170 replies to this topic

[Umel of Ys]

Many have voiced their perplexity regarding the part where the White Walker looks at Sam and does nothing about him. It may be one of thoses cases where the writers were a little too subtle. IMO it was just a smart and cruel and ultimately misleading (which is interesting for non-readers) jab at Sam. Huddled up against a boulder, shaking like a leaf he seems so pathetic that even the WW doesn't want him in his army of Wights. His father, many of his brothers of the NN, and now the head of a zombie army have nothing but contempt for Sam. Not being attacked is actually an insult. The poor guy is at his lowest and the future developments will contrast all the more sharply with this low point.
At least I think that's what they were getting at.

[Tourniquet]

Maybe he assumes that his army of undead is going to do it for him...?

[Tadco26]

Or maybe it was just bad writing?  It makes no sense considering the white walkers killed children and the wights clearly try to kill Sam later, so not being a "threat" doesn't matter to them.

[Kaitscralt]

The same reason why they didn't kill the ranger in the prologue. Because they're *gasp* different than the books.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

Tadco26, on 05 June 2012 - 08:44 AM, said:

Or maybe it was just bad writing?  It makes no sense considering the white walkers killed children and the wights clearly try to kill Sam later, so not being a "threat" doesn't matter to them.

I agree.  As neat looking and scary as the scene was, it beggars belief that the WW and wights wouldn't make short work of Sam.  

I'm hoping the resolution next season is that Sam has a dragonglass dagger and uses it on the WW (as in the book), killing it and scaring off the rest.  I'll be very disappointed at any other conclusion, i.e. they "ignored" him.

[The Frostfangs]

Kaitscralt, on 05 June 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

The same reason why they didn't kill the ranger in the prologue. Because they're *gasp* different than the books.

This.

[Clariana]

Nope, it was because the lead wight or WW is none other than Benjen Stark... Well that's my theory...

[Tadco26]

Most likely this was the substitute for the attack on the fist.  Next season Gren, Ed and Sam will wander across the deserted fist post battle and comment how the wights must have killed them all.  They probably never will address why they left Sam alive, which may be for the best since it is hard to imagine a reasonable explanation.  Maybe Cold Hands will save him pre-Crastor and Gilly?

[Reposado]

Kaitscralt, on 05 June 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

The same reason why they didn't kill the ranger in the prologue. Because they're *gasp* different than the books.

different in what way?  you can question the logic of the show. it's far from perfect.

[Qwop22]

This was my biggest gripe about the finale. It really killed off any awesomeness the ending had. Sam just sitting there surrounded by wights and White Walkers, and having them look at him and then just scream and keep marching? Totally lame.

[sarah.jenice]

Ferrum Aeternum, on 05 June 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

I agree.  As neat looking and scary as the scene was, it beggars belief that the WW and wights wouldn't make short work of Sam.  

I'm hoping the resolution next season is that Sam has a dragonglass dagger and uses it on the WW (as in the book), killing it and scaring off the rest.  I'll be very disappointed at any other conclusion, i.e. they "ignored" him.

This is the only thing I could think of to explain it. The WW could sense that he had the dragonglass dagger and left him alone, but that still stretches belief.

Someone else brought up the prologue in Season 1, Episode 1, where the WW walks toward Will, but then he's alive later.

I don't understand why they don't just do simple things like have Will in a tree or Sam hidden a little farther away behind a bolder where he sees the WW, but it doesn't look at him. We'd still get to see it, but we wouldn't have to wonder why it could care less about Sam being there.

[Drogon's Personal Trainer]

I'm not sure about this one.  I do suspect that George has a huge twist in store for us re. the Others, and I just wonder whether this scene wasn't the first hint of it, given that D&D know the end of the tale?  It was certainly very odd, but I'm suspending judgement until we get an explanation next series

But I really don't think the Others/WWs are going to be half as 'evil' as we're being led to believe.  It's a fascinating one.

Edited by Drogon's Personal Trainer, 05 June 2012 - 09:28 AM.

