Jonathan Pryce has given an interview about his work on Game of Thrones for the Polish website Kawerna and he allowed himself to reveal a bit than he probably should in one of the answers. We hid the spoiler behind a break further below.
In the rest of the interview, he provides his view on the character of High Sparrow: as goes for many characters on the show, he believes that his cause is just and his deeds are good. He also draws parallels with the (historical) character of Cardinal Wolsey, whom he played last year on Wolf Hall. Lastly, Pryce admits that the most miserable part of the job is that he needs to keep going around barefoot, even in wide shots – though there is always someone around with a hot water bottle to help out between the takes.
For the spoilery answer from which you can imply a good deal of plot development, click through to read more.
OK, SEASON SIX SPOILERS, AVERT YOUR EYES.
Pryce says he looked through the season six scripts when he got them to see what happens to his character and found a scene that was just unbelievable. Later he quite openly describes the (setup of a) scene from a future episode concerning Cersei’s trial. It is going to take place at the Great Sept and practically everyone is said to be present there. The High Sparrow has grown over-confident and believes that Cersei simply has to show up, even though he gets informed she has not left her chambers. At the same time, there is a great deal of scheming taking place behind his back, in the immediate vicinity. The Sept slowly fills with people and the High Sparrow is still pleased with the situation, with everything apparently going according to the plans – little does he know that fate has an unpleasant surprise in store for him.
An additional spoilery bit comes our way courtesy of Hull Daily Mail, via commenter James Rivers (thanks). A piece on the local hero Rob Aramayo playing young Ned Stark reveals that we will see him briefly again in expisode six before “a significant showing in episode ten”. This cannot mean anything else but that they are saving the grand Tower of Joy reveal for the season finale. Cannot wait!
Hodor!
How exciting! I can’t wait for the trial. Maybe this is the I choose violence moment. Wonder which episode we will see it in?
And as to TOJ: while I’m sad we won’t see that conclusion until the lengthy finale (hyyyyype!) I’m interested in what else Ned will be doing in visions and where Bran will see them. By episode 10 he may be out of the cave, especially given the preview for episode 5 where Meera is trying to wake him.
I’m both excited and disappointed. I thought surely we’d get R + L = J earlier than the finale, but I love that we have a couple of appearances, one of which is long – yay! If we get the Tourney at Harrenhal, the wait will be so incredibly worthwhile.
Will the finale then be the Jon-centric episode?
And perhaps Cersei is only planning on wildfire-ing the Sept? I’d read the article, but the above translation is so much better. Thanks.
wait if Aramayo’s doing something b4 ToJ reveal could that be something with young Robert??
Could it be the recently acquired “Cersei’s Little Birds” have a good seat at the proceeding?
Could it be a Sept filled with wildfire?
I honestly thought we’d get the Jon reveal in “blood of my blood”. I guess not… Unless there’s more to come from Neds past… Clutching, I know.
As for the High Sparrow stuff… I’m intruiged by all of this. Is this the beginning of Cersei’s “I choose violence” crazy ass shit? Will she really SPOILER burn the Sept and everyone inside?
If Ollena dies, I’m gonna fuck some serious shit right up!
I know people are going to be pissed about the TOJ reveal not happening until episode 10 but I am a-ok with it. It is pretty huge to just drop in episode 6. I wonder if they’ll just show him and Lyanna briefly in 6 just to establish the scene. I am willing to bet she goes into labor with Ned there in episode 6, not that he arrives to find the baby already born and her almost dead.
I was also hoping for TOJ in an earlier episode. But Harrenhal would be nice.
I think we may get the “I choose violence’ moment in episode 6.
Has a youngish Benjen been cast?
I’m wondering if
All aboard the hype train!
Cersei is going to mess everyone up and I am looking forward to see how. This is a Red Wedding moment imo. I wouldn’t be surprised if she finds out who killed Joffrey. She’ll be out for blood.
I was hoping for an earlier reveal for the ToJ. It’s the big mystery of the series to me (and the one that secured the TV rights lol), and I don’t want it to get lost in the midst of all the crazy twists in the season finale. It seemed like a fitting twist for episode 9, considering the buildup towards the big battle with Ramsay. If they’re going to make me wait so long, I hope they don’t end on a cliffhanger and just do the whole reveal. Let’s get it over with! I want to hear the promise too!
I wonder what the brief flashback in episode 6 is. Ned praying in front of the weirwood for Robb and Jon? Ned talking to Lyanna about her engagement to Robert? A part of the ToJ interior? I don’t see how they can show the interior without revealing too much.
I’m thinking Cersei is going to burn everyone inside of the Sept.
Would be kind of weird to have three scenes of people being killed inside a room, if we also get Red Wedding 2.0 this season, along with what we already got with Dany and the Dothraki.
It would make sense to have a scene of Lyanna and Ned in the brief episode 6 scene, so that the audience at least knows what his sister looks like before they get the reveal.
The brief appearence of young Ned is deffinitely The Tourney of Harrenhall !
Kamali,
Yeah that makes sense. I’m dying to see the actress.
Kamali,
We also have young Robert B to appear so I’m guessing that’ll now happen before the big reveal
teunteulai,
That would be great.
Apollo,
We have? I don’t remember that he ever heard of that casting.
I just hope if the TOJ reveal is on ep 10, it is not a cliffhanger, because that will be a major annoyance comparable to TWD cliffhanger this season.
And also the fact we will getting more “pleasant” visions from Bran in future episode, I am less worried about the White Walker touching Bran’s arm vision and its implications
Actually that may may have been (yet another) an
assumption on the part of the fandom, now that I think on it. The young actor cast was actually playing a young Ser Rodrick. My bad :/
mau,
We don’t. When the casting notice for young Hodor first showed up, we didn’t know who it was for, so some people are still thinking it’s Robert. There is no young Robert.
edit- oh yeah, and I guess some of them thought Rodrik was Robert or Brandon.
teunteulai,
I really like the old whent tourney. I think i care more about that than ToJ
Fascinating stuff
As for Robert Amarayo aka young Ned
Reckon we’ll have him handing Dawn (confirmed) back in Ep 6 (if not that then perhaps they’ll do tourney at Harrenhall!) given we do jave Quaithe in the show in S2 who may have a role to play and given i think AD = Quaithe
Red trial confirmed! Get the hypes!
