New spoilers for major Game of Thrones season 5 scene, Lhara returns, & a casting call for “flamboyant” villain

gameofthrones14_141Filming is underway in Split for Game of Thrones season 5, with the Croatian city representing various parts of Meereen, Braavos and more.

Two of our sources have provided us with information concerning different characters’ plot arcs, all taking place in Essos.

WARNING: As this post is spoiler-ridden, the important information is below the cut.

One of our sources has given us detailed information on one of Daenerys’ season 5 scenes.

The scene takes place on Dany’s terrace in Meereen, and involves her sentencing a slave to death (in Meereenese) before an audience of both masters and slaves. Daario performs the execution, after which chaos erupts. Both parties shout and clash, with only the Unsullied to protect Daenerys and escort her away from the conflict. The scene is apparently lengthy, and will take place in the fourth episode.

Here are some behind the scenes images of the shoot.

IMG_6058

script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js">

IMG_6054

IMG_6055

Another source has outlined a recent casting call for us.

The character in question is Luther, a powerful, big-bellied head slaver with a penchant for cruelty. Described as a charismatic, extremely dangerous man, he decides the fate of two characters who have been sold into slavery.

The actor will shoot for two weeks in Belfast and Croatia, with filming of his scenes beginning on September 19th.

LlaraSallaLastly, we have a surprising return for season 5. In season 4, a beautiful redhead named Lhara accompanied Salladhor Saan in the Braavos bathhouse, during Davos’ visit with the pirate. According to actress Sarine Sofair‘s CV, she will be appearing in season 5, and her Twitter does include recent mentions of Croatia as well.

Since Braavos is a city of courtesans as well as bankers and sailors, it makes sense they might want to include a familiar face in that area, with the show spending extensive time in Braavos this year.

Cian: Thanks to our reader Greenjones for the Sofair tip! Luther sounds like Yezzan in all but name… which is strange, since he has already been cast. Speaking of Yezzan, Enzo Cilenti begins his first day of shooting as the character today in Belfast.

109 Comments

  1. Nodor!

    All this sounds like they’re really super committing to the political plot in Meereen this year which is wonderful news. Add in King’s Landing doing what it’s doing, and the Wall too, and it’s going to be a great season.

  2. Luther sounds like Yezzan in all but name…

    That was my first thought as well, very odd!

    I wonder if show-Yezzen will be something more like The Shavepate or Grazdan Mo Eraz in character then? Maybe a hybrid role that can take on aspects of various masters and Graces? Even if true I’m not sure why they would swap names…..

  3. Yezzan was never described as particularly cruel was he? I recall Tyrion remarking he wasn’t that bad compared to others. Although it has been a while since I’ve read DWD so I could be wrong.

    Could this Luther then be the slave trader himself, casting them away to Yezzan

  4. Since Yezzan has already been cast, could Luther be Game of Thrones’ version of Nurse?

    I could see such a character serving as Yezzan’s overseer when Tyrion and Jorah are sold into his service.

    That scene with Daenerys sentencing the slave to death sounds like it will have echos of Robb Stark executing Rickard Karstark back in Season 3. A follower of a leader purporting to be just commits a serious crime, and said leader feels like they cannot let the crime go unpunished without compromising what they stand for. They have the perpetrator executed … and suffer from the backlash.

    Uh oh.

  5. On second thoughts, except for the big belly (but no mention of being incredibly overweight) and the fact that he is a powerful slaver, that doesn’t sound like Yezzan at all.

    Yezzan was neither charismatic nor particularly cruel and I don’t remember if he even had any dialogue in the book since he didn’t interact with most of his slaves directly.
  6. Is it wrong when I saw flamboyant villain there was a flicker of hope for Euron?

    Will see how it pans out but it’s yet another couple of made up characters.
    If this guy is there to give a face to the Sons of the Harpy then fair play but I honestly cared very little for what was going on in Mereen. If they can make it more interesting then fair play but I’d rather they not commit too much screen time to it when there’s more itneresting stuff going on in other places.

  7. Reading the word flamboyant in the title, I immediately thought of Reznak, but reading the further description … not Reznak. Luther doesn’t sound ghiscari, so there’s that. Not sure what to make of it, but I’m glad they’re giving Dany some real opposition this time. Her storyline needed it (badly) since … S2, I would say, not counting Kraznys. As much as I disliked Qarth, I thought Spice king was rather awesome.

