Knuckles
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Posts posted by Knuckles
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6 minutes ago, Constantinople said:
Anyone who attacks the Crown is unfit to serve as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard"
I am a terrible human being...I was amused because the only man who really has a reason to care that Tommen survive was just fired by said future victim.
Jaime was always arrogant and vile...I do remember that his imprisoned cousin, who admired him so much, was killed by Jaime without a second thought to empower Jaime's own escape effort. Tossing Bran out a window...much the same as Cersei having Robert's bastards murdered by Janos Slynt. Cersei was a killer as a young girl, murdering a childhood friend...neither has ever had a glimmer of concern for the thousands of folks killed or burned out of their villages by the mountain and crew, all instigated by Tywin on behalf of the Lannisters. So any redemption arc, as delineated in the books, has a fairly narrow range.
Brienne did bring decency to his attention, but in her absence it seems to have eluded Jaime. Cersei never had any decency.
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i must admit I like reading the unsullied threads...they have a fresh take and no special expectations for the characters. Me, over the years I have read and reread most of the books and I have strong feelings about many of the characters. Some of my favorites are wholly missing...Val, I'm thinking of you...others are even better on screen than in the books...David Bradley's Walder Frey for example. I mostly don't mind when I am lost in Westeros that Martin himself starts detailed plot lines that end up going...where? D&D streamlining the endless Ironborn chapters is a plus...destroying Dorne, not so much.
The Hound and Arya travelogue was a wonderful addition, and as was the Jaime/Brienne saga...and Tormund...on screen, an antagonist, turned ally turned heartthrob...from a fairly minor figure in the books. I'm like a kid who has fallen in love with the story and on screen or in the books, my question is always, so, what happens next?
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Random thought...if the Frey and Lannister armies are both at Riverrun for the siege, wouldn't it be nice if someone and some armed men showed up at the Twins and took out Walder and his brood? Hey, Brotherhood without Banners...use your wits, everyone does not have to make an appearance at the same battle, and a smaller force could make hash of the family Frey.
Worst daddy in Westeros...Tywin was an easy earlier winner, but Randall is a strong contender, and he ain't dead yet. Roose, Walder and Craster were not deserving of any cards on Father's Day either. Most disappointed dad...Jaime.
I am still interested in the Waif's possible connection to the Frey's...if Arya needs a face and she offs the Waif, well, it might be useful to peel and pack her face for later use. Just saying.
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Jaime watching Tommen screw up a perfectly executed rescue op...you could read the disbelief and then the disappointment in his face...and then his acceptance. Tommen is such a soft, easily led weakling, as useless to House Lannister as his cruel and vicious brother, Joffrey. For this secret father, Jaime, what a profound sense of heartbreak he conveyed with just his facial expressions. And then to see the little milk-fed wonder dismiss him from the Kingsguard and exile him from the city...how incredibly demeaning a moment for him. Interesting that in his scene with Cersei, he confirmed that the world for him was just the two of them...he has abandoned any hope for this son. We seem to be watching the last days of the fall of the House Lannister.
Mace, the munchkin general in blue plumes, no less, does not disappoint. And Randall Tarly was as cruel a father as Craster...even Tywin had some shreads of family loyalty to Tyrion, however much he resented him.
Would still like to know if the Waif has any relationship to the Freys...I hope they don't leave that hanging. And since Arya now has Needle, time for some payback to said Waif.
And I agree, Dany's speech suggests that blood will tell...she is showing that mad dog Targaryen vibe...as Dario said, she is all in on the fighting not the ruling. It's conquest and a belated family revenge that drive her, not her lame attempts at justice. Of course she's with the Dothraki...she's closer to them in spirit than the mercenary Second Sons or the Unsullied.
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6 minutes ago, kittykat said:
I just want to if it's a red apple Fossoway or a green apple Fossoway.
According to Sam's sister, it's yellow teeth Fossoway.
But who cares, my personal fave, even beyond Benjen, the Blackfish is returning. Finally. And he has driven old Walder into a major hissy fit. I love that the Freys are not only ugly cowards, but they insist on wearing their little hats...even in the house. And Tywin is dead, and so is Roose, so who ya gonna call now, Walder?? Still waiting to see this loathsome old goat get his.
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12 minutes ago, MadMouse said:
Poor Tobias. Edmure is in chains for years without seeing his wife the only sexy Frey in existence, plays Brutus and then losing his even sexier wife to time travel and a ripped Scot. Dude has definition of second place nailed down as an actor.
Don't overlook his role in the Night Manager...he's the Brit official stuck holding the bag on the arms deal, and the final scene has him pinned in his office chair as the forces of law come to take him down. This actor always starts as an aristo or important guy and then bites it in the end. Really, he should talk to his manager about this.
