Game of Thrones

[Lzcutter]

Klon,

All I can say is WOW!!!!!

Let winter come! I can't wait.

Who plays Sean Bean's brother?

A terrific cast, well written and well directed.

And the final shot! Say it ain't so!

Other than that, bring it on!

A complex story line but unlike say, The Borgias, immensely more intriguing and strangely enough, easier to follow!

[klondike]

Klon,

All I can say is WOW!!!!!

Let winter come! I can't wait.

Who plays Sean Bean's brother?

You know, I'm not sure, w/o running over to IMDb; first minute or so, I was almost half-guessing it was Timothy Dalton playing Benjen Stark, High Commander of the Night Watch, as the actor had that lupine, black-Welsh look, but Dalton was entirely too aged back in Hot Fuzz, and I think I would've caught his name in the creds.

A terrific cast, well written and well directed.

Yup, no argument there, and having read & re-read the entire, dense, sprawling "Song of Ice & Fire" series, I was really prepared to be highly critical!

And the final shot! Say it ain't so!

Being in a generous mood, Lynn, I'll accomodate ye: it really isn't so, at least in its suggested mortality, but I'll not spoil same with divulgent details.
Let that not buoy you overmuch, though; there's red hands, black wreaths & heartbreak a-plenty to come, bet your watch & warrant on that!

Other than that, bring it on!

Be careful what ye wish for, 'cause far worse than Winter's comin', so keep a throw-pillow on your lap, as ye'll not want to keep biting, pounding & squeezing full-time on your spouse!

A complex story line but unlike say, The Borgias, immensely more intriguing and strangely enough, easier to follow!

Actually, though he was loathe to come clean, Martin did fess up at one point and admit that his inspiration for the myriad twist & turns to the events in the Song of Ice & Fire novels was the 16th century plots, conspiracies & conflicts between the Royal Houses of England, Scotland & France, to which he simply added rumors of arctic zombies & hibernating dragons, condensed the events from a century to 40 years, changed a few surnames & relocated it all to one European super-isle.
In fact if you listen closely, and squint your imagination just a tad, it's easy to see the Targaryens as Plantagenets, the Arryns as Lancasters, the Baratheons as Tudors, the Lannisters as the Royal House of Stewart, the Greyjoys as the MacDonald Lords of the Isles, the Tully's as Norfolks, and the House of High Garden as the Medieval French court.
Cool, eh?

[pvitari]

I must say, it certainly is faithful to the book! How often does THAT happen?

Well, with the exception of ages. All the Stark children have been moved up anywhere from a year to several years. For instance, Jon and Robb in the book are 14 at the beginning, pushing 16 at the end. Looks like they're in their early 20s in this version. Daenerys also looks a few years older than she was in the first book.

Peter Dinklage was born to play Tyrion.

[klondike]

Speaking of which, evidently the screenwriters decided to forego Catelyn Stark's middle son, Rickon.
Ah well . . gotta set parameters you can work, and write, well within, I guess . . and this playbill's already pretty crowded!

[CharlieT]

Gee. I thought that Rickon was the youngest son of the Starks. He appeared is several scenes, but was never featured. I agree that most of the Stark children with the exception of Bran and Arya were a little too old. And my daughter thought that Theon and Rob weren't as close as they were in the first book. Overall casting was very good, but i'm waiting for some of the other characters to see how they handle it. I thought we got a glimpse of Sandor (the Hound) Claghane near the end and my daughter and I both thought he didn't match what we were expecting.

Overall, the feel of it was just right. I'll know for sure after about 3 episodes.

[klondike]

You're probably right about Rickon's birth order, Charlie; after waiting for over five and 1/2 years between "A Feast for Crows" (October 2005), and "A Dance with Dragons" (release date now confirmed for mid-July, 2011), I might be a little off on the details from "A Game of Thrones", which I read in autumn of '97.
We did have a couple glimpses of Sandor Clegane last night; I picked him out in Robert's entourage as they paraded into the yard of Castle Stark, his fabulous iron dog-helm catching my eye . . very fitting for the King's Hound!
No sign yet of his brother Gregor - the Mountain That Rides { }, or the sadistic royal executioner, Illyn Paine {grrrrrr }!

[Lzcutter]

Klon,

I agree about looking like Timothy Dalton. That was my first thought but then I realized that Dalton was way too old to still look that young. Maybe they are related???

And I think Rickon is still part of the show, we just didn't see much of the lad in the show last night! Remember, there were enough wolf pups for the number of Ned's children, not counting Jon Snow. Two girls, three boys, which I think included Rickon.

[Lzcutter]

Klon,

I have great news! HBO has renewed Game of Thrones for a SECOND season. They seem very pleased with the rating from the premiere!

Season 2 would be another 10 episodes set to premiere a year from now!

Let Winter Begin!

[Lzcutter]

I love the Imp!

To his younger brother:

"You will go to Lord and Lady Stark"

"No" (paraphrasing but you know)

Smack,

"No"

Smack,

"No"

Smack

"If he forgets, be the good dog you are and remind him" "Time for breakfast!" Dark ale and bacon burned black!

I love the Imp!

And does the evil Lannister look like the Ken doll in the Toy Story film and/or the fake prince in the Shrek films or is it just me?

