A Game of Thrones
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Game of Thrones started airing back in 2011? I swear people only started talking about it a few years ago. Maybe that's just the point where it reached the popularity threshold for someone living under a rock, like me, to hear about it.
I still haven't seen a single episode.
I still haven't seen a single episode.
Nathaniel3W
Member
Amy":141f576p said:
One of these days I will eventually give in. I really liked the first few books. A Feast for Crows was a slog though, and although I heard that A Dance with Dragons was much better, I wasn't able to continue the series. I was making hour-plus commutes to a horrible job, and I had been listening to audiobooks in the car, and eventually I decided that listening to graphic depictions of sex and violence and sexual violence wasn't helping me to face the day.
But I do really want to know how things end. At this rate, I'm not sure George R. R. Martin can finish the series, and HBO may give me the only ending I'll get.
I'm assuming you'll love the series Princess Amy. It seems most everyone else does. Still, you'll have to let us know your thoughts after you've caught up on a few seasons.
If you can get past the Tarantino violence and the sex scenes which are actual, physical porn at times (I'm OK with that) it's a good series so far. I have one episode left, gonna go out and buy series 2 today.Nathaniel3W":3uhaqlbs said:
(Don't watch this with Prudish Parents, I mean.)
There's one point where the dude's But I'm one for ~sexual liberation~ and normalisation and don't see it as a problem.
Im not a big GoT guy personally. I watched the first season and thougt it was spectacular. Then i watched the second and was turned off by it. This sounds really prude but i just think there is too much sex shit going on. And it gets so over the top sometimes i just dont know (like the guy and his sister). The 1st season was very way classier than the second. I mean i dont mind sex in movies and shows but like i dont wanna see peeps fucking like every 15 mins.
Nathaniel3W
Member
Are you talking about
Yeah, that's kind of important for a couple of reasons. You have to reinforce how truly horrible Cersei is in every episode and ... Have you met Gendry yet?
And if you're talking about something else (Like I said, haven't actually seen the series), well, horrible things happen pretty much all the time in Westeros.
And in America we use "season" where you use "series." But we use "series" to mean "all of the seasons." What do you use to mean that?
Cersei killing all of Robert's bastards?
This is pretty much the driving force behind his story.
And if you're talking about something else (Like I said, haven't actually seen the series), well, horrible things happen pretty much all the time in Westeros.
And in America we use "season" where you use "series." But we use "series" to mean "all of the seasons." What do you use to mean that?
Oh. In Britain a TV show is made up of series'. I don't know what we'd use to mean all of the episodes, other than maybe programme. A TV programme made up of series.
Our shows are usually six episodes long, with some longer ones. We don't generally work around seasons like they do in America, which is probably why we don't call them that.
And yeah I'm talking about killing Robert's bastards. He was also just a cunt to one of the whores who was crying because of it I'm beginning to think he's Not a Very Nice Person.
Our shows are usually six episodes long, with some longer ones. We don't generally work around seasons like they do in America, which is probably why we don't call them that.
And yeah I'm talking about killing Robert's bastards. He was also just a cunt to one of the whores who was crying because of it I'm beginning to think he's Not a Very Nice Person.
I also think they're overplaying the good versus evil a bit. The whole point is that there are supposed to be all these warring kingdoms and noblemen and lords and that everybody wants everybody else dead, yet the Starks are clearly set up as the good guys against the evil Lannisters. I think it's a mistake how the one never sets a foot wrong while the other is pushed as the ultimate evil in every way possible.
Nathaniel3W
Member
Spoilers below, but although I don't give away any major plot points, I do point out some character development that happens probably after where you're currently watching. Click the spoiler button at your own risk.
Early on in the story, it's important for the audience to start caring about someone. So the author/director/producer/whoever has to create sympathetic characters for the audience to identify with and then put them into bad situations perpetrated by the villains.
