We’ve been running a survey this week to guess the episode titles of Game of Thrones season 5, and the poll closed this morning- apparently just in time! GeeklyInc is reporting that a source has informed them of the first three episode titles.
We’ve run the titles by our own sources, and we can now confirm that they are accurate.
Update: The fourth episode title has been revealed by Spoiler TV, and again we’ve confirmed with our sources that it’s accurate.
The titles of the first four episodes are:
Episode 501: “The Wars to Come”
Episode 502: “The House of Black and White”
Episode 503: “High Sparrow”
Episode 504: “The Sons of the Harpy”
We’re gathering up the results of the survey at the moment, but I can tell you that a great many people guessed the title of episode two correctly!
What does everyone think of the titles so far?
Valonqar! Oh wait.
I had it at 501. Damn!
I got episode 2 correct. A lot of people guessed ‘High Sparrow’ too. I like ‘The Wars To Come’. We know Varys mentions something similar to Tyrion in the trailer, and I feel like it is something Stannis would bring up too.
I was 0 for 3. I guessed:
“Inexcusable Deviation”
“Lost the Plot”
“Oh For Fuck’s Sake They Aren’t Even Trying”
Interesting. I would have thought ‘The Wars to Come’ was too vague and ‘High Sparrow’ was too specific. ‘Lord Snow’ and ‘Mockingbird’ are the closest they’ve come to outright naming an episode after a specific character before.
gewa76,
S5 should really get the subtitle “in your face, book purists” 😛
I really like “The Wars to Come”. So ominous, with a probable hint of a foreshadow.
Please let episode 2 be an Arya-only episode, please.
*applauds* Hell yeah!
Dragonslayer,
They should read Linda Hutcheon’s ‘A Theory of Adaptation’ and calm down.
Exciting stuff. More trinkets like this will start to trickle through now as we approach the 30 days before the premiere! Aghh!
Love the title of Ep. 2, Both Arya and Sansa should make there first appearances of S5 in this one.
“The Wars to Come” is the most interesting, because the the other two are expected for book readers.
days,
I wouldn’t like it (or Arya should not appear in another episode) because that would take to much screentime from other storylines and I love Arya. They will never fully devote an episode to her storyline if there isn’t a big battle happening.
If the promotional timetable is anything like years previous, we should be getting either a dozen character posters and/or the official press release with the episode 1-3 summaries this afternoon.
HBO usually releases such items end-of-week, and we got the main poster last Friday. Hopeful something drops officially in the next few hours…
Andrew,
Fingers crossed! Loved the character posters last year.
In the box you’ll find a special gift: Book purist’s favorite storyline. They cried when we took it away from them. – HBO
So i guess this means Arya wont be in episode 1? I have to wait even longer to see her again 🙁
Guessed House of Black and White word for word, but I had it pegged as Episode 3 (I thought Episode 2 would focus on Dorne and suggested a Doran-centric title “The Grass.”). I would have bet money on Episode 1 being Valonqar but woe is me.
Valonqar >>> >>> wars to come
Wow, you obviously missed that joke.
I don’t know why people are assuming that. Arya has to
exactly brother. You got the third one right though.
Sue the Fury,
Definitely. They wouldn’t cut her from the first episode, knowing that everyone wants to see her (even though they’ve admitted to doing it before). But she’ll be on the streets of Braavos for a bit by herself, so she’ll surely be in episode 1.
If you hate it that much, then stop watching.
That said, no name-calling here, people. Any posts like that get deleted.
Hmmmmmm interesting.
Is ‘High Sparrow’ the first time an episode has been named after a single character?
Although I suppose High Sparrow is really a title – we don’t know his name of course.
Never been a fan of Valonqar as a title. I like The Wars to Come way more.
As for Braavos, my bet is that Arya knocking at the door of the HoBaW will be her last scene of episode 1 (after roaming in the cannals) and we’ll fully get introduced to the House in 502.
Tyrion Pimpslap,
Yeap. Still, a bit weird that Varys says “The War to come” and the title is in plural form. I mean, it makes more sense for the story; there will be at least two wars, one in the North and one in the middle of the Seven Kingdoms. So I guess that explains it.
I wonder if this means Littlefinger will talk about the war of three queens in the premiere?
This is off topic but might be of interest to horror fans. I found this old blog post in which Lena Headey lists her favorite horror movies. I love that she’s a horror fan and that Session 9 is on her list. It’s a great movie that never gets enough love.
http://finalgirl.blogspot.com/2010/10/shocktober-lena-headeys-top-20.html?m=1
The post is from when she was filming season 1. I just thought it was cool. Or maybe it’s just me because I’m a big horror geek!
Welcome news, certainly, but it would be all the sweeter if accompanied by a trailer announcement for Sunday.
gewa76,
In what way are any of those critiques correct? You can’t lose the plot when it’s based off of a book series — that’s just an ignorantly stupid statement and if anything, the most popular series in HBO history has gotten better and better every season. What you have just written is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this site is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
wizardeyes,
103 was named “Lord Snow”
wizardeyes,
Lord Snow in season 1.
Did my post get put in moderation because it has a link in it or did it disappear? 🙁
I had House of Black & White as episode 1. The Wars to Come is a nice, ominous name for a first episode, and lets everyone know that the carnage of the last two seasons ain’t nothin.
High Sparrow! Almost chose that. Darn darn darn darn darny darn!
Meh. I wanted Valonqar for episode 1. But something tells me they’re not gonna delve into that too much in the show. They’ll just do the bare minimum when it comes to the prophecy and exclude all High Valyrian terminology.
It gives them a little bit more wiggle room for whom the Valonqar could be..
JB,
I hope you’re joking about not my getting my joke. Now I’m just confused.
wizardeyes,
“Mockingbird” really only refers to Peter Baelish, no one else, so I’d count that one, too.
Also, Ep 1 “The Wars to Come” is a typo, it meant to read “The Wards to Come,” and star the guy who played Robin on the Batman TV show all those years ago. Holy skeletal wights, Batman!
Willing to bet a good amount of money that the valonqar term won’t be used on the show at all and that part of the prophecy might even be completely cut
I guessed the title of episode 2 correctly.
“High Sparrow” really feels to me like it should be “The High Sparrow”.
“The Wars to Come” is another “Two Swords”, i.e., a title nobody could guess in advance.
It’s weird how by this time last year HBO had already published the third trailer for season 4, showing things like The Titan of Braavos. I guess the show has reached the point where they don’t need that much publicity anymore.
House of B&W? EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
That filler is getting an entire episode? Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
#noaryafillerplx
Sue the Fury,
This. The fact that the episode is named after something doesn’t mean it has to be the first time that something appears in the season, just that it will be a focus within the episode.
I wonder if they’ll do something similar to what they did in the season 2 premiere, when we saw very little of Arya, but a shot of her with the NW recruits was what closed the episode. I can see them closing the episode on showing where she is and what she’s doing, even though most of the episode is devoted to other locations/storylines.
I really, really like “The Wars to Come”! 😀
gewa76,
Lol yes
aurane waters,
They’ll probably rephrase that part of the prophecy without High Valyrian, yeah.
aurane waters,
Thomas,
I’m glad about it. Right now we may be craving for every scrap of footage (I certainly am), and I don’t have the self-control not to watch a trailer if they release it. However, by the time the season begins, the promos have always already spoiled quite a few things for us (such as the impressive Braavos shot, which I wish hadn’t been shown in a trailer.) That was the case especially for season 4, with the ridiculously large number of trailers and the 14-minute “Foreshadowing” video. I loved all of those at the time but… yeah, in retrospect, let’s say I’m glad this year they ain’t doing the same.
Could it be that we will get a lot of Stannis, Jon and others at the Wall in the first episode?
Good news, finally!
Love these titles… even if I was hoping for “Valonqar”…
The Wars to Come…
Could this mean D&D are going to remind the viewers of all the separate factions still at war, including but not limited to;
1). Stannis taking a foothold and attacking from the north.
2). Greyjoys still causing havoc on the coastlines.
3). Boltons making strategic movements in the north.
4). Dany having a kind if civil gorilla like internal war.
5). Dorne introduction and their plans to step into the fight.
6). The Others reaching closer to the wall.
D&D could be using this episode as a quick refresher type episode to reestablish all the different faction’s location and standing in this game of thrones…
Who is excited for D&D’s removal of the word “valonqar” from the prophecy in the first episode?
Luka Nieto,
I concur with what you implied. I hope that the metaphor established within the opening “dream sequence” is prevalent throughout Cersei’s mental arc this season.
Patchy Face,
Hope so. These interactions between characters that have previously had nothing to do with each other are amongst my favorite things in the show, and that’s why I’m really excited for that storyline. Not only scenes from the book, but also possible interactions we did not see in the source material (let’s say… Davos & Sam, Davos & Jon, Davos & whoever… I really like Davos.)
Frankly the only reason I care about d&d cutting the valonqar part of the prophecy is whether it means that the prophecy won’t come true as we thought it would
Nice titles, some that we guessed!
Can’t wait for the rest of the titles and for the next trailer!
Agreed!
Like the 3 titles, especially the first one.
I love it! :))
Brian,
Me me me! Those tasty purist tears…
jentario,
I think this too. We might get a scene with her arriving in Braavos and doing something during the ep, and then we’ll get another scene at the end (or next to last) of her entering. Then ep2 starts with her.
Surprised we’re not getting a Dorne title in 1-3. I guess it’ll be in ep4 or ep6.
I like all three of these titles. My favorite is probably “The Wars to Come”, which I don’t think that anyone predicted before the leak. It’s a good title, and one that effectively foreshadows the next act of the story.
Like many others, I guessed that “The House of Black and White” would be the title for Episode 2 – the only one of the three that I got right. 😉
Relatively speaking, “High Sparrow” is probably my least favorite out of these three, but it’s still highly appropriate given what we know about the episode.
No Dornish title in the first three episodes. Interesting.
I really like the first one and the other two are fine as well. I find the titles that aren’t easily guessed more interesting than their counterparts.
Damn. 0 for 3 because I had “High Sparrow” and changed it because it seemed too specific.
Jaime’s girl,
But this is different. There really is no reason to censor the word
jentario,
I don’t care if
If I recall, Season 4 titles most often correctly guessed were “Oathkeeper” and “The Watchers on the Wall.” “Laws of Gods and Men” came up as well quite a bit. The others were more difficult to guess at.
