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S05E08 - Hardhome - Have NOT read The Books

Hank Scorpio

Started off slow, but jesus those last 20 mins or so. Great stuff

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Cantona's Collars

Creepy undead kids.

Links234

Akrasia

Huntergonzo wrote: »

Great episode last night, edge of the seat stuff at the end, thought Jon Snow was a goner but he may not be out of the woods just yet knowing GOT.

Now I will get stick for this but I'm not yet convinced by the white walkers, hand on heart I'm not even a fan of fantasy. I only started watching GOT on Christmas eve last year because I had nothing else to do and stayed watching because of all the great characters and storylines. My fear is that everything that has happened and is going to happen becomes trivial once the white walkers arrive. I mean does it really matter who's on the iron throne or who wins at Winterfell or whether Cersei or Margaery is released etc etc if basically everybody must unite to defeat a common enemy and a lot of those people are likely to die anyway.

It matters because we'll really care about all the characters as they battle the undead army.
We'll understand their capabilities and the motivations of the different factions. Some of them will try to hole up in their castles and repell them, others will flee south, others will try to join together to form armies and resistant them, what will Dani do? How will her people react if she decides she needs to save westeros from the undead?

Also, the way the undead seem to work, is that the white walkers re-animate them, so if the white walkers themselves get killed, will the corpses go back to being dead?

This would make every individual battle against the white walkers really important

The fact that there is such a massive ensemble cast in GOT will make the battle against the white walkers a million times more compelling than if they were just extras in a movie and one hero who will probably survive to the end.

CardBordWindow

I can't wait to hear 'Previously on HBO's The Walking Dead' at the start of the next episode!

cavemeister

Danerys needs to get her dragons under control and get them up to the wall to defend against the whitewalkers - Mere humans can no longer fight against such a huge army now.

Theon seems to re-humanising as the series goes on - He's not as brainwashed / broken as he was last season - Sansa's presence seems to be bringing him back to life - I hope he turns on Ramsay.

Akrasia

cavemeister wrote: »

Danerys needs to get her dragons under control and get them up to the wall to defend against the whitewalkers - Mere humans can no longer fight against such a huge army now.

Theon seems to re-humanising as the series goes on - He's not as brainwashed / broken as he was last season - Sansa's presence seems to be bringing him back to life - I hope he turns on Ramsay.

The 'Wights' are really vulnerable to fire

Will we see a return of wildfire at some stage?

boccy23

Epic episode. Even the bit where Sam was getting a hiding got lost in it all.
In a weird way, I can handle all the weirdness that the Walkers possess. But I find Ramsey to be the most intolerable of all characters in GOT - from the beginning. He really is the epitomy of evil and makes the skin crawl.

DeadHand

Akrasia wrote: »

The fact that there is such a massive ensemble cast in GOT will make the battle against the white walkers a million times more compelling than if they were just extras in a movie and one hero who will probably survive to the end.

See, this is exactly it. A lot of people complain this series is slow but, as I said before, they are building characters so that when the sh*t does hit the fan, as at Hardhome, you care.

I never really feared for Jon Snow (maybe foolishly) but anytime Tormund or Edd were in trouble I started screaming at the television. I even felt for the Thenn, the girl chief and the bloody giant thanks to the long scene and few lines they were careful to give each before it all kicked off. As you say, had it just been Jon Snow and a few random extras vs. the undead horde it still would have been an excellent scene but not nearly so terrifying.

For me, the most affecting part was Jon and Tormund floating away, tears in their eyes, watching helplessly as the remaining stragglers fought desperately on the shore, falling one by one. If that doesn't get to you you are made of stone.

It's brilliant television, it really is.

castletownman

Am I the only one a bit "meh" about the Ayra storyline?

I don't know but it all seemed about Molly Malone-ish last night, and his over-use of "the man/the girl" is starting to grate on me.

TheMidnitekid

First post! I think the greatest trick the show runners pull is in their revelation of key plots. Little pieces of the puzzle have been moved together ever so slightly over the last few seasons but I reckon it's not gonna be as straight forward as a huge alliance of all the houses versus the white walkers.

GRRM is too unpredictable for that and has said on many occasions that he dislikes such story cliches (tropes).

