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Post by ibbi on Aug 5, 2024 9:54:10 GMT
Yeah, I've loved this season so much, I've loved that they learned something about lighting, and I love the cast and how engagingly they bring the political intrigue bullshit to life. But this finale... Wow.
I mean, I know season 1 ended on a cliffhanger, but it was one that made sense as an endpoint to that season, a proper culmination of all that had gone on. This was just... Set-up for season 3. What a crock of shit. Last week would have made a FAR more fitting finale.
Anyway, very good Sophie's Choice scene.
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Post by Pavan on Aug 5, 2024 10:44:44 GMT
A rather dull finale except for that Daemon scene. That last scene with the two friends was beautifully executed but yeah this felt like one long trailer for next season where we will again wait till 4th episode for anything to happen.
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LaraQ
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Post by LaraQ on Aug 5, 2024 13:27:42 GMT
Agree with everyone on Twitter who said this was just a 90 minute trailer for season 3.What a letdown.
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Post by mhynson27 on Aug 5, 2024 14:37:24 GMT
At least Ramin KILLED IT with those final 5 minutes.
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Post by stephen on Aug 5, 2024 16:03:18 GMT
Honestly, I kinda liked seeing the chessboard get set up for what is sure to be an insane third season. We finally get Daemon out of his mescaline ball-tripping phase, and I gotta say, I loved the Tyland Lannister stuff. (Abigail Thorn rocketed to the top echelon of my favourite performances this season on one episode alone.)
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Post by stephen on Aug 5, 2024 16:10:34 GMT
Anyway, here's my top ten performances of the season:
1. Simon Russell Beale 2. Eve Best 3. Gayle Rankin 4. Emma D'Arcy 5. Abigail Thorn 6. Tom Glynn-Carney 7. Abubakar Salim 8. Steve Toussaint 9. Matthew Needham 10. Tom Bennett
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Post by finniussnrub on Aug 5, 2024 16:57:44 GMT
(Abigail Thorn rocketed to the top echelon of my favourite performances this season on one episode alone.) Huh, I thought would've been a terrible performance even if it had been in Xena Warrior Princess. But to each his own.
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Post by stephen on Aug 5, 2024 18:16:28 GMT
(Abigail Thorn rocketed to the top echelon of my favourite performances this season on one episode alone.) Huh, I thought would've been a terrible performance even if it had been in Xena Warrior Princess. But to each his own. I dunno, I just really enjoyed what she was bringing to that scene. I can definitely see it wearing thin in the future, but I liked the levity she and Jefferson Hall (woefully underused in this show) brought to the proceedings, and frankly I wanted much more of Tyland Lannister: International Diplomat.
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Post by mhynson27 on Aug 5, 2024 22:43:55 GMT
Yeah, I wasn't feeling Thorn AT ALL.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Aug 14, 2024 0:01:15 GMT
okay, I don't want to jinx myself because a lot can happen in 5 eps, but I just finished episode 3 "The Burning Mill" and am thoroughly riveted so far. I'm glad I'm binging it, but I'm also glad we're in a consistent forward-moving narrative without a massive time jump every couple of episodes. The pace has definitely slowed down, and that's definitely for the better.
also, opening credits are way cooler than S1.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Aug 18, 2024 19:59:13 GMT
well damn, that was a pretty terrific season of TV. The finale carries through on the GoT tradition of penultimate eps being the climax and the actual finales being the comedown and laying the groundwork for the next season. People saying it was 70 minutes of teasing/setting up Season 3... yes... that's exactly what it is, and that's what most GoT finales have always been. And it does follow through on some important plot-points (Daemon, Rhaenyra v. Allicent, Aegon's next steps), so to say it doesn't wrap anything up or hit significant plot points is wrong. It's a good finale. Not great but good. as for the season as a whole, I'll start with what I didn't like:
-- part of this is my fault, but I still don't remember who everyone is or how they're related. Everyone in this show is someone else's sibling, child, uncle, bastard or long-lost freaking cousin. And I'm embarrassed to admit this but I didn't even realize Ulf and Hugh were different people until the finale. Were they even in Season 1? -- Daemon's Harrenhal visions and anticlimactic recommittal to Rhaenyra. Daemon's whiny pining for the throne was boring in S1 but it was a potential source of conflict that *could* be interesting. I mean political conflict is exactly what drives GoT drama, so to spend a whole season eliminating that potential source of conflict for Daemon (esp. via drawn-out and painfully literal dreams and visions) renders him even less interesting. And what a waste of Milly Alcock! -- Gee, they really should've had a vetting process for finding dragonriders so they wouldn't get stuck with an asshole, and maybe the applicants have individual one-on-one interviews with the dragons so they don't all get immolated at the same time -- Eight eps is too short. Give me MORE what I liked/loved:-- this is the most obvious one, but having an entire season with the same cast and characters was so fucking refreshing after the time jumps and cast changes of season 1. As a viewer it was easier to settle in with the story and performances and it felt a