I think the motivation for Dany is going to be having one of her dragons stolen, and she’ll have to choose between finishing things in Meereen and going after her baby. No one said she has to succeed in Meereen after all, and I think she would choose the dragon over the city.
Her motivation for not heading to westeros when she had the chance was not having enough ships to carry all her people. Someone is currently on the way to mereen with enough ships to carry them.
I’m going to have to go back and read this section again. Love this speculation.
Does anyone have any idea just how violent and/or gruesome Joff’s death will likely be?
Personally, I would love to see him get what he deserves in a very violent way. I have a feeling that if it was very violent, it would be a scene that I would love to watch over and over again.
Hes poisoned. Not violent at all.
The Meereenese Knot (referring, of course, to a contortion by Meereen prostitutes) was the problem GRRM ran into when writing Books 4 and 5 with the complexity of the plot and all these stories coming together in Meereen.
Basically the Meereenese Knot has been taken care of - its the reason it took GRRM to write the last two books because he had to make sure everyone who had to go to Meereen hit it at the right time (also why Tyrion’s and Dany’s chapters are so excruciating at times).
I think he knows how Tyrion and Victarion will interact in relation to Dany returning to Westeros.
Perhaps I used the wrong word.
Some poisons cause an extremely painful reaction with a great deal of thrashing and apparent writhing whereas others kill and to the eye of the observer, they do not seem to cause a lot of pain and suffering.
I found an interesting site called, “10 Poisons And Their Horrifying Effects”.
The most cruel poison seems to be Strychnine and here’s why:
Death caused by strychnine is agonizing; a neurotoxin, it attacks the nerves of the spine, causing the body to contort and spasm as the muscles are contracted against their will.
It should prove interesting to see just what poison the killer selects to kill Joff and also the effects of the poison should also be interesting.
Here are 8 poisons and their effects (found on the site)
Batrachotoxin
Lucky for most of us, the chances for coming in contact with batrachotoxin are exceedingly slim. One of the most powerful neurotoxins in the world, it is found on the skin of the tiny poison dart frogs. The frogs themselves don’t produce the poison—it comes from the food they eat, most probably a type of tiny beetle. There are several different versions depending on the species, with by far the most dangerous found on the Golden poison frog of Colombia. This little guy is small enough to sit on your fingertip, but one frog has enough batrachotoxin on him to kill around two dozen people or a couple elephants. The toxin works by attacking the nerves, opening their sodium channels and causing paralysis, essentially shutting off the entire body’s ability to communicate with itself. There is no known antidote and death comes very quickly.
Vx Nerve Gas
Outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 (world stockpiles are slowly dwindling), VX is believed to be the most powerful nerve gas in the world. Found quite by accident in 1952 by a chemist testing organophosphates, its danger was soon discovered. Initially marketed as a pesticide called Amiton, it was removed from sale because it was too dangerous for the public. It soon attracted the attention of the world’s governments, and, as this was a time of Cold War political unrest, was stockpiled for potential use in war. Luckily, no one flinched, and VX was never used in battle. A cultist from the Japanese group Aum Shinriyko did manage to make some, and he used it to kill a man, the only known human death attributed to VX. The agent works by inhibiting the production of an enzyme in the nerves, resulting in constant activity, a ‘storm’ in the nervous system that quickly overwhelms the body.
Agent Orange
Manufactured both by Dow Chemical and Monsanto (which makes everyone’s short list of the most evil corporations in the world), nearly everyone has heard of the defoliant Agent Orange. Used during the Vietnam War, both to kill the trees which provided cover for enemy soldiers, and to destroy crops in rural areas. Unfortunately, besides killing plants, the herbicide contained a chemical dioxin called TCDD, a known carcinogen which causes a vast increase in cancers for those exposed to it, particularly lymphomas. In addition, tens of thousands of Vietnamese children were either stillborn or riddled with birth defects, not limited to cleft palates, extra fingers and toes, and mental retardation. Vietnam remains terribly contaminated to this day.
Ricin
Derived from the castor bean, ricin is amongst the deadliest of poisons. A dose as small as a few grains of salt is enough to kill a grown man. It works by preventing the body from manufacturing the proteins it needs to survive and causing the victim to go into shock. Because of the ease of producing it, ricin has been weaponized by many of the world’s governments and was used at least once in an assassination, when Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov was shot by a ricin pellet on the streets of London in 1978. It is believed that the Bulgarian secret police and/or the KGB were responsible.
Arsenic
The metalloid arsenic has been used for centuries for everything from forging weapons to makeup during Victorian times (when ladies valued a sickly pallor). In the dark ages, it became the poison du jour of assassins everywhere due to its action—arsenic poisoning closely resembles cholera, a common affliction at the time. It works by attacking the enzyme ATP in human cells, shutting down the transfer of energy. Arsenic is a nasty substance, and in strong concentrations it causes all manner of blood-streaked gastrointestinal distress, convulsions, coma, and death. In smaller, chronically consumed amounts (such as that found in contaminated groundwater), it is known to inspire a host of diseases not limited to cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Lead
Lead is one of the first metals mankind ever used, first smelted over 8,000 years ago. And yet it has only been in the last few decades that we have truly had any idea how dangerous it is—lead attacks every organ in the human body, and thus poisoning is manifested by a vast number of symptoms, everything ranging from diarrhea to mental retardation. Children are particularly susceptible—fetal exposure causes permanent neurological disorders. Strangely enough, many criminologists believe that the widespread drop in violent crime is at least partially due to increased lead regulation. Children born in the 1980s and afterward have had markedly less exposure to lead, and may be less prone to violence as a result.
