I agree. There's only been approximately one good episode this season, if you combine all the good scenes together.
I'm drunk and watching through season four again because, in my opinion, it's the all-around best season. Anyway, I want to know who your favorite characters are... your top five favorite characters. You can list reasons why if you want to; I don't care if you do or not. You can list more than five if you want, too. And they can be from the books or the TV series. Or you can make two separate lists, one for the books, and one for the series. Just make sure you spoiler relevant things. From the books: 1. Jon Snow Jon's my favorite character because of his incredible character growth throughout the books. He knew his place in the world as the Bastard of Winterfell, but he had misconceptions about the Night's Watch. But once he joined the Night's Watch, his character grew by leaps and bounds, from the naive green boy he was to the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch (granted, that was Sam's doing, in part). Spoilers: And if things work out the way most fans expect them to, Jon Snow will be resurrected as Azor Ahai in The Winds of Winter, making his character even more bad ass. 2. Stannis Baratheon (#TeamStannis) I don't know what it is about Stannis that I love, but I know for a fact that Stephen Dillane's performance as Stannis on the TV series changed the way I read Stannis in the books. He's got the rightful claim to the throne (fuck the Targaryen claim); he instills loyalty in his soldiers; he's strong, just, and true; and he remembers his friends. I'd like to think Stannis will be sitting on the Iron Throne when all is said and done, but I just don't know. The only real problem I've got with Stannis (spoilers): Melisandre. I think she's manipulated him into thinking he's truly Azor Ahai while she searches for the true Azor Ahai (who I think is Jon Snow). She's going to be his downfall, I think. 3. Barristan Selmy Ser Barristan is a boss. I thought he got the short end of the stick when he was dismissed from Joffrey's Kingsguard, and once he found Danaerys in Essos, I knew he'd be OK. He's ridiculously loyal, but only to the Targaryens. If it weren't for Robert showing him mercy for the fact that he fought hard and fought true for Aerys, Barristan would be dead. He only continued to serve Robert because he was pardoned and was still the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard. His true loyalties always lay with the Targaryens, which is why Robert never discussed assassinating Viserys or Danaerys when Barristan sat in on Small Council meetings. Plus, Barristan might well be the best swordsman still. When you read the passage in which Barristan wrecks a dozen gold cloaks while fleeing King's Landing, you get goosebumps. He's a fucking boss. 4. Eddard Stark Again, Sean Bean's performance as Boromir really changed the way I read Ned in the books, which made me love the character even more. I don't really think I need to say much about this, except for that I wish he'd have told Jon about his mother. 5. Sansa Stark Sansa's character growth is also remarkable, but I've talked about it in several other posts on here, so I won't go into great detail. And for good measure: 6. Sandor Clegane The Hound's interactions with Sansa and Arya endeared him to me. Yes, he had his own agendas insofar as ransoming them for gold, but he proved he could be gentle when he needed to be and wasn't anything like his brother, The Mountain, despite his ridiculous body count. Plus, "Fuck the king." And from the TV series: 1. Jon Snow Kit Harrington's performance as Jon endeared the character to me even more than the books did. I love him for the same reasons as listed above. 2. Stannis Baratheon (#TeamStannisForever) Stephen Dillane's performance as Stannis is so incredibly underrated. It's wonderful, and if you read the books after watching the TV series, you'll understand just how deep into character Dillane went. Spoilers: As for his sacrificing of Shireen "ruining" his character: I strongly disagree with that. He did what he had to do. He didn't want to, but his greater cause is protecting the realm, and sacrificing one life for the lives of thousands was too big a thing for Stannis to ignore. The pain and anguish in his face was evident. I think it'll truly come back to haunt him, though. 3. Sansa Stark As with the books, Sansa's character growth has been wonderful. I disagree with everyone who says she's only there to play the victim. It takes great strength to deal with all she's dealt with and it's made her a stronger person in the long run. She's going to be an incredibly important character coming up. Plus, Sophie Turner is smoking hot. 4. Bronn What can I say? His one-liners are fucking fantastic. He's another one whose character portrayal on screen made me read his book counterpart differently, for the better. 5. Jorah Mormont This one is mainly because Ian Glenn kills it as Jorah. If you ask me, it's one of the most accurate book-to-screen portrayals, even with all the invented scenes and whatnot. And to round it out: 6. Davos Seaworth Ah, Davos. I think the last episode sums up quite nicely why Davos is a great character. What about you guys? I'm interested to know who your favorite characters are.
