Rant and Rave without Repercussion [Book Spoilers]

[R4W13Y]

I loved the awkward shot of Jaime walking into meet with Doran, just so they could show off the ceiling :rolleyes:

[JonCon's Red Beard]

http://grrm.livejournal.com/428946.html

For all of you who are enjoying OUTLANDER, the marvelous adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's time travel novels that just finished its first season on STARZ... well, the show is terrific, but the books are even better (as is so often the case)

[Chebyshov]

I'm struggling to come up with a word that defines this episode for me. The ones that come first to mind are "hackneyed" and "lame." It wasn't terrible, it wasn't great. It just seems like a pretty sloppy episode.

Stannis' Camp

You have to hand it to Ramsay's Raiders, they sure are good at their work. They managed to burn the supply lines, all the siege equipment, and cut the horse lines without setting off a single alarm or being captured. You'd think one of them would try to slip into Stannis' tent and kill him, seeing as they so effortlessly breached the perimeter. I love how the report was of "20 men or less." Good guess, man! The whole Davos to CB thing seemed to go off so smoothly. He obviously has strong suspicions about burning Shireen (and if he doesn't, he's an idiot) but he just goes off without even an attempt at a Gendry plan. The whole Shireen/Stannis scene felt very contrived to me. Not nearly as good as the one earlier in the season. I guess Stannis' rambling about having to choose should have been deep, but it just left me shaking my head. And you can't get much more heavy-handed than "Is there any way I can help? I'm you're daughter!" What the fuck was with making Selyse come around at the last minute? Was the actress mistakenly acting out Stannis' part? The whole season she's been ready to burn her, and then they chicken out with the depiction at the last minute. I get that wanting a thing in theory and going through with it are two different things, but it seemed to come out of nowhere. The burning Shireen screams were SO gratuitous.

The Wall

Man, even for a show where half the characters own jetpacks, that was a ridiculously quick journey. They got back from Hardhome with hundreds of women, children, and presumably injured people in about a day and a half. Hey look, guys! It's Olly! In case you didn't know, he's none too happy about this wildling business! Don't worry, I think he's coming around, though. He'll probably be over it in a day or so.

Dorne

In Dorne we have another awkward characterization flip. Faullaria goes from from angrily pouring out one for her homies to crying in front of Doran to telling Jaime that she's totes cool with incest (I mean, she's Dornish after all, those pervs have no taboos amirite?) all in the space of ten minutes. Meanwhile, the Sand Fakes are playing the slap game...for some reason. Also, Trystane gets to be on the small council because being sixteen, smarmy, and having a glass jaw are totally all the qualifications you need! Meanwhile, someone stole Myrcella's necklace out of her room and Bronn gets punched for our amusement!

Braavos

Jesus, Arya really shouldn't have been given this mission, because she is the most awkward and obvious assassin to ever walk the planet. Marvel as she suspiciously pulls a bottle out and then hides it on her person right in front of her intended target! Also, apparently the most appropriate place for a high ranking official of the Iron Bank to meet the Hand of the King is on a smelly dock in Ragman's Harbor. Watch as Arya follows ten feet behind glaring daggers at Meryn Trant while still pushing her oyster cart. Mace Tyrell has a bitching singing voice, though. In case you didn't hate Meryn Trant enough, listen to him make a homophobic joke about a character that has been dead for years! Arya continues her stellar plan of standing around a brothel and gaping like a moron without a plan. Then, eventually she is kicked out. What stellar television this is!

Meereen

The best thing you can say about this section is that the fight choreography is much better than it has been for most of this season, which is good, because there are endless minutes of it! The hamfisted Daario/Dany/Hizzy love triangle conversation was so incredibly awkward. Then Tyrion got off some sick burn about Hizzy being an idiot that made no sense, but it's cool, because he is such a wise and trusted advisor now! A fighter hesitates in killing Jorah for no apparent reason. I guess he thought he was in Gladiator for a second and needed Dany's approval, even though Hizzy explicitly states that she wouldn't be able to stop it anyway. Then Jorah uses his eagle eye to kill a Harpy that somehow escaped detection by all the guards and was like three feet behind Dany. Then the Harpies just start killing...everyone? Wait, why are they doing that? Aren't they Meereenese freedom fighters? Why are they just slaughtering people in the crowd left and right? Then Hizzy gets stabbed and Jorah touches Dany because he either keeps forgetting he has the most contagious disease ever or he wants Dany to get it. Tyrion gets to bravely save Missy because Greyworm has been in the hospital for three months and he needs to prove he is as strong as he is smart. Then the Harpies surround Dany, but I guess they hit their cue too early or else Drogon was really late because they stand around like idiots until dragontime. Dany's reaction to this whole mess is of course to close her eyes and wait for death. She gets 1/100th of the badassness of the book moment where she whips Drogon into submission before flying out of the pit on a giant piece of rubber. Good times.

I'm ready for this to be over now.

I could kiss you for all of this. But especially "those pervs."

As for Selyse coming around, it's what happened with Karsi. Women are defined by their parenthood, men are not :wideeyed:

[Dagon]

So the stupid 20 man suicide mission was actually a plan to burn stannis' camp so stannis will burn shireen.

