HBO: Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire)

[Monkey_Driven]

I should re-watch when I can focus on the story better; my mind was still on what happened in Orlando.
Arya's chase scene at the end reminded me of Terminator 2. To be honest I have not done well following her storyline in particular the past season or two.

You didn't miss much. I too was getting Terminator vibes in the chase scene.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[Monkey_Driven]

I should re-watch when I can focus on the story better; my mind was still on what happened in Orlando.
Arya's chase scene at the end reminded me of Terminator 2. To be honest I have not done well following her storyline in particular the past season or two.

You didn't miss much. I too was getting Terminator vibes in the chase scene.

Ditto. Blondie's steely gaze was just like Robert Patrick.

I had an irrational wish in this scene: I was hoping that somehow it would be revealed that Arya wasn't actually hurt; that she had been pretending to lure blondie out, and then she would attack full force. But of course this wasn't reasonable, as we saw her get stabbed repeatedly. Still, I think that, or several other scenarios, could have been a little cooler. It wasn't bad the way they handled the confrontation, just a bit underwhelming.

I disliked the inconsistency of her wound and how much she was hurt, not to mention a possible infection. They could have accomplished everything they wanted to if she was stabbed once (instead of multiple times) and then jumped into the water the last episode.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[Monkey_Driven]

I should re-watch when I can focus on the story better; my mind was still on what happened in Orlando.
Arya's chase scene at the end reminded me of Terminator 2. To be honest I have not done well following her storyline in particular the past season or two.

You didn't miss much. I too was getting Terminator vibes in the chase scene.

Ditto. Blondie's steely gaze was just like Robert Patrick.

I had an irrational wish in this scene: I was hoping that somehow it would be revealed that Arya wasn't actually hurt; that she had been pretending to lure blondie out, and then she would attack full force. But of course this wasn't reasonable, as we saw her get stabbed repeatedly. Still, I think that, or several other scenarios, could have been a little cooler. It wasn't bad the way they handled the confrontation, just a bit underwhelming.

I disliked the inconsistency of her wound and how much she was hurt, not to mention a possible infection. They could have accomplished everything they wanted to if she was stabbed once (instead of multiple times) and then jumped into the water the last episode.

Yea, and that role down the stairs was pretty rough. I get that she's tough as nails, and that her time with the Faceless Men has maybe given her a pretty high pain tolerance. But septic infection and broken bones are pretty touch to overcome, you know?

Right, and then she just walked out away from Jaqen with no noticeable limp or injury.

[patrick]

Definitely an uneven episode. Arya's story suffered due to the rushing of her story. If given more time there'd be better setup as to how she could parkour with abdominal wounds and still fight in the dark.

The joke scene was rough and forced, but I guess it meant to show how Worm and whatshername need to lighten up?

The Hound had the lines, while Jamie and Brienne had the best scene.

My question is... the secret found by the little birds (which I had to google for), who intends to use the wildfire? The High Sparrow? Will Cersei somehow get it (ala, 'I choose violence')?

[Simple Torture]

It's hilarious that people are now complaining that Arya's storyline was rushed, considering she's been in Braavos for two seasons.

[spike]

Definitely an uneven episode. Arya's story suffered due to the rushing of her story. If given more time there'd be better setup as to how she could parkour with abdominal wounds and still fight in the dark.

The joke scene was rough and forced, but I guess it meant to show how Worm and whatshername need to lighten up?

The Hound had the lines, while Jamie and Brienne had the best scene.

My question is... the secret found by the little birds (which I had to google for), who intends to use the wildfire? The High Sparrow? Will Cersei somehow get it (ala, 'I choose violence')?

Spoiler: show

there's probably some wildfire beneath the great sept, where the trial will take place. this conveniently puts all of cersei's enemies in one place, so she's probably planning to blow up the place with everyone in it. tommen may end up as collateral damage.

[numbers]

It's hilarious that people are now complaining that Arya's storyline was rushed, considering she's been in Braavos for two seasons.

Agreed. People complain about fucking everything with this show.

[BurtReynolds]

The problem with rumors and theories is that they are sometimes much cooler than what happens on the show. I should try to avoid them, but I can't help it.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[bada]

Loved the Brotherhood scene. Had the same hopes as Chud. The terminator vibe was a little much. The was more on the actress than anything. Arya's fall down the stairs didn't bother me. You can break your leg tripping on a rug or fall off the roof and walk away fine. That's up to the gods.