Great episode titles, I’m not a fan of “High Sparrow” as an episode title but maybe once I see the episode that will change.
“The Wars To Come” is the best out of the three though.
aurane waters,
Luka Nieto,
Could you add the episode lengths to the wiki too?
http://www.hbo.com/#/schedule
This has already been reported here, I know but…
The Wars to Come: 53 minutes
The House of White and Black: 56 miutes
High Sparrow: 60 minutes
why is valonqar a problem???
Cersei: Valonqar? What is valonqar?
Maggy: little brother
The end!
gewa76,
If you’re a book purist and don’t like the show, then don’t watch. Because if there is one thing worse than a purist, it’s a purist who still watches the show they hate just so they can moan about it.
Few more weeks into the start of Season 5 and I see people have built up expectations on what they wanted to see and being disappointed if it is not there.
Recap threads will be littered with lot of comments on people’s disappointments.
Greenjones,
Shouldn’t they be 1 minute shorter because those numbers count the 1 minute preview? HBO Latino didn’t. Then again, I’m not sure if previous posts in the wiki counted the official runtime with the preview or not. In fact, I’m not sure if the runtimes are recorded in the wiki at all… Wikipedia does, though.
Oooh 60 minutes for episode 3? They don’t do that often. (56 mins for episode 2 is also more than the usual average… I think.)
Luka Nieto,
I just checked the runtime of episode 1 of season 2 (BluRay, no previously on) it’s 52:41 and on the HBO schedule it shows 53 mins. So they don’t count the preview. I think the difference between the 2 websites is that HBO Latino doesnt count the seconds (so 52:41 becomes 52 minutes) while HBO.com counts them (52:41 becomes 53 minutes).
Luka Nieto,
Love this title in the plural. It refers to actual wars, wars of the soul, wars between two people, wars in families, eternal wars of good v evil…so many layers. Love it!
JB,
Meh. Just ignore it. Don’t feed the trolls.
Please, someone confirm the trailer on Sunday rumor…
Luka Nieto,
I think HBOLatino’s runtimes are closer to the truth, you’re right. If GoT wiki hasn’t listed runtimes in the past though, then by all means don’t do ’em.
Greenjones,
I mean, I could add them to the whole show. It’s the kind of information that should be there. Can’t fathom why it isn’t. Yeah. So I do it.
Just posted this on AFOIAF, though it could be helpful:
“BTW folks, just two wee corrections to make to people’s speculation:
SPECIFIC EP. SPOILERS
From the set pic in Dubrovnik of Cersei talking to the old High Septon, I think she’ll ask him who the hell these poor-looking Sparrows are and he’ll assure them that they’re no threat (unawares that they’ll depose him in ep. 503).
Also via the facebook summaries, since she’ll meet Lancel and Kevan inside the sept, the concept of the Sparrows will be explained a little more in the premiere as Cersei finds out her cousin has joined them. Kevan will explain a bit of it to her and then she’ll hear a tad from Lancel himself.
Second, from the facebook summaries Arya will be refused the first time she goes to the HOBAW, so that would explain how exactly she encounters the two Street Toughs/bravos and Lhara in either the premiere or ep. 502. She’ll only be allowed in a day or so later, so even if she arrives there in “the Wars to Come”, “the House of Black and White” will be when she first sees the building’s interiors.”
Greenjones,
Ok, Great. 😀
If you are posting specific episode spoilers, please say so BEFORE the spoiler coding. Not everyone is expecting detailed episode spoilers under the coding- they were really intended for book spoilers, not big leaks.
Greenjones,
Didn’t TristanSnow admit to lying about everything?
aurane waters,
jentario,
Please remember to use spoiler coding, this post is not just for the Sullied.
Sue the Fury,
Sorry, Sue, I’ve updated it now.
Chimeny,
I’m exactly the opposite. My fear for this season is no matter how far they veer from canon, it won’t be far enough for me. I’m surprised and dismayed how many people missed the joke.
Brian,
He said that bitterly after people began to question some of the more stupid things he had begun to say. Basically he had quite a few legit scoops from friends of his who were extras on the show in Dubrovnik, which have been proven right to a tee (by scenes from the trailer, casting news etc.). BUT when he ran out of scoops he did begin to say bullshitty things.
The OP of the “set report” thread he started on AFOIAF is accurate though, albeit secondhand.
wizardeyes,
Solo – “Lord Snow” (S01E03)
Team – “Second Sons” (S03E08)
unless you consider “Cripples, Bastards & Broken Things” as acceptable (S01E04)
HBOCanada.com already listing the first 3 episodes with the titles as mentioned above
Click on full schedule and go to the appropriate date
Greenjones,
Am I missing something? Is that a change from the books of which we are aware? Because if so, I missed it. In the books the Sparrows don’t depose or kill the High Septon; Cersei kills him, as she’s afraid that Lancel will tell him everything. She is the one who unwittingly makes the High Sparrow the High Septon, which is ironic since he becomes her downfall, in a way that is very similar to what she had hoped to avoid by killing the previous High Septon. I’d hoped that wouldn’t be changed. It was a wonderful bit of poetic irony.
There are now multiple reports about deaths in s5 that are not (yet) in the books. It’s no secret that one of the deaths will be: (attention! book spoiler alert! well, sort of…)
(wink, wink)
On a different note, I hope you have enjoyed the bit about valyrian swords from animated histories…
I know I know I know…
Fair enough! I just hope they reference the meaning behind it, whether they use the exact word or not!
Luka Nieto,
Once again as per Sue’s warning, potential detailed ep. spoilers:
In TristanSnow’s OP he described a scene of the Sparrows chasing a naked old man down the street and beating him, saying “sinner, sinner.” I think that’s the old High Septon whom they’ve discovered in a brothel, probably based on intel Cersei gave them. That would be a clever merger of the fact that she has him murdered in the book and the Septon running for High Septon that the Sparrows roust from a brothel in AFFC.
Luka Nieto,
It’s changed. Not surprising because d&d couldn’t be fucked to show any kind of relationship with the high septon and tyrion
So no Arya in ep.1…. Sad
Am I the only one who thinks that titles are so unimaginitive? Not just for this season but the whole show in general. They’re naming it from either a place or a character
Not entirely sure why the trailer didn’t do it, but these titles just triggered full-on impatient anticipation mode. And now for the worst month of the year!
I could see valonqar staying in if they really run with the prophecy theme for the first episode. We could easily get Melisandre dropping some Azor Ahai prophecy (I’m really looking forward to her first conversation with Jon…) and from there it wouldn’t be much of a stretch for Aemon (or Sam) to mention both dragons and Valyrian being gender-fluid, which would jibe with Varys’s “Who said anything about ‘him’?”
Dunno if that’s likely, but there’s enough prophetic gender ambiguity material such that the concept could be introduced without over-explaining a single word from a single scene.
The Wars to Come sounds good. Other 2 are a bit meh.
Greenjones,
aurane waters,
Is it confirmed, though? Or simply speculation? I must say I’m a bit surprised, though I don’t think the change is a bad idea, as long as Cersei is still involved.
I was 99% sure the premier would be called “Valonquar.” This makes me believe that they’re going to use the term “valonquar.” The last thing we need is another term to remember.
Luka Nieto,
Luka Nieto,
Tyrion and old HS didn’t have any connection. This version is better for the show.
The names seem ok so far, the last two were easily forseen considering the information we had on what’s happening in those episodes. Now all I need is at least a preview of the trailer tonight an the full trailer this sunday, please HBO!!!
Greenjones,
It would, it would. Well, it makes for a more memorable introduction to the High Sparrow, to be sure, who kinda snuck up on us in “A Feast for Crows.” As I say, I have no problem with it: as long as Cersei is the architect of the whole thing, the poetic irony is maintained; the change doesn’t actually change much.
It’s sad to me that some in the ASOIAF fandom (any fandom, really) are more concerned about plot details and such than the actual story, the characters, the themes, etc. Either they’re reading the books rather superficially or they are the fandom equivalent of Biblical literalists. Maybe a little bit of both.
mau,
Luka Nieto,
…It’s sad to me that some in the ASOIAF fandom (any fandom, really) are more concerned about plot details and such than the actual story, the characters, the themes, etc. Either they’re reading the books rather superficially or they are the fandom equivalent of Biblical literalists. Maybe a little bit of both….
Hahahaha! Yes.
I’m totally preparing to be your brothered this season.
You will be queen,
They’re episode titles for godsake, not entries at a poetry competition. They only need to be functional.
Also most of the titles arent names or places:
Winter is Coming
The Wolf and the Lion
A Golden Crown
You Win Or You Die
The Pointy End
Fire and Blood
The North Remembers
What Is Dead May Never Die
need I go on?
Kanin,
Also, the episode titles are not even displayed within the episode in the intro credits, as many other shows tend to do. The average viewer never even glimpses the episode titles, except maybe in their TV guide and the Blu-Ray.
So is the Russian still alive? The one in the woods?
Not, sure if you can verify this, but SpoilerTV has 504 as “Sons of the Harpy”.
Betting that’s another one many guessed correctly.
I’m thinking at this point, “Hardhome” and “For the Watch” are just as likely to be titles as not.
HouseMartellBitches,
Another one that many have guessed, then, though I’m not sure many guessed it would be in episode 4. Added to the wiki.
I’m pretty sure we’ll only get REALLY excited with the later episode titles (e.g., if we get something like the suggested “For the Watch”.)
I was expecting Valonquar for 5×01 as well, but it could mean different things that they chose not to use it. The obvious assumption is that they’re not using the word at all, which would be a little disappointing because I think it sounds cool, but they could also be saving it for the eventual payoff.
The Wars to Come is one of the few titles that isn’t a direct callback to something named or said in the books that I can recall. The Climb is the only other example I can think of offhand. It feels a little out of place and very broad, but it certainly fits into what’s coming.
It makes sense.
We know that the execution ordered by Dany will be in 504.
HouseMartellBitches,
Goddamnit, I had it down for episode 3.
Kanin,
You still get half a cookie 🙂
only 6 titles missing. 😀
Daniel Portman radio interview.
https://soundcloud.com/fubarradio/daniel-portman-on-spoiler-alert-05-march-2015
EDIT: Just finished listening. Nothing much to report in here really. A shame.
I too thought Arya would be in Ep. 1, after all she closed out last season. I am almost positive that the character(s) that closed out a prior season appeared in the first episode of the following one.
