The Telegraph interviews Jessica Henwick and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers

84098A really nice interview just dropped out of thin air, courtesy of The Telegraph!

Two of the three Sand Snakes, Nymeria Sand (played by Jessica Henwick) and Tyene Sand (played by Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) have just turned up, and I’m thrilled to say they talked quite a bit!

(Good on ye, Telegraph!)

The third (and eldest) sister, Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes) was not present for the interview, but we still got some decent dish on her directly from the other two.

Rosabelle_Laurenti_SellersI strongly suggest you read all about it HERE, because there’s a lot… but of course I have some highlights:

(Yes, there are mild spoilers.)

Sellers reveals that Tyene is the youngest sister, and confirms she is the daughter of Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma). It’s also confirmed that Nymeria is the daughter of an Eastern noblewoman who died in battle.

Henwick states that Lady Nym is the most strategic of the three, though Sellers states that Tyene is not adverse to using poison. Henwick also states, “If Obara has an obstacle, she just goes right through it.” All three daughters are said to have been raised with an inborn hatred of the Lannisters.

Henwick states that there is also a slight resentment toward Prince Doran (Alexander Siddig), since “if he had gone [to the wedding] then [our father, Oberyn] wouldn’t have died.”

I was amused to note that Henwick, when told she had to use her fake whip in fight scenes, basically just said “screw that” and used the real one. She’s exceedingly confident in her whip skills.

The show seems to be taking Dornish culture seriously. Sellers states, “Women have equal rights and you don’t have to be married to someone to go to bed with them.” Henwick follows with, “It’s not a patriarchal society,” and adds, “Gender is a sliding scale. It’s interesting, it’s very different from anything we’ve seen. But of all the places I’ve seen on Game of Thrones, it’s the place that I’d want to live.”

Axechucker

111 Comments

  1. Fantastic interview. As you say, it’s pretty lengthy, and actually goes into the characters a little bit. Unlike a lot of people I’m pretty optimistic about Dorne, and I definitely get the impression that there is a lot of chemistry between the Sand Snakes.

  2. They seem like cool ladies!

    Can’t wait to see them in action.

    Also – I’m glad Nym (And I assume also Obara) aren’t the daughters of Ellaria.

  3. wizardeyes,

    Agreed. I think its a reasonably sensible decision to make Tyene’s mother Ellaria though. There needed to be a more substantial link between Ellaria and the Sand Snakes, although any more than one of the three would have been too many.

  4. That was easily one of the best interviews that we’ve seen with any member of the cast in the lead-up to Season 5. The interviewer asked some good questions about the Sand Snakes’ backstory and their motivations, how the three sisters relate to one another, and what it was like to join and work on such a massive production. Jessica and Rosabell were both surprisingly forthcoming with their answers, and offered some strong insights into their characters. I particularly loved Jessica’s quote about how Nymeria is the most strategic of the three sisters. That, and Rosabell’s quip that after all the time that Jessica has spent training with the whip, she’s basically Indiana Jones. 🙂

    Hopefully, this interview will help to assuage some of the concerns (unfounded, I believe) that the Sand Snakes are just going to be carbon copies of one another and that going to Dorne is just an excuse to add more blood and hot women to the show. I’m really looking forward to seeing Dorne on screen, and these characters in particular.

  5. Jared,

    Yeap, fantastic interview.

    I’m also looking forward to Dorne. There are some great actors and potentially great characters here, and Jaime and Bronn are favorites of mine so the fact that they’ll go to Dorne only increases my excitement. Now, let’s hope the related subplot is up to par with all that potential. I’m personally quite optimistic 😉

