Apparently Benjen is Coldhands after all, pretty huge revelation...
Although, seeing as how G.R.R.M. explicitly said he wasn't, I'm guessing this will be another point where the books and the show diverge, but it makes it more interesting to see how it's handled in the books going forward.
Arya is completely unloyal to the Faceless Men. Only The Waif seems to know this--Jaquen is deluded. Arya might be deluded herself, but I think it is more likely that she's purposely playing the Faceless Men in order to get the assassination skills she needs to knock off everyone on her hit list.
When asked to completely give up "Arya's" past, she threw everything out except Needle. Remember she hid Needle in the wall, essentially reserving a piece of herself for future use. There's no way that was a throwaway scene.
After insisting repeatedly that she was nobody, she killed a personal target and outright declares herself as Arya Stark to her victim.
Jaqen's subsequent tests have been lame. "Hey I'll give you your sight back and some dinner if you just say you're Arya!" ...that was the easiest and most obvious test on the face of the planet.
My suspicion/hope is that Arya faces a difficult test (one that is actually very difficult this time), and passes it. This gives her the credibility to be accepted as one of the Faceless Men. Then she learns how to shapeshift, betrays the Faceless Men, and heads home to kill everyone on her hit list.
Though I was disappointed with the new alliance between the crown and the high sparrow - I didn't see that coming. I was rather hoping to see them throw down and take back the queen by force. However, as we well know, the Lannisters aren't giving up that easily and this just adds to the anticipation of the big battle here to come.
I think we all suspected that Arya wasn't going to be fully on board with the House of Black & White and was using them to learn new skills she could leverage against her list of enemies. Yet, its obviously not over as we see now that the Waif has been given clearance to go after her. The look on the Waif's face as she walks away from Jaqen implies to me that its personal for her in that she never approved of Arya joining with them.
Though I was disappointed with the new alliance between the crown and the high sparrow - I didn't see that coming. I was rather hoping to see them throw down and take back the queen by force. However, as we well know, the Lannisters aren't giving up that easily and this just adds to the anticipation of the big battle here to come.
I was surprised by this development, too. But much as I wanted to see a battle, it was even better to see Jaime outfoxed by the High Sparrow. No matter what their motivations, Tommen is loved by Cersei and Margaery by Olenna, so Jaime was stuck. I'm sure that Tommen's religious conversion was Margaery's work, since she knew it would get her out of confinement and into a position of power, even if only temporarily.
I think we all suspected that Arya wasn't going to be fully on board with the House of Black & White and was using them to learn new skills she could leverage against her list of enemies. Yet, its obviously not over as we see now that the Waif has been given clearance to go after her. The look on the Waif's face as she walks away from Jaqen implies to me that its personal for her in that she never approved of Arya joining with them.
It was cool how Arya remained ambivalent until the last second. After all, she did pour the poison into Lady Crane's drink. I don't know how long the Arya-Waif story will play out. But when it ends, despite GoT's penchant for killing off beloved characters, I think that Arya will show the Waif that metal beats wood.
I enjoyed Sam and Gilly's scenes at Horn Hill. It was great to see Gilly speak up for Sam at the table, but I was disappointed that Sam stayed silent even after his father learned that Gilly is a Wildling. He did redeem himself at the end, though. I'm sure this isn't the last we'll see of Randyll Tarly.
At this point, I find myself getting impatient whenever a scene seems to drag on too long, especially when I think of all the storylines in play:
Bran/Meera/Benjen in the North
Castle Black and the Wall
King's Landing
Arya and the Waif
Sam and Gilly
Jon, Sansa, and the coming Battle for Winterfell
Night King, White Walkers, and zombie army
Dorne
Riverrun
Meereen
Dany and her army
Yara and Theon and their fleet
Clearly some of these will eventually converge, but for now the showrunners/writers need to be careful how they parcel out the limited amount of time they have each week. Actually, I should say "parceled," as season 6 has been in the can for some time already, since shooting ended in December. The show's production schedule is crazy, as confirmed by David Benioff in April:
“This season was a beast to make,” showrunner David Benioff told the audience at the premiere. “We shot 680 hours of dailies, which translates to 3.7 million feet of film. We shot in five different countries – Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, and Canada. We employed 900 crewmembers in Belfast; 400 in Spain. We issued 140 script revisions. We two shot units a day for 22 weeks straight, three units a day for 10 weeks straight, four units for two weeks straight. And none of that would be possible without the greatest producing team on the planet.”