By the way, they do something very similar for helping the audience to explore a new world. When introduced to a fantastical setting, the audience likes to follow an outsider protagonist. As the protagonist discovers the world, so does the audience. And while the other characters explain the situation to the hero, they also explain the situation to us. The Starks on their way to King's Landing, Jon on the Wall, and Daenerys on her way to wherever are all outsider protagonists in their respective plots.
But back to the clear differentiation between the good family and the evil family, you'll see those lines start to blur as the plot grows more complicated.
And then you see a lot of characters who we assumed were pure evil become more nuanced.
Although I can't think of any good characters who completely lose their way, we do see some good characters make mistakes.
And to answer your question, maybe this is one of those things that gets explained more in the books?
OK, and this is really, really, important. Have you already seen Khal Drogo's funeral scene? Do not click this until after you've seen his funeral. (Sorry to put that spoiler out in the open, but it's important to protect a much bigger spoiler.)
Or maybe you just wanted to make a WTF exclamation. And yeah. WTF.
And hopefully everything plays out the same way in the TV show as in the books, and I didn't give away anything major.
Early on in the story, it's important for the audience to start caring about someone. So the author/director/producer/whoever has to create sympathetic characters for the audience to identify with and then put them into bad situations perpetrated by the villains.
By the way, they do something very similar for helping the audience to explore a new world. When introduced to a fantastical setting, the audience likes to follow an outsider protagonist. As the protagonist discovers the world, so does the audience. And while the other characters explain the situation to the hero, they also explain the situation to us. The Starks on their way to King's Landing, Jon on the Wall, and Daenerys on her way to wherever are all outsider protagonists in their respective plots.
But back to the clear differentiation between the good family and the evil family, you'll see those lines start to blur as the plot grows more complicated.
In the books at least, as the war rages on, you see refugees who have had their homes destroyed and their crops stolen or burned. "Lions or wolves, they're all the same," they say. Although we don't specifically see any of Robb's men committing atrocities, we know it happens.
And then you see a lot of characters who we assumed were pure evil become more nuanced.
The best example is probably Jaime Lannister who quickly establishes himself as one of the most hated characters early in the series. Later, when he becomes the main character of his own storyline, we see that at one point he realized he has "shit for honor" and just kind of continued in that direction. The only good thing he had ever done in his entire life, from his own point of view, was killing King Aerys, and it's the one thing everyone hates him for. After he reaches his low point--you'll know it when you see it--he doesn't quite pity himself. He's disgusted with himself. Not remorseful, exactly, but he just realizes that he has always been a horrible person and that now he's a useless horrible person, and he turns himself around. He confesses but never really pays for his sins, and he continues to fight for the bad guys, but he does it on his own terms. And he even does something noble now and then.
Although I can't think of any good characters who completely lose their way, we do see some good characters make mistakes.
And to answer your question, maybe this is one of those things that gets explained more in the books?
We don't actually see Daenerys' baby in the books. Khal Drogo is on his deathbed, Jorah is defending his tent, the blood riders are fighting, the khalisar is in revolt, and Daenerys tells Mirri Maz Duur to use her magic to save Drogo. Mirri warns Daenerys that blood magic requires a life for a life and says that they need to sacrifice a horse. During the fighting, Dany goes into labor, gets wounded, and passes out. We don't know what happens until later.
Mirri tells Dany that the baby was the life that the spell required, and that it was stillborn and full of graveworms. Dany doesn't believe her and asks Jorah what he saw. Jorah only says "I don't know what I saw." There's a great, really dramatic argument between Mirri and Dany about how Dany knew what she was asking for and got what she bargained for.
Mirri tells Dany that the baby was the life that the spell required, and that it was stillborn and full of graveworms. Dany doesn't believe her and asks Jorah what he saw. Jorah only says "I don't know what I saw." There's a great, really dramatic argument between Mirri and Dany about how Dany knew what she was asking for and got what she bargained for.
OK, and this is really, really, important. Have you already seen Khal Drogo's funeral scene? Do not click this until after you've seen his funeral. (Sorry to put that spoiler out in the open, but it's important to protect a much bigger spoiler.)
