2x02 The Night Lands

[netgirl_y2k]

You know, I thought I was pretty immune to the amount of sexposition in this show, but, blimey, that was a lot of sex.


-Hang on, did they just kill Rakharo? Wait, no, you can't do that. The only reason I can cope with this show at all is that I know which deaths to expect. You can't just start killing off characters when I don't know to brace myself, it isn't fair. Oh, Rakharo, you were the finest of the Dothraki.

Although I did like Dany's reaction. Has anyone else noticed a similarity between Dany and Stannis here?

Dany/Stannis: I will kill them all.
Jorah/Davos/Someone else with a firmer grip on reality: But we're vastly, vastly outnumbered.
Dany/Stannis: KILL THEM ALL.
Jorah/Davos: But... But...
Dany/Stannis: THEM ALL. KILL.

-"You can't steal her. She's a person, not a goat." And with that line Samwell Tarly becomes the person with the most enlightened gender views in Westeros. Well done, Sam, ILU.

-You know, I may be getting ahead of myself here, but I think those Greyjoys look slightly suspicious and I'm not sure we should entirely trust them.

-When I read the books the moment that I decided that Theon was irredeemably awful and I wished only bad things to happen to him was that scene with the captain's daughter and that's true of the show too. But then there was the scene at Pyke with his father. It's actually why I think Alifie Allen makes such a good Theon, he manages to be both a sad little puppy who only wants to be accepted, and, you know, utter, utter scum.

I do not enjoy the feelings you make me feel, Theon, but I feel them anyway.

-I don't think there was a way to film that scene on the horse without it being skeevy and weird, but I have to applaud Asha (Yara? Yarra?) for being the biggest troll in Westeros who isn't Jaime Lannister.

-Okay, so that's Asha. I can has a Brienne now?

-I'm sorry, but I did really love her "Anything with a cock is easy to fool." More of her please.

-Although, everyone who is saying that Gemma Whelen isn;t hot enough to play Asha, two things 1) Shut up, 2) Alfie Allen.

Comments

[miarrow]

I feel horrible, because Asha is just NOT WHAT I MENTALLY PICTURED and I was so shamefully attracted to my mental picture that I know I'm being a biased jerk over this lovely woman who I'm sure is going to play her fine (although her manerisms aren't really the way I pictured either, none of the Greyjoys, it's my own fault for thinking Medeterian Pirates rather than Vikings).

I do not enjoy the feelings you make me feel, Theon, but I feel them anyway.

I KNOW. AGH. HORRIBLE. Stupid Theon and his Theony face. I wasn't prepared for my possible ADWD feelings this early.

I'm feeling rather... confused as to how to react to the changes (like killing characters who are very not dead, or writing out characters). One thing weird is people saying that changing the order to Joffery's instead of Cersei's is such a big deal. Um. Well, it's a fine adjustment in so much that we never got conformation Cersei did it (though yeah she def did, imo) and they've switched up a lot of dynamics (like Robb/Cat) for the sake of the kids being a bit older.

I don't know how I feel about the Robb changes in particular. A lot of what I loved about him was that he was oh so young but now he's kind of not. So as much as I enjoy Richard Madden's face, he's become GENERIC FANTASY HERO TYPE so I'm kind of... bored.

At least Jon's scenes have Sam.

[netgirl_y2k]

Yeah, Yara really isn't how Asha is physically described in the books, then again she feels so Asha-ish to me that I don't really care. It probably helps that I never actually pictured Theon and Asha as being that physically attractive, more as being the sort of mouthy, swaggering, overconfident types where you'd cease to notice their lack of conventional attractiveness. It probably also helps that, yeah, I had them in my heads as Vikings.

My Theon feelings can currently be summed up as: THEON YOU HORRID, REPULSIVE, PUNCHABLE LITTLE SHIT. COME TO MY BOSOM WHERE NO ONE CAN HURT YOU.

I don't know why Rakharo's death his me so hard, except that I was all braced for Doreah to snuff it and then they switched it up and it hit me totally from left field. Although, I suppose it's unavoidable that there'd be some things like that, if only for reasons of actor availability and other external factors.

I know a lot of people have a problem with the way the Robb/Cat dynamic has changed and think it does a disservice to Cat's character. But, honestly, I think it's the inevitable result of Robb being older, and frankly that leaving Robb as underdeveloped as he was in the books for the sake of Cat's arc would have been worse? I think the GENERIC FANTASY HERO thing would be more annoying me more if I didn't know about the upcoming Red Wedding.

I also think there's some other storylines (HI, JON SNOW! HI!) that could have done with being altered to take account of the new character ages. Jon is one of my favourite book characters, but there are lots of things that are understandable and sympathetic in a fourteen year old boy that are ridiculous when applied to a grown-assed-man. Although, as you say, at least there's Sam.

