Lurker > Solfadore

More people must know.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Also, I'll probably log on quite late tonight as well (around midnight EST)!

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Just you wait until your dogs start dying in seconds. Should take about 3 or 4 levels now. >_>

Honestly, the reason why the WD sucks so much is the lack of mana/mana regen. Dire Bats cost about 115 mana/sec, so you've got about 4 or 5 shots before running out. From then on, it's basically running away for 15 seconds waiting for your mana to regenerate. Same deal with Bears or Acid Cloud. Basically, you spam spells and hope to kill stuff before your mana runs out - if you don't, you'll be a sitting duck for a while. Only way around that is Vision Quest, and that throws strategy out the window.

Wizard, on the other hand, is just crazy good. Blizzard with Snowbound costs only about 20 Arcane Power to use, which means 7 good uses before running out, and even then, it takes about 6-7 seconds to replenish AP completely. In the time it takes me to cast a spell, I have already regenerated half of it.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Surprise favourite acting pair/best on-screen chemistry ranking (AKA disguised bump):

1. Maisie Williams and Charles Dance (Arya/Tywin)
2. Peter Dinklage and Conleth Hill (Tyrion/Varys)
3. Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey (Tyrion/Cersei)
4. Peter Dinklage and Jerome Flynn (Tyrion/Bronn)
5. Lena Headey and Sophie Turner (Cersei/Sansa)

6. Peter Dinklage and Jack Gleeson (Tyrion/Joffrey)
7. Alfie Allen and Donald Sumpter (Theon/Luwin)
8. Maisie Williams and Tom Wlaschiha (Arya/Jaqen)
9. Stephen Dillane and Liam Cunningham (Stannis/Davos)
10. Jack Gleeson and Sophie Turner (Joffrey/Sansa)

HM to Jaime/Brienne, Arya/Gendry and Sansa/Shae (lolwut).

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

1. Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister)

Well, this is it. The end of the road. At last. A bit conventional, perhaps, but there’s really no way around it. That man carried the second season, just as Tyrion carried the Lannisters through the Battle of Blackwater Bay.

Incredible presence. Amazingly wide range of interpretation, from bombastic to withdrawn, from snark to tears. A very human performance. Dinklage taking first prize should be entirely expected, and expected it was. The guy deserves all the praise he gets, and then some more.

Now that we’re done throwing (entirely deserved) heaps of praise on Dinklage, let’s try to figure how he does it. Tyrion, obviously, is a very peculiar character in the show. He’s extremely likeable (from a reader’s standpoint), funny, charming and a blast to read. He’s also one of the most fully fleshed-out characters in the series. All of that means he’s got an abundance of material to work with – probably the best material out of all the characters. Don’t get me wrong, though: Tyrion is by no means an easy role.

See, it’s one thing to be snarky and witty. Tyrion has great lines, and I’m convinced many, many professional actors could give quite a memorable performance just running on that. It’s actually quite tempting to just give in on the ham and play Tyrion as a full-fledged comic relief, sort of the only sane man in the midst of snakes and power-hungry madmen. That’s not Tyrion, however. See, the half-man’s role in the series isn’t just to be comic relief (although he is one of the funniest characters): it’s also to bring an incredibly human and personal touch to an array of political manoeuvring and backroom dealings.

Tyrion’s a character you can empathize with: brought to life without a mother, constantly degraded and reprimanded by a father who resents him, scorned and mocked by a bitter older sister, not to mention the world at large (demon monkey!). Where sons of lords are usually given land, a sword or a battalion to command, Tyrion was awarded the drains of Casterly Rock. We’ve all seen just how much recognition he got from Tywin and Cersei for his courage and sagacity during the events of the second season. Basically, strip all the witty lines/snark armour away from him, and you’ve got a distraught human being craving for his father’s and the world’s approval. Don’t let his spiels from the first season about embracing his “dwarfedness” fool you: I’m convinced that at the core, he’s just a guy who wants to be loved.

(cont'd in next post)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

2. Maisie Williams (Arya Stark)

Where do they find them? GoT has to have at least 4 or 5 child/young actors, and they’re all crazy good. How HBO does it, I have no clue, but I know at least that their casting directors deserve tons of kudos. So far, we’ve seen Hawkey, Hempstead-Wright, Turner, and a bunch of other, less important characters. I think it’s about time we tackle the best of them all.

