A Game of Thrones (contains spoilers)

[Csfan1984]

Tonight was the first time I thought the show did a scene better than the book. The fighting pit scene was a lot better on the show.

I hope the season finale doesn't give away too much of what is happening in the next book.

Scene wise yes. Story overall has been much more intensified in the show. They have fixed a few of Martin's rambling characters and chapters that did little for the main story. These guys producing are excellent at taking the best of a vision and adding to it. Props to Martin for helping in changing the story by giving up the end very early to these guys. They have be able to mold things for the more impatient TV audience.

[LarBrd33]

Kinda hope the child sacrifice was a fake out and "the lord of light" spares her and cures her greyscale... Cuz I dunno man, that was pretty rough and I read that nothing like that even happens in the books.  Strange so many book readers seem to love Stannis.  I was starting to sort of see why they liked him up until tonight's episode.

[Celtics4ever]

Props to Martin for helping in changing the story by giving up the end very early to these guys. They have be able to mold things for the more impatient TV audience.

Martin developed a some of his writing style, writing for TV.  I am sure this played a factor for him.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0552333/

[PhoSita]

Shereen's death might be the most brutal, difficult to watch thing they've had on GoT yet, and you didn't even see it happen directly.  Just awful.


I liked Stannis before that as a sort of conflicted character with bedrock principles.  It's hard for me to accept that after the "You're my daughter" speech earlier in the season he'd agree to burn his daughter alive.  I kinda thought he'd be the guy to say "Well, forget it, we'll all freeze to death out here and I'll never sit on the Iron Throne" rather than go to that extreme.

Guess it's just another lesson in Game of Thrones ... when things get bad, or people seem like they've hit bottom, it can always get worse.

[Evantime34]

Kinda hope the child sacrifice was a fake out and "the lord of light" spares her and cures her greyscale... Cuz I dunno man, that was pretty rough and I read that nothing like that even happens in the books.  Strange so many book readers seem to love Stannis.  I was starting to sort of see why they liked him up until tonight's episode.

So in the book 5 you get a chapter from someone in Stannis camp talking about them getting stuck in the snow. You also get a chapter from Jon's point of view where Ramsay taunts him saying that there was nothing he could do to help Stannis' army.

So it was either going to happen in the book, or be mentioned but not given a point of view chapter about it. I'm a book reader and I'm not really a Stannis fan in the book he seems too rigid, he sticks to his guns even if he is doing the wrong thing.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Kinda hope the child sacrifice was a fake out and "the lord of light" spares her and cures her greyscale... Cuz I dunno man, that was pretty rough and I read that nothing like that even happens in the books.  Strange so many book readers seem to love Stannis.  I was starting to sort of see why they liked him up until tonight's episode.

So in the book 5 you get a chapter from someone in Stannis camp talking about them getting stuck in the snow. You also get a chapter from Jon's point of view where Ramsay taunts him saying that there was nothing he could do to help Stannis' army.

So it was either going to happen in the book, or be mentioned but not given a point of view chapter about it. I'm a book reader and I'm not really a Stannis fan in the book he seems too rigid, he sticks to his guns even if he is doing the wrong thing.

They didn't even give him a choice, though.  They set it up in a way so that he had to set his daughter on fire.

1.) He's seen magic work on numerous occasions and has no reason to doubt it (smoke attack, future telling, etc)

2.) He said no to setting his daughter on fire when he had other options and wouldn't allow it to be discussed

3.) Then he got stranded with no food or siege weapons and a bunch of hungry men

4.) The people holding the city he wants to attack are awful

5.) If he doesn't go now, he will starve/freeze to death along with his army

So his options are either: he and his army all starve to death and the Boltons keep committing atrocities or he sets his daughter on fire and hope that whatever magic trick happens as a result is enough.  I don't know how he could pick otherwise

[Evantime34]

Kinda hope the child sacrifice was a fake out and "the lord of light" spares her and cures her greyscale... Cuz I dunno man, that was pretty rough and I read that nothing like that even happens in the books.  Strange so many book readers seem to love Stannis.  I was starting to sort of see why they liked him up until tonight's episode.

So in the book 5 you get a chapter from someone in Stannis camp talking about them getting stuck in the snow. You also get a chapter from Jon's point of view where Ramsay taunts him saying that there was nothing he could do to help Stannis' army.

So it was either going to happen in the book, or be mentioned but not given a point of view chapter about it. I'm a book reader and I'm not really a Stannis fan in the book he seems too rigid, he sticks to his guns even if he is doing the wrong thing.

They didn't even give him a choice, though.  They set it up in a way so that he had to set his daughter on fire.

