Reboots, remakes, sequels, and franchises. These have become an ever-present part of the cinematic landscape today. Some get it right, some get it wrong, and some come along and knock it right out of the park. Independence Day: Resurgence, the upcoming sequel to 1996’s mega-hit Independence Day might just be that singular sequel that is just as good as the original.
Sequels are intended to carry a story forward, raise the stakes, or continue a franchise. Roland Emmerich has had the idea of multiple Independence Day films since shortly after the original was released. As early as 1998, Emmerich had talked about a world that had repelled an alien invasion, and used that technology to further its own growth and defense. It’s taken 20 years, but Emmerich’s idea is about to be realized.
“The War Of 1996”, as it is referred to, united humanity. Putting forth a bit of an idealistic post-invasion world, long standing animosity between various countries looks to have been set aside as a new global and space defense entity have been tasked with global defense. David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) is the Director of the Earth Space Defense and makes the discovery which leads to a whole new invasion. A companion website details some of the events leading into this movie, such as development of global defense technology, high-tech jet fighters, and even a moon base.
A new extended trailer released today giving broad strokes of things to come. A crashed ship somewhere in Africa, a scene with former President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) and wholesale destruction.
Well, it looks like everyone’s Mondays just got a little bit sweeter. Or, perhaps, you just got another reason to hate them even more. Alcon Entertainment, the studio working on the upcoming Blade Runner sequel, are going to take some of their extra cheese and put it into some fresh lasagna. They’re gearing up to make an animated new Garfield movie, THR reports (via We Got This Covered).
Details are mostly limited about the moment regarding the forthcoming Jim Davis adaptation, other than the fact that Davis is on board this time around as an executive producer. Hopefully, this means this animated version will stay closer to the source material, opposed to the less-than-favorable 2004 live-action adaptation and its even more unfortunate sequel, A Tail of Two Kitties.
This is the first step in Alcon’s plan to produce a strip-turned-brand profit off making popular comics into CG franchises. I suppose they’ll need to step up to the competition a little, though, and I’m not talking about against Nermal. With The Angry Birds Movie turning in a financial profit over the weekend, no licensed brand is off bounds for family entertainment these next few years — perhaps to the begrudging disappointment of parents everywhere. I mean, did you hear they’re making a Tetrisand Fruit Ninja movie? What kind of craziness is that?!
Speaking of Angry Birds, John Cohen — a producer on that film and the Despicable Me features — brought this new property project to the studio with Steven P. Wegner. And they’ll produce alongside Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, with Amuse’s Bridget McMeel executive producing beside Davis.
There’s no director, writers or voice actors involved at the moment, but don’t count on Bill Murray making a comeback to the titular role. He only came onto the last one due to misreading the script (allegedly) and contractual obligation the second time around. Fool Murray once, shame on you. Fool him twice, shame on him. Fool him a third time? I don’t think so, buddy. They’ll have to get someone else to play the lazy cat this time around.
It’s official, Christopher Nolan is going through with this whole Dunkirk thing. We have set photos and now an official synopsis to prove it! And while we are extremely early in the process, pretty much as early as we could possibly be, these first set photos look pretty cool.
Here are the set photos, courtesy of Pierre Volot:
“Dunkirk” opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.”
Dunkirk stars Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, and Harry Styles. Yes, Harry Styles, and he probably doesn’t “star” per se, but it’s worth noting he’s in the mix.
It’s nice to see Nolan moving away from superheroes and sci-fi for his next massive epic. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those, but seeing a shift into some new territory is always a god thing for any filmmaker of his ilk.
Yes, the summer is just around the corner and Summer Slaughter 2016 has finally been announced! Along with a pretty brutal artist line up, they actually included Florida dates this year in which were skipped the past 2 years. Although “metal” is somewhat of a dying breed and endless debates by elitist of what defines metal, I am personally stoked for this year’s show.
Among the mix, we have a fantastic lineup that showcases both new and old iconic artists in the industry. This year’s show is actually presented by a movie that in the making called American Satan which IMDB describes:
A young rock band, half from England and half from the US, drop out of college and move to the Sunset Strip to chase their dreams.
