Game of Thrones on HBO

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I'm reaching the point where I honestly don't believe he'll finish the series, ever.

I'm at the point where I don't care.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I'm at the point where I don't care.

I'm at the point I'll be pleasantly surprised if any is written, but have zero expectation it will be.

Locke Lamora book #4 is the frustrating one since it's had release dates put out.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I'm reaching the point where I honestly don't believe he'll finish the series, ever.

Me either.

Yet another reason I love the TV show. At least it will provide some sense of closure and ending, even if it's not exactly the one that GRRM has planned for the books.

Also, given that the last two books were, overall, more bad than good, I don't have the strong desire to read the next book that I used to. I never thought it would come to that, since the first four are pretty much the only books I've read multiple times and I love them so, but there we are.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I'm at the point I'll be pleasantly surprised if any is written, but have zero expectation it will be.

Locke Lamora book #4 is the frustrating one since it's had release dates put out.

I believe Scott Lynch had a medical situation so its understandable

GRRM (and Patrick Rothfuss) just "wandered away", busy doing anything but finishing their series.

[Groundhog]

I imagine it's taken him so long to write the next books because he's probably kicked off 18 more storylines, and introduced 4 new POV characters and a new continent.

[ISiddiqui]

He's already mentioned a few continents that he hasn't yet explored, including Sothoryos and The Summer Islands....

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I imagine it's taken him so long to write the next books because he's probably kicked off 18 more storylines, and introduced 4 new POV characters and a new continent.

Don't worry, 17 of those 18 will take up 95% of the next book, and culminate in every new POV character dying without advancing the primary plot. The 18th will be a cliffhanger that will be resolved in another 10 years.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Don't worry, 17 of those 18 will take up 95% of the next book, and culminate in every new POV character dying without advancing the primary plot. The 18th will be a cliffhanger that will be resolved in another 10 years.

/SPOILERS

DUH!

[Edward64]

Woo hoo. Prequel coming, excited about this (but GRRM is still an ass)

https://ew.com/tv/2018/06/08/game-th...-jane-goldman/

HBO has officially greenlit a follow-up pilot to its acclaimed international hit Game of Thrones and it sounds just as massively ambitious as the original series.
:
:
According to Martin’s books, the Age of Heroes began 10,000 years before the events in GoT. Some of the major names which could be characters in the new show include Bran the Builder (who founded House Stark and oversaw construction of The Wall and Winterfell) and Lann the Clever (who founded House Lannister). The era led into the Long Night — a winter that lasted a generation — and the greatest war against the white walkers. Then again, that’s what we think we know, and the logline for the new show says this is “not the story we think we know.”

[Coffee Warlord]

Time for a bump.

[spleen1015]

Watching season 7 today in preparation for tonight.

[Lathum]

I read all the books and have watched every season, and I don't really remember anything thats happening. lol.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I read all the books and have watched every season, and I don't really remember anything thats happening. lol.

This pretty much describes how I feel every time any show starts a new season. The other day I watched 2 hour-long episodes of the new Punisher season before realizing I had actually just re-watched the first episodes of the previous season. "This all seems vaguely familiar..."

[Edward64]

So how does this all end? Who else dies and who wins the game?

[JPhillips]

Martin dies and the readers lose.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Martin dies and the readers lose.

are there people out there who really think he is going to finish?

[Coffee Warlord]

My pet theory.

Night King wins. Westeros is a frozen ruin. A handful of survivors sail east to Essos, to recolonize Old Valyria. And in a few thousand years, the cycle starts all over with the ancestors of the survivors returning west.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

My pet theory.

Night King wins. Westeros is a frozen ruin. A handful of survivors sail east to Essos, to recolonize Old Valyria. And in a few thousand years, the cycle starts all over with the ancestors of the survivors returning west.

That might even be too drastic for GRRM.

I do think a Dany and Jon happily ever after is too easy for the story.

[Coffee Warlord]

Bran has creepy stare down pat.

[spleen1015]

There has to be a twist. Its too easy to put Jon on the throne and be done.

