The Seven Blessings of 707

[Sweet April]

In no particular order after #1

1. Jamie left Cersi!! I was exceedingly disappointed that they seemed to get close again this season so it was nice to see and I expect it's for good this time. 

2. I'm indifferent to whether or not Jon and Daemerys get together, but I liked the scene as Jon was getting ready to knock at her door, he seemed to hesitate a bit as though he was psyching himself up to go through with it. I found it rather endearing.

3. Sansa and Arya taking care of Littlefimger. I thought how it finally played out could have been done better, I was underwhelmed, but certainly enjoyed his sniveling and the fact that any fears about a riff between Sansa and Arya were put to rest. 

4. The Hound and Brianne's reunion taking about Arya. He seemed to show a little pride when Brianne said the only person who needed protection was whoever got in her way. I'm anxiously awaiting his reunion with both Arya and Sansa. 

5. Jon and Theron's conversation. I think it was done well, I would have never believed that any scene with Theon would make it to one of my favorite scenes in the show.  Like many people I have conflicting feelings about Theon and not a fan of any of the Greyjoy portion of the story, this was the first time in a long time I felt anything for Theom and didn't feel his presence was a waste of valuable air time.  Agree with other posters that this was foreshadowing Jon realizing that he's a Stark and Targaryen.

6. The wight running towards Cersi. First because it seemed to genuinely scare her, which almost made the stupid trip north of the wall worth it and second because overall the scene was much better than I imagined it would be. The idea of capturing a wight and bringing it to KL was pretty dumb so I was pleasantly surprised. And Daemerys being late, cool as can be (on a bad ass dragon no less!) with Cersi waiting on her and her reply of "Apologies" in a sorry-not sorry sort of way. 

7. The contrast of the opening scenes at Kings Landing bright and sunny with Palm Trees and everything green and as Jamie is leaving seeing how gray and gloomy Kings Landing had become wth the snow starting to fall. 

[Cron]

18 minutes ago, Sweet April said:

In no particular order after #1

Hey, great stuff, thanks for taking the time to write it up!  I read it all with interest!

18 minutes ago, Sweet April said:

1. Jamie left Cersi!! I was exceedingly disappointed that they seemed to get close again this season so it was nice to see and I expect it's for good this time. 

Are you a fan of Jaime and Brienne getting together, then?  Or do you just really dislike Cersei?

18 minutes ago, Sweet April said:

2. I'm indifferent to whether or not Jon and Daemerys get together, but I liked the scene as Jon was getting ready to knock at her door, he seemed to hesitate a bit as though he was psyching himself up to go through with it. I found it rather endearing.

Yeah, Kit Harrington (Jon)  plays a sensitive guy really well.  I think that's why a lot of women like him (in Westeros, and in our "real world")

18 minutes ago, Sweet April said:

3. Sansa and Arya taking care of Littlefimger. I thought how it finally played out could have been done better, I was underwhelmed, but certainly enjoyed his sniveling and the fact that any fears about a riff between Sansa and Arya were put to rest. 

I've seen the episode three times now, and this scene is still my favorite.  I really liked how Sansa, Arya and Bran all worked together to take LFout and cross him off.  A lot of bad karma finally caught up to him.

18 minutes ago, Sweet April said:

4. The Hound and Brianne's reunion taking about Arya. He seemed to show a little pride when Brianne said the only person who needed protection was whoever got in her way. I'm anxiously awaiting his reunion with both Arya and Sansa. 

Agreed.  That reunion is going to be great.  Also, Jon and Arya.  I expect lots of people will be crying, in the show and watching on television.

Jon and Arya have not seen each other since Episode 101.

18 minutes ago, Sweet April said:

5. Jon and Theron's conversation. I think it was done well, I would have never believed that any scene with Theon would make it to one of my favorite scenes in the show.  Like many people I have conflicting feelings about Theon and not a fan of any of the Greyjoy portion of the story, this was the first time in a long time I felt anything for Theom and didn't feel his presence was a waste of valuable air time.  Agree with other posters that this was foreshadowing Jon realizing that he's a Stark and Targaryen.

I don't normally have much use for Theon, but I do like Asha (from the books) a lot.  Have you read the books?  Asha is really cool.  (The actress who plays Yara in the show does a good job, I think, but Asha and Yara are quite different, as you may know, and overall I prefer Asha.  Not the fault of the Yara actress, though.)

