Support NeoGAF

[ThoseDeafMutes]

My current prediction is that she'll lose most of her army in short order, then be forced to find a new plan. Again. Dragons breathe fire, and the zombie-like enemies (not sure if walkers or something else) seem vulnerable to fire, so Dany is basically a hard-counter to the threat from the North. I suppose it's possible that she and her dragons will die before being able to get used in this fashion, but I've been predicting a Dragon v White Walker showdown since Season 1.

 

[BobTheFork]

My current prediction is that she'll lose most of her army in short order, then be forced to find a new plan. Again. Dragons breathe fire, and the zombie-like enemies (not sure if walkers or something else) seem vulnerable to fire, so Dany is basically a hard-counter to the threat from the North. I suppose it's possible that she and her dragons will die before being able to get used in this fashion, but I've been predicting a Dragon v White Walker showdown since Season 1.

Yeah, I don't buy that she is ready to take Westeros yet. She finally has the troops but I think she still needs to learn more. So either her hubris get the better of her and she has to take a step back with some loses again or... I don't know. She doesn't have a fleet of ships yet does she? Maybe that's the next goal and she'll need more money. Of course she could probably just take them but that doesn't seem to be her MO.

 

[TheHeretic]

My current prediction is that she'll lose most of her army in short order, then be forced to find a new plan. Again. Dragons breathe fire, and the zombie-like enemies (not sure if walkers or something else) seem vulnerable to fire, so Dany is basically a hard-counter to the threat from the North. I suppose it's possible that she and her dragons will die before being able to get used in this fashion, but I've been predicting a Dragon v White Walker showdown since Season 1.

If she loses her army again whats the point of her story? I assume it comes into significance at some point for the rest of Westeros but goddamn that's shabby writing. Her going to the North sounds right, now that the Nights Watch is basically finished?

 

[Forkball]

Yeah, I don't buy that she is ready to take Westeros yet. She finally has the troops but I think she still needs to learn more. So either her hubris get the better of her and she has to take a step back with some loses again or... I don't know. She doesn't have a fllet of ships yet does she? Maybe that's the next goal and she'll need more money. Of course she could probably just take them but that doesn't seem to be her MO.

She will probably roam around with her death stack and mow people down like it's Civ IV. Do other cities have unsullied? She could easily show up and say "give me your unsullied or I will burninate you." Also I love the look Selmy gives Mormont when the unsullied are slamming their spears, he's like "AWWWWW YEAH."

I agree with Bran's story being slow. I know this book is going to be two seasons, but it seems he just wanders around, has dreams, and that's it. I'm hoping we get some sort of payoff soon.

Also the Dany gifs would be amazing for E3.

 

[papercamm]

I am so glad that the show is exploring more of Olenna's character.

 

[Incognito]

I thought this could have been a loyalty test orchestrated by his father, his sister actually does seems to care for him a little and I don't really think she's that cruel. My second theory is the guy who 'rescued' and then returned him did it to increase his reputation with whoever is holding Theon.

That's what I'm thinking, too. Especially after he said that "he's the one who killed them all" as Theon yells out the opposite.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

If she loses her army again whats the point of her story? I assume it comes into significance at some point for the rest of Westeros but goddamn that's shabby writing. Her going to the North sounds right, now that the Nights Watch is basically finished?

I was asking the same thing when the Dothraki (spelling?) plot amounted to nothing in particular. I mean, she got her dragon eggs, but the fact that it was the Dothraki doing all of this stuff and all of the specifics of the plotlines were broadly irrelevant. We get this window into a fairly interesting culture and it seems like they're going to be mega important and what not, but then it all gets undone, her son dies, her husband dies, the plot about the Dothraki crossing the sea under her banner dies, etc. The Qarth (spelling?) plot in S2 was seemingly pointless, a lengthy excuse to have Dany wander around for a season with her thumb up her ass, culminating in a demonstration that dragons can, in fact, burn things.

