gingerella

Pallas, can you please spoon feed me about that Varys plan? I love your comment but don't remember where it cometh from. Thanks spitball homie... ETA: Just thinking aloud...right now, Sansa and Jon know that Rickon is alive in rAmsey's dungeon. And they both know Robb is dead. IIRC, they still do not know if Bran is alive, nor if Arya is alive, is that correct? If so, I wonder if as they move South towards Winterfell and perhaps south of that even, they might run into Arya's old pal, Chubsy the baker boy, if they did they would learn Arya was last seen alive too. I want the Stark kids to prevail so badly.

So, uh, *that* happened...whoa! In no particular order: Osha, RIP girl. I feel like she should have lasted longer than that so I smell show runner bullshit with her early demise, but nonetheless, I will miss her. I didn't think Sansa & crew would make it to the Wall so quickly so yeah for A Show advancing the storyline on that. I was overcome with YESSSSSSness when Sansa and Jon embraced in the courtyard. It was so bittersweet hearing them talk about their childhood together. If only Ned had declined Roberts marriage to Joff plan, though I'm not sure if that would even have been possible. Annyway, I don't have a good feeling about this fighting against Bolton's men. I also don't trust LF as far as I could throw him, and he's playing Robin like a fiddle. Robin is still a halfwit inbred nut bar so that can't end well unless someone else throws him through the moon window. Hey, A Viewer can only wish right? I assume that Jon and Sansa will need to rally the banner men of the North, but how to do that without getting past or around Winterfell? Also, I am now doubting the motives of that Umber dude. We had been spitballing that he was in cahoots with taking back Winterfell but seeing Osha get killed immediately, makes me feel like he should be taken at his word, he doesn't give a shit about the Starks anymore. I am at a loss for who would fight for House Stark now, any guesses? Not sure about Tyrions storyline right now...I feel like he could be in danger playing games of political intrigue with these slavers. Something in my hunky radar was pinging the entire time of that negotiation scene. anyone else? The whole Cersei thing bores me now, she is a bitch, she thinks she is The Queen, I get it Show, enough already. I mean, if they are gearing up for a trial by combat between the Mountainstein and Tommen, BORING. I don't want to watch Tommen get squashed like a bug. Then again, I also was suspicious of the Loras/ Marg scene. Will she agree to the walk of shame to save Loras? or will Loras somehow screw things up because he is desperate and broken now? Marg looked very Very worried as that scene cut away. Lastly, Dany is one shrewd khaleesi! I figured that was going to happen when she saw Jorah, but still, what a great scene. So now she is Daenarys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons *and* The Great Mare (just making that up)...you go girl!

Hmmm, well let's see what we learn soon. Maybe there was a storm that came up right around the time shit was gettin' real up in the tower (and we were stopped from seeing it before Root Dude ended that little excursion) and that's why Hodor associated that with anxiety? I hope A Show delves further into this storyline because I grow a bit tired of some of the constant never-ending storylines like Cersei vs. the World. That shit gets old season after season without resolution. Ditto Ramsey, the evilest evil that ever eviled in evileville. A Show like to take some things too far (yeah, I'm looking at you Joff) and A Viewer gets annoyed. Let's explore this storyline A Show, it is new and interesting!

Yessss! This really resonates with me. I think we're on to something here - at least partially - with this Hodor thinking...after I wrote the above post yesterday I kept on thinking about it, and really, Bran never had any real life relationship with his Aunt Lyanna. She was long gone when he was born so while seeing her die might be upsetting to Bran, it isn't connected to any real life relationship he had with her. I think seeing harm come to Hodor via Ned would be way more upsetting to Bran given his relationship with Hodor no. Hodor has literally carried Bran's life in his part-giant hands. Remember when Hodor was feeling antsy about something back when they were hiding in that hay house or whatever it was back in, what was it, S2 or S3? Right before they decided that Rickon and Osha would go to the Umbers and the Scooby Gang would continue North? I cannot remember what Hodor was getting agitated about, but the only way to quiet him and not have their location revealed was for Bran to warg into Hodor, wasn't it? Does anyone remember what set Hodor off in that scene? I wonder if it'll give us a clue to our current spitballing...if it was am impending violence or fighting that might have pinged some distant horrible memory locked inside Hodor's mind... I am looking at Hodor soooo differently right now. Firstly, knowing he wasn't always "Hodor" is one revelation in itself. But thinking he was this loyal soldier, and as Pallas so aptly put it, a Ser in serf's clothing, makes me feel so much more for this character other than simply being the conveyance for a little Lord Stark. I wonder if all this spitballing is true, if there is some way to return Wyllis to Hodor's body? 90, I think if, as others have said above, A Show is setting up a grand showdown trial by combat for Cersei's trial, and IF the Sparrow chooses King Tommen to fight for the Kingdom, then yeah, the menacing Frankemonster goes up against little, meek and mild Tommen, who do you think will come out of that one? No doubt Cersei's prophecy from that witch when she was a girl will come true - she will have 3 children and all will die...sort of poignant that Cersei's holier than thou attitude will be the undoing of her last child.

