Someone called “The National” apparently.
The single boat was what was filled with the wildfire, and it had been spilling a trail of it out on the water behind it to act as a fuse.
Actually, that was bit :dubious:-inducing to me. Mandon just happened to be the one guard that Joff just happened to leave behind with Tyrion when he fled back to the castle at his mother’s request. If Joff wasn’t in on it (which I don’t think he was), that was just a bit too coincidental.
I thought this ep was the one where the death of Ned paid off (dramatically) in spades. I did not have a sense that any one side would win or lose, or that anyone in particular was sure to live (or die). It made the episode something you rarely see in fantasy movies: suspenseful. Whole different animal than most fantasy epics. Another reason I’m not reading the books anytime soon.
deleting duplicate post
I thought the bit when Lancel went to bring Joffrey inside was hilarious. Joffrey was searching for an excuse to escape the battle, “Is there something that my mother needs to discuss with me?” Lancel didn’t even offer a polite fiction that Joffrey was needed inside.
As far as Mandon goes, I thought that he got sent out on a suicide mission, decided he’d rather be on the winning side, and started fighting for Stannis. Then he just happened to come upon Tyrion. I think Cersei’s revenge is/will be a lot more complicated and interpersonal, not sending a lug to hit him with a sword. She’s specifically said and demonstrated that she wants to hurt him through someone he cares about, not directly.
As for Tyrion’s wound, he got slashed from the left side of his forehead, across the bridge of his nose, and pretty deeply into his right cheek. Presumably a hit like that would stun you with the impact, and suddenly having a wound that serious would also cause shock. So that’s why he’s vacantly staring - I don’t think his life is particularly in danger. He will, however, be known far and wide as a colossal badass, what with saving the city till reinforcements came, making the most spectacular use of wildfire to date, and having a bitchin scar.
Count me in as thinking Sansa is going with the Hound. She started to say she would be safe in her room, but he squelched that line of thought pretty effectively. I fully expected her to drop that doll that was focused on, symbolizing her leaving childish “I’ll just do what everyone says and stay safe in my room” mode. But the shot ended with her still holding it, so I guess that indicates she’s on the fence, but I think she’ll wind up going.
That seems way too far-fetched that Mandon just spontaneously decided to switch sides, and it’s not like attacking Tyrion would achieve anything even if that were true. It’s also been made apparent that he and Cersei were plotting something. Remember, she was very concerned that Tyrion was going to off Joffrey, so it’s entirely fitting that she decided to just off Tyrion first, before he had a chance to plot against her, or her son.
Couldn’t have been range, since they just finished several volleys that went further out into the harbor. The whole flaming arrows thing seemed like a complete waste once the other side had landed on the beach. The flames added little, if anything, to the damage they inflicted.
I’m a bit confused as to how Tywin was able to make it to King’s Landing in the nick of time without any communication with Tyrion or someone else. Was there some coordination between them that I missed?
Also wondering why Stannis didn’t get some help from Witchy Woman. Was she not with the fleet? It is Stannis who is cavorting with her, right? Or am I mixing him up with someone else?
Just luck. They left the day before, probably hoping to get there before the battle.
Onion man convinced him not to bring her along, because then it would be her victory instead of Stannis’.
Ah, well somehow I missed that completely, which would explain why we have such different interpretations!
I admit, I often have trouble keeping up with all the minor characters. It even took me a couple minutes to figure out that that was Loras Tyrell in the throne room. Anyone other than the major players, and they kind of blend into the background and I have trouble identifying them in later scenes.
In other news, let’s discuss Cersei’s outfit. Did you hate her breastplate, or *really *hate it? She must have picked that out after a particularly large glass of wine.
What did Cersei do to Lancel? Poke him in his arrow wound? That’s a lot of writhing around and moaning he did; at first I thought Cersei stabbed him with a poisoned dagger or something. Although he is pretty, uh, delicate.
