GoT is back! (Spoilers possible! Read at your own risk.)

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

I'm not going to put this post in spoilers because the thread title already did that job. Silly people spoiling posts in a spoiler thread. :P

This was a great setup episode for the major plotlines of the season going forward. It wasn't the best for plot or character development, but it served a very good purpose.

It was kind of necessary after they threw so many twists and new developments at us at the end of last season: Sansa and Theon Reek escaping, Cersei getting freed, Myrcella dying, Arya going blind, Danaerys getting snagged by a khalasar, Tyrion apparently set to try to rule Mereen with Varys and Grey Worm, Stannis maybe dying (still yet to be confirmed), and Jon Snow getting shanked. Seriously, that was a lot of stuff to drop at the end of the season. They needed to pick all those threads back up and reacquaint the average viewer with them, because most people will just go into it without rewatching the last season or reading one of those refresher guides that show up everywhere on the internet before popular sh
ows return for a new season and the show runners want even those plebs to be able to follow along with the basic plot points. It's standard practice in TV. The show ought to pick up pace from here onward, now that they've gotten the recap material out of the way and given most of those plotlines a step forward.

Hell, some of them took huge leaps forward, particularly the Dorne plot. I'm not particularly fond of the Sand Snakes, but holy shit are they rushing that plot forward. That's the kind of shit you'd expect near the end of a season for most shows, not in the opening episode. Brienne and Sansa finally linking up is also a pretty big deal, especially if all the speculation I've seen about Stannis still being alive turns out to be true. Melisandre turning out to be a rather old woman using a glamour to take on the look of a seductress was neat, shows she can do truly magical things other than make shadow babies, and that magic of hers will certainly have an impact on the stuff going on at the Wall.

Then, if all that isn't enough to get you excited for the rest of the season, there are still two big plotlines that should be showing up next episode: Bran and his warg shenanigans, and the Ironborn finally doing something other than being mentioned.

Overall I liked the episode for what it was, and I'm more hyped than ever to see what comes next.

No, Stannis death was confirmed, although briefly. Ramsay's father brought it up before he began nagging on him about losing Sansa. They were talking about how they'd like to know who was the one who killed him. Although, that was the only verification through the whole episode. I'm going to assume at some point they're going to officially confirm it, possibly in the next few episodes.

The whole Melisandre thing....honestly, I really wish they had chosen another way to demonstrate her abilities. (Like by bringing Jon Snow back!) I understood what they were trying to do with it, but I think there are a lot of other ways it could have been done without scarring our minds for life. Enchantment isn't really that big of a deal (At least in my opinion it's not since there's really no evidence that she's the one that did the enchantment. I assumed that it was her choker that carried it, and that could have been placed there by anyone.) And why was the episode named after her, when there really wasn't much of her in it? It felt like a play by HBO and the writers to make sure everyone was tuned in because we're all hoping that she's the one that's going to bring good ole Jonny boy back.

The only thing I'm excited about is what's going on at the wall. Honestly, I want Ghost to have a Knight's Watch buffet. And Brienne. I feel like she's finally been vindicated in a way. She offered her services to Sansa in the past, and Sansa completely ignored it. Now she's starting to realize that she's going to need someone at her side, which I think is the first step to her growing up and becoming something than a whimpering little bitch.

And I know I missed some stuff on the final episode, and bits and pieces of this episode....but what the hell happened to Drogon?

 

[Grothnor]

Melisandre turning out to be a rather old woman using a glamour to take on the look of a seductress was neat, shows she can do truly magical things other than make shadow babies, and that magic of hers will certainly have an impact on the stuff going on at the Wall.

Zombie John Snow confirmed. :P

Also, concerning the Arya plotline, this is just about the only plotline that hasn't gone past the books, so [singsong] I know what's gonna happen! :P [/singsong].

tl;dr She becomes super-ultra badass, learns to kills bad guys and doesn't afraid of anything.

Also, @Jorick is back to being a smug little(finger) asshole! Yay!

