janjan

And even now, we don't want to return to the Sullied Shores. We could find awful fanfic, or find that our spouse has married our dentist.

Heeeeere, Stumbler! Here boy! You come over here right now! Pallas, too, has only posted briefly. Heeeeere, Pallas! I just can't let go of GoT. Wanna hear more talk. And I'm still Unsullied, except for watching some outtakes, but I don't think that counts as spoilage.

Yes, it's based on the book. The previous film had Sean Connery and Christian Slater, and the reviews were mixed at best (I didn't see it). I read a couple reviews on the new tv miniseries, and they were very negative. That was my reaction, too. It's a shame cuz I *love* John Turturo. But I guess the book is hard to adapt to film.

Yes, Llywela, you nailed it. I would just add another example of uncertainty, or maybe it's an example of change in intention. I was looking at some outtakes from A Show, now that we're no longer in danger of being sullied. One scene that was dropped was between Bran and Sansa in S7, where Bran lays out for her the litany of LF's deceptions and crimes. So she finally decides to execute him. Why was that scene deleted? I fear it was to set up a cheap twist. Sansa tells a servant, "Have my sister brought to the main hall," and we're invited to think, "Uh oh, she fell for LF's scheming and plans to condemn Arya." She even starts listing the indictment, and we still think it's of Arya, until she suddenly says, "How do you plead, Lord Baelish?" I remember thinking on first watch of that ep that that was unworthy of A Show. There have been many twists and shocking developments, but they used to be earned, organic, not just shock for its own sake. They even had Sansa say, "Have my sister brought" rather than "Bring my sister," or "Tell my sister to come." The only reason to say "Have my sister brought" is to imply that Arya is to be treated as, in effect, a prisoner. If we had seen Sansa's scene with Bran, we would have known who was in the dock. It was around S7 that A Show's intention moved toward shock and spectacle for its own sake. And sometimes even stopped making sense. But it's still the best thing on tv since "The Sopranos," and I'm still in mourning for it. <sniff>

Neeeeever mind. It's not in the same league. Big on gratuitous spectacle.

Hey Brethren and Sistren, check of "Name of the Rose" tonight (5/23) at 10:00 on Sundance channel. Maybe, just maybe, it will assuage our grief at the end of Thrones: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-name-of-the-rose-series-sundance-review-20190522-story.html

Oh right. I was thinking that since Bran can see everything, he doesn't need someone to spy for him. But then, I finally remembered that he doesn't see stuff unless he's looking for it. He didn't go see Lyanna's wedding until Sam told him about it. I . want . Varys . back!!!!! <sniff> I wuved him!

So true! He'll be the next Mance Rayder. Duly elected, and a kind and just king. That's our Jon. The choral music that accompanied his ride out was glorious and uplifting, reminiscent of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." Meanwhile, why does Bran need a Master of Whispers?

(Ginge was quoting someone else.) I don't know anything about greensight, but those examples could be normal wizardly simultaneous sight. I.e., Bran could have seen Jaime trucking his way north and made the logical assumption that he was headed to Winterfell. And it's also logical to assume that his kinfolk would murder Jaime if they knew what he had done to Bran. So the verdict is still out on whether Bran can see the future. I tend to think he can't, simply because there are so many possible futures. The possibilities increase geometrically with every flap of that Amazonian butterfly's wings. UNLESS the future is fore-ordained, so that there is only one. In which case, there is no point in anybody's doing anything. BTW, on rewatch tonight, I was struck that the opening theme music -- that gorgeous cello song -- was repeated as Jon and the Wildlings rode out north of the wall. But this time it was a chorale -- definitely voices, although I couldn't make out any words. It was gorgeous, though. That and the green sprout poking up through the snow just shouted hope and rebirth. Jon will be fine.

And an odd Selection Committee it was, too. It was presumably a gathering of the remaining house-heads, sort of a Magna Carta redux. But why were Bran and Arya and Brienne there? Methinks it was actually a Committee of Fan Faves, taking advice from another Fave who was still in shackles! Stranger things have happened (though it's hard to think when). :-) Bran doesn't seem to be villainous so much as useless. He flew around during the Battle of Winterfell, possibly gathering intelligence, but he didn't share it with anybody and didn't affect the outcome. (Go Arya!) And his Delphic commentary has been nothing but blindingly obvious. Whatever happens, he intones that that's what's supposed to happen. Well ok, if he just means that past events led to present outcomes. (D'oh.) If he means that present outcomes are somehow "right" or even "pre-ordained," he never makes an argument for that or establishes himself as any kind of authority on the matter. Let's hope he finds Drogon, though I fear he won't actually do anything or even tell anybody about it. He'll just fly around for a while and then come back and stare into the middle distance again. Could it be the Bran the Broken is actually Bran the Plot Device, shoe-horned into the kingship just to leave the more interesting Starks free to pursue more interesting lives? There's already talk of an Arya spin-off. But A Show could have accomplished that by having now-legitimate Gendry assert his heritage. And finding him a lady who can teach him how to use a fork.

After watching A Show, I think we've all become connoisseurs of killers!

Lots of Freys, most of them innocent. <guffaw>

That's an interesting thought. Naturally, they would be horrified at the death of Rickon, and Ned would have to endure knowing what became of Robb. Both would of course be super proud of Sansa, although one hopes they wouldn't have to know what all she went through. Ned would be proud of Arya -- he's the one who first hired a "dancing master" for her. Cat would reluctantly agree but maybe wish her daughter was a little more ladylike. She herself had taken on the traditional female role and probably hoped her daughter would grow out of her tomboy stage and not become a mass murderer. Then there's Jon. Cat would have to kick herself a thousand times for how she treated him, and Ned would wonder if he should have told her right off whose child Jon was. Ned would be proud that Jon always did the honorable thing, even if it was stupid. Jon was the truest son of Ned even if he wasn't. Then there's Bran. As Samwell said when Bran first told him he was the TER, "Um, I don't know what that is." But he ended up king over all (except the North), and spends more time warging than ruling. Ned and Cat would say, "D'oh."

Not I neither. I really thought Jon would be dragged kicking and screaming and forced to be King. After he killed Dany, of course. I foresaw that part even without resident ravens like Ginge has. Ginge, did you check their legs for message capsules? But after the first shock of disbelief that Greyworm let him live and that the council of lords (which included Arya and Brienne for some reason) consigned him to the Night's Watch when there's no more threat from the North and no more Nights Watch either -- after I recovered from all that, I did really like the full circle back to the opening scene of the whole Show. Riders riding into the snow, but happily this time. And with GHOST!!! But I'm sad for Drogon, last of his kind. <sniff>

I wasn't sure whether the stuff falling in the throne room was snow or ash. Same with what Drogon was buried under when he was sleeping. It's odd that ash would still be falling even a few days after the fire-bombing. And yet snow is hard to believe. The dragon pit council was sunny and bright. As was Drogon when he woke up. A reptile, exothermic as they are, would have been immobilized by being buried in snow. So it must have been ash. Except that's hard to believe, too. Maybe it's best not to worry about it. 😕 I'm in mourning. As much as I've been bitching about S8, A Show has been a beloved companion for almost 10 years (as are you all, my brethren and sistren). Hard to let go. <sniff>