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

[Plynkes]

And the brilliant Tim McInnery, Blackadder's idiotic chum Lord Percy, as the grouchy Glover (he's making quite a fine line in these parts now - he was playing a fire and brimstone priest in 'Outlander' last... )

Did you notice he did the Captain Darling eye-twitch at one point? That made me chuckle a bit.


(Unless of course Tim McInnery just genuinely has a twitchy eye in real life, it could be that.)

[Elk101]

I had to avoid this thread for a week as I missed last week's episode. I did enjoy the double feature but the two episodes kind of got mixed into one. Highlights and lowlights?

It is great to see the Hound back, apparently 'Cleganebowl' is a thing. Who knew?

It was also good to see the Blackfish back too, I liked him in the books even if he didn't have a tremendously big part.

Lady Mormont was a scene stealer.

The High Sparrow seems to be increasingly just another powerbroker,  simply coming at things from a different angle.

The Danyrs thing is sort of losing my interest. After episode 5's  "build me a thousand ships" from Uncle Squidly (Euron) the "how many ships will I need?", "about a thousand",  "no one has that many ships" conversation seemed a touch clumsy.

I feel like Tyrion is somewhat wasted there (as things stand).

I'm assuming that episode 9 will be the traditional battle episode so that only leaves next week's episode to set it up. Will it be the Riverrun siege or the Winterfell battle. I deliberately didn't say seige there as I seem to recall Roose Bolton having a go at Ramsay for charging out to Stannis. I was wondering if he will cockily try the same to Jon but maybe he'll be the one taken by surprise? 

[Dr. The Viking]

It is great to see the Hound back, apparently 'Cleganebowl' is a thing. Who knew?


The Danyrs thing is sort of losing my interest. After episode 5's  "build me a thousand ships" from Uncle Squidly (Euron) the "how many ships will I need?", "about a thousand",  "no one has that many ships" conversation seemed a touch clumsy.

I feel like Tyrion is somewhat wasted there (as things stand).

I heartily agree. The whole Mereen thing was just boring me to sleep... Clegane got the show back where the nitty gritty is.

In fact I think the show works much better/best in the faux European setting.

[Elk101]

I heartily agree. The whole Mereen thing was just boring me to sleep... Clegane got the show back where the nitty gritty is.

In fact I think the show works much better/best in the faux European setting.

Yes. I agree with that too.

The Bran stuff is getting interesting too. Is he the original Bran the Builder in some form? Will his mark of the Night King mean that the Night King can follow him anywhere? Will we find out who Jon's parents are this season? Will the High Sparrow ever get his cassocks looking whiter than white again?

[Timbor]

I had to avoid this thread for a week as I missed last week's episode. I did enjoy the double feature but the two episodes kind of got mixed into one. Highlights and lowlights?

It is great to see the Hound back, apparently 'Cleganebowl' is a thing. Who knew?

It was also good to see the Blackfish back too, I liked him in the books even if he didn't have a tremendously big part.

Lady Mormont was a scene stealer.

The High Sparrow seems to be increasingly just another powerbroker,  simply coming at things from a different angle.

The Danyrs thing is sort of losing my interest. After episode 5's  "build me a thousand ships" from Uncle Squidly (Euron) the "how many ships will I need?", "about a thousand",  "no one has that many ships" conversation seemed a touch clumsy.

I feel like Tyrion is somewhat wasted there (as things stand).

I'm assuming that episode 9 will be the traditional battle episode so that only leaves next week's episode to set it up. Will it be the Riverrun siege or the Winterfell battle. I deliberately didn't say seige there as I seem to recall Roose Bolton having a go at Ramsay for charging out to Stannis. I was wondering if he will cockily try the same to Jon but maybe he'll be the one taken by surprise? 

I think the battle will have to be Jon and Ramsay.. in the books, I seem to remember the siege of Riverrun ending anticlimactically.... though I don't quite remember exactly what happened anymore.

[Silent Invader]

Yep a much better episode. The Queen of Thorns dialogue was excellent and The Hound was the dog's wotsits. I echo the sentiment that Dany etc has become boring. I think I'd actually prefer the series if it were just Westeros (the dragons are also a bit tiresome).

Looking forward to the Winterfell battle : I have it in mind that the Wildlings will rise up out of the snow (thus their camo-mottled-clothes) to surprise and overwhelm the cocky Boltons.

[Timbor]

I dunno... my guess is a Deus ex Machina where Littlefinger appears to ride in and save the day just as Jon's forces are on the brink of defeat. 

[Captain Blood]

I dunno... my guess is a Deus ex Machina where Littlefinger appears to ride in and save the day just as Jon's forces are on the brink of defeat. 

Yep. I'd put money on it.
Littlefinger of the increasingly Irish accent to the rescue.

The Danyrs thing is sort of losing my interest. After episode 5's  "build me a thousand ships" from Uncle Squidly (Euron) the "how many ships will I need?", "about a thousand",  "no one has that many ships" conversation seemed a touch clumsy.

