GoT Season 6 Wrap up: The Rocket just started exploding at the Right Moment - Part 1

Disclaimer
As ever, the points below are my standpoints alone. No one is to be held accountable other than me.

"Why did Katappa kill Baahubali?" - This question transcended all boundaries - political, religious, caste and other yada yada yada - and was chanted like the sacred Gayatri Mantra by people from all walks of life who used their Sherlock Holmes' brains to decode this conundrum by placing themselves in the Director's shoes. I am still not sure.....whether his shoe size would have fit many! Overlooking my pathetic joke, I can see your confused faces through my screen as to what relevance does Baahubali has got to do with GoT. You will know the answer soon. 

An earthquake measuring on a Richter Scale of 20 shook the Internet to its very bare foundation in a positively disastrous manner when Snow was laid down on the snow as Season 5 drew to its gory close. All the survivors (Read:Fans!) screamed only a single question with one voice "Was Jon Snow really dead?". Just like the ubiquitous Katappa question was being hollered all over the net, Snow being alive or dead circled the world at a pace quicker than QuickSilver! Though the much agonizing wait for Jon's fate was revealed earlier this year, people are still waiting with bated breath for the other big thing. Rumors are that BB2 will be released on April 28, 2017. So, BB2 fans. Sorry for the inconvenience. You have to clench your teeth and scratch your head for some more time to get your riddle cracked. And Oh! You also got the reason why I brought up Baahubali's reference in the previous para. So, all's fine and dandy!  Let's get started with our important matter at hand.

Prior to the premiere of Season 6, there were reports that the budget for GoT had crossed $10 million dollars per episode. Personally, I did not find anything that grand or worthy for such a gargantuan expense to be incurred for the first 7 episodes. In fact, the show was heading towards a cataclysmic and irreparable disaster had it not been for the identity proclaiming "No One", the classy "The Battle of Bastards" and the simply lost-for-adjectives and indescribable "The Winds of Winter". The finale saved the sinking Titanic by helping her to reach the shores not only safely but also with galores of appreciation showered upon its captains and crews alike for stupendously steering this gigantic vessel intact and unharmed.

S6 E1 continued with the last thread left behind at the end of the last season. The resurrection of Kit Harington by Melisandre was no surprise at all as she was the only person who possessed the inexplicable and supernatural powers of the Lord of Light. The real question which was bothering me for one full year was "How soon?". The answer to that simple question was clarified in Episode 2 though it was really a sort of anti-climax in the way he was brought to life. In the blink of an eye, Jon opened his eyes and revived from his deep sleep by the Red Woman. What he does with his new life was answered quickly enough when he promptly executes those who assassinated him for treason and rallies for troops along with Sansa which ultimately culminated in "The Battle of Bastards" thus helping Sansa to reclaim the fallen Winterfell into their hands. It was truly a rejoicing moment for me when Winterfell's rightful Coat of Arms was raised up. Sansa should have the right mind atleast now to change the name of Winterfell to Wintergot! Once again apologising for my poor joke, on a more serious note, Oxford should consider rephrasing 'From Rags to Riches story' as 'From a Bastard to the King story' for Jon being accepted as the King in the North though he had a very timely help from an extremely unexpected person. I will cover that most important part later.

Being on the topic of "The Battle of Bastards", I am sure Ramsay Bolton would have realized by now that Karma is really a BITCH, literally! In one of the earlier episodes, he had his own half-brother to be savagely eaten by his blood-thirsty hounds. I was aghast on seeing such a heinous act though inherently I knew it was all an act! Ramsay was devil incarnation in human form and there had been many a day where I wanted to thump him for all his monstrous actions. It was indeed a fitting poetic justice when he was torn apart by his ravenous dogs at the episode's conclusion. Likewise, Wun Wun wonderfully won won my heart with his heroic sacrifice by breaking open the strong, sturdy and cannot-be-broken-heavy gates of Winterfell. "The Battle of Bastards" was legitimately wun, pun intended!

Discussing about dogs, The Hound made a sudden appearance like a sneaky subliminal ad and butchered those who brutally murdered his saviors.  After that, he vanished like a wisp of smoke. Just like how the vestigial organs in our body do not know for what purpose they exist, Rickon Stark is also one such character. I am still wondering why he did not swerve to his left or right when Rickon was running towards the riding Jon Snow before he was killed by one of Ramsay's arrows. Nevertheless, I am also wondering how many people actually pitied for Rickon's death other than Jon Snow even though Sansa foresaw her brother's death like Professor Trelawney!

