Game of Thrones

[Mr.Obvious]

That's not entirely incorrect - it's just not the whole story.

Imo, the series is 35% worldbuilding/lore, 35% plotting and scheming, 10% horrific violence, 10% speeches, 5% T and A, and the remaining 5% is Sam and Gilly tedium (It feels longer than it actually is)

If that's up your alley, go for it.
Legally, I can only say to stream it on HBO.

I don't mind Sam and gilly, tbh.
I like Sam and gilly. Don't need more than the show provides, but I never mind checking in with them.
I think Sam is one of the characters I 'bonded' with. Along ser Davos, book Stannis, Jon, Brienne and tyrion.

[Hydra009]

At this point, I only really care about Varys, Davos, and Brienne.  Mel as well to a small degree.

I used to like way more characters but they either died or became uninteresting.

Bran and Arya have both dramatically changed, and not in a good way imo.  Tryion has lost almost all of his charm.  Jon is kinda hit-and-miss, and I think I'm starting to hate both Sansa and Dany (seriously, what do dragons eat?).  I never liked Cersei and she's gone way downhill into cartoonish villiany along with Euron.  I weep for show-only fans who don't know book Euron.

[Mr.Obvious]

At this point, I only really care about Varys, Davos, and Brienne.  Mel as well to a small degree.

I used to like way more characters but they either died or became uninteresting.

Bran and Arya have both dramatically changed, and not in a good way imo.  Tryion has lost almost all of his charm.  Jon is kinda hit-and-miss, and I think I'm starting to hate both Sansa and Dany (seriously, what do dragons eat?).  I never liked Cersei and she's gone way downhill into cartoonish villiany along with Euron.  I weep for show-only fans who don't know book Euron.

I never found book arya all that interesting, which was odd because most people did. Trudging through her escapades as she fled from kings landing trying to reach home, up till the point she left westeros, were always a bit of a bore to me, for some reason. The actress did a good job in those parts, mindyou. In the show she kind of made the reverse from interesting to less interesting.
I still like Jon and Dany, in the show. But I get what you mean. I haven.'t yet seen season 8 (waiting for the gf to catch UP). But I know what you mean. The show characters made bad decisions for the sake of the plot.
Here is to hoping the book will someday come and do them justice

[Hydra009]

I never found book arya all that interesting, which was odd because most people did. Trudging through her escapades as she fled from kings landing trying to reach home, up till the point she left westeros, were always a bit of a bore to me, for some reason. The actress did a good job in those parts, mindyou. In the show she kind of made the reverse from interesting to less interesting.

Book Arya spends too much time in Braavos doing nothing.  Same thing happened in the show.  But her Winds of Winter chapter is fire.  A man is impressed!

So there's hope for book Arya still.  Show Arya, not so much.

[Hydra009]

Tywin: Am I a joke to you?

Plus, Sansa has a whole laundry list of mistakes and misjudgements.

Imho, Hot Pie is the true smartest person in the show.

[Munch]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puxjtmU7H70

[Mr.Obvious]

https://youtu.be/l2ppLtHbag4

[Hydra009]

^

[_Xenu_]

https://youtu.be/l2ppLtHbag4

Cercie would put that annoying puppets head on a pig pole unless it occurred to her to send it downstairs for medical experimentation.

[Hydra009]

Season 8 Episode 2:

I really liked it.  Very nice prelude.  I wish it had been rolled together with episode 1 to make an actually cinematic-length episode, but whatevs.

I'm also relieved and glad that characters are having actually heartfelt conversations now.  Episode 1 was very quippy and it honestly had me worried that the writers decided that Marvelesqe two-liners would suffice for dialogue from here on out.

These actually good conversations are interesting in that characters are finally sitting down and voicing their concerns as adults rather than acting out.  And a great deal of it seems like reddit-inspired dialogue where characters are behaving as if they remember the past as well as making reasonable inferences from past behavior and making the sorts of criticisms their characters would naturally make (Dany especially).  It nearly seems like a character-driven show once again.

Also, I love the setwork.  I can tell the crew went through a great deal of effort to portray a decent medieval defensive line.  It looked quite painstaking, and I appreciate that.

[Hydra009]

Now, for the criticisms:

[spoiler]

Jaime would be lucky to leave Winterfell with his life, imo.  Pushing for more than that is too much to ask.

And Theon is a hard no.  Betrayer, oathbreaker, murderer of Winterfell civilians.  There's no coming back from that.  Ever.  A compassionate person would make it quick and clean.

A tenderhearted person might object to executing him, claiming that every man is vital to the defense of Winterfell.  And that claim would technically be correct, but it would not be just.  Hence my perpetual allegiance to Team Stannis.[/spoiler]

[Hydra009]

Death predictions for next episode:

[spoiler]Dead pool:  Bran, Jaime, Brienne, Tormund, Edd, Theon, Beric Dondarrion
Survivors: Jon, Dany, Sansa, Arya, Gendry, Tyrion, Davos, Jorah, Greyworm, Missandei, Sandor Clegane (get hype), Sam + Gilly[/spoiler]

[Shiranu]

Arya's young, we try not to sexualize her.

[_Xenu_]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=347&v=dhWUFXvaZjo

[Hydra009]

Arya's young, we try not to sexualize her.

I half expected to see the police outside my apartment during that scene, lol.