I've been thinking about Root Dude's franticness in not allowing Bran to go any further up the stairs to the tower where we're pretty sure Lyanna and baby Jon are. I wonder if the reason isn't because Root Dude doesn't want Bran to see what Ned does to Lyanna, but rather, what Ned does to Wyllis, turning him into Hodor perhaps? I mean, Ned was able to keep that story up that Jon was his bastard son all those years without anyone spilling the beans otherwise. And while there is always a teensy tiny chance it's true, here at the Wall, we're all fairly certain Jon's parents are Lyanna and Rhaegar. So...perhaps Ned gets to Lyanna too late or watches her die during childbirth, and he hatches this story to tell everyone, except the only thing that might blow up his story is that Lyanna's faithful stableboy Wyllis is there and he knows the real story. So Ned does something to inflict enough of a blow to Wyllis that it doesn't kill him (maybe that's his goal but he doesn't succeed?), and Wyllis becomes Hodor...Ned's secret forever locked in his brain. I don't know, I'm just hawking loogies to see what sticks to the Wall...

Maybe Root dude's concern is as simple as knowing that Bran would not want to come back to the living if he could run free in the past and not be hindered by being a cripple in the present...

Oh WOW, I just got chills with the direction this is going...What if Bran's magical power includes the ability to go backwards in time and actually step in and alter the course of history? Young Ned clearly stopped when Bran called out to him. We assume he didn't actually hear someone call out "Dad" or "Father", but something - a chill, a vibe - whatever you want to call it - hit Ned and he stopped in his tracks and looked for something or someone before continuing up the stairway. That told Root Dude that Bran can indeed be heard on some level if going back in time. What if Bran has the ability to go back in time and reverse actions, like if he saw whatever Ned is about to do up in that tower with Lyanna - kill her perhaps - Bran might feel compelled to step into history and save Lyanna, thus Jon would never grow up and become Lord Commander of the Nights' Watch, and he likely wouldn't end up perhaps being The One who saves everyone from the WWs et al. That? I could see bringing frantic fear to Root Dude because then all his waiting for Bran and tutoring Bran on carrying out his destiny would then be for naught....Oh wow...I feel dizzy thinking about this...