[miarrow]

I think the GENERIC FANTASY HERO thing would be more annoying me more if I didn't know about the upcoming Red Wedding.

I think that's why it annoys me so much. I won't have as much emotional tramua over it. Although maybe that's a good thing. I don't need to cry for three days straight again.

[mfirefly10]

Aw, Gemma's cute! She's just a different physical type to what I imagined, if that makes sense? Like, I tend to forget how characters are described in books about 5 pages after their physical description is given (assuming it was for Asha, because I really don't remember). For some reason I always pictured Asha as more of a Claudia Black type, though maybe slightly taller. (I think Claudia Black is 5'8? I imagine Asha closer to 5'10) The long, dark hair; slender but with the kind of physical presence where you just know she could kick your ass if she wanted to :)

So it took me a minute to adjust to a seemingly shorter, slightly blonder version of Asha/Yara but I warmed up to her pretty quickly. I only wish they hadn't cut so much of her conversation with/trolling of Theon before he learns her real identity. I feel like that whole thing was much longer in the book. But Yara's scenes and the bits with Arya were definitely my favorite moments from the episode.

SO bummed about Rakharo! Especially given that I almost started shipping him with Dany based on their little conversation in the season opener :(

[netgirl_y2k]

The only thing I really registered about Asha's physical description in the books was that she had black hair, and I had kind of pictured her taller because she is meant to be a woman who can kill you with a throwing axe. At the same time, as soon as we had Alfie Allen as Theon I sort of figured we weren't going to get the traditional fanart!Asha as his sister. And what I do really appreciate is that the Greyjoys (like the Starks and the Lannisters) all do look like they could really be related. But it looks like ep 3 is a Greyjoy heavy episode and I expect to have fully adjusted by the end of that.

Rakharo *sniffle* he will be missed. Yeah, I'd almost shipped them after that moment too. Which, thinking about it now, is probably why the showrunners, in a moment of evil genius, wrote it in.

[mfirefly10]

Hmmm...so I wasn't that off in my idea of Asha...Still, I like the actress they cast and I'm sure after a few more scenes, 'Yara' will be one of my favorites :)

The only potentially good thing I can see from Rakharo's death is that it might mean Doreah survives, which would make me very happy. But I can also see them killing her and stripping Dany of yet another person she was close to :(

[fly_to_dawn]

Asha was amazing, she's one of my (many) favourites in the books and I wasn't disappointed - lady has swag :D

Like you I found Rakharo's death surprising and all the more heartbreaking because of it; I was all preparing myself for Dany's handmaiden's death and BOOM bye Rakharo :( (Although at least he's alive in the bookverse, so lalalala not listening Irri/Rakharo happily ever after lalala.)

I am also super-excited for next week, because as you said, Brienne! And also more Catelyn and yay Margaery and hopefully there'll be Sansa too (although my heart will be breaking as I watch it. D:)

[netgirl_y2k]

Swag. Yes. Exactly. That's it. Swag.

Bookverse Rakharo lives, and will be Dany's loyal bloodrider even after she takes the Iron Throne, and he will have lots of little Dothraki with Irri, and in my head he looks remarkably like showverse Rakharo, la la la.

Brienne! Margaery! Cat! SANSA!

[karatam]

But does this mean that they might spare the handmaiden's (Doreah, right?) life in exchange for killing Rakharo? Because I approve of her sticking around to be super gay with Dany, even if I'm mourning him.

And I love Dany's eternal FUCK COMMON SENSE LET ME FUCK THEM UP can-do attitude.

Needs moar Sansa tho.

I was mildly confused by the name change for Asha (apparently they thought people would get her confused with Osha?) but I love a lady with swagger. And axes. And I just like her so much more than Theon because I mostly hate him (when I don't want to like take him away so someone can love him).

And Joffrey continues to be the world's biggest (or rather, smallest, the boy has to be compensating for something, ew this is gross to think about) prick.

[karatam]

*SPOILER ALERT*

And I'm dreading/impatient for episode 4, because "Sansa is chastised by Joffrey in revenge for her brother's victories" and I know my heart will just explode with feelings.

[netgirl_y2k]

It is one of the great tragedies of Dany's life that her dragons aren't growing quickly enough to keep up with her desire to take over bits of the world and kill people. But I do approve of her hanging around the desert being artfully dishevelled and really gay with Doreah.

Yeah, the name change was a bit weird, because it's not ike Osha and Yara are similar characters who're going to share any screentime (I suppose, unless Yara goes with Theon to Winterfell?) Still, I'm sure I'll get used to it. And if nothing else Gemma Whelen does bring a certain amount of swagger to the role.

I want to punch Theon frequently. How can one guy make so many bad decisions? Surely by the law of large numbers eventually he'd have to hit a good one? But then I want to cuddle him and lie to him, tell him it will all be alright.

I am going to die of Sansa feelings. I just know it.