Let’s recap the rules. This thread and subsequent episode threads are for discussions of the show as its own entity. The books do not exist in these threads. There will be other threads in which book discussion is open and welcome, but these are not it. Don’t take it upon yourself to post any comparison to the books, any background information, or anything you personally deem to be a non-spoiler. Part of the reason we have hard rules is that when we had soft rules where people decided for themselves what was appropriate to share and what wasn’t then we spent more time in the thread squabbling over the rules and what constitutes a spoiler than we did discussing the show. When we adopted the “books do not exist in this thread” rule, things got way better. Since the books do not exist in the show, there should be no spoiler boxes for that. Just bring the book discussion to one of the appropriate threads. So, to be absolutely clear, the show is its own entity and the books do not exist in these threads.
It just became news that the first 4 episodes of the season have been leaked online. Obviously if you somehow get ahold of these, don’t post information from future episodes - wait until the episode has aired to discuss it in its appropriate thread. I would recommend not watching the leaked episodes anyway - it’s more enjoyable to have to wait a week in between, the process what you saw and build anticipation from the next one. Binge watching 4 episodes and then waiting a month for a new one will lessen your overall enjoyment.
Anyway, I don’t anticipate any problems - we’ve been pretty much problem-free in these threads for a long time now. If you do have a disagreement about the rules, please take it to ATMB - these threads will not be the battlegrounds for arguments about the rules of the thread.
Threads from last year. The 4.01 thread will have links to the season 3 threads…
This will be the first time I get to see Game of Thrones at real time.
I’m actually pretty excited!
Ahem… otherwise, I have nothing, except that I hope this season is more exciting than last. Let me clarify: a one handed dwarf swordsman wading through a dungeon full of dragon droppings would have made for better watching than last season.
^Really? I enjoyed last season. I did a rewatch marathon last week. It’s true that it moves slowly at times, but hopefully they were setting the pieces in place for what is to come. The episode with the battle at the Wall is still just amazing.
For those who might need a refresher, this is where we left some of our characters:
Dany has chained two of her dragons up (the third is MIA) and decided to stay in Mereen and rule for awhile. She discovered Ser Jorah had been a spy when he first started serving her, and banished him.
Tyrion escaped his death sentence with the help of Jaime and Varys, and he kills Shae and Lord Tywin on his way out of Dodge.
Tommen has become king, and Margaery Tyrell is giving him boners.
Arya has set sail for Braavos! She left a dying (?) Hound in the hills, after his fight with Brienne. Podrick didn’t even get to give her the wolf-shaped bread.
Sansa has turned to the dark side and is holed up in the Eyrie with Littlefinger, who made Lysa Arryn fly.
Bran and company reached their destination where… Bran will replace the old guy in the tree roots? Jojen is dead. Bran is with Meera and some ice-fairy girl.
Jon Snow, the crows, and the Wildlings had their party at the Wall crashed by Stannis and his army. Melisandre gave Jon a look. :eek:
Rickon and Osha are traveling… haven’t been seen in a while.
Oh, and [del]Theon[/del] Reek is under the control of Ramsay Bolton, who is a fucking lunatic.
Second that. It’s been so long I need a reminder of where everyone is. I’ll miss characters like Tywin and Joffrey but hope they’ll introduce interesting new ones.
Yeah, I’ll really miss Tywin. Such a great villain because he was so cold and calculating, and he was played wonderfully by Charles Dance. Whom, coincidentally, I just saw in an ad for an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End on Syfy.
It’s not HD quality though. That’s why I’m waiting until the episodes come out on HBO before I watch them.
Definitely screeners though. Sepinwall said they sent him four screeners that he saw, and there are four episodes that leaked. The quality is similar to what you would see when a screener gets leaked as well.
I’m surprised this did not happen sooner. It happens all the time with films during award season.
Jojen is dead. Bran is with Meera and some ice-fairy girl.