Arya Stark. A very likeable character, to be sure (definitely in my top 5-10 or so, where the books are concerned), but not one with a whole lot of diverse and complex material. All in all, she’s pretty straightforward: she’s stubborn, headstrong, courageous, a bit bratty on the side, mature beyond her years at times, yet pretty childish most of the time. It must be really fun to play this character, but you don’t really get much of the angsty/tormented/complex stuff that usually gives you an Emmy or critical praise. The fact that Arya is remembered so well and liked by pretty much everyone, doubled with the praise her actress got from viewers and critics alike, is a testament to Williams’ skill. She doesn’t have quite enough material to compete with Allen, Headey or even Turner... and yet she does. Very impressive.

What I like most about her performance, I’d say, is how real it seems. I don’t know Williams much, but every time I see Arya in a scene, I absolutely can’t help but feel that she’s not playing a character. She’s just Arya. It’s as if she’s not even trying. Even when she’s not doing anything relevant – cleaning stuff by the river along with Hot Pie, Lem and Gendry in EP2 – she has this glint in her eye that seems entirely genuine. And that’s surely after 26 cuts of the same damn scene – how she still manages to have this genuine glint over that is beyond me.

Other actors on the top tier were also, of course, exceedingly good. Despite all that, though, you always had the sense that they were working on their emotions, presence, little gestures. The little side glare that Headey/Cersei gave back in EP1 that I’ve been heaping so much praise on? It’s awesome, but she obviously worked on it. The small, nervous posture of Allen/Theon during his little talk with Bran right after he took Winterfell? An inspired choice... but still a choice – something he practiced and practiced until he got it just right.

With Williams, though, she doesn’t seem to be even trying. She’s got little gestures of her own – very small stuff: for instance the shrug she gives to Gendry as he swings his sword around, trying to appear cool, detached and knowledgeable about swordplay (while still basically just repeating Syrio’s teachings). That shows us a lot about her character, and hints at potential developments between the two in the future. Thing is, it’s perfectly downplayed and casual: nothing like the “Yo, I’ve been looking at you for all of ten seconds but I’m deeply infatuated with you” stuff Robb gave us. It’s more like she doesn’t even know she likes Gendry, but still unconsciously wants to act detached and, well, cool in these few scenes. Aww. My point is that here again, she does that while seemingly not even trying.

(cont'd in next post)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: LordoftheMorons | #358

Out of curiosity, if you had included S1 characters, around where would Sean Bean have placed?

That's a good question! Hrmmm... probably between Allen and Turner. If I were ranking simply based on S1 material, though, he'd definitely make the top tier (since Headey/Turner weren't as good in S1 and Allen had nothing to work with - Dance had very little material as well).

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

THE FINAL LIST

Lead Actors

Aegon Targaryen Tier of World-Conquering
1. Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister)
2. Maisie Williams (Arya Stark)
3. Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister)
4. Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister)
5. Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy)

Tyrion Lannister Tier of Schemes, Plots and Broken Things
6. Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark)
7. Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon)
8. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister)

Margaery Tyrell Tier of Political Seduction
9. Gethin Anthony (Renly Baratheon)
10. Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark)
11. John Bradley (Samwell Tarly)
12. Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark)
13. Richard Madden (Robb Stark)

Eddard Stark Tier of Political Savviness
14. Kit Harington (Jon Snow)
15. Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen)



Supporting Actors

Arthur Dayne Tier of Kicking Just About Everybody's ***es With a Hand Tied Behind his Back
1. Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon)
2. Conleth Hill (Varys)
3. Jerome Flynn (Bronn)

Jaime Lannister Tier of Twincest, Child-Crippling and Westeros-Trolling
4. Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth)
5. Donald Sumpter (Maester Luwin)
6. Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont)
7. Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane)
8. Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth)

Bronn Tier of Honourless Pig****-Throwing
9. Francis Magee (Yoren)
10. Julian Glover (Grand Maester Pycelle)
11. James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont)
12. Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H'ghar)
13. Patrick Malahide (Balon Greyjoy)
14. Joe Dempsie (Gendry)
15. Eugene Simon (Lancel Lannister)
16. Ben Hawkey (Hot Pie)

Jon Snow Tier of Knowing Nothing, yet Still Being Competent with a Sword
17. Aidan Gillen (Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish)
18. Carice van Houten (Melisandre of Asshai)
19. Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton)
20. Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy)
21. Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell)
22. Robert Pugh (Craster)

Arya Stark Tier of Pointy End-Sticking
23. Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell)
24. Dominic Carter (Janos Slynt)
25. Natalia Tena (Osha)

