Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon!

[Cuchulainn]

I'm interested to see if the guy who got up to go piss on a tree is still alive as I imagine he'll be the new leader, and also interested to see how the Stark army respond. I can see it being rather obvious how Arya responds, at the very least.

Wasn't that the Blackfish? Mini book spoils I guess. (SPOILER)He wasn't even at the Red Wedding and I was like "wtf are you doing here brynden YOU BETTER NOT DIE" when I saw him. I started laughing my ass off when I saw how he dodged the bullet.

Also there is no more Stark army dude, they all got smurfing murdered/captured or they were Bolton men who, well... you saw what their Lord did. Did you not pay attention to the bits with The Hound?

Not true. Many men did get murdered but there are still Northmen everywhere. Not every soldier went to the wedding.

[Madame Adequate]

Both aspects matter. There's clearly something bigger afoot than the usual political bickering of the Seven Kingdoms - Dany has dragons, and last time a Targ got some dragons the entirity of Westeros was changed forever. In the far north the White Walkers are stirring, and they last did so was like 8,000 years ago and resulted in the Wall being built. The Red God R'hllor, or at least His clergy, seem to have huge ambitions on Westeros as well, and the last time the faith of Westeros changed significantly was also thousands of years previously, and even Aegon the Conquerer adopted the Faith of the Seven instead of trying to usurp it. And the Red God has power.

But the political situation that is ongoing as these grand events take place are also vitally important. Ned or Robb could very plausibly have rallied the North to fight the White Walkers, but can Walder Frey or Roose Bolton or whoever ends up in charge after the Red Wedding? Would they even care to try? Down south Tywin clearly has the leadership and intelligence to lead a defense against a Dothraki Horde (when that looked like a possibility) or Dany's dragons, if he judges such a thing can be won, but he's trying to wrestle for power with Joffrey, Tyrion, Cersei, and Olenna, among others. If, I dunno, Littlefinger makes a move to gain more power at just the wrong time, or Cersei and Tyrion start a fight for influence, or Joffrey commits some scandal that's hard to keep under wraps, Tywin might be too busy dealing with that to even pay attention to a fleet of Unsullied and Dragons.

So both matter. The big threats matter, though those are still slowly being built up, and the political stuff that guides reactions to those matter.

And as for wondering whether your favorite character is going to get a break? "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." Edit: Damnit Zach

[Psychotic]

I'm interested to see if the guy who got up to go piss on a tree is still alive as I imagine he'll be the new leader, and also interested to see how the Stark army respond. I can see it being rather obvious how Arya responds, at the very least.

Wasn't that the Blackfish? Mini book spoils I guess. (SPOILER)He wasn't even at the Red Wedding and I was like "wtf are you doing here brynden YOU BETTER NOT DIE" when I saw him. I started laughing my ass off when I saw how he dodged the bullet.

Also there is no more Stark army dude, they all got smurfing murdered/captured or they were Bolton men who, well... you saw what their Lord did. Did you not pay attention to the bits with The Hound?

Not true. Many men did get murdered but there are still Northmen everywhere. Not every soldier went to the wedding.

Well yeah but they're not an army anymore, they're broken men.

Also, Del, the characters have both happy moments and moments of triumph, as well as the sad moments and the tragedy. Robb has several huge tactical victories, becomes a King, finds the love of his life - it's not been endless misery for the lad.

[Shaibana]

I actually like it. In near every story fantasy or not, the MCs can make stupid decisions and never see repercussion. Those hobbits aren't all going to die, Sauron will be defeated!

War is messy. In war, people die. In life, people die. Some don't make it out alive to live to that promised old age. That's the human element. The good guys don't always win in life. That's what I like about GRRM's books. Evil Santa shows you that gifts are just that, a gift, a gift of life. If you say or do something wrong it WILL affect you. The story WILL be affected. Sure Robb marrying for luv luv was noble but it was ultimately a stupid decision. And he paid for it.

The human element, the realistic element is that bad stuff can and does happen. People die. You may get attached to these characters but there is a reason for it. They are people, believable people at that. You should hate that they die. You should feel emotion over it. Because that's how life is. Life is hard. Representing that in a book or movie is hard. The fact that it's been accomplished is a feat of itself. You become invested in the story more. You want those damn lannisters killed for it!

well said

[Del Murder]

Also, Del, the characters have both happy moments and moments of triumph, as well as the sad moments and the tragedy. Robb has several huge tactical victories, becomes a King, finds the love of his life - it's not been endless misery for the lad.

Oh I'm not too concerned with Robb. He definitely had is time to shine before his own ill advised decisions undid him. His arc was pretty well done and it was clear he was never going to 'win' the war. It is Catelyn that was the real tragedy. Nothing but crap happened to her from the start of the series. I was hoping for a little bit more than 'I stayed up with Jon Snow when he was sick' to wrap up her storyline. Maybe a brief reuinion with Arya, or some knowledge that her boys survived, or even a reaction to her oldest daughter marrying the person she captured to start this whole mess. We got none of that, and I felt it was a huge slight to those who grew attached to her character.

[Pike]

Speaking of Jon Snow, I sure hope the poor guy gets to learn who his mother is someday.

Also I hope Ygritte doesn't hunt him down and wear his "pretty lil' cock" round her neck like she said she was going to earlier

[Psychotic]

I can't really answer your post without giving away book spoilers, Del. If you still feel like this in 12 months time I will be surprised though, that is all I will say.

[Ouch!]

Speaking of Jon Snow, I sure hope the poor guy gets to learn who his mother is someday.

Speaking of Jon Snow, I sure hope we get to learn who his mother is someday. In all seriousness, though, Martin has said that Jon Snow's mother will be revealed before the series is over. Most book readers have already figured it out beyond most reasonable doubt, but they haven't done any of the groundwork and foreshadowing for that reveal in the TV show, even though there has been consistent evidence pointing to Seriously Major Speculative SpoilerLyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen being Jon's parents since the very first book. But a great deal of the most compelling evidence for this (such as from Ned Stark's fever dreams while in the Black Cells and from Dany's visions in the House of the Undying) was cut from the show.

[Pike]

there has been consistent evidence pointing to Seriously Major Speculative SpoilerLyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen being Jon's parents since the very first book

[Del Murder]

I can't really answer your post without giving away book spoilers, Del. If you still feel like this in 12 months time I will be surprised though, that is all I will say.

Alright. You better not be trolling me!

[Ouch!]

He's not.

[Rantz]

Or is he?

[Del Murder]

I think he is. I don't trust Ouch! either. Maybe if Frekana verified it.

[I Took the Red Pill]

That ending was great. I liked the show from the beginning, but Ned's death at the end of S1 was what convinced me that this was a really great thing.

I feel for those who have been truly upset by it, but this show doesn't even begin to approach Breaking Bad for making me feel like trout. BB general spoilerWalt's slow progression into an absolute monster is the biggest TV downer I've ever seen, but it remains my favorite drama series of all time.

[Denmark]

i need to stop reading this thread and start reading the books

screw your secretive book spoilers