Game of Thrones

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Ok, who actually did the killing?  We have:
Margaery-had access to the carafe of wine right before the symptoms start

Olenna-same as above, likely working together if either did it.  Also seems to have taken a jewel off of Sansa's necklace that was given to her by.....

Dontos (the drunk ex-knight)-gave Sansa the necklace, insisted she wear it often especially to "special" occasioans.  Then attempted to get Sansa to flee with him afterwords.

Sansa-she certainly has the motive

Tyrian-he certainly has the motive and had access

Cersei-she always goes off on how much she lover her children, but she, like everybody else, was getting sick of Joffrey's shenanigans.  Maybe she thinks Tommen will be a better King (for her to mold).  She did send possibly the only person that could have helped Joffrey (Grand Maester Pycelle) away right before the murder.

Tywin-he could have done it to protect the family name.  He too was sick of Joffrey's sh**t

Professor Plum with the poison in the library

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Ban RosettaStoned immediately for boring trolled coupled with excessive bravery.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I really liked the changes to the storyline in the North, especially the closing scene.  That said, Locke is not as entertaining as Vargo Hoat and I'm a bit disappointed that SPOILERS he appears destined for a different fate than in the books.  Maybe Roose Bolton can send him to Tywin when he fails to kill Bran and the Mountain will end up torturing him to death that way.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Wait, so Daenerys is putting off her conquest of Westeros indefinitely?  Ugh, that storyline just seems like it's going nowhere (though of course it's fairly clear that her story is vital to however this series concludes).

Now you know how the majority of the book readers felt after book 3... It won't get any more interesting until the end of book 5.

Meh, they've never really done a good job with her storyline  since the end of season 1 (other than the episode where she takes Astapoor/gets the first group of unsullied).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Wait, so Daenerys is putting off her conquest of Westeros indefinitely?  Ugh, that storyline just seems like it's going nowhere (though of course it's fairly clear that her story is vital to however this series concludes).

Now you know how the majority of the book readers felt after book 3... It won't get any more interesting until the end of book 5.

Meh, they've never really done a good job with her storyline  since the end of season 1 (other than the episode where she takes Astapoor/gets the first group of unsullied).

In all fairness, the Daenerys storyline from the books was not really good (Her story in Game of Thrones was fantastic, but I hated her chapters from Clash of Kings, and the ones in Storm and Dance are either amusing or incredibly boring). Season 5 will have to change a lot of things in order to adapt Dance and Feast (and probably parts of Winds), so I hope they make a lot of drastic changes there.

I agree completely; I'm not saying Martin did much better with post-AGoT Danaerys.  However, there are certain characters (Stannis is another one, something that I find a little frustrating given that BookStannis was a pretty complex and interesting character who demonstrated a real capacity for growth while ShowStannis hasn't been very interesting post-Season 2) that D&D seem to have some trouble with.  The "WHERE ARE MY DRAGONS," blondest possible white savior, and Daenarys and Daario: A Westrosi Romantic Comedy flavors didn't/don't really work, although at least she's not been in this season that much.  On the other hand, many other characters like Tywin, Joffrey, Roose Bolton, and Tyrion are even better in the show than they are in the books.  Can't have everything, I suppose  BTW, I agree with Nix that certain parts of FeastDance will probably get some desperately needed revisions.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Wait, so Daenerys is putting off her conquest of Westeros indefinitely?  Ugh, that storyline just seems like it's going nowhere (though of course it's fairly clear that her story is vital to however this series concludes).

Now you know how the majority of the book readers felt after book 3... It won't get any more interesting until the end of book 5.

Yup, I wish I had stopped reading after book 3 until RR finished the whole thing.

The second half of book five was pretty good, I thought.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

So about that fight...

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

So about that fight...

It was pretty much like the books, but... I'm surprised at how I felt when it ended.

The end was quite a bit more brutal than in the books if I recall correctly. The Mountain didn't squeeze the Viper's head like that in the books, just smashed his head into the ground really hard. The show has been upping the level of brutality since the Red Wedding, IMO.

Yup, I have read the books, but that scene was more upsetting than even the Red Wedding, IMO.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Oh, another main character died recently? LOL, if it continues at that pace I guess that by the show's end Rickon and Tommen will be fighting each other to avenge the death of the rest of their respective families.

Though as far as I know, they might already be dead at this point...

There's a small part of me that wonders if the White Walkers won't simply conquer Westeros and kill everyone.  I doubt it, but...

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Well actually, the thread was always there for discussion up to the latest episodes.
Sorry for you, but it would really be wise to leave this thread until you caught up.

As far as I've seen spoilers are usually marked in white text...

Well, most spoilers in white text are book spoilers, spoilers that are ahead of the show as of now... Most people here don't consider the things that happened in the last two/three episodes spoliers, as the ones who are up-date have already seen them. Once again, I'm sorry for you, as Lumine said, no one wants to encounter spoilers of GoT. I can assure you however that I'll talk of such things only in white text.

They changed the whole story quite a bit for my taste - Pip, Grenn, Thorne... Everyone is dead. Why the f[inks]? That robs us from all the "who is elected Lord Commander storyline".

