THE CLUBHOUSE

Holy crap that was awesome!
My daughter walked in half way through and she was on the edge of her seat. And, she's one of those "Books are way better, I hate the show." people.
Really thought we were going to lose Bronn (and Jamie). Bronn's an awesome character.

I thought Bronn was gone too, glad he made it to the closing credits.
Totally agree: kick-ass episode.

I don't think you fellas are going to get any disagreements

I am in absolute AWE of the people who are involved in this . . . in ANY capacity.

I finished watching 20 minutes ago and my hands are STILL shaking









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At the end of the "Red Wedding" episode, the credits sequence was silent for the fist 20 seconds or so. Same here. He's probably dead, but you never know. Do y'all detect a rift forming between Tyrion and his queen?

INCREDIBLE EPISODE!!!

he wont go out like that.

In real life life, he's dead. You don't swim in that kind of armor. But, I think both he and Bronn will live anyway. Most likely Bronn will haul him out, but what could be better is Tryrion having him hauled out, and he becomes Dani's prisoner. I know it's already been done, but the look on Cersei's face would be priceless!

he becomes Dani's prisoner

And that would be the SECOND time he'd been a prisoner. What would keep Danerys from having him cooked to a crisp for running a sword through her daddy??? I think MAJOR characters start dropping next week. Was sure it was going to be Littlefanger last night, perhaps that waits til next week. But with Bran there at Winterfell now, Arya the assassin right there as well, how long can it possibly be til Balish's duplicity becomes known by the whole Stark clan? Maybe the show-writers wait until episode 6 or seven to play out that plot thread, but it's obviously heading in that direction.

Yeah - things-be-buildin' that's for sure.

I'm more worried about Drogon - that's one nasty-ass spear - and I wouldn't be too surprised if it turned out Qyburn's Scorpion had a sting in it's tail - poison!

• Also LOVED the whole Brienne & Arya scene (you go girls!) - but ESPECIALLY:
  • Brienne: Who taught you how to do that?
    Arya: No-one.

• • 

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Euron likes to use fire to burn enemy ships, and has catapults with serious range mounted on his ships. Burning Euron's fleet may not be as easy as one might think. To survive his destruction of the Iron Islanders fleet his ships must have some serious fire proofing of their own, otherwise proximity to all that burning debris would have set them alight as well.

Hopefully he already has some Dornish poison eating away at him, but he apparently deliberately built up an immunity to most poisons and drugs long ago.

Ok. A lot to go over here.
Amazing episode!
Loved every minute of it. (what few there were. I think this is the shortest episode aired to date)
I seriously thought that Arya might kill those 2 nit-wit guards.
The battle was amazing! So many things going on. So many awesome shots and angles.
For those who haven't seen it yet, here is the behind the scenes of the making of that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE2wcBeyNdk
14 minutes of amazing stunts, pyro, camera work, hard work and ingenuity.

Of course, as great as that battle was, my favorite part of the whole thing was the training segment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bI6h_9K4s0
For those who want to relive those 2.5 glorious minutes.

Here is where I start getting into some of my thought and character motivations.
During that training segment, why was Sansa looking so disturbed? I could see being worried at first, but once she saw how good her sister was, she should have been happy. Unless she is thinking too much like Littlefinger, and thinking her sister could kill her off easily and take her place.
Speaking of Mr. Devious. He wasn't looking quite so smug when he caught Arya's glare.
I think he may want to return to the Vale. The longer he stays in Winterfell, the more things can go wrong for him. Bran, won't fall for his crap, he is beyond such things. And Arya won't change her mind, once it's made up, so his tricks can only backfire on him, not do him any good.

I like that Dani asked John his opinion on what she should do.
She at least recognizes he is a man of actions and deeds, and knows how the common folk think.
Now, if she could just get past this 'bend the knee' crap.
From the previews, I think this is going to come to a head next episode.
It showed her giving a speech to some group, again talking about 'bending the knee', then a cut to Varys and Tryion talking about she must change, then a scene of Jon in front of a dragon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNY73_YcZVY

I hope she gives Jon the ultimatum, he refuses, she orders her dragon to torch him, and the dragon won't. It would be amazing.

Now, about that epic battle.
As great as it was, I think it was tactically flawed.
Why hit the shield wall head on with the dragon? It would have been much more effective to come in from the side and torch the entire wall of soldiers in one strafing run. Would have ended things much quicker. Then instead of torching the grain, they could have taken it for themselves. You know, to feed their own soldiers.