Maybe pointless is too strong of a word, but the plots so far don't seem to hesitate throwing all of this establishing material out the window to be replaced by something else. As far as I'm concerned, Dany is doing a tour of the places outside of westeros until the plot on the mainland is ready to have her show up with an army and mess things up even more.

 

[BobTheFork]

She will probably roam around with her death stack and mow people down like it's Civ IV. Do other cities have unsullied? She could easily show up and say "give me your unsullied or I will burninate you." Also I love the look Selmy gives Mormont when the unsullied are slamming their spears, he's like "AWWWWW YEAH."

I agree with Bran's story being slow. I know this book is going to be two seasons, but it seems he just wanders around, has dreams, and that's it. I'm hoping we get some sort of payoff soon.

Also the Dany gifs would be amazing for E3.

I didn't think there were more unsullied but it would be funny if she had the bulk of them and just keep snowballing more and more of them.

Her main story arc is her going back home to take it back so if we aren't going to do taht very soon than it's had to say what's going to happen. Ever since Drogo died she has been building to this moment and not that's it's here (her army and dragons ready to destroy) and I don't think she is going to Westeros just yet than she has to fill more gaps. So either 'she still has much to learn' or' she is lacking something important to accomplish her goal.

 

[EagleBurnn]

I was asking the same thing when the Dothraki (spelling?) plot amounted to nothing in particular. I mean, she got her dragon eggs, but the fact that it was the Dothraki doing all of this stuff and all of the specifics of the plotlines were broadly irrelevant. We get this window into a fairly interesting culture and it seems like they're going to be mega important and what not, but then it all gets undone, her son dies, her husband dies, the plot about the Dothraki crossing the sea under her banner dies, etc. The Qarth (spelling?) plot in S2 was seemingly pointless, a lengthy excuse to have Dany wander around for a season with her thumb up her ass, culminating in a demonstration that dragons can, in fact, burn things.

Maybe pointless is too strong of a word, but the plots so far don't seem to hesitate throwing all of this establishing material out the window to be replaced by something else. As far as I'm concerned, Dany is doing a tour of the places outside of westeros until the plot on the mainland is ready to have her show up with an army and mess things up even more.

Those experiences helped her grow as a character and into the powerful persona she has now. In Season 1, she slowly grew to like the power of a Queen and will now accept no less of a rank. When we first saw her with her brother, she seemed weak and fragile. Now she's strong and confident and that's because of her experience with the Dothraki.

 

[xenist]

She will probably roam around with her death stack and mow people down like it's Civ IV. Do other cities have unsullied? She could easily show up and say "give me your unsullied or I will burninate you." Also I love the look Selmy gives Mormont when the unsullied are slamming their spears, he's like "AWWWWW YEAH.

That's not even close to a death stack. It's gonna be, but it isn't yet.

 

[TheHeretic]

They really need to moved Bran's story head IMO. It's not bad but I don't know how much longer they and just show the crazy dreams he's having while talking about the meaning. They have been teasing his dreams since early first season, and they are still pretty much just teasing what's it's all about.

I wrote about this earlier, he's supposed to be able to see the future. I assume they are premonitions to some event. Cat says "don't climb, promise me" in the dream. Looks to be a Shamalayn/Signs type plot twist where that means something critical later down the line.

 

[BobTheFork]

I wrote about this earlier, he's supposed to be able to see the future. I assume they are premonitions to some event. Cat says "don't climb, promise me" in the dream. Looks to be a Shamalayn/Signs type plot twist where that means something critical later down the line.

Well, I thought that was the first time past events showed up in his dream since it's obviously referring to ep1. Unless of course, his mother or the climbing thing come up again soon in an important way,

 

[Victory Red]

Here's a podcast they do every week about the previous night's episode.

Its pretty long (an hour) but some good insight on stuff. One host just watches the shows. The other host has read all the books.

