I was fully prepared to be disappointed then ended up marathoning the entire season in two consecutive evenings. The protagonists were pleasantly flawed and endearing, and the antagonists had depth beyond the boring “mustache twirling villain” type. The toilet humour was off putting to say the least. I give it 8 out of ten.
I really enjoyed Dunk & Egg and that’s what I’m calling it, The Tales of Dunk and Egg. A much better title in my opinion, but I digress. I love the three novellas and the main series as well. I’m probably amongst the few on this site that defends Martin and his work and his influence from men like Michael Moorcock is well known and George admits it, I think he and Moorcock were even friends/acquaintances. As for the nature of A Song of Ice & Fire, I don’t believe it’s a gray and grimdark as most believe and this image comes from the show and HBO’s constant attempts at being “adult” & “gritty.” The gist of the books are about how evil can and will sometimes gain a temporary upper hand, but will inevitably collapse under its own weight and the good guys will rally behind the legacy of their fallen heroes and fight for their homes, land, and families.
"The gist of the books are about how evil can and will sometimes gain a temporary upper hand, but will inevitably collapse under its own weight and the good guys will rally behind the legacy of their fallen heroes and fight for their homes, land, and families."
I mean, I guess that could possibly be true if he would ever finish the GD series 🤷🏻♂️
I think there’s a strong possibility. It just seems bleak because Dance left off at the worst possible moment to leave people with a cliffhangers for 15 years. It’s always darkest before the dawn and all.
Feast can be slow, but some of my favorite POV’s are in Feast. Like Brienne. Dance is a little better though since characters who weren’t in Feast return in Dance. No spoilers, don’t worry.
I couldn't agree more, Game of Thrones eventually collapsed under the weight of its own scope... too many characters, too many storylines, too much world to service. Dunk and Egg sidesteps all of that by just telling a intimate story about two people, which is what the best fantasy has always done anyway.
You should finish reading ASOIAF (as it is and, I think, will always be) just for the prose alone. GRRM is objectively a good writer it's a shame he will not finish his magnum opus to show that there is some hope for Westeros (at least this is how I think of it given the final novel would be titled A Dream of Spring).
Pleasantly surprised to hear this new show is decent, though I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop where it turns out this heroic story isn't heroic after all. Like you I had watched any trailers or shown any interest but I may now give it a watch thanks to your review.
Interesting thoughts Josh. This show seems to have accomplished that rare thing where fair minded folks like us enjoy it as well as the absolute wallopers online who claim to abhor all modern TV
I didn’t mind the start of episodes one and two. I think both were poking fun at the pomposity of the GOT theme that starts to kick in and then we see Dunk behind the tree and with naked Ser Arlan it’s probably a point about all the excessive female nudity that was in the previous shows
However, I think the show peaked in episode 4. I know episode 5 was getting 10/10 on lunatic IMDB but I just thought it was same old/same old and whilst episode 6 had nice moments it was just kind of there
Anyway, hope springs eternal for what comes next. So, no Rings of Power season 2, but not bad 😁
Good and fair review.
I was fully prepared to be disappointed then ended up marathoning the entire season in two consecutive evenings. The protagonists were pleasantly flawed and endearing, and the antagonists had depth beyond the boring “mustache twirling villain” type. The toilet humour was off putting to say the least. I give it 8 out of ten.
I've watched some of the episodes twice in a row, that's how much I ended up liking it.
I give it 0 out of 10 myself. But might have to do a post. I hate writing about Martin’s works. It’s profitable but no fun.
Haha I am aware of your feelings towards Martin. :)
I really enjoyed Dunk & Egg and that’s what I’m calling it, The Tales of Dunk and Egg. A much better title in my opinion, but I digress. I love the three novellas and the main series as well. I’m probably amongst the few on this site that defends Martin and his work and his influence from men like Michael Moorcock is well known and George admits it, I think he and Moorcock were even friends/acquaintances. As for the nature of A Song of Ice & Fire, I don’t believe it’s a gray and grimdark as most believe and this image comes from the show and HBO’s constant attempts at being “adult” & “gritty.” The gist of the books are about how evil can and will sometimes gain a temporary upper hand, but will inevitably collapse under its own weight and the good guys will rally behind the legacy of their fallen heroes and fight for their homes, land, and families.
"The gist of the books are about how evil can and will sometimes gain a temporary upper hand, but will inevitably collapse under its own weight and the good guys will rally behind the legacy of their fallen heroes and fight for their homes, land, and families."
I mean, I guess that could possibly be true if he would ever finish the GD series 🤷🏻♂️
I think there’s a strong possibility. It just seems bleak because Dance left off at the worst possible moment to leave people with a cliffhangers for 15 years. It’s always darkest before the dawn and all.
I haven't gotten around to reading "Dance" quite yet because "Feast" was so f'ing boring. I will do it at some point, though.
Feast can be slow, but some of my favorite POV’s are in Feast. Like Brienne. Dance is a little better though since characters who weren’t in Feast return in Dance. No spoilers, don’t worry.
Brienne was the most compelling POV character in "Feast", no doubt.
I couldn't agree more, Game of Thrones eventually collapsed under the weight of its own scope... too many characters, too many storylines, too much world to service. Dunk and Egg sidesteps all of that by just telling a intimate story about two people, which is what the best fantasy has always done anyway.
You should finish reading ASOIAF (as it is and, I think, will always be) just for the prose alone. GRRM is objectively a good writer it's a shame he will not finish his magnum opus to show that there is some hope for Westeros (at least this is how I think of it given the final novel would be titled A Dream of Spring).
Pleasantly surprised to hear this new show is decent, though I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop where it turns out this heroic story isn't heroic after all. Like you I had watched any trailers or shown any interest but I may now give it a watch thanks to your review.
I am hooked on this show now. I was worried it focused on just two characters but it has worked very well indeed.
Interesting thoughts Josh. This show seems to have accomplished that rare thing where fair minded folks like us enjoy it as well as the absolute wallopers online who claim to abhor all modern TV
I didn’t mind the start of episodes one and two. I think both were poking fun at the pomposity of the GOT theme that starts to kick in and then we see Dunk behind the tree and with naked Ser Arlan it’s probably a point about all the excessive female nudity that was in the previous shows
However, I think the show peaked in episode 4. I know episode 5 was getting 10/10 on lunatic IMDB but I just thought it was same old/same old and whilst episode 6 had nice moments it was just kind of there
Anyway, hope springs eternal for what comes next. So, no Rings of Power season 2, but not bad 😁
Man, you know you’re my brother from a Scottish mother, but Rings of Power? 🤢
Aye, I thought that would get you 😁
We actually watched the last 3 episodes of this again last night and whilst 4 is still the best, 5&6 are growing on me
My son thinks it’s the second best season in GOT to date so that’s high praise indeed 🤔
I do think you're 100% right that episode 4 is the best.