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Episode Companion
Game of Thrones Episode Companion – Season 5 Episode 10
It's ok guys, it's ok; there are THEORIES!
So the winner of the War of the Five Kings is….Balon Greyjoy!!! Ah, so another season of Game of Thrones comes to a climactic end. Whilst this season has arguably been the worst (of the best) so far, you cannot deny that the finale had some wonderful moments. Well, depending on your definition of wonderful. As it stands now, essentially every story has caught up or even overtaken the books – save for an entire side plot featuring the Greyjoy family which fans are hoping will make an appearance in season 6. This episode popped in to say hi with pretty much every 'main' character, so let's start in the east and do a little banana shaped trip across Westeros and Essos.
The climactic scene of episode 9 was, of course, Daenerys flying off on Drogon. Now, Drogon is still a young'un and not fully grown, so it is understandable why he was hurt so badly from a few blades. We aren't exactly sure where Daenerys has landed, but due to the arrival of the Dothraki, you can assume it's somewhere within the Dothraki Sea, which is north of Meereen. It wasn't revealed who the Khal of this particular khalasar is, but we know that what remains of Dany's ties with the Dothraki is limited; will she be greeted with welcome arms, or a sword to the face? In the books, Drogon makes himself a home in a cave, which Daenerys calls Dragonstone after her old home. She also gets very ill and has the poos before she seen by a lone Dothraki scout, who then sends for the rest of the khalasar.
Further east, in Braavos, we saw the concluding chapter for Arya this season. After a bit more overkill with Meryn Trant's evilness (yes, we get it, he's a dick) Arya is able to finally act out her revenge, wearing the face of the girl that she helped mercy kill a few episodes ago, which was a pleasant scene to watch! What was interesting here was that we saw, in some form, how the faces actually work. They appear to literally be masks that the Faceless Men can chop and change as they please. Additionally, the show also implied truth behind a theory that many fans already speculated – that Jaqen H'ghar is just a face, not a person. Seemingly as punishment for going against the Many Faced God, Arya is now blind, and even that does happen in the books, but under slightly different circumstances.
Over the Westeros now. The slightly seemingly irrelevant Dorne scene concluded with the unexpected death (we assume, anyway) of Myrcella. It was kind of obvious as soon as Ellaria kissed her on the lips what would happen, but my mind was briefly taken away from thinking about it too much as soon as Tyene Sand said "bad pussy" and I cringed. I mean, really? As if the Sand Snakes couldn't get any worse…. As mentioned prior, this whole side story differs quite dramatically from the books. To avoid mild book spoilers (for scenes that I am 95% sure will not appear in the show), skip ahead to the next paragraphs. Ok? Ok. Well, for starters, Jaime is off in the Riverlands, and nowhere near Dorne. Mycrella is still there, and is guarded by a member of the Kingsguard named Arys Oakheart. Doran Martell's daughter, Arianne (who sadly does not appear in the show) seduces Arys and convinces him to make Myrcella queen, seeing as in Dorne, age matters in succession, not gender. The reason for this is to largely defy the Lannisters. Without going into too much detail, someone snitches, and Arianne's little rebellion fails, with Myrcella losing an ear in the process and Areo Hotah (the big guy with the glaive that protects Doran) killing poor Arys. What do the Sand Snakes have to do with this? Well, not much…they kind of just bang on about revenge until Doran imprisons some of them, whilst Ellaria…also doesn't do much, and is a lot nicer! So, anyway, the question that arises now is 1) how will Jaime react? And 2) how will Doran react? I've said before about how much I like House Martell in the books, and unfortunately they haven't really shone in the series, but there is still in in season 6!
Right, King's Landing. It was a shame that we didn't get to hear of Margaery's fate; so at this stage we have no idea what the High Sparrow has in store for her. In the books, Loras is off fighting on Dragonstone, and so the whole trial surrounding his sexuality doesn't happen. Instead, Margaery's own virginity is taken into question (bear in mind that book Tommen is about 8 or so, so they didn't seal the deal). Nevertheless, I'm sure light will be shed on her early next season. No, instead, the focus was on Cersei and her brilliantly done walk of punishment. It was horrible to watch, in a good way…and it was just about long enough that you felt uncomfortable and, despite what you may think of the Queen-mother, sorry for her. The question that now of course is how will Cersei respond to this? Will she get revenge, or is she truly broken? As an interesting side note: lads, this was just a body double with Lena Headey's head CGI'd on. Some people are complaining that it looked a bit rubbish, but honestly I don't think you would know. We very briefly saw the return of Kevan Lannister, standing with Pycelle, in the Red Keep. Kevan has been acting ruler since Cersei's imprisonment, whilst Tommen pouts in his room. We were also introduced to a new member of the Kingsguard….who looks somewhat familiar…but I can't quite put my finger on it….
Everything that surrounded Winterfell was show-only stuff. In the books, we last we see of Stannis is that he is marching…forever marching. He does not engage the Bolton force. Sansa is still in the Vale with Littlefinger – in the series, she has taken the role of a character called Jeyne Poole, who marries Ramsay as a fake Arya. Nevertheless, Theon still steps up and leaps from the walls of Winterfell with her to freedom…only to run into Stannis' army. Right…let's talk about Stannis. Despite being a Stannis fan, I don't feel as upset about his death as I thought I would. It was almost inevitable. He became such a tragic figure, and as I mentioned last week, truly desperate. But, like the man he is, he went down a trooper, in the most stoic, Stannis way possible. So, yes, whilst I am a bit gutted that the One True King is dead (in the series, anyway….), it's almost a relief. Now, all the legit Baratheons are dead… On the plus side, Brienne finally got her revenge…at the expense of forgetting all about Sansa. Shame we didn't actually get to see the fight, but I guess a lot of the budget was spent on Drogon and Lena's head. Now, Melisandre…what is your game? You got the impression that her confidence in Stannis was waning as this season went on, especially after her interactions with Jon. Which brings us on to…
The Wall. Firstly, Sam. Now this conversation is carried out a little differently in the books, and it's actually Jon who insists that Sam go to Oldtown to become a maester, pretty much as soon as he is elected Lord Commander. Sam also takes Gilly, the baby, and Aemon with him, the latter of whom still passes away, but during the journey. Melisandre never actually goes with Stannis, and stays at the Wall. As do Shireen and Selyse, who are still very much alive. The climactic events happen in a slightly different albeit somewhat similar way too. In the books, the Night's Watch are annoyed at Jon not just due to his empathy with the Wildlings, but because he wants to attach Winterfell to remove the Boltons from power (and existence). The attack on Jon happens through the teary eyes of the Watch brothers, and is not led by Alliser Thorne. Jon is also not tricked about Benjen either – no, no one has heard from Benjen since A Game of Thrones. Also, Olly isn't there, because that little bastard is a show only character. Nevertheless, Jon is assassinated "for the Watch". This is where book readers are; "[h]e never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold." BUT DON'T WORRY!!! Since this happened in A Dance With Dragons back in 2011, fans have been scrambling together any theories they can on how Jon might have somehow survived this assassination. Now, show Jon looked pretty darn dead to me, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he will stay dead. One theory is Melisandre. She returns to the Wall, but for what purpose? We know she has a bit of an interest in Jon, and know that Red Priests have some sort of power that allows them to bring back the dead – think back to season 3 with Thoros and Beric. I believe that she will use her power to resurrect Jon. This may well change the Stark bastard, but changed Jon is better than no Jon, isn't it? Kit Harington has said in a very recent interview that Jon is dead…but my argument is that he wouldn't really turn about and go "nah he comes back", right? RIGHT?! It also seems kind of weird that they would kill off our only real link to the Wall. Sure, Melisandre and Davos are now there too, but they are more supporting characters. There are also dozens of other theories surrounding Jon, such as his parentage, or whether he is some kind of 'chosen one', and whether the title A Song of Ice and Fire alludes to him partially. Also, he had his stare down with big baddie White Walker, the Night's King in episode 8…surely that was not for nothing….right?! Well, until either The Winds of Winter or season 6 are released (the latter, I'm sure), I guess we can keep on speculating.
Well, now you have just under a year to kill. My advice? The same as last year: read the books. They are phenomenal, and further expand on this world that we know and love. As for me, I need to find some games to review…
Game of Thrones Episode Companion – Season 5 Episode 9
So….Meryn Trant likes…kids?
First, let's take a moment to appreciate Doran's awesomeness. Finally. After nine episodes, he is finally given his due. Doran is very smart man, and not at all rash like his brother: he bides his time. We see in this episode, though, that despite being in a wheel chair (from severe gout, if you remember) he still holds great power and is well-respected. It is unfortunate that these Dorne scenes have been pretty filler…and pretty awful filler at that, but it least it has nearly concluded without any serious causalities, and has provided us an insight (albeit small) into how Doran rules, and his motives. And Trystane's weirdly hairy chest.