    Henwick’s comments comparing Nym and Obara remind me a lot of their differing proposals at the beginning of AFFC: Obara just wants to go to war, while Nym wants to be more surgical about it and will content herself with assassinating the four leading Lannisters. I imagine we’ll see some of that. Maybe it’ll get adapted directly! In fact, the Entertainment Weekly issue had some of Obara’s dialogue from the books, almost verbatim, though it was transplanted into Ellaria. There’s some major diversions, obviously (the inclusion of Jaime, the lack of Arianne), but the original Dornish story is still very much there in some respects. If Ellaria & the Sand Snakes intend to crown Myrcella, it means the plot will be pretty much the same, except with them instead of Arianne & her many cohorts. If that’s not happening… I’m not so sure how this story will go, specifically.
  6. Wow, i love that the show is keeping the parentage and the individual personalities of each Sand Snake. Some people thought they were going to be relegated to a “Charlie’s Angel” type of role, but it seems they are sticking with the books…

    Tbh, I think this season won’t be as huge of a divergence as has been hyped.

  7. I’m actually getting excited about Dorne, finally. They can’t really do worse than the books!!

  8. HelloThere:
    Tbh, I think this season won’t be as huge of a divergence as has been hyped.

    I agree. It’s become sort of a thrill to say they’re diverging more and more, which especially the actors do. Which is weird, given that most of them haven’t read the books or haven’t even read the entire script.

  9. Dutch maester,

    Yeah, the last two books broaden the story so much that so they just have to cut some stuff and some characters have passed the end of their book material. So we really don’t know how close their storylines will be to their role in TWOW. But other than that they’re sticking pretty closely to the books.

  10. Dutch maester,

    In a way, it’s a good strategy —which I’m sure the actor’ve been fed, to an extent. Judging by what I see on r/asoiaf on reddit, as a result of this narrative some book readers are expecting a season of completely invented material. They’ll will be pleasantly surprised when, in fact, most of it is still —of course— based in the books.

    For example, some review of the premiere mentioned that 5×01 “felt like nothing came from the books”, but we’ve got a comprehensive description of the episode, and whole scenes have been adapted directly from the books. In fact, it seems some chapters have remained pretty much intact— in particular “ASOS chapter 76, Jon XI” and “ADWD chapter 10, Jon III.” Others are also recognizable, though with some adaptations —”AFFC chapter 7, Cersei II”, Tywin’s funeral; and “ADWD chapter 1, Tyrion I”, in which Tyrion is given a new purpose, except it’s Varys instead of Illyrio in the show.

  11. I cannot wait to get to Dorne. I have no idea why so many people have already judged and condemned this plot line.

  12. So I think I officially love Jessica Henwick? Any actress who revels in with fucking shit up with an 8ft bull whip can have my heart

  13. This interview makes me excited… no Charlie’s Angels… just three fiery fiery characters that clash on everything but have a common goal. And this time they won’t spend half the storyline

    locked up

    hopefully…

  14. Luka Nieto,

    Trimming the fat from books 4/5 actually makes me realize this season has some the greatest moments in all of ASOIAF

    Walk of Shame
    Daznak’s Pit
    For the watch
    House of B&W
    Hardhome

    In fact, i think it has more amazing moments than any previous season.

  15. Luka Nieto,

    Yeah, I read your outline for the wiki. Amusing how the entire episode is based on book stuff, with the exception of

    the Loras-Olyvar scene

    , but that’s logical as the character doesn’t exist in the books.

  16. HelloThere,

    A compact season which adapts AFFC/ADWD successfully could be the best Game of Thrones season yet, you’re right 😉

    Dutch maester,

    Each scene that’s been described to us has a basis on the books; in some cases the chapter has been adapted completely; in others a scene or two from a chapter have been mixed in with others to create a scene in the show; and in others a few details from a chapter have been used in the creation of a new scene.

    So, it’s true, the scene with Loras is the only one with no basis on the books. However, it is still setting up something that happens in the books: Loras’s downfall, which will be because of the Faith Militant in the show instead of at the Siege of Dragonstone. So, though the scene itself is new, the subplot to which it belongs (Cersei arranging Loras’s demise) is still from the books.
  17. Luka Nieto:
    Dutch maester,

    In a way, it’s a good strategy —which I’m sure the actor’ve been fed, to an extent. Judging by what I see on r/asoiaf on reddit, as a result of this narrative some book readers are expecting a season of completely invented material. They’ll will be pleasantly surprised when, in fact, most of it is still —of course— based in the books.

