Completely Unspoiled Speculation Thread

[mad_typist]

Are you a book reader (aka Bookwalker)? Then you should be in READ-ONLY mode in The Unsullied Habitat. DON'T POST. This is the habitat for the COMPLETELY UNSPOILED to talk to each other. OBSERVE ONLY. You can post in the regular Game Of Thrones forum.

[stillshimpy]

That's right, an outpost of the Spitball Wall has been established.  Now I just need to locate White Stumbler's Oath to really get the spitballin' going. 

Afterwards there will be grog. 

[stillshimpy]

Boy, reading through the old Wall thread made me miss White Stumbler and Ulle like crazy.  Here we go, White Stumbler's Oath: 

 

Book Walkers gather, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until the end of this epic show.

I shall snark no fellow Spitballers, read no GRRM books, reveal no spoilers. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory, but a hat is OK if needed.

I shall live and die at my post on the Spitball Wall. I am the words in the darkness. I am the watcher for Book Walkers on this forum.

I am the fire that burns against the boredom, the light that brings insight, the horn that wakes the sleepers to odd plot possibilities, the shield that guards the realms of this thread from spoilers. I pledge my life and honor to the Spitball Wall, for this post and all the posts to come.  - White Stumbler

... because Winter is...well, you've probably already heard that rumor. Swords at the ready, sweaters within reach, we stand! - me

[90PercentGravity]

Yes! This is what I've been waiting for. Looking forward to lots of unspoiled spec and the new season. (OMG! I can't believe it is almost here!)

On TWoP I was ThatPoshGirl and am probably best known for having the worst memory in the history of ever, and probably for being annoying, but I will try to be less annoying, I promise.

I accidentally caught some glimpses of promos while watching True Detective on HBO Go, but I tried to avoid paying attention as much as possible. What I did see was just a bunch of flashes of images without any context, though, so nothing really seemed to be given away there.

I haven't been offering much spec lately, because, well... I can't remember much of what happened last season, to be honest. It's all a blur. I have a vague recollection of Jaime and Brianne getting back to Kingslanding. I remember Tyrion and whats-her-face got married, though I have somehow managed to forget her name, which is unforgivable (I do seem to remember the actresses name, though, which is odd. Sophie Turner? Yeah?). I think Arya is still with the Hound and Gendry is adrift at sea. Dany has a buttload of soldiers and might have been on a ship headed west, or I might have imagined that.

The big question I have had is: Is Gendry adrift in the same body of water that Dany is sailing across (if my recollection of them being on a ship is correct, that is)? My understanding of GoT geography is even worse than my understanding of Earth geography, which is pretty bad. If they are in the same waters, though, I think that Dany will come across Gendry at some point and rescue him.

Edited March 29, 2014 by 90PercentGravity

[Purple Bananaa]

Hi guys, I am a completely new poster. I found out about the other website yesterday but seeing it is closing down soon I thought I might as well come straight to here.

I don't know anything about the books and I haven't even watched the trailers due to fear of figuring out something. I am known for being completely hopeless with predictions with my mates so should be a bit of fun discussing with you lot.

I also have terrible spelling and grammar so I apologies in advance.

Yeah I wonder what is next for Gendry, it would be quite interesting if both him and Dany would meet up but I think it is unlikely personally. To be honest though he could end up anywhere, if I remember right was he having trouble steering his boat? Possibly a group on another boat will come and rescue him or something. Also, if my memory is correct then the last time we see Dany is when she is getting lifted up by her slaves/army so we don't really know if she is heading West yet. I also don't think she will go to Westeros in season 4, her dragons are simply not big enough yet.

I wonder what will happen to Jon Snow. He has broken his oath and had sex with that Wildling. If the Night's Watch find out about that surely he will be executed? At the beginning of Season 1 someone got beheaded for running away from a White Walker so they do seem to take them oaths very seriously. It wouldn't surprise me if Jon Snow suffers an early death.

[stillshimpy]

Welcome to the Wall, Purple Bananaa and I like the new look, 90PercentGravity.  Did you forget most of last season thanks to the eye-searing trauma, by any chance, because that's why I've yet to complete a rewatch on the developments of last season.  I'm in denial about the Slaughter of Starks to this moment.  

Sansa is the the character you're thinking of 90PercentGravity.   

I almost hope Gendry isn't in Dany's path.  I can't even imagine how badly it would go for the poor guy if Dany discovers, "Robert Baratheon was your father, you say?"  because I'm willing to bet Dany holds a few grudges about the death of Drago and her own child.  Not, mind you, that Robert Baratheon caused those, but the attempt on Dany's life via Wine Merchant was courtesy of Robert.  

Also, there are all the little dead Targaryens from the Rebellion and worse still, her father and brother, one of whom Robert famously killed.  Be the Blacksmith's kid if you encounter Dany, Gendry.  Take my word for it here.  You don't want to pull an overshare about your parentage.  

Edited March 29, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Purple Bananaa]

I forgot about that. I could only imagine what she would do to Gendry lol. Then again, personally I would like to see that side to her.

[janjan]

Not sure Dany would hold a grudge against Gendry. Like Tyrion, she has a soft spot for "cripples, bastards, and broken things."

Although it's best not to cross her. We saw that when she had her handmaiden and Ducksauce locked in the vault, and again when she had all the Unsullieds' slaveholders and those at Yunkai (sp?) massa-creed. That soft spot must not be on her *ss, which is quite hard.

ps - How's she feeding all those throusands of followers? The logistics must be a nightmare.

pps - Hi Shimpy! Hi Abelard! Hi everybody else who crosses the narrow sea to Previously.

[Delta1212]

As a longtime a long time Unsullied watcher who has been following the Spitball Wall since it was founded, I registered an account just to voice my support for not making exceptions.

The TWoP thread had such a huge following because there weren't many other places that successfully allowed for speculative discussion by unspoiled viewers of the show. Spoilers online are rampant and the only reason the Completely Unspoiled Speculation thread worked was because of the strict enforcement of the "if you have read the books, you cannot post here" rule.

There are way to many people who can't distinguish between being "helpful" and posting spoilers. By the very nature of spoilers in a speculation thread, once that genie has been let out of the bottle, there is no putting it back and the unspoiled sub-community gets destroyed very quickly.

Any book walkers who want this group to thrive should leave it be and enjoy it from afar. Attempts to be helpful... aren't

Edit: And... sniped

Edited March 30, 2014 by Delta1212

[izabella]

Hi everyone, another TWOP refugee here!

