Season 6 Episode 9 “Battle of the Bastards” preview

Oooohh….BastardBowl….bring it on!! 😀

The Arya storyline was tosh.

Yup. A crap excuse for a story wrap-up with her opium fuelled tumbling antics and the Waifs terminator impression. Not that the action sequence itself was bad it just didn’t fit and nor did the ‘wandering around like I own this here town’ bit from last week.

Rest of episode, 7/10. Wins points for Bronn, the Hound, the pleasing absence of Dorne, the Riverrun siege, and Hafthor pulling that guys head off. Loses points for not enough Tyrion, and Dany’s continuing series of convenient Deus ex Machina appearances, quite honestly it didn’t need a 2 minute siege and her turning up to save the day with the dragons, when that time could have been replaced with more Tyrion.

Hound has always had the best lines. In the aftershow show, they were doing the best double acts, but this made me spew tea out

(contains bad language)

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ItKF3xyci8[/video]

The Arya bit was the first time I have been disappointed with a GoT storyline. Did Jaqen H’ghar give a smile of approval when she told him her name and where she was going.

I took everything with Arya at face value last week.
Then came on here and felt very stupid for missing that her behaviour was odd, so was expecting some twist or other and came away disappointed.
Now I wish I hadn’t read all your misguided suppositions 😉

It would have been much better your way though 🙂

I like the Hounds comment regarding the last words before he killed that bloke, in fact that whole scene was pretty funny 😆

Did Jaqen H’ghar give a smile of approval when she told him her name and where she was going.

looked to me like a sort of nervous, apologetic smile to the viewers after having seen a couple of series worth of careful plot development totally ruined in the last few episodes! Still at least the scenes with the players have been good.

mrmonkfinger

The Arya storyline was tosh.

Yup. A crap excuse for a story wrap-up with her opium fuelled tumbling antics and the Waifs terminator impression. Not that the action sequence itself was bad it just didn’t fit and nor did the ‘wandering around like I own this here town’ bit from last week. [/quote]

Can’t decide if it was just crap, lazy writing or if Arya’s behavior was simply a way to lure the waif/faceless men out. She knew by leaving them someone would be sent to kill her, but she would never know who or when, so by making a public show she lures out her attacker and gets it over with rather than living in fear or running forever.

A question for those more knowledgable… If “a girl has no name” why isn’t Jaqen H’ghar “a boy/man has no name”? He seems to have a name. And who was training ninja like assassins when he was imprisoned and carrying out assassinations on behalf of Arya?

Yep, I think that’s what the directors were going for – it definitely felt like a deliberate trap at the end when she picked up Needle and put the lights out to rely on her blind training.
The problem for me is that a) She got caught out too easily on the bridge b) She was too far away from her trap and c) Surely The Waif had been through the same blind training.

also, who lit the candle?

Did Jaqen H’ghar give a smile of approval

Yep. I thought it was a nice touch.

According to D.B Weiss (on the Inside The Episode video):

Arya is telling Jaqen, by putting this face on the wall, that “this account is settled, we’re good here, and now I’m going to walk away”. And I think she knows what the answer is going to be.

The implication is obviously that on some level Jaqen was rooting for the outcome that he got. He may be no-one but there is still enough of a person left in him to respect and admire who this girl is and what she has become.

Arya finally tells us something that we’ve kind of known all along. That she’s not no-one. She is Arya Stark of Winterfell.

Quite. It was all a bit convenient and quick and didn’t feel as well thought through as most writing on the show.

If “a girl has no name” why isn’t Jaqen H’ghar “a boy/man has no name”?

1 It’s a made up name for the purpose of the mission when Arya met him.
2 He’s actually just one manifestation of the many faced god and gets to do what the hell he likes.
or
3 George R R Martin is making it up as he goes along.

TBH I’m just making it up as I go along.

Are there actually any other faceless men apart from him, the Waif, and Arya? The house of faceless men was always dead empty.

Can’t decide if it was just crap, lazy writing or if Arya’s behavior was simply a way to lure the waif/faceless men out.

If it was the latter then how could she be sure that the Waif wouldn’t just sneak up behind her and stab her in the eye? Or quietly poison her?

Seems a bit daft to rely on a trained assassin going for a surprisingly non-fatal stab. (Ignoring the fact that those wounds would have been fatal to anyone not wearing Plot Armour).

So I’m going with lazy writing from D&D.

If “a girl has no name” why isn’t Jaqen H’ghar “a boy/man has no name”? He seems to have a name.

It’s not his real name. It’s just a name – one of the faces he wears.

who was training ninja like assassins when he was imprisoned and carrying out assassinations on behalf of Arya

I believe that in the books (I’ve not read them) the house of Black and White has many faceless followers. They just kept it simple for the show.

lazy writing

Unfortunately it came across as this to me. So did that painful “jokes” scene with Tyrion.

Are there actually any other faceless men apart from him, the Waif, and Arya?

Always two there are. No more, no less. A Master and an Apprentice? 😉

Fair enough.

It wouldn’t have been too difficult to have a few extras in the background going about the same tasks as Arya and The Waif though to give the impression that it was a bigger organisation.

I am attracted to Brienne of Tarth

hammerite – Member
A question for those more knowledgable… If “a girl has no name” why isn’t Jaqen H’ghar “a boy/man has no name”? He seems to have a name. And who was training ninja like assassins when he was imprisoned and carrying out assassinations on behalf of Arya?

