Game of Thrones (TV, fantasy) Thread

[The Walrus]

All of those things (and more) should have happened. That episode just... ugh.

IMO It's a glaring example of how those two had little idea as to how to handle the show after the source material dried up


I 'liked' the episode....think it was pretty cool....yet....there was a completely different way to handle it that could have made it epic on a level of epicness that would have been renowned for years. They missed a chance there.

I totally agree... also... if they had kept seasons 7 and 8 a full 10 episodes like normal, and even just added ONE more season of 10 episodes, they could've built up to the final battle at you-know-where so much better. As in, almost all of the companions dead through various episodes as the political tension and war crimes ratchet up, and with our 'big heroes' going in there with almost nobody to assist them, give them knowledge, tactics etc... just one final hurrah, a hail Mary if you will, with the very last remaining big characters (maybe 3 or 4) charging in. And IMO, ending with a little hint that the White Walkers AREN'T GONE - that would have been perfect...

But, TV, ratings, fanservice... oh well, I can keep dreaming.

[Stadler]

(By the way, during Season 1 through, say, 5, did we have an idea who Jon Stark's mom is?  We "know" he's Ned's bastard, but what was the story that was told?   He - obviously - wasn't Catelyn's, but what was the understanding BEFORE Bran's flashbacks to the tower and Lyanna came up in Season 6?)

This wasn't changed for the TV show, so it was in the books as well and all you had to do was going online to find the theory discussed. So everyone who bothered to write on Google "Jon's true parents" would have long known what was the leading theory for ages.

It was so discussed that the actual surprise would have been Jon NOT being the son of who eventually turned out to be the parents.

But that wasn't my question. I wasn't asking what the theory is/was, I was asking what did we KNOW.  What did Ned tell Jon about his mother.  I think the answer is "not much", so the premise I'm working on is that as of Season 6 Episode 10, JON SNOW believes his dad to be Ned Stark and he doesn't have even a hint as to who his mother might be.   

But Bran has information - and we have slightly less information, assuming Bran knows what the whisper is and we don't - that Jon doesn't, that Ned's sister Lyanna gave birth to a baby that we're heavily influenced to believe is Jon Snow (the full screen shot of the baby, then the full screen shot of Jon Snow is about as subtle as GG Allin), which means that unless Ned engaged in some pretty heavy duty Lannister shit, Ned's not the father after all, and Jon is not of House Stark.  (Which also has repurcussions, potentially, since that means that Sansa is the next in line to be Queen Of The North, which of course might change Peter Baelish's thinking.)

[MirrorMask]

(By the way, during Season 1 through, say, 5, did we have an idea who Jon Stark's mom is?  We "know" he's Ned's bastard, but what was the story that was told?   He - obviously - wasn't Catelyn's, but what was the understanding BEFORE Bran's flashbacks to the tower and Lyanna came up in Season 6?)

This wasn't changed for the TV show, so it was in the books as well and all you had to do was going online to find the theory discussed. So everyone who bothered to write on Google "Jon's true parents" would have long known what was the leading theory for ages.

It was so discussed that the actual surprise would have been Jon NOT being the son of who eventually turned out to be the parents.

But that wasn't my question. I wasn't asking what the theory is/was, I was asking what did we KNOW.  What did Ned tell Jon about his mother.  I think the answer is "not much", so the premise I'm working on is that as of Season 6 Episode 10, JON SNOW believes his dad to be Ned Stark and he doesn't have even a hint as to who his mother might be.   

Ah, sorry. Yes, you're correct.

[RuRoRul]

(By the way, during Season 1 through, say, 5, did we have an idea who Jon Stark's mom is?  We "know" he's Ned's bastard, but what was the story that was told?   He - obviously - wasn't Catelyn's, but what was the understanding BEFORE Bran's flashbacks to the tower and Lyanna came up in Season 6?)