1.) He's seen magic work on numerous occasions and has no reason to doubt it (smoke attack, future telling, etc)

2.) He said no to setting his daughter on fire when he had other options and wouldn't allow it to be discussed

3.) Then he got stranded with no food or siege weapons and a bunch of hungry men

4.) The people holding the city he wants to attack are awful

5.) If he doesn't go now, he will starve/freeze to death along with his army

So his options are either: he and his army all starve to death and the Boltons keep committing atrocities or he sets his daughter on fire and hope that whatever magic trick happens as a result is enough.  I don't know how he could pick otherwise

I understood his reasoning and that is why it didn't surprise me. On the other hand burning a little girl alive isn't the greatest decision haha.

[slamtheking]

Kinda hope the child sacrifice was a fake out and "the lord of light" spares her and cures her greyscale... Cuz I dunno man, that was pretty rough and I read that nothing like that even happens in the books.  Strange so many book readers seem to love Stannis.  I was starting to sort of see why they liked him up until tonight's episode.

So in the book 5 you get a chapter from someone in Stannis camp talking about them getting stuck in the snow. You also get a chapter from Jon's point of view where Ramsay taunts him saying that there was nothing he could do to help Stannis' army.

So it was either going to happen in the book, or be mentioned but not given a point of view chapter about it. I'm a book reader and I'm not really a Stannis fan in the book he seems too rigid, he sticks to his guns even if he is doing the wrong thing.

They didn't even give him a choice, though.  They set it up in a way so that he had to set his daughter on fire.

1.) He's seen magic work on numerous occasions and has no reason to doubt it (smoke attack, future telling, etc)

2.) He said no to setting his daughter on fire when he had other options and wouldn't allow it to be discussed

3.) Then he got stranded with no food or siege weapons and a bunch of hungry men

4.) The people holding the city he wants to attack are awful

5.) If he doesn't go now, he will starve/freeze to death along with his army

So his options are either: he and his army all starve to death and the Boltons keep committing atrocities or he sets his daughter on fire and hope that whatever magic trick happens as a result is enough.  I don't know how he could pick otherwise

I understood his reasoning and that is why it didn't surprise me. On the other hand burning a little girl alive isn't the greatest decision haha.

seriously hoping that sacrificing her comes back to screw him badly very shortly

[Moranis]

Kinda hope the child sacrifice was a fake out and "the lord of light" spares her and cures her greyscale... Cuz I dunno man, that was pretty rough and I read that nothing like that even happens in the books.  Strange so many book readers seem to love Stannis.  I was starting to sort of see why they liked him up until tonight's episode.

So in the book 5 you get a chapter from someone in Stannis camp talking about them getting stuck in the snow. You also get a chapter from Jon's point of view where Ramsay taunts him saying that there was nothing he could do to help Stannis' army.

So it was either going to happen in the book, or be mentioned but not given a point of view chapter about it. I'm a book reader and I'm not really a Stannis fan in the book he seems too rigid, he sticks to his guns even if he is doing the wrong thing.

It has been awhile since I read the book, but I believe Shireen stayed at Castle Black with her mother and the Red Woman.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Kinda hope the child sacrifice was a fake out and "the lord of light" spares her and cures her greyscale... Cuz I dunno man, that was pretty rough and I read that nothing like that even happens in the books.  Strange so many book readers seem to love Stannis.  I was starting to sort of see why they liked him up until tonight's episode.

So in the book 5 you get a chapter from someone in Stannis camp talking about them getting stuck in the snow. You also get a chapter from Jon's point of view where Ramsay taunts him saying that there was nothing he could do to help Stannis' army.

So it was either going to happen in the book, or be mentioned but not given a point of view chapter about it. I'm a book reader and I'm not really a Stannis fan in the book he seems too rigid, he sticks to his guns even if he is doing the wrong thing.

They didn't even give him a choice, though.  They set it up in a way so that he had to set his daughter on fire.

1.) He's seen magic work on numerous occasions and has no reason to doubt it (smoke attack, future telling, etc)

2.) He said no to setting his daughter on fire when he had other options and wouldn't allow it to be discussed

3.) Then he got stranded with no food or siege weapons and a bunch of hungry men

4.) The people holding the city he wants to attack are awful

5.) If he doesn't go now, he will starve/freeze to death along with his army

So his options are either: he and his army all starve to death and the Boltons keep committing atrocities or he sets his daughter on fire and hope that whatever magic trick happens as a result is enough.  I don't know how he could pick otherwise

Oh, brother. This is exactly what I was saying at work to a friend and he went "I didn't know you have a dark side, I may have to be careful hanging out with you from now on." comment. He thought I was rooting for what has happened and had to explain to him that I thought the sacrifice was a horrific thing to do but I get the reasoning as to why he thought he had to do it.

