Lord Parramandas's written reviews

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Lord Parramandas
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Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:43 pm

I just did. Show-only related stuff from my side from this point onwards. Thanks for the promo advice.

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Raeslewolhn
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Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:44 pm

I loved your reviews! My first time reading them and they seem very grounded, reasonable and not judgy of the characters. I liked your commentary, funny and often insightful too.

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Lord Parramandas
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Sat Jul 29, 2017 2:05 pm

Raeslewolhn wrote:
Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:44 pm
I loved your reviews! My first time reading them and they seem very grounded, reasonable and not judgy of the characters. I liked your commentary, funny and often insightful too.
Thank you! I really appreciate positive feedback. To be honest, I only started making them last year and it took till final two episodes for them to get a form they have now. I plan to post the future ones on this thread and I also try to avoid the books as much as possible in them.

On a side note: I also make video reviews and I have a separate forum thread for them ("Lord Parramandas's video reviews"). I still haven't made one for episode 2 yet due to personal-life issues this week though... but it may come tomorrow or sometimes next week along with episode 3.

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Lord Parramandas
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Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:22 pm

Drums pounding as Parramandas's banner gets raised again atop the tallest tower

Hello again everyone! The week is around and welcome to another review from Lord Parramandas. It's time for me to continue the journey and yes, »Queen's justice« was another amazing piece of the series. The fact, that a fellow LFU admin (who once described GoT as »without heart and soul«) liked it, says quite a lot. I still haven't decided where to put it on my ranklist but by the time I reach the end, I will most likely be sure of it. A calm episode, but so many amazing character moments! So, let us begin.

DRAGONSTONE: So here comes the long awaited meeting. If I use Dee's language: »THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED!!!!!« Yes, it did. »At last«, some of you may say. No, my head didn't explode and I also didn't die. I know many of you were »crazy« about this meeting. Well, it was not really the case with me. First of all, I'm not much of a Dany fan. Second, Dany and Jon are very much strangers to each other and strangers meet all the time in GoT. And third of all, I knew nothing could surpass Sansa/Jon reunion for me. So when it comes to it as a plot point, I wasn't really crazy about it. But when it comes to scene itself, I can say it was really really well done. They didn't rush to the scene, they used every opportunity to provide a build-up to it, such as Jon and Tyrion meeting at the docks, dragon swooping by and Melisandre staring at them from the top of the cliff. Yes, Melisandre's role was finished for now at this point... she united Ice and Fire and now she is on her way to Essos again. But she mentioned she will return when there is time for her to die.

And now to the meeting itself... it was intense, like I predicted, a clash of two egos. But before anything could start, Missandei had to recite all those countless titles again... yes, I know you're a queen, Dany but how did Tywin say... »Anyone who says I'm the king is no true king«. So maybe a couple titles less will do you service? And »rightful ruler«... sorry lady, but »rightful« is quite subjective term at this point. I must say I was on Jon's side for the whole time of discussion as he actually made some points while Daenerys was all about her status as a »rightful queen«. So what was the tension about? Well, Jon didn't want to bend the knee to her and Dany didn't believe his story about White Walkers and the army of the dead. And I really enjoyed the moment when Dany pointed out that House Stark pledged fealty to Aegon the Conqueror for eternity, but on the other hand Jon pointed out that her father murdered Lord Rickard and Brandon Stark, his grandfather and uncle. Every time the topic focuses on Aerys, Dany becomes uncomfortable and tries to back out from the conversation... well lady, your father was a really cruel man and a madman. People from Westeros surely won't forget it. And Targaryen dynasty being a »golden era« of Westeros... apart from Aerys, the Targaryen kings weren't really saints: Maegor the Cruel, Aegon II and Rhaenyra, Aegon IV the Unworthy... those were tyrants when it comes to ruling. And then we have incompetent rulers: Aenys I the »king abomination«, Daeron I the Young Dragon, Baelor I the blessed... I really wouldn't say Targaryen dynasty was admiration-worthy. Like I said, things got really heated between Dany and Jon and I really like when Dany stated that her father's crimes are not part of her... only for Jon to respond that if that's the case, then Starks' fealty is not part of him either. It all came to the point when Dany proclaimed Jon a rebel to the realm. Well, miss, you will have to learn that the world is not spinning around you alone. I'm really happy Jon didn't bend the knee to her, but showed the true Northern spirit. Dany learning that she cannot get everything she wants is my way to liking her.

