It had a LOT of shit to cover in order to get us bought into this season... Recap for the morons that don't remember what happened last year, as well as set up a bunch of stuff that diverges radically from the books, and basically kicks off the many storylines that will be played out for the season. I thought it did all of that very, very well. It's the appetizer you need before the main course.
Sort of exactly what I was getting at. It was a great app for the main course, and realistically, I couldn't have expected better. I was just sort of hoping (again, unrealistically), that it would start with Melisandre reviving Jon Snow and then we'd go from there. The morning show I listen to, one of the guys called it "a truly great episode, one of the best". And I just felt it was a little lacklustre. I guess I can't expect a "Battle of the blackwater" every time. I'm as satisfied as I expected to be, but not as much as I hoped to be. Does that make sense?
Well, DUH, of course everyone wants Jon Snow revived... so what do you think the ONE thing that they won't give you will be? It wasn't great, it was acceptable... maybe even required... to set up what could be a great season. I enjoyed it immensely, but more for expecting what it was setting up than for what it was.
That's been a problem in a lot of the more recent episodes. They're cramming a lot into so little time, and I'm not sure if ten episodes is enough for a season at this point. I think they're also running into some of the same problems Martin has later in the series. The world is getting too big and there's so many plot lines that have spiraled off it's hard to do all of them justice. It feels like they're cramming major events into stories that get like 5 minutes of screen time an episode and as a result they're starting to lose effect. Take Doran getting axed last episode. He was a character I really liked in the books, but the scene just had no impact on me. Partially because the show devoted less time to him, but also because we've had a year off and as soon as the show comes back on he's getting killed off. I hope there's some fall out there because the coup just looked too easy. No one in Dorne has a problem with this except one guy who takes a knife in the back? I just find it hard to believe all of Dorne wants to see him go for not being vengeful enough when he was an otherwise very good ruler. Hopefully there's something planned there. It's the exact sort of thing Martin would never do, but the show writers tend to be sloppy about. Overall, I thought it was an ok episode. I agree, it's mostly just setting the stage for the season's direction so it wasn't meant to be a spectacular seat gripping ride. Maybe now that it's out of the way they can break these story lines up in the ensuing episodes. Cover 3 in better depth in one episode, 3-4 in the next, etc until they pull back into each other.
Spoiler: Spoiler I thought it would be hilarious if Jon came back in ghost's body and the rest of his leadership was conducted like lassy. "What's that Jon? White Walkers are attacking the old well? Let's go!"
All I could think of leading up to that was Miracle Max in The Princess Bride, where he's explaining that your friend here is only mostly dead, not all dead. I really hope that joke was made on set when there were filming it. Also, what does everyone think...is he ACTUALLY alive, or is he some undead ghoul that will make them curse the black magic that resurrected him?
It was an ok episode, not spectacular, but I found the scene with Roose really lame. His whole thing is emotionless calculation and he didn't see that coming? It felt cheap.
Decent episode up until the last scene. Still, Carice Van Houten is so hot I'd bang the real Mel if it meant a crack at the fake one. Jon's coming back was abrupt and kind of idiotic, really. Ramsay killing Roose was expected, now he has nobody to leash him. I expect the Ironborn to attack something random, they keep them in the story besides the fact they've done nothing for four years. I want Frankenmountain to start fucking up the Friar's club. They've long expired their use on this show.
Thats what I was wondering. Since they obviously didnt do Lady Stoneheart (yet), maybe they'll do the resurrected Jon Snow similar to that? Also, I wonder if this puts the whole Tower of Joy thing into play now. Can someone refresh me on that? How did he turn into Jason X? I cant remember what happened to him. I enjoyed the episode. I could have done without the close ups of Jon Snow's dick bulge under the loin cloth, but yanno.
The Mountain was killed in the fight with Martel by a poisoned blade and turned into Cersei's undead slave by the former Grandmeister (the one who fixed up Jamie's hand at Harrenhal). It didn't show much of the "experiment" except him getting his blood drained from his body.
In the fight where he crushed Pablo McSexy-Dornish-Guy's head with his hands, he got cut with said guy's poisened spear. He pretty much died, but was rescued from the brink by Cersei's version of Kreeger from Archer, Maester Somethingorother. So now he's basically a Mountain-shaped Lich, obedient to the Queen of incest.
I love that Max Von Sydow is the cast, he's one of the all-time best, but Bran's story is STILL not interesting after hibernating for a year. I think Von Sydow is the Night's King, and he used those parkour zombies is season 4 to chase Bran into the cave.
I am still confused why Tommen's pussy ass just doesn't order his armies to kill every Friar Tuck in the city. In a show where men die for trivial or no reasons at all, a group of religious fanatics take the queen and the Kings mother and nothing happens? This storyline makes zero sense to me.
Very disapointing they took him out like this. Did they ever mention Lord Bolton's orignal true born son in the show? His line "You'll always be the first born" made no sense in that light. For a brooding stone cold tactician, having your maniac bastard around when your wife is about to give birth makes no sense. I wonder how much input GRRM has on these storylines? I mean they've always talked about having his outlines for the next book but I wonder how autonomous the producers of the show really are? Some of the descions made this season don't feel up to GRRM quality. Looks like the Iron Islands stuff could be good. I had money that Ian McShane was going to be the Crow's Eye. Maybe the other brother?
I suppose it would make more sense in the books considering that Tommen is still a child there. The show aged up the children to make the sex stuff less squicky, but some of the things they do make a lot less sense given their new ages, and I imagine that some of it is hard to fix without making a major departure from GRRM's plot outline.
Bran had sent him with Osha to House Umber for help since they were loyal to the Starks, which turns out they werent when Lord Umber hands them over to Ramsay. Im guessing thats why the episode was called "Oathbreaker." Fans are apparently not pleased with it, because it doesnt make a lot of sense for House Umber to betray them. I guess the running theory (12 hours later) is that is a double-cross by House Umber. Either way, I'm guessing the season ends with Jon Snow leading a battle against Ramsay Bolton.
Keeping in mind I've never read a word of the books...from half way through Season 1, I suspected that Jon Snow is not Ned Stark's son. I think Jon Snow might be the actual heir to the Iron Throne. And what about the White Walkers? They're just waiting patiently at the gate?