[This Game Of Thrones Supercut Juxtaposes Characters' First And Last Scenes]

I thought that was beautifully done. Sent it along to several friends who have been jonesing along with me, waiting for today. Many thanks.

[S04.E10: The Last Ship]

I agree with the poster above, all of Ragnar's sons with Aslaug have a ratty look to them...strikingly different from Bjorn, his son with Lagertha.

And Ivar does not even remotely look like Ragnar, or Aslaug for that matter...the kid who played him had a narrow face and a focused look, the adult has dark hair, broad features and the blank affect of a sociopath.

it's not too late Ragnar...maybe you could drag Ivar off and leave him somewhere to die. Do the world a favor.

[S04.E10: The Last Ship]

The battle scene was intense and imaginative...but the Franks, even with Rollo driving them on, seemed to be cut down pretty easily in hand to hand fighting with the Vikings. That said, Bad Haircut looked like he was done, and Lagertha was in bad shape...though it is not clear who is alive at this point. And I echo the poster who wanted to know how Bjorn reacted to the death of his Siggy.

 

Ivar is creepy...and he does not even look like Ragnar. The others do, though I could not tell which was Snake in the Eye. Floki looked so much older, but Helga seemed untouched by time. I was hoping for more...it's a very long wait for the second half of the year.

[S04.E06: The Rat]

I would like to add something to the discussion that may have been overlooked...when Paige asks Henry to use his computer for her school work, he replies sure,but they have no printer. Elizabeth, without thinking twice, tells Paige, no problem, you can use the printer in our travel office.

So Paige will now have access to the office. Maybe that's not such a good idea, Liz.

[S04.E10: The Last Ship]

My money is on Rollo again, as Ragnar is looking pretty ragged. His ship-moving scheme was epic and imaginative, and I hate counting him out, but his jones is wearing him down.

And though I have been hoping for some karmic payback to whack Aslaug and her evil spawn Ivar, I suppose she is still safe enough. Little Snake in the Eye is more a watcher than a doer, and no one is on site to deliver. Unless Floki has a vision.

[S04.E06: The Rat]

Agreed, William is a fabulous addition to the show. A sad sack, weary spy, with zero illusions about his life and his trade. So his wife was sent back..he doesn't bother to comment further, but left unsaid is her fate. Similar to Nina's no doubt. 

Philip has to know that Martha is dead...blown by the FBI, she is useless now to the KGB as well. 

And he has not even faced Elizabeth yet...an encounter that should be epic. Her jealousy of his attachment to Martha just got jacked up again, as he reveals that he showed his real face to her...the shock on Elizabeth's face picked up by Gabriel, busy calibrating the damage to his fave pair of spies. The illegal family may not be a functioning unit much longer.

Philip, though he had his reasons, has indeed gone off the reservation, and not just once. The Centre will have to rope him back...but at what cost to him. I suspect it will not go unpunished. Discipline must be maintained. As they say, it's not personal, it's just the spy business.

[S04.E06: The Rat]

Man this show delivers. Top work all hands, but  Allison Wright just nailed this. Just wow. You could just see her mentally looking for any out, any explanation, any place to feel safe. And Martha to Jennifer..."you're not his sister"...all the dominoes tumbling. This is how the goat feels when it knows it has been staked out for the lions. I was shivering along with her.
For a long minute, I thought Philip was going to shoot Martha, and put her out of her misery. Her chances of surviving in Moscow are slim to none...I was rooting for her to get out while Philip was away, but I agree...her saying out loud, on the sidewalk..."you're KGB" to Gabriel just sealed her death, if the Russians get to her first.
Previews had her calling Gaad...good for her, whatever the legal consequences, she is better off with the FBI, than with the Russians.
And Keri Russell...also amazing. She was full Jennifer, then dropped it and became Elizabeth before our eyes. And she is a chameleon. Stunning what a bad wig, bad glasses and shapeless clothes can do to make her look dumpy and ordinary. And on the docks, she looked rough...deep shadows under her eyes, ratty hair and untucked shirt...she looked every inch the junkie looking for her connect.
So the race is on...team KGB vs Team FBI. Cannot wait until next week.
Nobody does it better.

