Are you all watching Game Of Thrones on HBONow, now? How much do you hate these god-damned previously-ons they've been running before the episodes? Gah! Game Of Thrones is supposed to be superior to such narrative crutch-deployment! If Jaqen H'ghar is going to make a surprise re-appearance, I neither need nor want an old clip of him twenty minutes before he shows up! C'mon, son! I've taken to skipping them entirely, and looking away from the TV screen while I do.
That said, I adore the True Detective Season 2 trailer that's been preceding the god-forsaken previously-ons, and cannot wait for that series to return. Why is Tim Riggins holding back tears as he walks away from that fight? I'm so intrigued! What a compelling image! What a great show!
Anyway, how to you feel about HBONow's web browser UI? I think it's OK, but maybe a little clunky in terms of navigation. I like the quick ramp-up to HD video and find it faster than most streaming platforms. Is middle-out real? Is that how it's working? Speaking of which, you guys like Silicon Valley this season? I think it's rad that they're giving Kumail Nanjiani and Martin Starr more to do. I also feel like VEEP really kicked into gear this week, with Anna Chlumsky's big freakout and the addition of Hugh Laurie.
Listen, I'm really going out of my way to avoid writing about this episode, which mostly focused on the Boltons and was thus worthless to me. They're assholes--what more do you want to know? There's been plenty of hay already made of the contrasting parenting styles of Stannis and Roose Bolton. Suffice it to say that Sansa's smirk after Ramsay hears that he's about to have a baby brother was the only redeeming moment.
As for the too-brief, non-Bolton sections:
- Grey Worm lives! Pour one out for Ser Barista. But Grey Worm lives!
- Tyrion sees a dragon! That was a lovely moment, grimy though the surroundings were.
- Stannis marches out! Gilly's subtle wave to his daughter was heartbreaking.
- Now there are bad guys called Stonemen, and they kind of work like zombies!
- Jorah Mormont got bitten! Of course he did!
Jon Snow's story is growing ever-more parallel to Daenarys's, right? They're both making unpopular decisions trying to save a foreign population, trapped as they are by their unflinching moral compasses. They both still let themselves get a little righteous vengeance every now and then, and it's awesome when they do, but it's little comfort compared to the crushing weight of doing the right thing. Doing the right thing is hard, and in Westeros it's usually impossible. It will be interesting to see where each of them goes from here. Maybe next week, Jon Snow will have to arrange himself a quickie political marriage to Tormund Giantsbane!
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