One of the great things I appreciated about the show was how characters came back.

No other show could afford to have a few characters leave the show, only to return later - yet return later in a substantial way that weren't just cameos. Their returns were usually part of the storyline.

"The Walking Dead" had contract issues that had actors leave only to return later - their absences were due to network negotiations.

"Thrones" had to retain the actors due to the books and would have cost them a lot to retain them.

But boy! I'm glad they did - because it only added to the wonderfully vast scope of the show

I always thought Joffrey looked similar to Jaime, especially in S1. I’m not sure if it was the lighting or the way they styled Joffrey, but he looked like a boy king then. In the seasons after that I think his real personality was reflected in his overall looks so he looked crueler

I know Jack didn’t match the book version of Joffrey, but imo the look the show decided to go for Joffrey (someone with a punchable face) worked so well imo

Blood magic (edit: including human sacrifices), slavery and bloody conquest are confirmed.

But that is only marginally worse than the average modern Essos faction.

It can be theorised that their moral bankruptcy and blood magic is what caused the calamity that destroyed their empire.

But that's half conjuncture based on them being the Atlantis equivalent.

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So, let us compare them to the descendants of their old enemies: were the free people of Valyria significantly more evil than the free people of Slaver's bay?

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Art by debustee

Note that I've excluded characters that aren't from the main family lines that lead to the GOT characters (so no Aegon II, Helena and Aemond and no Velaryons). Book-only info is marked with [ ]. And yes, Jaehaerys II has been recanonized in the official HBO Targaryen family tree, which is why he's included.

Honestly, Falia Flowers comes across like she has completely lost the plot. She turned on and had fun torturing her own family for an invader she had just met, thinking she wouldn't be harmed, even though Euron's sadistic streak is staring her right in the face, and for some bizarre reason, she seems happy about Dany, a more important queen, being brought into the picture. Is she stupid? insane? Or being coerced, maybe even warged by Euron?

We see Cersei blow up the Sept, and then we cut to her torturing Septa Unella. But we never see what happened to Unella prior to being strapped onto this table.

Title. When the rebellion initially started did Robert ever come out and say “I will be the new king after this”? Or could any one of Ned, Robert, or maybe even Jon Arryn have declared themselves king once the war was over?

My boyfriend is really into the books and show and we started a thing where he picks a sigil and I draw it

First post in this community, I think. But one of my thoughts was that show Stannis always sacrifices the most for it to never pay off.

Robert’s Rebellion - Storm’s End

Dawg if my men and I were starving to the point where we ate boiled leather, not a single neuron of yours would even think about telling me that I couldn’t rule that area. And yet, because Stannis was the most reliable, he ended up on doom and gloom ass Dragonstone because he could be trusted to hold down the fort.

War of the Five Kings - The Iron Throne

GOT does what it needs to do as far as continuing this theme for Stannis in real time. Off the top of my head, Stannis:

1. Investigates Lannister illegitimacy with Jon Arryn, only for Jon to be poisoned. Even if Robert lived, Stannis’s word is less valuable to him alone, as he would immediately be considered a throne chaser. He was not safe in the court with such treachery, and knew that King’s Landing was a ticking time bomb for someone like him.

2. Is acknowledged by a credible source to be the rightful heir, only for Ned to revoke his statement and be killed in the same hour. Anybody with common sense (rare I know) understood that Ned wouldn’t try to usurp the throne, especially since his daughter was already betrothed to the prince-turned-king. Ned’s voice mattered, and positioned Stannis’s rule to be backed at least by the North. Removing that voice did irreparable damage to his justification, because now no one spoke for an honorable succession, they only spoke for what could benefit them.

3. Converts to a religion believing he was the Prince That Was Promised that was actually not him. Regardless of whether you believe it was Jon Snow or Daenerys, we know that it is not Stannis’s dead ass in the show. He sacrificed everything for this belief. He would not merely sit the throne; he would save the realm. That was his ultimate duty, except it wasn’t his.

