Season 6: Info, Casting and Spoilers

[Eyes High]

56 minutes ago, Winnief said:

One can only hope.

But are we sure *Yara* will provide the ships?!?  I mean why would she want to head to Slavers Bay?!?  She's not gonna plan to marry Dany herself like Vic did.  Besides, I'd think they'd want a Greyjoy sibling reunion sometime soon post-Reek.

There was a shot in the trailers of Yara kissing a gorgeous girl with a tear-shaped tattoo on her cheek. She very likely goes to Volantis at some point, either fleeing after her failure at the Kingsmoot or, more likely, sent on a Victarion-style mission by Euron to pledge ships to Dany.

I do think Theon and Yara will reunite. There was that shot in the trailer of a teary Theon looking at someone whose back was to the camera. Judging from the hair, it's probably Yara. The only question, apart from whether Yara and Dany will hook up (so to speak) before season's end, is whether Theon will accompany Yara to Volantis. I've seen rumours that Theon is killed unexpectedly and rumours that Theon is in Volantis with Yara.

I really, really hope that Dany leaves Essos by season's end, but I doubt that the stars will align for that, especially if there's a big Meereen attack by the Dothraki as late as 6x09 or 6x10. I'll feel really cheated if Dany doesn't leave Essos for keeps by season's end, especially since we know that Arya is FINALLY ditching Braavos and arriving back in Westeros (hallelujah!), and frankly at this point I don't care if D&D cut storytelling corners to get there. Make it happen, writers.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Eyes High

[GrailKing]

23 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

There was a shot in the trailers of Yara kissing a gorgeous girl with a tear-shaped tattoo on her cheek. She very likely goes to Volantis at some point, either fleeing after her failure at the Kingsmoot or, more likely, sent on a Victarion-style mission by Euron to pledge ships to Dany.

I do think Theon and Yara will reunite. There was that shot in the trailer of a teary Theon looking at someone whose back was to the camera. Judging from the hair, it's probably Yara. The only question, apart from whether Yara and Dany will hook up (so to speak) before season's end, is whether Theon will accompany Yara to Volantis. I've seen rumours that Theon is killed unexpectedly and rumours that Theon is in Volantis with Yara.

I really, really hope that Dany leaves Essos by season's end, but I doubt that the stars will align for that, especially if there's a big Meereen attack by the Dothraki as late as 6x09 or 6x10. I'll feel really cheated if Dany doesn't leave Essos for keeps by season's end, especially since we know that Arya is FINALLY ditching Braavos and arriving back in Westeros (hallelujah!), and frankly at this point I don't care if D&D cut storytelling corners to get there. Make it happen, writers.

I thought it was Sansa when she did the breathe the air speech to Reek.

[ElizaD]

Owen Teale:

 

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Alliser Thorne is a mutton-and-potatoes kind of guy, not someone who strongly believes in the supernatural. How will something like Jon Snow's resurrection shake up Alliser Thorne's world view?

It's going to take a little while to sink in that it's really true, that this has happened. Once he takes that on board, I think the things I just mentioned to you are the things he'll dwell on: "Would you want it? Would you really want to do this again?" I don't think he has that sense of joy about life. He doesn't have a belief in a great maker he's going onto, that he's ever moving to a better world beyond this. That's a bit stark and a bit bleak, but I think it's been a very powerful thing to play. It's quite scary, and it has upset me playing a character like that, because I'm a father with children. I do have hope for the future. I do have a sense of joy about life and what it is to be alive, what it is to make the most of the moment. To play somebody who has had all of that removed has effected me. It's quite an upsetting character.

 

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Do people approach you upset about your role in Jon's death?

They do. They go, "Why? Why did you do it?" I'll say, "Well, you have to see the world through his eyes." And they'll say, "Why? What is it, underneath it all?" And I'll say Jon represents everything Alliser Thorne either lost or never had, and that's a sense of joy about humanity. He sees good in people. Alliser Thorne doesn't. It's a joyless vision of the world. Alliser Thorne believes that the human being is born sad and greedy. It's about survival. If that means killing someone in order to survive, then so be it. This man, Jon, is on a different plane, and Alliser can't bear it. He just can't bear it. That's what's underneath it.

Given the extraordinary circumstances of Alliser killing Jon, and then Jon returning from the dead, is there a possibility for middle ground between them? Can there be a reconciliation between these two adversaries?

Yes. I think there can be. I can't say anymore than that, but I think so. It may be brief! But they will come to an understanding of each other in saying, "Yes. I hear you. I hear you."

