h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've got a few ideas. But then, I've read the books.

If you've not read the books, read the books.

As FB says, Game of Thrones makes me want my life to fly by as quickly as possible. I want it to be next Monday already.

I love Varys, I love how Conleth Hill plays him and how he says more with a gesture or a glance than many actors do with pages of dialogue. Ironically, he's one of the few characters I actually trust. I believe him when he says he's acting for the realm, when he enjoys but is deeply wary of Littlefinger. His parry and thrust with the Queen of Thorns was an unexpected delight and I could watch an entire episode of just those two.

Am I alone in being utterly terrified of Iwan Rheon? That smile as he took Theon back made my skin crawl.

As for Dany: damn, just damn. Mother of Dragons indeed.

"Am I alone in being utterly terrified of Iwan Rheon?"

No. That bastard is terrifying.

He's only been in a few episodes and he's already turned in a better performance than most of the younger cast.

He is one of the more monstrous characters in the series, and that's saying something!

Y'now we haven't all read the books and some of us might like to find out how peoples characters develop over time ourselves.....

FB

"So, worth waiting for?"

Oh yeah!

My comment to my watching buddy as the credits rolled was... "Wow. Westeros is f&*^ed."

BTW, I spent a good few minutes earlier trying to work out who Iwan rheon is

Might be nice to use character rather than actor names for use confused souls

That'll be the Barsteward of Bolton then.

The problem is, he hasn't officially been called the Bastard of Bolton: book readers are presuming that's who he is, but the show hasn't confirmed it yet. He's currently credited as Boy.

To be honest, while he was indeed a creepy git, the whole Theon bit was one of the more negative parts of the episode, for me. The bit where he made the realisation that he'd chosen wrong was good, sure - but the whole bit about him escaping, riding, creeping about and finally getting caught again (didn't he *notice* he was being brought back to the same place? Assuming it was the same place - it looked like the same place. Just how bloody stupid is he?) The whole thing seemed needlessly confusing, rather than engagingly mysterious. Again, I'm hoping there turns out to be some sort of reason behind what comes across as time-filling titting about - but even if there is, it won't change the essentially annoyingly confusing nature of what happened in this episode. I wasn't left thinking "ooh, someone is clearly deliberately messing with Theon's head here, I wonder who it is and why?", more "Oh come on, seriously?". Some tiny additional revelation might have assuaged that. Still, it's only a small thing in the context of an otherwise pretty good episode.

Also, while I'm on about the negatives, can someone who knows the books explain how it is that the Night's Watch:

(a) seem to treat Craster as though he's some peerless psycho who could, on a whim, cut all their throats where they stand without them having time to draw their swords? They tiptoe round him as though they're terrified of him, and he clearly feels able to threaten them, individually and as a group - but he's ONE MAN, stuck out in the wilds effectively alone (apart from a bunch of terrified women) and furthermore a man who has deliberately and over the course of years arranged things so that there will be no other men around him, sons, to defend him if someone decides to have a go at him? I was assuming he was a sorceror or something, but Owen out of Torchwood did for him with what looked like a potato peeler, thus making their care around him even more baffling.

(b) manage to start a huge riot/brawl in a place where there's only one man to fight, and he's the *first one killed* and that bit starts the riot? Who exactly was fighting who there? For two and a half seasons they've been built up as this amazingly dedicated force with this incredible iron discipline and commitment to their cause and, crucially, each other bordering on the fanatical... then apparently under the influence of the guy I took to calling the morale officer (the one who moaned about "piggy" and muttered about Craster hiding food) in what seems like a matter of days they turn on each other like a pack of feral chavs and literally stab their own leader in the back. That really didn't ring true to me.

I'll have a crack. Possible spoilers.


(a) It's not made clear in the show, but the reason Mormont doesn't want Craster agitated is because he's the only game in town. He's the only safe haven for their rangers beyond the wall.

If he sees his arse with the watch, they've got nowhere to rest and resupply. If he dies, there's nowhere to rest and resupply. For however many years, Craster's been the only wilding that doesn't want to gut the watch and Mormont knows they need his house and food.

But Mormont can't say this in front of Craster (would you be happy with a guest asking his friends not to kill you, because they need somewhere out of the rain), so Mormont needs to make the watch wary of the fruitcake. Hence he plays up to the old nutter's claims of being the deadliest axeman in all the land.

