That was even bloodier than the beating the Blackhawks were putting on the Kings.
But seriously, I couldn't have asked for it being handled any better, and that;s including my love for the Arya & The Hound Travelling Roadshow of Stick Hitting.
And all my love goes to two Catelyn moments: her eyes and flipping the sleeve open to see mail underneath, and the moment she goes completely catatonic. Great performance tonight.
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen something like that on TV. I don't think I've seen someone pull a move like that since the Corleones went to Lake Tahoe. The show's taught us to value intelligence, and Rob's dumber than a bag of rocks, so I wasn't betting on him long term, but damn, that was cold. Leaving the credits with no sound just reinforced the silence in the room.
There really aren't a lot of safe long-term bets in this series. There are the characters that die suddenly and shockingly, and the ones that will probably survive long enough to die in the battle with the White Walkers.
*Hey Gareth, looks like the Territorial Army doesn't have anything on the Night's Watch. *That has to be the bloodiest episode we've seen without a Baratheon or Lannister getting screentime. *Well, that solves one of the problems of getting all the locations into each episode. *Man, Arya's growing up hard. If nothing else from this series, I want to see her start taking people out.
I would watch a spin off that was centered around Arya & The Hound. (Or Arya & Tywin, based on their conversations last season.)
Glad to have the direwolves back, but so much sadness.
I sat through the entire episode holding my break slightly and thinking, "The Red Wedding is coming. The Red Wedding is coming." Even so, it was hard to watch. The silent credits were pretty intense, especially after Catelyn's performance.
Reading it was difficult, but that was absolutely brutal, especially with the focus on Mrs. Robb. They also made all of the Starks likable and competent, just for a bit, just to make it hurt that much worse.
Tremendous acting by all involved. Can't wait for the finale.
In the books, of course, Robb Stark married a Jeyne Westerling -- not this character Talisa. it would have been harder -- given some of the hints about the Westerlings -- to do in the daughter of a former Lannister bannerman, I suppose. (She also wasn't there, of course).
Perhaps the whole point of changing the character was to allow her to be killed, also, at the Red Wedding. If so, well played Game of Thrones showrunners, well played indeed.
The show has covered what, like two years of time? In that period she's had to deal with the violent deaths of both parents, one brother--while believing all three brothers have been murdered, her uncles on both sides, one best friend and probably a second, a beloved teacher, a protector, her maid, all of the non-relation male figures around her growing up as well as the death of her grandfather and the abandonment of her pet. All that she has left is a sister she doesn't like being held captive in the place she's trying to get far away from and a half-brother who's renounced familial ties to live and die north of the wall.
Holy crap! This was one of the episodes where I was thrilled to have no knowledge of the books and have managed to live spoiler-free. All season, I was wondering when "the thing no one was allowed to talk about" to EW in the season preview article would come up. There it was!
I"m excited to see how this reframes the rest of the series. The war plot this season has been pretty predictable, so I'm interested to see where we go from here.
This was the thing from the books I was most hoping wouldn't get changed for the TV series.
When Ned got killed in the first book/season, you could think, "Well, that's one of the deaths (along with Robert's) that's going to set the whole plot in motion." But with the Red Wedding, you realize Martin (and Benioff) really will kill anyone, at any time.
It was a bold move from Martin and, I'd argue, an even bolder one from Benioff.
The show runners handled the Red Wedding exceptionally well. I'm just wondering when we'll get to the next one, and where the season finale will leave Arya.
I can still remember so clearly reading this section of the book, on the elliptical machine at the gym of all places. I had to slow down and pause, I was so shocked and sad (I am a big Cat fan, and there's a small cliffhanger about Arya). I remember thinking that I didn't want to read any more of the books. But I got over that soon after.
Nice to see the tradition of HBO penultimate-episode bloodbaths still continues.
I confess that I didn't have a clear recollection of this scene, which I'm blaming on the fact that I read the book when it came out (back in 2000) and haven't touched it since. I remembered who died in this book, but not precisely how it happened, so it was still a bit of a surprise. As i've been telling everyone, I'm very glad for this refresher course, so I can finally pick up the 4th book!
That was even bloodier than the beating the Blackhawks were putting on the Kings.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I couldn't have asked for it being handled any better, and that;s including my love for the Arya & The Hound Travelling Roadshow of Stick Hitting.
And all my love goes to two Catelyn moments: her eyes and flipping the sleeve open to see mail underneath, and the moment she goes completely catatonic. Great performance tonight.
