Game of Thrones production is scheduled to return to Ballintoy Harbour in upcoming weeks, according to @IrishThrones.
Game of Thrones has used Ballintoy Harbour for multiple locations, including the beach on which Melisandre burned heretics in season 4. However, the scenic harbour most famously served as the Isle of Pyke, specifically as Lordsport and the site of Theon Greyjoy’s baptism during his ill-fated trip home in season 2.
Given Game of Thrones’ propensity for recycling locations, production could be moving to Ballintoy Harbor to film any number of beach scenes. However, considering Gemma Whelan‘s (aka Yara Greyjoy’s) sighting in Belfast with other cast members last month and the probable casting call for (and potential casting of) Euron Greyjoy, there’s a good chance we’ll see a return to the Iron Islands in season 6 … perhaps for a Kingsmoot?
Meanwhile, at Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, an onlooker spotted a ship with a green screen backdrop and a castle under construction.
In other news, Faye Marsay, who plays the Waif in the House of Black and White, appeared in a TwitPic taken in Belfast last Sunday with Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner. So, despite her apparent death (or … transformation into Jaqen H’ghar) in “Mother’s Mercy,” it seems that the Waif will be back in season 6.
Lastly, @NiamhWeasley ran into Kit Harington and Rose Leslie with “other Night’s Watch people” at a Costa Coffee in Belfast. They refused pics but “are still really nice.”
Good stuff.
Obviously Deepwood Motte.
Yeah, nice they are returning to the Iron Islands !!
The greyjoys will likely have a good screentime this year
Hodor!
What is dead may never die! Good to see the Iron Islands again.
Rose Leslie? Interesting. My initial thought was that she’s probably just visiting, but of course there’s always the possibility she’s in some Jon-related hallucination like Drogo in season 2 for Dany.
Faye Marsay is fine as the Waif but I distinctly remember the casting call being for an Asian actress. What happened there? Or was that actress used instead for the Red Priestess in Volantis that has a staredown with Tyrion?
Back from Spain? Or old tweet?
Yay for ships!!!! 😀
I think a Kingsmoot in an alternate form might work. Maybe a duel or something to make it more action-y and better set up Euron’s wild and crazy personality.
If Kit was in Spain for Brimstone, it makes sense that he’s back in Belfast, as some dude associated with Brimstone just got back from Spain as well.
Always exciting to see ships!
My guess is that Yara will return home to find that
Whether she will contest his legitimacy or immediately side with him remains to be seen.
I hope we get a Ghost sighting as well.
Personally I think seeing
would be a good thing as some viewers may need reminding who he is as he’s been off screen for so long. The Kingsmoot may be a good idea too now to introduce any new characters and tie the plot and characters together. We shall see but if it looks like they’re investing in the Iron Islands this season then they should do it justice.
I think they have the advantage over last year’s Dorne story in that there’s less characters to work in and it is a lot more simple in comparison. You’ve got Yara/Asha there as a familiar face and perhaps some reference to Theon and you’re away. The plot can stay pretty much the same from the book and there’s no complications factoring other characters in…at least there shouldn’t be…unless that’s where Gendry turns up ( having had his tongue ripped out and now a crew member of The Silence!) 😛
Good news all around. This week was nice for GOT.
That ship and green screen has been in the car park at Banbridge for years.
Iron Islands again! Yay! Most viewers will need quick reminders of the whole Iron Islands situation and relationships: Yara, daddy, relationship to Theon, and of course, new faces.
The Waif face back again? The House of B&W people do believe in recycling. 🙂
Kingsmoot? More like Kingspoot, amiright?
Yay for the Iron Islands! Now we just need that one other important piece of Greyjoy news I can’t help but talk about on every article on this site…
Shockmesane,
Good point, i assumed she was just visiting boyfie Kit. Would love to see her in the show again for a flashback or dream. Love Rose!
Port, Beach, Ships and green screens? Plus a Castle being built? Clearly Tower of Joy is coming.
Yeah, maybe he’ll hallucinate one ginger in place of the other one before him. Then when he’s past the grogginess, he’ll be like, Damn. Well, might as well bone.
Or maybe Mel will glamour herself into Ygritte somehow when she does what she does to Jon Snuw.
If the waif, Jaqen and Arya are all alive for Season 6, who the heck died in S5 finale?
Rose Leslie? CleganeBowl confirmed!
Edit@Aabe: Obviously: “no one”… and Jon Snow
Shockmesane,
Maybe S6 opens with Jon’s dream:
Burning shafts hissed upward, trailing tongues of fire. Scarecrow brothers tumbled down, black cloaks ablaze.
“Snow,” an eagle cried, as foemen scuttled up the ice like spiders. Jon was armored in black ice, but his blade burned red in his fist. As the dead men reached the top of the Wall he sent them down to die again. He slew a greybeard and a beardless boy, a giant, a gaunt man with filed teeth, a girl with thick red hair. Too late he recognized Ygritte. She was gone as quick as she’d appeared.
Clever 🙂
Is this another joke comment?
They film the wolves separately.
aabe,
No one!
Cumsprite,
I certainly don’t need to see the Kingsmoot. If they decided to do some sort of truncated version of it, fine, but no more than that, for me.
I am glad, however, that leech finally did its work.
It took the damned thing long enough!
Whoa, you’re way off there, champ.
