Tuesday Round-up: Game of Thrones Soulmates, the Magic 8-Ball, Ed Sheeran and More!

Photo: instagram.com/emilia_clarke/
Photo: instagram.com/emilia_clarke/

What a fantasic week this is for Game of Thrones lovers! “Dragonstone” has landed, to overwhelmingly huge viewing numbers, and critics are loving the new episode (except for my favorite buzzkill Neil). Post-episode interviews are flowing and there are even more fun ones today! And this is just the beginning- the best is yet to come, my friends.

Season 7 kicked off with the khaleesi coming home, as Daenerys Targaryen arrived at Dragonstone and found her dragonthrone waiting for her. Today, Emilia Clarke shared a new pic on Instagram from behind the scenes of “Dragonstone”:


“It’s just really complicated, isn’t it?” Gwendoline Christie says to Mashable, in a new interview along with co-star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The actors discuss Jaime and Brienne’s relationship over the years, with Coster-Waldau making a surprising revelation that will make shippers swoon – or rage, depending on where their loyalties lie. “I think they are soulmates,” he says of Jaime and Brienne. “I mean they understand each other like no one else.”

The complete interview:

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Mashable talks to a big ole’ chunk of the GoT cast and has them consult a very reliable source with their Thrones questions- the Magic 8-Ball. Kit Harington, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gwendoline Christie, Gemma Whelan, Alfie Allen, Richard Dormer, Liam Cunningham, John Bradley, Hannah Murray, Conleth Hill, Jerome Flynn, Indira Varma, Isaac Hempstead Wright, and Aidan Gillen are all game:


Mashable also sits down with GoT‘s leading man Kit Harington to discuss the changes in Jon Snow and his siblings, and who is Snow’s biggest enemy.


Maisie Williams, Ed Sheeran & Jeremy Podeswa. Photo: instagram.com/teddysphotos
Maisie Williams, Ed Sheeran & Jeremy Podeswa. Photo: instagram.com/teddysphotos

And in less-fun post-episode news, musician Ed Sheeran has deleted his Twitter just after the episode containing his cameo aired. Given the abusive reaction many Game of Thrones fans exhibited toward Sheeran for his quick appearance on the show, I can’t say I’m surprised.

Fans are welcome to have their own opinions about an episode, an actor or their performance, or a cameo choice in this instance, but viewers taking it upon themselves to heap abuse directly at a human being on Twitter aren’t behaving like any kind of fan. If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, you might not want to say anything at all. If you dislike something about Game of Thrones and want to piss and moan about it, well feel free to start a post about it in our forums! But attacking actors, writers and behind-the-scenes talent directly on social networks is not going to accomplish anything.

[tucks soapbox away until the next time my shortass wants to feel big]


One last fun item today- HBO’s Inside Game of Thrones: The Buzz on the Red Carpet brings all of us onto the icy-blue carpet of GoT‘s premiere! The show’s stars tease the new season while strutting their stuff in gowns and suits (and one glorious kilt, thanks Iain!).

Sue the Fury
Susan Miller, Editor in Chief of WatchersOnTheWall.com

132 Comments

  1. Hodor!!!

    Uuuggghhh, I can’t keep up with this awesomeness. Thank you so much for all the coverage!!!

  2. It doesn’t matter who you are – if you attack someone online about a TV show then your opinions don’t matter to me. Don’t act like an adult – I mute you and move on. Simple as – be respectful or don’t bother saying anything.

  3. I really, really liked the entire scene with Ed Sheehan. And now I know who he is (I had no idea beforehand). Many celebrities temporarily/permanently shut down their Twitter because of abusive comments. Sometimes they come back. GoT viewers (can’t really call them “fans”) who righteously spewed hate on his account, don’t matter much in the long run.

  4. I feel really bad for Ed Sheeran. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I thought his cameo, like many cameos, was unnecessary, annoying, and corrosive to my immersion, but I don’t get why people would attack him personally, or throw abuse his way on social media (if that really happened and he’s not just being a tad sensitive about criticism, which some people occasionally are).

    I mean come on, the guy was probably excited to be on the show, anxious to see how it would be received, and now he’s getting shit on. It’s a shame. Maisie must not be too pleased either, given that the whole thing was arranged for her.

    People need to grow up and learn not to attack performers personally.

  5. I cannot tolerate any kind of abuse, and unfortunately we are hearing about it happening more and more everywhere in the world. To demean someone on a public forum such as Twitter is beyond incomprehensible! Grow up, people! Get a life and act like responsible human beings, not cave men!

    (Sorry I had borrowed that soap box from Sue…thanks Sue)

  6. These articles about Sheeran deleting his twitter because of Game of Thrones are obnoxious and complete lies. Sheeran deleted his twitter a couple weeks ago well before the premiere episode saying he was sick of online bullying but would still be on Instagram. Has nothing whatsoever to do with his cameo in GoT.

  7. I can’t watch any of the mashable videos – it keeps freezing on a broken Verizon ad.

    I think that the ed sheeran thing was really weird. After the episode I googled his name because I was interested to hear one of his songs (so he got a youtube hit out of his cameo if nothing else); but half the links literally were internet “articles” and youtube “analysis” about how “his cameo was a huge mistake” and I was like what?? It seems like people must have pre-made “content” in anticipation of this and knew negative stuff would get more clicks. If felt like the fake news sh*t during the US presidential election…

    Nikolaj, and Gwen please continue to give interviews like this – it brings me hope Jaime will not just die with your horrible sister… <3 JAIME LEAVES CERSEI IN EPISODE 3 or 4 my prediction.

  8. One day, perhaps after this show ends, I’m going to compile a mental list of all the minor “controversies” that a vocal if not representative section of the GOT Internet fandom, in its admirable but sometimes fiercely frightening passion, blew completely, wildly, and totally out of proportion. And on that day, the visceral reaction to Ed Sheeran’s tiny cameo in this episode is going to rank very, very, very high.

