None of this is really revealed until book 5. Roose tells Catelyn that Theon has been at least partially skinned. She presents him with some of it before the Red Wedding and she clutches it to her like a prize.
I don’t remember if Ramsay poses as a friend in ADWD, but he does let captive escape so he can hunt them down. He names his dogs after victims that give a particularly good hunt.
How great would it be if they showed Xaro’ s sex-dancing show?
Well he is kinda dead already.
Nitpick - she doesn’t. She says that part of her wanted to, but what she actually does is say “Put it away. Please.”
Boy, I hated that addition. One of the great themes of the books is the almost insensate, overwhelming urge of mothers to protect their own, often to the detriment of everyone else.
Gahhhh! My husband is right this second reading the chapter with Edmure Tully’s wedding and I’m hiding in the other room so I won’t give anything away and he just gasped loudly! I’m dying!
Eh, they’ve made enough changes. Someone else could bring the dancers to Mereen.
What was his reaction?
Meh. Nearly everyone she interacted with post Khal Drogo, got written off as some infernal foreigner just holding her storyline up in my mind, and they all sort of melded together for me.
I won’t miss Xaro Xhoan Ducksauce any more than whomever it was that held her up in Mereen.
Emilia Clarke (Dany) without makeup: Emilia Clarke No Makeup: 'Game Of Thrones' Star Posts Barefaced Photo To Facebook, Looks Beautiful | HuffPost Entertainment
Hahaha! He felt betrayed by the author! 
I warned him not to get attached to anyone, but he didn’t listen. He was sad for Jon about Ygritte, and sadder about Catelyn than Robb, and so angry at Walder Frey. He’s barely even turned on ESPN the past few days, just so consumed by the book. It’s so nice when you can share imaginary friends 
I have a hard time not spoiling him for later plot developments. “Oh, really, Arya is dead? Littlefinger ‘rescued’ Sansa and is kind to her?” I can’t even say that here without air quotes! He has so many gnarly plot twists to go!
I was thinking about this, and it’s not quite as bad as it seems. Regarding Theon, for example, it’s true that in the books, we don’t see him much during Storm and not at all during Feast. But in reality, he’s being tortured and subjugated the whole time, and that’s what we’re seeing now in real time instead of in flashback. Martin often leaves characters off-page for long amounts of time, but it’s harder to do that with the show, or you run the risk of losing the actors.
Looks like the show is somewhat softening the worst perversions of Ramsey and the Bastard’s Boys, Vargo Hoat and the Bloody Mummers/Brave Companions, the Mountain’s Men, and the like.
In fact, it’s not even the Mummers who capture Brienne and Jaime. It’s a new character—played by one of my favorite actors, Noah Taylor. But I wonder if the show has backed off on some of the most graphic depictions of the books. For example, I don’t think the show ever gives us the story of the Bastard’s Boys and the alehouse.
An interesting fan video about a theory-no idea if they’ll do it this way, but if so…
Please correct my recollection of history —
Nymeria’s band of Rhoynar crossed the Narrow Sea to flee the onslaught of the Andals, who wiped out the Rhoynars in their homeland.
Then the Andals invaded Westeros — were they fleeing the onslaught of the Valyrians?
So far as I remember, there are some living traces of the Rhoynar culture in the area around the Rhoyne River, but that’s not true for the Andals in Essos. The culture of the Free Cities seems to be based on Valyria.
But my entire recollection might be wrong.
Yeah you’re a little mixed up with your fictional history. The Rhoynar came to Dorne after the Andals had already invaded Westeros. The Rhoynar were fleeing the Valyrians. I don’t think the Andals were fleeing anybody when they invaded Westeros. There is an area of Essos called Andalos where the Andals originated. I don’t think the books give any information about whether any Andal culture remains there or not.
Okay, thanks.
Now, the Targaryens were Valyrian, but they adopted Andal culture—or at least their religion—at some point?
They adopted it from the start. Aegon the Conqueror took it as the state religion to pacify the militant branch of The Faith.
Some of those are big stretches. Some of it is fairly convincing and a hell of a lot more subtle than I would have expected.
I’m ok with it, if that’s what it turns out to be. Her family, at a minimum, was conspiring against Robb in the books and I think there’ll be a hell of a reaction at the reveal. Now, I think Talisa is confirmed to be at the Red Wedding. If she’s a spy, I wonder how that’ll be handled. Maybe she’ll go open the door for Roose Bolton.
If she is, they might just kill her too. One less loose end.