Tagged: lazy sundays
Lazy Sundays: Father’s Day
Today I was lucky enough to spend the whole day with my dad. We had a great time together and although we planned to go out and do something ended up spending most of the afternoon on the couch binge-watching Game of Thrones (because my family has never been conventional). I also presented him with a surprise I cooked up for Father’s Day:
It’s an old fashioned beehive skep carved out of a single log. The artist who does the carvings goes all over Saskatchewan peddling his wares but he always seems to spend the most time in my tiny little town because his sculptures are the thing to have around here. He does great work and he’s really good with special commissions so I asked him to make the sculpture above. I took it home, bought some stain from work (I work at a hardware store) and stained it this colour. Then I took a nice thick varnish and used it to seal both the base of it and the actual sculpture. That way it won’t crack and become damaged by the weather over time. I may have to apply a few new coats in the future but it will last for a lot longer than it would have had I just used stain.
Lazy Sundays: The Dance of Dragons (Game of Thrones Episode 5.09)
I wasn’t sure how the writers would top episode 8, ‘Hardhome’ but I think they did with this one so let’s get to it:
1. I knew Shireen was going to die from the minute Stannis started actually showing more affection toward her. After Ramsay’s night raid on their camp, I think Stannis is pushed to desperation with not enough food to go forward or back. In his mind he only has one choice.
2. I wonder how poor Ser Davos is going to react to his de facto little girl being burned alive by her own father?
3. Plus, I think the fact that Selyse wanted to stop the burning once it happened really shows that she’s a complicated character. She thinks she hates Shireen but I think she fears her because of the greyscale and sees her as a failure. I mean, out of all the children she had, only Shireen, the ‘deformed’ one survived to term?
4. For a second there I thought Ser Alliser wasn’t going to let Jon Snow and the wildlings through the gate. But since he did I think he’s angling to take over Jon’s job, forcibly if necessary. Showing the Night’s Watch their Lord Commander’s ‘greatest sin’ is just one way to really turn sentiment against him.
5. I knew Arya was going to see Ser Meryn in Braavos from the time Cersei sent him to escort Lord Tyrell. And after that disturbing brothel scene I think Ser Meryn’s days are numbered just the same as Arya’s time at the House of Black and White is numbered.
6. I’m glad Bronn and Jaime are making it out of Dorne with Myrcella and Trystane. But what is Ellaria playing at? I doubt she’s given up her dream of getting revenge for Oberyn’s death, no matter what she swears to Doran.
7. Wow, the look on Daenerys’ face when Ser Jorah appeared in the pit again was just perfect. As was her look when she thought he tried to kill Hizdahr but really just killed a Harpy.
8. On that note, I was kind of surprised they killed of Hizdahr even before their marriage. What was the purpose of that particular change from the books?
9. Also, the choreography in the fighting pit was just beautiful. Someone must have been drunk or high during that really awful Sand Snake fight scene because this was classic Game of Thrones.
10. Yay, Dany finally got to ride Drogon. But I wonder where Drogon will take her? Will she end up where she does in the books or will the show’s writers change that slightly?
So what did you guys think of this super-intense episode? I’m very, very excited for the finale this year!
Lazy Sundays: Hardhome (Game of Thrones Episode 5.08)
I can’t believe we only have two more episodes left in the season, but ‘Hardhome’ was definitely a doozy this week. Let’s get into it!
1. Ooh, Sansa! I think we’re going to see her snap and take care of Ramsay personally at some point. She stole that corkscrew from the construction and I think at this point she’s willing to use it, especially after Theon/Reek’s confession that he really didn’t kill her brothers.
2. Gah, poor Ser Jorah once again. Tyrion was totally right in a logical way (especially when you consider his greyscale) but his eyes when Daenerys told him to leave again were heartbreaking.
3. Sam and Gilly are so cute together. I think their relationship will end badly for both of them but I’m just enjoying it now.
4. Cersei is being set up to confess; we’re seeing her at an entirely new low. I think the season’s finale, Mother’s Mercy will have her carry out the High Sparrow’s special punishment.
5. Okay, I absolutely loved the battle at Hardhome. It was a well shot scene, not too terribly corny with the wildling council and the action was amazing. I loved seeing Night’s King stare at Jon Snow and just raise his hands, adding the dead wildlings to his army at the very end. It was incredibly chilling and the whole scene was just perfect. It definitely makes up for the really horrible Sand Snake fight scene.
So what did you guys think about this Sunday’s episode?
Lazy Sundays: The Gift (Game of Thrones Episode 5.07)
I actually missed Sunday because I was busy travelling but I’m backdating this post to make sure it actually sort of makes sense. Because I just can’t go a week without a proper Game of Thrones recap.