I predict hard times for Jamie at court as he deals with his family's reactions to his return, minus his sword hand. I'm most interested in Tyrion's reaction, since he's both looked up to Jamie and envied him. 

I also predict Joffrey will not be kind.

[Pallas]

Hello fellow Know-It-Aughts!  May the spirit of TWoP warm our small band, just as I feel certain that the spirit of the Starks will continue to inform this saga.  Earlier this week -- you know when -- I wrote that I had once found it impossible to explain to Bookwalkers why I was willing to avoid the books, and spoilers, and the like, for the sake of savoring this forum. The simple answer is, that I knew our forum is more valuable to me.  More rewarding, more enriching, and more fun.  

Notion about the season to come. Tywin may order Jaime to impregnate Sansa, since Tyrion balks. Perhaps Tywin will offer Jaime the choice of either cuckolding his brother and raping his respected enemy's daughter, or, abandoning the King's Guard and marrying himself. For Tywin this would be a bounty of delights: (1) give him the heir he prefers, one way or another; (2) perhaps have the final word on Jaime's jejune act of rebellious idealism, or -- since I'm still convinced that Tywin has chosen not to believe the calumny about Cersei's children -- (3) give him the chance to abet Jaime's finally siring a child; and (4) mess with Tyrion, along the way. Sansa and the effect on her would not stir his thoughts or even his worst nature. 

I'm not sure I like myself for this idea, but I'm pretty sure that Tywin wouldn't thank me -- he'd just do it.  

Edited March 30, 2014 by Pallas

[stillshimpy]

Janjan, you're back!  I just saw your screenname the other day and wondered.  Here you are! Perhaps I have conjuring abilities now?  Hey, it could happen  Okay, probably not, but it's still good to see you.  Hi izabella! Pallas, way to bring the grim.  Or at least, that was my first reaction before realizing, I think you're right.  Tywin doesn't seem sadistic, just practical to the point that he might as well be.  

Since Bran and Rickon (the Neglected) are both thought to be dead, Sansa is believed to be the Stark who could provide an heir.  Admittedly, I'm just less certain that Tywin actually gives a true crap about whether or not he has a "rightful" heir to Winterfell (now sort of Winterpile since it was sacked) .  The Starks are defeated.  Was the family named Castamere in that ever-so-uplifting song? Or was it the place? Either way (and you knew this was coming) the tavern song practically writes itself there when it comes to Robb Stark's wedding.  I don't think Tywin will be looking to appease anyone.    

The legend of the Starks dying basically flips off the need for currying any favor with the North, I think. If word doesn't get out -- and it will despite Joffrey maiming the hell out of any musician that sang an unapproved lyric -- that the Ballad of Don't Fuck with the Lannisters was playing while the Starks died en masse, Tywin seems more likely to dispatch minstrels to make with the spreading of the word than anything else.  

This is the guy who responded to the imprisoning of the son he actively wishes was dead with burning the Riverlands, right?  "Pigshit" memories of Yore and Monty Python escapees to boot.  This is also the guy who turned on the King he was Hand to (boy, that was an awkward sentence) and that's only slightly less famous than his son having killed that same King. 

I'm just saying, I'm really not sure that Tywin feels like he needs to do anything legitimately and with honor of any kind, even in the pretense of it "Look,  a Stark heir.  Of sorts.  Follow him, her, them.  Shut up or I'll burn your children."  He seems to skip that and go straight to "What? You disagree and want to stage a rebellion?  Burn their children."  So I have fewer fears about Sansa's safety.  Besides, Jaime doesn't seem to have a long history of obeying the Pater.  I'm not sure why he'd start now.

I'm more interested in who Jaime will be now that the man can't fight.  That was his entire identity.  Does Cersei still have to marry Loras? For Loras's sake, I sincerely hope not.  I always forget that Stannis is still out there, trying to stake a claim.  What happens now that Melisandre's (jeez, that's the Red Witch's name, right? ) leech curse seemed to work.  Will Stannis now step aside and let Gendry be slaughtered when word reaches him that Robb Stark is dead?  

Janjan, I think you're right about Dany in that, I doubt she would kill Gendry simply to be spiteful.  Kill him because he's the last male Baratheon of any description in his generation?  Yeah, I think she'd kill him.  Or kill him because just hearing Robert's name would make her get her Melt On? Yeah, I think that too.  I think the Dany who smiled at kids (who turned out to be blue lipped wizards) learned harsh lessons about where mercy gets her when it comes to any kind of enemy. 

Edited March 30, 2014 by stillshimpy

[90PercentGravity]

Glad I was off at a game and missed whatever that post was.

I totally and completely forgot about Bran and Rickon. I predict Bran is taller than Hodor this season.

[Pallas]

I'm just less certain that Tywin actually gives a true crap about whether or not he has a "rightful" heir to Winterfell (now sort of Winterpile since it was sacked) .

 

Ah, I wasn't even thinking about Winterfell -- that is, I don't think Tywin was, not anymore. The heir I think he wants is for House Lannister.  Tyrion's "son," if Jaime can't be persuaded to de-cloak.

I predict Bran is taller than Hodor this season

 

Stark motto: "Winter is coming."

Stark children (Sansa and Bran): "Basketball season!"

Edited March 30, 2014 by Pallas

[Purple Bananaa]

Yeah, now they don't have to appease the Starks they can do anything to Sansa. It at least seems like Joffrey is still trying to harm her and as he is King he could do anything. Even though it does seem like Tywin is the most powerful man in Kings Landing at the moment, when Joffrey comes of age there will be little Tywin can do. As one of you said though, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Jaime is forced to impregnate Sansa.

I am also interested to see Brienne. I am guessing she is in Kings Landing? I personally believe that Jaime has a thing for Brienne which could upset Cersei, possibly a love triangle? I personally don't think that will happen but still there is a chance.

I am also looking forward to seeing Stannis head for the wall. I guess it will be just be loads of fighting but it will still be interesting.

While on the subject of Bran and Rickon, why are they heading towards the wall? Surely they know how dangerous it is?

[Pallas]

While on the subject of Bran and Rickon, why are they heading towards the wall? Surely they know how dangerous it is?

Bran has chosen to make himself subject to the visions of Magic Pixie Boy, alias Jojen Reed: in part because Jojen's father served under Bran's father; in part because Jojen's father in another dimension was Liam Neeson, the sober man's Sean Bean. Like Bran, Jojen is psychically gifted, and while Jojen is more practiced and expert in fielding his visions, he has informed Bran that Bran is ultimately the far greater Seer. Like Bran, too, Jojen is also incapacitated in some way. His infirmity occasioned what is so far my favorite line from the show, delivered by his sister:  "Just because someone will always need your help, doesn't mean you shouldn't give it."  

