Monday, June 8, 2015

Game of Thrones 5x09 Dance of Dragons

By s. Monday, June 8, 2015 ,
It is this time during GoT season when I get to use the words that only those who read the books understand.

These dumb as fuck showrunners, oh my God.
In a stroke of one episode I went from loving Stannis and hoping he never dies and hating Brienne for even considering killing him to begging, begging the gods to have Brienne put Oathkeeper through his heart so that I no longer have to witness the massacre of his character by the writers and Stephen Dillane no longer has to navigate the labyrinth of how shite Stannis' character development is. You could actually see him wonder what the hell is this mess during his scenes last night.

The worst part? Is that the writers are probably proud of themselves. They probably think they showed Stannis as this tragic figure who has to make a sacrifice. But here is what they are forgetting - there are times where their writing sucks ass so bad it actually makes all the good scenes pale in the comparison to its awfulness. And that is the most spectacularly shitty example of that.
We know Stannis held Storm End for a year. Starving, suffering. But he held it. We know Shireen is his only heir. We know he loves her. We know he intends to fight White Walkers and that his army is dying. But we saw one scene depicting the death march.  40 horses died. Yes, Ramsay attacked and there is no food.

But if you are trying to tell me that the man who held Storm End while starving would burn his own daughter alive because there is no food supply, that he would effectively end his house - there is no other heir, Gendry is fucking rowing somewhere - that he would kill his own daughter because psychotic nymphomaniac tells him it will help you must think I am fucking crazier than I am.
This is the dumbest thing the show has ever done. And worse they could make it work - they could show at least one scene with Shireen suffering and freezing so that Stannis deciding to burn her would almost look like mercy. But they didn't. Stannis burning Shireen makes Sansa getting raped by Ramsay look like a brilliant and well established storyline.

Yes, there were hints to this happening in the books and people long suspected Shireen will burn. But never that Stannis would be involved in it. In the grand scope of things he is saving the kingdom by committing enormous sacrifice and perhaps we will see the scenes of him grieving over his decision later on but the show is continuously committing the grave sin of terrible set up.
For example - had that scene been included in Hardhome where there was so much impact on the unstoppable threat of White Walkers it would soften the blow. Here we have Stannis sacrificing his own daughter so he can continue marching on in his campaign which is ultimately targeted at stopping the Walkers. But they chose to feature this scene here.

I'm not even mad at where that storyline went but that set up - the little time they spent showing Stannis' true intentions - stopping the Others, how much he must sacrifice and how difficult it is is just appalling. Instead of showing us more of his army dying and suffering and more scenes of Stannis talking of how grave of a threat The Others are they spent their time on boobs in Dorne.
Another thing - get your shit together HBO. The first four episodes of the season leaked. The Inside the Episode videos for at least two episodes leaked before the episodes air. There are people on facebook groups who watch the episode early and leak the storyline. And yesterday one of HBO on Demand sites fucked up and someone actually manage to upload screencaps hours before the episode aired.

In the books Stannis says to one of his knights that in case he falls in the battle he has to make sure that Shireen gets the Throne because 'he has a duty to his daughter'. In the show he allows burning her alive and in the promo for next episode he swings his sword all badass like 'fuck yeah burning my daughter worked'. I hate myself for finding that shot so goddamn hot.
How in good conscience could I possibly root for him now? And can we talk about how the scene played out? Shireen screaming for her father and mother, even the soldiers getting uncomfortable, Selyse, the woman who seemed to hate that child crying and begging Stannis to stop (amazing acting from Tara Fitzgerald here) and Stannis standing there doing nothing? Couldn't you fuckers at least have him cry? WHY?!

Apparently Martin told the writers of this scene. But I bet you that Martin simply told them she burns, not that Stannis does it. And they went and did this. I'm not surprised since Benioff and Weiss care - and know - very little of this storyline. They actualy said in the interview today that the first time we saw Stannis and Melisandre on the show they were burning people alive. That's so incorrenct.

And there was even a moment with Stannis talking that if a man knows what he is he must stay true to himself. You are a father! You are an honorable man! What the fuck have you done?
Yes, in season two we had Melisandre say " Thousands will die at your command. You will betray the men serving you, you will betray your family, you will betray everything you once held dear…and it will all be worth it, because you are the Son of Fire, you are the Warrior of Light". But here is the thing BOOK SPOILERS Stannis is not Azor Ahai. Jon is. All of this is for nothing. END OF BOOK SPOILERS

Davos finds out what happened next week. Here's hoping he kills Melisandre. Or Roose captures her and flays her to death.
Why would the people care who wins the battle of Winterfell now? Do we really want Sansa next to Stannis and Melisandre? I'm hoping she manages to escape just by using corkscrew and Reek.

