game of thrones recapping: blackwater

Posted: May 29, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Game of Thrones, HBO, quotes, Recaps, TV, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Previously on Game of Thrones: Prince of Winterfell

Ready or not, here comes Stannis! The inhabitants of King’s Landing know Stannis and his fleet are mere hours away, and they all choose to deal with the imminent attack in radically different ways. Cersei has all but given up as she contemplates suicidal death via essence of nightshade or Ser Illyn Payne’s sword. The soldiers of the city predictably turn to alcohol and prostitutes. Only Tyrion seems to care about actually planning a defensive strategy. And Joffrey? Let’s just say he’s being as helpful, noble, and king-like as usual.

Meanwhile, the men of Stannis’s fleet are reasonably confident that their attack on King’s Landing will be successful. Their ships outnumber their enemy’s 10 to 1, and their men 5 to 1. If battles were all about numbers, then this should be a metaphorical walk in the park for Stannis and his Red Priestess. Davos, the gruff onion knight, is not so sure. He shares some history about how King’s Landing has never been breached.

Stannis’s fleet materializes eerily out of the dark fog. Only one ship sails across Blackwater Bay to meet them. This infuriates Joffrey, but the unusual strategy is clearly Tyrion’s own. As Stannis’s men suspiciously watch the single ship, Davos spots green liquid pouring from its hull. Uh-oh! Remember all that wild fire talk from a few episodes ago? The ship explodes in an impressive plume of green smoke and fire, quickly incinerating the ships closest to it.

Even with a big chunk of his fleet taken out by wild fire, Stannis still has enough men to land his ships and attack the shore. Joffrey predictably bails on the action, leaving Tyrion to heroically muster the troops. To cries of “Halfman! Halfman!”, Tyrion and the men of King’s Landing successfully throw off Stannis’s soldiers from the Mud Gate. Unfortunately, Tyrion barely has time to celebrate. He’s suddenly slashed across his face by Ser Meryn (friendly — very deliberate — fire). All seems lost for both Tyrion and King’s Landing as a fresh wave of Stannis’s men storm the shores. But surprise! Here comes a new mysterious group of riders who slash and stab their way through Stannis’s men. Tywin Lannister has come to save the day!

Thoughts

  • You know what? I completely think this episode lives up to the expectation and hype of an entire season’s worth of build-up. Great writing, great acting, great fighting (actually more violent than I expected), and great CGI explosions. This episode legitimately made me happy. I don’t know what that says about me, but I know what I like, and I liked this.
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  • So having said that, was it just or me or was this episode weirdly reminiscent of the Helm’s Deep siege in The Two Towers? Not only do both feature a siege of a heavily outnumbered army, but a weak gate is targeted, a crazy explosive substance is used, and just as the battle seems at an end, a mysterious third party arrives on horseback to turn the tide. I’m not saying I’m complaining necessarily—just pointing it out, I guess.
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  • Kudos to the writers for restricting the scope of this episode to just King’s Landing. As much as I love the show’s rich cast of characters, the Battle of Blackwater would have only suffered from being interspersed with scenes of Dany shouting or Theon whining. (See painfully slow scenes of Ents talking right in the middle of the most exciting Helm’s Deep scenes—my last Lord of the Rings reference…probably.)
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  • Cersei is both creepy and brilliant in this episode. She’s been more or less unraveling all season, but her obsessive and bitter grip on reality is noticeably slipping here. This is the first time I realized how similar Cersei once must have been to Sansa. You know, before her incestuous relationship with her brother, abusive marriage, and devil-spawn of a son.
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  • Poor Hound. I hope everyone remembers that his face looks like an ugly uglier version of Two Face because he got burned as a kid. He’s not a coward for abandoning the battle so early. It’s hard enough to fight for a brat like Joffrey without the entire battlefield reminding you of your childhood trauma.
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  • Sansa finally is getting interesting. My least favorite Stark actually got some of the best lines this episode. Who knows? I might have to switch her out with Rickon on my list of favorite Starks. Sorry, Rickon. It’s nothing personal. You just don’t really do anything.
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  • Fun fact: George R. R. Martin wrote this episode.
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  • Season finale is NEXT Sunday!!!
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**********
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Missing in action: Theon, Bran, Rickon, Yara, Catelyn, Robb, Jon, Ygritte, Dany, Arya, Melisandre

Body count: Thousands

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**********

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Quotes

Varys: “I’ve always hated the bells. They ring for horror: a dead king, a city under siege.
Tyrion: “A wedding.”
Varys: “Exactly.”

Shae: “Some of those boys will never come back.”
Sansa: “Joffrey will. The worst ones always live.”

Cersei: “The gods have no mercy. That’s why they’re gods.”

Tyrion: “Those are brave men knocking at our door! Let’s go kill them!”

