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*UNMARKED SPOILERS ALL BOOKS* Game of Thrones |OT| - Season 6

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Kozak

Banned
Just watched the preview

Good to see Littlefinger again and clearly setting up the Vale fighting against the Boltons.

I would love for the battle not to be on its last thread and then the Knights of the Vale come sweeping in.

It's already been done too many times in the book/show.

The bit with Theon and Yara is interesting. The Ironborn don't take too kindly to weakness right? Should've taken the Black :\

Love that the trial by combat is being alluded to. HYPE
 
Is that really true? He didn't seem super bothered by it, just surprised. Maybe a little disgusted. I thought the point was that his father told him the story over and over so he was shocked that it didn't quite happen that way. I'm sure if Ned actually told him "this guy was the baddest motherfucker I ever fought, and I would have died if Uncle Howland didn't stab him in the neck from behind at the last moment!" it wouldn't have bothered him at all.

I feel like Ned wouldn't have lied about this of his own volition. I'm pretty sure Robert would be the one to tell him to uphold the lie, to make Ned seem more menacing to anyone that ever wanted to try anything against him.
 
Seriously. I was expecting the worst but they actually delivered on the suspension of disbelief that no one stabbed him in the back during a 4v1.

Also double swords are dope AF

Eh, as someone who knows a a little bit about swords, the fact that he was dual wielding anything, especially European longswords, sucked me out of the story a little. Still a good fight though.
 
Battle of the Bastards should ideally be a routing of the Boltons, but we all know it won't end up that way.

Also from preview

Sansa meeting Jon finally? This is the first time since Season 1 Stark children will see each other. I am looking forward to that moment the most
 

clemenx

Banned
?!? Backstabbing would honestly be about the worst thing imaginable in that time period. In the pantheon of bad shit, that would top killing an invited guest. Bran's whole life ethos was shaped by the fact his father was super honorable. That would shake him to the core.

Did Ned do anything wrong tho? It's not his fault that his partner did something dishonorable. Bran already knew that Howland Reed had "saved" Ned, now he knows the how and of course he's surprised but I don't see why it would change his opinion about his father. It's not like Ned ever boasted about beating the sword of the morning.
 

Forkball

Member
Great episode. A lot of plot lines were moved forward and it leaves us with some intriguing questions. The Wall scenes were great as always, and Alliser still managed to get a shot in on Jon just moments before death. You gotta respect that. He was definitely one of the more interesting and complex characters in the show. He was an asshole, but you understood why. AND TAKE THAT OLLY FINALLY. I see some people say the King's Landing plot is moving too slowly but I disagree. We can clearly see the dismay caused by the Faith Militant and it looks like it is going to come to a boiling point soon. Plus Pryce is so great as the High Sparrow, no scene with him feels slow. The only part that dragged was ironically Tyrion's scene. A lot of time wasting and build up just to get to the answer of a previous scene.

The Tower of Joy scene was superb, and they really did make Dayne look like he completely outclassed everyone. It's also cool that Whent got a line in, though I liked his "woe to the usurper" line from the book more. The duel wielding was a bit ridiculous but I understand the point. I think Reed just stabbing him in the back of the neck was a bit anticlimatic though. In the book it's never really said how, and there are theories that perhaps Reed warged him. Ned seemed somewhat disturbed by Dayne's death in the book and show, but I felt like there was no reason to feel that way if he just got backstabbed.

As for the Northern Conspiracy stuff, I really don't see the Umbers pulling one off. Honestly it feels like they are just going to kill off Rickon and Osha, and perhaps Rickon is the bait to lure Jon to Winterfell. It kind of feels tacked on. I would love to be wrong though. And GreatJon just dies off screen? It's sad we didn't get more of that character since he had some of the most memorable scenes from season one.
 

Ratrat

Member
Oh, boy. This was mostly bad. Why openly name Robert Strong as Ser Gregor? The hell was Osha doing all these years? The Arya scenes were lame with no payoff.

Surprisingly, the North stuff was a little better and I look forward to seeing Randyl Tarly.
 

Meier

Member
Is that really true? He didn't seem super bothered by it, just surprised. Maybe a little disgusted. I thought the point was that his father told him the story over and over so he was shocked that it didn't quite happen that way. I'm sure if Ned actually told him "this guy was the baddest motherfucker I ever fought, and I would have died if Uncle Howland didn't stab him in the neck from behind at the last moment!" it wouldn't have bothered him at all.

