After weeks of nominating and voting, we’ve reached the last category in the preliminary round of the Watchers on the Wall Awards!
Much like yesterday, we’re celebrating the words of Game of Thrones in this category, only today the selections are much broader. Yesterday was all about the humor (and voting is still open, by the way!), whereas today we are searching for the Best All-Around Quote of Game of Thrones Season 5.
You have dozens of choices, with all the drama and comedy and action and tragedy of Game of Thrones contained within the dialogue here. The favorite five chosen by our readers will go on to the finals!
The Standard Rules: This is the preliminary round! Narrow this selection down to the top 5 contenders. In order to find your top 5 picks for Best Quote we’re asking that each of you select up to FIVE nominees from the poll. You can choose fewer if you like, but you cannot choose more than 5.
At the end of 72 hours (Monday 9/21/15 at 12:00PM EDT), whichever five quotes have the most votes will continue on to the final round. (Note: in the finals, you will only have one vote to cast in each category!)
The results will be revealed when it’s time to vote for the final winner of Best Quote, next week!
*Reminder: you may choose up to five nominees in this poll!*
Thank you so much to all our readers for their dedicated voting and thoughts on all the nominees. And thanks again to Greatjon of Slumber for his exhaustive work, compiling contenders.
Be sure to come back next week when Final Round voting hits, with new polls every day!
“Perhaps we’ve gotten so accustomed to evil that we refuse to see that the world can be better.” Or thereabouts, Varys in E1.
Also, I’ve arranged all the plotline news so far by plotline: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13m92zm2jETuKlKNj7KVMFtO-Bmwj2HQR7N6y_wBoRWM . I hope someone will maintain it, though.
Yaga,
I would suggest posting it in our forums.
Very, very tough category. I’ve picked five, but I could easily have picked enough ten. I’m sure if I voted again in an hour/day/2 days my choices would be different, but the ones I’ve gone for are definitely amongst my favourite. It will be interesting to see the top five in this category. With less choice it might be easier to make a final decision, but I’ll still probably be stuck on who to pick as a winner. I guess it’s better than not knowing what to pick because the options are poor though!
“Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is STARK.” – Lyanna Mormont’s letter to Stannis Baratheon
Stannis: “You’re as stubborn as your father. And as honorable. Jon: “I can imagine no higher praise.” Stannis: “I didn’t mean it as praise. Honor got your father killed.”
“I do not recognize your authority to dictate what is and is not my concern. You are the Queen Mother, nothing more.” – Kevan Lannister
“We both peddle fantasies, Brother Lancel. Mine just happen to be entertaining.” – Peter Baelish
“You will find little joy in your command, but with luck you will find the strength to do what needs to be done. Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy, and let the man be born.” – Maester Aemon
Seems like you’ve given us the entire script!
1. Kill the Boy!
2. I want to break the Wheel!
3. And you are my daughter!
4. I am Sansa Stark of Winterfell
5. What we will find when we strip away your finery?
That was the toughest!!! All of Tyrion’s funniest moments where here and not in the other post. Strange! And I agree when you nominate the script in its entirety it is better to give to the voters more choices. 10 would have been perfect!
So
6. All rullers are butchers or meat
7. Bear Island knows no king but The King in the North
8. Go on do your duty
9. Brienne about Renly
10. Everyone wants to know their future until they know their future
– “We never stop playing.” – Jaqen H’gar
– “If it please Your Grace, he’s taken a holy vow of silence…” – Qyburn
– “The freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted.” – Mance Rayder
– “I do not recognize your authority to dictate what is and is not my concern …” – Kevan Lannister
– “We march to victory or we march to defeat. But we go forward. Only forward.” – Stannis
I think it’s more about the delivery of the actors than the quote itself. They’re all so fricking good!
So many choices, and only 5 to pick. This was hard. “Kill the boy” is my favorite though.
Good grief. Should have made it 10 and had another round! My picks:
-Stannis and Shireen at the Wall
-Mance’s quote re: freedom
-Littlefinger telling Sansa to stop being a bystander. That would have been a good idea.
-Doom of Valyria , wonderful scene.
-strip away the gold…..
Honorable mention to Doran’s “I don’t believe in third chances”. Let’s hope he sticks to it. 🙂
No but seriously. Where is the Mormont way? Coulda sworn I or someone had it. Ah well.
“Egg . . . I dreamed that I was old.”
When I read that, I had to go back and un-select everything else.
Sue the Fury,
Already done, thanks for the patience! https://watchersonthewall.com/topic/season-6-plotline-news-reference/
Hard to pick only 5, but most of my favorites are from Stannis, especially the one about marching forward.
Stannis: Fewer.
