Game of Thrones on HBO: non-book thread (2 Viewers)

[Deepster]

we lost the hottest chick on the show. Melisandre is now ranked #1

I'm gonna miss her bewbies.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Meh episode. It is to be expected as we have a lot of set up for the 2nd half of the season. Old lady and littlefinger still kick ### though.

I think these are the best of the series. It seems like so little is happening but I'm enthralled the entire time. Littlefinger's speech about climbing the ladder of chaos ought to give you chills. A very well done scene that quite literally painted the picture of what's happening. I'd argue that this season is among the best "set up" episodes of any series and if it doesn't make you craving the next episode...

I thought it ended well, but it started off with and contained all the stories I personally have little interest in- bran, sam, and theon. Sad to say since theon was my favorite last year. I know nobody wants to hear it here, so I will be brief: I am also struggling with the differences from the book. While I liked a lot of the "just for the show" scenes early in the series. Don't get me wrong- love the show and still very curious to see where they are taking it.

 

[KarmaPolice]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

there are so many ####in characters its insane. So that was the guy who got beheaded in the last episode son? And his brother was killed by jamie? Whats with all the theatrics? This whole time we figured he was one of robb starks men.

He's the ******* of Bolton, Ramsay Snow. As he said, he was lying about being a Karstark.

When was it established in the show who he was?

 

[culdeus]

Stark stock price has to be at near it's 52 week low right? I'm taking my profits in the dragons and trying to buy on the dip here.

I think you have the right idea but its too early for both moves. The dragons only stand to get stronger, and the Starks might have new lows.

Picked up 8.73%.

 

[Sinn Fein]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

there are so many ####in characters its insane. So that was the guy who got beheaded in the last episode son? And his brother was killed by jamie? Whats with all the theatrics? This whole time we figured he was one of robb starks men.

He's the ******* of Bolton, Ramsay Snow. As he said, he was lying about being a Karstark.

When was it established in the show who he was?

Spoiler

Its not hard to figure out from the show. I believe the show stated that Bolton's ******* went to reclaim Winterfell - so it stands to reason that the Bolton's have Theon. It should also be clear that the the guy is clearly in charge there - not just a "servant." Finally, in the episode where Theon "escapes" just before the character shoots one of the pursuers - the pursuer calls him "you little *******" - he is Bolton's *******.

 

[KarmaPolice]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

there are so many ####in characters its insane. So that was the guy who got beheaded in the last episode son? And his brother was killed by jamie? Whats with all the theatrics? This whole time we figured he was one of robb starks men.

He's the ******* of Bolton, Ramsay Snow. As he said, he was lying about being a Karstark.

When was it established in the show who he was?

Spoiler

Its not hard to figure out from the show. I believe the show stated that Bolton's ******* went to reclaim Winterfell - so it stands to reason that the Bolton's have Theon. It should also be clear that the the guy is clearly in charge there - not just a "servant." Finally, in the episode where Theon "escapes" just before the character shoots one of the pursuers - the pursuer calls him "you little *******" - he is Bolton's *******.

Fair enough. Without specifics, is this going anywhere? Is there a specific reason to do this to theon, or is he just the Joffery of the north?

 

[Sinn Fein]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

there are so many ####in characters its insane. So that was the guy who got beheaded in the last episode son? And his brother was killed by jamie? Whats with all the theatrics? This whole time we figured he was one of robb starks men.

He's the ******* of Bolton, Ramsay Snow. As he said, he was lying about being a Karstark.

When was it established in the show who he was?

Spoiler

Its not hard to figure out from the show. I believe the show stated that Bolton's ******* went to reclaim Winterfell - so it stands to reason that the Bolton's have Theon. It should also be clear that the the guy is clearly in charge there - not just a "servant." Finally, in the episode where Theon "escapes" just before the character shoots one of the pursuers - the pursuer calls him "you little *******" - he is Bolton's *******.

