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

I don't think explaining something that is entirely inferrable from the context of what has been shown onscreen is a spoiler.

I don't know, I don't feel like anything's entirely inferrable at this point, but either way Sloth has made it clear in several posts that he's read the books and has made a few hinty posts previously, so it jumps from "I wonder if my inference will play out the way I think it might" to "well I guess that's happening for sure"

I'm admittedly dim; I'll shut up if everyone's cool with it

It's a very tricky balance to get right in this very unique situation, and book readers should probably err on the side of caution... However, one can definitely be over-sensitive to spoilers, I do sometimes wonder why the extremely spoiler-phobic go on internet threads at all.

See any later Doctor Who thread for examples of what I'm talking about taken to absurdity.

The White Walker/wight children were A+ nightmare fuel. Cold that they killed the mother.

It's like if I had accidentally spoiled say the Red Wedding for myself by reading the internet I'd be a little miffed, but it wouldn't have ruined my life, I'd kind of have myself to blame, and I'm sure I still would have enjoyed watching the episode.

narcissistic xpost

Given that half the internet is talking about it, it's not exactly unreasonable that the spoiler-phobic would gather in a place that specifically says "(NO SPOILERS PLEASE)", in fairness.

Ha, fair point.

NO SPOILERS threads have the same problem as Quiet Cars on trains--someone always thinks what they have to say is so important that rules be damned

if you've read all of the game of thrones books the appropriate behaviour is sheepish contrition, not banging on about it like you're a wise old sage

apologies if ppl were ticked off by that - I thought it was v obvious based on stuff that'd already occurred solely in the show!

and at this point I am almost in the dark as ppl who just watch the show

trust me i have no desire to establish source text cred or ruin anything for anybody; I've kept most really inside baseball stuff to the spoiler thread and sometimes it slips my mind

It was nice to finally see at least one of the potentially world-changing threats mentioned almost every episode actually do something.

loved this shot

http://static3.uk.businessinsider.com/image/556c655bdd089549098b45c5-1200-750/four%20horsemen.jpg

it was fine. ffs we know cersei gave him the mountain and there is a huge body on a slab occasionally moving shock scare comedy style and qyburn's done everything but lift it into the storm to be animated by lightning.

it's the fact we're discussing it that hints at a spoiler at all.

sure, they could have put that stuff on the screen for no reason at all

not what i meant - i don't think anyway, to be honest i didn't follow your post.

Anyway, fine, I'm OK with being hyper-spoiler-sensitive.

Yeah, the white walker kids were where it went from "wow, this is a little Ray Harryhausen, a little Army of Darkness..." to JESUS CHRIST THAT IS TERRIFYING

it was funny how long they took to attack - like kind of indulgent but they got away with it. a bit like the boat moving at snail's pace.

I think them waiting for a very specific time to attack is sort of the point - the night's king knows he has a massive and obvious advantage so there's an arrogant show of force vibe to it. the walkers are showy, I mean they slaughter people and then arrange the corpses to form giant occult symbols early in season 3 (the second time we see mance rayder in the series)

the moment at the end is also arrogant as fuck. "oh word, so one of you has one sword that can kill us? that's cute. now this is happening." *turns all the ppl his wights just killed into more wights*

ah i specifically meant the little kids - like they stood for ages looking at her, very slow compared to the frenzy of those happy little skeletons.

ohhh. word my bad. i could easily wrong but i thought those were somehow children she knew (not hers, they get on the boat afaict) like maybe another wildling family - if only bc the show has previously portrayed the wights seeking out familiar people and settings as targets, like the wight that attacks lord mormont - and maybe that was the reason for that sadistic pause

*could easily BE wrong, jeez

did the books have a few pages about the undigested food that could be seen through the ribs of that little boy zombie?

