THERE IS ONLY ONE THING WE SAY TO DEATH -- NOT TODAY: Back in the heyday of The Sopranos and Deadwood, I was a wreck on Sunday nights. Sometimes even when nothing really happened -- "Pine Barrens," say, or maybe a certain other episode -- I would be wound up as tight as the substrata of a baseball. Game of Thrones tonight made me feel exactly the same way. Everything, and not just Robb Stark and his bannermen, was going south in a hurry today.
And what a great job by Richard Madden, Emilia Clarke, and Charles Dance as the the old general Tywin Lannister, new general Robb Stark, and not-quite general Dany Targaryen brushing off challenges to their authority with sheer resolve. Tyrion was right when he said that Tywin and Robb would like each other, but he could have been speaking of Dany as well. Just an excellent portrait of power in motion this episode.
And for once, the exposition speech was boob-free. Whether that's a plus or a minus is up to you.
Son of ... oh, you wouldn't know him.
ReplyDeleteI still don't know who everyone is; the recaps really help. But I am digging this show.
Two interesting things I noticed from the credits:
ReplyDelete1. Mark Addy and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau apparently have an "only episodes I appear in" credits deal, as they were (I believe) absent from the opening credits.
2. Interesting that this was the only episode those far on which Benioff/Weiss didn't have a writing credit, likely out of respect for GRRM.
I'm digging the show, too. I anticipate new episodes more than anything since Lost went off the air last year.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. i generally have no idea who everyone is, but I'm enjoying the political intrigue aspects. I need the recaps to explain what happened, but I'm enjoying the show.
ReplyDeleteWhen Khal FLEXED INTO the blade, I let out an involuntary "Whoa, that's baaadaaaass"
ReplyDeleteI keep telling the group I watch this with: If the Amazing Race can tell me every time someone comes on screen who he/she is, why can't they do that for this show? All these dark haired people in winter clothes - I'm so lost. And I've read the books!
ReplyDeleteI should also note that I love how "mount" is pretty much an all-purpose verb for "do something majorly negative to, overpower, take," in Dothrak.
ReplyDeleteI've actually been having some problems with reviews written by TV writers who've read the books, even writers I normally enjoy. I find that their different perspective is weirdly distancing as they are experiencing the program differently than I am. They also sometimes inadvertently spoil future plot points by what they choose to focus on, or by discussing an event with finality in which I saw ambiguity. I think I'm going to try to limit myself to Alan Sepinwall's reviews for the rest of the season, which are excellent (as per usual), and so not a particular hardship.
ReplyDeleteI have been holding back on commenting on the episodes anywhere, because having read the books, (I am near the end of book 3) it is really, really hard to seperate them. I give credit to those who try, though am not suprised by their failure.
ReplyDeleteThe wait for the second season is going to be really brutal in just two weeks
ReplyDeleteMCM, there are places online (AV Club) that have a separate discussion space for folks who've read the books.
ReplyDeleteHBO GO online sort of does this -- you can watch with a sidebar that adds some information. But Game of Thrones is one show that calls out for rich annotations -- something like the pop-up video airings of Lost, but interactive, I suppose with an iPad that might work. Also, I would love that for Treme. Dave Walker's Treme Explained columns are sufficiently thorough. If I could get these in real time while watching the episode, that would be awesome. (Last night's Treme was one of the most strikingly visual episodes of TV in HD. For some very different reasons that why last night's Game of Thrones visuals were striking, of course.)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adam. I checked the AV Club reviews out and they also have a completely separate article written by and for someone who hasn't read the books, which is great.
ReplyDeleteNitpick: Khal is Drogo's title, rather than his first name, so it would be "When the Khal" or "When Drogo" or "When Khal Drogo."
ReplyDeleteMy bad - I meant to type the Drogo, but when thinking about Jason Momoa's muscles I momentarily lose my mind.
ReplyDeleteProbably one of those things that jumps out more to readers of the books (especially recent readers.) Which I suspect is a small manifestation of discussing a very faithful adaptation, especially here and other places where there's a combination of viewers who have read the books and those who haven't. Because the show is so dense with bodies (and so many of the scruffy-looking white dudes with beards look similar), it can be hard to keep all of the characters straight on an initial viewing. (I remember being very confused keeping all of the characters straight in the first few episodes of The Wire.) And knowing who these characters are fromt he books helps the show make more sense, but I can't imagine that the show would be even more effective not knowing that key plot twists are coming. Even though I knew it was coming (and having read a draft of the script knowing that's how the episode ended), I found the ending of the first episode surprising, and I'm sure that it played better if you didn't know to expect that.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity: I read the books. Is my post spoilery? I don't mean that in a defensive way -- I really don't want to be spoilery, and it would help if people said "this review kind of spoiled it for me."
