Figured it long time ago but every time I wanted to speak with someone about it I got attacked by rabbit fans who took offense to my pointing out that Arya is in the wrong universe and Faerun is more to the left.

@Odran:

Yeah, I know that Cersei was there to identify Gregor for the audience. But the whole scene was just weak.

I think budget is getting tight, we see a lot scenes that are static and low cost.
1. Tyrion and Jaime in the dungeon.
2. Tyrion and Bronn in the dungeon.
3. Tyrion and Oberyn in the dungeon.
All three scenes in the same low level, low maintenance location.

Then we have Two scenes with Dany also in enclosed space.
Another one at the Crossroads Inn.
And then one by the fire(Hound and Arya), one by the city walls (Gregor and his hapless victims) and one on the road in the middle of nowhere (Brienne and Pod) all low cost with minimal fuss and as few extras as needed.

Budget is a bitch and I fear it might kill this show.

 

They're saving up for the mother of wyverns scenes, when they eventually show up again. It's all really filler now, nothing else.

And now we have to wait 2 weeks for a new episode.

 

Nah. In my opinion they are doing a rather good job with saving the money for stuff that matters. And it's not like any of these scene were forced since for example Tyrion already is in a jail and he needs to talk to these people and Hound and Arya are traveling and trying to avoid people. Only Dany could have something more impressive as a scenery, but she already spent all her budged at the beginning of the season.

 

I suspect they blew their $ on the Purple Wedding. It was almost as impressive as the Blackwater battle.

 

How much of the next season will be filler material, filled with OCs and pointless nudity scenes? How much will they cut? Will Mya Stone even make an appearance? Will Val? Who would even play the latter if she appeared? Personally I'd like to see one of these two: Gaia Weiss and Katheryn Winnick

 

Don't know about Mya, but Val will be most likely included to replace

Spoiler

Ygritte.

 

Potato Lad will have his vengeance.

 

Mya will be cut out, already is. We haven't seen her when Catelyn arrived in Eyrie so I doubt we'll see her now. Same probably goes for Randa.

In the promo for ep 8 we see a number of Vale lords in the snip with Sansa, but who is who is anyone's guess. (the old woman is most likely Anya Waynwood)

I'm not so sure we'll be seeing Val, it all depends how they will play out the wildling incursion. Still no Stannis at the Wall, though after what Mel said yesterday we can suspect that they will be sailing North soon.

 

I'm afraid that among them sits Bronze Yohn Royce, without his signature armor.

 

Does that surprise you? I expected nothing else. Though, they could've painted a regular cuirass with a bronze paint and be done with it.

 

Well, their budget is limited. Our imagination isn't. And they do have to make everything fit in ten 50min episodes. Some slight details could have been handled better, sure, but they did a fairly good job nonetheless imo.

 

Out of curiousity, what do you consider to be 'slight details that could have been handled better'?

 

I'm not one of Stannis' rabid fans, but damn it I wish he wasn't such a zealot in the show. It's very difficult to explain to non-readers why they should like him at all. The Stannis-Davos relationship was one of my favorite parts of the series and in the show it's completely one-sided.

 

Actually, the budget per episode is probably going to skyrocket in the next 2-3 seasons.

Boardwalk Empire, the Newsroom, and True Blood, HBO's other high budget series, are all bowing out by the end of 2014. With only one reportedly high budget show to replace them (Westworld), there will be plenty of cash lying around for Thrones.

I'm especially glad Boardwalk is out. It's a massive money suck, and the writing went to shit after Jimmy got the axe.

 

Found this.

Bear with the rapid speaking at the beginning. It's quite good and covers the Viper vs. The Mountain.

 

It'll all depend on how much the actors will want for each episode. As popular as the show is I'm sure some will call for more $ and that might cramp the budget a tad. As it is, they are already cutting corners. I mean, they are being cheap with hair dye for Tyrion and Jaime and filling empty places with tits and ass shots where plot and character development could be. The whole Melisandre and Selyse chat we had in this episode was a waste of time. Did we need that little monologue about Mel's stash of drugs and fireworks? No. But filler was needed until we were told about Shireen.

Seriously though, I hope DBW and D Benioff get all the cash they need to keep working. But I worry nonethless.

 

Found this gem today, figured it was worth sharing

 

Ehhhh.... all the mains have non-negotiable 6 year contracts. And most of them are B/C list career actors. When it comes time to renegotiate the contracts for the popular series, what networks usually do is offer priority casting for future roles in lieu of pay raises.

Most of the career actors will jump at that.

 

Shut your mouth. Lena Headey is a magnificent Cersei.

 

Fucking phones...