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Tom Hollander's Corky was pitch perfect..the oily little fixer. And, the most acute and dangerous man on Roper's staff. Yeah, he still had Frisky, but not the intelligence or insight that a guy like Corky brings. Also, the second is always clawing to stay in position...while Roper let his guard down...as a grand seigneur.
I think it amused Roper to bring Pine onboard...it discomfited Corky, keeping him on his toes, and his other second, Lord Redface. Neither can ever be allowed to feel too secure. The premise gave way when Roper found himself liking Pine...and enjoying Pine's attraction to Jed while keeping ownership of her himself. Another right of alpha male.
Pine was a little too clever, but his military background was supposed to provide some explanation for his expertise. He was clearly not simply a foot soldier in the British forces...you had the idea that he was exSAS or equivalent. In order to enjoy Le Carre's world, you have fill in a lot of this stuff for yourself..he merely suggests. On another note, I did enjoy seeing the actor I think of as Brutus from the old show Rome get taken down in the finale...this actor always bites it in the end
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Also, this may be late to the thread, but I am sure that the Tipsy Girl thing was entirely a set-up by the producers. The return of Unreal just reminded me.
Bethenny has a deal with Bravo for a million bucks and I am sure that her corporate parents inserted a clause that demanded a certain number of mentions during RHNYC screen time. It's her appearance on the show that drives her brand...no way do just her lame product placements do the job. How hard would it be to have some labels printed up on a couple of cases of no-name prosecco, and have a party. Sonja has a friend with a restaurant who could use the publicity, and besides donating the room, really wouldn't cost him anything. This enables Bethenny to have one of her trademark meltdowns, and to reiterate the word Skinnygirl endlessly. I am sure there is some corporate assistant somewhere assigned to watch the show and verify the number of mentions per episode. Is Sonja in on it...of course, but the poor woman can't heat her house...her choices are slim and none. And it gives her screen time to trot out her crazy Sonja persona. Helps to pay the bills.
i am sure all these housewives console themselves that they are really actresses and this is in no way a full portrait of themselves. They play the roles assigned and collect the bucks. Unfortunately, they are not trained actresses and their appalling selves are on full display, with producers and other interested parties calling the shots.
Having seen Luann and Jacques around my neighborhood does remind me that these are real people and that what one does to earn money is not always pretty...I work for a major corporation, very buttoned-down, but I would be horrified to see myself on camera during the work day. It's not even dramatic, but still the power plays, the small humiliations and the screw-ups would not be happy things to watch. I expect most of us would prefer not to have our lives provide entertainment for hordes of watchers. No major bucks, but at least some semblance of dignity.
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Luann kind of cracks me up. She was living in a coop on Riverside Drive around the block from me and I saw her in the park a lot with her little white dog. I have friends in the building, so I ran into her in the elevator once or twice. In person she is tall and big-boned, but very good looking. In the park, she was somewhat diffident with other people, but really made an effort to be friendly. It's funny that Jacques, who is also a dog person often in the park, is very much a loner, who walks with his dog off the leash and over the years has never made an effort to acknowledge anyone. it's perfectly ok, as it is early in the morning, and the dogs keep most folks occupied, but having seen them on the show, it was a little odd to think their private life was on TV. But I give him props as he has been very kind to a former street person who has managed to get sober and rebuild her life...she is an older woman and he has found work for her as a dog walker and housekeeper, and she speaks highly of him. For what it's worth, I don't think Luann owned that apt...that building has a two year lease restriction on owners renting out units, and I think she rented it from an owner and outran the lease. No biggie.
The real Luann seems to be much less sure of herself than she has variously tried to present herself on TV...but who wouldn't make that effort. The whole Countess act was her ticket to the show...so she worked it. I have had plenty of amusement watching the uptight Countess give way to the good time girl but if she wants to marry...the D'agostino family has a lot of bucks (supermarkets in NYC) and why not go for it. Life is short. She's working her angle as much as the increasingly tedious and shrill Bethenny is working hers.
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On a rewatch, I was struck that Sansa agreed to meet LF in Molestown, instead of insisting he make his way to Castle Black. It didn't hit me when I fist saw the episode, but why agree to a secret meeting in a shell of a hut in Molestown. She owes LF nothing...why not insist that having come all the way north, he show himself at Castle Black, if he wants to talk to her. She would have been standing on her own ground, figuratively speaking, and put LF at a serious disadvantage. Why go, why agree to his terms? If you have the upper hand, you don't take a meeting at an enemy's office..you make him come to you.