The concept of "a life for a life" in magic comes back into play when the eggs hatch. Daenerys was building a funeral pyre with what was supposed to be the usual sacrifices to send a great khal into the afterlife, plus the bonus of killing Mirri. She placed her most precious gifts on the pyre and lit it. Khal Drogo, Mirri Maz Duur, and a horse lost their lives in order to give life to the dragon eggs.
Or maybe you just wanted to make a WTF exclamation. And yeah. WTF.
And hopefully everything plays out the same way in the TV show as in the books, and I didn't give away anything major.
Having not read the books or known much about it, I have to say I was disappointed with Drogo's funeral. I had assumed that everything was being played straight and that any magic was going to be played off as coincidence or charlatanism. It would have been refreshing to have a "low fantasy" series (is that the term?), after Lord of the Rings and everything took High Fantasy to the extremes, it would have been nice to just have something set in medieval times and not necessarily invoking magic and mysticism. That's the direction it seems to be taking though.
I'm about half way through series 2. Unfortunately while I don't know much about the series, I do know who lives, because I keep seeing memes and such from series 7. I also know the big plot points such as the red wedding. Not got there yet though.
I knew Ned Stark's head was going but it was still a shock when it happened. Really well written scene there.
Also it's not on our Netflix or anything so I have to go out and buy the DVDs. It's on Amazon Prime, for a cost, and it works out cheaper buying the disks! (Plus I like material things anyway). This is gonna be costly.
I'm about half way through series 2. Unfortunately while I don't know much about the series, I do know who lives, because I keep seeing memes and such from series 7. I also know the big plot points such as the red wedding. Not got there yet though.
I knew Ned Stark's head was going but it was still a shock when it happened. Really well written scene there.
Also it's not on our Netflix or anything so I have to go out and buy the DVDs. It's on Amazon Prime, for a cost, and it works out cheaper buying the disks! (Plus I like material things anyway). This is gonna be costly.
Nathaniel3W
Member
Drogo's funeral was in the last chapter of the first book. The whole book by then had been pretty low fantasy. Anything fantastical up to that point was considered out of the ordinary, exaggerated legends, or trickery. And then we slowly see more and more magic being opened up in the world. It's implied that magic and the dragons are somehow related. At one point we meet a street magician who puts on a fantastic show, and people watching remark on how just a few weeks ago his spells were uninteresting. And the alchemists who make wildfire say something about how their spells are suddenly more effective and that they're able to make wildfire much faster now.
By late into the books, you have dire wolves, wargs, dragons, the Others, wights, the Faceless Men, the Red Priests, the Children of the Forest, giants, and the greenseers--all magical or supernatural in their own ways. You meet Coldhands, Melisandre, the Three-Eyed Crow, and other powerful or supernatural beings. You meet undead or resurrected characters. And although maybe the world isn't all that magical to the average Westeros peasant, the reader sees magic and high fantasy enveloping all the major plots.
Personally, I didn't mind the increasing fantasy, but I guess we all have our own preferences.
By late into the books, you have dire wolves, wargs, dragons, the Others, wights, the Faceless Men, the Red Priests, the Children of the Forest, giants, and the greenseers--all magical or supernatural in their own ways. You meet Coldhands, Melisandre, the Three-Eyed Crow, and other powerful or supernatural beings. You meet undead or resurrected characters. And although maybe the world isn't all that magical to the average Westeros peasant, the reader sees magic and high fantasy enveloping all the major plots.
Personally, I didn't mind the increasing fantasy, but I guess we all have our own preferences.
Nathaniel3W
Member
So you know of the event, but not of who dies there? I guess nobody spoiled the important part for you then. You'll have to let us know your guesses and whether you were right and how you feel about the outcome.
I'm reminded now of one of my favorite webcomics. http://www.basicinstructions.net/basic- ... rones.html
I wish he were still making new comics, but at least the old ones are still up, unlike Pictures for Sad Children.
I'm reminded now of one of my favorite webcomics. http://www.basicinstructions.net/basic- ... rones.html
I wish he were still making new comics, but at least the old ones are still up, unlike Pictures for Sad Children.