    I absolutely loved the scene with Arya and the Lannister soldiers. It was a quiet, funny, human moment – the kind of scene that some people feared that the show would no longer have time for with only 7 episodes in this season and 13 left in the series. I can understand people being upset if including Ed Sheeran in that scene broke their immersion in the world, but it wasn’t that blatant. Sheeran was not the main focus of the scene – it was Arya and the two other Lannister soldiers (played by Thomas Turgoose and William Postlethwaite – son of the late, great Pete Postlethwaite, BTW) who carried the overwhelming majority of the scene’s dialogue and emotional weight.

    All Sheeran did in this three-minute scene was sing his song (which was a nice nod to the novels) and speak two additional lines of dialogue. Two. And the camera showed him a few times, but not in a “LOOK IT’S ED SHEERAN, INTERNATIONAL POP STAR!” kind of way, just a “this is a guy who is part of this scene” kind of way. I didn’t find it obtrusive in the slightest.

    I knew what Ed Sheeran looked like, but – with no disrespect meant – the dude isn’t that distinctive-looking. He wasn’t rocking a mohawk and a bunch of anachronistic tattoos. He’s got red hair and a beard. There are probably at least a few hundred men with red hair and beards in the Lannister army. In other words, he belongs.

    Also, stepping outside the show for a moment, I find the fact that Benioff and Weiss arranged this cameo as a present for Maisie Williams – an actor who they have known for a decade and obviously have a tremendous amount of affection for – to be extremely sweet. Could they perhaps have arranged the cameo in such a way so that Sheeran didn’t have quite as much screentime? Sure. But Sheeran acquitted himself perfectly well, and the guy is obviously a fan. No harm done. My sense of immersion wasn’t broken at all.

    As for Sheeran leaving Twitter … yes, perhaps he should have slightly thicker skin. But dealing with abuse isn’t fun for anyone. I’m not going to rant about how people need to get a grip and not be miserable assholes to others on social media, because that particular battle is the definition of howling into the wind. But Christ, this is unfortunate. Perspective, perspective, perspective.

  9. Walking around in London yesterday (before most people here would have seen the episode given the time difference, jobs, etc…) and one of the papers was running a headline on the front page about how pointless they thought the cameo was.

    Spoiling part of an episode that for all intents and purposes hasn’t really even aired for the majority of your readership just because you want to whinge about how you’re too cool for Ed Sheeran and anything he does takes a especially petty asshole.

  10. So, the Sheeran cameo was a gift to Maisie Williams.

    If you are upset with this cameo, you are upset with Maisie Williams.

    If you are upset with Maisie Williams, may you be forced to clean Zombie Wun Wun, Zombie Hodor and Zombie Mountain’s bedpans for all eternity.

    Also, “Corrosive to my immersion?” Shut up, man

  11. David:
    These articles about Sheeran deleting his twitter because of Game of Thrones are obnoxious and complete lies. Sheeran deleted his twitter a couple weeks ago well before the premiere episode saying he was sick of online bullying but would still be on Instagram. Has nothing whatsoever to do with his cameo in GoT.

    I also read something that like a month ago (?), I remember he said that reading one mean tweet ruined his day so he better shut it down, well maybe all this GoT bully was the last push… If it’s true I feel bad for him, for Maise and for D&D.

    He already had a problem with the internet bully maybe some trolls used this GoT cameo for more bulling, GoT have had other celebrities but it’s the first time something like this happen.

    Emilia finally published something about Got, this photo will be well use for memes hahaha

  12. I really don’t understand people who are bullying on social media. Play on the show yourselves if you can. The man is a singer and what were you expecting, an oscar? He handled very well actually. I understand criticism but this is totally something else. There is no meaning of being a keyboard artist. I felt really sorry for Ed Sheeran. I hope he is okey.

  13. Kit sure was on a roll this press day lol.If Brienne and Jaime don’t kiss by the end of show I’m going on a strike I swear to God.And people are such children with the Ed thing.Like I still don’t get what was the problem?But the internet will as always keep being the internet.

    Oh and Emilia is as delightful as always.Hope she keeps posting little gems after every episode.

  14. They could have the most famous fucking person in the world cameo in the show and it wouldn’t effect me in any way because, and this may come as a surprise, I know it’s fiction and not real! I’m watching Kit Harrington and Peter Dinklage portray fictional characters on tv. I know more about most of the actors on the show than some pop singer, and it doesn’t effect my immersion into the show. That scene was fine and Sheeran was fine in it.

  15. Jared,
    Thanks for that. I loooooved Pete Postelthwaite.

    I did react a bit to realizing it was Ed Shearan but in a positive way. I loved hearing another song from the books. And everytime the Queen of Thornes smirked, I would think, “I love you, Diana Rigg, so much!” So that would take me out of the scene for a millisecond. Sometimes you’ve got to work on the willing suspension of disbelief! 😉

  16. This makes me really mad. I can’t understand why folks are trolling the guy to the degree he’s shut down his social media- what’s wrong with people?

    And gotta say there are some folks here who have been pretty critical too. The guy had a very minor role, he didn’t do a bad job at all and it was a great scene- what’s the big deal? How did it detract from the episode in any way?

  17. And in less-fun post-episode news, musician Ed Sheeran has deleted his Twitter just after the episode containing his cameo aired. Given the abusive reaction many Game of Thrones fans exhibited toward Sheeran for his quick appearance on the show, I can’t say I’m surprised.

    I shouldn’t be surprised but I always wonder about these fans and others who anonymously spread hate towards others. I wonder if they are angry because these people lead a life that they don’t. Or think, like Ramsey, that its just so much fun to cause pain. I wish they would get a clue; unfortunately they don’t. Wish these people at least would leave their names so we know the ones to stay away from..

