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catelyntulllys: Catelyn in season 3: a summery
Catelyn in season 3: a summery
lavender-and-creme said: She has a deviantart account: elia-illustration.devia… Thank you!...
lavender-and-creme said: She has a deviantart account: elia-illustration.devia…
Thank you! <3
kill04er: i'm sorry, but this is epic!!!
i'm sorry, but this is epic!!!
Does anyone know if there’s a website or blog or anything with some of the drawings of...
Does anyone know if there’s a website or blog or anything with some of the drawings of Westeros’ ladies by Elia Fernández?
I’m looking for her mormont ladies drawings and can’t find them.
You know what's a good scary story for children to behave in Westeros?
if you don’t do your chores lady stoneheart will come at night and give you the pox!
au meme: westeros's celebs -aka asoiaf characters- read mean...
au meme: westeros's celebs -aka asoiaf characters- read mean tweets (ps: all tweets are real)
exitpursuedbyasloth: anime-davos-seaworth: Shows up to the Red Wedding fifteen minutes late with...
Shows up to the Red Wedding fifteen minutes late with Starbucks
sketch-bag: I'm like 90% sure this is how it happened in the books
I'm like 90% sure this is how it happened in the books
iwantedfrickinlasers: scholar by day party animal by...
scholar by day
party animal by night
(also, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms & Protector of the Realm. XD)
Not an ask, just a reminder that the Greajon actor didn’t appear due to appearing in another...
Not an ask, just a reminder that the Greajon actor didn’t appear due to appearing in another tv show. http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Clive_Mantle
“Mantle was unable to return to the series for Season 2 due to having been cast on another TV show. He was not asked to return for the third season. It is unclear if the Greatjon will be written out (potentially allowing Mantle to return in later seasons) or recast.”
The show may have many faults, but I rather people (most of the asks) are not pile up on this one instance. This is one of the central issue that I brought up in one of my fan mails. The book tends to have way too many characters and spent so little time with that. It is difficult to find quality actors/actresses who would appeared in like 5-10 minutes a season and expect them to have no other obligations. This is why they introduced the Tullys and the Reeds this season. Up course, this, however, does not cancel out the ridiculousness of Pod’s penis scene.
I think by now we are all pretty much aware that the actor was not coming back to the show for schedule reasons, circa season 1 to 2 break. Wic.net made a post about it, since they are the ones that got the scoop, if I remember correctly. And if people were not aware, now they now with your submission.
I know the actor wasn’t available for season 2, but it was no clear why they didn’t try harder to get him again, or even recast the role (though not my preference. but they have done it again) for season 3. The result of that is the lack of impact the RW has on those terms. Robb didn’t have his people by his side, whose deaths are as important as his, since pretty much the North was deserted after that. High lords and ladies and their forces were killed, and that allowed the Ironborn to keep control of the North, as well as it caused other things, allegiances and much more I don’t want to spoil.
Even if that particular actor wasn’t available, why not bring along and create a couple of characters, even overnight, since they manage to make some disappear, why not appear, right?
The Mormont ladies, Glovers, many other Umbers, and the rest. There was plenty to choose from, and there were other ways to add that feel to the show.
The show has a lot of characters, that was a given the producers knew and had to deal with from the get go. And their choices on who to show, certainly don’t make sense in the way of “omg we have so many characters, we need to exclude some”. They always seem to have time to add a naked prostitute here and there. But when it comes to adding characters that mean something to certain plot lines, e.g: Ser Dontos to Sansa’s storyline, they clearly forget about it.
No one expects the actors to sign their lives to this show. But the show certainly doesn’t seem interested in securing its actors with enough anticipation in order to come up with some kind of schedule. E.g: Rakharo. The actor had to departure given that he had signed to do a movie with Brad Pitt. I don’t blame the guy for leaving, a movie is a better choice for him, then so be it. I blame the production for not thinking ahead whether the actor was going to be needed or not. If they did, and he refused, then that’s fine. But let’s think clearly, they probably didn’t care much to secure one of Dany’s bloodrides, since the dothraki weren’t that important for them anyway. Same with the original actor cast as the Mountain. He left for The Hobbit, great for him! But given how little they showed of him, I wonder if an early consideration of his involvement on the show, wouldn’t have allowed him to do both.
And in terms of not throwing “wrong” blame to the show, excuse me when I don’t have patience with them, when there was a kinda rumor Amrita Acharia didn’t continue with the show because she had other plans, when actually they were the ones they decided to kill her off. And that she had to deny and said she was shocked at her early departure.
