2015 TV/Movie/Book Thread with Spoilers

[jimmybones]

We got home and watched GOT, she ended up in tears. Try telling her it's just a TV show, but that didn't matter to her. Great episode though. Sure leaves a lot to think about as to what will happen with multiple major characters.

Spoiler:

The one thing that I don't like about what is happening right now is how many major events are taking place all at once. I get that the show is coming to an end, but I feel like they used to be able to do a better job of staggering these things. That way they could spend more time on the big things that were happening during episodes and just kind of have brief spots of the more calm parts of the world. But now it seems like no matter what scene you are watching something terrible or intense is happening.

A minor complaint as the show is still very good. But it felt a bit more... realistic (I guess) when they were staggering a lot of the stuff.

GoT Seasn 5 spoilers:

Spoiler:

I actually do like how so much is going on at once. In the past they have spaced things out more, but I don't need them to follow that format every season. It was actually kinda cool to me having all that build up and knowing **** was going to get real in the last 3- and it did.

Dat Franen-mountain..... Cersei is going to wreck ****.

Very curious that Stannis wasn't killed on screen.

Did Sansa and Theon survive that jump?! Was proud of Theon for tossing that skank.

Lannisters vs Martells should be epic.

[th87]

Spoiler:

The show is essentially caught up with the books in terms of the characters they've introduced so this isn't a spoiler, but there's really no way Snow is dead. He's gonna be resurrected by that red headed witch. I also doubt Stannis is dead, too. If they don't show the death then it probably didn't happen. More likely Brienne takes him as a hostage.

Spoiler:

Yeah, they zoomed in quite a bit on that last shot, too, on the blood draining away from him. Seemed meaningful. With Melisandre there, it seems like he could very well be resurrected. It would annoy the **** out of me if they just killed him off in such an impertinent way after building him up as much as they have.

I think Stannis is dead, though. No reason for him to be alive moving forward. Dude was **** once he killed his daughter.

Spoiler:

I can't come up with a good reason for him to be alive either, but there's also no reason for them to not show him dying given how big he is to the show. Every other character gets their brutal death but now Stannis gets it off camera? Nah. She hit the tree above his head.

Spoiler:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Stannis isn't dead either. When he said, "Get on with it; do your duty," she remembered that her duty was to protect Sansa and thus hit the tree above his head for a sweet reversal going into next season.

Which is a fitting close (for now) of a ridiculously stupid character arc. Stannis, the hardy military commander who ate rats, boots, and book glue to hold Storm's End; who built a fleet from scratch to storm Dragonstone, and then used it to destroy the Ironborn at their own game; who is uncompromising in his sense of duty and justice, and as stubborn as a mule, gets fooled into burning his daughter and only heir for what turned out to be NO REASON WHATSOEVER, precipitated by 20 random dudes somehow breaking into camp, somehow finding exactly where all the food stores were and setting the horses free. This is followed by him being shocked that his men deserted him after seeing that (well no sh*t), and then this military commander extraordinaire setting up shop - with inferior numbers - in broad ass daylight, and then not seeing that the Bolton forces are coming right at them.

It's insultingly bad writing. Oh, and Brienne spent the whole season watching the tower, and the instant she turned around, on comes the candle. These hackish contrivances had me rolling my eyes so hard, I warged into my dog.

Daenerys:

The show was an improvement in some aspects with respect to her in ADWD. Still missing were her dreams, prophecies, and Quaithe, but they moved the story along okay. Wasted Barristan though, and the action scenes were funny in that the bad guys would wait for our heroes to make faces and such. Also, Dany should ask for a refund on the Unsullied.

Tyrion:

No real complaints here. Varys out of nowhere was strange, but I can suspend my disbelief here. His interactions with Jorah were interesting, but the important Griff storyline was omitted entirely.

Jon Snow:

Weren't some of his NW brothers present at Hardhome? They would've probably softened their stance on the Wildlings then. There should've been some additional "line" that Jon crosses that gets him attacked. Also, they didn't need to show Melisandre returning - her whereabouts being unknown would be more suspenseful. Now, everyone fully expects her to revive him.

Dorne:

Horrible. A total joke. "We don't hurt little girls in Dorne, except when we do." Nothing about Doran's careful planning, but everything about the cartoon villainy of the Sand Snakes. And what's their plan? Ellaria just jeopardized the life of Trystane and forced Dorne into a war they won't win? And do they expect Jaime to just keep going and tell Cersei what happened, or would it make sense he'd turn right back around, tell Doran what happened, who would then have the Sand Snakes executed? Plot hole city.

