Michael Offutt's Blog, page 106

On Game of Thrones no one remains unbowed, unbent, or unbroken specifically. However, I hope that Sansa Stark gets it together soon.

Every great house of Westeros has their own words. The Starks utter "Winter is Coming" on just about every occasion. The Greyjoys say, "We do not sow." House Martell in Dorne uses the words, "Unbowed, unbent, unbroken," which also just happens to be the title of the sixth episode for season five that aired last night.

The words mostly refer to their history: the Martell's were the only ones that resisted the Targaryens, making them pretty much unique. They used guerilla tactics against the Targaryens, avoiding castles where dragons could get at them easily, avoiding clumping together in huge armies that could just get blasted by dragons, and they used the desert terrain to their advantage to harass invading armies. Being a desert, there was very little in the way of support for a huge invading army anyway, which is a problem for a conqueror and not so much a problem for those who live there.
In Sunday's episode, I really felt for Sansa. This poor girl has had a miserable existence ever since she left King's Landing to be wed to Joffrey in the first season. She's seen her dad executed, has put up with insult after insult hurled into her face, has been betrothed about five times, has been married twice now, and each time her husband was someone that repulsed or horrified her. I kind of think that the words, "Unbowed, unbent, unbroken," maybe refer to her more than anyone in the sense that (despite all of the horrible things that happened to her including being raped by Ramsay Bolton on her wedding night) she may emerge to be "unbroken" and get a revenge on the people who have wronged her in some way.

I do love Game of Thrones, but I am disappointed in the fate of Loras Tyrell that is greatly different than was presented in the books. It seems the show has wanted to focus on Loras's sexuality, which is not how I remember the book in so much as he was the youngest Tyrell brother and had two older brothers who could step up and lead the house. In the television series, Loras is the only male heir to House Tyrell, which obviously increases the pressure because so much is bound to Loras's fate. Additionally, he attracts the eye of Jaime Lannister who becomes impressed with him, and he goes on to do some pretty great things before being maimed in a battle/seige at Dragonstone. As for Margaery, in the books she gets hauled before the faith because of issues having to do with being a virgin on her wedding night (there is doubt), but here she's just arrested because she's conspiring to deny charges of homosexuality leveled at her brother.

I think all of these deviations from the written material were necessary because 1) the volume of information that George R.R. Martin has written is simply too large for anything to handle (even a television series), and 2) the television series kind of "jumped the gun" and started filming while Martin was only halfway through the series. They really should have waited until the whole thing was commercially available for reading. That way they could prepare for all the different character arcs and make a proposal for more than seven seasons (allowing for deep exploration of the complex characters that inhabit Westeros).

Anyway, nothing's perfect I suppose, and as far as series go, "Game of Thrones" is one of the best fantasies I've ever had the pleasure to watch. So maybe I shouldn't be too critical. Just the whole "gay treatment" thing of a character as intriguing as Loras Tyrell kind of sticks in my craw.

But I do have a question for you writers out there. If a movie or television studio approached you to make your series into a show, would you consent if you were only halfway done? Or would you insist that they wait until the story is finalized? The answer is obvious for authors like J.K. Rowling and George R.R. Martin, but I'm interested if there are any of you out there that would play the "patience" card and insist that a film company wait until you were done. I look forward to your comments :).

The season finale of Arrow left me with a lot of questions but I am excited for the Legends of Tomorrow spinoff

In the season finale of Arrow, the Flash saves everyone. As he should.The season finale of Arrow this week was action packed, and I've been digging through the events that transpired for clues as to what may happen in The Legends of Tomorrow spinoff. First we have Brandon Routh's character, Ray Palmer, getting into an accident with miniaturization at the end. This (obviously) explains how he becomes "The Atom" and can transform into a super miniaturized version of himself. It's the same kind of treatment that Barry got in a two-part introduction on the Arrow that occurred last season. Good thing Ray transferred all ownership of the company to Felicity, and good thing that the Atom and Felicity broke off their romance so that the Atom could head to his own show in its own time slot. Does anyone else notice that most superheroes seem to be getting their powers through explosions?

