Looks like we get to hear the Rains of Castamere sometime in the next couple of weeks:

http://wicnet.tumblr.com/post/236555...stomere-by-the

And we'll also hear it sometime next year. I'm guessing in the finale.

Have you been paying attention?

Since when has GRRM been fond of 'rewarding' anyone in these books? I'm of the mind that he kills via dartboard at this point.

Freaking sweet. I didn't follow this link yesterday, but The National playing this is major win.

Ugh. Best thing about that link is the usernames of those that are reblogging this gem.

Well I noticed people died or whatever....how Brienne died was ****ing ****ed up though. Yeah I guess you're right. **** GRRM.

Since when is Brienne dead?

:facepalm:

Maybe Setsuna only read AFFC and never got around to ADWD?

It's not even that he didn't know... it's just his general reasoning. I don't think GRRM "punishes" or "rewards" his characters. He's just painted a masterpiece of a fantasy world where bad things happen to everyone and nothing ever goes as planned (much like IRL).

I have not read ADWD....but yeah I know what happened now. Thanks guys!

You're welcome :)

Really excited for tonight, I hope I'm not setting myself up for epic disappointment.

You think they'll follow the same formula as season 1, in that someone major gets killed then we get to sit and stew on it?

I'm assuming it will be Tyrion, done like Bran and Rickon a few weeks ago, but who knows.

After the first book, there are a series of fake deaths in the following books. Of course, there are some pretty major real deaths as well. Tyrion is so awesome he gets multiple non-death scenes in the books. GRRM may have set up a world where anyone can die, but you could tell that he was too in love with Tyrion to let him suffer a watery death (actually this could have happened three times now that I think of it. Tyrion and water don't seem to agree with eachother).

<img src=http://scifimafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Game-of-Thrones-s2-war-is-coming-wide-560x282.jpg>

**** the King's guard...

**** the city...

**** the King...

Holy shit, that was ****ing awesome.

Absolutely unbelievable how good that was.

Tywin Lannister is a ****ing BOSS!!!

Tyrion Lannister is a ****ing G!!!

I can't believe that little bitch Joffrey is going to sit on the throne again after he pussed out.

So I'm assuming that Firecrotch is going to send the anti-christ thing to which she gave birth to save Stannis.

This show should be like a soap opera AKA no hiatuses, just keep on taping and running a new ep week after week until it's over.

I think you might be posting in the wrong thread?

Well, that was fun. Overall, I thought they did a great job of keeping the key points from the books in there. I kind of thought the ending was a bit anticlimatic as Tywin just rides in and ends it, but then that wasn't really expanded on much in the books either. Also very mildly disappointing that they took the easy route and gave Tyrion a little face scar rather than chopping his nose off, but I can't blame them with that.

Overall, though, that was about as fun as an hour of television gets.

Season 2 finale preview -- House of the Undying clip at the very end :) (hype hype hype)

http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/i...GyMQIAUKwXOA==

Jamie's losing a hand next week, isn't he?

Vargo Hoat better be in this bitch

It could be. They've accelerated his story by a book just to get him on the road to King's Landing so it would make sense. That would certainly be an event with punch, something a couple of people in the other thread have been bitching about the show lacking this year. All the visions in the house of the undying (I can't believe they'll show much there, it would spoil too much for next year...) and then have the final scene be Jamie getting his hand hacked off at harrenhal. Course Halfhand has to die, too.

Next week's going to be awesome...

I completely forgot that Loras had taken Renly's armor... and how that influenced the battle. (Renly's ghost and all that) I wonder if they'll touch on that in the final episode.

Officially from HBO...Finale is now 70 minutes!!!!

Great episode. I can't complain too much about the changes since GRRM wrote the screenplay for that episode. I liked the inclusion of the Sansa and Hound scene. I was afraid they'd leave that part out, but. I'M glad they didn't.

