Do you feel the joy? I most certainly do. But I want more and I bet you do too. Here’s your weekly Brush-up video of last week’s Game of Thrones episode entitled “Oathbreaker”. This video should be safe enough for the Unsullied with a warning at the end so they know when to stop.
Video after the jump.
WARNING: This video is NSFW and definitely not for the kiddos. And there are spoilers/speculation at the very end with a BIG warning beforehand. Enjoy my fellow Thronees.
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Dame, I had a super shitty morning, I was so happy to see this pop up. Hi from over in the east valley! Your insight is always fair, balanced and hilarious.
I DEMAND A COMBAT BY TRIAL
Another good brush up. Solid points with some humor sprinkled in.
Jon Snow deux points
Always enjoy these, Dame P. Thanks for that!
Lyanna_Targaryen,
Aw, that’s no good! Here, have some internet hugs from a random stranger. *squishes you* Hope your day improves!
I don’t think Jon has left Castle Black yet — the last frames of the episode explicitly showed the gates to the castle behind him. I think he’ll go back to his room, will meet Sansa etc, receive the Pink letter, and they’ll leave in episode 5 to rally some houses to their causes, with Sansa sending Brienne to the Riverlands.
“Can you believe Davos told Melisandre to go and she did?” That blew me away too.
OMG maybe Davos is the prince that was promised and Mel knows it ⊙▂⊙ ?!!
love these round-ups
Hey Lady – Love your work!!! You are inspiring me to do a piece supporting my there is going to be a battle of queens theory.
Guys there is a new interview with George Georgiou, aka Razdal Mo Eraz, one of the slave masters from Yunkai back in season 3. http://m.news247.gr/eidiseis/weekend-edition/o-ellhnas-toy-game-of-thrones-poy-tolmhse-na-ekneyrisei-thn-ntainerys.4056500.html
It’s in Greek though. The most important piece of information he gives is that
He also says he wants Jon Snow to become king and that he went to the same drama school with Gwen Christie and Emilia Clark.
I have never seen it mentioned but the writer paid homage to Samuel Beckett
All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. – Samuel Beckett
I enjoyed the unstated pie image.
You know, I’m gonna go out on a limb here:
1 – I actually like all of the Slaver’s Bay chapters in the novels. EVEN IF GRRM intended them as a diversion for Daenerys taking the wrong path – as sort of spelled out in her final chapter in book five – they’re an interesting diversion. So what if they’re *supposed* to be “foreign” and unusual because it’s out of place — I thought the “power politics” of the different factions was still good, and the “Aragorn’s tax policy” stuff of trying to *run* a city-state like that once the reality of the situation sets in.
2 – I actually enjoy the TV series version, continuing into Seasons 5 and 6, and have no major complaints. I even think they worked in Tyrion well.
I do wish we got a bit more of the internal factions and such but given how badly other stuff got condensed in other storylines the general points remain, or really came to the fore in Season 5 — Mossador was invented for the show but a great condensation of major issues in books, and one of the better moments of writing on the show (I can’t believe the people who wrote Mossador also wrote the Dorne dialogue…but that’s a separate issue).
Mildly perturbed at killing off Barristan, but 1 – maybe he dies in the next novel in somewhat similar circumstances, 2 – ….I understand that economy of characters is an issue, 3 – the *manner* of his death was done well.
And I enjoy that they’re more or less bringing in the Yunkai/Astapor/Volantis alliance – on some level.
So while we’ve got some criticisms of one storyline or another……yeah, I think they’re doing an okay job with Meereen and have no major criticisms, even though a lot of people didn’t even like it in the novels.
As always a very nice review.
I also liked the Frey pie reference but I still have a hard time seeing the Smalljohn taking over (part of) the Manderly plotline but who knows. Sansa not going to Castle Black is a possibility but I thought they do not know about either Jon’s death nor resurrection so CB would sound a safe place for them – on the other hand that is the direction where Ramsey and his dogs would search fist..
Valaquen,
Thinking he just left the main courtyard…
Sadly, I think that
The problem with them replacing the Manderly’s is that the plot is going in the opposite direction: instead of feigning loyalty while searching for Rickon, the Umbers are offering alliance while turning over Rickon. And unlike the Manderly’s who are helping defend the Boltons, the Umbers (insofar as they are aware) need the Boltons to fend off Wildlings.
I like the idea about
If Sansa does go to Deepwood Motte, then the question arises: will they know what her half-brother did, and if they do, will that make her reception a chilly one?
In terms of where Sansa is going…. I don’t think she’ll be at Castle Black next episode. I hadn’t thought about Deepwood Motte until Dame Patsy. I was thinking Bear Island.
