Arrow

Speaking still as a Book 1 reader - almost done! - I have a feeling that Astapor slaver is going to get his butt kicked - he's been so rude and nasty and we know Danaerys doesn't like rude, nasty people and doesn't like slavery. I like her and Missandei - they're shaping up to be the Power Puff Girls of GoT - I hope they get some girl power going on, this show needs more female influence besides evil manipulators (Cersei, Melisandre) and whores (gotta have that gratuitous nekked women scene). Brienne is a good foil to those two character types, but we need more of the warrior woman energy. Something tells me Arya is going to fulfill her own prophecy about not becoming the lady of some manor - remember when she told Eddard "That's not me." The chair-scraping hilarity made me think that Tyrion now is past caring just how much he pisses his father off - in fact, I think that's what he was trying to do in that scene. Literally, scraping his father's last nerve - and has anyone else noticed that Tyrion's overall attitude and tone are much darker and not as light-hearted this season? In seasons 1 and 2, he was more offhand with joking around, except in the most dire situations - but this season, his words have more bite and he is less concerned about who he bites, and how hard. There's a deep anger there that wasn't previously. The Chihuahua is taking on pit bull dimensions, a very subtle transformation, but it's there, probably the outcome of realizing that Cersei sincerely tried to have him murdered. That could be off-putting, couldn't it?

I gave it an 8. Littlefinger: Safest place in the city. Tyrion: Not for bastards. Zzzziiiiing...

Reminiscent of the Arwen/The Nine chase scene with Frodo on board - white horse and rider(s) pursued by bad guys dressed in black - was reminded of it instantly.

Also loved the bickering between Brienne and Jaime about his swordsmanship - she's telling him basically "You're not all that..." and he's making up excuses about how it's been a year. Poor Jaime, he's short-handed now. Sorry.

The scene with Catelyn and Blackfish was very meaningful, where he says that even though there's a war going on where they are, there are parts of the world where nothing whatsoever is happening. To me, that scene speaks to the bizarre randomness of wars. It reminded me of when my uncle came home from serving in Vietnam. I was very young but I remember him telling my mother that when he was there, he listened every waking moment for whistling sounds. She asked why, and he said it meant "incoming" and it meant take shelter. He said it was such a strange thing to sit in our dining room and not have to listen for anything, to know all of us were perfectly safe and didn't have to think about anything at all except the conversation we were having, while on the other side of the world, for some people there was no safe place. This show has subtext that sneaks up on a person, small moments that are so startling in their depth.

LOL-inspiring funny line: "Watch your head."

It's starting to come together but understand there has been a lot to process here - now that I'm reading the first book and getting near to the point where Eddard loses his head, certain details are becoming much more clear. The biggest problem for me is that now I'm starting to be really disgusted with book Sansa - she was so wrapped up in her girly dreams that she hung onto the idea of marrying Joffrey waa-a-a-a-ay too long after he started being the world's biggest spring-loaded shithead - i.e., the show of babyish cowardice in the fight with Arya by the river and the subsequent lies he told. Big red flag there but Sansa just dismissed it. Duh??? I have to keep remembering that TV Sansa now sees the danger and wants to accept the help LF is offering. Dangerous as he is, she seems to have no other options and man, she has got to get the heck outta Dodge, like NOW. As for Theon, I can't help but feel sorry for the little boy he used to be, who was taken from his childhood home - probably not a warm, fuzzy place in itself, and transplanted among people to whom he was always the "less than" person - and he's now so messed up by the fact that he's never really had any kind of complete acceptance and love in his life, despite what his sister told him - it makes me sad for him and even though he acted like an absolute idiot at Winterfell, especially the murders he committed or ordered done, I still don't think he deserves to be tortured. Brought to trial and imprisoned for his crimes, yes, but not tortured. It was a relief to see that his sister sent someone to help him escape, which next week's previews seem to show him doing. And yes, I made the connection between the bloody X banners (accurately deemed "gruesome" by Jaime Lannister) and the X rack he's tied to right now. Chilling stuff. Poor Theon, he just has had the worst lifelong luck, the kid can't seem to catch a break. These characters are something else! GRRM is an awesome writer. Reading on...

