I'm enjoying the anticipation this season, but by Samwell's pink mast, B&W can be so inept storytellers. Subtlety is cut from characters, plotlines make no logical sense, and the themes which GRRM cared for are abandoned like unwanted babies (liked the portrayal of war in EP9, though - the sheer, claustrophobic hell of it was utterly brilliantly shown).

Anyway, since this thread has kind of devolved into a TV discussion, let me spice things up by introducing:

THE DWARF'S PENNY
aka Penny is Tyrion's Daughter

The theory is from the ASOIAF blogger Butterfly, but I'll summarize the argument here.

Theory: Penny is Tyrion's daughter with Tysha.

Evidence:

(1) From the blog: "Tysha wasn’t a whore. “Where do whores go?” There’s your problem, Tyrion. Jaime told you, and you forgot in favor of dwelling on what your dad said instead. Lord knows where whores go… but a traumatized young girl might end up in Oldtown, where she’ll find refuge with a little person who reminds her of her lost love, and do her best to raise the babies she nicknames after coins. Her spare change, if you will."

(2) Penny even looks like Tyrion:

Tyrion's description from AGOT: “His head was too large for his body, with a brute’s squashed-in face beneath a swollen shelf of brow.”

Penny's from Dance: “Clean-shaved and pink-cheeked, with a mop of chestnut hair, a heavy brow, and a squashed nose, he perched on a high stool with a wooden spoon in hand, contemplating a bowl of purplish gruel with red-rimmed eyes. Ugly little bastard, Tyrion thought.”

And no, not every dwarf has heavy brows and squashed in faces - The dwarf septon that Brienne met was described as "The little man was not quite five feet tall. His nose was veined and bulbous, his teeth red from sourleaf, and he was dressed in the brown roughspun robes of a holy brother, with the iron hammer of the Smith dangling down about his thick neck."

And you know what? I bet that Penny's brother Groat, murdered for Tyrion's bounty, even looks like the man himself.

(3) Penny is the right age. Given Tyrion's and Tysha's ages, and when they met (aged 13 each), Penny herself should be around that age herself. Tyrion does initially think that she's about 18, but this seems wrong inasmuch as Penny acts like a child - naïve, loves her pets, sexually inexperienced, and in general has none of the hard-bitten, realism that a low-born, penniless female (let alone a dwarf) is likely to have if they are to survive for any extended period of time. Tyrion even explicitly compares her to Sansa later on - who is of course a child herself.

In closing - note that Penny's mother used to sing to her and her brother. And Tysha, we know from Tyrion, used to love to sing as well - especially the song Seasons of our Love. To quote the blog again:

"The question is when will Tyrion figure this out… and knowing GRRM, knowing Lannisters, I’m guessing probably after it’s gone too far with the girl. I’d bet any money on her singing “Seasons of My Love”, after, all sweet and romantic… and then Tyrion will come to the right conclusions and totally flip out."

 

Penny had a brother, Oppo. Given how he seemed much less naive than Penny, I had assumed he was older than her. How does that fit into your theory?

 

CONFIRMED. FINALLY.

 

Fuck. Yes.

Everything about that episode was epic. Most impressive thing - B&W finally made me care about Tommen.

Spoiler

Tommen's suicide was brutal and really well done. Just that quiet removal of the crown and the lingering shot on the open window had me on the edge of my seat.

R+L=J played out as expected. No shocks there and that cut away to Jon was a nice touch.

I hope Jon doesn't fully take up the King in the North mantle, and he passes that off to Sansa somehow. I don't want him to become Robb 2.0. I want him fighting the walkers on the front lines, being awesome and doing awesome Jon Snow stuff.

I didn't see the Arya bit coming, so that was a really nice surprise.

Cersei taking the throne and Jaime's look when she does was excellent. Like...he was seeing her clearly for the first time. Who wants to bet that we're going to have a Mad King parallel and Jaime is going to end up killing her for the greater good?

 

Spoiler

Are Jon being DAKINGINDANORF and him fighting on the front lines mutually exclusive? This is an era when kings leading the fight is the norm, or close to it. He can fight from the front as King, while Sansa is regent in Winterfell.

 

I'm putting my bit into spoilers in case anyone hasn't seen the episode and is watching this thread.

Spoiler

Jon would have been raised to be his brother Robb's strong right-arm, (especially given he was raised in Winterfell alongside Robb,) leading armies and swinging a sword for when they had to split the North's men, or if Robb had urgent business elsewhere. That wasn't uncommon in real life, and I doubt it'd be uncommon in the North, where bastards aren't viewed as unkindly as in the South except by Southron women. (Cat, looking at you.)

For proof I submit William Longespee, Third Earl of Salisbury, King John's half-brother and King Henry III's uncle. We mostly remember William for his role in the battle at Damme and his loyalty to John, but fewer people know that instead of trying to bid for throne himself, he stayed loyal to his nephew Henry.

If or when Jon calls the men of the North to his banner for a war or fight, fully expect him to take the field at the front of his men and lords.

 

Seeing

Spoiler

Varys on the ship with Dany at the end really threw me for a loop after seeing him in Dorne lmao.

 

Just assume it takes months to assemble that fleet, so he would have made the trip back by the time it has been finished. I do agree it is jarring how they presented it.

 

The fleet showed Tyrell and Martel banners. Some time passed. Dany at that point is in westeros coastal waters it looks like

 

Spoiler

Loved that moment when Sansa looks at Littlefinger and realizes that he will never allow Jon be King of the North.

Of course Lyanna Mormont proving herself badass once again.

Also, fucking HUZZAH for Jon being proclaimed King of the North. Since I started reading these books many years ago I've wanted that to happen most of all. More than Dany taking back the throne or even the fight against the White Walkers. King Jon of Winterfell was my preferred outcome. Though, I personally think that when Jon learns of his heritage he'll step down because he's not Ned Stark's son.

Arya pulling a Wyman Manderly was great with those pies. I'm curious if she killed everyone or just the two main sons + Old Walder. I guessed that she was the serving lady. I was hoping she had put poison in everyone's wine, but I'll take feeding Walder his sons.

Can't imagine Cersei lasting too long. If Dany doesn't take Westeros by episode 3 next season I'm going to rage.

 

Someone took Kings Landing a bit too literally.

 

Spoiler

Also, what's with everyone teleporting left and right? I get that they get some slack since it would be boring showing people travelling all the time, but it's like they're not even bothering with distance anymore.

 

I'm always amazed at the way the show manages to mix utter bullshit into an otherwise great episode.

Overall, a better ending than I expected, much less stupidity than other episodes in the season.
Mormont girl was amazing.

Oh and Cercei is right up there with that cunt from The Mist as one of my most hated fictional characters now.

 

That shit was almost a perfect finale.

Still... where the fuck is Ghost.

Yall got a literal white wolf when you're metaphoring about a white wolf.

 

Spoiler

Given the prophecy of Maggy the Frog:

And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar (brother) shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.

That's a definite yes.

 

So who wants to bet at what point next season Cersei dies? I'm going to bet before halfway through because the writers need a big shock.

 

No hesitation.

 

Spoiler

It'd be even more fitting if he ended up killing her just as the Targareyan army is laying siege to Kings Landing.

 

Spoiler

I kind of want Tyrion to kill her, just so that at least one prophecy goes off as initially expected. If they all are subtly wrong it stops being interesting.

 

Spoiler

Wait, why is Jamie wrong? He's her brother too.