This week, Game of Thrones has taken over the scenic waterfront in Ballintoy, Northern Ireland. Ironmen have been spotted in between takes as the show filmed near the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and in Larrybane Park, and Pilou Asbæk has been officially confirmed as Euron Greyjoy, Theon’s uncle and a dangerous pirate.
We’ve now learned that yesterday, GoT shot more scenes around the harbor and the caves, as well as a scene on the famous rope bridge. We have photos, a video and new details of filming courtesy of friends of Watchers On The Wall.
But first, about Aeron: sources tell us Aeron Greyjoy has been cast, and is part of the shooting this week. Unfortunately we don’t know which actor is playing him – yet. He is not being played by the actor who appeared in season 2 as a Drowned Priest. Previously, it was unclear whether the priest at this week’s shooting was Aeron but our sources have confirmed the character present is Aeron. He has long white hair and can be glimpsed distantly in the video footage.
That’s right- YouTuber Eye in the Sky has captured an aerial view of the set at Ballintoy, which we’ve posted below.
MAJOR SPOILERS! Not kidding. Stop here if you don’t want to have some big surprises potentially ruined!
Two sources have confirmed that Alfie Allen was present at the Ironborn filming this week and in the large scene filmed in the video. We knew Allen was in the area, but this seals it: Theon will be returning home to the Iron Islands in season 6.
Several boats were seen yesterday, coming ashore. Men with House Greyjoy banners were spotted on the sand, also visible in the footage. Pilou Asbæk was part of the shoot, and also the actor playing Aeron, who walked among the men. Sources viewing the filming close by said there appeared to be something of a chase to the water, with people jumping into the boats and rowing.
It appears multiple scenes were shot today, potentially from different episodes: the bridge scene (if this is that book scene involving Balon) and then the shore/caves scenes, which led to action on the water.
MORE SPOILERS! This time concerning what might be one of the busiest sections of Westeros in season 6.
We’ve received info that isn’t officially confirmed at this time but we believe it to be solid.
According to our sources, Jaime Lannister is headed to the Riverlands (and hopefully his ASOIAF plot) in season 6, as the rumored Iceland sightings indicated. Additionally, our sources tell us that his new constant companion Bronn is going along with him on whatever his business is.
But that’s not all. The area is getting crowded next season. We’ve heard that Arya Stark will be returning to Westeros’ Riverlands as well. That’s a long way from Braavos, to say the least.
Today is another big day of filming, as cameras roll in Girona, Spain! We have photos galore to share with you so there will be more to come today. What a fun time to be a Game of Thrones fan!
Holy shit snacks that’s a lot of info. Thank you.
Whoador
I guess the priest, from the casting call is Aeron, not Maribald or Elder brother.
My Word those are some pretty big spoilers, but amazing, particularly the
. Too busy to really state my thoughts, but sounds very exciting!!!!
This is such good news. I’m tempted to think that this is a good thing for him, and things won’t be quite as sad for the guy once he gets home. Thank you for posting! The video is the icing on the cake.
If Theon is there then what’s the point of a Kingsmoot?
Sue, you light up my life.
Benjen,
They don’t film the scenes in cronologhical order, this could easly be after the KM.
Hodor? I guess not.
BUT FUCKIN STILL
This is beefier news than Beefy McBeefson’s Beefy Fun House on Beefy Street.
WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER HYPE
I’m calling Euron being the cock merchant for Theon.
Walder Frey should probably start saying goodbye to all of his many family members right now. Arya’s on her way to slit his throat.
Way to go!
Mihnea,
I’m not sure about that. I don’t think the description is very Aeron-ish, beyond being a priest. And a few weeks ago I heard rumors about another casting call for another priest but I was never able to get a hold of the casting breakdown.
Is there a pic of Euron? Can’t wait to see him in costume *jumpingupanddown*
Good God, with all that info!! ??? I LOVE IT!!
The Arya one has me practically going into convulsions. And the Theon one has me confused (especially considering where we left him last season). I guess he wasn’t kidding whenhe described this season as “unexpected”.
Sue the Fury,
Well I don’t really have a problem either way, preaty glad we got Aeron tough!
Someone who is really against Euron.
My guess? After the KM is a failure, and Euron wins, he sends Yara after Theon…..very much like it happens in the books.
Sansa and Euron mariage CONFIRMED!
GET HYPE!!!
These here are some juicy nibbles. We truly are in unknown territory.
It’s weird to feel excited that Aeron has been cast. I never expected that. I wonder if he’ll be as full-on as his written incarnation. Another thought: Theon sighted but no Sansa.
Now we just have to figure out where Sansa is. Any chance her and Brienne find their way to the Quiet Isle?
Is Arya going to be a LSH like character? I don’t hate that, but I wish the rest of the BwB were getting back together then. Doing a season three re-watch makes me really miss those guys.
Grrrod,
I’m expecting a nice beard, but no seaweed.
Wow…
Jamie in the Riverlands? Also cool, but also not too unexpected since its not really clear where else he could go.
But Arya back in the freaking Riverlands?! That’s massive news and completely changes what I thought her storyline was. The one caveat I can think of is, I wonder if she’s actually back or if she’s only there for some sort of dream sequence?
Shit, Christmas! Extravagant gifts, you’ve gone overboard already… keep paddling, though!
Throwing Theon into the mix at the KM could certainly up the dramatics… imagining the reveal of his heir-making parts being gone. Hmmm.
mau,
The weird thing is, that might actually be a more desirable union than one with Ramsay. At least Euron would be away at sea most of the time.
Moonlight,
After all the trouble they went, to get her into the North, I doubt they will send her to the riverlands.
This is beyond exciting. I’m in Northern Ireland for three days this weekend, so will be heading straight up to Ballintoy to see what’s going on. I’m worried the filming will have wrapped for the the weekend though.
Holy crap! This is a lot of information to process!
Mihnea,
Wouldn’t his appearance still end Euron’s rule tho? Idk, I feel like in the books Theon won’t be going back there.
Benjen,
Thats the entire point. Even Asha in the books wants to bring Theon to the II, so they can get rid of Euron.
Flashbacks, folks… that’s likely why Theon has returned to the Iron Islands, and Arya to the Riverlands. I suspect we’re going to get a fair lot of flashbacks this upcoming season. No proof, but it makes sense (well, in my mind, it does). 😀
Benjen,
Editing comment does not work for some reason….
Anyway I think Theon will return to the II in both books and show, it just fits his ark, in my opinion.
OH. MY. GOD.
So fucking awesome!
Apollo,
It probably will have, from what I hear.
Only on paper. I doubt the nuncle would give too hoots about Theon’s claim. Remember Ned’s paper shield in AGOT/S1?
Kristy G.,
LOL No!
Fez,
First I thought your idea about the dream sequence sounded very interesting for Arya, but then I realized that we would not necessarily see her then, especially if we see her
.
So maybe she is really in person in the Riverlands…
and Sue – I am really impressed how you dig up all these great bits of information. Thanks!
What?
Slightly less “what?”
but what about Gendry
Wow, I was convinced Arya would end up in KL and be the one to kill Tommen – but now I’m pretty sure she’ll kill Walder Frey. As long as she kills someone, I’m good! 😉
Good to know that Aeron really is in. I assume he will be opposing Urine Euron just like in the books.
Yara will propably try to use Theon to undone Euron’s crowning.
Jaime and Bronn heading to Riverlands? Also Arya. I didn’t think it’d happen, but hello Lady Stoneheart.
Maybe Robert Render is Aeron?
https://www.facebook.com/robertrenderactor/posts/968435949931028
Kristy G.,
Yes. It does make sense
whoa!
And Theon and Sansa got separeted. I guess Sansa will be involved with the Umbers and Kastarks.
Ballintoy is gorgeous. I want to visit NI!
Theon returning home so soon is surprising. I’m guessing he and Sansa decide to separate (or get separated?). Sansa’s storyline could go anywhere – she remains North, joins up with Brienne, goes to find Rickon/Osha, or cross paths with Littlefinger again when he returns with the Vale armies.
And Arya and Jaime both heading to the Riverlands? To quote Star Wars: “I have a bad feeling about this.” I suspect Bronn won’t survive this time.
Nice that Aeron will be included.
Thank you for this juicy info, Sue!
Benjen,
I have a feeling that the Ironborn might not want to follow a disheveled eunuch who is psychologically and physically a shell of his former self. Not like they respected him much prior to that to begin with.
I’m not saying that Theon can’t regain his dignity through his story arc, but undoing the trauma he’s endured over three seasons in less than one seems unlikely. Maybe Yarsha thinks otherwise and tries to convince some “Mainland”-sympathizing Ironborn houses (like the Harlaws) to nominally back Theon (with her really pulling the reigns)? Maybe we get a version of Preston Jacobs’ Alliance of the Reasonable?
Kristy G.,
How can alfie Allen play theon for a flashback? He’s been with the Starks for a long time
Next year the production team will bring archers to prevent such “Game of Drones” 😉
I wonder how soon those RC helicopters will be able to do HD close-ups and shit.
H.Stark,
I doubt it. Three days of filming isn’t enough for Aeron, also. He’s already done three and has more, from what I hear. I doubt this actor has much of a role, to be honest.
Arya Brienne Jaime Hound Freys all in one location. Can’t imagine what’s gonna happen! Hyped!!
Flora Linden,
Well we don’t really know if it is soon or not. Noone tells us that this is not episode 5 or 8.
Moonlight,
I said this before, but all of my instincts telling me that she’s going to be a part of show’s equivalent of The North Remembers campaign in next season and i’m almost sure we’re going to get an incredibly expected stark reunion with rickon, also littlefinger is heading north so bottom line is that i’m excited as fuck (sorry)
Sue, I like the ” – yet” when you mention we don’t know who’ll be Aeron. Hopefully we’ll find out soon!
Actually it makes so much sense the way it’s done now with Theon present. A scene like this will only really have an impact with a main character around like Theon, and without Victarion in the show, a KM with just Euron and Yara wouldn’t make much sense.
Btw, I really like the fact that we’re getting Euron, Aeron and Randyll Tarly. That really brings down the amount of “important characters” from AFFC/ADWD not included in the show to a minimum (Victarion, Quentyn, Arianne, Griff, Young Griff).
Sue the Fury,
Is there anything more about Aeron’s role you know (and Euron’s)? Nr. of episodes for instance?
Well I resisted the spoilers for all of 30 seconds.
