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Daario taunts Grey Worm in a deleted scene from Game of Thrones season 5 DVD/Blu-Ray

Posted on by Petra

GW

Check out a new deleted scene from the Game of Thrones season 5 DVD and Blu-ray, available on March 15.

The deleted scene, shared by the Wall Street Journal, is between Daario and Grey Worm as they patrol the streets of Meereen and Daario questions Grey Worm about his relationship to Missandei and his below-the-belt “problem.”

This scene and other special features will be available on the Game of Thrones season 5 DVD and Blu Ray. We’ll be posting our DVD/Blu Ray review and giveaway shortly, so come back soon to learn more.

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Petra

175 Comments

  4. This definitely falls toward the “inessential” end of deleted scenes. Though this show has very few deleted scenes to begin with.

  7. Wow…Daario is not one to respect boundaries! I thought GW and his Unsullied would point their spears at Daario’s midsection for an appropriate response.

    Hey, why couldn’t the SotH have their surprise attack during that scene instead? 🙂 Selmy > Daario !! (imho…RiP Selmy!)

  12. Kinda pointless. IMO they were right to cut the two deleted scenes we’ve seen as they were both superfluous. Most of the cut scenes from all the seasons were rightfully cut, although I did enjoy the Tywin-Pycelle scenes and would’ve liked that to stay in an episode (although it too was superfluous).

  13. mau,

    I hope they’re saving it for episode 9. That episode should be at least an hour, if not more.

  16. Well, I’m glad that was deleted. We already knew Daario’s a bit of an arsehole, and while I’m not a huge fan of the GW/Missandei “romance”, I like the more subtle approach.

  17. Is someone else there who thinks that Daario is

    the Harpy?(books/series as well) I just never trusted him.

  18. Rella,

    Agreed, not necessary. Leave more time in the episode for pillow talk with Dani to prove what a Casenova you are, dude. Now go polish your golden babe-hilts, stud.

  19. r-hard,

    I don’t think there even is a ”Harpy”, neither in the books or show. More so in the show.

    I think it’s just some great families from Meereen and Yunkai, in the show and posible that green priest in the books.
    I highly doubt there is a physical mastermind controlling everything.

  23. also i don’t think its a big deal that the first few episodes are short. because that probably means the second half of the seasons has longer episodes in which shit really hits the fan.

  25. Hmmm that is a really clunky scene. Definitely a good decision to remove it.

    Not only is it not particularly sparkling dialogue, but while I can imagine Daario v.01 making these kind of sleazy comments, v.02 doesn’t suit them at all.

  26. Interesting thing about that scene is the guy behind Darrio , not Unsullied, a Second Son.
    Darrio supposedly has 5000 of them but this is the only time we see one with him.
    Tho one may be in the throne room as a guard.
    That cohort of Sell Swords is pretty invisible on the show.

  27. Kinda a useless scene. But I wonder if its only my impression that they are making the new daario a bit more “cool” than he should be? Because maybe if he betrays dany it would be more unexpected?

  30. So who decides if a scene gets deleted or not? Is it solely the editor(s)? Because whomever does decide really does an A+ job.

  34. Jack Bauer 24,

    I’m going to guess that Arya and Sam/Gilly are absent from the premiere, since they always stagger the reintroduction of plotlines and the more standalone ones are more likely to be shunted into the later episode.

  36. Sean C.,

    I agree with you about the characters missing the première. None of them finished on cliffhangers that need to be resolved immediately unlike Sansa and Theon for example.

    Den of Geek have got an excellent post about 125 thigs they learnt from the blu-rays. Naturally some of these things we knew already, but there are some interesting little titbits.

    1. Conleth Hill originally auditioned for Robert Baratheon..
    2. Dorne was originally not going to be in Season 5 at all. It was Cogman’s idea to send Jaime there.
    3. Barristan’s death was filmed to be in episode 6, before the shift to episode 4.
    4. The roles of Myranda, Ellaria, Grey Worm, and Missandei have all been expanded, because the show runners like the performances of the actors.

    I know we’ll get our own review of the blu-rays here soon, but it sounds like there is some very interesting stuff in the commentaries.

  37. Is it just me, or does this scene add more weight to the argument that Daario is a bad guy who is up to no good with Dany?

    Maybe not, maybe we already know he’s a dirty dog; but something about his tone here makes him seem more untrustworthy….

  38. Kargaryen,

    Maybe…..it would definitely come as less of a shock, after scenes like this. Are they sanitising his character so that it’s a big shocking twist when he betrays her?

  42. Mihnea,

    I disagree the Pycelle scene was also a not so good scene. A kind of recapitulation of the Tywin and Jamie scene only with less important context, content and significance… Besides we had already seen who the Pycelle is in that excellent scene with Ros…

  43. I think it’s just some great families from Meereen and Yunkai, in the show and posible that green priest in the books.

    Mineah,

    How do you explain that the Sons of the Harpy kill mostly Masters in S5E9 (apart from Unsullied)?

  44. Knight of the Walkers (Formerly Jeb): 2. Dorne was originally not going to be in Season 5 at all. It was Cogman’s idea to send Jaime there.