Of course we could speculate from all sides, but the proofs are that they don’t know how to add a secondary character. Roose Bolton was major in this season, and even though they gave him screen time, they still managed to keep him pretty irrelevant, therefore many non readers viewers were wondering who he was.
And that’s not the reason they introduced the Reeds and Tullys this season. I don’t want to rant about it, but basically the screen time given to the Reeds doesn’t really support what you are saying. They have good actors playing them, and they are as relevant as they could have been around season 2.
The show may have many faults, but I rather people (most of the asks) are not pile up on this one instance.
And this is why you don’t run this blog. People are allowed to say whatever the fuck they want. Anon was not blaming the show for not including them, and anon is fucking allowed to miss those characters since probably has been reading the books for a long time and has developed an attachment towards them.
And if it is about my comment, I’m allowed to miss them, I’m allowed to feel the storyline is somewhat “plastic” and lackluster without people who actually proved Robb’s skills as a leader, or how much people loved him. They did that perfectly in season 1, so why not repeat it? They say Dany is a great leader with love for her people, yet you hardly ever see the dothraki around her. They say Robb was loved by his people, and yet he has no people around him. If you want to construct that side of the characters, you don’t need to say, you need to prove it. What better proof than Irri’s loyalty and love for Dany, what better proof than GreatJon killing some Freys and accompanying and protecting his King. Ain’t that difficult.
If the writers/producers took upon this books and planned to translate them to a tv show, they knew for sure the risks of it, they knew for sure the challenges. Now, they can’t use the “but it’s too much” card. The ship sailed on that one, when they released the first episode of the series.
And again, your comments don’t really have support, when there’s a season 1 of this show that managed to do mostly everything close to perfection, secondary characters, as much as they are, included.
I think we are always gonna run into this situations, if you keep insisting on “these books can’t be adapted, they have to many characters”, when they are actually doing it.
In a show in which Irri and Missandei can’t coexist, or Kovarro (though I don’t know why he’s not in this season) and Greyworm can’t be in the same scene, I have little patience for this kind of discussion.
ser-arthurdayne: I was considering last words (or at least, last known words) in a ASOIAF, so I...
I was considering last words (or at least, last known words) in a ASOIAF, so I have made a list (Spoilers ahead)
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meereeneseknot: And that's what happened. The End.
And that's what happened. The End.
troete said: Awesome review as always, thank you! (And definitely worth the long read) Just...
troete said: Awesome review as always, thank you! (And definitely worth the long read) Just reading your thoughts about Michelle Fairley's acting had me crying again.
Thank you!I cried a little bit too when writing it.
lavender-and-creme said: It feels schmaltzy to say, but I felt like despite the flaws in the...
lavender-and-creme said: It feels schmaltzy to say, but I felt like despite the flaws in the episode this is going to be an iconic one for the show. Just like how the RW in the books proved to be.
Oh no, I completely agree.
I really liked. I notice some issues here and there, but I still really like it. I think the strength in the performances made certain parts of the episode, and therefore it will be remembered and thought of it as iconic. Personally, if some actors hadn’t played their parts so well, I don’t think I would have liked this episode as much. I like that D&D relied on their skills, and let them shine. On the other hand the direction was a whole lot better.
If I had to choose one favourite episode 9, I would choose this one. Even though I feel the one on season 2 was the best directed, the most cohesive. Though emotionally, the one on season 1, it’s a favourite in terms of the feeling I got from it, and how touching is Ned’s beheading for Arya and Sansa.
ischander said: This is cookie offer exclusive to anons or can all readers get in on this action?...
ischander said: This is cookie offer exclusive to anons or can all readers get in on this action?
For everyone!
Hope you guys like chocolate chips!
My thoughts on S03E09 "The rains of Castamere" (SPOILERS)
EPISODE RATING: Entertaining. Appealing. Best episode of the season.
ACTING RATING: Fantastic, powerful and engaging performances. Good improvements.
VIEWER RATING: Engaging. Good pacing. Almost perfect.
READER RATING: Good character driven moments.
FAVOURITE PERFORMANCES: (*1)
IMPROVED PERFORMANCES: (*2)
FAVOURITE MOMENTS: Cat slitting the Frey girl’s throat, going silent and then getting killed.
(*1) The best performance goes to M. Fairley, hands down. But I wanted to acknowledge other good performances as well, though in a different range. In that order I added Tobias Menzies, David Bradley, and Maisie Williams. As well as I wanted to mention Rory Mccann and Iain Glen, that did an excellent job too.
(*2) Madden and Leslie deserve the title of most improved this episode, but I wanted to give an special mention to other actors as well.
Madden has been lacking in the acting department for a while, but he made a great comeback and showed the Robb that was missing since season 1.
