Murlough Bay confirmed in the newest MGoT, and Jerome Flynn on season 5

HBO MurloughBay

In the latest Making Game of Thrones report, GoT writer Dave Hill checks in from a place that should sound familiar to WotW readers: Murlough Bay. In the final days of September this year, crews were spotted filming in the area of the Northern Irish bay that has served as a location for the show on multiple occasions over the past few years.

The entry is from Day 52 of filming, which lines up with the late September filming reported by locals.

From the blog:

Day 52: Today we film in beautiful Murlough Bay. We’re shooting on a rock-strewn beach. The jagged coast of Scotland beckons 11 miles in the distance, across a blue sea. Everything is set for a gorgeous day on GoT…

Yet, as the saying goes, time and tide wait for no man. On the North Coast in autumn, not only don’t they wait, they rush in like dry land is going out of style.

We set up on the beach between two mammoth stones, one large enough to host a miniature cave. As the hours pass, the waves advance up the shore and don’t retreat, swallowing more of our set with every take. By the afternoon, we occupy only one final yard of beach. The two mammoth stones now wade in the bay, mocking our earlier hubris.

The blog entry also notes that “a particularly bold wave almost makes off with a skiff.”

It’s unknown what location Murlough Bay will be standing in for, within the world of Game of Thrones, as no actor sightings were confirmed in the area.

In other season 5 news, Jerome Flynn spoke with Flicks and the City a few weeks ago at London Film & Comic Con.

The actor is tight-lipped on the upcoming season, but does acknowledge, “It’s different than my normal kind of environment for Bronn. So it was nice to shake it up.”

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Jerome admits he doesn’t know if Bronn will ever see Tyrion again but says, “Hopefully he’ll come along and get Tyrion out of a scrape somewhere down the line!”

To hear about Jerome’s favorite season 4 scene, and his reaction to the Red Viper’s duel, check out the full interview.

Sue the Fury
Susan Miller, Editor in Chief of WatchersOnTheWall.com

228 Comments

  1. I’m guessing that they were shooting boat scenes there, so probably either Yara, Jaime and Bronn or Tyrion and Jorah. The beach kind of looks like the Iron Islands or the North, though, so hopefully this is Yara headed for Deepwood Motte!.
  2. Hopefully it’s used to tie up/set up certain Iron Islands stuff. No actors being spotted suggests to me that it may be just scene shots to set up for whatever they’re doing

    Hopefully Balon’s death or a shot of The Silence on the horizon or something.

    . Still hoping (and that’s all it is at the moment) that there is at least some story progression for the Greyjoys/Iron Islands this season even if if the major stuff there has to wait until Season 6.
    Could possibly be Hardhome stuff too?

  3. As I said earlier, this looks like Iron Islands stuff. Gemma Whelan’s signature pose is clearly visible (she’s the one to the right, standing between two men in the water).

  4. Does anyone know if Kristian Nairn was in Philly on Thursday? I swear I saw him in the airport.

  5. If you read the pattern of all these MGOT entries, Hill mentioning that one of the rocks is big enough to house a miniature cave is probably not an accident.

  6. jentario,

    Either Clitorismestra is seeing things or he is a genius. I just don’t see how anyone could recognize Gemma Whelan in that silhouette.

  7. I love Jerome Flynn’s Bronn. One of the things the show has done better than the book in my opinion. I can’t wait to see his

    buddy comedy with Jaime as they head for Dorne
  8. Luka Nieto,

    More hopeful than anything that it’s not cut, but I think it’s not outlandish to think that a streamlined version of it could happen in Season 6 if they lay down a few subtle yet well-placed foundations this season. It would only really need the introduction of one major character which could easily be accomodated as I can’t forsee them needing to introduce anyone else major in the final two seasons if young Griff has completely gone (looking like) or combined with a certain young Martell (which I think could work).

    Clitorismestra,

    I’m not convinced by your shadow spotting my Greek-mythological-ladie’s-sex-organ-named friend!

  9. Luka, Wasn’t Euron listed on the HBO lineage site? I can’t find it but I swear it was on there before (with no Vic)

  10. Turncloak,

    Agreed. But it’s not just the comedy. Just like Brienne and Jaime, it gives us the opportunity for honest conversations about thoughts and feelings that would otherwise go unmentioned explicitly. It’s a substitute for internal narration without resorting to soliloquies. Last season we already saw a glimpse of what Jaime and Bronn together will be like: in “The Lion and the Rose”, their sword training is mostly played for comedy, but in “Oathkeeper” Bronn basically functions as Jaime’s conscience, pushing him to meet Tyrion.

    “He named you for his champion because he knew you would ride day and night to come fight for him. You gonna fight for him now.”

    I hope we get some more of that in Season 5, maybe concerning Cersei’s waning hold on Jaime, which was a completely internal transformation in AFFC, resulting in the climax of his story arc in that book; refusing to help Cersei when she most needs him.

    TheTouchOfFrost,

    I agree it could happen. However, as you said, if the seeds are not planed in Season 5, I think we can be pretty sure it’s just not going to happen. If the relevant characters are not mentioned in the whole of Season 5, we can assume they are cut, as far as I am concerned. Which is good, in a way. We’ll know by May or June 2015 what will happen with them, instead of having to wait many more months.

    Matsuki,

    And Theon’s uncles were mentioned by Tyrion. So?

  11. Too many replies, post in moderation. Ooops. Anyway…

    Turncloak,

    Agreed. But it’s not just the comedy. Just like Brienne and Jaime, it gives us the opportunity for honest conversations about thoughts and feelings that would otherwise go unmentioned explicitly. It’s a substitute for internal narration without resorting to soliloquies. Last season we already saw a glimpse of what Jaime and Bronn together will be like: in “The Lion and the Rose”, their sword training is mostly played for comedy, but in “Oathkeeper” Bronn basically functions as Jaime’s conscience, pushing him to meet Tyrion.

    He named you for his champion because he knew you would ride day and night to come fight for him. You gonna fight for him now.

    I hope we get some more of that in Season 5, maybe concerning Cersei’s waning hold on Jaime, which was a completely internal transformation in AFFC, resulting in the climax of his story arc in that book; refusing to help Cersei when she most needs him.


    TheTouchOfFrost,

    I agree it could happen. However, as you said, if the seeds are not planted throughout Season 5 (if the relevant characters are not mentioned), we can be pretty sure it’s just not going to happen. Which is good, in a way, because we will know if they are cut by May or June 2015, instead of having to wait for so many more months.

  12. Well, some news is better than no news, I guess. Agree with others that Jerome Flynn as Bronn is perhaps one of the best improvements from book to screen, and they have succeeded in expanding his role. It will be interesting to see how different his story isin the overall sagas at the end.

    Don’t really have much to add to the Bay discussion, but it is better than crying over Bran, or the Iron Islands etc….

    Right, where are the Northern castings??? They have started now, and there must be only 35-45ish days left of filming. Scary thought.

    Also, on an unrrelated point, does a moderator know about the ‘timing out’ problem with comments. It is has just happened to me, and although I was able to press ‘back’ and return, other might not be able to/might not know.

  13. Luka Nieto,

    I think at the very least they need to address what’s going on with YarAsha and Balon this season. We’ll know but I won’t be any less disappointed! 😛

  14. Clitorismestra:
    As I said earlier, this looks like Iron Islands stuff. Gemma Whelan’s signature pose is clearly visible (she’s the one to the right, standing between two men in the water).

    Can someone invert the colors of the picture so we can confirm if thats Yara or not?

  15. Love that Flynn doesn’t like to read ahead of his scenes and has a Thrones night at his house. His reaction to the Red Viper’s death, and his comment about what happened to him vs. Bronn’s decision to not be Tyrion’s champion is great.

  16. Turncloak,

    I changed brightness and contrast and zoomed in the pic and I don’t think it’s Gemma. It looks like a short haired man.

    *definitely someone wearing a baseball cap*

  17. Clitorismestra,

    Wouldn’t Yara be wearing her long sailing jacket or something if she was fresh off a boat on the coast like that? Hair also looks short for her. Height is about right though.

  18. who is the guy with what seems to be a big nose in front and long clothes , in the pic of Murlough Bay?

    Guess that those are the actors and that the Gemma look a like is a dude with a baseballhat instead

  19. If any readers live near Murlough Bay, they might want to check out that miniature cave, perhaps something was placed in there for fans, and that’s why it was mentioned, just a thought, probably meant something else. A pleasant way to pass the afternoon, if nothing else.

  20. Would it to be crazy to think, since we know they are introducing

    flashback(s) this year, S5E9 ends with [LS] reveal and S5E10 covers [Balon’s death] and ends with [The Damphair being notified] and, at least a portion of, S6 covers the greyjoy, possibly QM, all similarly to how the previous 2 books are written?

