Game of Thrones Catch-up: 5x03-5x05
Guys I think someone should go check on the temperature in Hell, because this season of Game of Thrones has actually been GOOD! O_o I'm still in a state of shock tbh; I really didn't think this show had it in them. Aside from a couple of random scenes in 5x04 and 5x05 respectively, the last 3 episodes straight have managed to hold my interest from beginning to end! I'm actually super eager to see the next episode! It's a miracle!
I feel that this season has been MUCH tighter than previous seasons, with less extraneous nudity filler (where there is nudity, a lot of it is tied more into the story and has had more of a point, like with the Faith Militant SL) and boring scenery chewing. For example, instead of stupid 4-minute beetle monologues, we have been getting actual character insights and stories, many of them lifted from the books almost word-for-word (e.g. why Brienne loved Renly). I think another major factor is that they have given up on including every character and storyline each week or every other week--instead, they are spending more time with fewer characters in each episode, so it feels less choppy, and flows better. Personally I am willing to say, sacrifice Theon and Arya for 3/5 episodes in the first half of the season to have better, longer scenes with each.
Especially since this year most of the storylines are more interesting than in years past. Like even Jon Snow scenes are finally as interesting as in the books, glory be! And while they have deviated here and there, switched out some characters for others, overall the bones of the main storylines have been very similar to the books as well, to a greater extent IMO than in recent seasons.
In short, I haven't been enjoying the show this much since season 2. I hope the show keeps it up! I'm beginning to actually have some timid hope...
And now for some more specific thoughts on the last 3 episodes:
GoT 5x03:
GUYS THIS EPISODE WAS LEGIT GOOD, I CAN'T EVEN!!! :O Better than all of season 4 (and much of season 3) put together! Seriously, almost EVERY scene was on point and tied in tightly to advancing the storyline or developing the characters!! O_o Even the two brothel scenes were super relevant to the plot, for once. Like, I had just barely had time to groan in disappointment at the High Septon brothel scene before they cut to the chase (unlike for instance with the Unsullied brothel scene in the premiere). They needed to show the High Septon in a brothel for the rest of the scene (and the rest of that storyline) to advance. Similarly, the whole Tyrion and Jorah scene takes place in a brothel in the books, and complements the R'Hallor Pep Rally they had just seen outside re: Dany's growing reputation across Essos. (Speaking of, it was nice to have a break from Dany herself!) And as gross as the Margaery/Tommen statutory rape scene was (apparently he's supposed to be only 12 too?!), at least they quickly focused the scene on Margaery's manipulations and power games against Cersei.
In the last case, it might have helped too that I had heard it was coming and was prepared for the outrage. I am still disgusted that D&D seem to think that the only way they could show Margaery influencing Tommen was through sex, when she was perfectly able to do so through kittens and cake in the book, however. :/ Also, having Tommen be younger makes Cersei's attempts to rule for him seem less absurd (given right now Tommen looks about the same age as Joffrey, and Joffrey ruled by himself).
To my surprise, I also thought they did a satisfactory job of explaining why the Boltons would accept a Ramsay-Sansa marriage, and how she could marry Ramsay when Tyrion was still alive (aka the lack of consummation making it invalid). I loved Roose laying down the politicking as usual (their casting of him is so gr8), and not trusting Littlefinger as far as he could throw him. I do wonder why Littlefinger is taking such a risk and betting on the Boltons (one of the most untrustworthy families in Westeros), but he hasn't always been so bright in the show anyway. I was also rme at Sansa falling for his speech about ~marrying Ramsay for revenge~ or whatever, since hello, YOU SHOULD KNOW HIS REPUTATION!!! D: I mean we literally see him openly display flayed bodies in the courtyard of Winterfell, so he is even more overt about his proclivities than in the book...at the very least Littlefinger should know about it, so he had better be lying on that front. I am going to assume Ramsay was playacting for Sansa and Littlefinger when he commended Sansa and swore he would never hurt her, etc--I would hope Roose had put the fear of the old gods in him to be on his best behavior.
But yeah, so many great things in this episode:
- LIKE THEEEOOOOON, PRINCE OF WINTERFEEEELS! <333 So good to finally see him! And I actually didn't mind him not having any lines, because the ridiculously talented Alfie was able to express so much just with his face anyway; we still got character development even without any dialogue on his part. Much of his arc in the book is internal in any case, so it kind of makes sense to have some scenes like this, even though I do hope they find a way to vocalize some of his best inner monologue lines. But yeah, JUST LOOK AT HIS FACE AT SEEING THE FLAYED MEN:
And then his reactions to seeing Sansa!! ;_;
The way he averted his head...
x
I can't wait for her to discover him and to see them interact. In the books we learn that he had once fantasized that Ned Stark might marry her to him and make him truly part of the family, which kind of adds an extra interesting layer now that they have swapped in Sansa for Jeyne on the show.
