S06.E06: Blood Of My Blood

[mojoween]

Walder Frey is a horrible, awful person but dammit again the casting agents cast someone with a fuckton of charisma so when he sits there with thought bubbles over his head saying "can you seriously believe the shit I have to deal with from my useless underlings" I can't help but be amused.

[candall]

41 minutes ago, RCharter said:

 

Margery seemed to want feel out Tommen's views on the Sparrow so she could know how best to proceed.  I think if Tommen had given any indication that he was not already enraptured with the Sparrow, her actions would have been different.

She knew that her best course of action was to pretend like she is down with it too......fighting will just get you sent away like Jaime.

I know we saw Tommen being glamoured by the Sparrow last week, but I thought when Margaery said, "Oh, but he's not quite what we thought, IS HE?" the garden path she was leading him down was (artificially) pro-Sparrow.

 

I admire Margaery so much.  Give her a dragon or two and this show is over.  Plus, I could never be queen because I don't have guile, or control, enough to stop myself from saying OMG, you are so stupid.  Tommen's not competent to do anything but play with Ser Pounce and think about his new fun hobby, sex.

 

Cersei raised her children as though she'd always be there to work the puppet strings and Olenna trained Margaery to use her own brain. 

Additional thought:  Olenna must have been disappointed when Loras wasn't the ambitious type--it's just so much harder for these smart women to gain traction in the uphill battle.  (But my money's still on Margaery.)

Edited May 30, 2016 by candall

[AlliMo]

I don't doubt that Littlefinger genuinely loved/still loves Cat, in his own warped way, and that he does have some weakness for Sansa because of it, though whether that love will win out over his love for power is debatable. Nor do I think that Cersei would turn against Tommen, because the one consistent thing about her is her deep love of her children. The complexity of the characters is what I like best about this show.

[Mabinogia]

This show does have a knack for casting super charismatic actors to play their bad guys. It is a great gift because it makes the badguys more interesting. And while I 100% want to see Walder and Cercei and Ramsey and countless other terrible, horrible people get what is coming to them, at least while they are here I can enjoy them in all their horrible evil. Ramsey is the hardest for me to enjoy watching, not because of the actor who is amazing and the only saving grace, but because his evil is so over the top it is absolutely laughable. I'm sure I'm supposed to be horrified by him but at this point I just roll my eyes and go do something else until his scene's are over. But it is a testament to the actor that I was able to stand him for as long as I did.

I, like many of you, was surprised to see how wealthy Sam's family is. I have been extremely bored with Sam and Gilly's storyline up till now, but I quite liked them this ep. It was nice to see how welcoming his mother and sister were. I loved Gilly defending Sam, even if it did end up giving away her identity. And Sam having the balls to take the family sword and get Gilly and Sam Jr. the hell out of there. If I'm not mistaken, his father was going to let her stay as a maid!!??! I'm glad Sam wasn't having any of that.

Hate the High Sparrow even more than the Lannisters so not happy about that development. The Lannisters might actually be worse people but I find them entertaining. I've never cared fro religious zealots and despite, again, great acting, I don't find the High Sparrow entertaining.

This was definitely a filler episode, but we need those in order to build to action episodes. If we don't have filler eps, then next ep everyone would be left wondering why Jaime is headed north and why Arya isn't with the FM anymore and when Drogon came back (LOVED that scene. Even if Dany's story is going round and round in circles, I still love her showmanship. She's easily the flashiest seeker of the Iron Throne. Total points for style.

[Harald Hardrada]

I'm curious to see how that Targaryen girl going to get thousands of ships for her hordes. Daario states that no kingdom has ever had a large number of ships implied that he never visited Ibben or the Iron Islands. Currently the Ironborn had the largest fleet in Westeros and the Ibbenese with their whaling ships. Of course they not going to give it for free but who knows maybe she got lucky or not at all. Wonder if she going to arrive in time or after the North was taken by the Walkers, could be an interesting battle for all to see.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Harald Hardrada

[MissLucas]

But do the Iron Islands have a 1000 ships anymore? I thought they had to rebuild since Yara and Theon's flight diminished their fleet. At this point I'd say the most efficient means to get all of Daenery's troops to Westeros is by Dragon-DHL. This might also solve the pesky problem of the Dothraki barfing their guts out once they're on a ship.

[AimingforYoko]

5 hours ago, Isazouzi said:

Although OK, what is Benjen now? Half human half White Walker? Cause the Children created the WW by plunging dragon glass in a human's heart. Do you die when a WW spears you with his ice sword? Or do you become a zombie? How does dragon glass reverse the process without making you a WW?

