Game of Thrones (HBO)

[crisper57]

Actually, if its the theory you're thinking of, no, they didn't.

Spoiler

He isn't Coldhands. From even before the first book was written, we had a definitive NO on that count.

It is great to have so and so back, though, yes

I figured they married the 2 characters together for TV, so one will take up the story of the other.

So they won't call him that but he will "be" that guy in some ways. Like, similar origins, similar plot going forward, etc.

 

[Cheesebeef]

FINALLY we get a good episode, beginning to end. FINALLY it's not all boring, predictable tripe. FINALLY we get real advancement of the story. FINALLY we get to stop having crap stories shoved down our throats. FINALLY.

Granted, the first three scenes were waaaaaaaaaaaaaay overlong, and

Spoiler

It's criminal that, as bad as they've made the story line, NOTHING has been done to further the Dorne plot

, but FINALLY we got the old Game of Thrones quality tonight--along with some thrilling answers and plot advancements. FINALLY.

ha! I thought it was beyond meh tonight. Anya's finally over her 10 episode pointless arc, we got a lot of Sam and whats-her-name who I couldn't care less about and a little Lannister action. Snooooooooooooze.

 

[Town Drunk]

ha! I thought it was beyond meh tonight. Anya's finally over her 10 episode pointless arc, we got a lot of Sam and whats-her-name who I couldn't care less about and a little Lannister action. Snooooooooooooze.

Completely agree. Previous couple of episodes were way more enjoyable. This was a snooze fest tonight.

 

[Stout]

Just goes to show I can please exactly no one with my comments, which is why I never try

 

[crisper57]

Just goes to show I can please exactly no one with my comments, which is why I never try

If it helps, you were 92.3% accurate on my post, even with the fuzzy details I posted.

 

[cardfaninfl]

Spoiler

The Sam and Gilley scenes were funny, sweet and surprising.

Nice to see Walder Frey, Needle, and Benjen Stark again. Could have done without the Phlebotinum plot fuel disguised as Obsidian… again.

The rest was a melodramatic tease.

Except Margaery's scene. She is so going to kill the Tall Parakeet and King Butters.

 

[TJ]

Actually, if its the theory you're thinking of, no, they didn't.

Spoiler

He isn't Coldhands. From even before the first book was written, we had a definitive NO on that count.

It is great to have so and so back, though, yes

Well, the writers did call him

Spoiler

Coldhands Benjin

Kind of felt this was gonna happen after last week. I mean, how else was Bran gonna stay safe?

 

[Stout]

On second thought, then, I hate what they did with one key part of the show yesterday:

Spoiler

On further consideration, the Benjen Stark thing just pisses me off. Since BEFORE THE BOOKS WERE EVEN PUBLISHED, it was made clear by Martin that Stark is, in no uncertain terms, NOT Coldhands. He said "NO" when the idea was floated by his agent. So, why does he HAVE to be Coldhands now? Why can't he be, you know, just Benjen Stark? I don't see how W+B couldn't have asked GRRM what happened to Benjen? It would have taken like five seconds lol

Now the show won't be making proper use of Benjen, how Martin meant him to be used, which might be a real loss.

 

[TJ]

On second thought, then, I hate what they did with one key part of the show yesterday:

Spoiler

On further consideration, the Benjen Stark thing just pisses me off. Since BEFORE THE BOOKS WERE EVEN PUBLISHED, it was made clear by Martin that Stark is, in no uncertain terms, NOT Coldhands. He said "NO" when the idea was floated by his agent. So, why does he HAVE to be Coldhands now? Why can't he be, you know, just Benjen Stark? I don't see how W+B couldn't have asked GRRM what happened to Benjen? It would have taken like five seconds lol



Now the show won't be making proper use of Benjen, how Martin meant him to be used, which might be a real loss.

All bets are off, I suppose. There's so much deviation from the books that it's just not worth the angst to compare/contrast.

As for the rest of the season, to me...

Spoiler

this season seems to be a Stark revival of sorts. Jon is resurrected, Sansa escapes Ramsay, Bran is the Raven, Arya is about to flee the many faced god, and Benjen comes back as Coldhands. I think LSH makes an appearance this season in a modified role from the books.

 

[Cheesebeef]

All bets are off, I suppose. There's so much deviation from the books that it's just not worth the angst to compare/contrast.

