88 replies to this topic

[Ghost Cat]

I never clued into the relationship between Renly and Loras until my 3rd read through. I'm not sure we really needed to be slapped in the face with it either. I, too, never read into Renly being so weak. Kinder, perhaps, than others in the kingdom, but not weak, or afraid of blood. That's what bothered me. It does seem that things done subtly in the books are whacked about our heads in the series.

I wasn't keen on the Eyrie except the sky cells. That was beautifully done. How are they going to handle the door if the series gets that far? Even though this Lysa is skinny, she's got the crazy down pat.

Loved Hound vs Mountain and Nedd vs Jaime. Those were well done.

I gave it an 8+ (It had a 10 from the nudity but then the Renly scene brought it down)

[valacirca]

LOL:

Spoiler

"they say it's impregnable."
"give me ten good men and some climbing spikes and i'll impregnate the bitch."

[Loras]

I loved this episode, rated it a 9/10 - my highest rating so far.

I actually really liked the departures from the book!  Renly being afraid of blood was quite a nice nuance to his character and I felt it put his relationship with Loras on a more even keel than the way I felt it was portrayed in the book.  I think that this will have a good pay off further down the line, and is nice set up for what transpires in the next few episodes.

The other departure that I love is the redefined relationship between Cersei and Robert, the fact that they had a son which died - I'm happy that I called Cersei being sincere in the Episode 2 thread.  The scene between them had been hyped a great deal in the media, but for me it really payed off with Cersei gaining a greater depth than she does in the book.  

The Eyrie was beautiful!  The set designers on the series have done such an excellent job of giving each location its own distinct feeling and the Eyrie may be my favourite so far.  Although I am intrigued by the moon door and how that part of the story will play out.  The new title sequence showing the Eyrie was great!  I think next week is going to be a riot with the scenes set in this location!

Jory's death was horrific !  I didn't feel the same emotional connection to it as I did in the book though, I'd have loved to see Ned crawl over to the body as the final image.  

Ser Barristan continues to impress, what excellent casting!  His scene with Ned at the beginning of the episode was another stand out in an episode full of stand outs.

I wish that Sansa had been developed further in this episode, an opportunity missed I think.

The actor playing Bran is doing a fantastic job, but the character is starting to grate on me.  

Finally, a note on the fantastic chemistry between Gillen and Hill - I'm looking forward to their interactions SO much as the series continues.

[Max Stark]

Great Episode, I liked it much better than episode 4 and rated it somewhere between 8 and 9. Mostly because they focused on Kingslanding and stopped this weird scene by scene story telling of last week.

I liked the scene between Robert and Cersei, seemed to be authentic and quite interesting what they thought about their political marriage. While Loras shaving Renly seemed to be toally unnessecary. Also the fighting scenes were done quite well.

All in all it felt complete, even without Dany and Jon. Don't get me wrong, I like their acting well enough, but it was a wise choice to leave them out of this one. By the way, funny thing, even without a single Targaryen on screen, the Dothraki threat seemed to be much more present and real than in all of the last episodes together.

[ABeauty]

I really liked this one (with the exception of seeing more of Alfie Allan than I really wanted or needed to).  The added in scenes were all very believable in my opinion and confirmed things that were only hinted at in the books, aside from the Rob/Cersei baby bit. The scene between Varys and Littlefinger was delicious.

I can't think of anything here that I disliked - Lysa was how I pictured her (I never had her as fat in my mind) and there was definite 'ick' factor.  My 'bund wondered how they got that poor kid to film that, even with a fake breast.  Bet they'll show that at his wedding.

It seems to be really building momentum now so fingers crossed for the final 5 episodes.

[Arbor Red]

I thought it was a great episode, and the pacing finally felt about right.  I particularly like what they're doing with Jaime in the series.  In the books you don't really get much from him until book 3.

[M'lady Cynthia Rayder]

I thouight it was great too! I just finished reading GoT yesterday, so a few things puzzled me...
The Loras/Renly scene was one of them.. So far, I have yet to know that they are gay, from what I heave read. Also, I had no idea they had a relationship, so that was a shocker!
The Theon sex scene was great and a full frontal view was't bad either!
Lysa and he little boy, wow! That's just crazy! Just how I pictured it in the books...

I would have liked to see a bit more Sansa as well, others mentioned that same thing...

I also wonder why the mention again of the dead baby between Robert & Cersei, it builds a bond between them, but of course as a new reader to the series, I wonder if this is setting the way for more to come!

[cypselus]

Best so far, by far.  A "9".  It had action, was well-paced, quite funny, and no Dothraki!  The new scenes were all compelling in their own way, especially the Robert-Cersei scene.  I thought the fights looked a little cheesy, but that is a small thing.  

