Whoa. Is the Blackfish gay?Originally Posted by Tin Wisdom
It is widely believed so, though there's not a lot of evidence for it. Not like Renly and Loras. Brynden Tully fell out with his older brother Hoster because he refused to marry (and Cat later says her uncle will never marry), and that created a very big rift. He left Riverrun, adopted the Blackfish as his sigil, and went to serve Lysa in the Vale.
Harrenhal and the dominion of the riverlands have not been promised to Baelish yet.
As for 'weasel soup', consider the end result they need to achieve in the TV series - Arya (and Gendry?) on the run, on their own.
There's really nothing inconsistent with that, so far in the TV series.
IMDB and some other stories indicate that this is Jeyne Westerling, although they are silent if she is in disguise or if she has been renamed and recreated.
I could have sworn Tyrion promised Harrenhall to Bealish two episodes ago, where he mused on what happened to the last one who got that offer.
That was a carrot. Tyrion later admitted it was a lie.
Also, Harrenhal itself is a ruined castle, with fertile lands, but unmaintainable - not much of a prize.
Baelish is eventually granted not only Harrenhal, but also named liege lord of the Riverlands, making him not just a major lord, but one of the great lords of the lands.
To stop her from heading to the Wildling camp and informing them that the Nights watch is at the fist perhaps? Seems like a pretty good reason to stop her to me.
Also although a lovely country, not sure what inspired them to film in iceland given it's above the tree line. They could likely of found suitable wooded locations is Norway, Sweden or Finland and the costs would be about the same.
But they probably got Iceland at a steal, considering the disaster its economy is in. Hell, Iceland was desperate enough that they opened up a national park for filming that had previously been restricted for that kind of use.
One of the issues with filming the wintery scenes is that they start filming in June/July every year, and the reason they went to Iceland is because they felt the cotton snow just didn't cut it. (The blu-rays are so sharp that if you freeze it during certain scenes, you see the fluffy cotton floating in the air.)
Another thing to consider: Northern Ireland has brought another big film/television studio lot online this year in Banbridge, and the local press is reporting that Game of Thrones will expand to it. So now they have Paint Hall and the Banbridge lots, in addition to all the external locations in Northern Ireland.
I can't imagine hordes of people, giants and giants mounting on spiders in this land. Is too desolated to support more than a few "nanuk" every hundreds of miles. Production: fail. The riot is also too contained, looks like a single street problem. Littefinger is show like a hotheaded creepy dude that improvise his next movement.
I am getting the most fun by reading the spoilers version of GoT in different forums, and the reaction of people, plus things I don't remember about the novels.
This thing of waiting a full week for a new episode is new to me, I normally download whole series from the internet, and I watch all the episodes one after another in a single weekend.
I want to know what magical unicorn Littlefinger rides on that seems to allow him to go from King's Landing to Storm's End to Harrenhall all in the time it takes Jon to go from the Fist of the First Men to the next mountain over...
Also, Brynden Tully (Blackfish) being gay is news to me. I never inferred that from the books, but rather thought of him as someone who never married simply because he didn't want to marry someone who was chosen for him by his brother. Service in the Vale allowed him to escape that while also appealing to his sense of adventure and military spirit chasing down the clans and whatnot.
That's funny -- I always assumed he was gay, and this from a guy who missed the clues for Renly on his first read-through.
My logic ran a little differently -- it's not that he simply didn't marry the girl his brother picked out, it's that he refused to marry. Anyone. Period. Cat didn't shrug and say that she doubted he'd marry, she stated it as an incontrovertible fact, as if such a thing was beyond the realm of possibility. Both those strike me as the actions of a guy who refuses to marry because he thinks it would be dishonorable to "pretend" to be straight, not the actions of a guy who prefers to be a bachelor because the right girl hasn't presented herself just yet.
Also, I have a memory of a conversation between Bryndon and Cat where she nudges him towards marriage and he says "You know that's never going to happen." Which would be a big smoking gun... except I'm not sure that conversation actually happened, more likely I'm thinking of Cat's comment.
Well, I haven't read beyond somewhat into the third book, but it could just be that he's an inveterate horndog, and knows that as a nobleman he has the resources/pull/relative impunity to get himself some "strange" whenever he pleases.
The idea of the Blackfish being gay has been mooted but his refusal to marry a woman designated by Hoster is basically the only datapoint. Hoster's dying ramblings suggest he was oblivious if that was in fact the case. This could be read as the ironic twist to their estrangement, but Petyr Baelish and Catelyn also don't provide any hints, and GRRM wasn't that subtle about his easter eggs back in 1996.
So, in last night's season-enders for NBC shows, at two points people made lists that flashed up on the screen.
In 30 Rock, Liz has a list of Crisspoints, a reward system where her boyfriend gets stuff for doing certain chores. One of the chores on the list was "Referring to me as Khaleesi".
Then, during Parks and Recreation, two characters are figuring out where to live in case they need to skip town. One of the options is Winterfell.
I can't tell if the shoutouts are because geeks and nerds write comedy shows, or if there was a coordinated effort. I imagine it was the former, as one has to freeze frame on both lists to really catch the references.
I agree. I have never assumed he was gay and don't remember any "clues" or "hints" to that effect.
I caught the Winterfell one, but now I'm going to have to go back to catch the Khaleesi one.