That line is why I trust Jojen.  Bran had his own reasons for doing so, when Jojen said he "saw" Bran at the Wall.  

[stillshimpy]

True, and Joffrey hates Sansa in a particular, personal way, unlike the rest of humanity within Westeros so her safety is of some concern.  

Still Pallas, Tywin doesn't want the Lannister heir to come from Tyrion, even in name only.  At least, I don't think he does.  Tywin made it clear all the way back in the scene when we met him:  He thinks it is time for Jaime to take his rightful place in the family and step up to his Lannister responsibilities.  So I think he's likely to have Joffrey boot Jaime off of the King's Guard and get busy arranging a marriage for Jaime rather than try to get the bastard spawn of Jaime and Sansa into the heir slot.  

Tywin hates the living hell out of Tryion and made it clear he's not going to make him heir to Casterly Rock.  So he's already cleared up that possibility.  I think it's more likely that Jaime and Tywin will have their showdown over who he expects Jaime to marry now.  I don't know where Jaime's feelings for Cersei enter into all of this.  Realistically, their relationship is what started the entire mess.  Or at least the mess to which we were witness  Arguably that mess started when Jon Arryn said, "you should marry Cersei Lannister, it's a good match' to Robert." It's so strange how commonplace the whole 'Oh yeah, that affair between siblings that ruined an entire world' is, to the extent that I almost don't give it enough credit.  

So what happens when Jaime finally sees Cersei again after all this time and all that has happened? Does he take one look at her and say, "What were we thinking?  Also, our son? Seriously a Psycho."  or...? 

Hey, one thing occurred to me and brightened my world yesterday.  No more Camp Inbreeding at Craster's House of Ick.  Then I recalled that the Wildlings are headed for the scattered/tattered remnants of the Crows and whereas the Wildlings aren't as bad as Craster, it's not like they're all the fun either.  

Maybe Allister Thorne will finally make it to King's Landing with the Undead Paw.  

[janjan]

"Know-It-Aughts." "Winterpile." And of course, the immortal "pigshit." The wordsmithery of the Unsullied continues to delight.

Bran and Rickon were heading north because Maester Luwin told them to, as he lay dying (when he refused Osha's offer of Milk of the Puppy :-). He said the South was at war and too dangerous; go to the Wall, to Jon, and he will take care of you little squirts. But when they encountered Jojon, he told them that Jon was no longer at the wall, so they needed a Plan B. They all ignored Osha's advice that the North was far more dangerous than the South.

I can't get worked about about the WW's -- they look like something out of a cheap zombie movie. Nothing they've done so far has been as scary as the opening scene of S1 Ep1. But the Red Woman saw in the fire that they are coming (preceded by Mance and the Wild Bunch? - not clear which is the perceived threat at the moment), and the kingdoms must unite (under Stannis, of course) to resist them. Yawn.

Where's WhiteStumbler? We need some more of your conjuring, Shimp.

 

[stillshimpy]

White Stumbler left us last season, janjan, but he didn't go over the wall and into the library.  He suffered from the inability to Unsee.  I'll see if I can find him out there on the 'net.  It turned out that he -- like apparently several of our Unsullied -- happened upon the giant ass "Red Wedding" spoiler and he felt that was too big a one to know for the season and speculate on it.  At least, I'm assuming it was the Red Wedding one.  He pm'd me to say he'd been spoiled on a big element of the season and was going to excuse himself until such time as it was passed.  

Since I'm guessing it was the worst wedding reception ever I think he'd be in the clear to come back, but I'll try reaching out to him.  We might have lost him to the ether though.  I forget how many times we're supposed to blow the horn for a fallen comrade.  3eyedpigeon took the book plunge the other day (why, why did you leave me!!!! I'm going to become feral, like Rickon, talking to the statuary in the crypt).  

The other person we've been missing for eons is gingerella -- the person who coined the use of the word Bookwalker and other extreme hilarity.  Ulle has sadly left us too, which is why I really need to copy that thread over on TWoP, because man, she had some classics in there.  

Edited March 30, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Pallas]

I can't get worked about about the WW's -- they look like something out of a cheap zombie movie. Nothing they've done so far has been as scary as the opening scene of S1 Ep1.

Hee, Janjan.  So far nothing the White Walkers have done has been as scary as a barely pubescent Joffrey strolling by a stream on a balmy autumn afternoon. And thank you for the reminder that it was Maester Luwin who set the Starklings on their way up (further) north.  

You're right, shimpy, that Tywin -- stag-skinning blade in hand -- made it clear that he wants his immediate Lannister heir to be Jaime.  Of course he has the power to loose Jaime from the King's Guard, and of course he now has a compelling pretext: "Guard the King? You and what swordhand?"  I just wonder if I was wrong about Tywin's keeping his worst nature in check, in the face of escalating stress: immense triumphs and disappointments, both.  And you're right too, that Joffrey loathes Sansa; he might decide to have some say in the matter. For Joffrey, Jaime's harming Sansa and humiliating Tyrion -- against the desires of all his elders -- would be utterly delicious.  Just like old times, at Balor.

ETA: Shimpy, thank you for sounding the "alley-alley-in-come-free" for White Stumbler.  Hail, gingerella, and other still-missing comrades.   

Edited March 30, 2014 by Pallas

[abelard]

Hi all!  Great to have a new home.  I was going to wait till the new season but I've decided to start marathoning from Season 1.  Oh poor Ned.  I still can't decide if Pycelle set him up, in league with Cercei and Littlefinger, to get Ned on the same trail (of finding Robert's bastard Gendry and realizing that the blonde children weren't Robert's) as Jon Arryn, and hence to get Ned executed, or if it really did just happen one step at a time and Littlefinger and Cercei jumped in to snare Ned as soon as they saw an opportunity.  Or actually, it was probably only Littlefinger who was plotting against Ned from the very start (b/c of Cat, being wounded in the duel with Ned's brother, etc.), and Cercei only really cared when it looked like Ned was going to out her secret to Robert.

I think that Littlefinger got his name (Arya asks him at the tourney) b/c of that duel against Brandon, Ned's brother.  Who in the 7K wouldn't accuse him of having a very teeny male member after losing that duel so spectacularly (Brandon left a mark on him from his navel to his neck, iirc)?