I don’t think Theon would WANT to lead the Ironborn anymore so I think that’s a moot point (pun intended!). How he gets to the Iron Isles and what happens to Sansa I have no clue.
Arya is almost certainly going to be the weapon for revenge over the Freys instead of LS. I just hope she reunites with the brotherhood to do it.
Damn 🙁
In a thread for an article with major spoilers, do I need to hide the spoilers that are clear in the open in this article? I thought that ‘spoilers’ really referred only to book spoilers? (The few remaining of them that there are?)
Either way, Arya’s stuff sounds great. I knew they wouldn’t keep her isolated for two full seasons, it would be worse than Meereen.
Sue the Fury,
Thank you Sue! 🙂
He went back to the Iron Islands a couple years back – just before he went back and captured Winterfell.
I agree that the Ironborn probably just don’t want to follow Theon- he was raised in the North as a hostage, and then he was an abused captive for a long time- the Ironborn wouldn’t respect him as their king. I thought that even when reading the books. The fact that he’s a eunuch now will make him especially worthless in their eyes, as sad as that is.
Dutch Maester,
No, I don’t know episodes amount. I don’t believe I know anything more than what I’ve posted. And I’m still hunting for the actor. 🙂
Didn’t the set pics of Arya jumping into the water (from last week or the week before) show her in Braavos and also show that the scene was for episode 7? If that is the case, it doesn’t leave her a lot of time to back to the Riverlands in the last three episodes. Maybe she shows up in the finale and wipes out Walder.
Since they don’t shoot these scenes sequentially at all, there’s a very good chance that many of these things are not occurring until towards the end of the season. Such as Theon arriving in the Iron Islands and Arya arriving back in Westeros.
We’ve already seen images with Arya in a scene where it looks like she’s in Braavos, so it seems like IF she does end up back in Westeros in S6, it will be E9 or E10 (Arya killing Walder Frey would make for a hell of a E9 or season finale scene)
So happy about Aeron!!!! Alfie Allen’s Instagram photo sure made me think he’d be there….super cool. 😀
Wow, the news about Arya is stunning, esp given where she is right now, and how much of her story I thought we’d see. Well, could be interesting – but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a flashback, a warging with Nymeria, or a set up to play with the shows fans – oh lets just put this actor over here and see what happens on the internets….
Speaking of stunning – those are great shots of a beautiful place!
We don’t really know for sure- that’s just supposition, although her clothes look Braavosi. It could be footage of her swimming in a river, or swimming ashore in Westeros after being a stowaway.
If Arya is back in the Riverlands she may meet Blackfish, (i think those two would hit it right off) and we could be getting meetings with her and Brienne and Jaime as well.
One thing’s for sure…House Frey is going DOWN. And going down hard
Very exciting news about Theon. I’m betting he goes back AFTER the KM as the latecomer loophole once Euron’s mad scheme blows up in their faces.
Sue and her little birds come through for us again!
Arya will kill Balon.
Benjen,
My thought is either A) he gets there after the Kingsmoot or B) everyone in the Iron Islands knows that Balon disowned Theon, so he would have a very weak claim to the throne
Sue the Fury,
Ah ok. Enjoy the hunting!
Exciting stuff! Can someone please take that drone/ Rcopter on the wall fillings next time?
I’m much more interested where Sansa is… This “Ey Theon, I’m on this way, go with your family bye xoxo” route sounds rushed…
The show route for show!Arya clearly will be Arya killing someone important (not like the books) in a shocking badass scene, which skills we don’t really know she learned in the first place (face changing, hello?).
But Sansa? Another wedding? Another prop for development or plot of another character?
Sansa becoming Euron´s saltwife seems to be the most natural direction for her character at this point…That would be first grade trolling from D+D.
I am bit dissapointed Bronn again being Jaime´s sidekick for another season. I would prefer if he stayed in KL where he would be visited by The most beautiful woman in the world and than they would be involved in some KL intrigue.
I surely hope Arya dont get another show only fan service kill like some others are suggesting with Walder Frey. That is not what her character arc is about, she is not some cheesy comic book hero.
SlayerNina,
my guess is that Yara finds Theon to take him home. Probably around the time Sansa finds the Umbers/Rickon
How are the going to fit all this into one season!?!
I think knowing they have 8 seasons before or as season 6 was being written is influencing the show’s story now.
In fact , maybe , even elements from both Feast and Dance , as well as Winds will make up the narrative. Maybe more than they had room for a year ago at this time.
So much for decreasing the amount of storylines…
1. Bran/Hodor/Meera/TER (Beyond the Wall)
2. Jon/Melisandre/Davos/NW (The Wall)
3. Sansa/Baelish/Boltons/Vale army/Northern lords/Osha&Rickon (The North)
4. Jaime/Bronn/Brienne(?)/Freys/Tullys(?) (The Riverlands)
5. Theon/Yara/Euron/Aeron (Iron Islands)
6. Cersei/Tommen/Tyrells/HS (King’s Landing)
7. Doran/Areo/Sand Snakes(KL?) (Dorne)
8. Samwell/Gilly/Randyll (The Reach/Oldtown)
9. Arya/Jaqen/Waif (Braavos)
10. Tyrion/Varys/Missandei/Grey Worm (Meereen)
11. Daenerys/Jorah/Daario (Dothraki Sea)
However (speculation):
– storyline 2 and 3 might merge in some way
– storyline 5 might start later in the season
– storyline 7 might (partly) merge with 6
– storyline 8 might bump into 9, and then merge with 5
– storyline 9 might bump into 4, from what we hear
– storyline 10 and 11 will likely merge by the end of the season.
Oh, one more thing. I wonder who is the *director*. That could help place the scene in the lineup of the episodes.
BrienneGPS will find them first
Moonlight,
No chance of that. Little finger is coming North, and we’re evidently getting some sort of Northern political story. That’s Sansa’s probable book plot, in some form, after the Jeyne Poole diversion.
Arya being back in the Riverlands is huge news. That always seemed like a place she had to go eventually, given that it’s Nymeria’s last known location, but it was unclear if that was where she’d head first.
With the news about Arya, I think this suggests the big VFX set piece that got cut from several earlier seasons may indeed be a look at Nymeria’s wolf pack, as some speculated.
I’m in a pondering mood and two things occurred to me; any thoughts welcome:
Although the Ironborn at Moat Callin were presumably all killed by Ramsay’s gang in S4, is there any way word of Theon’s involvement could have got back to the Iron Islands?
In the Facebook post H Stark linked to, the third comment down from Patrick Allen I read as meaning he is in GoT too. I don’t remember seeing his name on here before, although of course he’s probably just an extra rather than a named role?
Can you hear the footsteps, Mr, American Tolkien? CAN YOU HEAR THEM?
Praying Patrick Malahide was able to be wrangled for what I imagine was just a day’s work.
Walder needs a new wife, right? Could Arya kill his bride to be, take her face, marry him and then murder him on their wedding night?
Dutch Maester,
You forgot to add the total useless storyline called “Days of our Greyworm and Missandai” separate from the main Mereen. Seriously, with all that you mentioned, to keep on with this absolutely nonsense story is a waste of TV space and has zero to do with ultimate ending.
Judibatt,
Ah yes..3 min of screan time a season, thats not really a storyline, you know?
Lulu’s Mum,
My feeling is that there isn’t any realistic way for word to have gotten out. They seemed pretty isolated.
Then why bother with it?
The show is already short enough per episode and they are strained with time to tell the intended story. Why turn it into a soap opera? If they are trying to attract the female crowd, well, they have been doing alright so far without it.
Fez,
Fez, I think you hit the nail on the head! Arya probably isn’t physically going back to the Riverlands, but her dreams may take her there!
Fez,
Fez, I think you hit the nail on the head! Arya probably isn’t physically going back to the Riverlands, but her dreams may take her back!
That’s so diabolical I can’t figure out if it’s crazy or genius.
Judibatt,
Because you need to give actors to do something, this does not work like the books, you either give him scenes or put him off that season, risking to loose him, Theon is perfect example, this is the main reason, beside others, why they showed Ramsey torturing him.
By giving Missandei and GW a romance, wich I think, is quite good, for the 5 min of screan-time they had, over 2 seasons.
And who would have sent the word out, anyway? The ironborn there all dead, and the Boltons aren’t going to send a raven telling anyone (well, I guess Ramsay could taunt them again, but there really doesn’t seem to be a point).
Mihnea,
Can’t edit damn.
”By giving Missandei and GW a romance, wich I think, is quite good, for the 5 min of screan-time they had, over 2 seasons, they give both actors something to do”
Here’s a low-mid quality video from Girona courtesy of vilaweb.cat.
http://www.vilaweb.cat/noticies/comenca-el-rodatge-de-joc-de-trons-a-girona/
There’s some extras (Tyrell-clad and Sparrows) at the beginning, a D&D sighting around the cathedral stairs at around the 50-second mark and some props at the end (very similar to what we’ve seen, though).
Mihnea,
Careful now. When you say “Because you need to give actors to do something,” that is the exact definition of poor storytelling. Ramsey torturing Theon was in no way shape or form just filler to “give them something to do.”
I said nothing of the books, by the way, but thanks for jumping to that conclusion.
And on that note… I am going to sit back and enjoy the rest of the day celebrating this awesome announcement from Sue.
Judibatt,
The real question is why, when this conversation has run its course, need you still bring it up? Give it a rest, it’s tedious.
Bongo,
Did you read Dutch Maester’s post? I was adding to that point. Go back and check it out. Ok, now I am going to celebrate.
Judibatt,
I was refering to the books, to say you can’t side step a character. Missandei barely apears in ADOD, you Had to give her something to do. You’re the one who jumps to conclusions.
And, while I liked Theon’s S3 scenes, you should not be quick to throw this little things, like contracts out the window.
Bongo,
I agree, I’ll stop this disscussion. No point, if 3 min of, quite decent, screan-time bothers him, I’m sorry for him.
Judibatt,
Adding to his point, the same way someone said in the Euron thread about the ”bad p****” line, it has no relevance.
Judibatt,
You mean the 3 scenes in season 4 and 2 scenes in season 5 that amount to 10 minutes in total so far? Get over it already.
IF
Dutch Maester,
I just checked, on youtube. not even 7 min, of screan-time.