    Ha! Very, very interesting. I personally think that with the much-less-than-optimal time that Dorne received in Season 5 to introduce SIX new characters , it would have been much better to have Dorne come in Season 6, and be Jaime-less. For me, personally, Jaime and Bronn in Dorne was a big problem with Dorne in Season 6. Their appearance at Doran’s palace was quite unrealistic.

  48. The only deleted scene that I felt could’ve made the show was the one between Loras and Margaery in season 2 right after Renly died.

  49. Why are folks getting all neurotic about running times? I mean, as if that is what determines a “satisfying” episode. I mean, “Rains Of Castamere” is listed at 51 minutes – The shortest of season 3. Was that an episode that was lacking? Did it feel truncated? C’mon. Some perspective! Benioff and Weiss can make each episode as short and long as they want. This isn’t commercial television. HBO gives them total flexibility within the “pushing hour” format, They are structuring each episode methodically.

  50. I don’t know who’s talking in the background. But it is irrititaing as hell. Couldn’t hear what they were saying.

    I also think it was a pointless scene. The only deleted scenes I would have wanted in the show is the Loras and Margeary scene in S2( showing actual book Loras, and not just an one-dimensional gay character) and thr Pycelle&Tywin one.

  51. I like Greyworm as a character but….he’s completely unconvincing in the show as a lean, mean fighting machine which is what the Unsullied are supposed to be. There’s no edge to him. He just looks like a little boy trying to look tough.

    Very miscast imo

  54. Mitch:
    Why are folks getting all neurotic about running times? I mean, as if that is what determines a “satisfying” episode. I mean, “Rains Of Castamere” is listed at 51 minutes – The shortest of season 3. Was that an episode that was lacking? Did it feel truncated? C’mon. Some perspective! Benioff and Weiss can make each episode as short and long as they want. This isn’t commercial television. HBO gives them total flexibility within the “pushing hour” format, They are structuring each episode methodically.

    You do realize this is a fansite right and folks invest a lot of time and thought into every aspect of the production? Why is it suprising that I would prefer closer to 60 minutes for the premiere of my favorite show after waiting 9.5 months for it to return to my TV set? Seems perfectly logical

  55. Mihnea,

    Okay, but did we have any hints towars this? Usually, wouldn’t there be some foreshadowing?

    I could them being former slaves who had a better life before, considering we had one scene with a freedman who wanted to be a slave again and before the harpy attack which leads to Ser Barristan dying, they have attacked some of the Second Sons in the streets and there was a Mereenese prostitute involved with them.
    Also we had a filming spoiler from the set where we could read something on a wall in Mereen.

    Anyone, how can I insert spoiler tags?

    Also, I’d like Daario to be the Harpy, but unfortunately, it doesn’t make much sense considering what we know…

  56. Halfman:
    I like Greyworm as a character but….he’s completely unconvincing in the show as a lean, mean fighting machine which is what the Unsullied are supposed to be. There’s no edge to him. He just looks like a little boy trying to look tough.

    Very miscast imo

    I have to agree… each time I see him I just want to throw up. Sorry Greyworm fans but he is just not convincing to me. He tries way too hard to look “tough” and the constant frown on his face is disconcerting. I wouldn’t mind if he took an L this season tbh.

  57. Ice Spider: He tries way too hard to look “tough” and the constant frown on his face is disconcerting

    I agree with this 100%. At first, I tried to accept the permanent “tough” face as his unsullied training of suppressing emotions engrained since childhood but I just can’t convince myself this guy is some fierce warrior

  60. Brannis the Mannis,

    I didn’t mean the masters alone are doing this.
    What I’m saying is their probaly the ones who finance the entire thing.

    The actual soldier on the ground? Normal citizens on Meereen who where never slaves, people who do it simply for money, basically people from all ends on the social spectrum.

    That’s why I said there is no ”harpy”. There are probaly many people who take decisions and give orders, some have more influence, some less.
    What I doubt, is this idea that this insurection has 1 central leader that everyone obeys.

    Yunkai also most likely finances this entire thing, just to get rid of Dany.

    Anyway, if we are going to speculate, I think Varys’s line about ”know who your friends are and know who aren’t”, probaly means will learn something about the harpies this season.

  61. Making the 8: You do realize this is a fansite right and folks invest a lot of time and thought into every aspect of the production? Why is it suprising that I would prefer closer to 60 minutes for the premiere of my favorite show after waiting 9.5 months for it to return to my TV set? Seems perfectly logical

    It’s logical in a “fanboys/girls gonna be dumb” way, sure.

    The Structuring of CONTENT and the editing choices of STORY, can easily make 50 minutes feel more hefty than 58 with too much fat/filler. Theoretically fretting about needing MORE MORE MORE minutes……yeesh.

  62. Knight of the Walkers (Formerly Jeb),

    Thank you for linking to that article – it was excellent! The anecdotes about the behind-the-scenes work that the production team puts in to make the series come to life are just amazing. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate the level of thought and craftsmanship that goes into creating the show’s production values (particularly the costumes and the sets) the expertise and commitment of the people who work on this show needs to read that article or listen to the commentaries. They are the unsung heroes.

