septsecond Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I think they had to start slowly because of the overlap to ASOS at the end of Season 2. Hopefully, the buildup after this will be better. For those of us who know the books and tv series chapter and verse, it can be frustrating - like, come on already! If they would have caught up with each character, it would be been a soundbite - that wouldn't work. All in all, I was glued to the screen; that's got to say something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinwesteros Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 It looks like I was in the minority, but I was really disappointed with this episode. 5.(+)The GiantTyrion & Tywin sceneDany & Jorah with the unsulliedNixing the Artsan whitebeard to Barristan Selmy transition(-)Fist of the First Men -- seriously? You know this is going to be a slower episode with so many story arc's going on at once so they nix what could have been an epic fighting scene with sounds of swords?Jon's scene with Mance -- I understand cutting some stuff, but the TONE was all wrong. It just missed the markRobb imprisoning his mother at Harrenhall -- this never happens, and it makes no sense for it to happen in the showMargery with the children -- there are many other ways to make it clear Margery is loved by the commons. In reality, Margery picks flowers and goes on picnics, not giving toys to flea bottom childrenLoras' quote -- "Margery does quite a bot of work with the poor back at Highgarden" I laughed out loud. Honestly the most idiotic line in GOT history.The Roz/Shae scene -- pointless. gods i cannot stand Roz.On another note, Im really going to miss Strong Belwas. I understand that it might be a bit much to put in the show, but damn he was hilarious.My sentiments exactly. Last night after the show I got on here and truly wanted to give it a "5" but caved to a guilty conscience and gave it a "7". When oh when will I learn to "listen to me and not to them"!... What, no emoticons with iPad version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stannis the Menace Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Since there was no Strong Belwas introduced with Selmy, do you think he was cut completely? While he isnt a major character by any means, he does come into play in some crucial momentsmaybe he is one of the freed slaves that tags along after Dany sacks astapor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywolf2375 Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 (edited) It's great TV, but it has a very high bar to measure against.Davos - I liked that they cut out his internal monologue of being on the spires, I didn't like how they had him interact with Saan, it was too adversarial.Fist/Sam - not seeing the fight is fine, I've almost never thought they needed to show more fighting. Sam being ignored still seems to much deus ex machina to have at this point, it was just as easy to have him run away, look back and see the WW and pan out.Dany/Unsullied - I liked it just fine, they kept in the derision from the slave owner and kept her perspective.Roz/Shae - wasted time on screen.Jon/Mance - I think the way they did this lost out on a lot. Jon wanting to live does not give him the connection to Mance that he built with his "And where did they seat the bastard?" dialogue. It gives no reason to Mance to truly believe he has switched his cloak for just that reason.Barristan - it would have been very difficult to do, but his immediate reveal loses a lot. At this point an apology is what is keeping Dany from having her dragons roast him for letting her family die and going over to Robert.Dragons - not sure if it was just this instance, but last season the dragons seemed part of the picture, this time they looked more like a SyFy movie FX, was a little disappointed in how they looked. That being said, the giant looked fantastic. Harrenhall - rather disjointed, it's like they are trying to tie everyone to specific locations.7/10. Good start to the season, room for improvement but enjoyable to watch. Edited April 1, 2013 by Greywolf2375 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Wing Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 8/10Loved the Dany scenes, and that doesn't happen often. Don't mind the Marge scene with the kids although they made her seem like the modern day politicians... still, didn't mind it much. Loved Davos scenes (omg, his face when Mel touches him... ) and the Tywin/Tyrion scene was awesome, Tywin is a heartless prick... Still wary of the Beyond the Wall gang... we shall see...Still cringe at the whole Robb/Cat storyline........... Also, Roose seems like a stand up guy ... what the what HBO? :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveRoid Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 (edited) 7/10.Great scenes (for me):- Dany and the dragons/Astapor- Tywin/Tyrion- the dinner scene- Davos/Stannis.Agree with this dude.Also to add I LOVED Missandra and the slave owner's acing and dialogue. "They fear nothing" colloquy was delivered so well I had a small shiver lol. Edited April 1, 2013 by DaveRoid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardian of the Lhazareen Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Actually didn't like it, I am beginning to thing that making the book a show was a mistake, too many characters and plots to ever be a well told story, there was no arya, bran, jaime, briene, varys, greyjoy in the episode at all and only jon dany tyrion did anything significant, the harenhal scene made no sense, god if i hadn't read the books i don;t know how i could watch the show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom 1974 Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I thought it was a pretty solid start.Dany's scenes were nice. It was good to see that there were still SOME Dothraki with her, as the end of last season gave the impression that there were all dead or gone. Was that a couple of her bloodriders on deck? Hard to tell. There is a bit lacking from her developing inner circle with the direction the show's gone vs. the books.Shifting a lot of Barristan's secert identity by elimnating it shouldn't be too much of an issue. It is rather irrelevant as they eliminated the whole prophecy of the House of the Undying, so the wondering over betrayals and the like matter little. So it should work.My biggest disappointment came in the whole Sansa/Littlefinger bit. Where's the mystery? But let's see how they twist about this storyline once they introduce the Queen of Thorns next week. As a side, the Shae/Roz thing is what it is, but it grates that there are implications that both of these women are far more than they seem to be.The Jon/Mance scene played well, but I don't know why they felt they had to deviate from the books there. Jon's book speech about why he's come over worked so very well.I forget exactly how the book plays out, so I'm wondering about how they'll resolve Davos in the dungeon.As the battle at the fist was only told to us in Sam's frenzied memory, I don't know that it matters if we saw it or not other than it might have "looked cool". Though it would have been nice to know Sam did get the ravens away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teemo Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 My non-book reader husband loved it. can't wait for the next one and the characters they didn't show this time.He would have given it a 10 (but he says that about all the episodes).lol, my husband is the total opposite. he's hated them all, but watches it with me because he knows they're based off my favorite books. i think he liked the blackwater episode so-so, but that's it...he calls it a medieval soap opera snoozefest..."It's only ever two people in a room talking to each other." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeIAF Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I gave it a 10 because even though i'm a book reader i found the first episode very enjoyable despite the fact that it seemed a bit rushed at times, i liked the way they showed the dragons, very good cgi for a TV Show, also the introduction of the Unsullied was good, for the 1st episode it couldnt be better. I was not feeling let down in this episode, also i was happy that they insisted on Roose a bit more than in previous episodes, i hope they will build on his character. In the end i think it is all about our expectations, maybe some were expecting alot more from the beginning ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utecifa Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 (edited) 7.Solid for a season debut. I think season debuts are likely the hardest to write and pull off. A nice effort.I don't rate it any higher or lower than season 2's to be honest. I felt the same after watching both. Solid but not great.As for Ros/Shae. I think it's necessary because I think they're swapping roles from the book. I won't go into any further detail than to say, I think Ros will wind up the Shae from the books, and Shae will wind up the Tysha from the books. So I think they're setting the stage for that. Edited April 1, 2013 by utecifa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abaddon Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I'm feeling an 8.5. Since I can't do that, I'm going to knock it down to an 8 "plus", because I don't think it quite deserves a 9.A few random notes:- I don't have as much a problem with the opening as most people seem to. I wouldn't call it a standout of the episode but I am fine with them skipping the battle.- The Giant rocked. They do such a great job of not making things "too fantasy". There has to be an edge of plausibility and they do that very well.- I liked the change in Jon's stated motivation in deserting. I think the 'bastard' bit worked for a proud 14 yr old boy in the books but would have felt a bit ridiculous for the Jon Snow in the series. I also liked that they built on the previous change of Jon actually seeing the Walker and Mormont knowing (not just suspecting something weird was afoot). It makes me dislike that change a little bit less, and shows they are at least thoughtfully considering their changes, even in cases where I don't like them...