On rewatch there are so many wonderful moments in this episode. Joffrey looking completely lost, just a kid who has never been taught how to be a leader (unlike say Ned Starks children). Bronn showing the Hound how unafraid he is of him by saving his life. Prodrick freaking Payne taking out Ser Mandon Moore! That’s like star wars kid taking out Darth Maul. Sansa doing Cersei’s job and keeping the noble ladies calm. Stannis and his “this is how a freaking king leads in battle” suicidal charge to the walls and up the ladders. Cersei getting progressively drunker as the battle rages on. Pretty much every single actor in this episode stood out in one way or another, they made Jon and Dany look bad.
Yeah, punched him right in the wound. And he might be delicate but he showed some balls finally.
Was I the only one who got really excited when they realized that the whole episode would be at King’s Landing?
I knew a big battle was coming, but I didn’t realize that it would be the whole freaking episode.
I just remembered on the very first episode of the season Melisandre told Davos’ son “death by fire is the purest of deaths”.
I, for one, did not miss another whining scene with The Mother of Dragons.
Terror.
But mainly, it’s a TV show and flaming arrows look way cool.
Being able to shoot at X distance doesn’t mean you’re able to reliably hit something at that distance though. Shooting at boats and shooting at men is not the same (yes, yes, I know, archers didn’t really aim as much as try to land arrows at a given range)
Hah ! We talked about that while it was happening:
- Why are they using flaming arrows ? There’s nothing to burn, is there ?
- … Looks the shit, don’t it ?
- Good point.
IIRC Davos (the smuggler) was telling him at one point in the previous ep. that he shouldn’t attack with her in tow, unless he wanted the people to believe/say it was her victory rather than his.
What I do wonder is why Stannis chose to attack by night at all, besides the fact that the night is dark and full of terrors. He had the overwhelming numbers advantage, which calls for relying on that rather than the confusion of blind combat to get anything done. Imagine if he’d attacked at the crack of noon instead. They would have:
- seen the lone fireship coming from miles away and, if not immediately figured it was full of fizzbang, at least known that something wasn’t kosher with that picture,
- Stannis charging in like a possessed man would have actually been *seen *by the troops he was trying to inspire
- wouldn’t have been surprised as much by Tyrion’s flanking manoeuver,
- perhaps most importantly, known Tywin’s force was incoming *hours *before it was anywhere near a charge.
The risks we take, for the privilege of looking cool 
Something that was pointed out to me: watch Joffrey closely when the Hound goes “fuck ALL OF Y’ALL”. The others look shocked by this development, but he looks genuinely pained and about to cry, like he’s losing his one best friend or something. It’s not a “WHOOOAAAAT ?! You DARE, sir ?!” look, but rather a completely flabbergasted “But… but I thought we were bros, you and me ? What am I supposed to* do *without my personal murder machine ? :(:(:(”
I think the decision to attack at night was made by the shows producers worrying about their budgets.
I was too late to post in last week’s thread, so I’ll do it here (since the scene I’m going to discuss was in the “Previously On…”).
Jack Gleeson deserves a lot of credit for his portrayal of Joffrey. I didn’t think anyone could possibly be as repellant and hateful as the Joffrey of the books without lapsing into parody, but damned if this kid isn’t exactly as repulsive as the story calls for. There have been any number of scenes in which I could actually feel myself balling my fist to knock that shit-eating smirk off his face. He really is repugnant.
But I think he outdid himself in that little scene with Tyrion from last week’s episode where he describes how he’ll kill Stannis personally, if Stannis is fool enough to meet him in single combat. It wasn’t just the tone of voice and the facial expressions, it was even his stance that just screamed, “I’m a complete coward and a bully, but I have to act tough because I’m king.” I thought my hatred of the character couldn’t get any stronger, but as much as I detest cruelty in other humans, if you couple it with undeserved arrogance and a sense of entitlement, well, you just became even more loathsome in my book. Gods, what a little shit.
He really deserves an Emmy nomination, especially since everything I’ve ever read says he’s a genuinely sweet kid in real life.