Game of Thrones 1.2 + brief musing on current US costume dramas
It…it’s wrong to watch a dwarf hit a 13-year-old boy and be going “do that again!” isn’t it? Like, on multiple levels. I just can’t help it. I hate that abusive little creepster so much. Though I’m glad they gave Tyrion some, you know, depth and personality beyond “Drinks a lot. Likes brothels.” Because, really.
So, in and of itself, I like the show as it’s own show, despite agreeing with the criticisms re: rape and racism that have been making the rounds. But as an adaptation…well, plotwise, it’s fine but characterwise, this show is on notice. If it doesn’t shape up regarding Danaerys Targaryen and Catelyn and Sansa Stark stat, I may have to devote a fair bit of energy to mocking it or something.
And man, I really did manage to forget how much Robert is The Worst King And Father Ever. Like, dude, discipline your kid and learn what he’s like, especially if you want him to be anything resembling a half-decent king, don’t just indulge him and make life and death decisions because your wife is in a bad mood and you want her to shut up and go get drunk(er), and don’t punish your friend’s children because your son is a spoiled brat. Not to mention the “Wipe out everyone of this bloodline! Starting with the teenaged girl who wasn’t even alive yet when the bad things went down!” bit.
Also, do they seriously expect us to believe that not only did no one know that a CROWN PRINCE was born, but also that no one knew that he died? He was the king’s son! His heir! That’s not something that goes unnoticed. (Also, I’ll let some things slide, but Cersei not aborting any time she thought Robert got her pregnant, instead of Jamie? Don’t’ make me laugh.)
The dramatic decrease in random boobage is appreciated, though.
Meanwhile, remember that New York Times article that said that women don’t like fantasy and GoT would only have women because it would be the only way to get viewership. (Ok, this is technically true of my listies, but not for the reason they think. My listies are largely pro-genre/period drama, but generally lose more interest the closer something gets to being The Great Tales Of Men, whereas the NYT article thinks women hate these things and will only watch them if their boyfriends force them or whatever.) Anyway, somewhere in that discussion, it was brought up that most of the Sexytimes Onscreen shows airing in the US right now were period and/or fantasy dramas.
Now, disregarding the “genre is for boys” silliness, I get the impression that the general opinion is that, when it comes to period dramas, war/battle/action dramas are “dude things,” and women only like the Austen/Bronte/Gaskell “genteel class and social examinations with romance and manners and such” shows. I haven’t actually seen any major discussions of that, but that’s the impression I get of what people think. My point (to the very limited extent that I have one) is that Camelot and Game of Thrones and “action and battle and politics and war” shows, and The Borgias is basically the same thing, only mostly shifted to intricate not-always-accurate-but-they’re-trying politics. In all three, the storylines for the women are focused, to varying degrees and with varying success, on the idea of women trying to get by and not get crushed or thrown aside in a patriarchal society that sees them as secondary/chattel/adornments. I don’t watch too many of the Sexytimes Onscreen shows, and haven’t seen any of The Tudors (Is it even still around?) and didn’t see enough of Spartacus don’t remember enough of it to really comment there, but I find that…interesting? (Of course, I’m typing this laughing and thinking about how China and Korea figured out years ago that it’s best to just throw in lots of women, lots of men, a few romances of varying types, tons of battles, tons of politics [with both genders participating in both] a lot of costumes and weapons, and a couple of overly dramatic backstories, and just toss it all in a pot, stir, and assume everyone who can last 20-50 episodes will be happy.) I can’t help but think there might be an interesting WisCon panel in there somewhere, but I’m not sure I’d be the one to do it.
Randomly, pre-anything airing, my level of anticipation went about Camelot>>Game of Thrones>>The Borgias. Now that they’re out, my enjoyment level goes The Brgias>>Game of Thrones>>Camelot. (Alternatively, it goes “Multiple women with multiple scenes together, men who I do not hate, except for the one I’m supposed to want dead, and find interesting enough to make up for when they annoy me. ..Multiple women with some scenes together, some men I like and some men I hate, and creepiness I’m not sure it knows is creepy. >> Multiple women with the occasional scene together, a few men I like but the two most central characters are men a loathe who think they’re walking endorsements of why Patriarchy is awesome, and a general obliviousness on the show’s part to some major patriarchal-set fail. Like the central conflict boiling down 2 men trying to screw a woman out of her birthright.”