Bran Stark Tier of Combat Prowess
26. Sibel Kekilli (Shae)
27. Kerr Logan (Matthos Seaworth)
28. Esme Bianco (Ros)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

THE POINTS (final tally)

Rex: 14 points (Tyrion, Arya [+2], Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Joffrey [+3], Varys [+2])
ML: 13 points (Tyrion [+3], Arya [+2], Cersei, Theon ; Joffrey, Varys [+2])
Kaxon: 13 points (Tyrion [+3], Arya [+2], Tywin [+1] ; Joffrey [+3])
EO: 9 points (Tyrion, Arya, Tywin [+1], Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
LOTM: 9 points (Tyrion, Arya, Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Joffrey, Varys [+2])
Alec: 5 points (Tyrion, Arya, Cersei, Theon ; Varys)

Rex retains the first place and wins the contest! Congratulations to him! Additionally - you may recall me saying that if Kaxon or Rex won the competition, the best of the first four entrants would also get a piano remix. Well, Rex did win, and MarquessLaus achieved a 2nd place tie with Kaxon, so ML: you also get a prize! Congratulations to you both!

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

So yeah, it’s one thing to be witty and charming. It’s quite another to be able to bring this facet of Tyrion’s personality and these emotions on screen. Dinklage does so brilliantly. You’ve seen me ramble on about certain actors’ eyes before, and you’ll see it again, because a lot of what the actor brings to the table is through the eyes. See, to be able to play Tyrion effectively, you’ve got to be able to convey either of his two facets (the bitter snarker and the caring nice guy) – or both – at the drop of a hat.

An example of this would be from Tyrion’s very first scene of the season: he starts off by barging into the tourney, mocking Joffrey’s cowardice to his face (“I had thought to find you on the battlefield”), and then immediately switches gears by showing genuine friendliness to Myrcella and Tommen. A few seconds later, he mocks the Hound in a very straightforward tone, and then turns to Sansa, showing her compassion and empathy. When he reprimands Joffrey afterwards – the King reminds her that Ned was a traitor, and Tyrion reminds the King that the latter has lost his own father quite recently – you see that this time, it’s the nice guy being pissed at a heartless fool. Dinklage conveys all of these little nuances and shifts seamlessly – you always know what he feels, why he says the things he says, whether he cares for people or just making fun of them. Sometimes, it’s both at the same time (ohai Bronn/Lancel).

Here again, just like Williams, you never get the sense that he’s really trying. He never does something like “*takes a breather* Alright, I am now switching into ‘Caring nice guy mode’.” It just feels natural. When he asks Bronn if he’d be willing to kill an infant girl still at her mother’s breast, he looks genuinely distraught and shocked with the latter’s lack of empathy and care.

Sure, some of his ‘witty lines’ and funny insults seem a bit forced at times, but that’s precisely the point. Tyrion isn’t both a nice guy and a snarker: he’s a nice guy who makes quips to hide the fact that he cares so much about everything. Of course some of it is going to feel forced at times, and it would be wrong if it didn’t.

And there you have it. Dinklage has shown tremendous skill all throughout the season – and the series as a whole – adding a memorable human touch to a very cynical series (cynicism being a good thing in this setting). Even through all the lulls and blander stretches of the mid-season, you could always count on Tyrion and Dinklage to raise the episode’s quality, and while the writing for Tyrion is really great, Dinklage is phenomenal as well. It all culminated in the final two episodes, as Tyrion’s role as Hand finally comes to a close, and the build-up and emotion finally lets loose. That final scene, as Tyrion cries in Shae’s arms, after receiving words of comfort from Varys (of all people), is heart-wrenching.

Give the man his Emmy.

Best scene: Oh man. Such a tough choice. You’ve got the political manoeuvring of the early season, the witty banter with Bronn, the hammy shout-out with Joffrey after the riot (such a fantastic scene), the spite/resentment with Cersei, the rousing speech in Blackwater or the final scene with Shae. I think I’m going with the very last scene, just because it served as such a perfect send-off for his character arc this season, but there’s just so much to choose from.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

That said, maybe she does all that precisely because she resembles Arya a lot. Maybe I’m giving her too much credit and she’s simply playing herself in Arya’s boots. Maybe. I’m willing to suppose that she might (might) be a stubborn, headstrong, bratty tomboy in real life. However, I’m absolutely not ready to admit that she’s also a traumatized rebel whose daddy got beheaded. Thing is: she plays the latter facet of Arya’s personality as well and naturally as the other stuff she was given.