As for the rest of the season, to me...

Spoiler

this season seems to be a Stark revival of sorts. Jon is resurrected, Sansa escapes Ramsay, Bran is the Raven, Arya is about to flee the many faced god, and Benjen comes back as Coldhands. I think LSH makes an appearance this season in a modified role from the books.

I think the above in the spoiler is why I'm just not all that into this season. The Starks have always been the most boring family/story to watch for me. Well, next to Stannis. Arya was the only Stark I ever really cared about or rooted for and they sidelined her for too long. As far as the rest? I was always more then okay with seeing one of them die because the sanctimonious, honorable thing just wasn't as fun to watch as the Lannisters/Dani story-lines.

 

[Covert Rain]

I think the above in the spoiler is why I'm just not all that into this season. The Starks have always been the most boring family/story to watch for me. Well, next to Stannis. Arya was the only Stark I ever really cared about or rooted for and they sidelined her for too long. As far as the rest? I was always more then okay with seeing one of them die because the sanctimonious, honorable thing just wasn't as fun to watch as the Lannisters/Dani story-lines.

The Starks and my hope for a little family revenge is probably the main reason I watch this show. This episode felt more like a setup for the next one though. It was definitely slow compared to the others so far.

 

[slinslin]

On second thought, then, I hate what they did with one key part of the show yesterday:

Spoiler

On further consideration, the Benjen Stark thing just pisses me off. Since BEFORE THE BOOKS WERE EVEN PUBLISHED, it was made clear by Martin that Stark is, in no uncertain terms, NOT Coldhands. He said "NO" when the idea was floated by his agent. So, why does he HAVE to be Coldhands now? Why can't he be, you know, just Benjen Stark? I don't see how W+B couldn't have asked GRRM what happened to Benjen? It would have taken like five seconds lol

Now the show won't be making proper use of Benjen, how Martin meant him to be used, which might be a real loss.

Spoiler

Did it ever cross your mind that Martin might have refused the theory simply to protect his hand before he releases this stuff himself

It is as if someone asks him if Daenerys marries John Snow and they together rule the seven Kingdoms in the end. What would he be supposed to answer to that? Reveal the entire remaining plot?

 

[Stout]

Spoiler

Did it ever cross your mind that Martin might have refused the theory simply to protect his hand before he releases this stuff himself

It is as if someone asks him if Daenerys marries John Snow and they together rule the seven Kingdoms in the end. What would he be supposed to answer to that? Reveal the entire remaining plot?

That's not how the relationship between an author and agent works. Yes, he would reveal an entire plot to his agent. There aren't any secrets there. Plus, these documents never see the light of day. I guarantee you there was a discussion beforehand as to whether or not this would make its way to the archives at Texas A&M. So, nope, it didn't cross my mind.

 

[oaken1]

That's not how the relationship between an author and agent works. Yes, he would reveal an entire plot to his agent. There aren't any secrets there. Plus, these documents never see the light of day. I guarantee you there was a discussion beforehand as to whether or not this would make its way to the archives at Texas A&M. So, nope, it didn't cross my mind.

but if said agent revealed any plot...said agent would be terminated and replaced....no?

I see no justifiable reason why anyone in the know would not lie about any unrevealed story activity...if you reveal the future then nobody needs to read/watch..

 

[slinslin]

That's not how the relationship between an author and agent works. Yes, he would reveal an entire plot to his agent. There aren't any secrets there. Plus, these documents never see the light of day. I guarantee you there was a discussion beforehand as to whether or not this would make its way to the archives at Texas A&M. So, nope, it didn't cross my mind.

If what you say is true, how do you know what Martin said regarding this?

 

[Stout]

but if said agent revealed any plot...said agent would be terminated and replaced....no?

I see no justifiable reason why anyone in the know would not lie about any unrevealed story activity...if you reveal the future then nobody needs to read/watch..

Said agent didn't reveal the plot. GRRM keeps a ton of his documents at the Texas A&M archives, and people have been in to search through them. One found an old manuscript where the theory was debunked. So, the agent didn't leak anything. Martin's publishers didn't like that it happened, and Martin since pulled some material from the archives. Here's a link to a story about it:

http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue...e-rr-martin-life-work-archives-texas-library/

I did misspeak in one aspect. It was in a manuscript, not the pre-publication synopsis I thought it was in. But GRRM very emphatically, with one word, debunks the popular fan theory. It's different in the show but, well, the show ain't gospel for me

If what you say is true, how do you know what Martin said regarding this?