    Yes, I agree.

    Book purists have had extremely high expectations of the fourth season and they generally disliked it because of that.

    Now, they think that the entire season will be “fan fiction” and they will be shocked to discover the opposite.

    I think that fifth season will be the most successful so far.

  18. mau,

    Not that the general opinion of book purists (or book readers, for that matter) is a good predictor of the overall sucess of the season, but I still agree —some book readers will be pleasantly surprised. Others will still hate it, of course. But, as I said… does it matter?

  19. The sand snakes in the books always had potential but didn’t really do much. However the end of Feast/Dance made it seem like they were going to do a lot more.

    I am liking the way the show appears to be bringing them to the forefront earlier. Dorne wasn’t my favourite part of Feast/Dance but I’m excited by what little I know of series 5.

    I am one of those that loved feast and liked dance but those two books really needed to be trimmed into one book. I think D&D are going to do a good job condensing the material while leaving I’m most of the interesting stuff. I have some quibbles but without having seen the show nor the upcoming plans I can’t negatively comment.

    Can’t wait for the premier as I’ve been mostly spoiler free.

  20. Luka Nieto:
    mau,

    Not that the general opinion of book purists (or book readers, for that matter) is a good predictor of the overall sucess of the season, but I still agree —some book readers will be pleasantly surprised. Others will still hate it, of course. But, as I said… does it matter?

    It’s the Internet, the negative voices always seem to be the loudest.

  21. Luka Nieto,

    Yea, the Loras/Olivar scene is new.

    I am not a book purist, but I generally don’t like show Loras. Book Loras was known for being an amazing warrior, and for an astute reader, they might figure out he had a deep romantic relationship w/ Renly.
    Show Loras is “that gay guy”.
    But its overall a nonfactor in my assessment of the show

  22. HelloThere,

    Agreed. Hopefully they’ll do something more with the character this season. For the first time since season one (or maybe… ever?) he’ll be an integral part of a particular plot, so I have some hopes…

  23. Jared:
    Hopefully, this interview will help to assuage some of the concerns (unfounded, I believe) that the Sand Snakes are just going to be carbon copies of one another and that going to Dorne is just an excuse to add more blood and hot women to the show. I’m really looking forward to seeing Dorne on screen, and these characters in particular.

    To be fair, the entire dismissal of Dorne-criticism was based on a few things:
    – Arianne not being in/replaced by Ellaria, which is fair criticism I guess..
    – Criticism on the Sandsnakes being carboncopies, based almost solely on their armor.. Which was stupid to begin with.. -.-
    – But probably more importantly.. The weird “lovestory”-plot concerning Trystane and Myrcella, which hasn’t been debunked.

    Luka Nieto:

    A compact season which adapts AFFC/ADWD successfully could be the best Game of Thrones season yet, you’re right

    Each scene that’s been described to us has a basis on the books; in some cases the chapter has been adapted completely; in others a scene or two from a chapter have been mixed in with others to create a scene in the show; and in others a few details from a chapter have been used in the creation of a new scene.

    Except that Loras may have set up a ruse at Dragonstone, if you believe that theory. If he gets caught and imprisoned by the Faith, then that theory/plot basically flies out of the window.
  24. Great interview!!! I’m more hype than I was before. Dorne will not disappoint at all.
    Jessica Is mine tho, and no one will deny it from Dorne to the wall.

  25. Interviews were among the best yet for anything GoT, and reinforces my idea that Dorne is one of the best options for a GoT spin-off location.

    What happened to the thread concerning episode 5-7 titles and synopsis, were they April Fool’s joke come early?

  26. Zeus:
    The sand snakes in the books always had potential but didn’t really do much. However the end of Feast/Dance made it seem like they were going to do a lot more.

    Welcome to the bandwagon all of you Dorne-doubters!