Sean C.,
I also think Petyr & Sansa in Winds will come North. That was the plan all along. How Sansa meets him now in the show is the issue. Theon and her part ways at some point but who or how will be the catalyst for that? Brienne maybe? Yet she would not lead Sansa to Petyr, would she? and how will Theon get to the Iron Islands without help? Some mentioned Yara goes for him but I doubt it. She already tried and gave him up for good. Lots of blanks for me to fill.
I always thought Arya will return in the North for some reason. Not sure why that would be. So for me Riverlands is a bit of a surprise, though not shock. She is the one after all who knows what the Freys have done to her Northmen and her family first hand. She was there.
Just some random thoughts…
What if this chase scene “with people jumping into the boats and rowing” takes place immediately after Euron wins the Kingsmoot and orders to have his opponents caught or killed? Yara (and Aeron?) could escape to a ship and set sail for the North. Then she searches for Theon and takes Balon’s true heir back to the Iron Islands to bring Euron’s reign to an end. Both scenes could have been filmed this week.
Another thing I was thinking about is Littlefinger bringing the Vale army to Winterfell. The Vale Lords don’t seem to trust him, so why would they follow his call to start a war with the Boltons? Yeah, the Boltons have Sansa… who was last seen in LF’s care. Their first question would be how the hell she got to marry Ramsay and I don’t think they would believe that LF had nothing to do with it. So what LF needs is a person, who supports his plan to bring down the Boltons and who could convince the Vale Lords to march north. This is where the Blackfish comes into play again. He could have escaped to the Vale after the RW where he has served as Knight of the Bloody Gate for a long time (at least in the books), which is a position of great honor. It would make sense since the Blackfish is basically like an uncle to LF, he has a motive to back this mission since he knows that Roose was responsible for what happened at the RW, he probably enjoys an excellent reputation and is considered honorable and trustworthy by the Vale Lords and he is the type of experienced military commander whom LF needs at the top of his army. Yeah, otherwise there is Royce, a minor character who appeared in 2 episodes so far. The Blackfish leading the Vale army to Winterfell would give the audience another familiar face to be sympathetic to.
After the Boltons are gone Sansa could end up between LF offering her the title “Wardeness of the North” for herself (power) or supporting Rickon’s claim (family). LF doesn’t know that Rickon is still alive, so he will probably try to kill him or even convince Sansa to do it. This could be the point where his masterplan backfires and Sansa decides to side with her brother and kill LF instead.
Then I was thinking about LF offering “a handsome young man” as gift to Olenna. Could this be Gendry? Not sure if it makes sense since bringing a “true” Baratheon heir back would not lead to Margaery and Loras being released by the Faith. But after re-watching season 1 I realized that it was LF who led Ned Stark to Gendry. So he probably has some knowledge about Robert’s bastards. If Gendry came ashore in the Vale and LF somehow found him, could he use him to bring the Lannister’s reign to an end by introducing Robert’s true son as proof that Tommen is no real Baratheon? The Tyrells could benefit from it by having their revenge on Cersei and marrying Margaery to King Gendry afterwards.
Mihnea,
Looks like my gut reaction was right about Aeron. Was also right about Arya returning to the Riverlands and Jaime. But Theon in the Iron Islands is disappointing and odd. Where is Yara? Was she not sighted?
Lord Snow,
It looks like it. No Stark reunion in season 6, again. 🙁
lalla,
Jaime/Bronn in Riverlands and so logically I would expect Brienne there too.
jentario,
Why is Theon going to the II dissapointing?
I always thought thats where he is heading.
Arya + Nymeria = 1
jentario,
She WAS sighted at Kingsmoot I believe.
Bongo, Simeon
Thanks guys. I thought it seemed unlikely but am not a book reader and a bit vague on the geography of what or who might have been nearby. I thought perhaps if the Ironborn were known to be holding MC and everyone there suddenly vanished there might be more of a where-did-they-go reaction from others? But GoT world is a pretty lawless place so maybe they would just be written off as casualties of war without any further investigation, as so many of those who didn’t come back on all sides must have been.
This may be too many spoilers for even me…
Very exciting news! 😀 When it was reported earlier that Alfie had posted a picture from his hotel window, it was clear that at some point he was going to be back home. I wonder how and when? Hopefully Theon starts to claim back a little of his pre-Reek persona – that would be a journey worth seeing. I do wonder when Sansa and he part ways? Perhaps if they meet up with Brienne and Sansa can have someone else as protector?
Arya back in the Riverlands is great! 😀 😀 Instead of KL or Oldtown or even Meereen, that seems to be the best. I wonder if she joins up with the band of outlaws terrorizing the countryside who have been cast? Lachlan and Co.?
I am going to ramble a bit….sorry.
From what I have seen the only really confirmed shots where there are actors or action, not just set up, are a big fire at the Wall, Arya in the water and now the Iron Born. All other shots have been set creations, mostly of Braavos. ToJ. Dothraki. New KL.
I too think that the Arya in the Riverlands could be a warg type scene, but I would think they could use the tons of stuff they already have in the can for that. Not that she would have to physically be there. There is also the point of “she is blind” and that has to be covered. I am confused on a point….all those faces are at the HoB&W, once someone learns to face change do they just take the faces off other dead people? *shrugs* Would Arya face changing in the Riverlands mean she has to kill someone to get a face to use? I doubt she has them in her back pocket taken from HoB&W. But that is confusing to me.
Theon at the Iron Land…shooting with the big group that is there as I read it. I would have to think this is late season stuff as well. He has to be with Sansa in the first part, either meeting up with Brienne (likely as she is already there too), or meeting up again with Little Finger and his magic jetpack, we know he was heading that way. Could be Umbers/Rickon, but that again would take some few first episodes to meet them and place where they are in relation to Sansa. For some reason I am leaning towards Brienne Little Finger and Theon is not wanted there, he leaves and meets up with Yara they head back to the Iron Land group for late season.
These are ALL guesses, nothing is known really. Storylines I think will get shortened (meaning there will be some scenes there)or sidelined this season are KL, Boltons, Dorne and parts of the Dany/Tyrion loop. While they are major characters, I think that “big” action will happen season 7. Again, all guesses.
I am very excited about all this great stuff we are getting from Sue and Co. And also, I admit, confused. But a happy confusion it is!!
jentario,
She was sighted, no worries. And with Theon back, it adds a lot of drama to the Kingsmoot, not to mention a familiar face. With Theon present, the election of Euron is actually something big and makes the KM effective, while in the book it was always quite weird to me: Euron was king, Aeron called a kingsmoot, Euron stays king. In other words: Why did I have to read this if nothing changes?
Mihnea,
I wanted Yara’s role to grow, and I don’t think Theon has reached a satisfying conclusion in the North yet (in the show at least). But I guess if he gets there later in the season (after the Kingsmoot and other events), there’d be no problem at all.
why? She finally found Sansa, why let go and go to the Riverlands and do what?
Can the director be recognized? That’d answer a hundred questions.
DRONES!!!!
Haha, no secret is safe when WotW deploys drones to get sneak peaks.
However, these little spoilers are welcome and fun IMO, it doesn’t give away much, just builds on the excitement.
Lets hope HBO and D&D don’t fuck up like they did last year when someone they gave screeners to leaked the first 3 episodes online. This season, besides the Greyjoy stuff, book readers and TV show watchers are on equal footing.
Seven more months… SEVEN HELLS!
Geralt of Rivia,
I have a very hard time seeing how Brienne could logically be extracted from the Northern story at this point. Not that that means it won’t happen, since when characters snap back into their book stories the effect can be jarring.
GeekFurious,
We’re going to have to get used to it or avoid the off-season I’m afraid.
That’s the point. I don’t see any of them travelling alone on their own in the woods (no food, no horse…), someone has to find them first.
And if, for example, Yara founds them I don’t see the logic of not kidnapping the Heiress of Winterfell, if the Umbers found them, I don’t know why a Stark loyalist wouldn’t kidnapp the responsible of the siege of Winterfell and murder of Bran and Rickon.
But who knows.
SlayerNina,
I would guess Theon wouldn’t let Yara kidnap Sansa. And Sansa would stand up for Theon and explain he didn’t kill her brothers.
Oh and whoever said “no Stark reunion this season” is wrong. Sansa will reunite with Rickon and my personal guess is that Jon and Bran will finally not miss eachother (third time’s the charm!).
Theon goes back to II could means that he survives longer than i thought,i always think that he’ll die in the north.
jentario,
Yara’s role could hardly get smaller :P. As I understand it, Theon will be present for the Kingsmoot, although that scene may indeed take place in the second half of the season.
Sean C.,
She has just given up on her vow to protect Sansa, so if there’s any moment that’s right to leave, it would be this moment. I expect her to want to catch up with Jaime in the Riverlands, telling her neither of the Stark girls wanted/needed protection.
jentario,
There is 0 chance he gets there before the KM, I will bet money on that.
Yara will have some scenes, but nothing major, she is a secondary character at most.
She has no idea Jaime will be in the Riverlands, she’s not read the scripts!
lalla,
News travels fast and weirdly these days in Westeros 😉
Sean C.,
Well, let’s just hope Littlefinger meets his end at Sansa’s hands then, as we’ve been waiting for for two seasons now. I have a feeling that if they do meet up, it won’t be until later in the season though.
The biggest question is how he separates from Sansa and what brings him back to the Islands.
A random guess: Brienne meets up with Theon and Sansa and they get chased by Ramsay. There is a big battle scene where Ramsay attacks, Theon gets separated and Brienne and Sansa manage to escape (perhaps Theon saves them- that’d be good, sacrificing himself and facing Ramsay). Then Yara barges in and kills Ramsay and the Ironmen, and is surprised to find Theon.
Was it HBO and D&D that fooked it up or was it the ASSHATS who probably sold this information after they got it? Sending out screeners for the first few episodes of ANY major show on TV is normal. This is the first time someone decided to totally screw it up for all others. I hope that there is a way they can still send them to people like Sue but make them not able to re-record them or send them to others. Big IF there. They may just not do it at all.
Sansarya,
That was exactly my thought process. Perhaps Brienne is with Sansa/Theon at that point as well?
Is now the time for someone to create fan art of Arya riding Nymeria leading the superpack waving Needle?
Great, now I’m envisioning Arya saying “time for a game of disappearing Freys”.
Sorry for going here but…
…I think that the 7 minutes of screentime with GW and Missandei is to give us a glimpse into the lives of slaves/servants which we usually don’t get..it’s not a filler or just to give the actors something to do
Benjen,
I’m not a 100% if lordship over the Iron Island can be taken by every ironborn, but I’m almost certain. What I am sure about is that kingship can taken from every captain on the Iron Island. That’s what the kingsmoot is all about, to declare a king (or Queen) the fact that the Greyjoys have been in power for a very long time doesn’t mean that they’re inherently the only ones or even better for that position.
