As they all speak with Yorkshire accents. Rugby League might be more appropriate. That’s the tougher version of rugby, shunned by southern pansies.
Well that was really good.
The crazy folk-rock version of The Bear and Maiden Fair is just a perfect capper. Now that was unexpected.
— Alan
Really? I thought it was awful to go from that intense last scene directly into that credits song. Loved the episode though. Somehow I don’t remember this Theon stuff at all after reading the books.
Blips
4345
That’s because none of the Theon stuff is in the books at all. It implies that hes dead and hes not seen at all in the 3rd book. I’m halfway through the 4th book right now and he’s still missing.
The episode had a fairly jocular tone, up unto the end so I would have preferred a more restrained song.
(Massive Hold Steady fan though)
Theon’s story is kinda/sorta implied in the books. You’re not there yet.
— Alan
rowe33
4348
I hated the folk-rock ending…takes the severity right out of the scene and turns it into some sort of campy teen horror movie all of a sudden. I love the Theon bit though as it seems they’re playing the bastard angle as twisted and utterly cruel as possible.
I think they were trying to do a sort of Scorsese thing with the ending? Didn’t really work but what a great episode!
another week till the next episode is up. damn you Americans with HBO cable!
I have no idea what’s going on with Theon’s storyline, but this is a lot more interesting than watching him get tortured for months.
Seneca
4352
Good to see more interplay between Tyrion and Bron. Would rather watch an hour of those two than most of the other plot lines that unfold at a glacial pace.
Love that song, but it was a really jarring (and shitty) way to end the episode. To go right from Jaime’s maiming to that seemed silly and very out of place.
My wife was full of questions about Theon’s situation last night, and I was like “err…I have no clue because this is all wildly different than anything in the books”. I’m guessing it’s a way to break Theon without having to show torture porn clips of him every episode, though I really thought they were going to go there when the sergeant started to bugger him. Ewww…
The scenes with Robb, Edmure and Blackfish were fantastic. The scenes with Tyrion, Bronn and Pod were hilarious, especially when he returned. “We’re going to need details!”. LOL.
While changes and shortcuts abound, I really can’t complain about any of them thus far. I think the show is doing a fantastic job of conveying the story along with making you feel the same way about the characters as you would if you were reading the books. My wife is full of questions, just as I was at that point in the books, and while I have to fill in a few blanks for her here and there, or remind her of relevant things that happened much earlier in the show, she’s following along well and enjoying it as a non-reader. That, to me, means it’s a success.
JonRowe
4354
Well, if there was any real hint to where they were going with Theon’s story it was the last words of a dying (and likely betrayed) northerner. “you bastard”
Not to get too deep into spoilery territory. But the way that Theon’s story plays out in the books is impossible to do on TV.
Apparently the D&D were thinking of An American Werewolf in London.
— Alan
It was very jarring until you realized what the lyrics were, then it was… still jarring.
I had the exact same conversation with my wife (a variant of the same conversation we have after every episode where she quizzes me on what’s going to happen to X, Y or Z and I struggle to not give away any spoilers).
Yeah. Wasn’t there something last year about the Blackfish being cut as a character? I’m glad they decided to bring him in.
That whole thing was great. I loved the deal with the whores not taking (or likely being paid not to take) gold so Pod’s self-esteem would be boosted.
On that scene…
It was odd that Ramsey would kill three of his guys in order to screw with Theon’s head though. Sure, he’s ruthless and nuts, but he never struck me as being particularly wasteful like that.
And on that…
Well, they could have done it the way it GRRM did it for readers: have him pop up again in a couple books as a broken man. Easy to film (as in, no film required) and probably just as jarring. I suspect that D&D want to go in a slightly different direction in telling Theon’s story.
Teiman
4358
Great episode.
About the part with Tyrion, Bronn and Pod, I trought was weird, but if was theater to boost Pod morale make more sense to me.
I fear the TV serie will never go to the really gritty parts of the books. At least a lannister has lost a hand.
Can you give an example of one of the gritty elements you think they may gloss over?
I was trying to think of one myself and the only one I could come up with was the sequence where Arya was wandering the streets as an urchin and the cannibalistic pot-shops. But I think they WOULD have done that if they thought it advanced the story.
Well the Blackfish was of course cut from the the first season, but we’ve heard for awhile he was in season three. Good thing too, it is a fantastic scene.
— Alan