My guess is that he's a Wight not under the control of the White Walkers.

[RedHawk]

22 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

My guess is that he's a Wight not under the control of the White Walkers.

Yes, a wight with his own autonomy and some connection to the White Walker mindmeld, or whatever that power is. Maybe that's how he knows and understands about Bran and 3ER and such.

[candall]

6 hours ago, Save Yourself said:

AND it's always for her, she doesn't give any motivation for how it will help them: 'You can do it - for ME! So I can conquer the world! Go to battle for ME! Even though this (soon to be) war has absolutely nothing to do with you and you didn't even know about Westeros or the Iron Throne til I showed up. So come on and risk your lives for a cause you don't care about!' And they ALWAYS say yes! Why?! I don't get it. Although I guess the slaves she unchained feel they owe her but the Dothraki? All of them can't be enthralled by her. 

I'm totally gobsmacked by this, too.  We're going to load you and your horse up on a boat and sail away from your great grass sea to a place where it snows--what? oh, you'll see--so you can fight to install me on what is called The Iron Throne.  Because you know I'm inflammable.  And I have a dragon!

 

I deleted a bunch of boring stuff about the nuances of Dothraki motivation in favor of:  No.

You're welcome.  : )

[Hecate7]

3 hours ago, Save Yourself said:

I just said the bit about Baelish wanting Sansa dead because I thought that was what you were implying, I'm sorry I got that wrong. The theory that you have put forth makes no sense, that Baelish wants to white knight her - he is sending her to a Stark ally. That would be such a convoluted way to go about things when he can simply offer again his army to Sansa and Jon and help them round up the other Houses, Sansa would most likely relent given Rickon's life is at stake and plan to do something about Baelish later. I don't see how he could possibly know the Lannisters are going to Riverrun, the Freys don't even know that yet. I don't know how he could ensure that Sansa's life would be at stake either, not now that she is with Jon and Brienne. 

Baelish never stopped loving Cat, the duel happened long before the show's timeline started and we see him confronted quite a few times about his enduring love for Cat right up until her death, it was an open secret. He declared himself to her when he brought her Ned's remains - yes, I know he's a liar but that doesn't mean every word he says is a lie, he seemed genuinely upset when she rebuffed him. He did betray her, most notably with pinning Bran's murder attempt on Tyrion but he compartmentalises, that didn't diminish the love he felt for Cat (because he is so morally skewed, most people don't betray the love of their life). I don't know if he's driven by vengeance, it's about his quest for power and his love of the game. 

Baelish may never have stopped "loving" Cat, but he never stopped wanting revenge on her for her rejection of him, either. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, unless it's Petyr scorned, in which case rape, murder, war, torture, and the complete annihilation of Houses Stark, Arryn, Baratheon, and Tully aren't enough to assuage his anger.

How could he know the Lannisters are going to Riverrun? He regularly ravens Cersei. Remember he promised her Sansa's head? He never intended to chop it off her himself, but if she is killed in the crossfire between Ramsey, Jon Snow, the Freys, the Lannisters, and the Tullies, he'll dance a little jig on what he thinks is the last living Stark's grave.

He was upset when Cat rebuffed him and immediately replaced her daughter with Margaery as the King's fiance, and tried to marry Sansa himself. Typically when you have ideal, undying love for a woman you don't turn around and try to screw her daughter. YMMV. This is not about his love for Cat--it's about his revenge on her. Once she was widowed and still said no, his revenge came to encompass her, too, plus everyone and everything she ever cared about. Sansa is foolishly trusting him as he sends her to a castle under seige which is about to be attacked by the Freys and the Lannisters. These same people were so unimpressed with the Widow Stark's marriage value that they cut her throat and dumped her in the river rather than use her as a hostage or a marriage pawn. They might use Sansa to force a surrender from the Blackfish, but that's the best case scenario, and Baelish knows it. The one good thing is that Jaime Lannister is headed that way, and he won't allow her to be raped or murdered--he swore an oath and he will keep that oath even though Cat is dead, especially with Brienne there looking on.

Sansa's insistence that the Karstarks would be loyal to her stunned me. I hadn't realized she was still so stupid. Their being loyal to her after Robb beheaded Lord Karstark would be exactly like Sansa remaining devoted to Joffrey and Cersei after Ned's death. It's shocking to me that she can't see that.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Hecate7

[RedHawk]

24 minutes ago, candall said:

I'm totally gobsmacked by this, too.  We're going to load you and your horse up on a boat and sail away from your great grass sea to a place where it snows--what? oh, you'll see--so you can fight to install me on what is called The Iron Throne.  Because you know I'm inflammable.  And I have a dragon!