Good interview. IMO, Thorne has ended up being one of the show's best antagonists because unlike so many of the others he's not a mustache-twirling villain, he has genuine shades of gray and a point of view that you can understand even when it's wrong. The interview gives me the impression that Jon will prove himself the better man by leaving Thorne and the other mutineers in charge of the Wall, contrasting with Thorne's intention to kill Davos, because he's capable of making alliances and prioritizing the fight against the White Walkers over his personal grievances. He goes after Ramsay because he's a direct threat to the North's ability to stand against the WW, and Thorne stays on the Wall to become the big death when it falls.

Edited May 3, 2016 by ElizaD

[CofCinci]

Will we get those sweet Spanish spoilers again this week?

[SeanC]

His channel is still up, so unless his information has run dry (or HBO's goons have threatened to break his legs) I don't see why not.

[Haleth]

8 hours ago, Eyes High said:

I really, really hope that Dany leaves Essos by season's end, but I doubt that the stars will align for that, especially if there's a big Meereen attack by the Dothraki as late as 6x09 or 6x10. I'll feel really cheated if Dany doesn't leave Essos for keeps by season's end, especially since we know that Arya is FINALLY ditching Braavos and arriving back in Westeros (hallelujah!), and frankly at this point I don't care if D&D cut storytelling corners to get there. Make it happen, writers.

That sounds like a good season 6 final shot to me... Dany and her whole entourage setting sail for Westeros.  At last.

I don't feel as angry/disgruntled/disgusted about Rickon's fate now that we know Bran won't be stuck in the cave forever.  I'd like to see him become Lord of Winterfell with Meera as his lady.  (And they lived happily...)

Epi 3 sounds like it will be brimming with content.  Don't blink!

[Chris24601]

My guess is that episode three is going to be extremely Stark heavy. We've got Jon's resurrection, Bran witnessing the Tower of Joy (so young Ned and Lyanna as well), Rickon almost certainly being the Umbers' gift to Ramsey and Arya will recover her sight. So just to round it out I foresee Sansa reaching Castle Black at the end of the episode so they can close on the first ever Stark Reunion.

My suspicion is that Dany's story will be mostly setup... Dany arrives at Vas Dothrak and maybe gets installed in the temple (which is surely where the stripping scene from the teasers comes in) and we get a shot of Jorah and Dario near the city. I think the explosions will happen in episode 5 (The (Red) Door will probably give use Dany backstory that could be linked into her conquest of the Dothraki via Drogan).

Kings Landing will probably be setup for the next stage of conflict between the Lannisters and the Faith Militant, with something major happening next episode (Book of the Stranger refers back to the holy book of the Faith and to death... so I expect something dramatic to happen in that regard).

Varys is supposed to be departing Mereen soon so my guess is that those scenes will relate to his departure.

And that's basically episode three in a nutshell... the big revelation of the night will almost certainly be R+L=J, so presuming the save the Stark Reunion for the coda (because it will give fans a warm fuzzy for once), I'm going to guess that Bran and the Tower of Joy will actually be the second to last sequence of the episode (and Jon's resurrection itself will be first obviously).

[nksarmi]

11 hours ago, Eyes High said:

It looks like Dany is en route and away from Vaes Dothrak leading a bunch of Dothraki somewhere with Daario by 6x05 or 6x06 according to set reports. So if you're worried that Dany's going to spend the season cooped up in Vaes Dothrak, worry not. It's pretty clear from spoilers and such that Dany's storyline is going to hit certain beats:

1. Dany gets the Dothraki's respect, with Drogon's help.

2. Dany enlists the Dothraki in a quest to restore order to Meereen.

3. The Dothraki sack Meereen and/or the other cities retaken by the masters.

4. Having restored some semblance of order to Slavers' Bay, Dany finally turns her eyes westward. Somewhere along the way, Tyrion has managed to wrangle the other two dragons.

Throw in Yara to provide the necessary ships and boom! Game of Thrones' stint in Essos will be finally, FINALLY done, thank God.

I would love Dany's time in Essos to come to an end this season - so I won't even try to wrap my head around the idea that a people who are known for taking, raping, and selling/trading slaves will be the ones to put order to Slaver's Bay.

[GrailKing]

7 hours ago, ElizaD said:

Owen Teale:

 

This is good, but as far as the show didn't Mormont send him to KL with the live hand to place at Joffry's feet?

You would think from that angle he understand better why Jon did what he did.

And being jealous of a bastard and not just any bastard; but the 'son' of Eddard Stark and nephew of Benjen Stark has much to do with it.

[Eyes High]

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

That sounds like a good season 6 final shot to me... Dany and her whole entourage setting sail for Westeros.  At last.

I don't feel as angry/disgruntled/disgusted about Rickon's fate now that we know Bran won't be stuck in the cave forever.  I'd like to see him become Lord of Winterfell with Meera as his lady.  (And they lived happily...)

Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but if Bran leaves the cave, it seems we'll be inching closer to a Bran-as-Lord-of-Winterfell endgame. There has always been speculation that the last chapter of ASOIAF's will be Bran's, as he had the first chapter. Of course, for this to work, he has to make it back to Winterfell in one piece, but I don't think Jon or Sansa would have any issue with his claim, especially since GOT Sansa and Jon know that he's alive. I still expect Sansa--or, if she dies, Jon--to hold Winterfell until Bran's return, though.

2 hours ago, Chris24601 said:

My guess is that episode three is going to be extremely Stark heavy. We've got Jon's resurrection, Bran witnessing the Tower of Joy (so young Ned and Lyanna as well), Rickon almost certainly being the Umbers' gift to Ramsey and Arya will recover her sight. So just to round it out I foresee Sansa reaching Castle Black at the end of the episode so they can close on the first ever Stark Reunion.

(...)

Kings Landing will probably be setup for the next stage of conflict between the Lannisters and the Faith Militant, with something major happening next episode (Book of the Stranger refers back to the holy book of the Faith and to death... so I expect something dramatic to happen in that regard).

Varys is supposed to be departing Mereen soon so my guess is that those scenes will relate to his departure.

I agree that a Jon/Sansa reunion seems likely in 6x03.

Varys isn't going anywhere until he has had that scene with the Red Priestess from the trailer. Maybe that relates to the "answer": maybe Varys comes up with the idea to recruit the RPs to preach Dany-supportive propaganda.

2 hours ago, nksarmi said:

I would love Dany's time in Essos to come to an end this season - so I won't even try to wrap my head around the idea that a people who are known for taking, raping, and selling/trading slaves will be the ones to put order to Slaver's Bay.

As with many aspects of GOT, it's probably better if you don't think about it too much...but yes, the irony of Dany using a people whose culture is based on slavery to restore order to a city or cities she'd initially conquered for the sin of using slavery is clear. I'm guessing Dany will be in her full "Dragons plant no trees!!!" mode and won't be too concerned about such things, though.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Eyes High

[GrailKing]

4 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but if Bran leaves the cave, it seems we'll be inching closer to a Bran-as-Lord-of-Winterfell endgame. There has always been speculation that the last chapter of ASOIAF's will be Bran's, as he had the first chapter. Of course, for this to work, he has to make it back to Winterfell in one piece, but I don't think Jon or Sansa would have any issue with his claim, especially since GOT Sansa and Jon know that he's alive. I still expect Sansa--or, if she dies, Jon--to hold Winterfell until Bran's return, though.

I agree that a Jon/Sansa reunion seems likely in 6x03.

Varys isn't going anywhere until he has had that scene with the Red Priestess from the trailer. Maybe that relates to the "answer": maybe Varys comes up with the idea to recruit the RPs to preach Dany-supportive propaganda.

As with many aspects of GOT, it's probably better if you don't think about it too much...but yes, the irony is clear.

I'm just going to make it a bit more bitter sweet here, Bran is talking to us from the Heart Tree of Winterfell, where we find out how it ended and what became of his siblings.

I for one like to see and old redhead talking to her grand children and nieces and nephews about the second fight for the dawn and a faceless girl and a certain Uncle Jon and mayhaps a Brandon, with an old Rickon smiling.

Well maybe this is more sweet.    :>)

[Eyes High]

Just now, GrailKing said:

I'm just going to make it a bit more bitter sweet here, Bran is talking to us from the Heart Tree of Winterfell, where we find out how it ended and what became of his siblings.

I for one like to see and old redhead talking to her grand children and nieces and nephews about the second fight for the dawn and a faceless girl and a certain Uncle Jon and mayhaps a Brandon, with an old Rickon smiling.

Well maybe this is more sweet.    :>)

That could work. The big thing that makes me doubt Bran as endgame Lord of Winterfell is that Bran already had his stint as the head of Winterfell in ACOK/Season 2, albeit under very different circumstances, and GRRM doesn't tend to go "backwards" with his characters, if that makes sense. (That's another reason why I think it's unlikely that Tyrion, assuming he lives long enough, will end the series as someone's Hand.)

[SeanC]

Bran could conceivably head off into the wilds again after the battle is over, though we know so little about how greenseers are expected to live and operate that it's hard to say.  Or he may again be lord/king, this time in his own right (he'd need one of his sisters to produce an heir for him, though, since he can't have children himself).

I'm still unsure how the sequence of events in 603 is going to play out.  If the Umbers are handing over Rickon, a lot of people are assuming it's going to relate to Jon bringing in the Wildlings, but Rickon and the legitimate Starks had nothing to do with that, and Sansa and Jon (assuming the former makes it to the Wall in that episode) couldn't possibly have already had time to make moves to use the Wildlings in their campaign to retake Winterfell.

