Game of Thrones Season 4 - The Thread

If they wanted to milk it and stretch 15 episode seasons im sure they could. Look at The Walking Dead has become.

All I'm saying is that the op of this thread explicitly states that if you mark text as a spoiler, you have to tell people what it's a spoiler for. And I haven't looked at the details of your spoiler, but if it's not a spoiler, then why did you mark it as one?

I thought the episode was freaking awesome. It wasn't perfect but I feel like it redeemed a lot of this season for me. Great sense of dread throughout as well as some pretty cool visual effects and cinematography. I especially enjoyed the shot for the biggest fire the north has ever seen. Feels like it was foreshadowing not only the coming of the Wildling horde but the White Walkers presumably right behind them. Speaking of fire I'm curious as to why the throne doesn't give the Watch access to wild fire and instead just use regular oil drums. I guess it's to be expected given the amount of resources the crown skimps on the Northern border defense. I'm saddened though not devastated by the named character deaths but I think they went out with just the right amount of dignity (except maybe Ygritte). I'm hoping Slint gets found guilty for desertion to be honest. I haven't read the books so that's not a spoiler. I'm allowed to speculate if I want so shut the fuck up. I'm a bit perturbed that so many plot threads in the last episode were left hanging but overall I really enjoyed this episode. One more to go, looking forward to it.

Better safe than sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4oQzTGTc_g

This is quite possibly the greatest thing ever (episode 9 spoilers)

So without in depth spoilers are the others a giant part of the books and story? Seemed to me when I first started watching they were kinda like how Sauron starts to rise up and they seem to have taken a back burner recently. I also have been lightly reading the wiki for the books and in their category it shows them only going up to the third book where Sam kills the one after Gilly's baby. Could just be the wiki but that is probably the most interesting story to me is how the hell are they going to fight them.

It would be difficult to say that the others aren't a huge part of the story. There's a ton of backstory that ties into them and people like to theorize on them, discussing whether they're even bad guys or not (more or less, not a lot of groups can be categorized as specifically good or evil in Ice and Fire). For now, (not in depth spoiler, like you asked, but still...if someone just wants to experience the story pure, don't read) We still don't have too much direct info about them. There are still two more books to go and I assume there will be a ton of reveals about what their deal is and how they truly fit into the song of ice and fire.

If you liked that, you'll love Irreversible.

@aegon: That is really interesting, I did read something that alluded to them maybe not being evil. Really looking forward to seeing more of them.

Wait... did he just say that in the books, contrary to what happened in the latest episode, Grenn doesn't die?

Did they... did they actually kill off a character when they didn't have to? So... we're down to 2 people that I care about in this series because...?

This is really fucking crazy. I am starting to get a little annoyed by decisions like these. I enjoyed 100% of the time of season 1. I only enjoyed about 30% of season 4 so far. That's because there are no interesting people left. I'm actually bored while watching this show now for almost half of it. Yes, I get that killing off loved characters is their thing, but they are going way too far with it. In the end, I don't think Game of Thrones will reach my top 3 series of all time. The first couple seasons were great and I still love it for that. But this latest one especially has just not been that great because of idea of ending the most interesting stories and continue telling the boring ones. It's a really dumb idea too.

@zevvion: They've made choices like that before. There are characters who lived who should be dead, characters who should be alive that have died. It's not that big of a deal. Most of the important characters are chugging along as the original story dictated. It's just that some of the characters in the show are a lot more prominent and likable then they are in the books simply because there is a good actor attached to them, which is why killing them off or letting live longer then usual has a bigger emotional impact then if they followed what happened in the books to a tee. You barely give a shit about Grenn in the books for example.

I don't think that's it. Lena Headey is a really good actrice I think, but I hate her character and don't care for watching it. Charles Dance is obviously an awesome actor and very good at his role. But I do want to see him get what he deserves at some point.

Last episode of the season is coming up. I wonder if the next book will be out by the time the next season airs, fingers crossed.

But you're naming main characters, which one way or another you will have some sort of emotional reaction for. Some of the characters however are basically non characters in the book, but they become more important in the show and thus killing them or letting them live becomes a bigger deal. The red headed whore from the books was only in the first book, but she was in the first three seasons of the show before Joffrey killed her in a brutal way. She was a character no one cared about in the books but was fairly important in the show. It's a similar situation in this case; Grenn was basically a non character in the book, just a small background person, but was much more likeable in the show.

