A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones Spoiler-Filled Discussion

That battle was unreal.

 

I'm kind of disappointed by this latest depiction of The Others, I must say. Where is the infamous alien grace? We had one who was little more than a barbarian lumbering around, and then a posturing wizard, both in drab uninspiring armor. They were already unlike I had ever pictured in the books, but now they're walking back the few things they had going for them to begin with.

 

^^^ All good points, but on the flip-side, there was nothing "Power Rangers" about this fight scene and would probably explain why the rest of the season has been somewhat lackluster. They clearly put all their budget eggs in this basket and I think it really paid off. Stylistic impressions of the Ice King and his generals aside (I agree that they do appear kind of ordinary-looking), everything about that scene seemed meticulously choreographed, blocked and executed. The bits with Wun Wun flinging Walkers about like dolls and smashing them with flaming trees was positively stunning, and the "element of jeopardy" that has been missing in so many episodes this season, was not only in the forefront, but broke its foot off in our collective asses. In many ways (at least, IMO), the Battle of Hardhome has made up considerably for an otherwise dull season - with material that was never in the books. This was vintage GoT!

 

Like I said in the other thread, I definitely prefer the image of the Others painted in the book, but I actually really like the design of the Night King, even if he's not what I'd imagine. In terms of grace, I thought the Other that fought Jon had a lot more of that, especially when he near floated down to the ground.

 

We've seen really great warriors fight with far more effortless power before though. The new Magnar or whoever that Thenn character was didn't exactly give him much of a fight trying to swing that giant axe indoors. I didn't notice much of a "float" when he jumped down. It was just kind of matter of fact. I dunno, it just didn't do much for me. At least with the Night King character they've maintained that sort of "living ice" look, even if I think the armor looks dumb and ill-suited on all of them.

 

I thought the armor looked great. It would be hard to precisely duplicate how they are described in the books, but they look inhuman, frightening, ancient, and elemental - exactly how they should, in my opinion.

 

There's several ways of looking at it.


Fire magic could be a balancing force pushing against the ice magic that has been in the ascendance for thousands of years - it is restoring equilibrium.

The long winters could be tied in to the wall and magic supressing the walkers, which is slowly wearing down, allowing the walkers to roam and other magic to rise.

So much magical energy may have gone into the wall there might have been little left for ANY magic.

 

Very possible. The cause-and-effect may be reversed. The dragons may be just another part of this "balancing force" instead of its cause. Maybe this "R'hllor" is simply a god's name given by humans to a more metaphysical thing that nobody can fully comprehend. Everyone has knowledge of the different pieces of the puzzle but nobody has been able to put together a complete picture. Very possible indeed.

 

Just a heads up for tonight's episode:

Expect the worst thing ever. There are legit leaks on Reddit confirming some seriously fucked up shit concerning Stannis.

 

I saw that. A TERRIBLE storytelling decision if it turns out to be true.

 

link please?

 

I don't want to know what it is ahead of time, but it's worth noting at this point we don't know whose decision a lot of stuff will be, GRRM's or showrunners... unless GRRM says something we'll have to wait for WoW.

 

Basically this entire subreddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk

 

Jesus Christ. That sounds awful.

 

...without reading it, what would be the expected level of confidence with this kind of source?

 

I haven't read the link but I can pretty much guess where this is going and if I'm right, such a storyline will alienate a lot of people.

 

I haven't read the link. Over the last couple weeks I've started to get the feeling...

Spoiler: Stannis theory

Stannis is getting burned alive via Melisandre or Ramsay. If so, he really does have it coming to him

 

The episode got leaked early on HBO demand or something, and there are clips.

And I'm also done with the show. Not even gonna stick around to the end of this season, which was when I was debating jumping ship. I'm completely doneso.

 

I haven't read the links, but I have the bad feeling that

Spoiler: On the contrary,

Stannis is going to burn his beloved daughter.

 

I have not read the link either, however my current take...

Spoiler: if it has to happen I hope it happens this way

Stannis' wife, so subservient to Rh'ollor and Melisandre, that she gives her daughter to the fire. They have constantly played up since her introduction that Selyse has no real love for her daughter and is willing to sacrifice anything for her god. Stannis meanwhile. though hard and without compassion, has shown he has a line and love somewhere in his heart. So, though I am not fond of the idea of Shireen dying at all, given she is a ray of warm in an ever darkening world, if she dies at the hands of her mother, then it will have been foreshadowed. If killed by her father, then, yeah... that just doesn't track with what the show has aired so far IMO

Hugo - the night is full of terrors...