[GrailKing]

5 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

That could work. The big thing that makes me doubt Bran as endgame Lord of Winterfell is that Bran already had his stint as the head of Winterfell in ACOK/Season 2, albeit under very different circumstances, and GRRM doesn't tend to go "backwards" with his characters, if that makes sense. (That's another reason why I think it's unlikely that Tyrion, assuming he lives long enough, will end the series as someone's Hand.)

Well what westeros needs is the right person or people so Tyrion and Bran could still fit those roles, and Sansa could still be Queen, though we know that's no longer what she wants.

GRRM is good with disappointing his characters.

2 minutes ago, SeanC said:

Bran could conceivably head off into the wilds again after the battle is over, though we know so little about how greenseers are expected to live and operate that it's hard to say.  Or he may again be lord/king, this time in his own right (he'd need one of his sisters to produce an heir for him, though, since he can't have children himself).

I'm still unsure how the sequence of events in 603 is going to play out.  If the Umbers are handing over Rickon, a lot of people are assuming it's going to relate to Jon bringing in the Wildlings, but Rickon and the legitimate Starks had nothing to do with that, and Sansa and Jon (assuming the former makes it to the Wall in that episode) couldn't possibly have already had time to make moves to use the Wildlings in their campaign to retake Winterfell.

Agree with you, but do we expect the Umbers to take this unemotionally with the history they had?

[SeanC]

5 minutes ago, GrailKing said:

Agree with you, but do we expect the Umbers to take this unemotionally with the history they had?

The Umbers hating the Wildlings is a given, but that still strikes me as quite an extreme reaction, particularly since, as far as the Umbers know, Jon is still Lord Commander and has nothing to do with his family's political issues.  The Umbers are supposed to be real loyalists (they've been hiding Rickon all this time).  To go from that to handing him over to Ramsay Bolton without, say, trying to talk to Sansa or anything like that, or even using Rickon themselves as an alternative standardbearer, is really weird to me.

[GrailKing]

2 minutes ago, SeanC said:

The Umbers hating the Wildlings is a given, but that still strikes me as quite an extreme reaction, particularly since, as far as the Umbers know, Jon is still Lord Commander and has nothing to do with his family's political issues.  The Umbers are supposed to be real loyalists (they've been hiding Rickon all this time).  To go from that to handing him over to Ramsay Bolton without, say, trying to talk to Sansa or anything like that, or even using Rickon themselves as an alternative standardbearer, is really weird to me.

Your not getting an argument from me on it, but the writers seem to play it up.

I can see the Karstarks mucking around, but the others..Umbers, Manderly nope just noooooooo.

[Haleth]

The only thing that would make any sense is if Ramsay lied to the Umbers and said Sansa wanted to see her little brother. I can think of no good reason for the writers to have them turn Rickon over unless they were tricked. And even that stretches credibility. 

[GrailKing]

9 minutes ago, Haleth said:

The only thing that would make any sense is if Ramsay lied to the Umbers and said Sansa wanted to see her little brother. I can think of no good reason for the writers to have them turn Rickon over unless they were tricked. And even that stretches credibility. 

I like but I would expect the Northern houses having look outs, I'm thinking they do another reversal, instead of Bran and company meeting a Liddle member on the road they put it with Sansa and company.

[Eyes High]

I doubt there will be anything resembling moral ambiguity when it comes to the anti-Stark forces at BOTB. Harald Karstark has been established as a baaaad dude. The Umber guy's wolfish grin in the promo as he informs Ramsay that he has a gift for him also suggests that the TV Umbers are going to be baaaaaad dudes. There will be no doubt that we'll be supposed to be rooting for them to get crushed in 6x09.

On another note, did anyone recognize the armour of the guy behind Sansa in the trailer shot of Sansa in the black gown outdoors? The armour for the various factions is pretty distinctive.
 

I hope the TOJ lives up to the hype, but all I could see at the closeup of Ned was Barney Stinson in a wig.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Eyes High

[nksarmi]

28 minutes ago, Haleth said:

The only thing that would make any sense is if Ramsay lied to the Umbers and said Sansa wanted to see her little brother. I can think of no good reason for the writers to have them turn Rickon over unless they were tricked. And even that stretches credibility. 

That's what I'm hoping - that the Umbers are turning Rickon over to Ramsay in genuine belief that he intends to make the boy Lord of Winterfell. I'd rather the show make them stupid or naïve than traitors the Starks.

I don't remember if the show has made it very clear that the North knows the role Roose played in Robb's death/The Red Wedding. And since the Ramsey / Sansa wedding didn't seem to involve any Northern Lords/Houses - they might also get me to believe that Ramsey can sell himself as a "concerned husband" if rumors of his batshitcrazy ways haven't made it all over the North.

