This is a TV post
Two season finales happened on Sunday and in general both elicited completely opposite reactions from viewers. Spoilers ahead!
Well, this was very interesting. Experiencing an adaptation at the height of my love/obsession for a property has only happened once before (I think) with the Watchmen movie, but my love for that was nowhere near as strong as my love for ASoIaF. Initially, I struggled with separating my knowledge of the books from my critique of the show purely as TV. I wanted to experience the show as its own thing and not have all the details and future events from the books rolling around in my head constantly. But I think it became easier once the episodes started getting better in quality (and even at its worst, Game of Thrones is still better than most TV out there today).
AAAAAA, they pretty much nerfed Sandor's character!!!! I wonder if they're going to continue with this characterization or if he will gain his rage over the course of the second season. His rage informs a lot of his actions in the second and third books, so I am very unsure about how he's being handled. He's going to be a major character in the next two or three seasons, so they really need to play catch-up with him, because he was barely present this season. My biggest criticism of the season :\
I'm not sure if I like what they're doing with Cersei either, even if they seem to be making her a more rounded character, which surprises me b/c usually I'd prefer that! I did love her added scene with Robert, but I gotta be honest, I miss the Cersei from the books, who is far-more entertaining to me. Lena Headey's acting is fine, but, like Sandor, we have to wait and see just how similar the writers will get to the character I know and love once they come into the spotlight. I want them to do what's best for the show, but I just really hope they don't stray too far. Shae is another one who I am unsure about. I like her TV version over the book, but from what they've shown, TV!Shae wouldn't fit in the narrative of book!Shae at all. Once again WE SHALL SEE, sigh.
What I absolutely loved about the finale was that I was transported back to how I felt while reading the last POV chapters in the book. I was so incredibly eager to continue, chomping at the bit to know what happened next, and the finale stirred those exact same emotions regardless that I already know exactly what's going to occur. I have my own vision of Dany's last chapter that I cling to and even though they skipped the egg hatching in the show, those last moments after the fire had died completely were ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. I've re-watched the scene a few times now, and every time I get closer and closer to just breaking down and sobbing, I'm so moved by it. If I wasn't already going to give Emilia Clarke my award for best actor in the show, this would have sealed the deal completely. She was amazing as Dany this whole season, from start to finish.
Sean Bean was a close second. I agree with others in that Ned would have been a painfully dull character if handled by a less skilled actor. Bean made me care for Ned more than I did in the books and his memory will live on stronger for me as the story evolves. GRRM was right in that all three child actors for Sansa, Arya, and Bran were stupendous. I can't wait to watch them grow up and continue to own their roles, especially the girls, whose characters have quite the journey ahead of them.
Most everyone else was so great in their roles, I really can't think of anyone who didn't work for me (even though I have hesitations with how Sandor, Cersei, and Shae are being handled, I have no complaints about their actors). Jamie was another highlight and even though they added a good number of extra scenes for him, I still wanted more. Tyrion was solid, PD has got this role down, and completely charmed me in the later half of the season. Littlefinger (Hi Mayor Carcetti), Varys, JOFFREY, Catelyn, Robb, BRONN (whose portrayal I particularly adore and really brings the character to life), Viserys (a character who intrigued me from my first reading of the book and I am SO HAPPY the actor was perfection), JORAH. GAH too many to acknowledge but all, even the more minor characters, were excellent. Ah, and Jon Snow! Kit Harrington, like Sean Bean, made me love the character more than I did in the books (and the fact that they're going to be in the next Silent Hill movie together pleases me greatly, to say the least). In sum: the most ridiculously talented and attractive ensemble cast I've ever witnessed.
I am a little concerned about the later seasons in dealing with the ridiculous number of names. Sure, there are plenty of people and locations which could easily be omitted, but there are still a healthy number that will need to stick in the audience's mind which I can see being a struggle to keep track of. Lord knows I, like most readers, had to explain many things to non-book readers, was dying to explain every significance and detail because it brings so much more meaning to the scenes. I just hope the writers can make the right decisions when explaining details and without making it too much of a burden. Sometimes those exposition scenes were hit-or-miss, and generally went on too long, but I expect them to improve next season. I didn't mind the sexposition except when some of the camera work would piss me off. I don't quite get what they're doing with Roz or what she added to the season...other than the obvious...and I hope they'll whip up something more significant in the future for her if they're going to keep her around. I do like her attitude, though.