I was already expecting the ToJ scene would take place in episode 10. I wonder now if it will end on a revelation or on a cliffhanger.
If Cersei was gonna burn anything wouldn’t we have heard of a massive burning set piece
teunteulai,
More likely a hodor flashback I’m thinking; they showed him in the last flashback, so probably will depict how he got his name? would love to see the tourney though.
It sounds like…
Lol
As for Brans visions which have catapulted his arc from “most boring” (not me though) to most exciting
I wonder if what we see next week is the NK “hacking” into his vision to taunt him with WW invasion of Westero, then touching his arm is to take him out/release him 3-eyed cros style?
Either way it should be quite trippy
Seems like we’ll get quite spoilt. It’s good for the show though as it gives visual cue to the backstory etc though one starts to wonder if it could have been spread out more over 2 instead of 1 season
Eg a general vision of CoTF in the past could have been done last season. Instead of LF talking about it, we could have had a vision of Tourney at Harrenhall etc etc
End of yhe day though there are practical issues, eg actor budgets and so forth
Yeah that’s a fair point actually, they cold make it a stand-in for the old Tower of the Hand to point out she’s gone bat crazy Lysa Arryn style (lol )
More flashbacks with Ned … interesting … a little disappointed about getting R + L = J in episode 10… maybe Bran or Howland Reed will be around to tell Jon the truth in episode 10. That’s what I want to watch this season, Jon’s reaction. He always suffered about his mother and now … knowing her mother was Lyanna. It will be huge. The sacrifice Ned made for him…. And he is a Targaryen… The son of a king. He will be really surprised about everything.
That Sept tease sounds great … so the Faith won’t allow a trial by combat, Cleganebowl is out of the picture then. But who else is going to die there. I hope Tommen is at his bedroom … Which Tyrell is going to die there, Margaery????
As for season finale
Someone said in another article that if Dany is being reborn then perhaps Jon will go through similar thing
So, if Mel res is Jon finishing his NW cycle and being re-born as “Jon of Winterfell” ala S1 E1 and E2 as we see with his Stark themed clothes
This arc completes itself with him re-taking Winterfell
Then perhaps E10 will go into the higher arc of the show, eg we reveal R+L=J at the same time we get AA reborn from the Shireen death paying for his life, eg this is Jon Stark-Targaryen which sets up the final arc of battle
This will be mixed with Dany making land with Greyscale infected horde of Dothraki at one end and the WW’s smashing through the Wall at the other end with undead Wight horde etc
Personally i reckon Dany will be a counter to the Night’s King with Jon as a Bridging character
If the big reveal is in ep 10,
andriakenas,
yeah any weirwood tree will do
Zalos,
Tommen ? Cersei accidently killing Tommen herself would be sooo cool to see her face
I’m thinking Ned runs into the TOJ & Lyanna has given birth to twins, 1 girl & 1 boy. Howland Reeds takes care of Meera & Ned takes care of Jon.
I have a feeling that Septa Unella will get
Chuck,
That’s probably correct, so which wierwood tree will he connect to in ep 10? Winterfell? 🙂
I think based off the books, where
My prediction anyway.
Oh, and I’M SO FREAKING ANNOYED WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL EPISODE 10 DAMMIT.
But then again, after episode 9, which I’m sure even unsullied readers have determined what will happen, I suppose our Lord Snow will be foreshadowed into bigger and better things :).
andriakenas,
maybe the one near the wall, back in season 1 that jon took his vows at…
Chuck,
And IF the wall falls, will he be just behind the WW army? Hmm..
I’m positive Loras will die, if only because the actor will be on a different major show going forward. Just doesn’t look like the show has any real plans for his character.
I hope the scene in episode six is of Ned and Lyanna before the Rebellion. I don’t think it will be the tourney at Harrenhal. That’s too elaborate for a short scene. I like the idea of Ned and Lyanna discussing Robert and his proclivities.
It’s so difficult being right… but I did say TOJ reveal would be in 6.10.
HelloThere,
we did.
GeekFurious,
How’s that Bran warging into Jon theory of yours working out?
Tyrion Pimpslap,
I like that, even though I would be beside myself with the Tourney scene. The establishment of Robert’s toxic masculinity with Lyanna would be a nice precursor to the Tower of Joy.
this or any of similar time scene for the fact we get to see who they cast as the teenage/grown-up Lyanna
death count predictions for episodes 9/10: olenna, pycell, kevan, margeary, loras, unella, the dorne bad poosie, tommen, rickon, qyburn and…cersei. 🙁
ummm…its actually still quiet possible…
This is a persistent theory that I just don’t understand. Making Meera (a supporting character, AT BEST) also a Stark/Targaryen only serves to diminish the importance of the reveal for Jon (a, and perhaps THE, main character). What purpose in the story would there be for Meera being a child of Rhaegar and Lyanna? And why wouldn’t Ned take both infants if there were indeed two of them? Ned promised Lyanna he would keep Jon safe because she was his sister and Jon was his family. Baby Meera would also have been his blood, and have no relation whatsoever to Howland Reed. So why pawn this second baby off on a person who shares no blood with her, even if he is a trusted friend?
No one has ever answered that last bit satisfactorily, to say nothing of why it would fit into the story that GRRM is telling, which seems to be more and more about Jon with every volume we get.
Don’t tease me, bro!
Okay, I’ll peek through my fingers for one paragraph but that is it.
After reading the spoiler: Obviously the H.S. didn’t follow the Ned Stark story in the papers.
so episode 6 must be a “bridge” scene to bring adult Lyanna into the story and episode 10 we see inside TOJ …
We.. Get …To… See… Lyanna …In… Less… Then… 10… Days…..
and if they have managed to keep it a secret…and we see Rhaegar without ever knowing he was cast…. Imma lose IT.
SerCountryFriedSteak,
They haven’t written in her (book) destruction of the Hand’s Tower via wildfire…could be.” Solve” 1 problem, create 500 more…very Cersei Thing to Do.
I predict the High Sparrow’s last words will be “Tell everybody at Florsheim Shoes I loved them… Ack!”