Fair enough. Without specifics, is this going anywhere? Is there a specific reason to do this to theon, or is he just the Joffery of the north?Some book spoilers (nothing major or earth shattering) :

Spoiler

Theon as a major player is essentially done - he is still alive at the end of Book 5 - but he is relegated to a shell of his former self - we are seeing the process of breaking him down now. A lot of what is going on now, was described in the books by looking back - i.e not a lot of commentary during the torture - only the end result. The ******* is certainly a sick individual - and is a minor character moving forward - as it relates to the control of the North. But I suspect the reason we are seeing this now - is to understand what happens to Theon, and to a lesser extent really drive home what happened at Winterfell - i.e. who burned the place down. It also underscores just how fractured the North really is right now.

 

[culdeus]

Did Snow pack a parachute or what?

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Did Snow pack a parachute or what?

Im surprised he didnt stab birdman in the face once they made it to the top of the wall

 

[mad sweeney]

Tons of wrong. It takes some serious effort to put that much thought into something and miss so much. Your whole argument falls apart when you compare it to network TV shows, especially one that are the traditional 20-24 episodes long. Its HBO. Its 10 episodes a season. Theres no comparison.

Game of Thrones Season 1, the budget came in at about 60 million. In Season 2, HBO gave an increase to about 70 million to cover the expanding cast ( even with the attrition of S1) and the huge Blackwater battle. In Season 3, rumors are the budget will hover around 70 million again. While CG and SFX is much faster and cheaper than it used to be, it's still not cheap. Even with cast attrition, the relative unknowns who started with the show will get payraises.

This isn't even considering other HBO shows, where their budgets have to take consideration too. Boardwalk Empire had a 50 million budgeted first season then S2 and 3 were rumored to push 65 million each. This isn't even discussing True Blood, where the veteran cast has grown and the existing cast again need pay raises.

HBO runs things a little differently, it "owns" all of it's own shows, which is not true for other cable channels. This means it fully controls DVDs and syndication for the future. Also it takes in the subscription money directly, unlike other cable channels. However cost over runs for the first three seasons of a show are typically handled by the production company, then transferred to the network. Unlike a lot of networks, HBO has been eating that alone this whole time.

Game of Thrones, in the HBO world, is basically a yearly big budget movie. How well is going to do year to year? Is S4 in the bag? Sure. But what about S5 and S6?

HBO shows and their survival are like any other network, it's partially dependent on the rest of the current lineup. The Wire got to finish out because many of the other HBO flagship shows had ended their broadcast run, 6FU, Sopranos and Sex And The City had run their course. Deadwood got nailed because those shows still existed at the time, and HBO could make that critical cut out of the lineup.

Right now, nothing is hotter than GOT, every hit show gets it's peak at some point in terms of buzz and fan interest. But like every other show, that buzz moves on.

Will HBO want this same show around for a 70-80 million S6 while charting Martin's unwritten terroritory while it still might be carrying other expensive period shows in the lineup?

Do you think AMC threw all that money at Matt Weiner so that he could write a couple of last season that would not get Emmy and Awards buzz for the network?

GOT has a lot of advantages that Rome did not. SFX is cheaper. It has the advantage of HBOGo to push for subscribers. It is, unlike Rome, clearly HBO's current flagship show right now. Bu there's a price on the table where everyone cashes out.

What's your point, that after the 5th season the show may be in trouble? Ok, thanks.

 

[culdeus]

GOT has one advantage in that the actors are only on screen for at most 1 hour for a season. There is nearly no overlap of the principals (yet) so they can shoot them all at once. I think they said they shot 100% of Dany's scenes in 3 days for this season. She isn't going to command 7 figures for 3 days work. Sort of the same principal as to why LOTR shot all three seasons at once. You might see them just take on the next 3 seasons all at once soon for economies of scale and then revisit in a few years.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

The budget for GOT is expanding each season. The ratings are great, the merchandise sales are great, it's getting a lot of buzz, but even shows like House and 24 ended up getting canceled, despite stellar ratings, because of cost.

The key for GOT to survive as a budget buster is to be Award worthy and an Award contender. Which is why, IMHO, Mad Men is trying to hard to cover certain issues like race relations and the black movement while the shows main characters are all written into a corner or written into a rut. Critical buzz is cache for the network and it attracts top talent to the network and has it's own "dollar value" to the HBO brand. The show needs more than Dinklage to carry the Awards part of the show.