And the sets and props and costumes and locations and everything else was amazing. Direction and writing varied in quality among the episodes, but was still overall excellent especially in the later half of the season.
So, yeah, overall I love this damn show and it does the books justice. Bravo, HBO!
There's been a lot of talk about The Killing's first season and finale. I was one of those who stuck with the show the whole season, sucked in at first by the atmosphere (that it reminded me of Heavy Rain helped a lot) and the two cops at the heart of the show. I gotta be honest, I don't care that we didn't find out who killed Rosie this season. I only truly cared about Linden and Holder and their journey to solving the case (the episode that focused solely on them was of course my favorite of the season). I actually liked the twist: we thought we knew who did it, but at the last minute (literally) we find out we actually still have no idea AND our perception of Holder has once again been challenged (a mystery I look forward to solving more than the actual murder). But everything else surrounding that twist is (and much of the season was proven to be) a horrid illogical mess and I agree with everyone else on that. There were some truly great performances in the cast, but unfortunately, most of the characters devolved into frustrating idiots placed in some poorly constructed scenes. I'm not as hateful of the entire show as many are now; in fact I still want to see next season. But I completely understand the outrage its poor execution has caused, if not specifically the outrage over not solving the case this season.
But ya know, the outrage also fascinates me because it's been taken to a ridiculous degree IMO to the point where critics who haven't been watching the show or seen the finale are falling over themselves to chime in, viewers feel so betrayed over something that was never promised in the first place, and there's even discussion about how AMC has now damaged its credibility permanently and may never recover!!! It's a testament to how shitty the finale was (and some aspects of AMC's marketing are bizarrely inconsistent with the outcome of the finale which does reflect poorly on them), but the show has another season to redeem itself, so let's all just move on for now, watch Breaking Bad in a couple weeks, and be reminded that AMC is not imploding, shall we?
Well, this was very interesting. Experiencing an adaptation at the height of my love/obsession for a property has only happened once before (I think) with the Watchmen movie, but my love for that was nowhere near as strong as my love for ASoIaF. Initially, I struggled with separating my knowledge of the books from my critique of the show purely as TV. I wanted to experience the show as its own thing and not have all the details and future events from the books rolling around in my head constantly. But I think it became easier once the episodes started getting better in quality (and even at its worst, Game of Thrones is still better than most TV out there today).
AAAAAA, they pretty much nerfed Sandor's character!!!! I wonder if they're going to continue with this characterization or if he will gain his rage over the course of the second season. His rage informs a lot of his actions in the second and third books, so I am very unsure about how he's being handled. He's going to be a major character in the next two or three seasons, so they really need to play catch-up with him, because he was barely present this season. My biggest criticism of the season :\
I'm not sure if I like what they're doing with Cersei either, even if they seem to be making her a more rounded character, which surprises me b/c usually I'd prefer that! I did love her added scene with Robert, but I gotta be honest, I miss the Cersei from the books, who is far-more entertaining to me. Lena Headey's acting is fine, but, like Sandor, we have to wait and see just how similar the writers will get to the character I know and love once they come into the spotlight. I want them to do what's best for the show, but I just really hope they don't stray too far. Shae is another one who I am unsure about. I like her TV version over the book, but from what they've shown, TV!Shae wouldn't fit in the narrative of book!Shae at all. Once again WE SHALL SEE, sigh.
What I absolutely loved about the finale was that I was transported back to how I felt while reading the last POV chapters in the book. I was so incredibly eager to continue, chomping at the bit to know what happened next, and the finale stirred those exact same emotions regardless that I already know exactly what's going to occur. I have my own vision of Dany's last chapter that I cling to and even though they skipped the egg hatching in the show, those last moments after the fire had died completely were ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. I've re-watched the scene a few times now, and every time I get closer and closer to just breaking down and sobbing, I'm so moved by it. If I wasn't already going to give Emilia Clarke my award for best actor in the show, this would have sealed the deal completely. She was amazing as Dany this whole season, from start to finish.