-The Arya scenes were also all fantastic. Bringing back Jaquen instead of having a different random Faceless Man is a good change from the book, "a man" is very entertaining and sexy! ;) And I was so happy that they included the scene of her hiding needle instead of throwing it away--so well acted and beautiful. <33 ;_;
-The interactions and power games between Margaery and Cersei were likewise all pure gold. I loved the way Margaery is playing Tommen to try to get Cersei sent away to Casterly Rock, and her sick burn of Cersei's drinking habits ("I wish we had some wine for you, it's a bit early in the day for us." TROLOLO). And of course Cersei's attempts to turn Tommen against Margaery were excellent as well, especially when taking place on the wall walk in Dubrovnik that I've been on! :D I also liked the scene where Cersei is examining the head of the dwarf brought in and we see Franken!Clegane in the background jerking around. (Qyburn continues to be the creepiest, whyyy would you trust such a man, Cersei?!) The way Cersei is all nonchalantly like, "Well don't punish them, I don't want to discourage anyone from hunting Tyrion!" (while putting a pomander to her nose) was funny. I'm curious to see what she is summoning Littlefinger for.
-JON SNOW YOU GUYS! Who would have thought I'd be squeeing about a scene with him, ever?! :p But his storyline this week was so ace, I'm thrilled that TV!Jon Snow is finally living up to later book!Jon Snow. I guess even the Lord Commander Snow bits are interesting enough that the show couldn't completely fuck them up. I had remembered loving that awesome scene where he beheads Janos Slynt in ADWD as well, because it was such a defining (not to mention BAMF) moment for his character--Jon Snow is done taking shit from you, you will give him the respect he's owed in his new position! Stannis's "I approve!" face in response was funny. Finally he is learning a bit about what it takes, with some surprisingly good advice from Stannis the Mannis as well (lol at his "Honor got you father killed" line, sick burn!). I wonder why Jon Snow didn't give him command of East Watch though. And d'awww at Davos and his hero-worship of Stannis during that conversation with Jon.
-I was so happy we finally got the story of why Brienne loved Renly (pulled largely straight from the book from the sound of it)--a rare moment on this show focused just on character development, and much needed. But oh Stannis, it sounds like you in danger gurl!
-The scenes in Volantis this week were the first time I enjoyed Tyrion this season--finally! First of all it was awesome seeing the Roman bridge in Cordoba--I can now add "Volantis" to the list of GoT "places I have been" I guess (3 times to be exact). ;) I think now I should just wait until the end of the season to post a travel picspam, in case even more familiar sights crop up on the show. Tyrion was hilarious when he was making fun of the red priestess's pronouncements about Dany ("We're going to meet the savior! You should have told me. Who doesn't want to meet the savior?")--only for the priestess to then shut him down with her murder glare (she was NOT there for his sarcasm!). :p AND THEN WE FINALLY SAW SER JORAH AGAIN! ♥ :D Thankfully not with one of the prostitutes dressed as Dany on his lap Lol at Varys' "oh shit!" face when he spotted him. I look even more forward to the Tyrion scenes now that Jorah has nabbed him...
TL;DR after the last two episodes I am beginning to have some faint hope for the rest of the season...
GoT 5x04:
5x04 was also a pretty good episode, even if not quite as great as 5x03. The only scene that was truly random and out of place was Melisandre/Jon--smh at that unnecessary nudity. It was a nice shout-out to Ygritte/Jon though, I suppose--but again, didn't require seeing under her shirt. (A recent episode of Vikings for instance managed to pull off a similar seduction scene without baring any breasts just fine.) I hope in the future they use other means to develop that relationship, and that they include the scrying scene. I did love Jon's other scene in which he didn't want to sign/send the letter to Roose Bolton for aid--a nice bit of tension and heartbreak there, and good set-up for what comes later.
So much other good stuff:
-LYANNA AND RHAEGAR BACKSTORY, ABOUT FUCKING TIME!!! \o/ I had despaired of them ever telling the story of the tourney at Harrenhall, and I thought they worked it in well with Sansa in the crypt. I was also happy to see Barristan Selmy FINALLY tell Dany something about Rhaegar (providing a nice positive counterpoint to the earlier tale), but I am really pissed off that they have now killed off Ser Barristan and cut off any future Targaryen stories from him. There were so many other opportunities when he could have told such tales instead of the pointless and boring filler D&D preferred to include. It would have been only natural for Dany to grill Ser Barristan for anything and everything about her family, as she does in the books, and we should have seen that here.
-"You are the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. And you are my daughter." I loved the scene between Stannis and bb!Shireen ofc! <333 I've been looking forward to it ever since I saw the spoiler, and it didn't disappoint. So sweet and touching! I like that Stannis has this one soft spot in that cold heart of his. He has been so great this season. Although speaking of Stannis, how dumb is Littlefinger's plan to deliver Sansa to the Boltons if he is actually banking on Stannis to win?! Like why not just directly deliver her to Castle Black? Their original justification was better, tbh.
-Speaking of sweet and adorable, I was also enjoying bb!Tommen being too precious for this world. ♥ I'm so glad that that even though they have aged up the actor, he still acts as qt as in the books. Crying @ his confused "I thought you were getting along..." to Margaery--so clueless and innocent! Likewise with his bewildered, "You mean kill them, here at the Sept?" Bless. I don't know where he inherited this disposition from tbh, but you can just see how different he is from his brother there, in wanting to avoid bloodshed. I felt so bad for him when everyone was calling him a bastard and being so mean! :( :( Poor bb, it's not his fault! I hope he went and found solace in Ser Pounce offscreen.
