Ghosts Lunch

Ah yes of course, especially with that story about the Bear

Yeah I reckon giving him the Last Hearth would make sense

Yeah that was my initial impression, then it seemed they were coming through the Walls, so wasn't sure if this was like them tunnelling into Tree Cave

Yeah, and maybe it "undoes the magic", issue there though is when the CotF died then Benjen should have come "undone" and perhaps even the Night King himself? It's not entirely clear how this was all supposed to work, if he was transformed/powered by Dragonglass then Drogon fire could have perhaps re-melted it in his chest? Crasters Sons were their own Living Beings before being transformed, so unlike the Wights who are dead and seem to be operating on Wi Fi and then conk out when the Modem White Walker who raised them dies, I'd think they would still keep living independently of the Night King? Let's not forget the glaring weakness then that an Anguy could have sniped him with an arrow with a Valyrian Steel arrow head

Tbf the Prince/Princess that was Promised could be plural and relate to a team. When Robbs Kingdom was declared Arya and Sansa became Princesses and Bran and Rickon became Princes. John has secretly been the Crown Prince of Rhaegar So everyone is involved and not a single person As for Azor Ahai, could relate to post Others/Night King Still was a bit daft with the Ninja leap, would have preferred pitch battle and Arya pulling a Howland Reed while Night King fighting Jon or something I an understand they needed to tie Theons arc up with the "Thank You", but can still see how it was a slap in the face to Meera. Perhaps it has something to do with Bran getting better control. Rather than mere watching, perhaps Bran could have at least warged the Ravens, have them perch on Drogon and Rhaegal and screech "Left" or "Right" and "Fire" to navigate them through the storm. He also could have warged a Direwolf or better yet Nymeria and have the Wolf Pack surge upwards from the Riverlands As I've said above, I'm fine with Arya delivering the blow, but they really should have done better with explaining the NK was an Ancient Stark and it required a female Stark plus a VS blade to completely undo him, a VS blade tempered by Dragonfire might not have worked if Dragon Fire itself did not work

Have mixed feelings, 10/10 for the Director, I loved the camera angles from the start following the various people and he really knows how to flow well 10/10 for the music 10/10 for the actors effort and performance I have a big issue with the tactics employed. At the same time I can see that it is a visual medium and half is there for psychological impact, eg the Dothraki charge was military stupidity at its height but there is a certain terror element being conveyed seeing all the Lights of the swords snuffed out. It’s stupid to have Vale and other Professionals outside of the Walls but can understand they are going for the dread of unstoppable swarm vs toing and froing of two armies battling it out and strategically outmaneuvering eachother My issue is with the writing, they didn’t properly flesh out the NK arc. I can buy the Wights he raised would die but not the WW’s who were living beings. I’m fine with Arya delivering the final blow with the VS dagger sent to kill Bran with, but should have been more like Howland Reed while NK was fighting someone else amidst the fog pitched battle in the Godswood rather than a Ninja leap past all of the WW’s etc We basically had Night King and Wights, we were missing the middle layer of the White Walkers and the Generals People felt the Lyanna Mormont was lame fan service but I didn’t mind, this was the spot were Wun Wun busted through, and Jon picked up a Mormont shield to abosrb Ramsays arrows so it’s arguably a nice callback. Plus having the smallest person on Battlefield vs largest was a good meta reflection for the balance of power and odds between the armies What I would have liked *Put Jaimie, Brienne, Ser Jorah and other Valyrian Steel holders in fights against White Walkers at time to illustrate the point of the leader of each House having a VS blade as tradition *”There must always be a Stark in Winterfell”. Have Mel tell Sansa she needs to be in the Crypts, as a matter of duty. Reason being perhaps that the nearby presence of a Stark prevents the old Kings of Winter rising as Wights and negates the WW magic. That way we can understand why Starks were fine with burying their dead as opposed to burning like everyone else. I’m not sure if that was dead Stark Kings or Wights tunnelling into the crypts? *Have Mel bring Dawn into the Battlefield with her (Arthur Daynes sword) having fetched it from Dorne (explains where she’s been). Give it the bonus properties that it not only has the ability to neutralise the WW weapons like VS, but being from a Comet etc and perhaps lit on fire during the battle. Have this sword have the ability to actually turn the tables and shatter the WW weapons, that way we see the mix of Ice and Fire (Longclaw and Dorne) come to the fore annd Jon can charge through the WW’s on way to the Godswood *”His is the song of Ice and Fire”. So we saw Jon can get burned in the Episode where he saved Jeor Mormont, but Have Jon immolated by Viserion Ice Fire, and in a twist on the NK being immune to Jon, Jon ends up being immune to Viserion and have Jon kill White Walker Dragon Viserion. This way we get some explanation as to the magical properties of the Ice/Fire bloodline mix and why it was necassary for Rhaegar to annul marriage and get with Lyanna Stark specifically and leave 2 best Kingsguard at Tower of Joy rather than at battle of Trident *”Delve into NK backstory, make him a Stark, that way things really are brought full circle more properly and it is easier to understand why the climactic battle with WW’s had to be at Winterfell, and why it was a female Stark (arbiter of life etc) who had to kill him ala Eowyn with Witch King of Agmar Naazgul in LOTR for example”

