IceSyckel

I don't know if it was shoddy or just rushed. I mean, if the producers told the writers to cover X amount of story in Y number of episodes, but the writers needed Y+10 episodes to do it well, then they're hardly at fault. I think the direction was great, and I think the writing was probably as good as it could have been given the time constraints. Had they two seasons to cover this amount of story, or even a few more episodes per season, then I think the writers would have done a much better job. They just cut too much in season 6 given how much happened.

It's Mace's army - not the king's. That makes it Mace's call. The king could start a war to remove them forcibly, but he could not make Mace's army leave without Mace's consent, so influence with the king is not relevant.

Once they were inside, I just don't believe Mace would let them leave, even on the QoT's counsel, while Margery and Loras' fate was uncertain. Granted, the QoT had a great deal of influence over Mace, but as a father myself I can tell you that this is not plausible. Once my army was inside the walls, they could have any trials they wanted, but my army would be staying until my kids were released. Period.

I'm not sure how they could've been made to leave so easily once they were inside... Tommen isn't exactly known for his brass balls.

I agree that it makes no sense and seems improbable, but the QoT's presence in Dorne for that meeting implies she had something to offer Dorne/the Sand Snakes in the way of military strength for the proposed alliance. Again, why the armies of Highgarden would have left Mace and Margery alone in KL for a trial is hard to figure. This scene was another example of the showrunners rushing through too much territory this season. Arya's assassination would be more plausible had there been at least some foundation laid for it rather than having her teleport to the Twins from Braavos. She certainly had the skills to get hired on as a servant of the Freys. She certainly had the skill to disguise herself, and she certainly could've made that pie easily enough (which I much prefer to a crossbow - that's Cartman style vengeance at its finest, making Frey eat his family). It just seems like a lot to have transpired off screen when last we saw Arya for more than a second she was in Braavos...

Yeah, many questions linger, I think, because they rushed to cover too much material in one season. It was a great season, but I don't know why they couldn't take more time to cover all the details. I guess the army might've left with the QoT, though no explanation is given for why that might be...

I'm not saying you're wrong, but what's the significance? No one doubts that Jon is either: (1) Ned's nephew; or (2) Ned's son. So, it would not be unusual for Jon to look like Ned regardless of whether his Stark blood came from Ned or Lyanna. Also, it would not be unusual if he did not look like Ned in that of Ned's other children, only Arya favors him. I don't think the resemblance is probative of anything, really.

I was actually enjoying their dispute, and I guess I was just hoping for a bigger payoff, though that does not diminish my anticipation for the resolution of the larger scale conflicts. On the whole I enjoyed this season, even if it did feel like it was a little hurried/rushed (in terms of pace, not production). I don't expect them to wait for GRRM to finish a book, but neither should they rush the pace to the point where Varys practically teleports between entire continents...

You're both correct, of course.. I guess knowing this would have been enough in a books, but I would have liked to see this play out more on screen in the show. Seems like it all happened so fast, as if rushed, that I didn't get time to really enjoy the resolution of Margery's scheming.

While I don't mind them telling us what will happen and then having it actually happen (maybe that's not subtle enough to be "foreshadowing," per se, but I like the consistency of them not jerking us around just for the sake of jerking us around), I do nevertheless agree a LOT with your Problem #1. It's too deus ex machina (or whatever) to insert a solution at the last second so often even if there was some telegraphing for it. It's one thing for it to happen every now and then but quite another for it to happen 3x or more in the same freking season. Your Problem #2, well, I don't have an issue with that. ASOIAF, and GoT by extension, are adapted from various occurences in real-life history. History repeats itself. Now, I agree that with Dany not burning, well that one is not historically derived and seems to be an overuse of the novelty, but what bothers me more about that it that GRRM has said she is not fire-proof and that the first occurrence was a special case. It is less special each time it happens again, no?

Yeah - it feels a bit like false advertising. They certainly made it seem like Margery had another grand plan to unveil, but perhaps she was only scheming for Loras' release and that thread was resolved when the HS screwed her. Yeah Loras was released, but then he turns to the HS of his own free will and sacrifices his lands and titles. That's all well and good, but it seemed like Margery was playing a larger game, and I'm left thinking "That was it?"

I suppose that is the resolution of all the scheming, but it's not the pay-off I'd hoped for either. I mean, Margery schemed, Cersei schemed, and they competed in the Game of Thrones, but Margery lost before we could see her full plan, and so that is unfulfilled. If Cersei was to win, then so be it: I can accept that. What I cannot accept is that Margery died before putting all the plans they foreshadowed into motion, so we're left wondering what the hell she was up to. Why not show us and then have Cersei win? Also, Cersei "winning" over Margery is somewhat depressing since we know how Cersei's end will come courtesy of Maggy, though I supposed that outcome was necessary to advance the story. Also, Cersei v. Dany is perhaps more interesting than Margery v. Dany.

Your point is well taken, though I suspect even if they had run when Margery warned them, it would not have mattered. I don't think those inside the sepct could have outrun the wildfyre in that limited span of time, as I would wager from the cloud over KL that many OUTSIDE the sept were killed as well. Still, it would have been better to leave it to chance that at least some had escaped.

I agree with you here, and this is the flipside of my R+L=J concerns. Instead of a lack of foreshadowing for a major event contrary to the gravamen of the evidence, Margery's fate actually represents a lot of foreshadowing that never developed into anything significant. Example: the flower drawing she gave her grandmother, as you referenced. What did that accomplish? I suppose it got the QoT to avoid the trial, which setup her trip to Dorne, but there were other, simpler and less time-consuming ways to arrive at the same end. I feel like the show wasted a lot of time on her character with foreshadowing events that never came to pass.

As I said, opinions can vary, but you're talking semantics at any rate. The point we're discussing is whether it would be convoluted and/or intricate for the showrunners to give us such clear evidence of R+L=J in this finale and then take it away next season with some sudden revelation or development not foreshadowed in previous episodes. What is your thought on this?