 

[Violet_0]

I think the chronology of events will be something like this:

White Walkers reach the wall > Winter is finally coming > Dany arrives in Westeros. In the meantime the political intrigues and backstabbing in the Seven Kingdoms proceed as usual

 

[Avinexus]

She will probably roam around with her death stack and mow people down like it's Civ IV. Do other cities have unsullied? She could easily show up and say "give me your unsullied or I will burninate you." Also I love the look Selmy gives Mormont when the unsullied are slamming their spears, he's like "AWWWWW YEAH."

I agree with Bran's story being slow. I know this book is going to be two seasons, but it seems he just wanders around, has dreams, and that's it. I'm hoping we get some sort of payoff soon.

Also the Dany gifs would be amazing for E3.

She only has 8000 troops, no? You are making her army out to be a lot bigger than it is. She will need a lot more to conquer what she is going after.

 

[RDreamer]

My current prediction is that she'll lose most of her army in short order, then be forced to find a new plan. Again. Dragons breathe fire, and the zombie-like enemies (not sure if walkers or something else) seem vulnerable to fire, so Dany is basically a hard-counter to the threat from the North. I suppose it's possible that she and her dragons will die before being able to get used in this fashion, but I've been predicting a Dragon v White Walker showdown since Season 1.

Yeah, I've been thinking there'd be some sort of showdown between possibly Dragons and some sort of stuff in the North. The books are titled A Song of Ice and Fire, so I figured Dany and her dragons would be the fire in that. Now I'm kind of wondering, though, because the lord of light has been popping up fucking everywhere. I'm sure Dany's still going to come mess some stuff up, but I do wonder what all the lord of light stuff will amount to.

From a story structure it would make the most sense if she kind of came over near the end, after almost everyone else is done fucking each other over, took things over, and then things went south up north. After taking over and sitting on the ashes of the kingdom, she'd then have to deal with whatever fantastical shit was up there then. If she just came in and took over for a little bit and then died or something it wouldn't make sense to spend all this time developing her.

And yeah she seems to keep having to throw everything out the window and find a new plan, and that's kind of getting old by now, so I'm hoping this time she's really gathering permanent resources.

I think the chronology of events will be something like this:

White Walkers reach the wall > Winter is finally coming > Dany arrives in Westeros. In the meantime the political intrigues and backstabbing in the Seven Kingdoms proceed as usual

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm thinking. Political intrigue kills a lot of the important characters > White walkers and shit reach the wall > Winter arrives > Danny arrives and realizes she's gotta fight something else entirely

That also makes some sense as to why she'd be accepted. As of now I haven't really heard anyone in Westeros actually wanting a Targaryen back. There's no foreshadowing there at all. Nothing. If the country was about to be ravaged by whatever the hell is north, though, then it would make sense people would be like "Hell yeah, person with dragons. You're fine by us, now can you go take care of that stuff?"

I'm kind of at a loss as to what happens with the king beyond the wall and Jon Snow in all this, though. The Night's Watch is scattered so there's really not much to stop them. And Robb is down wherever the fuck, so there's not much in the North to stop them there, either. So, I dunno... maybe Jon assassinates that king and then they scatter? Seems less epic than what it was building to, though.

 

[Kozak]

She only has 8000 troops, no? You are making her army out to be a lot bigger than it is. She will need a lot more to conquer what she is going after.

8000 unsullied.

These are trained soldiers not like in Westeros in which the majority of men are farmers, merchants, smiths etc.

Plus she has 3 dragons who seem to be capable of destroying a city already.

Its game on imo. I expect by the end of this season she will have landed in Westeros.

Yeah, I've been thinking there'd be some sort of showdown between possibly Dragons and some sort of stuff in the North. The books are titled A Song of Ice and Fire, so I figured Dany and her dragons would be the fire in that. Now I'm kind of wondering, though, because the lord of light has been popping up fucking everywhere. I'm sure Dany's still going to come mess some stuff up, but I do wonder what all the lord of light stuff will amount to.
.

Looks like the lord of the light will jump ship to whoever seems like they can win the throne tbh. Melisandre didn't seem so interested in Stannis now that he's lost his numbers and power an episode ago.

