Binge watching Game of Thrones, now up to Season 4 Episode 5

[steve2470]

Holy moley, I think the producers (and George RR Martin too?) decided to hit every boundary in TV: sex, violence, decapitation, more sex, almost everyone is a freaking sociopath with maybe one redeeming virtue (love of children in Cersei's case, off the top of my head), torture porn, and the list goes on and on.

Yet it's ADDICTIVE. You can't look away. I'm still trying to memorize the major cast of players and all the convoluted intrigue and backstabbing that goes on.

The middle ages in England really really sucked, because GRRM says that he based GOT partially on the War of the Roses:

The novels and their adaptation derive aspects of their settings, characters, and plot from various events of European history.[12] A principal inspiration for the novels is the English Wars of the Roses[13] (1455–85) between the houses of Lancaster and York, reflected in Martin's houses of Lannister and Stark. Most of Westeros is reminiscent of High Medieval Western Europe, with its castles and knightly tournaments. The scheming Cersei, for instance, calls to mind Isabella, the "she-wolf of France" (1295–1358).[12] She and her family inspired Martin, as depicted in Maurice Druon's historical novel series The Accursed Kings, in particular.[14] Other historical inspirations for elements of the series include Hadrian's Wall (which became Martin's great Wall), the legend of Atlantis (ancient Valyria), Byzantine "Greek fire" ("wildfire&quot , Icelandic sagas of the Viking Age (the Ironborn), the Mongol hordes (the Dothraki), and elements from the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) and the Italian Renaissance (c. 1400–1500).[12] The series' great popularity has been attributed in part to Martin's skill at fusing these disparate elements into a seamless whole that appears credible on its own terms as an alternative history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones

What do you think of GOT ?

[lunatica]

1. What did you watch it on? Netflix?

I haven't seen it listed so I'm curious where else you can binge watch shows.

[steve2470]

4. Amazon Video

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007BVMVDU/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o03_/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o03_?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true

[lunatica]

5. Do you have to pay $3.99 per episode?

[steve2470]

6. I bought entire seasons to save a buck

It sucks but whatcha gonna do. $38.99 with no tax for entire season of 10 episodes. You can buy it on Blu-Ray and DVD too if you can wait for delivery. You'd save more money that way.

DVD and Blu-Ray Seasons 1-4: http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Season-Blu-ray-Blu-Ray/dp/B00DY64CR4/ref=sr_1_7?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1461880732&sr=1-7&keywords=Game+of+Thrones&refinements=p_n_format_browse-bin%3A2650305011

$81.92 is the cheapest option.

and....

Game of Thrones - Season 1-5 [Blu-ray] [Region Free] [UK Import]

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Season-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B0158ZXB66/ref=sr_1_6?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1461880823&sr=1-6&keywords=Game+of+Thrones&refinements=p_n_format_browse-bin%3A2650305011

$124.99 cheapest option.

[steve2470]

9. Amazon Prime might be an option for one year ?

I think you get unlimited streaming for that price ? I could be wrong.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DBYBNEE?_encoding=UTF8&ref=nav_menu_dvm_us_aw_cs_ho_pin_d


on edit: http://www.amazon.com/Valar-Morghulis/dp/B01737VGB4/ref=sr_1_6?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1461881258&sr=1-6&keywords=game+of+thrones

for Game of Thrones: Seasons 1-4, $99.99

[lunatica]

21. Thanks for the information

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I'm hooked and my husband is along for the ride!

It's great, but I do wish there were less bloodshed.

It is addictive.

[steve2470]

8. yes, less bloodshed, no torture porn and yes, even less sex....

Sorry, I'm no prude but I don't need to watch porn. I get the hint, producers lol

[Baitball Blogger]

11. He has a wicked system of justice.

The young woman you were pining over in the last episode could turn out to be a 1000 year old crone in the next. So, control yourself!

[steve2470]

12. oh, haven't gotten to that part yet! Excitement galore! :) nt

[A HERETIC I AM]

3. .....

[steve2470]

7. final episode will be a huge pile of corpses lol nt

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Don't look away!

