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[Kai Dracon]

For all that the resolution of the Winterfell battle is deemed predictable, the bloody nature of it did result in the Starks having no troops left and depleted Vale forces.

So yay, Ramsey is dead, the Stark banner is unfurled over Winterfell once more. But they seem utterly helpless against what has to come next, from the north.

 

[Qvoth]

Everyone talking about Ramsey, the season's other villain already forgotten.

holy crap at 1st i thought that's yara, but now i realized that's the faceless girl that always has it against arya
she looks really good in this picture :O

 

[RDreamer]

They were just in Volantis. It isn't that far off. Not sure why that's so crazy for folks. The shows been drawn out enough rather than waste more time on them traveling.

It wasn't the Volantis to Mereen part that was necessarily unbelievable. It was the Iron Islands to Volantis part:

Theon and Yara sailed pretty much the length of the known world to get there.

 

[Vyse The Legend]

Can we all agree on this then?

Absolutely.

Can someone get me a screenshot of Jon, Tormund and Wun lined up facing Ramsay near the end of the battle?

That was legit an Avengers Civil War moment. Epic AF.

 

[Galang]

Everyone talking about Ramsey, the season's other villain already forgotten.

She was great at the villain role too imo. The last two episodes she appeared in were so controversial that it kinda blocked out everything else.

 

[JadedWriter]

So is Littlefinger kind of sort of a good guy now, but not good? He's pretty much had a hand in the deaths of the two biggest pieces of shit in the show.

 

[Skunkers]

Yeah that bugged me too. Zig-zag at the very least, Rickon

In fairness, if he had zig zigged Ramsey would have just had the archers loose an entire salvo at him. Result would have been the same, it just wouldn't have played into Ramsey's "game".

 

[zethren]

Amazing episode, wow.

The shots were brilliant, and the pacing was wonderful. I felt stressed, excited, angry, and delighted all in one episode.

I am SO glad that Tormund didn't die. I was so incredibly worried about him for a moment there. Would have been a serious loss of a really wonderful character. That amount of exciting stress was great, and usually lost in most GOT battles.

The amount of death was staggering, and puts into perspective the dirty, gruesome reality of what medieval combat could have actually been when not romanticized.

 

[Visceir]

I'd think a straight line would be a poor choice against even a bad archer, if we're being real here.

The Starks are the pandas of Westeros -- so dumb they deserve to go extinct.

 

[Nameless]

The music has been incredible all season, but this episode... Easily one of the best scored hours of TV ever.

 

[Gandalf]

For all that the resolution of the Winterfell battle is deemed predictable, the bloody nature of it did result in the Starks having no troops left and depleted Vale forces.

So yay, Ramsey is dead, the Stark banner is unfurled over Winterfell once more. But they seem utterly helpless against what has to come next, from the north.

Hopefully the other Northern houses will rally behind Jon/Sansa.

"The North Remembers"

If not, they're fucked.

Interesting to see if Bran makes it back soon. And Arya? She has a looooong way back home. But if they both make it back to Winterfell, that would be so good.

How I think next weeks episode will end:

Spoiler

Shot of Daenerys on the ships with the unsullied, Dothraki and Iron born making their way to Westeros

 

[Window]

I'd think a straight line would be a poor choice against even a bad archer, if we're being real here.

I think any choice would be a poor choice in this situation (some worse than others sure). This is not a situation where a scared tween would think to be clever or rational.

Besides, is running serpentine actually proven to be significantly more effective? I can see it making a marginal difference but not much more. I think I would have ran the couple hundred and then crawl along to throw off the archer's sense of depth/position.

Honestly if there's just one guy firing at you, and he keeps leading his shots, wouldn't you wait until he looses an arrow and then adjust your course?

Sorry to bring logic to a scene where a character was destined to die in an enormous field, struck down by the greatest archer in the world.

This sounds like a good strategy.

 

[Volimar]

I wonder what will happen to the Karstarks and Umbers now. Winterfell doesn't really have the manpower to punish them properly. I wonder if they'll just stay fractured and left to their own devices until the Night King takes em all out.