At the time of which Isaiah is here speaking there had been such removals; and of this he takes note, partly to rebuke those who lightly passed over the phenomenon, partly to justify God’s ways to such as were perplexed by it. Verse 1. – The righteous perisheth. The word translated “perisheth” does not imply any violence; but the context implies a premature death. The righteous disappear – are taken from the earth before their natural time. Yet no man layeth it to heart; i.e. no one asks what it means – no one is disturbed, no one grieves. The general feeling was either one of indifference, or of relief at the departure of one whose life was a reproach to his neighbours. Merciful men; rather, godly men, or pious men (comp. Micah 7:2). Are taken away; literally, are gathered in. Compare the phrase so frequently used, “gathered to his fathers” (Genesis 49:29; Numbers 27:13; Judges 2:10; 2 Kings 22:20; 2 Chronicles 34:28). From the evil; or, out of the way of the evil – in order that he may escape it (comp. 2 Kings 22:20, where Josiah is promised that he shall be gathered to his fathers (prematurely), in order that he may escape the sight of the evil that was coming on Jerusalem soon after his decease.
Balon Greyjoy won. The last of the original five kings standing.
Dark One Still Festerin’,
Bro, you high?
Dorne was bad in the books. Bad in the show. Which was the greatest offense to the consumer is a fun debate.
Iron Islands (post ASOS) was bad in the books.
Outlook is not good.
Obviously Lady Stoneheart will be played by Rose Leslie instead.
Maybe, maybe not. Just trying to keep it light/ludicrous during the off-season filming frenzy and gossip. Actually, hoping Ghost does play a key role this season. 🙂
Off-Topic Otto,
Hahaha…or on the wrong site.
Or both.
Dark One Still Festerin’,
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
aabe,
No One.
Hopefully someone near Ballintoy Harbour will be able to leak who they cast as Euron soon. How they’ve been able to keep it under wraps for this long is a mystery on its own.
So does this pretty much mean that Sansa’s going to end up stuck at Winterfell with Littlefinger again? Ugh.
Hodor’s Bastard,
No, the closest they’ll get to Ghost will be a tennis ball on the end of a stick. I don’t think they’ve used any live dogs/wolves on set since, what, Season 2? Then they were still growing so they could use real wolves. But once they would grow to be larger, they started using the tennis balls and then took film of the wolves against a green screen so they could embiggen and replace tennis ball in the shot later. For example, Jon’s Ghost was a wolf in Canada and that’s where his stuff was shot for last season IIRC.
I have wondered that. Or they just could not find the actress they wanted.
Who played the Waif was pretty much a secret up to the episode she appeared in.
Rose and Kit are still an item?
Dame Pasty,
Next you’re gonna tell me that those mammoths weren’t real either. Such a buzzkill. I’m a believer!
Actually, I just wanted to get a discussion going regarding Jon and Ghost possibilities in S6! 🙂
Hodor’s Bastard,
And thennnnnn I realized your were just joking…..doh! We TOTALLY agree that there needs to be more Ghost. That is one real criticism I have of Jon’s storyline….the way they have downplayed Ghost.
How many more of these sightings is it going to take before the whole “Jon Snow is dead for good” crowd realizes they have an untenable position?
I am almost disappointed in what a poor job the production has done in hiding the fact that he is back.
Look, both plots will likely be expanded upon in Winds, so the true value of the set-up they received in Feast/Dance will only be truly enjoyable/understandable afterwards. Dorne was a hot mess in the books as well, because it literally was a cold introduction, while we had seen Pyke before. Dorne also had the backwards plot of a family bickering among themselves, and failing to do anything during the span of the book(s), until a slight reveal of a plan. Hence why Dorne in Feast is only set-up for later – which S5 accomplished, while also including a completely backwards plot that failed. When a scheme fails, it is likely to get criticism from “fans”, because “nothing happened”. I don’t see it that way, so I don’t agree that the entirety of Dorne was bad. Yes, there was bad acting and the plot was dodgy, but so was the Queenmaker-plot, but the intent was there.
And while the bookplot and attempted show-plot for Dorne is backwards to many fans (a selfcontained failure), the Ironborn plot is pretty darn easy to understand. Head of family dies, two or more argue for position of headhoncho, one stands for peace, other stands for reaving. Reaver wins, group sets out reaving. Loser flees. It’s really not that hard to do or have fans accept the storytelling, whereas a backward plot (Dorne), leaves people thinking: “well, nothing happened”. Imagine what the criticism would be if Myrcella didn’t die? It would’ve been totally useless, but even with that “pay-off” it still required a bit too much from the casual viewer to go: “well, this was an interesting plot that went somewhere”.
When Yara loses this argument to this new guy, who wants to reave, casual viewers will probably go: “okay, not so good for Yara, and wasn’t Theon supposed to be the heir? Don’t really care all that much for this new guy, but he looks imposing” Than we’re in Oldtown, with fanfavorite, lovable Sam, Gilly and little Sam.. And suddenly there are reports of a huge Pirate Fleet incoming, the new Greyjoy-guy at the fore. People will immediately connect the dots and the Ironborn storyline (as dictated above) is easy to accept/understand. Why did he go to Oldtown? What is his reasoning? Well, he promised reaving didn’t he? 1+1=2.
And even then, Euron can lose in Oldtown, the city isn’t probably is major goal, but likely something in the Citadel, so he can get away with knowledge while losing the battle. This isn’t unlike what GoT has done before. Remember Stannis at the Blackwater? New guy gets introduced, season leads up to a big clash, new guy loses clash at the end of the season. Pretty much the same plot, but Euron wouldn’t be looking to conquer the city like Stannis was. Which can make people interested in his ulterior motives.
Failure is pretty hard to accomplish in all honesty.
Not necessarily. there are a few things that can happen:
– Sophie is there to film the continuation of her escape with Alfie. Aiden is there to film his arrival with the Vale Army.
– Sophie and Aiden do end up, yet again.
WeirwoodTreeHugger,
My thought as well: Ygritte the Wight comes back for revenge, hangs Olly. Inconvenient that they showed her funeral pyre, though.
TL,
That tweet was referring to filming from back in Season 2 (Theon’s arrival on the docks, where in the books he is met by Aeron, but in the show he was met by an uninterested old man).