[Coffee Warlord]

For such a short season, I really wish their set-up / reunion episode coulda actually been lengthened to add some more dialogue.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

For such a short season, I really wish their set-up / reunion episode coulda actually been lengthened to add some more dialogue.

Everything since they moved past the books has been moving from set piece to set piece with little thought to developing characters motivations or expanding dialogue. Benioff & Weiss complain about budgeting as a reason for the short seasons, but most everyone would love them to pad out 2 more episodes a season of low budget dialogue scenes.

Bran 100% killing the creepy stare game. There's also a chance people just keep leaving him outside - how is he getting that wheelchair around in the mud?!?

Looks like next week we'll end

Spoiler

right before the battle of Winterfell begins, and I assume that will be episode 3. The Night King's motivation has always been mysterious - I love the theory that he's a Stark who just wants to die in the crypts & they'll go back to the political war for the last few episodes, but it still seems to make too much sense they have to end up back in the God's Eye on the Isle of Faces. Not sure how they could have the battle of Winterfell effectively be a draw with a retreat for the Living side, but under these writers Gendry & Jon Snow made it away from the army of the dead north of the wall & Tormund et al survived the dragons burning the wall & marching through Eastwatch, so who knows.

[AnalBumCover]

The opening credits was a nice change.

[stevew]

Red haired "Edward" getting his face burnt off was a nod to Ed Sheeran, right

[molson]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I read all the books and have watched every season, and I don't really remember anything thats happening. lol.

I watched a 9-minute youtube recap video of Season 7 before I dove in tonight, that helped a lot.

The Ultimate Game of Thrones Season 7 recap - YouTube

I also was trying to re-watch the series, just in the background, while doing other stuff, but I only made it up to Season 3. This is a super-rewatchable show though.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

There has to be a twist. Its too easy to put Jon on the throne and be done.

I don't have a lot of faith in the showrunners developing new politics at this point (and if they do, I fear it'll be hideously illogical), but the idea of people finally opening their eyes to the fact that Dany is, well, kind of an asshole and not a good ruler would make for some interesting play. She's a conqueror, not a ruler.

'Course, I think Jon might have too much Ned & Robb in him to be an effective ruler, too.

[molson]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Everything since they moved past the books has been moving from set piece to set piece with little thought to developing characters motivations or expanding dialogue. Benioff & Weiss complain about budgeting as a reason for the short seasons, but most everyone would love them to pad out 2 more episodes a season of low budget dialogue scenes.

I think the cast salaries are a big part of the budget issues and the shorter seasons (and even the series ending). The cast is just so big and the stars make more money every year. The overall show budget is somewhere around $10 million an episode (probably more this year), the top 5 or 6 stars make about $500k per episode each, and there's 5 or 6 more below them who make lower six figures per episode.

[david thomas]

I am guessing they will definitely age the Stark children. Martin already said he wished he had started with them a little older. I think they'll have a hard time putting ten year olds in the situations they are put in the books.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I don't have a lot of faith in the showrunners developing new politics at this point (and if they do, I fear it'll be hideously illogical), but the idea of people finally opening their eyes to the fact that Dany is, well, kind of an asshole and not a good ruler would make for some interesting play. She's a conqueror, not a ruler.

'Course, I think Jon might have too much Ned & Robb in him to be an effective ruler, too.

The whole Dany being willing to kill people without remorse has been building over the series. She has a little bit of her father in her. I think it's foreshadowing how she's going to die before the end of all this.

I can see Jon, *ahem* Aegon, being on the Iron Throne in the end. In some respects it'd be ironic - if there was no Robert's Rebellion, he'd sit on the throne regardless.

[Surtt]

I thought the dragon giving Jon that stare when he was kissing Danny was the biggest "holy shit" moment of the episode.

Was it just me?

[TexasT]

Will the Night King be on the Iron Throne??

[MizzouRah]

It was an awesome episode and I'm already sad it's the last season. Since DishN no longer has HBO, I signed up for HBO NOW just for GOT.

