Winter is Coming (GoT is back)

[Cory]

I thought Littlefinger's plan would come to fruition before any wedding so I was surprised by the end.  Now not sure what LF is up to. And is Sansa still his ally?

Just got done blitz watching the whole thing over the last two weeks.

It kinda seems like his entire plan relies on House Bolton defeating Stannis in the battle for the North. If Stannis wins then he's back to square one with the Veil being on the front lines of the Baratheon advance. He would yet again become entirely beholden to the Lannisters to defeat Stannis.

[Cory]

So are we getting Stannis vs. The Boltons this season or not? I need to see an epic battle soon!

I would say almost certainly. I think they might even have him torch his daughter to make the audience lose sympathy for him. I hope not though, he's my second favorite character right now (first is Peter Baelish).

[Cory]

Balon Greyjoy is dead, he had a slip-and-fall on Pyke that in the books was almost certainly engineered by a Faceless Man hired by his awful brother Euron.

If it didn't happen (on or off-screen) in the show, it didn't happen at all.  Some of us don't care what happened in the books.

There's no need to be so truculent about it.

Yes there is. You probably just utterly spoiled a plot-line the show was going to expand upon later. You are well aware of this, don't try to play coy.

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Anyway, I'm sorry.

Good.

[Cory]

I for one am glad there is was basically no Bran screen-time this season. They're just so boring.

Honestly I wish they could just disappear forever and the show could focus on the cool parts but I know there is some long-term major storyline from it or something.

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Jesus dude I can't believe it. He's really that desperate to become King. Wow.

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I'm not 100% sure he really did it. They did cut the scene away a little early.

No dude, it happened. Let's not live in denial. It's like those people in Season 1 who thought Ned Stark "wasn't really dead". We hear it in every series ever, and it's never true.

That being said I hope he defeats House Bolton (which I swear to God the battle better happen next Episode or it's the biggest bullsh**t ever) but then is defeated in turn by Petyr Baelish next Season.

So does anyone remember that Breinne of Tarth is camping outside WinterFell, with a death wish against Stannis? He is marching straight to her.

Again, if they don't at least resolve the Stannis VS Bolton storyline then it's the biggest bullsh**t ever.

[Cory]

This is an interesting take on Stannis I found on the Game Of Thrones on HBO subreddit that I think sums up his character quite succinctly:

All your life you want to be noble, loved, and a hero. Then someone tells you that you actually are destined to be the hero and the king. It all seems great at first but it turns out being the hero doesn't mean you get to be loved. In fact now you have to start doing some pretty dark sh**t. You're burning people for hell's sake! But you're meant to be king, this god whose power you have seen says that you have to do these things. Then suddenly you're about to execute the one person who really respects and cares for you, he's one of your best friends. And then in this crazy quick sequence of events he's your hand, you're now destined to be a hero that will fight off a threat to the North, and you're heading to the Wall. You're starting to doubt yourself and honestly you're afraid but you have to do this it's your destiny.

So now you've preserved the Night's Watch but you see how weak they really are. You realize you need to be king to stop what your trusted adviser says is coming. So you head South and things start to go to sh**t. You're in a hurry but you're moving so slow. And then tragedy happens... you're attacked in the night. Things are falling apart. Then this offer comes. A promise of victory. A sacrifice, the biggest one you've ever made, for a win. At this point you don't doubt this lord of light. All you really doubt is yourself. But this is your destiny, to be the hero. You don't even want to be the hero anymore. But you have to. To save everyone. You know none of them will appreciate you. And now you're going to kill her. Your daughter. Your only child. And she's screaming at you to stop. But you, Stannis Baratheon, you are Iron. And Iron does not bend. You apply pressure until it shatters, until it breaks. And God you are so close to breaking. Selyse is gone now, she's trying to stop it. Your soldiers are looking at you like a monster. But you don't care. You only care about her and she's gone but it meant something... it had to. You're going to win now. You know this. You have to save them all.

Now this is why I love Stannis. And the saddest part is that he will never be the hero in the end. He's not the savior. Mel is either blind or lying. Eventually he will learn this and that moment... that is when the iron shatters.

In Stannis's eyes he has to do these things because he is the only one who can save Westeros from the White Walkers. He's delusional but he's a sincere True Believer.

Truth be told Stannis Baratheon is probably the most complex and personally interesting  character in the show at this point. They need to stop wasting screen-time with Arya and have the finale be mostly about the battle of Winterfell. If they don't get to it I'm gonna be very let down. I mean c'mon are they seriously gonna make everyone wait basically a year for it?

