Game of Thrones
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April 23rd, 2012 2:56 PM
Did you intentionally misspell ("Quarth") as an Up Yours to that narky Merchant?
And Hurray for Old Spice Merchant, coming forward to vouch for Dany's cause!
April 23rd, 2012 2:44 PM
"I'm content with a sci-fi element to GoT, but I don't want to see it become a dominant narrative."
Boy, not only have you NOT read the books, you seem to have not read anything ABOUT the books. It's an ... EPIC FANTASY ... series. [Never was, never has been, never will be, never advertised as "science fiction." Magic smoke vaginas are *always* fantasy, unless it's a machine and lots of space travel is involved, aka "Dune."]
Not sure I'll be able to read any more of your reviews now.
Rank: Guest Star
April 23rd, 2012 2:22 PM
I delete syfy channel from my remote....so anything super natural gets old very fast ...that one can be eritrean off as WTF... But that's it !!!!!!!!!
Rank: Extra
April 23rd, 2012 2:18 PM
Game of Thrones always a great movie.
Rank: Recurring Character
April 23rd, 2012 1:16 PM
I agree, it's not sci-fi it's magic!! I don;t think I appreciate that much magic though, it was a really wtf moment..but let's see where it takes us. Hopefully it won't kill Renly so soon because I'm enjoying his twisted "family"dynamic. On to Joffrey, that kid is sick. I wish Melisandre sprung her smokey fetus on him! He has got to die, what a psycho! Is his insanity a result of his incestuous origin? I wish Tyrion could be king, he's awesome! Maybe if Joffrey AND Cersei died it could be him?? That is, if Robb really isn't after the Iron Throne after all..
April 23rd, 2012 12:31 PM
Sci-Fi??? Nah, black vaginal smoke coming from a witch is fantasy.. "Magic" with no science behind it is fantasy, whereas what looks like "magic" but is really based on science is Sci-Fi.
April 23rd, 2012 11:03 AM
@Fudgefase
"I find it hard to really credit that such a warlike tribe would have allowed themselves to be led by a woman on the death of her husband - even if she did have some baby dragons."
You must have missed where most of the tribe abandoned Dany. She is basically leading about a small group of people. However, she is royalty, cannot be burnt and has dragons which gives her the potential to sit on the Iron Throne one day and lead thousands.
April 23rd, 2012 11:03 AM
Yeah this is a fantasy show about life on another planet. Nothing rong with a smoke demon poping out of a witches vagina. Whats it say when thats the least freaky thing on the show? Like the prostitute said too much pain takes away the pleasure. I am no prude but this show is not as much fun as last year. Killing babies torturing children. When did charles manson become a tv writer. Three cheers for the dwarf though. At leaat someone on this show has a conscience.
Rank: Staff Member
April 23rd, 2012 11:01 AM
@blehhhh: I don't know. I'm not judging anything I haven't seen. All I can do is react to what I have seen. Sure, if the story is entirely driven by magical forces down the line, I may be very turned off to it.
April 23rd, 2012 10:48 AM
"I'm content with a sci-fi element to GoT, but I don't want to see it become a dominant narrative."
Uh ..... you mean like when the dragons get bigger? Like that? You do realize the title of the latest book is called "A Dance with Dragons"?
April 23rd, 2012 8:12 AM
The rat torture was certainly common enough to be included in most chamber of horrors and wax museums in the UK today, and is even mentioned in some fictional tales from India. Pretty nasty though - and not much fun for the rats either, I'll be bound!
Am getting a little tired of the Denyrys storyline - I find it hard to really credit that such a warlike tribe would have allowed themselves to be led by a woman on the death of her husband - even if she did have some baby dragons.
Joffrey is a monster, and the prostitute scene really was quite nasty. I hope Sansa gets a chance to do him in quite soon. Kudos to these two young actors,by the way. Sophie Turner and Jack Gleeson really should be on the short list for some awards quite soon. Poor Jack (Joffrey). I suspect he might have to change his hair completely if he's ever going to work again, so hateful is his character!
April 23rd, 2012 7:37 AM
The reviewer of a science fantasy drama complaining about magic and calling it cheating makes me roll my eyes. Magic drives all science fantasy stories. This is no different in the Game of Thrones. Magic and those who possess it influence almost all the major political intrigue as well as life and death.
April 23rd, 2012 4:46 AM
"Daenerys remains far removed from the battle over the throne, but I can only assume her storyline will soon merge with many others" oh man, if only!
Rank: Regular Character
April 23rd, 2012 4:39 AM
Ahh, the Black Smoke Monster from Lost strikes again... so yeah agree with @fortyseven being wigged out...