4. Sacrifices his daughter to win, just for him to lose anyway. Easily the most tragic part of his tale—he thought that the Lord of Light required the sacrifice of his blood, the one he loved most. Thus far it worked, so surely he would be rewarded when it mattered most? Yet he was wrong, meaning all the bloodshed was for naught. What’s worse: his daughter’s survival was a miracle, and she developed cunning and mental fortitude in spite of her trials. She could have ruled, had Stannis not killed her.

I can’t hate Stannis because I can understand where he came from. When you are lucid enough to know the consequences of others’ failures, and wise enough to anticipate war, it is a heavy burden to carry. His own life was at risk, and he trusted himself to get the job done, but he also trusted destiny, which cannot be relied upon by man.

Catelyn was easily my favorite character in Seasons 1-3 so I was pretty sad she got killed off in such a horrific way and even more so when I found out in the books she gets revived to take revenge on the Freys as the badass Lady Stoneheart.

Personally, I think the ideal way they could have had Michelle Fairley return as Lady Stoneheart while keeping the show largely similar but having a lot more impactful scenes with Catelyn is by having her take over Beric Dondarrions role in Seasons 6-8, he’s cool, but having Catelynn as the leader of the brotherhood would make many scenes way better imo.

In general this version of Lady Stoneheart would probably be quite different from the books version, she’d be able to talk for one, just a bit more hoarse than usual, and wouldn’t be quite as ruthless, she’d still be Catelyn, but she would be far less noble and acts much more standoffish and crass, willing to do whatever to get revenge honor be damned, only warming up around her trueborn children. She’d also would be a much better fighter after a long time training with the brotherhood to use a flaming sword like Beric did.

So essentially just replace Beric in all his scenes with Catelyn, with the characters naturally reacting in appropriate ways to see her alive and the dialogue being adjusted to match her instead of “miserable shit” Beric.

Extra scenes & small differences would include:

-Brotherhood is mentioned as being led by the mysterious “Lady Stoneheart” when it is discussed by the Freys

-The name stems from her encouraging the Riverfolk to be resiliant and fearless in the face of certain death to withstand the Freys tyranny

-Sandor is offered a place in the brotherhood only after he tells Catelyn of how he helped her daughter Arya

-The brotherhood dont ride north yet as they dont know about the coming threat of the White Walkers

-Jaqen H’Ghar says to Arya he’s arranged for her to meet with someone she knows but wont expect when she arrives in Saltpans before she leaves

-An extra scene in the S6 finale has Arya encounter Sandor & the brotherhood and try to run until she comes across her mother and they share a tearful reunion

-Another extra scene has mother and daughter catching each other up before Arya reveals her face-swapping ability which Catelynn realizes will allow them to take full revenge on the Freys

-Lady Stoneheart is the one who kills and bakes Walders sons into a pie and confronts him while he is eating it, giving a speech about his betrayal and showing him what she has done in response before Arya slices his throat while she watches in a mirror of her own death.

-Aryas poisoning of the Frey heirs is accompanied by Lady Stoneheart, the Hound, the brotherhood, and an army of battle ready Riverfolk massacring the Frey Garrison outside much like how they did to Robbs army in a great offscreen bloodbath that is shown when Arya exits the castle.

-Catelyn accomponies Arya to the inn and meets hot pie but refuses to go with her when she wishes to go to Winterfell now that its been liberated, choosing revenge against the lannisters much to Aryas disappointment.

-An extra scene has Catelyn have a dream about Beric who tells her that the next coming war will be in the north. She awakes and a conversation with Sandor about Arya convinces her to ride north after all.

-Arya tells Sansa their mother is alive

-The scene with the brotherhood riding to the wall and coming across the destroyed farm is moved to a later episode to signify the long journey

-Petyr tries manipulate Sansa into believing Aryas claim about their mother is a lie, as he does not believe it himself.

-Jon is much more eager to have the brotherhood join them upon seeing Catelyn is their leader, and the scene about discussing death is a lot more impactful with it being Catelyn & Jon considering their history and what they now share in common.

-Catelyn is devastated at being forced to leave Jon behind to escape on Drogon and is very relieved to see him returned to them alive at Eastwatch.