[Cory]

The "previously on" segment that'll play before the credits at the beginning of the finale has leaked onto Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1btOBSM9mrk

It hints at the possible return of a character we haven't seen this season, so people who really want to go into the episode cold might want to skip this when they watch it.

Didn't watch, but please don't let them waste precious finale screen-time on Hordor & co.

[Cory]

The dramatic fall of Stannis over the last two episodes was probably the most gripping part of the Season I think. The One True King has fallen, all is lost.

I wonder if how this complicates Littlefinger's plan. With House Bolton having so utterly crushed Stannis so swiftly they won't be weakened enough for the Nights of the Veil to attack. Then again he also has a plan with Roose Bolton to make an alliance with them and turn on the Lannister's IIRC. So maybe he's go that route.

[Cory]

I've only seen two episodes of this show, since I'm poor. 

So am I, but it's widely available online for free. Just google it. That's how I watched basically the entire series.

[Cory]

I still don't get why he led Sansa to Winterfell instead of keeping her safe in the Vale. Does he plan on befriending the Boltons? If so, why then tell Cersei he's going to raise the Vale's army against them? I know Littlefinger likes chaos, but even for him this plan makes no sense.

I think things are actually set up perfectly for Baelish to seize the North. Think about it: John (probably) gets resurrected and takes command of the Wildlings and summons some minor Northern Houses to march on Winterfell to get revenge against House Bolton. As the Wildling/Northern forces approach Winterfell, Baelish moves in with the Knights of the Vale into Winterfell to "support" the Boltons.

Once inside, the Vale Knights stage a back-stab as John assaults the city, House Bolton is crushed and Petyr enters an alliance with John re-establish House Stark in Winterfell. Petyr, now much stronger and having taken little causalities in his own army due to the ambush nature of his attack, marches South with the North supporting him.

House Tyrell now has major incentive to side with Baelish and doom the Lannisters once and for all.

[Cory]

That actually would be an excellent outcome. Only problem is, knowing this show, it's far too good to be true.

Well I'm sure the WhiteWalker invasion and the Daenerys Targaryen making an alliance with Dorne and landing there/marching on Kings Landing will adjust things a bit, to say the least.

Daenerys will probably take Dragonstone first as a springboard to invade Westeros though. With (His Grace) Stannis done for that should be easier then ever.

[Cory]

Littlefinger on the Iron Throne? Are you sure that's really that good of an outcome?

Now with The One True King His Grace Stannis Baratheon gone Lord Petyr Baelish is the only choice.

I call such bullsh**t on George RR Martin if he has Daenerys win the Throne at the end of the day. It would just be so utterly predictable and typical.

[Cory]

The two of the dragonblood will rule jointly. Its the obvious, logical ending.

But isn't that kind of against the entire theme of Game Of Thrones? If that happened it would just be another "obvious good guy character inevitably wins the day at the end" show/book.

Having the White-walkers win would be kind of bullsh**t to because it would look like lazy writing, an easy way to cop out of having to write an actual ending in which the plot is relevant. It would be like if someone was writing an Alternate History and just as things were coming to a climax they post " ...and then an asteroid hits the earth and everyone dies. The end."

[Cory]

I'm also assuming that Jon will be resurrected, but I don't think that he'll then march on Winterfell.  I feel like it would be a cheat if Jon is resurrected just to do some stuff that his Stark self would care about, like driving the Boltons from Winterfell.  I'd prefer that undead-Jon shifts to "bigger picture" issues, presumably related directly to the White Walker invasion. Maybe he'll have to flee north from Castle Black, and runs into Bran or Benjen?  Something like that.

Ugh. I hope not. I kinda wish they would just disappear.

It would've been better if the assassin killed the kid in season 1 to get the ball rolling.

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You don't have to "download" anything. Just google it and watch it as a video. This really isn't that complicated and I don't know why more people don't realize this.

It's just a google search away. It's illegal for them to upload it but not technically illegal for you to watch it. Just don't download anything.

[Cory]

Cersei is officially bae.

Her getting total vengeance was on of the most satisfying things I've seen from a TV show in a long, long time.

But I do wonder how Littlefinger will react to the new situation. Jon Snow is King in the North and Sansa won't marry him. His plan is unraveling and he has to do something. Maybe allying with Cersei and crushing Jon Snow/Sansa is on the table? Robin doesn't get along with Sansa in the show so that could be a factor.

[Cory]

Bronn since Dany's really annoying; even though I knew it would happen, I was genuinely disappointed Qyburn's ballista didn't work.

It worked just fine. The problem was they didn't have enough of them and they weren't ready for it.

If the Lannisters had two more scorpions and a third line of infantry the battle would've been very different.