 

[pr0cs]

I was hoping someone would post a GIF of the guy that double-crosses Theon. The look on his face was bat shit crazy when Theon started screaming.

Great episode, overall this season is turning out great and makes waiting another week really tough.

edit:
aha, wicnet's tumblr has it:

 

[RDreamer]

Looks like the lord of the light will jump ship to whoever seems like they can win the throne tbh. Melisandre didn't seem so interested in Stannis now that he's lost his numbers and power an episode ago.

I didn't get that she was uninterested. I got that she had some other shit, probably shady shit, to take care of in the meantime.

 

[BobTheFork]

I think the chronology of events will be something like this:

White Walkers reach the wall > Winter is finally coming > Dany arrives in Westeros. In the meantime the political intrigues and backstabbing in the Seven Kingdoms proceed as usual

I don't want her to be a hero or savior in this story. She was the rightful heir but Rob and Ned were right to toss them off the throne. I don't think they end up as some kind of democracy but everyone trying to get to the throne is way to into themself and I want a different outcome than any of the current characters getting the throne.

Also, After his dad and sir Roderick, I REALLY, REALLLLLY fucking hope they don't use Bran to give away or even foreshadow major character deaths. There are quite a few MF's I expect to see die and I want to be surprised.

 

[Squid_Vicious]

She only has 8000 troops, no? You are making her army out to be a lot bigger than it is. She will need a lot more to conquer what she is going after.

I'm going to mention this again... I remember the slaver mentioning that there was something like 20,000 unsullied. Anyone have a screen cap or just recently watched episode 3 of the season?

EDIT: nevermind I just checked. 8,000. Looks like hell of a lot more though.

 

[sangreal]

I don't thin Daenerys plans to invade Westeros yet. She is waiting for her Dragons to mature, and she plans to get her Dothraki army back. She said as much in the first episode of the season. Considering S3 and S4 cover one book, I can't imagine we are going to see a large jump in time anytime soon

 

[TheJollyCorner]

oh man...

so The Hound has to fight this 'Lord of Light' to the death... and The Hound is deathly afraid of fire?

He's fucked.
One of my favorite characters too, damnit!
I generally loved the look of confusion and disgust when he was being accused of killing old people and children. Through his crassness and brutality there is an honorable man there. Hell, we saw that with the way he protected Sansa.

I just hope the fight is at least epic and he doesn't get clowned right off the bat.

 

[BobTheFork]

I don't thin Daenerys plans to invade Westeros yet. She is waiting for her Dragons to mature, and she plans to get her Dothraki army back. She said as much in the first episode of the season

What's her plan? Just force them? She knows how they work, it's a bit lame to see her get a bug up her ass because they bailed on her.

It's disappointing but I really don't expect to See her back in Westeros until the end...maybe she gets there the season before the last season if they go all the way. It just feels like endgame material. I can't see her showing up and being in westeros for the next 3-4 seasons.

Of course the walker being AT the wall is something I though would be near the end and they really made it look like they should be there by now.

RE: Mance - Didn't he say he was looking for something before he invaded the wall? Did they say what is was and did he find it? The last we saw of him it sounded like it was go time.

 

[Vashetti]

oh man...

so The Hound has to fight this 'Lord of Light' to the death... and The Hound is deathly afraid of fire?

He's fucked.
One of my favorite characters too, damnit!
I generally loved the look of confusion and disgust when he was being accused of killing old people and children. Through his crassness and brutality there is an honorable man there. Hell, we saw that with the way he protected Sansa.

I just hope the fight is at least epic and he doesn't get clowned right off the bat.

I think the fact that they've set it up to make us belief he will die, means that the opposite will happen.

 

[Matt_]

Varys was the absolute boss in that episode
Considering hes been on the small council for years it surprised me it took that long for him to get revenge, but it was great to see none the less

Love the Tyrells though, the gran is going to put some people in their place I think

 

[xenist]

What's her plan? Just force them? She knows how they work, it's a bit lame to see her get a bug up her ass because they bailed on her.

It has been said that the Dothraki respect power over everything else. I'd assume that much like the Westerosi kingdoms, the Khal dying without a ready heir has led to fragmentation and infighting. Daenerys has a claim on leadership. She is starting to acquire a semi religious status, Mother Of Dragons and all, having been through her "wandering the desert" period. She now has a fanatically devoted army. I'd assume that the rest of this season and probably the next one will be for her a repeat of the story of Genghis Khan. Uniting the Dothraki under her banner and establishing some sort of dominion over the eastern kingdoms. Which will give her a fleet. You could easily go all the way until the sixth season for all this to happen. Not to mention having to deal with the warlocks. And that's assuming she doesn't make a mistake and end up with a knife in her back.

 

[Phonomezer]

OMG Daenerys Targaryen is my QUEEN

 

[Forkball]

I think the fact that they've set it up to make us belief he will die, means that the opposite will happen.

I can't imagine them killing the hound like this, but they can't just job out Beric after an episode. I say someone gets disqualified and they have a final duel at Wrestlemania.

No way is Dany going to Westeros so soon. There's still a lot she can do in Essos. Free more slaves, recruit armies, burn things etc. She hasn't even upgraded her class to Dragon Flier yet.

 

[Azih]

I think Season 2 for Dany was kinda necessary to show how pathetic her situation was and how few her followers were. It was kind of her 'beggar queen' phase where she was acting like her brother used to act. Deciding to start acting like a conqueror and using her forces to loot Qarth improved her standing, got her some resources and I think it was a defining moment for her.

 

[BobTheFork]

She basically is he brother now. The demands, the hubris, and the same shitty attitude of about how great her lst name makes her. Of course she can back it up but I'm hoping she gets knocked down a few pegs again before really finishing her character. The Targerians rules with fear, fire and (f)Incest and they should just disappear.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

I think the fact that they've set it up to make us belief he will die, means that the opposite will happen.

This is what I hope, because The Hound is a character that has the potential for a lot of character development.

On a side note- I love the music (and soft variation) that plays in reference to, I'm assuming, The Red God/Lord of Light? Normally I only noticed it in scenes with Stanis and the red priestess chick, but there was a variation of the song last night that was great. Really haunting.

 

[robotzombie]

I can't imagine them killing the hound like this, but they can't just job out Beric after an episode. I say someone gets disqualified and they have a final duel at Wrestlemania.

No way is Dany going to Westeros so soon. There's still a lot she can do in Essos. Free more slaves, recruit armies, burn things etc. She hasn't even upgraded her class to Dragon Flier yet.

My guess is Beric beats the Hound but then offers him to join the brotherhood and go after the mountain with them

 

[TheJollyCorner]

My guess is Beric beats the Hound but then offers him to join the brotherhood and go after the mountain with them

The Hound vs The Mountain?

Holy shit that would be awesome!
Too bad they re-cast The Mountain. That original actor was an absolute monster. New actor is tall, but looks too thin. :/

 

[Kiraly]

That former slave and new girl of Dany was so fucking hot this episode my god GAF

 

[robotzombie]

The Hound vs The Mountain?

Holy shit that would be awesome!
Too bad they re-cast The Mountain. That original actor was an absolute monster. New actor is tall, but looks too thin. :/

Yeah I'm actually hoping if/when the mountain pops back up, they bring back the original actor, I think the only reason he was gone from season 2 was a scheduling conflict

 

[Enco]

OMG Daenerys Targaryen is my QUEEN

Best scene this season.

Poor Theon.

 

[Vashetti]

And that's assuming she doesn't make a mistake and end up with a knife in her back.

That's another thing I've always thought about.

There's no other outcome I can see for Dany other than her winning. She's been heavily segregated from the rest of the main cast on another continent (it is another continent, right?).

To have her get so far (maybe even all the way to King's Landing) and then die, wouldn't it make her entire journey pointless?

 

[Enco]

That's another thing I've always thought about.

There's no other outcome I can see for Dany other than her winning. She's been heavily segregated from the rest of the main cast on another continent (it is another continent, right?).

To have her get so far (maybe even all the way to King's Landing) and then die, wouldn't it make her entire journey pointless?

That would be horrendous. As long as she gets a good ending I'll be happy.

 

[xenist]

She basically is he brother now. The demands, the hubris, and the same shitty attitude of about how great her lst name makes her. Of course she can back it up but I'm hoping she gets knocked down a few pegs again before really finishing her character. The Targerians rules with fear, fire and (f)Incest and they should just disappear.

Yeah, she's exactly like her brother. She's exactly like the man who sold off his own sister. Who'd "let the entire Dothraki horde fuck her" if it would get him his army. That's why she went out of her way to liberate all the slaves in Astapor. That's why she spared the children. That's why she freed the Unsullied.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

wrong thread.

 

[wildfire]

Here's a podcast they do every week about the previous night's episode.

Its pretty long (an hour) but some good insight on stuff. One host just watches the shows. The other host has read all the books.

Do they preface themselves with spoiler warnings or are they reckless when talking about future events?

 

[squidyj]

Yeah, she's exactly like her brother. She's exactly like the man who sold off his own sister. Who'd "let the entire Dothraki horde fuck her" if it would get him his army. That's why she went out of her way to liberate all the slaves in Astapor. That's why she spared the children. That's why she freed the Unsullied.

she's not her brother but she's still not a good leader. hey, lets just leave this city with no defense and a gaping power vacuum in the shape of slavery.

dun wurry, it'll be k.

 

[xenist]

And to hopefully wrap up my geeking over this episode here's a bit from Alan Sepinwall's review that I agree with 100%:

That scene was also a reminder of how great Emilia Clarke can be in this role when she's given good material. I don't know that Meryl Streep could have done much with all that "Where are my dragons?" whining from last season. Here her big moment comes in a (fictional) foreign language, and the subtitles are barely necessary. That's how good she is.

she's not her brother but she's still not a good leader. hey, lets just leave this city with no defense and a gaping power vacuum in the shape of slavery.

dun wurry, it'll be k.

She's not Astapor's leader.

 

[Caspel]

:lol

No way, they are dragging this shit out for as long as possible.

I haven't even read the books but I'm pretty sure Dany won't be in King's Landing anytime soon.

People who think that because she has an army now that she's going to show up in King's Landing in the next episode or even this season are probably going to be disappointed.

S5 would mean 22 more episodes at minimum. I don't know what happens in the books, but I think she'll be in King's Landing by S5. I don't know the endgoal for the white walkers, but if they are out to march to King's Landing, they would make it there by S5 by guesstimating the length of their journey from the Wall to King's Landing.

 

[Vashetti]

So what do we do think is to become of Astapor now?

I take it that Dany looted that place for supplies before she left. What with 8k+ mouths to feed...

 

[squidyj]

And to hopefully wrap up my geeking over this episode here's a bit from Alan Sepinwall's review that I agree with 100%:





She's not Astapor's leader.

what i'm saying is she failed to take responsibility for the decisions she made with regard to that place. She was just like "hey i'll kill these dudes and it'll be great!"

This makes her a poor leader.

 

[McNei1y]

what i'm saying is she failed to take responsibility for the decisions she made with regard to that place. She was just like "hey i'll kill these dudes and it'll be great!"

This makes her a poor leader.

How? She doesn't care about Astapor.

 

[squidyj]

How? She doesn't care about Astapor.

then why did she kill the slavers? she made decisions about the future of the place. The show made a great point of how she abhorred slavery, so now she's got rid of it in this place, by killing people in power.

It's not so much that she doesn't care about astapor as she doesn't care about the consequences and ramifications of her decisions.

 

[Martian]

Ow damn

shits going down



I had a feeling she was going to betray that slavetrader.


I got a Faramir-Ranger feeling in that cave, but still pretty damn awesome

And are we supposed to know the one-eyed dude?