As much as I feel for Tommen, I am continuing to enjoy the manipulations and power games/wheeler-dealing going on between Margaery and Cersei. The way Cersei got rid of Mace Tyrell was a rare show of good political maneuvering...quickly undermined by her disastrously stupid move to arm the Faith Militant. Ohhhh Cersei, ilu in your floppiness. :p This gif is such a perfect representation of Cersei:
I don't know whether it's better or worse that in the show it was all her idea from the beginning, as opposed to in response to petitions by the Faith to re-institute that organization. It is interesting that they had her targeting Loras first (she REALLY doesn't want that marriage happening, lol), I wonder when she will get around to trying to frame Margaery. I can't believe she sent Tommen out to the Sept like that, throwing him to the wolves...surely even she can begin to see how her plan has begun to backfire?!
-Ser Jorahhhhh! <333 So good to see him again, and seeing him slap Tyrion's whining ass was gr8. It's been a long time coming.
-The Sand Snakes outfits and Obara's speech were a bit cheesy, but overall I didn't mind the Dorne scenes too much this week (although I can't wait to see more scenes filmed in el Real Alcázar palace and gardens). I thought Jaime and Bronn's interactions were actually pretty entertaining, especially with all the truth bombs Bronn was dropping, and I liked seeing them go past Tarth. ;) Although really, that is how they are making the rift between Tyrion and Jaime? Jaime is just mad at him for his father's death? I don't care for how one-sided this is now, tbh, without the important reveal about Tysha causing Tyrion to resent Jaime...
-Once again the familiar sights of Split, Croatia (my favorite city on my visit there!) made Dany's scenes much more enjoyable and interesting for me! ;) For example, it looked like they filmed this week in the vestibule of Diocletian's palace, where I saw some klapa singers performing while there (see the video at the link). Of course this week was pretty exciting in of itself as well, what with the big fight scene at the end, but that scene was rather eyeroll-worthy as well--I mean really, the most elite and well-trained, nearly invincible professional fighting forces of Essos were able to be slaughtered by some amateurs in masks?! Give me a fucking break! Especially when they had each other's backs as they did here...and then they made it worse/more absurd when an old man on his own was able to fight more effectively against them. He shouldn't have even been there in the first place; he is specially trained as a body guard, his place is at the Queen's side! :/ While I will miss him (especially for the Targaryen backstory he could have provided), I hope that he is the character who was surprised at being killed off so soon compared with the books--I'd rather lose him than another character...
GoT 5x05:
Another good one! I mean RME at the Ramsay/Myranda scene and Dany burning that dude alive (once again TV!Dany's characterization makes me me sad--even if her silly line about being a mother was fitting for an epp airing on ~Mother's Day, trololo--and I would give anything for the inclusion of her book refrain "If I look back, I am lost."), and still bored at Greyworm/Missandei, but otherwise everything else was great! Really though nobody should ever turn to Daario for advice ever. It's nice when my list of things I disliked is so much shorter than the list of things I liked...;)
First and foremost, FINALLY SOME THEON DIALOGUE AND EXTENDED SCREENTIME THIS WEEK! <33 (As soon as I saw the flashbacks of him in season 2 in the "Previously" I knew we were in for a treat!) I loved the interactions between him and Sansa (so excited to finally see it!), like when she first discovers him in the kennel! Lol at people thinking Myranda was going to have her mauled by dogs--I immediately guessed it was my Prince of Winterfeels she was sending Sansa to see--likely to scare her/show her what her husband was really like, although also possibly doing that on Ramsay's orders given the dinner scene):
x
Likewise the dinner scene was awkward and tense in a good way, IMO (omg at Ramsay's trolling though--"it was getting tense there!"):
x
Alfie slayed as always (the way he shook his head when he saw Sansa in the kennel for instance! ;_;) and even Sophie had some great facial expressions in response. I can't wait to see more interaction between Sansa and Theon, given what a rich opportunity this is--I wonder if he will at some point admit that he didn't actually kill her brothers? Could he potentially voice to her his "I should have died with [Robb Stark]" inner monlogue?! (Please please please THROBB 5EVER). Also as probing_grays has pointed out before, Theon is basically the male equivalent of Sansa in terms of his character arc; he even thinks the same "life is not a song" refrain and references "the stories" a few times in comparison to reality. So it in some respects having these two interacting is particularly apt.
In any case, THANK THE OLD GODS AND THE NEW THAT THEY ARE INCLUDING THEON GIVING HER AWAY AT THE WEDDING! I was beginning to worry they would cut his role in that story when I first heard about the lack of dialogue in 5x01-5x04. It gives me some hope that other aspects of Theon/Jeyne's storyline will also be preserved--though hopefully not the grossest bits courtesy of Ramsay.
On that note I read some possible spoilers that [Spoilers for 5x06? And tw]the wedding night rape will occur between Ramsay and Sansa, but it will be filmed so that the camera is on Theon's face (because Ramsay forces him to watch) rather than on the scene itself. While I obviously would rather this not be happening at all, it would be a relief for them to not show it at least--although even better if they left it offscreen altogether. :/ It does not sound though like Ramsey will be forcing Theon to do the thing with his tongue, thankfully.
I enjoyed the other Bolton/Winterfell scenes as well. Roose is always fabulous to watch (although I was a little surprised he didn't step in when Ramsay was tormenting Sansa with Theon, for decorum's sake)--"Tywin Who?" as one ONTD user said. ;) I loved seeing some Roose/Fat Walda, especially him not rising to Ramsay's bait about her size. <33 The most unexpectedly sweet ship in Westeros! I suspect we will witness Ramsay's assassination of the baby at some point though, le sigh. I was happy they included an abbreviated version of the story of Ramsay's mother, even if the point of the story was a little different here (providing a dark parallel to Stannis the Mannis' "you are my daughter" speech in 5x03).