[S01.E01: Episode One]

I loved this. Hiddleston is really great...he does a wonderful Henry V, in a recent adaptation...different from Branagh's, but every bit as good and convincing.

Strangely, I liked Sophia/Samira...a woman who knew she was walking to her death, from the moment she approached Pine in the opening sequence. That she had the SKU is again the difficulty of adapting an early 90s book to 2016...the chips were in the empty champagne bottle...which Pine cleverly had cleared quickly from the room. Also that Hamid, her killer's family, were well entrenched on the London social and political scene, and thus protected. 

Has been a recurrent theme of LeCarre's...the intertwined corruption of the global elite.

Liked Roper's low key introduction...why should he telegraph all his moves in the opener...no shrewd operator would. 

Also interested in the woman running a side intelligence unit, allied to but separate from M16, the official spy service. Loved the casting.

Pine had me nervous from the jump...his reaction shots sold me on the fear quotient. 

[S05.E09: Love Stories/ S05.E10: I Love You Baby]

A friend told me to watch the finale, it's really not that bad. Wrong.

 

Hannah's parents are interesting...her mom has a tough edge that feels honest. Elijah is amusing and the remake of the coffee shop was fun and witty. 

But, Marnie on the toilet for her pst coital chat with Ray...it's not an improvement over Hannah..the whole thing is not real or shocking, it is just tedious, because it has been repeated so often. 

Jesse and Adam nude...why was he so coyly posed while Jessa displayed a fresh Brazilian wax. Dunham disappoints...she still is so protective of her boys. 

Desi has groupies...moving into the realm of the impossible.

And Hannah herself...crude, rude and demonstrably not too bright. Has no sense of irony, minimal self-awareness, and totally lacking in any sensitivity towards others. Stealing a guy's bike then throwing it to the ground afterwards...dick move. Doing a Sharon Stone on her school principal...totally gross. Snagging a teaching job and then utterly failing her students. Hard to imagine any job at which she would not be a swamp of incompetence and self-absorption.

Hannah's like watching an unattractive 6 year old inhabit a seemingly adult body. There are people who should live in their parents basement and never emerge...Hannah is one of them.

[S02.E10: Klick]

I am beyond bored with the weird dependency between Jimmy and Chuck. There is a time to cut your losses and walk away. Like watching a couple of drowning men hold tight to one another, when if one would let go, they would both have the chance to swim to safety. Your move Jimmy, but no, he cannot untie his Gordian knot.

Ok, your choice, but let us leave them to it, and concentrate on Mike and Hector, a far more rewarding effort.

 

Who left the branch and the note? Who trailed Mike, so successfully? I was sure last week that Hector would torture then kill that driver, because I have spent time in Gilligan world. But why not take the kill shot...he could have offed Nacho and Hector in one shot? Who else knows that Mike has trouble pulling the trigger, because leaving a note that says "Don't" on a car windshield some hundreds of yards away from Mike's position suggests someone who already has a read on the guy. 

Nacho is running a sideline operation...has he shared that info with his distributor? Gus, Is that you??

[S04.E01: The Collapse Of Nature]

I loved this opener...finally, we get to know Beth, who has been a presence in the entire series. And her suicide also makes complete sense...as does Art's willingness to work alongside Sarah, when she finally appears in his life. He and Beth's close partnership and even that one-night hookup, explains why he is so invested in helping Sarah. He too wants to know what really happened to Beth.

 

Loved seeing Cosima again, but totally missed my Helena. I realize she is not in play yet, but having Allison back, with her pal Ramon is always good. Felix, you have been so missed...so calm, so collected while being booked on prostitution and public urination charges...and looking fabulous, I might add.

