Showrunners D.B Weiss and David Benioff, “Battle of the Bastards” director, Miguel Sapochnik, and Kit Harington build hype for the titular fight for Winterfell taking place next episode.
Episode director, Miguel Sapochnik, and David Benioff and D.B Weiss spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the much-anticipated confrontation between Ramsay Bolton and Jon Snow.
Sapochnik discussed the uniqueness of each battle in Game of Thrones and said that the Battle of the Bastards (referred to during production as BOB) takes place on a greater scale than anything the show has done yet. Indeed, the battle was a huge undertaking that took 25 days to film and required 500 extras, 600 crew members and 70 horses.
“David and Dan wanted to do a thing of spectacle, a strategic pitchfield battle they hadn’t had the resources to do back in season 1 or 2,” Sapochnik said. “I was particularly interested in depicting both the horror of war and the role of luck in battle.”
David Benioff said that it was Sapochnik’s brilliant work on “Hardhome” that inspired them to bring him back for another huge battle “this time with horses.” He praised Sapochnik’s direction of BOB, adding that, “Some of the shots he’s pulled off are some of the best on the show.”
D.B Weiss concurred: “Miguel’s really outdone himself. Fully fleshed out medieval battles require a tremendous amount of resources and choreography to get them right. It feels like we’re doing something fresh that you don’t see on TV and movies very often.”
Kit Harington appeared on The Morning and chatted about the struggle to keep Jon’s resurrection a secret, the story behind the Starks’ northern accents and, of course, Bastard Bowl (which he clarified was not a spoiler). “It’s pretty huge,” he said. “It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever filmed for Thrones. And each year I say that ’cause each year Thrones has to get bigger.”
Where is ghost?
They’ve never gone on such a publicity assault before an episode before, have they? This better be EPIC.
HODOR
Miles,
Fingers crossed stalking Ramsay? (oh please please please please please)
Well, this should be entertaining! I think that we should have a good idea who the Rohirrirm are: and much like Lord of the Rings, the audience might be hoping to see them make it on time. However, if the action is attention-grabbing enough (as the assault of Minas Tirith was), then even those of us expecting the cavalry will be caught off guard when they arrive.
Still, there will be nothing approaching Theoden’s St. Crispin’s Day speech. Henry’s is a distant second to that! 😀
If Mereen and the Battle of Mereen is also in this episode – even though they’re not talking about it – I think that’s another reason for the insane hyping
I am sure Miguel will be deliver again with the episode being the best hour on television ever..
Most of hardhome credits must be given to Miguel as well as we see he came up with most of the shots himself ..
Speaking about battles on horses. .correct me if iam wrong I seem to remember they did a fight scene with hundreds of dothraki which took a week or more of filming on Ireland .
Was that part of the next episode or will it be part of last episode
Marry me kit
Dee Stark,
Sorry, but you’ll have to fight me first!!! :p
This makes me anxious!! It sucks that i wont be able to watch it when it airs! Oh well.
They are really underselling the Battle of Mereen. I hope they didn’t cut too many corners with that.
Kind of OT, but have we seen any of these characters from this casting call yet?
Submissive Maester: The show’s casting a maester in his twenties- a timid young maester. He’s decent but has trouble standing up to others. He appears in one episode in season 6. (I’m almost certain this is the Bolton maester we saw in episodes 1 and 2)
Green Recruit: A young man with one line and one day of filming in August.
Sympathiser 1, 2 & 3: These are rough military types, with a day of filming. (Could be the some of the guys at the Kingsmoot)
Housemaid: She’s the motherly nanny (with a tight whip) to a large household.
The show wants an actress between the ages of 45-65 with a Northern English Accent. She’ll be in 2 episodes.
Father: He’s tough and old, an alpha male patriarch. The show is looking for a man with a Northern English Accent. He appears in one episode and has 2 lines.
Seems like this episode will be the follow up to the Masters attack and the Harpy ground attack/Dothraki charging will be in the finale. The Harpy attack in the trailer was in daylight and this Masters attack is at night.
Dee Stark,
A dornish Tyrell,
You both have to fight Rose Leslie first.
Not that I can remember. I love it!
I love that Kit is so relaxed now in his interviews. In the months leading up to S6, he looked a bit nervous in some interviews. Probably worried he would accidentally slip up or some interviewer would trip him up with a “gotcha” moment.
I also love how the Starks’ Northern accent came to be:
“Sean can you do an RP accent?”
“No”
“Right, you’re all doing Northern.” Heh!
One of Roose Bolton’s 20 good leeches,
2. The Bolton maester was in two episodes, and was much older than a twentysomething (which is explicit in dialogue, since he knew Ramsay when he was a boy), so he doesn’t fit. I don’t think we’ve seen that role.
3. Probably the Night’s Watch dude who asks Edd whether they should close the gate in 605.
4. No idea.
5. That’s the younger Old Nan.
6. Lord Rickard Stark, from Bran’s flashback.
Jack Bauer 24,
I hope that’s because they are trying to keep audience surprised …since most of the stuff from filming about BOB leaked and spoiled. .
I am always excited and looking forward to the next episode but have not considered myself the hyped type – but I am so pumped for BoB I’m starting to twitch.
I’ve enjoyed the story based and slower pace of the past two episodes and would even have liked a little more detail in the story lines. For me a break for character & story development makes the big scenes even more enjoyable.
I hope we get a peek in ep10 at what my boy Varys is up to but I’m guessing that was his exit from this season. Sigh.
I received my issue of EW today and there’s a line in the magazine that’s not in the article linked above.
On the one hand I don’t find that too surprising because in all the promos & pictures we’ve seen of Ramsay at BotB, he’s always sitting on his horse, smirking. But on the other hand I do find it surprising because he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty in the battle with Stannis.
Dear Game of Thrones: Please surprise me. Do something amazingly unpredictable. Dooooooooooooo it!!!!
Well, looks like there’s going to be a Game 7 of the NBA finals Sunday night so THRONES will be a little ratings challenged on the overnights, anyway.
Miles,
IN castle Black
A dornish Tyrell,
Hahahaha!
dragonbringer,
I’ll kick her butt. I’m not a kick boxer for no reason
Kidding. She’s nice haha
Ravyn,
Ugh. I was so curious to see how many people would watch the first airing of the episode . (The number we look at on Tuesday’s )
You don’t think we’ll see Varys again this season? No Dorne in the finale?
BunBunStark,
The team really seems to be focused on portraying battle. I am excited about that but am hopeful the pieces are set first. By that I mean does Jon try a stealth attack first or just go with a declaration? Ramsay has been MIA so a little battle prep on both sides would be welcome by me. Jon is at Stannis’ old camp so do we assume Ramsay is aware of Jon’s location?
