Good thing she didn't pay for them now eh?
Although Drogon looked really spikey. I'm sure that was actually a painful ride Dany took.
Good thing she didn't pay for them now eh?
Although Drogon looked really spikey. I'm sure that was actually a painful ride Dany took.
I've reached a point with this show where nothing really shocks me anymore so it's not as fun. Stuff like Ned's death or the Red Wedding was genuinely shocking (and thus fun) but now it's just "Hmm I wonder what depressing thing will happen this week. Ho hum." Guess I'm just jaded now. Oh well. xD
I'm not desensitized yet. I can understand people going "oh, what terrible tragedy will befall everyone this week?", but for me these events still cut pretty deep. I'm not crying or in anger over the events. I'm more winded. I did genuinely think they would spare Shireen. I just didn't think Stannis would be able to do it, which I guess is the beauty of the scene. Now that we've gone off-piste with the books, we can't even use them for guidance now.
The most shocking thing about the scene really was Queen Selyse. I know she was hardly mother of the year, but for her to finally realize, at the very end that her daughter was burning to death and to see her struggle against the guards. Now that was tough to watch as well. The one who seemed the most fanatical about the Lord of Light railed against this sacrifice.
Don't get me wrong; I still think the horrible stuff happening is horrible. But it used to be offset by being fun to watch. Now I don't even find it fun anymore.
I watched the "inside the episode" thing right and D&D say "When george told us about this scene" about the shireen part, as in, they didn't change his story we just haven't gotten to that point yet I'm assuming. Otherwise why would they say when George told them.
I bet he's writing it that way because he knew how much people started rooting for stannis and wanted to crush that because he's mean like that.
To use real-world evidence, the Greek phalanx formation (who fought essentially the same way the Unsullied do in formation) was utterly unbeatable for decades, except by another, better phalanx, which is one of the main reasons the nascent Kingdom of Rome adopted it. However, after awhile they found it wasn't working very well anymore - it doesn't matter if you've got twenty-year veterans of the Roman Army, if you don't have the right terrain and you either can't rely on, or don't have, the man to your right, you can't win the fights. Rome got consistently and repeatedly massacred in fighting Italy's hill tribes, primarily the Samnites.
This is what led the Roman Republic to take the Samnite formations for their own and refine them into the Manipular system that would serve the Legions so well for over two centuries. In a riotous situation like the one Boko is describing it's absolutely reasonable that the Unsullied would get smurfed up badly, and it would actually be the opposite which would be much more outrageous and hard to believe. Whenever the real world's closest equivalent of the Unsullied were unable to maintain their formations they got torn into pieces.
Anyway, Stannis, what? We've seen more than one occasion from him where the one thing he truly feels tenderness towards, the one area he lets himself feel emotions other than glowering anger, is Shireen. The whole point was that Stannis will do anything to win except this. If there's one line that he would absolutely never ever cross, it's that one. Last episode he barely restrained himself from caving in Mel's face when she brought it up. I mean, obviously I'm wrong and he would, but I don't know that me getting the impression was my failing so much as the writers'?
Mel doing it, sure, through trickery or when Stannis is busy or whatever else, and with Selyse's help, sure, but ugggghhh I don't even mind the thing itself just that it feels against both Stannis AND Selyse's characterization.
At least somebody's got my back
EDIT: As for Shireen, I didn't think it was out of character. Stannis is a man driven by duty and as I watched I felt it was killing him to do as well. I'm sure the sacrifice will allow Stannis to take Winterfell somehow, because Red God is hacks, but it's ultimately the point we can turn to as the death of Stannis. Doing this now will probably have Davos's faith be thrown into question and ultimately lead to Stannis's undoing.
The Unsullied aren't just trained in phalanx tactics though, they're trained in swordplay too. Regardless, I can believe them eating trout against a Dothraki horde or some Westerosi knights or Braavosi water dancers if they lose formation. What I don't smurfing believe is them losing to the Sons of the Harpy who are trained in smurf all and don't even have armour. Seasoned combat veterans who have been trained as soldiers day-in day-out with better equipment do not lose to a bunch of rich kids in masks who have never killed anyone, never fought a day in their lives or done any sort of hard work at all. Not buying it.
That entire scene was nonsense. The harpies came at the group one at a time - why do that when they clearly outnumbered and surrounded Danaerys' team? Daario would take on one while they all stood around. It was poorly coordinated and unnatural for everyone to be so still. And then Danaerys was smurfing around with Drogon and could have had him killed by distracting him from saving everyone else as he was doing by lighting up the Harpies. It should have been another Blackwater in that pit while a couple of them tried to smuggle Danaerys out of harm's way.
I really enjoyed Jorah's redemption, but I kindof don't understand how Danaerys flip-flopped so strongly. What happened to make her change her stance on him since the last time she saw him? Certainly if it's something as much as showing unfaltering devotion, his last appearance should have made her stop in her tracks and hold her breath like that when he returned with Tyrion. Why this time? It didn't make sense to me.
I'm all for it because I love Jorah more as time goes on but why did that happen
I love how everyone is suddenly an expert an how to charge at men with spears
I can charge at you with a spear and you can tell me how expert I am if you'd like!
GoT is pretty bad at showing the passage of time. They've been in Mareen for a while by that point. Killings started with civilians, then escalated. If there's anything we should have learned from modern history is that a rebellious population gets more and more cunning and dangerous as time goes on.
Lets not forget that Mareen is pretty much GoT Iraq. :P
There was nothing that ever indicated this was anything but 100% heartfelt and sincere. If he'd said this in Season 2 and turned around now fine, but he said it last week.Originally Posted by Stannis
Also it doesn't matter how good you are if you're tremendously outnumbered by a baying mob! Barristan Selmy, Jaime Lannister, and Ser Arthur Dayne wouldn't be able to. The Sons of the Harpy are absolute fanatics and this is their Make Or Break play, they'll totally have plenty of kids willing to throw themselves onto Unsullied blades for victory, and no matter how good you are, exhaustion, chaos, and force of numbers will wear you down and defeat you.
Daario Naharis and a wounded Jorah Mormont were able to though