My Thoughts on GAME OF THRONES Season 7 Episode 2: "Stormborn"

Last night I watched "Stormborn," the second episode of the seventh season of HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones. In this one, there's a lot going on, including Danaerys' invasion of the Seven Kingdoms running into a major snag.

The Good

*Sam's surgery on Ser Jorah to cure his greyscale was extremely painful to watch, which was kind of the point. And the way they cut from Sam's knife penetrating Jorah's damaged skin to Arya cutting into a pie was masterful--if gross--in the same way they cut from Sam emptying bedpans to Sam serving slops in the Citadel cafeteria.

*I was very glad to see Arya going home instead of continuing her likely suicidal attempt to take out Cersei. Seriously, the group I watch the show with was straight-up cheering when, upon learning her brother (well, cousin, but she doesn't know that) Jon was ruling the North, she turned around.

*Although Jon is going about it in a clumsy way (no thanks to Sansa), he shows he has the best interests of the North at heart. He really should send Ser Davos or even Sansa herself to Dragonstone to negotiate with Danaerys, at least at first. Hopefully Littlefinger won't take advantage of his absence to push Sansa into doing something stupid and dangerous--it would suck massively if Jon had to personally execute (as far as he knows) his own sister for treason Ned Stark style.

*There are lots of good speeches here--Varys stands up to Danaerys and talks about how he's loyal to the people who'll prosper with good leadership and suffer under bad, Cersei rallying Westerosi lords against Danaerys' army of violent foreigners, and Jaime's attempt to woo Randyll Tarly and overcome his oaths to House Tyrell.

*I liked the scene between Jon Snow and Littlefinger in the crypt, even though I vocally referred to Littlefinger as an "oily prick" while it was actually in progress. Littlefinger mixes lies with truths as usual--Jon does owe him a lot for saving his behind in the Battle of the Bastards, but he had a lot more than just "differences" with Ned Stark and it wasn't very smart of him to reveal that he loved Sansa just like he loved her mother. Seriously, he earned that Big Brother Beatdown there. And the sheer gall of him coming to "pay respects" to Ned Stark's grave when it was him who betrayed him to his death in the first place. DIE! DIE!

*And Euron Greyjoy proves he can walk the walk, not just talk the talk. He takes Yara's fleet (or at least the core of it) by surprise in a pyromaniac orgy of slaughter, he's the first man aboard Yara's flagship riding down a skull-headed gangplank cackling with glee, and by the end of it, he takes multiple stab wounds and multiple blows from a whip from the Sand Snakes, and he still triumphs. Hot damn. That battle sequence was excellent and Euron is my favorite bad guy now. Many of the Game of Thrones villains are just gross (Ramsay, Joffrey), but Euron is just crazy awesome.

The Bad

*No mask for Sam when he's doing a highly risky--to him-- operation on Ser Jorah? Given how he knows from the Archmaester that the man who cured two advanced cases of greyscale died of the disease himself, I'm surprised he didn't wear a mask, whatever equivalent to goggles exist, etc.

*I thought the scene with Grey Worm and Missendei went on for too long. Yes, it's good to know even someone as damaged as Grey Worm can still love (and we know from an earlier season that the Unsullied, despite their physical incapacity, still desire intimacy) and Grey Worm's speech was good, but it seemed like the show's typical gratuitousness. I would have preferred a shorter scene and more time devoted to the Ironborn-on-Ironborn slugfest.

*Sansa needs to stop publicly undermining Jon and arguing with all his decisions. One of my friends said she wanted to punch Sansa through the TV screen. Seriously, they just talked about this last week, and Sansa is a lot more mentally agile and better at playing the game than she was in the earlier seasons.

*When Ellaria and Yara are talking about what Yara would do as queen of the Iron Islands, what they hell does she mean that Theon would serve as her "protector"? As we see later in the episode, Theon isn't very good at "protecting" anybody right now, or at least not protecting people from those bigger and more aggressive than he is. Yara knows how broken Theon is from the failed attack on the Dreadfort. Of course, perhaps this was wishful thinking on her part.