Dee Stark,
She’s absolutely stunning. They make a gorgeous couple. 🙂
Can’t remember myself ever being so worried about a fictional battle before. I’m not ready to be devastated. The Starks better win this!
I would think so. If he was able to locate Stannis he should’ve been able to locate Jon’s camp with its 2 thousand wildlings and its Giant.
I think the reason Ramsay hasn’t tried his ’20 good men’ move on Jon’s camp is because he wants to see Jon face to face. I figure Ramsay is feeling pretty confident in the outcome of BOB and if he were to sneak attack Camp Stark, he’d miss out on his chance to get the measure of the man he’s hated/envied/wanted to kill since S4. Unlike the battle with Stannis, this battle is personal for Ramsay.
Ravyn,
Yep. I dont care about the Finals, but I was folowing the score, rooting for the Warriors to win so that we’d have a night with America solely focused on GOT.
That hope quickly faded.
Dee Stark,
You know she actually comes from a royal house and grew up in a castle .,opposite of ygritte.
Ravyn,
I don’t think that Game 7 will hurt the live ratings too much. There’s definitely some audience overlap, but GoT has posted strong numbers against the previous two Finals games that aired on Sunday (7.80 million and 7.60 million, respectively). Granted, Game 7 of what’s become a highly competitive series featuring two the NBA’s biggest stars is a different story. It will probably prevent the show from reaching a new series high, at least. That will likely have to wait until the finale.
I’ll be changing the channel to Game 7 the moment that the episode is over. But there’s no chance in Seven Hells I’m missing out on watching “Battle of the Bastards” live.
Jack Bauer 24,
I wonder how much can be packed into ep 10 since 9 is, it seems, all battle(s). We still have ToJ resolution (right!?), Bran & Co, Cersei & Sparrow shenanagins, Frey commupance (?). I would love to see what he is up to but how much can they cram in the last episode? Although it wouldn’t have to be but a glimpse, perhaps of his arrival.
I don’t know, As much as I love that character I don’t see that being as important as all the other threads that need tying.
My first thought about this one was the actress cast to play the younger Nan.
Dorne, the Hound, Euron, and Sam all need conclusions as well. E10 is going to be packed to the gills. The meat of E10 will be Bran, the King’s Landing disaster, Dany’s launch, Arya’s revenge, and followup around Winterfell, but there are just so many smaller plot lines to wrap up. And perhaps an unexpect twist on top of all that?
I expect the Hound winds up in Winterfell, Dorne attacks King’s Landing, adding to the chaos, and Euron attacks OldTown (where Sam will be). But we will see.
VisceralVarys,
Kit didn’t seem too concerned about his character in that video, when asked about warmer weather.
Time magazine with an interesting theory/take on Varys today.
http://time.com/4371393/game-of-thrones-varys-mission-daenerys/
I’m sooooo NOT a basketball fan so it’s definitely Game of Thrones and BOB (lol – loved how they referred to it on the set.) for me.
Chad Brick,
Dorne attacks KL? I think Cersei attacks KL.
Maybe a Mormount looking for a cure shows up at the Citadel before Old Town in sacked?
Do we know what Jorah did to disgrace his House and get sent away?
Dorne was concluded in the first episode: that was tying up the loose ends from last year. Euron is a tertiary character: Yara & Theon need conclusions, but he doesn’t.
Sam needs something, and the Hound might: but his meeting up with the brotherhood could suffice for that, unless they go north.
He was caught selling poachers into slavery. He fled rather than face Ned Stark’s punishment.
Slightly ironic, eh?
Great, thanks!
I had called BS on his reason for leaving during the show & thought his timing was, erm, impeccable.
But if he wishes to avoid candidates who are intwined one way or another with the Red God he might have to go far north & check out the Night King. Only option left. Well, there is still Tommen…for another week or two…
But I love Varys so much I’d root for Night King if I had too :p
Boston Snow,
If I remember he was selling slaves. Which is illegal in westeros
I think Jorah has redeemed his slaver past by becoming hand to the greatest abolitionist in that world. I wonder if the remaining Starks and his cousin would accept him back.
Adam,
If Jorah is Hand to the Queen, then he no longer is under the Warden of the North’s Jurisdiction. My bet is that this will never be an issue, however.
Chad Brick,
Dorne if only Varys is involved but since Daeny has arrived, just, in Mereen and hers was the only other possible involvement in Dorne as she pushed west – I think any other storyline with Ellaria & SS does not need a wrap up this season. And thankfully so, I can’t stand the Sand Snakes.
Euron, I don’t know enough of his story from the books to really understand his importance and from a show watcher perspective he seems at this point a throw away. Although I think he and Daario have a little something going on but here again, I feel that could be pushed.
It would be nice to see Sam reach the Citadell and I agree it would be a loose end not to have a scene to touch base.
The Hound we know is heading north with BwB and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was his exit from the season. But you never know. Westerosy Underground has some wicked supersonic speed so Arya & the Hound might well meet up and crash Frey’s celebration party – and who wouldn’t love that. I hope Chicken Frey Pie is on the menu.
But yeah, as to the rest. Three hours wouldn’t be enough so 70 minutes? Yikies.
Euron has not done anything in the books yet. He is a background character with maybe one or two spoken lines in Crows, and that is it. Euron was introduced much too late to be a major player in the series, so it is quite possible that he will be a “throw-away” in the Winter book, too.
As for the Dornish, what we saw is something that has become common in “serial” series such as Thrones: the first episode of Season X+1 wraps up some loose threads from the prior season. It was weird when shows first started doing it because they often brought back actors for just a single episode, and then killed them off or otherwise dispatched them. But it is the norm now.
As for Sam, the question is: where is he going? He cannot go to the Citadel with Heartsbane. My bet is that he’s going to return north. However, that’s a wager with only a little money on the table!
And as for the speed, well, it came up again last episode: Edmure spent years in the Freys dungeons. Every time they bring up time, they make it clear that approximately a year elapses every season. And that means that a lot of time elapses over and between episodes.
Wimsey,
Euron did seem to be introduced purely as a reason For Yara & Theon to leave home and join Daeny. From a show perspective. Although why then the “build me 1000 ships”? Is there then more for him to do? Surely Yara will warn Daeny not to join with him – anyway, definitely next season content if there is more.
I have no clue about Sam. I thought his education would be vital but is there enough time before the true war for that to happen? So how does he reinsert himself up north? No idea over here, none.
I was tongue firmly planted in cheek about the time travel. I have no problem with the passage of time and understand that events shown concurrently are not necessarily happening at the same time. 😉
Wimsey,
I totally forgot about Jorah and I love Jorah! A result from all the different storylines this year.
