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ejbronte's Replies
Oh, if we're counting dragons, then, Drogon is top ten - they gave him a great range of movement and expression considering he's a huge winged lizard (I really want one. I get cold easily). The Jon scene where Drogon closed his eyes while being stroked was sweetly catlike. They do a slow blink when contented with their human servants.
Nymeria goes onto my list too. And much as I protest what happened to poor Viscerion (sp), that last scene was impressive.
I came in to the show very, very late -- season six! So my list is based on season six and seven plus snippets from YouTube and occasional accidental landings on reruns. So I'll take your word on the always wonderful Sean Bean. I'm much less well acquainted with Stephen Dillaine, and missed a lot of Dormer (I've seen and liked her in "Elementary".) Headley isn't old hat to me as of yet; I'm seeing her embrace a difficult character, though I may feel differently if I go for a crash week of watching the whole series at some point.
I forgot to include Jonathan Pryce, who made a wonderful and scary Sparrow (would have loved to have seen him match up with Charles Dance). He was equally lovely as a vulnerable Mr. Bronte earlier this year.
We're discussing actors as opposed to the characters they play? If that's the case:
Peter Dinklage (Tyrion), who is able to establish a connection with every actor he shares scenes with. His scene partners, in turn, react off him, and the moments really come alive.
For very similar reasons:
Conleth Hill (Varys) and Charles Dance (Tywin), Pedro Pascal (Oberyn)
For pure investment in the role, and making me enjoy believing with them:
Maisie Williams (Arya), Aiden Gillen (Littlefinger), Lena Headley (Cersei), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) and both Jerome Flynn (Bronn) and Rory McCann (the Hound). And extending this to the sheer courage needed to inhabit human monsters:
Raymond Griffiths (Joffrey) (I never cottoned much toward Ramsay)
Because she's Diana Rigg! Diana Rigg! Oh, how she enjoyed her role, and oh, how she brought that woman to life!
Oh, and James Faulkner, because I kept staring at that name in his last episode, wondering why it was so familiar, and then Googled him to realize he was Herod in "I, Claudius", which led me to use up a whole night re-watching sections of what was basically the "Game of Thrones" of its time.
I agree with this; he couldn't leave Winterfell without being sure of Sansa, which meant working to isolate her from Arya, Brienne and Jon while inserting himself as her mentor and support. As he knew she was wary of him, it was vital to change her attitude, and leaving wouldn't do that.
All very true, I agree Sansa did extremely well, especially when up against Littlefinger.
I do wonder how reluctant Brienne would have been in Littlefinger's case: one of the reasons she didn't want to go to King's Landing was that she didn't like to leave Sansa alone with Littlefinger. Considering her comment on loyalty to Jamie after the wight display, she may be more pragmatic than we might have thought?
I believe she was sent away for two reasons:
Little finger seemed to be looking to involve Brienne in his machinations, possibly aiming to use her to kill Arya. This would have been an unnecessary and painful conflict for a good, honorable person. If this is true, Sansa sent Brienne away to protect her from this and also to take the tool out of Littlefinger's reach.
She would possibly have wanted and tried to execute Littlefinger in place of Arya. For both (all three?) Starks, it would have mattered that a Stark cut the throat of the man who betrayed their father, killed their aunt, and was the driving force behind their aunt's murder of her husband. Those who pronounce the sentence should deliver the punishment.
The kangaroo court was necessary: Sansa had to demonstrate that killing Littlefinger wasn't an arbitrary action. And if she hadn't caught him by surprise, Littlefinger would have had time and space for escaping, and now becoming a very dangerous enemy. Witnesses had to hear him either confess or successfully declare his innocence. Otherwise they could have characterized Sansa as another Cersei, not worth trusting or swearing loyalty to.
they did give him a show trial. The main room with all the witnesses was the trial. Sansa asked him how he pleaded. He was given a chance to speak when he asked to. He wasn't interrupted;if he had been innocent, they gave him space to say it. Because he knew they knew he wasn't, he needed a plausible lie. They did not give him time for that. In the end, he basically confessed, saying he acted out of love for Catelyn and Sansa. He had no rejoinder to Sansa's observation that his love led to betrayal. People all around heard him. It was likely recorded and stored in the archives. Sansa gave him a better chance than Tywin and Cersei gave to Tyrion.