The green fire explosion in the bay looked freaking amazing. It wasnt as epic as the book overall, but definitely well done.

Cerci's scenes have been good all season long, but she was even more fantastic than usual in her interactions with Shae & Sansa. I could see her getting nominated for an award for those scenes alone. And even when I knew she wouldn't be poisoning Tommen, I was still a bit freaked out. That's just great acting.

My only complaint was that I really wanted there to be more flames around the battlefield. The explosion in the bay was fantastic, but it seemed like they didn't show much fire close to the fighting on the ground. A few characters made comments like "the Blackwater is on fire", but I would have liked to have seen a bit more. That would have given a bit more punch to The Hound's departure. Of course, they have a limited budget, so I completely understand.

And I really like how they're developing Sansa. Her scenes with Cersei and the other noble ladies were great.

I don't know if this was intentional, but i like the pairing of Tommen sitting on the iron throne in close proximity to poison, which puts him there in the next book.

Yes. Totally brilliant.

I thought this was a really great episode. I don't know if I'm ready to call it the best of the series. But it exceeded my expectations, for sure. Applause all the way around.

The Battle of the Blackwater was the first time in the books that I began to cheer for Tyrion. It took me that long to come around on the guy and start to really trust him. Dinkledge has done such a marvelous job that I already loved Tyrion. So, for me, I felt like this episode didn't have the same power because we didn't get that shift, that change. They did the best they could, and his speech is outstanding. But the whole Battle after the explosion felt a tad impotent after reading the books.

Still tremendous job. I feel badly even raising a complaint because it was just so well done.

That's pretty much how I feel. I've got my complaints, but given the fact that it's a friggen TV SHOW, I don't think I can really have any legitimate gripe.

It probably was..they also alluded to the poisoning of Joffrey by talking about a few drops in wine would kill you. I know it's a different type of poison that kills him but it gives you foreshadowing of the future event.

They showed the same poison that kills Joffrey in the Cressen scene in the first episode of this season. I noticed it because he takes a little purple crystal and puts it in the wine that he and Melisandre drink, just like the one in Sansa's hairpiece. I wonder if they will have Margary's grandmother as a character, she was a good minor character in the books.

Probably a character they could cut. But, I'm with you. I really like that old bird. I hope they keep her in. Of course, I won't lose any sleep if they don't.

I believe it was Tears of Lys that does Joffrey, which is lethal in any dose. I wanna say that is what killed Jon Arryn too.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=90785


New Character List Revealed for Game of Thrones Season Three
Source: EW
May 29, 2012


Winding down its sophomore season with next Sunday's finale, HBO's "Game of Thrones" has already been confirmed to return for a third season in 2013. Today, EW has a special sneak preview at a list of names that fans can expect to make appearances in the epic George R.R. Martin adaptation.

Mance Rayder, Daario Naharis, Edmure Tully, Ser Brynden Tully (The Blackfish), Lady Selyse Florent, Shireen, Olenna Redwyne (The Queen of Thorns), Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr and Jojen and Meera Reed are the characters that are currently planned to play a part in season three, said to adapt events from "A Storm of Swords." The magazine points out, though, that just because a character isn't on that list doesn't mean that he or she won't show up on your television screen next year.

The cast of season two includes Emmy and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Aidan Gillen, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Maisie Williams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Sophie Turner, Jack Gleeson and Alfie Allen.

The series is executive produced by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger with co-executive producers George R.R. Martin, Vanessa Taylor, Alan Taylor, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and Bernadette Caulfield producing.

Looks like the Reeds will make their appearance afterall.

Good; it makes a hell of a lot more sense than creating some weird construct whereby Rickon goes north without Bran and Bran either has no traveling companions apart from Hodor, or Rickon goes north with some random Wildling.

I'm looking forward to their treatment of the Blackfish; dude is one of my favorite characters from the book.

Nice list of new characters, but I hope they add Belwas the Strong to that list.

