Ben Whishaw And “Mrs Tish” On The Set Of “A Very English Scandal”…

You should have seen me on set that day. I was a bloody mess. [Laughs.] It was a very important moment for me, for obvious reasons. I wrote the “wedding night” episode in season five, which was a huge turning point for Sansa and for Theon. They are the only two people in this world that know know what the other endured, because they both were the victims of this abuser — sexual victims, psychological victims, pretty much every way you can be victimized, he inflicted upon them. They both survived it. They’ve both come through it. They both have a very long way to go, but they know that they have each other. I actually worked for a while on a dialogue scene between them where they talk all about it. I never even turned it in — it didn’t even make my first draft — and no one ever has read it but me. It felt like recapping something everyone had already seen. The audience knows what they endured. Those characters know what they endured. Having them talk about it felt forced, it felt contrived, it felt like I was writing a scene to answer my critics, which is not the reason you should write a scene. And when you have actors like Sophie [Turner] and Alfie [Allen] and a director like David [Nutter], you don’t need that stuff. So a scene that I never got right became distilled to what’s there: “I’ve come to fight for Winterfell if you’ll have me,” and then that shot in the middle of the song where they’re sharing a meal together. They’re drawing strength from each other even now. Having them share that meal on what could be their last night in the world spoke volumes.

Bryan Cogman about the scene where Sansa and Theon reunite and embrace (via sophietisthebest)

Mary Queen of Scots Documents.

In February 2013 I read that the John Gray Centre in Haddington had found documents relating to Mary Queen of Scots, and you could go see them. I arrived at there a few days later and was disappointed to see no sign of them, so I enquired and was directed to a lady who said, yes they had them but were not on open display……but she could go bring them to me and let me see them!!!!

Wow there I was minutes later with the letter spread out before me and me, with a pair of white gloves, was allowed to actually handle these historic items that Mary had approved almost 450 years before! 

The document dates from March 1566, when Mary had just returned to Edinburgh after fleeing to Dunbar castle and has witnessed the murder of her secretary David Rizzio just two weeks previously. It is a grant of church land to the Burgh of Haddington. While this document was not signed by Mary it is appended with an almost perfect example of her great seal. 

Although in Latin and therefore unreadable to most it is a visually beautiful item with fine handwriting and of course the wax seal, I was surprised how large the seal was but the lady in the archives explained it was only personal seas that were smaller, usually on a stamp or as I imagined a ring. This would have been written by a clerk for the queen and is in near perfect condition, the white things you see on the pictures are lead weights to hold the document open as it has been fold for most of its 447 years!

The other document is more fragile and has been enclosed in a plastic case to protect it. This is a letter signed by Queen Mary and King Henry, aka Lord Darnley. The document is asking the burgesses of Haddington to remain at home from the various raids that were happening at the time. I find it amazing that these pieces of history are not just there to be viewed(on request) but that you can get up close and personal with them.

The John Gray Centre is East Lothian’s archives, a museum and local history services, it is free to visit and it was free for me to ask to see things held in the archive, the only thing you are charged for is if you want to take some pics, the fee then was a one off £5.

Henry’s coronation was followed almost at once by his marriage. As his mother pointed out in a letter to Bellièvre, the surintendant des finances, savings would be made, notably in the distribution of gifts, by combining the king’s coronation and wedding. The marriage contract was signed on 14 February and the wedding followed next day. De Thou tells us that it was delayed till the afternoon because Henry took so long fussing over his attire and that of his bride, but royal weddings always took place then to allow time for the participants to recover from the previous previous evening’s festivities. Henry arrived at Rheims cathedral in pomp preceded by bugles and trumpets. Behind him walked the bride’s father, the count of Vaudémont. Louise’s cortège followed. Tall and blond, she wore a gown and heavy cope of mauve velvet embroidered with fleurs-de-lys. Her future brothers-in-law, the duc d’Anjou and the king of Navarre, walked on either side of her. Behind came Catherine de’ Medici and many princesses and other ladies. For once Catherine had set aside the mourning she had worn since her husband’s death in 1559. The wedding itself took place outside the cathedral’s main porch under a canopy of gold cloth. It was followed by a low mass within the cathedral celebrated by cardinal de Bourbon and the day was rounded off by a banquet and a ball at the archiepiscopal palace. According to a Venetian witness, the king and 12 princes wore suits of silver cloth adorned with pearls and jewels. The new queen, too, was superbly dressed.

