Game of Thrones 3.7 "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" (spoilers!)

[NewJeffCT]

Daenerys exchanges gifts with a slave lord outside Yunkai. As Sansa frets about her prospects, Shae chafes at Tyrion’s new situation. Tywin counsels the king, and Melisandre reveals a secret to Gendry. Brienne faces a formidable foe in Harrenhal.

Book readers will know from the title about a major event in this episode... I wonder if we'll get, "I dreamed of you" in this episode?

episode 7 tonight, then 3 more episodes.

[NewJeffCT]

1. Next week

Is the episode "Second Sons" which has several meanings (Tyrion is the second son of Tywin, Jon is the second son of Eddard, etc...)

[BainsBane]

2. How are you able to watch early every week?

[NewJeffCT]

3. I haven't watched

that was the preview trailer for the upcoming episode.

I've read the books, so I have some idea of what is coming.

[NewJeffCT]

4. 30 minutes to go

should be interesting

[Baitball Blogger]

6. I missed the first half! And didn't have the DVR on.

Will have to wait until eleven for that. I came in when Arya as taken by the hound. Jamie made a promise to return Arya. That's it! What's the fate of Brienne?

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Let me just say, Greyjoy is an idiot.

[NewJeffCT]

8. Lots of short scenes

Trying to figure out where the rest of the men with Tormund came from - I thought they all fell off the wall during the climb, except for Tormund, Orell, Jon & Ygritte?

[Baitball Blogger]

9. I know that there were two men above Ygritte, because one of them cut the rope.

[NewJeffCT]

11. Yes, those two were

Tormund and Orell

Tormund is a fun character in the books - always bragging about the size of his "member" - but, in a fun sort of way.

[siligut]

16. I like Tormund and am very happy with Hivju's portrayal

Kristofer communicates his jovial nature with nuance.

[NewJeffCT]

34. I'm hoping

we get the story of Tormund and the bear... or, the bit where he tells Jon not to worry about getting Ygritte pregnant (Tormund is pro-choice...)

[JoDog]

32. A part of me

hopes Tormund and Brienne get together somehow.

He might be able to beat her in combat (one of her requirements for a suitor), and his tribe has a heritage that respects and admires woman fighters.

[Incitatus]

13. I recall from a previous episode it being mentioned that there where tens of thousands of wildlings

from 7 different tribes. Far more than fell off the ice. They would have had to climb in many different groups. It didn't look tonight like they have enough numbers to be a threat to the North.

[siligut]

10. Ramsay is a sadist

Greyjoy may be an idiot, but Ramsay delights in torture.

[NewJeffCT]

12. yes

that made me wince

[Baitball Blogger]

14. Greyjoy is an idiot for not seeing the pattern.

If two women come in looking like they're going to give him a good time, he had to know what Ramsay's next move was going to be. I knew what Ramsay's next move was going to be. It was that obvious.

[siligut]

17. His body betrayed him

We all knew.

[NewJeffCT]

19. yes

kind of hard to not react with an attractive woman on top of him like that

[siligut]

5. The anticipation starts

Waiting for characters to appear makes me too frustrated.

[Incitatus]

15. A question for someone who has read the books.

At the rate the story is going, how many more seasons do you think there will be?

[NewJeffCT]

18. This is how I see it

Season 3 in 2013 will take us 2/3 of the way through A Storm of Swords.
Season 4 in 2014 will take us to the end of A Storm of Swords and have some of the beginning of A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. I'm hoping by the end of 2014 that we can get the book of The Winds of Winter.
Season 5 in 2015 will finish up A Feast for Crows and go up till the point in A Dance with Dragons where they run concurrently.
Season 6 in 2016 will finish up A Dance with Dragons and start the Winds of Winter
Season 7 in 2017 will finish The Winds of Winter
2018 will be a year they run The Tales of Dunk & Egg (the prequel novellas) Even though the showrunners know the basics of the ending, they'll give George RR Martin the courtesy of a bit of extra time to finish the last book. So, A Dream of Spring will come out in 2018.
2019 will be A Dream of Spring, an extended 13-15 episode season to conclude the book.

Of course, I'm not an expert, by any means... go to westeros.org's forums and you'll see a ton of debate on the issue by people who know a lot more than me.

(The showrunners have stated they plan on 8 seasons)

[Mike Daniels]

20. Given the Arya/Red Witch conversation last week

I think Martin may not finish the series (given that never happened in the books) . He many be feeding info to the producers which could let them finish the story if it never gets completed on page.

[NewJeffCT]

21. My thought was

big spoilers from A Dance with Dragons below:
[font color=white] Melisandre's vision was a grey girl on a dying horse, which she thought was Ayra. However, it was really Jeyne Poole, Sansa's handmaid, who was fleeing Ramsay Snow on that dying horse. So, it could be that she thinks Arya is the grey girl on a dying horse?[/font]

[Hayabusa]

28. Wasn't that

[color=white]Alys Karstark?[/color]

[NewJeffCT]

31. I think

you're right on that.

