Season 6 will premier this Sunday. I thought there might be room for a recap/discussion/anticipation thread for the upcoming season. I’ll start a weekly thread for the premier later.
This will follow the same rules as the weekly threads - show only, no book discussion whatsoever.
There’s this thread for off-season discussion with open spoilers for everything.
For any sort of extra-show information - traditional spoilers really - like “this magazine revealed this major plot point from a leaked script” or “this guy got cast in the lead in another series, so he’s probably going to die this season”, please take it to the other thread where it fits better.
So we left off with… Jon Snow is deadish. Cersei is back in the red keep with a bit of a bone to pick with the faith militant/sparrows. And soon, Dorne. Dani was captured by the Dothraki. Jorah has the grey aids and is embarking on a buddy cop comedy with Daario 2. Stannis is almost certainly dead (it would be a real cheat and disappointing if he weren’t). Arya is blind. Theon and Sansa are trying to escape. Bran is with Tree Yoda.
I’ve been trying to rewatch the series before the show restarts, and I’m looking forward to season 5 the least. I think most of us would agree it’s the weakest season. But I’m optimistic that they’ll get back on track.
Between post HBO Go commentary I watched, and BluRay commentary my wife watched, Stannis is definitely, without a doubt, confirmed dead. On the BluRay, the commentators apparently addressed the fan theory that Stannis was spared, and expressed incredulity that so many fans actually thought it was true.
The previews on HBO seem to promise lots of dragon action and a one- or two-second clip of one of those previews suggested the dragons are really big now.
Really? cause most of us still think the guy who got stabbed about 30 times on camera is probably going to get better. The fact that people might think cutting away from the actual killing blow might mean someone was spared makes perfectly logical sense.
Yeah, I agree the showrunners have no one to blame but themselves if people weren’t necessarily sure that Stannis was dead. And of course, plenty of people seem to think that Sansa and Theon deliberately jumped to their death to escape the hell that their lives had become.
Let’s see, other characters the OP didn’t update us on:
-Brienne and Pod: in the vicinity of Winterfell, she just killed Stannis
-Littlefinger: still scheming, current whereabouts unknown
-Tyrion: ruling Mereen with Gray Wurm and Missandei in Dany’s name. Was being helped by Varys, although he may have left Mereen
-Sam and Gilly and baby: On their way to Oldtown where he will study to be a Maester
-Margaery and Loras: both still prisoners of the Faith Militant
-Tommen: Really really really misses his wife. Really.
-Ser Pounce: probably will not be seen
-Davos and Melisandre: At the Wall, she just returned with news of Selyse and Shireen’s death. Their relationship will be interesting
-Tormund Giantsbane, that awesome giant, and lots of wildlings: presumably settling in the region south of the wall, I think?
-Joffrey: Still dead, the little shit
-Gendry: Last seen rowing away from Dragonstone many seasons ago
-Rickon: Oh come on, no one remembers Rickon. Last seen with Asha and Shaggydog going to somewhere that was thought to be safe. Maybe the Umber castle?
-Greyjoys: So far, Balon Greyjoy has survive the leech curse that (maybe?) took down Robb Stark and Joffrey. His daughter, Yara, is sometimes a character for a few episodes at a time
-Queen of Thorns: Still awesome. Most recently seen in King’s Landing attempting to intercede on behalf of her grandchildren
-Jaqen H’Gar: A man’s name is hard to spell
-That new really big silent member of the Kingsguard: Nothing fishy about him. No sir. No chance at all that he’s Qyburn’s zombieMountain
-Bronn: The only person, real or fictional, who likes the Sand Snakes
-GrandMaester Pycelle: Holy shit, there are a lot of characters in this series
-Walder Frey: I mean, a lot
-The Blackfish: Seriously
-Nymeria: Way
-Lancel Lanniester: The
-Kevan Lanniester: Fuck
-Meera Reed: Too
-Doran Martel: Many
-Hot Pie: Fucking
-The brotherhood without banners: Characters
-Hodor: Hodor
One hand I want the case against Loras & Margaery to collapse and the High Septon to be forced to acquit them through gritted teeth (since Littlefinger either killed their star witness or handed over to the Queen of Thrones), on the other hand I’d kill to see Loras do the Walk of Shame.
The same is true for Princess Myrcella; dead, but the producers were surprised that wasn’t clear.
Re-watching the series, I can safely say that anything relating to Sam and Gilly is not only the worst thing ever put on television, but one of the great crimes against humanity.
I thought we were suffering through their stupid story during the first couple of seasons because we were going to be shocked that such incredibly boring characters would someday shock us with some dramatic transformation and intricate plotting or something.
No, they’re just there to be the dullest fucking simpletons in a world full of fascinating characters.
Every scene either of them is in is a complete waste and can be safely skipped. I’m just angry that something like 2 hours of screen time has been wasted on their nonsense that could’ve gone to something interesting.
You know, Sam did get Jon elected as Lord Commander. Even though he had a short tenure, it clearly did a lot to move the story along. Sam himself is being set up to discover and communicate critical information about the White Walkers, also. Though I don’t have the same problem with Sam and Gilly as you do.
I felt that the Sand Snakes were a much greater waste of screen time than Sam and Gilly. I hated them with a fiery passion. Even though their murder of Myrcella is definitely going to kick that story arc along.
Let’s not forget, Tyrion and Varys are in charge of Mereen now. I can’t wait to see how the two characters who are the most politically adept and least self-serving make a go at ruling. Oh, and they’re the best at witty one-liners, too.
Why is Jon only “possibly dead” while Stannis is “definitely dead”?
One leftover question from last season I have: During the 1st episode of last season , Varys reveals to Tyrion that he and others have essentially been “scouting” Dany to be queen since the Baratheons/Lannisters were such disasters as leaders. Doesn’t this mean that Mormont was not really spying on Dany at the beginning of the show? If so, why didn’t he tell this to Dany after she learned about the pardon scroll?