    This is my hope

  21. tom:
    who is the guywith what seems to be a big nose in front and long clothes , in the pic of Murlough Bay?

    If that’s his nose, it’s gotta be Gonzo. I think he’s either holding some kind of staff thingy or it’s simply some kind of shape/prop in the background.

  22. I’m pretty convinced this will be Hardhome. “mammoth stones” seem to confirm that. But we’ll have to wait and see. I don’t think it’s Yara. I thought Theon is the only Greyjoy we’ll see next season?

  23. I would also assume that a place like Hardhome would have some, y’know, snow around as opposed to being on a sunlit rocky beach.

    Anyways, I’m glad that this post keeps the streak alive of posters desperately surmising any location listed is in fact either Deepwood Motte or Hardhome with pretty much no evidence of it being so. Keep up the good work everyone.

  24. SamJam199,

    Though unlikely, what’s to say the Greyjoys don’t appear in season 6 in a streamlined fashion? People wrote off the Reeds after they didn’t show up in season 2 but they still made it to the show. For all we know Euron could be a very important character in book 6 especially if he manages to

    claim a dragon via the Hellhorn
  25. King Tommen,

    I think the evidence points to

    Deepwood Motte being in. A battle in the northern storyline has already been confirmed. So much so that they had to re-shoot as the battle grew larger than their expectations. To me this is either Deepwood Motte, Hardhome, or The Battle of Ice. Also the Telltale game evidence points to the game revolving around Deepwood Motte and the game is supposed to have a semblance of the show more so than the books.
  26. Turncloak:
    King Tommen,

    I think the evidence points to

    I have a really hard time believing that the show would have Yara go from Deepwood Motte in S2 back to Pyke with Balon in S3 finale (where she seemed to be settled in and part of his council), on a mission to the Dreadfort in S4 and then back to Deepwood Motte again? Why would she not be going back to Pyke?

    Also, the whole Moat Cailin business last season had the heavy implication that this was the last Ironborn occupation in the North and it’s now been cleared out for the Boltons.

    I see absolutely no reason why the Battle of Ice isn’t the battle they’ve been talking about shooting in November. Unless you believe that Yara linking up with Stannis is absolutely essential (something I’m not sold on), then there is no reason at all to include a detour to Deepwood Motte when Stannis’ mission is going to Winterfell. And even if Yara does somehow need to end up with Stannis, there are plenty of other ways to do it then creating a brand new set (with tons of extras) for the purposes of one quick skirmish. I think it’s more likely she somehow decides to go to Winterfell when she discovers the Boltons are there and perhaps gets intercepted by Stannis.

    I just don’t see the purpose of doing this. It’s way too big of a setpiece to bother with when the plot basically requires Yara and Stannis to cross paths, no more.

  27. King Tommen,

    I see your point but I just can’t see them doing the

    Battle of Ice this season. It seems like something they would save for season 6. I could have seen the show easily skipping Moat Cailin but they decided to keep it which is why I think we will take a detour to Deepwood Moat. The Detour to Deepwood Moat will serve to fill in the story much like the Craster’s keep scenes except Deepwood is also cannon material. Also I can’t image that D&D would have thought to make the Battle of Ice a simple affair at first. Whereas I can see them thinking, lets make this Deepwood Motte battle quick, only to like where they were going with it and expand upon it.
  28. And actually, the Telltale game supposedly being focused on stuff having to do with Deepwood Motte is probably a decent indicator that it won’t be on the show.

    I can’t speak for this game specifically, but most video games that are developed based on an existing property tend to dramatize a mission or setting or characters that exist in the universe but aren’t dramatized on the screen (or are mentioned tangentially). That way, they can create their own story that could exist in an alternate universe of the show and still adheres to canon but doesn’t contradict anything that’s on the screen.

  29. King Tommen,

    So do you expect there to be a time-skip in the show in which Stannis has already captured Deepwood Motte as of Episode 1 of season 5? Or do you expect that Stannis will have no involvement in the capture of Deepwood Motte within the game and it will just be more of a northern uprising?
  30. Turncloak:
    King Tommen,

    So do you expect there to be a time-skip in the show in which Stannis has already captured Deepwood Motte as of Episode 1 of season 5? Or do you expect that Stannis will have no involvement in the capture of Deepwood Motte within the game and it will just be more of a northern uprising?
    I expect that the show will dramatize Stannis marching on Winterfell around mid-season and arriving there for the battle in the last few episodes.

    I then expect the game will be allowed to imagine there was a detour along the way where Stannis’ forces took Deepwood Motte even though that isn’t explicitly stated on the show. It could still be possible that this happened off-screen on the show and the game will allow you to explore that side mission (probably with unknown game-specific characters). I could see the game making its protagonist a lesser Baratheon general tasked by Stannis to take Deepwood Motte. That’s usually how these type of games work.

  31. King Tommen,

    That is exactly how I expect the Northern storyline will go.

    The choosing will take a few episodes at least. And I do think we’ll see the Battle for Winterfell this season. So… yeah, Stannis marches south in the middle of the season, and arrives for the climax, be it in episode 8, 9 or 10. I personally don’t see much time for distractions. I may be wrong, of course.
  32. SamJam199,

    Only thing you touch is yourself, buddy. Ok, have you seen season 5 yet? They said the Iron Islands plotline isn’t but they said nothing about set up for it. Also, do you know what’s going to happen in season 6? Of course you don’t. You can only speculate like everyone else. The fact I even said that I’m more hopeful than expectant seems to have been lost on you. If you’re arrogant enough to think you know with cast iron certainty what D&D are going to put into the show then you’re a bigger fool than I first gave you credit for.

  33. Jeb: Also, on an unrrelated point, does a moderator know about the ‘timing out’ problem with comments. It is has just happened to me, and although I was able to press ‘back’ and return, other might not be able to/might not know.

    I’ll ask Oz to check in with WordPress on the issue. It’s hard to do much without ay screencaps, or error codes though. None of us have experienced a problem so we’ve got nothing to go on here. For now, copy the text of your post before you hit Post Comment so you can Paste it into the Comment Box again if the comment times out. And we’ll see what we can do.

  34. I’m seeing yet more evidence that we are going to see Deepwood Motte! on screen in all it’s gory glory.

    I’m also at a loss to see why anybody could imagine them cutting such a pivotal scene.

  35. Jeb:

    Also, on an unrrelated point, does a moderator know about the ‘timing out’ problem with comments. It is has just happened to me, and although I was able to press ‘back’ and return, other might not be able to/might not know.

    This happens to me a lot, however I found a workaround. I find that if I just click refresh it eventually posts.

  36. So, anyway. Complete wild card theory, I know, but any chance of this being for somewhere we’ve not thought of yet like White Harbour or the Fingers?

  37. There’s no battles at White Harbour though so I doubt it. The only real place it fits with if they are going from the books is the Ironborn battle in the north, unless they do some of their raids in the south which I doubt we’ll see, or possibly, very unlikely in my opinion, an attack on Meereen.

    When the opening credits shows a clockwork Deepwood Motte! appear on the map I am going to sit in front of the TV with the smuggest expression on my face. My self satisfaction will be palpable.

  38. TheTouchOfFrost:
    So, anyway. Complete wild card theory, I know, but any chance of this being for somewhere we’ve not thought of yet like White Harbour or the Fingers?

    I don’t think White Harbor will make it into season 5. I could certainly be wrong. The Fingers could be possible, I suppose. There was a shot posted of a rather small, dilapidated-looking castle…I could swear it was in the last week, or two…which made me think of The Fingers. That led me back to thinking of the books and how

    Baelish, if I remember correctly, traveled to and from King’s Landing to the Eyrie via the Fingers. We know he will be back in King’s Landing in Season 5, so it isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility he will use the Fingers as his point of departure, again.
  39. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    Not sure if I need spoilers but…

    I think it would be wise to go back storylinewise with Sansa/Littlefinger and Brienne as they missed some good character development from the books. Littlefinger going back to the fingers to show what he came from and why he was motivated to get out made me empathise with his character a lot more as did Brienne’s encounter with Randall Tarly and the knights she used to know as we say what drove her to become a knight and how much shit she had to go through to get there. Think it would be quite doable to make both happen without diverting much from positioning them for whatever they’re going to do in WoW. Brienne , although not in the right part of the world could quite easily have an encounter with some knights who know her and her father (the vales rather old-fashioned beliefs could really clash with her being a knight ) and it’d be great to give one of them Randall’s ” It is said that your father is a good man. If so, I pity him. Some men are blessed with sons, some with daughters. No man deserves to be cursed with such as you” which I think really helps to make Brienne a more sympathetic character. Littlefinger and Sansa’s tour of the Vale could easily take them to the Fingers. We shall see I guess. I’m happy for both characters to not feature too much this season and what screen time they do have should advance their characters and not their storylines as I think it’s needed…especially in Briennes case.
  40. No. No. No.
    Don’t you see it ?
    A cave. It’s a code for bowl. There is the sea.
    We will see at last Davos eating his Sisters Stew !
    Man did it look so great for a cold rainy day.

