Season 5, Game of Thrones

[DGS49]

Having spent too many hours reading the books and just enough hours watching the TV series, I humbly suggest that anyone watching the series who wants to read the books in order to enhance the experience should reconsider. Don't waste your time reading the books. George R.R. Martin must have been paid by the word or something.

There are several story lines in the books that have you wading through scores of pointless and boring pages just to come to an ambiguous and unsatisfying conclusion. The TV series cuts out a lot of this pointless B.S. and resolves the ambiguity. Case in point: Brienne's search for Sansa Stark. In the books, she is wandering around for ages asking everyone she meets if they have seen a beautiful blue-eyed maiden traveling with a dwarf (or whatever). At no time does she come anywhere remotely close to Sansa, nor does she figure out where Sansa is or who she is with. She dies, never having seen her or made any progress whatsoever in her quest to "save" her. On the TV show, she finds herself dining in the same establishment as Littlefinger and Sansa(!), and Sansa tells Brienne to go pound salt. Nothing at all like the books, and more satisfying to boot.

BTW, Sansa is portrayed in the books as surpassingly beautiful. What can I say?

 

[Sarah G]

Arya a deadly assassin? I believe her to become a tough taskmaster but not some toe the line assassin. People who cross her get justice, whether it's bad or good but to me, she is more Joan of Arc than some random crusader.

Now this entire show needs to end the way I want it to or I'll feel foolish for becoming so invested.

 

[GHook93]

Arya a deadly assassin? I believe her to become a tough taskmaster but not some toe the line assassin. People who cross her get justice, whether it's bad or good but to me, she is more Joan of Arc than some random crusader.

Now this entire show needs to end the way I want it to or I'll feel foolish for becoming so invested.

I haven't read the books and I don't know her story, but I am certain she be a deadly assassin.

 

[Gracie]

Well...so far...I am not too impressed this season.

 

[GHook93]

Having spent too many hours reading the books and just enough hours watching the TV series, I humbly suggest that anyone watching the series who wants to read the books in order to enhance the experience should reconsider. Don't waste your time reading the books. George R.R. Martin must have been paid by the word or something.

There are several story lines in the books that have you wading through scores of pointless and boring pages just to come to an ambiguous and unsatisfying conclusion. The TV series cuts out a lot of this pointless B.S. and resolves the ambiguity. Case in point: Brienne's search for Sansa Stark. In the books, she is wandering around for ages asking everyone she meets if they have seen a beautiful blue-eyed maiden traveling with a dwarf (or whatever). At no time does she come anywhere remotely close to Sansa, nor does she figure out where Sansa is or who she is with. She dies, never having seen her or made any progress whatsoever in her quest to "save" her. On the TV show, she finds herself dining in the same establishment as Littlefinger and Sansa(!), and Sansa tells Brienne to go pound salt. Nothing at all like the books, and more satisfying to boot.

BTW, Sansa is portrayed in the books as surpassingly beautiful. What can I say?

Am I also to assume that Brienne doesn't come across paths with Arya also? I wouldn't mind Brienne getting axed, her storyline is unfulfilling anyways.

I have to say the worst decision-maker of all the Stark women is Cate Stark. First, she never embraced John, who is a honorable son. Hard to blame her though. Second, she trusted Littlefinger and his assistance made Ned trust him. Bad choice that got Ned killed.
Third, she detains Tyrion, which sparked that war. Her actions injured Ned (Jaime and his men surrounded Ned) and made him helpless. She did this when Sansa and Arya were in harms way. Not smart and a bad choice. Probably her worst choice.
Fourth, she went on the warpath with Rob, instead of staying back and helping her young crippled son rule and secure the North. I don't think Theon would have taken Winterfell if she was there.
Fifth, the decision that makes no sense. She releases Jaime and sets him and Brienne on a fool's quest. Jaime never sets to fulfill his end of the bargain, Rob loses a valuable bargaining chip and these actions directly lead to a insurrection amongst Rob's ranks and a lose of half his army.

I read about Lady Stonewall and that the show has decided abandon that story. I say that is a great choice. Cate Stark doesn't desire to make a reappearance.

 

[Sarah G]

Well...so far...I am not too impressed this season.