In all honesty, most of episode 9 was largely self-explanatory, so I'll just focus on the two 'big' scenes of the week: Stannis and Daenerys. Let's begin in the north. With winter closing in around them, Stannis and his army are truly struggling. Especially when scoundrels like Ramsay come and set stuff on fire. I can't help but laugh at the irony as Melisandre steps out of her tent to a sea of flames and a Ponyta. How brilliant would it have been if the downfall of Stannis' conquest was fire? I mean, after this week's episode, but proxy it just may be! So, yes, Stannis sacrificed his daughter to the Lord of Light. Now I feel it's important to add here that this has not (yet) happened in the books – book Stannis is currently trudging along in the snows with his army still, whilst Shireen and her mother stay at Castle Black. The main things that afflict book Stannis' army is the lack of food and endless marching. This whole section of the book is also told from the point of view of a character that hasn't even encountered Stannis once in this entire series, though whether or not they pop up in episode 10 remains to be seen. Despite not appearing in the books, Shireen's sacrifice was apparently headed up from the evil mind of George R. R. Martin himself, and not from Benioff and Weiss – which is who most people will turn to blame when something happens in the show they do not like! So, why did Stannis do it? Well, this is my quarrel with the whole thing. We saw that lovely scene earlier in the season between Stannis and his daughter. Then, last episode, he shooed Melisandre out from his tent when she merely hinted at the notion of sacrificing Shireen. I feel that his decision would have been more believable if we had seen one more episode – one more scene even – of Stannis pondering it over, as opposed to this apparent sudden choice. My personal opinion on Stannis hasn't really changed because of it – he did it because he thinks that it is the only way he can save the realm, essentially, and you could see the pain in his eyes as the execution is carried out. I'm not saying it was right, or even justified, but in his mind it was the only option. The sacrifice itself, I feel, was almost inevitable, what with the amount of time dedicated to building Shireen's sweet, innocent character this season, as well as the ominously foreshadowing conversation between her and Davos earlier in the episode. Also, Davos said something about hearing about her story "when he gets back"…and from past experience we know that in Game of Thrones, if someone says that, they (or the recipient of the conversation) are going to die… My personal prediction was that Selyse, at Mel's bidding, was going to go behind Stannis' back and do it, to which Stannis responds with a firm backhand, but in fact it was her mother's crying, along with Shireen's screams, that really made this whole scene very haunting. Stannis is truly desperate. He has made a number of speeches about the needs of the many over the few, and that sacrifices aren't easy, "that's why they are sacrifices", but one cannot help but pause and wonder if the Stannis hype train is really going in the right direction… But then again, he sneakily murdered his brother and has sacrificed countless people in the past, so what's so different about a daughter…?
Say what you will on the episode as a whole (though I quite enjoyed it), but you cannot deny that once again we were treated to an epic ending. What began with some well-choreographed fighting and a bit of Daario suave ended in what can only be described as slightly-bad-CGI-dragon-epicenes. Meereen, as we know, is plagued by the gang known as the Sons of the Harpy (RIP Barristan). These ex-slaves and Masters loath Daenerys for what she has done to their city, and won't rest until her head is on the edge of a rusty blade. Apart from that, we still know very little about them, such as whether they have any ulterior motives, or even who their leader is. One of my guesses was Hizdahr, so I was extremely shocked and surprised to see him viciously stabbed to death (and felt a pang of sympathy). Now, there are those on t'internet who believe that Hizdahr's death was staged, and that he is in fact still alive, and it was all a ruse…but I think it looked pretty convincing. I think he is pretty dead. This scene is somewhat similar to its book counterpart, the key difference being that book-Jorah is somewhere else (and Tyrion, too). Still, Drogon is drawn in by the scent of blood and lands in the pit, singeing all who come near, until Daenerys mounts him and soars into the skies, leaving behind the chaos to her bemused followers. Despite the questionable CGI, I thought this scene provided another brilliant end to a decent episode. Even Jorah's Dark Souls inspired forward roll kill was pretty epic…though not as epic as the Spartan inspired spear throw. Well done Jorah.
Before we conclude, the word "Graces" was uttered by a character during this final scene – I forget who. Anyway, the Graces are a group of healers or priestesses in the area surrounding Meereen, led by the Green Grace, who acts as an advisor of sorts to Dany in the books. So far, they have been omitted from the series, so it's interesting to hear their name dropped, even if it was for a second. Will we be delving more into the political side of Meereen next season? I'm also curious about the Unsullied, and how, for lack of a better word, shit they have been this season. The argument here is that they are not trained for this kind of combat, and lack proper field training, but nevertheless they got pretty much butchered by…well, civilians. I hope someone has an answer for this! I assume Grey Worm was resting in bed as this whole shabang went on…
As mentioned last week, The Dance of Dragons' episode title is taken from the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons. Obviously, the title prominently refers to the climactic Meereen scene and Drogon, but it was also referred earlier in the episode via the book that Shireen was reading. The final episode of the season is titled Mother's Mercy, so put your speculation hats on now and start guessing what that's about!
Honourable mention of Mace's singing, too.
Game of Thrones Episode Companion – Season 5 Episode 8
9.9 this episode scored on IMDb! 9.9!! The highest rated Game of Thrones episode (on IMDb, anyway). Interestingly, this episode also featured a wide range of 'show-only' content. Which backs up my point that with the whole Dorne thing, book readers aren't annoyed because it's different: they are annoyed because it's bad. Show-only folks feel the same. But this episode greatly restored my faith (which was never really dwindling, I swear) in the writers' ability.
The book-to-show adaptations this week focused solely on Arya and Cersei's stories. Cersei's is pretty straight forward, continuing on from last week's cliff-hanger. Arya's, on the other hand, is slightly more convoluted and confusing. The question is, what is Arya actually doing? Well, it seems like she is training to become a Faceless Man, that's for sure. To understand how to be another person, Arya must live the life of another person. Hence, she becomes the oyster seller. In the books, she talks the name Cat of the Canals – a nod to this can be seen during the scene when multiple cats cross her path. The 'skinny man' sat at the desk was essentially an insurance dealer (boo!) who had cheated a family out of their money. Arya has killed before, but for her own reasons, so it will be interesting to see how she deals with taking the life of someone who has done her no wrong.
Breaking away from the books, we are treated to a fantastic couple of scenes between the little Lion and the Dragon. As Tyrion has not yet met Daenerys in the books, this is all original stuff, save the "wheel" speech, which is said to another character. As Barristan is now sadly deceased, it appears that Tyrion will be taking his role (as advisor, anyway, not knight…though that would be good). Tyrion, obviously, knows the political scape of Westeros more than Dany, and doubts she would gain many supporters. However, the Martells were Targaryen supporters until the bitter end, after years of a love/hate relationship between the two. We still haven't really seen the extent of the Martell's power, as they tend to keep themselves to themselves…though I'm hoping more light will be shed on them in the final two episodes of the season.
Ok, time for the biggie. Beyond the Wall (which apparently has some sort of magic spell on it to stop Baby Sam from aging??) is a vast wasteland: the Lands of Always Winter. Very little is known about this area, save a few leagues from the Wall where rangers have explored. The Wildlings have scouted further, as far as Thenn, which is where the bald cannibal people from. Beyond that, however, it is largely uncharted, and the map just kind of fades off. Hardhome is a settlement situated on the east side of the Lands of Always Winter, geographically roughly the same distance north of the Wall as the Fist of the First Men (where the Night's Watch set up camp in season 2). Hardhome has acted as a refuge for Free Folk all over. Leaderless, they have become shambles, and appear to be governed by a group of 'elders' representing each faction. We see the (brief) return of a character from season 2: Rattleshirt, or the Lord of Bones, before he is brutally bashed down by Tormund. This not only shows Tormund's brutality, but also acts as a final nail in the coffin for another character: Mance. In the books, Melisandre puts a glamour spell on Mance, and disguises him as Rattleshirt, and vice versa. So, it's actually Rattleshirt that dies on the pyre at Castle Black. Meanwhile, Mance goes incognito and heads south on a secret rescue mission. Book-readers may well have hoped that the same happened in the series, but, alas, it's not to be.
The climactic scene gave us more information about the White Walkers than we have received in the books. Largely, this is due to the fact that this scene is show-only, and a lot of information on the White Walkers comes from gossip and Old Nan's stories! Exciting times. Obviously, we still know very little about them – such as their motives, their intelligence, community etc. But it's apparent they are a serious threat, which many Westerosi seem to poo-poo. Suddenly, the tribulations of King's Landing seem irrelevant, now that we have seen the real enemy! It's important to note that this isn't just a 'medieval Walking Dead zombie apocalypse'; this is full out war. These undead soldiers (known as Wights) are relentless and brutal, as opposed to your classic zombie which survives on instinct. No, these guys want to hurt you. And now we know how easily the White Walkers (also known as the Others in the books) resurrect their undead Wights. Just a simple 'come at me, bro' gesture and you've got yourself an army. We also got to see how they really do 'bring the cold', and the Wight's sheer determination as they flung themselves off of a cliff in order to kill their prey. Another big reveal was the importance of Valyrian Steel. I think I have talked about this previously, but Valyrian Steel, as the name suggests, was originally forged by the Valyrians (see my post on episode 5 for information about them). It is said to be the strongest, sharpest metal around, and only a gifted few know the secrets of how to forge it. Known Valyrian Steel swords are few: Ned Stark's massive sword, Ice, was melted down and presented to Joffrey on his wedding day, and to Jaime, who later passed it to Brienne as Oathkeeper. Samwell Tarly's family also own one named Heartsbane. Littlefinger's dagger that was used to try and assassinate Bran is also Valyrian Steel. To my knowledge, these are the only blades that have been mentioned in the books. There were many more, but they have been lost to time
This whole final scene was brilliantly shot, with some wonderful cinematography, and, in my eyes has made up for the awful Dorne scenes (especially choreography wise). And the sound; oh, the sound! I'll be interested to see how the rest of the Watch react to Jon bringing bands of Wildlings and a Giant (whose name is Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, or Wun Wun for short, if you were interested) to the Wall. Also, I'm awfully suspicious about that hooded figure navigating Jon's boat at the end. He didn't even turn round! I was half expecting it to be some sort of disguised White Walker…or, and I had my fingers crossed for this, that we would hear a voice "Jon?" *Jon looks down* "Uncle Benjen?!" BLACKOUT!
Next week's episode is titled The Dance of Dragons, which is an obvious allusion to the title of the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons. Ramsay also mentioned how he would leave Stannis' army as "a feast for the crows", which is a nice little nod to the title of the fourth book, A Feast for Crows. Whether you think this season has been slow or not, it's definitely apparent that it's picking up now, with next week's episode looking pretty darn epic, and episode ten will apparently "break the internet"…! Also, Oberyn died this time last year. Just saying.
Game of Thrones Episode Companion – Season 5 Episode 7
RIP Old Flaydy.