  41. TheTouchOfFrost,

    That was such an awful statement to make by that fucker Tarly. I’m sure Brienne will face more verbal and physical abuse in her show journey, but if she does come into contact with Tarly, which I highly doubt, I’m sure that statement will be adapted to include how disappointing his own son was to him. He will be another hateful father figure, like Tywin & Balon, who needs to have another moment with his discarded son (too predictable?). But before that pending reunion, maybe Brienne could give him a few memories to ponder…

    By the way, you have a really big nose, Big Nose.

  42. SamJam199,

    You can’t reason with certain people on this site man. They think the ironborn are important since Euron claims to have a magic dragon horn and the house of the undying visions. GRRM even says prophecies are not to be taken seriously and the Targaryens didn’t have any magic horns to tame their dragons.

  43. Clitorismestra:
    ArgonathofBraavos,

    Bran, Hodor and Meera have been confirmed not to be in the season. They also lack a signature pose.

    But they’re in that photo. Really deep underwater, but I can see bubbles. Signature Bran, Hodor and Meera bubbles.

  44. I linked this tweet yesterday. It’s not newsworthy, basically Aidan Gillen sent pastries to a few different production departments. But it is a picture taken in a room where several costumes are hanging and there are character names labelling them. I can read as far back as the label saying Arya but I wondered if anyone with better eyes could read it further back and we could hope to glean some info from those names…

  45. Greenjones,

    I have a hard time with those. What are the three words under plastic nearest?

    It could almost be “Davos Sea Worth” but it looks more like “Temos Hex Worry” Or “Essos Sex Worker”?

  46. Felt Pelt,

    The last word ends with a “y” but that’s all I can discern.

    Well, at least this confirms to us that Tyrion is cast member 1 when it comes to call sheets. Daario is number 86 and Missandei is 71. Damn this show has a lot of character!

  47. Lord Elmo Tully:
    SamJam199,

    You can’t reason with certain people on this site man. They think the ironborn are important since Euron claims to have a magic dragon horn and the house of the undying visions. GRRM even says prophecies are not to be taken seriously and the Targaryens didn’t have any magic horns to tame their dragons.

    I can only sigh at these type of comments. I’d appreciate if you told me the end of the story since you already know what’s important and what is not.

  48. Ironborn,

    Sounds like you know more about the story than I do since you don’t like what I have to say about it. In my opinion I think the ironborn are just nonsense side quests that don’t have to be in the show, thank god the show runners listen to some of us eheh.

  49. Hodor’s Bastard,

    Alas, I think our chances of seeing this prick have gone which is a shame as he would have been interesting to have in to make Brienne more sympathetic and also give an idea as to why Sam is/was such a mess. Think his presence in KL would also add to the creeping power of the Tyrells and him getting his just desserts would be quite satisfying. I think Brienne should just come away from such an initial exchange a little wounded mentally as it drags up a hurtful part of her past. The superwoman thing is getting a bit annoying and I think she needs to show some vulnerability to make her more likeable. Pretty much all the other major characters have and it’s made them a lot better/more interesting for it.

    You poo poo head.

    Lord Elmo Tully,

    You have a direct line to the show runners?! Wow, can you get some exclusives for us? Also if they listen to you then we’ve all got a ton of suggestions which they can work in. I mean, as we’re all fans I’m sure they’ll listen to us, right? RIGHT?!

  50. Settle down y’all! 🙂 it’s getting testy around here!

    I have to say, as much as I would like to see Deepwood happen, and I do think they will bring Yara/Asha and Stannis together with Theon eventually before the battle of winterfell, that there are many other possible ways to do it, as King Tommen has said. I would like a small skirmish that could be Deepwood (like Crasters) early/mid season to keep the action up and better distributed before the last few episodes. They could do this, but as for a full blown Deepwood from the books, I don’t think we’re getting it. There’s too many easier ways for Yara/Asha to be captured by Stannis. We will also have the fight with the Sand Snakes and Jaime and Bronn in Dorne to have some action early/mid season, this fight is confirmed. I hope they feature Mance and Jeyne and all the good stuff at Winterfell, and I think that’s more essential/interesting (but less exciting/action) than an extra battle. Wyman and Frey Pies or we riot 😉

    but we’re just going to have to wait and see!

  51. Also, over on WIC I saw their twitter post, they are claiming:
    “We have confirmation that the Bolton story line will get a decent chunk of next year’s screen time. Charlotte Hope, who plays the character Myranda Royce, has confirmed she will be in four episodes next season, which is a big jump up from the one and two episodes she was in in Seasons 3 and 4 respectively.
    We won’t be seeing her right away though. The directors she lists for her episodes include Mark Mylod and Jeremy Podeswa, who we know are directling episodes three through six. The other director she lists is David Nutter, who is doing the crucial final episodes. Thanks to Juego de Tronos for the tip!”

    The rest of the article seems to be confused and I disregarded, but has anyone seen the source info for this?

    If it’s true it could mean we are going to get a lot of Boltons in Winterfell during mid-season, leaving hope some of the details there will be included in the show! With her sprinkled in episodes 3-6 this might mean Jeyne, Ramsay’s wedding, some Northern lords and lots of tension between Freys and the rest. They should use Ciaran Hinds too and include Mance, I hope. And Theon’s escape into the hands of Stannis. Even if the screentime is short, it would be good to see a little of Winterfell spread over the meat of the middle of the season so tensions can build for the upcoming battle and for Theon’s escape. And then maybe the Battle of Winterfell at the end??? Fingers crossed!
  52. Lady Nym,

    I had a feeling that might happen and if it does, I think it’s a good thing. It gives the viewers someone they already know, which always helps with a show that has a cast as huge as GoT.

  53. I’m still holding out hope “Winterfell Worker” girl is actually fArya. Myranda is too old, no?
  54. Just to be clear I don’t think it’s likely D&D will expect the show audience to remember Sansa’s little friend and try to explain that the girl is Jeyne Poole. The Poole family has not been mentioned on the show at all if I recall, and they just showed Sansa’s unnamed friend in S1. If they were going to give her a family connection I think they might try to connect her to the Cassel family, since people might remember Ser Rodrik or Jory. It might be that there is just a random girl in Winterfell who looks similar age/appearance to Arya and the Boltons take advantage.
  55. Jaime’s girl,

    Might happen. But I fell the age of the girl to play fArya isn’t actually that important. I never got the idea from the books that the Northern Lords and Ladies seriously believed that the girl is Arya. Bolton said she was and I don’t think it would have been very healthy for any one of them to disagree on that.
  56. Abyss,

    Very true, the Northern Lords and Ladies are in no position to disagree, but that’s like a 8 or 10 yr difference, I would imagine Myranda is older than Sansa even, maybe too big of a leap for everyone… But we’ll see! I can see Myranda having an expanded role around Winterfell assisting Ramsay and the Boltons and torturing Theon just as easily. Either way, I think including her in more episodes is great news for those of us who want to see more attention on the Northern storyline in Season 5! 🙂
  57. I still hope she will be the winterfell worker , Mirenda is old to be Her and hateful no reason to be saved from Ramsy 🙂

  58. I don’t think we will see a farya plot. We might see Theon rescuing someone however. I also expect the whiteharbor plot to be ommited and instead be focussed around Winterfell, Davos might even ‘sneak’ inside Winterfell as no one will recognize him there.

    Outside of that, I expect all white harbor things to happen in Winterfell and also some sort of a Farya plot line where the Boltons might be in search of Bran & Rickon.

  59. Jaime’s girl,

    I’m with you on the Cassel link. If they introduced Beth Cassel as Farya then all it would take is for someone to mention that she’s the daughter of Ser Rodrik and remind the viewer what Theon did to him and you’ve already created interest in her. I also think that Theon is so far into Reek now that only someone with a link to that crossroads in his life would be enough to jolt him back to Theon thinking.

    Do find it weird that, as I remember, one of the reasons they changed Jeyne Westerling to Talisa was because they said that an important characters later on also had the name Jeyne. Unless they changed their mind? Still not sure why they thought people would have trouble differentiating Asha and Osha?!

    If Myranda does in fact become FA then that’s going to change a lot of things as I don’t think there is any believeable scenario where

    Theon saves her as part of his redemption when a/ if he doesn’t respond to his own sister then why would he her? and b/ she was one of the people who tricked and tortured him

    . So we would need another reason for him to find the motivation to escape and also FA would have to be a completely different type of FA IMO.

