Game of Thrones 2.9 - "Blackwater" - Rate and discuss

[Ayelbourne]

Sansa didn't go with the Hound.

Excellent episode.
Dat Wildfyre explosion!

And the Rains of Castamere! Did not anticipate that.

 

[chrisspringob]

Sansa didn't go with the Hound.

Yeah, I guess I was confused by that bit. When the Hound says that she should get used to looking at killers and that he's not going to hurt her, and then starts moving towards the door, I thought she was going with him, and we just didn't see that, because they cut away to another scene.

But then I just watched the preview for next week, and it looks like she didn't go with him.

 

[DarthPipes]

Great episode. Best of the year and possibly best of the season.

You can definitely tell that GRRM wrote this episode as the characters more closely resemble their book counterparts. If Game of Thrones gets nominated for Best Writing, hopefullly it's for this episode. Lena Headley in particular as sarcastic, batshit Cersei. The gave the standout performance of the episode. This was definitely the performance they'll submit for her during Emmy time.

What's great is every character gets to shine, from the main characters like Cersei and Tyrion to the smaller ones like Lancel and Bronn. Having Stannis lead the charge personally was a great decision and he was a badass here. Hell, even Shae was pretty good in this episode. I didn't notice this until afterwards but Loras was wearing Renly's armor.

No chain but the wildfire explosion more than made up for it. That was some particularly impressive FX.

This episode really benefitted from being in one location. As much as I've enjoyed the season, it's suffered a little because there are so many characters that you can only spend a limited amount of time on them. No cutting around meant more time spent on the characters who did appear.

Fantastic end scene with Lena Headley as well.

 

[Kosh Naranek]

So did the Hound tell Joffre to shove it due to the fire? I would imagine that someone burned that badly at...heck any age...would have mega fire induced issues. He seemed all calm and badass in the run up. I think the Greek Fire (forget its name on the show) just unnerved him. He decided he was not going to burn to death for that liltte pip squeak.

The explosion on the water and the resultant chaos and death was gripping.

Tyrion takes the cake once again with the most truthful and stirring motivational battle speech. I did love that he had his glory moment before realizing he was horribly outnumbered.

I would have rather Tyrion somehow won than his father saving the day (as much as I love Charles Dance).

Stannis showed himeself to be definitely capable in battle. I hope Devos is not dead.

Just when I thought I could not like Cersei less....

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I was trying to pick a favorite moment from this episode, but I can't--too much awesomeness to choose from.

The ending was badass, too. So sad that next week is the end for this season.

 

[Forbin]

You folks who've read the books just need to stop mentioning it, and anything that's different about the books.

 

[Shurik]

You folks who've read the books just need to stop mentioning it, and anything that's different about the books.

I think it's inevitable for series like this, where the books fanbase is large and vocal. It's MUCH worse and MUCH more annoying on fansites like Winter Is Coming, where I stopped reading the comments in bookreaders recap threads, or Westeros.org, where the recaps themselves are pathetic in their whining because of every single small change from the books.

Sorry if I accidentally spoiled something, it wasn't intentional.

 

[Shakaar]

Holy Mother of God and all her wacky nephews. . . wow. . what an episode. . .Is Martin contracted to write the penultimate episodes on all the seasons? If I'm remembering correctly, he wrote Baelor, too. . .


~FS

Actually GRRM wrote "The Pointy End," the episode just before "Baelor."

 

[CaptainCanada]

The TV show's version of the Hound is so watered down and placid that his scenes just don't have much of an impact compared to the books, I have to say.

The final scene notwithstanding, this was Sansa's best episode since the first season (this season having excised the main thread of her being somewhat active, though I can understand why). Sophie Turner did great, though the fact that she continues to grow like a beanstalk is making her scenes with the adults unintentionally amusing (and with the Hound gone, she's now taller than all of her scene partners).

The Battle of the Blackwater was rendered about as well as it conceivably could be for TV.

Bronn continues to be a highlight of the series.

I think the episode shows a lot of the advantages of focusing on only one location for the whole episode, even if they do usually make the cross-cutting work.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

You folks who've read the books just need to stop mentioning it, and anything that's different about the books.

Who died and made you the thread police?

 

[Hyperspace05]

^ I'm sorry, Hyperspace, the spoiler tag works fine on my end, I don't see what I did wrong. Please explain.

Your spoiler headline ("next week") indicated that it could be something gleaned off the preview for next week, when your spoiler contained talk about a massive event and major character death coming. To avoid people opening the spoiler accidentally, label it better - like "book death question".

See the difference?

 

[tomalak301]

^ I'm sorry, Hyperspace, the spoiler tag works fine on my end, I don't see what I did wrong. Please explain.

Your spoiler headline ("next week") indicated that it could be something gleaned off the preview for next week, when your spoiler contained talk about a massive event and major character death coming. To avoid people opening the spoiler accidentally, label it better - like "book death question".

See the difference?

Actually I find your suggestion kind of more spoil-ish than what he actually did.

 

[pork3]

You folks who've read the books just need to stop mentioning it, and anything that's different about the books.

Who died and made you the thread police?

Spoiler: Don't click me, don't you dare

Our lord, Jesus Christ did...

 

[Kenbushway]

So the hound is actually a scared kitten. I am kind of hoping that the dwarf is the only Lannister that doesn't die.

 

[Klaus]

Well if you'd had your face held into a fire at an impressionable age it might be a bit phobic for any of us!

 

[Aeolusdallas]

Like most battle sequences, it got a bit tedious by the end, but the initial wildfire spectacle was sublime.

Outside of that, I'm a bit curious what people's opinions are as to why the Hound decided to proverbially shove his middle finger up the King's asshole.

-Jamman

In a word, well three...Too much fire.

 

[Jax]

That was probably the best thing on TV in the entire season really well done for a TV show with limited funds. The wildfire scene in particular was eye popping...GOD imagine how it would look in a HOLLYWOOD blockbuster

 

[Kosh Naranek]

The book readers talking about how the series diverges does not bother me.

However, if they put in something like X doing Y means that Z is not going to die V way would kill me. Spoiler code is everyone's friend.

I did not miss Dani or Jon one jot. Which is sad because right now my Spiderman sense tells me that one of them will end up on the throne. (I actually have no idea BTW - just guessing.)

 

[sidious618]

The wildfyre scene was amazing. There's no other way to put it. What made this episode work is how it still focused on character despite the fact that it was a huge battle. Then again, that's always been Martin's specialty so I'm not surprised.

 

[FPAlpha]

Never thought i'd actually cheer for a Lannister appearance apart from Tyrion but i love last second saves even if it's by a cool, evil and ruthless bastard like Tywin (anyone who puts people like Cersei and Jaime in the world has much to answer for).

Tyrion is still the coolest centre of the show.. ever. His character is awesome to the max and they found apparently the only actor who could do him justice.. this episode broadened him to include badass battle leader and it didn't come off as cheesy at all. Tyrion understands people and knows how to direct them so command comes naturally for him.. he can defend his own and even take out a full grown soldier if the odds are in his favor but i'm happy that his limits are shown when the odds are not stacked in his favor and he has to fight an experienced warrior.. well, women dig battle scars so i've been told

The wildfire explosion was well done as was Cersei's descent into madness.. i got a last days of Hitler in his bunker vibe from it when she tried to poison her own child.

So looking forward to the conclusion of season 2.