Game of Thrones 5.7 "The Gift" (spoiler alert)

[NewJeffCT]

Jon prepares for conflict. Sansa tries to talk to Theon. Brienne waits for a sign. Stannis (Stephen Dillane) remains stubborn. Jaime attempts to reconnect with family.

IMDB lists Gemma Whalen as appearing tonight - aka, Yara Greyjoy, Theon's sister. (IMDB is often not reliable in this sort of situation, though.)

Speculation on why Sansa is crying? My guess is that she tries to light the candle in the tower like the old woman said, only to find out either the old woman was captured and Ramsay is showing her the woman's flayed body, or the old woman was a set-up.

[NewJeffCT]

1. some articles

Preview from Winter is Coming -
https://winteriscoming.net/2015/05/23/game-of-thrones-episode-506-the-gift-preview/

Cersei in for some hard times?
http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/game_of_thrones_season_5_lena_headey_cersei_severe_lessons-2015-05

Coldplay's "Game of Thrones: The Musical"

10 most shocking moments of Season 5 (so far)
http://whatculture.com/tv/game-of-thrones-season-5-10-most-shocking-moments-so-far.php

[Baitball Blogger]

2. It makes sense that Ramsay would set up Sansa the same way he set up Theon.

But I don't think that particular scene of him kissing Sansa was significant. Just shows how she feels about the charade she has to play.

The emphasis on Cersei is very interesting. Something very bad is going to happen to her, without question. I don't expect anything but epic for the mother who birthed Joffrey.

But, frankly, I find the dilemma of Margaerey and her brother very difficult to watch. That's not such a "let's pretend scene." Gay people were persecuted throughout history. I'm guessing that Dame Rigg is going to pull all kinds of scenes. (BTW, can't help noticing that the actress looks more fragile than she did last year.

[TorchTheWitch]

4. oh, Cercei will get her due in time

I'm hoping it's this season. I would think so because this season seems to be covering what occurred (in the way the tv show changes things from the books) up to the end of the last book that was published. And maybe one or two things a bit further than that.

[NewJeffCT]

6. My guess

is that we'll get the infamous (spoilers) [font color=white]Walk of Shame [/font] in episode 9 or 10 this season. Daniel Portman - the actor that plays Pod - said that episode 10 will "break the internet" - so, I'm guessing we might get that in episode 10. We might also get [font color=white]Dany riding Drogon in 9 or 10 as well [/font]

[Baitball Blogger]

7. I cheated and looked up the spoiler.

Dang!

[NewJeffCT]

8. It will be a big moment

but, I'm not sure it's a "break the internet" moment.

[TorchTheWitch]

11. Oh dear

Now we'll have to turn you over to sicko Ramsey for a good flaying. Maybe even give him a paring knife so he can "alter" some of your bits and pieces.


That actor does a fabulous job of playing a sicko monster. He seems funny as hell in real life though.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. I saw him in another movie or t.v. show the other day.

I'm afraid that his portrayal of Ramsay Bolton has permanently ruined him for me.

[NewJeffCT]

15. maybe because the actor was younger

but, everybody who talked about Joffrey always mentioned what a great kid he was in real life. It really was universal - everybody else associated with the show would say it.

However, I haven't heard that with the guy who plays Ramsay.

[TorchTheWitch]

18. I jsut saw a few clips of him when he first arrived on the show

talking as himself, and I just thought he was quite funny. There was on clip of him where he finds out for the first time that his character cuts off Theon's widget and then eats a sausage in front of him. his eyes went huge and he said something like "nooooooooooooo, are you serious?" Just the way he said it was just really funny. He seemed to think at the time that it was just a tease and wasn't actually something his character was going to have to be portraying. I'll have to find that clip in particular again. I thought he also did Comic Con once or maybe it was some other interview bit.

[NewJeffCT]

19. thanks

sounds like a good guy

[Yavin4]

20. Double spoiler alert

That scene will happen but it will be a body double.

[NewJeffCT]

21. I'm sure

because Lena Headey is pregnant IRL, but not on the show.

[Ron Obvious]

40. That was hilarious!

Wildling!
You make my heart sing!

[NewJeffCT]

41. It was good

Coldplay's first romantic ballad about incest!

Coldplay dude: "Welcome, Jon Snow!"
Kit Harington: "It's Kit."
Coldplay dude: "Welcome, Kit Snow!"

