[Book spoilers] The lack of Ser Dontos

[never trust a bard]

I'm not sure Dontos is even going to be part of her escape. I was thinking they might just get to the point and let Littlefinger rescue her. They seem to be cutting out some serious middlemen this season and combining storylines. That seems like an easy place to snip.

[Mulled Wino]

I don't think they had time to fit that storyline in yet. No biggie, there's plenty of time later

[Darth Vader's Bastard]

there can be only so many characters, especially on a tv show, before it becomes overwhelming. they already introduced so many new characters for season 2, i don't really expect ser dontos to be a part of the show.

[Reposado]

i think it's part of the, some arcs are better left confined to a season, style. this would fit. having sansa meet with dontos can wait till LF is back in KL. they've already cast him and established him as a presence in the red keep. they need someone to coax sansa to leave, so why wouldn't they use a character, that both does this in the books and is kicking around on the show.

they've got to get her to the vale somehow. they need to get more use out that eyrie set

[Dunnii]

this thread confuses me. Dontos is in the very first scene in the first episode of season 2 and Sansa saves his life.

Seems to me he will enter her life soon. Right?

[The_Spanish_Inquisition]

Sansa is basically told she is better off with Stannis in control and would likely survive the sack as long as she stays put. With the Hound it would seem much more uncertain.

This is why she didn't go. She's sure Stannis won't hurt her, and running off into an dangerous future with a drunken brute she's terrified of doesn't seem like a chance she would want to take. That's not even considering the fact that Sandor is basically a fugitive at this point. He's not a safe bet. She's still convinced that chivalry will save her. Stannis might not hurt her, but what about his men? Seems like despite what Sandor has been trying to showher, reality hasn't quite sunk in.

Dontos really isn't needed here. It's just as believable to have Littlefinger holding the reins on the whole plot without including the Dontos information.

[Reposado]

Dontos really isn't needed here. It's just as believable to have Littlefinger holding the reins on the whole plot without including the Dontos information.

It isn't needed, but they've already cast him. Why, if just for the one scene? Have they casted anyone with less of a role than that?

[iheartseverus]

I think it could be set up to be some great tv if they do use Dontos--the non-bookies will be all 'oh, can that drunken fool really get her out of there?' worry, worry. Then, he does get her out. YAY!! But then, we see who's behind it all, who's standing there with that oily, knowing smirk. Peedo Petyr! OH, F*CK ME, NOOOOO!

[The_Spanish_Inquisition]

It isn't needed, but they've already cast him. Why, if just for the one scene? Have they casted anyone with less of a role than that?

Who knows. Maybe they cast him earlier fully intending to write him into the plot as per the book, but then realized they just had way too much information to convey and something had to be cut. The Dontos subplot is one of the easiest to just do away with, especially once you realize Baelish was driving the plan anyway.

IMHO, the most important part of the tourney scene involving Dontos is just further establishing the Joffrey/Sansa/Sandor dynamic and less about getting Dontos into the story. Watching the way Sandor lies to Joffrey to save Sansa, and how Joffrey clearly idolizes his bodyguard is worth writing Dontos in for only one episode, IMHO.

Or, maybe he'll appear next episode.

[rezor]

Damn, this site has been playing up hardcore all week so can't go back to page one to quote what a previous poster said, but in terms of it being believable that Sansa wouldn't feel safe going with the Hound because of he's violent/a rapist, etc, I agree. But surely Sansa would've been tempted when he offered to take her back to Winterfell? At this point, her options are staying to see what Stannis might do to her/ hanging about to bear Joffrey's psychotic little children/having more rosy chats with Cersei. Not very enticing options. You would think the mere mention of the name of her home would have her leaping at the chance to go back to her brothers, despite her misgivings about the Hound. Yes, he's scary as hell but he did save her from being raped and you would think that would make the idea of escaping with him a little more favourable. So that scene was not very believable for me. She didn't even look tempted.

[DaughterOfThe9Moons]

Damn, this site has been playing up hardcore all week so can't go back to page one to quote what a previous poster said, but in terms of it being believable that Sansa wouldn't feel safe going with the Hound because of he's violent/a rapist, etc, I agree. But surely Sansa would've been tempted when he offered to take her back to Winterfell? At this point, her options are staying to see what Stannis might do to her/ hanging about to bear Joffrey's psychotic little children/having more rosy chats with Cersei. Not very enticing options. You would think the mere mention of the name of her home would have her leaping at the chance to go back to her brothers, despite her misgivings about the Hound. Yes, he's scary as hell but he did save her from being raped and you would think that would make the idea of escaping with him a little more favourable. So that scene was not very believable for me. She didn't even look tempted.