  8. Is it wrong when I saw flamboyant villain there was a flicker of hope for Euron?

    I think it’s what most people would have thought on seeing that, to be honest.

    I understand characters being cut for time and pacing, and if that has to include some favourites, so be it. I wasn’t a great fan of the Belwas character, but many were, and I think they understood he was superfluous, as there was no way people wouldn’t recognise the actor playing Ser Barristan no matter how much of a beard he grew. I even understood Stoneheart not being included, although it was a disappointment, and leaves Brienne at a loose end.

    What I’m not quite understanding, and even with this happening GoT is still a fine show, is cutting these characters and replacing them with new ones who are utterly disinteresting, and for some reason usually prostitutes, male or female.

    So far we’ve got a few new prostitutes, a few prostitutes from the past returning, and Ramsay’s loopy girlfriend to replace the Greyjoy’s, Arianne, Quentyn, and the “Shy Maid” gang. If there wasn’t time for them, I don’t see how there’s time for these original characters, none of whom set the world on fire in their appearances.

  9. Fall_Of_Byzantium:
    What I’m not quite understanding, and even with this happening GoT is still a fine show, is cutting these characters and replacing them with new ones who are utterly disinteresting, and for some reason usually prostitutes, male or female.

    So far we’ve got a few new prostitutes, a few prostitutes from the past returning, and Ramsay’s loopy girlfriend to replace the Greyjoy’s, Arianne, Quentyn, and the “Shy Maid” gang. If there wasn’t time for them, I don’t see how there’s time for these original characters, none of whom set the world on fire in their appearances.

    You can’t compare background characters to people like the Greyjoys or Arianne, who have their own plots. The prostitute, for instance, is presumably going to show up in Arya’s storyline.

  10. Sean C.,

    You could have cut Ros completely and used her screen time to introduce Wyman Manderley for example, in Seasons 1 and 2. If he turns up, his change in character from “jolly fat man” to, well, what he turns into won’t have the same effect, as we’ve never met him before and can’t compare. Or the two young Frey’s (Myranda seems if anything a stand in for Big Walder). Take her out of Season 3 and have the time devoted to Balon’s attempt at breaking the record for the high-dive and introduce Euron. Or re-introduce Quaithe, and get the whole “prophecy” thing going.

    The only sensible reason I can think is that the characters cut are filler material in the books, which does spoil certain book plotlines. As I say, still a fine show, but I don’t quite get some of the decisions made.

  11. Fall_Of_Byzantium:

    What I’m not quite understanding, and even with this happening GoT is still a fine show, is cutting these characters and replacing them with new ones who are utterly disinteresting, and for some reason usually prostitutes, male or female.

    So far we’ve got a few new prostitutes, a few prostitutes from the past returning, and Ramsay’s loopy girlfriend to replace the Greyjoy’s, Arianne, Quentyn, and the “Shy Maid” gang. If there wasn’t time for them, I don’t see how there’s time for these original characters, none of whom set the world on fire in their appearances.

    The difference is that it’s not a one-to-one exchange. The characters that you mention aren’t necessarily being cut or delayed so that Game of Thrones can devote more screentime to its ‘new’/’invented’ characters. They’re being cut or delayed so that Game of Thrones can devote that screentime to previously established characters (from the books) like Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon, Arya, Cersei, Jaime, etc. Those characters can’t always interact with each other – they need supporting players to interact with, and those characters exist only to service the ‘main’ characters’ stories. A character like this ‘Luther’ most likely isn’t going to get more than a few seconds of screentime where he isn’t directly interacting with a member of the main cast, so he isn’t replacing anyone (other than maybe a minor character like Nurse). Myranda doesn’t exist because Benioff and Weiss are thinking “She’s so much more interesting than [insert character from the novels here]”. She exists to support Ramsay and Theon’s storyline. If she’s replacing anyone, she’s replacing the Bastard’s Boys – who are extremely minor characters in any sense of the word. And with apologies to the actress playing her, someone like Llara isn’t really a character. She’s basically a featured extra. She appeared in one short scene in Season 4, and if she gets significantly more screentime than that in Season 5, I’ll be surprised.

