Game of Thrones cast members spotted at Alcázar de Seville, and more

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Preparation for the filming of Game of Thrones season 5 continues in Seville, with the Spanish city set to host Dornish scenes beginning on October 10th.

The powers-that-be at Los Siete Reinos have sourced a recent video of a scene rehearsal taking place at the Alcázar of Seville, which will serve as a filming location in the coming days. As the nature of the video is spoiler-ridden, it’s hidden below the cut.

Spoilers abound below.

In the video, we can see multiple actors, actresses and stuntmen rehearsing for a sparring/fight scene. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau can be seen towards the end, in a white shirt with his sword at his side.

The three Sand Snakes of season 5 may also be present. The woman with the spear may or may not be Keisha Castle-Hughes – the only indication that it might be her is the tweet below, suggesting that Obara takes after her father with the spear as her weapon of choice.

Tyene may also be present, as one of the women in the right background looks like Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, who already showed off a pair twin daggers in her casting announcement video. With this in mind, it wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to assume the third woman is Jessica Henwick, who graciously replied to Keisha’s tweet. We already know that Nymeria’s weapon of choice is the whip.

LSR also confirms that Jerome Flynn has flown out to Seville for filming. Some fans managed to get pictures with him and Nikolaj earlier today.

Nell Tiger Free has also confirmed via Twitter that she is in Seville.

The Andalusia Film Commission has arranged for a meeting to occur between David Benioff and Dan Weiss, and Spanish students and supporters of the show, during which the filming of the fifth season will be discussed. Although the exact location has not yet been divulged, the meeting will take place in Seville on Tuesday 14th October. As LSR notes, this kind of occurrence is unprecedented, and it promises to be a unique occasion.

Finally, in an interview with WinterisComing.nl, Dutch actor/fencing teacher Mishael Lopes Cardozo has provided more information on his role in season 5. He confirms that he will not put his swordfighting skills to use in the show, and that he will share a short scene with Tyrion and Varys in episode 503, directed by Mark Mylod.

114 Comments

  1. H Stark linked two tweets in the other thread with pictures of Nikolaj and Jerome in Spain. You should add them to the post.

    And that D&D session sounds interesting

  2. Meanwhile, WiC.net has just figured out that Bronn is going to be part of the Jaime/Dorne storyline. Lots of excited speculation in the article there (could Bronn be Arys Oakhart?????) which would be just slightly more informed if they knew what everyone here knew 3 months ago when they filmed all the Dorne scenes at Portstewart Strand.

  3. I was a bit surprised to see so much contempt towards the Dornish storyline in the last news post. I’m really excited for it, though. Hoping for a bunch of other sneaky fans out there in Spain!

  4. Morgan,

    Agreed, if I can’t get Ben Kingsley, Alexander Siddig is the next best thing.

    I hope the Sand Snakes kick ass.

    I may be one of the few deluded people still holding out for Euron/Griff’s as well though, but definitely looking forward to Dorne!

    And I too hope we get lots of pics. Spaniards haven’t gotten a chance to pop their GoT Paparazzi cherry. Lets hope they do us proud (and spoilers abound)!!!

  5. Morgan,

    I loved Dorne in the books. I lost most of my book-reader excitement towards the storyline when they cut Arianne, but I’m excited to see what they do do with it. And Doran is still in, so there’s that.

  6. jentario,

    Yeah, I was a bit skeptical after we found out Arianna is more than likely cut, but I still think the Dorne stuff will be great. It’s a whole new aspect of the show and it really seems they have a lot of faith in it, I don’t think they are going to screw it up.

  7. Morgan,

    I’m excited despite disliking Dorne material in the books. I was overwhelmed with new characters and couldn’t bring myself to care about Arianne. Plus there’s very little that she does that has a consequence on the plot.

    But throwing Jaime and Bronn into Dorne really interests me, and honestly I’m intrigued by decision to focus on Oberyn’s bastard daughters rather than his niece and nephews, seems to me like that would better show the reaction to the trial by combat while also heavily featuring Dorne’s more progressive culture.

  8. Hodor Targaryen,

    I agree. I think the fact that we really don’t know much about what’s going to happen is what has me interested the most. Yeah, if

    Trystane ends up taking Quentyn’s role, then the progressive culture would definitely come into play since Obara would be next in line, right?
  9. Morgan:
    I was a bit surprised to see so much contempt towards the Dornish storyline in the last news post. I’m really excited for it, though. Hoping for a bunch of other sneaky fans out there in Spain!

    From my POV I’ll sum it up in three words: “New character fatigue”. It just seemed like we should care about this new bunch, why exactly? No doubt all will be revealed by GRRM in due course ( especially if the Q being was the huge waste of chapters that it seems). Hopefully with characters we already know well being involved it will give it more focus on the show and the element of intrigue and plotting can be bumped up without all the filler.

    Not missing Arianne ( assuming she is actually left out and not just being kept secret) huge dark nipples notwithstanding.

  10. That video is great. I wish they would, at some point, make a video of some of the weapons training the actors have had to undergo. It definitely looks as though the one woman (the one people are thinking may be Keisha) is practicing some of the same techniques Oberyn used. I’ve just started training with a similar weapon, it has no spear tip on the end, it’s just a regular bo-staff, but the techniques are not easy to master, nor even get to the point they look half-way decent. A little over a month ago, I somehow managed to get my angle wrong as I was switching directions, and I ended up with a nice little egg and bruise above my right eyebrow. I’m sure Keisha will end up with plenty of bruises (especially at first, I had a ton all over my legs where I kept clipping them with the staff), but I hope she is more fortunate (or coordinated) than I, and manages not to crack herself in the head.

