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[Book Spoilers] EP408 Discussion


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This guy has the right build though, they could have stuck with Ian Whyte and had Gregor at the right height but he would have been built like a whippet.

Stevens was the guy, he had the face and demeanor down. Ian was tall, but he looked lanky, this guy is no doubt a monster, but in armor he looks more round, and he doesn't have a very hard face.

I mean I'm not blaming the guy, he's certainly a giant lol, just the feel of him is off, great scene regardless though, but nothing strikes intimidation into me like Stevens in season 1 calling for his sword.

Edited by KalibakCruel
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The guy playing the Mountain also is like 400 pounds. 6'9" 400 lbs is huge in my book

There's no doubting he's huge, and a strong mofo at that. But we're not looking up his stats while watching. In the armor he looks more round, and his face doesn't look hard. He might be huge but (to me anyways, everyone else can feel as they like) he doesn't have that "edge"

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It's the beard that ruins his face really, it makes him look like a jolly lumberjack.



Here he is with a bit of stubble and a snarl; http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130830170427/gameofthrones/images/2/23/Thor.jpg



When he snarled with the beard he looked like he was squinting against the sun while trying to choose which tree to take down next.


Edited by NightStark
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There's no doubting he's huge, and a strong mofo at that. But we're not looking up his stats while watching. In the armor he looks more round, and his face doesn't look hard. He might be huge but (to me anyways, everyone else can feel as they like) he doesn't have that "edge"

IDK, I mean ya season 1 Mountain was definitely the best, but I thought this guy gets the point across. Big brutal killing machine. He is just round and built like those guys in the strongest man in the world contests...the ones where they are lifting huge stuff. None of them are "built" instead being quite round, yet beastly strong.

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IDK, I mean ya season 1 Mountain was definitely the best, but I thought this guy gets the point across. Big brutal killing machine. He is just round and built like those guys in the strongest man in the world contests...the ones where they are lifting huge stuff. None of them are "built" instead being quite round, yet beastly strong.

Yeah i know he's insanely strong, but this is a visual medium and he looks clumsy big when just recently Bronn described him as faster than he should be. Plus that face, if he would've kept the helmet on lol Edited by KalibakCruel
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It's the beard that ruins his face really, it makes him look like a jolly lumberjack.

Here he is with a bit of stubble and a snarl; http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130830170427/gameofthrones/images/2/23/Thor.jpg

When he snarled with the beard he looked like he was squinting against the sun while trying to choose which tree to take down next.

There his face actually looks semi good, but Stevens good, but definitely better than that the happy lumberjack

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Trying to find the best way to express all my reactions so I'll just quickly break it down by segment:



The Duel: One of my 3 most anticipated scenes of the season (with Stannis' arrival and Bloodraven/CotF introduction being the other two). I wasn't thrilled with how it played out but the more I think about it the more I can make peace with it. My expectations were probably a bit unrealistic given how epic and incredible the book passage is. Not enough lead-in time. That Tyrion/Jamie beetle conversation should have been trimmed by 2-3 minutes to give the Oberyn/Gregor scene more time. Oberyn was too playful for the beginning of the fight. This is a moment that he's waited for, for two decades. He would never be smiling and laughing into the crowd while slinking around. The choreography itself was pretty decent. Major props to Pedro Pascal for getting pretty damn adept with that spear and his movement. The Mountain was a bit too oafish for my taste but I absolutely realize how hard it is to choreograph a fight like that so I know I'm probably being greedy wanting it to have been longer/even more involved. That death though, my f'ing god. One of the most disgusting/disheartening things I've ever seen on TV. I wanted to see it depicted on screen so much after having read it, but when the moment approached, I really wanted to look away. Ellaria's scream made it so much worse. Man.



Sansa/LF: Totally wasn't expecting the Sansa reveal and yet I suppose it doesn't really bother me all that much. Sophie Turner's proven to be a great actress at least. Littlefinger being so vulnerable this early on was jarring though. And as an utterly inconsequential nitpick, I didn't like Bronze Yohn's portrayal. Nowhere near as bad-ass or intimidating as I expected.



Arya/Hound: The Hound so plainly revealing his and Arya's identities felt very off. Struggling to understand why it was inserted into the show.



Meereen: Grey Worm/Missandei was very emotional and very well-acted, but took too much time for such a minor plot point. I thought Jorah was terrific in the banishment scene and Dany was decent, which is a major improvement from her normal blah acting.



The Wall: I liked this scene between Jon and the NW brothers. It reminded us a bit about Grenn, Edd, etc. before we'll get to see them all in action during what should be an epic Episode 9. Also reiterated just how badly the odds are stacked against them.



Mole's Town: A bit too "generic wildling slaughter" for my liking. The decision to have Ygritte spare GIlly makes sense in a "Emotional Viewer Manipulation 101" way for her impending death, but was a bit odd considering her emotionless slaughter of everyone up to that point.



All in all, I was expecting a 9/10 or 9.5/10 and instead felt it was a 7.5/10. The duel was good to great but I suppose it could never quite live up to the book for practical reasons. I've seen Oberyn's death twice now after re-watching the episode and never plan to watch it again (shudders). Here's to a strong finish to the season with so many potentially incredible, memorable, awesome TV scenes in the next 2 episodes.


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Arya/Hound: The Hound so plainly revealing his and Arya's identities felt very off. Struggling to understand why it was inserted into the show.

I don't think you can just rock up to the Bloody Gate and say 'Hey I'm the Hound and this is some random girl..let me in'. Arya was his bargaining chip so he had to reveal her identity.