Season 5 of Game of Thrones has indeed been a rollercoaster of mixed emotion to some. Whilst certain areas have most definitely dipped due to bad writing, directing or acting, I think that it is important to note that the good outweighs the bad. After season 4's GO-GO-GO action packed attitude, it's easy to look at 5 as being nothing but filler. It's slower, definitely, but not slow. Personally, I thought that this episode was one of the better – they seem to be going in a bit of a pattern: good, ok, good, ok, good etc. The title The Gift is a bit of an odd one; it's apparent that towards the end of the episode numerous characters have mentioned "gifts" – Ramsay's 'gift' to Sansa, and obviously Jorah's gift of Tyrion to Daenerys. However, the Gift is also the name of a stretch out land south of the Wall given to the Night's Watch by an old Stark king. Funny that that wasn't mentioned at all.
Let's kick off by addressing the death of a fondly looked upon character, Maester Aemon. By now, we all know that Aemon was a Targaryen, so I thought I would provide a bit of information on his background, and "Egg." At the beginning of A Game of Thrones, Aemon is already one hundred years old – an outstanding age to reach even by today's standards…even more-so in cutthroat Westeros. Aemon was the third son of (who would later be king) Maekar Targaryen, who himself was a fourth born and only became king due to a string of unexpected family deaths. As a third born son, it was unlikely that Aemon would inherit the throne (that, and the Targaryen family tree is so complicated that there were tens of potential heirs). As such, he was sent to Oldtown, to the Citadel, to train to be a master at the age of nine or ten. When he completed his training, Aemon was sent back to sit on his father's small council. However, good natured Aemon thought that this would undermine the current Grand Maester, and so he retired to Dragonstone to serve his older brother, Daeron. After Daeron's death, many urged that Aemon take up the throne and become king. Aemon refused, and the recommended the crown go to his younger brother, Aegon (or "Egg" for short). Aemon then took himself to the Night's Watch, thus quelling any uprising or rebellion that might be sparked in his name against his brother. Aemon served in the Night's Watch for over fifty years, seeing many commanders rise and fall, including Brynden Rivers, a Targaryen bastard, who went on to become the Three-Eyed Raven (Crow in the books) that Bran seeks out. Aegon's adventures can be read about in George R. R. Martin's prequel novellas Dunk and Egg. So, all in all, Aemon Targaryen was a very nice man who gave up the throne and heard about the decline and decimation of his house from thousands of miles away. And now his watch has ended.
Further on south, we see the Sparrows orchestrating their own decline and decimation of not one, but two great houses. Whatever the outcome of these trials, you can bet your bum that the Tyrell's name has been tarnished, as emphasised by Olenna's lack of words during her exchange with the High Sparrow, who is revealing himself to be an extremely dangerous man. If found guilty, Loras and Margaery will be given the Mother's Mercy, whatever that is. Additionally, if found guilty, I imagine that that's the end of Margaery's queenship right there! Similarly, the Lannisters now find themselves in a similar pickle. You may remember that cousin Lancel has a lot of beef on Cersei – including their own incestuous relationship, as well as hers and Jaime's. This is where the religion of the Seven falls slightly short, though, as Targaryen families would often wed incestuously (causing some ill-fated offspring), and no one really bat an eyelid…not openly, anyway. If the accusations against Cersei prove true (I mean, we know they are), then you can bet your other sweet bum that Tommen's kingship will be null, resulting in the throne passing to Stannis. This is purely speculation, as the books haven't gotten that far yet, but I can't help fearing a little for Tommen's life. Myrcella's too, though she is protected in Dorne and I don't really care about her because this new actress is a bit pants. If Stannis is declared rightful king though, how will the Sparrows respond to his newfound Red God religion…? Either way, karma's a bitch, Cersei.
As a side note, the terrifying women that imprisoned Cersei are known as the Most Devout. These are different from the Silent Sisters, who you may or may not know about: Silent Sisters are women who take a vow of silence and swear to serve the Stranger – the god of death. We have seen them quite a few times throughout the show's history, tending to the dead. Usually they dress themselves in robes and bare a standard with the seven-pointed star on it. If you rewatch the series, have a look at the background detail and see if you can spot them. Make a game out of it. Most Devout, however, are the ruling council of the Faith. They used to serve the High Septon, but since his imprisonment they have become supporters of the High Sparrow. The only named Most Devout in the series so far is Septa Unella, the one that actually grabbed Cersei. Think of them as strict nuns.
Before I end, I think it's important to comment on Theon/Reek's position and why he told Ramsay about Sansa. Reek isa broken man – completely. We have seen this multiple times throughout season 4, such as when he was shaving Ramsay and Ramsay told him about the Red Wedding, or Yara's awful rescue mission which I pretend never happened (she should have taken a leaf out of Sansa's book and shouted "YOU ARE THEON GREYJOY!!!"). Theon is petrified of the Boltons. We know what Ramsay did to an extent – physically – but the emotional damage goes a lot deeper. He's trained Reek like a dog: rewarding good behaviour, but severely punishing any sort of bad behaviour. This is why, I think, he has not told Sansa that Bran and Rickon are still alive – he knows what will happen to him if Ramsay finds out he told. Bad things. Very bad things. But Sansa is strong. She has endured this much, and with Stannis coming in from the north and Brienne watching from the south, I am really hoping that she gets what can only be described as a Game of Thrones happy ending.
That's all for this week – nothing else really needs to be touched on. Jorah and Tyrion's escapades were pretty self-explanatory, with the slavery and fighting pits mirroring that of ancient civilisations such as the Romans (see Gladiator). Meanwhile Stannis continued to become more and more likeable by refusing to burn his daughter. What a nice guy. Though I'm still certain that his batshit wife is going to do it. And Sam…..Sam became a man! Oh my. And even the Dorne scenes weren't too bad this week! Of course, the real MVP is that brute that cut Tyrion free and Dany's perfectly ironed dress.
Game of Thrones Episode Companion – Season 5 Episode 5
"Promise you'll protect me" – Shireen Baratheon to Davos….my God, please don't be foreshadowing!
After the rollercoaster ride that was last week's episode, Kill the Boy, with its ominous title, was a brilliant reminder of how great this show can be sometimes. Apart from the fact that, on the intro map, the Water Gardens is listed as Dorne. I…um…not sure what happened there. Anyway, without any King's Landing drama, this week's episode saw us spending a lot of time up North and across the sea. So let's start at the Wall.
Jon's always been a fan favourite, but it's interesting to see him really take a deserved leadership role, whilst encountering hardships. Moreover, it's great to see that the King of Grammar, Stannis, is becoming more book-inspired; hopefully, fans of the show will now be able to see why he is such a favourite to book readers. It was even more refreshing, like an ice-cool glass of OJ, to hear Stannis' ulterior motives instead of just "it's mine by right" – in this episode, he actually mentions saving the realm from the White Walkers. Previously, it's just been Melisandre banging on about this, with Stannis uttering his aforementioned mantra. Finally, now, we see that the One True King really does care about protecting his people. However, if TV has taught me anything, it's that when we get an expositional monologue, or develop a sudden fondness to a character, it probably means they are going to die. This is purely speculation, as book Stannis now spends a few hundred pages trekking through snow, but I fear for the Mannis' life. Fingers crossed. Will the season end with a Bolton/Baratheon brawl? The title of the episode, Kill the Boy, is taken from a rather pithy quote from Maester Aemon: "kill the boy and let the man be born". He says this, as we know, to Jon. The meaning of this is pretty straight forward: to become a true leader, Jon must overcome any inhibitions he has about himself (think back to an Alliser Thorne quote – "if [a leader] starts second-guessing himself, that's the end"). He must metaphorically kill this boy, so that the man inside him may flourish like a flower. But more bad-ass. Of course, with all episode titles, this probably refers to something else. But what….
Before we move on, I thought I'd give a bit of information about the Citadel, which Sam mentions. In the southwest of Westeros lies the oldest known city: Oldtown. This beautiful port city houses a population of around 500,000, equal to that of King's Landing, but lacks to squalor of its somewhat sister city. Oldtown is governed by the Hightowers, who are powerful allies to the Tyrells. Notable Hightowers include Ser Gerold Hightower, who was the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard during Aerys Targaryen's rein. Oldtown is home to a structure known as the Citadel. Well, multiple structures to be technical. These buildings act as a college of sorts where maesters are trained. I'm sure we are all familiar with maesters now – essentially the doctors, scholars, scientists and academics of Westeros. You may have noticed, through watching characters such as Luwin, Pycelle or Qyburn, that they wear chains. Each link of the chain symbolises an accomplishment, for example, a bronze link represents knowledge of astronomy, where steel is smithing. As you might imagine, the Citadel also houses the largest library in Westeros.
Anyway, Bolton/Baratheon brawl, etc. etc., "kill the boy"…oh yeah. So I thought that this could also tenuously link to Ramsay's motifs after Roose announces that his wife Walda is preggo. Ramsay is obviously very worried about his position, but through a heart-warming speech about rape and murder, we learn that Roose does actually kind of care for him. It also allows us to see how evil Roose actually is. Cold, calculating; you would be mistaken for thinking he was a lot like Tywin. But Roose doesn't mind getting his hands dirty – and beyond. In fact, he rather enjoys it. And so Sansa's torture begins….
Across the sea then, sad to see that Barristan Selmy is indeed dead. Like I said before, this doesn't happen in the books, so his death was greeted with a mixed response from many. I am pleased, however, that they addressed how awful it was in the episode – Daenerys says something about him being cut down in an alleyway. But at least Grey Worm still lives! Having served the Mad King Aerys, Barristan served as a font of reason for Dany…but with him gone, one wonders what slightly mad decisions Daenerys might make. Like, you know, burning a possibly innocent man alive. Her quote "we'll let the dragons decide" could well be a throwback to Aerys, who would often 'let fire decide' the fate of those who upset him. Nice to see a bit of gore though, wasn't it? Feels like it's been a while. By marrying Hizdahr zo Loraq, Daenerys hopes to bring an end to the bloodshed caused by the Sons of the Harpy. But who is/are the Harpy? Will this appease them? Her story currently parallels what is going on in the books: book Hizdahr, in a similar manner to the show, continuously bugs Daenerys about reopening the fighting pits. Eventually, he outright buys them. Daenerys still proposes marriage, though in a more roundabout way, and he seems a little more eager than he does in the show to accept.