*How did Euron take Yara's flagship by surprise? It's at the heart of a much larger fleet. If he were somehow able to sneak his own ships into the core of Yara's armada, smash up the flagship and its immediate bodyguard, and then flee, leaving most of Yara's fleet actually intact that'd be one thing. But if he attacked at the edges and pushed inward destroying everything in his path, Yara and friends would have a lot more warning rather than being taken by surprise.

*I would have prolonged Theon's agony before he flees. He's shown no problems killing lots of Euron's Ironborn earlier in the episode, which shows he's got a lot of his mojo back. Maybe he advances more boldly on Euron, but slowly breaks back down before Euron's taunting and seeing Euron's people killing everybody around him? Intercut it with some Ramsay flashbacks and it'd be much better.

*Danaerys' strategy to conquer Westeros without alienating the people and leadership by using foreigners to attack the capital and without gratuitously destroying King's Landing with her dragons leaves out just what she would use her dragons for. They're war-winners when used aggressively--see the Field of Fire, the Battle of the Last Storm, and the burning of Harrenhal from Aegon's conquest--and they would allow her coalition to win with far fewer losses.

More Thoughts

*I wonder if they're setting up Sam to get greyscale with the Archmaester's warning and his insufficient precautions.

*The last time we saw Littlefinger getting choked by a Stark it was Ned in King's Landing, and it didn't end well for Ned. And we see Littlefinger rubbing his neck and watching Sansa ominously after emerging from the crypts beneath Winterfell. Jon better watch his back, because the little man is going to try something evil no doubt.

*With the Targaryen-loyalist faction of the Ironborn gutted and the current Dornish leadership captive (and possibly much of the Dornish army destroyed in transports), Danaerys might definitely need to "be a dragon" now, and with Qyburn building a huge ballista (that, per the books, is capable of killing a dragon) and having most of Cersei's wildfire stash besides, that could end badly for her. Hopefully she'll unleash the dragons on Casterly Rock in the next episode, which, incidentally, would give Qyburn more time to build up the capital's anti-dragon defenses.

*Theon is explicitly still alive at the end of the episode, although the sharks will likely be attracted by all the dead and wounded in the water. Unless some remnant of the Targaryen Ironborn fleet is there to pick him up, he looks like he's in trouble. On the other hand, the fact he's explicitly left alive onscreen means that this isn't the last we've seen of him. Let's hope Euron went with a "sneak in, burn, and sneak out" strategy that left much of Yara's fleet intact, for his sake at least.

*Ellaria Sand and one of her daughters are now prisoners of Cersei Lannister, whose innocent daughter they'd treacherously murdered. I wouldn't expect them to live very long, although given how in the books Qyburn seems to enjoy experimenting on women, there might be something much worse for them in store than Cersei simply chopping off both their heads.

(Yara's in a tight spot too, but Euron might want to pimp her out to one of his political allies for Greyjoy dynastic reasons.)

As always, looking forward to next week.

What If Robb Stark Got a Do-Over?

Today I've got another alternate-universe fan-fic from the world of A Song of Ice and Fire for your enjoyment. Both of them courtesy of the biggest alternate-history forum on the Internet, of course...

The first one is entitled "Robb Returns," written by the board member whose handle is Cymraeg (and who has a bunch of really awesome stories available for the Kindle). The gist of it is that the Old Gods send Robb Stark back to a year-ish before King Robert Baratheon comes to Winterfell to ask Ned Stark to become the Hand of the King. To the other denizens of Winterfell, Robb is acting quite strangely--he immediately hugs his sisters and younger brothers (whom he thinks are dead), acts disconcertingly hostile toward his foster brother Theon Greyjoy, and weapons-master Rodrik Cassel reports that he fights like a man who's killed.

Maester Luwin and Ned Stark soon suss out the truth and there's a chance to right the wrongs of canon. Goodies include...

*The touch of the Old Gods giving those who've been touched (first Robb and then Ned) red irises, like the sap of the heart trees. Fortunately for them it fades, but it's a cool little touch.

