In a season marked by extensive leaks and detective work, this might be the episode that has been spoiled in the greatest detail. And that was before the script was allegedly hacked this week. I'll try to avoid any of the leaked material. That said, the Episode Four preview gave away a lot, and the prior spoilers color the interpretation of certain shots. In short, READ NO FURTHER IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN UNSULLIED.
1) Cersei appears to have secured the Iron Bank's support, contingent on safe delivery of the Tyrell gold.
2) Jaime has taken possession of the loot that provides the episode's title, but he looks less than confident about transporting it. Long, Westworldesque establishing shots suggest that he and Bronn have a lot of open ground to cross, which could be a problem when the enemy has a Dothraki horde (unbeatable in the open plain) and three you-know-whats.
3) Speaking of the you-know-whats, Daenerys has lost her Westerosi allies and most of her patience with Tyrion's clever plans. It's just about "Dracarys" time. I figured Dany would hold her, um, fire for another week or two; but when a preview closes with a shot of Drogon, somebody's gonna get lit up.
4) Jon is exploring caverns by torchlight. Is that obsidian on the walls?
5) Theon appears to get his groove back - at least enough to pull a rowboat ashore with a determined expression.
6) A lone, diminutive rider eyes Winterfell from a distance. By all appearances, a girl returns home.
7) Sansa exudes administrative competence.
8) Baelish exudes whatever it is Baelish always exudes.
9) Pod takes another beating - probably from Brienne, but at some point he and his magic dick are going to see actual combat.
10) A dagger - possibly one we've been wondering about for quite a while - figures prominently.
11) Another quiet week north of the Wall. I'm not sure who's slower - Gendry in a boat or the Night's King on horseback.
It looks like his main ship has wings. Maybe it's an airship? It appears to be able to teleport all over the map and command flaming catapults positioned just out of camera.
-We have seen a similar shot of Arya before, at the Twins in season 3. Back then the Hound told her "You're almost there and you're afraid you won't make it. The closer you get, the worse the fear gets." Will she make it this time?
-Bran is a threat to Littlefinger. Baelish won't accept that Bran doesn't want Winterfell for himself. Plus with Bran spouting off about seeing the past, Baelish will want to quiet him up quickly.
-Now that Randall Tarly is Warden of the South, is Sam in danger? Oldtown is in the Reach and Sam did take the Tarly family sword. I can see Tarly forces pressuring the Citidel to hand over Sam. If so, hopefully for Sam, Jorah is still in town looking for a ship to give him passage.
-The trailer makes it look like there is something in that dragonglass mine beside dragonglass. Why would Jon lead Dany and Missandei down there just to show his progress? Dany has a shocked look on her face. Could there be a message left behind by Dany's family when she was born - the Targarian's side of the war maybe? The truth behind Rhaegar and Lianna? Or maybe they find something more ancient - a record of the first war againt the Walkers?
About that dagger... - ( New Window )
- Bran is a threat to Littlefinger.... Baelish will want to quiet him up quickly.
That preview shot of Jamie and Bronn overlooking those plans looked foreboding. Looks like the perfect place for a Dothraki hoard to slaughter an enemy, I agree there is no way Jamie brings that gold aboard Euron's ship, and it is not getting back to King's Landing.
I wonder if Arya returns as herself or in disguise. Should be an interesting episode.
I also think, practically, the show is a lot more interesting if you keep the power dynamic going for two seasons (ie, Cersei, Dany, Jon,... Jamie, Euron, Tyrion.. all alive)... versus killing each other off first and then battling the WW in season 8.
I also think, practically, the show is a lot more interesting if you keep the power dynamic going for two seasons (ie, Cersei, Dany, Jon,... Jamie, Euron, Tyrion.. all alive)... versus killing each other off first and then battling the WW in season 8.
Agreed, especially on point 2. The show just can't have it just be the WW in season 8. Maybe when the big battle there is no clear winner, or the winner has a fractioned surviving group.
Even before he was warden of the south he wanted Sam dead, but I'm not clear what changes by him becoming warden of the south.
I do think they need more Randyll Tarly, he's a good character.
Maybe they'll find Gendry hiding out in the caverns. That rowboat didn't look fit for a very long journey.
Hard to see him finding that proof at Dragonstone but I agree it'll need to happen somehow this season
Well it's going to at least take many months to rewrite all those scrolls. LOL.
He should be glad he's off latrine duty (no pun intended).
Even before he was warden of the south he wanted Sam dead, but I'm not clear what changes by him becoming warden of the south.
I do think they need more Randyll Tarly, he's a good character.
I honestly don't know if the Citadel answers to any lord. But it is in the Reach, which is not controlled by the Tarly's. That means there may be, at least, a greater pressence of Tarly men, rather than Tyrell around Old Town (where the Citadel is)
I'm just assuming the narrative between Sam, his father and the sword will have to be sewn up at some point. This would be a good opportunity to do so.
I can imagine a scene where Tarly men (headed by Sam's brother maybe) enter the Citadel demanding the fugitive and enemy of the reach be handed over. The maesters resist of course, but Dickon promises to come back with more men. This is when Ebrose arranges for Sam & co to be sneaked out to where Jorah awaits.
Quote:
being warden of the south put Sam in any more danger? Do they control the citadel? Does anyone control the citadel?
Even before he was warden of the south he wanted Sam dead, but I'm not clear what changes by him becoming warden of the south.
I do think they need more Randyll Tarly, he's a good character.
I honestly don't know if the Citadel answers to any lord. But it is in the Reach, which is not controlled by the Tarly's. That means there may be, at least, a greater pressence of Tarly men, rather than Tyrell around Old Town (where the Citadel is)
I'm just assuming the narrative between Sam, his father and the sword will have to be sewn up at some point. This would be a good opportunity to do so.