    As for a character like Ros … she’s effectively a compilation character. She took on the roles of several smaller characters (like Alayaya) who did play small but important role in the books – which was an economical way for the show to handle business rather than casting three or four separate actresses to do the same thing. She wound up getting enough screentime that she became a recognizable character, but that’s hardly a reason to resent her. I do not believe that cutting her completely and distributing her plot functions to extras would have given the show sufficient time to introduce Wyman Manderly, as you suggested.

    By contrast, characters like Arianne, Quentyn, Euron and Victarion exist in their own storylines in different locations from most of the main cast. To justify their place in the story, the show would need to give them precious screentime out of the ~550 minutes that Game of Thrones has to tell its story each year. If you include those characters, you aren’t taking screentime away from Myranda and Luther. You’re taking screentime away from Theon, Tyrion, Arya, etc.. That may be a tradeoff that you’re willing to make, but not all viewers (especially people who haven’t read the books) might be willing to make that sacrifice.

    Game of Thrones already has the largest cast of regular characters and recurring speaking roles any show on TV, and it’s not even remotely close. They can’t include everyone from the books. They simply can’t. A minor, purely supporting character like Myranda or Luther can fade into the background or die the second that they’re no longer relevant to the plot. Someone like Euron or Arianne can’t. They need screentime and resolution if viewers are going to care. The showrunners have to make hard choices, because if they try to jam too many new major characters who need screentime into the show at once, then it’s going to be very hard for them to do justice to their old characters and even harder to do justice to the new ones. And if they can’t service most of their characters sufficiently while also telling a fast-moving, compelling story … then no one is going to be happy.

  12. Fall_Of_Byzantium,

    That makes little sense. None of these featured extras, tertiary and secondary characters take any real time from the show that could be devoted to introducing new characters or storylines. No offense to those that portray these invented “characters” you speak of, but most of them aren’t more than background decoration. Even those that aren’t, like Ros, are just there to interact with more important characters so that they can have their backstory told (Littlefinger telling her his story) or appear as a face we know for events that are only heard from in the books (the killing of Robert’s bastards.)

    Now, please tell me: how exactly do you envision to include characters such as Euron or even Wymar in the precious seconds that these pseudo “characters” have only for themselves, the few minutes in total that they spend alone without any other main character or event around them? And I’m being charitable: except for Ros, none of the invented characters have any “alone time” for the development of their own character. So please, enlighten us.

    I’m constantly baffled by that argument. “Why are they casting this or that whore or whatever? They should cast Euron, Arianne or Wymar instead!”. There is no “instead”; they are not being REPLACED by random background characters, nor would any of these being cut allow for real characters such as Euron, Arianne or Wymar to be properly introduced and developed.

  13. LukaNieto,

    I already showed how it could be done easily simply by cutting Ros. And also said if Euron and Wyman are just filler, then it doesn’t matter. Did you read what I actually said?

  14. For the love of god, can we please put a moratorium on “they cast these characters but not Arianne, Greyjoys, Manderlys!!!!????”. It’s tiresome.

    One decision has absolutely no impact on the other. As has been patiently explained in every post where this is brought up, these minor (in many ways often insignificant) characters are there to interact with the established main characters for their already established storylines. They do not REPLACE characters that would require new blocks of time and scenes in order to introduce.

    And the reason you’re hearing a lot about casting for Braavos, Meereen and Dorne as opposed to the North and the Iron Islands is because that’s what they’re shooting now. We know that there are plans to do the Battle at Winterfell in November so once we get closer to that time, you’ll probably hear more about stuff going on there.

    We all understand your impatience with wanting to hear about other stuff. Probably not a worthwhile exercise to have it repeated as nauseum in every post that has nothing to do with that news.

  15. Ren Snow:
    A Ghiscari named Luther? Next we will have a Targaryen named Kirby?

    Yeah, that would be a little silly. 😉 Keep in mind, though, that Luther may not wind up being the character’s actual name in the show. It’s common practice for many TV shows to use fake names for characters on casting calls – even minor ones. We already know based on a previous casting call that Game of Thrones was looking to cast a young girl named ‘Imogen’, who, based on what we know, is almost certainly going to wind up being

    a young Cersei Lannister
  16. Fall_Of_Byzantium,

    So Theon was going to be whoring with Wyman Manderly? Manderly was going to be working for Littlefinger as a whore?

    Of course you could not cut Ros and replace her with Manderly. No more than any of these third tier roles could be cut and replaced with completely unrelated characters in in completely different arcs.