I know she is very young, but this struck me as particularly foolish. Especially as she did not know if he came alone...yes, she had Brienne with her, but he could have had a dozen Vale men with him. Brienne herself should have advised against it.
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Have Hodor and Summer now become part of the army of the dead? Oh please no, let them both have their heroic deaths, if you must, but do not further degrade them. Listen, D&D, we can find you...watch yourselves.
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When Summer lept at the army of the dead, I closed my eyes and turned off the sound. I cannot bear to have the dire wolves killed. Do you hear me, D&D?
Then, when I thought it was safe, Hodor! That was truly one of the most heartbreaking moments on the show. Utterly heroic and devastating.
Sansa questioning LF was gold, Sansa hearing the knife edge that Jon was only a half-brother, not good. Baelish continues his evil. If Sansa or Arya doesn't finish him off, maybe the White Walkers will feed on him. See where his scheming will get him when faced with a true threat.
As always, the honorable Edd holds the fort, now the apparent Lord Commander, and fully deserved.
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On the speculation that the Sparrow's secret to Tommen is the Tyrell involvement in Joffrey's murder...Margaery knew, as Olenna confirmed it to her after his death...and Marg and Loras are very close, it is very possible that she told him as well. The show has not given us that moment, but it is not implausible.
It is also very possible that Marg is pregnant. And that Cersie wants her deader than dead for that alone. And maybe that is what the Sparrow told Tommen...presumably so he would not try an armed effort to free Margaery and risk her death or injury.
And, both things could be true. Marg is pregnant and Loras under duress told the Sparrow that the Tyrells had a hand in Joffrey's murder. What we have seen is that Jamie and Cersei are united in a sudden willingness to work with the Tyrells and even Kevan to take out the Sparrow and friends...which of course would give Cersei a chance to off Lancel as well, as he helped her kill Robert.
This really does present opportunities for Cersei to exploit.
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On some British sites, the speculation is that the Sparrow told Tommen that the Tyrells had a hand in poisoning Joffrey...which makes Cersie's willingness to work with Glenna to take out the Sparrow interesting..is she assuming that the Tyrell forces and the Sparrow's will fight each other, while the hostages Margaery and Loras are killed? If so, a win for the surviving Lannisters...
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I thought I would be ok if either Michelle or Cydney won, but I was wrong. I really think Aubry was robbed...she was the most likely to tank the first few weeks and then somehow pulled herself together both physically and mentally. Her social game was the best really of any player.
And Cydney was not treated well by the producers...she was physically strong, and again, used the hide in plain sight social game, and played well. To not give her some more respect was disappointing.
For an all star game, Aubry and Joe from the previous season could pair up and be unbeatable...and both share a total commitment to winning the game.
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Kudos to Stan's son Mathew for being a completely believable teenager...he so had it down. And his efforts with the overwrought Paige were perfect...especially as he sized up the church boy hugging Paige. But joining the youth group at church...no frigging way.
Alice and her tape...who knew she would make such a ballsy move...and refusing to keep her voice down. Yeah, her husband is missing in Ethiopia and the 2 Russian spies she knows are possibly responsible and Philip wants her to not disturb Henry while he does his homework?
Elizabeth looked a little affronted when Paige reacted to the idea of being sent back to Russia as a ticket to a leper colony. Philip looked a little shocked that Paige assumed Phil and Liz would be sent back, but she and Henry would be free to stay in the USA. I was waiting for him to say, hey, we're a family here...where we go, you go, but I guess he didn't want to push it...since clearly it was not a winning idea. Suggest Paige already sees he and Elizabeth as distinct from herself and Henry; the Americans and the 2 Russian spies.
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Just a funny note that the director of the episode wondered if the audience would pick up on the Brienne/Tormund eyefest...he was concerned that it was too understated and would be overlooked. Gee, you think? The internet lit up on that one.
And to Umbellina's point earlier in the thread that I labeled the poor folks coming together to protest the wrongs against them a mob...I acknowledge that "mob" is often pejorative. And I did not mean it as such. Alternatively, I tried a "gathering", or a "crush"...but "movement" seems too organized a term. I am open to suggestions.
I did find a word for the nobles banding together against poors...a murder of nobles. (From, a murder of crows).
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My only regret about this series is that I can't binge watch it. Yet. This was intense and well-played...I did not see the double-cross at the border with the supplies at all. And to the poster who wondered why Roper was not physically intimidating...would be a mistake if he were. His m.o. is to portray himself as a CEO...civil, polished, gentlemanly. It is how he moves through the world undetected; simply another powerful, wealthy man. If he needs muscle, he can hire it...or more likely, he keeps his distance there as well, and an underling, like Corky, handles the grubby details. He needs deniability at every level.
