GoT 4x07 + Orphan Black
Another week, another GoT episode review (since it is the only show I seem able to keep up with on here anymore, ironically). My thoughts on this highly anticipated episode:
OMG WHY WOULD YOU NOT HAVE LITTLEFINGER SAY THE ICONIC AND HILARIOUS "ONLY CAT" BEFORE PUSHING LYSA OFF?! YOU HAD ONE JOB, SHOW! >:( I am going to go with the explanation I saw on ONTD that it was to clarify that he wasn't talking about the great Ser Pounce being (understandably) the only one he ever loved...
But seriously, while the Moon Door scene was disappointing as I feared (although not as bad as the Red Wedding and Sansa's wedding at least), the episode overall was mostly solid, with a lot of great scenes and book dialogue lifted wholesale (it's amazing how much better/higher quality book dialogue usually is; such music to my ears!)
+ The Oberyn/Tyrion conversation was FANTASTIC, and I was so delighted that we did get the story of when Oberyn visited Casterly Rock and saw Tyrion as a baby after all. (Maybe I should have known it would make it's way onto the show at some point since it is about Tyrion, lol). Pedro slayed too in this scene; I really do love him as Oberyn. I do roll my eyes a bit though at him apparently bringing only one outfit on this trip to KL, come on costume folks! :/ I did like him noting that Cersei was manipulating him because of the trial in his last scene with her, confirming my suspicion about how they meant for that scene to be perceived.
+ The Bronn scene was also great, and pretty much word-for-word from ASOS (I recently reread the scene, lol); I'm quite relieved they have finally quit trying to make Bronn seem all good and noble with that nonsense about him only not visiting Tyrion because they were ~keeping him away~ rather than because he is a sell sword who doesn't really care enough. And wow, they are finally introducing the Stokeworths?
+ How badass and graceful did Cersei look striding through those entrails to speak with the Mountain? <33
Though lol at them recasting Gregor Clegane as a 20-something...he's really convincing as Sandor Clegane's OLDER brother now! *eye roll* Especially in the same episode as that story he tells Arya...
+ The Hot Pie scene was great, quite an unexpected treat! Loved seeing SOMEONE told about Arya still being alive and her status, and aww at his new direwolf bread loaf. It was also great that Pod reminded her about the bounty on Sansa and it therefore not being wise to widely advertise who they are looking for, even if she ignores his advice. Although lol at them figuring out so quickly exactly where Sansa is (even though they should have known already since Littlefinger is Captain Obvious on this show). I wish they had shown Arya and the Hound getting closer to the Vale when he planned to sell her to Lysa instead of the boring scenes they give them instead. But again, this is why Jeyne needed to appear earlier so that[ASOS spoilers]Brienne won't go storming the Dread fort when she hears about Fake!Arya's wedding to Roose.
+ I had mixed feelings about the Dany part this week. On the one hand I liked her reaction to Daario, the way she at first was all GTFO and then in that bored voice commanded him to undress if that was all he was good at (again, Daario 2.0 is SUCH an upgrade, making his scenes so much less insufferable!). I hate her affair with him in the book, but here I was like, "Get it gurl, bring on the male nudity!" (not that we got any though of course, since we instead had to cut to boobs, smh). However I didn't like the next scene so much, even though I generally appreciate any Dany/Jorah alone time; Dany's new dress is awful (that is not what I meant when I complained she needed new clothes!) and her characterization continues to be a bit ridiculous on the show...I mean sending an important part of your army off far away to kill ALL the masters there?! Seriously?! Because the slaves in Astapor are doing so well ruling themselves as you just heard, obviously this will solve things! *rolleyes* I mean for all her white savior complex in the books she never suggested something so absurd. I'm glad Ser Jorah was about to talk sense into her on this issue. I did like the little callback to his slaver past.
+ Now on to the Vale scenes: first of all, they were WAY too short! When you have such gold to mine you don't give it short-shrift at the expense of dragging out boring filler, FFS. I already knew they were probably not going to include flashbacks since they never have before, but it would have been so great and so much more emotional if they had included her remembering the snow fight! :( I mean they could have even done it aloud, since she was talking to Robin anyway--have her mention she remembers the last time it was snowing at Winterfell...it was just over so quickly, and didn't have the same emotional impact at all. Oh well, I guess it's something that they didn't skip over it entirely. But also I didn't like they way they used Robin in that scene, making it so that he only accidentally knocked over her tower in an earnest attempt to help, rather than trampling all over it with his doll like the obnoxious brat he is. As a result of this change, Sansa's upset reaction and slap seems wildly out of proportion and very childish/petulant, which is unfair to her character and unfortunate. :/ When Littlefinger kisses her it was also weird, in that they don't have her react/pull away for what felt like forever. (Also no snow ball thrown at him, boo!) It was funny how she was taller than him though. I wish again they had kept her cover story as Littlefinger's bastard daughter, since it really plays into his "you could have been my daughter! (Who I am sexually attracted to)" schtick.
