Game of Thrones begins....

[Sophie Scholl]

Skinning a deer is gross in my opinion.  This is coming from someone whose father and uncles hunted deer and would on occasion hang them to bleed out in view.  It is especially gross to my mental processing when done in a very brutal, efficient manner.  In my opinion, the scene worked to translate Tywin as a brutal, efficient, commanding figure.  Were there other ways to establish that?  Sure.  Did this one work for me personally and some friends of mine who saw it?  Yes.  Sorry it ruined the character for you and possibly the series, but it wasn't a total failure for every person who watched it.  You may disagree, but I don't think you have any right to totally dismiss the scene and anyone who thought it worked outside of your purely personal perspective.  For those who read the books and/or know history, it can mean one thing, for those who are lacking either or both of those traits, it can mean something different.  Either way, the view you walk away with isn't necessarily "right" or "wrong" and doesn't deserve trashing and mockery for disagreement.  That is not the way of this board though, and especially of certain posters herein, so unfortunately such choices are not open to us.

[Tamas]

Not that it makes any sense to argue, since this "debate" is being continued, and will be continued until Season 5, for argument's sake, but I have drawn two conclusions from the scene:
-it would have read awful in the book
-the way the actor acted through this scene, served all the purpose the act was supposed to serve: it established Tywin as a guy who scorns and pwns the biggest badass the viewers saw until that point, like it was casual conversation. It gave a sense of Tywin's ambitions and point of view (family power above all considerations). And so on and so forth.

It is not the greatest scene of the series but fits in perfectly with the rest.

The skinning doesn't mean jackshit in a literal sense. Don't even let me start on the people here filling pages rambling about the historical and contextual validity of a noble skinning a deer, while they fly right past stuff like, a several millenia old civilization being pre-gunpowder while being able to build a huge-ass fuckin' wall of ice, and other stuff you put up with because its a great story.

You know what? If the skinning put Tywin out of place for a normal noble as you say, then all the better. When he appeared in the books, Martin did a great job of shoving it in your face how he is not your ordinary Ned Start or Jaime Lannister, or whatever nobleman. He is a class of his own. But you can't translate the text to pictures and expect the same result.
This is TV. You do stuff differently in different mediums.

So just shut the fuck up about it already its getting boring.

[Slargos]

Skinning a deer is gross in my opinion.  This is coming from someone whose father and uncles hunted deer and would on occasion hang them to bleed out in view.  It is especially gross to my mental processing when done in a very brutal, efficient manner.  In my opinion, the scene worked to translate Tywin as a brutal, efficient, commanding figure.  Were there other ways to establish that?  Sure.  Did this one work for me personally and some friends of mine who saw it?  Yes.  Sorry it ruined the character for you and possibly the series, but it wasn't a total failure for every person who watched it.  You may disagree, but I don't think you have any right to totally dismiss the scene and anyone who thought it worked outside of your purely personal perspective.  For those who read the books and/or know history, it can mean one thing, for those who are lacking either or both of those traits, it can mean something different.  Either way, the view you walk away with isn't necessarily "right" or "wrong" and doesn't deserve trashing and mockery for disagreement.  That is not the way of this board though, and especially of certain posters herein, so unfortunately such choices are not open to us.

Very well put.

I think Minsky and BA summarized my position on this issue quite well.

[grumbler]

The dialogue for one.  He is dressing down his son for the way he dealt with Tyrion's capture and his confrontation with Stark over the issue.   Perhaps if it had been a wolf or a Fish.

Also, his grandson is the heir.  At this point why is there any imagary necessary of how he is going to deal with the Baratheons since that would mean gutting and skinning his own blood. You would have to know what happens to the heir for that scene to make any sense from the Marti perspective.

I didn't mean that Tywin himself was setting up the image, I meant the writers were engaging in some foreshadowing.  Tywin doesn't need to know a thing to be the pawn in some foreshadowing.

[Martinus]

On a different note, anyone else liked the CGI of Robb spamming the North with ravens? I thought it was kinda cool.

Also, Catelyn seems Jewish. No other mother would do the "If you fail, we will all die. But, no pressure" routine so convincingly.

[Sophie Scholl]

Robb's raven mail account got hacked!  He should have never listened to that former Targaryen official who promised him a large sum of gold for only a small investment...



Catelyn is my least favorite casting choice.  She seems.... just not attractive enough.  She's a good enough actress, just not what I imagined physically.

[Martinus]

Robb's raven mail account got hacked!  He should have never listened to that former Targaryen official who promised him a large sum of gold for only a small investment...



Catelyn is my least favorite casting choice.  She seems.... just not attractive enough.  She's a good enough actress, just not what I imagined physically.

Was she attractive in the books? I think the actress is doing the right job of portraying her as this intense, focused, "family above all else" momma bear (or fish, or wolf, well you get the picture).

Lysa is also not well cast in terms of appearance (the Lysa in books was fat) but just projects the right amount of crazy.

Renly is also not cast for his looks, but does his job well.

I think Lannisters are probably the only ones flawlessly cast, appearance-wise.

[Slargos]

On a different note, anyone else liked the CGI of Robb spamming the North with ravens? I thought it was kinda cool.

It was a great scene. Glover gave just a tiny hint of a satisfied smile before replying "all of them, my lord?" Just a tiny twitch of the muscles. The man has an impressive command.

Most of the acting in this show has been very good, I think.

[The Larch]

Catelyn is my least favorite casting choice.  She seems.... just not attractive enough.  She's a good enough actress, just not what I imagined physically.

Was she attractive in the books? I think the actress is doing the right job of portraying her as this intense, focused, "family above all else" momma bear (or fish, or wolf, well you get the picture).

I think that in the books she's characterized as an aged beauty, homely but most of all motherly.

[Martinus]

Catelyn is my least favorite casting choice.  She seems.... just not attractive enough.  She's a good enough actress, just not what I imagined physically.

Was she attractive in the books? I think the actress is doing the right job of portraying her as this intense, focused, "family above all else" momma bear (or fish, or wolf, well you get the picture).

I think that in the books she's characterized as an aged beauty, homely but most of all motherly.

True, that being said don't we only see her through the eyes of her husband and children?

[Sophie Scholl]

Robb's raven mail account got hacked!  He should have never listened to that former Targaryen official who promised him a large sum of gold for only a small investment...



Catelyn is my least favorite casting choice.  She seems.... just not attractive enough.  She's a good enough actress, just not what I imagined physically.

Was she attractive in the books? I think the actress is doing the right job of portraying her as this intense, focused, "family above all else" momma bear (or fish, or wolf, well you get the picture).

Lysa is also not well cast in terms of appearance (the Lysa in books was fat) but just projects the right amount of crazy.

Renly is also not cast for his looks, but does his job well.

I think Lannisters are probably the only ones flawlessly cast, appearance-wise.

Pretty sure she was described as rather attractive on more than one occasion.  I agree with Lyssa, but her craziness trumps all, and that actress has it down rather well.  Renly also doesn't quite fit.  He isn't awful, but I was expecting someone that more resembled Robert facially, if not physically.  The Lannisters have been remarkably well cast.  My one big disappointment so far?  That there isn't a Mormont shirt available on HBO's website.  They have a lot of the families there, and more showing up, but still no Mormont.

[Martinus]

Also, is it me or does Bronn get the best one-liners?

"You didn't fight with honor!" "Yes. He did" and "And Bronn, son of..." "You wouldn't know him" must be some of the best lines in the show so far.

The first one was in the books but don't remember the second.

[Martinus]

Robb's raven mail account got hacked!  He should have never listened to that former Targaryen official who promised him a large sum of gold for only a small investment...



Catelyn is my least favorite casting choice.  She seems.... just not attractive enough.  She's a good enough actress, just not what I imagined physically.

Was she attractive in the books? I think the actress is doing the right job of portraying her as this intense, focused, "family above all else" momma bear (or fish, or wolf, well you get the picture).

Lysa is also not well cast in terms of appearance (the Lysa in books was fat) but just projects the right amount of crazy.

Renly is also not cast for his looks, but does his job well.

I think Lannisters are probably the only ones flawlessly cast, appearance-wise.

Pretty sure she was described as rather attractive on more than one occasion.  I agree with Lyssa, but her craziness trumps all, and that actress has it down rather well.  Renly also doesn't quite fit.  He isn't awful, but I was expecting someone that more resembled Robert facially, if not physically.  The Lannisters have been remarkably well cast.  My one big disappointment so far?  That there isn't a Mormont shirt available on HBO's website.  They have a lot of the families there, and more showing up, but still no Mormont.

I am not sure he does not resemble Robert. We kinda never find out how Robert would look like if he wasn't fat, aging and balding.

[Sophie Scholl]

I suppose so.  I can;t see either a thin Robert or Renly currently wielding a massive warhammer as described though.  Both actors seem too small of frame and stature.

[Martinus]

"Young Robert" (Mark Addy):



"Beardless Renly" (Gethin Anthony)



Hmm, not sure, do they look alike?

Mark Addy kinda looks like Slargos.