[S10.E14: Sinister Showdown, Part 2]

I agree that Rob probably won because he was the most consistently good all season (the one time he was off -when Mel was sent packing - his overall record probably saved him there too). It looks like he did get the underdog/winner's edit from last episode (when he thought he was over his head), but I can't disagree with the results. I thought Melissa's possessed victim (with the branches sticking out of his head) wasn't that scary and perhaps because he was overlit, Walter's well-made demon/monster looked more like a gourd man than was intended. Rob's two make-ups (which were re-worked more than the others to the director's specifications) were both "on" target. 

 

One of the problems I had with the challenge though was that it really was the luck of the draw in which director, with which different vision the 3 were going to get. Different people mesh differently. Last season, even though there were different scripts, Patrick directed each short film. Even a matter as slight as an approach to lighting the make-ups (which is out of the contestants' hands) could make a difference (I guess that was why the judges were there for the shoot).

 

And yes, it was nice to see the models acting. Makes me hope they do more of that in the future. Matt and Megan looked pretty good. 

 

So, at least 8 months before next season.. I guess the show got the message and doesn't want almost every contestant in a season to be a newbie make-up school grad again. 

[TCM: The Greatest Movie Channel]

I don't really think any actress - past or present - really typified "girl next door" more than Joan Leslie (well maybe Dawn Wells/Mary Ann comes close). She was as cute as a button but seemed very unglamorous (and was apparently very sweet person and a lifelong devout Catholic in real life). I remember the film Hollywood Canteen, a for charity WWII propaganda piece of perfectionary (which was filled with WB stars, since the other studios wouldn't allow theirs to appear - even though all types were at the real Canteen) Ann Sheridan originally went on suspension rather than appear in the lead since she didn't believe it was realistic to show a regular G.I. falling in love and getting involved with a real movie star (and it was against the actual Canteen's roles). So Joan Leslie filled in, playing "Joan Leslie" (and I believe her real sister played her real sister, though her on-screen parents were actors) having a romance with Robert Hutton's "Slim". Ann Sheridan was right. It was unbelievable. The only movie actress I could see pulling it off was Joan Leslie. 

 

She's also a great example of the Hollywood "Star" system at its best and worst, in manufacturing and discarding actors. By the time she was 20, Joan had been the leading lady of Gary Cooper (Sergeant York), Jimmy Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy), Fred Astaire (The Sky's the Limit) and the object of Humphrey Bogart's affection in High Sierra. All these actors were old enough to be her father. She was also paired with Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson and the above mentioned Robert Hutton in several lesser films. Yet by 1947 at age 22, she was gone from Warner Bros, billed fourth in Two Guys from Milwaukee, and was out of work for over a year since Jack Warner had blackballed her for getting out of her contract legally. She eventually had to sign with the near-Poverty Row studio Eagle-Lion and then did several westerns for Republic. By 1957 (age 32) she did her last film (a supporting role in the Jane Russell bomb in The Revolt of Mamie Stover) and basically retired to raise her family (though she did a memorable episode of Murder, She Wrote in the 80s playing the spinster sister of fellow spinster Teresa Wright). And yet not only was she incredibly photogenic but could sing, dance (and keep up with Astaire) and had a great flair for comedy. Take a look at her impressions of Cagney, Ida Lupino (both of whom she worked with): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH3L2DBPju0

 

Just a side note, am I the only person in the world who thought her character in High Sierra did absolutely nothing wrong?

 

I never felt she did anything wrong. She didn't owe Bogart's Mad Dog Earle anything. That was all him projecting. He didn't see what was in front of him - Ida Lupino's character - until the end. Ironically, when Raoul Walsh remade High Sierra into a western in 1949, Colorado Territory, with Joel McCrea and Virginia Mayo, he had the Joan Leslie-analog character played by Dorothy Malone, actually curry the hero's favor and more actively betray him, rather than just being a girl with a deformed foot. 

 

Speaking of which, two of my favorite of Leslie's former WB contractees, Dorothy Malone and Janis Paige are still with us (and they are older than Joan). I now worry about them. It seems especially in the last couple of years a lot of old Hollywood has past.

[S09.E12: Death Becomes Them]

Favorite quote I semi-remember: Nora seeing Megan come up to her "I'm so glad I got you" 

Me:" Fuck yeah! Megan doing the perky goat?! Damn right you should be glad Nora."  But it's nice to see the appreciation of Megan when she deserves it.  Also Ben's creepy uncle model did absolutely friggin incredible too. *shivers*

If I was a contestant on the show I would pick Megan every time and fight people over getting her. You KNOW she's going to sell the make-up even if it's so-so (and the contestants in the last several seasons who also watch the show have known that going in as well). Thought Ben's was the best though, and the model completely sold the creepy side. I knew Ben was in as soon as Ve was creeped out.

 

I have no idea how Evan made it over Scott (who had the better overall make-up of the final 3) or Jordan (who thought outside the box the most and who seemed to do more work in the last hour). At least this time they didn't have the semi-finalist losers go through the faux ritual of having them being filmed packing their kit, only to return minutes later when the finale starts. 