There is a brilliant new interview of Liam Cunningham with THR where he is discussing BOB,his character’s arc’s evolution & Kit’s growth as an actor on the show 🙂
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/game-thrones-battle-bastards-spoilers-903649
I am getting a bit worried for Davos now. He is not a warrior,so it would be total waste if he goes down fighting. They need him to move the story forward. Most importantly Westeros needs this wise silver tongued (& haired) negotiator to actually have a shot at surviving the real war.
A dornish Tyrell,
Dee Stark,
I wish you ladies good fortune in the wars to come but I got this one 🙂 *puts on boxing gloves*
BunBunStark,
Thanks for sharing that!
It makes perfect sense to me. In the Stannis slaughter his scene was wandering around at the end, getting off his horse to stab people who were already dying. He’s a cheater. He likes to sneak into camps and set fires, play mind games and get people tied up and hobbled first. He likes to make sure he’ll win before he plays.
…Okay my husband just reminded me of the dog kennel scene where he’s fighting heavily armed Ironborn in his pajamas and doesn’t get a scratch on him…I blocked that out. That’s the only melee situation we’ve ever seen him in though-so I’m mostly right.
He’s beyond twisted and I’m really looking forward to him being poisoned by his enemies.
One of Roose Bolton’s 20 good leeches,
Housemaide must be Old Nan from Bran’s visions.
One of Davos or Tormund will be alive. Jon need some trusted advisor and no he was just resurrected. He could die at the end but not against Boltons. Davos is not skilled fighter so Tormund’s chances might a bit better. I would like to know where is Ghost?
Putting aside slight concerns about the lead-in drama
Really quite looking forward to this, as a big fan of Total War games it will be like merging Medieval Total War with Game of Thrones lol
What will be intriguing and fascinating for me is to see as to whether the whole thing isn’t just violence and battle, it is obviously set to tell a story, and several stories within the story,
As for shots, that one of Jon facing the Horses already looks great, and the portraits look majestic. In terms of the Trailer, I already love the taunting phalanx shot and the vibe you get from it
Eg in the earlier seasons, they just had Stark or Lannister armies etc to make it simple and we never really saw the different bannermen banners, but this is great, eg different banner is a story, why are they there on that particular side,
Eg, Karstarks and Umbers, Mormonts etc but of course Mel and Davos and it would have been good to even have Brienne and Blackfish there as the whole thing makes for some weird bedfellows
I would so much rather they spend more time on the writing process or on the smaller moments than 5000 days on these big battles. It felt like they had to cut corners in other parts of this season just to make this happen. Coming from someone who wasn’t the biggest fan of the previous battle episodes.
That said, I did watch the previews this week and the battle looks cool. Have no idea what’s going to happen or what to expect, though I think it’s almost inevitable at this point that Ramsey is going to die. Hopefully there will be a little more suspense / twists and turns in the process unlike some of the rest of the season.
Yeah there’s going to be some heart-wrenching deaths
I think Tormund will survive, with TV you need a recognisable face for a faction, a face to talk to when discussing that faction eg Tormund was chosen as this face for the Wildlings over Mance
I am worried for Davos though, finding out about Shireen could be his closure and he was always tied to Stannis
This could also be related to Mels arc, eg she was tied to Stannis, has been dejected all season but
eg it’s the equivalent of Bran leaving behind Jojen to see 3-eyed-Raven, now he left behind Hodor etc and ran into Benjen
Ghost will probably make some cameo appearances ala battle for the Wall
CGI is expensive though and much of it seems to be spent on Dragons and Wun Wun
VisceralVarys,
The lack of Euron thus far makes me think he won’t just be a throwaway (at least I hope). He’s gotten too little screen time to be a baddie with any weight and to kill him off so quickly would really be meh. It would be really rushed. Of course they’ve surprised me with some of their other poor decisions this season so I could wrong.
Pigeon,
Nice avatar! 😀
I’m so pumped for this battle! I think Kit does an amazing job with the sword fights on the show and I can’t wait to see more of that! Oh please let Ramsay die by Ghost’s fangs. Pleeeease?? With all his hound hunting it would be fitting. Is it Sunday yet?? (I say this every week I feel lol)
Wimsey,
You’re wrong. That would be an incredible foolish thing to do – “whoops sorry jk changed our mind on Dorne.”
I think that scene was setting up more impactful story lines to come, and the long absence will make it a little like a surprise.
This is really silly and not at all the point of GOT, but I hope to the heavens that there’s at least one Jon/Sansa moment before the battle. They’ve been kind of at each others’ throats the last few episodes, and before Jon rides off into battle I would hope they just give us the Starks together one time. After all, neither of them knows if Jon is going to make it – if he has a conversation with Mel, surely he can have one with Sansa that isn’t an argument.
RP accent?
Always figured the accents related to geography of Westeros and geography of England to sell it, eg Tywin has a southern accent and Ned a Northern accent to distinguish Westeros North and South etc, Oberyn with Spanish/Latin accent and so forth
Have seen Sean Bean change his accent in an episode of Sharpe, where all of a sudden when talking to some Spanish irregulars he pretends to be a Major Vaughn and changes how he speaks etc
BunBunStark,
Does anyone except for Kit even do the Northern accent though?
What if LSH appears on the battlefeild riding a Skagoosi unicorn weilding Ned Stark`s skull on a chain for a weapon and saves the day?
THAT would be better than Littlefinger saving the day.
But nooo we have the biggest backstabbing creep of the show being the saviour of our favorite family that cant catch a break.
Damn you D&D!
They are laughing at us! They are laughing i can hear them in my sleep!
Hoyti Von Totiy,
”His joy will turn to ashes in his mouth”
Ghosts Lunch,
Which Towal War game do you like the best? I prefer Medieval 2 Total War it’s classic but Shogun wasn’t bad. Napoleon era too.
I heard that Davos will have conversation with Mel over Shireen and it makes sense. He was standing in the trailer over the pyre and he needs to talk with her. Tormund is the face of Wildlings but how much of them will they need going forward. Jon got Northerners and wildlings have been slowly reduced. Only old women and children could survive + few hundred men. Davos is not that proven on battlefield and Boltons are fierce fighters. I would like to know or see Ghost at least before battle with Jon and for example to guard Mel, Sansa or Lyanna Mormont. Direwolves is the symbol of House Stark and they’re fighting over North, Winterfell and Stark.
I understand that dragons are important but they put direwolves aside. Summer, Shaggydog. Ghost who knows where he is because since resurrection he is somewhere else and Nymeria don’t know because direwolves are costly CGI and imagine whole pack. D&D might prefer money to spend on other things.
Wimsey,
My theory Wimsey, has book-stuff so I’ll put it under spoiler tags.
LOL, that’s what it sounded like Kit said to my American ears.
Nowadays? No one but Kit. But Richard Madden used the same Northern accent, didn’t he? Again, American ears here. I read somewhere a while ago that the Stark girls tried to use the Northern accent but couldn’t get a handle on it so they stopped. Although, that may have been fan supposition. I love Sean Bean’s accent and I wish the other Stark kids could sound like him.
