When you play the Game of Thrones...

[valadil]

Seerow beat me here but yeah, the beheading guy was an Other/White Walker.

I like the term Other a whole lot more than White Walker, but Lost pretty much used up Other.

My biggest problems with the series so far is that the child actors, particularly Arya

Whaat?! I like her casting best of all. Most everyone else is good, but not how I imagined them. That's not to say they're incorrect, they just don't jibe with what I pictured. Even Peter Dinklage is slightly off for me (I picture him making more snide remarks that nobody notices. Everything he says has gravitas and he gives it time to settle).

[hamlet]

Syrio Forel, the dancing master. And yes, he's hilarious. And no, not all funny people die in this story. A lot do mind you, but not all.

And at least a couple of the truly amusingly funny people in the series are absolute monsters.

The jester that pals around with the Bloody Mummers springs to mind.

[Nerocite]

This Penny Arcade seems pretty relevant.

[Seerow]

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No comments on the new episode yet?


Fine then, I'll start us off:


1) We got 3 direwolves in this episode, and not just glimpses of them. Guess they finally got them more than half trained by this point in the filming.

2) A lot of exposition here that was pretty vital to the non-readers. Viserys's Targ infodump was the big deviation from the books, but it worked. And of course Viserys is an ass even when getting some.

And on the note of Viserys, he gets smacked down by his little sister. The confrontation scene between him and Dany was perfect.

3) Sam... I had reservations about him when I saw the pictures. I'll be honest, if you just look at the guy in his armor standing there, he looks kind of intimidating. Sure, he's fat, but it's the kind of fat that could hide muscle. I saw him and said "There's no way that can be Sam, I'd be afraid to pick a fight with that guy"

...then we actually see him on screen, and he is suitably pathetic. If anything a little overly dramatic... but that is fitting with the character I suppose.

On the topic of Sam, the scene with Sam and Jon talking about girls was fairly entertaining, up til Mr. Killjoy shows up and starts ranting about cannibalism north of the wall. Then I'm just kind of like "ew"

4) The big change that everyone is complaining about: Littlefinger got to tell us about the Hound's history rather than the Hound himself. A thousand SanSan shippers at once cried out in anguish. The scene worked well enough, but I have to agree that the Hound telling the story himself carried a certain dramatic weight that Littlefinger's retelling really didn't.... on the other hand, Littlefinger leaning in close to Sansa as he tells this story gives off suitably creepy pedo vibes, as befits his character.

5) I liked Gendry's helmet. And Gendry too for that matter. Though I don't think I'll ever get over his name being pronounced with a hard G instead of a soft one. Also he seems old. I know a lot of characters got aged up, but in the books, he was just a few years older than Arya, and is in his young teens. Here he seems like he's got 7-8 years on her, which is a rather big difference, and will affect their interactions later on I think.

[Mathis]

@ Seerow. You may want to spoiler that post before someone unwillingly stumbles into it and gets the entire episode spoiled. Just saying since the thread doesn't have a spoiler warning yet.

The episode was good though, really liked how Ghost looked and Jon Snow is starting to feel at home at the wall. This show is impressing me actually, it's really starting to get as interesting as Deadwood or The Sopranos was to me at this point.

Edit: Oh, and I have to say that I really like Jorah Mormont ( The Westerner who follows Daenerys around) a lot. Much more so than I did in the books. Anyone else agree that his actor is doing a great job in stealing the screen?

[pita]

I really hate Daenerys in the show.
Haven't seen newest episode yet, but I felt I had to throw in my two cents. I don't know whether it's the actress, the writing, or just that seeing something on screen is different from reading it in the book, but I'm finding her completely and utterly unlikeable. Is anyone else going through this?

[Weezer]

I really hate Daenerys in the show.
Haven't seen newest episode yet, but I felt I had to throw in my two cents. I don't know whether it's the actress, the writing, or just that seeing something on screen is different from reading it in the book, but I'm finding her completely and utterly unlikeable. Is anyone else going through this?

Well I had that same feeling in the books, so when I got the feeling in the show I felt like they were doing it right.

[SuperPanda]

@ Seerow. You may want to spoiler that post before someone unwillingly stumbles into it and gets the entire episode spoiled. Just saying since the thread doesn't have a spoiler warning yet.

The episode was good though, really liked how Ghost looked and Jon Snow is starting to feel at home at the wall. This show is impressing me actually, it's really starting to get as interesting as Deadwood or The Sopranos was to me at this point.