The show is starting to separate on who can really generate an award or not.

Sansa Stark - Like watching paint dry.

Jon Snow - Maybe the worst actor on the show. The writers might keep Rose Leslie around because she is phenomenonal and carries every scene they have together.

Cersei Lannister - Mail It In Evil

Robb Stark - Eye Candy For Women Only

Dany Targaryen - It's like watching Emmitt Smith play Scrabble with Kevin Garnett.

Stannis - Servicable

Littlefinger - Functional but horribly miscast in this show.

Kat Stark - Can't seem to get over the hump between smug and self righteous, no matter what she does in a scene. Somehow was able to pull off both smug and self righteous in a scene where her crippled son in a coma was about to be murdered. How do you pull that off?

Alfie Allen/Theon - Steals every scene he is in. Absolutely every scene. His story has a built in tragedy/redemption arc within it as well. His role was probably the hardest to play in the 2nd season, you want to pity him and hate him but it's impossible to look away. The actress who plays his sisters, Gemma Whelan, is great too, that was just one brutal scene when she tells him not to die so far from home.

Maisie Williams/Arya - For a child actor, against veteran actors and against such a well written script, she bring weight to everything she does. She's outclassing veteran actors.

Diana Rigg will also probably get a nomination, but she's gotten a lot of juicy material and juicy lines.

Don't get me wrong, there is some stellar acting all the way around this show, but Allen and Williams are being showcased because HBO wants them to get an Emmy nod, which builds the show's esteem and makes it's budget easier to swallow.

Jack Gleeson/Joffrey does a great job to make you hate him, but he's only able to hit that one note but he can hit it over and over again.

NO AWARDS + HIGH BUDGET + DESPITE GOOD RATINGS = CANCELLED SHOW

lol

 

[culdeus]

I mean compare the two biggest shows right now. Downton Abbey and GOT. Downton has problems in that all their shots are ensemble. The characters all have to do stand ins for nearly every episode together. Takes a crap ton of time to shoot, and if you are a young actor even all that exposure isn't worth it for little $$$.

These GOT guys can head off to Arizona for a few days shoot 3 days and get back to whatever they are doing. The pressure to bail on the series just isn't there like it is for Downton.

 

[mad sweeney]

GOT has one advantage in that the actors are only on screen for at most 1 hour for a season. There is nearly no overlap of the principals (yet) so they can shoot them all at once. I think they said they shot 100% of Dany's scenes in 3 days for this season. She isn't going to command 7 figures for 3 days work. Sort of the same principal as to why LOTR shot all three seasons at once. You might see them just take on the next 3 seasons all at once soon for economies of scale and then revisit in a few years.

That won't happen.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

George R.R. Martin himself wrote next week's episode.

Not to discuss the books here but that doesn't mean it will be good.

He has only written two episodes so far, Baelor where Ned got chopped and Blackwater. They are the two most memorable episodes of the first two seasons. There is legit reason to be excited for next week.

Well as long as there is a legit reason.

 

[dparker713]

For the good of the board, just retire the account already.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Are we going to have to start another GoT thread?

"Game of Thrones: non-book, non-Gekko thread"?

 

[culdeus]

Are we going to have to start another GoT thread?

"Game of Thrones: non-book, non-Gekko thread"?

Says the guy that came in and pooped all over the Arrested thread.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Are we going to have to start another GoT thread?

"Game of Thrones: non-book, non-Gekko thread"?

Says the guy that came in and pooped all over the Arrested thread.

One sentence in 10 page thread that was started in 2004 = "pooped all over". OK

 

[The Gator]

Are we going to have to start another GoT thread?

"Game of Thrones: non-book, non-Gekko thread"?

Says the guy that came in and pooped all over the Arrested thread.

One sentence in 10 page thread that was started in 2004 = "pooped all over". OK

Must have been one hell of a poop

 

[The Gator]

Also where do I get French sleeves in westeros? Is that at nordstroms?Edit to addRip. ros.

Fringe sleeves

 

[Arizona Ron]

Tons of wrong. It takes some serious effort to put that much thought into something and miss so much. Your whole argument falls apart when you compare it to network TV shows, especially one that are the traditional 20-24 episodes long. Its HBO. Its 10 episodes a season. Theres no comparison.