You are so wrong. Ned Stark is the pillar of valor and heroism and people would absolutely, without question, have looked down on him and ostracized him had they known he lived due to a backstabbing. It is entirely out of character with someone who has been raised to the level he had. That story went from being a heroic deed to something very, very cowardly.

Did Ned do anything wrong tho? It's not his fault that his partner did something dishonorable. Bran already knew that Howland Reed had "saved" Ned, now he knows the how and of course he's surprised but I don't see why it would change his opinion about his father. It's not like Ned ever boasted about beating the sword of the morning.

In that world, Ned should have killed Howland for doing something that terrible and then admitted what had happened so he [Ned] could be hanged for it.
 

Ratrat

Member
You are so wrong. Ned Stark is the pillar of valor and heroism and people would absolutely, without question, have looked down on him and ostracized him had they known he lived due to a backstabbing. It is entirely out of character with someone who has been raised to the level he had. That story went from being a heroic deed to something very, very cowardly.
Maybe they should fight 1 vs 1 then.
 

Sean C

Member
You are so wrong. Ned Stark is the pillar of valor and heroism and people would absolutely, without question, have looked down on him and ostracized him had they known he lived due to a backstabbing. It is entirely out of character with someone who has been raised to the level he had. That story went from being a heroic deed to something very, very cowardly.

In that world, Ned should have killed Howland for doing something that terrible and then admitted what had happened so he [Ned] could be hanged for it.
Um, no. It was not a duel, it was melee combat. All's fair.
 
You are so wrong. Ned Stark is the pillar of valor and heroism and people would absolutely, without question, have looked down on him and ostracized him had they known he lived due to a backstabbing. It is entirely out of character with someone who has been raised to the level he had. That story went from being a heroic deed to something very, very cowardly.



In that world, Ned should have killed Howland for doing something that terrible and then admitted what had happened so he [Ned] could be hanged for it.

"Heroic deed"

He found his sister dying. The story was one of vanquinshing a known/lengendary swordman, one you would tell children before going to sleep, except he was portrayed as the main character/hero of the story and the princess at the end of the story ending up dying.

It wasn't a duel. It was a battle.

edit: or more like a raid, considering it's called "Raid on the Tower of Joy".
 

Meier

Member
Um, no. It was not a duel, it was melee combat. All's fair.

You might be right in that Ned may have taken the black or something instead of having himself hanged for treachery, but the entire point of this was to show that Ned's persona as an infallible hero was not totally accurate in real life. He was a human just like everyone else. But the Stark boys had been raised to view him as more than that. It also was meant to drive home that looking into the past wouldn't always be a positive thing.
 
Great episode again, I haven't felt down on anything this season so far. Well, except Dorne.

Tower of Joy sequence was cool as hell. Dayne was a motherfucking badass. Young Ned nailed the "it ends"-line, felt a lot better in context than it did in the preview. The revelation about Ned's less-than-honorable victory was cool.

Fucking cocktease for not including the latter part of the sequence, though. I almost expected Max von Sydow to break the fourth wall by winking at the camera and telling us to "stay tuned".

Davos' reaction to Jon's resurrection was brilliant. "You were dead. Now you're alive. That's bloody ridiculous."

I'd never thought I'd be happy to see a child die, but man, I'm glad Olly's gone. Really great acting from Owen Teale and Kit in that scene, too. Jon having to steel himself before cutting the rope was great, I could almost hear the words "kill the boy" again. This time they were quite literal.

And goddamn, I'd read the rumors but I didn't want to believe it. Osha and Rickon. :'( Team Stark stay losing, Team Bolton gets to up their killcount again. Holding out hope that the Umbers are gonna stab him in the back, but at the rate the series is tying up its loose ends it seems likely Rickon won't survive the season.

R.I.P. Shaggydog. :'(

Why openly name Robert Strong as Ser Gregor?

It's getting pretty obvious they're setting up the Cleganebowl now. Calling Robert Strong 'Ser Gregor', the Waif asking Arya about the Hound: it's either a red herring or Chekhov's gun is loaded and ready to go.

The Arya scenes were lame with no payoff.

Well, to be fair, they were like that in the book too. I remember reading ADWD and going "that's it?" after her blindness got cured.
 

