THE GAME OF THRONES/ASOIAF SPOILER THREAD (WARNING: SPOILERS)

i did too kinda

You guys are my sworn enemies.

getting rid of all that crap with the drunk knight was definitely a good move

The weird thing is that they introduced him right at the beginning of S2, but then he never came back as far as I know (haven't seen any of S3 yet).

You guys are my sworn enemies.

getting rid of all that crap with the drunk knight was definitely a good move

Dontos is supposed to make a return - maybe next series?

surely it'd be quite a significant departure if they dropped the Alayne Stone story entirely -- I'm kind of curious how they'd manage to do it given how much they've decided to have Varys know.

Varys could likely have known all that though - he doesn't give a shit because it suited his agenda. The problem is the Lannisters knowing.

is the lorays being gay stuff ever made explicit in the books at all?

IIRC there's no actual sex scene but multiple ppl talk about Renly and Loras boning

yeah, it's not on screen but it's implied many times. i think one of the main differences in their sexual relationship is that in the books margaery never actually joins the two for a menage? it's just 'joked' about?

i dont see why they would drop the alayne arc, it would happen next season anyway, sansa escapes right after joffrey's wedding

Looking at the upcoming ep titles is interesting to guess where they'll end up re books 3/4
407 Bear and the Maiden Fair - Jaime rescues Brienne (or maybe doesn't manage to, I can see her vanishing after this season since you don't necessarily need her for the Catelyn reveal, and her death would spur Jaime to straighten up?), also Yunkai arrival, Tyrion/Sansa
408 Second Sons - ref. to Jeoffrey-Tommen / Tyrion-Jaime / the mercenary group defending Yunkai
409 Rains of Castermere - ref. to Tywin's ruthlessness, so Red Wedding
410 Mhysa - 'mother', taking of Yunkai, Arya bails for Braavos, Catelyn reveal which pays off all the resurrection stuff with the Bros., maybe even Jeoffrey's wedding as cliffhanger
No idea where the Wall stuff falls in this sequence

ya 409 will almost certainly be red-wed

i get nervous just thinking about it tbh

which episode do you think they'll have the ten minute scene of Theon's genitals getting mutilated

Oh man I know, enough already with that. I know torture porn is inherently medieval but damn

More I think about it, 410: Jeoffrey dies, Tyrion accused, Tommen as king with Cersei, Jaime arrives

tvguide type synopses -

407 Bear and the Maiden Fair - Dany exchanges gifts with a slave lord outside of Yunkai. As Sansa frets about her prospects, Shae chafes at Tyrion's new situation. Tywin counsels the king, and Melisandre reveals a secret to Gendry. Brienne faces a formidable foe in Harrenhal.

408 Second Sons - King's Landing hosts a wedding, and Tyrion and Sansa spend the night together. Dany meets the Titan's Bastard. Davos demands proof from Melisandre. Sam and Gilly meet an older gentleman.

409 Rains of Castermere - Robb presents himself to Walder Frey, and Edmure meets his bride. Jon faces his harshest test yet. Bran discovers a new gift. Daario and Jorah debate how to take Yunkai. House Frey joins with House Tully.

410 Mhysa - Joffrey challenges Tywin. Bran tells a ghost story. In Dragonstone, mercy comes from strange quarters. Dany waits to see if she is a conqueror or a liberator.

Robb presents himself to Walder Frey - heh

man i hope they don't let us on to shae's betrayal beforehand

Sam and Gilly meet an older gentleman.

haha

i love how deliberately understated these are! 'House Frey joins with House Tully'

'Bran tells a ghost story' in Mother episode - something to do with zombie cat?

i would guess the next episode is where the boltons have their proper coming out party as villains

This is the society-column proper-etiquette version of events

'Tyrion makes a point to Tywin'

"Joffrey challenges Tywin" will be the "sharp lesson" scene which should be excellent.

"meeting an older gentlemen" was kinda reminding me of the first 1/3 of Dostoevsky novels where it's all just gossiping about archaic social niceties

jawn snuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

lol

'Bran tells a ghost story' in Mother episode

Dany exchanges gifts with a slave lord outside of Yunkai.

Maybe SHE'S the one who drops the deuce???

haw

i would guess the next episode is where the boltons have their proper coming out party as villains

well we have psycho ramsay revealed ahead of time and it'll be bolton's own men rather than the mummers that put the maiden in with the bear, so i think things have accelerated somewhat on that front

roose is pretty clearly shown to be Not A Good Guy in this last episode, when he lets jaime go

Yeah but even so, big diff between "Not A Good Guy Who's Out For Himself" and "Not A Good Guy Who Makes Cloaks From The Skins Of Small Children".