Edited by NightStark
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He's huge but he looks like a cuddly bear. He has such a baby face

Yeah hes a big snuggle bug and its hard to take him seriously when his face is visible. When its just the big guy in the armor, he looks just fine. I love this guy cuz hes a cuddle monster, but as the Mountain, other than his bigness and moves, he doesnt sell it. But i guess it doesnt matter cuz he got the job done and looked huge doing it.

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I'm pretty chillaxed when applying a rule of cool stamp on stuff, but I do have some film experience so maybe my two cents is worth...three cents? Adjusted for inflation. I think, in terms of the Mountain being an intimidating opponent, they could've choreographed/directed him a bit more savage. He was kind of a glacier. Implacable, sure, but not particularly offensive until Oberyn sashayed too close. I need to voyeur on the Unsullied boards to see what they thought of it. My only quibble was that the Mountain could've come across as more savage force of nature. I've seen comparisons to Rob Roy floating around, but that doesn't really fly for me, as part of the amazingness of the Rob Roy scene was realizing the bad guy wasn't just a sadistic fop but a nimble little death-monkey in a duel . "Oh SHIT...oh COOL...OH NO!!!" basically.


Edited by PhoenixFlame
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Two scenes stood up for me.



First of all, Jorah's banishment. It was even more brutal onscreen than it was in the book because of how close they were. I found it HEARTBREAKING. I knew that they were gonna make Barristan found out. The way Jorah's was on his knees, pleading for Daenerys to forgive him. Both Emilia and Iaien were AMAZING in that scene. It's a shame that we won't see them together anymore because this was probably one of my favorite pair since season 1. They just worked so well together. New adventures are now awaiting Jorah and I can't wait to see how this will play out.



Then the Duel of course. There were some parts that played totally differently than what I imagined but it just worked. This was a great scene. Don't really buy the new actor as The Mountain but Pedro Pascal nailed it for two.


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OMFG. okay that mountain vs viper battle was way more brutal to watch than to read. i just can't. still shocked. Beautiful choreography by the people doing the fight. Oberyn kcked ass with the spear.



Sansa's development, too soon? I'm not sure, enjoyed Sophie's scenes though, what a performance she gave those eyrie lords!



Aryas laugh ..?



Tyrion's story about the beetles...can't remember if this was in the book, a metaphor for Tywin or someone else?



Love the relationship that is developing b/w missandei and grey word, absolutely precious. Nearly cried in the jorah/dany scene. Happy with the performances of both emilia and iain. So heartbreaking. Good ol' Barry as well, being a badass



Ironborn/Bolton. Did not expect to see the flayed man :stunned: :ack: and it wasn't explained well, WHY the ironborn were dying in moat cailin? what happened to mention of the bog devils? Loved ramsay's glee at becoming a bolton :stillsick:



Gilly scene and wilding raid was a good scene. shows Ygritte isn't just a senseless killer.


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I'm pretty chillaxed when applying a rule of cool stamp on stuff, but I do have some film experience so maybe my two cents is worth...three cents? Adjusted for inflation. I think, in terms of the Mountain being an intimidating opponent, they could've choreographed/directed him a bit more savage. He was kind of a glacier. Implacable, sure, but not particularly offensive until Oberyn sashayed too close. I need to voyeur on the Unsullied boards to see what they thought of it. My only quibble was that the Mountain could've come across as more savage force of nature. I've seen comparisons to Rob Roy floating around, but that doesn't really fly for me, as part of the amazingness of the Rob Roy scene was realizing the bad guy wasn't just a sadistic fop but a nimble little death-monkey in a duel . "Oh SHIT...oh COOL...OH NO!!!" basically.

As they said in one of the YT videos on the episode, the armour is heavy and restricts movement. When the second strongest man on the planet is having trouble with the weight of the armour I don't think there is much anyone else could have done in it.

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Peter's face captured the shock and astonishment that most everyone must have been feeling at the conclusion of the trial by combat. It was pretty gruesome which I guess was the intended effect. Oberyn was laying into The Mountain while he was on his feet! The fight choreography for Oberyn was spectacular. The whole scene went by much quicker than how I envisioned it while reading this part, would have liked to get more of this.



I like where they're going with Sansa becoming more savvy and getting more of an upper hand with Littlefinger. He's not sure of her intentions and she's still suspicious of him.



Arya's hysterical joker laugh caught me off guard too. I interpreted it as her laughing at The Hound being thwarted again and also slightly losing it when she finds out she's still far from anything resembling home.



This is actually one of my favorite parts in the ASoIaF saga since it's a turning point where Tyrion is sentenced and Jorah is exiled (again). Should be interesting to see these two opposite each other on screen later on.





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I'm pretty chillaxed when applying a rule of cool stamp on stuff, but I do have some film experience so maybe my two cents is worth...three cents? Adjusted for inflation. I think, in terms of the Mountain being an intimidating opponent, they could've choreographed/directed him a bit more savage. He was kind of a glacier. Implacable, sure, but not particularly offensive until Oberyn sashayed too close. I need to voyeur on the Unsullied boards to see what they thought of it. My only quibble was that the Mountain could've come across as more savage force of nature. I've seen comparisons to Rob Roy floating around, but that doesn't really fly for me, as part of the amazingness of the Rob Roy scene was realizing the bad guy wasn't just a sadistic fop but a nimble little death-monkey in a duel . "Oh SHIT...oh COOL...OH NO!!!" basically.

I can see that, season 1 Mountain came off that way. It was kind of scary watching him just flip out on his horse and go for Loras. Not so much a glacier, but an avalanche with an angry mind.

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