Next, Malcolm Merlyn is now the new Ra's al Ghul or "demon's head" in Nanda Parbat. This means that it's going to be through him how Sara gets resurrected in the life-giving waters of the Lazarus Pits. Everyone blames Malcolm Merlyn for Sara's death, and as world's greatest assassin, naturally he's going to make moves that will improve his relationship with his daughter (as he basically had Thea kill Sara in the season opener). I'd heard they'd cast the actress who played Sara as "The Black Canary" in The Legends of Tomorrow spinoff and wondered how she was going to come back. But what's going to happen with Laurel Lance's identity once Sara makes returns from the dead? Hmm. I have too many questions.

And now onto the big question: is Oliver really going to retire and live happily ever after with Felicity? This came out of nowhere, and I'm not really sure it works. I'd love to see Felicity and Oliver in a great relationship, but what about the main star of the show? Is Diggle going to be the new Arrow? I'm kind of thinking on the lines of what Patrick Dilloway said to me months ago: Barry needs to go back in time and change the past so that this whole mess of a season can be redone. Honestly, I kind of suspect that something like this may just happen because the Arrow season finale and the Flash season finale are one week apart. Why not have them take place in the same week? Well if Barry goes back in time to save his mom, everything has a potential to change in this joined universe, which may be a reason as to why the CW is keeping the finale's off kilter to each other.

I love the Flash and Grant Gustin who plays Barry, but have I ever mentioned how broken his powers are? When I was watching the season finale of Arrow, I wondered how Felicity and crew were going to break out of the dungeon of Nanda Parbat when suddenly the Flash showed up. Of course. The Flash single-handedly tied everyone alive up in the citadel and then just used his vibration powers to destroy the dungeon. At any one time, he could have grabbed Ra's al Ghul and just put him in the prison on Lian Yu or in a deep dark hole somewhere and then just ran out before Ra's could even blink.

The Flash's powers don't seem that "broken" in his own show but once he starts hanging with Oliver and company, you can just see that none of those other people are even on the same level as Barry despite the fact the writers like to close the distance between the "power gap" with creative toys like nanites that take away speedster powers.

Anyway, I'm glad that the Ra's al Ghul storyline is over. It was starting to drag on and on and on. I'm excited for the Arrow's return next season and hope that we get a new story arc with some villains that perhaps have some super powers. That'd be fun.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended up turning in a fantastic season two finale

Last night's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had an action packed season finale. First off, I had no idea it was a two hour season finale at that. I think I just kept thinking, "Is this episode going to end?" Second off, I was surprised that Skye's father ended up begin Mr. Hyde. I thought that was a rather interesting development. Third, Coulson is forming a new superpowered team with Skye at the center. I like it. Maybe there's been pressure from The Flash to showcase more superheroes in the show. It's a major shift away from the season one pitch, which was a show about normal people dealing with a world where superheroes are real. Marvel/Disney probably wants to invigorate ratings on the show because they know it works well to launch ideas and to promote their movies.

I thought for sure that the writers would redeem Ward. Nope, he's still evil. And the road that the character has traveled looked like it may have run out of steam, but he's going to become the head of Hydra.

As for Raina, I never much liked her character and kind of wonder if all that makeup she was wearing was a pain to get into. Having her character die was probably a mercy killing really. That way she can seek out another role that doesn't require her to probably wear really painful contact lenses.

There's also the matter of the Terrigen Mist, which is now being mass distributed as fish oil and will probably cause a change in the entire Marvel universe in general. And of course they couldn't leave well enough alone. Fitz asked Simmons to go on a date and left the room only to have her get attacked by the rock in the hold and get sucked into it. That's gotta suck. I wonder what happened to her?

Overall, this was a very satisfying end to a really good season. Agree? Disagree? I hate the fact I'm going to have to wait 8 months to get some answers. Sigh.

We got our first look at ancient Valyria on last night's Game of Thrones and the sight of Drogon flying over the ruins of the old city sent chills down my spine.

Dragons once again are alive in Old Valyria. This scene gave me goosebumps.The Game of Thrones episode, "Kill the Boy" marks the halfway point for season five, and I love that we got our first look at Old Valyria, the civilization that marked the highest point of human endeavor for everything in the series A Song of Ice and Fire.

