Game of Thrones Season 6: The Quickening (chatter/guesses/spoilers)

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:17 pm

I feel like during the Battle of the Bastards some third party will intervene similar to how Tywin showed up in the nick of time during the Battle of Blackwater. Otherwise, I'm not sure how Jon and the Wildlings win.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:18 pm

Johnnie wrote:I feel like during the Battle of the Bastards some third party will intervene similar to how Tywin showed up in the nick of time during the Battle of Blackwater. Otherwise, I'm not sure how Jon and the Wildlings win.

Oh, it's gonna be littlefinger.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:22 pm

A_B wrote:How the hell did i never realize that if Cersei loses her trial, she is guilty of incest and Tommen has no claim? Huge "duh" moment for me.

I don't remember her being on trial for incest, either. I seem to recall it was either for having sex with other guys (Lancel and someone who I don't think is even in the TV show), or making false accusations against Margaery.

I think that if she were going on trial for incest, it would be a bigger deal within the confines of the show. LIke Tommen would say something about it. And Jaime would be arrested also.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:25 pm

Steve of phpBB wrote:
A_B wrote:How the hell did i never realize that if Cersei loses her trial, she is guilty of incest and Tommen has no claim? Huge "duh" moment for me.
I don't remember her being on trial for incest, either. I seem to recall it was either for having sex with other guys (Lancel and someone who I don't think is even in the TV show), or making false accusations against Margaery.

I think that if she were going on trial for incest, it would be a bigger deal within the confines of the show. LIke Tommen would say something about it. And Jaime would be arrested also.

Ah. Cousin Lancel is the incestuous one in this case, not Jaime. And Lancel has already atoned for his sins I suppose by joining the faith militant. That's right. So it wouldn't illegitimize Tommen.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Tue Jun 14, 2016 6:00 pm

Pretty good stuff:

Post by **Shirley** » Tue Jun 14, 2016 11:52 pm

While the chase of Arya was a little cheesy, I didn't think it was all that bad. The Waif was always cocky, so that wasn't really out of character. I thought the fighting in the dark was a nice twist and a reasonable way to explain how and why Arya was able to win.

That battle should be pretty awesome. For as dark as this series has been, I simply can't see them having Ramsey win that battle over Jon Snow, Sansa (well, she could die), and the awesome Onion Knight. It's not like it's a secret that Littlefinger is leading a fairly large army up from the Vale to attack Ramsey's army from the back.

I was thinking that Cersei's rumor was something about the High Sparrow, but it does make sense that it's instead about stores of wildfire. That's exactly the kind of thing she and Qyburn would look for. It also goes perfectly with the speech Jamie gave about her and how she'd do anything, and kill anyone, to save her family (and herself, of course).

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:58 am

tennbengal wrote:I yield. The Arya arc was stupid and ended nonsensically.

I'm just glad I didn't have to come in here and hold you down and force you to say that.

This show is slipping into Lost territory where the obsessive fan theories are topping what the showrunners can come up with (just one episode flushed away any hope of LSH, the Cleganebowl, the return of Syrio Forel and any meaning to Arya's trip to Braavos). Since the whole Arya thing was played straight, I really wish she had maybe taken just one knifing to the gut instead of 3 or 4 (or 5?).

In a further indication that they misjudged the whole Arya/Braavos side-trip, I think Dany's return to Meereen would have been a more dramatic ending than Jaqen smirking as Arya walks out of the temple. Especially if it was clear Drogon was flying off to burn some fucking warships. Fire! Fire!

Post by **Shirley** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:23 pm

I don't get why you guys are saying Arya's trip to Braavos was a waste. Did she not go through some pretty extensive assassin training? Maybe she didn't learn the face thing, but she learned better how to fight, how to blend in, how to be patient, etc. She's definitely more of a badass than she was when she left Westeros.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:38 pm

Shirley wrote:I don't get why you guys are saying Arya's trip to Braavos was a waste. Did she not go through some pretty extensive assassin training? Maybe she didn't learn the face thing, but she learned better how to fight, how to blend in, how to be patient, etc. She's definitely more of a badass than she was when she left Westeros.

I supposed you are right, but to me that seems like an insufficient payoff for the number of episodes the Braavos storyline took up.

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:40 pm

Shirley wrote:I don't get why you guys are saying Arya's trip to Braavos was a waste. Did she not go through some pretty extensive assassin training? Maybe she didn't learn the face thing, but she learned better how to fight, how to blend in, how to be patient, etc. She's definitely more of a badass than she was when she left Westeros.

Such a badass she managed to take only 3 or 4 (or 5?) gut wounds before she threw herself over a bridge to get away from the assailant she should have been expecting to jump her. Meh.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 10:16 pm

rass wrote:
Shirley wrote:I don't get why you guys are saying Arya's trip to Braavos was a waste. Did she not go through some pretty extensive assassin training? Maybe she didn't learn the face thing, but she learned better how to fight, how to blend in, how to be patient, etc. She's definitely more of a badass than she was when she left Westeros.
Such a badass she managed to take only 3 or 4 (or 5?) gut wounds before she threw herself over a bridge to get away from the assailant she should have been expecting to jump her. Meh.

