Will The Wall survive Game of Thrones Season 7? It remains to be seen. However, Watchers on the Wall will most certainly endure.
As we prepare for the beginning of the end, it is time for our annual WotW community meeting. And yes, if you are reading this, you are already a member. However, there are many of you who may be uncultivated as to this periodic, mostly underwhelming, fandom event.
This is where we ask you to give feedback and suggestions regarding our lovely corner of icy internet property. As we’ve stated many times before, this Wall was built for you. Read on for some topics of convo, and let your evaluation proclamation be heard…
Let me begin by saying that we are aware of the issues in the forums. They still work perfectly fine. However, the program that is sworn to protect us from spam took a few days off giving us around 30,000 opportunities to purchase Viagra at discounted price.
We are working to resolve this now.
Let’s move on…
We are always open to suggestions on improvements, accessories, and rearranging the site furniture. So if you’ve got something in mind, let us know.
Have an idea for new features? Coverage? Topics of discussion?
Do you have a plot or scheme in regards to what the hell we are going to do with this site (and more importantly, its community of readers) once the Game is concluded?
We are already thinking ahead and making arrangements to try to hold this party together, starting with WestworldWatchers.com. Even if you are not into the show yet, you can help by visiting the site and following WW on Facebook and Twitter.
There is also this great opportunity for us to all meet up at the inaugural Con of Thrones. Nashville is a long way away for many of you, but if you can scrape up the funding to attend, we can promise a fun, exotic weekend that will feature many of the contributors you read here on a daily basis. Not to mention a growing list of cast and crew from the show.
So, feed us. We are all ears. We asked. We shall listen.
Most importantly, thank you for trusting us with your GoT coverage. We vow to continue our mission through the end of this journey. And hopefully, beyond.
May there always be peace in your realm. -Oz
HODOR
All I know is….I would read anything you write about, Oz! I LOVE your sense of humor you bring to the articles on WotW! I really hope you guys find another great show to write about, because I would your site anywhere! I only found this site 2 years ago, and it has changed my GoT watching experience for the better! I love clicking on all your articles with excitement to read and discuss my favorite show on TV of all time! I know HBO is considering a prequel or mayb a spin-off series of the Dunk and Egg series, so if this does happen, hopefully it will be worthy of the talents of everyone at WotW! Thanks to all of you! Now I’m tearing up just thinking about the end again!? Damn it!
One prominent problem faced on this site is the access to archives. For example: GoT50. If I want to access any specific episode, I have keep going back through many pages (which are often a bit slow to get loaded). Same with other categories. We can have all the article links for a given category on one page. Or at least less pages. (“Fewer”, said Stannis.)
Also you can introduce various kinds of quizzes. You could also be more active with the polls.
Thanks!
I had no complaints about this site prior to season 7 filming. The Reddit leak and it being embraced here, to my dismay, made me pretty much stop commenting here. Previously we disseminated filming news/spoilers and one could easily skip the occasional book spoilers and still have a discussion. Poof, gone. Every post was apparently from the leak. Sooo, for those of you who like myself skipped the Reddit leak and want to discuss each episode after it aired can find me on Oz’s post.
Newbietothegame,
So basically any other post during the season airing will likely have leak talk in the comments?
1. Can we expand GOT50 to include season 6?
2. Please please please make it possible for me to bookmark comments so when I return after a few hours or days I can find where I ended up. Its really frustrating to have to scroll by a few hundred posts just to start at where I ended.
3. A ‘where are they now?’ post that follows the various actors who were killed off on the show, to see what they are up to nowadays
4. at the end of last season some people were discussing just what this site should do after the end, and there were several cool suggestions – did anyone think to write any of those down?
Dee Stark,
There was a ton of leak talk going around, but I don’t know about the posts that weren’t spoiler centric.
Niranjan,
Perhaps a button in the bar up top next to where they say “Game of Owns” with “Episode recaps” with a drop down menu and scroll option for “Season 1” (hoover over it and get a scroll down menue for –> Ep1, ep2, ep3…)
“Season 2”
“Season 3”
…
Perhaps it is too complicated. It just seams that the site should probably have a quicker way to the episode specific articles that aired. It does load pages slow if you don’t have a fast connection. Even slower on mobile.
Newbietothegame,
Let me second that motion. There should be NO mention of “the leaks” – ever. Even with greyscale spoiler coding, all it takes is one clueless or inconsiderate person to
ruin the enjoyment of the show for people who don’t want to give credence to the “plot summary” prepared by the script thief and his/her accomplices.
As some earlier comments
in this post have already
pointed out, even oblique or generalized references to “the leaks” have already alienated a large segment of the community from the Comments section.
(I’ve previously posted extended diatribes against “the leaks” and the scoundrels responsible. I won’t repeat them here. )
All I would suggest (again) is that ANY “leaks talk” be excluded from the Comments, and quarantined in a Forum section.
There are scores of other sites where “leaks talkers” can go –like the subReddit operated by the thief’s accomplices to disseminate the stolen intellectual property. There’s really no reason why a handful of misanthropes should be able to contaminate WoW, effectively driving away large swaths of the community.
Hi guys,
I love this site and while I’m checking quite a few fansites regularly, this is the only one I absolutely must check every day. It’s a mixture of content and style I think – you have the best information the soonest and it’s easy to see what’s new and how much I may be interested in it for me. So thank you, and keep the good stuff (and entertaining writing style) coming.
As for suggestions: slow internet is an issue that makes some things really hard sometimes – for instance commenting (or reading on my ancient mobile). Whenever I comment, I get an error page, I have to go back to the original post and then, just before it fully loads hit comment again in order to actually post. That’s really annoying. What’s more annoying though is that I cannot edit any posts – I always get the error message in the pop-up window and nothing I can do will change it. I think it’s because it requires a certain amout of speed, and I just don’t have it. So is there a way to make a less demanding version for slow-ass losers like me? (like the text only versions they used to have)
Q: “Do you have a plot or scheme in regards to what the hell we are going to do with this site (and more importantly, its community of readers) once the “Game” is concluded?”
A:
• First of all, if “A Dream of Spring” is ever written (likelihood rapidly approaching 0%), it won’t be published until many years from now. I would think members would stay on board to discuss how Martin concluded his story, and compare it to the show.
• Suggestion (?): I kind of liked the “interactive” Kit Harington post a few weeks ago that asked us to submit our favorite Jon Snow quotes.
Lots of other characters have had lots of memorable lines. I’d be interested to see what quotes the community would select for each one.
Also, just for the fun I’ve it (and if it isn’t a hassle to set up), how about conducting polls to nominate and vote on the top quotes for each character?
With one of those figurines for a prize to a winner chosen out of those who correctly predicted the top vote getter ?
…..
Ten Bears,
This is so unfair and condescending.To my understanding most people not only use spoiler coding but specify when they are talking about the leaks.There have been leaks and spoilers every single season and Wotw has always been very forthcoming with spoilers.People here obviously are very big fans and want to discuss the show with all the information they have available.And I don’t know who these people you talk about are but the main commentators here read the leaks judging by the names I saw during that time.Usually people do wander off during the off season but they’ll be back by the time the season starts.People tried using the forums but the formatting is not ideal for discussion and they don’t want to go someplace else.If someone doesn’t want to get spoiled it’s very easy not to.You don’t have to censor people.
The only “big” issue I’ve had with the site is continuous script errors using Firefox (two separate computers). I use the YesScript addon that prevents the error but it’s clunky. While it’s on if I want to quote/reply or have comment tools I have to turn it off, regen, quote and hope I don’t get an error before turning it back on.
Other than that, while this format style isn’t perfect, having used it daily now for years I’m used to it. Any major changes now could be confusing and make me wish no changes had been made. It happens all the time with websites. 😛
I understand the problems people have with the leak stuff pretty much throughout filming. I don’t know what could have been done about it… and a lot of it was part of filming spoiler posts, which is mostly what we had at the time. The only thing that’s worked pretty well in the past has been two separate threads for the same topic (spoiler and spoiler-free). *shrug*
I’d like to see better moderation of comments, particularly during and immediately after each episode airs where the comments quickly fill up with spoilers and inappropriate, even border-line abusive comments.
My suggestions have already been offered by others, but I’ll reiterate them:
-Please make GOT50 into GOT60. I guess in the last 10 days before Season 7 you could publish the Season 6 recaps.
-As for the future of the site after the end of the show, I think this site should definitely cover the HBO spinoff show if there eventually turns out to be one.
Thanks – you guys are the best!
I really loved the article on here that compared Cersei’s walk of shame to the book version. After the show ends it would be really neat to continue doing comparisons like this to past episodes. As someone who hasn’t read the books yet I find articles like that very fascinating. As others have mentioned, the possible spin-off would also be great material to cover. When it comes to leaks I try so hard to avoid them at all costs. I know it’s unavoidable when it comes the to internet, but what I find that works (on this site) is waiting a few days after an article posts. By then people usually get their comments out of their system and this site will cover up any leaks with reminders to the rest to do the same. It makes me a few days behind on news but, so far, I’ve found this to work on avoiding spoilers in comments.