Robert J. Knecht, Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of France, 1574-89 (pp. 105-106)

At first glance Louise de Lorraine looks like a Renaissance Cinderella story--the unappreciated young woman mistreated by her cold step-mother rescued by a handsome young king/prince--only to turn into a nightmare. Maybe that handsome king isn’t as stable as she first thought...and maybe he doesn’t really like her for herself, but because she looks a lot like his dead ex-lover who he idealizes...

How has no one written a Louise-centric novel casting her as Cinderella? The White Queen turned Elizabeth Woodville’s life into a Cinderella-gone-wrong story, it’s Louise’s turn. 

I would dye my dog like this

the lone wolf dies             but the pack survives

Varys, what an underrated character!

the gods flip a coin and the world holds its b r e a t h

Caption: How your day is actually going.

The Devils (Ken Russell, 1971)

“Where is reading comprehension? Where is nuance?”

Ladies and Gentlemen, we need to make this a meme all Literature teachers and professors can get behind. 

Make it happen!

alicent voice where is reading comprehension where is nuance

This is a great essay! I love this show because it allows Daenerys to be a fully formed and complex character, the likes of which most female characters in fantasy and even on television almost NEVER get to be. She feels like a real person because, like a real person, she isn’t all good or all bad. 

Emilia Clarke has really hit it out of the park with her performance, getting us to love Dany and then fear her. 

This is a great character--one of the best female characters I’ve ever seen on television and I’m so glad the show had the guts to let Dany break bad, as she was always destined to do. 

sooo how do you feel about the whole mad queen thing?

Well, like much in the last half of this series, the set up has been rushed and clumsy and occasionally ridiculous.

But given all the crap they have to deal with— time constraints plus two dozen other characters; quickly trying to connect dots that GRRM has been struggling to join for the better part of two decades; the fact that we live in an age where a staggering percentage of people have developed the inability to watch 30+ minutes of television without looking at their stupid phones and can barely follow the plot of of your average sitcom— I pity those poor bastards enough to cut them some slack on that front.

That aside, I’m happier with it than I thought I’d be. Because I don’t think she’s mad at all, at least not yet. She’s just broken and finally fed up with trying to control her ruthless side.

For a long time, I figured the show was going to wimp out and go about “dark D-ny” in the “safest” way possible: she’d spin out of control for an episode and a half at most then snap out of it in time to heroically sacrifice herself.

Keep reading

Finally, someone else admitted to liking this episode!

8x04 Some takeaways (P1)

Although I’m quite frustrated that D&D still deprive us of Starks’ moments and the pack vibes, in general, 8x04 is quite a good episode in my opinion. Here I’d like to share with you my thoughts on some of the key moments in the episode. I will mainly focus on the state of warfare, my interpretation of the main players’ motivations and concerns, and my view on whether their decisions (based on the set of information each one has in hand) are good for the realm. Always keep in mind that beside Family-Duty-Honour, the running theme since the beginning of the series has always been anti-war. 

1. Fact: The Stark-Targaryen alliance is not in good shape for another warfare

The episode starts with the aftermath of the Long Night. Tens of thousand died. The survivors are all wounded, drained out and devastated. Let’s do some maths to compare the Stark-Dany’s force to that of Cersei-Euron’s at the moment.

Stark-Dany: Before the battle against the Dead, the North and Vale had 20.000 soldiers. Dany had 40.000 Dothrak, 8.000 Unsullied, the remaining of Yara’s force and 2 dragons. In total, they had around 70.000 soldiers and 2 dragons. After the battle, the size of the alliance shrinks massively. Half of the Unsullied are gone and so are the Northmen, so I assume the same survival ratio applies to the Vale and Dothraki. Thus, altogether they have around 30.000 soldiers left and 2 dragons, however all in bad shape. 

Cersei-Euron: the remaining of the Lannister army, the Iron Fleet (full strength), 20.000 sellswords from the Golden Company. So I assume they have more or less the same number of soldiers as Stark-Dany alliance. Well-rested, well-armed, well-positioned for defense behind the high walls of KL, and fully-equipped with balistas to counter the dragons. 

I will discuss the rational strategy for each side in later part. For now, we clearly see that any wise leader must understand this is not the time to wage another war. Best thing to do now is giving everyone a rest to recover from the battle fatigue before starting a new campaign. (Better not to actively wage another war at all. But if they really have to, give the soldiers a break first.)

