Season 3 Episode 9: Have NOT read the books/BEWARE SPOILERS MOD NOTE POST #1

Yikes.

I suspected the Boltons might be thinking to switch teams, but I wasn't expecting that. I also suspected Robb might finally come to ruin when attacking Casterly Rock, but I guess I was wayyy off the mark there. Given how much time was spent talking about that battle, this feels like a massive Bait & Switch.

I guess there's no point discussing the other strands, because there's only one scene(s) that'll be the subject of this thread! And as for what I just witnessed, I'm not shocked, I'm angry Given I'm ignorant of the books, despite what some around here have tried to claim, I'm not sure if the anger should be directed at GRR Martin or HBO. I suppose the 9th episode is now infamous for being the one where the biggest shock / twist happens (although book-reader friends did their best to foreshadow things with annoying bullsh*t winking), but that definitely just took the biscuit. Escalation for the sake of it in my mind.

I've had a theory about narratives for some time, that creating an environment where no character is safe can potentially be counter-productive. Whilst it keeps the tension high & makes sure the viewer never gets comfortable, I think the flipside is that one can potentially stop caring for the characters - why would you, when you know the creators are total sadists, as likely to kill off your favourites when you least suspect it, just for the sake of a short-term shock.

This feels like a vindication of that theory, or at least a moment where perhaps I should indeed stop caring. Where's the point in wasting time, investing yourself in a character-arc if the author / scriptwriters arbitrarily, and viciously, kill the characters off on a whim? I'm no mug, I don't expect a happy ending - sure isn't that what the torturer said the other week to Theon - but this feels like the show has gone way beyond the pale.

It was a shock, sure, in the sense that I wasn't expecting this level of bloodbath & this many deaths - so I guess kudos for taking me by surprise - but this act feels like such a lame attempt to shock your audience that I cannot respect the action or the intention. It's practically Flash Gordon levels of a sudden narrative twist: everything was hunky dory, oh and then suddenly they all died - ISN'T THAT SHOCKING???

No Game of Thrones it isn't.

An entire family (two families!) worth of characters have now become narrative deadends; and in a series that has frequently moved at a snail's pace thanks to an over-stuffed castlist, this act feels like a cheat.

I'm off to watch Venture Bros. - least that's a nice pick-me-up after this.

Edit: haha, kinky GoT reference in new Venture Bros.

iamanengine wrote: »

^ Your lack of love for Game of Thrones angers me :P I kid, but seriously, damn, I thought that was amazing television. Never in my life have I been so stunned by a tv show, I was speechless after that.

If that's at me, don't get me wrong, I enjoy Game of Thrones, but some of its narrative flaws have gone from being cute to just plain annoying.

Investing myself emotionally in this show's cast seems like a masochistic exercise; I think I'll just stick with enjoying the scale of it all rather than get too comfy with the cast. Where's the point, that Martin fellow clearly likes target practice

iamanengine wrote: »

What difference would it make if Robb died in battle at Casterly Rock rather then at Frey's hand, the result is the same, it's just less shocking so I don't really buy that the writers are just trying to get a cheap shock, it was unexpected yes, but I didn't find it cheap.

It didn't feel like a proper resolution to the storyline, just a sudden decision to off the major limbs of the Stark family for a bit of shock. Maybe it's just the fact it's the 9th episode, that it's now some form of trope that GoT's ninth in the series has to contain a big bad shock and as a result I was expecting something awful to happen *shrug* Robb's arc seemed to be going elsewhere, so it's disappointing this big slice through the primary movers has happened.

iamanengine wrote: »

So I'd seen the whole Red Wedding thing mentioned here and there online, I guess we finally found out what that meant!

Agreed; least it means there's no more of the irritating winking; least until series 4