But, what really opened up my limitless possibilities of endless thinking was the death of the gentle and highly loyal 'Hodor'. Bran's visions are constantly throughout the season including the hint of confirmation of the most popular R+L=J fan theory. During one of his visions, he unintentionally wargs a young Hodor when they are attacked by the White Walkers and the hordes of wights. I was over the moon when I saw the White Walkers once again in full action after a long time but this time even better and yes, Bitter too! The action sequence was visually spectacular and stretched close to fifteen minutes with the saddest part was that the only pure soul in the show finally succumbed to Bran's new powers. GoT is already teeming with Dragons, White Walkers, Lord of Light and other political developments that are literally happening everywhere. The last thing that we want on our plates is time travel to complicate the already densely complex story. With this, I tearfully bid adieu and say "Hodor Hodor Hodor" three times to commemorate the brave person because of whom Bran lives to fight another day.

                                        X------------------- End of Part 1---------------------X

The Curious Case of George R.R. Martin

Everything has to have a beginning. Even our universe has one though we are still figuring out how the mega event happened - at least in this dimension - to have a deeper understanding of the world we live in. Is it going to be a short primer on Astrophysics? Nay. 

4 years ago, my tryst with the famed and acclaimed Game of Thrones began when I watched the first few minutes of Season 1 Episode 1 where the almost immortal and dreaded White Walkers were shown and the epic theme music erupts like a fountain with the Da Vinci-esque settings announcing the cast. Like millions, I was not only glued to my seat but also hooked to it like the fisherman baiting a piscine with his fish hook. The arduous and fascinating journey commenced not only for the characters but also for me.

7 kingdoms. Plenty of kings, lords, knights and bastards. Magicians here and there. And the dazzling Dragons. GoT is indeed a perfect recipe for a very complex story from the mastermind GRRM. Though I have not yet read the books, I could still see shades of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings kind of feel when it came to sketching out the extensive characters, several kingdoms and new languages to such an attention to detail. I was completely amazed and stunned by the spectacular level of intricacy he had given to each and every person, place and thing. 

Shredding the veil to pieces, GoT is nothing but a multi-layered and extremely complicated chess game where every individual tries to gain the upper hand by employing strategies and tactics to subvert their opposition - either single-handedly or by an alliance or by collusion to have a title shot at the Iron Throne using mostly (99.9999999%!) treacherous and deceitful means to satisfy and fulfill their objectives. But,one thing is rest assured. This is one chess tournament where Viswanathan Anand cannot even think to salvage a draw! The outright winner is.....No no no..It's neither Dany nor Snow but GRRM himself. More specifically, the victor ludorum has got to be the ultra bad GRRM present inside GRRM who is responsible for the wide spread butcheries and the rampant Butterfly effect prevalent in the GoT universe! Getting down to the brass tacks, it's like the Good GRRM tries to check mate the bad GRRM but the latter always has an ace up his sleeve to disturb the rhythm of the game.

Drugs. Booze. Incest. Rape. Nudity in all permutations and combinations - Frontal, Full-Frontal and Dorsal. Kids. Men. Girls. Ladies. Women. Not even old women and old men were spared when it came to explicitly bare their bodies onscreen. Likewise, only animal sex has not been shown in the series! Gays, Lesbians. What not! GoT is nothing short of free porn packaged with wars, conflicts and political schemings at the highest level!! Jokes apart. GoT is a classic example which can be shown as an useful learning tool to people to see the negative effects for themselves when a state or a country falls into a steep decadence of no return and how a society stinks to high heaven when lawlessness & power blind those who are in authority fixated only to their craving to holding on to their position instead of improving the lives of the people. I am not here to preach or lecture a moral lesson but the fact is that the majority people are usually like how the rulers are. When the head is not proper, you simply cannot complain about the tail!

As a kid, I had a strong inclination to beat Draco Malfoy black and blue whenever I used to devour HP. The same kind of feeling, if not magnified x100 times, I experienced when Joffrey strutted around the scenes like a prick and manhandled everything in sight. I felt the intense emotion to give him a tight hard slap that he would never forget in his life to blow off my steam. Luckily or unluckily for him, he was poisoned! 

As we are on the topic of poisoning, I am not sure what GRRM has with marriages. He is so obsessed with not giving us a proper wedding. It's either Red Wedding or Purple Wedding. The entire internet broke out into an unanimous frenzied tizzy when the only decent people on the show till then - The Starks were brutally murdered. I am waiting for the day when an episode would be titled "Happy Wedding" and an actual happy wedding takes place with no killings! 

Speaking of killings, none of the characters are spared - be it major or minor. Death wickedly smiles, laughs and patiently waits to embrace them at every step and turn the characters take. It seems like the sword of Damocles hangs above each and every one of them. Such is the extent of the deepest level of political subterfuge which has came out from the genius stables of GRRM. It was a really good thing that he wanted to be a writer. He would have given the cops a run for their money had he been a master criminal with such brains! 

