Game of Thrones Episode 602—”Home”—Preview

Okay, here we go: Season 6, Episode 2. The premiere of Season 6, “The Red Woman,” caught us up with many of our characters, and pointed a few of them in interesting new directions, especially Sansa. Episode 2 sounds like it’ll follow through on some of those developments, and bring a couple others to a head (for example, Davos and company can’t hide behind that door forever).

It’ll also reintroduce us to some old friends. Here’s the official episode description:

Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) trains with the Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow). In King’s Landing, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) advises Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) demands good news, but has to make his own. At Castle Black, the Night’s Watch stands behind Thorne (Owen Teale). Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) proposes a plan, and Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide) entertains other proposals.

“Home” will mark the returns of both Bran Stark, absent since Season 4, and the extended Greyjoy family, who in the case of Balon Greyjoy have been absent since Season 3, although we did check in with Yara in Season 4. Finally, Hodor will say “Hodor” again! (I’m guessing—I suppose we could go the entire episode without a single “Hodor,” but I’d feel cheated.)

• Start Time: May 1, 2016, 9 p.m. EST
• TV Info: HBO
• Episode: Season 6, Episode 2, “Home”
• Writer: Dave Hill
• Director: Jeremy Podeswa
• Run time: 54 minutes
• Live Stream: Stream 1 – Stream 2

And here is the trailer:

It looks like Cersei and Jaime will start bringing the fight to the High Sparrow in this one.

You can see more stills from this episode here and here. See you tomorrow night!

Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/04/30/game-of-thrones-episode-602-home-preview/

Brush-up for Episode 2 with Dame Pasty’s Recap and Review of “The Red Woman”

Small Council: Let’s talk about “The Red Woman”

“The Red Woman,” the Game of Thrones Season 6 premiere, has come and gone. What did we like? What didn’t we like? Did it meet, disappoint, and/or confound our expectations? What does it mean for what happens next? The Small Council is in session.

DAN: I enjoyed watching “The Red Woman” a lot. There were a couple of great scenes (Brienne and Sansa exchanging vows, Melisandre looking her age) and several solid ones.

There was also some crap. The storyline involving the Dornish characters, for example, became even more muddled and sloppy, something I didn’t think was possible at the end of last season. And although it hasn’t gotten as much attention, I thought there were a lot of unanswered questions in the air at Castle Black. (Why did the mutineers abandon Jon’s body? Why are Jon’s loyal friends bothering to protect the body in the first place? Why are the wildlings so far away that Dolorous Edd has to spend a day and a night finding them?) I can see how the writers are setting up future events here, but I didn’t see how the characters’ actions make sense in context, and that’s bad.

But you know what? I found that those holes didn’t hurt my enjoyment. Maybe it’s because I hadn’t seen the show in a while, or maybe it’s because my expectations have dropped a bit since Season 5, but I was transfixed. “The Red Woman” slipped past my defenses.

Maybe that’s because, when the show gets things right, it gets them really, really right. The Sansa-Brienne scene was powerful, and had the force of several seasons worth of storytelling behind it. I loved how the vows mirrored the ones Brienne and Catelyn exchanged in Season 2. I loved the blissed out look on Brienne’s face as she finally managed to fulfill her oath to her mistress. I loved the way Sansa and Theon comforted each other after escaping their personal hells back at Winterfell. I loved how Pod took out a guy, meaning that Brienne followed through on her promise to train him. I loved the snow—the visuals are the one area where the show consistently excels. It was just so emotionally gratifying to see the good guys come out on top for once, and because we’d seen how much they’d suffered to get there, it felt earned.

If the show can continue mining its rich history like that, we could be in for a spectacular season. At this point, I have to face up to the fact that I’m emotionally involved with this show, and if they continue to deliver on that front, there’s no telling what plotholes I’ll be willing to excuse.

KATIE: My overall thought is that “The Red Woman” was a really solid premiere all around. As Dan said, we encountered a few mishaps, but the good in the episode far outweighed the not-so-good. We’ve heard a lot of great things about Season 6, and the first episode set up for the success that’s been promised.

I’m especially here for Brienne slaying, Podrick’s fighting skills 2.0, and my girl Sansa looking regal as all get-out. That scene began with such trepidation and fear, and ended on such a note of relief, calm, and security, and everything in between was perfectly paced. It was gratifying to see that Sansa is in a position where she can succeed; she’s been torn down again and again over the years with nary a break from her suffering, and now we can see that things are going to start comin’ up Sansa. She finally has people on her side who genuinely care about her well-being without any ulterior motives that would hurt her, and that kind of support is just the first step in her journey to recovery and revenge.

What I liked most about the episode was the overall theme of the characters reverting to their original state, only under different circumstances: Sansa is once more the proud Stark of Winterfell with a strong sense of purpose and a support system at her back; Brienne isn’t chasing her oath, but fulfilling it; Theon saved Pod in much the same way he saved Bran from the wildlings in Season 1; and Jaime and Cersei are putting themselves first, but doing so without the security that being a Lannister once bought them.