Wow. My mind has kind of exploded now. Arya back in Westeros, Jaime confirmed to go to the Riverlands, Aeron… Wow.
jentario,
Which makes sense, as I think GRRM said that there would be reunions in Winter.
Riverlands: Arya and Nymeria reunite, go after Freys. Jaime and Bronn head to Casterly Rock.
North: Should be huge, but I don’t think Rickon will be involved, as imo there’s no time.
Bran’s story resumes.
Jon returns.
Davos hopefully gets to do something.
Sansa (maybe) gets herself to the Wall, in time to witness chaos.
Ramsay might head to the Wall, too, to get his bride and his Reek.
New northern lords vs Boltons, OR vs Littlefinger, if he leads Vale men to Winterfell, or with Littlefinger, if he allies with the northerners to take down the Boltons. One way or another, Boltons are going down, as are the Freys.
Walkers.
…then Iron Islanders, and KL, with Cersei/Jaime/Tyrells/Faith drama. Tyrion&Varys in Meereen, Dany with Dothraki, finally landing on Westeros. Citadel, with Sam and Gilly and Ironborn, if they go after Oldtown, plus Tarly family reunion. Dorne, as I fear we haven’t seen the last of the Sand Snakes.
This season has the potential to be a disconnected mess if the writers don’t take the time to connect all of these stories.
Dutch Maester,
She didn’t give up her vow. She took a thirty-minute break from staring at that tower, which she had apparently been doing round-the-clock for several weeks (what if it was lit at night? When does she sleep? Ugh, that plot was so dumb). I don’t get how you’d go from that to outright leaving, particularly since news of Sansa’s escape should be pretty widespread (though you’d have thought the same of that old lady getting flayed).
Sansarya,
How would Theon stop Yara from taking Sansa? She wouldn’t do that out of the goodness of her heart; she’s sensible, and in desperate need of a prestigious achievement. Letting a valuable hostage get away would just compound her image problems.
Sean C.,
Pod takes over, and wakes her up?
Whats ”dumb” here?
Next time, could you specify that it’s spoilers for both book-readers and show-watchers? ‘Cause I came here thinking I was safe.
Tywin of the Hill,
Why would you be? It’s season six; mostly TWOW. A bad gamble! There’s barely anything left; a few setup chapters from AFFC and the ADWD
Mihnea,
See, that would make sense, except they they’re always shown awake at the same time.
Tywin of the Hill,
You should have expected this.
Be carefull, after all, you’re a Unsullied from now.
jentario,
Well, according to the TWOW sample chapters,
Where else would they go but the Iron Islands….it’s home and they have nowhere else. It makes perfect sense that Theon would end up there. The biggest change is that Theon could possibly be present for the Kingsmoot, which he wasn’t in the books (I wasn’t clear on whether Alfie’s filming in Ballintoy meant he was in the Kingsmoot scene or if he was just there for other scenes). In either case, it makes sense to clean up the II storyline and have more convergence this way. In the end, TWOW will probably see Theon in the II with Yara.
What I want to know is how do Theon and Sansa get separated? I’m betting that Sansa finds aid with the Greatjon/Smalljon (where she finds Rickon and Osha), who will want to kill Theon. But Sansa shows mercy (knowing that what Ramsay did was far worse than killing him IMHO) and lets him go to find his own fate. He runs into Yara (somehow) and then they’re off to the II together. Ties up last season’s story nicely and propels them forward into S6 and beyond.
Sean C.,
They where shown 2 times, watching for the candle, do you really need every detail shown for 15 min? This is not a history book. She watched for the candle, do the logistics metter?
Dame Pasty,
Yeah, its preaty clear that Theon in the books is going to the II.
Mihnea,
There were far greater offenses against logic in that story than Brienne’s monitoring schedule, certainly. It’s a minor thing, but it still annoys me. Not worth arguing about, anyway.
Mihnea,
As I remember she left Pyke of her aown accord as she didn’t want to be under Euron’s control ( think he already married her off to someone after she left). Her meeting Theon again was pure luck.
With Stannis gone then the Greyjoy kids really don’t have a reason to be in the north. I imagine they’ll go back for the KM then flee after Euron wins. Where to? No idea. They’re men (and women without a country).
Theon and Sansa splitting up is a little odd and I’m not sure why Theon would head to Pyke. Sansa would surely head back to the Vale given the choice as although she knows Bran and Rickon are alive she has no idea where. Perhaps they head to Deepwood Motte. Asha and Theon get word of the KM and head off and Sansa is left with the Glovers who are in league with the Umbers and know Rickon is with them? Really not sure.
I assume Arya is going to start taking some revenge on the Freys but not sure how her interaction , if any, with Jaime and/or Brienne will go. Jaime will perhaps go up there for the siege of Riverrun then get tied up with Brienne who I’m not sure why she would be heading south. Did like the suggestion of Arya posing as Walder Frey’s new wife. I sense Blackfish and the BwB could still play a role and of cause Edmure is still about.
I think keeping Bronn with Jaime is a wise idea as he has pretty much become Ilyn Payne. Can he survive another season?!
The handsome young man was Oliver/ Olyvar in S5 who ratted out Lancel and Maergery
Luka Nieto,
I saw the picture of a waterfront, so I thought “OK., must be talking about the Kingsmoot. The warning must be for non-book readers only”.
Then I read it and thought “What the Seven Hellllllsssss?”.
TheTouchOfFrost,
The Vale is the last place where Sansa is going. Really that storyline is done.
If Arya is back in the Riverlands, I hope there’s a Nymeria reunion in S6.
Sean C.,
All 10 houres of the show, must have been a crime against logic for you…
Dame Pasty,
The question is does Sansa go to the Wall to look for Jon, or does she go look for Bran/Rickon? Those two mentions in S5 were too obvious to just be throwaways, and must be leading her to one or the other. Assuming, of course, she can still walk after that jump.
Mihnea,
EDIT: Season, not show.
Still can’t edit for some reasons.
Ravyn,
My guess…
She goes to the Wall, looking for Jon, because she knows where exactly he is, unlike rickion/bran. And on the way she gets found by Umber, who has Rickon.
Mihnea,
So it seems none of us can edit at all. Probably because of the server change?
Mihnea,
I dunno. I think they still have a part to play. Whether it be in the Vale or the north. I think Sansa could rejoin them and pick up wherever her tWoW storyline is heading. Don’t think we can rule anything out at this point!
Ravyn,
Well, rationally, the smart thing to do (on the information she has) would be to go to the Wall, since she knows Jon is there, and once you’re relatively safe there to strategize about Bran and Rickon, since Sansa has no idea where to look for them and her immediate priority should be safety.
TheTouchOfFrost,
Nobody disputes that the Vale characters are still relevant — that would be hard, seeing as Lord Royce and Lord Arryn are in this season — just the idea of returning to that location. The Valemen are coming North with Baelish, and will definitely be part of Sansa’s story there.
BrienneGPS lol
Too busy listening to puppies.
Jaime Lannister actually appears to be in Girona! So he is probably coming back to Kings Landing at least at some point.
https://instagram.com/p/7K1nxtEg9i/
Sean C.,
3.with you, on this point.
Mihnea,
”sigh” damn cats…
”I suprisingly agree….”
JohnDoe,
Photo from last year, he was on vacation with family
What if this chase scene “with people jumping into the boats and rowing” takes place immediately after Euron wins the Kingsmoot and orders to have his opponents caught or killed? Yara (and Aeron?) could escape to a ship and set sail for the North. Then she searches for Theon and takes Balon’s true heir back to the Iron Islands to bring Euron’s reign to an end. Both scenes could have been filmed this week.
Another thing I was thinking about is Littlefinger bringing the Vale army to Winterfell. The Vale Lords don’t seem to trust him, so why would they follow his call to start a war with the Boltons? Yeah, the Boltons have Sansa… who was last seen in LF’s care. Their first question would be how the hell she got to marry Ramsay and I don’t think they would believe that LF had nothing to do with it. So what LF needs is a person, who supports his plan to bring down the Boltons and who could convince the Vale Lords to march north. This is where the Blackfish comes into play again. He could have escaped to the Vale after the RW where he has served as Knight of the Bloody Gate for a long time (at least in the books), which is a position of great honor. It would make sense since the Blackfish is basically like an uncle to LF, he has a motive to back this mission since he knows that Roose was responsible for what happened at the RW, he probably enjoys an excellent reputation and is considered honorable and trustworthy by the Vale Lords and he is the type of experienced military commander whom LF needs at the top of his army. Yeah, otherwise there is Royce, a minor character who appeared in 2 episodes so far. The Blackfish leading the Vale army to Winterfell would give the audience another familiar face to be sympathetic to.
After the Boltons are gone Sansa could end up between LF offering her the title “Wardeness of the North” for herself (power) or supporting Rickon’s claim (family). LF doesn’t know that Rickon is still alive, so he will probably try to kill him or even convince Sansa to do it. This could be the point where his masterplan backfires and Sansa decides to side with her brother and kill LF instead.
Then I was thinking about LF offering “a handsome young man” as gift to Olenna. Could this be Gendry? Not sure if it makes sense since bringing a “true” Baratheon heir back would not lead to Margaery and Loras being released by the Faith. But after re-watching season 1 I realized that it was LF who led Ned Stark to Gendry. So he probably has some knowledge about Robert’s bastards. If Gendry came ashore in the Vale and LF somehow found him, could he use him to bring the Lannister’s reign to an end by introducing Robert’s true son as proof that Tommen is no real Baratheon? The Tyrells could benefit from it by having their revenge on Cersei and marrying Margaery to King Gendry afterwards. Olyvar being the “handsome young man” doesn’t make much sense since the Faith would execute him for lying in front of the Gods if he was to recant his testimony.
Mihnea,
My bad then 🙁 false alarm. How do you know though?
The pics of Nikolaj in Spain were posted back in July, when there were tweets from him about being in Spain on vacation. That was an easy trace.
Margaery is no longer a virgin. The Baratheons have zero forces at this point, other than those that are with Tommen because he is a Lannister. Why would marrying Margaery to Gendry be a good idea? Gendry brings nothing to the table but illegitmate bloodline. It’s just as easy to get the Stormlands through Tommen. Stannis took the army and they got slaughtered. And the Lannisters still hold the West.