The Greyjoys mentioned losing Deepwood Motte. That might be subtle exposition/a hint. I’m so happy that it is Sunday!
If Jon really went out from the Castle Black, he could go only outside the Wall, probably to the godswood, which would make sense, because he went on foot.
They planned to go to Castle Black and all of sudden to change that to Deepwood Motte? Unlikely. For all they know Deepwood Motte could still be under Iron Born control. But they don’t know what happened to Jon and assume as her family he could help her. Jon needs a motivation to fight and combination of Sansa and Pink Letter could do it.
Nooooo!
A pie is no good without gravy! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BoBpyI0IAAA1NHf.png
Great recap as ever 🙂
Thank you Dame Pasty.Nice review and I like your speculation.
The Deepwood Motte scenario makes sense to me and also upsets me.
The 2 main GOT rules.
1.Never let the Starks get together.
2.Kill their direwolves.
sunofabitch!!!!
I’m leaning towards Sansa arriving at Castle Black. Dame Pasty suggests it could be Deepwood Motte, because there are no gates at Castle Black like the one shown in the episode preview.
However, in the “Watchers on the Wall” episode, Pyp lets Gilly into Castle Black through doors similar to those shown in the preview, so it’s possible it really IS Castle Black.
Also, the theme of tonight’s episode seems to be reunions, so it makes sense that we would FINALLY get a Stark reunion (please, oh please, let this happen!).
Agreed 100% – In episode 5 Sansa has to be the one who will send Brienne on a mission. The only way she would do this, and Brienne would leave her, is if she were reasonably safe.
She has to meet up with Jon by the end of episode 4.
Yes, I’ve no idea why people think he just took the road by foot and left the castle (especially when the filmmakers showed the gates behind him). Sansa will find him holed away in his room, directionless, but Davos, Mel, and others will compel him to move on Winterfell and Ramsay’s letter may prove to be the impetus to finally leave.
It would not be improbable given that it is tactical. They should realize that Castle Black is where Ramsay will look for them.
Why does Sansa have to meet up with Jon at all? I agree that it is an outcome that is fairly probable before the end of the season: but it is by no means guaranteed. If Jon leaves with the Wildlings, then they probably will not be taking the main road: they will know that they will be treated as invaders, and given that they are used to traveling without roads, it is not a huge hardship for them. Similarly, if Sansa realizes that Castle Black is actually the last place she should go,
One thing that is not 100% clear yet is whether Jon intends to leave the Watch (which carries a death sentence: and nobody is going to buy the “I died and came back” story), or if he has just resigned from being Lord Commander. However, if the Wall gets a letter this week demanding the return of Ramsay’s bride, then we could see Jon set out quickly.
As for myself, and after a night of deep thought (very little of which was spent on Game of Thrones, but it sounds good, so what they heck), I am going with…. (rolls dice)…. Sunspear? Effin’ dice.
Ah, sorry! Bear Island.
Oh, yeah. Ditto that from me.
Wimsey,
Suppossedly there was only Jon supporters left at the wall, when all was said and done. (Ten men?) And wildlings.
Yeah, I wonder how that info will go down throughout the north, if at all? Will it simply be another addition to wildling folklore? Will ravens be sent declaring the miracle in the north? Will Jon set aside his WW concerns for the time being in order to address the immediate “pink letter” concerns? Or will the WW advances somehow intertwine with the looming human chaos in the north? I know nothing.
House Stackhouse,
Well, only men who accept that Jon is Lord Commander: only 4 of the many Nationalists were exectuted, after all, and only a couple of men fell in the Wildlings’ coup. There would be a lot of them who still hated him for siding with the enemy (or an enemy). However, when don’t nearly half the followers hate the leader, anyway? 😀
But how would that affect anything at this point? At the very least, Jon seems to have resigned his commission as Lord Commander.
The DM theory would work if Sansa &
Co learn about events from someone they meet on the road.
Neither Sansa nor Brienne know which Houses would be loyal and protect them. Even if Ramsay looks for them at Castle Black, it would still be the one place in the North where Sansa knows someone who would have more reason to protect her than anywhere else.
Also storytelling-wise I cannot see them pass on the opportunity to have all of those characters meet. For what? Sansa meeting some tertiary character in Deepwood Motte? How would that bring her to do anything? She needs to realize that there is no safety, not even with Jon at Castle Black and that Ramsay has Rickon. That will inform her future decisions.
Also Sansa sending Brienne to the Riverlands in episode 5 suggests that she will have someone else in her service and I don’t think a pairing with some tertiary character we haven’t met yet is very D&D. I suspect it will be Davos.
And finally, it just looks like the gates of Castle Black. Watch the episode where Stannis leaves CB, it’s so obvious.