[Ron Obvious]

42. Red Wedding, Red Wedding

Lotsa' stabbing and a bit of beheading!

Sheer genius from start to finish. I'd pay to go see it!

Bom bom bom bompedupidum....

[TorchTheWitch]

3. what's this about Sansa lighting a candle?

I'll I see of her in this preview is crying when Ramsey kisses her while outside and being snowed on and another quick clip of her not crying and trying to convince Theon/Reek to stand up for her. Where's this crying while trying to light the candle? The only time I'm seeing Sansa crying at all (and more like trying not to cry) is when Ramsey kisses her, and I expect she was crying then because she's married to an absolute monster who took her virginity while causing her pain and suffering. I'm not seeing anything with her lighting any candle. Yes, she had been told if she needed help to light a candle at the top of the broken tower (the one Bran was pushed from) as a signal to the northmen to help her. I'm just not seeing her trying to light any candle in this clip crying or otherwise. Is this something that happened in another clip?

[NewJeffCT]

5. On the show

the old woman that said "the North Remembers" to Sansa, later told her that if she is ever in trouble & needs help to light a candle in the top window of the broken tower.

So my thought was that she goes to light the candle and gets caught (maybe the old woman confessed under torture?), or the old woman is a setup and she gets caught.

[TorchTheWitch]

9. except there's nothing at all to suggest she ever went to light the candle

That's what I'm not getting. There's just nothing at all in this preview that has a single thing to do with Sansa lighting the candle or crying while lighting it. So, I'm scratching my head as to how you made the leap to this idea that Sansa is caught lighting the candle or that the northwoman who told her about doing it if she ever needed help was a set up or tortured to confess that she told Sansa about lighting the candle or anything at all about the candle. All we know is in the last show Sansa was told by one of the northwomen that remembered Sansa told her if she ever felt she needed help for whatever reason to light a candle at the top of the broken tower to summon said help. That's it.

All the clip shows is Sansa trying to hold back crying when Ramsey kisses her out in the snowfall and later in the preview her attempting to recruit Theon/Reek to help her.

That's why I was wondering if there was some other clip that showed Sansa crying while lighting the candle in the broken tower to summon help as she was told to do by that northwoman because I just can't find any even remote reason for where this theory of yours is coming from. Surely there has to be SOME kind of reasoning behind it and something having to do with the clip you put in the OP to go along with your theory. And I just don't get it at all.

[NewJeffCT]

10. the only thing

is that she appears to be looking up - like at the tower window.

[TorchTheWitch]

12. I'm not seeing it

The whole point of Sansa being there and marrying the shit is for the north to have a reason to rise up against the Boltons. And Stannis is on his way there to try to take Winterfell back from the Boltons with a skeleton crew. There needs to be an actual reason for her character being there and a reason for Reek to go back to being Theon. And a reason for Stannis to become a force to be reckoned with rather than the flopping around useless wannabee he's been for all the seasons thus far. Ever since Robb was killed the northmen have just been farting around useless as well. Ever since the Starks got decimated in Season One there has to be something to bring them back into power... at least taking Winterfell back and organizing the north against Cercei's total screw up of ruling in King's Landing.

Let's not forget that there are only seven seasons slated for the whole tv show that's going to HAVE to take them to the end of the book series and why Martin clued in the show writers as to what happens to everyone and how the series ends. And if Martin taking so stinking long between each book he bloody well better not die before the last one is published or there's going to be a line of people halfway around the world wanting to dig him up just to kill him again for such audacity.

[Baitball Blogger]

14. I see a different fate for Martin.

They will probably carry his dead body north of the wall and lay him down on the snow with a pen strapped to his hand in the hope he gets resurrected as a Cold One. Let him finish his tome from the other side.

[NewJeffCT]

28. I wonder what would happen, though

I know Robert Jordan knew he was sick, so had outlined his plan for the final book in his Wheel of Time series. Jordan's widow then chose Brandon Sanderson to finish the series, which was later broken out into 3 books instead of just 1 huge tome.

I don't think Martin is that organized, but I'm guessing his wife probably has at least some idea of what will happen - and, most likely, Elio and Linda at westeros.org as well. (Elio does help Martin edit his books for continuity) But, would somebody that Martin respects pick up the mantle and finish the series?