[S09.E11: Beyond The Expanse]

I've got to disagree with the judges, mostly Ve, harping on Stevie's paint job. In 200,000 years of human evolution and migration, humans have evolved skins tones that range from light peachy beige to very dark brown. There is no way in a couple of thousand years that we'd have greenish skin. That was Ve's cognitive dissonance speaking. She's had a career of making blue green fish people and can't imagine anything else.

I agree. Maybe it shouldn't have been that skin tone, but human skin definitely wouldn't have evolved into fish tones in the period of time. Of all things Stevie shouldn't have  been penalized for that. I'm not sure what Ve was thinking. But I'm guessing Stevie went home because Ben was better overall this season (I think his idea was fine but the actual work was a mess). On the other side Scott would've been totally gone if he had kept his original idea and the Westmores saved him by coming back a second time.

[S09.E03: Under The Lake]

This episode I really felt this way about Clara, she just seemed so smug. I would like to fanwank that, as a teacher, she has basically turned the Doctor into one of her students and that's why she looks so proud and boastful when he comes up with things and why she made him flashcards because, apparently, for the past few centuries he's been unable to relate to humans? The fuck? She is NOT cute. However, I adored her little dress this ep. I found it every bit as precious as anything she wore last season so I really don't see a shift in her style at all. She has always dressed like a child to me.

I think Clara would work for me more if the show/Moffat acknowledged more cleanly that she is a smug, arrogant know-it-all (or thinks she does at any rate). She's been written this way since the whole "Impossible Girl" thing (which has been dropped quickly and never acknowledged since) started. It's never entirely clear what the heck the Doctor sees in her. If she's not "the Impossible Girl" anymore what makes Clara special to the Doctor (as we clearly are supposed to believe). I know Moffat (and Davies before him) has this thing about Doctors being attached to their first companions after regenerations (Amy, Clara) or the directly previous companion (i.e. Rose) but that was never the case in Classic Who (who both writers are fans of). For instance, Two didn't have much of a pang at Polly/Ben leaving (and they were the first companions to witness his regeneration) and Six at first was disdainful and obnoxious to Peri. It doesn't HAVE to be that way, Moffat! And it's not like JC's fault. I still believe either Dalek!Oswin or Victorian!Clara would have made better companions and they were played by the same actress. 

 

I did like this episode though. It had an old-school feel of being a self-contained (in the olden days when the show was half-an-hour  it would have been a three-part serial) adventure. It was weird to see a tough, female, pilot/leader called Cass, willing to die for her crew and have the Doctor not even raise an eyebrow considering that name and background has significance to him (i.e. "The Night of the Doctor" also written by Moffat). It's not like's it a common name?

 

On the plus side, I do think this season they've finally gotten a personality down for Capaldi's 12 (though the sonic sunglasses are dumb). He has the older no-nonsense and not caring what anyone thinks of 1, the thirst for adventure and braggadocio of 3, and the arrogance of 6, and occasionally the guilt of whether he is a "good man" of 9 (although why we don't know since this incarnation knows he saved Gaillfrey). If you go by multiples of 3, he makes perfect sense. I think Capaldi's Doctor is what Colin Baker's could have been with a better outfit and the support of the BBC. A jerk with a heart of a hero. 

[S09.E10: Freak Show]

Can't disagree with anything this week. I would have given it to Ben's Peacock and sent Meg's Inside Out Man home. I think Nora is a cinch to make the final 3 but I'm not so sure about who else. Evan seems like low hanging fruit at this point. It's just seems like a matter of time. 

 

I wonder if we would have gotten better make-ups if it hadn't been random (and the contestants had been able to choose) or if they had been given more leeway in choosing their own character from a Freak Show. Nora was right when she was talking about how many times can you see the same Lobster Guy on the show and though the make-up was bad (I did laugh at Glenn's "Party City" comment) "Inside-Out Oscar" was going to be tough for Meg in any case.

[S09.E01: The Magician's Apprentice]

I don't blame the actors (and Capaldi's the best thing about the show currently) but anyone can see the Moffat and the writing team are to blame for the flaws. Every other episode is about timey-wimey stuff (hey remember when the Doctor just explored space and time without being responsible for every single thing in that universe/time period) with an over-reliance on pressing the reset button so nothing bad ever really happens. How many times has the Earth ALMOST been destroyed or Clara seemingly killed but actually....not dead after all? And that's just in the last few years. Making the Doctor all of a sudden responsible for Davros is like that as well? Why does the backstory of every villain HAVE to involve our protagonist? Maybe Davros is evil...because he is evil.