 

[Jorick]

Also, @Jorick is back to being a smug little(finger) asshole! Yay!

The time felt right to return to my roots. Here's hoping Littlefinger does some more wonderful bullshit this season.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

I didn't see a whole lot of him in the trailers/previews. Although, with how quickly they flashed some of the scenes, it was really hard to tell who was where.

 

[Greenie]

Littlefinger has to be there. It's not Game of Thrones without him! :D

 

[Hellis]

I think the point was to show us in all the full "scarring glory". There was really no more powerfull way to show it. The Red Woman is all about her appeal. Her body being on display troughout the seasons as sex seem very important to her machninations. Thus, showing her true force in all its 'glory' makes perfect and absolute sense. And I mean, c'mon. We get to see superhot people naked all the time. There has to be some balance.

 

[Darog]

I don't know why there's complaints about Mellisandre's true form.

for a chick who's centuries old? she has a rocking bod! Disclaimer: I'm not into old ladies.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Disclaimer: I'm not into old ladies.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

I don't know why there's complaints about Mellisandre's true form.

for a chick who's centuries old? she has a rocking bod! Disclaimer: I'm not into old ladies.

Your previous words state otherwise. :P

It wasn't so much her body that kind of freaked me out, it was her eyes really. Did anyone else notice how they didn't change at all? I'm not talking about the area under her eyes, but her eyes themselves. You'd expect some change for someone who was that old. They're not giving her an age, from what I was reading. They want her to appear old, but indeterminable as far as years go. But still....her eyes! They weren't dull or anything.

'Game of Thrones' director explains that Melisandre surprise

To be honest, at first I thought she was a man. =/

 

[Dervish]

I think the point was to show us in all the full "scarring glory". There was really no more powerfull way to show it. The Red Woman is all about her appeal. Her body being on display troughout the seasons as sex seem very important to her machninations. Thus, showing her true force in all its 'glory' makes perfect and absolute sense. And I mean, c'mon. We get to see superhot people naked all the time. There has to be some balance.

I don't know why there's complaints about Mellisandre's true form.

for a chick who's centuries old? she has a rocking bod! Disclaimer: I'm not into old ladies.

Fucking right on. I thought it turned another "oh, she's getting naked again for little reason" moments into a really powerful and compelling revelation into her character; why people are grossed out or offended by old people nudity is beyond me, it's just a body who gives a fuck. It's also a reflection of how broken and vulnerable Melissandre is; her faith has been so horribly shaken, so has no conviction or surety in a world that is getting darker by the day. It really was brilliant, and for once, I'm glad the show made a bold revelation that may or may not be true to that character.

Rest of the episode was pretty good, except I seriously cannot give less of a shit about Dorne if they tried. They turned one of the most intreging and compelling story arcs in the novels with such rich and complex characters to the most bland, paper thin characters in the entire series with zero interesting qualities. HBO raped Dorne so hard, Ramsay got jealous.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

Okay, I'm curious about something!

If Melisandre's necklace it was gives her the illusion of youth, than how come she didn't look all old and wrinkly in that one episode where she takes a bath in front of Stannis' wife?

No necklace. Still hot.

Did HBO just fuck up? >_>

 

[Doughguy]

Okay, I'm curious about something!

If Melisandre's necklace it was gives her the illusion of youth, than how come she didn't look all old and wrinkly in that one episode where she takes a bath in front of Stannis' wife?

No necklace. Still hot.

Did HBO just fuck up? >_>

You may have found a screw up haha. Its possible they weren't told what the necklace truly did by George until the season 6 planning began and at this point in time didn't know, and George didn't spot the error.

 

[Greenie]

Yeah that was what someone was wondering when seeing the leaked pictures. Whoopsy daisy!

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

You may have found a screw up haha. Its possible they weren't told what the necklace truly did by George until the season 6 planning began and at this point in time didn't know, and George didn't spot the error.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that she's been naked without that necklace on. HBO didn't do their research! Time for them to do the shame walk.

