roryclague

There were some nice moments in this episode that were unfortunately counterbalanced by more awkward pacing, bad characterization, cliche, over-reliance on tired tropes such as attempts to shock the audience for the sake of shock rather than for story, spelling out certain story and character developments too explicitly when they should be conveyed subtly, and heavy-handed foreshadowing. For example, now that Stannis has had a sympathetic scene, we know that Shireen is in danger and Stannis is likely to be killed by Brienne. This is the kind of thing that just plays for shock and cheap attempts at gaining sympathy rather than developing Stannis as a character throughout the series so that his death, when it comes, is powerful. The scene with Mel was just outrageously unnecessary and comical, rather than mysterious and perplexing as her motives should be. The show wants to bludgeon the audience with shock value, nudity, and plot points rather than have faith in the intelligence of the audience to pick up on such things. I like the show and am by no means a book purist. It isn't the deviations from the books that bother me at all. I understood that the show is the show and the book is the book a long time ago. What bothers me is this unsubtle overuse of tired cliches, unearned attempts to gain sympathy only for doomed characters, shock for the sake of shock, deaths for the sake of shocks, etc. The Sand Snakes were too cartoonish, there was no intrigue surrounding the rise of the Faith Militant, Cersei's motivations were completely unestablished, their rise was too rapid, and their methods too violent. The destruction of Ser Loras into a cliche is tiresome. Mace is too stupid in the show. Mel is used as an object of lust rather than mystery, Littlefinger's actions make little sense. Sansa's actions make little sense. Tyrion is underused. The only characters allowed to be interesting are Stannis, Jon, and Jaime. When you want to make room for major characters by eliminating minor characters, why not just wrap up their story rather than kill them for the sake of a cheap shock. It's too easy now to predict which characters are going to die. If there is a hastily set up scene to make a secondary character sympathetic to the audience, they are doomed in a future episode of the current season (by secondary character, I mean anyone who isn't Dany, Jaime, Cersei, Tyrion, Sansa, Jon, or Arya). What was clever in past seasons with Ned Stark and the Red Wedding is now just getting tired. We get it: no one is safe. Okay, so now tell a good story rather than rely on cheap thrills and titillation. I gave a 6, because on the whole I still like this show. It's just that it could be so much more.

I thought this episode was a significant improvement over episode 501. I voted 8. The episode was longer yet felt much shorter than the previous episode. Sometimes deviations from the books are badly drawn. Other times, they are very intriguing. I loved the discussion of grey scale. That sent a chill down my spine in anticipation of what is coming next. I suspect the disease has a significant role to play in WoW. The Water Gardens were gorgeous, as you would expect. I understand that they are trying to roll the character of Arianne into Ellaria, but the sudden change in Ellaria's personality form Season 4 felt forced. I think Indira is an excellent actress, though. The moments when she played it straight and questioned Doran's resolve as Arianne did rather than twirl her moustache in anticipation of child-murder were more effective. Hopefully she gets more chances to show naivete rather than cruelty. I loved Sam's speech, and in an episode so packed it was probably the most he could shine in his role in facilitating Jon's election. Still, one more brief scene showing a bit of electioneering and introducing the audience to Mallister might have been a nice moment for Sam to shine. Overall, I thought the election was handled about as well as it could be in a ten episode per season format. I enjoyed the scene at the Small Council. Kevan's scenes were very well done, as well as Qyburn's. The scene with Varys and Tyrion, while well acted between two of the show's charismatic characters, accomplished little besides telling the audience that Volantis is the next destination rather than Mereen. I thought that Brienne's scenes were well done. I am intrigued by the goings-on surrounding Sansa, Petyr, and Brienne. I suspect Brienne may play a role similar to that held by Mance, or even the Hooded Man. Maybe Sansa will be part Wyman, part Jeyne Poole. Either way, the casualty in all this is Littlefinger. I suspect he's not going to be around much longer. His character has been completely destroyed. Still, that might be a price worth paying if it means that it gets Sansa where she needs to be faster and if that all means that the GNC and the ouster of the Boltons is being accelerated. Dany's story is shaping up to be an improvement over previous seasons, in my opinion. Emilia is starting to show the same humanity she displayed in Season 1. I'm excited to see how the arc plays out. Part of what GRRM was doing in ADWD is that he wanted Mereen to be an answer to the question, "What happens after Aragorn becomes king?" Well, it's not happily ever after. This episode accomplished much in showing the difficulty Dany faces as a ruler, and provides the lessons she needs to arm herself with before going to Westeros. Arya's story is playing out pretty much the same as in the books, with obvious minor differences. Jaime's story is obviously completely different, but it should be a fun little adventure story with Bronn. A bit less Riverlands is somewhat refreshing. The arc of Jaime growing apart from Cercei can still be accomplished. Overall, an intriguing episode with a surprising amount of book lore (loved Lyanna Mormont's letter). I quite enjoyed it.

This episode was below-average for a Game of Thrones opener. I voted 6. The pacing was off, somehow. It was a short episode but felt long. The plot changes from the book to the show don't bother me, but some of the characterizations were off, as Ran discussed in his video recap. I liked the scenes with Mance and Stannis. I missed Illyrio and more exploration of his background with Varys. Overall, the episode was still quite enjoyable, but below par.