I think it would have been easier to pick my bottom 5!
How in the heck are we supposed to pick just five out of 90’ish choices???
Looking over this list my favourite dialogue from the season is still Sam’s takedown of Janos Slynt — which would also be my vote in the “funniest quote” subcategory. Purely discussing writing, Brienne’s backstory monologue is very good too, (an effective combination of two different incidents in the books), as is the High Sparrow’s dialogue with Cersei when he springs his trap on her (the High Sparrow has a few shorter lines in his introductory scene that I quite liked as well).
I kinda wish this particular category had more than three stages. The nomination process, then a stage to narrow it down to maybe the top 20 choices, then one more stage to narrow it down to the top 5, then the final vote.
It’s something that perhaps Sue and I can discuss next year. Most other categories can be more easily whittled down to 5 finalists, but this one seems to beg for a second round.
Should have had the one where Roose told Ramsey to stop eating and listen.
For my part, this was very difficult. I tend to want to alternate between the best, pithy lines, and the ones that really stick that involve longer speeches. So I went with this:
—Tyrion and Jorah’s poem about the Doom of Valyria. This is probably, to me, one of the prettiest scenes that GoT has ever put together, and it’s one big reason why I think this Episode 5 ranks among the best #5 episodes they’ve done. And that they both knew this poem, and knew it well, speaks to the knowledge of history the two have, and in a way, made them simpatico – that they achieve a level of understanding through their shared appreciation of history.
—Aemon’s “Kill the Boy” moment. I wanted to choose something from Maester Aemon, and this was really the one that did it.
—“Go on, do your duty.” – In a way, the most apt summation of a character through their last words (Janos comes close, in a sense, too). But that’s a stellar moment. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends up winning.
—“It can always be worse.” — Perfect encapsulates the predicament that the two characters find themselves in at that time.
—Davos’s final speech to Shireen. This one was on reflection. Davos is a great, soulful character, and Liam Cunningham is an ace with speeches. And the Davos/Shireen relationship is a top 5 “two people in a room” relationship on GOT, and so that this represented the finality of that relationship is really important. I wonder if, in season 6, we’ll see some reckoning of that for Davos, particularly as both Shireen and Stannis are gone.
Given I’m the one who compiled the nominations I’m wondering too, as I thought I put that in there for funniest quote, let alone this one. Oh well. It’s an oversight. Sorry!
Sue won’t like it what I voted for! 😉
Impossible task. I just went with 5 I enjoyed and stopped second guessing at some point.
Yeah…the person who put this together must be a Bolton. They love to torture us.
Hodor’s Bastard,
Hahaa, my laugh for today. Thank you.
Newbietothegame,
Hard work, on a Friday no less! But in the end, anything said by Aemon is biblical to me. I’m so happy for his inclusion and adaptation into the storyline. I’ll miss him, as I did when he died aboard the Blackbird. Perhaps another wise, well-rooted, old man with Targ blood will take his place as the grand observer for this next season?
Aemon was by far one of my favorite characters in the books, but, imo, what Peter Vaughn brought to the role took it to another level. He was brillinat!!!
Hodor’s Bastard,
“Well-rooted…” hahahahahahaha.
Lyanna Mormont’s quote for the win!
I think the quote of the season was the “You are my daughter” quote. But it just loses so much based on what happened next.
“I am Sansa Stark of Winterfell. This is my home. And you can’t frighten me.”
What amazes and delights me is the variety for favorites everyone has so far made – proving there is a little something for everyone to love or lament in this show.
Mine were:
Jon always comes back – hell yeah, and thank you, Sam.
Kill the boy – Jon’s trek toward true manhood seem to be one of the main themes of the season, and quite a worthy one, even if it meant that the “boy” had to suffer.
Dead men from Arya. The calm, cold delivery was great evidence of how Arya had already changed.
Make own mistakes – I miss Mance. Another dead hero suffering for his choices.
Valyria – so different from anything else in the show. As I’ve said a few times before, the entire scene held me – if the actors hadn’t been as excellent at their craft as they are, the entire thing might have been a chunk of river rot.
So many runners-up: accch, the poll has disappeared, so I can’t run down what the choices were. Off the top of my head, Varys about knowing your friends, Sam about Janos, Stannis Do your duty – so Stannis, he would find someone doing their duty an acceptable way to die.
Someone mentioned that it seemed as though the entire script was here; that prompted a memory of one line funny line I wish I had remembered to add in the funniest line category:
Tommen to Margaery: Are you and Mother not getting along?
