#also fuck tyrion my girl is smart okay.

[fandom-trash-goblin]

IN DEFENSE OF CATELYN STARK

Ayama and the Thorn Wood, The Language of Thorns, Leigh Bardugo// Venetian Ladies Listening to the Serenade, 1909 by Frank Cadogan Cowper // A Game of Thrones, Chapter 31, Tyrion IV.

lyanna stark || elia martell || sansa stark || arya stark || alicent hightower || jaehaera targaryen || cersei lannister || myrcella baratheon || joanna lannister || aemma arryn || catelyn stark || sansa stark (2) || margaery tyrell || rhaena targaryen, daughter of aenys i

for @tell-them-the-north-remembers, for this post (analysing ned loves my hair. gosh it took some time to find but i rembered that i had it in my drafts. for when i'd do catelyn. hope you like it)

#chose the image because you know/ devastated by ned loves my hair. crying sobbing. dying #catelyn stark #tried my best to colour the quotes the same colour as the designs on the grey-blue dress. didn't work out- blame word for it #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #web weave #webweaving #webweave #webweaves: asoiaf #game of thrones #got #catelyn tully #also fuck tyrion my girl is smart okay. #do you guys think about how until edmure's birth catelyn might have been given a heir's education. because i do

[thedistantstorm]

A Few Words on RWBY V7:E5

*cracks knuckles and lets fingers fly across keyboard in a blur*

Ah yes, one whole reaction post.

This one gets a bit long. Reactions up front, conclusion and speculation in the back. Everything’s under the cut because I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn’t seen the ep yet. (GO WATCH IT NOW, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!)

- Me, dancing in my seat: We’re gonna get a montage!

(someone make me a wallpaper of the RWBY girls all slumped over each other worn out, they’re so cuuuute~)

- Hi, I’m sorry, Nora braiding Ren’s hair just... UGH. 

- Also, I noticed some general exasperation on his part this ep, and I’ve seen other posts say he’s acting kind of over Nora. I think Nora is acting even more hyper than usual, and Ren is waiting for the other shoe to drop (Something tells me Nora came from Mantle, and I just.. I don’t know. She hasn’t had her big ‘grow up’ moment like the rest of her team has had. She’s always been extra supportive and super optimistic and bubbly, but we got a glimpse during Ren’s growth arc that Nora’s grown up very fast and very alone, and though she doesn’t often show that emotional maturity, it’s there. Don’t be surprised if she pulls out the big guns in that department soon, especially when things go to shit in Mantle and Tyrion - who was suspiciously absent this ep - goes after Jaune. 

- This is probably out of order but I didn’t initially add anything about the Bees because let’s face it, we all know they’re darling and badass and (omfg I’m still not over Blake’s haircut because she is GORG).

- JAUNE. And all the moms. BLESS.

- FNKY. Ahhhhhh this is amazing.

[Okay, now to the biggest thing (to me from this ep):

Qrow. Gave. Up. DRINKING.

GUYS.

GUYS!

GUYSSSSSS.

dafjg;sfgjdg;dkfgoreigndnvao;idjv;ogsdh;flk I’m so proud of him.

I just really, really hope he sticks to it.

It seems that a lot of his confident swagger has gone missing, and we’re seeing a way more humbled side of his personality. (AND FFS PLEASE DO NOT MAKE CLOVER FUCK HIM UP EMOTIONALLY PLEASE RT I’M BEGGING YOU I WANNA LIKE THIS SHIP)]

- Robin is a badass woman who Mantle - and Atlas - desperately need, and I am a FAN.

- Who is the lovely girl next to Robin? Can I get a name please? I love her ears (what exact kind of faunus is she? can i have her backstory? her entire aesthetic is amazing)

- Robin/Clover? Is there some history there? There’s some history. I’m sensing a ‘they were together/schoolmates/friends/maybe romantically but Clover was selected fore the AceOps’ sort of vibe.

- Winter and Weiss’s interaction this episode just struck me as the scales finally balancing between them. Weiss has always looked up to her sister. There has never been anyone better than Winter in her own eyes. You can still see that in their interactions, but Weiss challenges her now. Asks questions. Makes valid points.

- As for the reveal of the Winter Maiden, I saw it coming, but it does make the most sense. Weiss’s reaction says the same thing that I’m thinking though. I do, however feel like Winter feels obligated, despite her words. She might have ‘made it her own,’ but I suspect she’s never had an opportunity to consider any other alternative. 

- Jacques. Okay. We all know Arthur is involved here, he’s going to help him do the thing, he’s probably providing strategic advice. Winter is right, he’s literally about to send Mantle into a panicking riot, bet it’s going to be the Grimm’s playground. 

Ending Thoughts:

1. The Winter Maiden: Based on this ep, I’m feeling very worried for Winter’s chances at survival. New maidens are very very VERY fragile as they come into their own. At this point, we know who three of the four maidens are (is Summer Rose the Summer Maiden? Last episode totally gave me the impression that she’s definitely not dead. No body, no confirm-y). 

2. Will Robin be thrown into Ironwood’s path by Jacques and his plans? Is this something Arthur planned? If Jacques causes as bad of an uproar as implied (obviously the answer to this is yes), Ironwood would be smart to bring Mantle’s best hope (imo) into the fold, lest Mantle destroys itself and causes further issue in Atlas.

3. MARIA? Hello? Where are you? Have you been training our sweet silver-eyed Ruby? She can’t get one chat and have that be the only training she gets.

4. Qrow/Clover - Guys, hate me for this (I hate me for this), but the more I think about it, the more this pairing gives me bad vibes. I want to like it. I want very much to like it. But I feel like Qrow is in a place where he needs to focus on himself. Clover... I don’t trust him. He gives me the impression of a man who made bad choices for the intent to be good, but he’s in too deep to come clean. That and I think the good luck semblance doesn’t mean shit when it comes to life choices. Maybe it all comes out his way in the end, but what has he done to himself to get there. Qrow’s bad luck semblance? Look. He keeps trying. He does good despite the odds stacking against him with the bad luck business.

5. Ruby. So, this season has really showed some emphasis on her growth. We see her withhold the truth from Ironwood. He doesn’t know that Salem can’t be defeated - which, would that tidbit change Winter’s mind about being a maiden? I bet we’ll find out. We see her with Qrow, we see a lot of references to family and how close they are (I’d like to believe that she’s the reason he’s not drinking anymore, she really knocked him down hard last season and for good reason), and she’s definitely retaining the bubbly parts of her personality, but it’s tempered. I suspect she’s going to start making decisions that the girls don’t like for what she suspects to be the greater good. We have a lot of dynamics to her team now. Weiss has Winter’s influence, Blake and Yang are a true (wonderful) team. I really liked the RNJR vibes back from S4, and I really hope we get a reprise of them soon (maybe when Tyrion inevitably comes after Jaune like we all know he’s gonna).

6. Ironwood & Oscar. At some point, desperation is going to win out, I think. Ironwood is driven by his desire to keep Atlas safe, and we see things pointed out time and again by Winter et all the Atlas folk. They put Atlas first. But that’s not Qrow & Team RWBY/ORNJ(is that what they’re called?)’s prerogative. Here’s the thing: let’s say they help re-establish communications, they launch the tower, yada yada, so on, so forth. At some point the tea will be spilled. And when that happens, if Oz is not around, Ironwood is going to snap. He’s already very fragile, it seems (and I love him, really. I want to give that man some tea, and a fuzzy blanket then we can hug it out) and this would be the final blow. I think desperation would dictate him essentially going after Oscar to the point of life/death to try and get Oz to come back.

7. The Atlesian Military: Is it strong/large enough to handle assisting both at home and abroad when the Grimm attack? I’m gonna guess no.

Okay. I think that’s all I had for this (edit: probably not) ep, so if you want to chat feel free to do so however you wish.

#RWBY #rwby vol 7 #rwby spoilers #rwby reaction #RWBY V7:E5 #reaction post #ruby rose #qrow branwen #winter schnee #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #blake belladonna

[actual-disaster-bi]

Okay this is very late, I was meant to post this days ago and forgot to but here's my Battle Of Winterfell thoughts:

I felt really bad for Sam during the entire episode but I also got kinda annoyed after his little speech last episode about how they need him to fight. I get it that it was war and he was scared, and rightfully so, but something about it just annoyed me.

I love how quite it is when they are waiting for the Night King and his army, it just adds to the tension and helps put people on edge.

Not gonna lie I was a little scared when The Hound and Gendry pushed through to the front, I really want my boys to live and going to the front isn't gonna help with that.

I'll never know how Davos knew that was Melisandre from that far away but I have been waiting to see her again. At least she tried to help them and, more importantly, light the goddamn screen so I could actually see. Honestly I thought Davos was straight up gonna kill her and I'm a bit sad that he didn't get to tbh cos I feel like he did deserve bit of revenge.

Seeing all the Dothraki swords go out was pretty intense, I honestly didn't expect them to go down like that and I didn't expect the survivors to come running back. After that you can just see everyone realise that they are fucked.

The intense moment of horror I felt when I saw Brienne go under was horrible, I seriously thought they had got her. I dunno what I would've done if she died.

Arya sending Sansa was so sad, you could see that Sansa didn't want to leave but in all honesty she wasn't much use up there if she can't fight. Sansa looked so lost when she went down to the crypts and even Tyrion looked at her with shame, they both know that they have no place upstairs, I really felt bad for them.

Edd dying really doesn't mean too much to be tbh, he was a good character but he wasn't that important to me.

The Unsullied sacrificing themselves to let the others get back inside the gates hurt me, after the way the North treated them they still gave their lives to save them. At least Greyworm survived.

Arya saving The Hound is so underrated, they two will always have each others backs and no one can convince me otherwise.

Thank fuck for Melisandre, at least she's helping them this time since the dragons fucked up and didnt light the wood. I gotta say the dragons really disappointed me this episode.

I feel really bad for Tyrion, he just wants to help but even Sansa has to admit that they are useless. I really enjoyed Sansa admitting that Tyrion isn't that bad but seriously, she wasn't saying anything bad about Dany. All she was saying was divided loyalties would be a problem so people can stop acting as if she was hating on Dany.

Bran telling Theon that he was home was so important. Theon needed to hear that even after everything he done, Winterfell is still his home and that he belongs there.

Gotta admit I was a bit impressed when the dead created a bridge of bodies to get over the fire, I didn't expect them to be that smart.

Braime fighting for each other and protecting each other this episode gave me life, also protecting their son Podrick as well. I'm so here for their little family surviving everything together.

The Hounds panic attack was one of my favourite scenes this episode, it really shows the big guys trams and it just proves how much Arya means to him. We was ready to just give up and die but when he knew Arya was in danger he had to save her. Honestly one of the best duos in this show.

Lyanna Mormont killing this giant hurt me so much. That little girl had more balls than most the characters on that show and if she was gonna go out she was gonna go out fighting. Even when she was dying she took out a giant, she is such a badass little queen who will be greatly missed.

Arya alone inside that castle was honestly more intense than most horror movies, that was definitely there to foreshadow her being able to sneak past the dead at the end of the episode to kill the Night King.

I'm sad to see Beric go but at least the guy will be at peace now, knowing he died for what he was meant to do. I knew he was gonna die but I kinda hoped Melisandre

I have been waiting for Ayra and Melisandre to meet again. I never took much notice of the eye thing but when she said that it all clicked and the little "not today" part was a reminder I didn't need. God I had forgot all about Syrio Forel and I really liked that little reference to season 1.

I knew that burning him wasn't going to work but I was hoping that Jon would go into the flames at one point. I want to see if he will be like Dany and not get burnt or if cos he's half stark it will kill him. I feel like this is where the Night King got a bit cocky and that's was his downfall, Dany's dragon didn't work and he thought he left Jon to die so he didn't see anyone else as threats, only obstacles.

I FUCKING KNEW THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN THE CRYPTS. I said this to my stepdad last week when they said they were gonna his people in the crypts, I knew it was gonna be a bad idea. He said to me it wouldn't happen cos they are decomposed, well fuck you it happened. I told you so.

I knew that Jorah was gonna die protecting Dany but I didn't expect him to fight until he was dead. That man was so loyal that he fought until his last breath (must be a Mormont thing) but seriously I'm gonna miss him. Even with his faults he was a great character.

Speaking of which Sansa and Tyrion (with no training) were prepared to die fighting for the people in the crypt. The little hand kiss bit got me, I really believe that they will grow closer after this.

Theon fighting even when he was the last man standing hurt me so much. I really hoped he wouldn't die and get a happy ending but I kinda expected him to die like this. He done amazing and he tried so hard to protect Bran, when Bran told him he was a good man I think that was what he needed to hear to know that it was okay to die. He gave everything to protect Bran and I hope Winterfell remembers him.

Jon giving up and screaming back at the dragon was so relatable for some reason? Honestly bro, me too.

ARYA KILLED THE NIGHT KING. MY GIRL DID IT AND IVE NEVER FELT SO PROUD. I never thought about her killing him till now but it makes so much sense, she has been training for this for years and has learned about death. I'm raging that I didn't realise it before but I'm happy that it wasn't Jon or Dany who done it cos it would've been too obvious.

Dany crying over Jorah was heartbreaking and I think it will definetly add to the Dark Dany that she is becoming now that she has lost her most loyal friend. Also Drogon trying to comfort her was a horrible thing to add, I was already sad I didn't need to see that.

Missadre being a dramatic bitch and dying like that. Davos was just pissed he wasn't the one to kill her.

I really enjoyed this episode and I'm surprised that more major characters didn't die, definitely not complaining tho. I really hope the next episodes give the chapters time to rest and have them meet their loved ones after the battle (Aka Gendrya and Braime). I also looking forward to seeing everyone's reactions when they find out that Arya killed The Night King.

#got spoilers #samwell tarly #arya stark #gendry waters #sandor clegane #the hound #beric dondarrion #davos seaworth #melisandre #dothraki #brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #bramie #sansa stark #tyrion lannister #unsullied #daenerys targaryen #theon greyjoy #bran stark #lyanna mormont #jorah mormont #jon snow #game of thrones #battle of winterfell #dolorous edd

[kitten1618x]

GoT Afterthoughts ep. 08x01 ‘Winterfell’(Part 2)

Okay, well now that I’ve gotten some sleep, let us continue, shall we?

~

So we left off with the Great Hall sass-fest between Dany and Sansa, who clearly have gotten off on the wrong foot. Not gonna lie, I’m enjoying this jealous, very snappy side of Sansa. Remember when I told you all last season that it would take the threat of Dany encroaching upon what Sansa perceived as hers — her home, her closeness with Jon and her place by his side — for us to start seeing her feelings begin to emerge? Well my friends, I believe its begun, and it’s only going to get worse as the season progresses. Sophie did say that Sansa’s fight this season was a more passionate one...

~

As for Dany’s reply? I’m sure that I don’t have to tell y’all how highly inappropriate it was. Not that i begrudge homegirl a saucy clapback, but that’s probably not the best thing to tell an entire room full of people who don’t particularly trust you yet, and know how dangerous and unpredictable your dragons are. And let’s not forget that the dragons actually have eaten people before, so it’s really nothing to joke and/or scoff about. For me, it harkens on Jorah’s comments in the season 7 finale regarding why the Dragon Pit was constructed...

~

“Dragons don’t understand the difference between what’s there’s and what isn’t. Land, livestock, children...”

~

So for Dany to make such a flippant statement just to get a one-up on Sansa isn’t a very bright move, imo.

~

We move out into the courtyard where Gendry has taken charge of the task of unloading the stock of Dragonglass. Tyrion watches him from the battlements, and spies Sansa and Lord Royce. Their reunion was always going to be awkward due to the circumstances they parted on, but I suppose Tyrion feels like there’s no time like the present to get it out of the way, and approaches them. Bless Lord Royce for watching out for Lady Stark. ❤️ He leaves only when she indicates that it’s alright.

~

They exchange some terse pleasantries, and Tyrion learns rather quickly that Sansa is no longer the meek young girl he once knew. While she remains polite, she doesn’t watch her tone nor shy away from saying exactly what’s on her mind. This is her home and he’s on her turf now.

