sometimes you're nothing but meat
I feel like Game of Thrones and Mad Men are just playing a game of oneupmanship on me, delivering better and better TV, in an attempt to blow my mind. I'm generally much more fannish about GoT (because I spent all those months reading the books and now I'm getting paid... in fannishness and UC 'shipping?), but this week's MM was such amazing television. Gut-wrenching, but amazing.
This season of Mad Men hasn't quite been perfect. The balance between character introspection and actual action has been a little off (although since Peggy left and Joan is a partner now, maybe I should stop griping about nothing ever happening). And some of the 1960s references have been a little too on the nose (um, nice though it was to see Paul Kinsey, I don't think people who are in cults spend their time writing Star Trek episodes).
But goddamn I cannot think of another show on TV that could pull off an Indecent Proposal episode and make it gruesome yet emotional yet fascinating. Mad Men is incredible in the amount in packs into a single look. Other shows, lesser shows, would waste scenes establishing characters' reactions to something like this, but just through their expressions, we knew exactly what everyone in the office thought of the Joan situation.
And god, the final scene. Such perfect story construction. Peggy finding out Joan had been made a partner and feeling it was a slight against her. Joan knowing that she could never ever tell Peggy how she really got her partnership share. And, goddddd, I've loved Peggy and Joan's friendship so much this season. Thanks for the sucker punch, show. ;__;
I feel desolate over the fact that there will be no more new episodes of Game of Thrones after Sunday. What am going to doooo??? At least last year I had the books to wade through. Now I'm just another one of those losers, figuratively clinging to George RR Martin's trouser leg, screaming, why won't you actually TELL us Varys's backstory???
Anyway.
The tight focus on King's Landing in this episode was great and it made me wonder, not for the first time, if this show would benefit from a different structure. I'd been thinking an OZ-style episode construction, where it's 10 minutes of Tyrion, 10 minutes of Dany, 10 minutes of Jon Snow, (etc,) and once a character's scenes are over we don't see them again for the rest of the episode. But now I'm wondering if a Skins-style structure would work, with every episode focused on a different character. Hmmm. Idle musings, anyway...
Probably the highlight of the season for me has been Ygritte. She is delightful, and she and Jon Snow have fantastic chemistry.
(As for the other big 'romance' this season, Robb and not!Jeyne... meh. I'll pass. Robb still has more chemistry with his mother. Unfortunate.)
I'm really enjoying the way the TV show has fleshed out the Renly/Loras/Margaery situation. In the books, I found it weird that Loras just showed up to hang with the Lannisters, like "whatever, I guess I'm on your side now". I'm hoping we get to see a lot more of the angst that must have gone into that decision. And I'm excited to see how Miss "I want to be THE queen" goes about achieving her ambitions.
Unexpected love for Lancel Lannister! The actor's facial expressions are priceless. And I loved Lancel's weak attempts to stand up to Cersei being repaid with... a punch to his wound (aww, Lancel).
Trying out LJ's new spoiler cut so I can mention something that happens in Book 3: [I'm a book spoiler. Don't click me!]I'm starting to really 'ship Tyrion/Sansa, because of all the REALLY OBVIOUS foreshadowing. Sigh. When trying to 'ship Sansa, there are nothing but terrible, terrible options. See also: Sansa/Petyr OTP. :/
This season of Mad Men hasn't quite been perfect. The balance between character introspection and actual action has been a little off (although since Peggy left and Joan is a partner now, maybe I should stop griping about nothing ever happening). And some of the 1960s references have been a little too on the nose (um, nice though it was to see Paul Kinsey, I don't think people who are in cults spend their time writing Star Trek episodes).
But goddamn I cannot think of another show on TV that could pull off an Indecent Proposal episode and make it gruesome yet emotional yet fascinating. Mad Men is incredible in the amount in packs into a single look. Other shows, lesser shows, would waste scenes establishing characters' reactions to something like this, but just through their expressions, we knew exactly what everyone in the office thought of the Joan situation.
And god, the final scene. Such perfect story construction. Peggy finding out Joan had been made a partner and feeling it was a slight against her. Joan knowing that she could never ever tell Peggy how she really got her partnership share. And, goddddd, I've loved Peggy and Joan's friendship so much this season. Thanks for the sucker punch, show. ;__;
I feel desolate over the fact that there will be no more new episodes of Game of Thrones after Sunday. What am going to doooo??? At least last year I had the books to wade through. Now I'm just another one of those losers, figuratively clinging to George RR Martin's trouser leg, screaming, why won't you actually TELL us Varys's backstory???
Anyway.
The tight focus on King's Landing in this episode was great and it made me wonder, not for the first time, if this show would benefit from a different structure. I'd been thinking an OZ-style episode construction, where it's 10 minutes of Tyrion, 10 minutes of Dany, 10 minutes of Jon Snow, (etc,) and once a character's scenes are over we don't see them again for the rest of the episode. But now I'm wondering if a Skins-style structure would work, with every episode focused on a different character. Hmmm. Idle musings, anyway...
Probably the highlight of the season for me has been Ygritte. She is delightful, and she and Jon Snow have fantastic chemistry.
(As for the other big 'romance' this season, Robb and not!Jeyne... meh. I'll pass. Robb still has more chemistry with his mother. Unfortunate.)
I'm really enjoying the way the TV show has fleshed out the Renly/Loras/Margaery situation. In the books, I found it weird that Loras just showed up to hang with the Lannisters, like "whatever, I guess I'm on your side now". I'm hoping we get to see a lot more of the angst that must have gone into that decision. And I'm excited to see how Miss "I want to be THE queen" goes about achieving her ambitions.
Unexpected love for Lancel Lannister! The actor's facial expressions are priceless. And I loved Lancel's weak attempts to stand up to Cersei being repaid with... a punch to his wound (aww, Lancel).
Trying out LJ's new spoiler cut so I can mention something that happens in Book 3: [I'm a book spoiler. Don't click me!]I'm starting to really 'ship Tyrion/Sansa, because of all the REALLY OBVIOUS foreshadowing. Sigh. When trying to 'ship Sansa, there are nothing but terrible, terrible options. See also: Sansa/Petyr OTP. :/