Unsullied Recap, Game of Thrones Season 5, Episode 1: The Wars to Come

GOT501_080114_HS_DSC_2094[1]

Spoiler note: The discussion in this post is primarily for non-book readers (book fans can discuss the show-only here). We ask that all Sullied book-readers refrain from posting spoilers in the comments here, veiled or otherwise. This show is best viewed without knowing all the surprises beforehand or afterwards, so please be respectful of your fellow fans. Thank you!

Remember when the countdown clock said something like 90 days+?

The waiting remains the hardest part. And now my friends, our time is served. Episode 501 is in the books and the new faces in new places are about to take us on what looks to be an entirely different direction.

Pentos. The Flayed Man at the fire extinguished Winterfell. Saddle up, kiddos. There’s a new Game in town…

 

Flashbacks: Changes seem to be in abundance, and Season 5 kicks off with a flashback featuring miniature Cersei and an unnamed sidekick (let’s call her Dora… you know, the Explorer). When flashbacks serve their purpose, it is amazing how enlightening they can be. Suddenly, Cersei’s concerns over a younger Queen and even the information regarding Robert having twenty kids and her having three give the past and the future a lot more meaning to the viewer.

776457_GOT501_072414_HS_DSC_0237[1]

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

The fact that she already knows that this witch was correct in instances that have already occurred give her adequate reason to be concerned (and probably help in somewhat explaining her excessive intake of adult beverages).

And then… Lancel Sandwich! A bigger, buffer Lancel Sandwich.

And not just Lancel, but Uncle Kevan as well. There was reason to believe that some long-lost Lannisters might show up at the funeral of Tywin and at least on this front, the premiere did not disappoint.

Lancel was not just recovering from his war wounds at the Blackwater. Apparently he found religion in what might be the equivalent to the Monks of Westeros. The Sparrows would not come out when Tywin was alive and there is certainly plenty of reason to believe that this group will play a major role in King’s Landing moving forward.

Let’s hope Kevan does as well. And no, Ozzette did not remember him.

Tyrion Lannister in episode 501

Varys and the Imp in a box arrive in Pentos with Tyrion understandably despondent. Cramming your own crap through a breathing hole in a crate can apparently take its toll.

But Tyrion seems to be struggling more with the will to live and the contemplation of his own existence, presumably a natural side effect when you have gone from being the Hand of the King to the killer of your lover and your father (who ended up being the lover of your lover).

Later on, Varys gives Tyrion a glimmer of hope for a meaningful future when he brings up the potential of joining Danaerys in her quest for the throne. This idea really came as no surprise to me as we know Varys has always had an interest in the progress of Dany and the dragons and his past dealings with Illyrio.

However, Ozzette felt like this was probably the most important notion of the entire episode. And she may be right. Speaking of Mhysa…

Harpy takes the plunge, which was an incident I was not expecting in the first episode after seeing it in the trailers. The perception by many was that diving Harpy was probably going to be the consequence of an uprising in Meereen.

It wasn’t, even though it appears that there will likely be some kind of uprising in Meereen.

We know very little about the Sons of Harpy other than they are the sons of the children conceived during the orgy scene of Eyes Wide Shut. And if Tom Cruise shows up in Game of Thrones, then all bets are off.

Laugh it up if you want, but consider this submission into evidence: Tony Way (Dontos) and Noah Taylor (Locke) both showed up in Edge of Tomorrow. And HBO just presented a documentary about Scientology. I’m not saying it will happen. But if it does, well, you know who smelled conspiracy first.

Back on point… Dany looks like she is going to have her hands full and for the first time in a while, I am very intrigued with her story arc. The scene in the brothel not only brought about a potential threat of an underground sleeper cell, but it also depicted the interest that the Unsullied may have with the intimacy of women. And this could directly impact viewer understanding of the relationship between Missandei and Grey Worm.

The other intrigue of course comes from the issue with the dragons and the lack of control thereof. Daario shows his wisdom (as well as his ass) and makes a valid point about the fear of Dany’s enemies without the threat of the dragon contingent.

Needless to say, Dany’s first attempt as an instructor for the Dragon Obedience Clinic of Meereen did not go well. She has multiple issues, none of which seem to be going favorably.