~

They share a few barbs about the purple wedding and Sansa apologizes for leaving so abruptly. It’s really just a formality, and Tyrion knows it, judging by his reply. Is he resentful that she left him holding the bag? I’m not rightly sure, to be honest, and she doesn’t clarify on the circumstances she left under, either. He wasn’t back in season 4, but people do change, along with their perspectives.

~

“Many have underestimated you, most of them are dead now.”

~

Well if that isn’t some kind of ominous foreshadowing shit, I don’t know what is? It’s also the truth, so Team Dracarys beware!

~

Tyrion attempts to quell the fear he’s certain she must have about the Lannister army coming to Winterfell, and Sansa calls him out for trusting Cersei. He tries to explain that he believes this time is different because Cersei has something to live for now. I know everyone thinks this is a nod to the possibility of Cersei being pregnant — but what if it’s something else? What if it’s her revenge that’s keeping Cersei going? It has in the past... I mean, this is Cersei we’re talking about, and at this point I’m just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. lol

~

In any event, Sansa gives a subtle shake of her head and leaves him with some striking words that are sure to cut Tyrion deep in his pride (beings that he ‘drinks and he knows things’ and puts a lot of stock in his own perceived cleverness): “I used to think you were the most cleverest man alive.” Ouch.

~

My girl is really out here snatching these wigs left and right!

~

Sansa walks off leaving Tyrion to ice that sick burn... perhaps he can cool it with that frigid stare Bran is giving him from the courtyard below? Methinks something is amiss, and methinks Bran is gonna be pulling the receipts soon. Either way, it’s hard not to be a little freaked out by Bran, and Tyrion certainly looks the part here.

~

We move to the Godswood where Jon stands alone before the heart tree. He looks upset. I mean, he is Broody McBroodster and all, but what’s got my precious snowflake son so pensive? He did manage to secure ‘the greatest army the world has ever seen and two large dragons’ after all, and (supposedly) spent the last month ‘balls deep’ in his auntie D, so what could be troubling him? How long do you guys have? lol AND WHERE THE FUCK IS GHOST?

~

Arya sneaks up on him, telling him he used to be taller, and my heart just grew three times its size. 💗 They lunge into a hug reminiscent of the first season when they parted ways as young, naive Starklings, and dear lord, either I’m the grinch who stole Christmas, or I better call a cardiologist!! Jon even squeezes his eyes shut and looks like he’s fighting back tears! Gahhhhhhhh!!!!!

~

Of course Jon sees that Arya still has Needle. He asks if she’s used it yet, and she... omits the truth. For whatever reason, Arya isn’t ready to share this part of herself with Jon yet, and it makes my heart hurt so much for her loss of innocence. AND THESE MOTHERFUCKERS BETTER LEAVE MY REMAINING STARKLINGS ALONE IS2G!!

~

Jon shows off Longclaw, and jfc, these two dorks look so cute with their matching Ned Stark hairdos and their dramatic-ass eyebrows, here beneath the heart tree in Winterfell, and ahhhhhhhh! Okay, okay, I’m done gushing... for now.

~

Anyway, shits about to get a little weird here... Jon gestures with his hand then bends down, placing that hand on Arya’s shoulder and pulls her in as if he’s about to share a secret and asks where she was before, ‘cos he coulda used her help earlier with Sansa. I say weird because that’s the vibe I got, especially when Arya physically turns her head to look at his hand when he places it there, like she’s onto him or something. She even knows exactly what he’s referring to when she states very matter-of-factly, “she doesn’t like your Queen, does she?”

~

It’s all very condescending (and cut me some slack, because I’m not even sure that’s the right word here) — but his mannerisms, the way he sort of mocks Sansa about thinking she’s smarter than everyone, then seems taken aback when Arya defends her—when Jon, himself, knows damn well that Sansa is quite smart, and has even said so.

~

I was ready to climb into my tv and box Jonathan’s ears until it dawned on me just how isolated he must feel right now. The man has literally given up everything for what he holds most dear: his family and the North, only to be met with disappointment from those he cares the most about. And yes, especially Sansa, whom he constantly seeks validation from. His brooding in the Godswood makes a bit more sense now, as does his need to get his old confidant ‘sibling’ on his ‘side’—however immature it may be.

~

I could be wrong, of course, but my opinion only solidifies when Arya tells him that Sansa is only defending her family, and Jon suddenly drops the act and replies softly, “I’m her family, too.”

~

With a small smile, she pulls her needy validation-seeking big bro back in for another hug and tells him, “Don’t forget that,” as the camera pans back on Jon’s face and we see the emotional impact her words have on him as he squeezes his eyes shut.

~

We cut to Kings Landing where Cersei watches the arrival of Euron’s Fleet. Qyburn brings her the news that the AotD have broken through the wall, as to which she replies with an emotionless, “Good,” before we cut to Euron sharing words with the commander of the Golden Company.

~

He goes below deck to taunt Yara a bit — ‘blah blah blah, and balls and first I’m gonna fuck the queen.’ And I do love Euron, and I don’t know why, but he talks way too fucken much and doesn’t really say much of anything.

~

Cersei receives them in the throne room and is very disappointed that the Golden Company didn’t bring the elephants she was expecting. She dismisses them, but Euron has other ideas (as he expressed to his niece earlier on the ship). Cersei basically tells him to piss off with an excellent quote if I may say:

~

“If you want a whore, buy one. If you want a queen, earn her.”

~

But she’s not the only one prone to manipulating situations, and I get the feeling she knows that Euron’s loyalties are sketchy at best — and so we are given the impression that she relents, when she turns back, and Euron makes it past the Mountain unscathed.

~

Now we’re in Bronn’s room—whom I guess has taken up residence within the Red Keep? He’s about to get his 4-way on, but the girls keep chatting on about the Lannister soldiers that were maimed by Drogon in the field of fire 2.0 — specifically Eddie, a ginger boy who’s eyelids were burned right off. I assume this was one of the young boys Arya met on her way to kill the queen before she changed her mind? Probably Ed Sheeren.

~

~

Arya is not going to be happy about this.

~

Qyburn interrupts this tepid display of GoT sex (still hotter than floppy chicken sex) with a special request from the queen. He’s got the crossbow Tyrion used to kill Tywin, and a mission for Bronn. Will he carry it out? Change sides? Is this possibly how the kidnap!plot unfolds (for those of you who have considered it)? Only time will tell.

~

And speaking of such — I’m only 30 minutes into the episode and this has gotten looooooong again. Have I always been this long-winded in my recaps?

~

I’m gonna go ahead and publish this since it’s already a day late. Maybe I’ll have the whole recap finished before the new episode airs?! KIDDING! But seriously, I’m sorry guys... battling illness myself with sick kids and I’m trying here, I swear!!

#got afterthoughts #part 2 #got s8 #jonsa #political!jon #anti jonerys #anti targaryen restoration #anti daenerys #(not really but just being safe) #melissa rants #long post

[thepunktheory]

Why GoT Season 8 sucked - Welcome to my TED Talk

I hadn't been a GoT fan from the first minute. However, once I had watched my first episode, I was all in. I binged all season, devoured the books. Needless to say, I was both excited and anxious about the final season. We could clearly see a decline in quality once the show had left the charted territory marked by George R. R. Martin's books. So, I had dialed down my expectation for the final season. Nevertheless, Benioff and Weiss managed to fuck it up beyond my wildest imaginations. About three episodes in, all I wanted was for the show to be over. It was almost painful to watch! So, what did Benioff and Weiss do to ruin it all?

What has Game of Thrones always been known for? Unforeseen plot twists, cleverly crafted stories, impressive characters along with intense character development, epic battles and (very important) strong female characters who seriously kick ass. Let me tell you in detail how all of that went down the drain with season 8.

I'll begin with the amazing female characters as that is what pissed me off the most. I have thoughts on Dany, Arya, Brienne, Sansa, Yara, and Cersei so prepare for a longer rant.

Brienne had always been one of my favorites in the show. She was strong, smart, stood up for herself and others. I was cheering for her when she finally got to be a knight in this season. Well, my joy was short-lived. After the big battle, Jamie, Brienne, Tyrion, and Podrick play a drinking game and Tyrion assumes that Brienne is a virgin. She stalks off into the night only to be followed by Jamie who ends up sleeping with her. The next he leaves a weeping Brienne behind as he heads for King's Landing (and Cersei). Let dissect everything that is wrong here. First of all, the fact that Brienne is a virgin is presented as something that appears to be a problem. Problems need fixing. So, of course, good guy Jamie is there to help her out. Seeing her cry because of some dude is jab the character that was built over 7 seasons. Don't try to tell me it was to make her human. We already know that. Brienne isn't perfect, she's also had her share of heartbreak. This scene only served one purpose: to remind us that in the end Brienne is a woman, weak and governed by emotions. No matter how amazing she is on the battlefield, she's still just a weeping girl. The scenes I mentioned have absolutely no relevance to the bigger story, don't do anything in terms of character development and were altogether simply unnecessary. Also, I was rooting for Tormund and was really sad to see him cast aside.

Next, some quick thoughts on Yara. Well, where was she this season? We get to see her for half a heartbeat before she's shipped off to the Iron Islands, never to be seen again. The fact that she was there in the final episodes, to say just about one sentence, felt more like a concession to fans than anything else. Her story arc doesn't really get any form of closure. It's like Benioff and Weiss had completely forgotten about her this season.

Just like Brienne, Arya had also been one of my favorites. I cheered when she killed the Night King (more on that later) but was somewhat flabbergasted during the penultimate episode. For the last 7 seasons, she trained to become this badass assassin and now she was headed to King's Landing. Killing Cersei had been one of the main driving forces that have kept her going and in the penultimate episode of season 8, she was closer to her goal than ever. Anyhow, once she and Sandor get to the capital he basically tells her to skedaddle as there's only death to be found here. Arya is like "K, bye." Her whole story was building up to this and now she just turns to leave. One could argue that she finally overcame the hate inside her, her thirst for revenge or whatever. But this is not the way it's presented here. A man tells her it's too dangerous for her and ever the good and obedient little girl, Arya decides to leave. Something sound off here?

With Sansa, I think I get what Benioff and Weiss wanted to say but their writing is just terrible, so it comes across the wrong way. I love that she ended up as Queen in the North but before that, we have one scene that really irked me. She’s talking with Sandor and kinds of says "well, it's really good that all this shit has happened to me. Otherwise, I'd still be a little bird." So, I guess, what writers were going for was for her to come to terms with her past and embrace who she is now. How it came across: being a little bird is a terrible thing, (There's nothing wrong with living a sheltered life, are you arguing that the only good way to live is to be mistreated?) ultimately all the shit that happened to her was okay anyways (it was not okay).

Now what you all have been waiting for: Dany. Benioff and Weiss really murdered her for good. She's always been an intricate and complex character, not without flaws but with a desire to become a better person. Writers decided to take all that, wrap it up real nice with a bow and throw it out the window. What we get in season 8 is a mad Queen with no feelings and no remorse. I was so angry when Benioff and Weiss claimed it was foreshadowed that she'd go mad. Why? Just because the Gods toss a coin when a Targaryen child is born? It wasn't foreshadowed that she'd go batshit crazy within the blink of an eye. We knew she struggled with her heritage, but in the past seasons, Dany always made a point to distance herself from her father's actions, made a point to not be like him. Remember when she was heartbroken because her dragons had grilled an innocent child? Over my dead body is that the same character who burns down an entire city without thinking twice or without the slightest hint of internal conflict.

When it comes to Cersei Lannister, I was equally disappointed. We barely get to see her this season, she has just about 6 sentences and isn't quite herself. I was already pissed during the first episode. Euron Greyjoy (don't even get me started on that twat) wants to bed her. And Cersei holds a more or less elaborate speech, basically telling him to go fuck himself. However, he cocks his head to the side and claims that he'd rather have a go with her. So, of course, Cersei gives in without further discussion and sleeps with him. That is not the Cersei we know. I talked with some people about it and they argued that she had to in order to convince him that the child in her belly was his. Well, I beg to differ. It's just written terrible and out of character. Cersei has always been a strong character, she doesn't bow to no-one. In this season she's but a shadow of herself. Especially the penultimate episode was a letdown. Her life ends with Jamie holding her and Cersei keeps muttering that she doesn't want to die and she doesn't want her baby to die. Well, Cersei had faced death before and we know this is not the way she deals with it. She's always held her head high, unwilling to give, strong to the very end. The Cersei Martin created never would have cowered like that. 

As we were talking about foreshadowing with Dany. Does anybody remember the prophecy Cersei got back in the day before she was married? It stated that she'd have three children with golden crowns (Joeffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella) but Cersei would have to watch them all die. Thus I am convinced that however much she wanted the baby in her belly to live, Cersei knew that it wouldn't happen. That's another reason I am convinced her final scene is absolutely out of character. I won't even talk about the rest of the prophecy as Benioff and Weiss really fucked up that front. This leads me to one thought that was also expressed by Martin himself.

Writers nowadays try so damn hard to surprise the audience, they don't even care that the stories often don't make sense anymore. The fact that somebody might have guessed the correct ending isn't a bad thing. It means that what you wrote/produced so far paints a picture of the characters it's coherent. You can't build a story, fill it with clues and then just take another route because you feel like. What you get from that is endings like GoT Season 8 (or Captain Rogers in Avengers: Endgame).

So, what else did I hate in season 8? The battle of Winterfell. Sure, the battle scenes were rather epic but there were just so many things wrong in that episode. The first 20 minutes were almost black, meaning most viewers weren't able to see a thing. I heard the explanation that you simply need a super expensive TV, then the episode looks fine, that's what the colors were calibrated for. If that's not a big fuck you to all the fans than I don't know what is. Next, there were so many strategic mistakes in there. We don't have time to unpack all of that, but who had the brilliant idea to put all the women and children in the crypts? With the dead people. When the Night King is coming, whose best trick is to resurrect the dead. Also, killing the Night King didn't seem that big of a deal. After 7 seasons build-up for that battle, I expected him to be a bigger problem. I mean, I love that Arya was the one to take him down. But one dagger was really all that was needed? Somebody could have sent a sharpshooter in season 1 and the problem would have been dealt with

Finally, let me give you some examples for the lazy ass writing done by Benioff and Weiss. Do you remember that in the past seasons it was actually hard to kill a dragon? Well, in season 8 Euron Greyjoy kills a dragon with a single freaking bolt. Why does that happen? Because Danaerys forgot about his fleet (According to Benioff and Weis). Are those guys seriously trying to convince me that nobody in Dany's council remembered that Greyjoy is still alive and kicking? What the fuck?! Another example is the scene were Missandei gets executed. Had it been written by Martin, Tyrion would have held a smart speech and pleaded with his sister (nope). More importantly, Missandei would have had some inspiring last words for Dany. All she says is Dracarys. You know how that felt to me? I bet this was Benioff's and Weiss' thought process: "Well, we could let her do a speech. But then we have to come up with a speech. Let's just make her say Dracary and the audience can come up with the rest."

I’m sorry to say that it's obvious how overwhelmed Benioff and Weiss were with writing season 8. They clearly lacked the skills to bring the show to a worthy end and I'm sad to see so much money being wasted on that. Honestly, it felt like they didn't even care anymore and just wanted it all to be over. HBO should have just hired some fanfiction authors to do the job. They would have done infinitely better. I don't even think that all the decisions made in this season were bad. They were just terribly executed. You know, I can imagine Dany going nuts even in Martin's version, just not the way Benioff and Weiss portrayed it. It's the kind of story arc you can only pull off if you are an excellent writer, otherwise, you just slaughter your characters. You need internal conflict, development - more than CGI effect and dragons. As we are speaking of dragons: I had hoped the dragon would turn Jon into a piece of steak and grill him instead of the Iron Throne. But of course, the golden boy had to survive...

Season 8 is a really unworthy end to a show that had once been great. My only hope is that now George R. R. Martin has some motivation to finish his books. Hopefully, he'll show us soon how it was meant to be and how you get the job done properly.

