The HBO Original Programming Thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

I've been a bit hesitant to say anything about this show, because I'm guessing most people here would not be into it, but Heated Rivalry is honestly one of the best things I've seen in a while. Written & directed by Jacob Tierney, who is the co-creator/writer/director of Letterkenny and directed several episodes in the first two seasons of Shoresy.

The premise is: What if Sidney Crosby & Alex Ovechkin had a secret gay love affair that started during their rookie season and lasted over a decade? That's obviously preposterous, but it's so well made, written, and acted that it ends up being a very sweet and ultimately moving love story. There are some quite explicit sex scenes (although no frontal nudity), but if you can tolerate that and are at all intrigued, I would definitely recommend checking it out. Plus, there's hockey (kind of ... not really).

Sounds kinda gay, tbh.

[UVACoug]

Sounds kinda gay, tbh.

What makes you say that? LOL

[dabrockster]

That was a 100% a prosthetic. Right? Right??

I am gonna like Egg. E3 was heading in the right direction.

As for the Old Man. LOL!!
IMG_7660.jpeg

[SteelBlue]

I am gonna like Egg. E3 was heading in the right direction.

That kid is a phenomenal actor. Eleven years old and sounds like Anthony Hopkins. E3 was excellent and I'm all in. Just saw the trailer for E4 and it looks like we're taking a hard turn toward the GoT feel. I've enjoyed the comedy and the, for lack of a better word, purity of the show so far but the end of E3 was a reminder of the world they inhabit.

I've enjoyed making the connections to the main series. It's nice to have quality new content in the GoT universe.

[dabrockster]

E4 was excellent. Yes it was slow and we have not seen any action yet, but the storytelling and build-up is great. The lines in the sand are being drawn and some betrayals.

But the final scene where they play the GOT theme music was goosebumps!! A defining moment at the end of the episode and draws you in more. That was awesome!

[SteelBlue]

Great episode and story. I love how he is slowly realizing his knight was kind of ass. I also like the vague notion that despite his commitment to the code of the knight, he may never have actually been knighted.

[YOhio]

Great episode and story. I love how he is slowly realizing his knight was kind of ass. I also like the vague notion that despite his commitment to the code of the knight, he may never have actually been knighted.

Explain more about his realization. I’ve completely missed that part of the story.

[SteelBlue]

Explain more about his realization. I’ve completely missed that part of the story.

IMO, every time he says something about Sir Arlen it's in the flowery language of awe and respect and then they cut to a clip showing something near the complete opposite of what was said. Easiest example was the first one as Dunk was eulogizing him: "You never hit me (when I didn't deserve it) followed by a highlight reel of Dunk getting bitch slapped repeatedly for what seem to us no good reasons. Egg picks up on this early on (without the aid of the flashbacks we get to see) and asks "was your knight a shit knight?" Dunk also mentions several times that Ser Arlen frequently called him many variations of "stupid." I've assumed the point they're making is that he likely was a shit knight as far as skills go BUT that he taught the knight's code to Dunk who seems to live it vigorously. The one glaring violation being that perhaps he was never actually knighted (remember the clip where he asks "do you intend to make me a knight like yourself?" and Ser Arlen completely ignores him). The other big clue was his statement that the only witness to his knighting was a robin in a tree. They made what seems to have been this moment perhaps the most memorable scene in Ep. 1 (unfortunately) when a robin in a tree was witness only to Dunk projectile pooping.

There was a line in I think Episode 3 where Dunk is distraught and asks Egg "do great knights live in the hedges and die by the side of a muddy road? I think not." It seemed to be a realization that his veneration of Ser Arlen is not commensurate with his memories nor the memories of most others at the tournament. It seems that being around other knights, realizing almost nobody remembers Ser Arlen, etc... is the start of some enlightenment for Dunk. My guess, having not read the books, is that he will come to the conclusion that Ser Arlen was flawed but that Dunk will continue to love him for what he did pass on to him in spite of it all.

[YOhio]

Fantastic. Thanks for writing that up. This makes a lot of sense. I've been focused so much on the veneration placed upon Arlen's commitment to the knight code that I missed the clues you've pointed out. The 'protect the innocent' speech he gave Baelor was pretty great.

[dabrockster]

IMO, every time he says something about Sir Arlen it's in the flowery language of awe and respect and then they cut to a clip showing something near the complete opposite of what was said. Easiest example was the first one as Dunk was eulogizing him: "You never hit me (when I didn't deserve it) followed by a highlight reel of Dunk getting bitch slapped repeatedly for what seem to us no good reasons. Egg picks up on this early on (without the aid of the flashbacks we get to see) and asks "was your knight a shit knight?" Dunk also mentions several times that Ser Arlen frequently called him many variations of "stupid." I've assumed the point they're making is that he likely was a shit knight as far as skills go BUT that he taught the knight's code to Dunk who seems to live it vigorously. The one glaring violation being that perhaps he was never actually knighted (remember the clip where he asks "do you intend to make me a knight like yourself?" and Ser Arlen completely ignores him). The other big clue was his statement that the only witness to his knighting was a robin in a tree. They made what seems to have been this moment perhaps the most memorable scene in Ep. 1 (unfortunately) when a robin in a tree was witness only to Dunk projectile pooping.

There was a line in I think Episode 3 where Dunk is distraught and asks Egg "do great knights live in the hedges and die by the side of a muddy road? I think not." It seemed to be a realization that his veneration of Ser Arlen is not commensurate with his memories nor the memories of most others at the tournament. It seems that being around other knights, realizing almost nobody remembers Ser Arlen, etc... is the start of some enlightenment for Dunk. My guess, having not read the books, is that he will come to the conclusion that Ser Arlen was flawed but that Dunk will continue to love him for what he did pass on to him in spite of it all.

Spot on! I also came to that same conclusion. My thoughts, Dunk is one who values being a Knight very much. I wonder if there will be a test of his values of this knowing he most likely wasn't knighted..

[dabrockster]

Another good episode of AKoSK. I am a bit sad by how things went down and how they just brushed the death of Baelor off like that. Was a bit stunned. I do think Dunk is like a big oaf of brute strength will little to know fighting expertise.

I am curious to see if Maekar is a noble person and the conflict of killing his brother. Egg is an excellent character and I hope we see his growth to become King of the Iron throne.

[SteelBlue]

Man, that took a harder turn towards GoT than I had imagined. That was maybe gorier than any episode of the original series. Enjoyed seeing the origins of Dunk with Ser Arlen. Also, aside from the overall story, the cinematography in this series is phenomenal.

[YOhio]

This came across my feed this morning. Pretty cool edit!

Spoiler for Shows scenes from the finale:

Embedded Tweet

[Shaka]

I just finished off-season one. It was very enjoyable.

[SteelBlue]

Season finale was good. I do feel we got a bit ripped off calling that 6 episodes and I would have preferred 3 one-hour shows (a la Sherlock). Dunk and Egg were incredibly likeable and had a great chemistry together. The kid playing Egg is insanely talented and I expect he's going to be somebody in the acting world someday.

I liked the difference in tone from the other two series that this show set. While it did maintain the overarching theme among all the shows that there is no reward for ethical behavior beyond personal satisfaction, it was lighthearted and comedic and showed that sometimes people in the realm are actually happy.