Also Stannis is basically a shell now. He has sold his soul to red crazy bitch, she has used up his dick so much that according to what she says he probably cannot have more children and he killed his only heir.  He is not a King. He is the Lord of Light's plot device now.
You cannot sell what was done in any shape or form as the act done for greater good. Stannis sent Davos away. Because he knows killing Shireen is evil. There is no turning back now.

Echoing what Davos answered him when Stannis asked a while back, what's one life against a kingdom?

EVERYTHING.
At least I laughed at one point of the day where I read the comment "Blackfish will burst in and pee on the fire to put it out."

Please just kill Stannis. Spare me and Stephen more misery.

Let's just move on from this abomination of a storyline.
Jon returns with rescued wildlings and Thorne reluctantly lets them all in. He mentions how Jon has a good heart and it will get everyone killed. The watchers are less than thrilled that Jon brought wildings to the Wall

In Braavos Mace Tyrell and Meryn Trant visit the dickish banker Tycho. While there Arya spots Meryn who is on her kill list. She follows him around and her storyline finally becomes interesting. He goes to the brothel, because it's Game of Thrones, and to add the reasons for us wanting him dead - as we didn't have enough already - it turns out he is a pedo. Arya returns to House of Black and White and lies to Jaqen about her mission.
In Dorne we get more pointless stuff but at least Alexander Siddig finally has something to do. He pardons Ellaria. She then goes to Jaime and talks to him abut love. I don't understand why the writers thought any of that story had to be included in the show. But the end result is that Trystane, Myrcella, Bronn and Jaime are going back to King's Landing.

And it's Daznak. One of the most iconic and anticipated moments for book readers but leave it for D&D to put it alongside the awfulness that is the burning of Shireen.
The pit looked awesome and the sequence was great, so great that it literally saved the episode.

Daenerys clapped her hands and the fight began, of two gladiators set to fight to the death for the enjoyment of the Queen and the crowd.
We got some Tyrion approved sass from Khaleesi targeted at her future husband. Daario gave a lenghty speech about how the quick win over the strong ones and the quick one got beheaded.

And then Jorah, the friendzoned, appears to fight for his Queen. Daenerys stars him down and claps her hands ordering him to fight to others. Jorah fights to the death and wins and then throws his spear next to Queen's head....
right into one of the Son of the Harpy who began attacking.

Dany's husband to be gets whacked, but no one really cares. Daario, Tyrion and Jorah try protecting Daenerys and Missandai. We got a lovely wordless moment between Jorah and Dany when she finally forgives him and takes his hand.
The group is in the center of the Daznak Pit. The harpies are closing in to them and as Dany takes Missandai's hand, readying herself to die...

...they hear a roar.
And then Drogon appears. He starts burning the harpies and fighting them off. He has arrived to rescue Daenerys. He lands next to her and the harpies are throwing spears at him, some of them hitting him. Daenerys yells out to him and comes closer.

Drogon looks at her and doesn't hurt her. BECAUSE EVEN DROGON KNOWS YOU DON'T BURN YOUR OWN FUCKING FAMILY.
Dany jumps on his back and in an awesome moment that would have make all of us go "fuck yeah" if our souls weren't crashed by the previous events of the episode, she gives Drogon a command to fly in High Valyrian and just like that, Daenerys Targaryen, the mother of dragons and Drogon take flight.

It was a short but glorious moment set to yet another version of Ramin Djawadi's Mother of Dragons theme. The episode ended with Tyrion, Jorah, Daario and Missandai looking at their Queen flying away.
This was a very good episode mostly thanks to Dany's scene and the brilliant acting from everyone. It is unnerving that the show has now put the entire dramatic weight in Northern storyline on Sansa. No one can really back Stannis now and I doubt many back Roose so now all we care about is Sansa and we know how the writers like to treat her like the punching bag. Hopefully both Sansa and Brienne give us someone to really root for in the finale. In the books at the time of the battle every reader prays for Stannis. Here, who cares anymore?