So if Ramsey puts out word that the turncoat Theon Greyjoy poisoned his father and kidnapped his wife Sansa Stark - but not before he revealed that Rickon Stark was still alive - and that Ramsey would pay handsomely for the return of the boy and his wife and traitor Theon's head, then the show might convince me the Umbers would bring Rickon back. And if Ramsey maintains the illusion for a bit that he plans to make Rickon Lord of Winterfell, that could explain to me why the Umbers and other Northmen stay on Ramsey's side initially.

Because to them, John Snow will look like a traitor to the Night's Watch who is leading an Army of Wildlings against a Northern Lord. Of course once he wins, I expect the Umbers and Manderlys to rally behind John and Sansa 100%. I expect if Ramsey kills Rickon it will be the last act of a losing madman, not a public act - but I could be wrong.

Edited May 3, 2016 by nksarmi

[Chris24601]

One thing to consider though in terms of the Umbers turning over Rickon is that Rickon went to the Umbers BEFORE the Red Wedding. Its quite possible there's been a change in leadership as a result of the Red Wedding that puts them more in Ramsey's camp than they otherwise would have been.

[Oscirus]

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That's what I'm hoping - that the Umbers are turning Rickon over to Ramsay in genuine belief that he intends to make the boy Lord of Winterfell. I'd rather the show make them stupid or naïve than traitors the Starks.

Umbers have to be traitors, otherwise why would they be calling Rickon a gift for Ramsey?

[SeanC]

1 hour ago, nksarmi said:

I don't remember if the show has made it very clear that the North knows the role Roose played in Robb's death/The Red Wedding.

Sansa knew that Roose murdered Robb in 503, and in that same episode Roose is talking about how fragile things are for them.  I'm pretty sure they know, even if there hasn't been much focus on it (but then, we haven't really met many Northerners post-Red Wedding other than the Boltons).

1 hour ago, Eyes High said:

On another note, did anyone recognize the armour of the guy behind Sansa in the trailer shot of Sansa in the black gown outdoors? The armour for the various factions is pretty distinctive.

I was looking at it, but nothing stood out.  

[GrailKing]

13 minutes ago, SeanC said:

Sansa knew that Roose murdered Robb in 503, and in that same episode Roose is talking about how fragile things are for them.  I'm pretty sure they know, even if there hasn't been much focus on it (but then, we haven't really met many Northerners post-Red Wedding other than the Boltons).

I was looking at it, but nothing stood out.  

I have that as my WP, the background is too blurry , but he looked a bit Arryn to me, but that was a guess on my part.

Edited May 3, 2016 by GrailKing
spelling.

[SeanC]

We've been talking about the evidently impending Jon/Sansa reunion here, as well as the presumption that Brienne's being sent after Arya.  I really hope that they use this opportunity to show us Jon learning that Arya's alive and/or at least talking about how much he wants to see her again.  I don't think he's mentioned Arya since Season 1.

[ElizaD]

1 hour ago, Eyes High said:

On another note, did anyone recognize the armour of the guy behind Sansa in the trailer shot of Sansa in the black gown outdoors? The armour for the various factions is pretty distinctive.

I looked at some photos and both the Vale soldiers and Robb's men wore helmets that were pretty solid and bucket-like, clearly less ornamental than the Tyrell helmets seen in the trailer, and IMO bigger than what this guy seems to be wearing. I got the impression that the man's armor could be closer to chain mail than the stuff Vale/Northern soldiers have worn, but since he's just a blur in the background it could be that he's wearing familiar armor that simply looks different in a low quality screencap.

[nksarmi]

39 minutes ago, SeanC said:

Sansa knew that Roose murdered Robb in 503, and in that same episode Roose is talking about how fragile things are for them.  I'm pretty sure they know, even if there hasn't been much focus on it (but then, we haven't really met many Northerners post-Red Wedding other than the Boltons).

I was looking at it, but nothing stood out.  

I'm almost willing to chalk that up to Littlefinger told her. Work with me here - I hate the idea of them having the Umbers be loyal to the Boltons if they know Roose murdered Robb.

[Edith]

9 minutes ago, nksarmi said:

I'm almost willing to chalk that up to Littlefinger told her. Work with me here - I hate the idea of them having the Umbers be loyal to the Boltons if they know Roose murdered Robb.

No, Jon knew too. I don't remember which episode was but he said it to Sam when he was sending letters to all northern lords asking for help.

I have been thinking that maybe Rickon takes Mace place in the pink letter. Maybe Jon sends someone to save him. We got another body..

