Behind the scenes (SPOILERS!) on last night's GoT

[monstah]

https://www.polygon.com/2017/8/7/16107500/game-of-thrones-season-7-episode-4-spoils-of-war-battle

Out of words. Such wow.

 

The FX chief dude, counting seconds on the megaphone, while stuntmen are burning. "...Ten. OUT! OUT! OUT!" Holy crap.  

[qzgy]

Haven't seen the show, but the film and effects and props teams.... Props to them, hard work well done

[Guest]

I loved the guy wandering aimlessly, on fire, as Bronn fled from the Dothraki.

I've been very impressed by every large-scale battle scene they do on this show, they really try hard to convey this very personal and brutal reality of medieval warfare. Every single one of their battle sequences is stressful and exciting to watch, and you get the feeling that no one is safe.

[kerbiloid]

Was this the end?

Spoiler

No.
This was just the beginning.

Spoiler

 

Edited August 8, 2017 by kerbiloid

[tater]

I think that the horse riders should have flanked, unless the line was breached, instead of any of them crashing into a shield wall. It is my understanding that when infantry held firm, cavalry would not hit the shield wall. The efficacy of the horse archers of the steppes vs Europeans was largely because they could ride around and hit them with arrows, and then flank them. Once the panic begins for the infantry, the real killing starts., then the cavalry rides them down and slaughters them.

Dragons breaking the line for cavalry would be incredibly effective, but the way cavalry is shown in TV/movies is pretty lame, IMO (LoTR movies, for example).

[Guest]

I was trying to explain that to my wife, with that thin of a line you just need one blast from the dragon to open it up and let the cavalry though.

But then they went back to burn the carts despite having an army low on supplies...

Big holes but very cool to watch.

[monstah]

Just now, regex said:

But then they went back to burn the carts despite having an army low on supplies...

I thought the same. Could have circled around and dispensed the whole line of soldiers instead.

[tater]

Yeah, if it was a combat flight sim, I would have gone down the line of troops (with cluster bombs).

Still, very cool.

[monstah]

I was impressed by the ash corpses.

The first one that you see is trampled by a horse; you'd be excused to think it was charcoal-like. But the second one, just after Jaime has told them to cover themselves? That one disintegrates at a breeze. Talk about demoralizing an army; Jaime look absolutely crushed.

[HebaruSan]

56 minutes ago, tater said:

I think that the horse riders should have flanked, unless the line was breached, instead of any of them crashing into a shield wall. It is my understanding that when infantry held firm, cavalry would not hit the shield wall. The efficacy of the horse archers of the steppes vs Europeans was largely because they could ride around and hit them with arrows, and then flank them.

These cavalry do not have bows, unfortunately, or even lances. And it's not clear whether they've ever faced a shield wall before; they may have relied on tactics that worked against the villages they were accustomed to raiding on Essos.

I was just disappointed that we didn't get to see the look on Cersei's face when she found out her gold shipment wasn't coming in.

[monstah]

Just now, HebaruSan said:

These cavalry do not have bows, unfortunately, or even lances.

What? They fired bows standing on horse backs!

And I think there was a scene just prior to that when they said that the gold had been secured in King's Landing already. Honestly, the passage of time in this series drives me mad. Sometimes, they make such off-hand remarks that imply days or weeks have passed since the last scene. Adding it up, it seems to me Jon Snow has been on Dragonstone for possibly a couple months (Daenerys can fly dragons, but how long did the dothraki army take to get there??). Never mind that your people will be mad if you bend the knee... they're already mad that you're gone!

[tater]

They did have bows (some, anyway).

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, HebaruSan said:

I was just disappointed that we didn't get to see the look on Cersei's face when she found out her gold shipment wasn't coming in.

Tarly stated early in the scene that it had already made it inside the gates of King's Landing, IIRC.

Edited August 8, 2017 by regex

[HebaruSan]

18 minutes ago, monstah said:

What? They fired bows standing on horse backs!

18 minutes ago, tater said:

They did have bows (some, anyway).

Oops, nevermind! I thought I heard some discussion of them lacking the main thing that made the Mongols effective, and I just missed it in this battle.

18 minutes ago, monstah said:

And I think there was a scene just prior to that when they said that the gold had been secured in King's Landing already.

I thought he said that some of it was? Not sure, it was one quick line with no visual referent. But what was the gold caravan still doing on the road led by Jaime if their job was over?

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, monstah said:

Honestly, the passage of time in this series drives me mad. Sometimes, they make such off-hand remarks that imply days or weeks have passed since the last scene.

Yeah, I pointed this out to a friend and he remarked that it was one of the reasons he had watched the episode twice.

Edited August 8, 2017 by regex

[monstah]

2 minutes ago, HebaruSan said:

But what was the gold caravan still doing on the road led by Jaime if their job was over?

I don't know, but we don't get to see gold in that scene (or, do we? I don't remember). We do see some barrels (which explode so satisfyingly under Drogon's breath), the rest might be food?

Besides, the Scorpion was in King's Landing, so if it was in the caravan then they were there already.

I agree with you, the line was quick and had no visual reference. 

Edited August 8, 2017 by monstah

[HebaruSan]

Just now, monstah said:

I agree with you, the line was quick and had no visual reference. 

Sigh, I thought the big flashy battle had some actual stakes related to other things in the episode.

[tater]

Yeah, passage of time is tricky to figure out. It would be easier if the characters were the right ages, but then they would have had to have filmed these 7 seasons in a few years or so, because many in the books are just hitting puberty. Aya should be what at this point? 12?

[TheKSPBeginner]

nice thread

[tater]

There's the real possibility that Jaime gets captured again, lol. Heck, it's almost certain.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, tater said:

There's the real possibility that Jaime gets captured again, lol. Heck, it's almost certain.

He's either captured or dead. I think captured.

[monstah]

I don't think the writers would refrain from toasting him, just to drown him in the very next moment. So, yeah, captured rather than killed, most likely.

[tater]

2 minutes ago, regex said:

He's either captured or dead. I think captured.

So the choice is execute the Kingslayer, or Tyrion gets to reciprocate and advocate to save his brother.

 

[monstah]

8 minutes ago, tater said:

So the choice is execute the Kingslayer, or Tyrion gets to reciprocate and advocate to save his brother.

That's a good character arc for both of them. Now, Danny already thinks Tyrion is trying to help his brother, let's see what she thinks of this...

Come to think of it, that's an interesting arc for all of them. Jaime's the Kingslayer, he killed Danny's very father. But then, she abhors her father, and knows just how bad he was for his people.

[HebaruSan]

BTW, is GRRM still involved in the production at all? Such a big clash with no (confirmed) main character deaths feels more in line with standard Hollywood fantasy than the rest of this series.