HBO's Game of Thrones: Season 2 Official Thread *Ep. 10* "Valar Morghulis" 6/03 @9pm ET/PT

[duba169]

Alot of good and some bad. Seaso1 is a perfect adaptation. Season 2 was always going to be much harder to put on screen.

Tyron should look much worse than he does. Shoulda lost the nose SMH.

It's a great show. But I can tell that I'd be pretty confused if I didn't read the books. Once in a while they drop the ball and don't explain enough.

Its a very ambitious show

 

[rexanglorum]

To those who have not read the books. Most of Book One and Book Two are the warm up acts.

The next two TV seasons involve the Third Book, A Storm of Swords. That book is huge and is packed with amazing plot twists and action and character growth. The first two seasons were somewhat slow but seasons three and four will be unbelievable.

 

[mronegative]

Finally watched the finale...
So...yeah, loved a couple moments and the ending, but was kinda disappointed?


Maybe I'm expecting too much. I only read the first 2 books and I really really liked the last episode even if it wasn't as big as the book battle...but it's the small moments. This show just isn't consistently good enough at those.

I know people made a big deal out of last week cuz they finally had a whole episode dedicated to one place, but I don't think that's a big deal. When you really take a good look, barely any of these characters and stories would be interesting for more than 5 minutes. And hell, of the 5 minutes we get each episode of a lot of people, half of those minutes are boring as is.

I get that it's just a TV show (technically this is like 4 or 5 shows in 1), but somebody somewhere needs to right the %%%*%+% ship. Whether it's the editing, the dialogue, the order of scenes they show, the music, the direction, the editing...I have no idea...but there were only 3 or 4 episodes this season that worked beginning to end out of the 10? Because only 3 or 4 had enough focus to pull through the whole episode? Theon taking Winterfell, Theon looking for Bran and Rickon, the buildup to the shadowbaby, Blackwater...am I missing anything?

By my count Tyrion as The Hand's, Sansa & Joffrey's, Cersei's, Theon's and Arya's were the only storylines that worked the whole way through, but they got the same amount of time as everyone else? Some good characters only pop up for a little while then go, but the main people... Jon Snow only got interesting when Ygritte came to do all the talking for him. Dragonstone (Stannis/Davos/Mel) were good for 2 or 3 episodes out of like 8? Bran and Robb are Bran and Robb. Catelyn is a troll. Jaime missed most of the season. Did I mention Shae %%%*%+% sucks?

And Dany...she only had at best, 3 or 4 episodes worth of story that they stretched like hell with an ending that was both great and blah at the same time. Seeing the burned out ashes of the Iron Throne and then Drogo and her baby was

...but the direction...the buildup...all for what? So her dragons can burp in dude's face? Cuz his masterplan was kidnapping her, showing her all that stuff and then saying forget all that, you're my prisoner now?

Her storyline always has the most promise of anyone's, but more than anyone's hers feels like it completely stopped being in tune with the rest of the show or telling a full complete story. I mean look at how they threw away Doreah and Xaro.

It's not good enough to say...okay...Ned is dead, so this show doesn't belong to anyone in particular. This is TV. You have to have purpose, focus and something tying every episode together. And %!@@ anyone who says...well...The Wire doesn't have a main character. Yes it does...that main character just changes a lot...and sometimes he/she/it shares the crown with another person...and sure enough they're liable to die unlike other shows. But inside each episode, you understand who or what the focus is.

Game of Thrones has no focus.

It has no rhythm. It maintains no momentum or narrative progression. It just happens. It just checks a name off a list and says OK, we saw them, next. This episode should've been about the aftermath of the battle of Blackwater, but you can't even tell a battle happened

Oh, Tyrion got cut? Welp.

Calm down man, this episode was about Theon getting his...nope.

OK, It was about the fallen lords of Winterfell, Dragonstone, Qarth, the Night's Watch and Dothrak? Tell the editor.

