Soldato
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r/freefolk are the best shitposters
Jokes aside I'm over that abysmal episode so looking forward to episode 4 but now the Night Kings dead and the way he died, the writers are on thin ice
Poll: Winter Is Coming - HBO's A Game of Thrones [READ WARNING]
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r/freefolk are the best shitposters
Jokes aside I'm over that abysmal episode so looking forward to episode 4 but now the Night Kings dead and the way he died, the writers are on thin ice
Soldato
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Well, I definitely won't be buying the boxed set now. I planned to (when it falls a bit from release premium) as a reward to HBO and the team for making it in the first place, just as I did with The Wire, Sopranos, and other landmark entertainment that I spent years recommending to folk who were sceptical. It's going to be hard to enjoy rewatching the series (as I did in the build up to this finale), knowing what's coming.
Ok, there have been things that strained my relationship with the writers before, but it was usually off-screen continuity stuff like dragons and ravens flying as fast as fighter jets, or folk who appeared to have jet packs hidden in the stables (and Jon Snow routinely proving to be a hot-headed idiot). There was definitely never such a sustained and concentrated series of whatthefriggery in one episode that I just couldn't paper over the cracks with the good material that rang true. Part of me still hopes the first scene of episode 4 will be Arya waking up in the shower after that bang on the head, and the last half of the episode was a dream. That might just be because I'm still a little bit in love with Pamela Ewing.
But if you think any of this means I'm not getting a big bucket of popcorn and preparing to chuckle my way through the rest of this bonfire of profanities, you've got another thing coming!
There's always a chance I'm going to be able to pull a Westworld and forget the writers murdered my dreams horrifically last week. I may even be prepared to write off The Long Night and never watch it again if the next three episodes are more traditionally satisfying... I could imagine my own episode and come up with better reasons for why so many of the A team survived the battle to end all battles. But the ghost of the The Long Night is going to haunt this franchise forever. Winter fell flat on its face for me.However I intend to find a silver lining to all this. Look out for my line of Arya Stark pogo sticks; should have them on Ebay via a Chinese proxy (to avoid lawsuits) by Christmas.
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I think it's a bit late to turn away in disgust now, what with just 3 episodes left. If this was like one of the dozens of other shows which seem to have committed to continuing indefinitely no matter how poor they get, then yes it'd be tempting to call it.
That said, I'd already given in my notice to Sky with my contract timed to end a few days after the GOT finale. Having previously never really questioned the direction and writing of GOT until this episode, I'd have to give some consideration to getting caught up in anything else made by those responsible for The Long Night (assuming the show isn't vindicated somehow in the episodes to come).
The image quality was also a huge black mark (pun possibly intended) against Sky in my opinion, so I'd be more hesitant to sign up with them again seeing they're apparently delivering content at an inadequate bitrate for dark shows. I won't be forgetting the frustration I felt with such a poor looking episode that should've been an absolute spectacle on the eyes if nothing else, and I will remember how Sky HD was not up to the task and will be looking for solutions elsewhere to make sure such disappointment is not repeated.
Associate
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I watched it direct from HBO and the dark issue wasn't an issue for me. I understand the negative comments regarding the quality of the picture, but with regards to the episode itself, it was fantastic from start to finish. This is such a compicated show with so many variables and story elements to deal with, it is never going to satisfy everyone. For me, it was everything i had hoped for.
Soldato
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The episode was ok but come off it with the over praising.
# So many plot holes
# characters warping from battle to battle with absolutely zero logic
# characters seemingly dieing 100 times only to still be alive at the end
# the two main characters messing about on dragons for most of the battle again with no purpose.
# landing a dragon in the middle of the horde
# completely terrible direction for the first 20 minutes where you cant see a thing as a) its pitch black and b) they added shaky cam to everything.
# Sense of scale completely messed up, one minute there's thousands of good guys then next no one is around.
#The library scene
#The ending
The two great payoff elements in this episode were Theon proving his worth and no longer running away from the fight (a truly great character arc) and the whole evil dragon vs Jon snow showdown. (A clear well directed fight scene that also showed Jon's willingness to sacrifice)
Lets face it this show was complicated and had a degree of mystery to it...turns out that the mysteries weren't all that and the writing has gone down hill as the shows producers are clearly trying themselves to figure out wtf is going on anymore.
