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shapinglightOh boy, oh boy!
Spoilers behind cut.
Not sure I have anything coherent to say beyond battle! Big, big battle!
No, wait. I'm sure I can do better than that.
Absolutely awesome episode, which must have blown the entire battle budget for the rest of the show, I should imagine, and very little of it CGI'd, except for that bloke getting his head sliced in half by Stannis, and even that may have been a model rather than CGI. Not that I was looking properly. Had to watch most of the battle scenes through my fingers with my eyes half shut.
Is that it, then, for Davos and his son? I don't see how they could have survived the wildfire. That whole sequence was so well done - quite horrible, right down to the barmy old mad scientist's look of satisfaction at the sight of all those burning ships and men. No wonder Tyrion looked appalled. Speaking of whom, if I didn't love Tyrion before, (which I did, of course), this episode cements his standing in my eyes as one of the best fictional characters ever. What a great speech he gave those men, and I bet that's the only time in his life he's been glad to see his father (not that he knows it was him, I suppose). I sort of guessed that Tywin might turn up and save the day when I saw Charles Dance's name in the beginning credits. I'm glad he arrived when he did and am intrigued to know when he teamed up with Loras, who was all full of righteous anger. Revenge! But Stannis got away, didn't he? I daresay he and Melisandre will cause more trouble down the line.
Lots and lots of great character scenes scattered among all the action - Tyrion/Varys (always a winning combination), Bronn/Tyrion (I love that they're still friends - or sort of - though clearly Bronn doesn't see it the same way Tyrion does), Cersei/Sansa (Cersei's scenes were all very unnerving, I really did think that Tywin would arrive too late to stop her killing Prince Tommen). I'd be interested to know how these scenes differ (if they do) from Cersei at this point in the book, because we learned a lot about her here, right down to her anger and frustration at her allotted role in life. Also that she probably shouldn't drink as she gets a bit indiscreet when she does.
Which leads me to the Hound/Sansa, I can definitely get on board that 'ship, I think, because there's surely no going back for the Hound after what he said to Joffrey, and I know that when he tells Sansa he won't hurt her, he really means it. It also means that, if they get away, nobody has a hostage any more. In fact, with Stannis defeated, Renly dead, the landscape of Westeros has changed profoundly yet again.
I'm now looking forward very much to the final episode, which I imagine will give us snapshots of what's going on with all the other characters - Jon Snow, Bran and Rickon, Brienne and Jaime, Robb and Catelyn, Arya and Jacquen and(hopefully) Dany and Jorah. If this season works like last, the final episode will include a lot of drama (I'm hoping that, like last season, a lot of it will centre around Dany), but will also position characters for the next season, because yet again the dramatic highpoint of the season has occurred in episode 9. In season 1, it was Ned's death, in season 2 this bloody great battle.
Okay, crap review. It was great. Roll on the finale (as long as they don't spend too much of it focusing on Robb and Wosserface).
Trivial stuff:
Rather a lot of female nudity, as usual. Bored enough of it now to wonder why on earth it is that Littlefinger's whores and the palace serving women all seem to wear the exact same dress. Weird.
Wilco Johnson has been playing Ser Ilyn Payne all this time? Blimey!
The Kingsguardsman who turned on Tyrion in the battle was probably supposed to be someone we recognise, but I'm afraid I didn't. Who was he?
Spoilers behind cut.
Not sure I have anything coherent to say beyond battle! Big, big battle!
No, wait. I'm sure I can do better than that.
Absolutely awesome episode, which must have blown the entire battle budget for the rest of the show, I should imagine, and very little of it CGI'd, except for that bloke getting his head sliced in half by Stannis, and even that may have been a model rather than CGI. Not that I was looking properly. Had to watch most of the battle scenes through my fingers with my eyes half shut.
Is that it, then, for Davos and his son? I don't see how they could have survived the wildfire. That whole sequence was so well done - quite horrible, right down to the barmy old mad scientist's look of satisfaction at the sight of all those burning ships and men. No wonder Tyrion looked appalled. Speaking of whom, if I didn't love Tyrion before, (which I did, of course), this episode cements his standing in my eyes as one of the best fictional characters ever. What a great speech he gave those men, and I bet that's the only time in his life he's been glad to see his father (not that he knows it was him, I suppose). I sort of guessed that Tywin might turn up and save the day when I saw Charles Dance's name in the beginning credits. I'm glad he arrived when he did and am intrigued to know when he teamed up with Loras, who was all full of righteous anger. Revenge! But Stannis got away, didn't he? I daresay he and Melisandre will cause more trouble down the line.