Remember the scene with Arya and Yoren back in EP3 before the Lannister attack? Precisely. It’s not even supposed to be an Arya scene – it’s basically a Yoren monologue. She’s just there listening. And yet, without saying anything, just by cleaning her blade and listening, she has this overwhelming presence that’s just a marvel to see. When she raises her eyes and meets Yoren’s, you can feel all her anxiety and vulnerability. When she turns them back to her blade, you can sense that she’s deep in thought. And she’s not even doing anything!

I am, of course, glossing over all the other great stuff she does – perfect poise, delivery, screen presence, etc. I have yet to mention the excellent, excellent scenes between her and Tywin – the fact that she manages to act on an even footing with such an incredible actor is amazing in its own right. These scenes carried half of the season for me (the other half is coming up next), and the quality of the acting is one of the big reasons why they were so successful.

That said, and that might be the big question in your mind, she’s not first. Indeed, in spite of everything she does, I can’t rank her ahead of the other guy. I think part of the reason why she’s so acclaimed is precisely because she’s so young. People weren’t expecting such talent from such a young age, and so they were surprised – that surprise is part of the reason why they might rank her #1, I think. Well, I try not to take these points into consideration (or else Bran would’ve ranked much higher) – besides, she’s 16, not 9. Albeit young, she’s old enough to be able to act like an adult – and as such should be treated like an adult. It’s amazing that even after all that, she still manages to outclass all the other actors.

All the other actors save one.

Best scene: For once, I’m not going to pick any specific scene, and just give the kudo to her overall performance during all these scenes with Tywin. These came completely out of left field, even for book readers, and they were highly impressive, for both of the actors involved. Such great acting all around.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Winner is coming.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Finally started doing actual work on this, and lo and behold, I'm done with #2. Only #1 is left! I hope to have this posted by tomorrow.

(In my defence, the whole topic so far has amounted to 23,000+ words.)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Won't be on until at least an hour. Just got off from work and I'm famished.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

If people had some WD builds in mind - spells and gear - or general WD advice, that could be useful. I'm currently maining Bears/Darts, but it only leads me so far.

> Anything good for crowd control that doesn't burn through my mana too fast (aka not Zombie Bears)? I'm scrapping by on Dire Bats, but Bears and Bats are kinda redundant, and I want to switch one of these out. Acid Cloud, perhaps?

> What should I be striving for with my gear? For now, I'm running on DPS/Int for my weapon, and mostly Int/Armor for the rest. Considering switching for some mix of DPS/Life on Hit/Int/Critical Chance. Does that sound good or is that ill-advised? I guess the aforementioned cost a whole lot of money, so in the meanwhile, what can I get that would allow me to survive better?

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Well, if it wasn't clear already, I officially suck now. Took me four goddamn tries to kill Inferno Leoric. Four. Tries. Leoric.

I am ashamed.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

The problem is that the whole game is geared around the AH. "Gring for good gear to make it easier to find good gear" is super-fun in theory, but when the good gear in question is just not dropping, you've got a problem. I'm sure Blizzard was entirely aware of these problems when they designed the game - crafting being really weak, useless drops, etc. - but chose to leave them that way to prompt people to use the AH.

Did you buy all the stash upgrades? Did you buy and upgrade the staff of herding? These are all great money sinks if you want to burn money. If not, I'd just try to force myself not to use the AH until Hell is cleared (since not using it makes Inferno extremely hard, I'd wager, though HGR could answer that question better than I), which is what you already seem to be doing with your DH.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Of course I know that, but I still think it's a bit of a ripoff. I just bought a 1000 DPS staff with 100+ intel for 50-60k (and I'm sure I could've gotten a better deal if I had spent more time refining my search). It's a 2H, sure, but that's still less than 20% the price Machete bought his weapon.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: ImTheMacheteGuy | #164

Also just out of curiosity, got a 670dps (1h) weapon with level reduction (60 down to 50) for 350k. Good deal or s***ty deal?

Er..... I'm pretty sure I got the nifty 2h, 771 DPS staff that carried through Hell for much, much less. Less than 100K, to be sure. Sounds like you got ripped off.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Hell beaten (Hell Diablo was much easier than Nightmare thanks to better gear). Hell Butcher was officially the toughest fight I've had so far, which is pretty weird now that I think about it.

Time to start Inferno!

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Another bump in the road.

(Sorry, but I've been working a lot these past few days, so this will still take some time. In the meanwhile, I'm going to ask the few of you who are in the running for first place to start thinking about a song you'd like me to arrange on piano, if you haven't done that already. If you want to have an idea of my general style and skill - or lack thereof - feel free to browse my youtube account. [http://www.youtube.com/user/Solfadore])

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Called it.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

XFD

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Tiger?

