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Stallion That Mounts Texas

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Posts posted by Stallion That Mounts Texas

  1. "And Now His Watch is Ended" had a really terrific finale, and the Old Bear's death, but if you look at what came before closely, it wasn't that far above an average episode. It was elevated by the finish. This episode is good through and through (except for the character assassination of Loras Tyrell, grr), and in my opinion it's the best episode of the season to date, so I've given it a 9.

    I agree, Loras would never betray Renly's memory is such a way.

  2. So many changes to the story, but I gave it a solid 9.

    1. The fight b/t the Hound and Berric was excellent.

    2. I love Rose Lesley.

    3. Nice twist with LF giving Loras a boy to get info. Could have done w/o the sex, but it is HBO

    4. The scene with Tywin, Tyrion, and Cersei is classic.

  3. I'll give it a solid 8:

    1. Love watching the Theon story unfold before our eyes. Poor Theon.

    2. I think they made Edmure too much of an idiot. I'm loving the Blackfish

    3. Martyn and Willem the grandsons of Tywin's father's brother? I guess Kevan's story is done.

    4. Loving Dany more and more. Can't wait to see her take the city.

    5. Poor Jaime. That was well done.

    6. The scene with the small council was strange.

    7. Pod is the man. He must give details. Best sequence of the episode.

  4. Tyrion almost saved it but couldn't. They are trying to set things up but it's just coming off as cheesy and annoying possibly because of Shae's acting.

    Also Marg is a much more compelling and powerful character. I respect that everyone has their opinions but she's quite a good actress and ill respectfully disagree :)

    Agree with everything you said.

  5. So many changes. I gave it a 6.

    1. I like being able to see the breaking of Theon from the start. He has no idea he being set up by Ramsay

    2. I like how Marg is manipulating Joff and I loved the Queen of Thornes. I missed Butterbumps

    3. The fight between Brienne and Jaime was awful

    I know the first four episodes are setup but this one was kind of ordinary

  6. I gave it a solid 8. Its about what I expected, as the first four episodes or the setup for the rest of the season.

    1. Love how they introduced Barristan from the start, but I do miss Strong Belwas; the assassination attempt by the warlock was awesome.

    2. I love Natalie Dormer as Marg. I love how she making herself right at home and positioning herself to be queeen.

    3. I love how Cersei is powerless to stop the monster she gave birth to. She is bound by her love for Joff and will suffer any and all insults.

    4. The unsullied are outstanding, can't wait to see them in action.

  7. Gave it a solid 9 - I like the changes as it makes for good television.

    1. The Pyat Pree/Xaro takeover of Qarth was well done. They had to do something to make that side of the world interesting. Can't wait for the House of the Undying.

    2. I'm loving the exchange between Tywin and Arya. As smart as Tywin is he has to have some idea of who she really is. He knows that there is no way she is a stone mason's daughter.

    3. I don't know if I could see Jaime killing a relative, even a distant one. I like the spin on his escape though.

    4. The seeds of the Red Wedding are slowly being sown - The fall of Winterfell, the release of Jaime, the supposed death of Bran and Rickon, Robb is coming back from the Crag wed to Jenyne/Lady Talisa. All that is left is the Blackwater.

    I have one major gripe. It was supposed to be Ramsay who devised the plan for the Miller's Boys. I wonder how much depth will the writers give the Ramsay character?

  8. Gave it a solid 9...just b/c nothing is perfect.

    The acting is splendid and scenery is fantastic. I have one minor gripe. Rhaegar is such a huge presence in the books, even though he is never present. Dany likes to think of herself as him and is told by many that she reminds them of him. However, there has been no mention of him by Dany, Viserys, Jorah, or anyone else for that matter. I think non-readers should be made more aware of him.

    I also like Margaery scheming with little finger. She is the heir to the Queen of Thorns and its good for viewers to see just how formidable she is.

    I wanted more from Renly's death and was not impressed by Dagmer.

  9. But that's the whole point, LOC. She is a blubbering, desperate fool. Qarth has no reason to admit her. She's starved, decrepit, delirious, and entirely in their power. She has no strength to back her up. Her situation in the scene is completely understandable, as are the 13's reactions.

    I don't mind how it went in the book either--I think both scenes would make sense in their own contexts.

    I don't think she was a silent sister. And are we sure she wasn't Jeyne? I kind of got the impression she was...dunno why.

    But even if she isn't, does it matter if she isn't Jeyne and becomes Robb's love interest? The catalyst for the RW is not, as you say, Robb and Jeyne, the catalyst is more Robb and lower-class girl he married in violation of pact with Freys.

    Robb asked for her name and the one she gave was not Jeyne. Also, I'm pretty sure Jeyne is not from Volantis as this girl is.

    Additionally, there is the lower-class girl dynamic as you point out, but not an outright commoner. Realistically, High Lords/Kings do not marry common girls and shame powerful allies. If Jeyne was not worth Robb's crown and his life, then surely this girl is even lower on the totem pole. I hate the idea as it makes Robb seem outright stupid instead of young and in love. Taking a castle and meeting a young maid is a stark contrast from meeting some random Volantene girl and falling in love.

