[TV SPOILERS] Goofs

[ser_nerdick]

So that's what he means by "little birds"!

Varys is using his iPod to spy on all of Westros.

"I have many little birds Littlefinger, as well as google earth, and the 3g reception in King's Landing is excellent."

[Edda van Heefmstra Ruston]

Many little angry birds!

[Linda]

In some cases, it almost seems as if lines were written and then the action didn't necessarily match up. Such as in the command to take Ned alive, or why not (my personal favourite) where its said that Robert's little bastard has his black hair... Except the baby is totally bald.

[Leofric]

Thank you! Last episode I found myself thinking..."doggy...AGAIN??"

I assume they just doing it that way because it's easier to have a conversation that way during sex and you can see both actors faces during their dialogue without having to keep switching camera angles, otherwise you have to have a longer scene, first showing the sex, then having them kick back with a smoke and talk politics.

[Xenophon]

In some cases, it almost seems as if lines were written and then the action didn't necessarily match up. Such as in the command to take Ned alive, or why not (my personal favourite) where its said that Robert's little bastard has his black hair... Except the baby is totally bald.

No, look closely--that kid has hair. It's more like fuzz, but it clearly has dark hair. You can see it best in the beginning of the scene when the camera zooms in.

What I don't understand is why Arya didn't just go back out the way she came. She didn't come in via the door with with bars. Varys unlocks it when he and Illyrio enter the room and locks it behind them. She entered via the staircase on the other side of the room--the one Varys and Illyrio use to exit.

[Tywin's bastard]

No, look closely--that kid has hair. It's more like fuzz, but it clearly has dark hair. You can see it best in the beginning of the scene when the camera zooms in.

What I don't understand is why Arya didn't just go back out the way she came. She didn't come in via the door with with bars. Varys unlocks it when he and Illyrio enter the room and locks it behind them. She entered via the staircase on the other side of the room--the one Varys and Illyrio use to exit.

Arya probably just panicked after hearing people talking about killing her father.

[Rand]

Arya probably just panicked after hearing people talking about killing her father.

I doubt the script read "Arya panics after hearing some strange men conspiring to kill her father and panics, missing the obvious gaps between the bars she could escape through but instead turns around and proceeds deeper into the dungeons". Especially when in the original source material she really was locked in.

You can invent some rational behind it if you want, but this really is just a simple case of the set piece not matching up entirely with the script. And by the time anyone notices it's too late/expensive to change it.

[Tywin's bastard]

I doubt the script read "Arya panics after hearing some strange men conspiring to kill her father and panics, missing the obvious gaps between the bars she could escape through but instead turns around and proceeds deeper into the dungeons". Especially when in the original source material she really was locked in.

You can invent some rational behind it if you want, but this really is just a simple case of the set piece not matching up entirely with the script. And by the time anyone notices it's too late/expensive to change it.

I suggest you read the entire post, including the quote. I was responding to why she didn't leave the way she came, not about the bars.

But to comment on your point, if I didn't try to find a rationale for the scene I would be a poor viewer.

[Ser Warpechowski]

Yeah, old Theon can't keep it up long, that much is clear.

Worst goof I've noticed is this: Jamie says "take him alive (Ned) kill his men.". Then the fight takes place, Ned gets stabbed and falls to the ground. Jamie and his men ride/walk off and leave Ned. It seemed to me that "take him alive" means Ned was intended to be a captive.

Enjoyed the secne, however.

Lol, had not noticed that. Jaime killed Ned´s men as punishment and as a warning, not to get him alive.

[Ser Warpechowski]

If I'm an actor I certainly wouldn't want to be lying 'dead' within 1 meter of a moving horse. Even well trained horses are still animals with minds of their own, best to keep the bodies clear so nothing gets stepped on.

Anyways, for other things not mentioned it seemed like Lysa's dress slipped itself back up over her shoulder on its own after she finished breast feeding her baby Robin. The screen cuts away for a few seconds to a distant side view and when it's back she's fully clothed, having made no motion to do so. Also, if she had been breast feeding her baby for years it's unlikely she'd have a perfectly shaped breast/nipple. These inconsistencies I tell yeah!

Lysa learned how to do this with this girl below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBI0AwJfjzY

In some cases, it almost seems as if lines were written and then the action didn't necessarily match up. Such as in the command to take Ned alive, or why not (my personal favourite) where its said that Robert's little bastard has his black hair... Except the baby is totally bald.

Oh yeah, I noticed that about the baby too. Come on, the kid doesnt have one hair in his entire head.

[Greylander]

Oh come on... seriously? This is Arya, who is supposed to be running around the castle trying to be nimble enough to catch cats. Why would the lock give her a moment's pause when there is a huge freaking gap between the bars she could just squeeze walk through?

I'm ok with chalking up these errors due to budget constraints, but it also demonstrates sloppiness of the production. If you have budget constraints, you have to avoid huge battle scenes, flashbacks, etc... you hope that the audience doesn't notice their absence because of the story and acting and such. You don't want the audience to notice budget constraints because of sloppy little (but glaring) prop mistakes.

Does it look a bit odd? Yes. Especially if you think she *needs* or even *wants* to go that way. But she doesn't, necessarily. She just heard them talk about killing her father. She is not exploring or chasing cats anymore. She is now just a frightened little girl. She comes out of the skull and needs to decide which way to go...

... and actually if you think about it more... if there was a good way out through the gate... why would it be locked here?

The point is, she did not *need* to go that way. So it is entirely possible that she realized she could, but ended up choosing not to for other reasons. It would be quite a different thing, if, for example, she were being chased, and thru that gate was the best or only way for her to go, but she then did not slip through the bars.