The episode concluded with a Tyrion/Jorah scene. If you look at a map of Essos, you'll notice that between Volantis (where Tyrion was captured) and Meereen (where Dany resides) is Valyria. You probably have an informed knowledge of Valyria, but the gist of it is this: Valyria was a metropolis of advancement. Years ahead of any other city in the world, Valyria was the grandest of its time. Dragons flew about the skies, and it was also the ancestral home of the Targaryens. One day, however, the Doom came. Nobody really knows why, but a chain of volcanos suddenly erupted, destroying the city and desolating the land for miles around. Now, it's a wasteland, with many people believing it is cursed and haunted. Jorah choses to navigate part of the waters for two reasons: it's quicker, and there are no pirates. There is, however, a more serious threat: the Stone Men. We have been introduced to the disease of Greyscale through Shireen Baratheon. She, however, was cured…albeit horrifically scarred. Some aren't so lucky. Many of these are taken to this region of Valyria, known as the Sorrows, and left. These Stone Men eventually succumb to the disease, robbing them of their wits and, eventually, life. The disease is contracted if they touch your flesh. Think a zombie bite. Oh Jorah… We see here that he is taking on the mantle of a book-only character called Jon Connington – whose story has been completely omitted – who contracts the disease whilst travelling with Tyrion before he is kidnapped. Phew. Anyway, next week's episode is titled Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, which, as well all know, are House Martell's words. Fingers crossed we get to see why they are the most awesomest of the Westeros houses!
Game of Thrones Episode Companion – Season 5 Episode 4
Some humanisation of Stannis!
This week's episode, The Sons of the Harpy, certainly had its ups and downs. So let's discuss the lower points before moving onto the arguably better aspects. Firstly, the Sand Snakes. What a load of monkey poo. The Sand Snakes are the bastard daughters of Oberyn Martell, with various women. In the books, there are eight in total, so you can see why Benioff and Weiss have cut that down a bit, which is fair enough. Naturally, they are pretty pissed off about Oberyn's death, as is Ellaria Sand. I mentioned before about how Ellaria is partially seeming to take the role of Arianne Martell, who is Doran's daughter and overall great character, sadly. So why was it a bad scene? Believe it or not, this is largely due to TV-stuff as opposed to "that didn't happen in the book-stuff". Book Sand Snakes are still bent on revenge, and filled with anger, so no real problem there. The problem was that their introductory scene was so bland that it was cringey. I think a mixture of bad acting and bad writing is to blame – the Sand Snakes themselves just seem extremely wooden, especially Obara and her bloody exposition. Yes, we understand; you're the 'tough one'. And Tyene is a mummy's girl. Brilliant. Established. Game of Thrones is chocka-full of monologues – some of which are brilliant (Jaime in the bathtub) and some…are not so. This was certainly one of the latter. Ellaria too. She was great in Season 4, but seems to just be so awkward this season. Such a shame – the Martell's are my personal favourite house, due to the likes of Oberyn, Doran and Arianne. Here's hoping that we see more Doran action in the next few episodes to redeem this. This is perhaps one of the worst scenes in the series far (though not quite as bad as Yara's rescue mission of Theon in S4 and Ramsay's plot armour).
Moving on, to somewhere in the middle. We got to see another side to Margarey. Away with the façade of purity and kindness, is this her true face? It was certainly interesting to see the type of king that Tommen is – a bit of a wet wipe. Knock Joffrey all you want, but he would have sorted those religious fanatics good. Their whole ideology, combined with their violent approach, makes the seemingly docile High Sparrow even more terrifying. They represent the Faith Militant – an army that serve the Gods. We discussed last week how big religion is in Westeros, so if it were to come down to crown vs religion, I think we would see a close fight on our hands. Of course, Cersei describing a sinner hid behind gold…could very easily describe her too, couldn't it?
Before we look at the closing scene in the episode, I think it's important to note how often Rhaegar Targaryen was mentioned this episode, leading many fans to believe the truth behind a certain theory surrounding this character. By now, you should know all about how Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna Stark (Ned's sister), sparking Robert's Rebellion. It all began at a tourney in Harrenhal. As Littlefinger explained whilst Sansa was in the Winterfell crypts, Rhaegar won the tourney. However, instead of presenting the traditional flower to his wife, Elia Martell (you raped her, murdered her etc.), he gave it to Lyanna Stark (who was with Robert Baratheon). Cue gasps. Rhaegar then kidnapped and raped Lyanna….that is, if you ask a supporter of the Baratheons and North. If you ask a Targaryen supporter, they will tell that Lyanna willingly ran off with Rhaegar; indeed, Barristan himself, a good friend of Rhaegar's, states how he would go into the town disguised as a bard and sung to the poor folk. Here's where the theory kicks in. As this is all just a theory, there are no spoilers, but if you want to bypass this anyway JUST IN CASE then please skip down until after the next image.
I might well have mentioned this before, but there is a huge fan theory that Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark are Jon Snow's real parents, making Jon a Targaryen. There a numerous reasons and nods to this, but I'll just go over the most basic. Firstly, as Stannis points out in this episode, Ned Stark was extremely honourable (to a fault), so it seems extremely unlikely that he would be unfaithful to his wife and sleep with another women. Secondly, after the Battle of the Trident, in which Robert kills Rhaegar, Ned travels to Dorne to a place called the Tower of Joy. After killing what remains of Aerys' Kingsguard (excluding Barristan and Jaime), Ned enters the tower to find his sister, Lyanna, dying in a bed of blood. She keeps saying "promise me, Ned. Promise me." In his point of view chapters, Ned never reveals what he was made to promise, but many fans believe that Lyanna gave birth to Jon and died. Ned promised not to tell anyone the baby was hers because Robert would have had Jon killed. Hence, Ned, sacrificing his honour, pretends Jon in his. There is a wonderful extract in the book detailing the events at the Tower of Joy, which can be watched/listened to here.
Righty right. That last scene. I've expressed before my feelings towards Emelia Clark's ok-ish acting (though she has gotten better), but on top of that, Daenerys has very little idea of how exactly to rule. Can you fault her? Kind of. She had queen-hood thrust on her quite literally in the form of Drogo's penis. After his death, she makes it her mission to liberate the slave cities in the aptly named Slaver's Bay. But, ultimately, she has no idea what she is doing. Her people are too many to feed, and she has a massive uprising in the city. She completely underestimates her enemy – an enemy at her front door. Which resulted in the climax of this week's episode. The Sons of the Harpy are a rebellion group that seems to be comprised of ex-slave Masters and even some ex-slaves, who do not want to live in Dany's new world. Whilst the final scene of this episode did provide us with some fancy sword fighting, I can't help but feel disappointed at the outcome. The Unsullied are supposed to be the greatest warriors…well, ever. With such strict discipline, they become master fighters. Even when outnumbered like they were in this episode, they still kick-bum. Arguably, fighting with a spear in such a confined place may be what led to their downfall, but I still think that they should have had a better chance than they did. But then again, they lack 'real' combat experience – all they know is training. Whilst the Sons of the Harpy are made up of civilians, some of these may well have been pit-fighters, explaining their skill in battle. Nevertheless, what went down will certainly leave a certain khaleesi most angry. Most angry indeed! This brings us on to Barristan Selmy. Barristan the Bold is one of the greatest knights in the Seven Kingdoms. He has so many bad-ass accolades to his name, such as the time he singlehandedly snuck into a fortress after Aerys was kidnapped and rescued him. His skill and mentality reflect that of a typical Arthurian knight. Finally, we got to see him fight. Obviously now he is an old man, and was wearing very little armour, but he still held his own. Whilst his (and Grey Worm's) fate is left unknown (unless you watch the preview for the next episode, in which it I spoiled in the first five seconds…), I think we can all agree that he fought brilliantly. They are both still very much alive in the books, however, so keep your little fingers crossed!
Game of Thrones Episode Companion – Season 5 Episode 3
This article is to be read after the episode has been seen, as and as a result may contain spoilers up to the episode that it's covering, but no further. So if you haven't seen the episode yet, go and watch it. Then come back and read this. Then watch the episode again. Then read this again.
"I'll never hurt her" – Oh, Ramsay, you bugger. You might not, but your jealous bitches might….
This episode seemed to feature a lot of paths crossing – which is pretty much all A Feast For Crows, the forth book, is. Let's work our way from north to south, then. Many book fans continue to rejoice this season as we get to see Stannis for the stoic badass he is. He still seems to be all about power, whereas in the book he does actually want to save the Realm, but one thing at a time. Offering Jon the North (and the surname Stark) would grant him a massive number of allies ("the North remembers"). Jon, however, honourable as ever, turns it down. Now Lord Commander, it seems he really has his work cut out for him. He shows great signs of leadership by acknowledging Alliser Thorne's worth, despite their dislike for one another, and belittling gingers. His choice to execute Janos Slynt was not an easy one – due to TV limitations, we don't get to see Jon's inner monologue like we do in the book, but he spends a time arguing with himself about what to do with Slynt; imprisonment, he believes, would lead to revenge and desertion. No, Jon must send a message. A book-famous line in which he calls to Edd "Edd, fetch me a block" was sadly omitted for "Olly, bring me my sword". It's one of those lines like "Only Cat" that is somewhat iconic in d'book world. Anyway, Jon follows in his father's footsteps – "the man that passes the sentence should swing the sword" – and arguably avenges him. Remember back in Season 1, it was Littlefinger that held the dagger to Ned's throat, but it was Janos Slynt, Commander of the City Watch, who was subdued by gold…the very reason Tyrion sent him to the Wall in the first place. And then, we get that very, very subtle nod from Stannis. Badass.