Mentioning of master criminal, I am silently reminded of Sidney Sheldon. SS was not a fantasy writer but a fantastic weaver of fiction. When you analyze his writings, you could see a distinct pattern that will emerge from all of his books -Women are the protagonists. However, they are treated very cruelly and badly by men and the society. They are used as sex objects and ultimately become mentally and emotionally strong to rule the world! The pattern sounds familiar?? In GoT also, we find that the leading players are all women who were savagely toyed around by vicious and cold-blooded men as ragged doormats - be it the good Dany or the ruthless and merciless Cersei or the case hardened Stark kids. The chief hero of this epic saga could have been anyone amidst the many likes of machiavellian Little Finger, extremely logical and cool-headed Tyrion, King Slayer Jaime and our very beloved Jon Snow but GRRM focusses particularly on Cersei and Dany to sit on the coveted prize. However, it was really nauseatingly sickening and gut-churning moment for me when I had to watch Cersei (Yeah! She is extremely vile and bad) to take up the Walk of Atonement that literally lasted for eternity! with the Sept shouting 'Shame, Shame' with a tinkling of the bell. I was completely shell-shocked that the directors had given so much extra screen time for the scene to prolong to such an extent before Cersei was draped in her clothes when the same time could have been reserved for showcasing the dragons.

GRRM gives the magical touch by introducing the inhuman White Walkers and the fearsome Dragons as early as Season 1 to give us a sense of foreboding that the White Walkers would walk with their army of wights any time and also a strong bonding with the dragons who can decimate the wights with their fires. 'A Song of Ice and Fire' is indeed an apt title for the epic fantasy series that has really exploded like an active volcano ever since GoT had its first release in 2011. Conflicts, Violence, Cruelty, Barbarism, Revenge, Torture, Betrayal, Sex, Mind Games, Sorcery, Loyalty, Love, Friendship, Finding your Inner Strength - GRRM neatly packed a humdinger of a story that left everyone in tears and the whole social media to buzz like a busy bee for the next one year debating whether Snow was alive or dead when Jon Snow was snowed by his own brethren at the Night Watch when Season 5 ended on a dramatic note. Theories and speculations were travelling at a speed faster than light that would have left even Einstein scratching his head for the answer that was on the mental lips of the utterly shocked audience. Season 6 review is for another blog. So, I am not going to touch upon it now. 

With mega serial scripts like "Kolangal" and "Metti Oli" running for more than 1000 days, GoT is that prized picture perfect product by GRRM for any Indian Soap director to run the show not only for 1000 days but also for generations together without a break! I sincerely hope that GRRM doesn't sell his rights to any Indian mega serial producer but simply HODORS them!! 

Disclaimer

This blog is just my personal observation on the highly popular TV series GoT and its revered creator. All the opinions and perspectives are solely mine and mine alone with absolutely no intention whatsoever to defame anyone in anyway or any manner.  

Suicide Squad - Barking Karazieeee but a Complete Let Down

The expectations were sky high and as deep as the Mariana Trench when the first teaser of the Suicide Squad was released a year ago. Jared Leto was recognizably unrecognizable and stunningly indescribable along with his tattoos as The Clown Prince of Crime. With the subsequent tantalizing teasers and mind-blowing trailers, the anticipation for the movie was sprinting like an in form and red hot Usain Bolt and assured of an Olympic Gold Medal much before its screen openings. As with the colossal clash between the Batman and Superman proving to be a damp squib earlier in the year , Suicide Squad also commits a terrible suicide because of its inherent fundamental flaws.

Before delving deep into the fatal fractures that could have otherwise transformed this gang of worst people into something truly remarkable and extra ordinary,  let us see the positives. 

If Heath Ledger was the heart and soul of The Dark Knight as the devious and psychopathic Joker, then Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn really steals the limelight from Will Smith and everyone else. Her wacky mannerisms, uber cool attitude and rib-tickling nonchalant dialogue delivery are not only commendable but also clap-worthy. Suicide Squad would have been dull and boring affair without the pitch perfect casting of Margot Robbie as Quinn. She elevated the entire movie from the abyss of dismal hopelessness to a tolerable and wildly funny movie watching experience. Will Smith as Deadshot was bang on target, literally and figuratively, with his subdued nature as a caring father to his daughter and his penchant towards hitting the prey at WILL, pun intended! The rest of this wacko team were ably supported by El Diablo, Captain Boomerang and Killer Croc who had their roles justified with a meaningful purpose rather than being just another tag along. Oh...Wait...You did not tell us about our famed Joker. How can I forget THE JOKER? Unfortunately, David Ayer had forgotten him and Jared Leto's screen presence was barely noticeable for the efforts he had taken to make him as memorable as Heath Ledger. But, in the highly limited screen time, Jared Leto sizzled as the wild and deranged Joker who would go to any extremes to save his beloved Quinn from the obnoxious clutches of the blackmailing Waller.