    “109. Although it has yet to feature in A Song Of Ice And Fire, George R.R. Martin has confirmed that it was always his intention for Stannis and Melisandre to sacrifice Shireen to the God of Light.“

    I’ll acknowledge that the author of the article could be paraphrasing here, but I’ll be very interested to hear the precise wording of this statement on the commentary when it’s released – and who says it. Benioff and Weiss confirmed in the “Inside the Episode” video for “The Dance of Dragons” that George told them about Shireen’s sacrifice, but because they didn’t specify the precise nature of that sacrifice, some people are desperately searching for any wiggle room they can find. Some deny it completely – which is foolish at this point, but hey, until The Winds of Winter is released, that Theon sample chapter will always be there as a refuge for those who want to hold on to hope.

    For a fanbase that loves to wax poetic about Martin’s subversion of tropes, they sure seem keen to take Stannis’s statement that “I will have no burnings” as irrefutable gospel.

    Others acknowledge that Shireen will burn in the novels, but nevertheless insist that Melisandre will do it without Stannis’s consent. If we get further clarification from George (be it secondhand or not) confirming Stannis’s involvement, that’s a blow to that line of thinking.

  63. Brannis the Mannis,

    Spoiler tag instruction is at the top of the comment section in the gray box. Make sure to delete all of the empty spaces within the brackets or it won’t work.

  64. Ice Spider,

    Making the 8,

    I don’t get the casting tbh. They cast actors to play Dothraki often enough who fit the bill but Greyworm is being played by a baby faced actor who is completely incapable of portraying a character who has endured horrendous hardship and emerged as an elite soldier.

  66. Mitch: It’s logical in a “fanboys/girls gonna be dumb” way, sure.

    The Structuring of CONTENT and the editing choices of STORY, can easily make 50 minutes feel more hefty than 58 with too much fat/filler. Theoretically fretting about needing MORE MORE MORE minutes……yeesh.

    Resort to name calling when someone has a different opinion than you… I love the internet. But I agree with you that a nicely crafted 50 minute episode can be enough to satisfy.

  69. Remember some episodes will be longer than others this season because Benioff and Weiss will feel it suits those respective episodes to be that way. They have countless times in the past moved around stuff from episodes, for this very reason. Even if sequences were scripted for a particular episode, content will get moved around because although the producers are always thinking about the “sum of the parts”/ overall season experience, this is still serial television that is broken up into 10 episodes. Each episode is being structured meticulously to be a singular satisfying experience. It’s really about structuring each individual episode satisfyingly. And they’re not gonna force an episode to be longer or shorter just for the sake of it.

    Luckily, this is HBO and a huge hit. So they don’t have the suits restricting them. If Benioff and Weiss feel 50 minutes is perfect for the events and content of Episode 6:1, then that’s what they’re gonna present to the audience. This isn’t like AMC forcing Vince Gilligan or Matt Weiner to lower the running times of their respective shows to fit more commercials (This actually happened on BREAKING BAD, MAD MEN…..fucking AMC!)

  72. Or to put it another way (more succinctly)…..

    No one percieved the “Rains Of Castamere” as too short!

  74. Knight of the Walkers (Formerly Jeb),

    That’s an interesting list, thanks for sharing.

    I have to wonder, if they actually film at 24 frames per second (as stated in fact 96), how do they have slow motion shots of scenes where slow motion isn’t needed? What comes to mind is the beginning of the first Season 6 Teaser video (the one with Max von Sydow narrating), which starts with the shot of Jon Snow approaching Hardhome, only it’s in some serious slow motion and still looks rather smooth. I’ve always assumed that they film at a really high frame rate and only render the final product at 24 fps.

  75. OT:
    Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton): “[Sansa’s rape] kind of had to happen, really. It’s orchestrated by Roose and they have to have a child.

    Maybe not this season, but it would be a twist. Ramsey and his men who survived the battle terrorizing the North, Sansa at Winterfell discovered she is pregnant.

    I would die to see the vision at SXS

  82. fasads:
    The show is pretty bad at this point. No one other than blind fanboys care about it. Season 5 was a joke and season 6 will be even worse because there are no books anymore. Dumb&Dumber and their stupid fanfic is a insult to the great ASOIAF.

    At least we have Marco Polo this year.

    Wise and Brilliant are actually giving us new material. Marco Polo lol? Average at best.

  83. RedTeamReview had an idea in a recent video, if they were to have skipped the GW/M romance they could’ve squeezed iron island plots in its place. I would’ve been totally on board w/that

  89. Mihnea: This just made my day! Now I’m really looking foward to TWOW.

    Nooooo…… be careful what you wish for! Widespread internet meltdowns, hair tearing, denial, followed by depression…… To be honest, I am expecting some of that by the time Season 6 has finished airing! 😀

  91. I love Stannis as a character even more because he ultimately burns his daughter! The tragedy actually elevates his character. Stannis fanatics ironically miss the power of this story event. Everything Since CLASH has built to Stannis making this ultimate choice. George obviously told Benioff and Weiss before season 3, because the show has building to it since then (I think it was before season 3 that they had their first big meeting regarding the ENDGAME of characters)

    I do suspect it will be less compacted/rushed in “Winds of Winter”. It was powerful on the show, but I think the book will build up the “desperation” and stakes even more. The show has other fish to fry.

  92. The nasty bits,

    The nasty bits,

    My bad, I just rewatched the video along with the GW/M romance he also included scrapping sam/gilly romance for even more room for getting in iron island plots. And I’d be totally on board w/that as well.

