Was the Tickler supposed to just be a sadist in the book? I always though he was calculating and cold, not, seemingly flippant. We didn’t get any of his “is there gold in the village? How many men? How many Archers?” line of questioning.
Are they going to open next week with Renly biting it?
We got some of that, but I didn’t notice it until the second viewing. Someone asked about gold and silver, anyway.
What’s this “brotherhood”? I don’t remember a brotherhood from the books.
The brotherhood without banners. It’s the group that started with the remnants of the group that Ned sent to kill Gregor. The main two figures are Thoros of Myr and Beric Dondarrion (Where is Lord Beric. How many men did he have, etc.). Later Lady Stoneheart joins.
I am saddened to see that the scenes of Arya traveling with the mountains men were all cut. That was some of the best writing Martin did.
I can see why they cut it, though. It would take up a lot of time, much simpler to do what they did, and have their capture happen when Ser Amory attacks them, and then to skip right to Harrenhall and have The Tickler show up there. I do hope we get some more of him, though…especially more “is there gold in the village? How much?!” so when Arya offs him in what will likely be season 4 it will be all the more satisfying.
It was nice we got a brief glimpse of Roose Bolton this episode, and even in that short time we found out his love of flaying. 
Meh, I think we can safely assume that everyone has spies in everyone’s camp, and very visible things like “Lady Stark has shown up and talked to the king in clear view of everyone” get reported around quickly enough… no need for further details.
So what did you think of Talisa the healer? I liked her character and scene and it will be interesting to see how she fits into the story. Is she a replacement for Jeyne Westerling? Or is she Jeyne in disguise? Her character is very different from Jeyne, who was rather bland and forgettable in the book.
I’m assuming she is Jeyne’s replacement. I didn’t think she could be her in disguise; that would be interesting.
I can’t remember - is Robb deliberately set up from the beginning by Jeyne’s family in the book (the Westerlings?) or did the set-up come later after he had fallen in love with her?
I thought it was interesting that Bolton was replaced by Tywin as the guy who takes Arya as his cupbearer. I suppose they want to give Tywin more screen time.
Incidentally she is played by Oona Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie.
It might be her in disguise, or maybe they just changed her name to Talisa (perhaps to avoid confusion if/when they add the Jeyne Poole character, which if they get to book 5 will be necessary.)
I seriously doubt they would change her so much as to actually make her from Volantis, so I assume that was her lying…or perhaps just joking, since Robb would clearly know from the lack of any accent that she is not Volantese.
The set up was after the marriage, IIRC…the Westerlings are bannermen to the Lannisters, so I’m guessing her family bent the knee to Robb when he conquered their land and said they were ok with the marriage, but then did everything they could to get back on the Lannisters good side, fearing they would win the war. I don’t think there was any kind of plan from the Westerlings to deliberately get Robb and Jeyne to marry to piss off the Freys.
As to Arya being a cupbearer, I’m thinking when Roose takes over Harrenhall after the Weasel Soup Incident, he’ll just keep her as his cup bearer as well.
Though since Roose is with Robb right now, I’m not sure how they’ll get him into the dungeons of Harrenhall.
I think that’s going to get skipped over entirely. A lot of Arya’s scenes are being summarized and condensed. In the books, she gets passed around from party to party a lot, and there just isn’t time for it.
Jeyne is only bland and forgettable because we barely see her. Mostly, she is with Robb who has no POV chapters. Much like Maergery, we don’t have a chance to get to know her in the books.
Oona Chaplin was cast as “Jeyne” with no last name. There’s some speculation that she’ll be Jeyne Lannister, but I guess we’ll have to want to see.
The Westerling betrayal isn’t really confirmed as far as timeline. I tend doubt it was from the beginning though since Jeyne (and her brother, the squire) seem to genuinely like/love Robb. Tywin would have had to get word to the Crag before Robb attacked it too. IIRC it was a sneak attack. Sounds unlikely.
Yes this is true. The show does a great job of bringing the minor characters to life. That is the gift that a good actor brings, making his or her character instantly memorable in a single scene. Think of that wonderful scene with Old Nan in the first season. Or the Quarthian merchant in this episode. Even relatively important characters like Varys and Robb are better fleshed out in the show.
Still I don’t think the Jeyne from the books would have nursed soldiers on a battlefield right after a battle or bandied words with Rob the way Talisa did. So if it is Jeyne I think they have definitely altered her character.
I am fine with that. I actually like the changes because it keeps the show fresh and most of the changes have been an improvement over the original. And after book 3, I hope the HBO writers have the freedom to make major plot changes and take the show in a different direction altogether. I don’t think audiences will like episode after epiosode of Dany trying to sort out the intricacies of Mereeneese politics. The show will have to get Dany and the dragons back to Westeros much more quickly than the books.
I’m already worried that all of the Bran’s Magical Adventure shit that’s supposed to start to happening this season will put people off the show.
I mean, seriously, it was 2.5 books of Bran, Meera, Jojen, and Hodor wandering around, barely finding food, and being cold. And the payoff? Bran gets to be some kind of tree-man who can see everywhere and everywhen…whoppide-do-da-shit.
I’m looking forward though, to the look on Jon’s face when the raven suddenly uses his full name! LOL!
Yeah, Bran’s chapters are the worst. I skip them entirely whenever I re-read. I have no doubt Bran’s scenes will be as shortened as Dany’s have been.
The raven isn’t on the show.
Yeah, Martin was trying to pull a Tolkien with those chapters. No thanks. I won’t miss the Reed kids prattling on and on. Osha and Hodor make for more interesting traveling companions in my view.
Wow. I think Bran is the most potentially interesting character! I’m really loving watching for his subtle influence - in the Godswood with Theon, etc. (Would Theon ever have remembered his name/helped Jayne escape without that simple whisper in the wood?)
This is shaping up to be a battle of the wizards, and he/Brynden are the most central and least self-motivated of the powers. I’m guessing that Brynden will have to give his life for the battle, and that’s why it was so desperately important that Bran get to the cave in time to receive his training.
I also think that Jojen and Meera are incredible heros. We all have the tendency to prefer the heroes of battle and action to the soft day-to-day suffering and dedication of their hero type. But the two of them have basically given their lives - or at least the next few years as there’s no way for them to get out of the cave until Winter is over, and it’s shaping up to be a long one.
Bran is jealous of their ability to fully explore the cave. But in real terms he has the whole world at his fingertips, while they have only stone walls to look at for the foreseeable future.
I wonder if we’ll ever learn the true origins of Hodor/Old Nan’s family? Old Nan was clearly much older than the average human. What is their blood line? And what use could Melisandre make of it if she knew?
I’m also curious about Coldhands. Is it just that Brynden has learned how to steal a wight from the Others? Or is there more to it?