After all that ugly business with Stannis, Davos is reclaiming his sense of honor; Arya is back on track with her training, fighting the Waif as she fought Syrio, but at a significant disadvantage both physically and emotionally; Ramsay is made to feel incompetent and replaceable, and once again must prove himself to his father; Tyrion is back in a position of power; and Daenerys is back amongst the Dothraki, even more a prisoner than she was when her brother sold her to Khal Drogo, and her past experience will likely work in her favor.

While the premiere couldn’t explore every character’s journey, we saw a lot of them getting back to their roots. Their experiences thus far have certainly changed them as people, and that will affect the way they tackle these new-but-old situations, and whether or not they come out on top this time around. Chaos is a ladder, after all, and you either climb up or you fall down.

LEXI: Besides my overall excitement about the show being back I think my favorite scenes were definitely those with Sansa and Brienne. It felt really rewarding to see Brienne fulfill her oath to Catelyn, and also for Sansa to finally catch a break. I felt like that scene represented a turning point in Sansa’s arc and I’m hoping she’ll be calling a lot more shots from here on out.

Plot holes aside, I was glad to see Doran and Trystane bite it. The length of the books allows for the Dornish plots to be expanded on, but with so little time in the show, I’m glad their deaths free up time for others. I’m also getting slightly bored with Dany and Arya’s storylines but my hope is that there’ll be a big payoff at the end of the season.

The biggest shock for me was seeing Melisandre’s transformation. As a book reader I knew she may have been older than she appeared but I didn’t think she was that old. It adds a lot more intrigue to her character and puts her actions into perspective. For this week’s episode, I’m excited to see Bran and I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will end with Jon’s resurrection!

ANI: Did I enjoy “The Red Woman?” Well, I’d say it definitely fell within my Top Five, along with killing another khal, True Love, and a nice MLT—mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomatoes are ripe. And obviously Davos and I are in agreement on the mutton part.

This episode had good parts to balance out every quibble. For every Sansa and Theon magically fording a river, there was a Brienne and Pod fight. For every silly Dothraki dialogue moment, there was Dany seeing herself brought all the way back down to as low as we’s ever seen her. For every failure to resurrect Jon Snow, or leave the wildlings somewhere close by for easy rioting, there was Alliser Thorne reminding us that just because a character is an asshole doesn’t mean he has to be an over-the-top Joffrey style villain, and Melisandre taking it all off and going the hell to bed. And then there were the parts that were good all the way through, like the High Sparrow’s Good Cop routine. Cersei and Jaime’s reunion. Arya’s training. Watching Ramsay be quietly shaded by his father at every turn.

As for the bad… What can be said about Dorne that hasn’t been? This week has been full of thinkpieces, from our own site to Vulture and Vox, that meditate on how a plotline that drags on in the books wound up being even worse on screen. The show may have thought cutting off the Hydra heads of Dorne would kill it quickly, but that seems to have only highlighted how mishandled it was from the word go.

How odd… It says “Hail Hydra.”

RAZOR: I rather enjoyed the Season 6 premiere. The aftermath of Jon Snow’s death happened exactly as I thought it would, and I was pleased that Davos, Melisandre, Ghost, Edd and friends are all still firmly on team Jon, despite Jon’s exsanguination and death. I was more than happy that the showrunners took the time to explain how Jorah and Daario were able to find Dany’s ring, because I greatly feared that would be a massive plot hole, and that they would just happen upon a ring in the middle of the plains.

My favorite part of the episode was without a doubt when Brienne and Theon rescued Sansa and Theon. Theon shed the last vestiges of Reek, and even counseled Sansa when Brienne pledged her sword to Catelyn Stark’s eldest daughter. Game of Thrones is a better show for having an actual strong female lead in Gwendoline Christie’s Brienne, who has a sense of honor and duty, rather than some contrived notion of girl power, as with those chicks from Dorne.

Speaking of which…

I do understand the hate that Dorne received from Season 5 and even in the Season 6 premiere. The Sand Snakes have been turned into outlandish cartoon versions of their book incarnations. That they achieved their goal of getting revenge for Elia Martell, her children, and Oberyn (who died in a fair trial by combat) by killing two innocent kids and then killing Oberyn’s own brother was total character assassination. I get the show is the show and the books are the books, but the show version of Dorne has been a bitter pill to swallow.

Instead of spending the time to murder the Dornish story, I would have liked to have seen more of blind Arya in Braavos. We got so little time with Blind Beth that I felt almost cheated. The Waif smacking the bejesus out of Arya was neat to watch, as I saw it more of a training exercise than something deliberately vindictive or malevolent. Hopefully, Arya won’t be blind for too much longer, because I want to see her take the next steps in her Faceless Man training.

 

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/04/30/small-council-lets-talk-about-the-red-woman/

Looking Forward, Game of Thrones Ep. 602: Life Without Prince

The gamut of emotion was almost too much to bear.

An editorial like this only happens when two colossal influences in your life converge. A favorite source of entertainment begins again. A favorite source of entertainment ends forever.