Because a picture says a thousand words, and this is a picture of a manuscript from the Texas A&M archives where he said/wrote it

 

[slinslin]

Said agent didn't reveal the plot. GRRM keeps a ton of his documents at the Texas A&M archives, and people have been in to search through them. One found an old manuscript where the theory was debunked. So, the agent didn't leak anything. Martin's publishers didn't like that it happened, and Martin since pulled some material from the archives. Here's a link to a story about it:

http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue...e-rr-martin-life-work-archives-texas-library/

I did misspeak in one aspect. It was in a manuscript, not the pre-publication synopsis I thought it was in. But GRRM very emphatically, with one word, debunks the popular fan theory. It's different in the show but, well, the show ain't gospel for me



Because a picture says a thousand words, and this is a picture of a manuscript from the Texas A&M archives where he said/wrote it

But didn't you say earlier that there was no reason to lie about this because it would never be released to anyone? "Plus, these documents never see the light of day. "

 

[Stout]

But didn't you say earlier that there was no reason to lie about this because it would never be released to anyone? "Plus, these documents never see the light of day. "

Exactly. Martin had zero reasons to lie to his editor because, supposedly, it would never be released to anyone. It was a big misstep, him putting the document into his archives where it could be seen by anyone, which is why his publishers insisted it and all the other documents like it get removed once it came out. It's an EXTREMELY rare look at something we usually never get to see--at least until everything's published, that is.

 

[oaken1]

Exactly. Martin had zero reasons to lie to his editor because, supposedly, it would never be released to anyone. It was a big misstep, him putting the document into his archives where it could be seen by anyone, which is why his publishers insisted it and all the other documents like it get removed once it came out. It's an EXTREMELY rare look at something we usually never get to see--at least until everything's published, that is.

or,.. maybe the "leak"....or "unauthorized access" to his old notes was a crafted marketing ploy designed to keep off season interest high, fuel speculation, and throw determined fans off the trail....



or maybe the writers at hobo just figured, "hey,...he already said no about that, so nobody will be expecting it"

 

[Stout]

or,.. maybe the "leak"....or "unauthorized access" to his old notes was a crafted marketing ploy designed to keep off season interest high, fuel speculation, and throw determined fans off the trail....



or maybe the writers at hobo just figured, "hey,...he already said no about that, so nobody will be expecting it"

Haha, that's too much of a conspiracy theory for me

I reckon what they did was either figure Benjen isn't destined for anything, so they might as well conflate him with Coldhands, or learned what he is destined for and figured they could do the same anyway.

Okay, sure, if it turns out this kills Benjen's REAL story, I'll be upset. As it stands, I guess I don't hate it. Just a reaction on the 'nuh uh, that ISN'T the way it is in the books!' lol

 

[Chaplin]

Haha, that's too much of a conspiracy theory for me

I reckon what they did was either figure Benjen isn't destined for anything, so they might as well conflate him with Coldhands, or learned what he is destined for and figured they could do the same anyway.

Okay, sure, if it turns out this kills Benjen's REAL story, I'll be upset. As it stands, I guess I don't hate it. Just a reaction on the 'nuh uh, that ISN'T the way it is in the books!' lol

Have a drink or buy a puppy. You get upset WAAAAAY too easily, Stout.

If your stress level is determined by whether Martin spoke the truth about Coldhands, you need to see a shrink.

 

[Chaplin]

Does anybody know what I have to do to the tag to make the video actually show up as 16:9 and not 4:3?

 

[Stout]

Have a drink or buy a puppy. You get upset WAAAAAY too easily, Stout.

If your stress level is determined by whether Martin spoke the truth about Coldhands, you need to see a shrink.

Hey, I gushed about the episode, but everyone else disliked it. I'M the positive one this time

Like I said, I'm cool with how the show handled that bit now. I'm able to admit when I overreact...sometimes

 

[Dback Jon]

I really enjoyed the episode - moved things forward, and very few slow spots.

 

[Covert Rain]

The episode was slow but the Hodor reveal in the previous episode was epic IMO. Still can't get the final scene out of my head even when I was watching the latest.