So...this episode was about Dany growing into a stronger and smarter person then?...

...

Nah man...this ep was about the bittersweet truth of love and marriage in this world: Shae and Tyrion, Robb and nurse, Joffrey and Sansa, even Ser Loras in a way, Jon and Ygritte...Doreah and Xaro?... Tell the editor/director/writer

Ok...nah nah nah I got it. It was about wars that never end. Check it: the whitewalkers...the wildlings...Stannis and Mel...khaleesi and her dragons...yup yup. No, tell that to the writers. Tell that to anyone making this show. If you have a theme, you wrap it up, you tell it fully, you make it stick.

None of this does. None of it's connected. These are just things that happened to be a part of this episode.

I mean...When it all comes together, this is the best show on TV...but they always bite off more than they can chew.

It feels like 5 different directors direct most episodes. And because they have no clue when their scenes'll get shown or what the theme is of that episode is gonna be or how it's gonna be edited, they shoot every scene as straight as they can so that whatever needs to be cut can be without throwing the rhythm off. And more times than not it doesn't feel like one story. It doesn't have style or rhythm or tension.


Don't get me wrong...I loved the whitewalkers at the end...Osha and Luwin...Khal Drogo and the burnt throne...Theon's speech

...Brienne and Jaime...but I don't have so much ADD, that'll let me separate the chunks of the show I like, from the overall way that episodes don't work to me.

They need some quality control and a couple people more worried about making each episode complete, than just making sure each scene looks right.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Someone please talk me out of reading the 3rd book...

I watched the first 2 seasons on HBO but have not read the books... Started reading book one, got 100 pages deep and its pretty true to what I know from the show so I started reading book 3

Is there any reason I should go back and pick up where I left off in book 1 and not skip ahead?

 

[juggy4805]

^ You should go back, you will be super confused. there are whole families introduced and mentioned in book 2 that the show doesn't touch on.

 

[shogun]

^
That's a pretty big gap inbetween books.  You're definitely going to be confused with all the minor characters that were excluded from the show and all the other storylines.  But you can just look up whatever you need more info on online.  But the books are really great and I would recommend you still read them instead of skip around.  I might recommend you skip the 1st half of book 5 since it was brutal to get through 

.

 

[mronegative]

Originally Posted by fraij da 5 11

Someone please talk me out of reading the 3rd book...

I watched the first 2 seasons on HBO but have not read the books... Started reading book one, got 100 pages deep and its pretty true to what I know from the show so I started reading book 3

Is there any reason I should go back and pick up where I left off in book 1 and not skip ahead?

I don't even...

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Hmm... I guess I'll go back to book 1.

Not sure how patient I can be. I don't set aside a lot of time so it'll take me a while to get through all of these.

Originally Posted by MrONegative

Originally Posted by fraij da 5 11

Someone please talk me out of reading the 3rd book...

I watched the first 2 seasons on HBO but have not read the books... Started reading book one, got 100 pages deep and its pretty true to what I know from the show so I started reading book 3

Is there any reason I should go back and pick up where I left off in book 1 and not skip ahead?

I don't even...

Come on man...

 

[duba169]

I understand what you are saying negative.

Things just happen. It doesn't feel quite right.

But I think anyone in the world would have a hard time putting book two into 10 episodes. Dany's arc was clearly stretched out for no other reason than getting her face time.

 

[shogun]

Dani and Jamie were almost non-existant this season.  I wish they were able to get more of Jamie and Brienne's storyline in.  Dani was annoying most of the time in the scenes she was in.  A lot of people definitely saw her differently than from the first season.  I'm not a fan of how she acts or the decisions she makes.  She's still a young girl and has a lot of growing up to do.

 

[mronegative]

Everything I said will be forgiven if they kill Shae.

Don't even drag it out and hype it up. Do it offscreen before next season and just put it in the "previously on" stuff.