 

I deleted a bunch of boring stuff about the nuances of Dothraki motivation in favor of:  No.

You're welcome.  : )

Those Kahl-less Dothraki must be just really, really bored. 

[wayne67]

51 minutes ago, Hecate7 said:

Sansa's insistence that the Karstarks would be loyal to her stunned me. I hadn't realized she was still so stupid. Their being loyal to her after Robb beheaded Lord Karstark would be exactly like Sansa remaining devoted to Joffrey and Cersei after Ned's death. It's shocking to me that she can't see that.

Reminds me of Dany insisting that the Small Folk should die in droves in order to reinstate her to the Iron Throne. 

It's like Sansa doesn't care that she expects thousands of people to die in order for her family to reclaim the stuff they lost through their own failures, some of which involved trying to overthrow the current government. 

These nobles are so petty. Reminds me a little of Cersei, she wants to have a whole bunch of people killed for a castle just because it's hers... 

Kind of explains why the Faith Militant are gaining such support. The Small Folk are sick of dying because of the Game of Thrones. They don't care who rules as long as they don't do a completely terrible job. 

[paigow]

Braavos has a large merchant navy...They will "volunteer" to Uber the Dothraki to Westeros.

[riley702]

5 hours ago, Hecate7 said:

I think this is exactly it. Also, Arya proved that she still has empathy after all she's been through. The actress moved her while playing Cersei. She was moved by this woman that she spared her life and defied her trainers--and the reason that she did, was that the actress made her weep for Cersei Lannister--a fictional version, to be sure, but what a moment! In that moment, too, Arya showed that she has a feeling for the faces beneath the faces. An actress is playing Cersei, but not the real Cersei--a Cersei Arya can weep for as she holds her dead son, a Cersei that made Arya weep for Cat Stark. But Arya isn't protecting her because she loved the character, but because of respect for her great artistry as an actress. The layers under layers in that scene, down to the writer himself being the would-be killer, I think were revealing the real nature of Arya's eduction. A Man is sad because only one of his pupils can survive the next challenge, and I think he's fond of both.

Indulge me as I amuse myself with the following scenario: Arya kills the Waif and Jaqen and turns the Faceless Men into a travelling theatre headed by the actress she refused to kill. After all, she'll have all those faces at her disposal and knows how to use them them, so she can teach other actors, too. Think what a hit those plays would be with the real faces of the protagonists being used!

[riley702]

21 hours ago, mojoween said:

Oh and another thing...the Many-Faced God is super literal and I could have gone my whole life without seeing it happen.

But that can't be how all the faces get there - we've seen Ned and Catelyn and presumably those weren't available to the FM.

[NYGirl]

You guys have discussed the episode to death but I got one thing to say.  At least we saw some trees and greenery in this episode ..and it was nice.

[MrWhyt]

15 minutes ago, riley702 said:

But that can't be how all the faces get there - we've seen Ned and Catelyn and presumably those weren't available to the FM.

What episode showed their faces in the house of black and white?

[rose711]

I don't think Margery believes in anything. She gained more control over Tommen and weakened Cercei considerably. Getting Jaimie out as head of the Kings guard, or whatever it is, was a big bonus to her v the Lannisters.

I keep wondering what happens to Tommen if Cercei is found guilty of incest. He will be out as King for sure. What happens to Jaime then? How is Cercei accused of incest but he is free to  roam?

[riley702]

37 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

What episode showed their faces in the house of black and white?

Argh, I'd have to go back and look; they weren't at the same time.

[Popples]

Are you thinking of the Hall of Faces teaser trailer? That showed almost every character as a face in the House of Black and White.

[Taget]

2 hours ago, rose711 said:

I don't think Margery believes in anything. She gained more control over Tommen and weakened Cercei considerably. Getting Jaimie out as head of the Kings guard, or whatever it is, was a big bonus to her v the Lannisters.

I keep wondering what happens to Tommen if Cercei is found guilty of incest. He will be out as King for sure. What happens to Jaime then? How is Cercei accused of incest but he is free to  roam?

I would imagine that would make him even more dependent on the Faith Militant.  There are three ways to gain legitimacy. First.  Might makes right.  "I'll take what is mine in fire and blood."  Second which Dany also has.  Blood ties.  And third it's the "Will of God(s)"

For someone like Tommen without blood legitimacy and megalomaniac ambition he would have no choice but to have someone such as the Faith Militant say the Gods favor him regardless of his parentage.  Of course that is risky since the Gods may also "favor" the High Sparrow to be king.  For some odd reason they always seem to support the agenda of whoever proclaims to be their spokesman!  It also is from an ideological standpoint is his best argument against Dany.  She may have a better blood relationship with the previous lines of kings than the Baratheons (or Lannisters for that matter!) have.  But Dany is a heretic who pays homage to foreign Gods.

