Blue Nocturne

I think Sybil's job was to ensure that Jeyne never got pregnant. She would serve Jeyne moon tea every night, but called it a fertility potion.

You know who might be the perfect person in the show to drop knowledge about R + L =J? Doran. My Dornish geography is rusty, but I can picture a scene where Doran tells a version of the Tower of Joy story to Jaime. He could also use the story to play on Jaime's insecurities regarding his time in the Kingsguard: he's considered shit for saving the realm from the Mad King while Arthur Dayne is considered one of the finest knights that ever lived despite the fact that his dying act was to forcibly stop a man from rescuing his kidnapped dying sister. Then, once he has Jaime eating out of the palm of his hand, he could note how weird it was that the Arthur Dayne and the rest were guarding a girl in a tower while their king had no one but him, a green arrogant boy, to protect him. Such a scene would do quite a bit to establish Doran's status as a player, and salvage the thrown together Dornish story this season.

Even if it did cross his mind, there really was no reason not to take the Ned's bastard story at face value. Varys didn't really know Ned until his stint in Kings Landing so he could have easily thought Ned was a far more typical wayward younger son (didn't Varys make a comment to Ned in the first season about waiting and seeing what type of person he was). While Jon was raised in Winterfell, we don't know if Varys had enough little birds to know that Jon was essentially being raised as one of the family, Catelyn's disdain notwithstanding. Plus, Cat's disdain probably provided further cover. Besides, Varys was probably so invested in his Aegon (apparently Dany in the show) plan (i.e. a plan he could control) that he may have developed a blind spot about a random bastard in the North. One of the reasons I prefer to believe that Littlefinger did not know Ramsay's proclivities was because it further shows how little the southerners know (or care) what's going on north of the Neck. It's out of sight out of mind until extenuating circumstances bring them south.

Or poor Walda can find herself at the wrong end of some angry dogs and Roose can take Sansa to wife himself. Have we gotten a Sansa/Roose only scene yet? I would really love to see the two of them interact because, weirdly enough, Roose would probably treat her with more respect than anyone has since maybe Tyrion. Yes, it would be traumatic for Sansa to hear Roose talk about betraying and murdering her brother with the same dispassion one talks about when deciding what contractor to select to remodel your castle, but I also think he would give her a no bullshit lay of the land. Yes, we're marrying you for your claim. Yes we are about to be attacked by a very good military commander. Yes, my son is a psychopath but he does need to not completely torture you to death for a while. Yes, Littlefinger basically sold you off because he's a scheming bastard who will take advantage of any circumstance to hell with anyone he ostensibly cares about. Hey if we're going to have a redux of season 2 (Sansa trapped in a hostile castle with Stannis Baratheon baring down), let's give Sansa/Roose a bit of a Tywin/Arya dynamic.

Can I pull up a seat at this table? Roose is far more appealing a villain than he has any right to be. That reminds me, when Mel saw Arya in season 3, did she realize who Arya was or merely that Arya was going to kill a lot of people? I imagine either her or Brienne are going to let Sansa know Arya's alive, especially since Sansa's had multiple episodes this season where she learned the fate of family members.

One small thing I liked: Grenn telling Slynt that Thorne needed him downstairs, allowing Jon to actually lead the attack against the Wildlings. That small smile between the two really sold just how much Grenn trusted Jon and how close they became. It also made Jon ordering Grenn to his death that much more heartbreaking. That moment, more than Ygritte's death, really emphasized just how much Jon grew up that night. I could practically see him age twenty years when he ordered Grenn to hold the gate.

I thought they were hinting at Olenna being his great love. I know book-wise they are probably too far apart in age, but I can see the show implying that they are of the same generation. It kind of makes sense show wise--the woman he loved rejected him so he joined the Maesters, then later the Night's Watch. One thing I love is how this episode made explicit what was being hinted all season about Slynt and Thorne. Both are Jon's enemies and there is plenty of mutual animosity. Thorne though, once he saw what was out there, was man enough to admit to Jon he was wrong. And Jon, to his credit was gracious enough to acknowledge that Throne as leader had to make the tough decisions that could very well be wrong, but still have to be made. They can hate each other, but still count on each other in when it counts. Then Thorne got to give the rousing speeches and fight like a badass. Slynt meanwhile blubbered about his command of the City Watch and hid with the woman and child. I was a bit disconcerted at how much relief I felt when we cut back to Gilly and Slynt and saw that there was no rape, no attempted rape, no evidence that Gilly had to fight him off or anything. Just Slynt curled in a corner taking a nap like the coward he is. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful the show decided not to even hint at a rape even though everything about the circumstances seemed to point to one happening (frightened previously sexually victimized girl locked in a room with a sleazy coward with an overblown sense of his manliness, no one would probably interrupt them for hours), but I don't think my mind show default to "oh she's getting raped" so often. Was that the smallest opening credits in the history of the show? Only five names: Jon, Sam, Gilly, Ygritte, and Tormund. I think once I get over my disappointment at the lack of Stannis showing up and wondering how the hell the pacing is going to work for the finale, I'll appreciate this episode more.