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

Oh and how incredibly amazing was the Kingslayer in that one? Amazing how your sympathies move toward him as the series is progressing.

FB

Yeah well they did that in the book.

Just don't forget his opening gambit of dropping a 7 year old boy from a high window and his rampant incest...
Lovely bloke

I can forgive the incest thing, it's his ruthless attempted murder of children that gives me issues with him. Nicolaj Coster Waldau plays an absolute blinder with the character: he was nothing less than mesmerising this week.

Arya really got to me too: her telling Gendry she could be his family showed she was Ned Stark's daughter through and through. His response that she would always be m'lady was true too. I like Gendry a lot, I liked his choice and reason for sticking with the Brotherhood without Banners. Then there was Arya asking if Thoros could bring back Ned - man, that was painful.

I was wondering how they'd follow last week: this was the perfect way, by not trying to follow the last episode. Loved all the character-building work and the attention paid to somewhat background characters like Thoros and Selyse/Shireen.

pickled babies *shudder* I wont be able to sleep for a while

I like to think of the TV series as a kind of classic sword-and-sorcery chivalric battle - or maybe a shonen anime - except characters duel one-on-one with words rather than weapons. If you take that point-of-view, Tyrion was fighting with one arm tied behind his back, while Olanna was in full armour and with a longer, better sword. She had all the advantages, and she knew it. Tyrion has a habit of coming back even against odds like that, but he can't win them all.

Also yes, this is the book where he takes Jaime and turns him 180 degrees. By the end, he was undeniably one of my favourite characters.

Yebbut, if someone murders your child, you don't suddenly let them off all because you discover the prepetrator has a soft spot for bunny rabbits now do you?
It was good to see other sides to him though - the kingslayer thing in particular being somewhat unjustified -not just a pantomime villain unlike his sister or nephew(son) (at least so far)

Incidentally, do people who have not read the book still follow who is who? It became manifest in our house last night that the other half isn't following who's who at all - and I'm not surprised.
And we're still waiting to see people like the Dornishmen and yet more complexity...

I am a non book reader pretty sure about who is who I think.

FB

I have read the books and I often don't have a clue as to who is who. At first I had no idea it was Selyse Stannis was visiting.

>>Yebbut, if someone murders your child, you don't suddenly let them off all because you discover the prepetrator has a soft spot for bunny rabbits now do you?<<

Slightly off-topic (and slightly spoilery for the Battlestar Galactica reboot) but Orcus' post made me think about BSG. In the very first episode Caprica Six is responsible for the near extinction of humanity and yet by the end of the series, she's firmly in the 'good guys' camp. There's a scene where she brains one of the supposed heroes and everyone I watched it with cheered her for it. I wonder if Jaimie will go through the same process.

I'm not all that convinced that anyone from the first book will still be alive by the end.

Although having said that I have read elsewhere that GRRM is under matrimonial orders to give Arya, Sansa and Danaerys plot armour.

Sansa's one of the people I worry most about: she's inherited her mother's stupidity and her father's blind trust and belief in valour conquering all.

SPOILERY ALERT!!!!!!!!





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Naaah, she's under training from the Master of the Game now... she's going to end up being the next master of whisperers. If ever someone's had all that knocked out them good and proper it's Sansa.
And since when was Catelyn stupid? She doesn't strike me as stupid, maybe the in TV series there's a grain of that but I never saw that in the book. Might be me though.

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Catelyn's not stupid as such, she's just blind, proud and rash. She makes many mistakes and causes an awful lot of trouble in the process of trying to keep her children safe. I suppose her heart's in the right place, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions...

Well I can think of kidnapping Tyrion and releasing Jaime but that's about it. Doesn't sound like many to me, but then it's been a looooong time since I read the early books so my memory is probably fading. Oddly I always saw her (aside from maybe Bran and Arya) as the clever one in the Stark camp. Maybe that says something about the rest...

And she's certainly got more about her than other noteable Tullys as well

Question for non-readers.

How do you think this season's going to pan out?

I reckon things might go badly for Rob, and badly for Jon.

I'm guessing that Mellisandri needed Baratheon blood, and Gendry staying with some Red God worshipers means things might go badly for him.

And I think things are going to go badly for anyone in Danys way.

Lots of things going Badly for various people I expect!



FB

Right, have been avoiding this thread until I got caught up with this week's episode.

I read Book 1. Hated the writing style with a passion, so I've no inclination to read the rest.

I watch the TV show and don't worry too much about who is who - there's far too many characters, and they tend to be killed off with alarming frequency, so I try not to get too attached to any of them!

It was clearly Bath-night this time, and eurgh, the pickled babies.