Lord Parramandas's written reviews

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Lord Parramandas
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Location: Slovenia

Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

UPDATE - REVIEW FOR EPISODE 6 IS HERE!

This is a thread where I will post my written reviews. They're completely book-and-filming-spoiler free, despite me reading the books several years ago. But the reviews may include information revealed in "Histories and Lore" videos which are canon to the show.


S07E01 - DRAGONSTONE

Drums pounding while a green-and-golden banner with a white elephant is raised atop the tallest tower


Hello again everyone! The time has come and Lord Parramandas has officially returned to continue the journey and add new pages to the history writings. From what I’ve seen from this episode, I’m sure we have a hell of a journey ahead. Last year, I used to start this post with »it’s time for a brief review« but as the season progressed those writings became anything but brief and I’m sure writing 114 Memory Lane posts for LOST episodes during the year left its tollas well… so, no more »brief« reviews. For those who followed them last year, you know the formula and it’s no different this year. There is a lot I need to cover, so let us begin! (On a side note, I did manage to watch the episode with Slovenian subtitles today, despite the early hour)

ARYA: So, we got a »cold opening« in this season again. For me, it was pretty predictable outcome as soon as I saw lord Frey (which was of course Arya in disguise). So with one swoop, most of his sons and grandsons…well, died. I’m sure this is a scene that many of you cheered for Arya, BUT the scene was also quite disturbing for me. Sure, Freys deserved it but to think that Arya just performed a mass murder of dozens of people in a manner that was quite similar to Red Wedding… at this point, I cannot go past »it is wrong to answer one crime with another« and like I said above, the scene itself is quite unpleasant for me. Well, maybe that’s its purpose considering the second Arya scene on which I will focus a bit later. I wonder who is head of the house now… there were no children among them so I assume new lord Frey must be very young. Or maybe a lady… Also, I would personally more like to see House Frey destory itself in a »war for the lordship«.

WINTERFELL: And here I come to the story, that has been discussed through the year in such an unpleasant manner that I sometimes wanted to leave WotW all together. Usually in the manner »Jon is a good guy and Sansa is selfish and she will be an ass to him« – well, I must say that in this scene, it is certainly not the case for me and I sense all Sophie’s interviews were very Littlefinger-biased. She’s not »on Littlefinger’s side« in this episode. She’s officially on Jon’s and she’s aware of LF’s sly nature. But still, the two siblings cannot do without their arguments. I must say I enjoyed their scenes a lot. Both stubborn in some way, but they both made some great points. So in a matter of speaking, there was a struggle what to do with Umbers and Karstarks. Sansa wanted their castles to be granted to other families while Jon was willing to pardon them and name new heirs according to bloodline. Who is right? Well, we can never be completely sure as that depends on heirs themselves but as Jon is the king, it was his word that prevailed. A young boy Ned became a new lord Umber and a young woman Alys became new lady Karstark.
And then of course followed a funny argument between the siblings and I was like »Jon, you made a good point… no, Sansa, you made better now…. and now Jon again…« Really, the scene and the characters really got me in a very good mood. So different but yet so similar, both possessing the typical Nothern stubborness. And I cannot go past fact that Sansa praised Jon for his ruling. They are surely not »enemies« and there is family bond between them… but of course, a shadow of a snake looms above them both in a form of Littlefinger. That man will surely mean trouble. I wished Sansa good fortune in the wars to come in my S6 finale review and I will wish the same to her again, and to Jon as well. Stand together as a family instead as enemies for power struggle. They’re both among my top characters and I hope it stays that way

KING’S LANDING: And now to another two of my top characters, also siblings. Cersei commited a purge in KL in previous episode and now, she was left with no firm allies, even Freys, and Jaime faced her with that fact. But as Ben Linus from LOST would say »I always have a plan« and so did Cersei, at least she thought that way. And this plan was forming an alliance with newly-made king Euron Greyjoy from Iron Islands. I got an impression in this episode that Euron has mental issues… I don’t know, his character gave me a bit of Ramsay vibe and he seems some sort of a hidden psychopath. In this particular episode, he proposed Cersei to marry him (Jaime’s face expression was priceless) and when she refused, he promised her a worthy gift. I don’t know but I have a feeling this gift will involve killing someone we know. So yes, he’s certainly dangerous.