  18. Apollo,

    Agreed

    Ed Sheeran is a nice guy, who did a great job, and it certainly wasn’t distracting to me, except for saying to my partner “look that’s Ed Sheeran” 🙂

    Poor Tormund. If only he knew his creepy, caveman leering was wasted on a captured heart. Won’t happen ..but this guy would tear up and bawl if Jamie dies in Brienne’s arms 😀

    Funny how no one ever mentions San-San these days..? 😉

  19. WorfWWorfington,

    No, it’s in no way Maisie’s fault, because she has very little control of the choices made in the show. It is D&D’s fault for giving Sheeran a far too prominent role in the episode. They make the decisions, and in this case they were wrong. The musicians cameos before have been neat, but this was a subtle as a sledgehammer. The only saving grace was that the scene itself was fairly inconsequential, but I pray they don’t make a similar mistake again.

    However, any abuse Sheeran has received due to the cameo is unacceptable, and in my view does not come from a true fan of the show. Sad.

  20. Jared,

    Beautifully written. I agree with everything you said. Sad, the amount of hate that can come out of people.

  21. WorfWWorfington,

    If you are upset with Maisie Williams, may you be forced to clean Zombie Wun Wun, Zombie Hodor and Zombie Mountain’s bedpans for all eternity.

    Thanks, I may add this to my go to list of curses!

  22. WorfWWorfington,

    No, it’s in no way Maisie’s fault, because she has very little control of the choices made in the show. It is D&D’s fault for giving Sheeran a far too prominent role in the episode. They make the decisions, and in this case they were wrong. The musicians cameos before have been neat, but this was a subtle as a sledgehammer. The only saving grace was that the scene itself was fairly inconsequential, but I pray they don’t make a similar mistake again.

    However, any abuse Sheeran has received due to the cameo is unacceptable, and in my view does not come from a true fan of the show. Very sad.

  23. Knight of the Walkers: It is D&D’s fault for giving Sheeran a far too prominent role in the episode. They make the decisions, and in this case they were wrong.

    Only in Your opinion.

    “Prominent Role”…?? Good Grief!

  24. HereBeDragons: Poor Tormund. If only he knew his creepy, caveman leering was wasted on a captured heart.

    You know, it would probably help if she just told him to knock it off. But then we would lose a much-needed source of comic relief! :p

    Won’t happen ..but this guy would tear up and bawl if Jamie dies in Brienne’s arms 😀

    Funny how no one ever mentions San-San these days..? 😉

    I feel like the show really downplayed the romantic overtones in the Sansa – Hound relationship that were present in the books. They had a connection and an understanding, just as the Hound did with Arya, but I don’t see it as a romantic or sexual one at all.

    But hey, if they want to pick up where they left off… now that Sansa is all grown up anything’s possible.

  25. Knight of the Walkers: The musicians cameos before have been neat, but this was a subtle as a sledgehammer.

    I’m just confused about what the specific issue was.

    Is it that he had red hair? Did you think his acting was bad? That the singing was inappropriate or anachronistic?

    It seems like you’re annoyed because… you knew who he was? In that case, what exactly is the difference between recognizing this particular dude versus recognizing Slughorn’s actor in the Citadel? Are people not allowed to both act and sing now?

  26. Can you take back every moment of my life I’ve had to listen to an Ed Sheeran song? No? Ok then he can take it

  27. Knight of the Walkers: It is D&D’s fault for giving Sheeran a far too prominent role in the episode.

    “Far too prominent”? He’s a singer; he sang a song. Half a song. And then he had a line or two, much fewer than the other two or three Lannisters who spoke.

  28. Tyrion Pimpslap: I know more about most of the actors on the show than some pop singer, and it doesn’t effect my immersion into the show. That scene was fine and Sheeran was fine in it.

    Yep, agree. I thought the song was lovely and I looked forward to seeing him because I knew he was supposed to turn up somewhere. How does seeing him take someone out of the moment? It’s all rolled up together, it’s all part of the fun, of the same whole.

  29. QueenofThrones,

    You forced me to go have a look for their last scene together..

    “No, little bird, ..I won’t kill you”

    There’s hope 😉 LOL

    ( Hell … with “Beauty and the Beast” taking almost a billion at the box office, maybe D&D would like to cash in on their Own Beasty Love?)

  30. Sheeran is back on twitter! Good for him. Disgusting “fans” bullying him off social media is disgusting, sick, and gross. It was a cameo where he sang half a song and was barely featured compared to the other Lannister soldiers. This is disgusting behavior. Sad sacks.

  31. Luka Nieto,

    The difference is that the other Lannisters were portrayed by real actors not a singer with an over-inflated opinion of himself. I think the problem is that Sheeran is not an actor yet he was given a role as an actor essentially because he’s famous and Maisie’s a fan of his. The whole thing reeked of a stunt, and that is why it has gone down like a lead balloon.

    As I’ve said before, if they really wanted him in it, dress him up a bit, so it is harder to recognise him, and have a ‘blink-or-you’ll-miss-it” appearance much like Will Champion. They just went too far.

  32. Knight of the Walkers: The difference is that the other Lannisters were portrayed by real actors not a singer with an over-inflated opinion of himself.

    So that’s it, then. You have a thing against him. Deserved or not, I won’t get into that; I have no idea. I guess not knowing him at all helped.

  33. Knight of the Walkers,

    Agreed…bottom line is it’s distracting. When I saw the scene, it took me out of the story for a second as I thought “oh there is ed sheeran”.

    Doesn’t mean he was bad in the scenes at all and I don’t have any issue with him wanting to be in GOT. But these big name celeb cameos are unecessary, especially for a show that took pride in hiring so many diverse and in some cases unknown actors from all around the world.

  34. Knight of the Walkers:
    Luka Nieto,

    The difference is that the other Lannisters were portrayed by real actors not a singer with an over-inflated opinion of himself. I think the problem is that Sheeran is not an actor yet he was given a role as an actor essentially because he’s famous and Maisie’s a fan of his. The whole thing reeked of a stunt, and that is why it has gone down like a lead balloon.

    As I’ve said before, if they really wanted him in it, dress him up a bit, so it is harder to recognise him, and have a ‘blink-or-you’ll-miss-it” appearance much like Will Champion. They just went too far.

