Quote:
Originally Posted by Relentless
The episode was disappointing compared to the Blackwater battle episode, mostly because the actors were not as good. The people playing John Snow, Ygritte, Tormund etc are all fine actors... but not as good as Tyrion, Cersei, Joffrey, the Hound, etc... so the battle felt more informative than interesting.
|
I tend to disagree with that assessment, at least in part. I would say that Jon's chubby friend Sam, the guy who plays him is doing a super job of it. While I was reading the books he was about as close to how I imagined he'd be as it gets. Also, the girl playing Gilly is excellent as well. They're all doing great to be honest but those two really stand out.
I found the battle quite exciting. For one thing the differences you pointed out were the very things I was keeping an eye out for, because I've read the books so I should know 100% what happens. But with those differences popping up here and there it makes things MORE interesting for those of us who've read the books.
I also like spotting the parts where they held true to the books. Case in point: the part where the giant and that mastodon thing made a run for the gate, I was just waiting for the crows to drop that burning oil down on them.
Then when there were northmen halfway up the wall I was again just waiting for Jon to cut loose that "swipe" thingy that took the lot of them out with one swoop. The effects used to create that scene were awesome.
In short I like that the series isn't precisely following the books, but I also like that they aren't straying too far from them either. It keeps some element of surprise in it for those of us who are far ahead in the story via the books.
For those of you who haven't yet read the books --- for god's sake READ THEM. And don't disagree with me, just do it. You will understand this series far far better if you read the books. Then you won't be running here complaining about such things as "pacing". :D