Nadia,
Robb’s actor did. The younger kids just gave up lmao.
BunBunStark,
American here too, but it never REALLY sounded to me like Robb/Richard did it?? He sounded like Richard to me….
The girls were just little kids when this started so it makes sense.
The more I hear about this episode and the battle, the less I want to deal with the one in Meereen. Why are they keeping that one so hidden?
I hope they do Jon’s character justice and we get some proper development there.
Nadia,
Robb really had a accent, can’t really say what as I’m not even a native English speaker, but it sounded Scottish or something stereotypical ”Northern”…
They even put subtitles when he narrated his History and Lore stuff.
Flayed Potatoes,
They were very young actors, it must have been difficult and sound bad on camera.
Afterwards it would have been weird to see them speaking any differently, you can’t blame them.
Mihnea,
Oh yeah I don’t blame them. I just think it’s funny.
Flayed Potatoes,
I admit it is funny. And I would have loved to see most of them have some sort of accent like Ned had.
But alas not all actors can be of Sean Beans caliber…
Ghosts Lunch,
There’s a great story in one of the commentaries (I think “Two Swords”) about the accents. Benioff is talking about how they used to care about which characters had which accents so that it would be realistic – so, Jon and Robb have to have Northern accents like their dad, etc. But then Bryan Cogman pointed out to them that all four hobbits from LotR had very different accents despite living very near each other and no one really noticed or cared. So they stopped caring and let the actors choose their accents after that (I think it was brought up that Stannis’s accent doesn’t match the geography…tho I don’t know accents very well).
Also Davos, for some reason, uses a Northern accent in the show (it’s a Newcastle/Geordie accent, to be specific, vs. the Yorkshire-Northern accent used by Jon and Robb). It’s a bit weird, because Liam Cunningham is Irish.
Speaking of Northern accents, and circling back to the ‘missing casting calls’ mentioned above, whatever happened to this one?
That’s the one thing I am worried about. That they don’t compromise on his character, they really need to finish strong with him, and not come off as foolish/naive, to make Ramsey seem even more dangerous. This I pray to the Old Gods and the New, Rhllor and all other Gods out there!
They must be keeping Meereen hidden because they want to surprise us with the meeting between Team Greyjoy and Team Dany, and also the 3 dragon action.
Regarding the accents, what accent did Ygritte have? It seemed different to me compared to the others. What’s funny is the dornish have their own accent, inspite of living in Westeros for the last thousands of years, but the Meereenese have the same accent as the Westerosi!
ghost of winterfell,
Ygritte has a variation of a Northern accent (which sounds nothing like Tormund’s accent lol). Sean Bean’s accent is Yorkshire (which explains why they hired an actor from Hull to play Ned in the ToJ scene). Roose is a Northerner, but the actor uses RP lol.
The accents are a bit of a mess:
http://gawker.com/what-is-going-on-with-the-accents-in-game-of-thrones-485816507
Oh, he really is easy on the eyes, isn’t he?
Dee Stark,
I’d like to marry you!
Nadia,
Richard is from Scotland though, no? I imagine he could have jumped right in to that one pretty easily. It’s poor little Londoner Kit who got to run with an accent that SOOOO is not his–he does one that isn’t quite his for Faustus as well! His one for his play reminds me of Laurence Olivier ?
“We had 86 hours of footage when we finished,” Kristofer Hivju, who plays Tormund Giantsbane, told THR about shooting the episode. “Some of the things we did, it felt like it was impossible. When you look at the storyboards, and the plans … it shouldn’t have been possible to do. It’s extremely ambitious. I know everybody — [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] and the directors and producers — really put their heads together to do something that’s just unique.”
Stop the Hype please! I can’t take it anymore!!!
The way the battle looks to play out in the preview… I feel like Ghost wouldn’t last too long based purely on the fact he would be constantly surrounded by enemies and can’t really defend himself other than dodging. Point being – if he takes out a guy in the middle of this battle for a split second he’s complexity vulnerable.
I would love to see him on the outskirts, jumping in here, or there. Finishing off guys who are injured.
Or what would be really baller is if he happened to show up with Nymeria and few more wolves in tow.
Sad thing is, like most have pointed out, they’re more focused on using CGI for dragons and Wun Wun. But maybe this episode they say fuck it and go all out.
As far as Game 7 goes. Yes it’s Game 7 but there hasn’t been a close game all series honestly. By the time this episode ends, the 3rd quarter should be starting. (Is it a 7 or 8 tip? I’m central time). I don’t think it will hurt the ratings at all. People know by now what happens in EP9 of this series and if they look at any social media they are bound to get spoiled. NBA game you can just keep tracking the score. My 2 cents.
Joffery’s Cunt,
I want to know what he meeeans! What could it be that seemed impossible and is unique? Hype level can’t go any higher. This show is like a drug right now can’t wait till Sunday to get my fix 🙂
I expect something related with horse stunts, I’ts all they’ve been talking about really.
Same, we’re all drug addicts here.
Ryan,
The idea of an army of wolves would be awesome if totally unrealistic. Given the Stark sigil it would be fitting. To maybe have the final confrontation with Ramsey and you think his dogs are going to kill Sansa then Ghost et al rock up and all the dogs turn on Ramsey instead.
I love the idea of a Received Pronunciation Game of Thrones, its probably a great idea for a good voice over actor to take a few scenes and overdub them as that would be pretty funny.
I am thinking of a drinking game for BoB to drink every time someone says “bastard”!
The different accents never bothered me. I live in tiny Delaware. It takes about two hours to pass through from the north to the south and there is a big difference in accents once you make it south and speak to someone who’s family has lived here for generations.
Same for Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany, where I was born and raised. The accents vary depending on which part you are from. In the southwest region for example people speak with more of a Swiss German dialect.
That’s an interesting theory and one I hadn’t even considered.
Will,
He’s a little busy but a warging Bran controlling a pack of wolves would be cool!
Speaking of accents:
does anyone know that kind of accent is Littlefinger’s? Seriously, I am not a native speaker and I watch the show in english/no subtitles, and I can understand everyone pretty well, except Littlefinger who sometimes gives me a hard time…
And what is an RP accent????
I love it! 🙂 Iwan & Kit
http://kitharington.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=605&pid=21212#top_display_media
http://kitharington.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=605&pid=21213#top_display_media
This. Just this.
I’m not a big TV watcher, but I don’t know of any other show in history that has had this effect. I count my weeks by Sundays now.
Sou,
RP = Received Pronunciation
It’s the standard form of British English. Characters such as Tywin and Roose Bolton use it on the show.
Littlefinger’s accent is….interesting lol. It starts out as something resembling standard British English and becomes more Irish as the show progresses.