- I will need to re-watch the Robb in Harrenhall bit. My guests (I host a smallish party every week of the show) were talking during this and I missed a lot of conversation :(- I am intrigued by the introduction of Qyburn 'surviving' the bloodbath at HarrenhallI think this is an indication that in the show the Roose/Tywin connection might have come about due to Qyburn being a plant by the Lannister forces. I am pretty bad about reading between the lines in the books so I don't know if anything like this was ever implied or not.- Loved the Kings Landing stuff, all of it. The Tywin/Tyrion scene being the standout, naturally.- Davos (yay) and Dragonstone were good. Glad to see Salla back, hope we get to see him more than once this season.- Loved the Astapor stuff, all of it. Out of the entire episode the Dany stuff WOWed me more than anything else (other than the Giant, I suppose).I'm really looking forward to catching up with the rest of the gang next week. And then... onward, and upward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyana Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Hesitating between 7 and 8. Gave it an 8 tho. That episode was so anticipated, that I didn't care about the book deviations. It was a nice set up for the ongoing story, but visually weaker that the previous pilot episodes.But in general - thumbs up! I've enjoyed it a lot :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StannisandDaeny Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 i liked it more than i expected. surprisingly, i liked it a lot more than my non-book reader friends, who for the most part thought it was boring as hell.Infidels! Give them to the Drowned God! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ServantOnIce Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 8/10. Slow but necessary slow. Thought the scene with Bronn and the Working Girl was a bit unnecessary. But overall things flowed smoothly. I was impressed by Dormer as Madge Tyrell. Joffrey seems to be getting a real affection for Madge. It will play powerfully into her plot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ServantOnIce Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Infidels! Give them to the Drowned God!What do you get when you mix the faith of the Drowned God with the faith of R'hllor? STEAM!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl the climber Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I gave it an 8. The general consensus seems to be that it was good episode with a few minor flaws. Most people seemed to have enjoyed the scenes with Marge in KL, I am one of those, it gives us some insights that we did not get in the book. The three gripes that keep coming up are Jons storyline, LF/Sansa and Rob/Cat. I can understand why they did not want to blow a lot of money with a fight scene at the Fist but Jons arc has been underwhelming so far and probaly will be til next season. They are making some changes with Sansas arc and I will reserve judgement til it plays out. I honestly do not have a problem with Robb and Cats arc, its different from the books but that is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protar Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 One thing I did think was a mistake was the lack of new characters introduced. That can bog down an opening episode but it can also move the plot forward which I felt was rather lacking in KL. KL was pretty much all a recap of S2 E10. I would've replaced the orphan scene with the QOT's arrival and then maybe had her dinner meeting with Sansa instead of the scene with LF at the docks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tywin's bastard Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Yea if they somehow mess that up, I will not watch the show anymoreno i still will watch it lol, but after they botched the battle of the blackwater im a little apprehensiveIf you think they botched the battle of the Blackwater then you really should be more than a little apprehensive. That episode had an absolutely enormous budget for a TV show, and it was written by George himself, so there's basically no realistic way anything could have been done better. That should be the limit of how close the show possibly can come to the large scenes of the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aFeastForDragons Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 8/10-1 for the terrible Mance/Tormund/Jon interaction. Jon's story where he earns his cloak is one of my favourite in his POVs. Tormund is all wrong, not a single "Hur Hur!" or boast about his member-1 for the Fist. Budget restrictions aside it's a massive letdown after the epic ending scene of season 2.Everything else was brilliant in my opinion. Davos/Stannis/Mel interaction was great. I love the tension between Joff and Cersei. The Tyrion and Tywin scene is one of the best interactions I've seen on TV. You really feel for Tyrion and can see Tyrwin's sheer dislike of Tyrion. I really hope to see more scenes with these two. I can't wait to seem him put Joff in his place.Astapor was brilliant! Really looking forward to seeing the outcome on the big screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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