Lady Anna

Oh it's just the actor coupled with the general writing of s4. Like aceluby and everyone said.

Agreed.

So I've been binge watching this show for the first time and so I'm avoiding the rest of this thread. I wanted to finish season 5 before making a post here but I'm on 4x03 and I'm so mad about the way they killed Beocca. Besides the abrupt way it happened, almost like an afterthought or an attempt at shock factor (he didn't want to come but then he did and then he died all in a very short space), why leave the death for the first 5 minutes of episode 3 (and before the opening credits even!) instead of including it at the end of episode 2..... it completely killed the moment and felt like a joke, like they didn't even care. In fact the way they've been ending each episode is so bad. Ending it in the middle of a scene and starting the next episode as a straight continuation, like we've just been on a commercial break, just comes across as sloppy and nonsensical. Anyway I'm only on 4x03 and this season is already bad.... Since I'm writing this post I might as well share some of my thoughts about the show so far: The absurdly fast pace of this show is at times fine but also detrimental when it comes to character development; The non-aging of the characters is....weird....but I can disregard it as a creative choice. Seasons 1 and 2 were much better than 3 and (so far) 4. The first half of season 3 was very good I thought, but the second half wasn't as good (besides the scenes between Uthred and Brida in episode 6 and between Uthred and Alfred in episode 9). Season 4 is suffering I think of the repetitiveness of the storylines and the fact that the new characters are almost the same as the previous ones who've died. And they're not as interesting.

I pronounce Brynden as bry-den. Like the first part rhyming with 'dry'. Now I'm questioning it bryn-den makes sense because of the 'n' after the 'y'.

I always have to age up the characters mentally when I read because otherwise it's either super unrealistic or even weird and disgusting (like you guys have mentioned with Dany for example). I think 18 should have been the age of adulthood instead of 16. But I'd have Robb and Jon start the books with 17 at least. Same with Dany. Then Sansa with 14 or 15, Arya with 12, Bran with 10 and Rickon with 6.

In my view, once your books reach this level of popularity and acclaim (including being favorably compared to LOTR, being considered a staple of the genre, with millions and millions of copies sold), there will always be people curious to read it, even if there's no ending (which, if it remains that way, will always be part of its "legend"). I agree with you on the show and its ending, though. As a personal aside, I would have still read this series even if I knew it was going to remain unfinished. By this point it really doesn't bother me, maybe because I watched the show (which, despite not being a big fan of, I'm not particularly disappointed with).

Exactly.

I lean towards Jaime but I often think about this, especially in light of what's in the spoiler box. In any case, I think the valonqar has to be someone narratively connected to Cersei so I like the ideia of Arya too.

I think there will always be people reading these books in the future, given their popularity. I don't think the series being unifinished would change that, except that it wouldn't be seen as something like LOTR. I also think people will keep watching the show as the years go by. Of course, its popularity will never reach the heights it had once but there will always be somebody curious enough to watch a once very popular TV show. I guess the same goes for the books.

August 21st.

Yes. I think it's a self-fulfilling thing too. If a show is simple then the viewers aren't going to bother getting too invested. But if a show has some nuance and complexity then I believe the viewers would make more of an effort. But as we know those showrunners clearly thought viewers were stupid and that was that.

I don't know if I should have posted this in the Literature thread but. Can someone who read the books spoil something for me, I'm so curious:

I'm a relatively new user but I used to read the forums in around 2013/2014. I remember Apple Martini and tze (?). It seems they aren't around anymore.

I don't think the entire House will be wiped out but they will always be known for what they did. I think they will be pariahs to everyone in Westeros from now on and they'll probably lose the Twins. The North (and this includes the Riverlands as part of the kingdom) will never forget the Red Wedding and I think it's one of the reasons why they will continue to proclaim independence from the South.

But there aren't any more Targaryens in this scenario. The Baratheons ? I agree with your second sentence. I think - regardless of motive - that Bran will be chosen that way.