Atm, it's too obvious that Dany will ride in on her dragons and save the day. I think the bigger defence is the wild fire which some people have forgotten (we're constantly distracted of key moments in previous seasons) about. I think there is a much much bigger plot we're not seeing just yet.

boccy23

castletownman wrote: »

Am I the only one a bit "meh" about the Ayra storyline?

I don't know but it all seemed about Molly Malone-ish last night, and his over-use of "the man/the girl" is starting to grate on me.

See the opposite here. Think that the Many Faced God will tie in with the take over of Kings Landing by the Sparrow.

cavemeister

Even by the books title (which I have not read) - "A song of ice and fire" indicates Dragons vs. Whitewalkers (I hope)

TheMidnitekid

boccy23 wrote: »

See the opposite here. Think that the Many Faced God will tie in with the take over of Kings Landing by the Sparrow.

Yep, this is something that has been subtlety hinted but not pushed on us. Littlefinger is also up to something here too and again, most of the shows best storyline are hidden until the last minute

Al Capwned

Carice van Houten was sheeeiiiiiiite on Thronecast last night btw....
Compare her appearance with that of Ian McElhinney.

____

All the way back to S01E01, I was hooked by the White Walkers, and the scene in S04 where Craster's son was brought before the Night's King was fantastic. But nothing could have prepared me for the epicness that was the last half hour of this ep.
Brilliant stuff, and great to finally see the White Walkers in all their glory!

Loved yer one walloping Cersei with the spoon too!

degrassinoel

zerks wrote: »

Creepy undead kids.

Kid on the left looks like Bran Stark, they have to show some of that storyline next week dont they?

naughto

Trying to embedded the pics on the phone
The link will have to do

m.imgur.com/a/OhxBA

naughto

degrassinoel wrote: »

Kid on the left looks like Bran Stark, they have to show some of that storyline next week dont they?

The young lad in the middle could do with a few spuds

DeadHand

boccy23 wrote: »

But I find Ramsey to be the most intolerable of all characters in GOT - from the beginning. He really is the epitomy of evil and makes the skin crawl.

Ah, Ramsey...

In a story renowned for the moral ambiguity of its characters he is refreshingly black and white. Ramsey is simply evil and enjoys it. The casting of Iwan Rheon for the part was inspired. It somehow makes Ramsey so much more sinister that he happens to be good looking and effortlessly charming when he wants to be. Darkly charismatic.

He gets compared to Joffrey but is so much more dangerous. Joffrey, while equally sadistic, was always limited by his weakness, cowardice and stupidity. Ramsey is strong, brave and intelligent. Only Joffrey's unearned position of power made him formidable. Ramsey came from relatively nothing to become one of the most powerful men in Westeros through his own cunning and brutality. Joffrey was the most common sort of bully: if you stood up to him he wilted. Ramsey is the worse, rarer sort of bully: if you stand up to him he hits you harder.

Roose, while more restrained, is even more terrifying in his own understated way. He is the only person in the world Ramsey seems to be afraid of, which probably tells you all you need to know about Roose Bolton.

SafeSurfer

chasmcb wrote: »

It does make you wonder if further down the line we might see Dany & the Dragons have a crucial role to play in the impending war with the Walkers and their zombie hordes. I loved the way the Giant was just swatting them off and squashing them left right and centre btw!

I presume dragon fire will destroy them completely so they can not be resurrected again. That is why bodies are burned beyond the wall.
I think the woman, who is now a zombie will meet her children again and this will emerge as a story.

Tiddlypeeps

OldieWilson wrote: »

Watching this again, is he walking out to drown himself in order to avoid being turned zombie?

The reason they had to use row boats to come to shore is because the water is too shallow for the big boats. It's possible the giant is tall enough to just walk out to the ships without the water ever going over his head, if not it's possible he might need to swim for a little bit. Either way quite possible he made it to the boats without drowning.

Heat_Wave

Just watched this now. Holy sh*t. That was amazing!!

How many more episodes are left in this series?

golfball37

DeadHand wrote: »

Ah, Ramsey...

In a story renowned for the moral ambiguity of its characters he is refreshingly black and white. Ramsey is simply evil and enjoys it. The casting of Iwan Rheon for the part was inspired. It somehow makes Ramsey so much more sinister that he happens to be good looking and effortlessly charming when he wants to be. Darkly charismatic.