Okay, for this coming season, I speculate that a Lannister will die.  The Starks have had too many losses on their side, it's time for the Lannisters to lose someone.  But who?  I would LOVE for it to be Joffrey, and I could see a scenario in which Joffrey tries to rape Sansa and she kills him, defending herself and also hating him, and Tyrion protecting her, maybe even taking the fall for her.  I think Brienne would help Sansa escape in that scenario b/c Brienne swore an oath to Lady Stark that she would get the girls out of KL.

But then again I can't really imagine what this show would do without Joffrey right at this moment.  Like, what would happen to Margery Tyrell and that whole plot if Joffrey went?  My husband's spec is that it will be Tywin Lannister who dies.  B/c I love Tywin (the actor, that is), but he is sort of the least important Lannister to the show, and meanwhile he is the most important Lannister to the actual Lannisters, so if he got killed, that would be big payoff plotwise, it would send the entire family into disarray.  Only Tywin can really make Joffrey sit down at this point, so without him, Joffrey would be even more of a monster, and then Jaime and Tyrion with all their Oedipus complexes wouldn't even know what to do with themselves.

Edited March 30, 2014 by abelard

[stillshimpy]

We do have other spare Lannisters though, don't we?  Hey abelard, good to see you.  We need Taco's character list , or my failing brain really does, but here goes:  There is the Lannister who was Robert's cup bearer (and likely drugged his wine) Lancell or Lancet? Something like that. Likely Lancell simply because I think I'd have remembered if he had a name interchangeable with a medical supply.  He also had an affair with Cersei and Tryion blackmailed him at one point, because he's also a coward (if the drugged wine didn't give that away).  

Then there is Myrcella (daughter of Cersei and Robert-but-really-Jaime ) and then the Littlest Lannister, Joffrey's brother, who was showing signs of having at least some Lannister ass in him.  He was one of the ones yukking it up at the dinner table about Robb Stark being dead in some "wouldn't it be cool!" type of scenario or that might have been Myrcella.  Anyway, that kid is like the Rickon-lite character for the Lannisters, so they could off him to get Cersei to fully lose her bird and I wouldn't actually put it past Joffrey to contemplate having him killed, because as long as Lannister-whose-name-I-currently-forget is hanging around being a male with the last name of Baratheon but the real parentage of Lannister, Joffrey has someone who could have a claim to the throne at his back.  We've already seen that the Brothers Baratheon in the form of Renly and Stannis weren't above a little fratricide to try and secure a claim. 

In fact, as long as the spare to the heir is there, Joffrey is in some peril from Tywin, I think.  Remember, "Everyone who isn't Us is an enemy." (Cersei to Joffrey) Well, in the case of being a despised ruler, everyone who isn't Joffrey and is seen as a legitimate heir is something of an enemy for good King Psychopants.   Plus we already know that Joffrey will have relatives killed, since he put the hit out on Tyrion. 

Say, there's an idea, I wonder if Margaery would plant that seed in Joffrey's head?  Kill Littlest Lannister with Forgettable name and she has just cemented her position even more. 

 

 

I could see a scenario in which Joffrey tries to rape Sansa and she kills him,

I can't see that shaping up that directly, abel.  Joffrey has never shown any interest in actual sex.  Torture and cruelty turns him on, but it doesn't seem to take a sexual bent in any way, shape or form.  Yes, I do know that rape is not about the act of sex in a lot of ways, but Joffrey seems more likely to have Sansa beaten, etc.  than to actually try to touch her himself.  Joffrey is, above all else, a coward and until he killed Ros, he always had someone else doing the nasty deeds.  I don't think the act of killing Ros changed that.  Poor dead Ros.  

Tomin! Right? Is the Littlest Lannister, Tomin? 

Edited March 30, 2014 by stillshimpy

[abelard]

In fact, as long as the spare to the heir is there, Joffrey is in some peril from Tywin, I think.  Remember, "Everyone who isn't Us is an enemy." (Cersei to Joffrey) Well, in the case of being a despised ruler, everyone who isn't Joffrey and is seen as a legitimate heir is something of an enemy for good King Psychopants. 

Say, there's an idea, I wonder if Margaery would plant that seed in Joffrey's head?  Kill Littlest Lannister with Forgettable name and she has just cemented her position even more.

...

Joffrey has never shown any interest in actual sex.  Torture and cruelty turns him on, but it doesn't seem to take a sexual bent in any way, shape or form.  Yes, I do know that rape is not about the act of sex in a lot of ways, but Joffrey seems more likely to have Sansa beaten, etc.  than to actually try to touch her himself.  Joffrey is, above all else, a coward and until he killed Ros, he always had someone else doing the nasty deeds.  I don't think the act of killing Ros changed that.  Poor dead Ros. 

Tomin! Right? Is the Littlest Lannister, Tomin?

Yes, right, Tommen.  I think that's the spelling from the character list on TwoP.  SHOUT OUT TO BOOKWALKERS: IF ANYONE WANTS TO PLEASE PLEASE PUT A CHARACTER LIST UP - OF *ONLY* CHARACTERS THAT HAVE APPEARED ON THE SHOW - THAT WOULD BE SO WONDERFUL, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!!

I agree that Tommen is kind of a "threat" to Joffrey.  Many of us wondered in the second season, around the Blackwater episode I think, why wouldn't Tywin just do away with Joffrey since he had a spare right there?  Yes losing two Kings inside of a year or 18 months (however long it's been since Robert kicked off) would be wretched esp when the 7K are such a mess, but Joffrey is soooooo horrible and Tywin knows it.  Tommen seems alright (I'm forgetting that Robb-mocking incident you've mentioned, I'll have to go and look for that, but Tyrion once tried to reassure Cercei that only Joffrey was truly insane, b/c Tommen and Myrcella were wonderful children), and is young and pliable.  I would think Tywin would be willing to trade in a second.  Hmmm...maybe if the Tywin-dies theory is correct, it's Joffrey who kills him, or has him killed??

And you're right about Joffrey being one of those sociopaths/psychopaths (I guess it's psychopath, he's not emotionally intelligent enough to be a sociopath) who literally can't get it up, or just isn't aroused by the thought or deed of intercourse at all.  I wouldn't put it past him to have his men try to go at Sansa (sexually), but then if he had armed men with him I don't see how Sansa would escape that.  Except...if Tyrion, or Brienne, stepped in.  I guess I am really hoping for a Brienne-Sansa alliance of some kind this season.  Brienne could be Sansa's replacement for "Lady," her beautiful late direwolf.