[Lady Storm]

In the end scene (I mean the last 6 seconds or so) there are only  2 rocks visible, one in front of the tree-looking-horse-riding WW and one to his left.
After he screams, all the WW seem to be moving toward a rock, but I'm not sure which one exactly (I think they actually made a mistake of perspective here, especially after re-watching the scene where Sam picks the rock he'll hide behind.).

It might e that they're not going away form Sam but towards him (the tree-looking-horse-riding-guy doesn't actually move away from the rock he was standing next to).

But the whole scene seams kind of a mess.

[WolveseatDragons]

I agree the ending was disappointing on several levels.  It is unrealistic that Sam survives and yet clearly he will and it made the enduring image of the show being a zombie movie.  My wife is a non reader that isn't big into fantasy but LOVES GoT and to have it end with a "Walking Dead" feel left her confused and kind of turned off.

Personally I think a far better way to end the season would have been Maester Luwin dying and seeing Winterfell burning in the background.

[A Stark in Salem]

Drogon, on 05 June 2012 - 09:28 AM, said:

I'm not sure about this one.  I do suspect that George has a huge twist in store for us re. the Others, and I just wonder whether this scene wasn't the first hint of it, given that D&D know the end of the tale?  It was certainly very odd, but I'm suspending judgement until we get an explanation next series

But I really don't think the Others/WWs are going to be half as 'evil' as we're being led to believe.  It's a fascinating one.

I can't see how that could in any way be true. The walkers have brutally and mercilessly killed and absorbed every living thing in their path. I just was reading again in Dance of Dragons the scene where Summer is tearing into a walkers dead arm that still tries to fight back until all the flesh has been torn off and only "remembers it was dead" once the bones have been sucked of their marrow.

There are no gray areas with the walkers/wights. They are pure evil; death incarnate. This is not just the perspective of men, but of the Green Seers, the children of the forest that are attending to Bran in his underground magical cave, and every Westerosi scholar since time began.

[Howdyphillip]

I actually think that we saw confusing camera angles on the final shot, because if you go back and watch the shot at the very end, the horde hasn't yet reached Sam's position behind the rocks. I think that we as the audience saw the White Walker stare at the camera, but that the WW hasn't necessarily seen Sam yet.

It was confusing camera angles, and could have been story boarded better.

[Elroy Mankins]

Drogon, on 05 June 2012 - 09:28 AM, said:

But I really don't think the Others/WWs are going to be half as 'evil' as we're being led to believe.  It's a fascinating one.

I see this here all the time, but it seems counter-intuitive that the prologue of the first book would place the menace of the Others/WWs at the fore just to have that be a misdirection.  I guess you can't put it past GRRM, but it just doesn't add up for me.

[Greywolf2375]

Kaitscralt, on 05 June 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

The same reason why they didn't kill the ranger in the prologue. Because they're *gasp* different than the books.

The comment has nothing to do with the books.  It has to do with an army walking past an enemy, just leaving him there.  This was not a single WW or small group, this is an army that gave appearances to be intent on waging a battle.  Why then would the leaders of that group leave an enemy in their midst?

[Bride of Winter]

Drogon, on 05 June 2012 - 09:28 AM, said:

I'm not sure about this one.  I do suspect that George has a huge twist in store for us re. the Others, and I just wonder whether this scene wasn't the first hint of it, given that D&D know the end of the tale?  It was certainly very odd, but I'm suspending judgement until we get an explanation next series

But I really don't think the Others/WWs are going to be half as 'evil' as we're being led to believe.  It's a fascinating one.

Yes! I'm the first one to nitpick things in this show, but I don't think this was an inconsistency on the part of the writers. for sentient humanoid creatures, I have a hard time believing the others are simply Evil-with-a-capital-E killing machines, without any other motives. especially in a series where the point is essentially that everything is shades of grey.

Not to mention, in the prologue the Other let that guy (sorry I can't remember his name) live once he submitted to them. I definitely think there's more to the others than we're being led to believe.

Edited by Bride of Winter, 05 June 2012 - 09:44 AM.

[RoamingRonin]

I didn't think they saw him. I thought the Other looked in his direction, sensing him but not actually seeing him.