  11. Morgan,

    I’m dreading the Dorne storyline because I feel like it’s going to be really cheesy and badly written. The sandsnakes are already pretty one-dimensional characters in the books, so a bigger emphasis on them in the TV show irritates me, especially because Arianne (who is a much more complex character than them) has been cut. I know I should wait and watch yada yada, but right now things don’t look very promising as they’re adding in scenes in which Tyene doesn’t let Bronn go until her calls her beautiful when she takes her top off. Plus the Myrcella/Trystane love story seems like it would be Robb/Talisa all over again and I just don’t care for it especially since the screentime can be used for more interesting complex material. Plus the Jaime rescuing Myrcella thing sounds so extremely dumb because obviously something is going to happen that will make Jaime not return with Myrcella.

  12. Why in the seven bloody hells is Jaime fighting all three Sandsnakes? Why is he fighting any of them? I’m gonna withhold all judgement until I see the finished product, but this is starting to scare me.
    Also I couldn’t care less about the Sandsnakes — GIMME SOME DORAN LEAKS! He’s the only thing keeping my interest in Dorne alive.

    aurane waters,
    This. All of this.

  13. For those of you who so dislike the Dorne story line, I’m just curious…
    Did you really like the Iron Islands storyline?

    I ask because it seems like those who really liked Dorne didn’t care much for the Iron Islands, and those who really liked the Iron Islands didn’t care much for Dorne.

  14. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    I like the Dorne storyline in the books because I adore Arianne, but I hated the Ironborn storyline. I’m glad that it seems like Victarion and Aeron have been 99% cut. I do kind of want Euron on the show, but I wouldn’t be too upset if he’s cut.

    also about the Dorne storyline, can we please talk about how there is a high chance that Jaime is going to leave Myrcella in Dorne because she’s in looooooveeee with Trystane…I know Jaime isn’t the brightest tool in the box but that is beyond fucking stupid lol.

  15. Video is awesome. Can’t wait to see these fights and crazy weapons. Nikolaj looks great, as always! I’m half-anxious half-curious (but 100% excited) to see how the Dorne thing turns out… personally sad about the loss of Arianne, bigtime.

    And yes, Good lick, Nell.

  16. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    Rather, IMO there are people who disliked Dorne, people who disliked the Iron Islands and people who disliked both, and that they comprise most if not all of those who hated AFFC (mostly with no objective reasons, only moved by personal tastes).

  17. I personally liked pedo Doran and tranny Euron.

    Shit I don’t know how to add spoiler code! Help!

  18. Nymeria Warrior Queen:
    For those of you who so dislike the Dorne story line, I’m just curious…
    Did you really like the Iron Islands storyline?

    I ask because it seems like those who really liked Dorne didn’t care much for the Iron Islands, and those who really liked the Iron Islands didn’t care much for Dorne.

    NO GODLESS MAN MAY SIT THE SEASTONE CHAIR!!!

  19. Fjordgazer,

    An then you get people like me who loved both the Dorne And Iron Islands chapters, but couldn’t stand the Cersei chapters. Hoping that Jonathon Pryce will help me enjoy that storyline more.

  20. I’m skeptical about the Dorne storyline because of the god awful casting leak videos I saw. The Tyene casting video was pretty horrid. Also, the Trystane/Myrcella one was not much better. The Obara one was not bad however. I just feel like changes are coming to season 5 that are along the lines of the Missandei/Greyworm writing category which I’m not excited about. My hope is that the Acting of the sand snakes overcomes the writing cheesiness and that they turn out to be female versions of their father in terms of screen presense

  21. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    On the whole, I enjoyed the Iron Islands storyline although it took me a little time to warm to Victarions POV although by the end I was enjoying them. I think the fact it was a familiar location and Asha (Yara) was there to guide you through it helped out a lot. Plus Euron added an interesting X factor whilst Victarion was the epitome of what Ironborn are about ( something I don’t think the show until this point has represented at all).
    The Dorne storyline was really hard going for me. Found it hard to care about the characters as there were so many and barely any of them actually did anything (to this day I don’t know nor care about the names of Ariannes co-conspirators). Areo was an awful POV as he had no personality at all and the plot had no strong links to any other storylines at all. I liked Doran as he seemed wise and measured and Arianne was alright as the headstrong heir. Everyone else did nothing for me. The reason Darkstar stands out in the fandom is he was the only one who at least did something memorable even if his mysterious villainy has turned into a bit of a joke.
    The reason Ironborn fans are annoyed is probably because Dorne has made it in at the possible expense of the Iron Islands. There may also be the male versus female dynamic with Dorne being the home of Westerosi feminsim (people losing their shit over Sand Snakes, as far as I can see, for no other reason than because they’re females with weapons)and the Ironborn being a heavily masculine society. Find it a bit odd though seeing as Asha ( Yara) is a key part of the Iron Islands story and is a strong female character, who kicks arse but also has a storyline, character and a purpose! Not sure why there’s so much love for Sandsnakes but nowhere near enough for the female Greyjoy?

  22. Of the Night:
    Fjordgazer,

    An then you get people like me who loved both the Dorne And Iron Islands chapters, but couldn’t stand the Cersei chapters. Hoping that Jonathon Pryce will help me enjoy that storyline more.

    THIS

  23. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    I liked both a lot, but I hated Aeron and Areo as POVs. Extremely boring. And like someone said above, I found most of the Cersei chapters uninteresting. I also enjoyed Dany and Tyrion and was bored with Jon fairly often in ADWD.

  24. jentario,

    Is it funny that as a self-confessed Ironborn fan, i found Damphair’s chapters a little boring (except during the heat of the KM, of course) in the 1st read? In the re-read, i found them beautiful.

    The guy is deranged, no questions asked. But if he somehow, as suggested by some,

    summons a Kraken

    in TWOW, he’ll be right up with Victarion in terms of badass-ness.