Btw if/when Margery marries Joffrey and gets to the wedding night and finds out he cannot have sex with her, that will be the SECOND TIME that very scenario has happened to her!!!!  "Marry King...Get to wedding night...Show boobs...He can't get it up."  TWICE!!!

Edited March 30, 2014 by abelard

[stillshimpy]

.  Many of us wondered in the second season, around the Blackwater episode I think, why wouldn't Tywin just do away with Joffrey since he had a spare right there?

I don't think Tywin would have Joffrey killed.  Tywin seems to stop just short of actually killing family members.  Allowing them to die or putting them in positions where they are likely to perish? Yes, we've seen him actually do that with Tyrion.  We also know that Tywin loathes Tyrion on a very personal level and even has himself kind of convinced that Tyrion might not be his son (remember, Tywin said that if he could prove that Tyrion wasn't his, he'd do it).  I'm fairly certain that the only thing that kept Tyrion alive all these years is that Tywin Lannister will not stoop to killing his own blood.  Leaving them in the path of certain death?  Sure, but he won't arrange for an actual assassination. 

Joffrey will though, so it seems like he'd be sort of easy to convince that Tywin would and that would necessitate offing Tommen or Tomin.  Or Tywin, for that matter, but Joffrey's also a screaming coward when you get right down to it and since the hit on Tyrion didn't actually work, I doubt he'd try when it came to Tywin, because he'd fear what would happen if it didn't work.  Tommen's a kid, so I can see Joffrey deciding to kill him without a problem.  He certainly seems to have no real familial attachment to anyone.  Although weirdly he got choked up at Robert's beside when Robert was dying.  

Maybe he was just bummed that he didn't get to see the goring. 

[90PercentGravity]

There is the Lannister who was Robert's cup bearer (and likely drugged his wine) Lancell or Lancet? Something like that. Likely Lancell simply because I think I'd have remembered if he had a name interchangeable with a medical supply.  He also had an affair with Cersei and Tryion blackmailed him at one point, because he's also a coward (if the drugged wine didn't give that away).

 

Lancel. He was conspicuously absent all last season. In season two, he was shot by an arrow, which Cersei smacked even deeper into his chest. I think that was the last we saw of him. I'm not certain he is even alive at this point.

[abelard]

 

 

Joffrey will though, so it seems like he'd be sort of easy to convince that Tywin would and that would necessitate offing Tommen or Tomin.  Or Tywin, for that matter, but Joffrey's also a screaming coward when you get right down to it and since the hit on Tyrion didn't actually work, I doubt he'd try when it came to Tywin, because he'd fear what would happen if it didn't work.  Tommen's a kid, so I can see Joffrey deciding to kill him without a problem.  He certainly seems to have no real familial attachment to anyone.  Although weirdly he got choked up at Robert's beside when Robert was dying. 

Maybe he was just bummed that he didn't get to see the goring.

By the "hit on Tyrion," do you mean at the end of the Blackwater battle, when Tyrion was slashed in the face?  I was almost certain that was Cercei.  Or...maybe Tyrion and Cercei had the convo at the beginning of S3, when Tyrion accuses Cercei to her face of trying to have him killed, and Cercei denies it?  So maybe Tyrion thought it was Cercei, but really it was Joffrey?

IA that Joffrey is a coward but he is also a fairly stupid coward who often doesn't know what's good for him.  You're right, he would kill Tommen, that would be smarter than trying to kill Tywin and risking failure - but see, I just don't think he's that smart.  Strangely, I think Joffrey *could have been* quite cunning and effective if he'd had more/better guidance and longer to develop.  But then, he would always have been an immoral psychopath sadist, so I guess it's better the 7K are stuck with stupid underdeveloped Joffrey than wily well-trained Joffrey.

I think Joffrey loved Robert as a (distant, uninvolved) father.  Remember, if Robert's not Joffrey's dad, Joffrey's not the rightful king.  So Joffrey loved Robert then and still loves his memory, b/c Robert is what legitimizes his authority, and Joffrey loves him some authority.  Joffrey often compares Lannisters unfavorably to Robert, in fact: "You were sitting on your arse in Casterly Rock while my father won the war," he told Tywin once (or something like that).  He doesn't really identify as a Lannister - Cercei is just his father's widow, Tywin is just someone who didn't fight the war against Rhaegar Targeryen (although Joffrey is too dumb to see that Tywin orchestrated large parts of that war).  Joffrey thinks he is a "Baratheon." 

[Purple Bananaa]

I'm not too sure what to think of the Blackwater bay incident. I just don't think it would be either Joffrey or Cersei as it would be too obvious. I personally wouldn't rule out Littlefinger or Varys having something to do with it but why would they do it? They'll have little to gain.

[abelard]

 I think Cersei denied it and Tyrion believed her.

I think Joffrey only thinks of himself as a Baratheon to extent that it makes him king. He wears a lot of Lannister red, and has been announced as "Joffrey, of the Houses of Baratheon and Lannister"

He does mouth off to and about his Lannister relatives, but he gets angry whenever anyone implicitly criticizes him, bores him or takes credit that he believes is his due.

Agreed on these points.  Wrt the hit on Tyrion at Blackwater: Tyrion believed Cersei when she denied it.  Cersei hates Tyrion but I don't think she hates-hates-hates him to the point of wanting him dead.  And you're right about Joffrey probably only pulling out the Baratheon card when it suits him, when he needs to shove something in the face of his Lannister relatives (i.e. Granpa Tywin) when they try to make him shut up.  

On a different note, I know it's been speculated about upthread a bit but I would love to hear more opinions: Jaime/Brienne?  Yay or nay?  I don't think there will be anything romantic there, but I think Cercei will imagine that there *is* something, and get raging jealous.  However, if the show surprises me and does "go there" with Jaime and Brienne, I think I will be psyched!!  B/c I tend to like unlikely odd-couple pairings. 

[90PercentGravity]

I don't normally ship characters, but I totally ship Jaime/Brienne. Probably projecting, though. I'm a tall girl who has a crush on Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

[Purple Bananaa]

Yay just because of how Cersei will act. I agree that she would be very jealous and it would be funny to see. I also wonder if it could get to the stage where Jaime trusts Brienne so much that he tells her about him being Joffrey's father. That would be very interesting but I know the chances of that happening is like 1%.

Endless possibilities!

[Pallas]

Earlier today I PM'ed Taco Maximus on TWoP, asking if we might import the character list here.  I have it copied but don't feel it's right to out-and-out-abscond with it.  