So what kind of music and bands do we have on this year’s set?
Headlining we have one of the most influential Death Metal bands who pioneered the path for sweaty, dirty, headbanging shows filled with distasteful lyricism but with full force brutality in vocalism and instrumentally. Cannibal Corpse isn’t exactly a family friendly name to most, but their horror and 80s thrash inspired music spoke volumes in the 90s, as well as continuously to slay shows in present time. 2016 mark’s their 28th year within the metal industry, and they have no intentions of slowing down as they pursue countless tours throughout the year apart from Summer Slaughter.
Next on the line up comes a 90’s Technical Death Metal band spawning out of Greensville, South Carolina called Nile. What always caught my ear about Nile apart from their excellent musicianship, is that they always reminded me of Swedish Metal more so than American. Perhaps it’s their extravagant use of their instruments, or perhaps their lyrical influences based upon Ancient Egypt, Eastern mythology, history, religion, ancient art and even H.P Lovecraft, but was I completely shocked to learn they were actually from the states.
Taking a step forward into the 2000’s Progressive metalcore era comes a Minnesota based band named After The Burial. Although a somewhat newer band in perspective to the two previous listed, their hard hitting, more electronic filled metal was a huge influence in the new found djent scene that was popular in the 2010 era of things.
Heading back to the death metal area, next on the bill we have Long Island, New York band called Suffocation. Another pioneer in the brutal death metal ring, in which their musical style is strongly influenced by grindcore and have been in the game collectively for 24 years.
Now here’s where things get tricky… Although some “metal heads” probably already scoffed at having a Djent band on the list, we are now moving into one of my person favorite subgenres and new school genres of metal called Deathcore. For those who don’t know Deathcore is an extreme hybrid of death metal and metal core, with some electronical influences depending on the band. One of its major contributors who is next on the list is a San Diego, California band called Carnifex who have had about 10 years and counting in the industry touring and creating heavy hitting tunes for us all to mosh to.
Coming from a different flavor of Technical Death Metal is the super talented 2000’s Boston spawned metal band, Revocation. What I adore about this specific band is their hybrid sound strongly influenced by 80s thrash metal. Although they are still a heavy band, they generate a more clearly instrumental sound with just undeniable catchy rifts, fantastic basslines, super clean yet powerful drumming and great death metal vocals to match.
Back to the 90s Metal sound comes a Brazilian Death Metal Band called Krisiun. I am completely new to this particular band in which I haven’t heard practically any of their music, but with influences such as Morbid Angel, Slayer and having the title as “one of the most eminent extreme death metal bands of the world” via Wikipedia, I am definitely looking forward to seeing their live set!
One of the newest bands on this year line up comes all the way from Russia bringing an extremely brutal flair to the entire show. Over all the other bands on the show I am most excited to see Slaughter to Prevail because of their new wave approach to the Deathcore scene and reigniting the mosh pit energy to live shows. Their combination of mixing the technical aspects of metal with just epic powerful deathcore break downs and extremely monstrous vocals has been a sight I’ve been waiting to experience since the first time I stumbled across their music last year. I cannot wait to see where this band will go in the near future as they finally landed a respectable record label with Sumerian Records.
The last confirmed band we have the list is another high energy brutal deathcore band coming from the UK named Ingested. Perfect opening to the epic line up we have so far!
Tickets for Summer Slaughter 2016 will go on sale starting Friday, May 27th, in which typically stays in the $35-$45 realm for General Admission and VIP varies, but usually never exceeding the $100 mark.
7/23 – ORLANDO, FL @ THE PLAZA LIVE
7/24 – TAMPA, FL @ THE RITZ YBOR
7/26 – KNOXVILLE, TN @ THE INTERNATIONAL
7/27 – BALTIMORE, MD @ RAMS HEAD LIVE!