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Dat axe

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Oh man. Zangief.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Bumpo

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

That was incredibly fun. We ended up with a 4 player party once Mac joined in, and from then, it was pretty much a cluster**** of spells going on at the same time with Nev leaping and raging in the middle. Lots of fun.

The Diablo fight was also quite tense, as we came close to dying quite a few times (and actually all died once)!

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Cool! I mostly play in the evenings/late night, however, so don't expect to see me connected very often during the day.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Oh, I'm not bringing him down because he plays a one-note character. I'm saying it's a shame for him that he's stuck on such a one-note character, because he'd do wonders with more complex characters as well.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

There's a big difference between tragic and bittersweet.

Bittersweet: the good guys won, evil is vanquished, but the heroes had to pay a steep price to overcome evil (maybe the land is saved, but the main's love interest/true friend is gone forever). It's important to note that the heroes' main goal has to be achieved - if the love interest is absolutely central to his quest and happiness, and that love interest dies, the ending can no longer be called bittersweet.

Tragic: nobody wins. Evil is vanquished and the good guys triumph, but in the process have negated everything that they once fought for, leaving their entire quest pointless and void of meaning. Or maybe they realize that the "villain" was actually a good guy all along, and as they kill them, they realize that they really should've let them accomplish their plans. Their quest actually left the world worst-off than it had started.

These are just examples, of course, but there's a fine line between bittersweet and tragic, IMO.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

DIE POINTS

Rex: 10 points (Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2], Joffrey [+3])
EO: 7 points (Tywin [+1], Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
LOTM: 7 points (Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2], Joffrey)
ML: 6 points (Theon, Cersei ; Varys [+2], Joffrey)
Kaxon: 6 points (Tywin [+1] ; Joffrey [+3])
Alec: 3 points (Theon, Cersei ; Varys)

In a surprising turn of events, Rex takes the lead! Will he manage to hold it, or will EO and LOTM overcome him? Guess you guys will just have to wait and see!

(Advance warning, though: I'll be doing both of the final writeups at once, and since they're going to be rather long, it might take me a fair amount of time to upload them.)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

1. Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon)

Well, here we are. This should surprise absolutely no one, given just how fantastic Gleeson has been since the beginning of the series. Which is why I’ll start this write-up by tackling a much more controversial question: how the hell is Joffrey a supporting character?

As always, I do not consider the number or importance of the scenes to be of any help in holding whether an actor is leading or supporting. What I consider, however, is the focus of the scene. Is the point of the scene for us to get more insight into that person’s head, motivations or actions? If so, he’s a lead. Is the point of his presence to shed light on *another* character, to provoke interesting reactions from them or to help other characters to develop? If so, he’s supporting.

Now think back to Joffrey’s scenes: first scene on the tourney grounds, I’m willing to pin him as a lead, as the point was partly to show/remind audiences just how bad a king he is. Second scene in the throne room (aka Cersei-slap): supporting, as he’s there to show that Cersei is losing control and how she is coping with that loss of control – a focus which resonates with the earlier Cersei-LF scene. Episode 4, as he’s beating Sansa into a pulp? Supporting: shows us how bad Sansa has it, and also shows that Tyrion can be really kind when he wants to, and is not afraid to thread on toes if needs be.

Later scene with Tyrion and Varys on the ramparts (“I’ll give my uncle a red smile”)? He’s there for all but two seconds, the focus being that Tyrion is much smarter than Joffrey and much more competent as a ruler than pretty much anyone we’ve seen yet. EP9, as he rides into battle? Shows how far Sansa has grown (which, in retrospect, definitely cements her as the focus of the EP4 scene I mentioned). And so on and so forth. Only scene in which he’s definitely a lead is the one with the whores – in the light of all the other scenes outlined above, I’m pinning him as a supporting actor.

So, Gleeson. Wow. An utterly brilliant performance from beginning to end. I am amazed at how eager I am to see him in action, given that he’s my #1 most hated character in the books (he’s a good character, for sure, it’s just that I hate him with a passion). That’s really a testament to the energy and life that actor brings to a despicable character such as Joffrey.

