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BlackLightning

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Everything posted by BlackLightning

  1. I've stated this before in this HoTD Musings thread but I'm concerned about where they are going to take HoTD It seems like D&D gave Rhaenyra's ending to Daenerys (promising start with a bad end, became a cruel dictator, murdered by a blood relative because of the schemes of jealous people) which has basically made Daenerys' book ending unnecessarily complicated but is slated to make HoTD look bad. smh
  2. But what does the Writer's Strike have to do with reshoots. Did the showrunners create a rough draft of the season and the reshoots are pretty much the final copy?
  3. Yeah, I feel like Dany deciding to leave (or being forced to leave) Westeros and start over makes for a truly bittersweet ending for her. Basically, the show endings for Jon and Arya ending works better for Dany than it did for either one of them. Dany doesn't even really like ruling; she is like Ned Stark. She only rules because she has to and because she wants to protect people. Dany would actually be very happy being married, barefoot and pregnant on some homestead; I just don't think she really knows it yet. I think she's so preoccupied with Meereen that she doesn't understand that it's not a Meereen thing. She'd have similar feelings and problems in King's Landing as Queen of Westeros. She doesn't even like sitting on that one bench in her hall in the Great Pyramid. She'd HATE sitting atop the Iron Throne. And yes, she'd probably end up having Drogon destroy it.
  4. It's also worth mentioning that Alysanne basically did the same thing Viserra did when she was a teenager. The only difference is that Alysanne's mother Alyssa decided to let it go and let her daughter figure it out for herself. I'm lowkey mad at Baelon for snitching though. He could've just told Viserra no and kept that incident between them. He was grown; there was no need to bring their parents into that situation.
  5. The broad stroke is that she will die Not that she will go inexplicably genocidal and crazy
  6. They may very well be... The story, concepts and themes of 3BC is a lot more complex than ASOIAF given that the former is pure sci-fi with a side of multiverse action
  7. Yes. Absolutely. Especially in the scenario in which Lyanna's son dies. That said, I do think Jon Arryn would've politely made arrangements for the wedding to take place a year after Lyanna's rescue. A Baratheon/Stark marriage means that the North is far more involved in the governance of the realm for far longer...which means that the institution of the Night's Watch is more respectfully regarded and treated to an ample supply of men and equipment. The situations with the Others or the Free Folk don't change but the Watch is in a much better position to defend the realm. That said, I do think that the two of them would have had some serious marital problems down the road that the likes of Varys and Littlefinger would've been all too happy to exploit; especially Littlefinger given that he holds a grudge against the Starks. Not only is Robert's shamelessly adulterous nature innate (Lyanna called it before the betrothal) but there's a good chance that it would worsen over the years as the wound to Robert's pride sinks in. And to be honest, anyone of Robert's enemies and Targaryen sympathizers in the realm and across the world would likely rub it in his face. However, Lyanna is not Cersei so at least Robert has legitimate heirs and a respectable queen who would enjoy going on hunts with him...so he's probably in a much better headspace for the latter part of his life. That said, if the rumors and predictions about Lyanna are true, I can see the two of them fighting like cats and dogs and a big fallout between Ned and Robert. I can even see Lyanna, Robert, Ned or all three getting hurt or killed as a consequence of this fallout... I do think that with this scenario, everyone in this thread has forgotten a few things. The first thing they have forgotten is that good ole rotten Lannister ambition, particularly that of Tywin and Cersei. The second thing that they have forgotten about is Stannis. Because Robert would still be "indebted" to Tywin, he'd be pressured to appease him. Ever the scumbag, Tywin (and Cersei) would certainly make a play for both Lyanna's disenfranchisement and Robert's hand in marriage. I personally don't see Robert budging but such activities would undoubtedly piss off Robert, Hoster Tully, the Starks and Dorne. However, given that Tywin would be too powerful to offend and given the fact that Robert cannot end his betrothal to Lyanna without betraying the entire premise of his whole rebellion and instigating another...this means Robert is going to have to give Stannis the full Crown Prince treatment and make him marry Cersei. Yikes.