Do you like the war scenes? I always FF through them I love all the dialog so far.

 

[GHook93]

Well...so far...I am not too impressed this season.

Do you like the war scenes? I always FF through them I love all the dialog so far.

Have there been war scenes that I missed this season?

 

[boedicca]

Having spent too many hours reading the books and just enough hours watching the TV series, I humbly suggest that anyone watching the series who wants to read the books in order to enhance the experience should reconsider. Don't waste your time reading the books. George R.R. Martin must have been paid by the word or something.

There are several story lines in the books that have you wading through scores of pointless and boring pages just to come to an ambiguous and unsatisfying conclusion. The TV series cuts out a lot of this pointless B.S. and resolves the ambiguity. Case in point: Brienne's search for Sansa Stark. In the books, she is wandering around for ages asking everyone she meets if they have seen a beautiful blue-eyed maiden traveling with a dwarf (or whatever). At no time does she come anywhere remotely close to Sansa, nor does she figure out where Sansa is or who she is with. She dies, never having seen her or made any progress whatsoever in her quest to "save" her. On the TV show, she finds herself dining in the same establishment as Littlefinger and Sansa(!), and Sansa tells Brienne to go pound salt. Nothing at all like the books, and more satisfying to boot.

BTW, Sansa is portrayed in the books as surpassingly beautiful. What can I say?

I don't recall Brienne dying in the books.

 

[Gracie]

Everything changes in movie series. I guess I miss the drama of Jaimie being a prisoner, Tyrion and his sidekick guy protecting him, The Mountain and Arya, etc.

 

[Sarah G]

This guy was a great addition, A dance with dragons: The new Game Of Thrones season five trailer shows Daenerys bedding her mercenary captain Daario Naharis.

 

[Gracie]

That guy is great. But he isn't for Dani. She's too serious and he's a james bond kinda guy.

 

[rightwinger]

Arya a deadly assassin? I believe her to become a tough taskmaster but not some toe the line assassin. People who cross her get justice, whether it's bad or good but to me, she is more Joan of Arc than some random crusader.

Now this entire show needs to end the way I want it to or I'll feel foolish for becoming so invested.

Now that she has entered the house of black and white she will become a assasination machine

Learning to put aside her emotions and need for vengeance

 

[GHook93]

Now that she has entered the house of black and white she will become a assasination machine

I agree with this and I look forward to her transformation. Sgt Ollie (an old time poster here) stated back in season one, that Arya should have a book all to herself and after a while most will put her along side Tyrion as favorite characters.

Learning to put aside her emotions and need for vengeance

I doubt that! I think she starts taking people on her list come the beginning of next season!

 

[boedicca]

Well...so far...I am not too impressed this season.

Do you like the war scenes? I always FF through them I love all the dialog so far.

The 9th episode last year was one of the best. I don't particularly care for war scenes in anything, but this one had a lot important character interaction and some very touching scenes. Jon breaks out as a leader...and that is important to the overall arc of the saga.

 

[mack20]

Having spent too many hours reading the books and just enough hours watching the TV series, I humbly suggest that anyone watching the series who wants to read the books in order to enhance the experience should reconsider. Don't waste your time reading the books. George R.R. Martin must have been paid by the word or something.

There are several story lines in the books that have you wading through scores of pointless and boring pages just to come to an ambiguous and unsatisfying conclusion. The TV series cuts out a lot of this pointless B.S. and resolves the ambiguity. Case in point: Brienne's search for Sansa Stark. In the books, she is wandering around for ages asking everyone she meets if they have seen a beautiful blue-eyed maiden traveling with a dwarf (or whatever). At no time does she come anywhere remotely close to Sansa, nor does she figure out where Sansa is or who she is with. She dies, never having seen her or made any progress whatsoever in her quest to "save" her. On the TV show, she finds herself dining in the same establishment as Littlefinger and Sansa(!), and Sansa tells Brienne to go pound salt. Nothing at all like the books, and more satisfying to boot.

BTW, Sansa is portrayed in the books as surpassingly beautiful. What can I say?

I don't recall Brienne dying in the books.

That's because she didn't.