Two princes are dead. One left a lasting impression. One didn’t. One will be remembered always, and one will barely be remembered at all…

Disclaimer: Be mindful that this is the Unsullied WotW village idiot post, where ideas and speculation are not bound to the regulations of fine thesis or upper-echelon monograph. Looking Forward is the designated area for us to let our hair down (if you have hair) and discuss topics that may (or may not) relate to GoT.

 If that’s not your thing, a man completely understands. Feel free to move along. 

Life is a spectrum of sentiment. Fluctuation of emotion is normal. It’s the highs and lows, ups and downs, ebbs and flows that make the world go round and makes us the glorious heaps of imperfection that we are.

It’s when two or more emotion-conjuring events take place around the same time that can confuse the inner self to the point of smiling one minute and sulking the next.

It was the excitement and chaos that precedes a new season of Game of Thrones on the proverbial doorstep. Joy! Exuberance! The reckless abandon in speculation! And then a dose of reality when you are painfully reminded that even in the real world, all men must indeed die.

I never knew Prince. But he was the primary reason I picked up a guitar and learned to play it. I was introduced to his music by my now deceased Uncle (fondly referred to as “Uncle Big Head” for his abnormally sized melon). “Big” tried to convince me at an inappropriate age that on “Controversy,” they were actually saying “eat my pussy.” Tyene “Bad Pussy” Sand might approve.

I never knew Trystane either. And the truth is I still don’t, other than a few factual pieces the show threw in: He was the son of Doran. The Prince of Dorne. The chosen of Myrcella. And good at arts and crafts…

Suffice it to say, I had no investment in Trystane. His death left very little, if any, impressionable feelings of loss (although the nostril cleansing he received was memorable).

I know my Sullied colleagues and hundreds of readers are mulling over the Dorne plotline now (a “murder” I sat out of when a lady named Arianne came up in the first paragraphs). If you are Sullied and want to chat about her or any other book-related ideologies, then head on over there.

But as it pertains to the show, the jury is still out on just how this Dorne storyline supplements the bigger picture. Obviously, Dorne is part of the Seven Kingdoms. And whoever rules the Seven Kingdoms will have to deal with Dorne.

“Fight and fock. Fock and fight.”

However, the show has done a good job (as unintentional as it may be) of making it seem as if Dorne itself is really not all that important. You know, they’re those “beach people.” They lay out in the sun and do “it” all day. Then they eat and do “it” again and make poisonous concoctions while the rest of the world sleeps.

They don’t hurt little girls in Dorne, but they did. And they kill family members over the death of Oberyn, even though Oberyn volunteered to put his life on the line and be the champion for Tyrion. No one made him do it.

And maybe Doran should have done something about what happened to Elia and her children. But that is exactly why Oberyn went to King’s Landing in the first place. And it seems as if the show runners were attempting to get the viewer to remember the coolness that embodied Oberyn Martell whenever a Dorne scene popped up.

One of the problems with that philosophy was that almost ten months passed between Oberyn’s death and our first look at his homeland. That’s TV land for you.

The other goes back to the first scene with the Sand Snakes we ever witnessed in Ep. 504. The old adage “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” is probably appropriate. No need to relive it, but it’s hard to get that taste out of your mouth.

It was also the first time I felt like I was watching something other than Game of Thrones, aside from the “exploding fireballs” at the end of Season 4 (I still don’t like it).

But even then it felt salvageable, right up until the Jaime/Bronn/Snake fight scene in Ep. 506. I won’t say that I lost all hope, but every time the show has segued into Dorne I cringe at what might be coming. And that’s never a good disposition.

To be fair, there’s only been a handful of misses throughout the duration of Game of Thrones and final judgment on Dorne should reasonably come at the conclusion of the show. But it does make you wonder where the plot will lead, if anywhere.

Trystane’s name should pop up again when they discover his body (and retrieve the painted eyes for Myrcella). But beyond that, Dorne could very well be an after-thought for a while (if it wasn’t already). The Lannisters currently have their hands full.

As for Toby Sebastian, no curtain call for him. The kid may have acting chops to carry him to a long and fruitful career, but he definitely did not have the opportunity to show them off here. If nothing else, it will look good on his resume. We wish you all the luck in the world.

On the other hand, Prince undeniably deserves a curtain call…

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.”

Although this was a dismal attempt to incorporate a tribute to the Exalted Purple One into a GoT site post, a man had to at least make an attempt to justify the inclusion for the sake of you, the reader, and our trusted Editor-in-Chief to even allow the piece to be published.

So, I picked a couple of memorable selections from the vast Prince collection and attempted to pair them with certain characters and their current situation. Feel free to add yours in the comments, and we’ll deem this the “Watchers Prince Tribute Post.”

“Let’s Go Crazy”: Ramsay

Logic: After the lip Ramsay got from Roose in Ep. 1, lookout. I can weirdly even envision Ramsay saying, “look for the purple banana until they put us in a truck.”

“You’re just a sinner I am told.”

“I Would Die 4 U”: Jaime to Cersei

Logic: Given the circumstances in KL, he may have to.

