Game of Thrones livebloggish thing
So I am back in Baltimore for a few days, and was despairing because my parents don't have HBO, which cockblocks me from getting my hands on the first episode of Game of Thrones. But as luck would have it, HBO is free this weekend, so I got to watch the premiere after all! And I have Thoughts on it, as you do.
- Oh god, the Wall. The Wall is even more terrifying than I pictured it would be.
- Cinematography: gorgeous. I can almost feel the chill of winter coming through the screen. Production values, HBO has them. (So glad I am watching this in HD, also. I can guh over the world so much more.)
- The creepy little dead girl? Enh. The flashes of the Others through the trees, and the silhouetted figure? Way scarier.
- CREDIT SEQUENCE. AWESOME. Kind of more steampunk than what I'd expect from Westeros, with all the gears and cogs, but oh my god the map and the way it rises. aksdhflka.
- So Will is the deserter Ned executes at the beginning. I like it, actually. Ties the prologue in better to the main story.
- Robb is pretty, and Jon Snow ain't half-bad either.
- Bran is ten now. I'm okay with this. I believe him more as a ten-year-old, truth be told. Sansa also seems significantly older, though Arya still looks somewhere around nine to eleven. (My guess is that Sansa is around thirteen or fourteen, if they've aged everyone up two or three years?)
- Arya stealing the spotlight from Bran and curtseying is the best thing ever. Love her.
- Also love: how Sean Bean switches between paternal effection and lordly sternness -- and his love for his children is evident no matter what face he's wearing.
- Mith is probably in ecstatics over Sean Bean, isn't she. I really do need to watch the next ep with her.
- I always pictured the direwolf scene wth more snow, but I guess it is still summer in Westeros for now.
- Aaw, Jon Snow. Good bit of politicking there; you can see Ned acknowledge as much.
- DIREWOLF PUPPIES~
- Ooh, funerary rites! Fuck, those stones over Jon Arryn's eyes are creepy.
- Jaime.
Jaime.
Jaime.
And these are my thoughts on Jaime Lannister. *_* "Hunting boars and fucking whores -- or is it the other way around?"
- Godwood is too pretty. More like the Tully's godwood than one devoted to the gods of the First Men.
- Gratuitous shirtless Starks! I am also okay with this.
- I can tolerate Bran in this version! Let's see if that lasts. Goodwill towards moppets can only carry him so far in my esteem.
- HOUND HOUND HOUND
- Arya, never stop being amazing.
- "You got fat." And with that, I find Robert Baratheon endearing. Wasn't expecting that.
- Cersei's bitchface is amazing.
- Wait, they've been riding for a month? When did Jon Arryn die?
- Mark Addy's take on Robert makes me view the character a whole lot more sympathetically. He's bringing a real humanity and (pardon the pun) weight to the role -- he knows what a wreck he's become and how full of vices he is, but damn it, he's still king.
- So it looks like we're going to get a lot more of a focus on Jaime in the first season than there was in the first book.
- Peter Dinklage, I continue to lu. And I love how evident Jaime and Tyrion's affection for each other is here. Jaime gives him hookers! That's brotherly love.
- Viserys has a +5 Aura of Creeper. This is appropriate.
- ...wait he's undressing her okay man they're pushing the incest angle with these two. Not that it's unfounded, but. I can only see Dany undergo so much sexual abuse before she comes into her awesome, guys.
- Mith and I had a long conversation about aging up Dany, and whether that would mitigate the uncomfortable too much. Given how much I cringed during her scenes, though, they've still made it plenty uncomfortable, so props for that, guys. She spends a fair amount of time naked, sure, but it's really really REALLY not sexy.
- Jason Momoa, you are hot. That is all.
- Illyrio is such a snakey bastard. I can sense the sarcasm dripping from every line.
- BADTOUCH POLICE BADTOUCH POLICE BADTOUCH POLICE sweet christ Viserys.
- Oh Sansa, you are going to regret this entire scene later.
- Cersei continues to pull the best bitchfaces.
- I have concluded that I would totally watch this show if it consisted of nothing but scenes of Tyrion. I suspect I am not alone.
- Even though I hate Cersei -- a lot -- Lena Headley does a great job with her.
- Actor-who-plays-Jaime, you are a cocky bastard, but you cannot out-badass Sean Bean.
