Game of Thrones

[lithiumkatana17]

Fresh batch of photos from the second episode of Season 6, titled 'Home'.

Spoiler

 

[Shademp]

Spoiler: S06E01 spoiler: Gollum finds love

 

[Channy]

The only issue I took with that whole thing

Spoiler

is that, while you know it's supposed to be the same actress because they want it to be facially.. they can't get rid of her super long legs which old people simply do not have. This bothered me so much when I watched it, I was like "shouldn't she be like 4 ft?"

 

[Shademp]

The only issue I took with that whole thing

Spoiler

is that, while you know it's supposed to be the same actress because they want it to be facially.. they can't get rid of her super long legs which old people simply do not have. This bothered me so much when I watched it, I was like "shouldn't she be like 4 ft?"

Spoiler

Then again most old people aren't witches who have magically extended their lifespan so I'm gonna give MOLDisandre a free pass on this one.

 

[Channy]

You're a kinder man than I, Shades, I can't forgive this

 

[Shademp]

You're a kinder man than I, Shades, I can't forgive this

*A woman tells me that I am a kinder man than she is*

I'M ONTO YOU!

 

[Channy]

I'M ONTO YOU!

Not yet you aren't, but you could be if you play your cards right

 

[lithiumkatana17]

GAIZ.

GAIZ THIS IS THE WOMAN WHO PLAYS SEPTA UNELLA.

My gawd. I will get on my knees and confess to her ANY DAY.

 

[Channy]

I was not expecting that

 

[Cthulhu]

 

[Carlie]

And even then, the storyline wouldn't be so bad if the acting for some of those scenes weren't completely cheesy. You'd be surprised how far good actors can carry a bad story.

I don't think is the actors, at least not most of them. Alexander Siddig and Indira Varma are great actors. The chick playing Obara has been nominated for an Oscar in the past and the one playing Nymeria has had acclaimed work. The material these people are working with is genuinely terrible and unsavable.

Notice I didn't say the actors themselves, I said the acting. Great actors can sometimes give shitty performances. That being said, perhaps I should have gone into more detail about what I meant.

Alexander Siddig is great. No qualms with his performance, despite how little we've actually seen of Doran in the show.

Indira Varma, great actress, but even she can't save herself from her character's crappy characterization in the show. She could however, do something about that accent. It sounds awful, especially during the scenes that she's trying to be serious or maniacal, like the one we just saw in this episode. I do NOT remember her sounding that way in Season 4, despite the limited number of lines she had.

Keisha Castle-Hughes and Jessica Henwick are both great actresses (wouldn't have paid money for pictures or autographs from them otherwise) but their performances as the Sand Snakes are cheesy and lackluster, and the accents they put forth are just as bad. They've said that they tried to imitate the accent Pedro Pascal used--it definitely falls short here.

Don't even get me started on Tyene.

Aside from Tyene who really what the fuck was everyone thinking with that? The rest seemed like the phoned it in when they saw what they had to work with. Could've made it a hilarious ham performance like Alan Rickman in Prince of Thieves, that at least would've been entertaining.

Spoiler

But combining Ellaria's story with that of Arianne Martell from the books, I understand. Yeah, we can debate all day that this shit isn't what Oberyn would want, especially the murdering of his remaining kin, but he ain't there to do anything about it, and doubtlessly his daughters would have seen that he harbored that desire for revenge since Elia's murder. And of course it's not completely out of reason that the grieving Ellaria would want revenge for her lover's death. Departure from the books or not, it's a human reaction, and completely understandable.

Spoiler

I disagree. Ellaria is the complete opposite of what she was in the books. I know is a human reaction but that's what made her so great, she was able to move past that and understand how destructive the cycle of revenge is. The other thing is not really even Arianne's storyline but a horribly mutated version of it, with the biggest difference being Arianne wanting to crown Myrcella as queen. I'll say this though they were both extremely stupid and poorly made plans.