Boojam,
Seemingly they were “off” for a while, but things are back on.
I’ll be interested to see if Alfie is spotting filming around any of the Ballintoy shoot. I have a really hard time seeing how Theon could plausibly get there from his current situation, but that obviously doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
Ser Oromis Locke,
Much like how it was frustrating to see Sansa become a prisoner once again after her supposed rebirth at the end of season four, it will be even more frustrating to see her escape Winterfell only to. . .end up back at Winterfell, and somehow separated from Theon. And what’s going to happen with Brienne and Pod?
To continue the probable Euron/Stannis-storyline comparison:
1 New guy gets introduced on an island after the family head has died.
– Stannis: Dragonstone after Robert has died in the previous season.
– Euron:
2 New guy has creepy magic consorts.
– Stannis: Melisandre and to an extent Selyse.
– Euron:
3 New guy gets into an internal family quarrel about heir-allignment.
– Stannis: King Renly Baratheon usurps Stannis’ birthright.
– Euron:
4 New guy comes out on top of that internal family quarrel.
– Stannis: Stannis doesn’t give a crap and uses magic to get the upperhand.
– Euron:
5 New guy sets out to assault one of the bigger cities with a naval force.
– Stannis: Kingslanding, the battle of the Blackwater.
– Euron:
6 New guy fails.
– Stannis: Stannis suffers a pretty big defeat at the Blackwater, lives though.
– Euron:
Euron’s interest in Citadel-knowledge might be what triggers the crowd to be interested in him during the season: “He’s a pirate, we thought he just wanted to sack the city, but he wanted knowledge? We’ve been had! What’s up with that guy?”
Cumsprite,
Dorne wasn’t THAT bad in the books… The Iron Islands were insufferable though… Hopefuly D&D will keep that story short in the show.
I keep seeing people talk about Hagaar as though he’s one man. He’s not. A man is no one.
I don’t see why the Greyjoy’s were insufferable, at least their plot had forward momentum and didn’t drop you into an unknown world with barely any known characters, Arys Oakheart not withstanding. In Dorne, there was a plot, and that plot eventually went back to naught, until the big reveal of Doran’s plan. While obvious set-up for what’s yet to come, you can’t really enjoy it for it’s worth until we’ve seen what the actual pay-off is and even than (two failed plots to marry into the Targs) is not really that gamebreaking. The Greyjoy’s story was easy to understand, and Victarion at least goes somewhere and does stuff that will prove useful for Dany. Nothing too contrived. I don’t see that as “insufferable”. Now, we don’t know how far Victarion will reach with his plot to take Dany for himself, but I’m at least interested in seeing were it goes and what Euron has in store, as opposed to: “Lets try to marry a Targ for the THIRD time and see if we get it right this time!”. I’m interested in Tyene and Nym’s plots though, probably destabalizing KL even further, which will be enjoyable. Can’t stand whatever plot is left for Doran+Arriane though.
We definitely need more Ghost in season 6.
Boojam,
Apparently, yes. Why?
Adam,
Either they’re really poor at this or something very fishy is going on here.
Wasn’t there something a while ago about training the wolves had already started? Perhaps this was to get some test-footage, which was the kind of thing done for Bran before he got pushed back a season.
Somehow, I feel the show will jump over a kingsmoot and go straight to Euron taking charge. If Balon’s out of the picture, who is there to stop his coup? Yara (Asha) is with her crew, somewhere. The last we saw of her, she was getting out of Dodge pretty fast, leaving Theon to his fate.
There’s more action in anything Iron Islanders do. If D&D learned any lessons from last season’s mis-trip into Dorne, it’ll be to get Iron Islands moving from the off. Ironborn nature is to be marauders, pirates, not to sit and twiddle thumbs. Let’s have some Ironborn causing bother with Boltons. Isn’t there a case for that? Maybe it was some kind of mirage, didn’t Ramsey double-crossed, and flay, Ironborn while taking Winterfell and then Moat Cailin?
When did the waif die in the finale? I’m having a blank..
Deesensfan,
It was ambiguous, but people tended to assume that the “Jaqen” who died from drinking the poison was actually the Waif, since the Waif turned into Jaqen.
Sean C.,
Ah that’s what I was thinking. Hmmm it is very vague. Why kill
The waif and not arya?
No idea.
If its a new one, he must have borrowed Littlefinger’s jet packs, because he’s all around the place.
Ser Oromis Locke,
I loved the Greyjoy stuff. Sure, it didn’t really advance the main plot much, but I did enjoy learning more about the Ironborn in general. They’re an interesting bunch. I also thought some of Vic’s inner dialogue was hilarious. And of course there’s Euron who is probably one of my favorite characters in the series, despite having a relatively small part so far. He’s a very mysterious and intriguing character that I just can’t help but speculate and wanna know more about.
I think he has a big role to play in coming events, particularly regarding the Citadel and Dany. He definitely wants something inside the Citadel. I’d love to know what exactly. I guess we’ll (probably) find out in Winds/Season 6.
I can totally see him fever dreaming being kissed by a Rose to awaken to being kissed by another red head.
Lincoln,
Tom basically said he was the same man.
If Sansa is recaptured, Brienne & Pod will be captured, too, or they will continue #candlewatch
Kit now needs the entire Night’s Watch to keep people from hassling him.
Also, are people kidding when they say they think this means Rose is back in S6? You’re overthinking this stuff. She and Kit are dating. They’re hanging out with old friends. End of mystery.
Ser Oromis Locke,
I guess it’s a question of personal taste. The Greyjoys never truly appealed to me beyond ASoS (except for Theon and Asha). For me Euron, Victarion and, to a certain extent, the Damphair are extremely cartoonish and they chapters should have been heavily edited. I find Victarion’s meandering to be dull and unnecessary… pretty much what you describe for Doran’s and Arianne’s plot.