I hope HBO commissions a spin-off, so the site can keep going.
I think having posts for sullied fans and unsullied fans will be helpful once the season starts airing. There will be a lot of interviews and reviews for each episode, so it’s not like we won’t have anything to talk about. I personally don’t want to make a reddit account and I’ve always used spoiler tags to cover up any spoilers, so I’m totally fine with using them more.
Dee Stark,
I think WOTW had posts where Unsullied fans could discuss the episodes from season 6. Maybe the mods can have more than just one post for unsullied after each episode airs? Of course, sullied fans will also have to put in some effort and cover their spoilers.
most of the comments before me have covered the many issues that people are concerned about. so no need to repeat. there is a con of ice and fire at the end of April (28,29,30th ) outside Roanoke Virginia, and then the aforementioned con of thrones (June30, July 1,2) in Nashville Tennessee. by mentioning this does that mean WotW will be attending ? thankfully i am not to far and i’ll be at both of them.
(Continued…)
• I don’t see how HBO (or Netflix, Amazon, etc,) would NOT commission a sequel or prequel. The corporate suits aren’t likely to let their golden goose just fly off. (Or put it differently, they’ll do anything to keep milking their cash cow.)
I mean this in a nice way: There’s already a built-in audience for a prequel or sequel. They already have facilities and employees in Belfast, and top flight technical teams around the world: only now, they have 7+ years of experience under their belts.
I know Benioff and Weiss aren’t interested in helming a sequel or prequel, but many of the folks who started out as assistants (eg Cogman and Hill) are capable of taking on show running responsibilities without a significant drop in quality.
At this juncture I think HBO would be willing to back into Martin’s driveway Brinks trucks full of cash to acquire any rights it doesn’t already own.
Speaking only for myself, considering all of the dreck that’s on TV these days, I’d want to watch any GoT sequel or prequel HBO produces.
• The way I see it, there’s a worldwide audience immersed in the fictional world brought to life over the past six years. Even if some of the characters change, viewers will want to continue to visit that world.
I know I would. I’d watch a weekly Hot Pie cooking show. [Another commenter came up with a witty title for such a show a few days ago…] It’d surely be more entertaining than the so-called reality garbage and dumb “comedies” I see when I flip through the channels.
• Finally, by the time GoT ends in 2018, I’m sure we’ll see the world premiere of the eagerly anticipated ASOIAF shows created and produced by all of the brilliant commenters and self-professed experts who’ve excoriated “Dumb & Dumber” as amateur “hacks” and “fanboys” making cheap “fan fiction.”
I’m sticking around for the prequels and I hope you do too.
The comments section often freezes up on me. I don’t know if switching to Disqus would help – that often freezes on me too at other sites, though not as much.
I have to wonder if these two sentences have anything to do with each other. 😉
I imagine that there’s some technical reason that would be costly or a major headache to fix (such as changing servers) explaining why responses to particular posts cannot be organized in threads right under those posts, the way a certain other GoT Fansite That May Not Be Named does. My biggest complaint about WotW (when the more hostile, personal-attack-prone regulars are away, at least) would be the fact that it’s often laborious to figure out what previous post a comment is responding to – especially when the person posting uses Reply instead of Quote.
And speaking of hostile regs: Even when opinions are strongly held and divisive, the atmosphere on this site is so much more pleasant during the off-season, simply because a few of the more aggressive individuals are avoiding spoilers. Part of me dreads the onset of the TV season knowing that they will be back, and that I will once again have to put up with being scorned and vilified for my opinions, because the mods do not seem to want to intervene. I would like to see a little more policing when disagreement descends to the level of personal put-downs. Most of us are capable of sharing this sandbox nicely.
Create an entirely separate site like the one for WW (twitter feed sidebar and all) for the last 2 books where spoilers are allowed. Well, there probably wont be much to post there besides those GoT theories posts that I loved. A separate site for a prequel may be needed.
1. You’ve got to be able to do something about the cached view when I load the page. This behavior doesn’t occur on other sites I visit. The page takes long enough to load initially for some reason (ads?). Having to reload it is quite annoying.
2. I’d echo Firannion’s comments regarding threading replies to comments.
3. WotW is still the best GoT fan site out there. Keep up the great work.
Afterthought – Con of Thrones looks like a great event. Too bad I’ve got family vacation plans during that time.
Jenny,
No, no, and no.
Nothing I wrote is “condescending” or “unfair.” We could engage in a lengthy philosophical debate over the morality and legality of stealing, disseminating, and using an artist’s creative work, but I already doscussed that extensively a month or two ago; so did Maisie Williams in an interview reported on this site.
So for now, let’s just say we agree to disagree. Then, what it comes down to is a question of fairness: Who should be protected? Those who want to discuss the illegally filched and disseminated contents of S7 scripts without restriction or regard; or those of us who do not want to have our experience of S7 (the way the creators present it) ruined in advance by an anonymous thief’s counterfeit knock-off?
Look, I understand our perspectives differ on this. I have been unable to embrace the concept that someone’s hard work and creativity can be ripped off, hacked, plagiarized, “sampled”, copied, and preemptively diluted… and so long as it’s broadcast over the Internet before the perpetrators can be stopped, somehow it’s all fair game.
Setting that aside for a moment, you oppose my proposed solution because:
” People tried using the forum but the formatting is not ideal for discussion and they don’t want to go someplace else.” .
You’ve identified the competing interests:
On one hand, there are “leaks-averse” community members who can no longer participate without risk of infection (because virtually every post contains uncovered comments about “the leaks”, or obvious references to them).
On the other side are “leaks-embracers” who chafe at the inconvenience of using the forum section, and do not want to go to other sites.
This is exactly like the debate that played our many years ago about “smokers’ rights” vs. protecting others from second-hand smoke lung cancer and emphysema. Smokers didn’t want to have to go outside, and believed they should be able to light up anywhere and anytime. Their feeling was if “it bothered other people, well, too bad; them go somewhere else.”
(In less enlightened times, airplanes had smoking sections – as if circulating smoke-contaminated air in a tube somehow safeguarded everyone.)
Nowadays, no-smoking bans are universally accepted in the workplace and all public places. People who like to smoke can still smoke, but simply need to step outside or go to designated smoking areas. Smokers still get to smoke, but other people aren’t forced to breathe in the fumes.
Sure, it’s an inconvenience to smokers to have to go to a specially designated section, or leave the premises entirely. They might think it’s not fair; that there’s minimal risk that their second hand smoke will actually harm anyone; that non-smokers are oversensitive whiners who should just deal with cigarette smoke; or that nobody should be able to regulate the composition of the air everyone breathes.
You know what? If you feel that forum sections’ “formatting is not ideal for discussion”, don’t you think the equitable solution is to propose a revision of the formatting?
Flayed Potatoes,
I agree
I think there needs to be more than one unsullied specified posts because I find that unless it is the UNSULLIED post… the comments are filled with spoilers
Firannion,
And what about those who constantly shit on the show or think we are stupid for liking it,those are ok right ?
Jenny,
Actually i’m pretty sure most of the people don’t specify what type of spoilers they post so some may be confused that those are book spoilers and there are some that forget to even do it,there were countless of times that i saw leaked spoilers uncovered in the teaser thread before a mod covered it for them,sorry we don’t live in your perfect world where everyone is responsible and don’t just assume that everyone has already read the spoilers like they did . Only one slip up is necessary for a major plot point to be ruined for that someone wanted it to be a surprise .
First of all I love this site. it has added to and aided my viewing of this show exponentially- there have been times when I didn’t thoroughly “get” what I watched and coming here to read everyone else’s ideas made things clear. Or times when I got so emotional ( hold the door) I needed this site as catharsis. I might have abandoned the show during this long wait between seasons if not for WotW.
I think the mods do a pretty excellent job of keeping the nasty haters and trolls off. I have ventured to other sites and quickly left because they were mainly full of vitriol and attacks on other posters. I don’t have the time or desire to read attacks. There’s enough nastiness in the rest of the world – I don’t seek it in my spare time.
That being said, I’m groaning at people asking for a ” thread” based content. That makes it so much harder to find new content. I like posting early in the day then coming back and working from the bottom up to see all the new comments. In an article that garners hundreds of replies, that means you have to spend hours going through every darned reply to see if there’s something new. I was kindly taught early on that if you want to see what article was being replied to, just double click the names in blue, that takes you right to the original article.
Thanks again for this site. Can’t wait for season to start
Regarding the leaks and spoilers. I am spoiler averse and it sucks balls that I can’t participate in the way I would like because some idiot stole IP and posted it on Reddit. I agree with Ted Bears so far 100%.