*An amusing bit about how...popular...King Robert and Tyrion Lannister were with the prostitutes and Winterfell's female staff.

*Ned, who'd kept his distance from Theon in the event Balon rebelled against and he'd have to kill him, actually tries to be the father-figure Theon needs.

*And best of all, Robb goes back early enough that Domeric Bolton, Roose Bolton's legitimate son, is still alive.

This story is of especial interest because my writing fan-fiction in Harry Potter and the Transformers movie-verse (you can see my page here) was inspired by reading the story "The Moment It Began," which gives the dying Severus Snape a do-over.

However, just because a character can avoid the mistakes of his canonical lifetime doesn't mean everything's going to be peachy-keen. Snape in "The Moment It Began" still had to deal with the petty torments of James Potter and his friends, the enmity of the Death Eater wannabes he's now spurned, and the war with Voldemort. Since a major trait of the ASOIAF universe is that (almost) everything that can go wrong will, I expect Robb and the Starks will have issues too. For starters, Roose has ordered Domeric to try to charm Sansa Stark, which might make things a bit awkward if King Robert wants to betroth Sansa to Joffrey. And Ramsay Snow is still out there, waiting to cause trouble...

Enjoy!

Game of Thrones Trailer: "Price for Our Sins" (SPOILERS)

Here's another trailer for the upcoming second season of HBO's Game of Thrones, this one based on the second novel in the series, A Clash of Kings.

I actually read the second book in the series, but that was a long time ago.  However, I've been hanging around the forums and the ASOIAF Wiki, so I've got a good idea of what's happening:

*Danaerys and her khalasar are passing through the red wastes and taking casualties.  I think the woman she's holding is one of her handmaidens, who doesn't survive the journey.

*Cersei looks like she's feeling a bit guilty over the death of Eddard Stark--at least that looks like Eddard-- just before she broods about how this is the price of their sins.  It's dark enough that it could be the captive Jaime Lannister, but with the dark hair, it looks more like Eddard.

*We've got Catelyn lecturing Robb about the cost of power.  In the longer version of that scene in the last trailer I posted, she's talking about how she wished he could follow his heart, so again, it looks like we'll be seeing Jeyne-gate.

*There's Melisandre the Red Woman, a witch who believes Stannis Baratheon is some kind of messiah and has the icons of the Seven burned wherever she goes.  And I guess that's Maester Cressen who is leery of her influence.

*It looks like Theon Greyjoy is still with Robb when he makes his "free and independent kingdom" speech.  It looks like someone else is getting dunked in the water, so I'm guessing that's when Theon returns to the Iron Islands and his religious-zealot uncle insists of reconsecrating them to the Ironborn's Drowned God.

*That woman offering herself sexually to some guy is actually Margaery Tyrell and that's Renly Baratheon there.  In one of the earlier trailers when you see it at a distance, I thought it was Robb Stark and Jeyne Westerling.  Given how them getting it on came about because she was comforting him over the apparent death of his brothers, I imagine them actually sleeping together would come on more slowly.

*And just when Varys makes the comment about "the shadow on the wall," we see Melisandre in the throes of what looks like childbirth.  Looks like we'll be seeing her birthing homicidal shadow-babies.

*The ships and the fire look like the Battle of the Blackwater, but I thought that came much later in the chronology.  Maybe it's Stannis's siege of Storm's End?  But in the middle of it, that's Sandor Clegane in the dog-faced helmet.  He wasn't at Storm's End if I remember right, but he was at the Battle of the Blackwater.

Just remember people--April 1st is when it premieres.

Another "Game of Thrones" Season Two Trailer (Spoilers)

Here's another trailer for the second season of Game of Thrones on HBO.

Highlights:

*It seems either Robb is getting a bit irritated with the whole "marry a daughter of Lord Frey" thing or perhaps Jeyne-gate comes on less suddenly in the TV show than in the books, giving Catelyn time to warn Robb that this is a bad idea.  I was under the impression in the books the first information Catelyn has about Robb marrying Jeyne Westerling was seeing angry Frey soldiers ritualistically trampling Stark direwolf banners and then Robb shows up with Jeyne.