    Except he’s acted before. He was FX’s Bastard Executioner, so he has technically as many roles as some of those other actors have.

  35. QueenofThrones,

    To me the issue was the catastrophic acting on his part. The way he stared at Arya was downright odd, verging on creepy. Not saying he was being a creep, just that the looks he gives her are strange, and accidentally give off a creepy vibe, and in my opinion that’s a symptom of him not knowing how he should look.

    And then, during the rest of the scene, he looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself. There’s this one shot where someone else is talking to Arya and he’s just sitting there staring blankly and awkwardly. It made him look incredibly out of place.

    He just wasn’t in the scene, so to speak. He looked like he was feeling awkward, and unsure of how to act. So it takes you out of it, because he doesn’t feel like a real character in this world, unlike the other Lannister soldiers who gave really good performances, he just looks like Ed Sheeran on the set of Game of Thrones. I didn’t buy him as a character for one single second.

    Has nothing to do with his hair color or face, it’s all to do with how he acted and carried himself. Luckily he only had like two lines, and the other performers were good enough to salvage the scene.

  36. Bodog:
    Knight of the Walkers,

    Agreed…bottom line is it’s distracting. When I saw the scene, it took me out of the story for a second as I thought “oh there is ed sheeran”.

    Doesn’t mean he was bad in the scenes at all and I don’t have any issue with him wanting to be in GOT. But these big name celeb cameos are unecessary, especially for a show that took pride in hiring so many diverse and in some cases unknown actors from all around the world.

    And they still do hire many diverse and in some cases unknown actors…see all of the other Lannister soldiers in 601.

    Sheeran 2 minute cameo hardly put a stop to this lol.

  37. Jack Bauer 24,

    Just my opinion that it was distracting. I don’t think it was bad acting, a bad move by the producers, bad story line, bad singing etc.

    Anyways, 12 episodes left, at this point I am just appreciating the end and looking for the inevitable Kim Kardashian cameo as the Night King’s partner by the series finale.

  38. Knight of the Walkers:
    Luka Nieto,

    The difference is that the other Lannisters were portrayed by real actors not a singer with an over-inflated opinion of himself. I think the problem is that Sheeran is not an actor yet he was given a role as an actor essentially because he’s famous and Maisie’s a fan of his.

    This is not the first time she appeared in a TV show, he had a regular role in the FX series The Bastard Executioner and he sang the opening song. I remember because the show was bad but I watched every single episode, he in 5 episodes, his 2 minutes in GoT are nothing lol

  39. Luka Nieto,
    Not particularly. Look, I’m a fan of Andrea Bocelli, but would it be fine for him to have a similar role in the show. Absolutely not. I mean where does it stop, should we get Cristiano Ronaldo playing a soldier from Dorne, or maybe Obama as Lord X? No, no no. You can get away with it in a comedy series, but definitely not a drama series.

    Bodog,
    Agreed 100%. Sheeran effectively took the role away from a less well-known actor who has missed out on an opportunity to have Game of Thrones appear on their CV. It isn’t his fault that happened, but the people who make the decisions. I’m a huge D&D fan, and think they have done an unbelievable job with GoT, but that doesn’t mean I won’t criticise them when I think it is deserved such as in this case.

  40. The Ed Sheerhan scene did not take me out of anything. It just didn’t. I guess while he was acting awkward, as some might characterize his performance, I was attentive to the other actors in the scene.
    I can’t fathom spewing hateful disdain through social media. Or, in any form really.
    That said, I will post this link…..again.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ed-sheeran-deletes-twitter_us_596df46ce4b0e983c058de22?section=us_entertainment

    And this one

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/we-r-who-we-r-is-a-good-song-tho?utm_term=.qeNE6vlEN7#.vyyG9KeGZY

    He’s back on twitter. Embarrassing tweets gone.

  41. Markus Stark,

    Just went back to watch that scene.

    Ed did NOTHING that was, or looked uncharacteristic for a Lannister soldier, sitting around a forest campfire with his mates.

    Your Sir .. are Biased, or a Hater of Ed. 🙁

    It’s just Ridiculous.

  42. QueenofThrones,

    In the books they were closer in age, though; Sandor is probably in his late 20s or so… still quite a bit older by our standards, but not so much in a feudal society where females were considered marriageable as soon as they started bleeding. I’ve always thought the main reason it was downplayed in (if not outright eliminated from) the show is the actors’ 25- or 26-year age difference.

  43. Jared,

    Thanks Jared – I think you said that very well… it is so pathetic that some people have such dismal lives and are such pathetic small beings that they feel they have to take out their self loathing on other people. Sad

  44. I really liked the Lannister solider scene and didn’t have enough of an opinion of Ed Sheeran to care one way or another that he was on it. He had a pretty voice.

    On to the videos – I can’t wait until the confrontation between Jon and Littlefinger.

  45. Jesus H. Christ. Everyone’s still hating on Ed Sheeran???

    I watched the premiere with four other people who wouldn’t know Ed Sheeran from Adam. They all thought it was a lovely scene. They didn’t notice anyone acting awkward or out of place. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

    When I told them afterwards the redhead was Ed Sheeran, the collective response was “Who’s Ed Sheeran?”

    Incidentally, lots of people act, and sing, and dance. In fact, it was a very common thing during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and is still a very common thing on Broadway.

    Funny how not one person has complained about Pete Postlethwaite’s son and nepotism in the industry. (For the record, I loved Postlethwaite and don’t give a damn.)

    Get over yourselves.

  46. Twitter is a cesspool of bullies with limited vocabulary, and I can never keep up with it anyway. Much bigger user of Facebook and Instagram.

    Love Kit talking about how Jon and Tyrion have that bond.

