Since GRRM wrote this episode does that scene make it canon? Perhaps it's an easter egg for the future books?

 

Why is GRRM busy writing TV show episodes when he could be writing the next book!

 

I really wanted to slap that smirk off of Cersei's face the entire episode. o_o Other than the Wedding, which contained the perfect amount of humiliation, I thought the rest of the episode was quite awkward and transitioned poorly...but yeah, the ending was worth it all.

 

Loved the sequence with Bran touching the tree. Looks like they kept the Rhaegar bit in there.

 

Jack Gleeson you were amazing to the very end and all this would have been lesser if someone less talented was there.

I'm kind of sad that Ilyn Payne has been completely removed from show.

To me book Shae really was an opportunist but tv Shae does seem to care for Tyrion, so I wonder how they're going to play her betrayal.

Quick question, is there any place I can get Arya and Bran chapters condensed in one continuous place?

 

Ilyn Payne's been removed from the show because his actor has terminal cancer and, out of respect, they won't be recasting the part.

Plus, Bronn. Hanging out with Jaime for another season or two. He might not get Stokeworth hilarity, but I'll put cash down on him taking Lancel's lordship of Darry when Lancel goes sparrow, for extra hilarity.

Also, great episode et cetera. Will miss Jack, Dreadfort dynamics are fucking amazeballs, loved the little picking up the goblet moment between Tyrion and Sansa, and Tywin/Olenna spinoff romcom needs to happen. Also, Oberyn. UMFPH.

 

Needs more Arya/Hound buddy cop.

It always will need more Arya/Hound buddy cop.

ALWAYS.

 

Watching the episode online right now. People have been hating on Oberyn, but the actor is pulling it off. His back and forth with Tywin is something else.

The end of the last episode with Arya and Sandor in the inn killing fools also was amazing. It kind of felt like Arya was fighting a bit not to be happy and keep a straight face when she was toying with the last guy with her Needle.

 

No doubt we're going to see a massive upswing in Hound/Arya fanfic, replacing SanSan as the fangirl's pairing of choice.

 

That's pretty disgusting

 

How jokes would it have been if they ended the episode with Joffery surviving, just to fuck with everyone.

 

Hmm, I have a very spoilery question related to the wedding as it was shown.

It's been some time since I dashed through the books, but I've noticed things in the movie that were revealed in later books - mainly,

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Queen of Thorns fiddling with Sansa's necklace (and hair)

and a friend claims that

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you can actually see a part of the necklace going missing just afterwards, which I hadn't caught on the first view.

As far as I remember, in the books

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It was a hair ornament that held the poison, and it was either implied or outright stated that Littlefinger had his hands in convincing the Tyrells to poison Joffrey, however, it was mostly the Queen of Thorns who did the actual deed.

Afterwards, Margaret Tyrell got to marry Tommen, and Tyrells get to keep the queen.
Disregarding the fact that Joffrey is a dangerous, dangerous (and unpredictable in a bad way) person to be king, what there is to gain in this dangerous gambit?

Was the motivation to put the blame on Tyrion, or to drive a wedge between the Lanisters, weakening their position? Or, was Olenna too afraid that Joffrey wouldn't listen to Margaret, thus purely choosing the move to push a more favourable heir onto the throne?

How do you explain such high-risk low-reward strategy in universe? I'm not talking about Littlefinger's plan of world domination, but rather looking for explanation from the perspective of the house Tyrell.

Or should it be Stanis's magic that pushed the right motivations into the right people? (That one is a weak excuse, but it's surprisingly viable here)

 

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Sansa is free to marry Willas as Tyrion is dead/ in the NW and then in a few years there will be a Tyrell with a claim on the North. Basically what Tywin wanted to do with Sansa. I think anyway.

 

Nauro: It's of course rather debatable, but

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the Tyrells (or at least, Oleanna and Margery) are nothing if not pragmatic. They know that Joeffrey is a monster, and having him wed to Margery is not a good idea(tm) - having him as king even less. The Queen of Thorns might be motivated by trying to protect her granddaughter from him.
The fact that Tyrion and Sansa get blamed immediately is just convenient and probably not planned - they wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble of planting the necklace/hairnet on Sansa.

