Game of Thrones (The Final Season / 8 )

[Morris Schæffer]

Jaime could go, and I saw a theory suggesting that he will fall killing the Night King and then die in Brianne's arms. That seems a little more likely because it'd actually be a decent end to his character.

Wasn't Bronn dispatched by Cersei to take out the Lannister boys? Seemed like a big deal in episode 1. Like that's gonna be a scene later on.

[Ezee E]

Wasn't Bronn dispatched by Cersei to take out the Lannister boys? Seemed like a big deal in episode 1. Like that's gonna be a scene later on.

Most definitely will be.

[Morris Schæffer]

That was silly and manipulative but I got a kick out of it.

But ... [

Show Spoiler

no way anybody in that throne room lets Jaime live.

].

I'm sensing a major redemptive arc here, wouldn't be surprised if Jaimie ends up saving the day.

[Morris Schæffer]

Most definitely will be.

But no way Bronn will actually do this. If anything, he'll end up joining the Lannister Brothers. Poor judgment by Cersei.

[Grouchy]

But no way Bronn will actually do this. If anything, he'll end up joining the Lannister Brothers. Poor judgment by Cersei.

You're not the first one I've encountered saying this and I don't understand where it's coming from. Bronn is charming, sure, but his whole character is that he's an unscrupulous sellsowrd. Hence that set-up scene.

[Ezee E]

Someone brought up that Tyrion had a line in the first season that if he was ever to be hunted down for money, he'd double it to go back on the person that wanted him killed.

[Spinal]

You're not the first one I've encountered saying this and I don't understand where it's coming from. Bronn is charming, sure, but his whole character is that he's an unscrupulous sellsowrd. Hence that set-up scene.

The problem is not with Bronn's character. It's with Cersei's. There is absolutely NO way she would trust Bronn to do this mission. She is far too paranoid. It's the weakest story element of the new season in my opinion and really just feels like they need something for Bronn to do.

[Morris Schæffer]

Didn't Bronn save Jaimie from fiery bbq death in the previous season? A mere sellsword would probably run in the other direction than to face almost certain death to save another.

[Irish]

You're not much of a mercenary if you let your employer die.

[Morris Schæffer]

You're not much of a mercenary if you let your employer die.

Point taken!

[Irish]

The problem is not with Bronn's character. It's with Cersei's. There is absolutely NO way she would trust Bronn to do this mission. She is far too paranoid. It's the weakest story element of the new season in my opinion and really just feels like they need something for Bronn to do.

Yep. Before HBO ran out of source material, character choice never felt contrived. Whatever else his faults, Martin knows his characters and it never felt like he was forcing them to fit the plot.

But lately: Tyrion trust Cersei, Winterfell accepts Jaime, Cersei trusts Bronn, etc.

Each of those seem to me to be small violations of character. I still get a kick out of the show and all, but that sorta sloppiness makes Martin's work look shabbier than it really is.

[Grouchy]

The problem is not with Bronn's character. It's with Cersei's. There is absolutely NO way she would trust Bronn to do this mission. She is far too paranoid. It's the weakest story element of the new season in my opinion and really just feels like they need something for Bronn to do.

Each of those seem to me to be small violations of character. I still get a kick out of the show and all, but that sorta sloppiness makes Martin's work look shabbier than it really is.

I'm in the middle of reading the fourth and five books (there's a fan made combined reading order online called A Feast with Dragons) and Martin's character work is nothing short of excellent. His writing is really addictive as well - I'm sure you know this but every chapter is told from the perspective of one character and contains A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION spread out in a way that feels completely natural and makes the story progress slowly but assuredly. While reading the last two books I realized that a lot of what we're seeing as flaws in the last three seasons are contrivances that come out of needing such character to be here or there or this storyline to advance up to there without having the right character to do it, so they just take as much from the source material as they can and run with it.

I bet the Bronn thing is like that too, some Martin storyline from the last books that they don't really know how to do better so they just call on Bronn, a fun character with a reliable fanbase.