Hi - congratulations on the newest member of your household! Also, this struck me as a bit funny, like "Oh, no, you're kidding!" My first thought was "Oh dear, you are well and truly lost if a newborn can't distract you from the books..." :cool4: Not that it's a bad thing...

True. That's easy to forget in all the chaos and other concerns. What was it one of the characters (Lord Commander Mormont?) said, if the White Walkers make it beyond the wall and go south, "everyone you've ever known will be dead."

Sister here, and as long as you have good coffee available, I'm there with you.

As a viewer who just this morning started the first book, I will say that I thought the scene made sense within the context of what had been told thus far in the series. Catelyn has shown herself to be a caring, very involved mother who feels things very deeply. It seems to fit in with the person/character I've come to know by watching the series, that she would blame herself for how events have unfolded, and feel sorry for how she has treated Jon Snow. I hadn't really understood why she treated Jon so badly when he came to tell the unconscious Bran goodbye, but the reasons became clear right afterward. I did wonder at times as Season 1 and 2 unfolded, why a woman who clearly adored her own children could have turned away from a helpless baby, especially since he must have been an amazingly cute little boy! I guess I just figured she must have felt terribly betrayed when her husband showed up with his illegitimate baby by another woman, but I did think she kind of overreacted for many years. So what she told Talisa kind of eased my mind about that part of it. Like, aha, so she is self-aware enough to know she should have loved him more and not been so eager to blame and scapegoat a helpless little kid/terrific young man.

Ah, thank you. Yes, that all makes sense.

Jojen tells Bran quite seriously that the most important thing is him, Bran. My speculation about that is this: Could it be that in the end, that Bran is destined to become King of Westeros? Wouldn't that be something, a damaged, fey* boy who dreams of the future and wargs into his wolf, could sit on the iron throne. *fey = otherworldly, mysterious

Now I'll be nervous all week waiting to see if Sansa's words about Joffrey will come back to bite her. I know the QoT and Marg swore they wouldn't, but you never know. I'm starting to trust no one at all in Westeros just on principle, as Littlefinger counseled Ned Stark before betraying him.

Someone earlier in this thread said something about Tyrion and Sansa marrying??? I don't recall seeing that in the TV show... confusing... I'm not rabid about spoilers, but now I feel like I missed something, somewhere along the way. Did I? A small thing but noticeable: two people got knocked down a peg or two this week - Cersei and Arya. Joffrey is like an ugly little monster who's outgrowing his handler - he put Cersei in her place and let her know he's just about done with her controlling manipulating guiding him, and Arya got her sword knocked out of her hand - serving notice that she'd better step up her game if she's going to make her late, great dancing teacher proud of her. EDIT: Forgot there will be book spoilers on some forums.

Thank you for the welcome, and thanks for the warning - I'm not overly-sensitive to spoilers, as my mind stays inquisitive about other aspects of the story even if a bit of information arrives prematurely here and there. And how could Tyrion not be great as King of Westeros? I love how GRRM has given Tyrion daunting physical and emotional challenges in life - the way his family treats him is just horrible! - but has preserved his kind heart, his vulnerability, his humor, and his sharp intellect - just as with most of us, he's a very complex and intriguing person!

Hello, new here - I live outside Seattle, way out in the sticks with snow geese, swans, herons, foxes, possums, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, bunnies, mice, voles, and eagles and hawks of all kinds, to name a few of the critters with whom I share a few acres in the North Cascade foothills. I'm a published writer, FWIW, in a much more minor way than GRRM, of course. Got hooked on the HBO series from Day 1, after catching the Season 1 Premiere episode quite by accident, and I must say before seeing GoT I would never have thought there could be another series that could approach LOTR in my estimation, but GoT is doing a bang-up job of winning my heart and mind. I'm rooting for Tyrion to end up on the Iron Throne. He and Arya are my personal faves amongst the characters, with Bronn and Bran not far behind. I have not read the books yet, but have them on order and anticipate their arrival soon.

So if I'm reading correctly, it's better to post a couple of comments/replies before trying to put an avatar in place. Will try that.