THOUGHTS [TV SHOW] -- Game of Thrones Season 4 *SPOILERS*

Just like in my previous Game of Throne entries, this entry will contain SPOILERS!! So please don't read unless you have watched Season 4!

For my thoughts on the previous seasons:
Season 3 
Season 2
Season 1

OVERALL THOUGHTS ON SEASON 4

First thing I have to say -- Yesssssss, Joffrey was killed off! The way he died was a little too brutal for my liking, but now I don't have to think about him suddenly wanting to off my favourite characters.

Overall... so many things happened in Season 4. At least, so many things that I gave a crap about, hahaha. Ahh, Shae and Tyrion... and Oberyn... I'll talk about them a little later.

To me, Cersei's reaction to Joffrey's death was a little too much. I mean, I can understand (she just lost her son) -- but her vengeful emotions were definitely misdirected. She should know that Tyrion would never carry out an assassination on Joffrey in a way that would make him the obvious culprit. He's too cunning for that. She just wanted somebody to pay -- and who better than somebody she already hates... 

I must confess to something embarrassing. When Season 4 started and I saw Jaime for the first time in Season 4, I didn't recognize him with his clean haircut and no facial hair. For a short while, I actually thought they replaced actors for Jaime until I looked it up on Wikipedia and saw he was the same actor.

I think... as much as I love Daenerys, I don't think she knows how to rule very well. I'm glad she often considers advice from others before making decisions, but even then sometimes her emotions and her "eye for an eye" justice will supersede the "fair" decision. I was hoping she would forgive Jorah instead of exiling him.

Ygritte's death was so sad for me. I really wanted to see more of her in the series -- I loved her accent and her attitude, and how she interacted with Jon. But I kinda knew that there would almost be no chance that Ygritte and Jon would both survive the "Battle of the Wall" (or whatever that battle was called). I knew one of them would die. *weeps*

Okay... Shae and Tyrion's relationship. It makes me sad, thinking about these two, because I really believe that they both loved each other. When Tyrion "broke up" with Shae, thinking that was the only way she would leave King's Landing and ultimately be out of harm's way, I think Shae genuinely believed his words and was heartbroken... and so, in retaliation, stood on trial and told lies to get back at Tyrion. I mean -- if you wholeheartedly believed you were loved, only to be told that it was all a lie, what would you do? How would you feel? I'm not saying what she did was right or justified... but I can understand it, and it makes me sad.

When Tyrion later found Shae in Tywin's bed, I wish some words could have been exchanged instead of just actions to try killing each other. Couldn't some understanding have been reached? Is there no room for forgiveness in that world... at all?

I think there are various interpretations for Shae's character and motivations, leading to various reactions to her death. I'm choosing to believe she genuinely loved Tyrion, making her choice to retaliate via the trial, and ultimately making her death very sad -- at least very sad for me.

I hated seeing Prince Oberyn go -- I wanted him to win the trial so that Tyrion could go free. I also wanted him to get his justice for what happened to his sister Elia. Victory was sooo within his reach... 

Arya's journey was still a little slow this season. But I was super excited when she boarded the boat to Braavos at the end of the season. Finally! 

FAVOURITE SCENES / MOMENTS

-When Oberyn visits Tyrion in his prison cell and tells Tyrion how they had met before and that he will be his champion in the trial by combat. Very, very wonderful acting and strong words.

-When Ygritte had her bow aimed at Jon and all Jon responded with was a light smile. He was just happy to see her again -- and she was happy to see him. It made her death all the more depressing.

-When Daenerys ordered for barrels to be catapulted at the walls of Meereen and when the barrels broke, slave collars fell out. I think that imagery was so powerful.

-Tywin's death. It was an emotional turning point for Tyrion, and the scene was so well-done.

CHARACTERS - EXTRA THOUGHTS / IMPRESSIONS

Tyrion -- He is still my favourite! Just had to say that.

Little Finger -- He is really getting on my nerves, with all his sneaky going-abouts and lies.

Jojen Reed -- It's really too bad he was killed off this season. I wanted to see more of his character.

Ramsay -- With Joffrey gone, Ramsay is the replacement for the most cruel, evil character, hahaha. Now I'm counting down to his end.

Jaime -- I appreciate that he loves Tyrion -- when nobody else in the family would (except for maybe Tommen and Myrcella). Also, props to him for helping Tyrion escape.


And that's it for this blog! Thanks for reading :)

If you have any thoughts about Season 1-4, even disagreements, feel free to comment. But PLEASE keep any comments within Season 1-4! If you really need to speak about something from the later seasons, please mark it somehow. It's not really for me, but for anybody else who may be reading this entry and are not yet caught up with all the seasons. There's also a comment/message box to the right and those messages should be sent to me directly.