lot more like watching an average GoT season with consistent forward-moving plot progression over a limited time span. You feel like events are building toward something instead of just happening and the story moving beyond them to something else. Everything feels more dramatically connected. -- the acting. Great in S1, every bit as strong in S2. D'Arcy and Cooke on point, Beale a fun addition, Rhys Ifans more impactful in a smaller dose, more Matthew Needham is always appreciated, and Tom Glynn-Carney is doing a remarkable job making a simpering asshole surprisingly sympathetic (and fun to watch! he was totally channeling Tom Hulce's laugh in that brothel scene). -- the buildup. This stuff is a layup that S1 missed with all its time jumps, but S2 does a really good job in every episode (esp in the first half) escalating the political tension. To go from Blood and Cheese in ep 1 to Aegon's brutal response in ep 2 to the feuding Riverlands clans slaughtering each other in the blood-soaked first scenes in ep 3. Bloodshed leads to more bloodshed leads to more bloodshed. It feels bad in a satisfying way, the way Red Wedding or Snake & the Mountain felt bad. Not to that level because I haven't had enough time to really fall in love with the HotD characters yet (with the exception of my Queen Rhaenyra - long may she reign), but it's definitely moving in the right direction. Gimme that misery porn. -- Allicent's mixed motivations are so compelling. One of my favorite moments was the climax of ep 3 "Burning Mill" where she and Rhaenyra clash about Viserys' dying words, and Allicent discovers her mistake. God what a great moment, and what a great moment later when she vies to be Queen Regent and the council votes against her to go with Aemond and the camera just lingers on her stunned face as the men keep talking around her (she feels truly alone and more aware than ever that she's fucked everything up). I ended S1 feeling like she was grasping for power and S2 recontextualizes everything really tragically. Bring on Season 3
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Aug 18, 2024 21:28:53 GMT
episode ratings: 1. "A Son for A Son" - Strong opener that immediately kicks the conflict into high gear. I know ppl were disappointed with Blood and Cheese but this is where being a non-bookreader was a positive. I thought the climax was adequately chilling. 8.5/10
2. "Rhaenyra the Cruel" - Tension escalates, Criston spirals, Aegon spirals, Arryk v. Erryk, the grotesque spectacle of the funeral co-opting Helaena's grief for political gain, Rhys Ifans being a stone-cold badass. Lots of buildup. In every scene you felt that things are getting worse and worse. Best ep of the season. 9/10
3. "The Burning Mill" - another killer ep. Introduces the Brackens and Blackwoods, Aegon goes full Tom Hulce and cackles his way through a brothel, Simon Russell Beale makes his first appearance as Simon Strong, and of course, that riveting climactic confrontation. 8.5/10
4. "The Red Dragon and the Gold" - Hot-take I know, but this wasn't really the standout ep to me that everyone else thought it was. I do tend to prefer the dialogue-driven eps than the CGI dragon-driven ones, and I was disappointed to see that particular character go having not seen nearly enough of them in either season. But still a strong ep. 8/10
5. "Regent" - Slowing down a bit too much at this point. De-escalated relative to the earth-shattering events of ep. 4. Most memorable moment of the ep was the small council meeting in King's Landing. Brilliantly directed and acted. 7.5/10
6. "Smallfolk" - Lots of Allicent this ep and it does a good job demonstrating the growing unease and hostility among the smallfolk in King's Landing. Has a great scene of explosive upheaval that reminded me of GoT and had me really worried for a sec. Perennially creepy Larys is also humanized in his scenes with Aegon and Rhaenyra smacking that prattling idiot was incredibly satisfying. 8/10
7. "The Red Sowing" - Like it a lot. There's some awkwardness in Rhaenyra running the dragonseed project like a job hunt, sending out applications and having a group interview lol. Buuut, I love Oscar Tully, Addam of Hull, the Aegon/Larys scenes, Jacaerys and Rhaenyra having it out, that stunning Vermithor reveal. 8.5/10
8. "The Queen Who Ever Was" - Maybe I had lower expectations because of the mixed feedback but I just kept finding things to like. Aemond has gone fully over the edge, Larys gentle-parenting Aegon, Ulf being a dick at the Queen's table (this is why they needed a vetting process!), and that climactic convo between the two leads which confirms there's no way out of this mess without more bloodshed and tragedy and loss. D'Arcy and Cooke knock it out of the park and so does Ramin Djawadi. 8/10
top 8 main cast 1. Emma D'Arcy 2. Olivia Cooke 3. Tom Glynn-Carney 4. Matthew Needham 5. Simon Russell Beale 6. Eve Best 7. Harry Collett 8. Phia Saban
fav guests/recurring perfs 1. Rhys Ifans 2. Archie Barnes 3. Abigail Thorn 4. Luke & Elliott Tittensor 5. Tom Taylor
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Archie
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Post by Archie on Aug 25, 2024 15:36:26 GMT
I just want to say that this is one of the worst adaptations I've ever seen. Fire and Blood isn't anything great, but this is still a massive fucking insult to the source material. At least D&D had 4 very good and (mostly) faithful seasons. Condal and Hess couldn't even do that. World's most expensive fanfiction. I've never seen such gross misunderstanding of an already written story in my entire life. The Rhaenyra/Alicent dynamic and characterization in particular is so fucking insulting and nonsensical. I have no sympathy for lazy ass GRRM, but no wonder he's fucking pissed.