But yes if his mother is put on trial and found guilty that might open he himself up to be placed on trial.  I also wonder how that trial will go.  Cersei is very smug and certain that the mountain is fighting for her.  Smugness on a show such as this is always foreshadowing that the opposite may happen.  If Qyburn were to turn against Cersei to further his ambitions I could see perhaps his creation taking the opposite side.  Though perhaps we might be treated to a rematch with one of the Sandvipers trying to avenge their dad.  I assume they didn't show us that coup in Dorne just to drop the storyline for the rest of the season and do plan to actually do something.

[LittleIggy]

I love Sam! His father is such a dick although his mother and sister are lovely. Gilly cleaned up really nicely!

From clean to filthy, yeah, the High Bird Turd looked particularly dirty. I so want him to get his. And, yes, surely Margaery is playing a long con. She has always been too savvy to fall for a religious fanatic.

[CeeBeeGee]

7 hours ago, RCharter said:

I could see it, because her intense hatred for Arya doesn't make sense otherwise.  I understand a little bit of jealousy given that Arya is a Stark, but she just despises her for some reason.  And I would have thought that Jacquen wouldn't allow that sort of blood feud/hatred when he is all about giving up who you are.

I cannot figure that out! The Waif seems to be SO motivated, she obviously has something personal going on--how does she get away with that? Did she unlock some kind of higher level Faceless privilege? As to the Waif-is-a-Frey theory (although I'd question this since the Freys historically haven't been at war with the Starks (frankly, historically the Starks hardly knew who the Freys were, they are a minor Riverlands house)--it's more like Walder Frey hated Robb Stark for blowing him off)--what was the story the Waif told last season about her origins? (And I can't remember if she was shown to have been lying or not.)

[riley702]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

Are you thinking of the Hall of Faces teaser trailer? That showed almost every character as a face in the House of Black and White.

Ooh, hadn't actually seen that one, so that can't be it. I'll keep looking.

[riley702]

29 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

I cannot figure that out! The Waif seems to be SO motivated, she obviously has something personal going on--how does she get away with that? Did she unlock some kind of higher level Faceless privilege? As to the Waif-is-a-Frey theory (although I'd question this since the Freys historically haven't been at war with the Starks (frankly, historically the Starks hardly knew who the Freys were, they are a minor Riverlands house)--it's more like Walder Frey hated Robb Stark for blowing him off)--what was the story the Waif told last season about her origins? (And I can't remember if she was shown to have been lying or not.)

Ooh, ooh! I know! I've run across that scene looking through all the FM scenes. When she asks Arya one too many times who she is, Arya challenges her who she is and how did she get here? 

"I'm from Westeros, just like you. Daughter of a lord, just like you. Except I was an only child; heir to his fortune. My mother died. My father remarried and his new wife gave birth to a girl. My stepmother didn't want any rivals for her precious daughter, so she tried to kill me with poison. I found out, sought help from the Faceless Men, and my father was widowed again. (gives a creepy smile)  I've been serving them ever since."

Which rules her out as a Frey. But doesn't explain why she isn't living it up as Daddy's darling, unless the price she paid for the hit on her step-mom (and half-sister?) used up all her money. Maybe their price was her serving them? Of course, she follows that up by asking Arya if she believed it, or was it a lie? Followed by another creepy smile and a "get back to work!"
 

Edited May 31, 2016 by riley702
additional thoughts

[Hecate7]

8 minutes ago, riley702 said:

Ooh, ooh! I know! I've run across that scene looking through all the FM scenes. When she asks Arya one too many times who she is, Arya challenges her who she is and how did she get here? 

"I'm from Westeros, just like you. Daughter of a lord, just like you. Except I was an only child; heir to his fortune. My mother died. My father remarried and his new wife gave birth to a girl. My stepmother didn't want any rivals for her precious daughter, so she tried to kill me with poison. I found out, sought help from the Faceless Men, and my father was widowed again. (gives a creepy smile) I've been serving them ever since."

Which rules her out as a Frey.
 

