SPOILER ALERT! So am I the only one excited about a new round of GoT?

[Hammers]

It's a legitimate concern story-wise, H. It felt like it wasn't really earned. I thought the story of Asha's rescue would play out over several episodes. But now she's rescued just like that so they can send Theon off to stand in the background with everybody else in the storyline in the North.  I know we laugh about all the people they've killed off, but I'm beginning to think they haven't killed enough off. Especially in the North they have too many characters for the amount of story there is. I'm worried most of them aren't going to get much to do.

Whenever Theon is on the screen I get Lily Allen's "Alfie" playing in my head. Makes it hard for me to take his scenes seriously.   

They're siblings, right?

[Plynkes]

Yeah, Alfie Allen who plays Theon is English pop singer Lily Allen's little brother. Years ago she did a song called "Alfie" where she moans about him being a twat. He didn't take it very well at the time, apparently. I guess he had the last laugh, though, because he's in Game of Thrones these days and she's basically nowhere.

[Hammers]

Did you notice there was quite a bit about the next generation of little Northern lords and ladies

I liked Tyrion's comment to Davos about AKarstark heraldry as lady Alys Karstark enters Winterfell: 'One of the better sigils. Beats and onion, anyway.'   I  thought that was funny since, as most who have painted GoT knights know, Westros heraldy is a bit all over the place.

I still think lady Lyanna Mormont is my favorite character after Tyrion.

Now, the way little Ned Umber is nailed to the wall of Last Hearth, in the center of a spiral of chopped off arms and legs, what does that mean?  Do I remember correctly that the Nightking was created tied to a weirwood the center of such a spiral?

[OSHIROmodels]

I know I said I'm not bothered about spoilers but I'm going to have stop reading this thread now 

[Coenus Scaldingus]

Bit confused though, because I thought the deal was that this final season had taken two years to make, and was cut down to just six episodes (rather than the usual 10) because each episode was going to be like a magnificent 90 minute feature film in its own right.
And yet the opening episode was just the regular 50 minutes...

First two episodes are normal duration (+-55min), last 4 will be +-80min. Didn't realise it either until I started watching it.

Got a bit bored during S8E1 to be honest. Given A) the imminent undead invasion, and B) the fast-approaching end of the show, I figured there would be more sense of urgency to get stuff done. Instead, we just have people having reunions, with some funny, and some dreadful one-liners and little to no emotion (beyond Sam, and to an extent Jaime). And of course a dragon riding scene that took up a whole chunk of the episode and CGI budget...

Now, the way little Ned Umber is nailed to the wall of Last Hearth, in the center of a spiral of chopped off arms and legs, what does that mean?  Do I remember correctly that the Nightking was created tied to a weirwood the center of such a spiral?

They also made fancy patterns in the very first ever episode I think, and certainly one with dead horsies north of the wall (Fist of the First Men?) later. Plus in the cave paintings. Just a way the Children of the Forest and White Walkers like to express themselves I guess.

[AKULA]

They also made fancy patterns in the very first ever episode I think, and certainly one with dead horsies north of the wall (Fist of the First Men?) later. Plus in the cave paintings. Just a way the Children of the Forest and White Walkers like to express themselves I guess.

It’s a pre-Instagram form of communication - the NightKing is just expressing himself through performance art...

...destroying the wall is “breaking down barriers”...

...raising an army of the dead is a “damning incitement of the social care system in Westeros”...

...sticking Ned Umber on a wall is meant to represent..erm... “how youth can spiral out of control if left unattended”...

Actually, I think he really nailed that last one ... {edit} sorry, correction he used a sword.

 

[Belligerentparrot]

The look on Jon Snow's face when he realises he's even more kingly than he thought he was - like, "Why always me? Why do I always have to be the king?" 

Thought Ep1 was an improvement on most of last season, myself.

