Episode 6: "A Golden Crown"

[fulano]

That is what agile fighting looks like in real life, as opposed to Salvatore's ballet du scimitare. He avoids all swings narrowly but surely. You don't need to dance around your opponent like a drow fairy, you just need to dodge or block by minimal margin.

Spot on in the comment. If you wanna watch someone fighting an elusive style look no further than Lyoto Machida. He doesn't swing swords but his style serves as a good example. Lots of people tap the guy as a bore but not me as he, after all, gets the job done.

Lyoto Machida is actually more what I was expecting. Anderson Silva's another good one for that: powerhouse but elusive (when he wants to be, anyway). They come off as nimble, where Bronn looks like he's sorta slouching out of the way.

In the end, though, like I said in my first post, it's mainly underwhelming by comparison to what I was expecting from the book. I imagine if I saw the show without having read the scene in advance it probably wouldn't have seemed quite as "off."

Are we talking about the same Machida? 'Cause the guy has some highlights here and there but for the most part the dude knows how to keep the flashy to a bare minimum just enough to pounce, crane kick nothwithstanding. Just watch most of his fights, dude barely even gets hit, as he makes excellent use of footwork and positioning. It's as if he just made a habit of standing there, moving from side to side and inches out of the way.

Bronn looked fairly nimble considering he's having to evade a long, sharp object. Dude ain't Legolas, apparently.

I guess the producers are gunning for a somewhat flashy but still somewhat constrained style of distance fighting...like boxing, but with sharp heavy objects.

 

[DTWolfwood]

shocking there was no mention of the very simple scene at the beginning of the episode where Dany grabs a hot dragon egg from the hot coals she was cooking it on without being burned.

Which at the last scene when she says her brother isn't a dragon, that dragons can't be burned by fire was all the more significant.

neat that she now commands the horse lords, bares a son that will rule the world, and inherited the dragon blood line.

Ned finding out the Lannister twins were doing the hanky panky was pretty good too. (assuming he'll eventually put 2 & 2 together, guess this is where Brann being alive comes in handy if he ever remembers.)

 

[electric_warrior]

I actually laughed a little when they killed that Targaryen guy died like that. I'd been hoping he would die for a while now, and to die like that was just genius.

 

[BelfastSpartan]

Never heard of this before the series started but some parts were filmed in Northern Ireland close to me so thought I'd watch it and glad I did.

I haven't read the books so I watch the episode then read the recaps which goes into things a bit more in depth and I find it really helps me understand things I either wouldn't have noticed or that I noticed but didn't know why it was happening (like why the mountains horse was going nuts when jousting with the flower guy!)

Excellent series and I hope it keeps up the support so it doesn't get dropped!

Are the books worth the read?
I've tried reading the LOTR books but never get very far as there is so many names and places, I get lost and give up.

Is this similar or is it easier to follow?

 

[Susan Arendt]

Only semi-related, I'm just curious: why is the Escapist doing episode-by-episode recaps for this show? Nothing against it, just not something I'd noticed going on with other shows, so it seems sorta random, unless I just haven't noticed it going on before.

That's a good question. We were personally very excited for this show, and were planning on watching it anyway, so we thought, why not try doing recaps? It's a very dense show,with loads of characters, and it can be hard to keep track of, even if you are familiar with the books. We've never really tried recaps before, but think they can be a lot of fun, so we're doing this as an experiment. If people like it, we'll likely start doing other shows, too.

 

[Baron Khaine]

question would having melted gold poured on your head kill you or just severely mess up you face? sucks to be Viserys

If I remember from the books, they bend him over backwards, then pour the molten gold over his face, effectively suffocating him. I have no doubt that having any molten metal poured over your head would eventually kill you, but not that quickly.

I'm pretty sure the shock alone would kill you, either that or having your brain boiled by molten gold.

 

[Metal Brother]

I loved this episode. I don't know if it was the strongest so far, but it really highlighted for me how well the producers are doing in their effort to adapt a complex book series into a new medium. It's been a few years since I last read the books, and the show is bringing back a ton of awesome "foreshadowing memories" of what will come before the end of the season - and this episode did this more than the ones that came before.

Last week I was at a conference and met up with a few friends I usually only see in person once or twice a year. One of them mentioned to me how he was loving the show. I asked him how he thought the show measured up to the books, and he admitted he had never read them. This blew me away - I'd figured that everyone I knew who would like the show would have read the books many times over, as I have. For some reason, knowing that I have friends who are seeing the show with completely fresh eyes has increased my personal enjoyment of the show...

 

[Metal Brother]

Never heard of this before the series started but some parts were filmed in Northern Ireland close to me so thought I'd watch it and glad I did.

I haven't read the books so I watch the episode then read the recaps which goes into things a bit more in depth and I find it really helps me understand things I either wouldn't have noticed or that I noticed but didn't know why it was happening (like why the mountains horse was going nuts when jousting with the flower guy!)

Excellent series and I hope it keeps up the support so it doesn't get dropped!

Are the books worth the read?
I've tried reading the LOTR books but never get very far as there is so many names and places, I get lost and give up.