However I understand as well that there’s basically nothing to be done about it. The problem is that people around here cannot keep their damn mouths shut (a problem with any anonymous online space). Even if the site were to officially ban spoilers, the conversation would still become contaminated. Look at what happened with the last 2 seasons and the leaked episodes / synopsis. Yes, while technically people weren’t supposed to discuss the leaks people still did in an oblique way. Like making certain “predictions” that somehow turned out to be exactly spot on even though they seemed pretty off the wall. And there’s really no way for WOTW to stop that.
Fact is people like me and dee and others have to stick to Unsullied threads if we don’t want to be spoiled. And even there you’re gonna have some people making leading comments and suggestions about our predictions about what’s to come. But oh well.
I am currently torn about Con of Thrones – it does look interesting but the main hesitation is that I have a professional meeting I need to go to directly afterwards… Currently I have hotel reservations at the Gaylord Opryland – I would be happy to pass those on to someone else (or at least split the room) if anyone’s interested.
Like everything in life, it all comes down to personal responsibility. If people would simply follow the site rules, then there would never be a problem. But of course, a lot of people do not take responsibility seriously, which leads to dopes posting spoilers in here indiscriminately.
I’m afraid there isn’t much this site can do to stop it. You could designate certain forums for spoiler-related conversations, but I have no doubt that at some point the conversations would leak their way onto forums that are supposed to be spoiler free anyway.
I suppose maybe have a 3 strikes and you’re out system or something to that affect. If you break the rules a certain number of times, you are banned from the site.
It’s a difficult thing to regulate and police. If only people would simply be responsible human beings then none of this would even be necessary.
To: Oz, et al.
Q: “Have an idea for new features? Coverage? Topics of discussion?”
A: For “Topics of Discussion”, I would suggest:
•. “Unsolved Mysteries” and “Unanswered Questions.”
I figure there are at least 8 or 9 “big ticket” questions awaiting explanation and resolution. (We got the (tragic) answer to why Hodor was named Hodor and only said “Hodor”, but I wish we hadn’t. ?).
For example:
1(a) Is Hit-or-Miss Melisandre’s designation of Jon Snow as the “Prince that was Promised” accurate? Could it be Dany or someone else?
(b) What about Melisandre’s
recitals of the Lord’s Chosen (Azor Ahai) prophecy? At the Dragonstone beach bonfire and the Stannis-Renly parlay, she identified Stannis as the Lord’s Chosen, but obviously she was wrong. Who, if anyone will it be?
2. If the show tracks the books and the
, who are the candidates and what are their respective “odds”?
3. Why did the White Walkers go off the grid, i.e. why did they turn against their creators, the COTF? Didn’t the COTF install an “On-Off” switch ?
4. What’s the meaning of the slide show of images Bran sees in his visions ? Most are glimpses of recognizable events and people we’ve already seen, but why are these images juxtaposed with one another, and why are they significant ?
5. What was Lyanna Stark whispering to young Ned at the Tower of Joy? Maybe Jon’s given name, but what else ?
6. What exactly happened with Rhaegar running off with or kudnapping Lyanna? Considering the conflicts they had to know would ensue by disappearing without a word, why would they do that ?
7. Dragonglass and (limited supply of) Valaryan Steel: How will they be harnessed against the WW?
Who buried that Dragonglass cache at the Fist of the First Men, and why ?
8. If the WW were defeated a long time ago, how was that accomplished?
9. Why have the WW returned? Were they just sleeping beneath the ice for thousands of years?
10. What does Howland Reed know (the 3ER name-dropped and pointed him out to Bran during their visit to the ToJ fight)
11. How is Bran going to help defeat the WW?
12. What did the 3ER mean when he said Jojen died so Bran could regain what he’d lost? It wasn’t use of his legs. The 3ER also told Bran he’d never walk again, “but you shall fly.” What exactly did he mean?
13. Who if anyone among the “known” characters is going to turn into a Wight?
14. Is R’hillor real? If so, why does he/it seem like a schizo? He brings people back to life, but apparently likes roasting them to death too.
15. Do the WW have an agenda? Or are they just locked into a “crush the beetles!” mode as applied to all human beings.
16. Is there any significance to greyscale beyond just another population-decimating problem that humankind will have to deal with ?
17. What caused “the Doom” of Old Valarya? A natural disaster, a science experiment gone wrong, or something else ?
…..
Note: My apologies. I cannot edit or condense.
I love this site! I check it everyday once a day, or more times when I get the email alerts about a new post. It always has the latest breaking news for any or all GoT stuff. Love it!
What about a chat room where we could log in and chat with each other, maybe even do live episode viewing parties where we talk about the episodes as they are on. We could even schedule rewatch of old episodes and chat about them together.
Any artwork that’s presented for public viewing is fair game for criticism. And even the people who are most consistently negative about the show occasionally bring up valid points. I don’t think it’s conducive to lively discussion to try to squelch those contributors who tend to be pickier about the showrunners’ creative decisions, any more than it would be fair to try to ban people who don’t like one or another of the books particularly well.
In no instance does it seem appropriate for anyone here to be calling anyone else here stupid on account of their tastes, or otherwise insult them personally. Our disagreements should be about the content, not ad hominem attacks. Otherwise it leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths and they won’t enjoy coming here anymore. And we would be all the poorer if someone got disgusted and left, as everyone posting has something of value to contribute to the discussion.
Lots of good ideas here! Speculation about the series’ unresolved mysteries, however tinfoily, is always entertaining to me.
Another way to rephrase one of these questions might be, “What ‘clues’ or ‘foreshadowings’ do you think are most likely to turn out to be mere red herrings, and why?”
I don’t think Firannion was actually saying that. He/she may prefer the books to the show (I don’t know that of course and it’s not for me to put words into his/her mouth). Dragon BF I just wish that people would be civil and agree to disagree in a courteous manner (and I’m not saying that you are uncivil – far from it, just making a general comment).
I haven’t found the two most recent series of the show noxious the way some book readers have (and yes I have read/listened to audio version of the books). I don’t expect everyone to agree with me on everything. I’m glad that there is at least some sort of ending in sight with the show – but then without the books there would not have been a show, but to me it seems a great pity that after the first three ASOIAF books the time taken for new instalments to be published has been very long.
Now, to what should happen with the website. The suggestion someone made about continuing with whatever spin-off HBO decide to run with (it seems very likely there will be one). I wish the Forums were used more but as the saying goes you can take a horse to water but you can’t make him drink so Forums can be/have been provided but visitors to the site can’t be compelled to use them. I’m a spoiler avoider but some YouTube videos I’ve liked in the off-season have been Smoke Screen’s foreshadowing – what you missed videos (I’ve avoided his prediction ones for obvious reasons), Teflon TV’s recasting Game of Thrones (although I haven’t always agreed with his choices) and Secrets of the Citadel’s ones about the history of Westeros (which would probably please people who like the history and lore features on the GoT DVDs. She did one comparing ASOIAF back history to something in British history (the civil war between King Stephen and Queen Matilda). I know in various parts of the internet some folk have done Robert’s Rebellion fancasts. Perhaps such a fancast could be a “fun” thread here or would it be deemed too lowbrow!
Ten Bears,
I’m pretty sure smoking is not the same as reading a Game of thrones spoiler but okay lol.Nice try at trying to shame people for reading the leaks cause I’m not ashamed and don’t regret it.Even though at the time I read them me and many people didn’t even they were tue.Anyway I wish you luck in your endeavour to completely avoid spoilers in fan forums for a show this and rid the internet of people ever talking about them .I’m sure it will go as well as the dragon demand endeavour to replace D&D as showrunners.
Thank you all for the feedback. Keep it coming!
FYI.. we are listening. Early Saturday morning around 2am EST, we will go offline for around 15-20 minutes to make a change to our php and mpm. Hopefully this will aid many of you that have intermittently encountered slow load times.
Firannion,
What is “the Fansite that May Not Be Named.”
I can only guess you referring to what I call “Pop-Ups are Coming.” (On the rare occasions I’ve clicked on it, my screen is plastered over with ads, and crashes a few seconds later.)
Or maybe it should be re-names “CutandPaste.net”, because most of the time all they do is copy WoW posts verbatim without attribution. Well, they do make some changes: whoever over there re-types WoW’s text always includes some typos and misspellings of names.
Agreed, although it still occurs in the off-season to a degree. There are select posters who seem to be able to say almost anything without a filter, and others that are jumped on no matter what they say because people don’t agree with them for other reasons. Knock it off. I’m 75% grumpy, and even I find the levels of snark pretty sad at times. It’s generally a really informative site with well written articles.
Westworldwatchers , didn’t know about that.
Now wish there was a ExpanseWatchers!
18. How come Art Parkinson had zero words of dialog in Season 6?
Mr Derp,
Yeah, I know. People should be able to show consideration without prompting.
The thing is, all it takes is one careless or inconsiderate comment to infect the whole discussion. All too often, it’s under a post title that has absolutely nothing to do with the S7 “leaks”, so it’s not as if a prudent member can assume it’s safe to join the discussion based on the title.