[Baitball Blogger]

30. Definitely someone will finish the series.

Too much money at stake to just drop the project. The question is, will it be seamless? From what I have been hearing about Martin's wonderful fantasy being unfolded in the books, is that it could sometimes use editing.

[CrawlingChaos]

16. Gee whiz, there's a HUGE thread in GD about the Sansa rape scene

People are really freaking out over that scene. I'm thinking it's not so much the depiction of rape as it is about the character of Sansa and how they keep heaping abuse on her, and just when you think she might be getting away from her tormentors, they put her in the hands of the most sadistic surviving character on the show. And no one rides in to save her before he does something awful to her (in typical GOT fashion). But I think we're setting up for some massive retribution (and obviously the redemption of Theon). Guess I'm kind of stating the obvious there.

I think if they let Sansa have her revenge, they'll win people back. If they just keep making her a victim, I think the audience will say, fuck it, this isn't fun for me anymore.

My biggest issue from last week was that awful scene of Jaime and Bronn's ridiculous rescue attempt of Mircella, and the utterly shit battle with the now officially disappointing Sand Snakes. Talk about a squandered opportunity. By the by, are we to assume Bronn is poisoned because he got sliced by the blade of one of the Sand Snakes? Bronn was one of my favorites, but this pairing of Jaime and Bronn isn't panning out the way I'd hoped (so far). I really miss Jaime and Brienne together. Btw, I saw some speculation that when Jaime tells Bronn he wants to die in the arms of the woman he loves, he's talking about Brienne, not Cersei. Any thoughts on that?

Hoping for a great episode tonight! (I thought last week was very good, Sand Snakes notwithstanding)

[NewJeffCT]

17. yes

you can assume Bronn has been poisoned. There is a spoiler out there of one of the Sand Snakes holding a vial of antidote before Bronn...

[Baitball Blogger]

31. That was a cute scene.

I wonder if there is going to be a love interest between the sand snake and Bronn? I imagine this is a departure from the books.

[NewJeffCT]

22. solid episode

a lot happened again -

You get Cersei arrested at the end, Tyrion introducing himself to Daenerys, Sansa suffering a setback, but she did stand up for herself for a bit in trying to get Theon to light the candle, the death of Maester Aemon, and Sam and Gilly getting it on. They did give us the line of "Egg, I dreamed I was old," as Maester Aemon breathes his last breath. They did it justice, but I thought it was more heartbreaking in the book.

And, another bad scene with the Sand Snakes - but, at least Bronn makes it through the episode.

[Liberal Veteran]

23. I so enjoyed Cercei falling into a trap of her own making.

If Tywin were alive and she managed to pull off the same thing, he'd probably disown her for sheer stupidity in allowing the Faith Militant the power to arrest the queen.

Of course, if Tywin were alive, he'd find a way to rescue her discreetly, disband the Faith, and make sure that Cercei was never allowed anywhere near a decision more complicated than what dress to wear (and maybe not even that).

[NewJeffCT]

24. Tywin never would have let them come back

The Faith Militant was sort of like the Spanish Inquisition. The crown owed the Faith a lot of money - Cersei said if they wiped out the debt, she would allow them to reconstitute the Faith Militant. Not a good idea.

[NewJeffCT]

25. Martin talks about the Faith Militant here

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/24/game-thrones-george-rr-martin-religion

[herding cats]

26. I enjoyed it.

It at least let us know Cersei would be following a similar path as in the books. Which is something I'd wondered about, and had heard rumors was to be done. Cersei, second only to Ramsey for me, being brought down to size is something I dream of, but dare not expect of the series.

Tyrion and Daenerys should be an interesting pairing. At least I hope it's as interesting as my mind makes it out to be. I see all sorts of potentially delicious justice being meted out by the duo. Time will tell, but until we know for sure I'm holding onto my hopes.

Maester Aemon's passing was fine, but I agree not as moving for me as in the books as well. I suspect we give more of ourselves when we read as part of the reason. The other part being that film isn't up to par with our minds eye, no matter how well done it might be.

I wonder if we're to be seeing an 'epidemic' of greyscale in Meereen via the extremely complex, and to me deeply intriguing, character, Jorah Mormont? I can see how it might be worked into the story, but I don't know if it's a necessary part of the plot and won't mind if that's not the outcome. I'll be sad to see him go, though. I keep wishing he could find a way to redeem himself for all his past atrocities. Maybe he still can?