“Whilst Lord Janos was hiding with women and children, Jon Snow was leading. Ser Alliser fought bravely it is true, but when he was wounded it was Jon who saved us. He took charge of the Wall’s defense, he killed the Magnar of the Thenns, he went north to deal with Mance Rayder knowing it almost certainly meant his own death. Before that he led the mission to avenge Lord Commander Mormont. Mormont himself chose Jon to be his steward, he saw something in Jon and now we’ve all seen it too. He may be young, but he’s the Commander we turned to when night was darkest.” – Samwell Tarly
“It’s easy to confuse what is with what ought to be, especially when what is has worked out in your favor.” – Tyrion
“Fuck the glass, we’re going to die here!” – Dolorous Edd
“You shouldn’t be here.” – Theon to Sansa
“You will find little joy in your command, but with luck you will find the strength to do what needs to be done. Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy, and let the man be born.” – Maester Aemon
I voted for:
The Bear Island One
The Valyria one-
The Kevan Lannister one
Stannis marching forward
Egg…I dreamed I was old by Aemon
All of these were great quotes
One quote that resonated quite strong with me was Mance’s line: “The freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted.”
Frankly I’m not sure anymore which other four quotes I voted for moments ago. More of a momentary decision, really. Many of the choices are worthy.
Way too many to choose from so I simply went with Maester Aemon and Septa Unella. 🙂
“Shame. Shame. Shame.” – Septa Unella
“You will find little joy in your command, but with luck you will find the strength to do what needs to be done. Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy, and let the man be born.” – Maester Aemon
“Egg…I dreamed that I was old.” – Maester Aemon
“Confess.” – Septa Unella
Maester Aemon: “And she’s alone, under siege, no family to guide her or protect her. Her last relation thousands of miles away, useless, dying…” Sam: “Don’t say that, Maester Aemon.” Aemon: “A Targaryen in the world alone is a terrible thing.”
Josh L.,
yes. Or perhaps divide it into two categories: best short quote, best long quote, or some such. Very hard to decide in this one, but I picked the ones that helped develop the story
Oh c’mon… Only 5 choices?!!!! Give us a break!
There are lots of great quotes, but I ended voting for the ones that stuck with me since the episode aired and the ones that stirred the most emotions in me. So here we go:
“Kill the boy.” – Maester Aemon: Iconic, I was waiting for and did not dissapoint.
You are the few, and we are the many. – High Sparrow – Bite the dust Cersei!
“ You are the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. And you are my daughter.” – Stannis Baratheon Awww, I liked Stannis for once.
“Only together, all of us, and even then it might not be enough but at least then we’ll give the fuckers a fight.” – Jon “Where do I sign up” Snow
“A ruler that kills those devoted to her is not a ruler that inspires devotion.” – Tyrion – Is it clear, Daeny, or do I have to draw a map for you?
And sorry, you didn’t ask for it, but here are my big bunch of honorable mentions:
– “Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is STARK.” – Lyanna Mormont’s letter to Stannis Baratheon
-“The freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted.” – Mance Rayder
-“Egg…I dreamed that I was old.” – Maester Aemon
– “Go on, do your duty.” — Stannis Baratheon
-“We both peddle fantasies, Brother Lancel. Mine just happen to be entertaining.” – Peter Baelish
– “Whilst Lord Janos was hiding with women and children, Jon Snow was leading. Ser Alliser fought bravely it is true, but when he was wounded it was Jon who saved us. He took charge of the Wall’s defense, he killed the Magnar of the Thenns, he went north to deal with Mance Rayder knowing it almost certainly meant his own death. Before that he led the mission to avenge Lord Commander Mormont. Mormont himself chose Jon to be his steward, he saw something in Jon and now we’ve all seen it too. He may be young, but he’s the Commander we turned to when night was darkest.” – Samwell Tarly
-“Someone who inspires priests and whores is worth taking seriously.” – Varys
-“This isn’t a strange place. This is my home. It is the people who are strange.” – Sansa
“Belief is the death of reason”…best and most poignant quote…from Qyburn…LOL…I also liked what Mance said to Stannis… about “the wars to come…”
Yes, I was confused at why there were so many and some seemed too long (Brienne’s speech for one) to seem like a quote… I think this would have been a nice way to divide this category, one for quotes and one for speeches.
I think of quotes as being a sentence (two at most), sometimes the most memorable words within a given speech and most often can have meaning even outside of the original context.
>Example, this is obviously a GOT reference
Speech: “You will find little joy in your command, but with luck you will find the strength to do what needs to be done. Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy, and let the man be born.” – Maester Aemon
> This could be apt to many occasions, without knowing any GOT.
Quote: “Kill the boy, and let the man be born.”
Just my 2 cents.
My picks ^_^
“Shame. Shame. Shame.” – Septa Unella
> This is just so quotable and instantly recognizable too 🙂
“Kill the boy, and let the man be born.” – Maester Aemon
> Love this line.