I can imagine a scene where Tarly men (headed by Sam's brother maybe) enter the Citadel demanding the fugitive and enemy of the reach be handed over. The maesters resist of course, but Dickon promises to come back with more men. This is when Ebrose arranges for Sam & co to be sneaked out to where Jorah awaits.
grrr I meant *NOW* controlled by Tarly's
Randall is also portrayed as a man who doesn't like to lose. He is famous for being the only commander to ever defeat Robert Baratheon in battle. He comes off as very proud and arrogant - even to the Lannisters. I doubt he will take losing his most prized possesion lighlty, especially to his weakling son.
Of course, he's on the wrong side of the continent, but that's OK. The Citadel story line has been largely independent - aside from Sam's dispatches to the North - and the show has few scruples about time and space anyway.
Official Images From Episode 704 - ( New Window )
The transition from contesting the Iron Throne to fighting the "War to Come" is the main challenge of ASOIAF. The game of thrones may "just" be a game compared to the existential battle between darkness and light, but it's a whole lot more fun. I think this is where Martin's guiding hand comes in. The showrunners have a lot of freedom; but on fundamental stuff like whether the Lannisters survive this war, it's probably his call.
Sansa has another creepy talk with Bran?
Littlefinger, Pod and Brienne seem interested in something/someone in the the courtyard.
And then there is this shot:
Maybe they see a funny looking bird.
I think at this point, the show runners just want to forget Dorne ever existed.
Now that the Martells and Sands are out of the picture, there's no obvious reason for the Dornish to fight on Dany's side. The Targaryens have a complex, violent history with Dorne. The recent, tenuous alliance probably wasn't helped much when Crown Prince Rhaegar snubbed his delicate Martell wife in favor of Robert's northling fiancee (though there might be more to the Rhaegar-Lyanna story than just the reckless dalliance of a randy prince).
A more honest answer might be that the whole Dorne story line is so screwed up in the show that sensible, logical explanations are largely beside the point. Dorne was laughable in Season Five, and went irretrievably off the rails at the start of Season Six, when a late rewrite killed off Prince Doran in Episode One. Aside from wasting a strong cast member in Siddig, that change left the Dorne narrative in total disarray.
The whole Stark thing is about honor. They are more than symbolic for it, they're practically caricatures. The father and brother died for Lyanna's honor, Ned died for his own, it's being presented as Jon's fatal flaw, Arya is enacting revenge for it, Sansa (if she had it) lost it due to great trauma. Given that background, it makes no sense for Lyanna to not only cheat on her fiance but also to cuckhold Rhaegar. It's about as dishonorable as you can get and is pretty much the antithesis of Stark.
I can't believe that somehow there's bigamy allowed or that the Martell/Targaryan marriage was dissolved and a Stark/Targaryan marriage. That would not be trivial because it then makes Jon the true-born son of the Crown Prince (or even King depending on the timing of things) which alters the line of succession.
The whole Stark thing is about honor. They are more than symbolic for it, they're practically caricatures. The father and brother died for Lyanna's honor, Ned died for his own, it's being presented as Jon's fatal flaw, Arya is enacting revenge for it, Sansa (if she had it) lost it due to great trauma. Given that background, it makes no sense for Lyanna to not only cheat on her fiance but also to cuckhold Rhaegar. It's about as dishonorable as you can get and is pretty much the antithesis of Stark.
I can't believe that somehow there's bigamy allowed or that the Martell/Targaryan marriage was dissolved and a Stark/Targaryan marriage. That would not be trivial because it then makes Jon the true-born son of the Crown Prince (or even King depending on the timing of things) which alters the line of succession.
Well all the highborn marriages were arranged politically anyway. I didn't read the books, but I don't think Lyanna even met Robert until that Harrenhall tourney. Then again, Robert was really in love with her, so there might be something I missed.
I think we will get a flashback scene showing Lyanna and Rhaegar really did fall in love. I realize that doesn't mean much to the traditional Stark honor, but people love romance. If the show does it right, it would come off as she doesn't really have a choice but to be with her true love, Rhaegar.
I did hear about the story of "The Knight of the Laughing Tree" as told by Howland Reed. I hope that is the flashback we get. Depending on who the Knight was, it could be the perfect showcase of how and why those two fell in love.
second, the whole rebellion started because two people fell in love but decided it would be wiser to pretend he kidnapped and raped her (leading to the mad king ordering the deaths of her brother and father).
Why leave Lyanna holed up in the Tower of Joy defended by their best swordsman while he went off to fight Robert and his forces at the Battle of the Trident (where he eventually died I think), if she loved him too and was she being held against her will, why not just leave her free knowing she'd stay because she loved him too?
One other piece of information against this is that one of Rhaegar's men at the Tower of Joy was Arthur Dayne, from Dorne, wouldn't he have been at least a little offended, like the rest of Dorne, that Ella was jilted for a Stark? Yet Dayne fought to stop the Stark forces from rescuing Lyanna at the Tower of Joy (and where we know Ned "dishonorably" mercifully beheaded Dayne).
Just doesn't fit to me, seems like it could be a convenient show plot, but I doubt the books go there.
Well we don't really know much about Lyanna or Rhaegar. Lyanna could be more passion and less honor than most Starks.
Lyanna was tom-boyish, right? Rhaegar could have chosen her over his more beautiful wife becasue of her skills in riding and fighting. If that's the case it easy to see how she would secretly reject Robert (who would end up treating her like a prized pet) and run off with a man who respected her spirit.
That's all speculation of course. I'm just trying to show that its not all black and white. A Stark could be shown to make a "dishonorable" choice, given the right circumstances.
Then again, the way the pacing this season is going, they probably won't have time to really do any Rhaegar/Lyanna love story justice.