18 minutes ago, Sweet April said:

6. The wight running towards Cersi. First because it seemed to genuinely scare her, which almost made the stupid trip north of the wall worth it and second because overall the scene was much better than I imagined it would be. The idea of capturing a wight and bringing it to KL was pretty dumb so I was pleasantly surprised. And Daemerys being late, cool as can be (on a bad ass dragon no less!) with Cersi waiting on her and her reply of "Apologies" in a sorry-not sorry sort of way. 

Yeah, great scene.  That wight seemed maniacally crazed, and I thought it worked really well.

18 minutes ago, Sweet April said:

7. The contrast of the opening scenes at Kings Landing bright and sunny with Palm Trees and everything green and as Jamie is leaving seeing how gray and gloomy Kings Landing had become wth the snow starting to fall. 

Interesting.  Atmosphere can be really important, and I think the show frequently gets it right.

I'm starting to think you're a jaime fan for sure.  Am I right, or not so much?

[Cron]

On 8/29/2017 at 11:17 AM, Tagganaro said:

I did feel that scene was a little cheeseball, but I'll say the set-up for it was AMAZING.  One of my favorite parts of a great episode was the dialogue between Jon and Theon.  That's something that felt really true and genuine to the characters.  Loved it.  

Yeah, Theon is not my favorite character, but Alfie Allen IS a tremendous actor.

Always has been in GoT (I've never seen him in anything else, I don't think.)

He's made the transition from pompous to pathetic very smoothly, and he really wears his angst well.

(Kit Harrington did a good job in that scene, too. His delivery seemed thoughtful, and contemplative, rather than forced and just blurted out.  Not that I ever have any problem with Kit Harrington's work, though.)

[Cron]

On 8/29/2017 at 6:44 PM, SansaJonRule said:

Good points, all.

Thanks!!

HAR!!

[Cron]

On 8/29/2017 at 6:45 PM, SansaJonRule said:

Tell your mom not to talk to you during the show!!!  hah!

HARR!!

Good one, but actually that's not what I think distracted me.

I actually sometimes take some notes on the first watching, for consideration later, and I think I might have been writing some stuff down when that happened.

A fight scene like that is just when I would do something like that on a first watching (cuz they are just fighting, but I'm more likely to pay closer attention to dialogue, which tends to be my favorite part of a story)

[Cron]

On 8/29/2017 at 6:56 PM, SansaJonRule said:

People have different perceptions of what would be the worst thing they could possibly endure. Also, Arya has always been very impulsive.  If she had been put in the situations Sansa had at the same age (13), with the same previous life experiences, she may very well have lost her head and gotten herself killed.  That is how I interpret Arya's statement to Sansa, in addition to acknowledging that Sansa went through a lot of horrific stuff.  I don't think either Arya or Sansa could have survived when the other went through.  Each girl's self preservation instincts were actually what they each needed to get them through their individual trials.

Great, great points.

Yeah, that's one way of looking at it, the idea that if Ramsay had treated Arya that way she probably would have crossed him off, and quite probably would then not have made it out of Winterfell alive (this hypothetical puts her in Sansa's place, which means she would NOT have her Faceless Man skills.  To put it another way, if Sansa had killed Theon, she probably would not have made it out of Winterfell alive, and thus would not have survived the ordeal.)

[Cron]

On 8/29/2017 at 8:39 PM, SerJeremiahLouistark said:

 

Do we know that Gregor is under Cersei's control?  If he is why didn't he step between her and the wight?  That thing came close to her.  Is it possible something prevents him from fighting other zombies?  We have seen Gregor step up to protect her numerous times, even when she wasn't being threatened, most recently Euron's first arrival at KL, and he wasn't even close to her.  But Gregor doesn't move an inch when the wight charges her.  Doesn't make sense.

Apoligies for posting this premise twice.  

Interesting point about Gregor.  In fact, he's defensive of Cersei even when she's not around (I'm thinking of that scene when he killed that guy who was telling lies about Cersei in the street)

It does seem like he's under her control, though.  She has quite clearly given him orders on several occasions, and he always seems to obey.