Wait a sec, if the next post is entitled “Sophie Turner suggests Sansa try something new- like women” why the hell should I care about this religious nutter? 😉
If the King’s Landing plot ends this season with tons of major characters being killed then I hope there is a city wide revolt/civil war in the finale (and the Sand Snakes get killed too 🙂 ). I just can’t fathom so many characters dying and the populous just going on like normal. A city revolt has been building since season 2 and I think it should explode by the finale, after Cersei presumably kills the only nobles/religious leaders that the people liked.
Dany is going to be in for a rude awakening when she finally gets to Westeros.
I knew TOJ when be in Ep 10. R+L=J is just to HUGE to be in the middle of the season.
TamTam,
IMO if there are twins in that tower. It will be Jon and Dany. I don’t care how old they say she is. lol
You have no idea how GLAD I am that someone mentioned finding out who killed Joffrey! For me, this sounds like the most plausible build up.
Kamali
If your guess is right, King’s Landing should be ripe for the picking. And Tyrion knows the city’s defenses inside and out. But I’m with you and don’t see many major characters being killed off this season. Everybody else is pretty much a goner. Same old same old in Westeros. 😉
I have avoided reading the article due to spoilers, all I will say is, PLEASE DEAR GOD SOMEBODY FUCKING KILL THE HIGH SPARROW
Ned doesn’t have much more to do at the Tower of Joy, so the wrapup could still be the “brief” appearance in episode 6. Even if
that still doesn’t prove R+L=J, just R+L=something. The significant appearance in ep 10 could be
which would be proof.
So you favor the murderous, treacherous, amoral Lannisters over somebody who believes in equality?
crimethink,
Given the casting information for
crimethink,
Equality? Didn’t he lock Loras into a cell for being gay? Though I hear you’re overarching point, aside from what he did to Loras, everything else he does is pretty reasonable. That’s my problem with him, he’s such a fucking bore. I get it, he’s there as kind of like a counter measure to the greedy High borns, but it is just so brutal every time he is on screen. He says absolutely nothing in these long diatribes filled with religious cliches. I don’t know how he is in the books, but I’m guessing they stayed faithful here? I wish they made him darker and more hypocritical, and cast someone like Ian McShane for him instead of Jonathan Pryce.
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
Young Stunner could well be Catelyn in the scene I described.
To prove R+L=J to the general audience they can’t end it at the TOJ. Well, I suppose they could have Ned instantly devise and explain his entire plan to the audience while sitting next to
but that would not be credible.
Nearly everybody in Westeros is anti-gay, including the Lannisters. Remember that it was Cersei who engineered Loras’ and Margaery’s arrests. I don’t agree with everything the HS does but he’s easily the least loathsome of the people in power in Westeros.
The High Sparrow/Faith story in the books doesn’t involve Loras at all, goes down very differently, and indeed Loras’ orientation is never revealed explicitly in the books. So this version of the HS is a show creation.
My prediction: Robert strong aka the Mountain will smash King Tommen, and Cersei will grow mad
I’ll take the equality without the whole religious fundamentalist thing.
crimethink,
crimethink,
I don’t think they need two scenes to make it clear that Lyanna’s baby is Jon. She could just name him before making Ned make the promise.
I’d love to see a Harrenhal Tournament scene, it wouldn’t even have to be long, just a few minutes of Rhaegar winning the joust and crowning Lyanna.
Wow, how did I miss that? Of course that was him (now an excuse to rewatch that series, like I needed one….)
Hawk,
We were talking in another post about Sansa telling the truth about LF – which could definitely lead to Oleanna, so I can see that happening
I’m kind of almost worried for the High Sparrow, lol. I can’t wait to see what Cersei does.
The likely delay of ToJ til ep 10 is both dissapointing but even more exciting. I wonder what flashback we’ll get in episode 6. Harrenhal tourney? Of Lyanna running off with Rheagar? Hype levels just keep rising.
ash,
I was mentally meandering the other day about how if this was Littlefinger’s last season, I hope he goes out on a melancholy note (while speared through the neck or something suitably horrific like that), thinking of Cathryn and Sansa and what might have been if he hadn’t been such a total arsehole all his miserable life.
I was also thinking about how this part works because of Aidan Gillen. Right after GOT’s run he can go on to play the greatest Hamlet of his generation (which wouldn’t surprise me in the least), but he’ll always going to be remembered for this role.
Or maybe it’s just the Friday talking.
If indeed the HS meets his end before Cersei stands trial, then could it be:
DENIED!!!!!!!!!
King in the North Carolina,
But we can dream, my liege, we can dream.
crimethink,
You’re right he is more sympathetic. He’s too sympathetic. I don’t know, him and the Sparrows are just completely uninteresting to me and I’ve really been disappointed by King’s Landing story thus far this season. I think things are about to heat up though, so we’ll see how it goes or the rest of the season.
Agreed. Making it clear that Lyanna isn’t keen on marrying Robert, knowing that he will never be faithful to her, would be one more step toward helping Unsullied viewers put two and two together before the Big Reveal.
King in the North Carolina,
Problem is is that
My guess is that as per the prophecy, Cersei will lose, and instead of accepting the outcome, she’ll burn the sept to the floor with them all inside.
I read this spoiler earlier today. I hope, hope, hope the season finale sees a violent end to the High Sparrow, easily the most boring character of Season 6. 🙂
No idea why young Ned is going to appear in the finale; they should’ve finished his story earlier. The finale will feature very shocking events everywhere, so whatever the past Ned’s reveal is, will likely get diluted amongst everything else.
You know what would be icing on the cake? If Lyanna tells Ned something like, “Take care of him, pretend that he’s your natural son, call him after Jon Arryn if you wish…but his real name, his Targaryen name, is ____________.”
Now that would be quite a gift to the Sullied. Big Reveals for everyone!
Did Littlefinger tell Sansa who his accomplice was, besides Dontos? I don’t recall that. Could’ve happened offscreen, but still… why would Sansa pass that info along to Cersei, even if she knew?
You bloody bastards!!!
And sounds like good fun. Best spoiler so far imo.
Agro,
Trial By Fire
GameofHype,
It is not a problem as…
Of course, as I said a few times here, they’d save the TOJ reveal in the season finale. It makes a lot of sense. It’s too big a plot twist to place just in the middle of the season. They’re gonna make us wait, so wait we must. 🙂 This could mean Jon might win the battle vs. Ramsay and the reveal would set up the plot for Jon’s character next season. Is Jon going to know as well or just us, the audience (plus Bran, of course)?