I too believe Jaime isn't dead yet. Yeah, that is some heavy armor + his gold hand.
But if he can free himself of most of the weight he should be able to get to the surface, it can't be super deep. Especially if someone else jumps in to help him.
I don't see him being taken prisoner though. Too cliche.
Especially since he was charging headlong to spear Dani. No way she would let him live to be a prisoner.

tay666 wrote: . . . The battle was amazing! So many things going on. So many awesome shots and angles.
For those who haven't seen it yet, here is the behind the scenes of the making of that.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE2wcBeyNdk

14 minutes of amazing stunts, pyro, camera work, hard work and ingenuity . . .

I don't care HOW much those stuntmen are paid - it ISN'T enough

After watching yesterday, I was trying to think of a phrase or soundbite that summed up how spectacular and amazing this TV show is . . .

• • . . . the linked vid just provided that :arrow: . . . . "Big Cinema" indeed.

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Jamie will survive. It will be a struggle and he may get help to get to the surface. He has to live until the end of the series so he can kill Cersi.
Not sure why Daenerys burned the grain but it certainly looked good.
Jamie charging at a dragon at full speed was one of the coolest scenes ever.
I am tired of little finger wish he would just go home and wait to be killed.

I was surprised those guys were really on fire. I would have thought it was CGI.

But apparently Ramsey's dogs were also vicious guard dogs and he was cautioned never to look them in the eye or they would take it as a challenge. His death scene was all CGI. No dogs at all.

Silly GoT. Taking stunts to the next level. I just hope no horses were hurt.

tay666 wrote:

During that training segment, why was Sansa looking so disturbed?

I think this goes back to her own insecurities after being helplessly victimized...first by the Lannisters...then by Ramsey Bolton. Yes, she's much safer now, but those kind of emotional scars don't go away over night. Just ask Theon Greyjoy. All of her remaining siblings have developed skills that make them special, and give them a certain level of independence. I'm not sure Sansa feels convinced that she's has done the same. She has power because of her last name, and the people around her, not because of any abilities that she herself possesses. I think she's afraid of becoming a victim again, and a little jealous, that others seem to have more inherit power than she does. Her two biggest, female role-models have been Lady Stark and Cersei. Both of which were/are independent, strong women in a man's world. But, in very different ways. I don't think Sansa will ever feel completely secure with anyone (even family) until she figures out what her own path to independence looks like.

Stormheart wrote:tay666 wrote:

During that training segment, why was Sansa looking so disturbed?

I think this goes back to her own insecurities...until she figures out what her own path to independence looks like.

I took it as she was witnessing her little sister lose her innocence and become a killer. Your explanation is a little deeper than mine and didn't occur to me. Cool to see another perspective.

tay666 wrote:During that training segment, why was Sansa looking so disturbed?

• Stormheart wrote:I think this goes back to her own insecurities...until she figures out what her own path to independence looks like.

• • Tim Fortuna wrote:I took it as she was witnessing her little sister lose her innocence and become a killer. Your explanation is a little deeper than mine and didn't occur to me. Cool to see another perspective.

Agree on the "another perspective" observation . . . I mean . . . I just thought she had gas


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gothiken wrote:he wont go out like that.

All things considered in the logic of the medieval world, he should simply because of the weight of his armor.

Synn wrote:... in the logic of the medieval world...

Umm... dragons... White Walkers... Lord of Light sorceress... The Mountain brought back from the dead...

To borrow from an old movie: Logic, we don't need no stinkin' logic...

Synn wrote:

gothiken wrote:he wont go out like that.

All things considered in the logic of the medieval world, he should simply because of the weight of his armor.

He was wearing light for the time armor, meant for traveling a long distance on the trail ,not full jousting armor or full war armor meant for a planned battle against heavily armored foes.

A one handed man would likely have had quick release buckles installed on his breastplate, so as to avoid the embarrassment of needing help getting it on or off.

The main thing is Bronn is not wearing armor and can free Jamie from his quickly by simply cutting a few straps.
Bronn is also a master of escape and evasion. He may be able to slip away even with an unconscious Jamie in tow.

BTW
In the Beowulf saga its mentioned that there was armor so light you could swim in it, but it required repairs after every battle. Roman horse courier armor has been found that weighed 1/3 as much as regular chain mail. Its made of tiny 4mm diameter links with thin bronze plates linked to the rings.

In the books padded leather armor was the common livery over laid with thin steel plates, chain mail was not common. If you've noticed the costume armor of the series follows the book. An exception was Stanis' India style mail of small plates connected by strips of fine chain mail. the Japanese also used this style mail at one time.

You can't get out of a mail hauberk in a hurry but as described the GOT armour would make the task easier. Until completely soaked through padded leather coats will float. Once the breastplate and gorget are stripped away he'd have a very good chance of reaching the surface.