 

[shogun]

Shae did have a good idea in that they should just leave and go to one of the Free Cities.  A life of drinking and effing doesn't sound too bad.  He won't even get credit for his part in defending the city.  He should've just threw Joffrey over the wall and let Stannis have him.

 

[omgitswes]

why the hate for Shae? She isn't that bad

 

[shogun]

I like her.  Tyrion found himself one of the good, supportive  prostitutes 

.

 

[spiceman80]

I loved the finale but I'm confused about a few things.

1. Is the hound dead since Sansa is still in King's Landing?

2. Although Tywin did come at the last minute to save the city who is responsible for not giving Tyrion credit? Is it all Cersi? As a warrior I would think Tywin could appreciate a good battle strategy when he sees it. Hell he gives Rob credit for his victories.

3. What the hell happened in Winterfell? Did the Iron Islanders bring Theon home at his fathers request, or did they give him to the 500 men outside the gates? Why did they burn the place down without even getting Rob's brothers?

4. What is the deal with Dany and the big black guy? Did he betray her to the warlocks so they could steal the dragons, or was she upset he was %#%*$%**$!$# about being the richest man in Qarth?

5. I assumed Stanis was dead or being held captive, the scene where he was being pulled away was that by his men to retreat?  I could have sworn it was the Lanister men?  I thought Tywin was leaving to get a head start on Rob?  Was he always planning to go to Kings Landing?

6. Finally maybe I'm not thinking deep enough but when I look at where the stark family is right now, everyone scattered all over the 7 kingdoms I can't help but to think this is all Lady Stark's fault for being so impulsive when she kidnapped Tyrion.

 

[mronegative]

nothing against Shae the character, it's just ever since Stannis ate his spinach, she's been the worst actor on the show by far.

 

[shogun]

Originally Posted by Spiceman80

1)  He just left.  Sansa didn't want to go with him.
2)  Joffrey and Cersei will sing Tywin's praises and make sure to exclude Tyrion's name.  Remember Cersei tried to have one of the Kingsguard kill him during the battle.

3)  That's not clear.  We'll find out next season.  They didn't even know where Bran and Rickon were.  Remember they ran away and couldn't find them.  They were hiding in the crypts and no one knew except for Maester Luwin.

4)  Yeah, he worked with the warlocks to steal the dragons.  That's why you saw Doreah in bed with him (I don't like how they changed her character and made her like that).    He wanted to be King of Qarth.

5)  Stannis was being led away by his own men.  They were outnumbered and had to retreat.  I guess Tywin changed his mind.  They couldn't lose King's Landing, that would be too big of a loss.  Stannis would've crowned himself the king and sat upon the Iron Throne.  Plus his family would've been executed by Stannis.

6)  Well, she set a lot of stuff into motion.  She made a foolish decision and it cost the Starks a lot.  Her and Ned were caused the downfall of the Stark House.  Starks aren't good at political strategy or knowing how to play the game.

 

[faint dj3]

Originally Posted by Spiceman80

I loved the finale but I'm confused about a few things.

1. Is the hound dead since Sansa is still in King's Landing?

2. Although Tywin did come at the last minute to save the city who is responsible for not giving Tyrion credit? Is it all Cersi? As a warrior I would think Tywin could appreciate a good battle strategy when he sees it. Hell he gives Rob credit for his victories.

3. What the hell happened in Winterfell? Did the Iron Islanders bring Theon home at his fathers request, or did they give him to the 500 men outside the gates? Why did they burn the place down without even getting Rob's brothers?

4. What is the deal with Dany and the big black guy? Did he betray her to the warlocks so they could steal the dragons, or was she upset he was %#%*$%**$!$# about being the richest man in Qarth?

5. I assumed Stanis was dead or being held captive, the scene where he was being pulled away was that by his men to retreat?  I could have sworn it was the Lanister men?  I thought Tywin was leaving to get a head start on Rob?  Was he always planning to go to Kings Landing?