I hope that isnt a wow spoiler. If it is I wonder if it happens after a failed attempt to seige winterfell. For the show it feels like Brienne bait.

I actually didnt mind dorne this time around. Doran is doing a good job. I still dont know where d&d are voinv with it. Not holding my breath for anything spectacular.

Trent is already a douche. Did we need him to be a pedo too. So much for the shades of grey all the characters have in ASOIAF.

I liked Danys escape scene, up until the escape. NO WHIP. I have been waiting for Dany to tame drogon but instead he just lets her on... meh. Those effects were pretty crap too. I know its tv but how bout one extra god damn fan to, at least, mess her hair up. She looked like she was in first class on virgin airlines. Maybe 50000 less skeleton zombies so we can have one of the great moments from adwd look a little better then sharknado.

I just made that same point about Trant to a friend. This show is completely black and white now.

[bobbybuilderton]

I really want to know how it's inconsistent with the guy who killed his brother, and was willing to kill his other brother's son for the exact character to do what he did tonight?

Stannis isn't a good guy. He's a kinslayer. He sold his soul for the IT a long time ago and this is his all or nothing moment.

Inconsistent because his brother was going against the status quo. Shireen is his daughter. The status quo in that situation is that he protects and teaches her, not offers her up to a god he barely believes in at a moment's notice. Now start complaining about the show or go away.

[Marcus Agrippa]

Remember one of these idiots wrote Troy which was terrible. I am done with the show. It can't be saved. Mel in the book is cleary going to burn Shireen and Stannis cleary isn't going to know about it.

[ToTheWolves]

As stated over in the other thread by fury burns:

"Stannis Baratheon, the man who held Storm's End for the entire length of a war while living off of rats and horses decides to burn his daughter and heir because a few of his supplies were burnt? Yeah, bullshit. I doubt anyone can say that D&D aren't just out to destroy Stannis' as a character now..."

[Cas Stark]

I really want to know how it's inconsistent with the guy who killed his brother, and was willing to kill his other brother's son for the exact character to do what he did tonight?

Stannis isn't a good guy. He's a kinslayer. He sold his soul for the IT a long time ago and this is his all or nothing moment.

Renly was ready to kill him, too, or did you forget his 100,000 army? Shireen is an innocent child and his daughter, not a rival who is attempting to usurp his right to the throne.

[Chebyshov]

Btw, Tyrion goes from Volantis to VALYRIA to Meereen and has time for some fireside chats with Dany, but Mace only JUST NOW gets to Braavos?

[Private Lemoncake]

they don't understand anything.

You know nothing, showrunners. :(

[bloodsteel bitterraven]

Thank the 7 for this thread.

D&D blaming George for this cr*p shows how pathetic they are.

Trystane will join the Small Council? What the F happened to Nymeria?

There's so much I want to say, but I'm watching the NBA finals now.

[The Scabbard Of the Morning]

I will actually give them a pass on the Trant pedo thing because I assume they want Arya to impersonate a prostitute to kill him and the only way she can get close to him is if he's into really young girls. I mean it's a hamfisted solution but at least I can see the wheel turning in their head and why they did it.

I can't even begin to comprehend the thought process that put the Dorne scenes on paper and said "this is good, let's shoot these scenes".

[Magnar of Skagos]

An interesting read:

http://grrm.livejournal.com/428946.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Why is everyone freaking out about this blog post?

And they really could have used some music during Shireen's death... I mean, it did not feel sad at all...

So I guess the EP9 climax streak has finally fucked up.

[nekrohsis]

It's so friggin' stupid. Why in the seven hells should Tyrstane be on the Small Council instead of Nym? Why do they have to take women's plotlines away from them, over and over, to shoe-in their fanfic versions of male characters?

[Blushingfae]

Well, they just lost all the Emmy voters. No one with any pride in television would vote for a show that burns a young girl with such screams, and then follows up with a grown man requesting a virgin underage child for sex for himself and his two guards. "Bring me a fresh one tomorrow" still stings my ears. This has nothing to do with the story, and he is already on Arya's list.

Sansa's wedding night rape was bad. We all just watched a child be led to a pedophile.

[BookSnob4Ever]

Btw, Tyrion goes from Volantis to VALYRIA to Meereen and has time for some fireside chats with Dany, but Mace only JUST NOW gets to Braavos?

You forget that it a little choppy the last few days according to Tyrell.

[JonSnow4President]

So, most gratuitous abuse of the two remaining innocent female characters, with nowhere near enough development to justify the abusive situation in some way:

Sansa or Shireen?

[SOSRadio]

Yeah, joining the club.

Worst episode 9 out of all five seasons.

[Stag_legion]

GRRM told D&D that Shireen burns. It was confirmed on Inside The Episode.

Shireen might burn but I am willing to bet 1000$ its not with stannis' consent! Mel might burn her at the wall when stannis is gone.

It makes no sense for stannis to burn his own kid to get a throne where he would have no heir for.

Also last we heard of stannis in the books he said they should fight on for shireen if he dies, THAT does not sound like a guy who would burn his daughter.

[hiemal]

The way the show shrinks everything I love about he books is nothing new, and a trade-off I make willingly in exchange for the visual experiences, but a spoiler that cheapens something as important Shireen's eventual sacrifice...

This season has been plagued by questionable decisions.