7/28 – NEW YORK, NY @ WEBSTER HALL
7/29 – POUGHKEEPSIE, NY @ THE CHANCE
7/30 – WORCESTER, MA @ THE PALLADIUM
7/31 – CLEVELAND, OH @ AGORA THEATRE
8/02 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN @ THE CABOOZE
8/03 – CHICAGO, IL @ CONCORD MUSIC HALL
8/05 – DENVER, CO @ THE SUMMIT MUSIC HALL
8/06 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT @ THE COMPLEX
8/08 – SEATTLE, WA @ SHOWBOX SODO
8/10 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ THE REGENCY BALLROOM
8/11 – SANTA ANA, CA @ THE OBSERVATORY
8/12 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ THE NOVO
8/13 – TEMPE, AZ @ THE MARQUEE
8/15 – DALLAS, TX @ GAS MONKEY LIVE
8/16 – AUSTIN, TX @ EMPIRE CONTROL ROOM
8/17 – HOUSTON, TX @ WAREHOUSE LIVE
8/19 – RICHMOND, VA @ THE NATIONAL
8/20 – WILMINGTON, NC @ ZIGGY’S BY THE SEA
8/21 – ATLANTA, GA @ THE MASQUERADE
***More Dates and Bands are said to be announced in the near future!
(Seriously keeping my fingers crossed for that The Black Dahlia Murder rumor floating around the internet!)
“Games of Thrones”‘s sixth season is in the process of tying up loose plot threads while amping up the suspense. Despite concerns the series has surpassed George R.R Martin’s novels, show runners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff continue to take the audience on an emotional ride. The fifth episode, “The Door”, proves to be no exception.
Sansa Stark and Brienne (Gwendolyn Christie) meet up with Petyr Baelish (Aiden Gillen) in Mole’s Town. They confront him about why he married Sansa off to Ramsay Bolton, thus subjecting her to abuse and cruelty. Baelish tries to play ignorant, claiming he was unaware of Ramsay’s true nature and asks Sansa to forgive him. She proves herself to be a mature woman, cutting through his excuses and rejects his offers of assistance. As he prepares to leave, Baelish tells Sansa that her great-uncle, Brendan Tully, has an army at Riverrun.
Bran Stark (Isaac Hampstead-Wright) continues his learning with the Three-Eyed Raven (Max Von Sydow). During a vision, he finds a group of Wildlings in a clearing as they stab a man in the heart. As the man’s eyes turn blue, Bran realizes they are responsible for having created the White Walkers. Upon regaining consciousness, he learns from Leaf the Wildling that it was to protect them from men. Later, Bran goes alone into the past and encounters an army of Wildlings in various states of decay. Finally, the boy encounters the Night’s King, who grabs his arm before he can return to his body. Back in reality, the Three-Eyed Raven says the group must leave, because Bran has been targeted by the Night’s King.
Hood gets his big moment…. which also happens to be his last
Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick) wants to leave the cave, but she is horrified to encounter the White Walkers approaching them. While the Wildlings hold them off, Meera and Hodor (Kristian Nairn) try to get Bran to safety. What follows is an intense fight between the travellers, Wildlings, and the Walkers. As the fight spreads into the cave, the origin of Hodor’s condition is revealed, and the result is quite painful to watch. Although he has been seen as an gentle giant, Hodor has proven himself to be devoted and loyal to the Starks. One wonders if the series’ events have been caused by Bran’s training and interference with the past.
At the Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) and Sansa debate about how to take back Winterfell. Sansa wants the House of Umber to hang for giving Rickon Stark to Ramsay. However, Davos (Liam Cunningham) says the Northerners may be loyal but do not want to fight without hope. Jon argues they have two dozen families who still support the Starks. Even though Jon does not have his father’s name, Sansa knows her uncle Brynden Tully has retaken Riverrun with his forces. When Jon asks how she came to learn about this, Sansa lies about receiving the news from a raven. She sends Brienne on a mission to recruit Brynden. Brienne is reluctant to leave Sansa, because she fears what happened to Shireen could be repeated. As they prepare to leave, Sansa presents Jon with a fur-trimmed cloak with a similar tailoring to what Ned wore. Although this isn’t the same one, it brings to mind the idea that Jon could become a great leader of men.