Game of Thrones, in the HBO world, is basically a yearly big budget movie. How well is going to do year to year? Is S4 in the bag? Sure. But what about S5 and S6?

If a show makes it past 2 seasons now it's a "good run". Seriously, you're point is that it's in trouble season 5?

So many shows now get cancelled after a few episodes, let alone seasons. Hell, Seinfeld wouldn't make it past it's first season now.

 

[mad sweeney]

Tons of wrong. It takes some serious effort to put that much thought into something and miss so much. Your whole argument falls apart when you compare it to network TV shows, especially one that are the traditional 20-24 episodes long. Its HBO. Its 10 episodes a season. Theres no comparison.

Game of Thrones, in the HBO world, is basically a yearly big budget movie. How well is going to do year to year? Is S4 in the bag? Sure. But what about S5 and S6?

If a show makes it past 2 seasons now it's a "good run". Seriously, you're point is that it's in trouble season 5?

So many shows now get cancelled after a few episodes, let alone seasons. Hell, Seinfeld wouldn't make it past it's first season now.

His "point" is that it MIGHT be. Like I said, a lot of thought being put into being completely wrong.

 

[EYLive]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

there are so many ####in characters its insane. So that was the guy who got beheaded in the last episode son? And his brother was killed by jamie? Whats with all the theatrics? This whole time we figured he was one of robb starks men.

He's the ******* of Bolton, Ramsay Snow. As he said, he was lying about being a Karstark.

When was it established in the show who he was?

It's not established. And I think it's supposed to be mysterious for viewers. But there are lots of clues to the guy's identity as sweeney mentioned.

One other visual clue is two scenes after Theon is tortured, we see Jaime and Brienne talking to Lord Roose Bolton. Right behind Brienne is a big flayed man banner that looks just like the X rack Theon was tied to two scenes prior.

 

[EYLive]

When I skim over Gordon Gekko posts, I imagine a crazy homeless man screaming jibberish on a street corner.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

When I skim over Gordon Gekko posts, I imagine a crazy homeless man screaming jibberish on a street corner.

That's pretty unfair...

to the homeless.

 

[mad sweeney]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

there are so many ####in characters its insane. So that was the guy who got beheaded in the last episode son? And his brother was killed by jamie? Whats with all the theatrics? This whole time we figured he was one of robb starks men.

He's the ******* of Bolton, Ramsay Snow. As he said, he was lying about being a Karstark.

When was it established in the show who he was?

It's not established. And I think it's supposed to be mysterious for viewers. But there are lots of clues to the guy's identity as sweeney mentioned.One other visual clue is two scenes after Theon is tortured, we see Jaime and Brienne talking to Lord Roose Bolton. Right behind Brienne is a big flayed man banner that looks just like the X rack Theon was tied to two scenes prior.

Plus he was peeling the skin off Theons finger, aka flaying. The Flayed Man is their sigil. I don't think the show has deliberately confirmed it, but it should be obvious from all the ******* talk and the flaying, and who took winterfell back from the Krakens, and the flaying and such.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

What's your point, that after the 5th season the show may be in trouble? Ok, thanks.

My point is any TV show is expendable, even successful ones.

The nightmare scenario is what happened to HBO's Rome, another expensive period piece drama. Bruno Heller gets a call in the middle of producing S2, which was slated for 12 episodes. It's cut to 10 episodes and he's told after S2, it's over. He has to compress three season worth of planned material to end the storyline.

Benioff and Weiss could be told the same thing. Sorry, the new Martin book is a best seller but we don't like where the story is going budgetwise to film it, you've got the rest of S4, minus two episodes, to wrap it all up. We just had too many shows flounder recently and too many shows that cost too much right now.

There is a reason why most period piece type shows do not succeed in the mainstream, it's because it's just too damn expensive to make relative to the perceived return.

Why don't we get Sarnoff or videoguy505 to weigh in on this.

Game of Thrones is a period piece drama?

You know nothing Gordon Snow!