Then they go cutting all of Lysa's backstory in the dramatic moon door scene itself, once again showcasing D&D's tendency to shy away from anything resembling character development in favor of including female nudity on the show (see: the amount of time spent on that stupid Melly scene instead). Lysa is certainly no saint to be sure (murdering and raping people isn't cool, etc) and I cheered at the moon door scene, but I also feel some sympathy her because of the shit she went through in her youth, being forced by her father to abort her lovechild with Petyr and then marry an old man. It's important for the audience to know that part of her story to fully understand why she is so messed up, and also to know why she is so protective of Robin. *sigh* She is a tragic figure, and it's a shame the show doesn't fully show that. The way Littlefinger pushes her over was still pretty lulzy though:
Now onto the ALL bad:
+ The Wall scene was boring as usual, what else is new? WHY IS JANOS SLYNT IN CHARGE THOUGH?! Have the elections even been mentioned yet? I hate the way they are unnecessarily drawing out this storyline, ruining the most interesting part of the Wall storyline by far. :/
+ The Melisandre scene was the worst, what was even the point?! It just seemed like a way to fit in the requisite gratuitous female nudity, made all the more obnoxious on the heels of NOT showing male nudity in a scene where a guy is stripping FFS. This show is so terrible I can't even. >:( I'm not even entirely sure what they were talking about, since I zoned out in boredom, although I heard something about her discussing her potions for FX (although I lol'd at her "no don't tough that one, never that one!" which was so much like the one scene with Catherine and on Mary Reign), and insisting that Shireen come with them (HDU LEAVE PRECIOUS BB SHIREEN BEHIND!).
+ The Arya scene was also boring and WAY too fucking long--it felt as long as the Sansa scenes, tbh, and it was practically about nothing! (The Hound stuff had all been covered before). It's really a shame how they have been stretching out Arya's storyline to the point of ruining it as well, adding all this useless filler instead of more interesting things (like are they ever going to mention Sansa's wedding to get their reaction? They even mentioned Joffrey's death and had that opening!). Just end this road trip already! Also why the hell did they kill Rorge, a pretty major secondary character in terms of his impact on one of the storylines in AFFC?! They literally could have had ANYONE collecting that bounty on Sandor, so the choice of someone who is needed alive later is just flabbergasting to me...look at your life, look at your choices, D&D!
+ I also realize that I still have yet to jot down my thoughts about Orphan Black here, and since we are already halfway through s2 I suppose I might as well do so now:
I don't have a lot of deep thoughts about the show aside from loving it a whole lot (soo good!) and still being reminded of the YA series Replica, lol (clones with different personalities created by a secret sciency organization trying to track them down, the original lab destroyed in fire, etc). What is so great about this show though is that even after an entire season of gradual reveal about the clones and the Dyad Institute (the monitors, etc), there is STILL more intriguing mystery to explore...and the pace of the show doesn't slow down! \o/ I don't know how it got such mixed reviews initially, it just goes to show how full of crap TV reviewers often are.
It not only has a tight, well-written plot, but such wonderfully fleshed out characters as well. I love all of the surviving clones (except maybe Rachel...I was originally confused too by the way they referred to her as a "proclone"?), but I have a special soft spot for my bb Helena in particular (sestra!) <33 I was overjoyed when she turned out to still be alive this season, because I was seriously upset about her murder when I watched the s1 finale. I initially expected her to just be a killer, so getting to see more to her was a nice twist. She can be so funny and endearing (the diner scene omg...or any eating scene, really, like the one with Art in the most recent episode! "I have something to tell you...I like this very much."), and I feel so bad for her with her crazy upbringing, and everything that has happened to her. :/
I also love her relationship with Sarah, and DIED at the shower scene last week and when Sarah talked her down from shooting Rachel this week. It was good to see Sarah finally showing some love and concern for Helena (Tatiana is such a fantastic actress, I can't even). I'm glad that they've gotten over the whole attempted murder thing, lol. YOU BOTH MAKE ME CRY AS WELL.