    Look out, Mel! 😜

  47. Pigeon,

    Well… I’ll come back to you when Sandor has to scale the walls of Winterfell with his flaming sword to rescue a little bird from a White Walker attack. 😉 lol

  48. I remember reading an article that Ed deleted his account like a week ago. But either way it sucks that he’s been driven to do that, regardless of the reason (GoT or something else). The focus wasn’t even on his character. Most of the lines were from the soldier with the new baby and the one who missed his dad, not to mention the emphasis on Arya’s connection to the smallfolk (which is something I love) and a new understanding that not everyone associated with the Lannisters is evil. I actually really enjoyed the scene and it redeemed most of the cold open for me.

    In happier news, here’s Cersei’s letter from episode 1 in full

    http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/read-cerseis-dragonstone-summons-to-jon-snow

  49. Wolfish:
    QueenofThrones,
    In the books they were closer in age, though; Sandor is probably in his late 20s or so… still quite a bit older by our standards, but not so much in a feudal society where females were considered marriageable as soon as they started bleeding. I’ve always thought the main reason it was downplayed in (if not outright eliminated from) the show is the actors’ 25- or 26-year age difference.

    I mean I think you’re right that is a reason. In contrast, they left the LF x Sansa thing in. Obviously that’s not reciprocated / LF’s infatuation is creepy (esp because she looks like her mom!), and they didn’t want The Hound to be too creepy.

    Still I think everyone probably would agree that there is a major difference when it comes to age difference when both people are adults then when one of them is like 13 years old and the other is pushing 40… Which is why I think it’s possible they could go that direction now that Sansa and her actor are both adults. I have no personal stake in that ship – but I don’t think it’s completely impossible either.

  50. Luka Nieto: “Far too prominent”? He’s a singer; he sang a song. Half a song. And then he had a line or two, much fewer than the other two or three Lannisters who spoke.

    Exactly! The focus was on the two other Lannister soldiers and Arya’s character evolving. I didn’t even notice Ed once the other two soldiers started talking about their families. Touching scene.

  51. Markus Stark,

    Interesting, so you thought his acting was bad? OK reasonable opinion.

    Still… what if they had cast an unknown who was an equally bad actor instead? Would that bother you less? If so, why?

  52. Jenny,

    In my crackpot GoT ending, Brienne and Jaime have a girl and she becomes a great warrior.

    I’m so cheesy lol.

  53. I always think cameos are pointless. This one was no different. I would not abuse the man for it though. That’s rather pointless too. They are the ones who put him on. It’s not like he held a gun to their head demanding it.

  54. Wolfish,

    Although I’m from the UK I don’t know much about Ed Sheeran (I’m older generation I guess) but I thought he had a not unpleasant voice and I doubt if anyone would have been so nasty about the scene if his part had been played by some random actor. I mentioned on another thread that I liked the scene with the soldiers because it showed to some small extent the effect of the war on people who don’t come from noble houses. The ASOIAF books perhaps have more time to cover the sufferings of the “small folk”, so I was appreciative of this scene explaining something of the lives people who were not “high born”.

  55. Dame of Mercia,

    Well said. And it showed Arya’s ability – still – to relate to some ‘ordinary’ people, though they be Lannister soldiers. I liked the scene overall, but I can see how a bit of focus on one participant may have put other people off.
    A bit more understatement might have been preferred.

  56. Flayed Potatoes,

    Oh, I see you had already mentioned the small folk, FP.

    Going back a couple or three years, Maisie Williams was on a standalone TV show in the UK called “Cyber Bully” which apparently was based on some online bullying she received where she played the victim of online bullying. Somebody from “Doctor Who” who didn’t follow GoT saw her in “Cyber Bully” and decided she would be suitable for a part in “Doctor Who”.

    Wasn’t GRRM supposed to play a cameo in one of the earlier series? Of course he’s withdrawn from writing for GoT to concentrate on volume 6 of ASOIAF. I bet the people who abhor Ed Sheeran would not be mean if GRRM did a cameo even though he’s not an actor.

    One very small thing and nothing to do with Ed Sheeran, I noticed when Dany entered the throne room in Dragostone there didn’t seem to be any cobwebs or dust although the whole island had apparently been unoccupied since Stannis and his forces departed. Would that the spiders were I live were so inactive!

  57. QueenofThrones,

    My impression from the books was that he was in his late 20s. (I don’t recall why right now.) Again… Still a 15-year age difference or so, but very common in feudal societies, and nothing like LF. (Tbh, I was never creeped out by it in the books, as many others are. Different time, different expectations, and the 13-year-old in question had already prepared herself for royal marriage, so I just didn’t react to her the way I would, say, an illiterate and naïve 13-year-old in the present-day Afghan highlands.)

  58. Dame of Mercia,

    I think GRRM was a cameo in the original pilot (as a guest at Dany’s wedding). A GRRM cameo would be way more distracting than Ed haha… unless he plays a decaying wight or something lol.

    And you have a point about Maisie. Like her, pretty much all the actors on GoT are associated with their characters. If we follow that weird “fan logic”, the actors should just retire because giving them another acting job would be soooo distracting lol.

    That place should have been covered in webs lol. Though really what it should have had was a steward and some servants like every castle ever haha. I’m surprised there wasn’t a Baratheon or Lannister loyal garrison. The Lannisters could have easily taken the castle while Stannis was up north in Tommen’s name.

  59. For some reason I have been named above as ‘undefined’. I tried to edit the name but I was too late – also where I was waxing lyrical about spiders my comment should have read “…that the spiders where I live…”

    I haven’t gone mad – for some reason my previous comment showed my online name as “undefined” but when I look now it does say D—— of M——–.

  60. HereBeDragons,

    I’m sick of people like you stating your opinion as fact. Ok, YOU thought the scene was fine, great, good for you. I did not. I’m not a “hater” of Ed Sheeran, in fact I barely knew anything about the guy before this. I certainly had no reason to be biased.

    No, in fact I’m quite certain that the only biased person is you, since apparently you can’t deal with me criticizing a performance without throwing around stupid accusations like “hater”.