# So many plot holes
# characters warping from battle to battle with absolutely zero logic
# characters seemingly dieing 100 times only to still be alive at the end
# the two main characters messing about on dragons for most of the battle again with no purpose.
# landing a dragon in the middle of the horde
# completely terrible direction for the first 20 minutes where you cant see a thing as a) its pitch black and b) they added shaky cam to everything.
# Sense of scale completely messed up, one minute there's thousands of good guys then next no one is around.
#The library scene
#The ending
The two great payoff elements in this episode were Theon proving his worth and no longer running away from the fight (a truly great character arc) and the whole evil dragon vs Jon snow showdown. (A clear well directed fight scene that also showed Jon's willingness to sacrifice)
Lets face it this show was complicated and had a degree of mystery to it...turns out that the mysteries weren't all that and the writing has gone down hill as the shows producers are clearly trying themselves to figure out wtf is going on anymore.
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Associate
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I will watch this until the end, but it will never be worth another look
Soldato
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So right. I'm the only person in my circle of friend etc that disliked E3 and he's explained all my reasons perfectly
Which is a shame if you've only watched it once, as Seasons 1 to 6 were so much better when I watched them a second time.
Someone on Youtube has upload a 4k version of the Dothraki charge and the difference, even at just 1080p, between his upload and SkyHD was massive. I could actually see the formed block of the undead that the Dothraki charged into rather than just seeing torches expire in a pixellated black square.
I can understand why the cinematographer is complaining (even if I think he shouldn't blame the customers), because his version (like the YT one) probably looked really good, but Sky etc have ruined it with their extra compression.
Soldato
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Me and my Mrs watched it on Sky on her iPad pro as we were away. Spent about 75% of the episode just staring at my own reflection
I will watch it again properly at some point just to see the actual battle but the story was **** anyway.
Soldato
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I've just tried watching 4K versions on YT from two different uploaders, and while an improvement on SkyHD, they seem to suffer significantly from banding and symptoms of naff compression:
Going by comments on YT praising this apparently flawless image quality, I do wonder if it's only me seeing it and is some trick of my VA/QLED monitor.
To be fair I don't hate the episode as vehemently as some, but the fact the NK has been dusted so cheaply and the existential threat to all human life has now been removed from the show, it's left a bitter aftertaste that is outlasting the spectacle of seeing some decent on screen action for me anyway.
That's nothing, us Now TV peasants have to put up with 720p in 2019
And Dolby Pro Logic , no Dolby Digital, no Dolby Digital Plus , Atmos must be a fairy tale. Now TV presumably have DD and 1080p planned for sometime in 2025.
And to just dig the knife in, all the options for DD and DTS etc are in the menu settings.
I really dont get it, Sky HD had 1080p and DD in 2006.
Associate
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Even WAB's done a video
Same here loads of banding and artifacts, but to be fair am watching on 1440p monitor at 4k on YT, looked like an upscaled version of a not great source. Might be better on 4k telly.
I dont think anywhere streams / broadcasts it in actual 4k , not even HBO direct. Dont think you get 4k till the UHD Blu Rays are out.
After watching last weeks on Now TV , i'll be back to acquiring through other means as the quality was horrendous. I've paid for NowTV for 3 months anyway, so its always a fall back.
Think they just don't want to cannibalize too many Sky subscriptions but at the same time don't want to be left behind when streaming really takes over so withholding investment until it's necessary.
Whole UI is pretty garbage to be fair, can't even search shows or movies by actor names for example. Only bother with Now TV when I want to catch up with shows and they offer silly good deals like I have now.
Aye, i think your right. Just googled someone moaning about HBO Now's streaming quality as well.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/movie...rn-a-lesson-from-netflix-and-stranger-things/
Wonder if Amazons bit rate is any better ?
(Actually i think Sky HD used to be 1080i broadcast, do you get 1080p and any better quality if you stream from catchup ?)
I watched the broadcast episode on Sky and downloaded it on catch up a few days later to watch again on the off-chance of better image quality. Can't say I saw any improvement, though I didn't compare the two versions like for like. I'm pretty sure the downloaded catch up versions always use less hard drive space than recordings from live TV, which I'm guessing indicates higher compression, though I personally haven't noticed any difference in quality.