Events/News/Previews

Game of Thrones Season 7 LA Premiere with the cast & First episode impressions!

Posted on by Luka Nieto

Night King Season 7 Premiere

Last night, the Game of Thrones season seven world premiere took place in Los Angeles. The event was so secret that until recently not even the date was confirmed, but all of that is now in the past: the premiere has taken place, and we bring you plenty of photos of the stars in classy outfits arriving to the event and, later, celebrating at the after party, as well as first impressions of episode one of season seven, “Dragonstone.”

First, get ready for a deluge of photos with the cast and crew preparing for and arriving at the Red… no, scratch that — the appropriately themed Winter Blue Carpet, with John Bradley, Maisie Williams with her boyfriend Ollie Jackson, Sophie Turner, Isaac H. Wright, Jacob Anderson, Richard Dormer, Indira Varma, Iain Glen, Jerome Flynn, Liam Cunningham, Alfie Allen, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aidan Gillen, Gemma Whelan, Joe Dempsie (spoilers!), Gwendoline Christie, Conleth Hill, Tom Hopper, Hannah Murray, Keisha Castle-Hughes, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss with their respective wives Amanda Peet and Andrea Troyer, composer Ramin Djawadi, director Alan Taylor, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Kit Harington with girlfriend and former co-star Rose Leslie.


The very dapper Mr John Bradley and myself on the way to #gameofthrones season premiere!

A post shared by Liam Cunningham (@liamcunningham1) on

















This show really is full of beautiful people, isn’t it? But don’t let that distract you too much from the real reason we would all love to have been there: the actual premiere, which was introduced with an orchestra conducted by composer Ramin Rjawadi:


Once the screening was over, much fun was had at the after party, until late in the night:

There's a lot of bonkers rad shit at this #GOTPremiere party but map of Westeros dance floor is my fave.

A post shared by Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) on







Needless to say, there is no footage of the episode or even proper reviews yet (it’s just three days now, guys, let’s be patient!), but some of the press who attended the event, as well as some of the celebrity guests, commented on the episode in more general ways, giving their first impressions. There’s not a negative one among them. Here’s a taste:








So that was it! The premiere is over, but the show airs on our screens in just three days. Later today there is sure to be plenty of interviews on which we will report, and there is also today’s Memory Lane and whatever else comes — and it will come, because this is Game of Thrones and it always surprises, even outside the confines of the story.

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Luka Nieto

146 Comments

  2. Christ i’m so pumped for this episode XD
    Can’t bloody wait to watch it ^^

  5. Not sure what might evoke “cackles of holy shit delight”, but I’m damn excited to find out !

    Everyone looks great, too, particularly Maisie, Rose, Kit, and Liam. His navy blue ensemble is really elegant.

    Wonder if we’ll get any non-spoiler reviews in the coming days before the premiere airs.

  6. That premiere was almost ‘stealth’ , there seems to be nothing in England for this season.

  7. Maisie Williams with his boyfriend Ollie Jackson

    Is there something we haven’t been told? 😉

  9. Boy Kit and Rose. Been going on for a while now.
    Of all actors I guess Rose gets to shmooze with the remaining cast more than any former.

  10. Markus Stark: Wonder if we’ll get any non-spoiler reviews in the coming days before the premiere airs

    I would be curious to see some of these as well.

  11. Markus Stark,

    I am guessing the reviewers who were part of the screening, like Joanna Robinson,should be posting reviews soon? I seem to remember reviews coming out soon after the premiere last year.

  12. Holy mother and the Seven! Iain, you hottie! Rockin’ that kilt, Jorah. Gemma is going to have an Ironborn? I’m so out of it, apparently. Kit and Rose are too beautiful to look at for too long. Gendry, you are a doll, get a proper tailor: you can share with Sansa, ugh. Can’t wait, too excited. I’ll shut up now 🙂

  13. Ser Not Appearing in this Series,

    When we next see her in the series, perhaps she will be a he and say, “Hey, babe. Let’s eat a pie on the wild side.”

    ***
    The dudes are all so dapper!!!! I am in love with Iain’s kilt-suit, and every suit is just fantastic.

    I’m also loving Gemma’s baby bump! Wow, she’s close, right?

  15. ghost of winterfell:
    Markus Stark,

    I am guessing the reviewers who were part of the screening, like Joanna Robinson,should be posting reviews soon? I seem to remember reviews coming out soon after the premiere last year.

    Their tongues are pretty tied for the next three days. I imagine we’ll get some vapid pieces that can’t really tell us anything specific or anything of substance beyond how they felt, but the real boon will be putting together detailed, thorough, substantial reviews that can be released Sunday night as soon as the credits roll.

