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

Agree about Conleth Hill, that scene about his castration was close to perfect.

And yeah, Dany really coming into her own now.

lady olenna is a great new char

the look cersei gave her when chatting was golden

Amazing episode, so many wow moments in there.

I get the feeling that Cersei visibly losing influence within King's Landing is very bad news indeed for Tyrion and Shae in ways I can't really imagine just yet.

Olenna and Margaery together are terrific characters, totally playing everyone so far. No one else in the show understands the value of good PR.

Catching up today. Mira Reed is kind of rrrobyn-ish.

:D

Consigning the praise, amazing episode. Daenerys totally vamping for the camera at the end though.

in the best possible way

This is kinda lolsy

http://video.vulture.com/video/Daenerys-Targaryn-Gets-an-Exten

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0422/grant_r_upsofthrones.jpg

haha

Of course the UPS facility is in Flea Bottom.

yeah, same as everybody else really: this is shaping up to be the best season

Theon is the Pete Campbell of this show, I will never tire of watching people inflict physical pain on him.

Ooh, who'd be Don? Peggy? Roger?

Tyrian has a bit of the Roger about him.

Tyrion actually, isn't it. Oops.

Arya is Peggy.

otm

Was gonna say Ned was Don, but he was actually more like Lane.

Yes. Totally.

Ooh, who'd be Roger?

Pretty much half the dudes in this are idiot manchildren who are in their position purely as a result of stuff their dad did.

Jaime is Don.

Making Cersei Betty?

These mostly don't work at all with the exception of Arya as Peggy which is totally OTM.

Stannis = Duck Phillips.

Maester Pycelle = Teddy Rumsen

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/us-moldova-crisis-idUSBRE93N0PA20130424

too much time on GoT

I caught "The Last Legion" when flipping channels, which was awful, but noticed a ton of actors that are also in GoT. I wonder why.

Owen Teale, James Cosmo, Ian Glen, Thomas Sangster, Robert Pugh and Nonso Anozie.

They're pretty bad in it, too.

That last one was a good ep and had a humdinger of an ending, which helped people come away from it buzzing, but it wasn't 'best ever' material for me. Not every story thread was that strong this week, especially Theon's, which ended up with his character back where he was - in every sense - three weeks ago. I hope this was for a good reason, because otherwise everything that has happened to him this season has been pointless.

Still, really liked: Tywin castigating Cersei for not controlling Joffrey; Varys meeting his match with Diana Rigg; shit getting real with Dany, her dragons and her slave army - which you could see coming, but it came sooner than I expected, as did the showdown at Craster's Keep.

Most of the other story threads trod water a little, but the most pointless bit was a whole scene dedicated to a discussion about Podrick's prowess yet again.

ooh yeah I liked the Night's Watch massacre, that was p crazy

Come on, the Podrick thing is clearly going somewhere, he's the new most popular dude at the centre of massive spy network. They're not just putting in a few scenes about him having an enormous penis for lolz.

They're not putting in any scenes about him having an enormous penis, actually

Motion of the ocean, maybe

My friend told me that the Podrick stuff isn't even in the book?

no it's not, but i also feel pretty sure it is going somewhere more significant

i mean, somewhere specific, #nospoiler

it bothers me now how much each character has basically a single type of situation they're in, and then they react in a particular type of way to that situation and you think something's changed but basically they end up in the same type of situation again and react the same way again and over and over. there's like no genuine character movement at all, just the same tropes repeating themselves.

i mean nonetheless this creates plenty of entertaining scenes, but...

In the books Podrick Payne is 12

"

s. clover, if that bothers you, I recommend you steer clear of the books because they are this X 1,000

haha yeah was gonna say...

it bothers me now how much each character has basically a single type of situation they're in, and then they react in a particular type of way to that situation and you think something's changed but basically they end up in the same type of situation again and react the same way again and over and over.

I say the same about Mad Men! But in a way I think that's more true to how people react, I don't think people grow and change as much as we'd hope.

likely the best thing about GoT is that that harsh reality of humanity's inability to change its fundamental self-destructive nature regardless of how many life lessons appear to be being learned is juxtaposed with fire-breathing dragons and an army of the undead

I think Mad Men captures in a pretty good way how people are a mixture of that which is more readily changeable and that which is resistant to change - Peggy is a good example of a character who has "grown" in a manner pretty consistent with her original behaviour.

Maybe in Game of Thrones the absence of real social constraint - of social rules to be negotiated except in the most heavyhanded sense - seems like an impediment to fostering the (limited) kind of personal growth that Mad Men can track. The absence of any real reward system, and the intense tribalism, means that people aren't really encouraged to change, they can just keep doing what they're doing and kill or be killed along the way.

Game of Thrones the absence of real social constraint - of social rules to be negotiated except in the most heavyhanded sense - seems like an impediment to fostering the (limited) kind of personal growth that Mad Men can track. The absence of any real reward system, and the intense tribalism, means that people aren't really encouraged to change, they can just keep doing what they're doing and kill or be killed along the way.

― Tim F, Wednesday, April 24, 2013 12:42 PM

Not entirely accepting the premise tbh. The rules are feudal and enforcement is consistent (and often brutal). Hence the extremity of courtesy between individuals of like status, reciprocal treatment of highborn hostages, etc etc. Exceptions prove the rule. Those who violate the rules will inevitably suffer terribly, die horribly, and bring down consequences on their house and smallfolk that may last for generations. Whereas those who abide by the rules will merely suffer terribly and die horribly ;)

tbh i can't see the case for claiming characters aren't growing and changing on this show

i sort of buy the argument. the movement in mad men, such as it is, comes from characters moving into different positions and relationships and so relating differently -- peggy advancing thru the ranks, don in a v. different family dynamic with his current vs. previous marriage -- the disruption of the britishers buying the firm then being the plucky new firm, etc.

arguably in the GoT world you're basically in the sort of role you're born in to be, lineage is destiny, etc.

but like the daenerys plotline, fun as it is, is the 'same story' in a way as since season one. in a strange land, strange people not respecting her, they underestimate her, she takes control of a large body of men/wealth/power, dragons!

its the plot movement that lacks as much as the character movement, really. on the other hand, i'm trying not to let it bother me and just enjoy the fun bits. its not like i have a stake in this as an important cultural product or something.

but Dany has changed a lot since the first episode. I actually think she's the clearest arc.

Yeah and Jon Snow has a new coat now!