Be Excellent To Each Other

I was less impressed with Arya and Sansa. Arya's performance has been particularly wooden this season and I wasn't entirely sure where they were going with their "dispute". Jon and Dany had some lovely chemistry at the end though. Time to sex up your auntie!

Oh. My. Aargh is well off the deep end, isn't she?

We've watched this from the beginning over about the last three weeks. Last nights episode made me laugh the most so far! Looking forward to the last episode of the series.

This is silly. Any work of fiction has some suspension of disbelief to get inside the premise. For GoT, that's magic and dragons and wights. But once you're inside the story, it should be internally consistent. For GoT, that's the north of the wall bring populated by an army of the dead who show little tool-using ability and probably aren't much of a fan of forges plus a large number of (now dead?) wildlings who are not technologically sophisticated either. It's not weird to find it jarring that the Night King happened to have half a mile of foot-thick chain just lying around just when he needed it.

Yes a story should stay true to its own internal logic otherwise it's more jarring than a difference from reality.

I can imagine that over thousands of years though there's probably been all sorts of stuff left north of the wall though, for example from when the wall was built and stuff. There will be a whole salvage yard of stuff up there.

Have you seen the map of how little of the North we've seen? It's like going from the UK and bolting Alaska on instead of Scotland.

I reckon they made the world too big. 1000 miles from Winterfell to Kings Landing? Remember when Robert rode up to collect Ned? There and back at dawdling pace? That would take *months*!

The wall is supposedly 300 miles wide! How can that possibly be manned? You'd need thousands of men. In shifts!

They should shrink it down to, say, the size of Nuneaton.

I reckon the chains and resources used to make them would be too precious to just be left as scrap. Stop justifying the sloppy realisation.

The chains could have been left around from the construction of the wall or an old ship yard.

They had / have giants up there too, could have been from their gaff.

You'd still keep them. They'd be valuable in their own right, as well as for making weapons and goods

Not if you were killed by white walkers and effectively left your whole civilisation behind.

I get confused between who the not main characters are. I knew Eyepatch and Drinky were part of the cult that The Hound ended up with, but couldn't remember who, what or why they were doing stuff. I wasn't sure who died or if it was important.

Hum, fair point. Did that happen?

It's possible. There were Giants north of the wall, but now they have either fled or been killed. Maybe they have giant chains for their giant needs?

They recap the main character traits enough, man. Thoros (drinky) was a priest of Rhollor (like the Red Witch) who has frequently resurrected Beric (Eyepatch). They have spent a while killing Lannister thugs in the Riverlands, in a round about way on orders from Ned Stark when he was Hand Of The King in S1.

So... now you know.

Same.

Apology accepted.

SEASON FINALE PREDICTIONS!

Who's gonna die?

I have so many scenarios that would be fun, but I think most important is that everyone is too safe now. There's been no major 'good' character to die since when? Robb Stark? Some more minor ones like Thoros have popped it, but for major characters where everyone knows their name it's been a bit safe. Time to kill off some proper big ones.

My pick? Tyrion.

We all know shit is gonna go down at the meeting. So something kicks it all off, either Cersei springing a trap or something else, and it descends into chaos of sorts.

Tyrion has been ignored by Dany, and when listened to has messed up his plans constantly. He has looked mournful at seeing his Lannister brethren killed and is worried that Dany may go off the deep end. I could see him getting killed saving Jaime from someone. Maybe Dany threatens Cersei, Jaime steps in the way, Dany goes to kill anyway, and Tyrion steps in the way and gets it. Not sure how that would work, but I think it would be fun!

Other picks:
Cersei - gets rid of most of the moaning about the civil war and allows the final season to be about humans vs zombies. Who to kill her? Maybe Jaime finally realises she's a crazy and does it. It's meant to be him or Tyrion (prophecy), so maybe she does something that makes Tyrion kill her and then Tyrion gets squashed. Or she does something to destroy peace and Jaime realises she needs to go (and he finds out she's telling fibs about the pregnancy). Or something.

Others!
Missandei
The Mountain
The Hound (Cleganebowl is a draw)
Arya
Tormund

That'd leave people all messed up, right?