[a rabbit & a fox]

This is seriously the best show

[patrick]

It's hilarious that people are now complaining that Arya's storyline was rushed, considering she's been in Braavos for two seasons.

I really only felt like last night's ep was fumbled. Everything else with Arya has felt well paced. Little steps she would take were the results of lots of growth.

That captures my thoughts better.

Overall, I enjoyed the Bravos/Arya/Faceless men storyline. Perhaps going forward I'll keep in mind they don't have that many hours of story left, so certain plotlines may reach their end similarly as we saw last night. I did appreciate Jacquen's nod of approval at the end.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[a rabbit & a fox]

I thought she was going to kill him! She did a great job. I hope we get an Arya & the Hound reunion!

[lowlight79]

Definitely an uneven episode. Arya's story suffered due to the rushing of her story. If given more time there'd be better setup as to how she could parkour with abdominal wounds and still fight in the dark.

The joke scene was rough and forced, but I guess it meant to show how Worm and whatshername need to lighten up?

The Hound had the lines, while Jamie and Brienne had the best scene.

My question is... the secret found by the little birds (which I had to google for), who intends to use the wildfire? The High Sparrow? Will Cersei somehow get it (ala, 'I choose violence')?

Spoiler: show

there's probably some wildfire beneath the great sept, where the trial will take place. this conveniently puts all of cersei's enemies in one place, so she's probably planning to blow up the place with everyone in it. tommen may end up as collateral damage.

Spoiler: show

What if Jamie is forced to stop her as he did the mad king because he doesn't want to see his son die?

[spike]

Definitely an uneven episode. Arya's story suffered due to the rushing of her story. If given more time there'd be better setup as to how she could parkour with abdominal wounds and still fight in the dark.

The joke scene was rough and forced, but I guess it meant to show how Worm and whatshername need to lighten up?

The Hound had the lines, while Jamie and Brienne had the best scene.

My question is... the secret found by the little birds (which I had to google for), who intends to use the wildfire? The High Sparrow? Will Cersei somehow get it (ala, 'I choose violence')?

Spoiler: show

there's probably some wildfire beneath the great sept, where the trial will take place. this conveniently puts all of cersei's enemies in one place, so she's probably planning to blow up the place with everyone in it. tommen may end up as collateral damage.

Spoiler: show

What if Jamie is forced to stop her as he did the mad king because he doesn't want to see his son die?

we've been talking about that over in the book thread!

[Simple Torture]

I'm of the mind that I'll be disappointed if the big battle this weekend ends conventionally: Jon and Sansa take Winterfell, they get to kill Ramsay, the Starks are back in power yada yada yada. Two ideas I've embraced as interesting would be: (1) Ramsay demands Jon's army stands down or he kills Rickon, sort of like what the Freys did with Edmure--except Jon chooses not to stand down and Rickon gets flayed, and he's gotta live with being responsible for the death of his "half brother"; and (2) battle goes pretty much according to script, but Jon refuses to kill Ramsay, and that creates a rift between him and Sansa.

Someone on reddit floated this third option that I absolutely love: Jon and Co. barely, just barely defeat the Bolton+Bolton Loyalists in an extremely bloody battle. We lose some of the characters we love--perhaps Tormund goes down without ever going down on Brienne, Wun Wun loses a 1-on-400 battle with some Umbers, and (perish the thought) the Onion Knights falls in a blaze of glory, and uses his last words to remind Jon that "the dead are comin'." Jon and Sansa reunite with Rickon, they smile together, and prepare to take a deep breath before the real war begins. Then they hear horse hooves, look up, and the Knights of the Vale arrive as Jon's forces begin to lick their wounds...and Littlefinger demands that the Starks hand over Winterfell or he'll have them all killed in the name of King Tommen. This would accomplish two things: (1) it'd make Sansa's lie to Jon have some weight, and (2) it'd be right in line with Littlefinger's regular scheming, as it'd allow him to get back into the Crown's good graces while eliminating two potential foes.

What do we think?

[Norah]

That last theory is nuts.

In a good way.