 

Speaking of which I just can't take Missy seriously as a threat or an ally or anything or the show asking us to do so. It's not MG's fault. The dialogue is basically asking her to ham it up (this is not Jon Simm/Eric Roberts level but far ahead of Ainley). Delgado's Master was cold-blooded, deadly and had charm. Every Master incarnation since then has just gotten crazier and more over the top hammy and generally the actors have been TOLD to act that way (certainly Ainley and Simm said as much). Except for the brief moment of Derek Jacobi's Prof. Yana I don't think we've seen a Master that wasn't a self-parody of a villain since Delgado. When we go within minutes of Missy casually killing innocent UNIT officers just for kicks and giggles and then becoming Clara's ally and traveling companion and casually trading barbs on how she's the Doctor's BFF, while at the same time the show want us to think there is a serious moral conundrum in letting Davros, the genocidal creator of the Daleks, responsible for the deaths of untold billions, live - then it's the show/writing itself that has a moral conundrum. 

[S09.E08: The Gauntlet]

I would have loved to have seen The Gauntlet on another season (maybe the All-Star one? with Laura, Tate and Roy) with stronger contestants. There have actually been several really good challenges this season but the final quality of the make-ups....eh. Here it was clear (like with Nora) who was going to be on top and who wasn't. I knew as soon as Stevie and Evan were praised in the final that it was going to be Jasmine (although I hadn't realized how similar Meg's make-ups were until it was literally shown to us and its obviously something the judges have picked up now too). Heck, they didn't even bother to show some of the make-ups (beyond a blink and you miss it) in the first two challenges or the judges response to them.

[S09.E07: All That Glitters]

 

All-around, really poorly done. I don't understand how you can call yourself a makeup artist if you can't apply makeup. One consideration I will give the contestants, however: the male models on the show are, well, male models, with very manly features. In Shakespeare's time boys, not men, played a lot of the female parts.

This is a very good point. I think they should have either gotten a special group of models (young boys or specifically feminine looking men) or had a gender switch of transforming the female models into some of Shakespeare's male characters. Pretty much all the make-ups were pretty bad (though I probably would have sent Evan home rather than Ricky), Meg's worked mostly I think because she got to do a scary otherwordly make-up (which is in most of their wheelhouse sculpt wise) and not just a Ophelia or Lady Macbeth "regular" woman. 

 

The only thing I was impressed about this episode was when Kevon knew Joan of Arc by the name on the card, Joan La Pucelle...

I did like that BUT...maybe because I am a bit of a Joan of Arc fanatic but that make-up was one of those that impressed me least. WTF with the scar across the face? There have been so many pictorial/sculptural/media versions of Joan of Arc from her time to our own that I thought Kevon lucked out beyond the rest of them. She WAS an actual historical figure so we do know a bit of what she looked like - dark hair, short, stocky build (perfect for a MAN!), and she was a teenager. The thing was Joan wasn't a woman trying to look like a man (though she was accused of that by the English), she cut her hair short because long hair got in the way of battle and the page-bowl cut (which Kevon didn't give her) was type of the day for the military and she wore men's clothing because it prevented her from being molested. Her fellow soldiers and the enemy never confused her with a man. If I was Kevon I would have highlighted the two most obvious feminine things about Joan that could have been made with make-up - the fact that she was only 17 (so would have looked like a young boy with a very smooth face - not a badass scarred adult man) and by historical accounts had a very feminine body (with "beautiful breasts" as one comrade put it) and that could have been made with prosthetics. I know that's nitpicky but his Joan looked like a generic soldier with bad hair and bad skin. A wasted opportunity. 

I was surprised that Jasmine was the ONLY one of the contestants who seemed to dramatically alter the body shape of their male models to look like a woman's (in this case a pregnant one). Maybe they were all spooked by the judges going off on Jordan's fabrications from Star Trek week?

[Television Vs. Book: Why'd They Make [Spoiler] Such A [Spoiler]?]

By cutting Manderly and the other pro-Stark lords and potentially setting up a situation where Sansa is raped and Stannis killed by the Boltons, the show has managed to make the Northern plot even more miserable than in ADWD where Roose's control over the events was starting to slip. I'd rather see a Bolton dead this season than spend one more year unspoiled in the futile wait for TWOW.

The weird thing is that Cogman and D&D are supposedly huge fans of the books (so they always say). The Northern storyline and Manderley are usually held to be the absolute best thing about ADWD. Wylla Manderly confronting the Freys, Wyman telling Davos he has a fleet built and Rickon's whereabouts, Frey pie and "It could have been worse, he could have been a Frey" are some of the greatest 7Hells!Yeah moments in the entire series. So what do these uber-fans do? Cut it and have Sansa raped (not going into whether Roose  - a character who was warned Ramsay about his treatment of a fake Stark - is chill with this) and basically give Sansa ALL of Jeyne Poole's storyline (presumably including being rescued by Theon and Brienne replacing Mance and the Spear-Wives). None of this benefits Sansa. None of this benefits the narrative of the show. Having her learn from LF how to destroy the Boltons has been replaced by making her a sexual pawn and victim - again. 

 

With all due regards to Sophie Turner (who's making the best of things) and her seemingly positive thoughts on this, there is no way anyone involved with the show should be proud of this storyline. It's insulting to the source material AND the character of Sansa. 