  10. I gave it a solid 9/10: I have come to accept that I have been judging the show too harshly b/c of my expectations from the books. The show is not the books, but is based on the books (sometimes a little too loosely) and that the characters are based off of characters in the books. Once that is understood the show is then judged in its proper context.

    What Went Right:

    1. Harrenhal - it is every bit the house of horrors that I have come to expect

    2. Tywin - the way he rode in and took charge from Gregor and his creatures was spectacular and the fear/respect that he commands is absolutely perfect. Putting prisoners to work instead of slaughtering them and recognizing Arya's sex are all classic traits for a man of Tywin's considerable ability.

    3. Roose Bolton - A quick insight into the monster that we all know he really is. Roose wanting to torture/flay prisoners and Robb restraining him were both perfectly within character.

    4. Robb/Tywin - The comparison and contrast of the two battle commanders leading their armies and reigning in over zealous subordinates was absolutely perfect.

    5. Stannis/Renly - The scenes in both of the camps and the parlay between the two was excellent. I really enjoyed Cat putting in her two scents. The actress playing Mel is starting to warm on me. The conversation between Stannis and Davos and the scene with Mel and Davos were both exceptionally well done.

    6. Xaro - Nice introduction to him and nice setup between he and Dany. I really like the idea of making him a Summer Islander and the idea of adding some diversity to the show.

    7. Joffery - The actor playing Joff is doing one hell of a job. I know some might not like the sexposition but the show is doing a wonderful job of showing viewers what a monster he is.

    8. Cat/Little Finger - We get a glimpse of LF's tortured love for Cat and his true nature of always promoting his own interest over all others. The ease with how he lied about Arya was chilling, especially given his true feelings about Cat. This is a departure but a good one.

    9. Tyrion - Spectacular as always. The way he handled Joff and Ser Meryn were excellent. A nice departure from the books would be for Bronn to actually kill Ser Meryn. The actor playing to Hound is excellent. You can see that either Sandor has come sense of honor or he actually cares somewhat for Sansa.

    What Went Wrong:

    1. Ros - Enough of this character please. I know that this is HBO and all, but giving so much screen time to this unimportant character is damaging the integrity of the show.

    2. Robb/silent sister - I suppose the writers are setting her up to be Robb's lover interest. This seems like a complete waste and unnecessary departure from one of the main plots of the book. Robb and Jeyne are the catalyst for the Red Wedding. I hope this error is corrected.

    3. Little Finger/ Margaery - Once again LF is completely out of character. There is just no way he would openly acknowledge to Marg that he knows of Renly's real proclivities and then make thinly veiled threats. This is terrible injustice to what a true player of the Game of Thrones that LF is. I continue to enjoy Natalie Dormer. We all know how shrewd Margaery is and the actress is bearing it out perfectly.

    All in all, a solid episode with much to like and little to really complain off.

  11. What intrigues me is who is leading the Tyrell army. If its Randyll Tarly (as I suspect) Aegon and Connington have the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. If Connington is victorious and Lord Randyll survives, they have both one of the enemies key generals and also a valuable ally if they are able to turn him.

    In addition, I think Lord Mathis Rowan (who left with Mace Tyrell for Storm's End) was still commanding the Tyrell force investing Storm's End. I wonder if he was captured in the taking of Storm's End. If so, Aegon is in prime position to knock out or flip House Tyrell.

  12. Natalie Dormer is spectacular. She was amazing in the Tudors. She exemplifies the Tyrell quest for power. It shows her love for her family as a whole and her brother in particular. As smart as she is (thanks to the Queen of Thorns) I always suspected that she knew about Renly and Loras but was content to play her role.

    However, this version of Renly is all wrong. He shows no signs of manliness as opposed to the books. Aside from his sexual proclivity the book portrays him as Robert come again. I think book Renly would have found himself capable of doing the deed.

    Theon is being handled beautifully.

  13. I gave the episode a solid 8 and consider it the real beginning to the season. I expect rest of the season to be incredible.

    High points:

    1. Theon's plight is displayed perfectly. The fact that he nearly warned Robb is as gut wrenching as I envisioned it.

    2. Tyrion as always was spectacular

    3. Natalie Dormer (Margaery) was all that I expected. Loved her in the Tudors

    4. The guy playing the Grand Maester is doing a great job

    5. The scenery of the world of Westeros continues to amaze me. Pyke is simply amazing and Renly's camp was spectacular.

    Low Points:

    1. I think viewers get the point about Renly and Loras and do not need to be continually bombarded with imagery. I think its totally unnecessary as I had to turn away. However, seeing Natalie Dormer made up for it.

    2. Missing Characters continue to plague me. None of the Reach lords are present (Randyll Tarly) when Cat meets with Renly. None of Theon's uncles (Aeron) are present.