Oooh, I wonder what name she gave him. Aegon?????? It’s close to “Jon”. Aejon?????? 🙂
Izatty,
But that wouldn’t be what he predicted.
Nostradamus predicted everything…that way he’d hit on some things.
GameofHype,
Oh yeah, there’s no doubt that
Kamali,
If this happens, Margaery’s wrath towards Cersei will be insane.
LatrineDiggerBrian,
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it isn’t ‘reasonable’ to torture and starve ppl and parade them naked thru the streets.
What I find so interesting about the HS is the contradiction between the kind fatherly facade and the cruelty to which he subjects his prisoners. He’s a bastard.
The High Sparrow should read mean tweets on Jimmy Kimmel. I’d like that.
I don’t know if I believe that man. Maybe he wants economic equality, but I think that’s a bit far fetched in the Middle Ages, even for a fantasy show.
He’s like the Inquisition. He imprisons ppl and forces them to confess by means of torture. No justice there.
I’m not saying the lords and ladies are necessarily better. But he clearly is not as good as he thinks he is.
Demon Monkey,
I agree. His inspiration Gialormo Savanarola was hardly the saint he thought he was.
selena,
I’m really hoping that’s the case but I’m not betting on it. I would love to see Rhagear. To know he isn’t an asshole.
Demon Monkey,
I’m not holding out hope for that but holy hell would that be amazing.
To those who are disappointed because they’re worried that he Tower of Joy in the finale will somehow be “diluted” amongst the other shocking turns sure to happen, I’d say rest easy.
There’s no bigger reveal coming in this series. This is the reason we have a Game of Thrones TV show. R+L=J has been waiting for confirmation for 20 years! No matter how awesome the rest of the finale is (and I trust it will be), R+L=J will be among the key moments.
Long live the hype!
I think that Septa Unella just might be able to take the Mountain, myself. Didn’t she win the men’s gold decathalon medal for East Germany in 1988?
The “why” of the Walkers and the “what” of R’hllor will be still bigger reveals than this.
This talk of finale events reminded me; that farfaraway site where the extra episode images come from each week has the image of
I don’t know if its been mentioned before or not.
Well, I believe that the High Sparrow will be surprised not only by Cersei but also, by people he trusts. People he considers or will consider as allies at some point in the season.
I guess that in Cersei’s trial he will find out that he doesn’t have as many allies as he thinks he does.
What would be interesting if this happens is to see the reactions of the people of King’s Landing.
Or it could be Lyanna. Either way, your scenario calls for both characters to be cast as young women, yet we have evidence for only one young woman being cast. Never multiple explanations without need: we need a casting for Lyanna, but not for Catelyn, ergo we should assume that the young stunner is Lyanna.
Ned will not explain it to the audience: she will. It could be done in a dozen words:
There is no more plan than that. The audience is as uninterested in fleshing out any further details as they are in how Theon found a ship to the Iron Islands or how many weeks elapsed between episodes.
I think that he’ll find that he has as many allies as he thought: but he will learn that numbers do not make up for organized military strength. And then he will learn that spokesmen of the gods are not above the laws and morality of the nobility.
The High Sparrow is exactly as good as he believes that he is because his beliefs define good. To someone like him, you are an immoral person for suggesting that he is not good for doing these things. It is not different from what the priests and imams in our world would do if you try to explain to them how unethical their notions of “good” are.
I don’t get why people will be piss? People have been waiting years from reading the books. A month from now won’t hurt to find out something.
Tired of whiners
I think the WF flashback could be when Lyanna was getting “kidnapped”. I thought I had read young Hodor was in that episode as well, so maybe we’ll see how he became “Hodor” and that Lyanna was running away, contrary to popular belief.
Demon Monkey,
I recently read the novels again after several years. It was so interesting to catch all of the little hidden gems. So many hints that I never caught the first time. Everyone loved Rhaegar, and I don’t recall one bad thing being said about him by the characters that mentioned him. He was said to be kind, preferred playing his music instead of fighting. I think the main reason everyone rallied with Robert for his rebellion is because of the pyromaniac Mad King rather than their dislike of Rhaegar. I can’t wait for the big reveal! I would love to see a spin off series featuring Robert’s Rebellion.
Jack Bender was at the ToJ location, wasn’t he? So I think the ep 6 scene will be at ToJ itself. I wonder if they will introduce Wylla as well in this episode, just to confuse the casual viewers some more before the ep 10 reveal? Which looks more and more likely to be a partial reveal. We will see that Jon is Lyanna’s son, but the Rhaegar part will come next season.
As for KL, yup, Cersei is burning shit down! I wonder who are all the people who have assembled for the trial? Kevan? Tyrells? Would they all be massacred too?
Absolutely love the High Sparrow as an antagonist, Pryce knocking that one out of the park for me. The way he left his life behind, pretending (and lying to himself in part) to be a man of the gods, whilst just continuing his quest for power is amazing. Why would you want him to be more of a ‘direct’ bad guy? We already have enough psychopaths and sociopaths, give it up for the mysogynist, grandfatherly fanatic who is actually beloved by the poor for actually doing something for them. A bad guy in a sense who is doing a lot of good, only adds questions about morality to the show. All considered, he is at least a better person when compared to Cersei and probably will be when he goes. It seems we are led to believe he is the horrible one, when Cersei will eventually show she was the actual bad guy at season’s end.
Tower of Joy in episode 10 makes more sense. I think McNutt (avclub) summarised it nicely, that it would make more of an impact if it had an effect on show characters as well or coincided with more critical plot developments. I assume the short scene will just introduce Lyanna (an older version than we already saw), so we know something more of her (the tourney would be awesome, but I doubt it is in…a blue rose would have made it into the trailers right?
OK so I thought maybe the reveal would be in what Kit called an episode that is Jon’s story but he also used the phrase epic to describe it and that seemed to point toward the EP nine with the battle. Interesting that it is being pushed to the very end. Damn I hope he finds out as well as us and they don’t leave another cliffhanger there!
ghost of winterfell,
Anything is possible.
