shapinglight: (Catelyn Stark)
[personal profile] shapinglight
Did manage to watch this today, but haven't been able to find a moment to write a review till now, when I'm about to go to bed. Oh well.

Spoilers behind cut.



This episode had an oddly wistful quality in parts. There were various scenes where I found myself thinking, uh-oh, this is the last time these two are going to meet.

That was especially the case in the Theon/Yara scene, where Yara turning nice can only mean one thing, IMO - ie. that when this Bastard of Bolton character shows up something very nasty indeed will happen to Theon. I just hope they don't choose to make it too graphic.

The other wistful scene was the Dany/Jorah one, which, as you can imagine, I loved to bits, while at the same time thinking, it's all doomed to badness, isn't it? And I do hope the fact that Lord Varys is still getting updates on Dany's situation doesn't mean that Jorah is still spying on her. :(

Anyway, I hope they have a couple more scenes together before the end of the season, because I have nasty feeling that's it (or at least, that's it, until the books put them together again, if they ever do).

Elsewhere, Jon is still having a less than jolly time (and Sam is missing him terribly). Jaime Lannister isn't enjoying himself that much either, but at least it's not quite so chilly where he is.

The quarrel between Cat and Robb was upsetting. They were so close at the end of season 1. That said, I would much rather have more scenes between Robb and Cat than scenes between Robb and this Talisa woman. Have vaguely gathered that the character's generally not that well liked, and I can't say I like her either. Not that it bothers me in the slightest if Robb cries off his needs-must engagement with one of the charmless Frey clan, but as I've said in a previous review, I'm really not interested in his love life.

I'd far rather see him interact with his siblings, actually, especially because I'm beginning to wonder if the Stark children will ever meet each other again. I just hope that Bran and Rickon stay together, and that Maester Luwin and Osha carry on looking after them (though noticed the utterly useless direwolves have gone missing again - and still no sign of Ghost either).

Other scenes were more interesting - every scene featuring Arya, for instance (I shall miss her exchanges with Tywin), and the Tyrion/Bronn, Tyrion/Cersei, Tyrion/Varys scenes. I suppose Varys must have fed Cersei false information on purpose, about Ros being Tyrion's lover. Part of his power game - show Tyrion he can reveal his secret whenever he wants to.

Good episode (except for the Robb/Talisa scene, which went on too long). Things are building nicely to a head at last. I suppose Stannis will probably arrive at Kingslanding at the end of ep 9, and ep 10 (which I vaguely remember GRRM is writing) will feature some big battle or other. I expect it's too much to hope that Joffrey will get killed, but maybe 'Uncle' Stannis will get a turn at slapping him. Can't expect Bronn to do it every week.

Trivial stuff:

Jorah's speech about how he would remember Dany in the flames longer than he'll remember his own mother's face made me go all gooey.
I wonder who would win in a fight? Jaime or Brienne?
I wish we could get through one episode - just one - without any female nudity.
Speaking of nudity, there haven't been nearly enough naked men this season. What's that all about?

Not a good review, I'm afraid, but it's been a long day and I'm tired.

Date: 2012-05-22 02:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shipperx.livejournal.com
The Iron Island scenes in the book were from Theon's POV and with his being SUCH a misogynist had me immediately on Asha/Yara's side just to spite him. It was easier to grasp why she would be pissed off that this misogynist ass was coming along trying to take everything that SHE had worked for.

The show gave us a bit more sympathy for Theon than I had in the book (though, given his overall arc, I don't mind their giving us a bit more pity for him), so Yara wanting to keep him out came off far bitchier and less well-founded than it felt in the book. As she was introduced in the show, she came off as something of the bad guy. It never quite came off that way in the book. Sure she was attacking the North but it was never personal. I never saw her as a villain, just someone from a different house.

She was also... I don't know, happier? Less dour? In all the dark and woeful characters around, she wasn't full of angst and woe even when things go against her (as they do in places).
Edited Date: 2012-05-22 02:29 pm (UTC)

Date: 2012-05-23 02:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shipperx.livejournal.com
I don't quite know what they're going to put in the show re: Theon because the needs of the series are so different than those of the books. I really sort of 'missed' (as in either didn't read or didn't fully grasp) what had happened to Theon at the end of Book II because honestly, I don't even know how I arrived at that impression that I had because nothing actually happened. I was just sort of assuming (Honestly, Martin does this with more than one character at the end of Book II. YOu assume stuff based on an abrupt scene change, but you may be assuming wrongly. At least, I did.).

I honestly don't know what the show will choose to do with Theon at this point.

And Asha (who is Yara in the show) isn't dour. At least in Book II she's practically... rollicking(?) She's married in the book but is happily estranged "Oh he's off somewhere, and I don't give a flip about him anyway. I run my own life and my own ship" and basically lives life as she wants to, having affairs where she wants to, and generally enjoying the Pirate/Viking life (as the Iron Islanders came of quite... pirate-like to me in the book.) I never thought of her as 'dour' when reading, so that coming across on the show was a surprise to me.
Edited Date: 2012-05-23 02:31 pm (UTC)

Date: 2012-05-24 06:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shipperx.livejournal.com
I wonder if they're going to conclude that arc the same way this season in the show or put it off to next season. There's enough going on on King's Landing to make me wonder whether they'll do all that needs to be done in Winterfell.

For that matter, I'm wondering what they're going to do with Arya for the rest of this season. Her ending in Book II was that she, Gendry, and Hot Pie finally escaped Harrenhal and were heading out on the open road. They've now done that. Though in the process they've skipped a Jaquen/Arya scene that's pretty pivotal, so I'm guessing that is still going to happen but is restaged. There's really no way to skip it because it's important to her long arc. I'm also wondering whether they're going to borrow a tad from her story in Book III just to set stuff up for next season.
Edited Date: 2012-05-24 06:21 pm (UTC)

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