In the rest of the North, fans cry out in anguish as Littlefinger's plans are revealed: to marry Sansa to Ramsay. As stated before, Sansa's book story ends with her departing the Eyrie, so this is all new territory. Book Ramsay actually marries Sansa's childhood friend, who has been made up to look like Arya, giving the Boltons another key to the North. This will be an interesting turn of events….I fear a bit for what Ramsay might do to Sansa, but Sansa is beginning to come into her own, becoming braver, cleverer, more manipulative. The North remembers. An interesting interaction is seen here between Roose and Littlefinger. Remember Littlefinger currently holds the East in his pocket, whilst Roose governs the North – though Roose clearly expresses that, now that Tywin is dead, he doubts the Lannister's support. Are we going to see a Bolton/Baelish team-up? A little down the line, Brienne's story is also new territory and very hard to predict. The main thing we get from her this episode is a bit of exposition and more Pod-love from the audience.
This episode featured perhaps my favourite Cersei/Margaery exchange. The young queen has been taught well, and knows exactly how to get on the Lannister's tits and penis. Bear in mind that Tommen is only about 12 or 13, bless his cottons. I mean, in the book he's 8, chubby, and would much rather spend his days stamping letters than ruling. I take back what I said last year, though, about not liking him because he is too old – I think that the direction they have taken his character in is a very interesting one, and allows Margaery to use her feminine wiles to manipulate him, but retaining Tommen's innocence and charm. As a side note, it's interesting that an underage actor has been featured in a sex scene like this. Obviously you don't see anything, but book-Sansa has numerous, erm, encounters of a somewhat sexual nature, but due to Sophie Turner's age they didn't show it. So who knows why they have changed their minds…? Maybe it's a female thing. Either way, I'm sure actor Dean-Charles Chapman had a great and awkward time filming. Margaery gave a li'l dig a Cersei for her drinking too; this feature is much more apparent in the books, as Cersei begins to put on a bit of weight and is never seen without wine, but the show has hinted at this just enough that watcher will go "OOOOHHHH!!!! NO SHE DIDN'T!" Sticking in King's Landing, we meet the eponymous High Sparrow. So far, we have seen this holy man's influence spreading in the form of the Sparrows (which Lancel Lannister is part of). The man in the brothel earlier was the High Septon, who is basically like the Pope. The High Sparrow seeks to eradicate the corruptness from the Faith of the Seven and restore it to purity.
So, before we have a quick check in with Arya, let's look at religion in Westeros. You have the Old Gods, who are nameless, worshipped by the North partially through the Wierwoods. Then there is the Seven, the predominant religion throughout Westeros. The Seven consists of the Father, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Warrior, Smith and Stranger, each representing different parts of existence. Then there is the Red God, R'hllor, the Lord of Light. We see Melisandre worship this deity, as well the Red Priestess at the end of the episode. Then there is the Drowned God, worshipped by the Iron Born. Lastly, we have the Many-Faced-God, "the true face of all the gods", whose statue can be seen in the House of Black and White. The Faceless Men believe that he is the only god, and he is the god of death. He is the same as the Stranger in the Faith of the Seven. There are many other little religions and cults across the world, but these are the biggest. As (another) side note, I often find that these articles are seven paragraphs long. A sign? A coincidence?
In fact, in the books, over thirty god statues stand in the House of Black and White, though it's a little harder to make out which ones made the cut in the show. The important thing to remember is that the Faceless Men worship Death. Perhaps just a simple nod or a reveal, but the phrasing that Jaqen used to explain this to Arya was a lot like what Syrio said in Season 1……. To become a Faceless Man, Arya must lose her identity and become 'no one'. Conveniently, though, she was able to find a hole in a rock just big enough for Needle to fit neatly in, so we won't be losing that any time soon!
I think that's all that needs explaining really. Tyrion's story was quite self-explanatory – though which queen is Jorah taking him too? OoOoOoOoO! Let's take a quick moment to appreciate the beauty of Volantis, where slavery runs rampant, and home to late Robb Stark's later wife, Talisa. Now, the actor that played the Red Priestess Tyrion shared a moment with, Rila Fukushima, has appeared in films such as The Wolverine and numerous episodes of Arrow, implying that we may well see more of her. The actress was born in Japan, and is the first Asian person we have seen in the series. This is largely due to the fact that George R. R. Martin's world's equivalent to Asia, Yi Ti, largely keep to themselves. They may venture into Essos, as we see here, but rarely Westeros. That concludes this Episode Companion. See you next week!
Game of Thrones Episode Companion – Season 5 Episode 2
This article is to be read after the episode has been seen, as and as a result may contain spoilers up to the episode that it's covering, but no further. So if you haven't seen the episode yet, go and watch it. Then come back and read this. Then watch the episode again. Then read this again.
Meereen looks a bit like Aku-Aku from Crash Bandicoot in the opening credits.
Let's kick off with Arya's story in Braavos. We saw Braavos very briefly in season 4, when Stannis and Davos visit the Iron Bank to ask for money. But now we get to see the city alive. So, Braavos is one of the Nine Free Cities – that is, cities in Essos (the eastern continent) that do not follow a king. Instead, Braavos is ruled by a Sealord. Cast your mind back to season 1, and the wonderful Syrio Forel ("not today"). Syrio was the First Sword to the Sealord of Braavos. Kind of a big deal. Braavos is a bit like Venice with Britain's weather. It's built on a load of canals, so boat travel is the most efficient way of getting around. We follow Arya as she finds the House of Black and White, the episode's namesake. This is home to the Faceless Men: the organisation of assassins that Jaqen H'ghar is part of. OMG book spoiler – the old man in the books is never actually revealed to be Jaqen, though there were theories, so this is an interesting turn of events. Side note: one other thing that I did notice is that Arya's list has gotten substantially shorter…no more Thoros, Beric or Mel, or Ilyn Payne. Has she forgiven or just forgotten…?
Sticking in Essos (it's a pretty gosh darn big place), we caught up with Varys and Tyrion on their way to Meereen via Volantis. Volantis is another of the Free Cities, located at the very south of the map (Braavos is pretty north). Notably Volantians include Talisa – Robb Stark's baby momma. Whilst we wait for Varys and Tyrion to catch up, let's travel to Meereen ourselves, kids! As you can see, this episode saw Daenerys making a tough ol' decision. The title House of Black and White may well refer to Dany's decision of killing Maran…Meren….Maranana…I can't remember his name. Not important. That guy. Personally, I think she did the right thing, though as we saw, it led to a riot between the old Masters and the freed slaves. Interesting, parallels can be drawn here with both Robb and Joffrey: Robb had to execute Rickard Karstark for killing his prisoners, just like Daenerys. Joffrey had to run from the lynch mob throwing rocks and poo, just like Daenerys (though maybe not the poo). What does this mean? Who knows!
Over to Westeros. Once again, Brienne's bad track record proceeded her. Though, I can't help but think that she didn't try very hard before running off in a huff….though it did prove how bad-ass is she is. Notice as well, Sansa's bird-like outfits, mirroring Baelish's mockingbird sigil. Could the title Black and White refer to them too, or is that too tenuous?
In King's Landing, we see just how highly Kevan Lannister thinks of his niece. Kevan is very much his brother's brother. He idolised Tywin, so you can imagine that Tywin's death has affected him pretty badly. But Kevan ain't no fool. He can see right through Cersei for what she is. Along with complimenting bumbling (but wonderful) Mace Tyrell, Cersei seems to be slowly manipulating what remains of the Small Council. She obviously hates Pycelle (who doesn't?) and is trying to worm Qyburn in there. I've talked about Qyburn before, but we'll have a quick recap. We first met him in season 3 in Harrenhal, where he came to serve Roose Bolton. After Jaime lost his hand, Qyburn stitched him up and escorted him and Brienne back to King's Landing. Qyburn is a Maester, like Pycelle, Aemon and Luwin (RIP). However, Qyburn was banished from the Citadel (their HQ) for…unethical experiments. What these were exactly, we don't know. But we do know that he used his knowledge to potentially save a dying Gregor Clegane (the Mountain) and he had a curious fascination with the dead dwarf's head…hmmmm.
At the Wall, Stannis finally starts being awesome like his book counterpart, offering Jon Snow the goddamn North. The letter that Stannis received was from Lyanna Mormont, who is niece of Jeor Mormont (the old Night's Watch Lord Commander) and cousin of Jorah Mormont. The letter is pretty awesome as it declares that, even though Roose Bolton holds the North and Stannis wants to take it, the Northerners bow to one king, and his name is STARK. Frickin' awesome. One day, I hope that the Seven Kingdoms are ruled by the Starks and Martells. WHICH BRINGS US NICELY ON TO:
Dorne. Hell yeah. Personally, the Martells are my favourite house. About 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones takes place, Aegon Targaryen, known as Aegon the Conqueror, landed in Westeros with his dragons and armies and tried to take over. The whole country bent the knee, apart from Dorne. The Martells words "Unbowed. Unbent. Unbroken." is a symbol of their resistance. Throughout the ages, the Martells have often been pissed on, but have never faltered and always risen above it. They are a strong house, somewhat isolated (both geographically and politically) from the rest of Westeros. Our first encounter with the Martells was through the fantastic, late Oberyn. We know that he was bent on revenge against those that murdered his sister, Elia, and her children. Elia, if you remember, was married to Rhaegar Targaryen, Dany's older brother. The Mountain "raped her. Murdered her. Killed her children." But you know all this. So the Martells are a bit bitter. But do they incite open war? No. Doran Martell – Oberyn's older brother and head of the family, Lord of Sunspear – is cleverer than that. We briefly meet Doran in this episode. He is pretty much wheelchair bound due to severe gout (caused by the lavish Dornish lifestyle, some say). Doran may seem weak, but he is patient. He will bide his time, like so many Martells have before him. Partially, this is why I am so scared for Jaime and Bronn going to Dorne. I love the Martells, but gosh darn I hope those two are safe (this is a diversion from the books so I have no idea what's going to happen!). We also briefly saw Myrcella (who has been recast) walking around the Water Gardens with a young man, Trystane Martell. Trystane is Doran's son. In the books, he has another daughter, Arienne. Unfortunately, she seems to have been omitted from the show, but it appears though Ellaria Sand, Oberyn's ex-gf, is taking on her character responsibilities. So there's a little history lesson to wrap up this week's episode companion. Now, please join me in staring at Daenerys' ridiculous eyebrows until the sun rises.