Take care and until the next entry! :)

BLOG -- My Vacation Week (Feb. 9 - Feb. 17)

Well, I had vacation this past week (Feb. 11 to Feb. 15). Not too much happened, but I wanna keep a record of it. This may not be interesting for you!

Overall, I was pretty glad to be on vacation since the weather this past week was horrible. Though... because of the horrible weather, I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do on my vacation. For example, I had wanted to watch a movie in theatres and to go karaoking, but I stayed at home most days 'cuz the weather was just too horrible.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9

I know this is just before my vacation starts, but I want to note this.

I went over to my sister's place to do our usual tradition of making chocolates for Valentine's Day. We tried a new recipe -- a vegan chocolate recipe that called for cocoa powder, coconut oil, and maple syrup. I didn't choose this recipe 'cuz it was vegan -- I chose it 'cuz I thought it'd be easy to make. Only 3 ingredients (that are easy to acquire) and the only instruction was to mix the three until evenly combined. How can we mess it up? Well... somehow we did!

The recipe called for 1 cup each of cocoa powder, coconut oil (melted), and maple syrup. We went with a slightly different amount with the coconut oil and maple syrup due to somebody's comment on that recipe page. I also think I didn't melt the coconut oil enough. In the end, the mixture had an oily residue and was stuck firmly on our plastic chocolate molds. It was a total bust! :(

Later in the day a friend came by and we and my sister's hubby all played this card game called Tanto Cuore. It was really fun once we got the game flow! Maybe I'll blog about it in the future.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 10

I spent much of the day trying to blog. I knew what I wanted to blog about (something Valentine-related), but it just wasn't coming out right. As mentioned last week, I ended up scrapping the original blog and did something short and sweet.

I shared an old audio recording of me singing "Eyes on Me". Little did I know that the next day would be Final Fantasy VIII's 20th anniversary!

MONDAY FEBRUARY 11

Not too much happened today. I finished watching Season 5 of The Office and then watched Dead or Alive. I've always had this desire to watch all movie adaptations of video games... even though I know how painful it can be (video game movie adaptations don't exactly have the best rep!).

The absolute worst video game movie adaptation that I've watched so far was Double Dragon.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12

I was planning on going outside today, but the horrible Winter storm kept me indoors. What did I do instead?

Well, first I caught Stephen and Mal's Breakfast Stream on Twitch. I always like trying to tune in when I'm on vacation since they stream while I'm normally at work.

Afterwards, I bought some tickets for the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra that's coming to Toronto in July. I am quite excited! I gotta try playing through more Kingdom Hearts games before that time.

Later on, I tried to continue working on my text-based game while being distracted by other things. My mind was nagging me to do other things like re-sub to Final Fantasy XIV, or clean my room, or play more video games... 

Originally, I was aiming to finish my text-based game during this vacation and then realized how overly ambitious it was. I think -- I would have been able to finish it during my vacation -- if that was all I did. Sometimes when I think something is simple -- it actually turns out to be more time-consuming and complex. It's not always a bad thing... but it can really throw me off on when I can get something done. u__u

At night I decided to watch Corpse Party: Tortured Souls, an OVA anime series. It was a big mistake to watch it at night! I'm usually not affected by animated blood / gore / horror like I would be from watching live-action blood / gore / horror, but this one actually made me really uneasy. I'm not exactly saying this anime was good (the video game is wayyyyy better for characterization and setting up the atmosphere -- and way better endings!). For some reason, the anime just scared me. The opening theme is great, though.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 13

I spent most of the day working on my text-based game. I was a lot more focused today thankfully!

Later on I re-subbed to Final Fantasy XIV and did the Valentione's Day event. One of the event items was a Tonberry knife so I had to have it, hahaha.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 14

The most notable thing for me today was catching Stephen and Mal's Breakfast Stream on Twitch. Yes, they still stream during "special" days if they fall on a Tuesday or Thursday (due to this, I was able to catch them on Christmas last year and New Year's this year)! 

They had special bit alerts up just for Valentine's Day. For those who don't know (I didn't know what they were until I created a Twitch account and looked it up), bit alerts are special animated alerts that pop up if you send through a certain number of bits (the currency for Twitch). When I knew which alert I wanted to see again (after everybody else sent through bits to see the different alerts), I waited for a good time to send it through. I didn't want to interrupt them as they talked seriously about their ingress (spelling might not be right) issue, Stephen's vertigo, and about the Nintendo direct that happened yesterday (I should have tuned in to that!).