  25. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    I liked the Dorne storyline and, on my first reading, disliked the Ironborn storyline (but loved the Kingsmoot!) On re-reads, however, I have to come appreciate Victarion and the choices that he has made. Aeron…not so much.

    Cersei’s chapters were entertaining even if she had become a bit of a mustache twirling villain. Alternatively, the Dany and Tyrion chapters bored me to tears.

    I guess everyone has their preferences.

  26. Fjordgazer,

    Well, he did nothing that warranted him being promoted to POV status with Asha and Victarion around. If he’s actually going to do stuff in TWOW, introduce his POV in TWOW. Same goes for Areo.

    Two very bad POVs in my opinion- not bad characters, just extremely bland and completely unnecessary as of ADWD

  27. Of the Night,

    Cersei was fine by me. It was fun peeking inside the paranoid bitch’s head. AFFC got heavy for me mostly during Brienne, Arya and Sam chapters. Jaime’s story “got old” for me at some moments as well. Anyhow, i wouldn’t conceive the story without all of them.

  28. So tiresome to read post after post the same comments about ones dislike on Dorne and adoration of Iron Islands. I mean isn’t it enough to say it once or twice within the span of two posts? In any case lets hope that these sand snakes mince to dust the utterly irritating Bronn character…

  29. I find it hilarious how some people care so much about Jaime being “emasculated”.
    It is even more hilarious if you consider show Jaime acomplishments:
    -under his direct watch 3 Kings and 1 Hand of the Kings were murdered (plus another Hand of King was executed as result of his family murderous plot)
    -he killed one of them, his lover and sister killed second one and he unintentionally helped to kill Hand of the King – his own father
    -yeah and he also lost fight against Brienne, but that not really count as it was miracle he was being able to even walk after being chained in the cage for so long

    Now he is going to Dorne, where most likely he:
    – get his ass kicked by Obara
    – will be convinced by Myrcella to leave her in Dorne (and that after being almost killed by Sand Snakes), which results in her being seriously hurt during Qeenmaker

  30. dothrakian raven:
    So tiresome to read post after post the same comments about ones dislike on Dorne and adoration of Iron Islands. I mean isn’t it enough to say it once or twice within the span of two posts? In any case lets hope that these sand snakes mince to dust the utterly irritable Bronn character…

    The Iron Islands get vilified a lot in the internet, so i’ll profess my fondness of them in EVERY. POST. I. CAN.

    I’m so sorry (releases the manticore…)

  31. dothrakian raven,

    I completely agree, I would be thrilled if Bronn got offed by them, it would actually make me like the Sandsnakes more! Also if Jaime returns without Myrcella because of some stupid bullshit of “she’s in wuv w/trystane”, i hope she loses an ear afterwards so he feels awful about it, and his stupidity is shown in full light. ugh i just can’t stand show!jaime

  32. Fjordgazer,

    My problem with her chapters was that, to me the point of giving POVs to the villainous characters was to give you a sense of how they rationalised their actions and give you a feeling that their actions in the past while still evil may have been brought about by better motives. It worked so well for the likes of Jaime and Melissandre and I appreciated both characters more for their POVs. With Cersei, all I got was alot of chapters to tell that she’s just dumb and irrational and my interest in her character dropped dramatically from previous books. While I understand the need to have a set of eyes for the reader in Kings Landing, I would have preferred a brand new or previously underdeveloped character that I could come to know to take her place than having to sit through so many chapters of a character who I believe actually suffers from being upgraded to a POV.

  33. GaiusB,

    Seeing as you used the word “emasculate” I’ll assume you were indirectly replying to me?
    I’d try and entertain your points but I’m not really sure what you’re attempting to say?

  34. Of the Night,

    At first I also thought that Cersei was all just “paranoid stupidity” and i found myself disliking her chapters…..it was only when someone pointed out to me that she is legit going mad that i began to appreciate her chapters…that’s when i realized that she’s just completely far gone, especially when you account her depression, anger and anxiety issues. she’s such a broken person in that regard.

    haha i don’t know what i’m trying to say, i guess just trying to explain that i had similar thoughts as you on my first read but i ended up appreciating her as a character when someone explained to me how psychologically complex she is. and that she’s pretty much like a lady macbeth.

  35. GaiusB,

    the thing about jaime is that while he is on a redemption arc and wants to improve himself, his redemption so far has mostly been internal rather than external. he’s pretty much broken every oath he’s been given.

    the dorne storyline with him seems like it’s going to be extremely stupid but him flopping hard and that leading to myrcella getting injured actually makes sense in the regard of how he tries so hard but keeps failing.

  36. dothrakian raven,

    If it makes you feel any better, both storylines have their fair share of problems. Dorne suffers from a lot of filler chapters and filler characters that accomplish little next to nothing and Pyke is full of dull, uninteresting and one-dimensional people who can bore you to tears.

    Here’s to hoping that Obara fights Bronn in the show and a giant boulder crushes them both.

  37. aurane waters,

    It’s also possible that I find madness easier to handle from and outside perspective than from within. At any rate, since I didn’t mind so much the actual plot of those chapters, just the way it was presented, and since the show doesn’t adhere to a POV format, I optimistic about the show improving it. Also as I said before, the JP casting certainly won’t hurt.

  38. Of the Night,

    yep her chapters do get emotionally taxing to read (for me anyways) because she just keeps getting more and more unhinged. at first i just thought she was paranoid, but as her AFFC arc progresses, it just came across to me that she needs to be admitted into a psychiatric ward. i feel like she’s completely gone. in her walk of shame chapter, i actually feel like her eyes opened a little bit (probably because it was so traumatic for her and the first moment in which she actually starts questioning and realizing the truth of her identity). but idk how long that will last.

    i feel like we actually saw some of her madness last season, and i think they’ll definitely show more of it next season too but i’m not as confident as you that it will be easier to watch onscreen. D&D aren’t as good writers as GRRM

  39. Of the Night,

    But seriously, who expected book!Cersei to be anything but a crazy Cluster B personality-disordered biotch? I mean, i was familiar with show!Cersei before taking up the books, but i could tell from long before Joffrey’s death (her first breaking point) that she was rotten to the core. I found what i expected and more in her POV, hence why i liked her chapters.