6. Finally maybe I'm not thinking deep enough but when I look at where the stark family is right now, everyone scattered all over the 7 kingdoms I can't help but to think this is all Lady Stark's fault for being so impulsive when she kidnapped Tyrion.

Yes please, I understood everything that happened this episode except this!!! %##???

 

[ryansoxfan]

Theon's speech was awesome and the whitewalkers at the end leaves you hanging to see what's gonna happen next. Rest of it was going so many different directions.

 

[omgitswes]

Originally Posted by Spiceman80

I loved the finale but I'm confused about a few things.

1. Is the hound dead since Sansa is still in King's Landing?

2. Although Tywin did come at the last minute to save the city who is responsible for not giving Tyrion credit? Is it all Cersi? As a warrior I would think Tywin could appreciate a good battle strategy when he sees it. Hell he gives Rob credit for his victories.

3. What the hell happened in Winterfell? Did the Iron Islanders bring Theon home at his fathers request, or did they give him to the 500 men outside the gates? Why did they burn the place down without even getting Rob's brothers?

4. What is the deal with Dany and the big black guy? Did he betray her to the warlocks so they could steal the dragons, or was she upset he was %#%*$%**$!$# about being the richest man in Qarth?

5. I assumed Stanis was dead or being held captive, the scene where he was being pulled away was that by his men to retreat?  I could have sworn it was the Lanister men?  I thought Tywin was leaving to get a head start on Rob?  Was he always planning to go to Kings Landing?

6. Finally maybe I'm not thinking deep enough but when I look at where the stark family is right now, everyone scattered all over the 7 kingdoms I can't help but to think this is all Lady Stark's fault for being so impulsive when she kidnapped Tyrion.

1. She stayed when the hound left

2. Idk

3. I just figured they burned Winterfell down just because they felt like it and left, idk what happened with Theon. Rather they left him there or went back home

4. I think he was part of the plan to take her dragons and to get her to join him so he could be king of 7 kingdoms.

5. Those were his men, trying to get him to retreat because they knew all was lost. And yeah I have no idea how Tywin ended up there, maybe he met up with the gay knight (name slips my mind) and he told him about Stannis' planned attack on Kings Landing so they decided to form an alliance and head that way

6. My feelings on the whole Stark family except for Bran is that they are too headstrong and don't think things through all the way, that's why they are in the situation they're in. It's not just Catelyn it's their whole family. Especially Rob for marrying that chick. Bran is definitely the smartest of the bunch, looking forward to seeing where he ends up

 

[mronegative]

1. He dipped.
2. Yeah, they shoulda saved that for next season when they could spend time to expand on that.
3.The worst quality about this show, is that they REFUSE to have flashbacks to explain things. So where I'd hope maybe next season they'd flashback to what happened between knocking Theon out and them coming out of the crypt...they're probably just gonna have someone read it from a raven and be done with it.

4. He wanted the dragons and he was lying...they didn't handle that stuff well.

5. Nah, it was Stannis' guys saying quit being stupid, we lost, let's run. And yeah, the show faked us out to surprise us when Tywin showed up.
6. Catelyn is a troll.

 

[spiceman80]

thank you all for responding to my question, greatly appreciated.

 

[T0INE]

How this dude fraij gonna go from book 1 straight to Book 3? 

I could understand skipping book 1 if you've watched Season 1 of GOT because they did a perfect adaptation of the 1st book.

But you have to read ACOK even if you watched season 2. There is some ambiguity in season 2, like the scene with Maester Cressen and Melisandre that is addressed in more detail in the second book. Also they are a lot of discrepancies between book 2 and season 2.

 

[mojodmonky1]

Originally Posted by MrONegative

Finally watched the finale...
So...yeah, loved a couple moments and the ending, but was kinda disappointed?


Maybe I'm expecting too much. I only read the first 2 books and I really really liked the last episode even if it wasn't as big as the book battle...but it's the small moments. This show just isn't consistently good enough at those.