Benioff and Weiss chose the worst possible moment for Shireen burning. It is not coming off not as something done to fight the Others, but as something done to melt the snow to free Winterfell. They have deprived the audience of a hero to root for and gave the show more tragedy in the form of that scene. And given what's coming in finale? Just how much tragedy can the audience handle?

Arya's storyline improved and who knows where the show will leave her by the end of next episode. Dorne was largely pointless, I wish something just exploded there and killed everyone other than Jaime and Bronn.



Next week it's the season finale, Mother's Mercy. Stannis marches, tensions at the Wall are getting even worse and Cersei asks for forgiveness. Also watch the show jerk me around for the third year in the row and most likely not introducing Stoneheart yet again.


PREVIOUS RECAPS FROM THE SEASON:






36 comments:

  1. I just realized that Ellaria is pretty much the female version of Balon Greyjoy.

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  2. Wasn't there some theory about Sansa becoming LS/taking over some part of that character? I haven't read the books, nor read the spoilers, so I'm probably just talking crap, but I feel like I heard something last year.

    Can't believe we're already facing the finale. GoT comes and goes so fast. :(
    I wasn't as affected by the burning scene, Stannis-wise, I found it a very direct metaphor for religion and the crazy things it makes people do, and how screwed up things people are okay with. The last minute or so was when I started feeling sick towards Stannis though. I don't remember the daughter from previous eps, but she has been a sweetheart the whole season.

    The Mereen sequence was ohmygod. Terrifying. I didn't understand anything for a long time but it was so good.

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    1. There was and still is and that would be worse than excluding LS all together :/

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  3. I think this is a really good episode, although a lot of details are fuzzy.

    My main problem with how it's presented is that I've lost all understanding of what Stannis' goal actually is here. He was going to set aside his claim for the throne and go to the Wall, but all he did was stop the wildling invasion before leaving to go back and try and take the crown again. Why? Or is he trying to take Winterfell to rally the North to his cause to fight the White Walkers? In which case, how about instead of sending Davos for supplies you send messengers to all of the Houses in the north asking for support? It's fuzzy.

    There are a lot of similarities between this event and the Red Wedding, and not just in the "ninth episode shock" way. The Red Wedding and Shireen's burning were both massive betrayals of trust. Walder Frey extended guest right to the Starks and betrayed them. Stannis swore to Shireen that he loved her and would protect and betrayed her. There is also an element of "the greater good" in play. Tywin justified the massacre because despite the brutality it was ultimately less bloody than a war would be. Stannis justifies his atrocity as weighing one life against every life in Westeros. And Walder Frey's reaction to Catelyn threatening his wife is "I'll find another." While Stannis never says it, it's completely possible that he could simply make another heir (and Shireen would never have been accepted as Queen anyway, despite Stannis' intentions).

    Ultimately the way I look at it is Stannis selling his soul, and he knows it. Davos is the angel on his shoulder. When he was going to sacrifice Gendry he had Davos freed from the dungeons to convince him not to do it. Stannis knew what he was doing was wrong and knew he needed to be talked out of it. But here he sends Davos away. He knows he has to do something terrible and he can't have Davos interfere. (Davos and Shireen saying goodbye was the best scene in the episode. She just sees it as him going away for a little while but he knows that when he leaves she will be burned and is saying his goodbye, giving her a final gift and thanking her for bettering him. I'm getting weepy just thinking about it.)

    Stannis is already guilty of kinslaying but this is on a level far beyond that. Even if he wins the crown and stops the White Walkers and saves the world, will he still want to live in it? I see two endings for him: He's killed by Brienne, or he wins and walks off into the wilderness to die like John Wayne at the end of the Searchers.

    All this is why I believe D&D when they said George is going to have Stannis burn Shireen. It's a move that feels like something Martin would do. It's something that hits the right notes of devastation in my guts as opposed to the out key plonking of Sansa's storyline, which is also miserable but in an "off" way.

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    1. Almost every single arc this season is not well handled. We did see that scene with Stannis getting a snarky letter from Mormont girl but that's it. The show should be showing more Northern houses, which is what is in the books, but it sacrificed that for the invented Sansa in WF storyline.

      I think Shireen would be accepted as Queen, she was such a smart and good kid, she would make a fine and noble Queen. Stannis is such a shell of a man now I cannot imagine him even making more kids the way he is now. Also the show dropped a ball with him not knowing of Sansa - at least Stannis saying he wants to help Ned Stark's daughter would make him at least a bit worthy of rooting for, now even for me, there is just no reason for that.