Leslie has never been bad on the show, but the last episode had some issues with her performance. In this episode she made an excellent comeback, and gave a particularly good performance. Glad the dramatic element and core of the scenes were carried one more time by her.
Isaac Hempstead Wright was never bad, but I felt he definitely showed that he's capable of carrying his own character’s storyline and give a good performance, which he has done before, but somehow till this point it was missing.
Art Parkinson hasn't been given much opportunity, therefore I feel I have to acknowledge his performance in this episode given that he was allowed to explore more with his character.
Mackenzie Crook his performance was really good as well.
Point by point review:
This episode should be the indicator of two things:
1- An amazing example of good tv.
2- The best this show is ever going to get.
Yes, this episode was amazing. I personally loved it, and I haven't loved an episode this much since season two episode 9. But at the same time I just can't stop asking myself what would have happened if…
Let's all remember how these two guys (D&D), said once, that this was their target. That the RW was their objective, and they wanted to finalize season 3 with this bloodbath. Well, there you have it.
Does it have the expected result? Was it a surprise? Did it have the best writing considering the material they took upon?
Let's see.
1- War strategy:
I think this scene was long in the making. This is how it happened. Robb, his advisers, and his mother in the war council. Cause yeah, she knew, she advised, she was right. And that it’s a very powerful thing, considering the setting of this story.
I liked the scene, I like the little details here and there. If you pay attention you'll see a dramatic close-up to the figurine holding the Bolton's sigil. Very significant in this episode surely.
Acting:
I think both actors were good.
Definitely Madden worked around the issues he had, and was more in control of his face expressions, even if the scene wasn't that demanding.
2- Twins' Next Top Model:
This scene was well written. I think the presentation of the possible consorts of Edmure Tully, and Robb's lost opportunities was witty, comical, and yet somehow filled with tension.
I believe this sort of scene is done well only if the actors engage in their performances. And they did. From the facial expressions of the Flop Lord Tully, to the reverence each girl gave the King. It was perfectly done, and it worked really well to set the mood.
But here is where everything went downhill. If you are going to apologize for not fulfilling your oath to marry some Frey girl, then why bring along the reason you forgot you were betrothed? And no, I'm not talking about your penis my dear King.
Honestly, this is the starting point of my rant against the presence of Talisa at the Twins, and the RW particularly.
Of course this sort of mishap from the King would warrant such sarcastic and disgusting response from a Lord who has little patience, and has received insults from the King.
It's another insult to the Freys to take Talisa to their castle, and continues to be so, to let her attend the wedding of who was supposed to be the wife of her husband.
Complete inadequate change. Not to mention Cat would have advised Robb on the contrary. Precisely for that Jeyne Westerling wasn't at the RW.
Why add further reason to build up tension between the two houses, when the rest of your cause relies on the cooperation of the Freys?
I don't know, the change just doesn't make sense.
3- How long does it take to sack a city?:
In total Daenerys' scenes were separated in 3 parts for this episode. Screen time that could have been pushed to the last episode, and adapted better, without jumping between the North, The Twins, and Yunkai.
The episode would have been a lot more cohesive without Dany's scenes. Those seemed out of place.
That being said, I actually like that the focus of the scenes was everyone else but Daenerys. I think it makes the pacing a lot more interesting, and doesn't rely on just one actor's performance.
They were for sure more entertaining. But on the other hand, they actually weren't. I think the scenes were boring in some way. It feels the event had more impact in the books, and it was more than a simple 3 warrior fight.
The fighting scenes were ok, and it was the skills of the actors that surprised me the most about it.
The actual sacking strategy in the books, belonged to Daenerys. It wasn't Daario's. So, I'm just weirded out at how they are trying to paint her as the war leader, great strategist, when they are actually not giving her credit for her actual accomplishments.
I just think they didn't put much thought into it, and they added the scenes to the episode just because they wanted to keep her relevant for one more episode.
Like I said before, at this point Daenerys is the new Tyrion. There's a tendency of shoehorning her in every episode, even when the scenes add nothing to the episode in question. Perhaps they were scared of not having Dinklage in it, and they needed another "lead" to be credited in the intro. I don't know for sure.
I think the episode could have lived, and it would have made more sense without her scenes. And honestly the billing could have been Harington-Madden-Fairley, even though I might not be happy with the order.
My major complaint with these scenes: why unveil Barristan so easily and early into the story (from early this season), if you are not going to give him anything to do?
On acting terms:
-Emilia Clarke (Daenerys):
I think her involvement in this episode was barely noticeable. By now I know how she's going to act certain scenes. Daario presents her his gift, Jorah says she has succeeded in "her" plans, and she just stands there, and breaths heavily. Very reminiscent to the scene in which Drogo says he will take the iron throne for her. If not the same.