“If I was your best friend, would U let me take care of U and do all the things that only a best friend can?”

“If I Was Your Girlfriend”: Brienne to Jaime

Logic: Self-explanatory. I just hope they get to see each other again.

“She was standing by the fire, oooo, she was looking alright. Yeah”

“I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”: Jon (if he was alive) to Melisandre

Logic: Mel’s man was Stannis, and Stannis is history. And while Jon could use some help from the LoL, they’ll never be another Stannis.

“They don’t care where they kick, just as long as they hurt u.”

“Thieves in the Temple”: Meereen

Logic: It looks as if the situation in Meereen isn’t going the right direction. And Harpies or something else in the Temple seems to be inevitable.

“All Seven and we’ll watch them fall.”

“7”: White Walkers to Westeros

Logic: The long cold night is upon us.  Will we see a white walker this week?

“Sexy MF”: Take your pick

Logic: There are quite a few good-looking inhabitants in the world of ice and fire, so to each his own. I’m as straight as they come, but Jaime undeniably has the best attire in Westeros. Who’s your Sexy MF?

Life without Prince will go on and fortunately, he left a vault of music that should keep his royal badness’ fanboys and girls entertained for years (assuming we ever get to hear it). My biggest regret is that I never saw him perform live.

Life without Prince Trystane (and fortunately the show) will go on as well, likely without missing a beat. Maybe this was by design. Maybe it was by misstep. But we truly won’t know until the show concludes.

The good news is that we don’t have long to wait to get a few more answers than we have now, both for what happened to Prince and the significance (if any) of Trystane.

Like a bird flyin’ over the hilltops
Love is like the sky, you know it never stops
From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks
Love is whatever, whatever you want it to be.

See you guys and gals Monday morning for the Unsullied recap!

Spread some love. Jam some Prince. And may there always be peace in your realm…

–Oz

“Unbowed. Unbent. Unsullied”

Follow Oz of Thrones on twitter.

REMINDER: Please be mindful of the Unsullied and refrain from any spoilery in the comments!!

The post Looking Forward, Game of Thrones Ep. 602: Life Without Prince appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.

Via http://watchersonthewall.com

Young cast member Matteo Elezi on filming Game of Thrones Season 6

Young actor Matteo Elezi discusses his casting in Game of Thrones season 6

Young British actor Matteo Elezi discusses his casting on Game of Thrones in a new interview with BBC Radio Manchester. The ten-year old (accompanied by his mum, of course) pops in around the 2:51:00 mark in the program to talk about his audition for season 6, and his time filming Game of Thrones.

We do know which role Elezi will be playing but that could be considered a spoiler to those who are trying to remain completely free of info about the new season and Sunday’s episode, in which Matteo appears, so we’re going to be tuck that and some other spoiler info below a cut!

Elezi’s IMDB resume page reveals that he will be playing the role of Benjen Stark in Game of Thrones season 6. We know from previous casting calls and spoiler rumors that the older Stark generation will be appearing in flashbacks, thanks to Bran Stark’s powers and visions.

As we reported last August, young Ned (Benjen’s brother) will be in the flashbacks as well, played by Sebastian Croft. Croft’s agency CV now confirms that he will be playing “Young Eddard Stark.”

In the BBC radio interview, Elezi talks about his experience and realizing that “literally the whole world is watching you” when he’ll be on the show. He confirms that they filmed his scenes in Northern Ireland, and that his audition involved fighting (the casting notices mentioned sparring with wooden swords).

Elezi also somewhat hilariously talks about showing up to have his hair cut for the role, and realizing he was sitting next to Jon Snow.

His mum won’t be letting him watch the entire episode, most likely- they’ll fast forward to his part in the show. She does say that Matteo has “lots of lines” and it sounds like they’re hopeful for the possibility of a return.

With flashbacks, anything is possible, right?

The post Young actor Matteo Elezi discusses his casting in Game of Thrones season 6 appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.

Via http://watchersonthewall.com

Sullied on Unsullied: Is Game of Thrones embracing the notion of prophecy?

Check out the runnings times for all of the Season 6 episodes

Khal Drogo Had The Sweetest Message For Daenerys After The "Game Of Thrones" Premiere

Dammit, guys.

As you probably know by now, Dany is in serious trouble this season on Game of Thrones. She's been taken prisoner by the Dothraki.

HBO

If you recall, Dany used to lead her very own Dothraki clan along with her super hot husband, Khal Drogo. But he died a while ago, as all men must.

HBO

And THESE Dothraki guys just totally suck, and have no idea who she is. They want to do unspeakably horrible things to her.

HBO

Like cut her head off.

HBO

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View Entire List ›

Via https://www.buzzfeed.com/keelyflaherty/khal-drogo-had-the-sweetest-message-for-daenerys?utm_term=4ldqpia

Game of Thrones Season 6 Post-Premiere Round-Up!

We have a lot of Game of Thrones news for you today as we eagerly await Sunday night! With IGN, Maisie Williams discusses Arya’s character development and new obstacles she faces being blind, and at EW, Hannah Murray discusses Sam and Gilly “setting out on their own path.” Liam Cunningham examines Davos’ journey to find new purpose in season 6 at USA Today. We also have a video interview with Iwan Rheon and more under the cut!