ARYA (PART 2): I described in first Arya part that I’m worried for her character but this second part gave me some hope. I will mention at this point, that Arya is a character I’m pretty neutral about. How would I say… I like several scenes, but I was never a big fan of the character. I somehow cannot warm up to her. BUT if there are more scenes like this one, it may change. So here, Arya met a bunch of Lannister soldiers in the forest (Ed Sheeran included). In any other season, the scene would probably end with all the soldiers being killed… but here, the soldiers seemed pretty nice men, offering Arya food and beer. Well, I think that’s the point of the scene… if House Lannister’s leaders are corrupt, that doesn’t mean every soldier in their service is bad. After all, they’re just people and maybe this represents that Arya may still not be too far gone. Maybe she will learn even more that the world is not »black and white« like she did with the Hound and the rest of the Faceless men.

BROTHERHOOD: Speaking of Hound, he was traveling with the brotherhood towards North and they came across an abandoned cabin. I immediately recognized the place… it was where that kind farmer and his daughter Sally lived in S4. And Sandor was the person who stole their silver as he was sure they will be dead when the winter comes. And yes, they were dead in this episode, Sally in her father’s arms… two frozen corpses. Of course, Sandor buried them soon after, showing his character progression he achieved since S4. At this moment I will also mention that I love how the producers decided to keep Beric in the story. I’m sure this character can contribute a lot.

OLDTOWN: Sam’s life in a Citadel is… well, not particulary pleasant. Transporting books in the library, emptying chamber pots, filling the bowls with stew, helping the archmaester dissect the corpses. I wouldn’t like to be in his place. When it comes to the story, the first important part is that he stole a couple books from the forbidden section in the library, learning about the hidden dragonstone mountain on the island called… well, Dragonstone. And secondly, he found Jorah Mormont in Oldtown, who was being isolated in a cell due to greyscale. I must say his state gradually became worse since S6. And moving back to first important thing, Sam mentioned he needed to inform Jon about dragonglass and I’m sure he just set the events in motion for Jon and Dany to meet up. I’m not that thrilled about this meeting though but I suspect it may happen in near future.

DRAGONSTONE: Speaking of Dany, the team Targaryen (a silver queen, a dwarf, a eunuch soldier, a translator and a spider) arrived to Dragonstone, the place where Aegon started his invasion. Quite a strange feeling to see the fortress abandoned and a lone Stannis banner hanging in a throne chamber. Such a majestic fortress, but so isolated from the rest of the world. I really liked how Dany touched the ground when she disembarked, returning to the place where she was born. And now, they can begin… begin what? Well, that awaits for the next episode.

The army of dead is marching (shown in post-prologue scene) and sooner or later, it will reach the Wall and find their way across it… or through it. But all that still awaits us. This episode set up the groundwork for the season, being more calm in pace, but reintroducing many characters in the process. I enjoyed all scenes and I can say I can proclaim this one as my second favorite premiere so far, just behind »Two Swords«. And now comes the lord’s verdict… on my ranklist, I think I will put it on rank 23 ahead of »No One« and behind »A Golden Crown« (both 9 rated episodes).

So this is it! The journey has started again and I hope you enjoyed this episode as well. And if not… well, bad for you. With best regards from Lord Parramandas
Last edited by Lord Parramandas on Sat Aug 26, 2017 8:31 pm, edited 5 times in total.

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Lord Parramandas
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Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:04 pm

S07E02 - Stormborn

… silence … more silence … silence continues … if only I could remember what am I supposed to do now… some more silence… Oh wait, I think it’s already time to make a speech again.

Hello everyone and welcome to second review from Lord Parramandas! Yes, a week is around and here I am again. Yesterday, I again encountered the comment »Game of Thrones has no heart and soul« and those words ringed in my head for entire evening, on those occassions when I woke up in the middle of the night and all the way today. But after watching this episode, I can say… the show DOES HAVE heart and soul (not that I ever thought otherwise). Funny, this episode’s title is Stormborn and here, there was a storm this morning… I would think it was still night if I didn’t have alarm clock set. Coincidence or fate?

Any way, this episode was another very strong piece when it comes to the characters themselves for me. And funny, I saw it was directed by Mark Mylod, the director that was ripped apart by words on the thread when the directors got announced, like he’s the worst thing possible. Well, if he’s so bad, then it didn’t show in this episode for me. So moving to actual recap and analysis now. Where to start?

