My favorite scene in the Season 2 premiere of Game of Thrones on HBO last night was Cersei tutoring Little Finger in the realities of power. He seeks advantage over her by indicating that he knows King Joffrey Baratheon is not really a Baratheon. "Knowledge his power," advises Little Finger, archly. She responds by ordering her guard to put knives to Little Finger's neck and slit his throat. Then she says she's changed her mind and orders them to withdraw. "Power is power," she now replies with words. An important and a sage indication of what really counts most in Game of Thrones: raw, unapologetic power.
My second favorite scene also includes Cersei, this time with Joffrey present, who also raises the question of his lineage and asks Cersei if she actually slept with her brother and who knows who else. She slaps her son. He replies that she just committed a capital offense, and indeed he'll order her execution should she ever do it again. Another reminder of stark with a small "s" power - even a childish King can wield it, and kill just about anyone he pleases.
Back in dragon land, no one has much power, including Daenerys and her fledgling brood. There's a comet in the sky, that everyone in every land sees, and it's a reminder of just how far Daenerys's dragons are from getting into the sky and doing damage,
There's not much action up north, either, though it's now agreed that the long summer is ending, which will be followed by a long winter. It was good to see a dire wolf again, but, speaking of these fierce and loyal animals, I still don't get why none charged forth to protect Eddard, and why none comes forth now to protect Sansa from Joffrey. (I know Sansa's is gone, and none bonded to Eddard, but what Arya's?) Power is power, as Cersei says, but the dire wolf unexpectedly attacking should be more powerful than any king.
And so the stage is set. Tyrion's in good form, new characters are on hand including a fire priestess and a sicko with numerous wives who are also his daughters, and I'm looking forward to the fights, the flights, and the winter.
See also A Game of Thrones: My 1996 Review of the First Novel ... Game of Thrones Begins Greatly on HBO ... Game of Thrones 1.2: Prince, Wolf, Bastard, Dwarf ... Games of Thrones 1.3: Genuine Demons ... Game of Thrones 1.4: Broken Things ... Game of Thrones 1.5: Ned Under Seige ... Game of Thrones 1.6: Molten Ever After ... Games of Thrones 1.7: Swiveling Pieces ... Game of Thrones 1.8: Star Wars of the Realms ... Game of Thrones 1.9: Is Ned Really Dead? ... Game of Thrones 1.10 Meets True Blood
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The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
My second favorite scene also includes Cersei, this time with Joffrey present, who also raises the question of his lineage and asks Cersei if she actually slept with her brother and who knows who else. She slaps her son. He replies that she just committed a capital offense, and indeed he'll order her execution should she ever do it again. Another reminder of stark with a small "s" power - even a childish King can wield it, and kill just about anyone he pleases.
Back in dragon land, no one has much power, including Daenerys and her fledgling brood. There's a comet in the sky, that everyone in every land sees, and it's a reminder of just how far Daenerys's dragons are from getting into the sky and doing damage,
There's not much action up north, either, though it's now agreed that the long summer is ending, which will be followed by a long winter. It was good to see a dire wolf again, but, speaking of these fierce and loyal animals, I still don't get why none charged forth to protect Eddard, and why none comes forth now to protect Sansa from Joffrey. (I know Sansa's is gone, and none bonded to Eddard, but what Arya's?) Power is power, as Cersei says, but the dire wolf unexpectedly attacking should be more powerful than any king.
And so the stage is set. Tyrion's in good form, new characters are on hand including a fire priestess and a sicko with numerous wives who are also his daughters, and I'm looking forward to the fights, the flights, and the winter.
See also A Game of Thrones: My 1996 Review of the First Novel ... Game of Thrones Begins Greatly on HBO ... Game of Thrones 1.2: Prince, Wolf, Bastard, Dwarf ... Games of Thrones 1.3: Genuine Demons ... Game of Thrones 1.4: Broken Things ... Game of Thrones 1.5: Ned Under Seige ... Game of Thrones 1.6: Molten Ever After ... Games of Thrones 1.7: Swiveling Pieces ... Game of Thrones 1.8: Star Wars of the Realms ... Game of Thrones 1.9: Is Ned Really Dead? ... Game of Thrones 1.10 Meets True Blood
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, Garden.com, eMusic
The Plot to Save Socrates
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
Enjoy listening to audio books? Get a free audio book copy of The Plot to Save Socrates - or any one of 85,000 other titles - with a 14-day trial membership at Audible.com ...
3 comments:
And the NY Times dumped all over it... again.
Par for the course (lame, lazy NY Times reviews) ...
I think they have something against genre fiction in general. There were two themes that were a part of both of their reviews... that there are too many characters to follow (and you, the reader of this review are too dumb to keep up with all those names) and GoT only appeals to Dungeon and Dragons players.
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