How does the guy do it? Well, obviously, he has incredible screen presence. It’s not overbearing like Tywin’s or mad/unstable like Theon’s, but rather... radiant and brimming with energy. This makes for a larger-than-life performance: the minute he walks in on a scene (or, more accurately, appears on screen), the tone shifts and the viewer becomes uneasy. It’s pretty much impossible to ignore him whenever he’s featured on screen, even if he’s just standing there staring at the distance, waiting for Tyrion’s plan to come together in the middle of Blackwater.

I’d wager most of the energy he brings to a scene comes from the eyes. Seriously, just look at his eyes whenever the focus is on him. We’ve often seen him be sadistic, and part of the reason it’s so memorable is because he has a hungry, savage, absolutely disgusting look in his eyes whenever he’s seeing someone suffer in front of him. One look, and you know that this boy king is not a human being, but a barbaric sadist with the sanity of a ravening beast.

(cont'd in next post)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

We’ve also seen him be spiteful and acutely self-conscious, such as the scene in which Cersei slaps him. One minute, he’s full of arrogance and vanity, the next, he gets slapped and his first reaction is a look of shame and spite at the bystanders in the room who caught the slap. There’s a lot of energy in there, and what’s even more fascinating is how the rest of the scene unfolds, as you see him transition from shame to his usual arrogance as he tries to rebuild his kingly persona. At the end, everything is back to normal – the man threatened his own mother with a death sentence and makes the whole transition seem perfectly normal. Wow. This guy would make the Robb-Talisa romance believable.

What has impressed me most, however, is how subtly he can play such a one-note character when he wants to. I’m mainly thinking of Blackwater here, during that last scene with Tyrion and Lancel, as he prepares to answer his mother’s summons. Now, everyone brought their A-game during Blackwater, and as a result, Gleeson’s performance is often overlooked in favour of Headey’s, Turner’s or Dinklage’s. That’s a shame, because he absolutely nailed that scene and thoroughly impressed me. Once Lancel comes in and tells him that his mother has summoned him back to the Red Keep, you can see him torn apart.

To untrained eyes – ones that do not know the series and his character – it might look like the script is calling for hesitation between the safety of the castle and the satisfaction of riding with his soldiers, helping them win the battle with his own two hands. That is, of course, absolutely not the case: he’s actually weighing the safety of the keep with the own loathing he would have for himself, knowing that his men would see him run away, back to his mother’s skirts. Amazingly, this is exactly what Gleeson was gunning for, and even as he accepts Lancel’s proposition and turns tail, you can see just how ashamed he is of his own cowardice. He looks about to cry; he suddenly loses all the radiance he normally projects; he refuses to look anyone squarely in the eyes and just reverts back to a teenager running away, afraid. That is some seriously impressive acting.

What’s nice, also, is that Gleeson is apparently a really nice guy in real life, which makes his portrayal all the more chilling. It’s just a shame that Gleeson is portraying such a one-note character – give him anything else and I’m convinced he’d do wonders with it. I guess it’s a blessing, though, that we got such a terrific actor playing Joffrey.

Else, the brat would be truly unbearable.

Best scene: That scene with Lancel and Tyrion in Blackwater, as he runs back to the Red Keep and his mother.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

56 WD
28 Wizard
13 DH
8 Barb (a class I don't like very much, I must admit)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

K, well, this is were we part ways. Supreme Court justices are not power-hungry dictators that want to usurp control and rule the people with an iron fist. Although I might not have been clear in my interpretation - obviously, the 2nd Amendment applies for everyone, not just official militias. DC v. Heller made that plain enough, if it wasn't already. What I'm saying is that the 2nd Amendment is/should be applicable only so long as "a well-organized militia [is] necessary for the security of the State." My thesis is that it's no longer necessary, for threats foreign or internal.

As regards your second point, I would also disagree completely, but that's more of a libertarian vs. non-libertarian debate, which is best left for another time.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

From: SmartMuffin | #009

Except the Supreme Court has already ruled that this is incorrect and that the OBVIOUS intent of the founders was for this to apply to individuals.

Which makes me wonder, then, why they decided to include that first part if they wanted that right to remain quasi-absolute.

At the time, the militia was comprised of regular citizens who simply owned guns and showed up to defend their towns. It wasn't some special arm of the organized standing army (which isn't even supposed to exist, remember?) like the National Guard or some such thing.

The Supreme Court ruled that 5-4 (with the four judges against it adopting the perspective I just outlined), so it's not as OBVIOUS as you may think. I'm not saying that my explanation is the only correct one - just that it's not as clear-cut as some people make it to be.

