SeanC

Lollys is clearly meant to be a commentary on the lack of regard for the mentally disabled, but I agree she's one of GRRM's least successful writing choices, just because of how little weight the narrative lends it (I mean, how little anybody cares is kind of the point, but it still comes across as too much of a casual aside).

Jon Arryn had two prior marriages. From the appendix to A Game of Thrones: HOUSE ARRYN [Jon Arryn], Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, Warden of the East, Hand of the King, recently deceased, -- his first wife, [Lady Jeyne, of House Royce], died in childbed, her daughter stillborn, -- his second wife, [Lady Rowena, of House Arryn], his cousin, died of a winter chill, childless, -- his third wife, Lady Lysa, of House Tully, -- their son: -- Robert Arryn, a sickly boy of six years, now Lord of the Eyrie and Defender of the Vale.

This was fun, but I expect that in other summers I might have been keener on it, if 2015 hadn't already produced a couple of films that filled this movie's various niches in superior manners. Kingsman: The Secret Service was the better homage to 1960s spy movies; Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was the better action film based on a 1960s TV show. The main thing this film has going for compared to those movies is the full-on 60s fashions (the cast definitely looks great wearing them, too). I quite enjoyed Guy Ritchie's two Sherlock Holmes films, and this isn't on that level in terms of fun, despite using many of the same stylistic tics. In particular, the tendency to use rapid-fire flashbacks to reveal what really happened is way less compelling here, particularly when it's recalling things that happened only a few minutes earlier. My biggest takeaway from this movie is that it reinforces my biggest thought about The Great Gatsby: Elizabeth Debicki is a really striking screen presence, and should get more prominent roles.

She's so sure he'll fix everything because she's desperately clinging to the notion that things are under control and that she can work out. This and the previous Sansa chapter are her in full rationalization mode; you can see the reality creeping in around the edges, which she's trying to push down. Because there is, at this point, nothing much to be gained by "sense"; there's nothing she can do about her current situation. The septa in the show was a totally different character. Things like the scene where Sansa is rude to her are completely out of character for the book version. Mordane in the books is a ninny.

Whenever GRRM talks about the 'real history' he's drawing from, he tends to make errors, generally errors rooted in common misconception -- e.g., his oft-stated claim that people in the medieval period had no notion of adolescence.

It might be better to say, GRRM's conception of medieval Europe. He tends to seriously underrate how much influence women actually had.

Filming of the movie is winding down now. There's a bit more than a week left. Sophie popped back in for a few days last week, but I think she's done now.

Filming of the Tower of Joy has been confirmed in Spain.

Yeah, Robb is a great strategist. He beats Tywin in the field against the odds repeatedly; he loses through things he he had no control over and some errors in who to trust.

In the books, correct. The show changed it to all Baratheons, period; and then introduced a blonde Baratheon.

I know a lot of people want that, but unless the show is going to spend a ton of money on Ant-Man-quality effects, Bean is a 56-year-old man, and while he still looks good, he looks his age. He cannot plausibly play the young Ned at this point.

Catelyn's action in taking Tyrion to an ultra-secure mountain fortress was quite sensible. Lysa is indeed wholly responsible for Tyrion's escape, by putting him on trial instead of doing what Catelyn wanted and holding him hostage. Regarding the command issue, I don't know that she was wrong about the Greatjon not being suited for the top command, based on personality. Whether Roose was the best man available in the alternative is another issue, but nobody else has a problem with it (it has been, what, a millennium since the Boltons caused trouble for the Starks?) and Roose has apparently been a loyal Stark bannermen through multiple wars.

It's highly unlikely the flashbacks are going to be that elaborate. You don't need a scene with Robert to set up the Tower. Dialogue between Ned and Dayne can cover any necessary exposition.

Catelyn would be at risk of marriage for claim-jacking purposes, but for Riverrun, not Winterfell, I'd say. As long as she has living children anybody trying to claim Winterfell wouldn't gain anything by it.

The Blackfish talking about seeing Moat Cailin reminded me that I've always found it odd that none of the Tullys ever seem to have visited Winterfell.

Robert wasn't at the Tower of Joy. Regardless, Isaac said Bran was going to have several flashbacks/visions this year, from what I recall.

The casting calls for the flashback with Ned called for two other boys of similar age, so this guy has nothing to do with it.

Winterfell was being overseen just fine, whereas her inexperienced son was leading a fractious group of bannermen south to deal with southern lords Catelyn had far more experience with (which is to say, any at all). None of them knew that Ned had backed Stannis (indeed, Stannis himself did not know that). Regardless, Renly was the major power in the south at that point. Rather a lot of "maybes" in there. GRRM sets it up in a way that makes it clear that Catelyn is the best person to negotiate with Lord Walder. Her worst moment, obviously, but not a reason for her to go home instead of going south, since she has no idea what will happen. Not a reason for her not to stay, since she can't know whether he will listen to her or not (and he does, quite often). It's purely speculative whether Catelyn would have done anything differently, since she would ultimately still be relying on military advice from others. But it's also quite possible that if Catelyn had not gone south, Robb would not have crossed the Twins, meaning Riverrun falls and the Northern campaign in the south falls apart much more quickly.

I was expecting the season to end with some contrived explanation for why Lindsay is acting the way she does in the movie.

Well, strictly speaking, she wasn't the Lady of Winterfell anymore. Regardless, the entire fate of House Stark (and House Tully) is dependent on the events playing out in the south; it's hardly surprising that she feels it's important that she be there. It's her suggestion that they try to negotiate with Renly, for instance.

They wanted to give Charles Dance more screentime. The scenes were quite good, even if they were entirely implausible (Tywin would never allow a peasant girl to talk to him like that, and if he had figured out she was a noblegirl, as he says he has, he would have done something about it). She's 12 at this point. With regard to the last Sansa chapter I talked about how the show regularly removes Sansa's opportunities for meaningful decision-making, and this chapter is another example. Tyrion offers to move her within the Tower of the Hand, which presents her with a choice between immediate safety at the cost of her opportunity to attempt to escape the Red Keep (since she wouldn't be able to meet with Dontos anymore), leading to her declining the offer (and coming up with an excuse) in the hopes that Dontos will get her out. In the show, Tyrion hurriedly offers to break the betrothal (like he does in the book), which is fine, but it's nowhere near as significant an active risk as when she decides to risk everything on getting out.

I thought it was because she wants to vanish, and she can't do that if there are people out there who know that she exists and that she's a robot.

They don't look at all alike, apart from, what, skin colour? And that's hardly unusual in these movies.

That's really not new. At the latest, that started with the second movie. When did it drag? If anything, I'd say this movie was constantly moving forward.