    Zeus I agree that the Sand Snakes have more to do in WoW. The leaked Arianne chapter

    has one of the younger Snakes traveling with Arianne to meet up with YG. She is headstrong and wild (think: a Dornish Arya) and I got the vibe that she will play a role going forward. Perhaps the younger of the show!three will take on that part of Arianne’s story.

    I cannot wait to see Dorne in all of its glory!!

    Ser Gerold Dayne,

    Wazz up, bro (or is it cousin… or uncle)? 🙂

  27. HelloThere:
    Trimming the fat from books 4/5 actually makes me realize this season has some the greatest moments in all of ASOIAF,,,,

    For some, it’s fat. For others, it’s life-saving blubber. I never was worried about the many great moments to come from AFfC/ADwD. Where ya been? We’ve been discussing these for many moons. 🙂 If they additionally throw in….

    Fetch me a block
    The Sorrows
    Angry R&V escaping
    Aemon’s death
    Fire & Blood speech
    Myrcella Queenmaker mishap
    Varys KL treachery, and
    Ser Pounce’s desperate wrath

    then this will truly be a splendid, jaw-dropping season. I have some concerns about WF and Jaime in Dorne, but all is good.

    As for Loras…

    I predict bye-bye
  28. I still dont get how we are supposed to buy these 2 as badass warriors? They just arent that athletic or tough looking! The other one maybe, but these 2, no way!!!

  29. Voice of Reason,

    “Tyene is regarded as treacherous, while maintaining a sweet and pious persona. Areo Hotah thinks Tyene looks as sweet as summer strawberries. She is fair, with golden hair, blue eyes and an almost otherworldly innocence about her.[2] She has soft pale hands but they are as deadly as Obara’s callused ones,”
    http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Tyene_Sand

    Could be perfect casting actually (other than the physical traits)

  30. I’m even more excited about the Sand Snakes, and I was already really looking forward to them. Regarding the comment about the two of them not being athletic or badass looking enough, in addition to the description of Tyene, one of the things said about Nymeria is while she has the beauty Obara may lack, she is no less deadly. In other words, when it comes to Tyene and Nymeria, GRRM tends to describe them in a way which reminds me of the adage about not judging books by their covers.

  31. Voice of Reason,

    Why they should be baddass warriors? They are noblewomen who were free to choose their path unlike all other women in Westeros. This aspect of Dornish culture and Oberyn´s influence, the family drama and the revenge against Lannisters is their main point. Their fighting abilities are secondary to that.

    Apparently they will fail to beat Jaime (a cripple) and Bronn (aging sellsword whose main talent is to play dirty), so i dont get why would anyone think they will be portrayed as another Brienne.
  32. FYI, a number of critics (including SpoilerTV) have tweeted today that they have received their Season 5 screeners.

    This probably is a good indicator that the Maggy E2 review from about a week ago is BS as it’s very likely HBO sent out all the critics screeners at the same time and today is the first I’ve been able to find any indication that anyone had gotten them. Trust me, you tend to hear about it because a lot of critics get excited when they arrive.

    SpoilerTV has said that they will post an advanced review (presumably of all the episodes they got sent) Still no word on how many episodes have been sent to critics.

  33. King Tommen,

    TWOW (Sue) has also been sent screeners. She confirmed on Twitter, based on the screeners, that those extras were not Griff and YG, they were… extras. Anyway, I asked, and it’s 4 episodes 🙂

    There must be an embargo. Did the SpoilerTV guys say when they will upload their reviews? I can’t find their statement…

  34. Crabber’s Son,

    I understand why people hate on Book 4, but I have a lot of friends and family members who read all the books, and everyone I know loved book 5. I didn’t know people grouped it w/ 4 as being disappointing until I came online. I loved it.

  35. Dutch maester,

    Depends. Maybe there’s an embargo and we won’t see any reviews online until… ‘x’ day. It all depends on when the embargo is lifted. Maybe it’s in a couple of days, maybe it’s in a week. No idea.

