Was this episode good? Well, one might say that, but only if compared with the majority of what is happening on the TV... Was this episode worthy of the quality of the first 4 seasons?... Nope... Have I felt a punch in the belly just for thinking that I am going to have to wait for more than 1 year for the next season? Nope.
Have I tasted the cold blood of mad vengeance as the North remembered, while watching Arya slicing Frey's throat in two halfs? Ahh.. I really tried, but I couldn't. I just felt Maisie Williams posing as a bad ass for the cameras... the plausibility of the moment shatters itself in pieces when her last almost fatal encounter is recalled (soups and a chit chat are indeed miraculous but I guess the real secret is in fact the poppy's milk).
I paused and recalled what I've felt in the "Red Wedding" episode. I keep insisting in remembering it, as a Stark does not want to forget, in its quality, the intensity, the astonishing performance, the superb cinematographic moment I'd watched. I didn't want to but my face was being washed by the tears even if I did know at that time what was going to happen....
Back to Earth, I'm sorry fan boys, but the scene Arya is doing the Stark Vengeance (Shazam!) is a poor mimicry and a failed attempt to recreate the emotional turmoil felt on the "Red Wedding". Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark) was perfect, and her character is the only legitimate candidate to the "throne" of vengeance. It's not by coincidence that the writer chose to create Lady Stoneheart. Maisie Williams's (Arya) acting seems pathetic (not her, her actor direction) compared to the abyssal depth of what happened to her family's character.
I have always been a severe critic of special effects, because as in the "Uncanny valley" hypothesis, when something is saturated with the intention to make appeal using sensationalism, surprise, etc. (baroque effects) usually the effect is the opposite: pardon me if I forgot to mention you my dear Sir fervent zealot who will never understand that. Game of Thrones first seasons were very thoughtful and moderate when using special effects. I clapped the ingenuity of that. I clapped the focus on realism, the theatrical dramatizations...
What I saw on this episode, were green "gooey blobs" smelling like perfumed plasticine splashing around as much artificially as it is possible. The music was annoying and predictable as a repetitive Hans Zimmer soundtrack. I cursed myself because again I wasn't feeling anything although I was trying since the beginning... I tasted the moment with my papillae gustatory at maximum but the last flavour persisted as a pretension of Epic and I decided to stop to force myself to think that I was enjoying the show. This episode was more like a catwalk of show-offs than anything else. Gore for gore, blood for shock.
The last few moments were a surprise:
I enjoyed watching the Little Finger confessing his ultimate desire. Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos) once more superb in his role, transporting the elegant fine arts of Theatre to his character;
Bella Ramsey's impeccable acting inspired like a muse all the actors around, and the characterization of the scene was emotive and intense. The clans once again pledging for the North was one the best scenes of the season. I felt the Starks again, but generally speaking, I haven't felt George Martin at all in the season except in these precious isolate gems of dramatization.
Have I tasted the cold blood of mad vengeance as the North remembered, while watching Arya slicing Frey's throat in two halfs? Ahh.. I really tried, but I couldn't. I just felt Maisie Williams posing as a bad ass for the cameras... the plausibility of the moment shatters itself in pieces when her last almost fatal encounter is recalled (soups and a chit chat are indeed miraculous but I guess the real secret is in fact the poppy's milk).
I paused and recalled what I've felt in the "Red Wedding" episode. I keep insisting in remembering it, as a Stark does not want to forget, in its quality, the intensity, the astonishing performance, the superb cinematographic moment I'd watched. I didn't want to but my face was being washed by the tears even if I did know at that time what was going to happen....
Back to Earth, I'm sorry fan boys, but the scene Arya is doing the Stark Vengeance (Shazam!) is a poor mimicry and a failed attempt to recreate the emotional turmoil felt on the "Red Wedding". Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark) was perfect, and her character is the only legitimate candidate to the "throne" of vengeance. It's not by coincidence that the writer chose to create Lady Stoneheart. Maisie Williams's (Arya) acting seems pathetic (not her, her actor direction) compared to the abyssal depth of what happened to her family's character.
I have always been a severe critic of special effects, because as in the "Uncanny valley" hypothesis, when something is saturated with the intention to make appeal using sensationalism, surprise, etc. (baroque effects) usually the effect is the opposite: pardon me if I forgot to mention you my dear Sir fervent zealot who will never understand that. Game of Thrones first seasons were very thoughtful and moderate when using special effects. I clapped the ingenuity of that. I clapped the focus on realism, the theatrical dramatizations...
What I saw on this episode, were green "gooey blobs" smelling like perfumed plasticine splashing around as much artificially as it is possible. The music was annoying and predictable as a repetitive Hans Zimmer soundtrack. I cursed myself because again I wasn't feeling anything although I was trying since the beginning... I tasted the moment with my papillae gustatory at maximum but the last flavour persisted as a pretension of Epic and I decided to stop to force myself to think that I was enjoying the show. This episode was more like a catwalk of show-offs than anything else. Gore for gore, blood for shock.
The last few moments were a surprise:
I enjoyed watching the Little Finger confessing his ultimate desire. Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos) once more superb in his role, transporting the elegant fine arts of Theatre to his character;
Bella Ramsey's impeccable acting inspired like a muse all the actors around, and the characterization of the scene was emotive and intense. The clans once again pledging for the North was one the best scenes of the season. I felt the Starks again, but generally speaking, I haven't felt George Martin at all in the season except in these precious isolate gems of dramatization.