Game of Thrones [Potential Book Spoilers]

In show-universe, the greyscale disease caused her hair to fade. There.

As I've mentioned before on this issue, Stannis himself has lighter hair than the Baratheon black, so perhaps the better question is what Cassana Estermont got up to.

Other than that, I'm going to assume that the lighter hair Shireen has is Disease Bleach and call it a day.

I know, I know, oh oh oh.

Under the sea, black is blonde and blonde is black.

Foliolio.

@Hodor He's just prematurely aged hence the gray hair.

His hair was jet black when he was first introduced and his is looking darker. I joked to my friend that his fires were rising and he shaved his unemployment beard.

I actually like how the drop-coin-murder was handled in the show more than in the books. In the books, she's been reciting various names before going to bed. She starts getting her revenge with Jaqen, then when it comes time to finally get her hands dirty, she kills a no-name guard out of semi-desperation. That's cool, I suppose, but now she's in this weird limbo. Before, she was nothing but vengeance and no direct action; now she has action, but the action doesn't satisfy her vengeance. It does, however, signify a turning point in her change from spunky but ultimately innocent girl to being a calculating killer that's been forced to grow up early into independence.

And then she gets dragged around for a while at the whims of the Brotherhood and the Hound and that turning point was something that really wasn't important as far as pacing goes because she is the complete opposite of independent for like a book and a half.

Now with the show, the Harrenhal escape just signifies her mental turning point. She's started to fulfill her vengeance indirectly, and then after that she takes the mental step forward into blackmailing Jaqen to take out that guard. Mentally, she's started to get over killing a person, but she still can't do it herself. And because of that inability to do things without an adult, her getting dragged around by the Brotherhood and the Hound for a season makes a bit more sense. Over the next couple episodes, we see her trying to take action: the failed fight against the Brotherhood, almost hitting the Hound with a rock, and then finally going through with hitting the old dude with a rock because she was challenged. This last part is important—she needed that personal shove to actually go through with something.

Then comes s3e10. She rides away from the Twins with a look on her face uncannily similar to Cat's dead-eyed stare. She got so close to the thing she wanted for so long, and it was destroyed nearly before her eyes. The list of names is finally a tangible reality; whereas before they were just faraway douchebags who hurt some random people, they're now her family's murderers. The personal touch is there. And so the season of mental growth falls into place with her doing her little girl act (which, as we've seen throughout the entire show, she has never done on purpose) then murders the crap out of that guy since he claimed to be the one who sawed off her brother's head.

So when the bar massacre comes about next season, we won't have been waiting two full seasons of zero growth as a follow up to Arya's first first-degree murder—an act which in any other story would signify a major turning point for a character.

x7

All Baratheons for a few generations had black hair. That in no way proves that all Baratheons for all time will always have black hair with no exceptions.

It's not a plot hole. Deal with it.

it is a violation of the law of conservation of detail, though.

Aversions of the Law of Conservation of Detail are not plot holes.

edited 10th Jun '13 10:28:12 PM by Millardkillmoore

no, but it is still bad writing.

but at least her hair is not a 3000 word dissertation on the thirty five kinds of berries in that bowl over there, all of which are unbelievably common in this part of the Reach and are unremarkable in any kind of way and will never be brought up again.

Okay then I agree with the guy above that it's bad writing if you want to be anal about it.

Since blonde Shireen didn't exist when the Baratheon look was a plot point and it has never been brought up in dialogue, it can't really be bad writing either. Maybe bad casting, but the overwhelming opionion is that Shireen's actress is very good. So it's not really that either.

Bad makeup? Costuming? Who's in charge of hair dye anyway?

edited 10th Jun '13 11:15:56 PM by Millardkillmoore

the funny thing about visual media is that dialogue isn't the only way to convey detail. A picture is worth a thousand words, show don't tell, etc etc.

@ch00beh Good analysis, I think you're on to something there. The series has generally been pretty good at reshuffling individual storylines into a more satisfying flow.

Just watching What The Flick, and they're predicting a Jaime/Tyrion alliance. What Could Have Been...

Yeah these guys are funny in how they don't get certain aspects of the show which I think is a failing of the show. Cersei does care about her children. But they make some good points about Tywin.

There is a good writing/actor debate.

I'm glad that the guy who has read the books didn't like the ending. Especially for the racial implications.

I laughed at them saying the writers must love women.

I don't think it's race itself that's the problem (though the very deliberate "drop of white against a sea of brown" visual effect certainly didn't help that). It's the combination of their mindless, robotic adoration and her delight at same.

The former, if it troubled her ("Stop Worshipping Me, weren't you listening to what I just said?") could be seen as a problem with trying to instil individualism in people raised to be slaves.

If their worship seemed more human and naturalistic (a general outpouring of joy, which happened to be focused on her — say, a few of the people hugging each other rather than reaching out to a woman too far away to even see) then her joy at it would be entirely appropriate. This is, IIRC, the situation in the book.

I don't think it had to do with race either. What many people forget is that Dany herself has been a slave for most of her life. A metaphorical slave to her brother's whims and machinations for most of her childhood and then sold as a literal (sex) slave to Drogo. That's the source of all her passion and idealism. That's the reason she wants to free as many slaves as she can, no matter the cost. Going as far as to sack enitre cities. She doesn't want to rule them or impose her culture on them , her goal is the Iron Throne after all, just free them. I believe that even if her arc took place in a white-dominated continent,and the majority of the slaves were white, her behaviour and ideals would still be the same.

Other than that, i must agree that the last scene was over the top. It's like Dany instantly became their Lord and Savior just because she freed them. In the books, this scene was way tamer.

edited 11th Jun '13 7:59:22 AM by LogoP

I agree to an extent, but at the same time: in the books it's made clearer that the slaves all took different shades of skin. I mean, think about how popular the Lysene sex trade is. In the show, it's a faceless sea of brown people that are practically worshiping her.

edited 11th Jun '13 8:08:18 AM by Patty

True, as i said before, the book did a better job with that scene. You could spot a few white slaves amongst the crowd but yeah....it could have been handled better. I don't believe it was intentional though.

edited 11th Jun '13 8:21:28 AM by LogoP

:{

But casting is intentional. Some casting director chose and hired all those extras. Or outsourced it to someone.

Was it a malicious scene meant to reinforce racial stereotypes? no. Was a scene that does reinforce racial stereotypes? yes.

Well, come to think of it, it actually does make sense that most of the extras are dark skinned. The shooting for Danys arc takes place in Marocco, after all. So it's unlikely they could find many white extras to begin with.

While I lol'd since it is in fact a sea of brown people lifting the blonde chick, I can understand why everyone there has a gnarly tan.

It still would have been nice to see those house/sex slaves in the mix just so there'd be people who aren't entirely covered in dirt.

a tumblr post with different critical responses to Dany's last scene.

I've always gotten some real Mighty Whitey / White Man's Burden vibes in Dany's arc in the books (still not sure if it is ultimately meant to subvert it or "subverting it by playing it 100% straight).

So, if the show gave off that vibe, I guess it was doing something right (some of the astute nonreader reviewers were attuned to the uncomfortable vibe of how Dany is being worshipped like a goddess and rather likes it)

Also, on another topic. Is it just me, or was Sansa dumber this season?

edited 11th Jun '13 11:42:34 AM by Hodor