[Book Spoilers] Season 3 Ending

[Tyrion_is_Omar]

Which is exactly what is going to happen: we know that the relationship betwen Jaime and Cersei is going to deteriorate progressively after Jaime returns to King's Landing. I don't see how adding a new layer to this conflict, with Cersei blaming Jaime of her son's death, is going to mess with the storyline at all.

My guess is that Jaime wil reach KL by S3's finale. His arch for season 4 will be him deciding to be a better man and breaking up with Cersei.

Again, IMHO, if Cersei blames Jaime for Joffrey, she is the one that breaks up with him and wouldn`t be progressive would be immediate . But, in the books, like you said, the relationship is progressively deterioreting because Jaime starts to realize that she is quitte a b.... Is important, IMHO, for Jaime growth that he be the one that breaks up with her.

[Sasha Steelsong]

Well, Jon has to hear about Sansa being married so he can name Jon his heir before the RW. But I don't know if they'll even do that in the show.

Not really. The possibility of her being married off to someone of the Lannister's choosing is enough to disinherit her, since any husband would rule through her. It would actually make Robb a bit more forward thinking (which he needs since he didn't have his grief over Bran and Rickon to justify his marriage) to do it preemptively.

[Nezzer]

I think the Battle of Castle Black with the wildlings attacking from the south won't be in the show. I really hope it does, at least a small skirmish, but regardless if it does or does not appear, I think we could have the cliffhanger on the Wall, with Jon seeing the fires of the huge wildling army in the middle of the forest. There isn't much they could use for the final cliffhanger.

[sbab20]

I think the Battle of Castle Black with the wildlings attacking from the south won't be in the show. I really hope it does, at least a small skirmish, but regardless if it does or does not appear, I think we could have the cliffhanger on the Wall, with Jon seeing the fires of the huge wildling army in the middle of the forest. There isn't much they could use for the final cliffhanger.

I don't see why that battle wouldn't make it in as there's not really a battle sequence the size/complexity of Blackwater in this season. They could split the battle blow out budget between this and Astapor.

That would actually be a great cliffhanger; show the Battle of Castle Black, have the guys start to celebrate when they win, then show the approaching lights of the main wilding army in the distance from the top of the wall.

[Le Cygne]

IMO, Arya and the Hound's axe doesn't work as a season ending cliffhanger.

Also it would be a dirty trick on a character who has already been shortchanged. He saved her life.

[Mark Antony]

was thinking Lady Stoneheart opening her eyes would be perfect.

[Nezzer]

was thinking Lady Stoneheart opening her eyes would be perfect.

It'd be too early for that IMHO.

[Mark Antony]

It'd be too early for that IMHO.

why it happens 3 days after the RW and i have a feeling that will take place in episode 9 but idk

[Nezzer]

why it happens 3 days after the RW and i have a feeling that will take place in episode 9 but idk

I meant more like for the reaction of the crowd. I don't think it would be as shocking and as surprising as seeing it on season 4. I'd rather have Arya seeing Cat's dead body through Nymeria's eyes, without a single sign of reanimation. Better to keep her undead appearance as the final scene of season 4. Epic cliffhanger just like in the book.

[Mark Antony]

gotcha ya idk if they could hold it off all the way until the end of season 4 but we'll see, I think Lysa going out the Moon Door will be perfect for that.

[Brandon Martell]

I meant more like for the reaction of the crowd. I don't think it would be as shocking and as surprising as seeing it on season 4. I'd rather have Arya seeing Cat's dead body through Nymeria's eyes, without a single sign of reanimation. Better to keep her undead appearance as the final scene of season 4. Epic cliffhanger just like in the book.

Exactly. We saw UnCat after we had totally lost all hope that she was still alive and after we were all distracted with other story lines for half a book. It'll work even better if it's divided on two seasons.

[leoff]

S3 needs a strong final scene. Besides Lady Stoneheart what else is left? (Assuming RW is ep. 9)

Arya is hit by a axe at ep. 9. At the beginning of ep. 10 Cat is thrown into the river. Arya, still unconscious, sees her dead corpse through Nymeria's eyes and some men (BwB) approaching. At the final scene, Thoros refuses to giver the kiss of life and Beric decides to do it himself. He dies, Cat "lives" and open her eyes. The end.

Lady Stoneheart is still going to be a big surprise because Arya saw her dead body long after the RW. Also finishes Beric's part onscreen, unlike the book. And since PW is going to be on S4, the bitter taste of RW is mitigated by Lady Stoneheart.

[Mark Antony]

S3 needs a strong final scene. Besides Lady Stoneheart what else is left? (Assuming RW is ep. 9)

Arya is hit by a axe at ep. 9. At the beginning of ep. 10 Cat is thrown into the river. Arya, still unconscious, sees her dead corpse through Nymeria's eyes and some men (BwB) approaching. At the final scene, Thoros refuses to giver the kiss of life and Beric decides to do it himself. He dies, Cat "lives" and open her eyes. The end.

Lady Stoneheart is still going to be a big surprise because Arya saw her dead body long after the RW. Also finishes Beric's part onscreen, unlike the book. And since PW is going to be on S4, the bitter taste of RW is mitigated by Lady Stoneheart.

agree with all this

[sbab20]

Initially, I was against moving up Stoneheart, but I'm warming up to the idea. While my personal preference for the season ender would be the PW because it provides an actual ending for the KL storylines, I think Beric giving his life for Cat would be nearly as good.

From a storytelling perspective, it works well. It's a season ending worthy cliffhanger to be sure, but holding out until the end of S4 seems impractical given the likely bleeding of AFFC/ADWD into the end of that season and using it as anything less than a E10 ending seems less than what the scene deserves. The proposed reworking fits chronologically, but would still surprise book readers who don't follow the show online because they wouldn't be expecting to actually see that scene yet. It bumps up the payoff to the Thoros resurrection power set up within the same season, and the supernatural element fits with the past cliffhangers. It also gives fans upset over the RW a tease of possible vengeance to mitigate the downer of the RW.

From a practical perspective, it prevents you from having to ask Michelle Fairley to sit out almost a whole season, not to mention all of the BWB actors. Besides interfering with their ability to get other work and the potential for causing recasting, it would be hard to sneak that many actors on set to film without that news leaking for non-book readers, thus negating the additional element of surprise the delay might otherwise create. It also means you don't have to bring Berric back for S4. Plus, it potentially gives you another storyline to use to fill in parts of season 4 if you are worried that moving too fast will necessitate using too many AFFC/ADWD elements in S4. I'm sure the writers on the show wouldn't mind having a storyline that lets them write more original material without actually interfering with existing book plot either.

While I totally understand the trepidation about changing a scene as perfectly perfect as the Stoneheart reveal is as written in the books, I think it's a mistake to assume that just because it's not exactly that scene necessarily diminishes the power of the reveal itself. It would absolutely work extremely well this way.

[freetickles]

Though I'd also like to see UnCat at the end of S3, they could include it in S4 without having to ask Fairley to come back next year to shoot just that one scene, by shooting it this year. Since they already know it's coming and will already have all the necessary actors around, that would make a lot of sense to me.

[Padraig]

Though I'd also like to see UnCat at the end of S3, they could include it in S4 without having to ask Fairley to come back next year to shoot just that one scene, by shooting it this year. Since they already know it's coming and will already have all the necessary actors around, that would make a lot of sense to me.

They don't do that though. They are busy enough trying to fit all of S3 into their schedule.

And well said sbab20. I also think that the unCat scene is the perfect way to end S3. Ties that season nicely together. GRRM could put it at the end of aSoS because it's one big book. But since they have split the book for TV purposes, it fits into the same season as the RW. We'll still have one or two episodes to build up the post-RW despair before the big twist.

Its as likely to me as the White Walkers scene ending S2.

[Dragon greyscale]

I'll admit that unCat makes a great ending, even though I'm not a big fan of that whole development in the books. It works because it's about more than just Cat. It's about the possibility of people coming back to life within the borders of westeros. That's a big game changer.

If they go this route, it's prerequisite that Beric's "state" isn't really clear throughout the season. In other words, unCat should be the first instance in which people really realize the possibility of reanimation among Westerosi. That way it's a cliffhanger that'll leave people speculating (like the dragons in s1; s2 ending wasn't really special imo) Who knows, viewers might even come up with crazy theories about the return of Ned, Renly and Robert.

[Padraig]

If they go this route, it's prerequisite that Beric's "state" isn't really clear throughout the season. In other words, unCat should be the first instance in which people really realize the possibility of reanimation among Westerosi. That way it's a cliffhanger that'll leave people speculating (like the dragons in s1; s2 ending wasn't really special imo) Who knows, viewers might even come up with crazy theories about the return of Ned, Renly and Robert.

The gods no! That sounds horrible to me.

We have to know about Beric before hand. You can't have some almost random twist to end the series. While S1 and S2 might have been twists for people, they were hinted at before hand.

unCat isn't a gamechanger because of reanimation. Its a gamechanger because suddenly the Starks will appear back in the game. But we should know enough about Beric to realise that this is no easy cure. It comes with a price. The viewers wouldn't realise how big a price it is for a while but they should be aware that Beric paid a price.

Having viewers think that other people may be reanimated would completely undermine the show IMO.

[The hairy bear]

Winter is Coming have finally obtained confirmation that the Red Wedding will take place in E9, mirroring the past two seasons of placing the big shocking twist off the year in the penultimate episode.

So now we know:

E7: George's episode, titled "Autumn Storms".

E8: Sansa and Tyrion's wedding.

E9: The Red Wedding.

At a guess, E10 will include the aftermath of the Red Wedding, the resolution of Arya's fate, and the climaxes of the storylines of Jon and Dany.

About seeing lady Stonehart this season... I'm torned. On the one hand they'd have the chance to cast Merret for the Red Wedding, and they wouldn't need to bring back the BwB cast and Fairley for a single scene in the fourth season. On the other, with E9 ending with Catelyn's death and E10 presumably starting with the Freys throwing her body into the river, I wonder if it's a good idea to bring back a character from death when so little time has passed.

Having viewers think that other people may be reanimated would completely undermine the show IMO.

I agree completely. Cat reapearance in the books only worked because we knew it wasn't a deus ex machina, and that Lady Stoneheart wasn't "exactly" Catelyn. Opening the possibilities that old characters might return would only cheapen their deaths.

[Brandon Martell]

About seeing lady Stonehart this season... I'm torned. On the one hand they'd have the chance to cast Merret for the Red Wedding, and they wouldn't need to bring back the BwB cast and Fairley for a single scene in the fourth season. On the other, with E9 ending with Catelyn's death and E10 presumably starting with the Freys throwing her body into the river, I wonder if it's a good idea to bring back a character from death when so little time has passed.

I don't feel it's that big of a deal. They did bring back Drogo for a single scene season 2.