Game of Thrones 2016 (No Book Spoilers)

[El_Diablo]

New Season 6 trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKrhgVFTI6I

[El_Diablo]

And another new trailer was released today (with lots of new footage):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI0ib1NErqg

[Wander]

They're trying so, so hard to make us believe Jon Snow is gone forever.

Notable that Ghost is in the room with Jon in a new clip.

[Doria]

They're trying so, so hard to make us believe Jon Snow is gone forever.

Notable that Ghost is in the room with Jon in a new clip.

But does anyone, even non-book readers, actually believe that he is? I've not seen anyone give an effective analysis of why he couldn't be brought back in a variety of ways. (I'm not saying it isn't possible to defend, but I'd really have to work to do it, and even then, it'd be a real uphill battle.)

I think I'm not gonna watch any more trailers, though. It's close to the season start, and they've already given away a ton.

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

Having watched the show and read the books now, if Jon Snow really is dead forever and not coming back, then GRRM is just an awful writer. So much of the back story and the upcoming story point straight to Jon Snow. Why go through all that effort to make this character and then just kill him leaving all this back story unexplored?

Or hes a genius and I just don't get it yet.

[JasonEvans]

Having watched the show and read the books now, if Jon Snow really is dead forever and not coming back, then GRRM is just an awful writer. So much of the back story and the upcoming story point straight to Jon Snow. Why go through all that effort to make this character and then just kill him leaving all this back story unexplored?

Or hes a genius and I just don't get it yet.

Maybe Snow will be revived in the books but not on the TV show. Now that the TV show has largely reached the point where it is venturing into uncharted book territory, the two mediums could go in opposite directions.

That said, I expect that the TV show folks are working with GRRM and getting his input on how he expects the books to go... if he ever bothers to write them. And this article from a couple month back makes a good point about how the two mediums will be very different, even if they are trying to arrive at the same end point.

Sure, Martin supposedly told the HBO producers how his books will end, but the devil is in the details. And even if the two endings have the same one-sentence summary, along the lines of “the dragons and snow zombies kill each other off, and everyone dies except Theon, who becomes King of Westeros,” you could imagine that playing out a lot of different ways. There’s probably a lot of stuff that might land better or worse, depending on how you set up all the dominoes.

-Jason "I don't read the books, but there are supposedly already so many differences in the two that it is almost impossible for them both to follow the same plot" Evans

[Wander]

-Jason "I don't read the books, but there are supposedly already so many differences in the two that it is almost impossible for them both to follow the same plot" Evans

I think the differences between the two are vastly exaggerated. The really big characters - Dany, Jon, Arya, Tyrion, Bran - are all in basically the same place in the show as they are in the books. The same holds for many of the major, but not super-central characters: Cersei, Theon, Sam, Littlefinger, Tommen, Margaery. For some characters, like Stannis, it's difficult to say right now if their stories are hugely different in the books vs TV show. Yes, Sansa, Jamie, and Brienne seem to be legitimately changed, but I'd say those types of big changes apply to a minority of the main characters.

Sure, it doesn't translate directly from the books to the show like, say, Hunger Games, but I think in the grand scheme of things the adaptation is still more faithful than most adaptations are (compare with all the Marvel movies). For now.

[alteran]

Having watched the show and read the books now, if Jon Snow really is dead forever and not coming back, then GRRM is just an awful writer. So much of the back story and the upcoming story point straight to Jon Snow. Why go through all that effort to make this character and then just kill him leaving all this back story unexplored?

Because that's what G. R. R. Martin does. Welcome to Westeros!

In all seriousness, I actually agree with you that it's unlikely that Martin kills him off, for the reasons you describe. Still, G. R. R. Martin is always tempted by the opportunity to stick a rusty spoon into the guts of his audience and twist for all he's worth.

[BandAlum83]

We need a new thread for the new season (coming soon, in about a month). I actually think the TV show breaking from the books will be good as there will be no such thing as spoilers to ruin the surprises.

As for me, my family just finished binge-watching the first 5 seasons. Awesome!
-Jason "I was reading the old threads... Stannis is not alive. Brienne killed him, I'm sure of it." Evans

Did you watch with your kids?
How old are they?

My Kids are out of college, and we talk about it. I've watched some episodes with my son..but not my daughter. Just too awkward

[BandAlum83]

I'd make a large wager that Melisandre has told Davos that she can raise Jon Snow from the dead.

Damn...now i gotta go re-watch at least some of the last season. I thought Melisandre was dead...

ugh

[BandAlum83]

But does anyone, even non-book readers, actually believe that he is? I've not seen anyone give an effective analysis of why he couldn't be brought back in a variety of ways. (I'm not saying it isn't possible to defend, but I'd really have to work to do it, and even then, it'd be a real uphill battle.)

I think I'm not gonna watch any more trailers, though. It's close to the season start, and they've already given away a ton.

-Through Flashbacks
-Raised through fire (Do we know who his Mother is?)
-Becomes a White walker

I do believe he will be back, as himself and freed of his responsibilities to The Watch

[JasonEvans]

Did you watch with your kids?
How old are they?

My Kids are out of college, and we talk about it. I've watched some episodes with my son..but not my daughter. Just too awkward

Well, my kids watched and my wife and I watched, but we did not always view the episodes at the same time. Given some of the explicit sex on display, I was glad we were not always viewing it together.

I have 2 sons -- one 18 and one 16.

[Doria]

Well, my kids watched and my wife and I watched, but we did not always view the episodes at the same time. Given some of the explicit sex on display, I was glad we were not always viewing it together.

I have 2 sons -- one 18 and one 16.

Yeah, I watched some of S1 with my father. Big mistake--super awkward, though my stepmother is always good for a quote on her opinion of people's posteriors, so that was amusing.

[JasonEvans]

16 hours, 20 minutes to go... not that I am excited or anything

-Jason "odds that anything meaningful gets resolved in episode 1... close to 0%" Evans

[BandAlum83]

Pretty sure I saw Bran walking and talking to a white walker in a season preview.

And wow, the kid has grown a lot since we last saw him 2 seasons ago.

[BandAlum83]

16 hours, 20 minutes to go... not that I am excited or anything

-Jason "odds that anything meaningful gets resolved in episode 1... close to 0%" Evans

Is it available on demand then, or are you time warping??

[Wander]

16 hours, 20 minutes to go... not that I am excited or anything

-Jason "odds that anything meaningful gets resolved in episode 1... close to 0%" Evans

I bet episode 1 will end with the reveal that Jon Snow is alive, either barely surviving the attack, being inside of Ghost, or brought back to life by Melisandre. That obviously will be surprising to exactly 0 people, but still.

[Doria]

Oh, if anyone is interested, I believe HBO is running a free weekend, so anyone can legally watch, even without a subscription.

[Doria]

I forgot a link to the article in which I read about the weekend. This isn't the one, but it has the same info: http://www.forbes.com/sites/seamuski.../#78ef0aa069f9

If you don't have cable, you can use the HBO Now app, also. Some regional restrictions apply, so if anyone's interested, you should probably check with your cable provider.

[JNort]

Can't. Freaking. Wait.