 

[Brady Marino]

I'd ignore gekko, but I don't like being mean to "special" people.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

What's your point, that after the 5th season the show may be in trouble? Ok, thanks.

My point is any TV show is expendable, even successful ones.

The nightmare scenario is what happened to HBO's Rome, another expensive period piece drama. Bruno Heller gets a call in the middle of producing S2, which was slated for 12 episodes. It's cut to 10 episodes and he's told after S2, it's over. He has to compress three season worth of planned material to end the storyline.

Benioff and Weiss could be told the same thing. Sorry, the new Martin book is a best seller but we don't like where the story is going budgetwise to film it, you've got the rest of S4, minus two episodes, to wrap it all up. We just had too many shows flounder recently and too many shows that cost too much right now.

There is a reason why most period piece type shows do not succeed in the mainstream, it's because it's just too damn expensive to make relative to the perceived return.

Why don't we get Sarnoff or videoguy505 to weigh in on this.

Game of Thrones is a period piece drama?

You know nothing Gordon Snow!

nobody watched Rome.

GOT viewership has doubled since season1 and its picking up steam.

 

[Christo]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

The budget for GOT is expanding each season. The ratings are great, the merchandise sales are great, it's getting a lot of buzz, but even shows like House and 24 ended up getting canceled, despite stellar ratings, because of cost.

The key for GOT to survive as a budget buster is to be Award worthy and an Award contender. Which is why, IMHO, Mad Men is trying to hard to cover certain issues like race relations and the black movement while the shows main characters are all written into a corner or written into a rut. Critical buzz is cache for the network and it attracts top talent to the network and has it's own "dollar value" to the HBO brand. The show needs more than Dinklage to carry the Awards part of the show.

The show is starting to separate on who can really generate an award or not.

Sansa Stark - Like watching paint dry.

Jon Snow - Maybe the worst actor on the show. The writers might keep Rose Leslie around because she is phenomenonal and carries every scene they have together.

Cersei Lannister - Mail It In Evil

Robb Stark - Eye Candy For Women Only

Dany Targaryen - It's like watching Emmitt Smith play Scrabble with Kevin Garnett.

Stannis - Servicable

Littlefinger - Functional but horribly miscast in this show.

Kat Stark - Can't seem to get over the hump between smug and self righteous, no matter what she does in a scene. Somehow was able to pull off both smug and self righteous in a scene where her crippled son in a coma was about to be murdered. How do you pull that off?

Alfie Allen/Theon - Steals every scene he is in. Absolutely every scene. His story has a built in tragedy/redemption arc within it as well. His role was probably the hardest to play in the 2nd season, you want to pity him and hate him but it's impossible to look away. The actress who plays his sisters, Gemma Whelan, is great too, that was just one brutal scene when she tells him not to die so far from home.

Maisie Williams/Arya - For a child actor, against veteran actors and against such a well written script, she bring weight to everything she does. She's outclassing veteran actors.

Diana Rigg will also probably get a nomination, but she's gotten a lot of juicy material and juicy lines.

Don't get me wrong, there is some stellar acting all the way around this show, but Allen and Williams are being showcased because HBO wants them to get an Emmy nod, which builds the show's esteem and makes it's budget easier to swallow.

Jack Gleeson/Joffrey does a great job to make you hate him, but he's only able to hit that one note but he can hit it over and over again.

NO AWARDS + HIGH BUDGET + DESPITE GOOD RATINGS = CANCELLED SHOW

 

[mad sweeney]

What's your point, that after the 5th season the show may be in trouble? Ok, thanks.

My point is any TV show is expendable, even successful ones. The nightmare scenario is what happened to HBO's Rome, another expensive period piece drama. Bruno Heller gets a call in the middle of producing S2, which was slated for 12 episodes. It's cut to 10 episodes and he's told after S2, it's over. He has to compress three season worth of planned material to end the storyline. Benioff and Weiss could be told the same thing. Sorry, the new Martin book is a best seller but we don't like where the story is going budgetwise to film it, you've got the rest of S4, minus two episodes, to wrap it all up. We just had too many shows flounder recently and too many shows that cost too much right now. There is a reason why most period piece type shows do not succeed in the mainstream, it's because it's just too damn expensive to make relative to the perceived return. Why don't we get Sarnoff or videoguy505 to weigh in on this.