Edit: Oh, and I have to say that I really like Jorah Mormont ( The Westerner who follows Daenerys around) a lot. Much more so than I did in the books. Anyone else agree that his actor is doing a great job in stealing the screen?

First of, I'm one of those horrible people who haven't read the books yet and are watching (and loving) the show.

I have to agree on Jorah Mormont stealing the show, he's the most interesting character in that particular story arch and this episode had a reveal which both made me go "ooooh plot," and "oooh, shucks.":

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His rivalry and disdain for Ned Stark. Its a shame because so far Ned Stark is one of the few honorable and good seeming people in the story and he's already had plenty of nasty things handed to him. In the King's Landing setting I'm rooting for Ned above everyone else.

I also find that the thin man on the King's council who has unsavory connections is rather well played and has a similar talent for stealing the scene. he gives me a bit of a Vetenari vibe (Discworld reference) though obviously isn't yet powerful/ambitious enough to live up to the Patrician.

I love the dwarf/imp/halfling. I can't remember his name because whenever he's on screen there is just gold coming from him in both dialog and acting.

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Following the moment where he was taken prisoner today, which is set up so well that I could see what was happening even though he couldn't, I was quietly cursing. I sort of hope that when the facts of things are brought to his attention he sides with the Starks on the matter, for all his vices he seems like a lovable rogue who wouldn't much appreciate being made accomplice to an attempted murder, much less of a small child.

In the savage warrior / Malfoy-Dragon arch, I'm really tired of the brother. He was annoying last episode and is grating this episode. The sister is alright, her hand maid is awesome, her husband is (so far) a dumb brute whose place in the story will be redeemed when I see him do something awesome. Still the two super blond characters keep making me think "Draco Malfoy is hiding somewhere." Jorah steals the whole bit.

Snow's adventures on the wall...

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I really wish that instead of protecting the big new guy he'd set everyone to training him up proper with encouragement instead of punishment. Something more Rocky like. Exercise runs and whatnot. The dire wolf was awesome in that scene (though I don't remember any reference that it came with him before that). Still, I wish that instead of the instructor butting heads with Snow he'd said something more on the lines of "fine, you want to be like that then? His training is your responsibility. Snow seems out of place as he feels more like a high fantasy hero getting ready for his quest into glory while everyone else feels like they are playing... well, a game of thrones."

[Weezer]

First of, I'm one of those horrible people who haven't read the books yet and are watching (and loving) the show.

I have to agree on Jorah Mormont stealing the show, he's the most interesting character in that particular story arch and this episode had a reveal which both made me go "ooooh plot," and "oooh, shucks.":

Spoiler

Show

His rivalry and disdain for Ned Stark. Its a shame because so far Ned Stark is one of the few honorable and good seeming people in the story and he's already had plenty of nasty things handed to him. In the King's Landing setting I'm rooting for Ned above everyone else.

I also find that the thin man on the King's council who has unsavory connections is rather well played and has a similar talent for stealing the scene. he gives me a bit of a Vetenari vibe (Discworld reference) though obviously isn't yet powerful/ambitious enough to live up to the Patrician.

I love the dwarf/imp/halfling. I can't remember his name because whenever he's on screen there is just gold coming from him in both dialog and acting.

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Show

Following the moment where he was taken prisoner today, which is set up so well that I could see what was happening even though he couldn't, I was quietly cursing. I sort of hope that when the facts of things are brought to his attention he sides with the Starks on the matter, for all his vices he seems like a lovable rogue who wouldn't much appreciate being made accomplice to an attempted murder, much less of a small child.

In the savage warrior / Malfoy-Dragon arch, I'm really tired of the brother. He was annoying last episode and is grating this episode. The sister is alright, her hand maid is awesome, her husband is (so far) a dumb brute whose place in the story will be redeemed when I see him do something awesome. Still the two super blond characters keep making me think "Draco Malfoy is hiding somewhere." Jorah steals the whole bit.

Snow's adventures on the wall...

Spoiler

Show

I really wish that instead of protecting the big new guy he'd set everyone to training him up proper with encouragement instead of punishment. Something more Rocky like. Exercise runs and whatnot. The dire wolf was awesome in that scene (though I don't remember any reference that it came with him before that). Still, I wish that instead of the instructor butting heads with Snow he'd said something more on the lines of "fine, you want to be like that then? His training is your responsibility. Snow seems out of place as he feels more like a high fantasy hero getting ready for his quest into glory while everyone else feels like they are playing... well, a game of thrones."