text:
A fried rice day indeed.
The press screening was at 8:30am.
Here's how it works: thousands of journalists are accredited every year for the Cannes Film Festival. We're able to view films at scheduled press screening times but only on a first come first serve basis colour coded by badge.
For the more popular films, queuing early is critical, even if your badge is one of the higher levels. For a film like Inglourious Basterds, queuing ridiculously early is even more critical, not only for the screening but for the press conference that follows.
Requires a 7:00am wake time and 8am arrival time after yet another rager last night.
You do this for Brad Pitt.
How is it?
Well, it doesn't suck. Inglourious Basterds is energetic and exuberant, violent of course, it's a lot of fun, but it's uneven, and to me it actually feels rushed. Tarantino has another 3 months before theatrical release. Wouldn't hurt to tinker with it. Brad Pitt is, um, not the strongest actor. See Benjamin Button. He's best however when he gets to go extra, like 12 Monkeys. Or Fight Club. So Basterds allows him to let loose, become a character caricature, and that's when he's most enjoyable. Under Tarantino he also has great timing. And he needs it. Because the supporting cast around him is superb. Will write more about the movie later. Because right now you're here for the details.
Well, look at him.
His clothes. The grooming. The everything.
Few men style-wise can usurp a woman on a carpet. Brad Pitt often usurps his own woman on the red carpet. And it's not just the clothes. It's way he wears them. It's the way he walks in them. It's the way other people watch how he walks in them.
This is what makes the Brange so interesting. Because they're not only fascinating in and of themselves but it's fascinating the way people react to them being fascinating. Having had the privilege of covering 4 Cannes festivals, 3 TIFFs, Sundance, and several Oscars, I can tell you no other celebrity comes close to bringing the same kind of excitement.
There were journalists today who were giddy. There were a few who tried too hard NOT to be giddy. To seem put out, to seem "over" the Brange phenomenon. These are the same journalists who pushed their way to the top of the line at the presser, whose voices sounded a little more high pitched when asking their questions.
In the age of Ebola Hilton and the Hills, even if you can't stand the Brange, be thankful for the Brange. They are of a dying breed.
So. Back to Brad. What's it like being in a room with Brad Pitt? Let's start with the physical. He has a LOT of hair. Many men associate hair with virility. I've caught my husband, now in his early 30s, inspecting his more frequently these days. Almost as if at the same time he's worried about his penis. Brad Pitt so far doesn't need to worry. He was genetically gifted there too. The hair, I mean.
As for your emails today about his height – here's what it is: after standing just behind him in Toronto as he was leaving the Burn After Reading press conference and in seeing him again today, measurement-wise he's not super tall. Not short, but not tall. Like 5 ft 11. Maybe. And while he doesn't wear high heels like Tom Cruise, his dress shoes, at least in Toronto, get ready for it… had a little bit of an inch.
The reason he seems so much taller than he is however is because he feels tall. The "it" factor, the charisma, the power, the magnetism, it all almost swells together for levitation, giving him an imaginary 3 inches.
Do I sound like a star struck sycophant?
Of course.
I am!
There's a scene in Frost/Nixon between Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, and Frank Langella. Sam Rockwell plays a political expert morally opposed to Nixon, vehemently so, and has spent years researching what he believes are Nixon's failures – and crimes – as a president. Oliver Platt asks him what he'll do when he meets Nixon. Rockwell is all like – f-ck him, man. He can kiss my ass. He destroyed our country!
Then Nixon walks in, Rockwell is speechless, and sticks out his hand like a fan girl.
That sums it up.
The big personalities bring out the big reactions.
Some Japanese reporter was wiping tears off her face during the Q&A. During the Q&A, even though he graciously tried to deflect the attention, it was like the energy kept coming back to him anyway. He was incredibly relaxed on the panel, totally engaged in the discussion, and has great chemistry with Tarantino. Speaking of getting squealy… Tarantino totally has a mancrush on Brad Pitt. Totally.
Anyway, to tell you the truth, I wasn't paying much attention to what was being said. The loins turned the brain to mush. It's what he does with his mouth. He darts his tongue out to the side when he's about to talk, like a lip lick but not. Hard to explain. I'm not explaining so well. But it's f-cking sexy. And I could write a novel about his mannerisms, how he likes to rub the side of his face, the way he leans back in his chair, or the way his shoulders sit when he angles forward to speak, it's like he's posing all the time but not contrived, not Posh, rather like he's was made to be photographed, and the confidence that oozes from a man like that who knows who he is and will not apologise for it….
Ok we should stop now.
I'm making myself Rossum.
Let's bring our bitch back on Ryan Phillippe's carb face.
Coming next.
Photos from Gettyimages.com and Wenn.com
Brad in the morning
A fried rice day indeed.

subset: commoncrawl


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Expectant mother makes it to hospital almost in time
Baby born in Good Sam parking lot
When a drive to the hospital looked like it might take longer than a baby's delivery time, one local family wondered what sort of luck Thursday – 1-3-13 – would bring.
"It's definitely the most memorable day of my entire life," said Laura Dale, an intensive care unit nurse at Children's Hospital.
The mother of three went into labor with her fourth, and she and the baby's father began the drive from their New Richmond home to Good Samaritan Hospital more than 25 miles away.
"I've never seen anything like it before," said father Donald Skeene.
Suddenly, Dale's labor pains intensified, and she urged Skeene to hurry.
"I told him to run some red lights," Dale said. "I knew he was coming, and I knew we weren't going to make it."
They pulled into the hospital's emergency room parking lot, but they weren't quite fast enough.
"It's here, here he came," Skeene said.
"I caught him myself," Dale said.
"Right into her hands," Skeene said.
"Yeah, I kind of caught him and brought him up.
Baby Joey was born perfectly healthy at 2:27 a.m., and the family hopes he'll be able go home Friday.


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Our logo is based on the West African Symbol Funtunfunefu - Denkyemfunefu. It stands for "Unity in Diversity", an old Adinkra concept of democracy. Can you see how the symbol represents Siamese Twin Crocodiles with the two heads in the upper and left corner, the belly in the center and the tails in the lower and right corner?
The one? two? reptile(s) share a common belly yet their torsos and heads fight over food. Common wisdom considers this behavior "irrational" but we are excited that native wisdom reaches the same insights like we do in our understanding of Chaos theory and physics and conflict resolution.
This Adinkra symbol from Ghana is actually meant to encourage us to see one-sided interests (the heads) and holistic unity (the shared belly) as complimentary aspects of a larger whole giving rise to diversity. The adversarial process of the two heads highlights the shared unity of the stomach. An analogy of this relationship would be an oasis in the desert, where the beautiful stunning aridness of the desert is accentuated by relieving life-giving nature of water and vice versa.
In starting the Deep Democracy Institute, we were drawn to this symbol because it expresses a core belief of Deep Democracy. It shows that conflict, competition, and one-sidedness belong to all systems and yet on a deeper level form a greater whole and share common grounds. The two seemingly one-sided directions form a whole in terms of their superposition, symbolized by the common belly.
We see in this symbol the process of accepting the polarities of the fighting heads as part of nature, and their competition over food as the beginning awareness about their deeper relationship. Awareness-based leadership and facilitation that begin at the point of accepting this seemingly paradoxical and irrational behavior of organizations, groups and nations can eventually bring forth eldership, which can potentially bring out the underlying synergy, symbolized by the common stomach. This can be made visible without "correcting" or "scolding" groups for their lacking collaboration or absence of peace. Sustainable development and conflict resolution are byproducts of a deeper sense of coaching and leadership development.
Look how the two waves that interfere with each other and seemingly clash but create a new pattern
Our Credo - Truth is beautiful
The final inspiration to use this symbol as our logo came from our sensual experience of its simple beauty. Take a look and notice how apparent irreconcilable differences and painful paradoxes are portrayed by the creative awareness of the artist as a symmetric and cohesive whole, leaving a stunning and intriguing image for us to enjoy. Groups that are polarized create a lot of pain for all members, yet carry in this polarization a symmetry within which is the seed of a growing awareness towards the greater whole.
Deep Democracy leadership is based on a consistent and rigorous perspective, theory and methodology that enables individuals, organizations and communities to find these symmetries and show the connection between the fragmented and the whole. The process of unfolding this connection brings cohesion, creativity, intimacy and new visions for the future. Deep Democracy Leadership integrates concepts from Quantum Mechanics, non-linear dynamics, psychology and anthropology in a single framework that allows facilitation of the entire spectrum of personal and collective transformation, eventually unveiling the awe-inspiring difficulty and beauty of all of us humans in our pursuits of happiness.


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Delivering my husband and me to the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, the cab driver asked me why we were staying at the Four Seasons, which completely surprised me. He kept saying there was nothing there - that we could be at a hotel that had more to offer, like a better view or something more interesting. I thought to myself, it is only because this man has never stayed at a Four Seasons Hotel that he would think this way. The Four Seasons Hotel Singapore is beautiful, has some of the best food I have experienced, and is user friendly. As a guest, I felt cared for and renewed and I am thrilled for the opportunity to experience the wonderful offerings at this hotel. And I am clearly not alone in my positive assessment, note:"October 10, 2013 – In an unequivocal affirmation of unparalleled standards of personalized service, readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine honoured the hotel as the "#1 Best Hotel in Singapore" in their annual Business Travel Poll."
Approaching the hotel, which is located on a quiet, tree lined street, it was not obvious until I entered the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore that it is simply splendid. The 1,500 Asian and international art pieces that are displayed throughout the public areas and guest rooms make it feel like an art gallery. No matter where I went my eye landed on a piece that was simply beautiful or something of unusual interest or something modern and energetic.