Thank you for listening to my TED Talk.

#on a scale of 1 to joeffrey #how much did you hate season 8 #game of thrones #got #season 8 #spoilers #got spoilers #rant #danaerys #dragons #brienne #jon snow #arya stark #review #analysis #george r r martin #benioff #weiss #d&d #fucked up #a song of ice and fire

[noqueenbutthequeeninthenorth]

So, I thought this episode was SO MUCH BETTER than last week’s. I didn’t feel like I was getting whiplash scene to scene. Jon’s still MIA as a character -- and there were several things I would’ve liked to have seen that didn’t happen -- but otherwise this was pretty good, especially after the travesty we were forced to experience last week.

None of this is order, it’s just my thoughts as they come...

First of all ... I’m still slightly hesitant about political Jon because I’m always hesitant about committing to a theory, but I’ve never felt more certain than I have during the “Who’s manipulating who?” moment. Holy shit, was that on the nose or what? Sansa’s reaction tipped it over the edge for me. I think we’ve been cut out of Jon’s POV so entirely in order to make political Jon a giant twist and that’s annoying as shit but hopefully that bullshit will be over next episode and my boy can come back. The only moment he felt like himself was his reunion with Tormund and Edd.

But back to the library scene with Sansa and D/ny. What a good scene! I know people worried they were going to bond or Sansa would come around to D/ny’s side, but instead we got Sansa being courteous and smart, cottoning on to Jon’s game (if she doesn’t already know), and still remaining firm on the issue of the North’s independence.

I also loved Sansa’s reunion with Theon, both because it was so heartfelt and emotional, and because seeing D/ny’s reaction to one of her supposed allies pledging himself to the Starks and Sansa specifically? Oh boy. 

And D/ny! Look, people accuse me of hating D/ny but no one hates D/ny more than the idiots writing her, so it was actually refreshing to see her not being such a complete dumbass this episode (even if only because she was following Jorah’s advice). I was rereading old fanfic of mine and in it, I am remarkably generous to D/ny compared to how the show depicts her. Like, she is actually capable of being charming. I also tbh think she’s not wrong about Tyrion being a bad Hand, and think she should promote Jorah over him, so I was with her on that one. ANYWAY. It was good to see a little bit of that from her this week -- just enough, I assume, so that casuals are shocked when she does something terrible like abandon the battle next week.

Her reaction to Jon’s parentage was GOLD. The dawning HORROR in her face. Wow. J/nerys is truly dead.

Not sure how to read Jon’s reaction to her reaction though. Disappointment? I think he knows who what she is but I keep wondering if maybe he keeps hoping that she’ll prove him wrong at some point. I think he realizes he’s stuck with her, so he wants to imagine she might not be so bad. Maybe this time she’ll realize what’s actually important. Maybe this time I won’t feel like I’ve brought a tyrant into my own home. But she always disappoints. 

(Note also that this is the first time he calls her D/ny since kneelgate -- the moment he’s telling her that he’s got a better claim than her. Would’ve been a good moment to start “my queen”ing her but instead he appeals to her humanity? Her feelings for him? Instead of her pride. Interesting.)

I can’t believe Jon told her about his parents before the rest of his family though. What the fuck. (Yes it’s possible he’s already told them but it would be so fucking annoying for them to do that offscreen.) Also, why would he pick that moment? IDK maybe he had a reason, maybe he just couldn’t keep it in anymore. I’m also so depressed that we’re not really getting any insight into how he’s reacting to the news, other than trying to avoid his aunt like the plague.

I thought this episode did a really great job of just kind of showing us people getting ready for the battle of their lives. The scene with Davos, Gilly, and the little girl was adorable. The knighting of Brienne was a truly incredible scene, one of the show’s best ever, and Podrick singing was beautiful. The montage of people was sweet -- and I know people think that Theon and Sansa’s inclusion means something romantic is happening with them, which it might be, but I’m not sold either way. That said, I did recently say I hoped some kind of Theon/Sansa/Jon love triangle pops up so we get some jealous Jon up in here and not just jealous Sansa. Maybe my wishes have been answered? I’m lowkey into Theonsa so I don’t mind, but absolutely no part of me thinks it’ll be endgame or Sansa’s great epic love or anything like that. (Sorry Theon. I think he’ll probably die protecting Bran.)

Gendry and Arya was odd. I’m not mad about it, and I’m fully prepared to admit that a lot of my reaction was related to seeing Maisie Williams (somewhat) naked because to me she is a BABY. Again, this isn’t something I’ve ever really shipped, but I have no problems with it and think it can be cute, so I’m happy if the shippers are happy. Part of me does think this means Gendry’s doomed though.

I will say that I never used to think Gendry/Arya would happen because I thought if the show knew it was coming, they wouldn’t have hired actors with such a large age gap. I’ve long had the same thought about Jonsa so this pretty much waved away that particular doubt. I also never thought we’d get a Jonsa sex scene but now that we’ve gotten a Gendrya one, it feels a lot more probable.

The trial scene was a bit of a letdown, wasn’t it? I loved Brienne standing up for Jaime and I loved Sansa putting complete faith in Brienne, but that’s about it for me.

Missandei and Grey Worm discussing what they want to do after the war!!! It has LONG been a hope of mine that they don’t spend the rest of their lives serving D/ny so you can imagine how happy I was to hear them making plans. (Wonder how D/ny would feel about...) That said, it makes me think at least one of them is going to die (probably Missandei) but I would be overjoyed to be wrong.

What am I forgetting? We saw Ghost! For two seconds! Doing nothing! But okay, at least he exists.

It’s insane (and disappointing) to me we didn’t get ANY one-on-one Stark scenes or even all-Stark scenes. I know this is part of keeping Jon inaccessible to us or whatever, but him not saying anything to Sansa before the battle is crazy to me. Or Arya for that matter! Even if they’re both out there fighting, he’d want to speak to his baby sister!

I have to assume that this means we’ll be getting some of those conversations next week ...... or all the Starks are surviving, except maybe Bran, so the show’s not bothering to set us up for any farewells.

All in all, a good episode imo. Bryan Cogman came through -- even if we didn’t get any of the yummy Jonsa we expected, we got a lot of other good stuff, and I’m hoping when the show stops trying to keep political Jon and dark D/ny under wraps (i.e., hopefully in the next episode), things will improve even more.

Also, several of the Chekhov’s guns that were set up last episode kinda didn’t come up again, especially the food crisis and the dragon’s eating habits, but I’m feeling pretty confident they’re going to go off eventually. Last week they were setting up the pins but it might take a few episodes before they knock them all down.

#got spoilers #episode thoughts #got season 8 spoilers

[ragnarssons]

Why is sansa wanting Northern independence such a bad thing? She could have gone at it at differently but she did talk to dany and Jon abt it straight up and they declined her. Why is she the only character not allowed to have wants and desires??

I was all supporting her until she decided that stabbing a member of her own family in the back was “a means to an end”. Jon asked her to keep his secret. He made her promise. You know who else did? Lyanna fucking Stark, begging her brother to protect her son. Jon! And Ned protected his nephew/”son” with his life, going so far as being hated (in some aspects) by his own wife and mocked by half the country because “uwu Ned Stark has a bastard!” He didn’t care about his reputation or his power or how people viewed him, he knew his family was more important than that. Sansa stans seem to ignore than on s7, Daenerys was advised not to go around in Westeros, like riding on horses and all, because as a Targaryen, related to the Mad King - both things that Jon ARE too! - her life was in danger. Because you never know: there still are Baratheon loyalists or even anti Targaryen people, whatever. Sansa - or the writers, idk? - is literally ignoring her brother’s safety, exposing him as a Targaryen to more and more people every minute. Don’t get me started on “well technically it’s Tyrion who snitched!” no it’s Sansa, and D&D say so themselves: she told Tyrion KNOWING he’d tell other people. Jon’s safety in all of that? Seems she didn’t give a fuck! Don’t get me started on her creating discourse around Daenerys and her advisors and Daenerys and Jon (her ALLY) at THAT MOMENT. Why now? Okay she doesn’t want Daenerys on the Throne, but if Daenerys dies before she gets to defeat Cersei, Jon has NO WAY to get to the Throne. He has no army, he has no political ally (outside of Varys but does he have a House?) the Unsullied, Dorne, Yara, the Dothraki, heck even the Second Sons who are basically the only force left, are loyal to Daenerys. The GC has more chances to rally to Daenerys than they’d ever do to Jon- why? Well because they’re from Essos! Who was in Essos being famous up there? Well Daenerys and no one else! So yeah he has his bro Tormund who is literally on the other side of the country, the Knights of the Vale who are??? Nowhere to be seen? Okay the Northerners follow him but they’re basically not enough against the GC. Not to mention that Jon has no dragon. If Dany loses, Jon dies, because he’s literally in King’s Landing, right there, with her. And do you have ANY IDEA (does Sansa?) of what will happen if Cersei learns about Jon’s parentage? I mean, on top of it all, he’s Lyanna’s son. You know, it’s not like Tywin Lannister got Elia Martell butchered because Rhaegar DARED to marry her and not his daughter Cersei. It’s not like the Lannisters can’t be THAT petty. So how is it smart to weaken Daenerys NOW? Also don’t get me started on the xenophobic-root of it all. Why does Sansa want the Northern Independance? Oh well because she doesn’t trust anyone! Fair! She doesn’t even trust someone who’s had half her army butchered and two of her dragons killed for her family/the war of the dawn. She doesn’t even trust someone who came forward with her, admitted “their weakness” (Dany loving Jon) straight forward to her. Sansa is literally exploiting Jon’s love for Daenerys rn to get to her goal, but I guess that’s morally okay because “she should be able to want thiiiings!!!” Want to talk about straight up? Guess what, she never came “straight up” to Jon about the Northern independance, they never talked about it, only about Jon giving up his crown. In fact, Sansa only voiced WHY she wants an Independant North to Daenerys: BECAUSE Daenerys was the one coming to talk to her, not the other way around. Before that, Sansa’s plan was just to act silently petty and full of disdain and that’s it. Had Sansa made ANY EFFORT to try and talk with Dany about it - other than with sheer animosity like in that scene - and Dany would have been like “it’s not even a question!” or whatever, I would have understood Sansa’s plotting better. But no, she never ONCE tried the “honest” road, literally talking to the Queen who was right there, she just plotted behind her back.Yara did it the honest way; she came, she was like “hey you need boats! I’ll give you boats and you help me with my home, okay??” and everything went FINE. How could Sansa not do that? Especially towards someone her brother LOVES! Whether or not Sansa thinks it’s “smart” out of Jon to love someone, he still does! Doesn’t she think killing the woman he loves and breaking his heart for a metal chair will DESTROY their relationship and her family?? And now, she’s plotting as far as planning to have her murdered, all that for HER goals (because jon. does not. want. the throne!). Jon getting the Throne would serve Sansa and all the people who are counting on the oppoprtunity of manipulating Jon’s ass once he’s king (*cough* Varys). All that because Sansa is so paranoid, so sure she’s “right” that she doesn’t even think about any other possibility. Heck, is it really paranoia? Because we literally have David Nutter saying it’s about jealousy and power! Imagine that? Sansa betraying her brother to gain power. That’s literally like Cersei killing Margaery right in front of Tommen’s nose. Even when his brother loves that woman, even when it puts her brother’s life in danger, even when Daenerys never even did anything to appear as an enemy to Sansa. Sansa has a roof over her head rn, because of Daenerys’ army: and her saying “we’ll never forget them!” about men she doesn’t even know to try and sound “thankful” was the fakest shit she’s ever said (she literally forgot about them already and whatever; the Unsullied, the Dothraki, they followed Dany out of love and loyalty, and the Starks are like “we wuv these people who died for the north but FUCK THEIR QUEEN!”). Like?? Do you even stop two seconds to evaluate the shittiness of all of this? The Starks are basically saying “we’re glad we had all this meat to protect our walls but now we don’t care about the woman who came to help us, we want her gone/dead!” WTF?? The Starks? Thinking like this??! It’d be like them throwing Theon’s body in a ditch, saying “welp he helped us but whATEVER!”. No, they somehow honored him. Because “he’s one of them” or whatever bullshit way of thinking they have now. Daenerys didn’t even gain a little bit of their respect, trust or anything, after all she did? Well!I wouldn’t be that mad if I were anti-Sansa. I’m so disappointed in what they did of her because Sansa is meant to be better than that! She’s NOT Littlefinger, she’s NOT Cersei, even tho she learnt from them. Sansa’s kindness of heart was ALWAYS what guided her journey - in the books at least and tbh in the show up until s5 where everything went to shit. I’m disappointed in people being blinded by fucking ships, ignoring what horrible writing this is. I don’t want Sansa to seem like a villain, and at least I thought she’d NEVER betray her brother. She did tho, and the fact that d&d and nutter are confirming that it’s nothing but to grab power gets me… what the fuck. I have a problem with Sansa not caring about human life when she’s thinking about her goals: because that’s NOT canon Sansa. That’s not book!Sansa. That’s not Ned Stark’s - I will not have a young girl butchered because my King sees her as a threat - daughter. She can want whatever she wants, but there are ways of doing things, stomping on other people isn’t a good way to get to your goals. If y’all need that lesson in life: here, take it, it’s free. (to be clear, I’m mad at Sansa like I was mad at Bellamy after ep 5x09, Bellamy wanting to save his friends wasn’t inherently bad, of course. His way of doing things tho, betraying clarke - his canonically best friend who thought died for him like 4 days ago - and using a - HER child - child as a pawn to do so? NOP! Sansa wanting to be free and safe isn’t bad, of course not! But betraying her brother and distrusting - to the point of wanting to kill! - a woman who has never done anything to harm her? NOP!)

#answered #anonymous

[forsakingonevow]

Cersei x Jaime Shipper Ask Game || @lannisqueen sent me all the questions, how greedy

1. What first made you start shipping them? At first, it was because of this quote: “I crossed a thousand leagues to come to you, and lost the best part of me along the way. Don’t tell me to leave.” I really feel for Jaime each time I read it. They both were separated for so long and he comes back to her at an awful time but you can see he loves her. He just wants to marry her and for them to be together, of course he’s kinda selfish, he knows she’s vulnerable and will need him, but in a way so is he because he lost what he thought defined him and it’s all a mess but a beautiful mess. After that, rp happened and they became my OTP.

2. Do you prefer Cersei or Jaime? Jaime, he’s my muse for a reason. I liked him since day one when he pushed Bran out of that window. He appears to be arrogant, impulsive and careless, which he is, but looking deeper into his blunt remarks and his ruthlessness, he's not the dishonorable and disloyal man everyone in that world thinks he is, sure, he can be questionable but he has his own code to act on (eve if he saw all the knighthood ideals he believed in shattered), and that is love. Love is his main fuel and that is something I relate with. He operates in this really grey area where he can do some good things or some really terrible ones for love, and he's aware of it, he knows what he’s done and why, and he’s not sorry for any of it. His POV is the one I enjoy the most too.

3. Do you prefer Cersei and Jaime’s relationship in the books or in the show? They’re so different I can’t pick just one! It’s a bit unfair because now their story is complete in the show and I loved every second of it, specially the end.

4. What other fictional couples remind you of them? Lucrezia and Cesare from The Borgias. I haven’t finished watching BUT I know the important bits and a friend of mine always talked to me of how alike they were.

5. Do you read fanfiction? If so any favs/recs? From time to time and only because two people I know wrote these x x 

6. Do you enjoy fanart? If so, any favs/recs? I do but I don’t really have them saved anywhere public to share the links. I’ve already shared my faves with you.

7. Fav Cersei x Jaime edit or gif set? There’s the Jaime & Cersei husband/wife references from the books and this He will come. I know he will. He must. Jaime is my only hope.

8. Have you writen fanfiction or drawn fanart of them? Not yet but I’m in the process of writing my first fic.

9. Name one headcanon you have of them. :) Jaime got his appendix removed when he was eight and Cersei couldn’t sleep that night he was at the hospital, she was feeling the pain he was in too. 

