Dragon in the North

To my knowledge, the Stannis chapter came before the Pink Letter.

At that point, Stannis’s war against the White Walkers trumped his war for the Iron Throne. Once he made it North, the most important reason Stannis was after the throne was so he could lead the country against the dead. The question of his successor would have to wait until the White Walkers were defeated.

Yes, Alexander Siddig was definitely wasted. I never cared for Doran in the books, but I thought the show version had potential. We finally had a leader who tried to put the needs of his people first before his desire for revenge. He was different than all the other lords we’ve seen, and Siddig was doing really well with what he’s been given. Sadly, they cut his time on the show short.

The Blackfish’s death was the only one that bothered me. I didn’t necessarily have to see him die, but him running at a group of Lannister soldiers before cutting away would have been a lot better than what we got. However, I disagree with the other deaths mentioned in this thread. I never saw Littlefinger as a genius. He was the type of “schemer” that threw a wrench into the works, step back, and see what happens. He did it with poisoning Jon Arryn, poisoning Joffrey, marrying Sansa to Ramsay, and pitting Arya and Sansa against each other. It was only a matter of time before one of his plans blew up in his face, and I found the trial to be epic. My on complaint was that Arya and Sansa’s reconciliation happened off screen. Barristan died fighting about a dozen fighters single handily. I thought he went out like a badass. Stannis’s death was a natural end to his arc. He was the false messiah, after all, and was doomed to fail. Doran was a minor character as opposed to the books, and his death was a result of D&D axing the Dornish storyline. I can see why others were disappointed, but it didn’t bother me.

It’s mentioned in the article that production of Guardians 3 will begin after Gunn completes Suicide Squad 2.

James Gunn returns to direct Guardians of the Galaxy 3: https://deadline.com/2019/03/james-gunn-reinstated-guardians-of-the-galaxy-3-disney-suicide-squad-2-indefensible-social-media-messages-1202576444/

Yeah, I get what you’re saying. I see it as a possibility, but not a probability.

It doesn’t matter which situation we prefer. What matters is what Martin believes will better serve the story. He’s not going to change his story just to please Stannis fans. Besides, picking between those two situations depends on whether or not you prefer Stannis or Jon. I really enjoyed Stannis in the show and I thought they gave him a really good arc, but I never cared for him in the books. I could never connect with him in the way I connected with the other characters, so I wouldn’t mind if Martin’s northern storyline emulates the show, even though I know Stannis fans wouldn’t be pleased.

Things that will most likely be the same: 1. Craster’s children become the White Walkers 2. Valyrian steel kills White Walkers 3. The White Walkers have some sort of leader 4. Shireen gets burned 5. Viserion dies and becomes an ice dragon 6. The Hound is alive 7. Jon Snow gets resurrected 8. Euron killed Balon 9. Jon becomes king 10. Frey pies 11. Hold the Door 12. The Children of the Forest created the White Walkers 13. Danerys takes over the khalasar 14. R+L=J 15. Ramsay wrote the pink letter 16. Tyrion is named Hand of the Queen 17. Ser Barristan dies 18. Melisandre is ancient Things that possibly will happen: 1. Jon vs. Ramsay 2. Rickon and Shaggydog are killed 3. The High Sparrow outlaws trial by combat 4. Cersei uses wild fire 5. The Freys are massacred 6. Euron and Cersei join forces 7. Randyll Tarly betrays the Tyrells

It looked like a regular ranger horn. There was nothing special about it.

Back in season 1, they didn’t know how to kill wights. They did in season 7 and were equipped with the necessary weapons, so of course it was easier.

Yeah, no problem. To me, season 3 was weakened by their splitting of ASOS. I felt like several plot lines were in holding patterns and moved very slowly in order to save the Red Wedding for the climax. I felt like the pacing was rather off. Season 3 also had the weakest finale, imo. That said, it had a few spectacular moments, such as Dany taking command of the UnSullied (one of my favorite scenes), The Hound’s trial by combat, and, of course, the Red Wedding. I found season 6 to be much better paced had a lot of my favorite scenes and plot lines. Season 6 may have stumbled somewhere in the middle around episodes 6 and 7in terms of pacing, but the beginning and ending of the season were excellent. Plus, it had the added benefit of containing relatively unfamiliar plots, having moved passed the books, so everything was new and fresh. Season 6 also contains my all time favorite episode and finale in the Winds of Winter.

They went up from some seasons, down from others. All the seasons are great, but right now, my order is: Season 4 Season 6 Season 1 Season 7 Season 2 Season 3 Season 5

I’ve had my criticisms of season 7, just like I’ve had my criticisms of the previous seasons and of every other television show I’ve ever watched. The positives of GOT far overwhelm the negatives.

I can’t speak for T and A, but I certainly argue against that. I think the show is still going strong and continues to be my favorite television series. The books, on the other hand, have gone downhill with AFFC/ADWD. To be honest, I’m slowly losing interest in the books and hardly care anymore if Winds is ever released.