Honestly, at that point I probably wouldn't have cared... The problem with nudity is that once you get too much of it, the next time you see someone naked you're like "yeah, whatever, nothing to see here". That's why it should be used with caution.

Are human bodies meant to be shocking? I don't know if getting "desensitized" to nudity is a bad thing, really. Seems to me our Western society (especially here in the US, at least) could do with a hell of a lot less stigma and shame over nudity. Sometimes people are naked and sometimes they're clothed, it's just realistic. No need to keep things all unnecessarily PG-rated.

Shocking? Not at all. What I meant is that nudity can be used for certain purposes and effects and to convey some information (i.e. when the dothraki tie the man who attempted to kill Daenerys to a horse and drag him: his nakedness adds to the humiliation and suffering he's supposed to be going through, he's been stripped of all his possessions, etc.), but when it is overused, for some viewers it can have an effect on those other uses.

Also, although this is a bit off-topic, sometimes nudity should provoke an emotional response. Not necessarily "being shocked", of course, but at least some sort of reaction.

Maybe I'm immature, but nudity tends to just make me laugh.

I can see that, in a dramatic context, nudity should probably have some sort of dramatic impact, so I do agree with you there. In the realm of a film fiction like this, we're getting a lot of voyeuristic access to repeated nudity of strangers in a relatively short period of time, nudity we wouldn't normally be exposed to in daily life. So, while nudity would carry a stronger impact in real-life situations due to its rarity, here it has a tendency to become muted in its 'shock' value. Also, whatever nudity we see in film is naturally going to have that muted character simply due to the remove we feel from a piece of media as opposed to a real-life situation.

Apart from all that, though, it seems to me that the bulk of the emotional information that the nudity in a fiction carries should be the result of how it's handled by the director instead of just being a reflexive effect. Not "this scene has a naked person in it, so it's intense," but rather "this scene really makes me feel this person's nakedness and what that must be like." If that makese sense. The quality should be palpable regardless of the quantity.

I feel like the various uses of nudity in this series did provoke their intended reaction and I didn't feel necessarily numb to them. They served their purpose well enough.

Agreed. As I said, it's just something that I think may happen to some viewers. In fact, my initial comment about the scene with Hodor was kind of tongue-in-cheek. The use of nudity in that scene fits Hodor's personality, so it was appropriate. Conversely, in Lord Commander Mormont's case (the scene of the wight attack), it probably wouldn't have added anything besides "oh, so he was surprised while taking a bath or something", so nudity could probably be skipped in that case. Which may actually be the reason why they deviated from canon there, since as you said, most if not all nudity we've seen so far served a purpose and had an impact.

This thread is getting too amusing with this nudity talk, let's get back to being depressed and heartbroken! How about this?
(Episode 9 spoilers)

Is episode 10 on tonight?
I dont have HBO so I will have to wait I guess.

and the scene between Jaime and Catelyn was kinda strange and out of place, it were supposed to happen later in the story, but hey it was fitting so what the hell.

can't wait for the second season and hope they'll put more episodes, maybe a 2 hour opening or closing, that would be great.

WOW too cool, that finale kicked ass. The scene with Daenarys at the end was everything I was hoping it would be! The scene with the Night's Watch at the end was fuckin epic too, very inspiring. The guy playing Jaime continues to shine, as does Jorah Mormont. That brings me to the list of people that I like way more in the show than I did in the books, now that the first season is over. Robb was played very well, and he was very good at showing emotions. Jorah would have to be the other one, he seemed kind of sketchy in the books but he looks very stoic and dependable in the show, he's definitely one of my favorites now. Bronn, Arya, Jaime and Tyrion were all great performances too but I loved them in the books so I might be biased.

The only thing I am unhappy about is that we have to wait an entire year before season 2 Waiting a week was painfully long. But oh well, I guess there is nothing we can do.

Yeah, I'm so sad now...

Speaking of not wanting to wait; do you guys think I should go ahead, buy the books, and read on ahead? I love the suspense of watching the story but I think it might be more meaningful if I read the books. Plus, waiting won't be as bad.

Yes, read the books, they're great.

FUCK YEAH DRAGONS.

Eeeeh, sorry. Guess I got a little carried away.



Absolutely yes. Not only because the books are awesome, but because of the few differences between them and the TV show, and the things they do better than the show did. Although after having seen all ten episodes, I gotta say they managed to adapt the books pretty well.

But yeah, if you enjoyed the show, then read the books because you'll surely enjoy them too.

Great screenshot:

When that witch told her about how her baby looked and that it died because it had scales, wings, and looked like a monster, could it have been that she gave birth to a dragon?