How does it do that? Walder has remarried dozens of times, but someone had to be his first wife. We know nothing at all about his first wife, do we? Or his eldest daughter? Or his second wife or second daughter. Obviously sons followed, and other wives, and other sons, by the dozen, IF the Westerosi lord who was the waif's father was actually Walder Frey. I suppose he could have been Manderly or Davos or anybody really, I just thought it looked as if the Waif looked pretty hard at Arya when she heard Walder Frey's name on the list.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Hecate7

[riley702]

She looks rather young to be his eldest. She looks younger than the sons he berated for losing Riverrun.

Edited May 31, 2016 by riley702

[AuntieMame]

8 hours ago, RCharter said:

agreed....as soon as I saw what he was up to I left the room.

It's gross I agree, but we've had plenty of clues that this was how faces were collected. I'm interested in the magic that makes them work. They aren't just masks as they meld completely with the users face and a FM on a mission seems to be able to take more than one face along as shown when A Man passed his hand over his face when taking his leave outside Harrenhal. I wonder if the faces have to be even literally worn as Arya taking a face to kill Trant seems to have been harmful to her. I wonder if The Man we see in Braavos is the same Man we met in Westeros.

The nuts and bolts of the FM intrigue me and I wish that we'd been shown more during Arya's interminable training. I'm with those who think that Arya killing the bitch Little Dutch Boy may be her final test. If not she is going to have FM after her forever. Too bad the fight is going to take place in darkness as I would love to see That Other Girl put down. She hates Arya for personal reasons. So much for the zen psychopathy of the Faceless Men. Is there a minor house that historically had a beef with House Stark? The Frey thing is recent except for the Tully connection and I always thought it was hinted that Another Girl was wearing a face not her own and was much older. Nothing I can point to, but she seems so high in the organization, a trainer, a leader, second in command. Just not a fourteen to sixteen year old. 

[Hecate7]

51 minutes ago, riley702 said:

She looks rather young to be his eldest. She looks younger than the sons he berated for losing Riverrun.

That was nowhere in the scene, so is this book talk?

 

No, the Waif told Arya her story. That's the story she told--that she was the oldest daughter and heir of a nobleman, and her stepmother tried to poison her.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKUI1z9M5mM

As you can see it was on the show. Maybe you missed it. As for her appearance, looks, as we've seen, can be deceiving in the House of the Many-Faced God. I doubt that the Waif is always the Waif, or that Jaquen is always Jaquen. They probably swap faces every so often. She could be quite old and just telling a story in that one scene.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Hecate7

[AliShibaz]

8 hours ago, candall said:

Cersei raised her children as though she'd always be there to work the puppet strings and Olenna trained Margaery to use her own brain.

Excellent insight! How very clever of you. (seriously).

[Margherita Erdman]

On May 29, 2016 at 9:04 PM, beeble said:

Drogon's screech freaked out my dog. I still prefer Direwolves. 

Your comment made me think of and inspired me to post this interview with the sound designer who creates the dragon noises. She talks especially about Drogon, including how & why she put her own dog's whines into the mix.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Margherita Erdman
wrong word/damn you autocorrect

[wayne67]

2 hours ago, riley702 said:

Ooh, ooh! I know! I've run across that scene looking through all the FM scenes. When she asks Arya one too many times who she is, Arya challenges her who she is and how did she get here? 

"I'm from Westeros, just like you. Daughter of a lord, just like you. Except I was an only child; heir to his fortune. My mother died. My father remarried and his new wife gave birth to a girl. My stepmother didn't want any rivals for her precious daughter, so she tried to kill me with poison. I found out, sought help from the Faceless Men, and my father was widowed again. (gives a creepy smile)  I've been serving them ever since."

Which rules her out as a Frey. But doesn't explain why she isn't living it up as Daddy's darling, unless the price she paid for the hit on her step-mom (and half-sister?) used up all her money. Maybe their price was her serving them? Of course, she follows that up by asking Arya if she believed it, or was it a lie? Followed by another creepy smile and a "get back to work!"
 

Um I may have missed something but wasn't that entire story a fabrication to demonstrate how easily the Faceless Men can concoct a backstory on the fly? 

Isn't that the point of the Faceless Men they pick up and discard identities at a whim in order to service their larger ambition to serve the many faced god and offer up deaths to the Red God... Arya's said a lot of things about her past over her travels in order to obscure her true identity. That she was a boy, that she was low born, that the Hound was her father... 

I'm still not clear as to why Arya can't just leave Braavos... Or why killing one member of the Faceless Men would actually achieve anything... I'd assume there is more than one Faceless man that could hunt down Arya. Especially if she tries to reclaim her position in the Stark household she'd be fairly easy to find. 

[Isazouzi]

Jaquen seems so superpowerful, I'd like to know how he was made prisoner by the Kings Landing guards when Arya let him free...

