ElizaD

Tyrion might not call it rape, but he recognized that it was disgusting behavior even if he wasn't willing to admit what it really is to have sex with an obviously disgusted slave who can't say no without being punished. It was an absolute low point for him to abuse the eastern Jeyne Poole, a slave too broken to have any fight left as he notes to himself before doing it again (so ignorance isn't an excuse). I'd rather see the scene completely cut than turned into chaste, chivalrous Show Tyrion chatting with a merry hooker with a heart of gold, but based on casting news that's what we'll get.

If they want a Jeyne that could be the "Boy"-style name they're using, but it's also possible that the girl is just a random servant (the actress looks like Jeyne, but GOT is her only listed appearance and to me that suggests someone more likely to get cast in a minor role). It looks like Varys will accompany Tyrion until episode 5 where that new brothel guard appears. Braavos set photos. Mace, Tycho, Arya in a new dress and spotting Trant.

As someone who really wants the Tyrells to start suffering like the other major houses, I'm a big fan of the theory that tough bastard Tarly will side with the macho young conqueror and not foolish Mace, sweet Tommen and licentious Cersei. I don't know what will happen on the show. Maybe Loras lives and gets to be Lord because there's no viable alternative on TV, but Margaery seems doomed in both cases. TV has beefed up her role, but Cersei wants her dead, the High Septon will want her dead if he's convinced that she's guilty, and anyone who's against Lannister rule (like the Sand Snakes and Varys) should want her dead because that breaks their most powerful alliance.

Sansa won't be Fake Arya. In her own identity, she's a married wanted regicide and the Boltons won't tell Cersei that they're keeping her instead of handing her over to the justice of the regime that gave them their current claim to Winterfell. And Littlefinger has no reason to give her to the Boltons. He'd be abandoning his Cat fantasy (whose identity on the show has already been revealed to select Vale lords) and own plans for power for zero gain. Why should the Boltons feel any gratitude that he gave them a tall redhead and told them they can pretend this older and more recognizable Stark girl is actually the younger Stark girl (and by the way, if Cersei finds out you have her, you're going to look like traitors)? It makes no sense and having a random girl pretend to be Arya is by far more logical, less dangerous and less time-consuming than removing Sansa from her own plot and dragging her North so she can spend another season as a victim in a contradiction of the several little hints about her S5 story that have been made. A newcomer requires one scene of setup: "This girl isn't Arya, but we'll say she is because it'll make our claim look better." The show has combined minor characters when it made sense and had no known future consequences (Gendry/Edric) and now it's starting to cut POVs because it feels their stories lead nowhere (Arianne/Quentyn), but Sansa is a main cast member who's been around since the first episode and ended last season with a display of cunning and a Sith Lord walk that might not really lead to the dark side but suggests that she's grown out of being a pawn.

I'd read the notes first because that would be the most authentic ending (for example, I'm hoping and predicting that there won't be a TV Aegon, but I do want to know how Book Aegon dies). In general, I have little problem with spoilers. I only avoid them if a show has exceptionally good plotting, and even then I enjoy speculation and preview screencap analysis before the episode airs. I'd expect the notes to be treated as spoilers in general discussion threads until the last episode of GOT. Myranda returns in S5 IMO, no Fake Arya is more likely than sadistic Myranda being FA, but she could end up being the pro-Bolton/Frey murder victim if the show gets to Theon's late ADWD content.

When Jordan found out how ill he was, he began working on notes so that someone else could finish the series if the worst happened; I respect him a great deal for that commitment, and though the author chosen had his own weak spots and made some decisions of his own regarding the material I'm glad I got to find out how WOT was supposed to end. GRRM has said he won't be doing that, so it really might be up to the show. And although GOT will probably stick to the intended book endings when it comes to the question of who gets the throne, Winterfell, the Rock etc, it's a shame that the fates of important book characters who have been cut from the show (Arianne, possibly Stoneheart, Aegon, Greyjoys) might never be known if the show getting to the ending first makes GRRM work even more slowly.

Kristian Nairn: Even though Bran was running out of material, I didn't expect this.

Khal Jhago! I sure can't wait for that meeting! If GOT includes the Dothraki, I'd guess that Dany's enemies hire them and Dany roasts/wins them over in Meereen. I'm even more curious about Sansa's S5 arc than I used to be, if that's possible, now that Bran might be skipping the season because he's reached the end of his published material. They aren't doing that with Sansa.

