This thread is now an A Dance With Dragons Spoiler thread.

[Disco Pickle]

I know it was only implied in the books, but I'm fairly sure Martin is on the record as saying yes, they were having knightly buttsex on a regular basis, or words to that effect.  They didn't have to make explicit, true, but it was HBO so the chances of it not happening were fairly low.

And I am fairly sure later on in the series, when we get a Cersei POV chapter (or maybe it was with Jaime, its been three years since I read the books) that Robert did treat her pretty terribly, as far as she was concerned.  Which isn't exactly hard to believe, what with his constant womanizing and bouts of anger.  And I'm pretty sure her memories of their first time in bed read more like a rape.  Of course, it probably still would've gone down the same way, especially with all the other scheming that was going on, but his treatment of her definitely made things easier, when push came to shove.

anyone who couldn't pick out that Renly and Loras were polishing each other's swords wasn't paying attention.  But like you said, it is HBO so..

The thing about the Cerci and Robert scene was it also had her mentioning losing their first child when she clearly said that she "had it taken care of" in the books.

I much prefer my raw hatred of her I took from the books than the feelings of sympathy they're trying to build in the viewer.

[Cain]

Well, that is Martin for you.  By book three he has you feeling sympathy for someone who tried to kill a child and almost cheering on the mastermind of the War of the Five Kings.  His characters are either complete monsters, in the mold of Gregor and Amory, or complex three dimensional people who sometimes do good things, sometimes do bad things, often act in their own interests but are not complete sociopaths.

[Disco Pickle]

4 episodes to go.  I know that this week's episode has been available since last Sunday and it took all of my self control not to watch it before today.  I guess they figured with it being Memorial Day weekend in the States that weekend ratings would be in the crapper anyway, might as well get some ad revenue from people DLding from their site.  A fair and smart assumption IMO.

SO Viserys has been "crowned" and they did a damn good job with that scene.  Considering how much they still have to pack into 4 hours, I'm expecting another big ending tonight.  They have to work in Drogo, Ned and Jaimie, which is quite a bit of meat to prep for A Clash of Kings. 

I haven't checked yet to see how many episodes they're planning for next season, but it's got to be more than 10 considering how much happens in THAT book.   Just finishing it up now and man, he did a damn good job of making Stannis a driving character, and Theon's tragedy will play out nicely considering the foreshadowing they're giving him in the series.  More than Martin gave us in the first book.

Cercei..  fucking Cercei.  I love to hate her and yet, would any mother, given the circumstances, do anything different?

Done for now.

[Cain]

Still downloading this episode, so not commenting, or even reading, the above posts.

However, I would just like to say: hahahaha Viserys finally got his crown last episode.  He and Joffrey are perfect for their roles - before they even spoke they had that look about them that meant you wanted to punch them in the face.  I suspect a lot of people who might get upset by the Red Wedding will enjoy the final episodes of the third season, oh yes...

Also, wtf, Jerome from Robson and Jerome is playing Bronn.  Plays it well though, so far.  He looks a competent, uncaring badass.

Also also, the Borgias has finished its first season.  Which is a shame, as I was really enjoying the performance by Michel Muller (Charles VIII).  He stole pretty much every scene he was in, except those with Holliday Grainger (Lucrezia).  And possibly the entry into Florence, with Julian Bleach (Machiavelli).  The rest of the cast, excluding Jeremy Irons, are fairly pants.

[Laughin Jude]

AFAIK they've been saying that next season is going to be ten episodes as well. Who knows if it'll stick. I wouldn't be surprised if they start splitting books into multiple seasons after that though.

[Suu]

I just started watching this today. 2 Eps in and I'm fucking hooked.



...Christ there's a lot of sex.

[Telarus]

I just started watching this today. 2 Eps in and I'm fucking hooked.



...Christ there's a lot of sex.

My girlfriend loves this show.

[Cain]

AFAIK they've been saying that next season is going to be ten episodes as well. Who knows if it'll stick. I wouldn't be surprised if they start splitting books into multiple seasons after that though.

Yeah, especially for Book 3 I can see that being tricky.  Doable...but not easy by any means.

On the other hand, 10 episodes can be recorded fairly quickly, by TV standards, so this puts a fire under Martin's arse to get on with the books (A Dance With Dragons has an official release date, again, but I wont be surprised if it were suddenly cancelled or set back.  I've had that fucker on pre-order from Amazon since 2008).

[Laughin Jude]

ADWD is finished. 100%. He said as much on his blog maybe a week or so back.

And supposedly he just started writing the next one the other day, though you'd think he should already have a chunk of it finished.

[Cain]

Given he claimed ADWD was already half-finished in 2006, I'm just going to email Brandon Sanderson and see if he's willing to finish off the series in the event Martin dies, 20 years from now, bitching at everyone "the book is coming when it comes, deal with it".

[Telarus]

Given he claimed ADWD was already half-finished in 2006, I'm just going to email Brandon Sanderson and see if he's willing to finish off the series in the event Martin dies, 20 years from now, bitching at everyone "the book is coming when it comes, deal with it".

[Eater of Clowns]

Snagged from the Idaho abortion thread to not derail.

Except Cain, who could bite your heart in half.  Hearts are very tough.  You couldn't do this.  No.

It's true.  All muscle and....blood.  Anyone who watched the last episode of A Game Of Thrones knows just how difficult eating a whole raw heart can be, too.

Oh come on, she took that thing down like a champ, and it was a damn horse heart.  Probably could have used some hot sauce or something though.

that was a pretty brutal scene actually.  

While I was watching that scene, a bunch of us were just quiet in the room and I said, "Man, this is so hot."

I'd heard that episode 7 wasn't that good, and while I agree that it wasn't as good as the previous one, it was still pretty damn awesome.  My only real problem was when Drogo went on his pro-wrestling rant.  I'm going to have to catch these much after they air now, if at all, because I'll be out of town.  It sucks because they're getting really good now.

ETA:  The latest episode had the most graphic sex scene I have ever seen in anything.  Even a lot of porn.

[Cain]

Yeah, I wasn't sure I liked that scene with Littlefinger.  Littlefinger thinks of himself as a suave manipulator and Machiavellian genius, ("I told you not to trust me")...telling a couple of tarts his deep and abiding psychological reasons for fucking up The Seven Kingdoms doesn't quite sit right with me.  Not least because of the implied rivalry between him and Varys, and the latter's informants seem to be everywhere.  Littlefinger gets a lot of his own intel from his numerous brothels, so I'm not sure why he'd trust his secrets with people he treats as informants.

[LMNO]

A sacrifice to the gods of television exposition, I'm afraid.

[Cain]

Yeah.  I mean, he was 100% right about his reasons and methods...but I think they could have saved that for a later season without it being a major issue.  In fact, it may have become something of a plot hook.  I know I find Littlefinger to be one of the more intriguing characters of the series (along with Jaime Lannister), and figuring out the motivations of everyone involved is half of the fun.