Lena (Cersei) must meet the HS in episode 3, which portends lots of chaos in KL in the prior one.
OT: I read that interview with Ms Gold, where she states that all these big name actors and their agents have/are requesting cameo’s or small roles in GoT. Whether she’s talking about British or American is anyone’s guess. An across the Pond well known thespian may not be so visible here in the land of Ice. Just thought of something! If all America’s volcanoes can blow at the same time, we can be called the Land of Ice and Fire;)
gewa76,
Oh, I see. If you are joking then yes I failed to pick up on it, simply because it’s often hard to tell if someone is joking or being serious online, unlike if you said the same thing to me in person.
My bad.
Greenjones,
Anything interesting related to season five?
Luka Nieto,
No, sadly not.
Greenjones,
Pity. His related storyline is one of the two greatest mysteries of the season, the other being… another storyline in the Vale.
I’m 2/4 so far.
501 – Like most, I guessed “Valonquar”. Obviously, this was wrong.
502 – I guessed “Black & White”. Two words off, but I’m still counting this as right.
503 – I guessed “Faith”. So, I had the right idea thematically, but I still guessed wrong.
504 – I guessed “Sons of the Harpy”. This was right.
Big Mac,
same
Patchface,
Is this the real Patchface?
I would have thought Dorne would be prominent in one of the early titles, here’s hoping Ep. 5 or 6 has some connection to the Sand Snakes. We know 7 thru 10 won’t, based on all that goes on in them.
I really didn’t like “High Sparrow” as a title. I just think that the caracther isn’t big enough for naming an entire episode. Perhaps “The Faith” or something a little bit more generalistic could fit better…
Loved “The Wars To Come”. Absolutely. Valonqar was good but this one is so ominous.
HoBaQ is kind of expected.
tyjon,
Hadn’t considered that, but you’re right.
I doubt the Dornish storyline takes the titles of any episode later in the season, particularly 8 through 10 (why did you include 7?) 5, 6 and 7 are the only truly available opportunities for something like “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” or “The Dornishman’s wife.”
I got ep2 and ep4’s titles correct and at one point I did guess High Sparrow for ep3 so not bad I guess. And just like everyone else I did truly expect ep1 to be called ‘The Valonqar’.
The rest of the season:
Ep5: The Sorrows
Ep6: Cat of the Canals or Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
Ep7: A Ghost in Winterfell
Ep8: Dead Things in the Water
Ep9: The Mortal Art or Fire Made Flesh
Ep10: Too many to guess. For the Watch, For the Realm, Oathbreaker, Snowfall, Winter etc.
JB,
What makes it better each season? Imo the first season is still the best(apart from the first episode, which is very clunky.
Macharius,
It’s his opinion. Many parts of the show do get better each season. I know many unsullied fans who liked season 2 the best. I personally think season one is the best, followed closely by season 4. It’s art, so everything is subjective.
Macharius,
Well, it’s all subjective of course. But the fact is reviews have been better each season. Season four is certainly the most critically acclaimed and most watched; the best popularly received season (though not amongst a certain faction of book readers, to be sure.) Still, it is all subjective. For me, personally, the best seasons are the third and the fourth, though I can’t say which is better (not yet, anyway); then the first, and finally the second. Now, I wonder where season five will stand in my list. I hope it’s up there with the best.
That said, I understand why those who want a more literal and faithful interpretation of the books prefer season one, as it was by far the most faithful. However, it’s simply not the best in less subjective terms: first, there is the budget, which one can scoff at but the point is they can do things now that they couldn’t at first (certain awkwardly edited scenes, like the battle Tyrion embroils himself in, would’ve been great with today’s budget.) Secondly, as D&D themselves admitted, in the first season they hadn’t found a consistent visual style or storytelling format yet —they hadn’t “found their groove.” And it shows: the cinematography is simply much more visually rich and consistent now, especially compared to season one; the pacing has been perfected, particularly in season four, though season three made great strides as well; and finally, they manage their enormous amounts of characters much more wisely now, though it may suffer as a strict adaptation as a result.
“Sons of the Harpy” is this year’s “Oathkeeper” – it was a virtual lock to be an episode title this year, give or take the pesky “The”. Damn definite articles 😉 . I wasn’t sure quite where it would placed, however, so I slotted it for Episode 3 and used “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” for Episode 4. Ah well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the latter phrase be used for an episode later in the season, although house words definitely don’t seem to be as popular as episode titles as the fandom generally assumes when we make our annual guesses. So far, “Winter is Coming” are the only words to be used for that purpose.
EDIT: And “Fire and Blood”, as Luka Nieto was kind enough to remind me.
Jared,
And “Fire and Blood.” 😉
That said, your point remains valid: not a lot of House words have been used for titles, and none since the first season.
Luka Nieto,
Reviewers are notorious bandwagoners.
Macharius,
That wasn’t the crux of my argument. As I said, popularity is not all, and it’s all subjective. My main point is that the show has been increasingly refined and damn near perfected in its style, both visually and in terms of the storytelling and pacing. Also, the main actors have had the time to inhabit the characters more than ever. Why do you like season one the most? Is it because it has the most clear-cut, beginning to end, plot of all the seasons (and books)? That’s the main reason I like it so much (though no more than the third or fourth.) Or is it mainly because it’s the most faithful?
And Fire and Blood, as Luka said above.
To be honest, I would love “Hear me Roar” for Cersei’s arrest, but that may be to cynical a title.
I think “Growing Strong” and “U/U/U” are likely to happen at some point as well, and “As High as Honor” would be a perfect title the day Sansa smokes some pot.
Luka Nieto,
Indeed you’re right! I had a funny feeling that I was forgetting one. I should have double-checked. Instead, I just ran through the great houses of Westeros in my mind, and the Targaryens slipped through because they aren’t technically based in Westeros anymore. Just like certain characters in King’s Landing, I neglect them at my peril. 🙂
That is a very apt analogy, really. It’s very akin to the difference between theology and fundamentalism: some Tolkien fans used use the “fundamentalists” vs. “theologians” terms for “purists” vs. “adaptationists.” And you are correct: this is ubiquitous to fandoms: the Tolkien and Harry Potter fandoms had a lot of such people. (There are a lot of Tolkien fans who insist that they cannot even read the Histories of Middle-earth series: they just cannot bear to read early drafts of Tolkien’s stories!) And you get the same thing with Doctor Who or Star Trek fans who worry far more about continuity than the current stories. (Doctor Who sites have longs lists of “plot holes” in episodes where the putative plot hole is that something in a 2013 episode was different than something in a 1968 episode….)
On one hand, this is not a problem because people like things for all sorts of reasons: and for books (or shows), hardcore fans like us might be “fans” because of the story or because of the plot or because of the narrative details or because of something else. The problems arise with adaptations because insofar as storytellers are concerned, plot is beholden to story, not the other way around: and because plots that work in books don’t work on screen (and vice versa), things have to change. That’s important if they want the show or film to work. If you are watching hoping to see the plot rather than the story, well, then it can make things disappointing.
The other problem can come from how series end. The most disappointed Harry Potter fans were from the “fundamentalist” crowd. They wanted the last book to tie up all of the “loose threads” (most of which were not threads in the books, but things that fans dreamed up like: “what jobs did Harry’s parents have?” or “who else was in Gryffindor house?”); instead, they got a story in which Harry Potter had to work out moral relativism that confused and bored them! 😀 I suspect that GRRM fans looking for a “tie up the loose threads” final volume are going to meet with similar disappointment (should the live to see Spring, that is….).
Can anyone parse out what Patchface is hinting here? I don’t know how far I want to be spoiled beyond the books, but I’m curious.
Wimsey,
I agree with you wholeheartedly.
It’s fun, though. How many times has the Doctor been to Atlantis? How did it fall and why? There are many answers for that in the Doctor Who “canon.” (a dreadful concept in this 50 year serialized show.) What about the pre-First Morbius Doctors? Are we gonna forget about those? Yes? Okay. And, as you said… It’s fine! Because that’s not the point of these stories. The point of these stories is… telling stories, not timelines and history books.
By the way, I’ve noticed we share many fandoms, you and I. Harry Potter, Doctor Who, The Lord of the Rings. Not particularly uncommon in a GoT fansite, I imagine, but still 😉
Luka Nieto,
1. The most faithful. It has many scenes where the dialogue is straight from the books, and in my opinion Martin is better at writing dialogue than Benioff and Weiss.
2. Doesn’t look as “warm”. It’s lighting is paler, which I think fits the setting better.
3. This might just be me imagining things, but the language feels more archaic(a good thing in my book considering the setting) in the first season.
4. The attention to detail seemed to be higher.
This just proves high sparrow is really important aka Howland Reed
Macharius,
1. Yes, it is the most faithful. As for it being better written, well… Martin is not the best writer ever or anything, but then again neither are D&D.
2. It’s warmer where it needs to be, such as King’s Landing, and vice versa. It’s more stylized, I’ll give you that. Though that is subjective, at least now the show has a particular (and cohesive) visual identity, which it didn’t have at first. Also there’s the better pacing: they don’t feel the need to have almost every character each episode now, which means that those with smaller storylines don’t have to appear only for two minutes each episode; instead, they get their storylines told in much meatier chunks in fewer episodes. And there’s the better juggling of so many different characters, which connects to the pacing issue but also to how the books are adapted (i.e. usually less faithfully, because the needs of a book and those of a TV show are different for plot and characters, if the same story is to be told —a contradicting argument for those who believe “plot” is “story” and that the way to tell a story faithfully is to adapt the plot to a tee.)
3. I’ve noticed this as well. Still, even in season one the archaic language had been toned down quite a lot compared to the books. So, while the change between the first season and the rest was subtle, there’s still an abyss between season one and the source material in terms of archaic language (no “craven” but “coward”, no “wench”, etc; and none of GRRM’s ‘interesting’ phrases —”much and more”, “near enough as makes no matter”, “would that I could, “must needs”, “jape”, “mummery”, “mayhaps”, “nuncle”.)
Felt Pelt,
Felt Pelt,
For speculation sake, lets say this person is being legit. If I had to guess,
They use “craven” a lot in the show.
But anything that removes nuncles gets my vote.
Probably not: it is more probable that most reviewers respond to common things. When films/shows/books tell stories well, then reviewers frequently respond positively. When films/shows/books do not tell storie well, then reviewers almost always respond negatively.