      I don't think Davos knew. If he knew he would have take her against Stannis wishes, much like freeing Gendry. I don't think Davos even considered that it is remotely possible Stannis would agree to Melisandre's plan. But just like I was, he was foolish in making this assumption.

      I don't think Stannis will do it in the book. I may be wrong, but I really don't think he agrees to it.

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  4. Wait there is more tragic shit in ep 10? Gahhh watching this show is like being in an abusive relationship.

    The Dorne storyline is such crap although Elaria's shade when pouring down the wine almost made it worth it.

    I hope Arya poisons that pedo piece of shit.

    I really really liked Daario in the Mereen part. When he and Jorah teamed up, I fist-pumped the air. I hope they make it out alive. Also, isn't it dangerous that Jorah touched Dany? Will it not affect her 'cuz she is all Mother of Dragons?

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    1. I think Arya is going to get Needle from the rocks and stab him with it, although one of her last conversation with the Hound ("Poisons a womans weapon, men kill with steal" "Thats your stupid pride talking, thats why you'll never be a great killer.") makes poison seem just as likely.

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    2. Jorah touched Dany with the other hand so everyone is fine :)

      I think you guys gonna like the inevitable Arya/Meryn scene :)

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  5. Beautiful review Sati. As you know I haven't been watching, but I couldn't help but notice when twitter exploded last night. Just when I thought the writers couldn't get any worse...they do. Are the writers trying to completely alienate their audience? This is the assassination of Stannis' character. I just can't believe that he would do this or allow it to be done. It's just horrific. I don't know if a scene like that is worth the wait of Dany flying with her dragons.

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    1. Thank you! It's the worst. There is no one to root for in the battle of Winterfell now

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  6. That was a horrible death for Shireen. Couldn't they at least have killed her off quickly, with like an arrow through the heart like John did so that she doesn't suffer a terrifying death or does it exclusively have to be by fire?

    We see a shot of Stannis's men freezing and coughing. They could have showed a more dramatic scene so as to show us how desperate the situation is. I completely agree with you. If I want to see boobs there's pornhub a few clicks away for fuck sake. There are even more beautiful women there than that sand snake whore.

    At least they really did salvage the episode with Danerys's story line. The whole sequence was so cool. By the way, did she mentally call for Drogon? Or is it just me?

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    1. It's such a bad decision because it wasn't even only way out as Davos offered to take Shireen with him.

      There are many people who think that Dany and Drogon are bonded by some sort of magic so he definitely sensed her being in danger

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  7. You're going to hate me for this but I am still rooting for Stannis. Now, don't get me wrong, I am incredibly upset about what they had him do and I think it was super poorly set up, super poorly explained and it was incredibly OOC. All in all though, I think that is the biggest problem, the set up and the way they had Stannis react to the situation he was in(weather wise and the raid). It is that, along with the weird,ambivalent religious fanaticism they stuck him with, that lead to him making a dumb, irrational choice that can only harm him. I also hate what D&D had to say about the scene and his motives because I think they not only got it wrong in terms of book!Stannis(who is by no means fighting out of a silly ambition to win and get power)but also in terms of how it was acted and set up on the actual show. Maybe I'm crazy but Stephen's acting and the dialogue totally made it seem like the writers have him still think he is Azor Ahai and that he's making this sacrifice with that in mind most of all, to get through this trial so he can fulfill his destiny later on and basically save the Realm. In that context he'd also feel he has no choice cause Melisandre would have made it pretty clear ,plenty of times, that A.A is the only one who can defeat the Walkers. The scene with Shireen, what he tells her, is very clear to me in this respect and it makes me wonder what the Hell D&D are smoking cause it's like they can't analyze their own show when it comes to Stannis. And the acting, my God that acting, he was so visibly hurting and about to lose his mind,even when he just stared "stoically",he didn't look stoic, he looked like a shell shocked mad man. So yeah, this OOC show!Stannis did the totally wrong thing and acted idiotically, in that sense he is totally nothing like book!Stannis or even previous show!Stannis but the love was still there, he was suffering, he was dying with her, he hated himself and he knew exactly what a horrible thing he was doing. He was also not acting selfishly to me,it was all about that Azor Ahai, duty on a major scale thing coupled with a lot of Melisandre's manipulation,which has a greater effect on this version of Stannis. I basically analyzed this Stannis separately now, as imagined by the writers. I get the hate but at the same time I feel like D&D wanted people to hate him and they succeeded through shock value alone, the brutality and absurdity of the whole scene that actually makes people hate blindly and not think of the fact that, however stupid ,wrong and rash his action was,killing her was, for him, worse than killing himself and he did die on the inside with her, it's not evil, it's incredibly tragic, wrong but tragic.

