[Terez]

Casting listed so far for the next two episodes:


Episode 9: The Dance of Dragons

Mereen

Tyrion, Jorah, Dany, Missandei, Daario, Hizdahr zo Loraq, Pit Announcer

Braavos

Arya, Young Braavosi, Brea, Tychos Nestoris, Mace Tyrell, Meryn Trant, Lannister Guard [?]

Winterfell etc.

Roose, Ramsay, Stannis, Davos, Yara, Baratheon General

Dorne

Jaime, Doran, Myrcella, Trystane, Ellaria, Obara, Nymeria, Tyene

***
Nothing listed for King's Landing or the Wall on ep 9 yet. That could change; these things are updated regularly.

Episode 10: Mother's Mercy

Mereen

Tyrion, Dany, Daario, Missandei

Braavos

Arya, Waif

Winterfell

Stannis, Davos, Melisandre, Selyse, Shireen, Baratheon General, Roose, Ramsay, Myranda, Sansa, Theon, Brienne [Yara was listed previously but was removed]

Dorne

Doran, Ellaria, Obara, Nymeria, Tyene

King's Landing

Kevan Lannister, Varys, Pycelle, High Sparrow [Lollys was listed previously but removed]

The Wall

Jon, Sam, Gilly, Olly, Tormund, Alliser, Dolorous Edd, White Walker [the one Jon killed]

The Iron Islands

Balon Greyjoy
***
Melisandre will probably go to the Wall this ep. but I put her with Stannis.

[Gorefest]

The TV series is really taking a swerve from the books now. I am starting to wonder if they are now deliberately running towards opposing endings.

So have the TV series end with 'fire' as the winner and the books with 'ice' ("Oh look, the Wall wasn't built to protect from Walkers after all, it was built to imprison/block the 'good' guys").

[Gorefest]

Terez, on 04 June 2015 - 08:34 AM, said:

Casting listed so far for the next two episodes:

Spoiled for the non-book background TV followers:

Spoiler

I still expect to see Lady Stoneheart at the end of this season.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 04 June 2015 - 10:39 AM

[Ceda Cicero]

If Varys is listed as returning in ep. 10 then I feel quite certain the final scene of the season will be more or less identical to the epilogue of DANCE.

[End of Disc One]

I was thinking Varys may instead show up in Dorne when Doran makes his reveal, since Varys has sort of taken the place of Jon Connington this season

[Spoilsport Stonny]

Sorry Terez that I didn't respond right away. I'll just go ahead and say that I'll parrot Preston Jacobs about the Pink Letter as he makes an outstanding case for it, but he argues

Spoiler

Mance Rayder wrote the pink letter, not Ramsey. And as soon as it arrives, Wun Wun starts going crazy, which he says means someone blew the horn that "wakes giants". Then he goes on to say that the giants are actually the Greenseers (Bran sees a bunch of them lying dormant) and Tormund was raised by them. So what the letter was is something of a communication to Tormund from Mance to begin some kind of Free Folk mayhem.

It gets real tin foil-y for a while but I recommend you watch his video and the others he's done. They're spectacular entertainment, if not all 100% on the money. Regardless even if he's not right at all its certainly left WIDE open to speculate whether or not Ramsay wrote it. One of my favorite parts of ADWD. I've honestly grown to really love that book.

This post has been edited by Spoilsport Stonny: 04 June 2015 - 03:37 PM

[Terez]

End of Disc One, on 04 June 2015 - 02:57 PM, said:

I was thinking Varys may instead show up in Dorne when Doran makes his reveal, since Varys has sort of taken the place of Jon Connington this season

For some reason it didn't even occur to me that he wouldn't be in King's Landing. I guess just because of the other people listed.

[Terez]

Spoilsport Stonny, on 04 June 2015 - 03:22 PM, said:

Sorry Terez that I didn't respond right away. I'll just go ahead and say that I'll parrot Preston Jacobs about the Pink Letter as he makes an outstanding case for it, but he argues

Spoiler

Mance Rayder wrote the pink letter, not Ramsey. And as soon as it arrives, Wun Wun starts going crazy, which he says means someone blew the horn that "wakes giants". Then he goes on to say that the giants are actually the Greenseers (Bran sees a bunch of them lying dormant) and Tormund was raised by them. So what the letter was is something of a communication to Tormund from Mance to begin some kind of Free Folk mayhem.

It gets real tin foil-y for a while but I recommend you watch his video and the others he's done. They're spectacular entertainment, if not all 100% on the money. Regardless even if he's not right at all its certainly left WIDE open to speculate whether or not Ramsay wrote it. One of my favorite parts of ADWD. I've honestly grown to really love that book.

I finally got around to watching those videos. I prefer to read theories; call me old school, but then I can skim them for the meat of the argument and not dwell too long on the tinfoily stuff, compare the given quotes, etc. (And I like a tad more context with the quotes than this guy gave.)

It was a better argument than I expected, but GRRM's prose style is repetitive and I'm not sure that is a very good argument for a connection between the "submission ceremony" and the letter. It was all believable when I was watching it, but when I was done I read the letter again and it became hard to believe again. There were some independent theories mentioned therein which I thought were stronger.

[Cause]

That theory was a huge stretch. I have never assumed the letter is 100 % honest but to believe it was sent by mance rayder is backed by nothing but huge leaps of logic.

