Knights & Knaves Alehouse

A lot of spectacle that they couldn’t have anywhere near afforded in the Season 1. But it was very lazily and conventionally plotted, again very unlike anything in Season 1. It was very grand, movie-esque in scope, but I don’t like most action movies for the same reasons.

Two too many nick-of-time events. Jon should be dead again. Ramsay's charge should have killed him, but no! The charge from his ranks arrived at just the precise SECOND to save him. Hooray!

Then Little Finger's charge occurs at the next convenient beat.

Neither of these occurrences would be much of a deal in many fantasy stories, but "saved in the nick of time" just doesn't seem very GoT-like.

Oh, and fuck you Rickon for running a straight line. He spent how many years with a Wildling chick, and he learned nothing about evasion? What, did she keep him locked up in a box all that time? Dumb ass.

I might be more annoyed at the writing quality and deviations from the books if the fourth and fifth books hadn't been aggressively bad (i.e., the literary equivalent of George R. R. Martin personally knocking on every reader's door at two in the morning and flying a double middle finger when they answered) and if he was ever going to finish the damn things. But they were and he's not, so this is most likely as good as it gets.

Two wrongs don’t make a right!

That's fair. But for fans of the original ASOIAF trilogy, this might be the only "closure" we get. For what it's worth!

Unrealistic and/or stupid battle actions and mass teleportation devices aside, I enjoyed this episode quite a bit.

The one thing that really bothered me... Where'd the Stark banners that went on Winterfell at the end come from? Were the Boltons keeping them in the closet "just in case?"

rogatny wrote:1. Jaime is either dead or the season ends in a cliffhanger where he could be dead.
2. The Starks and Tulleys have their revenge on the Freys and Boltons and have re-emerged as a power.
3. The White Walkers have attacked, are attacking, or are imminently about to attack the Wall.
4. Cersei is in a prison or dungeon.
5. Dany is FINALLY on a boat and on her way West.

Checking to see how my mid-season predictions are turning out.

1. Could still happen. I think we can assume the Lannisters and Freys march north to confront the neo-Starks before they can consolidate power. Perhaps Jaime is ambushed by Sandor and the BWB on his way.
2. The Bolton half has already happened. The Freys might have to wait a season to get what's inevitably coming to them.
3. Other than the one Bran episode, we've been mostly White Walker free this season. I'm sure there will be some update on the matter in the last episode, probably with Bran and Benjen.
4. This is still looking pretty likely. She's about to go to trial and has basically no friends at court.
5. At this point, if Dany and co aren't headed west after the next episode, they're just trolling us.

Questions:
Will we see some of Arya next episode or has her story arc concluded this season?
Same question Sam, Gilly, and Sam Jr.
They're really going to go another season without telling us the identity of Jon's mother (and father?) aren't they?
Are they going to give us any clarification as to what Littlefinger is up to, or his role going to be to continue sinisterly twirling his mustache and being a Deus ex Machina?
Will the final scene of the season be Varys killing Kevan with a crossbow?

As far as Littlefinger goes, I guess he's up to the same thing he's up to in the books: waiting for everybody else to kill each other off, so he can be the last man standing with an army and become king. That plan might have worked under normal circumstances, but with dragons and the Mongol horde coming from one direction and ice zombies coming from the other, I don't think his petty scheming is going to avail very much.

Don't forget they have the next episode and next season's 10 episodes to tie all this shit up.

Either gonna be quite unsatisfying or one helluva ride.

I think the middle 5 episodes of this season were very meh. Minimal arc movement and didn't have the energy(?) of the first 3 or 4 and this last one.

This latest episode was really about blowing a ton of money on a cool battle scene. Tactics and shit notwithstanding it was amazing.

I'm guessing that Baelish is gonna get quite price from Sansa for saving the Stark coalition/family from obliteration.

Shit, next season might just be the dohtraki and dragons burning westeros to the ground, Tyrion be damned.

The battle scene was fantastic, and I imagine I'll be watching it a number of times to catch all the little details. Love the terrifying interpretation of the shield wall.

I also like that the Bear Island girl showed up to the Ramsey negotiation. A great character.

- Wheggi

More questions:

Have they completely dropped the Dorne subplot? Everyone in the show seems to have forgotten that Myrcella was murdered.

Have they also completely forgotten about Stannis' trip to the Iron Bank and the massive debts run up by Robert and Joffrey?

Has the Gendry character come to nothing? Are they not even going to bother having him die off screen?

rogatny wrote: Has the Gendry character come to nothing? Are they not even going to bother having him die off screen?

My guess is that they are going to complete discard that character of Gendry, then make it so Jon Snow is the son of King Robert and Ned Stark's sister.

rogatny wrote:Have they completely dropped the Dorne subplot?

Simple. The three dragonriders are going to be Daenerys Targaryen, Yara Greyjoy, and Ellaria Sand. Girls are the answer!

Speaking of the Greyjoys, even in the show I find it hard to root for nice Yara/Asha over wicked Euron/Victarion. She loses the election fair and square, and her plan now is to sell out her people in order to be placed in power. Pathetic.

rogatny wrote:Have they completely dropped the Dorne subplot? Everyone in the show seems to have forgotten that Myrcella was murdered.

The Lannisters are too busy having their assess handed them by the High Sparrow to do anything about the Martells.

TRP wrote:

rogatny wrote:Have they completely dropped the Dorne subplot? Everyone in the show seems to have forgotten that Myrcella was murdered.

The Lannisters are too busy having their assess handed them by the High Sparrow to do anything about the Martells.

And isn't it nice of the Martells to sit back and not to take any advantage of that situation