[Silent Invader]

I only do dvd

So dark ages 

[Belligerentparrot]

My 10 month old daughter is in the habit of waking me up around 2am. Tonight, I'm not so worried about that 

[Belligerentparrot]

No one else was up in the middle of the night to watch? I'll keep quiet then..

... but I'd be surprised if anyone is disappointed by ep2.

[Condottiere]

They also made fancy patterns in the very first ever episode I think, and certainly one with dead horsies north of the wall (Fist of the First Men?) later. Plus in the cave paintings. Just a way the Children of the Forest and White Walkers like to express themselves I guess.

The 'Game of Thrones' Night King Spiral Mystery Has Officially Been Solved

But there is no more need to theorize, and we have arrived at an actual answer for this question. I’m not just talking about a really good fan idea that sounds correct, I’m talking about the guy who wrote the premiere and put the flaming spiral in it explaining outright what it means. Here’s Game of Thrones premiere writer Dave Hill talking to the New York Post when asked the question:

    “As we saw with Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven, the spiral pattern was sacred to the Children of the Forest, who created the Night King by sacrificing a captured man in a spiral “henge of stones.” The Night King then adopted the symbol as a sort of blasphemy, like Satan with the upside-down cross.”

[AKULA]

SPOILER ALERT...should know this by page 22 of the thread...

No one else was up in the middle of the night to watch? I'll keep quiet then..

... but I'd be surprised if anyone is disappointed by ep2.

Watched ep2 a couple of times today...just watching now for the third time - am sure there will be those that say “no big battle...BORING...” but in the context of the 18 month wait, ep2 was all about reminding us of the characters we’ve become attached to...before they get brutally slain in the next four episodes.

Would be interested to know if anyone else watched the Brienne knight story...the smile on her face...and thought ...”yup she’s dead meat”.

Will be interesting to look back in 4 episodes time - ep.2 seems to be all about pairing characters up...presumably so one of each pair dies to make the loss greater.

Arya/Gendry....Sansa/Theon....Greyworm/Missandei.....Jamie/Brienne/Tormund (ok..it’s a 3)....and maybe even ...Jon/Dany??

Also interesting for the important conversations that are interrupted and left hanging...firstly Sansa’s question over the future of the North, and secondly, the much signposted question of who should sit on the Iron Throne.

[Ogrob]

Just seen it, loved all the character moments.

[Belligerentparrot]

SPOILER ALERT...should know this by page 22 of the thread...
Would be interested to know if anyone else watched the Brienne knight story...the smile on her face...and thought ...”yup she’s dead meat”.

Will be interesting to look back in 4 episodes time - ep.2 seems to be all about pairing characters up...presumably so one of each pair dies to make the loss greater.

Yes, dead meat for sure. I thought the ep handled the build-up really, really well. Some excellent dry humour too: Tyrion musing about what he'll do as a zombie; Arya's seduction technique - "Take your own bloody pants off".

Three thoughts thinking ahead. One, I'm feeling most characters in this ep will be dead by the end of the battle for Winterfell.
Two, the constant mentions of the crypts - other fans seem to think the night king will animate the dead. Dunno about that - could just be a red herring?
Three, wouldn't surprise me if the night king takes Winterfell and the surviving heroes have to regroup elsewhere, hence the Greyjoy bit in ep1. Though increasingly I think Cersei, rather than the night king, is the real force to be defeated as far as this season is concerned.

[Captain Blood]

Loved that. Did not disappoint in the least 
(Still a regular length episode though... maybe the ‘feature-length’ epsiodes start next week... 

Yeah, I think they’ll actually dispense with the Night King and co quite quickly next episode (all that dragon glass) and the rest of the final season will be taken up with the real business of the Game of Thrones.

Personally I’ve always felt that the whole white walkers storyline was a red herring from the core tale that GRRM set out to write in the first place, which was a pseudo-medieval Wars of the Roses style dynastic struggle with politics, skullduggery, sex and extreme violence.

Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon - all still in play. That’s what the denouement is going to be concerned with. And so much more enthralling than hordes of zombies.

Of course I could be wrong