Roper is a pure predator, ruthless and devoid of real emotion, or any sense of decency. He is out there to win, and to outwit and outplay any opposition. That's the thrill for him, with the money and power it affords him. Jed is this season's accessory, she will last until he tires of her, or she makes a wrong move that annoys him. He trusts no one, as he has repeatedly stated, and Jonathan is in his crosshairs as well, as is everyone. Basically, they are all expendable or replaceable to Roper. He regretted Corky's death for a moment, then had him quickly buried. He would do the same to any of them.
Using Turkey and Syria as background was brilliant, as was the photos ops and pr coverage the refugees provided. The sheer cynicism of the thing and its brutality felt very real.
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3 minutes ago, Ambrosefolly said:
if Cersei will ultimately regret (though I doubt she would ever verbalize it) double crossing Ned, as he was willing to show her and her children mercy,
It is an interesting point, though generally Cersei does not seem given to introspection, especially involving her own faulty judgments. But I like that
blogger's remark on the cluelessness of decent people to detect true evil when they meet it. For most of us there is a tendency to minimize it, or to assume there is some core decency that can be found or appealed to, with disastrous results. You see that most with Littlefinger...I think the major players see the brothel keeper as sleazy and money-grubbing, but they underestimate his true nature. They use him when he's useful and never imagine he will use and discard them when they are most vulnerable. The frustration I felt with Ned in his dealings with Littlefinger was that I would have underestimated the little shit as well.
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3 hours ago, SeanC said:
here the nobles repeatedly state that they believe most of the common people in KL (and elsewhere) will side with the High Sparrow if it comes to open warfare.
Sure, they could root for the Sparrow and much good will it do them when heavily armed men attack them...the Sparrow's own forces, led by Lancel, are carrying crossbows, and wearing simple tunics. Recall how the mercenary army of Stannis cut thru the wildlings, and they were seasoned fighters. The common people will not stand a chance in this match-up. The only way the Sparrow could improve the lives of the common people is thru political diplomacy...wringing concessions from the ruling classes, who will fight tooth and nail to resist any change. See Tyrion trying to negotiate with the slavers from Astapor and Yunkai.
The events that spelled the end of peasantry in Europe were not uprisings like the Peasant's Revolt, or the Jacquerie in France, but terribly, three waves of the Black Death...which killed almost a third of the people, rich and poor alike. The resulting labor shortage was so acute, that finally the poor and semi-skilled could make demands...not just on wages, but on property and personal rights, as well. The nobles had no leverage...they themselves had no idea how to plow the fields or mill the grain, etc. Those nobles who resisted the demands of the poor found their small folk simply walking away from their lands...no garrison or army was available to enforce them remaining on the land and working. So the army of the undead led by the NK may have the same result...but not without plenty of the poor and the rich suffering and dying. That seems inevitable.
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1 hour ago, Umbelina said:
How is this worse than what the "Noble" families and rulers have done to them?
How is the Sparrow worse? He's not...he's simply a different take on the same old, same old. He has his armed garrison to protect him, his noble hostages to hold the Lannisters and Tyrells at bay for the moment, and the favor of the mob. For now. When the game shifts, the poor will be mowed down like grass in summer. Better, no. And I think that was my point..his power grab uses a different methodology than the ruling houses, but the aim is the same. Dany wants to break the wheel, so does the Sparrow. Dany wants the throne because she believes in entitlement...Sparrow wants power because he can see how to wrest it from the current holders. As for any decent governance, or protection for the common people...that's not on the current agenda.The Hound had it right...there is no safe place in Westeros.
As for the White Walkers and the army of the dead...if even the northernmost house, the Umbers are simply concerned with the wildlings on their border, the other houses have no sense of danger from them on their horizon. The Starks may know Winter is Coming...but everyone else is consumed with their immediate situation. The traitors at the Night's Watch had no real sense of the threat. Even Jon and Sansa with the Wildlings are now consumed with battling the Boltons. Catastrophe has to arrive before anyone will really pay attention to a larger threat.
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"But this was not vigilante justice or even self-defense. It was a power grab that involved burning people alive."
Sorry, I respectfully disagree. It was self-defense...she is a small woman, kept captive by 40 or 50 men who had just outlined their plans to tear her apart by gang raping her to death...an apparent victim killing a horde of experienced rapists before they can annihilate her is self defense by any measure. And, since gang rape is part of Dothraki culture, as she would know, it qualifies a justice served.