Having seen only a small bit of Arya’s story in Sunday night’s premiere, we still have loads of new Arya moments to look forward to. Talking to IGN, Maisie Williams teases what’s next:

This year is a growing year for Arya, and it’s an important year. Though right now it’s not the Arya that we want to see and are used to, in the future we might look back and be like, ‘Hey, she needed that.’

She further explains Arya will be “learning a lot,” this season and that “She has to rely on a lot of other people, because she can no longer see.”

The lone wolf must begin to trust others again this season which is something we haven’t seen from Arya in quite a while.

That has been the main thing that has kind of been her weapon without even realizing, without knowing she depended solely on her eye sight. Now she has to rely on a lot of other people and trust them in order to help her, which is not a position that she’s usually in. It’s kind of like she’s being blackmailed. She has to trust people that she can’t even see, and rely on them to help her. That’s really, really difficult for her, but ultimately a very, very strong season. She learns a lot of very valuable lessons that she ultimately uses against her teachers.

Maisie talks Arya’s temporary setback, her relationship with the Waif, and more over at IGN.

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At USA Today, Liam Cunningham gets into Davos’ recent loss of allies and his new position in Season 6.

It looks like he’s out of a job. Stannis is gone. (Davos’) reason for being in the show is gone. I think people would have liked seeing Jon Snow with someone on his side and Davos seemed like the right man in the right place at the right time. And then, (Jon) is gone.

He reviews Davos’ intentions to serve Jon beyond the grave (as we started to see in the premiere) and his alliance with The Red Woman.

From the get-go this season, there’s an immediate threat to his life. Melisandre is there as well and the powers she has may prove to be very useful.

Cunningham considers what peaked his interest in Game of Thrones, reflects on Davos’ relationship with Stannis, and more with USA Today.

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In 60 seconds, Iwan Rheon reveals his most challenging role, dream roles, and more! Check out the video with BAFTA Guru below:

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John Bradley and Hannah Murray talk to Entertainment Weekly in a new interview today about Sam and Gilly’s relationship, and how their characters have changed over the seasons.

As Bradley previously confirmed in another interview, the pair aren’t aware of Jon Snow’s death.

Murray shares her thoughts on the matter. “I think it’s interesting about them not knowing about Jon’s death because it’s all been a bubble this year to a certain extent, but actually what it really shows is that these two characters, they’ve broken out on their own.[…] They don’t even know what’s happened, and there’s no turning back for them. They really are setting out on their own path and not looking back.”

The actress also reveals that after several years of wearing various sacks, Gilly will finally have a new costume in season six!

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In a hilarious sketch, YouTubers Lemonade Stand play out the battle between the Sullied (book readers) and Unsullied (non-book readers) and what happens now that the show has passed the books.

Last night Amy Schumer parodied Game of Thrones on her show Inside Amy Schumer. Watch the promo below and see the full episode and sketch over at Comedy Central.

Late night host Jimmy Fallon catches you up on what you may have missed on Sunday night’s Game of Thrones premiere with a recap rap from The Roots:

Screen Junkies has created a second “Honest Trailer” for Game of Thrones.

Where do you hope to see Arya and Davos go from the premiere? Are you excited to see Iwan Rheon play another evil role? Found any other Game of Thrones sketches or parodies this week? Let us know in the comments!

The post Game of Thrones Season 6 Post-Premiere Round-Up! appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.

Via http://watchersonthewall.com

Actors behind Sam and Gilly on breaking away from Jon and the Night’s Watch in Season 6

The WiC Scale: Winners and Losers for “The Red Woman”

I’ts time once again for us to return to The WiC Scale. Every week, we take a lighthearted look at where our favorite characters stand after each brutal 60-minute installment of Game of Thrones. The fates and fortunes of our characters change on a dime, as the wheel weaves as the wheel wills and we are only threads…oh, wait. Wrong series. The point is, we will weigh the actions of our characters and determine who is up, who is down, and who is out.

So who survived the premiere after that particularly high body count in the finale last season? Well…..

Up

Brienne & Pod: Like Bran Stark, it looks like Brienne and Pod put that time offscreen to good use. Pod even managed to kill a man without falling off his horse.

Sansa & Theon: They magically jumped from a higher distance than Myranda fell last year and yet didn’t even get a bruise. They managed to ford a rushing frozen river without sustaining frostbite or being swept away. And then just as their luck ran out, Brienne and Pod showed up. Guess someone told Brienne about the candle.

Alliser Thorne and the Mutineers: They not only admitted to what they’d done, but by the time Thorne had finished, he had the Night’s Watch on his side, all except that small band of Jon’s trusted friends who decided they weren’t hungry.

Margaery Tyrell: She’s looking pretty healthy for still being in a dungeon. And the High Sparrow is now coming to see her instead of the other way round. Times are changing.