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Post by stephen on Aug 25, 2024 21:03:34 GMT
Again, Martin has no room to complain. First off, he got his start in television. He knows intimately how the sausage is made. He can't be surprised to know that hey, sometimes you have to make changes to fit the medium of television. And look, I understand the complaints on some of the character changes (although I think a lot of it is very overblown), but the fact is that they're adapting two novellas and a World Book, all of which are told in an unreliable perspective. Nothing about the Dance is written in a definitive fashion because Martin can't fucking finish a story and reveal all of the secrets, because they're all tangled up with the Dunk and Egg stories or the Song of Ice and Fire series as a whole.
Don't fucking worry about the TV adaptation mucking up your unfinished work. Finish the fucking books, then you can sit on your pile of money and complain about them changing your work in between watching Jets games.
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Post by Archie on Sept 4, 2024 16:13:35 GMT
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Post by stephen on Sept 4, 2024 16:22:03 GMT
Words are wind, George. Words are wind.
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Post by ibbi on Sept 4, 2024 16:55:39 GMT
I just want to say that this is one of the worst adaptations I've ever seen. I THOUGHT YOU STOPPED WATCHING AFTER EPISODE 1! With no attachment to the source material, I think season 2 was a massive improvement over season 1 in almost every way until its finale. Good/faithful should not be used interchangeably, this isn't a marriage. His outrage is understandable, and absurd. Though him getting back to the books (spinoffs, I'm sure) doesn't sound like it would be a terrible idea. No matter how good or bad these things are they will still draw people to his writing, which should ultimately be what matters most to anyone who hasn't yet entirely sold their soul to television.
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Post by stephen on Sept 4, 2024 17:00:45 GMT
I just want to say that this is one of the worst adaptations I've ever seen. I THOUGHT YOU STOPPED WATCHING AFTER EPISODE 1! With no attachment to the source material, I think season 2 was a massive improvement over season 1 in almost every way until its finale. Good/faithful should not be used interchangeably, this isn't a marriage. His outrage is understandable, and absurd. Though him getting back to the books (spinoffs, I'm sure) doesn't sound like it would be a terrible idea. No matter how good or bad these things are they will still draw people to his writing, which should ultimately be what matters most to anyone who hasn't yet entirely sold their soul to television. I think it's hilarious that he says "I think it was better in the books." No shit, George -- of course you think that. I get his frustration, but maybe he should channel that frustration into something more productive than just adding to the outcry.
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Post by Archie on Sept 4, 2024 17:09:32 GMT
I just want to say that this is one of the worst adaptations I've ever seen. I THOUGHT YOU STOPPED WATCHING AFTER EPISODE 1! What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment and pain. And there is nothing more painful to me than any scene with the show's version of Alicent "please kill my family" Hightower. I sure as fuck am not coming back for season 3 though. Big thanks to GURM for spoiling it.
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Post by ibbi on Sept 4, 2024 17:22:55 GMT
I sure as fuck am not coming back for season 3 though.
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Post by Archie on Sept 4, 2024 18:04:08 GMT
Looks like he already deleted it lol.
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Post by stephen on Sept 4, 2024 18:56:53 GMT
Looks like he already deleted it lol. Taking it down doesn't do shit -- it's forever out there in the ether.
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