I think that the confusion arises because many people mistakenly think that reviewers are telling us whether he/she liked something. However, good reviewers are telling us how well a story was told, how cohesive the plots were, how well characters were developed, etc.: and those are much more objective criteria. Really good reviewers will make the distinction: “it was good but I personally didn’t enjoy it” or “this is not well done: but I had a good time, anyway!” (Decades ago, Siskel & Ebert had an episode devoted to their “guilty pleasures”: bad movies that one or the other [but I do not think ever both!] knew was bad but still loved to watch, anyway! The other one usually was just shaking his head, but it was all in good fun.)
Luka Nieto,
I’m looking forward to a Doctor Who/Game of Thrones cross-over in which we learn that Littlefinger actually is the Master (it would explain so much…), and Daeny runs off to join the Doctor as his new companion. Because, well, you just KNOW that the Doctor has always wanted a pet dragon!
Hodor’s Bastard,
I’m serving notice right here and now, I will absolutely flip the fuck out if they kill
gewa76,
That is the best post ever. Period.
Wimsey,
Littlefinger is the Master… shit, everything makes sense now. The goatee, especially! So… Varys is the Doctor? I mean, the Doctor was classically quite asexual, not unlike Varys in the show (“the absence of desire…”). Not that it matters now, since he’s off smooching everyone, which pisses off Doctor Who purists to no end 😛
ctid,
I’m pretty sure they don’t. They may have, some time, maybe, but usually they say “coward” instead. Like when Sam says “I’m a craven”; in the show he says “I’m a coward.” I’m pretty sure it’s like that for most if not all other cases.
I disagree on this. I’m currently re- reading the first book , and it’s interesting how much dialogue is ” fixed” in the series. They have such a sharpness in style that Martin lacks.
And many very interesting characters from show are so irrelevant in the books.
I would dare to say that the best dialogue scenes in in the show are the ones that do not exist in the book.
Examples:
Robert and Cersei, Robert and Jaime, Cersei and Cat, Sersei and Joffrey, Joffrey and Margaery, Varys and Oberyn, Varys and Littlefinger, Olenna Tyrell and Tywin, Olenna Tyrell and Varys, Tywin and Sersei, Tywin and Joffrey, Catelyn and Talisa, Catelyn and Blackfish, Robb and Jaime, Tywin and Oberyn, Jon and Mance, Jon and Tormund,..
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
Hmmm.
Not me: River Song is hot! However, Doctor Who fandom probably rivals Tolkien fandom in the “boys afraid of girls”:normal people ratio…. :p
(That is why Daeny would be a great companion: “Well, Doctor, a Dalek just appeared! I told Drogon to eat it, so it’s gone. Viserion and Rhaegal are, um, ‘playing’ with their ship: hope you don’t mind!” THAT would send the anoraks into a tizzy!)
mau,
Agreed completely. The actors also help, in that they give the characters a particular voice, and the writers end up writing for the actors themselves, so even on paper you can distinguish who says what much more clearly in the show. I was quite astonished by the way, say, Jaime spoke in the book when I first read it, after watching the show. He speaks like… anyone else. Most people do, except for very telling repeated phrases, or lisps or things like that. That’s not the case in the show. I like the dialogue much more in the show.
Wimsey,
River Song is hot. But I do like them older… 😛
Macharius,
#3 is definitely true, the language has modernized a lot as the show progressed. Season 4 in particular is full-on 20th century, Tyrion in particular. I have to disagree that that’s a bad thing though. I prefer it, and I think the period-correct book dialog would be alienating to a significant number of viewers. Modernized dialog is one of those things you just have to accept in order to get a popular adaptation, along with toned-down costuming and reduced fantasy elements.
Hodor’s Bastard,
Interesting question. I’d never thought about that. The good news is, while it will not prevent me melting down in a most epic fashion
I see a lot of it as a book vs. TV difference. A lot of dialog that reads well sounds silly in general. I think that part of it is just meter: we expect some “flow” to enacted dialog (damn you, Shakespeare!), whereas written speech just needs to say stuff. But just as long as the audience knows who “he,” “she” or “it” is, and what he/she/it is, then it works.
You do always get a “but that’s the way they spoke back then” crowd in Fantasy fandoms. Well, no, they didn’t: people always just spoke. Elisabetheans didn’t sit around thinking: “My, how elegant we sound!”: they just said stuff. It is no different from translating non-English to English.
It is more a technical issue, because they need to say so much in so little space.
For example, this scene with Cersei and Oberyn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZKgxzW4J3o&spfreload=10
In this scene:
1. Oberyn shows that he knows how to write a poem (characterization)
2. this scene introduces his 8 daughters
3. He mentions Ellia and her past (his primary motive in S4)
4. They reintroduce Myrcella
5. They introduce some places in Dorne
And all this in just 3 minutes!
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
I think you just stumbled onto the greatest twist in GoT ever!
Hodor’s Bastard,
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
I think that you both are in trouble: I’ve read that Ser Pounce’s agent is holding out for a bigger contract before re-upping for Season 6. (That, and billing alongside Harrington & Clarke.)
Reads like fake Patchface to me. Real Patchfake was never so gleefully cryptic.
Hodor’s Bastard,
I can’t wait, either. Moreover, now we know to whom these words really apply…
Wimsey,
Ah…that might be the real reason why
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
I have tears in my eyes already…such a noble cause! All hail, SP!
Wimsey,
Well, SP’s agent can pucker up and kiss my Royal Rhoynish ass!
Luka Nieto,
I don’t know if it’s been said yet in the comments section but I definitely remember them using “would that I could”, “craven”, “wench”, and “mayhaps” on the show.
Hodor’s Bastard,
Hail!
mau,
Yoren and Arya particularly Willem and how he ended up at the Wall
“Buried an axe so deep, they have bury him with it”
Pycelle said craven a few times in S1.
OrtMeyer,
Indeed, I could see using all of those in a run-on sentence in my youth. “Would that I could help you, but you have to stop being a craven and just ask her out yourself: mayhaps the wench will say yes!”
Oooh nice update Sue the Fury!
WE WANT EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS. WE WANT EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS.
I cringe when Sansa tells Lysa she’s a virgin instead of maiden.
With Sons of the Harpy filled in, we can assume the rest will mostly be personages or locales. So…
5. The Sorrows
6. Sunspear
7. The Faith Militant
8. Hardhome
9. Mercy
10. Daznak’s Pit
Do you guys think we’ll be getting a 2nd trailer?
OT but the I found the first week sales figures for the Season 4 blu-ray / DVD
Blu-ray = 285,610 units sold ($9.984,926)
DVD = 241,241 units sold ($7,234,818)
Blu-ray/DVD combined -= 526,851 units ($17,219,744)
http://www.the-numbers.com/weekly-bluray-sales-chart
This is one of the best things about the show. That archaic language really bogged down Feast and Dance.
Nah. Did you even watch the Hand’s tourney?
Rygritte,
See, I think using the term “maid” in that context would confuse a ton of the audience. Pretty much no one who doesn’t read fantasy fiction will have ever encountered using “maid” to mean virgin.
my titles were
1. WTF’S Wrong With Jaime on the Riverlands
2. They Will Never Convince me That
3. No Arianne?? Really? She Just Dets in Motion the Whole Dorne Plot!!
4. Fuck You HBO If You Cut
So far I got one exactly right (High Sparrow as ep. 3). But I had all but the first episode’s title on my list, except I used just Black and White. Knew they wouldn’t use Valonqar as a title; doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t have the word in the show at all.
05. Characters Get Condensed From Hundreds In The Books To Dozens In The TV Show
06. Important Character Arcs Are Also Condensed Into Other New or Already Known Characters In The Same Locations
07. Their Production Lasts The Entire Year So The Above Is Unlikely To Change
08. Not Really A Hard Concept To Understand
09. Cry More On The Rhoyne
I will eat my hat (helm?) if “Sand Snakes” isn’t one of the titles, so I have it pegged as no5. Dorne is introduced early on, but they probably get highlighted in one episode.
OrtMeyer,
I’m pretty sure they haven’t. I can search for those terms in the transcripts, if you remain unconvinced.
Rygritte,
Why did “virgin” bother you at all? Not because of the books, right?
“Virgin” is used in the books as well. In the context of sexual virginity, it’s been used 16 times: 5 times in aGoT, 1 time in aCoK, 2 times in aSoS, 3 times in aFfC, and 5 times in aDwD. “Maid” is simply more formal… and Sansa wasn’t going to be formal or subtle; she was quite scared of her aunt at the moment.
No, I am the real Patchface (my last post was a few months ago, I’ve noticed someone continued to post stuff in my name every now and then, but nothing of note…).
is hardly cryptic… there is only one interpretation of the word and it is pretty obvious… @Hodor’s Bastard and @Felt Pelt… As GRRM puts it: a bastard is very observant-Hodor!
The Valyrian sword reference has nothing to do with the deaths, it is just a point (and a hint!) I was making some time ago about them expanding the story based on a scoop I had… (at the time I asked for all the named swords making an appearance in the movie, I had learned of some info going around about swords but I did not know for what purpose, my assumption was that it would be related to s5, but apparently it was for the history and lore of s4… still, I am expecting the point to be emphasized in the series as well either in s5 or in later seasons)
@Patchface: Are you talking about the WAY the person dies (like, erm, Caesar perhaps?) Or about the person’s status/role in society (a KING or someone who considers himself to be a king)?
jentario,
I’d love The Dornishman’s wife. Maybe it’s just because I really want Bronn to sing the song… since someone got the notion into my head, I’m just expecting it to happen now. It’s perfect! Bronn’s going to Dorne, he’s someone who likes to offend people, and the actor was a singer before ever being an actor. It’s perfect!
One more things about swords… Based on the amount of screentime in the series and animated histories, it seems to me that viable alternatives for
are being narrowed down to
. Conspicuously missing is any mention of
(someone pointed out it does appear in the screen shot of the WhiteBook Jaime opens). I guess
is still an option that can be developed later on, but not the same can be said of valyrian swords, if
is one of the valyrian swords, the sword should have been mentioned by now… Again this is SPECULATION on my part, no inside info…
I know there are other theories circulating that
is
but I am not convinced by them and I am more inclined to believe it refers to an actual sword. Again, this is SPECULATION, NOT actual reporting.