I grant you that the dornish chapters could have used some editing as well, but the promise of a multiple-front destabilization of the situation in KL by the Sand Snakes is far more interesting that what Moqorro’s puppet thinks he can accomplish. Furthermore, it would be really interesting to see (well, at least for me) what will House Martell do when they find out about Quentyn’s fate: will they turn against Danny and favor fAegon?
Anyhow, as I said before, it’s a question of personal taste. I will never hold against anybody for liking the Iron Islands’ plot in Feast/Dance. For me, it’s a cheesy version of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Dark One Still Festerin’,
Are you the online equivalent of a Jehovah’s witness? If so how do I pretend not to be in!
Please spare us the mumbo jumbo!
Off-topic here, but on reddit it was posted
Does this give us any idea of what is going to be filmed there? The call for extras for the shooting here was multiracial, so Oldtown? But why babies and kids? Or somewhere in Essos?
http://watchersonthewall.com/peniscola-extras-casting-confirms-game-of-thrones-shooting-dates-this-october/
I wonder if it were the Nights Watch people who did the stabbing or the ones who had nothing to do with it. I don’t think the actor playing Alliser Thorne is in Belfast yet?
Dame Pasty,
Actually they used Northern Inuit dogs for the DireWolfs. Sophie actually adopted her dog Lady in real life.
Sean C.,
I think it was actually “no one”.
No that’s not clear at all. From the composition of the action the Waif was always off to the side and only had a few words of spoken dialog while all the main action took place between Arya and Jaqen. Jaqen drank the poison, if he really did!, and then went though the face-changing deal.
One thing about that sequence Jaqen never tells Arya before hand that flubbing a mission or ‘stealing a face’ has dire consequences.
Even in the books George seems to have messed that up and sticks it into Arya’s last chapter in Dance when the information should have come way back in the story.
Some things I have not liked about Waif in the show is she is an experienced Faceless Person , not clear what her status is in the show except to be more ‘senior’ to Arya.
On the page the Waif is more friendly to Arya.
Stan,
For s1 they did. Since s2 they’ve used real wolves filmed in front of green screen and digitally made them to look many sizes larger than they are.
Greenjones,
Yea, I keep seeing pictures of Sophie with Lady, who she adopted, although She is still normal size.
In S2 they also used a green ball on a stick.
My impression has been that a green gig is still used, but more ‘CGI-enhance’ wolves have been used, what little we have seen of the Direwolves!
Stan,
The dog’s named Zunni in real life. I’ve seen her show up on Sophie’s instagram a few times. Good to know that Lady’s still kicking about in one form or another.
But after s1 they stopped using the dogs and went with wolves that are shot in a studio in L.A. For s5 they used a wolf from Alberta to play Ghost and apparently they’ll be doing their direwolf stuff from there this year instead of L.A. now.
Kay,
Aren’t they going to film the Tower of Joy there?
I think Kit H. A.k.a Jon Snow is not coming back. It’s too obvious and I think “we the fans” have spoiled it all with all the suppositions…
Thus according to some, Kit is in Belfast for the 3rd week to visit the members of the cast. Does one decree to him the price of the best pal of the world when? Not but really! One knows that Kit is an adorable person, but to spend his time to Belfast right for that, that deserves a price! The more so as it has just turned of the scenes for Brimstone! It will have been able to return at his place but it is so adorable that it prefers to take a flight for Belfast! It is well-known also that Kit ADORES the plane, it is not afraid of the whole!
Seriously, did you lose your brain? Or were you always also IDIOTS!?
Sorry for my English…
GhostCR,
Yes the tweets are of yesterday!
Kit left Spain Monday morning.
It had time to take the plane!
Kay,
oooh, they’re casting
Elizabeth,
Clearly, Kit is going to play himself as a baby. CGI will make it possible and this explains his constantly hanging around on set. Obvious. 😉
Stan,
This. I think the whole point is that it doesn’t matter who’s face they’re wearing. They act as a collective and not one person…a bit like Anonymous! 😛
The Waif could easily feature in again…perhaps as a disguise for Arya or just to show that the face is interchangeable.
Any updates on the mysterious tweet from Max Von Sydow that hinted Eric Roberts has joined the cast? If it’s true. I think he’d be only the third American to join the show so hope he’s good at accents!
Boojam,
But the waif who was off to the side became Jaquen… so…? Who was the real waif and the real Jaquen? Or are they all no one.
I havent read the books so I don’t know the difference. I don’t think we needed to be directly informed that there are consequences to veering of a mission and stealing faces. To me, it seemed obvious. I knew Arya would be in trouble after what she did. Just wasn’t sure how.
I wonder if this is a punishment or if she will forever be blind.
“I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you’ll shut forever. We will meet again.” – Melisandre to Arya – did she foreshadow her blindness?
TheTouchOfFrost,
Eric Roberts would be a good euron
The red vendor,
Not as picture perfect as mads but he has the face of an evil boss
This whole scene/story was very different in the books. She went blind but that’s about the only similarity.
I understood that as Arya shutting forever someone else’s eyes, meaning she’ll kill a lot of people in her rage.
We are probably getting ahead of ourselves, but I can’t see why von Sydow would tag Eric Roberts in that post unless he was in.
I really like this actor and he absolutely smacks of Euron for me.
Sue et al – any inside info?
lalla,
yeah, that is what I think also. But who knows.
Also, maybe the darkness in the eyes is the blindness.. and then she will rage and shut other eyes forever
Sue said that she thinks Max Von Sydow’s account is fake.
Green screen ship?
Fat Pink Mast confirmed.
I looked more on that twitter account and I might say it could be just a fake one,truth is I don’t know much about twitter.I just saw those tags and Eric Roberts jumped into my eyes.But what is intersting here is that Eric Roberts reposted that,and his account seems to be legit.So why would Eric,or whoever is managing his account,repost such a message?Still looks curious to me.