  60. Abyss,

    I think it would be a better idea just cut all of the FA stuff out as if the Northern Lord are all suspicious anyway then what’s the point? I think even that having Myranda come in as the new lady of Winterfell would make them even more pissed and lead to her being killed which could be the catalyst for the in-fighting amongst the Northern Lords, Ramsay losing it and even Theon making his break for freedom.

    Oops double post!

  61. Jaime’s girl,

    Well, Hope’s playing age is 16-25, So yes, she would be noticeably older then Arya (if we assume Myranda is around 16), but not by a crazy amount. I don’t exactly recall how old Arya is in the show at this point, but I think it’s around 10-12. So at worst it would be 6 years of age difference. That’s something someone skilled at disguising someone could work with.

    TheTouchOfFrost,

    I’m not sure if we need fArya either (depends on what role she and her sub plot play in the remaining books), but If we get her I can see it work with Myranda.
  62. Frankly, there is no need for the FArya storyline, as the Boltons don’t need to marry a Stark in order to claim Winterfell. From their point of view (as is it the same point of view of the other lords), there are no living Starks anymore, excluding Sansa (an outlaw) and Jon Snow (a bastard vowed to the Night’s Watch). There are no living Starks (as far as the northern lords are aware), and Bolton is already the warden of the north and no one will defy his position, so they don’t need to fake a marriage to any Stark if they want Winterfell.
    D&D can omit this storyline easily.

  63. I guess it depends on what happens in TWOW.

    there is less motivation for Jon to leave Castle Black and prompt the “for the watch” situation if fArya is not included, do you think? And it seems to be important for Theon’s change leading to his escape. I don’t know, I realize they could easily cut it, but I’m not convinced they will.
  64. Jaime’s girl,

    I feel the same way.

    Leaving fArya out would have pretty huge butterfly effect. That doesn’t mean she has to be in, but the way I see it cutting her could create a tone of problems.
  65. Abyss,

    They could work it but they would have to change the character completely if it’s to be Myranda as she’d be performing a different role in regards to Theon and also be of a completely different personality.
    Think I’d rather them leave her out than have Myranda take a changed version. It would seem a bit of a faff to change everything around just so that FA is a thing. At the moment Myranda works well as a

    The Bastards Boys/Ramsays bride amalgamation

    and could potentially be a good plot device to

    summon the Northern Lords for a wedding at Winterfell (fArya) and be killed to set that story moving (Little Walder)

    . I say move with that instead of the uneeded FA plot.

  66. For those who remember, the cool thing about our Yara speculation from last year at this time (when we read that she was going to the Dreadfort), was that some of us thought she would be captured by Ramsay, complete with torture and rapey stuff, hence giving Theon/Reek a strong reason for coming out of his fog and escaping with her while at Winterfell, if they weren’t going the fArya route. Then the story would realign with the books once Stannis’s forces captures them while wandering through the snow.

    But of course Yara’s capture didn’t happen and they may indeed be detouring to Deepwood Motte for a Yara capture scene (she’s such a showrunner tool). The whole fArya wedding/bedding thing is probably relegated to the books and won’t be adapted. Given that, what character would inspire Reek to become a semi-lucid Theon again? Perhaps Mance the infiltrator? Maybe Myranda is kind to Reek before being tortured herself? Maybe they somehow convince Reek/Theon that Myranda is Arya?

    Sometimes I wish we were correct with our speculations and Yara did indeed get captured by Ramsay instead of running away at the sight of his growling bitches.

  67. LemonCake,

    Fake Arya is much less about keeping the northern lords loyal and more about transforming Reek back into Theon. They bothered showing us all of Reek’s torture and now they are going to half ass his transformation back into Theon? I don’t buy it.
  68. Hodor’s Bastard,

    I really can’t see Myranda working is fArya. The audience won’t buy it after what Myranda has done. It took a whole season to feel sympathy for Theon.

    I stand buy my theory that Sansa will play the roles of fArya, Wyman Manderly, and Lady Dustin

  69. Turncloak:
    LemonCake,

    Theon’s transformation is all about him getting the backbone to save an innocent girl from Ramsay’s clutches and break free of Ramsay’s will by reclaiming his identity. Whether or not the girl is posing as Arya, getting married to Ramsay or cements Ramsay’s claim to Winterfell is irrelevant to Theon’s development.

    Basically, Theon needs to save a girl from Ramsay. It doesn’t matter who that girl is or what her role in the story is.

  70. LemonCake,

    Omitting fArya changes the whole Northern storyline. No fArya, no marriage. No marriage, no Northern lords. No Northern lords, no Manderly. No Manderly, no inner-Winterfell resistence that eventually helps Stannis. No fArya, no Jon-sends-someone-after-his-sister, and no Pink Letter. No Pink Letter, no For the Watch. No fArya, no Theon redemption, no Theon escapes Winterfell and no TheonXStannis pairing.

    Some of these things might be salvaged by other means (and would probably make much less sense than in the books), but most of them would be cut.

    D&D would have to rewrite the Northern storylines almost from scratch if they cut that character, which would be a shame since it was probably the best storyline in AFFC and ADWD and one of the best in the entire series. I seriously doubt D&D can do better.

    And it can be explained in a second:

    “We might have conquered the North, but all the Northern lords hate us. If we want to defeat Stannis, we can’t have them on his side. But they’ll never follow a Bolton… This is the fArya 9000, improved upon from the last version. It has boost canisters and everything.”- Roose
  71. King Tommen,

    I agree fully (although I think it would be more believable if he had more of a connection to the girl either before or developed in the series) until the doesn’t matter who Theon saves bit. Myranda just wouldn’t work in that role as she isn’t innocent and she has form for tricking/torturing Theon.

  72. TheTouchOfFrost,

    Depends on how the weeding night plays out (if it’s in). I agree that Myranda isn’t innocent, but if the weeding night is as horrible in the show as it is in the books then everybody is worth being saved from it, innocent or not.
  73. Abyss,

    Hmmm muddies the waters a bit too much for me. Would seem stupid presenting her as they did last season and the one before if they were going to do that and large sections of the viewers (myself included I think) would still think karma-wise she doesn’t deserve to be saved and Theon still wouldn’t feel obliged to. Would make more sense for Ramsay and Myranda to torment and torture another girl who could be Theon’s redemption. Still see Myranda as the Little Walderesque catalyst as something needs to happen for the suspicion and distrust to come to a head…unless they’ve just written out the Northern Lords role altogether.
  74. TheTouchOfFrost,

    That’s exactly what I would find interesting about it. Presenting someone “evil” in a situation were all her crimes do not matter any more. On her wedding night with Ramsay Myranda would just be a scared, tortured human being. I agree that it could be challenging for the viewers to look behind the horrible things Myranda did and see that, but people have many sides and for me one important part of great story telling is to show that.
  75. Great. I always wanted to see more of Myranda’s cardboard character, and now we get four episodes with her in it! Would definitely rather see her than Bran, one of the first characters we met, and arguably one of the most important Starks left in Westeros.

    Thus far, I have loved most, if not all, of D&D’s adaptation choices. But the burden of proof is on them for season 5. Myranda, all of the Sand Snakes, and no Bran strike me as questionable choices. But I will reserve final judgment until next spring.

    As a lifelong Red Sox fan, I’ve learned that keeping ones expectations low can lead to pleasant surprises. 🙂

  76. Abyss,

    Well, different strokes for different folks but personally I don’t see how she could un-Reek Theon given her past relationship with him and how he didn’t even trust his own sister when she came to free him let alone someone who has tricked and tortured him repeatedly. It’s also not as if she doesn’t know how sick Ramsay is and she’s been sleeping with/spending time with him for a while now. Guess we’ll see what they do but I just think it would make for bad consistency and therefore detract from the story they’re trying to tell.

  77. Myranda being back and her CV noting those three directors was noticed back in September.

    http://watchersonthewall.com/myranda-game-thrones-season-5/
    http://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/F134702.html

    The only real update is her CV stating it is four episodes but I don’t think that means she is

    fake-Arya. I would laugh pretty hard if the show tried to pass off early/mid-twenties Charlotte Hope as an Arya double. The people of Westeros may not know Arya’s face that well, but they can tell the difference between a grown woman and a girl supposedly in her early teens. More likely Myranda’s a victim of the Ghost of Winterfell.
  78. I find it quite funny that people think D&D will try and turn Myranda into a sympathetic character. That idea is quite frankly, terrible. D&D are better writers than that.

  79. If people think of Myranda the same way they do about Damon Dance-For-Me, Sour Alyn or Yellow Dick in the books (which is obviously what the show’s intention is), then I think her presence in various scenes with Ramsay won’t confuse and confound as many fans as it seems to.

