Episode Predictions (Book Spoilers)?

[sj4iy]

I hope we get the Wall for the whole episode, that would be incredibly awesome. The actors and producers have said that the battle is amazing, so I'm really excited for it.

[Mel_Rose]

I doubt that Slynt will be executed this season. With so many deaths in the last 2 episodes of this season - not to mention Oberyn in ep8-, his death will be totally insignificant and no show viewer will give a fuck. In the books it was quite a shock and a 'fuck yeah' moment and killing him now won't have any of that. It could work in the first couple episodes of S5, though - start the season with a bang like with Joff's death.

I have to say, though, I love the work of the actor who plays Slynt and I hope he meets his demise as late as poss in the show. His quickly suppressed laugh when Jon mentioned the giants, his facial expression when a NW man was arguing in favour of leaving the wall to kill Ygritte and the rest, his smug smile when Thorne sanctioned Jon's trip to Craster... he is perfect as a slimy bastard. Can't wait to see what he does at the battle.

[sj4iy]

I doubt that Slynt will be executed this season. With so many deaths in the last 2 episodes of this season - not to mention Oberyn in ep8-, his death will be totally insignificant and no show viewer will give a fuck. In the books it was quite a shock and a 'fuck yeah' moment and killing him now won't have any of that. It could work in the first couple episodes of S5, though - start the season with a bang like with Joff's death.

I have to say, though, I love the work of the actor who plays Slynt and I hope he meets his demise as late as poss in the show. His quickly suppressed laugh when Jon mentioned the giants, his facial expression when a NW man was arguing in favour of leaving the wall to kill Ygritte and the rest, his smug smile when Thorne sanctioned Jon's trip to Craster... he is perfect as a slimy bastard. Can't wait to see what he does at the battle.

I agree, he'll definitely meet the chopping block next season, probably the second episode or so. I think Jon will be chosen as LC in the last episode- it seems like the right type of note to end on for the season. I'm definitely looking forward to Jon's bigger role in the show now that all of the other male leads are gone. It'll be interesting to see how it evolves in comparison to the books.

[The Onion Sleight]

I enjoy that prediction. However, I'm unsure about it. The only characters at the wall are Jon and Sam, what would the episode consist of? 50 minutes of the Wall would bore me unless it was very eventful. Unsure whether I will love it or hate it.

Jon, Sam, Aliser, Locke, Pyp, Grenn, Edd, Ghost, Gilly, Styr, Tormund, Ygritte, Mance all joined by Team Dragonstone + Giants, Mammooths, wargs etc. I think there will be more than enough to keep everyone entertained in the episode. It's like Blackwater except characters you know and like actually die and there are real stakes.

I understand what Vaelya means. The great thing about "Blackwater" was, that we had actually real POVs in this episode. Probably because GRRM wrote this episode, 'cause it was really exactly as it was in the book: We saw the Battle through the eyes of certain POV characters (Tyrion, Davos, Sansa; Team Lannister, Team Stannis and one, who actually only wants to get safe through it; so we saw also the different sides and storylines) and of course some fighting persons (The Hound, Stannis, Lancel, aso). And Cersei(+Tommen) had a wonderful ending scene.

Our Wall POVs are Jon and Sam, and they are also the ones who have their own storylines on the show. They (the producer) can't show anything about Team Dragonstone before they show up at the end, but I think we'll see much more of the Wildlings and maybe their point of view at the battle and I hope/think they'll show us more of the dynamic and relations inside the NW (their roles at the Battle, scenes with Jon/Thorne, Jon/friends,...) and to the Wildlings (Jon/Mance, aso).

Of course, If somebody is way more interested in the KL stuff and the Lannisters & Co, he/she might enjoy the episode less than others (as regards me, I think we have/had more than enough KL this season (and the last ones), and I'm looking much forward to see that the North becomes more the focus, more than it was in the past; the people should understand how important the stuff there is, important for the whole realm and yeah, more important than KL).

I'm absolutely sure the episode will be brilliant, and the very last thing we can expect is boredom. Three battles, hopefully mammoths and giants, sad deaths, much action, but also dialogues, aso. Many things will happen at the same time and different characters should have "their" moments, I think we'll see many great scenes with Jon and Sam, but also their friends / frenemies / enemies...

[salmonsnake]

Do you guys think they'll bring the Horn? I was just thinking that probably 0 percent of the Unsullied would think 'yeah that'll do it' if horny Mance were to threaten to bring down the Wall with a trumpet solo

[snowy]

https://www.facebook.com/StannisBaratheonTheFirstOfHisName/photos/a.346351102105619.78114.345958372144892/591162660957794/?type=1&theater

My tummy fluttered at viewing this screencap. I'm not pro-Stannis, but I am a total North-and-beyond-the-Wall gal so anything showing what is happening there and further north causes some happiness. Had the same feeling when I saw an Other in the S04 teaser.

[Seneti]

I imagine the election will be in the finale but there's nothing to prove it at the moment. Whenver they do have the election, I'm sure it will be much more simplified and truncated than the books (i.e. no Cotter Pyke, Denys Mallister, no multiple votes etc). Slynt will be positioned as the front runner with the necessary backing and Sam will find a way to get Jon on the ballot and elected.

I guess I could see them doing Slynt's beheading that early but I tend to think they'll wait on that until S5. They've got a lot of ground to cover in the finale from all of the storylines. Better to set up Slynt as an early season adversary in S5 before dispatching him IMO.

You are taking the words straight from my mouth. Ep. 4.10 will most likely have a truncated election, Slynt's beheading will be in the first half of season 5.

If it's going to be one of the established NW characters that comes to odds with Jon about his Wildling policies, I have a feeling it'll likely be Pyp. Pyp's reluctance to join in with Jon's ranging seems like it could be the beginning of a fracture between them. Or, at least, retrospectively.

Nice catch. Now that you mention it, I remember thinking that it was odd that Pyp didn't volunteer, but I quickly forgot about it. I hope they take Pyp for Bowen. Marsh never really felt right to me in the books, probably because I wasn't paying much attention to the Wall prior to ASoS, but in ADWD he just seemed like a storyline intruder to me and I couldn't wait to be done with his scenes. Pyp on the other hand is someone who's been on my "good guys" list since season 1. It would be truly heartbreaking to see him turn against Jon.

I have looked at everyone's comment, I'd like to reply to them all but then there would be a pile of replies which would be pointless. Hmm. I am wondering what people's opinions are on Stannis? I see that "Stan the Man Baratheon" is in favour of Stannis, but I have mixed opinions about him. I feel he would be best for the people, but I think there are better characters for the Iron Throne? What do others think? I never knew there were Stannis fanatics and I'm just curious.

Personally, I never cared much for Stannis until he got to the Wall. I did care for Davos and was intrigued by Melisandre though. Stannis saving the Wall was his moment in the sun, IMO. He became a lot more interesting after that (though I would not exactly say "likeable"). He never became one of my favourites and I don't want him to sit the IT (he would probably either break or be murdered before his first year of rule is over). I think he'll die in TWoW or ADOS, probably right about the time that the true Azor Ahai is revealed.

Do you guys think they'll bring the Horn? I was just thinking that probably 0 percent of the Unsullied would think 'yeah that'll do it' if horny Mance were to threaten to bring down the Wall with a trumpet solo

Depends. If the horn is going to be of real significance of some point, i. e. if somebody is going to use it to bring down the Wall, then yes, they'll have to introduce it some time soon. Personally, I think it's nothing but a big fat red herring.

[Zombies That Were Promised]

Ah, fantastic this was opened so early.

I'm with Vaelya of Asshai. I'm only interested to see The Wall and Dragonstone come together, as it's a milestone of story convergence. I got serious goosebumps from Barristan joining Daenerys alone. I think us book readers are deeply invested in the story and thus care about The Wall and what happens there. As an Unsullied, I ignored all Night's Watch scenes..still have a really hard time watching them, and on casual Unsullied forums such as Neogaf I see the least favorite storyline is Jon, Sam, and the Night's Watch. It is truly dull. Grenn and Pyp, who? The wildlings - that redhead archer girl and Mince Raider? Haven't seen 'em. They can fight. They can die. I won't care. So for an entire episode dedicated to Jon, Sam, & co - well, sure is a good thing they placed it as the prestigious Episode 9. People will tune in anyway. I agree Blackwater worked because you had King's Landing as the sole location...which is already the central location of the show. (And I personally only liked that one for Cersei/Sansa/Shae's scenes and the wildfire explosion itself :P The battle was generic.)

so yeah.. bundle of negativity here :) I'm begging for this episode to win me over and to be proven very, very wrong about the casual audience response (which matters more than our opinions, IMO).

[Arkash]

There is the potential for so much awesome dialogue for this episode : Jon with pretty much anyone else could be gold (be it Grenn, Edd, Sam; Pyp, Aemon, Thorne, Slynt, Ygritte, Tormund, Styr, Mance...)

And wthin those there could be so much interraction building along the battle ! This will be an epic hour !

[King Tommen]

There's a difference between watching a bunch of people talking/arguing in castle rooms or out in the snow somewhere and watching a full scale battle take place in which we're well acquainted with principals on both sides.

People will be more than invested in the Wall storyline when it's got this much going on and so much in the way of stakes.

And I think people romanticize Blackwater too much. It's the Helm's Deep of ASOIAF (big spectacle, little results of consequence). I enjoyed the episode but at the end of the day, it's not a great battle. Davos is dispatched with almost immediately so you've only got Stannis as the viewpoint on his side and he doesn't even breach the walls of the city.

The Wildfire explosion was great but after that, it's just a bunch of nameless soldiers rushing a beach and getting picked off. No one of any importance dies (unless you count Davos' son which you shouldn't) and the battle is cut off before it can really get going because Tywin shows up and Stannis runs away.

The Battle at the Wall not only has a massive diverse force in Mance's army which includes formidable foes like Giants, wargs and Mamooths, but you've also got the Wildlings attacking the undermanned Castle from it's exposed side from the South which leads to one on one battles between Jon and Styr, Tormund and Thorne, the Giant and Grenn (probably) as well as the little kid's showdown with Ygritte. Sam probably plays some kind of role in defense of Gilly as well.

Ygritte definitely dies, Styr will die, and there's a good chance that Thorne and Grenn could as well. And you've got the perfect capper when all is lost with Stannis coming to save the day and plowing through Mance's army. To make a dramatic battle, you not only need great action but you need deaths and sacrifices of consequence that hit your emotional beats during the battle itself. Combining the two attacks (although we have to deal with the delay in order to get us there) I think is a stroke of genius. There will be so much chaos going on at the same time and that works so much better on TV than a prolonged siege that Mance's attack is in the books.

[King Walder]

It's all good so long as Tormund lives. I'd be pretty annoyed if they made a deviation now and had him die.

[Natalie Underfoot]

I feel that if we see the election it will end the season. I think it's ties in with the title name of "The Children" as we literally see the old guard start to fall away and the new generation move on. Jon, Arya, Sansa, Tyrion, Dany & the Dragons.

Now sure what's going to happen with Locke. Since we can only assume Bowen Marsh's actions are from strictly concern about the Night'sWatch he could conceivably take his place if there was more to Marsh than we thought. However, They've casually mentioned Eastwatch by the Sea and that other castle's are manned. So it wouldn't be too odd to have Bowen Marsh come in from one of those towers shortly after the battle, perhaps even with Stannis as he might have landed there first to introduce him.

[Stan the Man Baratheon]

I feel that if we see the election it will end the season. I think it's ties in with the title name of "The Children" as we literally see the old guard start to fall away and the new generation move on. Jon, Arya, Sansa, Tyrion, Dany & the Dragons.

Now sure what's going to happen with Locke. Since we can only assume Bowen Marsh's actions are from strictly concern about the Night'sWatch he could conceivably take his place if there was more to Marsh than we thought. However, They've casually mentioned Eastwatch by the Sea and that other castle's are manned. So it wouldn't be too odd to have Bowen Marsh come in from one of those towers shortly after the battle, perhaps even with Stannis as he might have landed there first to introduce him.

So like Cotter Pyke?

[TheBadboy]

I think episode 10 will be better than episode 9

Tywin and Shae killed by Tyrion

Tyrion agrees to Varys's plan to meet Dany

Sansa and Snow castle

Lysa bites it and Only Cat

Bran meeting CoTF in a creepy cave

Arya arriving at house of Black and White

AND Finally

UnCAT with Brienne

No way episode 9 is going to top all this !!! Yeah fine Ygritte dies and couple of characters like Styr or Thorne who I dont think anyone cares about. So this will be a dull a episode compared to the season finale . And plus I dont think the TV audience cares about the Wall so much anyhow.

But the high budget suggests it would be visually stunning , but it will lack the emotional impact like the other episode 9s

[TheBadboy]

There's a difference between watching a bunch of people talking/arguing in castle rooms or out in the snow somewhere and watching a full scale battle take place in which we're well acquainted with principals on both sides.

People will be more than invested in the Wall storyline when it's got this much going on and so much in the way of stakes.

And I think people romanticize Blackwater too much. It's the Helm's Deep of ASOIAF (big spectacle, little results of consequence). I enjoyed the episode but at the end of the day, it's not a great battle. Davos is dispatched with almost immediately so you've only got Stannis as the viewpoint on his side and he doesn't even breach the walls of the city.

The Wildfire explosion was great but after that, it's just a bunch of nameless soldiers rushing a beach and getting picked off. No one of any importance dies (unless you count Davos' son which you shouldn't) and the battle is cut off before it can really get going because Tywin shows up and Stannis runs away.

The Battle at the Wall not only has a massive diverse force in Mance's army which includes formidable foes like Giants, wargs and Mamooths, but you've also got the Wildlings attacking the undermanned Castle from it's exposed side from the South which leads to one on one battles between Jon and Styr, Tormund and Thorne, the Giant and Grenn (probably) as well as the little kid's showdown with Ygritte. Sam probably plays some kind of role in defense of Gilly as well.

Ygritte definitely dies, Styr will die, and there's a good chance that Thorne and Grenn could as well. And you've got the perfect capper when all is lost with Stannis coming to save the day and plowing through Mance's army. To make a dramatic battle, you not only need great action but you need deaths and sacrifices of consequence that hit your emotional beats during the battle itself. Combining the two attacks (although we have to deal with the delay in order to get us there) I think is a stroke of genius. There will be so much chaos going on at the same time and that works so much better on TV than a prolonged siege that Mance's attack is in the books.

I dont think anyone cares about Styr or Thorne , in fact I myself will cheer when they bite. Ygritte is the only one who will carry the emotional impact you are talking about. Compare with the season finale, this episode will be dull -_- - Tywin , Shae, Lysa, Uncat, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Dany , Tyrion, Varys, Jaime, Cersei and LF all doing some crazy epic shit , No way the finale wont be the best episode of the season...

And Blackwater was amazing because it was Tyrion's finest hour. Drunk Cersei was the amazing !! Cersei - Tommen closing scene- Kudos. The explosion mind blowing! All in all Cersei and Tyrion made this episode !!!!

[The Onion Sleight]

Why do people think we'll need so much emotional impact as in other ninth episodes? There were enough Stark deaths in ninth epis already, if I was an Unsullied I would be very glad to see finally once a victory of the "good guys" and no super-sad death of main characters (main characters like e.g. Ned, Cat, Robb).

As only show watcher, I would maybe expect Jon to die (since some Unsullied are sure that aaaaall good guys get killed on the show) and they'll make it look as a defeat for the NW till the end, so there will be still enough emotional impact, I guess (even if the people don't care about the Wall, which is really a pity...).

[Stan the Man Baratheon]

Why do people think we'll need so much emotional impact as in other ninth episodes? There were enough Stark deaths in ninth epis already, if I was an Unsullied I would be very glad to see finally once a victory of the "good guys" and no super-sad death of main characters (main characters like e.g. Ned, Cat, Robb).

As only show watcher, I would maybe expect Jon to die (since some Unsullied are sure that aaaaall good guys get killed on the show) and they'll make it look as a defeat for the NW till the end, so there will be still enough emotional impact, I guess (even if the people don't care about the Wall, which is really a pity...).

Basically this. I want some quality battle scenes and looks like we are getting that. I am very pleased with that and to top it we have Stannis in it. It is a win-win for me.

[Konradsmith]

^It's nice to hear some optimism about the show from you, man!

[CandleWisps]

Am I the only one who will actually be glad to see Ygritte go? Can't wait for the kid to off her. It'll be sad for Jon, and Rose Leslie is absolutely lovely, but I definitely won't miss Ygritte.

[Stan the Man Baratheon]

^It's nice to hear some optimism about the show from you, man!

Well you gotta give credit where it is due.

Am I the only one who will actually be glad to see Ygritte go? Can't wait for the kid to off her. It'll be sad for Jon, and Rose Leslie is absolutely lovely, but I definitely won't miss Ygritte.

Yeah, i personally never warmed up to Ygritte's character. Will be largely indifferent towards her death.