But Eric Rogers’ account, which retweeted it, is a verified account.
I’m pretty sure that MvS twitter is a fake.
So anything he tweeted on it is bull. The tweeter is trying to stir things up. Roberts is an American B-movie actor with a pretty bad reputation. As for why someone would retweet it- because they thought an acting legend was tweeting at them, I suppose and were flattered?
Is it me or is this season really being played close to the vest by the show runners and production team and actors? Other than location news and new cast members news all we have seen are people in bars, on planes, in airports….but nothing juicy, nothing we didn’t already know….just more grist to grind.
Do you think this is deliberate? I am thinking, yes. No cast list yet. Pretty much nothing from the time of the script read…..”they are filming here, they are filming there”. They…who is they? GoT’s is filming scenery? No actors? From seasons past, this is a pretty major departure. Starting to be very frustrating. At least to me.
I am seriously excited about Max von Sydow!! I was reading his Wiki resume and it is HUGE…worth a look through, you would be surprised at some of the movies he has been in that were forgotten. squeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Yeah, that is a certain possibility, but I was just stating that it was a verified account, which might mean it’s true.
But, honestly, I trust you more than any twitter account, so yeah, probs bull.
Eric Roberts CAN act, though. It’s not like he has never demonstrated any skill. He’s just taken EVERY JOB EVER OFFERED TO HIM.
The red vendor,
Mads and Eric Roberts are both in a Rihanna video. I don’t care for the song, but the video is pretty good.
http://www.vevo.com/watch/rihanna/bitch-better-have-my-money-(explicit)/QM5FT1590005
I suspect they’re playing it as close to the vest as they are at least partially because of what happened last season (first four episodes leaked just before the season began), and if they’re moving forward into unchartered (book) territory, they probably want to keep as much of that as secret as they can so as *everyone* will be surprised.
You know… if Kit is going to be back and continue as a main character I wouldn’t think they would want to carry this ruse all the way to the season airing. There’s a lot of marketing and promotion they and Kit himself will miss out on by “hiding him away” the entire time. For instance, “Jon Snow” was a dinner guest of Seth Meyer’s in that brilliant skit leading into this past season. If he’s supposedly dead and not on the show anymore then what reason would the talk/variety shows have for bringing him on as a guest?
JCDavis,
I haven’t really paid attention to any previous off seasons… and even these days I don’t read every article that is posted regarding filming and casting so that I know less.
But I am assuming since this is the first season that’s fully past the books that are currently out, they are keeping everything a secret. Which makes sense. Most other TV shows do the same I am assuming. The prior seasons were more open I guess because they were based on books that are already out there. Most fans knew what was going to happen…
Clob,
I would say he brought on as a guest by multiple talk shows as he was a central focus of season 5… and maybe because it was his last season? lol… we all know that’s not true.. but just saying that COULD be a reason.
dee,
seems legit hahahaha, I’m just trying not to get my hopes so high… The D&D seem to like to fool people, and the obvious is that Jon is coming back, but they never do the obvious they just do the most cruel, like what hapen with Shireen…
Sue the Fury,
Eric Roberts is a very good actor, certainly better than his overrated sister, and professionally is regarded pretty highly. Some f*ck ups in his past, for sure, like half of Hollywood. If he is in the coming season, I welcome him. I don’t take much stock in Twitter posts, especially from accounts that are unlikely to be authentic, but we’ll see.
lol @ Eric Roberts being anywhere near GoT. Hmm, who might they cast next? Van Damme? Danny Trejo?
Sue the Fury,
Did seem a bit random who was tagged in it! I mean I’ve got nothing against him and he’s been in a couple of things I’ve enjoyed. Plus if the guys who make the show think he’s good enough they rarely get it wrong.
The red vendor,
Older than I envisioned. Bit worried about his ability to do the appropriate accent too.
Everything seems so much more in the dark this summer because we really are in the dark.Last season,for the watch,the walk,the pits,we knew all this are coming.And much more.Past seasons the same.We knew.What major events do we know are coming?We know Euron will attack and we can guess other events based on where we stand now but it’s just chance.We don’t have the book,we don’t know exactly what’s coming.
Now,I love the show very much but at this point I just want the book really bad because so many of my favourite characters(YG,Jon Con,Darkstar,LSH,Victarion,Arianne,…) are not in the show and I really want to know what happens with them.I hope George will deliver soon.
You know, really, it was the idea that 86 year old Max von Sydow HAD a twitter account that threw it off for me.
Highly unlikely.
I’m always surprised that people find Shireen’s death ‘not obvoius’ or should it be ‘not inevitable’. Stannis’s arc points to it. In book and show, Davos spirits away a Baratheon bastard because of ‘kings blood’. In the book, Jon sends away Mance’s child because of ‘kings blood’. that’s twice it has been set up then thwarted, and there sits the obvious ‘kings blood’ in Shireen. People think it isn’t Chekov’s gun obvious that when kings blood rolls around the third time someone won’t successfully spirit away the child?
Willfully ignoring clues of a setup because you hate the idea isn’t the same thing as the plot going rogue.
dummypants,
Danny Trego has so much knife expeirience , you would have to expect him to be good with the sword . Danny trejo as Sir Arthur dayne
Yeah, I fully expect it to be in turns strongly hinted at, and then confirmed, in successive trailers for the season. Like the full thing runs, then goes black and pauses, and then we see Jon Snow dead with Mel near. Then screen to black.
The cliffhanger is just inherently annoying to me. But I think even the perpetrators of it know that they gain nothing by truly keeping it secret all the way until the end of episode 1. They have people’s attention. They’ll probably cash in on that with trailers that get people talking Snow again.