Or does he?  I've seen 707 three times now, and one scene I still can't quite figure out is when Jaime, Cersei and Gregor are in that room (right before Jaime left Cersei), and Jaime says something like "well go ahead and have him kill me then," and it looks like Cersei nods her head go Gregor, then Gregor half-draws his sword, then Jaime says something like he doesn't believe she'll have him killed, and then Jaime walks out of the room, and sure enough Gregor doesn't kill him.

Uh...what happened there?  Every time I watch it, it looks like Cersei gave Gregor the go-ahead to kill Jaime, but Gregor doesn't do it, and then Jaime just walks out and Cersei does not seem surprised or upset by the fact that Gregor didn't kill Jaime.  Did Cersei give Gregor some indication that he should NOT kill Jaime that I didn't catch??

[Cron]

22 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

Defend the Starks.  I have no doubt.  He may be half Targ, but he was raised a Stark.  Plus he would consider that a tremendous betrayal.

Good points.  Perhaps if I changed the hypothetical so the Starks were the aggressors against Dany, Jon would side with Dany?

Maybe. Perhaps that makes sense.

Certainly, a big part of why I have such a big problem with Theon was his betrayal of Robb (not to mention his violently murderous acts at Winterfell).  Still, though, Robb WAS stupid to trust him.  Cat warned him not to trust Theon, and then basically said "I told you so" after Theon betrayed the Starks (not that any of that makes what Theon did okay, though, of course)

[Cron]

22 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

What you said about setting into motion events he couldn't control, and then "fixing" them is what I meant about him redirecting his schemes.  But it always catches up in the end.  You have some memory to recall all those specific events!

yay me!  ha ha

 

Regarding Littlefinger:  Here's the way I view "intelligence."

There are a LOT of ways a person can be smart, and a LOT of ways a person can be stupid, or a fool.

There are some people in the world who get great grades in school, get a great job, make a lot of money, but...they are idiots in their personal lives, making terrible blunders which cause unhappiness to people around them, and/or are suckers or fools who get taken in by scams run by people with much greater street smarts or savvy.

And there are people who don't do so well in school, don't make much money, but are VERY well adjusted mentally, and bring great happiness to themselves and others throughout their lives, and/or are VERY hard to sucker or fool.

There's "book smarts" and "street smarts."  There's common sense, wisdom, good instincts, intuition, willpower, drive, determination, and on and on and on, ALL of which are aspects of intelligence, and all of which have an opposite which is NOT smart.  (By the way, I could go on and on and on about this, listing many ways in which a person can be "smart" or "not smart."  I've done a lot of thinking about it.  Even many forms of athleticism are actually forms of intelligence, and/or the product of intelligence.)

So, anyway, in some ways LF was quite smart (clever, cunning, ambitious, driven) and in other ways he was an idiot.  (By the way, it's smart to be "good," and not smart to be "bad," in my opinion.  If LF hadn't done the terrible things that caused the Starks to cross him off, then presumably he would still be alive. So, in the end, all his machinations actually weren't very smart, he just ended up getting caught and hung in the web he himself created.)

LF was good at plotting and scheming (which Tyrion would say are the same thing, HAR!), but not very bright when it came to personal relationships and human interactions, which were his biggest weaknesses, and ultimately led to his death.

Whoa, sorry to go on and on, and sorry for any typos (I re-read what you quoted from me, and was mildly appalled by my typos. Guess I'd better re-dedicate myself to proofreading) 

[SansaJonRule]

16 hours ago, Cron said:

Yeah, Dany's entrance was fantastic. Very dramatic.  The show's dragons look better than anything I've ever seen on screen before, too.  Pretty cool how it was climbing down that wall, like a giant bat. Very creepy (literally)

I think the fact that the dragons are cool and intimidating at the same time is what makes them so awe inspiring.  But bats are cute.

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Yeah, that was interesting. I wonder exactly what she was thinking?

I want to, I want to, damn it, I can't!!  OR, damn, he's offering himself, he just took all the fun out of it.

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...and that's how LF will be remembered, on his knees crying.  HAR!

Now that you mention it, you're right!

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I don't think Jaime will be going back to her again, either.  I was pretty surprised when he did so this season, in fact.  I felt it was a regression for him, but hopefully that's behind us all for good now.

Regression, or really driving home the depth of his struggle.  I think Cersei will miscarry (she's in her late 30's and the witch did say she'd only have 3 children), or Jaime will learn without a doubt it's not his, and that will free him.  I can't see him actually fighting against her if he thinks his child could be harmed.