Hmm, Stannis' wife and daughter. What about patchface?

And still no Goat. He's connected to so many random things, wonder how they're going to fill in for him.

Blackfish = Westeros equivalent of a Navy SEAL.

Stinkin' A! That's a great list of new characters. Now, I'm really looking forward to next season- as if I already wasn't excited enough. :thumb:

So who is the guy that changed faces?? What is his deal, power??

Jaqen H'ghar. He's an assassin.

My body is ready.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...81495083_o.jpg

I may just be in a bad mood, but that whole ep felt off to me. The only part that felt right was Jaqen and Arya. Jon and halfhand didn't even work for me. They went overboard making Shea sympathetic so her betrayal now will be Tyrion's fault for not going with her (although I won't hate her any less when it happen). And the end felt too much like Walking Dead.

Season 3 can't get here soon enough, though. Storm of Swords is my 2nd favorite book of all time any genre, behind Dune. It's going to be the best season of anything ever.

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!!! :cuss:

Maybe I zoned out a bit, but what happened with Theon? Didn't understand how his crew got out of there and how Winterfell got sacked? Bran and them emerging from the crypts to a sacked Winterfell was canon, but the rest seemed vague and confusing

Theon was taken by Ramsay Bolton and his northmen. It seems the Iron Islanders were accepting Robb's offer to return home but leave Theon. It's been a while since I read the book, but it wouldn't surprise me if they also got slaughtered given the nonsense that happened there.

That makes sense. So they basically betrayed Theon to the Boltons and then Ramsay sacked Winterfell off camera.

Ha! Sorry. I got a little carried away there in all the excitement.

Didn't pack quite the punch of last year's finale, but it was pretty damned good nonetheless.

I knew it was coming, but it sure sucked seeing Tyrion get kicked to the curb.

The way they went from showing Tyrion finding out all the work he'd done to build his power structure had been completely undone, to immediately switching to Tywin's horse taking a giant crap on the floor of the throne room, was a pretty good representation of what Tywin did do Tyrion. Tywin is such a horse's ass.

The shit with Shae and Tywin is going to completely suck. I hope they don't give it away early, because that part in the book stings almost as much to me as the Red Wedding. Obviously it's not as big an oh shit moment, but with my own history that kind of infidelity hits close to home. That'll be Dinklage's next Emmy moment.

Did you take up with a whore and fool yourself into thinking she actually cared about you too?

Happens to the best of us.

I don't know how they are going to do that part since they are pretty convincing that show Shae actually cares for him (I never thought book Shae did). Maybe she gets SUPER pissed when he marries Sansa and that leads to it?

I think it kind of screws up the whole Tysha reveal though because part of what makes that so hard on him is knowing that Tysha was the one woman that ever truly loved him, and Tywin purposefully stole that from him in a very brutal way. If Shae loves him too, the Tysha part is not quite as impactful IMO.

I did indeed.

Although there was also fooling myself into thinking I cared about her, instead of just enjoying having lots of sex.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at before when I said I hated how they're setting this up like it's going to be Tyrion's fault, her reaction to his refusing to leave with her.

Although it could just be setting the people who don't know what's going to happen up for an even harder hit...

The worst part about the whole Shae thing was her ****ing Tywin. GRRM knows how to deliver a blow to a character.

In the book, the worst part for me was when she speaks out against him in front of everyone and really goes out of her way to purposely humiliate him. That made me hate her. Sleeping with Tywin was the icing on the cake too though. I smiled when he choked her!

I thought they kind of dropped the ball with Qhorin Halfhand. They never really explained that Qhorin basically instructed Jon to become a double agent with the wildlings so that he could gather intel. If I hadn't read the book, I'd be pretty confused about what was going on with Jon in that episode.

What's worse is what he did to Tyrion's first wife. I think he goes a little crazy when Jamie confesses that she was actually never a whore. But of course, she ended up.going where all whores go according to Tywin. What ever the hell that means.