Yeah…I want Gendry back too, but that doesn’t flow.
Benjen,
Maybe he didn’t arrive on time. I wonder, will Sansa be with him?
Arya in Westeros? It seems her mission in Braavos is coming to an end, whatever it might be.Yet it seems forced to me. Theon vs Yara ok, maybe, but Sansa vs Northern Lords… He’s still guilty for the siege of Winterfell and he let the Bolton came in… Probably the first option.
Better than finding Brienne (again lol give her a break) or Sansa being taken to the Assembly and seducing Euron, who will be the new Harry the Heir ¬¬
Wow.
The two things I find most intriguing are where’s Sansa, and the information about Arya. Sure, it could be Bran seeing what went before for her in the Riverlands through the Weirnet, but I can’t help but hope for either
or Gendry…or both. I’m beyond excited!!!
everything, but the worst is that she’s supposed to see a tiny candle light from miles away. What kind of candles do they have in Westeros? A bunch of them might do for a lighthouse.
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
Indeed, very exciting times.
JCDavis,
To me, they screwed Arya’s plot in the moment they give her the magic of face changing. If she had killed Meryn with Lanna’s face, would be reasonable.
Now, they’re pretending the audience accept that someone stubborn used as a servant a month or so can be a full time FM. And in season 6 she can command an army of wolfs? C’mon!
If that’s real, I want Bran’s extended version flashbacks about everything happened between the Long Night and yesterday in HD Dolby Surround, Rickon riding an unicorn and Sansa warging a dragon. 😀
They could give most interesting things than cheesy cringeworth romance… I don’t know, several scenes in which Missandei teaches Dany “in Essoss this people/this costume… represents…”.
The problem is not “give the characters something to do”, is to erase full plots to give something to do to tertiary characters or extras who nobody cares about, I think.
Yeah, I admit that the theory is not the strongest. But somehow I expect a plot-twist with this “handsome young man”. The alternatives I can think of don’t seem to fit as well.
Letting Olyvar withdraw his statement would lead to him beeing executed for lying in front of the Gods and it would not help Margaery. And what would be the point of getting Olyvar to rat out Loras as a “gift” for Cersei just to have him withdraw the statement later as a “gift” for Olenna? Yes, Cercei is imprisoned by the Faith now, but that was not LF’s work as Lancel unburdened himself to the High Sparrow.
So who else could be the handsome young man? Robin Arryn? Trystan Martell? Young Griff or even the Hound (as the Tyrell’s champion)?
Anything on the whereabouts of Sophie Turner right now? And what about Trystane and Doran Martell?
One unpalatable answer to “Where’s Sansa?”
Dead.
The King Who Cares,
I really think it could be
Young Griff & Griffin season 7.Matt,
Sophie and a bunch of her friends are in Croatia now, attending a music festival that’s scheduled to run through Sunday.
The King Who Cares,
The handsome young man was Lancel Lannister … Littlefinger knew that Lancel and Cersei slept together and gave Robert fortified wine, so Littlefinger told Olenna, who then told the High Sparrow … who then arrested Cersei …
when Masie posted that video of her with bag under the eyes for shooting with contact lenses, Sophie was singing in the background. Were were they? Maybe Sophie was shooting some scene too.
I hope that WotW’s moles are keeping a lookout for the actress who played the sea captain’s daughter. Theon could potentially have a convenient bastard who could be legitimized as his heir, which might bolster the anti-Euron faction.
The showrunners made a point of keeping that episode in, instead of cutting to the chase of ‘Theon lands on Pyke,’ which may be of some significance beyond sexposition or reinforcing our knowledge of what Theon’s favorite toy is (already established in his scenes with Ros).
red viper,
That is logical conclusion to come to, but that seems like the writers putting too much of the guesswork on the average viewer. That leads me to believe there’s more to this “handsome young man” than just – oh it’s Lancel and we just have to *assume* Olenna told the High Sparrow? They couldn’t just fit that tiny scene into one of those unfairly short 53-minute episodes?
Wow, that’s a lot of info. I really happy we are getting Aeron, he and Asha were my favorite characters from that plot. Sue is our master of whispers.
lalla,
That was in Belfast, a while ago. Sophie has definitely been filming a number of times now, including at the Winterfell set (seemingly without Alfie), but hasn’t been in Ireland for a week or two, at least — she was in England (London and Leamington), then in Montreal last weekend, then Leamington again, and now Croatia.
Not all of Theon is there.
No one will trust his allegiance or abilities.
Matt,
Yes … Lancel was what came to me as a book reader, but I’m also hoping that the real answer is something else …. because I think they would have shown a confrontation between Lancel and the High Sparrow …
it´s so easy to imagine why theon is on iron islands. Theon and Sansa are in the woods now, they can find brienne and podrick and sansa can stay with them and Theon go for his ´´HOME´´, he´s a brooke man, no place in the world, why the hell he would stay with brienne and podrick, ahhh a jouney?? like i said, he´s a brooke a man, no motivations, all a person like that wants is go for ´´home´´, for some place he belongs, and his only place is the Iron islands.
Another thing, is Theon and sansa go for the wall to try do find Jon, Jon is dead but Davoos is there, so sansa stay with davoos ang go looking for Rickon and bran , and theon again go for his ´´home´´.
Theres no need to yara find him, for he go to iron islands
red viper,
Yeah I just thought of this too – the High Sparrow probably knew about Cersei & Lancel before he met Cersei. His motive the entire season is imprisoning her.
How would Yara know to look for Theon in the vicinity of Winterfell? Last she knew, he was imprisoned at the Dreadfort, and who amongst the Boltons is going to be sending her updates on her brother’s whereabouts via Ravengram? Seems much more likely that they would cross paths by accident – never mind how big the North is.
This is a lot of wonderful information. WOTW never ceases to amaze. Thrilled with the direction of these story lines. I am looking forward to these Ironborn scenes, especially now that Theon is headed home. I assume that “Jaime in the Riverlands” means that he is returning to his AFFC/ADWD storyline which is reassuring. Now to get Brienne moving south. The best part of all of this may be the potential for Arya and Nymeria to finally meet again.
Dame Pasty,
I generally agree with your suggestions about Theon and Sansa. She will show mercy.
As far as how/why he returns to Pyke,
Yes, so I don’t think LF had anything to do with it. You could believe he was referring to Lancel as the two of them had a scene together when Baelish arrived in KL. But he has no power over Lancel and even if he knew about Cercei and him having an affair, I think Lancel had already unburdened himself at that point (probably when he joined the sparrows).
Walder Frey is so old that it almost seems like a waste of karma for Arya to kill him (though I’ve been liking the ‘young bride disguise’ concept for quite a while now). It would be more ironic if he just dropped dead of old age, a stroke or a heart attack just as Arya was about to get within striking distance. At that point House Frey will implode faster than Poe’s House of Usher – no need to kill any more of them when they’re all so busy killing one another.
The King Who Cares,
Exactly. But you’re right, LF & Lancel did have that brief scene together… There’s also the speculation that
The only reason I can see why that would happen is
Matt,
And I can’t figure out how to block my spoilers 🙁
I would like if Walder Frey will die of old age happily in his bed after having deflowered his new child bride -and then of course his family will melt down.
Every one expect every single villain to get their comeuppance. I think it would be cheap, like some moralistic tale, and that’s not how it works. Some get theirs and some don’t, and some who don’t “deserve” it will get it nevertheless (but of that we’d had a lot).
1. I didn’t say anything about Arya running a wolf pack. I said she “could” warg. But I would find that unlikely and also they wouldn’t need to bring her any place. More likely to me is that she somehow get over the blindness punishment and learns how to really become a face changer and then comes back to Westeros, late in the season. I don’t see her getting together with Jamie/Bronn or Brienne, she left Brienne behind once already. I DO see her going for the Frey’s. Waldor Frey is on his prayer list. Then I would see her going to KL.
There have been some others who speculate that Arya leading a pack of wolves with/as Nymeria could happen and the truth is any thing is possible. It just isn’t my guess.
And I still wish someone could really explain the face changing thing to me. I posed the question in my original post and no one responded to it until you, so thanks for that. If one is in Westeros, how does one get faces? Does Arya have to kill someone to take their face? Is there some tower/room hidden somewhere in Westeros just for the FM to use for faces? I read the books and I don’t recall getting anything from there on this either.
I don’t have the answer, but remember in Season 2, Jaqen turned from Arya, changed his face, then turned back to her. So I’m gonna say they keep a couple in their pockets, kinda like hankerchiefs.
Of course, prior to going blind, she also saw her own face on the body on the floor, so maybe it can just be summoned or duplicated somehow?
Great Goggly Moogly!
That is a lot to take in for a single post!
Kudos, Sue and team!
I excited for possible movement in Aryas’s arc!
I do fear that the Riverlands visit could be dreams like some have said…
I’m not shocked Theon ends up in the Iron Islands, but the timing of it surprises me!
If he makes the Kingsmoot or is there early in the season it might feel rushed to me.
Also happy they added Aeron Greyjoy!
If they have the Kingsmoot why not add Damphair? Will they also add Vic? I do not see a point in sending a Greyjoy to Essos after events last season, but having a real challenger to the Seastone Chair for Euron to take out may be interesting to see.
JCDavis,
The wolfpack thing… HBO tends to exagerate everything, so if Dany can pet her dragons to kill on command and “summoning” one of them, why not?
As for the face changing thing, I thought always it was something related with makeup and wigs for most of the time, or a magic ilussion created by the user, like Melisandre’s and Jaqen. When Arya started to take all the faces suddenly in 5×10 and at the same time, I was like WTF?
The process isn’t detailed in the books either (yet, I think in Mercy’s chapter Arya’s still using her face with shaved head, new clothes and posing expressions). Maybe in future we can learn how it works (maybe not, maybe Martin wrote this just because it sounded cool lol)
Undead Ice Kraken,
Not drones. Dragons
JCDavis,
Pigeon,
I was going to mention what Pigeon already did about Jaqen changing his face in season 2…even to the point of saying they must carry a few around with them in hidden pockets, or something.
As for the rest of it, I’ve never thought Arya becomes a full-fledged faceless man. I always thought, between her not being able to become no one, killing who she wants, instead of killing who she’s supposed to, keeping Needle, and, in the books
she would either leave or be kicked out. There is the possibility the FM consider her
but I don’t know…it’s just a thought.