Maybe Arya has killed Pod, and skulked off with Brienne to the summit. Then he/she casually wanders over and slits Cersei's throat after peace has been agreed, ruining everything.

In the north, what's Beric up to? He's there with Sansa. I wonder if they can parallel the books here: someone murders Sansa, and he gives up his own life to bring her back for some reason. Or similar. I dunno.

Anyway! Thoughts and theories!

This has a satisfying narrative rhythm to it, in particular because of the parallel to Jamie killing the Mad King.

The show is setting itself up for the Hound to kill the Mountain, which brings closure to Oberyn's shocking death and the Hound's decades of PTSD. But that could be a headfake.

Have you see the fan theory that Bran is the Night King? I don't buy it, but it's interesting.

What happened to the woman that married Tommen?

Then I am happy for the chains to remain. Phew!

She was there when Cersei blew up the nutty religious mob I think.

She died when Cersei asploded the keep at the end of S6.

On which note

I'd argue Margaery definitely fits your criteria.

Can't say I was too fussed when she went really.

I'd go as far as probably, but yes, that was a good bit. But were people as invested as in the Starks/Lannisters or Dany? Hmmmm. Too many utterly bulletproof characters at the moment though either way.

My issue with Jaime killing Cersei is that he still seems too loyal and loving towards her for him to do that. Would be a very swift about face, so she would have to do something monstrous.

I haven't read about Bran being the Night's King, I don't think. I'm sure I read something about him being a Stark though (NK, Bran obviously is).

Bran obviously needs to actually do something rather than just sitting on his arse. Maybe he somehow intercedes in the summit. Maybe he lets slip that Jon is a Targaryan. I dunno.

And she's carrying their next sprog.

Just read the theory.

It is persuasive, but I think they might have made more of it if it was true. But they can happily throw it in last minute. Would take some chunky exposition though to add in the parts that make it make sense.

Maybe the ending is almost that, but a tiny bit different. Bran intentionally wargs into the NK at the crucial time to allow Jon to kill him, which kills them both. So Jon does kill Bran, but it saves the world, and it was a sacrifice that Bran made.

I dunno.

Did everyone see that Jon's sword actually winked in the show this week? When the focus was on it as he climbed out of the ice, the pale eye actually had a pupil or similar for a second. That's interesting.

Yeah, but she's probably lying to keep him loyal.

Yeah, that was ages ago. Was Mrs Ned Not Dead with them at some point?

Nah, it's just a reflection or water falling on it. A winking sword is just daft.

Not winking maybe but some indication of life or a link to Mr Snuh.

There's no such thing in GoT. There's no animate objects like its Beauty & The Beast and you can't warg into an object. It's just a bit of water on the pommel, init.

My sword winks at me.

Apparently it might be that the jewel that serves as the eye goes through the whole hilt, so what you see is actually Jon's arm or glove reflected, and they made it look like an eye in a symbolic way rather than the sword being anything special.

But I want a magic sword!

"You know nothing, Longclaw"

I've seen Rose Leslie three times today.

Did you stare at her Adam's apple?

I try not to stare. Why should I stare at her Adam's apple?

Does she live near you? Didn't you say you'd seen Kit Harrington in your local?

I thought I saw him in my local. He was in Saltaire (and there are reports and photos of him and Luv Tyler in the restaurant i hate) at the time filming guy fawkes.

I used to live upstairs from Benjen Stark. He used play Chasing Cars really loud, over and over.

He should have been playing "I have a horse outside" tbf.

Well, I think she lives with Kit, who lives on Northchurch Rd, which is about 150 yards from me. My local, The De Beauvoir Arms is on the corner of Northchurch Rd and Southgate Rd. Saw her this morning in my local coffee shop, then twice at lunchtime as I was eating lunch with Carys at the DBA. I see them semi regularly in the 'hood, dependent on their filming schedules I suppose.

Alfie Allen lives nearby as well and I've seen Gwendoline Christie a couple of times, though she was with Simon Callow. Carys used to work in the pub and saw quite a few actors and served Kit and Rose many times.

Oooooooh!! When is the next series out?

That was goooood.

It was all super great.

Apart from the fact that I do wish they'd find other way to express pledging an allegiance or accepting as ruler a chosen monarch. The phrase 'bend the knee' has really started to grate through its overuse.