Luka Nieto,
I for one have thought it would be in s5 since we first saw that audition however long ago.
Greenjones,
Yeah, I remember that!
That’s when the notion was first brought up. I just don’t wanna be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. I love the songs of this world, especially the happy folksy ones —though we never got a full rendition of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” within the show itself, at least we got this, and that was enough for me. I hope Bronn gets to sing for a while longer, and It’d better be The Dornishman’s Wife.
Luka Nieto,
And by precedent we’d then get a version of the song over the end credits too.
Patchface,
You act as if, by giving the word majestic, you have made it obvious to all book readers. You absolutely haven’t, thus the thousand theories that are now popping up all over the place. It certainly is cryptic.
Greenjones,
Oh, that’d be great. Though they’ve been a bit hit and miss for me. If only we got a complete folksy version of The Bear and the Maiden Fair, instead of that rock cover during the credits… oh well.
Patchface,
That’s still cryptic as fuck. You have literally no reason to be cryptic. Why not just say it plainly?
breakfastfestival,
Indeed.
To the mods, do y’all know which Patchface this one is?
Luka Nieto,
I really feel they should utilize the cast’s musical abilities a little more. They’ve had Jerome sing briefly (and they will again in s5) but they really ought to let Carice sing some too. It’s not just that Carice is a professional singer but in 301 Salladhor Saan said that Mel sang to men as they burnt. And yet sadly she didn’t in 402. This ought to be rectified in future burnings…
Obviously they can’t have Hodor and Loras DJing, but there are a few other examples of musical abilities in the cast that are slipping my mind. I dunno…Sandor should’ve sung at least.
Correct. There are several options.
If you want to be cryptic, ok, be cryptic.
But if you wan’t to be obvious, by all means, be obvious!
Is this plain enough or it needs further explanation?
Come on guys, just a tad of double meaning is fun!
though it also could mean “epic”, although that was not necessarily my intent… and to think that initially I wanted to use “august” instead of “majestic”, but I thought the latter was less ambiguous… well, my bad…
Sue the Fury,
Patchface,
Is this Patchface the legit one, Sue?
No offence, Patchface, but given the imposters we’ve seen one needs to be as certain as possible about such things.
Patchface,
Luka Nieto,
Greenjones,
They may wanna pay off the Frog’s words within the season. Wouldn’t be a bad idea. Not to say I believe the rumor, though.
Luka Nieto,
I am just reporting what I heard…It’s not up to me to question what makes sense or not. There are a lot of things that “don’t make sense” from
I have no info on how, though certainly
“makes sense”…lol just to be clear, the last bit was a sarcastic joke!
Woohoo! Two for four so far! (Although I thought that “House of Black and White” would be 3, since I expected episode 2 to be more Dorne-focused.)
So, who’s betting on “The Sorrows” for episode 5?
Oh yeah, I agree, more singing by the cast would be great!
Besides the ones you mentioned, Iwan Rheon is a really good singer, too… although I dunno why and what Ramsay should be singing o_O
Messy Justin Massey,
I knew I’d forgotten someone, the Onion Sleight, aye. Iwan Rheon should sing something whilst a-flaying.
Patchface,
Sure, but how does that then equal ‘Tommen’?
Have you forgotten how many kings, queens and princesses there are in the show to which ‘royal’ could be a descriptor? Even if D&D are drastically departing from the books, Tommen certainly isn’t one I would predict could die as soon as season 5. I would have assumed Stannis has to do the deed, when he gets to King’s Landing (if he does), to mirror him trying to kill Edric Storm/Gendry. It’s one thing to take his rightful place on the throne, but he’ll have to murder an innocent boy to get there, which taints his rule, loses Davos’ trust in him and gives the people even more reason to hate him. Then he heads off to siege Storm’s End and win back the Baratheon castle that he had to hold himself during Roberts Rebellion, only to lose against Aegon’s army who are held up there.
Yup, Ramsay singing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (by Frank Sinatra) or “The First Cut Is The Deepest” (by Cat Stevens) to his so beloved Reek.
Greenjones,
the actor who plays Grey Worm (can’t remember his name) is also a singer.
Schrödinger’s Cat,
I understand where you are coming from, but I honestly thought it is pretty clear since there is
. Initially, I did not want to use the spoiler tags, that’s why I chose a suggestive word… Maybe it’s just me, by this character dying is not such a big deal…I honestly have spared little thought on how or why this makes sense… You have an interesting theory, I’ll give you that, unfortunately it’s not gonna happen.
To be honest I was hoping the post on valyrian swords would get more traction and discussion than this death.
They should simply make a whole musical episode! …Or a musical movie! …Or a real GoT theatre musical!
Oh God, I’d totally love it (and not only because I’m generally a huge musicals fan).
I can’t be the only one who’d love to hear Stannis singing his own version of Inspector Javert’s “Stars”, can I?!
I’m on the phone this very moment trying to confirm that with my sources!
Messy Justin Massey,
If they ever do a GoT theatre musical, they should definitely use that song at some point :
zod,
That was… that was…
… amazing.
zod,
Haha, I love it XDD Thanks for the link!
Yeah, that should be included I think 😉
Well, HoBaW and High Sparrow are unsurprising. I like The Wars to Come. The Sons of the Harpy doesn’t surprise me as a title, but it’s interesting that it’s for episode 4. I would’ve guessed either early, maybe episode 2, to introduce that particular plot element, or later, in an episode where things really escalate on that front.
On Doctor Who: I’d love to see Donna Noble facing down Cersei. Rory Williams (Pond) and Jon Snow seem like they’d connect. But most of all – imagine Oberyn and Captain Jack Harkness in the same room….
OrtMeyer,
You are free to believe whatever you want… I only reported it because I promised I would a few months back, and I wanted to make good on that promise. It is what it is…
Oh, much, MUCH certain action would happen in said room…
(My Unsullied sister’s first reaction when Oberyn appeared last year was “OMG, he’s the Westerosi version of Jack Harkness!” :D)
Luka Nieto,
I’m almost sure it’s gonna go that way somehow . Will get a bron song before they kill him off
Wow, there are a lot of comments on this one. I was predicting with a friend that Arya would make her S5 debut in E2, and by the looks of it, I’m right!
Guessed Episode 2 right. For only having read the first book, I hadn’t expected to get many right. Still hoping for Snakes of the Viper.
Also, might wanna re-read and fix the quantities, to change three episodes to four.
Cathair,
Nah she’ll be in episode 1.
breakfastfestival,
I hope so, I do. She’s my favourite character (common among non book readers, I hear). But what’s making me think Ep 2 is because, out of ALL the characters so far in the show, Arya’s storyline is the only one non bookreaders KNOW where it is heading. I imagine Ep 1 will serve to the rest of them that left their new adventures in cliffhangers/untold directions.
I don’t understand this anger against Patchface.
I still desperately hope in a surprise announcement that Season 5 lasts 15 episodes or each one is 70 minutes long… in order to have the time to see all the events displayed in AFFT and ADWD…
uff,
Following your post, it just occurred to me that “5 Queens” would be a good name for the first episode in s6.
Why hasn’t anyone yet confirmed that we will actually have a 2nd trailer this sunday?
Or is this Ortmeyer, or whatever the fuck is his username, just a troll?? Since everytime he is asked what his source is from, he seems to dodge the question
days,
Oh god no. Don’t get me wrong, I like Arya, but 60 minutes of just her would be too much at once.
just a troll
uff,
Use your spoiler tags!
There’s a difference between a healthy skepticism towards Patchface’s reports and anger towards him. I don’t think anyone has exhibited any anger.
As for your wishes, I’m pretty sure most of them will not be granted (certainly not the 15-episode season —that’d be great but it’s logistically impossible, and not merely a matter of budget.) However, one thing’s true: the running times of the first three episodes indicate this may be at least amongst the longer seasons (the second and the fourth are the shortest, and the first and the third the longest.) That is, unless this season is front-loaded and the later episodes are quite a bit shorter, which I doubt. Or maybe I just hope that’s not the case.
The premiere will be 53 minutes long, which is a bit below average, but the second and third episodes will be 56 and 60 minutes long respectively —and it’s very rare for an episode to be a whole hour long (except for the premieres from the first and fourth seasons, and the finales for all but the first season.) The only other ones which used up the whole hour were “The Pointy End” and “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” —both of them episodes from the two longest seasons. It may be a meaningless correlation, but I still have some hope that the episodes keep being above the average 55 minutes this year.
That said, even if this was the longest season yet, I don’t think we’d get the Greyjoy uncles, Arianne, all the Northern Lords and the wildling leaders, and the Griffs. For one thing, it’s confirmed that Arianne is cut from canon, since Trystane is the heir; and the AFFC Iron Islands subplot is not featuring in season five, according to D&D themselves through James Hibberd from EW.
One cannot go from blue to violet without first passing through indigo.
Off topic from this post but not for the show in general:
Today was the opening day for the game of thrones exhibition in Stockholm. I was there with a friend. Can’t say we where overwhelmed. They had the wall oculus rift thing which was great and it was cool seeing some of the props and costumes in real life. But it was quiet small and no actors to be seen even though we where there in the beginning of the first day. Free entrance though and not ridiculously long line. About 2.5 hours.
uff,
Feast/Dance don’t deserve more than 10 episodes; and that stuff was rightfully cut.
heh, my image is of the two of them having a tag team sex-romp in which they kill the Mountain (after seducing him), and leave all of King’s Landing in a naked heap, with Margaery begging one of the two to marry her, Cersei begging to dub one or both to be her new brother, and Sansa asking if she’s still a virgin…..
(And that is when the Doctor turns up, looks around, and says “It’s not often that I get to say this, but it’s a good thing that I didn’t get here on time.”)
Did you guys see this? It’s a imdb user so it’s like getting a good lead from Mos Eisley but in the reddit thread there is a guy who claims he was also there, with a photo. SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON POSSIBLY PAST THE BOOKS if true:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/board/thread/240858831?p=1
http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/2y84fw/spoilers_all_some_season_5_details_from_ian/
The two takeaways are if it’s real:
a death every episode guarantee
What show have you been watching?
Felt Pelt,
Yes! That’s great for Barristan 🙂
As for passing the books, that’s not what he said. However, that other tidbit…
May I ask where did you get this information?
Arya probably will get about 60 minutes for the entire season.
