I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.
Favorite Episode(s): "The Lion and the Rose" & "The Watchers on the Wall"
The Purple Wedding: Game of Thrones is the ultimate water-cooler show and "The Lion and the Rose" is exactly why. They masterfully built Joffrey into the most hated character in pop culture. No one is as universally hated. Then, here comes the Purple Wedding with its 20+ minute extended scene. The end was ruined for me. Still, each moment of that wedding reception was more tense than the one before it. At first, it looks like Tyrion is in trouble. Thankfully, it's fucking Joffrey who goes down and then shit hits the fan. Given the number of characters we know well at the reception, it's even crazier than The Red Wedding in terms of the fallout. And this is episode two! What a way to start the season.
The Watchers on the Wall: This is a divisive episode. On one hand, the Night's Watch are not the characters we know the best. Beyond Jon Snow, Sam, and maybe Ygritte, there's not anyone I'm invested in there. It is clearly an attempt to recapture the spectacle of "Blackwater" without the emotional impact of the characters found in that episode. On the other hand, it is an impressive battle. The scope and effects are shocking to see on something made for TV, and on a series, no less. The focus on the one location gives it breathing room that most episodes lack. I always liked Ygritte, so her death was rough, especially considering who killed her. A two year gap between episodes like this feels about right. Hopefully, season five doesn't begin with a 40 minutes siege by Daenerys on some other fortified city.
The Trial of Tyrion: The backbone of this season was the fate of Tyrion. After the events of the Purple Wedding, tracking Tyrion's imprisonment and trial was the central story (as much as anything can be on a show this scattered). His trial was heartbreaking. His talks with Jamie and Oberyn were fascinating. Oberyn's demise against the Mountain was shocking. Tyrion's escape was satisfying. The series always does right by Peter Dinklage in the end.
The Rape: Sadly, the most press this season went to the perceived rape* of Cersei by Jamie. Frankly, I'm over it. It was a complete miscalculation and I have no idea how the director came away from that thinking that was a good cut to use. If this was a show with a sitcom production schedule and costs, of course I'd expect some sort of fix or response to it in the show. Sadly, that's not how this show is made. The whole season is done by the time audiences see it and there's six episodes of Cersei not responding in an expected way to it. There's two ways to go from here: 1) You can let that scene be a permanent blemish on the series or 2) you can agree that it was a mistake and let the story move from there the way it's intended. That's easier for some than others (for understandable reasons).
*Perceived because interviews of the writers, directors, and producers about it suggest that wasn't the intent.
Daenarys: She is basically on a different show. Her story has yet to intersect with any of the other families. On a show that gets so much out of the intersection of so many moving parts, that makes what's going on with her a drag sometimes. She gets to take over the city at the beginning of the season. That's fun. The majority of the season is a lot of administrative stuff like replacing goats and not executing people. Every story has a fallow period, but it's hard enough to find the significance of her story in her isolation. It's nice when something is at least going on.
The Moving Parts: It's a thankless job trying to cover everything in Martin's massive books in only ten episode chunks. It's so easy to forget who half the people in the Night's Watch are, or what Stannis is up to, or why we are even bothering to follow Theon. It's inherent to the series. That doesn't make it any easier though.
Game of Thrones is probably the most ambitious show on TV. The production logistics are insane. The cost is unmatched. The size (and talent) of the cast is humbling. The fourth season had some of the biggest moments yet, be them intentional (The Purple Wedding) or not (Jamie and Cersei). It is a ratings smash (the premiere was the highest rated show since The Sopranos finale, I believe) as well as a critical darling (still collecting Emmy nominations by the boatload). It's an investment due to both the time and complexity of it and totally worth it.
Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family
Parenthood
The Mindy Project
The Michael J Fox Show
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation
The Walking Dead
The Middle
Saturday Night Live
Cougar Town
House of Cards
Louie
How I Met Your Mother
The Americans
Archer
Silicon Valley
Hannibal
Girls
True Detective
Mad Men
Veep
No comments:
Post a Comment