Game of Thrones

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

They did say that they would be killing off characters who were still alive in the books, and it looks like Mance is one of those casualties. It really leaves you not knowing what to expect.

Book Spoiler:

Spoiler

And no, clearly that was the real Mance who got burned alive in the show. They definitely aren't doing the book plot where he was disguised as Rattleshirt.

[close]

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

People may have their complaints about it, but I really did love Dany's Mereen plot in the books,and I like it so far in the show as well. I just love the concept of how ruling is never as simple as it seems, and in this case Dany tries to make the right choice by upholding the law, but while that may work out in the long run, it's hard when that means you have to execute one of your biggest supporters and basically suffer the immediate consequence of receiving the hatred of the entire former-slave population for it.

It's great to see Lord Commander Jon Snow as a thing in the show. I wasn't sure if they were going to do that part from the books, but I'm glad that they did. Now if only we can get that Janos Slynt scene that we've all really been wanting to see.

Jaime going off with Bronn should be an interesting plot point in terms of how they deal with the people of Dorne, especially the Martells.

As for Arya, Sansa,Tyrion, and most of the other characters, their plots are progressing nicely, but there isn't too much to say about them, yet. Overall, Brienne and Pod is probably the only one that I'm not really feeling at the moment. Not that it's bad, but it just feels a bit too predictable right now. It's the least interesting thing going on in the show this far, but of course that could always change.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Three episodes into this season and the show is already back in its groove. This is also probably the closest it has been to the books this season so far, despite plenty of changes still present. Tyrion's story is finally picking up, and I'm really into Sansa's story right now, especially since I have no idea where it's going. And of course we've got one of my favorite Jon Snow scenes in the entire series, so overall it was a great episode with a lot of high points.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Damn, I wouldn't be surprised to see Grey Worm go, but I wouldn't have expected Ser Barristan to get killed off since he  was supposed to be one of the best fighters from Westeros,  and even past his prime, he should not have had so much trouble with taking on untrained Masters from the Sons of the Harpy. But, at least he managed to finish off the rest of them mostly by himself, so he still kind of got to go out like a bad-ass.

Meanwhile, HBO isn't being the least bit subtle about Mellisandre's intentions for Jon Snow. And on that end, is it just me or did this episode clearly just show support for the R + L = J theory?

[Avaitor]

Meanwhile, HBO isn't being the least bit subtle about Mellisandre's intentions for Jon Snow. And on that end, is it just me or did this episode clearly just show support for the R + L = J theory?

Nah, that seems to be the speculation. And I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

There were some great fight scenes in this episode. The ending especially, but Jaime and Bronn's battle against the guards in Dorne was exciting to watch too.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, I'm really interested in where that story-line is headed.

In terms of Dorne, though, I'm not buying the Sand Snakes' accents, for whatever reason.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Not particularly interested in the Boltons. At this point, it just feels like the show's marking time until Stannis finally gets there to fight them. But I like seeing Tyrion and Jorah fight together. Wish more footage will go to that.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm really liking the Bolton plot, myself. Ramsay is a completely different character in the show than in the books, but arguably just as twisted and unpredictable, and I really enjoyed that dinner table scene where Roose came back at Ramsay for his cockiness. Theon interacting with Sansa was also interesting, and it'll be interesting to see if he ever reveals to her that Bran and Rickon are still alive.

Tyrion and Jorah are Game of Thrones's new best buddy-cop duo. And really, have you guys noticed how much this show loves pairing people together? It's that one trope that I'm surprised to not see more people point out and bring up in parodies or jokes. Also, Jorah getting Greyscale and that whole stonemen scene in general shows me that the show is combining his plot with Jon Connington's.

Jon Snow going to Hardhome is a really interesting turn in the plot. I wonder if they are going to still manage to work in that "For the Watch" scene, somehow.

Really, I'm enjoying every plot-line this season so far except for two: Brienne and Pod, and Dorne, the latter of which will probably get more interesting when Jamie finally makes it there. As for Brienne and Pod....I don't know. That just feels like complete filler to me, so far.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Well out of all the ways to get people to pay more attention to your show instead of Mad Men, this wasn't what I expected.

[Avaitor]

Poor salsa.

[Peanutbutter]

Who's Salsa? Another one of Ramsay's hunted girls?



All I know is, Sansa had it pretty rough this episode.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Other than that scene, I was not feeling this episode at all. The whipping scene with Arya felt forced (like why was she giving false details about her history). Littlefinger's gambit now has more questions now that he spilled Sansa's location to Cersei, and I'm extra confused why he didn't get some Knights of the Vale to guard Sansa from the Boltons. And there's how the Iron Bank of Braavos don't seem to have pushed their hand onto the Lannisters, or why the Tyrells don't just threaten Cersei with their military might in order to get their family members back. If they're supposed to be in debt and in dire need of support, they certainly aren't acting like it judging from the past few episodes. And I know Cersei's supposed to be crazy and stupid at this point, but not enough to be completely blind to those matters.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I think that I'm just going to have to agree to disagree with you, here. Not that I don't respect your opinion, but personally most of the stuff that you have been complaining about I personally thought was done well.