I know people made a big deal out of last week cuz they finally had a whole episode dedicated to one place, but I don't think that's a big deal. When you really take a good look, barely any of these characters and stories would be interesting for more than 5 minutes. And hell, of the 5 minutes we get each episode of a lot of people, half of those minutes are boring as is.

I get that it's just a TV show (technically this is like 4 or 5 shows in 1), but somebody somewhere needs to right the %%%*%+% ship. Whether it's the editing, the dialogue, the order of scenes they show, the music, the direction, the editing...I have no idea...but there were only 3 or 4 episodes this season that worked beginning to end out of the 10? Because only 3 or 4 had enough focus to pull through the whole episode? Theon taking Winterfell, Theon looking for Bran and Rickon, the buildup to the shadowbaby, Blackwater...am I missing anything?

By my count Tyrion as The Hand's, Sansa & Joffrey's, Cersei's, Theon's and Arya's were the only storylines that worked the whole way through, but they got the same amount of time as everyone else? Some good characters only pop up for a little while then go, but the main people... Jon Snow only got interesting when Ygritte came to do all the talking for him. Dragonstone (Stannis/Davos/Mel) were good for 2 or 3 episodes out of like 8? Bran and Robb are Bran and Robb. Catelyn is a troll. Jaime missed most of the season. Did I mention Shae %%%*%+% sucks?

And Dany...she only had at best, 3 or 4 episodes worth of story that they stretched like hell with an ending that was both great and blah at the same time. Seeing the burned out ashes of the Iron Throne and then Drogo and her baby was

...but the direction...the buildup...all for what? So her dragons can burp in dude's face? Cuz his masterplan was kidnapping her, showing her all that stuff and then saying forget all that, you're my prisoner now?

Her storyline always has the most promise of anyone's, but more than anyone's hers feels like it completely stopped being in tune with the rest of the show or telling a full complete story. I mean look at how they threw away Doreah and Xaro.

It's not good enough to say...okay...Ned is dead, so this show doesn't belong to anyone in particular. This is TV. You have to have purpose, focus and something tying every episode together. And %!@@ anyone who says...well...The Wire doesn't have a main character. Yes it does...that main character just changes a lot...and sometimes he/she/it shares the crown with another person...and sure enough they're liable to die unlike other shows. But inside each episode, you understand who or what the focus is.

Game of Thrones has no focus.

It has no rhythm. It maintains no momentum or narrative progression. It just happens. It just checks a name off a list and says OK, we saw them, next. This episode should've been about the aftermath of the battle of Blackwater, but you can't even tell a battle happened

Oh, Tyrion got cut? Welp.

Calm down man, this episode was about Theon getting his...nope.

OK, It was about the fallen lords of Winterfell, Dragonstone, Qarth, the Night's Watch and Dothrak? Tell the editor.

So...this episode was about Dany growing into a stronger and smarter person then?...

...

Nah man...this ep was about the bittersweet truth of love and marriage in this world: Shae and Tyrion, Robb and nurse, Joffrey and Sansa, even Ser Loras in a way, Jon and Ygritte...Doreah and Xaro?... Tell the editor/director/writer

Ok...nah nah nah I got it. It was about wars that never end. Check it: the whitewalkers...the wildlings...Stannis and Mel...khaleesi and her dragons...yup yup. No, tell that to the writers. Tell that to anyone making this show. If you have a theme, you wrap it up, you tell it fully, you make it stick.

None of this does. None of it's connected. These are just things that happened to be a part of this episode.

I mean...When it all comes together, this is the best show on TV...but they always bite off more than they can chew.

It feels like 5 different directors direct most episodes. And because they have no clue when their scenes'll get shown or what the theme is of that episode is gonna be or how it's gonna be edited, they shoot every scene as straight as they can so that whatever needs to be cut can be without throwing the rhythm off. And more times than not it doesn't feel like one story. It doesn't have style or rhythm or tension.