One more bit that I'll put in spoiler text in case not everyone's familiar with the underlying theory:
If R+L=J (that is, Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark), then Dany would be Jon's aunt. That seems weird, but it makes me wonder who has the more legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. And, now that the Night King can eavesdrop on Bran's visions, will Bran return to the Tower of Joy and confirm that the theory is accurate? Not that Jon isn't already high on the Night King's hit list, but knowing Jon's true identity would raise the stakes further.
Have you noticed that so far this season all of the living Starks have returned in some way or another?
Jon: returned from the dead
Sansa: returned to family (Jon)
Arya: vision returned
Bran: returned to the show
Rickon: returned to the show/returned to Winterfell
Is this some sort of foreshadowing of the Starks uniting to take Winterfell? Or is it just something to keep our hopes up and kill them all, in typical Game of Thrones fashion?
Does anybody think that Arya is going to come back to Westeros and help out her family?
It's not out of the question. All of the Starks are headed in the same general direction in my opinion, and there was all that stuff about 'you should have stayed where you were' or whatever it was that Jaqen or that girl said in the last episode, and in the synopsis of the next episode it says 'Arya faces a difficult choice'. It reminds me of the synopsis in the episode where Jon betrays the wildlings.
I know, quoting my own posts. But my theory is coming along nicely. Arya has betrayed Jaqen and the Many Faced God, and hopefully going back to Westeros, as stated above. And we even have another Stark in the picture. Wasn't expecting that at all. Now we have 6. #starkunitedfront
Apart from that, not too shabby. I think Tommen is becoming a bit reckless. I'm all for peace, but exiling Jaime? Not cool. Would have liked to see a bit of some other characters, but I guess there's only so much you can fit into an hour.
Bran's arc has always been less satisfying to me than the others. So now we see that he can observe the past while still hearing what's happening in the present and can influence past events, since people there can hear him. That opens up all the usual time travel paradoxes. For example, why can't Bran go back to the day he saw Cersei and Jaime and prevent his younger self from climbing up the wall and getting pushed by Jaime? Or is that prohibited by the rules of warging or whatever?
I prefer the story lines that focus on conflict, intrigue, politics, and so on, even if they involve supernatural powers like Dany's flame and heat-proofing. To me, that's the essence of the Game of Thrones. It's great, for example, to see Sansa grow into a sophisticated player in that world.
I suspect the time travel aspect will take a back seat to the present. It did not appear easy, and what happened to Hodor at this point is a complete mystery other than we know there is a link between the past and the present. That's not the same as going back in time and changing the future, because for Hodor it was an event in the present that reached back to effect him in the past.
Does anybody think that Arya is going to come back to Westeros and help out her family?
It's not out of the question. All of the Starks are headed in the same general direction in my opinion, and there was all that stuff about 'you should have stayed where you were' or whatever it was that Jaqen or that girl said in the last episode, and in the synopsis of the next episode it says 'Arya faces a difficult choice'. It reminds me of the synopsis in the episode where Jon betrays the wildlings.
Yes, I think Ayra will go back to Westeros. At the House of Black and White she is learning skills. I don't think there plan is to stay there especially now that we have a kill order on her.
Apparently Benjen is Coldhands after all, pretty huge revelation...
Although, seeing as how G.R.R.M. explicitly said he wasn't, I'm guessing this will be another point where the books and the show diverge, but it makes it more interesting to see how it's handled in the books going forward.
He seems kinda lively for a dead guy. If the Children of the Woods helped him the same way, they created the White Walkers, I wonder why his eyes are not blue?
