The Zone

by **so sorry** on Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:45 pm

Breaking this out into its own thread.

So Season 3 premiere last night. I thought for sure I would be seeing a boob within the first 5 minutes, but alas I was wrong. Damn you Jon Snow!

Giants! Dragons! Eunochs!

I just finished book 2 Sunday morning. I had thoughts of waiting until this 3rd season was over before picking up the next book, but there's no way I can wait. Book Two ended in fantastic fashion, and from what I've read, book 3 is the cream of the crop.

by **so sorry** on Mon Apr 01, 2013 1:02 pm

And just so I don't sound like a Homer for this show, the one story line that I do find a bit boring (on the show and the books) is the Jon Snow/Nightswatch stuff.

The discussion between Tyrion and Tywin his father was badass and tragic at the same time. The Imp helps save the city, and only wants validation from his father, and gets verbally slaughtered like that. damn that hurt to watch!

by **Ribbons** on Mon Apr 01, 2013 5:52 pm

The Jon Snow storyline definitely picks up in Book/Season 3. But I do agree that they were some of the dullest parts of A Clash of Kings.

Those Lannisters may be bastards (in some cases literally), but they sure are fun to watch. Loved the scene between Tywin and Tyrion (which was basically his way of saying "Please get me the fuck out of here before my sister kills me"), as well as Margaery Tyrell's awkward dinner with Sersei and Joffrey. And Jaime and Brienne haven't even shown up yet.

by **Al Shut** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 1:13 pm

Ribbons wrote:The Jon Snow storyline definitely picks up in Book/Season 3. But I do agree that they were some of the dullest parts of A Clash of Kings

While others get more boring. Or was I thinking of book four?

by **Fievel** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:28 pm

so sorry wrote:And just so I don't sound like a Homer for this show, the one story line that I do find a bit boring (on the show and the books) is the Jon Snow/Nightswatch stuff.

I dunno... the thought of fighting an army of zombie-like warriors seems kind of awesome to me. But then, I haven't read the books.

Unless you're using your powers of book-reading to project foresight of inactivity.... then I say foul things upon you!!!!!

by **so sorry** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:44 pm

Fievel wrote:
so sorry wrote:And just so I don't sound like a Homer for this show, the one story line that I do find a bit boring (on the show and the books) is the Jon Snow/Nightswatch stuff.

I dunno... the thought of fighting an army of zombie-like warriors seems kind of awesome to me. But then, I haven't read the books.

But the zombie army fight hasn't happened yet!

Fievel wrote:Unless you're using your powers of book-reading to project foresight of inactivity.... then I say foul things upon you!!!!!

I am not! I haven't read book 3 (yet).

by **Al Shut** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:45 pm

I think he's referring to a lot of inactivity on the zombie front between the beginning of episode 1 and the end of episode 20

by **Pacino86845** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:57 pm

Just out of curiosity: how safe is it for someone who hasn't read the books to be reading this thread, in terms of avoiding spoilers? CAN SOMEONE TELL ME THE RULES!?

by **so sorry** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:07 pm

Pacino86845 wrote:Just out of curiosity: how safe is it for someone who hasn't read the books to be reading this thread, in terms of avoiding spoilers? CAN SOMEONE TELL ME THE RULES!?

I think as long as you are keeping up with the show you should be safe in this thread. There are a few (Ribbons, Al Shut, and partially me [two books in]) who have read the books, but they have been very good at revealing nothing that hasn't happened yet on the show.

That said, I would advise you to stay out of the AICN Game of Thrones threads, cause those talkback assholes have no decency some times. I learned that the hard way...

by **Fievel** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:15 pm

As someone who has never read the books, I've never had a problem. Every once in a while, the book'ers will get excited about what's coming up either in an episode or further down the line. They either spoiler-text or just talk around the issue, but I've still learned to just skip over what they've written at that point to just avoid the temptation to figure out what they're talking about. If anything has been spoiled for me I honestly don't remember what it was at this point.

I was tempted the other day to look into starting the books, but holy crap...... I could finish the dictionary faster. So then I looked into the audiobook...... to listen to all 5 books continuously would take 8 days, 9 hours, and 38 minutes (201hrs 38min). The thought of being in my car that long is really depressing.

by **Ribbons** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:08 pm

Pacino86845 wrote:Just out of curiosity: how safe is it for someone who hasn't read the books to be reading this thread, in terms of avoiding spoilers? CAN SOMEONE TELL ME THE RULES!?

SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE!

by **Pacino86845** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:27 pm

For now I am intentionally NOT reading the books mainly because I am totally in love w/ this show at the moment, and get so much joy discovering stuff from episode to episode.

