The Official Game of Thrones [A Song of Ice and Fire] Thread (includes spoilers)

[Jack Brickman]

I'll have to re-watch yet again, but I was always pretty jazzed at the King in the North stuff, anything Glover-related: "Your meat... is bloody tough!", Robb's quotes being some of the best: "You insult yourself Kingslayer, you've been beaten by a boy...", and Talisa will always be the GoT queen of my heart.

I think that the first three seasons of Game of Thrones have the best writing and content of the entire series, but also the worst pacing. It's easy to see why, though...they had serious budget constraints early on that have eased in later seasons, which means more battles and major events, and better justice done to those battles and events. Case in point, the lone significant battle from the first book takes place entirely off screen on the show because they couldn't afford to film it. They were also going pretty directly from the books, and the first two books, and the first half of book three, move at a pretty slow, meandering pace.

The later seasons saw the writing quality decline but the pace improve, to the point where the latest season was paced too fast.

 

[Cavatt]

How do we think the Jon and Dany dilemma is going to resolve in the final 6 eps when they both will clearly find out about Jon's (Aegon's) parentage? Jon is next in line but maybe they strike a deal?

To me, there is no conclusion that makes sense if they both live.

1. Dany rules, Jon marries her: Too anticlimactic. Jon doesn't come back to life for that. Neither are built for intentional incest either.

2. Dany rules, Jon goes back North and wardens/rules it: Also nah.

3. Jon Rules: Don't see it it, Jon doesn't want it. He'd rather Dany do that ish.

Only conclusion is that one of them dies. My money is on Jon. He sacrifices himself somehow. He died once already. Isn't terribly excited about still being alive. Completed his role of defeating the Night's King (presumably), put Dany on the throne. He can die having done that.

Better bet is everyone dies and none of this comes to pass. But I assume that they will at least discuss what they plan on doing onscreen.

I am slightly psyched on seeing them both ride Dragons into battle.

Also, don't you think he has to kill her himself to temper his sword and defeat the Night King? Bran gets revealed to be the Night King and this closes some time loop or something.

I think it is going to be revealed that Winter is some kind of machine or other controlled by the night king that gets kicked on and then they will have normal seasons. The fact they have varying lengths of winters by whole years is not just a weird quirk it is meaningful. There is some weird machinery in Valyria or something.

 

[Chris]

Season 2 was probably my least favorite. Maybe 5.

 

[SixPACK]

I am slightly psyched on seeing them both ride Dragons into battle.

Fucking pumped.

 

[ACisKING]

Season two was a bit rough for GoT in retrospect. There are some awesome moments, but it's mostly just spinning the wheels until you get to the Battle of the Blackwater and then season three, where the shit starts to hit the fan constantly.

Season 2 was pretty bad for the reason you stated - lots of wheel spinning to get to that battle. The stuff with Dany in Qarth was also pretty bad. That being said, I actually prefer the pacing of the first four seasons to the mile-a-minute recent seasons. During the last season I often found myself wondering if I was even watching the same show - it just had so many leaps in logic and pretty poor writing at times.

 

[Chris]

Season 2 was pretty bad for the reason you stated - lots of wheel spinning to get to that battle. The stuff with Dany in Qarth was also pretty bad. That being said, I actually prefer the pacing of the first four seasons to the mile-a-minute recent seasons. During the last season I often found myself wondering if I was even watching the same show - it just had so many leaps in logic and pretty poor writing at times.

Honestly, as of Season 6, GoT has turned into a very predictable sequence of fan-servicey payoff moments (ie the whole Arya plotline was silly this season, Ramsay's comeuppance was kinda goofy and not GoT-like, etc). Still amazing, but part of that is because I'm so invested and have been for almost a decade. The fact that I actually think 6 may be my favorite season tells you how high quality the show is, even with the shift in pacing.

Still my favorite book/TV series ever. Just, agree that the pacing has changed to the point where it feels like a different show.

 

[kosis]

My God, I forgot about Qarth. That was the worst ish ever. And the House of the Undying was so amazing in the book.

Season 7 was in fast forward. Pacing way too quick. Fast travel rivaled video games. And that sequence of Jamie getting knocked in the water by Bronn and them somehow getting away was the single dumbest thing the show has ever done.

 

[Cavatt]

My God, I forgot about Qarth. That was the worst ish ever. And the House of the Undying was so amazing in the book.

Season 7 was in fast forward. Pacing way too quick. Fast travel rivaled video games. And that sequence of Jamie getting knocked in the water by Bronn and them somehow getting away was the single dumbest thing the show has ever done.

Him sinking like 20 feet into an abyss, when he was obviously shoved into 2 feet of river water was really amazingly funny.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Honestly, as of Season 6, GoT has turned into a very predictable sequence of fan-servicey payoff moments (ie the whole Arya plotline was silly this season, Ramsay's comeuppance was kinda goofy and not GoT-like, etc). Still amazing, but part of that is because I'm so invested and have been for almost a decade. The fact that I actually think 6 may be my favorite season tells you how high quality the show is, even with the shift in pacing.

Still my favorite book/TV series ever. Just, agree that the pacing has changed to the point where it feels like a different show.

Eh...I think Ramsay and the Freys will get their comeuppance in the books as well, so I don't really see that as fan service. You build up bad guys like that in fiction solely so you can serve them a satisfying revenge for the readers later.

 

[Chris]

Eh...I think Ramsay and the Freys will get their comeuppance in the books as well, so I don't really see that as fan service. You build up bad guys like that in fiction solely so you can serve them a satisfying revenge for the readers later.

Sure, but come on.

Arya using the "dramatically pull off face-mask" trick twice on the Freys was a tad goofy, and a stretch even for a fantasy story. The last time we see her she's in another continent, then next thing we know she's a servant working for Walder Frey, kills him, then poisons the entire House after using his face and giving some corny fan-servicey speech about leaving wolves alive or some shit.

Don't tell me you all bought that whole thing hook line and sinker. Not to say I didn't love Frey getting his.

They can get theirs in the books, it just doesn't have to be in that fashion. It didn't feel like Game of Thrones. Maybe because the story had spent years showing us how the bad guys always win and then it flipped it on its head, but it just felt like everything was so "perfect" in getting their just dues. What would have been more Thrones-like is it, say, Ramsay was killed but in the end it was in a way or sequence of events that either Sansa, or the viewer, or both found it hard to garner much satisfaction from. Ala, Joffrey's death.

I'm nitpicking a great story but it's just how I felt. I still cheered when it happened.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I don't think it'll be Arya that kills Walder Frey in the books. It looks like they're setting him up to be killed by Lady Stoneheart and her Brotherhood. However, she doesn't exist in the show, so Arya made the most sense given her training as an assassin. I agree that her speech was dumb, but Frey had to die some way on the show after what he did, and there was really no one other than Arya to get the job done.

As for Ramsay, I think he'll die more or less the same way in the books. It won't be Sansa doing it, obviously. I'd imagine it will be Jeyne since she's basically playing that role in the books.

 

[Chris]

Well, we're never going to find out, so who cares.

 

[kosis]

Well, we're never going to find out, so who cares.

We all said that jokingly 4-5 years ago... But we're really not getting the end are we?

 

[Chris]

We all said that jokingly 4-5 years ago... But we're really not getting the end are we?

Only on the show, good sir. :/

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Yeah. My mom is a goner and no longer on the crew. She probably has PTSD now, but who cares right?

I'm all alone with my father. The guy is so focused and yet he still asks me to explain to him everything over and over again. He is so focused, that unless he asks the question, he has no idea i'm even talking to him.

Frustrating. But i'm all in, I guess.