I'll Make Thrones To You
by DICK CHENEY
The new Star Wars trailer came out last week, and it was like the prequels never happened. Harrison Ford appeared to be desiccating slowly into Jabba the Hut, and the rest of it looked like a hot mess as well. Star Wars never had a consistent theme outside of George Lucas's insane passion for random politicals parallels, and the situation in Mereen right now is even more of a thematic disaster. The writing is just so bad across the Narrow Sea. Game of Thrones already has great special effect, so it is missing the other thing that saved Star Wars from becoming Plan 9 from Outer Space: a love story.
"Perhaps. Perhaps." "Perhaps." "Perhaps." "Perhaps perhaps."
I am not even looking forward to the mansplaining to come from Tyrion Lannister about how Daenerys should be ruling Mereen. The number of times Tyrion will say My Lady will probably make Ser Barristan Selmy faint from an overdose of chivalry.
Whether he has truly given up whores or not I don't care. I do know that a love story is infinitely more fascinating than another conversation with Varys where he says perhaps fifty times, and Varys complains about the little guy's drinking. The two of them alone in a carriage to save money on production is more than I can bear. And girl, can you please wear a bra?
There's never been a woman in history, let alone a queen, who has changed her wardrobe this seldom
One thing Game of Thrones almost never has time for is something essential in drama, which is to watch what people do when they are alone. It is what makes watching Arya threatening boys with her shit sword so compelling — she has no one else to rely on, and so must make her own choices. Pairing everyone else up — Bronn and Jaime, Pod and Brienne, Sansa and LF, Jon Snow and Sam leads to twelve different renditions of The Odd Couple: two slightly different people bickering among themselves. It is far easier to write and keep track of such arrangements, but it leads to a simultaneity that jars me like the gross face of Stannis' wife.
Maybe she could have the Sons of the Harpy over for dins. They look hungry.
I realize that Game of Thrones does have a lot of female characters, which is great and everything considering how bad most of the male ones are. Still, the women do seem to be acting in great haste lately. Cersei's moves are entirely emotional and Daenerys can't drop a No. 2 without getting the advice of some old guy and her boyfriend. Brienne's "plan" to save Sansa Stark consists of going up to them. Wow, how devious. Did Renly teach you that at a gay saloon in Storm's End?
"I know what I'll do. I'll randomly swear loyalty to someone who doesn't even know me!" This show needs Lady Stoneheart, bad.
I don't understand Cersei's moves to stack the King's council, either. I think they should have just recast Jack Gleeson (he played Joffrey) as Tommen, except maybe given him a moustache.
The unceremonius departure of Sir Kevan Lannister was a real kick in the nuts. That guy was pretty cute, maybe the cutest old guy on the show besides Margaery Tyrell's mom. (Where is that old bat? She just straight up disappeared one day after Oberyn Martell had a disagreement with the Mountain.)
Don't go Kevan. We'll give you the honored position of Hand of the Hand of the King.
Jon Snow murdering dudes right as left as Lord Commander has potential, as does the ambiguously sexual relationship he has with his newest charge, who I shall call Lord Molten. (Camile Paglia would be pleased.) I hope Jon eventually comes into conflict with Sam, because the unexplored sexual tension between those two could fill Craster's belly.
YKNJS, the peacocking is getting a bit much. You look like a fat pigeon in the outfit big guy.
Thrones is missing romance right now, the essence which moves us from moment to moment, the substance Chelsea Clinton was sadly born without. Even Sam and Gilly have yet to consummate their love, which should probably have occurred years ago for warmth/survival related reasons.
These days Sam mostly just stands around insisting that he will protect her from guys like Slynt, while it's Jon who does the actual dirty work. I swear to God Samwell hasn't done anything except turn coyly to look behind him since he killed that white walker.
would not be surprised if Melisandre sifts through his stool looking for treats
It's kind of odd how nobody gives a shit about Winterfell anymore. I mean, Ned Stark came across like such a pious ponce and a strong leader, but in the end he just was a dumb shit who let himself get outfoxed. His wife forgot about him in two seconds and his kids aren't exactly aching to retake Winterfell either. With that said, Stannis' annoying illiterate assistant really seems to have been entranced by Jon's brotential. Ser Davos reminds me of a Terry McAuliffe who can't read.
Stannis looked like FDR behind the desk. "I don't punish brave men, I reward them," he said in the tone of someone who has just passed a kidney stone and is happy to be alive. I'm really sad that Stannis can't change from this emasculated state into a real hero. Given that this is Thrones, he's already on death row.
Arya's trip to the House of Black and White exploded HBO's budget and created a lavish setting surround the Braavosi/Israeli stronghold for no real reason. Arya is supposed to become one of these assassins, but in doing so it seems she will have to lose everything that brought her to this point. Bringing back Jaqen H'ghar was kind of a waste of time also, and Maisie Williams looks to have not aged perceptibly in the past five seasons. I hope she meets a cute Jew while she is training to be a Faceless Woman. There's a lot riding on this.
Dick Cheney is the senior contributor to This Recording.
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