The season is off to a great start, but somehow I expected *more*. It seems that we're still recovering from the big finale events of season 2. Makes sense I suppose, but it did defuse the initial excitement I felt just prior to watching the first episode.

Thanks for the note to avoid the TBs. I actually was poking around there earlier, but I guess I can count myself lucky not to have crossed any spoilers. One thing struck me as odd: a TBer said something about dodgy CGI effects used for the giant... but was that CGI? Looked like a bit of trick photography and perhaps man-in-suitness to me. Also, it looked fine!

EDIT: IPAMPILASH!

by **Ribbons** on Tue Apr 02, 2013 6:45 pm

You should count yourself lucky that you wandered into one of the TalkBacks and made it out without being spoiled. There are lots of people who will deliberately drop future plot twists on the unsuspecting because that's what you get for not reading the books dammit, and also they're bored I guess? I don't know.

As for the giant, I think it was a combination of trick shots and CGI. The giant was a real person the whole time but it looked to me like a couple different shots were stitched together at points. I was fine with it though. It actually looked better than I expected!

by **Lord Voldemoo** on Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:11 pm

I am currently in ALMOST exactly the same spot in both the series and the books. And while it can be interesting to see how the books and the series do things differently in almost real time, I do not recommend this approach. It is confusing and takes a little joy out of whichever medium covers particular subject matter second. And from what I understand about how books 4 and 5 are structured it's going to become excruciating. I've often enjoyed watching/reading something after having experienced it in another medium but doing it almost simultaneously is annoying me.

I do not expect that I will be able to stay away from the series, so I think I'm going to have to put the books down for a bit and do the opposite of what I usually do (show first, books next).

I love this series. Both the television and the books.

So Sorry, it sounds like you might be on about the same schedule I am, I'm wondering if it's bugging you like it's bugging me?

by **so sorry** on Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:47 am

Yeah Moo, but I'm only a few chapter in on book 3. I debated about not reading until this season was over, but a)I'm too into this shit right now! And b) with the amount of characters and story lines I feared that I'd forget too much if I stopped. It is very confusing doing it this way, and I watch the show with my buddy who hasn't read the books and I'm doing that annoying "it's not like that in the books" thing. But there's no turning back now...

by **so sorry** on Sun Apr 14, 2013 10:54 pm

So that last scene... THAT was a kick in the balls!

by **Fievel** on Mon Apr 15, 2013 1:25 am

so sorry wrote:So that last scene... THAT was a kick in the balls!

Except it wasn't his balls.....
Nor was it a kick........

And after the first kind thing I believe he did in the entire series....????

by **Ribbons** on Mon Apr 15, 2013 4:21 am

I'll tell you what was a kick in the balls: that music over the end credits

by **so sorry** on Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:41 pm

So aside from the hand chopping at the end, this was a particularly brutal episode. Crucifixions, near rapes, and horse heads...oh my!
Clearly Danerys isn't really going to give up her precious dragon in the end. He's going to charbroil that slave trader real good. My guess is she leaves him the dragon, then later the dragon gets out of his crate, and blasts that Struggling Background Artist, then flies out of there lickity split (when she was negotiation with him, she seems to have spent a lot of time looking up and around, perhaps she was measuring the escapability of that room for Drogon).

Jaime shows an ounce of humanity by saving Brienne from a gang rape, only to pay a hefty price (although he probably could have stopped after brienne came back...he pushed the envelope by trying to get himself out of those chains).

I hate Theon, so any brutality towards him is OK in my book.

It was cool to see an actor from another spectacular HBO show, Brutus from Rome. He was kinda a twit in Rome, seems he's playing that part again as Edmure Tully.

The side plot of Pod getting laid was funny, glad it was brief though. Its not like I don't mind seeing the boobs and whatnot, but I'd rather see more of the intrigue and warring going on.

The Small Council meeting was awesome. Watching two siblings try and one up each other in front of their annoyed father...classic.

The Night's Watch: looks like Jon's going to be facing a hard choice sooner than later regarding his undercover Brother business. Can he participate in an attack against the Black Castle? And wtf with that Craster dude!?! I thought for sure that the Old Bear was just going to put a spear in his gut, and take his place over. I know he (Craster) serves a purpose (information and lodging) but the "normal" times of the wild north are over. He should have killed that fucker and taken all his shit on the way back to the Wall (note: in the previews it seems like that might just happen anyway).

The brutality on this show and book series is really, really nasty. The casual treatment of rape towards women and children is squirmworthy. I was thinking about this the other day. If screwing women that you aren't married to is so not a big deal in this world, then why is having bastard children so frowned upon or seen as something that needs to be swept under the rug? I dunno, just rambling thoughts...

by **Fievel** on Tue Apr 23, 2013 1:54 am

"Valyrian is my mother tongue." Holy shit... holy shit... Ho-Lee SHIT!!!! :shock:

What a bad-ass-motherfucker move THAT was!!!! That was some Tarantino-esque shit, there!!! And just look at the look the former slave girl gives him... "Oh, child.... you are FUCKED!" And what followed was just the icing on the awesomecake.