I'm also super glad that Sansa finally changed out of that hideous dress and necklace, lol--I wonder when she even found the time to make it given the timing of her visit to the Vale last season?? It looked like she was reconnecting with her mother with the new outfit. The little bit with the servant was also sweet, although I wonder now if instead of [Spoilers for ADWD]the wildling rescue party, Sansa will be smuggled out by servants there? Whatever happens, Theon had better have the same-sized role in it!.
-As in the book, Ser Jorah rescues Tyrion's storyline on the show from boredom, so I am fine with the choice to replace JonCon with him--EXCEPT FOR THE GREYSCALE PART!!! DDDD: NOOOOOOO DON'T YOU DARE KILL OFF IAIN GLAIN THAT WAY! Ugh as soon as Tyrion was asking if he's been affected I feared this would happen...:(
Otherwise though I continued to enjoy Tyrion's scenes this week-the riverboat journey through Valyria was very atmospheric and eerie (and frankly about what I pictured based on the book description compared with real life places), and the Stone Men attack was suitably exciting and scary. I figured it was coming when they had brought up the Stone Men and greyscale multiple times earlier this season. While I understand that in the book they were apparently going through a different set of ruins at this time, the conversation about the doom of Valyria definitely sounded familiar/pulled from the book, so I don't mind them having that discussion while in Valyria. Overall the scene was very close to the one in the book (minus of course certain characters replaced), so IDG the complaints there.
Oh and the scene where they see Drogon flying over was awesome! The "oh shit!" expression on Tyrion's face compared with the wistful, all-too-knowing look on Ser Jorah's...priceless.
-"Kill the boy, and let the man be born." MAESTER AEMON SAID THE LINE!!! <33 I loved that line in the book, and I am happy that they included it on the show, and even made it the episode title. And once again I miraculously enjoyed Jon Snow scenes! :p I had enjoyed his character more or less since book 3, but it is only now that the show is living up to that. I even found his conversation with Tormund interesting, I'm glad he is raising the issue of "if we don't rescue them there will be more White Walkers to fight," very smart and forward-thinking. (He finally knows something! ;)) And I am glad they are including the ships bit, although idk about Jon Snow going with them--what about the rest of his storyline?! Will he be back in time to hear about Sansa and [major ADWD spoilers]get stabbity-stabbed? I do hope they end his story there, rather than spoiling the next book already, it would be a good cliffhanger in any case. (Even though I am 99.99999% sure he lives). I think that they are setting up Olly to be the Brutus to his Caesar, which should be dramatic. Likewise if Melisandre is going to go off with Stannis, when is she going to warn Jon Snow?! I hope the fire-gazing scene happens while on the road at least...and if Melisandre is leaving with Stannis, does this mean that [AFFC spoilers]Jon won't be sending Aemon away with Sam to protect him? I mean especially since they have moved his learning of Dany to Westeros, there is even less need for him to go. I wonder on what pretext Sam will be sent away now, since it sounds like that (or "fat pink mast" scene ugggh) is still happening. I was initially expecting that when Jon came to talk to Aemon this epp it would be to send him away.
Speaking of Stannis the Mannis, my dear Lobster King, he was perfection this week--lmao forever at his grammar-correcting, bless:
x
I also liked the scene of him discussing dragonglass with Sam--I'm impressed they remembered to bring that up again! I really hope Stannis doesn't die this season. :( [ADWD/TWOW spoilers]Based on the released Theon chapter of TWOW in particular, I feel like the news of Stannis' death in the end of ADWD was a fakeout (even before reading that, the fact that Ramsay asks for his Reek and his wife back was telling, since we know they both reached Stannis's camp). I do wonder if they are setting up for Brienne to kill Stannis later, based on her pronouncement earlier this season. The goodbye scene with bb!Shireen and Davos was also as usual too precious for words. <333 It's amazing that she is so kind and sweet given her parents and how she has grown up.
Speaking of the Wall, I was also of course delighted to see that the scene of Aemon discussing Dany was included!!! ♥ One of my favorite bits of AFFC--if only he could have gone to advise her, it probably would have helped a lot. ;) I mean it's a bit insane that word of her is so open in Westeros this early, but I guess they already crossed that bridge in season 3. At least here we got the extreme LULZ factor of seeing [spoilers for R+L=J theory that is basically canon]Jon Snow ~appear~ right as Aemon was lamenting how lonely it is being the ~last Targaryen in the world...;) To quote Star Wars, "There is another!". I was disappointed though that Aemon didn't discuss the prophecy side of it though, and how she is likely the ~prince that was promised.~ I mean I know they don't go into the magic and prophecy aspects as much on this show, but when you include Melisandre saying Stannis of all people is Azor Azhai you've already opened the door. I also wish they would have included Aemon examining the sword and noting to Jon it's a fake.
Also I'm happy that we've finally reached episodes that nobody has watched yet in advance! \o/ Fandom and Tumblr are no longer dark and full of spoilers...I was finally able to search for Theon gifs without worrying. ;) Like this adorable one of (I quote) "Theon and Jeyne Poole doing a SQUID DANCE OF DEFIANT RESILIENCE." :p Bless.
x
I know I have a ton of season finale reviews to catch up on (including Vikings!!), but I think this post is long enough...I'm sorry that I have been so absent the last few weeks, I've felt like I've had no time to internet lately...:s I will try to catch up on posts and comments soon.
