"Tyrion Battlecry" by ~Kanish, on deviantART

To all who lament television’s sharp descent into unscripted hell, “Blackwater” reminded us of what the television medium can do. This was epic storytelling at its finest. Any deficiencies in settings or backdrop, such as the facts that the magnificent city of Qarth appears to be little more than a series of rooms, and Jon Snow’s trek in beyond the Wall seems to involve walking back and forth across a single span of glacier, have led to the spectacle of the Battle of the Blackwater.

Who is the “good guy” in this battle? The lack of an easy answer to that question is at the heart of the story’s genius. We like Tyrion and want him to succeed, but his success most likely means the Lannisters’ success. We don’t much care for Stannis Baratheon, but we like Davos Seaworth. Same problem. The closest thing to a “protagonist” army that we have are those of Robb Stark and Daenerys Targaryen, and we’re beginning to see that they aren’t much better than anyone else.

This episode focused exclusively on the events of a single night in King’s Landing, so we got to see much more development of individual characters than usual. Tyrion got one of the best Braveheart speeches in television history, and finally served as a heroic character rather than a comic one (see last season’s battle fought while Tyrion was unconscious, the only time the show has ever overtly resorted to “dwarf humor.”)

Sansa demonstrated her own strength and leadership when Cersei fled their hiding place with Tommen. Unfortunately, she may have lost the only two people who ever truly protected her in King’s Landing: Tyrion, who is now wounded, and the Hound, who is running away. Cersei at least understands the importance of keeping Sansa alive, but we know that she will not step up to protect Sansa if Joffrey threatens her. Continue reading →

This episode was really nothing but battle prep. The theme seemed to be “doing what must be done.”

Qhorin Halfhand, captive of the wildlings along with Jon Snow, told Jon explicitly that he must do what needs to be done. We don’t know exactly what that is yet (well, I think I do, but I’m not telling.)

Daenerys must go to the House of the Undying to save her dragons. This scene in the book was a twenty-page acid trip. I can’t wait.

Tyrion must mount a defense of King’s Landing, basically by himself. Everyone else is caught up in their own petty crap. Tyrion enjoys the “Game,” as does Tywin. Cersei and Jaime hate it. All three of Tywin’s children have relied on their family’s wealth all their lives, but Tyrion has had to develop the most skills in order to survive. Both Cersei and Jaime showed remarkable clumsiness–Jaime by haphazardly killing Stark men, and Cersei by threatening and hurting the wrong woman while trying to get at Tyrion. Tyrion’s only weakness is Shae. Continue reading →

NOTE: This is about the episode “A Man Without Honor,” which aired May 13. I’m just behind on my blogging.

I’m happy because Ygritte said her catchphrase.

As for spoilers, yes, there probably will be some.

I took my own advice from last week and put the books as far out of my mind as posible during this week’s episode. As I was watching the episode, I realized that, for the first time since the shpw premiered last year, I felt real dramatic tension. Previously, I felt tension from knowing what was going to happen but not knowing exactly how the producers would show it, or how the actors would convey it. Now, all bets are off, and it is awesome.

In that vein, I’m going to look at last night’s events in light of how they relate to other aspects of the show.

Arya/Tywin –> Arya/Ned

I am fascinated by the quasi father-daughter relationship building between Arya Stark and Tywin Lannister. Tywin is, in his own way, showing her a remarkable amount of warmth and kindness. I suspect he is playing his own game, as he clearly knows she is not who she claims to be. Perhaps he is keeping his enemies closer, but then again he is allowing her access to quite a bit of intel. Arya, of course, has no means to do anything with this intel (that she knows of.) Tywin, I think it is fair to say, values strength above all else. His own children, Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion, have their own kinds of strength. Tyrion is by far the most like his father, but neither of them would ever admit that. Arya is very much like Tyrion, a person born with traits that greatly disadvantage them in their world, but that also hide great reserves of strength and cunning. I wonder if Tywin Lannister sees in Arya the traits he does not want to see in Tyrion. Continue reading →

This makes up for any shortcomings this show might ever have. Ever.

(At this point, I have no idea if this post will contain spoilers.)

I’ve been kind of a douche about this show, and for that I apologize. See, I have been watching this show with rapt attention, but also with my ass puckered up over its various divergences from the books, as if I could somehow control a scripted television show’s faithfulness to its source material through the sheer power of my sphincter.