When I thought there was some down time, I sent through the bits. As it was sending through, Mal suddenly said "Speaking of Valentine's Day...". Right then I thought, 'Oh no! My bits are going through and I can't stop them! I might ruin this moment!'. Thankfully, Stephen and Mal laughed and took it coolly.

If you want to see a clip of that moment, you can watch it here: https://www.twitch.tv/stephengeorg/clip/ImportantAuspiciousTapirChocolateRain

After the stream, I spent pretty much the rest of the day cleaning my room. My room is still a mess... but at least I can walk around a bit more.

For Valentine's Day, I ended up giving myself a gift: I pre-ordered Catherine: Full Body Premium Edition. I had been resisting for the longest time because I already had the original PS3 game, but the trailer sold me. While I'm not the biggest fan of the puzzle element, I am very curious how the story and characters will change because of the new character.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15

I went out (first time since my vacation started) and did multiple errands. First, I went to a BMV (used book / DVD / Blu-Ray / CD / board game store) to sell some of my old DVDs / Blu-Rays. Then I went to Shoppers Drug Mart to look for some decently priced discount Valentine's Day chocolates. Then I went to Bulk Barns to buy some silicone chocolate molds. Then I went to my sister's place for Take Two of chocolate-making.

This is the first time in all my life that I have ever made chocolate twice in the same year for Valentine's Day. I just couldn't accept the bust that was the last chocolate-making session, hahaha... 

We followed the recipe this time and it turned out much better. We also melted regular chocolates and placed them in molds as a back-up in case the vegan chocolate turned out to be a bust again. All-in-all, this session was a success, lol.

Some of the chocolates we did. The chocolates on the right were 

the vegan chocolates (aside from me putting peanuts and gummies 

on some of them), and the chocolates on the left were the 

fun melting-chocolates-and-putting-them-into-molds. 

A close-up shot of the molded chocolates. They're robots! 

What we did with the leftover chocolates mixtures. The gummy roses and chips 

dipped in chocolate tasted horrible, hahaha. The random 

splot of chocolate has peanuts mixed in.

After the chocolate-making session, my sister and I watched some episodes of Criminal Minds (we're a few seasons behind now, I think). I ended up staying over at my sister's place since we were planning on watching more of Criminal Minds the next day.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 16

We didn't get to watch more of Criminal Minds, but instead we watched 1408, this old-ish Stephen King movie I had been meaning to watch for a long, long time. It starts off very creepy and good, but then gets too over-the-top in the last half. It makes me a little sad, thinking about that movie.

When I got home, I watched Clue, another old-ish movie I had been meaning to watch for a long time. It had potential -- that's it, hahaha...

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17

I hung out with a friend today. The most notable and embarrassing thing was that I slipped on some ice and banged my knee and scraped a couple of my fingers. What a way to end off my vacation! Hahaha... I hope I heal up okay.


If you are still here, thanks for reading! Today is Family Day in Ontario, so I get to lounge around for a bit longer. I'll either be watching Audition (a movie my sister had adamantly told me not to watch years ago -- maybe I'll be able to take it better now!) or starting Undertale (I finally bought it off PSN!). Maybe I can do both! :)

For those who have Family Day today, I hope you have a wonderful Family Day!

To everybody, thanks again for reading! Next week should be a continuation of the Game of Thrones blogs. I really want to finish those before the last season starts! Anywho, take care and until next time! :)

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Happy Early Valentine's Day!

Well... this entry is a bust, hahaha. I started my original Valentine's Day-related entry this morning, but... after trying to write it for several hours, I realized that it was, well... too personal and not going in the direction I wanted it to. Maybe next year I'll address what the heck I was trying to blog about, but for today I'll just share a song I sung for karaoke years and years ago, as well as a YouTube video.

Also, a brief status about myself ('cuz I don't find this too personal, haha): I am single, and my feelings about my singledom are about the same as before. While I sometimes miss being in a relationship, if I don't like anybody romantically I'd rather be single.

And now, for the song I sung at karaoke and the YouTube video.

Me singing "Eyes On Me" from Final Fantasy VIII.

There is NO video, only audio -- so feel free to click play (twice) and do other things.

I sung this years ago while on a date. I believe you can hear 
the date's voice briefly at parts. 
It's not the best... but I wish my voice was still as nice-sounding, lol.

This is Day 82 from StephenVlog. 

The video title is "I Have So Much to Say Right Now But All I Can Hear Are Link and Pikachu".

In this video, Stephen talks about how he and Mal first got together.

The video is about 10 minutes long, but the story is so sweet and adorable.