-Instead of going back to the Wall Catelyn has another vision of Beric saying her children are in danger, so she instead returns to Winterfell to reunite with Sansa Arya & Bran and helps with the collective realization that Petyr orchestrated the entire War

-Catelyn comes in at the end of Petyrs trial much to his shock and bewilderment and is the one to deduce that the dagger Littlefinger claimed to her belonged to Tyrion actually belonged to him all along and is especially scournful to him for murdering her sister.

-Catelyn is the one to slice Petyrs throat with the dagger for his betrayal.

-Brienne has a reunion with Catelyn at the beginning of S8 and apologizes for failing her only for Cat to say that if anything she’s the one who failed

-Catelyn has a tense reunion with Tyrion at Winterfell and also helps Jon negotiate with the Mormonts regarding the alliance with Daenerys but voices doubts regarding the Lannisters army and whether it will arrive.

-Aryas scene with Gendry has her also introducing him to her mother before she leaves with the Brotherhood to ride to Last Hearth to seek aid from Ned Umber.

-Catelyn helps defuse the tensions between Tormund and Edds group at Last Hearth and is the one the burn Ned Umber as a wight.

-Upon Catelyns return she is outraged to see Jaime and holds him against a tree at swordpoint but Sansa commands her to stop to show she is now the true Lady Stark of Winterfell.

-Jaime apologizes to Cat for everything his foolish affair with his sister has done to her family, and notes that her daughters got back to her on there own.

-Jon tells Cat how Benjen was the one who saved him, leading to Cat fully embracing Jon as her son

-Catelyn takes Berics place in the Battle Of Winterfell as the one to sacrifice herself to save Arya from the Wights and dies her final death when Arya slays the Night King and is burned the next day.

-Catelyn now being gone for good makes the Stark familys declaration that they are the last of the starks more impactful

Phew! Thats a lot I’m sure but I just had this idea/outline for a while now and wanted to share it, lemme know what ya’ll think? Would the last 3 seasons be improved at all in any of your guys’s eyes with this inclusion?

I mean he seems like he does but I think its less than people think it is.

I love that quote quite a bit. One of my most favorites in all of TV and Cinema. But as I am watching the series the third time, I think that scene/situation was kinda crass.

Lord Baelish, one of the most cunning, intelligent men in the realm is talking to Cersei and she makes a comment about his love for Catelyn Stark. Fine enough for her character. But Baelish chooses to almost mock her about her incestuous relationship with Jamie - the one open secret she does not want to be talked about at all. And Baelish is doing just that.

I think a character like Baelish would never do that, should not have done that. And while it does give us one of the most memorable lines of all time ("Power is Power"), I think Baelish almost got himself killed for no reason.

PS: I have not read the books and I don't know how this has been handled in the texts.

Random thought this morning and curious if there is any mention of it in the books that I haven’t read. But I randomly thought about the scene of him with Qyburn getting his chopped off hand taken care of and he vehemently insisted on no milk of the poppy. Was there any other reason than just ego of taking the pain? Or he felt like he should be punished for past actions and deserved the pain? Or maybe simply enjoyed it? Like people who constantly get tattoos

We have a concrete example of how the future can influence the past. Bran's actions determined Hodor's entire fate. Now, let's think about the Targaryens, whose seemingly spontaneous and bizarre decisions ended up changing the course of history in incredibly significant ways.

• Daenys the Dreamer SUDDENLY has a prophetic dream and convinces her entire family to leave Valyria just before the Doom and settle as close to Westeros as possible.
• Aegon the Conqueror SUDDENLY decides to conquer an entire continent and become its sole ruler, even though his ancestors had shown little interest in the west, preferring to focus on the intrigues of the Free Cities.
• Aegon IV SUDDENLY decides to legitimize all his bastards, and how convenient that one of them eventually ends up beyond the Wall.
• Rhaegar Targaryen SUDDENLY decides to abduct Lyanna Stark, which leads to the death of Brandon Stark, which leads to Eddard marrying Catelyn, which leads to Bran being born.

Am I the only one who sees a pattern here? What do you all think?

anybody dressing up as their favorite Game of Thrones character for Halloween and if you are, who are you dressing up as.

My boyfriend is really into the books and show and he has me draw the sigils from book description

They both had such beautiful hair. It felt like they lost lots of their personality when they got rid of the earlier season hairstyles