    She’s a Ramsay henchman. Instead of it being some greasy dudes who are depraved and share Ramsay’s mindset, it’s a hot girl who is depraved and shares Ramsay’s mindset. And he gets to sleep with her on occasion which is a nice benefit for him.

    She has never and will not get her own storylines. Her presence on the show is just to fill out Ramsay’s entourage, give him an underling to bounce dialogue off occasionally (kind of like Rodrik is there for Catelyn or Dagmer was there for Theon). She is not taking away time from other characters in other storylines (unless you believe Ramsay is doing so). She is present to provide more known characters with the Theon/Ramsay/Roose story (who would end up just endlessly chatting with each other without supplementary people there).

  80. Sue the Fury,

    Thanks for the reminder Sue! Sorry for starting a tangent of not really new news..

    I continue to stand by the idea that Myranda’s too old and not innocent to fill that story role.

  81. Our we so sure Myranda’s episodes will involve Winterfell and the Bolton’s, perhaps Myranda is Myranda Royce after all. Sansa’s arc needs a threat, what better than a spy assassin sent back home to the Vale….

    There could be a scene with Lord Bolton and Myranda, where he informs her that she is being sent back to her family in the Vale. Some exposition of her being a ward since childhood, now trained by the Bolton family with their perverse methods into a Bolton stooge. That his spies have gleaned rumors of someone important there that threatens is hold on the North and she is being sent to verify and deal with it if true.

    Of course Ramsay isn’t thrilled in a separate scene, but his father explains it is best to have Myranda absent and explains farya.

    Myranda’s remaining scenes are in the Vale as she worms her way into Sansa’s confidence. This creates an antagonist for Sansa and the audience. After all Sansa’s arc needs a catalyst, something threat threatens her and justify the show jumping back and forth to her Vale arc.

    After all, why would D&D decide to call this hybrid character Myranda, why not a new name, they did it with Locke, Talisa and Ros, why keep the name from the books?

  82. Can Sue or someone else explain why WiC.net is not only pumping out WAY more content then you guys, but for about the past month or so, they are breaking almost every story before you guys too. I dont want to even give fan sided the clicks, but the rare times I do check, it seems I learn something that you guys here don’t know about.

  83. Nightflayer,

    If all Ironborn haters were this infantile, it would be too easy to disregard them.

    Turncloak,

    In fact, people who propose this scenario AND usually defend D&D in the myriad of “show vs books” debates apparently don’t grasp how contradictory are both things. In other words, they can’t stand by the showrunners as good writers and at the same time be willing to believe that they’ll come up with that tweak of the plot, LOL.

  84. Jon Dayne of Starfall,

    I check them from time to time and as far as I can see they don’t broke any stories as of late… If I go there right now the headlines are:

    “News from the Bolton-controlled North” = As Sue pointed out, not much news there
    “WIC Live Host Adam Rady Debuts Season 2 Of Walking In Circles” = not GoT related
    “Costume designer Michele Clapton to appear at Metropolitan Museum of Art” = barely GoT related
    “The WiCnet Awards: Season 4′s Best Dramatic Moment” = no news
    “And the WiCnet Award for Best Performance as a Warrior in Season 4 goes to…” = no news

    and so on…
    – And pumping out content is not hard, ask BuzzFeed (not saying that they’re BuzzFeed).

  85. Well, it’s not like there is actual news to be talked about. Basically, we’re all recycling discussion themes from even months ago.

    Thank gods that now i have TWOIAF to deal with my ASOIAF dependency issues for the time being…

  86. Jon Dayne of Starfall,

    Regarding the news about the Myranda character, as Sue already pointed out, that information was posted a couple of months ago, including what directors were connected to the episodes in which she’d be appearing. Yes, they did post some Northern Ireland information first, and were quicker to make an article out of a couple of the images from within Dazank’s, but those images had been posted on threads throughout this site for a couple of days before Wicnet posted their article. That’s the last I saw over there, as I don’t check it often. The few times I’ve actually clicked on an “article,” well, I’ll just say that while there are some who may enjoy reading content generated for the sake of meeting a quota, some are more interested in the quality of the content.

  87. Jon Dayne of Starfall:
    Abyss,

    It is new information though, that a non book character is going to appear in 4 episodes, that is news. And it’s something I want to know. They also broke news about the filming in Ireland before here, as well as the pictures of Dany, Jonah, etc being actually IN the pit. Moreover whether it’s news or not. I’m obsessed with game of thrones. I want to read GoT content, whether it’s opinion pieces or whatever. And WiC is putting out a hell of a lot more.

    As has been mentioned, those news stories have appeared here (often days and sometimes weeks prior as the Myranda news was).

    WoTW will typically try and put many pieces of news about filming all in one post and will update it. Sometimes you may not see it on first viewing but they don’t go and create a brand new story everytime there is a tiny scrap of news.

    Every piece of info you mentioned was here on this site in some form or another before it was on WiC.

  88. WOTW is far superior content overall! Seriously, I am new around here, and I arrived after the split so I had no personal investment, I decided for myself by reading both for several months during the Croatia and Spain shooting and the info here was usually always faster and better. The WiC posts are full of mistakes so I decided to stick with WOTW before I even knew about the fansided controversy. Some of Rowan Kaiser’s reviews are good though, to be fair, but on info they have all this weird wrong stuff.
    The article I referenced today, apart from the info at the top, the rest of the article was super weird and made no sense at all… I’m sorry just my opinion but I don’t like some of their stuff, just basic mistakes that any reader knows like confusing characters with each other, etc.
    The only reason I quoted their article was to try to get a link (which someone kindly provided) since they had not included one in their article, I wanted to see if it was even real. I have WiC on my twitter (check me out, I’m new there too, @Jaimes_girl_GoT) just to see.

  89. Jon Dayne of Starfall,

    Not that it really matters, but they almost never have something before WotW does. They might post it faster, but that’s only because the philosophy here was always that not every tiny bit of news is worth a separate post. If you want to stay on top of things all the time, just read the comments here. I can almost guarantee someone here broke the news before WiC did.

  90. I like Rowan Kaiser as an editor because he has a strong writing background but when they went out to hire the new staff, they either didn’t get strong candidates or some people seriously misrepresented themselves.

    The main “news breaking” contributor there suffers from a severe lack of understanding of the ASOIAF story and often confuses characters and storylines. She is also extremely speculative when it comes to expounding on what certain casting or filming pieces of news might mean. And the speculation is often just wrong based on what has already been reported. It borders on irresponsible since most of the comments on the site are consist of more astute readers pointing out why that speculation isn’t correct.

    What I like about Sue and co here is that when they add their 2 cents to news items, there are rarely absolutes provided and nothing is speculated on that isn’t based on prior reporting. It makes the ensuing discussion in the comments that much easier to participate in because any wild and inaccurate speculation that could possibly arise as a result of the news piece is often debunked in Sue and co’s article comments.

    It’s what separates a big-boy News Site from a “OMG! SQUEEEE! DOES THIS MEAN…???” fansite. And it’s appreciated.

  91. Greenjones,

    Correct me if I’m wrong but that looks like a completely new set, does it not? The architecture is certainly for something north of the Neck. A nice detail: there’s vegetation built into the set.

    I won’t say it. Others will. Deeeeeeepwoooo…— I’m kidding, of course.

  92. LukaNieto,

    My first thought was WF but I didn’t notice the vegetation. And WF’s walls are grey not black. You could well be right about it being Deeeeepwooooo…

    Belfastians of WOTW, how about y’all saunter down to the Paint Hall and take a photo or two whilst they’ve still got this set out of doors?

  93. 4 episodes does not mean Myranda is important at all, she is just some kind of sexy sado-maso extra gravitating around Ramsay.

    100% sure she is not

    fArya, Reek would never risk his life to save her, she is too loyal to Ramsay

    More chances

    she will end up death in one of Ramsay sadique hunting party and used to feed the dogs and horrified fArya

    Her presence could very well resume to;

    1)short flash of a scene of sex with ramsay in winterfell, 3 seconds
    2) She hear in watever scene that ramsay is to marry fArya or fSansa and is annoyed by the prospect
    3) She is in the assistance for the wedding/or she is locked up in some room
    4) Ramsay hunt her down to show to his new bride what is his favorite hobby…

    –) But i think it is greats news that a sooo inimportant character make 4 episodes, i hope that Winterfell plot will be properly developped…

    The north, the wall and reek’s chapters were by far my favorites in ADWD

  94. Greenjones,

    Looks like Castle Black, but from a practice standpoint it seems like they’ll need a special set for Theon’s jump from the walls and this might be it (even though the color isn’t exactly right). I don’t see why they build an extension to CB in the a Paint Hall.

    So to some it up, this has to be Deepwood Motte!

  95. I don’t get the fuss over Myranda’s screentime. It makes sense that she gets more episodes now that the whole storyline gets more episodes. That’s all, no need to overthink it.

