. Arya is now Arry the orphan and falls in with her rag-tag bunch of that’s headed for the Wall. Jon and the men already on the Wall are heading beyond it, to face whatever menace lies beyond. Tyrion is getting sent to King’s Landing to serve as the King’s Hand. Robb is now King in the North. (“The King in the North!!”) What a great scene. And Dany…

Dany has woken up from her terrible ordeal to learn that her son was born as a monster and is dead. Khal Drogo still lives, but he is a vegetable. She tries to revive him by telling him about their many happy memories, but it is no use. The maegi reveals that she was basically teaching her a lesson. Dany learned the real lesson, though “only death can pay for life” and extracts the maegi’s life on Drogo’s funeral pyre. The result? Dragons!

An excellent season, can’t wait for the next one. To tide me over, i’m working on a a reread of the first four books (two down, two to go), and book 5 A Dance with Dragons is coming out on July 12!

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Jun 15 2011

GOT: Episodes 7, 8 & 9

Category: Uncategorized — podrey @ 9:50 pm

Too quickly, we are approaching the season finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones. One episode left, this Sunday at 9 pm.

Episode 7: You Win or You Die – After the shit hit the fan last week, with Ned getting attacked in the street and Tyrion winning his freedom in the court of swords, things were a little calmer in this episode. All the actors are superb, especially Littlefinger and Queen Cersei. So far on the show, they have done exposition (backstory) while some sort of sex scene is going on in the background. This episode is no different, with Littlefinger’s story in the brothel. It’s a bit over the top. Cersei has a nice exposition scene about her wedding night, again bringing up Lyanna. They have done a good job reminding viewers about the important deceased characters.

Episode 8: The Pointy End – Superb scene with Syrio. I know a lot of fans have held out hope that Syrio gets away, but they leave it just as open-ended in the TV show as they did in the book. Can’t imagine that he got away, personally. And Ser Meryn does survive, we know. Tyrion’s clansmen are less intimidating than i wanted, and much of their banter with Tyrion was cut. Ned’s in the dungeon now, and i was wondering if they would somehow fit in his dream/flashback about the Tower of Joy. I talked to my mom about the show after this episode, and she told me a few different ways she thought Ned would get out of his jam.

Episode 9: Baelor – More Harry Potter actors! Filch makes a nasty old crank in Walder Frey. Tonks has been great as Osha the Wildling as well. Ned’s still in his cell, and there’s still no Tower of Joy. I guess that would be hard to do without giving away one of the big secrets. Maester Aemon had a good monologue where he did his big reveal to Jon Snow. Totally lame that they knocked Tyrion out during the battle of the Green Fork. I guess battle scenes are expensive. And where is Roose Bolton? Shae was foreign, that was a surprise. Not at all what i imagined, but i’ll keep an open mind; they must have chosen this actress for a reason. In the Dothraki camp, things aren’t going so well for Dany. Mirri Maz Dur isn’t yet as sinister as she is supposed to be, but she will get hers. The final scene is of course, the scene outside the Great Sept of Baelor. Any reader of the books knew what was happening in the final scene after seeing the title. I knew it was coming, knew it, and still bawled like a little child. That has to be one of the best, most gut-wrenching death scenes ever. With the daughters screaming and crying. Magnificent.

Love it love it love it. Mom called me immediately after watching the last scene and expressed her disbelief. I love hearing her take on it as she is new to the series and doesn’t know what’s going to happen in advance.

I have a new actor to swoon over, too, at least until Jacob Black returns this fall. Jaime Lannister, i hate your House, but maybe i’ll keep you in my dungeon.

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May 18 2011

GOT: Episodes 3 & 4 & 5

Category: Uncategorized — podrey @ 5:57 pm

I am surprised at how quickly the TV version of Game of Thrones moves through the events in the books. I guess there are only 9 episodes, so it makes sense we would be in the very thick of it by now. The shit really hit the fan with the latest in episode 5.

It’s all just SO GOOD. The casting is amazing, and the story is coming to life.

There are so many good lines, too. My favorite by far is Danaerys’ line: “The next time you raise a hand to me, will be the last time you have hands!”

Jon & Sam remind me a LOT right now of Frodo and Samwise from LOTR. And Treebeard even made an appearance in Episode 5 – Lysa and SweetRobin were sitting on something that looked suspiciously like Treebeard in the main audience chamber of the Eyrie. How creepy was that, by the way!?! The breastfeeding 8-year old. Lysa was made to appear even more nutso than in the books.

