Entry tags:
Game of Thrones
Hmmmmmm. Yet another unpopular fannish opinion from moi. None of the contained-herein opinions are meant as offense to anyone (of the many millions!) who loves this show. Carry on! Be well in your fannishness! I am happy for you. But just can't agree. ;)
Summary of post: Game of Thrones, I'm not feelin' it. Season 1 was (just) OK. Season 2 is kinda tanking for me.
So here's the deal. I can't get wildly excited about this show! Despite the fact that everyone around me, fans of the book or not, seems to have whipped themselves up into a fervour about it! I'm kind of envious... frankly I wish I had a show I *was* that passionate about it right now, but Game of Thrones sure isn't it. I gave it a good go, and in Season 1 was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed some aspects. However, others were strongly at odds with my own vision of the books. It's such a deeply personal thing whether a conversion to screen works or not, and I first started reading the series over ten years ago so, like many fans, I had a *very* specific and detailed internal vision. Unlike many book fans, I haven't found it so easy to embrace the television version. In Season 1, it was quietly bearable... I took what I could from the shows, liking some of the casting choices very much and others not at all, and didn't think it worth making a post because other people seemed so squeeful and that's great--they should be! carry on, peeps! I just can't join you I'm afraid...
Summary of my feelings:
- Tyrion: fabulous actor (even if visually not like the character in the book), great fun to watch on screen. He was by far the highlight of Season 1 for me. His scene with Pycelle this week was the only one that rang with any of the strength I remember from the book (for me, obviously)
- Shae: Ugh, I really hate the casting here. Not nearly subtle enough to be effective. In the television version I can't understand at all why Tyrion would keep this demanding bitch around ... in the book I really *did* understand and feel his affection for her.
- Arya: in season 1 I liked her training scenes and contrast to Sansa, but in Season 2 I'm kind of over her :((( which is very sad as she's my favourite. A lot of the time I just feel nothing in her scenes and they are SO weak now compared to what they were in the book--this is the heart of Arya's character development and everything seems so tepidly done.
- Cersei: HAAAAAAAAAATE. Can't stand the character direction they took here, am absolutely opposed to it and every scene with her in it is unbearable to me. Nothing like how I imagined Cersei, and I do not think the shift is for the best from a narrative perspective either. Not poor Lena's fault, it's clearly bigger than her and stems from the direction. The worst climax was the painful scene in the latest episode where she reacts to the idea of Myrcella being sent away. In the books I remember the shock of seeing Cersei rattled. Here she just had to mount one more step in the ladder of excesssively histrionic acting. Sigh.
- Dany: I really liked what they managed to do with her story in Season 1--that was definitely good work and good casting. But her story was never my favourite and now we're entering the deathly boring throes of it and I just don't caaaaare.
- Jon: OMG, where the hell did they get this guy from and whyyyyyyyyy??? He is nothing like I imagined Jon, visually or in manner/bearing, and he can't act!! I'm in agony whenever he has to convey an emotion because he kind of just flits his eyes around and does a shouty thing. :( He's getting massively overshadowed by Sam, just because Sam's actor CAN act. Ugh ugh ugh.
- Theon: Meh, never cared about him but don't find the actor good at all.
- Renly and Loras: OMG, who is this UGLY Loras????? and again: whyyyy??? They seem to have taken the path of replacing the suggestion of affection (as well as sexual attraction) with PORN (sigh HBO sigh). I could put up with that, but really Loras needed to be better looking!! It was especially ridiculous in this episode where they refer to 'Brienne the Beauty' because YES, compared to Loras she's gorgeous! It was a double-whammy casting FAIL for me.
- Jaime: he's ok. He looks the part. Doesn't get me actively excited though.
- Bran: yeah, good enough actor, but again I kind of can't get that excited.
- Brienne: Was saddened (but it was inevitable) with the casting. Not at all how I imagined Brienne. Sure, she's tall, but it was far far more important to me that she be physically unattractive and I'm sorry, no matter how sullen an expression that actress makes, she's still very striking. Especially with the bright blond hair--that alone makes her stand out which works against her characterisation for me. Obviously I've only seen some brief scenes from the actress but I felt nothing at all watching them. They just felt empty to me, as do most of the scenes in Season 2.
