OMG!...this show has gone TOO FAR now!! [spoilers]

Richard Dower

They started off with killing wolves, then beheading horses....but now.... :eek:
.....now they are slaughtering newborn babies, slitting their throats .......:eek:


This has gone too far now!, i see the interwebs and forums are up in arms about this, too far show, too far! :mad:

MitchKoobski

It worked then. It was supposed to be horrifying! The whole point of suggesting the act is so you will be horrified by their actions.

Temptamperu

The bible has a lot of infanticide and no-one complains why is it that a TV show gets people up in arms.

Also no babies really died so stop worrying about it.

aN.Droid

Richard Dower wrote: »

They started off with killing wolves, then beheading horses....but now.... :eek:
.....now they are slaughtering newborn babies, slitting their throats .......:eek:


This has gone too far now!, i see the interwebs and forums are up in arms about this, too far show, too far! :mad:

The show broadcasts on a tv station that is known for its no holds barred rules.

If people don't want to watch it then don't subscribe to the station which is a premium station in the US. Or even better yet, if you still want to subscribe, don't watch it. No one is forcing you.

As has been said before, this isn't the first time this sort of act has been used in, most famously is the bible.

Lardy

Watched episode 1 this morning..You don't even see it happen, nothing to get your knickers in a twist about to be honest...

madrab

yeah get over it, there is much worse in the books

tvnutz

This deserved its own thread? As I mentioned in the episode thread,it was a very effective scene,horrible,but effective. And you don't see any babies die.

Talk about over the top reaction.

mikemac1

Chill OP

Sure in Season one they said the same was done to the Targaryen children as I remember.

The kingslayer killed the king and the children were killed in Kings Landing

New regime comes in, children get killed.

blatantrereg

troll
troll kinda taking the p!ss out of me too.

The subject was discussed a bit in the episode discussion [without book talk] thread. You posted there earlier too

Richard Dower wrote: »

Who was yer one with the cracking set of boobs at the end?....lol, riding school indeed. Solid opener, the dragons looked class....quality CGI and the direwolves looked ace!
Great to have the show back, it's was an opener....a setup for things to come, not too much happened tbh, but it's good to have all the faces and new faces.

Needs moere boobs though! 4/5

podgemonster

The killing of Roberts bastards was a cruel vicious act and some shows may cloak scenes like that with editing to suit audience ratings.

I'm glad HBO didn't hold back. It portrayed the coldness of Janos Slynt and his men. Also the effects of Joffery actions had on the people of Kings Landing and how undiscrete and brutal the murders were.

Its a show set in a harsh world similar to medieval times and bad sh*t happened. If you don't like it don't watch it.

pixelburp

Don't like it? Turn it off & stop watching. The first season made no concessions to either squeamishness or prudery, getting ones' pantaloons in a twist at this stage is a little selective in ones outrage. Touch of the Daily Mails here tbh.

gandalf

pixelburp wrote: »

Touch of the Daily Mails here tbh.

More likely a touch of the "look at me I'm seeking attention"!!!

Niall09

podgemonster wrote: »

The killing of Roberts bastards was a cruel vicious act and some shows may cloak scenes like that with editing to suit audience ratings.

Was it all bastards, or just Robert's that were killed?

baalthor

They had baby stabbing and lots of other stuff (including naked ladies) in I,Claudius - that was on the BBC in 1976 ...

ceegee

Niall09 wrote: »

podgemonster wrote: »

The killing of Roberts bastards was a cruel vicious act and some shows may cloak scenes like that with editing to suit audience ratings.

Was it all bastards, or just Robert's that were killed?

Just Roberts

krudler

brutal times and all that. sure a baby gets it neck broken in the pilot for Battlestar Galactica.

Anachrony

ceegee wrote: »

Just Roberts

Which, to be fair, is most of them.

Kold

I demand more baby brutality.

heebusjeebus

Baby killings happen in real life too OP. Read Robert Fisks War for Civilisation for an eye opener.
Was well done in this episode. It gives us a good sense of danger for Arya's well being.

stevenmu

I'm just going to go right ahead and say it: I think the baby-killing scene was fantastic, it was probably the highlight of the episode. Sure the act is despicable and appalling, but that's exactly what made it such compelling tv.

pixelburp

Mind you, as much as I disagree with Dower's hyperbole as being needless, I did find myself wondering if I would have found the scenes more distressing if I were a father myself. I always presume it changes one's perspectives on things, heightens ones emotions and whatnot ...

mikemac1

Is it wrong that I was more upset about Lady the direwolf then the children?


