Melisandre Monday: Game of Thrones, season six premiere!
Yesterday was April 24, 2016. And if you’re like me, you know exactly why that day is so important.
In case you’re not a nerd (although I’m not really sure why you’d be reading this blog), I’ll tell you:
Game of Thrones, season six.
I. Love. Game of Thrones.
I listen to podcasts about Game of Thrones. I talk to my nerd friends about Game of Thrones. And I read books called Game of Thrones. And now I plan to write a blog post every time I watch Game of Thrones in season six. Today is Melisandre Monday.
I can’t stop won’t stop…loving Game of Thrones.
Preparation
I spent the last week rewatching seasons one through five. By now, I’ve seen them each more than once (except for season five), but they’re highly re-watchable. Last Saturday, my GoT buddy George came over and we watched pretty much all of season one. My husband watched sports in the other room.
Yes, you heard that right. My husband does not like Game of Thrones. I know. We’re seeking counseling and I’ve already spoken to a priest.
On that day of season one, George and I did Tyrion proud and polished off a bottle of wine each (and then some). So I knew I’d need more fortifications for the season six premiere.
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| This is me and my cat, Jeannie, watching GoT. I look exactly like Jeannie, but on a couch instead of a loveseat. |
I spent the next week blowing through seasons two through five. On the morning of the 24th, I went shopping and bought various cheeses, crackers, grapes, and of course, wine. I figured we had to Lannister this shindig up. As I prepared my buffet of Westerosi fare, my husband asked me a few questions about the GoT phenomenon.
Him: I thought Jon Snow was supposed to be a good guy.
Me: He is. He’s one of the best, really.
Him: But then why did he die?
Me: (Refraining from saying, ‘When you play the game of thrones, you win, or you die‘) It’s the Game of Thrones. The best people die first.
Him: What? Why?
Me: That’s just how it is in the Seven Kingdoms. And besides, I know he was killed, but I don’t think he’s dead.
Him: ………………………………
And then he left the room.
He doesn’t get it.
The Big Day
On Sunday, George arrived early. We watched the last three episodes of season five. And ate soooo many cheeses.
And then, it was time. For. SEASON SIX!!
This is what I thought of episode one:
Jon Snow
I have been insistent that Jon Snow isn’t dead. George R. R. Martin has brought people back in the books, and I am absolutely certain (good thing blogs are editable) that HBO will decide to bring Snow back. After declaring this loudly to George, glass #1 in hand, we opened up HBO Now and read the episode description. The first sentence is: Jon Snow is dead.
“But not for reals,” I told George. “Just wait. He’s coming back.”
And then the episode started and the first fifteen minutes were all about just exactly how dead Jon Snow was. Which was very, completely, and totally dead.
“It’s coming,” I said. “Melisandre will bring him back.”
And then she didn’t. Honestly, Melisandre is one of the most frustrating characters on this show. One minute she’s declaring the Lord of Light as all-powerful and all-knowing, and the next minute, she’s burning up Stannis’ kid and losing half his soldiers in the process. What’s that about?
The one time she could actually be useful, she does nothing!
So Jon Snow is still dead….but I haven’t capitulated yet. He’s coming back. Mark my words.
Podrick, the best squire in the history of squires
How do you feel about Podrick Payne? Because I love him. He’s such a decent human being in a horrible place. How did he come to be so great? One of the most stressful moments of this episode was when I thought Ramsey’s men would kill him, but it was all ok. Theon finally earned his existence.
And then, of course, Brienne pledged her fealty to Sanza. Pledging fealty is one of Brienne’s favorite things to do. She’s done it, like, five times already.
Meanwhile, in Dorne…
the Sand Snakes exact their revenge on the prince. And the prince’s guard. And the prince’s son. For one brief moment, when the sisters approach Prince Trystane, I had a flashback – my mind jumped back to season four and I imaged his uncle, the Viper, leaping and spinning around the Mountain. I turned to George and said, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if he was like the Viper?” “Yeah!” George agreed. And then he unsheathed his sword, and it became very clear. This boy was no Viper. That was right before the spear came through the front of his face.
Melisandre!
And then, Melisandre. Who is now seared into my brain. When Melisandre unveiled her…self, I seriously did a double take. I think I squeaked a little. And my head flooded with questions:
How old is she?
When I’m as old as her, will I look like that?
Does she look like that every night?
What if someone walks in on her while she’s asleep?
It just didn’t seem like a good plan.
Random thoughts
If I had a girl band, I would name it Brienne of Tarth.
When did Jaime Lannister become one of the good guys? Is it just me or do you L-O-V-E him?
Can you please tell me how Jorah found that teeny tiny ring in the middle of a valley? The whole previous conversation was about how old he was. How was it even possible for him to see that?
When Arya gets really good at fighting while blind, she’ll be like Daredevil.
When Arya gets really good at fighting while blind, she’ll be like Daredevil.
Do you love Game of Thrones, too? Is Pod one of your favorite people? Stay tuned next week for more Game of Thrones talk!
Yes, I love Game of Thrones and not one of my friends or family watch it. I'm so envious of your friend to watch it with you.
Have you noticed the recent drop in quality of the episodes? They're becoming more clichéd and full of coincidences. Dan and Dave are in such a rush to conclude the series that they're cutting too much getting sloppy. Dorne was a big mess. The Dornish master plan from the books was ignored. How did the Sand Snakes teleport onto Trystanes ship after watching them sail away the previous episode? What happened to the Bolton hounds when they found Theon and Sansa? They just disappeared. No Lady Stoneheart was also a big disappointment. No young griff, no Arianne Martell. Seasons 1-3 were great adaptations, season 4 was decent, but the more they diverge from the books the less great the show has been. Which is a shame, because this could of gone down as the greatest show in the history of television. Btw, hi Chrissy!
Mike Torres
Hey Mike! Thanks for reading 🙂 I heard that they only had access to the water gardens in Dorne for one week; I wonder if that caused some issues with shooting. I think we're starting to see what it looks like for the writers to create their own content rather than adapt Martin's content. But I'm okay with it. Adapting a book has a lot of challenges – there are parts of the books that wouldn't make any sense played out on the screen. That's not the case for all of the changes, of course, but there were a few details that would look ridiculous onscreen.
I've been listening to an interesting podcast that spends some time talking about the changes made from books to screen and it's interesting. It's called Game of Thrones the Podcast by Baldmove.com. Sometimes they have interesting reasons why they might have made those changes, and sometimes they have no idea ha. I'm okay with the series being different from the books. I do think that, if people hadn't read the books, they would think the show was more incredible than they do, because it's constantly being compared and falling short.
I'm so lucky to have found a GoT buddy! What's funny is that George is my husband's long-time friend, but I've co-opted him.