@Brukel:

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That's a possibility, although the fact that they planted the thing on Sansa indicates that they might have planned for her to take the fall.

 

I'd argue that the choice of the one carrying the poison was aimed

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at Tyrion. He had reason to go after Joffrey, and Sansa was seen as innocent enough to have been a half-willing/unwilling accomplice. No one would believe that Sansa procured the poison by herself, instead, it would obviously be the work of a crooked smart half-man.

In addition, I'd guess that Joffrey had been suggested humiliation/asking Tyrion for a drink, and he liked the idea. It's what he would do. See Littlefinger's dagger, and a possibly similar level suggestion.

No, the question here is, if this aim is enough to justify the risk.

The point of being cautious of Joffrey's nature, and choosing an action that gives safety for the position is well and good, but the involved risk is huge, provided we know who is performing a deed. If caught on the act, the whole

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Lanister-Tyrell alliance would be in shatters - which would work for Littlefinger, sure, but not so much for Queen of Thorns, who, being an established smart character, would need a bigger gain than a better king (and the need to renegotiate the marriage) to risk an agreement that puts a Tyrell on the Throne. She wouldn't have agreed to participate, if there wasn't some additional benefit in the action.

Brukel's suggestion has merit, and I'd write it down as a spot on, but then again, like the whole assassination

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forces to renegotiate the wedding, it also would leave a long game for actually getting Sansa's claim ahead. Especially since she is a possible accomplice in the eyes of investigators as World points out. Both goals are not achieved with any sort of guarantee even when the plan is successful.

 

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The involvement of Littlefinger suggests that the blame was to fall on the safely missing Sansa, looks like Tyrion fell victim to Cercei's and Joffrey's hate. Also there is post on reddit clearly showing how the poisoning worked.

 

I'm rather disappointed with the last episode, primarily because of how they portrayed Stannis. Now, he's not a favorite of mine in the books, and it's been a long time since I reread them last, but he imprisoned, and Melisandre later on burned him as a sacrifice for favorable winds, Alester Florent for trying to sue for peace with the Lannisters by offering Shireen as a hostage, not because he didn't tear down his idols.

What the fuck prompted them to change that? It changes, vastly so IMO, the audience's view on Stannis in general.

Another thing to nitpick over, amongst so many things I could choose from, is that the Hand of the King now pins a badge on his chest, rather than wear the chain of interlocked golden hands. Yet, a chain/necklace of similar design is gifted by Tyrion to Shae in the 3rd season, the seventh episode I believe.

Relevant to that is the whole Tyrion/Shae relationship... in the books she was way more opportunistic, and showed none of this lovey-dovey affection for him. Will they try to make her upcoming betrayal of him somewhat justified with how he treated her in the last episode? Because it seems like they're aiming for that and that just... well, just plain old sucks.

 

I was expecting more Daenerys in this episode since it's titled after her. And for a moment I suspected that she put weapons in these barrels for slaves.

Tywin/Tommen scene I liked a lot. Give him enough time and he will make his grandson into a great king. There was a lot of discussion how the show will handle aged up Tommen, but I expect them to make him a competent, but too easily manipulated by these he trusts ruler instead of just a kid who is not aware of most intrigues around him. Margaery will probably give him other gifts than cats though.

 

Someone is going to have to explain to me what the hell the writers were thinking when they wrote the Cersei/Jaime scene. It has been a long time since I've read the books, and I remember them boning in the Sept, but I don't remember it being rape. Can anyone else see any reason they did this? Because it seems to be that they basically took all that goodwill they were trying to build last season for Jaime and pissed all over it. I've already seen a lot of people on the internet commenting that Jaime is no longer redeemable after this. I don't understand why the writers insist on trying to write Cersei in a more positive light as much as they do.

 

Seems like you answered your own question. A consistent theme this episode was that even characters whom we have come to like are still terrible people.