Because everyone is capable of telling you that your theory is moronic. Rome didn't have a built in Best Seller audience in addition to regular audiences watching the show through word if mouth, so once again your comparison is asinine. Any show can be canceled, sure. Thanks for the revelation.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

What's your point, that after the 5th season the show may be in trouble? Ok, thanks.

My point is any TV show is expendable, even successful ones.

The nightmare scenario is what happened to HBO's Rome, another expensive period piece drama. Bruno Heller gets a call in the middle of producing S2, which was slated for 12 episodes. It's cut to 10 episodes and he's told after S2, it's over. He has to compress three season worth of planned material to end the storyline.

Benioff and Weiss could be told the same thing. Sorry, the new Martin book is a best seller but we don't like where the story is going budgetwise to film it, you've got the rest of S4, minus two episodes, to wrap it all up. We just had too many shows flounder recently and too many shows that cost too much right now.

There is a reason why most period piece type shows do not succeed in the mainstream, it's because it's just too damn expensive to make relative to the perceived return.

Why don't we get Sarnoff or videoguy505 to weigh in on this.

Game of Thrones is a period piece drama?

You know nothing Gordon Snow!

nobody watched Rome.

GOT viewership has doubled since season1 and its picking up steam.

Was Rome even good? Nobody watched The Wire and we still got 5 seasons out of it. I think HBO is all-in on GOT. They signed a separate development deal with GRRM for new original programming as well. I don't think GOT is going anywhere unless there are significant gaps between the seasons and books being completed.

 

[Christo]

What's your point, that after the 5th season the show may be in trouble? Ok, thanks.

My point is any TV show is expendable, even successful ones.

The nightmare scenario is what happened to HBO's Rome, another expensive period piece drama. Bruno Heller gets a call in the middle of producing S2, which was slated for 12 episodes. It's cut to 10 episodes and he's told after S2, it's over. He has to compress three season worth of planned material to end the storyline.

Benioff and Weiss could be told the same thing. Sorry, the new Martin book is a best seller but we don't like where the story is going budgetwise to film it, you've got the rest of S4, minus two episodes, to wrap it all up. We just had too many shows flounder recently and too many shows that cost too much right now.

There is a reason why most period piece type shows do not succeed in the mainstream, it's because it's just too damn expensive to make relative to the perceived return.

Why don't we get Sarnoff or videoguy505 to weigh in on this.

Game of Thrones is a period piece drama?

You know nothing Gordon Snow!

nobody watched Rome.

GOT viewership has doubled since season1 and its picking up steam.

Was Rome even good? Nobody watched The Wire and we still got 5 seasons out of it. I think HBO is all-in on GOT. They signed a separate development deal with GRRM for new original programming as well. I don't think GOT is going anywhere unless there are significant gaps between the seasons and books being completed.

I liked Rome.

 

[LAUNCH]

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/07/28/hbo-game-of-throne-cancel/

Jul 28 2011

HBO’s top executives reassured nervous critics that Game of Thrones won’t be treated like Deadwood — a serialized favorite that was cancelled without an ending.

“We told [author George R.R. Martin] we’d go as long as he keeps writing,” said HBO co-president Richard Plepler.

“I hope it lasts for 20 years,” says HBO programming president Michael Lombardo of the show. “I promise you we won’t stop it before it’s ready to stop … There’s a great relationship fans have with the show and we appreciate that. We’ve never seen people get so excited about casting [decisions].”

One critic worried about the possibility of Thrones finishing in the middle of Martin’s saga. “Nor do we expect it to,” Plepler said.

fyi

 

[Ilov80s]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

there are so many ####in characters its insane. So that was the guy who got beheaded in the last episode son? And his brother was killed by jamie? Whats with all the theatrics? This whole time we figured he was one of robb starks men.

He's the ******* of Bolton, Ramsay Snow. As he said, he was lying about being a Karstark.

When was it established in the show who he was?