Welcome abelard and Constantinople!

ETA: Thank you, Nymeria!  Shall we wait to see if/how Maximum Taco replies?  

Edited March 30, 2014 by Pallas

[abelard]

Yay just because of how Cersei will act. I agree that she would be very jealous and it would be funny to see. I also wonder if it could get to the stage where Jaime trusts Brienne so much that he tells her about him being Joffrey's father. That would be very interesting but I know the chances of that happening is like 1%.

Endless possibilities!

YES!  I really like this idea that Jaime could begin trusting Brienne with Lannister secrets - Cersei's secrets - HA!  Cersei will tear her braids out.  I think whether or not there is anything between Jaime and Brienne, the most important dramatic need is for Cersei to just flip her s**t over them.  I really want to see Cersei go crazy-all-the-way this season.  I don't know why.  I guess b/c I feel she's been teetering on the edge of that for so long, I just want to see what happens when she really, really, loses it for reals.  Maybe if she marries Loras *and* thinks something is going on with her lover-brother and the Title IX athlete extraordinaire?  THAT might do it.

Thank you Nymeria!!! Maybe if Taco lets us copy that earlier list, you could pick it up from there as new characters get introduced?  Just a thought.  And thank you, Pallas, for thinking to PM Taco, great great idea!!  There was already so much careful effort put into that, it would be a shame to totally drop it. 

[Pallas]

Oh poor Ned.  I still can't decide if Pycelle set him up, in league with Cercei and Littlefinger -- abelard

My guess is that it was Littlefinger, only, who set Pycelle on the path of proffering the book to Ned. The first time we saw Cersei she was in a panic about even dead Jon Arryn's having been in the know; soon thereafter, she urged Jaime to murder Bran, to keep the secret.  Littlefinger, though, was licking his little chops at the thought of setting the two Houses against each other, especially with Ned now on hand to take the fall.  

And your mentioning Ned's brother Brandon, abelard, also reminded me that we have never discovered who ordered the second, very deliberate hit on Bran. I've suspected Littlefinger, aided by an accomplice on the spot and some deft ravens. What if one more motive for his killing Bran was to cause Catalyn anguish at the loss of the child actually named for the man who she chose over young Petyr Balish, and who further mortified and nearly killed him?

Btw if/when Margery marries Joffrey and gets to the wedding night and finds out he cannot have sex with her, that will be the SECOND TIME that very scenario has happened to her!!!!  "Marry King...Get to wedding night...Show boobs...He can't get it up."  TWICE!!!

 

Especially piquant, if Joffrey is then murdered by a family member.  Lady Maergery might be discovered in seclusion, filling out a profile for Chemistry.7K.com

[abelard]

My guess is that it was Littlefinger, only, who set Pycelle on the path of proffering the book to Ned. The first time we saw Cersei she was in a panic about even dead Jon Arryn's having been in the know; soon thereafter, she urged Jaime to murder Bran, to keep the secret.  Littlefinger, though, was licking his little chops at the thought of setting the two Houses against each other, especially with Ned now on hand to take the fall.  

And your mentioning Ned's brother Brandon, abelard, also reminded me that we have never discovered who ordered the second, very deliberate hit on Bran. I've suspected Littlefinger, aided by an accomplice on the spot and some deft ravens. What if one more motive for his killing Bran was to cause Catalyn anguish at the loss of the child actually named for the man who she chose over young Petyr Balish, and who further mortified and nearly killed him?

I know, we generated all that spec over who put the second hit on Bran (counting Jaime's window-pushing as the first) and we never found out!!  I guess my running hypothesis now is that it was Cersei.  Cersei visited Bran, told the touching story about losing her first child, and the next time we see that room (practically, I don't know if it's the very next time), the assassin comes in with the knife.  I'm thinking Cersei scouted the room, told the assassin what to expect, and set him to it using Tyrion's knife as payment (which used to be Littlefinger's).

As for Pycelle offering that book to Ned, I could see it being Littlefinger working with Pycelle to get that done (they seemed to be in league on the whole get-Ned-murdered bit) or Pycelle just honestly responding to Ned's query about what Jon Arryn was up to, with a side dish of trying to get Ned to suspect Varys (Pycelle brings up the fact that poison is a eunuch's weapon, something like that).  Whether Littlefinger and Pycelle were working together always, or just at the end, it doesn't matter, they were both against Ned, or working counter to Ned, from the time Ned got there. 

There is one thing in that same book-giving episode that has always bugged me: Wth does Ned tell Arya about "Lord of the Holdfast"?  Arya says, Bran cannot be a knight of the Kingsguard now, can he (now that Bran is paralyzed)?  Ned says, No but he can be Lord of the Holdfast, sit on the King's council, and SOMETHING SOMETHING SOMETHING, like Brandon the SOMETHING.  Does he say, like Brandon, your uncle?  Or does he say, like Brandon the Builder (that's sort of what it sounds like to me).  Anyway this has bothered me for a long time b/c Arya asks, Can I be Lord of the Holdfast?  So I sort of feel like maybe Lord of the Holdfast is this impt thing that I should understand better.  Anyway, if anyone has better ears than I do and can hear what Ned is saying (or if you have subtitles on your DVDs or whatnot), man I would really appreciate some clarity on this. 

 

Especially piquant, if Joffrey is then murdered by a family member.  Lady Maergery might be discovered in seclusion, filling out a profile for Chemistry.7K.com

I don't know what Chemistry.7K.com is a reference to but I LOLd!!

[stillshimpy]

By the "hit on Tyrion," do you mean at the end of the Blackwater battle, when Tyrion was slashed in the face?  I was almost certain that was Cercei.  Or...maybe Tyrion and Cercei had the convo at the beginning of S3, when Tyrion accuses Cercei to her face of trying to have him killed, and Cercei denies it?  So maybe Tyrion thought it was Cercei, but really it was Joffrey?

Other people chimed in already,but when Tyrion confronts Cersei about it the implication is that it was Joffrey, because Tyrion starts talking about the special, rabid crazy that is Jofrrey in the same conversation.  

Taco was in medical school and I think was lost for Character list updating to that endeavor, which is entirely cool and I hope he does well in life, healing the real folks rather than protecting our eyes.   Joilefaire over on TWoP already took care of the character list for us, checked it against the character guide on HBO.  Apparently the only info it has not yet onscreen is the house mottos.  I figured we'd all be cool with that, but if not, please let it be known.  I do think that Maximum Taco has Minimum Freetime these days though and can't help us out with the character list.  We do have a good bookwalker looking out for that already though.  So hopefully we'll have something to boost my complete inability to remember character names or (and this is the key) spell them.  

