Game of Thrones

matt: I'm on now...

josh: HEY HEY!!

watching spidey 1 right now

so good

did u know that Flash is Alcide the werewolf from True Blood?

matt: Yeah, but I'm not up to that season yet

josh: ah

matt: Can we talk about Game of Thrones before you spoil anything else for me?

josh: yeah

when? now?

matt: Yeah if you want

josh: yeah, I can take a few minutes, I'm very swamped tho', so not for too long

GAME OF THRONES: GO!

It took me a little bit to get into, but I got hooked after a few episodes

matt: Ok, this will be you doing most of the talking since I've only seen the first two episodes. But one thing that I was really impressed by was the casting. As a fan of the books, I was really impressed by how all the characters in the show seemed so close to what I saw in my imagination as I was reading...

josh: Unfortunately, I had to watch the 1st couple episodes in pieces, so I probably didn't get into the vibe because of that

the casting was great

Sean Bean has such a presence

and he brings a type of history to it coming from Lord of the Rings

matt: I'll try not to spoil anything from the story beyond the first book (which is where the 1st season ended, I assume)

josh: even though he's not the same character, if you're familiar w/ L.O.T.R. you know what he must have been like on the battlefield, and what a noble warrior he was/is

matt: But you know what happens to Eddard Stark, right?

josh: the opening shot of the pilot was great

the great wall doors opening, coming from pitch black to the stark (heh, stark) white of the snow

matt: Yes, I thought there were some very artfully composed shots in there

josh: the whole atmosphere was very rich

the action in the beginning set a good pace for what to expect

if it was too gory then you knew to stay away

and if you didn't mind it or liked it then you knew it was for you

I guess I'll start my critique here:

it's a story of relationships, and in the beginning, it's setting everyone up and you don't FEEL a lot just yet
it seems like it's going to go somewhere cool, but you really have to listen to get all that is going on....

matt: One great touch is that the Starks and the people of Winterfell, in the north of Westeros, speak with accents from the northern regions of England, whereas the Lannisters and their entourage from King's Landing speak with more of a "King's English" accent common to the south of England - London, etc

josh: wow, that is cool

I wouldn't have known that

I thought , yeah, mostly English people doing English accents

and English-type accents

matt: Very subtle, but it adds another layer of cool factor to geek out over (for me, anyway)

josh: yeah, I really like that they did that

the attention to detail was fantastic

just to finish up what I mentioned just before.....

I know they had to set up the characters and setting in the beginning

but after such an intense opener, it didn't engage me in a visceral way at first

it definitely picked up tho

matt: There's a lot to set up - a whole world. The book kind of drops you in the thick of things, and you pick things up along the way.

josh: I can see that. I did feel the Targaryen prince was a bit of an archetype, but you needed that in order to understand his sister and what she was going through

I thought she turned into a great character

but you didn't see much of that in the 1st 2 episodes.

now that I think of it.....

they did a really good job at following a number of storylines at the same time

I loved how you get the sense of how people didn't know what was happening far away because back then there was no way of knowing, besides sending a raven

You really felt the environment in that regard. How exposed everyone was to the elements and the times

matt: Yes, the seasons and the elements are a big part of the books - the saga is called A Song of Ice and Fire, after all, but it is front and center at all times - "Winter is Coming" is both a metaphor and a literal warning, since the winters in Westeros can last for years at a time

Did you find the death of Ned Stark shocking?

josh: I was surprised, yeah

I wish I saw him fight more during the season

as far as screen time, he was basically a reluctant politician

you got the sense of his history, but he did a lot of "I must do this, even though it's very difficult and unfair, but I must."

only Sean Bean could have pulled it off

matt: Yeah, well, his function in the story is basically to show the truth of Cersei's line "you win or you die" in the Game of Thrones - honor gets you nowhere in the end. I think you're dropping his Boromir character on to this a bit too much with your expectation of seeing him fight...

The fighting's over when the story starts...

...and then it gets interesting...

josh: Yeah, and I like that it just hits the ground running as a strong thinking piece before it tells you "Hey, perk up, you gotta pay attention." I just wasn't quite ready for it, but I do like it. I'm looking forward to a rewatch.