10. Fav alternate universe setting for them? I’m trash for all the modern stuff and I know it was crack but I sort of love our changed at birth au.

11. What star sign do you think they are? I pick Leo as canon, for reasons, but Aries works too.

12. What MBTI type/types do you think they are? Jaime is ESTP and Cersei is probably ESTJ, I’m not 100% sure about her.

13. Who do you think takes control more in the bedroom? Jaime does have more control, he likes to dominate more often than not there but they tend to switch.

14. Should Cersei and Jaime have fled to the free cities together at any point and if so when? When they were younger and Cersei wasn’t as ambitious about the throne.

15. What songs remind you of Cersei and Jaime? Already replied.

16. Genderbent Cersei x Jaime, yes or no? Nah. If Jaime was a woman he’d be Cersei and if Cersei was a man she’d be Jaime, so what’s the point?

Show specific:

17. Fav Cersei x Jaime show scene? This scene from season 6

18. Fav show kiss? That tongue while they’re kissing 

19. Fav show quote regarding their relationship? “Fuck prophecy. Fuck fate. Fuck everyone who isn't us. We're the only ones who matter, the only ones in this world.”

20. Did you like their ending? I LOVED IT. LOVED IT. So satisfying in many levels. I need a brand new post to explain each point, because I love it for both, separately too for different reasons and then together.

21. Do you think Nik and/or Lena ship Cersei x Jaime? I don’t know if they’d use the word “ship it”, I think they’re really great and professional actors who really understand their characters and their motivations, and know the importance of their characters’ relationship. BUT THEY SHIP IT, OKAY?

22. Fav cast quote about their relationship? Nikolaj:  It’s the end of the movie, there’s been a big, big battle. Go to dark. It’s black for ten seconds… and comes up this sign that says “20 YEARS LATER”. There’s a small cottage, Jaime and Cersei are sitting there. “Finally, my love. Finally”. And the music

23. Do you believe that Tommen would have accepted their relationship if he had known? Eventually, after a looooooot of time and space to process things. He’s too young and I think what made Myrcella accept it as fast as she did was the time she spent in Dorne, it gave her a different perspective of things, and Tommen’s world is not as open and accepting.

24. What would they have named their baby if they had lived? As cliche as it is and its everywhere already, Joanna for a baby girl, and don’t kill me, but Tyrion for a boy just because they owe him their lives.

25. What would have happened between them if Jaime would have stayed in Kings Landing in season 7? I think it would have been harder for Cersei to concrete that alliance with Euron but other than that not much. Cersei was right about what was going to happen once the fight in the North was over. I know one thing that wouldn’t have happened though lol

26. Why did Jaime sleep with and have a brief relationship with Brienne? I need an entire one-shot to describe what happened there.

27. Do you think Cersei really ordered for Jaime to be killed? It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. I have a thread with one Qyburn where he insinuates that Jaime siding with the enemies presents a vulnerability to their strategy and Jaime’s a traitor betraying the Queen, so he makes me suspect Qyburn is the one behind the order. He’s very smart. But who know?

Asoiaf specific:

28. Fav Cersei x Jaime book scene? The altar sex! I found this post I need to reblog about the importance of that scene. It’s a symbolic union, the comfirmation of their love in front of all the gods since they can’t make it public. She’s his home. Also what we talked about, how it proves wrong those who says she was disgusted by his stump and how he still is her champion and Cersei’s the first one to remind him he still has another hand, also “I am not whole without you”.

29. Fav book quote regarding their relationship? “Come at once. Help me. Save me. I need you as I have never needed you before. I love you, I love you, I love you."

30. Do you think Jaime is the valonqar? Yes, I wish he wasn’t but it’s possible. GRRM makes me doubt about all prophecies.

31. Do you think Cersei and Jaime will die together? Yes!!! To infinity.

32. Do you think Jaime will have any sort of romantic or sexual relationship with Brienne? I don’t think so, I see their book relationship more based on respect than actual romantic feelings.

33. Do you think Cersei will meet and have any sort of romantic or sexual relationship with Euron? I think the vision of Aeron Greyjoy about the kraken like figure with tentacles on the Iron Throne and a woman by its side is a foreshadowing of Euron and Cersei. I don’t see them involved romantically, no, but in a sexual way, could be.

34. Will Cersei and Jaime have sex again? I wish, Jaime will always be attracted to her and feel that desire, but it’s hard to find the right time and for him to forget about the other men she’s been with.

35. Do you think Jaime will return to Cersei in Winds of Winter or not until A Dream of Spring? Already replied

#out of the Kingsguard;

[admittedlynotspartacus]

“Game of Thrones” Season VIII: Episode 3 - Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

All right people - so some shit went down, and between Avengers: Endgame and this, I imagine the entire nerd populace of the world is going to be comatose this week. You have permission to take a break from twerking for a moment, because damn. But first, let’s unpack.

WARNING: SPOILERS for the latest episode. So if you don’t know who dies, who fucks who, and how to turn the brightness up on your TV high enough, turn back now.

So we start out like La La Land with like a long tracking shot checking in on a bunch of people. We’ve got Sam bopping around all -

Before he passes it off to P-Dinky, who’s like -

While Lady Sophia Grace is just like -

Except it’s all just like... morbidly depressing. And Bran is there.

So yeah Bran is off to the godswood where I’m sure he’s going to do something very very important, while everyone else is chilling on the battlements. We’ve got Sansa.

And Barack.

And Gendry.

Anyway, the horses are starting to get kinda impatient. And like oh wow Ghost is here!

When suddenly we start pulling in on the darkness opposite our heroes. And I’m like-

But we don’t get any zombies yet because first who should come clomp clomping in but Big Red herself, riding solo.

And people she’s got a real special pre-game ritual she wants to share when she goes full Oprah like, “YOU GET A FIRE SWORD! AND YOU GET A FIRE SWORD! AND YOU GET A FIRE SWORD!”

So Big Red is strutting into Winterfell all -

And Davos is like, “Um, can we talk about Baby Girl Dragonface?” And Big Red is just like -

And anyway there’s no time, because the Dothraki are charging. We’ve got Jorah, we’ve got fire catapults, we’ve got Ghost all -

And it’s really fucking fierce but they’re also running into the darkness and I’m like -

Well, it turns out they couldn’t see what the fuck they were headed toward either because all of a sudden they’re like -

And all the fires just go -

Everybody’s like -

Anyway, D-Baby and J-Snow are doing what they do best and being boring on a cliff somewhere. And J-Snow’s all, “Blah blah blah gotta wait for the Night Queen.” But D-Baby’s like, “Those are my boys.”

And like, thank God because the zombies. Are. Here. So they’re rushing our Unsullied bros all -

And people are just getting fucking mauled. Except like, Brienne. And Jaime. And Tormund. And Pod. And Gendry. And Sam. But like everyone who we don’t know? They’re getting mauled. Until Deus Ex D-Baby swoops in once again all -

And like, thank God her indiscriminate fire blasting doesn’t wind up killing any of our heroes, because like. That would be crazy. 

Joining the derby is J-Snow, who is suddenly a whiz at flying a dragon thanks to his Impromptu Booty Call Lesson. And he sees the Frosty Posse (copyright John Way) literally CHILLING at the edge of the woods and is like -

Until the Posse’s like -

Thereby creating worse whiteout conditions than when I was driving home from my grandma’s two Christmases ago. AND THAT SHIT WAS BAD! So like all the good guys and the zombies are like -

But the snow’s like -

And I’m like -

Except That One Night’s Watch Guy died. That was sad.

At this point, Sansa’s like, “I’ma go see how things are down in the crypt.” But she’s greeted by like the shadiest looks ever, to which she’s just like -

And GURL. Things are not going well upstairs, because everyone has quickly gone from this -

to this -

While D-Baby and J-Snow are flying around like Diana Ross in the blizzard scene from The Wiz. SIDEBAR: THERE IS NO GIF OF THAT BUT YOU TRULY MUST LOOK IT UP BECAUSE IT’S FUCKING BATSHIT AND ALSO A VERY APPROPRIATE COMPARISON FOR THIS SHIT.

So everybody’s charging back into Winterfell and Barack is trying to light some big trench thing. But it’s so fucking dark and blizzardy that D-Baby’s like -

And so our boys keep trying all these different non-dragon ways to light them but the zombies are just like -

So at this point I legit think Barack is gonna jump in like -

But then I remember WE GOT BIG RED! Who decides to take this opportunity to move. So. Fucking. Slowly.

Finally she gets to the trench and she’s all -

And the trench is like -

Meanwhile, down in the crypts, Varys is like, “At least we’re already in a crypt.” And I’m like - IN THIS SITUATION THAT IS NOT A GOOD THING! Like, in the “Game Revealed” doc on this episode, Peter Dinklage literally says, “We’re fighting a guy who can bring the dead back to life and we’ve put the women and children in the crypt. Tyrion’s smart, but I guess not that smart...”

Anyway, back to Bran.

who suddenly is all -

And it’s kinda like, “Fine, Bran, you’re real shitty company anyway.” So he like Vision Quests into the ravens, who fly around for no other purpose other than to give the Night Queen her grand Season 8 entrance.

So she’s here, she’s fierce, her head is her crown, get used to it. And what better way to kick things off than waving her little hand and making all the zombies go -

right into the fire. So now we gotta defend the wall. Except they’re all like -

While the Night Queen finds J-Snow and is like -

Anyway, there’s a lot more fighting.

And in the middle of it all, the Hound is in full meltdown mode.

Luckily Arya’s here all -

And then something crazy happens. So like Lady Sophia Grace is back.

When suddenly, the Zombie Version of the Giant Who Doesn’t Like People Looking At Him crashes the party like -

And ohmigod he is so fucking rude he just like BITCHSLAPS Lady Sophia Grace to the ground.

And then Lady Sophia screams like the fucking fierce bitch she is and charges him, only to get squeezed like a mother. fucking. bug. And the Giant is like totally gonna fucking eat her.

But she’s still like -

And she stabs him in the fucking eye. 

She still dies though. RIP Lady Sophia.

Okay, so somewhere in the middle of all this, THIS happens to Arya -

So she’s running around the castle with like a minor concussion all -

until she stumbles into the Library Section of the Haunted Mansion, where the more literate zombies are browsing.

So she distracts them with a diversion.

Yes, Legolas, that’s what I just fucking said. And then she’s outta there. But not before accidentally kabobbing Sharon Needles, who was just on her way to pick up a nice periodical, causing Sharon to relive her best runway -

Like, thanks Arya for making her even more fierce.

Anyway, she finally gets out of there and she’s all -

But then the zombies are like -

and then it’s just like -

Until she runs into the Hound and Eyepatch Dude, who totally bites it in a fierce-ass Jesus pose to save her.

RIP Eyepatch Dude.  Okay, at this point Arya and the Hound happen to find the one room with a door the zombies can’t Koolaid-Man through, and who should be chilling in there but BIG RED! And she’s all, “What do we say to the God of Death?” And Arya’s like -

Meanwhile, the Night Queen’s starting to blow shit up when J-Snow’s dragon attacks hers and totally Mike Tysons it.

So the Night Queen’s all -

and J-Snow’s dragon is all -

Meanwhile, D-Baby finds the Night Queen and is all -

But Ms. Queen is just like -

and heads off into the castle with the biggest shit-eating grin you’ve ever seen in your life. So J-Snow’s after him all -

And Ms. Queen turns.

Before deciding to recreate her greatest hit - 

J-Snow’s like -

But it’s too late, because everyone is all -

And Ms. Queen just turns around like -

Okay, so meanwhile down in the crypt, everyone is totally shook that the dead are coming back to life and I’m just like -

While upstairs, D-Baby is too busy staring at J-Snow to realize the zombies are mauling her dragon for autographs! So the dragon is like -

But winds up knocking D-Baby off!!! So she’s like totally gone-zo when who should come to her rescue but Jorah!

Anyway, J-Snow’s trying to get to Bran, because like - God forbid he get interrupted on his raven joyride. And he sees Sam, who seems to be spending this entire episode all -

But J-Snow’s like -

So anyway, shit’s really hitting the fan now, and P-Dinky and Sansa are looking at each other all -

When the music decides to bring things down a bit.

And it’s just like zombie dragon flipping out, people dying, Jorah going all -

And meanwhile Theon and the Ironborn have decided that the best way to protect Bran is just to use arrows? But like now Theon has a spear? Anyway, Ms. Queen and the Frosty Posse are strutting into the godswood all -

And Bran has had enough fucking around with the ravens, so he comes back to earth long enough to tell Theon -

Which I guess translates to, “Go charge the Magic Ice Man For Me Even Though He’s Def Gonna Kill You, Charlie Brown.” Anyway, Theon? He dead, and so Ms. Queen can truck on to Bran like -

Until finally he’s there. And Ms. Queen is all -

And Bran is like -

And truly truly truly I thought it was gonna end here. Or like, Ms. Queen would take Bran and that’d be that. But never in a million years, and I mean a MILLION YEARS did I think Arya was gonna come flying in like -

‘Cause she goes -

And he goes -

And then everything’s just like -

At this point everyone ON the show, WATCHING the show, or in any way affiliated with the show is just like -

Except for Bran. ‘Cause like. Of course.

So now all that’s left is for Big Red to walk off into the sunset all -

Sleep, Big Red. You done good.

BOOB COUNT: NONE! BODY COUNT: Bitch, I’m not counting. But RIP Dolorous Edd, Lady Sophia Grace, Beric Dondarrion, Theon Greyjoy, Zombie Viserion, The Night Queen, Jorah Mormont, Melisandre EPISODE GRADE: B+

THE SER POUNCE MEMORIAL FOR STRAY THOUGHTS

First off, a very sincere hats off to director Miguel Sapochnik (of “Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards,” and “The Winds of Winter”) and the entire cast and crew for pulling this off. Thrones spoils us, but the fact of the matter is that no other show is giving this level of production on television, and the technical virtuosity on display is out of this world. Check out “The Game Revealed” for this week for a 40-minute deep dive into the 55-night shoot that was this episode - it’s good stuff. Now, let’s pick it apart a little.

Okay, so very cool, we have the Dothraki with the flaming arakhs charging and then the flames going out, but like - what was the plan here? Because everybody knows you gotta burn these zombies to really end them, and they didn’t know Melisandre was coming. So essentially, they were just gonna charge their best fighters at the zombies and like… see what happened?

The sequence after the fires went out and some horses and Dothraki and Jorah came running back was haunting. But I did think it was foreboding something other than just like “We’re running away from zombies.”

Jon’s first line of the episode and seemingly the only thing he says anymore, “The Night King is coming.” In fact, because he’s said this so fucking much, I’d forgotten that Daenerys and he were charged primarily with taking out the Night King. This could’ve been established a little better. Like yes they talked about it last episode, but I could’ve used being re-oriented insofar as “Okay, these two are with the dragons over here literally waiting till the Night King shows himself” because I found myself often wondering why the fuck they weren’t just roasting zombies.

There was obviously an unprecedented scope to this battle, and seeing grand moments like the Unsullied defending the gate was a really cool payoff for an army we’ve been with for 6 seasons now.

That said, something I thought was highly unsuccessful about this episode was how detached it felt from last week’s, which reinvested me in pretty much all these characters. The wider and chaotic look at this battle made it hard to focus on those characters, and while I appreciated the immersion of the sequence, it grew tiring for me.

A nice zoom-in moment is with Grey Worm at the gate, trying to figure out what to do. But the geography of where Melisandre was and when the idea came to him to use her for the trench was confusing.

“Maybe we should have stayed married.” “You were the best of them.” “What a terrifying thought.”

Ramin Djawadi started this awesome White Walker cue back on “Hardhome” that sounds like a clock ticking and I love it every time he uses it. Also his cue “The Night King” is perfection.

Great use of color in this episode to delineate the stages of the battle. And I know we’re all giving it shit for being hard to see, but I’d imagine the blizzardy chaos and the hellfire that dominates the trench section helped them stretch their budget by obscuring most of the backgrounds.

Love, love, loved the library scene.

