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A Song of Ice and Fire: The pilot is so close you can taste the incest.
Posts
Valyrian steel is basically a Westeros version of Damascas Steel, right down to the mottled pattern in the blades. The shifting bands should be visable to the naked eye, but you'd need a fairly close shot to see it to full effect, something that's lacking in the views of Ice that we see in the preview they showed.
It's more than that. It's clearly magical. It never, ever loses it's edge. Even the finest steel we have ever made won't keep an edge for centuries.
It's close enough. Like many things in ASOIAF, it's a real world thing turned up to fantastical.
They didn't forget it was real. It's just been so long that they kind of don't believe it anymore but as the whole point of their order is to maintain the Wall and keep the Others out, they naturally kept the horn signal. They just never thought they would ever actually need to use it.
It would be like ICBM warning systems. Would you recognize an incoming nuke? Probably not; it's been so long since those were present, everyday threats, but they still exist, and there are still public addresses signals and announcements for them, but nobody thinks it will ever happen, so we ignore it. Just like the guys in the Night's Watch have been taking care of other, more pressing business for hundreds of years.
It's the same thing with the dragons. They used to exist, and they used to be fought against, and even killed. You can bet that there are "how to kill dragons" books around, and even people who've read them recently enough to remember some of the details, but that doesn't mean that the dragons aren't going to fuck everything up for a good long while.
It's been ages since any were seen. So most people think they are extinct. While others are beginning to think they never existed. We are not talking about something that happened a century ago. The wall is thousands of years old.
Jesus hasn't been seen in two thousand years, many doubt he ever existed, yet people still follow archaic rituals he inspired
That's kind of my point. Just because no one has seen an Other in centuries and many no longer believe doesn't mean that they won't have the horn call for "OMG the Others are attacking" I was arguing against the person who thought that still having the Horn call didn't make any sense.
I'm sorry to rain on your hate parade, but the Others do seem to be butchering everyone north of the wall. Also you might remember that the "some reason" that they aren't (yet) south of the Wall is that it's more than just a thousand foot wall of ice.
Wow how much hateraid did you drink? your "arguments" don't even make sense.
And if you're claiming my time-freeze problem doesn't make sense, well, ok. If you say so.
How do they go around the wall? It goes sea to sea.
This really isn't a difficult concept. So I don't see what it is you can't seem to understand.
I will try and make it simple for you.
Thousands of years ago there was a threat. The threat was eventually dealt with and the Wall was built. The Night's watch was the group that was formed to deal with the threat. They built the wall and came up with the horn signal and various other rituals to be used in case the threat ever returned. They kept up with them and dealt with the threat whenever is reappeared. Over time the threat diminished. The attacks became infrequent and then stopped altogether. The Night's Watch was left dealing with lesser threats like the Wildlings.
As time went by and the threat did not reappear the Night's Watch began to have it's funding cut. They dwindled and were no longer capable of maintaining most of their forts and castles. However they still provided some use to the 7 Kingdoms. They were a dumping ground for undesirables and third sons. Plus they contained the Wildings.
They kept up with all of their rituals including the Others are attacking Horn signal out of shear bureaucratic inertia. But as it has been ages sense any Other was ever seen (so long many are beginning to doubt there ever was a need), no one would logically expect to have to use it.
The problem is that the threat of the Others is ancient history. People have not faced the threat in many lifetimes. So they don't feel any urgency to boost the Night's Watch and in fact think that the Night's watch's warnings are simple scary stories being told to increase funding for the Night's Watch.
The Others as far as we the readers can determine are busy wiping out the Wildings and building up their own forces. One assumes they will attack when they are good and ready and the rather pathetic remnant of the Night's Watch will be swept aside. Leaving the war torn 7 Kingdoms in very bad straights indeed.
Nothing here other than the obvious supernatural element is hard to understand. It's is all very logical.
As for your "Time Freeze" problem you are assuming that rapid technological growth is inevitable. Even so the area of the 7 Kingdoms went from bronze age during the initial Other invasion to High Medieval int he currant books so it's not like there was no change. What are you suggesting was lost? They know about magic, it was all written down but it doesn't work anymore. They know about Dragons but they are as far as anyone knows extinct. They know about Others but it's been so long that people are beginning to doubt.
All in all, though, the show looks very promising.
And when I say bad reviews, I mean the reviews themselves are bad. "The acting, directing, writing, and production values are all great! But I don't like/understand fantasy, so the show is bad. Plus, what's up with the weather?!"
link to the WiC article
""Game of Thrones" reminds me of the second "Star Wars" trilogy, in which the Hero's Journey was set aside in favor of a complicated tale of political maneuvering and power plays."
It's not anywhere near crap like the new Star Wars, but it is pretty much political maneuvering and power plays. Which isn't a bad thing, though. So she probably shouldn't be reviewing anything fantasy at all since if there's one iota of it it must be crap.
The other review has the same problem, she just hates fantasy even though this is barely fantasy. And she can't follow what's going on? The hell? Maybe the show is 100X more confusing than the books, but while who the good and bad guys are can be debated it's never that confusing...
And the Wall Street Journal review is written by an intellectual snob.
There has to be something actually wrong with the show other than Renly's casting! Come on reviewers!
I want to find this guy. I want to punch this guy. Not a HARD punch, just a sharp jab to the arm, you know the kind that hurts for a few minutes and may leave a slight bruise.
And then I want to tell him he's a jackass. "The heart of a geek that never lets the rest of us in?" Fucking really?
Good reviewers put their personal bias aside. If they hate a genre, they have to put themselves in the mind of someone who likes it, and rate it accordingly, OR just not review it.
That said the dude who wrote the wall street journal review deserves a solid punch in the nose and a spew of vile insults that sting as much as sticks and stones. You can TELL he's a fucking d-bag who gets off acting like he's superior to us oh so lowly "infants".
Image by Sharpwriter on deviantart.com
avclub is so much better
Poison
THIS IS HOW ALL FICTION WORKS. Gah.
What does she want? Meteorological charts? Forecasts? The people of the world dont know how or why it works, so why would Martin include an explanation?
People like that for me just have no concept of fiction, and her love of Dancing with the Stars pretty much closes the book on that review.
I just love that this is probably the least fantastical fantasy out there, and these guys are complaining about its exclusionary geekyness. And since when is violence and sex the sole realm of geeks?
I figured that one out myself, btw. And it turned out to be mostly right.
Sex and violence in a fantasy book/movie/show = juvenile wish fulfillment