Edited to add: Okay guys, I checked the character guide joliefaire linked to trying to see if I could spot anything.  The house mottos are on there.  So I now know the Lannister motto for sure when I didn't before, but that was the only thing that stood out to me as things I hadn't encountered on the show.  Anyone else want to double-check me? 

Edited March 30, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Pallas]

This is the character guide at hbo.com. shimpy?  That (which I looked at with one hand over one eye) was somewhat dated -- especially with regard to Dead or Alive status.  But we could Wiki it up, I guess...

[abelard]

I found out Robb Stark's direwolf's name inadvertently from some random post somewhere, Tumblr maybe, and now I'm super super suspicious of anyplace that isn't an explicitly book-free site.  So I think I'll be avoiding that HBO list of character names, and I'll just look at how others spell the names of the new characters.  Though if we could get Taco's list, and have Nymeria or some other Bookwalker add to it, I would be super psyched, but I also don't want to ask people to do unnecessary work.

Speaking of Robb...*meep*.  Oh, Robb.  In rewatching S1, I thought that Bran getting pushed from the tower, and becoming paralyzed, was a metaphor for the Stark children in general.  All of them, so full of promise, and instead of them growing into the people they were meant to become, "naturally," all of their paths have been so twisted, some of them (Robb!!) ended too, too soon.  I guess Jon Snow, though, was always going to take the Black, so there's a sense in which his path is what it was always supposed to be.  And Arya...she would have been so horribly, painfully bored being a wife to a high lord.  And Sansa may have had to marry Joffrey, if things had gone according to plan.  So, Robb aside, maybe it's good the Stark kids didn't grow up exactly as Ned intended. 

[stillshimpy]

Thanks, Nymeria, that is super appreciated. I adored Taco for bailing us out on that -- candidly, I'm often the person who can't absorb a name for love nor money, unless I see it written out -- and if you're willing to edit Taco's list enough for us to use it, there won't be any "Hey, that stuff on TWoP is copyrighted" issues.  We'll sing songs about your coolness.   Pretty much literally, 'cause it doesn't take much to inspire a song.  Your help on this matter will earn you more than one ribald toast.  I look to Pallas for this,  She's the wordsmith, I'm the drinker.  

Yeah, Pallas , joliefaire did mention that she was using the third season character bio list to get us started.  I'm with you, I'd rather not use HBO's stuff, just because they'll go romping off into book-lore pretty easily and they don't draw a firm line on "seen on the show" vs. "gleaned from a book" .  

That first season is alway so hard to rewatch, abelard.  That scene of the Starks at Winterfell being happy just gets worse and worse in terms of "Oh the painful frakking irony of the 'happy family' at Winterfell."  I mean, I didn't think it was going to get much worse than after Ned died, but lo and behold?  Whole new level of suck, just waiting to be revealed.  

I'm almost relieved now, because there aren't that many characters I feel protective towards, which means whatever gruesome, hideous, soul-crushing stuff goes down, I'll be less likely to want to cry and more likely to "Well, that's the Seven Kingdoms for you.  Sucking to live in since Autumn at least." The exceptions to this are Gendry (So I assume someone is going to make both a lamp and an ottoman out of that poor kid, because that's what honor in any form gets you in the 7), Sansa, because all she ever really did was want what she was told she should want only to have it go pear-shaped and sucktastic on new, unexplored levels, Osha and Rickon  (because if Osha had just done what any other person in that Kingdom would have -- not kept her word to Robb Stark about being his loyal and faithful servant if he'd just spare her life -- I'm assuming she'll be the drapes and throw pillow in hell's living room, or whatever Theon's torturer has in mind for all things Stark for that bit of decency and honor) and then ...yeah, that's pretty much it.

 

Everyone else can wield a sword, run like hell or doesn't go charging into danger trying to save the other good folks in the story.  Jaime decided to save Brienne in the Grizzly Pit, so I'm assuming he too will pay for that bit of kindness).  

I know, I'm getting my own grim on here, but I'm just trying to shellac my heart in preparation for the new season.

Edited because whoa...did I ever mess up that coding.

Edited March 31, 2014 by stillshimpy

[abelard]

Oh thank you, Nymeria!!!!  Much appreciated!!!!!

shimpy, I'm with you on Gendry and Osha.  And Sansa, and of course I, who HATED Jaime Lannister just about from the first glimpse of him, now dread what will happen if ANYONE finds out he's become humbled and learned things about kindness and sticking up for your friends.  I have to say the one character whose fate I am dreading the most is Tyrion...he just seems surrounded on all sides and the fact that he's Sansa's husband doesn't make him safer, it makes him more vulnerable, b/c now he's got himself, his whore (sorry Shae) and his wife to look out for, and all three are so so so so not the kinds of people that make it in this fictional universe.  Tyrion's smart enough and rich enough but he wants something he'll never get (Daddy's approval) and is simultaneously doing exactly the things his Dad told him not to (a. keeping a whore, b. not getting Sansa pregnant), and plus the king HATES him (to be fair, he hates Joffrey too).  

I am hoping that I don't see Osha or Rickon again for a good long while b/c I think that means they'll be safe with the Umbers.  Though wth happened to Great Jon Umber after S1 I'll never know.  But whatevs, if he made it back to Umber territory, good for him, and I hope he and the Umber household and Osha raise Rickon properly, and that one day, a few seasons from now, Rickon rides back into Winterfell a grown man (or at least a tall strapping teen) and cleans up the mess that was his childhood home.  It's like...characters actually leaving the show semi-permanently is the only way to be assured of their safety (I hope, anyway!!!).  

[90PercentGravity]

Do you want me do inlude the Lannister words? I'm not sure wether they've been stated on the show or not.

 

Is it "A Lannister always pays his debt"? I don't know what other words they might have, so I don't know if it has or has not been on the show.

[Pallas]

Thank you so much, Nymeria!  Okay, one tavern song (or the like) coming up before the first ep airs next week. So now we'll see if, in shimpy's immortal phrase, they really do write themselves.  

[abcfsk]

Panicked a bit when I read a news story on tvop closing but I see things are already underway splendidly in this new home or vessel across the sea. 

[stillshimpy]

Hey abcfsk, glad to see you made it across the Narrow Sea and weren't bombed by pigshit at any point. I'm assuming.