I feel that this season has been MUCH tighter than previous seasons, with less extraneous nudity filler (where there is nudity, a lot of it is tied more into the story and has had more of a point, like with the Faith Militant SL) and boring scenery chewing. For example, instead of stupid 4-minute beetle monologues, we have been getting actual character insights and stories, many of them lifted from the books almost word-for-word (e.g. why Brienne loved Renly). I think another major factor is that they have given up on including every character and storyline each week or every other week--instead, they are spending more time with fewer characters in each episode, so it feels less choppy, and flows better. Personally I am willing to say, sacrifice Theon and Arya for 3/5 episodes in the first half of the season to have better, longer scenes with each.
Especially since this year most of the storylines are more interesting than in years past. Like even Jon Snow scenes are finally as interesting as in the books, glory be! And while they have deviated here and there, switched out some characters for others, overall the bones of the main storylines have been very similar to the books as well, to a greater extent IMO than in recent seasons.
In short, I haven't been enjoying the show this much since season 2. I hope the show keeps it up! I'm beginning to actually have some timid hope...
And now for some more specific thoughts on the last 3 episodes:
GoT 5x03:
GUYS THIS EPISODE WAS LEGIT GOOD, I CAN'T EVEN!!! :O Better than all of season 4 (and much of season 3) put together! Seriously, almost EVERY scene was on point and tied in tightly to advancing the storyline or developing the characters!! O_o Even the two brothel scenes were super relevant to the plot, for once. Like, I had just barely had time to groan in disappointment at the High Septon brothel scene before they cut to the chase (unlike for instance with the Unsullied brothel scene in the premiere). They needed to show the High Septon in a brothel for the rest of the scene (and the rest of that storyline) to advance. Similarly, the whole Tyrion and Jorah scene takes place in a brothel in the books, and complements the R'Hallor Pep Rally they had just seen outside re: Dany's growing reputation across Essos. (Speaking of, it was nice to have a break from Dany herself!) And as gross as the Margaery/Tommen statutory rape scene was (apparently he's supposed to be only 12 too?!), at least they quickly focused the scene on Margaery's manipulations and power games against Cersei.
In the last case, it might have helped too that I had heard it was coming and was prepared for the outrage. I am still disgusted that D&D seem to think that the only way they could show Margaery influencing Tommen was through sex, when she was perfectly able to do so through kittens and cake in the book, however. :/ Also, having Tommen be younger makes Cersei's attempts to rule for him seem less absurd (given right now Tommen looks about the same age as Joffrey, and Joffrey ruled by himself).
To my surprise, I also thought they did a satisfactory job of explaining why the Boltons would accept a Ramsay-Sansa marriage, and how she could marry Ramsay when Tyrion was still alive (aka the lack of consummation making it invalid). I loved Roose laying down the politicking as usual (their casting of him is so gr8), and not trusting Littlefinger as far as he could throw him. I do wonder why Littlefinger is taking such a risk and betting on the Boltons (one of the most untrustworthy families in Westeros), but he hasn't always been so bright in the show anyway. I was also rme at Sansa falling for his speech about ~marrying Ramsay for revenge~ or whatever, since hello, YOU SHOULD KNOW HIS REPUTATION!!! D: I mean we literally see him openly display flayed bodies in the courtyard of Winterfell, so he is even more overt about his proclivities than in the book...at the very least Littlefinger should know about it, so he had better be lying on that front. I am going to assume Ramsay was playacting for Sansa and Littlefinger when he commended Sansa and swore he would never hurt her, etc--I would hope Roose had put the fear of the old gods in him to be on his best behavior.
But yeah, so many great things in this episode:
- LIKE THEEEOOOOON, PRINCE OF WINTERFEEEELS! <333 So good to finally see him! And I actually didn't mind him not having any lines, because the ridiculously talented Alfie was able to express so much just with his face anyway; we still got character development even without any dialogue on his part. Much of his arc in the book is internal in any case, so it kind of makes sense to have some scenes like this, even though I do hope they find a way to vocalize some of his best inner monologue lines. But yeah, JUST LOOK AT HIS FACE AT SEEING THE FLAYED MEN:
And then his reactions to seeing Sansa!! ;_;
The way he averted his head...
x
I can't wait for her to discover him and to see them interact. In the books we learn that he had once fantasized that Ned Stark might marry her to him and make him truly part of the family, which kind of adds an extra interesting layer now that they have swapped in Sansa for Jeyne on the show.
-The Arya scenes were also all fantastic. Bringing back Jaquen instead of having a different random Faceless Man is a good change from the book, "a man" is very entertaining and sexy! ;) And I was so happy that they included the scene of her hiding needle instead of throwing it away--so well acted and beautiful. <33 ;_;
-The interactions and power games between Margaery and Cersei were likewise all pure gold. I loved the way Margaery is playing Tommen to try to get Cersei sent away to Casterly Rock, and her sick burn of Cersei's drinking habits ("I wish we had some wine for you, it's a bit early in the day for us." TROLOLO). And of course Cersei's attempts to turn Tommen against Margaery were excellent as well, especially when taking place on the wall walk in Dubrovnik that I've been on! :D I also liked the scene where Cersei is examining the head of the dwarf brought in and we see Franken!Clegane in the background jerking around. (Qyburn continues to be the creepiest, whyyy would you trust such a man, Cersei?!) The way Cersei is all nonchalantly like, "Well don't punish them, I don't want to discourage anyone from hunting Tyrion!" (while putting a pomander to her nose) was funny. I'm curious to see what she is summoning Littlefinger for.