[S05.E04: The Sons Of The Harpy]

I don't see anything logical in Ellaria's response. It would be different to me if she hadn't seen what happened to Oberyn for herself or had been somehow unaware that Oberyn chose to fight or if she'd been given the impression for some reason that the Mountain had cheated.

 

 

After four seasons and four books where she's been around it's still unclear what exactly it is that she wants. If Jon had given in and had sex with her in that moment what would be her next move? How does Stannis fit is? If she's legitimately concerned about the threat of the Others why doesn't she mention it more? If it's all about King's blood why didn't she want to use Mance's blood to work any spells? Why should Shireen's be any different?

 

Why not try the leech magic on the Boltons? 

There is no logic in the Ellaria plot. Revenge on little girls is NOT the Dornish way. GRRM said it. Heck, Show!Oberyn said it. Why they just couldn't go with the crowning of Myrcella idea is beyond me (but why they ditched Arianne entirely but still kept the Sand Snakes is beyond me).

 

The treatment of Mel bugs too. I'm not a huge fan of the character. But she doesn't have sex with every dude she meets in the books. But on the show she is all about sex to get what she wants - Stannis, Gendry, Jon. She hasn't even made advances in the manner towards Jon in the books (even though we know she's interested in him). It's ridiculous.

 

Oh, and another bit of foreshadowing I didn't mention. Meryn Trent is going to Braavos. Hmmm, I wonder if there happens to be a girl there who wants to kill him?

[S05.E04: The Sons Of The Harpy]

So what did we learn in this episode that they so clearly foreshadowed:

Jaime will eventually die in the arms of Brienne (or Cersei depending on how you view things and Mel and her mother are going to attempt to burn Shireen (no offense to D&D though but there has never been a sign Book!Mel wants to burn the Princess, no? and of course Book!Selyse is overly protective of her) and then they had to move Mel/Jon from subtext to actually text in the TV show?

 

Stannis is getting sympathetic airtime - that means he is on the Death Watch. Also, I thought LF knew things and was a good reader of people - he really think Roose is more dangerous than Ramsay and that Sansa can "handle" Ramsay or that Ramsay is capable of loving anyone (and we really have no scenes with Sansa/Ramsay to prove this - it's all tell and no show). Same goes for the Dorne plot, replace Arianne with Ellaria and give her a simple revenge plot to kill Myrcella (I thought that's not how things are done in Dorne, according to Oberyn).

 

I hate the death of Barristan Selmy, one of my favorite characters. I'm just starting to get confused at this point - it's not only that they are moving past ADWD but they are putting things in such ridiculously out of order that its hard to tell what is going on when? 

[Television Vs. Book: Why'd They Make [Spoiler] Such A [Spoiler]?]

We can always question if he is telling the truth, but I highly suspect that Littlefinger is arranging this marriage to set Sansa up back in Winterfell and then somehow, someway the Boltons are going to die.  Then LF will propose marriage between himself and Sansa, once again uniting the North and the Vale.  I do NOT know if he plans to back Stannis against the Lannisters (surely he knows Stannis is at the Wall) but since I can't believe LF thinks he can rise as high as the Iron Throne, then his next highest goal must be Warden of the North, yes?

King in the North perhaps? I agree. LF is not angling for the Iron Throne - he knows he can't get that for himself at least. And while he's in control of the Vale, this is only as Regent for Robin. He has no ancestral claim to that either. BUT he can marry Sansa off to the Boltons (or attempt to), then kill the Boltons (saving himself a messy invasion) and have Sansa take the North where she will have huge support and then marry her himself. Then he crowns her Queen in the North with himself as King and Baelish is the next dynasty and he can marry off his kids to the Iron Throne. LF is the type, like Varys, who plans things in the background. I doubt he would present HIMSELF as the next King of Westeros.

 

Of course this made a lot more sense in the Books when as far as anyone know Sansa is the last living Stark (save Jon). But in the show Brienne and Pod know Arya is alive and Sam and Jon know Bran (the next Lord of Winterfell) and Rickon are alive. I do love how the show handwaves away Sansa's marriage to Tyrion as if it was no big deal when it was unconsummated in the books the idea of a "Sansa Lannister" is enough for Robb and Catelyn agree to disinherit her.

 

I will be upset if D&D just do away with the whole Northern uprising plot which is the absolute BEST part of AWDW. Manderly and "The North Remembers", his grandaughter telling off the Freys, a fleet being built in White Harbour, the Northern lords (including Alysane Mormont) allying with Stannis to return the Starks and destroy the Boltons, Davos retrieving Rickon. Great stuff. But there's not even a hint of it, while the show is moving ahead of ADWD. 

 

Also the Freys have vanished off the face of the earth. Even without Lady Stonheart, the hatred of the Freys in Westeros, and especially in the North and the Riverlands is a huge background part of the books post-RW. But we haven't seen a hint of Walder Frey, the Blackfish, Edmure or any of the Riverlands plot. Brienne is in the North, Jaime is in Dorne and Lady Stonheart doesn't exist on the show (and the Brotherhood haven't been seen in over a season). I don't get it. 