I’m guessing the no name thing is a means to lose yourself, and then to find yourself. The fact that Jagan has a name would suggest so. Probably means that the whole thing is more than just an assassination centre, and that that’s probably just to pay the bills.

I am attracted to Brienne of Tarth

The big lad with the ginger beard is in the queue in front of you.

Don’t forget that at the end of Season Two, when he left Arya, he told her that “Jaqen is dead.”

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyNyj6QRp-g[/video]

In the books, It wasn’t Jaqen in the House of Undying teaching Arya. I believe the TV series used him due to his previous popularity.

The Arya storyline in the books is very good, disappointed with the show.

I believe that in the books (I’ve not read them) the house of Black and White has many faceless followers. They just kept it simple for the show.

True that.

I’m guessing the no name thing is a means to lose yourself, and then to find yourself. The fact that Jagan has a name would suggest so. Probably means that the whole thing is more than just an assassination centre, and that that’s probably just to pay the bills.

Hence why he seemed quite pleased with her little retort at the end.

I thought the whole Arya thing came across as a bit Luke Skywalker in Empire Strikes Back: Basically, training her to be of more use in the coming fight.

The whole “waif” T1000 thing was a bit weird, and ruined it; as did Arya’s mysteriously quick recovery.

I’d give the episode a 7/10.

On the miraculous recovery, wasn’t she leading the waif into a trap?

What I want to know is what happened when he went into the brothel with the jackass and the honeycomb?

I need closure!

On the miraculous recovery, wasn’t she leading the waif into a trap?

It’s not clear if that was her plan or just her thinking on her feet.

But either way the injuries appeared real – so it doesn’t explain how she survived them or how she was able to do tackle a bit of parkour when her gut are held together by some crude stitches and a bit of opium.

Ice zombies
Reanimating the dead
Dragons

But yes, someone being able to run about with some stomach wounds is the really unbelievable bit of the show 😆

Also, wasn’t she leaving a trail with squashed fruit instead of her own blood?

Perhaps her injuries weren’t as bad as you imagine?

Also, wasn’t she leaving a trail with squashed fruit instead of her own blood?

Oh no! I’m going to have to watch that again. I swear they make this program for the nerds who watch it 10 times and blog/yt about it.

Long lingering shot of squashed blood oranges as she lies on the floor after tumbling through the market.
This is where the blood trail started.

I am attracted to Brienne of Tarth

Back off mate, i have had that feeling since she bathed with the Knight Slayer

She could run about because she was off her face on milk of the poppy and was a pain free zone until that wore off. Also we don’t know how long she’d been laid up in the home of Lady Crane, could of been hours, days or weeks. We didn’t see Bran for an entire series once so GoT does have previous for leaving the passing of time as a little open to interpretation.

Ice zombies
Reanimating the dead
Dragons

But yes, someone being able to run about with some stomach wounds is the really unbelievable bit of the show

yeah but no but yeah but

previously, it’s been fairly consistent about how characters deal with injuries, i.e. they tend to fall over and die making gargly noises vs jumping nimbly from 12 foot high walls and skipping up hill and down dale

Long lingering shot of squashed blood oranges as she lies on the floor after tumbling through the market.
This is where the blood trail started.

there was claret on the carpet in last weeks episode, all previous to the magic of oranges being artistically introduced to the equation

But yes, someone being able to run about with some stomach wounds is the really unbelievable bit of the show

Yes but all the other things have explanations in the plot.
Fantasy elements are fine. Lazy storytelling isn’t.

Perhaps her injuries weren’t as bad as you imagine?

Slashed across the gut, then two good deep stabs and a knife twist.

Followed by a swim in murky looking water and a loads of blood loss.

Also Lady Crane seemed pretty worried for her when she tended the wounds.

I didn’t mind the Arya storyline unfolding like that. At least it lets her move on from somewhere that dragged on a bit.

Arya will go back up north and meet the hound
Snow will win his battle with a bit of late help from someone at the last minute.
Dany will take the iron borns ships and head west
only to find that Cersei has tried to blow the place up
but Jamie kills her like he did the mad king (end of this series I reckon … )
Dany then will realise the undead issues in the north,
and everyone tramps up to the wall for a mass brawl at the end.
someone from series 1 will be raised from the dead to save the day (Ned ! 😛 )

Snow will win his battle with a bit of late help from someone at the last minute.

The Knights of the Vale via Little Finger perhaps?
But when will Little Finger turn on them?

Dany will take the iron borns ships and head west

She has a whole bunch of Slaver ships in her harbour right now if she can figure out how to capture them.

but Jamie kills her like he did the mad king

Yep – completes Jaime’s character arc with sacrifice and some redemption.
Wouldn’t surprise me if he died in the process.

and everyone tramps up to the wall for a mass brawl at the end.

But who gets to ride the dragons?

Who is Azor Ahai?

Will Ser Jorah sort out his eczema?

And will Gendry ever finish rowing?

The Arya storyline was ok. I think it was a trap for the waif as didn’t we see Arya sitting in that room at the end of an episode a couple of weeks ago? I actually liked the way she knocked out the candlelight and that it was left to the viewer to decide what she’d done, presumably using her superior low light skillz 😉

She threw oranges at her?