Game of Thrones: Hardhome

Submitted by TimH on

This is my first time starting a board topic - so be gentle.

I didn't see a thread for tonight's episode, and I wanted to hear others' thoughts.  I thought it was fantastic, with some great new interactions.  Tyrion and Daenerys were especially good.  The battle sequence at Hardhome was great too, and I am a big fan of Tormund now that he is the Wyndham Wyzard in the real world, so his scenes were a bonus too.  

Next episode should be intense, since the ninth episode usually has the craziest stuff.  Thoughts?

Rabbit21

June 1st, 2015 at 12:43 AM ^

Nooooo!!!!!! The fact they blew past the iron islands and Brienne's pointless wandering bullshit was one of my favorite things about the show this season and moving forward. They only have two more seasons please tell me they won't fuck around with that crap. I love Martin's writing, but there was a lot the TV show can still make right. I really don't want them to make the same mistakes.

enlightenedbum

June 1st, 2015 at 1:19 AM ^

Brienne's wandering is about two things, which are related (and a third thing, probably):

1) Just how awful the War of the Five Kings was for the smallfolk

2) Establishing why the Sparrows are suddenly a big movement with enough power to basically seize control of the church and then imprison the Queen and Queen Mother.

and 3, probably) Show us the Hound is still alive and part of the movement towards the Faith.  It shouldn't surprise anyone if he's the Faith's champion against Zombie Gregor and finally gets to resolve his whole arc.  Or die horribly freeing Cersei, depending on how the Giants did when Martin was writing that section of Winds.

Rabbit21

June 1st, 2015 at 8:29 AM ^

1)  Already established through several storylines, but given a good close-up in the Arya storyline, especially when she gets kidnapped by Gregor.  In this case I don't think it added anything.

2) Established through Cersei's chapters and could have been given more weight in the Jaime storyline as well(although that too is a lot of pointless wandering, somewhat forgiven only because he's funny).

I'll admit 3 is interesting, but am not sure we needed however many pages of Brienne's storyline to establish it.

Look, I love the books, the characters are compelling and the world is vast and rich and very well-designed and I don't begrudge anyone their enjoyment of the storylines I thought were eye-rolling wastes of time.  That said, one of the things I loved about the show this year was it's ability to act like an editor and cut through Martin's severe writer's block.  There's a lot to like about books four and five, but I feel that they are weakened by his letting the scope of the story get out of control. 

Given that there's only two seasons left after this giving any weight to storylines that have little impact on the main plot compared to their screentime seems like they're going creatively backwards and would be a disappointment.

CJRockford

May 31st, 2015 at 10:56 PM ^

The fight against the white walkers was probably one of the best scenes I've ever seen in this show (as far as battles go), it was intense, my wife was covering her eyes the whole time, and the look on the walkers face when Jon Snows sword didn't break was priceless!! Can't wait for next week!



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

MGoBender

May 31st, 2015 at 11:13 PM ^

I mean, who's to make the rules, but my suggestion is:

There's about 2-4 HUGE book things left.  Some storylines have already passed the books.  I'd say you can talk fan theory, but you should make it extremely obvious you are talking about book spoilers if you are going to reference any of those remaining big book plots.

Or, you be safe and say nothing.  Actually, probably safer to do the latter.

BornSinner

June 1st, 2015 at 4:48 AM ^

Since they left out Frostyfingers and Gargoyles, I wonder if they're gonna even bother with that "guy" if you get who I'm talking about. Varys' buddy. 

 

B/c that would throw a monkey wrench in the direction they're headed with the show vs the books. 

Ricky from Sunnyvale

June 1st, 2015 at 5:59 AM ^

I wonder if Maester Aemon foreshadowed this before he passed. Hmm john snow, dany and "the guy" become dragon riders??? idk this show is crazy. 

If they do this Varys just called check to Littlefinger in their little game of shadows or whatever.

tmzenn

May 31st, 2015 at 10:59 PM ^

That was a great episode! My heart was beating hard for the last 10 minutes. I kept thinking don't let Jon Snow die. I wonder if we will even see Bran this season? 

MGoBender

May 31st, 2015 at 11:24 PM ^

Amazing episode.  I greatly enjoyed the first 5 episodes of this season.  Like most, episode 6 was a huge downer for me and episode 7 did an OK job at recovering that.  But this episode - and the promise for the upcoming two - has be just as excited about the series as any other point.

Soooo fun to be past book material in some points and not past in others.  I'll leave it at that.

Lana of the Canals and not Cat of the Canals?  Okay.  I appreciated the quick shot of the cat running by when they first showed Arya/Cat/Lana in the canals, but why not take the name Cat like in the books?!

NJblue2

June 1st, 2015 at 12:05 AM ^

Great episode, I really thought Jon might die. I was a little sad to see the badass Wildling girl die especially so easily, I was puling for her. My favorite part was seeing Tyrion talk to Dany, I'm glad those two finally got together and I get to see Tyrion be a boss again.

michiganfanforlife

June 1st, 2015 at 12:26 AM ^

But I just sat there staring for about three minutes when it finished. Creepy, freaky, amazing, and so much fun to watch. I proceeded to text friends and family about it and had some really good discussions. Everything that has gone away from the books has been better in my opinion, and they are hitting it out of the park. There is so much to look forward to... Winter is coming.

cjmich11

June 1st, 2015 at 1:09 AM ^

Definitely the best episode so far this season in my opinion. I had high hopes for it, and it did not disappoint. That last ~15-20 minutes left my heart thumping for awhile afterwards.

chatster

June 1st, 2015 at 2:56 PM ^

MGoBlog still is the best place to try out new material before you bomb in the writers' room. . . . Well, that's another bit that WON'T be seen on TV.

EDIT Though other writers liked it, I stuck with the judgment of MGoBlog and buried it in the Comedy Bits Graveyard. Victory for MGoBlog! RIP, Arya Stark/Lana of the Canals, Insurance Agent Assassin bit.

Ricky from Sunnyvale

June 1st, 2015 at 2:44 AM ^

I was fully expecting Kanye to stroll into that battle, interrupt Jon Snow and announce that he was having another baby. 

My real thoughts perfectly described during the battle

Space Bat

June 1st, 2015 at 3:05 AM ^

Great episode! I loved all the nods to the books- Ramsay saying a feast for crows, as well as all the foreshadowing done! Also loved that we all can say for sure that Mance Is dead haha... I had such a geeky giggle when Tormund yelled out WunWun's name- as soon as I saw him in the tent I thought "that has to be WunWun"

swalburn

June 1st, 2015 at 5:59 AM ^

That was probably my favorite episode ever, and it rivaled some of my favorite movies.  The last 30 minutes were just amazing.

The Mad Hatter

June 1st, 2015 at 8:31 AM ^

Tommen might just be the most ineffectual king ever.  Say what you will about Joffrey, but if his wife and/or mother were imprisoned against his wishes, the people that arrested them would have their heads on spikes before the end of the day.

They should do a spin-off with just Dany, Varys, and Tyrion sitting around, drinking wine, and chatting.