Let’s not pretend they didn’t crib Helm’s Deep pretty hard here. Melisandre’s arrival was the Elves, the crypts were the glittering caves. We had wall climbing and very similar all is lost moments. It’s a good thing to steal from, but let’s not pretend.

Beautiful work from Sophie Turner and Peter Dinklage in the crypts.

I was very satisfied by all the major deaths this week, in particular Theon’s, but the idea that Bran had to rubber stamp that Theon was “a good man” irritated me a little. The whole thing of Thrones has been that these people are complicated, and Theon is one of the most complicated. So to just sweep it all under the rug and come down hard on one side of it felt reductive. Anyway, RIP Alfie Allen, one of my favorite actors on the show.

RIP also to Iain Glen, our Jorah 5EVER.

Alas, Bran is still with us, and he was another hugely unsuccessful element of the episode. Using him as the Macguffin was a good idea, but D&D never succeeded at explaining what it was that was so important about him to the Night King. Likewise, when he went into the ravens and people were protecting him, wouldn’t it have been stronger if he was actually doing something of use? Something that if it was interrupted would ruin everything? Rather than just joy-riding?

I’ve seen a lot of people wish more characters had died, and I hear that. But it’s a tricky thing at this point on the show. As much as Thrones has been unafraid of killing its characters, it’s never done it in a random way. Ned died as a consequence for his actions, as do pretty much all the major characters on the show. To just randomly start killing them sounds like something that would happen in a battle, sure, but would be largely unsatisfying. And we know these characters so well now that moments need to be made of their demises. I thought the show did an excellent job of dispatching a fairly substantial crew of major characters in a satisfying way, but too much of this and it’s gonna get tiring.

Speaking of which, the Night King. Okay, so Arya killing him was obviously outstanding, made even more satisfying by the fact that it made complete sense with her arc and that Sapochnik was so successful in setting it up so clearly in the episode and then making us completely forget about it. When she stabbed him and he exploded, I honestly could not believe what I was seeing. One of the most satisfying crowd-pleaser moments I’ve ever seen.

That said, the thing that stinks up this episode for me is not that it was hard to see or that not enough people died, but that the White Walkers ultimately amounted to nothing. I love love love the device of killing them with three episodes left to go and refocusing the show on the political, but the Night King was such an amazing villain because of his mystery and the promise that one day we’d find out what his M.O. was. I worried last week that when the characters perfunctorily said he wants to destroy history, that was all we’d get in the way of that but sadly, it seems it may be. We should’ve known they wouldn’t handle this very well when they swept the White Walker origin story under the rug in Season 6, but it’s very disappointing to see that ultimately he was just a bad dude. The way it ended was epic, but we deserved to know more about motivations and the stakes of the situation before it was all over. To sum it up, D&D are very lucky that their fairly mid-level writing is in the hands of a master like Sapochnik and a dynamite cast and crew.

NEXT WEEK: Cersei’s back.

#gameofthrones #got #longnight #arya #forthethrone #hbo

[janiedean]

not to be that person but idk why everyone keeps behaving like sansa surviving KL and LF means she's smarter than every other stark like only court intrigues and politics require you to be smart?? and surviving amongst the smallfolk and assassins and night's watch and beyond the wall is all about brawn and physical strength??? that's so... classist lmfao, like surviving without revealing you're a highborn in a warzone, not starving to death, not being killed by soldiers/assassins/whatnot requires as much brains as surviving court politics. jon had to deal with politics at the NW and with Stannis. admittedly bran's story was doesn't at all in the show but he's about the only one who manages to explore his warging abilities fully it's not a piece of cake?? and arya had to escape KL, survive flea bottom, then harrenhal (under ROOSE BOLTON FFS) and the bwb and the red wedding AND get to braavos and survive the faceless men whoch is supposedly the leading assassin organization in asoiaf.

i'm not even getting into everything dany's done and survived lol. but okay samsa is the only genius in westeros, we know she is because tyrion says so i guess? not to mention show sansa's political "mentors" are possible the WORST examples of rulers we have - cersei and littlefinger. they didn't give 2 shits about ruling or the smallfolk or leadership, just about their own power. and i'd say that's important given how much time grrm spends showing us how the smallfolk suffer because of the games played by kings and queens.

this... actually requires a bit of going into it but like not counting that show sansa was a travesty and I'm choosing to not acknowledge it, and show lf was... I mean I'm not even going into how much it was a disservice to the og char whom I detest but honestly book!lf wouldn't marry sansa to anyone he didn't do research about lmfao but like not going into... those... plot holes.....

the entire point is that in the book sansa ends up under those two's tutelage anyway and... she's posed to do the contrary? what does she think looking at c.? that when she's queen she wants to be loved not feared, and like... being with lf is testing her morals but it's obvious that since she survived staying kind until now (I mean... again it's her leitmotiv she helped lancel & about everyone she could who was a jerk to her to the point it sent at least lancel into a faith crisis, she felt bad for joffrey like FOR FUCKING JOFFREY COME ON that's her selling point HER FUCKING SELLING POINT) then she'll just... gain enough political knowledge to outsmart people when she wants to but she won't use it to be a jerk she'll use it.. to.. help her family... when they're reunited which is p obvious to me but nvm

the thing is that people have decided to attach it to the underdog female character goes up the power ladder trope which.... like that's not it

also there's the part where like people are so caught up in the whole WHO HAS IT WORSE BETWEEN SANSA AND ARYA WHO IS THE BEST feud that... they don't notice that they have specular ways of dealing with trauma like arya is dealing with having to lose her identity/risking not knowing who she is anymore and she has to deal with increasing violence/ptsd-related trauma bc she's throw in the middle of everything bad she could end up in like she was almost in the red wedding I was 90% sure she also died until I saw she had a chapter after, while sansa has managed to dodge courtly poisons by being herself and by not letting it change who she is which tyrion noticed which everyone noticed which is why guess what tyrion is willing to stand up to his father and tell him no when it comes to actually having sex with her when he couldn't for the marriage and she's the only person that managed to get past sandor's trauma issues enough that he tried to actually help her for what he could, like... arya has de-personalization to overcome, sansa is holding to her guns by staying herself and she has to learn what good she can from lf before ditching him and keeping on staying herself like it's fucking specular it's not supposed to be a game of who has it worse

(wish ppl would get it also with jaime and tyrion and their coping with trauma but nvm)

the fact that ppl downplay that jon isn't politically an idiot at all irks me forever but like... bruh the dude handled being lord commander, an entire siege when he was like seventeen and was hobbling around on crutches, managed to infiltrate the wildlings without anyone finding out (and it traumatized the shit out of him but nvm) and if only he was good at PR he wouldn't have gotten juliuscaesared, like... okay X°DDD

I mean... yes it's classist but that's a dead horse to beat, if people actually took that angle into account they wouldn't write off brienne or davos chapters as BORING if only bc they're the only ones where you see how not-nobles are doing as in badly X°D

anyway like all stark kids have enough smarts to survive their storylines and robb had to be taken out with a betrayal so he wasn't being that stupid either differently from what my villain origin story thinks but again as someone said once if you hate a stark kid to prop up your fave your fave most likely would hate you so that's my stance X°D

but like... the point is that sansa was shown to gaf about others/the smallfolk/people lower than her in the food chain which dnd/half of this fandom didn't get which is why she'll be an excellent regent for bran and I'm dying on that hill but again this entire thing where you have to pit your fave against everyone else to show how much more badass/smarter they are is imvho a useless exercise because then I'll cut the gordian knot and say that if gilly managed to survive at least seventeen years with her father in that context knowing that her mother was also her sister and that she'd get the same treatment and if she had male children they'd get put out in the open and killed and then was forced to swap her own baby for another without knowing if that baby was going to die or not and she still had it in herself to not turn into a complete asshole she wins for toughest survivor in westeros at least out of the girls unless we want jeynep to give her a run for her money because like... going from lf to ramsay and not as a protegé and considering she was afraid ramsay was going to sic dogs on her when they saved her I think we can maybe ger some perspective here X°DDDD

(I'm not even going into the guys because honestly there's an amount of trauma that's not quantifiable in there X°DD)

like...... again everyone has it bad in these books and propping up your fave making the others look bad makes no sense bc if you love your fave then you have reasons to and you don't need to compare them to others to make them look as good as you think they are and that's my hill to die on X°D

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #janie rants #anonymous #ask post #anti show sansa #trauma cw #incest cw #abuse cw #rape cw #anti-cersei lannister #anti cersei lannister

[daeneryses]

so

here’s what i think abt the episode

it wasnt as BAD as it seemed it would be but that doesnt mean it was good but my expectations were so fucking low that i could sort of enjoy it. 

but well lets unpack that shit

it began alright, the funeral was emotional, not much to be done there i suppose. jon’s speech was good. nothing spectacular. 

then the feast, which was also okay. but here begins one of my most serious concerns. what the fuck is up with sansa? in past episodes i could see her point, the north has been betrayed too much, it has bled too much, and southern rulers don’t quite get the north. but at the feast she was straight up dropping attitude towards dany, like damn girl aren’t u supposed to be a diplomatic figure in order to be a political mastermind? but well i’ll rant more about that later on. also dany legitimizing gendry was something we all saw coming i believe (even before the leaks i mean lmao) and it was a smart choice on her behalf really bc as tyrion pointed out gendry would never betray her, out of pure gratefulness if anything.

the feast lasted a lot lmao am i the only one who feels that way? 

we started to see dany drifting from jon bc for some reason my tiny brain cannot comprehend people seem to want him as a king and she know he could be king if the truth gets out (WHICH DESERVES A WHOLE ASS POST TO RANT). she also sees tyrion laughing with jaime and brienne and i just felt so bad for her? like everyone was ignoring her she was clearly uncomfortable there ;( maybe it just hit too close home ahah. Anyway, I understand her becoming wary, and i understand why she doesn’t want anyone to know abt jon’s parentage. which, ofc, jon doesn’t give a flying fuck so we end up in a very bad place (which, again, i’ll talk more abt later on)

i was pretty nervous abt the gendrya breakup ahah but it really wasnt that bad, i didnt really see it as a breakup as much as a  “c ya later” and im allowing myself to be hopeful for them. they’re both clearly very much in love but my boy’s a whole ass clown if he thought she’d say yes THAT quickly.

but im actually nervous about arya’s fate??? did she even say goodbye to sansa? bran? what the fuck was that??? she really plans to kill cersei and i just have a feeling in my HEART that she’s not gonna make it out alive and she won’t succeed either. why would u have her lecture jon abt the importance of family if she’s just going to clock out the next day. ALSO what the fuck was that line of her never returning to WF????? 

??????????????????????????????????????????????????

if she dies im gonna become a full blown alcoholic. its even worse if she dies by the mountain or some stupid shit like that.

anyways

lets fast forward shall we

when they were at the war council room (idk the name im sorry) SANSA WAS STILL PROVOKING DANY. WHAT THE HELL? was it ever explained why she distrusts her? or are we just supposed to go with it? i loved that jon for once in his life stood up for her. she lost so much, she lost her khalasar, she lost most of her unsullied, she lost JORAH. and you don’t even want to send men to fight a much less scary enemy? gtfo here. i have always always always loved sansa, and i could see where she came from when she initially didn’t trust dany, but this? dany gave them everything and more, what do they want from her. im also emo bc i always thought dany and arya would get along :( and now im wearing a clown costume. 

then the jon’s dumbass who’s a targaryen but inherited ned stark’s ability to disclose very sensible information at the WORST possible timing goes “hey, u know what will make them be at peace with dany ruling? knowing that i’m a secret targ and i can be king instead of her ahah :)x” and tells them. which, ofc, has many many consequences.

god they really are setting everything up for dany going nuts i hate this i hate this so much

everyone is plotting behind her back. that sneaky little treacherous rat varys is going to get dracarysed very soon and i will REJOICE. 

and i truly fail to see why, all of a sudden, varys doesn’t want her on the throne. i cannot see what she has done wrong, and i mean this. if it’s all bc she burned down the tarlys i s2g.... if this was all done properly, if this was well written, if dany had truly started to show signs of madness, i would not be complaining. but the second she suggests using heavy force on KL to end the war once and for all, she is MAD!!!1111! aerys reborn!11!!! get the fuck outta here w that im fuming

but well im just rambling now. we all know that rhaegal survived a fight with his undead brother but died bc apparently NO ONE saw the massive fleet that was somehow hiding behind a rock. god i wish i was joking this sounds like bad fanfiction. also they killed missandei just for the lulz apparently and to give us what they believe will be a justified reason for dany going mad. thanks i hate it.

the way she said dracarys though ;___; she wants dany to obliterate the whole lot of them.

also the show really sad fuck jaime lannister huh. 

like, it’s the same shit guys. amazing episode if you look at the technical aspects, the music was great as usual, the photography is impressive, it feels like you’re watching a blockbuster movie not a TV show and that definitely counts for something, but the story is simply not good anymore. they are crushing everything they’ve built up to this point character-wise. everyone’s acting so so so ooc it’s unbelievable, and sadly i can only see one way for the “story” they have begun to tell us. they are going to destroy the single most important character of the show, the most ICONIC character in the story of TV, one of the most beloved characters of our times, and turn her into a monster just so jon can save the day. if that ain’t trash writing, idk what is. 

i also want to point out how great the cast is. it amazes me each episode. this time in particular emilia was amazing.

i guess that’s the sad part, that this show has it all to be the best of the best, but they decided to butcher the story, which cannot be saved, no matter how amazing your crew, cast, and production is.

#got rant

[kateofthecanals]

A Woman’s Worth, According to “Game of Thrones”

The other day I thought to myself, is there a single female character on GoT who has not at some point been encouraged, both on a Watsonian and Doylist level, to resort to violence and/or sex in order to solve all her problems?

I’m honestly at a loss to think of a single female character, past or present, where this hasn’t been the case. Obviously the example frequently referenced around here is Sansa. Here is a young woman who, as written by George R.R. Martin, possesses a keen intellect but also a fair amount of naivete... because, like, both those aspects can exist at the same time. She is not a warrior like her sister, and she is not a seductress like Cersei, and yet she’s managed to survive through FIVE books without having to resort either to violence or sexual manipulation and has relied instead on her intellect and the traditionally feminine pursuits she has been brought up to cultivate. This is something D&D apparently cannot conceive of (even though it’s literally been written out for them in black and white). In their minds, a woman cannot be “strong” unless she’s got blood on her hands and/or a sexually available body. They literally cannot wrap their tiny brains around the concept of nuanced women. Even those who do possess martial prowess, like Brienne, Arya, and Asha, are reduced to shallow stereotypes and have had all their unique qualities stripped away in favor of this almost cartoonish thirst for blood.

D&D have made it quite clear over 7 seasons (yes, the first 4 included) that a woman in this universe is only “worthy” if she is willing to kill people and/or have sex. They cannot possibly serve any other purpose and still be of use to D&D’s narrative. Just look...

Sansa: Revenge Murder. She had been advised in the past, by both Cersei and Littlefinger, to use sex to get want she wants, but then she ended up getting raped. So maybe that “counts” in D&D’s eyes? After all, she did get her all-important “first kill” out of it... That, according to both D&D and Sophie, was what her “entire arc was leading to.”

Arya: Murder. She’s basically a homicidal maniac at this point, and it’s framed not only as a good thing, but “badass”. We’re supposed to be cheering as this lost, damaged child repeatedly stabs people with a cold smirk on her face.

Brienne: Murder. Absolutely no qualms about it either. Shanking dudes is just another day at the office for her! The epic moral dilemma that defines book-Brienne (”no chance, and no choice”) simply does not exist here.

Dany: Murder/Sex/Nudity. The Holy Trifecta! No wonder D&D love her so much! She’ll get naked and jump into bed AND murder entire cities all before Noon! We have seen Dany “struggle” at times with the dilemma of using violence in order to find peace, but in the end, the solution is always the same: YES OF COURSE YOU SHOULD USE VIOLENCE! Never once has she been like, “you know what, the loss is too much of a burden on my conscience, Imma sit this one out” without that being framed as a “wrong” decision. Because we need CGI dragons and massive casualties in order for her to be seen as “strong” and “competent”, dammit! We also need to see dem tittays!!!!