Ratrat

Member
You might be right in that Ned may have taken the black or something instead of having himself hanged for treachery, but the entire point of this was to show that Ned's persona as an infallible hero was not totally accurate in real life. He was a human just like everyone else. But the Stark boys had been raised to view him as more than that. It also was meant to drive home that looking into the past wouldn't always be a positive thing.
Eh? Treachery? They are rebels. He was protecting his sister. Ned and Robb have both put the honor or lives of others above their own. He lost his Father, brother and sister to the Targs, but now he has to commit seppuku because a halfdead Howland stabbed someone in the back? This kind of logic is not from the books...

It's getting pretty obvious they're setting up the Cleganebowl now. Calling Robert Strong 'Ser Gregor', the Waif asking Arya about the Hound: it's either a red herring or Chekhov's gun is loaded and ready to go.

Well, to be fair, they were like that in the book too. I remember reading ADWD and going "that's it?" after her blindness got cured.
They didn't do the fake skull, but it still seems like something you'd keep secret. Dorne's reaction doesn't matter at this point, but The Faith, The Citadel...I just don't see any advantages to making it known. Ser Gregor has a horrible rep and won't be underestimated as a fighter.

Well, I was hoping they would have Arya warg into a cat.
 
You might be right in that Ned may have taken the black or something instead of having himself hanged for treachery, but the entire point of this was to show that Ned's persona as an infallible hero was not totally accurate in real life. He was a human just like everyone else. But the Stark boys had been raised to view him as more than that. It also was meant to drive home that looking into the past wouldn't always be a positive thing.

... There was no reason at all for him to take the black for this, nor should it be taken as treachery.

Eh? Treachery? They are rebels. He was protecting his sister. Ned and Robb have both put the honor or lives of others above their own. He lost his Father, brother and sister to the Targs, but now he has to commit seppuku because a halfdead Howland stabbed someone in the back?

lol exactly.
 
Yeah, people saying Ned would've taken the black for that are crazy. Ned was known as an honorable man. Winning a fight by stabbing someone in the back isn't exactly 'honorable'. It'd be a slight on his reputation, to be sure, but something he would get hung over? Fuck no.

That's what suprirses Bran, he's heard the story of how Ned beat Dayne probably hundreds of times from several sources. The tale only got grander as time went on, I'm sure. He's slightly disgusted and taken aback with the way it actually went down, which is in keeping with GoT's underlying themes.
 

zer0das

Banned
In that world, Ned should have killed Howland for doing something that terrible and then admitted what had happened so he [Ned] could be hanged for it.

Yes, when you're fighting a rebellion you should be hanged when you win a battle because Dayne's sidekick couldn't run Howland Reed through properly. Uh huh...

Tell me more about this honorable world in Game of Thrones.
 

Sotha Sil

Member
I understand the shock. Ned Stark died a hero and some are now discovering he also lived long enough to see himself become the villain. That's a paradox for the ages.
 

Ratrat

Member
I understand the shock. Ned Stark died a hero and some are now discovering he also lived long enough to see himself become the villain. That's a paradox for the ages.
He died a traitor. Again, tarnishing his own honor for the sake of his daughter.
 
When it comes to honor, I side with Bronn:

b521d19f3243f2563cb3148da27a34a2.jpg
 
It is almost as if they are showing that Ned Stark wasn't completely honest. Maybe he had other secrets in his past? Maybe a big secret....

I hope the Sand Snakes are involved in the reveal somehow. Would fit the overall subtlety.
 

Thaedolus

Member
I can't believe people are debating Ned's honor for the Howland backstab. Dayne was stabbed in the back in the middle of unfair fight where he was outnumbered. He could've surrendered if he didn't want to die but he was more badass than that, so he got his death.

When you're swinging swords like that whoever wins wins, it's not like Howland slit his throat while he slept.
 
BTW am I the only one who thinks Robert Strong looks awesome? (I know he ain't called that in the show but whatevs). Seems like there have been quite a few who don't like it but I love the design.

I wonder who would have won a duel, Barristan or Dayne both in their prime.

One thing I'm dissapointed in this season is that Tyrion scenes really could use some more spice. Have him actually conjure up some dirty tricks and use his brain to smoke out the harpies or really do something instead of having Varys alone do everything. The dragon scene was nice but it feels like outside of that it's just Dinklage sitting in a room doing nothing.
 

Ratrat

Member
One thing I'm dissapointed in this season is that Tyrion scenes really could use some more spice. Have him actually conjure up some dirty tricks and use his brain to smoke out the harpies or really do something instead of having Varys alone do everything. The dragon scene was nice but it feels like outside of that it's just Dinklage sitting in a room doing nothing.
He feels really out of place. His role is to advise Dany about the Lannisters, Westeros and Dragons and get his revenge. Essos politics is not his thing. Euron needs to get there asap for the fun to begin.
 