Overall, the worst season of the show, coinciding with D&D finally having to do their own work. Season 6 should be hilarious if TWOW doesn't come out before then.

[FrieAaron]

Spoiler:

I agree that the way they handled that scene with Stannis brings into question whether or not he's really dead, but I don't buy the "do your duty" excuse. He confessed that he used blood magic to kill his brother. It would have taken Brienne no extra time to finish him off and then go back to Sansa.

[humanrefutation]

A random, TMYK kind of thing regarding last night's GOT:

Spoiler:

That wasn't Lena Headey's naked body during Cersei's walk of shame. They literally superimposed Headey's head onto someone else's body to cover for the fact that Headey is pregnant.

[humanrefutation]

Spoiler:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Stannis isn't dead either. When he said, "Get on with it; do your duty," she remembered that her duty was to protect Sansa and thus hit the tree above his head for a sweet reversal going into next season.

Which is a fitting close (for now) of a ridiculously stupid character arc. Stannis, the hardy military commander who ate rats, boots, and book glue to hold Storm's End; who built a fleet from scratch to storm Dragonstone, and then used it to destroy the Ironborn at their own game; who is uncompromising in his sense of duty and justice, and as stubborn as a mule, gets fooled into burning his daughter and only heir for what turned out to be NO REASON WHATSOEVER, precipitated by 20 random dudes somehow breaking into camp, somehow finding exactly where all the food stores were and setting the horses free. This is followed by him being shocked that his men deserted him after seeing that (well no sh*t), and then this military commander extraordinaire setting up shop - with inferior numbers - in broad ass daylight, and then not seeing that the Bolton forces are coming right at them.

It's insultingly bad writing. Oh, and Brienne spent the whole season watching the tower, and the instant she turned around, on comes the candle. These hackish contrivances had me rolling my eyes so hard, I warged into my dog.

Jon Snow:

Weren't some of his NW brothers present at Hardhome? They would've probably softened their stance on the Wildlings then. There should've been some additional "line" that Jon crosses that gets him attacked. Also, they didn't need to show Melisandre returning - her whereabouts being unknown would be more suspenseful. Now, everyone fully expects her to revive him.

Spoiler:

Well, I think even Roose Bolton acknowledged) that it is much easier to hold a territory than to lay siege to it. In Storm's End, Stannis wasn't relying on sellswords and others who had no direct loyalty to Stannis. He was relying on his own men to hold Storm's End. Additionally, the folks in Storm's End had no choice but to hold it, or face slaughter. Loyalty to money can have its limits. Loyalty to your own life has none.

That being said, I generally agree here. For all of the talk about Stannis's ability as a military commander, he's shown an amazing lack of military prowess during this series. His decision to burn Shireen was mind-numbing considering that it stands in contrast to Stannis's character and stated affection for his daughter and the fact that it leaves him without an heir.

Also, Brienne went from being one of my favorite characters to one of my least favorite with her pointless character arc this season. Littlefinger was right - she is terrible at her job.

Lastly I also don't get how Jon Snow didn't immediately call a meeting and let everyone know about THE **** WHITE WALKERS and have his brothers provide witnesses.

[th87]

Spoiler:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Stannis isn't dead either. When he said, "Get on with it; do your duty," she remembered that her duty was to protect Sansa and thus hit the tree above his head for a sweet reversal going into next season.

Which is a fitting close (for now) of a ridiculously stupid character arc. Stannis, the hardy military commander who ate rats, boots, and book glue to hold Storm's End; who built a fleet from scratch to storm Dragonstone, and then used it to destroy the Ironborn at their own game; who is uncompromising in his sense of duty and justice, and as stubborn as a mule, gets fooled into burning his daughter and only heir for what turned out to be NO REASON WHATSOEVER, precipitated by 20 random dudes somehow breaking into camp, somehow finding exactly where all the food stores were and setting the horses free. This is followed by him being shocked that his men deserted him after seeing that (well no sh*t), and then this military commander extraordinaire setting up shop - with inferior numbers - in broad ass daylight, and then not seeing that the Bolton forces are coming right at them.

It's insultingly bad writing. Oh, and Brienne spent the whole season watching the tower, and the instant she turned around, on comes the candle. These hackish contrivances had me rolling my eyes so hard, I warged into my dog.

Jon Snow:

Weren't some of his NW brothers present at Hardhome? They would've probably softened their stance on the Wildlings then. There should've been some additional "line" that Jon crosses that gets him attacked. Also, they didn't need to show Melisandre returning - her whereabouts being unknown would be more suspenseful. Now, everyone fully expects her to revive him.