Since last April, I have felt a compulsive need to compare the two media, in a very hipsteresque effort to prove my bona fides as an early-adopting Game of Thrones fan. I have little doubt that I have annoyed some people. When someone asks me where they are taking Arya and Gendry, all they really want to know is that it’s called Harrenhal, and it’s a big castle people think is haunted. They do not necessarily need to know why people think it is haunted, or that Harren completed it right before the invasion of Aegon the Conqueror, or any of the other random bits of trivia I could pull from my puckered behind.

I can thank Christina H. at Cracked, whose article “6 Common Movie Arguments That Are Always Wrong” addresses the common trope among fanboys that “it all makes sense if you read the comics.” Substitute “series of books” for “comics” and “television show” for “movie” and her analysis is spot-on:

The thing is, you shouldn’t have to do homework or required reading before seeing a movie in order to understand it. Movies are a story in a roughly two-hour package, and they have to use those two hours to let you know who’s who, what’s going on and why you should care. Even James Bond movies usually spend the first sequence showing you how good he is at killing people and how he always gets a free woman to sleep with afterward, for the two audience members unfamiliar with how James Bond works.

You’re supposed to relax and let the movie take you on a ride into its world. Movies are sold as an escape, not as another source of obligation. Can you imagine being asked to go see the latest Harry Potter movie and having to tell your friends, “Oh, I can’t. I’ve been trying really hard to cram for it, but I’ve still got 10 chapters to read. I’ve just been so busy this week …” and them shaking their heads in disappointment at you? Or watching Star Wars Episode II knowing you’ve not only wasted the two and a half hours watching the actual movie but the two weeks of studying the comics in preparation for it?
I can understand wanting to get further into the universe of some movie if you really enjoyed it, or being able to get more tidbits about your favorite character from additional stories, but it should be optional. You shouldn’t have to stare bewildered at some character exploding for no apparent reason as a penalty for not doing your homework.

Several people asked me, during the lead-up to “Game of Thrones” season 1, if I thought they should read the books before trying to watch the show. Of course, I think everyone should read the books because they are awesome, but consider this: a television show that requires you to read a 700+ page book in order to understand its first season would be a fucking terrible television show. Continue reading →

(AGAIN WITH THE SPOILERS!)

I spun this off into a separate post, because it just seems that important, somehow.

People hate Sansa Stark. Lots and lots of hate going around. Yet a Google search of “Sansa Stark hate” yields quite a few good posts in her defense. Her scene with Shae this week, to me, goes to the heart of this show’s overall conflict: people trying desperately to be themselves against the pressures of their regressive society.

Sansa Stark began the show, last season, as an entitled little shit. But she’s 13 years old, and has lived her whole life as the daughter of the Lord of Winterfell, with dreams of knights and heroes and princesses. She gets pledged in marriage to the king’s eldest son, meaning she will one day be queen.

And the king she’s going to marry turns out to be Joffrey.

It is not fair to call what happens to Sansa a “rude awakening,” unless you consider waking someone up with a flamethrower to be “rude.”

Shae, in marked contrast to Sansa, is a whore. I don’t mean that as an insult–it’s her job. In a way, Shae comes into this story with more freedom than the “noble” characters. She’s a foreigner, and it is not at all clear how she first came to Westeros. She was a “camp follower,” but it appears as though she could have refused Tyrion’s original offer. Once she signs on with him, she is promised gold and the wonders of King’s Landing, and all she has to do in return is fuck the Imp now and then (okay, a lot).

Once in King’s Landing, her life is in danger, considering Tyrion’s father specifically told Tyrion not to take her. Cersei will look for any way to gain an advantage over Tyrion, which is the more pressing danger to Shae’s life. Presumably because it would be too complicated in the television medium to hide her across town at Chataya’s, Tyrion hides her in plain sight in the castle. She avoids kitchen work by becoming Sansa’s handmaiden, except she clearly has no idea what she is doing.

Sansa treats Shae like shit. For someone as skilled at seduction (and therefore acting) as Shae, she is remarkably clumsy at filling the handmaiden role, treating Sansa without even a modicum of the deference Sansa has come to expect from servants. That’s the moment where a theme comes through: Sansa is being a shit to Shae, not so much because she is a shit, but because for one, shining moment, she can be a shit. This is a brief glimpse of Sansa’s old life coming through. Even if it was a life of snobbery and shallowness, it was a child’s life, and that was ripped away from her (cf. flamethrower reference.)

It reminded me of last season’s scene with Septa Mordane. She was answering a question for Sansa, when Sansa interrupted her to say she didn’t care. It was a callous, privileged, entitled, shitty thing for Sansa to do, and she did it because she could. As we all know, Septa Mordane marched directly into Lannister swords to allow Sansa to escape, even if Sandor Clegane caught her later. Septa Mordane gave more to Sansa than Sansa ever would have given to her. Shae would never do anything like that for Sansa. Sansa probably thinks she is a spy for the Lannisters (which she sort of is).