Though I was disappointed with the new alliance between the crown and the high sparrow - I didn't see that coming. I was rather hoping to see them throw down and take back the queen by force. However, as we well know, the Lannisters aren't giving up that easily and this just adds to the anticipation of the big battle here to come.
I think we all suspected that Arya wasn't going to be fully on board with the House of Black & White and was using them to learn new skills she could leverage against her list of enemies. Yet, its obviously not over as we see now that the Waif has been given clearance to go after her. The look on the Waif's face as she walks away from Jaqen implies to me that its personal for her in that she never approved of Arya joining with them.
Yeah, some personality conflict there. You never know in a story like this, it could be this is just another test for Ayra and she could still be in favor at the House of Black and White.
I was surprised by this development, too. But much as I wanted to see a battle, it was even better to see Jaime outfoxed by the High Sparrow. No matter what their motivations, Tommen is loved by Cersei and Margaery by Olenna, so Jaime was stuck. I'm sure that Tommen's religious conversion was Margaery's work, since she knew it would get her out of confinement and into a position of power, even if only temporarily.
It was cool how Arya remained ambivalent until the last second. After all, she did pour the poison into Lady Crane's drink. I don't know how long the Arya-Waif story will play out. But when it ends, despite GoT's penchant for killing off beloved characters, I think that Arya will show the Waif that metal beats wood.
I enjoyed Sam and Gilly's scenes at Horn Hill. It was great to see Gilly speak up for Sam at the table, but I was disappointed that Sam stayed silent even after his father learned that Gilly is a Wildling. He did redeem himself at the end, though. I'm sure this isn't the last we'll see of Randyll Tarly.
At this point, I find myself getting impatient whenever a scene seems to drag on too long, especially when I think of all the storylines in play:
Bran/Meera/Benjen in the North
Castle Black and the Wall
King's Landing
Arya and the Waif
Sam and Gilly
Jon, Sansa, and the coming Battle for Winterfell
Night King, White Walkers, and zombie army
Dorne
Riverrun
Meereen
Dany and her army
Yara and Theon and their fleet
Clearly some of these will eventually converge, but for now the showrunners/writers need to be careful how they parcel out the limited amount of time they have each week. Actually, I should say "parceled," as season 6 has been in the can for some time already, since shooting ended in December. The show's production schedule is crazy, as confirmed by David Benioff in April:
“This season was a beast to make,” showrunner David Benioff told the audience at the premiere. “We shot 680 hours of dailies, which translates to 3.7 million feet of film. We shot in five different countries – Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, and Canada. We employed 900 crewmembers in Belfast; 400 in Spain. We issued 140 script revisions. We two shot units a day for 22 weeks straight, three units a day for 10 weeks straight, four units for two weeks straight. And none of that would be possible without the greatest producing team on the planet.”
One more bit that I'll put in spoiler text in case not everyone's familiar with the underlying theory:
If R+L=J (that is, Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark), then Dany would be Jon's aunt. That seems weird, but it makes me wonder who has the more legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. And, now that the Night King can eavesdrop on Bran's visions, will Bran return to the Tower of Joy and confirm that the theory is accurate? Not that Jon isn't already high on the Night King's hit list, but knowing Jon's true identity would raise the stakes further.
I was surprised by this development, too. But much as I wanted to see a battle, it was even better to see Jaime outfoxed by the High Sparrow. No matter what their motivations, Tommen is loved by Cersei and Margaery by Olenna, so Jaime was stuck. I'm sure that Tommen's religious conversion was Margaery's work, since she knew it would get her out of confinement and into a position of power, even if only temporarily.
It was cool how Arya remained ambivalent until the last second. After all, she did pour the poison into Lady Crane's drink. I don't know how long the Arya-Waif story will play out. But when it ends, despite GoT's penchant for killing off beloved characters, I think that Arya will show the Waif that metal beats wood.