But the watch aren't stupid. They know Craster's one man, and one man who looks like he'll go down if you knife him. The only thing stopping someone from gutting the freak is fear of reprisals, and watch discipline.



(b) We see The Watch from the viewpoint of Jon and Sam. Both of noble birth, who've been sold this life of solitude and servitude as some sort of noble ideal. "Join the watch, save the realm, stand with your brothers." The reality is that most of them are illiterate thieves, rapists and malcontents who chose the wall instead of the headsman's block. "Join the watch, live a long and miserable life, but don't get your head cut off." The book does a better job with the disconnect between Jon's expectations and the reality, but it's there in the show.

With that in mind, when a group of the malcontents see Craster go down and attempt a bit of looting and rape, the more honourable sorts (Grenn, Ed, etc) are going to try and stop them. And that's obviously going to lead to fisticuffs.

That's without the fact that these are people who are starving, and been marched 100 miles through enemy-held arctic wastes just to have their horses and half their mates killed. Even a disciplined volunteer force would be fraying at the edges, let alone this ragtag collection of convicts and disgraced Lordlings.

This explains a bit too. http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Mutiny_at_Craster%27s_Keep

Only read up to "Participants", and there shouldn't be any show spoilers.

Yep, that's a good summary.

What might also not be apparent with the Watch is that many years ago - they were a mighty force that could man the wall from east to west coast. By the current time period they've been neglected (mostly by the south) to the point where they can only realistically man one fort and the rest of the fortresses are in ruins. There aren't very many Night's Watch left and what are left are mostly untrustworthy criminals. The Wall is barely guarded.

What the series title (it's the title of just the first book) also doesn't convey is that the overarching story is called A Song of Ice and Fire.

So Firewise we have the Dragons of Danerys and the Red Priests/priestesses and Ice-wise we have Winter coming and the White walkers. The whole thing is (I think) going to end up with humanity stuck in between and who knows what's going to happen.
Even us who read the books don't know that yet.

I think Theon's predicament will become clearer (and yes, he pretty much is that stupid) but this is an odd one because as I may have mentioned, this is all stuff from the newest book, which is quite interesting plotwise. I don't see how they can use the same plot as in the book... (well I can, but....)

I'll buy the NW turning on each other for the stated reasons, just about, but I'd have preferred it if their non-conformance to the ideal had been cued up a bit further in advance. It seemed to me to literally start last week, with the morale officer's complaints about Tarly slowing them down. Until that point, it didn't seem there were any cracks in the wall. It wouldn't have taken much to set up a bit further in advance the idea that mutiny was a possibility, even probability. I didn't think that was prepared for enough for it to be credible at this point.

I still don't get the thing with Craster, though. If the NW need rest and resupply north of the wall, it's an option for them to set it up for themselves... isn't it? I mean, if Craster ON HIS OWN can defend and maintain a farm, surely the NW can spare three or four men to do something similar? That's all it would take, given that Craster seems able to run his defence single-handed, even at his age.

In the books the plot is actually hatched just before the Battle of the Fist of the First Men, and was building throughout the march to Craster's Keep, but that all happened off-screen for us (I suspect so we could see Dany do her thing - a decent trade in my book). There was a large amount of discontent with Mormont's decision to go north and then to stick it out at the Fist.

Not really because they would be taken out by wildlings who to a man hate the Night's Watch.

I think the series doesn't really put across very well just how hostile it is up there. Craster is a bit of a legend amongst the wildlings iirc in the books and so is more than tolerated.

>>That's all it would take, given that Craster seems able to run his defence single-handed, even at his age.<<

Craster stays safe by giving his sons as sacrifices/tributes to the White Walkers: we see him doing it in S2 and he made reference to it in this episode. Craster doesn't defend his keep, the Others do and that's probably not an option for the Nights Watch.

Fair enough. It's a minor criticism, and I guess a lot has to happen off screen otherwise each episode would be six hours long...

Was always going to be a bit "After the Lord Mayors" show after last week but I thoroughly enjoyed the more character focussed episode.

I wondered when Ser Jorah's treachery would show its face again. And the growing animosity between him and Barriston is coming along nicely.

I thought Masie Williams was flipping brilliant again. And that last scene with the Lannisters. Woof!

Anyone else think the Olenna and Tyrion was a bit of a let down though? Should have been totes amazeballs but, well, meh.

FB