  93. The nasty bits,

    Great! Now you have 10 min for the II!

    EDIT: Actoully no. 6 mins is what Missandei and GW have in all 5 seasons. This season they have at around 3-4 min!
    So great, now you have 7 min for the II!!!

  94. Dragonmcmx,

    You don’t cast actors to stand in the background; the actors would simply find other roles. You need to show that Dany has an entourage, otherwise people would complain that she doesn’t have enough people around her.

    Yes, the storyline is hardly the most exciting, but it does its job well, and doesn’t use up much screen time at all. Anyone thinking that they could’ve done an adequate job of the II in that time is frankly deluded. These same people would’ve moaned about the lack of screen time if it had been included (which is fair enough as 6 minutes (edit: or even 10 minutes) isn’t anywhere near enough time for it, but the point remains). Stannis’ downfall was perfectly believable, and had plenty of screen time.

  96. Dragonmcmx,

    I didn’t have any trouble believing Stannis’ downfall. If there was a character in ASoIF who screamed “I’m on borrowed time” it was Stannis. I knew Stannis was doomed from the very beginning and I always figured that it was his absolute obstinacy that would end him. For a such an accomplished military strategist, Stannis never learned that it is wise to know what battles to pick in order to win the war.

  97. The nasty bits:
    RedTeamReview had an idea in a recent video, if they were to have skipped the GW/M romance they could’ve squeezed iron island plots in its place. I would’ve been totally on board w/that

    Dosen’t seem to be smart guy this RedTeamReview… There is maybe couple 4 minute scenes of that romance? So 8 minutes of Iron Island? Just a peek of Euron in ship? Balon walking on bridge and thats all folks! More in season six! Yeah that seems wise…

    And take out Sam and Gilly romance? Now there is 5 minute more? Taking out stuff that was in books is now okay? Well Balon dies. More in seson six!

  101. I really want to listen to that commentary. If they really do confirm that not only Shireen is sacrificed but that it’s Stannis who does it in the books as well, that’s pretty big. Plenty of people still cannot believe that.

  105. Ok so here’s the lowdown while I agree with RTR’s idea I’m not opposed to what the show ultimately did. If those two romances didn’t have enough time between them to include and replace it with iron island plots, I’m would’ve been all for that time going elsewhere. One guy can’t see his chub and one guy doesn’t have one – the precious screen time could’ve went elsewhere. Maybe coldhands? Maybe LSH? It’s all good though, I wear rose tinted GoT goggles 24/7 and thru them the show can do no wrong…..

  107. The nasty bits,

    LSH and coldhands where not cut for timing issues.

    If they where important characters and had a big impact on the story they would have made time for it.

    Besides this notion, that they sat in a room thinking: ”should we do LSH or do a Missandai romance?’, ”Definatly Missandei”. Is absurd.

    LSH story or coldhands didn’t get cut too put in Missandei’s story.
    It’s the other way around, most likely, this stories being cut gave them enough free screen-time too add a little side plot, too give something to the actors and fill some free screen-time they had.

  108. on the horse,

    Your beef sir is with HBO then and not the show itself. If those numbers are indeed true I kinda hear where you’re coming from. NF is throwing BILLIONS into original programming to make a name for itself though, while HBO is established already so u gotta keep that in mind. And as GoT progressed HBO keeps throwing more production $$ at it so what else do u want. They adjusted accordingly

  111. Mihnea,

    Yeah, this type of argument crops up every single year. It’s very predictable. You could set your watch by it.

    “If only the show had cut [INSERT MINOR, USUALLY ROMANTIC AND/OR SHOW-ONLY SUBPLOT THAT I DIDN’T LIKE HERE], then they would have had time to include [INSERT CHARACTER/SUBPLOT FROM THE BOOKS THAT I LIKED HERE].”

    Cut and paste as needed!

  112. Jared,

    If only the show had cut most of Littlefinger’s brothel, then they would have had time to include more happy moments for the Starks.

    How’d I do?

  114. Jared,

    Stannis will definitely burn Shireen in the books because it’s thematically appropriate. Notice how he’s driven bit by bit to ever greater sacrifices. First he kills Renly, a kinslaying, but it can be kinda excused as Renly did take up arms against the rightful king, Stannis. Then he wants to sacrifice Edric Storm (Gendry in the show), an innocent boy, in order to “wake dragons from stone”. It’s only logical that Shireen’s sacrifice will be Stannis’ Iphigenia moment, or if you want to get Biblical, Shireen will be Isaac to Stannis’ Abraham: an ultimate test of faith (only God won’t intervene this time).

    I do think stakes will be higher in the book though. I kinda doubt Stannis will resort to the ultimate sacrifice — from both personal and thematic perspectives — just because he needs to defeat a mundane foe on a typical battlefield.

  117. Jack Bauer 24: Yeah and he confirmed it was Davos she was talking to.

    Very interesting.

    The guy claims Melisandre saw

    Jon fighting at Winterfell. This is different from her previous visions of seeing herself walking the battlements in WF. So R’hollor must be done with the ambiguous visions due to Mel’s misinterpretations and has decided to flat out show her what needs to be done.

    I wonder if this scene is a continuation of the one in the trailer between a teary Mel & Davos.

  118. Mihnea,

    If only the show had cut most of Littlefinger’s blasted brothel, then they would have had time to include more happy moments for the Starks. Heh, because Dandelion and Daisy know what happiness is!