Cersei: Murder & Sex. Another D&D darling, obviously. In the books, Cersei is clearly off her rocker, makes bad decisions constantly, and literally no one likes her. (She’s basically show-Littlefinger.) And yet, on the show, her poor decisions and wisdom are treated as “correct”. When she tells Sansa that love is a sham or that she needs to use her vajayjay to get what she wants in this world, these things are framed as legitimately good advice. Cersei is basically this show’s moral compass. In D&D’s eyes, Cersei is the only character who is playing the game correctly. She is the only one who gets it right. “Kill or be killed, fuck or get fucked.” There is literally nothing else in between these two extremes.

Melisandre: Murder & Sex. Okay, so Mel hasn’t murdered anyone directly, but she’s had her hand in quite a few homicides. She’s utterly willing to see people die to get what she wants, and she’ll happily throw her titties at them along the way. Nevermind that book-Mel honestly believes that everything she’s doing is for the Greater Good, and nevermind that book-Mel doesn’t need to be nude every 5 seconds to get her point across... show-Mel is simply an evil enchantress, period. Oh, but then something horrible happened in Season 6 -- we found out that (a) she’s actually 3,000 years old ewwwwww!! and (b) she finally realized her “powers” aren’t all that reliable and came to regret all the murderin’ she’d done. She basically had her “worth” stripped from her twofold. Also, Carice Van Houten turned 40. And so guess who we BARELY saw in Season 7? Yeah, D&D literally made her LEAVE THE CONTINENT since she’s no longer of use to them.

Yara: Murder & Sex/Queer-Baiting. Yeah, another fun thing about D&D&Co is that they assume all female warriors are lesbians. They outright said as much about Brienne, and with Yara they just went ahead and showed it, and called it “representation” lmao. Even though Asha Greyjoy probably has the most healthy hetero sex life in ASOIAF. Sexuality in Yara’s case is even worse because she is also used in D&D’s massively disturbing depictions/endorsements of toxic masculinity. Her advice to her own brother, who was sexually mutilated, to either “get over it or kill yourself” (all while she’s groping a sex slave IN FRONT OF HIM) was actually framed as GOOD ADVICE. This was already apparent in the narrative but then D&D themselves confirmed it in the ITE!!!

Missandei: Nudity. Here’s a female character who is actually allowed to have a brain, but even then she is constantly undermined by the far superior intellect of Saint Tyrion. But it doesn’t really matter either way, because Missandei’s true purpose on the show is to look hot.

Olenna: Murder. Lady Tyrell is far too old to be sexy, so naturally she has to be out for blood at all times, and advising other people to murder as well (”Be a dragon!!!”).

Ellaria/Sand Snakes: Murder & Nudity/Sex. We can just go ahead and lump all these together. In addition to being the poster children for D&D’s insistence that all females, including sisters, must be catty to each other at all times, they are, of course, overly-sexualized and obsessed with Revenge™. It wasn’t enough that Ellaria was canonically bisexual, but D&D felt that her appeals for peace in the books were literally unworthy of proper adaptation. “We reconceived the role to make it worthy of the actor’s talents.” For them, Ellaria doesn’t deserve to even exist unless she’s vowing bloody vengeance on literally everyone for Oberyn’s death... including Oberyn’s own family(???). And the Sand Snakes? Well, one of y’all better get nekkid to keep it interesting! Who cares if the term “bad pussy” is apocryphal to this universe???

Margaery: Sex. From the moment Marg first popped up on screen, her titties popped out. She’s been a sexual character from the beginning and has repeatedly used sex as a tool for manipulation. She’s the protege that Cersei’s been looking for! Nevermind that, in the books, Marg, like Sansa, actually uses her wits to scheme and manipulate instead of her vagina. Luckily for D&D, they had room to age up Marg just enough that we could see her naked IMMEDIATELY, and once she traded in her low-cut dresses for Silent Sister gowns, guess what happened to her?

Myrcella: Neither, #RIP. Though, to be “fair”, they did re-cast the role with an older actress so that she could wear skimpier dresses and get groped by Trystane...

Gilly: ????? I mean, she’s just been reduced to Sam’s nagging girlfriend at this point. She did offer him sex (5 minutes after almost being raped) but she hasn’t threatened to murder anyone YET... But she’s also dumb as a post, so I guess D&D keep her around to make Sam look smarter?

Lyanna Mormont: Faux-Feminism! Lyanna is too young to be sexy or physically intimidating, so obviously the only other options for her are to re-affirm Sansa's idiocy (”Lyanna Mormont wouldn’t have been dumb enough to write that letter, so age is no excuse!”) and to further the faux-feminism agenda where crucial, life-preserving activities like knitting are ridiculed simply because they are “girl things”.

Meera: Murder. Honestly Meera was unusual in that she didn’t seem to possess the thirst for blood that the rest of the weapons-capable women on GoT did, nor any overt sexuality. But it’s okay, cuz D&D found other ways to undermine her! Like having her almost raped (a rite of passage for all true GoT Ladies I guess), and her constantly squabbling with Osha was a given according to the unwritten rule that if there’s more than one woman in the same scene at any time, they HAVE to be catty to each other, NO EXCEPTIONS!!! Anyway, without anyone left to kill or any way to be sexually available to Bran, she’s useless and no longer on the show. I’m sure we’ll find out next season that she was raped and murdered on her way back to the Neck (which Bran will have no reaction to).

The Waif: Murder. Just pure, unadulterated, completely incomprehensible murder. Did we ever really find out WHY she was so pathologically out to get Arya, other than the above-mentioned Rule of Cattiness?? Like, gods forbid she be an ACTUAL mentor to Arya...

Shireen: Neither, #RIP. Shireen was #tooprecioustoopure for this world, and that was entirely the point, wasn’t it? Nobody that sweet, kind, smart [shudder], and innocent [double-shudder] has any place in Weissteroff. She was only there for the maximum #feels when she was ruthlessly (and inexplicably) murdered and then immediately forgotten about once she served her purpose.

Selyse: Murder. She kind of suffered the same treatment as Lysa, in that her sexuality was used against her and she basically turned to murder to compensate for what she lacked.

Walda: Neither, #RIP. This one still infuriates me. In the books, Walda, although described to be rather overweight, still manages to enjoy a very healthy sex life with a husband not known for expressing more than a pointed stare. In fact, she’s so into it that even Roose Fucking Bolton finds it (and her) charming!! NONE of this made it into the show. No, instead, we have Ramsay making tasteless fat jokes (”OMG HOW DO YOU EVEN FIND HER VAGINA?!??!”) because lulz fat women enjoying sex don’t be ridiculous!! Ultimately she’s just there to be laughed at and then killed off for plot. Imagine if D&D were actually as progressive as they think they are and used this as an opportunity to depict and endorse body positivity on their Emmy Award-winning prestige drama watched by millions of people around the world..... NAAAAHHHH MORE FAT JOKES PLEASE!!!

Those are just some of the more recent crop of female characters, but this applies to past ones as well...

Catelyn: Murder. Poor Cat couldn’t even have a book-canon sex scene because no woman over the age of 40 is allowed to be naked on-screen (see: Melisandre) unless it’s for comedic effect or to deliberately make us cringe. So, that’s when D&D decided they had to amp up the Thirst for Vengeance quotient on her! Even though Cat was a POV character, and Robb’s entire war was seen through her eyes, they never allowed her any sort of meaningful introspection, either about the war or her family. Like Sansa, it was more important to highlight all the “mean” things she did to the Heroes of the story (”Maybe if I had loved Jon, this war wouldn’t have happened!!”) and retool the timeline so that she looks as dumb as possible (letting Jaime go before she ever found out about Bran & Rickon). The Red Wedding couldn’t have come sooner, amirite??

Lysa: Murder & Sex. Here’s an example of an “older” woman’s sex life being played for laughs. She was never meant to be taken seriously as a sexual being, so let’s make her wedding night with Littlefinger as outrageously ridiculous as possible. Yes, I know, it was presented this way in the books as well, but the difference is, we had way more backstory on Lysa and so it came off as more sad and pathetic than just outright comical. She was also the one who poisoned Jon Arryn, thereby kicking off the WoT5K, but that (extremely crucial mystery that hung in the air for 5 books and 4 seasons) has since been rendered meaningless because “Robert’s Rebellion was built on a lie”...

Shae: Sex/Nudity. And here’s a classic example of D&D seemingly making a GOOD decision to “improve” a character but having it ultimately blow up in their faces. Having Shae be a confidante/protector of sorts for Sansa ALMOST worked. It certainly gave her something to do than have sex with Tyrion constantly. But in the end, that just made Shae look all the more like a shitperson when she threw Sansa under the bus at Tyrion’s trial. It was an actual betrayal, as opposed to a calculated maneuver by someone who ultimately never gave a shit about Sansa OR Tyrion. It ultimately made Shae look even WORSE than her book-counterpart, imo. Book-Shae was just doing her job; show-Shae actively fucked over 2 people she seemed to genuinely care about. It was a more nuanced character, but at the end of the day, they did it to serve Tyrion. It probably never even occurred to them that someone couldn’t genuinely love him (and those who don’t pay for it dearly; see: Sansa), and it was out of the question to make Saint Tyrion look like a FOOL for deluding himself into thinking a prostitute loved him. So she had to be the real deal, and her murder by Tyrion had to be 100% justified.

Osha: Murder & Sex/Nudity. It wasn’t enough for Osha to become a surrogate mother to Bran and Rickon; mothers are SO BORING after all. And it wasn’t enough that she was a wildling woman capable of killing a man a hundred different ways. Best throw in some gratuitous nude scenes just because. As far as D&D are concerned, the only way she can kill a man is by fucking him first. It works the first time, but when she tries the same ruse with Ramsay, she is killed for it. I mean, OF COURSE. The Great Ramsay Sue would never fall for such a thing, pffft!

Ygritte: Murder & Sex. She was already a little firecracker in the books, but leave it to D&D to give her the Cersei treatment by basically blackmailing Jon into sleeping with her. Some could argue dub-con for the books, but the show was outright non-con. But because she’s a hot lady and he’s a dude, it’s not looked at or framed that way at all. Instead we’re made to think “JACKPOT, JON! woooot!”

Talisa: Sex. When the “not like the other girls” trope goes too far, you get Talisa. Yes, she was presented as a strong, smart, capable woman, but in the context that they put her in, it didn’t make sense. Because D&D don’t know how to write a female character like this within the context of ASOIAF. And the re-working of this arc in Robb’s plot went from “doing it for honor” to “doing it for dat bootay!!” So, of course, it wasn’t enough that she was “not like the other girls”; it was CRUCIAL that we got to see her naked too, lest she be taken TOO seriously...!

Ros: Sex/Nudity. Like, literally, that was her one and only function. There’s that well-known rumor that she was killed off in the show because the actress didn’t wanna do any more nude scenes, but she has denied this was the case, but who knows, really? Knowing D&D as we do, would we REALLY be surprised if the rumor was true? I mean, why else would they get rid of her? If she was still game to throw her rack around and perform pornologues, why would they willingly give that up??

Karsi: Murder. This gal has the distinction of proving D&D’s claim that no one would have cared about Jeyne Poole utterly wrong, null, and void. Karsi had a cumulative screen time of about 10 minutes total, and I remember watching the live-tweets come in during “Hardhome” and people, including myself, being really excited by her character almost immediately. But surely there had to be a catch -- ah yes, The Worst Crime In Westeros: being a mother. That was her ultimate undoing. Of course, we learned soon after the episode that the character was originally written to be a man, but it was changed to a woman because OBVIOUSLY only a woman -- only a mother -- would be THAT opposed to killing children, even undead ones.

Maggy The Frog: Sex. Well, kinda... Look, fact is, Maggy the Frog was supposed to be some old, gross witch, and D&D turned her into a Burning Man groupie.

That about covers it, I think, feel free to add more if I’ve forgotten anyone. But basically you can see the pattern here loud and clear. It amazes me that so-called feminists who watch the show religiously haven’t picked up on this... or, if they have, don’t seem to have a problem with it??

#game of thrones #got #got shit #anti-got #sansa stark #arya stark #cersei lannister #daenerys targaryen #brienne of tarth #melisandre #missandei #yara greyjoy #olenna tyrell #margaery tyrell #ellaria sand #sand snakes #myrcella baratheon #gilly #shireen baratheon #selyse baratheon #lyanna mormont #meera reed #the waif #walda frey #catelyn stark #lysa arryn #shae #osha #ygritte #talisa maegyr

[lady-alayne]

Game of Thrones: An Angry Recap

Season 7 Episode 7: The Dragon and the Wolf

Outside of King's Landing:

As Dany's troops are positioning themselves all around King's Landing, Bronn and Jaime have a deep and meaningful discussion about the construct of masculinity between the conflicting priorities of cocks and what-even-is-the-point-of-not-having-a-cock. Oh, the subtle socio-anthropological nuances of Game of Thrones, more refined each episode.

But back to Dany's troops! The Unsullied, motionless as ever, stand still as an army of Dothraki rides through their ranks making... scary noises? Where did they pick those up? I'm pretty sure the Dothraki were not yodeling like that in season 1. But, whatever, who cares about continuity? Most characters have been replaced by a caricature of themselves this season, so why not make the Dothraki more foreign and more different? Apparently it's supposed to make for some good TV instead of, you know, raising a lot of eyebrows and bordering offensiveness.

The real Team Dany, meanwhile, sails into King's Landing, and we find out that Jon is completely healed! Based on the established timelines, it took him about 10 minutes to heal and put his cothes back on, as this is approximately the time it takes to sail from the North to King's Landing. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Aaaaaaaaaand our sexist joke counter immediately goes DING! as Tyrion mentions the far superior King's Landing brothels. I mean... sure. The best brothel in show!universe was undoubtedly Littlefinger's fine establishment, which is not operating any more, so... someone else must have taken over? And how would Tyrion even know? Has he been to all the brothels? (Okay, he probably has.) Based on the show's characterization, I'd say the best brothels are in Dorne, but... who cares. Maybe D&D are contractually obligated to mention sex all the time. Or they probably just think it's worthy of all the Emmys, which, sadly, seems to be the case. Ugh.

The Dragonpit:

On the way to the dragonpit Missandei, who, if I may remind, IS THE QUEENS MOST TRUSTED ADVISOR, DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHY IT WOULD BE A SMART MOVE TO CONTAIN A BUNCH OF GROWN UP KILLER DRAGONS. Thankfully, Jorah is there to mansplain how dangerous dragons can be. You know, to the woman who witnessed Dany's dragons torching countless flocks of innocent sheep, and eventually a child, which made Dany LOCK THEM UP. But, oh, what could the Dragonpit possibly be there for??? Tyrion then supermansplains how the last dragons died, because as soon as another male character (except for Jon) has more than 10 seconds screentime, Tyrion must be brought into the mix to remind us all how awesome he is.

Thankfully he is interrupted by Bronn, who came with Brienne and Pod for some reason, who seem to have teleported into King's Landing. Because it's Pod and there seems to be a law, Bronn makes a joke about Pod's magic cock. Sigh. Why won't D&D ever let us forget about that?

After a Brienne/Sandor and Tyrion/Bronn reunion scene, the gang finally makes it into the Dragnpit, which is FUCKING TINY. Even for one fully grown dragon it wouldn't be enough space to spread their wings and fly. But for several??? No wonder the dragons got the blues and stopped growing. Dude.

Finally Team Cersei arrives, and then—CLEGANBOWL GET HYPE!!! Or.... not, as Sandor chooses to walk away. Lame!

Dany shows up 15 minutes late without Starbucks, but on her dragon, which impresses Cersei exactly 0.00. Just as Tyrion is about to instigate a peaceful negotiation, Euron heckles him, leaving Theon... unperturbed??? What happened to your PTSD, Theon? I guess it comes and goes as the plot demands it. Realistic!

