Game of Thrones - Season 3 Discussion

[Zaxxon]

I know we still have 5 days left in season 2, but the season 3 news is starting to crop up, and much of it is at least partially-spoilerific for S2. So, new thread! Welcome; stay awhile.

Given past spoiler-rule agreement issues in the seasons 1 and 2 threads, we've got a separate thread for S3. Before reading this thread, please ensure that you've seen all of seasons 1 and 2 or that you don't mind having seasons 1/2 events spoiled. Once season 3 premieres, episodes that have aired will also be fair game to be spoiled.

If you've read the books and plan to post a comment that gives away something that has not yet been aired on the television show, please use spoiler tags and additionally please mark the spoiler as spoiling future books/seasons so that it's obvious to those what they're clicking through to.

Winter Is Coming reports on an EW scoop confirming some much-hoped-for Season 3 castings, including: (not really anything specifically spoilerific, but I tagged it in case anyone's particularly trying to avoid anything that hasn't been mentioned in the show already)

Spoiler:

– Mance Rayder: We’ve heard about him all season. A former member of the Night’s Watch who became the “King Beyond the Wall,” the leader of the Wildlings.
– Daario Naharis: A confident and seductive warrior.
– Jojen Reed; Meera Reed: A teenage brother and sister duo with special insights.
– Edmure Tully: A brash young member of the Tully family.
– Ser Brynden Tully (The Blackfish): Catelyn Stark’s uncle.
– Lady Selyse Florent: Stannis Baratheon’s wife.
– Shireen: Stannis’ daughter.
– Olenna Redwyne (The Queen of Thorns): Margaery Tyrell’s sharp-witted grandmother.
– Beric Dondarrion: A skilled knight who is the leader of the outlaw group Brotherhood Without Banners.
– Thoros of Myr: A red priest who follows the same religion as Melisandre.
– Tormund Giantsbane: A Wildling raider.

My thoughts:

Spoiler:

Very glad to see the Reeds in there, and the Blackfish and Queen of Thorns, as well. Of course we've already seen Beric, but I guess they're pulling a Mountain there and swapping out actors after tiny scenes with someone else.

[Odin]

Just to add to Zaxxon's opening post, I wanted to emphasize that spoiler tags are NOT REQUIRED if you're discussing the current week's already-aired episode (or any episode prior to that). I actually think it makes it harder for people to weed out and avoid actual spoilers if everything's got spoiler tags on it.

Regarding the season 3 news:

Spoiler:

I think it's terrific that so many "missing" characters are being put back in. It's unfortunate that they couldn't have been introduced in a more "timely" fashion, but at least we get the Reeds, the Tullys, and the Baratheon women who, to this point, appeared to have been completely cut from the show.

[Zaxxon]

Just to add to Zaxxon's opening post, I wanted to emphasize that spoiler tags are NOT REQUIRED if you're discussing the current week's already-aired episode (or any episode prior to that). I actually think it makes it harder for people to weed out and avoid actual spoilers if everything's got spoiler tags on it.

True dat. Summary: spoiler tags if you're mentioning anything that hasn't aired yet. No spoilers if it's aired. Spoiler scope warnings preferred when using spoiler tags, at least for 'big' spoilers.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Winter Is Coming reports on an EW scoop confirming some much-hoped-for Season 3 castings, including: (not really anything specifically spoilerific, but I tagged it in case anyone's particularly trying to avoid anything that hasn't been mentioned in the show already)

Spoiler:

– Mance Rayder: We’ve heard about him all season. A former member of the Night’s Watch who became the “King Beyond the Wall,” the leader of the Wildlings.
– Daario Naharis: A confident and seductive warrior.
– Jojen Reed; Meera Reed: A teenage brother and sister duo with special insights.
– Edmure Tully: A brash young member of the Tully family.
– Ser Brynden Tully (The Blackfish): Catelyn Stark’s uncle.
– Lady Selyse Florent: Stannis Baratheon’s wife.
– Shireen: Stannis’ daughter.
– Olenna Redwyne (The Queen of Thorns): Margaery Tyrell’s sharp-witted grandmother.
– Beric Dondarrion: A skilled knight who is the leader of the outlaw group Brotherhood Without Banners.
– Thoros of Myr: A red priest who follows the same religion as Melisandre.
– Tormund Giantsbane: A Wildling raider.