Let’s see:
*shakes*
Well, duh…..
Seriously, enough word has gotten out that the Umbers know that there are 1000s of Wildlings south of the Wall. However, it seems that there are some Grimmsian distortions already in effect, which indicates that the news is 2nd or 3rd hand.
The reports of Jon’s resurrection are being featured in the Kingdom Enquirer in the continuing series of Ridiculous News from the North, which includes fuzzy charcoal drawings of giants, 47th hand accounts of White Walkers, Snark of the Week, and rumors that Elvis, Jesus and Azor Ahai are recording a reunion album at a secret recording studio in Hardhome. The album will include all three songs: Rains of Castamere, Bear and the Maiden Fair, and Dornishman’s Wife.
It obviously is the the gates of CB to some and it obviously is not the gates of CB to others. My question is: do we ever see mountains at all like that looking south from Castle Black? I do not recall seeing them: but I do not recall not seeing them.
It also would work if Sansa lets Brienne and/or Pod know that Ramsay also knows that Jon is LC. They both are tactically savvy enough to know that means that Ramsay would look for Sansa there.
Hi all *waving* working at home at the moment so haven’t been reading the comments, as always apologies if this is old news. Here in the UK we don’t get the previously on segment but Sky Atlantic, the channel who show GoT, have posted it here if anyone’s interested 🙂
Edit: actually, having never seen a previously on, I’m not sure if it’s the HBO one or just a Sky Atlantic teaser. Anyway, they have an episode 1-3 recap if you wanna take a look 🙂
Wimsey,
If you check the photo of the CB gates from Ep3, there are some rocks visible through the gaps, and given that Sansa was going to the CB in Ep2, she has to end up there at least to pick up Davos. was also shown to be in the CB in the promo photos, so the wildlings havewildlingst gone anywhere. And Jon either went into the castle to pack his things, or took a walk to the godswood beyond the wall, because he went on foot and wore no overcoat.
huh, I would think that would make a show like this hard to follow. People are not going to remember details televised years ago, regardless of the country in which they reside.
Why does Sansa need to pick up Davos?
Deepwood Motte??
Didn’t Yara said that the Glovers already recaptured Deepwood Motte?
So, after establishing for 2 episodes that Sansa is going to Castle Black, we’re going to be shown Sansa arriving in the House Glover seat and given a crash course in House Gloverdom to a thoroughly confused audience while taking away time from Castle Black?
Does anyone really think that’s what D&D are going to do instead of showing interactions between Brianne, Davos, Mel, Tormund, Sansa and Jon?
Seriously?
Judging from the two trailers, Sansa and Davos are probably in the same Bear Island Hall.
as usual, very nice and to the point. I wish I could be as optimistic as you are about the whole Rickon thing, but
As for Sansa, I agree with some posters here that she may be going to Bear Island. It wouldn’t be safe for her to go to Castle Black as Ramsay will expect her to do that. And from the way the show has set it up, the Mormonts are more likely to be completely unwaveringly loyal to the Starks than the Glovers, about whose new lord we know next to nothing. Only, would Sansa know that?
For goodness sakes people, TV writing 101 states that the opening scene of this episode is Sansa arriving at Castle Black. (Assuming they open with the Wall again, as they’ve been doing.)
Oh, true. However, given the differences in lighting, it seems like they are there in different scenes. I had assumed that these represented independent visits because of that. Still, I suppose the lighting could be an artifact of trailer editing.
It might be less about loyalty to the Starks than fear of the Wildlings. Northerners terrified of a Wildling army are going to put a Northern Civil War on hold until after the Wildling threat to their existences is ended. However, both the Mormants and the Glovers fear Iron Born as much as or (in the case of the Bear Islanders) more than the Wildlings. Of course, this assumes that western Northerners (and/or Sansa et al.) learn about the Wildling invasion.
One thing that I think canNOT be underemphasized is that there are no definites at this point. All of the players are working with incomplete knowledge and under some incorrect assumptions. As things stand now, yes, Sansa is going to Castle Black. However, that could change as the plot unfolds. It looks like this is going to be a story about getting unexpected allies on board with you: and that means that at some point, Sansa has to start trying to convince people to follow her rather than doing something else.
Wimsey,
Sansa will probably leave the CB in Ep 5. And regarding the wildlings, somehow it´s very hard to believe that they could represent a serious threat. Of cause, the writers can write whatever they like, but that simply does not make sense that the whildlings could have ever been anything more than a mere nuisance. I mean, how could they inflict any serius damage, if they were as unorganised as we are supposed to believe and had to climb the wall every time? Every archer could shoot them during the climb without any problem etc. And if the northerners were not able to repel them, they were complete idiots deserving to be taken by the others.