Middling

Daario & Jorah: The Bro show featured male bonding and smart tracking. Too bad their quarry is surrounded by a horde, and the creeping crud is spreading up Jorah’s arm.

Varys & Tyrion: They may have a beautiful friendship, but looking at the Bonfire of the Fleet, they’re stuck at home waiting for Dany to show back up.

Jaime Lannister: It could have been worse. Cersei didn’t even scream at him for failing to prevent Mrycella’s death.

Davos, Edd and Co: It could have been worse. They could have all seen what happened when Melisandre took that necklace off.

High Sparrow: The good news is that he and Unella play good cop/bad cop like champs. Law and Order: Westeros would be proud. Now, if only he and Unella didn’t need Margaery enough to have to do that.

Khal Moro: It’s hard out here for a Khal. Your women sneer about how things are known, and your henchmen don’t even respect the rankings of the best things in life. At least the Spanish Inquisition didn’t show up.

Down

Cersei Lannister: Gold will be their crowns and gold will be their shrouds. Let’s hope all her black gowns are back from the drycleaners.

Ramsay Bolton: Not only did he lose he two best game pieces, but now Fat Walda’s expecting a boy. Oh boy.

Arya Stark: No one told her she’s supposed to listen in order to fight by ear. How many sessions with the Waif do you think it will take before she clues in?

Daenerys Targaryen: I don’t know which is in more dire straights: the millionth of her name or her poor wig.

Melisandre: She’s not depressed. She’s just very tired. Like 400-years-old tired. Let her have her Ovaltine, her Matlock, and a good night’s rest.

Out

Dorne: I mean, I knew we all hated the way Dorne was being handled, but damn. Those poor Damn Dornishmen. The show couldn’t even bother to have their deaths make any sort of logical sense.

Still Out

Jon Snow:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of Lord Snow
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,
He has loosed the fateful lightening of his great valyrian sword
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His soul goes marching on.

Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/04/29/the-wic-scale-winners-and-losers-for-the-red-woman/

A Murder of Crows: The Dorne dilemma

Dorne.

Few storylines – not even Jon Snow’s! – have caused more controversy or hand-wringing amongst both the novel and television fandoms, and this week’s season premiere, “The Red Woman,” didn’t help things: the wholesale slaughter of clan Martell marks not only a huge divergence from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, it also leaves the character of Prince Doran Martell woefully underdeveloped as compared to his literary counterpart.

There’s actually a lot of factors to take into consideration with this scene, and it raises even more questions about the future of both Martin’s novels and showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss’s HBO series. It’s a good thing we have a veritable brain trust here at the Wall to tap into.

Marc N. Kleinhenz:

Let’s discuss Dorne: what transpired all throughout season five, and what just went down last weekend. There’s a lot to unpack, including:

• Is there still the possibility for any of the original Dornish storyline from the novels to somehow be incorporated?
• What does this mean for the books’ future narrative?
• How many of these developments will remain unique to Game of Thrones, and how do they serve the show’s overarching themes?
• What should Benioff and Weiss have done differently?

Sue the Fury:

Thanks to Dorne, I’m not sure we can read too much into the show anymore, as far as the novels go. Fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, for a long time, have been assuming we can infer certain things about future events in the books based on how the plot of Game of Thrones shakes out. I do still think a small handful of major GOT characters will have the same endgame points as the novels, based on Benioff and Weiss having discussions with George R.R. Martin. But when it comes to most of the plots and characters, we are completely clueless now when it comes to the books. I’m okay with that.

I think the original Dorne storyline of the books is completely gone and has nothing to do with the show. Arianne Martell [Prince Doran’s daughter] was the heart of that plot – her ambitions, charisma, and mistakes – and scattering it across Ellaria (who became a Darkstar/Obara hybrid) and the Sand Snakes was a rather large error. I think the showrunners underestimated the audience’s ability to care about and follow a new female character who wasn’t so closely tied to Oberyn, though she was family. Though Dorne isn’t the best loved of all book plots, it has its positives, and the story we’re seeing onscreen lacks subtlety. The women are empowered solely through violence, rather than politics, which is a rather narrow take on things.

Increasing the role of the Sand Snakes or condensing them into one character would have been acceptable to me if we had Arianne as a balance. Instead, in the story, we had tepid Trystane and a sorely underused Doran.

Book wankery aside: as I said in my “Red Woman” recap, even show-Oberyn would hate these people, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes on Game of Thrones. I feel like Benioff and Weiss are cleaning house – they’re done with the Dorne experiment, and if we see more of this story, it’ll just be to kill off more characters.

Geoffery:

I agree with Sue – I don’t think what’s happening on the show, Dorne-wise, is any reflection of what will happen in the books. The storylines have taken off in a completely different direction. Generally speaking, I don’t mind it when the show does that, as long as it does it well. Unfortunately, Dorne has not been handled at all well. Rather than the more subtle, female-driven plot of the novels, we’ve ended up with a bunch of two-dimensional Sand Snakes who are really only differentiated by which weapon they’ve got and an Ellaria who started well in season four and has somehow evolved into a murderous stab demon.