I'm not going to comment on the specifics of what you said, don't want to spoil anything. But I will say you're in for a great ride, some of your speculation is right on, some off and some of your complaints will be resolved soon by plot.
It's good to see that the show is followable by someone who hasn't read the books, that's something I was a bit concerned by.

[hamlet]

I also find that the thin man on the King's council who has unsavory connections is rather well played and has a similar talent for stealing the scene. he gives me a bit of a Vetenari vibe (Discworld reference) though obviously isn't yet powerful/ambitious enough to live up to the Patrician.

That would be, I believe, Petyr Baelish you're referring to.

Seriously, though, just wait. It gets much better.

I love the dwarf/imp/halfling. I can't remember his name because whenever he's on screen there is just gold coming from him in both dialog and acting.

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Following the moment where he was taken prisoner today, which is set up so well that I could see what was happening even though he couldn't, I was quietly cursing. I sort of hope that when the facts of things are brought to his attention he sides with the Starks on the matter, for all his vices he seems like a lovable rogue who wouldn't much appreciate being made accomplice to an attempted murder, much less of a small child.

Within the next, say, three or so episodes, Tyrion (aka, the Imp) will start showing hints of what he will become in later books/seasons. His machinations can be quite magnificent when he's on his game.

But then again, he pales in comparison to some people waiting in the wings.

[The Glyphstone]

I have to keep opening Wikipedia's character list to figure out who people are, unless I want to just assign them nicknames. Bald Guy, Creepy Guy, Other Bald Guy, Old Guy, etc.

I've managed to lock in the king, the Targaryens, most of the Starks, and the Lannisters, and that's about it.

[Weezer]

I have to keep opening Wikipedia's character list to figure out who people are, unless I want to just assign them nicknames. Bald Guy, Creepy Guy, Other Bald Guy, Old Guy, etc.

I've managed to lock in the king, the Targaryens, most of the Starks, and the Lannisters, and that's about it.

Yeah they have been pretty bad about the whole name-dropping thing. I've found that to be a theme in other HBO series I've seen, the most obvious being Rome. I had no idea of many of the character's actual names, even up to the end of the series.

[SuperPanda]

There are a few disorienting/confusing things such as when ghost (the white wolf) showed up at the Wall all of a sudden without having seen him/her since being picked up as a pup.

The show is amazingly well acted for the genre (usually sci fi and fantasy wind up as camp vs ham) and the adaptation seems very well written over all. There are some small nit picks I could make with cinematography (though from what I've heard there are very good reasons for the choices made till now). All in all, Game of Thrones is up there with Doctor Who on my "everyone be quiet, I'm watching me TV show list." (all my other shows I multitask through, these two get my full attention).

[hamlet]

I have to keep opening Wikipedia's character list to figure out who people are, unless I want to just assign them nicknames. Bald Guy, Creepy Guy, Other Bald Guy, Old Guy, etc.

I've managed to lock in the king, the Targaryens, most of the Starks, and the Lannisters, and that's about it.

You aren't alone.

In the original novels, there were appendicies of names and who major players were. Otherwise, you'd never be able to figure out what the heck was going on half the time.

[The Glyphstone]

So on that note, who are the people I'm talking about?

Creepy Guy is apparently Pyeter/Peter - I thought he was Cat's older brother or something at first, but I guess he's just a failed suitor who still holds a torch.

Bald Guy is the spymaster.

Old Guy and Other Bald Guy were on the Little Council too.

[hamlet]

So on that note, who are the people I'm talking about?

Creepy Guy is apparently Pyeter/Peter - I thought he was Cat's older brother or something at first, but I guess he's just a failed suitor who still holds a torch.

Bald Guy is the spymaster.

Old Guy and Other Bald Guy were on the Little Council too.

"Creepy Guy" is Petyr Baelish, aka Little Finger, aka Master of Coin (treasurer) of the Seven Kingdoms. He was fostered at Riverrun (where Catelyn grew up) and had a crush on her those many years ago. Said crush never really went away.

"Bald Guy" is Lord Varys, aka The Spider, aka The Eunuch, aka The Master of Whispers. Spy master, effeminite eunuch, plotter and schemer extraordinare, master of disguise, holdover from previous administration under "Mad King" Aerys. Loyalty is questionable.