I just found her repetitive and not caught up in the moment.
-Iain Glen (Jorah):
Like I said, I think the idea of the scenes revolving around his character, is a improvement for them in general.
I think his skills with the sword are amazing. He can clearly carry that part of the scene. But it’s those little moments, in which his face expressions take over his performance, when we can see with how little a performance can be made.
I think he should carry many more scenes, because honestly, he's been underused in this show.
-Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm):
Was as well really skilled in the fighting scenes.
-Ed Skrein (Daario Naharis):
I think in this episode the actor had a slight improvement in terms of his line delivering. Yet, his body language and face expressions are too ridiculous and cliched to be taken seriously.
I stand by my comments in terms of his acting skills: he's like a daenerys+lancel.
- Ian Mcelhinney (Barristan Selmy):
I'm seriously appalled at how underused is this actor. Not even one line is given to him. Daenerys asks something, he just answers with a stare or a simple gesture.
Not a even a line!
Anyway, to express my sentiment towards these scenes in general, I shall follow the words of this wise woman:
4- You're a wizard, Sam:
At first glance this scene could look like a waste of screen time, but it wasn't. At all!
The dialogue was cute, sweet, and it sets a good parallel. As well as providing a good set up for a future plot line.
Acting:
I found no issues in acting terms.
5- “You're very kind, someday it'll get you killed”:
I was definitely looking forward to these couple of scenes with Arya and the Hound.
I think they were well done because they basically focused on Arya as a character.
The dialogue and the writing concentrated well on those points, and it was character driven in its own way.
That particular scene says a lot about Arya, and a lot about The Hound. I think they were able to capture a good part of their characters, as well as providing a comedic moment when Arya hits the man in the face.
On acting terms:
I think the scene was fine. Both actors have good timing and good chemistry, when working together.
6- Rain is coming, take shelter:
Probably these are some of my favourite Bran chapters. The moment in which they are so close to Jon, the whole feel of the place, the danger, the proximity to it, the travelers…
Every single detail of these chapters were a perfectly good example of what GRRM can accomplish with his books, and why they are so addictive.
Now, the show tried to get close to that feeling. They tried, they managed to get close it, but of course I can't really say it was as good as the books. Nevertheless, these scenes were done in a very good way, and they definitely captured a bit of those feelings I got from the books.
Perhaps a little more focus on creating the environment of the scene, would’ve made the trick and gotten them a whole lot better.
Acting:
Natalia Tena (Osha) stands out in these.
Her side eyeing, and the "I've had enough of this shit" faces, marked the best part of the scenes. I think she was able to add a certain comedic relief that was not expected, and perhaps not intended, but that worked greatly with the pacing of the scene, and the show in general.
For the rest I can say, I liked them, and I was pleasantly surprised Art Parkinson (Rickon), got some screen time, and lines.
7- Wildling attack:
I really liked this scene, as simple as it was. I think it shows perfectly who Jon is, and where does his loyalty belongs. He's still a man of the NW, he's still Jon Snow.
I felt they accomplished a good action scene with a character driven feel.
They surely gave the chance to Harington to show who his character is, after all this time. And they used little details, like Jon hitting the rock to startle the horses and warn the man.
I really liked all this, and it definitely gives you a hint of where the scenes and the character is going to go.
Acting:
-Kit Harington (Jon):
I think I see what is Harington’s strong suit in this show. He can certainly play the warrior, and the sword fighter. He definitely has an ease to that, even though I don't think his face expressions, and body language show any improvement.
I think he's a one note actor, but that one note he can accomplish, is pretty good, as long as we don't take him out the sword fighter box.
Still, I liked his involvement in this scene, better than most of his work on the show.
-Rose Leslie (Ygritte):
With one look on her face, she gives the right touch to the scene.
8- On our way to the Twins:
The scene definitely did a good job upping the excitement and rush, the danger and the proximity. If you haven't read the books, and haven't being spoiled, I assume you felt "omg Arya is going to meet Robb and Cat!". At least that's how I felt when I read it.
So, for me, the scene used that trick pretty wisely.
On the other hand the dialogue was character driven, and shows much of who Arya is, and who she will become. She can act brave in front of this scary man, but she's still a little girl, who wants to see her family again, who wants to hug her mother, and see her older brother. Who needs this remainder of who she is, where does she come from, and who is perhaps tired of being tough, and brave, and wants to be a child again.