No such problem will exist in the final season… since they don’t have to go shoot a new season… so the final season could EASILY be 13… 15… 20 episodes. Split in half.
Why are you suprised? What you said is exactly what book purist say all the time. People can not read tone or sarcasm on the internet. The only way people could know you where joking is if they know you personaly.
Luka Nieto,
Looked it up and confirmed that he was doing something in Swedish this last weekend (you have to scroll down):
https://sv-se.facebook.com/scifiworld.se
blzlmprt,
From the different sources he cites, that have appeared over the last year. One was a Facebook user who summarized the first two episodes, one was a Westeros/WOTW user who had inside info and posted about it.
GeekFurious,
We would have to wait a lot longer for that to happen, probably a couple of months. And HBO might not want that either. But yeah, it’s possible.
Patchface,
Patchface,
Patchface,
Hello. Can you spend some links?
Hey man, where can I see that leaked script summary?
blzlmprt,
Here is my own summary (with my own interpretation of the information, and hypotheses) of the leaked script summary, with a link to the original source 😉
Thanks, man!
Luka Nieto,
The reason I put a SPOILER WARNING PAST THE BOOKS was
blzlmprt,
See anything interesting or what strikes you in particular? I’m curious. Though the original source focuses on the little differences a bit, and it’s kind of a downer in general, I found the leaked script summary quite encouraging, actually. As you see, I’m more positive in my own interpretation of the same information. I certainly didn’t expect both Lancel and Kevan to be back, amongst other stuff revealed there —Barristan’s growing role included.
Different IP but same fake email address so it’s probably them. Unless Patchface told people which fake email he used to login, which seems unlikely.
I find this information very interesting, this season will be epic in my opinion. Heh.
Felt Pelt,
Sounds legit
Sue the Fury,
Wow. I kind of hoped his spoiler wasn’t true.
Sue the Fury,
It should be same IP as well, I’m using the same computer, same IP provider, same location (north Europe) and of course the same fake email.
@Greenjones, none taken, appropriate skepticism and caution is advisable.
BTW, in case you are wondering, I have no other additional info and it’s very unlikely I will find more until they start working on s6. This was the last bit of info I was sitting for a while now.
No, how many times has it been used in the show?
Patchface,
Definitely a different IP but your company probably just changed the IP assigned to your computer. They’re consistent as far as city, country, etc. So I assume you are you.
Sue the Fury,
Thanks!
Luka Nieto,
I reported Lancel and Kevan way before the ‘leaked script’, and I was not the only one. Keep the faith!
Patchface,
Apologies for my initial skepticism.
Discussion of Patchface’s spoiler:
Spoilers regarding the Barristan interview:
Rygritte,
The word “virgin” has been used 16 times in the books, in the sexual context. In the show, before Sansa used the word twice in 4×05, it had been used once in 1×03 (“And if you’d rather lie with noble virgins, so be it”, Cersei to Joffrey) twice in 2×03 (“Brides aren’t usually virgins two weeks after their wedding night”, Loras to Renly, who replies: “And Margaery’s a virgin?”) and once in 2×10 (“You’re a virgin, I take it?”, Jaime to Brienne). After 4×05, it was also used in 4×07 (“Gloves are doeskin. Softer than a virgin’s thighs”, Bronn to Tyrion).
If you add it up, that is 7 times that the word has been used in the show, which is especially relevant when you consider that “maid”, in the euphemistic sense of a virgin woman and not just a woman or a female servant, has only been used in a single scene in the whole show, when Ygritte and Jon asked each other if they had been “maids” before their steamy encounter in the cave:
So, Sansa saying “virgin” wasn’t a discrepancy, neither in the context of the show or the books. “Maid” is more common than “virgin” in the books, but “virgin” is still used. And “maid” has only been used once in the whole show.
mau,
Great quote reminder! And remember, Tyrion is not the only little brother in this soup. Tyrion is mixing it up with dragons across Slavers Bay and not sailing home any time soon. So, hmmmmm, who else might be the valonqar to put his hands around Cercei’s throat???? Who else could she enrage to a murderous frenzy? Could it be Tommen????
He-he-he. He is a little brother too! =-O
Also… Does this mean Pycelle, Kevan, and Tommen will all die in the same scene??
Big Mac,
We don’t know, though GRRM has said the SS will grow in importance in TWOW —well, at least they will appear more than they did in AFFC/ADWD.
The fact that they have been cast (and that the likes of Arianne have not) only confirms GRRM’s statement, IMHO. What will they be doing? No idea. Though I hope they shake things up (and wreck shit) even more in King’s Landing.
afeastfordances,
I don’t really understand why people necessarily assume it would be
who does the deed. I have no info on the manner of the death, but it seems to me that there are many possibilities:
. Unless someone else has additional info, I would keep an open mind about it.
Patchface,
Welcome back!
Have you heard anything else regarding the Greyjoys, the Manderlys and LS/the Brotherhood? Thank you.
Richard,
He did say there would be
if I remember correctly. I don’t know if he knows more. I’m rather curious myself.
Patchface,
I could see a late night visit by Pycelle/Kevan to the King’s chamber finding him dead, and Varys, with crossbow, monologuing.
I kind of hope the show veers from the books and keeps Pycelle alive, especially given how focused the show has been on showing him as a secretly stalwart survivor. And an offscreen death like in the books doesn’t fit, giving the onscreen death to that Johnny-come-lately Kevan.
It could happen that, because he even lied to Ros about being senile, Varys doesn’t consider him a threat… But I also thought surviving was the point of Ros’ character…
Also, echoing Richard, thank you for the spoilers.
Luka Nieto, It just seems so unbecoming of a lady. Now pardon me while I cover my ankles.
Richard,
No man, sorry, I know nothing more than what I had already reported. As already mentioned, this was the last bit of info that I kept… It’s very unlikely I will be able to find out anything until they start the actual work on the ground for s6, certainly not before the script for s6 is finalized. My guess is the earlier I will be able to find out something will be June, although last year I found out about Arriane much earlier so you never know, but it’s highly unlikely.
About your queries, just to recap,
Luka Nieto,
two big unverified Patchface claims I can remember.
Felt Pelt,
Roz served two purposes. One was just to show how hard life would be for a woman of no family with no family in such a world, which is thematic. The other was to put a pov character in places where the protagonists never go. We get a lot of backstory because of her.
gewa76,
LOL!!! I 100% agree with you. Or “Why ruin such great books?” ” Who is that and why are they even in this show?”
Your first item there is a bombshell, and another one I don’t want to be true, a heartbreaker. Um, perhaps it’s just a super double secret probation type of spoiler and they killed the film crew and buried them in shallow graves after the shoot.
That is only because D&D saw some potential with the actress during filming the pilot and decided to write the character in. At first Ros was just there as titty filler for Tyrion. We can thank Esme for bringing something other than just a pair of sweet boobs, great ass, and ginger minge to the character.
Felt Pelt,
Hello. I’m the IMDb source. I can provide some photos too if that increases my legitimacy, but I’m not sure how to do it in this comment section. Would also like to clarify that Ian worded it as ”an important death in virtually every episode”, so “every episode guarantee” is slightly exaggerated.
herr_sebbe,
Thank you for commenting! You can submit it as a tip to the site using the contact us button. I think you would just email them the photos when they email you back.
https://watchersonthewall.com/contact-us/
Or you could just upload them to imgur. I believe you, regardless. There was a second user on reddit who confirmed what you were saying.
Also, were there any other details about the fight? Did he talk about preparing for it, stunts, whether it was indoors or outdoors? Any hints about the deaths or the changes?
Felt Pelt,
Uploaded them through Dropbox. They’re in the thread as well now
. https://www.dropbox.com/s/gw8jxo5iokpu1ax/foto%202015-02-28%2015%2035%2020.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xeer5eah7v18ih2/foto%202015-02-28%2015%2049%2034.jpg?dl=0
Patchface,
Thanks for the updates.
It’s pretty obvious now that Jonathan Pryce was referring to
Felt Pelt,
Not that I recall. He was proud about finally getting to do something to live up to his reputation. The image of the battle in my head is outdoors, but I can’t recall anything in particular he said to support it. He did also answer a question about how he would like to be killed off, and said he’d like to die in battle, but whether that is to be taken as a hint or just trivia is anyone’s guess.
herr_sebbe,
Thanks. It’s neat to see him center stage.
herr_sebbe,
You mean
being cut? That’s not really a bombshell, I’ve reported that at the end of summer and it has been since confirmed by several other sources…bit of old news, frankly… Tbh I am not very upset about
@Richard, oh really Pryce mentioned something like that? I need to see/read the interview…thanks for pointing that out!
Patchface,
You saying no to her for Season 5 makes it definite for me.
I now looked at the reddit thread and some other user there is uncertain about the surpassing the books thing, so I thought I’d clarify what I drew that from. Someone in the audience started out his question by confirming Barristan is still alive in the books and proceeded to ask (I think it was the same guy) how Barristan would like to go. McElhinney replied to this by talking about how the books aren’t a reliable source anymore, leading up to a statement where he definitely said season 5 will reach the end of the published material, and I quote: “Some storylines might even go further.” No, it isn’t strictly confirmation of that, but reading between the lines I think we all know what “might” means in an interview. Again, anyone may take that as they will.
herr_sebbe,
SpoilerTV has posted HBO’s official summaries for Episodes 1-3! http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/03/game-of-thrones-episode-501-503-titles.html
— Episode #41: “The Wars to Come”:
— Episode #42: “The House of Black and White”:
— Episode #43: “High Sparrow”:
An advisor tempts Dany — must be
Also is it usual to have like so many D&D written episodes like this? Maybe it’s directing that I’m thinking of.
also
instead of doing stuff with the character
Jared,
“Trouble on the road” means B&P don’t continue onto the Vale. The adviser must be tempting Dany with a marriage proposal. Lots of questions about number 3.
“Tyrion and Varys walk the Long Bridge of Volantis”
hmm interesting
I think it pretty much is. Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill are the only other writers this season, and they’ll probably get one episode each. GRRM is sitting out.
Jofrey’s Cunt,
Felt Pelt,
Indeed, now this makes me wonder if we’re still having the sorrows
If you zoom in closely on a image from the trailer, you can spot him. http://i.picasion.com/av/79/1xIt.jpg
J/k
asdf,
Not strange at all. D&D usually write 6 or 7 episodes a season. This year it’ll be 7. Bryan Cogman 2, as he did last year, and Dave Hill will write one instead of GRRM, who said he wants to focus on TWOW. D&D’ve only directed a few episodes during the whole show.