This wasn't changed for the TV show, so it was in the books as well and all you had to do was going online to find the theory discussed. So everyone who bothered to write on Google "Jon's true parents" would have long known what was the leading theory for ages.

It was so discussed that the actual surprise would have been Jon NOT being the son of who eventually turned out to be the parents.

But that wasn't my question. I wasn't asking what the theory is/was, I was asking what did we KNOW.  What did Ned tell Jon about his mother.  I think the answer is "not much", so the premise I'm working on is that as of Season 6 Episode 10, JON SNOW believes his dad to be Ned Stark and he doesn't have even a hint as to who his mother might be.  

But Bran has information - and we have slightly less information, assuming Bran knows what the whisper is and we don't - that Jon doesn't, that Ned's sister Lyanna gave birth to a baby that we're heavily influenced to believe is Jon Snow (the full screen shot of the baby, then the full screen shot of Jon Snow is about as subtle as GG Allin), which means that unless Ned engaged in some pretty heavy duty Lannister shit, Ned's not the father after all, and Jon is not of House Stark.  (Which also has repurcussions, potentially, since that means that Sansa is the next in line to be Queen Of The North, which of course might change Peter Baelish's thinking.)

Yes you are right. Just to expand slightly on exactly what was known to the characters - in the second episode of Season 1 before they part ways Jon Snow asks Ned about this.

Jon: ls my mother alive? Does she know about me? Where l am, where l'm going? Does she care?
Ned: The next time we see each other, we'll talk about your mother.

By Season 6 Episode 10 Jon Snow never got any further info about it, so he believed Ned Stark was his father but had no idea who his mother was.

As for what the story that Jon and other people in general believed was; during Robert's Rebellion (the war against the Mad King), Ned Stark was away fighting the war for many months. He came back with a baby he acknowledged as his bastard son, with someone he slept with while at war in the south. He never told people exactly who the mother was but his story wasn't doubted as it was a pretty common thing to happen. Even Robert Baratheon who was his war buddy didn't know who the mother was as he asks Ned Stark about what she looked like. So the official story was that the mother was just "someone Ned Stark slept with while at war in the south", and Ned Stark not telling people who he had slept with was quite easily believed to be down to his honour and the fact he was ashamed to have broken his wedding vows.

[KevShmev]

'twas a bit of an hyperbole, c'mon 

Haha, I get it, but it does seem like many think everyone hated the final season as much as they did, so it's become commonplace for some to throw out the "everyone hated the final season of Game of Thrones" line, and it's sometimes nice to throw a reminder that some of us did in fact like it. 

[cramx3]

Sure, but everyone is not that far off of a description

Although hate is a strong word.  There was definitely cool stuff going down that was enjoyable and satisfying.  I just didn't like the season as a whole at the end of the day.  Series ended on a bummer.

[gmillerdrake]

'twas a bit of an hyperbole, c'mon 

Haha, I get it, but it does seem like many think everyone hated the final season as much as they did, so it's become commonplace for some to throw out the "everyone hated the final season of Game of Thrones" line, and it's sometimes nice to throw a reminder that some of us did in fact like it. 

I didn’t hate it by any means and generally don’t mind how it ended or what happened along the way. But there’s no denying the final two seasons were extremely rushed and suffered due to how quickly the pace was amped up compared to the first handful of seasons.

[Chino]

Stads, don't click this.   


 

https://gfycat.com/measlyillustriousafricanrockpython-plan-about-nothing-game-of-thrones-bran-stark

[gmillerdrake]

Stads, don't click this.   


 

https://gfycat.com/measlyillustriousafricanrockpython-plan-about-nothing-game-of-thrones-bran-stark

    HOLY COW!!!!   

[cramx3]

Stads, don't click this.   


 

https://gfycat.com/measlyillustriousafricanrockpython-plan-about-nothing-game-of-thrones-bran-stark

    HOLY COW!!!!   

 

[ariich]

Damn.

