Guys I think someone should go check on the temperature in Hell, because this season of Game of Thrones has actually been GOOD! O_o I'm still in a state of shock tbh; I really didn't think this show had it in them. Aside from a couple of random scenes in 5x04 and 5x05 respectively, the last 3 episodes straight have managed to hold my interest from beginning to end! I'm actually super eager to see the next episode! It's a miracle!

( A few general thoughts about this seasonCollapse )

And now for some more specific thoughts on the last 3 episodes:

GoT 5x03:

( I wish we had some wine for you, it's a bit early in the day for us.Collapse )

GoT 5x04:

( You are the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. And you are my daughter.Collapse )

GoT 5x05:

( Kill the boy, and let the man be born.Collapse )

Also I'm happy that we've finally reached episodes that nobody has watched yet in advance! \o/ Fandom and Tumblr are no longer dark and full of spoilers...I was finally able to search for Theon gifs without worrying. ;) Like this adorable one of (I quote) "Theon and Jeyne Poole doing a SQUID DANCE OF DEFIANT RESILIENCE." :p Bless.


x

I know I have a ton of season finale reviews to catch up on (including Vikings!!), but I think this post is long enough...I'm sorry that I have been so absent the last few weeks, I've felt like I've had no time to internet lately...:s I will try to catch up on posts and comments soon.

 

Well last week was sure one of highs and lows for ASOIAF fandom. On the bright side, GRRM released a Sansa chapter from TWOW!!! (And said he is trying for 2016!) On the other hand, the spoilers that have come out from the screeners of the first four epps of s5 make it sound like the worst, grossest season yet...:/

( Some quick thoughts on the Sansa chapter...Collapse )

I was especially happy to see a Sansa chapter out, since on the show they have inexplicably rushed to the end of Sansa's AFFC storyline already--it's good to know what Sansa is *actually* up to right now in the story, as opposed to D&D's horrible fanfiction. Let's talk about that fan fiction for a moment:

( Spoilers for GoT 5x01-5x04Collapse )

On a lighter GoT note, did you guys see this funny Seth Meyers Brings Jon Snow to a Dinner Party video? ;)

+ Also, an episode of Vikings happened--my thoughts on 3x07:

( He is my ally, not my friend. I don't have any friends. It's better that way.Collapse )

+ Also, can we talk about The Americans for a moment?!

[Major spoilers for 3x10-3x11]OMG PAIGE KNOWS NOW AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I did NOT expect her to find out so soon--normally that is like season finale shit, but nope, not on this show! <333 THAT WHOLE REVEAL SCENE WAS SO AMAZING! THEIR FACES, PHILLIP'S LITTLE NOD, THE WAY ELIZABETH WAS SO TOTALLY AT LOST FOR WORDS AND PHILLIP ENDED UP BEING THE FIRST TO BREAK THE NEWS DESPITE HIS RESERVATIONS!!! SO perfectly done, I had to rewatch it a few times..."we were born in another country", I CAN'T! And Paige's reactions, asking them to speak Russian, and this week what their real names were...I really can't wait to see where that all goes! I was terrified during the scene where she calls her pastor (who continues to be super creepy btw) and they are all anxious at work...this show sure knows how to pile on the tension and put you on the edge of your seat! I think they are lucky actually that the Centre had ordered them to recruit Paige, or they might have been in real trouble otherwise for telling her the truth...

Also omg Martha, YOU IN DANGER GURL! D: I must give her props for being such a good liar under all that pressure, but I am worried she still gave herself away...I want to hear what Walter Taffet says to Gaad! I also was bummed we didn't get to hear Phillip's plan for how Elizabeth can see her mother. These episodes always end far too son! I can't believe we are only two away now from the finale...thank god we know there will be a season 4 now.

Oh and how about that reveal about the defector?! I loved how it was done, with Arkady actually noting it could have been the KGB ordering that attempt because of how compartmentalized everything was...I hate for Stan to be right about anything, but it was still cool! And now Oleg is in on the Mail Robot scheme too, which is neat...the conversation about what had been overheard was hilarious. More Rezidentura scenes, please.

+ Finally, Outlander returned this week at last...

( Spoilers for 1x09Collapse )

Too much TV going on right now!