Would be an interesting project for some student to look at how people react to violence against people and against animals

Anachrony

I found it disturbing, but it was supposed to be. They didn't actually show it, which might have been gratuitous.

If they had just had people in a room talking about it without showing the orders carried out, that would have been a cheat. If infanticide is going to be part of the plot it shouldn't be cold and theoretical like a history textbook, it should be visceral and revolting. There is no good reason it should have been left to the imagination except as a concession to the squeamish, which is not what HBO does.

Temptamperu

rhonin

Don't see any problem with it although having read the book I knew it happened but it still was a wtf moment when I watched it last night but it paid off.
Similarly in season one when

Jamie pushes Bran out of the window

I was :eek: because I hadn't read the books at that stage.

You don't see the killings of the babies but it was meant to show what they will do to protect Joffery's claim as king.

mikemac1

mikemac1 wrote: »

Chill OP

Sure in Season one they said the same was done to the Targaryen children as I remember.

The kingslayer killed the king and the children were killed in Kings Landing

New regime comes in, children get killed.

Poor aul Aegon and Rhaenys.

It's pretty much there to show how cruel Joffrey's becoming now that the power is going to his head. Have to say the actor that plays Joffrey plays a stormer, Robb's scottish accent fits well in the north too.

Wetbench4

mikemac1 wrote: »

Chill OP

Sure in Season one they said the same was done to the Targaryen children as I remember.

The kingslayer killed the king and the children were killed in Kings Landing

New regime comes in, children get killed.

Yes

gregor clegane, the mountain

, bashes Rheagar's baby son's head against a wall, while at the same time his 3yr old daughter gets stabbed to death. These books can be brutal in parts but that's what makes it more realistic, I think.

Riskymove

baalthor wrote: »

They had baby stabbing and lots of other stuff (including naked ladies) in I,Claudius - that was on the BBC in 1976 ...

FFS People get fed their own children in a Shakespeare play!!

there is hardly a person left standing in Hamlet, and so on

Beruthiel

Richard Dower wrote: »

This has gone too far now!

Drama lama.
It's a television series, following very closely to the fantasy books.
If you can't get your head around that fact I'd suggest you stop watching, because there's lots more murdering and killing to come.

Sleepy

Wait'll he see's episode 2

blatantrereg

most successful troll of the year

Most people seem to have ignored my last post indicating this is a troll, so look here is proof:

This issue came up on one of the episode discussion threads.

Here is the subthread discussing the issue:

boneyarsebogman wrote: »

Wow. HBO are brave. Showing the near on-screen murder of a baby.

Temptamperu wrote: »

HBO can be as brave as they want. They don't have advertisers so they can do what they want and funding wont get cut.

blatantrereg wrote: »

It was unnecessary really. In very questionable taste, and a little cheap. They could have handled it very differently and still made it clear what was being carried out.

tvnutz wrote: »

How exactly? It was showing how ruthless and insane Joffrey is,killing anyone that may have a claim to the throne. It was tough watching but necessary. I thought the whole montage was really well done and it brought us to Arya at the end,and we know now that she is in danger because she is with one of the bastard sons.

blatantrereg wrote: »

There would be plenty of more tasteful ways to make the situation just as clear. A scene showing the soldiers being ordered by a superior to go find and kill any of the dead king's bastard for example.

There was no need to show it. Sure there is more of an emotional impact in showing something like that - but it is a cheap way of achieving it.

tvnutz wrote: »

That wouldn't have been effective. They didn't show the baby die,it was done off screen. Just someone giving an order would have been rubbish. I know it sounds strange that I am defending this, I don't want to see scenes of babies die on screen! And we didn't see that, but I thought it was brilliantly done and very effective.

blatantrereg wrote: »

It might have been effective if the acting of the soldiers was good - the guy who couldn't do it giving the same appalled look for example. In any case I'm sure the team behind the show could come up with better things than I could if they had a mind to.

I think there's enough in the show without needing cheap shots like that. Unabashed melodrama has been a feature from the start though and in general I like that in it. Not slagging it off - I really like the show, and I'm not going to stop watching or anything.

Anyway, it's just my opinion. Your opinion is different. Doubt either will change so let's leave it at that.

That was the end of it. The OP didn't comment on the issue at all. Here was his genuine reaction to the episode (posted after watching it fully, and after the previous discussion):

Richard Dower wrote: »

Who was yer one with the cracking set of boobs at the end?....lol, riding school indeed. Solid opener, the dragons looked class....quality CGI and the direwolves looked ace!
Great to have the show back, it's was an opener....a setup for things to come, not too much happened tbh, but it's good to have all the faces and new faces.

Needs moere boobs though! 4/5