    Better?

  120. I’m on record as being a fan of both the Grey Worm/Missandei romance (which I think is a nice addition to the show that enriches both characters). I also enjoy the Sam and Gilly romance (which has its roots in the books). Obviously, some people don’t like them, and would prefer that very limited amount of screentime was allocated to other characters/storylines. I don’t agree with that opinion, but I can understand that desire. I can even see the logic behind such a trade-off … but only if that screentime were to go characters/storylines that were already established in the show. Building up a new subplot takes far more time and money than filling in small, character-building moments for existing characters does. It’s not even remotely close to a one-for-one exchange.

    People will always have ideas about how the show could better optimize and distribute its screentime among the many characters and subplots that it needs to service. That’s totally fine (it’s part of being a fan). But those complaints and wishful suggestions need to be realistic. To suggest that the show could have easily made time for the Iron Islands, Stoneheart, the Griffs, or one of a hundred other book-only storylines if only they had done away with Grey Worm and Missandei, Sam and Gilly, Craster’s Keep, or Yara at the Dreadfort betrays a near-total lack of understanding about the realities of television production. It borders on ludicrous.

  123. BunBunStark,

    I wonder if part of the reason she says that the visions were all lies is because in those visions she actually did see

    Jon fighting in WF and she wrongly assumed that he would be part of Stannis’ forces, so now not only is Stannis dead but Jon as well and so she feels everything was a lie. Mel was always quick to point out that the flames never lie but that she sometimes failed at reading them correctly. In the trailer her faith seems to have cracked enough to allow for doubt. I don’t really think she came back ready to anoint Jon as the actual true savior, she came back to the Wall to seek refuge. I wonder what changes her mind and if Davos has anything to do with it? Davos, like Jon, never seemed too incline to believe in magic despite witnessing magical powers first hand.

  124. BunBunStark: Very interesting.

    The guy claims Melisandre saw

    I wonder if this scene is a continuation of the one in the trailer between a teary Mel & Davos.

    Could that vision be Jon with the man bun in stark armor from the saintfield spoilers?

  126. SPOILER – GRIFF

    Not seeing (in the trailer) or hearing any talk at all about Griff this season – will he be cut? Will he die early in the next book – and hence they aren’t bothering with him in the show? Or will he show up in the show and be one of the other two dragon-riders, (alongside Danaerys) in both? It’s late in the game to introduce a new character and in the show it would be lame, lame, lame. I found it so in the book too.
    But he is Rhaegar’s son and the true Targarean heir, if he’s who is says he is….so he does have a better claim than Dany. I wonder if she’d be all too glad to let it go to him (not that she wouldn’t have a fight on her hands if she wanted to keep it from him – but she’s the one with the dragons…but then again, they are rather useless without three riders???)
    Dunno.
    If that turns out, that Griff sits the Iron Throne, maybe he and Sansa will marry. If he’s like his father, she’d love him. Jon will return to the Wall. Rickon will be the Stark of Winterfell, Arya will return to the House of B&W, and Jaime and Brienne will ride off to Casterly Rock. Tyrion? He and Varys will open a chain of brothels across the narrow sea, and a make-your-own wine outlet. Dany will marry Dario and live happily ever after on a mountain, eating dragon-roasted sheep.
    If Griff shows up or not in season 6 IS one my biggest burning questions. I also want to see what happens to Cercei – if she lives – how Jon’s story plays out. At this rate, there won’t be many folks for Arya to murder when she returns to Westeros….

    CAN’T WAIT for APRIL 24

  127. Are we sure she’s talking about Jon and not Stannis? Maybe it’s a part of that scene in which she tells her visions were a lie. She saw Jon fighting at Winterfell but here he is dead. It will be another push that sends her into crisis. And then something happens and she decides that it’s not over yet.

  129. OK, a redditor posted the play by play of the scene from SXSW

    Opening shot is the distanced shot of Jon’s body from the trailer. Then a closer shot showing his face. He looks very pale. Then Melisandre and Davis in a dark room. She’s visibly upset and he’s sullen. Melisandre says what Luka typed below and then Davis responds something like, No matter what you saw, he’s gone now.

  130. Mr Fixit,

    I agree. It’s thematically appropriate, and the groundwork has been gradually laid out since ACOK for the character to face such a tragic choice. Ultimately, I think Stannis’s much-touted proclamations – “I will have no burnings – pray harder” and “You will avenge my death, and seat my daughter on the Iron Throne” – will be revealed as tragically ironic foreshadowing rather than triumphant thesis statements for his incorruptible principles.

    Mr Fixit:

    I do think stakes will be higher in the book though. I kinda doubt Stannis will resort to the ultimate sacrifice — from both personal and thematic perspectives — just because he needs to defeat a mundane foe on a typical battlefield.

    While I make fun of Stannis’s more obstinate fans for dwelling in the denial, anger, and bargaining stages of grief, I’m not entirely unsympathetic to complaints that his downfall on the show happened too quickly. I believe that the show significantly condensed his planned storyline from TWOW and accelerated his ultimate defeat because they needed a climax for Season 5, and to clear out space for new storylines in Season 6. After building up Stannis’s promised war against the Boltons from the very first episode, it would have been untenable for them to do what ADWD did and end the season before he even reached Winterfell. The book will build to his downfall more gradually, but the end result will be the same.