    Plus, what this lady aurane waters says.

    I think Lena Heady can try to portray some similar descent into insanity in S05, obviously toned down in proportion to what she’s worked with before.

  40. On a side note, the triple A of POV’s (Aeron, Areo, and Arys) are the most singled out as being pointless.

    Arys is already dead, and Damphair has been mentioned by GRRM as doing something important in TWOW,

    But what about Hotah? As much as people like to call him “robot” or “the walking camera”, there’s plenty of things he could do in the future that would justify his becoming POV:

    Being the hand that kills little Tommen comes to mind. Or some other morally questionable deed that puts his utmost loyalty to Doran on test.

    Anyway, i’ll stop talking about the books, since this is a show thread and some people may start complaining.

  41. Fjordgazer,

    Well I expected more. Maybe it because Jaime’s chapters gave him more that I expected GRRM to give Cersei something else. I waited and waited and I never got it. Also I can see that having gotten to know the show versions first may have changed your perspective. Reading the books first it’s quite apparent that other characters are depicted with alot of bias by a POV and when they become one themselves you usually get a very different view on who they are. The show by its nature can’t have that sudden change as the outside perspective remains constant.

  42. TheTouchOfFrost,

    It was not directed specifically to you. I have seen similar complaints many times. I find it little strange how some Jaime fans care so much about his fighting capabilities, since main point of his storyline is his character grow after he lose those capabilities. If D+D fucked his character developement i would understand fans being upset about it. But him being beaten more conclusively by Brienne in the show then in the books does not seems to me as anything to be upset about.

    What i find funny D+D seems to be almost trolling you. They seems not to miss any opportunity to make Jaime more floppy Kingsguard and fighter then he is in the books. It is totally understandable if it is not that amusing to you…

  43. The way I look at this, even if I don’t end up liking the Dorne storyline (which would make me sad), there are still plenty of other storylines to be invested in. It wouldn’t ruin the show for me.

  44. Fjordgazer,

    Isn’t Hotah off somewhere in the Dornish wilds hunting down Darkstar with Obara? That could take quite some time; I don’t see him doing anything important like that any time soon. Unless you subscribe to the theory that there’ll be a timeskip between Winds and Dream, anyway.
  45. Renly’s Peach:
    Fjordgazer,

    Something important could always happen during Obara and Hotah’s hunt for Darkstar, who knows… wouldnt surprise me if the Dayne re-enter the story in a big way in TWOW, but that’s book conversation only.

    Dont think the show would go that road.

  46. GaiusB,

    yep i completely agree with you, especially with how D&D have made him a much more floppy kingsguard. In the books, Jaime is angered at the other kingsguard and scolds them for being unable to save joffrey during the purple wedding. in the show, jaime is THERE at the purple wedding..watches joffrey die right in front of his eyes and then proceeds to not have good kingsguard protection outside tommen’s door so margaery easily sneaks in. now if the rumors are true, it seems like jaime will be abandoning tommen because of some fight he gets with cersei after he doesn’t bring myrcella from dorne…….do i even need to explain how much of a flop that is lol? show jaime sucks, D&D have really mellowed him out compared to his book counterpart and its hurting his character (except the scene where he raped cersei ugh). book jaime has much more of a spine than show jaime

  47. aurane waters,

    .

    it was only when someone pointed out to me that she is legit going mad that i began to appreciate her chapters…that’s when i realized that she’s just completely far gone, especially when you account her depression, anger and anxiety issues. she’s such a broken person in that regard.

    I always liked her villany, but even more liked how GRR turned it into something else totally. Yes, she was going mad – and I have wondered for years what happened to her after she fell into the arms of her uncle. Hopefully this season we will find out

    On second read, I liked Dorne very much, but the first read had me flipping through most of it; between the new POV and many many new characters I didn’t much care. As far as the Ironmen, even a second read didn’t help; I was just bored. The show Theon/Reek has helped keep my attention, but Im not real sad that the Iron part probably is not coming this season. . Dany’s POV got better on second read as well, tho I still thought she behaved too much like a teen (which she was) and not enough like the queen, which she very much is in the show.

  48. Mine is the Furry,

    Spoiler code is as follows: [f u] spoiler text [/f u]

    And please don’t go the pedo route with Doran. He clearly has more than he can handle with his Oreo Ho-tah!

  49. Of the Night:
    Fjordgazer,

    Surely Quentin gets singled out more.

    Not more. Maybe as much.

    He served as our eyes in the inferno that Astapor turned into, plus he set the dragons free and saved them (one can argue that they can defend themselves, but a group of sellswords trying to steal them alive is one thing, and a group of wanna-be dragonslayers is another, see TPatQ). If the Tattered Prince ends up being more prominent in the story, he served to introduce him. Finally, his death will have implications. Of course, this is all very passive, and he’s not moved the plot too much by himself.

    Hotah OTOH killed Arys, and that’s it (thus far).

    Renly’s Peach,

    I don’t necessarily think that’s the case, but we don’t know how long a timespan TWOW will cover, and Dorne isn’t that far from KL.

  50. Fjordgazer,

    Actually, you hit on a major point that I’ve often wondered about. Why the Hotah PoV? Wtf was GRRM thinking? I would give my left nugget to get inside Doran’s head and get some real Dorne insight. Instead we had to wait until Doran’s reveal to Arianne to get some jaw-dropping info about Targs (Blackfyres?) and Martells. Yeah, GRRM planned that….and I guess he has something more in store for us as Hotah searches for Darkstar….but we need some mindmeld with Doran to escalate the reveal (as I also wish for with Stannis and Euron). At least we got JonCon (GRRM has a reason for this as well, I’m sure).

