@avclub-d980b15d49101608dc407770f35b1d75:disqus Exactly. Just recently some dudes tossed some rockets from the Sinai in Egypt over into Israel, called themselves I forget what but it was some umbrella organization for anti-American militant groups in Iraq, and actually dedicated it to Ayman al Zawahiri (current head…

Yeah, they totally got me with that one. I was sitting there wondering what trumped-up tech explanation they were going to try to sell for the rings' totally handwavey magic powers.

Holy CRAP you're right. I will never be able to watch this movie the same way again.

@avclub-92a4841c9f86965effbc29fa6eae9f77:disqus Of course she wanted them to leave the house. Pepper wanted them to leave the house. Honestly the single biggest plot hole for me is why in the hell Tony would make that announcement and not a) want Pepper the hell out of there and b) at least wait outside/evacuate the…

I haven't actually read the Extremis arc, but having heard a fair amount about it, the main thing I really wanted to see from it was the effects on Tony, which are, as I understand it, the ability to basically grow his suit out of his skin (the nanobots) and also a superspeed internet/general technology connection in…

Holy crap, I forgot that was him in Lawless! He was pretty great, although I think his character was written a little one-note.

@avclub-2fc1d799b128e475f8413a49f829a975:disqus That's definitely a part of it, but it's also pretty significant that at the very end, Tony's all "you can take my house, my armor, my blah blah blah, but there's one thing you can never take away from me. I AM IRON MAN. I feel like the reason they were emphasizing his…

I think IM3 does much better on the gender front in terms of what you're talking about. I do actually really like Pepper and Natasha's storylines in the first two movies, but there are a lot of misogynistic lines or elements within those arcs. I can't tell you what my one objection to Pepper's storyline in IM3 is…

@avclub-ab5266a567015c1fa88e4cb37ae91f51:disqus I loved Thor too. I wasn't expecting it to be nearly as funny as it was, and the Asgard visuals were really something special, to my mind. Also it's fun to watch Anthony Hopkins be the actual Worst Dad Ever.

At this point, I honestly find Jaghole's complete inability to understand anything about what an advertising agency is for implausible (which probably just shows that I don't work in the industry), so I'm glad he's gone from a pure suspension of disbelief standpoint.

Also, one reason they want to get across the Wall is the rise of the White Walkers and all the other nasty shit that's coming with the long winter. Putting a hole in the Wall is probably not helpful to their long-term objectives.

Also, that knife must have been dull as all hell.

@avclub-c027a095f6633553f8f45a0ce00fd45d:disqus I never really thought he was gonna do anything but execute the guy. He's got too much of his father in him. Practically the first thing we ever saw Ned Stark do was behead a man with a sword in harsh accordance with the rules. I also don't really think it's a…

For rill.

Also you have the variable of horses/no horses, in hiding/not in hiding.

Oh, thank god I'm not the only one whose head got invaded by that crap.

I was desperately hoping after last week that we were going to get to see the two of them acting like siblings in their shared misfortune, so I loved it too.

I LOVE him. Earlier in the show before everything got so balls to the wall, the scenes where he and Varys would circle each other like eloquent, subtle little vipers were my favorite thing. Also, he's evil and awful but he could still totally get it from me. I don't know what to tell you about that.

GOD he's so boring-looking. But I think he actually fits the medieval standard of courtly male beauty (emphasis on the courtly) pretty well, which fits for Sansa's whole set of princess dreams. Plus there's a long history of borderline feminine-looking, sexually nonthreatening young men being sex symbols for girls…

Nope, a thousand times nope, you are not. Though my number one is still Littlefinger.