At the very least, this neatly gets Show Mace out of the city so that he can't interfere with Margaery's arrest. It looks like KL is going to be crazy in TWOW: he might die and Book Willas/Show Loras becomes Lord. IMO, the show's worst flaw has been its tendency to get rid of moral complexity (I don't think GRRM is terribly deep, but he's not afraid to have likeable characters at odds with each other or occasionally doing screwed-up things). GRRM's worst flaw is meandering, and the show simply has to correct that because it can't stop production for years or build endless new sets for sidetrips. For better or worse, it's going ahead. And while I dread cuts that will hurt me (Stoneheart is very likely gone, Manderly might be gone), when S5 airs I'll have been waiting for almost 10 years for new Sansa material: though I wish I'd gotten to read it, finally I'll find out where her story is going. Varys could reveal that he'd been supporting Dany all along; it would lead to some inconsistencies, but I don't think those would be major enough that non-readers would notice or care about them. When the episode aired, I remember someone commenting that it would have been nice if the mine situation had been linked to damage caused by Robb's raids. That would have given him a little win from the grave. I don't care for Euron in the books, but he's a character who could really work on TV with a charismatic actor and more screentime. And the plot might still require a human villain to screw things up in the south. Though Book Connington is one candidate for Tommen's killer, he and Aegon aren't really villains, just obstacles on Dany's way to the big battle and the main cast (and she's had enough distractions already).

Some hacker released a huge amount of naked selfies and sex tapes of celebrity women, and I read on ONTD that JBF is in one of the videos. I'm going to be avoiding Downton tags in bigger, less moderated corners of the internet for a while because I don't want to see what was meant for her and her boyfriend alone. I too hope that this kind of activity is recognized and treated as theft and a crime, and that Jessica, despite not having the resources and PR team of Jennifer Lawrence, will be able to avoid undeserved backlash.

I thought the show might have included the Tywin/Cersei scene about the Lannisters running out of money so that we'd understand why she refused to pay, but this looks like glorious AFFC Cersei stupidity. Show Mace might be dumber than anyone Book Cersei had on her small council. Maybe TV Cersei decides that she doesn't need a Hand, which would upset Pycelle and the Tyrells who were hoping for the job. I haven't read anything about Kevan or Lancel returning, but some characters have come back with no warning (Balon and Aemon in S3, Hot Pie in S4). Though I've been very unhappy with some of the decisions the showrunners have made regarding plot and characterization, Show Arya killing Trant should be good. And the longer we go without news about Aegon, the more I'm hoping that they've indeed cut him and will focus on getting the existing characters closer to the action.

Robert is puritanical enough that if he catches Jimmy in bed with the lady, he just might fire him. I would have preferred it if the Baxter business had been solved without word of it getting upstairs. It does look like Thomas gets to be the hero by rescuing Edith, but it's still risky to keep a blackmailer in your service. Sometimes people just don't click even though everything seems right on paper. My own hope for Mabel is that she's going to be the show's take on the mature 1920s woman. Rose has been the fun-loving bright young thing, but Mabel could be someone who has decided to embrace change and independence. Maybe she and Gillingham got engaged because they were doing what was expected, but since there was no passion it was easy for him to fall for Mary in Downton's romantic atmosphere, and Mabel found it easy to let him go after she'd had second thoughts and decided she didn't want a husband. Even though Mary gets the haircut and might sleep with Gillingham and Edith will probably get her daughter back before the season ends, I don't think any of the upstairs women are really going to reject the conventions of their class; some things, yes, but not the system. To illustrate the changing times, the show could use a female character who shows up to enjoy the perks of her class (the money, the horses, the fashion) but doesn't want to commit to living by its rules.

interview. He mentions seeing characters die in season 5. The "big funeral scene" must be Tywin. Loras gets a fight scene he hasn't filmed yet; maybe he attacks the men who arrest Margaery. Dinklage and Glen filming. I just read that he hasn't been asked back this season (I'm guessing he revealed that while promoting Outlander). Not a surprise, but it's still a shame that the RW has been forgotten and no one in the Riverlands is making the Freys pay for it.

On TV, a Thorne/Marsh character combination would work; Show Thorne is more of a worthy antagonist than Book Thorne. But now that they have cast someone named Marsh, it is going to feel odd if he's not one of the assassins. I guess he could just be another candidate in the election plot who disappears from the show after losing while Thorne gets his book plot, but then a Locke/Talisa style renaming would be appropriate. There's Gendry, but with no Brotherhood what plot function would he serve? I haven't read anything about Edmure returning and don't know what the actor's current role on Outlander implies about his availability. Maybe some mix of Stoneheart/Brienne and Sansa's TWOW content would allow her to take the Vale army to Riverrun and meet Walder Frey.

Sophie Turner: Sophie knows how to hype. I remember I was so excited before S3 and then disappointed by Sansa's role as a prop in Lannister/Tyrell scenes. But in S4, Show Sansa did finally have her moment of standing up for herself once she got away from KL. The mention of "new people" could be the same as her earlier "familiar faces" (for example, Sansa never said a word to Brienne on TV so in that sense Gwendoline Christie would be a new person to work with) and not necessarily a reference to new characters, but maybe someone sorta-major will get cast for Sansa's story as quietly as Bowen Marsh was cast. Now I'm letting myself hope this supports the theory that Sansa will get to important TWOW content in S5.