How can he be not likable in the books? When he is first introduced he is hostile towards Jon, but they become brothers and he backs him up whenever. Or are book readers just heartless?

Because he's barely in it.

@liquidprince: I would not call him unlikable though. He may play a small part, but he's in no way insignificant. And I remember liking his and the other night's watch members' friendship arch with Jon.

I never called him unlikable. In fact I'm pretty sure I said he was even more likable on the show.

So long as Dolorous Edd lives, I have no complaints.

@hunter5024 said:

Well, er... lol I actually have no idea as to Edd's fate as I haven't read the books... Teehee ;)

In less than 7 hours, The Children:

There is so much to fit into an hour.

If it makes you feel better, the runtime for the finale is 66 minutes, 10 minutes more than the usual episode.

HBO's Father's Day commercial is pretty great.

Just a heads up: If you're watching the Dota 2 DreamLeague Twitch stream right now, stay away from the chat...

Mad Game of Thrones spoilers being spammed there.

Predictions: the White Walkers advance, pinning the wildlings between them and the wall, resulting in slaughter. The Hound lies dying from his "flea bite"... Arya kills him instead. Jaime helps Tyrion escape. I get depressed at the prospect of waiting a year for another episode.

@ethanielrain: Not weird enough/not enough people dying.

Was hoping they'd get a little further with some of the stories tonight. Still, glad they got to where they did with Tyrion's arc.

How long do I have until next season? Maybe I can at least finish the first two books by then!

Oh, all the butthurt over book fans assuming a certain character was going to show up as the season's final scene. Personally I hope the character is cut completely from the show since they're pointless beyond pure shock value.

PS. Arya!!!! <3

I feel robbed.

The one scene I was REALLY looking forward to (Jaime/Tyrion) got almost completely cut. And by doing so, I feel they completely killed the impact of what immediately follows and Tyrion's motivations moving forward.

If any episode of this show shoulda been 90 minutes, it was this one...

I'm not a book fan, but I dated one. I have a pretty good idea of where this stuff is going for the foreseeable future just from what I heard secondhand. Anyway, I agree with you. If you're referring to the character I think you are, I'd be okay with them dropping that entirely. But I'm the type of person who is totally okay with adaptations changing from the source material.

Well that was a good episode, RIP all the good actors we lost this season. I think we're down to precisely 0 competent villains (I mean there's Baelish but he's more of a kindly father figure/creeper than a villain at this point right?) The retarded looking skeleton scene is the future, hope you guys enjoy it.

Melisandre >_> Jon

...chills.

The fight between Hound and Brienne this episode was fucking brutal yo. That ain't in the books (wah wah).

And yeah, It's weird how they moved Bran's story up to where the books are yet that certain character people were anticipating made no appearance. They must be saving up for next season. Maybe they can skim by with another season of mainly book stuff. But if Winds of Winter doesn't come out by then, we're gonna be seeing the series progress via the show before the books.

Also, I'd just like to say that the music has been fan-freaking-tastic this season. It's always been good, but this season has blown it out the water.

Rains of Castamere - Sigur Ros

Also Also, I agree with @marino about the missing scene. They just sort of glided over that part. Smooth sailing.

And here are a couple of behind the scenes videos for the last episode:

This show is too silly. Hopefully next season is better.

You got your Skyrim in my Game of Thrones! That was a pretty good last episode, none of the deaths shocked me but they didn't really need too, now the waiting game for the next season begins. I'm conflicted as if I should get into the books or not, I probably will to at least catch up to this season but I don't think I would want to go any further.

So this show was pretty good before, but now it's completely off-the-walls blow-my-fucking-mind awesome, I'm gonna fuckin need bigger armrests to grip on or something.

Tyrion killing Shae was spoiled for me back in season 1 by a random YouTube comment, but it seemed too crazy to believe at the time. Tywin killing Tyrion I thought was spoiled for me in this thread, but I guess I got those names mixed up, so I'm genuinely enthused about that. Also Varys continues to be great.

No, seriously, it's the time when these characters are starting to interact, and my stress level rises whenever they do cause I expect em to just immediately kill each other. I'm weirdly calm right now from the overload of crazy-ass scenes in this episode. I thought we'd be in store for a second "episode 9" where sometime big and crazy happens at the end, rather than the more epilogue-ish episode 10 we usually get.

I sure as shit never expected it would be like an episode where almost every scene could've been the last "HOLY SHIT YES" scene for the finale.

I saw the title "The Children" and immediately thought "oh fuck are they gonna show one of the Children of the Forest", which I inadvertently confirmed by looking at castings for season 4. All the same, their depiction was pretty cool. I was worried it'd be a little golden person with obviously 4 digits, but it's far more, I guess palatable? For a moment I was reminded of True Blood which... ugh. I'm trying desperately to get that comparison out of my head.

The designs and effects in this show have a real lived in quality to them, so while sometimes the CG is obviously CG, it doesn't stick out. It all feels in tone with the general look of the show. So while the White Walkers meshed well with everything, again, I was worried the Children wouldn't (though I didn't even know we'd see them until a week ago). But goddamn, the north is really where all the crazy fantasy shit is at, isn't it? Fan-fucking-tastic.

I don't think I've ever felt so tense watching a fight as I was during Brienne fighting the Hound. I didn't want either character to die, but would've been fucking crushed if Brienne ate it. That fight got fuckin RAW towards the end, good lord. That shot of the Hound falling off the edge was great. I understand why Arya didn't go with Brienne, but there was a feeling oh "OH GOD YOU IDIOT, GO WITH HER", but the alternative is (at least from the outset) WAY more interesting. The warrior woman on the front of the ship was a nice touch.

Also no Arya/Sansa meet-up, but who fuckin cares. This episode was so filled to the brim with more interesting shit.

Creepy as Melisandre is, I'd love to see her go up against some White Walkers. But more than that, the Night's Watch are probably the realist motherfuckers in all of Westeros (or even Essos, nevermind the Wildlings), so it'll be interesting to see how they respond to all the Lord of Light stuff.

I was hoping during the Battle of Castle Black, Mance would win and then spare the Night's Watch because they all need to fight the White Walkers together (because again, they're real motherfuckers who know what's up). We almost got that this episode before they decided to charge up the ass with an awesomelance. HE'S AT THE GODDAMN WALL THE GREAT WAR BETWEEN DEATH AND LIFE ICE AND FIRE HNNNNNNNNNNNG.

So I guess I've got one more potential spoiler to wade through (random YouTube comment I'm not taking too seriously, but it's always in the back of my mind vis-a-vis Shae), and the other big one I was hoping would close out this season, but frankly could show up at anytime. All the same, they fuckin took the Risk game board, shook the hell outta it, and put it back down like "hey bitches, y'all playing Dungeons and Dragons now".

This whole season's felt a bit tamer, but this episode was a goddamn supersonic sprint to the finish. Cannot fucking wait for season 5.

Also, I kinda didn't feel what I think they wanted me to feel when Dany did what she did. Sure, it sucked for those two poor buggers that aren't assholes like Drogon, but that whole scene seemed like "oh they killed a kid, imma lock em all up now weee *sadface*".

Also skeletons.

Jojen had a pretty rotten end, but hearing Bran get told he's gonna fly makes me think of one thing: WARGING INTO MOTHERFUCKIN DRAGONS BABY

The longer I sit on it, the dumber a lot of that stuff kind of seemed. The dragon stuff was super flat. Was I supposed to be bummed she put a leash on her kid eating dragons? And the way they treated Shae was super lame. From what I gather, in the books, she was written as a more greedy character, that she sold Tyrion out at the trial for money. But they changed that, then kept the same fate for her. And it came off really fucking weird. Like, the way they made that character, there's no reason she would have attacked Tyrion and there's no fucking way he would have just killed her.

Well, the big death this episode was spoiled in this thread thanks to some "oh, I'm a book reader let say something about dying on the shitter" comment. As soon as I saw the scene I knew how it was going to play out.

Other than that I enjoyed the episode and I look forward to some timeskip training action unless the books do show that then that will be cool as well.

I noticed that pretty quickly. The title of the thread should be ASOIAF thread featuring Season 4.

I'm gonna say it, the show/story has officially jumped the shark. I don't even know where to start. I'm actually having a hard time thinking of a segment that wasn't dumb, and the entire integrity of the story has been completely shred to parts.

MAN...

Fucking yes, this episode was goddamn grand! Watching the Hound fighting Brienne in particular was such a heartbreaking scene; they're both such likeable characters, it's almost akin to watching your parents fight or something where you don't want either to lose. The Hound was more in the right, though. After all, just where could Brienne even take her at this point? I guess her honour is just stubborn, which makes sense given her own admiration of Jamie upholding his. I wonder why Arya decided to let the Hound live? Was it because she wanted him to suffer, or just to give him at least some possibility that he'll live? A bloody brilliant ending shot of Arya looking majestic as fuck on the boat there, too.