I liked the writing for this scene. Not because it’s a big deal, but because they pushed a lot of details from both characters in a small scene, that was the perfect anticipation for what was going to happen later. I personally loved it.
Acting matters:
-I think this scene pretty much shows Maisie Williams’ (Arya) acting skills, and how good she can be with just one face expression.
She can definitely go from fearless child, to scared little girl, with just her face expressions. She doesn't have a sword or any weapon to show Arya's reckless spirit, yet it seems she has one in her hands, when she stands up to this man, and tells him in his face, what he's most afraid of. That's probably when I notice why a better actor can carry all the sides of his/her character, when others who are average or just ok, can't.
Harington may be good with the sword, but you remove that from his hands and he can't show the power this young girl has in her performance. A prop doesn't make the performance worthy, and Williams knows that.
I think she went from that, to showing fear, fear of losing everything when it's so close, with just her face expressions. The desperation in her face is noticeable, and remarkable considering she's juggling two sides of her character in the same scene.
Check Williams again in this scene, and see how she can have a blank stare, an impassive, and maybe fearless look, without resourcing to dead eyes, or falling into a flat performance. And yes, I insist on this, because it is possible to show all of that, without resorting to simple dead eyes.
The dead eyes are the choice of the actor, not the script requirement.
-Rory Mcaan (Hound):
Was particularly good too. I think he can certainly play the softer and scared part of his character. He even manages to look surprised at this little girl's threats.
He definitely did a good job, and worked with the traits of his character, showing them but not flaunting them too much. And I think that's the difference between taking the traits too literal, and using them without letting them take over the performance. The latter is what he's doing, and what separates this performance, from performances that end up being too over the top.
9- No more hodoring:
I’ve already said I loved this part of Bran's chapters. Well let me repeat it. I loved them! And I was surprised that I really liked the scenes that captured them. In fact, I loved them!
I think they were able to capture the sense of danger. The pacing attended to that, and gave the scene a general feel that adds up to the episode.
I think the best part of it was the warging. I was looking forward to it, and it didn't disappoint.
Having Orell as the one who hears the noises, and is concerned about what's happening in the tower, is a very good touch. It adds to the fear they might be discovered.
Let me put this clear: I know what happens, and I was still at the edge of my seat!
Sometimes I feel this show doesn't do justice to the medieval feel it's supposed to have. This scene however, recaptured that idea. It was well done, and the environment, dialogue, the setting, and acting, accompanied.
And this is one of the best Jon-Bran scenes done in this season.
The tension this scene brought to the episode was marvelous. I think overall it was a great choice, placed exactly where it needed to placed in the episode. Gave proper screen time to the plot to develop, and gave the actors a chance.
Glad they did it this way, otherwise the rushed pacing would have killed the tension and the desired idea they were trying to convey.
The warging (3 different warging moments) are my favourite parts. Finally it seems they remembered they have direwolves in this show, and they are very significant to the Starks.
Jon looking at Summer while she attacks the wildlings gives you a clue he knows those wolves, and he's been helped.
Orell's eagle was as well, a good part of the scene. I had high hopes for that moment and they played it very well.
I think Ygritte and Tormund's fight was what I remember the most about the scene. I like that she was faced with the truth in that moment. I like that Tormund reminded her who she is and that she's not supposed to die for him. And as much as she struggles and wants to help Jon, she knows that he is a man of the NW, yet she can't help but to feel betrayed at this.
The only detail I would say I missed was Ygritte shooting an arrow to Jon's leg. That was a great sense of Ygritte's loyalty to her people, while Jon decides and runs towards where his loyalty is.
Acting:
Overall this long scene was a good result because of its acting. Even from actors who have been in the tightrope before.
The man playing the role of the horse caretaker was in fact, really good too.
-I think Harington (Jon) did his job. He can, like I said before, play the sword fighter and warrior side of his character. But perhaps there was only one time in which I believed his face expressions.
But overall I think his acting came to the standard needed for this scene. He didn't ruin it, which is something he had done before. For this one he gave enough to show the warrior in him, and left the rest to the other actors.
-Rose Leslie (Ygritte):
Nailed it. She was controlling the scene's tension and the struggle. It was her face expressions, and body language that took over her performance, in a good way, and made it really remarkable. She was able to stand out in an ensemble scene.
-Mackenzie Crook (Orell):
Gave a great performance as well. His face definitely adds up to his character. His features, his eye connection, his stares and the tone of his voice closed in in a good performance, of a perhaps worthy of a better use actor, that should have gotten better chances in this show.
-Kristofer Hivju (Tormund):
Was as well pretty good. I feel he should be definitely be more present in the storyline, and perhaps season 4 needs to pay attention to this actor, who embodies his role perfectly.
-Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran):
Definitely added certain weird touches to his performance, that worked greatly. Like the lip trembling, and heavy breathing, when Bran warged into Summer.
A young actor that can surely carry the scenes in which he's probably the least experienced actor.
-Kristian Nairn (Hodor):
Was good as well. I definitely give props to this actor for not taking his character in a too weird way resulting in ridiculousness. He gives a good performance, and a believable one. Not an easy part to play, especially when you have no lines to help your performance.
-Art Parkinson (Rickon):
This little kid surprised me, cause as small as his character is, he is able to show fear in his face expressions, better than actors ten or more years older than him. He's definitely in the right path for a good start.
-Natalia Tena (Osha), Ellie Kendrick (Meera), Thomas Sangster(Jojen):
Were ok in their own way. I definitely demand more screen time for the last two for future episodes.
From these scenes I choose Rose Leslie and Isaac Hempstead as the two that stood out the most.
10- The bells announced a wedding:
*I want to point a detail here. When these scenes starts, there's a man to man fight in the camp, with Tully banners all over the place. It's the surroundings of the Twins, and the men finding some entertainment while waiting for the wedding feast. Good detail, that perhaps tried to captured the scale of the event at the Twins. Later I will go back to this.
The wedding ceremony itself, was a master piece for this show’s directing. I think the camera zooming-in in the faces and expressions of each character, was a really good trick. You can grasp the tension, the expectation, and the discomfort of some, without letting pass Walder Freys' sass in the process. Really well done, perfectly directed, and detailed enough to remember the audience who is a guest in this event.
Some details I liked:
The little smile Catelyn gives to Edmure, and Edmure looking at her in an attempt of getting her blessing and recognition for his efforts, is as well, the best this show has gotten in terms of showing off the traits of the characters.
If you take a look at Roslin when she gets cloaked, her face shows a little bit of distress, which probably takes the place of the tears the bride sported in the books.
Not only that, but The Blackfish noticing the indiscreet stares of the single Frey girls, is perhaps an amazing way to break the tension and allow some giggles.
Acting:
All the actors were on point with their performances. From the Frey girls, to Blackfish, from Walder Frey to Robb, from Roslin Frey to Edmure. All of them embodied their roles, and definitely made the scene what it was.
-My favourite from this scene has to be Tobias Menzies (Edmure):
His face expressions brought laughter, and added a good touch to the scenes.
I knew this actor was going to be a good addition to the cast when his casting was announced, but I'm definitely gladly surprised he was able to bring this much to the show.
-Fairley (Cat), Madden (Robb), Clive Rusell (Blackfish), David Bradley (Walder Frey):
Were as well remarkable in their parts. Especially considering the scene pretty much consisted and relied in close-ups of their faces. Great acting.
-My only complaint would have to be Oona Chaplin (Talisa):
I just thought her eyes seemed fixed in one spot. I don't know, she seemed lost.
11- Bran and Rickon say their good byes:
Overall I think this change is probably one of the best the show has accomplished. Just because it kept some characters relevant in the story, which might help out in the future, and even if it doesn't, it gave us this great touching and moving scene, that definitely was worth the addition.
I'm going to make a short and simple comment on the acting in this scene:
Art Parkinson gave a sweet, touching, and great performance for such a young actor. He definitely gave his best, and set the mood for the whole scene.
12- Let the party begin!:
a)- Well here I'm going to start with my rant.
I'd like to remind you the detail I pointed out before *. Why I point this out? Well because the storyline line had a good start, it gave the idea that it was going to be as epic and grand as it was in the books. Cause the RW wasn't just about Robb and Cat. They killed a lot of northerners. Including Robb's most loyal bannermen, soldiers, and his King's guard. So, I guess my complaint is that the scale was poor, compared to the books. And the reason for it it’s probably the little to non presence of the people who surrounded Robb and his family during this trip to the Twins.
I liked the scene very much, but it wasn't epic. And I don't think we can use the budget card here, since they have been pretty much throwing money constantly to the CGI dragons, and the grand scale production at the other side of the narrow sea, so I don't see why they didn't put as much money to this, that it was a major event.
From the CGI of Greywind, to the amount of extras, from the scenes involving the soldiers getting slaughtered (which was barely showed), to the number of people who actually fought against the slaughter inside of the party halls (which seemed minimum). It was done in a very minimal and simplistic way compared to the extremes the usually go in production, and how much screen time and money they put into it.
b)- I still don't get Talisa's presence at the wedding. They go on and on about how they shouldn't insult Walder Frey more than he already has been, and they bringing along the worst insult. It's like a throwing cold water on his face, after slapping him repeatedly.