I’m not sure we’re supposed to know how it all works, yet, or if we’re supposed to be able to understand how all the face changing works, ever.
I’m not sure if only show watchers remember what Nymeria is… And the warg thing is only Bran’s at the show…
If they give us a “previously on GOT” which features Arya with Nymeria, we’ll know where we going here
SlayerNina,
The faces in the books have enough explanation for the observant reader. The faces, at Arya’s stage in training, have to be manually put on with some magic elements. These faces are taken from bodies of people who die in the temple. Arya cannot put them on herself. Hence, why the KM helps her put on the Ugly Little Girl’s faces. Presumably he helped her put on Mercy’s face since he was the one who suggested Arya needed a face as pretty as her own–his words.
The show changed the set up for ease in their version of Arya’s HoBaW arc. It seems like the faces on the show can be put on and taken off as easily as Halloween masks. Arya doesn’t need the assistance of any potions or FM. However, there is a catch. Only a true FM, someone is no one in every way, can wear the faces. Those who retain their true selves while wearing the faces will suffer a punishment like blinding. Arya used the face for her own ends and she paid in blindness. To me, this also seems like a convenient reason for D&D to keep Maisie as Arya for as long as possible. It’s easier for the audience to understand what’s happening if Maisie is doing Arya’s action and there’s less stress on filming. IIRC there were multiple stunt doubles in addition to the actors for the Meryn death scene.
Simeon,
YES! Arya to marry Frey then kill him
That might still be a possibility: it would not be the first time that producers have shown someone in a “psychic link” with Individual X being at the place where the Individual X is in some sequence.
Or Arya might just go back there herself. I admit, that does surprise me: I had been thinking that she would hook up with Daeny while in Essos. Of course, that might be a carry over from my thought that the three major sides would each end up with a Stark in their camp.
They will need to remind the viewers, of course. However, they always need to remind the viewers of lots of things. Even if it was in S5, well, a lot of stuff happens over 10 months for most people that is much more important than TV!
LF would not have told Lancel to confess: LF would know full well that 1) Lancell wold never voluntarily betray his House like that, and, 2) he certainly wouldn’t do it for Littlefinger. One point that is emphasized over and over again is that there is no greater “sin” to the nobility of Westeros than to betray your House. Instead, LF would have told the High Sparrow to probe further into the situation: i.e., ask Lancel with whom he had committed these sins.
At any rate, the gun hung early has to be fired late: but no other “young man” gun was fired last year. B&W are fastidious about that: if it had been someone else, then it would have become obvious by the end of the season if not by the end of the episode.
That would have been terrible TV: what made it work was that you didn’t know for certain what or to whom the HS was referring until Lancel comes out. If they had shown the HS interrogating Lancel to get the information, then you would have known going into the scene that the HS was on to Cersei. (Remember, unless you had read the books, you would not have known that immediately and thus not have appreciated that Cersei had trapped herself.)
Wimsey,
I binge watch all seasons before a new one starts. Is that weird?
Thank you for your replies:
Pigeon
Nymeria Warrior Queen
SlayerNina
Satin
I also recall that Jaquen did change faces. So the pocket supply sounds reasonable to me. I guess you get them off people who have died there or there is no shelf life to them and he got them originally from HoB&W. With the speculation that Arya going to the Riverlands and putting on a “face” to marry Waldor Frey and then killing him is what got me thinking about this. Not that I think this is going to happen…but it could, no one really knows.
Satin
I think all of us are better than average book readers, so observance isn’t the question that I inquired about. Yes, in the books she does get the training and help. In the show, not so much. And at the end where it shows her pulling face after face of the corpse with hers being the last one, puts that speculation to question. I still have to wonder how someone leaves Braavos travels back to the Riverlands and somehow uses the “faces” for Arya’s purpose, whatever that may be. Maybe the summoning charm from HP is used….accio face. 😛
I am hoping in this last part of her training this is something she/we will learn more about.
I don’t think anyone needed to encourage Lancel to confess, other than, perhaps, the High Sparrow, when Lancel converted. You know, one of those, “you need to confess all your sins.” The High Sparrow may have had no clue what it was Lancel was going to confess, but given the light of Evangelism in Lancel’s eyes (not to mention the scene with Cersei in…I think it was episode 1), he told the High Sparrow everything he’d done.
Pigeon,
I think the higher rankes of fm does it with magic and not actual faces idk i’m just guessing.
Wimsey,
Idk though… I hadn’t gotten to that part of the books yet when that episode aired, but it seemed reeeeeally obvious to me that the High Sparrow knew things from Lancel. I hope there’s more to the “handsome young man” thing than that.
Those pictures kinda look like the Mander and shield islands. Perhaps they are filming both in the area. That opening of water looks like the mouth of the Mander and perhaps there will be a faceoff between ironborn and the reach warriors. Maybe even randyll tarly will get in the mix somehow.
lalla,
Human eyes can detect candle light in the dark up to 30 miles away http://m.livescience.com/33895-human-eye.html
Newbietothegame,
I do the exact same thing! Must admit I have started to skip some bits though!
TheTouchOfFrost,
I do, too, although the only things I skip (and mute) are where animals get killed (specifically when The Mountain slays the horse during Ned’s tournament, and when Ned kills Lady). I know, it isn’t real, but I don’t care.
Judibatt,
Some of us actually enjoy that storyline. In fact up until Tyrion arrived, I couldn’t have cared less about Dany’s story the last 3 seasons apart from the genuine emotion of the GW/Missandei scenes. I know I’m not alone in this, so your opinion that it’s “useless” is just that, your opinion.
Atypical, probably. I do it, myself. However, I suspect that the majority of viewers do not. Moreover, even if you do, then it usually will have been 2-3 months since you have seen past seasons by the time a season ends!
There is no reason to think that the HS was around when Lancel converted, is there? Regardless, Lancel would have needed a lot of encouragement to admit with whom he had broken his vows. The HS basically alludes to this when he tells Cersei that, slowly but surely, Lancel told them more and more. (Given the way the HS said it, I assumed that there was “pressure” put on Lancel to do it, too.) Again, betraying your house like that is the worst thing a Westerosi noble can do: Lancel might give Cersei a warning that she, too, should come clean, but he’s not going to be the one to betray her.
At any rate, had the HS known, then he probably would have acted sooner on Cersei.
The book plays out quite differently: Lancel is not involved. And of course the HS knew about it from Lancel in the end: but it was not until after LF tipped the HS off that the HS would have forced Lancel to answer the question “with whom did you sin?” Lancel confessing his sins is one thing, but Lancel confessing the sins of another member of House Lannisters is one of the most dishonorable thing he can do, after all.
This just plays on an issue that comes up over and over in Martin’s stories. Morality A says “Thou Shalt Not Do X.” Moraltiy B says “Thou Must Do Y.” So, what happens when doing Y means doing X, too?
Now, it is quite possible that the HS had heard the stories about who really fathered Cersei’s children: as Stannis tried to spread that story far and wide. That’s also a separate issue from this one.
That gun had to be fired last year: the audience is not going to remember it next year. And I am quite certain that it was.
There is no reason to think the High Sparrow wasn’t around when he converted, either, is there? I never got any impression Lancel was pressured to confess anything, in particular, other than that to truly join with that crew, he had to confess all his sins. I’m not sure they knew what all Lancel’s sins entailed. For a religious zealot, which is exactly what Lancel appears to have become, thus being a man of the faith before a Westerosi noble, he’d put the faith before his house, at least the way I see it. In other words, his loyalty to the faith outstrips his former loyalty to his house.
Satin,
Ah, ok, thank you for the explanation.
Wimsey,
I’m ok with reminders and previews, excepting three or four shoots of Olly’s face or Jorah’s sickness per episode 😛
Mihnea,
I agree. Smalljon will be our Manderly.
And I don’t see Theon leaving for the Islands of his own accord (he’s too much of a broken man to make that decision IMO)- his sister has to be there to pull him out. And why would she be in Westeros? Definitely not to save him, she already said “my brother is dead”, but she would definitely want some sweet sweet revenge after Ramsay shamed her. And having Yara as a deus ex machina to solve a Bolton attack (and maybe even kill Ramsay) would be a great way to reintroduce the Iron Islands storyline.
Ugh I don’t want Nyquil Greyjoy aka Aeron, give me Victarion dammit!
Theon at the Kingsmoot is fine I guess, makes sense for the show. Although does that mean Sansa will be with him? Cause the thought of her being so close to Euron scares me.
Jaime now going back to the Riverlands lel, D & D have just completely lost it when it comes to that character. I don’t know why I laugh, he’s my favorite character in the entire series 🙁
Satin,
You provided a very good analysis of the difference between the books and the show with respect to how the faces can be “worn”. This issue with the shortcut the Showrunners took — that only someone who is truly “no one” can wear a face without repercussions — is that Arya cannot exact revenge as Arya while wearing a face — at least, not without some damage to her, like blindness. In the books, she has retained part of herself, in particular the impulse for revenge, even as she has advanced in training. She can still do that — still be part Arya — and use the faces for her own purposes, at least in the books, since their use does not carry the same repercussion as the show. (Indeed, note the line in ADWD when she gets the ugly girl’s face and the KM says something like “we are done here” — and Arya thinks “For now.”) But in the show, she cannot, for example, kill Walder Frey while wearing the face of a new bride or other Frey — not without a price.
There are, of course, several ways they can go with this in the show, if they want to stay consistent. She uses the faces deliberately to exact revenge, and is willing to pay the price. The FM realize she cannot be no one until she first deals with her bloodlust – so they send/expel her to do that in Westeros. Or, perhaps, she truly becomes no one and is tasked with something more critical than vengeance ( a number of theories out there about the FM, and Dragons and Dragon Eggs….)