[Surtt]

Darkness lay over the world and a hero, Azor Ahai, was chosen to fight against it. To fight the darkness, Azor Ahai needed to forge a hero's sword. He labored for thirty days and thirty nights until it was done. However, when he went to temper it in water, the sword broke. He was not one to give up easily, so he started over. The second time he took fifty days and fifty nights to make the sword, even better than the first. To temper it this time, he captured a lion and drove the sword into its heart, but once more the steel shattered. The third time, with a heavy heart, for he knew before hand what he must do to finish the blade, he worked for a hundred days and nights until it was finished. This time, he called for his wife, Nissa Nissa, and asked her to bare her breast. He drove his sword into her breast, her soul combining with the steel of the sword, creating Lightbringer, while her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon.

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

The whole Dany being willing to kill people without remorse has been building over the series. She has a little bit of her father in her. I think it's foreshadowing how she's going to die before the end of all this.

My theory is Danny ends up going full mad king, Jon is forced to kill her (ala kingslayer) but then pulls out Lightbringer 2.0.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Surtt

I thought the dragon giving Jon that stare when he was kissing Danny was the biggest "holy shit" moment of the episode.

Was it just me?

I thought it was corny

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I thought it was corny

Ditto.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by molson

I think the cast salaries are a big part of the budget issues and the shorter seasons (and even the series ending). The cast is just so big and the stars make more money every year. The overall show budget is somewhere around $10 million an episode (probably more this year), the top 5 or 6 stars make about $500k per episode each, and there's 5 or 6 more below them who make lower six figures per episode.

Maybe. I think it'd be fine to focus on a couple different storylines & completely leave out some characters in the early season episodes, but I know some fans would go crazy if they had no Dany or Jaime at all some episode.

Speaking of poor decisions, they all knew the white walker army had broken through the wall when they sent Umber back to Last Hearth, right? They always play fast & loose with travel times and I'm not sure they've officially said how far Last Hearth is from the wall/ Winterfell respectively, but that didn't seem like the time for a "hey, go take some more wagons for a leisurely evacuation" situation.

Originally Posted by david thomas

I am guessing they will definitely age the Stark children. Martin already said he wished he had started with them a little older. I think they'll have a hard time putting ten year olds in the situations they are put in the books.

What's the point of bots like this? Are they just trying to test algorithms so they can more easily fake conversations for the advertising bots?

[molson]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

What's the point of bots like this? Are they just trying to test algorithms so they can more easily fake conversations for the advertising bots?

It's word for word what GrantDawg wrote in post #12 of this thread more than 10 years ago.

The bots are slowing phasing us out.

Hmm, maybe everybody here is a bot but me.....

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Surtt

My theory is Danny ends up going full mad king, Jon is forced to kill her (ala kingslayer) but then pulls out Lightbringer 2.0.

Not a bad theory.

I have a feeling that the humans end up losing the Battle of Winterfell and have to fall back and it is there that Dany starts losing it (maybe Drogon gets killed by ice dragon?). Perhaps Jon has to kill Dany during that period in order to be Azor Ahai reborn and have the power to push back against the dead.

Also, Melissandre is still out there as well. I have a feeling she comes back to fight the White Walkers and her fire magic is very useful in that fight.

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I thought it was corny

This is what I thought of the whole dragon-riding sequence.

[bob]

I've only watched the series a single time through and never read the books. Should I have any clue who Azor Ahai is?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by bob

I've only watched the series a single time through and never read the books. Should I have any clue who Azor Ahai is?

It's a prophecy about R'hillor's champion who would come back and save the world wielding his fire magic sword, Lightbringer. Some folks have used him interchangeably with the "Prince that was promised". Melissandre thought Stannis was Azor Ahai reborn. I'm not sure the actual person has been named in the show.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I thought it was corny

Yep. The whole contrived Dany/Jon romance irritates the hell out of me. It doesn't seem authentic or real, and it combines the character I love most with the one I hate most.