Regarding Dany, the Dothraki were already following her because she'd burnt all the dudes. I thought her speech came out of nowhere. Why did she need to give it now? Because she wanted to show them her dragon? Because she never knows when Drogo is going to show up, so she seized the moment? It's like she'd forgotten to tell them some elements, like "By the way, I'm not choosing 3 khalasaars, I'm choosing all of you". She could have made the same speech after burning the others, right?

[Fishslap]

On 5/30/2016 at 3:58 AM, SimoneS said:

OMG, this season has been outstanding so far. 

Drogon! The CGI of Daenerys on the the dragon is so well done. She is getting better at communicating her Drogon. Next time, obey your queen, Darrio.

Yay, Arya! Needle! She decided to be who she is, “Arya Stark!” As I predicted, murdering for a cult of fanatics never ends well. I wasn’t surprised that Jaquen is willing to let the “other girl” kill her.

Benjen! He intends to take Bran and Meera to the Wall. I cannot wait for him to reunite with Jon.So Bran is the three eye raven. I cannot get over my poor sweet Wyllis sacrificing himself for Bran and Meera.

Go Sam! He took the sword. I love Sam. He is so funny.  He cracked me up when he came storming back in for Gilly and the baby. Baby Sam is adorable.  Gilly was near unrecognizable after her makeover. I like Sam’s mother. Sam’s father reminds me of Tywin. Damn, Sam lost a lot with his inheritance. He would have been rich as hell.

Fuck, the High Sparrow. He is so pathetic. He reminds me of every religious homophobic zealot who ever walked the earth. Margaery is a good actress. She is trying to save Loras whose is only sin is being gay.  The Tyrell father looked ridiculous in armor on that horse.

Watching Tommen come down those stairs cracked me up. Cersei must be so proud of her handiwork. I was glad that Tommen sent Jaime away, anything to get him away from Cersei who is fucking delusional. The Lannisters are weaker than they have ever been thanks to her failed schemes.

I like the HS. He's the long overdue reaction to all the filth that has been going on for five seasons and change. As for zealotry, isn't it just as much zealotry to insist that everyone likes the same things as you do? Aristotle once wrote that tolerance was the death of culture, meaning that a loss of moral guidelines leads to weakness, decadence and collapse. History seems to be more on his side than yours I think.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Fishslap

[Fishslap]

1 hour ago, Isazouzi said:

Jaquen seems so superpowerful, I'd like to know how he was made prisoner by the Kings Landing guards when Arya let him free...

Regarding Dany, the Dothraki were already following her because she'd burnt all the dudes. I thought her speech came out of nowhere. Why did she need to give it now? Because she wanted to show them her dragon? Because she never knows when Drogo is going to show up, so she seized the moment? It's like she'd forgotten to tell them some elements, like "By the way, I'm not choosing 3 khalasaars, I'm choosing all of you". She could have made the same speech after burning the others, right?

Everything of importance this character has done so far wouldn't fill half an episode. I'm so tired of her not-Mongolian rants that I very nearly skip over her scenes now. Nothing remotely interesting has really happened on the eastern continent since she hatched the eggs, and obviously nothing will until she gets to Westeros. If Martin had known how this part of the TV show would end up I feel pretty sure he would have kept Viserys alive, just to give Daenerys some meaningful antagonist, which she really hasn't had since he was killed off. For two and a half seasons we've had spoiled, entitled girl with white hair vs amorphous social institution. It's just never going to work on TV. Hell it barely works in the books.

[DarkRaichu]

1. Bran having a "data dump" from previous 3ER, I hope his brain has enough capacity to contain all of those history.  Awesome to see wyldfire again

2. Benjen, damn a 5 seasons long game.  I have a bad feeling he will usurp the NK to become the new NK.  What's stopping him from doing that?

3. They have to temper down the "actor head on body double" trick, it was becoming too obvious (ie. Jaime on temple footsteps)

4. Jaime & Cersei = yuck

5. This episode had way too many speeches, from Tommen, HS, Dany, actress!Cersei, and even Welder Frey.  Enough already

6. Alright Arya!!! First I wonder why she came back and blew her candle.  Then I realized she was blind for a few weeks so darkness was her best bet on defeating the other girl.  I am just not sure how they were going to show that fight in the dark on screen.

7. So how are they going to feed Dany's new acquired men AND their HORSES, plus 3 growing dragon?  Especially when she is going to be stuck in Meereen for a while waiting for new ships to be built

8. Gilly actually handled her own against Sam's a-hole dad, even when she and the baby needed to stay at his castle.  That was just refreshing to see.  Sam had a nice family, sans the dad of course.

9. Yay more swords made of Vallyrian steel.  Please do not loose it like those dragon glasses :P

10. My money is on Arya leaving with the theatre troupe.... to Meereen... :P

 

ETA: LOL at Mace Tyrell in full military regalia yet waited for Olenna's sign before commanded his troop to stand down.

Edited May 31, 2016 by DarkRaichu

[DarkRaichu]

3 hours ago, Isazouzi said:

Jaquen seems so superpowerful, I'd like to know how he was made prisoner by the Kings Landing guards when Arya let him free...

Regarding Dany, the Dothraki were already following her because she'd burnt all the dudes. I thought her speech came out of nowhere. Why did she need to give it now? Because she wanted to show them her dragon? Because she never knows when Drogo is going to show up, so she seized the moment? It's like she'd forgotten to tell them some elements, like "By the way, I'm not choosing 3 khalasaars, I'm choosing all of you". She could have made the same speech after burning the others, right?

Jaqueen is like the Gandalf of GoT world, he arrived precisely when and where he wanted to.  The question became who originally paid him to look after Arya, maybe water dancing instructor?

The bonfire was to get the Dothraki to pledge their lives to her.  The speech was to pump them up to conquer Westeros.  She will need to give one of those speeches again while waiting for new ships :D 

[DarkRaichu]

13 hours ago, candall said:

Additional thought:  Olenna must have been disappointed when Loras wasn't the ambitious type--it's just so much harder for these smart women to gain traction in the uphill battle.  (But my money's still on Margaery.)

Agreed with your post except for the last part.  Olenna said women were in control in the house of Tyrell, surely she could not be too disappointed with Loras (especially compared to his bumbling father).  At lest Loras was an accomplished jouster

[DarkRaichu]

12 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

My guess is that he's a Wight not under the control of the White Walkers.

I thought he was more White Walker not under the control of Night King.  To me, NK was like Dracula, while WW were like regular vampires he created, and wights were like Dracula's mindless minions

[terrymct]

If feels like Arya's time with the Faceless Men was largely a waste. Ok, she learned some assassin skills, but it's not like the place really did any training. She was supposed to pick it up from having her butt kicked regularly. Seems inefficient. From here on out, she'll have to battle her nemesis chick then move back to Westeros to start working on her list? If the nemesis chick doesn't come back to the temple, with Jaquen come after her? This plot line has been less than satisfying. It feels like she's been parked overseas, like Dany, until things in Westeros are ready for her to return. Speaking of Dany, my first thought at seeing her leading a Dothraki horde toward Slavers' Bay was "What, again?". Sure, her horde is bigger this time but she's definitely looping around. The Iron Isles may be able to provide her with ships, although I'm uncertain where they're supposed to find all those trees to cut down for the wood to build them, unless they haven't shown us some other islands that are actually, you know, forested. I think Margery made a big power move. If she handles this right, she'll have Cerse out of the way and she can use the Sparrow and the Faith Militant against her rivals/enemies. Benjen was a nice surprise, but I think I'll be holding Hodor's life and death against Bran for a long time.

[TaraS1]

On 5/30/2016 at 0:39 AM, Daisy said:

Ooh! OOH! something  I know. 

Okay, so Benjen was part of the first few episodes (at least season 1, episode 1), and he's a ranger for the Night Watch. Jon was feeling all not important and everything, and he was like - when you go back to the Wall - take me with you, I want to be a ranger. Benjen is like really? do you know what you'll be giving up, and Jon's all like "meh, I'm a Snow anyway, at least as a ranger at the wall, I'll be doing something useful." then they get there, and poof. Benjen like disappeared until now with quasi-Night Walker face, and he's back. 

I can't believe I know something. I think this calls for a cookie. 

Isn't it such a great feeling to actually know the answer to a question about this show?  (It's a feeling I've so rarely had myself lol.)  So yes, many thanks and many cookies for you!  I went back yesterday and watched the first few episodes of S1 and it definitely jogged my Benjen memory.  And now I worry for Bran, in case more of that White Walker-ness took hold of Benjen than we know, before the Children stopped it.

[Drogo]

Sam's sister to Gilly:  "Our father could learn a thing or two from your father!"

...as Gilly, Sam and I gag in unison.

[RedHawk]

2 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

8. Gilly actually handled her own against Sam's a-hole dad, even when she and the baby needed to stay at his castle.  That was just refreshing to see.  Sam had a nice family, sans the dad of course.

9. Yay more swords made of Vallyrian steel.  Please do not loose it like those dragon glasses :P

10. My money is on Arya leaving with the theatre troupe.... to Meereen... :P

I was hoping to see Gilly stay behind and verbally take on Tarley a couple more times. Wildling girl can hold her own and might even inspire Sam's mum and sis to stand up to him as well. He's not Ramsey Bolton, after all. (At least, not that we've seen. So far he just seems like an raging asshole.)

I will never get over Sam leaving all that dragonglass behind!

My money's on Arya becoming a "player" with the troupe as well. She might even re-write a few scenes...

Edited May 31, 2016 by RedHawk

[TaraS1]

One of the things I liked about the Tarley family scenes was that Sam's mother didn't seem to be a pushover when it came to the father.  She definitely should've told him to STFU when he was berating Sam, but it was a nice change of pace that she didn't seem cowed by him.  And she was so lovely to Gilly and the baby, I wouldn't mind seeing her again.  In much briefer scenes.

And I feel a little alone in my Dany love, even though I understand the frustrations with her and her storyline.  I want her to hightail it over to Westeros as much as the next guy, but I still think she's badass and I'm a sucker for her speeches and the dragons and the conquering.

[MissLucas]

It just occurred to me that the interaction with Lady Crane was probably the first time in what must feel like forever that a woman talked gently to Arya (Melisandre was more spooky than gentle). Now if Arya joins those folks there's a chance that Lady Crane could become something of a female mentor or even a surrogate mother - which I find highly amusing since she was introduced to us as 'Cersei'. Also 'Do you like pretending to be other people?' was a very intriguing question in context. Lady Crane could teach Arya disguising skills that don't require dabbling in desecration of corpses. All in all it's a win-win.

[paigow]

On 31/05/2016 at 9:37 AM, Drogo said:

Sam's sister to Gilly:  "Our father could learn a thing or two from your father!"

...as Gilly, Sam and I gag in unison.

Baby Sam seems to have dodged the DNA bullet - no visible defects and seemingly uneventful emotional development - maybe Craster could have taught a class on probability and the law of large numbers. Is there a missing Tarly son somewhere? Hardon?

Edited June 2, 2016 by paigow

[Lady S.]

2 hours ago, RedHawk said:

I will never get over Sam leaving all that dragonglass behind!

All that? He only dropped one dagger, the one he'd just used. He still had all the rest he'd found, gave some to Bran and co. (which we saw Meera use on her spear last week), and gave the remainder to Jon when Jon left for Hardhome. Jon left it there when they were running for their lives, so really he's the one to blame for the lack of dragonglass.

10 hours ago, AuntieMame said:

I wonder if The Man we see in Braavos is the same Man we met in Westeros.

That's something I've been wondering about too, but mainly because Jaqen was a lot more likable in s2. It would make sense if Jaqen was just the identity associated with that face, perhaps the name of its original owner before they cut it from his corpse. Arya used the name when she first arrived at the HoBaW, so the guy who answered the door could have decided to switch to the "Jaqen" face when he inexplicably changed his mind about letting her in. (At this rate, I doubt we'll ever learn why s2 Jaqen was locked up in KL, but that's fine by me as long as Arya leaves these assholes soon.)

[truelovekiss]

I really liked Sam's mom and sister, I hope we see them again! It was good to see that his mother didn't meekly agree with her husband. The sister was sweet, but I think just very sheltered. Dickon was attractive. Gilly made a huge step in being able to confront Randyll and stick up for Sam. 

It really seems like the theme of this season is anti-organized religion, with Arya realizing that the faceless men are just hired hitmen under the guise of religion, and everything going on with the High Sparrow. 

[izabella]

Dany's motivational speeches aren't motivating me to root for her in the least.  She's like a foot-stomping child who feels cheated out of "her" throne, and ready to demolish everything in her outrage to get it.  And if she does?  She is planning to lay waste to Westeros and the people of Westeros first in order to gain the throne.  How is that a net positive for Westeros?  It means nothing good for the people whom she is planning for the Dothraki and Unsullied to kill and conquer first.  How does that make her any better than the Khals or other slave owners?  Or Littlefinger or Cersei?  Has she told the Dothraki she won't allow them to rape anyone when they go on their Westeros wilding spree?

Maybe Dany is worse for Westeros than the current bad crop of throne-seekers.  At the moment, we actually have zero reason to believe she will use her dragons against any White Walkers.  For all we know, "Fire and Ice" could have a heavy emphasis on the "and," meaning she will align with the White Walkers to conquer Westeros. 

[c8h10n4o2]

I want to watch the full play! Richard Grant and Essie Davis on stage together??? Yes, please. They need to make this an extra on the DVD or something!