    Maybe in the books, Stannis is convinced he needs to stay alive and become King because he believes he’s the only one who can lead the fight against the Others? That would be a marginally more noble motivation for sacrificing his daughter than just trying to claim the Iron Throne.

    On a related note, I believe that Jon Snow will be revived relatively early in Season 6. By contrast, I think that he is going to spend a significant portion of TWOW out of commission – either completely dead or with his conscious mind biding its time in Ghost. The show couldn’t do this because if they kept Kit Harington off-screen for an entire season, they might lose him, and having him spend an extended period of time as a direwolf wouldn’t have worked nearly as well on screen as it might on the page. When he finally returns, he’ll pick up where he left off after receiving the Pink Letter and finish off the Boltons before returning his attention to the Others.

    There one favorite fiction of Stannis fans that I unequivocally do not believe, however, is this half-baked fantasy that Stannis will actually be the one to defeat the Boltons in TWOW … only Benioff and Weiss deliberately and maliciously sabotaged his character so that they could steal his grand victory in the North and give that glory to their special favorite Jon Snow. That idea is absolutely asinine, and needs to be staked through the heart as quickly as possible.

  134. Name *:
    harlequeen,

    Can I be greedy and ask for a link, please?

    Yes, that would be helpful.

    It seems from the reddit post, it’s not clear Mel saw Jon in the flames. It’s just the guy on twitter who says she’s talking about Jon. *so confused*
  138. It’s still not clear who Mel is actually talking about. Could be Stannis, Jon in the clip could be a misdirection, not related to the scene in the room. I think this Mel and Davos’ conversation may happen before they discover Jon’s body.

  141. Name *: I only see fire. Do I need to do a special jig to see the clip?

    I don’t think anyone will be able to record it. Unless HBO releases it we probably won’t see it.

  146. It makes more sense if she means Stannis. She is experiencing a crisis of faith due to Stannis’ defeat. Jon dead, after she saw him at Winterfell, would send her over the edge, what could possibly happen to pull her back up, to attempt a resurrection? When they get Jon’s body, she may see it as a test. A trial of faith. I don’t think they’d be hanging around conversing about visions with the NW traitors coming after them to get to Ghost and Jon.

  147. Jon Snow’s Curling Iron: How do you post spoiler tags? I’ve tried it before, but it didn’t work.

    [ spoiler ] Your spoiler comments here [ / spoiler]

    No spaces at all though. I put spaces just so you could see how to type it out.

  149. Back to the matter at hand, I’ll concur with all of those who said this deleted scene is terrible. It’s needlessly sexually aggressive and obnoxious, and worse than most of the scenes that were left on the cutting room floor.

    The Bronn stuff is fine, meanwhile, and I like how it illuminates his desire to get the hell out of the business of being someone’s hired gun.

  151. Mihnea:
    r-hard,

    I don’t think there even is a ”Harpy”, neither in the books or show. More so in the show.

    I think it’s just some great families from Meereen and Yunkai, in the show and posible that green priest in the books.
    I highly doubt there is a physical mastermind controlling everything.

    Nar I think there is personally

    Everyone has so far thought it was the great families insurgency hence Dany marrying Hizdahr, Families are merchant rulers of the Litlefinger ilk, I actually think the Harpies are Ghiscari nationalists looking to rejuvenate the Ghiscari Empire and are a good twin the Sparrows

    In the books my money is on the Green Grace, in the show I actually think the notion that the Whore woman is a good one,

    eg she is “Queen of the Harpies” or “Mother of the Harpies” with the Harpies as her own children. A fantastic counter to Queen Dany to whom the slaves are her children etc.

    When the Whore woman is first introduced she is singing a motherly song, she seems to be a great mix between the High Sparrow and Dany

  152. Glad they went without this one

    There certainly is something about Daario of the books

    Not sure what they are doing with show Daario, certainly think there is some kind of twist in store

    I actually kind of wonder when the House of Undying folks will come back into it

  153. Jared:

    There one favorite fiction of Stannis fans that I unequivocally do not believe, however, is this half-baked fantasy that Stannis will actually be the one to defeat the Boltons in TWOW … only Benioff and Weiss deliberately and maliciously sabotaged his character so that they could steal his grand victory in the North and give that glory to their special favorite Jon Snow. That idea is absolutely asinine, and needs to be staked through the heart as quickly as possible.

    Truth be told, before Season 5 came along I too believed Stannis would defeat the Boltons. Even now I’m not sure Stannis will outright lose to them. Martin likes to subvert expectations and he did end ADwD with the Pink Letter stating Stannis was dead. I don’t know, to me that seems like a misdirection and that he intends to take the beginning of TWoW in a different direction, one where Stannis is at least temporarily and/or partly victorious. Also, Shireen is nowhere near him at the moment which means that the sacrifice will have to take place under different circumstances and in a different time and place.

    Yeah, I really can’t make up my mind about this one…

  154. Awwww… Daario is offering to be GW’s surrogate penis.
    Such a Daario kind of thing to say, but I’m glad they cut it.

    Now…what was this about GRRM having Stannis and Mel sacrifice Shireen???
    I mean, the fact Stannis did that in the show is just really bad fanfic, right?

