Watching Monday
Jun. 16th, 2014 03:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brigdhGame of Thrones
Uuuuuugh more Jon Snow. I thought last week would have been a great place to leave him for the season, especially considering how much else has to happen in this episode.
"Grenn came from a farm" is a fantastic line and point. I don't like how the show made whether or not Jon would kill Mance all about if Jon is man enough/honorable enough/whatever, instead of what's right. I mean, it's not about Jon as an individual - or shouldn't be - the camera dwelling on his face, dramatic music, ~can you do it~ - it's about the larger issue of political and ethical choices. Or I want it to be, at least.
Ughhhh, when they put the Jorah betrayal two weeks ago, I was afraid this was going to be Dany's big season finale. I feel like the show has either entirely skipped or incredibly minimized all of her failures in ruling. We've set up her white-savior trope, but have not at all subverted it, which I feel like is the more important half of that storyline. The show seems to be skipping all her more realistic troubles so we can race ahead to Dramatic Dragon Angst, but all the metaphorical meaning of her locking up her dragons comes out of her non-fantastical failure to rule, to be a Queen, to be other than "fire and blood". You can't just skip it and have the same story, even if many of the beats are similar. Also I really need the critique of the white savior, jesus christ.
Whoa, Jojen died, WHAT IS HAPPEN. I mean, I was of the theory that he died soon after in the books, but I'm still surprised by this.
Whoa, Brienne/Arya meeting! Whoa, Brienne/Hound fight! I'm pretty okay with Brienne's fight with... Biter? Whoever it was whose ear she bit off, being combined into this fight with the Hound, but I feel like we've almost run out of plot for her. All that's left, really, is for her to meet Lady Stoneheart (who I can't believe wasn't in this episode! I was so sure she would be the dramatic final shot!), and that can't take more than an episode or two. Whereas some characters - Jon and Arya in particular - easily have a whole season's worth of plot to get through before catching up with the books. It's so imbalanced. At least we still got the Hound asking Arya to kill him! I was afraid for a moment that would be cut.
No Tysha conversation? WHAAAT. I feel like Tyrion cutting ties with his whole family - not just Tywin and Cersei - is really important, and now there's no reason for that. I have so many issues with TV!Shae - who I feel was characterized very differently from book!Shae - abruptly dropping back into book!Shae's plot, without some reason to explain it. I'm not surprised that the show went ahead and killed her, as previously episodes were really clearly leading to that, but I'm still upset about it. Also I've been looking forward to Tywin's death for ages, and feel let down. It was just so... undramatic. I don't know why, exactly, but it didn't have the weight it did in the book, to me. Not at all a rousing finale.
Penny Dreadful
Aww, Ethan/Brona (is that how you spell her name?) is kind of sweet here. I really want her to not die. But are we not going to address Ethan/Dorian?
You know, I had high hopes from the first actress/Caliban scene that the show was going to subvert the whole "monster demands a mate be created" trope, and instead he would work on a normal relationship, but alas, that does not seem to be the case.
Convenient that the vampires waited to wake up until Malcolm had checked them all for Mina-ness!
Man, Ethan calling out Malcom to point out that Brona deserves dignity and a choice was AWESOME.
Is Dorian Grey's entire role on this show to eventually have sex with every cast member? I'm okay with that, actually. I don't really understand why sleeping with him has caused Vanessa to become... possessed? evil? crazy?, since she slept with someone a few weeks ago without such consequences. Hopefully next week will explain it.
Uuuuuugh more Jon Snow. I thought last week would have been a great place to leave him for the season, especially considering how much else has to happen in this episode.
"Grenn came from a farm" is a fantastic line and point. I don't like how the show made whether or not Jon would kill Mance all about if Jon is man enough/honorable enough/whatever, instead of what's right. I mean, it's not about Jon as an individual - or shouldn't be - the camera dwelling on his face, dramatic music, ~can you do it~ - it's about the larger issue of political and ethical choices. Or I want it to be, at least.