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Nice touch, showing Ned's continuing and lasting impact on characters who are sill alive.

I thought it was a very nice touch.  A lot of people predicted one of the Starks would die this season because of Sansa's voice over during the season trailer about the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.  But it was referring to Ned.  And they are definitely sticking together now.  I thought that was very well done.  Even Cersei gave a nod to Ned in saying that she could trust a son of his to keep his word.

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I considered including this. Certainly it was a grand spectacle, but I tend to favor dialogue.  Action is great, though, gotta have it at some point, and yeah, that scene was very well done!

I prefer good dialogue as well, But it was something to watch indeed.  But....if the wall was built from ice and magic, how could it be brought down by just dragon fire?  Because dragons are magical too? 

[SansaJonRule]

3 hours ago, Cron said:

HARR!!

Good one, but actually that's not what I think distracted me.

I actually sometimes take some notes on the first watching, for consideration later, and I think I might have been writing some stuff down when that happened.

A fight scene like that is just when I would do something like that on a first watching (cuz they are just fighting, but I'm more likely to pay closer attention to dialogue, which tends to be my favorite part of a story)

You take notes?  Can't wait to tell my hubby that.  He thinks I need an intervention! 

 

[Zapho]

4 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

I prefer good dialogue as well, But it was something to watch indeed.  But....if the wall was built from ice and magic, how could it be brought down by just dragon fire?  Because dragons are magical too? 

Yes, very likely. I think that was the whole point of the stupid catch a wight to convince Cersei plan. The NK had to get a chance to get a dragon. 

A lot of people blame the show's writers for the whole thing but that's probably not fair. The way the wall came down must have been something GRRM laid down. It's something of a huge plot hole imo, because the AotD just aren't a danger to the realm as long as they stayed beyond the Wall. If Jon had done nothing ... 

[SerJeremiahLouistark]

9 hours ago, Cron said:

Interesting point about Gregor.  In fact, he's defensive of Cersei even when she's not around (I'm thinking of that scene when he killed that guy who was telling lies about Cersei in the street)

It does seem like he's under her control, though.  She has quite clearly given him orders on several occasions, and he always seems to obey.

Or does he?  I've seen 707 three times now, and one scene I still can't quite figure out is when Jaime, Cersei and Gregor are in that room (right before Jaime left Cersei), and Jaime says something like "well go ahead and have him kill me then," and it looks like Cersei nods her head go Gregor, then Gregor half-draws his sword, then Jaime says something like he doesn't believe she'll have him killed, and then Jaime walks out of the room, and sure enough Gregor doesn't kill him.

Uh...what happened there?  Every time I watch it, it looks like Cersei gave Gregor the go-ahead to kill Jaime, but Gregor doesn't do it, and then Jaime just walks out and Cersei does not seem surprised or upset by the fact that Gregor didn't kill Jaime.  Did Cersei give Gregor some indication that he should NOT kill Jaime that I didn't catch??

It's strange isn't it.  he defends her from everything, except the wight, he almost kills Tyrion because Tyrion says kill me, and he almost kills Jaime but doesn't when Cersei gives the order to kill him or at least that's what it seemed.  Does all Lannister blood and emotion confuse him or something?  I don't get it either.  

[Cron]

8 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

I think the fact that the dragons are cool and intimidating at the same time is what makes them so awe inspiring.  But bats are cute.

Bats are cute?? Have you ever had one in your home?  If so, you might have a different opinion, cuz I HAVE had them in my home. HAR!

And bats actually ARE creepy crawly, just like the dragons.  I guarantee it. 

8 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

I want to, I want to, damn it, I can't!!  OR, damn, he's offering himself, he just took all the fun out of it.

Ay yi yi.  Women do love to tease and tantalize, don't they?

8 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

Now that you mention it, you're right!

Good, good.

8 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

Regression, or really driving home the depth of his struggle.  I think Cersei will miscarry (she's in her late 30's and the witch did say she'd only have 3 children), or Jaime will learn without a doubt it's not his, and that will free him.  I can't see him actually fighting against her if he thinks his child could be harmed.

Mmmmm...Cersei is more than in her late 30's at this point.  My understanding is that she and Jaime are in their mid-40's.  Even in the books Cersei and Jaime would be AT LEAST in their late 30's to early 40's, and the characters are aged up for the show.