    To me, he looked out of place. I really don’t care if you thought it looked fine. You need to learn that people have different opinions, and that doesn’t make them biased haters. If you can’t grow up and deal with it, maybe you should stop reading comments. The comment section is designed for people to express their opinion.

  61. Flayed Potatoes:
    Jenny,

    In my crackpot GoT ending, Brienne and Jaime have a girl and she becomes a great warrior.

    I’m so cheesy lol.

    No Nono they have 7 kids because they just can’t stop once they get started (c/o the biggest Braime shipper of all)

  62. QueenofThrones,

    Actors who look like they don’t know what to do with themselves always bother me, but the reason it’s annoying here is because they could have easily cast a real actor, but went out of their way to get Sheeran. Why ? It’s just so self-indulgent when the guy can’t even act.

    They are more than capable of hiring talented actors and extras, as the other Lannister soldiers proved. It’s annoying that they decide to include a singer who can’t act for the sake of having a fun cameo.

    So that’s why it’s slightly more annoying than if it were a regular actor.

  63. QueenofThrones,

    RE: (c/o the biggest Braime shipper of all)

    Nope! I’m up there too.

    I was railing and defending Brienne’s honour and arguing that her last word was “Jamie” well before the TV series :o)

  64. HereBeDragons:
    Pigeon,

    Well… I’ll come back to you when Sandor has to scale the walls of Winterfell with his flaming sword to rescue a little bird from a White Walker attack. 😉lol

    Rather she rescue herself. ☺

  65. Random Question….

    how out of place would it be to show up to a Scottish festival, in america of course, dressed as a GoT character?

  66. I voiced my opinion on Ed Sheeran on a previous thread, so I won’t repeat it here. Only to say the whole business of the negative comments via social media he received regarding his GoT cameo appearance is fucking disgusting 🙁

    It just goes to show how much ‘low life’ the internet is full off. Faceless morons who troll and slag off others knowing they can get away with it!

    I found that scene quite delightful with Ayra meeting up with some Lannister soldiers and sharing a meal with them and having a laugh – “I’m going to Kings Landing to kill the Queen!” which they all thought was funny… Especially after she had just poisoned and eliminated the entire House Frey who were allies of the Lannisters!

  67. HereBeDragons:
    spaewife,

    Agreed…I thought Arya’s mount did a terrible job of acting like a horse.

    He/she took the part away from TWO actors who could have played the front and back legs.

  68. Dame of Mercia,

    It’s a Sad affair.

    I’ve got a mate who’s a Horse’s Arse and he hasn’t been able to secure a role for years. Always beaten off by these bad 4-legged actors who can play both parts for a cheaper fee.

  69. Old Nan’s Pie,

    No foreshadowing lol…it’s fan service. The song is from the books where a bard makes it to try to blackmail Tyrion, but fails and is killed. The soft hands/woman’s kiss parts are about Shae who he was hiding from Tywin.

    Markus Stark,

    You summed up my feelings 100%.

  70. Markus Stark,

    You need to take it down a notch, and be more civil.

    And as a general reminder for people, you get ONE SCREEN NAME per commenter. No using multiple screennames to mess around and agree with yourself or some shit. Someone just earned himself a banning for it.

  71. I didnt think Ed Sharrons cameo was any different than others except he spoke a few lines. The reason for the scene was to show a human side of Arya and that she is reminded that their is also good people in this bloody war. I also felt it might make her miss her own family and get her to turn towards home for a reunion!

  72. HereBeDragons:
    QueenofThrones,

    RE: (c/o the biggest Braime shipper of all)

    Nope! I’m up there too.

    I was railing and defending Brienne’s honour and arguing that her last word was “Jamie” well before the TV series:o)

    Haha well I was referring to something NCW said – if you consider yourself a bigger shipper you can take it up with him 😉

  73. GRANDMOTHER OF DRAGONS,

    Agreed, Regardless of how you reacted to Ed Sheeran’s presence in the scene, he wasn’t the focus. The lure, maybe, to bring Arya to the campfire but we as an GOT audience had to fret whether Arya, upon discovering a bunch of decent Lannister soldiers, wasn’t still going to kill them.
    For myself, I was still worried when she mentioned killing the queen, but when they laughed and she with them, I thought “Nope there’s still a girl who has empathy” 🙂

  74. Wow….so much focus on this? Let’s just all celebrate the return of GOT, and the roller coaster of a season yet to come.

  75. I had no idea who Ed Sheeran was until this sort of discussion after the episode.

    At the time, I felt the Lannister army scene was cheap fantasy trope material, the sort of thing you’d expect to see on much lower quality shows than GoT. I wasn’t upset at any one person appearing, just thinking that the writer of the episode must be bipolar or manic/depressive because the whole thing veered from must-see drama to unwatchable drek.

    The Lannister scene was neither of those extremes, more in the middle, but towards the drek end, although not because of a cameo (unless the scene was added in just to get him to appear).

  76. WorfWWorfington:
    So, the Sheeran cameo was a gift to Maisie Williams.

    If you are upset with this cameo, you are upset with Maisie Williams.

    If you are upset with Maisie Williams, may you be forced to clean Zombie Wun Wun, Zombie Hodor and Zombie Mountain’s bedpans for all eternity.

    Also, “Corrosive to my immersion?” Shut up, man

    Always been upset with Maisie. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  77. BunBunStark,

    I mean, he is a bastard, as a matter of fact, and he is also a rebel from her point of view since he doesn’t recognize her as his monarch, so that isn’t really childish name calling, it’s just reality.

  78. Dame of Mercia: He/she took the part away from TWO actors who could have played the front and back legs.

    You’re all being ridiculous. They could have saved so much of the budget and just gone with 2 coconut halves!!!

  79. Dutch Maester,

    AAAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH
    AAAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH

    Jorah’s gonna be getting fixed up, methinks!

    Question for those who have watched the Episode 2 preview. I think we’re all excited to see

    that glimpse of Nymeria (the direwolf, not the snek), but I swear to god if they do a reunion only to kill her off a la Shaggydog/Summer last season, I will personally fly to LA and punch D&D in the throat. 😠 Anyone else worried this will happen?
  80. Pigeon,

    I honestly will be joining you on the flight over if that happens.
    We’d should probably reserve a whole WotW jet, just in case.