  36. HelloThere,

    book 5 is enjoyable read, bar a few chapters that are a slog, eg Tyrion seeing turtles, the problem is that it’s slow plotwise and as a result only 90% of the plot actually plays out.

    AFFC and ADWD were one book, and that book still isn’t even fully released after 15 years, so that’s why they’re grouped together as slow/disappointing.

    *disclaimer: I do not speak for everyone who finds book 4-5 subpar

  37. A (really) small interview with Tom Wlaschiha from NY Daily News:

    A bit of a surprise this season will be the return of Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha), the mysterious man from Bravos who killed three men for Arya (Maisie Williams), gave her a coin and then was suddenly able to change his appearance.
    “The whole face-changing thing is really interesting. I’ve read the books but we really don’t know who Jaqen really is or what he’s up to,” says Wlaschiha. “It’s always fun to play a character that has secrets, where there’s some sort of an inner conflict.”
    He absolutely refused to say where or when Jaqen will turn up this season. “But he does,” Wlaschiha teased. “So you’d better watch your back.”

  38. Mormont,

    The ‘turtles’ thing always confused me.

    I’ve read that book a couple times, and Tyrion’s chapters a few additional times, and I can’t for the life of me remember any particular focus on turtles. I remember a paragraph or so in which Tyrion describes the different kinds of turtles along the Rhoyne, and when a gigantic turtle appears some of the guys think it’s some sort of God. But I always found it strange that the turtles are treated as exemplary of the slog that Tyrion’s chapters are for some people.

    Personally, I think a few of the early chapters could’ve been melded together, and there’s a serious lack of climax, as with most other ADWD storylines, but otherwise it’s fine. Great, even, sometimes.

    As for ADWD generally, I think it’s much better than AFFC. But it’d be bloody amazing if it had proper climaxes in the North and Essos.

    Balerion The Cat,

    Nothing we didn’t know already. Though it’s telling that the actor implies that it is Jaqen who is back. So, will he actually play Jaqen, or will it be the Kindly Man with Jaqen’s face, as the leaked script summary reported? I wonder!
  39. Crabber’s Son,

    Yeah, it’s almost too easy to criticize the organization and pace of the latter books. For me, as I discussed with others before, some of the issues would have been solved with a continuation of ALL the characters, and not a grouping approach. Boiled Leather did the trick for me. In any case, I choose to emphasize the positives of the works and not dwell on the negatives. Although, someday I would like to discover where the whores go (GRRM says we will find out too).

  40. HelloThere,

    And there is nothing wrong with that 😉

    AFFC and ADWD together (with Boiled Leather or A Bowl of Beasts) is up there with the best of ASOIAF, IMHO. If GRRM had trimmed down the fat, released both as a single volume, added a few climaxes, and cut back on the cliffhangers and near misses, it’d be the best of the saga. In a way, isn’t that what the show is doing? Adapting both books into a single season, and I’m sure adding a few climaxes —Tyrion will actually reach his destination, for one.

  41. HelloThere:
    All I know is I enjoyed book 5 as much as 1,2, and 3.

    And that’s the only thing that really matters. You can have a book that is critically acclaimed, but if you personally hate it, so what? (and vice versa). Of course, really it’s because of psycho-evolutionary reasons; we want others to like what we like, because of self-verification, self-enhancement, and to survive.

    Although, that’s another issue. As long as people don’t criticise other people for different viewpoints, then it’s all good man.

  42. Luka Nieto,

    The pointless turtle is the pointless turtle chapter because Tyrion starts walking around his boat on the rhoyne looking at turtles and the after a lot of no plot progression the bombshell it ends on is a big turtle in the Rhoyne.

    I read ADWD (and AFFC combined) when I was utterly and all-consumingly hyped with the world of ASOIAF and Game of Thrones… yet that chapter managed to make me pissed. (Along with a few of Brienne’s early chapters and a few of Jaime’s

    However I do agree that if he included the climaxes and end of the book I would forgive all the numerous flaws in a second

  43. Really nice ladies. Follow Jessica Henwick here if you wish. @JHenwick Rosabell is not online at this time(all fake twitter and facebook accounts).