    Turncloak,

    That theory is one of the biggest stretches. You are suggesting that Sansa becomes a plot device and completely abandons anything she will be doing in TWOW (unless of course she makes it back to Winterfell somehow). I think the timing that would require this to work is problematic to say the least.
  96. Greenjones,

    Yeah, the set doesn’t look finished at all. They’d probably need to build it all the way down if it was for that scene and also add loads of fake snow. I imagine the stunt would be amazing to watch, if that’s what it is. Bungie jumping?
  97. jentario,

    well we don’t yet know Sansa’s TWOW storyline and I’m thinking D&D won’t give us her book 6 storyline this season. That would put her story ahead of everyone else. That’s the same problem with Bran right now. I think book Sansa eventually becomes Lord of Winterfell and marries fAegon so bringing her to winterfell earlier fits. Also, I don’t see why D&D would not want to include what is arguable the best part of ADWD, the northern storyline. I can’t imagine season 5 without Frey Pies, Bolton walking on egg shells as his rule becomes tenuous, the Theon transformation, etc
  98. Fjordgazer,

    Agreed.

    King Tommen:
    If people think of Myranda the same way they do about Damon Dance-For-Me, Sour Alyn or Yellow Dick in the books (which is obviously what the show’s intention is), then I think her presence in various scenes with Ramsay won’t confuse and confound as many fans as it seems to.

    She’s a Ramsay henchman. Instead of it being some greasy dudes who are depraved and share Ramsay’s mindset, it’s a hot girl who is depraved and shares Ramsay’s mindset. And he gets to sleep with her on occasion which is a nice benefit for him.

    She has never and will not get her own storylines. Her presence on the show is just to fill out Ramsay’s entourage, give him an underling to bounce dialogue off occasionally (kind of like Rodrik is there for Catelyn or Dagmer was there for Theon). She is not taking away time from other characters in other storylines (unless you believe Ramsay is doing so). She is present to provide more known characters with the Theon/Ramsay/Roose story (who would end up just endlessly chatting with each other without supplementary people there).

    If this is indeed her role I wouldn’t really mind her character being around for 4 episodes.

  99. Jon Dayne of Starfall: Can Sue or someone else explain why WiC.net is not only pumping out WAY more content then you guys, but for about the past month or so, they are breaking almost every story before you guys too. I dont want to even give fan sided the clicks, but the rare times I do check, it seems I learn something that you guys here don’t know about.

    1. They pump out more content because they have no choice- Fansided has a quota for that site. That’s why there’s so much random stuff that isn’t really about Game of Thrones on WiC these last several months. I’d rather we only posted once every day or so in these lighter months, if there is no real news or new editorial/feature ready, rather than slap together something simply for the sake of filling a quota. Quality over quantity.

    2. I think we’ve posted pretty much everything news-wise here, that’s of value, over the last few months that they have, so I don’t know what you’re on about. For instance, this Myranda news is months old. Sometimes they might post first, sometimes we will. Everybody works for a living, sometimes people get to a computer quicker. I’m not really going to bother with that sort of competition. We do our thing.

    Now can you explain to me why you only ever post here to complain about something?

  100. Sue the Fury: 1. They pump out more content because they have no choice- Fansided has a quota for that site. That’s why there’s so much random stuff that isn’t really about Game of Thrones on WiC these last several months. I’d rather we only posted once every day or so in these lighter months, if there is no real news or new editorial/feature ready, rather than slap together something simply for the sake of filling a quota. Quality over quantity.

    2. I think we’ve posted pretty much everything news-wise here, that’s of value, over the last few months that they have, so I don’t know what you’re on about. For instance, this Myranda news is months old. Sometimes they might post first, sometimes we will. Everybody works for a living, sometimes people get to a computer quicker. I’m not really going to bother with that sort of competition. We do our thing.

    Now can you explain to me why you only ever post here to complain about something?

    Spot on.

  101. King Tommen,

    I just wanna preface this by saying I’m a supporter of WotW. I was posting on WiC.net for years, after season 1 aired, and followed them here after all the shit from earlier.

    I literally just came here to post almost an exactly the same post about how WiC.net seems to be putting out A LOT more content. Whether they are breaking the news or not, is irrelevant.

    And yes, I know WotW likes to consolidate lots of smaller, seemingly insignificant news into a large post before putting it up… but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter because for a few weeks now I find myself continually going to their site to look for updates, because I’m THAT desperate for any shred of GOT news I can get my hands on.

    Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the IDEA of waiting until there is a substantial amount of stuff to post… but that’s like asking a crack-head to wait until he hits his crack quota before getting high. It’s nigh impossible.

    And so, I will continually visit BOTH sites now; WotW for the community, general professionalism and awesome content and WiC.net for my fix. Because it’s that bad.

  102. Auren,

    I do hope we get the Reek-to-Theon lucidity, a sudden act of cloudy bravery and subsequent leap of faith. That would be a cool season ender for Theon’s arc as Stannis approaches. But he/they would need at least 4-6ft of packed snowfall to survive that jump! 🙂

  103. Ser Matt the Sullen:
    King Tommen,

    And so, I will continually visit BOTH sites now; WotW for the community, general professionalism and awesome content and WiC.net for my fix. Because it’s that bad.

    I migrated here with the WOTW runners, but I too occasionally hop over to WiC net for a fix, I don’t see anything wrong with that either.

    To me it’s like comparing a seven course degustation menu containing specially chosen wines with a McDonalds happy meal.

    I hope that you guys running WOTW don’t change a thing. I don’t come here for spoilers for the sake of spoilers and uneducated guesswork, I come here for quality analysis, researched spoilers, shits and giggles.

    You are doing a great job keep it up.

    (oh and can you confirm if it’s Deepwood Motte! yet?)

  104. Ser Matt the Sullen,

    The thing is WiC only care about money. They provide a tonne of articles, because they are tyring to make more money. A lot of these articles have pretty tenuus links to the show, and are almost completely unrelated e.g why Walking Dead is about power, like GoT. They also now post more generally about ASOIAF, and have posted links to other projects actors are in. The thing is why does it matter what Aiden Gillan is going to be in a year. If people really care they would find out anyway from more informative sites associated to the film. I don’t think the odd piece is bad, but they have a lot like this.

    I only see what they’re doing by Twitter nowadays as I don’t want to help them financially, but the Myranda piece is lolable. Apparently they are callig her ‘Myranda Royce’, which she blatantly isn’t, and hasn’t even been suggested she is in the show. I almost get the impression that they have only read wikis about the series, because the number of sstrang errors they make could not be made by a book reader, nor someone who only watches the show, and doesn’t delve inot details only. I any case, the report barely constitutes it only article based on months old speculation.

    Furthermore, the people who write their might like the show, but they are certainly not massive fans like we have here; they are average journalists who have jumped on the bandwagon (not that I blame them if it is their profession)

    I like that this site has more of a community feel where almost all (odd bit of filler now and then) is important, or interesting. Having four or five posts a day is ridiculous, and means that people might miss information.

    In terms of people viewing the sites, the other site is always going to have a massive advantage. Firstly, it is way higher on the search engines. Secondly, being part of Fansided means people might look at it who visit their other sites. Thirdly, a fair few of the casual people who rarely, or do not comment won’t have moved, because they are only interested in te news, and don’t care about the community aspect we have here. And finally, there will be people who still don’t know; a lot of these will only visit during the on-season, but there will be a few.

    In a way I don’t care what they are doing there, because there is a fantastic community here, with similar numbers of comments, and siilar posts (if not more) than this time last year on WiC.

    Jon Dayne of Starfall,
    You can visit this site, or that site, or both, no one really cares, but posting things which are completely inaccurate is way off the mark. WiC has been faster on about 2 items since the split, so your belief is wrong. If you are just going to troll you may as well stay on the fascinating discussion boards there.

  105. Abyss,

    The fact that they seem to be persisting with that WiC Live stuff is reason only to not visit there. How they can justify that after the criticism is beyond me.

  106. Jeb,

    I hear ya man, but in the end crack is crack. A crack-head doesn’t care how good the quality of the crack is… hahaha

  107. Turncloak,

    Frey pies won’t happen. It worked in the books, but the show is something else. I’m willing to bet two thousand Dolans on it.

    And on your Sansa theory… It’s technically possible, but what I’m certain of is that Sansa shouldn’t need any saving next season. If she was like Sansa from the books, maybe, but this is Darth Sansa we’re speaking of. I kind of get the Manderly angle, it’s the fArya angle that I don’t understand in your theory. It doesn’t make much sense (for many reasons)…

  108. jentario,

    You’re probably right. I’m probably trying to force a way to keep the Northern storyline intact as it was so well done in the books. I’m hoping the North doesn’t get the cliff notes treatment due to the nature of adaptation.