I agree with Darren on thus. Little finger has no sense of honor, only a sense of how to use others' honor against them. Both book and show Littlefinger lack a sense of vision and foundation to their manipulations, and this starves their character - he knows he wants power and to revenge himself on those who have ridiculed him, but after he would have achieved his goal, what then? What is his vision for the power in his hands, other than to play the people around him?
Dany absorbed a goal (whether she fulfills it is another story). Even Cersei has some kind of ambition for what she wants after consolidating power. They're fighting for the crown because they have a goal. Littlefinger had only the game. So when his moment of truth arrived, there was nothing to hold him up. Compare this with the resurrection of Theon in this episode. Also compare with how Tyrion and Jamie were able to basically dare death in the face, and how death gave them their due.
I'd add Davos to the good guy list -- and include him in my favorites.
1. Tyrion
2. Varys
3. Arya
4. Briefness
5. Drogon (and the other two)
Least:
1. Catelyn
2. Lysa
3. Vyserian (sp)
4. Robyn
5. Little Finger (odd because he's the sort I usually do like)
There was a small lingering shot of a Lannister archer poised but shaking. That was a very humanizing moment. I also loved how Drogon curled his neck around Danny to attack Jamie. It was a great moment that hit: Dany is absorbed in trying to pull out the harpoon; Drogon is in pain; but he sees the danger and moves to protect his mother despite his pain. An intense moment of devotion from both him and Dany.
The description of the threat to Varys is not correct. She confronted him on his record of supporting, then betraying various kings, and of plotting to assassinate her. She demanded to know why she should trust him and where his loyalties were. He stated that his loyalties are not with any king but with the people who suffer or thrive under a king's rule. He supports her because she seems to understand this.
Danny's threat comes after her acceptance of this and her statement that she expects Varys to tell her up front if she doesn't live up to his expectations. It's on the condition of his going behind her back rather than openly communicating that her threat comes. Thus is an intense and important conversation and an important declaration of Danny's' reasons for wanting to rule. She is harsh, but no harsher than Varys himself was. They were both honest with each other. I consider this to have been a strong and important moment for both.
Understood. But this confrontation is involving something other than loyalty to Dany: Varys has stated up front that, in fact, his loyalties are *not* to Dany. His loyalties are with the people. He was honest about this. He tells her so. He supports Dany because she has shown evidence that she shares this concern. She accepts this, and it's important that she accepts this. They both understand that his loyalty is NOT to her. They are now negotiating something else:
She is demanding honesty from him to her, which he has not given to the other kings. She is telling him that she will listen to him if he criticizes her, and she will expect him to do so rather than go behind her back to undermine her, as he has to others.
It's a contract: he must be honest with her. She must be willing to hear him, unlike Aegon and Robert. She understands that if she doesn't hear him and goes against his loyalties to the people, that he will look for another champion. He understands that if she discovers he turns from her, she will kill him. This is their contract. It's very different from demanding loyalty.
[spoiler]She did say she'd burn Varys, but if he betrayed her; and she implied that this meant going behind her back instead of speaking honestly to her about not standing for the right things. So, to me, this isn't unstable. She's responding to what Varys says he values, and to why he went behind the backs of other rulers. She told him she doesn't want yes-men, and that if she discovers he's saying yes while feeling and thinking no, that's a betrayal and burn-worthy. Given the stakes, this is valid.[/spoiler]
Short is good, says this five-footer.
It's important to housebreak your little dragon early on. Litter boxes with lots of sand is recommended. Your little critter will sleep safe in its own flame proof bed, and if you'd like a cuddle with it at night, flame repellant bedding is available for a nominal fee, though the yearly insurance can get you.
A Farewell to Arms, with Gary Cooper and Hayes. It was made in 1932, and is based on Hemingway's novel, taking place during WWI.
Earlier in the movie, she mentions wanting to go home to watch "Love in the Afternoon", which stars Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn, so she seems to like Cooper.
FYI, here's a site with a quote from both Helen and Annie regarding this moment:
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/March-April-08/On-this-Day--Helen-Keller-Comprehends-the-Word--Water-.html
That's because he's invisible. But he's done plenty - there are many movies and shows where I haven't seen him and he's done a magnificent job.
Brooklyn is a very big borough (when it was a city in its own right, it was the fourth-largest in the country), and has room for many "types". So I'm not quite sure which stereotype you're referring to.