"Old Guy" Not quite sure which you're referring to, but probably Grand Maester Pycelle. Essentially, he's the academic, historical, scientific, medical, and philosophic advisor to the crown. Getting on to almost 90 years old I believe. Holdover from previous administration under "Mad King" Aerys. Loyalty is . . . questionable I suppose is the only word for it.

There is, or should be, another old guy on the council, and that is Barristan Selmy, aka Baristan the Bold. Lord Commander of Kingsguard, bodyguards to the king's person. As its Lord Commander, he is on that council.

Renly, the king's youngest brother, is also there, though they did not name him. His position sort of escapes me.

[Weezer]

So on that note, who are the people I'm talking about?

Creepy Guy is apparently Pyeter/Peter - I thought he was Cat's older brother or something at first, but I guess he's just a failed suitor who still holds a torch.

Bald Guy is the spymaster.

Old Guy and Other Bald Guy were on the Little Council too.

Bald Guy is Varys, also known as the Spider for obvious reasons.

Old Guy is Grand Maester Pycelle. Maesters are the academics/doctors/learned ones of the seven kingdoms. They all go to the same university, which I don't think has been mentioned yet.

Not sure who you mean by other bald guy but that might be Barriston Selmy, the head of the Kingsguard and member of the Small Council.

[IthilanorStPete]

"Creepy Guy" is Petyr Baelish, aka Little Finger, aka Master of Coin (treasurer) of the Seven Kingdoms. He was fostered at Riverrun (where Catelyn grew up) and had a crush on her those many years ago. Said crush never really went away.

"Bald Guy" is Lord Varys, aka The Spider, aka The Eunuch, aka The Master of Whispers. Spy master, effeminite eunuch, plotter and schemer extraordinare, master of disguise, holdover from previous administration under "Mad King" Aerys. Loyalty is questionable.

"Old Guy" Not quite sure which you're referring to, but probably Grand Maester Pycelle. Essentially, he's the academic, historical, scientific, medical, and philosophic advisor to the crown. Getting on to almost 90 years old I believe. Holdover from previous administration under "Mad King" Aerys. Loyalty is . . . questionable I suppose is the only word for it.

There is, or should be, another old guy on the council, and that is Barristan Selmy, aka Baristan the Bold. Lord Commander of Kingsguard, bodyguards to the king's person. As its Lord Commander, he is on that council.

Renly, the king's youngest brother, is also there, though they did not name him. His position sort of escapes me.

Renly's official position is Master of Laws, I believe. They don't really go into detail as to what that entails, though - it's something of an excuse to have him as a councilor.

[The Glyphstone]

Yeah, I was thinking of the guard commander - I should have labeled him Other Old Guy instead of Other Bald Guy, since he wasn't bald; he was the one trading war stories with Jaimie and Robert, I think.

And I had totally pegged the spymaster as a eunuch, apparently I was right.

[hamlet]

Yeah, I was thinking of the guard commander - I should have labeled him Other Old Guy instead of Other Bald Guy, since he wasn't bald; he was the one trading war stories with Jaimie and Robert, I think.

Well . . . it's slightly more complicated. Jamie isn't exactly fond of Robert, and Robert . . . well . . . he's understandably disdainful and wary of the Kingslayer.

Given what's going on behind his back, one can't exactly blame him.

[pita]

And I had totally pegged the spymaster as a eunuch, apparently I was right.

Is it just me, or is this the single most disturbing message ever posted on this forum?

[The Glyphstone]

Is it just me, or is this the single most disturbing message ever posted on this forum?

...taken out of context, yes, I can see it being very disturbing.

But the instant I saw him, he did just give off really powerful "this guy's a eununch' vibes.

[pita]

I dunno, just seems a strange thought process "This guy's totally a eunuch".

[thorgrim29]

This episode's thoughts:

-Hodor's old, I always imagined him in his twenties, not late 30s as he looks now

-Sam is way fatter then I imagines him, in my mind he was more like Eli from SGU then what he is here, he's also very pathetic, but that's ok, I just hope it doesn't earn him too much hate until he starts being more awesome

-Gregor looks huge and intimidating sitting on a horse and not talking, so so far so good.

-Arya continues to impress

-Thorne is a jackass

-So is Robert, the guy is loosing sympathy very fast

-Bran's supernatural subplot is starting, glee!

