Game of Thrones: experts speculation [SPOILERS!]

They are if you're a Theon apologist like me.

We are losing a lot of book plots. I guess that does mean they are somewhat extraneous to the main plot but some are still fun (strong Belwas) and could still tie back into the book main plot, albeit in minor ways.

I did not mind Arya's training, but:




They are talking more about the Citadel, so I suppose it will play into it somewhat, but I think someone at TOC got it right when they said it looks like Sam may just find info there to help the war. It would be cool though if what he unearthed was some kind of bargain struck between the Night's King and the Citadel.

It would have been really great if they had to kill shaggy dog, that at least Rickon would have been a growling, snarling beast as they took his hood off.

With the death of Summer, my "Shaggydog Lives" truther campaign is beginning to self-doubt.

Rickon's entire character arc has, to be fair, been an off-screen affair.

SPOILERS AHOY

I am growing less and less impressed with the jib-cut of the Faceless Men. They started from slaves, but essentially they are creating slaves with the whole "a girl does not question" malarkey. It does cue a big theme of the show/books, i.e. that people often try to enforce their own will through religious justification. I guess the Faceless have always been assassins, but there was a clear reason for previous assassinations before (insurance guy was scammer).

In fact, it's so contrary to my own preconceptions of the Faceless Men that I'm beginning to suspect it's a test, and that Arya is not actually supposed to kill the fake Cersei.

As to the rest, well that last scene was very sad indeed. Bring on Coldhands / Uncle Benjen. And for the sake of the almighty fuck, BRING ON THE MANDERLYS.

Using this virtual Game of Thrones Graveyard, www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2014/04/game_of_thrones_deaths_mourn_dead_characters_at_their_virtual_graveyard.html (where you can put flowers on character's graves) to determine who counted as a "plot" character, I found:
Season 1: 5 Characters dead at the same point in the season, 11 total
Season 2: 8 Characters dead at the same point in the season, 13 total
Season 3: 5 Characters dead at the same point in the season 10 total
Season 4: 6 Characters dead at the same point in the season, 18 total
Season 5: 4 Characters dead at the same point in the season, 15 total
Season 6: 14 Characters dead at the current point in the season, ? Total

I honestly didn't expect this season would turn out to be leading so securely. However, math aside, I agree that the deaths are losing their impact (particularly with Ramsay's storyline in my opinion).

PURE SPECULATION ALERT

Returning to the issue of the jib-cut of the Faceless Men, I'm still not convinced that Jaquen is disappointed in Arya. The Waif's smile at being given the go-ahead to kill Arya shows that the Waif has become emotionally invested, and you have to ask why. My guess would be that the Waif is jealous of Arya and the attention that Jaqen gives her, like a junior high school girl with a crush on her teacher. The Waif got all of Jaqen's attentions until Arya came along. So my speculation is that Arya was not supposed to kill the actress, and in fact this has been a test of the Waif. The Waif's fighting skills are markedly superior to Arya's, though, so I am predicting a Faceless ex machina in the form of Jaqen taking out the Waif just before she can deal Arya the final blow. The Waif's spite towards Arya appears contrary to the Faceless Men's dispassionate approach, and thus it's possible that it is the Waif who showed promise but has disappointed Jaquen. I'd like to be wrong about this, though, as it would be more satisfying if Arya were successful in the upcoming showdown.

If I recall correctly, book Arya has her face removed. The mechanics of the Faceless Men's disguises seem to be slightly different on the show, though, with Jaqen's face morphing suddenly (IIRC) when they first parted as though a glamor were used instead of sewing on a new face or however it works in the books. The show still has the hall of faces, though, so it's hard to say to what extent the disguises on the show are intended to be different.

I have only one thing to say to Arya after tonight's episode...

"Septicaemia always wins" -Robyn Hitchcock

Does anyone think that she used the juice of the blood oranges to make it look like she was bleeding or at least bleeding more than she was? I know she was leading the waif into a trap, but that does put her planning on a while different level.

No I disagree with the theory. That's Arya's voice. You might be able to wear a face, or imitate an old lady's voice, but I can't see her magically perfecting the timbre of Arya's voice.

I'm done with this show if they kill Ghost. Just leave the direwolves be.

People travel mighty fast on this show. The Eyrie army should've taken a lot more time to reach Winterfell. Anyway, the reviewer over on AVC says the battle was too morally black and white and the Stark flag was perfunctory. That flag hanging was not cathartic yes, but bittersweet, at the same time sorrowful, desolate, and a bit hopeful. A Stark flag is once again hanging in Winterfell, paid for dearly, and I don't think it was meant to be a crowning moment of Stark glory. Look at what the children of the Stark house, the most noblest of them do, forced by circumstance: Jon, face bloodied beats a guy to a pulp and lovely, perfect Sansa feeds him to the dogs. It's a tragic moment for me as a viewer, not one of satisfaction. So yeah, I think it's a very morally ambiguous episode.

I also thought this was the best Daenerys moment by far, and her and Tyrion make a great team. Finally, after 6 seasons of mostly schlock, we see those dragons fly and Dany being a proper badass.

I loved this episode the most this season; which was pretty strong in my opinion. You could see the relief in the writing that there were no more rules to adhere to.

I can fan wank that one though since all we have to tie that plot into the others is when Theon left Sansa with Brienne. So add the time it takes Sansa to get to Castle Black, travel all over the north recruiting armies and finally marching to Winterfell and I think it is not too far off Theon traveling to the Iron Islands, Kingsmoot and traveling across the narrow sea. Of course we still don't know if their arrival in Meereen really coincides with the battle of the bastards so there could be a few more months plus or minus to play with there.