Yeah, they made Tywin more likeable on the show this season with Arya than he ever was in the books. I keep telling my wife (watches show but has not read books) what an evil bastard Tywin is, but so far she just doesn't see it.

Yes, there are times when the dialog in certain scenes can't be understood. You shouldn't have to play back the same scene 6-7 times just to hear what is being said. It's a small thing, but the interaction between Halfhand and Snow was one of those moments. Hard to make it out.

I thought the finale was very well done overall.

I think GoT is far and way the best show on TV right now.

I am re-reading Book 3 for the first time and just started. It gets off to a quick start with the three horns being blown in the prologue as the white walkers approach the Fist, Brienne using the boulder to crush the ship so she and Jaime can escape, etc.

But the coolest part for me (because i had totally forgotten this part) is when Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie are running away from Harrenhall and the bloody mummers. When Arya finally sleeps, she has a wolf dream where she wargs into Nymeria who is on the prowl in that area with her pack, and Nymeria and her pack (with Arya seeing it in her dreams) hunt down the four bloody mummers they sent chasing after Arya and tear them to pieces with the final part being Nymeria ripping the whole arm of one of them and shaking it in her mouth. I can't believe I forgot that Arya warged Nymeria in her sleep and Nymeria helped them escape. Cool bonus scene for me.

There is just so much stuff in these books, it is amazing how much I forgot or glossed over the first time through. These books make for great re-reads.

We live and, hopefully, we learn.


bitch

Yep, re-reading book 2 as we speak and it's still a fun read.

I thought the finale was very well done and one of the better eps of the season.

I was really worried about the Danerys stroy line but really liked the way they tied it all together in the house of the undead. ultimately it made for better tv.

Ha, well unless they really change or botch the rest of Tywin's story- she'll be seeing it soon enough and cheering for a well placed bolt or two in his gut. Having Tywin and Shae so likable is going to make what's to come even more crazy, IMO.

I liked the change of Dany's story. I imagined the House of the Undying to be more Prophetic like it was in the book. But to be sure, those scenes would have certainly spoiled some things if they were put on the screen. It would have been nice to see Ned, Robert and some of the other dead characters back in the finale along with Drogo, but it's no doubt that Drogo and the baby were going to be her biggest temptation to trap her there. Not to mention that it was just a well done scene. My wife said to me at the beginning of the episode that this season was really missing some "Man-moa." I laughed, knowing that he'd most likely make an appearance, which she definitely enjoyed seeing. The end of her story in the episode was pretty bad ass, IMO. It's got nothing on the slave trader scene that's still to come, but was cool for sure.

Do y'all think they're killing Xaro by placing him in the vault? Not sure how he'd escape this. He's still alive in the book and seems like he's going to play a fairly big part. Or am I misremembering it?

I'm really excited for next season. I can't wait to meet the Tullys, see Barristan again and see the Reeds.

Here's the entry from Xaro's page on A Wiki of Ice and Fire:

Not sure how they're going to handle it, especially since Qarth is now leaderless. Unless they just say that there were more warlocks, and they want revenge.

I think they're changing Daenerys whole arch completely, which is fine by me. The only part that they need to keep is when she gets the army of the Unsullied out of the slave city (forgot its name). That was one of the best parts in the book.

Yeah I knew that was going to happen though. It wasn't even a question she wasn't going to give them her dragons.

IMO
So the season Finale was everything the rest of the season wasn't. Finally some actual progression! They turned 'Khaleesi' into a an interesting character (or the inexperienced actress just finally did a good job!)and the final scene with her in Qarth (spelling?) was outstanding with her and the warlocks and the dragons and finally getting access to some gold and lewts! Arya is getting more involved and finally at Kings Landing we have a turn in the boredom. I was disappointed in Stannis's reluctance to kill the boring witch and I did generally lose interest in the story overall during the last several episodes.