- Is Arya amazing in every scene she's in? Clearly the answer is yes.
- I like the moment of quiet affection between them, especially since we're not going to have a whole lot of opportunities to establish that. Considering.
- I'm not sure why, but the scene with Lysa's letter is falling a little flat for me. It's too slow and stately, too self-consciously dramatic. And I mean, you could levy the same thing against ASoIaF in general, but. The last two lines are awesome, though.
- I think we can all agree that GRRM's depiction of the Dothraki has a lot of problems, and that any attempt to replicate the portrait of them that he paints, particularly the one in the opening part of the book, will have the same problems. And that's all I want to say about that.
- Jorah! (Fun fact about ASoIaF: I read it in Summer-Fall 2007, right when I was knee-deep in FFXII fandom, and Dany/Jorah pings the exact same buttons for me that Ashe/Vossler does.)
- I know the book does this, and I am fairly sure the director and writers intend us to be uncomfortable with this, but it's really really hard to watch Dany in this episode. I mean, I know having her start here makes her journey over the course of the books all the more compelling and pronounced, but Dany, honey. YOU WILL BE A BADASS SOON.
- This scene. :/ Not so sure. It's still skeevy in the book, yeah, but Drogo seems to take a lot more care with her there, trying not to frighten her, trying to ease her into it, trying to make sure she feels good. It doen't erase the wrong, but it mitigates it a little, and it says alot about his character. Here, it's a lot more, well, rapey. Then again, what happens to her is uncomfortable and awful, so maybe the way they shot this scene gets that across better. I don't know. Dany's scenes are going to be hard to watch for a while, like I said.
- "The things I do for love." PERFECTION. Seriously, I love Jaime so fucking much in this. The fandom is totally going to Draco in Leather Pants him and miss why he is awesome, but oh well, them's the breaks.
- IS IT NEXT SUNDAY YET I WANT THE NEXT EPISODE
- NO REALLY
- LIKE NOW
ETA: -- wait, where's Theon? Are the Greyjoys out of the series or what?
Conclusion: There are a few choices I'm meh about, but for the most part -- seriously, the vast majority -- this show is rad as hell. I want the next episode stat, and I am not-so-sekritly planning to exploit the "if I write fic for the series I'm technically not writing fic for the book so it's okay" loophole. Sorry, GRRM. Except not.
Also, I'm going to need icons.
.
- Oh god, the Wall. The Wall is even more terrifying than I pictured it would be.
- Cinematography: gorgeous. I can almost feel the chill of winter coming through the screen. Production values, HBO has them. (So glad I am watching this in HD, also. I can guh over the world so much more.)
- The creepy little dead girl? Enh. The flashes of the Others through the trees, and the silhouetted figure? Way scarier.
- CREDIT SEQUENCE. AWESOME. Kind of more steampunk than what I'd expect from Westeros, with all the gears and cogs, but oh my god the map and the way it rises. aksdhflka.
- So Will is the deserter Ned executes at the beginning. I like it, actually. Ties the prologue in better to the main story.
- Robb is pretty, and Jon Snow ain't half-bad either.
- Bran is ten now. I'm okay with this. I believe him more as a ten-year-old, truth be told. Sansa also seems significantly older, though Arya still looks somewhere around nine to eleven. (My guess is that Sansa is around thirteen or fourteen, if they've aged everyone up two or three years?)
- Arya stealing the spotlight from Bran and curtseying is the best thing ever. Love her.
- Also love: how Sean Bean switches between paternal effection and lordly sternness -- and his love for his children is evident no matter what face he's wearing.
- Mith is probably in ecstatics over Sean Bean, isn't she. I really do need to watch the next ep with her.
- I always pictured the direwolf scene wth more snow, but I guess it is still summer in Westeros for now.
- Aaw, Jon Snow. Good bit of politicking there; you can see Ned acknowledge as much.
- DIREWOLF PUPPIES~
- Ooh, funerary rites! Fuck, those stones over Jon Arryn's eyes are creepy.
- Jaime.
Jaime.
Jaime.
And these are my thoughts on Jaime Lannister. *_* "Hunting boars and fucking whores -- or is it the other way around?"
- Godwood is too pretty. More like the Tully's godwood than one devoted to the gods of the First Men.
- Gratuitous shirtless Starks! I am also okay with this.