We are also introduced to the idea of the fighting pits first seen by the “Unknowing” through the trailers, and somehow where Jorah ends up.

In yet another example of inadequate trainings, Lysakiller, Sansa and Royce have poor Robin attempting to become a warrior (as if going from feeding off a breast to swinging of a sword would just progress naturally).

LK receives a note and he and Sansa are off again where Cersei will never be able to get her hands on her.

Once again, Brienne comes within a stone’s throw of meeting up with a Stark girl. Unfortunately she was too busy drowning in self-pity and attempting to convince Pod that she didn’t need an inexperienced rabbit chef.

Swordswallower scene: Loras and Olyvar make kinky love maps on each others bodies when cock-blocking Margaery barges in to discuss Cersei. Stealing from the words of John Oliver, Loras and Cersei: How is this still a thing?

But there is a deeper plot here and it is unclear if getting Cersei out of KL is simply an idea on the table to give Margaery more power or if this is part of a bigger plan set in motion by Littlefinger. After all, the Tyrells are his new “friends.”

By the way, Ozzette swears she witnessed man bags. I was not necessarily looking, you know, in that general vicinity.

Finally, we go home to the Wall where King Stannis is in command and Red Velvet has no need for thermals.

GOT501_080114_HS_DSC7519[1]

Stannis takes a stab at giving the Wildlings an opportunity for a truce by sending them to take out Roose at Winterfell but only if Mance will agree and bend the knee.

Of course, Mance will bend the knee to no one and the first major character death of the season is handed to us by way of burning.

I am pleased that the pyre did not involve Shireen as I once thought it would. But I am saddened to lose not only what was a great character in Mance Rayder so quickly, but also such an accomplished actor as Ciaran Hinds. He was yet another character who was only in a handful of episodes but left a huge impression on the overall story.

What’s worse is that Stannis will likely use the Wildlings to take what is his anyway, or burn them as well.

Episode 501 Personal Awards

Favorite Battle Sequence: Episode 501 was a little light on the action, but I would say it’s a close tie between the intense training of Olly and Robin, both of which are struggling with the idea of keeping their shields up.

Favorite Quotes: “Do you know what it’s like to stuff your shit through one of those airholes?”

“No, I only know what it’s like to pick up your shit and throw it overboard.”

Favorite Politically Incorrect Quote: “He swings a sword like a girl with palsy.”

Ow, That Shit Hurts Award: The burning of Mance. For a minute, I felt like I could literally feel his discomfort (another testament to Hinds).

Jackass of the Week: Has to go to Stannis for the barbecuing of Mance. But you have to give Stannis credit for one thing: he is a man of his word and also does not deal in idle threats.

Overall Thoughts: I’m sure that popular opinion will be that this episode was quite on the slow side. But given the amount of the old characters in new locations, one could have easily estimated that this episode was going to be a set-up for future dilemmas.

It was by no means the strongest season opener. But it could be worth it depending on how the rest of the season shakes out and grading it on it’s merits alone may not necessarily be a fair assessment.

What say the Unsullied army? What did I leave out? Share your thoughts below and we shall discuss.

The wait is over. And now the wait begins.

Until next week, hang out and stay awhile. Invite an Unsullied to join us. And may there always be peace in your realm. –Oz

Find Oz on Twitter.

REMINDER: Do not post spoilers in the Unsullied posts. Thank you – The Mgmt

72 Comments

  1. I personally loved this episode, not because it advanced any specific plot points (and I know people will complain about that) but because it made me give a crap about the precarious situation all of the major players, Jon, Dany, Tyrion, even Jamie and Cersei find themselves in and worry about what comes next. That’s all I am really asking for in a show, some dramatic tension.

    Also, hey, Kevan and Lancel are back, woo hoo, Lanister team B.

  2. Evening all… I’ll have the recap up in the morning. Until then, feel free to chat it up. And please, NO SPOILERS here.