 

[mack20]

Digging around in an attempt to find hints about Arya's journey since we last saw her in the finale, on the ship, after giving the iron coin to the ship's captain and saying the words, Valar Morghulis.


What Does Valar Morghulis Mean? What About Valar Dohaeris?

“If the day comes when you would find me again, give that coin to any man from Braavos, and say these words to him--valar morghulis.”

---Jaqen H’ghar, A Clash of Kings, pg. 691.

In a memorable scene from A Clash of Kings, Jaqen H’ghar leaves Arya with only an old iron coin, and two words to say to any Braavosi she meets. Arya repeats this words often times throughout the series, never quite knowing what they mean. What does the enigmatic phrase signify?

1) Valar Morghulis

Valar morghulis seems to translate to ‘All men must die,’ or ‘all men are mortal.’ In Storm of Swords, pg. 308, Missandei uses the phrase, and it seems to be in the High Valyrian tongue. And on page 748, Oberyn Martell uses the phrase, confirming it is from Valyria.

For a discussion on why Jaqen may have told Arya to use that phrase, see the ‘What do we know about Faceless Men?’ discussion.

2) Valar Dohaeris

Arya finally uses the words valar morghulis at the end of Storm of Swords, speaking them to a Braavosi ship captain. The captain replies with an odd sort of salute, and the phrase valar dohaeris. Now what does this phrase mean?

Quite frankly, we don’t know. It’s never stated in the books. The best clue comes from something Ygritte says on page 464 of A Storm of Swords:

“You’re mine,” she whispered. “Mine, as I’m yours. And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first we’ll live.”

Ignoring the question of how the wilding culture could have adopted a High Valyrian phrase, Ygritte’s ‘all men must die,’ seems close to Dany’s translation for valar morghulis. It is possible, then, that ‘first we’ll live’ is the translation of valar dohaeris. However, nothing is certain, so we can only conjecture about the definition at this point.

What Does Valar Morghulis Mean

The link about faceless men doesn't work, btw.

Valar Dohaeris means "All Men Must Serve" and I'm pretty sure that is explained in the books somewhere, because it's been known for a while.

 

[GHook93]

Spoiler: Spoiler

Again not much action, but the great dialog made it a great episode.

I got nervous that Jon Snowe wasn't going to cut off that bald guy's head and show him mercy. He would have lost support by the men if he did. Great scene and great course of action. I like how he showed true leadership and instead of seeking petty revenge against the one Ranger, he appointed him the position he deserved! I loved the Brienne and Podrick conversation. It actually brought life to that boring story and she was right, Littlefinger does not have Sansa's best intentions. If he did he would have kept her in hidden in the impregnable castle on the mountain.Poor Sansa, I hope she is plotting something good, because she is about to wed someone worse than Joffrey. Maybe Theon warns her and she flees? Maybe Stannis saves her? Maybe Jon Snowe comes to her aid? Maybe the North rebels with her uniting them? You heard the woman, the North never forgets. That is what Tyrion warned Tywin. Hopefully Sansa plots well and doesn't become another victim. Arya story has taken a strange turn and I am so glad she didn't toss needle into the water! Tyrion getting abducted by Danny's former knight. My guess is he is not bring Tyrion to Westros, but rather to Danny. Funny how fantasy works. A huge country and Tyrion keeps on falling in the wrong place at the wrong time!

 

[GHook93]

Predictions:
(1) Sansa is plotting and she units the North against the Boltons. She ends up having Roose executed. However, Ramsay escapes to wreck havoc later on down the line.
(2) Danny's former knight delivers Tyrion to Danny. He is forgiven. Tyrion, with Vary's assistance wins Danny's trust and he becomes a trust advisor to Danny.
(3) Jon Snowe remains true to his vows
(4) Cersi's daughter is horrendous fashion
(5) Tommen does not become a heartless tyrant, but he is not respected by anyone, eventually the country is ruled by his Queen.

 

[Sarah G]

Arya is at an interesting time here, I like her storyline this season but hope they don't drag this out too long. I want to see her out in the world with people.

 

[rightwinger]

Arya is at an interesting time here, I like her storyline this season but hope they don't drag this out too long. I want to see her out in the world with people.

I want to see her start kicking some butt