Early this Saturday morn, I sojourned up to the AMC. I had a gift card from XMas, and I used it to see the "Game of Thrones, The IMAX Experience". It was a showing of the last two episodes of Season 4 of HBO's fantastic, award winning program.
First... "Game of Thrones"... If you have not watched, I actually feel a bit of sorrow. It is my opinion that it is a fantastic show and not to be missed. I will concede that it is a daunting show. It has multiple story lines and character arcs that make the audience do something broadcast TV has been woefully lacking in doing... PAY ATTENTION.
The story is set in a fictional world called Westeros. There are families. There is one throne. There are two seasons, Summer and Winter. HERE THERE BE DRAGONS! It is not heavily reliant on the hocus pocus aspect. There is some mild "magic", but it is not a major component to the story. Well, the dragons could be considered "magic", but here is me, not caring. THEY ARE DRAGONS!
The characters are what make the show so awesome-sauce. There are characters who you instantly like, there are some you instantly hate. Over the course of the show, some of the arcs will make you change your stance on a character... Others arcs will make you more entrenched in your hatred or admiration.
I finished watching Season 2 and thinking, "There is no damn way I am going to wait for Season 3." TO THE INTERNET!!! A few keystrokes later, I had the ".epub" files of all five novels in George R. R. Martin's "Song of Fire & Ice", which is what the show follows, downloaded to my Nook.
As I was reading, it became quite apparent that without having seen the show, putting names with faces, I would have been lost. The books are not for the "casual reader". They are engineered to make you want more. Kudos, to the author. The first two seasons of the show roughly covered the first book and a half. I tore through those books at a rather quick pace. The last three books were savored and consumed before the premiere of Season 3.
Here is a testament to the show and the people involved... I knew a scene, now collectively known as "The Red Wedding", was coming. I WAS AWARE. I HAD READ IT. It still shocked me and made me react as if I had no clue. I would not say the scene itself shocked me... more the execution. Bless HBO, for they had no sponsors to be wary of. No, the gloves were off and the brutality of that scene was note for note perfect.
Here are some other reactions... Beware, some language ensues...
In the fourth Season, the was some mild divergence from the books, but it was far from detrimental. The "Purple Wedding" was another scene that was brilliantly executed. The actor Jack Gleeson had done such a phenomenal job of crafting a character you just wanted to fucking die. Seriously, you hated this little bastard.
In his moment of dying, he ceased being the little bastard. He ceased being the cruel tyrant. All those layers were stripped away and he was laid bare... He was just a scared little boy afraid of dying and wanting his Mother... If you have not seen that part yet... um.... Spoiler alert?
Here are a couple of truisms of the Game of Thrones Universe:
1) You have a favorite character? That's nice.
2) When you get to the next chapter, you are hoping for "Tyrion".
3) The Imp has the best lines. Period.
4) Do NOT go to weddings in Westeros.
The fourth season also marked when I decided to cut cable... I had my service turned off the Thursday before the SEASON FINALE! Sometimes I have great ideas... Sometimes my timing sucks the balls of a dead goat. Never fear though, I was only about an hour off from seeing it in real time. I am all awesome like that.
As for the IMAX treatment, it was glorious. Episode 9, "The Watchers On The Wall" takes place entirely in one location. The Wall. A giant ice barrier between the North, home of the savage "Wildlings" and the South... which is basically the rest of the world...
The Knight's Watch, black coated stewards of the Wall are few in number, but have a big ass wall. They are comprised of the refuse of prisons... The outcast... The banished... All sins and crimes are forgiven when you "Take The Black"... You swear an oath to stand guard on the Wall.
The Wildlings, comprised of the tribes of the North, brought together out of necessity and survival. They outnumber the Knight's Watch about 1000 to 1. They also have giants... Giants and IMAX go together like lonely people and porn!
The battle is vicious, brutal, bloody and brilliant.
The highlight, for me, is how the Watch dealt with the group of Wildlings climbing the sheer face of two to three hundred yards of ice. Imagine a large anchor (Scythe) on a chain pulled to the top of the wall. They simply had it frozen in place on top of the wall... At the appropriate time, when the command was given... Click that link to see it with your own peepers.
Next time I hear the word "Smear"... I will grin like an idiot...
The Finale, Episode 10... It is difficult to give you the highlights of this episode as they are the culmination of the nine, if not more, preceding episodes. There is a knockdown, drag out, just plain ferocious fight between a guy known as The Hound and a lady who holds her own against a guy known as The Hound.
There is a resolution between a father and a son... Which ends pointedly. Twice. (He reloads)
To see this show on the big screen, with the sound being bombastic as it can be... Wow. Just wow. It was befitting of a show that every week provides movie caliber entertainment and does what all great shows should do...
Leave you wanting more.
Valar Morghulas,
d
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SubNote: I skipped this NFL season... I will skip the Super Bowl. I do hope the Pats lose though... I respect the hell out of their winning ways, including cheating, but I always hated watching them play. Was mechanical and lacked soul. So... Go Hawks?
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