He gets compared to Joffrey but is so much more dangerous. Joffrey, while equally sadistic, was always limited by his weakness, cowardice and stupidity. Ramsey is strong, brave and intelligent. Only Joffrey's unearned position of power made him formidable. Ramsey came from relatively nothing to become one of the most powerful men in Westeros through his own cunning and brutality. Joffrey was the most common sort of bully: if you stood up to him he wilted. Ramsey is the worse, rarer sort of bully: if you stand up to him he hits you harder.

Roose, while more restrained, is even more terrifying in his own understated way. He is the only person in the world Ramsey seems to be afraid of, which probably tells you all you need to know about Roose Bolton.

The actor playing Ramsey is so awful he lets the show down imo. At least with Joffrey there was an excitement when he came on screen as the acting was top notch. With Ramsey its over acting and its not good.

wp_rathead

DeadHand wrote: »

Ah, Ramsey...

In a story renowned for the moral ambiguity of its characters he is refreshingly black and white. Ramsey is simply evil and enjoys it. The casting of Iwan Rheon for the part was inspired. It somehow makes Ramsey so much more sinister that he happens to be good looking and effortlessly charming when he wants to be. Darkly charismatic.

He gets compared to Joffrey but is so much more dangerous. Joffrey, while equally sadistic, was always limited by his weakness, cowardice and stupidity. Ramsey is strong, brave and intelligent. Only Joffrey's unearned position of power made him formidable. Ramsey came from relatively nothing to become one of the most powerful men in Westeros through his own cunning and brutality. Joffrey was the most common sort of bully: if you stood up to him he wilted. Ramsey is the worse, rarer sort of bully: if you stand up to him he hits you harder.

Roose, while more restrained, is even more terrifying in his own understated way. He is the only person in the world Ramsey seems to be afraid of, which probably tells you all you need to know about Roose Bolton.

I agree he is smart (his trick on the iron born at Moat Calen for example) but remember Roose was furious with him for Cutting up Theon and sending his penis to the Greyjoys as Theon was an "important hostage not your play thing"- i don't think he is as cunning as he thinks he is

duploelabs

golfball37 wrote: »

The actor playing Ramsey is so awful he lets the show down imo. At least with Joffrey there was an excitement when he came on screen as the acting was top notch. With Ramsey its over acting and its not good.

Don't believe this for an instant. There's a thin line where portrayed psychosis can be perceived as pantomime. For other actors who do this, and do it very well, check out Michael Pitt's portrayal of Mason Verger in the series adaptation of Hannibal

catallus

golfball37 wrote: »

The actor playing Ramsey is so awful he lets the show down imo.

Nonsense, actor is playing it perfectly, the character is just slightly off balance which just accentuates his malevolence.

See the delivery of the famous lines: "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't being paying attention" as an example.

5star02707

Heat_Wave wrote: »

Just watched this now. Holy sh*t. That was amazing!!

How many more episodes are left in this series?

2 left can't actually believe there's 2 more weeks till we wait again next year haha

Daniel2590

You'd think the giant could have pulled the boat along with him instead of leaving them to row :pac:

boccy23

golfball37 wrote: »

The actor playing Ramsey is so awful he lets the show down imo. At least with Joffrey there was an excitement when he came on screen as the acting was top notch. With Ramsey its over acting and its not good.

Don't agree with this. Ramsey comes across as a very believable unstable character. When he was getting bored with Myranda, the kennel keepers daughter, and her jealousy, that was palpable on how he could mess her up!!

I always thought that Joffrey was only passable as an evil character because you alawys felt he could be reined in by his mother, grandfather and even his uncle. Only Roose Bolton has any control on Ramsey and even then.....

Essien

Daniel2590 wrote: »

You'd think the giant could have pulled the boat along with him instead of leaving them to row :pac:

I'd say the lads are just grateful his eyes didn't turn blue. Anything after that is a bonus!

kingshankly

Presently 6 people have voted 5 or less on this episode wtf to people want Jesus you just can't please some people
One of the finest hours of TV since Liverpool came back against ac Milan in 2005