Brodifacoum
Since just after World War II, the poison warfarin has been used as a rodenticide (and also, curiously, as a blood thinner for humans with clotting disorders). But rats are born survivors, and over time, many have built up a resistance to warfarin. Enter brodifacoum. A highly lethal anticoagulant, broadifacoum works by reducing the amount of Vitamin K in the blood. Since Vitamin K is needed in the clotting process, eventually the body becomes subject to massive internal hemorrhaging, blood leaking from the smallest vessels. Brodifacoum, which is sold under brand names such as Havoc, Talon, and Jaguar, must be handled carefully as it can easily permeate the skin, and remains in the system for months at a time.
Strychnine
Mostly derived from the seeds of the Strychnos nux-vomica tree of India and Southeast Asia, strychnine is an alkaloid substance used as a pesticide, especially on rodents. Death caused by strychnine is agonizing; a neurotoxin, it attacks the nerves of the spine, causing the body to contort and spasm as the muscles are contracted against their will. Oskar Dirlewanger, a Nazi SS commander during World War II, would inject his prisoners with the chemical and watch them convulse for his own wicked amusement. Strychnine is one of the few substances on this list that is cheap and easily commercially available, probably sold in your local hardware store as “Gopher Killer”.
In the books Joffrey is poisoned with the Strangler - the same substance Maester Cressan tried to kill Melisandre at the start of Book 2. It’s a particularly nasty way to die.
I don’t expect there will be a Victarion. I suspect that Asha will take over his part as candidate and fleet commander.
That would be such a huge mistake. Victarion is a GREAT character.
I know! I literally laughed out loud when, in book 5, him and his red priest Moquorro found a ship full of sex slaves and Victarion found the boys too effeminate, so he threw them in the ocean. Does that make me a bad person?
Plus, if we don’t get Victarion, then we don’t get Euron, and Euron is hilariously evil. First of all, he has an eyepatch, which is more than enough for me. But there’s more! He delivered a monologue to his brother completely naked save a cape. He banged his brother’s wife. He forced a woman to marry a seal. He constantly drinks, what I can only assume, is some form of ayahausca or hallucinogen or something. He found a dragon egg, told a Maester to make it hatch and when it didn’t, he cut out the Maester’s tongue and threw the egg into the ocean. Dude is straight baller.
It was pretty violent in the book. His face and neck was described as going purple, and he was clutching and clawing at his throat as if trying to remove invisible hands that were strangling him.
And besides Asha has to be captured by Stannis on his march to Winterfell, so she can identify Theon post-Reek.
Don’t you mean “Yara”? :rolleyes:
Anyway… I think the show would be much poorer without Victarion and Euron Greyjoy. The chapters dealing with those two really are the ones who get across just how different the Ironborn are than the other Westerosi. Right now we’ve seen Balon hanging out in the Seastone Chair, and Theon being essentially NOT Ironborn, having spent his formative years in Winterfell.
Plus, Victarion is just crazy with the full armor on the ship, and Euron is as chinchalinchin says, a straight baller.
What I had in mind is that we get Euron, but he sends Asha instead of Victarion as admiral. She’s already been well established as a fleet commander, and doesn’t have much else of signicance to do otherwise.
Yeah, but she’s at Deepwood Motte and captured by Stannis that whole time. Unless her adventure in the North isn’t important, and Victarion as a character isn’t important, I don’t know how they’d do that.
Still significantly less violent than the Red Wedding. I’m looking forward to quick camera cut to Oleanna and the look of smug satisfaction on her face as this goes down.
I’m in the minority who actually liked the Iron Islands and Dorne storylines (except Quentyn cause he was a waste of pages). So count me in for them to be included. And I found Brienne’s quest to find Sansa in AFFC one of the best parts of the entire book series.
I think the tighter story telling that the series requires will mean that the main criticism of AFFC and ADWD (too much pointless padding) will be likely to be addressed pretty well.
I’m not worried about padding. I’ve been rewatching, and even the scenes that might be considered padding are interesting to watch. It all adds to the flavor, especially with production values as good as these are.
Viewers who watch solely for “action” might be disappointed though.
It is speculated that rather than throwing the egg away he gave it as a payment to the Faceless Men. Having a king assassinated is expensive.
Also, the shit he drinks is essence of the nightshade, the same thing the warlocks of Qarth drink. Their lips are blue, his lips are blue, and he did get capture a group of warlocks who were on their way to kill a dragon queen.
Also also, Daenerys has at least one dream where her husband has blue lips.