    Book!Stannis and even previous show!Stannis would have never gotten so desperate about that situation he was in but D&D have shown this season that they don't care and don't want to portray characters true to the books, not unless it suits them and they never liked Stannis so he's just good for shock value and to serve as whatever he'll serve as in Ramsay's story and Jon's probably ..Melisandre's too. If he doesn't get killed by Brienne or Ramsay first, I think once he finds out he's not Azor Ahai, he might even kill himself or sacrifice himself for Jon or something, his life is nothing right now ,just his duty and with that gone...so very tragic.
    I'm so livid about everything, not because I think he did an evil thing or that he didn't care, as I explained, but because the original content, Stannis' original(even the way he was so far on the show) inner make up could have been used to further his arc ,to let him be the great character he is for a while longer, use him for good instead of destroying him emotionally and story wise and destroy his image.

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    1. There is no excuse, none, for burning//killing your own sweet innocent daughter. NONE. When you come to that choice you say: Sorry world, we all die together.

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    2. I agree with you on a lot but not on rooting for him and that it was not an evil thing. It was so evil. He may have the right intentions but it is the decision that makes him evil. There is no turning back. Burning your own child alive is complete evil one that cannot be redeemed and one that not even the whole doom can justify IN the circumstances the show presented. If they showed Shireen was going to die either way it would be justified - but they left so many options - Davos taking her away, the army still not on the brink of death. In the show it wasn't last resort, it was pre-emptive. They could have rescued the perception of Stannis but making it look like the last resort kind of decision but they didn't. They have wrecked his character beyond comprehension

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  8. I thought the Daznak's Pit sequence was pretty well-executed, for the most part, until the ending, because the decision to conflate the Pit with a battle with the Sons of the Harpy makes it look like Dany is abandoning her supporting cast to their deaths (especially funny considering it comes right after this big solidarity moment with Missandei).

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    1. Haha, yeah I know a lot of people got that from the scene but Drogon killed a bunch of Harpies and the rest fled

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  9. I was cautiously anticipating your recap after seeing Stannis trending on Twitter last night and seeing some reactions from people. Well basically they share your sentiment, and how could you not? WOW, you even wished for Stephen's character to die, it's definitely pretty bad. I remember though, when watching BORGIA I wished a few times that Juan Borgia (Stanley Weber's character) would die too, because he did such despicable things. So I guess I can relate.

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    1. They basically assassinated his character and deprived the audience someone to root for in the upcoming battle. Dumbest decision made on the show yet

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  10. I thought long and hard about it, and I've come to the conclusion that I can't turn my back on Stannis.

    I no longer empathize with him but I want him to succeed. Shireen died so he could succeed and anything less than total domination of his enemies, including the White Walkers, means she died in vain.

    My ideal ending would involve Stannis being burned at the stake to go back to the well of kings blood one last time. And if it were his destiny to do so, he would do it willingly.

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    1. I just don't view Stannis in the show as Stannis from the books anymore. They can all kill each other except for Starks and Brienne, for all I care

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    2. So what happens if it turns out GRRM really does plan to have Stannis burn Shireen in the books?

      The core tenet of his character is an absolute belief in doing what needs to be done regardless of emotion. The same personality that makes him reward Davos with knighthood while chopping his fingers off for being a smuggler, that strict adherence to the facts and logic rather than emotion, is what leads him to making the choice between abandoning his cause to save his daughter or killing his daughter to save his cause.

      Emotionally he values Shireen more than anything but Stannis doesn't deal in emotions. He weighs the value of Shireen's one life against all the lives in the world and of course the world wins out. And thats that. The decision has been made and he isn't going to be swayed by screaming or pleading because that only triggers an emotional response, they don't dispute the rationality of his choice.

      That sort of personality is fun when he's correcting people's grammar and insisted Jaime Lannister be referred to as nothing less than "Ser Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer" but it only leads to dark things.

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    3. The thing is by doing this he has lost his humanity. How can anyone back him bow? A man who killed his own daughter? It's not excusable. He may have the right intentions but it doesn't make what he did any less evil.