Prediction:
The Red wedding will be Bolton marrying Fat Walda (or some other Frey daughter). The Tully's will be completely cut.
The new story, with the edited GRRM will be:
From Robb's perspective, his ally Frey agrees that marrying a Bolton to one of his daughters is acceptable instead of marrying a king.
From the Frey and Bolton perspective, they jointly ally to betray Robb and get back into the good graces of the iron throne. Bolton becaomes the new Warden of the north. The Frey's are wed into the new power of the north.
That sounds just about right.
(I would suggest just calling it the RW, just for maximum protection for non-book readers or those that haven't read that far wandering into the thread. I got spoiled while reading Storm of Swords just from reading the name of that event on another forum.)
They may just be planning on introducing characters later, closer to the time where they become necessary to the plot. I could see the Tullys appearing in season 3, ready for the events where important things happen involving them.
I really hesitate to go spoiler free when this is the OMG spoiler on every page thread, and there is another thread for non book readers here:
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-t...=64212&page=49
Personally, I think the RW happens this season and concludes the Stark story arc for the year.
Granted SoS is an eventful book, but it'd still seem like removing one of it / season 3's bigger events for the benefit of season 2.
I tend to think the RW will be the finale of season 3 since they're splitting ASoS. Robb's arc for season 2 will conclude with Catelyn walking in and catching him with the other girl, and Cat will then release Jaime after speaking with him more.
Well, that was an interesting way to get the Karstarks into it.
And I like how Qarth actually got interesting.
Wow, Just finished this week and the preview
So, Jon Snow's motivations from the book are all shot to hell.
Since Caitlyn is drawing a sword over Jaime before she gets word from Winterfell, her motivations are also shot to hell.
This episode moved entirely too slowly for the Wall story to conclude - or for the Wedding to take place, particularly with only two episodes left . . . I thought there were 3 for some reason - there's a conflict between the list here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rones_episodes
And the sneak peek for Episode 8, which says only 2 episodes left..
I'm gueessing/hoping that was the wrong promo.
Finale may be 2 hour double episode event that HBO is only counting as 1 episode? They would likely skip a week between next week and the finale if that's the case, as HBO is fond of doing that with shows and running a marathon of the season in that "empty" week.
There's definitely 3 episodes left, no matter how you split it.. episode #9 has always been Blackwater, and #8 is next week. A quick perusal of HBO's schedule shows that #10, "Valar Morghulis", is due to air 6/3.
--- Alan
The bit in the promo which aired on US HBO "only two episodes left" was an error. It was pulled from the later showing by HBO.
The changes to Jon's arc continue. I still love the show - but D&D are now making some significant withdrawals from the "love bank". I look forward to their explanations about this. Still, I'm unhappy about their continuing to paint Jon as a bumbler. He's the larger than life hero in the novels. What they are doing here is not right.
Adapting the story is one thing, changing the character is another.
I disagree.
First off, a qualifier: I have only ever managed to make it through the first 150 or so pages of the first book in the series, so my impressions of Jon Snow are almost completely based off his portrayal in the series.
Snow, to me, is analogous to Tyrion. Both characters are perhaps the most fundamentally decent, morally-upstanding characters we've seen so far. They both inhabit a world that metes out brutal punishment for those of good morals and altruistic spirit. There are other characters of high moral fiber in the series so far, but all of the others have had strong, guiding hands to help them navigate the dangerous world. Tyrion and Snow are both outcasts. Everything they learn, they've had to learn for themselves by making mistakes and then surviving them and hoping to do better. Tyrion is blessed by being clever and cunning and quick with a joke. Snow isn't particularly clever at all, but he is great in a fight, good-looking, and possesses a charisma of leadership.
For me, I see Jon as this incredibly heroic guy. He knows he's screwing shit up, but still knows that he's got to do the right thing. A more cunning fellow would know how to befriend Samwell without bringing on the scorn of the officers in the Watch. A smarter guy would've figured out a way to deal with Ygritte besides getting separated from the other Rangers and becoming hopelessly lost. A wiser man would've known that Ygritte would try to seduce him out of his solemn vows, and would've known those vows are likely violated by most men of the watch at whorehouses anyway. A more cunning man wouldn't have let her walk him right into an ambush.
But so there he is...and he still seems damned heroic. He knows the moment he decides not to kill Ygritte that he's fucking up and making his life incredibly difficult, but he won't take the easy way out. He can join the crowd berating Samwell...but he just can't do it even if that's the path of least resistance.
He's learning how to use his own gifts of his charisma, trusting nature, decency, and leadership to sort out the tough things his morality forces him into. The "bumbling" he finds himself in now should serve him well if he can survive it.
I've had enough of Legolas sliding down the steps of Helm's Deep on a shield firing two arrows at once. If Martin truly wrote Jon Snow larger than life, I think the show runners figured out a better way to characterize him.Adapting the story is one thing, changing the character is another.
Ok, ASOIAF fans.
Let's say I've read up until about the point where Tyrion presents young Bran with the plans to make a saddle so that he can ride despite his legs, and that's as far as I ever got reading the books.
Let's also say that I've watched the first season of the show.
Any chance if I want to start reading I can avoid slogging through the first 150 pages of the first book for the umpteenth time and just jump into the second book?
Bad idea.
Just jump the 150 pages and restart where you left.
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