Day 6 : Game of Thrones - Spoils of War - Review

SPOILERS AHEAD (REALLY?)

This was the shortest episode of the whole show. But also by far the most watched, the highest rated and the most badass episode ever!

HBO did fumble the ball a bit when it comes to the episode. They were caught up in a large scale hacking incident, a big chunk of content and sensitive information was stolen from their servers. Including this episode, which was leaked into the internet a few days ahead of telecast. A lot many people did see it beforehand. But I guess due to the sheer goodwill of most of the fans still stuck around till the actual telecast, giving this episode the highest viewers of the entire series. And they were all rewarded for their wait, this was the best episode of the season so far. Maybe even better than BOB episode last season (?)

Give this guy a bunch of Castles already! 

At the very this was definitely an episode where every minute of screen time was something significant. So without much dillydallying ourselves let’s get into it.

The show starts in the Reach right where it ended last episode, Highgarden. Jaime is still pissed off with that last zinger the Queen of Thorns left this planet with. Bronn does question him about it, but Jaime doesn’t spill a word. This is something that Cersei would have to know of first. Instead Jaime hands him a big bag of gold, something that was promised. And a Lannister always pays his debts.

Then we are taken the most important Lannister in the Seven Kingdoms – Queen Cersei. She is meeting with the delegate from the Iron Bank (Mycroft Holmes, they are clearly running short of British actors). Cersei tells him about them taking over House Tyrell and that the Bank would be getting all their debt paid in full. There is a bit of high talk and kiss-assing, in the end Cersei is recommended to enlist the services of the Golden Company. They are a band of swords for hire, notoriously savage and extremely efficient. Readers of the book would recall this is where the Aegon Targaryen is. He is the only surviving son of Rhaegar Targaryen, a major character. Seems pretty fishy introducing him so late in the game. Or maybe that is just a coincidence, maybe this would be a character only living in the book and not the show.

Then we are taken to Winterfell, to Bran. Meera is leaving. Bran, being the aloof cold-hearted guy he’s got to be now, tells her goodbye and good riddance. The guy clearly is undergoing his own version of PTSD. He has seen too much, he knows too much. But there is not much he can do now without inadvertently changing the future by a lot. He is the only person we know for sure is going to survive, he could possible save and protect many others. But we don’t know what would get altered if he does. Also there is Littlefinger coming in and gifting him the Valyrian steel dagger that was used to slit his throat first season. But Bran already knows, and also throws in the ‘Chaos is a ladder’ call back to let Petyr know that he knows.

Then we get to see our favorite assassin in Westeros at the gates of her home. She meets Sansa, she meets Bran. The family is back together. I am so happy. This fills me with so much joy. The three kids where never really that close to begin with. But they have all been through a lot and that shared period of torment has brought them all together as a family. Arya likes Sansa becoming Lady Stark. Sansa likes that she has a lil sword wielding badass for sister now. And they both are equally confused as to what their brother has now turned into. Bran gives the dagger to Arya. We already know it is Valyrian steel, and about its magical powers. So we can expect a lot out of it in the hands of Arya now. Also, there is this neat little training waterdance sword fight between Brienne and Arya, at the end of which they both become instant besties. I love that!

Then we come to Dragonstone, Jon is taking the Dragon Queen into the caves below her castle where all the dragonglass is. There in the cave he shows her old cave paintings made by the Children of the Forest. They depict them and men fighting together against their common enemies, the Others. He almost convinces her to join her armies with his to defeat the common enemy in the North, she simply says she will when he bends the knee. Damn, that woman is persistent. They come out of the cave to find Tyrion and Varys giving them the bad news about their defeat in Casterly Rock. Dany is pissed off. Starts lashing out everyone. She immediately wants to take her three dragons and burn down the Red Keep. Jon has seen more battle, and loyal subjects than her. He advices restraint, using her dragons to burn down castles would only alienate her to her people. In a bit, Theon shows up in Dragonstone to get Dany’s help. But she is already gone.