    It is simply not an “either/ or” scenario.
    They are completely unrelated to one another usually.

    Minor characters are needed to fill out scenes in important characters arcs. They are often times FAR MORE required than characters who have more important book roles. D&D can eliminate tangential sub-plots, and thus cut certain “more important” roles without changing the basic overall narrative, but the sub-plots and arcs kept will always need minor players to fill in scenes.

  17. Fall_Of_Byzantium,

    Yes. And I vehemently disagree. Ros was useful as a mirror into major characters (Theon, Littlefinger) and events (the killing of the bastards, the adversarial scheming between Littlefinger and Varys for the marriage of Sansa, etc). Why? Precisely because she was a nobody, a whore people would talk to and who would credibly be in many different places without muddling the plot. Wymar would need his own screentime and his own reasons to appear if he was to make an impact, and he wouldn’t be able to provide the function Ros provided. So, unless you wanted Theon and Littlefinger to soliloquize about their backstory as if they were in a play, a character like Ros was necessary.

    On the other hand, if you just wanted Wymar in the background, you should know it’s very rare for a show to cast someone as essentially a featured extra only to become a major character in the future. That’s the kind of thing you can do in a book, but in a real production with real actors it doesn’t work. Remember Beric Dondarrion in Season 1? An extra, recast for Season 3.

  18. Darquemode,

    Did you not read the bit where I said “cut her screen time”, not “cut her character”. I don’t see what she added that was needed. That Theon likes sex? That Littlefinger runs brothels? Already pretty established, surely?

  19. The books are filled with minor characters, or is the argument that the show has fabricated minor characters not from the book instead of adding “major” characters from the books that are not needed to be introduced in the telling of this adaptation whereas adding minor characters can assist with forwarding the plot?

    Seems a bit pointless to debate if you ask me.

    On a pointier note, I now have a boner.

  20. LukaNieto,

    For me casting characters (Beric Dondarrion, Roge, Biter etc.) because they were in the books at this point and then ending up replacing them with other actors when they were really needed was maybe the biggest mistake the show made in season 1. I’m glad they don’t do that anymore.

  21. Fall_Of_Byzantium,

    So, again, you are basically ignoring that most of the screentime with Ros was spent with a character telling them important information about their own characters’ backstory and motivations (Theon, Littlefinger) or as a narrative tool in a major plot (the killing of the bastards, Sansa’s marriage schemes.) That’s just disingenuous. I hope you reconsider your position.

    Abyss,

    Yes, they wised up.

  22. I bet the new character is Daario Bloodbeard, famous pirate and renowned for his stylish hair. If i can guess anything he will try and kill Theon and Yara. Then he will face off with Stannis at the wall, with his iron fleet.

  23. I’ve got the feeling that Meereen this season is going to take Kings Landing amount of screen time. With

    Tyrion

    there and with all the political intrigue it kind of makes sense.

    I also wonder if we will have a

    Meereen centric episode. Merging Dany’s wedding with the fighting Pit in the same episode could make a very powerful and entertaining hour of television. Btw I really hope they put Jorah in the fighting Pit with Tyrion, the actor has said many times that he loves shooting fighting scenes and he is quite good at them, it could add a lot of dramatic tension to that scene. It would be also nice because due to the show history most unsullied will think that either Tyrion or Jorah surely would die in that scene as Oberyn did.
  24. Cami,

    Yeah I hope J is involved in the fighting pit scene. Maybe his face is so badly beaten and swollen that D doesn’t recognize him?

  25. wizardeyes,

    Since Jorah is the bear in Tyrions made-up “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” show in ADwD, maybe they do something with that and put him in a bear costume and Dany doesn’t recognize him because of that…
  26. Abyss,

    wizardeyes,

    I think some kind of mask could do. They could even let

    Dany recognize him at some point but being unable to stop the fight for whatever reason.

    Don’t know, I really think that including him in that scene is someging D&D probably have seriously considered.

  27. People, calm down. I just landed the role of Arianne. I will be shooting tomorrow! Don’t worry, my nipples are dark brown.

  28. Cami,

    Yeah, they could totally pull a Gladiator, chain Jorah and Tyrion together at the wrists and throw them into the pits. That … would indeed be kinda awesome.