I think in general her presence is not even in consonance with the show's storyline. They continuously make a point about it, Cat stops Robb from further insulting and fighting with Frey, they notice she's even a source of problem among Robb's men (Karstark), and yet there she is. It just doesn't make sense.
I think this is the perfect example of how their capricious writing has put them in such difficult position, that it doesn't even make sense in their own writing context. Not only that, but it gives us, the viewers and/or readers, the idea we were right. Wait, no, not the idea. It exactly tells us that we were right all along about this change. And it tells them, we were right as well. You lose D&D, we win, but somehow no one is entirely happy, because in the mean time, one of the best parts of these books was ruined.
Seems to me, they probably had other plans for the character, but maybe they noticed there wasn't any sympathy for it, and they decided to give the audience what they wanted, not without making it extra shocking for their behalf. They wrote themselves into a pit.
c)- That being said, I liked the scene very much. And I think this one wouldn’t have been as powerful as it was, if it wasn't for Michelle Fairley. The scene screams volumes and it's as shocking because of her acting.
I don't think I would be as happy as I am about this scene, if the actress wouldn't have played her part perfectly. Perfectly? No, not perfectly. Cause perfection is almost something I was expecting to see. She gave more than that. She surprised everybody, even though we were all pretty much aware of her skills as an actress.
This scene belongs to her. She made it what it was.
d)- I think the dialogue was well thought off. Some details like Roose's new wife, was something that gets the readers excited.
Edmure's lines "once you set the monster free, there's no caging him back", it's so damn good. I laughed an pitied him at the same time.
Catelyn's line "Ned forbid it, he said it wouldn't be right if he broke a man's jaw on our wedding night", brought a little tear, and an nod in favour of the writers.
13- Arya and Greywinds' death:
I was quite disappointed on this scene. Not only because it lacked of the excitement and haste the situation’s supposed to have, but as well because it downplayed the dimension of the fight outside of the castle, when the King was getting killed. Just slitting some throats of northerners doesn't begin to cover the scale of this event.
And having Greywind caged and not killing a couple of Freys in the process, was quite sad for me.
There's a fan theory going around, that most of the Stark children have the ability to warg into their direwolves. The fan theory says Robb died in the castle, and warged into Greywind, getting all crazy and killing a bunch of Freys, before they could actually kill him.
Well, count me as disappointed they didn't use that. Especially when Arya looking at Greywind agonizing gives you an indication she is thinking what everyone knows. She saw the connection, so why not play that into the show?
Lackluster. And it honestly pisses me off they haven't used the direwolves, given how important they are to the Starks. We get a lot of dragons, but apparently CGI is expensive when it comes to large wolves.
I think I pointed out this before, that the show doesn't always know how to create the tension for certain moments. So, it feels the characters are just witnessing what is happening, instead of taking part in the action. Arya could have, and Arya would have, run towards the cage and would have let GreyWind out. She actually had time. So, the scene was badly written from that point of view. Either they had to present more danger to her, for her not to come out, or they had to put her further away from the cage. This is a fail.
And some sense of danger needed to be added to the part in which the Hound caught her again. It's like she was witnessing everything, but didn't, till the last moment, build up the courage to go in and be part of it. Arya Stark would go in, would have tried to do something, even at her own risk. So, the writing leaves a lot of "time gaps", that sometimes are difficult to overlook.
However, Maisie Williams’ acting (Arya) pretty much gives the right feel to the scene. It's her face of desperation and sorrow, that is more reminiscent to what Arya was going through in that moment, and how she felt.
14-Back to the party:
Talisa's death has absolutely no impact in me.
I'm not going to lie, I was hoping she would get killed. But all I took from the scene was "that was too much stabbing". And that's all. It had no impact, it had no strength, it had no place in these scene. It just didn't suit it.
On the other hand I think they wanted to create that sense of lost, and “abandon all hope” Robb gets from that. Which I get, but almost didn't sympathize with, if it wasn't for the acting.
Again, the acting did this scene what it was. Cause at times the scale of it, hurt the purpose and the writing.
Some things seemed out of place, some things seemed to be staying still till others were said or done, especially when it comes to Roose Bolton. -Where was he when all of this was happening? Waiting by the side till his grand moment comes? It felt like a play, when we all know the actor said his lines, and went backstage to prepare himself for the following appearance-.
No one rushed and protected the King, no one did much to see a way out, even though there was time, and certainly opportunities. If they want us to believe Robb and Cat were alone in that place, then I don't buy it. Very downplayed, very.