    I’ll wait to get confirmation of the exact wording before I go from chuckle to guffaw, but the guffaw is right there, just waiting to burst forth. 🙂

  156. Mr Fixit,

    Before Season 5, I thought Stannis was being set up to defeat the Boltons as well – both in the book and the show. I believed that we were heading in that direction right up until the moment that Shireen was sacrificed – a development which I did not expect, and which came as a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching shock to me. In the week-long break between Episode 9 and the finale, I briefly toyed with the idea that Stannis might still win … that Shireen’s sacrifice was the terrible price that he had to pay for his victory.

    It took until the moment that the Baratheon General told Stannis that half their forces had deserted for me to accept that Stannis was done. But once I did, I also accepted the idea that Stannis would ultimately lose in TWOW, and that the Pink Letter was likely true (previously, I had been leaning towards the idea that Ramsay believed that he had defeated Stannis, but that Stannis was still lurking out there in the snow with his surviving men, biding his time).

    Maybe that’s still the case. As I said above, I don’t dispute that Stannis will hold out for a while in TWOW. The show did some pretty severe condensing in order to fit several hundred pages worth of story (some of them from a book that hasn’t been published) into a few episodes. I’m sure that lots of twists and turns and complex internal politics were lost along the way. I think that Stannis may survive for a good part of the book, actually win a few skirmishes, and whatever misfortune prompts the sacrifice of Shireen may be quite different. To some, that may make all the difference.

    What I absolutely do not believe any longer, however, is that Stannis will actually take Winterfell in TWOW. I do not believe that he will be the one who wipes out the Boltons and frees the North, or that he will be the one kills Roose and/or Ramsay. For as much as people like to talk about how the show has diverged from the books, it has never made a change on that scale. I can’t fathom that Martin told Benioff and Weiss that Stannis actually would win the Battle of Ice and drive the Boltons out of Winterfell, only for Benioff and Weiss take that information and say “Nah. We don’t like Stannis, and we want Jon to be the one to defeat the Boltons because he’s a more important character. Let’s kill Stannis off as soon as we can and give his storyline to Jon.”

    That’s the fiction that I was referring to as asinine – the one that has been propagated by certain hardcore Stannis fans who refuse to accept that their hero is doomed and will never sit the Iron Throne (or survive to become the 1000th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, to quote a popular theory). Not many of them believe this, to be fair, but trust me … they’re out there.

  157. Bufferzone,

    Thanks for the link,

    I’ve been having this weird feeling that we could lose Arya in season 6 and watching that interview didn’t really help 🙁

    I so hope I’m wrong though because that would suck like a lot..

  158. Ghosts Lunch: In the books my money is on the Green Grace, in the show I actually think the notion that the Whore woman is a good one,

    Your money is on my money (or vice versa) then.

    Mitch: The tragedy actually elevates his character. Stannis fanatics ironically miss the power of this story event. Everything Since CLASH has built to Stannis making this ultimate choice.

    I do not think that it will come to that in the book. Stannis is not one of the main characters: he never even gets a one-off PoV chapter. Stannis does not really do “choices”: he’s a moral absolutist, which makes him a very simple character, really. What Stannis really is good at doing is creating moral quandaries for Davos, who is one of the protagonists: Davos basically gets stuck being the soul for a man who doesn’t have one of his own.

    Moreover, I really doubt that Book!Stannis will decide to burn Book!Shireen. It’s quite probable that Book!Stannis dies (died) while Shireen is alive and well. My bet is that Selyse is going to wind up burning Shireen in a desperate attempt to undue Stannis’ defeat. A few other plausible scenarios along these lines have been suggested: it’s certainly been set up that Selyse is a fanatic and also very rigid in what she’ll accept as true. Given what we have seen of her, she probably will reject the Pastel Postcard as a lie: but she might do something filicidal believing that it will aid her husband.

    The big difference is that the show opted to elevate Stannis to a minor protagonist last year. He had his “kill the boy, become the man” moment: and it wound up destroying him. As such, it had to put him in a moral quandary analogous to the ones that Jon, Daeny, Arya, Sansa, etc., all were facing: and in this case, that meant Baratheon Barbeque

    Mr Fixit: I don’t know, to me that seems like a misdirection and that he intends to take the beginning of TWoW in a different direction, one where Stannis is at least temporarily and/or partly victorious.

    The problem is that if you take this sort of view, then you fall into the trap of basically saying: “Well, nothing that we’ve been told is real” and you not only treat ideas lacking any supporting evidence as equal to those with supporting evidence, but you actually start saying that supporting evidence is evidence against ideas!

    It is fine for GRRM or other authors to misdirect with irony. However, flatout lying is basically like holding back on a called suit in Bridge. In this case, it is hard to turn the Salmon Missive into something ironic: it’s a pretty bald statement with little room for truthful but nonobvious meaning.

    To this end, the evidence we have indicates that Stannis died fighting the Boltons in the books prior to the end of Dragons but after the beginning of Winter. Let’s look at it this way: if Ramsay had defeated Stannis and failed to find his wife and Theon in Stannis’ camp, then what would he have done? In short, what we read in the book.

    (It also creates the problem of that meaning that the show is investing a huge amount of time in the “Bastard Bowl” that would not be in the books: but given that the Coral Communication basically was a dare for a Bastard Bowl, I am betting that it will happen there, too.)