So,what's not right with the movie?

Well. Suicide Squad is extremely decent in the first half but post-interval, it is complete mayhem. I know it's August but I still have to use only MAYhem here! Turning a blind eye to my poor joke again, be it the ostentatious and gaudy visual effects in the second half or the Enchantress's cacophonic plan to rule the world or the botched up screenplay, Suicide Squad was a disaster in making when it was being made. You really don't get to relate or feel for any of the characters - take for instance - El Diablo - His backdrop as to why he doesn't want to take part in the fight because of his past should have created a stirring effect in the audience but it simply fell flat. It was like a seeing a documentary where you are bombarded with facts and not emotions. In fact, the entire character introductions were simply "Here..I present to you.." kind of setting including how the Joker and Quinn became the Kind and the Queen of Gotham. It was rushed and hurried rather than the moment to set and settle for the scenes and characters to have a profound impact in the minds of the audience. It's not just that. The movie deals with a bunch of highly dangerous criminals who are forced to come together in case of any emergencies and all of a sudden, they are shown as Captain America! As good people. The transition is too fast to even think that they could be good people when it was briefly shown what they are actually capable of doing to the public prior to their arrests.  Also. not to mention were the deliberately placed hip songs which was constantly played in the background. For the first few minutes, it was perfectly jelling with the 'Karaziee' theme of the movie but later it became an ear sore and added to the already existing eye exasperation! 

Suicide Squad was extremely good in patches like the scene where Will Smith stood on a car and took upon the bad guys, pun intended again, single-handedly or the scene where he shoots on the dummy targets with precision that left the soldiers dumb founded. Maybe if they story had an solid foundation and not a run-of-the-mill treatment, Suicide Squad could have worked magic. Maybe, if the Joker had been given a substantial role to play after all the rave comments that were given of his performance prior to the film's release, Suicide Squad could have clicked well. It's all Maybes now.

 
PS:
I am not a Marvel advocate. You can check out my X-Men Apocalypse for further reference. I am a big time super hero movie fan who just wants good stories to be told by the timeless and exciting creations by the their creators.  

Foodie's World Tour Combo - A Visitor's Paradise!

Just when I thought of treating myself to a yet another luxuriant 'Delhi Highway' lunch @ a dirt cheap price of Rs. 199 , a bright green sign board caught my bespectacled eyes. New Yorker was offering their own lunch buffet. As I had already tried the delicious DH meal once, my tired legs automatically walked towards the entrance of New Yorker.

Since I have already been there at the New Yorker, I am taking the luxury to skip the lecture on their decor or the ambience or the service. My full focus is going to be only on the food and nothing but the food.

As I sat down in one of their twin-chaired table, the order taker promptly gave me the a la carte to cherry pick my dishes. I had already made up my mind that I was to shelve the menu card to the side on that particular day and taste their buffet menu for a change. In a matter of seconds, literally and figuratively, the waitperson brought me another menu card displaying the buffet options - Indian and World. It was a sit down buffet and there was a subset within them - Regular and Jain. 

Opting for a World Regular, I had the liberty to choose my dishes from the options available infront of me. Before placing the final order, I had requested the waiter to bring me the Mango Chilli Margarita.  

The soup variety had two choices and the server brought me Mexican Tomato Soup. Tortilla Chips were floating on the fairly good stimulant soup. In the mean time, my tangerine Mango Chilli Margarita also made a colourful entrance to the table. One sip was all it took to go bonkers over the drink. It was wickedly wonderful. The salt sprinkled at the brim of the cup and the lemon together with the chilli coupled with the mango taste was nothing short of heaven and left me craving for more of this nectar.

After thoroughly enjoying the drink, the 2 slices of Bruschetta along with Taco (it was a fight between Taco and Falafel and the former won the bout) were kept on the table. The Bruschetta was simply outstanding with its soft, cheesy base. The Taco was satisfactory. 

Once again, it was a battle of difficult choices as I had to choose between the 2 varieties of Pasta offered. I went in for The Pasta Supremo. Though the pasta did not quite live up to its name, the 2 mini slices of cute Pizza compensated for the Supremo's exquisiteness.  

My stomach was already delightfully swimming with the plethora of international cuisines when the waiter brought me a cup with a scoop of Vanilla icecream topped with rainbow sprinkles.

After a dizzy lunch @ a very reasonable and competent price, it was time for me to say "Hasta la Vista, Baby".