  81. ramses:
    Pigeon,

    I honestly will be joining you on the flight over if that happens.
    We’d should probably reserve a whole WotW jet,just in case.

    I want to be excited about it, I really do. But this show has a habit of kicking me in the gut. Lol.

  82. I think the cameo/scene with Ed Sheeran was meaningful? In that Arya was on her way down south after wiping out House Frey and the Lannister soldiers were on their way up to the same place – ‘To keep the peace.” Little did they know that the girl they invited to eat with them was the person responsible! Did you guys not notice Arya looked down between the soldiers and saw they had unbuckled their swords and was perhaps having thoughts about taking them on and killing them all?

    However, the atmosphere soon changed when they spoke freely and said they would rather be back home (one saying he’d prefer to be out with his father fishing and another that his wife just had a baby) she could tell these were just ordinary soldiers having to follow orders and bore no malice towards them.

    I agree that telling them she was on her way to Kings Landing to kill the Queen was not such a good idea and for a few moments, the banter changed. Of course they didn’t believe her, thinking was it was joke when one of them bursting out laughing with the others (including Arya) joining in.

    Little did they know that Arya was probably telling them the truth, but whether she fulfills that wish and strikes another name off her death list, we’ll just have to wait and see 😉

  83. QueenofThrones: No Nono they have 7 kids because they just can’t stop once they get started (c/o the biggest Braime shipper of all)

    Well, Nikolaj has backed off some. In China he said they would have ten kids.

  84. Here’s a question?

    I’m surprised that so far that no one has mentioned the appearance of Megan Parkinson (Alys Karstark) in that scene with Jon Snow and the northern lords in Winterfell?

    I look back to all the ‘Hoo-ha’ that was posted on this website last year regarding the ‘mystery lady’ the paps took photos of in Belfast. Who was this person? A stand in/double for Sansa – Why did she carry a sword – etc, etc.

    Well, she had less lines than Ed Sheeran! Seems also that sword she was carrying was simply (and also for the young actor who played Ned Umber who we also saw in those pap photos) to hold down to the floor when The King in the North/Jon Snow asked them to swear allegiance again to House Stark.

    I wonder if we’ll be seeing those again in future episodes – I somehow think not?

  85. Wolfish:
    QueenofThrones,
    My impression from the books was that he was in his late 20s. (I don’t recall why right now.) Again… Still a 15-year age difference or so, but very common in feudal societies, and nothing like LF.

    Littlefinger is only a few years older than Sandor Clegane. I’m not goin gto look up their birth years, but Clegane and Tyrion were both like 8 or 9 years old during RR whereas Littlefinger was a boy of 14 or so. He was a few years younger than Cat, after all, and she wed Ned when she was 16 (?). Clegane is roughtly twice Sansa’s age during GoT, Littlefinger is slightly more than that.

    I don’t see much of a difference between someone being twice one’s age versus 2.5 times if age is the only concern. The difference with Littlefinger/Sansa isn’t the age – it’s that he’s creepy as hell, he wants her at the same time to act like the daughter he never had with Cat… and as Cat herself…

  86. Black Raven,

    I wondered the same! Well people were freaking out about Alys Karstark because she was a more major character in the book. This character is really more of a homage, I believe. Talk about blown out of proportion… 🙂

  87. WorfWWorfington:
    Also, “Corrosive to my immersion?” Shut up, man

    Right! If that is the case I guess every single A-list and B-list actor should just never be hired again, they will ruin audience immersion since they are too recognizable! This entire thing is so dumb… I don’t understand why there are so many people these days who love to hate – or perhaps it was always there, just the internet allows them express it… this has been a trend for so long, but it just seem to get worse and worse every year…

  88. Black Raven,

    I don’t know – Alys looks very Arya like in the books (she looks more karSTARK), and here they (I think) purposefully cast her to resemble Sansa… I think something might come from that…. maybe?

  89. QueenofThrones,

    Well perhaps Alys will get some more scenes, but in checking out this WIKI
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Parkinson – it says only ‘Dragonstone’ but that’s been the only episode aired so far.

    So there could could be more scenes with Alys Karstark, but I somehow doubt it? However, I would certainly like to see more of her and young Ned Umber in future episodes. Will just have to wait and see 😉

  90. Wolfish:

    Incidentally, lots of people act, and sing, and dance. In fact, it was a very common thing during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and is still a very common thing on Broadway.

    Funny how not one person has complained about Pete Postlethwaite’s son and nepotism in the industry. (For the record, I loved Postlethwaite and don’t give a damn.)

    Get over yourselves.

    Great comment!

    I thought that one guy had a quite distinctive nose – now it makes since!

  91. QueenofThrones,

    I should have clarified that LF’s obsession with Cat, and seeing Sansa as Cat 2.0, is the chief reason I think of him as creepy af. The age difference just exacerbates it!

  92. Flayed Potatoes: And you have a point about Maisie. Like her, pretty much all the actors on GoT are associated with their characters. If we follow that weird “fan logic”, the actors should just retire because giving them another acting job would be soooo distracting lol

    The horrible thing is that this actually happens with alarming frequency in Hollywood. A lot of actors have had trouble finding new gigs because they are being identified with a particular character or a type of character. Add to that the age-old need for DRAMA AND SCANDAL and internet-fueled Rise of the Anonymous Caveman and you get “controversies” like this one. Tells you all you need to know about people.

  93. Pigeon,

    Maybe you and HerebeDragons have points about the horse’s casting. Being serious for a second though I have sometimes thought ASOIAF might suit a sound broadcast adaptation because people could use their own imaginations for the world building.