Probably using him for his winter Stark bloodline, similar to how Stannis wants Royal blood in show Gendry/book Edric Similar also to how the CoTF went to great lengths to get first Bloodraven and then Bran plugged into their Weirnet, CoTF planning something big too As for female upper caste, it's kinda foreshadowed with NK story, but despite being a nominally mans world we see through history with Elizabeth 1 and now 2nd these days, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary of Scots even + Joan of Arc etc that female leaders seem to be the most iconic and they seem to inspire the most intense loyalty from the male masses, seems to be a mother/son type thing So in the books the Lannisters are most focused around Cersei, the Tyrells around Olenna, there's something really funky about Barbrey Dustin, Sansa IMO will be a formidable Queen out of Harrenhall. The Starks were focused around Cat but that is adjusting, the Targaryens around Dany obviously, the Harpies around the Green Grace - in the show I reckon the Whore woman is actually the mother of the Harpies which is a great thematic twin to Dany - there's also Arianne to a degree though that is an even mix with Prince Doran her father. Ironborn need Theon as a figurehead but Asha is a driving force figurehead as a counter to Euron. Ultimately for mine it makes sense there is a Queen figurehead at the apex of the Others although a bit like R'hlorr I expect the Great Other is a male form.

Great point, couldn't help but feel this was an Easter Egg to book fans when I heard it Also, even though it is no less ironic given the Targaryens are not only part of the Wheel but actually "created the Wheel" by cramming the 7 Kingdoms together, and Dany's self-righteous moralising and general BS is rather annoying, I understood it thematically given it is meant to directly parallel what the High Sparrow is about in Kings Landing so wasn't as irritating when I heard it in the trailers as when I heard it in the show

Tbf in terms of the White Walkers, they are in the pilot and in the background as a threat for most of 5/7 seasons so they are at that stage in the lifecycle where there needs to be another decisive step forward in the primary arc of the entire story Season 6 needs to go even deeper, eg they need to arrive at the Wall and even cross it, with the invasion proper in season 7. Similarly Winds of Winter as the name suggests needs to go deep into the Others invasion (which basically means the pace of the books need to speed up a lot more than the pace where they have been in Feast and Dance) Also, as far as the general principle goes, it's harder in a visual medium to make something a nameless terror, it has to be seen in some way in order for viewers to be engaged which is why the harpies are seen although with masks

Yeah it's a bit like LoTR where they had to give a personality to the Uruk-hai in Fellowship and once again to the main Orc in the last one, it's a TV/Movie thing where there needs to be an identifiable face to each aspect as you can't convey the same fear of a nameless/faceless enemy Which is why also the woman is working well as a face to the Sons of the Harpy, I subscribe to the theory that she is actually the "Mother of the Harpy's", a great contrast to Dany In the grand scheme of things I reckon the Night's King is the main Others General/Military Commander, I reckon there is a female leadership caste we'll see at some point in the LoaW, which is where Benjen Stark was taken to IMO in books and show

Yeah they nailed the WTF?!?!?! look on the White Walkers face too! Big cheer for the Ice Spiders Easter egg, thought they'd be too Fantasyish for the show but they are perfect for climbing the Wall so.... Yeah she did great, was a nice slice of the missing Val, I think the point there though is that they needed to give a face and make people have feeling for the people left behind at Hardhome who got killed, just as Tormund had to be face of alliance, Rattleshirt the face of resistance, Chiefteness the face of convinced, the Thenn as the face of resistant but who came round once he saw the bigger picture, Dolorous Edd will probably be the face of NW resistant but who came round when he sees the bigger picture (reckon he will play a part in convincing Throne to open the gates)

Just on this theme, no accident that Victarion is turning up in Slavers Bay and ironically saving Dany from the Slavers Fleet (despite Dragonhorn plant) at the same time as Cotter Pyke is turning up at Hardhome (and being mistaken for Slavers despite it being a rescue mission) and talking about "Dead things in the water" Ironborn with the exception of some factions are oriented towards the Others/Night's King

Great episode - Battle budget for the season very well spent Fwiw this is a "deviation" but at the same time it is kind of what Fist of the First Men should have been which we didn't see at all on the show Enjoyed the Fire/Ice them coming up in Jon Snow once again this season, eg we saw Melisandre looking at him through the flames at the end of last season and that for mine had its twin with the Nights King looking at him from the edge of the pier As for the pace of movement, I wasn't too bothered, seemed similar to how Othor etc moved back in LC Mormonts chambers Enjoyed the Dany/Tyrion dialogue in an Ara/Tywin at Harrenhall kind of way. Dany needs less fawning yes men around her

Should have qualified, by RLers I mean LS and co Perhaps, I reckon though that LS will make Jaimie fulfilly her oath, eg they will have found out through Shadrich Sansa is in the Vale, after fetching her out and reuniting them Brienne will perhaps head north and kill Stannis with Oathkeeper before dying herself Unlike the show Sansa won't go to Winterfell, her ties are severed as articulated by Lady dying with her bones going north. She is disconnected from the Stark side of herself Agree with this part Sansa (and LF) in Winterfell in the show is as big a divergence as Jaimie in Dorne IMO Fortunately I think this Alayne chapter can help make sense of it Eg Pod in Tavern = Ser Shadrich/Mad Mouse Brienne = Mors Umber Sansa = Jeyne Poole Ramsay - Harry the Heir Myranda = Myranda Royce Roose Bolton = Lady Waynwood In a sense it is quite an elegant merging, just depends on how they get Sansa to the south, maybe Pod will take her and Brienne will stay up north. Other side of the equation is how Theon gets to meet up with Yarasha again...

It's easier to go back and forth via a single super fast boat (in relative terms) assisted by magic (winds) I thought this absurd but it might start to make some sense, there is something of an easter egg with all those Ironborn dressed as Tyroshi's who attempted a sneak attack on Oldtown Daario is nominally in the area but he is out scouting a lot and then he is supposedly a hostage so off-page In this case Daario/Euron, he wants the Iron Fleet in Slavers Bay and in the east for power projection reasons (to smash the Slavers/Free Cities fleet for a start and adjust the calculus), under Victarion it is probably the most formidable Navy in the series and as we saw in the chapter Victarion is one of the few people with the skills to get it over so quickly Daario does seem to have been cultivating conflict in Slavers Bay Euron is in league with the HoU, the other side of this equation is the fact they want to destroy Oldtown, the Citadel and the Maestars with their scientific agenda

Enough time for Ser Shadrich to have left and let RLers know Sansa is there so Brienne + Jaimie can go fetch her :)

Depends if she specifically used the term "Kingslayer" or Jaimie Lannister Kingslayer can just as easily be a reference in Briennes mind to Stannis (or rather his shadow) killing Renly Indeed this will make sense, as Brienne learns of Jaimies act of honour in the bathtubs of Harrenhall of all places while Stannis killing Renly via Bloodmagic was devoid of honour So Oathkeeper IMO relates to Jaimie fetching Sansa out of the Vale on behalf of LS, and then to fulfilling Briennes oath to killing Stannis - The "Kingslayer" Just on Alayne, my thoughts have evolved Basically people have whinged about lack of Sandor, what they need to understand is "Direwolf with bat wings". Sandor became a substitute for Lady, but like Arya and Cats this chapter was about setting up the link to Bats. In this case the Bat or winged creature is Sweetrobin and the chapter points out his obsessive loyalty to her (almost like a dog or warg animal). From the perspective Sweetrobin is an anti-Bran, we have to think back to the dead Bats in the CoTF cave up north as clue Long story short people have to consider the term Gravedigger is obviously ominous with death also Long story short my thoughts have evolved Sansa/Alayne is slowly ascending to becoming some kind of Death Queen based in Harrenhall and presiding over the combined Black Kingdom of Vassal Kingdom of the Vale led by anti-Tommen Sweetrobin and the destroyed Riverlands (Blackfish is the clue linking the two areas, but the fact Lady died in place of Nymeria which was named after a Queen is symbolic). Obviously Sweetrobin will rule in the Vale and Sansa will put those hoarded food resources to good use, Blackfish out of Riverrun where Nymeria pack which indirectly spawned out of the death of Lady will act as a power projection and the Gravedigger will do her bidding in Harrenhall, probably fetching the sacrifices and disposing of the bodies etc as part of her blood sacrifices involving her own Queens blood- all done silently too which will be a cool twist on his new vows I have been cynical of Sansa taking over LS role in the show but given I am now starting to think of Lady Stoneheart as a precursor to Alayne Stone the death Queen I would be more understanding There's some larger issues, the Black Dragon head turning up on that island and the link to the Gravedigger, plus black hair by the fires (Blackfyre), plus the Lemons for the Lemoncake coming from Dorne are all hinting at this new Black Kingdom being aligned with the Blackfyres/Dornish. I am highly confident now that it will be Sansa who will be the "younger and more beautiful Queen" of Cerseis prophecy, I reckon Sansa will kill Myrcella, quite fitting that Myrcella the subject of a Queenmaker plot is killed by a Black Death Queen. From this perspective if Jaimie does fetch Sansa out of the Vale in WoW and the North in season 6, having him do the same for Myrcella in Dorne is a good thematic nod to him toing and froing between Kingslayer and Jaimie, Cersei and Brienne, Princess Myrcella and Princess Sansa (she is Robbs sister remember) match up which is why Sansa is fitting I suspect Aegon will get Tommen, the one-eared Cat and the notion of Rhaenys having warged it suggests she and by extension the Targs is symbolically stalking Tommens position when ser Pounce chased the "bad cat" away, implies Aegon will march on KL before long

The Wall scenes were good IMO I had an issue firstly with Tywin/Cersei, so there's supposed to be some idea Cersei somehow "got one up on him", what rubbish, he can easily call her out on it, he can happily go back to Casterly Rock, she however is the Queen Regent in a Cadet Baratheon/Lannister Royal line, so if you publicly claim your children are Jaimies bastards as you threaten to do so, you pretty much publicly legitimise Stannis's claim, a man who without the Iron Bank loan is isolated and effectively finished on Dragonstone* (assuming they don't know he's headed to the Wall). You are going to also isolate the Tyrells, you know the House which has effectively given you the balance of power, they aren't going to marry Margaery to Tommen after that and will likely defect to Stannis And then there's the, "hey, why did you try to have me executed". Well I had made a deal to send you to the Wall but you made a point of asking for trail by combat and stared at me all smug, you forced my hand put yourself in that position I can understand the first one was meant to lead to Cersei/Jaimie in White Tower and act as an inverse of the Sept scene, and the second one had to happen to be in line with the books and lead to Tyrions exile but it is all rather weak Then there's children with fireballs thanks to there being no Coldhands, good grief these people forged the Dragonglass Sam used to kill the other, just give her a flaming/magic bow or something, if they had fireball abilities like that they wouldn't have lost to the First Men, not to mention it makes hardly any sense given the Old Gods dislike fire and stray fireballs = burning trees and forests...

Dorans hand is effectively forced by Myrcella's mutilation, Cersei won't be happy it happened under Dorans protection even if they do palm it all off on Darkstar so politically he needs to act quickly to seal any alliance Also if Aegon is legit than he is his nephew...only way to properly engage is via the heir to Dorne in his own place + one of Oberyns daughters given a letter was sent by Connington It's a fair bit to risk if it is a fake, Arianne can be prospectively held hostage as stated. I guess he is keeping Trystane with him so he will at least have one progeny