The whipping scene didn't feel forced at all to me. They are disciplining/training Arya. I'm not exactly sure about how else to portray that. She was giving false details about her history because she's practicing the skill of lying about her identity. To be a faceless man/woman, you have to not be bound by your former identity and also be able to become anyone at anytime. You have to be able to lie to people about who you are and be so damn good at it that they could never tell or suspect otherwise. When Arya lies about her past, that's her way of trying to prove that she can utilize that skill, and each time she gets slapped, it's a negative feedback that they can tell that she's lying due to subtle hints that she gives away without realizing it. If you also pay attention, you'll notice that as her story goes on her lies get smaller and smaller as she loses confidence, which only makes it that much more obvious what she's lying about. When the Waife tells her a story and then asks her whether it was true or not, that's the perfect example of where Arya needs to get to in order to master that particular skill. That's the Game of Faces. They never stop playing the game. It's also a clever metaphor for her attachment to her old life. As long as she remains attached to her identity as Arya Stark, she will never be able to gain the skills that she desires, but giving up her identity to get the means to carry out her revenge also means giving up her revenge in the first place, which is another great bit of dramatic irony.

Littlefinger's gambit makes sense to me. As the guy who single-handedly started and orchestrated The War of the Five Kings behind the scenes, he's playing the game and turning all of the great houses against each other. Just like with his speech in season 3, he is climbing the ladder created by chaos. Now, yes, his plot has some holes in it, but whether he's aware of them or not remains to be seen. In the books he is a much more careful and calculated character and always has back-up plans. In season 4 of the show the writers screwed up with his murder of Lysa and made him seem like an idiot. This season they seem to be a bit better at writing him, but we'll have to wait to see how things play out to be sure. As for leaving Sansa with the Boltons without protection, I think that you are assuming that he definitely needs Sansa alive (or cares about her on an emotional level, which he most likely doesn't, despite his love for Catelyn). We don't know exactly what he knows, but he is a master of gathering information, so it's entirely possible that he knows that there are other Starks alive, and even if he doesn't, he probably has a backup plan to secure his hold on the North if Sansa dies. I could link you to a video that does a decent job of explaining how he operates and plots the way that he does and why it logically works, at least in the books. The bottom line being that, he's weakening or getting rid of whoever could stand in his way, and whoever comes out on top is who he pretends to support for just long enough to get them out of the way or use them to get someone else out of the way. That's what playing the Game of Thrones is.

As for The Iron Bank, they explained in an earlier episode that they would use the Tyrells' fortune to try and pay them off for now, hence why Cersei sent Lord Mace Tyrell to meet with them. In the books Kevan Lannister uses his own funds temporarily. Either way, it's clearly explained.

With the Tyrells, do recall that Olenna did mention that she could stop sending food and supplies from Highgarden to Kings Landing, and also recall that Kings Landing was going through famine before their alliance with the Tyrells, so that in and of itself is a pretty sufficent threat without using violent means. In the books Cersei needs them to use their armies for fighting off Ironborn and other enemies, but Mace Tyrell refuses to use any Tyrell military forces for the Lannisters until his daughter is absolved of her crimes (Loras's sexuality is never brought into question in that version of the story, but the general layout is similar).

And yes, Cersei is that stupid. She believes herself to be smart, but can you think of one example besides Eddard Stark (who was blinded by his honor and was a way worse politician than even Cersei) in the show where she ever out-maneuvered anyone? In season 2, Tyrion made a fool of her at every turn. In season 3, Tywin put her in her place. In seasons 4 and 5, she let Maergery totally play Tommen and didn't even prepare for that. She is a complete fool. And now that she has less people to stand in her way, it has only become more apparent.

Now, I can completely understand if the show isn't doing anything for you. That's fine if that's your opinion, and I have nothing against that. However, with the exception of Baelish (who to be fair we can't judge at all until his plan actually has time to unfold as we clearly don't know all of it yet), everything else you pointed out as a flaw have legitimate, definitive explanations behind them that are addressed on the show itself.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

And one more thing about Lord Baelish is that, thanks to his meeting with Cersei, he has effectively cut off all outside support from the Boltons.

On another note, Tyrion telling Jorah about his father and the bit with the slavers was great. Also the trial scene in Kings Landing with with Loras's lover testifying against him is a great parallel of what happened between Tyrion and Shae at his trial last season.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

By the way, did anyone notice that Bronn got nicked by one of the Sand Snakes' blades?

Uh-oh....