My wife asked me why no one thought it strange that Jaime was unmarried, apropos of his incestuous relationship, so I had to explain the Kingsguard.  The show hasn't made that rather important bit of exposition clear.

[Huan]

I thought the pacing and feel of the episode was the best so far. No quick switches between locations, due to only have two locations to switch between. Made me realize that as good as the show is, it could have been even better if they'd had more time, e.g. 12+ episodes, for the first season. Echoing what someone else said, I wish they'd had Ned crawling over to Jory at the end of the episode, but otherwise I thought the fight outside the brothel was very well done. My feeling on the fact that the scene was in full sunlight is that they're trying to achieve a unique atmosphere for each location, and rain doesn't fit for King's Landing - it's all bright sunlight and glare, to contrast with darker, colder and wetter Winterfell or the Wall.

[Lady Luffa]

TheEvilKing, on 16 May 2011 - 03:03 AM, said:

I guess because it's a (possible) male heir for Viserys. That seems important in determining whether to support a king. Also, if Viserys is killed during the invasion then the Targaryen sympathisers can still rally around the new kid as a candidate for the throne.

I think that they are bigger threat now with the child, because not only is it an heir to the Targs but also to the Dothraki. With a child the bond of marriage has become a real blood bond. Much harder to break than for example a childless marriage

Edited by Lady Lufa, 16 May 2011 - 10:21 AM.

[julandro]

We 5 episodes. I have to say that from my point of view, HBO, if they are cut into the sex scenes. I fear that the chain has been limited and did not want to extended longer. Let us not deceive us, I expected more.

[Tywin]

Some spoilers in my 'review' for potential non-book reading viewers... Beware. Apologies, I don't know how to hide stuff with spoiler tags etc...








Anyway.

Best episode thus far in terms of pacing. A few tiny things bothered me, but they were miniscule. Overall I give this a 8.

Favourite bits.

- Mountain smacking Loras from his saddle and the Hound stepping in.
- Littlefinger and Varys banter in the throne room.
- End fight outside of Littlefinger's brothel between Ned and Jaime.
- Arya seeing the dragon skull.
- Anything Tyrion says and Bronn kicking arse.
- Lysa being suitably weird. Just how I pictured her. Not quite how I pictured the Eyrie, but cool nevertheless. Totally how I pictured the Sky Cell though.


Good additions not from the books.

The scene with Cersei and Robert I felt was well done for fleshing Robert out a bit more than just a drunken lout I think. I think it was an understated pivotal moment personally in showing how loose everything is held together in terms of the power in Westeros - also gave Cersei a bit more substance beyond her being a bitch. Less necessary in the book, but vital I think for a TV format.

The scene with Theon and the prostitute provided some good exposition that shows he's got a chip on his shoulder, feels he has something to prove and will make his actions later on resonate all the more.

Minor annoyances.

Loras and Renly. It made Renly come off as too soft and unsure of himself. I think though that from the angle of a TV series, it's good for ratings to show that gay characters exist - makes the world seem more multidimensional.

The scene went on a bit too long though, the gayness was made too blatant and it over emphasised an aspect of Renly's character that was never there in the books. His whole fear of blood etc. I suppose, this sets things up for when he does go to war though later on - to show he has something to prove.

Sansa needs more exposition I think. I think more evidence of her realising her ideas of gallant knights and pretty gowns are childish fantasies in light of what's going on is needed.

Edited by Tywin, 16 May 2011 - 02:29 PM.

[LadyStormHeart]

My favorite episode so far.  I absolutely love Peter Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrion - seriously, he steals pretty much every scene he's in.  I also was not expecting full-frontal Theon... Hello!  I loved the scene between Loras and Renly; I still can't believe that after reading the books 3 or 4 times I never picked up that they were gay.  I found that theory on the boards and on the last read through I finally caught the signs.  I do think they are making Renly out to be a wuss, but I'm OK with it.  Also, the scene between Cersei and Robert was excellent.  The only thing I don't really care for is that they seem to be trying to make us sympathetic towards her, and I can't quite figure out why.  But either way, great so far.  The series gets better and better with each episode.

[valacirca]

This one felt like an 8/10 for me. I didn't exactly like the episode as much as most of the people here seem to have liked it, but one thing that the episode certainly had going for it is that it was the most focused episode thus far: No Wall scenes. No Dany scenes. It made the episode feel tight and well-paced.

One thing that I felt while watching this episode though: I found myself thinking that there are too many scenes throughout the show that merely consisted of two characters purely engaging in a dialogue to move the story forward. Lazy screenwriting, imo.