In the Iron Islands, Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan) comes forward to claim the Salt Throne, but the men protest at the idea of a woman being a ruling Queen. However, Theon (Alfie Allen) supports his sister, claiming she is an “Iron-born” and a warrior. At that moment, their uncle, Euron Greyjoy, shows up and declares himself king. Yara accuses him of killing Balon, to which Euron admits he is responsible. He proceeds to win the people over by promising to marry Daenarys Targaryen and offer her the Iron Fleet. After he is anointed as king, Euron decides to murder his niece and nephew, only to find they have stolen the fleet. Enraged, he tells the Iron Islanders: “Build me a thousand ships, and I will give you this world.”
Having regained her sight, Arya (Maise Williams) continues training but is beaten badly by the Waif. Williams manages to convey Arya’s determination and steadfast resolve. It is amazing to see how far she has come since the first season. Jaquen H’ghar teaches her about how the first Faceless Men killed their slave masters and escaped to Bravos. Aya is given a job to assassinate an actress called Lady Crane, but she is warned she will not get another chance. At a satirical play of King Robert Bartheon’s death, she watches the actors ridicule her father and reenact his execution. She is stunned at the depiction of Ned, who is depicted as a moron and a traitor. Later, Arya begins to question the nature of her target.
In Mereen, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Varys discusses what must be done to keep peace. Tyrone argues the people need a hero who cannot be . They summon Kinvara the Red Priestess, who claims Daenarys is the promised saviour. Varys is skeptical as to Kinvara’s claims, but she responds by pointing out his castration. “We serve the same queen,” she says. “If you are her true friend, you have nothing to fear from me.”
Meanwhile, Daenarys (Emilia Clarke) tells Jorah (Iain Glenn) that she banished him twice, yet he came back twice to help her. Jonah reveals he is infected with the greyscale condition and won’t have much time left. He says that he has always loved her and asks permission to leave, but Dany commands him to find the cure and return. Daenarys says she will need his support after she takes control of the Seven Kingdoms. Later, she rides out with the Dothraki from Vayes Dothrak.
Overall, “The Door” proves to be another great “Game of Thrones” instalment. Special credit should be given to Turner, Harrington, Hampstead-Wright, Williams and Nairn for their acting. The series has continued to enchant and mystify viewers. Only five episodes left this season.
These days, it seems most of us know our Norse gods and goddesses from their portrayals in Marvel comics or just from Thor and Thor: The Dark World. I don’t claim to have known much of anything before Thor came out as a movie, and it certainly influenced how I pictured the gods’ actions and personalities. Thor is a triumphant hero, Heimdall is all-knowing and just, and Loki is an evil and jealous madman.
What about a completely different narrative? A Norse myth where it’s all different? Recently I ‘ve been watching just that, the 2005 anime Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok. It’s a completely different take on Norse Mythology. iIt’s done in a Supernatural style occult detective format, with short 25-minute episodes. If you can adjust to the slightly more cartoonish style and tone, it’s a very compelling and engrossing anime.
The story follows Loki, who has been banished from Asgard for an unknown crime by Odin and is trapped on Earth in the form of a child. In an attempt to regain his godhood, Loki works as a private detective fighting supernatural evil with the help of his butler, Yamino, and his human love-interest mystery loving high-school student Mayura. Eventually Odin sends various gods and monsters to Earth to kill Loki, notably Heimdall, the three Norns and the Goddess Freya. Heimdall is interestingly portrayed as a petty and manipulative schemer consumed by hate. Thor is of course a major character and Loki’s ally.
It’s very refreshing to see a story in which Loki is presented as not just a good guy, but as a tragic hero. He’s still very much a trickster god, but he uses mischief for good. The portrayal here seems probably more true to the source material of the myths. It’s a great contrast to Marvel’s portrayal of the character as villain.