[Television Vs. Book: Why'd They Make [Spoiler] Such A [Spoiler]?]

I'm not so sold on Margaery.   She seemed much more sly in the book, the show version doesn't impress me and I get the impression she's come as far as she has due to coaching from Olenna.   I feel like Olenna would counsel her not to kneedle Cersei until victory is assured.  By taunting her and openly laughing at her in FRONT of her Ladies she all but announced to Cersei "Your going down."   Show!Cersei might not have known for sure that Tommen mentioning Casterly Rock being her home was a seed being planted.  Now she has time to make a counter-move.

Yes. In the books Margery's motivations are in the dark and a lot of it seems fueled by Cersei's paranoia (given we only see Cersei's POV) but I'm not sure making Marg as big a schemer as Cersei does the character any favors.

 

The real question I have (other than praying to the Old Gods D&D haven't removed Manderely and White Harbour from the show) is how the Sansa plot makes sense. I realize it's easier for the show than a) ignoring it or b) introducing Jeyne Poole as Fake!Arya but in the books Roose's direct involvement with Robb's murder is not known (guessed at sure but if it was known he would be labeled a "Kingslayer" which we see is one of the worst name in Westeros) and many of the people at the wedding know Fake!Arya is not really Arya and has no choice but to do what the Boltons say (and those who don't help Stannis to free "Ned's girl"). Here we have a very real Sansa Stark with EVERYBODY there (including Sansa) knows Roose killed Robb and betrayed him and with Littlefinger there they have no way of forcing the marriage to happen. 

So how does this happen exactly? What if Sansa says "no"? What will Roose and Ramsay do? Why the heck is neither one of them worried about Roose's involvement in Robb's death being known to her (in the books Roose hardly talks about it and neither does Ramsay). Why the heck, given Roose's betrayal is common knowledge, even think she's OK with either of them? And what does she have to gain (yeah, we know revenge and whatever LF is planning but the Boltons don't know that)? And do the other Nobles in the North (which this episode itself admits are not with the Boltons) really think Sansa Stark would marry the son of her brother's murderer? How does this plot make sense?

[S05.E03: High Sparrow]

I really wish they'd gone with the book version and had Margaery and Tommen not in any type of sexual relationship. Not only does it just further reduce Margaery, it also turns this story into some sort of awful fratboy leerfest that would not get the same type of "oh yeah!" reaction if the ages were switched. 

 

I'm so bothered by the whole Sansa story I can't even think about what the ending will be. I just hope this ends in Littlefinger's death. 

 

I get the whole poignancy element if Ollie kills Jon, but I wish they could have included Satin somewhere in the show. Then again, knowing D&D, he'd probably just spend his time asking the various men of the Night's Watch for dick.

All three of these things. Someone help me here - how old is AgedUp!Tommen supposed to be on the show? Still far younger than Margery, no? And it just a few years ago (still in show time) he was dandled on Cersei's knee? I'm not sure why the show needed to go there - Margery's virginity (or lack of it) is one of the things Cersei uses against her. Now that weapon is taken away for no known reason?

 

I too worry about Sansa. Of course Ramsay will try to abuse her just like he did Jeyne in the books - he's a psychopath. The question is whether Roose will stop him. He really didn't do much beyond warning Ramsay about not abusing Fake!Arya in public in the books but here it is not only not a Fake Stark but a real one. And if Littlefinger sticks around I can't see him letting Ramsay do anything physical to Sansa. Although because of his guilt I can definitely see that being the one thing making Theon lose his servileness.

 

As for Ollie. Of course they are setting up him to be one of those who stab/kill Jon. I'm not even sure that's a question at this point.

 

A few other things that stuck out were:

Jonathan Pryce was so good. I felt the High Sparrow so much more likable (to begin with) than I ever did in the books.

Stannis got some good moments here. As did Davos. Maybe the closest we've come to Book!Stannis, the only King concerned with repairing the realm. And he's marching on Winterfell already! Will we see that by the end of the year?

Great acting by Maisie W. with Needle. For a minute I thought D&D would actually have her through it away (they've changed so much already) but no....

[S05.E02: The House of Black and White]

I agree.  I think Book Shae's fate was much sadder.  She was clear with Tyrion that she was a professional and he was a customer.  When she testified, it made sense - Cersei had offered a better deal.  Tyrion's rage at her 'betrayal' came from his own delusion.  TV Shae's plot was a little tedious because it was a bit trope-y, and her behaviour at times was baffling.