I was unfortunately spoiled about Tyrion killing Tywin in youtube comments... comments of a video involving a bumblebee 'saving' another bumblebee from a spider of all bloody things! A satisfactory scene all the same. The revelation that Tywin even took Shae from him really cemented how much of a cunt (to Tyrion especially) he was till the very end. Charles gave a great performance, too. He carried that same confidence and expert use of calm assertion he's known for in trying to sway Tyrion to believing he never really planned to have him executed. Seeing Tywin squirm under Cersei's threat to out her incestuous relationship with Jamie great, too. He looked more frightened there than he did with Tyrion pointing Joffrey's crossbow at him. Good for Tyrion anywhoo -- and Varys! You sly ole dog you! Going to be interesting in seeing how Cersei & Jamie pick up the pieces... though I imagine both won't exactly be that heartbroken at the news.

Seeing Stannis arrive to save Jon was pretty cool; 'bout time they finally gave him something to do again. Also, looks like Melisandre's potentially eyeing herself another potential shagdoll for her shadow demon babies. Also, I ask again, is Alliser dead?? Wasn't even a mention, let alone an appearance, to determine one or the other. Jon said last episode that there was ''no-one left to give orders''... but something a little more concrete would be nice.

Oh, right, Bran and stuff. I thought the skeleton fight was alright, though I didn't really give much of a shit that the other guy died. The whole meeting The Children thing also rings a bit hollow at this point given how it currently means very little so. Though I'm curious to see where it goes, as it seems like it's all leading into an even more fantastical nature of top-tier power level characters all coming together for some anti-White Walker rally. Which is certainly a far cry from all of the intrigue and political strife the series was initially centred around, but so long as it keeps the typically high production values, acting and directing, I'm not entirely against such a direction. And there'll always be Baelish & Sansa and their plans for world domination one cloak & dagger manoeuvre at a time.

Daenerys lol eh whatever.

Great episode overall. Things were just constantly happening! Characters and stories were meshing and/or beginning to mesh! Welp, another year's wait then... One more reason for my motivation for getting out of bed to be ever fleeting.

Oh, and yeah, surprised that it didn't end on this (EDIT: book spoiler-->) Lady Stoneheart business that I too was now expecting after spoiling it for myself. Shame, as it sounds like such a story could be made to be incredibly chilling -- almost horror movie-esque.

Also, are we really supposed to be spoilering TV episode events in a thread about discussing the TV episodes?.. Book events ahead of the show sure, obviously. But the TV series? I done it anyway just to avoid anyone nagging at me, but it's stupid all the same.

Fantastic episode. I enjoyed this season quite a bit, though a few episodes were a bit lacking. Just about every scene in the finale was great. Can't wait until next season. I won't be returning for next year's thread due to people who just cannot fucking keep their mouths shut and keep spoilers to themselves. To those people: fuck you. I hope everyone else enjoyed this season. Here's hoping season 5 is awesome, too.

Well, shit. That was a good episode. Finally. Fight scene between Brienne of Tarth and The Hound was great. That was a no-win fight for me; I love both characters. Also, if it turns out The Hound somehow survives, none of you book-readers reply to me with "keep watching," for fuck's sake. Any time you open your mouths you're spoiling something. Get that through your heads.

Definitely gonna wait for the entire next season to finish before I start watching it, although I suspect there's no fucking way it will be as boring as this season. Still, though, this season has totally tarnished the show's reputation, and I'm not gonna sit through 10 more weeks of getting hyped up and disappointed.

@yummylee I really wouldn't spoiler-tag general events that happened in the episode that just finished. It kinda throws me off, anyway. Like, what if you read the books, and I get half way through your post only to realize your 3rd spoiler-tagged paragraph is from the later books. I guess labeling everything could solve that.

Speculation: I think that tree-dude was totally an "old" God. Makes me wonder if the other gods are similarly "real," rather than aberrations of some sort, which is what I previously just assumed to be the case. I like that way more. Like, "hey, this world might have magic, but there ain't any 'afterlife' or 'spirit-realm.' It all happens here and ends here."

And yeah, unfortunately, I was also spoiled of both Tyrion homicides in this episode, as well as his fate to not be executed, thanks to this thread. Truly ruined that part of the episode for me, although I liked how it was presented all the same.