I tear up a little almost everytime I watch it :')

Thanks for reading! Next week I might blog about my vacation (it starts tomorrow, whee! xD) or I might continue with my Game of Throne entries.

Sorry again for this busted entry.

Take care and until next time! :)

THOUGHTS [TV SHOW] -- Game of Thrones Season 3 *SPOILERS*

Just like in my previous Game of Throne entries, this entry will contain SPOILERS!! So please don't read unless you have watched Season 3!

For my thoughts on the previous seasons: 
Season 2
Season 1

OVERALL THOUGHTS ON SEASON 3

I think -- there are way too many weddings in Game of Thrones! It kinda upsets me that a person's "rest of their life" can be sooo... dependent upon another's decision or for the good of the current cause or for the good of the family or for whatever reason they come up with to have the person marry somebody they don't care for. I can understand it, but I don't like it. In this way, I have a lot of respect for Robb for marrying the one he loves. It also made his death and Talisa's death so, soooo much more sad... I'll touch more on the Red Wedding a bit later.

In Season 3 I was fearful for so many of the characters' lives. I was scared that Shae would be found out by Cersei or Tywin... I was scared that Jon wouldn't make it over the wall... I was scared for Brandon since now he is on a journey as well... and I'm always scared for Tyrion's safety.

It was really too bad (and sad) that Jon and Ygritte ended up being apart on opposing sides. They really do love each other so much...

For Theon -- I just feel sorry for him now. I can't imagine how it would feel to think you escaped from brutal torture -- only to be led back to the same place of torture -- and then to be soo much more brutally tortured. I had to squint my eyes during some of those torture scenes.

I'm kinda finding Arya's journey a little slow. I wanna see her use her sword skills that she learned from Syrio (the sword dancer). I was really hoping for her to re-unite with Robb, but I guess it was a good thing she didn't in the end...

Okay, my thoughts on the Red Wedding. I had heard the term years ago on Facebook, but I had no idea what it meant for Game of Thrones. Initially I thought it was just a wedding theme -- that the wedding decorations and dresses would be red-coloured. I had NO IDEA that it meant the wedding guests would be slaughtered!

As soon as the doors closed (right before the string music started), I had this ominous feeling. Catelyn's expression when the string music started confirmed my ominous feeling. And then... so much sadness. I think Talisa's death was one of the worst -- just knowing that her unborn child was also killed.

I do have one teensy nitpick with the Red Wedding scene -- maybe it was intentional, but it didn't work for me. It was the shot after Robb is dealt the final blow and Catelyn screams and kills Frey's wife. Then the shot zooms a bit on Catelyn and then sits... and sits... and sits... and then Catelyn's throat is slit. For me, that long pause on Catelyn didn't work at all and took away some of the emotional impact when Catelyn is killed. 

FAVOURITE SCENES / MOMENTS

-When Daenerys buys the Unsullied and speaks Valyrian for the first time, giving them the orders to kill all masters and free slaves. Her theme song goes so perfectly with that scene.

-When Tyrion tells Sansa he won't consummate the marriage unless she wants him to. What a gentleman! Shae's smile when she takes Sansa's bed sheets the next morning and realizes they didn't consummate was a nice moment, too.

-When Ygritte has her bow aimed at Jon and Jon says, "I do know some things -- I know I love you. I know you love me". Ygritte's expressions to his words looked so genuine -- I could feel her heart ache as she had her bow on him.

CHARACTERS - EXTRA THOUGHTS / IMPRESSIONS

Tyrion -- He is still my favourite. I love that he fights back against Joffrey.

Stannis -- He's a jerk! I just had to say that.

Lady Olenna -- I like her bluntness.

Jojen Reed -- I liked Thomas Brodie-Sangster's acting in the Maze Runner movies so I was waiting for his character to show up here.

Ramsay -- I can't decide who is more cruel... Ramsay or Joffrey.

Jon -- I joked with a co-worker friend that Jon looked hot -- but he has actually become quite hot over the past seasons, hahaha. He's a good guy.

Jaime -- He helped Brienne a couple times so I've stopped condemning his character for pushing Brandon out the window. I still don't forgive it, though!


And that's it for this blog! Thanks for reading :)

Next week I should be blogging about something Valentine-themed, and the week after should be continuing with Game of Thrones.

If you have any thoughts about Season 1-3, even disagreements, feel free to comment. But PLEASE keep any comments within Season 1-3! If you really need to speak about something from the later seasons, please mark it somehow. It's not really for me, but for anybody else who may be reading this entry and are not yet caught up with all the seasons. There's also a comment/message box to the right and those messages should be sent to me directly.


Take care and until the next entry! :)