Spoilers, yada yada
Let’s jump right into this, shall we?
– Arya’s scene was actually a little more interesting this week. These brief appearances have their issues, because everything seems to be moving at a snail’s pace… but it was the best one to date this season.
– I just want something to happen with Tyrion and the rest. My biggest problem with the Dany story is that it just feels like it’s spinning tires to wait for everyone else to get organized. Her only success so far is recruiting two armies and… occupying one city.
– The Dany scene itself just felt… so… useless. Give more, or give less. Just get something going. The slow build can work, but there’s gotta be a good payoff.
– King’s Landing, too. I liked seeing Dr. Frankenstein trying to rebuild the network Varys had, but somehow it wouldn’t surprise me if Varys used that to fuck him. The standoff with the High Council was the most interesting thing to happen since Jaime returned — and it may lead to some folk getting their heads removed from their shoulders.
– Seeing Ramsay get Osha and Rickon was a real downer after enjoying the Umber fellow tell off Ramsay. The death of Shaggy Dog was a GRRM-esque twist if ever there was one. If Umber isn’t in this to screw Ramsay over I’ll be quite disappointed — House Umber and House Mormont seem the most likely to want revenge on the Boltons after the Red Wedding. (And nobody up there can possibly believe Ramsay as their liege is a good idea)
– The Tower of Joy flashback was pretty much flawless. This was an instance where the brevity of it paid off, and we see a great deal of progress at the same time: One, Bran was able to intervene albeit in a minor way, and two, c’mon. That was the best possible tease of the R+L=J theory.
– Seeing Thorne and Olly swing was only the second best part of the Jon Snow scenes. That entire scene was full of win, and my interest in what they’re doing up there may well be why the other interruptions are so looked down on. C’mon: “I’ve seen your pecker. What god would have a pecker that small?” Then Thorne and Olly swinging. Then, “My watch is ended.”
Now, for some predictions and thoughts:
– If the show had any balls left they’d kill Dany. The disruption that would cause would be enormous, and it’d leave quite a few of the characters without any firm ground to stand on. Imagine the reaction of Jorah Mormont. (Also, I will not be surprised if somehow that ick he’s caught gets cured. It got cured for Stannis’s daughter.)
– Assuming R+L=J, Jon Targaryen would have the best claim to the throne as the only remaining child of the Crown Prince. Succession goes to the children first, not the siblings — that’s why Stannis and Renly insisted loudly that Cersei’s children weren’t Robert’s.
– I think Jon lied to Melisandre about seeing nothing. Yeah, it fits the direction, but it’d be a pretty good swerve to have him totally unable to tell anyone what he did see.
– Not a prediction, but I’m about done watching Ramsay and his like torture folk, and I’ll be taking a break if they’re going to torture Osha or Rickon. I’d rather read YouTube comments than watch more torture.
– I wouldn’t be surprised if Edd and the Watch joined Jon on his march south, in an attempt to unify the kingdoms to fight the White Walkers. Jon has seen those fuckers. The Wildlings have seen those fuckers. Those fuckers are horrifying. Wildlings, some of the Watch, House Mormont, maybe House Umber with a screwjob (or, for the twist — Karstark running the long con; Robb did what he did, but Jon/Rickon didn’t).
– In the preview we see Littlefinger talking about Sansa. She’s blood to that little weirdo, and the adults there seem very White Knight-ish — totally falling apart for Sansa’s tears — so I wouldn’t be surprised if what remains of House Arryn went to war for Sansa, too. Now Ramsay has that to deal with, too.
– Oh, an the Freys can’t possibly be happy with Ramsay as his father had married a Frey…
– The Lannisters are fucked: the church hates them, those Dornish snakes hate them, the North hates them. The biggest retard attempting to suck up to them got thrown off a rope bridge last week. Tyrion may well end up as heir to Casterly Rock (though I still contend he’s a Targaryen.) The most fucked Lannister is Lancel, though.
– The Tyrells are very intelligent and scheming. They won’t stay tied to a failing house like the Lannisters.
– Tommen’s days are numbered, and in name that ends House Baratheon.
– I have a feeling the end of this series may well be Jon, Dany, and Tyrion (on dragons) leading the armies of the world north against the White Walkers. Dany may well decide the Iron Throne isn’t worth a damn by the time this is all over — her fight and hate of slavery may take over her will to sit on the world’s ugliest throne.
– I’m utterly at a loss to figure out what Bran is going to do with this knowledge.
– The Hound will be back in the next two episodes.
– And the ultimate twist: In the end, House Stark wins. Rickon as Warden of the North (or King in the North), Jon on the Iron Throne (hey, Targaryen’s like incest — how do they fell about cousins, Sansa? We already know Jon likes redheads), Arya (I mean, “a girl”) running a bunch of assassins, Bran running some sort of telepathic internet service to coordinate. Yeah, Robb the Simple, first of his name, got killed, but he was just following the example set by his too-noble-for-their-own-good parents.