Did the show ever bother to explain Shae's true motivations? Or Tywin for that matter? In the books, Shae was promised a knight husband and a landed estate and she reneged. Tywin was shown to be a hypocrite (remember how he treated his father's "whore" and Tysha). Book!Shae never pretended to be anything than what she was, while it seemed Show!Shae thought it was this great love story (and became the protectress of Sansa - which was entirely dropped as well when Sansa was accused and had to flee). It's like the show knew it had to have Shae's fate remain the same but couldn't be bothered to have it make sense. For instance, Shae never speaks to Tyrion in that final scene, she sees him and tries to KILL him with a knife and he could argue he was protecting himself. In the book, Shae is trying to get back in his good graces after being found and uses the same line "My Lion of Lannister" that she used to ridicule him in her testimony agains thim and that's what threw him over the edge. And THAT would have made a more interesting scene.

But the show resists attempts to make Tyrion as dark as he gets in the books, even though as often repeated by several characters he is his father's son.

[S05.E02: The House of Black and White]

This is the shit that I can't get over. It's like I'm supposed to be rooting for this lady to torture and kill Myrcella because Oberyn lost a fight that he chose to participate in of his own free will? 

 

I'm just hoping that Ellaria ends up falling on her ass the way Arianne ultimately did I only hope that Myrcella doesn't have to pay the consequences for Ellaria's decisions. 

Giving Ellaria Arianne's plot is nonsensical. I suppose they just wanted an excuse to keep Indira Varma but they could have done the same by giving her Book!Ellaria's personality of wanting peace after Oberyn's death. The whole Dorne plot is not really about "revenge" (but of course Benioff and Weiss continue to water down every plot point because viewers are stupid apparently) except for the Sand Snakes but Arianne's feelings that she was going to be passed over to her right as heir to Dorne (and cutting out Arianne and making Trystane - a character who never speaks in the books - the heir has a lot of sexist complications considering the Dornish inheritance laws make it stand out in Westeros). Nobody in the Dornish conspiracy wanted to see Myrcella hurt (well except maybe Darkstar but the less said about him the better) they just wanted to crown her and rule/cause war through her. Myrcella actually protected Arianne and the other's hand in the plot. Now we have Show!Ellaria (and presumably the Sand Snakes) wanting to kill Myrcella just because she is a Lannister? Really?

 

Also, as mentioned, without Arianne, the whole subplot of Doran plotting all these years for a Targareyen return (and the connection between the Martells and Targs) is largely thrown out the window because he can't have the same scene Ellaria or the Sand Snakes (though I have a bad feeling the producers would have it Trystane secretly engaged to Dany). No "Vengeance. Justice. Fire and Blood" from Doran, which rivals with Manderly's "The North Remembers" as one of GRRM's crowning moments.

 

There is literally no real reason if they were going to keep the Dorne plot not to hire an Arianne (presumably an inexpensive uknown who would cost less than Indira Varma), especially when they are keeping the Sand Snakes. Even people who take the show changes with a grain of salt have to look askance at one of the books' primary POV characters be deleted entirely. 

 

Instead we will presumably have Ellaria/Arianne seduce Bronn/Arys to kill Myrcella, only for it not to end well while (either Ellaria or Bronn will end up dead) and  Jaime/Boros is se up to be killed by the Sand Snakes as tries to take Myrcella home. It makes no sense just not to have Arianne in this plot instead. And I don't buy its because there are too many characters, it's not like the show is adverse to casting new people every season, even characters that are created just for the show.

 

I did laugh out loud at this line by Show!Ellaria "The Sand Snakes are with me". Yes of course they are - given that half of them are your children (or are we supposed to believe that none of Oberyn's show canon 8 daughters are by her as well). 

[S05.E02: The House of Black and White]

They've deviated so much from the books at this point I'm not sure what I'm watching anymore. Brienne has come across both Arya and Sansa and been rejected by both (and its not entirely clear - just as its not in the book - what she ever intended to do once she found them especially once Lysa was dead). 

 

Sad that this is the first ever (and maybe only ever) name drop of any of the Mormont women of Bear Island. And no Ellaria cannot just take the place of Arianne if that is what is going on. It's not only because Book!Ellaria wished for peace (against the Sand Snakes) but Arianne's motives went beyond mere revenge which is what we are seeing here. 

I still feel sure Kevan will have a role to play at court (or they wouldn't have brought the actor back) but was he so belligerent with Cersei in the books? Yes he kept her on the leash and starting running things well (which was his downfall) but he seemed to have a good relationship with her. 

 

Dany screwed herself. She could have easily saved faced by showing mercy at the last minute, thus winning the hearts and minds of the ones she needs to stay in power (barring her showing her dragons which she apparently cannot/will not do) - the ex-slaves. But no....that scene had a sorta King's Landing feel to it with the people turning on her.

 

Actually liked the twist of Jaquen H'dar (or the actor who plays him at least since "there is no Jaquen H'dar) being the one who greets Arya in Bravvos. I actually like the actor's chemistry with MW and might make that storyline of what Arya goes through interesting if we know the person putting her through it.

[S08.E14: Just Recommended]

I have no problem with Darla's win. I liked Logan's better as a concept (and Megan was selling the hell out of that armored armadillo), but all put together her make-ups were the class of the bunch. A bit ironic that none of the judges (that we saw) commented on Darla's merman. Even in the final judging, Neville commented on how awesome she made the "women" look. A part of me thinks she won mostly on the Woodwind Elemental. 