Arya Stark, because she's different. Sandor Clegane, because he's honest. Tyrion Lannister, because he's witty. Petyr Baelish, because he's intriguing and the accent is such a pleasure to my ears for whatever reason. ~ What causes your great love for Stannis, if I may ask?
No particular order. Tyrion. I like that in the face of negligence and and in the midst of his own flaws and taking shit from so many he is able to learn and to persevere. Arya. Well, more so because of her characterization in the books than in the show. Can't really go into detail here. The White Walkers and the Wights. For reasons.
I'll never understand the following Stannis has acrued, books or TV. It's absolutely baffled me. The guy is a religious zealot, has delusions of grandeur, is very unlikable in general (seriously, guy has a severe personality deficiency) and Mel leads him around by the nose, he always ends up doing what she wants. He's power hungery to the nth degree, and will justify his means whatever way he can. I recall him being described as "brittle" in the books. His "claim" to the throne is irrelevant. I think he gets by on his name (being the last Baratheon) more than anything. He's not a king, and certainly isn't a saviour, and there's no way in the seven hells he'll make the Iron Throne. "Just and true"? lol. "Robert was the true steel. Stannis is pure iron, black and hard and strong, yes, but brittle, the way iron gets. He'll break before he bends. And Renly, that one, he's copper, bright and shiny, pretty to look at but not worth all that much at the end of the day." -Donal Noye Sansa is also dull as dishwater, books and TV. Her storyline is tedious. My picks are Jon, Arya & Tyrion. And Bronn.
I disagree. I'm on A Clash of Kings, and I've found Sansa's chapters are very, very interesting to read.
Jesus shitfucking Christ. edit — Hearing "shame, shame, shame [bell ring]" over and over was almost as annoying as hearing Daleks screaming "exterminate" on Doctor Who. Fuck.
Remember, man, not everyone will have seen the episode yet. Spoiler your post with the [noparse][/noparse] tag, please. Answer: It might be. I'm guessing it's lead by one of the other khals that split off from Drogo's khalasar after Drogo died. If that's the case, I'd say they're no friends to Dany.
Well that was depressing as hell! Can't believe they off'd Snow. He was one of my favorite characters. These shocking deaths don't even phase me anymore because I find it really depressing when good characters die. There is very little pay off...
As a potential season 6 spoiler based on fan speculation I found the ending to this video pretty interesting: https://youtu.be/3VI_wvl2SmI?t=503 Pretty fucking funny.
I'm wondering if there's any significance to the fact that they didn't exactly show Stannis die. Maybe it's nothing, but that really stuck out to me in an episode where Arya carved Meryn Trant's eyes out like he was a melon, and Jon was nearly disemboweled.
I was thinking that too but the show runners confirmed his death (which may mean nothing). Perhaps they were trying to give him a more honorable death after the shit he went through
I thought the rule was: don't enter the darned thread if you haven't seen the episode yet? PUTTING UP SPOILER TAGS BECAUSE I'M A SPOILED LITTLE TWAT Let's see: Selyse is dead, Myranda is dead (heh, who cares), Stannis is very likely dead, Myrcella is dead (I feel really bad for Doran Martell), Jon is dead. Arya – what the fuck even happened? Cersei – her life ruined, probably the first time I've actually felt sorry for her. Sansa and Theon – best case scenario, they broke their legs? Was that an actual suicide jump or was it a means of getting out? This was one fucked up finale. Nothing so final has happened since the Red Wedding... though this time I am actually truly concerned over how the plot is going to work from now on. Also, I'm not sure how much I like this as a decision (though I have no idea whether it's from the books or not). It's like all of these deaths were crammed into this finale for the pure sake of it being climactic.