 

I never got around to posting my thoughts on the rest of Vikings season 2, and here we are already halfway through season 3! Since this is the show I am feeling the most fannish about by far (and since I fear what will happen in tonight's episode), I wanted to catch up now:

Vikings 2x03-2x10:

( In the gentle fall of rain from Heaven I hear my God. But in the thunder I still hear Thor. That is my agony.Collapse )

Since finishing season 2, I also found these hilarious visual recaps by The Mary Sue (which is where I got the earlier macros I posted). I highly recommend them, even if you haven't seen the show yet and want to see why it is awesome. ;)

3x01:

( We will go together to Wessex and you will be my John...the Baptist, yes. Wherever you go, I will follow.Collapse )

3.02:

( I love Odin. And I love Jesus Christ. What else can I say?Collapse )

3.03

( Now who among you would not choose to turf a few farmers off our land to gain through this alliance the greater part of England?Collapse )

3.04

( I will go back with Ragnar. All my future lies with Ragnar.Collapse )

I am so nervous about tonight's episode I can't even...:/ I've been anxious all day.

In other related news, one reason that I haven't managed to post earlier is that once again, I accidentally got sucked into Fandom March Madness, oop. I did way too much campaigning this year, even as fewer participate. I just couldn't help myself, I love celebrating my faves. I was excited that Vikings actually made it into the bracket this year (I had been planning that campaign for ages), although sadly Lagertha was paired against Poussey from OITNB, so she was doomed to be knocked out in the first round. :/ Maybe next year. (At least I got to campaign a little for Athelstan and King Ecbert in prelims! I was happy to see Athelstan take clear second place...). My bracket this year was a mess and is best not discussed. :p

 

Thanks to a free marathon promotion on my cable rn, I have spent the last few days marathoning the fantastic Outlander (in honor of Scotland's vote against independence, oop)! It is definitely my new favorite show. I had been hearing great things about it, and wanted to watch it even more once I learned that RDM and Bear McCreary of BSG were involved, so I am thankful I had the chance to catch up right before it tragically goes on hiatus. I cannot recommend this show highly enough if you aren't watching it yet. More detailed thoughts on episodes 1x01-1x07:

( Sing me a song of a lass that has gone...Collapse )

In short, I hate that the show is going to go on long hiatus so soon, right after I discovered it--I have been enjoying it so much, and will really miss it! :( Who else is watching it?

+ Also now that Fall has officially arrived, I thought I might as well poat my Fall TV schedule:

( Too many shows, too little time...Collapse )

As you can see, the only show I am adding to my schedule is Forever, because IOAN GRUFFUDD! <33 I first fell for him while watching Ringer, and subsequently realized he was the "Is there anyone alive out there?! Can anyone hear me?!" officer in Titanic who went back for the survivors in the water (and whom I delight in imitating always--"Right, noooobody panic!" /strong Welsh accent). I have been missing his face on my TV screen since Ringer's cancelation, which would have been reason enough to check it out, but the supernatural-esque premise is somewhat intriguing as well. I've watched the first two epps now:

( Wouldn't it be funny if this time I actually died?Collapse )

Anyone else watching this one?

 

On this tragic date last year, the series finale of The Borgias was released on Showtime's videoplayer. ;_; I can't believe it's already been a year since we had the last new material from The Borgias (Jordan's awful fanfiction doesn't count), and the fandom came to a close. Watching GoT especially makes me miss this superior show.

In any case, I still haven't formally posted my reactions/thoughts on the last two episodes of the show, so I think I will mark this anniversary with those:

3x09:

( You know where the scandal is.Collapse )

3x10:

( AND MINE.Collapse )

Let us all have a moment of silence in memory of this wonderful show, RIP. Also let's start a prayer circle that François will get another project and return to our screens soon. I think I might need to do a full rewatch soon, since it's all on Netflix streaming now. Fittingly enough, I am in the middle of finally reading Christopher Hibbert's The Borgias and Their Enemies: 1431-1519 at this time, which is also making me miss the show. Like I just read past the part where it discusses how Cardinal Sassypants Sforza made an alliance with Rodrigo in exchange for the position of Vice Chancellor. How I wish I had his sass and epic expressions still in my life. I'm also feeling nostalgic about cesare_lucrezia, so here is my first post there, a discussion about when people started shipping C/L and if anyone thought they would actually ~go there. Pretty funny reading in retrospect, knowing that they did indeed do so! ;)

+ Speaking of GoT, there's not really much to say about 4x09 except that it was even more fucking boring than I expected...