KING'S LANDING: The climax between the tense Dany/Jon meeting got interrupted when Dany got the message about the anihilation of the Iron fleet. And here we move to King's Landing, the most disturbing part of the episode... more exactly to Euron delivering his »gifts« to Cersei. Ellaria and sweet Tyene were dragged through the streets like common criminals and would meet a woman whose daughter they murdered and nothing good awaited them. Many people speculated... what will Cersei do to Ellaria now? What horrific thing she had in mind? Well, we got to know soon... after a formal meeting in the Throne room, which included Ellaria spitting at Cersei, Jaime making those priceless looks and Cersei somehow accepting Euron's proposal, everything moved to the dungeons. How can you break such a strong woman like Ellaria? It was quite simple... it was obvious to me Tyene would play a role in it. Eye for an eye. It it was quite simple... a poisonous kiss on Tyene's lips and a pair of chains for both of them. Sure, the Long Farewell may not be really nasty as poision but put yourself in Ellaria's skin: she will be there chained to the wall, knowing that her daughter who is a couple feet away from her will die on some day. And after she would die, Ellaria would watch her corpse slowly decaying and rotting. A mother watching her daughter turn into nothing. If that's not a cruel punishment... as for Ellaria herself, she was condemned to life imprisonment in a manner »I forbid you to die«. A powerful ally... gone! Or should I say disabled. I think this is pretty much it when it comes to Ellaria and Dorne in the show.

Another bit I need to focus in KL is the arrival of Iron Bank (in form of our good old Mark Gattis), this time outright demanding from Cersei to pay the debt or else, they would support Daenerys. But Cersei again pulled a Ben Linus (»I always have a plan«) and managed to at least delay it... to think about, Cersei's rule may not be so fragile after all. I also really liked how sinister Tycho seemed in this episode, compared to all his previous apperiances, where he seemed a common »banker«. The manner he spoke really indicated on IB's darker side.

OLDTOWN: Only a few words this time... simply put, Sam actually managed to heal ser Jorah! Prior to S7, I never even imagined it to be possible but now, the real ser Jorah is back in action! He's one of my favorite characters and I'm so happy for this. And archmaester Ebrose was kind enough to not expel Sam from the Citadel as he saved a man's life, but on the other hand, he gave him punishment which involved copying a series of dusty old scrolls. I wonder if those scrolls contain anything significant to the story.

WINTERFELL: This story was such a delight to me! After being named Lady of Winterfell, Sansa was really trying to do her best to improve life there and prepare for possible war. But the snake, the snake is still there... Littlefinger I mean. And he immediately used an opportunity to get into Sansa's head again, how she should play the game in a twisty manner... but at this very moment, Sansa was summoned to the gate and there was her long lost brother Bran. And here come the feelings again as Sansa hugged him and was brought to tears in the process... here, I can really sense how much family means to her now and she's such a shining character to me, especially this season and she seems everything else but the character described in interviews. The most distanced Stark being the most heavily involved in reunions. After all she's been through, she totally deserves it. Not to mention she even offered Bran the title of Lord of Winterfell... so much about power-hungry Sansa as some expected her to be this season. Really Sansa, this is an opportunity for you to show how much of a Stark you are... and that snake in LF's form really needs to go. And I would be happy even if Sansa sacrifices her life in order to take him down, as long as her heart remains with her family.