I am interested in where the show will take Dorne now they’ve essentially got a clean slate. It seems clear to me that D&D, on seeing that Dorne wasn’t proving as popular as some of the other storylines, decided to literally shank it in the kidneys rather than build up the characters. But I really feel like Alexander Siddig and DeObia Oparei, who are both wonderful actors, were completely wasted. Oh, and young whathisface who played Trystane, but I was only really interested in him because he had some nice outfits.

If the show really wanted to remove a core character like Arianne and still have the Dorne plot work, then they really should have injected a bit of soul into the characters beyond the random boobs, slapping games, and bad pussy. Still, there’s always my theory that this has all just been a really weird holodeck adventure for Dr. Julian Bashir.

Marc N. Kleinhenz:

Lol.

(Though I think you meant “holosuite.” :P)

Hear Marko Roar:

I’m grateful for the fact that we cannot infer too much about the future books anymore; it will make the reading experience that much more enjoyable for me.

Dorne on the show was, as Sue said, an experiment. A failed one, sadly, as I don’t think it achieved much dramatically or otherwise. The premiere has seen a total reset that wiped the slate clean; this bait and switch, on top of other problems, has made the Dorne subplot very weak, independently of any book consideration. I’d be happier with any Dornish shenanigans necessary for the story to happen off-screen in seasons five and six.

One thing where the show may still align with the books is a future Dornish alliance with the Targaryen bloodline.

Nate:
Agree with Sue, Geoffery, and Marko. Though I don’t know much about the book Dorne storyline, I do know a bit about Arianne, and I’m disappointed the show didn’t use her. Oberyn was such a presence in season four, and I felt cheated that he left so soon and was replaced with such underdeveloped characters. That’s not to say the actresses themselves aren’t talented – they’re just not given much to work with. D&D would’ve benefited from bringing on some new staff (Moira Walley-Beckett from Breaking Bad would’ve been my top choice, seeing they also borrowed Michael Slovis for season five, and director Michelle MacLaren, who recently left Wonder Woman) to develop the Snakes and Ellaria before throwing them into a whirlwind of murder and madness.

I’m not even sure Dorne serves a narrative point now (in the show), and my thinking is D&D only brought it into the fold to kill Myrcella and further Cersei’s prophecy. I actually thought the scenes in “The Red Woman” were the best of Dorne yet (which isn’t saying much). The location itself is stunning, but the writing feels half-assed a lot of the time. Trystane’s death, I was pretty satisfied with. He was weak, just like Ellaria said, and deserved a bloody end. Doran was definitely underused and wasn’t portrayed as even half the mastermind he was in the books (from what I know), but, rather, as reluctant and withstanding. Reducing the Snakes and Ellaria to violence and vengeance furthers the themes of GOT, but the end effect isn’t what the showrunners expected for the audiences.

To begin with such a bloody opening, I can only expect we’re in for our most violent and vengeful season yet.

As for the continued drift away from the books, I agree it will make for a more enjoyable reading experience after.

Axechucker:

Here’s my take on Dorne:

I think the Dornish rebellion storyline falls to Ellaria, as there is no Arianne to seed it. Prince Doran is clearly a different (and, subsequently, weaker) character than he was in the books. There is no “long game” for him to play – no daughter to wed to Viserys, no son to wed to Daenerys. So this Doran is weak and clearly needed to go if Dorne is going to rise up in rebellion… which it obviously is. (Other than loyal Hotah, it seems obvious to me that all the guards are siding with Ellaria over the perceived weak Prince Doran – probably in the name of their beloved Prince Oberyn.)

As for future narratives, so long as Dorne rises in rebellion (which will clearly happen in the books, as well), I think it works. Would Daenerys be more willing to work with Ellaria than Doran? Maybe. I can’t really say. We only know she turned down Quentyn [Prince Doran’s son in the novels].

Quentyn Martell (and his crew), by Sasha Gladysh

What should Benioff and Weiss have done differently? As gorgeous as that Spanish palace is, I think it hampered what they could do – at least outside (all the interiors were gorgeous). They couldn’t film at night, which made last season’s infiltration feel like Keystone Cops, and the fight scene between the Sand Snakes, Jaime, and Bronn was probably the worst we’ve seen on the show (short or Arya and the stable boy). Maybe part of the problem was an extremely limited area in which to film, but they at least should have used stunt people. Nikolaj looks terrible using his left hand, and two out of three of those girls do not make believable fighters at all (and the third just had a whip). It just looked bad.

(Aside: was Nym really intent on using a whip to try and kill Trystane in his cabin? Wouldn’t a knife be wiser? And why – because a whip is “her weapon of choice”? Is this show suddenly becoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Are we eight-years-old again and collecting the action figures? I assume the Nym figure comes with a whip. Absurd.)

I would have killed Hotah more believably. He looks too sturdy to have been taken down by a single knife to the back. I would have made it nine or ten stabs in quick succession, kidney, liver, spleen… then have her quickly get away while he bleeds out. One blow to the back? Felt cheap. But I guess that’s symbolic of the show’s Dorne storyline.