Jofrey’s Cunt,
And “enjoys her new husband.” Usually this would mean something scandalous, but given these two it promptly means “manipulates him against Cersei.”
Richard,
How do you know?
Felt Pelt,
I know about that, but in the book weren’t the events of the sorrows first from Volantis? Anyway also geographically speaking it doesn’t make much sense, but of course I’m open for whatever new interpretation they might have for it…
Um, Tom Wlaschiha is a god.
Dragonslayer,
I’ve read and loved the books. But the show has its own charm and the different paths chosen by the show and the books are fun to contrast and compare.
Great news on the episode descriptions. As is the case every season, the descriptions are not a complete listing of every storyline the episode touches on. In fact, there often are updated listings with a couple other sentences added closer to airdates (often with info that can’t be revealed until certain earlier episodes are aired).
Rygritte,
A girl says the truth. It is known.
Are you joking that you take issue with how episodes are titled?!
wizardeyes,
There is Lord snow. From season1
So, it seems we won’t be seeing
Felt Pelt,
asdf,
Dragon Delites. They are like Scooby Snacks, except, well: they work on dragons.
Sue the Fury,
Thanks for answering, Sue.
Jared,
Great stuff!
Felt Pelt,
The sources you name have been pretty blunt on the issue. Fans have kept trying to find loopholes in their words.
This is another fandom commonality: 18 months ago, Doctor Who fans were desperately looking for every loophole that they could when old Doctor Who actors (both those who played the Doctor and those who played companions) stated flatly that they were not involved. In the end, many fans would talk themselves around into themselves into turning the statement in to practical confirmation that the actor (and the actor’s character) would be back! Then the 50th rolled around and… none of them were back.
(That written, the 50th Anniversary episode was outstanding; of course, the “hardcores” wailed bitterly about it not adhering to continuity and how the special focused too much on the story and not enough on plot, and (most especially) how the 50th was not written specifically for the hardcore fans that had kept the show going all of these years [forgetting the fact that they didn’t as the show had a 16 year hiatus].)
btw,
Luka Nieto…
Great, I was afraid they’d cut that scene
Greenjones,
I can’t change the titles of pages, or delete pages. But I can add it as a secondary name, for the time being.
EDIT: done! 🙂
Forgive my bad English.
Wimsey,
The 50th anniversary special was bloody amazing.
Luka Nieto,
I remember the 20th anniversary episode, where we sat around trying to convince ourselves afterwards that it actually had been good. This was completely opposite.
Too bad Matt Smith’s swan song wasn’t quite that good…. 🙁
Wimsey,
“The Time of the Doctor” was quite rushed, unfortunately. Have you heard Moffat is going back to two-parters? The first two episodes in series 9 are a single story, and the following two as well. Hopefully there’s still some more to come! Maybe all of them! That’d be great. The series may regain some of the classic feeling, without feeling as padded as it often did back then. Still, I’ve argued that “Time” is a bit better (and sensical) than some people have said.
You don’t like The Five Doctors, then? It was… well, it had a pretty awful plot. I still enjoyed the moments with the five…—er, four doctors. It was fun. Not good, but fun. The Three Doctors was much, much better, though.
Okay, a bit off-topic. Luka, Wimsey, as someone looking to get into Doctor Who (I only watched several episodes when I was a wee lad in the eighties), what would be the best starting point? Series 1 of 2005 maybe? Something else?
Mr Fixit,
I’d recommend you watch the “greatest hits” from the classic era (there are many lists around), and if you get hooked watch it all. If you don’t, watch only those, or even skip the classic series and jump to Series 1 of the 2005 show.
Maybe Wimsey doesn’t agree, though.
Yeah, the 50th anniversary was really good. (Not flawless, but then what is?) Tennant and Smith had great chemistry, and seemed to really enjoy playing off each other.
Mr Fixit,
I got started that way, with NuWho’s first episodes, and quite enjoyed it. Some of my favorite Doctor Who episodes are with Nine. (Dalek, Father’s Day, The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances…) There are some not-so-good as well, of course.
There’s a noticeable difference between RTD’s Who and Moffat’s Who, so some people will like one and not the other. If Series 1 doesn’t do it for you, try jumping ahead to Series 5 of NuWho and see if that works better for you.
Lyanna Mormont,
Yes, I’d recommend that as well… maybe. If you don’t like Series 1, you may skip to Series 5. You’d be missing the Tenth Doctor, though, who is pretty great.
Lyanna Mormont,
I am a hardcore completionist. I would consider watching ALL of it, but the sheer number of episodes is intimidatingly ludicrous (or is it ludicrously intimidating) even for me. But if I start with NuWho, it would have to be Series 1. Skipping to Series 5? My psychological makeup couldn’t handle it 😉
On a related note, Luka, as I sense a pretty hardcore completionist in you as well, how do you cope with the missing episodes? Dozens of them, from what I gather?
Mr Fixit,
Luka Nieto’s suggestions are good. The 1980’s were a real nadir for the show: the show-runner (John Nathan-Turner) really ran it into the ground by refusing to revamp the 1960’s style show into a 1980’s style one.
Sadly, a lot of the 1960’s stories are lost: the BBC wiped the tapes in order to hold recordings of newer programs. (They deeply regret this, now!) One that really stands out from that era is Tomb of the Cybermen. Watch that, and then remember that the Borg from Star Trek were invented 20 years later! All of the 1970’s episodes are still around. Ones I would recommend include Terror of the Autons (the first Master story), Day of the Daleks (very similar to Terminator, but 10 years older), Frontier in Space/Day of the Daleks, Planet of the Daleks, The Deadly Assassin, the Sontaran Experiment, City of Death (with a much younger Grand Maester Pycelle!), and all three stories from the E-Space trilogy.
(Julian Glover also played Richard the Lionhearted in The Crusades from 1965 or so, but most of that one has been lost.)
One thing for which to prepare yourself is that this is 1960’s style TV. There are no true protagonists, the stories are delivered entirely via plot, and the Doctor is a static hero championing “good” over “evil.” The companions are largely cardboard cutouts (to use one actress’ description of her character) that look good in mini-skirts, and who get basic development in their first story that gets completely ignored subsequently.
The new show is, of course, modern TV: the Doctor is a protagonist with a ton of issues, the companions also are protagonists with numerous real-life issues, and the “bad-guys” are never evil so much as just having agendas that the Doctor does not like. It’s like turning Lord of the Rings into Game of Thrones!
Luka, Lyanna, Wimsey, much obliged.
Well, personally I prefer Series 1-4 to 5 onwards, but not everyone agrees with me. So I would only recommend skipping ahead to someone who really didn’t like Series 1, but still wanted to give Doctor Who another shot.
Not being a Brit, I didn’t see any old Who episodes growing up. I keep thinking I should go back in time to check out some classics, but… If I could have one extra day a week in some pocket universe just to watch TV, Classic Who would be high on my list. Failing that, I just wouldn’t know where to start or how to prioritize.
Yeah, Moffat had thought that Matt Smith was coming back for another season. (Smith changed his mind at the last minute.) So, we basically got a plot synopsis of “arc stories” for a season leading up to Trenzalore.
The shame of it was that it really was a cool idea for a story. The Doctor had to answer truthfully who he was, and he did so by showing who he was. The person is his/her actions, not the syllables that parents utter!
I would think that NuWho would be very appealing to many Thrones fans, as a lot of the stories center around the Doctor being stuck between two bad choices. Of course, he still excels at finding that 3rd choice!
Mr Fixit,
Well, I’m no completionist, at least in regards to the classic era. It’s a pity that some episodes were lost, but hey, some are recorded every once in a while.
If you want to watch a lot of the classic series but not all of it, this is my recommended list:
From the First Doctor, An Unearthly Child (1963), because it’s the first story (watch only the first episode if you are bored, the others don’t really matter); The Daleks (1963), because it’s the first Dalek story; The Aztecs (1964), because it’s the first which truly deals with sci-fi concepts of time travel (what the modern show calls the “fixed points in time”); The Sensorites (1964), which may be a bit boring but it’s classic sci-fi; The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1965), in which the Daleks as popularly depicted (crazy Nazi space conquerors) appear for the first time; The Time Meddler (1965), where the first other Time Lord appears (though he’s not named as such); and The Tenth Planet (1966), the First Doctor’s last story and the introduction to the Cyberman.
From the Second Doctor, The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), the quintessential Cyberman story and one of this Doctor’s best; The Ice Warriors (1967), the introduction of this monster and just a well-told (and well-paced, a rarity) story; The Enemy of the World (1967), a story only recently recovered, which is a take on the “Mirror Mirror” Star Trek episode —the Second Doctor facing a double—, and it helps that it’s a really good story (one of the few that feels “modern”, accessible); The Invasion (1968), another Cyberman classic and the first “Spycraft on modern Earth” episode, a staple of the Third Doctor and New Who, which makes it feel modern as well; The Seeds of Death (1969), another Ice Warrior episode and a well-told sci-fi take on social issues; and finally, The War Games (1969), which is not only this Doctor’s last story but also the introduction to the Time Lords and Gallifrey. It was a big deal in its time, and it’s still good… though way too long; it’s almost 4 hours long! Watch only the first and the last few episodes if you get bored.
From the Third Doctor, Spearhead from Space (1970), the Third’s Doctor debut and one of the best classic episodes ever, which is also available in Blu-Ray quality since the original film print was recovered (later episodes were recorded in video, not filmed), making it feel like a TV show of today; The Silurians (1970), the introduction to these monsters, who looked quite different back then, and yet again simply another well-told story, a rarity for the era; Inferno (1970), another take on the parallel universe sci-fi concept, a serial with really good production values and a great, though rather nihilistic story; and then there’s the Third Doctor’s great stories with the Master, the best of which are The Mind of Evil (1971) and The Sea Devils (1972) in my opinion. Then there’s the 10th year anniversary special, The Three Doctors (1973), which you HAVE to watch. The first three Doctors unite (well, mostly the second and the third) and it’s amazing. Oh, and The Green Death (1973), which is just so amazing. A true classic.