> So true and so apt for today.
“You are the few, and we are the many. And when the many stop fearing the few…” – High Sparrow
“It’s easy to confuse what is with what ought to be, especially when what is has worked out in your favor.” – Tyrion
“And perhaps we’ve grown so used to horror we assume there’s no other way.” – Varys
“Confess”, “you want the good girl, but you need the bad pussy”. “Shame! Shame! Shame!”.
Plus all Maester Aemon’s quotes because he’s my precious.
Wow. So many quotes! Let’s give it a try:
“Everyone advised me to send you to the ruins of Valyria to live out your short life with the Stone Men, before the sickness spread through the castle. I told them all to go to hell. I called in every maester on this side of the world. Every healer, every apothecary. They stopped the disease and saved your life. Because you do not belong across the world with the bloody Stone Men. You are the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. And you are my daughter.” – Stannis Baratheon
“Go on, do your duty.” – Stannis Baratheon
“The Long Night is coming, and the dead come with it. No clan can stop them; the free folk can’t stop them; the Night’s Watch can’t stop them; and all the southern kings can’t stop them. Only together, all of us, and even then it might not be enough but at least then we’ll give the fuckers a fight.” – Jon Snow
“Whilst Lord Janos was hiding with women and children, Jon Snow was leading. Ser Alliser fought bravely it is true, but when he was wounded it was Jon who saved us. He took charge of the Wall’s defense, he killed the Magnar of the Thenns, he went north to deal with Mance Rayder knowing it almost certainly meant his own death. Before that he led the mission to avenge Lord Commander Mormont. Mormont himself chose Jon to be his steward, he saw something in Jon and now we’ve all seen it too. He may be young, but he’s the Commander we turned to when night was darkest.” – Samwell Tarly
“The Mad King gave his enemies the justice he thought they deserved. And each time it made him feel powerful and right. Until the very end.” – Barristan Selmy
Other contenders:
“Lannister, Targaryen, Baratheon, Stark, Tyrell: They’re all just spokes on a wheel. This one’s on top but then that one’s on top and on and on it spins, crushing those on the ground. I’m not going to stop the wheel, I’m going to break the wheel.” – Daenerys
“Kneel before me, lay your sword at my feet, pledge me your service and you’ll rise again as Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell.” – Stannis Baratheon
“If a man knows what he is and remains true to himself the choice is no choice at all. He must fulfill his destiny and become who he is meant to be. However much he may hate it.” – Stannis
“I’m glad. I’m glad that you’re my father.” – Myrcella Baratheon
“I do not recognize your authority to dictate what is and is not my concern. You are the Queen Mother, nothing more.” – Kevan Lannister
“You were at the Fist of the First Men. If we abandon them, you know what they become. We can learn to live with the wildlings or we can add them to the army of the dead. Whatever they are now, they’re better than that.” – Jon Snow
“They were toying with me. ‘Brienne the Beauty’, they called me. Great joke. And I realized I was the ugliest girl alive. A great lumbering beast. I tried to run away, but Renly Baratheon took me in his arms. “Don’t let them see your tears,” he told me. “They’re nasty little shits. The nasty little shits aren’t worth crying over.” He danced with me and none of the other boys could say a word. And he was the king’s brother after all…. He didn’t love me, he didn’t want me, he danced with me because he was kind and he wouldn’t see me hurt. He saved me from being a joke.” – Brienne
“This is the right time and I will risk everything because if I don’t, we’ve lost. We march to victory or we march to defeat. But we go forward. Only forward.” – Stannis
There’s too many of them!!! Just leave the best ones!
For the love of god this is hard to choose
“A dragon queen without dragons…. Is no queen”. Daario
Lots of good ones to choose from… in order to make up my mind I mostly stuck with those closest to the books.
So hard to choose!!
I love “Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is STARK” and I fistpumped the when I heard Jon read it from the scroll!!
And “Nothing’s more hateful than failing to protect the ones you love” just breaks my heart!
” I killed a Whitewalker and I killed a Then! I think i’ll take my chances against you” Samwell Tarly
“GRR”GRR”GRR” Ghost saving Sam and Gilly
LF to Lancel on peddling fantasies, as that’s what they both do in order to manipulate. LF’s really are more entertaining, though no less deadly.
Dany on breaking the wheel.
Bronn on Jaime’s improvisational skills leading to the golden hand.
Tyrion on killing =/= politics.
Brienne on Renly: I liked it, as it made Brienne into something other than an ignorant, lovelorn “ugly” girl, and created a viable tie between the two that could lead Brienne to give up on Sansa, and go after Stannis.