And did I mention that I love Jon Snow!

What a good character! Especially recognizing the warrior in his half-sister.

Part of the story reminds me a bit of Robin and Marion one of me favorite Connery films.

And Ned, so noble and so flawed.

There's a war coming, Ned. Listen up, for once in your life!

Are there dragons in those kept warm fossilized eggs?

"Everything's better with wine in the belly." says the Imp. My motto!

Major props for the dire pup! Go shepards! Guess that's why he's a dire wolf!

Lady Stark knows though she doesn't think she does, somewhere deep in her bones, she knows! Listen, Lady! Listen!

And if she misses the connections, I doubt the Imp will!

Good thing Bran trained his pup so well.

Ned's older daughter, not so smart.

His youngest, very smart.

And like her brother, Bran, she trained her pup well.

Hopefully, that is a bond that can't be broken.

And Ned seems to know that the evil Lannisters are not to be trusted.

Though what happened to his Lady arriving with news seems not to fit the timeline or was that all part of the "butchers" scene before the killing of the older girl's dire wolf?

As Game of Thrones says 'winter is coming' and we are all expecting summer, bring winter on! NOW!

[klondike]

Lynn, if you think you're having fun with the Starks, the Lannisters & the Royal Family, just you wait 'til you encounter the Greyjoys, the Arryns & the Tullys!
Not to mention, Robert has two brothers: Renly & Stannis Baratheon, both very different from the King, and from each other, but who, as warlords in their own right, will be bringing much to the "table".
Yep, I thought the breed 'casting' was interesting, for the wolves: first Malamutes, then Siberians, then shepherds . . but be advised, their involvement in the storyline, for several different reasons, will begin dwindling, very soon . .

[pvitari]

Rickon is the youngest of the Stark boys and he was in the first episode, although barely. (I haven't watched the second one yet.)

Like all the children, he was advanced a few years in age from the first book.

[Lzcutter]

Klon,

So am I right in guessing that the young blonde Callisie will double cross her equally blonde overly confident and supremely arrogant brother now that she is carrying a potential real king? Hee-hee.

I really liked this episode, especially in the way it expounded on why winter is coming and what that means.

A very nice scene between Lord and Lady Stark.

And the Imp and Jon Snow. My money's on them.

I can't wait for Ned Stark to kick Jamie Lannister's butt.

I'm caught up, TCM Film Festival recaps commence tomorrow!

[klondike]

So am I right in guessing that the young blonde Callisie will double cross her equally blonde overly confident and supremely arrogant brother now that she is carrying a potential real king?

She won't need to - the almighty Targaryen heir engineers his own fate, which resolves that entire problem . .

And the Imp and Jon Snow. My money's on them.

Separately, those would be good wagers - for in the giant mosaic of Ice & Fire, Jon & Tyrion are the toughest, and craftiest, of all survivors . . but their roads have truly diverged now, and will not be re-converging . . and remember, due to some wrong assumptions & conclusions, Catelyn Stark now blames Tyrion for Bran's "accident" . . and you know, she's just not the forgiving kind . .

I can't wait for Ned Stark to kick Jamie Lannister's butt.

Bet on a different horse, Lynn, 'cause that one ain't running; Eddard Stark & and his least-favorite old pal, the "Kingslayer", are headed out different doors in the storyline to come. And ponder this: slithery as Jaime might appear, you will soon realize that he's hardly the most evil player in this whole, huge, interwoven drama!

[Lzcutter]

Klon,

Well, that was interesting.....

Seems the head of the Watch, Thorne, just can't find a nice thing to say about being on the Wall. What a little Mary Sunshine. I can't wait for Jon Snow to hurt him bad.

I loved the scene with Jon Snow's dire wolf and the bully! Love those dire wolves!!

And, please, Sansa, would you just get over pleasing Prince Joffrey! The sooner you realize he just isn't worth it, the happier we will all be.

Speaking of happy, here's to the Callisse for standing up to her idiot brother and hitting him for good measure. She has discovered that not only is he not going to lead them home, lead anyone much less the Seven Kingdoms but he is supremely arrogant and stupid to boot.

I love her consigliere. If she leaves the horse king, it should be for this guy.

Who else in the episode was hot for Roz, the "girl with the golden heart" (because you can't use the w word here) besides Jon Snow? The imp?

And speaking of the Imp, not a smart move on Lady Stark's part taking him hostage. Though it may get him thinking about his own family's involvement.....

And finally, King Robert has a son ala Jon Snow as well. And, if I'm following the storyline right, it's not the poor dead former squire to the dead Hand but the young, good-looking blacksmith with the custom designed helmet. Do he and Jon Snow share a mother? How creepy would that be?

Poor Ned and his right hand guy, did they really think trusting Jamie Lannister with paperwork was smart? Luckily, Jamie was a jerk and refused to take it.

I can't wait for next week to see what Jon Snow does, what the Imp does and if the someone looses their hands!

It would serve him right!

[pvitari]

And finally, King Robert has a son ala Jon Snow as well.

Actually good ole King Robert has (I think this is the figure) 9 illegitimate children. ;) He found his fun in many different, er, places. :)

All I can say is... keep on watching. Stuff that goes by in a flash in the first season is going to come back in the second. :) And so on. ;)