Given how boring they've been, I'm not sure why we needed to see it (other than introducing the new "adult" actress who plays Myrcella).
Honestly, I think the entire thing exists solely to explain why Jaimie isn't in Kings Landing while Cersei is being such an idiot. My understanding (haven't read them, but I've heard enough spoilers from various sources to fill a boat) is that in the books, Jaimie is busy leading the Lannister forces to mop up the remaining bits of Robb's army, but the producers presumably they didn't want to spend time (and money) on battle sequences and whatnot that really didn't involve any of the major characters, and didn't want to introduce new characters (and pay the actors for speaking time) to deal with the Dornish side plots, so they combined them. I honestly have no clue where the Dornish plot goes in the books (or if it actually has really gone anywhere), but it's far less expensive to show people talking than to show them fighting, so it makes sense from a production point of view to go that direction.
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Not that I don't appreciate Bronn and boobs, mind you.
I spent some time catching up this weekend. Some pretty significant changes from the books. Not all for the worse. The bits involving Tyrion are much better than on the show. Cersei's fall, while much deserved in the books, also makes a lot more sense in the books. She's far more capable in the show than she is in the book, so her getting caught in such an obvious trap seems a bit out of character. There really isn't much left in the books to make another season of the show. Jon getting stabbed (possibly killed), Sansa's escape, Cersei's naked walk across the city, and Sam sent off to learn to be a Maester are pretty much all that's left as far as major plot points. Unless the new book actually comes out some time during the next year, I'm not sure where they'll be getting their material from.
Hah! Well, that season went out with a bang. Be interesting to see how many of the dead characters stay dead.
Stannis, not dead, Brienne didn't kill him.
I could see it going either way. On the one hand, it's hard to imagine that she'd not kill him, given how this has more or less driven her from day one. On the other hand, it's possible that she might hesitate to kill someone who she's not actively fighting. Her personality does seem more about emotion driven violence, but she tends to shy away from conflict when not in a fight or flight situation. Dunno. I could also see them filming it this way purely for the perceived cliffhanger effect, and then "nope, he's dead" starting next season. I'm assuming that's the case here, cause barring something actually interrupting her, I'm just not sure that the "other hand" would rule here.
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John Snow, dying, but Melisandre will do something to either heal/resurrect him. Then jump his bone.
Yeah. Pretty much what I'm assuming as well. This kinda ties into my assumption that Stannis really is dead though. If Melisandre does this, it would indicate that she's shifted her focus to him and away from Stannis. Note, she only saw herself walking the battlements of Winterfell. She didn't mention seeing Stannis there. Her leaving right before the battle would seem to suggest she's realized that Stannis isn't the one, but that maybe Jon Snow is. So if she resurrects him, there's no story reason for Stannis to live. I kinda see these two as linked. One will live and one will die. But hey, never know...
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Arya, obviously not dead, but, not sure what to expect with her ******* off Death.
No clue where that's going. I'd assume her blindness is a form of punishment that she'll have to endure until she sufficiently achieves no-oneness (or whatever). Or, she'll just say "F this!" and take off at some point. Again, while Arya's story is interesting, I'm not sure at all how it fits into the broader plot, or if it ever will.
Oh... Myrcella is another interesting one. I have a suspicion that she might survive somehow. Maybe Bronn obtained some of the antidote (could have pocketed one from Tyrene while she was biting him, or she may even have rebelled against her mother and slipped him some. It's hard to see the motivations of the sand vipers, but if Myrcella dies in such an obvious manner, that basically spells death for them all. What would be a really funny turn around would be if bronn saved the vial he was given in the cells, and filled it with colored water, and then swapped it for the one around Tyrene's neck (having seen the kiss and maybe suspected poisoning, or just to have some "just in case"). Hard to justify, but it could mean that Myrcella gets saved, while the vial that Ellaria took (while all smug about it) doesn't save her at all. Dunno, that would just be hilarious. Probably not what's going to happen though.
In any case, the reason I suspect that Myrcella lives is because of the prophecy they showed earlier. Cersei was told that all three of her children would wear gold crowns. This has come true for Joffrey and Tommin, but not yet for Myrcella. I suppose it's possible the writers simply forgot about that bit, but I would hope not. They've already foreshadowed her having a crown at some point and the poison having an antidote (in an otherwise throwaway side plot if it's not used), so I'd assume that she gets some antidote somehow. My own crazy plot lines aside, there's a ton of different ways it could happen.
Ironically for GOT, this could mean that all three of them survive. I think that would be too kind though. My guess is Stannis is dead, but Jon and Myrcella live.
Jah, I read a lot of the interesting theories today and feel somewhat better about the whole thing. But overall some of that seemed arbitrary just for sensationalism's sake.
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An old silent pond... A frog jumps into the pond, splash! Silence again.
Without Jon's parentage being revealed yet, I highly doubt he's going to stay dead. Doesn't mean he won't, but I don't see anyone else taking his place.
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"The Rich are there to take all of the money & pay none of the taxes, the middle class is there to do all the work and pay all the taxes, and the poor are there to scare the crap out of the middle class." -George Carlin