Heres how I see Jaime’s storyline going down in S6. Jaime gets back to KL w/ dead Myrcella in ep. 1 and Cersei is like, “Get the f*** out of here, you’ve failed too many times, etc. Cersei bullshit.” Jaime goes through the Riverlands on his way to Riverrun to lift siege because Cersei doesn’t want him around any more in ep 2, but he will never actually get to Riverrun. Runs into Gravedigger/Hound around ep. 4 or so and they talk. Receives Cersei’s apology letter asking him to come back and promise to protect their son as her TBC approaches and he burns it in ep. 5 (I think this is a pivotal character moment for Jaime, finally letting go of the evil bitch that is Cersei). Runs into Brotherhood in ep. 6. They debate what to do with him and offer him TBC in ep. 7, he names Bronn champion but they refuse him. Jaime wins his TBC with some ingenuity and returns to better (but not as good as previous) fighting form. After the TBC there is some debate on whether or not to truly let Jaime go, but then Jaime offers them another option. He still owes the Starks a debt so he will avenge them by helping the BWB take down the Frey’s. They attend the wedding of Walder in ep. 9 with the BWB disguised as Lannister men (Also Blackfish is totally a member of the BWB). Right before Jaime is going to kill WF, his “wife” kills him instead. She then removes her face and is shown to be Arya. Jaime, Bronn, Blackfish and BWB defend Arya against Frey men with Bronn dying in the process (I know that we all predicted that last year, but I think it will actually happen this year). In ep. 10, after the fighting concludes Blackfish convinces Arya to talk to Jaime who says that he owed her mother a debt and will protect her with his life. Arya says “Valar Morghulis” and stabs him, then flees into the woods where she runs into Nymeria. Jaime’s fate for the season is left up in the air, but he doesn’t die and in S7 goes to Casterly Rock and kills Cersei (valonqar), but that’s a theory for another day. So, what are your guys’ thoughts? Does this seem plausible to you? Would love to hear feedback as this is my first major post.
Erik,
Walder Frey already holds Riverrun, so there will be no siege.
Erik,
Hello Eric. First posts are always a bit tricky. But I think you will survive. 🙂
First, I don’t know of anyone except I think Sansa last season who is in every episode of each season. For Jamie to have that much screen time is really putting a lot on the Jamie arc, even the books didn’t have that much.
That said, I like your ideas. Arya is the wildcard here. I am just unclear at this time what purpose is served for her returning to Westeros. Maybe she was released from the FM? Maybe she quit? Maybe she just got a taste of revenge and wants more? When I understand more about Arya, then I can understand more of your thoughts around Jamie.
I think that Brienne and Jamie just have to meet at some point in the next few seasons. It seems destiny and he longingly looking at her home from the ship railing on the way to Dorne.
Your ideas are as good as any, just they won’t feature Jamie in every single episode of the season.
at this point we need some Blackfish / Edmure / Thoros / Beric reports!!!
The Blackfish being a member of (or even leading) the BWB in season 6 is totally possible, especially if his return has something to do with freeing Edmure or taking revenge on the Freys. But I could think of another way to reintroduce him:
Littlefinger told Cercei he would bring the Vale army to Winterfell. But the Vale Lords don’t seem to trust him, so why would they follow his call to start a war with the Boltons? Yeah, the Boltons have Sansa… who was last seen in LF’s care. Their first question would be how the hell she got to marry Ramsay and I don’t think they would believe that LF had nothing to do with it. So what LF needs is a person, who supports his plan to bring down the Boltons and who could convince the Vale Lords to march north. This is where the Blackfish comes into play again. He could have escaped to the Vale after the RW where he has served as Knight of the Bloody Gate for a long time (at least in the books), which is a position of great honor. It would make sense since the Blackfish is basically like an uncle to LF, he has a motive to back this mission since he knows that Roose was responsible for what happened at the RW, he probably enjoys an excellent reputation and is considered honorable and trustworthy by the Vale Lords and he is the type of experienced military commander whom LF needs at the top of his army. Yeah, otherwise there is Royce, a minor character who appeared in 2 episodes so far. The Blackfish leading the Vale army to Winterfell would give the audience another familiar face to be sympathetic to. If he ever will return to the series, I think it will be this season with all the Riverlands / The North Remembers / revenge for RW stuff.
After the Boltons are gone Sansa could end up between LF offering her the title “Wardeness of the North” for herself (power) or supporting Rickon’s claim (family). LF doesn’t know that Rickon is still alive, so he will probably try to kill him or even convince Sansa to do it. This could be the point where his masterplan backfires and Sansa decides to side with her brother and kill LF instead.
Erik,
I love some of your ideas. I especially like the idea of The Blackfish being part of the BWB. I also really like your idea of Jaime kind of joining them to help them exact revenge on the Frey’s, thus, honoring his oath to Catelyn, at least in some way. I agree Cersei will tell Jaime to “get out” in her inimitable Cersei way, and that would be a good reason for him to journey toward the Riverlands, although that may just be where’s he’s traveling through. A part of me thinks Cersei will either charge him to go kill Sansa to redeem himself in her eyes, or he will find out about Sansa’s whereabouts, and will set about trying to help her, himself, and maybe on the way get grabbed by BWB. Either way, if anything about Sansa is the reason Cersei sends Jaime away, he will be going for the opposite reason Cersei sent him. Now, if Jaime somehow takes the other half of Ice-reforged with him, he may just be going through the Riverlands, and not get stuck there. I only say that because I feel like some more the the existing Valyrian steel swords (other than Longclaw and Oathkeeper) need to get north.
Aw, hell, I don’t know…I’m just kind of riffing off some of your ideas and thinking (typing) out loud.
Anyway, thanks for the post. You got my mind spinning with possibilities. 🙂
Since Arya hasn’t made much progress in the Lying Game and still can’t tell with any consistency whether Jaqen or the Waif is telling her the truth, why should the TV audience accept the explanation that she will face consequences like going blind if she puts on a flayed face without first becoming No One? In the book her blindness is a test, a stage of her FM training, intended to sharpen her other senses much like the exercises that Syrio assigned in her Water Dancer training. Why assume that it has been changed for the show? Haven’t we learned by now that the world of Ice and Fire is thickly populated with unreliable narrators? Or as Littlefinger put it, “We’re all liars here.”
My guess is that her blindness on the show will be wrapped up in a single episode, two at most:
one successful sojourn out in the streets as Blind Beth;
her discovery that she can warg a cat, enabling her to pass her hitting test by Jaqen;
after which her sight is immediately restored.
Her first Nymeria warging dream
would be a fine episode closer.
If it is the showrunners’ intent to pursue a romantic relationship between Jaime and Brienne, then the knowledge that Brienne is off on a mission to find Sansa might be enough of a nudge for Jaime to look for her as well – perhaps unconscious of his own motivation – once Cersei gives him the old heave-ho. It might be pandering to fans, but Jaime’s longing look at the Sapphire Isle on the voyage to Dorne can’t have been included by accident.
Al Swearengen,
Sophie hasn’t been filming GoT in a few weeks. Most recently she’s been in Montreal for X-Men re-shoots and now she’s in Croatia at a music festival with her friends. So no, Sansa will not be at the Kingsmoot.
I don’t think Sophie will be joining her castmates in Ballintoy, since the festival she’s at is slated to last until Sunday. Alfie mentioned that he was staying at the nice hotel on Instagram “this week,” which leads me to believe they’ll be finished filming by week’s end. I guess it’s possible that they’ll be filming other II scenes elsewhere (such as indoor scenes in Belfast), so it’s not completely off the table that Sansa will accompany Theon. It’s just looking unlikely at this point.
It’s a shame because I was actually interested to see how their relationship and possible new alliance would unfold. Oh well.
Sure: the odds of any one person being there are remotely small. I don’t think that the show gives us any reason to think that Lancel had met the HS before they were in Kings Landing.
Right: but confessing his sins is different from confessing Cersei’s sins. His sin was sleeping with another man’s wife. Who she was was not relevant insofar as sinning was concerned. Moreover, given that this is running up against the strict value of “do not rat on your family,” he would not volunteer it. And that’s where the balance was: stay true to the Faith by confessing, stay true to the Family by not implicating another Lannister.
As for Lancel being pressured, that was strongly implied by the HS when he spoke of Lancel essentially being peeled layer by layer like an onion. It took a very long time for Lancel to state the “whole” truth (i.e., almost certainly who the “wife” was). That in itself should falsify the notion that the HS had known about this for a while. The fact that he did not attempt to arrest Cersei earlier also is should: he’s too fanatical to be tactical, after all. And it almost certainly happened once Littlefinger told them what questions to ask. That would have been the breaking point: once they asked him: “Did you fornicate with the Cersei Lannister while she was still married to Robert?” then he could no longer remain loyal to both Faith and Family.
People don’t change that rapidly. One of the things that the show has strongly emphasized (as do the books) is just how important a value “Family First” is to the Westerosi nobility. It would take any of them a while to leave that behind.
Yeah, I think their story has been well done. Giving insight into the lives of the supporting players raises the stakes in the story at large.
Concerning the “young man” discussion, I could believe LF’s knowledge about Lancel is really all there is to it. Consider that LF deals with information, favors and havoc. Isn’t it the cheapest kind of favor towards Oleanna to just give her information for which you do not have to do absolutely anything because Lancel will bring Cersei down in three, two, …
That way he did not have to do anything but is again in good standing with Oleanna.
The Vale lords do trust Littlefinger now, per their last scene in 4.08 and the scene in 5.01. And while I agree they should be suspicious of whatever explanation he offers for where Sansa is, they most likely won’t be, as that would interfere with the plot.
Thanks for the warm response all, really appreciate it, increases the feeling of community among fans in the off season.
Do we know for a fact that Walder is at Riverrun in the show, I don’t remember it being specified that he is there?
I agree with everybody’s thoughts that Jaime will run into Brienne again. I just think that Brienne will stay with Sansa in the North and I don’t see Jaime getting there yet. It could be that Jaime will go North at the beginnning of S7 and run into Brienne and then go put Cersei out of her misery at the Rock at the end of S7 when Dany is closing in and Cersei is descending into madness. Could lead to a Tyrion/Jaime reunion in late S7/ early S8. I like everybody’s idea of Jaime getting one of the ex-Ice Valyrian steel swords so that he could take them North. Interesting tidbits to chew on to be sure.
When Brienne discovers that Arya was in the possession of the Brotherhood Without Banners, she immediately discards Riverrun as a possible destination for the Brotherhood to take her because of Walder Frey.
Erik,
Can’t say if Walder is *there* but in 3×10 he has a conversation with Roose in which it is established that Frey’s men have taken control of RR.
Oh wow. My 1st thought was that I am excited to hear the possibilities for the upcoming season! Especially Arya in the Riverlands . . . that is the biggest surprise. I was unsure if Arya would ever make it back to Westeros but this news needs to percolate in my brain some more . . . . Not surprised about Theon, Yara-Asha has to take/send him back to undermine the Kingsmoot. Not surprised about Jaime, too many loose ends to left dangling in the Riverlands since the Red Wedding. And I like Jerome’s Bronn, so more Bronn is a good thing.
