House Martell: Unbowed, Unbent, Broken

[Rhondinella]

Here's a place to discuss the whole house or subsets of it.

 

[mad_typist]

Cannot WAIT to meet the Martell family this season. No spoilers, but I do love several of these characters.

[GreyBunny]

Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne, that guy is serious fantasy fuel.  

I definitely can't wait to see him and the rest of the Martells brought to the screen.

[Eegah]

My personal favorite house. For as little time as they've actually had, they've made a huge impact.

[joliefaire]

So, the Martells have come to town, yay!!  And yowser, They. Do. Not. Like. Lannisters, double yay!  I was chuckling when Prince Oberyn and Ellaria Sand were choosing...'companions' at the brothel.  Prince Oberyn was like 'this one seems choice and tasty, no?'  And Ellaria, after considering a bit, was 'Hmmm, timid, I think.  Timid doesn't work for me.'  HAHA, it was like they were at a bakery, mulling over whether the double fudge chocolate cake or the strawberry cream tarts would be the best choice for tonight's after-dinner treat.

This is going to be fun!

[Constantinople]

So, the Martells have come to town, yay!!  And yowser, They. Do. Not. Like. Lannisters, double yay!  I was chuckling when Prince Oberyn and Ellaria Sand were choosing...'companions' at the brothel.  Prince Oberyn was like 'this one seems choice and tasty, no?'  And Ellaria, after considering a bit, was 'Hmmm, timid, I think.  Timid doesn't work for me.'  HAHA, it was like they were at a bakery, mulling over whether the double fudge chocolate cake or the strawberry cream tarts would be the best choice for tonight's after-dinner treat.

Anyone who's anti-Lannister can't be all bad, but I was a little uneasy about Prince Oberyn.

His "I'm a prince, I can do what I want" attitude is honest, but not particularly uplifting.

His desire for revenge is understandable, but I also recall Littlefinger saying "Revenge is the purest of motives" to Loras & Margaery. Anyone operating at a Littefinger level of ethics is a little iffy. To put it another way, the only Lannister outrages he seems to care about are the ones done to his own family.

I also found the selection scene at Littlefinger's brothel somewhat dehumanizing precisely because it did turn people into commodities. The first prostitute was clearly uncomfortable and covered herself as quickly as possible. That may be odd behavior for a whore, but I wonder how "free" some of them are. Oberyn only rejected her because Ellaria did, not because he really seemed to care about her.

So Prince Oberyn kind of came across as an asshole. Just not as big an asshole as the Lannisters.

[Hanged Man]

Hello, recent immigrant from TWOP

Anyone operating at a Littefinger level of ethics is a little iffy

Nobody operates at Littlefinger levels of ethics, he is the anchorman at the shit-end of the ethics bell curve.

[joliefaire]

Gorgeous trappings on the Dorne lords' horses.  And I love that the riders are all swathed in that desert sand color that's also favored by Oberyn and Ellaria.  Interesting new additions to the spectacular kaliedoscope of color and costuming that is GoT. 
 

Edited April 12, 2014 by Dougal
Made images show up, though it's outside the one-day edit window.

[Constantinople]

I was intrigued that Ellaria appears to have the same attitude about social lies as Stannis, although I suspect she arrived arrived there from a different starting point.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Constantinople

[dramachick]

I'm looking forward to seeing more of Prince Oberyn!

[Danny Franks]

Love the look they gave the Dornish in the show. A Middle Eastern flavour that fits them very well, and

makes sense when you consider the geography of Dorne. These guys were definitely GRRM's version of the Holy Lands, incorporating both the Muslim inhabitants and the Christians of Outremer (the Daynes, for example).

And Oberyn sure made an impact in this first episode of the season. I loved Tyrion's reaction when he learned that it was Oberyn and not Doran who had come. That sold the menace of this guy, before we ever saw him. And then we see him arranging an orgy, before he hears That Song. And then we see just why Tyrion's face fell.

The scene with Oberyn describing what happened to Elia and her children was a great piece of work by the actor. I always find that this sort charismatic, 'we're just having a chat... but I might actually kill you right here' performance is scarier than any amount of growling and snarling. This guy has charisma in spades.

And I really hope we see more of the Dornish characters, either later this season or next season. Because they're definitely my favourite house after the Starks.

[dramachick]

I'm proud to be in love with Prince Oberyn Martell.

[Lady S.]

How many times did he work in that she was no longer Queen?

So elder brother is confirmed incapacitated due to gout, the "rich man's disease".

[Constantinople]

If a Lannister interrupted me every time I was trying to get it on, I'd hate them too.

[Lady S.]

The backstory of House Martell also discloses the namesake of Arya's lost direwolf.