-JON SNOW YOU GUYS! Who would have thought I'd be squeeing about a scene with him, ever?! :p But his storyline this week was so ace, I'm thrilled that TV!Jon Snow is finally living up to later book!Jon Snow. I guess even the Lord Commander Snow bits are interesting enough that the show couldn't completely fuck them up. I had remembered loving that awesome scene where he beheads Janos Slynt in ADWD as well, because it was such a defining (not to mention BAMF) moment for his character--Jon Snow is done taking shit from you, you will give him the respect he's owed in his new position! Stannis's "I approve!" face in response was funny. Finally he is learning a bit about what it takes, with some surprisingly good advice from Stannis the Mannis as well (lol at his "Honor got you father killed" line, sick burn!). I wonder why Jon Snow didn't give him command of East Watch though. And d'awww at Davos and his hero-worship of Stannis during that conversation with Jon.
-I was so happy we finally got the story of why Brienne loved Renly (pulled largely straight from the book from the sound of it)--a rare moment on this show focused just on character development, and much needed. But oh Stannis, it sounds like you in danger gurl!
-The scenes in Volantis this week were the first time I enjoyed Tyrion this season--finally! First of all it was awesome seeing the Roman bridge in Cordoba--I can now add "Volantis" to the list of GoT "places I have been" I guess (3 times to be exact). ;) I think now I should just wait until the end of the season to post a travel picspam, in case even more familiar sights crop up on the show. Tyrion was hilarious when he was making fun of the red priestess's pronouncements about Dany ("We're going to meet the savior! You should have told me. Who doesn't want to meet the savior?")--only for the priestess to then shut him down with her murder glare (she was NOT there for his sarcasm!). :p AND THEN WE FINALLY SAW SER JORAH AGAIN! ♥ :D Thankfully not with one of the prostitutes dressed as Dany on his lap Lol at Varys' "oh shit!" face when he spotted him. I look even more forward to the Tyrion scenes now that Jorah has nabbed him...
TL;DR after the last two episodes I am beginning to have some faint hope for the rest of the season...
GoT 5x04:
5x04 was also a pretty good episode, even if not quite as great as 5x03. The only scene that was truly random and out of place was Melisandre/Jon--smh at that unnecessary nudity. It was a nice shout-out to Ygritte/Jon though, I suppose--but again, didn't require seeing under her shirt. (A recent episode of Vikings for instance managed to pull off a similar seduction scene without baring any breasts just fine.) I hope in the future they use other means to develop that relationship, and that they include the scrying scene. I did love Jon's other scene in which he didn't want to sign/send the letter to Roose Bolton for aid--a nice bit of tension and heartbreak there, and good set-up for what comes later.
So much other good stuff:
-LYANNA AND RHAEGAR BACKSTORY, ABOUT FUCKING TIME!!! \o/ I had despaired of them ever telling the story of the tourney at Harrenhall, and I thought they worked it in well with Sansa in the crypt. I was also happy to see Barristan Selmy FINALLY tell Dany something about Rhaegar (providing a nice positive counterpoint to the earlier tale), but I am really pissed off that they have now killed off Ser Barristan and cut off any future Targaryen stories from him. There were so many other opportunities when he could have told such tales instead of the pointless and boring filler D&D preferred to include. It would have been only natural for Dany to grill Ser Barristan for anything and everything about her family, as she does in the books, and we should have seen that here.
-"You are the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. And you are my daughter." I loved the scene between Stannis and bb!Shireen ofc! <333 I've been looking forward to it ever since I saw the spoiler, and it didn't disappoint. So sweet and touching! I like that Stannis has this one soft spot in that cold heart of his. He has been so great this season. Although speaking of Stannis, how dumb is Littlefinger's plan to deliver Sansa to the Boltons if he is actually banking on Stannis to win?! Like why not just directly deliver her to Castle Black? Their original justification was better, tbh.
-Speaking of sweet and adorable, I was also enjoying bb!Tommen being too precious for this world. ♥ I'm so glad that that even though they have aged up the actor, he still acts as qt as in the books. Crying @ his confused "I thought you were getting along..." to Margaery--so clueless and innocent! Likewise with his bewildered, "You mean kill them, here at the Sept?" Bless. I don't know where he inherited this disposition from tbh, but you can just see how different he is from his brother there, in wanting to avoid bloodshed. I felt so bad for him when everyone was calling him a bastard and being so mean! :( :( Poor bb, it's not his fault! I hope he went and found solace in Ser Pounce offscreen.
As much as I feel for Tommen, I am continuing to enjoy the manipulations and power games/wheeler-dealing going on between Margaery and Cersei. The way Cersei got rid of Mace Tyrell was a rare show of good political maneuvering...quickly undermined by her disastrously stupid move to arm the Faith Militant. Ohhhh Cersei, ilu in your floppiness. :p This gif is such a perfect representation of Cersei:
I don't know whether it's better or worse that in the show it was all her idea from the beginning, as opposed to in response to petitions by the Faith to re-institute that organization. It is interesting that they had her targeting Loras first (she REALLY doesn't want that marriage happening, lol), I wonder when she will get around to trying to frame Margaery. I can't believe she sent Tommen out to the Sept like that, throwing him to the wolves...surely even she can begin to see how her plan has begun to backfire?!