 

[Elandyll]

How would you know he was very good archer? To Rickon, he was missing constantly (albeit deliberately). If Ramsay wanted to kill him he could have shot him point blank. The whole point is he's playing with him.

The point was obviously to drag someone mid field (hopefully Jon) and have the lot of them killed by a volley if need be. Rickon was never going to make it alive either way. Killing him right in front of Jon was just the best case scenario for Ramsay and his little mind games.

And I'm sorry but imo it hasn't been underlined enough imo: Jon walking toward Ramsay firing arrows point blank was badass as F*.

 

[Protein]

Anyone else want a Total War: Game of Thrones game?

 

[Skunkers]

I think any choice would be a poor choice in this situation (some worse than others sure). This is not a situation where a scared tween would think to be clever or rational.

Besides, is running serpentine actually proven to be significantly more effective? I can see it making a marginal difference but not much more. I think I would have ran the couple hundred and then crawl along to throw off the archer's sense of depth/position.


This sounds like a good strategy.

Running serpentine absolutely is effective in real life (even against pistols). But like I said, in this case it wouldn't have mattered since Ramsey would have just had the archers pepper his ass if he started zig zagging.

 

[Window]

The point was obviously to drag someone mid field (hopefully Jon) and have the lot of them killed by a volley if need be. Rickon was never going to make it alive either way. Killing him right in front of Jon was just the best case scenario for Ramsay and his little mind games.

And I'm sorry but imo it hasn't been underlined enough imo: Jon walking toward Ramsay firing arrows point blank was badass as F*.

Yeah I'm aware. Therefore the fact that he didn't kill him pointblank. He used Rickon as a pawn to lure Jon but Rickon wouldn't have known that. Which is why I said any choice would be a poor choice. It was inevitable.

 

[The_Dama]

What an episode. wow

 

[zeemumu]

So is Littlefinger kind of sort of a good guy now, but not good? He's pretty much had a hand in the deaths of the two biggest pieces of shit in the show.

He's also had a hand in the deaths of some of the only decent people in the show.

 

[JadedWriter]

He's also had a hand in the deaths of some of the only decent people in the show.

We still pissed about Ned getting beheaded?

 

[Inversive]

Anyone else want a Total War: Game of Thrones game?

I just got my dream of total warhammer let me savour it first

 

[RoninChaos]

It was the smart play though. If Jon wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't have lost many people and Ramsay's crew would have gotten wrecked.

No, it wasn't. The smart play would have been to say "We have more people coming, wait a day", especially after she kept harping over and over about needing more people. Jon even asked her, point blank, how they could get more men. That would have been the time to chime in with "Well, I wrote this letter..." Instead she's like "fuck the wildlings, fuck both my brothers, I'm gonna get dis castle bacc!" It's ridiculous. And I bet the only reason it was done is so there could be a point of contention between the two so there's "drama". She had no reason to be deceitful with Jon, but she was. That's CW level writing right there.

She sold out her family before, and she's doing it again.

In other news, Ramsey Bolton looks like a hyper Paul Ryan.

 

[JadedWriter]

No, it wasn't. The smart play would have been to say "We have more people coming, wait a day". Instead she's like "fuck the wildlings, fuck both my brothers, I'm gonna get dis castle bacc!"

She sold out her family before, and she's doing it again.

In other news, Ramsey Bolton looks like a hyper Paul Ryan.

In Sansa even close with her actual family though? I really can't remember her having a tender moment with any of them.

 

[rokkerkory]

That was an amazing episode start to finish! YESSS!!!

Can't wait for next week.

 

[zeemumu]

We still pissed about Ned getting beheaded?

Nah, just making a point.


Getting upset over Sean Bean dying in a role is like getting upset over Carmine dying in Gears of War

 

[Window]

No, it wasn't. The smart play would have been to say "We have more people coming, wait a day". Instead she's like "fuck the wildlings, fuck both my brothers, I'm gonna get dis castle bacc!"

She sold out her family before, and she's doing it again.

In other news, Ramsey Bolton looks like a hyper Paul Ryan.

Don't think she was confident they would come for sure. I'm sure she had doubts after she threatened Baelish and because Baelish being Baelish would do something Baelish is known to do and have other schemes in place. But she still could have revealed this to Jon so he could formulate a plan accordingly I guess.

 

[Kaiken]

Battle of the Bastards was a better battle sequence than anything in Braveheart. It is now my all time favorite medievalish battle.

 

[Benzychenz]

So next ep (pure speculation, haven't watched the preview):

Arya sets sail for Westeros. Dany sets sail for Westeros. Remaining seasons are 100% in Westeros.

Scenes showing the north uniting. Most northern houses re-pledge their allegiance to the Starks.

Facing trial, Cersei blows up King's Landing to take out the sparrow, killing her own son in the process, and then due to lack of a king, reignites the 'game of thrones' among the seven kingdoms (right as Dany rocks up).

White Walkers reach the wall.

Scene is set for the endgame. Cue the long year wait.

Nfi where the Hound and Brotherhood story is going.

 

[Volimar]

In Sansa even close with her actual family though? I really can't remember her having a tender moment with any of them.

There are plenty of scenes where she mourns the deaths or perceived deaths of her family and she was obviously affected by the news that Theon didn't kill Bran and Rickon. These theories that have her sacrificing family in her lust for power don't make much sense.

 

[ChaosZeroX]

Does Bran make it to the wall? We haven't seen him since Ep 6 right?

 

[Monocle]

So is Littlefinger kind of sort of a good guy now, but not good? He's pretty much had a hand in the deaths of the two biggest pieces of shit in the show.

He is an opportunist, pure and simple.

Remember, chaos is a ladder.

 

[Eyeh4wk]

So next ep (pure speculation, haven't watched the preview):

Arya sets sail for Westeros. Dany sets sail for Westeros. Remaining seasons are 100% in Westeros.

Scenes showing the north uniting. Most northern houses re-pledge their allegiance to the Starks.

Facing trial, Cersei blows up King's Landing to take out the sparrow, killing her own son in the process, and then due to lack of a king, reignites the 'game of thrones' among the seven kingdoms (right as Dany rocks up).

White Walkers reach the wall.

Scene is set for the endgame. Cue the long year wait.

Nfi where the Hound and Brotherhood story is going.

Do we know where the hound is?

 

[SuperBowser]

I think her actions were explained reasonably clearly. And we still have the fallout of her not telling Jon in the next episode. Sansa is aware people do not like Littlefinger. She herself doesn't trust Littlefinger. She didn't know if he was coming or not. We still don't know if Sansa offered a deal or what Littlefinger will request in return now. She also clearly stated to Jon "if you asked my opinion, I would have said wait for more forces. We need more men" and Jon ignored this.

It was a mistake to not tell Jon, but her actions were understandable. The only real complaint you can make is Littlefinger conveniently showing up at the perfect time of battle.

 

[rokkerkory]

Littlefinger gonna wanna marry Sansa

 

[Maxim726X]

How many seasons are left after this? One or two?

 

[Volimar]

Do we know where the hound is?

In the woods looking for chicken.

How many seasons are left after this? One or two?

Looks like two shortened seasons.

 

[Maxim726X]

In the woods looking for chicken.



Looks like two shortened seasons.

Bah really? How many episodes in each?

 

[JadedWriter]

He is an opportunist, pure and simple.

Remember, chaos is a ladder.

He loves climbing that ladder though, especially since it's leading to Sansa.

 

[Netherscourge]

The gate/wall for Winterfell wasn't really that high. It was like maybe 25 or 30 feet tall?

If they seiged Winterfell, they could have easily scaled those walls with ladders and archer support.

If that was Ramsay's fallback strategy the whole time, then he's pretty clueless. Not that he was much of a genius to begin with.

I'm also wondering why Wun Wun didn't just kick his way through the phalanx. He can just pick people up off the ground and pull them apart, but he can't just kick his way through a bunch of guys holding up tower shields?

Other than that, it was an awesome episode.

 

[Eyeh4wk]

Bah really? How many episodes in each?

seven, I think.

 

[Window]

Bah really? How many episodes in each?

Seven and six http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/game-of-thrones-end-date-season-8-1201752746/.

 

[vinnygambini]

For those who would like to see how special effects were done this episode

http://variety.com/video/game-of-thrones-battle-of-the-bastards-visual-effects/

 

[TheRagnCajun]

No, it wasn't. The smart play would have been to say "We have more people coming, wait a day", especially after she kept harping over and over about needing more people. Jon even asked her, point blank, how they could get more men. That would have been the time to chime in with "Well, I wrote this letter..." Instead she's like "fuck the wildlings, fuck both my brothers, I'm gonna get dis castle bacc!" It's ridiculous. And I bet the only reason it was done is so there could be a point of contention between the two so there's "drama". She had no reason to be deceitful with Jon, but she was. That's CW level writing right there.

She sold out her family before, and she's doing it again.

In other news, Ramsey Bolton looks like a hyper Paul Ryan.

And of course littlefinger didn't send a raven or anything to let Sansa know he was coming. I didn't really get the sense of urgency considering Briene hadn't come back from her mission yet either. It was really amateur hour for the stark side.

 

[Benzychenz]

I do wonder what Arya's role will be in the endgame.

She's just one girl, it isn't like she's bringing an army or anything.

Maybe she'll show up just in time to shank the Night King, and it turns out needle was valyrian steel all along.

 

[Kyuur]

Episode was good but a couple of points:

- I was really expecting Ramsay to shoot Jon, not Rickon. Would have been much more potent imo, but I'm guessing they probably wouldn't have won after that
- Having trouble understanding Little Finger's motivations. Was discussing with my fiancee last night, she thought it was because he wants Sansa (as a replacement for Catelyn) but then why would he arrange her marriage to Ramsay?

Also where are the gifs of Daenerys and Yara making faces at each other. Shit was gold.

 

[Volimar]

And of course littlefinger didn't send a raven or anything to let Sansa know he was coming. I didn't really get the sense of urgency considering Briene hadn't come back from her mission yet either. It was really amateur hour for the stark side.

They did send a raven back saying she had failed, remember?

 

[xaosslug]

She's said multiple times through the seasons that she would burn the city - or cities - to ash. Jamie also said the same thing to Edmure in the last episode. She may think she has already lost Tommen forever, in which case she might do it. She's also not as clever as she thinks, and in trying to destroy the Faith Militant she may end up killing him and almost everyone else in King's Landing. Remember that premonition seasons back that showed Dany walking up to the Iron Throne with dust or ash fallen everywhere, almost in ruins?

Speculation time -

Spoiler

If she thinks she has lost Tommen, she may also discredit him and remove the power of the High Sparrow by revealing his birth at her trial. The High Sparrow needs the king to control King's Landing - if he's proven illegitimate, all his work is for nothing.

no one thinks Margaery has a plan, that will end up working? We're clearly being shown the 'younger generation of women' coming into their own/power... I can only assume Margaery has some plan to somehow unseat/expose the High Sparrow...

i feel like whatever Cersei has planned will blow up in her face, as usual. LOL

 

[dani_dc]

The gate/wall for Winterfell wasn't really that high. It was like maybe 25 or 30 feet tall?

If they seiged Winterfell, they could have easily scaled those walls with ladders and archer support.

If that was Ramsay's fallback strategy the whole time, then he's pretty clueless. Not that he was much of a genius to begin with.

They've spent several seasons talking about how impenetrable Winterfell is, and how you could defend against thousands with just 1000 men. The wall not being very tall was mostly a visual contradiction to the previous writing rather than Ramsay being clueless.

 

[catbird]

Sansa can never win with some people smh.

After turning LF away, and then writing to him again (presumably without answer), I don't think Sansa expected them to show up. I don't think she had any actual knowledge to share. She even said she would kill herself if the battle went south, which indicates to me she had no hope.

I don't think she wanted to see either of her brothers dead! Jon was hard-headed and going into battle no matter what. She knew Rickon was going to die because she's been surrounded by sadistic fucks since season 1.

She is not this ice queen/Cersei-light that people are somehow reading into.

 

[Collateral22]

Is the 7/6 episode split across the next 2 seasons 100% confirmed? Disappointing if so.