This scene sort of annoyed me. Jaime is presented as being one of the baddest motherfuckers to hold a blade in the Seven Kingdoms, so seeing him constantly lose, yet have him be presented as an amazing swordsman really damages his credibility. It makes him look like he's all hat and no cattle, when in reality there are very few people that would stand a chance at beating him - Brienne is very good, but she's not Jaime good. The guy might be a supremely arrogant asshole, but the fight needed to be a lot closer than that. Right now he seems like a shit-talker who is better at hurling insults than he is at killing people, because all we've seen of Jaime is (1) having a draw with Ned Stark, (2) Getting captured in battle by Robb Stark, and (3) Getting his ass beat by Brienne. This is pretty goddamn incongruent considering that he's supposed to be really fucking good at fighting. I have some mixed feelings about this episode - really this seems to be some of the problems of Season 2 reoccurring. Mainly, the issue seems to be that the narrative feels a little disjointed and all over the place (though to be fair, the source material is very difficult to adapt), but it really creates issues in that you suddenly are launched into a different character while you've just begun to become invested in another character's struggles - this makes things into a bit of a mess. For example, the Tyrion scene with Shae I found a bit unnecessary, though I guess it showcases that Tyrion really is desperate to be loved. She's just a simple whore making demands of a nobleman in a pretty rude manner, yet he's pretty much caving in. That being said, Natalie Dormer is super-hot and the Tyrells are pretty awesome. As much as I dislike seeing Joffrey onscreen all the time (yes, he's crazy and he loves hurting people, we fucking get it), the scene with her was fantastic. She played him like a fiddle - I like how it was difficult to tell whether she was feigning interest or if there was a genuine monster behind her own facade as well.
It showed on camera. He was tired before it began, he could barely hold the sword and dropped from exhaustion. And Brianne used it to beat him, like Bronn would.
Yeah, Jamie is one of the baddest swordsmen in the game, but 1) the rest of his army got fucked up on an opponents field as they fought at night (which apparently doesn't happen a lot according to the books, honor of war or whatever) 2) on top of the being malnourished and not practicing his hands were still bound together. Even fully healthy, that limits your moves.
Jaime also: 1. Murdered Ned's Bannerman Jory Cassel, who was the captain of his guard and a pretty decent fighter, in one sword stroke. 2. Would definitely have beaten Ned if the fight had gone on (much as I love Sean bean with all my heart) 3. Carved through something like a third of Robb's army (which is mentioned) before they captured him 4. Beat a dude to death with a set of manacles, then murdered Lord Karstark's sons. 5. As mentioned before, was pretty fucking exhausted from his imprisonment and escape. Add to that the fact that Brienne is a great fighter in her own right (she beat every one of Renly's knights, including Loras Tyrell, who's also supposed to be a top 10 Westeros contender even though he's got the physique of Justin Bieber) and it's fairly obvious why he'd get owned. Also, having tried it, fighting with your hands joined together is a fucking nightmare. It makes you a lot slower in your strokes and you can't use your off hand to strike or grab.
Wasn't Ned the battle tested warrior? I thought jamie up until that point had only really proven his skill in tournaments but Ned had gone to war with Robert and won the Iron Throne....?
Jaime fought the Kingswood Brotherhood when he was still basically in his early teens, it's mentioned in the books and the show. Plus, in a 1-on-1 duel scenario, tournament experience would be just as useful as battlefield skills.
If I remember right Jaime earned his spurs by squiring around that time.[/quote] Jaime fought the Kingswood Brotherhood when he was still basically in his early teens, it's mentioned in the books and the show. Plus, in a 1-on-1 duel scenario, tournament experience would be just as useful as battlefield skills.[/quote] Ned was holding his own against Jaime and I liked Ned so I'm going to hope that Jaime needed the help to beat him. It might be irrational but Ned was a badass too.
Read all the books, but from just watching standpoint. Jaime had his hands bound, was exhausted already. Plus, he got Brienne to the pissed off point that she was gonna kick his ass. Yes, they are condensing, but it's needed. If they tried to do all the books in their entirety, then we'd still be on book 1. I'm sure if you red Hunger Games forums, they're bitching about condensing, etc. There's only so much you can do. I do how they're sticking to the *plot* of the book, but making it so if you read the books or not, you can keep up. Man, so looking forward to the Queen of Thorns being around more. Kinda pissed that Sansa didn't say more, and yeah, nice cliffhanger with the Hound.
Between her, and Cersei and Margery's battle, this should be a good season for watching the women. Lady Catelyn should be pretty fuckin good too, at one point.
What in the FUCK are they doing with Theon's storyline? Bloody Mummer dude Spoiler mindfucked Jaime quite well and I can't wait to see Spoiler the Unsullied transaction . Tyrion outdoes Cersei as usual, and the Pod thing was hilarious. Also WHAT THE FUCK with Theon. Seriously what the fuck.
Unfortunately, the show's liberties with wrapping up the House of the Undying story last season already ruined the surprise.
So I downloaded this because fuck HBO, and... this version has a punk rock version of that bear and maiden song. It's very confusing. Was that in the aired version?
Re: Re: Game of Thrones Yeah that happened to me as well. The thing is I would be happy to pay for HBO, but I am not paying for cable. So I would say fuck cable, not HBO. HBO comes out with a Netflix app for 10 bucks a month and I'll happily pay it. Showtime/HBO/Cinemax need to realize this, people don't "steal" Game of Thrones because they won't pay for it, it's because they won't pay for the ridiculously outdated delivery system.
Was the guy who got shot not Ramsay Snow? They're confusing the hell out me with how they're handling Theon's storyline right now. I have a hunch, but it's certainly a big difference from the books. Spoiler Iwan Rheon is playing Ramsay Snow, who was undercover much the way that Ramsay Snow in the books was "Reek" for a while. It's kinda ham-fisted, but obviously you can't have Theon truly escaping. The long-term implications are too big to get rid of Theon-as-Reek.
I love how they are taking all these songs which are of course bigger deals in the books and bringing them to life. The Bear and the Maiden Fair is tied to many relationships that play out. Sansa and The Hound at first, then later Jamie and Brienne. I feel like this season, from here on out, we're going pedal to the metal. There is so much shit that goes on in this book, it is going to be great. If you don't have all the characters memorized, I'd sit down and study up. These episodes have a lot to get through. I don't think we'll have many more hanging out with not much going on.
When I said fuck HBO I was just trying to be cool. But more importantly, I know this might be old hat at this point, but if you at all like this show read the books. The shit that is happening right now on the show is borderline incomprehensible, and I've read everything.