S5E5 - Kill the Boy - HAVE READ the books.

Savage Tyrant wrote: »

When Sam was talking to the Targaryen Maester about Daenerys and he said that a Targaryen left alone in the world was a terrible thing. Then Jon appears. I like to think thats another little hint at whats to come.
Anyone agree or am I being silly?

I thought that alright while watching, from what I can see the producers are dropping clear hints as to Jon's lineage or a mention of R+L in most episodes so far this season. Could there be a major reveal coming ahead of the books?

Apart from that, I also found Maester Aemon's proclamation to Jon Snow that he needs to "Kill the boy...kill the boy and let the man be born" interesting. That coupled with 'Kill the Boy' being the episode's title has to bear importance of some kind. I'm drawing parallels between those words and some well discussed theories online that in being killed and resurrected, Jon is free from his oath and NW vows to move on to become Jon Stark/Azor Ahai reborn/King of Westeros or whatever life beyond the wall has in store for him. "Kill the boy and let the man be born" could be more foreshadowing at the soon to come For The Watch, and Maester Aemon's words could turn out to be literal rather than figurative by season's end. Also, Olly the kid is sooo stabbing Jon!

I'm intrigued with the Winterfell storyline. Now that there is a pregnant Frey, by the seed of a Stark-slaying Bolton, with a jealous and threatened mad dog son and his mistress, a redemption-seeking Theon and a vengeful and now-cunning Stark in Winterfell, there is surely major drama on the way there. That's forgetting the fact the Brienne and Stannis have Winterfell in their sights and are closing in on it. Out of all the changes from the books, I am enjoying Sansa and the Boltons most.

I really didn't think that a Sansa storyline, and one unique to the show, would become one of my favourite elements. I can't help but see some more torment for Sansa before Stannis and/or Brienne come dashing to her rescue. The lady (chamber maid) who told Sansa to light a candle in the tower if she needs help, and that "The North remembers", is a little too nice considering the show we're dealing with. Initially when trying to break and tame Theon, Ramsey set him free and lulled him into a false sense of security, even killing some of his own guards during the charade, all in the name of breaking Theon down. I wonder if Sansa's chambermaid is a plant by Ramsey, if not to torment her, maybe to suss out Sansa's plans and see where her true allegiances lie. The fact that Ramsey sarcastically states that 'The North Remembers' during that dinner scene made me think that maybe Sansa's apparent ally is just another Ramsey mind-f**k. However, the old lady did bring Sansa Brienne's message from the old man at the inn, so it is quite possible that she is as she appears to be.

So they killed Barry the Bold, goddamit. I can't say it is a show-ruiner for me even though it grates me dearly, and I have to believe that it will serve some purpose down the road apart from giving the Grey Worm/Missandei soap opera more screen time. On the GW/Missandei thing, I know it's irritating but I think a poster earlier in the thread suggested something that could be the way it'll go; They are building this up so that when one of them dies soon, it will have an impact. I think it will be Missandei to bite the bullet, since they had the chance to kill GW and didn't take it. Whatever happens, I wish they'd devote the valuable screen-time elsewhere. I like GW, but the romance does absolutely nothing for me as a viewer.

I was delighted to get a glance at Valyria, the scene with Drogon soaring high above Tyrion and Jorah was epic. Like others in this thread, I think ending with Tyrion going under would have been perfect. When the screen faded to black I actually reached for the remote to switch over, and was surprised to see more. Obviously the producers wanted to establish the bond between Tyrion and Jorah this week, rather than end on a cliffhanger and still have to get them trusting each other in a future episode. Poor Jorah seems to be living on borrowed time now. Of course, many saw it coming with how much they were mentioning greyscale in the show recently. Likewise with how they have been dropping R+L=J hints lately, I a see revelation coming there soon.

Stannis is becoming a bit too likable IMO. I dig his scenes, but are they softening him up and making him more endearing to the audience because he will soon be going the way of Robert and Renly? I certainly hope not, love me some Stannis. "Keep reading, Samwell Tarly" - Stannis is just going around brightening up everyone's day lately. I'd like to think that rather than preparing him for a hero's death, they are simply making him more kingly and a more believable leader and inspiration to others given probable events to come. At least that's what I hope.

All in all, I think this was my favourite episode of the season so far. Although I miss the Arya and Cersei storylines, I do like how they structured this episode and chose to spend a lot of time on a few story-lines, rather than a few minutes on many. I haven't watched the preview or do I even know the name of the next episode, but I imagine that it will be back to King's Landing, Dorne, Arya/Meryn Trant in Bravos and a bit more in Winterfell, since it appears that the events there and the drama with Sansa and the Boltons will be central to the big turning points of the season. I got the impression from the sweeping shot of Stannis and his army pulling out of Castle Black that this is the last we will see of them until they reach Winterfell which probably will be in a few episodes' time.