After reading about the stunts riders on 70 horses ( a huge number to work with) just the horse work alone would be “impossible” and “unique”…I say this as an owner all my life of horses. This episode is going to be over the top. I just know it will amaze so many people.
After E01, wasn’t it you who said that the Sand Snakes could get away with dual kinslaying because all of Dorne was HOT HOT HOT for vengeance? If they’ve just been sitting back sipping tea for the last few months, that’s another huge plot hole. Sipping tea until next year would be even worse. They shouldn’t need Varys to prompt them to act. Rather, his likely arrival and alliance should be a trigger for plans and assets already in place
.
And I can’t count how many times you’ve said that writers should introduce something until it is important to do so. Euron has done nothing Balon could not have, and the Hound has done nothing of importance to the story. There isn’t a reason to (re)introduce characters like these unless they are necessary for the story.
I think it is Qyburn being stabbed in the trailer. The little birds always being Varys’s would be an appropriate ending for him.
Chad Brick,
If not for for Euron Yara and Theon would not have known about Dany, would not have had to flee the II and would not come to Dany’s aid to defeat the masters. So there is that.
Flayed Potatoes,
Thanks!
maybe this is why I find it more and more difficult to understand him…
Boston Snow,
So he decides not knowing what’s dany got say on the topic ..kind of ridiculous don’t you think..
the show is not going for some twist all the time and particularly not now because they seem to be on a rush to finish the series …
I do believe this will be disproven in last episode …
But what annoys me most in this type of theory like varys will not like dany using dothraki to conquer westeros.is how they are forgetting he is the one who arranged the marriage with drogo hoping that dany will die which will make drogo invade with viserys leading ..
On the other hand iam thinking that varys is going to die soon…his scene with tyrion made me think this is going to be the last time they are going to see each other.
Lol at number of people of thinking that dany will punish tyrion or ordering her dragons to kill him only to have them disobey and tyrion ride them..
And another LOl at number of people who think that jon will die again and rise out of pyre…gosh it seems this one will never end.
Iam betting people will keep expecting Jon to wake from a funeral pyre even in the last episode of the series ..
Maybe Yara & Theon’s role is to get Dany to Westeros, and then when the WWs kick everyone’s ass and start taking over Westeros, Euron and his 1,000 ships will be used for the mass evacuation to Essos. Westerosi refugees.
Wimsey,
stannis’ speech before blackwater was the best, “come with me and take the city,” hahahahaha, the mannis is classic!!!!
but seriously, theoden’s speech was fantastic then he rides down the line clinking his sword off everyone elses swords/spears, simply amazing!
I always thought Littlefinger was faking his RP, like Baltar in Battlestar, to hide his humble roots, but it shows through now and then.
Ryan,
Ghost is used so sparingly, I doubt it impacts the budget that much.
Dragons and Wun Wun are also hardly the whole story. The Door had tons of CGI. The Riverrun scenes had a ton of CGI. So much of the show has CGI that using Ghost here and there shouldn’t be that big of a deal, time- or budget-wise.
VisceralVarys,
do you think Bran and Co will make it to Winterfell and use that Weirwood tree to look back at TOJ. Or is a massive Stark reunion too happy? I think a happy gathering prior to the big wars to come and the approaching winds would work well.
A flayed man none,
Well said.
Same exact thing here.
I probably won’t even watch much TV again until next April.
Chad Brick,
Sandor and the BwB are heading north. It’s quite possible that they will meet Brienne and Pod on their way and go to the BOB. As we still need some known characters for the X-crosses, Beric and Thoros (and 4 extras from the BwB) might be the candidates: they might be taken captives during an encounter with Ramsay’s forces and sacrifice themselves allowing Birenne, Pod, Sandor and other men to make it through to the BOB, where they might play some pivotal role (it would be fun if Ramsay is killed or captured by the Hound).
Otherwise, I don’t see much use of Beric and Thoros in the sense of the plot. Of cause, it would be fun to see Thoros and Mel discussing the plans on the Lord of Light and Beric and Jon may sharing their death and resurrection experiences but I don’t see that happening. Hence Beric and Thoros havo to go. What do you think?
dragonbringer,
Dany punishing Tyion by throwing him in with the dragons would be awesome if the dragons shot their fire at Tyrion, only to see that he doesn’t burn.
That would be another amazing cliffhanger.
My Predictions for episodes 9&10:
1. The Starks almost lose the Battle, but the Knights of the Vale save the day.
2. Yara and the Greyjoys win a sea battle against the Masters’ Ships. Once Yara sees Danny, she Falls in Lust with her…the Greyjoys plus the Masters’ Ships provide transportation for Danny and her cohorts to Westeros.
3. The Dragons and the Dothraki Hordes with wreck havoc on the remaining Sons of the Harpy.
4. Grey Worm and Missandei will stay over and rule in Meereen in Danny’s name along with part of the Unsullied and part of the Dothraki as enforcers.
5. Daario will die in episode 10, regardless of whether he’s the leader of the Sons of the Harpy or not.
6. Cersei will blow up the Sept of Baelor with Wildfire in episode 10. The High Sparrow and Margaery will die, amongst many others.
7. Tommen will die in episode 10, either in the fire, or as a suicide after Margaery dies, or killed accidentally by the Mountain.
8. Kevan Lannister and Pycelle will die in episode 10.
9. Olenna and Varys have a secret meeting with Ellaria in Dorne about Danny. That letter Olenna was writing while talking to Cersei? It was to Varys or Ellaria…
10. Ghost will kill Ramsey.
11. Davos will try to kill Mel after he figures out what happened to Shireen, but before he can do it, Mel shows him something in the flames that makes him reconsider.
12. Arya shows up in the Riverlands in episode 10, heads in the direction of the Twins; may or may not reconnect with the Hound and the Brotherhood before season’s end; the Brotherhood is on they way North, but they are going to make a stop at the Twins on the way (this may not be shown until next season)
13. After Jaime hears about what happened in King’s Landing, he’ll head to Casterly Rock (where Cersei takes refuge fleeing after what happened in episode 10) and kill Cersei (season 7)
14. Sansa tries to kill Littlefinger in the Winterfell Godswood, but Littlefinger “stays her hand” by promising to reveal “a little secret” about Jon…
15. Bran has the rest of the TOJ flashback in episode 10. He also has a “flashforward” about the White Walkers (“They have no idea what’s going to happen”)
16. Sam has an “Eureka” moment in the Citadel, this gets interrupted before we know what it is by an attack on Oldtown by Euron’s fleet (presumably looking for trees/wood for his “one thousand ships”; remember the list of the many trees available in the Oldtown-Highgarden area that Sam rattled off to Gilly in episode 6?)
