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[eot]

Looking at this, there could easily be 3 seasons made out of AFFC and ADWD. A lot of stuff I've completely forgotten about and stuff that didn't grab me when I was reading that would actually make good TV.

They could make Quentyn and his arc into something that would be quite interesting and not something that felt like a bit of filler. And the Greyjoy brothers, who I disliked reading about if I'm being honest, would add more variety to a show that excels at different locals and viewpoints.

That would take them to season 7.

Three seasons of AFfC / ADwD would kill the show. What's Brienne doing during that time? Bran? Davos? It wouldn't work.

Here's a season 5 proposed by someone on westeros.org that I think is quite plausible:

5.01
Arya meets Kindly Man
Doran refuses to avenge Oberyn
Illyrio recruits Tyrion to Dany’s cause
Jon sends Sam & co. away; beheads Janos Slynt
Sansa & Littlefinger lie about Lysa’s death
Sons of the Harpy attack
Tywin’s funeral; Jaime refuses to be Hand

5.02
Arianne seduces Arys Oakheart (for the first time)
Arya works at HOBAW; learns about Faceless Men
Boltons take over Winterfell; Jeyne begs Theon for help
Brienne & co. follow lead about Hound
Cersei burns Tower of the Hand
Jon argues with Stannis; Stannis burns “Mance”
Sons of the Harpy attacks escalate
Tyrion boards Shy Maid; meets Griff & Young Griff

5.03
Arianne recruits Arys to her plot
Arya buries Needle; becomes “Cat”
Dany gives Hizdahr 90-day peace challenge
Jaime questions Cersei’s behavior; huge fight
Jon advises Stannis; Stannis marches south
Lords Declarant camp outside Eyrie
Sam & co. on ship; Aemon is sick
Tyrion observes Griff & Young Griff

5.04
Brienne & co. at Quiet Isle
fall of Astapor; refugees arrive outside Meereen
Jon wins free folk’s allegiance
Lords Declarant challenge Littlefinger
Manderlys arrive in Winterfell; missing Freys
Sam & co. arrive in Braavos; Pyp abandons them
Small Council; Cersei sends Jaime to Riverrun
Tyrion identifies Jon Conn & Aegon; stone men

5.05
Arya saves Sam; Sam punches Pyp
Cersei meets High Sparrow; restores Faith Militant
Dany treats the sick
Frey pies; “Arya” & Ramsay’s wedding night
Jaime confronts Lancel en route to Riverrun
Jon receives news of “Arya’s” wedding; Melisandre reveals Mance
The Queenmaker
Tyrion gives Aegon advice; abducted by Jorah

5.06
Arya kills Pyp; wakes up blind
Brienne is wounded; taken by Brotherhood
Cersei frames Margaery
Dany agrees to marry Hizdahr
Jaime takes charge at Riverrun
Jon Conn & Aegon meet Golden Company
Jon puts corpses in ice cells
Littlefinger tutors Sansa
Stannis captures AshaYara at Deepwood Motte

5.07
Aemon dies; Sam & Gilly have sex
Arianne learns the truth
Brienne meets Lady Stoneheart
Cersei visits Margaery in prison; Cersei arrested
Jaime treats with Blackfish
Jon sends Tormund to round up free folk
Mance & co. arrive in Winterfell
Tyrion & Jorah in Volantis

5.08
Arya’s blind training
Cersei in prison; writes to Jaime
Dany meets Quentyn; marries Hizdahr
Jaime threatens Edmure; burns Cersei’s message
Littlefinger comments on Cersei’s downfall
mysterious deaths in Winterfell; Theon in godswood
Stannis’s army stuck and starving; Stannis authorizes sacrifice
Tyrion & Jorah on ship; captured by slavers

5.09
Arya gets new face; first assassination
Cersei confesses; Walk of Shame
Daznak’s Pit
Theon & Jeyne escape Winterfell
Tormund returns; Jon opens the gates
Tyrion & Jorah sold at slave market

5.10
Arya becomes acolyte
Doran executes plans
The Dragontamer; dragons loose over Meereen
Jaime reunites with Brienne
Jon Conn & Aegon land in Stormlands
Littlefinger’s plan to give Sansa the Vale
Pink Letter; Daggers in the Dark
Sam & Gilly arrive in Oldtown; say goodbye
Theon reunites with AshaYara
Tyrion & Jorah escape slaver

No Victarion until he's actually needed, there's just not enough room for it.

 

[Moff]

wow, that would be a great season, I really really hope they'll to it like that.and I'm glad more people tend to think that way, I was ridiculed when I proposed to make one season for AFFC/ADWD a few years ago.

no bran though? I can imagine we see some TWOW material there, OR flashbacks, which would be even better

 

[ponpo]

Why did they have Tywin say some smith from Volantis made the two swords instead of Tobho? Is it supposed to sound more exotic? (I guess it does)

I guess that's near where he learnt to smith but it's clear he Tywin meant it was someone who was invited specifically for this purpose.

 

[eot]

no bran though? I can imagine we see some TWOW material there, OR flashbacks, which would be even better

Yeah, he'll have to be in there, but we can't exactly list the scenes because who knows what will happen.

 

[demosthenes]

It's great reading the no book spoilers thread and seeing all the theories people come up with. Sucks that I don't know if they've read the books or not or have been spoiled by others but I like to pretend they haven't, makes it more fun.

 

[Exterminieren]

Three seasons of AFfC / ADwD would kill the show. What's Brienne doing during that time? Bran? Davos? It wouldn't work.

Here's a season 5 proposed by someone on westeros.org that I think is quite plausible:


No Victarion until he's actually needed, there's just not enough room for it.

That's pretty plausible without cutting too deep. I suspect that Brienne's material will be dealt with this season, but the rest seems on point.

 

[Yonafunu]

It's great reading the no book spoilers thread and seeing all the theories people come up with. Sucks that I don't know if they've read the books or not or have been spoiled by others but I like to pretend they haven't, makes it more fun.

Just let let them speculate and discuss on their own. If you suspect anyone let a mod know, calling attention to it won't do any good.
Honestly, I think we shouldn't be in that thread at all, even if you're just correcting people or generally mean well. There are some very observant and smart people over there who pay attention and understand what's going on. There's no need for us to intervene, they'll figure it out among themselves.

 

[Violater]

I wonder if the show has in any way affected GRRM and his writing.

 

[Kerned]

I wonder if the show has in any way affected GRRM and his writing.

I am pretty sure I remember reading an interview with him a couple of years ago in which he said that the show's handling of Osha did in fact effect the way he would write that character going forward. Of course I can't remember where or when I read that, so I can't link a source for you.

 

[methodman]

I wonder if the show has in any way affected GRRM and his writing.

It's definitely making him write faster...

I wish

 

[Violater]

I am pretty sure I remember reading an interview with him a couple of years ago in which he said that the show's handling of Osha did in fact effect the way he would write that character going forward. Of course I can't remember where or when I read that, so I can't link a source for you.

Heh does that mean we might actually see Rickon again....

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Three seasons of AFfC / ADwD would kill the show. What's Brienne doing during that time? Bran? Davos? It wouldn't work.

Here's a season 5 proposed by someone on westeros.org that I think is quite plausible:

Are the episodes all going to be 2 hours long? Because there's too much going on there to fit into one season.

Just compare that to the amount of material in this past episode. Doing a season with all of that going on each episode would basically result in the show being a slideshow where we never got any sort of dialogue or anything because it was just constant plot movement every second.

 

[methodman]

Are the episodes all going to be 2 hours long? Because there's too much going on there to fit into one season.

Just compare that to the amount of material in this past episode. Doing a season with all of that going on each episode would basically result in the show being a slideshow where we never got any sort of dialogue or anything because it was just constant plot movement every second.

I wouldn't compare the first episode of the season to episode 6 or later when everyone has been (re)established to the viewers. That's when there's way less exposition and introductions, imo

I definitely think affc / adwd is finishable by season 5

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

I definitely think affc / adwd is finishable by season 5

Not if they want to do it well.

 

[Kerned]

Heh does that mean we might actually see Rickon again....

Let's not get crazy.

 

[Cornballer]

- WiCnet's Twitter recap of the premiere

 

[levious]

I am pretty sure I remember reading an interview with him a couple of years ago in which he said that the show's handling of Osha did in fact effect the way he would write that character going forward. Of course I can't remember where or when I read that, so I can't link a source for you.

More book sex for Osha.

 

[Randdalf]

I wouldn't compare the first episode of the season to episode 6 or later when everyone has been (re)established to the viewers. That's when there's way less exposition and introductions, imo

I definitely think affc / adwd is finishable by season 5

As I've said before, people are far too eager to get through AFFC/ADWD. In my estimation, it'll take them two seasons to do it possibly ending those two seasons with the upcoming battles of ice and fire from the start of TWOW (which were cut from ADWD).

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I wouldn't compare the first episode of the season to episode 6 or later when everyone has been (re)established to the viewers. That's when there's way less exposition and introductions, imo

I definitely think affc / adwd is finishable by season 5

There's less exposition later on, but I don't think even that first episode is feasible to cover everything mentioned.

The other thing is that even if it sounds on paper like they might be able to do that, putting so many scenes in a single episode basically means you can't have any sort of side conversations (something the show has always had a lot of) or any sort of exposition or explanations at all. Not to mention you know they're going to want a lot more sex and nudity than the three or so scenes mentioned in that list over the course of an entire season. And a Game of Thrones sex scene isn't a short minute long bit, either.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Hopefully episode 9 next season is devoted to one thing: THE FAT PINK MAST

 

[aTTckr]

Not if they want to do it well.

I think the only way to translate the two books into a enjoyable viewing experience is to put them into one (or one and a half at most) season. Many things will have to be shortened or left out completely (e.g. Quentyn), because most of Feast and Dance can't really be shown visually. Think about how much of what happens in those 2000+ pages really advances the story.

 

[Wray]

I could see them ending Season 5 with Drogon flying off after the wedding, which would then leave early Season 6 to focus on stuff like Quentyn releasing the dragons and Barristan and the Shavepate plotting to take power in Meereen. Dany could be left off screen for the first 3 episodes to keep up some of the suspense, and then Winds material might start for that storyline around Episode 5 of Season 6. That's just one possibility, but it seems like a decent place to end Season 5, and depending on how much material is available, they could have the Battle of Meereen be the Season 6 Episode 9 moment.

I think a better alternative would be to do the Drogon Pit Sequence in Episode 7, then do Barristan and Shavepate handling everything and getting ready for the battle, then Ep9 is the Battle of Meereen. Finally, Ep10 would cut back to feverish and sick Dany meeting the Khal.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I think a better alternative would be to do the Drogon Pit Sequence in Episode 7, then do Barristan and Shavepate handling everything and getting ready for the battle, then Ep9 is the Battle of Meereen. Finally, Ep10 would cut back to feverish and sick Dany meeting the Khal.

That would mean rushing through Dany's entire Dance arc (sans the first and last chapters) in just about six episodes, which isn't really feasible unless they're giving her 20-30 minutes every single episode and making pretty much the whole show about her. I think Episode 10 is the soonest you can get there without making major cuts.

 

[Paganmoon]

Woho! Hboshop just launched in Europe! Just ordered myself a Ned Figure, Jon Figure, and Ice letter opener. Much monies will be spent on this site from now on...

 

[KingHenrik30]

Why did they have Tywin say some smith from Volantis made the two swords instead of Tobho? Is it supposed to sound more exotic? (I guess it does)

I guess that's near where he learnt to smith but it's clear he Tywin meant it was someone who was invited specifically for this purpose.

Non-book reading audience has at least some connection to Volantis (Talisa, ugh). Tobho would have been lost on them.

 

[ronito]

Ok guys. I'm working on a little pet project on the side and I'm looking for total # of adult content events per episode. Broken out by # of nude women, # of nude men, # of acts of violence.

Any help here?

 

[Wray]

That would mean rushing through Dany's entire Dance arc (sans the first and last chapters) in just about six episodes, which isn't really feasible unless they're giving her 20-30 minutes every single episode and making pretty much the whole show about her. I think Episode 10 is the soonest you can get there without making major cuts.

No it wouldnt, because you're forgetting that this season starts her Dance material. She has the better part of two seasons to get up to the Pit scene, which could be Ep 7-8ish.

Remember, there are only like 2 Dany chapters from Storm of Swords that are getting adapted THIS season.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Three seasons of AFfC / ADwD would kill the show. What's Brienne doing during that time? Bran? Davos? It wouldn't work.

Here's a season 5 proposed by someone on westeros.org that I think is quite plausible:

Hmmm... I just have a hard time seeing them try to cram all of AFfC and ADwD into just one season without some major cuts. One and a half seasons seems a bit more feasible.

The big characters or groups of characters they'll have to introduce in the next season or so has to be: The Martells (Doran, Arianne, the Sand Snakes, Quentyn?), the Greyjoys (Euron, Victarion, maybe Damphair), Aegon, Connington and his crew. That would seem like quite a bit for just one season.

Do they end up condensing characters like Euron and Victarion? Do they completely ax somebody like Quentyn (even though the ramifications of his trip seem important)?

The problem with AFfC and ADwD is just that the story and cast keeps expanding so much while not a whole lot of forward progress gets made. I'll be really curious to see how the show deals with that. My concern would be they end up condensing things too much so that things get really cut and dry once they start jumping ahead of Martin.

 

[ronito]

Also, can someone remind me why the Fenns are important enough to be in the show? It's been a while but I don't remember them doing anything so important to warrant them being there more than a basic "We have the Fenns" kinda thing.

 

[Exterminieren]

Hmmm... I just have a hard time seeing them try to cram all of AFfC and ADwD into just one season without some major cuts. One and a half seasons seems a bit more feasible.

Considering the amount of AFFC/ ADWD material we already know about in season 4, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that that's exactly what they're doing.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

No it wouldnt, because you're forgetting that this season starts her Dance material. She has the better part of two seasons to get up to the Pit scene, which could be Ep 7-8ish.

Remember, there are only like 2 Dany chapters from Storm of Swords that are getting adapted THIS season.

No, I'm not forgetting that. I know we're getting her first chapter from Dance this season, which is why I said 'sans the first and last chapter' in the post you quoted.

We're getting that chapter at the end of this season, which still leaves the entire rest of her arc from Dance before they can get to the pit. I don't think you can get there any earlier than
Season 5 Episode 10 without it being a complete rush.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Three seasons of AFfC / ADwD would kill the show. What's Brienne doing during that time? Bran? Davos? It wouldn't work.

Here's a season 5 proposed by someone on westeros.org that I think is quite plausible:


No Victarion until he's actually needed, there's just not enough room for it.

Yup, this is my point. Although I'd note Brienne is likely going to meet Stoneheart this season; we know Brienne and Pod start searching for Sansa in a couple episodes, and it would make sense to end that arc in episode 10 with the Stoneheart reveal.

 

[SamVimes]

Also, can someone remind me why the Fenns are important enough to be in the show? It's been a while but I don't remember them doing anything so important to warrant them being there more than a basic "We have the Fenns" kinda thing.

Jon married Alys Karstark to one of them but it doesn't really matter in the context of the show since they changed them completely.

 

[Faddy]

Also, can someone remind me why the Fenns are important enough to be in the show? It's been a while but I don't remember them doing anything so important to warrant them being there more than a basic "We have the Fenns" kinda thing.

They all look the same so it is easier to CGI them later when we get a big battle.

 

[Cornballer]

Ok guys. I'm working on a little pet project on the side and I'm looking for total # of adult content events per episode. Broken out by # of nude women, # of nude men, # of acts of violence.

Any help here?

There's a few infographics and nudity per episode listings online (for example: this one from Warming Glow) A quick google search should turn them up. I don't remember seeing any stats on violence, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone's done the math on that. You could use the every on-screen death compilation from Digg, though that doesn't include other acts of violence beyond deaths.

 

[Herr K]

Weren't the Thenns the most civilized wildlings? They seemed like brute savages on the episode.

 

[Exterminieren]

We're getting that chapter at the end of this season, which still leaves the entire rest of her arc from Dance before they can get to the pit.

Considering that Hizdahr has been cast for this season, and we've seen evidence of Sons of the Harpy attacks in the trailers, I might suggest that they're going deeper into Dany's ADWD stuff than a single chapter.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Also, can someone remind me why the Fenns are important enough to be in the show? It's been a while but I don't remember them doing anything so important to warrant them being there more than a basic "We have the Fenns" kinda thing.

The Thenns?

My guess is probably just to bolster the Wildlings and show off some of the different Wildling cultures? The main Thenn in the show (Styr?) seems like he'll wind up being more of a villain once we get to the battle at the Wall. Let's them kill him off while keeping Tormund alive instead of trying to make Tormund into the big bad guy leading the attack.

Considering the amount of AFFC/ ADWD material we already know about in season 4, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that that's exactly what they're doing.

Yeah, I'll just be really really bummed out if they cut Euron and Victarion. They're so awesome.

How they go about condensing the Greyjoys, Martells and Young Griff's crew will be very interesting. Those sides all get a ton of screen time in AFfC/ADwD yet for the most part we haven't seen much of any of them yet.

 

[Wray]

No, I'm not forgetting that. I know we're getting her first chapter from Dance this season, which is why I said 'sans the first and last chapter' in the post you quoted.

We're getting that chapter at the end of this season, which still leaves the entire rest of her arc from Dance before they can get to the pit. I don't think you can get there any earlier than
Season 5 Episode 10 without it being a complete rush.

We dont know we are getting that chapter at the end of the season or how its going to be threaded into her arc yet. But assuming we only get 1 Dance chapter for her and 2 SoS chapters for her, what is she going to be doing all season in Meereen?

I think they are going to move up quite a few parts of her Dance stuff this year. I expect the Harpys to be a big thing this season, and for next season to focus more on the fighting pits and growing politics of Slavers Bay, all leading up to the battle of Meereen.

 

[Drake]

So I was lying in bed this morning and I had an epiphany. "Holy shit, the dragons are Lightbringer." "Khal Drogo is Nissa Nissa." I was so proud of myself, nobody could have possibly thought of this before me. I do a quick google search and see about 10 forum threads that have predicted this years ago.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

We dont know we are getting that chapter at the end of the season or how its going to be threaded into her arc yet. But assuming we only get 1 Dance chapter for her and 2 SoS chapters for her, what is she going to be doing all season in Meereen?

I think they are going to move up quite a few parts of her Dance stuff this year. I expect the Harpys to be a big thing this season, and for next season to focus more on the fighting pits and growing politics of Slavers Bay, all leading up to the battle of Meereen.

We know that the actor playing the child's father was directed by Alex Graves. That means the scene is in either Episode 8 or Episode 10, and the latter would mean it is basically how the season ends for her. Even if it happens in Episode 8, Dany won't be in Episode 9 at all, so they won't get much further. We also know that pretty much no other Meereeneese characters have been cast aside from Hizdahr. A lot of those characters would be required to get further in to her Dance arc.

Given that the very start of her Dance arc is at the very end of the season, I think this season will probably focus more on her capturing Meereen, dealing with the news of Jorah's treachery, and coming to her decision to stay in Meereen and try to rule it. They aren't going to do the whole Sons of the Harpy plot with only a single named character.

I could see them doing something like having the child death news and dragon chainings being Episode 8, and then ending Episode 10 with the Sons of the Harpy attacking...which still leaves pretty much Dany's entire arc for Season 5.

 

[demosthenes]

Weren't the Thenns the most civilized wildlings? They seemed like brute savages on the episode.

Yes, they were.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Weren't the Thenns the most civilized wildlings? They seemed like brute savages on the episode.

Yeah, in the books the Thenns are made to be the most civilized with good armor and weapons, and most like the First Men. Seems they sort of just condensed them with some of the cannibal Wildlings for the show.

 

[Ikael]

There's no way that the show devotes two full seasons for the latest two books. Sorry, it's not going to work, I think. There are tremendous challenges in order to adapt these books, and lenghtening the seasons will only make it worse. I mean:

- Yes there are memorable moments in both AFFC and ADWD. But they are not even slightly cinematographic. Cersei's downfall is great to read about since we can get inside her head, same goes for the Night's Watch machinations or Bran's training. But these revolves around people talking and thinking. This do not bode well for TV.

- Delayed climaxes. Yet another obstacle for the TV adaptation: the battles of "Fire and Ice" were (foolishly) delayed for TWOW, cutting the climaxes of all the new plotlines.

- Overwhelmingly large cast of new characters. The Ironborn's sheanigans, all the Dorne-related plot, the new Targaryens, Penny... do you guys really think that none of these and no single plotline is going to take the axe?

- Exposition, exposition, exposition.

- Daenerys never arriving to Westeros. This is going to affect the ratings, no doubt

- And most important of all, there are certain plotlines which will be reached by the end of this season 4 / beggining of season 5. You just cannot leave Bran's arc shelved for two seasons, or stretch the Brienne's 2 relevant chapters ad infinitum

And for God's shake, no prequels, please. Most hated way to stretch and milk a franchise ever, ugh. The only thing that readers do not know about the past is the obvious R+L=J theory and the oh, ah, ever mysterious Summerhall's event. Meh. It is simply not that interesting.

As for how I see the series developing:

Ending of Season 4:

- Bran meets with the children of the forest
- Twywin does not shit gold, indeed
- Ayra goes to Braavos
- Lady Stoneheart's reveal
- Drogon eating children

Ending of Season 5:

- Meeren's final battle and Daenery's triumphal return / determination to march towards westeros
- Jon getting stabbed
- Jon Conn & Aegon land in Stormlands
- Whatever is next for Lady Stoneheart
- Whatever is next for Bran
- Tyrion escapes slavery
- Theon escapes from Ramsay
- Varys reveals who's side he's fighting for
And of course: "The North remembers"

The chances of the show getting more divergent from the books as the seasons continue seems bigger each passing day. I do think that we could even witness a FMA type of scenario with two different endings to the saga altogether. I could live with that.

Here's a season 5 proposed by someone on westeros.org that I think is quite plausible:

*SNIP*

Now, this would be a pretty awesome season

 

[Wray]

We know that the actor playing the child's father was directed by Alex Graves. That means the scene is in either Episode 8 or Episode 10, and the latter would mean it is basically how the season ends for her. Even if it happens in Episode 8, Dany won't be in Episode 9 at all, so they won't get much further. We also know that pretty much no other Meereeneese characters have been cast aside from Hizdahr. A lot of those characters would be required to get further in to her Dance arc.

Given that the very start of her Dance arc is at the very end of the season, I think this season will probably focus more on her capturing Meereen, dealing with the news of Jorah's treachery, and coming to her decision to stay in Meereen and try to rule it. They aren't going to do the whole Sons of the Harpy plot with only a single named character.

That scene however can easily be shifted around to thread into the plot line easier. There could be harpy stuff going on all season up until that point. There is also that scene of that one guy "Unsullied?" being swarmed in the streets somewhere.

Also remember that if you drag Dany's arc over an additional season, you have to do the same with Tyrion, Victarion, and everybody who is going to condense in Meereen.

Not to mention the prospect of ending S5 with another huge ass Blackwateresque episode is probably music to HBO's ears.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

That scene however can easily be shifted around to thread into the plot line easier. There could be harpy stuff going on all season up until that point. There is also that scene of that one guy "Unsullied?" being swarmed in the streets somewhere.

Also remember that if you drag Dany's arc over an additional season, you have to do the same with Tyrion, Victarion, and everybody who is going to condense in Meereen.

Also, the prospect of ending S5 with another huge ass Blackwateresque episode is probably music to HBO's ears.

Previously, though, David and Dan had talked about wanting to do big battles every other season (this was last year, I think?). That would point more to holding off the big battle until the climax of Season 6, which seems like a much more feasible place to have it.

Seasons 2, 4 and 6 each having a major battle as their Episode 9 moments.

Tyrion's not even getting to Essos until next season, so that doesn't change anything. I'm proposing having the pit being Episode 10 of next year, so that would work quite well with Tyrion, who would spend next season meeting up with Illyrio and Connington, finding out about Aegon, getting abducted by Jorah, getting captured by slavers, and then finally arriving in Meereen at the finale. This would all be happening while Tyrion was having his major character arc of falling into self-loathing, drinking a lot and making his disturbing sexual decisions. This is already a pretty meaty season for him.

 

[Wray]

Previously, though, David and Dan had talked about wanting to do big battles every other season (this was last year, I think?). That would point more to holding off the big battle until the climax of Season 6, which seems like a much more feasible place to have it.

Seasons 2, 4 and 6 each having a major battle as their Episode 9 moments.

If they hold off till S6 for that battle, that's only leaving 2 seasons for Winds and Spring, which I certainly expect to be much denser than Feast/Dances, especially when you consider all the major PoV characters that need to be pruned.

I think 3 seasons for the final two books is the best way to do it.

Season 4 - End of SoS plus some Dance/Feast arcs are started/finished
Season 5 - Rest of Dance/Feast
Season 6-8 - Winds/Spring

 

[CoolOff]

The one guy getting swarmed in the trailers looked like a slavemaster to me.

 

[Wray]

Tyrion's not even getting to Essos until next season, so that doesn't change anything.

We don't know that for sure yet. Its entirely possible that the Tyrion/Tywin scene happens in Ep8 and his arrival in Pentos is in episode 10, which sets up his Dance arc for next year.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

MOD ABUSE: *BOOKS SPOILERS* *BOOKS SPOILERS* *BOOKS SPOILERS* *BOOKS SPOILERS* *BOOKS SPOILERS* *BOOKS SPOILERS*

If they hold off till S6 for that battle, that's only leaving 2 seasons for Winds and Spring, which I certainly expect to be much denser than Feast/Dances, especially when you consider all the major PoV characters that need to be pruned.

I think 3 seasons for the final two books is the best way to do it.

Season 4 - End of SoS plus some Dance/Feast arcs are started/finished
Season 5 - Rest of Dance/Feast
Season 6-8 - Winds/Spring

They don't have to do everything in order, as evidenced by getting into Feast/Dance material for a couple of characters while some people are still in Storm. Not to mention that the Battle of Meereen is in Winds. It will probably be fairly early in the book, but it is part of that book.

We don't know exactly how much material there is between the start of the book and the actual battle, but there should be at least a few episodes worth of material for Barristan/Tyrion, factoring in their post-pit chapters, and just because they're holding off the battle of Meereen until last Season 6 doesn't mean that characters like Sam, Davos, Bran, Cersei, etc couldn't be deep into their Winds arcs by that time.

We don't know that for sure yet. Its entirely possible that the Tyrion/Tywin scene happens in Ep8 and his arrival in Pentos is in episode 10, which sets up his Dance arc for next year.

The title of Episode 8 is "The Mountain and the Viper". I think that makes it pretty clear that the duel is the main focus of that episode, meaning that the Tywin scene won't happen until Episode 10. I'd be willing to bet that Episode 8 ends with Oberyn's death. We also likely would have heard by now if Illyrio's actor had returned for this season.