[Spoilsport Stonny]

I agree with the WHOLE theory being a stretch, but parts of it make better sense to me than Ramsay winning the day over Stannis, the mountain clans, and Mance's and his spearwives as the Manderley conspiracy unwinds. Regardless, whoever wrote it, it was likely NOT Ramsay.

[Gorefest]

I'm in the Stannis camp myself, although if it wasn't Stannis I still think that Ramsay is the most likely option. In that case it would be Ramsay after being fed false information by Stannis and the Northern conspiracy. Mance seems too much of a stretch.

[QuickTidal]

Hang on, the letter mentions Reek specifically. Don't we have to narrow the people we think penned it (if not Ramsay) to those that would know specifically of Reek at that point? Even Stannis (I can't recall if Theon's escape from Winterfell and capture by Stannis happens before or after the Pink Letter would need to have been sent north.) But at the very least the pool of people who know of Reek when the letter comes to Castle Black would be little to none, no?

Or did I miss something?

I mean my money COULD be on Stannis, provided he knew Theon was Reek, and captured him in time to then send a letter to the Wall.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 05 June 2015 - 02:42 PM

[Gorefest]

QuickTidal, on 05 June 2015 - 02:37 PM, said:

I mean my money COULD be on Stannis,

Good odds!

Quote

provided he knew Theon was Reek,

He did. Even better, Theon said to Stannis in an upcoming chapter in TWoW: "He wants his bride back. He wants his Reek.." And in the letter it reads: "I want my bride back. And I want my Reek."

Quote

and captured him in time to then send a letter to the Wall.

He did, I believe, based on the preview TWOW chapter.

[QuickTidal]

Gorefest, on 05 June 2015 - 03:29 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 05 June 2015 - 02:37 PM, said:

I mean my money COULD be on Stannis,

Good odds!

Quote

provided he knew Theon was Reek,

He did. Even better, Theon said to Stannis in an upcoming chapter in TWoW: "He wants his bride back. He wants his Reek.." And in the letter it reads: "I want my bride back. And I want my Reek."

Quote

and captured him in time to then send a letter to the Wall.

He did, I believe, based on the preview TWOW chapter.

Ah, I did not know that as I've not read the sample chapters from TWOW. Much obliged. Makes perfect sense.

[Spoilsport Stonny]

I like the Mance theory. Subterfuge like that isn't Stannis' style. He's a hammer against an anvil. Mance however would like to bring over all the Wildlings without destroying the wall. Creating chaos among the Night's Watch is exactly how. Anyway, its just fun conjecture. I do know this much: Ramsay sure as shit didn't write that letter.

[Terez]

QuickTidal, on 05 June 2015 - 02:37 PM, said:

Hang on, the letter mentions Reek specifically.

That is the main reason I find it hard to believe Mance wrote it, even considering that he knew who Reek was. If he was writing a code letter to Tormund, why mention Reek at all? Why mention him even for Jon's sake? The same goes for Stannis.

It's a clever theory which draws together lots of random and interesting details, but it's the kind of not-likely-to-be-true theory one comes up with when all the more obvious theories get boring. No one wants to discuss secret Targaryens all the time.

This post has been edited by Terez: 06 June 2015 - 12:51 AM

[Spoilsport Stonny]

I think mentioning Reek is just part of a lot of things, but the main reason is he Mance doesnt know what happened to him. He was caught up in the greenland-friendly iron island allies' plot to establish theon as rhe rightful ruler of the iron islands (one theory says the horn euron had that guy blow was a slave horn that binds all in ear ahot to the horns master. Victarion has hat horn now and if he blows it, will it bind dragons to him or people to euron???). Lots of conspiracies at play in the north. Not surprising they would get intertwined. Yeah its lunacy sometimes but its so much frikkin fun.

[Terez]

I am starting to think it highly unlikely that they'll leave the Battle of Winterfell unresolved like it was in ADWD. I don't think they can get away with that on the show, for one thing. For the rest: 1) Ramsay has already asked for his 20 good men and is about to do his thing. 2) Winterfell and Stannis are confirmed for both episodes. 3) They turned up the action quite heavily in episode 8, suggesting there are perhaps even bigger things to come. I just wonder how they're going to pull it off, exactly.

[Ceda Cicero]

Terez, on 06 June 2015 - 11:40 PM, said:

I am starting to think it highly unlikely that they'll leave the Battle of Winterfell unresolved like it was in ADWD. I don't think they can get away with that on the show, for one thing. For the rest: 1) Ramsay has already asked for his 20 good men and is about to do his thing. 2) Winterfell and Stannis are confirmed for both episodes. 3) They turned up the action quite heavily in episode 8, suggesting there are perhaps even bigger things to come. I just wonder how they're going to pull it off, exactly.

I agree. Add to this, you could argue that they telegraphed Littlefinger turning up with a Vale army outside of Winterfell a few episodes ago and further that it's unlikely they'll delay the punchline of that until next season.

That particular arc with LF does make me wonder if that's his eventual next move in the series--to swoop in on the North just in time to mop up both armies after the Battle of Ice.

This post has been edited by Ceda Cicero: 07 June 2015 - 06:37 PM

[Traveller]

Looking ahead, that makes me think that the Walkers will head south, sweeping everything aside; Dany will be the counter, and therefore gain her much needed support; and Littlefinger, after all his plans, plotting, games and ambitions, will be taken out right when he thinks he's reached his goal. Dracarys.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 07 June 2015 - 07:40 PM