- I can tolerate Bran in this version! Let's see if that lasts. Goodwill towards moppets can only carry him so far in my esteem.
- HOUND HOUND HOUND
- Arya, never stop being amazing.
- "You got fat." And with that, I find Robert Baratheon endearing. Wasn't expecting that.
- Cersei's bitchface is amazing.
- Wait, they've been riding for a month? When did Jon Arryn die?
- Mark Addy's take on Robert makes me view the character a whole lot more sympathetically. He's bringing a real humanity and (pardon the pun) weight to the role -- he knows what a wreck he's become and how full of vices he is, but damn it, he's still king.
- So it looks like we're going to get a lot more of a focus on Jaime in the first season than there was in the first book.
- Peter Dinklage, I continue to lu. And I love how evident Jaime and Tyrion's affection for each other is here. Jaime gives him hookers! That's brotherly love.
- Viserys has a +5 Aura of Creeper. This is appropriate.
- ...wait he's undressing her okay man they're pushing the incest angle with these two. Not that it's unfounded, but. I can only see Dany undergo so much sexual abuse before she comes into her awesome, guys.
- Mith and I had a long conversation about aging up Dany, and whether that would mitigate the uncomfortable too much. Given how much I cringed during her scenes, though, they've still made it plenty uncomfortable, so props for that, guys. She spends a fair amount of time naked, sure, but it's really really REALLY not sexy.
- Jason Momoa, you are hot. That is all.
- Illyrio is such a snakey bastard. I can sense the sarcasm dripping from every line.
- BADTOUCH POLICE BADTOUCH POLICE BADTOUCH POLICE sweet christ Viserys.
- Oh Sansa, you are going to regret this entire scene later.
- Cersei continues to pull the best bitchfaces.
- I have concluded that I would totally watch this show if it consisted of nothing but scenes of Tyrion. I suspect I am not alone.
- Even though I hate Cersei -- a lot -- Lena Headley does a great job with her.
- Actor-who-plays-Jaime, you are a cocky bastard, but you cannot out-badass Sean Bean.
- Is Arya amazing in every scene she's in? Clearly the answer is yes.
- I like the moment of quiet affection between them, especially since we're not going to have a whole lot of opportunities to establish that. Considering.
- I'm not sure why, but the scene with Lysa's letter is falling a little flat for me. It's too slow and stately, too self-consciously dramatic. And I mean, you could levy the same thing against ASoIaF in general, but. The last two lines are awesome, though.
- I think we can all agree that GRRM's depiction of the Dothraki has a lot of problems, and that any attempt to replicate the portrait of them that he paints, particularly the one in the opening part of the book, will have the same problems. And that's all I want to say about that.
- Jorah! (Fun fact about ASoIaF: I read it in Summer-Fall 2007, right when I was knee-deep in FFXII fandom, and Dany/Jorah pings the exact same buttons for me that Ashe/Vossler does.)
- I know the book does this, and I am fairly sure the director and writers intend us to be uncomfortable with this, but it's really really hard to watch Dany in this episode. I mean, I know having her start here makes her journey over the course of the books all the more compelling and pronounced, but Dany, honey. YOU WILL BE A BADASS SOON.
- This scene. :/ Not so sure. It's still skeevy in the book, yeah, but Drogo seems to take a lot more care with her there, trying not to frighten her, trying to ease her into it, trying to make sure she feels good. It doen't erase the wrong, but it mitigates it a little, and it says alot about his character. Here, it's a lot more, well, rapey. Then again, what happens to her is uncomfortable and awful, so maybe the way they shot this scene gets that across better. I don't know. Dany's scenes are going to be hard to watch for a while, like I said.
- "The things I do for love." PERFECTION. Seriously, I love Jaime so fucking much in this. The fandom is totally going to Draco in Leather Pants him and miss why he is awesome, but oh well, them's the breaks.
- IS IT NEXT SUNDAY YET I WANT THE NEXT EPISODE
- NO REALLY
- LIKE NOW
ETA: -- wait, where's Theon? Are the Greyjoys out of the series or what?
Conclusion: There are a few choices I'm meh about, but for the most part -- seriously, the vast majority -- this show is rad as hell. I want the next episode stat, and I am not-so-sekritly planning to exploit the "if I write fic for the series I'm technically not writing fic for the book so it's okay" loophole. Sorry, GRRM. Except not.
Also, I'm going to need icons.
.