Sean C.,
I’m sure that passage is taken from an old press release prior to S2
Shipp,
I’m one of the persons who highly criticized Stannis’ decision in 5×09 and not because Shireen died, but because STANNIS did it. In the books, she is nowhere near him or Davos, but Selyse and Melisandre (who were the persons that urged Stannis to burn Shireen) are with her at the Wall. I think Mel will somehow see that Stannis is in trouble at Winterfell and burn Shireen (as Jon is dead and not trying to stop them), allowing Stannis to move on.
Stannis himself, however, would never, not in the books nor in the show up to 5×09, burn his own daughter and only heir to be able to move on. So Shireen’s sacrifice itself wasn’t the thing that bothered me, it was that Stannis agreed to do it.
This. The showrunners have far, far more important things to worry about and plan and manage than trying to keep this a secret. If Kit is back as a main character in S6, we’ll know sooner rather than later.
Completely agree. I was checking news prior to S5 and I don’t recall any additional “secrecy” on the part of the showrunners. Except some characters were named – both familiar and unfamiliar names. It’s just that book readers were anticipating stuff from the books, so the big debates were about what would be left out – for example, (f)Aegon, Arianne – and what would make it into the show. This time, without the books, book readers are quite as much in the dark as non book-reading show watchers and it must be a new feeling of uncertainty and anticipation after 5 seasons! 😀
Sam the Slayer,
Do you think Stannis will succeed after the burning of Shireen by Mel in the books?
It is known that the books and the show will have the same results but just take different paths to the results/end game
So Stannis will die eventually (in the books) I guess
my page a day calendar quote for 05-august
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.
-Jojen Reed- A Dance With Dragons
Sue the Fury,
Bryan Cogman retweeted this though saying he’s delighted he doesn’t have to keep quiet anymore. This indicates it may be legitimate.
She didn’t. She was standing next to J’aquen when Arya was blinded.
The dead that Arya was uncovering were faces of those already passed-actually wall hangings!
Von Sydow’s Twitter account is (probably) not legitimate. But Von Sydow playing Bloodraven in GOT season 6 is legitimate and confirmed by different people.
honeyimhome,
so who drank the poison and then “died”
Lady Ygritteheart confirmed! GET HYPE!
Oh duh, Kit guested on the talk shows BEFORE the 10th episode of season 5.
That’s some serious rehabilitating of Stannis, based on what, I don’t know. One sweet conversation with his daughter notwithstanding, he was burning people alive whom we would all consider innocent. He was so far gone on his quest, buoyed by a god that would seem to come across as a bit evil, murdering his own brother and all (whom he promised a night to consider his position). I mean, he was a sympathetic character, but even Ramsay has had a sympathetic moment (his bastardry-related inferiority complex).
Oh my god, what am I saying!, it’s so nice to be largely past the silly Stannis arguments, just like the Sansa arguments. I should shut up and let it pass…
No one…..Ja’qen H’agar is the faceless man. We saw him change as he left Arya outside of Harrenhall. For all we know he might be Syrio Forell…….he said he was the First Sword of Braavos……..some magic attached to that too.
honeyimhome,
I have hoped that he is Syrio, but maybe that’s just me looking for a happy ending.
honeyimhome,
no one! so tricky!
Sullied by Knight,
same here
I don’t understand your point. ? We know he guested before the beginning and end of season 5. What I’m saying is that if he is going to be in season 6 but they keep saying he’s not then he won’t be asked to guest anywhere on behalf of the show next Spring before the premiere.
It’s probably something they won’t even address… It was “magic.” There was a dead body on the floor that had Arya’s face last, yet Arya was looking at it. She had her face so how could it also? It was just really messed up… and cool. 🙂
I suppose you are thinking of P Pascal and P Dinklage. Wasn’t the Red Priestess in Volantis who looked at Tyrion American? Night’s King Richard Brake was born in Wales but went to the States when he was just a kid – and Oona Chaplin’s maternal grandmother was American playwright Eugene O’Neil’s daughter so she is part-American.
He was referring to Ian McShane’s casting with the first tweet, thus the #McShane, and von Sydow with the second tweet, thus the #vonSydow. He made no mention of Eric Roberts anywhere.
Who are the other two, in your estimation? Dinklage is of course, one, who do you think is the second? Jason Momoa? Chilean-born American Pedro Pascal? Italian-American Rosabell Laurenti (born in California)? Also, are you concerned about the accents of other non-British cast members, like Max von Sydow, for example, or specifically American actors?
The Red Priestess in Volantis was played by Rila Fukushima, who is a Japanese actress and model.
There have been three American actors in the show (as far as I know): Peter Dinklage, Jason Momoa, and Pedro Pascal.
Deesensfan,
I think Stannis is already dead in the books. Before Jon’s “death”, Ramsay sends him a threatening letter (the Pink Letter we call it) declaring Stannis’s defeat. Some people think the letter is bullshit and maybe not even written by Ramsay, but I think it’s legit, especially after the events of Mother’s Mercy.
We’ll probably get a chapter or two in Winds showing us exactly how it happened, and it will probably differ from the show somewhat, but the end result will be the same: Stannis the Mannis is no more.
Robb Snow,
yup thats how i see the show/book as well: stannis dies, shireen burns, bolton wins battle of winterfell. they will happen, only circumstances may differ.
Robb Snow,
very interesting stuff! Before S5EP10, did you think it was legitimate?
Faye Marsay is gonna be the faceless man who kills Balon Greyjoy. Doi.
Deesensfan,
most of the fandom chose to believe that the latter is fake. i still think that we will still get the latter, as i believe it has more to do with jon then stannis.
so in the book: pink latter —> stannis dies
in the show: stannis dies —> pink latter
Deesensfan,
There was no way to know for sure since we only learn about it just before Jon is killed. But there wasn’t much reason to believe it wasn’t true IMHO.
