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Television Game of Thrones (TV) • The watch has ended
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Jamie (@Vault Dweller) are here to talk about United's dreadful home defeat at the hands of Big Ange's Tottenham Hotspur. Should this have been the end of Ten Hag? How long does he actually have left? And does Nik finally want ETH out?!
Yeah a lot of people I've talked with about season eight found the first two episodes boring and loved the last two, so go figure. The common man don't give a shit about no logic as long as there's tits and dragons and exploding stuff.
Yea I've never really been a particularly big fan of the show but without question the best parts of it were the dialogue heavy schemy political style scenes earlier on.
The battles have generally been a bit crap imho but as you and @Massive Spanner rightly say the masses are only arsed about the big spectacles these days.
That sounds pretentious as feck, but I don't really care.
Ah I know that feeling! I've been like that on here since forever in the game threads. It's not that I'm being arsey, I just don't like the same dumbed shit others seem to. That's not the same as not wanting to find enjoyment, as it's the opposite I'd love to enjoy the same old shit and be oblivious, but the fact it same old same old is boring as feck. But above that is the dislike of the future of entertainment when so many are so ready to feed on any old shit sent their way and not realise what's happening.
God, reading that back, I'm a pretentious prick too
Ah I know that feeling! I've been like that on here since forever in the game threads. It's not that I'm being arsey, I just don't like the same dumbed shit others seem to. That's not the same as not wanting to find enjoyment, as it's the opposite I'd love to enjoy the same old shit and be oblivious, but the fact it same old same old is boring as feck. But above that is the dislike of the future of entertainment when so many are so ready to feed on any old shit sent their way and not realise what's happening.
God, reading that back, I'm a pretentious prick too
I'm going to marathon The West Wing and bathe in my pretentiousness!Liam Cunningham discusses Starbucks Gate.
Thought I read that it wasn't actually a Starbucks cup, just a random one.
The cynic in me thinks it's some secret product placement. It was bang centre of the screen between Jon Snow and Daenerys, how do you miss it?!
The cynic in me thinks it's some secret product placement. It was bang centre of the screen between Jon Snow and Daenerys, how do you miss it?!
It was in front of Emilia Clarke. She could put her goblet down because of it and Liam Cunningham is implying that it was hers.
The substance of the show has been shite for years. They do the big flashy moments very well to be fair. Finish well and most people will forget the trudge from set piece to set piece that recent seasons have been. Aren't the clowns in charge of this about to get involved in the next Star Wars disaster?
I read them. I had basically fallen out of love with the show around season 4 or 5. I think seasons 6 and 7 I was skipping episodes or fast forwarding bits. The Arya/NK thing killed any remaining enthusiasm I had, so I thought if I read the spoilers I might be able to make money gambling since it's officially now just random shite. It didn't work out for me.oh right
what fecking weirdo would want the show spoiled on them before watching it? bizarre.
I kind of only watch it for the spectacle and to laugh at the logic leaps, but the spectacle went tits up this season too.
It was a generic cup, but everyone has called it a Starbucks cup and the latest estimate puts the value on the free advertising for Starbucks at $2.3 billion!
Ah I know that feeling! I've been like that on here since forever in the game threads. It's not that I'm being arsey, I just don't like the same dumbed shit others seem to. That's not the same as not wanting to find enjoyment, as it's the opposite I'd love to enjoy the same old shit and be oblivious, but the fact it same old same old is boring as feck. But above that is the dislike of the future of entertainment when so many are so ready to feed on any old shit sent their way and not realise what's happening.
God, reading that back, I'm a pretentious prick too
I wish to join your pretentious club of pettiness. I think I have made a case for my qualification in this thread. ^^
I’m enjoying season 8. Arya was the perfect person to kill the Night King.
I’d be annoyed if no further mention were made of the Beyond-the-Wall storyline, though.
There have been disappointing things in the series since it departed from the books (the dragons’ race to beyond the Wall in particular, as well as the death of an unneeded youngest Stark and several more wolves than the writers had plot lines for) but a lot of the poorer parts are from the books (Danys’ excessive wanderings in Essos in particular) and even when the books were good I think the series generally improved on them.
I’d be annoyed if no further mention were made of the Beyond-the-Wall storyline, though.
There have been disappointing things in the series since it departed from the books (the dragons’ race to beyond the Wall in particular, as well as the death of an unneeded youngest Stark and several more wolves than the writers had plot lines for) but a lot of the poorer parts are from the books (Danys’ excessive wanderings in Essos in particular) and even when the books were good I think the series generally improved on them.
Nah I think that's fair.
If it'd been a big action affair from the start where action was prioritised above character and plot, and if it was done well despite silly contrivances, I reckon it'd be fine, but watching a TV show morph into a different tone altogether is really jarring.
There's an argument the grander action sequences have perhaps brought in more fans, but the show was already immensely popular anyway in its early seasons and would've continued to be so later anyway. And you could argue it comes down to artistic integrity: The Sopranos could've perhaps boosted its popularity back in the day even further by being a balls-to-the-wall gangster action fest with cool car chases placed above character development etc. But such a shift would've been jarring tonally and the writers stayed true to the shows original vision.
And the shift between serious political drama and silly action fest can sometimes seem...weird, too. It's hard to feel on-board with the lighter aspect of it when you've had stories concerning things like rape etc, which were grim but clearly meant to be taken as something incredibly serious in a serious show.
This is the thing the ardent defenders don't seem to get. It's not that the show started off this way and ended it, it's that it started off in one genre and almost entirely switched to another.
The best thing about this show now is that it has an end, so it makes it worth sticking out. But if it didn't, I think this would eventually end up like TWD where fans drop off over the next couple of seasons as they realise it's getting dumber and dumber.