Don't get me wrong...I loved the whitewalkers at the end...Osha and Luwin...Khal Drogo and the burnt throne...Theon's speech

...Brienne and Jaime...but I don't have so much ADD, that'll let me separate the chunks of the show I like, from the overall way that episodes don't work to me.

They need some quality control and a couple people more worried about making each episode complete, than just making sure each scene looks right.

since you took the time to write out such a long detailed post, i thought it warranted a response.

first and foremost, i want to say that I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL BROTHER.

Like everyone else in this thread, I was extra hyped for the start of season 2, but the first few episodes of the season left me feeling underwhelmed.  It wasnt so much the story as it was the EDITING.  Everything had such a choppy inconsistent feel to it.  Instead of it being a progression of 1 story, it really felt like they were just cuttin back and forth between 4-5 different stories and the only reason certain scenes were included were to advance the storyline of a particular character.  I understand that this is how to book is written (kinda) but the manner in which they did it for television just did not translate at all.  It just left sort of a jumbled mess at times to be honest.  Had I not read all the books in advance of the season, there is a ton of stuff that I would have missed.  Like you said, it really did seem like the show had no focus.  The choppyness of it was fairly distracting, although I do feel that it got a tad bit better as the season progressed.  Either that or I just became desensitized to it.

In terms of your analysis of the final episode though, I have to disagree.  The season finale (although still choppy and somewhat poorly put together) was probably my favorite episode of the season.  As Rexandglorum mentioned, book 1 and 2 (and S1 and S2) are just the warm up acts.  I thought the finale helped setup the story very well for the upcoming season.  While it would have been nice if there was an transitional episode between the battle of Blackwater EP and the finale, to explain the aftermath of the battle, because they only had 10 episodes to work with, I understsand why they did it the way they did.

I think the finale was about tying the season together, and leaving enough cliffhangers/questions to be answered in S3.  I mean look at how they finished/left off each story arc.

Kings Landing - The season led up to the pending attack on Kings landing by Stannis' forces.  This was pretty easy for them to finish (with an entire episode dedicated to Blackwater).  The conclusion for this story arc was the battle itself and the immediate aftermath of the battle.  Tywin is in KL.  He is the Hand of the King.  Tyrion is relegated to imp status once again.  They introduced the alliance between Tyrell and Lannister.  Margaery Tyrell has also arrived in KL and is not bethroted to the King.  I think it sets up nicely for S3.  What part will the Tyrells have in the Lannister claim to the throne?  What will Tyrion do now that Tywin has come to claim the seat as the Hand?  What will become of Sansa now that she is no longer "protected" as being the future Queen?

Robb Stark - They tied this one pretty abruptly, but to be honest, I cant imagine that a lot of people really cared about this story arc this season.  So Robb was fighting and winning random battles against the Lannister forces, but it didnt really have any significance on the overeall story or progression.  The main part about the Robb Stark story was his relationship with Talisa (which was done in a pretty piss poor manner on the show).  Robb pretty much goes from meeting this common medic chick, then he's banging her, and now he's married to her.  Yawn...  That being said, it does setup a potential conflict for S3 that they touched upon at the end of S2 (and was setup in S1).  Robb is basically pissing on Walder Frey by turning his back on his promise to marry one of the Frey daughters.  Catelyn even touched upon this in the finale, and its interesting to see how this will play out between the Starks and the Frey's in S3.