There were several GoT actors in Wolf Hall (Viserys, Yezzan, Syrio, etc). I failed to spot Qyburn as Thomas More when I watched it the first time.
I think they’re making Jon too look and act more like Ned ( uniform, man bun, they way he behaves) only to reveal he’s not Ned’s son. If he ends up retaking Winterfell and be the King.
For a fraction of a second, I believed that to be true. 😀
GameofHype,
” It is going to take place at the Great Sept and practically everyone is said to be present there. The High Sparrow has grown over-confident and believes that Cersei simply has to show up, even though he gets informed she has not left her chambers. At the same time, there is a great deal of scheming taking place behind his back, in the immediate vicinity. The Sept slowly fills with people and the High Sparrow is still pleased with the situation, with everything apparently going according to the plans – little does he know that fate has an unpleasant surprise in store for him.”
This is going to be great and parallel when Daenery’s killed the Dothraki leaders. I expect a lot of Tyrell soldiers to die, however, I do not think Olenna will be there. Diana Rigg was spoted with the actor that plays Varys in Dorne. I expect Olenna to either escape or already be in Dorne plotting with the sandsnakes on taking out the Lannisters.
andriakenas,
It’s possible. There is also the weirwood tree just north of the Wall where Jon said his vows.
The High Sparrow character is an awesome creation, as far as I am concerned as a TV watcher. (I am mostly unsullied so I don’t have anything to compare him to)
He’s someone who’s both humble and arrogant. Who’s striving to be ideologically pure and yet blind to his own power grabbing tendencies. He’s a self-righteous hypocrite who has rationalized his actions as being for the ‘greater good’ and in defense of the common people.
He’s not corrupt, nor is he un-mindful of the plight of the downtrodden, and yet he’s a soft-spoken bully, a pedantic yet manipulative man who will gladly use whatever means is necessary to make the noble, rich, wealthy people pay for their collective oppressive governance.
While I can admire some of his goals or stances, in the end he’s still a villain. He’s just not the kind we usually expect.
I would absolutely hate it if Cersei burned the sept along with a bunch of important character.
While I am ok with her disposing of a Tyrell or two, just throwing them in with the faith militant like that and burning them all is lame as it makes the Tyrells little more than collateral damage.
That’s not just killing them off – it’s associating them with their own enemy, when they weren’t even the ones to arm the FM and have been just as wronged by those fanatics as the Lannisters.
Boom goes the dynamite!
OK, last night a scenario came to me, just a guess I wonder what people think about it.
Disclaimer note: It’s about Dorne and the SS, so if you just want to reply to me”no more Dorne pls!!” or ”Dorne sucks!!!” please just ignore my comment and move along.
Disclaimer note 2, there is filming stuff here so you have been warned.
I will stress it again, if the only reason you want to reply to me is to remind us how much you dislike Dorne, then please just move along. I am not in the mood to argue Dorne. I just want to know what people think about this scenario and my speculation.
Mihnea,
Well, it make senses, they have to make some use of them somehow.
I cant see Cersei burning the Grand Sept, unless it’s with wildfire (as its made entirely of stone), but we did see a clip of the little birds killing someone in the crypts of the Grand Sept. I’m guessing that’s how the HS and the FM meet their end… They’ll be massacred by the LB and the Mountain, with many other causalties. Ollena/Varys being in Dorne is based solely on a few photos at Almeria where they’re eating out. There were no other reports in that aspect (but a man does hope).
Mihnea,
Tainting the brilliant Conleth Hill by having him share screentime with the appalling Dornish cast doesn’t sound like an appealing idea at all. However it is supremely likely that your speculation about this scenario is correct, sadly.
No more Dorne D&D, for the love of all that is good and holy. Just inform us of what is going on there through dialogue in King’s Landing and within team Dany.
Markus Stark,
It appears you ignored my notes.
Bu, to be honest, I didn’t expect anything else…
Will Cersei burn down the sept?
King Crow Lord Snow,
Let’s hope it’s not Bran going their and getting pulled out again because he shouldn’t be there
That would make an awful amount of sense. This could mark Cersei’s descend into madness. (Which finally sets Jaime back on the path he started on with Brienne. He needs to turn the f*** away from his crazy sister before she burns the realm to be queen of the ashes.) Alas, I think the fact that the description (the sept filling up with people) hints at something else.
Just had a thought… We saw the shadow of either Aerys or Frankenmountain being stabbed in the throne room, perhaps next week we’ll see young Ned entering the Throne room at the end of the rebellion (although not sure how that would advance the story as its already been discussed in S1)
If it’s really the ToJ, it must be super brief. Like, Bran could try to go back to that scene on his own, and see Ned go up the stairs, when he is suddenly ripped out of the vision by the Three-Eyed Raven saying that it’s not time yet.
If it’s longer than that, it’s probably not ToJ but Harrenhal or some other scene establishing Lyanna (we need to know that it’s her the moment Ned enters the room in the ToJ). Could it be
?
Eddie Eyre has just tweeted to indicate he’s in tomorrow’s episode. Now I’m getting more confused…
https://mobile.twitter.com/EddieEyre/status/733958645369737216
LatrineDiggerBrian,
The HS is not sympathetic. Remember what the faith militants did in LF’s brothel. While the HS speaks gently he is not above using others to do his dirty work.
God yes! If they make the whole thing a cliffhanger, I’ll have to cut someone. If they at last reveal it, I’ll live, but it would be best if Jon found out, too. Signs hint at Bran leaving the cave before the season is over, so maybe he is with Jon when he has the vision. Or maybe he leaves the cave because he needs to find and tell Jon.
ygritte,
What if they do a book on us and we don’t hear anything? What if all we hear is “promise me”?
As was said, if the kid is named, that will be enough. They just have to find a way to make it seem not contrived. Maybe he already has a name. Or maybe Howland Reed prompts Ned to name him, after, to get him out of his stupor.
Apollo,
Maybe we’ll see another angle of the Tower of Joy … Lyanna’s angle, hopefully. I can’t wait. Fortunately, tomorrow.
The rest is details.
Mihnea,
If we have both Varys and Olenna in one scene, it will be enough to have a good scene. And if Cersei finds out Olenna met Varys … she will go nuts. She will blame Olenna for everything. And she wouldn’t be wrong about it …
I expect more of Dorne. I don’t like the Sand Snakes. But it’s clear, they will go to war against the Lannisters, so they must show up. I suppose to make an alliance with Danny.