    That is the ultimate tease and plot device maintained by GRRM. He has these secondary PoVs floating around that require us to reach a bit and interpret the “truth” from afar, which is often vaporware. These PoVs always leave us wanting more, sometimes frustratingly so…and they extend the storyline (sometimes frustratingly so, as well).

    But, on the other hand, since D&D know things, the show’s 3rd-crow-eye can only serve as a factual viewpoint that combines the various PoVs and gives us some insight into “non-PoV” main players. S5 should challenge all of us readers as it truly starts to solidify details, truths and perceptions as told/assumed by imperfect 3rd-party PoVs from the books.

    As you can tell, it is not really “book talk” anymore.

  51. aurane waters,

    I don’t see what he or anyone could have done to save Joffrey.

    He was portrayed as being a very skilled swordsman while he had his hand and it was made out to be a pretty big deal that Bri was able to defeat him. Of course show Ned is a way better swordsman than his book counterpart so maybe that made Jaime look somewhat worse.

  52. Hodor’s Bastard:

    When you put it that way, my feelings start to shift from wanting to see more characters cast to wanting less. The less and the later the show spoils us, the better. And i say that as a former Unsullied until up to S03.

  53. “Ser Bronn de AguasNegras”… Is it just me or does this sound MUCH cooler in Dornish than the common “of Blackwater” ?

  54. I wonder if Doran or one of the Snakes will point out while Jaime or Bronn are in Dorne that if either of them had fought for Tyrion, Oberyn would be alive. Probably not but it is a connection to make with both of them heading down there and all.

  55. Fjordgazer,

    Cogman’s S4ep4 (Oathkeeper) brought the PoV issue into the forefront. Other than in a prologue or epilogue in ASoI&F, how would we get authoritative knowledge of what goes on in the Lands of Always Winter? Maybe Bran can get there via the weirnet or warging…but the point is that, with disciplined guidance and visuals, it is inevitable that the show will expand our knowledge of the ASoI&F world regardless of how it is told (directly or by heresay) in the PoV structure of the books.

    [Which “perspective” do you hold regarding that scene? Did the WW save the Craster babies from an almost certain harsh winter death? Are they winterizing them for battle or for self-preservation? Are they truly evil? Certainly they aren’t stealing babies from the wildlings, right?]

    [Where art thou, dear Benjen?]

    All this crap cannot be told (or believed) via the current ASoI&F PoV structure. Furthermore, we still have a 3rd leech to consider, we yearn for Osha & Rickon’s adventures, we wonder where the hell Euron traveled to, we pontificate Laughing Tree knights, ToJ and where/who is HR, we wonder about felines with second chances….our current PoVs are so limited! Where and how shall get this info to complete our many puzzles?

    Hence, we speculate until further instructions are received….do carry on, ser.

  56. Nymeria Warrior Queen:
    For those of you who so dislike the Dorne story line, I’m just curious…
    Did you really like the Iron Islands storyline?

    I ask because it seems like those who really liked Dorne didn’t care much for the Iron Islands, and those who really liked the Iron Islands didn’t care much for Dorne.

    I’m a bit ambivalent about the Iron Islands storyline but it perked my interest more as FeastDance progressed ( also I did find merged reading helped with both Dorne and II’s on a re-read). Victarion not that riveting himself but his impact on the story could be, Euron – meh I could give two shits. Asha at least as a longstanding character gives an interesting perspective.

    As for Dorne, Areo is (so far anyroad) just a uninteresting cipher who happens to be in the right place at the right time for a POV – but I like the potential that the Sand Snakes to stir shit up. The

    Myrcella disfigurement and the Dornish plotting has interesting implications for the ultimate potential removal of the Baratheon/Lannister line from the equation

    .

    Then again as a devotee of Arya and Sansa the few chapters for the former and total lack of the latter in ADWD means I’m probably biased against other stories 😉

  57. Michael Lopez Cardoso was supposed to be a brothel guard from Volantis, right? So if he meets Tyrion and Varys in Episode 3, this confirms that

    Aegon, JonCon and the boat trip

    have been cut completely.

  58. Bard,

    Not in Volantis necessarily. There could be (and probably are) two brothel scenes. I think the first one is in Pentos where Tyrion has his scene with the brothel guard and Clea, and then gets abducted by Jorah. We know for fact that Tyrion and Jorah travel down the Rhoyne together in the show, so they can’t meet in Volantis. Don’t know what to think of the Volantis brothel scene, though.

  59. Hodor’s Bastard,

    Your mention of the WWs stealing Wilding babies has stirred something in my memory – wasn’t there a mention to JS in one of the books that babies WERE being taken from the Wilding crew?

  60. Patchy Face,

    That scene was hinted at in the books. I remember one of Craster’s wives saying “their brothers come to take them” or something like that. I didn’t pick up on it (I think hardly anyone did), but it was there.

    The more spoilery bit in the scene, though, was the Night’s King and the whole White Walker upper class in the Lands of Always Winter.

  61. aurane waters,

    It’s David and Dan, you can expect lots of titillation and pointless scenes. I don’t know if it’s because they need to serve a lot of different masters when it comes to show production, because at least David is a really good, serious writer, and it does not seem like he would up for wasting precious screen time on T & A. Maybe they don’t respect their audience. Who knows.

  62. jentario:
    Patchy Face,

    That scene was hinted at in the books. I remember one of Craster’s wives saying “their brothers come to take them” or something like that. I didn’t pick up on it (I think hardly anyone did), but it was there.

    The more spoilery bit in the scene, though, was the Night’s King and the whole White Walker upper class in the Lands of Always Winter.

    Pretty strongly hinted that it was some sort of deal whereby Craster was left alone as long as there was a steady supply of babies for the WWs

    A Clash of Kings-Chapter 23

  63. jentario,
    Patchy Face,
    All Hail the Wolf Girl,

    Only Craster would really know that deal, imho, and he ain’t talkin’ anymore. The male babies were obviously headed for a premature death in Craster’s hands. As you say, it’s almost like the WWs gave him an option….willingly give up your male babies and we won’t destroy your depraved abode.

    So they just need male babies? Any mention of female babies or adolescents/adults being taken? Interesting. Do they kill the older ones because they are cheap warriors as wights? Regarding the male baby-napping, I can’t help but relate that to the UnSullied army. They take ’em young, convert them, for some ulterior motive that we will learn soon.

    [On another note, did you sense that there was great care given to the male baby by the WW babysitter as he made his way north toward the land of the Night’s King (who has his own story/legend to tell, too)

    [Coldhands, please do tell…]

  64. Tweeting Sand Snakes FTW. Looking forward to them in S5.

    I can’t stop reading the menu blackboard in the background of the Nikolaj picture from the LSR article. I’m hungry now. Mmmm. . . tapas. . .

  65. TheTouchOfFrost: Plus Euron added an interesting X factor whilst Victarion was the epitome of what Ironborn are about ( something I don’t think the show until this point has represented at all).

    I think they’ve gotten it fairly well put together in the person of Balon and the brief appearance of Commander Kenning: No strategic planning skills, an entire economy based on plunder, married with an outsized sense of entitlement that would make George Costanza blush, belief in your own greatness. Yara has some of it too – mostly in scenes with her father. Theon has shown it as well, but his time in Winterfell and subsequent torture changes him into something different. I think the idea of the Iron Islanders has been pretty well handled, honestly.

    I’m looking forward to Dorne. I continue to expect Obara will be given some of Arianne’s character traits, which will soften the loss of Arianne. And if the Q-maker plot is there, it’ll all be Snake-driven.

  66. Greatjon of Slumber: I think they’ve gotten it fairly well put together in the person of Balon and the brief appearance of Commander Kenning: No strategic planning skills, an entire economy based on plunder, married with an outsized sense of entitlement that would make George Costanza blush, belief in your own greatness. Yara has some of it too – mostly in scenes with her father. Theon has shown it as well, but his time in Winterfell and subsequent torture changes him into something different. I think the idea of the Iron Islanders has been pretty well handled, honestly.

    I’m looking forward to Dorne. I continue to expect Obara will be given some of Arianne’s character traits, which will soften the loss of Arianne. And if the Q-maker plot is there, it’ll all be Snake-driven.

    You being a Northerner and all, i forgive your shortsightedness, but that’s an overt simplification. And no, the show hasn’t done any favor the the IB, as they haven’t with other characters like Stannis.

  67. GaiusB,

    aurane waters,

    See that’s the thing. Him being an incredible swordsman is a massive part of his personality. To quote Kid Rock, ‘It ain’t bragging motherf*cker if you back it up!’. He was arrogant but there was a reason for it. The removal of his hand therefore had a massive impact as it was part of his identity. Book readers know how good he is/was because they have all the details. Show watchers don’t so he’s not being accurately represented.
    To the Brienne fight, I think the fight was the point they really came to respect eachother as it was so close and they really did go all out (well as much as Jaime was able to) on eachother. That Jaime was beaten more easily didn’t inspire the sort of respect there was in the book. I also found as a storytelling device the book was better as when Hoat/Locke and his men found them they were both unarmed and exhausted so easy to apprehend. In the book they’re both just stood on a bridge with Brienne still armed which didn’t make as much sense.
    I think it’s an extension of one of my show annoyances in that the Kingsguard as an aspect has been wholly neglected. I enjoyed the contrast of the incredibly skilled, great knights who used to be in it and the group of thugs it became. But also , with particular reference to Jaime, the honour dynamic. He was ultimately considered dishonourable because he killed the king he was protecting but well before the Kingslaying event and the reasoning that he wanted to protect innocents, he was the only KG who questioned their duties when Ned’s father and brother were executed in KL in a particularly gruesome way and also when the Mad King raped and ravaged Rhaella.
    Unfortunately the show doesn’t have time for all this ( Would love A Robert’s Rebellion prequel at some point but let’s get the main story done first) but I think they at least owe Jaime’s character a bit more by letting his skill with a sword be a bit more apparent. And yes, when one of my favourite characters isn’t been portrayed as accurately as they should it will irk me!

  68. TheTouchOfFrost,

    I think you have a point about the Dorne material being very attractive to feminists, I definitely feel this way myself. I enjoyed this material overall but it wasn’t my favorite stuff. As for the Iron Islands, I agree with what others have said- Besides generally liking Asha, I found most of it dull or depressing apart from the Kingsmoot which was riveting. If D&D can somehow include the KM and cut the rest of the crap out, I will be both pleased and impressed but again evidence suggests the whole thing is cut.

  69. Greatjon of Slumber,

    There’s elements but Balon just sits around in his tower. Theon is too conflicted to show a truly accurate portrayel and Asha ( Yara) is a lot more sensible than the average Ironborn. Victarion lives and breathes it (plus we just don’t see enough folks fighting with axes in the series!) so I think he would be a great character for the show as would Euron.
    To me they started off handling it ok but then it got neglected. The loose cannon faction that they are makes them more interesting and a worthwhile addition IMO. They don’t ally with anyone and can (and do) pop up anywhere! Keeps the universe exciting!

