Why is winter so long? I ask this question every day now as both the Song of Ice and Fire novels and their television counterparts fail to explain why winter is so bloody long? It’s getting colder by the minute. I wish I went to grab a bite to eat instead of going to change into less warmer clothes. Now my living room is a living breathing blizzard. I can see the headlines of my situation, it would make a great story. But I need to survive this winter so I can be there for the interview. There is a heater on the other side of the room, I will turn that on after I finish writing my new TV show. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I started working on the potential TV pilot of my world acclaimed novel. You’re going to love it, trust me. I will give you more details once this blizzard ends. Why oh why is winter so long?
A passage by world acclaimed author, The Anti Blog Complainer.
Welcome back. Are you having a good time because I’m not. I’m not having a good time because I just watched a TV show that I fondly hold close to my heart and then it trampled all over that friendship but then only marginally repaired it by the end of its run. I am very mixed on Season 3 as I feel it’s a definite downgrade from the previous two seasons but it’s nowhere near terrible. So let me explain why I feel this way.
THE DOWNSIDES OF SEASON 3
The First Half: Every season so far has taken a while for things to pick up and that mainly has to do with very little interesting stuff going on. This season doubles that with the first three episodes having so little going on you’d swear that it’s a 20 episode long season. The filler talkie scenes of the previous two seasons were a great way to learn and develop the characters. This season they are used so heavily that it feels like they only exist just to fill up time. I came to this realisation in the third episode where Tyrion takes his squire to a brothel for his courageous effort in battle. It’s not a bad scene but it’s entirely pointless.
King’s Landing really suffered the most this season as the scenes themselves are well acted and add a fair bit to the characters but in the grand scheme of things, it’s just unnecessary and really boring. Tyrion and Cersei were the best part of Season 2 but they aren’t very interesting this season as they and everyone else in this city really have nothing to work with besides bicker about the same shit for 7 episodes.
This season features the most pointless plotline yet with Littlefinger offering Sansa a chance to leave with him. Varys is dragged into this too as he and that red haired chick try to keep Sansa in King’s Landing. This plotline lasts 6 episodes and again it feels like filler. It has no lasting consequence on the characters or the overall story besides the red haired chick dies though she was pretty damn useless to begin with.
The Rest of it: Arya got shafted by the writers this season as we’re finally shown what the Brotherhood is and it’s a big letdown, especially compared to the books. So Arya just kind of spends the whole season been dragged around by all these different men and it’s so.. ehhhh. However, I will give it some credit as I really enjoyed the fight between Beric Dondarrion and The Hound. I was quite shocked when Beric Dondarrion whipped out a flaming sword and especially so when he was brought back to life after almost having his arm severed off.
Winterfell is gone but I still have to put up with how dull Bran’s storyline is. Bran meets a weirdo and they become friends and it’s so boring that I’m not even sure if it’s accurate to the books. Also Osha was really annoying this season as she wouldn’t stop complaining. Dragonstone must be the most boring place in Westeros as it sucked last season and continues on here. Though I did like Davos more than I did last season so I guess that’s something. Theon being tortured all season by a sadistic psychopath felt a bit unnecessary. Though it is a pretty great introduction to Ramsay Snow who should have appeared last season to clean up a certain plot hole, but explaining missing character’s activities isn’t really this show’s strong suit.
Let’s move onto my two least favourite characters as they had a bit of a change this season. Let’s start with Jon who has been handled very badly in this show so far. The stuff with Mance Rayder sucked but I did come to care for his relationship with Ygritte. From that lovey-dovey cave scene I actually began to care for these two and it was quite sad in the finale when they had to break it off. I would say it’s an improvement but I still don’t like Jon that much.
Jaime is very different as this is the season when you’re supposed to feel sympathy towards him. As he gets his hand chopped off and he’s humiliated by the Bolton men you’re supposed to feel sorry for him. I didn’t. I actually enjoyed watching him get kicked around in the dirt. But that bath scene with Brienne when he talks about his time with The Mad King, was the only time I actually cared for Jaime. Other than that, I found it very odd that he suddenly cares for Brienne’s wellbeing as he has never given a damn about anyone else up to this point. It just felt like too big of a shift with his character.
THE UPSIDES OF SEASON 3
The Second Half: While none of the episodes this season are particularly bad, as the season progressed, it got better. It’s very satisfying when the boring filler scenes build to something fantastic. Especially with the wedding of Tyrion and Sansa and even that other wedding for those random new people you don’t care about. The plus side of the King’s Landing storyline is the scenes with the Tyrell women. I loved that Margaery got more screen time this season and the introduction of The Queen of Thorns, aka Lady Olenna, as she completely steals every scene and works perfectly with anyone she is paired off with.
Sam and Daenerys get the best material this season. I have actually come to like Sam a lot these last three seasons as it’s like a coming of age story for him. He was a big wuss at the beginning of the season and by the end, he saves the girl, kills the evil monster and becomes a man. Nice. Daenerys on the other hand is back to her Season 1 prime but more badass and proving that she is a strong positive symbol for the common people. Her stop over at Astapor is phenomenal as it doesn’t take half of the season to get to the point. It’s the perfect length and with the greatest payoff where Daenerys reveals to that slaver guy that she understood everything he’s been saying about her and then has the Unsullied sack the city and has Drogon burn him alive. It is so freakin’ awesome!!! Season 3 has other great moments like that, but they are few and far between.
I have avoided it long enough, let’s talk about The Red Wedding. Game of Thrones just doesn’t think the Starks deserve any victory as Robb Stark’s downfall and eventual defeat is very tragic. I never mentioned it last season but I actually prefer the change the show made from accidently knocking up a lowborn girl and getting married because of honour to getting married simply because he fell in love. Robb’s storyline in Season 3 isn’t perfect as it also suffers from taking forever to get to the point. But when you finally get there it is very tragic to see it all come to this.
The Red Wedding has cemented itself in TV history as the most shocking devastating moment and I can’t really disagree with that. It starts out very sweet and happy until the uncomfortable feeling that everything is about to go wrong swiftly sweeps you off your feet. Pregnant Talisa getting viciously stabbed in the stomach is heart breaking. Walder Frey’s cold response to Catelyn’s threat to kill his wife, Roose Bolton’s final insult to Robb, Arya and the Hound witnessing the outside chaos and Richard Madden and Michelle Fairley’s performances absolutely kills it.
Overall Thoughts: Season 3 is my least favourite season so far as there are too many slower episodes with some great moments in between. But once you get to Second Sons which features Tyrion and Sansa’s wedding that’s when things get more interesting. The final episode, Mhysa is when King’s Landing finally gets interesting as it’s all about the aftermath of the two weddings and it’s such a relief. This season is so frustrating to talk about as I think about all the great moments it had to offer while having to remind myself of all of the filler to get to those parts. It’s a 6 or 7/10. It’s not okay nor good, so I’m splitting it. Until next time I have been The Blog Complainer, signing out.