17. Bran, Meera and Benjen make it to the Wall in episode 10; Bran’s Mark deactivate the Magic Wards in the Wall that have prevented the White Walkers from crossing it for thousands of years…
18. Wyman Manderly will deliver a show version of his book speech, just before either Jon or Sansa are proclaimed King or Queen in the North…
19. The last words of the season will be spoken by Mel, and will either be “Winter” or “The Winds of Winter.”
Inga,
Considering episode 10 is not the end of the show they may still have to play a role in things to come.
Sou,
Flayed Potatoes has already explained RP well. When I was younger it would be called “BBC English” (in the days when most BBC presenters had an “RP” accent – it doesn’t seem to be such a prerequisite now) or “The Queen’s English”. It’s true the Littlefinger actor’s native Irish accent seems to come through. Michelle Fairley and Michael McElhatton hid their Irish accents pretty well when they were in character. Richard Madden did a convincing standard English accent on the radio in the first series of “The Pillow Book” when he played the Japanese emperor (Benedict Cumberbatch was in that series as well).
I’m from Staffordshire which is in the English midlands and the accents change in my county. In the south of the county there is a tendency (though there are exceptions) for the accent to be a bit “How am you, our kid?” The middle and north of the county probably sound more like a northern English accent. As you go further north you are more likely to hear “buke” for book and “tuke” for took – that type of thing.
It’s a bit off topic, especially as I’m a person who never really “got into” Lord of the Rings – I tried to read it when I was in my 20s so I was probably a bit too old, but I learned recently that JRR Tolkein spent some time in Great Haywood in Staffordshire after the first world war – someone also said he had a connection with Penkridge in Staffordshire.
Great Predictions!
I think Jon will kill Ramsay( I hope!!) Battle? Winterfell? Sunday… 🙂
Valaquen,
I don’t think so. LF was fostered at Riverrun and was around a lot of nobility, even if he’s from a smaller house.
If I remember correctly, in an interview the actor said the way he normally talks is too modern and he tried to fix that on the show, but that doesn’t change how he sounds different each season lol.
Boston Snow,
Only at the expense of dany as a character..
Perhaps I’m in the minority here but I couldn’t care less about the battle of bastards and I can’t believe they are yet again giving Jon an entire episode. The outcome of this battle couldn’t be more obvious. Jon is in trouble with his far too small army – something Sansa kept saying repeatedly – until the Vale army comes in – an option Sansa kept hiding for no logical reason – and kills Ramsay. Rickon is propably killed because they need something “shocking” and he’s a useless Stark who seems to have been written in the story just to be sacrificed.
The North storyline started strong this season but it became a snoozefest the moment Sansa and Jon were reunited.
Aw, he’s so adorable, isn’t he? You may have to fall in line – very, very, very long line. 🙂 I love his new hair cut, by the way.
Agreed. But only with the part you say you are in the minority here 😉
they are hyping this up so much since the season started, I hope its not going to be disappoiting or too predictable. Probably Mereen stuff will turn out to be more surprising, but hope thats not the case
Why would Deanerys punish Tyrion? Maybe if the masters had accepted Tyrion’s terms, stopped attacking Mereen and restarted Slavery in their lands -then, yeah, Deanerys would be helpless to do anything about it. Instead they’ve tried to be too clever and started the war themselves.
If anything, Deanerys should reward Tyrion. Before, she was fighting against faceless enemies who were pulling strings from the shadows. Tyrion’s offer has effectively helped drawing out all the rats from their hiding.
Now begins the extermination…
Jack Bauer 24,
Can easily be daylight the next scene.
Ravyn,
screw that. Big NBA fan but start the show on time and when it is over should be about 8 minutes left in game 7. Boom! priorities. NBA Game 7 or potentially the best action episode of the best TV show ever? Whiny pro b-ball players with shitty refs or dudes and giants with swords, how will I ever decide
It’s probably why they’re not showing it in any preview or promo pics. Maybe we’re in for a surprise! I’m excited about the battle in the North but I’m also looking forward to the scenes in Meereen (especially Dany meeting the Greyjoys).
Jack Bauer 24,
I thought it was confirmed that there will be a Dorne scene?
then what else do you want, more of borefest Mereen? This is stuff has been boring most of the time.
That “fury” photo of Jon in the EW article… looks like his inner dire wolf will finally come out this episode. Hype just went from hyper to hypest!
Hodor Targaryen,
I noticed and cared! No offence to Scottish people [Richard Madden is Scottish and I love him] but I didn’t care for either Merry or Pippin in the film although they are my favourites in the book. Spoilt otherwise perfect casting.
VisceralVarys,
Well last episode is 69 minutes long, longest episode to date. Bran and Co will include ToJ. two northern scenes. I don’t think we will get any comeuppance for the freys. Just the Lannisters and Freys having a celebration for taking Riverrun. Arya on a ship seeing Westeros again. Maybe a quick Brotherhood scene, Dorne scene, and all the KL stuff. I don’t think we will get Euron, White Walkers, or Sam. Plenty of time to tie-up the season, leave a cliffhanger, and have awesome stuff in KL.
Boston Snow,
He sold slaves. Slavery is outlawed in Westeros. Ned Stark banished him.
Wimsey,
He fled or was he banished? I don’t think you need to lose a head for poachers (which is illegal) into slavery. But Ned prob would still cut the head off.
MakeThemBurn,
You are in the minority lol
Inga,
I thought they might use Beric instead of LSH. Unless Beric gives his life to somebody else to do it.
And I would like to add that Sean Bean lied! I’ve seen him do posh accents and he did a PR accent in LOTR.
Stargaryen,
I don’t think we will get any comeuppance for the freys. Just the Lannisters and Freys having a celebration for taking Riverrun.
This is the face of a man about to be killed.
Stargaryen,
He fled leaving longclaw at bear island ..
I think dany asks about this and viserys talks about this well with jorah and jeor mentions about jorah all back in season one
I just hope Ramsey doesn’t burn Rickon alive on the cross….
BranTheBlessed,
That’s a really good point. I wish that had been Tyrion’s plan (although he didn’t have the correct resources to do anything about it anyway, i.e. dragons or ships).
MakeThemBurn,
Don’t worry, you’ll get 20 episodes of the predictable snoozefest in Meereen where the Riders of Yara arrive to take on the slaver ships. Everyone wins!
Stargaryen,
Forgot the face:
So our possible Season 7 & 8 Teams:
Jon: Sansa; Bran; Meera, Little Finger, Brien, Pod
Dany: Tyrion, Yara, Theon, Varys, Daario
Wildcards: Arya, Hound… and Gendry of course lol
There is definitely some history between our character, Im looking forward to some interesting discussion between them, or about the other team. Ie Tyrion – the Starks are good, they have been as much a victim of circumstance. Theon – Starks raised me well i betrayed them, they are not your enemy. Sansa – Tyrion respected me and was pretty cool for a Lanaster oh plus he killed his dad. Varys – LF is a pric watch out for him he could manipulate the Starks. Tyrion to Daario – That Pod guy doesn’t have to pay for whores lol
I was born in Oakland and a Bay Area resident most of my life but there’s no way in hell I am missing BOB. Priorities people!