*Some foreshadowing of the lengths Tyrion will go to keep his consort/prostitute Shae safe, with the comments about he expects to have to kill for her.

*Danaerys Targaryen seems a bit miffed about something.  I don't remember what happened in the second book well enough to guess what.

*It looks like they're setting up Melisandre and the shadow-babies--Margarey Tyrell makes some comment about how "your enemy" (I'm assuming Stannis Baratheon) does not like Renly being a king and then we cut to Melisandre's face.

*On the Wall, Jon Snow also seems miffed about something.  I don't remember that storyline will enough to guess what either.

*It doesn't seem like there's anything about the Ironborn in this trailer.  Given how important the Ironborn backstab of the North is to the macro-plot and the ultimate fall of Robb Stark, I would think it would merit more attention.  Of course, I've heard they haven't cast Jojen and Meera Reed, so they might be holding off on that part of the story until Season Three.  Maybe Season Two includes the Ironborn raiding the coast, with Theon Greyjoy's attack on Winterfell being saved for S3?  The Reeds can show up in time for the attack and then we get their storyline with Bran.  After all, if they're detained by Theon for an extend period, they won't have time to do anything but experiment with Bran's psychic visions.

The problem with that theory is that the apparent deaths of Bran and Rickon Stark is what provokes Jeyne-gate.  Delaying the Ironborn conquest of Winterfell means there needs to be some other trigger for Robb to sleep with Jeyne.

Think Like a Villain: An Apologia for Roose Bolton (ASOIAF SPOILERS)

In one of the writing books I've read, there's the maxim, "everyone is the hero of their own story."  That's a good thing to keep in mind, especially in our day and age of moral ambiguity being the "in thing."

So here's the side of the story of one Roose Bolton as a lesson in writing things from the villain's perspective.  Epic spoilers for the later books of A Song of Ice and Fire abound.  I've only read the first two books, but I have hung around the forums and the ASOIAF Wiki alot, so I know what generally happens.  All the errors are my own.

In ASOIAF, Roose Bolton is one of Robb Stark's nobles and the commander of his infantry forces in the War of the Five Kings.  However, despite Robb's early victories over the Lannisters, things start to go wrong.

*Robb sends his friend (and diplomatic hostage) Theon Greyjoy home to the Iron Islands to negotiate an alliance with the Ironborn to attack Lannisport and the Lannister capital of Casterly Rock.  The Ironmen instead invade the North, cutting the northern armies' supply lines.  This culminates in the occupation of the Northern capital of Winterfell by the Ironborn and the apparent death of the younger Stark sons Bran and Rickon.  Rather than "King of the North," Robb becomes known as "the king who lost the North."

*Robb breaks a promise to marry the daughter of Lord Walder Frey to marry Jeyne Westerling, who "comforted" him (with sex) after he learned of his younger brothers' apparent deaths resulting from his own folly.  Lord Frey, who is a tad bit PO'd about the whole situation, withdraws his 4,000 soldiers back to his own lands.

*The Lannisters form an alliance with the Tyrells, who had previously supported another claimant to the Iron Throne, and the combined Lannister-Tyrell armies break the armies of Stannis Baratheon when he invades the capital of King's Landing.  The combined Lannister-Tyrell host outnumbers the North-Riverlands host substantially.

*Lady Catelyn Stark unilaterally frees Jaime Lannister, Lord Tywin Lannister's son and the Northern host's biggest diplomatic hostage.  Lord Karstark, whose sons Jaime had killed in battle, proceeds to kill two Lannister POWs in revenge.  Robb forgives his mother, but cuts off the head of Lord Karstark with his own hands.  The Karstark army abandons Robb's.

Roose Bolton now finds himself in a pickle.  Retaking the North either involves forcing Ironborn-held Moat Cailin, which would be a bloodbath, or slogging back through the dangerous swamps of the Neck, which also will be problematic.  And if returning North isn't possible, the combined army will be trapped south of the Neck with the huge Lannister-Tyrell host heading their way.