And seeing old Leekie strut around knowing his future includes getting whacked by Donnie and buried in a garage...very satisfying.

 

As always, I need to watch the episode twice...they bury enough clues and references, that I miss some on a single viewing. 

Maslany rules...yet another distinct clone, so welcome MK.

[S04.E05: Clark's Place]

"I honestly didn't think Pastor Tim was scared. It doesn't seem to have occurred to either of them that they're in danger knowing about a couple of deep cover KGB operatives."

 

On this we can agree. Reading the above posters, it does occur to me that despite the fear-heightened atmosphere of the time, especially re Russians, that sense of American exceptionalism might be kicking in as well...that whatever horrors might happen in the rest of the world, we are all safe and happy here. An illusion that took a few more decades to shatter.

[S04.E05: Clark's Place]

"Of course, FBI wouldn't really vet anything. They'd just put her parents in jail."

 

In reality, not true. They would have the same resistance to the idea of an apparently normal American family whose daughter claims they are Soviet spies. It would merit investigation, assuming they find Pastor Tim and Alice credible. If they tossed the Jennings house, they would find the secret room in the basement. 

 

The thing is Philip and Elizabeth have already confirmed to the Pastor and his wife, that they are Soviet spies...but the good kind...like the good witch in the Wizard of Oz. Not the bad, murderous kind trying to destroy the USA. Which is why Alice and Tim continuing to meet with the Jennings is so phenomenally stupid and dangerous. They have no clue about this situation, and no way to assess the information they are being fed. It is not like seeing something odd while going about your day...it is the second meeting, and Tim himself might think back to his first encounter with Philip. And having to haul in the little priest as a convincer?  Makes you wonder if the Pastor and wife have any gut instincts at all. And meeting them alone, in their office, with no one else aware of the meeting? It is all just very dicey.

[S04.E05: Clark's Place]

"It's the frickin' KGB we are talking about here."

 

Agreed. No one who lived thru the 70s and 80s would be in any doubt about the deadly danger the KGB represents. The Cold War was at its height, Reagan was promoting the Star Wars defense against possible Russian attacks, there were ongoing bloody proxy wars in Afghanistan and Central America, and Jewish dissidents trying to escape Russia underlined the feeling that the Soviet Union itself was an enormous gulag. The KGB was seen as a spooky, scary, deadly organization.

And it was. 

 

If Tim and Alice had a brain cell between them, they would decide that this is all above their pay grade and notify the FBI. Let the pros sort it out. They are in no position to have enough info to make a reasonable decision. That they continue to meet with the Jennings indicate how clueless these two are. Paige herself is better protected by having the FBI vet the situation. We viewers haven't had a chance to see how Tim and Alice react to the latest visit...but it is long past time for them to bail.

And that they meet the Jennings and friend in their office after hours, without anyone else knowing...have these two never read a LeCarre novel?

[S04.E09: Death All 'Round]

Mars477, absolutely true, the unarmed and largely undefended common folk were savaged without mercy. Still true, as Boko Haram and Isis make clear. And in WW2, invading German armies systematically burned and killed village after village in Operation Barbarossa. 

Still watching Finehair and Bad Haircut take such sadistic glee in their killing remains deeply disturbing.

On the other hand, I hope Aslaug and Ivar get theirs, so it does not reflect well on me either.

[S04.E09: Death All 'Round]

Ragnar was right about one thing...Ivar should have been left outside to die...he is truly an evil creature. And Aslaug with her drinking and smirking is utterly repulsive.

She's giving Cersei Lannister a run for her money as evil mother who nurtures monstrous child, with bottomless wine glass. Both Siggy and her namesake both died because of the vile Aslaug. 

 

The torture and murder of the Francia farm family was intolerable, and difficult to watch, but it was true to the Vikings. They were merciless towards anyone not in the tribe. It's hard not to root for Ragnar, Bjorn and Lagertha, and now Torvi...but you would not want them within a hundred miles of you. Clear from the visuals that they did not just kill the family but engaged in sadism as sport killing.