Speaking of fucked.... Theon. :lol:

So what the fuck happened there? Was that all fake then? Or did they actually kill their own men? Or was it all just a single fucking by that one guy?

The Brotherhood Without Banners.... fucking intriguing.

The Night's Watch.... what the fuck just happened?!?!? :shock:

by **so sorry** on Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:14 am

Damn damn damn, I haven't seen this week's episode yet. But I literally just read that chapter you described with Daneryus and the Unsullied and her dragon. It was as bad ass reading it as it was watching it in that clip.

by **TheBaxter** on Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:20 am

watched seasons 1 and 2 earlier this year, and now caught up to season 3 in "real time". now you screwheads have to deal with me in this thread too!

by **so sorry** on Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:31 am

TheBaxter wrote:watched seasons 1 and 2 earlier this year, and now caught up to season 3 in "real time". now you screwheads have to deal with me in this thread too!

Good! We need more new blood here...

by **Ribbons** on Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:44 am

Best episode so far, by far, this season. A couple non-spoiler comments:

Fievel wrote:"Valyrian is my mother tongue." Holy shit... holy shit... Ho-Lee SHIT!!!! What a bad-ass-motherfucker move THAT was!!!! That was some Tarantino-esque shit, there!!! And just look at the look the former slave girl gives him... "Oh, child.... you are FUCKED!" And what followed was just the icing on the awesomecake.

I am generally not a fan of Danaerys, but that scene was so badass it may have reversed my entire opinion of her character.

Fievel wrote:Speaking of fucked.... Theon. So what the fuck happened there? Was that all fake then? Or did they actually kill their own men? Or was it all just a single fucking by that one guy?

I can't pretend some expert knowledge here since Theon doesn't even show up in Book 3. The fact that he's still alive is as much of a shock to me as anybody else. My guess is that they were trying to get information from him, but it wasn't working. So they tried a different approach and had one of their own pretend to rescue him and coax the information out. Even if that means sacrificing five of their own. They go hard up in the North.

Fievel wrote:The Night's Watch.... what the fuck just happened?!?!?

Keep in mind that most of the people in The Night's Watch are criminals who were sent there for punishment. So they're not exactly the most noble of guardians. The most interesting (and saddest) aspect of that whole massacre was that Jorah "The Bear" Mormont, the badass old dude who'd survived battle after epic battle, got killed in the dumbest way possible.

by **Al Shut** on Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:45 pm

TheBaxter wrote:watched seasons 1 and 2 earlier this year, and now caught up to season 3 in "real time". now you screwheads have to deal with me in this thread too!

So that's what they mean when they say 'Winter is coming'

by **Ribbons** on Tue Apr 23, 2013 1:00 pm

by **so sorry** on Fri May 03, 2013 1:40 pm

by **Al Shut** on Fri May 03, 2013 1:42 pm

I'd pay good money to read that.

by **BuckyO'harre** on Mon May 06, 2013 1:28 am

They kill off exposition whore now? Just when she was becoming interesting?
Well, interesting beyond the fullsome pair of funbags I mean...

by **Ribbons** on Mon May 06, 2013 2:21 am

ROOOOOOZ!!!

by **so sorry** on Mon May 06, 2013 8:57 am

Ribbons wrote:ROOOOOOZ!!!

I'll miss them, er, I mean her.

by **Fievel** on Mon May 06, 2013 11:02 am

Could have at least had Joffrey shooting one of her tits with an arrow and had it deflating like a wet, sloppy balloon.

But I really liked that ending with Littlefinger's monologue. Very, very effective.

by **Ribbons** on Mon May 06, 2013 12:11 pm

Some of my favorite scenes in the series are the little verbal jousts between Varys and Littlefinger. We hadn't gotten one of those in a while and it turned out to be the most epic of them all. Summed up both of their philosophies (and perhaps that of the show itself) perfectly.

by **so sorry** on Mon May 13, 2013 8:41 am

I can't believe this season is almost over already. 3 episodes left...a ten episode season does not do this book series justice.
These past two installments have been build up material, which is great and all, but I am anxious for some action.

by **Pacino86845** on Mon May 13, 2013 11:10 am

I don't know nothin' 'bout them readin' books, but I can say the following: This latest episode (season 3, episode 7) marks the first moment when I feel fed up w/ the pace of this show. The third season has been too slow. I thought splitting book 3 into two seasons was because it was rife w/ action and monumental events, but everything so far seems stretched out. Too much going back and forth between places, sitting around and talking through personal struggles and concerns without moving the story forward as briskly as in previous seasons.