[Ambrosefolly]

I really really wish they would introduce Arianne Martell just so the female is someone I can tolerate, I hate Ellaria and the Sand Snakes that much. First season, Tyrion did say Marcella was to wed Doran's youngest son, not only child.  Of all the things D&D decided to keep, they picked Dorne . Quips about murdering family members...am I supposed to see them as insane as Cersei? Because I do! Oberyn lost his life by trial by combat, he chose to fight the Mountain. The Lannister plan and carry out a lot of murders, but that ain't one of them. She didn't seem to care much about Elia before he died, then she get his guards to to intervene in the . They murdered an innocent girl and her boyfriend (their cousin/pseudo nephew) and it still wasn't enough for the vengeance. Is Tyrion going to be next, because he agreed to Oberyn being his champion? 

[Lady S.]

2 hours ago, Ambrosefolly said:

I really really wish they would introduce Arianne Martell just so the female is someone I can tolerate, I hate Ellaria and the Sand Snakes that much. First season, Tyrion did say Marcella was to wed Doran's youngest son, not only child.  Of all the things D&D decided to keep, they picked Dorne . Quips about murdering family members...am I supposed to see them as insane as Cersei? Because I do! 

If anything, I think Ellaria may be even dumber than Cersei. She only succeeded in killing Myrcella because Doran was dumb enough to let her within an inch of the girl again after the first attempt. Seriously, it's the stupidity of her revenge plot that bothers me even more than her sudden turn from cool girlfriend to Dornish Cersei. At least Cersei's never tried to kidnap anyone in the open, in broad daylight, after making her bloodlust plain to both parties wishing to protect her victim. 

[Advance35]

I believe Ellaria loved Oberyn and I believe she was heartbroken when he died.  I think it's understandable that she blamed House Lannister.   He may have voluntarily got mixed up with intrigues but I wouldn't expect her to place any blame on the lost loved one.   When she looked at Myrcella all she saw was a Lannister.   A girl who has profited from her family's position of power and everything they've done to gain that position.   And now Doran was going to make a Lannister girl the Princess and future Queen?!?!  Bad President.

I was shocked she killed Doran, but I guess she knew that when she killed Myrcella she knew that it was going to be him or her.   I don't know, in the context of the Westeros world, I get her motivation and why.   As bad as she is, I think Cersei is MUCH worse.

[Constantinople]

If I'm counting correctly, there were 7 "Dornish" characters who actually appeared in Dorne (double quotes because technically Areo Hotah isn't Dornish)

1. Doran
2. Areo Hotah
3. Trystane
4. Ellaria Sand
5. Sand Snake No. 1 (Barbaro or whatever)
6. Sand Snake No. 2 (Bad Pussy)
7. Sand Snake No. 3 (the other one)

Instead of the storyline they used, they could have used the following 7 characters

1. Doran
2. Arianne (dropping Areo because a generic Captain of the Guard is sufficient)
3. Trystane
4. Ellaria
5. Sand Snake 1
6. Sand Snake 2 (No Bad Pussy lines)
7. Sand Snake 3

Note: 3 Sand Snakes aren't a requirement.  2 might be sufficient

Then something more or less like this occurs

• The Sand Snakes, being Sand Snakes, want to avenge Oberyn's death.  Being young, and Oberyn's daughters, they don't care so much that Oberyn voluntarily participated as a champion in a Trial by Combat and lost.
• Ellaria starts out more like her book self and she and Doran try to dissuade the Snakes
• If the producers feel the need for gratuitous nudity, Doran can lock-up the Snakes, only for them to escape after using their "assets" on the guards
• The Snakes kill Myrcella because she's a Lannister and Trystane for "collaborating"
• Doran executes the Snakes for treason (if Jaime and Bronn are still visiting, this signals their time to return to Kings Landing).
• Since one of the snakes is Ellaria's daughter, Ellaria finally goes over the edge and kills Doran (alternative: Ellaria kills herself from grief and Doran, who isn't exactly in good health, dies from the stress of it all).
• Arianne becomes Princess of Dorne and executes Ellaria
• Arianne makes a pact with Olenna.  Arianne, like all Martells, still wants revenge for Elia Martell and her children.  Plus, Arianne understands that Cersei won't be satisfied with the execution of the Sand Snakes and will want to punish Dorne and the Martells as Cersei punished the Tyrells.

No QueenMaker plot.  TVArianne would be different than BookArianne because, IMO, BookArianne is too similar to Cersei:  eldest daughter paranoid or slighted over her rights to the family lands, and whose go to play is to use sex to get what she wants.

I don't think this would have taken any more screen time than what we actually saw, or not much more screen time.  And it's not as if every episode in the past 2 seasons hit the 60 minute mark.