Apollo,
So one more flashback for Bran?? Along with Winterfell, CotF, and NK. How many is he having next episode?
By “the audience” you mean “some part of the audience to which I belong”. For some of us, inconsistencies such as these are like gorillas in pink ballerina costumes dancing across the screen twirling neon signs flashing “PLOT HOLE! PLOT HOLE!”. For us, they are impossible to ignore, take us out of the show, and diminish our enjoyment immensely. Talented writers understand this and minimize such matters. I’ve watched plenty of series over the years that accomplished have zero or nearly zero plot holes. The last couple of seasons of GoT has not been one of them.
Are we going to see Rhaegar & The Mad King – finally?
It is a key moment when Rhaegar crowns Lyanna, and probably may go a long way to prove they eloped, for love. Does it seem like Rhaegar’s way to kidnap? Not when we’ve heard how much of a romantic he is.
Robert must’ve been blinded by jealous rage, thus we get the counter-image of Rhaegar, from the standpoint of a ‘jilted john’.
When you think about it, this must play into Tywin’s plans. His original plans had included marriage for Cersei to Rhaegar. Maybe with a proposed marriage for Jaime to the next available Targaryen Princess added to bind houses. (This was normal practice with Royal Houses during The Middle Ages.) It is very significant that Tywin leads a Lannister army into KL at the end of Robert’s Rebellion. The clear reason was always to take down the whole Royal House, including all innocents.
Tywin, as we know, always had a much longer game in mind than others thought.
Apollo,
Maybe he just can’t wait to see the next episode. I think he is a fan of the show. I can’t imagine how he or any other Kingsguard would fit in the plot now.
I’m actually fully expecting the little birds to do it with wildfire if the sept does in fact go up in flames.
Those boxes of sweets Qyburn gave them seemed to me conveniently shaped to eventually hold bottles(?) of wildfire.
Rhaenys Stark,
Yeah, or Aramayo will be in the episode and he is looking foward to see his friend.
We can’t really confirm he is in the episode, only from 1 post on twitter.
Wimsey,
Agreed.
But he hasn’t posted like this on other weeks. Perhaps we have some scenes of Ned/ Lyanna arguing about her betrothal to Robert and she then flees under escort with Gerold Hightower to be with Rhaegar. Tomorrow needs to come- now.
I’m glad I’m not alone… HS hasnt really caused any pain to anybody who doesnt deserve it in their world…And he was the means of the first piece of justice to Cersei ever – I really cant hate him the way almost everybody seems to.
He did post something similar last week despite not appearing…check.
I fear they gonna give us more “lack of honour” from Ned’s personality…probably make him lie about Rhaegar’s kidnapping Lyanna rather than her agreeing to go…just to give the show more of a twist – though I really hope not cos it just wont fit with everything we saw of him in S1.
didi,
True. I think confirmation of his legitimacy or illegitimacy would be necessary.
The actor who played Hightower is also tweeting about the next episode, so it could be something related to Harrenhal or the kidnapping/eloping.
Same feeling. I’m a little disappointed because I hoped to see that part earlier, but I’m also very excited because if they’re keeping it for the grand finale, it must be a huge revelation! I mean, Jon can’t just be the son of Ned and a wet nurse, it must be something really big and shocking, i.e. R+L=J… :O
LOL at all the people now claiming that they “knew all along” that the TOJ reveal would be in the finale.
“It’s just too big a reveal to be plopped down in the middle of the season”
…Um, have any of you checked out the amazing source material for this show? Most of the biggest plot twists did not take place at naturally occurring times, but rather in “the middle” of what most readers would assume to be the arc of various characters.
GRRM did not want to play by television rules when writing these books, so it makes me laugh when viewers, so obviously locked into certain lines of thinking, assume that GoT, the television show, has to oblige to these age-old concepts.
It makes me laugh even harder when the producers assume the same things, and don’t take the chances the material has afforded them, but instead sand down the sharp corners and rough edges, so that the show goes down more palatably.
Fuck that. I like my Red Wedding smack dab in the middle of SoS, not the climactic act of an entire season. I loved Renly being slain minutes before a giant battle that we never get to see, which was adapted properly.
Furthermore, if season finales past are any indication, saving all plot threads to be tied up in the last episode can lead to some unnatural rhythms and awkward denouements. Season 4 could have used more time for Tyrion’s final moments in KL to breathe, but there were other developments to be seen, alas.
Chad Brick,
Fully agreed. Sadly our friend Wimsey is too busy being high and mighty about what he personally believes would make a passable TV show to even attempt to understand where someone else is coming from. He will never understand or respect inferior beings like us who believe that the plot should make sense otherwise it hurts suspension of disbelief and thereby leads to a diminished enjoyment of the show.
Apollo,
Scrolling through Eyre’s Twitter timeline, he mentions that he will not appear in any more episodes this season. It looks like he was generally hyping up the next episode.
Mihnea,
Dorne Sucks! No more Dorne, pls!
ps I have never seen as many posts admonishing others what to respond or not respond to as yours do! Guess what, it’s the internet, you have literally no say over anything!
Matt Coleman,
I totally agree. All season finales except the first have felt disjointed, and the finales of the last two seasons both contained several huge moments that felt rushed. It’s also difficult to process game-changing twists when the episode moves from one to another at a frenetic pace. The audience needs time to breathe and absorb the shocks. Piling them on hurts the experience and lessens the impact of each event, making the episode feel rushed and bizarrely anti-climactic. I definitely felt this with respect to the double murder of Tywin and Shae in 4.10, as well as for Stannis’ demise in 5.10. Huge events that weren’t given the attention they needed. Thankfully Cersei’s Walk of Shame was given room to breathe, so I can only hope the Tower of Joy is treated similarly.
Matt Coleman,
Because I knew instead of disscussing my speculation, some people would start going on a rant, that has nothing to do with my comment.
That’s exactly why I asked these specific people to simply ignore my comment and move along with their life.
Clearly you are unable.
Matt Coleman,
Mihnea,
Stop it. All of you, return to civility and just ignore each other.
Sue the Fury,
That is what I wanted from the very beginning…
Don’t worry, I won’t engage them anymore.
