With Game of Thrones Season 4 premiere in the books (read my review here) I wanted to take a moment to lay out the 5 things I'm most anticipating/hoping for this year.
The five things I most hope we get to see this season:
5. Dragons, please!
Can we see these fuckin' dragons fuck some shit up already, please?! One charred misogynistic slaver last year just further whet my appetite for seeing the world burn. Dany's liberation tour is cute and all, and I'm expecting it'll see her end up with a pretty sizable (and strategically significant) army, but I don't like waiting around anymore on these scaly, fire-breathing versions of Chekhov's gun.
4. Jamie Lannister being a badass.
He may have lost a hand, but I'm thinking we'll see at least a few serious flashes this season of the supposedly-brilliant swordsman who cut down The Mad King. This sister-banging, child-maiming, cousin strangling soldier shows an unexpected heart of gold in returning to save Brienne of Tarth and, in doing so, cements himself as a wonderfully interesting contradiction of a character. With his entire evil family now seemingly bent on rubbing dirt in the wounds he endured on their behalf, he's becoming even more sympathetic. Now I'm excited to see if--even without that legendary sword hand--he can live up to the extremely heavy billing he received as a warrior in seasons 1-3.
3. Ramsay gets what's coming to him.
Sure, Theon screwed the pooch bad when it came to trying to impress daddy Greyjoy. Instead of bringing himself and his family honor, his impudence cost him dearly. As far as I'm concerned Theon's given much more than his due recompense now, though, and the otherworldly sadism his tormentor, Ramsay Snow, displays is enough to test any non-sociopath's empathy limits. That said, the whole scenario has set up a delectably-intense opportunity for catharsis upon Yara's arrival. Knowing GoT, they'll turn this into a chance to torment us longer than we'd like, but eventually I'm banking on getting to see Ramsay squeal like a bitch, and man I'm going to love it.
2. Walder Frey's whole ugly family dies.
The lecherous old fuck and his entire homely brood need to answer for their betrayal of the Starks. Bran's foreboding tale about the Rat Cook couldn't say it any more plainly: "It wasn't for murder that the gods cursed the Rat Cook, or for serving the king's son in a pie. He killed a guest beneath his roof. That's something the gods can't forgive."
You hear that, Frey?
1. Joffrey getting bitch-slapped again.
Remember back in Season 1 when Tyrion bitch-slapped Joffrey's uber-punchable face? Didn't that just feel great? I need something like that to happen again. I know we're probably not going to get the ultimate satisfaction we crave--like seeing him slowly filleted alive, screaming for the comfort of his hopefully-also-painfully-dying cunt mother, while everyone he's hurt gets to watch and laugh--but seeing him made even slightly uncomfortable is amazing. Oh, and when it does come (it's coming, right?), his comeuppance will be CATHARTIC as FUCK. That's not going to happen this year, but hopefully someone will at least smack him around a bit again (Tywin, anyone? Jamie with that new metal hand?) to remind us how great that'll finally be.
That's my list, but there are plenty of things I had to leave off. What are you most hoping to see go down this season on GoT? Let me know in the comments or craft your own response list for posting and email it to me at neumdog@gmail.com.
Jeff Neuman
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Welcome!
This blog is a combination of my deep belief in TV's artistic legitimacy and broad societal relevance as well as my self-centered desire to justify just how damn much of it I watch*. Sure, I'll go into the extent to which quickly-shifting power dynamics form the compelling backbone of modern televised drama, but my psyche also craves the comfort that comes with being able to call the 11 episodes of Game of Thrones I re-watched yesterday "research."
Anyone paying attention will recognize the extent to which TV is usurping film in the minds of serious watchers. Hollywood's seemingly never been more risk-averse in its movie output, leading to consistent slates of drivel that--unless you're a serious cinephile actively seeking non-mainstream content--often fails to satisfy savvy viewers or take us on serious emotional journeys. Meanwhile, TV is coming into its own in its second-ish decade of lessened content restrictions and increasingly convenient access. The streaming era has enabled nearly all of us to consume previously unheard of amounts of media. Because of this, and because it now means we consume on our own rather than predetermined timelines, often we miss out on the "water-cooler" moments around which so much TV-based bonding has traditionally occurred.
Yes, Reddit (as one example) houses many tremendous crowd-sourced information hubs, and for those who can't get enough of their favorite fictional worlds the 24-7 discussions they offer can be engrossing. But the lack of wholly thought-out writing--as opposed to mere comments, links, or unbacked theories--by contributors themselves can be disheartening. Not that I don't enjoy them for what they are, I simply crave a little more in my discussion. I long for the depth and intensity I get from the face-to-face convos I have with my biggest TV-nerd friends. I expect perspectives to be interesting and opinions to be thoughtfully backed. Since I currently lack a roving band of TV-nerds with whom to discuss these things at my whim, I'm hoping this space can function as something of a next-best-thing.
Above all this whole process is intended as a social venture, and that requires the input of readers like you. Please share posts you like, comment on any piece you see here with your thoughts, and MOST IMPORTANTLY feel free to submit content of your own! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay informed of updates. You're already spending too much time watching shows, why not do it with us?
Jeff Neuman
* - Series I've marathoned in the last year-plus:
Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Deadwood, Mad Men, House of Cards (most), Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, True Detective, Boardwalk Empire, Walking Dead (most), Arrested Development, Archer, Trailer Park Boys... more than a few others.
http://tiii.me/ - For the morbidly curious, this site will help you calculate how much of your life you've committed to television. I only counted shows I've watched as an adult and I stopped adding when I reached 93 days, 5 hours, and 34 minutes.
Anyone paying attention will recognize the extent to which TV is usurping film in the minds of serious watchers. Hollywood's seemingly never been more risk-averse in its movie output, leading to consistent slates of drivel that--unless you're a serious cinephile actively seeking non-mainstream content--often fails to satisfy savvy viewers or take us on serious emotional journeys. Meanwhile, TV is coming into its own in its second-ish decade of lessened content restrictions and increasingly convenient access. The streaming era has enabled nearly all of us to consume previously unheard of amounts of media. Because of this, and because it now means we consume on our own rather than predetermined timelines, often we miss out on the "water-cooler" moments around which so much TV-based bonding has traditionally occurred.
Yes, Reddit (as one example) houses many tremendous crowd-sourced information hubs, and for those who can't get enough of their favorite fictional worlds the 24-7 discussions they offer can be engrossing. But the lack of wholly thought-out writing--as opposed to mere comments, links, or unbacked theories--by contributors themselves can be disheartening. Not that I don't enjoy them for what they are, I simply crave a little more in my discussion. I long for the depth and intensity I get from the face-to-face convos I have with my biggest TV-nerd friends. I expect perspectives to be interesting and opinions to be thoughtfully backed. Since I currently lack a roving band of TV-nerds with whom to discuss these things at my whim, I'm hoping this space can function as something of a next-best-thing.
Above all this whole process is intended as a social venture, and that requires the input of readers like you. Please share posts you like, comment on any piece you see here with your thoughts, and MOST IMPORTANTLY feel free to submit content of your own! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay informed of updates. You're already spending too much time watching shows, why not do it with us?
Jeff Neuman
* - Series I've marathoned in the last year-plus:
Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Deadwood, Mad Men, House of Cards (most), Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, True Detective, Boardwalk Empire, Walking Dead (most), Arrested Development, Archer, Trailer Park Boys... more than a few others.
http://tiii.me/ - For the morbidly curious, this site will help you calculate how much of your life you've committed to television. I only counted shows I've watched as an adult and I stopped adding when I reached 93 days, 5 hours, and 34 minutes.
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