It's not established. And I think it's supposed to be mysterious for viewers. But there are lots of clues to the guy's identity as sweeney mentioned.One other visual clue is two scenes after Theon is tortured, we see Jaime and Brienne talking to Lord Roose Bolton. Right behind Brienne is a big flayed man banner that looks just like the X rack Theon was tied to two scenes prior.

Plus he was peeling the skin off Theons finger, aka flaying. The Flayed Man is their sigil. I don't think the show has deliberately confirmed it, but it should be obvious from all the ******* talk and the flaying, and who took winterfell back from the Krakens, and the flaying and such.

Right, so basically there is a total takeover coming from the Boltons. Roose has Harrenhal. His son's forces have Winterfell. The ******* has Theon and knows Bran/Rickon are alive. The father has Jaime and Brienne. They have all the key players, places, and knowledge. Bolton shipping Jaime off to Kings Landing is a big move, he is partnering up with Lannisters.

 

[parrot]

sword swallower through and through

Easy the line of the night, littlefingers "The Climb" speech be damned.

Personally I liked Roose telling Jaime "I had hoped you learned your lesson about overplaying your... position."He was about to tell the guy who had just lost a hand he was overplaying his hand. That's good stuff.

 

[Doubtingthomas]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

there are so many ####in characters its insane. So that was the guy who got beheaded in the last episode son? And his brother was killed by jamie? Whats with all the theatrics? This whole time we figured he was one of robb starks men.

He's the ******* of Bolton, Ramsay Snow. As he said, he was lying about being a Karstark.

When was it established in the show who he was?

Spoiler

Its not hard to figure out from the show. I believe the show stated that Bolton's ******* went to reclaim Winterfell - so it stands to reason that the Bolton's have Theon. It should also be clear that the the guy is clearly in charge there - not just a "servant." Finally, in the episode where Theon "escapes" just before the character shoots one of the pursuers - the pursuer calls him "you little *******" - he is Bolton's *******.

Fair enough. Without specifics, is this going anywhere? Is there a specific reason to do this to theon, or is he just the Joffery of the north?Its going some where decently important I think. As of now we know the Boltons and theon are the only ones alive that know that bran and rickon are alive. Important in and of itself.

 

[Ilov80s]

sword swallower through and through

Easy the line of the night, littlefingers "The Climb" speech be damned.

Personally I liked Roose telling Jaime "I had hoped you learned your lesson about overplaying your... position."He was about to tell the guy who had just lost a hand he was overplaying his hand. That's good stuff.

Odd because him not saying it is funny, but him actually saying it is terribly unfunny.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Rome was great. Deadwood was overrated.

 

[parrot]

sword swallower through and through

Easy the line of the night, littlefingers "The Climb" speech be damned.

Personally I liked Roose telling Jaime "I had hoped you learned your lesson about overplaying your... position."He was about to tell the guy who had just lost a hand he was overplaying his hand. That's good stuff.

Odd because him not saying is funny, but him actually saying it is terribly unfunny.

Yeah, I liked the fact that caught himself at the last moment.

 

[Ilov80s]

This episode seemed to lose a lot of the momentum built up in the last couple weeks. The Theon stuff is just weird. We really have time to spend in this show to just watch Theon tortured and lied to?

The budget for GOT is expanding each season. The ratings are great, the merchandise sales are great, it's getting a lot of buzz, but even shows like House and 24 ended up getting canceled, despite stellar ratings, because of cost.

The key for GOT to survive as a budget buster is to be Award worthy and an Award contender. Which is why, IMHO, Mad Men is trying to hard to cover certain issues like race relations and the black movement while the shows main characters are all written into a corner or written into a rut. Critical buzz is cache for the network and it attracts top talent to the network and has it's own "dollar value" to the HBO brand. The show needs more than Dinklage to carry the Awards part of the show.

The show is starting to separate on who can really generate an award or not.

Sansa Stark - Like watching paint dry.

Jon Snow - Maybe the worst actor on the show. The writers might keep Rose Leslie around because she is phenomenonal and carries every scene they have together.

Cersei Lannister - Mail It In Evil

Robb Stark - Eye Candy For Women Only

Dany Targaryen - It's like watching Emmitt Smith play Scrabble with Kevin Garnett.