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen something like that on TV. I don't think I've seen someone pull a move like that since the Corleones went to Lake Tahoe. The show's taught us to value intelligence, and Rob's dumber than a bag of rocks, so I wasn't betting on him long term, but damn, that was cold. Leaving the credits with no sound just reinforced the silence in the room.
ReplyDeleteEven the direwolf. Well, that's one way to avoid sending a lot of thank-you cards.
ReplyDeleteThere really aren't a lot of safe long-term bets in this series. There are the characters that die suddenly and shockingly, and the ones that will probably survive long enough to die in the battle with the White Walkers.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've had some time to think about it:
ReplyDelete*Hey Gareth, looks like the Territorial Army doesn't have anything on the Night's Watch.
*That has to be the bloodiest episode we've seen without a Baratheon or Lannister getting screentime.
*Well, that solves one of the problems of getting all the locations into each episode.
*Man, Arya's growing up hard. If nothing else from this series, I want to see her start taking people out.
I would watch a spin off that was centered around Arya & The Hound. (Or Arya & Tywin, based on their conversations last season.)
ReplyDeleteGlad to have the direwolves back, but so much sadness.
I sat through the entire episode holding my break slightly and thinking, "The Red Wedding is coming. The Red Wedding is coming." Even so, it was hard to watch. The silent credits were pretty intense, especially after Catelyn's performance.
So, Arya came a few steps or so from having watched her mother AND father killed on separate occasions, right?
ReplyDeleteReading it was difficult, but that was absolutely brutal, especially with the focus on Mrs. Robb. They also made all of the Starks likable and competent, just for a bit, just to make it hurt that much worse.
ReplyDeleteTremendous acting by all involved. Can't wait for the finale.
In the books, of course, Robb Stark married a Jeyne Westerling -- not this character Talisa. it would have been harder -- given some of the hints about the Westerlings -- to do in the daughter of a former Lannister bannerman, I suppose. (She also wasn't there, of course).
ReplyDeletePerhaps the whole point of changing the character was to allow her to be killed, also, at the Red Wedding. If so, well played Game of Thrones showrunners, well played indeed.
The show has covered what, like two years of time? In that period she's had to deal with the violent deaths of both parents, one brother--while believing all three brothers have been murdered, her uncles on both sides, one best friend and probably a second, a beloved teacher, a protector, her maid, all of the non-relation male figures around her growing up as well as the death of her grandfather and the abandonment of her pet. All that she has left is a sister she doesn't like being held captive in the place she's trying to get far away from and a half-brother who's renounced familial ties to live and die north of the wall.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap! This was one of the episodes where I was thrilled to have no knowledge of the books and have managed to live spoiler-free. All season, I was wondering when "the thing no one was allowed to talk about" to EW in the season preview article would come up. There it was!
ReplyDeleteI"m excited to see how this reframes the rest of the series. The war plot this season has been pretty predictable, so I'm interested to see where we go from here.
Also, go Blackhawks!
ReplyDeleteThis was the thing from the books I was most hoping wouldn't get changed for the TV series.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ned got killed in the first book/season, you could think, "Well, that's one of the deaths (along with Robert's) that's going to set the whole plot in motion." But with the Red Wedding, you realize Martin (and Benioff) really will kill anyone, at any time.
It was a bold move from Martin and, I'd argue, an even bolder one from Benioff.
Valar morghulis.
ReplyDeleteThe show runners handled the Red Wedding exceptionally well. I'm just wondering when we'll get to the next one, and where the season finale will leave Arya.
I can still remember so clearly reading this section of the book, on the elliptical machine at the gym of all places. I had to slow down and pause, I was so shocked and sad (I am a big Cat fan, and there's a small cliffhanger about Arya). I remember thinking that I didn't want to read any more of the books. But I got over that soon after.
ReplyDeleteNice to see the tradition of HBO penultimate-episode bloodbaths still continues.
Justice Blackmun read about Arya and simply had nothing to say.
ReplyDeleteI confess that I didn't have a clear recollection of this scene, which I'm blaming on the fact that I read the book when it came out (back in 2000) and haven't touched it since. I remembered who died in this book, but not precisely how it happened, so it was still a bit of a surprise. As i've been telling everyone, I'm very glad for this refresher course, so I can finally pick up the 4th book!
ReplyDeleteI just keep thinking, "Goddammit, Filch!! You're just pissed because you're a squib!!" #gameofthrones— Angela Taylor (@g33kg0dd3ss) June 3, 2013
ReplyDelete