Game of Thrones [SPOILERS]

[Mac]

Arya needs to join up with the Hound again.

Dog 'n Arry: Chicken Morgulis.

[palmer_eldritch]

The Hound's just going to be invincible from now on isn't he? Like Arnie in a movie.

[Khaldun]

I think if and when he dies again, it is going to have to be pretty epic.

[Abagadro]

I'm actually fine with Invincible Hound. Needs to work in a subtle "Yaarp" at some point though.

[jgsugden]

The show is still based on the Martin outline.  He sets you up to expect one thing so that it rips your heart out when the opposite happens.  I would not be surprised by anything, still.  Hound could end up a White Walker, ride a dragon, or drink himself to death.

[Chimpy]

The show is still based on the Martin outline.  He sets you up to expect one thing so that it rips your heart out when the opposite happens.  I would not be surprised by anything, still.  Hound could end up a White Walker, ride a dragon, or drink himself to death.

Why not all three? 

[Khaldun]

At the same time.

[Shannow]

I'm sure you pack of miserable Barstards will find a way to hate it but..

Fuck. Yes.


(Also tracking shot ftw)

[Merusk]

Only two things I bitched about.

Mereen resolved fantastically. Well done.

[Shannow]

Nevermind. Fanboyism took over.

Still we all saw it coming , whooooo careeees

[Khaldun]

Our dog watches with us and normally reacts mostly to the horses (strong dislike) and to Ghost (fascination, interest). Also to big medieval explosions, which he also strongly dislikes. Also he really really really flipped out about the Mountain killing the Red Viper.

He pretty much freaked out at the end of tonight's episode and stayed agitated for a good while. This could be a very good sign or a very bad sign.

[Threash]

The only surprise this episode was that Rickon is freaking huge apparently.  Even though it was all extremely predictable and cliche it was very well done and highly enjoyable none the less.

[Rendakor]

At least my star player racked up more points before finally dying.

[Khaldun]

Yes, predictable but well-staged. I think that's the basic thing I ask: if you're gonna do the classics, right down to being rescued by Porn Machiavelli Gandalf, just do it well. They did that.

[Phildo]

They drew it out long enough that I started to doubt it would actually happen, too.  Well done.

[Shannow]

I'll also take some more Daenarys and Yara flirting too (along with Tyrion's eye rolling while watching).

[Ginaz]

How many more episodes for this season?  Just asking because I'm going to get HBO for one month to binge watch the season then cancel.

[Abagadro]

One. Season finale is next week.

Holy shit that was great.  One the best depictions of that type of combat I've seen on screen. Fucking epic.

[Samwise]

I was yelling "SERPENTINE, BABOU!" at the screen but it didn't help.

[Setanta]

Wun Wun  I rate him over Hodor in terms of impact on a series of scenes.

Mereen was fantastic (for once) and the Dany/Yara interplay was great.

John = idiot Stark even if it's only by association. Sansa = smart Stark (possibly the only one TBH) who is playing the game of thrones, possibly to win although I still want her to die and have Dondarrion to resurrect her as vengeful Stark. But then who would rule Winterfel unless Bran. I'm predicting that Winterfel falls to the White Walkers regardless.

Melisandre may not have much time left as the Onion Knight looked royally pissed off.

I think that Tormond now has plot armor, especially as fan service demands Torienne.

The battle was well done apart from John being stupid and committing  his forces to a losing battle that he initiated despite Sansa warning him the night before. Ned/Robb/Bran/Arya would be proud he's keeping the tradition of stupidity alive.

Good episode that almost made up last week's crappy writing. BTW where was Ghost - they could have got rid of another direwolf!

[satael]

I liked the episode except for the fact that both battles were decided by a Deus ex Machina -charge of surprise (to both sides fighting from the start) cavalry. Otherwise the battles were a great contrast between clean and bright fantasy battle vs a darker and more gritty fight (just wish that the results of the battles would have had the contrast too instead of rewarding Jon's stupidity).

[eldaec]

Sansa's logical development path is as a player. But the only satisfactory endings I can imagine involve ending the game - not least as that is the implicit or explicit goal of Dany, Jon, Varys, Tyrion and Arya. So I struggle to imagine her surviving the story, at least not unless she has a lot of development still to come.

Sansa as Stoneheart would be a pretty cool trick for TV to pull  - though I'm not convinced she has enough reasons left to be sufficiently pissed off.

[Setanta]

My take is Sansa played the game of thrones and won the battle where Jon played the game and lost. Of course Littlefinger is the real winner but at least he isn't wearing a watch this week.

Big props to the blurred dragon in the background as Dany negotiates with the masters and to Lady Mormont who said nothing but had so much screen presence by glowering at Ramsey. Ironically, that's the actresses surname.

[Khaldun]

Narratively I thought that was a great demonstration of Ramsay's battlefield cunning, actually--I was sort of wondering how they'd make Sansa's warning come true and they did it in a very layered and compelling way. Hopefully next week has Jon admitting he knows nothing--that he's fought supernatural opponents and human opponents who don't really have a battle plan besides "swarm over you with superior force", and cunning human opponents are a new thing (or were) for him.

[MediumHigh]

Dany and Yara,

"I'm a woman"
"Yes and I'm a woman"
"So no more raping and pillaging"
"Hmm, K"

If Euron is smart he let the terms of that agreement fuck Yara over and be her downfall, but no he'll die next season "down with the patriarchy!"

Jon Snow and Sansa,

"OMG JON WTF ARE YOU DOING!"
"Well TELL ME WHAT I'M DOING WRONG!!"
"Nothing, I have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm just pouting because your not listening to me and I have nothing important to say. And yes while this show will pretend like I foreshadowed what will happen to you, lets not be too dumb to think that I brought any real insight"

Why is anyone praising Sansa? Her last minute save was far more reliant on Little Finger being dumber that he has ever been in 5 seasons, than Sansa pulling off some play of the game move on her part. She insist that Jon takes winterfell with no men, than turns away the one man guaranteeing her several thousand men to take winterfell, only to overplay her claim to the north realize that no one cares about a twice married stark, and than in an act of sheer stupidity little finger accepts a plea for help from the very woman that wanted him gutted in the woods outside castle black. How is Sansa a player? She makes even dumber moves than Caityln, with a extra side of zero good advice and lying bitch. The Stark house is doomed.

Yes the battle at winterfell was cool.

The rest can probably burn. And its funny because stuff like this happens and fanbase is like "woot thrones is exciting again" but don't realize how much dumber the plot has gotten. Your all suffering from the Michael Bay effect. That's why the slow episodes are intolerable but the "omg cool sword fights and dragons!" lets you forget that you watched fantasy transformers.

[Threash]

It's not Deus Ex Machina when the surprise has been set up previously.  We KNEW Sansa had written to Littlefinger and he was sure to show up.

[Merusk]

You're right, it's not full Deus Ex. It's the arriving at 00.1 on the bomb timer I found bullshit manufactured drama. Arriving earlier or (as fits the show) too late to save people would have been more satisfactory.

As I said, though. It's the one trope that always makes me angry. It's as lazy and cliche as you can get.

Big props to the blurred dragon in the background as Dany negotiates with the masters and to Lady Mormont who said nothing but had so much screen presence by glowering at Ramsey. Ironically, that's the actresses surname.

When I caught that I got giddy. I wasn't expecting Dany to ride them, or the other two to break-out but I knew a Drogon smack-down was coming and it was going to be amazing. Grey Worm's final stroke was equally satisfying.

Narratively I thought that was a great demonstration of Ramsay's battlefield cunning, actually--I was sort of wondering how they'd make Sansa's warning come true and they did it in a very layered and compelling way. Hopefully next week has Jon admitting he knows nothing--that he's fought supernatural opponents and human opponents who don't really have a battle plan besides "swarm over you with superior force", and cunning human opponents are a new thing (or were) for him.

Agreed, very well-done. I kept bitching that Jon was an idiot and doing exactly what Sansa warned him against. Rickon was dead as soon as the game started, Sansa warned Jon he wasn't going to live and would have known exactly what the trap was. Jon isn't cold-blooded enough or cunning enough by half to have known.

[Rendakor]

Yea, the timing is key. If the reinforcements had arrived an hour earlier, Ramsay and Co. would have retreated into Winterfell for a siege; an hour later and "welp, everybody's dead."

It was pretty stupid that Sansa was all "don't attack, you don't have enough men" without mentioning that she wrote to Littlefinger.

I wonder if we have one more episode of Dany faffing about in Mereen or if she'll teleport directly to Westeros for the season finale.

[satael]

It's not Deus Ex Machina when the surprise has been set up previously.  We KNEW Sansa had written to Littlefinger and he was sure to show up.

it is when LF can hide a whole army of knights so neither side has any idea of them so close that he can strike with perfect timing.  

[Slayerik]

Come on, this was a good episode. Glad to see Ramsay finally gone. She should have chopped his cock off and fed it to the dogs first, though.

My gripe...in typical Stark stupidity, Rickon runs in a straight fucking line. Come on. Zig and zag a bit! Jon falls for the trap. Should have caused all their deaths.

I got a laugh out of the shield wall chant, it reminded me of Army of darkness.

Everyone knew The Knights of the Vale were coming. And wow, they seem pretty bad ass.

Anyway, at least it wasn't dwarven drinking games and Arya time wasting.

[Speedy Cerviche]

To echo what MediumHigh said, how exactly is Sansa so smart? She got a lot of Northmen allies killed (at least in the overly sensational *TV writing* version of events), and almost got Jon killed too because she didn't confide in him that she had a brigade of knights on their side who she had secretly turned down and then summoned again. She rants at Jon like a child after the council the night before about his plans being bad, but offering no helpful suggestions, all while withholding a huge secret that would have dramatically altered the calculations of her marshals. I would be kinda pissed at her if I were Jon.

The battle direction itself was great aesthetically during the initial clash.  I don't think I've ever seen a battle sequence done like that from the tight over the shoulder perspective. Really captured the ferocity and chaos. Excellent work, very crisp too. Then it got kind of stupid. Ramsay Bolton's men are Spartans now? SInce when did Northmen equip and fight like that, deck out as Athenian hoplites? The way they were able to slowly march up and surround 2000 Northmen with a circle 4 ranks deep, without anyone noticing is kind of absurd. I feel like this was all built around a shot they wanted to do (Jon in the crush, also very well done), and contrived of the phalanx as a way just to set it up.

I don't want to sound like a whiner cuz overall it was very entertaining and like I said some of the battle direction was off the charts good, but just disappointed these writers can't resist inserting ridiculous dramatic moment cliches into almost every scene as if that's the reason the Game of Thrones show was popular in the first place and that's the only way they can retain their audience.

[March]

My suspicion is that Sansa is actually "broken" and now an anti-Stark.  During her rant to Jon, and knowing (or at least strongly suspecting) that she was aware of the disposition of the vale, I began to wonder whether she wasn't using him to act unwittingly as the holding force for her Vale brigade.  She doesn't (and never has) cared for Jon... she wanted Ramsey dead and Winterfell in her possession.  Jon was a pawn.  And, even as pawns go, a surprisingly stupid and shitty one.  The only things she told him were 1) Don't attack and 2) beware the baiting of the Bolton Bastard.  Jon Snow, 0 fer 2.  Were he not one of "the Three" he'd be dead-dead, proper dead by now.  Sansa is headed down a wicked path; Martin would probably have had her snuffed somewhere either at her nadir or near her almost success.  The TV writers?  I'm smelling heroic redemption after a season of grasping treachery.

[MediumHigh]

Actually not attacking was Jons idea. He ignored his own advice. Sansa's advice "don't get baited by him" wasn't advice. It was a no shit don't be stupid we all managed to make it to the age of 21 in this fucked up world comment. That's like being in the back seat of a car advising the driver not to hit a 2 foot deep pothole in the middle of the road.

[K9]

I think the question now is what is the next step for the Starks? I assume they'll work to consolidate the North and then what, go after the Freys?

[Threash]

Sansa doesn't have to be the smart one when Littlefinger is around.