-Dany finally grew a spine, that's good, also, serve's the ******* right.

- Littlefinger is really cool.

-No Syrio

[Weezer]

One of the things I really like about the show is how they do the fight choreography. It's fast and brutal and dirty, like I always imagined it being. They didn't fall into the temptation of having the fights be cool and impressive places for the characters to show off. It's a refreshing change from your normal action movie fights.

Edit: Also they are really setting up Sandor for sympathy later on, aren't they?

[Comet]

I'm liking this show more and more with every episode.

Haven't found anything too confusing yet, though I do admit that I'm not aware of the names of nearly everyone involved, mainly the people you have been discussing above. Doesn't bother me, though, since I do remember faces and am okay with calling everyone "what's his face" for now.

One thing I do find a bit confusing, though, is the history behind everything. There are a lot of references to who's who and how they all contributed to this big rebellion war that happened, but the specifics sort of slip me by. Who killed who, who is angry with whom these days and that sort of stuff. I should probably look up some wiki to set the timeline straight, since the sense of things having happened before the cameras started rolling is definitely something I find enjoyable.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

-Arya continues to impress

I still don't like her acting, but she's much better in this episode, much less wooden. Giving her something to do (standing on one leg) helped her relax and stop thinking about it, I suspect. Once she sat down, a bit of the wooden feeling came back.

-No Syrio

They are being true to the books. Syrio is referred to far more than he is seen. But the fact he got cast at all is great, since that'll mean we'll get to see his most kick-ass scene. I'm looking forward to it.

One thing I do find a bit confusing, though, is the history behind everything. There are a lot of references to who's who and how they all contributed to this big rebellion war that happened, but the specifics sort of slip me by. Who killed who, who is angry with whom these days and that sort of stuff. I should probably look up some wiki to set the timeline straight, since the sense of things having happened before the cameras started rolling is definitely something I find enjoyable.

You may end up spoiling things way too much - a lot of the history is very intertwined in these books. You can always ask here, though. We geeks tend to like pontificating mightily about these kinds of stuff, after all.

Without giving anything away, just filling in details about things that have already been mentioned in the tv series so far, the two major wars that have happened to the current crop of characters are:

• Robert's rebellion: future king Robert, dead Hand Arryn and main character Eddard 'Ned' fought and displaced the Targaryens when Mad King made a barbecue with several of their relations, including Ned's dad and older brother.
  
• Greyjoy rebellion: the Greyjoys decided to rebel against Robert, and got very spanked for their troubles.

Things have been peaceful since.

Grey Wolf

[Smiling Knight]

• Robert's rebellion: future king Robert, dead Hand Arryn and main character Eddard 'Ned' fought and displaced the Targaryens when Mad King made a barbecue with several of their relations, including Ned's dad and older brother.
  
• Greyjoy rebellion: the Greyjoys decided to rebel against Robert, and got very spanked for their troubles.

Things have been peaceful since.

Grey Wolf

Also important: the Lannisters, despite being perhaps the most powerful house in the realm, stayed neutral in Robert's Rebellion until the victors were already decided. That is why Ned and the Starks (great band name btw) distrust them.

[Cristo Meyers]

• Robert's rebellion: future king Robert, dead Hand Arryn and main character Eddard 'Ned' fought and displaced the Targaryens when Mad King made a barbecue with several of their relations, including Ned's dad and older brother.
  
• Greyjoy rebellion: the Greyjoys decided to rebel against Robert, and got very spanked for their troubles.

Don't forget that the Targaryen heir, Rhaeger, ran off with Ned's sister/Robert's fiance'

[Grey_Wolf_c]

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Also important: the Lannisters, despite being perhaps the most powerful house in the realm, stayed neutral in Robert's Rebellion until the victors were already decided. That is why Ned and the Starks (great band name btw) distrust them.

Don't forget that the Targaryen heir, Rhaeger, ran off with Ned's sister/Robert's fiance'

While both of those are true, I'm not sure they have been relayed in the tv series yet - not as clearly as the fact that the mad king killed Ned's family - and I was trying to not give away spoilers.

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Yes, Ned's sister's death was explained early on and Robert's pain over it, but its connection to the war is as of yet, IIRC, unremarked. Lannister's involvement in the war likewise, except a comment about entering King's Landing.

Grey Wolf