Cersei tells Euron to shut the hell up, and Team Dany finally have the chance to explain the threat beyond the wall to the Queen and even have their wight show-and-tell. Jon explains and demonstrates how to defeat them while looking like he's shooting a “How To” youtube video, which seems to convince Cersei, who accept the truce, and scare the shit out of Euron, who jumps up and yells, “SCREW YOU GUYS, I'M GOING HOME.”

By the way. Jon explicitly states that wights CANNOT SWIM. THEN HOW DID THEY GET THE DRAGON OUT OF THE WATER????

In other news, Cersei's truce comes with one condition: That the North does not take up arms against the Lannisters, even after the White Walkers have been defeated. Unfortunately Jon's compromised dick honor prevents him from accepting those terms, and Cersei storms out. Brienne then tries to reason with Jaime by yelling “Fuck loyalty!” WHICH MAKES ABSOUTELY NO SENSE AND GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING BRIENNE STANDS FOR ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Saint Tyrion, who knows he is protected by plot armor, volunteers to talk to Cersei again and manages to sway her mind in about 3 seconds, which seems very plausible. Don't forget, the plot demands it.

Meanwhile we are treated to Jon's cringey attempt at flirting with Dany, who tells her, “You're not like the other girls! You're, like, super special!”

By the way, isn't it insanely warm under those furs? Why is Jon still dressed in his Northern collection?

Cersei reappears to promise her armies. Which makes me wonder... WHAT ARMIES??? Weren't they all torched by Dany on their way back from Highgarden, and the ones she spared bent the knee and are fighting for her now, anyway? What was even the point of this meeting? What armies can Cersei contribute???

An hour later we find out.... None. Because Cersei lied, and she has no intention to join the fight. This does not go over too well with Jaime, who gets into a heated argument with his sister and eventually storms out to ride... somewhere, just as the first snow is falling on King's Landing.

Dragonstone:

Back in their free castle, Team Dany are figuring out how to move the troops Norths. In one of the more obvious WHICH ONE WILL SHE CHOOSE??? moments, Jorah and Jon both suggest different ways for Dany to get there, and to no one's surprise she chooses Jon. Jorah, for real. You're better than this. It's just painful. MOVE ON.

Jon and Theon later have a heart-to-heart in the throne room that LITERALLY STARTS WITH THEON SAYING “YOU ARE ALWAYS GOOD AND SMART AND PERFECT.” Oh my god. Do D&D really think we are THAT STUPID? Do they really think we would not UNDERSTAND how PERFECT Jon is if it is not REPEATED OVER AND OVER??? To “help” with Theon's identity crisis, Jon then tells him he can be both a Greyjoy and a Stark, which... doesn't really help Theon at all, but it's the thought that counts I guess? Inspired by Jon's council, Theon then decides to rescue Yara. The Ironborn are TOTALLY against that, but then Theon beats one of them to death, so they are all for that. Hooray!

Now here's the thing. Theon's arc was amazing. He was a smug little asshole who made all the wrong choices and came to pay for them dearly. Ramsay broke him, in all ways a man can be broken. Theon became Reek. But his empathy with Sansa redeemed him, and Theon fought off his Reek state. And he found that last, tiny bit of strength, and let that fuel him. He was still broken and scared, but he ignored it because, finally, he wanted to do the right thing and help Sansa. That was beautiful.

What is NOT beautiful is having Theon repeat this arc over and over and over. He has spent the last two seasons in a perpetual Theon/Reek/Theon/Reek/Theon hamster wheel, always having the personality that would fit best into the rest of the bullshit D&D are trying to sell us as coherent plot. He's triggered by all the violence and jumps overboard when Euron abducts Yara, but when he faces him again in the dragonpit he cracks jokes about Euron and doesn't give a fuck. A little while later he is broken and remorseful again and regrets his life choices, once again deciding to rescue a damsel in distress to redeem himself, and is “empowered” by killing a man. (I will talk about D&D's idea of “empowerment through violence” in a later post). Not only does this once again underline the misogyny of GoT—women are merely used as props in men's character arcs, which a few exceptions—IT ALSO MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE. What are you??? REEK OR THEON??? Stop yoyoing back and forth, for fuck's sake.

And don't even get me started on the Ironborn. Yara's crew is supposed to be the most loyal crew there is. These men are supposed to go through hell for their captain. But, no, as soon as it gets a bit inconvenient they decide to choose raping and pillaging instead, altought YARA WAS TOTALLY AGAINST THAT. And Theon beats one of them up and THEY IMMEDIATELY CHANGE THEIR MINDS AGAIN??? Honestly, if I was Theon, I would not trust these men AT ALL.

Winterfell:

Petyr Baelish is smart and wonderful. When Sansa gets a letter from Jon that must have read “Hi sis, just fyi, we're Targaryen bannermen now!” he notes that IT IS NOT EASY FOR RAVENS TO FLY IN THESE STORMS, thus proving that 1) he is the only character that somehow makes sense (despite his season 5 jetpack!) and 2) he absolutely has to die now because D&D can't have a character that's smarter than him. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord Baelish.

Sansa is understandably not super happy about Jon bending the knee, which makes Littlefinger suggest that she could be Queen in the North instead because IT IS HER BIRTHRIGHT ANYWAY. When Sansa notes that Arya might not be on board with that idea and murder her because of the cult she recently joined, Petyr smartly replies “I never trust godly men.” Which, you have to admit, makes him simply wonderful.

Then Sansa and Petyr discuss how likely it is that Arya wants to murder Sansa. And let's face it, based on everything that went down last episode, it seems pretty likely. Arya did threaten her WITH A DAGGER. And talk about WEARING HER FACE. So........ I REST MY CASE. IT SEEMS PRETTY LIKELY.

But who cares about logic, amirite? In the most foreseeable plot twist in the history of Game of Thrones, it turns out the Stark sister did NOT want to murder each other, but instead teamed up to take down the man whose only function had become to be an evil creeplord, so all the viewers would know that he should definitely be killed.

And once again Game of Thrones chose supposed “shock value” over consistency, logic, and good storytelling. Let me sum this up.

Petyr Baelish STARTED THE WAR OF THE FIVE KINGS because HE IS SUPER SMART. He knows everything about everyone and, more importantly, he knows how to use that knowledge to his advantage. He then used the ensuing chaos to RISE EVEN HIGHER in this world. Along the way he also RESCUED SANSA from King's Landing AND from being pushed through a moon door AND from being slaughtered during the battle of the bastards. Okay, he also sold Sansa to Ramsay, which was... stupid, and I hate D&D for making him do that. But all he did, he did for Sansa. Because he truly and genuinely LOVED HER.

But this poor, poor, unfortunate soul was not “badass” enough for D&D. They did not know what to do with this wonderful, complex character. And, frankly, they didn't care. All they cared about were the fans they were servicing. And the fans wanted to see him dead. So D&D went on tumblr and read the hate posts. And they put him on a mock trial for that. Sansa accused him of many things, things she had no reason to know, and don't tell me that Bran just KNEW THIS. We later see that Bran is not an omniscient superbrain. He merely has the power to see everything he chooses to see. That means Bran must have consciously chosen to watch Petyr Baelish throughout the decades to uncover all his crimes, so his sister could then accuse him of them. Seriously???

But who cares. Not the fans D&D are servicing. The wanted to see Petyr dead, because they, too, did not understand his character. They only see the world as black and white. Petyr was not good, so he had to be evil. And therefor he had to be killed. By three teenagers. Three kids, really. Three kids who are not evil, and therefor they had to be good, their actions reasonable, their violence justified.

This does not explain why Arya was threatening Sansa last week. Was it just a show for Petyr? Then why do it behind closed doors? Or did she actually mean it? Then when did she have a change of heart? It just makes no sense. It makes no fucking sense. 

I mourn the death of one of the last complex, morally ambiguous characters. One of the original players. He set it all in motion. He played the Game like no one else. And he looked smoking hot doing it.

Rest in peace, my Lord Protector. You deserved better than this. And know that you will be avenged. In metas, in fanfictions, in fanart... We will right the wrongs that have been done to you. And you will live on in our hearts, and, for some of us, under our skins. Fly now to your rest, my sweet mockingbird.

***

But the story does not end there for the Winterfell gang. Bran is visited by Sam, and they talk about how Jon is actually... AEGON TARGARYEN????? WHAT?!?!?!?!?! THERE ALREADY IS AN AEGON TARGARYEN??? OR DID D&D DIMISH ELIA'S CHARACTER EVEN FURTHER AND CHOSE TO ONLY GIVE HER ONE CHILD INSTEAD OF TWO??? WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THIS?!?!?!?! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way... GILLY FOUND OUT THAT RHAEGAR GOT MARRIED TO LYANNA, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE TOERAG. But Sam takes all the credit. THIS IS NOT OKAY.

And apparently Bran can now see everything from everywhere??? What happened to “You have to warg an animal or look out of a heart tree???” Too inconvenient for D&D?!?!?!?

Somewhere on the Narrow Sea:

Epic Boat Sex(TM) is actually a thing, y'all. I mean, it wasn't epic, more like... sweet. Until we found out Jon's banging his aunt. So... take that as you will.

Beyond the Wall:

JUST BURN THAT MOTHERFUCKING WALL TO THE GROUND AND KILL THEM ALL. I AM SO ROOTING FOR YOU. KILL THEM, BABY. KILL THEM ALL.

#got an angry recap #anti d&d #game of thrones

[queenofairandsnarkness]

friends and family discount

(or, five times Jon’s friends and family just couldn’t let him hog the spotlight)

one.

“Hey, Rhae, you fucked up the grocery shopping,” Aegon said, peeking into her room. Since Asha wasn’t in there, and nothing seemed to be soldering, he looked relieved.

Then the pillow went flying at his head.

“I’ve done dad’s grocery shopping lists since I was ten,” she grumbled, not looking up from her math homework. “If you and Duck want more pizza bagels, put them on the list and I’ll budget it. Or,” she said, sweetly enough he debated slamming the door and running for Jersey, “you can take over the groceries.”

“I got stuck with laundry,” Aegon said, crossing his arms. “ I wash your bras, I shouldn’t have to know my sister’s cup size.”

“Being fair, Edmure was the one who spilled the beans on that one,” Rhaenys pointed out. “Which is why I dumped him, which is why he is failing precalc. And Dad still knows none of this, so no worries.”

“But seriously, we ran out of bread, those soup things dad likes, crackers, milk, and I think we’re almost out of Chex,” he said.

Rhaenys wrinkled her nose. “I just bought a box three days ago, though. Did you or Jon have a sleepover?”

“Guys don’t...” he gave up. “No, King Mopey is giving everyone the silent treatment since Lyanna decided to go with that volunteer group for hurricane relief.”

“We knew it was coming,” Rhaenys said, closing her book. Which, true. Generally, while Dad and Lyanna were weirdly infatuated, once the throwing things stage of their relationship started... Lyanna found an excuse to bolt for a few weeks, clear her head, and restart the cycle. It was enough to make Aegon wish Mom had full custody. “I’ll talk to him.���

~

Aegon followed her as they went down to Jon’s room.

Do we knock? he asked. She shook her head and flung the door open.

Aegon blinked. There was Sam Tarly, one of Jon’s friends who Aegon vaguely knew from sharing an AP class. The kid was a bit of a genius- not Sarella-smart, but smart. He was talking to a pretty pale girl with wavy brown hair and a very obvious pregnant belly.

Jon was looking at Rhaenys and Aegon in horror. “I told you we’d get caught.”

“What happened?” Rhaenys asked, striding in as if her pajama bottoms didn’t have snakes wearing sunglasses on them. “Don’t lie, it’ll make my cover story suck.”

The three looked at each other. Aegon, happy that he wasn’t the one in trouble for doing something stupid this time, grabbed the goldfish crackers and offered them to the girl.

“I...” Jon opened and closed his mouth a few times, and Aegon tried to land a goldfish in his mouth.

The girl tried to hide a laugh as Jon glared at him. Which was good, because he was pretty sure that she wasn’t supposed to be that pale and underfed-looking, and was that a bruise on her wrist?

Eventually the tale came out, about Craster and his farm out in the boonies, how Jon and his buddies had gone out there to drive ATVs, and dragged Sam along. How Sam had met Gilly, who was the girl. And the creepy, creepy, even for Targaryens level of shit going on in the farm. Very Deliverance, he could practically hear the dueling banjos and Uncle Oberyn discussing criminal charges. And that Sam was afraid to shelter Gilly at his house, so Jon wanted to get his Uncle Ned’s help.

Aegon wanted to ask about Sam’s dad, who was some bigwig with the state cops, but he could hear the panic in Sam’s brain whenever his dad was mentioned. And asking their Dad was out of the question- Lyanna would have helped. She would have been a blunt instrument and with about as much delicacy as Jon showed, but she would have helped.

Dad... might have given Gilly a guest bedroom, and refused to make any sort of fuss until she left without a ripple. Some of it, Mom said, was growing up with Granddad Barbecue. It left scars and fears Dad didn’t like to admit existed.

Still, dick moves were made.

“Night classes tonight, so I’ll make dinner,” Rhaenys said. “For all of us- Sam, can you stay for a night or two?”

“I-I-I, um, yes?” Sam blinked, and really, Tarly wasn’t doing too badly when confronted by Rhaenys in all her plotting glory. (Or, as far as Aegon could tell, being a teenage boy and in the same room as Rhae.) “I think he’ll let me stay.”

“Does anyone have any allergies or anything?” she asked. They shook their heads. “Good, good, give me an hour. Gilly, we can talk about what you want to do, and making sure you have stuff.” She went out, ignoring the baffled silence.

She popped her head back in a moment later. “Next time, Jon, use your words.”

two.

“Jon,” his sister said, tilting her head slowly. “Do you have a crush on Satin?”

“I don’t!” he said, and it was a bit embarrassing how his voice squeaked.

She shook her head. “Sweetie, it’s okay. I am speaking from experience, here, your mother doesn’t care, and Dad wouldn’t notice if you were getting him off on the dinner table.” She paused. “Er, Aegon, would, though, so don’t... don’t do that. Not that Aegon would be an asshole, but...”

“It would be rude?” he managed. Rhaenys was almost as bad as Grams or Sansa about being rude. He suspected it had to do with being oldest. Or maybe trying to make up for the family crazy.

“Exactly,” she said, finally. “If it would be rude at my mother’s table, don’t do it. And you totally do- you kept talking about his hair, and his hands, and how he arranged his homework, and got more gushy then Dany did about that rock star she went to go see in concert last year.”

“I didn’t,” he said, but maybe... okay, a little. But it was true! And people were actually rude to Satin about it, and his name, and Jon had maybe gotten into one or two fights about it.

But he’d done the same for Sam, and even Gilly.

(And Sansa, last year, but Rhaenys had heard about that incident, went dead grey, and called her uncles. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened with the Lannisters, but Sansa was friends with Elia Sand now, and Joffrey didn’t go to school in town any more. Or live in town.)

“It’s okay,” she said again. “I’m not going to tease you. Been there, remember? Me and Asha? Boys, girls, people who don’t care to label?” She frowned, sitting on the bed next to him. “Your mom should be home tomorrow, right?”

“That’s why your heading back to your mom,” Jon pointed out. Rhaenys had come back from college for a bit before heading to summer classes so she could finish a semester early for some internship.

“We don’t like each other, it isn’t your fault,” Rhaenys said, absently. “But still, talk to her. She’ll...” She paused. “I’m trying not to insult anyone...”

“Mom will go over the top trying to support me?” Jon said, grinning.

“Little bit,” Rhaenys said. “She got me cake. For the family. The whole Targaryen family. Remember that?”

Jon snorted. Grams had tried to be nice- or forcibly oblivious. Dany had been thoughtful in a way that didn’t bode well for Gram’s white hairs. Vis had been a nightmare, but he and Rhae hated each other.

Dad had actually yelled, and Rhae looked like someone told her Santa did exist.

Though, really...

Maybe Rhae should give this talk to Sansa. In a year or two.

three.