The setting was kind of perfect (very surreal), which you can do with the kind of budget that HBO now has for Game of Thrones. We had these two men who might have been friends under different circumstances: Tyrion on board a small boat being guided by Jorah Mormont (who's sailing through The Smoking Sea to avoid pirates who are afraid of Valyria for good reason). As superstition goes, there is no place that is more haunted and more dangerous than Valyria. In the particular scene, everything is so quiet and Tyrion and Jorah recite this poem that tells of the "doom that befell Valyria." They're looking around at these ruins that can only be described as grand and recalling that the world has lost an incredibly great civilization. But then out of the mist of The Smoking Sea explodes Drogon flying over the city like a ghost. Daenerys's black dragon is huge and seeing it so big in the sky is this completely arresting moment hinting that there are wonders still that remain in this ancient place...wonders that manage to be frightening and awe-inspiring at the same time. Look at this gif of gorgeous exquisite ruins.I read once that George R.R. Martin was unsure as to whether he would include dragons in his stories. I'm glad that he made the decision to do so, because he's treating them with a delicate touch. He's made them legends, allowing his story to unfold not through mythical monsters, but through the daily squabbles and betrayals of ancient families. When one of the mythical creatures does make an appearance (like one of these dragons) it's like you're looking at something incredible. A lot of writers of fantasy could take a page from this writer's playbook, and use things sparingly so that they don't seem commonplace. The Fourteen Flames, as depicted by Ted Nasmith. "The Fourteen Flames" are an immense
chain of volcanoes extending across the neck of the Valyrian peninsula. The ancient Valyrians
discovered dragons lairing in the Fourteen Flames. They tamed them and used them as
basically super weapons to conquer the world.I have a feeling now that we are on the downside of season five, we will see the white walkers once more in an attack on the village of Heart Home when Jon Snow sails forth to get the remaining Wildlings hiding north of the wall.
Stannis will get bogged down in winter snows assaulting Winterfell. Somehow Sansa will get rescued, and I hope that Ramsay Bolton gets killed along with Theon because I really don't like these two characters.
Jorah Mormont is marked for death now because he let one of the stone men touch him and now has greyscale: a disease that's highly contagious and that toughens skin and presumably spreads inward to harden the victim's insides. So he'll save Daenerys in the fighting pits that's been advertised on one of the promos for the season and get killed (thus sacrificing himself for his queen and dying a redeemed man). Who knows, maybe he'll infect a few people with greyscale in the meantime.
And because the episode is called "Kill the Boy" I think that the revelation that Ramsay's father is expecting a child with his wife (and that it's going to be a boy that could potentially replace him in every way in his father's eyes) will urge Ramsay to kill the child in some way. Call it foreshadowing, or just another way in which Game of Thrones continuously shocks its audience with the cruelty of its characters.
I gotta say, season five is really knocking it out of the park.

A Game of Thrones is eating through A Dance With Dragons and A Feast for Crows like termites gnaw on wood

I think Sons of the Harpy on Sunday night confirmed a theory that I've long had about the Targaryens and whether or not Jon Snow is one of them. It happened in a scene where Melisandre approaches Jon Snow to seduce him with all her women parts. The scene was remarkable in two ways: first it isn't in the books unless my memory has flown completely out the window (which is possible) and two, she was sniffing about him the same as she does Stannis and alluding to "power" being in his veins. Well what power is that exactly? I'm betting on it being dragon's blood, a.k.a. the Targaryens.

In fact, Sons of the Harpy was all about Jon Snow. Remember the exchange under Winterfell between Littlefinger and Sansa? Littlefinger told Sansa about the tournament in which Rhaegar Targaryen rode off with Lyanna Stark. Of course, Sansa replied with the whole "rape" story that's been spoon fed to her by the Baratheons but is that really what happened? Littlefinger seemed to know more but held back from setting the record straight. And that's when we cut to Daenerys Targaryen talking with Barriston Selmy. Hmm? Barriston also waxed poetic on Rhaegar who seemed like a gentle soul. He hated swords and loved to sing, and he gave the money he made to charity or to just get drunk and have a good time with his best friend. That doesn't sound like a rapist to me. It sounds like the kind of guy that's beloved.
I'm thinking more and more that Ned Stark participated in the biggest coverup in history. Jon Snow is a Targaryen. Yup. So how does that change things? I'm not sure dammit.

