hallam

I can't see that happening either. Or the Night's King would simply mark someone rather than kill them to get past the wall. Of course they don't. Just like they are still whining about Shireen's burning being 'fan fic'. They are absolutely convinced that doesn't happen in the books despite confirmation it does and the fact that it is really obviously going to happen in Shireen's first book chapter. When they find out R+J= nothing they are not going to believe it either.

And Fray Bentos pies.

Yes. And moreover, Bloodraven is only dead in the present. Past Bloodraven can warg into the future and mentor Bran. And it looks like the resolution of the show time travel paradox is that once events are observed, they become fixed and unalterable. So Bloodraven will know he will die after meeting Bran because he has already met him in a previous greenseeing event and Bran has told him he is dead. So time travel is a risk. It has a cost. What isn't clear at this point is whether the Children of the Forest are now extinct or if there is another group somewhere.

Yes, we are getting the principle reveals. Though it is rather frustrating to have Danny and Arya still so far from where they need to be. 'Spoiling the story', by which you mean shooting down nonsense theories that GRRM wouldn't have 'written this'. The fact we don't understand it doesn't mean that there isn't a point. Remember all the whinging about 'we know Loras is gay' last season? Since the High Sparrow is a puritanical type, it would seem likely this particular troupe is from Kings Landing and they have fled to Bravos because it wasn't safe while the High Sparrow was in business.

It sounded to me like Arya is going to either have to kill the actress next episode or the Faceless Men will try to kill her, "One way or another, a face will be added to the wall". So I think that plot line is coming to the end. The Theater Troupe would be a route to return home. But she will have to remain anonymous.

They are a bit far away for that. The only person they could meet where they are right now is Benjen.

Just because they shot the footage doesn't mean they have to show it all this season. One good reason not to would be to avoid leaks.

Not so sure about that. I am pretty sure there must be some big scene at Dosh Khaleen. But it may not be burning down the temple. As far as budget goes, Drogon would have been a lot cheaper than the ending they used. The whole scene is one special effect after another. Tons of CGI, miniatures, CSO. But the problem with the dragons is that they have to be used sparingly to have the visual effect. I never thought we would get the ToJ scene. It is quite possible that it has been shot already. They have 13 more episodes to make after this season is over so the show is fully funded to the end. Cheapest way to do the backstory is to shoot it all this season. Where I do think they are possibly making cuts is by writing out the direwolves early. They don't seem to like the doggies. They are probably a complete PITA to film. So after tonight I think it much more likely than not it really was Shaggy Dog we saw last week

Yup Yep, two nights in a row nobody expected what would happen. Not quite so senseless though. Hodor dies saving Bran. That is what happens when you make a doomsday weapon. The white walkers obviously turned on them. D&D just said in the inside GoT that it is from GRRM. And it is pretty obvious it must be. Such a long setup for the payoff...

Fickle lot these Ironborn. Didn't take them long to abandon Yara for Euron.

I don't think Ramsay will become a cannibal willingly. Time for one of those Fray Bentos pies.

I thought it a fair point that Sansa was only ever in danger because Petyr had sold her to them. The High Sparrow. He is a religious nut. And Lancel. Don't know whether the Sand Snakes or Lancel is going to skewer Tommen but one of them will. I think he meant Mance Raider. Yes, it fits the pattern of collapsing multiple characters into one. GRRM can kill off book Theon or not or leave him in the middle of nowhere for three books. D&D can only keep actors under contract as long as they are paying them and they are getting at least some screen time. So use Sansa instead of fake Arya and use Theon instead of Aeron. Works for me.

Theon is broken by Ramsay. Sansa rises above him to destroy him. Probably by the dagger through the back of the neck that is so popular this season.

The Umbers are probably not in on the show GNC. But it looks like the Karstarks may be having second thoughts.

Not least because Jon's probable response would be to visit house Umber first and burn the place to the ground rather than take Ramsay on directly in the fortress of Winterfell.

BTW, did people notice that Osha asked Ramsay if he was a cannibal and he said no? Looks to me that it is going to be time for one of those Fray Bentos pies.

Yep. When she sticks her hand in the brazier it looks like she is showing that she is the unburnt which totally makes sense in the context of the speech she is giving. It is only after she knocks over the braziers that what she is up to comes clear to them. I thought they would end up doing that. It is only Jon's story and Stannis that has really gone ahead of the books. Outside of the North they will only just go a little beyond the end of book 5 by the end of the season. I thought this was nuts. But the book pink letter is obviously a fake written by the FTW mutineers. So why not have the umbers do the same? Force Jon to take Winterfell from Ramsay. Looks like Umber's plan was to get Osha in to Winterfell to assassinate Ramsay - like she tried to. And the pink letter is plan B.

Umm yes and no. Danny has been pretty good on the burning things and breaking things front for a while. Its what happens after that is the challenge.

Well GRRM does sort of hint that he goes that way in the end. Prince who was promised and all that. Oh and I am pretty sure everyman can't hatch dragon eggs. Functionally they were providing illumination as well as heat. Danny only starts mouthing off to the khals when she is in position and can push the braziers over. And she doesn't do even that until she has put her hand in the fire and is sure she won't burn to a crisp.

Presumably, if the lanterns were not in the positions she wanted them, she would have given a different speech. However, since it is night and there has to be some form of illumination, it is a fair bet that the lanterns are still there from the morning. OK, not 100% certain but if it was me in that situation my much bigger concern would be that maybe I am only fireproof when hatching dragon eggs and burning a witch.

No, I am saying that people sound absolutely ridiculous when they try and puff themselves up by throwing insults at the producers. Ad hominem is a logical fallacy of the form 'Hitler was a vegetarian therefore vegetarianism is evil'. That is the definition of ad hominem whether you like it or not. And no your definition isn't very much like it at all. I am not criticizing people's ideas because of who else agrees with them. Take today's upset. People are complaining because Dany eliminates the Khals and sets herself free by herself using a capability that has already been demonstrated in the show. However, consider the following facts: Nobody would have had problems with a Drogon rescue even though we had just had one of those and he is unwell. Nobody saw this particular mode of escape coming. The fact that Dany could be fireproof was already established in the show. It was an escape that they could have predicted if they thought about it. So people are complaining because D&D didn't tell the obvious story and instead surprised us.

Davos was there when Stannis offered him the North and Winterfell if he will support him. And he refused because he had taken an oath. That is the sort of thing that would impress a person like Davos. More generally, who is left from the noble houses? House Baratheon and Lannister are down to one heir - Tommen. And house Tyrell is down to Margery and Loras who are both imprisoned by a religious crank. House Martell has just lost its prince. The Starks have been displaced by the Boltons but they are now down to just Ramsay. The vale is down to SweetRobyn and the Greyjoys have Yara and a eunuch. Seems to me that there isn't very much scope left for dynastic power struggles. Between Robert, Joffrey and Cersei, pretty much all the great houses are now down to one surviving heir if that.

No, that is not an ad hominem. Go look it up. If you are criticizing people who have done what you have never done and almost certainly never will, you probably shouldn't call them 'idiots', 'stupid' and all the other names that the haters here use. I don't think it makes any of you look clever or important.

What I thought a bit odd was that there wasn't some sort of cloakroom where you check your weapon. Seems that the might get stolen rather easily just dropping them like that.

Davos is desperate to defeat the White Walkers and he knows that Jon is the only person who can do it.