[Eyes High]

Looking at the two long Season 6 trailers, there seems to be a lot of footage from 6x01-6x03 and a lot of footage from 6x09-6x10 (BOTB, Littlefinger in the godswood, the little birds scene, Dothraki charging, etc.), but not much in between. It's interesting, because usually the season trailers have bits from the whole season, whereas this season's trailers seemed to focus pretty heavily on the beginning and ends of the season. With that said, there's some stuff in the trailers that we know is in 6x04-6x08: Jaime riding through the Lannister encampment, Pod/Brienne at Riverrun, Pod getting grabbed from behind (by Bronn), Tyrell/Faith Militant confrontation at the Sept, Kingsmoot, Arya with her sight back fighting the Waif, Arya parkour, Arya's bloody hand trailing into darkness, etc. 

 

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I have been thinking that maybe Rickon takes Mace place in the pink letter. Maybe Jon sends someone to save him. We got another body..

The problem is that in the books, Jon sent Mance and spearwives. In the show, not only is Mance dead, but the only named wildling right now is Tormund, whom we know makes it to the BOTB. I guess it's possible that a bunch of redshirt wildlings are introduced for this mission and fail, but it's not going to pack much of a punch if they wind up on the crosses (because, well, redshirts). On the other hand, if Jon and Sansa are informed that their baby brother is being held captive by Ramsay, I doubt they're just going to sit on their hands.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Eyes High

[Edith]

8 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

Looking at the two long Season 6 trailers, there seems to be a lot of footage from 6x01-6x03 and a lot of footage from 6x09-6x10 (BOTB, Littlefinger in the godswood, the little birds scene, Dothraki charging, etc.), but not much in between. It's interesting, because usually the season trailers have bits from the whole season, whereas this season's trailers seemed to focus pretty heavily on the beginning and ends of the season. With that said, there's some stuff in the trailers that we know is in 6x04-6x08: Jaime riding through the Lannister encampment, Pod/Brienne at Riverrun, Pod getting grabbed from behind (by Bronn), Tyrell/Faith Militant confrontation at the Sept, Kingsmoot, Arya parkour, Arya's bloody hand trailing into darkness, etc. 

The problem is that in the books, Jon sent Mance and spearwives. In the show, not only is Mance dead, but the only named wildling right now is Tormund, whom we know makes it to the BOTB. I guess it's possible that a bunch of redshirt wildlings are introduced for this mission and fail, but it's not going to pack much of a punch if they wind up on the crosses (because, well, redshirts). On the other hand, if Jon and Sansa are informed that their baby brother is being held captive by Ramsay, I doubt they're just going to sit on their hands.

First the spoilers only said about 2 bodies. We know from the trailer there are more. They (WOTW, L7R) said we know 2 bodies and that one of them was alive in the last season. So the other bodies are not for the audience but for the Stark forces (Jon/Wildlings).

But what can J&S do? They don't have the numbers to face Ramsey and rescue Rickon and Jon is not going to send Sansa back. 

I don't remember Jon sending Mance to Winterfell. I thought he sent Mance to help the girl on the horse in the middle of the snow that Mel thought it was Arya..I have to read the book again..

[Eyes High]

EW recently stated that Kit Harington had more filming days for Season 6 than any other actor. Even taking into account the corpse Jon scenes, that means a lot of Jon in the back eight.

[SeanC]

18 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

EW recently stated that Kit Harington had more filming days for Season 6 than any other actor. Even taking into account the corpse Jon scenes, that means a lot of Jon in the back eight.

Not that I'm not expecting him to have a huge role, but I expect the amount of filming days has rather a lot to do with how long it took to film Snowbowl.

[GrailKing]

1 hour ago, Edith said:

First the spoilers only said about 2 bodies. We know from the trailer there are more. They (WOTW, L7R) said we know 2 bodies and that one of them was alive in the last season. So the other bodies are not for the audience but for the Stark forces (Jon/Wildlings).

But what can J&S do? They don't have the numbers to face Ramsey and rescue Rickon and Jon is not going to send Sansa back. 

I don't remember Jon sending Mance to Winterfell. I thought he sent Mance to help the girl on the horse in the middle of the snow that Mel thought it was Arya..I have to read the book again..

In a Dance with Dragons Mance was glamoured as Rattleshirt, Jon refused to send RS, Mel revealed the glamour and Jon sent Mance, Jon holds Mance's son as insurence, Mance takes the spearwives, Mance doesn't know that Jon switch Gilly's baby for Mance's baby who is with Sam and Gilly.

5 minutes ago, SeanC said:

Not that I'm not expecting him to have a huge role, but I expect the amount of filming days has rather a lot to do with how long it took to film Snowbowl.

Mel did say a whole day right, she changed his code name to something more like a NC17 rating. LOL

[Alayne Stone]

I'm trying not to get too overhyped about TOJ. I remember we were all so excited when we heard about Cersei's prophesy being filmed and then it stopped just short of the Valonquar. I can see TOJ stopping just after Ned (and/or Howland) kills Arthur Dayne and the scene basically just ending on a note of "Wow, look at what a bad ass fighter Ned is!" That's of course just the cynic in me.