Kin ell. Is there any context to that "disappointing" quote from Harrington or can you take it verbatim? I mean he wasn't saying it was disappointing that it was ending or something else?
But England’s Wars of the Roses and France’s ending of the direct Capetian line, on which the series is based (Maurice Druon’s The Accursed Kings) also depended increasingly on battles. That’s how conflicts’ tensions tend to resolve themselves, unfortunately.
Much though Talleyrand and Metternich plotted, Napoleon was defeated on the fields of Leipzig and Waterloo. Which wouldn’t have happened without their scheming.
Much though Talleyrand and Metternich plotted, Napoleon was defeated on the fields of Leipzig and Waterloo. Which wouldn’t have happened without their scheming.
There's no problem with battles - even in the early seasons we had plenty. It's just that when they do write battle episodes now, they tend to end up being illogical and poorly thought out. Tactics aren't taken into consideration and characters sometimes seemingly defy the laws of physics to survive.
The early seasons worked because the battles rightfully felt like a culmination of the politicking that goes on. And even then there's a lot of good character work on show. Blackwater is the perfect example. It's a battle but there are also political elements to it: Joffrey's cowardice shows itself at the worst possible moment, Tyrion has to rally his men to continue fight, the Hound fecks off, Sansa/Cersei and co are all extremely nervous as to the possibility that they're fecked.
Early seasons skipped most of the battles. Apart from blackwater i can't think of any other battles In first four seasons.
Wildings trying to get past the wall wasn't really a battle in a normal sense imo
Wildings trying to get past the wall wasn't really a battle in a normal sense imo
Going through it
Season 5 isn't terrible but it's not good either
It's not gripping in terms of action set pieces and it doesn't have fascinating characters interacting
It's a lot of new settings and characters who aren't exciting
Forgot how annoying the sparrow and his lot are
Sand snakes are even worse on another viewing
The waif is just boring
And Ramsay isn't as good as being a cnut as joffrey but joffrey had other fantastic characters to play off. His interactions with tyrion and tywin were the best
Season 5 isn't terrible but it's not good either
It's not gripping in terms of action set pieces and it doesn't have fascinating characters interacting
It's a lot of new settings and characters who aren't exciting
Forgot how annoying the sparrow and his lot are
Sand snakes are even worse on another viewing
The waif is just boring
And Ramsay isn't as good as being a cnut as joffrey but joffrey had other fantastic characters to play off. His interactions with tyrion and tywin were the best
Instant gratification. We live in a world where we're pissed off if Amazon can't deliver our newly purchased purple dildo within 24 hours.oh right
what fecking weirdo would want the show spoiled on them before watching it? bizarre.
Nah, I just tell them to leave it in a safe place.
I thought season 3 saw some soap opera elements creeping into the storytelling and Danny was already being hollowed out as a character. Season 4 felt like they got back on track and season 5 had some of the best moments but you could see the tone becoming inconsistent and the internal logic of the show begin to unravel. Season 6 was alot of pathetic pandering to outraged twitics and fan service. 7 was Michael Bay and 8 is turning up to work after handing in your notice. 1 and 2 are pretty peerless.
Bran fecking ruins this show.
That's a pretty spot on assessment.
They could’ve done something really clever with his character and the WW’s as well. So disappointing.
A lot depends on the next episode to salvage this season and bring it to a satisfactory end. I hope they don't screw it up.
Book stuff talk isn't allowed in the thread.
Edit: BOOK TALK ISN'T ALLOWED
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I have not watched any of the tv show but I might have to bite the bullet and do so because I don't think George Martin is ever going to get around to releasing book 8. Been waiting since 2012 and the series has gone way past the last written book which is why I have avoided it.
The 7 books are just amazing. So much detail and clever little plots all running together. So many characters that you become oddly really fond of and some who are wiped out far too soon. Lots of plots hanging in the balance at the end of book 7. They are in my opinion so cleverly written that if he released book 8 tomorrow I could still remember the plot lines because he went into so much background detail.
The 7 books are just amazing. So much detail and clever little plots all running together. So many characters that you become oddly really fond of and some who are wiped out far too soon. Lots of plots hanging in the balance at the end of book 7. They are in my opinion so cleverly written that if he released book 8 tomorrow I could still remember the plot lines because he went into so much background detail.
I actually think he will now. The disaster that has been the last couple seasons has given a lot of non book readers a desire to read them to get a better story - forget the ending, just the journey. But I won't bother starting if/till the whole thing is released obviously
D&D have done him a massive favour and he'll surely see the opportunity to make a lot more money again
Given GRRM had stopped, I doubt they'd want to touch the foundations of that in case they fecked it right up. They were probably right to just end it (albeit not in episode 3!)
Thanks for that information. I really hope he does finish what he started. As you say the journey is amazing. The imagination to write in such detail about the wall, the mysteries of what lies beyond and wondering where characters like Brandt Stark will end up. Fascinating stuff.
Interestingly he has actually been writing but just not a continuation of the current story more like a background/history type book here and there on the main houses/kings. It feels as though the script has been taken out of his hands and he is not sure what to write anymore. I guess patience is the key.
He said disappointing, the interviewer was shocked so he added "and epic.. disappointingly epic".
Edit: I wasn't accurate. https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/bl2z98/kit_harrington_warned_us/
I just felt he wrote himself into a wall and doesn't know how to get himself out of it . Killed off characters he shouldn't have and introduced some really badly thought out characters especially at the end . I'm sure most people know who I mean .
Euron’s first scene was actually pretty good:
Downhill ever since.
Downhill ever since.
He's just a terrible villain. The writers must have basically said "we need an absolute cnut of a new villain to replace Ramsey for the last two seasons" and that's it.
interesting theory and sounds very plausible/likely. Shame because the books are so well written and hard to put down.
George Martin does not appear to be the beacon of health either.