 

But this was mostly about delegating (with viewers getting to see the actual talent some of the early booted off contestants had) and not the straight make-ups and apparently Darla was best at it (we didn't see any drama like with the finalists taking charge Emily/Adam or Logan/Gregory)? I pretty much knew Darla had in the bag (even before she won the "audience" vote) by the way the judges seemed much more enthused about her work than the others. 

 

Does this make Laura the greatest Face-Off contestant ever? Runner-up in her first season (she should have won), Winner in the All-Stars season and coach of two of this season's finalists including the winner. I wonder if the show will think of more reasons for her to pop up every now and then? Guest judge perhaps?

 

Even though I think July is too early to start a new season (judging by this season they are running out of experienced make-up artists) I'll still watch it. Even the worse of Face-Off is better than 90% of other reality shows. Syfy seems to get that as well since its become one of their signature/flagship shows.

[S05.E01: The Wars To Come]

After this episode, I really wonder if the show will even bother to end the series as GRRM will end it or not. I know the producers know the ending but from the death of Mance (seems a waste of Ciaran Hinds), to cutting both Arianne and Young Griff and seemingly Lady Stoneheart, these are pretty important characters. 

 

We're already seeing (whether the show is subtly acknowledging it or they literally are unaware of what they are doing) of what the cuts in characters are doing in the whole Brienne/Pod plotline with - without Lady Stoneheart - goes nowhere. What happens if they do find Sansa and she refuses to go with this uknown lady and the squire of the husband she was forced to marry? Yet Brienne is too popular to just cut out at this point. Is she just going to have side adventures all season with no connection to anyone else (aka the Dany plot for seasons 2-4)?

 

Other takeaways from this episode:

So the fact that Roose was the one that personally killed Robb is common knowledge? That would put him on par with Jaime, a Kingslayer who everyone despises . In the books, this isn't the case, he would probably have zero followers among the Northern houses if this was known (even Lady Dustin would probably have problems with THAT). And if it's known in the North (and throughout Westeros) that it was Roose who gave the death blow to Robb, there was no way ANYONE would believe Arya would marry his son -and a key element of that subplot depends on the tacit idea that the Fake Arya is "Ned's girl". So that plot has to be gone too. 

 

So are they really going there with Melisandre and Jon? Her interest in him clearly was sexual, which in the books is only hinted at. 

 

I wonder how much of a role Uncle Kevan Lannister will play, given that he has a much larger role in the books. They obviously kept the actor after several scenes of blink and you miss it scenes.

 

I always get creeped out with Sansa and Littlefinger scenes. Maybe it's because we know how deep LF's interest is (he sees her as a replacement for Cat in every way) and we don't know where they are going with this (where is he taking her) and also because AG really is old enough to be Sophie Turner's father (as was Peter Dinklage) and she has literally grown up on the show. It's just a really skeevy storyline (I felt this way in the books too). But at least it seems they are keeping Robin Arryn alive, that's something.

[S05.E01: The Wars To Come]

Margaery gave off the vibe of a spider about to spin a web.   Based on her talk with Loras she clearly has cooked up a plot that will take Cersei OUT of Kings Landing.  I guess Tywin Lannister was the only thing REALLY keeping Tyrell Ambition in line, it'll be interesting to see how Cersei and Jaimie handle it.

 

---

 

The Wall is finally an interesting place but oh boy.   Mel looks like she's ready to jump Jon Snow's bones, not that I blame her.   Maybe Stannis isn't what he use to be.   Though ugh one day I hope she gets hers.   She's a little to eager to burn people who don't worship in her religion.   Stannis's wife is one rung lower on the creepy scale.   The way she was smiling as Mance burned.  Yikes

 

The Tyrells aren't stupid. With Tywin dead and Tyrion gone, the Lannisters are ready to self-combust. Cersei is nowhere near as bright and cunning as she thinks she is (something the show has taken pains to stress) and Jaime is unambitious and not a player of the "game". Marg probably thinks she can take them on.

 

On the one hand about the Melisandre/Jon Snow thing I was about to call out the show for its unsubtly on her "interest" in him but on the other hand this is a show that has to give nakedness every episode so being subtle is not exactly its forte. 

[S08.E13: Full Steam Ahead]

I actually wasn't too fond of any of the make-ups. Logan's came closest to what steampunk is (I think it was that liquor dispenser arm that saved him) and I originally thought he was going to have a winner based on his sketch (but the make-up was horrid). Julian's was the best of the western aesthetic but overall everyone's was still meh. Even Emily's winner wasn't that great. Would have loved to see what RJ, Roy or Rhashaad would have done with this in terms of fabrications At least it wasn't all Team Laura (and I say this despite the fact Laura's my favorite all-time contestant) because that would have kind of defeated the purpose of the season.

 

I think this Emily's to lose. Not only do the judges LURVE her (not as much as Miranda but close) but she seems to the most creative and when you have an entire team working for you in the finale (as they will) it will be a lot about the concepts. 