Rank: Regular Character
April 23rd, 2012 1:33 AM
Very good episode. Tyrion was awesome. Dany was funny. Margaery was good. It was great to see two of the contenders face off. It'll be interesting to see if Robb stays on the "High Road". It says a lot that the birth of a shadow monster isn't the most disturbing scene this episode. Shouldn't Arya's identity be discovered quickly if she's Tywin's cupbearer? Tywin the capitalist only cares about the wasted labor. Ha! Nooo, not palm cutting! Every series does it and it's the height of stupidity! You need your hand for lots of things.
April 23rd, 2012 12:33 AM
The poll fails to mention the most disturbing/disgusting scene I've probably ever seen. Mellisandre giving birth to the shadow being. The Joffrey scene was pretty damn disturbing also, the whipping was bad but what the woman was made to do with that staff was the more deviant portion of the scene. Overall a pretty disturbing episode. That being said, I can't even imagine what will visually unfold when we get to The Red Wedding, probably end season 3 or season 4. It's one thing to read this stuff ,as the brain can gloss over the more explicit material, but to see it up front and personal is quite a different thing. As for the magic it does slowly become more involved in the various character arcs.
April 22nd, 2012 11:18 PM
Melisandre said it herself, the shadows are the servants of the lord of light, since there can't be a shadow in the darkness. She didn't have "Vaginal smoke" She gave birth to a shadow being.
Remember, from what you knew in GOT season 1. There was no magic in the world, they treated it as something from legends far far gone, and IT WAS TRUE BACK THEN. But, Danny's Dragons changed that, when dragons became alive, magic was reborn in the world and those who had the knowledge of it could use it once more.
And about the questions they were asking in the torture scenes, they are relevent, they are looking for the "brotherhood" where another red priest will play an very important part in the seasons to come.
Lord Bolton will too play an important role, keep and eye on him.
April 22nd, 2012 11:08 PM
Great episode! Interesting article. Couple of quick notes (spoiler free) from someone who has read the books. One might be forgiven for thinking that this story is historical fiction set in an alternate reality but don't loose sight of the fact that this is fantasy. Magic is going to come into play, sometimes subtly, sometimes in your face. Being able to bend the laws of nature is cheating, sure, but it's part of the genre. If you are turned off by that, this may not be your cup of tea.
Some typos in the article and comments. Bran is the son of Catelyn Stark (with a C, not a K, even when shortened to Cat). Bronn is the sellsword in Tyrion's pay. Qarth, not Quarth. Targaryen, not Targerian. Harrenhal, not Harenhall.
April 22nd, 2012 11:04 PM
I don't think this post counts as anything like a spoiler, but I want to give people the chance to avoid reading it if they want. I just want to respond to the comment about magic, because it's something I think Martin handles VERY well in the books. It's true, magic in fantasy novels is something that often sabotages the narrative by, as Matt says, "cheating". Harry Potter's use of magic makes no sense in about a dozen different ways, and even something like Lord of the Rings has problems when you think about it. Martin's smart enough to deploy magic very smartly, though. He knows it's something weird, inhuman, and hard to control, and which comes with a very high cost. Suffice to say that no "magic" characters, no matter how powerful, are going to be able to run around shooting lightning bolts willy-nilly.
Rank: Extra
April 22nd, 2012 10:38 PM
Whoops, my bad. I thought it was Nymeria that killed the two Lannisters, but it was Grey Wind. My fault. Remember though guys, Nymeria is still out there. The night is dark and full of terrors.
One last thing, I don't know why, but the smoke baby doesn't bother me all that much, perhaps because I have read the books and that's about what I expected it to be. I guess I feel the way my friends that read the books reacted to my shock when Ned lost his head (before I read the books).
April 22nd, 2012 10:33 PM
wtf is that smoke! I hope it doen't kill Renly, I think his plot with Anne Boleyn and her brother is interesting..I wish the smoke would kill Joffrey instead! He's a complete psychopath! Perhaps it's due to his incestuous origin?
Rank: Extra
April 22nd, 2012 10:28 PM
Quick typo note: "...to Bronn's direwolf-based dreams." It's Bran whose having the direwolf dreams, although Bronn was freakin' awesome in this episode and in genereal.
My Lord (of Light), this episode was unbelievable. Best so far of season 2. Xaro's introduction was great. I loved the scene where Catelyn was presented with Ned's bones. It was perfectly done and Michelle Fairley (Catelyn) broke my heart. And how about the direwolf-scene-of-the-week? Nymeria coming out of left field to dispatch the Lannisters was awesome. Great to see the show start to really get into it. P.S.: I want to go on a trip to Qarth.
Rank: Extra
April 22nd, 2012 10:24 PM
Yes, again all was done very well. Loved the views of Harenhall.
Just remember, very few wasted words in any episode.
Also, Lord Bolton is a person to remember.
I have heard some complain there isn't enough magic/fantasy. Well, now there is that funny smoke.
And Melisandra DID promise Stannis a son, she just didn't say what kind of son.
More important, how did Little Finger get into Renly's camp so easy, and did he really convince Kat to do the unthinkable?
Lancel, a pawn of a player?
Stay tuned....