[Sancho]

I am very much disappointed with this week's entry. I feel like the sloppy writing and directing led to action sequences without the proper atmospheric build-up and to heavy-handed exposition and characterization lacking both depth and subtelty. Let me elaborate:

Gregor vs Loras: The tournament sequence felt out of place in this episode. It should have been edited into episode 4 instead, as it would have provided more thematic unity. Also, we just saw a total of two jousting matches spread over two episodes so it's hard to get emotionally invested. Maybe if we saw Jory, Sandor and Jaime joust in other rounds and had a set-up of the tournament structure in general, it would've played out better. As it was, yes we saw a big dude behead a horse but it lacked the emotional impact that it could've had.

Loras and Renly: Thanks HBO for brow-beating the viewer with their gayness. Was that really necessary? An ambiguous glance would've been enough. Instead, we get Littlefinger publicly outing the love-birds. But wait, let's also have Loras shave Renly's chest! And just in case that chest-shaving might not be obviously gay enough, let us also have Loras suck Renly off. And let's add some slurping sounds for good measure. Overkill much?

Theon and Ros: Ummm. More exposition meets sex-with-a-whore. Except that we learned nothing which we didn't already know from last week's tirade with Tyrion. And from this week's Bran and Luwin mythology exposé. Waste of scene topped off with gratuitous full-frontal nudity.

Littlefinger vs Varys: Yes, we know that they are both operators with many spies. It was already established. Do we need a pissing contest where they try to outdo each other in their sneakiness? "My spies saw you and Ned" "Well my spies saw you and Ned first!" "Well my spies saw your spies see my spies..." Out of character for both Varys and Littlefinger.

Ned and Jaime fight: Jory getting killed should've had more emotional impact. Instead we get a flashy blade-in-eye-socket stabbing that ultimately left me cold. Bad direction.

Tyrion and Cat arrive at the Eyrie: Yes, we get that Lysa is bat-shit crazy. But it might've been more effective to establish her crazyness a bit more gradually. Maybe stretch out the entry into the castle in a way as to make the breast-feeding 4 year old more effective. Instead we get a cut from a previous scene and BAM! Breast! Again, poor execution.

Cersei and Robert: One of the rare scenes that I liked this week. The great delivery from Mark Addy contributed some much needed depth to the King-Queen dynamic.

In summary, this episode (and, unfortunately, the series in general) felt like it was rushing trough various plot points. The character "development" scenes lacked subtlety, and I felt like I was being clobbered with character motivations and relationships instead of being allowed to feel them out trough action and natural dialogue. A well acted facial expression can communicate more than 5 minutes of exposition. I hope that I will be proved wrong, but I have lost faith in this adaptation.

5/10

[Hyper]

Sancho, on 16 May 2011 - 01:39 PM, said:

I hope that I will be proved wrong, but I have lost faith in this adaptation.

Don't worry, I'm sure you will be proven right somehow.

Edited by Hyper, 16 May 2011 - 01:57 PM.

[Bronn Stone]

7.  Too heavy on combat.  Tournament got short-shrifted.  Trip to Eyrie far too rushed.

[Nine of Spades]

Daenerys, on 16 May 2011 - 01:57 AM, said:

Slightly off-topic question: why is Dany's child considered so dangerous when there's already an existing, more direct, Targaryen heir in Viserys? Is it because they all know Veserys is so weak he wouldn't be a serious threat? I never understood that from the books and I never got it from the tv series either.

Viserys is still a beggar looking for an army. In their mind the son of a Khal wouldnt have to beg (though in truth thats assuming Westerosi customs).

[Songlian]

I gave it a 7, though it was more like 7.5.

As others have said before, the pacing and editing was really good. I loved the Jaime/Ned fighting scene, and every little bit of the Hand's Tourney. Short as it was, it was grrreat.

On the not so good side, I think they are exaggerating with the nudity. Did we really needed to see Theon banging Ros? I suppose that was essential for the plot somehow, since the entire scene lasted about as much as the feast at Winterfell did.  I don't agree that it was for showing Theon's character. Didn't Tyrion pressed sufficiently on that in the last episode?  Jaime to Jory, too? And even Theon stating it vaguely at one point to Bran? Ok, so the guy has self esteem issues. Nuff with the angst stuff already...

In that same note -- scenes that lasted too long and don't bring that much to the story -- Varys and Littlefinger,  Robert/Cersei. I wish they would have used that time to bring out more details from the scenes that were actually in the books. Though I do see how the Cersei/Robert one explains a few things, and I liked it lots.

Edit: Why they spilled out the gay factor between Loras and Renly right from the beginning it's beyond me.

Edited by Songlian, 16 May 2011 - 03:44 PM.

[GSP]

Too heavy on combat? Seasons two and three definitaly won't be up your alley then. Honestly, I can't wait till the gloves come off. Without combat, any given fantasy series is just a soap opera while wearing swords.