[Spinal]

I don't know what Martin thinks of the combined reading method, but I thought it greatly improved the experience. A Feast for Crows is a bit of a slog otherwise, leaving you for long stretches in Cersei's demented mindset and Brienne's largely futile quest, and without Tyrion and Daenerys to spice things up. Reading them together, you can better appreciate the whole.

[Grouchy]

I don't know what Martin thinks of the combined reading method, but I thought it greatly improved the experience. A Feast for Crows is a bit of a slog otherwise, leaving you for long stretches in Cersei's demented mindset and Brienne's largely futile quest, and without Tyrion and Daenerys to spice things up. Reading them together, you can better appreciate the whole.

Yeah, I really don't know if I'd want to read through excess of a thousand pages, only to then come back chronologically to near the beginning of that novel to read up even more pages on what Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon and Davos had been doing with that time. The combined reading order seemed the less insane option in comparison.

[Ezee E]

I'm about to finish book 3 and heard about book 4 and not having Tyrion/Daenerys/Jon Snow... I wonder where one can get the combined book which is kind of how it was intended to be anyway, but was just too long.

Even in the books, I can't really think of a mercenary that Cersei would send out on such a mission. Euron Greyjoy is most effective at sea. The Mountain is a bodyguard. Meryn Trant is dead. It'd have to be a spy at this point. I trust the Bronn piece because he is a guy that has no loyalties, but she sure better have The Mountain next to her when he returns.

[Spinal]

I'm about to finish book 3 and heard about book 4 and not having Tyrion/Daenerys/Jon Snow... I wonder where one can get the combined book which is kind of how it was intended to be anyway, but was just too long.

Just follow this: http://afeastwithdragons.com/

The only weird part is Jon II in Dance with Dragons which recaps much of the Samwell chapter that precedes it, only from Jon's perspective.

[Grouchy]

I wonder where one can get the combined book which is kind of how it was intended to be anyway, but was just too long.

I tried and tried but couldn't find someone who had uploaded the combined book in EPUB... So, yeah, I just follow that link Spinal provided and jump from book to book in my Kindle.

By the way the closing chapters of Book 3 are fucking amazing, even if you already know the events from the show. Enjoy!

The only weird part is Jon II in Dance with Dragons which recaps much of the Samwell chapter that precedes it, only from Jon's perspective.

I just passed that part, there are pages in Jon's chapter which are just the exact same dialogue from Samwell's chapter but with Jon's thoughts instead of Sam's. Weird way to read a book.

[Ezee E]

Just follow this: http://afeastwithdragons.com/

The only weird part is Jon II in Dance with Dragons which recaps much of the Samwell chapter that precedes it, only from Jon's perspective.

Perhaps I just skip one of them... probably the Samwell chapter.

[Grouchy]

Perhaps I just skip one of them... probably the Samwell chapter.

They both contain information the other does not. Just skip the repeat part when you get to it.

[Grouchy]

Update, I fucked up and read the wrong Daenerys chapter!

[Spinal]

Update, I fucked up and read the wrong Daenerys chapter!

Well, now you have to start over all the way at the beginning of the first book.

[Gizmo]

I was about 75% the way through book 5 when the show passed it, and I stopped being as invested in reading it. Now I don't remember what I've read, so I just decided to start over at book 1, and even though I'm only about 100 pages in, I'm picking up on some foreshadowing and subtle things I missed the first time through. Plus, I remember more of the minor characters better (even though there aren't too many yet).

[Peng]

I heard long about Book 4 and 5 before I finished 3, so I followed an online guide combining both books, and that was a great experience than it would be otherwise, even if it required switching back and forth between two thick books quite a bit lol

[Grouchy]

We're like sponsored by this online reading order. We should be getting paid even if they aren't.

[Spinal]

Funny how we just waited a year and a half for this new season and yet the weeks in between episodes feel soooo long.