It’s unfortunate that some longtime commenters whose comments I’ve enjoyed reading have gone into self-imposed exile to protect themselves from “the leaks”; and it’s sad that still others are so apprehensive to engage that they feel compelled to ask “Is it safe?”
This kind of thing just irks me. I’ve always said half-jokingly that there ought to be a Constitutional Amendment stating that whoever’s first in line at a red light must be ready to move when it turns green and cannot be texting, daydreaming, yapping on the phone, or putting on makeup.
Because all it takes is one self-absorbed person to screw it up for everyone else.
Firannion,
Well, exactly: Separating the “background noise” of incidental details, from the significant facts deliberately inserted to foreshadow and justify future developments, is one of the intellectual challenges.
The funny thing is, the better the acting and more compelling the action, the easier it is for me to completely miss some of those signposts.
As for red herrings: I’ll be the first to admit that I’m prone to cherry-pick a few small details and bundle them together if they support my wishful thinking/tinfoil theories. (I think the psychology term for this is “Confirmation Bias.”)
With 60 total hours of episodes to harvest from, there are enough background details and visuals to dissect out and take out of context to support the conclusion that Hot Pie is The Prince that Was Promised, Azor Ahai, the Valonqar, and a secret Targaryan. [Yes, I know. He IS all of those things.]
Ten Bears,
Lol, I hear ya. Maybe there should be a “Ya Know What Really Grinds My Gears” forum.
In all seriousness, trolling is a major problem throughout the world and I don’t really know how it’s ever going to get better unless people start taking personal responsibility for their own actions. Unfortunately, there’s a better chance of a Syrio Forel return than that ever happening, so, for now, I find it’s best to ignore trolls rather than to stick em with the pointy end. They feed off the negative reactions and attention. The less attention they get, the quicker they’ll slip off back into the shadows of their parents’ basement.
I have nothing but praise for WotW and its crew! It’s the first time I ever participate in this kind of sites and I’ve encountered a (for the most part) amazing community with whom discuss aspects from the show and the books…
I share the same concerns as Ten Bears regarding S7 and the leaks… Since WotW and many regular commenters have fully embraced the leaks, the main problem I see for us spoiler-free folk are people discussing those leaks over and over after every episode… Usually, they are polite enough to cover their leak references, but that doesn’t always happen… Most of the time it’s an honest mistake when they do not cover them, but a mistake nontheless that ruins the enjoyment of people (like me) with spoiler-phobia. Maybe each post could be mark with “leaks-discussion allowed” and “leaks-discussion free” tags, in order to let us know which posts are safe and which are not…
We have a policy in place already about discussion of spoilers and the leaks. People should be following it.
Jenny,
I agree. People want to discuss what is available and in depth. They should be able to say what they want, within spoiler code when appropriate.
Guesses outside the bell curve of ideas commonly expressed here should not be deleted either.
To: Oz & Co.
Two more suggestions…
• (For after the show concludes in 2018): I’d be interested in following the careers of the actors who’ve made names for themselves on the show, especially the child actors. When I go back and rewatch S1e1, Isaac H-W, Sophie T, and Maisie W were little kids. Now they’re young adults. It’s almost like we’ve watched them grow up, so it’s hard not to root for them to be successful.
Then, of course, there are a host of incredible Irish and English character actors on the show with impressive resumes, but with whom I was barely familiar if at all, unless they were recognizable from parts in American TV and films. I hope the exposure from GoT gets them more recognition and bigger roles.
I’ve always appreciated WoW’s reporting about the show’s actors, their other roles and their charitable endeavors. I’d continue reading about them if the site covered them.
•. Is it possible to have “dedicated” comment sections now and then? What I mean is, occasionally discussion in a comment section will veer off from the main topic of the article into a thread devoted to an interesting question posed or observation made. (Which explains how a post can start off about the Hugos and wind up as a Hot Pie Appreciation Thread.)
14. So far, the red religion is the only one to be effective – causing some wounds to no longer threaten the body (Victarion’s hand/arm), and returning some humans to a form of not-dead. These people could be said to be cyborgs. Also, the Azor Ahai prophecy exists only in this religion, not generally in folk beliefs.
15. The Valyrians and WWs have slavery in common, if you call being a wight a form of slavery.
16. Greyscale could be the agent that the Valyrians used to flow and harden stone into their famous Roman-like roads and castle walls, and bestone dragons and gargoyles into Dragonstone walls and crenels. Shireen was born in Dragonstone, and mayhaps some Greyscale lingered to infect a vulnerable baby. Could greyscale affect wights or WWs?
17. Some feel the harm that lingers around old Valyria is radioactivity.
Whatever level of fire is required to fight WWs might be geothermal (volcanic) or nuclear activity. If the Valyrians were put on Westeros to fight the ice-based WWs, mayhaps they needed to master the hottest temps they could generate. Also note that there is volcanic activity on Dragonstone and geothermal activity in Winterfell.
I would like to see explanation and reveals of all the mysteries, including the underlying science of Westeros magic. And if it is a red herring, I want to see that explained as well. Volume 8? Post season 8 reveal series?
I don’t usually get into comparing differences in the show and book versions but once I tried to cover something because it might be a possible book spoiler for people who hadn’t read the books and might like to read them in future and the spoiler code didn’t work for me (did I put in an extra space unwittingly). Maybe one could have a plan B – putting in something like
book spoilers
book spoilers
book spoilers
just in case the spoiler code doesn’t ‘take’.
I appreciate that the people who run this site put in their time to do so for free and have their other commitments to their jobs and families to maintain.
Marlana,
Oh Marlana, I want some surprises in season 7 though! That’s why I’ve avoided (as far as possible; haven’t been able to do so 100%) spoilers for that season.
Dame of Mercia,
These are my guesses.
Marlana,
I thought Shireen got greyscale from a tainted doll sold to Stannis by a traveling salesman, not from Dragonstone’s walls.
At least that’s what a Stannis told Shireen in the uplifting story that concluded with “You are the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. And you are my daughter”… ??
Speaking of which, it was really fun to watch Michael McElhatton, who was so chilling as Roose, play a totally kind, brave, loyal and benign character in The Zookeeper’s Wife!
Another discussion that would be of interest to me would be one in which viewers who are good at spotting homages/references to other books, movies, TV shows etc. share them with the rest of us who had them zoom over our heads. I know about the bit where the champion who challenges Dany’s followers to single combat outside the city walls uses taunts that were translated into Valyrian from the lines of the French knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and I’ve heard speculation about other Python references in the books. But there must be loads more shout-outs to other icons of pop culture that just aren’t that familiar to me. It would be fun to try to put together a compendium!
Firannion,
It’s not only “icons of pop culture.” When Richard Adams died, GRRM wrote a lovely post where he mentioned two of Adams’ less well known (i.e., not Watership Down) books, Maia and Shardik. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that there’s a character named Meris in Maia (1984), and one named Pretty Meris in ASoIaF.
And there’s the island of Oakenshield, which of course shares a name with a certain dwarf king we know from The Hobbit.
I understand there are quite a few references to H.P. Lovecraft as well, none of whose works I’ve read. (I know, I know. I need to get on it.)
Ten Bears – 100%
Jenny,
1. I’m not saying you should feel ashamed for reading the leaks, or that you should regret doing so. That’s your choice. I think it’s morally reprehensible to do so, but I would not presume to pass judgment on you.
Rather, since there are “leaks-averse” members who consider “the leaks” to be the equivalent of noxious fumes, there’s no reason why the “leaks talkers” can’t accommodate them by stepping outside or going to a designated section.
And 95% of the “leaks talkers” recognize this, and at least insulate their infectious verbiage with grey spoiler coding. It’s the other 5% that make it unworkable and unfair to everyone.
To me, “the leaks” are an intellectual carcinogen.
They are not “canon”, and they should not be accorded the same dignity as GRRM’s writings or the showrunners’ authorized visual adaptation. I do not trust the integrity of a purported plot summary prepared by an anonymous, untrustworthy crook and his subreddit co-conspirators. I think they should all be identified and indicted once S7 concludes.
You see it differently. I understand. But it’s really not asking too much to accommodate those of us who disagree with you
2. You have likened my belted that commenters should abide by already-existing moderation policy, with the campaign of The Dragon Demands to replace the
Benioff and Weiss.
Should I feel honored by being included in such lofty company? ?
Firannion,
Oh, I didn’t know Roose was in “The Zookeeper’s Wife.” Even if he’s playing a completely different character, I hope he’s still got that… that… voice.
Jenny,
PS. Jenny: Let’s not go back and forth over this anymore, okay? You can tell I feel strongly about it. I’ve written about it in the past, and don’t want to rehash it all again.
If you’d like to have the last word, feel free.
Ten Bears,
Don’t worry I have no desire in going back and forth about it.I hate when people do that considering it’s a moot discussion cause neither of us will change their minds.I am very much in agreement with the spoiler policy already in place and do my best to follow it but you were advocating for something else.Just wanted to express my opinion.