DRAGONSTONE: Let’s start with our good old Dany and her crew. Yes, Dany, I know that you’re the queen but please show some warmth. This stone-cold face expression and manner of speech is not really a recipe for like to me. But as for scenes themselves, they were great and I can sense she’s learning and slowly losing her »black-white« perspective. Varys surely made very good points and I like how she acknowledged that sometimes she must accept »criticism« than just demanding blind allegance. And then we have our red priestess Melisandre who paid the visit to her, who was also forgiven for being on Stannis side. Funny, there was so much speculation about »the prince (or princess) who was promised« – is it Jon or Dany? Well I can say for myself that I pretty much correctly predicted it… probably both because the prophecies are not taken literally. And that’s exactly what Melisandre suggested to Dany… she is most likely part of the prophecy, but the prophecy also involves Jon. Yes, here we had another stone set in piece for their meeting as Tyrion suggested Dany to arrange it. But before I wrap the Dany story, let’s go to this »other half of the prophecy«

WINTERFELL: And here we have Jon recieving the letter from both Dany and Sam to go to Dragonstone. Well, the problem is the Targaryens are no longer on good voice, especially not in the North due to what Aerys did to lord Rickard. The Targaryens were cruel, ruthless, some of them even mad… why should Jon go to this meeting? Yes, that’s the point Sansa made and this time, all the Northern lords and Vale lords supported her. But Jon made a decision… he would go there and meet her, try to form an alliance (although she demands fealty) and get the dragonstone glass for fighting the army of the dead. A daring move from Northern eyes, but it could as well prove to be correct one as long as both Dany and Jon are willing to cooperate. This could be interesting considering how stubborn they both are and according to promo, they will meet in next episode so not a long wait.

As for Winterfell, Jon left it in Sansa’s hands and it seems it was this decision that made Sansa »let him go«. No, not because I would think of her as power-hungry, but because he showed her he respects her. I think that’s what she needed… some more trust in him and some trust in her from his side. I’m somehow sad to see the siblings part their ways again, their mutual scenes are among my favorites and even though they may have those argument wars, they fill the gaps of each other and thanks to both, the Winterfell is back in Stark hands. But there is still the snake in form of Littlefinger… »touch my sister and I will kill you myself!« Littlefinger has TROUBLE! written all over the place and both Jon and Sansa are very much aware of it. And as I predicted, Sansa will have to fight this battle alone now. It’s her fight with LF, not Jon’s. And I really hope she survives through all this or at least takes LF down by the price of her own life if that’s her purpose. The wave both siblings did to each other… I really hope it’s not their last.

ARYA: Speaking of Starks, let’s go to another surviving sibling, our lady Arya whose story tide made a significant turn in this episode. The off-season speculation… will she kill Cersei. No she won’t, at least not now. She’s heading back home, to Winterfell, to reunite with Jon. One simple line from her good old friend Hot Pie was enough… Boltons are dead, Jon is king. I must say I liked how Arya behaved in the tavern. She was no longer the wild and fierce girl she used to be, she’s a young woman now, who can be cold and mature when it comes to conversations. And speaking of her good old friends, she encountered another one, the one on four legs and sharp teeth. Yes, it’s the fierce direwolf Nymeria. As for this reunion, it was bittersweet. The wolf was cold towards her and didn’t allow her to touch her. I must say it made me think of all moments from my life, when I come to a dear location where I haven’t been for years and I see how everything changed… it’s the same here. Arya has changed, and so did the wolf. Everything comes to an end once. Still, a very beautiful scene overall and I’m more warm towards Arya now as she abandoned her revenge spree.

OLDTOWN: This time it’s focused on Jorah Mormont… his greyscale has got really severe, covering most of his upper torso. Archmaester Ebrose gave him one more day to decide what he wants and it seemed to me that Jorah had a suicide in mind, judging by that sword in every scene. But when Sam heard his last name, he decided to perform a forbidden surgery on him, even if it could result in him being expelled from the Citadel or worse. Maybe Jorah still has some chance of survival…

KING’S LANDING: Just a couple words here. Cersei is aware that Dany presents a big threat to them and of course the biggest obstacle are the dragons. Everybody knows a story about Field of Fire when a combined force of the Reach and Westerlands got defeated by three dragons. But yet, dragons can be killed… one of Aegon’s dragons got killed a few years after the Conquest. With enough force, an arrow can pierce the dragon’s skull, so Qyburn created the device that would be able to shoot arrows with such force, testing it on Balerion’s skull. At the same time, Jaime convinced lord Tarly to join the forces with them. So Targaryen-Tyrell alliance is not so whole now.