 

Hayley has other interests besides just nerdy TV shows. She also is a big fan of thinking. She ponders the great mysteries of life, like how more of her time can be devoted to watching those nerdy TV shows.

duets recapping: superstars’ greatest hits

Posted: May 29, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: ABC, Duets, New Show, Recaps | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Premise:

In the newest reality singing show, Duets has four “superstars”–not judges or mentors–searching the country for talented individuals. As a fan of John Legend and Jennifer Nettles, I’m excited to see where this show will go. The two other talented superstars are Robin Thicke and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. The show is hosted by Quddus, known for his other hosting gigs.

The premise of Duets isn’t quite clear. Right now each superstar has found two singers to, well duet with. When the superstar sings with their partner, the three other judges listen and anonymously rate them on talent and personality. There’s a studio audience, but I don’t think any voting by “America” is done. However, singers are voted off–but it’s a little unclear how.

Unfortunately, Duets is lacking their Simon–an honest, if at times brutally so, judge. After voting, all the judges–I mean, superstars–are all given a chance to speak to the duo. The camera pans on the superstars during the song, so their reactions to the song are seen, even if they’re not verbalized. None of the judges had anything really mean to say–or anything helpful, either. When looking for their two singers, there were certain aspects that the superstars were looking for: Robin was looking for someone with soul, Kelly a singer whose voice matched hers, and so on.

Because this week was “Superstars’ Greatest Hits,” the superstars sang their hits with their partners, and we were shown a little bit of the choosing-partners scenario, as well as some background information on the singers.

Onto the singers!

John Legend’s were:

  • Johnny Gray, who sang “Ordinary People.” He came in second place, and for good reason! Legend was originally hesitant to choose him because Gray sang with too many riffs and chord changes, while Legend wanted the simply melody. Gray kept them both to a minimum, which allowed the riffs he did do to be more pronounced. Their voices harmonized nicely–and sounded amazing together.
  • Bridgette Carrington sang “Tonight (Best You Ever Had),” and came in sixth place. Legend spoke of the difficulties seamlessly blending male and female voices together, trying to find a key that would show off both voices. Legend solved this problem by having Carrington’s alto sang the lower chorus and harmony.

Kelly Clarkson:

  • Jason Farol singing “Break Your Own Heart.” He came in last place. Clarkson was hesitant to choose him because he had no experience and broke down on stage when she was trying him out. Unfortunately, his nerves shone through and his voice was average at best. Their harmonies seemed a bit off, and the camera caught Legend making a few grimaces during the performance–although he didn’t suggest anything to Farol.
  • Jordan Meredith sang “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” which earned her seventh place. Clarkson somewhat snidely suggested that everyone was against her, as both her singers were at the bottom. However, I think it may be that Clarkson’s songs are meant to be sung by one person with a strong voice–not two strong voices trying to harmonize. Meredith’s voice was occasionally off-pitch during the stanzas, which I’m sure added to her low score.

Robin Thicke:

  • Olivia Chilsolm sang “Lost Without U” and came in fifth. Thicke sang falsetto for most of the song, which meant that Chilsolm’s voice overpowered his–surprising, because Chilsolm doesn’t seem to have much strength behind her voice. Despite this, their voices sounded great together.
  • Alexis Foster came in third with “Magic.” Thicke let Foster be the main singer and sang backup. I think this was smart because Thicke’s voice doesn’t seem to be very strong. This also allowed Foster to shine during the song.

Jennifer Nettles:

  • J Rome came in first place and sang “Tonight.” Unlike the problem Thicke had, Nettles’ voice was too strong for Rome–she overpowered him. They sang with vibrato at different times–even when they sang at the same time.
  • John Glosson sang “Stay,” and came in fourth place. This was my favorite performance of the night. Their voices blended together nicely, and Glosson’s voice was like baby bear’s bed–just right. Not too strong or too soft. They also had vibrato problems, but it was less noticeable than with Rome.

My thoughts:

  • I don’t really understand the grading rubric for the show… or the premise. I’m hoping it will get more clear as time passes.
  • As amazing as these singers are, there’s not really anything about them that differentiates them–or this show–from others.
  • I really didn’t like how no one gave constructive criticism. If you’re frowning during the performance, say something. (That was for you, John Legend. I don’t understand how you can give such great advice to your partners, but then hold out on the others… Ooh, actually, I might have figured out why no one’s giving helpful hints.)

Emily thinks that music is amazing. Her favorite musical artists include The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Mumford and Sons, Coldplay, and Kanye. If writing doesn’t pan out, she plans on becoming a rapper… once she learns how to do so without laughing. (Maybe that’s what happens when a tornado meets a volcano! )


glee recapping: goodbye

Posted: May 23, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Fox, Glee, Recaps, TV | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Here’s what you missed on Glee: Nationals

  • It’s graduation time!!!
  • Puck gets a second chance to pass his test for graduation.
  • Rachel, Finn, and Kurt get their acceptance/rejection letters.
  • Santana struggles with what she is going to do after graduation.
  • Blaine and Kurt are anxious about their (potential) long-distance relationship.