My second point was that if the founding fathers had intended for the right to be absolute, they would've done away with the first part. "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed": much more effective than what they had at protecting an unalienable right. IMO, the first part is really an attempt from them to contextualize the right: "This is why we enshrine this and this is how we intend and foresee the right to be used." When that context is no longer applicable, then, it is my belief that this puts the right into question.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

I'll add you, Nevest, though I'm not sure we have characters of similar levels.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: SmartMuffin | #006

Also, the 2nd Amendment is really not as explicit as you may think.

SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED

sounds pretty explicit to me

Also, many of the founders were abolitionists. The DOI originally DID say "life, liberty, and property" but they didn't like the word property in there because they foresaw the southern states using that as a basis to keep slavery legal forever.

2nd Amendment stuff: you forget the first part of the amendment. "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, ..." One could interpret this as saying that the right to keep and bear arms is unalienable only so long as a well regulated Militia is necessary to the security of a free state, which it obviously isn't today. I guess others could hold that we just don't care about the context and that the constitution is the constitution, but no matter which way you side, it's really not that explicit. Do away with the first part of the amendment, and the right to bear arms suddenly becomes a completely unalienable right. Which makes me wonder, then, why they decided to include that first part if they wanted that right to remain quasi-absolute.

For the original wording of the DOI, it's a very interesting detail. That would lead me to conclude, then, that property is not as absolute an unalienable right as the other stuff - since the founding fathers actually considered inserting it and later decided not to.

Slavery was enshrined in various parts of the original constitution, by the way. The whole thing had to be amended for it to be done away from.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

It's a good thing they didn't have that mythical list, else they might have enshrined the unalienable right to own slaves (since most of the founding fathers actually believed in racial superiority). I think they put "among these" not only to provide for some other unalienable right that a "power-hungry government" might be tempted to do without (although I would definitely not say that every government is power-hungry), but also - and mostly - as a testament to their own faillability. They know they're not perfect, that they can't foresee events that would rise a hundred or a thousand years later, and so they provided for the future generations by remaining deliberately vague. That's also why your Constitution, like pretty much all the constitutions in the world, is, you know... amendable.

Also, the 2nd Amendment is really not as explicit as you may think.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Did you know there has been a marked drop in bumps lately?

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Not correcting or confirming anything. Calculations will be done when they'll be done!

Although I'll say one thing: I am absolutely confident in my three remaining rankings. While I may have switched a few characters around in the past, it was always clear to me from the start that SA#1 was going to take the cake as far as supporting actors go, and that LA#2 was below LA#1, but above everyone else.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

That would already be reason enough to put him very high in my rankings. Hill does something else, though, that I’ve already mentioned with some characters and that I’ll mention again here: he takes some liberties and isn’t afraid to explore a bit even if the lines don’t necessarily call for it. This is why you might have noticed that Varys completely outshined Littlefinger in terms of quips and snark – it’s not even close, and yet Littlefinger is depicted in the book as being much more likely to tease and give out a “funny” line – not that I find LF to be particularly funny, but that’s another matter completely. How does he do that? Well, Hill seems to have just straight-out decided to be a lot more teasing than his book counterpart, and it works really well. Thing is: he’s still in-character – he’s never insulting anyone to their face, but will rather provide stealth insults and backhanded compliments.

Think of that scene with Tyrion and Bronn as they prepare the defence of the city. Varys comes in: “I wished to congratulate you for the Gold Cloak’s performance. Did you know there has been a marked drop in thievery?” – it’s a funny line, but as he says it, he’s completely serious, giving the impression that he’s amazed and in disbelief, even giving a little nod to Tyrion as if to say “As hard as it is to believe, that is the truth, my lord Hand.” Obviously, he’s absolutely not serious – and not amazed at all – but the choice of delivery he made is way better (and funnier) than if he had donned a mischievous smile. It’s the little things like this that really define a character, and Hill has a good nose for nailing them.

That said – and I briefly touched upon this point earlier – he does have his flaws. Namely, Hill tends to overact a bit at times. It might come from his theatre experience, but nevertheless, he sometimes lets out a lot more than he should. An example of this would be a bit later in the scene with Tyrion and Bronn – as the latter explains that the marked drop in thievery was achieved by rounding up all the known thieves and presumably killing them. Varys is obviously distraught by this, panicked even, which works fine until you realize that he most probably already knows it (him being the Master of Whispers and all). He really shouldn’t be showing so much emotion there.