  16. Wow, I wish I could watch this episode on Sunday already. But I don’t have access to HBO in my part of the world unfortunately. Good thing one of my local TV channel will air the new episodes every Monday evening, so I only need to avoid spoilers for one day, yay!

  18. Richard Dormer, remember when he was at the GoT ‘London’ premiere , back a while now, and was not in that season. Then stayed invisible for season 6.

    I wonder if actors like Tobias Menzies and Mark Gatiss get invited to these premieres?
    Tho they are both way too busy.

  19. Wow I had no idea Gemma Whelan was pregnant!!

    She did all those stunts (and even got injured), was this when she was pregnant too? I can’t remember the dates. 😱

    And will she be able (or even required) to film for S8 in a few months time?

  20. I feel sorry for Indira Varma , first D&D want to do Dorne and then it’s … O Forget It!

  21. Everybody looked great.Sophie looks so good as a red head.I wish Emilia Peter and Lena were there.Might I just say David is looking really hot lol.

  22. Ser Not Appearing in this Series: Is there something we haven’t been told? 😉

    This is a mistake I often make in English, after all this years. I can’t explain it, really. My only excuse is that possessive pronouns (“his”, “her”) are non-gendered in Spanish (“su”), so when a possessive pronoun has to be written in English, I often mix up the “possessed” and the “possessor.” When the two people are not the same gender, it results in a mistake, like it happened here.

  24. Maybe the premiere will open with the legend of the night’s king. The man who fell in love with a woman “with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars”. And ruled Castle Black with her.

    I can only hope. Is there a prediction thread already?

  26. Ginevra:
    Ser Not Appearing in this Series,

    When we next see her in the series, perhaps she will be a he and say, “Hey, babe.Let’s eat a pie on the wild side.”
    ***

    Very good! 😝 Not often I see a clever Lou Reed callback. (In fact, the last time was 12 year-old Natalie Portman in the ice-skating scene in “Beautiful Girls”).

  28. Holy Balls! Did you see that picture of the “shapely” Maisie Williams (selfie with her boyfriend)?
    So much for “Arry.”

    Syrio: “You must listen to me, boy.”
    Arya: “I’m a girl!”
    Syrio: “No s*hit.”

  29. TFT:
    Maybe the premiere will open with the legend of the night’s king. The man who fell in lovewith a woman “with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars”. And ruled Castle Black with her.

    I can only hope. Is there a prediction thread already?

    I seriously doubt that. I don’t think it would be relevant to the story. The Night King of the show has basically nothing to do with the Night’s King of the books. But it would be cool if they did make some kind of a connection. Oh and btw it was the Nightfort, not Castle Black 😉

    I actually think the first scene might just be Dany’s arrival.

  31. Apollo,

    I had no idea she was pregnant either but I suspect she is going to die in S7 at least that is my theory. That said, if she does survive S8 filming does not start until September (if not later) so she has time depending up when the baby is due.

  32. Luka Nieto,

    Don’t worry about it, your English is far, far better than my Castellano, French, German, Japanese and other languages I mangle with much worse mistakes I assure you!

  33. HelloThere,

    Honestly were you expecting anything else ?

    I expect every episode will be quite spectacular, the only people who could potentially be disappointed are people like me who are very critical of the story logic and the characters and the dialogue.

    But most people just care about the overall narrative, and the spectacle, and I’m sure the show will deliver more than enough on that account.

  36. I have weird feelings looking at Maisie like that she still is a child in my eyes even if she is now eighteen/nineteen?

  37. Apollo,

    I doubt she was pregnant at the time, but maybe.

    For this year, I’m sure they can work around her pregnancy as they did with Carice van Houten.

    Filming probably won’t start until September or October, and who knows when/if Gemma is needed.

  38. Jon Snowed:
    I have weird feelings looking at Maisie like that she still is a child in my eyes even if she is now eighteen/nineteen?

    She’s actually 20, now.

  41. I. CAN’T. WAIT.
    I don’t think I have ever been excited for the weekend to end and to watch it, and so envious of those who were there.
    Just a question: do they show just one episode at the premiere? Just the first?

  42. They all scrub up well, don’t they ? 😛
    More seriously, they all look stunning and refreshed. Good on them !

    PS Is it dumb that, out of all those marvelous pictures, the one that made me the happiest was that of Geek-in-Chief Patton Oswalt ? Look at his adorable face !

  44. Markus Stark:
    Mell,

    Seems like Lena, Peter, and Emilia were all absent.