From the Fourth Doctor, there’s The Ark in Space (1975), which returned the Doctor to space for good in a pretty good Ark story; Genesis of the Daleks (1975), the true classic in which the Fourth Doctor is sent by the Time Lords to literally stop the development of the Daleks at the time before they were created. It deals with lots of issues better than most other Doctor Who stories, old and new. The Brain of Morbius (1976) may be controversial but I loved it, and then there’s The Seeds of Doom (1976), which perfectly showcases the classic duo of the Fourth Doctor and Susan; The Deadly Assassin (1976), the first story which truly takes us deep into Gallifrey and their society; City of Death (1979), a great serial by none other than Douglas Adams, with surprisingly good production values (they really went to Paris to film it!). Oh, and Pycelle is the bad guy in it! Then there’s, of course, Logopolis (1981), the Fourth Doctor’s swan song and maybe the end of a golden era for the show.
From the Fifth Doctor, there’s of course Earthshock (1982), one of the show’s most shocking stories for reasons I won’t spoil, and another Cyberman classic; Enlightenment (1983), a really, really weird but still really good 80’s story; The Five Doctors (1983), which I admit up-front has a bloody awful plot but it’s still fun and great to have four doctors united (don’t let the title deceive you —Baker didn’t come back to play the Fourth Doctor, so they wrote around him with stock footage from a cut story, the mythical “Shada”.) And finally, of course The Caves of Androzani (1984), which is considered by many the best Doctor Who story ever, and I personally think it’s certainly amongst the best. It’s the Fifth Doctor last episode. Though, I admit, you might wanna watch more than this small list to fully appreciate why this one is so good —it deconstructs this incarnation not by celebrating the best qualities of the Doctor but by tearing them down.
From the Sixth Doctor… here it gets trickier, but I recommend Vengeance on Varos (1985), which feels very 80’s for good and ill, but it’s still one of the few of the Sixth Doctor’s stories that can be considered in any way a “classic”.
From the Seventh Doctor, most come from the last season. I recommend Remembrance of the Daleks (1988), which may well be the best Dalek story ever, or at least in the classic series, and a perfect introduction to the master chess-player that is the Seventh Doctor (a feature with which he didn’t start… he was more of a goof at first, so I don’t recomend those stories.) Then, Battlefield (1989), especially if you’re nostalgic for the Brigadier, Ghost Light (1989), The Curse of Fenric (1989) and Survival (1989), mostly because it’s the last story of the classic series and you kinda have to watch it.
Phew… that took some time! Anyway, you might notice the list is a bit front-loaded. That’s partially because I’m more knowledgeable of the first four Doctors and also because… well, the show was simply better until the eighties.
*bookmarks*
Arthur,
*guerrilla
Luka Nieto,
Green Death you say… that sounded vaguely familiar so I googled it and it’s apparently the one Dr Who episode I actually remember. I watched it as a kid of maybe 7 or 8 in the late eighties and I remember it as being supremely creepy, at least to my little self. To this day, whenever I think of Dr Who, I think of some gross green thing devouring someone’s arm. Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, that is, and I mixed up something completely different.
Mr Fixit,
You may be thinking of The Ark in Space, going by the description of an arm being devoured by a green thing. But The Green Death would also apply, yeah. It’s one of the great ones. Moffat’s favorite, if I remember correctly.
Indeed, that episode could be worth it solely for Glover’s line in which, in response to the Doctor asking if Glover’s character was threatening him (the Doctor), Glover responds something to the effect of “you, her and several million other people I could name if I had a Paris phone directory at hand”!
That was probably the only good story with which poor Colin Baker had to work. It basically is The Hunger Games plot: but 20+ years earlier!
Curse of Fenric was a particularly good episode, and a precursor of what was to come in many ways. At this point, the show was experimenting with making the companion (Ace) a true protagonist: and much of the story hinges on her character development.
Battlefield was pretty good, too: and, again, the proto-protagonist Ace aspect was important. And seeing the Brigadier (and Bessie!) again was cool. (It is a shame that they never got him back on NuWho: although I did find their brief tribute to him when Matt Smith’s Doctor discovers that the Brigadier is dead to be extremely poignant: but I’m an anorak.)
Mr Fixit,
Yeah, I googled some more, and you’re right. The Ark in Space it is.
Wimsey,
The Fourth Doctor has some amazing quotes. There’s another one from this very same serial, The City of Death: “I say, what a wonderful butler! He’s so violent!” That whole scene is hilarious. Tom Baker was the first Doctor with that inhuman, alien, unpredictable quality to him that’s become a staple of the modern series, particularly with Moffat’s Doctors.
And, yes, Ace was the most “modern” kind of companion. She wasn’t an assistant; she was an apprentice. The Seventh Doctor himself is fascinating too. The “Cartmel Masterplan” for him was so intriguing. Shame the show was cancelled just as it was starting to get good again, and in a more modern fashion. Andrew Cartmel’s plan basically was about regaining some of the mystery that the Doctor had in the beginning, introducing some mythical elements to the character. In “Remembrance of the Daleks”, the Doctor appears to make a slip of the tongue discussing the Hand of Omega, a device which was supposed to have been built at the dawn of their civilization, long before he ever lived, when he says “… and didn’t we have trouble with the prototype”. In the same story he tells Davros that he is “far more than just another Time Lord”, though the scene was deleted (for fears of offending religious fanatics, if you can believe that.) In a way, RTD took up the reins with that overall mood and direction —the later seasons of the Tenth Doctor in particular depict an almost god-like Time Lord. “The Oncoming Storm”, “The fury of a Time Lord”, “Time Lord victorious” and all that. Moffat then depicted the downfall of that godliness, after Demon’s Run, when the Doctor again started to work in shadows instead of relying in his reputation so much.
Luka Nieto,
Baker was good. Of course, he also helped ruin the show in some ways: Baker would basically rewrite the scripts (with a definite comic angle!), and Douglas Adams (the script editor at that time) already was redoing things with his inimitable style. The result was Terry Nation and several other stalwart writers refusing to write anymore for the program, and doing Blake’s 7 instead! Blake’s 7 actually was a really cool series for one year, although it sort of fizzled in the second. Still, it was a major inspiration for Stracyznski’s Babylon 5: and Babylon 5 helped set the stage for the “chapter series” TV fantasy/scifi shows like Game of Thrones!
Wimsey,
That is true. Tom Baker was difficult behind the scenes. Still, his era remains the most popular for a reason. Just watch the scene I linked to you (the comment is in moderation, because it has too many links.) His acting style is hilarious. Just watch how he says “Oh, well… You’re a beautiful woman —probably…”. I miss that crazy unpredictability. Smith had some of it, and Capaldi has shown that he can do it, though he hasn’t had much opportunity to show it yet.
How are you liking the new Doctor by the way? Back to an old gentleman. I love him, and I think series eight was great.
Luka Nieto,
I haven’t been super excited by Capaldi’s Doctor. Part of it has been that the scripts were awful this year. (I suspect that they were planning on doing the Trenzalore arc and then had to scramble after Smith’s departure.) Part of it also is that I just feel like the Doctor should be younger than me now! I really like Tennant’s and Smith’s takes (basically, modernized versions of the 5th and 2nd Doctors), and I really liked the arcs during Smith’s tenure.
So, perhaps I will warm out to Capaldi. I really liked last year’s conclusion (and the new Master is great!), so I hope that better things are on the horizon.
This Doctor Who discussion reminds me of the Red Wedding when Catelyn begs Walder Frey to Pleeeeease let it end!
Rygritte,
Ah, yeah, David Bradley was really good playing the first Doctor in “Adventure in Space and Time.” Or are you referring to his turn as Solomon in the Smith Doctor’s run?
🙂
Wimsey, The only thing worse than Harry Potter are the references to Harry Potter. 😛
Plot summaries for the first 3 are out:
Episode #41: “The Wars to Come”: Cersei and Jaime adjust to a world without Tywin. Varys reveals a conspiracy to Tyrion. Dany faces a new threat to her rule. Jon is caught between two kings. (Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss; directed by Michael Slovis.) (TV-MA) [AC, AL, GV, N] ESP Playdates: 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 24
Episode #42: “The House of Black and White”: Arya arrives in Braavos. Pod and Brienne run into trouble on the road. Cersei fears for her daughter’s safety in Dorne as Ellaria Sand seeks revenge for Oberyn’s death. Stannis tempts Jon. An adviser tempts Dany. (Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss; directed by Michael Slovis.) (TVMA) [AC, AL, V] ESP Playdates: 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25
Episode #43: “High Sparrow”: In Braavos, Arya sees the Many-Faced God. In King’s Landing, Queen Margaery enjoys her new husband. Tyrion and Varys walk the Long Bridge of Volantis. (Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss; directed by Mark Mylod.) (TV-MA) [AC, AL, GV, N] ESP Playdates: 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30
Episode #44 – The Sons Of The Harpy: No plot synopsis released.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9CGCOvIgAEaFS_.jpg
The description of this scene from people who were on set has been around since September:
“The next scene was the last to be filmed; it was a continuation of the previous scene. King Tommen, along with the Goldcloaks and the Lannister guards arrives at the steps but is stopped by the Faith Militant. They will not let him through as “his holiness is praying”. The Goldcloak leader encourages a battle but king Tommen defuses the situation and leaves with his guards. As he is leaving, the crowd beneath the steps yells “Bastard, abomination.”. A short scene, but took a long time to make, as there were a LOT of angles, extras on scene. The steps are filled with beggars and Sparrows attending to them and bellow the steps is a rundown marketplace with the sick and hungry walking about and the Sparrows helping them.”
That certainly sounds creepy as f!ck now if you add yesterday’s info to it.
Could the Faith or the Poor Fellows be so bold and savage as to rip Tommen apart in the streets? Could there be a riot of massive proportions? Sounds like Tommen may be on his way to visit his jailed mother, so it’s probably a very late episode. The possibilities are interesting….
Even if this is not the scene of his death, it could certainly lead up to it…. sounds like he’ll try his best to deal with the situation but will end up being buried by it. Literally.
Josh,
There is a new trailer on HBO OnDemand on last weeks “Girls” episode.
Messy Justin Massey,
Well Tommen used to be in a West End Musical…
Wimsey,
BWHAAAHAAHAAAA!!!
Don’t miss the game of thrones season 5 episode 1 online on April 12, 2015.
Watch “The wars to come” game of thrones season 5 episode 1 online
Did episode 4’s title change?
Nice and good to get more reviews