I still hope not, no matter how good a piece of story-telling it might be. But it fits. Ned the Prig, no more and no less than a well-raised man of his times. A young lord who hadn't yet learned the difference between honor and principle. Who spent the rest of his life still making mistakes and miztvahs on either side of that question -- honor here, principle there -- to the end. Killing his sister (?), protecting her child by deceiving wife and king, killing children, saving children, serving Robert, defying Robert...until he died lying, sure of why. *claps slowly and with deep appreciation* Pallas, that? Was a work of mental art! I am both in love with and repelled by the thought that we may see Ned Stark, keeper of the Faith and all things Right, unmasked to be as much a monster as, perhaps Joffrey was in a different way. Whoa! I need to brace myself for this if it is going to happen. I do love the idea of telling Ned Stark's story backwards, and keeping us waiting 5+ seasons to find out he wasn't the dude we all knew him to be. A Show never gives it to us gently, does it, so why should this be any different? This season is fast becoming The Season of Reckoning. Reckoning between what each character thought their life was about, to a transition, a pivot, a shift in the cosmos where they now see a new path laid before them in a world where you are born, live and die on the one path you fell out of your mother's womb on to. Again I say, whoa! Janjan, I think this is really why Root Dude keeps pulling Bran back from further exploration every time he takes him on another Its a Wonderful Life flashback. If Bran knows his father actually was a shit deep down, and did despicable things, perhaps Root Dude is afraid that Bran will not be willing to do whatever it is he is destined to do now. Or that he will lose his powers to do whatever he's about to embark on if he is grief stricken over learning the truth about his father, or his family in general. I wonder, is it at all possible that Rhaegar is not Jon's father and something more heinous happened, like Lyanna was impregnated by her other uncle? I doubt it, but I am trying to think of any other scenario where Ned might become so enraged he kills her, either by accident or purposely...maybe she is somehow to blame for her father and uncle being burned alive by the Mad King, and when Ned finds this out he is so enraged that he chokes her, and by the time he comes to his senses she is already dead, leaving behind newborn Jon? When you think about it, the hell he put Catelyn through by having her raise what she thought was his bastard son, that was a fairly shitty thing to do, so Ned aint all sunshine and unicorn farts... ETA: Really, when you think about it, all the younger generation are right now paying for their parents sins...They are trying to climb out of this quicksand of shit, but the past keeps pulling them downward, and yet they keep trying to get it right...Dany, Tyrion, Jon, Arya, Bran, soon Sansa...not sure what will become of Rickon...

Yeah, I'm sort of leaning this way too Llywela, we seem to be of similar thought process so far this season. It seems "suspect" that Ned's baby momma was named Wylla and then Hodor's real name is Wyllis. I too, think Ned, for lack of an inspired lie, just used the feminine version of Wyllis' name in the story he told everyone about Jon Show's parentage. I also don't think Ned was the type to harm someone like Wyllis either, I think perhaps there was an accident...

Yeah anothermi, this cracked me up too. Leave it to Lady Olenna to go balls out right to Cersei's face... My fav so far for Season 6 has to be from S6E3: Davos: You were dead. And now you're not. It's completely fucking mad, it seems to me. I can only imagine how it seems to you.

I am loving the roll you're on anothermi, but I am inclined to think more along the lines of Llywela right now. I think Davos doesn't know yet, and he just assumes she died in the battle fallout. But when he finds out HOW she died, yeah, I think that's going to be Mel's undoing (because it appeared to me that Davos loved Shireen like a daughter and I don't think it'll roll off his back when he learns Mel burned her alive), and possibly will leave them unable to resurrect anyone else in a pinch...or perhaps Davos will have to choose, either kill Mel in retaliation for Shireen's death, or let her live so she can hang around and possibly resurrect Jon if he gets killed again. If I know Davos, he will choose the latter for the greater good. I leave him.

Add me to the Davos Love Boat! But one thing perplexes me...does Davos actually know yet that Mel burnt Shireen alive? I don't remember her confessing that to him and I would think if he found out, he would for sure try to kill her, no? Maybe she told him during a battle scene where I was wincing behind my hands, wuss Spitball Waller that I am...I miss a lot of nuances that way.

I hear you on this one Pallas, so now I'm wondering...could Hodor's "hodorness" be the result not of an injury, but rather that he was placed under some sort of magic spell and that it could potentially be broken? Perhaps Bran warging into Hodor can help to break that spell once Bran is allowed to go up into the tower and see what happens/happened there? Think about it like this, if you didn't know better - and so far we Unsullied don't know better - you'd obviously not question that Hodor has some sort of mental affliction/deficiency, and in this world they live in, nobody would question a big half giant oaf, they'd just say, "oh yeah, that's Hodor, he's not all there in the head, but nice fellow nonetheless..." Nobody would ever question his condition. Unless...unless someone found out that he's not deficient at all and he is under a magical spell that needs to be broken. If that were true, Hodor/Wyllis could hold a lot of key information in his head that might help more than just Jon's parentage issue. I mean, can that be the only thing Hodo would be holding inside his brain? It seems like an awful lot of build up and intrigue just to hide Jon's parentage, which we've all but figured out on our own anyway.

Oooo, can I get a seat on that ship too? I like what I'm thinking...