    Sometimes there is note before hand about non appearances , saw nothing this time.
    In fact everything seemed rushed.
    No Carice van Houten either.

  45. Ten Bears: Very good! 😝 Not often I see a clever Lou Reed callback. (In fact, the last time was 12 year-old Natalie Portman in the ice-skating scene in “Beautiful Girls”).

    Thank you! A couple of years ago, Code Black had this hilarious scene where a petrified intern started singing the lyrics and got to the now arcane and awkward part where “the colored girls go…” and he looks up so painfully at the African American nurse, which is exactly how I feel when I get to that point in the song. But then she joins in.

  46. Luka Nieto,

    It is amazing how different languages work. It is the same with German. It assigns ‘gender’ to things (der, die) but in English one just uses ‘the’.
    I am so grateful to you and and all the other mods to make this looong wait bearable.
    We finally made it!!!

  48. Everyone looked so wonderful, but Iain Glenn was a stand-out in that crowd with his kilt! Awesome choice for the blue carpet! Gemma Whelan looked radiant – I had no idea she was expecting. I wonder what project Peter is busy with? I imagine Emilia is busy filming the Han Solo movie in London with Ron Howard.

  49. Did we know Sophie had dyed her hair back red again?

    Perhaps she did it after filming with a wig all season just to stir up the wig hatred on these sites 😛

  50. Carice left a tweet that she was sorry not to make it, she seemed to imply that she is in season 8.

    Didn’t know her son had had some medical problem.

  51. Everyone looks so beautiful! And that orchestra!! If HBO gets tired of television, they could do party planning – looks like a fabulous evening. Richard Dormer and his icy antlers 💙💙💙

  52. Good Lord. Attractive people. Attractive people everywhere. 😉

    I’m stoked to hear what few impressions are circulating about the premiere are extremely positive. Not that I expected anything less! I’m sure that the episode is fantastic, and I can’t wait to watch it on Sunday. Three more days!

  53. No Faulkner or Hopper? Is Sam the only one that has been seen in the promo material so far? Faulkner hasn’t been shown at all.

  54. Newbietothegame:
    Luka Nieto,

    It is amazing how different languages work. It is the same with German. It assigns ‘gender’ to things (der, die) but in English one just uses ‘the’.

    And in Finnish we don’t have different pronouns for each gender like ‘she’ and ‘he’, we only have ‘hän’ which works for both. The funny thing is that in casual conversation we don’t use ‘hän’, instead we refer to people as ‘se’, which means ‘it’ in English.

  57. The Night King didn’t look too happy. Was it the warm L.A. weather, the smog, or did he snort some bad coke at a Nightclub?

  58. Thanks guys. Didn’t see any pics of Hopper so wasn’t sure. I know Emilia is filming the HS spin off, but I wonder why Peter, Lena, Pilou, Rory, Crompton, Ellie Kendrick, Kaye, Hivju, didn’t go?

  59. Jack Bauer 24,

    They’ve always been there in the past, their absence this year is really worrisome. They’re probably disappointed in the new season and ashamed to be seen there !!

    Sorry mate, had to poke a bit of fun at you 😉

    I mean people are just busy, I’m sure that’s all it is. People have lives, no premiere has ever had the entire cast from A to Z. Plus this was kind of strung together at the last minute compared to previous years.

  60. Little sad that a lot of important characters was not there.

    Daenerys
    Tyrion
    Cersei
    Euron
    The hound
    Melisandre
    Tormund
    The mountain
    Randill
    Olenna
    Quiburn
    Podrick
    Edd
    Jim brodbent
    Etc

    I hope season 8 they call all the cast of the show, Sean bean, Jason momoa, pedro, jack, iwam, charles , everybody. Would be a históric day.

  61. Jon Snowed: I have weird feelings looking at Maisie like that she still is a child in my eyes even if she is now eighteen/nineteen?

    She’s 20. I get your weird feelings, I do; we’ve seen her grow up on screen. But she is an adult, so as far as I’m concerned she has the right to express her sexuality in any way she chooses. Emphasis on chooses, of course. This was a deliberate photo, so I felt fine publishing it. When others sexualize her without her consent, however, that’s another story, and it gets troublesome, not because she’s young (though that too,) but because she’s a person.

  62. Aguero,
    How about a giant red carpet FINALE the weekend of the series finale? They could make a huge party of it and try to get EVERYBODY there. One last big gathering of all the named characters on the show. It would be fun for the fans, especially if HBO or some station would actually air it live with lots of interviews and such.

  63. Aguero,

    I imagine setting up a big red carper event for season 8 might be the hardest, because the cast will all be free from GOT obligations, and will have moved on to new filming projects.