Spoiler:

Well, I think even Roose Bolton acknowledged) that it is much easier to hold a territory than to lay siege to it. In Storm's End, Stannis wasn't relying on sellswords and others who had no direct loyalty to Stannis. He was relying on his own men to hold Storm's End. Additionally, the folks in Storm's End had no choice but to hold it, or face slaughter. Loyalty to money can have its limits. Loyalty to your own life has none.

That being said, I generally agree here. For all of the talk about Stannis's ability as a military commander, he's shown an amazing lack of military prowess during this series. His decision to burn Shireen was mind-numbing considering that it stands in contrast to Stannis's character and stated affection for his daughter and the fact that it leaves him without an heir.

Also, Brienne went from being one of my favorite characters to one of my least favorite with her pointless character arc this season. Littlefinger was right - she is terrible at her job.

Lastly I also don't get how Jon Snow didn't immediately call a meeting and let everyone know about THE **** WHITE WALKERS and have his brothers provide witnesses.

Spoiler:

Roose stated that holding Winterfell specifically would be easier than laying siege to it, given the harsh winter. Stannis' crew would freeze long before the Boltons ran out of food. The situation at Storm's End was totally different. It was summer, so the Tyrells (who were laying siege) could wait until Storm's End starved. In fact, they held big feasts in front of the castle until the Starks arrived and defeated the Tyrells (it's sad I probably know more Westerosi history than European) .

For sure - totally mind-numbing. It was Stannis' battle to win. The North HATES the Boltons for the Red Wedding (which seems to have been totally forgotten). Stannis could easily pay some of those other houses a visit - "join my cause, and you can reinstall the Starks/get revenge." This solves his soldier and food shortage (without needing the Wildlings). They also could've eaten the horses that left with the deserters and waited a few days.

Agree with the rest. I just don't have much confidence in D&D anymore - so many glaring plot holes and wasted storylines, and they can't even pronounce the characters' names.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Bummer today was the last day of svp and Russillo. Really the only show on ESPN radio I can handle listening to. Currious to see if they give that time slot to Russillo permanently. Could happen but kind of feel like if it was going to happen they would have worked out a deal by now.

wonder if he ends up with Simmons if bill ends up starting his own thing. They have Boston ties and are both big NBA guys. I could totally see Simmons copying his buddy Adam corolla and starting his own deal and then stealing guys like Russillo and some grantland guys when their contracts are up.

[Buck Dweller]

Bummer today was the last day of svp and Russillo. Really the only show on ESPN radio I can handle listening to. Currious to see if they give that time slot to Russillo permanently. Could happen but kind of feel like if it was going to happen they would have worked out a deal by now.

wonder if he ends up with Simmons if bill ends up starting his own thing. They have Boston ties and are both big NBA guys. I could totally see Simmons copying his buddy Adam corolla and starting his own deal and then stealing guys like Russillo and some grantland guys when their contracts are up.

you don't like the lowe post with zach lowe?

[WeekapaugGroove]

Bummer today was the last day of svp and Russillo. Really the only show on ESPN radio I can handle listening to. Currious to see if they give that time slot to Russillo permanently. Could happen but kind of feel like if it was going to happen they would have worked out a deal by now.

wonder if he ends up with Simmons if bill ends up starting his own thing. They have Boston ties and are both big NBA guys. I could totally see Simmons copying his buddy Adam corolla and starting his own deal and then stealing guys like Russillo and some grantland guys when their contracts are up.

you don't like the lowe post with zach lowe?

love me some Zach lowe and like the Jalen and jacoby pod. Was saying I dislike the rest of the ESPN radio lineup like cowherd and Mike and Mike.

If there's an exodus from grantland I hope Jalen, jacoby, lowe, Barnwell, mays all leave and go with bill.

[Siefer]

Good start to season 2 of True Detective.

[VooDoo7]

Question about True Detective. I'm about to start season 1. I know Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. But I see Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell is in season 2. My question is, is season 2 totally unrelated to season1 then? Please no spoilers.

[ZeppelinPage]

Question about True Detective. I'm about to start season 1. I know Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. But I see Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell is in season 2. My question is, is season 2 totally unrelated to season1 then? Please no spoilers.

Each season will be completely different, so yes, season 1 is unrelated to season 2. Think of each season as its own 8 hour movie with a different plot and set of characters.