No

Spoiler:

Red Viper

? Perhaps he'd be in Season 4?

[Toe]

No

Spoiler:

Red Viper

? Perhaps he'd be in Season 4?

Spoiler:

Since they have already decided that book 3 will be divided into seasons 3 and 4, that would make sense. I believe his introduction is not until later in book 3 anyway, but I get my timeline vs book# confused a lot admittedly.

[Odin]

Massive book spoilers for the latter part of A Storm of Swords (and likely Season 4 of the Game of Thrones series) HO!

Spoiler:

I can't imagine Tyrion's trial and escape from the Red Keep taking place prior to season 4, no. It's at the very end of A Storm of Swords, after all.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Massive book spoilers for the latter part of A Storm of Swords (and likely Season 4 of the Game of Thrones series) HO!

Spoiler:

I can't imagine Tyrion's trial and escape from the Red Keep taking place prior to season 4, no. It's at the very end of A Storm of Swords, after all.

Spoiler:

I can't remember, though - when he is introduced? Is it much earlier in the book or does he just come in, get owned, etc. right at the end of book 3?

[Odin]

Continued spoilers for A Storm of Swords and probably season 4 of A Game of Thrones:

Spoiler:

To my recollection, Oberyn Martell shows up around midway through ASoS to take his brother's promised seat on the Small Council. He doesn't really do a whole lot, however, except as concerns Tyrion's trial. His only real role in the book was to sit in judgement of Tyrion and to be his champion.

For the purposes of the series, they have so far resisted introducing characters until just when they're needed, rather than setting them up far in advance. As such, I expect Prince Oberyn will show up at the gates of King's Landing just in time for Joffrey's wedding so that he can immediately be put to work in the aftermath.

[Zaxxon]

Shireen has been cast.

Spoiler:

[Toe]

Shireen has been cast.

Spoiler:

Looks like a good choice in terms of looks and she seems to have expressive eyes, so if her acting skills are up to snuff, looks to be a great pick. I don't recall Shireen having a lot of dialogue but she was still a very memorable minor character for me reading the books.

[Kelric]

Shireen has been cast.

Spoiler:

Looks like a good choice in terms of looks and she seems to have expressive eyes, so if her acting skills are up to snuff, looks to be a great pick. I don't recall Shireen having a lot of dialogue but she was still a very memorable minor character for me reading the books.

She doesn't have much dialogue. She mostly runs around with crackly skin.

[Odin]

Shireen has been cast.

Spoiler:

Looks like a good choice in terms of looks and she seems to have expressive eyes, so if her acting skills are up to snuff, looks to be a great pick. I don't recall Shireen having a lot of dialogue but she was still a very memorable minor character for me reading the books.

She doesn't have much dialogue. She mostly runs around with crackly skin.

True, most of her lines are in the

Spoiler:

Edric Storm

kerfluffle, but I don't think we know yet whether that particular (and ultimately fairly minor) character/storyline will make it into the series.

[TiLT]

With book 3 split into two seasons, I suspect we'll see more of the minor storylines appear as the writers will now have more time to spend on such things.

[Odin]

With book 3 split into two seasons, I suspect we'll see more of the minor storylines appear as the writers will now have more time to spend on such things.

I'm not so sure. Unless the number of episodes per season grows, there's still more MAIN storyline going on than they'll be able to cover entirely, even assuming that nothing from AFfC or ADwD sneaks into these seasons as well. ASoS is a HUGE book with an awful lot of significant stuff going on. I'm not saying there won't be minor storyline and non-major events covered, but I don't think it'll be to any greater degree than it already has been.

[Kelric]

ASoS is the largest book in the series, I think, with lots of big events. Two seasons makes a hell of a lot more sense than one.