I really liked Peter Dinklage

Again, at first his character is very one dimensional, but very soon things start happening that throw all the characters off their center

"This is who this is."

"Oh, cool."

"And this is what happens when this happens to them..."

"Oh Jeez!"

All in all, it's a slow burn but it pays off really well.

A great cast, good story and I'm really jonesing for next season.

crappy we have to wait a whole year.

matt: ...you know, there are these things called "books". You could read them as soon as you wanted to...

josh: b-uuh -ks?

what devilry you say?

I barely have time to read the comic books I get

books on tape maybe

CD

Digital

I'll check www.audible.com

matt: I'm actually questioning whether I really want to watch the rest of the show, Since I'm enjoying the books so much. I was really excited when I first heard about the show, but once I watched the first episode, it sort of "locked in" the way I visualized certain places and characters as I was reading. For example, I had a clear picture of Catelyn Stark in my mind before the show, but now I imagine the actress who plays her when I read. And I'm not saying she's bad, she's actually pretty perfect for the character, just not quite as I imagined her looking. And now I can't go back. There are characters who we haven't seen yet, from the later books, and I kind of want to keep "my" versions of them...

josh: understandable

I'm sure that's how a lot of L.O.T.R. fans were

matt: Khal Drogo was a prime example... I imagined him and the rest of the Dothraki as a lot like Mongol horsemen, very swarthy, with a slightly Asian look. And then they cast Jason Momoa, who's almost too good looking for that character, if you ask me.

Someone who looked more like a young Wes Studi would have fit better, I think...

I must sound like an idiot...

"a young Wes Studi"...

josh: I thought he fit the role great. A lot better than he does for Conan

He has an ethic look that you can't quite place and I think that worked

and he's a giant

some of the other Dothraki I felt looked like day laborers

matt: Yes that was weird, they're all supposed to be one race, at least in the book. That irked me a bit when I saw white guys in the group. (Sorry white guys...)

josh: white not right for Dothraki

matt: It may have been a case of casting locals, and they shot that stuff in Malta, I think. They must have had to take whoever showed up.

josh: good point

Overall I really liked it, it felt a bit "storybook" in places, but as I said, the characters and the the story and the realm was very rich, and I kept wanting to watch. to me that's a sign of a good show

matt: So who is shaping up to be your favorite character?

josh: I think Peter Dinklage's character - the Imp

The Lannister brother

He has the most obstacles and manages to come out of everything alright

but not unharmed

and I like how he SHOULD have the backing of the Lannister lineage behind him, which he does, but it's tainted because they don't respect him

His family doesn't respect him, and people only respect his money

He seems to be the smartest one but goes unnoticed as such, and he can't apply everything he has because of his stature

I also like the youngest daughter

then Jon Snow and his cowardly friend

and the eunuch

In the last episode you found out that the elderly statesman or whoever in the kings's court wasn't as feeble as he was letting on, that was really cool.

matt: Hmmm... elderly statesman in the King's court... I'm trying to work out who that is...

But yeah, Jon Snow, Arya and Tyrion are my favorite characters also.

josh: might be Grand Maester Pycelle

Ser Jorah Mormont is pretty cool too

matt: Ohh, right. He's a bit of a background character in the books. Doesn't come into the spotlight except when he's interacting with some of the more prominent characters. That is, we never "hear" his internal narration.

josh: and I like the guy who pals around with Tyrion

matt: Bronn. Yeah, they're quite the pair in the books. Peter Dinklage has certainly captured his voice quite well. I'd almost think that George R.R. Martin wrote the character with him in mind, he's so good.

What did you think of the somewhat light touch of fantasy in the story, i.e. there are dragons and such, but they are presumed extinct as the story begins? I thought this was a really interesting take on the typical dungeons & dragons genre.

josh: I like it. it's really relatable, because now creatures are only told in stories, and essentially the bible and history in general. It's cool to see the effects of that environment and how it permeates that society

The show's timeline at the moment is like the eye of the storm, in that regard, there were dragons and wildlings (if that's what they were called), and we know that things like that are coming back. There was a scene in the show were the youngest daughter is chasing cats down into the depths of the castle and she comes across a huge dragon skull that was being kept there. Very cool.

and on that note, I gotta scram

sorry so rushed tonight

matt: Ok no worries.

josh: take it easy