  109. Considering the game of owns post is a separate entity. You guys have literally posted 2 articles in the last week. I think a lost of people would agree that’s pretty shoddy. You guys have a writing staff of what, at least 6 or 7 people? If there’s no news how about some theory posts, or some speculation material. Hell, anything. The only time any of you ever give your opinion about something is like a sentence or two blip at the end of an article. I mean this is basically a blog after all. All I’m saying is you guys could definitely put forth more effort.

  110. I mean really, when was the last time anyone saw anything from axechucker, and it love Oz’s post that’s the kind of stuff I want but even he has only written like one thing in the last 4 months and it was absolutely nothing other then hey, I’m still here.

  111. TheTouchOfFrost,

    So what, the staff here can’t write quality articles on their own? They have to have news to post? I mean really, does anyone here even know what anybody on the staff thinks about where the story is going, what theories they believe or literally ANYTHING like that?

  112. Jon Dayne of Starfall,

    If you wanna read waffle and irrelevant crap then that’s your prerogative but this site only posts stuff which is actually newsworthy and isn’t just put out there as filler. Join in the forum discussions if you need more of a fix. It’s a lot more interesting than
    dull stories with tenuous links to GoT.

  113. LemonCake: Frankly, there is no need for the FArya storyline, as the Boltons don’t need to marry a Stark in order to claim Winterfell. From their point of view (as is it the same point of view of the other lords), there are no living Starks anymore, excluding Sansa (an outlaw) and Jon Snow (a bastard vowed to the Night’s Watch). There are no living Starks (as far as the northern lords are aware), and Bolton is already the warden of the north and no one will defy his position, so they don’t need to fake a marriage to any Stark if they want Winterfell.
    D&D can omit this storyline easily.

    I think you’re making too many assumptions here. Namely, why do you assume that “noone will defy his position?” Roose’s main fear is that the Northern lords, who have followed a Stark for many years, will not stay down for long. In that context, creating a fake Arya Stark to marry a Bolton would go a long, long way towards securing the position of the Bolton’s. Just because the North believes that the Starks have been killed off, doesn’t mean that all the Lords are going to sheepishly follow the new Warden, especially since he had a hand in killing those Starks. Roose is smart enough to understand this, which is why the fArya plot is created. In the show, it would make perfect sense, IMO.

    Though it isn’t necessary, it adds a layer of political complexity to the northern storyline. Otherwise, it’s a little thin, to be honest. Tywin Lannister names Roose Bolton Warden of the North after helping to murder all the Starks, the Bolton’s kick the Ironborn out of one castle in a swamp, and the Northern Lords just bend the knee? Far too simplistic, IMO.

  114. The Family Name,

    I think Jon Dayne want’s to see more Theory articles. Whether it be theories for the upcoming season (Oz) or for the upcoming books (The rest of the staff).

    I’m also thirsty for theories but that’s not really this site’s forte. I highly suggest you watch the “History of Westeros” team on youtube for your ASOIAF theory fix.

  115. Turncloak,

    I find the best place for theories is the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ community facebook page. It’s a lot more geared to theories about the book story but they’re pretty friendly folks there so I’m not sure our buddy Jon would like it!

  116. Turncloak,

    Honestly, if I was adapting the books the North would be priority number one and I wouldn’t even care if other storylines suffer… It’s sad that it looks like Dustin and Manderly are out and potentially the whole Deepwood Motte thing. The not-Jeyne Poole thing still might be in the show… At least that… Come on Winterfell Worker

    At this point I don’t know if I’m fooling myself. I probably am.

  117. Jon Dayne of Starfall: All I’m saying is you guys could definitely put forth more effort.

    Lol, seriously? You tell that to a staff which has people in it who have dedicated years of there lives to building the GoT fandom and this community? WiC exists because of them!

  118. It seems to me that Jon Dayne just wants to bitch/put down this site and those who run it.

  119. Jon Dayne of Starfall:
    TheTouchOfFrost,

    So what, the staff here can’t write quality articles on their own? They have to have news to post? I mean really, does anyone here even know what anybody on the staff thinks about where the story is going, what theories they believe or literally ANYTHING like that?

    Shhhh. It’s OK. Cummy’s here. My goodness! You’re perspiring and seem to have a tremor. Tell me, friend, when was the last time you posted in an R+L=J thread? Or maybe it just doesn’t do the trick anymore for you. If that’s the case, have you tried some A+J=T? Powerful shit, friend.

  120. jentario,

    E+L=TWTWFTB? You are chasing the dragon, friend. Brother Jon Dayne of Starfall is already well down that path. No need to end up like that one.

  121. Jon Dayne of Starfall,
    You do realise that the writers here are volunteers, and don’t get paid, right? There is still about six months until the premiere, so there’s no point putting loads of filler out until the filming is finished. There are more writers now, so you can’t expect them to post the same number of articles out as before. It is frankly a miracle they posted so many articles last year, and I like the variety. It is pretty insulting that you are demanding more.

    On another point you made, I personally like that the staff don’t start too much speculation themselves (Oz excluded, but he’s different because Unsullied) because it prevents people saying that the site created these rumours. It allows the readers to start speculating, and maintains the credibility if the site. Also, it allows for the readers to do guest blogs, which have all been excellent, whereas Wic seem to give their guests blogs to friends of Rowan Kaiser/ Fansided.

    I knew it was inevitable that we would get some WiC trolls. The responset suggests that you are alone. Constructive criticism is fine, but be reasonable, otherwise no one is going to take you seriously (I.e. At the moment).

  122. jentario,
    Turncloak,

    I think I’d be very most disturbed by

    Sansa needing saving. Why D&D would create a Black Swan of Power in Sansa and than have Theon “rescue” her? It would undermine everything about her arc. But can she replace Manderly somehow? Well then, why would Theon still be required to exist and legitimize fArya?

    I would love for her to bouncing around with these story arcs, but how she can interact with them without altering her future and theirs?

    Also, now that Brienne knows that Arya is still alive, what butterfly effect could this have? Does she pursue Sansa, and never hear of the wedding? Or is this yet another reason to scrap the fArya storyline?
  123. jentario,

    E+L=TWTWFTB?? Elio + Linda = the welshman that was first to bathe?

    I’m lost, is this an actual theory?

    I prefer HR=HS to that one or H + A = J + M or my all time favourite crackpot; MR = RT.

  124. ctid:
    jentario,

    E+L=TWTWFTB?? Elio + Linda = the welshman that was first to bathe?

    Wait. The product of that union was Welsh?

    Well, that’s a rare bit of information.

  125. jentario:
    Turncloak,

    Honestly, if I was adapting the books the North would be priority number one and I wouldn’t even care if other storylines suffer… It’s sad that it looks like Dustin and Manderly are out and potentially the whole Deepwood Motte thing. The not-Jeyne Poole thing still might be in the show… At least that… Come on Winterfell Worker

    At this point I don’t know if I’m fooling myself. I probably am.

    This. I would have sacrificed the Sand Snakes casting if it meant getting a full fledged northern storyline.

    Storylines im excited about in season 5 (in no particular order)

    1) Bronn and Jaime
    2) Dark Sansa
    3) Stannis and Jon
    4) Arya in Braavos
    5) Tyrion and Jorah
    6) Theon, Ramsay, Roose, Mance Raydar
    7) Ellaria, Doran, and Jaime
    8) Varys, Tyrion and maybe Illyrio

    Storylines im least excited about
    1) Dany in Mereen (excluding Tyrion and Dany and the pit scene in episode 9 )
    2) Kings Landing. (besides the walk of shame and any Littlefinger scenes)
    3) Brienne and Pod (I’m expecting filler material. This will probably be the inferior version of Arya and the Hound)
    4) Trystane and Myrcella
    5) The Sand Snakes (wasn’t impressed from the audition footage)

  126. Lady Wolfsbane,

    My theory of Sansa being

    fArya, Manderly, and Lady Dustin doesn’t meen she will need saving. The fArya part means that she will simply get married to Ramsay to help subjugate the North for Littlefinger. Sansa will help Reek transform Theon not by being a damsel in distress but by being fierce and playing the role of Lady Dustin.

    Again all of this is highly unlikely. It was just me trying to force the issue given the lack of Northern casting announcements

  127. Turncloak,

    I see what you are saying, however it strikes me as a pretty terrible way to force the northern stories through and I can’t see it happening in a million years.

    I think we might be pleasantly surprised at how much of the northern storyline we get in season 5. there is an awful lot of very good source material for it and some interesting minor characters that would be relatively easy to introduce without hogging screentime.

    Plus we have quite a few good set pieces that will tie them all together nicely, not least of which would be Deepwood Motte!

  128. ctid,

    Whaa? Eddard + Lyanna = Too Weird The Whore F%&@s The Brother???

