HBO's A Game of Thrones

[Henry Gale]

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That article fails to mention that he also got decapitated that night, which I'm going to assume didn't stop his thirst either.

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[Irish]

I find this oddly satisfying:

[[ETM]]

I find this oddly satisfying:

No, THIS is satisfying:
[youtube]rxLOXUGmRKI[/youtube]

[Sxottlan]

No, THIS is satisfying:
[youtube]rxLOXUGmRKI[/youtube]

Most satisfying.

[Irish]

Most satisfying.

I watched it at least five times now. :lol:

[ledfloyd]

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/t...iew/index.html

great summation of the series to date.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Just got caught up last night. Those last three episodes were brilliantly crafted and performed. Peter Dinklage is sooooo good. He shines above everyone else, but really, the entire cast is great. I have a week left of classes, and as soon as they're over, I'm reading the second book.

[[ETM]]

The soundtrack is also available. It's a surprisingly decent, moody standalone listen, because too often TV music dissolves into minute-long incidental pieces. I wish the show used it more obviously sometimes, it's pretty buried in the sound mix.

[Sxottlan]

Wow.

It's going to be a long winter.

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Maybe it was the echo of the crypt, but I thought I heard two voices when the youngest Stark spoke his last line in the scene. It almost sounded like Eddard. I could be just imagining things.

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[Irish]

I finished the first book before viewing the last episode and .. wow. Watching that was kinda like getting the Cliff Notes version of the last 15% or so of the novel.

It was neat to see the stuff they added (mostly fluff scenes) and how things played differently, especially the scene between Tyrion and his father.

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And wow, the TV show really downplayed Joffrey's psychotic brutality and just how much trouble Sansa really seems to be in. That part didn't come off nearly as well in the episode as it did in the book.

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[Irish]

Anyone else find the duel between Dany's protector and the aggressive horseman poorly handled, though? I was also disappointed by the lack of a battle scene as there was some genuine tension in the book during that sequence.

Having now read those sections of the book, yes on both counts.

Especially the lack of battle scenes. The way they handled that was clever in the show, but it also makes Tyrion's character slightly different. (Personally, I think he's stronger and more interesting in the book).

[[ETM]]

It's tricky for the show to get more intricate with certain things. As with LOTR, I keep reading comments about how something that was added could have been replaced with something from the source which was removed, but only THEN it would look like Cliff Notes, which would suck for non-readers, and still wouldn't satisfy the fanatics.

As for Joffrey - I think enough was implied to create mental images equal of worse than what could have been shown. Kind of like

the tongue-cutting in the background in the opening... just the warming of the knife, and the blurred screams in the background were more than enough to make one's skin crawl.

BTW, the director of this episode, Alan Taylor, who did one more in S1, will direct four episodes in S2. He did a great job with the finale, so that is certainly good news.

[Thirdmango]

Loved that ending sequence. I was considering reading the books but seeing as how Irish seems to get less satisfaction from the show after reading it, I think I'll stick to just the show.

[[ETM]]

I have started on the first book, and so far it seems to me that seeing the show, and then catching up to it book-wise is not a bad way to go about it. What I read didn't spoil my impression of the show, but made for great mental images on its own. I didn't just see the show play out as I read, and that's great.

[ledfloyd]

there was a brief moment between my finishing the killing and starting game of thrones where i wondered if i'd ever be able to enjoy tv again. thanks game of thrones, for restoring the faith.

[Lucky]

I find it interesting that the show is firmly continuing its "tell, not show" approach to adaptation. There were a couple visual moments that I figured would have been included in Dany's storyline that were notably absent or dulled down.

The first and most surprising to me was the birthing sequence. Perhaps they wanted to mute the mystical elements of the show in order to avoid alienating the audience?

I was expecting more from the funeral pyre scene. I wanted it to be a truly epic moment - wide shots, the burning of her clothes (and hair in the novel, but they understandably chose against that), the hatching of the eggs, the emergence of the "phoenix." It should have been more of a grand transformation of her character visually, I was left a bit unimpressed where I expected to be wowed. It was the closing moment of the season, afterall.