 

Gisla is right, and Rollo needs to watch his back with Roland. I still want to know how Therese is going to explain the deep scars on her back courtesy of Odo.

And Aelle is not pleased with Ecbert. Silly to make an enemy of the man when the Vikings might return and notice the missing Norse settlement. Could cause some hard feelings, and Ecbert might need Aelle's help. Maybe Ecbert isn't so clever...better to have shared something with his fellow king than to make him an outright enemy.

[S04.E05: Clark's Place]

"a deeper exploration of what it means both to keep a secret and to lose it, and how hard it can be to confront other people's secrets."

 

Nicely stated, reflects much of what I was thinking, especially how the partial truths that the Jennings are feeding Paige are slowly poisoning her relationship with them.

Her scenes of withdrawal from her mother were telling, and when she finally tries to seek some clarity from the mother, mom shuts her down. The center and Gabriel may be focused on Pastor Tim and Alice, and holding their fire, but I think Paige has already begun to spin out of the Jennings orbit, much more than her parents suspect. Philip is more attuned to this, but he is overwhelmed at the moment with Martha. Elizabeth seems to be measuring the depth of Philip's attachment to Martha, and while sympathetic to "losing an agent" is more jealous than she can acknowledge.

 

Martha, poor solitary Martha, the walls are closing in. Bravo to Alderholt (sp?) for not buying the married man story...he and Stan made an interesting team. And Hans, Jennings-trained, is not so impressive. The full cost of her choices is bearing down on Martha, and her hubby, Philip, is full of excuses but not much support. Nice that she noticed the wedding photo is gone. Martha is so fully believable, the actress has been dead-on, the utter loneliness of her position is so painful to watch.

 

The scenes with Oleg and his father, the funeral, the conversation with Arkady...the show is so wonderfully adult.

[S02.E09: Nailed]

This show has a lot to say about family...and not only the poisonous relationship between Chuck and Jimmy. Watch the guilt-ridden Mike try to make amends to his son's widow, and ensure access to his beloved granddaughter, and see him take on the Salamanca clan, with disastrous results for an innocent bystander. See the twisted evil that is the Salamanca family, with its murderous loyalty. See the empty suit Howard claim that he wanted something different in his life, but joined HMM to please his father. And we still have no backstory on Kim, who glides past any question on her past except for the 10 years in New Mexico...she is not drawn to Jimmy just for his good lucks and charm...like recognizes like.

[S02.E09: Nailed]

That driver is a dead man...when Tio is done questioning him, he may be glad to die. Nacho was so sure that Mike had an inside man...Tio must have the same thought, and the driver is the only clue he has.

 

Props to the poster above who mentioned Gilligan's storytelling..and the law of unintended consequences. Mike must have thought he got away clean, but the good samaritan killing will have to be answered. That one he won't let ride. But I also love the attention to detail, and the way he explains how the hose was set to work.

Reminds me of the great train robbery in BB, and a dozen more examples. 

 

If nobody calls 911, does Jimmy jump in and call himself? Despite everything, he looks like he might just do that.

[S04.E08: Portage]

"My question is how does the rest of Kattegatt NOT know."

 

Well, they don't have Skype or email. Since the Viking raiding party has been in Francia, I guess that most of the Vikings are assuming that things are ok in Wessex.

No one seems worried or concerned, not even Lagertha, and she is the most acute observer.

 

Thank you to all who answered my question about Odo...I had wondered if I missed something. But I think Hirst needed more explanation...Roland and Therese killed Odo, Charles' defense minister, without his express permission (or, if it was given, we were not shown) which is usually enough to get the killers themselves branded traitors.

And yes, I too thought Charles saw thru Roland and Therese's efforts to brand Odo a traitor. Did I misread the scene.

Curious how they presented the body to the king...lead him to the dungeon with Odo just hanging there...or cut him down and present his corpse as a done deal.