Firannion,
That’s a fun little tidbit about translating the French Knights’ taunts in Monty Python & The Holy Grail into Valaryan!
I thought I remember watching an interview in which Benioff or Weiss said they used the very same castle on GoT that was used in the Holy Grail.
On another occasion, one of them said they are always aware of the danger of GoT’s stories of knights and kings coming across as the very kind of stuffy medieval tale that Monty Pyrhon was mocking.
(I know I can’t be the only one who pictured Jon Snow’s corpse complaining “I’m not dead yet…I’m getting better….”)
Ten Bears,
The fact that you think its morally reprehensible means that you are passing judgement, just saying. And really, if you think spoilers and leaks are morally reprehensible, what on earth to you call real life horrors, such as gassing civilians or splitting up families to deport them?
I only joined this family at the end of season 6, and that is what it is – a family
I eagerly visit this site every day, excited for news, disappointed if there isn’t any, but I always smile when I read the comments. There is a warmth in this site, and I love it. I have only commented a few times, asking ridiculous questions everyone probably already knows the answers to, but they have only been replied with kindness and grace.
I even now know some of you by name and get excited when I see your takes on the topics.
I adore you. Those who give us the news, and those who comment. I’ve not many friends I can openly geek about Thrones with, and I count you as a sort of family.
Thank you xx
Love, Eilidh
Eilidh,
I like your comment very much. Not only it voices what I feel, but it also has an open and warm tone which makes it reach the target.
Do you think you could post that a bit more prominently? As it is, the only info that’s in every post about using spoiler coding refers to book spoilers, not to leaks. “Have you already read all the books and/or don’t care about spoilers? You can reveal/hide all the spoilers in the comments with the click of the buttons below.”
Yet a lot of people are using spoiler coding to discuss leaks. So now I have to leave it on out of fear of leaks, even though I’m a book reader. Is that what they are supposed to be doing?? If so, could you please change the description of waht spoiler coding is for?
Yes, that’s what I find most appealing about this site: that one can “openly geek” amidst kindred spirits, rather than be viewed as an obsessive lowbrow idiot by one’s co-workers or other acquaintances who don’t follow the books or the show, and who change the subject anytime one brings it up. I remember reading somewhere that in Victorian times, to call someone an “enthusiast” was considered an insult. I guess we geeks are the contemporary version of that!
Anyway, welcome aboard, Eilidh, and thanks for the kind words.
Yes, he does – although he is much more seen than heard: mostly caring for animals and helping to rescue both animals and people from the Nazis. I suppose what the two characters have most in common is a great deal of discretion.
A Dornish Tyrell,
Just so we’re clear: I put “the leaks” in quotes in part to distinguish the stolen S7 scripts’ contents from what we customarily classify as “spoilers” eg casting news, actors’ locations, and photographs in public. (In fact, many times it’s the actors themselves who post on-location photographs of themselves on Instagram or Twitter).
And even as to such “spoilers”, WoW uses deliberately vague post titles and bold red font to warn of possible “spoilers” under the cut. That way, we can consciously choose whether to be exposed, and proceed (or not) at our own risk.*
That’s completely different from being ambushed in the comments section by someone explicitly describing “the leaks”; or predictions that purport to be based on already-aired episodes but are preceded by phrases like “As the leaks confirm,…”
I didn’t set out to get into all of this (again)….
* I appreciate these safeguards. Some fan sites that warn of “spoilers ahead”reveal the spoilers in the title itself; most of them only care about having a “click bait” title that generates traffic.
Firannion,
Roose Bolton caring for animals and protecting people and animals from Nazis ???
This I gotta see.
(He doesn’t betray them all to Hitler at the end, does he? Or give baby animals to Dr. Mengele for experimentation? )
Ten Bears,
I agree with most of your arguments
I also think that the leaks (not filming spoilers from paps catching filming and stuff) should have been completely forbidden from this site. But alas, It is not my website , thus my opinion doesn’t even matter
I’ll just be treading carefully and be much less involved next season. Most of my comments usually express how much I am obsessed with the show, how much I loved an episode, perfection, yadayada and I’m sure people don’t like hearing that all the time especially when most people disagree hahaha
ash,
“The leaks” (from stolen S7 scripts) are morally reprehensible.
Real life horrors “like gassing people” and “splitting up families to deport them” are unspeakable crimes against humanity and atrocities.
There’s no comparison. It is morally reprehensible (and criminal) for a burglar to sneak into a widow’s home and steal her wedding ring. It’s morally reprehensible for a pawnbroker (fence) to buy it.
It would be morally reprehensible for an impatient book reader to infiltrate GRRM’s publishing house, photocopy the rough unedited manuscript for TWOW, and post it online.
It would be morally inexcusable to hail that person as some kind of hero to the masses.
Stabbing the widow to death on the way out would be an unspeakable atrocity. Releasing poison gas inside the publishing house would be a horrific, barbaric act of pure evil.
Separating children from loving, fit parents by deporting them is morally repugnant.
I’m not sure what you were getting at. That there are real world horrors of a greater magnitude than stealing and exploiting someone else’s creative work doesn’t justify the latter. Lots of things in this world are abhorrent to me. It just so happened that stealing and ruining GoT S7 was germane to the site discussion.
Oh, damn. And here I was, hoping for a nice lighthearted dispute about whether the image in the post is of the Night King or a White-Walkered Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun…
(For the record, I know damn well it’s the Night King, but I hate it when arguments devolve into “…BUT THE REAL WORLD!”)
Ten Bears,
I agree with you and maybe I should’ve made the same distinction as you had… WotW’s crew has been very careful not to be explicit and/or “clickbait-y” in their post’s titles… and I’m forever thankful for that.
What I wanted to express (probably very poorly) is the feeling that we spoiler-free folk will be walking in a minefield… I’ve already seen some people discussing “predictions” followed by the “as suggested by the leaks…” and a spoiler tag, which kind of gives away plot points from the leaked scripts…
Maybe I’m overreacting (that’s entirely possible). After all, this is how people who haven’t read the books must have felt all along in the comment section in the previous seasons, and they still enjoyed the show and this fansite… In any case, I think I’m going to be extra careful when commenting on the episodes here when S7 begins.
Please, don’t deprive us of your enthusiasm!! I’ve always enjoyed how committed you are to the show and how fiercely you defend it. 🙂
Ten Bears,
Okay, this needs to stop. The point is this post is to discuss feedback in all sorts of ways for the site. It was not about the leaks, a very old topic by now. And right now, quite frankly, you’ve more or less hijacked the post by declaring the leaks morally reprehensible and going on and on about it. I think you’ve made your point. I’m tired of the arguing. That is NOT what this post is for.
Everyone has made their point about the leaks. Please move on to other subjects. There’s lots of areas we can improve on, add to or change to make the site better so let’s talk about those, rather than incite people to continue arguing about the leaks.
I don’t think we can rule out the GKPs (Giant Killer Penguins) just yet….we need Lulu’s Mom in here!
Dee Stark,
You’re mistaken. People do “like hearing that all the time.” They share your dedication, and like your upbeat attitude.
There are more than enough people out there whose first and only impulse is to nitpick, criticize and condemn. If there’s some kind of self-gratification to be derived from bashing someone else’s accomplishments, I don’t know what it is.
It’s refreshing to know there are still some people who retain the capacity to appreciate and enjoy. If you could put your positive outlook in a bottle and sell it, you’d make millions.
Trust me. It’s the cranky, bitching and whining we don’t like hearing all the time. Besides….
It’s a great f–cking show! There’s so much to like. There’s every reason to be obsessive about it. I am.
Pigeon,
LMAO!!!
Ten Bears,
Totally agreed. As both a book reader and a show watcher (the show came first), there are quite a few things about the adaptation that I’ve disagreed with the writers about… but I rarely discuss them in this forum. I’d much rather discuss the things I love (which far, far outweigh the things I don’t) and where we might be going next. And of course, I love reading the posts (from contributors such as Wimsey) that delve into other literature and television and provide deeper insight into the world of ASoIaF.
Sue the Fury,
As for the topic of this post: I’ve been wondering for a while how on earth I’m going to fill the giant post-GoT hole that’ll be left in my life when it’s over (I mean that in all seriousness). I really like all the suggestions made here thus far. I would add one that may or may not be practical for a site such as this: a dedicated page or forum where people who actually wish to meet other WatchersotW IRL can find each other. I realize privacy is a very, very valid concern for most of us… and hey, that’s what usernames and dedicated email addresses are for!
As I’ve noted on a couple of posts, I attended the GoT Concert Experience with my daughter and one of her best friends last Sunday, and before the show we met with someone else from WotW. It was my first experience meeting someone IRL with whom I’d only communicated online, and as it turns out, it was wonderful. It’s almost freaky how much we have in common besides GoT.