Upon checking in, my husband and I were ushered to a deluxe room on the eleventh floor, the Couples Floor. This is a unique concept designed to offer couples the opportunity to have quiet comfortable time together. Some of the special features of this floor include several complementary items such as fruit or other nibbles near the floor elevator, candies in the room, a "101 Romantic ideas" suggestion box, a lovely jewelry box, and the opportunity for a late breakfast and more. Couples massages can be arranged and there is even a couple's counselor.
A colleague of my husband who is also a good friend who once worked with my husband at Northwestern University has lived in Singapore for 40 years. He lives near the Four Seasons and joined us for dinner the first night we were there. We chose to eat at the Chinese restaurant Jiang‐Nan Chun. It was wonderful to be together and the price fixed vegetarian menu was possibly the best vegetarian food any of us have experienced. The ambiance was perfect, calming and beautiful. Our friend was amazed at what a wonderful restaurant it is and also surprised that although he frequently passes the hotel he had never been inside before, but I expect he will be back since he was so impressed. Our friend grew up in China so he was very interested in the unique dinner menu the chef created based on the classic story, "Journey to the West" because he knew the story well. We saw the dramatic dishes that are included in this menu. (We did not order it because there are meat dishes, which we didn't want at that time). When I tried to learn more about the Journey to the West book, I saw that the story had been released as a movie in October, 2013. The meal, a special book and menu are so creative and charming and so "Four Seasons".
Facilities and amenities abound through out the hotel and only time prevented us from availing ourselves of more than we did, like the indoor tennis courts or the charming Shangra La like courtyard on the third floor. In fact the third floor is a bit like the heart of the hotel. The indoor tennis courts are there, the quiet patio with the waterfall is next to it and then a large bar that opens onto one of two pools, the other being on the roof. One day our host sat by the poolside with my husband and me and, sheltered, we watched the rain falling in to the pool and were then offered an amazing complimentry guava drink. It was a lovely moment.
Off to the side is a very complete workout facility, which I used late the night before we left. Although the gym technically closes for a few hours it can be available to guests 24/7 by getting a key from the desk. To the side of the workout room and up the stairs there are the spa treatment rooms, which use pure products from Australia.
There are all kinds of facilities for meetings large and small and for special occasions, especially weddings. We saw evidence of three weddings in two days.
Our breakfast at the Four Seasons was memorable. It was a buffet that filled the room differently than I have seen before. As a gluten-free vegetarian, the first table filled with fresh healthy food, much of which was gluten-free, was a real treat. The next table had meats and cheeses and a honey-comb, that appealed to my husband.
There was a complete area for breads and rolls with amazing jams.
Across the room was an area for hot food reflecting the four ethnic groups of Singapore, Chinese, Malayasian, English and Indian. Behind the counter there were chefs preparing food that people requested. I couldn't decide what I wanted and Audrey Yee asked if she could help me. She did by ordering vegetarian fried rice to be prepared for me. It turned out that Audrey is the pastry chef. Like other Four Seasons employees that we have spoken with elsewhere, Audrey was wonderful to talk with. She was from Milwaukee, our neighbor and worked at the Four Seasons in San Francisco before coming to Singapore about four years ago. Lien Tran, the bar manager, also helped us by ordering a special breakfast to be delivered to our room at 4:30 am so we could have food to take with us for our 7:00 am departure.
Our stay was so lovely we hated to leave and would happily return soon. No wonder this hotel is rated "#1 Best Hotel in Singapore" by Conde Nast. It certainly gets our vote.
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
190 Orchard Boulevard, Singapore 248646
Photos: Leon and Barbara Keer
If you want to learn more, read about some of the other Four Seasons Hotels we have reviewed:
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze Review – Magnificent
The Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai Review – Serene in a Sea of Frenetic Activity
The Four Seasons Punta Mita, Mexico Review – Paradise for the Young at Heart
Four Seasons George V Spa Paris Review
The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Midtown Atlanta Review - A Beautiful Granite Brown Neoclassical Style High Rise


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Stainless trolley
Further view of stainless steel medical trolleyPEM Sheet metal Ltd provides a complete specialist service in sub contract sheet metal work, fabrication and light engineering. As
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Applying fades to take folders is not supported. Logic Pro X incorrectly displays the Fade cursor when you mouse over a take folder.
Logic Pro X: Fade tool does not work with take folders
If you select the Fade tool from the Tool Box, the cursor shows the Fade tool when you place it over a take folder on an audio track. If you try to apply a fade to the take folder, the cursor behaves as if it were the arrow tool.
This document will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Mumbai Journal: The Man Conserving Our City
By Nayantara Kilachand
For 22 years, conservation architect Vikas Dilawari has helped restore some of Mumbai's grandest structures, including the Gothic Rajabai Tower, Flora Fountain, Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Elphinstone College and the BMC headquarters.
Today, the 47-year-old, one of the earliest practitioners to be awarded a degree in conservation architecture in India, works 16 hour days when on site, doing it for neither the recognition nor money. "The dividends," he laughs, "are not very lucrative."
Mr. Dilawari is currently restoring the home of the late Tata Group founder Jamsetji Tata. The architect spoke with The Wall Street Journal's India Real Time about the perks and perils of the job. Edited excerpts:
WSJ: You don't earn a lot of money, or get a lot of recognition as a conservation architect.
Vikas Dilawari: You do get recognition but we don't do things for recognition. One, you are passionately involved in it, the idea is that you're dealing with something that has lasted for so long, and you want to do something small to help it continue for the next generation. Two, you get recognition in terms of UNESCO awards, and the press, but the focus is that you get pleasure doing what you do.
WSJ: Do you remember first time you thought, 'I want to go into conservation?'
Mr. Dilawari: A funny episode happened while I was studying at the LS Raheja College of Architecture. We had one academic exercise where we were supposed to redesign Crawford Market. I tried to conserve it, but didn't get the best of marks - people who demolished it got the best marks, so it motivated me to study further and do my thesis on it. I landed up doing conservation, and there's been no looking back since. Back then, conservation involved a lot of activism because it was not in fashion.
WSJ: Do you think the city of Mumbai is appreciative of its heritage? A lot of the time, heritage buildings here are covered up or plastered over or left to rot.
Mr. Dilawari: The idea is that people who appreciate and care will do it in the right way, but we don't have. There is a miniscule population who understand true conservation and that there's a difference between beautification and conservation. What everyone wants unfortunately is beautification, which is not the same thing.
WSJ: You've worked on several projects for the government - what's it like working with them?
Mr. Dilawari: [laughs] It is difficult to deal with the government as there is no singular client who cares. You're dealing with organizations and there is no sense of responsibility as an owner. The money comes from one source, which is the government, goes to another source, which is the caretaker, and the third source is the user, which could be an institution or a hospital. So you are dealing with three different organizations as clients. Ideally if you deal with one client, it's the best thing. The second thing is that the system is such that we have to get three quotations, then you have to see who has the lowest offer, then whether they can deliver or not. The bureaucratic hassles are quite phenomenal. The third part is you don't get an empty building to work on. If you have to do open heart surgery you need to do anesthesia, but you can't in this case. So we work during restrictive hours, at nights or holidays, but you can't relocate the users either. Something else important is to have a peer review of your work, which doesn't really exist either.
WSJ: Where do you find your craftsmen and artisans?
Mr. Dilawari: It's difficult. I had a lot of freedom initially, when these projects were private ventures with private owners trying to conserve things, so we could source the best craftsmen from around India. A lot of times we deal with individual craftsmen, and try to supervise their work, because each craftsmen has his own strength. But the government system of tendering and getting one contractor has affected the quality to a large extent. I feel guilty because these buildings have lasted so long because of craftsmanship, and now following this stupid format of tendering, you don't get the right people. These contractors use only one or two craftsmen, so they end up damaging the building.
WSJ: What's the most challenging building in Mumbai that you've had to restore?
Mr. Dilawari: There were several. When I was handling Rajabai Tower in the late 1990s, for the first time we had international experts teaching local counterparts. The restoration of Corporation Hall of the BMC was interesting, because everything had been burnt down, and we had to resurrect the whole thing and get it back to its past glory, which we did. Of late, the joy is through simple buildings, like Parsi colonies, where you get a chance to restore very simple lovable buildings of Bombay.
WSJ: What's a building in Mumbai most in need of restoration?
Mr. Dilawari: What's happening is that a lot of focus is spent on monumental buildings, but we're quickly losing the normal grain, the normal fabric of buildings, which are buildings used by 'aam aadmi' (the common man.) That is what requires some incentive. For instance, one of my recent projects got a UNESCO award of distinction - four buildings in Tardeo that were not even listed [as heritage buildings.] These were normal community housing from the 1900s and they could have demolished them, but they've been retained by the people who are using the space.
Nayantara Kilachand is the founder of www.mumbaiboss.com.
Follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.


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Amazon Notches $17.1 Billion in Q3 Revenue, Beats Street
Amazon beat Wall Street's expectations with $17.1 billion in revenue in the third quarter, compared to an average analyst estimate of $16.8 billion. That's a 24 percent jump over the same quarter last year.
As expected, the company posted a loss, and it was exactly what analysts on average were expecting: Nine cents a share.
As for the all-important fourth quarter, Amazon didn't totally extinguish concerns, raised by eBay last week, that consumer spending may not grow as quickly as originally expected. If Amazon hits the low end of its guidance, revenue would grow just 10 percent next quarter, the company said. The top end of the range would see revenue climb 25 percent.
On a call with media, CFO Tom Szkutak said the company was "optimistic" about the fourth quarter and "very excited about the inputs we see."


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Links: Unfair Obsession [Added in 2013]
"Here the ways of men divide. If you wish to strive for peace of soul and happiness, then believe; if you wish to be a disciple of truth, then inquire." ― Friedrich Nietzsche
there's a very annoying ad coming nowadays.. for fair and handsome.. for men!
200 years of raj has instilled the gora mentality in us. will take some doing to reverse it.
also check out this post
he's a spanish in india. provides some nice perspectives.