  29. Abyss:
    LukaNieto,

    For me casting characters (Beric Dondarrion, Roge, Biter etc.) because they were in the books at this point and then ending up replacing them with other actors when they were really needed was maybe the biggest mistake the show made in season 1. I’m glad they don’t do that anymore.

    You may be the only person around actually pining for the blink-and-you’ll-miss it glance we get at Rorge and Biter in the cage at the end of Season 1.

  30. Patchface,

    Really, anything written by GRRM should be printed exclusively in purple, a la his LiveJournal. I would rebuy all the books in new Purple-Text-on-Lighter-Purple-Background Edition.

  31. Jared,

    Thank you for that entire post -you and everyone else who made similar points.

    I too was going to beg people to stop making fruitless, apples-and-oranges comparisons between books and series, and between canon, original, and in-between characters but everything has been said on the subject, well done.

    *Edited just so I could groan at my own involuntary, dreadful pun: “fruitless, apples-and-oranges comparisons” indeed. Oh well, it’s in, it stays.

  32. Greatjon of Slumber,

    I’m not exactly pining. I just think it is a mistake to cast a character if he/she isn’t needed. Especially when he/she is only on screen for seconds and it results in a recast latter on. Wouldn’t you agree with that?

  33. Abyss,

    No, not really. The guy who played Beric ended up looking enough like Richard Dormer anyway. The others, you could barely see them (Jaqen was cleverly hidden behind a cloak). If they’re more or less just background, it doesn’t really bother me. They can’t anticipate everything. Recasting Daario is another story.

  34. Dolorous Ned,

    God, I had forgotten about that miserly old crone. She’s the absolute worst. And by worst, I mean best. 😉

    I think that there’s a good chance that they’ll keep her. She would be an easy way to add a nice dash of comedic levity to an otherwise tense and dramatic scene.

  35. Abyss,

    I agree. That moment at the end of Season 1, for example, when you see Rorge and Biter for the first time, didn’t really add anything to the episode and sort.of pulls me out of the experience on rewatch. Cast a character when they’re needed is a good rule. Nit sure I’d call these really brief moments the biggest mistakes though…

  36. If it’s “two” characters sold into slavery, could this be more confirmation that

    Penny has been cut? Otherwise, wouldn’t it be three characters?
  37. M,

    Yes. I think it’s pretty certain at this point that Penny has been cut. – Shame… I personally liked the dynamic between her and Tyrion.
  38. D&d are too worried about finishing it in seven seasons so they have to rush it. If they don’t wanna take the time to do the book justice the should pass the reins to somone else who isn’t in a hurry to finish, 7 seasons isn’t enough to tell the whole story, as much as I like the show they shouldn’t cut so many povs

  39. Nice to see them moving along and Season Five rake shape! I personally liked all the court stuff in Dany’s storyline!

  40. killacali,

    I’m not sure where you get the idea that D&D just “don’t wanna take the time to do the book(s) justice.” That makes it sound like they don’t care enough to be bothered. Perhaps that wasn’t what you meant, but if it was, I disagree.

  41. killacali,

    It’s all about contracts. Most of the main cast was signed on for 7 seasons. If HBO had to re-negotiate for 2 or 3 more seasons, with the biggest cast in TV history, the budget for the show would likely have to increase by tens of millions of dollars, and that is ignoring the likely increase in CGI too. And before you suggest a change in showrunners, you might want to check the success rate of shows that have done that, it’s not very good.

  42. GhostCR:
    Jared,
    Thank you!!!
    My poor command of the English language prevents me from such a well-written response, but I agree with you 100%.

    I just want to say to everyone here whose first language is not English, I don’t think I could ever post in another language even a quarter as well as all of you. You write better than many people who were born and raised speaking English!

  43. mariamb,

    She said she was attending it last night so who knows. Not a million miles from London to Belfast but I would have thought she’s be around Croatia if they’ve started filming Mereen scenes

  44. When I read “flamboyant villain that decides the fates of two slaves”, I didn’t think of Yezzan.. but more so

    the man who transports and sells Tyrion and Jorah TO Yezzan.

    I’m also REALLY looking forward to more Dany court stuff. I loved this stuff in the book and I’m sure the show will make them good, too.. So long as they don’t bring in more shit like Missandei and Greyworm love subplots. And it’s weird that Daario is staying behind. I guess it cements the fact that

    Euron won’t be appearing at all this season. Heh.
  45. Renly’s Peach,

    I don’t know if they’ll add “shit” like the Missandei / Grey Worm romance, but they will certainly keep developing that subplot so best get used to the idea. People flip out over the silliest things. Overall, what will be the difference? 10 minutes of screen-time dedicated to the whole deal when all is said and done?