Sue the Fury,
I’m so sorry. To you and everyone.
If there’s a way to cleanse the irrelevant comments, please let me know. The purpose of your post was to invite constructive suggestions. I should have confined myself to responsive replies.
Jenny,
Right On! I stand with you on this.
I generally love this site and already visit if for many years and I do hope it stays around for the pre/sequels. Some technical improvements for the comments sections would be some up/down voting and highlighting option similar to slashdot, for example. In particular it would help with ignoring those off-topic posts hijacking the discussions occasionally (you know the ones like above or all those why everybody loves/hates a certain caracter…). Luckily the atmosphere on wotw is overall very positive and polite such that these off-topic issues are not too terrible.
Suggestion for slow times:
In between seasons (and books) nothing better occupies time than theories and speculations. I would recommend this site add a regular scetion for guest columns that outline peoples’ ideas on where the series is headed and what things really mean, from the smallest details, to the key events. People could volunteer to submit their columns.
Now, speculation and theory threads on fan forums tend to turn into flame wars and can be profoundly annoying. So my first, and I think key suggestion would be to block comments on these columns. The people who write them could give their ideas names, making it possible to refer to them when commenting elsewhere, however the theories or ideas themselves should just be put up as pieces that people can take or leave as they wish without any battles needing to be fought over them.
Another important element in my view would be to require column authors to have a consistent position regarding whether their ideas are show-based only, drawing only on show evidence, or show and book based theories drawing evidence from both. As for book only speculation, while interesting, it doesn’t really seem to belong on this site.
I agree with TenBears ideas about Unsolved Mysteries and going in depth about it or doing simply posts for each of the main characters : favourite scenes, lines.
Firannion,
The Zookeeper’s Wife? Is that the new movie with Jessica Chastain in the lead role based on the real events? Vaguely remember the trailer but not sure. I’m really big on history and movies based on the real events.
Would love to have a link beneath each poster’s comment, so we can quickly ‘like’ their comment. That’s all.
Love visiting this site.
Firannion,
… Would love for Firannion’s suggestion about putting poster’s replying commentors under their particular thread!!!
This would make navigating the threads Sooo much easier, seeing and replying to the threads that interest you and been able to ignore others.
(…effectively bypassing those argumentative or tedious ones) :o)
How about the ability to down vote other’s posts. I’ve found nothing else fosters such a sense of community than being able to tell someone they suck so efficiently.
I have been told off by my line manager about talking about GoT too much! So now my colleague and I whisper about it in dark corners. Lord only knows how we will go on when the series starts!!
Oh no! If I missed that opportunity, then will it ever come again?!?!?
Sue the Fury,
Well the current and future leaks issue is one place for improvement
Other than that I have always felt the comments section needs to be improved.. the set up of comments is not very user friendly especially when there’s a lot of comments on an article. I and others have mentioned this before but it’s never been changed, partly because I think I think it is difficult for the site to change that?
Everything else is great!
Ten Bears,
A Dornish Tyrell,
Thank you ❤️❤️
Heh, true! Seriously, though, it’s often easy to miss replies when the number of posts becomes really high. It might also make it easier to avoid “parallel” discussions.
I’ve spent years in the ASoIaF and GoT fandoms on multiple sites under various names. Mostly, it’s been an enjoyable experience.
However, I’m ready to be free and move on, maybe to another fandom, or maybe just to a new hobby. I’m ready for the end.
As to next off-season, this site has been my go-to for reliable spoilers, but I suspect those will be few and far between during the next off season. While unanswered questions or mysteries is interesting, I’d enjoy discussions about the production as well. How each character’s costumes have changed and how it reflects that character’s evolution would really be interesting. I’m also interested in set design and lighting, but that isn’t for everyone.
I’d like posts that drill down into production and not just expound upon theories.
Fandoms always are pretty fluid. People come and go: and sometimes they return, but not always. In all reality, if Spring ever comes out, then it will be years and years after the show is done: and by then it will be nostalgic for a lot of people, and simply no longer of interest to many others. And many of the people keen to read it are not currently invested in GoT.
19. What’s deal with R’hllor? Across six seasons we have had Melisandre of Asshai , Thoros of Myr (at least kinda sorta) , Kinvara* and a couple of anonymous Red Priestesses, explicitly and implicitly refer to the ‘great war’ (with the Others to use the book term). … So is the religion of the Red God gonna side with Danny? I mean straight up? What is the purpose of all the R’hllor jazz?
*Ania Bukstein apparently does not appear this season, which I find disappointing ,her scene in S6 was loaded with implications , dripping with implications, where does that go? Thoros is back , does he take up that story?
Some say Mel is back , I have seen nothing that confirms this.
I have always found an even more basic question, i.e., how do you adapt a story from one medium to another? to be really interesting. There is also “going with the hot hand”: how do you recognize that, say, a secondary character like Robb Stark has the potential to be a more prominent character, and stuff like that.
It is associated with “Unsolved Mysteries” but the “Unfired Chekhovian Guns” makes for a (dwindling) but interesting list. R’hllor definitely is a gun that still is on the mantle after a prominent hanging.
Ten Bears,
There are three classes to these. One are mysteries set up in the series and that demand answering within it because the characters have. “Who is Jon’s Mother?” is the obvious case.
A second is about background detail. The Doom of Valyria, for example, is not a question central to the story. It could come up incidentally, but the characters themselves never have demanded it. Moreover, as it does not affect any of the main characters in a “I AM your father!” sort of way.
The third would be guess work. For example, guessing which characters might be killed or turned into wights is, well, guessing. Harry Potter fans did the same before the last book, and the guesses were pretty random. There might be cases of foreshadowing or even prophesized death (you know which one!), but that could go into a different discussion: what prominent foreshadowings are there?
Cumsprite,
Yeah, lets stay away from the like/dislike buttons. They really serve no point except to piss people off and send them away. You don’t like what a person posts? Then reply, using real words to express yourself.
I too wish there was an easier way to navigate the thread. It would help me if posts were actually numbered – that way I could mark down the number when I get up to do something, then easily come back to it when I return. Another would be to nest threads that are responses to others together, like I’ve seen elsewhere. Tho at this point not sure trying to totally reprogram the site to do that would be worth it; people who are here seem to know how to navigate it without much trouble, tho I’d still like posts to be numbered
I too love those kinds of discussions, find the whole meta part of literature really intersesting (I actually did like my English Lit classes and probably drove my fellow students insane). I really enjoyed the series that looked at the book and show (think it was Axe who did them?) and think they can still be done – looking at where a character was going in the book, or look at a certain theme from the book and compare it to how the show adapted it.
I feel like the well has run dry on adaptation issues. The posts on that have become repetitive and, quite frankly, boring. I’ve not read anything interesting on that topic since…season 4. Furthermore, we no longer have the source from which the show is being adapted, unless Winds is released.
I was leaning much more to a production analysis, leaving aside the tired adaptation questions. I’m sure some people might find that interesting. I’d find it a re-hash.
This urges me to tell you a joke: How do a Star Wars fan and a Gone with the Wind fan salute each other?
“I’m your father!”
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!”
I hope it is funnier than Missandei’s translators joke 🙂
::blinks:: You mean…there are people who don’t??? : O
HotPinkLipstick,
I do agree that the production information is amazing Ive watched all those extra videos HBO put out; it really never gets boring
I think there is still some book comparisions that could be interesting, esp in regards to the difference of Cersei in both. But Im suspecting more people are here that haven’t read the books and perhaps that wouldnt be germain to them (that would be an interesting question btw – how many read the books before the show? How many during? how many never?)
Another possible use for the site – those of us who loved ASOIAF, most likely had already been reading fantasy by the time they got there. Might be interesting to look at the literal antecedents to the story – not just the possible historic connections (I find them rather loosely related, personally) or to Lord of the Rings, but to many other books and authors that we read which led us to Martins books, and perhaps many other books and authors that were later influenced by ASOIAF
Having been a serious Potterhead a decade ago definitely did not help my career. I was in a sort of mid-level position (grantwriter) at a not-for-profit organization at the time, and the ambitious managerial types mostly looked down their noses at the idea of being into something so…not perceived as particularly intellectual or political. I quickly learned to discuss theories at work only with a few of the administrative assistants, who tended to be nicer and more down-to-earth people anyway. ( But I still carry a little foolish pride over being the first person in that particular environment to have spotted that Snape loved Lily!)
I suspect that chatting about GoT around the water cooler is a bit more socially acceptable than that, these days, but I couldn’t attest to it personally since I now work from home.
Yes, that’s the one. Like most “based on historical events” movies, it does take some liberties, of course – mostly at the expense of the character who is made out to be the primary villain. But it was pretty well done, I thought.
I think I’ve been in fandom too long because I’ve had my fill of historical parallels, comparisons with other novels, both fantasy and not, and the differing opinions and analysis of pre-show bookreaders and post-show bookreaders. Not to mention the mythology discussions. I’ve said my piece on those issues years ago. It’s worn me out.