  3. I would say that I am not totally convinced by this episode. At the end I was like… ok what did this episode bring to the season ? Well for me, nothing much. Yeah, maybe they wanted to slow the pace a little and bring some dramatic tension to the characters, and sometimes it worked (I really liked Cersei/Jamie dialogue in front of their father, Daenerys visiting her dragons, Sansa and LF in the wheelhouse).
    But often I was not convinced, especially for Tyrion’s arrival to Essos. I was really really disappointed by this one :
    At the end of s4 we were all :”yay, Tyrion going to a new continent” and I was expecting a sort of “ceremonial” of his arrival (his ship disembarking, a view of the harbor..) to get us more hyped. But here, none of it, only a view from inside the crate.

    And that scene with little Robert at the Vale, pointless from my point of view.

  4. This was my least favorite season opener. but the worst ep of GoT is easily the best thing on tv. there were too many lingering moments of what i felt were pointless scenes or shots. i feel like all of the other premiere episodes grasped your attention. and the lack of an intro like seasons 1,3,and4 have had didnt help in my opinion.. last season with “A Song of Ice and Tywin” was amazing to me. i expected another amazing intro into the season before the GoT theme. but, good things that i liked about the ep were Tyrion (or “The Dinkles”, as Key & Peele have dubbed him) and Varys’ second bit of dialogue. I didn’t really care for the first scene they had. Cersei and Lancel was kind of cool because you could tell that it was setting up for something crazy down the road. Jon at the wall was a win i think in every scene. very solid. The Wall was probably the highlight of the episode for me. Compared to the awesome opening for season 4 with the opening, arya and the hound, the 2 stark swords, etc. its hard to digest this one. “Two Swords”, well all of season 4 really, gave us a title that knitted every one’s storyline together and really gave the episode(s) a theme that was relevant to every storyline… i kinda felt as if “The Wars to Come” was kind of everywhere and all over the place. but the next episode looks very promising. can’t wait to see Dorne, and get some Arya.

  5. Loved it . My second favorite opener(after season 4) .
    I really don’t care about a slow pace , as long as it serves the season well . In fact I kinda love slow episodes opening the way for bigger ones . This episode had awesome scenes and awesome dialogues and you could feel the tension in almost every scene .
    Season 5 is off to a great start !

  6. Really liked the episode. Thought is was nice that it was a bit on the slow side. Though I agree with King of the Ashes, that the episode was a bit all over the place.

    But I still very much enjoyed the episode. Especially The Wall stuff. Really bummed about Mance, its a shame we’re not gonna get to see more of Ciaran Hinds. Though I am glad it wasn’t Shireen that burned.
    Really looking forward to Stannis going to Winterfell.(Really pissed to see the Bolton sigil on Winterfell in the opening credits.)

    And curious what Dany will do about her PO’d dragons and when she gets to meet Tyrion.

    Anyway it looks like it is going to be an great season!

  7. Good set-up episide. Favourite scenes:

    – burning of Mance: Loved the character, but what a way to go. Loved the combined pride, strength and fear that Hinds portrayed.
    – Jon and the Stannis gang: Going to be an interesting combination to watch. Seems Melisandre will be seducing Jon (virgin comment) and that Stannis will want to convince the wildlings to join him (though burning their leader might not be the best option).
    – Tyrion going to meet Daenerys whilst boozing like George Best
    – Robin Arryn sucks at sports
    – opening scene: creepy and interesting to see how it fits into the plot in the end (Tommen & Myrcella)

    Only negative is the absence of Arya. All the scenes seemed to be setting up some future plot, so I can hardly say that there were scenes that were pointless (they never are imo).

  8. I just wanted to read Oz’s wonderful unsullied recap but seeing it wasn’t up yet, I had a look at wic out of happenstance and saw they have an unsullied recap as well. Curious I had a look but the first sentences made me cringe. Probably I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t read this post right before, but wic.net copied the spoiler note of this post word-by-word….

    How disgusting is that!

  9. Just keep spreading the word … we have Oz and we have the quality 🙂 Can’t wait to read the recap myself.

  10. Thank fuck it’s not just me who thought Tyrion’s arrival was under par. It was disastrously handled. A man who likes to drink and is drunk at best of times, suddenly is more heavily intoxicated with alcohol – it doesn’t feel great on screen. That is my only criticism. Had that arrival been planned and performed better, I’d have given the episode a solid 10. However, things happen so I’ve ranked it a 9.