Sansa was a shit to Septa Mordane because she could be. She was a shit to Shae because, in her own way, she had to be, in order to hold onto a little bit of who she was.

If you are a Sansa hater, all I will say is this: don’t count her out just yet. She may never stop being a shit, but she represent us, the viewers, in quite a few ways. Honestly, how do you think you would respond if everything that has happened to Sansa happened to you?

(WATCH FOR SPOILERS!)

Sorry I’m a bit late on this post. I’m sure folks have been waiting eagerly….

A few rhetorical housekeeping matters to get out of the way about Season 2, Episode 3:

Tyrion Lannister and Friends

I do love me some political intrigue. Playing Pycelle, Littlefinger, and Varys off of each other was handled brilliantly.

Theon Greyjoy

The slapping of Theon Greyjoy is a good thing. Not as good as the slapping of Joffrey Baratheon, but a good thing nonetheless. As much as we are supposed to hate Balon Greyjoy, it was pleasant to watch Theon get slapped by his father and smacked down by his sister.

That said, Balon Greyjoy is a dick for reasons extending beyond his demeanor, and Theon is absolutely right. The show has given Theon a depth of character that I feel was missing from the books. The conflict between his almost life-long wardship with House Stark truly conflicts with the primal desire for his father’s love, but his father has no right whatsoever to criticize what Theon has become. It was Balon Greyjoy’s rebellion that caused the deaths of his two other sons and Theon’s wardship with the Starks. Then again, it is asking quite a bit to expect that level of emotional introspection from any Greyjoy, let alone Balon. Continue reading →

(SPOILERS COMING AT YOU LIKE A GELATINOUS CUBE)

(SPOILERS ONLY APPLY TO THE TV SHOW. FOR THE BOOKS, WATCH OUT FOR TANTALIZING HINTS)

Sunday night’s episode, “The Night Lands,” felt like a very long set-up to…..something. I am coming to the realization that I do not know for certain what that something might be.

Before getting into the nuts & bolts of the episode, I feel a bit of a mea culpa coming on about the books. I’ve read the first four books, twice. I started reading the first book, A Game of Thrones, in the summer of 2007, and I finished my first reading of book 4, A Feast for Crows, in roughly December 2008. When discussing the TV show with others, I often feel a need to interject sentences beginning with “But in the book they…” When discussing the books, I tend to feel the need to point out that 2007 to 2008 time frame.

In short, I was into Game of Thrones before it was cool.

I just needed to get that off my chest.

Most of my thoughts on this week’s episode involve specific characters, and how they either met my expectations or made me stop and ponder.

Jaqen H’ghar: Remember the three guys locked in the cart in the group going to the Wall? Arya hit one of them with a stick after he demanded ale? Jaqen is the polite one who speaks entirely in the third person (“A girl has more courage than wits”). He did not look at all like how I pictured him, but his mannerisms are exactly what I imagined. I hope they do something cool with him.

Rakharo: So, I guess they’re not shipping Daenerys and Rakharo after all. Nice bait and switch. This one seriously threw me, because this does not happen in the books, and it actually throws off some of Daenerys’ story. The scuttlebutt is that the actor playing Rakharo got a movie role and had to leave the show, so they gave him a moment of tender screen time with his khaleesi.

Truth be told, Daenerys’ three bloodriders (Aggo, Jhogo, and Rakharo) aren’t exactly deeply-developed characters anyway. I was surprised last week that they went so far as to cast all three roles and make a point of teaching us their names, but now I think I know why. (They combined Drogo’s three bloodriders into one character last season.) Daenerys’ bloodriders are mostly just a sort of bad-ass Huey, Dewey, and Louie, so maybe the loss of one of them will lead to further development of the other two characters.

On an semi-related spoilery note, I really like the actress who plays Doreah.

Tyrion Lannister: Did anyone else notice that he moved up in the billing on the show? While Janos Slynt, captain of the City Watch, did not look at all like how I pictured him–he was described, as I recall, as being jowly, so I pictured someone like Maury Chaykin–the scene where Tyrion sends him to the Wall was still a thing of beauty. His interactions with Cersei and Varys were interesting to watch. The cat-and-mouse games depicted in the book must be hard to translate to a screenplay–I expect there to be more slapping, stomping, and slamming of doors in future episodes.

Continue reading →