I agree with you. Except for the bolded part which is not supported by textual evidence. In fact when Jaime hears about the "the Hound" butchering/raping at saltpans he thinks that doesn't sound like Sandor's style. Sandor's fighting prowess is discussed and then there are his confessions about having killed multiple women and children... I think that if he were a rapist, especially considering how often he appears in the POV characters thoughts that one of them would have mentioned or hinted that this was so.

Anyway, I would have thought she would have been tempted as well considering how the TV series has portrayed Sandor in a much less agressive, more toned down manner. If you think about his interactions with Sansa in the book they were way more extreme and so even without the promise of Dontos as a rescuer I don't think she would have left KL with him. As it was I feel like it seemed strange she didn't go and I think the fact that a lot of non readers thought that she was going to leave with him supports that. (Even though I personally thought it was clear she had declined his offer.)

[heathergalaxy]

Based on the last episode, my guess is that since Sansa (rightly) doesn't trust Littlefinger with her true feelings that they'll have the Ser Dontos plot to get her out of there (probably after she marries Tyrion). And then Sansa can be (again rightly) horrified that Littlefinger was behind it.

[Myrcella]

I think Sansa will escape with Littlefinger straight away. The last we see of Sansa in E10 is Baelish requesting to escape Sansa. She reluctantly refuses, and then Littlefinger says the same line Clegane said in the book, something about everyone being liars and being better than her.

[Masamune]

I think it could be set up to be some great tv if they do use Dontos--the non-bookies will be all 'oh, can that drunken fool really get her out of there?' worry, worry. Then, he does get her out. YAY!! But then, we see who's behind it all, who's standing there with that oily, knowing smirk. Peedo Petyr! OH, F*CK ME, NOOOOO!

No they won't, because now they know Littlefinger wants to help her escape.

They've more or less scrapped that plot twist now because of their need to shoehorn Aidan Gillen into as many scenes as possible.

[Ciazio]

Is it? I can easily understand that a 16 (?) year old girl doesn't want to go with a murderer, rapist and whatever else Clegane has done.

13/14 years old. But she wants to go with him, they're in loooooooveeeeee..... :love: He's such a gallant knight.

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:leaving:

[acedrian]

I think its fairly clear that poor Ser Dontos was a victim of editing in the series. It doesn't really make sense to have him in that very first scene, and then not follow up with the whole "thanks for saving my life - now I will help you escape" thing. The only thing I can think of is that the producers intended to run the Dontos plot right up until after the first episode was made. Then for whatever reason they changed their minds and removed him from the plot (apart from that first scene). Even if they are delaying the escape plot till the next series, it makes no sense now to include this redundant middle-man - especially when no one is going to remember Dontos from episode 1 series 2 and the debt he owes Sansa.

[oierem]

I think its fairly clear that poor Ser Dontos was a victim of editing in the series. It doesn't really make sense to have him in that very first scene, and then not follow up with the whole "thanks for saving my life - now I will help you escape" thing. The only thing I can think of is that the producers intended to run the Dontos plot right up until after the first episode was made. Then for whatever reason they changed their minds and removed him from the plot (apart from that first scene). Even if they are delaying the escape plot till the next series, it makes no sense now to include this redundant middle-man - especially when no one is going to remember Dontos from episode 1 series 2 and the debt he owes Sansa.

I agree, something strange happened there... It may be because of bad acting? The guy who played Dontos was (by far) one of the worst actors of the show, IMO.

But if they shot that scene, they must have shot all the others, right?

[Ser Luke.]

I just don't get why they would show Ser Dontos in the first episode and then cut his larger parts in the rest of the season. I love the show and I completely understand they have to leave some characters out, but why introduce someone you're never going to build on?

[Frey-A-La-Mode]

I agree, something strange happened there... It may be because of bad acting? The guy who played Dontos was (by far) one of the worst actors of the show, IMO.

But if they shot that scene, they must have shot all the others, right?

Ya, I didn't find him very convincing in that scene either. Now I'm not sure if they'll bring him back. It seems highly unlikely that they'll replace him, because viewers aren't very likely to remember him. I wonder if they'll still do the note thing? (come to the godswood if you want to go home). Maybe she won't receive that note until the morning of Joffrey's wedding or something.

I could also see Shae helping her escape... Although that one might be a bit of a stretch.