Haleth

But how old is Jon supposed to be on the show? 20ish? I just think it would be a bit weird to have a guy pushing 30 play an impulsive ingenue being trained by a knight and a septa. Plus it would mean (real) Aegon was an adolescent when he was killed, not a young child. It works for Harrington to play a somewhat naive kid because he looks so much younger.

In the book Aegon was 15 or 16, according to Tyrion. Even aging everyone up he shouldn't be more than early 20s, 23 at most.

I was having a dueling dance shows conversation with a friend last night who has never seen SYTYCD but ~~loves~~ DWTS. I sent her a link to the Alex/Twitch hip hop since that is my all time favorite routine. Her response? Hip hop gives her a headache. And she's younger than me. Sigh.

I read the book a long time ago and recognized what the trailer was for immediately, but I have no recollection of the story beyond the basic plot. I remember it being pretty bleak. One thing I do recall is

I found hair flipping, stripping Jessica to be very entertaining and have no doubt she'll make the show, based on her looks if not her dance skills. Also enjoyed Franchesca, Marie, and Jaja. Fik-shun! Such a cutie pie. I'd carry him around in my pocket if I could.

Tania Raymonde? Ben Linus's daughter? Oh, dear seven, please, no. That was terrible.

Will it be Jaime who tries to spirit Myrcella away from Dorne instead of Arianna? And is ambushed by the Sand Snakes? And is scarred in the exchange?

Wake me when Stannis arrives. Zzzzzzz...

I'm really sorry we won't get Coldhands since I think he's an intriguing character. Maybe the writers felt that between the zombies, Dondarrion, and (hopefully) Lady Stoneheart there were enough walking dead.

I know! Skip the battle and let's get on to epi 10 already!

I'm responding here since Tyrion and Shae are off topic.

Continuing the conversation regarding the prospect of Tyrion killing Shae. I'd like the writers to shake up the misconception that Tyrion is the moral center of the story. In no way is he a noble figure like Davos or Jon or even Dany who wants to do right. Tyrion is a self obsorbed, self pitying jerk who occasionally empathizes with other downtrodden characters and does something helpful before returning to his wine and whores and woe is me attitude. I'd like non readers to see that killing Shae truly is in character for him. For him she was just another in a long line of people who mocked him so when he found her in a vulnerable position he used her as a stand in for all the mockers and abusers (and beetles). I don't know if only killing Tywin will send him into the continuing spiral of hate that eventually lands him in front of Dany. (I'm guessing that Penny won't be cast. Too bad because she acts as his conscience, making him process all the terrible things he's done.) Without Shae or Penny Tyrion's storyline won't have the same emotional impact. Now I'm wondering if the beetle conversation somehow foreshadows Shae's fate.

Yeah, like an hour ago! What a trooper!

Jaime and Cersei. ;)

I reeeeeally hope the show writers don't cop out and not have Tyrion kill Shae. I can see them transferring Tyrion's obsession about finding where whores go to a search for her instead of Tysha. Funny, the Unsullied are terrified that Shae will be executed in front of Tyrion as further punishment and we know from the book that he is the one to kill her, but it may turn out that she is long gone and her twu wuv will travel East to search for her.

I believe he means zombie Tommen.

I'm not much of a fan of Dany in either show or book, but I did like the directing choice during the dismissal scene of having Dany be so cold and not make eye contact. The lack of any emotion would be more devastating to Jorah than anger or grief from Dany. How can he argue with a block of ice? She is the queen and he is nothing, not worthy of her attention. Begone, Ser Beetle. I agree Alfie was outstanding in the Moat Cailin scene. The only thing I look forward to at the battle at the Wall is Stannis's arrival. I really can't wait to see epi 10. How will the show will handle Tywin's death and Shae's and maybe the Hound's? Will Stoneheart make an appearance? So many questions!

We knew there had to be a mole somewhere. In fact I don't trust the PM's aide either. For weeks we've been wondering why MI5 wasn't called in. Now we know. They are as incompetent as CTU. Please, Chloe, go wash your face. Poor MJR, having to endure that ghastly makeup for the full season.

I admit to watching the last few minutes through my fingers so I'm a bit confused. The Unsullied seem convinced that the Mountain died as well, right there, resulting in a "tie" to the trial by combat. I thought he was left standing over Oberyn's body. Yeah, we know he's toast in the future, but what did the Unsullied think they saw?

I noticed small print that says it's a European model BMW, which makes me hate the woman even more. It may explain the accents. But it's still a stupid commercial.

I also really liked what the writers have done with Sansa. It's great to see her take things into her own hands for a change, however with her parents as role models for taking charge she'd better stay clear of sharp objects. Having her tell the Vale lords who she is, along with the story about how they had once met, gave her their sympathy and protection, far more than the bastard daughter of Littlefinger would have gotten. I guess I'd suppressed any memory of the specifics of Oberyn's death. I kept waiting for the Mountain to stab him cleanly. Silly me, this is GRRM we're talking about. Note to self: skip the last few minutes of this episode on rewatch in the future. The gore was too much for me. :P The beetle story seemed endless and irrelevant. Poor Arya. Poor Hound. Poor Jorah. Poor Ellaria. But right after this things start to turn around IMO. Sansa, Arya, and Bran each find their purpose, as does Jon until, well... you know. Yep, yep, the comment about dying on one's chamber pot and the conversation about poisoning were great foreshadowings.

What if the Maggy the Frog/prophesy flashback is one of the things Bran sees? We'd get the information without the clunkiness of Cersei suddenly recalling Maggy's words. I think there should be some inclusion of the Ironborn to show them pillaging the west. Show Euron (or Yara?) threatening the Tyrells and Highgarden. One more chainsaw for Cersei and the council at KL to juggle. It might be somewhat important to have Victarion as a character too. (But please, no Damphair!) And just for the payoff of another toasted pretender, I hope Aegon is in the show. Maybe I'm the only reader who enjoyed Tyrion's river cruise, though I can see from a show storytelling side how it would be better to expedite his journey to Meereen.

I so agree about TAR. I'll never stop watching because of the travel porn, but the last few seasons have been lackluster. Stale indeed. But I'm not sure what the producers can do about it. They tried to change things up with the family edition which was universally (except for Kromm ;) ) panned. One thing they do need to put into the rules is that a team cannot give another team the answer to a problem/riddle. Teams need to do their own work, dammit! Casting to fit certain "types" is a problem unless maybe they do an edition with just (say) teachers or military. For years I'd thought Survivor should try that, setting up teams of people with the similar occupations (first responders vs scientists) and they finally did come up with brain vs brawn vs beauty and it turned out to be pretty interesting. TAR producers should take note.

There were several great scenes and a whole lot of drama in this episode. (I'm slowly catching up.) The face off between Ben and Rogers was great, but the one that really blew me away was when Abe was answering the challenge question, who would he kill. Bell did an excellent job with the range of emotions.

Jamie Bell must be really short. All the other actors tower over him. I love the British soldier that lives with the Woodhulls. As deliciously evil as Simcoe is, it's nice to see an "enemy" who is honorable and respectful of the people on whom he is imposing.