Game of Thrones [Potential Book Spoilers]

She really hated their sense of fashion.

...can't they?

They are largely irrelevant in all power struggles, and their only role so far was (through Theon) to ensure Robb would end up in a precarious enough position for Roose to orchestrate his grand evil plan and the Red Wedding. They are unable to control any part of the mainland for a long time, because everybody hates them (because, you know, Rape, Pillage, and Burn) and they are pirates, not soldiers.

Asha/Yara has done nothing, she just warned her brother, then came back later and was captured. Balon hasn't done anything either. Euron supposedly owns some mystical artefact that kind of comes out of nowhere in these books - it's not a high fantasy universe, you don't have a legendary sword that will save the world from evil - but hasn't used it yet. Victarion has been travelling and being as Stupid Evil as one can possibly manage to be on his way. Balon was a prick, and then got killed offscreen. Whateverlon, the priest, is the member of what may be the most irrelevant cult in the entirety of Essos and Westeros, since the only thing that actually matters is that it gave the Greyjoys their Catchphrase.

Even Arianne's storyline is more interesting than anything happening regarding the Greyjoys. And Arianne's storyline sucks.

I really hope that all the old Greyjoys get unceremoniously killed in the books, offscreen if possible, and that they are just here for GRRM to make fun of stupid fantasy archetypes.

edited 22nd May '15 4:28:07 AM by Julep

No, they can't. You cannot introduce a warring faction in your war story and give them importance for one season and then simply jettison them with no explanation. Regardless of whether you think the book plotline is well written or not, introducing it and then just not resolving it in any way is even worse.

edited 22nd May '15 4:34:03 AM by DrDougsh

Not without explanation, but you definitely don't need to treat it as a major plot point. I could even understand it being mentioned by two general-like characters discussing strategy ("The Greyjoys don't matter because they are Greyjoys/they are in the middle of their own civil war/they suck/they left looking for Atlantis/any other excuse")

The scene with Yara last season could have been tweaked to imply that the Iron Islands would retreat for now and wait for things to settle down in Westeros if they really wanted them to go away.

I still think Victarion and Yara could have been kept. Why would you keep them and not Aegon and Arianne? That's the more interesting story.

"Importance" is the key word there.

They were never really important in the grand scheme of things in the show. Just a plot device to trip the Starks up a little bit and give Theon some context.

And the Greyjoys are much more interesting than the Sand Fakes.

It's really based on your personal opinion though. Don't tout it as a fact. I liked and enjoyed both storylines equally. Although again, the Dornish storyline was bloated while the Ironborn storyline had way better pacing.

Anyways Euron Greyjoy is an evil pirate Bran Stark. C'mon, on some fundamental level that's pretty cool. Victarion is a hilariously evil Viking with a lava arm and Aeron Damp-hair is a Drowned God version of the High Sparrow and Melisandre.

And I don't think you'll get your wish. Moquorro's already foretold that Euron will factor very largely into Dany's storyline and the HOTU says that she's set to marry one of the Greyjoys.

edited 22nd May '15 9:44:31 AM by MadSkillz

I found the Ironborn plotline in A Feast for Crows one of the more engaging arcs in that book, personally. It only started to drag with Victarion's chapters in A Dance with Dragons, which I found pretty meandering, and like most of the arcs in that book ends just when things are about to get interesting.

Eh who knows what will happen. The show dropped some hints that Sam and Gilly would go to Oldtown, where the Ironborn keep trying to raid. I'm not counting Euron out yet and Yara is rumored to appear later in the season.

Perhaps the show runners wanna go with Daario = Euron

Interview with Finn Jones. Sounds pretty positive about the show.

That would be pretty funny. I love the mental image of the actor putting on an eyepatch and changing accents.

edited 22nd May '15 1:07:15 PM by Hodor2

I like this guy. He seems very passionate about his work and like a really fun person to be around.

I really hope that all the old Greyjoys get unceremoniously killed in the books, offscreen if possible, and that they are just here for GRRM to make fun of stupid fantasy archetypes.

The Epilogue/Series Finale will have a Fallout style reel showing what happened to the rest of the minor characters. House Greyjoy will have revealed to have been exterminated as the Iron Islands were abandoned.

I think the Iron Islands are crap worldbuilding of the sort normally seen in Essos, but your demands for them to be utterly dismissed strikes me as the problem being on your end, not Gurm's.

What's wrong with the Iron Islands and most Essosi worldbuilding that's not the Dothraki or Slvaer's Bay?

@Hodor2 Next season will be Gendry on the Silence with a red eyepatch and a beard.

edited 23rd May '15 11:11:19 AM by MadSkillz

They were impressed by his rowing skills

I think the fact that the Ironborns entire culture seems to revolve around being raping and murdering assholes

Only the ones that still practice the Old Way.

Most ironborn don't.

King Gendry Crow's Hair

edited 23rd May '15 11:41:53 AM by MadSkillz

That's most of the Essosi worldbuilding. Even then... I'ma quote a post I saw on westeros.org about Volantis, in a thread on Orientalism in the Essos worldbuilding. Bolding mine:

So you're facing a freeman-to-slave proportion of the sort usually found in places like French Haiti (complete with the slaves having nothing to lose by revolting), well past the point that had vastly more powerful civilizations than yours shitting themselves, and you give the slaves weapons?

True, there have been plenty of slave-soldier castes throughout history. Notice how they were almost always an honored elite. Notice how often they would end up usurping their nominal masters.

No it's not. There's Braavos, Yi Ti, The Lamb Men, Pentos, Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, Lorath, Asshai, the Rhoynar, the Valyrians, Jogos Nhai, the Ibbinese etc.

Their limbs, live or families :V

Yeah the slave population is a little exaggerated but that's a just a nitpick. Volantis has a lot of depth to it.

Read about it here.

GRRM's Volantis is inspired by the Byzantine Empire during its decline and serves as a parallel to Braavos.

Incredibly wealthy, prideful, racist, decadent, huge (Volantis' satellite cities are more populous and larger than Oldtown just imagine the mother city) etc.

And yes Volantis is extremely paranoid of a slave revolt. That's why they make their unsavory "people" live on the West Bank and it's also why they built the Long Bridge.

The Long Bridge is meant to move armies across the West Bank to suppress rebellion.

edited 23rd May '15 4:56:10 PM by MadSkillz

This has gone so off the rails that I think I'll have a fit.

that felt like the longest episode of all 5 seasons. And damn do I hate Sam and Gilly scenes.

Much better than last week's.

• So Sansa now has a knife and Brienne isn't coming to help her. Looks like Ramsay's days are numbered.
• Stannis better not kill Shireen.
• Aemon's death scene was incredible. I am so glad that they kept the "Egg... I dreamed I was old."
• I didn't think that it was possible for Sam and Gilly's sex scene to be worse than in the books. Remember back in Season One when Shae pointed out the absurdity of women rewarded men who save them from rape with sex?
• Fuck yes, Bronn lives. For now. Also, Jerome Flynn needs to sing the entire "Dornishman's Wife." Mind you, now I'm wondering if he's going to team up with the Sand Snakes.
• Cersei really should have seen that coming.
• Dany, please burn Meereen to the ground and set sail for Westeros immediately. This plotline was bad enough in the books. I don't want to have to sit through it agai- wait, Tyrion actually meets Dany?

• Best
• Change
• From
• The
• Books
• Ever

edited 24th May '15 7:12:22 PM by lrrose

Sigh. Another attempted rape scene and then Gilly wants to bang Sam right after. Didn't the show point out how illogical that was in season 1, lol?

Ramsay raping and beating Sansa every night, great. Clearly this season is about her empowerment.

Sansa with her Pls help me person who murdered my brothers .___.

Useless Sand Snake and Bronn scene with bad dialogue whose only purpose was for some tits.

I don't like how insipid Myrcella looks. She's basically season 1 Sansa right now.

Well at least Tyrion and Daenerys meet early now. I'm guessing he'll take Barristan's role when Dany flies away.

Oldtown arc, I'm 90% sure is happening now.

Edit:

It might be a misdirect but there's an interview going around with Iwan confirming that he's in next season.

edited 24th May '15 7:34:21 PM by MadSkillz

This article describes how Essos is written well, and some of the issues with it.

edited 24th May '15 7:50:59 PM by SilentColossus

Lets hope she just stabs him in the dick and escapes.

Dickless Ramsey is best Ramsey.