What did you ladies and gents think of last night’s Game of Thrones season one finale? How about the season as a whole? As for me, I absolutely loved it. The show was the sweetest television surprise of 2011. For years I’ve been listening to several friends rave about the books. The series made me start reading them. Although there are significant changes and alterations in the TV adaptation, I still love the show.
Now here are some random thoughts on the finale and season one. Spoilers ahead!
– I keep watching the scene where Samwell gets clipped by the tree while chasing after Jon on a horse. His girlish scream cracks me up.
– My friend that has only watched two episodes came over for the finale last night. In the closing scene I commented on how cute the dragons looked. He was wondering why I was focusing on the dragons instead of naked Daenerys. She’s been naked so many times in the series that this bit of nudity was lost on me. She looked super cute though…but I want a baby dragon!
– The actor that plays Tywin Lannister is cool, but I keep seeing him as the villain in Last Action Hero. He will always be that guy to me, similar to how Bill Pullman will always be Lonestar and Lou Diamond Phillips will always be La Bamba.
– One thing I didn’t like was clearly stating that Renly and Loras were lovers. In the books it’s implied somewhat subtly. In the show the pair have a manscaping and fellatio scene. In some ways it reminded me of how heavy-handed the Watchmen movie was — as if the director thought viewers were too stupid to pick up the subtleties of the comics. I’d like to think that people are smarter than that…but I have been wrong before.
– For me, Tyrion Lannister was the star of season one. Peter Dinklage did a marvelous job conveying the complexities of the character. He’s funny, vulnerable, capable, unsure, wise, a drunk, and a whore monger all at the same time. He has so many of the best lines in the series. Explaining his fondness for “cripples, bastards, and broken things” and telling Shagga son of Dolf how he envisions dying are two examples of two very different ways Dinklage masterfully entertained.
– The relationship between Khal Drogo and Daenerys starts off very differently in the books. Part of me wants to think it was changed due to time constraints, but part of me believes it was changed because of that whole “director/writer thinks viewers are too stupid” thing. In the show it seemed like Dany went from being raped to being in love way too quickly.
– Kit Harrington is doing a good job playing Jon Snow, but in my head the character is better looking. Considering his true lineage — or the one that many readers are guessing — he should be studly.
– Grand Maester Pycelle’s calisthenics scene in the finale seemed completely unnecessary to me.
– Varys is probably the only character I’m really disappointed with. Conleth Hill is doing a great job portraying him as a shifty bastard with questionable allegiances, but I miss the whole master-of-disguise thing from the books.
Anyway, that’s enough random thoughts from me. Kindly share some of your own. I’d love to hear what you have to say about Game of Thrones season one.