Aside from that I liked how things went not only in the finale, but throughout the whole season. And I can now say I think the show has a truly great cast. I was iffy on Emilia Clarke (Dany) at first but she really won me over. Even Sophie Turner (Sansa) ended up being alright.

Best Episode is still #9.

[Irish]

The first and most surprising to me was the birthing sequence. Perhaps they wanted to mute the mystical elements of the show in order to avoid alienating the audience?

Huh? Rhaego's birth isn't shown in the books either. Dany learns about it second hand from the maegi, as she does in the TV show.

It should have been more of a grand transformation of her character visually, I was left a bit unimpressed where I expected to be wowed. It was the closing moment of the season, afterall.

Agreed on this. Definitely felt slighter on the show.

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Although I find the image of two baby dragons nursing from Dany to be a completely and utterly ridiculous image, as it's described in the books.

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[Irish]

Loved that ending sequence. I was considering reading the books but seeing as how Irish seems to get less satisfaction from the show after reading it, I think I'll stick to just the show.

I think you'll be fine reading the books during the break.

I wouldn't suggest doing what I did -- I finished reading the first novel and immediately watched the episode covering the material I had just completed.

It makes the TV episode seem a slight, oddly staccato version of the story. There's a subtext (or really, just text) in the books when Tywin Lannister talks to Tyrion about heading to King's Landing.

In the book...

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Tyrion is shocked and then pleased that his father is paying him any amount of respect at all. Until Tyrion figures out that the old man has given up Jaime for dead and that the only reason Lord Tywin is being "nice" is because he figures the dwarf is all he has left.

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That's a nice little character moment for both Tyrion and Tywin that's missing from the TV episode. While it's not absolutely crucial to the plot, it does inform on both their characters in interesting ways, and its absence from the show changes both of them just slightly.

The same thing happens with Sansa. She's got several interactions with The Hound that are wholly missing from the TV show. I can understand why the producers did it their way, but at the same time I can't help but have a "But wait! You skipped all the great stuff where..." kind of reaction when watching after reading.

[[ETM]]

I got shivers from the last scene. It felt perfectly epic and her transformation was evident. It was also clear that the dragons stuck to her as their mother, nursing them would be a bit over the top. I like it this way - it's not seen, but it's possible that she did it, so everyone wins.

And it's one of the most frequent complaints by readers - "it's more majestic/epic/beautiful in the book". Like with the eggs hatching - the shell cracking just as the lightning hits the sky is all great on the page, but I much prefer the grounded, "realistic" approach the show takes with the visuals. The slow reveal of the beasts in Dany's lap is so much more powerful from a purely narrative angle - I bet those who had no idea the eggs would hatch gasped at that moment of slow burning intensity, while it sinks in just what that means for the future.

[ledfloyd]

i haven't read the books, but i found the image of dany naked among the ashes sufficiently wowing.

[[ETM]]

In the book...

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Tyrion is shocked and then pleased that his father is paying him any amount of respect at all. Until Tyrion figures out that the old man has given up Jaime for dead and that the only reason Lord Tywin is being "nice" is because he figures the dwarf is all he has left.

]

You know, that is EXACTLY what I got just from Tywin's words: "But you're my son". That's the beauty of it - it's in his face, and it's in Tyrion's eyes that he knows it. Watch it again, as I just love that beat between them. That's just the beauty of it - so many powerful moments on the show are of just these wonderful actors using what a writer doesn't have at his disposal to speak volumes within a quick glance.

Jaime Lannister is another example: on another forum, someone complained that he seemed a bit of a "blank Lannister", a two-dimensional figure without depth. I gave an analysis of him as a character based solely on his (arguably rare) scenes with his sister, father, enemies, and the hints Koster-Waldau provides with his performance alone. I've been told by a couple of readers that I basically nailed it, as, apparently, he gains a much more important role and considerable depth in the future. I've almost argued with "readers" over such minutiae, as they often complained how something "wasn't clear or evident enough" and that the audiences won't "get it"... it's there, at times subtle, but certainly accessible.

