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Game of Thrones Season 5

Started by radiator, 13 April, 2015, 05:18:00 PM

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radiator

It's baaaaaack!

Very solid opening episode, I thought. It's astonishing how they keep ramping up the stakes, and how each season seems bigger and even more visually impressive than the last. It seems like they won't be doing anything else with [spoiler]Mance[/spoiler] and that's probably for the best - I can't imagine the switcheroo they pull in the books working on screen and it's yet another plotline they wouldn't really have time for.

They're obviously going to be doing a lot of consolidating and cutting to get the plots of books four and five down to something manageable, and I totally get that. For the most part it works, I think. They're obviously fast-forwarding Tyrion's plotline, which is a no-brainer. The teased prospect of him [spoiler]meeting up with Danaerys[/spoiler] really got my girlfriend (a far more casual viewer than me) interested so it makes sense to progress to that as soon as possible to keep up the momentum. I enjoyed books four and five more than most people seemed to, but they do feel like that episode of Itchy and Scratchy where they never make it to the fireworks factory.

A couple of minor quirks - did I imagine it or did [spoiler]Sansa and Littlefinger ride right past Pod and Brienne?[/spoiler] Because if so that's more than a little silly. And I wasn't entirely happy with the way they're playing Stannis and Melisandre so far. I[spoiler] hope they don't portray them as straight antagonists for Jon Snow, as the tension, then subsequent burgeoning mutual respect between Jon, Stannis and Mel really showed another side to them and made them really likeable figures for the first time - to the point where I was really rooting for Stannis for the first time in the series.[/spoiler]

Really looking forward to Theon's storyline this season, which for me was the standout of A Dance with Dragons. He's probably my favourite character in the whole series. During Dance it really dawned on me  - Theon is ASoIaF's Gollum/Smeagol isn't he?

Richmond Clements

QuoteTheon is ASoIaF's Gollum/Smeagol isn't he?

Hadn't thought of that, but yeah, good call.

radiator

QuoteHadn't thought of that, but yeah, good call.

I'm certain that it's deliberate. A lonely, displaced figure with a tragic backstory, the [spoiler]dual identity, the talking in gibberish/riddles, the treacherous nature, the diet of live animals, the tantalising (though probably doomed) prospect of some kind of redemption. Even his transformation into 'Reek' is far more dramatic, and his subsequent appearance much more Gollum-like in the books.[/spoiler]

radiator

While episode 2 was a slight wobble, last night's was cracking I thought - best of the season so far. Many, many great moments.

I fully understand why they're diverging so much from the books with the Bolton storyline, but the way they're incorporating Sansa doesn't quite work for me. It just doesn't make sense that Littlefinger would [spoiler]a)openly and brazenly defy the Lannisters - it's not his style and b) place Sansa in such obvious danger, and I just don't buy the rather flimsy narrative band-aid they're using - ie that he doesn't know the full truth about Ramsay[/spoiler].

A couple of predictos - I'm speculating on how they will adapt certain book plotlines here, so just avoid if you only watch the show:

Sansa is gonna go [spoiler]Stoneheart and turn Fat Walda into Frey Pie.[/spoiler]

In the absence of the [spoiler]Griffs, it'll be Jorah who has Greyscale[/spoiler].

Brienne will [spoiler]fulfill Mance's role at Winterfell[/spoiler].

They'll kill [spoiler]Balon Greyjoy[/spoiler] off-screen and just throw in a reference to it later on. Other than that, I can see them jettisoning the [spoiler]Greyjoy/Kingsmoot[/spoiler] plot entirely.

CrazyFoxMachine

Could you relegate bookspoilers to the book thread dude.

Theblazeuk

I hope radiator is right on all counts.

COMMANDO FORCES

The latest episode was enjoyable but the 'shock' wasn't really shocking anymore and sadly, the ending you could see coming a mile off.
Perhaps I have become immune to shocks, as you're always expecting one now!

JOE SOAP

#7
Felt more like the heavy foreshadowing of these events in earlier episodes didn't really qualify their outcome as shocks but more a ramping up of inevitable events building to even greater horror.


Theblazeuk

I enjoyed the ending, feel this is making [spoiler]Stannis [/spoiler]look more and more of a chump though. Literally brought down by 20 blokes.

Grugz

did anyone else expect to see yoda ride in on the back of drogon in the arena?  ;)
don't get into an argument with an idiot,he'll drag you down to his level then win with experience!

http://forums.2000adonline.com/index.php/topic,26167.0.html

ThryllSeekyr

#10


There's a sequence right towards the end  that looks a lot alike the most climatic part of Slaine - Dragon-Heist superimposed or overlayed with the Gulagg-Arena escape Slaine - Time-Killer. Of course, they post-poned their journey back to Eternal-Fortress to rescue Nest in Tomb of Terror. That's why I think the blonde girl with the weird name I can't spell right now is GOT analogy for Slaine/Nest.




The rescue/escape on the back of the back of a Knucker instead of Pluke might have worked much better.


Even if both don't fit that neatly....

Third Estate Ned

I was going to write something but this quote from the Guardian perfectly sums up my feelings, so I'll paste it here.

Such was the horror of Shireen's death that I found it pretty hard to concentrate on the rest of the episode. The true wonder of seeing Dany ride Drogon was perhaps a little undermined by the fact that even as one part of my mind was going, "Oh, wow, she's going to fly on the dragon [...]  the other part was still endlessly repeating the phrase, "Stannis just burned his daughter to death".

Despite foreshadowing Stannis' actions and the hopelessness that long-term viewers may have instilled in them, I was still profoundly shocked by this episode. But that's because I'm a Guardian-reading weed.

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/jun/08/game-of-thrones-recap-season-five-episode-nine-the-dance-of-dragons

Richmond Clements

As a reader of the books, I'm loving how the TV show is diverting so far from them.

I figured that since they killed off [spoiler]Ser Barristan[/spoiler] (possibly my favourite character in the books, after Tyrion obviously), that [spoiler]Ser Jorah(I flipping love Iain Glenn- total mancrush!)[/spoiler] would be taking up his slack. But I figured [spoiler]the dragon scene[/spoiler] to be towards the end of the next season... shows you what I know...

Link Prime

Quote from: Richmond Clements on 09 June, 2015, 05:23:23 PM
[spoiler]Ser Jorah(I flipping love Iain Glenn- total mancrush!)[/spoiler]

He's brilliant.
Did you ever see the short he starred in a few years ago, Vagabond Shoes?

Fuel that man-crush;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9pnQ_nbYRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5IPvfgkuwY

Third Estate Ned

But when he took Daenerys' hand did anyone else think: don't touch him!

I don't know how the [spoiler]greyscale infection[/spoiler] will play out but I'm desperate for him to be cured even if it means having his arm lopped off but I know better than that by now. My guess is he will give his life to save his one true love to redeem himself. In that light, I liked how even Daario Naharis respected Jorah's staggering, lovesick commitment to prove himself when he shut Hizdahr zo Loraq up before the fight.