Yeh, I don't understand her thinking there. She had to know they'd come after her. She was very nonchalant about blending in/keeping her guard up during that sequence.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:15 pm

Shirley wrote:Book 2 alone is over 37 hours. That's a lot of commuting.

Uploaded and started listening today. My commute from home to work, work to home, home to the gym, and the gym back home totaled just over the hour and eleven minutes that the epilogue covered in book two. So I can figure at the very least that that's my average for a day I'm working. Who knows how often I'll be driving around on the weekends as well.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:34 pm

That was wholly satisfying. RIP Wun Wun.

vandwagon · Post by **vandwagon** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 8:23 am

During the battle scene I kept wondering if that was what medieval battles - especially the cavalry charges - actually looked like? Men and horses just bashing into each other? That was insane. Very well done.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:06 am

It was exactly what I thought was going to happen and I loved every minute of it. May have even shed a tear or two.

Johnny Carwash · Post by **Johnny Carwash** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:14 am

Sorry to sound like a killjoy, but did anyone else find that episode underwhelming after how much it had been built up? Some good work on the battle scenes, but predictable overall, and really ham-fisted writing. The argument between Jon and Sansa before the battle made no sense other than to create fake "drama." Also, seeing others point out how it made no sense for Sansa not to mention to Jon she had asked Littlefinger for help.

Good fucking riddance, Ramsay. Not in the usual "glad the bad guy died" way, but just relief at finally doing away with a character that had gotten so cartoonish it was tedious. It would have at least been interesting to seem him come unraveled as the battle turned against him, but they left him in full smirking asshole mode until his last few seconds.

Meereen sucked as usual. Oh hey, Dany is faced with a crisis, makes a self-righteous speech, then unleashes her dragons, problem solved. Didn't see that one coming. Please tell me she's finally getting off the continent before next season.

I know I sound cranky, a lot of it was that previous episode and especially Arya's plotline being such a massive disappointment after all the possibilities it offered. It sapped my confidence in the showrunners doing anything other than the most obvious, telegraphed things with the plot now that they've run out of GRRM's material.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:24 am

I don't have much of a problem with Sansa (and I guess I should keep the Arya plot lesson in mind here) not telling Jon about LF, or with the timing of his forces joining the battle. They came in at what was probably the best time for them, after Ramsey's archers had broken ranks to charge, when the Bolton forces were concentrated in one spot with no hope of retreating en masse back to Winterfell. Either Sansa didn't know for sure they were coming, or she did, and as she warned Jon, she was going to make sure she didn't end up back with Ramsey. She was willing to write off Rickon, so why not Jon also if he was dumb enough to fall into Ramsey's trap?

You're 100% right on Meereen, but fucking dragons! Woo!!!

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:40 am

I think what was amazing about that episode is what is bothering some folks today: We knew where both of the plot lines were going -- it was all pretty predictable. To some, when compared to past penultimate GoT episodes, last night didn't deliver that shocking, Holy Shit moment.

Personally, I really enjoyed it. I mean, the Red Wedding and to a lesser extent Hardhome weren't exactly fun or pleasurable experiences. Not saying last night was, but at least the results were mostly satisfying (RIP Rickon and Wun Wun.)

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:44 am

One thing I'm having trouble with, though... I just don't think these dragons look so hard to defeat. I mean, the Bolton's showed how destructive a bunch of archers can be. And, yeah, it took making the giant look like a pin cushion to finally take him down, but he's lumbering around on the ground. You start riddling a dragon's wings with holes, I'm pretty sure they aren't able to sustain flight.

ETA: One more thing... I'm seeing recaps where they keep saying Dany and the dragons "took out the whole fleet." Um, no, right? Pretty sure she/they just burned up the one ship and the other crews abandoned their respective ships. The point was to keep as many as possible. Not a big deal, but I remember watching thinking "why aren't they burning the other ships? Oh, duh."

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:59 am

Nonlinear FC wrote:I think what was amazing about that episode is what is bothering some folks today: We knew where both of the plot lines were going -- it was all pretty predictable. To some, when compared to past penultimate GoT episodes, last night didn't deliver that shocking, Holy Shit moment.

Personally, I really enjoyed it. I mean, the Red Wedding and to a lesser extent Hardhome weren't exactly fun or pleasurable experiences. Not saying last night was, but at least the results were mostly satisfying (RIP Rickon and Wun Wun.)

This is going to continue to be a bit of an issue (for some) going forward. This isn't the Walking Dead where keeping the characters in a constant and never ending state of misery is the point of the show. We know there is an end point coming for this series. Characters can get still get knocked off, but the "good guys" are going to start to have to "win" at some point, and I guess that's always a little predictable.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 11:02 am

(That show is a great example of one I couldn't keep watching. Got through 3 or 4 seasons and I was done. Nothing really about the quality of the show changed, but I just couldn't see an end point. When they announce the thing is ending, I might go back and watch.)