 

Felt bad for Julian though. Fourth place is the worst. You get told to "pack up your kit" and leave the stage when everyone else is still standing there. You don't get the team hugs and drawn out goodbyes and it looks like they're going to start the finale immediately AGAIN so in actuality he's probably not going on anywhere since they're going to bring back the previous contestants for the teams.

[S08.E12: Deadly Dolls]

Had to laugh at Laura speed-walking off the stage to avoid walking alongside Darla's creepy doll. And when the doll hit herself in the face with the mirror and scared the crap out of Neville. Hee.

 

I want to say that Darla's model has a lot to do with the win. She completely sold it and was in character throughout (including hitting herself in the mirror with the judges there). This is one time where Darla's same-face abilities helped her. It was a good make-up, although when she first announced what she was doing I flashed back to Sasha's cracked doll make-up from last season (which was superb) and thought it wouldn't compare. In retrospect though, I would have given it to Emily. There was A LOT of work there in that rag doll and it's is very brave to make a character that can have pretty much no face and yet still be expressive.

 

I'm not sure what the heck Adam was thinking unless it was self-sabotage. I knew as soon as he said he was going to go his own way despite Rayce's advice about making sure the "baby" part of the "baby doll" was still visible in the final product that he was going to be the one to go tonight (Julian was in the bottom true, but his make-up wasn't horrible enough to bypass Adam not even bothering to do the challenge). 

[S08.E11: Imaginary Friends]

Sad to see Anthony eliminated, but Ben did have the worst creation by far, I think. So rough and unfinished looking -- too bad he bit off more than he could chew. But at least his kid seemed to like it. It was nice to see that all of the kids seemed to like their creations.

 

Ben was a sure-fire goner. His work looked the worst and was unfinished. I know the show has sometimes made it obvious who the top look winner was going to be but has there ever been a case of only one bottom look? I don't think so. Just like last week with Emily, I'm pretty sure as lackluster as Julian's was, he was in no danger of going.

 

It's tough for Anthony, but he had a bad draw of contestants I guess. Also he probably should have reined in Ben more. I know you want to give the kid what he wants but looking at the reaction of all the children (who did not all get what they wanted - even Julian's kid seemed thrilled and that was far from what he described) I think if Ben had concentrated on something that sorta-looked like what his kid described (maybe three heads, a tail, and wings) he would have been thrilled. Ben's kid seemed to think that unfinished mess was "cool" as it is. 

 

I know Laura may have done Julian no favors by telling him to avoid the ultra-gruesome (though I'm pretty sure if he done it the judges would have roasted him for that as well in a kid challenge) but if it was his idea to go with the skeletal look and the bone mohawk than that's what really doomed him. None of that said kid or zombie (he could have totally kid-friendly with a kind of hapless funny zombie like the kind of Scooby Doo).

[S08.E10: Super Selfies]

It's depressing that excepting Adam, none of these looks felt like someone had ever opened a comic book.  A couple of days later, and I feel more and more he was robbed; he aced this challenge from a concept and execution standpoint. Also, he and Logan appeared to be the only ones with much of an origin story, at least that we heard.  Not one person was bitten by a radioactive ____ either, so a poor showing all around. :)

---

It's a shame, because if either Darla or Emily had just embraced their natural bodies, they'd have done fine: both are curvy, voluptuous women... which instead of feeling self-conscious about it, they should have realized that it happens to be an asset in the cosplay and comicon world!  Play up the camp angle, instead of being so serious, like Adam did so well this week.  I'm not saying Emily had to be Power Girl or anything that blunt- although good lord, she could with that Joan Holloway figure of hers- but she and Darla could have done well to embrace a certain campy, 4-color style superhero with a clear and fun backstory.

I can't give them a pass even if they are not comic book readers. Comic book super-heroes have become so prevalent in our culture and our media (and have dominated the box office and are now all over TV) that there is no excuse not to even know the basics of what a super-hero should look like or what their backstory is. I agree that Logan's win not only had to do with the make-up and how he sold it but because he had a feasible origin for his hero. Emily appeared stumped when asked who her hero was supposed to be.

 

As for Emily and Darla not using their figures (which would work for superheroines particularly of the Marvel/DC kind) to the best advantage, I can see they were nervous on stage to begin with (and who could blame them - they are not professional models/actors) so I don't think they would have been willing to go there...however...I do think a part of the brilliance of Adam's actual design (which on second glance didn't look as well put together as Logan's to be honest) was that he realized that it was the fabrication of the costume and not the face (for which he just made a mask) that tells you who a superhero is. Or to put it more bluntly, aside from their hairstyles Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent look a lot alike (squared jawed white guys with black hair) - but you can easily tell who they are by what they wore. Darla and Emily (and Julian and Ben) seemed to concentrate almost entirely on focusing above the neck to create their character. I put aside Stephanie because hers was a fail on many levels. Even with all the work she put in the face - it seemed like very little.