I believe that Bran being King of Westeros (what's left of it) will also happen in the books and to me it's a simple case of him being Jon's next male heir. If Dany dies or doesn't become queen (which is highly possible), and if Jon is accepted or acclaimed as the legitimate ruler of Westeros, then if he dies or abdicates Bran is his next male relative and therefore heir. Speaking of Jon, I also think his chances of being acclaimed king over Dany are high, because like we saw on the show, Dany won't be popular in Westeros, a continent already devastated by war and with no fond memories of the Targaryens, besides being a woman, born of incest, with a weapon (the dragons) that does a lot of damage, and who probably will destroy Kings Landing so will be left without an actual kingdom to rule from (I'm considering that the north, Riverlands and Vale are allied; the Reach fighting maybe against the Greyjoys; the westerlands, the Stormlands and Dorne as enemies). Meanwhile Jon, if king in the north or ruler, will have the entire North + Vale + Riverlands at his side, plus being a man, who already proved himself as a man of the Night's Watch, and with an extra Targaryen heritage to give him the legitimacy it gave Robert. In any case, if the Targaryens hadn't been deposed, he would have been the heir now. So yeah I think this Jon-Dany conflict may happen in some capacity and I think it would make sense to happen after the War with the Others. Edit: Not to mention the influence of any magical things that may happen in the meantime. I am definitely one of those people who think that season 8 at least had a lot of George's ideias in it. And I don't mind it actually.

Yeah. I think Winterfell is a good bet, also because I belive the Others, the Starks, the Children of the Forest and the Old Gods are all connected somehow. Though both things can happen: the Others can still make it all the way to the Trident but the final showdown - or resolution - happening at Winterfell. Definitely with magic of some kind.

I loved the finale. I do feel like the whole season was rushed but that was inevitable given the 6 episodes. I think the writers made the right choice in choosing to focus on Marco and the Free Navy plot, leaving the protomolecule and Laconia - which are not so urgent and pressing issues - in the sidelines.

Baseless prediction: I think I've made this post before here, or on another site, but I predict that the North will be abandoned by humans - pushed south by winter and the Others or willingly relinquisced after - and left as a land for the COTF, the direwolves, giants, etc. with maybe only a few people guarding the territory (like the Night's Watch or the wildings). Maybe this will be a solution for the conflict with the Others. I think these, the COTF, the Old Gods and the First Men are linked and there's some kind of balance that needs to be restored in Westeros and only someone like a Stark can accomplish this. First, I had thought of a physical separation, like the Hammer of Waters, but a non-physical separation seems more feasible. I think the south of Westeros will remain a whole kingdom with maybe only Dorne gaining independence.

Interesting! I've never heard this before but I'm intrigued by this ideia.

I saw a little sneak peak teaser video on tumblr and it appears that (spoilers for next episode)

6x03 was my favourite episode so far! A good balance of character interactions and some action that moved the story forward. On reddit many people are debating Holden's decision in the battle, but I personally felt it was very in-character for him to make that choice. Interesting that All in all, this season is feeling a bit rushed but that's understandable. I'm confident that the writers will end this show as best they can, so that it's at least satisfying and a good conclusion to the show. So far they haven't disappointed with the previous seasons. Though if I had one criticism to make of this show - on a general level - is that, while in the first 3 seasons, they managed to juggle the human/political side of the story with the protomolecule side, I feel that since season 4 they haven't focused that much on the latter. But as I understand it, that's also what happened with the books, so it's okay. I've heard that the protomolecule stuff is picked up again in the last three books, which I can't wait to read! I've only read Leviathan Wakes but I plan on continuing after season 6. Anyhow, I discovered this show and books this year and it was definitely one the best things I discovered! I love it.

Same lol (Although she wasn't my top fave, s8 made me like her exponentially more)

My question is: is season 1 going to cover all of the Dance? Because since some characters only appear at a later part of the war (like Cregan) they might not even show up this season. In any case I'm pretty sure they won't omit the Starks or the Blackwoods. But I've also wondered if they're going to change the Targaryen family tree, namely by reducing it and changing the family relations.

It's normal for him to be so defensive considering the years of hard work put into it, and how important for his career the show was, and usually actors don't want to burn bridges with studios or possible employers. I get that. But that is fundamentally not why the fans were angry and disappointed... It all comes down to bad writing, not fans wanting fanservice or for certain things to end the way they wanted (there are those, but I think everyone would be happy with how things ended IF it had been well written and coherent). The actors must know how badly written that season was, though, they just don't say it. But I honestly wish they just owned it and be a good sport about it. Just be part of the joke lol it's not that deep, honestly. Also the show was 97% white people so I don't even know why he said it like that. It's actually kind of ridiculous considering the lack of diversity on the show and how most of the named characters of colour actually died.