[Zaxxon]

While waiting for Season 3, we can tide ourselves over by playing this exciting new game:

[Zaxxon]

Also meant to post this article where the author tries to break down the biggest barriers to the HBO series continuing until the full story is told. Short summary: he puts the odds of cost overruns killing the show at 20% (I think this is ludicrous given that he shows in the same article that HBO is making money hand over fist on GoT despite the cost. The odds of length killing it at 35%; I think this is a much more reasonable risk--it's going to be a minimum of 8 seasons to get through it all, more likely 9 or 10. That's a long time to hold interest. Lack of source material - 60% chance of ruining the show.

And I have to agree that that's the most likely risk by far. I don't think it's a 60% chance, though. Even at AFfC/ADwD pace, GRRM would be close to finished with the last book by the time the last season comes around. He wouldn't need too much of a kick in the pants, and he's said all along that he has the ending more fleshed out in his head than the events covered in the last two books. The risk of him dying is much higher than the risk of him simply falling behind schedule.

[MHS]

...he's said all along that he has the ending more fleshed out in his head than the events covered in the last two books...

You mean like how he said that DwD would be out super fast after FfC since it was mostly written but had to be split out?

[Zaxxon]

...he's said all along that he has the ending more fleshed out in his head than the events covered in the last two books...

You mean like how he said that DwD would be out super fast after FfC since it was mostly written but had to be split out?

Do not bring contradictory facts into this discussion, please.

[Odin]

I don't think we can believe anything Martin says about the future of the series at this point. It isn't that he lies, it's just that he doesn't really grasp what's standing between him and completion of whatever aspect of the series he's referring to at any given time. He clearly never expected AFfC or ADwD to take as INSANELY long as they did, but that didn't change anything. Add up his travel, his various other projects, football, etc., and even if the writing went smoothly, he'd be hard-pressed to get it done in a timely fashion. And it clearly hasn't been going smoothly for some time. We can hope that that's past now, but we don't know and history has shown that Martin doesn't really know, either.

[gameoverman]

Massive book spoilers for the latter part of A Storm of Swords (and likely Season 4 of the Game of Thrones series) HO!

Spoiler:

I can't imagine Tyrion's trial and escape from the Red Keep taking place prior to season 4, no. It's at the very end of A Storm of Swords, after all.

If book 3 is split into two seasons I'd guess that season 3 ends with

Spoiler:

Tyrion marrying Sansa/Robb and his mom biting the big one

Yeah this means I read the books(first three). After enjoying the first two seasons so much I couldn't resist the tempation to get ahead of the game, so to speak. I'm both sad and glad I did it. Sad because now I know what's coming, besides winter. Glad because the story is no less jaw dropping when you read it. Also now I know why the book readers find it so hard to not bring up stuff from the books when talking about the show, the books are THAT good.

[Daveman]

I've tried to think of where they might split the book into 2 seasons, and think perhaps they'll end S3 with:

Spoiler:

1. Tyrion's marriage
2. Daenerys discovering the truth about her trusted advisors and ordering the attack on Meereen.

I'd like to imagine/hope they'll save the BIG event(s) for S4 but we'll see. As someone who doesn't get HBO and hasn't seen S2 yet, I was curious if/how they handled Arstan Whitebeard? Did he make an appearance or is he still waiting in the wings? In the books his appearance and eventual "ah ha" moment were really neat since the reader can be kept in the dark, in television not so much unless they really go to some extreme lengths in the makeup department or simply reveal him right away.

[Mr. Fed]

You know, I told George W. Bush not to trust Littlefinger.

[pr0ner]

Daveman, click only if you really want your question about Whitebeard spoiled:

Spoiler:

No, he's not in Season 2.

[Odin]

I'd like to imagine/hope they'll save the BIG event(s) for S4 but we'll see.

I would imagine they'll try to balance major events equally between both seasons. If they don't provide a spectacular season 3, they may not get funded for season 4.

As someone who doesn't get HBO and hasn't seen S2 yet, I was curious if/how they handled Arstan Whitebeard? Did he make an appearance or is he still waiting in the wings? In the books his appearance and eventual "ah ha" moment were really neat since the reader can be kept in the dark, in television not so much unless they really go to some extreme lengths in the makeup department or simply reveal him right away.

Arstan Whitebeard has not yet been seen.