    My favourite character is Arya, since day 1 when she upstaged Bran at archery practice in Winterfell. Not even disappointed by not seeing her in this episode because the arcs that did feature were brilliant. The guest actors were extremely great! I don’t read the books, but I know the fortune teller goes by the name of Maggy the Frog. It is unlikely we will see her again considering it is a flashback but I so very wish we saw more of her. She reminds me of a female Jaqen H’ghar.

    Dany definitely owned this episode. Jon and Mance were also great.

  11. Melisandre is sexier than ever.

    The Wall seemed to be the strongest bit in this episode, althought it was very nice to see the opposition of Lannisters in ruin (plenty fractions with maybe Kevan trying to lead the house now?) against the Tyrell siblings plotting.

    Speaking of Lannisters, great to see both Lancel and Kevan. Come think of it, we now have the Lord of Light fanatics and the Seven fanatics. Kinda missing fanatics of the Old gods at this point.

    On the Wall, I was surprised it was Stannis who wanted Wildlings on his side. I kinda expected from previews, photos, … that it’d be Jon trying to convince Stannis of their usefulness. And a Ghost sighting!

    And my last comment: As expected, Daenerys screwed up royally by punishing the two dragons that did nothing wrong. Now she has no dragons under her control, well done. (Btw. how do they feed the dragons? It felt like noone’s entered the cave since Daenerys imprisoned them there, yet the Dragons are clearly much bigger now. Don’t tell me they grow out of thin air.)

  12. I loved this season opener. It bothers me when people say it was underwhelming. There is so much new stuff happening that has to be introduced into the season.

    Super excited for the Varys/Tyrion meeting with Dany. I hope it happens soon. I am curious to see how she will react. I am hoping she will take them in, considering she said she was not a politician, and Tyrion is, and Varys knows her family, and he will help her become the queen she needs to become, and maybe TRAIN HER DRAGONS.

    I am worried about where LF is taking Sansa.

    Cersei is mean. I hope Jamie doesn’t become “BAD” again.

    I love Jon Snow, what he did was sick! I hate the red woman. She scares me. I wonder what the backlash will be against Jon Snow for what he did. I was hoping to see Mance longer.

    Cant wait to see Arya and Dorne.

  13. Oh my God! Why is it taking so long? My day can’t continue before I read this! =P

    PS: does anyone on here know about any good unsullied-reviews besides Oz’s?

  14. I’m not worried about the pace of the episode. Traditionally the first two episodes are spent catching up with everyone, and that’s something that you have to take a little slowly.

    Good to see you back, Oz and Co.!

  15. Oh – one thing that I haven’t seen in any reviews. Tywin’s funeral shroud was awesome! Kudos to the costume department again.

  16. Great recap!

    “Swordswallower scene: Loras and Olyvar make kinky love maps on each others bodies when cock-blocking Margaery barges in to discuss Cersei. Stealing from the words of John Oliver, Loras and Cersei: How is this still a thing?”

    As a fan of John Oliver this made laugh.

  17. Koempel,

    about burning their leader: think of it as an individual whose leader just got caught and faces the risk of the north, would you rather join him or die, or get back north (probably the last two can be considered as one)

  18. It’s not spoilers to say that Cersei’s friend’s name was “Melara Heatherspoon”, I think she’s even listed as that in the credits. Her name however, is unimportant.

  19. The Dragon Demands,

    Dragon….please…don’t give any book info. It’s a slippery slope. Just don’t do it, at all. (She’s not listed as anything in the credits, by the way, they only list the actors’ names.)

  20. davy,

    Haha I’m a Stannis fans but I always think it’s fair to criticize death by burning. I also was not a fan of it in “The Americans”

  21. I loved the first episode!
    The best for me:
    Jon/Kit & Mance’s/Ciaran scenes was epic( two men with principles) Goosebumps!!!
    The interaction between Jon, Stannis, Melisandre, Davos was very, very interesting..
    Can’t wait for more! Congrats to all the amazing cast, crew, director…