To keep me interested, I need things which are new. That was my initial thought on costume analysis, say with Cersei, Dany and Sansa. Also how the costuming relates to the set. If we have the coming together of characters who have never before shared scenes, I’m interested in how the costuming, positioning and lighting is going to reflect the power structure of that interaction. That’s all going to be something new, something rarely discussed or the surface only scratched.
I like the behind-the-scenes ‘making of’ videos as well. Unfortunately the snippets they show of the artisans at work often seem too brief to give a real sense of the creation process. I would like to see them record the making of a prop, costume or piece of scenery from start to finish, say in stop-motion, and then play it back speeded up. (Unfortunately, that’s not something that WotW can help us with.)
So much skill, time and effort goes into the art direction of GoT, and it seems criminal to me how briefly these exquisite creations end up onscreen. Some even end up on the cutting-room floor. I hope that when the show is all over, there’s a permanent exhibition like the one they have for the Potter films at Leavesden Studios.
Those behind the scene videos is what I was talking about – and you are right, there is much they leave out. I like the idea of focusing on one prop or costume and doing a play by play. They do that with the scenes that show CGI, which I also find endlessly fascinating
HPL, I understand. This is the first time I’ve really gotten so much into any kind of show or film (Castle was about as close as I got and became quickly sick of some of the more over the top fans that I left) but I can see how they might not interest you anymore. I do think, given how much of a hole this site will have when the show is over, they can include it with all of the other ideas people are sending in! Something for everyone! 🙂
Sacrilege!!
It’s a big leap for the WotW people to guess what will be the next big fantasy-TV fandom. Season 1 of Westworld was well-crafted and pretty intriguing, but it didn’t engage me so intensely that I would feel like there was a hole in my world if I totally missed Season 2. Maybe that’s just because I don’t normally spend much time watching TV (in fact, I went a couple of decades without watching it at all). Perhaps there are enough Westworld enthusiasts now to support such a site, but I for one probably wouldn’t be checking in very often. Your mileage may vary.
What I do hope to get thoroughly caught up in next is American Gods. If it doesn’t do reasonable justice to the book, I will be sorely disappointed. Neil Gaiman’s deep involvement in the project makes me hopeful, though. If the folks behind WotW end up deciding that AG has enough buzz to support creation of a fansite, I will be there from Day One. There should certainly be enough to discuss for lovers of world mythology and folklore and Jungian archetypes and whatnot.
BTW: The countdown to the season premiere has reached 100 days.
Firannion,
omg yes! That book was so amazing, read it twice (the second time with the mythology website nearby). Should start reading it again – its next week, right?
ash,
Yessssssssss I would want this
Did you know he came out with a Norse mythology book in February’
I bought it but haven’t read it yet
ash,
Number 2 all day!
Now concerning the focus of this site after the show finishes, just make it a site about the books. That’ll give you years more worth of people coming here!
April 30 is the premiere date.
This week I get to write a preview of a talk that Neil G is doing at Bard College on April 15, discussing the adaptation! I have had someone trying to get me an interview, but he has been out of the country way too much of late. Still, it will be fun to do an article where I can let all my pent-up fangirl energy gush out.
Seconded! I’d totally be down with writing and reading reader-submitted columns (if Sue, Luka, Petra et al. could possibly stand to read through such things).
Shy Lady Dragon,
LMAO!!!
HA! So true. The world is full of asshats who look down their noses at people who read SF and fantasy or children’s literature and YA, and Harry Potter falls into both categories. I encountered the same attitudes when I read them, to which my response was something along the lines of, “I’m still going to be enjoying Harry Potter when I’m 90. And Tom Sawyer, and Heidi, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and every other book that continues to speak to the inner child (and imaginative adult) I refuse to let die.” Suck it, killjoys!
I agree with Ten Bears on pretty much all of their points. And I’ll add my voice to threading the comments so we can quickly skip through all the hater posts, (hopefully) conveniently located in one place. Not opposed to the ability to “like” posts either, but I’d be “liking” 90% of things.
Thank you for making such an awesome site for us GOT obsessed nerds.
I’m not going to lie. ASoIaF/GoT has owned me for a while now. I’m like an indentured servant at this point. I can’t imagine the freedom of not checking four different websites each day for news, spoilers, cast sightings and photoshoots. Think of all the free time I’ll have!
I enjoyed Westworld, but I’m not even remotely attached to it. I don’t think there will ever be another series, book or show, that will hold me the way this one has. I’ll miss it, but there will be other things to fill that time.
Sacrilege, I know. But four years from now, I expect I’ll be amazed I’d become so enmeshed at all.
Dee Stark,
I heard about that and with my medical stuff it just flew under my radar. Yes, I do need to get that!
WallyFrench,
About what books,we don’t know if there will be anymore books, maybe Winds may come out in like 2020 but after that i’m pretty sure it’s done and you already have sites like westeros.org or tower of the hand that mostly focus on the books,having a third one would be redundant .
Firannion,
Oh Im jealous! He was here last week, and of course I was sort of laid up – heard he was wonderful. Be interested in your write up
WallyFrench,
Um…..there’s been at least one of these for a long long time In fact if you google ASOIAF – discussions it will probably lead you there. Was on there when I first started reading the books a few decades back. It started getting weird when the show came out and haven’t been back
Or are you talking about the books that are to come? afraid that ship has sailed….
First of all, thanks for creating and maintaining this awesome site–it really helps ease the pain of the long wait between seasons!
My only suggestion for improvement is to see if there’s anything you could do to make the site more compatible with the Chrome browser. For some reason after awhile it stops refreshing and it’s impossible to access new posts without switching to Safari or clearing my history. I have never had this problem with any other website and it only started when you updated your software. I tried someone’s excellent suggestion to only open your site in an incognito window, but for some reason even that fails to refresh after awhile. Thanks again for all your hard work!
mmk,
Ive had that problem as well. Going to incognito helps a bit, but yeah, it just all freezes up and I have to clean my cache (which granted I should do anyway, but this doesn’t happen with any other website) Its not happnin as much as it used to but when it does, its quite bothersome. Can this be fixed?
DragonBallfan,
True, but when the show is over there will be no new tv based material to cover. Plus I come here, I don’t go to those sites.
ash,
I was talking the books to come. They will release, I have faith! 🙂
I know they have other sites, but the question was what do we do with this site when the show ends. That was my 2 cents.
I tip my Internet cap to you.
I confess, I found mine boring and took it purely to get the humanities credit. 2 or 3 years later, I was dating a grad student studying literature, and I realized that it could have been a fascinating course if it had been presented properly. I learned more about literature from her in a couple of weeks than I learned in that course! (Turns out that she was a natural at biology, too…. 😉 )
Wimsey,
Thank you, good ser, but I’m not the one who made up the joke.
I love this site and I’m grateful to the mods, I never get tired of repeating that.
So many good suggestions have already been given, but I ‘d like to add something even if I don’t know whether it were feasible. I’d really like to be notified when certain people who make my day with their comments have posted other witty and insightful stuff. It would be ideal that everybody could adjust the settings for their own favourite posters.
WallyOscar,
Hee, I do hope you are right. Hope spring eternal and all that… 🙂
Shy Lady Dragon,
Hee, really. Actually if you go to the right side of the home page, you’ll see ‘recent posts’ and ‘recent comments’; sometimes you can pick up on those names. But its rather hit or miss. Perhaps having a Favorite page or something?
HotPinkLipstick,
I’m quite interested in the historical parallels though I suppose the most obvious ones (Red Wedding/Black Dinner) have been discussed quite liberally. I’d had a thought in my mind for a long time about something of Cersei’s visit to Maggy the Frog reminding me of something and I realised it was a scene in the 1945 (even before my time) film The Wicked Lady with the titular wicked lady being played by Margaret Lockwood. Barbara (i.e. TWL) and a companion go to have their fortunes told and Barbara’s fortune is so bad that the fortune teller doesn’t want to tell it. Of course there have been loads of films/books involving fortune telling scenes so it’s probably just coincidence.
As for the books/show “holding” a person – well this show did prompt me to seek out the books (partly because I wanted to know what happened next – this was probably season 3/season 4 time so there had not been so much deviation from the novels in the show then). The books are very difficult to find in my local library though – at one time – don’t know if they’re still there – there were uploads of readings of the novels (by Roy Dotrice) on YouTube; I don’t know if they were legal uploads or not. Before that I remember the early 1980s adaptation of East of Eden/strong> – which was actually more faithful to the book than the iconic film with James Dean – made me interested enough to get the book out of the library.
Firannion,
I’ve avoided Neil Gaiman like the plague because of his pompous remark about a certain writer not being anyone’s bitch. Are his novels worth a whirl? Somebody can be pompous and still be a good writer.
Gaiman’s novels range from good to great. I don’t know that I would consider him pompous, either: those remarks about GRRM did not strike me as such. He seemed to be telling us to get off of George’s back!