Wouldn't it be great if BRAN is the one to tell Jaime he is not the father of Cersei's current pregnancy???   WOW, talk about karma coming full circle, since Jaime pushed Bran out the window after Bran saw Jaime and Cersei having sex.

8 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

I thought it was a very nice touch.  A lot of people predicted one of the Starks would die this season because of Sansa's voice over during the season trailer about the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.  But it was referring to Ned.  And they are definitely sticking together now.  I thought that was very well done.  Even Cersei gave a nod to Ned in saying that she could trust a son of his to keep his word.

Great stuff, I love it all.

8 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

I prefer good dialogue as well, But it was something to watch indeed.  But....if the wall was built from ice and magic, how could it be brought down by just dragon fire?  Because dragons are magical too? 

Yeah, that's my understanding of it.

The dragons are "magical" themselves, or, more likely, in my opinion, sufficiently technologically advanced (even on a genetic level) to bring down the Wall.

[Cron]

8 hours ago, SansaJonRule said:

You take notes?  Can't wait to tell my hubby that.  He thinks I need an intervention! 

 

Just a few quick notes.  Nothing heavy.  Just some thoughts I'd like to convey later here on Westeros.

[Cron]

2 hours ago, SerJeremiahLouistark said:

It's strange isn't it.  he defends her from everything, except the wight, he almost kills Tyrion because Tyrion says kill me, and he almost kills Jaime but doesn't when Cersei gives the order to kill him or at least that's what it seemed.  Does all Lannister blood and emotion confuse him or something?  I don't get it either.  

I considered a similar possibility about Gregor, too, that the reason he didn't kill Jaime was cuz jaime is a Lannister, and Gregor is loyal to Lannisters.

We don't know what he would have done if Cersei had told him to kill Tyrion, but it is possible that Cersei actually wanted Gregor to kill Jaime, but Gregor didn't do it cuz Jaime is a Lannister.

On the other hand, Cersei didn't seem surprised or upset when Gregor didn't kill Jaime.

It all makes me continue to wonder if there was something really subtle in that scene that I missed, maybe a slight gesture from Cersei to Gregor, basically telling him not to kill Jaime.  Dunno.

[SerJeremiahLouistark]

13 minutes ago, Cron said:

I considered a similar possibility about Gregor, too, that the reason he didn't kill Jaime was cuz jaime is a Lannister, and Gregor is loyal to Lannisters.

We don't know what he would have done if Cersei had told him to kill Tyrion, but it is possible that Cersei actually wanted Gregor to kill Jaime, but Gregor didn't do it cuz Jaime is a Lannister.

On the other hand, Cersei didn't seem surprised or upset when Gregor didn't kill Jaime.

It all makes me continue to wonder if there was something really subtle in that scene that I missed, maybe a slight gesture from Cersei to Gregor, basically telling him not to kill Jaime.  Dunno.

Watch the scene with Tyrion again, it's actually Tyrion who gives the command Gregor reacts to, not Cersei.  It's strange. She just gives that look that tells us she is wanting to say do it, but doesn't.  

[Cron]

2 minutes ago, SerJeremiahLouistark said:

Watch the scene with Tyrion again, it's actually Tyrion who gives the command Gregor reacts to, not Cersei.  It's strange. She just gives that look that tells us she is wanting to say do it, but doesn't.  

Yeah, it's interesting.

Who can say WHAT the heck is going on in Gregor's "brain" at this point.

[SerJeremiahLouistark]

19 minutes ago, Cron said:

Yeah, it's interesting.

Who can say WHAT the heck is going on in Gregor's "brain" at this point.

What did the Hound mean?  "You know who is coming for you, you've always known". Does he just mean death is coming for you, you've had it coming for a long time or is he being specific?

[King Ragnar]

On 28-8-2017 at 7:18 AM, Cron said:

Well, maybe Theon can continue to try to balance out the scales a little more, but I think he's still got a LONG way to go.

And it doesn't help that he's got the snivelling personality of a wet paper towel.

(Having said that Alfie Allen does a GREAT job playing him, and always has.  I could never imagine Theon any other way now.)

I had the feeling Theon was asking Jon's forgiveness because Theon is about to die... Saving Yara but dying in the process