To a creature with certain dragon-like features, a half-dragon if you wish to call it that. But the implied cause for the baby being born like that and not surviving was the ritual that the witch performed, not Daenerys' bloodline or anything else (and I'll be disappointed if she's later revealed to be a half-dragon herself or a shapeshifting dragon, that's been done to death in fantasy novels). No other cause has been stated or implied, and the baby has always been described in the books as having humanoid features in addition to the draconic ones IIRC. So I don't think whatever she gave birth to was 100% a dragon. She's later on called "Mother of Dragons", but because of the three that were born from the eggs in Khal Drogo's funeral pyre, not because of Rhaego.

A conclusion of epic proportions! marvellous!

I'm about to watch ep 10 and cannot wait for next season.

The soundtrack just leaked and I'm thinking about d/ling it for kicks. Any fans of the music?

I am a little disappointed.


Otherwise, great end/great start!

Well, that was awesome. Of course, now I have nothing to do until hockey starts. But that was really great and I'm looking forward to Clash of Kings, or Game of Thrones Season 2... Not sure what they'll go with. (I'm rooting for Clash of Kings - I don't think hype will be an issue).

Any metal-looking guys in Northern Ireland here? You can totally be an extra in Game of Thrones S2 if you try:

http://winter-is-coming.net/2011/07/cal ... s-goes-out

Praise the gods.

I'm watching all the episodes right now in one go and just finished episode 8, really excellent (though not 100% faithful) and enjoyable aside from one thing: I'm getting seriously irked by all the goofy and unnecessary sex scenes. I don't like sex scenes in film or TV in general anyway but I'm pretty sure there has been at least one such scene in every single episode. It's tiresome, even if the actors are all good-looking.

There wasn't one in episode 8 (or 9 I think), I'm pretty sure. And it was the one scripted by GRRM.

I'm fine with sex scenes if they aren't stupid or gratuitous, but unfortunately most of those so far (those not in the books) pretty much were, with the lesbian brothel scene being the worst offender.

I guess they felt they had to balance out the guy-on-guy scene to appease America.

The slurping sounds in the Renly/Loras scence are something I could've really done without...

If anyone needs a post-Game of Thrones fix I recommend checking out the indie movie Black Death, starring Sean Bean. It needed a bit of polishing but it was a somewhat dark and satisfying watch.

Anyone been following the casting for the new season? So far I've been mostly impressed with the choices.

The good:
Carice Van Houten as Melisandre. Perfect choice. She can definitely pull off the look I imagined Melisandre having in the books (a kind of ageless beauty which hints that her appearance may be more than it seems), and she's no stranger to this kind of realistic fantasy, appearing with Sean Bean in the aforementioned Black Death.

Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth. Another perfect choice. He looks exactly how I pictured him in the books. I'm somewhat familiar with his previous roles and I think he could pull off the common sense everyman feel of the character.

Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'ghar. I'll be honest, I'm excited to see anybody in the role of Jaqen H'ghar. As appearances go this one is hard to say, as the role will require a lot from the costume department regardless of who the actor is. I'm not familiar with this actor, and looking him up he's mostly had minor roles in a lot of German films

Ben Crompton as Dolorous Edd. They totally needed a comedy actor for this role and got one who nailed the look of the character too. Looking forward to some of the sour comedic lines from the book translate to the screen.

Roy Dotrice as Wisdom Hallyne. I wasn't familiar with this actor, and I don't recall a description of him in the books, except being a pyromancer and head of the Alchemists Guild. However, I read that this actor was the voice actor who did the audio books for the ASOIAF series. Granted this is a very minor role, probably 2 or 3 episodes at the most, but I think he'll pull it off perfectly

Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell. Her role in the Tudors is the perfect background for this character. Her looks match the description in the books too, another good call.

Ralph Ineson as Dagmer Cleftjaw. Good choice overall, experienced in supporting "villain" roles

Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy. I can totally see this guy as a stern, bitter viking king. In the great scheme of things, this is a relatively minor role, and I'm looking forward to hearing about the other Greyjoys, particularly Euron and Victarrion.

Michael McElhatton as Roose Bolton. Exactly how I pictured him. I'm not familiar with the actor, but if he can pull off the subtle creepiness and soft-spoken manner this may be one of the best casting choices in the series.

Robert Pugh as Craster. Also exactly as I pictured him. Not a major role, but a great casting choice.

Indifferent:
Oona Chaplin as Jeyne (Westerling?). If this is Jeyne Westerling, I'm looking forward to some of the off-screen action with Robb, but the actress looks a bit too exotic for a character who was described as essentially pretty, but plain

Ian Hanmore as Pyat Pree. Not familiar with the actor, but in pictures he looks a bit older than I pictured the character.