That said, as much as I've shredded Seasons 5-7, Season 8's opener was one of the best in a long time (damning with faint praise here, and dragon ride faux-mantic interlude aside). When you're left wanting more, it's a sign they managed to at least not screw it up. It was a nice, clean appetizer.

However, with only five more episodes, they're invariably going to royally fuck this up with the same shitty pacing of Season 7.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Also, Melissandre is still out there as well. I have a feeling she comes back to fight the White Walkers and her fire magic is very useful in that fight.

She already said earlier in the series that she's coming back (when she left in the first place). While I don't know that they'll die at the same time, her and Varys' deaths in Westeros have both been prophecied.

And then there's the whole Dany dream sequence in snow-blanketed King's Landing from much earlier in the series.

I see this going one of two ways:

1. The Night King wins and death rules over all in a wintry wasteland.
2. Plot Armor Jon wins (ugh), Dany is killed, and he's left to rule alone in a position he didn't want, Westeros facing an uncertain future.

Neither one will be a happy ending, but there shouldn't be one. Happiness does not exist in the GOTverse.

[ISiddiqui]

I believe the words used for the ending are "bittersweet", so I'd wager Jon winning while just about all of his family is dead (maybe Sam stays alive as he is basically GRRM inserted into his own story) is the way it is going to go.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I believe the words used for the ending are "bittersweet", so I'd wager Jon winning while just about all of his family is dead (maybe Sam stays alive as he is basically GRRM inserted into his own story) is the way it is going to go.

There is zero sweet in that ending, but that's a reasonable outcome, yeah.

[Chief Rum]

Can someone weigh in on Jon's right.to be the Stark heir?

Yes, does his being a man but from a younger Stark sibling outweigh Sansa and Arya who are the last living progeny of Ned? I am choosing to assume any attempt to thrust the Lord of Winterfell title on Bran will lead him to refuse it, assuming he gets clear enough to focus on what's happenkng around him.

If Sansa (oldest living child of Ned) is the actual head of the Stark family now, then Jon's bending the knee to Dany ends up being just his own loyalty, does it not?

Yes, of course, this all comes back around when everyone including Sansa bends the knee to Jon as the true Targaryen heir (won't ever happen of course, but I'm talking hypotheticals here).

But isn't Sansa in actuality the best claimant to the seat at Winterfell now? And do you all think that realization when Jon's lineage is outed will come out and a cause a whole separate state of dramatic.affairs?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Izulde

There is zero sweet in that ending, but that's a reasonable outcome, yeah.

Well the White Walkers are stopped, humanity survives.

[bob]

This is what I thought of the dragon ride:

Aladdin - A Whole New World [High Quality] - YouTube

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Can someone weigh in on Jon's right.to be the Stark heir?

Yes, does his being a man but from a younger Stark sibling outweigh Sansa and Arya who are the last living progeny of Ned? I am choosing to assume any attempt to thrust the Lord of Winterfell title on Bran will lead him to refuse it, assuming he gets clear enough to focus on what's happenkng around him.

If Sansa (oldest living child of Ned) is the actual head of the Stark family now, then Jon's bending the knee to Dany ends up being just his own loyalty, does it not?

Yes, of course, this all comes back around when everyone including Sansa bends the knee to Jon as the true Targaryen heir (won't ever happen of course, but I'm talking hypotheticals here).

But isn't Sansa in actuality the best claimant to the seat at Winterfell now? And do you all think that realization when Jon's lineage is outed will come out and a cause a whole separate state of dramatic.affairs?

Jon is King in the North because the leige lords of the Starks declared him so (after understanding him as Ned Stark's bastard). As far as actually lineage from Ned, it would be Bran and then Sansa and Arya as Jon is a bastard.

[bob]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

It's a prophecy about R'hillor's champion who would come back and save the world wielding his fire magic sword, Lightbringer. Some folks have used him interchangeably with the "Prince that was promised". Melissandre thought Stannis was Azor Ahai reborn. I'm not sure the actual person has been named in the show.

Who is R'hillor?