HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones - will this be just for nerds? (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

Nah the Arya bits are cool, really atmospheric.

i do also have the problem that on my laptop screen it just looks like a bunch of vaguely defined figures moving around in pitch darkness

this was definitely the weakest episode of the season and one of the weaker installments overall, although i really liked the tyrion, cersei and arya scenes. also ADEBISI LIVES

that said i've really enjoyed this season, mostly bc i've stopped caring overmuch about where it all ends up, being overly concerned with "sticking the landing" or w/e is one of the biggest problems w/ how we (royal we) watch serialized television imo

well, bronn did say "this song is all about the ending," so maybe they're acknowledging the place holding going on this season.

Arya scenes are a little cliche Karate Kid though right? Instructor fucks with student via vague "tests" and pranks, then whether it is clear or not suddenly the student is ready for the next phase of mild psychological abuse etc. repeat until they become an amazing ninja assassin.

the authoritative ratings from the world's #1 expert who still can't remember the names of major characters
tyrion scenes: A
arya scenes: A-
kings landing scenes: A
the wall/north of the wall/winter is coming: B+
stannis/bolten/winterfell: B
daenerys: D-
dorne: F (oberyn was A+)

dorne is so bad
the casting was done in the parking lot behind tj maxx

xxp would not surprise me at all if karate kid was a semi-inspiration for that, after all GRRM has said a zillion times that oberyn martell is...was (sob)...more or less inigo montoya

mostly agree with you karl although i remain a daenerys partisan and am only now starting to feel the feet dragging with those scenes (as seems to be true of many surrounding her!), i did not mind that stuff in seasons 3 and 4

Doesn't help that Obara's "tough face" is the same one I see 6 year olds make when they're dressed up like little super heroes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlL56OCPEaw

i want to enjoy the daenerys stuff, but the acting is pretty bad and the set design and look and feel of it just seems very 2nd unit-y

Wonder if that guy has given up on Arya being a full fledged nobody and realised that she won't let go of the past, but will train her in a limited way so he wasn't completely wasting his time on her.

netw3rk's weekly explainer/context-giver for watchers who are not book readers http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/ask-the-maester-sansas-horrific-wedding-the-bolton-stark-alliance-and-the-sand-snakes/

this part in particular made me lol/is how i want to answer a lot of nitpicky shit about the show:

Michael asks, “Is there any canon explanation for why there seems to have been like no technological advancement in the world of GoT for the past 8,000 years or so? I mean, I know the doom of Valyria set things back a bit, but 8,000 years and they haven’t invented the steam engine, discovered electricity, or anything?”

This hasn’t been dealt with directly but (as with everything else) there are numerous fan theories, some of which are quite involved, none of which are really worth talking about, because the answer is, “That’s the genre.”

We've never seen anyone even wearing spectacles or the equivalent have we? Qyburn maybe, or another Maester as they are supposed to be tech gatekeepers as much as anything. But maybe there's just enough 'magic' and fear of eerie powers apparent in GoT world to keep the pursuit of technology out of most inhabitants reach or intellectual curiosity.

i just go with "its the equivalent of the dark ages in most ways" and leave it at that

There are definitely nitpicky questions that are relevant to the story or the general world building but that isn't one of them. It also seems to get brought up all the time across the fantasy genre but I don't get why it bothers anybody enough to need an answer. Just rationalize it somehow and move on.

xxp

i'm still hopeful that at some point the police from monty python/holy grail will bust into westeros and arrest everyone

I think the real question is why our world hasn't developed magic or dragons yet.

This hasn’t been dealt with directly but (as with everything else) there are numerous fan theories, some of which are quite involved, none of which are really worth talking about, because the answer is, “That’s the genre.”

idk, considering they have winters that last years where loads of people starve to death and they have to spend years on survival - doesn't seem that difficult to reconcile to me. how can they plan or invest when they don't know when winter will end?

The winter thing makes no sense either tbf

Like how would life even evolve under those conditions

series should end with all the different kings pledging money for R&D into inventing the light bulb

The true answer is that the people and only the people are the driving force in the creation of world history, to paraphrase Mao Zedong. So since the big houses have all the power, and the people has none, progression is halted. The good ending for the series would be the smallfolk finally realizing their class interests, and rising up.

Most of season seven consists of Loach'ian discussions amongst the Brotherhood of the Banners about the true way to achieve an uprising amongst the peasants. Then there's some boobs, then some more discussion.

it was posted (i think here) a looong time ago – but someone shared a link that went into how all knowledge is basically intrusted to the Maesters. and that they have an interest in keeping that to themselves, it makes advancement incredibly difficult to achieve.

Peasant uprising would be amazing. It seems like GRRM hints at something like that, or at least he seems pretty cynical about the typical fantasy trope of the "chosen one." Obviously he uses it to some extent, but so far, the chosen ones get their heads chopped off at some point.

this seems kind of similar to the Helliconia series by Brian Aldiss-winters that last a super long time and destroy progress, a priesthood that keeps knowledge from the people etc.

the sparrows thing is m/l a peasant uprising, focused around religious zealotry, obvs one of the best ways to rally the dispossessed

Mostly OTM, but compromised by having one of the two onscreen representatives be from a ruling, aristocratic family.

eh, they gave up all their shit, every revolution has defectors from the powerful side

it is a shame the 7 gods cant protect you from flames though

VG the head room reminded me of Return to Oz too!
Ramsey Bolton isn't the only one (not) troubling the charts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiqF9KRgyck

Red lady too.

Diana Rigg totally won this episode.

Most of season seven consists of Loach'ian discussions amongst the Brotherhood of the Banners about the true way to achieve an uprising amongst the peasants. Then there's some boobs, then some more discussion.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, May 19, 2015 1:51 PM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lmao

It's horrible how well this works
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VTkL62YnTA

Brilliant end.

BTW I'm pretty sure I've been in that Dorne palace where everything kicked off. Is it the Alcazar of Seville?

yeah we were pretty sure it was, and it was: http://scribblerinseville.com/filming-game-of-thrones-in-sevilles-alcazar/

nice spot

so #sansagate is a thing

....what

do you just mean the negative reactions themselves or is there some creepy counterattack defense thing as well, i am literally always paranoid that that MRA shit is right around the corner :/

A short pause to mark the realisation that from now on *gate will evoke MRAs chimping it up rather than a national scandal that did for a US President.

i started to read a thinkpiece abt heres why the rape was not necessary to advance the plot but im p sure the person didnt understand what the words plot or necessary meant, guess u wldnt write a piece like that if u did

Considering it was a change from the books, they could have done it differently

The Mary Sue has a solid view on it.

yes, I read that. People should read that. I think there are spoilers in it though.

xposts maybe easier to discuss on the spoiler thread?
if we don't know where the plot is going it's p hard to defend a Strong Opinion whether or not the scene was necessary.

i think there's a difference between the event happening and whether it needed to be depicted on screen -- so that scene was not necessary, especially considering it wasn't part of source text