 

At the moment, there's no acual list, but I will post the first part later today. I'll add to it in the following days, until all those names are up there. Damn they're many.. I can see why you need the list ;)

You begin to sense why we make small wheels with god figures for the folks that are willing to maintain that stuff for us, Nymeria. Seriously, thank you. The cast of characters is just freaking vast.

 

Okay, one tavern song (or the like) coming up before the first ep airs next week. So now we'll see if, in shimpy's immortal phrase, they really do write themselves.

I can stare fixedly at you, Pallas, if you think it would aid the creative process, but I have a feeling it will make you just want to stuff me in a well, so I will give that a pass.

Less than a week to go. So here's my spitball. I think we're going to find out where the Reeds are taking Bran early on. I still sort of hope Pallas's long ago spitball that Jojen is actually dead turns out to be true. That he's some sort of Dream Walker.

Edited March 31, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Purple Bananaa]

I haven't got a clue what will happen in the first episode. I can't even hazard a guess really. I do have this feeling though that Arya will go to the place with faceless men at some point and seeing as the Hound and Arya have no where to go, it wouldn't surprise me if they went there in the first episode.

We saw the coin in the last episode when she kills for the first time (Even though it isn't actually her first kill) and I think in one of the episodes Arya mentions him to the Hound when the Hound wants to kill some guy. I think she says something like, "I know someone tougher than you" and to me that seemed as if she was talking about the faceless man.

I haven't watched season 3 in a while so I can't remember what she actually says.

[RadiantAerynSun]

Oh heavens. This won't do. Apparently this thread--but not the entirety oft PTV--is blocked by my employer. So much for reading speculation over lunch! And boy this site looks terrible on an Iphone so no help there either. Think I'm gonna cry.

[DirewolfPup]

Hello All! Happy to have a new home.

By the "hit on Tyrion," do you mean at the end of the Blackwater battle, when Tyrion was slashed in the face?  I was almost certain that was Cercei.  Or...maybe Tyrion and Cercei had the convo at the beginning of S3, when Tyrion accuses Cercei to her face of trying to have him killed, and Cercei denies it?  So maybe Tyrion thought it was Cercei, but really it was Joffrey?

I thought this was confirmed Season 3 Episode 6 (maybe 5 toward the end). It was the scene where Tyrion and Cersei were in her chambers saying "I'm not sure who has it worst out of this arrangement. Probably Sansa."  Cersei gives away that Joffrey was the one to command the attack. Tyrion responded with something like "Am I still in danger?" Cersei - "Probably, I don't know. He won't try anything now that father's here."  I just watched this episode a few days ago, so it sticks out in recent memory.

[stillshimpy]

Don't cry, Radiant, or do, but don't give up! Try asking in the Questions area if there is a way to improve the appearance on a phone. Give me a second and I'll grab a link for you. Here, try this.

I wonder if the show will ever answer the "Who actually sent the assassin to kill a comatose Bran?"

Here's one: Maybe it was Jojen Reed. I'm only sort of kidding there. He said he can move through time in his visions, right? He had seen Ned and his father during the rebellion. Maybe his future self sent the assassin, to start this all?

Unlikely, yes. In fact, I admit, it's a totally outlandish notion. However, since we've suspected everyone other than Bran (uh...wait, Bran can move through time in those visions too, can't he? Maybe HE sent the assassin?) and we still don't have anything close to an answer on that.

Joffrey sounded like a pretty good candidate, seeing as any Lannister wouldn't have used Tyrion's knife. Unless it was Cersei and Cersei actually seemed freaked out when she pushed Jaime and yelled, "What were you thinking? He's a ten year old child!" back in season one (that might be a very slight paraphrase).

Edited March 31, 2014 by stillshimpy

[RadiantAerynSun]

Oh thanks a bunch shimpy. I assumed the default was the mobile version but that was not the case thank the Seven. This is better but still don't expect any long winded input from me until after 5pm!!

[stillshimpy]

As long as we aren't losing you to the Wildlings or Whitewalkers! 

[WhiteStumbler]

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! Bring me drink! Fuck the water, bring me wine!!

Oh yeaaaaah! Glad to see some friendly, familiar faces! <waves to all> <wipes pig shit from boots> And a special shoutout to stillshimpy for the 'olly olly oxen free' ping.

I had to bail last season after becoming convinced that there was at least one person on the TVWoP Spitball Wall who was playing us. Their level of certitude about upcoming events, combined with a topic I believed I was spoiled about, had me convinced there was a BookWalker amongst us Unsullied. It turns out that I (and the presumed BookWalker) were wrong, wrong, wrong, and what I thought I was spoiled about turned out not to have been true. Good thing I didn't elect for a Trial by Combat... Now, back to Show!

I had a Westeros Milkcarton post back at the Olde Wall where TWO of the characters showed up in S3 - Dondarrion and Barristan Selmy! And both were interesting characters (though Selmy has been Slightly Older Version of Jorah to Dany - so far). So I am convinced that there are NO minor characters in this show. So in the spirit of Who Tried to Kill Bran (2nd x) and Who Got Nedd Killed (because, duh, it was Nedd - he got himself killed) I present a partial list of who is still unaccounted for...

Benjen Stark (was it stillshimpy who called him "Something Timothy Dalton?). No idea what became of him, and not a lot of people seem concerned anymore.

Jaqen H'ghar. Off being Faceless somewhere?

Pyp, Grenn, Edd. Jon's NW brothers. I think Pyp didn't go on the expedition North of The Wall? BTW, did we see Maester Aemon at the end of last season? I am still rewatching.

Alliser Thorne. What happened to the hand of the animated corpse he was sent to deliver? I seem to remember that another character in Kings Landing may have need of a spare hand...

Illyrio. He held a wedding for Dany and Khal Drogo. Last seen by Arya conspiring with Varys beneath the Red Keep.

Nymerhia. Ghost has been MIA for a while as well (last seen outside Craster's Keep, right?).

I rewatched the last few episodes of S2 and am up to S3E4. Running out of time, but SO amped that this is starting up again! I had forgotten how FUNNY "Blackwater" was! Despite having some of the grimmest, bloodiest action scenes so far, the dialogue is fantastic. This still kills me...

Bronn: Don't get killed.
Tyrion Lannister: Nor you, my friend.
Bronn: Oh... are we friends now?
Tyrion Lannister: Of course we are. Just because I pay you for your services doesn't diminish our friendship.
Bronn: Enhances it, really.
Tyrion Lannister: Oh, "enhances". Fancy word for a sellsword.
Bronn: Been spending time with fancy folks.