Game of Thrones (stay away if you're not caught up)

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Season 7 starts this weekend. I'm hyped. I think this is officially my 2nd favorite franchise behind Star Wars. Even with the changes that were made to the show from the books, and Martin's apparent lack of progress in finishing the series in novel form, it's just perfect to me. The settings, the characters, the stories, the mystery, the uncertainty, the willingness to kill off favorites on a whim... I just love every bit of it. Except Tyrion joining the circus. That I don't love. Everything else is just perfect.

Soo.... that said.... we have 13 episodes left. It'll be just over a year or so before we finally know how things turned out. Do you think they'll stick with the consistent theme of us being ultimately disappointed by the failure of our favorite characters? Or will we see the thing that pretty much everybody wants to see... Jon and Daenerys winning the day and somehow sharing the Iron Throne (incest is certainly not out of the question)?

I'm a Stark through and through, and I'd like to see Jon, Sansa, Bran & Arya reunited and victorious (with as many direwolves as possible). As great as the villains have been, I feel like we need to see the good guys win here. I feel like we've earned it.

Thoughts?

Hanging out with some of my homeschool buddies. They're making me watch the 2nd episode of Game of Thrones.

I don't know what's going on or why everyone hates each other.

Haha, not a real good place to jump in.

I have just decided that I can't commit this much time to watching awful people get ahead in life by being awful.

Just like I don't watch crazy trials where someone murdered someone else; I don't like spending time/energy on things like that.

Which means that I can't really enjoy a show like Game of Thrones; even the payoff of some things don't seem worth it.

It's the best sci-fi/fantasy story I've ever followed. Calling it sci-fi/fantasy doesn't do it justice. And the villains are a big reason why. I've never read/seen a story that makes you hate a character with your whole body and then in the next scene or chapter gives you a reason to feel for them, sometimes even convincing you to root for them. Multiple times with multiple characters. There are no heroes, there are no heels. Every character has good and bad qualities. It's impossible to explain to people who haven't experienced the journey. It's the most satisfyingly emotional roller coaster. Star Wars will always and forever be my #1, but I'll put this right up there... better than Lord of The Rings, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Narnia, whatever else. Even if there is ultimately no payoff, and everything I hope happen doesn't, to me it was worth it.

Im mostly caught up.

I will say this: Game of Thrones the tv show is the best example of a movie or tv series being better than the books. There are a couple out there..but this is the best. (2nd best? Japanese manga "Nana" is unreadable.. but the first movie was excellent).

Definitely disagree about it being better than the books, not by a long shot IMO, but I have to say that it is a respectable adaptation that captures the heart and soul of the story quite well, much better than many other adaptations I've seen. I know you didn't really enjoy the books though, so I'm glad you've been able to enjoy the TV series.

So with this most recent season, they've really sped things up. Too much, to be completely honest. When it used to take half a season or more for a character to travel from one stronghold to another, now they're there within the same episode. Didn't really bother me at first, because I don't need to see the whole trip to know how they got somewhere, but this last episode finally went to far. A group who was almost as far north as one can go was able to contact - via raven - a person who was almost as far south as one can go, and that southern person was able to travel north just in time to save the group's collective ass in a time frame that, if I'm being generous, was 2-3 days at best. That communication and trip would have taken months by the original standards.

So that's a little disappointing. So here's to hoping that George Martin actually finishes the last couple books so we can read it as it's meant to be told.

Yea.. there's an immediate and noticeable change when the books aren't the source material anymore. The Arya Stark subplot is Martin-esque but the execution of it isn't.. a clear sign he has told them what's happening and going to happen but not actually given them the unfinished book (if it even exists outside of his mind.. I suspect if you look at his computer you'd find thousands of games of incomplete Solitaire open..)

No thoughts on the season 7 finale? I literally jumped up and screamed for joy when Little Finger met his demise. That was brilliant. I did see the Night King and Dragon coming as well as the new chapter of incest. LMAO!

@Zeb-Stark is the one that really loves the show.

My wife loves it and I don't get it. Watched at least 2/3 of the first season and just didn't care for anyone.

The dragons look cool though.

I thought it was a great episode to end an amazing season. My only real complaint is that it all went by way too fast. They could have slowed it down a little and made it a full 10 episode season but I understand that less episodes made it so they could maximize the budget to increase the quality of the episodes they did make. So I guess it was probably the right thing to do. Honestly, I would watch this show for as long as they were able to maintain this level of quality. I would watch it through season 20 or 30 when Daenerys and Aegon's son Aemon sits on the throne married to Catelyn, daughter of Gendry Baratheon and Sansa Stark. I would just keep watching.

Im one episode behind..having not watched the finale yet.. and man...the time factor thing just got annoying.