[Lucky]

Huh? Rhaego's birth isn't shown in the books either. Dany learns about it second hand from the maegi, as she does in the TV show.

True, true. I was wrong to say it was notably absent in the show. I'm still surprised they did not visualize it, though. They even slighted the whole maegi sequence. I remember in the book it had pretty ominous signs of dancing shadows and horrific sounds that didn't really come off in the show. When Dany was rushed in to give birth in Ep#9, I didn't think that's the last we'd see of it. That's just the style they chose to adapt, it's not really a complaint.

The show seems more driven by character and nails subtlety (which I love - and is the improvement over the book), but it loses to the novel with the epic, grandiose moments. Which is what I find so curious about this show as I've illustrated in my past couple posts in this thread. 9 times out of 10 book --> screen adaptations work the other way around. I also wish the score was utilized more or at least amplified, ETM, as I think that would help regain some of the epic feel that feels diluted to me. Actually, now that I think about it and look back, I can't remember a time the score was used with memorable effect throughout the whole season.

[Lucky]

And it's one of the most frequent complaints by readers - "it's more majestic/epic/beautiful in the book". Like with the eggs hatching - the shell cracking just as the lightning hits the sky is all great on the page, but I much prefer the grounded, "realistic" approach the show takes with the visuals.

With nearly any other show I would agree with you, but this is a genre show. I want epic moments like that. I've accepted this realm, take me to lofty heights that other television worlds can't even offer. I mean, she just walked through fire to gather her three dragon hatchlings! Haha, I actually find the "realistic" approach a bit of a letdown in this case.

While I'll admit it's not quite a fair comparison as True Blood is far less rooted in reality than GoT, I had the same complaint about it this past season. I missed the grand fantasy moments that the earlier episodes offered (Sookie drinking vamp blood for the first time, the grand loss of her virginity, etc.) That's what makes fantasy shows like this worth watching.

[[ETM]]

I also wish the score was utilized more or at least amplified, ETM, as I think that would help regain some of the epic feel that feels diluted to me. Actually, now that I think about it and look back, I can't remember a time the score was used with memorable effect throughout the whole season.

I have said it before, it's pretty buried in the mix. But I got the feeling that they amped up the score quite a bit for the final three episodes. For example, both the final scene at The Wall and Dany's dragon reveal were pretty powerfully underscored.

[Irish]

I remember in the book it had pretty ominous signs of dancing shadows and horrific sounds that didn't really come off in the show. When Dany was rushed in to give birth in Ep#9, I didn't think that's the last we'd see of it. That's just the style they chose to adapt, it's not really a complaint.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Totally agreed. IIRC, the TV show actually cuts when Dany starts moving toward the spooky tent, and then doesn't return to her story for the rest of that episode so the sequence lacks the level of detail found in the novels.

The show jettisons a lot of the supporting characters. Dany isn't constantly surrounded by handmaidens or getting shit form Khal Drogo's bloodriders. That last episode felt particularly sparse in that regard.

They might require a leaner cast for budget reasons, but I think it actually hurts Dany's story more than the others.

The show seems more driven by character and nails subtlety (which I love - and is the improvement over the book), but it loses to the novel with the epic, grandiose moments.

Again, totally agreed. One of my beefs with the first novel (and GRRM's style) is that it has no subtlety at all. I mean, outside the occasional archaic Old English/Germanic vocabulary the thing is written at like a 5th grade level. There's no need to read between any lines because GRRM very explicitly spells everything out for you, spoon feeding every emotional reaction in every character.

Actually, now that I think about it and look back, I can't remember a time the score was used with memorable effect throughout the whole season.

I enjoy the level of restraint they're showing. Usually with subject matter like this, the score assaults your ears as the producers try and punch up every quiet moment, forcing an emotional reaction in the audience that's not quite on screen.