  65. That tweet in Portuguese with Gemma Whelan… why does it say Emilia on it? Does that tweeter find it difficult to tell the difference between Gemma Whelan and Emilia Clarke??? Hahaha

  67. Luka Nieto: She’s 20. I get your weird feelings, I do; we’ve seen her grow up on screen. But she is an adult, so as far as I’m concerned she has the right to express her sexuality in any way she chooses. Emphasis on chooses, of course. This was a deliberate photo, so I felt fine publishing it. When others sexualize her without her consent, however, that’s another story, and it gets troublesome, not because she’s young (though that too,) but because she’s a person.

    This wasn’t even a sexual photo, it was just her and her boyfriend. People need to chill out.

    I don’t consider a picture with her boyfriend to be an “expression of her sexuality” that we need to analyze the legitimacy of.

    Also, you don’t need to consent to be attracted to someone. Consent is required if you’re going to do something. Saying she looks beautiful doesn’t require consent.

  68. Luka Nieto: This is a mistake I often make in English, after all this years. I can’t explain it, really. My only excuse is that possessive pronouns (“his”, “her”) are non-gendered in Spanish (“su”), so when a possessive pronoun has to be written in English, I often mix up the “possessed” and the “possessor.” When the two people are not the same gender, it results in a mistake, like it happened here.

    As for myself, I still have problems using a/the. Those damn things are made to confound non-native speakers. 🙁

  69. Luka Nieto: This is a mistake I often make in English, after all this years. I can’t explain it, really. My only excuse is that possessive pronouns (“his”, “her”) are non-gendered in Spanish (“su”), so when a possessive pronoun has to be written in English, I often mix up the “possessed” and the “possessor.” When the two people are not the same gender, it results in a mistake, like it happened here.

    Not to worry, Luka. I have a dear professor friend from Seville who’s lived out of Spain and mostly in the States since the 50s. After a half-century of lectures, books, and intellectual commentary in English…even he still has a propensity to misuse pronouns!

  70. I bet most of those not able to be there wish they could have been. Specifically Emilia as she really seems like a socialite that enjoys such events.

  73. Ten Bears:
    The Night King didn’t look too happy. Was it the warm L.A. weather, the smog, or did he snort some bad coke at a Nightclub?

    Ten Bears,

    So THAT’S why the White Walkers have returned?! To avenge a coke deal gone wrong? Bam! I think the mystery has been solved.

  75. Jack Bauer 24: No Faulkner or Hopper? Is Sam the only one that has been seen in the promo material so far? Faulkner hasn’t been shown at all.

    Yeah , mysterious, maybe a still of Faulkner will show up. Seems things ought to be being set up in KL in Ep 1. He is listed on IMDB as being in Ep 1, thought on IMDB that can mean nothing. However since Ep 1 has been shown …. maybe….

  76. Ginevra: When we next see her in the series, perhaps she will be a he and say, “Hey, babe. Let’s eat a pie on the wild side.”

    Oh, I do enjoy that reference! Thx, G! We used to end our slam-dancing punk evenings with that back in the 80s… Today, I still hum that “do-do-doo-do-doo…” as I go to work.

    I think it would be a great theme song for the Faceless Men. 🙂

  77. Luka Nieto: This is a mistake I often make in English, after all this years. I can’t explain it, really. My only excuse is that possessive pronouns (“his”, “her”) are non-gendered in Spanish (“su”), so when a possessive pronoun has to be written in English, I often mix up the “possessed” and the “possessor.” When the two people are not the same gender, it results in a mistake, like it happened here.

    This is a mistake I often make as well… a possible explanation is that even though possessive determiners (mi, tu, su) are non-gendered in Spanish, possessive pronouns are gendered (mía/mío, tuya/tuyo, suya/suyo). Similarly to other Romance languages, possessives in Spanish tend to agree with the grammatical gender of the object, not the subject. So, unconsciously, we try to do the same in English: Maisie y su novio –> el novio suyo –> “his” boyfriend.

    (I can almost hear people snoring after this comment.) 🙂

  78. The Gendry actor looks like he’s auditioning to be a stand-in for Jason Statham. Caveman pose…

  79. Jack Bauer 24: Thanks guys. Didn’t see any pics of Hopper so wasn’t sure. I know Emilia is filming the HS spin off, but I wonder why Peter, Lena, Pilou, Rory, Crompton, Ellie Kendrick, Kaye, Hivju, didn’t go?

    Rory seemed to be traveling with the premiere cast, so figured he was there but no pic. Goodness thought I saw Hivju in the background of one the photos?
    Yeah thought Ellie might be there this year, not sure she ever has?
    Seeing Gemma was a surprise since she has never done it.