The question of the letter’s authorship is another matter. The only two real possibilities to me are Ramsay and Mance (who is still alive and at Winterfell in the books). The letter mentions things that only they could really know. I personally believe that Ramsay wrote it.
This….is a late Stannis. The Stannis has ceased to be. He has kicked the bucket. Shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible!! He is an ex-Stannis!!!
Also, I think Shireen will burn as a result of the letter in the books, just like she burned as a result of Ramsay’s raid on Stannis’s camp in the show. Ramsay has something to do with Shireen’s death in both cases.
Pigeon,
This is why we need a like button on here. 😛
Robb Snow,
It sounds more to me that it would have come from Ramsay.
That’s interesting!
And yes, I truly believe that the books eventually will have shireen killed and stannis killed. I wonder why they changed the events in the show if they’re going to end up the same soon. it wouldn’t be to make the story go faster because they could have use the same amount of screen time to keep the events the same as in the books
Because they don’t have to pay those actors for another season?
Euron, Freys, Northern lords, Tarlys, Citadel, Dothraki, Bran’s storyline,…
In the show, North plot will have 2 phases.
Part 1 – Stannis vs Boltons
Part 2 – The North vs Boltons and Freys
In the books everything is happening simultaneously.
Pigeon,
🙂 Thanks for that.
From Theon PoV in TWoW….Stannis: “It may be that we shall lose this battle. In Braavos you may hear that I am dead. It may even be true. You shall find my sellswords nonetheless. You will avenge my death, and seat my daughter on the Iron Throne. Or die in the attempt.”
Grumble, grumble…and now for something completely different…
GeekFurious,
It could have been done in this season
Mel selyse shireen stay behind
Stannis heads out
Letter is sent and shireen is burned
Anyway I’m fine with how it happened on the show. Just wondering!
mau,
Ahh good point!
Yes that meeting never occurs in the books. It’s intriguing that Melisandre says “we will meet again” … seems unlikely in the books story right now, but could happen.
Ser Oromis Locke,
What was game-changing about Dorne in the books is that it introduces the wildcard of non-gender-differentiated primogeniture and the potential of a female heir becoming the leader of a kingdom – perhaps many kingdoms.
That potential was there since Book 1 and Dany.
I didn’t think “Oh my god, a women can rule the 7 kingdoms” after Dorne plot.
Deesensfan,
D&D already let it slip that Shireen will be burned in the books. I suspect Mel will arrange for it after she learns about what’s in the letter.
I really don’t know exactly where the Northern storyline is heading in the show or books at this point. Everything is left totally up in the air in Dance and Mother’s Mercy. I had been thinking Littlefinger and the knights of the Vale would wreck the Boltons in a surprise attack in the first few episodes of S6, but now I’m not so sure that’s gonna happen.
Mihnea also brings up a good point that the Pink Letter might still appear in the show, after Jon comes back and the fallout from For the Watch clears. If Theon and Sansa do manage to get away, it’s logical to assume that they might head to Castle Black since Ramsay mentioned to her that Jon was Lord Commander.
I’m dying from all the suspense. I honestly do hope Winds comes out before S6 airs… I gots to know!
Stannis won’t defeat Boltons in the books either. Starks and their loyalists must retake WF, not some southern invader.
Not in the Westerosi mindset.
Agreed. While it’s nicer than most attempts at Dorne apologetics, it actually makes Dany’s GIRL-POWER factor weaker if we’re going to say the whole “point” of Dorne was to normalize powerful female characters.
Obviously, I’m not saying that the series would be “better” if it only had one woman of real importance, just speaking from the context of patriarchal feudalistic blah blah blah blah blah… I think Dany’s success in spite of the gender politics of the GoT universe is a rare feel-good element in the story, so to say that Dorne exists to deliberately water that down and make it look easier? Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
Jon is reading letters in the scene where Olly walks in with the news that some wildling saw Benjen (which still makes me wonder, “What would have happened to the assassination plot if Jon had just said, ‘Bring him here to me at once!’?”). Maybe the Pink Letter is already lying on the Lord Commander’s desk, waiting for Edd or Mel or Davos to pick it up while trying to figure out what happened to Jon.
I’m guessing that the assassins, in hindsight, will decide to take down their sign and hide Jon’s body in one of the meat lockers under the Wall, rather than have his body found and burned and then have to face whatever punishment is mandated for mutineers against the Lord Commander. I’m picturing them saying that the last they saw of Jon, he was hightailing it north without telling anyone where or why, which would prompt the pro-Snow faction to search for clues.
Which of course is a major departure from the books, where THERE WILL BE NO BURNINGS Stannis never burned anyone alive except as punishment for capital crimes such as murder, cannibalism, and treason.
On the other hand, Dany (both book and TV) has murdered far more people than TV-Stannis, including the 162 wise masters and the one she fed to he dragon. Actually it is hard to find non-murderers among the main cast throughout the course of the show: Dany, Tyrion, Jaime, Cersei, Catelyn, the Hound, Ayra, Theon, Varys, Olenna, Robert, Lysa, Ramsay, Roose, Joffery, Tormund, Ygritte, Tywin, and Littlefinger have all committed or conspired to commit murder. The non-murders include Ned, Sansa, Bran, Rickon, Jon, Margaery, Loras (who WAS a murderer in the books), Selmy, Jorah, and surprisingly Bronn (I cannot think of any killings he has done that would qualify as murder).
I think the Stannis/Shireen incident was very illuminating as to human psychology. Dany murders 163 people we don’t know? We forgive her. Stannis murders one we love in the context of a show full of beloved murderers? We hate him forever. This is actually a pretty serious ethical failing. Our judgement of the ethics of a situation should not be so tethered to whether those harmed were in-group our out-of-group.