[Scuzz]

...he's said all along that he has the ending more fleshed out in his head than the events covered in the last two books...

You mean like how he said that DwD would be out super fast after FfC since it was mostly written but had to be split out?

Loved that notation at the end of book 4......

[JSHAW]

You know, I told George W. Bush not to trust Littlefinger.

I read an article this morning on collider.com which states that HBO has pulled the season 1 finale with GW's head on a spike from all formats, On-Demand and stopped production of all dvd/bluray discs from season 1.

If you already own season 1 you have a limited edition collectors item now. I have it on bluray. Glad I got it when I did.

[Zaxxon]

Kotaku put out a call to Twitter for Game of Thrones spin-off names. Some of these are awesome. (Warning: a few on the source link are spoilerific past what we've seen on the show. I'm not reproducing any of those here.) Some of my favorites:

How I Met Your Mother (She's My Sister)
The Iron Price is Right
Suddenly Sansa
Jorah the Explorer
Breaking Bran
Barristan the Bold & Beautiful
Whose Throne is it Anyway?

Anyone care to try their hand?

[Zaxxon]

Clive Russell cast as The Blackfish

He looks the part, methinks.

[Isgrimnur]

First set picture

It was taken in the Mourne Mountains earlier this week and seems to point to the fact that filming has indeed begun a week earlier than expected (it was to start on July 9).

It shows some set crew members carrying Bran's (Isaac Hempstead Wright, not seen here in the pic, sadly) wheelbarrow with—on top of it—a stuffed Summer. No worries guys, we doubt the direwolf has met his doom. The stuffed dog is probably used as an eye-level reference point and will later be CGIed over with a real wolf.
...
George R.R. Martin has also confirmed that they will be filming in Morocco, which will stand in for the Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) Slaver's Bay scenes.

[Zaxxon]

This guy is pretty good.

[Isgrimnur]

Yeah, he is. Would be perfect for a Saturday morning cartoon. Although his Mormont isn't the best.

[Jaymann]

You know, I told George W. Bush not to trust Littlefinger.

I read an article this morning on collider.com which states that HBO has pulled the season 1 finale with GW's head on a spike from all formats, On-Demand and stopped production of all dvd/bluray discs from season 1.

If you already own season 1 you have a limited edition collectors item now. I have it on bluray. Glad I got it when I did.

Wait a minute, I have season 1 on disc. Where would I see GW?

[$iljanus]

You know, I told George W. Bush not to trust Littlefinger.

I read an article this morning on collider.com which states that HBO has pulled the season 1 finale with GW's head on a spike from all formats, On-Demand and stopped production of all dvd/bluray discs from season 1.

If you already own season 1 you have a limited edition collectors item now. I have it on bluray. Glad I got it when I did.

Wait a minute, I have season 1 on disc. Where would I see GW?

Near the end of the series when Joffrey brings Sansa outside the Red Keep to look at her father's head on a pike. I chuckled when I saw poor GW's head.

[Zaxxon]

Gigantarific casting video for Season 3 from ComicCon.

Jojen and Meera fit pretty exactly with the picture in my head.

Also, the Queen of Thorns needs to learn her character's name a little better.

[hepcat]

Jeebus, it just hit me that the actor that plays Littlefinger was Tommy Carcetti on The Wire. Good lord, he does a great American accent considering that he's Irish.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Jeebus, it just hit me that the actor that plays Littlefinger was Tommy Carcetti on The Wire. Good lord, he does a great American accent considering that he's Irish.

Amazingly, I think many of the main characters on The Wire were British or Irish (Carcetti, Stringer, McNolte, Snoop). Ok, maybe not that last one. But there are probably additional characters that I'm forgetting.

[Odin]

WHOA, wait. Is Thoros of Myr NOT black? Did I just imagine him that way for no particular reason?? Shit, this is really going to mess with my vision of that character.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

WHOA, wait. Is Thoros of Myr NOT black? Did I just imagine him that way for no particular reason?? Shit, this is really going to mess with my vision of that character.

I never pictured him in my head black, but that might be because I haven't read the books as closely as many of you. Or I'm racist.

[Isgrimnur]