  80. Jack Bauer 24: Jack

    You know Jack thought there might have been a surprise appearance by Bella Ramsey , so far the ‘child’ stars of the show never seem to show up Red Carpet or Emmys.

    Don’t count Maisie , way back, she was special.

  81. Boojam: You know Jack thought there might have been a surprise appearance by Bella Ramsey , so far the ‘child’ stars of the show never seem to show up Red Carpet or Emmys.

    Good point. With how popular her character is surprised she didn’t go. Being a child actor though her parents might now let her watch the show.

  82. Markus Stark,

    Taking provocative photos without the consent of the subject is not all right, that’s what I meant. And yes, the photo isn’t “sexual” per se; I meant she can express her sexuality or sensuality however she chooses. Not the same thing.

  85. Gwen’s hair….Gemma looks amazing…my dear bear and his kilt…and Richard Dormer having a very good time at the after party. Haha! Love it.

    Put a guy in a suit and it’s instant style. Although I think Alfie stole my dad’s suit from the 70s.

  89. I love Terri’s excitement, just watched her IGN video yesterday. Her excitement with the opening has me speculating once again. How does this season open? Opens with the Others, Danny landing, Bran at the wall? any thoughts?

    What if it threw us for a loop and opened with Harrenhall Tourny?

  90. Jenny,

    He just doesn’t want to spoil all the people who think that Jon is a product of incest between Ned and Lyanna ….

  91. Man, those first impressions got me even more hyped! Didn’t think that was possible.

    Rose and Kit do look lovely together. And Ian Glen in a kilt? Of course!

  92. It’s amazing how the two women who play less than beautiful characters in the show (Brienne and Gilly) look so amazingly beautiful in person! They both looked GORGEOUS!

    And Luka, we haven’t made it, yet. Still got three days! If you hear about a fire in midtown Manhattan, it will probably be me spontaneously combusting from all the repressed excitement!

    I also appreciate your sensitivity about posting suggestive pics without the person’s permission!

  94. Masspsychosis,

    Well the constructed Valyrian languages have 4 genders which are nothing to do with sex

    hūrenkon qogror — “lunar class”,
    vēzenkon qogror — “solar class”,
    tegōñor qogror — “terrestrial class”,
    embōñor qogror — “aquatic class”.

  95. Seeing Joe again after all this time makes me stupid happy. 🙂

    Maybe for Season 8 they’ll do a Blood Red carpet premiere, and everyone will just lay on it feigning death. 😂

  96. Dee Stark:
    Jack Bauer 24,

    I was going to say that
    she probably too young to watch full episodes
    how old is she?

    Thirteen. My 14-year-old watches with me but not my 12-year-old. I have reservations about allowing my 14-year-old to watch, but she does seem reasonably mature. Sometimes.

  97. Ser Not Appearing in this Series,

    Well, Swedish (and I suspect related Nordic languages) has a “grammatical gender” that has nothing to do with “biological gender”. Swedish classifies nouns as “ett-ord” (neuter gender) or “en-ord” (common gender).

  99. Markus Stark: you don’t need to consent to be attracted to someone. Consent is required if you’re going to do something. Saying she looks beautiful doesn’t require consent.

    Ever hear of somebody being asked to sign a photo release? That’s the kind of consent being discussed here. When someone publishes a selfie on Twitter, that’s implied consent – as opposed to all the abuses one reads about in which a tabloid gets hold of some celebrity’s private photo and prints it without permission. Luka was adhering to ethical journalistic practice. This is a good thing, in my view as a fellow journalist.

  102. Jenny:

    Kit,babe you can say Jon is a Targ now.Even my mom who hasn’t seen a single episode of this show knows at this point lol.

    Lots of love for Bella Ramsey from Kit! Apparently Lyanna Mormont “has a lot to do this season.” Can’t wait.

  103. That kilt. Men should wear them more often, IMO. Sexy as hell. And Liam’s dark-on-dark-on-dark suit! Be stll my beating heart. The young guys in this show have nothing on these old smoothies.

    Among the women, Gwen always stands out. Clothes just look good on her. I love her flapper look. She could almost make me a believer in fashion.

  105. Firannion,

    “Ever hear of somebody being asked to sign a photo release?” Actually yes, since I’m a lawyer.

    My point was that Luka said that people shouldn’t be “sexualized” without consent. Sexualizing means “to make something sexual, to add a sexual quality”. Taking a picture isn’t sexualization by that definition, therefore I assumed he was talking about something else.