  22. My wife is unsullied and had no idea who Illyrio was when Varys mentioned him. She obviously does not frequent fan sites but is just a casual viewer who really enjoys the show. I had to remind her of all the way back to season 1 where he and Varys were whispering/conspiring in KL and that he was the one housing Viserys and Dany pre-Drogo. Imo, Tyrion’s arrival in Pentos was a bit lackluster due to the absence of Illyrio to welcome him. I don’t know if it was a scheduling conflict or what and it’s not a big deal but it would have been better if he were there.
    Overall, I fully enjoyed the episode and the 3 eyed Raven beer I drank while watching it. That was my first GoT beer and it won’t be my last

  23. Turncloak:
    davy,

    Haha I’m a Stannis fans but I always think it’s fair to criticize death by burning. I also was not a fan of it in “The Americans”

    I am a huge Stannis fan. But some of the more loyal people to the king might already be in their cars driving to Oz’s home. Wouldn’t want him to have the same fate as Mance, so I am giving a fair warning in advance.

  24. So Unsullied I hope you will welcome me into this area although I turned sullied during the 3rd season when someone spoiled the Red Wedding for me. I read the books to not being spoiled anymore and I despise everyone who is posting spoilers, willing or unwillingly. Due to the episode leaks everyone is posting spoilers of future episodes in the Sullied thread which is just not cool. I don’t want to be spoiled, I even don’t want to know whether the next episodes are super awesome or boring or shocking. I just don’t want to know. I like to be surprised like everyone else.
    But I also don’t want to be bullshitting you Unsullied by pretending to be when I’m not and have read the books. I love to read Unsullied speculation because the theories are often super awesome! And I don’t take the books too serious like all the hard core fans do and I don’t compare show scenes with their book counterparts and start complaining etc. Ok this is getting a bit long here… I hope you can understand my point.

    So I hope it is ok to post my spoiler free impression of the first episode?

    – Yound Cersei was awesome and so was the witch… when I heard they cast Jodhi I thought they would go all ugly old crone but I’m glad she’s still pretty like back in Mohicans. Also loved the Osha vibe I got from her acting 🙂
    – Cersei making Jaime feel guilty for pawpaw’s death was pretty neat and I had to restrain myself from laughing about the ridiculous stone eyes especially on Tywin!!
    – love the look Tyrion had from inside the crate and then Varys opening it and washing his hands afterward while Tyrion was basically covered in… ah well you know… that made me laugh
    – the big Harpy made a nice ‘clonk’ when falling down the pyramid and I loved the green brass patina (assuming it was brass and not gold), oh man and that Unsullied was HOT when he got his clothes off… yummy… too bad we won’t see him again, now I can finally get what Miss Sundae is seeing in Grey Worm 🙂
    – Dany was radiant as ever and not amused about gold masked killer
    – cool scenes at Castle Black, damn Ghost certainly has gained some love handles… somehow he looked like a fat pig in that scene, and Ser Alliser is grumpy as ever, Melisandre is freaking me out… I feel as uncomfortable as Jon with her, Stannis standing atop the Wall like a boss and wants to get Jon to provide him with a Wildling army or else he will burn their king… not cool
    – omg Sweetrobin sparring like a girl… even Rickon could beat him, Sansa is all courteous but doesn’t take shit from ‘Unclefinger’ while he’s taking her ‘somewhere safe’
    – Brienne is all miserable but Pod still hopeful as ever
    – Loras was funny with his condolence and Cersei is annoyed of everyone, especially Margaery who’s flirting with Tommen, and then this awkward Lancel encounter…
    – Varys is obviously convinced that Dany would be a good queen to sit the Iron Throne and wants Tyrion to somehow help her claim it – awesome road trip coming *whohoo*
    – Dany obviously doesn’t give a shit about pit fighting but her hubby wants to convince her otherwise… ohhh and she’s so beautiful with her open hair… like the first time we see her in season 1, later goes for a visit to her angry teenage dragons who blast her ass out of the catacombs… looks like further confinement fro the two of them
    – Jon tries to get Mance to give Stannis his army in order to save his live but he doesn’t give a shit and certainly doesn’t want his people to end up as cannon fodder… oh damn I had tears in my eyes, next thing is Mance about to get grilled and ohhh do I hate Melisandre right now. Jon ‘saved the day’ by putting Mance down and showed that damn witch who’s the boss *awkward silence from the spectators*

    Loved the episode
    Ohh and great review Oz, loved to read it <3

  25. People, not every episode can be jammed packed with action. What else could one want from a season opener?! There are so many deep plots developing that they have to take the time to set it up.