Ughhhh, when they put the Jorah betrayal two weeks ago, I was afraid this was going to be Dany's big season finale. I feel like the show has either entirely skipped or incredibly minimized all of her failures in ruling. We've set up her white-savior trope, but have not at all subverted it, which I feel like is the more important half of that storyline. The show seems to be skipping all her more realistic troubles so we can race ahead to Dramatic Dragon Angst, but all the metaphorical meaning of her locking up her dragons comes out of her non-fantastical failure to rule, to be a Queen, to be other than "fire and blood". You can't just skip it and have the same story, even if many of the beats are similar. Also I really need the critique of the white savior, jesus christ.
Whoa, Jojen died, WHAT IS HAPPEN. I mean, I was of the theory that he died soon after in the books, but I'm still surprised by this.
Whoa, Brienne/Arya meeting! Whoa, Brienne/Hound fight! I'm pretty okay with Brienne's fight with... Biter? Whoever it was whose ear she bit off, being combined into this fight with the Hound, but I feel like we've almost run out of plot for her. All that's left, really, is for her to meet Lady Stoneheart (who I can't believe wasn't in this episode! I was so sure she would be the dramatic final shot!), and that can't take more than an episode or two. Whereas some characters - Jon and Arya in particular - easily have a whole season's worth of plot to get through before catching up with the books. It's so imbalanced. At least we still got the Hound asking Arya to kill him! I was afraid for a moment that would be cut.
No Tysha conversation? WHAAAT. I feel like Tyrion cutting ties with his whole family - not just Tywin and Cersei - is really important, and now there's no reason for that. I have so many issues with TV!Shae - who I feel was characterized very differently from book!Shae - abruptly dropping back into book!Shae's plot, without some reason to explain it. I'm not surprised that the show went ahead and killed her, as previously episodes were really clearly leading to that, but I'm still upset about it. Also I've been looking forward to Tywin's death for ages, and feel let down. It was just so... undramatic. I don't know why, exactly, but it didn't have the weight it did in the book, to me. Not at all a rousing finale.
Penny Dreadful
Aww, Ethan/Brona (is that how you spell her name?) is kind of sweet here. I really want her to not die. But are we not going to address Ethan/Dorian?
You know, I had high hopes from the first actress/Caliban scene that the show was going to subvert the whole "monster demands a mate be created" trope, and instead he would work on a normal relationship, but alas, that does not seem to be the case.
Convenient that the vampires waited to wake up until Malcolm had checked them all for Mina-ness!
Man, Ethan calling out Malcom to point out that Brona deserves dignity and a choice was AWESOME.
Is Dorian Grey's entire role on this show to eventually have sex with every cast member? I'm okay with that, actually. I don't really understand why sleeping with him has caused Vanessa to become... possessed? evil? crazy?, since she slept with someone a few weeks ago without such consequences. Hopefully next week will explain it.
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no subject
Date: 2014-06-16 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-16 10:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-16 11:58 pm (UTC)But I'm glad you enjoy the reviews, even if you don't watch the shows! Ha, I'd assumed only other fans bothered to read these posts.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-17 02:14 am (UTC)Ha ha, me too. I turned to my friend at that point and said, "Okay, when do I get to have sex with Dorian Gray?"
I'm not sure what was up with Vanessa, except that it couldn't have been having sex per se. I think sex with Dorian is a sort of supercharged experience, like the seance, which can allow a person open to possession experiences to become possessed.
I'm sure Dorian/Ethan will not just be dropped! I get the sense that this is a fairly well-constructed show, with foreshadowing and stuff.
I like Caliban as a stage hand but my sympathy for him is at below-stage levels. CRY MOAR, psycho killer! Also he should try seducing the twirly moustached actor manager, who might conceivably actually be into him, if nothing else than from an appreciation that a good stage hand is worth his weight in gold.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-17 06:40 pm (UTC)As much as I liked Dorian/Ethan, this episode really made me ship Ethan/Brona, so I didn't really mind the focus on them. Though I do look forward to the complications when/if she finds out!
CRY MOAR, psycho killer!
Me too, exactly! I think I was especially disappointed because for a moment it seemed like he might actually relate to the actress in a normal, healthy way... but nope! Stalker-obsession, tears, and murder instead.