    Consent for pictures is a privacy and personal data protection issue, not a sexualization issue.

  106. Kay,

    Peter is currently filming “My Dinner With Herve” in London I believe. I was disappointed not to see him and his wife, because in a recent interview in Spain he said, “I have children now” and I wondered did this mean his wife had their second baby already? Not like he would let the world know lol.

  107. Iain Glen in a kilt & Argyle jacket.

    Be still, my beating heart!

    I could almost die happy now for seeing that, were it not for me wanting to know how the story ends.

  109. Sophie’s dress is freaking awesome. I want the knockoff version.

    Also, man, I follow Gemma on Instagram and must have totally missed that she’s pregnant! I was shocked she’s so far along! Good for her. Everyone looks so amazing and I’m so happy/excited to see what happens in the first episode of season 7!!! The hype is real!

    Iain wins for best dressed though I think. It’s a shame he and Rory didn’t go together with matching kilts. 🙂

  111. Tyrion’s Cape: Kay,

    Peter is currently filming “My Dinner With Herve” in London I believe. I was disappointed not to see him and his wife, because in a recent interview in Spain he said, “I have children now” and I wondered did this mean his wife had their second baby already? Not like he would let the world know lol.

    Ahh… thanks for that. I didn’t know Peter’s film was filming in London.

  112. Ten Bears,

    Holy Balls! Did you see that picture of the “shapely” Maisie Williams (selfie with her boyfriend)?

    Yep, that was an amazing photo! Oh and everyone looked lovely!

  113. Ten Bears,

    Holy Balls! Did you see that picture of the “shapely” Maisie Williams (selfie with her boyfriend)?

    Yep, that was an amazing photo! Oh and everyone looked lovely! Kit and Rose also – i’d love it if they were in a movie together.

  114. Markus Stark,

    he only people who could potentially be disappointed are people like me who are very critical of the story logic and the characters and the dialogue.

    Wow. What a nice way of telling all of us that we are clueless clods

  117. Awww Patton. Good to see him enjoying himself.

    Iain looks amazing. True king of Scotland.

  118. Don’t usually are much for red carpet photos, but I loved Sophie’s dress

  119. i believe that the first scene will be held on the north. the far north – where the white walkers resides!

  120. ash:
    Markus Stark,

    Wow.What a nice way of telling all of us that we are clueless clods

    I’m sure that’s not what Markus meant.

    I’ve noticed there’s a certain type of fans who try to apply rigorous logic to works of art. Wimsey is one, but he does it with sensitivity and such insight that I enjoy his posts – don’t necessarily always agree, though.

    Over at another website that shall not be named here, there are a lot of “logists”. They count the numbers for each army, calculate the logistics, predict future events based on those… Disregarding the fact that GRRM is notoriously bad with numbers, travel times etc. Many of these people also see right and wrong rigidly (black and white), and apparently enthusiastically agree with Melisandre (“If half of the onion is rotten, it’s an rotten onion”) and Stannis (“The good deed does not wash away the bad”). They might be missing the whole point of GRRM’s work, and D&D’s, and might be sorely dissapointed when the GOT/ASOIAF world doesn’t follow rational thought and real-life logic (story-telling logic is different) and the story doesn’t end up the way they predicted/wanted.

    Why would it? The real world isn’t rational, most people most of the time don’t make their choices based on logic or rational thought. Why would the Westerosi? I think part of GRRM’s genius is that, while apparently writing “fantasy”, his characters are very much real people with all kinds of conflicting thoughts and emotions. D&D have taken this and brought it to the show. That’s why it’s so successful.

    Ultimately, the books and the show are works of art, and, as such, beyond “logic”. To “rationalise” works of art is to diminish them. Think of people who attribute Vincent van Gogh’s paintings to this drug or that mental disorder, completely bypassing his creativity.

    It’s good to analyse works of art, it might teach us something about ourselves. Rules of storytelling, Chekov’s guns (so beloved by Wimsey) rose from the stories, not from some authority above. Sure, now that Chekov and others have identified these features of good storytelling, one might try to “paint-by-numbers” but the effort will fall flat because it’ll lack the passion and creativity of true storytelling, the creative force, the compulsion to tell a true story. A story that is true to human nature. So, messy. Not black and white, not clear-cut. Messy. That’s why I think GOT/ASOIAF is so successful. It’s true to human nature. Messy.

    Huh, sorry for the rant.