    I, also, was underwhelmed by Tyrion’s arrival in the beautiful Pentos. However, we must remember that our man has been crammed in a box for who knows how many days. I think Dinklage’s performance was spot on…Tyrion needs a little time to recover both emotionally and physically. But, like everyone else, I cannot wait until they meet with Danny…so good!

    It was a bummer that we didn’t get to check in with the 2 most interesting Starks (Arya and Bran). Arya is on a boat bound for Braavos…not too much to report there, I guess. And who knows what Bran is learning from the children and the 3 eyed raven…That just gives me more to look forward to next week (as if there wasn’t enough already!). My prediction is that these 2 are going to come out of nowhere with unforeseen power…that will surely surprise everyone since Westeros thinks they are dead.

    Oh Jon Snow, sexy as ever! I cannot wait to see him with some real power…it suits him quite well as he has proved to be a born leader. The time he spent with the wildlings is priceless to his character development. Despite their current attitude, I think they like and respect Jon especially since he took a stand and showed mercy on their leader (who will be sadly missed! I was definitely sad to see Mance go).

    Other notes:
    -Loved watching titty baby, Robyn Arryn, try to swing a sword. Great comic relief!
    -Dany needs to get those dragons in check…no doubt she will
    -A little worried about Sansa. Although I think LF sees his beloved Katelyn in her. I think he’ll take good care of her not only because of the for-mentioned but also (mainly) because she = power in the North…that Stark name is undeniable.
    -So sad to see the Dreadfort banner flying over Winterfell in the opening credits…Stannis is on it though. This should be a fun ride…down with those torturous Boltons!…is is weird that I have the hots for Ramsay?
    -KL is always a diabolical mess of backstabbing plots and power plays…whats new.

    So happy that GOT is back in our lives!

  26. Satisfying episode but losing such a promising character and talented actor is difficult. He inspired loyalty among his men and was taken from us too soon. Every scene he was in was richer because of his presence and interactions with others. The show has been dealt a major blow with his loss. I’m struggling to cope this morning.

    RIP White Rat

  27. I didn’t think Ciaran Hinds got to make much of an impression. Mance is no Caesar.

    I liked Tyrion’s view-from-a-crate. Given the director, it felt like a nice nod to comparable POV shots in Breaking Bad.

    I also liked Robyn’s scene. It’s a nice contrast with Cersei’s inept raising of Joffrey but high investment in his reign. Littlefinger is doing the best that can be done given what he’s starting with, but is realistic about Robyn’s limitations.

    I had been annoyed that Winterfell kept appearing in two seasons of credits despite its absence from the show. At least something changed about it.

    Are Margaery & Tommen supposed to be married yet or will there be yet another wedding episode?

  28. Syrio Fo-real:
    Overall, I fully enjoyed the episode and the 3 eyed Raven beer I drank while watching it. That was my first GoT beer and it won’t be my last

    Try the Fire and Blood… it’s great!

  29. Anyone else think it was weird that Pod didn’t recognise the banners of the Vale when they were passing by? He said Tyrion made sure he knew his houses, and seeing as that’s where they were headed.

  30. OZ!!! I found you. Not that you were missing, but not where I THOUGHT to find you. And your recap is just as fun and witty as I recall. *looks around* Seems comfortable enough here.

    More after I digest comments, just had to say, good to see you in great form again.

    Jules

  31. Do you know what it’s like to be on the outside? Here, in UK, we’ve still got another couple of hours before we see S05E01. What’s really strange about being left out of joining in with everyone else, last night, is that from next week, it looks like we’ll get the simulcast, at 02:00 BST. Weird people at Sky Atlantic. Someone deserves to trade places with Mance, eh?