Luckily Tywin Lannister has a philosophy of destroying those who will not kneel, but if a man does kneel, help him up.  After making a secret deal with the Lannisters, Bolton begins subtly sabotaging the war effort, deliberately expending the troops of nobles he knows will never support him while husbanding his own forces.  Meanwhile, his bastard son Ramsay and soldiers from his home castle attack Stark soldiers and the Ironborn both at Winterfell and sack the castle, with him successfully casting the blame on the Ironborn.  His treachery ultimately culminates in the atrocity known as The Red Wedding in which he personally kills Robb.

Afterward, Bolton is named Warden of the North, the honor formerly held by the Starks.  Ramsay Bolton approaches Moat Cailin from the less-defendable northern side and forces the Ironborn garrison (which he proceeds to flay alive en masse) to surrender, allowing the forces of the Boltons and some of the Northern nobles who have gone over to him (such as the Karstarks) to return home.  Bolton also has a false Arya Stark, whom he marries to Ramsay in order to secure his hold over Winterfell.

Based on what I've heard about events in A Dance With Dragons, it seems his hold over the North is rather shaky and a lot of people on the ASOIAF forums are convinced he's doomed.

However, based on events in the story, one can make a good case in Bolton's defense.

*Robb Stark went to war to rescue his father and sisters from the Lannisters, but Ned Stark was ultimately executed and he refused to trade Jaime Lannister for his sisters in an arrangement that could end the war immediately.  Instead, pushed  by his nobles, he attempted to create a new secessionist state that, due to the inclusion of the Riverlands, would be extremely hard to defend. 

Some people online have said he should not have dragged the commoners off to war to save a few members of his own family.  Although one could claim moral imperative for rescuing Ned, who has given the people of the North justice for many years, continuing the fighting when it could be ended quickly is not good for the ordinary people.  Furthermore, at the end of A Game of Thrones, the whole "King in the North" thing is driven by the Northern nobles' pride and xenophobia--they refuse to bow to the vicious boy-king who murdered Ned and said king's Lannister backers and declare the people of the south, ignorant of the North, should no longer rule them.

*Robb, though victorious in every battle, makes some very bad decisions that when combined with the Lannister-Tyrell alliance appear to doom the northern cause.  As far as the Northern common-folk are concerned, the worst of these is the Ironborn situation.  The Ironborn culture denigrates doing honest work and glorifies raiding and conquering/ruling others, and (I've heard) King Balon Greyjoy declares he's going to make all the commoners in the North thralls and saltwives (forced laborers and concubines).  Although some Ironborn commanders are less cruel than others (Asha Greyjoy being one of the better ones), something tells me their occupation isn't going to be a kind one.

*Thus, one can defend Roose's actions by saying he attempted to put an end to the war and the stupid "Kingdom of the North and the Trident" adventure as quickly and decisively as possible and bring the troops home to deal with more immediate problems (the Ironborn) rather than foreign adventures.  And although Roose is nasty when he needs to be, his maxim of "a quiet land, a quiet people" means that his rule is for the most part not abusive and cruel.

(I say "for the most part" because the reason Ramsay exists is that Roose claimed the right of First Night with his mother.  That, and he allows Ramsay to terrorize people.  However, Ramsay's cruelty is likely restricted to the area around the Dreadfort and most people in the North would have little reason to fear a Roose-Ramsay regime.  And then there's the theory Roose tolerates Ramsay only to use him as a deniable weapon and will dispose of him when his children with his new Frey wife are old enough or Ramsay has impregnated the fake Arya, which means the Westerosi version of Uday Hussein is not going to be a problem in the long run.)

Okay, now I'm done reciting the plot of ASOIAF.  My point is that if you want a complex story, the best villainous actions are ones that make sense and are even morally defensible, even if they're done for the wrong reasons.

(Roose is more concerned with saving his own skin and advancing his own position--I doubt he's seriously that concerned about Northern peasants being preyed on by the Ironborn.)