I didn't know this but Ian McElhinney (Ser Barristan Selmy) had actually quit the show due to the changes being made to his character from the books. In my mind he quit just like he did the Kingsguard:

Still one of my favorite scenes and Littlefinger's oh shit reaction when Barristan pulls out his sword is still hilarious. So is him trying to cower behind Varys.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

Spoiler

I disagree. Ellaria is the complete opposite of what she was in the books. I know is a human reaction but that's what made her so great, she was able to move past that and understand how destructive the cycle of revenge is. The other thing is not really even Arianne's storyline but a horribly mutated version of it, with the biggest difference being Arianne wanting to crown Myrcella as queen. I'll say this though they were both extremely stupid and poorly made plans.

I'm not trying to defend the way the Dorne storyline has been done, or how certain character's personalities have been butchered. I'm just justifying the actions on the characters within that storyline. You will never heard me defend the way Dorne has been done on the show. I'm just trying to justify the character's actions in an objective sense--a sort of devil's advocate if you will.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: I treat the show and the books as two separate entities; I'm not going to drive myself nuts trying to compare them. There's no point.

I didn't know this but Ian McElhinney (Ser Barristan Selmy) had actually quit the show due to the changes being made to his character from the books. In my mind he quit just like he did the Kingsguard:

Are you sure about that? He's never once mentioned it in any interview that I've read. I'm reading one from EW right now (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/01/ser-barristan-dead-thrones) and it has no mention of him quitting the show due to changes made from the books. He says that he's disappointed to leave the show, but never said that he quit. And he wouldn't be able to just quit the show in the middle of filming a season due to contractual obligations.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

Season 6, Episode 2 reaction:

Spoiler

OMG.

OMFG.

THAT JUST FUCKING HAPPENED.

I'M SHAKING RIGHT NOW.

WTF.

 

[Flare]

Spoiler

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

[Channy]

It's funny because even if you didn't spoiler tag your reactions, you would learn nothing from it.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

I know, but I tagged mine just in case someone wanted to nitpick.

 

[Shademp]

Spoiler: S06E02 Spoilers

- Flashbacks from the POV of Bran! It's the sweetest candy in a show that otherwise avoids flashbacks. Interesting how they changed the design of the Child of the Forest. I much prefer it from the old one. Also, I'm starting to think that Max von Sydow really did beat Death in chess way back in The Seventh Seal (1957). He's still alive and kicking, albeit stuck inside a tree!

- Roose Bolton is dead. The fan speculation that he is an immortal shapeshifter holds less water now than before. I'm relieved that they didn't show anything graphic from when Roose's wife and baby were murdered. The scenario of baby killing is tough enough on my nerves as it is.

- The King of the Cthulhu Fanclub is dead. Finally. That guy was infuriating. His replacement brother isn't gonna be pleasant though.

- Zombie Mountain is a joy to see. I look forward to seeing when he kicks more ass.

- Despite a poor wi-fi connection to the Lord of Light, Melisandre finally did her thing. Thank you GoT for not postponing Jon Snow's resurrection any further. The question now is how changed Jon will be from the revival, seeing as he was dead for pretty long. Will he have forgotten a lot of people? Will he have lost some of his kindness and end up being a more ruthless, terrifying character? So excited to see where they go with this.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

Alright... Time for Lith's obligatory Game of Thrones synopsis thingy.

It's kinda long.

I would have posted it last night, but seeing as how last night's episode broke the internet and everyone's brains melted, I couldn't really type a coherent thought.

Spoiler

We have our first encounter with Bran since the end of Season 4, and we're treated to a quite lovely vision of the past, with a young Ned and Benjen Stark sparring at Winterfell. I was initially confused at which child was who; unfortunately HBO Now decided to start buffering during a a few bits of dialogue. And then in rides Lyanna Stark.

I won't lie, my breath was taken away when she rode into the frame (the actress, not what I pictured her to look like, and a bit older-looking than Ned, but that's nitpicking and who gives a shit, it's Lyanna Stark!). We finally have our first glimpse of this Helen of Troy of Westeros. I love that they actually showed her on horseback, as she was said to a very accomplished rider, and it could possibly set up her role as the Knight of the Laughing Tree, or we could at least infer it.

Young Hodor. 'Nuff said.

The Three-Eyed Raven's words about the bottom of the sea being beautiful, but if you stay too long, you'll drown definitely strike a chord with you. Reminds me of Dumbledore's words from the first Harry Potter book 'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.'