    Anyway, I liked the idea. At least Daenerys will have PEOPLE at her side to interact with; actual characters. Jorah was a real character, but he’s gone. Barristan was a real character in season 1 but hasn’t done much since then; hopefully he’ll step up. But Missandei and Grey Worm? They’d be background decoration in Season 4 if not for that personal touch in episode 10, especially Missandei.

  46. BTW, i somehow missed the news about Yezzan’s role being already filled. Are they going to add 300 pounds of CGI fat on the actor or something? More likely, he’ll be changed to a healthy-weighing man.

  47. TheTouchOfFrost,

    They HAVE to make it more interesting or risk Dany’s story becoming completely irrelevant for two seasons in a row. In season 4 they went with a relatively accurate adaption of the book stuff, but it looks like in season 5 they’re doing their thing (judging by the lack of the Green Grace, the seeming lack of the Pale Mare and now this scene and the whole Yezzan/Luther confusion). In any case, colored me excited for Meereen- I will miss some cuts, but GRRM could have handeled that much better and so far it seems the show’s version will be more intense (albeit more simple too, without the Harpy and the poisoner intrigues, although those could very well appear in a streamlined fashion).

    We should hear things about Yunkai soon unless the show is cutting that whole thing out (presumably along with the battle) and making the Meereen climax an internal struggle (hopefully still lead by Barristan).

  48. Luka Nieto,

    I for one would be happy for them to stay as background material! Only Selmy can keep me interested in Mereen at the moment!

    jentario,

    I suppose they’re translating it faithfully in that Dany has been dull as ditchwater since the first book/season! I think they’ll save

    The Siege of Mereen for next season and hopefully have Barriston take a more prominent role (I wanna see him dispatching pit fighters as he arrests Hizdahr!) and leading the siege defence hopefully supported by Ironborn storming the beaches coming to his aid (I will not give up hope until it is certainly gone!) . Be surprised if this season didn’t end with Dany buggering off from the pit on Drogon.
  49. Fall_Of_Byzantium,

    The minor characters you mentioned don’t carry their own storylines and require very little screentime (most of them just one scene). The reason they’re there is to give actual main characters someone to bounce off of. And no, they aren’t mostly whores. Only two new whore characters are being cast and one of them doesn’t require nudity- there’s a long list of minor castings from peddlers to Dornish killers to Stalwart Shields.

    These characters require little setup or background and are definitely not screentime magnets (the only one so far that has decent screen time is Myranda). They don’t come instead of Euron and the Griffs, they come in spite of Euron and the Griffs. They’d be there no matter what, and them being included isn’t the reason why Arianne and Quentyn weren’t. That was a conscious decision made for reasons we can only speculate about until the show is done and D&D start answering more freely.

  50. Fall_Of_Byzantium,

    None of these characters is on the same level as Ros. The closest thing would be Myranda, really. And she has less screentime than Ros had in the first season alone (most of which is her bouncing off of Ramsay and Theon). We’ll see what they do with her in season 5, but I do think her days are numbered

  51. Cami,

    I’ve been hoping for that since it was obvious they cut Penny. Imagine Tyrion and Jorah vs a lion in the Pit! Then Drogon comes in and eats the lion. And does other stuff, of course.
  52. jentario,

    That’s exactly how I picture it. It is quite fanfic-y but I also like to imagine

    Dany completly freaking out with the realisation that is Jorah down there, the lion already out so there is nothing she can do and the watchers thinking there is no way Tyrion and Jorah will survive this, and then… Drogon saves the day, causing havoc all around until Dany flies away with him. Maybe it is too much, but I think that if they do that it will be one of the most memorable scenes ever and the emotional involvement for the watcher would be just incredible. It’d be such an unexpected contrast with all the other big moments from previous season (Ned beheading, Red Wedding, Oberyn vs The Mountain…) this would be the characters we love actually surviving against all odds and in the most epic way possible… for a change. One can only wish…
  53. Jared,

    Just adding my applause for your comment. Very well written.