Lots of characters and backstory – sometimes i wonder how the non-readers keep up.

Hard to believe we’re already more than half done with this season. Can’t wait for Sunday!

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Apr 27 2011

GOT Episodes 1 & 2

Category: Uncategorized — podrey @ 6:07 pm

I love love love HBO’s new show Game of Thrones.  I just want to smooch it.

First off, this is HBO.  There is lots of adult content, profanity, nudity, sex, violence.  If this is not your cup of tea, no need for you to watch the show and you probably won’t be too interested in hearing me talk about it.

I’ve watched the first episode maybe three or four times and the second episode twice.  It’s good.  Very true to the story told in the books, and i love seeing the characters come to life!  There are other places where the basic plot is recounted scene by scene (great summaries if you haven’t been watching), so i’ll skip that part and go straight to my thoughts on it.

The Wall is immense.  Breathtaking.  The first scene is appropriately scary and other-worldly.  We are introduced to the Others White Walkers.  (LOST stole the term Others, i guess. Too bad because now the characters can’t say “The Others take you!” when cursing someone else.) The Walkers don’t appear quite as i imagined them, but they were scary enough.  After the first scenes, there aren’t any further fantastical elements in the series, at least not so far.  The White Walkers are referenced as having been “gone for thousands of years” but no one seems to take this threat seriously, as there are other more pressing concerns for the realm.

The casting is superb.  King Robert and Illyrio are not nearly as fat as they are supposed to be, but everyone else is pretty much spot on.  They did a great job with family resemblances, which are so important to the storyline.  Joffrey is the slimy little turd that you love to hate.  Cersei is perfect in her absolute evilness and ambition for power. And Viserys totally gives me the creeps.  But Peter Dinklage as Tyrion is the one who truly steals the show.  He’s perfect, portraying the many sides of Tyrion the dwarf already in just two episodes and limited screen time – the drunk lecher, the loving uncle, the scheming politician

The wolf pups are not as present as they are in the books.  They are there, and boy are they cute, but their scenes are a little awkward sometimes.  It’s hard to work with animals, though.

In the first episode, Dany is sold into marriage to the savage Drogo, and at first i was dismayed that their initial encounters were so, well, barbaric.  But it becomes clear in the second episode that they are in fact going to grow that relationship into something real, and i like how the directors have handled that story arc.

My least favorite line is when King Robert says “There’s a war coming, Ned.  I don’t know when, and i don’t know who we’ll be fighting, but it’s coming.”  How ridiculous.  How can you know a war is coming if you have no inkling of who your enemies will be?  Surely you have to have some idea about enemies of the state to make a proclamation like that.

Overall, it’s fabulous.  Can’t wait to see the next episode, where the intrigues get thick down in King’s Landing.

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Apr 16 2011

Winter Is Coming

Category: Uncategorized — podrey @ 8:19 am

I haven’t mentioned this really, mainly because it has snuck up on me.  This Sunday night (tomorrow!) is the season premier of HBO’s newest series Game of Thrones.

I am uber-excited.

Why?  Well, this series is based on my favoritest series of books by my favoritest author.  Book 1 in A Song of Ice and Fire is called A Game of Thrones.  And it’s about to be brought to life!

I have seen previews and snippets of the first episode.  I have watched many cast interviews.  The cast is amazing, by the way.  Sean Bean is featured as the main protagonist, and Peter Dinklage is one of the antagonists.  Many great actors fill out the supporting roles, and almost all the press coverage from the lucky few to have seen early screenings has been positive.

The story is set in the medieval-type country of Westeros.  Seven powerful families exist in the realm.  Two of them are conjoined in marriage and hold the Iron Throne as the story begins, but power is a precarious thing.  A series of events quickly causes all kinds of shit to hit the fans.  There are lots of plots and intrigues, as well as action, war and swords.  There is sex and violence, complicated relationships.  Oh, and dragons.  (Not really.)  (Well, at least not at first…)

HBO is committed to the series, and has a unique marketing plan, including complimentary rides in Iron Throne pedicabs in NYC (pictured above).  Oh how i wish i could ride in one!

Nathan & Heather are coming to visit this weekend, and they may be forced to watch the premier with me.  I’ll probably watch it several times, and maybe even blog about each episode if i am so inclined.  And unless you are watching also, or have read the books, you can just skip those posts.  But Robert and should be able to discuss them at length.

So excited!!

HBO is trying to appeal to a large audience, not just fans of the books like me.  If you have HBO, give it a shot.  It will be good, i guarantee it.

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