I'm also glad Cosima is getting the treatment she needs now, she was probably my first favorite clone (even though her storyline with Delphine was stupid). Alison has grown on me for her comic relief value, although I find it a little hard to relate to her, in that I cannot imagine wanting to get married and settle down as a housewife and adopt children that early on in life...no wonder she is so neurotic! :s (And OMG at Ainsley's manslaughter, damn gurl!) Sarah was always interesting to me, even if she sounded a bit like a broken record at times in season 1 ("we're getting Kira and leaving..."). I love her relationship with Felix and Felix too of course; both for the entertaining wit and the more emotional moments, like we've gotten in recent episodes. Cal has been a great introduction as well, lol at Kira's father being Daario 2.0! ;) I agree he is sexier on OB, but it's nice getting to see the actor twice a week now. I also hope this means and end to Sarah/Paul because lawd that was boring (as is Paul himself). Art has also turned out to be a much better character than I expected!
It's been great having Maria Kennedy Doyle back on my screen playing a badass too! Lol I was surprised when they thought she had been kidnapped initially at the beginning of this season, since I assumed she was working for Dyad as soon as we saw the cliffhanger for s1 (given the timing of Rachel's call and the discovery that they were gone). I guess I was wrong about who she was working for, but right that she had deliberately spirited Kira away/isn't who she seems. I can't wait to learn more about her involvement with Project Leda. I have also appreciated learning more about the Proletheans this season, even though they are super creepy omg. THE MOUTH SEWING THING?! And poor Helena being violated like that, artificially inseminated like a cattle or a panda. (Although at least he didn't rape her himself, which is what I thought was going to happen at first).
I also enjoyed having Doral from BSG on the show (lol at him NOT playing a clone this time), and am sad to see him die already...
TL;DR: Orphan Black is by far one of the strongest shows I'm currently watching, so anyone who hasn't seen it yet should check it out! ;) I am glad that still has 5 more episodes to go...
+ Seeing wheater and now horatios watching BSG for the first time (yay!) has made me want to properly rewatch the show episode by episode, which I have never done before; I tend to watch the miniseries and first episode, then skip to "Six Degrees of Separation" and the episodes right after, then skip to mid-season 2, and then skip around season 3 a lot. (Or especially certain scenes within season 3). Basically all the Gaius Baltar and Gaius/Six scenes, lol. ;) I kind of wish I could have a cut of the entire series with just scenes of him and other characters I care most about And why not now, when this month is the two year anniversary of me watching the show in the first place! ;) I am now well into season 1, good thing we're entering summer hiatus.
OMG WHY WOULD YOU NOT HAVE LITTLEFINGER SAY THE ICONIC AND HILARIOUS "ONLY CAT" BEFORE PUSHING LYSA OFF?! YOU HAD ONE JOB, SHOW! >:( I am going to go with the explanation I saw on ONTD that it was to clarify that he wasn't talking about the great Ser Pounce being (understandably) the only one he ever loved...
But seriously, while the Moon Door scene was disappointing as I feared (although not as bad as the Red Wedding and Sansa's wedding at least), the episode overall was mostly solid, with a lot of great scenes and book dialogue lifted wholesale (it's amazing how much better/higher quality book dialogue usually is; such music to my ears!)
+ The Oberyn/Tyrion conversation was FANTASTIC, and I was so delighted that we did get the story of when Oberyn visited Casterly Rock and saw Tyrion as a baby after all. (Maybe I should have known it would make it's way onto the show at some point since it is about Tyrion, lol). Pedro slayed too in this scene; I really do love him as Oberyn. I do roll my eyes a bit though at him apparently bringing only one outfit on this trip to KL, come on costume folks! :/ I did like him noting that Cersei was manipulating him because of the trial in his last scene with her, confirming my suspicion about how they meant for that scene to be perceived.
+ The Bronn scene was also great, and pretty much word-for-word from ASOS (I recently reread the scene, lol); I'm quite relieved they have finally quit trying to make Bronn seem all good and noble with that nonsense about him only not visiting Tyrion because they were ~keeping him away~ rather than because he is a sell sword who doesn't really care enough. And wow, they are finally introducing the Stokeworths?
+ How badass and graceful did Cersei look striding through those entrails to speak with the Mountain? <33
Though lol at them recasting Gregor Clegane as a 20-something...he's really convincing as Sandor Clegane's OLDER brother now! *eye roll* Especially in the same episode as that story he tells Arya...