[Baitball Blogger]

35. That would be my luck. If I had the gift of sight I would probably see

something that was not relevant to the big picture.

[NewJeffCT]

36. If you had read A Dance with Dragons

You'd recognize that both Jeyne Poole & Alys Karstark are very significant in their own ways. (I was corrected above on Jeyne Poole - it was not Jeyne, but Alys Karstark) Maybe not Arya Stark significant, but important.

[Baitball Blogger]

39. I read the background of Jeyne Poole. Spoiler

I take it we will lose sight of the Arya we know, and she will resurface as Jeyne Poole, who may or may not be Arya?

[NewJeffCT]

42. Not exactly

What happens is:

spoilers below:
[font color=white]
In the books, since Jeyne looks like a northern girl and has a similar skinny figure, brown hair and eyes like Arya, some of the bad guys announce to the world that they have found Arya Stark, and then have fake Arya gets married to a really bad guy to seal an alliance with the North and lay claim to Winterfell.[/font]

However, there is no Jeyne Pool on the show yet (Shae is Sansa's sole handmaid on the show, while I think she had a few in the books.) and no Alys Karstark.

Remember, the Karstarks are the ones that just left Robb's army after Robb executed their lord.

[Baitball Blogger]

46. That really bad guy is Ramsay Snow, bastard son of Lord Bolton?

The same Ramsay who is torturing Theon?

[Hayabusa]

47. That's Ramsay Bolton.

He's been (or will be) legitimized and doesn't like it when you call him a bastard. As Theon finds out... You have to remember his name.

[Incitatus]

22. Thanks nt

[siligut]

23. The scene with Daenerys in Yunkai was my favorite

When she throws the meat and her dragons fill the air. Fierce and beautiful.

[Incitatus]

24. It looks like there will be a battle.

That should be interesting. The dragons are still small for dragons. They can breathe fire, but what about their resistance to spears and arrows? And 200K slaves? If she does win, and I doubt this battle will be the last of her, her army might get a tad larger.

[siligut]

25. Yes, freeing slave soldiers turns them into loyal soldiers

She aims to take back the Iron Throne.

[alphafemale]

50. Another very loyal 200K

How is she feeding all these people.

sigh.

A man wrote this.

Men never think of these things.

An army...in a desert...eats sand....obviously.

[NewJeffCT]

51. It is an issue in the books

In the books, Ser Jorah had pleaded with Dany to leave all the slaves from Astapor behind because they were too many mouths to feed.

[JoDog]

33. When Rahzor

tried to take the gold back and Drogon nearly took off his hand, I said, "No, no. That's my mama's treasure horde now!"

[siligut]

49. Daenerys is noble and morally upright

She is also ruthless when it comes to injustice and has no problem with using whatever means to defeat the slavers. I appreciate that she treats the slave masters as the scum that they are. I also appreciate the casting, as we really do dislike the slavers and get to rejoice in their defeat, her victory.

[Supply Side Jesus]

26. Love the "Rains of Castamere" insturmental

at the ending credits... sounded great!

[NewJeffCT]

27. and episode 9

is entitled the Rains of Castamere

[Supply Side Jesus]

40. oh boy...

[Hayabusa]

29. SPOILERS!!

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"Tell him the Lannisters send their regards."

Holy crap.
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[NewJeffCT]

30. Yes

I was waiting for that line - and, then when he said it, I was like, "Yes!!"

[Baitball Blogger]

37. Background!

What is he saying between the lines?

[NewJeffCT]

38. I will not give out spoilers

it's too stunning of a plot twist that will be coming.

[Baitball Blogger]

41. Robert Baratheon's son.

Question. This bastard son has blue eyes. I thought the whole detective work that Ned Stark conducted determined that Joffrey and the other Baratheon's were not his children based on their blue eyes? So, is this boy his, or not?

[NewJeffCT]

43. In the books, Robert has blue eyes

but, everybody in his family has black or dark brown hair.

Ned figures out that Joff, Myrcella and Tommen are not Robert's because they all have golden Lannister hair.

[Baitball Blogger]

45. Did I make that up about the eye color?

I could have sworn in the series the big to do was about eye color.

But hair color makes sense.

[NewJeffCT]

48. I don't remember

to be honest. I'd have to go back & re-watch those episodes in season 1

[Tommy_Carcetti]

44. BEAR FIGHT!!!!!!

Anyone who ever saw the movie Anchorman had to immediately make that connection when they saw that scene.

I half expected Jamie to say, "I immediately regret this decision!"

[NewJeffCT]

52. "Arya" is the fastest growing baby name

cool

http://www.businessinsider.com/arya-is-the-fastest-growing-baby-name-thanks-to-game-of-thrones-2013-5