Lucian Msamati as Salladhor Saan. Not how I pictured the character (pictured him as white, but he is an exotic character so a black actor could pull it off just as well, not a question of race at least for this character) but it could work if the costume department can pull off some ridiculously flamboyant outfits.

Hannah Murray as Gilly. Not how I pictured the character. Again, the costume department could probably make this work, but she's a little too good looking for a character who is not only a wildling woman, but a product of rape and incest. Always pictured her as being very plain compared to wildling beauties like Ygritte and Val.

Gemma Whelan as Asha (Sorry "Yara") Greyjoy. Again, not exactly how I pictured the character. She just doesn't look fierce enough, but that could just be the pictures. I didn't really connect with Theon's casting choice in the first season either but I ended up liking him (oh I can't wait to see how he does in future seasons). Also, the name change bothers me. They changed the name from Asha to Yara to "avoid confusion with another character, Osha." Problem is, Yara does sound kind of like Arya, and since they never even mentioned Osha's name in the first season, where would that confusion even come from? Should have changed Osha's name if anything.

The Bad:
Gwendoline Christie as Brienne. I'm not seeing it. She's definitely tall enough, but way too attractive for a character who is described as looking freakish, and brutish even compared to men. The costume department will have a hell of a job making this work, although the story I've heard is that George R.R. Martin himself said she was the perfect choice when she auditioned in costume.

Nonso Anozie as Xaro Xhoan Daxos. This one kind of annoyed me. I'm not one to throw the race card out as a complaint for casting choices, but listen to these descriptions of the Qartheen race: Tall and pale, milk white skin, "called the Milk Men by the Dothraki for their complexion." Furthermore, this is a character who comes across as particularly weak, who makes persistent (and somewhat creepy) romantic advances toward Danaerys with little real charm, and weeps frequently. He dresses flamboyantly and was not described as large So what was going through their heads when they cast a burly black man in this role? Again, this isn't about the actor's race, but part of a casting decision should come from the description of the character they are portraying, even if the actor did portray the character better than a white person. I mean, lets say Denzel Washington did a better audition than Ian McKellen for the role of Gandalf. Would you sway from your source material that much just because the actor read the lines better? No, because it wouldn't be the character. Maybe they are trying to make the Qartheen more exotic, but then they cast a pale white man as another Qartheen character. It could also be taking Xaro in a new direction for the TV series, which I'm actually ok with as long as it lives up to and compliments the book. But there are PLENTY of other roles this actor could have taken in the same series (Strong Belwas, the summer islanders in A Feast For Crows). He's a talented actor, don't get me wrong, but totally wrong for this role. /end rant

Are all these guys european actors or something? Because I don't know a single one. To be fair, I mainly watch american comedy, but yeah...

Mostly British actors. The majority I know are from other TV shows or supporting roles in movies. The only "big name" actor on the show was Sean Bean as Eddard Stark.

I really want to start reading the books after seeing the first season, which was amazing. But Im torn since im halfway reading The Wheel of Time series and dont really want to stop even though itll probably take me at least 6 months to finish the 13th book ready for the last one.

Protip: Just stop reading Wheel of Time now while it's still half-decent, and read A Song of Ice and Fire instead.

seconding that!!!

I really love the casting of Candice Van Houten as Melisandre. She's a beautiful woman with a lot of mysticism, she will be perfect.

They can pull of uglification pretty well with makeup. See Charlize Theron in Monster.

Have you read all the books so far or just got to a point and gave up? So far Im enjoying it a lot, despite that it is quite slow I find it hard to put it down, and when I finish one book i go and buy the next one right away.

I've read up to book... 9, I think. His pacing was always a bit off, but it's decent enough up to around book 5 or 6, then he seems to run out of steam completely. As I recall, book 7 is quite slow-paced, book 8 is even worse and barely anything of note happens, book 9 is saved from being even worse only by a major event happening at the end. Then you might think things are picking up because of that event, but I'm told book 10 is the worse yet. So... yeah, it's up to you, but I'd say there are much better series to be reading.

I'm on book 10 right now. It's...eh. Not much worse/better than the few previous ones, but as has become the standard in the series I'm looking forward to something interesting happening at the end of the book.

Lol. Sean Bean was the only one I knew (Boromir from LotR). THe actor who played Tirion looked a bit familiar. Also, I saw Tywin Lannister in 'Your Highness', but I saw that movie after watching Game of Thrones.

I like that though. Not knowing the actors lets me believe the characters as I don't have a pre disposition of what they should be.