[trof]

13. Way too many characters and plot lines.

Just too complicated for me.

[steve2470]

14. you practically have to keep a scorecard and diagram in front of you LOL nt

[NewJeffCT]

18. If you read the books

you can triple the number of characters, and then triple that number again for characters referenced via flashbacks or in historical references.

[TexasBushwhacker]

15. Too bloody and misogynistic for me n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. Waay too violent for me

[cemaphonic]

16. Love Game of Thrones

I started reading the books a couple of years before the show began, and the show has done a remarkably good job staying true to the source material, while also fleshing out and humanizing a bunch of characters.

But yeah, it's savage. My wife likes the twists and turns in the plot, but can't stomach actually watching it, so she gets it in summary form from me (plus, she has read most of the books - she actually read the first one when it came out in the mid '90s)

[NewJeffCT]

19. I enjoy the TV show a lot

but, I like the books more because TV can't really give you the depth of the history you get in the books.

[NewJeffCT]

20. The Red Wedding is based off of actual historical events

Though, the scale in Game of Thrones was bigger...

The Black Dinner and the Glencoe Massacre.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Douglas

http://www.robertsewell.ca/living4.html

[steve2470]

23. thanks for that! nt

[steve2470]

22. wow, finally finished and even read all the spoilers for Season 6 Episode One

Mind.Blown.

People I hate the most: Joffrey Baratheon, Melisandre, Stannis Baratheon, Cersei Lannister, Ramsay Bolton, and Petyr Baelish

People I like and admire the most: Ned Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, Samwell Tarly, and Ygritte

[TorchTheWitch]

24. I'm totally addicted

But maybe more addicted to the books. I'd never heard of either the show or the books until the 3rd season had already ended (never have had cable tv). I watched the first 3 seasons of the show online then borrowed the first few books from one of my old neighbors... after reading them I HAD to have all of the books and found all the ones published thus far at a second hand bookshop where I used to live. I've read them all many times over... reading them again, and I'm almost done the last book in the series thus far. Somehow I still find little things that I missed every time I re-read the series.

Since I'm a medieval history buff I noticed almost all of the comparisons you listed to history though I'm not sure about references to the Hundred Years War or the Italian Renaissance.

I don't normally get hooked on tv shows (other than this one, the only one I really got hooked on was Spooks, though it fell rather flat for me for the last two seasons, and I nearly gave up on it close to the end of the second season).

Game of Thrones had me hooked from the first scene beyond the Wall where these strange Others are (sort of) introduced. I think the actors have been spectacular, even the ones with smaller parts. Of course, the scenery and effects are really fabulous. At the end of the first season when the dragons hatched I was sooo glad that the next two seasons had already happened... I wouldn't have been able to stand it to have to wait a whole year after that.

And just like the books, I watch the show over and over again as well. Even though I know what happens in every scene and probably have most of the dialogue memorized by now, it's still a thrill.

[hibbing]

25. I watch, but have no idea who is related to who

It is entertaining that's for sure. I don't even try to keep track of the relationships.


Peace

[valerief]

26. I don't know why, but I have no interest in watching people who smell bad. nt

[marcopolo63]

27. Not to push Time Warner Cable (TWC) on anyone, but

TWC ran the entire series from Season 1 - Season 5 over the past few months. At the moment all that is available at HBO On Demand is the entire Season 5, along with Season 6's new episodes as they premier. And they may still have a deal where the first month of HBO is free (a $14.95-ish savings).

I have been a book and show fan since the beginning and have watched every episode at least 2 times, and seem to learn new things each time. The complexity of the story lines goes far beyond the debauchery, pain and misery caused by the lead characters. It is a tale of power, mysticism, ruthlessness and activism that can be seen in similar story-lines today.

Trump is very much a Joffrey-like character...
Hillary may be somewhat Cersei-like...
Bernie - could he be the High Sparrow (introduced in Season 5), or is that Ted Cruz? Maybe its a hybrid of the 2...

It really sparks your imagination and let's one escape to another world. I think that's the real magic of GOT!!