How could I have forgotten to say last night, Shaggy Dog, RIP puppy. *sniff* So we are sadly down what now, is it 3 Stark direwolves? Sansa's Lady, Robb's wolfie, and now Rickon's Shaggy Dog? We still hope that Arya's Nymeria is MIA somewhere and will come back to meet her one day, and Summer should be still hanging around Root Dude and Bran, he's still alive, yes? And of course Jon's Ghost is still present. I remember we once posited that perhaps when a Stark child's wolf dies, it's a sign that that Stark is soon going to die as well, but I suppose Lady's death has proved us wrong, though one could say that Sansa has died many times over as she's been betrayed and defiled repeatedly, but does that count as "death" per se? I'm thinking not, but one could hope that Sansa is sort of re-born now, with a different purpose and mindset? As far as Stark children role call goes, Jon, Sansa, Bran, Arya & Rickon are all still alive, the only Stark heir missing is Robb. So it is still possible for Starks to overcome this darkness and prevail in the end...or at least prevail in the North and carve out a new path forward as a clan. I am happy about that small crumb that A Show has provided thus far, but just typing it out makes me fear for Rickon right now... Thinking about Jon being a real Stark changes a lot doesn't it? I mean, if it's true, then he cant really end up with Dany because she's too related to him, though we all know the fondness Targ's had for one another with their inbreeding. But I don't think Jon would go for that knowingly, unless he got too far into a relationship with Dany some day and then finally found out they were so closely related. I've lost track, would she be his aunt, sort of? Sam...at least we now know he's for sure going to study magic and I am so excited to see what happens at the Citadel, and to see that place finally! Is it wrong's that I envision it sort of like a darker version of Hogwarts? Still not sure why the Umbers sold out Rickon and Osha.

Okay, so GO JON, now you can get some lady fun without the that pesky oath bullshit weighing you down, bro. Seriously, there were enough other NW after Jon was killed, where were all those guys? Why was it only the Free Folk who were there to witness the traitor hangings? Good for Jon for not backing down on that shit. I thought he was about to when he looked at Olly, but Olly made it easier by looking back at him with so much hate, I think Jon realized there was no other choice but to cut that rope and be done with it. For all her posturing about her witchcraft, Mel needs to act like she's been there before and not be all OMG I brought you back from the dead, OMG! I think Jon is leaving the Wall because he is fed up and freaked out at being bright back from the dead but...Mel did say that he was the prince she was seeing in the premonitions, I wonder if that registered in his brain fully yet or not. Yeah for a Sam & Co sighting! I hope the Ladies Tarwell aren't beasts and they treat whatshername and baby well. I can't take anymore rude awakenings a la Ramsey. Speaking of...I loved when th Umbers dude was like "fuck that shit, I'll not bend the knee to you you little fuck..." But I also think that dude isn't long for this world, it seems like ANYone that usurps Ramsey dies a horrible death. But damn, how could he turn over Osha and Rickon to Ramsey when he clearly seems to know what a dick Ramsey is?! Uch, I don't like where this is going, other than a I hope that with Sansa gone, Ramsey will keep Rickon alive and unharmed to buy him forced loyalty from the North. As for Osha? I hope she guts Ramsey, seriously kills him in an awful way. I big puffy heart Osha and cannot bear to think she will be harmed or worse by that deprived little shitbag. Isnt this this season where we are finally rid of him?!? To the Gods old and new, PLEASE make that happen ASAP. Pretty sure that Lyanna is being hidden away under guard because she is preggers with Jon...and that Ned will find her giving birth or just having given birth or already dead from childbirth, and so it begins with Jon Snow, As for the big battle between Ceresei and The Faith, I hadn't thought at all that they might call King Tommen to fight the Mountain? That would be seriously fucked up, but Cersei did reiterate last epi about the witch telling her long ago that all her children would die so it makes sense...That would really suck though, because She will basically be responsible for killing her own son. And in a horrible way too. Poor kid. But, by doing so, and by killing Tommen off, no matter how unintentional, she wrests control from Marg because Marg won't be"The" Queen anymore, unless the people revolt. The People seemed to adore Marg, so I'm not really sure where all those people are now, or if The Faith have patrols keeping people off the streets of KL. shit, I am exhausted after watching this episode.

duuuuuude! I totally missed the equestrian connection there, DUH! Awesome spitball friend...

Annnnd, he was of the same age group as that crew back then so yeah, perhaps he does know something, that would be a cool twist! I want to believe there was a bigger reason to show us Hodor once was able to speak...it can't be just a passing glimpse, can it?

