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Dragon greyscale

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Hedge Knight

Hedge Knight (5/8)

  1. Could not agree more :) I've just seen too many posts along the lines of "DD think they're better writers" or "GRRM can teach DD a lesson" as if the entire creative process of the whole show came down to who wrote a single episode. That's why I couldn't resist my earlier post.
  2. So the same was true for Blackwater then? He was given the outline for that episode and didn't have much to say about it? Credit where credit's due. But the opposite is also true.
  3. I did not read the whole thread but two small moments stood out for me in this episode: 1. Tyrion's 'I told you so' glance at Bronn about the pronunciation of some weird author name 2. Arya's 'so?' glance/shrug at jaquen about her having no honor. Who cares..:) These nonverbal signs are one of the benefits of the medium. Really terrific acting. Sometimes dialogue and words are overrated
  4. Hear hear. I second that. Both have pros and cons. The books are very rich in characters and world building but they can also become bogged down by that richness. The tv-show is an excellent drama, very suspenseful and entertaining, but it can feel rushed from time to time. Although I do have to agree with others that one can only make a fair comparison by having read/watched both. That much seems obvious to me. Oh, and I don't understand how people initially didn't believe bran and rickon were dead in the books. That seemed essential to me. It was only after the reveal that I started to get used to (and increasingly annoyed by) GRRM's habit of faux-deaths. They were the first weren't they?
  5. Yep, my girlfriend immediately caught it. It was poorly executed, but I also think it's because of the medium. Whenever something happens offscreen, you know something's up. Plus the corpses looked superfake, like cheap strawmen I'd say
  6. I gave it a 6, the lowest this season. I generally felt that the episode was slow and probably a set up for the last three episodes. Ironically, the story that worked the least was the bran/rickon/theon chase while it was the most faithful to the books. I think they gave too much foreshadowing information about the orphans and the walnut clue wasn't really obvious. On top of that, the bodies looked really fake. All of which point to the fact that the bodies weren't bran and rickon. I've read several posters whose nonreading friends didn't buy it at all and my nonreading GF reacted the same. I don't know how they could have make it seem more believable though. The series shows so many brutal deaths explicitly, and any offscreen death immediately raises suspicion. I like what they did to Quarth. Now, Dany has some real stakes at play and her burning HotU makes sense. Pyat pree and XXD are true threats to her. I'm sort of neutral towards Jaime's scenes. I guess his long absence has made me forget about him a little. The fact that he tried and failed to escape was in the books but I think it's wise of D&D to have it have immediate repurcussions (cat freeing him). The story is a lot tighter this way. Sidenote: I wonder if we'll see the boat chase this season. That felt very cinematic when I read it. Jon's story was meh, but I didn't care much for it in the books either. The focus is so much on the wildlings/ygritte, you'd almost forget about the others and wights. It's a shame because they were the very first thing introduced in the books and in the show. Robb's love affair is really slow... People see this relationship coming from miles away. They need to move beyond the flirtatious pleasantries and get into some physical stuff (not sex per se). Either that or show some sort of twist (like she is actually a spy or something) Anyway, did not like the episode that much. It has nothing to do with changes but with pacing. Rant out
  7. This. Such a poor execution of their faux deaths. So so obvious. It just goes to show the difference in televison and literature. There were too many visual clues to make it a surprising reveal. The walnuts were really unconvincing and the hanged bodies looked terrible. The entire episode was a bit meh to me. I liked qarth but I really disliked winterfell (which is ironic since the latter is truest to the books).
  8. I agree. It is difficult to maintain that a straw man argument is held up against you if you can see snippets of it everywhere. The reasoning is something like this: "I'm not saying it should be ad verbatim 100%... I'm just saying that change x is bad because it would "never happen/has not happened in the books. and change y too. and change z... and change xx... etc. etc." Compare that to this "I'm not saying women are inferior to men, they're just weaker than men, and less intelligent, and less competent..." See how every following remark contradicts the first statement? Maybe it would help to highlight some of the positive changes as well. To be fair, most people here are reasonable. I'm talking about those few who think this is the worst piece of television in the history of mankind.