See, for me it doesn’t water it down at all; it offers a more satisfying alternative paradigm for potential female leadership. Dany as an exemplar of ‘girl power’ has never really worked for me, because I don’t see ‘feeling entitled’ as a leadership quality. I don’t like her for the same reason that I don’t like Stannis.
I’m not saying that I was riveted by the Arianne PoV chapters, but at least they introduced an interesting and novel variable into the KL succession question, should the Myrcella/Trystane marriage go forward.
Probably be different than the show? You mean absolutely very different from the show, don’t you? If Stannis dies in early TWOW, there is no way he can sacrifice Shireen, so the entire moral dilemma of the show disappears. And book Stannis certainly isn’t incompetent followed by suicidally depressed, like his TV counterpart. If Stannis dies early in TWOW, it will likely be in a multi-stage tactical battle where Stannis wins the first round (probably with the weak ice swallowing the Freys) and the Boltons the second due to some trick by Ramsay, and the Starks the third as Sansa, Rickon and/or Jon return and the North rallies for them.
I also think that the Pink letter is true. It has always seemed strange to me that people would have all of these conspiracies about who wrote the Pink letter.
But, it also has a lot to do with perspective. I think what was said in the Pink Letter was truly what Ramsay believed to be true at that moment in time. He was writing only from his perspective in that moment.
I dont think Stannis has died yet in the books. It seems like he is busy constructing a Trojan horse type of plan in order to defeat the Boltons. It sounds like the Freys will attack him first, behind the Freys the Manderly’s will follow. The Manderly’s will turn on the Freys and slaughter them. Then they will very likely make some alliance with Stannis. Stannis will send his troops and his sword with the Manderly’s and pretend that he was killed and defeated, and they will turn on the Boltons from the inside. That is what I highly suspect will happen in the books.
Ramsay properly wrote the letter just after the Manderly’s have returned to Winterfell with Stannis’s sword. Just before the battle Stannis sends Theon and fArya away, so Ramsay would know that Theon and fArya wasn’t with Stannis.
Although Roose Bolton doesn’t trust Lord Manderly so perhaps he will not let them into Winterfell again. In that case Stannis could very well end up defeated.
But I believe Stannis is actually quite likely to win the battle of Winterfell, I dont think Roose will be killed, but Ramsay might die in the attack. Roose could escape.
In the end I think Stannis will be “betrayed” by the Northern Lords. Just as soon as he has captured Winterfell for the North, he could very likely be killed by the Northern Lords. Stannis might be alive in the books but I dont think he will stay alive for very long. It is very likely that he thinks he has just gained a big victory with the battle for Winterfell, only to be betrayed and killed.
Melisandre will very likely burn Shireen, because of the news of the Pink letter, and Jon might be the one who is resurrected and not Stannis.
I also think it is very likely that some resemblance to the Pink letter will still be used on the show. When Ramsay tells Sansa that Jon is now the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch and Sansa escapes with Theon while Stannis is killed, it creates context for the Pink letter to be played out.
I personally think that Stannis’s arc was shorten a bit on the show, and what is left of his arc along with the Pink letter and some slight modification, will be given to Jon as a story line for season 6.
I agree, neither the Dornish or the Ironborn story lines were very good in the books. Although the Dornish story still atleast had some interesting bits. Victorian and Damphair in general was almost unreadable at times.
The problem with these stories perhaps isn’t just the stories alone, it properly has more to do with the fact that it feels like add-ons. It seems like these people aren’t important to the larger narrative and as a result it feels like they are just wasting your time while contributing little. But perhaps they will be more important in the future.
I ve also wondered if this perhaps a bit of a price that you pay once you have killed off the more interesting characters. The replacement characters might just not be as compelling as the characters that has been killed off.
But it might still be interesting to see how they handle the Ironborn on the show. I have a strong feeling that the Ironborn might translate better or be more interesting on a TV show then the Dornish. Personally if I were the show runners I would just focus more on the Northern plot, that was the best part of the last books.
aabe,
No one
I don’t see how. Jon has already been assassinated, which was the key point of said letter.
It is the key point and it also isn’t.
They were planning to assassinate Jon before the Pink letter ever came along. The Pink letter is about drawing a line in the sand or the final straw. For Bowen Marsh it is the final straw, and he also realizes that he has to act quickly before he misses his chance. For Jon it is also a place where he decides to do something officially about the misery his family has suffered.
I think what was also important about the Pink letter is that Jon rallies the Wildlings directly to fight for him, in that moment he practically becomes the new King Beyond the Wall.
He has basically already done something similar at Hardhome in the show, but not as directly as in the books.
A lot of different threads from a lot of different characters are combined into the Pink letter. It is something that the show could use. They have used some events or actions in a different context then the books does at times. Just because Jon was assassinated directly after the Pink letter doesn’t mean it has to happen exactly like that in the show.
It also doesn’t mean they would even actually use an actual letter. But they could still build up the situation in the same way.
At the moment I would say that they might use the Pink letter in some fashion. It would be very convenient for them. Since the letter involves practically all of the major story lines in the North. They can use Jon, Sansa, the Boltons, the Wildlings, Theon and Melisandre while others such as Brienne, Davos, the Northern Lords and Podrick could also be included into this story line quite easily. But instead of assassinating Jon, the events could just play out as if the assassination didn’t happen.
Some of the Pink letter or situations surrounding the Pink letter could still realistically play out in the show, in my opinion.
Shockmesane,
Her and Kit are a couple.
Sean C.,
i think the latter’s point is making jon go south.
I think that battle between Ramsay and Jon is the key point of said letter. Ramsay’s death by Jon would be much more interesting than death by Stannis.
Cogman did not retweet that bogus Roberts tweet anywhere. He was tweeting about Max von Sydow and Ian McShane and he linked to their EW articles.
Chad Brick,
Mel will burn SHireen in the books