ReplyDelete(2) is funny, particularly since (a) GRRM apparently ignored the memo about the importance of exposition boobs; and (b) this is the episode that seemed the least concerned about jettisoning detail from the books or combining events for the sake of pace.
ReplyDeleteI'm on my edge of the seat, and I read all of the books almost a year ago.
ReplyDeleteSo, at this point, what would folks advise someone who has always kinda-sorta planned to read the books to do? Should I read the first and then watch the eps? Or just watch? I feel like I'll "get it" much better if I read first, but, aside from the length of the books, what always gets me is the fact that the most recent one (Crows) sorta got panned. What say you all?
ReplyDeleteThat would be hilarious.
ReplyDeleteAs the person who pauses the action 900 times per episode so that you can explain to me for the 900th time who everyone is, I vote that you are so paranoid about not-spoiling that you limit yourself to the totally obvious (e.g, "That's Bran. He's the kid who fell from the window."), so, no, not spoilery for people who don't know what's coming. Maybe foreshadowy for people who do?
ReplyDeleteIf you've already seen the show you'll be even more equipped to skim the Danerys storyline in the books. So. Much. Grass. I'm enjoying her plotline much more on the show - a combination of its editing and the performances of Momoa and Clarke.
ReplyDeleteI think you should read the book and watch the show simultaneously, pausing the DVD as necessary.
It's really not that hard to keep things straight without reading the books. Unless you are obsessive about knowing exactly who everyone is and what their name is right from the get go. Otherwise just go with "hey it's that guy" for a bit and everything sorts itself out after a few episodes.
ReplyDeleteThe AV Club writes two reviews, one for newbies where spoilers of any kind are forbidden, written by someone who hasn't read the book, and one for fans of the book. I enjoy both reviews (as I have read the books, I am amused by the newbie thread).
ReplyDeleteAnd if I had read farther down, I would have seen that Adam of course beat me to the punch!
ReplyDeleteI just finished the 4 books about a week before the premeire. I will say that Feast of Crows was an odd book, but only because GMMR changed the way he wrote them. Books 4 and 5 are apparently meant to take place simutaneously, and book 4 is set in the south, leaving out major characters POV chapters we have come to expect. (I will not name names, as 4 books in I don't want to reveal who is still alive to HAVE points of view). So since book 5 comes out in a month, I think you will be fine reading them, because the wait will not be 5 years like it was for the big fans of the books who have been waiting for so long.
ReplyDeletePlus, the books are like great big spoiler warnings for season 2 and 3, and I am not a patient person, so I would say yes it is worth it to read them between seasons 1 and 2.
Isaac, I didn't find your post spoilery in the least.
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely loving this show. I haven't read the books, but I plan on starting from the beginning after this season ends because there's no way I can make it through the offseason without spoiling it for myself.
ReplyDeleteMy old roommate has read the books, so he stands by on GChat while I watch, answering questions and giving me correct spellings for names. It works out well.
I just want the "Jon Snow, Ned Stark's Bastard" title card.
ReplyDeleteToo spoilery? The first two times I read your post, I thought it was about reruns of Kate & Allie!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't wild about Crows -- missing some of my favorite characters, but it also seemed to be running in place a bit. Also, there wasn't a lot of tonal range. I get why, but still.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Crows, but it's definitely my least favorite of the four volumes currently available. It's hard to top vol 3, which I think is the best of the series so far -- readers likely had high expectations for vol 4, especially when we had to wait 5 years to find out what happens next, and half of the characters (several fan favorites) are missing. That said, a mediocre offering from GRRM is a better read than most of what you'll find in the genre. Read them!
ReplyDeleteI am a long time fan and have read the series a few times now. I am currently listening to the audiobooks to prepare for the release of vol 5 next month. Definitely check these out if you have an interest. The reader, Roy Dotrice, is amazing!
Based on what I've read (very brief summaries of the books--am ordering box set from Amazon in my next Amazon order), wouldn't shock me if Seasons 4 and 5 (if we get that far) interweave events from the two books, both to allow certain characters not to disappear for a season and in order for not every episode to be a budget-buster from an effects perspective.
ReplyDeleteThe budget-buster train sailed a lot earlier than Book 4.
ReplyDeleteSeriously. There are so many expensive things just for season 2. I hope they can make the numbers work for future seasons. Book 3 is so big (almost twice the size of the first book) that there is no way they can get it done in 10 episodes. I would guess that material will span two seasons, and books 4 & 5 will be combined (as the author originally intended before the story got too big) and split across multiple seasons. I hope these are issues that the people at HBO decide to worry about!
ReplyDeleteThe consensus among speculation I've seen is that if GOT is renewed beyond a second season, A Swarm of Swords would probably be split into seasons 3 and 4 (or something like an extended double season, sort of like the split sixth season of the Sopranos.) And then A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons would be combined into a single timeline.
ReplyDelete