  70. Hodor’s Bastard,

    I agree Areo Hotah has no personality/boring to read but I don’t think getting Doran’s POV was an option as the alternative- I always felt players with long term plans that GRRM would not want to reveal in entirety to readers (like Varys and Petyr) were not going to be POV (or at least not until the time was right). Maybe this is off-base but I imagined GRRM would not want us to know Doran’s thoughts just yet…

  71. Jaime’s girl,

    I quite enjoyed Victarions stuff when he was raiding the Shield Islands.
    Not sure how much effort/screentime it would take to have

    Balon killed off and the Kingsmoot

    this season. I wouldn’t have thought too much. Perhaps a scene early for the former, a scene mid series to set up the latter and then in the last episode or two a longer scene where it plays out.

  72. TheTouchOfFrost,

    THIS! especially the point you or someone else made earlier in this thread that in the books Jaime is not there at the purple wedding to take the blame. I just hope people who feel likewise don’t blame Nikolaj C-W. I think his portrayal is very true to Jaime and he is dealing with the material (or lack thereof) he is given.

  73. Dorne is going to be the weakest parts of next season. Would rather have Jamie in the Riverlands cleaning up after the war and reflecting on what happend instead of him teleporting to Dorne. As for the greyjoys, Victorian’s chapters were not enjoyable at all. The greyjoy brothers are such caricatures would rather have them devote their time on Asha/Yara and the griffs

  74. Hodor’s Bastard,

    It seems like the comment system is holding up some of my comments (awaiting moderation…)…I’ll do my best to circumvent the delay…(ugghh!)

    jentario,
    Patchy Face,
    All Hail the Wolf Girl,

    Only Craster would really know that deal, imho, and he ain’t talkin’ anymore. The male babies were obviously headed for a premature death in Craster’s hands. As you say, it’s almost like the WWs gave him an option….willingly give up your male babies and we won’t destroy your depraved abode.

    So they just need male babies? Any mention of female babies or adolescents/adults being taken? Interesting. Do they kill the older ones because they are cheap warriors as wights? Regarding the male baby-napping, I can’t help but relate that to the UnSullied army. They take ‘em young, convert them, for some ulterior motive that we will learn soon.

    [On another note, did you sense that there was great care given to the male baby by the WW babysitter as he made his way north toward the land of the Night’s King (who has his own story/legend to tell, too)? There is definitely something to that!]

    [Coldhands, please do tell…]

  75. Jaime’s girl,

    Of course GRRM doesn’t. 🙂 He definitely takes his time dolling out the fun stuff. But will the show adaptation be so patient? S5 will be full of revelations, imho.

  76. TheTouchOfFrost,

    Is there such thing as a Kingsguard in the show? I mean, it was Barristan, then the Hound, but now it’s just Meryn Trant. If he hadn’t have to fight Syrio, i wonder whether he might’ve actually be included.
    —————————————————–
    OTOH: Really, the Ironborn are caricatures?

    You know, if the prerequisite for a character not to be considered “cartoonish”, “one-dimensional”, “comic-book-y” and all those crap, overused adjectives is to be a conflicted motherf*cker like Jaime or Tyrion, then the whole damn real world is full of caricatures. It may be a surprise for you, but a lot of people with rather simple thoughts and simple motives are heroes, villains and leaders in our human race.

    Now i’ll retrieve myself, too much forum discussion for me. Cheers!

  77. jentario,

    Focus on “ironwood” reads maybe like a pun to me. Iron for the ironborn, wood for the Forrester character. I’m definitely feeling like the game is going to set you as a Northerner around Deepwood during Yara’s invasion, at least to start.

  78. Kinda OT (but relevant with regards to the game teaser?):

    Maybe I’m having a major memory fart right now, but is it really necessary for Asha/Yara to get captured by Stannis in the show? She’s already confronted Theon in the show ( something that happens after she’s captured by Stannis in the books) and there’s a lot of uncertainty with regards to the northern lords plot and how (show) Stannis will build his army, right?

    I’d love to see Deepwood and White Harbor but I’m not convinced the show will go that route.

  79. jentario:
    Bard,

    Not in Volantis necessarily. There could be (and probably are) two brothel scenes. I think the first one is in Pentos where Tyrion has his scene with the brothel guard and Clea, and then gets abducted by Jorah. We know for fact that Tyrion and Jorah travel down the Rhoyne together in the show, so they can’t meet in Volantis. Don’t know what to think of the Volantis brothel scene, though.

    Two brothel scenes with Tyrion? Doubt it. And they’re still in Pentos at episode 3? Doubt it. Plus, there was a casting call for a brothel guard in Volantis. The only brothel guard we know of so far is Mishael Lopez Cardoso.

    Mark my words: The Griffs are out.

  80. DayvJones,

    I’m tired of the Riverlands. So many characters spent so much time there or in that general area, and it’s not that interesting culturally or physically. I think Dorne, as a setting, is dramatically more interesting a place for Jaime to have his little reflections.

  81. Bard,

    No, the casting call was for a Volantis sellsword who was whoring, not for a brothel guard. And let me try to explain my logic: how can Jorah and Tyrion sail down the Rhoyne if they meet at Volantis, where the Rhoyne meets the sea? I think Jorah abducts Tyrion in Pentos and decides to take him to Dany, through the Rhoyne. It’s perfectly plausible that Tyrion will still be in Pentos by episode 3 given that the Griffs are cut. As I see it, it’ll be something like this:

    Ep1/Ep2: Tyrion will miss out on one of these or perhaps will only be teased towards the end of the premiere (like Arya in season 2). Then there is the Illyrio mansion scenes where we get to see more of Varys’s plans and schemings
    Ep3: Tyrion and Varys take a walk around Pentos (perhaps planning their next move- supporting Dany or Dorne or whatever) and Tyrion insists on stopping in a brothel and regrouping with Varys later. They exchange a few lines with the brothel guard and Tyrion has his scene with Clea the whore. Then he gets abducted by Jorah.
    Ep4: first batch of Rhoyne scenes, the Jorah-Tyrion relationship
    Ep5: the Sorrows
    Ep6: Volantis, Tyrion and Jorah go to another brothel for some reason. Perhaps they meet Vogarro’s Whore there?
    Ep7/8: Tyrion and Jorah’s ship gets abducted by Luther the slaver
    Ep9-10: they are sold to Yezzan in Meereen who puts them in the Daznak Pit, shit happens. Tyrion begins manipulating Yezzan to turn him to Dany’s side.