DRAGONSTONE (part 2): Speaking of alliances, Dany hosted those same allies in the painted table chamber and I think this is the first and only time we see all Dany’s allies in the same place.And even this alliance is not as firm as it seems on first sight, as everyone has a different strategy how to win. But one thing is for sure, Dany and Tyrion don’t want the Conquest to result in just ashes and burned bones. So direct attack with dragons is out of bounds. Instead Tyrion devised a firm plan. The Reach and Dorne would lay siege to KL while Grey Worm and the Unsullied would capture Casterly Rock. By that way, Cersei would get defeated in no time and dragons wouldn’t be needed. And then also followed a tender scene between Missandei and Grey Worm, which evolved into lovemaking scene… the first time. I must say that Missandei is really beautiful… one of the most beautiful women if not the most beautiful woman in GoT for me. I wonder… was this the last time they saw each other? It gaves me a strange feeling.

THE SEA: And now comes the big highlight of the episode for me, the utter terror in claustrophobic environment. As I said on many occassions before, Dany’s position was just too good and it was only the matter of time before something terrible happens. And it just did in this episode. Yara, Theon and Ellaria with the Sand Snakes were on their way to Dorne to assemble an army, with entire Iron Fleet. But then, a huge shadow suddenly loomed over them, revealing to be Euron’s flagship »The Silence«. The shot of that scene was simply incredible. The way how the massive ship came into the picture from the fog, its Kraken ram smashing into Yara’s ship and Euron and his pirates boarding the ship. Yes, Euron remained without the Iron Fleet after the Kingsmoot but his new fleet was even more terrifying. If I had any doubts about Euron, he really proved himself as the »terror of the sea« in this episode, showing his full sadistic side. Yes, he’s really not a man to mess with. In this episode he easily killed Obara with her own spear, strangled Nymeria with her own whip and took Yara hostage, forcing Theon to jump from the ship. Not a battle, a massacre and a total anihilation of Iron Fleet, with Ellaria, Tyene and Yara being captured, probably as a »gift to Cersei«. Yes, Euron is very very dangerous, just as I always assumed and this episode proved exactly that. 1:0 for Cersei at this point.

So this is it, the conclusion of my review for this episode. This was such a powerful episode, so full of character moments and if the pattern continues like that, I will surely immensely enjoy the show. Even Dany and Arya have a bigger chance now for me to become invested in them. So many strong interractions in this episode, so many hidden meanings in that dialogue… GoT really deserves to be among my top shows (No.2 at the moment). So, see you next time for my video review in a couple days, PROMO CONTENT AHEAD! and also next week, when Jon and Dany apparently meet according to promo. END OF PROMO CONTENT!

With best regards from Lord Parramandas.

Side note: On my ranklist, I rated it the highest 9 so far, putting it ahead of “Second Sons” on rank 19, with “Kissed By Fire” being ahead of it.
Last edited by Lord Parramandas on Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Dee Stark
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Mon Jul 24, 2017 2:37 pm

Great review!! :)

Ahh
I really wish you didn't reference the promo!

:| :| :| :|

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Dee Stark
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Mon Jul 24, 2017 2:50 pm

that's okay.. Its just not everyone watches promos.. so probably best not to include them.

Aww its okay! well you can still use the forums for your reviews!

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Lord Parramandas
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Mon Jul 24, 2017 2:55 pm

Also, I generally don't watch promos, but it was at the end of the episode here so I assumed most people have seen it. ANd it's not considered a spoiler according to WotW. Sorry for the included promo though, I know you really want to remain as unspoiled as possible.
Last edited by Lord Parramandas on Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Dee Stark
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Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:03 pm

Thats okay. the week will fly!

its not a spoiler at all , you are right... but I meant because I like to read your reviews... I would rather that you cover the promo mention with spoiler coding if that's okay because I like to avoid them as much as I can :) and some others do too

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Lord Parramandas
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Location: Slovenia

Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:21 pm

Sure, I will make sure I wont mention promos anymore. The week will fly for sure, but I will be most likely away for most of the time because of it... I still have my video review to make though and those are always fun

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SueTheFury
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Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:28 pm

rules should be clearly written
They're clearly posted before and after every single Unsullied post, and posters are regularly reminded in-comments about the rules. As a regular, you know that. Frankly everyone else seems to understand what we're asking of them, it's pretty straightforward.

And you probably should warn people if you're going to discuss promo material, as a courtesy, though I don't generally consider it a leaky-type of spoiler. People aren't expecting episode 3 spoilers in an episode 2 review- this is just something you learn from experience.

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Lord Parramandas
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Location: Slovenia

Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:32 pm

Sure, Sue. Although I still don't notice the rule that would say I'm not allowed to post strict-show reviews or at least mention to non-book readers who have been following my reviews where to find these reviews (this thread). Not sure how is redirecting Dee here considered spam or breaking rules. And yes, I just responded up there that I won't mention promos.

No worries. The matter is closed. Won't bring this up anymore.

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SueTheFury
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Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:42 pm

Just stop.

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