[faizoff]

Stads, don't click this.   


 

https://gfycat.com/measlyillustriousafricanrockpython-plan-about-nothing-game-of-thrones-bran-stark

That is amazing.

[faizoff]

Interesting blog post from GRRM.
http://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2019/10/30/the-dragons-take-wing/

Main takeaway is that he's not going to be writing any episode for the new show until he finishes writing Winds of Winter and delivers it.

But… let me make this perfectly clear… I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered WINDS OF WINTER.  Winter is still coming, and WINDS remains my priority, as much as I’d love to write an episodes of HOUSE.

He also writes that HBO wasn't trying to choose between The long night or House of the Dragon.

[MirrorMask]

That's a pity. Probably they made a business decision, they considered dragons more exciting and more able to bring new people in, as well as keeping the fans of GoT aboard.

Let's face it, everyone loves dragons and Danerys was for the most part a beloved character, so people will want to revisit her house. The White Walkers stuff was more mystical and oriented towards those who like a good overarching fantasy mystery but given how it all ended, the interest for them realistically dropped.

I wouldn't be terribily interested either in a show about the early killing days of Dexter knowing he'd end up as a lumberjack.

[Chino]

My fear with a dragon-heavy focus is that it's going to eat up the budget. Those babies aren't cheap. My guess is that the dragons are going to be more of an afterthought, or the ones we see regularly are going to be small or distant.

[hefdaddy42]

Stads, don't click this.   


 

https://gfycat.com/measlyillustriousafricanrockpython-plan-about-nothing-game-of-thrones-bran-stark

I've gotta say, I've read Fire & Blood, the basis for House of the Dragon, and frankly, I would have rather seen The Long Night come to fruition.

[faizoff]

I just remembered on the season 7 bluray they added a bonus disk called Conquest and Rebellion. It's an animated feature that has stories narrated by GoT characters. It's also set 300 years ago and details on a lot of the Targaryen ascent and conflict, I wonder if it's just an expansion on those stories.

[cramx3]

I just remembered on the season 7 bluray they added a bonus disk called Conquest and Rebellion. It's an animated feature that has stories narrated by GoT characters. It's also set 300 years ago and details on a lot of the Targaryen ascent and conflict, I wonder if it's just an expansion on those stories.

Likely and without seeing that to know for sure, I'd imagine they are telling stories from the book Fire and Blood that GRRM wrote which is also the inspiration for the new series.  That book is just loose stories of the past in the GOT world and aren't terribly detailed so it seems they will take the story of the origin of House Targaryan and expand upon it. 

[faizoff]

Yeah I haven't read the Fire and Blood book so I too don't know if that animated movie is based of if but it sure sounds like it. The animated movie was quite good and the stories were great, and that was again just the cliff notes of the history, I imagine it will be greatly expanded for the live action show.

[Stadler]

HAHA.  "Stads, don't click this"...  and 83 posts claiming how awesome said click is.   

Thanks, guys!




(I'm totally kidding; I appreciate the spoiler alert, and the general consideration, but I'm well aware I'm the outlier here.)

[MoraWintersoul]

Ned's not the father after all, and Jon is not of House Stark. 

You understood the heritage implications well, but he really is a Stark, because his mom is. He just doesn't stand a chance at inheriting anything from house Stark (unless something happens to all of Ned's children and the house has to branch out in search of heirs), but he is as much of a Stark as his (now cousins) siblings are.

Fun fact: go back and notice how Ned tells him, in their last conversation, "you may not have my name, but you have my blood". Gotta love that little twist of phrasing - Ned ruined his honor and spread the lie that Jon is his bastard, but he still doesn't outright say "you are my son", even though he raised Jon and he is the only father Jon has ever known.

[MirrorMask]

Yeah, Ned Stark is the only man that went to his grave with the secret that he DIDN'T cheat on his wife 

[Stadler]

Ned's not the father after all, and Jon is not of House Stark. 