Well, if Jon does end up having magical powers, I would think if he was half Targ, he might be fireproof as a starting point. As for warging, maybe he has that ability but hasn't realized it yet? Maybe Bran only found his warging ability because he had a life changing moment - being pushed out the castle window and becoming paralyzed - that sort of uncovered his ability as a seer. Now, perhaps Jon having a life changing moment - being resurrected from the dead by magic - will activate his magical powers, whatever they may be, in the same way Bran's life changing moment activated his. Just my two cents for today...

anothermi, you may be on to something there as far as adult personalities are formed amongst this bunch, though it's also possible that Tywin was just a natural asshole. I mean, A Show has treated us to such monstrous delights like Joffrey King of Chickenshit, and Ramsey Satan Incarnate. The assholes at Harrenhal with the rat buckets, the list goes on and on with A Show. Sometimes an asshole is simply an asshole, no defining moment necessary. I was thinking of something related to our Rubik's Cube and something someone said somewhere, though I cannot remember where it was said...It as this, "magic begets magic..." If that is so, I'm wondering if Jon re-born by Mel's Lord of Light magic, will awaken and suddenly have magical powers he was previously unaware of...? I mean, Mel has ogled him many a time, and tried to seduce him, but why exactly? She sensed something in him, and perhaps it was he who is meant to be the King in her visions...but...maaaaybe he caught her eye because intuitively something in her "magical-ness" recognized that this was a man who had latent and yet undiscovered magical powers that she could awaken in him. Is it possible that Jon comes back from the dead able to perform magic?

Never say never anothermi...

Yeah Pup, I totally feel you on this one. The Sand Snakes have been poorly written and yet given huge plot devices to look after, it isn't working for this Spitball Waller. They simply don't captivate my interest in any meaningful way and I think you hit the nail on the head. WHY wouldn't Doron have taken care of them, they were clearly out of control and when they tried to kill Myrcella the first time, he should have either had them killed or imprisoned them, preferably the former because he should have known how literally toxic they were/are. Another weird thing that caught my ear on this crew was right before Ellaria killed Doran, she herself was bitching about and saying derogatory things about Oberyn. I cant remember the exact wording but my ears got bigger and I thought in passing, "WTF was that about, I thought she adored Oberyn..." Then the stabbity stuff started happening and I realized she was talk out her asshole, probably to make Doron think she'd regained her mental composure. But yeah, for all the years of hype leading up to us seeing Dorne, I'm so not impressed or interested right now. Give me Brienne and the Podettes and day of the week.

But 90, that is character development, Westerosi style!

I thought Nymeria was Arya's direwolf's name, yes? It would be odd to me that a Sand Snake was also named that. The only multiple name we've seen thus far is the Snow moniker to denote someone's a bastard. But good to know Bronn's sweet thang wasn't part of this shite. IIRC, she gave him the antidote for poison in jail, no?

Pup, thank the old gods and the new for your stellar memory my friend! Llywela, I think we did see Olenna's oaf of a son arriving in Braavos, because didn't he arrive with Merynt Trant and that's when Arya decided to cut a bitch for good? I think I remember them all disembarking and walking into the winding streets of Braavos near the waterside, and Arya was nearby selling something, no? Which means yes, the Oaf of Highgarden should be taking some heat in Braavos soon for the failed loans or whatever he was going there to negotiate about. That's not so interesting to me on the surface unless Braavos takes some sort of action, I mean, they don't seem like the sorts to put someone in a dungeon because the kingdom he represents cannot pay their loan and let's be real, nobody in KL or Highgarden really has two fucks to give about the Oaf, so...that said, I know what you mean, we have not see any King's Council meetings in a dogs age, and we used to be treated to them every season, so it IS odd, who IS running KL nowadays? I would not be surprised if it's LF, that guy has more lives than Morris the Cat. Nor would I be surprised if he's got Olenna under lock and key, though I think she's worth more alive and free to LF, what with resources and all. Dorne, wasn't the ship they sailed to KL on a Dornish ship? I would have assumed since Jamie and Bronn came in on a little dinghy IIRC. So they could, I assume, sail away under cover of darkness. Don't know any reason they'd stick around in KL unless the one who loves Bronn wants to reconnect with him?