I hereby declare season 3 to be the emo season of the series.

by **so sorry** on Mon May 13, 2013 11:23 am

Pacino86845 wrote:I don't know nothin' 'bout them readin' books, but I can say the following: This latest episode (season 3, episode 7) marks the first moment when I feel fed up w/ the pace of this show. The third season has been too slow. I thought splitting book 3 into two seasons was because it was rife w/ action and monumental events, but everything so far seems stretched out. Too much going back and forth between places, sitting around and talking through personal struggles and concerns without moving the story forward as briskly as in previous seasons.

I hereby declare season 3 to be the emo season of the series.

Well the book follows similar routes...I would say the first half of Book 3 was alot of exposition aka talking and walking around. Second half picks up the pace and action and just never fucking stops. I didn't know there were only going to have 10 episodes, so I'm right there with you regarding the plot lines and pacing. I would be perfectly happy with all of what I've seen so far this season if I knew they were going for another 10 episodes. Shit, I'd even argue that they are leaving out too much at this point. But with so little screen time to cover what they are going to end with this year, it is kinda frustrating. But the payoff may be worth it, or at least it may help you forget what you percieved as "boring" middle episodes.

And I have to say, as a side note, they actress who plays Ygrette: that has to be the most annoying accent EVAR!

by **RogueScribner** on Mon May 13, 2013 12:05 pm

You know nothing, so sorry.

by **Al Shut** on Mon May 13, 2013 12:13 pm

You should have typed that with an fake accent, whatever she sounds like in english

by **Ribbons** on Mon May 13, 2013 12:29 pm

Y'gnaw nothin, sore sorray.

Part of the reason they do 10 episodes per season is a cost thing -- as deep as HBO's pockets are they can only reasonably afford to crank out a handful of these things every year. The pace may have slowed, but I think that once A Storm of Swords is over, people will look back and realize that it would have been impossible (or at the very least much much worse) to cram the whole story into one season. Although I did think last night's episode was the worst so far, which is weird because it was written by the author.

by **TheBaxter** on Mon May 13, 2013 12:53 pm

c'mon, everybody knows the way to show that a female character is strong-willed, independent, and witty is to give her a cockney accent.

by **so sorry** on Mon May 13, 2013 4:29 pm

P.S. the scene between Tywin and Joffrey was my favorite of the night. What a verbal smackdown, without even raising his voice.

BUT, Joff did have a point: all this talk coming in about a Targaryian heir and real dragons SHOULD put the Lannisters on alert.

by **RogueScribner** on Mon May 13, 2013 6:01 pm

Dany gives the world blue balls.

by **TheBaxter** on Thu May 16, 2013 2:32 pm

by **John-Locke** on Mon May 20, 2013 8:29 pm

Sam the Slayer!

by **so sorry** on Mon May 20, 2013 10:09 pm

John-Locke wrote:Sam the Slayer!

Who left the freaking dagger lying there on the ground...

by **Fievel** on Tue May 21, 2013 10:28 am

so sorry wrote:
John-Locke wrote:Sam the Slayer!

Who left the freaking dagger lying there on the ground...

No shit! That's all I could think of... You realize this dagger that you thought was useless can kill these things... and you just leave it there. :roll:

Oh Sam.

by **so sorry** on Tue May 21, 2013 11:47 am

Fievel wrote:
so sorry wrote:
John-Locke wrote:Sam the Slayer!

Who left the freaking dagger lying there on the ground...

No shit! That's all I could think of... You realize this dagger that you thought was useless can kill these things... and you just leave it there.
Oh Sam.

Its actually in character for him to run away like that, leaving the knife there. That said, I think the millions of viewers all collectively screamed "pick up the knife you studly shit!".

So the Sansa/Tyrion wedding was great. Drunk Tyrion is always a fun time! And the uncomfortable family dynamics.

There are two more weddings to go! From the previews I know we'll be getting one of them before this season ends, not sure if we'll be getting the other.

by **RogueScribner** on Tue May 21, 2013 11:49 am

No, the other will be left for next season. I'm highly anticipating that one, though! "This will be a day long remembered..."

by **so sorry** on Tue May 21, 2013 12:00 pm

RogueScribner wrote:No, the other will be left for next season. I'm highly anticipating that one, though! "This will be a day long remembered..."

That's what I figured too. Would love it if they started the season right there.

by **Ribbons** on Tue May 21, 2013 7:28 pm

so sorry wrote:So the Sansa/Tyrion wedding was great. Drunk Tyrion is always a fun time!

I once vomited on a girl in the middle of the act. Not my proudest moment, I must say...