So many scenes I remember from the book feel so small and lacking in emotional power when I watch them in the television series, and it's starting to get me down. In season 1 there were enough that had a bit of the book's feel to them that I could bear the others, but now, not so much. And on top of that the gratuitous (ridiculous) sex, layered over the already-squicky gender politics of Martin's text is a downer for me. It's getting very hard to make it through a whole episode, I'm so booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooored (punctuated by moments of irritation at the bad acting or writing).
I don't expect anyone to agree with me. Most people I have aired said views to so far have responded by talking over me and insisting it is a 'brilliant adaptation' (pricelessly including someone who HAS NOT READ THE BOOKS *g*).
At this stage I think I'm going to bail on the show. I was kind of hanging on to see if Brienne would be the saving grace, because I did love her so much in the books, but it looks like she won't be.
I'm so sorry,![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
queenofthorns! I sincerely hope you get your Jaime/Brienne vid... but looks like it won't be from me.
Summary of post: Game of Thrones, I'm not feelin' it. Season 1 was (just) OK. Season 2 is kinda tanking for me.
So here's the deal. I can't get wildly excited about this show! Despite the fact that everyone around me, fans of the book or not, seems to have whipped themselves up into a fervour about it! I'm kind of envious... frankly I wish I had a show I *was* that passionate about it right now, but Game of Thrones sure isn't it. I gave it a good go, and in Season 1 was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed some aspects. However, others were strongly at odds with my own vision of the books. It's such a deeply personal thing whether a conversion to screen works or not, and I first started reading the series over ten years ago so, like many fans, I had a *very* specific and detailed internal vision. Unlike many book fans, I haven't found it so easy to embrace the television version. In Season 1, it was quietly bearable... I took what I could from the shows, liking some of the casting choices very much and others not at all, and didn't think it worth making a post because other people seemed so squeeful and that's great--they should be! carry on, peeps! I just can't join you I'm afraid...
Summary of my feelings:
- Tyrion: fabulous actor (even if visually not like the character in the book), great fun to watch on screen. He was by far the highlight of Season 1 for me. His scene with Pycelle this week was the only one that rang with any of the strength I remember from the book (for me, obviously)
- Shae: Ugh, I really hate the casting here. Not nearly subtle enough to be effective. In the television version I can't understand at all why Tyrion would keep this demanding bitch around ... in the book I really *did* understand and feel his affection for her.
- Arya: in season 1 I liked her training scenes and contrast to Sansa, but in Season 2 I'm kind of over her :((( which is very sad as she's my favourite. A lot of the time I just feel nothing in her scenes and they are SO weak now compared to what they were in the book--this is the heart of Arya's character development and everything seems so tepidly done.
- Cersei: HAAAAAAAAAATE. Can't stand the character direction they took here, am absolutely opposed to it and every scene with her in it is unbearable to me. Nothing like how I imagined Cersei, and I do not think the shift is for the best from a narrative perspective either. Not poor Lena's fault, it's clearly bigger than her and stems from the direction. The worst climax was the painful scene in the latest episode where she reacts to the idea of Myrcella being sent away. In the books I remember the shock of seeing Cersei rattled. Here she just had to mount one more step in the ladder of excesssively histrionic acting. Sigh.
- Dany: I really liked what they managed to do with her story in Season 1--that was definitely good work and good casting. But her story was never my favourite and now we're entering the deathly boring throes of it and I just don't caaaaare.
- Jon: OMG, where the hell did they get this guy from and whyyyyyyyyy??? He is nothing like I imagined Jon, visually or in manner/bearing, and he can't act!! I'm in agony whenever he has to convey an emotion because he kind of just flits his eyes around and does a shouty thing. :( He's getting massively overshadowed by Sam, just because Sam's actor CAN act. Ugh ugh ugh.
- Theon: Meh, never cared about him but don't find the actor good at all.
- Renly and Loras: OMG, who is this UGLY Loras????? and again: whyyyy??? They seem to have taken the path of replacing the suggestion of affection (as well as sexual attraction) with PORN (sigh HBO sigh). I could put up with that, but really Loras needed to be better looking!! It was especially ridiculous in this episode where they refer to 'Brienne the Beauty' because YES, compared to Loras she's gorgeous! It was a double-whammy casting FAIL for me.