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 11:06 am

The way I see it, a lot of the good guys are still going to have to lose. Unless of course Bran and Arya get to Winterfell and John and Dany end up forming an alliance to defeat the Lannisters, Sand Snakes, walkers, faceless people, Freys, and whoever else.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 11:13 am

Jerloma wrote:The way I see it, a lot of the good guys are still going to have to lose. Unless of course Bran and Arya get to Winterfell and John and Dany end up forming an alliance to defeat the Lannisters, Sand Snakes, walkers, faceless people, Freys, and whoever else.

They've already announced there are only like 13(?) episodes left after this season, so yeah, shit like that has to start happening. So Dany says goodbye to Meereen (hopefully) and we say goodbye to Ramsay.

That French Guy · Post by **That French Guy** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:18 pm

One of my biggest pet peeves is people running away in a straight line from something that cant switch directions (like Charlize Theron in fucking Prometheus). Try to zig and zag Rickon !

blundercrush · Post by **blundercrush** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:34 pm

Good doggies.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:47 pm

That French Guy wrote:One of my biggest pet peeves is people running away in a straight line from something that cant switch directions (like Charlize Theron in fucking Prometheus). Try to zig and zag Rickon !

Yeah, I was also shouting (internally) that he should cut over behind one of those flaying cross things.

I read some folks wondering how Ramsay all of a sudden became an expert with a bow and I was all... Um dude spent countless hours hunting in the woods with that crazy bitch Theon threw over the wall.

And I bring this up because there a lot of professional GoT grousers out there now. This was on The Atlantic, and I'm like "they are paying you, please do better."

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:18 pm

Finally watched it tonight. The battle sequence was wholly satisfying from a gore and action sequence standpoint. I was in awe the entire time. And I knew there'd be a third party intervention (AB correctly noted Littlefinger) so it was completely predictable. After so many seasons of dense story that seemed to linger without character overlap, this sort of thing is going to happen since the series will be ending soon. It's sped up for TV.

Ramsay's death was also extremely satisfying. And Sansa's smirk as she was walking away was great.

If you guys think Meereen is a letdown, what about Dorne? That entire region hasn't been heard from for what? 4 or 5 episodes? Dany coming back to avenge with dragons is what you expect. She has literally overcame the longshot odds in every friggin situation she's faced. It does get tiresome.

So, what's next?

rass · Post by **rass** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 5:58 am

Johnnie wrote:If you guys think Meereen is a letdown, what about Dorne? That entire region hasn't been heard from for what? 4 or 5 episodes? Dany coming back to avenge with dragons is what you expect. She has literally overcame the longshot odds in every friggin situation she's faced. It does get tiresome.

So, what's next?

I'm assuming Varys headed for Dorne. Whether we'll get confirmation of that (much less a pay off) this season, ???

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 7:20 am

Nonlinear FC wrote:One thing I'm having trouble with, though... I just don't think these dragons look so hard to defeat. I mean, the Bolton's showed how destructive a bunch of archers can be. And, yeah, it took making the giant look like a pin cushion to finally take him down, but he's lumbering around on the ground. You start riddling a dragon's wings with holes, I'm pretty sure they aren't able to sustain flight.

COME ON, DUDE!

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 7:22 am

Dany bores the shit out of me. Zero character development since she got birthed out of the fire. Tyrion is trying, but his talents are wasted on her.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 12:22 pm

That French Guy wrote:One of my biggest pet peeves is people running away in a straight line from something that cant switch directions (like Charlize Theron in fucking Prometheus). Try to zig and zag Rickon !

Serpentine Rickon! Sepentine!

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 2:33 pm

Damn you, Dave.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:41 pm

Oh my god.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 7:47 pm

vandwagon wrote:During the battle scene I kept wondering if that was what medieval battles - especially the cavalry charges - actually looked like? Men and horses just bashing into each other? That was insane. Very well done.

Vulture Q&A on the topic.

duff · Post by **duff** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 7:28 am

What is Rickon Starks favorite band?

One Direction

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:00 am

One Direction?

What is the Leroy Jenkins thing? Never heard of it.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:01 am

Jerloma wrote:One Direction?

What is the Leroy Jenkins thing? Never heard of it.

It's world of warcraft thing. Guys are taking it pretty seriously but LEEEROY ain't having it.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:06 am

Greek.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:24 am

Jerloma wrote:Greek.

It's an MMPG - massive multiplayer dealie. Those were all characters being played by gamers at their computers wherever. They were on a quest together - the voices you hear are them talking to each other via their microphones and what not. They were stopping to do the side quest that they didn't want to do because Leroy needed them to. They were making a plan when Leroy went charging in with the Leeeeeeerrrrooooyyy Jeeennnnnkkiiinnnns battle cry. They all followed him and were slaughtered.

Like Jon charging at the Boltons.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:39 am

Aaahhh...that's pretty fucking funny in context then.