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Game of Thrones: the last series [SPOILERS]

Started by sheridan, 15 April, 2019, 11:09:22 AM

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Rusty

Foreshadowing is one thing. Events and actions of the past indicate otherwise and back up the fact that it was out of character. People seem to point towards a mundane line of dialogue, it being "I will take what is mine, through fire and blood!" as some kind of vindication of what she did. Fire and blood, yes, certainly; slaughter of innocent women and babies...er...what?! This especially goes against the grain of her character, seeing that she locked up her 'children' in a dank dungeon under Meereen after Drogon roasted a child. Before that she turned vengeful of the masters having walked past a child nailed to a post, and made it her chief cause to free them and the slaves of Astapor and Meereen of their masters. There has been zero evidence in her character whatsoever to suddenly want to slaughter the innocent, so that's why her actions at KL feel wrong, and out of character, because they are jarring and seemingly spring from nowhere. This is not to say her turning evil and vengeful couldn't be a trait within her, as there have been subtle clues of it, but seeing that the writers have dumbed down the other characters that have kept her in check all this time, it's gave them the green light for them to make her go full blown Anakin dark side. At the drop of a hat, no less.

Frank

Quote from: Funt Solo on 14 May, 2019, 07:01:30 PM
Quote from: Dudley on 14 May, 2019, 09:00:07 AM
Probably just me, but it's in slightly poor taste to use the streets of Dubrovnik as a way of giving us all our vicarious war jollies. Less than 30 years ago those streets were actually bombed to hell - just weird thinking about how a survivor might view this glossy American programme essentially staging a fantasy re-enactment.

Dubrovnik was heavily shelled during the Croatian War of Independence (1991).  Whilst the King's Landing bombardment is partially filmed in Dubrovnik (and partially recreated on a set in Belfast), they modeled the fiery rain of destruction on the allied fire bombing of Dresden in 1945.

Whilst Game of Thrones is a form of entertainment, I don't think that disallows it from tackling difficult themes (such as the horrors of a civilian population being bombarded or a city being pillaged).  One might call it subversive.  Whilst watching it, rather than getting "war jollies", I felt shaken by the plight of the characters.  We could do with being reminded of Dresden's plight once in a while.

Fans of The News had Aleppo in mind when a dazed and bloodied Arya woke up in the ruins, covered in more plastering dust than The Nephilim.

Half of the online commentary about the show seems to come from those who've never wasted a second of their lives imagining what it might be like to be on the receiving end of precision airstrikes designed to reduce enemy capability, so bludgeoning them into some form of imaginative empathy by sticking Hillary Clinton on top of a B2-Stealth Dragon seems like a pretty sick burn.

Y'all are too invested in the show*. I'm sure it's not working out the way you wanted, but the plotting and drama's mostly solid. It's not up there with The Sopranos or Mad Men, but it can show its face alongside Boardwalk Empire and Godless.


* I've only watched this season. I didn't want to have anything in common with the pricks who can't wait to tell everyone they've never seen it, as if that's some kind of accomplishment.

Mikey

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 14 May, 2019, 07:34:13 PM
Quote from: radiator on 14 May, 2019, 07:24:10 PM
To me, the whole retroactive 'Dany was always crazy' slogan that's doing the rounds is bunkum

Balls. I've been saying this for at least three seasons. It's been effectively foreshadowed as at least a possibility for pretty much the entire series. You can not like it but to claim it comes out of the blue is just rubbish

Pretty much what Jim said. I see Denaerys acting entirely consistently with who she actually is and reacting to what has happened to her, finally realising it was all pointless if she was not going to be loved by saving the populace of Kings Landing. She didn't want a surrender, she wanted to be the magnanimous victor and gain the devotion of the people. Is it only me who has noticed the final nails on her coffin so to speak have ultimately been hammered in by the betrayal of the men she trusted?

Anyway, I thought it was a great, epic episode. This series may be the expansion pack to the main Game, but it's none the worse for that in my view. It's all falling to pieces for everyone because of the fixation on who sits on the Iron Throne.
To tell the truth, you can all get screwed.

JOE SOAP

I enjoyed the episode immensely and the cinders of Randyll and Dickon Tarly say 'told ya so'.


