Irishmaple

I know he's a big, strong guy but after everything Branch had gone through - being shot twice, bleeding almost to death, getting sewn up with unsterilized fishing equipment, the peyote and then the post-surgical meds - would he really have the necessary strength to choke Cady? I think they could have scaled that back a bit. I like that both Henry and Vic call Longmire on his bullshit because I find he dispenses a fair bit of it. I don't want Vic to get romantically involved with him though; I like that she's married and I'd prefer they just work together as colleagues and friends. I liked Lizzie better as a love interest, closer to Walt's age and she brought a lighter touch to his moods. I still like Matthias too; he just never scales back on being a jerk and I admire that about him.

This show is probably the best thing I'm watching on TV right now because it's one of the few shows capable of surprising me. Every time I think I know where the show is going, it twists around and I don't see the bite coming. Ethan and Dorian? Jaw on the floor. I thought Ethan was caught in a web of hallucinogenic and guilt, and was about to confess that he was a murdering werewolf. Dorian seems innately seductive but I thought he wasting his time. I was so wrong! That scene was actually hotter than the one at the start with all the naked people roaming around like they'd wandered in off the set of Littlefinger's brothel on Game of Thrones. When Ethan pulled The Lovers card from Vanessa's Tarot deck, he was dead on. Fate just keep throwing options at him. Vanessa seemed more understated this week and I don't really understand why she's so drawn to Dorian. It may be she senses his Otherness but to me, beyond the obvious prettiness, he just seems jaded and kind of whiny. Why bother to extend his life if its such a drag? I like Murray's connection with Victor. They're both explorers of unknown, unsafe places and both of them are willing to go to ugly extremes. I thought the 'you remind me of my son' was also somewhat of a back-handed compliment because Murray's son was weak and unable to survive in the environments in which his father thrived. It seemed to me that Murray's 'you're like my son' was another way of saying "you're not cut out for physical hardship and I'm not dragging your useless ass along". I actually prefer Caliban to Proteus now. Caliban is a wildcard. He told Victor he intends to rule humanity, yet he loves the work he does at the theatre and seems genuinely fond of the man who took him in. The scene of them howling together while pumping blood through the girl's chest was hysterical. I'm actually hoping Brona doesn't become the Bride; Caliban seems taken with that blonde actress and I'm (cruelly, perhaps) hoping some scenery drops on her head and she becomes the Bride. I was surprised that Caliban ranks himself as the founder of a new species of Immortal. Does he actually think he and his Bride will create offspring? Or is he aware of the vampires and classing himself with Immortals in general? Fenton crawling up the stairs freaked the hell out of me. He was like a giant, creepy spider but I was sad to see him die. They had to feed him a cat, though? Murray was quick enough to tap a vein for research but no-one could pour a few ounces into a glass? The master vampires are seriously unsettling on this show; I doubt that guy sparkles in the daylight.

One thing still kind of bugging me a bit is the Leekie/Paul/Mrs S connection with regard to Sarah and Ethan Duncan. Siobhan seems to have won Paul as something of an ally (have I mentioned this woman is my goddess?) so he lied to Leekie about Sarah finding Ethan. Paul said Sarah hadn't found anything. Somehow Leekie inferred from Paul's poker face that Paul was lying. When Mrs. S came to talk to Leekie, he told her to her face that he knew Ethan was alive. How does Mrs. S think he learned that? The obvious answer is Paul told him (which we knew didn't happen but Siobhan isn't watching along with us) but Mrs. S never said a word to Paul when he arrived at the house with Rachel. How does she know he didn't betray her to Leekie?

Did Roose legitimize Ramsey in the books? I honestly don't remember that. I thought Roose was hoping for heirs from Fat Walda. I suppose I can understand why Roose did it. Any heirs from Walda will be half-Frey and that name will be mud in the North for generations. Assuming Ramsey doesn't act against Walda and any heir she might provide. On the other hand, I'd be terrified to legitimize Ramsey because he might kill me in my sleep for the Warden of the North job. I'm not liking Ygritte much either at the moment. It's not like those sex workers were living comfortable lives of privilege, and she killed them without blinking.

Pedro Pascal continues to ruin my summer: last year Graceland killed him off and now Game of Thrones does the deed in a manner so awful I could not watch. Why can I not have nice things, TV? Eyeballs squick me out completely and I was hiding behind my fingers from that moment on. The fight itself was spectacular though. Whoever did Oberyn's moves should be handed whatever prizes for stunt work exist. He moved like a lithe, graceful combination of cat and hardcore ballet dancer. I thought he had it won, as did Jaime who knows good fighting better than I do and seemed to be enjoying the moment both for itself and because it meant Tyrion would live. I started to get worried when Oberyn wouldn't give up on gaining the confession. Why was it so important, I wondered, and then he pointed to the dais and I knew he wanted Tywin publicly named too. This was bigger than The Mountain to Oberyn and he lost his focus. Damn. The actor who played The Mountain really didn't work for me on any level. He didn't look anywhere near the same age as Jaime and Oberyn, both of whom would have been little more than teenagers when Elia Martell died. They really couldn't have found anyone more convincing? Sansa was amazing. I really enjoyed Littlefinger's trepidation when he realized Sansa was basically free-agenting her way through the Vale. He thought she would be malleable, easy to manoeuvre and too scared to do anything beyond what he told her to do. Instead she massaged the truth to her own benefit and even impressed Petyr Baelish, master of lies. When she met his eyes over the comforting shoulder of that noblewoman, it was game on. I loved the poleaxed look on Littlefinger's face at the end. There he is, with the Lord of the Vale squirming in the palm of his hand and Sansa strolls down the steps like a vision from his dark fantasies. It looked to me like she was saying 'maybe, yes, but on my terms'. This is not a ship I ever imagined boarding, but it's got me. Finally, I didn't mind the beetle conversation. I agree it did foreshadow the gods' lack of interest in our love of Pedro Pascal, but it was also a moment that underscored for me the enormity of Tyrion's ordeal. The brothers were reminiscing, talking about something inconsequential to stretch out the moments they had left, to avoid confronting the ugly reality of the day, and probably because they're Lannisters and can't actually say "you're my brother and I love you."