Again, I did not read the books but man after that abomination called "Blackwater" (WTF was with the author of the books trying to garner some sympathy for Cersei? She's no human, there's nothing there and even what people try to call the "love of her children being a redeeming quality" I say horse shit, she's just afraid to lose power and that's not a redeeming quality. (I get that George R.R.R.R.R.R. Martin is writing the anti good guy story but please, don't try to humanize A character like Cersei FFS!)And the dwarf keeling over in a slow motion, dramatic fight scene where he gets, ok, CUT IN THE FACE?", that whole fight scene was abysmal, and then having him cry in the finale was hilarious and not in a good way. Man there were some real low points of this season, not sure if the books are actually like this and if the episode Blackwater represented the "epic battle" everyone talked about on tv and on forums but it was pretty sorry I think, except for the green goo fire, and Dog leaving.
Ok sorry, ranting all over the place.
I was just very pleased with the finale, I think it turned a corner and brought the story out of the dull, darkness - it was really getting stale and I am absolutely hoping it will continue to improve. I'm thrilled they made the Dragon mother interesting, she was dreadful in the first two seasons to this episode.
I understand it's kinda like many shows, the sophmore effort not topping out, and I do see how it's all about evil taking over everything and basically "winning" ("because good is dumb" lol!) for lack of a better way of saying it and I know there's so many characters to write about, but man, pick more interesting parts of their story, unless they've already hit the high notes.
Personally I'm waiting for Jaime to lose his hand, Theon to get dehumanized by Ramsey and the Red Wedding to get here already!

Nice rant! Though I don't agree with all of it. Just curious, how do you know so much about Jaime's hand, Theon's dehuminzation, and the Red Wedding if you haven't read the books?

Wikipedia or some form of it specifically for A Song of Fire and Ice.

I agree about the pacing of Season II...it was too slow until the end when they tried to cram in too much. However, who is kidding who...? It's still a great show and I would never call it boring in the least.

Major spoilers here - turn back now if you haven't read all the books:









I am in the middle of my second reading of book one and just realized that Jon Snow is not Eddard Stark's son.

"Treachery is a coin that the Tragaryen's knew well," Robert said. The anger was building in him again. "Lannister payed them back in kind. It was no less than they deserved. I shall not trouble my sleep over it!"

"You were not there," Ned said, bitterness in his voice. Troubled sleep was no stranger to him. He had lived his lies for fourteen years yet they still haunted him at night.

Note: Jon Snow is 14 years old in the books

And then when he went to visit Robert's whore in Littlefinger's brothel:

"I will," Ned had promised her. That was his curse. Robert would swear undying love and forget them before evenfall, but Ned Stark kept his vows. He thought of the promises he made Lyanna as she laid dying, and the price he paid to keep them."

Jon Snow is Lyanna's son - and presumably of Targaryen blood (Rheagar).

Also, I learned yesterday that Oberyn Martell poisoned Tywinn Lannister - he was going to die whether or not Tyrion shot him or not - which is why it only took a bolt to the groin to kill him and also why his corpse rotted away so quickly and pulled taut.

"Where will I find my lord father?”
“In the solar with Lord Tyrell and Prince Oberyn.”

“Widow’s blood, this one is called, for the color. A cruel potion. It shuts down a man’s bladder and bowels, until he drowns in his own poisons.”

“Your father,” said Prince Oberyn, “may not live forever.”

The King’s Hand was rotting visibly. His face had taken on a greenish tinge, and his eyes were deeply sunken, two black pits. Fissures had opened in his cheeks, and a foul white fluid was seeping through the joints of his splendid gold-and-crimson armor to pool beneath his body.

Yup, that's the prevailing theory, and it makes perfect sense. Here's a link to an essay on The Tower of The Hand site that lays it out very well:

http://towerofthehand.com/essays/chr...s_parents.html

Interesting, I hadn't thought of that one before.