Both the show and the books emphasize that the Wildlings are much more than a mere nuisance: they basically have rendered the lands near the Wall uninhabitable with constant raiding parties. The books shed even more light:
As for Archers shooting Wildlings on the Wall: what archers? The Wall is woefully undermanned. Both book and show emphasize that the North is sparsely populated, and they do not have the resources to create that sort of border patrol.
As Jon tells Ygritte, every boy in the North learns about the six major Wildlings invasions. The Wildlings always lose because they are poorly organized, despite the fact that they are brave and ferocious fighters. However, this time the Wildling army has appeared just after the North has been devastated by war, and where the Northerners are on the verge of civil strife. In the past, the Umbers could rely on the Starks organizing a major defense of the lands nearer to the Wall; now, they are on their own. I mean, the only thing that could make it worse is if the White Walkers from the legends magically came back into being and invaded, too!
(I know, I know: that would be just silly….)
Regarding the chandelier: yes, we see them standing under the same chandelier; no, that does not mean that they are standing under that chandelier at the same time. They might be, but if you look at the shots, the lighting appears to be very different in the two shots.
Wimsey,
I know it was established but it looks ridiculous nonetheless. Look, I can imagine a band of wildlings climbing the wall and the attacking some random village, but afterwards they have to go back carrying all the booty which slows them down considerably and it is implied that they cannot be tracked and shot down, say, by the archers from the neighboring village if the lords don´t care? I have been doing a study on medieval raiding warfare in the 14th century Lithuania. Routhly, there were 2 raids annually, in 35 % of the cases commoners were given an early warning, 25% were cases when the invaders were intercepted on there way back (including all the cases inlvolving major attacks by 5 hundred men and more), and only 40% of the raids went without an immediate response. And the 14th century Lithuanians were sort of wildlings themselves, and there was no ice wall. So once again, the whole establishment looks ridiculous, just as the Iron Fleet built on the islands where there is no wood.
OK, sorry for ranting. It´s a problem, when you have too much time to think between the episodes. Let´s enjoy the show and close the eyes on the shortcommings.
What neighboring villages? By the time the nearest villages learn about a raid, it will be days or even weeks after the fact. There simply are not that many villages in the North, partly because of the Wildlings. This is not supposed to be a place as densely populated as medieval Lithuania must have been, and the communications clearly are not as good. In a way, it seems to be a prisoner’s dilemma analog: if they could get a lot more people to colonize the areas south of the Wall, then they all would be a lot safer; but nobody is going to want to move there in part because it’s not safe to live there given how few people there are to form a defense against the Wildlings. (The harshness of the winter probably would be another factor.)
Those are just the details as we’ve been given them. There is no one “realistic” model: Lithuania is not the world, after all. So, we should assume that the people living there are going to operate under the “facts” that we’ve been given.
(It is cool that you study that, however; perhaps if GRRM had known of such studies, he would have written things differently.)
Wimsey,
OK. I got it: the North is to be imagined not as the north of the medieval England, but rather as a northern Siberia… But you are right, of cause: it´s a fictional world and we should not ask it to be realistic. But on the other hand this is the reason, why people don´t buy it sometimes.
heh, the funny thing is that I often caution other fans that Joe and Jane HBO Subscriber is much more savvy about basic literature, basic history, basic science, etc., than is the typical fantasy fan: and that a lot of the fantasy cliches that GRRM invokes in the books would not fly with an HBO audience. However, your individual knowledge of history is going to be far advanced of typical I am pretty well-versed in history, but I had no idea that medieval Lithuanians were so well organized to deal with raiders.
That written, were these raiders predominantly Scandinavians? (The 14th century is getting a little late for that, but it was never “too” late.) Or where they coming from deeper in the continent? Either way, the proximity of the Baltic would create a more densely populated region than, say, Siberia because of sea-faring, which always encouraged commerce (as well as reaving). And if the raiders were sea-farers, then it is a better a better model for what Westerosi within reach of the Iron Islanders would be like.
But the land-locked nature of much of the North might relevant for other things. For example, some fans seem to feel that everyone in Westeros should know that Ramsay is a psychopath. However, one thing that comes up in both book and show is that people in the south know very little of what transpires in the north: and it does not seem that there is a lot of commerce or travel between the two. But the sparse population of the North would contribute to the lack of news flow both within the North and within the rest of Westeros.
Again, I have no idea how much thought GRRM put into this, or how sound all of his assumptions are. His historical model seems to be largely based on what happened in the British Isles. Still, it’s interesting to learn about how a “comparable” real culture dealt with similar issues.