  44. Hodor’s Bastard,

    Yep – all I know was when I slowed down, reread the 2 books w/ Boiled Leather chapter sequence and enjoyed the descriptive world building, I certainly liked FFC and DWD as much as books 1 & 2.

  45. HelloThere:
    Crabber’s Son,

    I understand why people hate on Book 4, but I have a lot of friends and family members who read all the books, and everyone I know loved book 5.I didn’t know people grouped it w/ 4 as being disappointing until I came online.I loved it.

    The problems more people seems to have with book 5 is the fact that two of the key characters of this saga, Jon Snow and Daenerys basically spent the whole novel housekeeping, pill particularly hard to swallow when last time we saw those two characters were “triumphs” moments, very climatic ones: Jon was elected Watch Commander and Dany took the throne of Mereen and committed herself to learn to rule. Mind you, many of those people first read those scenes when the new century was just born, so that didn’t help.

    The other big problem is that from mid-book forward two big, game-changing battles were teased and building up but they never took place.

    Personally, I was/am more incised for the decision that Jon took towards the end of the book

    that was exactly the same he took during the first book: forbade his vows to try to help his family, but this time with much more serious aggravates. Then he was an angry teenager who left his -not-too important post to join his brother in search of avenging their father. Now, he’s the Lord Commander of the Watch and he knows fully well the threat that lurks over the realm and still he decides to left his post and take as many volunteers as he can get, further weakening the Wall. I’m not even going to discuss the consequences that attacking the Warden of the North with an army of wildlings could bring over the Night Watch from a political point of view
  46. Can’t believe that this fantastic Got interview is from an Indian newspaper. Must be a first. Usually we get nothing lol.

  47. Dennai,

    I found Tyrion a lot more frustrating than Jon or Daenerys.
    I could empathise with Jon and Dany as they went through their struggles so I found those plot lines satisfying because I could root for them to get through it.
    But Tyrion… after reading ADWD I completely re-evaluated everything I’d read from him and 180’d on how I view his character. Plus no one likes a travelogue where the character doesn’t actually reach the destination.

  48. SpoilerTV tweets:

    @RobertFruin18
    Just finished watching #GameOfThrones 5.02. It’s even better than the premiere, which was mind blowing. Amazing. @GameOfThrones

    @RobertFruin18
    Just saw the Season 5 Premiere of #GameOfThrones. Just amazing. I’m literally speechless. It’s going to one epic season. @GameOfThrones

    give…
    me….
    season….
    nao…. :'(

  49. HelloThere,

    I never said he does nothing,

    I’m saying I could 1) no longer empathise with his character because he went through it wanting to rape his sister and kill his brother and he abused and humiliated whores and spit barbs at Ser Jorah etc. and 2) he went on a long and meandering journey to Dany in Meereen and stopped right next to it….

    not exactly satisfying

  50. HelloThere,

    I’m really looking forward to all the previews / reviews. It’s really encouraging to read that the second episode is even better than the first, considering all we’ve heard about the premiere. It will be awesome to get some hype about the other two episodes as well. If I’m not mistaken, Dorne should be well in motion by episode four, so we’ll get our first real impressions about that as well. Winterfell, and Sansa and Brienne too, which are all great mysteries.

    Mormont,

    Technically Tyrion did enter Meereen, to act with Penny and the animals in Daznak’s Pit, and he even saw Dany, but they never actually meet. The near miss is even more frustrating, actually.
  51. Is it just me or does the blonde wig in this video looks better on Emilia than the one used in the show:

  52. Luka Nieto,

    tell me about it, and

    she saves his ass from the lions and he doesn’t even find out… and then he’s straight back out into the Yunkai encampment
  53. My opinion on ADWD Tyrion is that his chapters aren’t entertaining because while on one hand, he’s completely despicable, on the other hand, Martin still writes him as witty comic relief.