Sean Bean was a close second. I agree with others in that Ned would have been a painfully dull character if handled by a less skilled actor. Bean made me care for Ned more than I did in the books and his memory will live on stronger for me as the story evolves. GRRM was right in that all three child actors for Sansa, Arya, and Bran were stupendous. I can't wait to watch them grow up and continue to own their roles, especially the girls, whose characters have quite the journey ahead of them.
Most everyone else was so great in their roles, I really can't think of anyone who didn't work for me (even though I have hesitations with how Sandor, Cersei, and Shae are being handled, I have no complaints about their actors). Jamie was another highlight and even though they added a good number of extra scenes for him, I still wanted more. Tyrion was solid, PD has got this role down, and completely charmed me in the later half of the season. Littlefinger (Hi Mayor Carcetti), Varys, JOFFREY, Catelyn, Robb, BRONN (whose portrayal I particularly adore and really brings the character to life), Viserys (a character who intrigued me from my first reading of the book and I am SO HAPPY the actor was perfection), JORAH. GAH too many to acknowledge but all, even the more minor characters, were excellent. Ah, and Jon Snow! Kit Harrington, like Sean Bean, made me love the character more than I did in the books (and the fact that they're going to be in the next Silent Hill movie together pleases me greatly, to say the least). In sum: the most ridiculously talented and attractive ensemble cast I've ever witnessed.
I am a little concerned about the later seasons in dealing with the ridiculous number of names. Sure, there are plenty of people and locations which could easily be omitted, but there are still a healthy number that will need to stick in the audience's mind which I can see being a struggle to keep track of. Lord knows I, like most readers, had to explain many things to non-book readers, was dying to explain every significance and detail because it brings so much more meaning to the scenes. I just hope the writers can make the right decisions when explaining details and without making it too much of a burden. Sometimes those exposition scenes were hit-or-miss, and generally went on too long, but I expect them to improve next season. I didn't mind the sexposition except when some of the camera work would piss me off. I don't quite get what they're doing with Roz or what she added to the season...other than the obvious...and I hope they'll whip up something more significant in the future for her if they're going to keep her around. I do like her attitude, though.
And the sets and props and costumes and locations and everything else was amazing. Direction and writing varied in quality among the episodes, but was still overall excellent especially in the later half of the season.
So, yeah, overall I love this damn show and it does the books justice. Bravo, HBO!
There's been a lot of talk about The Killing's first season and finale. I was one of those who stuck with the show the whole season, sucked in at first by the atmosphere (that it reminded me of Heavy Rain helped a lot) and the two cops at the heart of the show. I gotta be honest, I don't care that we didn't find out who killed Rosie this season. I only truly cared about Linden and Holder and their journey to solving the case (the episode that focused solely on them was of course my favorite of the season). I actually liked the twist: we thought we knew who did it, but at the last minute (literally) we find out we actually still have no idea AND our perception of Holder has once again been challenged (a mystery I look forward to solving more than the actual murder). But everything else surrounding that twist is (and much of the season was proven to be) a horrid illogical mess and I agree with everyone else on that. There were some truly great performances in the cast, but unfortunately, most of the characters devolved into frustrating idiots placed in some poorly constructed scenes. I'm not as hateful of the entire show as many are now; in fact I still want to see next season. But I completely understand the outrage its poor execution has caused, if not specifically the outrage over not solving the case this season.
But ya know, the outrage also fascinates me because it's been taken to a ridiculous degree IMO to the point where critics who haven't been watching the show or seen the finale are falling over themselves to chime in, viewers feel so betrayed over something that was never promised in the first place, and there's even discussion about how AMC has now damaged its credibility permanently and may never recover!!! It's a testament to how shitty the finale was (and some aspects of AMC's marketing are bizarrely inconsistent with the outcome of the finale which does reflect poorly on them), but the show has another season to redeem itself, so let's all just move on for now, watch Breaking Bad in a couple weeks, and be reminded that AMC is not imploding, shall we?