That is very funny Steve, and very true. I think now Weiss, Benioff and co are off the leash and running without the constraints of the books, the exposition and dialogue has been a lot more clunky. The first few seasons had lots of killer lines. This season noticeably less so to my mind.

[Hammers]

Yep. I'd put money on it.
Littlefinger of the increasingly Irish accent to the rescue.

That is very funny Steve, and very true. I think now Weiss, Benioff and co are off the leash and running without the constraints of the books, the exposition and dialogue has been a lot more clunky. The first few seasons had lots of killer lines. This season noticeably less so to my mind.

Yeah, the renegade Iron fleet theme seems like a clumsy handed production attempt to "we have to pull all this shit together so we can tie a ribbon with a bow allaround it".

*This* is very much a series I'd lie to see, like life itself, close open ended.

[Dr. Zombie]

Whilst it would be good to see the hound back in action. I found the scenes with him very artificial. It was just plain weird how the septon all of a sudden explained to the Hound how he found him and nursed him back to life. When they have plainly been together for a long time.

I do get that there needs to be some explanation. But it was just very clumsy.

Clearly Aria does not die. No one on this show dies slowly. If main characters die it is quick and sudden.

[jim rae]

One thing that has mightily (YAY, Mightily) hacked me off, is the fact that they haven't decided to film where I live.

Here, in Spain, they've filmed in Andalucia and Catalunya (the fighting pits of Meeren were in a converted bull-ring). Rumor has it that they're scouting locations at the moment in the Canary Islands.

Unfortunately, where I live (Galicia in the NW) we have some of the most spectacular of spectacular Atlantic coastlines in Europe. Lots of green as well as some impressive cathedrals which could easily be improved with a 7-pointed star..  

Not happy at all, i'd love to be running about the countryside getting chopped up by Lannister bannermen (and getting paid for it!)  

Oh, and talking about the Hound, a mate of mine (who's a profesional actor) was the little old guy with the wagon who got beaten up by him in season 3/4....

[Silent Invader]

I do see that Littlefinger to the rescue is the likely angle but I find it just a bit too obvious to be interesting. I would prefer something shockingly rational - such as was the case with the unexpected (to me anyway) deaths of Rob Stark and Joffrey (and, dare I say, Jon Snow).  All being resolved by Littlefinger is predictable enough to be boring. In fact, I'd much rather he thought he was coming to 'save the day' but was instead ambushed and killed by Ramsay.

[Dr. Zombie]

I agree. Littlefinger will probably go and lift the siege at Riverrun. He does have some claim to that castle.

[Mad Doc Morris]

The producers should really invest in some decent scriptwriters for next season. It's quite staggering to observe such a decline in dialogue and staging since the show has outpaced the books. That's not to say that SoIaF was a flawless example of storytelling, far from it (the erratic wanderings of various characters have nearly driven me off several times).
But the TV series seems to rely too much on very basic outlines that Martin provided without taking any effort to flesh them out. To be honest, the plot itself is dull. Martin's true talent for short stories, however, enabled him to write small gems of dialogue and setups, which the show's sadly lacking now.

[Charlie_]

That is very funny Steve, and very true. I think now Weiss, Benioff and co are off the leash and running without the constraints of the books, the exposition and dialogue has been a lot more clunky. The first few seasons had lots of killer lines. This season noticeably less so to my mind.

Definitely. Last season too.

The one that sticks in my mind recently is "Let's go murder my niece and nephew" from Euron.

Shame as Euron's speech and the whole Kingsmoot chapter in the book was FANTASTIC. So much good dialogue to use!

Here's some Euron dialogue from an earlier chapter....

AERON: We shall have no king but from the kingsmoot. No godless man-
EURON: -may sit the Seastone Chair, aye. As it happens I have oft sat upon the Seastone Chair of late. It raises no objections. Who knows more of gods than I? Horse gods and fire gods, gods made of gold with gemstone eyes, gods of carved cedar wood, gods chiselled into mountains, gods of empty air... I know them all. I have seen their peoples garland them with flowers, and shed the blood of goats and bulls and children in their names. And I have heard the prayers, in half a hundred tongues. Cure my withered leg, make the maiden love me, grant me a healthy son. Save me, succor me, make me wealthy... protect me! Protect me from mine enemies, protect me from the darkness, protect me from the crabs inside my belly, from the horselords, from the slavers, from the sellswords at my door. Protect me from the Silence. Godless? Why, Aeron, I am the godliest man to ever raise sail! You serve one god, Damphair, but I have served ten thousand. From Ib to Asshai, when men see my sails, they pray.
AERON: They pray to trees and golden idols and goat-headed abominations. False gods...
EURON: Just so, and for that sin I kill them all. I spill their blood upon the sea and sow their screaming women with my seed. Their little gods cannot stop me, so plainly they are false gods. I am more devout than even you, Aeron. Perhaps it should be you who kneels to me for blessing.

And what does the TV show give us?

"I'm going build that fleet... ...and I'm going to give it to Daenarys Targaryen, along with my big cock."