I found the change of Jingle Bell to Lord Walder's wife, an appropriate choice. I felt it was ok for Cat to threaten the life of the woman, since she's supposed to mean something for him, and after all the character had been in the show before (though I think they changed the actress).
The way Cat drags her from under the table was amazing. That part solely gave me more that “oh shit” feel than the guys in the back stabbing some people.
Acting: HERE WE GO.
-Oona Chaplin (Talisa):
hahahahahahahahahaha. That's all I got from her in this episode.
Poor girl didn't even have the chance to play a likeable character. But she had the chance to shine with this death that was written for her. And oh, how much she failed.
Her face expressions made me laugh, and I can honestly say I didn't even feel bad about it. Ridiculous.
Not only that, but they made her stand up and fall to the floor, and she seemed to take forever to die, like she was twitching, even after she was completely dead and her face lacked of any colour. Again, ridiculous.
Seriously that's not acting.
She almost killed the scene's drama.
-David Bradley (Walder Frey):
I think this was a pretty good performance. He seemed very nuanced, and this actor definitely has an ease for this type of characters. Embodied the role, added a little sass, and some on point face expressions. For sure he translated that disgust you are supposed to get from his character. Very well done.
-Richard Madden (Robb):
I felt Madden improved in this episode.
His face expressions when he loses all hope and takes a look at Talisa's body, is perhaps what sold me, and made that death somewhat memorable.
You can see how Robb gives up, and how he just can't fight anymore.
I really liked his expressions when he gets hit by the arrows. Tell me if he's not his father son (he reminded me a lot to Sean Bean as Boromir, for that. And not in a "haha" way, but in the best way).
The way he said "Mother" breaks something in me a little bit.
He did good, and knew his place in the scene. This was Fairley's scene, and Madden accompanied.
I feel both of them know each other as actors, and worked together for this. I just wished, the dialogue and that moment would have only belonged to them, and Talisa wouldn't have been there.
Their interaction, is what the scene was supposed to be about. Placing a third party there, waters that feel we were supposed to get. Unfortunately that has been happening since season 2, and apparently it was, for the showrunners, the only way to end it.
-Michelle Fairley (Cat):
I have to be honest and say that the first time I watched the episode, I was too touched by her performance to even make a comment on it. It was like I had witnessed this. It was like I had seen this live.
It's was so good, it felt real.
And because of that I delayed this review to the max, because I honestly didn't want to write what I felt about it. It was so realistic it was scary, and even felt wrong talking about it at first.
I feel her performance is beyond this show, and probably belongs in a big movie, with Oscar buzz, because omg, this woman is good.
She can certainly play her character, and she deserves more work, and more recognition. I'm still surprised at her performance. I knew she was good, but I didn't think she could transform physically to use her body language in such ways.
Leaving aside my feelings, I think her face expressions for the first part of the wedding: the face when she hears the song, when she sees Roose's chainmail, the little tears in her eyes, the concern in her face, the fear, the heavy breathing, and the slap across Roose's face, is just proof enough of what she's capable of. Her face expressions, when she didn’t even had the luxury of lines at times, made her performance.
What followed, I can't explain. Her flushed red face; her voice, the way it breaks, but it's steady at the same time; how she screams; how she pleads to Frey with such determination; how she dragged the girl from under the table, without a tad of fear she might hurt the actress; the way she stares at Madden, and makes a connection with him; the way you can see her pain at the sight of her son’s dead body; the way she juggled being a determinant mediator, ordering Frey to let her son go, and how she begs her son to walk out of there, how she tries to reach him and make him run. All of that is not something I was expecting. All of that shows you she was amazing, and killed it!
And to top that, the way she screams and slits the girl's throat, followed by a close-up to her face, losing all hope, dying before being dead, ending herself before she’s ended, is the most powerful part of her performance.
She made this scene, she carried it, and if it wasn't for her, it wouldn’t be what it is. It wouldn't be as powerful and soul crushing as it was.
I figured I could be either really mad at D&D for not setting the plot and allowing Michelle to carry mad!Cat scenes, or I could let it go and enjoy this performance, cause either way she would have done it tremendously well. And since she gave this amazing and heartbreaking performance, I think I can't count myself pleased, just because this is what fills me, what reaches me, what I relate to. This performance is what I love about acting.
I could spend pages and pages talking about her performance, but not even that would make justice to it. It was so powerful, it’s better to experience it at first hand, and watch it over and over again. I know I won’t get tired of doing so in a long time.
And without further ado, I would like to award this performance the title of THE BEST PERFORMANCE THIS SHOW HAS EVER HAD.
I can only say I haven't seen a performance like this in a long time.
Bravo Michelle Fairley! Bravo!
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