[Poll] How would you rate episode 103?

[nyser1]

7 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

I'm a bit surprised how lukewarm a lot of these reviews are.  I really enjoyed last night's episode.  I'm giving it a 9 out of 10.  It was almost a 10 from me, but I had to deduct a point from some of the subpar cgi that distracted from the dragon scenes and the boar scene.

The show is taking GRRM's world a lot more seriously than the original show did and even without fan favorite characters like Tyrion and Arya, I'm still becoming invested in the characters the show has given us.

Agreed, I liked the episode a lot too.

[Jaehaerys Tyrell]

13 hours ago, Cashless Society said:

I hope the writers will stick to a consistent vocabulary going forward, it was really jarring going from ages defined as fourteen and fifteen to six-and-ten.

In fairness, both forms are used in Fire and Blood. I’m not sure if this is a mistake on GRRM’s part or if it’s used interchangeably in-universe.

[butterweedstrover]

36 minutes ago, Caligula_K3 said:

I haven't disliked the dialogue, but I haven't loved it either, and there are few lines that have been really striking or stuck in my head. Aside from it being nearly always serious or expository, I think you're right that it's often way too formal. There's a place for that, but not every line or character need the Martin medievalisms: the "must needses" and the "mine own" and the "seven-and-ten."

"Mine own fleet will be beggared by the the king's own hunting games, thoust capital will be breech by tourney and plenty till he chokes on his nameday feast at the behest of mine own coin taxed and levied by the crowns own vessels, join our two houses on the morrow least we come to steel and salt thy good friend."  

21 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

I'm a bit surprised how lukewarm a lot of these reviews are.  I really enjoyed last night's episode.  I'm giving it a 9 out of 10.  It was almost a 10 from me, but I had to deduct a point from some of the subpar cgi that distracted from the dragon scenes and the boar scene.

The show is taking GRRM's world a lot more seriously than the original show did and even without fan favorite characters like Tyrion and Arya, I'm still becoming invested in the characters the show has given us.

I guess the problem is it takes the lore way too seriously. 

[Ser Not Appearing]

Felt like a 6 or 7.

I'd say I'm reaching an officially worried state. Not because I think the show will be bad or that I won't find enjoyment in it but that I'm pretty close to convinced it simply won't be great. While good is okay, I had hoped for more and I think the first episode was the best executed ... which is less than ideal.

I need to collect my thoughts on exactly why that is but it's somewhere along the lines of how I feel that very little is done or accomplished in the story telling or character building with subtlety.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Ser Not Appearing

[Ser Yorick Ampersand]

Still boring like the last episode, but less because we had more Daemon.

They really pulled the "pure valyrian blood" again. I will never take this show seriously when they keep doing shit like this. It's just insulting to anyone with half a brain.

The white stag gave me Arya's white horse bs vibes. It was filler, it mean't nothing, it went nowhere. The CGI sucked.

They got to reuse the weirwood that should'nt exist again, because it must have cost alot of money.

Altough Daemon is the most interesting part, his battle and everything involved was very, very, silly.

And insert 'diversity hire dragonrider' out of nowhere lol I'm sure normies didn't understand a thing.

Also I already rolled my eyes again watching the trailer for the next episode... they keep retconing prophecy the main show never used. This is so dumb. Did they even watch the main show? Stop it, already.

[C.T. Phipps]

6 minutes ago, Ser Yorick Ampersand said:

And insert 'diversity hire dragonrider' out of nowhere lol I'm sure normies didn't understand a thing.

It's Laenor Velaryon, dude.

You may disagree with making the Velaryon's black but they're black, there's black Valyrians, and they've always been there in the show continuity.

There's no retconning that. It's established fact now.

Signed, sealed, and delivered.

[Corvinus85]

9/10 This is how you do a royal hunt, not a few dudes walking through the woods talking about how many women they fucked.

The battle on the Stepstones was decent, too, and I liked that it shows that the dragons aren't really the nuclear option people seem to think they are. It took a lot to finally win.

Some of the CGI wasn't great, but doing great animal CGI in real environments is a challenge.