Jim_Campbell

I am so dense. The conversation Varys has with the girl from the kitchen is because he's trying to poison Dany. In a season that has (rightly) been criticised for lacking subtlety, that was rather splendid and ties right back to the Varys we met in Season One.
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Dudley

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 15 May, 2019, 07:39:36 AM
I am so dense. The conversation Varys has with the girl from the kitchen is because he's trying to poison Dany. In a season that has (rightly) been criticised for lacking subtlety, that was rather splendid and ties right back to the Varys we met in Season One.

Yep, and that might come back to us in the season finale (that's why he took the rings off - they contained the poison). How appropriate would it be for Dany to die at the hands of an entirely unimportant character, in revenge for all the "unimportant" lives she snuffed out?

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Dudley on 15 May, 2019, 08:51:25 AM
Yep, and that might come back to us in the season finale (that's why he took the rings off - they contained the poison). How appropriate would it be for Dany to die at the hands of an entirely unimportant character, in revenge for all the "unimportant" lives she snuffed out?

Oooh. I can hear the fan outrage from here. And, yes, that would be perfect.
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sheridan

Quote from: Funt Solo on 14 May, 2019, 07:01:30 PM
Dubrovnik was heavily shelled during the Croatian War of Independence (1991).  Whilst the King's Landing bombardment is partially filmed in Dubrovnik (and partially recreated on a set in Belfast), they modeled the fiery rain of destruction on the allied fire bombing of Dresden in 1945.

Whilst Game of Thrones is a form of entertainment, I don't think that disallows it from tackling difficult themes (such as the horrors of a civilian population being bombarded or a city being pillaged).  One might call it subversive.  Whilst watching it, rather than getting "war jollies", I felt shaken by the plight of the characters.  We could do with being reminded of Dresden's plight once in a while. 

Where some see nothing but hired extras running around on fire, I was transported to the world and engaged in the hope that the mother and daughter would survive - or maybe just the daughter.  But they died holding each other.  That people find this drama boring strikes me as odd. 

A key part of Game of Thrones appeal to me is that it feels like a real world.  Heroes die ignobly. Villains carry out atrocities but then gain our sympathy.  We follow power hungry egomaniacs and feel betrayed when we realize what they are.  Innocents die.  It's not a neat Hero's Quest.


In an era where we get (supposedly) respectable politicians wanting to bomb other countries 'back to the stone age', it is important that our real world general populace sees what that actually looks like (preferably before it happens in the real world).

shaolin_monkey

My prophecy:

While the others kill themselves fighting each other, Tyrion hides under a table until it is all over.  Then he gains the throne.

But lo!  Here's comes Bron out of nowhere - Tyrion has no taste for being a ruler after everything he has experienced, and owes Bron anyway for not assinsinating Tyrion in an earlier episode.  Hence, Bron gets the Iron Throne.

Funt Solo

Ozzy Man does a great high energy review of episode #5.  Even if you disagree with his opinion (2nd half of the video), his synopsis (1st half) is worth a watch.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Definitely Not Mister Pops

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 15 May, 2019, 02:13:20 PM
My prophecy:

While the others kill themselves fighting each other, Tyrion hides under a table until it is all over.  Then he gains the throne.

But lo!  Here's comes Bron out of nowhere - Tyrion has no taste for being a ruler after everything he has experienced, and owes Bron anyway for not assinsinating Tyrion in an earlier episode.  Hence, Bron gets the Iron Throne.

The only flaw with this prediction is that the Iron Throne has probably been reduced to an Iron Puddle
You may quote me on that.

Bolt-01

Not necessarily - remember that Dani had a vision where she approached the Iron throne in a snowstorm, what if that was actually ash?

Richard

In the trailer for the next episode, some of the Red Keep is still standing (I'm not sure how, if the catacombs caved in, but never mind), so that could include the throne room.

I assume Danerys will kill Tyrion for freeing Jamie. I'm not sure what the point is of Bron's storyline now, but let's see.

sheridan

Quote from: Bolt-01 on 15 May, 2019, 04:12:01 PM
Not necessarily - remember that Dani had a vision where she approached the Iron throne in a snowstorm, what if that was actually ash?


Nice one - all the walls are ruined in that vision too...

IAMTHESYSTEM

Quote from: Richard on 15 May, 2019, 04:35:45 PM
I'm not sure what the point is of Bron's storyline now, but let's see.

Class War! Bron will storm the Red Keep ruins with his sellsword mates, kill Daenerys, force Jon to retake the Black, be named King Bron First of his name etc. Then the best moment in the series as Bron commands the startled survivors thus: 'Now build me my Fookin' Castle.' It'll be the most epic ending in TV History.;)
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