I don’t think I’m alone in saying that, even though I’ve never been into the fantasy genre, I really enjoy Game of Thrones. And I’ve enjoyed this season better than the last, proving that there is life after killing off your main character before the first season is even over. The production value is like watching a movie, and at no time has that been more apparent than in tonight’s episode, where Stannis invaded King’s Landing and got smacked with some night-is-dark-and-full-of-terrors napalm.
A few observations…
- WHY didn’t Stannis’ Demon Baby swoop in and kill Joffrey like it did Renly??
- Hell is, apparently, being stuck in a siege with Cersei and a bottle of wine
- Your wet-work guy will apparently only put up with being called “Dog” in a snarling tone so many times before he bails in the middle of a battle
- After all this time GoT can come up with new dwarf jokes: In this one, Joffrey snarls about cutting Tyrion in half, prompting the quipmeister to quip, “That would make me a quarter man.”
- Dwarves apparently have low-angle tactical advantages on the battlefield
- Tyrion was one pint of blue facepaint away from giving a Braveheart rallying speech there
- Varys was this close to telling his how-I-became-a-eunuch story. I hope nobody missed it.
I was kind of hoping that it would be Rob Stark to be the surprise invader on the invaders, but when we last left him he was a little busy with the woman who amputates legs. It was a nice twist to see Tywin ride in, but he needs to knock his snooty little grandson off the Iron Throne pronto.
The teaser for the season finale showed Sansa talking with Lord Baelish, so here’s hoping that The Hound didn’t smuggle her out of the palace and into the whorehouse. We also see that Daenerys will take some concrete step toward getting her dragons back (will they grow up already?), and Arya hooks up again with her death genie, “The Man” Jaqen, so we get to close out the season with some more awesome conversation in the third-person.
Actually, Bridge, The Houndster bailed on the battle after seeing innumerable men set on fire. Seeing as how his older brother braised his face when he was five, Dog isn’t too keen on seeing other people burn. But did The Hound score some big hits while he was out there or what — at least one full abdominal evisceration and one head cum right shoulder and right arm lop off.
I agree with the observation about Tyrion Lannister: watch out for the midget with the ax. But as for the production values — I have TiVo and so was able to slo mo some of the violence scenes. Dwarfman’s battlefield amputation is laughably bad in slo mo; like someone knocking out one of the legs of a table with a sledgehammer
And here’s a possible spoiler alert — I’m pretty sure Joffrey is going to get his comeuppance. Word around the campfire is that he’s going to find something in one of the dishes at the victory banquet that just doesn’t agree with him.
As for slo-mo SFX, even something with the production values of “Saving Private Ryan” can’t stand up. Watch some of the battle scenes in super slo-mo and they’re “laughable” too. Watch the beach invasion scene where numerous men about to be blown to bits don’t move at all until their “death.” But amid the furious action, you don’t notice they’re not moving. You just see the generalized blood and gore spraying through the air.
In the final battle in the small French village, ditto. The scene where the GIs are swarming the German tank and a big gun comes and blows them all to bits, two of the guys never move until they’re blasted.
Joffrey turns into a werewolf at his own wedding banquet and kills his younger sister. Cersei can’t bring herself to kill him and sends him to the Wall.
Somehow I have this nagging feeling that it will be Arya that sticks that coward Joffrey. It would be fitting if he met his end by the sword of a little girl. We shall see …
Sorry, I tried to resist making a comment but have failed. I know that this is a television show based on a series of books. And I know that I probably shouldn’t be as wrapped up in it as I am.
But for Gods sake people! At least read the cliffs notes version of the books before asking simplistic questions about the plot from the teevee show!
That is like basing your entire opinion of ‘The Fellowhsip of the Ring’ on the theatrical release alone.
‘A Game of Thrones’ has been in print since 1996, and is what the first season was based on! ‘A Clash of Kings’ was published in 1999.
The show is good, the books are wonderful. There IS a reason that HBO greenlit the series, after all.
If you were that upset about the death of “the main character” last season… you are really going to hate next season.
“Tyrion was one pint of blue facepaint away from giving a Braveheart rallying speech there.”
I believe that should be “half-pint.”