  94. Flayed Potatoes,

    Typical Cersei lol.Love that Jon is like yeah whatever.I hope they put the letters if there are any from ep 2 too.As an aside do all the people in the great hall of Winterfell stay in Winterfell?Damn that’s a lot of people to play host to.Talk about a big court.In King’s Landing there is literally nobody lol.

  95. So did anyone watch the magic egg clip? Did Nickolei really expect that thing to speak the answer, he’s so cutely awkward lol, Liam and Beric’s actor seem like fun loving dudes, Varys is a hoot. Kit looks like he’s done with the show, that hairdo, the glasses.

    ps I would hate to be a celebrity, singer or whatever kind of famous in this day and age, and if I found myself as such would definitely not do social media. People suck.

  96. Jenny,

    I love that Winterfell has so many people at court. It’s very dynamic. And I love seeing Jon hold court and be all confident and leaderly and stuff.

    I don’t think anyone wants to be in KL after the Sept explosion lol

  97. People’s reactions to Ed Sheeren on the show make absolutely no sense to me, and I am not talking about the trolls who sent messages to him. I am talking about the civil ones where people said it distracted them or whatever. AGAIN, whats the difference between him or another actor?

    Sorry, I CAN’T deal. lol

  98. Knight of the Walkers: The difference is that the other Lannisters were portrayed by real actors not a singer with an over-inflated opinion of himself. I

    Oh My God lol

    No offense to anyone, because I do love you all, but the arguments against Sheeran soo childish its hilarious. Take a step back and think of the words coming out of your mouths.

    Oh well. I feel bad for the people who couldn’t enjoy the scene like some of us did, because it truly was fantastic.

    <3

  99. Dee Stark:
    People’s reactions to Ed Sheeren on the show make absolutely no sense to me, and I am not talking about the trolls who sent messages to him. I am talking about the civil ones where people said it distracted them or whatever. AGAIN, whats the difference between him or another actor?

    Sorry, I CAN’T deal. lol

    This I can’t really get either, was anyone distracted by seeing Jim Broadbent and not being able to think past Harry Potter? Or what about Richard E Grant in Braavos (or any role come to that) and only seeing Withnail (and I)?

    If GRRM himself had a cameo, what then? Presumably that would be OK and people would no doubt be orgasmic with joy rather than being “distracted”…

    I didn’t think the scene was that great – and OK I’d say any actor with a half decent voice could have done it instead, but it does look as if it serves a purpose and we will surely see the fruit of that in the next episode.

  100. Jenny:
    Flayed Potatoes,

    Typical Cersei lol.Love that Jon is like yeah whatever.I hope they put the letters if there are any from ep 2 too.As an aside do all the people in the great hall of Winterfell stay in Winterfell?Damn that’s a lot of people to play host to.Talk about a big court.In King’s Landing there is literally nobody lol.

    There’s one zoom out shot of WF (after the court scene) that shows a huge amount of tents outside.

    I suspect some of the lords stay in the castle while others would prefer to stay with their men.

  101. Dee Stark,

    To be honest, I went a bit over the board with that comment. I maintain that the cameo was distracting, but it was no more than that. In fact, I actually enjoyed the scene as a whole, which is why I was annoyed about the Sheeran cameo. The thing is he wasn’t picked because he was the best person for the role; they’ve admitted that they included him as a treat for Maisie (and I’m sure it was fantastic for her). It was just a little too self-indulgent for me, but it was hardly the end of the world like some have portrayed it, and I hope the conversation moves onto something more interesting.

  102. Knight of the Walkers,

    Thanks for elaborating and clarifying 🙂

    Yes, he wasn’t picked because he was best for the role…. But the role entails singing (which he is REALLY REALLY good at… even though he doesn’t tickle your fancy) and maybe 9 words as Queen Nym said in another thread. Really, you don’t need much talent to say 9 words. And I think he suited the role well because he does have a sweet young looking innocent face which suited the vibe of this group of soldiers. And so what if they did that for Maisie? I think its sweet.. like even though Maisie is Maisie and plays one of the most famous roles in the world, she still a fangirl… ANDDD it came from D&D – I don’t believe Ed emailed D&D and asked for a part.. so not so self indulgent I don’t think?
    The fact that some people don’t know who Ed Sheeran is and had no problem with him shows that it wasn’t Ed who was the problem with all this… its the fans that have this predisposed image of Ed they cant seem to separate from the show.. but can for David Bradley and Argus Filch lol or Jonathan Pryce from Governor Swann (I was waiting for him to show up with that damn wig on his head hahaha)

  103. BobDole,

    It had nothing to do with Maisie! This argument is more failed that your namesake’s chances of winning the election of ’96! 😛

  104. Only in 2017 do a bunch of people get upset that a musician, plays a musician, on a TV show.

    I thought the song was beautifully sung and the scene itself was great. It was nice to meet some roadside travelers that weren’t quite broken men. Just kids wishing they were home but were stuck fighting for some Lord.

  105. Just based on the way people talk to each other on here I am not surprised at the Ed Sheeran backlash. People is cuh-ray-zeeee. I don’t listen to his music and definitely noticed his cameo was much more pronounced than the other musicians from previous seasons. But his fame is also much greater than something called Mastodon (???) or a side man from Coldplay so it’s not unexpected for him to feature more prominently. I thought they were going to attack Arya. I found the scene unsettling. They seemed skeevy. So then when it just ended up being all pleasantries and laughs I was very surprised. I’m glad a fan of Thrones got to appear on the show instead of that terrible Bastard’s Executioner show he was on. Haha.

  106. ygritte:
    So did anyone watch the magic egg clip? Did Nickolei really expect that thing to speak the answer, he’s so cutely awkward lol, Liam and Beric’s actor seem like fun loving dudes, Varys is a hoot. Kit looks like he’s done with the show, that hairdo, the glasses.

    ps I would hate to be a celebrity, singer or whatever kind of famous in this day and age, and if I found myself as such would definitely not do social media. People suck.

    Trust me, I’m just glad that I narrowly escaped having Facebook and Twitter be a ‘thing’ when I was in high school, never mind famous! 😂

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