[S04.E08: Portage]

On a rewatch of the episode, I have one question...Charles announces that Odo is a traitor who has been executed...what did I miss here? How did he come to that conclusion? I know Roland and Therese have been undermining Odo verbally, but how does Charles simply announce his execution, done without his express permission?

[S04.E08: Portage]

I think Ecbert was planning on letting Kwentrith live long enough to deliver her child, then having her whacked. But plans change. She is (was) one crazy, bloodthirsty girl, and a permanent danger. See how easily she took out Ecbert's loyal assistant with her knife. No way he could keep her around. Thanks to the poster who noted that the trip to Rome that got Athelwulf and Alfred out of town was a clever move to protect them by Ecbert...until, as he said, things "stabilized".

 

As for the Emperor Charles, I am somewhat amazed that Rollo has any respect for him...with Ragnar as a brother and example, Charles looks and is weak and ineffectual. That said, money and the power of Frankia itself would be alluring...maybe he  figures he could make his move on the king down the line. As for Therese and Charles...if they are a thing, does he notice or comment on the whip slashes on her back...she has to be pretty torn up by now, but no blood seems to leak thru her dresses, and she shows no visible discomfort, which is a little unbelievable. Does he connect it to Odo? Or does he continue on, preferring not to notice the inconvenient?

[S05.E09: A Touch Of Style]

I would just like to mention, for the record, that seeing what Alyssa Milano wears each and every week on this show, that I would never, in a million years, be interested in anything that reflected her taste level. And the styling...eye makeup applied with a trowel, the hair, too long or done up in an old-lady chignon, terrible shoes and a need to wear cinched in waists on a womanly body that make her look trollishly short. 

 

I may be bored with the designers, but I enjoy hating on Milano. And good on Tim Gunn...he hates Isaac with the power of the burning sun, and i have to agree.

Old Issac has that matronly look himself now, and he hawks his polyester trash nonstop on TV; I catch him yammering on as I flip the channels.

 

Of course I am going straight to hell.

[S04.E08: Portage]

Things are moving right along...Odo goes out screaming, Kwentrith hits the floor. And Yudu washes out. 

 

Lagertha gave Ragnar quite a look when he announced his portage plan...but after a short hesitation, those Vikings got to work, showing an admirable work ethic.

She knows something is up with him, but I suspect not what. 

 

And Habard is working overtime in Kattegat. The homegirls seem to be crazy about him, and a bumper crop should soon be on the way...interesting to see the explanations offered when the team returns from the Paris raid.

[S04.E04: Chloramphenicol]

RIP Nina. You did your best with what you had to work with, but everything was against you. Anton is too valuable still to kill...was probably told that Nina was moved to another facility, and that his continued cooperation would ensure that she survives. 

 

Watching Philip watch Elizabeth, who was fever-soaked, you get the sense that he is so done with this life. It's not the killings that bug him, it's the possible loss of his children and Elizabeth. It's why I am never on the Philip train, and root for Stan, even though I dislike him. Philip has killed so many times, and it doesn't impact him, he can compartmentalize his brutality.  And he is a brutal killer. As is Elizabeth. As for EST causing his first kill to resurface in his memory...that is all about Philip. No thought about his other killings of the inconvenient, or even Anton, whom he shipped off to Russia, separating him forever from his children. 

 

I love the show, but I have zero sympathy for either Elizabeth or Philip...I have no sympathy for cartel killers or contract murderers either...or their family feelings.

Gabriel can rot and die. And William, who traffics in deadly toxins, richly deserves his lonely, desperate existence. 

 

Hot damn, Martha can lie with the best of them. Is Aldershot buying it? You see the wheels turning in his head, totally reevaluating old Martha. But perhaps not in the way she intends. He's shrewder that Stan, and he may be piecing together Stan's suspicions with this new info.

 

Actors one and all are killing it...top work all hands.