The news has been full of Black Panther casting announcements recently. Shortly after it was announced that Lupita Nyong’o might be playing T’Challa’s love interest, it was confirmed that Michael B. Jordan has joined the cast as a potential villain.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; Jordan has been the star of director Ryan Coogler’s only two feature films to date (Fruitvale Station & Creed), and he received critical acclaim for both roles.
THR states that his part in Panther is yet unknown, but that it “could be a villain.” With that small detail in mind, we break down what character the actor might be playing:
Killmonger
Erik Killmonger is T’Challa’s archenemy – the foe that Panther’s never been able to best. A native of Wakanda, Killmonger was exiled to Harlem after his family (reluctantly) helped Ulysses Klaw with his invasion. He spent his youth studying, training, and becoming a brilliant scientist before eventually returning to Africa with the intent of usurping T’Challa as chieftan.
Since Klaw was already introduced in Age of Ultron, there’s a good chance that he’ll return in Black Panther, making Killmonger a natural addition as his co-conspirator.
White Wolf
The White Wolf (Hunter) is T’Challa’s adopted brother. King T’Chaka saved him as a baby when his birth parents’ plane went down, and raised him as a part of the royal family. But then T’Challa came along, the true heir to the throne, and Hunter grew jealous. He eventually became the White Wolf, leader of Wakanda’s secret police. Although an antagonist, he deeply loves his country, and everything he does is to make his brother a better leader.
Hunter is portrayed as a white man in the comics, which is a way to further isolate him from the tribe. But there are other ways to accomplish that goal, so there’s no reason Jordan can’t play him.
Achebe
Christopher Priest, Reverend Achebe’s creator, describes this character as “the Joker to Panther’s Batman,” which is all too true. A maniac with a mysterious past, Achebe will stoop to unthinkable lows to take down his enemies and rise to power.
The Reverend is annoyingly insane, but he’s also a brilliant manipulator of events who forces the Panther to use his intellect more than his brawn. He might not work as the film’s only villain, but he would be perfect as the mastermind working in the wings.
Man-Ape
Ok, yes, he’s a dude in a gorilla outfit. But if Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the MCU film most grounded in reality, could use Batroc the Leaper in a serious way, why can’t Man-Ape have his moment?
Man-Ape’s real name is M’Baku, and he’s one of the greatest warriors in Wakanda. He heads the White Gorilla cult, and repeatedly tries to remove T’Challa from power so that he can rule the nation how he sees fit. With a few (major) tweaks to the outfit, he could make for a great rogue to see on screen.
‘Beauty and the Beast’ Clip Is How You Successfully Tease A Movie!
Disney’s first teaser for their live-action ‘Beauty and the Beast‘ dropped on Good Morning America this morning. With all the talk of good and bad trailers, it was nice to a see a subtle yet efficient tease for a film.
Starting with that stunning look of a snowy Disney castle logo, we are instantly thrusts into this elegant and magical world. Mostly filled with b-roll from actual film, it’s mostly just shots of a beautiful castle.
The drama picks up with a roar as claws slash a painting.
Then a young girl walks through a pair of doors and we hear voices off-screen asking if “she is the one”. The girl Belle is played by Emma Watson. She approaches the familiar ‘Beauty and the Beast‘ rose.
We cut to black and Disney invites us to be their guest.
What did you think of the first teaser trailer for Disney’s live-action ‘Beauty and the Beast’? Are you accepting the invitation to be their guest?
The film stars Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Emma Thompson, Ian McKellan, and Ewan McGregor. It will be released March 17th, 2017.
Independence Day: Resurgence is working hard to remind us it’s coming out, and now we have an expansive five-minute trailer for the upcoming sequel. There’s plenty of new footage, and by the time this thing comes out we might have seen it all in bits and pieces.
Here is the new trailer:
Here’s the quick synopsis, in case you were uncertain about the plot:
Two decades after the first Independence Day invasion, Earth is faced with a new extra-Solar threat. But will mankind’s new space defenses be enough?
