kieyra

Well, now I'm sad again. I'd been kind of hoping that I was being too nitpicky about Rylance and that the show would win lots of people over anyway. Now I'm back to 'how did this casting occur', and 'did anyone in casting read the books'. To return to one of the first things I ever said on the topic: I wonder what Hilary Mantel thinks of the casting, and how it matches up with the canonical book-Cromwell in her head. And finally: I wonder how they are casting the stage productions, and how those actors are playing the same material. http://wolfhallbroadway.com EDIT: And here's Broadway's casting for Cromwell in the same material. http://images.amcnetworks.com/bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/files/2015/04/612x344_benmiles_womaningold.jpg

Gloria didn't read as 'in on it' to me. What I got from the scene was that they directed the actress to play it broad because part of Jackie's case hinges on 'she humiliated me in front of my coworkers'. In other words, Jackie pushed Gloria's buttons precisely so that she would freak out and scream at her in front of everyone. And she did that by showing up to work and pretending everything was fine. The sheer balls of it, basically, is what pushed Gloria over the edge.

Cat book spoiler:

I don't think it makes you high, I think it takes the edge off the withdrawals. In fact, I thought that was why they gave it to her.

I swear to God as soon as I saw her silhouette and her posture I said "young Cersei".

Excellent episode, coming out strong. And they handed Peter's death very well. I like the new slightly higher profile for the female cast members. Guilfoyle and Dinesh will never not be comedy gold.

FWIW, hearing more buzz about this than I did JTV. With JTV, I was always the one driving the conversation; with iZombie, it took multiple people prodding me before I would try it (I'm a vampire girl, not a zombie girl, it's just the way I'm built). But the point is, multiple people did prod me, including my 67 year old mother.

I really hate to be that poster, but so far the show seems like a bit of a sausage fest. I think I've been spoiled by so many "strong female roles" on television lately, which I suppose on balance is a good thing. It just makes the lack of non-victim females so far feel a little weird.

I guess I'm the only one bugged by the way no one on this show ever turns on a dammed lamp? I laughed out loud when the camera panned into a small, brightly lit room during the very very long fight sequence ... And then had the door slammed in its face. I mean, I get that he's blind and it's an atmospheric choice, but I'm still trying to figure out what some of the actors look like.

Nah. No Wizards or Demon Hunters in WoW.

Diablo III has been out for three years. Being impressed by each other's non-max-level characters was odd. Also: 1.4 attacks per second? Really? I'll show myself out.

Yes, he is eating up that role. I was hoping for something slightly different for Norfolk--he's described as gaunt in the books, but the actor is still having a great time with him. I was apprehensive about Damien Lewis, but it's working for me, and so very different from JRM. (I had no problem with JRM, FWIW.) Claire Foy, too. Really, inspired casting overall, with Rylance the only head-scratcher for me. And Rylance improves when he's acting opposite Lewis, Foy, and Mary B / Norfolk (unsure of actors' names). I keep meaning to look up the name of the actress playing Johane and see if she's part of the Richardson/Redgrave dynasty. EDIT: Nope, I guess she's just giving me Joely Richardson from certain angles.

After the positive responses from US viewers, I tried again with the pilot and the second episode. I just cannot warm up to Rylance. I think this partially a personal problem--the books got so far into my head I have my own image of how book-Cromwell talked/moved/emoted, and it's just not aligning with show-Cromwell, who at times seems even elderly and frail. And the eyebrows. (That said, I'm really glad to see so many people here, and I'll be doing a rewatch as the US airing happens so I can participate.)

Generally speaking, the books are more cerebral and less hunk-based than The Tudors or The Other Boleyn Girl.

Book spoiler:

I literally CANNOT EVEN with this season. I have to go watch S5's "Telenovela" skits now to remind myself that the scripted challenges didn't always hurt this much. EDIT: GUYS, I wasn't even joking. I loaded the episode "Drama Queens", skimmed ahead to where they were rehearsing for the Telenovela, got one line reading from Alyssa Edwards, and had the following revelation: If Alyssa Edwards had been on S7, she would win this shit no problem.

Recap here: http://flavorwire.com/512791/wolf-hall-episode-1-recap-three-card-trick

Ah, apparently Harry Lloyd plays Harry Percy. I missed him without the Targaryan blonde drag.

That's kind of how they rationalized Jamie's actions. Except for the part where he liked it, I guess.

I'm not sure if you're a book reader, but book-Cromwell (in this universe) had a definite force of presence and vitality that Rylance is not giving me. The dry humor is the same, often because it's word for word from the books, but book-Cromwell had a joie de vivre and 'personhood' that made you root for him. I've mentioned it elsewhere but I would have loved to see James Frain reprise his Cromwell from the Tudors. I guess that kind of thing really doesn't happen, though.

Hmm, IIRC (and if not someone please tell me), they described that issue as a point of contention, BUT said that it was the actors themselves who went in for a kiss in one take. RDM (I think, I actually had a hard time distinguishing his voice on this cast) did mention that they wanted to go as far as possible with it so it was more impactful when Jamie did the right thing. I don't recall anyone saying they WANTED to show a kiss. But apparently a kiss was filmed, only because the actors followed through during one take.

I listened to the podcast today. Some interesting tidbits (from the all-male podcast panel, including RDM): --They use the word spanking. They emphasize that it is a choice to use that word. --They seemed to feel Jamie was justified, 'because justice'. --The music was an intentional choice, 'so you know it's going to be okay'. (Not sure what this means, I don't think any of us thought Jamie would seriously injure her.) --The women in the writer's room wanted the scene to play darker but were overruled.

The book did have abrupt time jumps, especially in the beginning, but as someone who fell in the 'love' camp with Mantel's writing style, AND someone who already had a very strong grip on the actual chronology of events, I went with it and it all worked out. I've now read the books so many times I understand why she did it that way, but it can read like a series of unlinked short stories at times. But she's setting up key pieces: the awfulness of Cromwell's father, and his intense loyalty to Wolsey. I wonder how they handled this for the stage production, which is apparently quite popular in London and is coming to NY. Disappointed but not surprised to see the reaction of others and of unsullied. I will say, though, that the second episode begins a somewhat livelier pace. It never stops being cerebral and slow, and I will continue to feel that Rylance was miscast, because book Cromwell was very animated, but there's just more texture in following episodes.

This is actually kind of a relief for me, because no way are those the words of someone who made it all the way to the end.

This show was so good in season 2. Now I just groan and hit the 30-second skip button.