Game of Thrones current season- Is it just me? (spoilers)

[palitoy]

I gotta tell ya, last week's episode had me thinking of walking away.

S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S


While it's never been an upbeat show, something seems off this year. It's gotten so bleak and seems to be removing any character I like in a regular fashion.

I'm all for darkness, I'm not saying it has to be all hope and light but gahhhh!

Watching Baratheon murder his daughter right after we were treated to a creepy pedophile, just had me wondering what i'm getting out of this anymore.

Is it just me?

[LonnieFisher]

Sounds like a terrible show.

[SentientApe]

This was a HUGE departure from the books (one of so very many), but I understand that GRR Martin had Shireen's sacrifice planned for the upcoming (unwritten) volume. And God only knows when THAT will see the light of day.

S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S

I had been waiting for Daenerys' Dragon ride, but it came much faster than it should have... although they admittedly need to accelerate some storylines to match the timing of the season ending cliffhanger and eschew some of the seemingly endless content of the books to instead present a dramatic story.

Having read the books, I am rather confused by the existing show, as non-existing events occur (Tyrion meets Daenerys!?), while others do not happen at all (Sam + girlfriend still at Castle Black, where Maester Aemon actually dies without leaving... And thus the entire subplot of Mance Rayder's son has been eliminated). Meanwhile, eliminating another character and instead subjecting Sansa Stark to the terror seemed even more cruel than burning Shireen at the stake. I assume that Catelyn Stark is staying dead after all, because that should have been addressed at least an entire season ago.

They are truncating Arya's sorry far too fast, and I presume Cersei's tale its being wrapped up as well ...even though that drama could be drawn out for weeks. I guess they are afraid of losing viewers.

With only one episode to go, I think we are all wondering... is the HUGE death imminent, or are they keeping the arguably greatest loss until next season? [Details withheld in case anyone ignored the multiple previous mention of "SPOILERS"] Reflecting on how much of the story has been abridged (virtually two entire books condensed into a single season??), I don't see an entire season of book content remaining until that point... If I am correct, next Sunday may be the episode where most of the fans stop watching permanently. You hate losing beloved characters? Just wait...

[Nostalgiabuff]

I don't think they will do that death. they are going in another direction. besides I don't think he is really dead in the books either, we will see in volume 6. they are building it all not towards the ultimate war against he walkers and the army of the undead. storylines and characters are converging now and will continue to do so, probably a lot next season. I love the show, but I admit to being shocked at what Stanus did to his daughter. that was just brutal. I am glad they did not actually show it, some things should just never be seen, even if only make believe

[Gorn Captain]

I have to agree, I'm starting to lose interest as well.
I love the show, but the fact that all the good guys just keep getting killed off, and the bad guys keep doing their "thing" is starting to depress me. It's all so bleak.

And some storylines just keep dragging on and on. Arya has been wandering for years now, and there's never any progress. Most of the characters just talk and talk, and only Jon Snow seems to move forward as a character. This probably means they'll kill him off next week.
The fights near The Wall are great, but the rest is becoming tiresome.
That doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good conversation, but let's move on a bit, shall we?

Get the dragons out of the cellar, re-unite the Starks, give us a little hope while we still have one or two good guys standing...

[SentientApe]

... some things should just never be seen, even if only make believe

And yet they showed the gouging-out of eyeballs in excruciatingly graphic detail. I wholeheartedly agree with your comment.

[SentientApe]

And some storylines just keep dragging on and on. Arya has been wandering for years now, and there's never any progress.

IMHO, the most engaging character stories in the books are those of Tyrion and Arya. And yet almost 99% of Tyrion's most recent story has been excised, which is almost matched by what has been removed from Arya's saga. Granted, not all of that might have been perfectly translated into an action-packed series filled with bare boobs and bloodletting, but that has been some of the best storytelling.

I realize the television producers must make some cuts to bring the story to the screen, but sometimes they don't feel like the right cuts.

[cjefferys]

Yeah, that scene at the stake was rough, really rough. I was kind of expecting/dreading it to happen because things really seemed to be leaning that way in the show and in the books. When there was that tender scene between Stannis and Shireen a few episodes, that made me start to worry, especially since it was really the first scene to humanize Stannis and make him almost likable. And then the sweet scene this week between Davos and Shireen and then Davos being sent away, I thought "Oh crap, this is it!". (I'm really wondering how Davos is going to react to all this when he finds out).

Now that for the most part the TV show is passing the books, a lot of this will be uncharted water for me, so I really don't know what the endgame will be for this. But I will stick with it, unfortunately this story takes place in a world where very unpleasant things happen to nice people. But I'll admit that last weeks scene was one of the more disturbing things I've seen (and heard) on a TV show. Kind of wondering what will happen in the finale now, considering we are being told it will "break the internet".

[Gorn Captain]

SPOILERS



The only thing that would cheer me up next episode, is if Davos comes back, hears what has happened, and simply chops off that witch's head.
No hesitation, just "off with 'r head!"

Btw, is it me, or have The Unsullied really become pretty weak fighters? Protecting their Queen seems to be too much for them these days.
The Many Faced God guy is really working on my nerves as well.
And let's hope we will see an action figure of Arya, with "oyster selling action"...

This season has been rather disappointing.

[cjefferys]

The only thing that would cheer me up next episode, is if Davos comes back, hears what has happened, and simply chops off that witch's head.
No hesitation, just "off with 'r head!"

I'd love to see that but it's doubtful, it seems like there is a bigger endgame in store for her and Stannis.

Btw, is it me, or have The Unsullied really become pretty weak fighters? Protecting their Queen seems to be too much for them these days.

It's been bugging me too, the Unsullied were born and raised to be fighters, they are supposed to be very formidable. One theory going around on the net is that they were trained to fight large armies on an open battle field, not small scale, one on one combat, but still....

[Mego Magyar]

Never read the books but started watching the show after a free HBO weekend where they were running a marathon of the first two seasons. I have Wiki'd the books and read what was to come in what he's written so far and decided not to watch this season. Giving up after the last season that finished book three seemed like a good place to stop.

Most epic stories have "heroes" that you root for and the villains that you can't wait to see get what they deserve but GoT doesn't seem to follow that. Every time there is a character that is brought along as the "good guy" he ends up getting killed off - even the villains shift to an extent. It's as though Martin is just having fun playing around in this world he created without a true direction waiting until it's time to end things ( if he lives long enough to write all the book at the rate he's going in getting them out ) and then he will tie everything up in a way that he likes. Just my 2 cents.

[SentientApe]

The only thing that would cheer me up next episode, is if Davos comes back, hears what has happened, and simply chops off that witch's head.
No hesitation, just "off with 'r head!"

He can't... he's dead. Oh, that's right -- so confusing.

I also agree about the Unsullied -- it's as if they have been utterly emasculated. I mean... Oh, you know what I mean.

[gummi]

I think this is the best season yet. It can be very bleak at times, but it's also one of the few shows on television that has left me with my jaw agape on more than a few occasions, and that's definitely not a bad thing. Besides, everything I've been dying to see since season one is coming to fruition now. The next few seasons are going to be amazing.

[Hector]

Not a fan of Game of Thrones...I miss my Spartacus on Starz...I loved that show.

[Nostalgiabuff]

you are in the wrong thread Hector, LOL

this season has been hit or miss. the 8th episode with the walkers taking out the wildlings was one of the best episodes of the entire series. I can't wait for the ******* Bolton to get offed. that dude is just plain evil