Sansa's storyline went pretty much as I had expected. She seems to be holding onto her evolved personality and not reverting back into her previous incarnation. I desperately didn't want to see her morph into Jeyne Poole post Ramsay from the books. I'd like for her to be strong when she meets up with Littlefinger again. Preferably strong and backed by a small army of Northern supporters. I admit, I won't mourn if Winter comes a bit early for Littlefinger.

The Sand Snakes bore me to distraction. Literally, I can not seem to stay focused on the program when they're on...they're that senseless to me. I had to rewind to see that Bronn had gotten the antidote because I'd started answering texts. I've started calling these moments, Sand Snake induced ADD.

[NewJeffCT]

27. If you saw the preview of next week's episode

Sansa seems to be berating Theon/Reek over something - so, she still seems to be staying strong. I wonder how long it will be before Brienne starts taking things into her own hands?

Sansa did grab a knife in the episode as well.

[Baitball Blogger]

32. How is her relationship with Theon going to change now that she knows he can't be

trusted?

[NewJeffCT]

34. Right now

the two people she has contact with are Theon and Ramsay. Her only option is to try to win Theon over some how, as I don't think Ramsay will work. Maybe, though, if you hearken back to Cersei's advice to Sansa in Season 2?

[Baitball Blogger]

36. What is Cersei's advice worth these days?

Not much.

[NewJeffCT]

37. True

but, she told Sansa that women have another weapon besides their tears. Not sure if she is in a position to do that with Ramsay, though.

[CrawlingChaos]

33. I agree - a very good episode

And, oh, the ending note! How long have viewers waited for that?! I loved the way they set it up too, with Cersei being an absolute (expletive) in her smug and taunting visit to Margery and then, BOOM, arrested by the very fanatics she put in power for her own nefarious purposes. Sweet!

Still, my absolute favorite moment was not Cersei's arrest - it was GHOST (yay!) coming to the aid of Sam in his valiant but otherwise doomed effort to save Gilly). I must admit, an involuntary squeal escaped my lips when Ghost appeared. I keep waiting for some direwolf action and what a great moment for him to appear (although I'm not exactly clear why he's not off helping Jon Snow).

Btw, Sam and Gilly's sex scene was every bit as erotic as I would have expected, LOL.

Jorah tearing through the pit fighters was pretty damn cool but Jesus I dislike Dany more and more. And her boyfriend Dario ...zzzzzzzzz. Also, everything in Dorne continues to be boring. Those are the low-lights, currently.

The Sansa situation is fraught with tension. Now I think we're all anxiously awaiting some badass move my Brienne, which could be great. Btw, I like Pod and Brienne together. I hope we get to see some of her training him and that it wasn't just something they mention in passing. This darn show is just too short for all the stuff they have to cover.

Gosh, only 3 more episodes. But I imagine they will all be humdingers.

And I'm so glad they're not taking any breaks this year and making us wait two weeks just when things are heating up, like they did last year. That was bullshit.

[NewJeffCT]

35. Nobody likes book Daario, either

though, he's quite a bit different than show Daario.

[NewJeffCT]

29. some recaps

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/game-of-thrones-season-5-episode-7-recap-the-gift/

http://www.salon.com/2015/05/25/game_of_thrones_recap_two_legendary_characters_finally_come_face_to_face/

http://www.polygon.com/2015/5/25/8654485/game-of-thrones-explores-the-horror-of-an-honest-character

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/game-of-thrones-recap-the-gift-daenerys-tyrion-meet

[NewJeffCT]

38. Season 6 casting has begun

Looks like we'll get Sam's father Randyll Tarly. (I had pictured the guy who played Lucius Malfoy as Sam's father, but he'd need to go bald)

Also, Euron Greyjoy, the Crow's Eye, seems to be in with the "pirate" casting.

Not sure about some of the others - the three boys are maybe young Robert Baratheon, young Brandon Stark and young Ned Stark?

http://watchersonthewall.com/game-of-thrones-season-6-casting-has-begun-and-heres-the-list/

[NewJeffCT]

39. Final episode is entilted "Mother's Mercy"

this season. Episode 9 is "The Dance of Dragons"

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/game-of-thrones-finale-mothers-mercy-lady-stoneheart