Bowen Marsh has been cast and will appear in three episodes.

Don't the Braavosi distrust dragons? I don't remember the Eastern stuff as well as Westerosi history, but I think Braavos was founded by slaves who escaped Valyria and though Dany talks liberation, she's still a Targaryen who's already compromised with slavers and has dragon nukes that will outlive her and might end up being controlled by more power hungry conquerors. I hope Arya decides to return to KL after she hears that Cersei has regained power and remembers that her name is on her list.

Sansa marrying a decent Blackwood or Mallister sounds too good to be true, but if it did happen I'd be so happy. I haven't read anything about Blackfish returning in S5, but I've seen fan speculation that he could take Stoneheart's place in killing Freys when the show gets around to showing a bit of that. Sophie Turner mentioned "familiar faces": I hope that includes Blackfish, and whatever Brienne does in TWOW, on TV I feel that it would be very strange if she spent season 5 without Jaime (who's in Dorne) and without finding Sansa. Blackfish should have also heard about Jon from Robb, who loved him; I think it's possible that he was bluffing when he mentioned Jon to Jaime in AFFC because he doesn't want him to think of Robb's secretly legitimized heir on the Wall as a potential threat to the Lannister hold on the Riverlands. Damn, I guess that's the end of my hope that Willas would be in a TWOW prologue where Euron wrecked Highgarden.

I hope Jaime dies for his crimes, which sadly is among the least likely options (random violent death or suicide after strangling Cersei seem like the best bets to me). Sometimes life sucks and even those who deserve second chances don't get them, as ASOIAF constantly reminds the readers. Jaime didn't give a damn when he was ruining the lives of innocents for the sake of his own pleasure or wish for revenge. Now that he's taken some baby steps to behaving differently (but still focusing on his own wish to feel honorable, rather than on the suffering he caused to others), he should learn that there are consequences to his actions and he can't fix everything by giving a fancy sword to a good woman. His partial change of heart doesn't mean that his crimes have been wiped out or that he's entitled to a life atoning in the little ways he feels are appropriate. Jaime already had his chance to see his victims' reputations wrecked with lies and taunt their surviving relatives; if he gets a long life and the return of his own precious honor on top of all that, it'll be unjust even by GRRM standards. If Westeros was destroyed, what would be the point of the fight against the Others? (I admit that I would feel I'd been wasting my time if the series ended with total ruin.) It'll survive, though not necessarily as one kingdom ruled by one king/queen, but it looks like the survivors will be psychologically damaged, joyless messes. That might disappoint those hoping for "rocks fall, everyone dies" but it's still going to be the promised bittersweet ending with maybe 95% bitter and 5% sweet. The North, the Iron Islands and Dorne are the most obvious candidates for restored independence due to cultural/religious differences. The Vale could also make it on its own, maybe absorbing (part of) the Riverlands.

I'm not sure about Shireen's fate myself (though it's very likely be sad), but I'm convinced that Myrcella will die in TWOW. The show has finally got to the point where it's doing some major cuts (no Arianne/Stoneheart), so I'm wondering if Show Jaime was sent to Dorne so that he can witness Myrcella get killed by the not-Darkstar they're casting. On the other hand, that would pretty much mean open war between Martell/Lannister and no Nym on the council, so the Sand Snakes might not be in a position to do whatever they're going to do in TWOW: if their actions are important, that might mean the show has to follow the book plot (Myrcella is only injured).

Another prison storyline? I thought the first one was almost universally disliked. Anna and Bates haven't had a good storyline since season 1, IMO. That crossed my mind too, mostly because of the colors in the shot.

This article is the first time I've seen Edith's baby called Marigold. I'm not quite sure what to think about it, but in general a flower name seems appropriate since Violet and Rosamund were the ones who knew about the pregnancy.

Do you mean the supposed Targaryen immunity to disease? IIRC that's mentioned by Dany who's ignorant of her family's history; part of the reason Aegon the Unlikely came to the throne is that two princes who were ahead of his father in the succession died of the same plague that killed thousands of peasants. Tyrion is also told that he can never be sure he's clean, so it seems greyscale sometimes takes a long time to show up. I think Tyrion was just lucky and doesn't have the disease. I trust the showrunners to mostly follow GRRM's plan for the characters' final fates, but I can see them making some exceptions for their favorites. If Book Jaime dies, for example, in a way that they consider unsatisfying, they still kill him off but in a more badass/sympathetic way. If Tyrion dies on the show, he's definitely dying as a martyred hero.

I find it endearing that Bjorn and Porunn have matching hairdos now. It's such a "new couple" thing to do.

Walk of shame confirmed: