Storylines in this episode

[robb stark of the north]

Why all of u tend to believe that Jon's unexpected ally will be Tormund and that the episode will feature the wildlings' alliance with Jon.
I mainly consider that the phrase ''unexpected ally'' refers to Mance who is alive and agreed to ride in WF to save the so-called Arya Stark.

[King_Farouk_Laaroussi]

Interviews with Ciaran Hinds and info from EW confirmed he is really dead.

[The hairy bear]

This screen shot shows a Stone Man watching Tyrion's boat. http://i.imgur.com/r5RPy2Q.png

Wow. Good catch.

I wonder why they are so adamant to include the stone men. It seems to me like a part that could have been easily cut from the adaptation, or that at least didn't merit two or three mentions in the first half of the season. Specially if they are not going to include Jon Connington.

She actually has a decent amount of content left in the books whereas others have already moved past their book storylines, but even if she didn't have much to do, they could easily make content up for her. Sansa's storyline this season has been madeup for the show. Brienne (who has already been in more episodes than Arya) has been given a new storyline. Why do they have no problem creating scenes for Sansa/Tyrion/Dany etc but don't do the same for Arya? Sansa is one of my favourite characters but it seems obvious that David and Dan are playing favourites and giving her more to do than Arya (again, Arya has plenty left in the books whereas Sansa doesn't. Why couldn't they just give Sansa an 'off season' to build to next year and let Arya shine this season?)

Brienne had 8 chapters in AFFC+ADWD. Meanwhile, Arya had 5. So the ratio of the first five episodes of the season (4 Brienne vs 2 Arya) doesn't seem that out of proportion.

I also can't see any ground in the accusation of favouritism with Sansa. In fact, as of today, Maise and Sophie have appeared exactly in the same number of episodes (35).

Long training scenes tend to be boring. Just as we never saw Syrio Forel training Arya besides the initial scene introducing him, it is not required to see the every step required to become a Faceless Men. The chapters from the book would translate badly to screen (it's mostly inner thougts from Arya, and we wouldn't like to see her played by another actress), and GRRM originally intended to skip most of the training too with his planned 5 year gap.

[Dronuspk]

More book deaths hopefully so I can entertain myself reading the comments on this forum. :)

Kill The Boy is clearly a misleading title, I don't think Tommen, Loras, Robin or Little Sam is going to die. Probably as someone above said, the Sparrows will be chanting something of that nature in the streets.

[Polo]

i can see Kill The Boy being flipped on his head and instead it's the death of old people like Barristan, and Maester Aemon.

I wonder why they are so adamant to include the stone men. It seems to me like a part that could have been easily cut from the adaptation, or that at least didn't merit two or three mentions in the first half of the season. Specially if they are not going to include Jon Connington.

I know, i thought it would've been cut to, along with all the other things that have. But I liked them in the book, so I'm glad to see them in the show. I do think it's obvious now though as to who in the show will get greyscale instead of Jon Connington.

[WheelofIceandFire]

The hairy bear (cant quote you for some reason),

David and Dan recently said in an interview that they decided to put Sansa into the Winterfell storyline because she is a favourite of theirs and they wanted to give her a lot of screentime this season (Arya and Sansa may be in the same number of episodes now, buts its pretty clear that Sansa is going to be in most of the remaining episodes whereas Arya will probably be missing from most)

I just don't see how that is fair to other characters. Bran has been left out of a season. Why couldn't they do the same with Sansa? She has already surpassed what has happened in the books so why not have her off screen with Littlefinger for a while and let other character develop this season. Also, Brienne spends most of her time looking for the Starks whereas Arya develops a lot as a character and develops the facless men aspect. The show has already had Brienne meet the Starks so her storyline is basically pointless, but they are throwing her into Winterfell storyline

I get what you are saying about the training scenes, but that is not all that is left for Arya. They could dedicate her time in one episode to her spying on the old man and killing him with a poison coin. That is an important part of her development with the faceless men yet it looks like it is cut in the show. She also meets a nights watch deserter and kills him. Again, that's important to the character of Arya (killing a deserter like her father would) and the facless men arc (punishing her for it) yet it looks like it is cut. She also meets Sam which connects her to someone else storyline, yet there is no hint of that happening. The face changing aspect is basically the entire point of her going to Braavos yet it looks like it will be glossed over in the show. There is also her link with Nymeria but they haven't even bothered with that stuff

Even if they don't include those things, why not do the same for Arya that they are doing for Sansa (and Brienne)? Why cant they come up with an entirely new storyline (that still fits into the faceless men arc) and give her a lot of new things to do? She doesn't even need new content added to justify being in more episodes (the stuff I mentioned is enough to fill at least 7-8 episodes).

It just annoys me that the writers seem to be playing favourites (they have obviously always done that with Tyrion and Dany to an extent). Sansa is a great character but its not fair to others (especially Theon, whose storyline she has basically taken over) that the writers are coming up with a big storyline for her just to feature her a lot in the season

[Polo]

It just annoys me that the writers seem to be playing favourites (they have obviously always done that with Tyrion and Dany to an extent). Sansa is a great character but its not fair to others (especially Theon, whose storyline she has basically taken over) that the writers are coming up with a big storyline for her just to feature her a lot in the season

It's straight up bad writing. You don't pick favourites when you're adapting something as it undoubtedly will change the story and how characters are SUPPOSED to act. It's gotten D&D into problems in earlier seasons, and now that they're letting rookie assistants write episodes (Dave Hill), and new directors coming aboard for this season (except the last two episodes), it's exploded into pure fanfiction. Episode 4 is exactly what I'm talking about.

[[Deleted]]

This screen shot shows a Stone Man watching Tyrion's boat. http://i.imgur.com/r5RPy2Q.png

We get to go to old Valyria...

Are we really sure that's a Stone Man and not just a "stone man", as in, a statue? Might be D&D's tongue-in-cheek callout to events in the book that do not play out on the screen.

[DarkAndFullOfTurnips]

Are we really sure that's a Stone Man and not just a "stone man", as in, a statue? Might be D&D's tongue-in-cheek callout to events in the book that do not play out on the screen.

They've mentioned stone men like 3 times this season already for a reason.

[Lord Damian]

I think there is more to the eventual Sansa storyline than even seems to be in play now. The about the episode interview showed interesting costume and hair for Sansa. We have heard that the resurected dead (lord of light kiss of light) basically carry out their mission in life, probably what they were doing when they were killed. I have a sick feeling that Sansa will die after suffering but if Mel accompanies Stannis, maybe she gives her the kiss of light and she becomes, after a huge year as Sansa Stark, she is being built up to only transform into Lady Stoneheart where she is searching for her brothers to bring them home as her mission. Brienne, Pod and maybe Davos join her pose.

[The hairy bear]

WheelofIceandFire,

It won't be me who defends the inclusion of Sansa in the Winterfell plot. It's a story that in order to "work" requires everyone (from Littlefinger to the Boltons, passing through Sansa) to be incredibly stupid. I would have certainly preferred having them "shelve" Sansa for a season as hey've done with Bran, or invent some new story for her that isn't that hard to swallow.

That said, if they hadn't brougt Sansa to Winterfell, they should have introduced some kind of Jeyne Poole. And perhaps a Manderly, or a Lady Barbrey. They would certainly have to show what the Boltons and Theon are doing. So I don't think that every minute of "less Sansa" could equal to a minut of "more Arya".

One final point: during the filming of this season Sansa was 18, while Arya was still underage with all the restrictions it implies (they can spend a limited time on set, etc.). So this is precisely the season that they really had a reason to have more Sansa than Arya. Next year, Maise will be already eighteen and her training will have ended. I'm sure there'll be much more of her!

[MadMouse@theTOJ]

Lord Damian,

I don't see how Sansa suffering, dying and coming back as Lady Stoneheart meshes with what she's said in her interviews about her storyline. The Sansa actress has said that Sansa will start becoming a player, and won't be a victim anymore, and that she's becoming empowered. That doesn't sound like someone facing a magical resurrection.

[Lord Damian]

Lord Damian,

I don't see how Sansa suffering, dying and coming back as Lady Stoneheart meshes with what she's said in her interviews about her storyline. The Sansa actress has said that Sansa will start becoming a player, and won't be a victim anymore, and that she's becoming empowered. That doesn't sound like someone facing a magical resurrection.

I am thinking towards the end possiblity. It would still make her a player and I would not want it to happen this way either however, there are clues in interviews, videos and pictures that suggest that it is a possiblity. Truth is, we will not know for sure until the season progresses.

[Silverscream]

One final point: during the filming of this season Sansa was 18, while Arya was still underage with all the restrictions it implies (they can spend a limited time on set, etc.). So this is precisely the season that they really had a reason to have more Sansa than Arya. Next year, Maise will be already eighteen and her training will have ended. I'm sure there'll be much more of her!

Sophie's been working adult hours since season three when she turned sixteen, so there's no reason to assume that age factors into Maisie being in less episodes this season.

Then again, according to a person on imdb who's counting screen time this season, Arya's sitting pretty at fifth place over Sansa and Stannis who've been in all four episodes, so perhaps it's simply that she has a large amount of screen time coming up that they're just squishing into the few episodes she's in this season. Though at the same time there's nothing to prove that she's not in this episode and The Gift yet outside of not being mentioned in the synopses. It's Schrodinger's Arya more or less. For all we know this will be the last episode she won't be in this season, but at the same time I won't be surprised if she's only in five or six. Hopefully she'll be in more episodes next season when she returns to Westeros, but then again Arya fans said that about this season too.

[GarthGreenhand]

Aemon will die probably, and if we're lucky we'll get 'Egg, I dreamed that I was old'.

Don't count on it...if Aemon dies, we'll get something like "Jon, I thought I was a Stark". Par for the course of bastardizing great writing for the show.

[JetonGrajqevci]

I see this episode as mostly filler stuff: Stannis leaving Castle Black for Winterfell, Ramsay having sex while making Theon watch(?), Sansa walking around Winterfell, Brienne telling another story while freezing.

There are some events that will be important, like Daenerys agreeing to allow the fighting pits, Maester Aemon dying and suggesting that Jon talk to Tormund, and obviously Tyrion's encounters with Drogon from afar and probably ending with him and Jorah getting attacked by the Stone Men and taken by slavers.

We might possibly see some scene with Arya or with Mace and Meryn heading for Braavos. Also I agree that probably no scene from King's Landing but definitely Margaery meeting up with Olenna.

[WheelofIceandFire]

Has a 'main' character ever appeared in an episode even though they aren't in the synopsis OR preview? I know characters can easily appear even if they arent in the synopsis, but the preview usually shows brief flashes of all featured storylines in that episode so I cant see any character appearing if they aren't in the preview.

The preview only shows Dany, Jon, Winterfell (Sansa/Ramsay/Theon/Brienne) and Tyrion so I doubt any other characters will appear.

I really hope im wrong because I don't think I can handle two episodes in a row without my favourite character (Arya). I know its only a TV show but there are only 10 episodes a year so everytime she doesn't appear I get a bit annoyed. I get that she has had decent screentime in her appearences so far but she has only been in 2 episodes and will likely miss the fifth which, when you think about it, means I have only got to see my favourite character twice over four (soon to be five) weeks.

[Lord Damian]

Winterfell will be certain realities beginning to come to light for Sansa to realize what situation she finds herself in. Stannis leaving to probably gather support from Northern Lords and eventually get to Winterfell. LF will prob not be in this one as traveling but will be in ep 6. Dany will be mourning and will be vulnerable to compromise. Daario o Hizda? is the betrayer?. Both? Jon Snow trying to develop a plan to protect the wall. Arya advancing on her skills. Dornish travels et.

[bdub32689]

Kill the boy is referring to what Aemon says to jon before he's leaves with same Kill the boy inside it takes a man to rule. The title would also fit if Mel wants to sacrifice gillys baby boy.

It will be interesting to see Sam and Aemon leave for old town with gilly. This would make the most sense with a detour in bravos but largely depends on if they want to show old town in future seasons. The other way would be for Aemon to die at the wall and for Sam to leave to train.

Brienne will be close to winter fell trying a find a way to rescue Sansa

Jorah and tyrion encounter the stonemen and drogon and possibly are caught by pirates or slavers but that might be episode 6.

Danny is desperate for peace and hezdar makes an offer

[King Tyrion Targaryen]

They've mentioned stone men like 3 times this season already for a reason.

Perhaps Jorah takes over JC's role of contracting and then spreading Grey Scale?