Lemon cake that could be seen through his boiled leather clothing

lol

Wait, that's Valyrian boiled leather

That scene with the four horsemen posted above reminded me of a famous painting or sculpture (picasso or dali?) that features a rough, skinny / angular looking horse. Seems like it's a sculpture in my mind but I thought about it during the scene and now again seeing the screenshot. Anybody know what i'm referring to?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5f/Donquixote.JPG
picasso quixote?
http://www.theequinest.com/images/dali-horse.jpg
dali's temptation of st anthony?

i was thinking of the Picasso but in my mind it was an actual metal sculpture. Thanks for the image/connection.

http://media.aintitcool.com/media/uploads/2015/quint/frazettadeathdealer2_big.jpg

ohhh. word my bad. i could easily wrong but i thought those were somehow children she knew (not hers, they get on the boat afaict) like maybe another wildling family - if only bc the show has previously portrayed the wights seeking out familiar people and settings as targets, like the wight that attacks lord mormont - and maybe that was the reason for that sadistic pause

― dellevadova depression beard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, June 2, 2015 9:34 AM (55 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OK I'm seeing a lot of people read into this scene. Two main things are happening imo:

1) Horror movie trope of creepy children standing creepily for no real reason

2) They obviously worked quickly to establish that the wildling woman (Karsi) cares about the future of her children and the wildling children in general.

A) Jon mentions that their children will not have children of their own unless they join the south and this finally sways her.

B) She is specifically shown to be a mother (reinforces why she was convinced in the meeting) that cares deeply for the well being of her children.

After fighting very hard, the sudden sight of children as wights (in general) knocks the wind out of her because of the horrible future it represents for her own children and wildling children overall, and she is too emotionally broken to recover and perhaps even unable to bring herself to swing a blade at them. I don't think there's any reason to assume those particular children wights had any significance to her beyond that.

sorry i feel like I wrote "children" a billion times in that post...

it looks weird to me now

thought the whole establishing a cool character so they have someone to kill to give the scene more weight while not actually killing anyone of consequence and also she gets killed because even tho shes a fierce warrior shes ALSO A MOM progression was kinda lame tbh

http://t.qkme.me/3r5v79.jpg

evan otm, that moment was powerfully self-explanatory to me, excellent storytelling of a kind I wish we could expect more often from these guys.

sorry i feel like I wrote "children" a billion times in that post...

― Evan, Tuesday, June 2, 2015 10:51 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

as a copyeditor i would have to flag you for excessive repetition

it kind of bums me out that jon snow can't die. there are several good supporting characters in the wall/north of the wall, but if he was taken out, but if he died it would just fall apart. kind of takes some of the tension out of the apocalyptic zombie battle, although i guess there's always the possibility that tormund will die.

/whinycomplaints/

I loved the episode and the following isn't a huge concern of mine, but I think preferred the mystery of the white walkers prior to both this episode and the episode way back where the baby gets transformed via the icy finger poke.

I thought the white walkers were much more horrifying when they felt more like this empty, evil, humanoid force of nature that was just pushing south precariously along with the coming winter, like an unstoppable storm mindlessly pushing forward. But with these two particular scenes (especially this last one), with their outfits/gear and facial expressions/interactions, they're being painted as yet another rival culture looking to gain control, more literally human-like in motivation than merely supernatural-force-with-human-form with no real goal than just the compulsion to envelop life.

Just an observation, not a real protest.

can someone explain to me quickly how the high septon suddenly has enough power to imprison the king's mother, wife and brother-in-law without any resistance

i'm kinda with you evan, although i'm hopeful that there will be occasional glimpses into the white walker's world that add more mystery and terror. like maybe there's a realization that the white walkers are just the most visible edge of whatever hellish cult is way up north?

Evan and Jordan both otm

I was a bit disappointed not to get white spiders the size of hounds.

with no real goal than just the compulsion to envelop life.

understand what you're saying in general but thats still p much exactly what they are, they've merely revealed now that the walkers happen to possess rudimentary vicious emotions

totalitarian death cults can organize politically too!

can someone explain to me quickly how the high septon suddenly has enough power to imprison the king's mother, wife and brother-in-law without any resistance

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, June 2, 2015 11:30 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

a lot of it turns on the fact that the king is an ineffectual child who doesnt understand how to wield power, cearsi was using the kings power by proxy so that explains the wife and brother in law getting locked up part, then the high septon just sort of took her under that precedent, and since she alienated all potential allies and the king is in his room depressed shes stuck, it speaks more to a power vacuum than the sparrows having any real power imho, and will likely conclude with the tyrells seizing the iron throne since they have actual resources

tho i guess theres a larger show wide theme of religion gaining in strength too as winter appraoches

the natural loser in that trend would be secularism as embodied by the lanisters