Is this similar or is it easier to follow?

They have already renewed the TV series for a second season (book 2, I assume) so we'll have more coming.

And yes, the books are AWESOME. There's a lot more depth and character development in the books (of course) but the TV show stays very true to the books.

 

[Shjade]

That's a good question. We were personally very excited for this show, and were planning on watching it anyway, so we thought, why not try doing recaps? It's a very dense show,with loads of characters, and it can be hard to keep track of, even if you are familiar with the books. We've never really tried recaps before, but think they can be a lot of fun, so we're doing this as an experiment. If people like it, we'll likely start doing other shows, too.

Thanks for the answer. ^.^

Snip

I hadn't heard of the series before people started raving about this show. Picked up the existing four books after I watched the first four episodes. Both are delicious.

Are we talking about the same Machida? 'Cause the guy has some highlights here and there but for the most part the dude knows how to keep the flashy to a bare minimum

Nimble != flashy. Just means light on your feet, agile.

I'll try putting it another way: Lyoto evades opposition on equal ground, men roughly his size and weight who aren't encumbered more than he is. Bronn looks as though the only reason he's successfully evading his opponent is because of the plate armor weighing him down; if they were equally lightly armored he doesn't seem like he'd be able to stay clear of the knight's sword. That's not particularly agile, that's just being the less anchored man.

 

[RandV80]

I'll try putting it another way: Lyoto evades opposition on equal ground, men roughly his size and weight who aren't encumbered more than he is. Bronn looks as though the only reason he's successfully evading his opponent is because of the plate armor weighing him down; if they were equally lightly armored he doesn't seem like he'd be able to stay clear of the knight's sword. That's not particularly agile, that's just being the less anchored man.

Well I don't think he's necessarily supposed to be the better fighter. Among that large group of knights Ser Vardis was picked to be champion, gotta be a reason for that. On the other side is Bronn the Sellsword, a mercenary. And a veteran one at that, means the dude knows how to stay alive and must have a good amount of cunning/battle smarts. Going toe to toe, fighting the knights fight, or even a pure fencing match, I'm sure the knight champion would win. Bronn knows this so he fights a fight he knows he can win, stay just out of reach and let the armoured man tire himself out, then strike at his weak spots.

Personally I thought they handled the fight extremely well. Bronn's fighting style or his strengths/weaknesses is never fully detailed in the books (I think at least), so this is probably your own interpretation that doesn't match up with the HBO series.

 

[RandV80]

The relationship between Rob Stark and Greyjoy Jr. is a little bit more full of tension than in the books. Supposedly, they were like brothers, but of the same age. That's okay, but so far Theon is too unlikable, when I think you're really supposed to sympathize with him for quite a bit.

Does it really? We really don't see much of Theon in the first book and are more told that they're like brothers than see it play out. Also, what do you expect being 'like brothers' to play out as, joined at the hip and always agreeing with each other? Of course they're going to bicker at each other occasionally.

Though Theon's scenes along certainly show a lot more of a growing discontent with his situation.

 

[Shjade]

this is probably your own interpretation that doesn't match up with the HBO series.

In the end, though, like I said in my first post, it's mainly underwhelming by comparison to what I was expecting from the book. I imagine if I saw the show without having read the scene in advance it probably wouldn't have seemed quite as "off."

Truly, your powers of deduction are astonishing.

Bronn's the better fighter because he read the situation so well and used it to his advantage, but he's no slouch physically either. As Tyrion noted, there must be a reason that, of the myriad knights, sellswords and other hangers-on who came with them from the crossroads to the Eyrie over the high road, Bronn was one of the very few to stay alive, and the hill men weren't slowed down by platemail. "Better men" died trying. I would imagine Ser Vardis and the other knights underestimated him in the same way.

 

[ThisNewGuy]

So...many...parallel...plot lines

 

[Ericb]

So...many...parallel...plot lines

Thankfully. Enough of the watered down one-track plots, tv has enough of those already.

There was also a bad idea going good...

hmmm...what if i put a dragon egg into the fire...wait a while...and pick it up!

WOW...I do not get burned...I am Dragonsblood!

No, she entered a very hot bath in an earlier episode without so much as flinching.

 

[Kielgasten]

It seems to me that Ned Stark and Sir Samuel Vimes has quite a lot in common.

Honest and capable, but not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer ;-)
I wonder if Ned´s luck is as good as Vimes´?
(rhetorical, please don´t spoil it for me)

 

[kingmob]

Maybe it is because I don't know the books, but I found this article a bit... feminine
Ned obviously is not a fool, he is more a victim of the circumstances and can hardly take any other actions considering his morals that they have put some much effort in displaying. Any other course of action would mean the lanisters (or however you spell it) would get away with it. He clearly understands the implications, so almost by definition is not stupid

Why I call it feminine is mostly by your description of the golden crown scene. It really only serves to show that the dragon-girl has become even more mentally ill and that the would-be king is stupid besides just a dick. She hasn't shown strength in any way, she just loves another master who does her dirty work, who also happens to be abusive, just like her brother. This storyline is really awkward to me.