Save yourself...first rule of survival. That the Dothraki will now presumably follow her, as they follow strength, is a feature, not a bug. They will volunteer, as it aligns with their culture. Can't say fairer than that.
As for the argument that the Sparrow and his armed mob of enforcers is somehow better than the aristos...I disagree. He offers ritual humiliation for selected members of the ruling class...based on their gender...with special attention to degrading women and gay men...all designed to appeal to the mob. This is justice? He has no plan for establishing some sort of fairer future governance...now, it will all be decided by his hand-picked septas and armed men. He has demonstrated an appetite for torture. The man is alive with resentment and envy...his little backstory of emulating the rich has been neatly edited to demonstrate his moment of "clarity"...the moment he realized he could harness the mob to his own ends.
It's worth remembering that we are looking at this with modern eyes...but medieval efforts to empower the peasants all ended, in Barbara Tuchman's phrase ,with "corpses hanging from the trees". Whether the Peasants Revolt in England or the Jacquerie in France, the illiterate and underfed, no matter how numerous, were no match for well-armed and paid armies sent to destroy them. What progress was made on their behalf was halting and incremental, and would take several centuries. No overnight coups, no revolutionary changes ever happened. The Sparrow is playing for time with his followers' lives...he thinks that his hostages will keep armies at bay, while he consolidates his power. History says it won't work, and a slaughter is on the agenda, as Olenna noted.
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I loathe religious fanatics, especially those who use the downtrodden mob for their own ends. The Sparrow is on a power grab, driven by resentment and envy. He has no sword, so he uses religion as his weapon, but as soon as he got Cersei's permission, his true believers were heavily armed. He also has a predilection for punishing high-born women and gay men (Loras) in sexually humiliating ways. That is no accident. It plays to the worst instincts of the mob and undoubtedly is satisfying for him. The boy king is a weakling, and the Tyrells and Lannisters are riven with antagonism. It won't take much for the Sparrow to grab even more power. At this point take him down any way you can...as even Cersei can see, he has no plans for a better future for the poor folks, he only sees them as useful to his scheme.
And as the Khals were promising Dany that they would gang rape her to death, I see no problem with them being burned to a crisp. Clearly it would not be their first murderous gang rape, as they clearly saw it as a sport and a pastime, so for all those nameless victims, I applaud Dany for delivering justice. And, it was a supremely practical move...the Dothraki follow strength, as Jorah noted, and Dany is now visibly the strongest among them. She needs a strong calvary to supplement her unsullied to take out the Sons of the Harpy and put paid to the slavers of Astaphor and Yunkai as well. I remain puzzled by posters who are concerned about rapists and slavers...seriously, let them burn.
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Margaery is Olenna's true heir, unlike the munchkin Mace or the tortured and broken Loras, the girl has fight in her, but also shrewdness...she parried with the Sparrow, delicately, but still held her own, and clearly understood that she was being used to further undermine Loras. Those scenes were so well done.
And Sansa, having survived hell twice over, In King's Landing and at Ramsay's hands, is now tempered steel. She knows what she is up against, and she knows that you cannot placate these folks, you have to destroy them.
Cerise finally remembering how to play the game, and Olenna won over despite herself. And Jaime and Kevan falling into line. The sparrow using religious fanaticism to seize political power is the most dangerous kind of enemy. He's taken the city with his bogus spirituality...in him I see a raw grab for power. Those shoes he used to sell to the rich, gave him a chance to observe how vulnerable they are to the mob. He's no different from the rest of the power players here, just using the Seven, instead of a sword.
And Brienne and Tormund..warrior love, ain't it grand.
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S04.E12: A Roy Rogers in Franconia
in The Americans [V]
I will miss William...Dylan Baker is an actor I have seen so often on Law and Order, but this role has given him some scope. It's not a huge part, but William is completely there, i feel I do know this guy. And his line readings are wonderful. Describing dying from Lassa fever as undignified. Yeah, that's one way to call it.
Aderholt should be promoted to take charge of the FBI...he's the man. And after remembering how terrible that scene was when Elizabeth killed that very brave woman..to see her son be so cavalier about her death was shocking.
That Paige was flipped out about her mother killing the would be rapist felt ok to me...she may well have never seen a dead body before, or even attended a funeral, and the first death is deeply troubling. That her mother took this guy out so fast and with a concealed knife (??) is a far distance from the suburban mom Elizabeth has been playing with Paige all these years...no wonder the kid is freaked and trying to process that. I doubt she has even considered the possibility of rape yet...she's trying to put together the ninja killer with mom/travel agent.
Oleg is never going to Nairobi...and I figure that Tatiana and her "success" now makes his skin crawl. I hope he defects before he get shipped back to mother Russia.