BACK TO DRAGONSTONE: The initial tension began to calm down, especially when Tyrion had a lenghty discussion with our Targaryen queen and advised her to do something nice for Jon. And both Dany and Jon shared more private moment... and it resulted in Dany allowing Jon to mine dragonstone that he needed for dragonglass weapon, somehow indicating Dany is willing to believe his story. Funny, how Dany refused to believe the story about White Walkers and yet, she has dragons that many people did not believe in either. But moving to more important stuff now... the Conquest. No, Dany's conquest is not as flawless as Aegon as she already suffered one loss more than Aegon. Iron fleet was gone, Ellaria was a prisoner of Cersei... but the plan was still intact. Grey Worm and his soldiers would capture Casterly Rock while Tyrells would lay siege to KL. And as Daenerys has a gentle heart, she doesn't want to attack with dragons as it could result in deaths of thousands innocent people. So, she still had a plan. What could go wrong?

THE CONQUEST: And so it happened. Grey Worm and his soldiers managed to infiltrate otherwise well-defended Lannister stronghold due to Tyrion's extensive knowledge of its sewer system. So the Unsullied pulled some sort of a Trojan Horse and opened the gates from the inside and as Tyrion predicted, the castle fell easily. But something... something wasn't right. Due to Tywin and Kevan being dead and Lannisters fighting no field battles at the moment, there were way too less soldiers present in the fortress. Where were the rest of the troops? And that's not all. At the same time, Euron's fleet appeared and destroyed the rest of the Targaryen fleet. Another score for Cersei. So to anihilation of Iron Fleet and Ellaria's capture, we can now add the destruction of Targaryen Fleet as well. But there is still the question... where are all the soldiers?

It became clear soon enough. The full Lannister force and several bannermen from the Reach under command of ser Jaime Lannister and Randyl Tarly were marching on a lone castle, revealed to be Highgarden. And whatever force was guarding it, they didn't stand a chance... it was a clear victory for House Lannister again. To think back... the mighty alliance between Targaryens, Tyrells, Dorne and Iron Islands against Cersei who had no allies... the alliance is nowhere as mighty now as Dany basically lost all allies from Westeros. No, Cersei is nowhere as incompetent as we initially assumed and quite a big threat to Dany's claim. So here, all that remained was to tie up loose ends... with Olenna's death. Lady Tyrell was always a brave woman and this scene was no exception. She confronted Jaime, willing to embrace death. And Jaime, being more kind-hearted than Cersei, offered her a Socrates-death... drinking a vial of poison. No not the strangler or tears of lys, something more gentle. And Olenna did so and admitted before her death that she was the one to poison Joffrey, bringing much unease on Jaime's face. But on the other hand, Jaime now knows Tyrion is not guilty and maybe this will now drive a wedge between him and Cersei... I believe Jaime is not yet too far gone and that he may still have a chance to change. So, another powerful ally... gone! Things surely aren't the best for Dany. Now I wonder who is the next heir to Highgarden...

So here, I will conclude this review of mine. As I said at the beginning, this was a really exceptional episode which deserves a spot among my 10-rated ones. After scrolling through my ranklist, I decided to put this episode on rank 12, ahead of »Book of a Stranger« and behind »And Now His Watch is Ended«. This season is really shaping up to be one of the best yet.

Dennai
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Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:18 am

Lord Parramandas wrote:
Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:22 pm

And Targaryen dynasty being a »golden era« of Westeros... apart from Aerys, the Targaryen kings weren't really saints: Maegor the Cruel, Aegon II and Rhaenyra, Aegon IV the Unworthy... those were tyrants when it comes to ruling. And then we have incompetent rulers: Aenys I the »king abomination«, Daeron I the Young Dragon, Baelor I the blessed... I really wouldn't say Targaryen dynasty was admiration-worthy.