+ The Hot Pie scene was great, quite an unexpected treat! Loved seeing SOMEONE told about Arya still being alive and her status, and aww at his new direwolf bread loaf. It was also great that Pod reminded her about the bounty on Sansa and it therefore not being wise to widely advertise who they are looking for, even if she ignores his advice. Although lol at them figuring out so quickly exactly where Sansa is (even though they should have known already since Littlefinger is Captain Obvious on this show). I wish they had shown Arya and the Hound getting closer to the Vale when he planned to sell her to Lysa instead of the boring scenes they give them instead. But again, this is why Jeyne needed to appear earlier so that[ASOS spoilers]Brienne won't go storming the Dread fort when she hears about Fake!Arya's wedding to Roose.
+ I had mixed feelings about the Dany part this week. On the one hand I liked her reaction to Daario, the way she at first was all GTFO and then in that bored voice commanded him to undress if that was all he was good at (again, Daario 2.0 is SUCH an upgrade, making his scenes so much less insufferable!). I hate her affair with him in the book, but here I was like, "Get it gurl, bring on the male nudity!" (not that we got any though of course, since we instead had to cut to boobs, smh). However I didn't like the next scene so much, even though I generally appreciate any Dany/Jorah alone time; Dany's new dress is awful (that is not what I meant when I complained she needed new clothes!) and her characterization continues to be a bit ridiculous on the show...I mean sending an important part of your army off far away to kill ALL the masters there?! Seriously?! Because the slaves in Astapor are doing so well ruling themselves as you just heard, obviously this will solve things! *rolleyes* I mean for all her white savior complex in the books she never suggested something so absurd. I'm glad Ser Jorah was about to talk sense into her on this issue. I did like the little callback to his slaver past.
+ Now on to the Vale scenes: first of all, they were WAY too short! When you have such gold to mine you don't give it short-shrift at the expense of dragging out boring filler, FFS. I already knew they were probably not going to include flashbacks since they never have before, but it would have been so great and so much more emotional if they had included her remembering the snow fight! :( I mean they could have even done it aloud, since she was talking to Robin anyway--have her mention she remembers the last time it was snowing at Winterfell...it was just over so quickly, and didn't have the same emotional impact at all. Oh well, I guess it's something that they didn't skip over it entirely. But also I didn't like they way they used Robin in that scene, making it so that he only accidentally knocked over her tower in an earnest attempt to help, rather than trampling all over it with his doll like the obnoxious brat he is. As a result of this change, Sansa's upset reaction and slap seems wildly out of proportion and very childish/petulant, which is unfair to her character and unfortunate. :/ When Littlefinger kisses her it was also weird, in that they don't have her react/pull away for what felt like forever. (Also no snow ball thrown at him, boo!) It was funny how she was taller than him though. I wish again they had kept her cover story as Littlefinger's bastard daughter, since it really plays into his "you could have been my daughter! (Who I am sexually attracted to)" schtick.
Then they go cutting all of Lysa's backstory in the dramatic moon door scene itself, once again showcasing D&D's tendency to shy away from anything resembling character development in favor of including female nudity on the show (see: the amount of time spent on that stupid Melly scene instead). Lysa is certainly no saint to be sure (murdering and raping people isn't cool, etc) and I cheered at the moon door scene, but I also feel some sympathy her because of the shit she went through in her youth, being forced by her father to abort her lovechild with Petyr and then marry an old man. It's important for the audience to know that part of her story to fully understand why she is so messed up, and also to know why she is so protective of Robin. *sigh* She is a tragic figure, and it's a shame the show doesn't fully show that. The way Littlefinger pushes her over was still pretty lulzy though:
Now onto the ALL bad:
+ The Wall scene was boring as usual, what else is new? WHY IS JANOS SLYNT IN CHARGE THOUGH?! Have the elections even been mentioned yet? I hate the way they are unnecessarily drawing out this storyline, ruining the most interesting part of the Wall storyline by far. :/
+ The Melisandre scene was the worst, what was even the point?! It just seemed like a way to fit in the requisite gratuitous female nudity, made all the more obnoxious on the heels of NOT showing male nudity in a scene where a guy is stripping FFS. This show is so terrible I can't even. >:( I'm not even entirely sure what they were talking about, since I zoned out in boredom, although I heard something about her discussing her potions for FX (although I lol'd at her "no don't tough that one, never that one!" which was so much like the one scene with Catherine and on Mary Reign), and insisting that Shireen come with them (HDU LEAVE PRECIOUS BB SHIREEN BEHIND!).
+ The Arya scene was also boring and WAY too fucking long--it felt as long as the Sansa scenes, tbh, and it was practically about nothing! (The Hound stuff had all been covered before). It's really a shame how they have been stretching out Arya's storyline to the point of ruining it as well, adding all this useless filler instead of more interesting things (like are they ever going to mention Sansa's wedding to get their reaction? They even mentioned Joffrey's death and had that opening!). Just end this road trip already! Also why the hell did they kill Rorge, a pretty major secondary character in terms of his impact on one of the storylines in AFFC?! They literally could have had ANYONE collecting that bounty on Sandor, so the choice of someone who is needed alive later is just flabbergasting to me...look at your life, look at your choices, D&D!