They are out there, past the wall.. for season upon season it has been stressed how far away this is, how remote it is, how difficult it is to get to , and get around in.. But they send the dude to run back to the wall..which he does in.. 10 minutes of tv time and maybe 15 minutes in their world (im exaggerating..but they did NOT make it seem like long).. the kid runs back to the wall..they must have written a note, sent a raven , the raven flew all the way to D.'s place and she rides all the way north.. while they are standing on that rock? Do dragons fly at speeds rivaling the SR-71 or something??Is the Wall just down the way, past the drug store but before you get the gas station??

@zeb-stark said in Game of Thrones (stay away if you're not caught up):

I thought it was a great episode to end an amazing season. My only real complaint is that it all went by way too fast. They could have slowed it down a little and made it a full 10 episode season but I understand that less episodes made it so they could maximize the budget to increase the quality of the episodes they did make. So I guess it was probably the right thing to do. Honestly, I would watch this show for as long as they were able to maintain this level of quality. I would watch it through season 20 or 30 when Daenerys and Aegon's son Aemon sits on the throne married to Catelyn, daughter of Gendry Baratheon and Sansa Stark. I would just keep watching.

So Jon is gonna knock-up Daenerys with their incestual tryst? I don't read the books. Do they get married?

The show is way ahead of the books now.. so..no one knows.

So..

Um..

Are we going to talk about how Bran is the Night King?

@veda-the-moor said in Game of Thrones (stay away if you're not caught up):

The show is way ahead of the books now.. so..no one knows.

So..

Um..

Are we going to talk about how Bran is the Night King?

Bran is the Night King? How the hell is that possible? Bran is alive. My sister has a theory; The Night King was a Targaryan and that is why he can ride and command the Dragon. I thought the same thing when I saw him riding it. I was "WTF?!". lol

They wear the same clothes, the White Walkers formed the wolf sigil, Brans always been connected. Bran is alive now but that doesn't matter to the time hopping three eyed raven. He built the Wall (do you remember the name of the guy who built the wall? Let me save you some time.. it's..Bran the Builder). As he went further and further back in time he eventually talked to the Children of the Forest but probably that all back fired and he became the Night King after being killed as the first man.

Bran is the Night King.

@legionofboom said in Game of Thrones (stay away if you're not caught up):

@zeb-stark said in Game of Thrones (stay away if you're not caught up):

I thought it was a great episode to end an amazing season. My only real complaint is that it all went by way too fast. They could have slowed it down a little and made it a full 10 episode season but I understand that less episodes made it so they could maximize the budget to increase the quality of the episodes they did make. So I guess it was probably the right thing to do. Honestly, I would watch this show for as long as they were able to maintain this level of quality. I would watch it through season 20 or 30 when Daenerys and Aegon's son Aemon sits on the throne married to Catelyn, daughter of Gendry Baratheon and Sansa Stark. I would just keep watching.

So Jon is gonna knock-up Daenerys with their incestual tryst? I don't read the books. Do they get married?

None of that happened. Just my own haphazard loose speculation.

@veda-the-moor said in Game of Thrones (stay away if you're not caught up):

They wear the same clothes, the White Walkers formed the wolf sigil, Brans always been connected. Bran is alive now but that doesn't matter to the time hopping three eyed raven. He built the Wall (do you remember the name of the guy who built the wall? Let me save you some time.. it's..Bran the Builder). As he went further and further back in time he eventually talked to the Children of the Forest but probably that all back fired and he became the Night King after being killed as the first man.

Bran is the Night King.

Holy shit dude. That is acid trip shit right there. I can't deal. lol Stupid. IMO

Lol. I didnt write it.. Im just the messenger. But dont say you werent forewarned!

Original White Walker was a Stark. Not saying that means the Night King couldn't be a Targaryen, I suppose it's totally possible, just not sure about all the logistics of it. Either way, completely plausible that Bran "entered" the NK at some point and now occupies him.

@zeb-stark
How about this hypothesis; Wouldn't it be insane if the Knight King is Targaryen and it's either the Mad King or Jon Snow's father? I don't get or buy the Bran theory. It doesn't make sense. AT ALL.

The Night King was made by the Children of the Forest to fight the First Men.. way way way back in times of Legend.

The Bran Theory makes perfect sense if you remember what it means to be the Three Eyed Raven.

I have to admit that the whole Three Eyed Raven story bored the shit out of me and I really didn't pay too much attention to it. 'Meh'.....

@legionofboom said in Game of Thrones (stay away if you're not caught up):

I have to admit that the whole Three Eyed Raven story bored the shit out of me and I really didn't pay too much attention to it. 'Meh'.....

I get that.. for sure. I dont hate it..but it doesnt seem to fit with the rest of the story.. Like Martin had an idea to go in one direction but ended up not doing much with it...so its just sort of awkwardly hanging there...