Here you are using the information the books provided to draw conclusions in the show, something you explicitly said you wouldn't do.. As far as show watchers know, the Targaryen years were good ones until Mad King's time, and Dany is absolutely correct here: without Targaryens in the throne, the kingdom is ruined, indebted and tearing itself apart. High Septons are killed, streets are rioting, sacred building are desecrated, kinslaying is rampant, guest right is violated, loyalty oaths are broken everywhere... Every single High Lord sitting in their ancestral seats at the time the Targaryen dinasty had died during the show's tenure, the overwhelming majority of them in a violent way, so had many of their heirs. With the show info in hand, there is not denying it: in the approximately 20 years of non-Targaryen rule, the realm has gone to shit. Even Jon Snow or Davos don't bother to argue that point.
Now, if you want to bring the books to the fore, do it without bias. The Targaryens'years was a good time for Westeros. Sure, some kings were less than adequate, some were downright terrible, but that happens with every long dinasty. The Roman Empire has its share of terrible and/or useless rulers too, but nobody claims its people were better off once the Empire fell. As Jorah said, common people pray for "rain, health, and a summer that never ends". The Targaryen dinasty was mostly a time of stability, even the Dance of the Dragons and Blackfyre rebellions seemed not to affect terribly the common folk, and of course the Mad King's years were a time of prosperity until the madness took firm grasp of Aerys II, and then, it mostly affected the high nobility.
Before Aegon's conquest, it was a time of constant struggle in the Kingdoms, sometimes internal, sometimes between them, sometimes both at once. The Riverlands were a perennial battlefield. Dorne and the Reach bleed each other so often that enemity still rings today even after centuries of Targaryen peace. Ironborn raid every other kingdom in regular basis, when not open warred them. Only the North and the Vale remained more or less away of those conflicts and still they warred each other for decades. If we look at a time before the Andals came, it was even worse.

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Lord Parramandas
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Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:20 am

Dennai wrote:
Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:18 am
Lord Parramandas wrote:
Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:22 pm

And Targaryen dynasty being a »golden era« of Westeros... apart from Aerys, the Targaryen kings weren't really saints: Maegor the Cruel, Aegon II and Rhaenyra, Aegon IV the Unworthy... those were tyrants when it comes to ruling. And then we have incompetent rulers: Aenys I the »king abomination«, Daeron I the Young Dragon, Baelor I the blessed... I really wouldn't say Targaryen dynasty was admiration-worthy.

Here you are using the information the books provided to draw conclusions in the show, something you explicitly said you wouldn't do.. As far as show watchers know, the Targaryen years were good ones until Mad King's time, and Dany is absolutely correct here: without Targaryens in the throne, the kingdom is ruined, indebted and tearing itself apart. High Septons are killed, streets are rioting, sacred building are desecrated, kinslaying is rampant, guest right is violated, loyalty oaths are broken everywhere... Every single High Lord sitting in their ancestral seats at the time the Targaryen dinasty had died during the show's tenure, the overwhelming majority of them in a violent way, so had many of their heirs. With the show info in hand, there is not denying it: in the approximately 20 years of non-Targaryen rule, the realm has gone to shit. Even Jon Snow or Davos don't bother to argue that point.
Now, if you want to bring the books to the fore, do it without bias. The Targaryens'years was a good time for Westeros. Sure, some kings were less than adequate, some were downright terrible, but that happens with every long dinasty. The Roman Empire has its share of terrible and/or useless rulers too, but nobody claims its people were better off once the Empire fell. As Jorah said, common people pray for "rain, health, and a summer that never ends". The Targaryen dinasty was mostly a time of stability, even the Dance of the Dragons and Blackfyre rebellions seemed not to affect terribly the common folk, and of course the Mad King's years were a time of prosperity until the madness took firm grasp of Aerys II, and then, it mostly affected the high nobility.
Before Aegon's conquest, it was a time of constant struggle in the Kingdoms, sometimes internal, sometimes between them, sometimes both at once. The Riverlands were a perennial battlefield. Dorne and the Reach bleed each other so often that enemity still rings today even after centuries of Targaryen peace. Ironborn raid every other kingdom in regular basis, when not open warred them. Only the North and the Vale remained more or less away of those conflicts and still they warred each other for decades. If we look at a time before the Andals came, it was even worse.
Targaryen kings are mentioned in "Histories and Lore" videos which are canon to the show (all that I mentioned at least) and I didn't go into any detail what exactly they did exactly for the reason that I want to keep these reviews show-only and I because don't remember 100% which facts were revealed in H&L videos.

