Game of Thrones

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

And speaking of Joffrey, a lot of HOTD's casual viewers looking for something to watch/re-watch while waiting for season 2 will surely be pissed.

Oddly fitting for Joffrey to spoil a major plot point for viewers and chuckle about it. At least it's not the ending of the story, just the war. I mean....

Spoiler

Aegon doesn't exactly outlive Rhaenyra by long, and he's in miserable pain until his last days, so it's kind of an everyone loses scenario. Also very fitting that Joffrey failed to acknowledge that part of the story.

[close]

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Preston's full season review of HOTD: https://youtu.be/sFGU8Pt3Iz0

A lot of people think that Preston is just a book purist who hates the show because he nitpicks a lot of details (mostly for humor in his weekly reviews), but I like how he points out that he's not a fan of Fire and Blood to begin with and actually gives the show props for doing it's own thing and making a mostly cohesive story out of it. And pointing out that he wouldn't criticize it so extensively if he didn't think it had any value also shows that he's not as harsh about it as his weekly reviews make him seem.

As for his criticisms, the only one I disagreed with is how Rhaenyra and Alicent didn't try to change the system that they were brought up in and instead ended up making the same mistakes as their parents. Not that he's wrong in making that observation, but that it's not a flaw at all, but one of the core points of the show's stance on how politics can change people into what they hate.

Every other criticism was on the money, though. Most notably how inconsistent the character arcs and their personal motivations and conflicts feel between time-jumps. A lot of these rivalries or mending of relationships feel so jarring most of the time because there is so much context missing. Like, one episode Viserys kicks Daemon out of King's Landing for flirting with Rhaenyra and then a few episodes later they're married under extremely controversial circumstances and he treats it like it's completely normal and they are all on good terms. How exactly did we get to that point?

[Dr. Insomniac]

Yeah, there was a Downton Abbey-ness to all the timeskips and character arcs. And even with DA, you can chalk that up to unexpected cast departures hampering the show's season plans.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Not exactly HOTD-related but since this is basically a Preston thread too, his and Carmine's top TV shows of 2022.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Jon Snow sequel's been cancelled.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, that headline quote says it all. I always thought it was a stupid idea because what story could you possibly tell with Jon Snow and the Wildlings being completely detached from the rest of Westeros and also not having any threat of White Walkers to deal with anymore. I mean, at best you could maybe try and do a Vinland Saga style story of Jon Snow trying to manage and lead the group to try and settle down in a place where they could live out their days in peace, but that wouldn't really be the story that the Game of Thrones audience (specifically the TV-only fans) would probably care for. The whole concept screams of some top executives wanting more content with one of the main stars of the show without even the slightest thought of what kind of story could actually carry an entire series.

[Dr. Insomniac]

After all these years, it's time.

Spoiler

We're finally getting payoff for Carmine and Preston having Pokemon avatars.

[close]

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Talking about the important shit here.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Not gonna lie, it is interesting watching these two, who normally talk about TV aimed at adults or at least general audiences, try to make sense of a show aimed at children. Especially Preston since he never grew up watching the anime and only really knows the games so he's asking questions like "Why is Brock always hitting on all the nurses but not Misty?" or "What was Mewtwo's problem? Why does he turn evil after only seconds of consciousness?"

[Dr. Insomniac]

Is it weird that I'm surprised the Blood and Cheese scene wasn't more graphic?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Late reply, but for as much as I rag on modern GOT content, I actually found it to be a more effective choice to show restraint in that scene and focus on the squealing sound that the Prince made as they basically sawed through his throat.

I do also think that not having to deal with anymore time-skips has improved the pacing so far. I'm not giving the show a pass on everything (I found the duel between the twins to be unintentionally funny), but I'll give credit where it's due.

[Dr. Insomniac]

[Dr. Insomniac]

I really liked this week's episode, but all the "I need to tell you why I'm continuing this conflict... I must tell you about... a song of Ice and Fire..." scenes this season are annoying at this point. Feels like the HOTD writers are doing this once a week.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Preston pointed out in his episode 3 parody review that if you actually go back to the scene where Aegon told alicent about the prophecy, there's no actual way she should confuse that for him talking about Aegon the Conqueror. He was speaking in present tense very clearly, and even Rhaenyra knew that this point of the Song of Ice and Fire was about the future of Westeros.

I also agree with his point about how if Daemon was already taking the risk of coming to King's landing in disguise and wanted Aemond assassinated, he would have been better off just doing it himself since he actually knew the layout and secret passages of the castle. Otherwise why even bother coming that far and not just send one of his contacts to get in touch with one of his trusted officers from the City Watch from back on his days serving with them?

My complaints aside, I have enjoyed this season a lot more than the first one. The lack of jarring time-jumps makes things feel a whole lot more consistent. I actually really like the stuff with Daemon going a little insane at Harrenhal because it plays into the lore of that place being haunted and cursed in a way that isn't outright confirming anything supernatural, but still gives it a mystique about it. It also does a good job of delving into his subconsious and making him a bit more complex. It's something that we would never see in GOT which was either playing it very blunt and straight or completely supernatural. This is a good in-between that fits in with the tone of this story and feels like it belongs in this Universe.

Also, really like what they have done with Aegon this season. It's refreshing that they aren't just portraying him as another Joffrey, and are nuanced enough to give him sympathetic qualities despite still being an awful person. Likewise, color me surprised, but aside from looking like an anime villain in live-action, Aemond has been a stand-out this season as well. And props where it's due on the fight between the dragons. This is how I expect a series like this to handle spectacle. It's undeniably larger-than-life stuff, but still has a bitter taste of reality to it that doesn't leave you with a good feeling for it's implications on the characters and world at large by the end of it. After stuff like the Battle of the Bastards and the Battle of Winterfell I almost forgot what this series was capable of moments like that. Brings me back to the good old days of Blackwater or those duels or skirmishes we used to see between key characters where we didn't know what the outcome would be (I mean, I knew from reading the book, but you know what I mean). It's refreshing when their is an heir of uncertainty to big event moments like this.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Wasn't feeling this week's run. Too focused on setting up the chess pieces for the season finale to make a decisive move. Reminded me a little of the Acolyte episodes I watched, where that show's too much fiddling around with chess pieces and not enough done to elevate the characters and themes beyond "The Jedi are only marginally better than the Sith and their philosophies turn out to be pretty useless when dealing with an outsider's emotional needs, in case you haven't played KOTOR 2 and didn't know that already."

And are the Greens just cool with Aemond burning Aegon, beyond a few hard stares? Criston saw him about to stab his brother to death. Or does Aemond have Ramsay's battle aura that makes his forces overlook all of that despite everything? It's not like he can call Vhagar while he's deep in the Red Keep.

I also saw quite a few fans mad at the Daemon sex scene, and I don't get it. They were fine with him having sex with his niece and having a relationship with her since she was a minor, but fucking his mom in a dream sequence is too far? Both are gross, but I'd assume the former would disgust them more.