Game of Thrones Episode 9...

[13thforswarn]

As someone else has said, where the fuck is Greatjon!?

Am I the only one who saw it coming? There was so much foreshadowing. The storm (pathetic fallacy), the ravens chilling on the red leaved trees (typically associated with the Starks). The Hound's line about how the closer Arya gets to her family, the more she fears they'll disappear. Did you really think Walder Frey would forgive the Starks? It seemed too good to be true when he was all like "alright, let' forget about everything and have a good time".

I'm still having trouble figuring out why he massacred them all because Robb didn't bother marrying one of his daugthers. Sure an Oath is an Oath, but it's a bit fucking extreme.

I feel like Lady Stark made a pretty big deal about not crossing him before. Robb didn't heed her advice, and now we have this.

 

[GrimTuesday]

Being a fan of the books first and foremost, I think one issue with the show is it tends to put things to bed rather quickly. In the books, Robbs wife doesn't die, so there was speculation that she might be pregnant, and that we might be something happy out of all this. But instead, they both killed her in the show, as well as killed that theory for the books as well. Also, I honestly don't think there should have been so much killing of the folks at the wedding. Sure, in the books a lot of people died, but a lot were taken prisoner because they were mostly other lords, who make far better hostages than corpses .

That said, Great episode. Knowing what was happening didn't make it any easier for me, I had to pause and gird myself for what I knew was to come.

Spoiler: Just in case

Actually the books strongly indicate to Jeyne Westerling being given Moon Tea by her mother under the lie of it helping her get pregnant (Moon Tea is a contraceptive). It's seen in her conversation with Catelyn at Riverrun.

While Jeyne is not directly implicated, as she seems to be oblivious in that conversation, it's quite obvious her mother hates Robb for killing her husband (Jeynes father) in the attack on the Westerling holdfast. So she is trying to do whatever she can to thwart Robb in producing an heir, possibly in league with Tywin Lannister or some other foe of Starks. Robbs heir isn't going to happen, one way or another.

It's also made mention that only people of importance are captured, Edwin Tully being the most prominent (as he is now Lord of Riverrun).

I know all this (I have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the series thanks to my very good memory) and actually corrected someone upthread that it was tansy (the herb used in the tea), and not milk of the Poppy. I'm just saying that its no fun when the show get rid of the ambiguity that the books had, if anything, the show is spoiling stuff from later books.

Only those important people would have been in the dining hall with Robb, so it stands to reason that many of the guys in there with him were actually Lords from the North and the Riverlands, or their sons or other family members. None of these people would be killed in such a way, its just not good politics .

 

[Erttheking]

Snip

From what I read online, I think I may have an answer for you about GreatJon.

Spoiler: Spoilers, obviously

[In the books, the Freys actually went out of their way to get him wasted so he wouldn't be involved in the fight. The North and Riverlands are gonna be pissed when they find out about the Red Weddings, so the Freys took hostages to prevent further attacks against them. In the books, GreatJon was one of the hostages. So if the series follows that, he'll still be alive.]

And yes it is extreme. But here's the thing about Walder Frey. He's very...petty.

 

[Queen Bee]

This was one of the most shocking things I've seen in a TV/movie... I couldn't believe the story took a turn like that, but it definitely has me even more interested in where they are going with this.

 

[viranimus]

I really dont get this season.

I understand its a "builder" season. I understand that new chars are being build and old ones culled. I understand they purposely are stretching one book across two seasons to accomodate this.

What I do not get is why this season has been so awful and tedious.

Between Jamie Lannister acting all disheveled and emoid, even before he actually had a legitimate reason to behave as such, and the boring and predictable "Passion of the Greyjoy" season long psuedo snuff film.

I honestly feel this season has been very disappointing. I also get the feeling that Martin was never fully up to the task of what HBO would need for this production, so now the existing writing staff are helping Martin and correspondingly shaping the way the narrative is turning out, which might explain this dreary pace this year.

I mean the "big" thing this season is the "Red Wedding" and you need to ask yourself. Was that one scene REALLY all that good, stunning impressive? Or are you being extra forgiving because youve waited for 9 episodes for ANYTHING of interest to happen and when it finally does, it seems far more impressive than it actually is.

Dont get me wrong, the Show is still amongst the best TV has to offer right now. Honestly even the best of shows suffered through rough seasons and GoT would logically be no different. So Heres looking forward to a better show next season.

 

[TheGrandTatunkanite]

I'm still having trouble figuring out why he massacred them all because Robb didn't bother marrying one of his daugthers. Sure an Oath is an Oath, but it's a bit fucking extreme.

At this point, Robb's forces basically stood no chance. He had just executed one of his most powerful bannermen causing a large portion of his army to abandon him, Winterfell has been destroyed, the Ironborn still hold several Northern castles, and the Lannisters are sealing an alliance with the Tyrells that will greatly increase their strength. Frey did what he did both for revenge and to switch over to the winning team.

 

[xshadowscreamx]

i was really hoping that rob atleast would take someone down. like roose bolten.
and cat will never know that her bran and rickon are fine.
then again since its fantasy, she might

yep. im just gonna crawl in a ball now

i reading the 3rd book as well and i will relive it all over again in greater detail. nooooooooo

 

[Pessimismus]

I read the books and I was shocked back when I read it and seeing it on screen like that was no less shocking. I thought the episode was incredibly well done, the bards playing Rains of Castamere made it even more powerful.

Sad as it may be, this is one of those things which makes the series so great; nobody is safe, death is inevitable and even if you can see it coming, it does not mean you will be prepared for it.

 

[tzimize]

Look on the bright side, it can only really get happier from here. And besides, we have another wedding to look forward to.

As a reader of the books, I can honestly say that even though I knew what was coming, this still shocked me. Very well done.

Spoiler

Robb's wife's death was especially shocking for me since she didn't actually attend the wedding in the books.

Yeah...

Spoiler

The death of Robbs wife was horribly brutal, especially considering she was pregnant and all. It was like they were stabbing the fetus. Repeatedly. Completely awful to watch. And I loved it

The series is just brilliant. I havent read all the books yet, and I think we're closing up on the point where I dont know what happens next. I just have to say I'm scared he will simply kill of all the interesting people and thus kill his own story . There are less and less characters I care about....so I just hope he has a grain of mercy...with a few of them at least. My two favorites since day 1 are still alive though. Tyrion and Arya.

And I gotta say, Tywin is just AMAZING in the TV version. Spoilers inc from previous episodes this season. I was just rolling in satisfaction when he married of both Tyrion and Cersei both. He is just DELICIOUS.

 

[Edl01]

I am kind of a masochist, I enjoy the tension and build up that you get from a weekly TV series, so I am still holding off on reading any of the books. But it is going to be so difficult for me to stick with that after episode 9. I mean OH my god.

 

[lucky_sharm]

I feel like they could have depicted the Red Wedding more accurately. In the books, you really got the sense that Robb's bannermen loved him and did the best they could to protect him despite the hopeless situation they were in. The Rains of Castamere was also sung throughout the slaughter, muting the carnage and Catelyn's pleas for mercy.

 

[Mitzeh]

The episode was great, as is the show. Though in my case the whole wedding scene barely fazed me. I liked the characters, but their deaths didn't make me sad at all. Especially the way Cat's throat was slit, that scene looked incredibly weird to me and actually made me smile. And no, I didn't read the books beforehand so I had no idea what was going to happen until the song started playing.

 

[Odbarc]

My entire thought on the episode is what I figured he would do the moment, episodes earlier, Stark married.
I kept thinking of "all these perfect opportunities" and "is he really going to not do anything" until he did.