I’m getting the feeling Bill Pullman’s President Whitmore isn’t going to be around long in this one. My guess is that scene where he’s taken over by the alien is early in the first act. The CGI also looks way out of hand this time around, but what else would you expect from Roland Emmerich.
Independence Day: Resurgence hits theaters June 24.
The Game of Thrones is whispers in a corridor, dialogues in great empty halls and pacts made and broken in defiled villages just as much as it is swords and spears and giants on a battlefield. Each small agreement and discussion carries the weight of the Seven Kingdoms and when one faction believes they’re doing something for the good of all, they are just as likely creating their undoing. In ‘The Door’, Game of Thrones shows us that we’re all responsible for the monsters that eventually come knocking and mercy isn’t something to be counted upon.
FULL SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
So, I’m still wiping the liquid from all of my face holes…
…Ahem, we’ll get to that in a bit.
‘The Door’ spends its length proving to us that at this point in the war, everyone has blood on their hands and world is as gray as the Northern sky. Sansa meets with Littlefinger in a defiled village and acts with pure emotion in detailing her defilement under Ramsay Snow*. Littlefinger has the army of the Eyrie at his back and is prepared to help Sansa and the Northern armies take back Winterfell. We’ve learned to trust Littlefinger solely by what will get him closer to the Iron Throne and this feels like an earnest plan on his part. What happens after that doesn’t yet matter because the Starks regaining Winterfell would be entirely in the best interest of Baelish.
But did Sansa just sign the death warrant for herself and/or ones she loves by sending Littlefinger on his merry way and refusing his army? Sansa is forever scarred by Baelish “saving her from monsters and delivering her to monsters” but it’s been proven that when a Stark acts emotionally, they tend to lose their heads. Sansa’s lying to Jon is another potential issue in that they must make the rounds of the North in order to find enough men to fight the Bastard’s armies. Littlefinger would have made that task much easier and Jon would have seen that fact. Another monster made…
Arya, in her eternal struggle to be no one already, is sent to case an actress marked for death and sees a play in which the execution of her father is dramatized. The distortion of the story is almost unbearable for Arya and the viewer to watch but it is a total case of the winners writing the history book. As of now, the Lannisters hold the Iron Throne and their story is the one being bandied about Westeros. More concerning is the fact that no one still recognizes the heroics of Tyrion, as his character is shown being the deceiving imp behind the death of Ned Stark**. Arya obviously still hasn’t shed her “Lady Stark” moniker and this task in killing the actress will be her last chance to prove herself just a girl.
Also, penis. Full-on penis. About damned time Game of Thrones stopped foolin’ around and deliver us the junk.
In Pyke (now part of our opening credits), book readers are saved from the clunky, yet interesting, chunk of A Feast for Crows that is the Greyjoy Kingsmoot. Yara Greyjoy, with the backing of Theon, looks to be the Iron Islands first Queen until ole Uncle Euron comes calling. He outwardly admits killing his brother the king and proclaims he will be the one to unify Pyke with the Seven Kingdoms and secure their rightful place in the annals of history. Euron and Yara aren’t actually fighting a different war but it’s Euron’s name drop of Daenerys Targaryen and his vow to bring her armies to Westeros that wins over the crowd. This is what we all want! Unfortunately, we want Theon and Yara to do it and they’ve hit a mega speed bump, now running for their lives after Euron takes the Salt Throne and swears to murder them.
In Meereen, Tyrion and Varys meet with their local Red Woman in order to garner public favor for Dany. The Priestess Kinvara is on board because of R’hllor’s current belief that Dany is the true heir to the Iron Throne; a fact not unseen by Varys and he makes his stance on the Lord of Light’s wishy-washy nature a little too clear. While Tyrion would like to just accept this small victory, Varys prods Kinvara until she wields her own knowledge by recounting the story of Varys’ own monster-making moment. She even threatens to lift the curtain on the secret voice that Varys heard in the fire where his man-parts were simmering.
There are few true otherworldly powers that we know exist in this world and The Lord of Light, for whatever it’s worth, is definitely one of them.