+ I also realize that I still have yet to jot down my thoughts about Orphan Black here, and since we are already halfway through s2 I suppose I might as well do so now:
I don't have a lot of deep thoughts about the show aside from loving it a whole lot (soo good!) and still being reminded of the YA series Replica, lol (clones with different personalities created by a secret sciency organization trying to track them down, the original lab destroyed in fire, etc). What is so great about this show though is that even after an entire season of gradual reveal about the clones and the Dyad Institute (the monitors, etc), there is STILL more intriguing mystery to explore...and the pace of the show doesn't slow down! \o/ I don't know how it got such mixed reviews initially, it just goes to show how full of crap TV reviewers often are.
It not only has a tight, well-written plot, but such wonderfully fleshed out characters as well. I love all of the surviving clones (except maybe Rachel...I was originally confused too by the way they referred to her as a "proclone"?), but I have a special soft spot for my bb Helena in particular (sestra!) <33 I was overjoyed when she turned out to still be alive this season, because I was seriously upset about her murder when I watched the s1 finale. I initially expected her to just be a killer, so getting to see more to her was a nice twist. She can be so funny and endearing (the diner scene omg...or any eating scene, really, like the one with Art in the most recent episode! "I have something to tell you...I like this very much."), and I feel so bad for her with her crazy upbringing, and everything that has happened to her. :/
I also love her relationship with Sarah, and DIED at the shower scene last week and when Sarah talked her down from shooting Rachel this week. It was good to see Sarah finally showing some love and concern for Helena (Tatiana is such a fantastic actress, I can't even). I'm glad that they've gotten over the whole attempted murder thing, lol. YOU BOTH MAKE ME CRY AS WELL.
I'm also glad Cosima is getting the treatment she needs now, she was probably my first favorite clone (even though her storyline with Delphine was stupid). Alison has grown on me for her comic relief value, although I find it a little hard to relate to her, in that I cannot imagine wanting to get married and settle down as a housewife and adopt children that early on in life...no wonder she is so neurotic! :s (And OMG at Ainsley's manslaughter, damn gurl!) Sarah was always interesting to me, even if she sounded a bit like a broken record at times in season 1 ("we're getting Kira and leaving..."). I love her relationship with Felix and Felix too of course; both for the entertaining wit and the more emotional moments, like we've gotten in recent episodes. Cal has been a great introduction as well, lol at Kira's father being Daario 2.0! ;) I agree he is sexier on OB, but it's nice getting to see the actor twice a week now. I also hope this means and end to Sarah/Paul because lawd that was boring (as is Paul himself). Art has also turned out to be a much better character than I expected!
It's been great having Maria Kennedy Doyle back on my screen playing a badass too! Lol I was surprised when they thought she had been kidnapped initially at the beginning of this season, since I assumed she was working for Dyad as soon as we saw the cliffhanger for s1 (given the timing of Rachel's call and the discovery that they were gone). I guess I was wrong about who she was working for, but right that she had deliberately spirited Kira away/isn't who she seems. I can't wait to learn more about her involvement with Project Leda. I have also appreciated learning more about the Proletheans this season, even though they are super creepy omg. THE MOUTH SEWING THING?! And poor Helena being violated like that, artificially inseminated like a cattle or a panda. (Although at least he didn't rape her himself, which is what I thought was going to happen at first).
I also enjoyed having Doral from BSG on the show (lol at him NOT playing a clone this time), and am sad to see him die already...
TL;DR: Orphan Black is by far one of the strongest shows I'm currently watching, so anyone who hasn't seen it yet should check it out! ;) I am glad that still has 5 more episodes to go...
+ Seeing wheater and now horatios watching BSG for the first time (yay!) has made me want to properly rewatch the show episode by episode, which I have never done before; I tend to watch the miniseries and first episode, then skip to "Six Degrees of Separation" and the episodes right after, then skip to mid-season 2, and then skip around season 3 a lot. (Or especially certain scenes within season 3). Basically all the Gaius Baltar and Gaius/Six scenes, lol. ;) I kind of wish I could have a cut of the entire series with just scenes of him and other characters I care most about And why not now, when this month is the two year anniversary of me watching the show in the first place! ;) I am now well into season 1, good thing we're entering summer hiatus.