Oberoth Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 For the battle of castle black/ thewall it was very rushed. It was pretty much a giant firing three arrows and mag lifting the gate. Although it is just a 700ft wall of ice, so there isn't much to do if you have swords or axes. I suppose thats why they combined the assault on castle black with the battle for the wall. Pip & Grenn died. Sam heavy episode. Meh it was good apart from the last two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 9 heads of the Ned out of 10. Kinda wanted the Stannis ending but oh well. Edd with his anchor chain of doom was badass. Im sad about Pyp and Grenn but those guys ended up being composited. Grenn being the Donal Noye was kinda awesome though....Thinking about it I don't mind them going out fighting compared to being dumped off by Jon Snow cause he was being a baby :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Also, 208 votes, 7.87 average, 10 median, 8.12 normalized average, 83% "fresh" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatsthedillio Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Lets ignore the fact that this is being filmed in two weeks on a television budget. Please show anything on television that approaches this episode. This "epic" battle scene? The White queen, Da Vinci's Demons, Rome, spartacus, Camelot, Vikings, I could go on This show had a $60 million budget this season, more than most movies. There's no excuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordStoneheart Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 You guys are saying "book purist" like that's a bad thing. Why is pointing out the flaws in a very flawed show so angering? "Book purist haters" are definitely more annoying at this point and are defending a low quality product. Or perhaps you're all too sensitive and can't accept that this show is a poor representation of superior books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxWolfox Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I gave this a solid 10.I gave Blackwater an 8, and the Red Wedding a 9.The reason this got a whole point extra was for Neil Marshall (you Dog Soldiers devil, you) making me cheer for Alliser Thorne. Never in my wildest nightmares/dreams would I have done so until tonight. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teej6 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Did you miss the part where Jon explains that this was a preliminary force to test the strength of Castle Black and that eventually their numbers would easily overwhelm the NW? They didn't send 100k. Yeah, I was thinking the same. Jon clearly makes that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lany Freelove Cassandra Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) This "epic" battle scene? The White queen, Da Vinci's Demons, Rome, spartacus, Camelot, Vikings, I could go on This show had a $60 million budget this season, more than most movies. There's no excuse. really? Average Movie Budget of these 33 movies: $139,084,697 and being generous, 3 hours long, or more than $46million dollars an hour, compared to $6million and hour for this show You guys are saying "book purist" like that's a bad thing. Why is pointing out the flaws in a very flawed show so angering? "Book purist haters" are definitely more annoying at this point and are defending a low quality product. Or perhaps you're all too sensitive and can't accept that this show is a poor representation of superior books? Or, some people realize that this is NOT the books, and there is no way the books (ANY BOOK!) can become a literal translation onto a screen. They are two very different mediums and should not be compared to each other. (I know I also almost always say "the book was better" no matter the show/movie, but that is not the same as saying "this sucks because it is not the exact same thing a the book") I do have the advantage of watching with my unsullied husband and do try to see it through his eyes, and compare this tv show, to TV. Edited June 9, 2014 by Ser Lany Cassandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) There is absolutely nothing in Vikings or Rome with the sustained action of this episode. Spartacus, maybe, but not those two. From the first man dying to Tormund being dragged off is over 20 minutes of sustained action. The battle between the Vikings and the English from last season was impressive, but that lasted all of three minutes. Of course, calling it "The Battle for the Wall" is a misnomer. It was never a battle, in the books, nor here. It's a siege, and that's what we see in that part of the fight. Edited June 9, 2014 by Ran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defeatarion Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 You guys are saying "book purist" like that's a bad thing. Why is pointing out the flaws in a very flawed show so angering? "Book purist haters" are definitely more annoying at this point and are defending a low quality product. Or perhaps you're all too sensitive and can't accept that this show is a poor representation of superior books? While I think both sides go a bit extreme, the show isnt bad. Just a bit off the deep end this season. Of course im complicated. I bitch about what the show messed up then decide I like certain things they changed lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan_Snow Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I give it a 9. I really liked the episode. I thought the pacing was good and it had some really good moments. Jon killing the Magnar was great. Ghost on a rampage was awesome. Unfortunately as soon as the episode ended I knew I would have to sift through page after page of bitching from the cult of Stannis. Kind of ruined my enjoyment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagostatecougars Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I gave it 6. It seemed all over the place and not as epic as it should have been. They also wasted a lot of time with filler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defeatarion Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I think the show has created some "purists" of its own. How does wishing a certain even being in the episode to make it better make someone bitching? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamSongs Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) While I think both sides go a bit extreme, the show isnt bad. Just a bit off the deep end this season. Of course im complicated. I bitch about what the show messed up then decide I like certain things they changed lol Exactly. There are some things that the show does very well and others where I am less than happy. My angry point this season was the sept scene; some people have hit the angry point with this episode. Ultimately, you have to accept that this is an ADAPTATION of the books and will never match perfectly. And yes...its OK to be angry and dislike the episode. I quite enjoyed it since this is a story line that I typically gloss over and only know it well via multiple rereads. I felt that they did a great job of pulling everything happening at the Wall together. JMO. Edited June 9, 2014 by DreamSongs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konradsmith Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) A welcome dose of realism from Ran. It won't quell the hate but it's good to know you defend good TV. Edited June 9, 2014 by Konradsmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conchobar Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) I don't expect everyone to give this a "10" ... I didn't ... but this was the most expensive episode they've ever done... my expectations aren't low... yours are unrealistic.... ... "ooooh, I'm a purist, Jon was suppossed to kill that wildling with his left hand, they've ruined everything!!!!.... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" Messageboard haters hate just so they can hate.... if you want to give the ep a 4, then OK... if you want to give it a zeo, then stop watching, because it ain't gonna get better. The people giving this episode 1's and 2's are just being ignorant to be honest. Fine if they were dissapointed with certain aspects of the epside, but to downgrade it to a menial 1 or 2 is just childish reactionary hatred. Not that the ratings on here hold any sway on the grander scale of anything :P It is just an interesting thing to see people react this way. I don't mean to offend anyone with that comment though, I understand people sometimes overreact when they are attached to something. This episode was incredible for me, and I am critical of the show when I need to be, I cringed at some of the Gilly/ Sam scenes, but this episode more than made up for the shit bits with bits that had my jaw drop and bits that moved me quite a bit( Grenn, Ygritte, Pyp) Edited June 9, 2014 by Cellio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teej6 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I gave the episode a 10. The acting/action sequences were all good. But I must say when it ended I felt something was missing. The episode was really good but had they built up the Wall story in prior episodes it would have been even better. Then, they could have ended this with the Jon/Mance parley and then Stannis riding in. I guess they wanted it to be a Jon Snow centric episode, which btw Kit handled quite well except for his reaction to Ygritte's death. And the music wilding attack music was epic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Blackwater went some 26 minutes before anyone died. None of this stuff was filler, in this case. Taking time to use Pypar as a focal point for the fear many felt, and as a way to understand how Samwell was dealing with it, and for showing us Alliser Thorne dealing with the tribulations of command, and so on -- they're important when you're putting lives in jeopardy, as they're a way to reinforce whatever connections people may have. Now, that said, had the writers done the smart thing and skipped the Craster nonsense and left Jon and co. at Castle Black, and given us more of a story about the tensions there, about the people there, maybe these pieces of characterization would have been stronger for some, or maybe they wouldn't have needed so much of it (though really, I doubt they were going to make it 45 minutes of non-stop action). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickyd Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 VERY disappointing. A 6, because I'm trying hard not to be a book purist, and judge the show for the show. Otherwise it'd be closer to 1 or 2. But even then, this episodes is short, underwhelming... just feels empty.D&D really screwed up big time this season. The whole Wall plotline is an utter mess. So much screentime wasted on non interesting fillers (Craster's, the first 20 min of this episodes, ...), that now they're force to postpone Stannis arrival to the final episode (which bothers me, not because I'm a Stannis fan (which I'm not, I don't even like the guy), but because next episode is clearly going to be very overwhelming, while this one wasn't enough.) agreed 100%. Makes me very afraid for next season, when the plot lines, locations (and characters) expand substantially. I afraid season 4 was just the prelude to season 5 and perhaps the material just beyond being the ability of the producers to do well. The saving grace of the show are the actors, this season for me was the actors covering the asses of the producers. but I wonder myself just how much further that will carry me along if Season 5 was as bad, with unnecessary plot diversions and creations thus leaving little time to expand important and necessary canon plot lines. Just my two cents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teej6 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 There is absolutely nothing in Vikings or Rome with the sustained action of this episode. Spartacus, maybe, but not those two. From the first man dying to Tormund being dragged off is over 20 minutes of sustained action. The battle between the Vikings and the English from last season was impressive, but that lasted all of three minutes.Of course, calling it "The Battle for the Wall" is a misnomer. It was never a battle, in the books, nor here. It's a siege, and that's what we see in that part of the fight. Yes, more like a siege than a battle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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