Lots and lots of great character scenes scattered among all the action - Tyrion/Varys (always a winning combination), Bronn/Tyrion (I love that they're still friends - or sort of - though clearly Bronn doesn't see it the same way Tyrion does), Cersei/Sansa (Cersei's scenes were all very unnerving, I really did think that Tywin would arrive too late to stop her killing Prince Tommen). I'd be interested to know how these scenes differ (if they do) from Cersei at this point in the book, because we learned a lot about her here, right down to her anger and frustration at her allotted role in life. Also that she probably shouldn't drink as she gets a bit indiscreet when she does.
Which leads me to the Hound/Sansa, I can definitely get on board that 'ship, I think, because there's surely no going back for the Hound after what he said to Joffrey, and I know that when he tells Sansa he won't hurt her, he really means it. It also means that, if they get away, nobody has a hostage any more. In fact, with Stannis defeated, Renly dead, the landscape of Westeros has changed profoundly yet again.
I'm now looking forward very much to the final episode, which I imagine will give us snapshots of what's going on with all the other characters - Jon Snow, Bran and Rickon, Brienne and Jaime, Robb and Catelyn, Arya and Jacquen and(hopefully) Dany and Jorah. If this season works like last, the final episode will include a lot of drama (I'm hoping that, like last season, a lot of it will centre around Dany), but will also position characters for the next season, because yet again the dramatic highpoint of the season has occurred in episode 9. In season 1, it was Ned's death, in season 2 this bloody great battle.
Okay, crap review. It was great. Roll on the finale (as long as they don't spend too much of it focusing on Robb and Wosserface).
Trivial stuff:
Rather a lot of female nudity, as usual. Bored enough of it now to wonder why on earth it is that Littlefinger's whores and the palace serving women all seem to wear the exact same dress. Weird.
Wilco Johnson has been playing Ser Ilyn Payne all this time? Blimey!
The Kingsguardsman who turned on Tyrion in the battle was probably supposed to be someone we recognise, but I'm afraid I didn't. Who was he?
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no subject
Date: 2012-05-30 03:05 pm (UTC)Isn't that the doll which Ned tried to give her to console her after killing Lady? And she violently rejected it, saying "I didn't play with dolls since 8" or something like that? I might check that episode.
If that is the same doll then it might be revenge which is on her mind? She might be staying for Ned's memory, to see Stannis put Lannisters to sword or something like that?
Good point, which leads me back to thinking maybe Tywin's defeat of Robb is a fait accompli.
Don't think that AT ALL.
What I thought happened was that Tywin willingly risked his lands to secure KL.
In the previous episode, he was talking with his advisor about it, that Robb is about to strike at his lands. The advisor was saying something like - Robb doesn't have all the forces, he won't risk attacking you. And Tywin was saying - oh no, he would risk anything, and he could pull it off.
And still he went to rescue KL. I saw it as trading a win for a loss, a willing risk. Same as Robb, Tywin sees Robb as an equal.
That's why I think we'll see some kind of an exchange - Tywin losing his base and gaining KL, while Robb losing Winterfell (and maybe Frey bridge) but gaining Lannister base. Both are going va bank.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-30 03:26 pm (UTC)It is. You could be right. She'll reject the Hound's offer because she wants revenge. I don't know, though. She still seems so helpless a lot of the time, poor girl.
And Tywin was saying - oh no, he would risk anything, and he could pull it off.
And still he went to rescue KL. I saw it as trading a win for a loss, a willing risk. Same as Robb, Tywin sees Robb as an equal.
Yes, possible. Have to say, at the moment, I'm more worried that Cersei will spin Tywin some lie or other about Tyrion's incompetence and that Tywin will believe her.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-30 06:02 pm (UTC)I want Tyrion to get credit for what he's done for the city, but his lot is probably to never get it... Except from a few people who know him and like him. And maybe those soldiers whom he led to battle. And Varys.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-31 10:33 am (UTC)I hope you're right about Tywin. I know he's very unlikely to give Tyrion any praise, and the minute he sees Shae, Tyrion will be back in the dog house, but I do hope he's shrewd enough to see that without Tyrion, the city would have fallen before he arrived to save it.