But my second thought was that this news is a little bittersweet because I wanted to hear these stories first from GRRM. Dammit man, finish the book.
Bryan Singer posted a photo of the X-Men wrap party about two weeks ago. Unless they’re already doing pick ups, I think Sophie wrapped that show awhile back.
Melisandre to Arya: “We will meet again.”
I must admit that seeing everyone over here at Book Hate Central oohing and aawing about what is often considered either the worst or second-worst part of the worst book being adapted is deliciously ironic. You guys crack up me. If AFFC was really so bad, why would you want to see one more nanosecond of it on the screen?
Hmmm…..If the Ironborn content in S6 is better than the Dorne garbage from S5, will this settle the which-sucked-more debate from the AFFC era?
Hints were dropped throughout the books regarding the Kingsmoot being considered unlawful if the heir is not present. That actually already happened in the fake history of the books.
Ha! Good one.
Was the ‘edit’ function deactivated?
Chad Brick,
Just because I like the show doesn’t mean I hate the books. By ASOIAF standards, books 4 and 5 were lacking, but they’re still good books and I enjoyed reading them. I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Euron or the ironborn in general, but I am glad their storyline wasn’t dropped because, otherwise, it would have been a loose end.
Though Jaime wasn’t on Arya’s list, it would sure be interesting if he was the first Lannister she sees in Westeros. As a new reader to the books, did she ever find out that Jaime was the one who pushed Bran? If she gets up to speed on more of the horrible things that have been done to her family her list could grow pretty long.
*gleefully rubs hands together*
SciFiFantasyGirl,
Considering she killed Dareon because he had deserted the watch, I see nothing stopping her from killing Jaime Lannister.
Or am I mixing the books and the show? Hard to keep track these days.
Chad Brick,
I’d guess that the Ironborn plot from Feast will take up no more than 2 episodes, with the remaining 8 being devoted to WoW material, so it may be comparing apples to oranges. I posted this on on another thread as well, but I suspect this is why the II plot was pushed to S6. It makes more sense to adapt Feast/WoW II plot together rather than stretch out Feast II for an entire season. The five or so chapters covering the Kingsmoot could easily occur within one episode.
Ironborn,
I’m re-watching and reading for the first time at the same time so I completely understand, lol. Regardless of her list, or whatever other reason for her return ends up being, it will be really nice to see her interacting with more of the main cast again.
Thanks so much for replying!
Chad Brick,
As a major fan of Tolkien, Terry Brooks, and Dragonlance, I wasn’t sure what to expect in regards to the books. Watching the series pulled me out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways! lol But I got used to it and decided to give the books a shot as well and I have to say I’m loving the style of writing and elaboration of information. So much information that it’s hard to keep up with at times so I tend to use the books wiki a lot!
There will always be people with strong opinions, and who may pit the literary foundations and tv/film adaptations against each other, such as we’ve all seen with the LOTR/Hobbit films and Tolkien’s works. And there are others that enjoy both as separate entities with equal love and appreciation.
Chad Brick,
Oh put a sock in it. No one here hates the books. A lot of us do, however, hate book wanking trolls who have a tendency to derail threads and comments sections with purposefully inflammatory posts.
And the fact that so many people are thrilled about the Greyjoy storyline finally being included should clue you in onto just how many people actually hated those parts in the books or not. I personally loved the Ironborn chapters for the most part and Euron Greyjoy is by far one of my favorite characters in the books… and hopefully the show as well.
If you don’t like that, you can head back to AFoIaF and hang out with Lindaaa.
Chad Brick,
There is no problem in the existence of the Iron Island plot. Problem is how GRRM wrote that. I hope that D&D will do a better job.
Waiting more than 10 years to see what purpose they serve in this story if frustrating.
And Dorne was faithful to the essence of Dorne plot in the books.
Step 1 – Asking for revenge
Step 2 – Doran rejecting
Step 3 – Making the plan
Step 4 – The plan failing
Step 5 – Doran’s real plan
Except step 5 everything was in S5.
Robb Snow,
I’m glad that included Greyjoys because I now know that they weren’t just filler and waste of my time and they have a role to play.
Aegon VI, on the other hand….
mau,
Euron is the MVP of the Ironborn storyline. Always has been IMHO, but finally including him in the show (and cutting Victarion and the voyage to Meereen plot) proves it. He’s gonna be one of the big bads in the endgame, I think, and I expect the Ironborn raid of Oldtown to be one of this season’s major conflicts.
…although, the fact that Jack Bender seems to be directing the Kingsmoot scenes means that we won’t actually see that until halfway through the season. Unless they plan to cut right to the chase with the Oldtown raid soon after, it’s possible it might be pushed to Season 7 instead (I hope not).
Also, I agree about fAegon Blackfyre. Good riddance to that whole subplot.
Yeeeeeeeees!!!!!!’ Love it!!! No godless man May sit my seastone chair!!!
Chad Brick,
Unlike you, I’m able to enjoy both the books and the show equally.
Best thing about the Arya news is we should be seeing her in 8 or 9 episodes again this season, rather than the 6 episodes she was in in seasons 4 and 5!!!!
I remember in the books
also in TWOW
lalla,
I agree that the process is different in the show, but mostly because tehnical and practical reasons. to do it the way it’s done in the books, you would need a new actor. And TV is a visual medium, you can’t just change Masie.
Mihnea,
Damn can’t edit….
A side-note, this things need very little explenation anyway, after all, it’s just magic. You can easly say, that the magic works different, then in the books, again for practical reasons, because changing Masie as Arya, is not an option.
lol yeah, sure. Just try it, and remember to do it in daylight. Good luck.
lalla,
Seeing a light in the dark is quite easy….But why the hell do we still talk about this now?
(There are slightly spoilery hints in this but nothing too revealing, probably won’t make sense if you haven’t read the books)
I’m struggling to believe Arya would be back in the riverlands; she’s currently blind and is learning to be a faceless man, something which is integral to her plot line.
Arya’s story is in Braavos for the time being, I can see the show presenting her as a lady stoneheartesque character later on in terms of reaping revenge but I feel like the way the story is going Arya has to undergo some kind of transformation and rebirth into a woman grown, a faceless man and a vengeful purveyor of justice through righteous killing all at once, there’s no logical way for her to develop into such a figure without exploring and completing her experiences in Braavos, she has a lot left to do there, I’m confident her filming in the riverlands will be a reference to the past.
Something I have a theory about in terms of the Arya/ Lady Stoneheart merger; if somehow Catelyn’s body could be found and Arya had access to it (post faceless man training) she could wear mummies old torn up face and dish out some serious revenge… That would be very cool and would tie up some loose ends that were missed when lady Stoneheart didn’t appear *ahem Brienne ahem*
Why is enjoying things “equally” a merit? I prefer A5 Matsuzaka wagyu and a good Zinfandel out of Napa Valley to a beer and a brats, but what we got in S5 was the latter, after four years of something much more akin to the former. Neither the books nor the show has been consistent in quality, and there is nothing wrong with saying so.
If I had a nickel for every time someone here has cried “get GRRM an editor” or outright personally insulted him, I’d be able to buy you some of that A5 wagyu. Heck, mau’s insults alone would get you to A3. Throw in a penny for each time someone has insulted “book purists” with no prompting, and we could cover the wine as well.
Certainly, most people here are not book haters (though LSH-hating has almost become a tribal badge of sorts), but the same is true at places like Westeros and TotH in reverse. Most people there love/like both formats as well.
ASOIAF is one of the top fantasy series ever written, and even at its lowest points stands head-and-shoulders above just about anything else out there. There are a lot of people here who refuse to admit this, including some of the most prolific commenters around here.
The show is also among the top examples of its genre, if not the top. But that doesn’t change the fact that S5 was a lot different from the earlier seasons, with major deviations from the source, deep plot holes, a complete misstep in Dorne, and too much of a focus on spectacle over subtlety. It could have and should have been better.
S6 should be interesting, especially due to the novelty of the show surpassing the books. Will plot holes bother me less because unlike S5, I won’t know how GRRM got the same thing done without creating one? Since for the most part we won’t know what is a deviation from the books and what is not, deviations cannot bother us until we eventually read the source. But what feeling will we have then, especially if D&D turned out to have written something quite different from a character perspective than GRRM (as I expect for Stannis)?
We all differ in what we like. For example, I noted a number of posts above predicting/hoping that Arya will kill Walder Frey. That, to me, would be awful, particularly if it were a straightforward kill like Trant’s over-the-top scene. Arya’s big kill has to come at a price: her life, her soul, or the life of someone dear to her. Nothing else would be fitting, and I expect nothing less of GRRM. Petty revenge like that of Kingslayer Brienne over Stannis is hack writing, and I will be grossly disappointed if things are so simple in GRRM’s world.
There might be more than one Kingsmoot scene – I don’t think Theon would be in the first one.
Me too!! Not only the Greyjoys/Kingsmoot but the Riverlands….soooo excited for this (happy claps)
Chad Brick,
What insults???
EP1: Theon heads to Deepwood Motte
EP2: Yara receives Theon and tells him Balon is dead, must go to the Iron Islands to claim his right.
EP3: Sail towrds II, get news about Euron
EP4: They arrive, meet Euron
EP5: Kingsmoot and Euron´s plans
EP7: Sailing towards Shield Islands or High Garden or Thornhill
EP8: Battle
EP10: Euron gives Theon the horn orders him to see Dany.
Lucius,
Deepwood Motte!
Are you me? Seriously, what I wouldn’t give for a great steak and Zin right now…
Look me up next time you are in Japan. I’ll find you beef that will blow your mind, and pretty much impossible to get in the states (most “wagyu” or “Kobe beef” in the US is fake, typically domestic or Aussie half-breeds).
Reading the comment about Alfie Allen having been on the rope bridge gave me a new tinfoil brainwave: If, as the scene with the corpse with Arya’s face seems to suggest, a highly trained Faceless Man doesn’t need to put on an actual flayed face in order to glamour him/herself convincingly, could Jaqen or some other FM lure Balon onto the bridge disguised as Theon, then shove him over and finally peel his Theon face off?
Silly thought, I know. But if that were the case, no convoluted jetpack scheme would be needed to get actual Theon to the Iron Islands early in the season. And it would be a good shocker scene of the sort that D & D love to use to yank the HBO audience’s chain.
Benjen,
He would make for a terrible King. Can’t even sire heirs.
Benjen,
Benjen,
Benjen,
Benjen,
+1