Game of Thrones TV Thread **HBO-Purists ONLY**

[Fielmann]

One thing I really like about this series is the fact that it's not overly concerned about advancing the plot and instead takes its time to just enjoy itself. (The pushing of chairs by Cersei and Tyrion some 4-6 episodes ago comes to mind, but there are really many scenes like that.)

That said, this episode wasn't spectacular, but that was also expected.

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In the end I like the way Tyrion was handled this season. As I have expressed before he is one of the most fundamentally tragic characters of the show and this last episode did a good work in developing his conflicts. I guess the transition from action-centred Tyrion we saw in the first two seasons was a bit unexpected, which is why his storyline seemed boring and "stuck" in the middle of this season, but it all makes sense now.

I don't quite understand the significance of Shae vs lord Varys scene. Was her "he can tell me so himself!" supposed to mean that she suspects Tyrion sent Varys? In any case we can be sure that she won't be as boring and unnecessary next season.

Bran will probably be more interesting next season too, now that they're finally beyond the wall.

Arya's storyline obviously went from good to awesome. What I especially like is that her awesomeness is completely believable and motivated.

Ygritte's way of saying good-bye was convincing. We probably won't see her for a while.

In Theon's scene, once again, nothing happened that hadn't happened there two or three times before. Fortunately his scenes (unlike Bran's scenes for example) are fun to watch because of the situation, dialogue and acting. (See also the first paragraph in this post.) (As a side note, I think Bolton's son's letter to Greyjoy was surprising vulgar for his standards, though it was probably optimal for the purpose.)

Dany's scene was ridiculous. In a lot of ways, her storyline this season was like that of Theon's, i.e. lots of absurd sameness. I hope next season something will arise between her companions at least. There is some potential as they all are very interesting characters and there are at least two or three big reasons for conflicts between them.

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I have to think hard about what to do the next forty or so Monday mornings.

[jackvance]

Seriously, I may be a bit biased because I'm such a fantasy buff, but I find this the best series (including movies and any sort of other media) that I have seen.

[Penneywize]

Seriously, I may be a bit biased because I'm such a fantasy buff, but I find this the best series (including movies and any sort of other media) that I have seen.

I was saying that after the second season started. I remember having an argument with a book reader friend of mine, along with anotehr guy who'd only seen the show. The hypothetical was: if you had to permanently erase from your memory (and, implicitly, you could never watch / read the show/movie/book ever again) which would you choose, Game of Thrones, or the Lord of the Rings trilogy?

I told them I would choose to 'delete' LoTR; it wasn't even close. Game of Thrones wins big time. Just the simple fact that there really isn't any sort of "black and white"; every house, every character is some shade of grey, imperfect. Some worse than others, granted. In LoTR, you have a clear-cut good-vs-evil dynamic. You know who's going to win. There is never really any doubt. You can enjoy the fight scenes, sure. But there's no real intrigue.

The other two pricks said they would choose to get rid of Game of Thrones. Yes, that includes the book reader. I told them they should get over the fond memories they have of LoTR from their teens or childhood or whatever. It's really not that great of a story. If you're reading this and you don't agree with me, give it another watch.

At any rate; I got what I expected out of this last episode. With the plot advancing so quickly in Ep. 9, you had to think they were going to take one episode to "wrap up loose ends" and set up the next season.

One thing I dislike, and continue to dislike, is how the show runners like to skip important scenes where Tyrion breaks news to Sansa.