Then comes the big climax of the show. The Loot Train Attack. Jaime and his troop is marching towards Kings Landing. The wagons with gold have already reached the gates, the food and other loot is proceeding rather slowly along the path. And that’s when they hear the sound. They sound of thousands of hoofs pounding ground, it sounds like approaching thunder. And there it is, a big horde of Dothraki fighters. Bronn asks Jaime to turn back and go to the castle, he is a commander not a foot soldier. Jaime says nah, I’m good, and we can take them. As if in reply comes Drogon’s screech. ‘Forget something, bruh?’ Damn the look on their sorry faces! Gold. Then there is the whole glorious battle sequence, see it to believe it. In Bronn, who probably has more guts than all of Westeros, takes up one of Qyburn’s scorpions and aims at Drogon, you know the giant fire-breathing dragon flying directly towards him. He fires a couple gets one into the dragon’s shoulder. The dragon lands with Dany, not before burning down the scorpion first, Drogon is smart. They had by then almost won the war, the Dothraki is finishing up the last few of the Lannister army. Dany now on the ground beside her dragon/child, tries to remove the spear lodged into his shoulder. Jaime sees this as an opportunity, picks up a spear and rushes at her like a jousting idiot. He is almost there, Drogon sees Jaime, breathes fire on him. Jaime is saved at the last moment, and pushed into inexplicably sudden deep water.

THE END.

(Goosebumps.)

Day 23 : JON SNOW LIVES - Book & Show Theory

Snow breathes again. Hoohah!
I've been waiting so long to write this. Damn.

I'd read the books and it ended with Snow lying in a pool of his own blood. I'd completed the TV show and even that ended with him laying in a pool of his own blood stabbed my his brothers of the Night's Watch. Ever since then no matter where I go, or who I meet, I have been blabbering on about how he will come back. No matter they asked for it or now.

There were all these hints and clues all over the books that predict how even after all those multiple stabs to gut, Jon Snow will still come out alive. It becomes more obvious in show. I mean there is no other character throughout the series that has ever had anything substantial to do with the White Walkers. Nobody has fought with them. Nobody has killed one (in the books, only Samwell Tarley is actually shown killing one though). Nobody else has been so adamant lecturing everyone how the wights are our real enemies. No one. They can't just built such a huge story arc dependent one character only to kill them of just like that. Makes no sense, they would just have to redo the exposure with somebody else, which at this late juncture would just confuse the audience.

The last few of minutes of the episodes is jam packed with little information and nuance. Which I am sure we would be analyzing very closely throughout the week. Ghost was awake when Melisandre enters the room, how come he just suddenly dozed off when she started the ritual. Throughout the last episode and this one, the Ghost's eyes were blood red, angry (and glowing?). But at the very end of the episode he sits up, he feels a lot more docile and eyes weren't that vivid. Jon Snow woke up only after the direwolf let out a cry.

Me thinks - Jon Snow is a Warg.
Me thinks - he went into Ghost's skin due to shock of getting stabbed and was stuck there not knowing how to come back to his own body.

It took Bran a long while to figure out how to come and go into Hodor's body. And he had help. Jon Snow hasn't even yet realized he is a skinchanger. As per her own admission, Melisandre's magic was weak when it comes to bringing back someone from death. But her magic in someway helped Jon to enter his own body again. Or well, she just gave him a new haircut, one that we can see on him for the rest of the season at the least. We will soon know.

Another theory that I believe in is of Jon being the real Azor A'hai. Stannis Baratheon was strong and just and very kingly. But he never really seemed like the kind of character that sticks till the very end. Plus his sword never really pulsed heat like the legendary Lightbringer was supposed to. All it used to was glow. While we all know Jon Snow's Longclaw is already made of ancient Valyrian steel, and has already shattered a White Walker to smithereens. His sword can easily be the Lightbringer they talk about in the legends.