  121. Firannion:
    That kilt. Men should wear them more often, IMO. Sexy as hell.

    I once wore a klit…but I was only about 6 at the time. Not sure the sexy thing applies there…

  122. Love Maisie’s look and dress, Wowsa! Boy with that dress and pose she looks ready to dance the Flamingo. When she was in Tampa a couple years back hope she dined at the historic Columbia in Ybor City, authentic Cuban Spanish cuisine with Flamingo dancing and music as entertainment.

  125. talvikorppi,

    You are exactly right, the whole point of fictional drama is that people make decisions – good and bad – and the drama shows us the consequences of those decisions – good or bad.

    In real life people make poor choices, sometimes just under pressure other times just irrationally and this is reflected in drama, if it were not the case people wouldn’t be in prison / get fired or get kicked out of school / do drugs / get unexpectedly pregnant / gamble all their money away etc etc – but they do.

    That doesn’t necessarily mean drama should be exempt from criticism of course, just that a character behaving irrationally isn’t automatically bad writing.

  127. Sweet Lord o’ Light, Richard Dormer cleans up nicely. First he steals Trailer Two in, like, 7/10ths of a second, and now he shows up at the premiere giving the other gents a run for their money. Between him and Iain Glen in his kilt, I’m about to lose it over here. Thank God Rory wasn’t there… else I’d be in front of the laundromat right now, trying to score industrial-strength injectable tranquilizers to calm my palpitating heart.

  128. Ser Not Appearing in this Series,

    Exactly. Drama – or any form of art – should not be exempt from criticism. But the measure should be: Is it well-crafted in its medium? Is the internal composition sound? Is it aesthetically pleasing (in the broad sense, not in the narrow sense of looking or sounding “pretty”)? Does it intrigue you? Does it invite you to come back time and again, puzzle out things you migh’ve not noticed first time around? Does it make you think about yourself and/or life in general? Is it something that will not leave you alone, i.e. something that has somehow touched a chord inside you? Dare I say it, touched your humanity?

    I’m a visual person so I tend to think of paintings, pictures. I have my favourites I can stare at for hours and always find something new. Stick my nose right up to the canvas to see the brushwork until a polite museum warden politely drags me away. I can imagine musical people have similar “art” experiences when in concert.

    Now, while GOT is an exceptional TV show, it’s not perfect. Internal composition (“story logic”, if you like) is sometimes a weakness. Sometimes the art of language (i.e. dialogue) doesn’t quite work. There have been times when acting has taken me out of the illusion. But all in all, when you look at the bigger picture, GoT is a masterpiece.

    BTW, as a “pictures” person, I’ve enjoyed every allusion, from Brienne as Venus rising from the sea to Jaime, to Jon’s Caravaggio resurrection scene, and all the Brueghel mayhem in between. The directors and DOPs know their stuff. You can enjoy GoT without spotting these, but art nerds like me get a nerdgasm, hahaha!

  129. Wolfish,

    Nah, I’ll sauna tomorrow. Saturday is the traditional sauna day, washing away all the dirt of the working week, so you can be all clean and pure for Sunday and Game of Thrones… Ooops, it only airs 24 hrs after in my country, so early Monday morning.

    Anyway. All the guys are dapper and sexy… but why didn’t you mention sexy af NCW?

  130. talvikorppi:

    Anyway. All the guys are dapper and sexy… but why didn’t you mention sexy af NCW?

    As you wrote, they’re all dapper and sexy, each in his own way. Rory just happens to be my favorite, followed by Iain. But apparently I’m developing a thing for Richard, too, so Sunday nights are getting even more complicated…

    One of my BFFs, who comes over on Sundays to watch, looovvveeesss Nikolaj, so she’s got him covered. 😉

  131. Absolutely agree Luka, I was merely expressing that it makes me feel strange because having seen her grow from a small child she’s still just a kid in my eyes. I wasn’t being critical of what she chooses to do just to make that clear😀

  132. I don’t regard this as a spoiler but apparently episode 1 will start with a cold open and the intro credits will be different this season.

  133. Jon Snowed:
    Absolutely agree Luka, I was merely expressing that it makes me feel strange because having seen her grow from a small child she’s still just a kid in my eyes. I wasn’t being critical of what she chooses to do just to make that clear😀

    Sorry to wade in so late but I’ve read the comments on this thread. WotW and Luka as their writer for this article published a picture of Maisie that she herself had published.

    I think the sexualisation came from a couple of commenters who commented on her “shapely” body in quite unabiguous terms. Too bad that Luka got dragged into it. He never said/wrote anything sexualising/demeaning/degrading, it was only a couple of commenters btl. I admire Luka’s strong stance in refuting these unfounded claims.