-Ser Jorahhhhh! <333 So good to see him again, and seeing him slap Tyrion's whining ass was gr8. It's been a long time coming.
-The Sand Snakes outfits and Obara's speech were a bit cheesy, but overall I didn't mind the Dorne scenes too much this week (although I can't wait to see more scenes filmed in el Real Alcázar palace and gardens). I thought Jaime and Bronn's interactions were actually pretty entertaining, especially with all the truth bombs Bronn was dropping, and I liked seeing them go past Tarth. ;) Although really, that is how they are making the rift between Tyrion and Jaime? Jaime is just mad at him for his father's death? I don't care for how one-sided this is now, tbh, without the important reveal about Tysha causing Tyrion to resent Jaime...
-Once again the familiar sights of Split, Croatia (my favorite city on my visit there!) made Dany's scenes much more enjoyable and interesting for me! ;) For example, it looked like they filmed this week in the vestibule of Diocletian's palace, where I saw some klapa singers performing while there (see the video at the link). Of course this week was pretty exciting in of itself as well, what with the big fight scene at the end, but that scene was rather eyeroll-worthy as well--I mean really, the most elite and well-trained, nearly invincible professional fighting forces of Essos were able to be slaughtered by some amateurs in masks?! Give me a fucking break! Especially when they had each other's backs as they did here...and then they made it worse/more absurd when an old man on his own was able to fight more effectively against them. He shouldn't have even been there in the first place; he is specially trained as a body guard, his place is at the Queen's side! :/ While I will miss him (especially for the Targaryen backstory he could have provided), I hope that he is the character who was surprised at being killed off so soon compared with the books--I'd rather lose him than another character...
GoT 5x05:
Another good one! I mean RME at the Ramsay/Myranda scene and Dany burning that dude alive (once again TV!Dany's characterization makes me me sad--even if her silly line about being a mother was fitting for an epp airing on ~Mother's Day, trololo--and I would give anything for the inclusion of her book refrain "If I look back, I am lost."), and still bored at Greyworm/Missandei, but otherwise everything else was great! Really though nobody should ever turn to Daario for advice ever. It's nice when my list of things I disliked is so much shorter than the list of things I liked...;)
First and foremost, FINALLY SOME THEON DIALOGUE AND EXTENDED SCREENTIME THIS WEEK! <33 (As soon as I saw the flashbacks of him in season 2 in the "Previously" I knew we were in for a treat!) I loved the interactions between him and Sansa (so excited to finally see it!), like when she first discovers him in the kennel! Lol at people thinking Myranda was going to have her mauled by dogs--I immediately guessed it was my Prince of Winterfeels she was sending Sansa to see--likely to scare her/show her what her husband was really like, although also possibly doing that on Ramsay's orders given the dinner scene):
x
Likewise the dinner scene was awkward and tense in a good way, IMO (omg at Ramsay's trolling though--"it was getting tense there!"):
x
Alfie slayed as always (the way he shook his head when he saw Sansa in the kennel for instance! ;_;) and even Sophie had some great facial expressions in response. I can't wait to see more interaction between Sansa and Theon, given what a rich opportunity this is--I wonder if he will at some point admit that he didn't actually kill her brothers? Could he potentially voice to her his "I should have died with [Robb Stark]" inner monlogue?! (Please please please THROBB 5EVER). Also as probing_grays has pointed out before, Theon is basically the male equivalent of Sansa in terms of his character arc; he even thinks the same "life is not a song" refrain and references "the stories" a few times in comparison to reality. So it in some respects having these two interacting is particularly apt.
In any case, THANK THE OLD GODS AND THE NEW THAT THEY ARE INCLUDING THEON GIVING HER AWAY AT THE WEDDING! I was beginning to worry they would cut his role in that story when I first heard about the lack of dialogue in 5x01-5x04. It gives me some hope that other aspects of Theon/Jeyne's storyline will also be preserved--though hopefully not the grossest bits courtesy of Ramsay.
On that note I read some possible spoilers that [Spoilers for 5x06? And tw]the wedding night rape will occur between Ramsay and Sansa, but it will be filmed so that the camera is on Theon's face (because Ramsay forces him to watch) rather than on the scene itself. While I obviously would rather this not be happening at all, it would be a relief for them to not show it at least--although even better if they left it offscreen altogether. :/ It does not sound though like Ramsey will be forcing Theon to do the thing with his tongue, thankfully.
I enjoyed the other Bolton/Winterfell scenes as well. Roose is always fabulous to watch (although I was a little surprised he didn't step in when Ramsay was tormenting Sansa with Theon, for decorum's sake)--"Tywin Who?" as one ONTD user said. ;) I loved seeing some Roose/Fat Walda, especially him not rising to Ramsay's bait about her size. <33 The most unexpectedly sweet ship in Westeros! I suspect we will witness Ramsay's assassination of the baby at some point though, le sigh. I was happy they included an abbreviated version of the story of Ramsay's mother, even if the point of the story was a little different here (providing a dark parallel to Stannis the Mannis' "you are my daughter" speech in 5x03).