  32. On reflection, it seems that Stannis and She of the Red Velvet Snatch needed a sacrifice for the Red God, and Mance qualified, being King Beyond the Wall, and therefore providing the required “royal blood” to work the magic. Surely they knew that Mance would never kneel – perhaps they wanted it to appear to be an execution. In any case, it’s hard to see how they will get the Wildlings on their side now, not just because of Mance, who had no intention of “ruling” any way, but because they are now south of the wall, only concerned with their own survival and keeping the Walkers at bay.
    I hope that WoW will do an obit for Mance, however short his time with us.
    If Tyrion really wanted to die, he would have stayed in KL. Hopefully he will get over his trauma enough to introduce Dany to the joys of leafing through ancient tomes in search of dragon training instructions. It will be interesting to see if and how he and Varys gain her trust.
    D&D’s storytelling gets more self assured each year – the pace of this episode was just right. There’s a sense that they know they have our attention now, so they just go about the business of setting up what’s to come in a quiet and reflective way.
    Favorite random bits:
    Loving the Gothed out version of Red Velvet.
    White Rat! Yet another distracting, disposable beauty in a long line of such.
    Olyvar knows Geography! He may be a whore, but he’s a well educated one.
    Tougher Sansa! Ha, Baelish has created a monster. Is he taking her to the Tyrells? Is QoT warning Sansa in that clip?
    And last, but not least, 3eyed Raven dark ale FTW!

  33. 3eyes,
    I don’t think Mance could be n any way an important sacrifice for Melisandre. She’s always made a great deal of needing royal blood, the rightful royal blood. So Stannis, Gendry, Shireen (from there stems the fear for her future) … I wonder though, could older ‘rightful’ kings’ blood be as valuable? Because if so, there’s still maester Aemon at the Wall. I mean, I love Melisandre despite the burnings, but that would be far too much to take in.

    Maginor,

    It must be so. Just seemed from the episode that the cave was pretty much sealed and it was a first of someone entering it while dragons are there.

  34. Johan Sporre,

    omg… clicked on one of the videos… he is singing…. and I slithered from my chair
    If that body wasn’t enough…. *waves for fresh air*

  35. Okay so wow.. I am super behind the times, but only get into the GoT blogs during the season.

    Imagine my surprise when I went to winteriscoming.net and found a horrible mess of things instead.

    So glad the internet led me here where i can find the content I was looking for!

  36. White Rat is definitely the new Cheese Boy: the hot guy in a small role who wins hearts.

  37. minty,

    I won’t point it out for the sake of all the Unsullied here (I’m Sullied, so not gonna risk saying a word!), but you have a spolier in your big comment up there.

    Is there still an edit time limit on here? Maybe a mod could have a look… It’s in the second half of the comment.

  38. I also only follow during the season and couldn’t understand what happened to your blog. I wont even go into what a mess it is without you. Just glad to reunite with you, Oz! It’s what I look forward to after being disappointed when the episode ends each week.

    Thanks for the recap!

  39. Can someone please answer a question for me which I cannot find the answer to. Did they show a traditional 2 minute recap of episode 4 at the season premiere? Because its on non of the files online! Also they did not have recaps for the subsequent episodes after the season 4 premiere right? Why not? and if not then why did they drop showing the yearly recap this time! Someone please answer! Thx

  40. Glad you guys found the new apartment! The weather is a bit colder here, but it’s ours… all of ours. So, welcome home!

  41. I don’t get it…

    Why would Mance not take the seemingly generous offer from Stannis? The wildlings would have been given free passage and lands south of the wall for their own. What was their plan after escaping the white walkers? Kill and pillage south of the wall forever?

    It certainly seems that it would be in their best interest to get rid of Roose and Ramsey if they were going to live south of the wall? You know, that whole enemy of my enemy is my friend.

  42. minty,

    Not trying to defend anyone, but that could be because they are using the template from last year, when Oz was writing on that site.

  43. Immi,

    I’ve read it over and over again, but still don’t know what you could possibly mean???
    It was all in the episode

  44. James:
    Okay so wow.. I am super behind the times, but only get into the GoT blogs during the season.

    Imagine my surprise when I went to winteriscoming.net and found a horrible mess of things instead.

    So glad the internet led me here where i can find the content I was looking for!

    Me too! The Twitter recap went up today and I was like WTF? Read some comments and headed here!
    I was really hoping that the comment thread would allow you to ‘like’ and reply to comments. That’s the only thing that would make this site better

  45. Kellie is Coming,

    We have a reply function, I’m using it right now, it’s at the same place as the qoute function that you used. 😉 As for “likes”, if you ask me then nobodoy really needs them. If you liked a post just say so, it keeps the discussion going and is for more interesting than clicking a button.