- Jaime: he's ok. He looks the part. Doesn't get me actively excited though.
- Bran: yeah, good enough actor, but again I kind of can't get that excited.
- Brienne: Was saddened (but it was inevitable) with the casting. Not at all how I imagined Brienne. Sure, she's tall, but it was far far more important to me that she be physically unattractive and I'm sorry, no matter how sullen an expression that actress makes, she's still very striking. Especially with the bright blond hair--that alone makes her stand out which works against her characterisation for me. Obviously I've only seen some brief scenes from the actress but I felt nothing at all watching them. They just felt empty to me, as do most of the scenes in Season 2.
So many scenes I remember from the book feel so small and lacking in emotional power when I watch them in the television series, and it's starting to get me down. In season 1 there were enough that had a bit of the book's feel to them that I could bear the others, but now, not so much. And on top of that the gratuitous (ridiculous) sex, layered over the already-squicky gender politics of Martin's text is a downer for me. It's getting very hard to make it through a whole episode, I'm so booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooored (punctuated by moments of irritation at the bad acting or writing).
I don't expect anyone to agree with me. Most people I have aired said views to so far have responded by talking over me and insisting it is a 'brilliant adaptation' (pricelessly including someone who HAS NOT READ THE BOOKS *g*).
At this stage I think I'm going to bail on the show. I was kind of hanging on to see if Brienne would be the saving grace, because I did love her so much in the books, but it looks like she won't be.
I'm so sorry,
queenofthorns! I sincerely hope you get your Jaime/Brienne vid... but looks like it won't be from me.
no subject
The gratuitous sex got SO MUCH worse! I swear the producers actually have some kind of equation like 'ten minutes of talking = much show at least 30 seconds of BREASTS and FUCKING'. All sorts of scenes have just been invented or dialogue delivered while having intercourse just for the sake of it. :((
I haaate the direction with Cersei. I had a whole essay written in my head about it in Season 1 but didn't go into it because people are so passionately in favour of it. But I think this softening of her is the worst thing they could have done. And they've destroyed the power of the Jaime/Cersei entanglement completely as well. It's all linked... it takes authorial bravery to make a character so strongly unlikeable and it was one thing I think Martin did well. It takes a long time in the books to feel anything for Cersei and it's so much more powerful when it *does* come because of that. But they copped out here... and rewrite her character as a figure of pity. And it skews the overall power dynamic.
I can't even enjoy the varied female characters because the writing is so strained and it's so over the top. I feel like the show is using the female characters (particularly in the promo shots for instance, but even just in their general bearing and over the top melodrama in the show) to EMOTE THE TRAGEDY. Which makes it very hard for me to actually feel for them!! Because they're too busy making sad doe eyes at me!! It's too OTT and unsubtle for me.
no subject
Though I will say that I think you (and I!) were one of the relatively few readers who felt anything but hatred for Cersei in the books by the time you're supposed to, if you're supposed to. :/ So I kind of understand why they'd do some of what they did, but it seems to me that a lot of that sort of sympathy would come from her just having a POINT OF VIEW, and doesn't need to be overplayed. Because the internet is made of Game of Thrones, I know a fair amount about it wthout even watching, so I think I understand that the show changed it so Joffrey ordered Robert's bastards killed because of Cersei and just...why? And it sounded like they'd given some of Cat's decisions to Robb. And those sorts of things would grate.
no subject
Yeah, I agree with you... I can understand needing to bring in some Cersei point of view earlier than in the books. But not THIS early and not this much. You can have a character be very powerful and self-contained and still show their point of view. Yeah.. the way they've written it Cersei almost seems under Joffrey's thumb! It's ridiculous. The Joffrey actor did a GREAT job in one scene where he 'schooled' her (it was fun to watch) but I hated the whole direction with her marriage to Robert. They really played up her loveless marriage by having her whine to his face! Sorry, not the way to do it ...
And yes, there's been some shuffling of decisions from Cat to Robb. And the changes are increasing now--I think in season 2 it will depart more and more from the books. And I don't care if George agrees with it or not--it's backward-looking for him to spend his time on the television show and use it as a chance to change things. SO hate that his attention is split from writing like this. :(