I'm also super glad that Sansa finally changed out of that hideous dress and necklace, lol--I wonder when she even found the time to make it given the timing of her visit to the Vale last season?? It looked like she was reconnecting with her mother with the new outfit. The little bit with the servant was also sweet, although I wonder now if instead of [Spoilers for ADWD]the wildling rescue party, Sansa will be smuggled out by servants there? Whatever happens, Theon had better have the same-sized role in it!.
-As in the book, Ser Jorah rescues Tyrion's storyline on the show from boredom, so I am fine with the choice to replace JonCon with him--EXCEPT FOR THE GREYSCALE PART!!! DDDD: NOOOOOOO DON'T YOU DARE KILL OFF IAIN GLAIN THAT WAY! Ugh as soon as Tyrion was asking if he's been affected I feared this would happen...:(
Otherwise though I continued to enjoy Tyrion's scenes this week-the riverboat journey through Valyria was very atmospheric and eerie (and frankly about what I pictured based on the book description compared with real life places), and the Stone Men attack was suitably exciting and scary. I figured it was coming when they had brought up the Stone Men and greyscale multiple times earlier this season. While I understand that in the book they were apparently going through a different set of ruins at this time, the conversation about the doom of Valyria definitely sounded familiar/pulled from the book, so I don't mind them having that discussion while in Valyria. Overall the scene was very close to the one in the book (minus of course certain characters replaced), so IDG the complaints there.
Oh and the scene where they see Drogon flying over was awesome! The "oh shit!" expression on Tyrion's face compared with the wistful, all-too-knowing look on Ser Jorah's...priceless.
-"Kill the boy, and let the man be born." MAESTER AEMON SAID THE LINE!!! <33 I loved that line in the book, and I am happy that they included it on the show, and even made it the episode title. And once again I miraculously enjoyed Jon Snow scenes! :p I had enjoyed his character more or less since book 3, but it is only now that the show is living up to that. I even found his conversation with Tormund interesting, I'm glad he is raising the issue of "if we don't rescue them there will be more White Walkers to fight," very smart and forward-thinking. (He finally knows something! ;)) And I am glad they are including the ships bit, although idk about Jon Snow going with them--what about the rest of his storyline?! Will he be back in time to hear about Sansa and [major ADWD spoilers]get stabbity-stabbed? I do hope they end his story there, rather than spoiling the next book already, it would be a good cliffhanger in any case. (Even though I am 99.99999% sure he lives). I think that they are setting up Olly to be the Brutus to his Caesar, which should be dramatic. Likewise if Melisandre is going to go off with Stannis, when is she going to warn Jon Snow?! I hope the fire-gazing scene happens while on the road at least...and if Melisandre is leaving with Stannis, does this mean that [AFFC spoilers]Jon won't be sending Aemon away with Sam to protect him? I mean especially since they have moved his learning of Dany to Westeros, there is even less need for him to go. I wonder on what pretext Sam will be sent away now, since it sounds like that (or "fat pink mast" scene ugggh) is still happening. I was initially expecting that when Jon came to talk to Aemon this epp it would be to send him away.
Speaking of Stannis the Mannis, my dear Lobster King, he was perfection this week--lmao forever at his grammar-correcting, bless:
x
I also liked the scene of him discussing dragonglass with Sam--I'm impressed they remembered to bring that up again! I really hope Stannis doesn't die this season. :( [ADWD/TWOW spoilers]Based on the released Theon chapter of TWOW in particular, I feel like the news of Stannis' death in the end of ADWD was a fakeout (even before reading that, the fact that Ramsay asks for his Reek and his wife back was telling, since we know they both reached Stannis's camp). I do wonder if they are setting up for Brienne to kill Stannis later, based on her pronouncement earlier this season. The goodbye scene with bb!Shireen and Davos was also as usual too precious for words. <333 It's amazing that she is so kind and sweet given her parents and how she has grown up.
Speaking of the Wall, I was also of course delighted to see that the scene of Aemon discussing Dany was included!!! ♥ One of my favorite bits of AFFC--if only he could have gone to advise her, it probably would have helped a lot. ;) I mean it's a bit insane that word of her is so open in Westeros this early, but I guess they already crossed that bridge in season 3. At least here we got the extreme LULZ factor of seeing [spoilers for R+L=J theory that is basically canon]Jon Snow ~appear~ right as Aemon was lamenting how lonely it is being the ~last Targaryen in the world...;) To quote Star Wars, "There is another!". I was disappointed though that Aemon didn't discuss the prophecy side of it though, and how she is likely the ~prince that was promised.~ I mean I know they don't go into the magic and prophecy aspects as much on this show, but when you include Melisandre saying Stannis of all people is Azor Azhai you've already opened the door. I also wish they would have included Aemon examining the sword and noting to Jon it's a fake.
Also I'm happy that we've finally reached episodes that nobody has watched yet in advance! \o/ Fandom and Tumblr are no longer dark and full of spoilers...I was finally able to search for Theon gifs without worrying. ;) Like this adorable one of (I quote) "Theon and Jeyne Poole doing a SQUID DANCE OF DEFIANT RESILIENCE." :p Bless.
x
I know I have a ton of season finale reviews to catch up on (including Vikings!!), but I think this post is long enough...I'm sorry that I have been so absent the last few weeks, I've felt like I've had no time to internet lately...:s I will try to catch up on posts and comments soon.