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Raeslewolhn
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Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:30 pm

Dennai wrote:
Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:18 am
Lord Parramandas wrote:
Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:22 pm

And Targaryen dynasty being a »golden era« of Westeros... apart from Aerys, the Targaryen kings weren't really saints: Maegor the Cruel, Aegon II and Rhaenyra, Aegon IV the Unworthy... those were tyrants when it comes to ruling. And then we have incompetent rulers: Aenys I the »king abomination«, Daeron I the Young Dragon, Baelor I the blessed... I really wouldn't say Targaryen dynasty was admiration-worthy.

Here you are using the information the books provided to draw conclusions in the show, something you explicitly said you wouldn't do.. As far as show watchers know, the Targaryen years were good ones until Mad King's time, and Dany is absolutely correct here: without Targaryens in the throne, the kingdom is ruined, indebted and tearing itself apart. High Septons are killed, streets are rioting, sacred building are desecrated, kinslaying is rampant, guest right is violated, loyalty oaths are broken everywhere... Every single High Lord sitting in their ancestral seats at the time the Targaryen dinasty had died during the show's tenure, the overwhelming majority of them in a violent way, so had many of their heirs. With the show info in hand, there is not denying it: in the approximately 20 years of non-Targaryen rule, the realm has gone to shit. Even Jon Snow or Davos don't bother to argue that point.
Now, if you want to bring the books to the fore, do it without bias. The Targaryens'years was a good time for Westeros. Sure, some kings were less than adequate, some were downright terrible, but that happens with every long dinasty. The Roman Empire has its share of terrible and/or useless rulers too, but nobody claims its people were better off once the Empire fell. As Jorah said, common people pray for "rain, health, and a summer that never ends". The Targaryen dinasty was mostly a time of stability, even the Dance of the Dragons and Blackfyre rebellions seemed not to affect terribly the common folk, and of course the Mad King's years were a time of prosperity until the madness took firm grasp of Aerys II, and then, it mostly affected the high nobility.
Before Aegon's conquest, it was a time of constant struggle in the Kingdoms, sometimes internal, sometimes between them, sometimes both at once. The Riverlands were a perennial battlefield. Dorne and the Reach bleed each other so often that enemity still rings today even after centuries of Targaryen peace. Ironborn raid every other kingdom in regular basis, when not open warred them. Only the North and the Vale remained more or less away of those conflicts and still they warred each other for decades. If we look at a time before the Andals came, it was even worse.
All of this. And Jaehaerys was awesome too

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Lord Parramandas
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Wed Aug 02, 2017 5:05 am

Raeslewolhn wrote:
Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:30 pm
Dennai wrote:
Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:18 am
Lord Parramandas wrote:
Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:22 pm

And Targaryen dynasty being a »golden era« of Westeros... apart from Aerys, the Targaryen kings weren't really saints: Maegor the Cruel, Aegon II and Rhaenyra, Aegon IV the Unworthy... those were tyrants when it comes to ruling. And then we have incompetent rulers: Aenys I the »king abomination«, Daeron I the Young Dragon, Baelor I the blessed... I really wouldn't say Targaryen dynasty was admiration-worthy.