So now that that's settled, the other remarkable thing that I'm seeing develop in this season is how swiftly the show writers are eating up material in A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons simultaneously. I know that Martin said the material in both books runs concurrently, but it's hard to separate that in my mind because there was an eight year gap between books. Tyrion took forever in crossing the vast expanses of Essos to Mereen, and it looks like that by the end of the season, we're going to have a showdown at Winterfell between Stannis and his men and the Bolton boy (will Sansa get rescued?), we'll have Tyrion in Mereen, and we'll have all of Cersei's scheming with the High Septon get thrown back in her face when Margaery and Olenna figure out how to outmatch her at her own game.

I know I've written before that The Winds of Winter is supposed to be out this fall. I've been checking Martin's website and now I'm not so sure. It may get published as early as next spring, but I hope it does before the start of the next season. I'd like to see how things go in the books before getting too many spoilers. It's a given that HBO is going to finish this thing in seven seasons, but I'd like one more book under my belt (I think) before then. I wonder if (knowing the ending when it happens) I'll even feel like buying a Whisper of Spring. Maybe? Maybe not?

It must be so weird being George. That being said, we are headed for one hell of a season finale.

This month's insecurity questions whether insecurity itself does indeed breed arrogance.

I found this little gem in my travels on the internets. It's a quote from someone named Daniel Saint (I'm not sure who this is) but it got me thinking. Does insecurity breed arrogance? I know insecurity can be the root of a lot of unpleasant things, but arrogance? Really? My dad used to work with someone that he said had an "inferiority complex." At the time, I didn't know what he meant but maybe I do now (having worked with a profound narcissist several times in my life). I wonder if any of our insecurities with writing work themselves out in such a profound way. Are there any arrogant writers out there that can answer this question?

Thanks for stopping by.

I flew to Portland Oregon for a mini vacation and ate some of the best things that have ever passed my lips.

Last week I flew to Portland, Oregon for the first time on a mini-vacation to visit my friend James Salmonsen, and I thought I'd tell you about the trip. I flew first class, and I don't think I'll ever fly anywhere again that's not first class. Seriously. The service is excellent, the seats are much wider and there's a ton more leg room, and there's even this arm rest between the seats that's wide enough to hold beverages. It also has a plug in to charge my phone. How cool is that? Oh and I got to check three bags for free. I actually didn't have three bags; I had one. However, I've now got that stored in my head as "things to know when traveling."
Portland was REALLY green. I live in Salt Lake City, so I'm used to the desert. Portland has trees everywhere. So many trees in fact, that you think there are people living behind them (as in lots of people) but you can't see any of them. Oh, and everyone is super friendly. I went to the Avengers: Age of Ultron on Thursday night and made like three friends in line. One guy was super excited about Jason Momoa being cast as Aquaman in the up and coming Batman Vs. Superman, another just wanted to chat about the Avengers, and a third told me about this strange video I needed to watch on Netflix. But the friendliness didn't end there. At Pine State Biscuits (a breakfast restaurant) a mixed racial couple totally started talking with me, and I think our topics went from Voodoo Donuts to restaurant recommendations to talking about podcasts to Charles M. Blow (who writes for the New York Times). And then as I was walking around downtown, one couple tried to bum some donuts off of us (we had a box) and another guy just started talking to us about the best steak in town. I have seriously lived in Salt Lake City for seven years people, and no one here ever talks to me. They all just look down their noses at me and whisper to whatever partner they are with. It's so strange and very unfriendly.

The highlight of the trip though was visiting with Stephen Hayes who blogs over at the Chubby Chatterbox. Stephen lives in a fabulous condominium with doors tall enough that Shaquille O'Neal wouldn't have to duck. Inside this nice dwelling, Stephen regaled me with tales of his trip to India, how the streets there are paved in twenty year old trash because no one wants to clean up, and how he saw the most beautiful thing in his life (the Taj Mahal) and the most ugly thing in his life (a beggar with a grotesquely deformed foot). I also took a look at his artwork (Stephen is quite the accomplished artist) and we went to a really nice restaurant called Decarli where I ate the best mussels and the best salmon I've ever had (thank you again, Stephen). Later we went back to his place and had a shot of chocolate tequila, and I also got to meet his very smart wife (as she was back from book club). Portland (by the way) has some people that can do southern cooking living there. I went to the Screen Door on Thursday night and I'm tellin' you...I had the best mac and cheese I've ever had followed up with the best fried chicken I've ever had. Everything was so tasty that my arteries have to be twice as hard as they were before the trip.