  8. I don't think it's going to do well. I don't think they have the chops for this kind of project. I wonder how they got ahold of the rights.
  9. You bring up a lot of good points. Especially the point about the inevitable nuclear fallout if Dany should be betrayed and murdered in one of her chambers. The Unsullied and Dothraki and all of the other ex-slaves would make a holocaust out of it. ----------- A choice between Jon and Rickon can be seen as a choice between Jon and Stannis, that's true.... ...but it can also be seen as a choice between Jon, their daughter and Stannis. Rickon can be much more easily commandeered and used as a puppet than Jon by any one of the northern families who seek to advance their position and interests. And given the fact that he is trueborn while Jon is still baseborn makes Rickon more appealing to the more traditional, political-minded northern lords. ----------- Aegon can wipe the city off the face of the map and still survive. Not only is it very plausible, but no one said that he'd survived unscathed. Besides, I don't even think Aegon will be the one to do it. I think it'll be JonCon who does it. ----------- If you don't see the foreshadowing of the Targaryen claimants going at each other's throats, then i guess that's your perspective and opinion. Millions would say that you are wrong though. ----------- Bran being King does make sense. As the true heir of both Robb Stark and Shella Whent, Bran will have an ironclad claim as both overlord of Harrenhal and Winterfell and the current nominal King of the independent North and Riverlands. Should something happen to Sweetrobin and Harry Hardyng both (likely), Bran has a strong claim over the Eyrie and the Vale as well. And then there's the matter of how his immense psychic powers and the beyond-his-years wisdom and calmness will make him a war hero. Bran as endgame King makes sense. It's just that it's going to take a lot to get us there. Like @SeanF said that Iron Throne imagery is not landing. It's clearly snow in that broken room and it points to the apocalyptic coming of the Others not to the unimportance of the Iron Throne...particularly since the next scene shows Dany choosing to walk away from the IT and go beyond the Wall to I feel like whoever is sitting on the Iron Throne during the onset of the Long Night and throughout its duration is going to be partially (if not completely) at fault for the most of the madness. Either it'll be a willful and purposeful evil, mismanagement done out of bitter jealousy and ignorance, or a well-intentioned but manic and pitifully distracted hack-job They're trolling because they are bitter AF
  10. She did not shout down Barristan's attempts to reason with her Barristan's attempts to reason with her were weak and he gave up. Barristan doesn't actually get a backbone until he agrees to help overthrow Hizdahr. Not even that It could be something as trivial as Dany wanting Jon to go out on progresses with her all the time while the Starks want Jon to spend more time with them at home. This kind of stuff (unfortunately) happens in families all the time. And it almost always descends into a resentful "why are you even with her anyways, she is _____" or "they are using you so that they can ______" or "he told me that you ______" And then before you know it, what would've been a lovely Christmas dinner turns into a bloody UFC cage-fight.
  11. I agree 100% People can feel however and whatever they want to feel but, at the end of the day, the reality of the situation is that human life is not only priceless but irreplaceable. A lot of pandemic era studies come to the conclusion that human life is worth trillions. I hate to be blunt, but rape victims recover and go on to live full lives. Murder victims do not recover because they die. There is no road of recovery, no way out, no light at the end of the tunnel for them. There's no such thing as a survivor of murder.
  12. They did not effectively kill him. They wrote him off the show...meaning Laenor can make a reappearance as a part of Viserys' "lost boy in the Free Cities" storyline, as a part of Rhaenyra's reign, towards the end when Aegon II kicks the bucket or as a part of the "Mad Unwin Peake" phase of the Regency period To be honest, the show would be much better off creating a TV-exclusive dragon just for Addam and leaving Seasmoke be than by killing Laenor offscreen (after going through everything they went through) and letting Seasmoke be passed onto Addam, There's nothing quiet about Rhaenys and Corlys finding out that Laenor's death was faked so that Daemon and Rhaenyra can marry and "burn together" only for Laenor to die ignominiously in a foreign land. Rhaenys and Corlys are going to be livid. We don't know how small Moondancer is going to be in the show. As far as I'm concerned, TV-Moondancer is going to be a bit bigger than Book-Moondancer. If only for the reason that TV-Baela is older. And based on the trailer, it looks like TV-Baela will be riding to war which increases the need for TV-Moondancer to be bigger. But it 100% makes sense why an older Baela won't be with Daemon and Nettles. Why, you ask? An older, dragonriding Baela can be stationed on Dragonstone and be responsible for overseeing the defense of Dragonstone and Driftmark both. But because her attention has to be divided, Aegon is able to sneak onto Dragonstone and the "what happened to Grey Ghost" mystery can start.
