I have become a fan of Game of Thrones, after recently getting myself one of those newfangled gadgets that everyone has been raving about -- what are they called again, let me think... yeah got it, tablets -- and discovering Show Box, one of those newfangled programs that everyone has also been raving about (apps, I think they're called).
The level of violence in the show is simply appalling, not to mention gratuitous, but the more important thing is how soon we're able to simply tune it out. Case in point (spoiler alert): Season 3, Episode 9: Caitlin Stark's throat gets slit end-to-end, and all you can think of is Does blood really flow in such a laminar fashion? Wonder how they mimicked the gurgling sound...
The show starts off in a gripping manner, up to and including the siege of King's Landing, but then sort of degenerates into a typical soap opera where your continued interest is on account of the familiarity with the characters rather than the plot itself. Things are not helped with the basic premise of the show being "The only rule of GoT is Valar morghulis", aka "Every character that you like will die a violent and/or undeserved death".
Speaking of characters I like, Tyrion is my favourite. His character has just been arrested for (spoiler alert) poisoning Joffrey, so I'll have to wait and see if he escapes execution. Wouldn't bet on it though. Another character whom you start out hating but then change your mind is Jaime. He's already been maimed, so I guess the odds on his surviving are somewhat better.
I know it's fiction and all that, but it's still a reflection of how badly life must have sucked in medieval times -- the palace intrigues, the back-stabbings and the betrayals people (at least the royalty) must have put up with, not to mention all the gory ways people were dispatched to their Maker during war.
The whole north-of-the-wall thing is more or less a sideshow at present, and a distraction at that. In my opinion, GoT is better off as an out-and-out medieval drama than as medieval drama + horror fiction. Let Cowboys and Aliens be the lord of the Mixed-Genre-F***up.
The level of violence in the show is simply appalling, not to mention gratuitous, but the more important thing is how soon we're able to simply tune it out. Case in point (spoiler alert): Season 3, Episode 9: Caitlin Stark's throat gets slit end-to-end, and all you can think of is Does blood really flow in such a laminar fashion? Wonder how they mimicked the gurgling sound...
The show starts off in a gripping manner, up to and including the siege of King's Landing, but then sort of degenerates into a typical soap opera where your continued interest is on account of the familiarity with the characters rather than the plot itself. Things are not helped with the basic premise of the show being "The only rule of GoT is Valar morghulis", aka "Every character that you like will die a violent and/or undeserved death".
Speaking of characters I like, Tyrion is my favourite. His character has just been arrested for (spoiler alert) poisoning Joffrey, so I'll have to wait and see if he escapes execution. Wouldn't bet on it though. Another character whom you start out hating but then change your mind is Jaime. He's already been maimed, so I guess the odds on his surviving are somewhat better.
I know it's fiction and all that, but it's still a reflection of how badly life must have sucked in medieval times -- the palace intrigues, the back-stabbings and the betrayals people (at least the royalty) must have put up with, not to mention all the gory ways people were dispatched to their Maker during war.
The whole north-of-the-wall thing is more or less a sideshow at present, and a distraction at that. In my opinion, GoT is better off as an out-and-out medieval drama than as medieval drama + horror fiction. Let Cowboys and Aliens be the lord of the Mixed-Genre-F***up.
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What's the most cringe-inducing thing in the world? Bollywood celebrities doing the ice bucket challenge for a disease that probably 0.0000001% of Indians suffer from. I have a better idea for a fundraising plan: allow folks to pee on you for 50 bucks (premium option: for 500 bucks you can do Number 2). Please deduct 25% from the charge if you just want to fling the pee/poo from a container instead. Containers available for a small fee.