  159. Bufferzone:
    There’s a lengthy new interview with Maisie Williams about Season 6, which also talks – without specifics – about the endgame for the series:

    https://t.co/hjDYcVeuoK

    When she was talking about the Hound she was referring to him in the present tense and then corrected herself and refereed to him in the past tense…

    I liked how she said that if her character died they could bring her back…

  160. tkk: I’ve been having this weird feeling that we could lose Arya in season 6 and watching that interview didn’t really help

    Arya is one of the primary protagonists. She will be there to the end.

  161. Jack Bauer 24:
    http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/03/11/hbos-vp-consumer-marketing-joanna-scholl-game-thrones-sxswesteros

    Interview with HBO VP of Consumer Marketing about the HoF set at SXSW. Looks like only attendees will see the exclusive Season 6 clip.

    Wow, they are really playing up this Hall of Faces thing, aren’t they? Over and over and over. I hope HoF lives up to the hype this season. I’m trying to imagine scenarios where that would happen: Arya pilfers dozens of faces before setting fire to the hall as she leaves THoBaW forever.

  162. Jon Snow’s Curling Iron: Where? Do you have a link?

    http://www.hbo.com/search?type=schedule&q=game%20of%20thrones

    To my knowledge, this list will be exactly the same people for all ten episodes, but please correct me if I am wrong here. I did notice that the ordering of actor DCC and of producers BC and CN has been altered between Episodes 1 and 2, but everything else is exactly the same. I highlighted those who moved here:

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/klammhzupau3kec/GoTep1v2.jpg?dl=0

  165. Bufferzone:
    There’s a lengthy new interview with Maisie Williams about Season 6, which also talks – without specifics – about the endgame for the series:

    https://t.co/hjDYcVeuoK

    Woohoo! I love Maisie. I hope she gets to do lots more after GoT. She was rather fond of her left earring in this interview.

    So, the catchphrase for this season, which is not so catchy and probably more of a paraphrase, is “the end is in sight.” She implies that we reach the climax of the series this season. If we have two seasons left to go, though, that would be too anti-climactic, wouldn’t it?

  166. Ghosts Lunch

    Now that’s a good idea. Maybe they haven’t introduced her without a reason. That just leaves the question: Where do Whores go?

  167. harlequeen:

    I think Mel is talking about Stannis in that short clip. Not Jon Snow. Her words make more sense if they are at the very beginning of the season and she’s filling Davos in on Stannis’ last day.

  168. Am I the only one who thought Daario seemed to be genuinely friendly and making that offer in good faith (albeit misguided)?

  169. Knight of the Walkers (Formerly Jeb),

    Other things I found interesting in the article:

    1. Cogman says Mace Tyrell is just pretending to be a buffoon as a survival tactic at court… Could we see a different Mace Tyrell next season with both of his children imprisoned?
    2. Dany prefers to speak in High Valyrian when she does something nasty. Some sort of split personality thing going on?
    3. Alfie Allen auditioned for the role of Jon Snow. It looks like all the young actors on this show had auditioned for this role!
    4. The scene where Jon Snow arrives at Hardhome, by ship, was described in the script as George Washington arriving at the Delaware, only with bettter hair… the writers showing a bit of sense of humor…LOL

  170. Ginevra,

    I interpreted that comment to mean that Season 6 represented the end of Act 2 and that the third and final Act – which should in theory contain the crisis, the climax and the resolution – will commence with Season 7. (That’s if you believe the series as a whole will follow a three-Act structure.)

    I believe Maisie has a film premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, and is shooting at least one other at the moment, so she is keeping her hand in with other projects.

    Jack Bauer 24,

    I noticed that too!

    tkk,

    She’s said she’s not returning to Doctor Who next season, which may be a sign Game of Thrones will be keeping her busy.

  171. Ginevra: http://www.hbo.com/search?type=schedule&q=game%20of%20thrones

    To my knowledge, this list will be exactly the same people for all ten episodes, but please correct me if I am wrong here.I did notice that the ordering of actor DCC and of producers BC and CN has been altered between Episodes 1 and 2, but everything else is exactly the same.I highlighted those who moved here:

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/klammhzupau3kec/GoTep1v2.jpg?dl=0

    Thank you so much. I’m looking at season 5 and Charles Dance isn’t listed in episode 1 where he played a corpse. Since Kit is listed, it’s safe to say this is not a Tywin situation. I just hope they don’t drag the drama at the Wall too much.

  172. B,

    I think he just likes too mess with GW. But he does like him, in a little brother sort of way. At least that’s what I got from their interactions.

  173. Bufferzone: I interpreted that comment to mean that Season 6 represented the end of Act 2 and that the third and final Act – which should in theory contain the crisis, the climax and the resolution

    I think that it’s going to be the onset of the 3rd act. GRRM’s original idea was for a 3 story series, and Winter+Spring represent the last story. Last season was basically the second stage of the old Apollo rockets being dropped away!

  174. Wimsey,

    That could be true, too – although it seems to me that, for Arya, much of this season may be spent getting her to the point where the endgame of her storyline begins.

  175. A bad scene so I am glad they cut it out of the show. Also, Daario was being super mean to Greyworm.

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