    So, I think Tyrion’s travelogue and the turtles get a lot of heat is because of the combination of self-indulgent prose (the fact that Martin loves turtles is probably not coincidental- although, who doesn’t love turtles?) and a story about an unlikable character presented as being awesome.

  54. Mormont,

    In retrospect, the show couldn’t have done anything but what they decided to do with him and Jorah at Daznak —if you’ve seen the filming pictures, you know what I mean.

    Jordan,

    Hopefully the show will stand clear of “I will rape my sister.” :/

  55. Jordan,

    Why can’t an unlikable character be witty/comic relief….
    Tyrion is not and was never a nice guy in ASOIAF… The duality is what makes him interesting and is what makes Martin such a genius @ writing these characters.

  56. HelloThere,

    imo I’d say you’re confusing morality with likability. When Tyrion rather immorally arms hordes of barbarians/terrorists with castle forged armour and weapons in Book 1 it’s understandable because they were just about to murder him, and he remains hilarious and likable.

    However when Tyrion says he wants to rape his sister, and abuses innocent whores and makes Penny cry on purpose etc

    it’s just as immoral as he was previously, but it’s not relatable and his decrease in humanity makes him less likable

  57. Mormont,

    And I don’t think thats a problem…. Martin has never written characters to be likable. Your talking about a man who is going through a deep, dark, drunken and suicidal depression. His life is in shambles, hes a convicted murderer, hes lost every single thing in his life, hes on the run to god knows where with no purpose, hes in a hugely dark place and hence he has supremely dark thoughts.

  58. Mormont,

    That’s a pretty huge step up in immorality for Tyrion. He’s always bent the rules, but always for a purpose. Either for his own survival, or during his time as Hand, for the actual greater good. Dance Tyrion is just malicious. I also think Dance is when I started to feel like Tyrion’s wit and intelligence was falling into self-parody. It’s just too much. The guy’s never in a situation where he doesn’t manage to deduce everything that’s going on around him.

    Then I also don’t like book 5 Tyrion because he serves as a delivery vehicle for the Aegon twist, which I think is really lame, but I realize not everyone will agree with me on that one.

  59. Afeastfordances,

    I think that’s a perfect descriptor of what I dislike about ADWD!Tyrion.

    Not so much the second paragraph, since I kind of like that twist, but in terms of Tyrion’s character.

    I think self-parody is a perfect way to phrase it. He’s just too ultra-competent and too over-the-top in his role as witty comic relief (on top of being just plain nasty).

  60. I’m going to derail this currently off topic streak:

    Fuck the books, well maybe not A Game, but fuck the others.

    Let’s start talking about the show again! Yay.

  61. Ok, change of direction…

    One thing I’ve never discussed about the show. When I saw the first trailer, the part that made me the happiest was the return of Diana Rigg. I thought the Queen of Thorns was done from the show, but I cheered when I saw her there!

  62. Rygar:
    I’m going to derail this currently off topic streak:

    Fuck the books, well maybe not A Game, but fuck the others.

    Let’s start talking about the show again!Yay.

    You take that back! The books are amazing and the reason why I have lost sleep in the past. I love the show just as much. Thank the gods I was blessed knowing the difference of book is book and show is show. :p

  63. King Stannis The Purist Slayer,

    I view the author of the books in the same light as a Jimmy Page guitar solo. It’s just two artists coming all over their craft.

    However, I also can differentiate between the two mediums. That was not my point. My point is that this is a thread about the show and we went totally off topic with spoilers galore for anyone who has yet to read A Dance.

  64. Any idea on who B.Cogman was referring to in this tweet:

    “A critic/writer I’ve long admired dissed my show today. (Sniff)”

  65. HelloThere,

    Even if only Olenna’s AFFC scenes from Cersei’s limited POV were included, there’s quite a bit there (she’s quite funny at the wedding!) But of course, they’ll expand the role, as in previous seasons.

  66. HelloThere,

    Why do they keep overhyping stuff? The Season Premiere will be average at best, there’s nothing special in it. It will be better than Season 3’s, that’s about it.