( We should have stayed in that cave.Collapse )

RME too at what HBO submitted to the Emmys for GoT, particularly in terms of the actors nominated--Kit and Nikolaj but no Alfie, who was frankly the only actor who deserved any recognition? I sincerely hope they don't get any nods outside technical ones, that is all they deserve, and that they have ever deserved (but especially now after such a flop season). Whereas The Borgias deserved more. The nomination for prosthetics next epp though excites me--it must be [Spoiler (click to open)]LS, surely?!

 

Another week, another GoT episode review (since it is the only show I seem able to keep up with on here anymore, ironically). My thoughts on this highly anticipated episode:

( ONLY CATCollapse )

+ I also realize that I still have yet to jot down my thoughts about Orphan Black here, and since we are already halfway through s2 I suppose I might as well do so now:

( You make me cry, sestraCollapse )

TL;DR: Orphan Black is by far one of the strongest shows I'm currently watching, so anyone who hasn't seen it yet should check it out! ;) I am glad that still has 5 more episodes to go...

+ Seeing wheater and now horatios watching BSG for the first time (yay!) has made me want to properly rewatch the show episode by episode, which I have never done before; I tend to watch the miniseries and first episode, then skip to "Six Degrees of Separation" and the episodes right after, then skip to mid-season 2, and then skip around season 3 a lot. (Or especially certain scenes within season 3). Basically all the Gaius Baltar and Gaius/Six scenes, lol. ;) I kind of wish I could have a cut of the entire series with just scenes of him and other characters I care most about And why not now, when this month is the two year anniversary of me watching the show in the first place! ;) I am now well into season 1, good thing we're entering summer hiatus.

 

So tonight is the night...the last night of The Borgias fandom while the show is still on the air with episodes left to see. :( I feel both sad and rather anxious with worry about whether the finale will be any good, whether C/L will end in a place I can handle...I'm just not ready yet for it all to end!



It's kind of unfortunate that the GoT season 3 finale is also tonight, since I'm kind of distracted by The Borgias, though I hope that ends well too, and I'm rather curious to see where they cut that off. In the meantime, however, I wanted to post my thoughts on the last few episodes of The Borgias through 3x08 (I didn't have time to type my 3x09 thoughts yet, though I have seen that epp and loved it as well!):

3x08:

( But is the shroud wonder enough? Perhaps we should add a miracle...Collapse )

3x07:

( There was no affection. Affection leads to weakness, and I have no use for either.Collapse )

3x06:

( If I married a thousand times, it would always be the wrong choice.Collapse )

I've been on pins and needles all weekend wondering if the finale was going to leak, but I'm glad to see for once it hasn't! I don't have work tomorrow, so I can watch it at any time...if I can bring myself to do so. :/

 

Showtime just canceled The Borgias, fuck everything! >:( I'm just so devastated and depressed and angry right now, I can't even. ;_; Please hold me.



The Borgias is one of the best shows on TV with some of the most consistent quality, and it's just not fair it couldn't get its last season or even a wrap-up movie to finish the storyline, when so many lesser shows meanwhile keep getting renewed and stay on the air forever. It's not fair that The Tudors got 4 seasons when it wasn't as good throughout (and I did love that show too). And so many people were just getting into the show too, and it was finally gaining traction on ONTD! :( I thought having a movie instead of a full season would be bad, but knowing that there are only two more episodes is so much worse. It's too soon! Why couldn't they have announced this earlier, so we were better prepared if it was going to happen anyway? Although I was fearing the worst...I was going to post a prayer circle for the show tonight, but guess that's not needed now! :/ I am glad they said it before the finale, so that we know going in...and I guess it's lucky that since it's history we know what will happen to the characters without the show continuing.