  13. If you are broadly speaking, there are more than 4 possibilities my guy. Because there is a really good chance that Brienne is not going to kill Jaime without first bringing him before Catelyn...and still be keeping her oath
  14. My point of contention with this is that I believe that Aegon does not need that many allies to take King's Landing. The High Sparrow (along with thousands of other people) already hates Cersei and distrusts anything that is minutely associated with her or her family. Cersei is on very thin ice as it is...one more mistake or misdeed from her (which is inevitable) and it's over. As it so happens, Varys is deeply invested in making sure that Cersei continues to mess up. The Golden Company is just getting started and the Martells are already Aegon's back pocket. It's not a matter of if House Martell joins him but a matter of when and how. If he can get the Faith Militant behind him, Aegon is more than capable of taking and holding the city. In fact, if Cersei, Varys and/or Margaery keep at it, Aegon will be able to walk up to the gates and politely ask to rule the city and the people will just let him. Granted, that means that Mace Tyrell is going to have to be defeated and Randyll Tarly will have to turn. But, honestly, the writing is on the walls. The real interesting stuff is going to be what happens after Aegon gets in the city. Arianne is not too old. In fact, if you want to start having babies right away, Arianne is the best bet. She's a grown woman who is still in her prime. By the time Myrcella becomes an eligible candidate for Aegon's queen, she'll probably would have already been exposed as a Lannister bastard and he'll have already taken Storm's End. There won't be any need for her...plus, Myrcella is way too young. Aegon will have to wait at least 6 years before he can impregnate her. He can't afford that. Margaery has already been wed to three different kings. It doesn't matter whether she is a virgin or not; she's proven herself to be an instrumental and controversial piece in the deeply troubled Baratheon dynasty. Aegon is not going to want her nor is anyone else in Aegon's camp is going to want her. By the time Aegon comes to power, I think Margaery will have died. Are you crazy? The only way for Sansa to get an annulment before Aegon takes King's Landing is if she suddenly becomes best friends with the High Sparrow without Cersei (or Littlefinger for that matter) knowing. Which is unlikely given how much the High Sparrow is prejudiced against northerners and women. Moreover, the High Sparrow has good reason to believe that Sansa is a kingslayer. In order for him to give her an annulment before Aegon takes the city and becomes top dog is if he is prodded/pushed into doing so.
  15. Exactly And it's an even bigger issue in a show about dragonwar. More like we'll see an inverse of Aemond's first flight on Vhagar. Aemond was a child, weak and inexperienced, when he claimed that behemoth. He almost fell off more than once. And he did it bareback (i.e. without a saddle). All we have to do is show Joffrey in the same situation. Except Joffrey is weaker and is unable to get a good grip on Tyraxes and then falls off much like Aemond almost had. Forget surprised. I'd be livid. It made no sense in the book; it would make even less sense in the TV show because the TV version of Rhaenyra is much more driven and self-actualized. Are we sure going back to Dragonstone was always Rhaenyra's plan? I was under the impression that she was torn between going north and meeting up with the Starks or going back to Dragonstone and ultimately chose Dragonstone.
  16. Ryam Redwyne and Grand Maester Mellos as both were "quietly replaced" by Criston Cole and Orwyle...with the latter two being the greater/more important characters. Ser Ryam and the Grand Maester were glorified cameos. Laenor is a main character; we had three different actors portray him and we've seen him ride a dragon to war. I'm not saying that they can't write off Laenor. But if they do, they should do it onscreen as part of a TV-exclusive storyline or as an adaptation of an existing battle (with the Battle of the Gullet or one of the battles fought in the Reach being the best and most obvious place to do it) Killing him offscreen would be extremely lame. It's not going to go over well if that's what they decide to do. Because at that point, what would be the point of going through the trouble of faking his death? Faking his death still makes Rhaenyra and Daemon look terrible, and it still almost ruined their relationship with Rhaenys and Corlys.