And I have no doubt we'll be seeing more of Jon.

He has to have his revelation to everyone at Castle Black which could potentially be several scenes considering we have wildlings, members of the Night's watch, traitors to the Night's watch, Mel and Davos all to contend with. Then he has to have his reunion with Sansa. And he has to gear up for the Bastard Bowl which is going to require some scenes negotiating with allies. Sansa and Davos could help with this. I can see them branching off on their own to head to Bear Island while Jon stays back with the Wildling forces. And this is all not even counting episode 9 or 10, both of which we know he will be in.

Anticipate a lot of Jon going forward.

[Haleth]

2 hours ago, Edith said:

I don't remember Jon sending Mance to Winterfell. I thought he sent Mance to help the girl on the horse in the middle of the snow that Mel thought it was Arya..I have to read the book again..

That's right but Mance and the spearwives ended up at Winterfell posing as a bard and (ahem) washerwomen.  They killed a few Frey/Bolton soldiers then helped Jeyne and Theon escape.  It would have been great in the show.  Such a waste of Ciaran Hinds.

[SeanC]

Continuing to track castmember billing, this is what I've got from comparing the first two episodes.  There are two billing tiers, those with individual placement and those in the joint billing jumble.  At present, the individual tier is:

1. Peter Dinklage
2. Nicolaj Coster-Waldau
3. Lena Headey
4. Emilia Clarke
5. Kit Harington
6. Liam Cunningham
7. Carice van Houten
8. Natalie Dormer (last year she was ahead of Cunningham and Van Houten)
9. Indira Varma
10. Sophie Turner (as noted after the premiere, now jumping to the individual tier)
11. Nathalie Emmanuel (has leapfrogged several castmembers, most notably Maisie, but also Huisman and possibly Bradley and Murray, all of whom she was behind last year in the joint billing category)

Then the joint billing, where there's a real oddity between 601 & 602.  In 601, Gwendoline Christie & Alfie Allen were right behind Maisie Williams & Conleth Hill (while Jonathan Pryce was paired below them with Michiel Huisman).  In 602, however, the joint billing looked like this:

1. Maisie Williams & Conleth Hill
2. Jonathan Pryce & Kristofer Hivju
3. Alfie Allen & Tom Wlaschiha
4. Iwan Rheon & Michael McElhatton
5. Gwendoline Christie & Dean-Charles Chapman & Isaac Hempstead Wright (poor Isaac, dead last)

And then "with Iain Glen".

Aidan Gillen was billed between Kit and Natalie in Season 5, but we haven't seen him yet this year.  John Bradley and Hannah Murray were in the joint billing tier as well, and have yet to be seen.

Edited May 4, 2016 by SeanC

[Alayne Stone]

IIRC actors won't appear in the credits unless they actually appear in that episode, which would explain why Aidan, John and Hannah have yet to appear.

[Eyes High]

It seems weird to me that NCW and LH come ahead of Emilia and Kit in the billing order.

[nksarmi]

Is there any indication to how Jon will find out who his parents really are this season?

[CofCinci]

18 minutes ago, nksarmi said:

Is there any indication to how Jon will find out who his parents really are this season?

Maybe that's what gets Bran out of the cave. He wants to tell Jon the truth about his parentage???

[ParadoxLost]

1 hour ago, Eyes High said:

It seems weird to me that NCW and LH come ahead of Emilia and Kit in the billing order.

Billing has more to do with what the actors reps negotiated when contracts were signed than the evolution of the show.  No one was extraordinarily famous when the show started but NWW and LH had a longer list of credits when the show started. 

[SeanC]

2 hours ago, Alayne Stone said:

IIRC actors won't appear in the credits unless they actually appear in that episode, which would explain why Aidan, John and Hannah have yet to appear.

I know, hence why I said they've yet to be seen.

2 hours ago, Eyes High said:

It seems weird to me that NCW and LH come ahead of Emilia and Kit in the billing order.

If you go back to Season 1, the initial billing order began:

1. Sean Bean
2. Mark Addy
3. Nicolaj Coster-Waldau
4. Michelle Fairley
5. Lena Headey
6. Emilia Clarke
7. Iain Glen
8. Aidan Gillen
9. Harry Lloyd & Kit Harington

And so on.  Peter Dinklage had the "and" credit.  Beginning in Season 2, Dinklage replaced Bean in the top spot, Glen got shifted to the end and "with" (not sure why they don't use "and" for him; usually in TV credits "with" is used as a penultimate designation).  NCW and Headey saw the people ahead of them get killed off.  Harington jumped ahead of Gillen (and various other new people).

[Eyes High]

4 hours ago, nksarmi said:

Is there any indication to how Jon will find out who his parents really are this season?