  67. Crabber’s Son,

    Books 4 and 5 were the best books in terms of events and content just terribly edited and organized.

    Not even close. Trim the fat and edit AFFC/ADWD all you want but the story arcs and plot dynamics still won’t come close to the quality of the first 3 books.

  68. I read book 4 and 5 when they came out. I was very disappointed in how they were organized and felt much of it was boring However, after rereading 1-3 while waiting for the GOT 1-3 seasons to start and then seeing how the show told the story, I reread 4 and 5, and actually appreciated them much more. I had more of a background of events and characters, and understood the significance of what I was reading. Still think some parts were a slog, but I ended up liking both books; not as much as 1-3 but still….

  69. Luka Nieto,

    Actually, the opinions of “book purists” probably have a negative correlation with critical and popular success. However, that probably is consistent with what you meant!

  70. Ozymandias:
    HelloThere,

    Why do they keep overhyping stuff? The Season Premiere will be average at best, there’s nothing special in it. It will be better than Season 3’s, that’s about it.

    First of all, who are “they?” Secondly, while you seem to think the first episode will be “average at best” and “there’s nothing special in it,” many, many, many people are incredibly excited for the season premiere. Then again, I guess many, many, many people haven’t already formed their opinion of what the season premiere will be like, given they haven’t seen it, yet. So, you’re welcome to discount it before you’ve even seen it (if you have seen it, and that’s your opinion, you’re certainly entitled to it), but as I said, there are a lot of people really excited for it. I am one of them.

  71. Some minor ep 1-4 spoilers:

    There’s really a wintry atmosphere to Winterfell this season, and the Vale and Riverlands begin to show signs of winter too.
    Sansa is to marry Ramsay as part of the LF-Roose deal, but no actual wedding yet.
    Possibly best scene of the season yet is a Sansa and Reek moment where they recognize each other but can’t acknowledge their real identities (they’re both “playing” a role).
    No LS in sight. Brienne’s still in the Riverlands by ep. 4.
    Varys mysteriously vanishes in ep. 3. No allusion to Aegon.
    A first glimpse into the inside of the White Walker empire (not just their rituals as in season 4 but their actual ice cities), where a gathering takes place, presumably at the behest of the White Walker Queen, who looks amazing.
    Roose mentions Balon as someone who is still alive. No mention of Euron/Victarion.
    Jon namedrops the Greatjon in conversation with Stannis and Davos. Stannis says they will seek the allegiance of Last Hearth.
    Great battle of wits between Aemon and Melisandre.
    Loras is arrested for “debauchery”.
    A major R’hllor uprising is about to burst in Essos according to Varys.
    Ellaria specifically wants Cersei’s blood.
  72. Axel,

    If true, that could confirm that

    the WW from season 4 is the Night’s King. Don’t have much to say about the rest, other than I’m not sure where they are going with Sansa.
  73. JamesL,

    The fist 4 episodes have just been sent out to critics
    some of them were even tweeting about it online

    So its possible that he could have gotten access to one of the screeners that were sent to critics

  74. rex,

    Or he knew that the screeners had been sent out and came up with some stuff.

    Now that the admins have seen the screeners this should be easy to verify or disprove should they care to.

  75. All this is very good and all but WHERE ARE THE SEASON 5 CHARACTER POSTERS ….did they run out of money

  76. Tyrion Pimpslap:
    Axel,

    “I dreamt of a maid at a feast, with purple serpents in her hair, venom dripping from their fangs. And later I dreamt that maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow.”

  77. Yeah, women have equal rights…. bastards not so much, not even in Dorne. And marriage, once it’s official is just as important as everywhere else. Anyway, why is Tyene’s hair so short?? did she have it like that or did they do it on purpose for the show??? It’s will look strange in a medieval scenery.

    Jessica Henwick will be the most beautiful girl in the show 🙂

  78. Axel,

    Come on man, you said minor spoilers! Some of those were huge, not cool!

    Hopefully these are not true, but I somehow doubt it.

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