2. The King’s speech

As usual, Jon delivered his iconic “coming together” speech. Despite giving away his crown, he is still the true commander-in-chief. By the way, where was Dany? The Queen is not really familiar with “setting aside differences to fight and die together so that others might live”, hers are more about “will you kill my enemies in their iron suits and tear down their stone houses” or “bend the knee or die”. So Jon took the job, and he did it well. 

It is our duty and honor to keep them alive in memory for those who come after us and those who come after them for as long as men draw breath.

Highlight: This war for the survival of mankind is a war worth fighting and dying for, because it ensures hope and a surviving chance for the future generations. (But the coming war for the Throne might not because it sacrifices lives for power.) Note that Sansa was always in the background during this part of Jon’s speech.  –> Hint: They might very well be the ones that pass on these memories to the future generations. Having children of their own, perhaps?

3. Dany legitimizing Gendry as a way to exert her power

The next scene was the banquet, where Dany legitimized Gendry to everyone’s surprise. There was tension in the Hall with several reaction shots before Dany finally revealed her offer to make him Lord Gendry Baratheon of Storm’s End.

Gif: gendry-aryas

Tyrion: And a Lord of Storm’s End who will be forever loyal to you. 

Dany: See? You’re not the only one who’s clever. 

Was Dany trying to gain an ally? Not necessarily. Gendry does not have yet any bannermen or wealth, so he is not of immediate use to her. What Dany wanted to show people was, she was a powerful Queen who was to fear, but she could grant mercy as she wished and make or break a Lord in just seconds. Pay attention to her word choice. She first highlighted to Gendry his father’s crimes to her family and herself to make him scared: “You are aware he took my family’s throne and tried to have me murdered?”. Then she showed everyone that she could be merciful if she wanted to, and she could grant one title and wealth at her will, “You are Lord Gendry Baratheon of Storm’s End, the lawful son of Robert Baratheon. Because that is what I have made you.” 

If Dany really wanted to reward Gendry because of his contribution in the war, she would have highlighted the fact that he fought bravely and he was a great blacksmith who forged the weapons to fight the Dead, so he deserved this. No. She didn’t talk about his contribution at all. She made it clear to everyone, he became a Lord because she wanted to. 

People in the background chanted: That’s easy, isn’t it?

If the Queen could easily do everything at her will, she could make a Lord and give wealth to him in seconds, then she can strip away titles and wealth in seconds too. What is more interesting was the exchanging look between Tyrion and Sansa thereafter, both did not seem to be excited with the Queen’s generousity at all. They both knew that the relationship between the Queen and the Lady of Winterfell was strained and tried to figure out what kind of underlying message Dany wanted to convey. 

My interpretation: The Queen was sending a fair warning to the Lady of Winterfell. See how easily I reward Gendry, a bastard son of the man who stole the Throne from my family? You’d better behave, or I can strip you off your title and land as easily as I make a Lord out of him. 

Gif: allons-ymrholmes

So very probably, Dany wanted to warn Sansa that the Queen could strip away her land and title at ease. But if she intends to do so, who would she grant Winterfell to? The possible candidates are Bran (the only living trueborn son of Ned) and Jon (the supposed bastard, if he stays silent about his parentage). Some of you might think that this is a very Tywinesque move that Dany could never think of. But I think this is very possible. Otherwise, Sansa and Tyrion would not have exchanged that suspiscious look.

Both Tyrion and Sansa were aware of Dany’s possible hidden agenda. Tyrion then did a bit of reality check with Bran. He was always curious about the crippled boy and his adventure, and now he wanted to test what the boy wanted. He praised Bran’s extensive knowledge and said that it would be useful as Lord of Winterfell. Arghh, but Sansa is currently the Lady of Winterfell, why did Tyrion give hint to Bran that he was the only trueborn son of Ned Stark and should be the Lord of Winterfell? I think Tyrion was trying to figure out the power dynamic within the Stark family and what each of them might want. Do they want power, or do they want something else? Bran made it clear to Tyrion that he didn’t really want to be the Lord of Winterfell anymore. (Maybe he did when he was a kid, but now he doesn’t.) Since Tyrion didn’t know about Jon’s parentage yet, so to his knowledge the contenders for Winterfell are only Jon and Sansa. In Tyrion’s eyes, Jon is clearly in Dany’s favor since he is her lover. If Dany legitimizes Jon and gives Winterfell to him, Sansa would be empty-handed. To certain extent, Tyrion cares for Sansa’s well-being, that’s why he approached Sansa and raised his concerns to her before he left.

- to be continued -