BUT this is my favorite show and my main fandom, and idek what I'm going to do right now. I seriously wish I could trade in the renewals for my other on-the-bubble shows for this one, the only one that really ultimately mattered to me--those pleasant surprises now just taste bitter to me. I'm also annoyed and sad that this last season of fandom was ruined by the early release system and that asshole who kept leaking things so early (especially when they leaked 3x08 and 3x09 at the same time, what the fuck was that? We should have known it was the end I guess), throwing off discussion and pulling fandom apart, making it impossible to enjoy Tumblr and stuff at the same time because of all the spoilers. I felt I wasn't able to have as full a fandom experience as the last two seasons through no fault of the people in fandom, but the distribution, and just ugh. I wish we could all watch the episodes together, like previous seasons...so help me, if they leak 3x10 early...>:(

But whatever, it was fun while it lasted, I guess. I will always have fond memories of the fandom and the good friends I made in it. <33 I will always love endlessly staring at the beautiful gifs of Cesare and Lucrezia being tender and sexy together, and I think they will remain one of my top OTPs of all time--I'm glad they at least became canon before the end. I will always remember creating and running a comm for the first (and probably last) time in my life--I think a large part of my sadness is at the thought of cesare_lucrezia's inevitable death now that the shown is over, even though it was slowing down a bit because of the LJ exodus anyway. Thanks to my lovely co-creator and mod lucyskyx--I'm glad our idea worked out for a while (and that we managed to become the primary C/L LJ comm, muahaha--there was some Borgias-worthy competition at the beginning! ;)). And thanks to everyone who participated there and helped make it a community, and who discussed The Borgias with me here/put up with all my ramblings!

I was going to post tonight about the last few GoT epps but whatever, forget the Red Wedding, this is waaay more traumatic. Not that I ever felt devastated by it anyway, between spoilers and it being too built up in fandom to live up to expectations . In short, if anyone has any happy or funny gifs or something rn though, please share. :( I haven't been this upset over an early cancelation since Moonlight. Now I feel almost too sad to watch 3x09, which I had been planning to do tonight.

 

GUYS GUYS GUYS APPARENTLY SHOWTIME FINALLY GOT THEIR ACT TOGETHER AND MADE THEIR OWN VERSION OF HBOGO--WHICH ALLOWED ME TO WATCH 3X03 EARLY!!! :DDDD And when I have time, 3x01 and all of season 2 are available to rewatch, along with all the other Showtime shows, which is awesome. So I take back my bitterness in my last post at OnDemand getting it early, though I'm still a little annoyed at recent episodes getting leaked even earlier than that official early release--I sincerely hope that 3x04 is the last time, since that was part of the screener.

But yeah, so excited! I legit screamed and began flailing wildly when I discovered this, you should have seen me. For that matter you should have seen me when I watched 3x03 last Monday night (I am super slow at these reviews, sorry), but first here are my thoughts on 3x02:

( You look, but don't touch...Collapse )

3x03 (warning: extensive shipper squee and Tumblr gif usage):

( I will make you happy. I promise.Collapse )

+ Game of Thrones was also great this past week! 3x04:

( My real father lost his head at King's Landing. I made a choice...and I chose wrong.Collapse )

Gah I can barely even keep up with all the epic TV going on right now, let alone reviews. (Also my laptop is on its last legs in terms of slowness, so having to type out 90% of my reviews on my smartphone slows things down on that end as well).

 

I feel like this year many of my shows have been a tad lackluster, so I'm so glad to finally have The Borgias and Game of Thrones back to be excited about each week! \o/ And DW is back too with a new companion at last, which is also interesting, though I think I will save my review of that for another post.

Let's start with my thoughts on my favorite show, The Borgias, whose rollercoaster ride of a season premiere this past Sunday was the best of ANY of my shows all year (spoilers for 3x01):

( His soul does not depart until I give it leave!Collapse )

+ Before I talk about the first three episodes of s3 GoT, I realize I never laid down my thoughts of season 2:

( There are times when I look at you, and I still can’t believe you’re real.Collapse )

It's interesting watching season 3 now that I am ~newly empowered~ with book!knowledge. (It's also way more enjoyable in fandom being able to discuss and explore at will without worrying about being spoiled!) While there have been awful or boring bits in each episode, I have still been enjoying the season on the whole so far, and look forward to it each week (even better now that I have a GoT-TB double feature!). My thoughts on the first 3 epp of the new GoT season:

3x01

( I want what is mine by right...Collapse )

3x02:

( He's a monsterCollapse )

3x03:

( Yes, all men must die. But we are not men.Collapse )

Anyway, what did you all think? Which episode of s3 GoT have you guys enjoyed the most so far?

Oh and I am still interested in receiving characters for the character meme I posted here if anyone wants to give me one! ;)