  17. Killing Laenor offscreen in-between seasons after they went through the whole fakeout is lame But the gag is that it was already explained with the whole Aemond/Vhagar debacle
  18. My only problem is that I feel like HotD needed two more episodes to tell the story
  19. Addam can't claim Seasmoke as long as Laenor is alive. That's a point that has been well-established in the show. If they did that, the show would be making itself look stupid for breaking its own continuity (triggering a lot of chaos and commotion from viewers) AND for killing Laenor offscreen. Or maybe it's just an original made-for-TV subplot that: makes the Blacks realize that finding new dragonriders is not just essential to the war effort but for the security of Dragonstone (i.e., too many wild, riderless dragons on Dragonstone moving about is a pretty serious security concern) foreshadows the upcoming "what happened to the Grey Ghost?" mystery Laenor coming back on the other hand...that is interesting. I'd be okay with it if Laenor shows back up in time for the conquest of King's Landing
  20. I think it's because Sam, Sansa and Bran benefit THE MOST from the five-year gap. With the exception of maybe the very last Sam chapter in Feast and the very last Bran chapter in Dance, I feel like every single chapter that the three of them have had after A Storm of Swords** is stuff that either would've told or talked about over the course of expository flashbacks and inner monologues. In other words, it's filler. Everything that happens from here on out will be both vital and heavy on action. **The same sort mostly applies to Arya as well, with the exception that I believe all of her chapters in Dance were supposed to take place after the time jump.** Personally, my prediction is that I think Sansa and the Knights of the Vale (after everything is settled with Harry, Mad Mouse and the Tourney) are either going to head straight to the North by ship... ...or Sansa and the mountain clans (!!!) are going to go to King's Landing first and then leave for the North with the rest of the Knights of the Vale by ship. And if she does go back to King's Landing, she'll arrive after the city has fallen into the hands of fAegon and FriendsTM and leave before shit pops off and Cersei is able to escape. But or Sansa to be able to mix it up with Connington, Arianne, fAegon, Cersei, Varys, etc. and still make it back to the North before the Wall falls and Jon Snow becomes Jon Stark, King in the North that means that the takeover of King's Landing can't happen towards the end of the book. It has to happen somewhere in the middle. Which is why I think she is going to have to take a detour and go to King's Landing. Unless the High Sparrow can be so incentivized to openly declare war on the Lannister-Tyrell regime and give the likes of Sansa Stark an annulment by way of raven, Sansa is going to have to make an in-person appearance in order to get her annulment.
  21. It works If Tyrion was married during Robert's time as king, then Jaime probably would've been able to come and go as he so pleased. Maybe there was business to attend to in the West and Robert gave Jaime leave to live at Casterly Rock for a time.
  22. There was a point in time where Aerys moved the royal court to Casterly Rock. I think it was for six months or a year. Not too long but long enough...
  23. I too believe that the Stark kids are not going to become a big happy family again after they reunite. I think that they will be a strong, loving cohesive unit by the end of the series but nah...they are going to have some issues. They all have changed so much and the chances that they will misunderstand or offend each other will be high. Rickon (who I firmly believe will survive the series) probably doesn't even speak the Common Tongue anymore. And he was getting really out-of-control before Winterfell had fallen. As for your point about Sansa and Bran, YOU ARE 100% correct. Littlefinger would be concerned about Arya. But Bran (and Rickon) would be his number 1 and number 2 priority...especially if their status as skinchangers becomes public knowledge. Plus, it's a nice callback to the beginning of the series where you had villains slinking about Winterfell trying to hurt Bran. Princess Anne of France ruled as regent for her younger brother Charles VIII. I don't think Bran will have a regent, but I do think Sansa will become either the first female Hand of the King or she will have a very powerful political position at court.
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