With regard to the accents. they should have asked Faye Marsay to speak in her native NE Yorkshire / Teeside accent as the Waif. That would have got the theories going on who she really was 😀
You can hear it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oOUQX0uamw
She says a little about GoT but it’s mostly about another more recent TV role.
Stargaryen,
I think there might be some revenge against the Freys in the finale. Especially if the Starks are back in Winterfell after the Battle of the Bastards. There’s no way they’d waste even a couple of minutes on another scene that solidifies the alliance between the Freys and the Lannisters without it having another purpose.
Dani,
I agree. This season I kept hearing the song, “Red Wedding, Red Wedding, lots of stabbing and a bit of beheading” because it was discussed so much 🙂 The Freys were everywhere-mentioning what they did multiple times, mentioning Cat and Robb multiple times. Even in the North they’ve been talking about it (Glover). I definitely think that party we see in the trailer will end badly for the Late Walder Frey.
Now I’m wondering what happens to the River lands after the Tullys and the Freys are basically gone. The Twins and Riverrun are two amazing structures with great defenses. But then again I have no idea who is currently living at Storm’s End either… If a Lannister still always pays his debts, Bronn will have some nice real estate options.
RG,
Realtor bowl: Bronn v LF
serum<
Yes, Theoden's speech was a wonderful speech, although I wouldn't categorize it as a Crispin's Day speech, unless that's simply being used as a general means of describing a "rallying the troops" speech. Aragon's speech at the Black Gates was closer to a Crispin's Day speech. As far as GoT, interestingly enough, the closest we've gotten to a Crispin's Day speech was Theon's speech to the Ironborn when Winterfell was being attacked (and he got knocked out at the end).
Laura,
You’re in the Bay Area??? Me, too! Isn’t it a trip to think back a few years (and for many, many years before that) and how the Warriors were pretty much a laughinstock of the NBA?
That picture of Jon facing the charging horses is all the hype I need, I officially GoT wood.
Anyway, if they’re going all out with this episode, there is no excuse for not having Ghost destroy some people.
George,
These are actually some fantastic and detailed predictions-and I agree with most of them.
But please not #14
I hate that he’s the one that gets to tell all the stories. Hound and Mountain, Tourney at Harrenhal… Plus how would he definitively know anything about Jon? Only Howland Reed and possibly Benjen know the truth.
Tycho Nestoris,
Ha! Exactly. Not too hype-worthy-just random thoughts about castles. I’m thinking of moving… 🙂
Wimsey,
My best guess is that Euron will intersect with Sam’s storyline and with Dany’s return to Westeros. Sam in that Oldtown is a likely target for the Ironborn on their way to follow Yara and Theon and Dany as there has to be some dramatic tension involving her return. Otherwise, she shows up with the dragons, they burn cities and armies, people surrender, and then you move to the next city. She would be most vulnerable at sea. The first scene with Balon and Euron seemed to indicate that there may be more to Euron than meets the eye. I know he is greatly toned down from the books. But there still could be some twist lurking beneath the surface. I do agree that he is there as a plot point to advance Sam’s and Dany’s arcs. But that’s just a guess.
MakeThemBurn,
You’re definately in the minority
Do people actually think bran is going to winterfell In episode 10 ?
Nadia,
My guess is that in the 69 minutes of Episode 10, there will be a short visit to Dorne, perhaps involving Varys, if that is his destination, I think Glenna is less likely there. Sometime of a twist to tie Ellaria and the Sand Snakes to the rest of the plot going forward. I mean there has to be something other than Myracella dying to come out of Dorne, right?
Newbietothegame,
The only “accent” that gave me pause was LFs, and that was more to try to figure out which accent it was going to be that episode.
Tycho Nestoris,
One to choke on his laughter.
I also in rematching the various episodes that in Home, Tommen said to Cersei you would have pulled down the Great Sept for me.
Flayed Potatoes,
Although I don’t care much about the Meereen storyline, I would think Yara and Theon should improve it enormously. Not to mention the interaction between such distinct characters should be interesting. Plus you get two really good actors together: Peter and Alfie.
Chad Brick,
Possible roles for the Hound – confirm LFs complicity in Ned’s death to Sansa et al. Reunite with Arya for more unknightly adventures, but something more with the BwB I think, if Thoros and Mel come together, assuming both survive, I wonder what role they will play in the war to come. If there a multiplication effect to having multiple red priests?
Nadia,
Looked like they have one in the preview. Maybe not a moment but they are talking.
HunterMac87,
You’re assuming there will be 2 teams, and that all of those people listed will be alive.
I think there will be 1 huge team of survivors, who then take on the ww.
Mihnea,
Newbietothegame,
Lower, slower Delaware it is. Spent many a summer there.
Stargaryen,
i spotted something on the preview released sunday night, maybe im wrong but is that an arryn flag?
http://imgur.com/KqQSjd8
i’ve looked the pictures on the previous post and all the stark banners seemed to be blue on the end, this one on the other hand is white on the end and the animal looks a lot like a falcon (or is supose to be an eagle?) rather than a direwolf, i dont think jon’s army is carrying flags other than stark flags right?
i didnt mark this as a spoiler because is not, is on the preview for episode 9 🙂
P.D: sorry for bad english, im not very fluent in it.
LOL, that’s mean.
As a Jon fan, a Stark fan, and a North fan, I can not possibly get anymore hyped for BOB. I’ve been eagerly anticipating this episode since last October when we first got word of a big battle being filmed in Saintfield. This entire week with all the promos and hype has been catnip for me, but I can understand the fans who don’t like Jon & Co and aren’t looking forward to almost an entire episode dedicated to them.
I do think this season has been pretty fair in giving each of the supporting characters their own episodes and time to shine. It’s just that Jon and Dany are, as Wimsey likes to say, protagonists 1A and A1, and they are going to get the bulk of the screentime and the big epic moments.
He did?? Ned Stark sounded exactly like Boromir to me. I’ve never heard Sean Bean affect any accent but his Northern.
I really want Ghost to be there. In the books, it was said Grey Wind went into battle with Robb and took down both men and horses. I was disappointed we didn’t see that in the show, so I’d love it if the bigger budget now allows Ghost to join in on the fighting. But I’m also very afraid for his survival in such a situation since they’ve been killing off the direwolves at an alarming rate. I will feel cheated, though, if we don’t get to see him on Sunday.
I think that’s House Mazin’s banner. In 6×07 when Davos, Jon, and Sansa returned to Camp Stark there was a banner flying that looked like that. It had blue and white squares (or field, as Pod would call ’em) with gold circles.
