It was weird that the blocking fell down there right after the well done Syrio scene, which must have been tricky to do right. I’d say that firstly, it looked more accidental than unnecessary, and that secondly, they may have been making him look like a little doofus (as opposed to a younger version of the stupid goon from Bran’s assassination attempt) in order to make it easier for Arya to have guilty flashbacks later or something.
Jon’s stuff was also a bit rushed. The whole getting thrown into house arrest was dumb; they should have just punted on that sub-plot. It took up time they could have better used on the zombie fight. The zombie not killing anyone (i.e., Jon not finding the body of the guards) seemed off, no glowing blue eyes was just a strange oversight, and not involving Mormont in the struggle… I dunno, it all just disappointed me. It’s supposed to be this big pivotal moment for the Watch, but it really felt like an afterthought.
I’d say rushed more than an afterthought, but yeah. Maybe “set up Alliser as antagonist” was too high on the priority checklist for what to include and what to cut. Still, Mormont should at least have been in more evident danger from the wight. The whole characterization of Mormont - and Aemon for that matter - has been weak.
(Maybe they wanted to avoid the semi-generic “kindly old sage” type in portraying Aemon, but Peter Vaughan really reminded me of Karl Johnson’s Cato in Rome, ie, a leathery old bastard.)
I liked seeing Drogo as a badass. I liked the fight scene better than the book stuff it replaced.
Yeah. His contemptuous defencelessness did sort of border on superhero stuff but it was undoubtedly badass.
My puzzle of the week was over Catlyn leaving the Eyrie with ease whereas Tyrion and Bron run afoul of the hill people immediately. If we assume Cat and her man-at-arms were given an honor guard to see them safely out of the Vale then so be it but the TV series appears to be leaving The Blackfish out of the mix.
I was also a bit disappointed by the fight with the wight.
All in all though, great episode I thought. Really set up the last two episodes nicely. Have a feeling I’ll be loving the Great Jon.
In the books it’s spelled out that she goes by ship, the safe way of getting in and out of the Vale. She had to go the dangerous route once because of where she encountered Tyrion, but to do so again would’ve risked running into Lannisters.
I just made my co-workers look at me funny. Good one, Jason!
Yeah, the fight with the wight wasn’t right, by a damn sight. In fact, it was shite. Far too trite. MIRITE?
I hate Charles Dance. I love Charles Dance, but I hate him. Every scene with Tywin, I’m going to see Sardo Numspa.
He’ll destroy the Starks…YUST LIKE THAT!
Also, courtesy of the fyeahgameofthrones tumblr:
I’m waiting for Wesley Snipes to call him and ask if he’s played roulette.
I hate Charles Dance. I love Charles Dance, but I hate him. Every scene with Tywin, I’m going to see Sardo Numspa.
I, I, I want the knife…please.
I keep waiting for Twyin to pop out his smiley face glass eye.
I am so glad I am not the only one.
[LEFT]I don’t know the actor’s previous work, but he grimaces so much he comes very close to smiling. And Lord Tywin never smiles.
[/LEFT]
Well, I’m waiting for an alien to kill him after he sexes up Sigourney Weaver.
Well, that was embarrassing.
I…keep waiting for him to have a fistfight with Ali G?
Rywill
2658
So back to the episode: lots of great stuff and a really good episode overall. I had a couple questions about one scene, though – the one where Arya kills the stableboy. First off, I’m living in Romania at the moment and I’m pretty sure the version I see is sometimes edited (for example, everyone’s all atwitter about Hodor’s junk and I didn’t get a junk shot in my version). The way the stabbing was edited in the version I saw looked really odd; there were basically two jump cuts in the stabbing sequence. It’s like, the boy is hassling her, and then it jumps to her turning and then jumps to him with a sword in his belly, without showing the seconds in between. Is that the way the original looks?
Second, if I remember right in the book the stabbing is much more deliberate. The stableboy tries to stop her, and it’s very clear that she purposely and pretty dispassionately kills him to escape, which is a key moment for her character. In the show (the version I saw, at least), it comes across like an accident: she’s trying to find her sword, the kid comes up just as she gets it into her hand and she sort of turns and yells and whoops he ran into her sword. If this was intended (not just a product of how I viewed it or how it was edited for Romania), that’s a change I’m unhappy with. Also, that stableboy kid was a terrible actor.
It’s really clear that they spent all their money on stuff that wasn’t fighting scenes (so far, at least) – there’s so much “Oh btw Jaime had a big battle in the Riverlands” and whatnot. I am hoping they set some cash aside for a cool war sequence at the end, at least. Given how good the ratings are, hopefully they’ll get more cash (and maybe more time!) next season. Speaking of Jaime: needs more Jaime. He’s been AWOL for basically three episodes now – one cool swordfight and one scene with his dad, and I think that’s it for the last three weeks.
It still feels like it moves very, very fast, but I guess non-readers are still keeping up fine.
Sorry to hear that you missed the junk shot.
In the original, she’s crouching down getting Needle out of her luggage. After a bit of hassling, he walks over and puts his hand on her shoulder. At that point, she spins, stands, and stabs. She looks more startled than anything else. It definitely conveys a “Whoops!” feeling and lacks the deliberation shown in the books.
Maniac
2660
Next season you’re gonna have to miss him the whole time.