Really? You find that pompous? As someone who puts food on my own table by writing, I see that as merely a fellow writer defending the profession against consumers who imagine that they own you because they once plunked down a few dollars for one of your products. I cheer him on for saying that. Becoming commercially successful at an artform shouldn’t mean forfeiting control over one’s own creative process, I don’t think.
I suppose that some folks perceive Neil G as ‘full of himself’ on account of the fact that he was one of the earliest authors to catch on to the PR potential of social media, and has learned to use them often and well. But he is famously afflicted with Impostor Syndrome, and always strikes me as a sort of kid-in-a-candy-shop who still can’t believe that he got this lucky.
I had an opportunity to be introduced to him once, and found him friendly (in a British sort of way), approachable, curious and encouraging about my own work. He has also sometimes responded to my responses to his tweets and Facebook posts. My son was in one of his classes last year and found him funny and more down-to-earth than most of his professors.
So we’ll have to agree to disagree on that particular quote. His writing is exquisite and evocative – witty or creepy as needed. American Gods, as I’ve said here more than once, is my favorite novel of the millennium so far. But I wouldn’t recommend starting there; it’s so dense with mythological references that I found it time-consuming to read, because I kept going off on research tangents. Neverwhere is an easier way in, I think, or The Graveyard Book.
Give his writing a try, for sure!
I really love this site, I have been following it daily for 2 or 3 years now (I can’t remember). I rarely post, but I enjoy reading so many articulate posters like Jared, ACME, Wimsey only to name a few.
Like someone said earlier, this site is a bit of a family or close friends for me.
I like the idea of a “Like” button (only a like one, I don’t see the point in saying you didn’t like someone’s post, just forget about it.)
I really hope this site will keep going after GoT is over eventhough I know it’s a lot of work for Sue and the crew and I’d understand they decide to fly to other horizons.
Thank you so much to the team and all posters who participate to this website.
Dame of Mercia,
I’ll second Wimsey and Firannion on this one. I burst out laughing when I saw Gaiman’s defense of GRRM, which I definitely didn’t see as pompous.
On another note, I’ve read only a few of Gaiman’s novels (and several poems I’ve encountered in fantasy anthologies), and I love his work. He happens to be a friend of a friend, and I’ve been told that IRL he’s very generous, warm, funny, and humble about his incredible depth of knowledge and his writing talent.
I can’t wait for American Gods!
Dame of Mercia,
Well, at the time I thought Gaiman’s comments were on target – but even if they weren’t, his work certainly shows his great talent. If you haven’t read him, you probably don’t want to start with American Gods. The first I heard of him was finding the book The Good Omen that he wrote with Terry Pratchett, another fav of mine. Its still one of my fav rereads. Later I read Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Coraline, short story collection Smoke and Mirrors, and just about everything else he wrote. Ive not loved everything he has written but have always marveled at his way with words. Just sayin 🙂
Firannion,
I always thought the “bitch” remark came in retaliation to somebody asking about a certain writer taking so long between books and (to me) it does smack a little of talking down to someone. Perhaps NG had strong feelings when he posted it. The wait between books can be frustrating though personally I don’t think it’s worth losing sleep over when the next volume in a series is to be published. I think he (NG) could have phrased what he said more tactfully, though an argument could be made for the original questioner not putting NG in an invidious position by asking him something possibly contentious about another writer. I’m quite prepared to agree to disagree. I don’t expect every other person to hold the same opinion as me – it’s when people infer I need a brain transplant because I hold a different point of view to theirs that I get miffed. (I’m not saying you’re inferring I need a brain transplant, Firannion, I’m just mentioning it because well the internet can be toxic sometimes, though not so much on this particular site).
As for NG using social media, you’ve actually told me something I didn’t know. I have never signed up for Facebook or Twitter (though some people I know say they are useful especially if one has friends overseas or even a long way away in one’s own country) so I don’t know anything about Neil Gaiman on those platforms unless I read about it somewhere or somebody mentions it to me.
I don’t know what went wrong with my earlier post but I meant to embolden the title of “East of Eden” and ended up typing the wording after it in bold instead.
ash,
Oh btw, he recently wrote A View From the Cheap Seats, explores a broad range of interests and topics, including (but not limited to): authors past and present; music; storytelling; comics; bookshops; travel; fairy tales; America; inspiration; libraries; ghosts; and the title piece, at turns touching and self-deprecating, which recounts the author’s experiences at the 2010 Academy Awards in Hollywood. He is passionate about reading and storytelling, about writing and about supporting writers. This might be a place to start to get a sense of the man, before you go on to enjoying his fictional work.
Firannion,
Ahh, Neil Gaiman. Did you ever read his infamous “Entitlement Issues” blog post where he tells people George Martin is not their bitch? Right before he launched into a screed about jerk fans who expect serial writers to write (the one titled “Entitlement Issues”, ya know, it’s going to be about entitlement dontcha see?) he opens with this:
“The world is a good place and I am behind on work because American Airlines doesn’t have proper power points in International first class like, er, all the other airlines I’ve flown on in the last few years. (They offered to sell me an adapter for $150 to plug in the battery-dead computer, and I probably should have said yes to keep working, but was so outraged, and had decided not to fly American in future, so it would never have been used again, and said no.)”
If he can complain about his accommodations in first class, readers can complain about Martin’s work ethic. Or is it only people who can fly first class that are permitted to grouse?
Gaiman can jump up his own ass.
Pigeon,
HI feathery one *waves all ’round*. Haven’t been here for a couple of days and just seen your comment. I didn’t make up the GKPs; well not completely. They were foreshadowed in the behind the scenes documentary in the run up to S5 (very cleverly hidden mind you, I seem to be the only one who spotted the references).
TormundsWoman,
If you didn’t see me squeeing hi lady lovely to see you again at you in the other thread, I’m doing it again here. Squeeeees Tormund’s Womaaaaaaaan. Missed you, lovely to seee you again!! 😀
Eilidh,
Hi Eilidh and welcome to the Wall 😀
I don’t know why I’m so quiet here. I’ve followed this site (and its predecessor) for five years. I feel like I know several of the writers fairly well, which is a mystifying feeling given that y’all don’t know me! I’ve greatly enjoyed my time here, though. I think maybe the reason I’m quiet is that I’m more of a forum guy, but I’ve kind of always preferred the fast-paced nature of the discussions my fellow fans have held here in these comments sections, so I just… sort of… read along and smile. Among my friends group, I’m the Thrones guru, though, and that simply would not be the case without the many wonderful things I’ve read here.
My biggest wonder is for what comes next, after the series has concluded. You know, I mean. I’m much louder on my Star Trek sites. (Lifelong Trek guy, here. Born in ’87. Grew up on the 90’s shows. Live long and make it so.) With Trek, there was this damnable drought ever since ’05, but we stuck together. We held the line. We got folks invested. Showed them that, yes, there’s some bad stuff in there, but it’s a good franchise. Now a new show is coming and things will get loud again.
I want WatchersOnTheWall to be the Thrones site to hold that line. I want you beautiful people to keep on keeping on. There’s a lot more to be said for the show once the curtain falls for the final time. And speculation to be held on the last book(s) thereafter. And Con of Thrones. Oh, Con of Thrones. That’s another thing about Trek; those conventions have helped keep life in all the quiet years. Game of Thrones will be no different. I look forward to a decade and more of attendance and all sorts of great new insight into the making of the show. Be here for that, Sue. Be here for that, Oz. All of you. There’s still fun to be had.
That’s my two cents. Just stay awesome.
Lol, my comments are marked as spam. But at least it’s nice the site let me know that! Just saying hi to Lulu’s Mom and letting Oz know that the page loads fast on slowish mobile network. Whether it is the update or the weekend slow traffic not sure. But thanks for working on it.
TormundsWoman,
Hi honey *big grin and lots of waves*. Hope to see more of you! Perhaps the new IT system has been set to sarcastic by accident? Spam indeed. It started with us having to get rid of apostrophes and is now apparently judging us on content. Harumph! 😀
Yes please, both of these. The threading would be particularly useful for those of us who live ‘overseas’ and so come to the discussion a bit late, or who aren’t on this site every day for various reasons (work, other things, family, music practice or whatever…), to help keep track.
And also, please, a ‘like’ button…???
spaewife,
A “like” button is nearly as divisive as an “unlike” one.
I am 100% behind this.
This site is a gem. I think you do a great job of avoiding spoilers by having readers opt-in to reading an entire article.
I love any and all news about the show, and it’s a great place to discuss plot and theories in a less cumbersome format than AWOIAF. I go there for background and history and discussion of the different religions.
I’d keep this same site for the prequel because it’s so much a part of the GoT story. It would be nice to just come to the same bookmark. News is news and if there are any stories about GoT that come up after the series ends, I don’t see an issue with getting that info along with prequel info.
It looks like there’s someone else behind Jon in at the very end.