It is a minor visual gaff at worst. More than likely they intended to "fis it in post" by digitally adding extra bars, but... time... budget... (no matter how big a budget they had, it was finite, and I'm sure they spent every penny... maybe they ended up needing to spend more on the dragons than they thought, and this got dropped from bottom of the priorities list). Let's face it, if they get the dragons "wrong" that would be far worst than this "gaff" -- especially considering that there *is* a plausible explanation.

[Xenophon]

Oh yeah, I noticed that about the baby too. Come on, the kid doesnt have one hair in his entire head.

Y'all need to hang out with more babies, and/or turn up the brightness on your TVs. That baby has hair. Not much, but enough to tell it's brown.

[ser_nerdick]

The point is, she did not *need* to go that way. So it is entirely possible that she realized she could, but ended up choosing not to for other reasons. It would be quite a different thing, if, for example, she were being chased, and thru that gate was the best or only way for her to go, but she then did not slip through the bars.

Oh come now. She clearly wants to leave through the gate, but after pulling on the lock and finding it barred (and shaking it in frustration), decides to go the other direction. She ends up having to go far out of her way, emerging disheveled from some sort of drainage tunnel to the sea.

It is a minor visual gaff at worst. More than likely they intended to "fis it in post" by digitally adding extra bars, but... time... budget... (no matter how big a budget they had, it was finite, and I'm sure they spent every penny... maybe they ended up needing to spend more on the dragons than they thought, and this got dropped from bottom of the priorities list). Let's face it, if they get the dragons "wrong" that would be far worst than this "gaff" --

True.

especially considering that there *is* a plausible explanation.

No, there really isn't. Not considering the way the scene was shot. It was a minor gaff, there's no need to make up fantastical excuses.

[Greylander]

Greylander, that was a well-written and -explained summary of work behind the camera. Thanks for that! Sure there were some thoughts I did not think of when writing down my "discovery". :) But, honestly, in one point I am not convinced: In my opinion there is absolutely no need to let Ned collapse between Jory and his victims (for he is fighting Jaime somewhere far off of his later place of being backstabbed) - and why couldn't Jaime just ride through a gap in the line of dead Lannister guardsmen? Does he really need 2 meters of open space left and right for it (and the guardsmen-line arranged as a pile)? Don't get me wrong, I fear that now it's really going to get nit picking, but.. the scenery is *so* extremely changed that for me there is really no excuse of lack of time, reshots etc. As you've stated, there can be much fun in accidently discovering goofs and I really don't look out for them on purpose 'cause that ruins the feeling and flow and thus being drawn into a movie/series - but this particular goof/coping with eventual production issues ruined the scene for me. (I hope I was able to explain that properly - I'm not a native speaker.. ^^)

I watched it twice and never noticed this thing about the bodies (I did notice Arya/bars, but was not much bothered by it). I very much doubt many people did notice it. For all we know those men were wounded rather than dead and got up or a little bit when the camera wa not on them (unlikely, sure, but whatever).

As to "why"? Who knows. That is my point about the complexity of shooting these things when it comes time on set. If everything could be planned out perfectly beforehand, or if they could do unlimited reshoots after discovering a problem... but neither is possible. Why they chose to place the actors where they did in eash shot/reshot? Who knows... the director and photographer have many things to consider and gettign the "drama" right is most important. Could Ned have fallen somewhere else? Sure... but then where is the sun coming from... would it be in the lens? For that matter, how easy is it to reposition the camera rig to get the necessary angles if we put Ned where you suggest? Is there time for that? Maybe they planned to have the horse step over the bodies, but found it was too hard for Coster-Waldau to handle, and *then* they did not have time to reshoot, or calm the horse down, or whatever.

Why let something like this ruin the show for you? The way I look at it, the show is a *representation* of the events in a story, no to to be regarded as if it were "footage of actual events" (so to speak), so minor continuity errors, when I notice them, do not bother me, unless somehow critical to the story.

[Dorcas]

I was kind of bothered that Loras only shaved one of Renly's armpits - maybe not exactly a goof, but it stood out as odd to me. Maybe I'm just being pedantic though...

[LordTherion]

Why let something like this ruin the show for you? The way I look at it, the show is a *representation* of the events in a story, no to to be regarded as if it were "footage of actual events" (so to speak), so minor continuity errors, when I notice them, do not bother me, unless somehow critical to the story.

I never said it ruined the show for me, I said it ruined the SCENE for me - maybe I'm just as pedantic as Dorcas here ( ;) ), but hey - I just wanted to present that goof I found to you, not more :)

[Ser Bronn o the Blackwater]

Definitely noticed the Arya/bars thing, Renly's one shaved underarm, and Bronn not cleaning his sword before sheathing it. Can't say I noticed the bit with Cat and the rock or the bodies in the Wolf vs. Lion scene, even after several viewings. I guess I have to start watching even closer!

[Huan]

I was kind of bothered that Loras only shaved one of Renly's armpits - maybe not exactly a goof, but it stood out as odd to me. Maybe I'm just being pedantic though...

I noticed this too... I guess they got distracted. :blush:

[Ser Greguh]

The fallacy on display in this thread is that perfectly continuous footage is necessarily a positive trait. It can be fun to point out "goofs" but pretending that fewer goofs necessarily translates to a better overall product is fallacious. Cinema is shorthand. For example if the bars in the dungeon are actually practical (i.e. too narrow for even a child to slip through) it becomes impossible to get a good picture and show the actress's face, which is more the point of the scene than the logistical details behind whether or not the character could actually pass through bars of that size. Same goes with the body placement at the end of the KL fight. You go for the placement that makes for the best layout of the final image, not for the placement that is most consistent with the preceding action.

[Ser Bronn o the Blackwater]

Not a "goof", per se, but something else I just thought of: Thinking of the many more important characters they don't explain well enough, how the HELL do we get Mord's name before we even met him?