There are still a lot that is unknown. Mainly regarding what has changed in Snow. Is he still going to be the babe in the woods we know, or is his personality itself going to have a reboot. If you remember during Arya's escape from the Brotherhood Without Banners we saw Beric Dondarrion brought back to life. He was clearly not stronger than The Hound, but he still fought fearlessly only because he had Thoros of Myr to bring him back from the dead using his magic. Beric says every time he is brought back, he looses some of his soul (umm Horcruxes in Westeros?) It would be interesting to see if the Night's King theory holds up at all. Or by some twist of fate he goes and joins them. Nah.

I still believe in R + L = J (it was no coincidence Lyanna showed up in Bran's dream).
I still believe in Three-headed Dragon (remember Daenery's hallucination in the House of  Undying).
And I still believe Jon Snow has a lot more role to play in the Game of Thrones.

There are a whole lot things that can happen between now and winter. Them bring back Jon Snow to life this early in the season can only mean there is another big battle to fought this season. And it is going to awesome!

Plus, for a culture where kinslaying is one of the big sins you can do. It seems almost every big player in Westeros has killed atleast one blood relative. Euron. Ramsay. Bad boy.

Plus, The Mountain is a badass,

Plus, the dragons came this close to eat Tyrion's head off.

Plus, Davos, the Wildlings, the Red Priestess all are at Castle Black.

As for us, we will all be waiting impatiently for the next episode.
This is going to be a tough week ahead for us Northerners.

Day 63 : Why I Will Not Mourn Jon Snow.

This morning the internet is filled with a lot of hue and cry over last night's death of Jon Snow, Bastard of Winterfell and the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.

(If you have no clue what I am talking about, stop reading. Leave. Just leave)

I can understand where all that is coming from, honestly I do. Lord Snow is a very relatable character. Honorable and naive to a fault. And though it is a popular belief that He Knows Nothing, every time when faced against great odds he always comes through, every single time. And come on, he dueled with and killed a White Walker single handedly. Who else living in all of Westeros can say that. (Sam Tarly's was a fluke, doesn't count.)

That I think is the main reason why I just won't mourn Eddard Stark's bastard yet. The ASIOF and GOT both need a hero, someone we can all root for. Jon Snow has been playing that role for a while now. And as is the tradition of the Andals, the honorable men are always to be first beaten down, weakened, slaughtered, but always find a way back to power (or life). Come back with a bang and bring havoc to those that wronged them (remember Lady Stoneheart?).

There are a bunch of theories out there about what is really going to happen in the coming months and years in Westeros and Essos. Some of which G R R Martin has secretly hinted at being true. And a lot many of which involve Jon Snow. True, this mutiny happens in the books as well, maybe not exactly for the reasons as it does in the show. But yes, Jon does get stabbed by a lot many of his sworn bothers. And yes, all of them do so saying "For the Watch". In the book as it is in the show, Snow is there dying. No doubt about that. But he is not shown to be dead yet.

(And in the show... um, have you noticed Jon Snow's eyes when he lies there? The pupils dilate. Who's to say whether it was by plan or not. Who's to say that is not a hint that he's been transported into Ghost? After all he is rumored to be a warg isn't he?)

But most of all, the reason I WILL NOT mourn Jon Snow is one very specific theory about the final outcome of the Song Of Ice and Fire. - The Three Headed Dragon.

We all know there are at present three dragons in Westeros - Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion

Did you know there are supposedly three other Targaryen at present in Westeros. Yes, Daenerys Stormborn is not the only one. Guess who?

Candidate 1:

Tyrion Lannister - Dwarf. Imp. Father Slayer. Remember that part where his father says when Tyrion shoots him in the gut for the second time? "You are no son of mine." Agreed anyone can see it as a hate spouted off of on a spoilt child shooting arrows at his father. Perfectly understandable. 