Anyway, I had an incredible time in Portland. However, I also looked up land values there and the houses start at probably $100,000 more than they do here in Utah. Here you can spend $350,000 on a three bedroom house, and it's a dump (read fixer upper). Over in Portland, the fixer uppers start at $450,000. That means I'd need to make $140,000 a year to be able to afford one. Wow. That's a lotta money. Looks like I'll be staying put for the near future. :(

Why does Ra's al Ghul want Oliver Queen for the demon's head? Aren't there other more readily available options?

I remember a few weeks back, Patrick Dilloway said that Oliver Queen needs to have Barry travel back in time for him and fix a few things. The trainwreck that is Arrow took another casualty last night: Oliver Queen himself. It seems pretty permanent but then again so did Oliver's death in the mid-season finale. I mean, Ra's al Ghul actually drove a sword through Oliver and kicked him off the mountain. The way he came back was obviously magic, but they really like to downplay it in this show, almost as if they are afraid to show it because if they do it'll make everything less gritty and real.

Oliver (in order to save his sister's life) had to travel to Nanda Parbat, which is the stronghold for the League of Assassins. Of course Ra's al Ghul was waiting for him along with the entire league: all of them kneeling  because he's the next in line to take over from Ra's himself. The goal was to dip Thea into the possibly personality changing resurrection waters of the Lazarus Pits, because no matter how much she changed (even if she started chewing on the carpet) Oliver couldn't live without her. Even Thea's dad Malcolm Merlin, who regularly takes shots of asshole with "I'm a selfish prick" chasers, didn't want Thea to come back. That was a pretty strong thing to say about his only daughter, and I think it doesn't bode well for season 4 when even more tragedy can befall our heroes because of Thea Queen.

Oh yeah...and Felicity got nailed by Oliver. That was awesome, and I've been waiting for it for three and a half seasons. Finally! But it wasn't really meant to be. I mean...heroes can't be happy right?

I love how the CW is exploring different options for unresolved love stories in Arrow. I really got tired of the love triangle that was Lana, Clark Kent, and whoever Lana was interested in at the time in Smallville. It dragged on season after season, and I think maybe the two of them had happiness for two or three days during all of that.

With Arrow, it's different. They actually let their characters express love with one another and let all the raw feelings come pouring out. They just keep them from being together by injecting the League of Assassins, introducing a cock-blocking flying superhero that buys Oliver Queen's company, or they just flat out kill characters off. Goodbye Sarah...goodbye Roy...goodbye Maseo's son... It makes me think that George R. R. Martin's (and perhaps the Walking Dead's) influence on television has been immeasurable. Regular characters die all the time now, and I actually like the gritty realistic dimension this adds to the shows I watch.

The only thing I can't figure out is why Oliver Queen? Why does Ra's al Ghul think that the Arrow would make the perfect head for the Demon? Maybe the whole thing is a plot contrivance to make the show even darker than it already is. I'm sure Oliver (once he escapes from the League at some point) is going to pretty much be a cold-blooded killer. Sigh. I just hope he doesn't kill Felicity. Man, that episode would be hard to take.

The Flash is turning in a spectacular season thus far so I want to know how do you think it will end?

The Flash is turning in a spectacular season. With only a few episodes left, the heroes, i.e., Barry Allen, Cisco Ramon, Catelyn Snow, Eddie Thawne, and Iris's father Joe are closing in on the evil Dr. Harrison Wells, a.k.a. the Reverse Flash. I have to admit that I originally thought that the Reverse Flash might not translate well to the small screen. But the CW has really pulled this villain off. He's legitimately scary, capable of doing the most evil things as long as they coincide with his own self interest. In a word: diabolical.

Last night's episode had some really great moments. First, I was glad to see that Iris became useful by spotting (correctly) that her boyfriend had been framed in the video because he's not left-handed. That was great. And I think that the chemistry between Barry and Eddie Thawne is actually creepily good, considering both of them are straight. Everytime Eddie and Barry get close and have a heated (full of feels) conversation I really want them to kiss. Seriously. You gotta be with me on this Sarah Falen.