Stannis - Servicable

Littlefinger - Functional but horribly miscast in this show.

Kat Stark - Can't seem to get over the hump between smug and self righteous, no matter what she does in a scene. Somehow was able to pull off both smug and self righteous in a scene where her crippled son in a coma was about to be murdered. How do you pull that off?

Alfie Allen/Theon - Steals every scene he is in. Absolutely every scene. His story has a built in tragedy/redemption arc within it as well. His role was probably the hardest to play in the 2nd season, you want to pity him and hate him but it's impossible to look away. The actress who plays his sisters, Gemma Whelan, is great too, that was just one brutal scene when she tells him not to die so far from home.

Maisie Williams/Arya - For a child actor, against veteran actors and against such a well written script, she bring weight to everything she does. She's outclassing veteran actors.

Diana Rigg will also probably get a nomination, but she's gotten a lot of juicy material and juicy lines.

Don't get me wrong, there is some stellar acting all the way around this show, but Allen and Williams are being showcased because HBO wants them to get an Emmy nod, which builds the show's esteem and makes it's budget easier to swallow.

Jack Gleeson/Joffrey does a great job to make you hate him, but he's only able to hit that one note but he can hit it over and over again.

NO AWARDS + HIGH BUDGET + DESPITE GOOD RATINGS = CANCELLED SHOW

Game of Thrones can win Emmys for production, writing, directing, drama, costuming, etc. Dinklage has an Emmy from the show already. Maybe this is the year it gets hot and wins a few awards. Maybe not. Regardless, the ratings for the show have been series records each consecutive week. S2 averaged 11 million viewers when factoring in replays and On-Demand. S3 is up to 13.4 million. The show is the most popular thing HBO has done in a long time. It is driving subscriptions.

As for your comments about Alfie, I do think one of the reaons we see so much of him (even though not much is actually happening with him) is that they have this actor, he does a good job, he was a main character in S2 and I don't think the writers or producers want this quality actor under contract to just be sitting and waiting for 2 years to film another scene. Nor do the writers want to lose what they perceive to be a main character. Amongst the gigantic cast, Theon has had a lot of camera time and has a distinct storyline that the audience can easily attach to. I don't think it is a drive for an Emmy though. He won't win one with a bag over his head for the entire season.

 

[Brady Marino]

Deadwood was overrated.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Deadwood was overrated.

True story. Choked on its own shtick.

 

[Brady Marino]

Deadwood was overrated.

True story. Choked on its own shtick.

More like choked on the turrible theater angle and the rushed end to Season 3 once they realized there was no Season 4 coming.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

When I skim over Gordon Gekko posts, I imagine a crazy homeless man screaming jibberish on a street corner.

My Link.

 

[Christo]

Deadwood was overrated.

Shut your mouth.

 

[Chadstroma]

HBO cares if GoT brings in and keeps subscriptions and as long as the cost of the show is less than the value of that, it will be around. GoT is the flagship show for HBO. People do not subscribe to HBO for movies but for the shows. Rome was different because it was not seen as a primary driver to subscriptions while GoT is. Awards or not- it all depends on how HBO sees this series being a good ROI, they will keep it going. It is really that simple.

 

[mad sweeney]

Deadwood was overrated.

True story. Choked on its own shtick.

That is quite succinct and true. They got so in love with the language that they got lost in finding new ways of describing fellatio instead and drawing out every sentence with as much colorful language that the story drifted away. The first season though was phenomenal. Plus their demise was exacerbated by the head honcho getting absurdly distracted with getting John From Cincinatti up and running. It had a great theme song (Joe Strummer's Johnny Appleseed) and after that it was pretty much crap.

 

[mad sweeney]

sword swallower through and through

Easy the line of the night, littlefingers "The Climb" speech be damned.

Personally I liked Roose telling Jaime "I had hoped you learned your lesson about overplaying your... position."He was about to tell the guy who had just lost a hand he was overplaying his hand. That's good stuff.

Odd because him not saying is funny, but him actually saying it is terribly unfunny.

Yeah, I liked the fact that caught himself at the last moment.

I would say it was entirely intentional.