But did you know that, in the book Tyrion has one green eye (Lannister trait) and one black (Like Daenery's). Also Tyrion's hair is said to be more of a platinum blonde than the usual Lannister golden. Rumor has it. Tywin Lanninster's wifey Joanna had something with the Mad Kind, of which Tyrion was born. The outcome of the mating of the Lion and the Dragon was supposed to be ill-fated, hence the birth of the malformed infant and the death of the mother. Hearsay? Maybe. But you gotta agree, he'd be a brilliant ruler.

Candidate 2:

Jon Snow - Bastard. Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Wields the Longclaw. Rumored to be wargs with his pet direwolf 'Ghost'. As mentioned before are a lot of theories floating around about the parentage of Jon Snow. Most popular being "R + L = J". 

All along Jon's lifetime and our history with the books and the show it is been repeatedly mentioned that Jon's the son of Ned Stark, born of a woman he'd had a thing with when he was off warring with long time pal Robert Baratheon. And it is also been said repeatedly, even after his demise, that how much of a honorable man Lord Eddard Stark really is. So I sort call bullshit on the theory that this big mighty honorable man let it all go for a bit of action some damp lonely night, allegedly with Ashara Dayne. I just can't fathom Daddy Stark doing that. But how about him taking the fall for somebody else? Somebody he thought he'd be able to protect if he took the blame for fathering this child? Somebody whose protection was his solemn oath to somebody he loved dearly.

Remember Lyanna Stark princess of Winterfell? Remember her last words to Ned Stark? "Promise me, Ned". What does she want Ned to promise her? How about her child with Rhaegar Targaryen. A son. Jon Snow. A child born with the blood of the First Men and of the Dragon. The last of child of the d     ragon lineage, a dynasty that Robert had sworn to kill off no matter what. So avoid a nasty argument with his bro, Ned just takes the baby boy back to Winterfell and raises him as his own child. Now that's something like what an honorable man like Ned Stark would do.

Tentative Candidate 3:

Aegon Targaryen. There is a character from the books that has not so far showed up in the show. A child with Elia Martell. Another of Rhaegar's. So this one has the Dornish and Dragon blood running in his veins. And supposedly has a bigger claim to the Iron Throne than his aunt Daenery's.

By now we all know, the really war that is coming is not for sitting on the Iron Throne, but for survival against the Others and the White Walkers. To that effect throughout the story there has been two main Prophecies mentioned - Azor Ahai and the Prince that was Promised.

Now with all that information injected into you.

Let me paint you picture about the final battle scene of the ASOIAF/GOT.

We’re at a famous historical spot in Westeros, Moat Catlin. The same spot where the Children of the Forest camped to keep the First Men at bay. 

To the north there is the largest army ever seen in all of Westeros and Essos and Asshai and the Seven Seas. The army of the dead men, and wights, and polar bears, and giants, and ice spiders, and other ghostly cold ghouls of the Old Nan’s stories. The vanguard is a battalion of White Walkers in their special armor and weapons of ice. And their Leader King, maybe the Night King. He strong, ruthless, and commands the most deadly host ever seen.

This is a very intimidating sight.

Opposing them, to the south, is an army of all of the Andals joined together as one.  The Greyjoys, and Boltons, and Lannisters, and the Baratheons, and the Mormonts, and the Arryn, and the Khals and the Face Less Men, and Meerenese, and the Children of the Forest, and the wildlings. And the Targaryen.The leaders of each of the large houses are at the vanguard. Including three Dragons. Mounted by three Targaryens.

The Mother of Dragons rides on Drogon. Tyrion Lannister riding Rhaegar. Young Aegon on Viserion. The leader of them all Jon Snow. Brought back to life by Lord of Fire. Riding his dire wolf, Ghost, with flaming red eyes. His sword of Valyrian steel, Longclaw, is now the flaming Lightbringer. His whole body radiates heat. He is Azor Ahai. Young Aegon is the Prince that was Promised.

Together they shall all wage a glorious war against the Darkness...

Now tell me. Don't you think something like that would turn up in the final chapters of ASOIAF?!

(Ooh mama. Bring it on!)