I don't think it was ever clarified whether or not Thorne died.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I actually thought it was fairly obvious that Thorne isn't dead as opposed to just wounded.

I must have gotten something wrong, but I could've sworn he died. Well, next time I should look more carefully, before protesting about something that didn't even happen
Has anyone other but me the feeling that the next episode will again be heavily centered on the Wall arc?
Dany's arc is about finished, as is Sansa's, the Bolton arc seems finished too. Tyrion has left something going, Arya has and Bran, too. And of course the whole Wall / Jon / Stannis story. There isn't anything left, right? Maybe LSH, as season finale...?

I doubt it.  I think Stannis probably saves the day pretty quickly and then we end that plot thread right there within the first 7-10 minutes after the opening credits.  The HBO preview confirmed that their will be at least one scene with each of the following combinations: Dany/dragons, Jon/Wildling Redshirts/Mance Rayder, Arya/the Hound, Cersei/Tywin, Cersei/Jaime, and THAT scene (if you've read the book you should know what I mean, I don't want to risk someone getting spoiled about it b/c of the angle that they were looking at their computer ).  Given that the last one surely takes up at least 15 minutes of screen-time and could conceivably take up 20-25 minutes (I'd predict 20 minutes), that is a lot to fit in one episode.  I don't see how they can spend much more than 10 minutes at the wall (if that, it could easily be less).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I am interested in participating, Lumine. Let me know if you get any farther with the idea.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I'm not happy they whitewashed the Tyrion-Jamie interaction.  Still a phenomenal scene though.  Does anyone else think it was perfect that this episode aired on father's day?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I'm not happy they whitewashed the Tyrion-Jamie interaction.  Still a phenomenal scene though.  Does anyone else think it was perfect that this episode aired on father's day?

I mentioned that to the wife between the first and second bolt.

Several ....points...issues...whatever:
1.What happened after Arya laughed after learning of her aunts death.  Her cousin was still there even if the guards don't know about Sansa being there.  Do they not trust the rest of the people of House Arryn?
2.How did Stannis get 2000+ calvary north of the wall without the wildlings knowing?  Do they not have gaurds/scouts?  A 100,000 man army?  Sure it came out of left field and they couldn't have possibly known it was coming, but still...that's a lot of dudes on horses to totally not see encircling your position..
3.Is anybody else pissed Arya didn't "help" the Hound?  WTF girl?

1. I mean the cousin is a little boy, so God knows who is really in charge of the Vale, from Arya and the Hound's perspective.

2. Stop being such a plausible

3. I mean her whole family is dead as far as she knows except *maybe* Sansa and Jon Snow are dead, along with the various protectors she's had (Syrio, Yoren, etc.).  That sort of stuff tends to change folks in some pretty dark ways, especially children.  Plus, I don't think she was ever much of a fan of the Hound.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

The Hound/Brienne fight was one of the best duels I've ever seen in any TV show or film.

Ugh.  Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh.  Go away.  That scene was the worst.  And there was such whiplash, because the scene with the Hound was so excellent afterwards.

Don't tell me that you're one of those people who enjoys Brienne's aimless wandering in AFFC.

Wait a second, are you telling me such people actually exist?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Given the last seasons, I think everyone should be prepared to be disappointed.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Just watch the first six seasons, and call it a night after watching Daenerys' fleet sail toward Westeros.  Let that be the last image you will have of the series, and pretend the last two seasons don't exist.

Season 6 also sucks

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Just watch the first six seasons, and call it a night after watching Daenerys' fleet sail toward Westeros.  Let that be the last image you will have of the series, and pretend the last two seasons don't exist.

Season 6 also sucks

As does season 5.

Really, you're better off watching the first three seasons and leaving it there. They form a fairly complete narrative arc on their own.

First four.  Danaerys' arc in season 4 sucks, but season 4 completes the John/Ygritte arc with one of the most awesome episodes of the entire series, it completes the Arya/Hound arc in a very satisfying way, and of course the goings-on at King's Landing in season 4 are probably the best storyline in the entire run of the show.  It also has Pedro Pascal's best performance of his career.

Fair, I think season 4 isn't as good as the first three but it's still solid television. Everything after that... not so much.

The heart of the show is Tyrion's shenanigans in King's Landing.  Seasons 2/3 are the best because they have the most Tyrion in King's Landing content.  Those scenes have the best dialogue, the most intricate plots, the most humor and the best acting, they're some of the best TV ever produced.

Season 4 is the climax of that storyline.  After that the show completely falls apart.

Personally I always thought the heart of the show in these first seasons was the fall of the House of Stark, the tragedy of Ned and Robb whose noble intentions and impressive talents all come to naught because of the fatal flaw that is their unwillingness to play the ruthless game of power politics. Tyrion in King's Landing is great, I agree, and I think it offers a great contrast with the Starks because it shows you can be a decently well-intentioned person but also learn to play politics effectively.

That was never Ned or Robb’s fatal flaw.  Ned was the victim of bad luck and played the game far more effectively than Cersei or - in the case of Season 1 specifically - even Season 1 Tywin.  Had Robert not died exactly when he had, Tywin, Cersei, Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella would all be heads on spikes.  Robb was a gifted general who was also a horny teenager who managed to blow an entire war because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.