Hey- interesting post
I'm actually doing this fair skin issue for my year 12 major work, and comparing it to the European obsession with tanned skin. Seeing as youre someone with personal experience of living in India, and you have seen much of the media there firsthand, it would be really great if you could perhaps leave a comment on my site http://elizapip.blogspot.com/ ,
where your opinions could go towards my research for this topic. Just talking about the ads on tv over there, or how your fellow indians feel about this perception of fair skin as an ideal of beauty would be really, really helpful. Thanks a lot!
I personally belong to the so called "fair skinned Indian" category, but I think its a real pity that no matter how kaala (dark) a guy himself is, he will salvate for a perfect gori (white) bride.ReplyDelete
its funny divya had to say she belongs to the so-called "fair-skinned" category , while expressing her opinionReplyDelete
Well, that was because it gives more weight if one criticizes a behavior which benefits oneself.
Its too easy to criticize as a victim. Its more difficult to understand a problem which you do not suffer from.
And Mr/Ms anonymous, while you are using Divya's name in your comment, wouldn't it be good if you leave your own name too, rather than speaking behind the veil of anonymity.
I see the perspective changing a little in the metros. Hopefully the problem should be reduced in another 50 years.
Yes, thanks for bringing up this issue and I couldn't agree more with you. Regarding mythologies, you are right abour devas and rakshasas, and their color. Actually, Lord Krishna is dark in color and is depicted as such (though with a bluish hue - I have no idea why) - something that the gora-wannabe people forget or ignore, or are not aware of.
Also, just remembered the famous song from the movie "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" the lyrics of which have a young Krishna asking Yashomati why is he black (kaala) and the gopis fair.
Indians are racist, there is no doubt about that. Only it is not displayed so overtly as in the West. And Indian cinema does a fabulous job of perpetrating this by reinforcing every possible type of stereotype regarding colour. Bollywood has very few dusky heroines and the less said about regional cinema the better.
Tamil cinema is even worse. It is racism combined with male chauvinism. While all the actors are invariably dark the actresses are all imported from Mumbai or Delhi and the fairer the better. Rajnikanth is no better, there are pretty racist comments in his movie Shivaji and the sad part was people were actually enjoying it and did not find it insulting or degrading considering that most of them were dark. I guess anything goes in our country.
Hi Sujoy. Me and a few of my friends came up with a bunch of fair n lovely ads: hope you like it.
Thanks a lot for sharing your scripts for many 'Fair and Lovely' ads.
I will include the link in the article.
Is this prejudice the main driving force for all our American NRI idiots falling behind Hillary? After all her opponent Obama is black, and our indian psyche never accepts the colour black.
P.S: Being fair is due to lack of Melanin. I would declare fairness as a symbol of a deficiency :). How about that?
The closer you got to equator, darker is the skin colour of the indigenous people; skin tones lighten as you go towards the poles. Exposure to sun and UV rays--simple logic. No skin is 'superior' or 'inferior'.
I also struggle to think of a reason for this obsession for fairness amongst Indians. It's as if it's biologically programmed in our DNA.."fair = clean, attractive; dark = dirty, repulsive"
There are many dark-skinned Indians and Africans who are better looking compared to their fairer counterparts.
Yes, I do admit I have a slight prejudice for well-toned, shapely, athletic people and curvy girls ;-).
As a guy, I would prefer a dark, curvy, healthy girl over a super-skinny/fat fair girl, given their personalities, nature and intelligence are similar.
And cleanliness or hygiene has nothing to do with darkness or fairness.
I find dusky women sexier, but it is a personal preference. And also women with sharp features, especially the nose. Nandita Das is a good example.
It is possible that there are other Indian men who prefer a very fair skinned woman with blunt features. As they say, to each his own.
Is this prejudice the main driving force for all our American NRI idiots falling behind Hillary?
Bhanu Prasad:
Are there any statistics that provide the figures for percentage of NRIs supporting Hillary over Obama (if so, then please share), or are you simply speculating?
Hi Chirkut,
Just type "NRI Hillary Clinton" in google and you can see the result.
I agree with Rajiv. Draupadi was said to be the most beautiful woman of her day and her skin was black in color and Krishna was similary black and very beautiful indeed. These were the archtypes of the Indian race. Today they are portrayed as light skinned people in sitcoms. When it comes to dark folks they put on lots of powder on TV but when it comes to portraying a dark skin personality they first say they couldn't get a dark person for the role and then won't put on some dark make up for the actors for authenticity. Color was not a bar to being attractive and definetly not an issue in other respects. Vyasa was also black skinned :). Layer upon layer of invasions by lighter skinned people be they Greeks or Persians or Arabs or Huns or Mongols or Kushans or what not has brought about this slave mentality. The story may have been quite different if we were conquered by black races many times over. With an excellent Constitution. education and rising awareness we can overcome this acquired prejudice slowly. We need proactive movements to encourage the shift. It will be hard but it can be acheived. We'll only be a great race of men when we stop abusing our own people and often family and friends because of the color of their skin and stand as one. Just look at the Chinese Han people, one for all and all for one. Just my two cents worth - A black skinned Telugu guyReplyDelete
Hello to Sujaj and all the others,
reading your comments was very revealing to me.
I am currently writing my thesis in anthropology about the representation of feminity in Indian advertising. One of my case studies are the ads of fair & lovely.
Could one of you provide me with some more information where exactly it is said that Krishnas complexion was dark? And in which mythologies is black associated with demons and white with gods?
Hi, i totallly agree with you, Those ads should be banned as they cause a lot of emotional trauma especially for young school going girls. Enjoyed reading your blog.
Write poetry
Liked your post...I agree with you ..most Indians are blessed with a sexy skin tone color its much more attractive than faded white ...anyways i also agree that its a personal choice and the fact that we give so much importance to fairer skin than beautiful person is the reason has made the situation so grave...
Nice post ... :)
powerful blog, powerful blogReplyDelete
That's not completely true, I'm a dark-skinned South Indian (Bangalorean) and I have many fair friends (and half-German cousins) who practically swoon for my skin! I'm often told how lucky I am for my tan!
Infact almost all of my 'fair' friends try to get a tan whenever they go abroad/ a beachy place for that 'glowy' skin =)
But yea I have seen those ads and I do think its sad girls find the need to do all that =(
I also agree about the Sonia Gandhi/ Anne Besant part =( I do think that my aunt would have had more problems being accepted by our society if she wasn't a blonde haired, blue-eyed German =(
Again, I haven't faced any sort of discrimination in school =) In fact, I'm one of the more dark people in class, but my boyfriend is the fairest =P I've actually never even thought about this till I read your blog!
Well my point is that though you post is true, I don't think its right to label ALL Indians like that =) Peace!
every alternate advertisement ontv channels today are cosmetic products.
we know why it is a thriving and profitable business.
i love their labs they show..
and i assume people will go more crazy..
will def not see a dark (kala) lead female actress (heroine) in bollywood for sure. dont remember seeing in south movies either.
this discrimination is not historic.many of our beloved gods,ram,krishna ...were of dark complexion.krishna's dark complexion was very much romaticised in literature.even in food items(fruits,vegetables ..)the one with a darker shade is considered better.this is a recent phenomenon,british rule and after.the ads in the media should be banned.more than 70% indians are daily victims of this.angrez chale gaye,angreziyat nahi gayi.ReplyDelete
thats funny, in Europe and North America, women spend lot of $$$ on tanning lotion and make-up, and spend HOURS in the sun ( then they may get skin cancer) just to get that golden-brown tan.
And in India where people have natural brown skin, they bleach it. Human beings are so weird ...
Dear Commenters:
Please identify yourself. At least use a pseudonym. Otherwise there will be too many *Anonymous*; making it confusing.
Do NOT write personal information or whereabouts about the author or other commenters. You are free to write about yourself. Please do not use abusive language. Do not indulge in personal attacks and insults.
Write comments which are relevant and make sense so that the debate remains healthy.


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DEAR ANNIE: I often feel sharp bites like pinpricks on different places of my body, especially at night. At first, it happened only in the bedroom, but now I get them while sitting in my family room and even in my car. I thought it might be bedbugs, but an exterminator ruled that out. He said he had no idea what was causing the bites and couldn�t help. A second exterminator told me the same thing, so I was really disappointed in them. But the bites are becoming worse. I�m not imagining them, because other members of my family have experienced the bites, as well.
We cannot see the bugs, but we know we are being bitten. It is unpleasant living this way, and we certainly don�t want to spread the problem to others. I am so frustrated that we cannot get this diagnosed and treated. Can you tell us where to turn? � TWICE BITTEN
DEAR BITTEN: In many states, it is illegal for exterminators to apply pesticides without knowing the type of bug they are targeting. Talk to your doctor, and also see a dermatologist to find out whether you have physical evidence of bites and can identify the culprits. Some doctors consider �invisible bugs� to be psychological in origin, but there are plenty of tiny mites that cannot easily be seen.
You may also have an infection or allergy. Have you made any changes to your environment (new shampoo, soap or detergent, recent gardening, getting a pet)? Wash all your clothes, sheets, towels, etc., in hot, soapy water and put them in the dryer. Seal blankets and other items in plastic bags. Clean the floors and carpets. And now we�re going to do the same because your letter made us itchy.
DEAR ANNIE: I have given baby showers for each of my close friends. However, these same friends are now expecting showers for their second and third kids, too.
I believe every child is a reason for celebration. But I find it tacky for them to think everyone should attend another large baby shower within two years. I am happy to visit the mother and baby after the child is born and bring a gift. But has etiquette changed so much that there are multiple baby showers within the same family? � STILL FRIENDS
DEAR STILL: No, etiquette has not changed that much. The intent of a baby shower is to welcome the new child into the world and provide necessary items for the child�s care. With subsequent births, those items can be handed down, making another shower unnecessary.
However, it is OK to have a second shower if the guest list is small and limited to family, very close friends and those not invited to the first one. Also, it�s OK if there is a large gap between births (making hand-me-downs less likely) or a couple has moved to a new city with new friends. And some friends host a �shower� for the overwhelmed parents, which is also fine. Of course, whether or not to participate is up to you.