  46. Kellie is Coming,

    I too would like a like button. Sometimes I read comments that I really enjoyed but they are way up top so I don’t want to respond to them until I’ve read through the section.

  47. Hi Oz, great recap!
    I’m a sullied view whose looked forward to your reviews every week over on WiCnet in the past and, being that I only really frequent the site during the times the show is on I was unaware of the whole mess of events that has occurred over the past few months so imagine my shock when I loaded up the unsullied recap over on that site and started reading. Something wasn’t right. The opening paragraph threw me immediately. I looked to the top of the article- wrong name. Aghast, I scrolled to the comments, and there I found my explanation. 30 minutes of research, reedit searches and blog reviews later I understood what had happened and found my way here. Bravo to you guys for standing up for yourselves and I’m overjoyed that im still able to partake and participate in what has become a big part of my enjoyment of the show over here on watchersonthewall.com. All the best for the future and you can rest assured that I’ll be frequenting here every week going forward, as will I’m sure plenty of other casual readers who realise what has happened!

  48. Motherofmadness,

    I did see a recap right before the opening credits. Didn’t you by chance got hold of the ‘leaked’ eps? Those might miss recaps and I strongly advise against watching them anyway.

    Btw. it was curious reading some recap excerpts stating that as usual, there was large amounts of nudity in the premiere. To the contrary, I’d say there was very little nudity: just the ‘brothel street worker’ and Daario’s ass.

  49. James, Kellie is Coming, Chris Christison,
    JOMBEA, and everyone… welcome to the party at the Wall! Glad you guys found us.

    About the like button on the comments… it is definitely something we can look into adding. The staff are always trying to improve the site and welcome all suggestions.

    Thanks for Taking the Black with us.

  50. minty,

    Aaah I don’t really want to point it out obviously haha… I’ll be vague here and tag it as well (I hope! Haven’t tried spolier tags here, I’m more of a lurker)…

    you referred to a certain royal lady, and her relationship status that has yet to (and hey might not) occur

    So yeah it might need a mod to look at it, and delete this comment too!

  51. Immi,

    I am referring to Daario in her bed, with hubby = boyfriend 🙂

    Sorry for the misunderstanding, english is not my native language…

  52. minty,

    Your comment was a MAJOR spoiler. I have put spoiler tags around it. In future, put the following around anything about the future of the show/books.

    [ spoiler ] text you are trying to hide [ / spoiler ]

    *except remove the spaces in the spoiler tags I have above, I have to put the space in so you can see them as text

  53. I’m more and more confused… Daario is the guy she had in bed back in season 4 and now again last episode… so what do you refer to him in english? Is

    boyfriend?

    the wrong word?

  54. Ok I see what I did, it was a translation problem on my side. When I was speaking about Daario in the first place – they guy who just obviously had sex with Dany and is giving her his opinion about the fighting pits – I accidentally called him

    hubby

    assuming the word was a synonym for

    lover, boyfriend, etc.

    in english. Sorry about that misuse. Didn’t want to imply anything in that sentence and honestly only have a vague idea what might happen in the future storyline since I skipped almost all of her book chapters out of boredom. So please Unsullied don’t interpret any deeper meaning into that sentence – it simply has none. <3

    *nighty night*

  55. I was a bit shocked at such a big spoiler in the first scene with little Cersei – it foreshadows what will happen to Tommen and Myrcella – I prefer to be surprised with that kind of thing

  56. AJ,

    I don’t know, I wouldn’t necessarily take that to mean they both die very soon. For one, it would be a nice twist and the witch toying with Cersei. For two, she only said “gold will be their shrouds”. That doesn’t mean they’ll die young. It could mean all will keep their gold ‘manes’ at the time of death, it could mean all will be revered and in a good position at death (thus richly departed) or anything, really.

  57. Remember when the countdown clock said something like 90 days+?

    Yeah, I remember using it as a countdown to when the countdown clock would go away. I used to be able to block it. Do we really need a weekly countdown clock?

  58. Dame Pasty,

    Why not simply delete comments with spoilers? This is an Unsullied recap, spoilers of any kind, even veiled ones, do not belong in this thread.

Comments are closed.