    Turncloak,

    I do like the re-purposing for Sansa. But I can’t see Reek becoming a real Theon without being alone and helpless in Winterfell. Why did we follow him all these seasons without some real payoff? maybe Sansa can just be as awesome running around gathering Northmen and Brienne or Asha or hell Gendry and she can rescue Stannis instead…
  129. ArgonathofBraavos: I think you’re making too many assumptions here. Namely, why do you assume that “noone will defy his position?” Roose’s main fear is that the Northern lords, who have followed a Stark for many years, will not stay down for long. In that context, creating a fake Arya Stark to marry a Bolton would go a long, long way towards securing the position of the Bolton’s. Just because the North believes that the Starks have been killed off, doesn’t mean that all the Lords are going to sheepishly follow the new Warden, especially since he had a hand in killing those Starks. Roose is smart enough to understand this, which is why the fArya plot is created. In the show, it would make perfect sense, IMO.

    Though it isn’t necessary, it adds a layer of political complexity to the northern storyline. Otherwise, it’s a little thin, to be honest. Tywin Lannister names Roose Bolton Warden of the North after helping to murder all the Starks, the Bolton’s kick the Ironborn out of one castle in a swamp, and the Northern Lords just bend the knee? Far too simplistic, IMO.

    Yep this. Not necessary but it will add another layer to the Northern storyline.

  130. Turncloak,

    Are you feeling well?

    Sansa and Ramsay, really? Sansa needs to travel to Last Hearth, treat with the Umbers, retrieve Rickon, ride to the Wall, have Mel resurrect Lady, cure Shireen of greyscale, eat Orell’s eagle, marry Slynt, train the NW to use obsidian to kill WWs, and tell Jon about Bran before she saves the North. The showrunners won’t compromise this key order of events before having a Stark get anywhere near Winterfell. Geez, come on.

    I’m very concerned about your general health and sanity, man. 🙂

  131. Clitorismestra,

    I’m sure they don’t know who that woman is. Probably some crazy homeless woman. I’m sure security had her escorted away soon after the photo was taken.

  132. Turncloak,

    I like that.

    You just put a whole new twist on plotline possibilities for the aftermath of “For the Watch” with Jon/Ghost. Damn you! Now I’ve got to go think about that for a few hours.
  133. By the way I didn’t that GRRM confirmed that we would see a

    2nd Dance of Dragons back in 2003 :-). This one looks like it’s going to be Dany vs fAegon. Super excited for this :-).
  134. Hodor’s Bastard,

    haha I rather not think about that scenario. Too depressing if

    Ghost has to do battle against undead Direwolves. Would be interested to see if we get any undead dragons though
  135. Jon Dayne of Starfall,

    I agree with TouchofFrost that the forums are the place for speculation. Also as much of the filming this late in the season is of interiors it is much harder if not impossible for members of the public to gain an insight into what is going on. My understanding is that security is very tight at the Paint Hall in Northern Ireland and hence it is hard to find out news from that location. On the whole I think the people who run this site do well.

  136. Jaime’s girl,

    Cause there is a TellTale videogame coming up centering on the events of Deepwood Motte, the Northern mountain clans, the Greyjoys in the wolfswood and the effects of the Boltons rule over the North.

    The game was developped hand in hand with the TV show so there are likely chances that it will expand something that will feature this season. I dont think we will see Deepwood Motte in the show (though I really wish so !) but I’m quite positive it will be mentionned at some point (be it in a Stannis war council, or wherever Yara pops up, or who knows how).

  137. Could this be where Gendry winds up after Davos helps him shove off in a rowboat? Maybe he’s hiding out in a cave on a tiny island? Obviously if it’s following the books

    he, filling in for Erdrick Storm, will wind up at the Wall somehow

    but that would explain why we he’s been out of sight for so long.

  138. Hodor’s Bastard,
    Sansa needs to do ALL those things, I love it. But…

    Now I’m more focused on who does she marry (or pretend that she’s gonna marry). That’s where her power lies still… so does now healthier Robyn become Harry the Heir? Does Gendry? She’s a Mockingjay of possibilities..
  139. Jaime’s girl:
    ctid,

    Wait, does anyone have any speculation about Deepwood Motte? I’d like to hear it!

    There is a piece of wall in a studio that looks to be 100% Deepwood Motte! unless it’s not. There is the blackwater walls set from season two that has been abandoned and is clearly Deepwood Motte!. There is also a computer game about Deepwood Motte! about to be released.

    It all points in one direction for me and I’m not talking about the weird kiddie pop band.

    serious – I really do want to see Deepwood Motte! realised on screen. – /serious

  140. As much as I would like to see Deepwood Motte on screen I’m not convinced that this set will be used to represent it. This is a stone wall and the Motte is described as “a wooden motte-and-bailey castle”.

    Winterfell is a safer bet.

  141. Turncloak:
    I find it quite funny that people think D&D will try and turn Myranda into a sympathetic character. That idea is quite frankly, terrible. D&D are better writers than that.

    They don’t need to make her sympathetic.

    Myranda can play the fArya for the sake of causing Jon Snow to play his part in thinking Ramsay did marry Arya. She doesn’t need to be sympathetic to fulfill those parts of the story. Theon can rescue someone else and escape, either the little Winterfell Girl, or if Yara is captured, Theon could rescue her and then they bump into Stannis. But I could just as easily see the Winterfell Girl playing fArya. My only issue with that is how they portray Reek suddenly caring for the girl when the show has done nothing to set up a past connection. If D&D pull off a convincing reason Reek becomes Theon to save her, then I’m fine with it as well. But right now it seems Yara is the better fit. Seeing her captured and explaining to Reek how she tried to rescue him in spite of their father’s wishes would have an emotional impact on Theon. The audience would understand why this broken person would now risk everything to save his sister from suffering as he had to endure.
  142. Am I the only one who wants the Blackfyres to win if there is another dance of dragons? Dany is dull and faffs about too much. At least A gets stuck in, dragons or no!

  143. TheTouchOfFrost,

    That’s not going to happen and you know it. And what can I say… Sorry that you don’t like one of the three “main” characters of the series? It happens. Some people fucking hate Jon Snow and can’t accept that

    he’ll probably sit the Throne in the end as per R+L=J.
    Some people hate Tyrion because he becomes an asshole post ASOS.
  144. TheTouchOfFrost,

    Not sure I’d call her dull… Mother of Dragons, scourge of the Undying, Breaker of Chains and all that. And the “faffing about” is the pretty noble cause of smashing the thousands of years old slave trade in Essos. I view her as pretty damn kick-ass, myself. Whether she’ll sit the Iron Throne or not at the end of everything is another question. Personally, I don’t think that’s her fate… I think her fate lies at the Wall, and fighting the Long Night, and that the time of Dragons is nearly done. She’s one last Dragon, brought forth to protect the realms of men from what’s coming.

  145. jentario,

    For me it’s not a matter of liking them or not: It’s whether they’re interesting and Dany isn’t to me anymore. Not saying it won’t happen but I hope it doesn’t. First book/season Dany was really interesting but she’s stagnated. The only real interest I have in her now is the hope she doesn’t sit the throne! If other folks like her then knock yourselves out but I’ll be rooting for most anyone who opposes her!

    Ser Florian,

    Apologies I just didn’t find the storyline exciting for her. When she got the Unsullied she should have moved on Westeros. Her story seems like a neverending quagmire of hard-to-pronounce names now. I found some amusement in the parrallell between her and the US/western countries self-righteously imposing a culture they believe is more moral onto a region only for the people to reject it and the resulting problems of that but even that has worn thin. Only really Jorah and Selmy who gave me a flicker of interest in her stroyline and Tyrion’s Essos adventures although a lot shorter have been infinitely more interesting. I agree that I think she’ll die at the wall and Jon will sit the Iron Throne or at least the North. Reversing what people thought their final roles would be…maybe!

  146. Greenjones,

    I would’ve thought some storylines would have wrapped by now, but apparently not. So Meereen is still shooting but Ian McElhinney hasn’t shot anything since September, and he said his work for season 5 is over. It really is looking bad for Barristan’s prospects in the future.

  147. Clitorismestra,

    I think he shot in October too actually. He just didn’t shoot in Spain. He filmed scenes in Croatia and N.I. though.

    Just because Nathalie’s dropping by Belfast for what is more likely a fly-in-fly-out sort of deal than the beginning of another block of shooting (given how the N.I. shooting works compared to the Croatia/Spain/Iceland shooting), we shouldn’t infer things about Barry’s s5 screentime. Ian McElhinney’s directing a play his wife wrote at the moment so, knowing that, he could’ve had his scenes scheduled earlier in the year. That might BE ALL that this is. From August to October is certainly more than enough time for him to have shot as many scenes or more than he’s had in previous years.

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