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    4. He's definitely lost his humanity. He did this knowing it would destroy him. But what is one man's humanity for the good of the realm? Stannis is objective to a fault, which is a sociopathic trait. But the look in his eyes (if you somehow manage to move past the amazing beard) is one of total devastation.

      Stannis is a character that was always doomed to fail. Like the good books say, Stannis is cast iron: He breaks before he bends. I mean, what is would have happened if he had won at the Blackwater? He would have declared war against the Tyrells, the Starks, the Greyjoys and possibly the Martells for treason in addition to his war with the Lannisters. Robert could compromise and pass out pardons like pregnancies but compromise is not in Stannis' playbook.

      I think this is why it's such an interesting choice on the part of the writers (either D&D or George). This play is totally within the confines of Stannis' character. Until now Stannis has been the hero, the one true king of Westeros who runs his ship in the most meritocratic way he can no matter what the stuck up old families say. But by making this decision, a decision that was always in him to make, he is now the bad guy. The character hasn't changed one iota, just the circumstances.

      I wouldn't call him evil though. He's an anti-villain now rather than a hero but he remains as he has always been, Lawful Neutral.

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    5. Yes but why would people follow him now? It's all just unbearably disturbing and saddening.

      I see burning Shireen as him bending to Melisandre's will, especially when her magic doesn't always work - Balon is still alive. If they executed it properly it could have been a great moment but it was just so poorly timed and set up in the show. Stannis would never burn his daughter based on a word of a woman whose magic works at times but not always and not when he would have the option to survive otherwise like here, sending Davos away for supplies.

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  11. Great recap. I agree with everything you said about Stannis. It sucks seeing one of your favorite characters get shit on. They've left most of Stannis' great lines out of the show, so the fact that people in the GA were finally starting to like him, then THIS happens? It's stupid. And I hate how people are saying it's in character for him. No. Killing is DAUGHTER of all people is not in character for him.

    I hope Davos never goes back to Stannis' camp now. Unless it's to kill Melisandre.

    And that scene totally ruined Daznak's for me. I still loved it, even though the CGI when she was flying him was shit. (But since it's TV, I expected that) but it really killed a lot of the momentum.

    Unless we get the "fire and blood" speech next episode, Dorne will be entirely pointless. We barely got any of Doran and Areo, the legit two most interesting people in the story, and Ellaria was all over the place. I hope both Tyrstane and Myrcella die before they reach KL.

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    1. Exactly. Stannis is human. Killing his own daughter is inhuman and makes him so in the effect. He is not even a person to me anymore right now.

      I want Davos to kill that smirking whore so bad.

      I don't think we are getting this speech, I just hope Bronn gets out alive :/

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  12. Great recap. I'm still in a bit of a shock over the Stannis storyline. I can't believe that D&D would ever have Stannis do something like that, but I guess when they said they would be straying from the books, they were very right. Just a disappointing effort from the writers. Still, I suppose this is basically Stannis sacrificing one of the few things he loved in order to be king. I can see where D&D are probably going to take this, but I'm still not sure whether I'm ok with it or not.

    The direction and Daznak made up for it. Dorne is middy entertaining, but Ellaria was awesome with the wine.

    I want Brienne to kill Stannis for the same reasons you said. It hurts to see a character you loved and rooted for so long reduced to this much, but I guess nothing can be done about it. And of course, no Stoneheart obviously.

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    1. Thank you!I just hope Stoneheart appears. What they've done to Stannis is for me unforgivable. I cannot imagine he has a part in Shireen burning in the book if it even happens there

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  13. What an episode! Your comparisons on book vs. show are really interesting. Mother of Dragons definitely saved the episode, and boy what a show she gave! I'm curious to see how the season finale pans out. I love your gifs, btw :)

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    1. Those aren't mine actually :) I gave up on making one this week, no way I'd make one clearer than that

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  14. What a spectacularly awful turn of events. I never really liked Stannis, mostly because he let Melisandre lead him by the balls to the pyre to burn "heretics." But I always appreciated your intense love for this character. :-) And I had a grudging respect for him and hoped for better things. Plus, in many ways, he seemed the most fit to rule. Having is character do this is appalling. This story is VERY close to leaving us with no one to root for. :-(

    Beautiful post. as always!

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    1. It's just so awful. I cannot imagine in George's version of events he actually allows it. This is the worst thing the writers did so far, you are right who is there to root for other than Starks and they have such awful luck in the show

      Thank you!

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  15. Wow, can't wait to read your thoughts on the finale. Man, I'm a bit over this show.

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