But that also makes the scene from the trailer where she's giving someone a lap dance give me the creeps now.

 

[Jorick]

Okay, I'm curious about something!

If Melisandre's necklace it was gives her the illusion of youth, than how come she didn't look all old and wrinkly in that one episode where she takes a bath in front of Stannis' wife?

No necklace. Still hot.

Did HBO just fuck up? >_>

I've seen two alternate theories to explain this as not being a plot hole.

One is that the source of the illusion is not the necklace, but rather her own power. The necklace could be a focus that makes magic easier, or it could be something else entirely and she just had to be shorn of all cover before seeing her true self.

The other is that the bath scene was something of a trick played on viewers, that Selyse was seeing the red woman in her true form and that it was allowed because she was a true believer in the Lord of Light. The whole conversation in that scene is about how lies are fine if used to lead people to the truth, but that there is no reason to use lies on someone who already believes, like Selyse. If you rewatch the bath scene with this in mind, then Selyse's cringing and not wanting to look directly at Melisandre becomes fear and disgust rather than plain old prudishness, her apparent relief at being told there's a potion to drive a man wild with lust is because thinking of Stannis banging the old crone of his own will freaks her out, and then she goes back to being uncomfortable when Melisandre says she didn't need the lust potion for Stannis.

I like both of these theories for their own reasons, but honestly I'm pretty sure it was just a fuck up. :P

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

I've seen two alternate theories to explain this as not being a plot hole.

One is that the source of the illusion is not the necklace, but rather her own power. The necklace could be a focus that makes magic easier, or it could be something else entirely and she just had to be shorn of all cover before seeing her true self.

The other is that the bath scene was something of a trick played on viewers, that Selyse was seeing the red woman in her true form and that it was allowed because she was a true believer in the Lord of Light. The whole conversation in that scene is about how lies are fine if used to lead people to the truth, but that there is no reason to use lies on someone who already believes, like Selyse. If you rewatch the bath scene with this in mind, then Selyse's cringing and not wanting to look directly at Melisandre becomes fear and disgust rather than plain old prudishness, her apparent relief at being told there's a potion to drive a man wild with lust is because thinking of Stannis banging the old crone of his own will freaks her out, and then she goes back to being uncomfortable when Melisandre says she didn't need the lust potion for Stannis.

I like both of these theories for their own reasons, but honestly I'm pretty sure it was just a fuck up. :P

Leave it to GoT fans to make up some theory about it rather than admitting it was just a mistake. XD

Honestly, if I didn't think it was an accident, I don't think I'd buy into either theory really, but the second one does sound more plausible. It's like super devout Christians who think they experience stigmata, or swear that they've seen Jesus in some inanimate object. When someone believes in something like that, they're willing to believe anything. Look at Stannis. He burned his daughter to death over it.

And look where that got him....

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Alternatively....

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

Alternatively....

But it's magic without the magic! That needs explaining!! :P

 

[Mid]

Woooooooo I liked this episode. Ser Davos is one of my favorite characters. He is such a smartass and i love it 8D!

I am so excited for the Wildlings to come back! KICK SOME CROW ASS MAN!

Sansa was so pale, her eyes matched her skin. She looked like a White Walker omo.

There's also theories going around that the Stark children are connected to their Direwolves, being able to warg into them? Also Arya's direwolf is rumored to come back this season with her own pack and basically fuck shit up!

I just wish all the episodes were out so we could binge. This waiting is killing me ;_;

 

[Darog]

Your previous words state otherwise. :P

It wasn't so much her body that kind of freaked me out, it was her eyes really. Did anyone else notice how they didn't change at all? I'm not talking about the area under her eyes, but her eyes themselves. You'd expect some change for someone who was that old. They're not giving her an age, from what I was reading. They want her to appear old, but indeterminable as far as years go. But still....her eyes! They weren't dull or anything.

'Game of Thrones' director explains that Melisandre surprise

To be honest, at first I thought she was a man. =/

>: [