But man, I thought that was friendship over at the time. This is what you do to me, Game of Thrones.

[Quetzalcoatl]

seriously hoping that sacrificing her comes back to screw him badly very shortly

What would you have him do?  Even Davos said they didn't have supplies to make it back to the Wall.  They just lost all their food so they can't siege Winterfell and they can't attack Winterfell because all their siege craft was burned up.  His options were literally letting his daughter and all their freeze to death along with his entire army or sacrificing his daughter to give his army a fighting chance.  The only other option was suicide and not just for him personally, but for everybody.

[PhoSita]

What would you have him do? 

Say, "Hey, you know, if fate requires me to burn my only daughter at the stake in order to not freeze to death in the snow with my army and go down in history as a failed would-be-king, I think I'll just freeze.  It's just not worth it.  There are some things a man simply must not do."

--------

Looking to the structure of the episode, I'd say the Danaerys storyline, which picks up directly after Shireen's death, is a subtle commentary on the likely outcome of Stannis's decision.

Like Stannis, Dany was put in a tough position, where she had to go against her principles in order to save herself from a quagmire of her own making.  She caved on the fighting pits, and what did it get her?  This close to getting murdered by a mob of dudes in creepy bronze masks.

The dragon's fire, burning the masked attackers alive, was obviously supposed to make you think of Shireen.  Dany's salvation also comes in the form of a beast that burns people alive.  Unlike Mr. Baratheon's savior, Dany's is able to fly her away to safety.  But at what cost?   All of her closest allies are left behind in the stadium with plenty of attackers still alive, and it's not like any of the problems in Mereen have been solved.

[jpotter33]

Man, oh, man. Two excellent episodes right in a row, though I still think Hardhome was in a league of its own.

You could tell Drogon was coming in to save the day. Hopefully the Targaryen rage inside Dany is released now and she actually utilizes her dragons. So glad Jorah didn't die; he's right up there with Jon, Tyrion, and Tormund as my favorite characters. I wonder if Dany just burns down Mereen after all her talking about it "if it comes to that," which seems it has.

The whole sacrifice thing was hard to watch. I can't believe it was the mother, who I've always disliked, that actually showed some humanity. I never thought Stannis would stoop that low, but I knew it was happening as soon as he sent Davos to Castle Black. I'm guessing one of the Boltons dies from it, but Stannis eventually is overcome by his madness.

Several of the cast members have said that episode 10 contains the biggest moment of the series so far, even bigger than the red and purple weddings. I can't wait to see what it is, as long as it doesn't involve Jon, Dany, Jorah or Tyrion dying! 

[guava_wrench]

Kinda hope the child sacrifice was a fake out and "the lord of light" spares her and cures her greyscale... Cuz I dunno man, that was pretty rough and I read that nothing like that even happens in the books.  Strange so many book readers seem to love Stannis.  I was starting to sort of see why they liked him up until tonight's episode.

So in the book 5 you get a chapter from someone in Stannis camp talking about them getting stuck in the snow. You also get a chapter from Jon's point of view where Ramsay taunts him saying that there was nothing he could do to help Stannis' army.

So it was either going to happen in the book, or be mentioned but not given a point of view chapter about it. I'm a book reader and I'm not really a Stannis fan in the book he seems too rigid, he sticks to his guns even if he is doing the wrong thing.

They didn't even give him a choice, though.  They set it up in a way so that he had to set his daughter on fire.

1.) He's seen magic work on numerous occasions and has no reason to doubt it (smoke attack, future telling, etc)

2.) He said no to setting his daughter on fire when he had other options and wouldn't allow it to be discussed

3.) Then he got stranded with no food or siege weapons and a bunch of hungry men

4.) The people holding the city he wants to attack are awful

5.) If he doesn't go now, he will starve/freeze to death along with his army

So his options are either: he and his army all starve to death and the Boltons keep committing atrocities or he sets his daughter on fire and hope that whatever magic trick happens as a result is enough.  I don't know how he could pick otherwise

I understood his reasoning and that is why it didn't surprise me. On the other hand burning a little girl alive isn't the greatest decision haha.

That was a turning point for Stannis. He has moved from a principled guy under the influence of a crazy witch to a pretty bad guy willing to do the most horrible deeds to obtain power.

At least Daenerys' city wanted the fights. She grudgingly gave in. No one but Stannis and his witch wanted that burning. The men in the army seemed to find it quite disturbing.

[PhoSita]

Several of the cast members have said that episode 10 contains the biggest moment of the series so far, even bigger than the red and purple weddings. I can't wait to see what it is, as long as it doesn't involve Jon, Dany, Jorah or Tyrion dying! 

It'll end on a cliffhanger with Jon getting stabbed by Ollie.