I enjoyed Sam and Gilly's scenes at Horn Hill. It was great to see Gilly speak up for Sam at the table, but I was disappointed that Sam stayed silent even after his father learned that Gilly is a Wildling. He did redeem himself at the end, though. I'm sure this isn't the last we'll see of Randyll Tarly.
At this point, I find myself getting impatient whenever a scene seems to drag on too long, especially when I think of all the storylines in play:
Bran/Meera/Benjen in the North
Castle Black and the Wall
King's Landing
Arya and the Waif
Sam and Gilly
Jon, Sansa, and the coming Battle for Winterfell
Night King, White Walkers, and zombie army
Dorne
Riverrun
Meereen
Dany and her army
Yara and Theon and their fleet
Clearly some of these will eventually converge, but for now the showrunners/writers need to be careful how they parcel out the limited amount of time they have each week. Actually, I should say "parceled," as season 6 has been in the can for some time already, since shooting ended in December. The show's production schedule is crazy, as confirmed by David Benioff in April:
“This season was a beast to make,” showrunner David Benioff told the audience at the premiere. “We shot 680 hours of dailies, which translates to 3.7 million feet of film. We shot in five different countries – Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, and Canada. We employed 900 crewmembers in Belfast; 400 in Spain. We issued 140 script revisions. We two shot units a day for 22 weeks straight, three units a day for 10 weeks straight, four units for two weeks straight. And none of that would be possible without the greatest producing team on the planet.”
One more bit that I'll put in spoiler text in case not everyone's familiar with the underlying theory:
If R+L=J (that is, Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark), then Dany would be Jon's aunt. That seems weird, but it makes me wonder who has the more legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. And, now that the Night King can eavesdrop on Bran's visions, will Bran return to the Tower of Joy and confirm that the theory is accurate? Not that Jon isn't already high on the Night King's hit list, but knowing Jon's true identity would raise the stakes further.
That dialogue between Arya Stark and Lady Crane where she gives her advice on how to better play the Joffrey death scene was Arya talking about herself and Ned Stark. It was particularly poignant at the end when she said '... I have to go, my father is waiting for me'.
If R+L=J (that is, Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark), then Dany would be Jon's aunt. That seems weird, but it makes me wonder who has the more legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. And, now that the Night King can eavesdrop on Bran's visions, will Bran return to the Tower of Joy and confirm that the theory is accurate? Not that Jon isn't already high on the Night King's hit list, but knowing Jon's true identity would raise the stakes further.
Since you put your bit in the spoiler box, I think it would be appropriate that I put my response in one as well
Even if Jon is a Tarrgaryen, which I'm still not fully convinced of, Jon is still a bastard. Before S6 started, there was three reasons why he was never going to get the iron throne. He's dead, He's a brother of the Night's Watch, and he's a bastard. The first two are out of the way, but the third still holds true. The trueborn always has more claim.
Since you put your bit in the spoiler box, I think it would be appropriate that I put my response in one as well
Even if Jon is a Tarrgaryen, which I'm still not fully convinced of, Jon is still a bastard. Before S6 started, there was three reasons why he was never going to get the iron throne. He's dead, He's a brother of the Night's Watch, and he's a bastard. The first two are out of the way, but the third still holds true. The trueborn always has more claim.
I put the last bit in a spoiler box just in case some thread participants aren't familiar with the R+L=J theory. Of course, I have no way to confirm it, though I've read speculation that the show will return to the Tower of Joy later this season and perhaps we'll know. The best evidence that I've seen in favor of R+L=J comes from a video on Alt Shift X's YouTube channel. I go there for his weekly recaps, which are very well done.
Your point about Jon being a bastard is valid. I also think that despite any claim that Jon has related to his true lineage, he's not interested in ruling anything. Dany, on the other hand, is a bit scary. Seeing Aerys in Bran's flashback/memory dump made me wonder how many of her father's traits she has...
Since you put your bit in the spoiler box, I think it would be appropriate that I put my response in one as well
Even if Jon is a Tarrgaryen, which I'm still not fully convinced of, Jon is still a bastard. Before S6 started, there was three reasons why he was never going to get the iron throne. He's dead, He's a brother of the Night's Watch, and he's a bastard. The first two are out of the way, but the third still holds true. The trueborn always has more claim.