You understood the heritage implications well, but he really is a Stark, because his mom is. He just doesn't stand a chance at inheriting anything from house Stark (unless something happens to all of Ned's children and the house has to branch out in search of heirs), but he is as much of a Stark as his (now cousins) siblings are.

Fun fact: go back and notice how Ned tells him, in their last conversation, "you may not have my name, but you have my blood". Gotta love that little twist of phrasing - Ned ruined his honor and spread the lie that Jon is his bastard, but he still doesn't outright say "you are my son", even though he raised Jon and he is the only father Jon has ever known.

WHOA!  MIND BLOWN.  No, seriously; in covering all the permutations, it never occurred to me that either way he IS a Stark, just not the RIGHT Stark.  Thanks for that (I'm being serious; I completely spaced that Lyanna is a Stark as well). 

[faizoff]

Stadler are you done with season 7?

[Stadler]

No.  Just finished the end of six.  Cersei destroyed half of King's Landing, and drove her son to his own death.  Daenerys is on the march with Tyrion.   Arya exacted her revenge on Walder Frey.   

I'll probably start seven this weekend. 

[The Walrus]

No.  Just finished the end of six.  Cersei destroyed half of King's Landing, and drove her son to his own death.  Daenerys is on the march with Tyrion.   Arya exacted her revenge on Walder Frey.   

I'll probably start seven this weekend.

How good was that season finale? Arguably my favorite episode of the show. The cinematography, music, script, and acting - bullseyes on all fronts.

Season 7 had its critics but for me some of the series' best moments are there too.

[cramx3]

That opening sequence 

Season 7 wasn't the greatest, but it certainly had a strong ending

[The Walrus]

That opening sequence 

Season 7 wasn't the greatest, but it certainly had a strong ending

I wish I could watch his reaction to episode 6 in real time. I think I watched that episode at least once a day, every day, leading up to the S7 finale, I loved it so much 

[KevShmev]

The "king in the north" scene is just amazing.

Also, Arya killing Walder Frey was just soooooooo satisfying.

[MirrorMask]

That opening sequence 

The pinnacle of the show, the coordination between the AMAZING music, the various scenes and the climax of it all was breathtaking. Maybe not a perfect moment logic-wise, with all the perfect coincidences that only movies get (like Lancel being stabbed in the exact way that allowed him to live and crawl to the wildfire moments before it exploded) but come on, all that Light of the Seven scene deserves nothing but a standing ovation 

Season 7 wasn't the greatest, but it certainly had a strong ending

An ending so strong that gave hope for the final season. Season 7 was as bad as Season 8, but it had some legit great scenes (Olenna with Jaimie, the loot train attack) and the promise of sh1t going down with that epic final scene.

[KevShmev]

The pinnacle of the show, the coordination between the AMAZING music, the various scenes and the climax of it all was breathtaking. Maybe not a perfect moment logic-wise, with all the perfect coincidences that only movies get (like Lancel being stabbed in the exact way that allowed him to live and crawl to the wildfire moments before it exploded) but come on, all that Light of the Seven scene deserves nothing but a standing ovation 

The reflection in Lancel's eyes of the wildfire igniting is one of the best single shots, from a visual standpoint, in the entire series, IMO.  Amazing.

[Stadler]

That opening sequence 

The pinnacle of the show, the coordination between the AMAZING music, the various scenes and the climax of it all was breathtaking. Maybe not a perfect moment logic-wise, with all the perfect coincidences that only movies get (like Lancel being stabbed in the exact way that allowed him to live and crawl to the wildfire moments before it exploded) but come on, all that Light of the Seven scene deserves nothing but a standing ovation 

I lost track, which episode is this?

[faizoff]

Season 6 Episode 10 - The finale. The music with the Godfather like opening. I think it's still my favorite season finale. Just a hair above season 4 finale.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

[ReaperKK]

Despite season 8, I'm excited for this.