Moff

Member
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is still in the credits so I assume it's still him in the Robert Strong Armor. Seems like a waste unless he takes off his armor at the cleganebowl.

Personally I like his design, although he could be a bit creepier with black holes as eyes.
I was surprised they name him Sir Gregor, but I guess it makes sense since it was never a mystery in the show what happened to Gregor and it shouldn't be a mystery for everyone in Kings Landing who knew Gregor.
 

mantidor

Member
The more I think about it the more pissed I am at the North shenanigans, they purposefully dumb down everyone around Ramsay so he can get his way. There is no way Osha didn't see what was coming, she saved the Stark kids, twice, she even sent hounds in the wrong trail, she was damn good at reading the situation and surviving, and now you are telling me she did not see Smalljon coming?
 

Aurongel

Member
Choreography may be good, but the cinematography was meh at best — and yeah, it never was something the series did right.

They shot it wide and with lengthier takes, something that just wasn't present at all in the last season.

I see nothing to complain about there, it was a conscious improvement to what came before it and I think it deserves some recognition for it.
 

Wray

Member
Can't believe some people are upset about the Tower of Joy sequence. That shit was balls to the wall. I'm guessing Dayne dual wielding is going to be this years Only Cat. You guys need to stop watching episodes sober. Smoke a joint or get drunk beforehand from now on IMO.

Also, it's possible Umber could have killed Shaggy Dog to sell the ruse. Keeping Rickon in the dark woulda made sense. And from his perspective, one dead wolf is well worth it if the ruse works.
 

Forkball

Member
Can't believe some people are upset about the Tower of Joy sequence. That shit was balls to the wall. I'm guessing Dayne dual wielding is going to be this years Only Cat. You guys need to stop watching episodes sober. Smoke a joint or get drunk beforehand from now on IMO.

I was excited that we finally got a good scene in Dorne.
 

studyguy

Member
Tower of Joy was fine.
Getting pulled out of it because lol reasons is annoying.
We're just gonna get glimpses of the Tower of Joy through the season as I expected. Hopefully they at least close it out completely.
 

Eidan

Member
He feels really out of place. His role is to advise Dany about the Lannisters, Westeros and Dragons and get his revenge. Essos politics is not his thing. Euron needs to get there asap for the fun to begin.

The Tyrion arc is now obviously going through the motions until we get to the Battle of Meereen.
 

Sotha Sil

Member
Can't believe some people are upset about the Tower of Joy sequence. That shit was balls to the wall. I'm guessing Dayne dual wielding is going to be this years Only Cat. You guys need to stop watching episodes sober. Smoke a joint or get drunk beforehand from now on IMO.

What lead you to this life of drug-watching, mate? It was the Martell episodes, wasn't it.
 

fuzzyset

Member
Y'all are missing the point. Yes, maybe Ned's reputation would have been totally fine if he told the truth about the Dayne fight, but he didn't! He chose to let people believe his version of the story. Now, we can look back at his actions in a different light. Ned: "I don't fight in tourneys because I want to surprise people". Well, maybe it's because he's just an average fighter and it would bring suspicion to the whole ToJ sequence.
 
I can't believe people are debating Ned's honor for the Howland backstab. Dayne was stabbed in the back in the middle of unfair fight where he was outnumbered. He could've surrendered if he didn't want to die but he was more badass than that, so he got his death.

When you're swinging swords like that whoever wins wins, it's not like Howland slit his throat while he slept.

I had no problem with it at all. AD was going to kill everyone there if Howland hadn't done what he did. Survival instincts aren't easily suppressed, and what Howland did was most certainly about survival.

Can't believe some people are upset about the Tower of Joy sequence. That shit was balls to the wall. I'm guessing Dayne dual wielding is going to be this years Only Cat. You guys need to stop watching episodes sober. Smoke a joint or get drunk beforehand from now on IMO.

The dual wielding didn't bother me, either. Choreographing a fight where AD is surrounded by 4 seasoned fighters would have been a lot more difficult if he had been swinging a giant greatsword around. Dual wielding, however ridiculous it may be in reality, made more sense visually. It's what allowed AD to defend his front and back simultaneously, and it allowed the fight to play out without our four "heroes" having to fight stupidly to make it work.
 
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