Also, Cisco being such a huge fanboy for Laurel just adds to his charm. I was a little disappointed that Laurel only hooked him up with a pic of them together ala Black Canary costume. Keeping the picture in the envelope might have been better. It would have allowed us sketchy types out here in the universe to thinking that she gave him nude pics (hey I can't help where my mind goes...)

So here's the thing. I think that the team of heroes is in an even more dangerous situation than they even realize right now (which would be par for the course because Barry got duped by the shapechanging guy disguised as Eddie Thawne when he knew Eddie Thawne was in police custody). Wells is this super villain and he's literally gathered an army of supervillains under one roof that he could release all at once if he wanted to. Everybody in the building, possibly in the city, might just be screwed.

What do you guys think (obviously if you are watching the show)? Is the season finale going to be an all out bad guy bash with the cell doors popping open all over S.T.A.R. Labs and unleashing fury on Central City? Or do you think it will be a one on one showdown between Barry and the Reverse Flash? It's not like we'll be in suspense for long because the end is coming soon.

In the House of Black and White Daenerys Targaryen is living in denial and thinks that life and rulership should be fair

Last night's Game of Thrones episode (called the House of Black and White) had Daenerys Targaryen really struggling to find her footing as the ruler of Merene. Last season, having promised the slaves of Merene fairness and justice (because Daenerys wants to be a benevolent ruler) the slaves overthrew their masters and essentially turned over the entire city state to her. Now the sons of the harpy are making trouble for Daenerys and her occupying army. They're doing a little butchering here and there, and unrest is spreading where there was none before. Wanting to avoid being another "mad" Targaryen, Daenerys promises a trial to a suspected "sons of the harpy." Presumably, a trial guarantees "fairness" but we all know it's just another kind of parade. However, it's probably the best that any kind of justice system can hope for so anyone facing punishment might as well take the best option seeing as none of us (even in George R.R. Martin's world) can read minds. But slaves who perceive that Daenerys has her hands tied take it unto themselves to deliver justice and one of them kills the "sons of the harpy" that's in custody.

She reminds this hapless soul that "the law is the law" and has him publicly executed. The crowd of slaves starts hissing, and she gets this pinched look in her face which is essentially what I think she might look like if passing a kidney stone. I've seen this look a lot lately (sometimes at my own work) as management struggles to come to terms with the budget deficit in our agency and liquidates positions. There's that "pinched" look in the face. Are you passing a kidney stone? No? Oh, I recognize that look...you are trying to be "fair."

But here's the thing people. Our idea of fairness isn't actually obtainable. In fact, it's probably the greatest lie ever spread by humans because it's a cloak for wishful thinking. If life was actually fair, companies would only fail if everyone who worked for them was evil and raindrops would fall only on bad people. So essentially we all have a broken idea of fairness. Our idea of fairness always serves "self interest." Oh your opinion coincides with mine? That's fair. Oh it doesn't? I cry foul. People love to invent moral authority and buy into the whole concept that if you work hard you will succeed. But there's plenty of situations where this is simply not true. The only ones you hear about though are the ones that do succeed. So the lie perpetuates itself.

In real life, children would be better served if they were told that life is a competition instead of telling them that it isn't. "Remember kids, life isn't a competition. I mean apart from grades, jobs, colleges, partners, wealth, and status. Yup...no competition so just do your best." And that's my epiphany about Daenerys' situation in Merene. I mean, maybe that's what the game of thrones is actually about. Cersei says, "To play the game of thrones you either win or you die." Well, no, but that does make a good sound bite. If Daenerys knows what's good for her, she'll embrace a different philosophy: to play the game of thrones means to realize that life isn't fair. Therefore you shouldn't strive to be a fair ruler, just a good one. You shouldn't have killed the slave. Sure, it wouldn't have been fair, but who cares? Life is a competition and you've got to play your advantages. That's just the nature of reality. Everyone who doesn't admit that (whether in George R.R. Martin's fantasy world or the real one that we all live in) is in denial. But I suppose that most of us get hung up on how we think the world should work that we fail to see how it actually does work.