“Seriously, I don’t think...” Sansa bit her lip, and looked from Robb to Jon. “Do you really think Uncle Ben is missing?”

“Has anyone heard from him in the past...” Robb frowned.

“Not since Christmas,” Jon admitted. “He visited Mom and me before taking us to Winterfell.”

Sansa looked at the remnants of Robb’s graduation party.

Uncle Ned had been worried by Uncle Ben not showing up- Mom too, when she blew into town and realized that no one had heard from him.

It wasn’t like Uncle Ben- he went out of town, or on Search and Rescue missions, or whatever, but he always had a rough estimate of when he was coming back, and he never failed to check in.

“What can we do?” Robb asked.

“I can have Sam...” Jon made a typing gesture. “Maybe see if we can find out where Uncle Ben was heading last?”

“And I could find out from Mom what they think is going on,” Sansa said, nodding.

“And I’ll...” Robb frowned. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Keep Rickon and Arya from doing anything too stupid,” Sansa said, nodding to herself.

Which worked, a bit- Sam found out that Uncle Benjen was near the Thousand Islands, and that no one had heard from him, no credit card activity had been made, and that Uncle Ned had filed a missing persons report.

Bran, of all people, found him, after he went missing two Halloweens after and Rhaenys’ new friend Stephen the “actual wizard, yes, no jokes Aegon”, brought him home.

four.

“I don’t understand what I’m doing here,” Jon said, frowning at his drink. Not that he was drinking it, despite Tyrion downing three of them already.

Tyrion also had a much better head for booze.

“Well, I needed someone pretty and sure to piss off my father and sister,” Tyrion said. “Also, not boring, but so far you aren’t exactly hitting that mark.”

“Why didn’t you invite my sister?” Jon frowned, a horrible suspicion dawning. “Tyrion, did you get drunk and insult Rhae again?”

“I didn’t insult her! Merely... complemented her,” Tyrion said, into his drink. “Not many people have tits you want to burrow into like that. Or the hair. Very pull-worthy, especially since the length means I can reach it so easily. Or the lips. There are very naughty things a man could imagine...”

“Please stop, Rhaenys will murder you,” Jon said. “Or I’ll be sick.”

“Smothering will be good,” Tyrion grinned. “Please.”

“Autopsy while you are still breathing is more likely,” Jon pointed out. “I’m still not sure if she was joking when she said they used garden shears to cut the ribs. But you could have invited Dany. She would have insulted everyone for you.”

“Your aunt terrifies me. And I am perfectly capable of doing my own insults, thank you,” Tyrion said. “For instance, my sister, despite her professed hatred of hypocrisy, seems determined to match both myself and her esteemed husband for drinks.”

Jon looked at Cersei, then frowned. “Is she covering up a black eye?”

Tyrion frowned. “Robert wouldn’t dare.”

Jon gave him a look. The look said that Robert Baratheon had come to Lyanna Stark to throw stones at her window and beg her to leave Rhaegar when he was going to marry Cersei in the morning.

He was totally that stupid and cruel.

“Jaime will kill him,” Tyrion groaned. “Lovely, now I have to go save my family, for the reward of insults and... more insults. Care to swap?”

“Still not getting in my sister’s pants,” Jon said, firmly.

five.

“I feel like we should be having some fun with this,” Jon said, watching as his sister perched against the desk and spoke with the clearly exhausted man.

“When is the last time you slept- relative time for you, not calendar time for me, sweetling,” Rhaenys said, with the sword-grin she got from Elia. 

“...Ah, that would be a bit complicated,” Strange admitted with a smile. “Can I just say Tuesday?”

“Get some rest, then. Perhaps eat a banana, I just picked some up,” she said. “I could travel to visit Auntie Mel with the bags under your eyes right now.”

She ruffled his hair, and Arya, Sansa, and Aegon watched as Rhaenys completely forgot the meaning of the term personal space. Which, as Sansa had pointed out before, he did too. It was a bit annoying, finding them talking into each other like that.

“Betting pool?” Aegon offered. “Starting with Dad’s reaction?”

Sansa gave him a withering look. “Have they realized it, yet?”

Jon’s answering smile had last been seen when he’d pranked Viserys over the Great Naming Incident two years ago, when Viserys resembled a bald, mulberry colored Smurf. “No.”

“I feel this is a girl thing, to be left to girls, people with girl hair, and scary knife people,” Aegon said. “Also people not afraid of getting turned into newts.”

“I don’t think he can turn people into newts,” Sansa said, biting her lip.

“How much do you think we can trick Robb and Theon into betting?” Arya asked, slowly. “Or Lannister?” 

They all looked at her.

Aegon grinned evilly.

Somehow, Arya won the betting pool, taking home four hundred dollars, a Modcloth gift card, a bottle of glittery wine, and a pair of fuzzy handcuffs.

Jon would have pouted, but he really wasn’t sure where the handcuffs came from.

#i write stuff

[noqueenbutthequeeninthenorth]

season 5

Season 5 was actually better than I remember. I still think they do a shitty job of making Sansa’s marriage to Ramsay make any goddamn sense in Littlefinger’s overall ~scheme~ but once I accepted that I could move past it. As Sansa says in season 6, either he knew what Ramsay was and he’s her enemy or he didn’t know and he’s an idiot. Neither quite makes sense.

And obviously I love Sansa and this season both sucks and is important to her character arc. Sophie does a lovely job as ever. IDK. It was hard to watch.

The lead-up to Jon’s betrayal is pretty good. I was never a huge fan of the Olly character but I appreciated what they were trying to do with him.

I also honestly forgot that it took so long for Jon and Tormund to become friends??? Like, in my head they’re BESTIES but actually Tormund doesn’t come around on him until they go to Hardhome in 5.08.

Hardhome is still good, btw. It’s a good battle. Honestly, I thought it was episode 9 because it feels like an episode 9.

The shit that goes down in the House of Black and White makes NO SENSE. I just need to get that out there. I hate the faceless men tbh and I wish Arya had done something else. I get it, like in terms of her plot and character arc and all that. I just hate them and find their cult extremely annoying.

I’m hoping if TWOW ever comes out, we get a little more convincing build up from “Stannis is a difficult man but he loves his daughter” to “Hell yes let’s burn Shireen!” Anyway, Shireen is PRECiOUS and did nothing wrong and deserved better.

Speaking of people who are precious and deserved better: MYRCELLA. I love her.

The Dorne plot sucks and we all know it. I still am not quite sure where the Dorne plot was going in the books but it was obviously LOADS better than this shitshow. And don’t even get me started on the stupid fucking sand snakes being characterized as super sexy poison temptresses or whatthefuckever. The entire thing where one of them keeps flirting with Bronn is insane, it’s like an old man’s disgusting fantasy. “Bad pussy.” #NeverForget

Cersei’s plot in this season is amazing bc it goes from her thinking she’s so smart and fucking with Loras and Margaery in majorly evil ways and us as viewers wanting her to get caught out for being a hypocrite, to us as viewers ROOTING FOR HER because the shit she goes through is so awful. Like, I don’t root for Cersei longterm. But her imprisonment? The walk of atonement? It’s such disgusting bullshit that I end up CHEERING when Qyburn and FrankenMountain show up to help her. And those dudes are the creepiest!

Obviously a lot of this is due to Lena Headey being AMAZING. Her face is soooo good.

I also think Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow is QUITE good. I hate him, but he’s excellent at being extremely earnest while doing despicable stuff that he genuinely believes is good.

Sam and Gilly. Cute as HELL.

So it turns out I was wrong that Tyrion never feels bad about killing Shae in the show, so that’s .... nice I guess. It doesn’t really help but it’s. Something. I’m trying to not hold this grudge forever. The show just fucked this up so bad.

Okay and that brings us to Daenerys and Mereen. Honestly? I think this plot is good because ruling is EXTREMELY hard. In the books I really fell in love with Dany during this arc, believe it or not. She felt the most HUMAN to me because for the first time since she’d gotten her dragons, she was running up against problems she couldn’t just burn down. In the show it’s not nearly as complex obviously, but they do a great job of conveying 1) how dangerous the dragons are, and 2) the fact that Dany truly doesn’t seem to know much about Mereen, nor did she have any political plans beyond “end slavery,” which, while obviously very good, isn’t a full plan to run an entire place. And the thing is? Dany realizes this. She herself says that if she can’t rule Slaver’s Bay, how will she rule Seven Kingdoms? She says that she won’t abandon Mereen and let the people she freed end up enslaved again. And yet .......... ultimately, what happens? Dany wants to do good, and she’s an excellent conqueror, but an excellent conqueror does not an excellent ruler make and unfortunately she kind of ends up using Mereen as basically an experiment that goes really wrong, before deciding, fuck it, off to Westeros, let’s leave Daario “let’s just kill everyone” Naharis in charge.

Sidenote: Am I the only one who feels kinda bad for HIzdahr? Like, he’s a little shit from a family of shits, but he works very hard to accommodate Dany, offers her tips on how to better rule and understand Mereen, and for that he’s threatened with being burned alive, imprisoned, and then forced to marry the woman who threatened/imprisoned him ... and then ultimately get killed by the very people he was trying to help smooth things over with.

I’m still frankly unconvinced by Varys backing Dany. Like, sure, she’s the best option among the known field of contenders, but he’s also seen no evidence that she has the capacity to rule the Seven Kingdoms with any success. I’m not saying he shouldn’t back her, just that he doesn’t even MEET HER before he joins her side. He arrives in Mereen just as she disappears on Drogon and is left to rule the city with Tyrion.

More on Dany disappearing on Drogon. I do feel like..... that’s the moment where she decides: her dragons are more important than her people. I think it’s crucial that she makes this decision. I think she still cares about the people, still very much wants to do good, but she was the Mother of Dragons before she was Mhysa, and that’s still where her priorities lie. The occasional dead little girl is worth the cost of her dragons’ existence and freedom, and her own goals.

Missandei and Grey Worm are still just THE BEST, their romance is so lovely and sweet and slow-burn. 

#long post #SORRY #i shouldn't have packed it all into one post but i got really caught up in it so wasn't doing regular recaps lol #molly's pre-season 8 rewatch

[schistcity]

My very rambling and long rewrite notes to improve Beyond the Wall feat. my undying love for benjen and ~Themes~:

The banter at the beginning was very good, but let Gendry, Jon, and the hound talk about Arya. they all love that girl and she’s back! act like it!!

they all had really unique but close relationships with her and i feel like that’s something they’d bond over. 

speaking of Arya. in my ideal world this season is going to end with Arya and Sansa killing Littlefinger, having been playing him the entire time. 

in this scenario, you don’t have to make it explicit that Sansa and Arya are working together, but make it more clear that Littlefinger is listening or just that he really enjoys what’s happening. 

it looks like he suggests to Sansa that she get Brienne to kill Arya. make that clearer, so that when Sansa sends Brienne away we go “??? somethings up ???”

also have Sansa react way more strongly to the faces. they’re faces?? oh my god.

don’t back out of bi Tormund, that was stellar.  

keep all of the stuff Tormund says about Mance and bending the knee. not being stubborn and protecting those who follow you is a big theme for Jon this season. emphasize it. 

introduce Benjen into the fray WAY earlier. maybe the squad can’t handle the polar bear or that first wave of walkers, and Benjen comes riding in to save them.

that way you can build more of a relationship between him and Jon. Jon’s basically the only dude who still cares about him. create emotional stakes. have them speak to each other. please. 

Gendry leaves and sends a raven but we still don’t see any scenes of Dany at Dragonstone. because we don’t know if Dany’s coming there’s higher stakes.

when Dany arrives its a surprise. we didn’t know if she’d come so it’s shocking and feels very similar to BOB (nice parallels!).

i needed Tormund’s reaction to seeing a fucking dragon and i was cheated, so jot that down.

pretty much the same shit happens, Viserion dies, but Dany reacts much more strongly, make her reckless and emotional. maybe she makes a run at the night king but fails. 

make it WAY CLEARER that Jon is staying behind to give them time to escape. Jon is self-sacrificial and stubborn. if you want him and Dany to have an emotional connection, have her be vocally upset at this! have her demand he comes back, have him vocally say to leave without him! 

YOU HAVE TO WRITE DIALOGUE, DAVID

(Dany leaves because she smart tho)

have Benjen stay with Jon as he holds off the wights (emotional impact isn’t hard guys!!!) maybe they both get dunked, and Benjen pulls them out of the water. 

dany and the boys are flying back to the wall. dany is vERY SAD PLEASE LET HER BE SAD ABOUT VISERION. 

but hold up she notices! Rhaegal is gone?!

because 👏 rhaegal 👏 went 👏 back 👏 for 👏 jon 👏 snoooow 👏

not even joking i was so sure this would happen. 

this isn’t a “reveal” of his heritage but it’s a delivery on the hints they’ve been building all season. it’s creates connectivity and emphasizes that this plot line is important. it can’t be something they just throw in for a wink and a nod, especially with only 7 episodes left in the entire show. 

Benjen dies giving Jon time to escape, and make it explicit that he believes his “purpose” to protect his family. he’s an old generation of Stark protecting the new generation. 

this is a return to Jon’s theme and the lesson he has to learn. sometimes it’s more important to lose one battle and survive than be stubborn, die, and lose everything. 

ALSO BENJEN’S DEATH WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE WEIGHT TO IT BECAUSE WE’VE HAD AN EPISODE TO KNOW HIM.

if you wanna be a real sneaky bitch. have Benjen say something that hints at Lyanna. 

*benjen taking one last look at jon* “You really do look just like her...” 

shit that’s good!??... let me write this, d&d.

the thematic honeypot that is Jon being saved by his stark uncle and a dragon named after his f a t h e r

this sets up a scenario where Dany would stay at the wall more realistically. sure she obvs like Jon but there’s no reason for her to stand on top of Eastwatch and wait for him to come back, she probably thinks hes dead. its more realistic if she’s waiting for Rhaegal. 

when Jon and Rhaegal return its a surprise and she’s super happy.

and ya we probably get that whole scene where she sees his scars bc tbh i kinda liked that.

there NEEDS TO BE A SCENE where we see her dealing with Viserion’s death. Maybe she’s sitting on top of the wall alone with Rhaegal and Drogon and just has a hard cry. she defo needs one.

this season is full of strategic loses for her, and she handles those okay, but it would be interesting if a personal loss like this really really affected her and we got to see that. 

d&d’s episode was really heavy on Jon stuff and sure she cares about him, but we should focus on how the loss of Viserion affects her first, it’s more central to her character. 

then we can rock that scene with Jon. it can go about the same way, she tells him she’ll fight alongside him, and he bends the knee. 

it makes sense in character.

Dany is fuelled by revenge which we saw blossoming by ACTUALLY SEEING HER REACTIONS TO WHAT HAPPENED, AAHHHH.

Jon now knows Dany believes in his cause and he trusts her. it’s a culmination of the lesson he’s been learning this season and in this episode of bending the knee for a greater purpose. 

if you’re going to do dramatic irony and fanservice you’ve got to do it right so have Dany talk about how Rhaegal went back for Jon on its own.

last episode had Dany noticing the weird way Drogon didn’t try to kill Jon. Having an acknowledgement of Rhaegal being weird is a natural progression of this ~mystery~

“why’d my dragon go back for you?” “wait, i thought you sent him” “😐“

rhaegal: *looks into the camera and winks*

It raises a new lot conflict and mystery for these characters. which is good. 

go back to dragonstone in this episode, if you’re gonna teleport just fucking own it.

here is where Dany has her conversations with Tyrion from earlier and they’re pretty much the same, they just focus on the aftermath of her decision to leave Dragonstone rather than the lead up to it. we see them deal with the consequences and that’s what their arguments are about. 

have Dany say all the stuff about not being able to stand by and do nothing here. Have her attempt to justify her decision to herself, make i seem like a victory - albeit a hollow one.

then immediately follow that scene with zombie Viserion and you’re set.

and give the boys hats up north its so cold, they’re so cold give them hats you monsters. 

in conclusion hire me. 

#im sorry this is so long #but i like it #im putting it under a read more so you can ignore how deep in the game of thrones shit i am