[Howland Reed]

Hmm... seems like a lot of people here didn't enjoy it.  I don't think the dialogue is that bad.  I actually really enjoy Paddy Considine's acting of Viserys, his scenes really had me locked in.  The white stag was a bit hamfisted, and Daemons John Wick Rambo charge was way too hollywood for my liking, definitely lost my immersion at that scene, but overall I don't think its too bad.  If anything, my expectations were quite low for this show due to the sour taste of the final seasons of GOT, its definitely exceeded them.

 

I would give this episode a 7.  (Maybe a 6.5, that charge by daemon just really took me out of it)

[Happy Ent]

First half was fine. Despite lots of missed opportunities, and un-witty dialogue. 6/10.

The Stepstones plot, which so far was merely inept writing (setup, character motivation, strategy, dialogue, introduction), turned from lazy into a parody. I felt embarrassed watching this.

(I don’t watch much TV and haven’t even watched the original TV series because it felt dumb to me. But It’s Deamin’ Time! was dumberer.) 0/10

[Aejohn the Conqueroo]

Kinda got a kick out of what a tough guy Laenor is. I liked the implication that Daemon was just farting around in the Stepstones because he wasn't welcome in KL and he didn't feel there was anything for him in the Vale. As soon as the threat of support from (and possible first step to rapprochement with) the Iron Throne was announced he made busy and got the situation sorted out.  I liked that he did it, but I didn't care for how the battle unfolded on TV.

I liked the grotesqueness of the Targaryan hunt. Can you imagine Robert Baratheon witnessing that scene? At the same time though, how much better would things have gone for him if he had let Lancel and Selmey do the real work? I can't help but wondering if there's not some foreshadow in the constant emasculation of Viserys the dragonless contrasted with Daemon's big swinging dragon and all he does with it. Are we really going to be surprised when it's Daemon's line that holds the throne when it's all said and done?

Anyway, other than the over the top battle at the end - the idea that Dark Sister was going to be relinquished to anyone was a nonstarter and the daemon superman stuff was... dumb- I thought it was a pretty good episode.  One of the things I find with this show vs the other big fantasy fare available right now is that the characters have so much more life in them. Milly Alcock is brilliant as little R and it's a shame we're going to lose her soon. I kind of like what they're doing with Alicent as well, I thought it was an interesting touch that in the beginning they have her speaking up for Rhaenyra's rights and try to make her more than just a schemer.  I hope they manage to pace these two women's respective descents and keep them sympathetic for as long as possible.

[RhaenysBee]

I kinda liked this episode.

You do have to get over the criminal decision to time jump 2 years and cut vital character moments and challenges for Rhaenyra, Viserys and Alicent. I don’t know who made this choice but they definitely missed a gold mine of opportunity for first class scenes. 

I also didn’t like that Laenor (who makes me think of the fabric softener, sorry) aged 5+ years in two. At least my last recollection of him is that he looks to be about 12. 

I hate cgi version of real life animals with passion. It’s so fake and cheap it rips you out of the story completely. How difficult/expensive  can it be to go to a conservation center and film an actual deer? You can touch up the color by computer and fake the kill with smart cinematography and a bit of cgi. Please make an effort. 

I did like that Daemon didn’t (really) have dialogue and Matt Smith acted out the layers of the character without having to deliver dumb sassy lines. 

I liked the dragon ex machina scene in the beginning though it’s interesting that the dragon is driven away by a couple hundred flaming arrows. I mean if arrows are of use against these things, would they really have been the ultimate deciding weapons in battles? But fine, cgi budget (though you know, you didn’t need the deers).

I like Alicent’s character and her portrayal, I really liked her dynamic with other characters in various scenes, it showed a lot about who she is and how she deals with her situation without gratuitous exposition. Rhaenyra is a rude brat which is getting tired and monotonous. I really liked Viserys though, his scenes this episode conveyed that he is not fit for ruling much more effectively than previous episodes. His physical tiredness, weakness, his psychological struggle with the pressure, the family and internal conflicts, turning to alcohol… it will be time to see something  different next episode, but for now it played out well. 

If I gave a 5/10 to previous episodes, this would be a solid 7/10.