Maybe Next Time, NYC: For Kurt and Finn at least. Finn was rejected from Inside the Actor’s Studio and Kurt didn’t get into NYADA. After reading about characters returning I thought Rachel and Kurt weren’t going to get accepted into NYADA immediately. But it seems as though most o the graduating seniors will come back to the show in some facet. It would be strange seeing Rachel in New York interacting with completely different characters all on her on…the same goes for any other character that leaves McKinley. It seems like a bit much to try to maintain a main storyline when it has to be broken up  in such a manner.

Santana Seeking Stardom? I have long thought that Santana has the most vocal range of any other member of The New Directions and it only makes sense that she is constantly questioning why she is usually second fiddle to Rachel or Mercedes. With the help of her selfless mother, Mirabel (Gloria Estefan), Santana is going to get her shot a New York too. Of all the pairings that can take place outside of Lima I think that Rachel and Santana in New York is an almost perfect fit. They are, and always have been, the best of frenemies–not counting everyone being nice to each because they’ve been through so much together, and they’re graduating yadda yadda yadda–and I think they would make an interesting storyline together.

O.O GPA?!?! Did Brittany dance her way to her senior year? I will admit I’m more athlete than mathlete, but how do you even make it out of home room with that?! Who needs prerequisites for Senior Class President anyway…

The New (Look) Directions: Artie, Rory, Sugar, Joe, Sam, some Asian girl, and Blaine are all that is left to carry on for next year. They have: strong male vocals, no strong dancers, and no female vocals at all. Are they still running with that whole Sugar can’t sing thing? Because I can’t un-hear this. Then that just leaves Tina…time to recruit!

Music

Forever Young – Mr. Schue (A) Although this wasn’t a rap, as Quinn requested, it definitely turned me into a “hot-mess teary train wreck”. Damn you Schuester and your penchant for having performances that tug at the heartstrings!

Single Ladies – Burt, Tina and Brittany (A++) In terms of sentimental value, this was an amazing graduation present. As a performance, coupled with the flashback to Kurt, it was an amazing reminder of the earlier Glee days. I wonder how long it took Mike O’Malley to learn those sweet, yet slightly stiff dance moves.

I’ll Remember – Kurt (B) This performance didn’t really stand and it wasn’t because Kurt’s voice wasn’t it’s usual amazing falsetto. I think it lacked the emotion I was expecting from every moment of this episode, which might have been an unfair standard.

You Get What You Give – New Directions Seniors (A+) Initially, I couldn’t decide if I loved Finn’s almost overly enthusiastic intro or hated him for being annoyingly enthusiastic, but all that stems from me being unsure of how I feel about Finn. Mercedes and Quinn insisted on wearing those awful awesome hats and Puck found it the best time to break out the moonwalk. But none of those things really took away from performance. By the end, the torch had been passed to all the non-seniors…another moment for a tear or two.

In My Life – New Directions Non-Seniors (B) These are the voices we can get used to hearing next year, and honestly, they sound really good. There’s not a Rachel Berry in the bunch of ‘em, but still, it’s definitely a strong group. However, I didn’t appreciate that this song was dedicated to Finn….and only Finn.

Glory Days – Puck and Finn (A) I owe the show’s producers/writers/whoever a huge thank you. I just knew watching the seniors graduate would make me cry, but instead they made this the oddest graduate ceremony and I spent much of the performance thinking about how annoyed the other students must have been at New Directions stealing their moment, especially since everyone knew Puck barely graduated. However, we don’t watch the show for the other students, so in that respect I suppose it makes complete sense.

Roots Before Branches – Rachel and Finn (A) This whole performance was just perfectly done. The lyrics (“I gotta have/roots before branches/to know who I am“), although bittersweet, were incredibly fitting and it was so Glee that everyone showed up to the train station to tell her goodbye. Finally, Finn gave me a reason to like him again and Rachel didn’t pull a Mary Tyler Moore hat toss after she got off the train.

Quotes

“A part of me wants to lock these doors and stay in here with everyone forever.” -Mercedes
“We could use the wastebasket for the toilet and then we could eat Joe for the food since she’s been here the shortest so we know her the least.” -Brittany, who apparently thinks Teen Jesus is a girl

“You know how hard long distance relationships can be, we both saw The Notebook.” -Blaine

“What did you think was going to happen to me? I have a 0.0 grade point average.” -Brittany

“…or I could have started one of those letter writing campaigns like they had for Friday Night Lights or something.” -Finn

“Well you think that over Sue Sylvester while you nurse your 1,000 year old vampire baby. You just be sure to bottle feed because that baby is going to use those sharp ass teeth to bite holes in those saggy ol’ boobs.” -Coach Roz Washington

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