I'm looking forward to the Boltons coming to the fore as baddies-in-chief for the series.

I haven't read the books; are the practical aspects of winter coming addressed at all? Like are there any voices of reason going "hey maybe we should all be focusing on stockpiling food rather than fighting wars, since we won't be able to grow crops for years on end" ?

Or am I misunderstanding how seasons work in this fantasy world.

not really since most of the characters are aristocratic and it's not as much of an issue for them. the 4th book actually has a bit of a subtheme in it of examining the effects of the war on the common people of westeros, not sure if any of that is going to make it into the tv series though

there is a lot of frowning about crops being ruined and not being ready for winter, but it is on the superficial side

fortunately there is a long lasting supply of carefully preserved dead human flesh making its way south, under its own power incredibly, like a morbid ice cream truck of anthropophagy

that would be a good direction for the series to take as it draws to a close

also yeah it's sort of implied that the threat of the coming winter is the white walkers returning, not the climate. the adult characters in the show have lived through a couple 'normal' winters which apparently aren't that bad. there's even some descriptions in the book about e.g. how winterfell is built on top of a big hot spring and thus has a natural heating system that keeps it nice in the winter

there was a scene at the beginning of S2 where they officially announced the end of summer and how long of a winter could be endured in King's Landing given the amount of stockpiles they had

I haven't read the books; are the practical aspects of winter coming addressed at all? Like are there any voices of reason going "hey maybe we should all be focusing on stockpiling food rather than fighting wars, since we won't be able to grow crops for years on end" ?

Or am I misunderstanding how seasons work in this fantasy world.

i have a friend who couldnt get over this when she was reading it, she was like "winter is coming for YEARS and everyone is running around burning all the crops, they're all so fucked!"

iirc the thing is that any head wise enough to be more concerned by crops than crowns has been cut off by the end of book 2

also yeah it's sort of implied that the threat of the coming winter is the white walkers returning

― ciderpress, Thursday, May 9, 2013

huh? no one even believes in "white walkers"

i think cider is right, there is portent or superstition about winter and "winter is coming" that is not just meteorological, even if no one actually believes in the others specifically.

I haven't read the books; are the practical aspects of winter coming addressed at all? Like are there any voices of reason going "hey maybe we should all be focusing on stockpiling food rather than fighting wars, since we won't be able to grow crops for years on end" ?

Or am I misunderstanding how seasons work in this fantasy world.

i have a friend who couldnt get over this when she was reading it, she was like "winter is coming for YEARS and everyone is running around burning all the crops, they're all so fucked!"

― we're up all night to get (s1ocki), Thursday, May 9, 2013 10:36 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Spot on tbh. For a series which has made such a huge deal out of "like fantasy but REAL" to ignore this point would be a massive mis-step. Can only assume that this is going to become a major plot point in The Winds Of Winter, particularly given how fond GRRM seems to be of getting bogged down in tedious detail these days. But I suppose there's also always a chance that the economic, social and agricultural realities of a decades-long winter will get ignored and focus will instead be given to Daenaerys and the Dragons vs the White Walkers

I also agree that "Winter is coming" / the aura surrounding winter in these novels has always implied more than simply the risk of heavy snowfall.

also, there is too much ~symbolism~ with the seasons for the series to end in winter. something magical will happen and spring will arrive before shit gets too real i am sure, although i am sure there will be some food shortage drama at least alluded to along the way.

Heartbreakingly withered neeps

LOL. i suppose there are always olives growing somewhere, it'll be okay.

Spot on tbh. For a series which has made such a huge deal out of "like fantasy but REAL" to ignore this point would be a massive mis-step. Can only assume that this is going to become a major plot point in The Winds Of Winter, particularly given how fond GRRM seems to be of getting bogged down in tedious detail these days.

It's not ignored at all. House Tyrell controls the majority of the food supply in Westeros. The Crown is severely indebted to the point they have foreign debt-collectors after them, which would severely impact their ability to import food from elsewhere. Jaime advises peasants to try for one last harvest. There's a lot of talk about the Vale having a huge granary and basically untouched supplies. Etc.

I never bought into Jaime's redemption from the books -- for whatever reason, it felt superficial -- but I have to admit that NCW is making it real for me in a big way.

God damn, creeping closer to the RW. Wonder if Talisa was really writing to her mum.