This does not mean he won't be part of the final solutions as a Stark-Targarian with Daenary Stormborn. These things are floating around as rumors so I did not include a spoiler tag.
[doublepost=1464696883][/doublepost]One of my dissapointment of this story is that Daenerys has 3 kick-ass Dragons, but she's been squandering them as a resource. Ok, maybe she's been busy, lol, but make the time damn it! The show as of Season 6, Episode 6 Blood Of My Blood, maybe the perfect example of the short changing of the story where she appears on and in control of a dragon. It will be interesting to see how this is approached in the book, if it's the GoT version of How To Train Your Dragon or if it happens behind the scenes, leaving it to our imagination.
Since you put your bit in the spoiler box, I think it would be appropriate that I put my response in one as well
Even if Jon is a Tarrgaryen, which I'm still not fully convinced of, Jon is still a bastard. Before S6 started, there was three reasons why he was never going to get the iron throne. He's dead, He's a brother of the Night's Watch, and he's a bastard. The first two are out of the way, but the third still holds true. The trueborn always has more claim.
Exactly. That's why I don't think that there is any point in revealing the whole R+L=J thing. People forget that it's just a TV show and that the writers are in charge. They're all like 'It's a fact, you can't change it'. But GRRM and the writers have had 20 years to change it.
It does. Ned just wanted to honour his King. Nothing to do with power. Remember his line in the dialogue with Cersei? 'I've made many mistakes in my life. That wasn't one of them.'
EDIT: Sorry, misread your post. What do you mean he didn't want to?
Exactly. That's why I don't think that there is any point in revealing the whole R+L=J thing. People forget that it's just a TV show and that the writers are in charge. They're all like 'It's a fact, you can't change it'. But GRRM and the writers have had 20 years to change it.
It could help strengthen an alliance. If Dany wants the throne and Jon just wants to hang out in the North with (what's left of) his family, it could work for both of them.
I think this is accurate, and although the lure of power is compelling for many, you'd be kinda out of your mind to want to be sitting in the middle of a viper's nest. I said that about the Tudors too. If you can believe history, hanging out in court is playing with fire (although I know, I know, The Tudors is entertainment.)
At first I thought White Walkers were the mindless killers, but those are wights (reanimated dead). White Walkers create and control them to act as their army.
White Walkers - Humanoid Ice Gods Wights - Reanimated Dead Walter White - Brilliant Chemist Walter Wight Walker - Brilliant Reanimated Humanoid Ice God Chemist
I've been re-watching the series from the beginning and am really enjoying it because I'm picking up on so much that makes sense now that didn't before (I haven't read the books). I'm currently towards the end of Season 3 (Can't wait for the Red Wedding ). One tidbit I don't know if people here noticed, the actor who plays Tommen (King Tommen, not Season 1-3 Tommen) also played one of the Lannister kids that was a hostage murdered by Lord Karstark.
White Walkers - Humanoid Ice Gods Wights - Reanimated Dead Walter White - Brilliant Chemist Walter Wight Walker - Brilliant Reanimated Humanoid Ice God Chemist
I watched the three parts of the Game Of Thrones Docuseries on YouTube last night. Each one covers two episodes from the current season. Of all the GoT-related videos I've seen, this series shows the most about how the show is shot, especially from the special effects perspective. HBO is reportedly spending $10 per episode this season, and these videos help explain why. (Just search for Game Of Thrones Docuseries.)
I watched the three parts of the Game Of Thrones Docuseries on YouTube last night. Each one covers two episodes from the current season. Of all the GoT-related videos I've seen, this series shows the most about how the show is shot, especially from the special effects perspective. HBO is reportedly spending $10 per episode this season, and these videos help explain why. (Just search for Game Of Thrones Docuseries.)
If the Children of the Woods helped him the same way, they created the White Walkers, I wonder why his eyes are not blue?