Wait, what? I’m not saying we should demonize the HS (or look the other way with the Lannisters), but you do understand why Loras was thrown in the cells, right? Are we seriously pretending that’s not an issue?
The moral ambiguity of many of GoT’s characters is my favourite thing about the whole thing.
Maybe E6 is Ned seeing her in a pool of blood with a child, and then the scene ends?
Doubtful at this point, but we also have to remember there were two versions of young Ned.
Maybe the interview is trolling us and telling us about he YOUNGER Ned, not the middle aged Ned?
Hodar was clearly cast for a reason, so he fits into the story somehow.
Honestly, I would love ramifications for either Olenna or Littlefinger. Preferably with Cercei finding about about Olenna. With all the spies and whatnot in the Westerosi world, not having ramifications for something like the plotted murder of a king between a huge House and whatever you want to describe Little Finger as would be a wasted opportunity.
Apollo,
He didn’t say he’d be appearing, he just say “one more day”. Many of the actors hype the shows they’re on, whether they’re appearing that ep or not 😉
If she’s there in the finale, it could be after the KL stuff goes down.
Let’s see: the only people who know about Joffrey’s murder are Olenna, Littlefinger, Sansa (not sure if she knows about Olenna’s involvement) and Margery (who only knows her grandma is responsible.) Margery is a prisoner desperate to free herself and her brother. I wonder if she’d squeal? Perhaps she thinks her grandmother can protect herself? Then the “new person” the HS sets his sights on would be Olenna. Cersei would find out, lose her goddamned mind and burn down the sept during the QOT’s trial. Margery’s death could make Tommen act against his mother (valonquar), but somehow Cersei watches him die first. At any rate, the death of Tommen will be her fault.
Just another crackpot theory.
Shawn,
My guess to the TOJ flashbacks.
EP6. In WF Bran sees Ned before the Wirwood try and it’s the scene from the books.
EP10 is the interior of the TOJ and we have
Of course there is a possibility Pryce not to tell the truth or at least the whole truth. He wont be the first actor doing so. Karrigton, Williams lied for John Snow being dead-with HBO orders and Nikolai waldau admitted he loves giving false spoilers to funs. Also Khal Moro actor 2 months ago said that he will be in a scene, where everyone around him would be killed, expect of him, which was half true, becouse in Dany scene with Khals died
Hawk,
Yeah, but those that mean she will
Chad Brick,
Chad, you have proven time and time again that you have no idea what a plot hole is.
Young Dragon,
Don’t feed him…. It will only derail the thread and fill it with his toxic rants.
Let him be. Ignoring them is the best solution. Eventually he’ll get bored.
I like the idea. It would be an extremely Varys thing to do and it would fit in with the characters. As for the QoT being in on it, what if there are two scenes in Dorne, one with only the SS and Varys, and another, including her too?
I feel like she might, especially since the Lannisters certainly aren’t as powerful as they once were, and as we approach the finale, she may need a new House to support.
Hawk,
Good guess.
Kay,
In my idea, the SS aren’t in Dorne but still in KL, being Ellarias ”eyes and ears”.
And also, wanted to thank you both for actually sticking to the point and restoring my faith in people a bit. 🙂
Mihnea,
“Toxic rants” ? Must you be so aggressive ? Your need to constantly attack those who don’t agree with you that every second of the show is perfection incarnate is unbelievably annoying. This is a site for discussion. Differing opinions should be tolerated. Stop demonizing those who love the show, but are also willing to discuss their criticisms of it.
Nothing Chad has said has ever been “toxic”, and antagonizing fellow fans like that is childish. Chad is a well meaning member of this community, who just happens to have different standards than you when it comes to plot logic. If anyone is poisoning the environment here it is people like you who refuse to let others be. Stop attacking those who voice their criticisms and there won’t be any problem whatsoever. We can all go back to discussing things in a friendly way.
Yeah I’ve just seen that myself… Confusion over 😉
It seems strange to me that we would get a TOJ reveal without being introduced to
and I don’t recall anything about casting for him.
Of course, I’m probably not totally up to speed on all the casting news. For the casting gurus – has he or someone fitting his description been cast for this year?
Dolorous Methuselah,
Nothing matching him was leaked.
🙂
This season is rapidly going beyond the books, and I had long ago expected meltdowns everywhere, even in the upper echelons. I now have literally tons of posters here on an “invisible” ignore, :D, and I am enjoying the season without their constant “input”.
heh, face it: she is one scary looking woman!
Thanks for the info! I didn’t think I remembered anything.
Personally I’m glad they are spreading everything out over the season. It makes it more balanced and keeps you needing to watch. That’s just good television. The one thing I haven’t heard people mention is the importance of the reveal whether Lyanna was kidnapped and raped and held prisoner as the story goes, or her and Rhaegar actually fell in love and she ran away with him willingly. And if it was the latter, did they secretly marry (yes, the polygamy theory). If they flashback to the Tourney it could give us an idea of what happened between her and Rhaegar. Or, going a different route, perhaps a scene between Ashara Dayne and Ned. Maybe with some Arthur Dayne as well. It would be really interesting to see. Either way Jon’s parentage reveal would be a perfect way to end the season.
As for Cersei and the possibility of burning the Sept, I suppose it would take the place of her burning the Tower of the Hand in the books in a way. I could see her looking at the burning Sept as a thing of beauty…with so many of her enemies inside.
crimethink,
And last line of the season will be
Would be so epic!
I rewatched the Cersei / Jaime / Olenna / Kevan scene from the last episode several times. Just 2 observations:
1. When she talks about Kevan’s son, Lancel, watch her (and Jaime) closely: it very much sounds to me as if she’s talking about Joffrey at the same time (in her mind / heart):
“You hate what they have done to your son. […] Stand aside and let the people who took him from you be destroyed”. Camera switch to Olenna, averting her eyes.
Could it be that the secret Tommen told her was about the Tyrell’s responsibilty for Joffrey’s poisoning?
2. In the background playing: The Rains of Castamere. The ultimate threat to all enemies of House Lannister. The sound of doom and destruction.
To me, this seems like a foreshadowing of the upcoming Castamerization of House Tyrell…
West of moon,
Yes, that image is definitively from episode 10. Original file name / IPTC info confirm this beyond doubt.