Tycho Nestoris,
Noice
600 crew? Now that impressive.
Darkrobin,
Dany/GJs might just throw a few red priests/priestesses on the ships with them to bring along. Then they can either team up, or fight against, the LoL followers in Westeros.
Dani,
Well we will probably see Dany succeed, Jon/Sansa succeed, Arya back to Westeros or on a ship about to land. Awesome KL stuff. My point is everything I have mentioned is good. This was always going to be a redemption year for Starks, Lannisters and Dany. they were finally gonna take matters into their own hands.
I don’t think everythin can be good. Lannisters and Freys obviously having a celebration. How does an army or Brotherhood attack that many men or get in Riverrun? There are thousands of soldiers there. I am just thinking realistically. The answer this season has always been the most simple answer. I personally think it is just a scene for Jamie celebrating with Frey’s for retaking Riverrun. Maybe get a shot of Arya walking towards the castle. But is again stupid, because she is a girl gonna be surrounded by dirty soldiers who will take advantage of her. I am just trying to think what could possibly happen for the Frey’s to get their comeuppance?
RG,
But how will it end badly? There is no other army. The Lannisters have zero intention of performing another Red Wedding and the Frey’s love the Lannisters. The brotherhood wouldn’t be able to get inside Riverrun, and even if they do and do kill Walder, or Lothar, or BlackWalder there is no way they get out alive. Thousands of soldiers there. I just don’t see a realistic way for the Frey’s to get the Comeuppance they deserve. Killing a couple guys by the Brotherhood isn’t comeuppance. I want total destruction of their house.
Mihnea,
Ryan,
My thoughts about the NBA finals as well. The only compelling drama in that series is “will so-and-so be suspended?” Meanwhile the real series (GoT) will have a full hour of drama.
Stargaryen,
It looked like it was the same location as the red wedding? which was the twins.
the lannister army is still at riverrun. the only thing protecting the twins would be the usual security.
I’m surprised this is supposed to be their “biggest battle”, because HBO already revealed we’ll visit other locations, whereas Blackwater & Watchers on the Wall were the GOT version of a “bottle episode”.
My biggest problem with the accents on this show is Thoros of Myr. The other Essossi seem distinct, whereas Thoros is Westerosi/English as hell.
Stargaryen,
Maybe, the Freys will be destroyed by Roslin Frey-Tully? I mean, she could pour a big amount of poison into the wine or something after learning that Jamie threatened to kill her baby and her brothers were OK with that.
GRRM’s tale won’t boil down to good vs evil.
Bearded Onion,
It will.
Stargaryen,
A girl can change faces, or did we forget? A girl will poison everyone in the castle I think
I never thought of this til after listening to the podcast today… What if what Roose said to Ramsay about being treated like a mad dog comes to fruition this episode? I can see him toying with Rickon in front of eveyrone at the start of BOB and that helps convince houses on his side to turn mid fight.
I know I’m probably going to be disappointed, but I’d much rather see a condensed version of the Grand North Conspiracy than just LF and the Vale army pulling an Army of the Dead in the Return of the King.
Stargaryen,
A FM should be able to pose as a serving girl. A serving girl with access to food.
Alternatively, are Lord Walder’s sons content to wait for a man to die? In the books he is in his 90’s but David Bradley plays him as a younger man. If I was Lame Lother or Black Walder or one of his others sons I might see profit in a new Lord Frey. It seems that we’ve had a replacing of the old with the new, Boltons, Karstarks, Umbers … why not the Freys?
There is no reason Balon could not have learned of it and simply ordered Yara to go (and take her wimpy embarrassment of a brother with her). One scene, a few minutes.
Introducing Euron was costly, so there must be a payoff.
So I was going through the S6 casting compendium and found this description of a northern lord (emphasis mine)
I don’t think we have met this person yet… episode 9 shenanigans afoot?
Anguissette1979,
Yes, that’s the one I was asking about above. Very mysterious – it doesn’t feel like there’s time for a twist like this, before the battle starts?
It could be Glover, as there would be no need for introduction, just a quick 2-minute scene….but he’s not fat.
Maybe it’s in Episode 10, after the battle? Let’s say Ramsay escapes back to Winterfell despite losing, and locks himself inside. Manderly shows up and Ramsay is expecting him to save his bacon by attacking Jon. Instead, Manderly rides up and switches allegiances?
Anguissette1979,
I brought up that character, and another one I don’t believe we’ve seen, yet, on another thread, thinking this must be the episode we finally see them.
I agree, I would much rather have
Thanks, again, for all your hard work on that compendium. Even with the season almost over, it’s still coming in handy! 🙂
After being flamed and surviving would Tyrion be… naked and afraid? 😀
HunterMac87,
I think after the battle and Bran being close to and heading to (as Benjen intimated) the wall Jon & Sansa will get word and will meet Bran but not until next season. Too much to pack in two episodes already but something to look forward to.
My guess is we see ToJ in a flashback but Jon does not find out until he meets Bran. Jon discovering his past is going to be quite a scene in itself. But probably we’ll see ToJ as a cliffhanger of sorts although I’d love to get the whole knowledge & reveal before seasons end. Sigh.
What do you think?
Yes, please!
Very excited about length of finale – only wish all episodes were at least 60 minutes!
Yep. Which northern scenes do you think?
You may be right about the Freys and you’re affecting my hype. Agree it is too soon for Arya to reach north etc and I think she is tied into the Frey comeuppance.
Dorne with Varys and Olenna? Yes, please and thank you I will have seconds.
KL will be huge in finale!
We need some tidbit on Sam in ep 10. Some indication where he is heading with Heartsbane is it? Citadel or ?
I still think Brotherhood and Hound, Euron and possibly Arya are wrapped for the season.
MakeThemBurn,
I can’t believe they are yet again giving Jon an entire episode.
Huh? First of all, it won’t be just Jon/Northern story line and second of all this season so far he was a dead body the first 2 episodes and after coming back to life he wasn’t in a further 2 episodes either. He’s been in 4 with 2 of them being short scenes with just a few lines and not much happens. Jon has not had overload of screen time this season so…were you referring to the Watcher’s on the wall? Did you not like seeing that battle?
No. I think Bran and company are going north to beyond the curtain of energy at the top of Westeros. There he will pull the plug on the WWs energy source and terraforming equipment. The wights will fall down and start to decay; the WWs will dissolve to mist that blows away.
Three posters on another thread made the same point. A few of us want good writing and more of the story. Others want spectacle.
They are selling the magnitude of the effort to film a battle to try to erase the disappointment about poor writing in previous episodes.
Sold poachers into slavery.
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
I filled in some of the gaps on the Season 6 version in addition to starting the Season 7 one!