And we see Meera Reed, who looks a bit down in the dumps, not that I blame her. With her brother gone, and Bran training with Bloodraven, I'm sure she feels like she's lost her purpose. But Leaf (looking kind of sexy now) says that Bran will need her, and that he won't be there forever... Which that line kind of took me by surprise. For some reason I never expected Bran to leave the cave or the Three-Eyed Raven, that he'd be there forever. One of the first photos of Bran to surface from Season 6 was him sitting on top of a black horse

Spoiler

, but it hadn't really hit me that he may in fact leave and/or go back south of the Wall. I hope Jon and Sansa isn't the only Stark reunion we have to look forward to! Rickon's also supposed to make an appearance this season too.


Ramsay killing Roose... who else saw that from a mile away? Of course, I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. I actually let out a groan of disappointment; despite the nature of his character, I liked Michael McElhatton's portrayal of Roose, and I'm going to miss him on the show. And without Roose, there's obviously no one to keep Ramsay in check, which leads me to my next point... Ramsay having Walda and her newborn baby killed. Not going to lie, I was legitimately dreading this scene, and kept repeating out loud, "please don't show it, please don't show it". But there's something about no focusing on a scene as it happens and just focusing on one character's reaction, Theon on Sansa's wedding night, Stannis as Shireen burns, and now Ramsay as Walda and baby Frey are ripped apart my dogs. Somehow, the mind is able to conjure up more horrible things about what's not shown than what is, and that's certainly true in this case.

They're trying to make Ramsay the most despicable person ever before he gets his ass handed to him in BastardBowl.

Back in King's Landing, we have Jaime facing off with the High Sparrow at the Sept of Baelor during Myrcella's funeral. Despite the High Sparrow's piety, you can tell he ain't playin no games, and now Jaime realizes it with that thinly veiled threat '...together we can overthrow an empire.'

Touching moment with Cersei and Tommen. I must admit that I teared up. Say what you will about Cersei, she loves her children despite their failings, and now she only has one left. Lena Headey is phenomenal in this role.


Am I the only one who cheered when Bobby Strong just slammed that guy's head into the wall? Do I just have a really morbid sense of humor?

Back to the Wall, where Alliser Thorne and co get their asses handed to them (I cheered like a maniac when Wun Wun busted through the gate) by Edd and the Wildlings showing up to kick ass. Locking them up won't do any good, so I'm guessing this is a plot thread that will be resolved in the next episode or so. You know Thorne had no intention of letting them when they opened that door.

Tyrion and the dragons. All I could focus on before Tyrion descended those steps was the expression on Varys's face. You know he wanted to haul ass the moment that stone was rolled aside.

But yay, the dragons are free! Kind of hard to tell which one's which in the darkness, but I laughed when Tyrion immediately turned around after undoing the chains and there's the other one, like me too bro! offering up his neck.

'Next time I have an idea like that... Punch me in the face.'

A lovely scene with Sansa, Brienne and co. I wasn't expecting Theon to leave them, at least not so soon, but Sansa's reaction was heartbreaking. Despite Theon's past deeds, they've been through so much, and they've both been through hell together, so I'm sad to see them part like this. But Theon headed home? Whew... We'll see how this one goes.

Iron Islands. It's about damn time. I was going through Greyjoy withdrawals here, and these scenes, although short, didn't disappoint. I got chills when Euron Greyjoy appeared, and his subsequent remarks, 'I am the Drown God', 'I am the storm', or powerful indeed. I can ignore the fact that he has no eyepatch, because Pilou Asbaek blew me away with a few short sentences. Can't wait to see more of this guy.

And Kingsmoot coming up, woohoo! I'm sure it's obvious by now that Yara/Asha isn't going to be chosen, but I'm anticipating how this plot turns out. I become a rabid Euron fanatic, who knows.

And finally... that ending. Hoooo boy, dat ending. I'm sure we all knew it would happen, but were not expecting it to happen so soon. I'm with Shad on this one; it's good they didn't postpone it further. We all knew it would happen. But let's talk about the scene itself and everything leading up to it.

