gulogirl

I had to get up and walk away during that last scene. Re: Missandei and Grey Worm, I was a little impatient with those scenes, but I think they almost have to reestablish the fact that liberating people from slavery is actually a good thing - giving people the right to fall in love where they will and to determine their own fates despite what's been done to them is the outgrowth of liberation. Dany's storyline, and the audience's ambivalence about her and her motivations, makes it seem like there is some ambiguity to the right and wrong of the matter (which in her world, there might well be, but in our world, shouldn't be open to question. I like nuance in storytelling, but slavery - no.) Missandei and Grey Worm establishing their own motivations and relationships makes it clear that they haven't just traded one set of dictatorial masters for another, that there's actually substance to freedom. Pleased that they're speeding up the Sansa storyline. Wonder if Arya "outing" herself may add credence to the later Bolton plot with the fake-Arya - if everyone has assumed that she's dead up till now, but then there are rumors that someone has seen her, it makes it more believable that the Boltons have found her. Arya's laughter struck me as a coping mechanism. Should I be worried about the fact that I actually felt something for Ramsay (who I generally detest) when his father legitimized him? Sympathy for psychopaths seems like a bad sign.....

Not sure if anyone's brought this up yet - I found the appearance of the Other sort of laughable, but maybe the spikey head is meant to reference the dragons, since they are the opposing and counterbalancing forces in this series? That's a possible explanation for an otherwise poorly-chosen physiognymy. Re: deviations between the books and the show, and the show spoiling the books, I enjoy the books and I think GRRM has created an amazing world, but I also think he's much less in control of the nuances of the story than his fans suppose. There's a lot of stuff in the books that meanders pointlessly for ages, and he's said that he has a tough time keeping track of the timelines and the details. In short, the books, especially 4 and 5, could have benefited from a strict editor to keep him focused on a tighter storyline. I feel like the show is serving that purpose, shaking out the chaff and getting to the major points that a lot of us have known are coming and have been waiting for. I don't mind that the show is doing this. It's interesting to watch how the narrative is reconstructed. And since GRRM is involved in that process, I don't feel betrayed or spoiled. But I was definitely, for the first time as a watcher of the show, sitting up and thinking, "What the heck is this?!" during the last 15 minutes. I found it an enjoyable experience to be surprised for a change. Anyway, relatively new here, I've been reading for a while but haven't really posted anything yet. Thanks for the interesting discussions.