I would have also at least given some sort of lip service as to how the Sand Snakes caught up with Prince Trystane’s ship. Even though logic tells me that it was obviously a smaller (and probably faster) ship, couldn’t they have shown it next to Trystane’s ship? And what happened to Bronn? Are we led to believe that the Sand Snakes boarded Trystane’s ship (even with the crew and guards on their side) and simply ignored Bronn?

We may still get the answers in episodes to come, but last season doesn’t give me a swell of confidence that anything Dornish will end satisfactorily.

Petra:

I agree with Sue that the show and books have diverged to the point where we can no longer use the events of one to make predictions about the other, except perhaps in very general terms (i.e., going by the trailer, it looks like Theon will reunite with his sister this season, as he does in the books, but under completely different circumstances).

I think it’s safe to say that in both A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones, the hostility between the Lannisters and the Martells will reach some kind of culmination. Beyond that, much like Jon Snow, we know nothing.

The one positive thing I have to say about the Dorne plot is how it serves the show’s theme of the cycle of violence: characters’ fixation on “justice” is the cause of so much misery that it saps all the romance from the notion of righteous anger.

What should Benioff and Weiss have done differently?

This is one of those times when I really do think that sticking to the source material would have fixed everything. Personally, I’m not over the moon about Dorne in the books, but I really like Arianne and her quest to crown Myrcella. That’s what the Dorne plot should have been in the show. It’s a storyline about women trying to empower other women (and start a war and avenge dead family members), and it was adapted into a subplot about two men trying to rescue a princess. I get that the show didn’t want to jar us by transplanting the audience into a storyline with totally new characters and landscapes (ergo the inclusion of Jaime and Bronn and the emphasis on Oberyn), but if seasons three and four had followed Myrcella as she adapted to life in Dorne, then we could have moseyed into the Feast for Crows storyline organically.

Previous Murders

The best season yet?

Teasing season six

Murder!

The countdown to season six

Season eight

The final word on season five

Should Game of Thrones be boycotted forever more?

“The Wars to Come,” season five, and you

What if season five sucks?

The year in review

Casting the recastings in a new light

Westerosi immersion

The best – and worst – season of Game of Thrones

The post A Murder of Crows: The Dorne dilemma appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.

Via http://watchersonthewall.com

Coster-Waldau doesn’t let his kids watch GoT, Lena Headey teases Cersei’s dark path

Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 2 Preview: Home

“The gods spill more blood than the rest of us combined.”

The official synopsis:

Bran trains with the Three-Eyed Raven. In King’s Landing, Jaime advises Tommen. Tyrion demands good news, but has to make his own. At Castle Black, the Night’s Watch stands behind Thorne. Ramsay Bolton proposes a plan, and Balon Greyjoy entertains other proposals.

Have a look at the official episode photos here.

Directed by Jeremy Podeswa, “Home” marks Dave Hill’s second foray into writing for the show, having previously written season 5’s “Sons of the Harpy.”

Cian: This will be the first time we’ll have a new Bran scene since the season 4 finale. Apart from having a new haircut, the scenes involving him and the Three-Eyed Raven (now played by Max von Sydow) could be some of the highlights of the season. We’ll also be catching up with Sam and Gilly, and judging by the pictures linked above, we’ll be rejoining Balon Greyjoy and his fireplace again!

The post Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 2 Preview: Home appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.

Via http://watchersonthewall.com

Title for Season 6, Episode 5 revealed

A couple of days ago, HBOAsia revealed the title of the fourth episode in Game of Thrones Season 6. Now, its website has revealed the title for the fifth episode. Stop reading if you don’t wish to be spoiled.

Episode 1 is “The Red Woman.” That’s already happened. HBO officially released the titles for Episodes 2 and 3: “Home” and “Oathbreaker.” According to HBOAsia, the title for Episode 4 is “Book of the Stranger,” which is nice and intriguing. Now, according to HBOAsia’s schedule, the title for the fifth episode, the first of two directed by Jack Bender, is “The Door.”

It’s not guaranteed that the titles on HBOAsia’s website are accurate, but the odds seem good. We’ll wait and see if HBO tries to stem the tide—I’m sure the network would prefer the episode titles be released in a more orderly fashion.

In any case, “The Door” isn’t nearly as specific a title as “The Red Woman,” “Oathbreaker,” and “Book of the Stranger.” It’s more like “Home”—it’s a general title that could mean anything.

Still, there are some significant doors in the series. There’s the Moon Door at the Eyrie, the one through which Lysa Arryn fell in Season 4. In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, Daenerys has fond memories of a house with a red door. It’s the house she grew up, but it hasn’t come up on the show. There’s also the weirwood door through which Bran and his companions cross under the Wall, and the door to the House of Black and White is memorable. Can you think of any other important doors?

We could also be talking about a more general door, a significant door we haven’t encountered yet, or a metaphorical door. Like I said, it could mean anything.

HBOAsia has a page for Episode 6, but no title as of yet. It might pay to keep an eye on that.

Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/04/29/title-for-season-6-episode-5-revealed/