[VooDoo7]

Question about True Detective. I'm about to start season 1. I know Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. But I see Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell is in season 2. My question is, is season 2 totally unrelated to season1 then? Please no spoilers.

Each season will be completely different, so yes, season 1 is unrelated to season 2. Think of each season as its own 8 hour movie with a different plot and set of characters.

Gotcha, thanks.

[FrieAaron]

Good start to season 2 of True Detective.

Agreed. I was a little worried over some of the mediocre reviews, but I thought it was a really solid episode. I was confident that Farrell would be excellent, but the rest of the cast was very good as well. Seems we'll be following 4 main characters this time around so it makes sense it would take a few episodes to really pick up, but by the end of the episode I was excited for next week.

[humanrefutation]

I'm not sold on this season of True Detective quite yet. Seemed like the show was too full of itself with all of the random music numbers and far-off stares from the cast. We get it, they're all "damaged" somehow. Get on with the damn story.

Last year, I could tolerate it with some of the great dialogue between Harrelson and McConaughey. They didn't have really any of that yesterday.

[humanrefutation]

On a separate note, this season of Orange is the New Black was pretty awesome. Though, a recurrent theme keeps coming up that drives me crazy:

Spoiler:

I don't give a **** about Piper Chapman and I cringe every time she comes on screen and I wish they could kill her off but they won't because it's technically based on her story. I was even more sick of **** Alex Vause and her stupid bull and I hope she's actually dead dead dead.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I'll keep watching and hope it gets better but I wasn't very impressed with the premier of True Detective. Thought it was very incoherent.

And one story line in particular bothered me:

Spoiler:

I might be nick picking but what the heck with Rachel McAdams story line? First she's leading a raid on a suspected prostitute house with what seemed like an overly big crew of cop then it just so happens her sister is there. Then next they show her serving a random warrant? And while doing it they learn about a missing person then all the sudden her and her partner are working that missing person's case randomly. And while working that they happen to run into her dad. I mean come on... seems pretty convenient and just far fetched. Plus if she's some in charge type detective why is she serving warrants? that whole plot line just seemed unrealistic and dumb

[humanrefutation]

I'll keep watching and hope it gets better but I wasn't very impressed with the premier of True Detective. Thought it was very incoherent.

And one story line in particular bothered me:

Spoiler:

I might be nick picking but what the heck with Rachel McAdams story line? First she's leading a raid on a suspected prostitute house with what seemed like an overly big crew of cop then it just so happens her sister is there. Then next they show her serving a random warrant? And while doing it they learn about a missing person then all the sudden her and her partner are working that missing person's case randomly. And while working that they happen to run into her dad. I mean come on... seems pretty convenient and just far fetched. Plus if she's some in charge type detective why is she serving warrants? that whole plot line just seemed unrealistic and dumb

Yeah, that didn't make sense at all.

Spoiler:

I'm guessing that Religious Institute her dad works at is going to have some influence on the rest of the season somehow, because her little detour there would make even less sense if it doesn't.

[Siefer]

Good start to season 2 of True Detective.

Agreed. I was a little worried over some of the mediocre reviews, but I thought it was a really solid episode. I was confident that Farrell would be excellent, but the rest of the cast was very good as well. Seems we'll be following 4 main characters this time around so it makes sense it would take a few episodes to really pick up, but by the end of the episode I was excited for next week.

Spoiler:

It's hard for the first episode of a show like this to really blow people away. The goal of the episode was to set up the central mystery (or what we think is the central mystery) for the next seven episodes, and introducing us to the main characters. There was some awkward dialogue (and Taylor Kitsch's flappy motorcycle face), but overall I thought they did a good job of getting things started.

The particular points of intrigue for me:

Can Pizzolatto break free of genre conventions again? I'm curious to see if he can offer another fresh take on the well-worn cop drama formula. The literary undercurrents were a big part of the fun last go around. There are hints that Greek mythology is simmering below the surface this season, much like proto-Lovecraftian mythology did in season one.

Ani (Rachel McAdams) as a mold-breaking female lead. I'm really excited for the character in theory, but they need to actually execute. Her family is weird (bordering on silly), she's angry at the world, and...? I'm really hoping she gets more depth than we saw in the first episode.

How much will we miss Cary Fukunaga? Fukunaga's direction was magical, and season one benefited from his singular voice for eight episodes.

McConaughey’s Rust carried the show for many folks, and I'm somewhat concerned about the large shadow such a memorable character casts.

[RYFOX]

Any one else watch Hannibal? It just got canceled by NBC. My favorite current show and would highly recommend.