1. Jon is off to go and negotiate with the Free Folk over at Hardhome and as Ser Alliser points out, Sam is quickly losing friends.
2. On that note, awesome Sam! He’s finally realized that he loves Gilly enough to conquer his natural cowardice for her. Had Ghost not stepped in I have no doubt he would have charged those two guys again.
3. I thought the change from the books regarding Aemon’s death was interesting. I wonder how they’re going to get Sam and Gilly on a boat to the Citadel so Sam can be a maester?
4. Hmm…Sansa picked up what looked like a corkscrew when Ramsay was tormenting her. Now that Theon’s no longer a viable option for her, I wonder what she will be driven to do? The episode 8 trailer seems to hint at what she wants to do.
5. Good on Stannis for refusing to sacrifice Shireen. It shows that no matter how taken he is with Melisandre, he clearly loves his daughter more.
6. I honestly thought Bronn was going to die and the whole poison-antidote scene with Tyene seemed a little dumb to me. Sure, that’s her personality but it felt almost as contrived as that whole fight scene last episode.
7. Wow, the Jorah and Tyrion timelines are really going fast. Neither of them has really suffered under slavery the way they do in the books. Bam! They’re sold as slaves. Bam! They’re meeting Daenerys. Things are going to get ineresting very quickly here.
8. On that hand, as a purely physical attraction I admire Daenerys’ taste in men. But when you actually examine Daario as a person there are a LOT of red flags. Girl, you need to stop listening to him!
9. Poor Tommen. He really seems to want to help Margarey but at the same time he doesn’t have the leadership experience to make a complicated political maneuver in order to appease the Faith Militant without losing face.
10. Ha! Cersei finally got caught in her own trap. Things are going to get very, very interesting from here.
11. Lady Olenna may be the Queen of Thorns but she doesn’t seem to understand true religious fanatics very well. They don’t care what you do to them! They’ve got their god/gods on their side! And the High Sparrow is utterly devoted to his belief that every sinner is equal.
12. Hmm…I wonder what Littlefinger is up to now. I don’t think even he can put a leash back on the rabid dog that is the Faith Militant now, no matter what he seems to promise Lady Olenna.
So what did you guys think of this episode?
Lazy Sundays: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken (Game of Thrones Episode 5.06)
1. Ah, so we finally saw the room of faces in the House of Black and White. Finally, Arya’s storyline is getting way more exciting as her training starts in earnest.
2. Poor Ser Jorah and Tyrion again. Good thing Tyrion is a fast-talker! It also explains how he and Jorah make it to Meereen.
3. Hmm…so now we know all about Littlefinger’s plans. He wants the Boltons and Stannis to fight each other and with the crown’s approval he’ll swoop in with the army of the Vale to beat the winner, who will be licking his wounds. Then he can be warden of the north, marry his second choice (Sansa) and muster the north to fight the beaten and bloodied Lannisters and Tyrells for the rest of Westeros. Well played, Baelish. Well played.
4. Margarey and Loras are locked up! And Lady Olenna is on the scene. I’m thinking things are going to be interested when Olenna seeks out some of Cersei’s men and accuses her of the very thing she’s accusing Margarey and Loras of: immorality.
5. Trystane and Myrcella seem like a sweet couple. Your typical hormonal teenage couple, anyway.
6. Um, did anyone else find the fight between Jaime, Bronn and the Sand Snakes a little lame? Normally Game of Thrones has awesome stunt people and the fights are well choreographed but I just felt that scene was lacking. The actresses for the Sand Snakes are kind of unconvincing as warriors. It’s…disappointing. They looked as about convincing as I would in a fight and that’s, to be perfectly frank, pathetic.
7. Finally, we hear a bit of “The Dornishman’s Wife” from Bronn! As much as I love “The Rains of Castamere” it’s nice to hear something new.
8. Okay, the Sansa rape scene. Twitter is brimming with outrage over it, claiming that it was completely superfluous and unnecessary and an insult to George R. R. Martin’s original story. People on Twitter clearly have a short memory: do they not know that marital rape was totally a thing back then? Are people forgetting that even in Canada marital rape was only made illegal in 1983? And that criminalization of marital rape only started in the United States in the early 1970s? And most of all, do they not remember that Daenerys was raped on her wedding night too? This is what brides expect from their husbands in the Game of Thrones world! That’s why it was such a surprise to Sansa that Tyrion didn’t rape her on their wedding night. Ugh. People believe that depicting something is the same as condoning it, which it completely isn’t. I think it’s not gratuitous and that the rape scene there is setting up some very important character development for Sansa. Trust me when I say I’m the last person that would advocate for gratuitous rape.
So what did you think of tonight’s episode?