  134. Firannion,

    Ditto. I have unfortunately not the skill to learn to speak another language fluently, but I am fascinated by the origin of words, how language begins and develops, the ways that dialect changes things….I took one class in college and never had a chance to take another. BTW Bill Bryson wrote Mother Tongue, about the development of English. Very interesting (and in his usual way, lots of silliness and tongue in cheek moments, but still very inforative)

  135. talvikorppi,

    no, don’t be sorry. The comment did feel as if we others didn’t care about these things. I appreciate your post to clarify what he said, thank you.

  137. Dee Stark,

    Markus Stark,

    I was trying to edit my comment but did not let me. I was going to add that “though I disagree with you a majority of the time, I find your posts very well written, detailed, with tons of arguments and examples to back up your point” and following that with makes sense now 🙂 haha

  138. Wolfish:
    talvikorppi:

    As you wrote, they’re all dapper and sexy, each in his own way. Rory just happens to be my favorite, followed by Iain. But apparently I’m developing a thing for Richard, too, so Sunday nights are getting even more complicated…

    One of my BFFs, who comes over on Sundays to watch, looovvveeesss Nikolaj, so she’s got him covered. 😉

    Dear Wolfish, we really are alike in some ways (sorry!). Rory and Iain are my 1 and 2 as well (occasionally switching), and Richard Dormer is rather lovely. Tom is firmly at #3 however. Rawr. It actually took me a few seasons to realize that Nicolaj is hot. I mean, obviously I knew he was handsome, but I didn’t really NOTICE until his character grew on me. May he never ever change his nose.

  139. Wish I was there. Sartorial comments: Gwen gets better looking every day. Didn’t like Sophie’s look and wish that sequined sack dress with the ravenous Japanese god were buried so deep in the Pacific it wouldn’t poison the fish. She’s very pretty of course, but her eyes looked odd–new makeup style? Maisie rocked that green number and was sexier than the other ladies put together. Men in kilts–thank you, Iain Glen. By the way, was that Glen plaid?

    About that sexuality thing. Maisie’s at that age where she can get child roles, grown-up roles, and character parts. It must be very delicate for her, career-wise. It may seem a little odd to see the girl who rushed to Ned’s rescue looking like that, but it worked well IMO. I am not a heightist and find short women as attractive as tall, if they wear the right clothes. And she does.

  140. Pigeon:

    Dear Wolfish, we really are alike in some ways (sorry!).

    Don’t be sorry! I’m not. Clearly, we have impeccable taste. 😛

    I follow Luvvie Ajayi (“Awesomely Luvvie”) on Facebook, and her GoT recaps are a scream. She’s the first person I recall referring to Jaqen H’ghar as “Sexy Jesus.” LOL. I look forward to seeing him in something else someday! Kit is Luvvie’s great love, though. Her obsession with all things Jon is hilarious to witness.

  141. Stark Raven’ Rad,

    Totally agreed on all points! Maisie was stunning. Since Sophie’s a Louis Vuitton rep, that’s all she’s been wearing on the red carpet… and they’ve put her in some really odd getups. Sigh. But I’ve never been a Nicolas Ghesquière fan; I pretty much hate everything he’s dressed Jennifer Connelly in, too (another beautiful woman!).

  142. There have been so many articles posted over the past few days, I can’t find the time to read them all (not that I’m complaining!) but it is so nice to see everyone looking so happy and getting along before all the ‘drama’ of the show begins ^_^

    Everyone looks great, but I’m not seeing enough love for Gwendoline Christie, she is looking better than I think I’ve ever seen her on a red carpet, and she usually looks great, so whoever helped dress and style her, she should keep them – they are good!

  143. I am exactly the same, I’m reading 2-3 articles (plus comments per day) right now but still not read everything.

  144. Wolfish:
    Pigeon:

    Don’t be sorry! I’m not. Clearly, we have impeccable taste. 😛

    I follow Luvvie Ajayi (“Awesomely Luvvie”) on Facebook, and her GoT recaps are a scream. She’s the first person I recall referring to Jaqen H’ghar as “Sexy Jesus.”

    I thought Sexy Jesus was coined by that guy who does the Gay of Thrones parody recap videos. He gives most of the characters similar nicknames; that’s just the one that was so perfect that it stuck.

  145. TormundsDaughter,

    She only dyed it red again a few weeks ago probably as she’s about to start filming X-Men. Per Sophie the reason she had blonde hair was for another role but all that bleach destroyed her hair and she wasn’t allowed to touch it for months per her hairdresser that was around last year and it’s only gotten healthy enough now to redye it red again.

  146. Wow I never even knew Gemma was pregnant, she looks incredible. Iain for me looks the best out of the males how could he not be.

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