Game of Thrones 2014 - no book spoilers, please!

[Blue in the Face]

He was a good character, and Pedro Pascal did a great job with him - it's a shame his time was so short.

[johnb]

A whole episode on a battle. Big battle, but unusual.

Another likable (and gorgeous) character gets whacked, though once she had the bead on Jon Snow (and even when she vowed that she'd be the killer), I figured she was a goner. Of course, I was also aware that I'm often wrong in GoT and might've overestimated Jon's lifespan. Nice to see the overall Wall leader shift from being a pompous jerk to being heroic on the battlefield--there should be a reason he got to the position as leader. And also nice to see the contrasting leader, who hid in the larder.

Which made me look up "larder," bringing me to such great words as pantler, spencers, and thrawl (as in, "he tossed the side of beef on his thrawl," an activity that seems somewhat remote to me. Darned refrigerators, just wrecked the language.

[PSurprise]

Ha! Who'd have thunk it? I thought I saw a familiar face! Fingleton in GoT. I think he would've gotten called for an offensive foul.

https://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/-...174045416.html

[A-Tex Devil]

Ha! Who'd have thunk it? I thought I saw a familiar face! Fingleton in GoT. I think he would've gotten called for an offensive foul.

https://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/-...174045416.html

That's wild. Good for him.

Looking forward to a very special Fathers' Day episode tonight.

[Wander]

Looking forward to a very special Fathers' Day episode tonight.

In the book, apparently, the charred bones were those of the goat herd's son, which would add to the intensity.

You guys are seriously the worst.

[AncientPsychicT]

Mmm, I disagree.

As someone who has read the books, I can say the situation seen on the show actually happens first (and quite often; Dany has a system in place for goatherds to get compensation for devoured goats because it happens so frequently). I feel like some book readers only remember the alternative scenario you describe, and they started telling all their show watcher friends (and people online) about what "really happens" in the book cause they got pissy and didn't see what they were expecting to see. It's a shame because I feel like a potentially shocking scene, which I expect to see in the finale, has been ruined for many viewers because book readers forgot that the more mundane incident actually happened first in the books as well.

Well it turns out my preemptive warning was correct. I hope that there were at least some show-watchers who managed to remain unspoiled. Sigh...

[AncientPsychicT]

Oh, and happy Father's Day, Tywin!

[PSurprise]

Well, not as dramatic in some respects outside of Tywin's demise. I was surprised the Hound and Brienne couldn't work something out. Any thoughts on the Hound's prognosis? I guess he's as good as dead, but who knows? And thankfully that little twerp with Bran got it ( he was getting on my nerves). Looking forward to next season. Anyone know when it's supposed to start again?

[davekay1971]

Anyone else a little disappointed that Arya didn't mercy-kill The Hound? Despite her still having his name on her list, and despite her still not forgiving him for murdering her friend, I had expected their nuanced relationship to give her the motivation to allow some mercy to his death. It seemed too cold for her to leave him there to suffer. My wife liked the way she handled it. I thought it was a negative development in her character.

[PSurprise]

Anyone else a little disappointed that Arya didn't mercy-kill The Hound? Despite her still having his name on her list, and despite her still not forgiving him for murdering her friend, I had expected their nuanced relationship to give her the motivation to allow some mercy to his death. It seemed too cold for her to leave him there to suffer. My wife liked the way she handled it. I thought it was a negative development in her character.

Watching it, I expected it as well. But I think there is going to be a shift in some of the like able characters turning "darker" in the upcoming seasons. We saw this somewhat with Sansa this season, as she finally realizes (at least somehat) in some of her own abilities to manipulate situations/people. But we'll see...

[Wander]

Anyone else a little disappointed that Arya didn't mercy-kill The Hound? Despite her still having his name on her list, and despite her still not forgiving him for murdering her friend, I had expected their nuanced relationship to give her the motivation to allow some mercy to his death. It seemed too cold for her to leave him there to suffer. My wife liked the way she handled it. I thought it was a negative development in her character.

Is this definitely the interpretation? I couldn't tell if Arya was thinking this, or just had gotten to the point where she didn't want to kill someone who she had grown to sorta, kinda respect.

I think a lot of people overplay the moral grayness of the show, in that I think most of the major characters do fit pretty nicely into "good guy" or "bad guy" category (which I'm fine with), but I think it's cool that I can't tell if Arya (and Daenyres) will end up as a hero or villain or somewhere in between by the end.

[tbyers11]

Is this definitely the interpretation? I couldn't tell if Arya was thinking this, or just had gotten to the point where she didn't want to kill someone who she had grown to sorta, kinda respect.

I think a lot of people overplay the moral grayness of the show, in that I think most of the major characters do fit pretty nicely into "good guy" or "bad guy" category (which I'm fine with), but I think it's cool that I can't tell if Arya (and Daenyres) will end up as a hero or villain or somewhere in between by the end.

Yeah, that's definitely the interpretation. In the book, she actually tells the Hound that he doesn't deserve mercy before walking away.

I understand and agree with your take on how Arya is one of the few characters that isn't broadly good or evil but I wonder why you feel that way about Daenerys. To me, her desire to be so good and just while trying to reclaim the Iron Throne often gets in the way of achieving this goal (example: staying in Meereen after freeing the slaves to try govern the city).

[Wander]

Yeah, that's definitely the interpretation. In the book, she actually tells the Hound that he doesn't deserve mercy before walking away.

I understand and agree with your take on how Arya is one of the few characters that isn't broadly good or evil but I wonder why you feel that way about Daenerys. To me, her desire to be so good and just while trying to reclaim the Iron Throne often gets in the way of achieving this goal (example: staying in Meereen after freeing the slaves to try govern the city).

Well, D hasn't always shown the same touch of mercy that the (non-Arya) Stark characters have, nailing the slave masters to the mile posts and locking those two people in the vault. That said, I agree she generally is someone who means well but just gets in over her head - for now. My statement is more about uncertainty of her future - she just kicked out the adviser who most encouraged her goodness, and I'm guessing those dragons aren't in the show to be guardians of peace, so I could see an element of ruthlessness becoming more pronounced in her with time. Or maybe not - I think she's the character that is least like fictional character stereotypes, so it's hard for me to tell exactly where she'll end up.

[johnb]

... I think most of the major characters do fit pretty nicely into "good guy" or "bad guy" category...

I'd agree, though would add that quite a few of the characters fluctuate between being Good and Bad, but the good/bad thing is usually separated by at least one episode. Offhand, I'd say that only a few are good and bad at about the same time.

[bjornolf]

What a great "Very Special Father's Day" episode! Wow. You think they planned it that way? They did take that week off around Memorial Day.