Markus Stark,
Its pretty hard to let major moments breathe when you only have 10 very costly episodes to film. For me this season has been fantastic just because all these years have built to these moments.
GOT might be better suited in an animated format, such as the DVD History of Houses series
Matt Coleman,
Yes Matt. You should have been the producer and director of all the episodes. I’m sure you would have done a better job.
My guess is Margaery will spill the beans about who killed Joffrey. She may do it as part of her penitence.
Possible, but do you really think that Margaery would throw her Granny under the bus? They seemed like a pretty tight tag-team.
Green Chili,
I did not even realize that was Rains of Castamere playing in the background..that does put a whole nother spin on that scene for sure
Ginevra,
SPOILER ALERT; Kinda…
There is a supposed leak for TOJ scene in the finale. I have got to say, if the leak is accurate I would feel somewhat deflated. I hope the leak is incorrect, however this person has had details for other episodes that have proved to be correct to the T. Well, we will just have to wait and see how it plays out on screen, let hope its fantastic!!! Im curious to find out how Jon will discover his true parentage, wonder his reaction, wonder the implications….. Wonder, wonder, wonder…..
Demon Monkey,
Lol.. It’s medieval era .. what do you expect …
Good catch! I like this idea (actually I hate it cos I wanna see the QOT retire happily in Highgarden), but you could be onto something here.
Uncivil comments like this should get you banned.
no that’ll be “the old enemy”
Chad Brick,
The 5th time Chad. It’s 4 to many.
I ignore you, please ignore me in turn.
No one is going to ban me for that and you know it.
Mag,
I agree. Simply a vision of R+L=J isn’t much of a season ender. Jon needs to find out for it to pack a punch. I don’t want to spend 3 episodes of next years (short) season as Bran wanders down from the North and finally catches up with him to share the news.
Howland is the X factor here, but that also wouldn’t be a very satisfactory reveal. So Bran spends all this time miserable in a tree, only to find out something that Jon will find out anyways? Eh, I don’t see that happening.
Jon’s story is front and center now. They didn’t go through all that resurrection drama to have him wander around with Sansa and the Wildlings just to go after Ramsay Bolton. So let’s get a move on…Winter has arrived, time for the reveal! LOL.
On the other hand, I would love to see the tourney.
So I succumbed to temptation and checked the spoilers forum. Dammit , should never have done that. I feel like Bran now, trying to learn too much, too soon! ?
Apollo,
I felt to temptation and watched it….. I’m still crying.
Let’s just hope they don’t end TOJ as a cliffhanger so that we can have another year of ” was it jon oR someone else in the tower” speculations like we had last year ” is he dead or not dead”..
Let’s just have the reveal and move on .
Green Chili,
Love it 🙂
The other problem is that in the cinematic medium, “major moments” and “let X breathe” are pretty much contradictory. One of the criticisms of Jon’s return has been (to rephrase) that because it was given so much time to breathe, it felt anti-climactic.
Pacing is always key in storytelling: and on stage or screen, brisk pacing appeals to multiple viewers for every one viewer that wants it to be slower. That written, there is probably a “fan” vs. “viewer” dichotomy here. The first couple of Harry Potter films got heavily criticized by both critics and viewers for the turgid pacing. (This was not trivial, either: it resulted in the franchise losing over 20% of the viewers for good.) However, Harry Potter fans liked the pacing on those films and then complained about the subsequent films being rushed: i.e., the films that got good reviews AND that got big chunks of the audience to come back!
Similarly, Tolkien fans howled that the Lord of the Rings films were “rushed.” Critics and general viewers marveled that the brisk pacing made it so that they did not feel that 3 hours had elapsed. And, of course, those films got tons of nominations from every major award-giving group, great critical reviews, and the audience actually increased after both of the first two films. Moreover, 15 years later, those are remembered as great films, whereas the Harry Potter films have become afterthoughts in large part because of the amount of “breathing” that the first two movies did.
Joe and Jane Public are using the same criteria to judge films and shows derived from books as they are using to judge all other films and shows. (After all, these are very similar to the criteria by which they are judged in their professional lives for the most part!) Other films and TV shows get panned for slow pacing (= breathing), extraneous dialog, unfired Chekhovian Guns and Deus ex Machina plotting. As such, giving “big moments” more “breathing time” would simply undercut those big moments to this audience.
No. Margaery adheres to the morality of the nobility, and that means not doing anything to hurt your family’s fortunes. Unless she becomes totally broken (and the last episode indicates that she is a long way from that), she will do the honorable thing and do whatever is needed to: 1) maintain the Tyrell name & standing; and, 2) not capitulate to the religious fanatics.
In a major way, what we are seeing here is a clash of two contradictory morality systems. The religious morality system puts absolute rights and wrongs on their rules; the nobility’s morality system (i.e., “honor”) puts absolute rights and wrongs on their rules: and in some cases, you can follow one system or the other, but not both.
My bet is that the High Sparrow is going to pay a major price for relying on a morality system where he is looking for support from a fantasy whereas his rivalries will be looking to support from a reality. (Actually, a lot of realities: all of them sharp, pointy and in the hands of trained soldiers.)
My guess is this Bran flashback in Winterfell will be young Ned burying Lyanna in her crypt. Possibly alluding to the fact that there is something important buried in there with her. Bran will have to return to the ToJ to finish connecting all the dots in episode 10.
Just watched the leaked episode 5. Not gonna spoil anything but I will say it’s easily the best episode of the season. Easily… Gonna create so much discussion. This is the one to break the Internet. Near flawless.
Sorry, I’m not going to root for anyone who pursues power by slut shaming, whatever his stated intentions. «HS hasn’t really caused any pain to anybody who doesn’t deserve it in their world» – that sounds a bit risqué, to put it mildly. Are you assuming that it is totally OK to emasculate homosexuals in Westeros? I wouldn’t think so (I stand by Lady Olenna’s statement that «a discrete amount of buggery» is going to be tolerated, as long as it is discreet). Besides, it has become apparent since the ‘union between Crown and Faith’ that overthrowing the powers-that-be was never really part of the HS’s political agenda.
Far leftist GoT watchers such as myself will have to pick their fave between Brother Ray, may he rest in peace, and Mommy Burns-Them-All.