Quarth/Dany - "but the direction...the buildup...all for what?  So the dragons can burp in dudes face?    - now this is just my take on it, so take it with a grain of salt.  I think the whole point of the Dany/House of the Undying scene was establish her character as the Mother of Dragons.  The Warlock's plan for Dany was to trap her within the House of the Undying so that he (and Xaro) could take control of the dragons and use them for their own purposes.  When she walks into the throne room and also into the room with Drogo and her baby, these were attempts by the Warlock to trap her by "bribing" her with things that are important to her (her pursuit of the iron throne, and the love of her life and her child).  It's kind of like the Matrix.  Even if you know that you are in the Matrix, what actually makes something REAL?  If you can touch, feel, taste, experience it, is that not real?  Isnt that what Dany always wanted?  To be with Drogo and with their son?  Who cares if its not REAL REAL, as long as its REAL to her?  Her walking away from that shows her character and her dedication to her only REAL children she has now, the dragons.  In the Drogo scene, when she hears to screams of her dragons its like she snaps out of it for a second and understands what her real goal is, and that is to get her "children" back.  Its only after the Warlock fails in his first 2 attempts to trap her with mirages, he is forced to trap/enslave her for real with chains.  While it was a bit cheesy, the dragons "burpin in dudes face" was an easy solution for the predicament that she was in, and it also shows the physical growth of the dragons themselves.  no longer are they harmless babies, but they are finally learning the skills that make dragons the most feared creatures in the realm.... FIRE.  Again, I think this sets things up for the upcoming season.  Prior to the finale, what was Dany really?  The Quarthian dude put it best when he ethered her in the past episode.  She is nothing but a beggar making demands.  But now?  Now that her dragons have grown and have the ability of Fire?  Now she is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

The North/Jon Snow - I agree with you that Snow's scenes were a bit dull this season until they introduced Ygritte (who was one of my favorite characters this season).  Ygritte bonking Snow on the head like he was some dumb dog was absolutely hilarous (not that its entirely relevant to that story).  But anyways.  This tied up as nicely as it could for the season.  Qhorin Halfhands sacrifice put Snow in a decent position for the future (as evidenced by the Lord of Bones cutting his binds).  The past few episodes were leading up to it with Qhorin telling Snow that he needs to do what he can to get in with the Wildlings as a brother on the inside is worth 1000 on the outside (or whatever the exact line was).  This is one of the story arcs that I am most anticipating for the next season.  Who is Mance Rayder exactly?  Who are the Wildlings/Free Folk?  How powerful are they?  Are they really a threat?  If so, to who?  What role will Jon Snow play in all of this?  This is a potential gamechanger for the future as there is now another faction potentially vying for Westeros (in addition to Lannisters/Tyrell, Stannis, Starks and Iron Islanders).  In addition to the Free Folk, there is also another elephant in the room.  WHITE FRIGGIN WALKERS.  How wil they change the game as well?

Stannis - This story arc was kinduva throwaway in the finale, but with good reason.  Stannis just suffered a crushing defeat at Blackwater.  Its not like anyone can expect him to jump back into the mix immediately.  If anything, they did this story as much justice as they possibly could.  Stannis is frustrated and disappointed with Melissandre, who he feels lied to him about his potential victory.  Now he is teetering on the verge of total defeat and blames Melissandre for it.  Melissandre though KNOWS (not believes, but knows) that the story is not yet complete and that victory is still in their future.  It appears that she has convinced Stannis of this too when she tells him to look into the fire to see the future.  What is it exactly that Stannis sees that makes him change his mind?  I guess we will have to wait for next season to see how it plays out.

Winterfell - W T F actually happened?  No one knows (well unless you read the book) and I think that was the point.  This was purposely left as the biggest cliffhanger of the season.  Who burned Winterfell?  What happened to Theon and the Iron born?  What will become of Bran, Rickon, Osha, and of course Hodor (hodor.... hodor....)? 

Brienne/Jamie/Cat - This is kinduva minor story arc that just started midway through the season, and therefore did not get as much attention.  With so much else to put on screen (and so little time) I think it was out of necessity that they did not expand on this story.  All we know is that Brienne is loyal to Cat, not the Starks, and her mission is to get Jamie to KL.  What will happen between here and KL, no one knows.  What will happen if they actually make it to KL, again, who knows.  Gotta see how it plays out.

 

[rawex5]

^ You guys are both good posters, but nobody is reading all that.