    M:
    If it’s “two” characters sold into slavery, could this be more confirmation that

    I certainly hope so

  54. So now we’re assuming that not only Arianne, Quentyn, the Griffs and the Greyjoys will be cut, but now the Meereen plot will be simplified as well. In this vein, we could assume

    Cersei’s downfall

    comes from having sex with… Olyvar, from all people. You know, to simplify it more, despite sense-related issues.

    If all this speculation materializes, i’ll have to accompany the episodes exclusively with pizza and chicken wings, to match the feeling of “express delivery”. Come on now! Of all these supposed cuts and streamlined plots, something’s got to give and be actually done properly.

  55. Mine is the Furry: Is that a Twilight reference?

    Darkstar is Ser Gerold Dayne, from a cadet house of knightly rank of the Daynes of Starfall. He has become something of a joke among the readers of the books, based on his pretentious answers in the book and his perceived inability to get the job done. From the books:

    “Last, but first in Valor, I give you Ser Gerold Dayne, a knight of Starfall.”

    Ser Gerold went to one knee. The moonlight shone in his dark eyes as he studied the child coolly.

    “There was an Arthur Dayne,”

    Myrcella

    said. “He was a knight of the Kingsguard in the days of Mad King Aerys.”

    “He was the Sword of the Morning. He is dead.”

    “Are you the Sword of the Morning now?”

    “No. Men call me Darkstar, and I am of the night.”

    The nickname “Darkstar” and the “I am of the night” phrase have been ridiculed by book readers, Gerold Dayne being called all sorts of things from Dorkstar to Batman to various characters from StarWars…finally, the fan community agreed to always write his name in purple ink or alternatively, in rainbow colors. GRRM admitted being very surprised by the reaction of the fans since he really intended for Dorkstar to be some sort of menacing presence…

  56. Good ol’ Gerold… To be fair, his catchphrase was a fitting response: he was trying to distance himself as much as he could from his illustrious relative.

    Ultimate trolling by D&D to the readers: squeeze Darkstar into the show somehow, and make Unsullied love him.

  57. Fjordgazer,

    Or better yet, have Areo Hotah promptly dispatch Darkstar (instead of Arys Oakheart) just after he epically exclaims “I AM OF THE NIGHT!” in whatever equivalent there is in the show to Arianne’s Queenmaker plot. Oh, I’d love that!
  58. jentario,

    This is actually the first confirmation Jacob Anderson is back. If people could do this more often (especially in/around Belfast) we might actually know much more about new/returning cast members.

  59. Luka Nieto:
    Renly’s Peach,

    I don’t know if they’ll add “shit” like the Missandei / Grey Worm romance, but they will certainly keep developing that subplot so best get used to the idea. People flip out over the silliest things. Overall, what will be the difference? 10 minutes of screen-time dedicated to the whole deal when all is said and done?

    Anyway, I liked the idea. At least Daenerys will have PEOPLE at her side to interact with; actual characters. Jorah was a real character, but he’s gone. Barristan was a real character in season 1 but hasn’t done much since then; hopefully he’ll step up. But Missandei and Grey Worm? They’d be background decoration in Season 4 if not for that personal touch in episode 10, especially Missandei.

    Except show Missandei somehow has even less personality than her book counterpart. And shoving in awkward, unnecessary romance subplots is not exactly how “character” is introduced. So sorry.
    It was a terrible idea then and it’d be a terrible idea now.

  60. Renly’s Peach,

    I have to agree. I liked book Missandei because of the mature, intelligent and pragmatic advice she gave for her age. Her lack of charisma kind of gave her a character because she was so young. Made her unique. Show Missandei has no charisma and may as well just be Irri or Jhiqui (did she die in the show? Can remember her appearing but then she kind of made way for Doreah).

  61. Turncloak,

    They aren’t “going full Meereen” they are giving it enough thought to try and make it interesting rather than putting it on standby for another season (which would be terrible for Dany’s storyline and therefore terrible for the show).

  62. The customers also get good discount rates when they buy games CD online
    India. And the method is to use the – CSR Classics i – OS Cheat presented here.

    Comparing CSR Racing Cheats and far of what provides been composed of it can be like comparing CSR Racing
    Cheats and political feeling.

  63. Am I the only onepissed about NO

    penny. Or no cold hands and no stoneheart. Or no patch face…

    These characters were amazing ave have a lot of mystery surrounding them

Comments are closed.