Terez, on 20 June 2016 - 04:42 AM, said:
HoosierDaddy, on 20 June 2016 - 04:38 AM, said:
Mmmm. That was a lovely episode.
Frankly, I don't know how to adequately deal with an actual Stark win.
Mind is blown.
That banner unfurling was lovely, wasn't it?
...
It so utterly was, and especially the understated, almost quiet offhand way they did it.
Coonass, on 20 June 2016 - 04:44 AM, said:
Instead of arrows I was expecting dogs esp when he said to remember to run. I wonder how many people are screaming that Rickon didn't zig? I'm sure there's some hate popping up
Tatterdemalion, on 20 June 2016 - 04:53 AM, said:
Immediately wanted Rickon to zig zag.
And yes, the banner unfurling feeling great.
I also expected dogs. Why would Ramsay hold them in reserve?
...
Same reaction... I know I'm overthinking it, but all he really had to do was run to one of the big flaming thingies and he would have had some cover.
As for the dogs, given how solid a plan Ramsey had for wiping out Jon's army, why waste his precious dogs or risk them getting in the way of a perfectly good massacre?
That said, Ramsey did do exactly what Sansa said he would and manipulate the fuck out of Jon, basically eliminating his entire plan for the battle.
Quote
Sansa did try to warn him that Rickon wasn't going to make it, no matter what they did.
Yep. And she was right.
Tho that probably made it even worse when Ramsey trotted him out right in front of Jon.
- Coltaine -, on 20 June 2016 - 05:00 AM, said:
Jon is surely not cold iron, he messed everything up. Stupid Jon. But Sansa is. Sansa becomes creppy in the end. But it was Ramsey. A fitting end.
So, don't follow Jon, he is a bad leader. Follow Sansa.
I think that may be exactly where this is going.
Not to mention that Sansa as Warden of the North would reflect Dany and Yara's chat very nicely.
worry, on 20 June 2016 - 08:52 AM, said:
My sense of Sansa not telling Jon about the letter-writing is that it was a power move. I don't think she thinks of Jon as an enemy by any means -- but a rival? Maybe. At the very least though she's acting in her own interests first and foremost.
Kinda. I think it was more in the nature of she didn't want to undermine Jon but took steps just in case she was right.
Tatterdemalion, on 20 June 2016 - 04:53 AM, said:
...
There was something I absolutely loved about Drogon and the other dragon floating there BURNINATING the ship while the third dragon flew loops doing its own thing. Like it just didn't feel like burning things that way.
...
I know!
When Tyrion and Dany were discussing using the Masters' fleet, I was wondering what was even left of it to use!
That scene was SO good, and completely set the dragons as the engines of destruction the books have always said they were.
SO GOOD.
Terez, on 20 June 2016 - 12:17 PM, said:
I loved Tyrion's Theon smackdown. The Dany/Asha camaraderie was good too, but Tyrion/Theon was better. I'm hoping Tyrion's banter about unoriginal dwarf jokes was a deliberate reference (on the part of the writers) to Varys's complaints about Tyrion's eunuch jokes.
Grey Worm vs the Masters was one of my favorite moments of the episode.
Both those bits were just a lovely combo of well written dialogue and perfect delivery by the actors.
QuickTidal, on 20 June 2016 - 04:07 PM, said:
That belongs amongst the very small list of a near-perfect episodes of TV. It was crafted with utter attention to detail, and a verve of storytelling (not surprising considering Sapochnik's history as a storyboarder) and probably one of the finest filmed battle sequences ever in the medium. I mean he was down in the dirt pulling off incredible snap-quick pull shots, that sweep around and keep letting off these kinetic connections like synapses firing...and yet he's not at all afraid to pull all the way back for wider medium shots for context. You never got lost in the action...which feels insane to say because he was such a fan of keeping things tight when the shit was going down. He showed an ease of impression with the pincushioning of the Stark forces, down to and including Jon being trampled underneath the vast hills of bodies.
Agreed. Everything about this was TV at its finest, fantasy TV even moreso. Loved it.
Quote
Sansa. Sweet good gods...If you had told me when I was reading like book 2 that Sansa would become one of the most badass people in the series, I might have laughed at you, but she had not just one, not two, but THREE scenes of badassery in this ep. The first being her perfect dismissal of Ramsay when he spouts off a bunch of typical nastiness...and she simply goes "You're going to die tomorrow. Enjoy your night." turns and rides away. I mean fuck. That's amazing. I love matter-of-fact stuff like that (I'm reminded of the Joker in TDK, "This city deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm gonna give it to them. You'll see, I'll show ya."). Second was her discussion with Jon about not underestimating Ramsay and not playing his game. She proved to have known what she was doing more than he did (ignoring whether or not she knew the Vale was coming, just from her general Ramsay-knowledge). Lastly, and not least, of course is the " You will be forgotten" speech. I mean, talk about a 180. This season Sansa has shown that she is as much as force to be reckoned with as her mother was, moreso even. Bravo.
I always expected that was where Sansa was going in the books, but it took the show to crystallize it in a realistic and compelling way.
Quote
Two SOARING moments, again perfectly directed, were: The Vale soldiers riding in, the banners snapping and roaring in the wind was amazing (Littlefinger I bet you feels a thousand feet tall, we'll see if that lasts), and the Bolton banners falling into mud at Winterfell, and the Stark direwolf once again riding the walls. Just fantastic.
The dragons in Mereen. I mean what's to say? That was fantasy nerd crack incarnate.
ALL THE FANTASY NERD CRACK. ALL OF IT!!!!!!
Quote
Three dragons breathing fire in controlled spews at the master's ships...and Grey Worm's fucking BADASS knifing of the two masters, combined with Tyrion's "Tell others what you have seen here, and know you live at the mercy of her Majesty."...again perfect.
I think moreso that anything else this episode is the culmination of a triumph we've all been waiting for since the mid-1990's...the first major Stark win, the first major Dany trumping of the forces arrayed against her over the narrow sea with her dragons...nasty people either getting their comeuppance (Ramsay), or that being on the horizon (Melisandre)...it all just feels like a collective breath. Which is awesome considering how breathless the entire episode is from pretty much start to finish.
Agreed on all points.
Quote
I'm wondering about Rickon's non-zigging or zagging though? Was that a character trait? Was Rickon really that dumb...or was that a fumble in the (otherwise) spotless direction?
I think that point is going to be thrown around for years to come.
It amounts to a director making the decision to go with dramatic effect over 'realism'.
Alternately, if Ric has actually been smart about zigging, Ramsey could have just called down a flight of arrows from his archers to the same effect.
Quote
Either way, Miguel Sapochnik has earned a damned place at the directors table. He's proven time and time again that he's incredible. Cannot WAIT to see what he does with the ALTERED CARBON pilot for Netflix.
I am now even MORE excited about CARBON.