  9. I've come up with a test to see whether criticisms are based on a dislike of any sort of change or because they genuinely judge the merit of the show. Whenever we have a complaint we should ask ourselves: can I back my complaint up with arguments that a) don't use examples that we haven't seen on the show and b ) don't go into spoilers about the books? if both are affirmative, people can honestly say that they don't mind change for change's sake but that they distinguish good deviations from bad deviations. It's about the show's internal logic. Example: Is the stealing of Dany's dragons problematic/out of character/unbelievable WITH THE INFORMATION FROM THE TV SHOW SO FAR? (sorry for caps rant; can't italicize on Iphone). You can't dislike it because the Qartheen were welcoming to her (which they were in the books but not in the show). You also can't dislike the addition out of fear of the ommision of HotU. No viewer knows about this yet.
  10. Well, Jon and Ygritte will become an item. That's the main thing to keep in mind. All the objections you have are valid to some extent, but I think the main reasoning of D&D is to give them some time together. Just the two of them. That's how viewers can begin to understand their developing romantic relationship. It may be cheesy and contrived but I understand it from a storytelling perspective. Btw, your remark in parentheses is very speculative and an example of how GoT is held up to impossible standards. Let it play out before you start to judge it based on unwarranted assumptions. I'm pretty sure Jon will still become a reluctant spy (which he also is in the books. Remember, he's the one letting wildlings past the wall to the dismay of te rest ofthe watch)
  11. OT: best episode so far, I gave it a 9. Arya and Dany's storyline have improved for the better. The rest was enthralling as well. Highlight was, yet again, Tywin and Arya, especially with the suspense revolving LF. On the eternal purist vs. apologist discussion: I think many here ARE judging the show according to the two axes proposed by Ran (spirit of books and merit as television). The difficulty of the first axis is that it will never be resolved what "the spirit" of the novels is. It's a very vague criterion. Is Myrcella at the core of asoiaf's spirit? I don't think so but for others it is. Or are we talking about broader themes like the ambiguity of morality and the dirty game of politics? How far do you take it? The spirit may seem self-evident but it really is not. And even if there is a general consensus about that spirit, does that mean it is without flaws? I doubt it, considering all the disussions on the general boards. Is affc boring or not? Is Dany's storyline entertaining or not? Are the iron islands and dorne interesting or not? These questions all have proponents and detractors. This issue is more related to the second axis (the merit) D&D have made their own choices about all these questions. Their definition of the spirit may differ from other readers and, what is more, they think they can tweek it to appeal to a broader audience. I think that is totally legitimate and I'm enjoying it so far. It's not perfect but no TV show is.
  12. Seriously? How would you even notice that? There is no material to compare! Or is my sarcasm meter broken?
  13. Thank you! GoT is not in the same league as the Sopranos (or as has been mentioned earlier The Wire and the office UK. I would add a show like Mad Men as well) GoT is epic, sensationalist, eventful and plot-oriented. The other shows have much more layers. That is what I call extremely good writing. GoT is just very huge in scale but that doesn't make it equal to the Sopranos(supposedly because both have many characters). The Sopranos was awesome because it combines the gangster genre with a psychological family drama and it succeeds in both. It might hurt to hear this but GoT is still very much a common medieval/fantasy drama with some political intrigue. Not a unique angle to be honest. I have yet to find an in depth backstory to one of the character. That doesn't mean its not entertaining. It's hugely entertaining.
  14. Agreed, and if I may add, we don't know what story the show is going to tell. Changes that may seem pointless now (because we judge it according to future events/developments in the books) might possibly make more sense when this season is over. I'll take the Joff scene as example. What if it actually sets up a conflict between Tyrion and Joff? Joffrey is very much motivated to get back at Tyrion by torturing the whores Tyrion sent. This could have a major impact on their relationship in future events. Then, it becomes much more than showing "something we already know about Joffrey". It sets up a story of retaliation etc.etc. Again, this might not be in the books, but it explains the joff/ros scene within a larger story that is yet to be told. My advice? Suspend judgment.
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