I was not expecting Davos to ask Melisandre for a way to resurrect Jon. I was expecting Mel to somehow find her faith, or try something out of desperation, but not this. Major props to Carice van Houten for her acting in these scenes; you could really feel Melisandre's hopelessness in that moment. You can tell she's truly lost her faith in the Lord of Light.

The scene of her preparing Jon's body was extremely well-done. Composer Ramin Djawadi's Lord of Light theme in the background, building up the suspense of the moment was perfect.

I couldn't help but be reminded of what Thoros of Myr said back in Season 3 while Melisandre was performing the ritual: 'I knelt beside his cold body and said the old words. Not because I believed in them... but he was my friend. And they were the only words I knew.'

Melisandre's nervousness is palpable during this scene; not because she has an audience, but because she doesn't really believe in what she's doing at the moment. That one word 'please'... Hot damn, the feels.

I admit, I almost got trolled. When nothing happened, I knew that it wasn't going to be that easy, that something else had to happen before Jon came back. One by one, everyone left the room. And when Davos closed the door, and that shot lingered, I knew something else was about to happen. 'No way' I said, nearly breathless. And when it kept cutting to Jon Snow's body, my heart started racing.

And then Ghost woke up.

And then Jon did too.

And then I gasped in shock like a little girl, hands over my mouth, staring wide-eyed at the screen.

I had the shakes for about 10 minutes afterward. I can't say that about too many shows, books, or movies, but the ending of this episode caught me completely off guard. I was not expecting this happen until episode 3 or 4, but holy shit it happened, and it broke the fucking internet.

Needless to say, studying for the history final I had today after that episode was quite difficult. I don't think I got a wink of sleep either.

But the craziness doesn't stop there, because we have moar Jon, moar Dany, and finally, the flashback I've been waiting for since the set pictures first appeared... THE TOWER OF JOY!!!!

 

[Jason Tandro]

GRRM Right now:

Spoiler

Yes, Jon Snow's resurrection. Congratulations. What a completely unforeseen and not at all telegraphed eventuality. Still the episode was absolutely amazing with fratricide out the ass. Two bastards are dead and one good guy revived? Well sheeeeeeet. And that's to say nothing of all the fan-fucking-tastic character development.

- Cersei really is coming around as a character. I feel so bad for her. Like "god damn she's still a bitch but she's suffered enough!"

- Melisandre - fuckin' Melisandre - becoming a genuinely sympathetic character full of remorse for her actions. So so much she has to deal with.

- Speaking of remorse- Theon Greyjoy. I mean come the fuck on he did a 180 twice in this series.

-Tyrion is a boss as always.

Lastly back on the revival, it all fits in with the Dire Wolf metaphor. I came to this conclusion on my own but I know I'm not the only one who has done so (it's pretty blatantly obvious, especially for GRRM).

- Arya's Direwolf goes astray :: Arya goes astray.
- Robb's Direwolf gets shanked :: Robb gets shanked though it's at the same time.
- Ned and Bobby B both dead (big shock)
- Jon's Direwolf is named Ghost (FUCKING GHOST, COME ON NOW) :: Jon Snow comes back from the dead... almost like... what are those things... they're white and spirits of the dead and they come back.... Fuck I forgot the word it.

Also this theory has me convinced that Sansa will eventually die protecting Arya (as her Direwolf did in place of Arya's) although my friend says this probably just relates to her cutting off her Stark ties for most of the series.

 

[Shademp]

Totally missed out on this April 1st video until now. XD

 

[lithiumkatana17]

Ah yes, the lovely Alt Shift X's Hodor video.

I love their channel. The guy's voice in the videos is so pleasant to listen to. Can't wait to watch their analysis of Episode 2.

 

[Ami]

Spoiler

Despite the obvious fact that OMGJONISALIVELALALALA, it was a really strong episode. I'm pretty sure that Ramsay is trying to take Joffrey's crown as the most hated character.

 

[Ghost X]

Kit Harington is a descendant of the Sir John Harington of flush toilet fame.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

Kit Harington is a descendant of the Sir John Harington of flush toilet fame.

I found this out a loooong time ago.

Trust me, I am not just your casual fan.

 

[Ghost X]

Got any other trivia of the sort for us then?