Here you are using the information the books provided to draw conclusions in the show, something you explicitly said you wouldn't do.. As far as show watchers know, the Targaryen years were good ones until Mad King's time, and Dany is absolutely correct here: without Targaryens in the throne, the kingdom is ruined, indebted and tearing itself apart. High Septons are killed, streets are rioting, sacred building are desecrated, kinslaying is rampant, guest right is violated, loyalty oaths are broken everywhere... Every single High Lord sitting in their ancestral seats at the time the Targaryen dinasty had died during the show's tenure, the overwhelming majority of them in a violent way, so had many of their heirs. With the show info in hand, there is not denying it: in the approximately 20 years of non-Targaryen rule, the realm has gone to shit. Even Jon Snow or Davos don't bother to argue that point.
Now, if you want to bring the books to the fore, do it without bias. The Targaryens'years was a good time for Westeros. Sure, some kings were less than adequate, some were downright terrible, but that happens with every long dinasty. The Roman Empire has its share of terrible and/or useless rulers too, but nobody claims its people were better off once the Empire fell. As Jorah said, common people pray for "rain, health, and a summer that never ends". The Targaryen dinasty was mostly a time of stability, even the Dance of the Dragons and Blackfyre rebellions seemed not to affect terribly the common folk, and of course the Mad King's years were a time of prosperity until the madness took firm grasp of Aerys II, and then, it mostly affected the high nobility.
Before Aegon's conquest, it was a time of constant struggle in the Kingdoms, sometimes internal, sometimes between them, sometimes both at once. The Riverlands were a perennial battlefield. Dorne and the Reach bleed each other so often that enemity still rings today even after centuries of Targaryen peace. Ironborn raid every other kingdom in regular basis, when not open warred them. Only the North and the Vale remained more or less away of those conflicts and still they warred each other for decades. If we look at a time before the Andals came, it was even worse.
All of this. And Jaehaerys was awesome too
Yes, there were good kings as well and I think Jaehaerys was also mentioned in H&L clips. My point was that certain Targaryen Kings leave bitter taste..."Dance of Dragons" is still considered one of the worst wars ever happening in Seven Kingdoms and H&L describe it very much in detail. And in the show continuity, the "god tossing a coin" was mentioned as well, so I guess it wasn't just Aerys II who is considered cruel among the Targaryens. But my overall point is that even Targaryens were not as perfect as Daenerys believes them to be and with her being the Mad King's daughter, people simply won't ignore it because Aerys II is still kept in bad memory. Until not long ago, she had no idea about him either.

Meg22
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Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:01 am

An interesting, well written review. I don't agree about Dany though. Jon brought nothing to the table other than talk about zombies coming to get them. He wanted Dany's help but offered nothing in return. From Dany's POV, he's a waste of time - won't bend the knee, won't help against Cercei - but he wouldn't mind her sending her precious (and otherwise occupied) resources northward on the basis of a hairbrained mission to kill already dead people.

"And I really enjoyed the moment when Dany pointed out that House Stark pledged fealty to Aegon the Conqueror for eternity, but on the other hand Jon pointed out that her father murdered Lord Rickard and Brandon Stark, his grandfather and uncle." I liked Dany's response to this that Jon's father had supported a man that tried to kill her several times. That was the more valid comparison IMO.

I like that you give Sansa a fair go. The character often gets unfairly maligned IMO. I think Sansa believes there's still much to be learned from Littlefinger. Sansa isn't adverse to learning from people she doesn't like or trust eg. Cercei. It will be a great day when she can take what she's learned and use it against him.

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Lord Parramandas
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Wed Aug 02, 2017 9:30 am

Meg22 wrote:
Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:01 am

"And I really enjoyed the moment when Dany pointed out that House Stark pledged fealty to Aegon the Conqueror for eternity, but on the other hand Jon pointed out that her father murdered Lord Rickard and Brandon Stark, his grandfather and uncle." I liked Dany's response to this that Jon's father had supported a man that tried to kill her several times. That was the more valid comparison IMO.
I wonder... how many times did Robert actually order her assassination? Because the show originally made it sound like it only happened in S1 when he openly ordered her and Viserys assassinated and even Robert made it sound like how he ignored them for too long... but here, she was describing like Robert's assassins were constantly on the move. Were they even Robert's? And considering what monstrous things Aerys II did to House Stark, would it be that strange if Ned would actually support Robert from that point onwards (even though he actually opposed him when it comes to assassination)?

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