    3. If anything, why not cut out some of the Shae scenes. She annoys me almost as much as Ros.

  14. Yep, I think there is 0 chance of Tarly shifting allegiances to Aegon.

    Well, it will depend upon whether Lord Randyll is leading the Tyrell army on its way to invest Storm's End. If Connington and the GC are successful in their ambush and able to capture Tarly, Aegon and Connington can began to make their case (including offering Lord Tarly Lordship over the Reach). A great lord is always ambitious if nothing else.

  15. Today I deliberately went on various entertainment sites and read comments there. It differs like day and night from people, who have read the books,and those, who didn't. Viewers who just watch the show are amazed how good the episode was...

    Having read the books, this is worst episode to date: 4/10

    1. I like sex scenes as much as the next man, but there comes a point were it becomes over the top and gratuitous. As usual HBO has crossed that threshold. But what do you expect from the channel that has brought you Six Feet Under, Rome and True Blood.

    2. Not only do I not like the actor for Stannis, but I also would rather have any sex between Stannis and Mel to remain implied rather than be explicit. I almost stopped watching the show I was so shocked.

    3. Killing one of Dany's blood riders to save a buck? Where was the sense in that?

    4. Having Theon finger his sister is just creepy. No way Asha/Yara would allow it

    If HBO is just gonna get paid to rewrite ASOIAF what is the point?

  16. I ended up giving it a 7.

    The Good:

    -Tyrion and Joffrey are at least as great as they were last season. Sansa and Dantos were also good.

    -The CGI dragons/wolves look wonderful.

    -They're doing a great job fleshing out Robb.

    -I had no problems with Craster's Keep, and it fit with how I had imagined it.

    -The ending bastard montage was absolutely perfect.

    -Stannis approving the letter denouncing the Lannisters and their incest was excellent.

    -The Cersei-Joffrey scene was superb.

    -I haven't seen many people mentioning it, but I really liked Bran's lone sequence this episode. How Bran is learning to rule is a nice foil to how Joffrey is learning to rule, and Luwin is a very likable character. It also gives a glimpse of some of the negative sentiments stirred even from a war the Starks, and the viewer as identifying with them, view as necessary and just.

    -They didn't have much to work with in this episode, but I think all of the new actors will be fine.

    -I actually liked the Ros scene well enough; however...

    The Bad:

    -My problem with Ros isn't that her scene was bad but that we're losing other scenes to stick her in. Without her lead-in to the bastard-killing, we could have had a decent scene with some actual dialogue or Arya, Yoren, Gendry, et. al going North.

    -While I liked Robb's scenes, I am a little sad they took out the "send Umber" dialogue. It would've been a quick way to add some development, it would have pleased book fans quite a bit, and it would have been more clever and only equally time-consuming as what they instead went with.

    -The Cersei-Littlefinger scene. It just doesn't fit with my conception of Littlefinger's character, though I understand why they're doing it. On the bright side, Cersei's response was comical, and it clearly displayed her philosophy on power. Maybe I'm just at book-Littlefinger fanboy.

    -Without a doubt my biggest problem was moving the Cressen/Stannis scenes from the beginning to the middle. I don't think the actors were bad, but I think the adaptation essentially sucked all of the atmosphere and mystery out of the scene. I think that scene would have really benefited from being more like the book, coming at the beginning as an introduction to the new characters right off the bat (after which they could have been ignored the rest of the episode to please the crowd in seeing the Season 1 characters for the remainder, rather than randomly sticking them somewhere in the middle of this as was done). It was such a great season-opening scene, and I was really looking forward to it in advance. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed.

    -The Daenerys-Rakharo scene was just weird. I'd take that entire scene out and give screentime to something more worthy.

    -I'm sad Riverrun appears to have been removed thus far, but at the same time, I don't know what I would have taken out that would have yielded sufficient time to show it an a worthwhile manner. Maybe the Cersei-Littlefinger scene and the Ros scene would have been better replaced with a decent Riverrun, but I suppose there could also be budget issues with adding Riverrun to the mix. We'll see if they add it in the future, I suppose.

    All-in-all, it was solid given what they needed to do. Most things left unmentioned (costumes, setting, camera work, the general feel of the world, the shifting intro, etc.) all remain very high-quality.

    Dany flirting w/ her bloodrider was just ludicrous. If the show puts them together romantically, I'm done.

  17. I can go no higher than a 7. The exposition can be forgiven (budget/time constraints) but some of the character choices cannot.

    1. The choice of lena Heady as Cersei has never grown on me and making her into a sympathetic figure instead of the bitch she is, really irks me. Viva Bianca from Spartacus Vengeance would have been perfect.

    2. I always pictured Cat as still being a great beauty.

    3. Little Finger would never openly threaten Cersei nor would Cersei allow him to remain alive if he had.

    4. Terrible choice for the Red Woman. I hope her acting can distract me from her plain looks.

    5. Stannis is just not hard enough. This man is supposed to be made of iron and ice. I hope this will improve.

    6. No Riverrun, Lord Hoster or Edmure? Wow!

    Despite these minor complaints, the actors for Tyrion, Joff, Jon and Robb (especially Tryion and Joff) are driving the show for me. The scene with Robb and Jaime was also noteworthy.

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