Another glaring misplay goes back to Season 1 – I don’t intend to take Season 1 into account in my rankings (and I didn’t, else he might be a bit lower), but this one really was glaring – can be traced back to a conversation he had with Littlefinger. The latter told him he saw him conspiring with a ‘foreign dignitary’ (aka Illyrio), and as he says this, Varys is absolutely panicked and stressed out of his mind. Whether or not he is panicked, though, he really shouldn’t be showing it as much. Maybe a subtle hint could’ve worked (a furtive glance, for instance), but nothing more. That’s just not Varys.

All in all, though, the great absolutely overwhelms what little bad there is, and given that Varys is such a hard role to nail down correctly, I'm giving him the silver medal. Keep on paddling during Season 3, Hill. Just keep on paddling.

Best scene: Either the first scene with Tyrion and Shae, or that other scene with Tyrion on the ramparts where they devise about Tyrion’s talent as Hand of the King.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Reminder: we're doing supporting actors first.

2. Conleth Hill (Varys)

AKA former supporting actor #4, who got bumped up because I realized he was better than Cunningham and having Bronn at #2 was a bit preposterous.

Hill’s a bit of an oddball as far as supporting actors go, because contrary to most of them – or most of the top ones, at least – he does have some noticeable flaws. Thing is: he’s just so good aside from these flaws (this flaw, really, but I’ll come back to it in a bit) that I can’t really see him any lower than like #5 on any ranking.

So, Varys. A hard character to get right by any measure. Much harder to nail than Littlefinger, for instance. Littlefinger, for all his treachery and untrustworthiness, is pretty open. Sure, he’ll betray you, but he’ll do it in your face with a smile on his face – basically, you always know that he’s planning something and that it might not be good for you. You just don’t know what it is. As an actor, that means you can be a bit more direct – and have more fun with the role, show more emotions, have a bit more leeway.

Varys, on the other hand, is much, much more subtle. At first glance, he’s a soft, flowery, harmless man, always courteous and kind. Obviously, to anyone with two eyes and half a mind to notice, he’s actually very dangerous and someone you definitely do NOT want to have as an opponent. The tough thing with him is that you’ve got to reconcile these two aspects of his personality – seem harmless, and yet make sure the viewers and even the more acute characters know that you’re nothing but. When you’re making threats, people have to believe that you can actually come out swinging. At the same time, you have to show restraint and control. A difficult mix.

Hill does that brilliantly, though, and it’s a sad thing that he’s so often overlooked. First, he does manage to strike the careful balance between the two sides of Varys – obviously, if he didn’t, he’d be nowhere near the top tier. What strikes me is that he can often tweak some aspects of his performance to fit the mood of a scene better while leaving others untouched – essentially playing two characters at once. I’m thinking of that first scene with Tyrion and Shae. At first, he’s all silky and smooth as he delivers his threats: pretty classic – well-done, but nothing mindblowing. Then comes the little bit at the door, when Tyrion comes out swinging and threatens to throw him into the sea. “You might be surprised at the result,” the eunuch replies, and as he does so, he puts one lone finger against the door, “the storms come and go, the big fish eat the little fish and I keep on paddling.”

The amazing thing with that scene is that Hill does two conflicting things at once. First, listen to his voice. It’s all soft, silky, smooth – sure, the tone and delivery may vary ever so slightly (especially on the “I keep on paddling”), but overall, it’s pretty much the same courteous Varys, all about politeness and self-restraint. Then there’s the eyes. Holy crap the eyes. Hill brings incredible energy into the scene just with his eyes: one look at them and you realize – if you didn’t already – that this one’ll be a much bigger fish to chew than anticipated. It’s also the first time non-book readers might have realized just how dangerous that man can be. He does all of that with only a hint of an inflection in his voice. I can only imagine how hard that must be, to be boiling inside while letting nothing show in your tone.

(cont'd in next post)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

LES POINTS:

EO, LOTM, ML and Rex get a whopping three points for ranking him as #2. Alec gets a point for including him in his list. The totals are thus:

EO: 7 points (Tywin [+1], Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
LOTM: 6 points (Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
Rex: 6 points (Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
ML: 5 points (Theon, Cersei ; Varys [+2])
Alec: 3 points (Theon, Cersei ; Varys)
Kaxon: 2 points (Tywin [+2])

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Haven't played Disgaea, but I'm hungry to know more about its worst ending.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=4770&region=US

Wyoming, the tragic state.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

6/10

Too much Tricky (mushroom mechanic was lame), re-used dungeons, a bit uneven and the final boss came out of nowhere. Aside from that, though, it was pretty alright.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Hailfire peaks (Fire) is such a great level.

Also tagging this for "that" jiggy.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore