Game of Thrones

[Sorginak]

I guess the last episode is not being leaked.  How sad.

[Hydra009]

I guess the last episode is not being leaked.  How sad.

*Varys gets a crate delivered to him from India, he pries it open to reveal the leaker, hogtied*
*Varys caresses the leaker's cheek gingerly and tells him that his girlfriend must have been a lovely woman to inspire such boldness, then nails the crate back shut*

[Mr.Obvious]

An interesting idea.  But imo the more likely reason that the math doesn't add up is because Writers Have No Sense of Scale, rather than Westerosi people are giants.  (The Attack on Titan distances are spot on, though)

And it's really been bugging me how people can so quickly and relatively safely travel huge distances in season 7.  In the books and in the TV show up until recently, long-distance travel could take months and characters could and sometimes did get sick and die in transit, get kidnapped, robbed, shipwrecked, sidetracked, etc.  Making the journey successfully shows a pretty high amount of fortitude and determination.  It can even change your life.  Treating travel so cavalierly undercuts a lot of the gritty reputation the series cultivated.

In the real world during the middle ages, some europeans used to go on pilgrimages to Jerusalem.  It was treated as a hell of an accomplishment precisely because it was so difficult.

Oh i agree wholeheartedly. It's just an interesting idea.
But yes, Jaime's ride down to highgarden would have taken half a season in the first years of the show's run.
But far greater concern than the show, which I know always was meant to be wrapped up in 8 seasons... And of which I can understand that time constraints makes them cut certain things, though it doesn't make me understand why on earth they cut to fewer episodes per season...
No, far greater concern is that it makes me realize either George R. R. Martin will have to 'escalate' the events in his book series as well, though definitely in a less dramatic sence than we see in the show... Or he'll go over 8 books, and dramatically increase the chance that some other author will have to finish his legacy.
I don't know which one sounds worse, to be honest...

[Mr.Obvious]

For all the shit I give game of thrones and the recent episodes. I must give it these two things I failed to notice in the last episode:

[spoiler]1. The mountain that the Hound sees is the same mountain we saw in the background where the Night King was made. (Further, and I might be wrong here. It looks like the night king ritual happened at the other side of the mountain as it seems reversed.) This raises interesting points for the world as a whole. Of course seasons have never made sense in this world. But if a few thousand years ago that area was still green and beautifull, how far North would you have to go to find the real North of the planet? Westeros' planet must be vast. I've read a dragonlord flew over Sothoros, straight south, for a month or a year (I don't remember which) without finding the continent's end. Which in dragonflight, as Dany has shown she can do westeros in a matter of hours (ugh)... is an enormous distance. Could it be... this being a magic world and all that the world is neverending? Beyond the wall, beyond the five forts, all down Sothoros and to the sunset sea.

2. Jon Snow and his improvised kingsguard were fighting the wights with valyrian steel, a flaming sword and ... dragon glass. I hadn't noticed that last bit. And I don't think in the books dragonglass is showd to hurt wights, only white walkers... but still... I can understand the army of the dead going down with single strikes now.

Thanks: alt shift X
https://youtu.be/X_6j7RDaL6E[/spoiler]

[Hydra009]

[spoiler]2. Jon Snow and his improvised kingsguard were fighting the wights with valyrian steel, a flaming sword and ... dragon glass. I hadn't noticed that last bit. And I don't think in the books dragonglass is showd to hurt wights, only white walkers... but still... I can understand the army of the dead going down with single strikes now.

[spoiler]Yeah, but that still doesn't explain why the wights attacked one at a time instead of dogpiling like they did at Hardholme and at the Three-Eyed Raven's Weirwood tree (and against Benjen, come to think of it).  For an army that has until now used effective tactics, this seems like an incredibly suspicious oversight.[/spoiler]

[Hydra009]

I've been hinting at this theory for a while now, I might as well go ahead and say it directly:

[spoiler]Was the Eastwatch battle a trap planned by the Night King?

Despite some losses (one white walker and all its minions), the battle's outcome was a huge win for the White Walkers.  With their new pet, they could possibly breach the Wall (or ferry their forces south of the Wall to attack the Wall at its weakest point or bypass the Wall entirely and ravage the North.

A lot of suspicious things happened north of Eastwatch:

* The fellowship ambushed a white walker (which doesn't seem plausible, watch the very first scene of the series and get back to me about it if you disagree)

* Assassinating the white walker destroyed all but one of the accompanying wight army.  And it just so happens that the fellowship needs to capture exactly one wight.  How incredibly convenient for them.  Killing the white walker could've killed all the wights present or none of the wights or anything in between.  And it just happens to kill all but one.  What luck.

* During the battle, the undead army seemed to intentionally hold back and avoid delivering a crushing defeat.  This bought the Fellowship enough time for Dany to bail them out.

* The Night King was incredibly well-prepared to deal with two dragons popping out of nowhere.  He had several dragon-killing javelins on hand and one hell of a throwing arm.  And instead of killing the landed dragon and dooming our heroes, he attacks the comparatively much harder to hit flying dragon.  It's almost as if he intentionally let them go.

You might say that the wight army tried their damnest to take out the fellowship - they got Thoros, almost got Tormund, and would've gotten Jon if deus ex Benjen hadn't saved him.  They even tried to shoot down Drogon with the second javelin.  But did they really try to kill them or just try to make it look like they were trying to kill them?

You might also say "How could the Night King possibly have known that Dany was coming?  Dany didn't even know she was coming.  Does the Night King have greensight?"  Maybe.  He sensed when Bran was spying on him - twice - so he might have both the ability defend against greensight and the ability to use it.  This would explain why the undead army has been so incredibly slow to attack the wall.  At even a snail's marching speed, they could be sieging the wall by now.  The reason they haven't yet is because they were waiting on their dragon to be delivered to them first.

But how does this theory square with what we already know about the White Walkers?  It doesn't.  They've never used traps before and never been shown to be quite so well prepared for the unexpected before.  They didn't know where the Three-Eyed Raven was until they marked Bran.  They've never displayed knowledge of any kind beyond their immediate surroundings.  And come to think of it, wights have never before shattered upon their master's death - and we've seen three white walkers die previously (Sam, Meera, Jon at Hardholme), two of them in the vicinity of wight armies.

Imho, either D&D are trying to redo the White Walkers and creating a ton of inconsistencies or this theory is bunk and the Night King was crazy prepared because that's what the plot demanded.  Either option is bad, but the latter option is less bad and more plausible.

So, imho, it wasn't a trap.  It was just kinda bad writing.[/spoiler]

[pr126]

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2017/08/new-email-malware-scam-tries-to-lure-in-users-with-game-of-thrones-season-7-spoilers/

On August 10 Proofpoint detected malicious email messages (Figure 1) purporting to contain unreleased Game of Thrones content. The email used the subject line "Wanna see the Game of Thrones in advance?" These lures are especially relevant since Season 7 of Game of Thrones premiered in July and concludes on Sunday, August 27, and the email claims to contain spoilers for the current season.

[Shiranu]

...though it doesn't make me understand why on earth they cut to fewer episodes per season...

The amount of large scale battles, CGI, etc. in this latest series probably put some major budget and time restraints on HBO, even with the massive "dragon money" they are making.

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2017/08/new-email-malware-scam-tries-to-lure-in-users-with-game-of-thrones-season-7-spoilers/

Serves potential spoilers right.

[Hydra009]

The amount of large scale battles, CGI, etc. in this latest series probably put some major budget and time restraints on HBO, even with the massive "dragon money" they are making.

If that's the case, they could've done more scenes that don't require big bucks.  [spoiler]Sam and Jorah could've been in quarantine together ('cause performing unauthorized surgery on a highly contagious greyscale patient and then wiping your face is super bad) had a real heart-to-heart about Commander Mormont and their respective crazy adventures.  Sam could've recounted his encounter with a white walker and convinced Jorah of their importance.  Then, when Jorah reunites with Dany, he could convince her to go north of the wall to check it out for herself.  That alone would've paved over like half the plot holes this season.  And it wouldn't necessarily take much screentime.  Like 10-15min over two episodes.

The Fellowship's ranging north of the Wall could've been more arduous and with more dialogue.  Maybe get to know Gendry more.

Bran could've said more than three sentences this season.

Theon could've been doing...something.  Anything, really.

We could've had have Patchface or Quaithe make an appearance, Patchface could be introduced as an almost-drowned stowaway on one of Yara's ships.

Imo, they've really been rushing through content this season, and it has been hurting the series.  They shouldn't have filler just to have kill time, but they also shouldn't rush from one action setpiece to another at breakneck pace.  If this puts strain on the viewers, I can only imagine what it's like for production staff.[/spoiler]

[Sorginak]

I have my beer, and I am ready to watch.
My thoughts on the season seven finale:

[spoiler]
An hour and a half long.

At least they're talking about cock.  ;)

Dany just had to make an entrance.

Awww, I would have allowed the zombie to kill Cersei.

I don't blame Jon for saying no.

Cersei was all talk, she can't kill her brother.

I so want to see Littlefinger die.  And Sansa shouldn't be so damn stupid.

LOL, kicking Theon in the nuts.  Dude, guess you hadn't heard the news, huh?  Finally, him having no nuts is an advantage.

Oh, stupid stupid Sansa.  WTF, wow, TWIST!!!  Littlefinger got in over his head.  Yay, he's dead!  I figure Arya is going to steal his face and use it somehow.

Oh, Cersei, you are your own downfall.  For once, Jaime says no to his beloved sister.

Bran reveals the truth, regarding Jon's heritage, to Sam who has returned to Winterfell.  Yep, Jon and Dany are brother and sister.  Which means Jon is the heir to the iron throne.  (What is it with George R.R. Martin and incest, lol?)

And now brother (Jon) and sister (Dany) are making love.

Here comes the zombie army.  Makes me think before I see it, will the zombie dragon breath ice instead of fire?  Haha, I was right.  Ice.  (Now I wonder if the zombie dragon's siblings are going to be reticent in attacking the ice zombie dragon)

And the wall falls.  And the zombie army proceeds.

The end.
[/spoiler]

[Shiranu]

I've been hinting at this theory for a while now, I might as well go ahead and say it directly:

[spoiler]Was the Eastwatch battle a trap planned by the Night King?

Despite some losses (one white walker and all its minions), the battle's outcome was a huge win for the White Walkers.  With their new pet, they could possibly breach the Wall (or ferry their forces south of the Wall to attack the Wall at its weakest point or bypass the Wall entirely and ravage the North.

A lot of suspicious things happened north of Eastwatch:

* The fellowship ambushed a white walker (which doesn't seem plausible, watch the very first scene of the series and get back to me about it if you disagree)

* Assassinating the white walker destroyed all but one of the accompanying wight army.  And it just so happens that the fellowship needs to capture exactly one wight.  How incredibly convenient for them.  Killing the white walker could've killed all the wights present or none of the wights or anything in between.  And it just happens to kill all but one.  What luck.

* During the battle, the undead army seemed to intentionally hold back and avoid delivering a crushing defeat.  This bought the Fellowship enough time for Dany to bail them out.

* The Night King was incredibly well-prepared to deal with two dragons popping out of nowhere.  He had several dragon-killing javelins on hand and one hell of a throwing arm.  And instead of killing the landed dragon and dooming our heroes, he attacks the comparatively much harder to hit flying dragon.  It's almost as if he intentionally let them go.

You might say that the wight army tried their damnest to take out the fellowship - they got Thoros, almost got Tormund, and would've gotten Jon if deus ex Benjen hadn't saved him.  They even tried to shoot down Drogon with the second javelin.  But did they really try to kill them or just try to make it look like they were trying to kill them?

You might also say "How could the Night King possibly have known that Dany was coming?  Dany didn't even know she was coming.  Does the Night King have greensight?"  Maybe.  He sensed when Bran was spying on him - twice - so he might have both the ability defend against greensight and the ability to use it.  This would explain why the undead army has been so incredibly slow to attack the wall.  At even a snail's marching speed, they could be sieging the wall by now.  The reason they haven't yet is because they were waiting on their dragon to be delivered to them first.

But how does this theory square with what we already know about the White Walkers?  It doesn't.  They've never used traps before and never been shown to be quite so well prepared for the unexpected before.  They didn't know where the Three-Eyed Raven was until they marked Bran.  They've never displayed knowledge of any kind beyond their immediate surroundings.  And come to think of it, wights have never before shattered upon their master's death - and we've seen three white walkers die previously (Sam, Meera, Jon at Hardholme), two of them in the vicinity of wight armies.

Imho, either D&D are trying to redo the White Walkers and creating a ton of inconsistencies or this theory is bunk and the Night King was crazy prepared because that's what the plot demanded.  Either option is bad, but the latter option is less bad and more plausible.

So, imho, it wasn't a trap.  It was just kinda bad writing.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Perhaps G.R.R. Martin is just a better semi-realistic historic politicking type writer than he is an epic fantasy writer, or the really good parts of his writing come in the act of writing rather than being prepared before hand. I have always found the mythical aspects of GoT to be a bit... eh... while the real greatness came in it's portrayal of humans. I don't think the Faceless, the Lord of Light, the Three-Eyed Raven, people like Benjin, Lady Coldheart, etc. are all that interesting when fleshed out. They are much more interesting when viewed from a distance than when they are more properly examined.

Either way, still loved this last season. I'm just kinda sad the White Walkers are no longer this looming threat, because I thought that was what made them more interesting... knowing it was a real threat, and everyone just ignoring it. I hope the Lannisters implode and cause more drama, maybe leading to something like the North or even all the way down to King's Landing being lost to the White Walkers. As it stands... it feels like super-hero good guy plot armour is starting to grow around the remaining characters, and that is ab it dull for a series that has always rejected that.[/spoiler]

[Hydra009]

Just saw the season finale.  It felt like the first half of the best movie I've ever seen.

I'm sure I'll find something to nitpick later, but as far as I can tell, they finally did everything right.  Plot, characters bouncing off each other, dragon money-guzzling special effects.  Everything was on point.

[spoiler]It felt like Christmas with all the presents I received.

Littlefinger's death - which I sorta saw coming - but this scene was a hell of a lot better than the one in my head.
Arya and Sansa having a touching moment.
Theon growing a pair (metaphorically speaking)
Bran revealing Jon's parentage.
The wall (and dany's pants) coming down.  Btw, Preston Jacobs called that weeks ago.  He might officially have greensight, lol.
We even get the Night King as a motherfing dragonrider!

And I was even surprised by something, which doesn't happen often.  Cersei's false peace, which surely sealed her fate.  And speaking of fates, it seems that the key to a long life is to demand that Cersei kill you.  Pretty ballsy move, though.  Definitely wouldn't recommend it.

Also, I'm not 100% sure Euron was lying about his /gquit.  Pulling a Madagascar sounds like exactly the right move right now.  Westeros is fucked.  If I were Bronn, I'd look for that castle on the Summer Isles.[/spoiler]

[Shiranu]

I remember I use to like Bronn, but honestly all the sell sword characters haven't interested me in years now. Even legendary ones in other genres grind my gears.

[Hydra009]

I remember I use to like Bronn, but honestly all the sell sword characters haven't interested me in years now. Even legendary ones in other genres grind my gears.

I like sellswords.  You get a very down-to-earth perspective.  They don't give a rat's ass about honor or justice or feuding lords, they care about getting paid - so they'll tell you how it really is.  They also care about living, so they tend to cut and run from employers who get them into impossible fights, accidentally or intentionally.

Being a merc in the Mechwarrior games was always great.  The shifting web of alliances takes you on quite the tour of the galaxy.

[Hydra009]

Also, Clegane Bowl!  GET HYPE!