I shall begin with my favorite quote by Jaime Lannister, "The Kingslayer", which may or may not be in series 1:
"I think it passing odd that I am loved by one for a kindness I never did, and reviled by so many for my finest act" - Jaime Lannister
Tonight we ended episode 1.01, with Jaime's most famous quote in "A Game of Thrones", "The things I do for love," as he pushes the beautiful little boy they chose to play Bran, out that window. I always felt what made that moment even worse, was that Bran, did not even know what they were doing together, ie sex. Perhaps, he would have mentioned it to Jon or Rob, but this is what Cersei was afraid of happening. This was the Jaime we know in "A Game of Thrones". He was a cocky bastard, who is sleeping with his identical, twin sister, who is yelling about how Bran has seen them, and thus the push out the window. Neither as we briefly saw, seemed to feel even a tad bid of remorse.
But so far, it was unbelievably true to the book, so much so, that I felt like at times it was word for word. Theon Greyjoy is the jerk we always knew that he was, Sansa, to the dismay of her mother (her rolling her eyes), living in her Cinderella fantasy of marrying Prince Joffrey. Jon, always knowing his place in the family, and begging his Uncle Benjen to take him to the wall.
The one thing they showed so clearly, was how loved Jon is by his brothers and sisters, and vice versa. It also showed how cruelly Catelyn treated him for a sin, that all of us fans know, Ned did not commit. We all know who he really is, right people? If you read the books, she even notes that Arya looks so much like Lyanna, with her personality to match, and Jon, looks more Stark than even her own children, ie. his dark hair and looks.
Sean Bean, was perfectly cast, as have been all of our main players. I am also now on board with the actress who plays Catelyn, as I had serious doubts about her. Jaime, Cersei, and especially Tyrion's casting; perfection. Even the young Starks: Bran, and most especially Arya; perfection.
My two fave moments? When Jaime gets Tyrion extra women so he could leave the whorehouse, and show up on time at the dinner. My next one is when Jon and Rob, are helping Bran w/his bow and arrow. As you can see, I loved it so much, that I made it my major picture of this blog.
So, although people who have not read the books, might have seen this as a set up episode, hopefully it helped them to see the contrast between the world of Dany and Viserys, vs. that of Robert, the Lannisters, and the Starks. They also have not dealt with the flashbacks as of yet, which I hope they will, as those who have not read the books need to see them in order to understand what is going on with Jaime/Cersei vs. Ned/Robert , the death of Lyanna and how it haunts Ned. The violence that ensued and ensured the throne that was given to Robert, must be made part of these flashbacks.
Finally, I will say the following to Ginia Bellafonte, who wrote the NYT review: read the books, and learn more about a genre of which you clearly know nothing, before you write such an ignorant and offensive review. You clearly had opinions of it prior to writing, and as a woman, I was more than offended at the implication that I enjoy fantasy books, and this series, which are meant for boys, because they have a lot of sex. Seriously? I will go read some crappy romance novel if that is all I need.
So my friends, here's to a great premiere! Drink some wine, have a lemon cake, and get ready for 1.02 "The Kingsroad"!
*Quotes courtesy of HBO's "Game of Thrones"
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