I don't know if Jon will find out, but I am fairly certain that we the audience will find out for sure.

4 hours ago, CofCinci said:

Maybe that's what gets Bran out of the cave. He wants to tell Jon the truth about his parentage???

I do think Bran will want everyone to know the truth: IHW has said that Bran will be putting the puzzle pieces together this season, and Bran took special note of Lyanna in 6x02, so I'm going to guess that Bran is going to be the one to spell out R+L=J to the audience and is going to want to tell everyone. Look at how excited Bran was at learning that Hodor was named Willas and could once talk; he eagerly informed Meera and Hodor of his discovery right away. Can you imagine how excited he'll be once he learns the truth about Jon's parentage?

However, I don't think Bran will leave the cave for that reason. I think he'll leave the cave because it will be attacked by WWs and wights, forcing him to flee.

[Hecate7]

12 hours ago, nksarmi said:

I'm almost willing to chalk that up to Littlefinger told her. Work with me here - I hate the idea of them having the Umbers be loyal to the Boltons if they know Roose murdered Robb.

They know. Everyone knows. Tyrion probably told her, though, not Littlefinger.

1 hour ago, Eyes High said:

I don't know if Jon will find out, but I am fairly certain that we the audience will find out for sure.

I do think Bran will want everyone to know the truth: IHW has said that Bran will be putting the puzzle pieces together this season, and Bran took special note of Lyanna in 6x02, so I'm going to guess that Bran is going to be the one to spell out R+L=J to the audience and is going to want to tell everyone. Look at how excited Bran was at learning that Hodor was named Willas and could once talk; he eagerly informed Meera and Hodor of his discovery right away. Can you imagine how excited he'll be once he learns the truth about Jon's parentage?

 

 

What do you want to bet that R+L=J is the reason Hodor can't talk? And that Jon's parentage is the reason the 3-eyed Raven stopped Bran when he did?

[Eyes High]

8 hours ago, Hecate7 said:

They know. Everyone knows. Tyrion probably told her, though, not Littlefinger.

 

What do you want to bet that R+L=J is the reason Hodor can't talk? And that Jon's parentage is the reason the 3-eyed Raven stopped Bran when he did?

I'm not sure why Hodor is unable to speak anything but his name in the books. From a modern medical perspective, it points to some sort of severe brain injury, but for all we know there could be a more mystical explanation in the show. Bran seemed very curious over Hodor losing his ability to speak in the show, so maybe that is a plot point that will be dealt with again. Although there are exceptions (beetle monologue), there is not a lot of "filler" dialogue in the show anymore, with so many competing plot strands: pretty much everything that's there is there for a reason. This Hodor speech business will come up again, I think.

[GrailKing]

Maybe he was asked to hold a door open so Lyanna could make a fast break, or he tried to stop her?

[GrailKing]

WOTW has pixs up for Sunday biggest change the little birds.

[Eyes High]

Putting the promo and the promotional shots together, it looks like Cersei tells Qyburn she wants to know what's going on, so he produces the "little birds" (inherited from Varys?) to gather information. Glad to see more of Qyburn, at any rate; Anton Lesser is fantastic (he was a great Thomas More in the recent Wolf Hall adaptation, which was crawling with GOT actors).

Someone on the WOTW 6x03 pictures comment thread says that there's information that Varys leaves Meereen in 6x07. Seems kind of late to me, especially if Varys is supposed to show up in Dorne at some point as was suggested by Conleth Hill being in the vicinity when certain Dorne scenes were filmed.

Speaking of, if Varys does show up in Dorne, presumably to put out feelers for Dornish support of Dany, given what I see as the hints in the books that the Dornish are going to back Aegon instead (out of Arianne seeing an opportunity to be queen of Westeros and/or out of pique over Quentyn's fate, I'm guessing), I wonder what will happen.

[Audreythe2nd]

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was third as early as the first season? Interesting. Since then I think he's been consistently #2 after Dinklage (when he's in an episode) and he's definitely in Tier 1 in terms of actors' salaries. I can't remember if it was on this board or somewhere else where we were discussing what D&D knew about the story back in Season 1, and then what they further learned before Season 4 and if any significance could be gleaned from any of their choices (and I think most people said "no") but NCW's consistent and elevated placement since Day 1 is one of those things that makes me go hmmmm on occasion. 

Edited May 4, 2016 by Audreythe2nd

[proserpina65]

On ‎05‎/‎03‎/‎2016 at 1:49 PM, Oscirus said:

Umbers have to be traitors, otherwise why would they be calling Rickon a gift for Ramsey?

At least some of them were in the books - Hother Whoresbane supported the Boltons.  And yes, I had to look the name up.  All I could think of was Crow Food, but that was the Umber who joined Stannis.

Edited May 4, 2016 by proserpina65