  82. Hodor’s Bastard,

    Meh

    I’ll boo if Manderly or Sarella or Euron or a Jeyne Poole stand in don’t make it. Sarella is season 6 material anyhow (though it doesn’t seem like Sam will be traveling to Oldtown as early as he did in the books, if at all, since he didn’t film scenes with Arya this year- I hope he leaves relatively late in the season and meets Arya early in season 6).

  83. jentario,

    If we’re not getting Sam+Arya this season, I doubt we’re getting it at all. If Sam leaves later in this season, then he’ll be teleporting to get to Oldtown by episode 1 or 2 of season 6, since they’ll have to quickly introduce Sarella and any other characters who are necessary to that plot, assuming the Oldtown plot is going to be important enough to warrant inclusion, which I think it will. Sam and Arya isn’t really important in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a fun intersection between two characters.
  84. Maybe Jorah doesn’t

    abduct Tyrion, but meets him in Illyrios mansion in Pentos?

    . But you’re right regarding the sellsword from Volantis, I confused him with a brothel guard.

  85. Afeastfordances,

    True, but D&D love the chance meet ups. It’d be the first time they miss out on one of them just because it’s not important enough.

    On Oldtown in general, I think season 4 already set it up so unless they changed their minds… The whole “wherever I go you go” scene with Sam and Gilly screams of Oldtown set up, and what about Aemon? Will they just keep him alive? I don’t think so. I can see why they’d want to delay the Oldtown plot to season 6 entirely (since a number of storylines will have converged by then- specifically around Meereen and Winterfell).

    The fact that all 8 Sand Snakes exist in show-canon implies IMO that they plan to introduce more than just the first three (so I have hopes for Sarella- the only interesting one of the lot in the books!). What I’m pretty certain of is that Sam can’t be present for Jon’s assassination. Or maybe he can be? Maybe he could do it himself.

  86. Fjordgazer,

    They don’t seem to be able to have that many at a time! Selmy left pretty early. Jaime went galavanting off to war. The Hound wore the white cloak for a cup of tea and Mandon Moore only really turned up to get speared in the back of the head. Meryn f*cking Trant seems to be the only constant member! Next season may see their numbers bolstered again with

    Loras and Robert Strong possibly joining

    although that could quickly get reduced with

    Trant getting offed in Braavos.

    . Must say I miss Balon Swann. He was one of my favourite minor characters plus also miss Boros Blount…or more Jaime griefing him and the rest of the KG!

  87. Bard,

    Interesting idea, but that would mean Varys travels with them (which isn’t the case according to set photos). Also, 3 eps to reach Pentos, travel down the Rhoyne and the Sorrows AND reach Volantis and stop by a brothel seems a bit much.
  88. Young Dragon,

    You’ve made me check and you’re right. He is in fact a featured extra throughout the series and has appeared in every season except four (where he is still mentioned when they’re planning the wedding security) although he doesn’t do much except be a henchman. Perhaps he might be implicated in Cersei’s trial as a replacement for a Kettleback? It’s widely thought Cersei was behind Moore trying to kill Tyrion although , to go off on a tangent, we still don’t know for certain. Maybe Blount was also Cersei’s creature?

  89. Dragonslayer,

    jentario,

    Ok, I wasn’t sure haha. I really hope they announce some of the northern lords soon, I really don’t think they could get away with not casting any. It would be pretty boring if Roose, Ramsey, and Theon were the only notable characters in Winterfell.

  90. Ok, since I have been going completely overboard on this thread, I wanted to throw something out there that a few of us Northern Virginians have been discussing lately…

    Griffs. As pathetic as it may seem, I am strong proponent of their inclusion in the GoT tale. Not only am I fascinated by the secrecy and their staunch advocacy by a select few great characters in ASoI&F, I think JonCon is an enigma. His royal loyalty, his entitlement belief, his delusions, his weaknesses, his sexuality, his secrets. his deals with Illyrio/Varys. Like Selmy, he knows. He knows a lot. Is he protecting and guiding a Targ, a Blackfyre or a true fake in order to cause maximum redirection before Dany arrives?

    Regardless of these thoughts, JonCon has a disease…a major disease. I believe the greyscale within his arm is a deadly vector for Westeros that will be explored further by GRRM. How could he resist? Wouldn’t it be timely if they explored JonCon in GoT as holding many secrets, including a disease vector? How could they resist the parallels of today’s ebola coverage? I believe greyscale will increase the danger to the ASoI&F world since it does seem to be tied to the existence of dragons in the world. What does that hold for poor Shireen as well?

    Well, enough goofiness, but I do believe that JonCon and YG are critical and relevant to the telling of this great tale.

    Thoughts?

  91. TheTouchOfFrost:
    Hodor’s Bastard,

    Was always confused as to why Greyscale was such a big deal with everyone else yet Shireen seems fine having suffered from it.

    Greyscale affects adults more than children in GRRMworld, rather like getting cowpox as a child gives immunity to smallpox in the real world. You suffer a bit and maybe get scars from lesions but don’t get the more virulent and fatal form.

  92. So do they just plan on keeping Jaime with short hair the rest of the series? I miss long haired Jaime, he looked better.

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