Perfidious Algernon

No worries: although as one more formatting suggestion I'd recommend fewer spaces between the lines. Your post is a solid two screens tall :) First stanza! Clearly describing KL at the end of AFFC: Priest sacrifices/beast has no heart = Qyburn works his art, turns Gregor into a heartless, undead beast Lioness whelped in the streets = You could say Cersei gave birth "outside the home" when she mothered bastards, or you could say she was reborn in the streets on her WOS. Pick whichever one you think fits better. hooting owl = the only owl in the capitol died years ago soooo white raven announcing that it's noon i.e., the sun starts slowly setting now i.e., winter is coming! Wow these are a lot harder... Second stanza is all about Victarion, who is Euron's slave, and his fancy new hand. Third stanza, and you get to pick again. Either Jamie learning to reign in his hostility to the world like he does in AFFC, or Cersei showing she's all sizzle and no steak. Fourth stanza: And now we're back at the Blackwater, with Sansa and Cersei and all the WAGs in the Red Keep huddled together, imagining Stannis' soldiers (under their flaming banner) breaking through the gate and running through the streets Since these aren't really references or homages, maybe this should be it's own thread? Because I think we've invented sort of an awesome game here.

Obviously my friend, this is all referenced in the Battle of the Blackwater: Fierce fiery warriors = Stannis' men fighting under the burning heart Fought upon the clouds = They fight on the bridge of boats surrounded by smoke, and emerge from the smoke of their ruined fleet to land at the gates of KL Ranks & squadrons drizzing blood on the Capitol = They launch a coordinated, professional assault on KL Noise of battle/horses & dying men = THERE WAS A FIREFIGHT! Ghosts did shriek about the streets = Loras in Renly's armor, ending the battle Psh, gimme somethin hard!

Which, if I'm remembering Shakespeare right, happened shortly before Jon Sno-, I mean Julius Caesar, was stabbed to death by a bunch of colleagues. You're better at bullshit than you thought.

Mine isn't nearly as good as it probably looks right now, I'm just binge-listening an awesome podcast. You too can fake knowledge you don't have!

The similarities between an Ironborn kingsmoot and a Mongol kurultai are pretty striking: Kurultai is a generic term for a meeting, but it was applied to a meeting between all the great houses at which the next Khan would be elected. A kurultai held to elect a Khan is only valid if 1) every great house is in attendance and 2) it is held in Mongolia. Batu Khan delayed the appointment of Guyuk Khan for years by pretending to be too sick to attend. Mongke Khan's first election was challenged and invalidated, partially because few of the great houses were present but mostly because it wasn't held in Mongolia. Edit: Oh! And Mongke Khan's second election ended in a bunch of his family members trying to slaughter everyone while they were drunk at the celebration with an army of their own, after of course pretending to be loyal subjects who had come to pay homage. Not sure if that's a Red Wedding connection, foreshadowing for an Ironborn civil war, or me blowing smoke.

We're doing historical references here too, yes? These keep popping up as I listen to Hardcore History. The two latest: The Cimbri front ranks would chain themselves to one another in order to keep people from fleeing and keep their front unified in their wars against the Romans. Crassus lined the road from Rome to Capua with 6,000 crucified slaves in the aftermath of the Third Servile War. There will very likely be more soon.

Probably the weakest finale to date, but still not bad: If you can forgive the contrivance, the Brienne & Stannis scene was well acted with good dialogue Miranda made a satisfying splat Maise Williams ftw. This girl is going places. Everything in Meereen was fun, and actually got me excited for Tyrion next season. The Dany scenes were awful pretty. Maybe that's damning the show with faint praise, but my expectations are pretty low at this point. It didn't hang together, but there were good scenes.

I was pretty disappointed it didn't have immediate, dramatic results. I could allllmost have forgiven the show (not show-Stannis, he's dead to me either way) if, say, a second after Shireen dies there's some big magic event. Like the pyre shoots 1000 ft up in the air, or consumes Stannis's army, or rebirths Shireen as some avenging fire demon, or knocks the friggin Wall down. That would have at least made it feel like we were getting something significant out of this instead of just a break in the weather.

Wondered about this while I was watching the scene. How many times have we heard that kinslaying and violating guest right are the biggest taboos in Westeros? 3) Shireen is Stannis' only heir. If Stannis dies, who will his supporters rally to? This one too. I could see an endgame scenario where everyone in contention for the throne is sidelined one way or another, and somebody points out that this Gendry kid is technically the last living Baratheon and he get it by default. Admittedly, a lot would have to happen between there and here. Seriously, Ramsey needs to be named Supreme Commander of the army of the living. He managed, with 20 men, to burn the supplies and siege weapons of a 6000? man army without a single man getting killed or captured. That's a piece of military genius. It's also, frankly, ridiculous. Totally take your point, but wouldn't it be just like Martin to make someone we despise integral to humanity's survival?

Ok, fine! But they have to be nice to Sansa and give her lemon cakes, and leave Sam alone with lots of books, and buy Ser Alliser a puppy. Deal? ...that's a fine post to make hedge knight with, if I do say so myself.

Allied with the Federation, not members, but yeah I know it doesn't make sense. My inner child just wants to see what a bat'leth could do to a WW. Edit: And feel free to go all Trekkie til they ban us both! I eat that stuff up.

Secret alliance with the Klingons confirmed. The Lannisters'll never know what hit them.

He knows how to keep the Sand Snakes under control, but does he know the difference between a preganglionic fiber and a postganglionic nerve?

I'm gonna go heretical and say that, just this one week, I actually enjoyed Dorne. It didn't make any more sense than usual, but if you lower your expectations from "ASOIAF adaptation" to "something mindless that I watch before the work week starts," then most of the jokes land. Especially that bit about the soup. And Dr. Bashir had more lines than usual, which is always a plus.

One more reason to pay attention: someone someday just might sic Qyburn on the WW. For him, the dead are just big DIY kits. Night King: Check it, I raise the dead to fight for me. Qyburn: Oh, hey, that's cute. No seriously, I'm impressed.

No one killed Dolorous Edd like I was sure they would, so 10/10 would watch again. You're awesome.