Dany, looking over her latest conquest must now deal with her monstrous creation in Jorah Mormont. Jorah finally admits his love for Khaleesi in a moment of sweet earnestness and even draws tears from Dany’s eyes. She keeps banishing him but he keeps fighting back. A doomed man, Jorah admits defeat as he becomes more Stone Man but Dany won’t have it. She directly orders him to find a cure and return to her when he does. We haven’t seen the last of old Jorah Mormont.
In the most obvious monster-making revelation, we learn that the Children of the Forest (another true otherworldly power) created the Whitewalkers in order to defend themselves from the encroaching First Men. Their Frankenstein-ian creation turned against them at some point and are now threatening to punish the world because of the Children’s arrogance.
When Bran goes wandering off into the dreams of The Three-Eyed Raven alone, he sees the repeated swirling symbol around the Weirwood tree and the hordes of Whitewalkers standing outside of it. He also gets a glimpse of the Night King.
Who gets a glimpse back.
Bran, unable to escape, is grabbed by the Night King which undoes the spell protecting their cave that bars the Whitewalkers from entering. Trapped in a glimpse of history, Bran sees his grandfather ride from Winterfell and a young Hodor being a dutiful and loquacious son.
The Whitewalkers crash into the cave, tearing apart the Children one by one. Bran just barely wakes to warg into Hodor and carries his body toward the backdoor on a cart. Allowing his master a couple extra seconds, Bran’s direwolf, Summer, attacks the horde only to be ripped to shreds***. The Three-Eyed Raven is torn in half by the Night King and the last Child of the Forest sacrifices its life to buy a little more time.
Reaching the backdoor, Meera drags Bran’s cart off into the snow and shouts to Hodor to hold the door.
Bran sees Hodor’s young eyes go white as present Hodor keeps the undead horde at bay. Young Hodor slips into a seizure where “Hold the door” melts into “Hodor”. Bran and Meera escape as Hodor is sacrificed.
…Whew, ok. Got a little carried away. Seeing the meaning of Hodor at the moment of his ultimate sacrifice was an expectation I had, but not one I was prepared to witness. Hodor, while a totally minor character in the grand scheme of things, is one of the beating hearts of Game of Thrones. He is purely and simply a good man who loves Bran and will do anything for him. That purity is missing in so much of Westeros and losing a character who embodies it is a real saddening blow.
So, what did we learn? First, Bran can seemingly control elements of the past. Those in the worlds he visited with The Three-Eyed Raven have been hinted at feeling his presence before, but now we see that they can be directly affected by Bran being there. In the True Detective flat circle, Bran (or really Meera for being the one to shout to him?) created the “monstrous” Hodor, proving that this was all set in motion long before Bran was even born. Interesting stuff but an equally problematic and powerful weapon to wield in any story.
In HBO’s post-show discussion with show runners and writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, we learn that the Hodor explanation came from the mouth of George R.R. Martin himself. I do question if this was a good idea to follow the creator directly. How much time did Hodor’s sacrifice actually buy Meera and Bran? Hodor shouldn’t be the reason why a war is decided but his death should absolutely carry some weight for the characters closest to him. Maybe that’s the point? Maybe Bran will see that he unnecessarily created a torturous life for such a sweet soul. Consequence in action.
What did you think of the Hodor revelation? Will past manipulation be something the show explores further? In an episode that was entirely people talking in rooms, Game of Thrones manages to be just as engaging as when dragons scorch non-believers and make me cry horribly ugly tears while doing so.
“Hold the door.” – Hodor
Show Notes:
Lost alum Jack Bender directed this episode, his first of two this season.
Tormund’s fancy for Brienne is endlessly entertaining.
I’d like to tell Sansa that she’d be hard-pressed to find a house that didn’t have a hand in killing a Stark or two.
The wishy-washy nature of the Ironborn at the Kingsmoot is eerily reminiscent of the American public during a Presidential election.
“I love you. I’ll always love you.” from Jorah almost got me to tears.
What is it with me and crying with this show?
Check out my reviews of previous episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’:
