Game of Thrones begins....

[Habbaku]

Why would you think the end of season 2 was the end of book 3?

[Habbaku]

Huh.

The House of the Undying was, well, pretty badly done all the way around.

Yep.  Ditto the Jon scene with Qhorin.  While briefly explained, there was zero emotional heft in the death of Qhorin as there should have been.  Overall, the episode was a fairly weak example of the season though it did have a few saving graces.  I thought the Stannis/Melisandre scene was excellent, especially Dillane's portion and the subtle musical touches during the flame-gazing. 

Tyrion's scene was whatever, Roz and Varys seemingly pointless (they'll get around to using her for something of meaning any day now...), Arya's perfunctory, but neat, Robb's wedding abbreviated, but important...

Overall, a pretty whimpery way to end the season, aside from the introduction of HBO's The Walking Dead, which I thought was pretty well handled.

[jimmy olsen]

Producers signed on with HBO through season 4 

http://winteriscoming.net/2012/06/season-two-finale-tops-4mil-viewers-sets-new-series-high/

[Josquius]

You know you're a books reader when....
At Robbs wedding I was just going "Huh? Why is he having a new gods wedding when he follows the old gods and she follows some foreign gods?"

I think he follows the old anyway....pretty sure it was just Sansa picked up her mothers new ones, ould be mis-remembering

[Viking]

You know you're a books reader when....
At Robbs wedding I was just going "Huh? Why is he having a new gods wedding when he follows the old gods and she follows some foreign gods?"

I think he follows the old anyway....pretty sure it was just Sansa picked up her mothers new ones, ould be mis-remembering

1 - Robb follows both the old and the new. His mother is very 7 friendly.
2 - I'm baffled that a 7 marriage happens in front of a tree. Surely it would happen in a Sept. The old rites were in front of trees so the new ones must either take over the trees or do something different, they did something different.
3 - I'm annoyed that Shae and Jeyne are made some sort of eastern exotic enchantresses with fuzzy backgrounds.

That said, the season is over and I return to saving all my rage for Martin's high colesterol diet and procrastination.

[Josquius]

Dani in the warlocks tower was both cool and dissapointing.
Dissapointing in that yeah, the wee dragons having such super fire power and killing the wizard in such a way- though it does sort of make sense, it being magical dragon fire and not real fire, that it would kill him so easily.
Also the number of doors she looked through was severely cut off. This would have been the perfect opportunity to show an Aerys or Rhaegar flashback. Also the lack of the cryptic Red Wedding prediction was a pain. Though the prediction they did show was rather cool- a ruined throne room at King's Landing consumed by winter. Presumably a very bad possible future where the white walkers win. I didn't quite get her then leaving the wall...I presme they wanted to use that special effects shot again.

[Viking]

Dani in the warlocks tower was both cool and dissapointing.
Dissapointing in that yeah, the wee dragons having such super fire power and killing the wizard in such a way- though it does sort of make sense, it being magical dragon fire and not real fire, that it would kill him so easily.
Also the number of doors she looked through was severely cut off. This would have been the perfect opportunity to show an Aerys or Rhaegar flashback. Also the lack of the cryptic Red Wedding prediction was a pain. Though the prediction they did show was rather cool- a ruined throne room at King's Landing consumed by winter. Presumably a very bad possible future where the white walkers win. I didn't quite get her then leaving the wall...I presme they wanted to use that special effects shot again.

I can't but help think that doing the full house of the undying from the books would take a 2 hours episode just for dany. I think D&D did this as well as could be expected. Dany will leave Qarth with a bit more cash than she arrived, presumably a small ship (given the discussion between dany and jorah when they raid Xaro Xoan Daxos house) and the Storm of Swords pt1 season will start with Dany getting on a boat with her little khalasar headed for pentos and having Jorah arguing for a detour to Yeetee to pick up some unsullied.

The warlocks are pissed and want revenge, so with Xaro Xoan Daxos and The Quaithe still has plans for her. She is on a boat headed west. That was the end result of the Qarth episode in the books.

Martin keeps using the metaphor of a road trip to LA where he knows his destination and major stops but is flexible about which road he will take to explain the books he is writing and it seems D&D have taken that metaphor and run with it. They are keeping with the major touch stones of the story but are playing with the details between to make the show work better on TV and possibly to give the bookwalkers eastereggs.

Just thinking about Jeyne. What matters with her is that she is noble, so must be married and can't just be cast off, that she has magical blood and her maternal line has seeresses. As long as she fills those criteria she can be presented differently. If that saves screen time, location costs, staff costs and lowers the requirements of the attention and comprehension of the audience then they can do that safely.

[Martinus]

Seconded.

[MadImmortalMan]

Just thinking about Jeyne. What matters with her is that she is noble, so must be married and can't just be cast off, that she has magical blood and her maternal line has seeresses. As long as she fills those criteria she can be presented differently. If that saves screen time, location costs, staff costs and lowers the requirements of the attention and comprehension of the audience then they can do that safely.

I have to watch again because I missed it, but is she actually Jeyne Westerling?

[Viking]

Just thinking about Jeyne. What matters with her is that she is noble, so must be married and can't just be cast off, that she has magical blood and her maternal line has seeresses. As long as she fills those criteria she can be presented differently. If that saves screen time, location costs, staff costs and lowers the requirements of the attention and comprehension of the audience then they can do that safely.

I have to watch again because I missed it, but is she actually Jeyne Westerling?

No, she is Talisa Maege

[viper37]

Maegyr, actually.
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Talisa

I really thought it was Jeyne Westerling disguised as a commoner.

[Viking]

Maegyr, actually.
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Talisa

I really thought it was Jeyne Westerling disguised as a commoner.

Is she a Tamasite Gypsy? Never!

There was a suggestion of going to the Crag with Robb but iirc she avoided the trip despite her knowing what the Crag's maester had to give to Robb.

[grumbler]

Maegyr, actually.
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Talisa

I really thought it was Jeyne Westerling disguised as a commoner.

Same.

As it is i the TV series, there isn't a reason why Robb cannot just keep her as a concubine.  It was her birth and status in Robb's worldview that made him marry Jeyne Westerling.

[grumbler]

Huh.

The House of the Undying was, well, pretty badly done all the way around.

It really did not make any sense - my wife (who only read the first book) had no freaking idea what that was all about.

1. Daeny goes into tower.
2. Daeny wanders about in snow. Snow?
3. Daeny sees her dead husband and dead child. So sad.
4. ???
5. Daeny is chained up? WTF? Did we miss something?
6. Daeny's dragon burn up the warlock. What? How? Why did he just stand there while they kill him? Huh?
7. Daeny is free! Yeah!

The entire episode felt very, very rushed, and yet they spent a (relative) lot of time on stuff that seemed superfluous, like Robb's conversation with his mother, and Stannis' with Melisandre.

I am gonna go against the tide and disagree.  The scenes between Robb and his mother, and Stannis and Melisandre, were essential to set up what comes next.  Stannis won't give up, despite suffering what would by any logic be a crippling blow.  Why?  Because he becomes a true believer.  Robb will piss off the Freys.  Why?  because he is truly in love.  These things needed to be said.

I also thought the House of the Undying bit was about as well-done as you could expect in TV.  Dany is given the chance to pretend she is with her beloved, and turns it down (in spite of the fact that the vision shows her hopes are futile as the Iron Throne room is destroyed and Westeros enveloped in winter - some of the worst fake snow I have seen on TV, btw),  and turns it down under the call of her dragons.  As the ep shows, Targaryans with dragons are unbeatable.

The overall bit with John was not well done either, IMO. In the books, it is clear why Qorin and John are fighting, and what Qorin is trying to accomplish. The show seemed confusing - again, my wife was all "Why is Qorin attacking him? How does he know John is a traitor? What?".

Agree.  The Tyrion chitchat business and Dany moaning in ep 8 could have been spent setting this up.  Also, how did Qorin draw the breath to say his long dying line with a sword through his lungs?  That was kinda silly.

Compared to the way season 1 ended, this was hugely disappointing, IMO.

I thought it was a good ep overall, with some questionable directional choices.  The zombies at the end were almost laughably unscary.  After the buildup they had been given, seeing them clearly was anticlimactic to the max.

Of course the ep couldn't match "they killed my nigger Ned!"  Once you play that card, it never has the same impact again.

[jimmy olsen]

Maegyr, actually.
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Talisa

I really thought it was Jeyne Westerling disguised as a commoner.

Is she a Tamasite Gypsy? Never!

There was a suggestion of going to the Crag with Robb but iirc she avoided the trip despite her knowing what the Crag's maester had to give to Robb.

The Crag incident is what makes me think she really is Jeyne. She's just in on the plot rather than another innocent bystander here.