Like ChrisBosh said, there isn't any time to care for the characters. I realized the dude was banging his sister. That's weird. As for the kid being pushed out the window, I felt more sympathy for the deserter getting beheaded.
I don't think the purpose of the window scene was emotional impact. It's obviously just a plot point to move the story of the Lannisters forward. Don't think too much, it's the first episode.
The nudity/sex made it too much like a <strike>Titz</strike> Starz production. I thought those scenes were tacked on, trying to make the show more arthouse or mature than it really is. The subject matters in the story may be of a more mature nature, but the tone of the show isn't, so it doesn't quite fit.
don't want to be a debbie downer, but initial rating estimates are not good: http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/04/early_ratings_game_of_thrones.html well.. i guess it's not entirely surprising, considering the content is not targeted for mainstream appeal like boardwalk empire is. i guess the good news is that hbo should green light a second season (according to the article).
Yeah, you do feel for the guy. I'd run for hundreds of miles after seeing that crap too. The whole window sequence sets up lots of plot down the road.
I understand that, but as a pilot cliffhanger, it doesn't do much to keep casual viewers tuned in for next episode. They should have aired two episodes last night because I feel the pilot wasn't gripping enough. With all that said, I'm gonna give it the benefit of the doubt and still keep tuning in. I need a new series to get into with summer coming up.
I didn't read the book and thought it was great. I loved the opening scene and left me waiting anxiously for more about the white walkers... among other things.
I wanted them to air two episodes last night but obviously for different reasons than you... I wanted to keep watching.
It was never going to get 5 Million viewers. The genre just doesn't have that kind of support. Besides, if I remember right Boardwalk Empire had about half of that the 2nd week. True Blood had pretty awful ratings its first year and got more viewers by word of mouth and DVD sales. Same could happen for thrones.
And what happened to Stark's youngest son is straight out of the book, crash. I can't wait for the next episode.
The show left me wanting an extra hr. To me that is the sign of a good show. HBO seems to always do such a good job... as good or better than the big screen in most cases. BTW, I'm also watching the Brogias, what is up with all of the Brother / Sister incest stuff. I know the Borgias is suposed to be based on fact. I also find the difference in relationships between Visaries and Deanaries vs. the relationship between Jamie and Cersie kind of funny. One loves his sister way too much while the other clearly not enough.
I thought it was a good start. Not the best show I have ever seen or anything, but they covered 9 chapters in an hour so there was a lot to get in quickly with most of it being set up for what is to come. I kind of spoiled it for myself too because I have watched every promo, making of and preview, so I had seen over half of the content from this episode making some of it less impressive than it would have otherwise been. I didn't agree with every change, but nothing ruined it for me, and the group of non-readers who came over to watch all enjoyed it. Same with people from work, those who watched want to see what will happen next week. It's already the best selling international HBO show in history, and the fan following is such that even subscribers are likely to get the dvd/blu ray when it is released. But it was always unlikely to beat Boardwalk Empire, which was HBO's highest opening numbers ever. I think for those who stick with it for season one will find much like other HBO series like the Wire, things really get going after a few episodes set things up.
It wasn't that uncommon in the dark ages. Kept the bloodlines true. The Targaryen's usually married brothers and sisters to keep that fact.
I had hoped people would understand I meant outside of the obvious. Any visional activity is going to have a reaction to what we see. But character development and narrative story telling is designed to have these big story moments mean more because we care about the characters. I understand that the push and the reason for the push has a huge meaning for the plot overall. It drives a great many things later down the line, but in the book we had a spent a lot more time with Bran up to that point and so I had a much greater reaction.
I agree. It seems like they try to rush things and fit too much into the first episode so they could have a "cliffhanger" moment at the end. I realize it would make the show a lot slower paced but I would have preferred they spend a lot more time early own introducing the characters.
HBO just announced that the show has been renewed for a 2nd season. Sounds like they weren't upset with the ratings of the premiere at all.
There is also the fact that Bran was a Point of View character so that you could read his thoughts. On a side note, I kinda wished they showed more of Theon's twistedness.
