Basement X

Also, Stannis at the Wall, all "Gandalf at Helm's Deep"-like.
And the finale of the Arya/Hound travel.

Stannis at the wall? I thought that happened much later? Isn't Jon supposed to be leader by then?

The storyline in the TV show is leading there sooner rather than later.

Talk about a busy finale! Loads of things happened.

Now that this season is done, I'm going to go back to reading the novels for a bit. I'm a slow reader so it takes me a long time to get through it. I only got through a third of the first book in a couple of weeks, so I wonder how much I'll get read before next season starts.

That was a great finale.
I'm glad there is no Lady Stoneheart so far.

You might be able to catch up with the TV show. You have almost a year. You should reach the end of book 3 by then which will take you up to date on most storylines except Sansa (whatever they create for Sansa in season 5 will be new as they have reached the end of her storyline so far in the books).

Well I am far into "Feast for Crows / Dance with Dragons" (I'm reading them in chronological order instead of the original publication order) and I am revising my judgement. I like all the characters. The Jaime chapters are great. Brienne is pretty cool too. The Ironborn stuff is also enjoyable.
I'm just sad I'll finish them again soon with the next book still nowhere in sight. I just read that Winds of Winter might not come out until the end of 2016. Two fucking years...

XIII wrote: I just read that Winds of Winter might not come out until the end of 2016. Two fucking years...

I've been waiting in real time (Nerd!) for the last two books. 2 years would be a shock to me. The waits were so long I forgot about the series.

Look at these publication dates...

A Game of Thrones (1996)
A Clash of Kings (1998)
A Storm of Swords (2000)
A Feast for Crows (2005)
A Dance with Dragons (2011)

I'm a tenth of the way into A Clash of Kings and absolutely loving it. I'm a very slow reader so I don't even know how far along I'll be with the series once the new one finally comes out anyway, lol.

So, while we wait for season 5, which promises to be as bloody as any other, anybody bought the Telltale game?
They created a new House in the North, pledged to House Stark, and the game is about their struggles in post-Red Wedding Westeros.
It was my first experience of Telltale Games. While I had a lot of fun playing, I still think the "Choices" system sucks a bit cause no matter what I chose, they plotlines all ended the same at the end of the episode. Maybe it pays off once you've played the whole season.
I have episode 2 but I need to play it yet.

Halfway through season 5. Anybody following? Some of the storylines are now beyond book territory and some stuff is rather unexpected.
Can't help but wonder if the upcoming books are being spoiled for us.

Yes, they are. The showrunners know the story, since they'll be ahead of the books.

I suppose I should watch it again.

I think Barristan's story has been spoiled, but judging from the end of book 5, it looks like things are playing out differently but ending the same way.

Brienne and Pod, and Jaimie have all been given something new to do. I'm guessing Brienne and Pod will take on some of the Greyjoy bits from the book or the Mance Raydar bits.

Ellaria Sand is getting all of Arriane Martel's bit and Jorah seems to be getting a bit of the Jon Connington storyline.

Oh, the Sandsnakes were quite bad, I thought.

It will be fun to see the siege of Wintrerfell with Brienne involved: to save Sansa she must side with Stannis.

XIII wrote:Oh, the Sandsnakes were quite bad, I thought.

It will be fun to see the siege of Wintrerfell with Brienne involved: to save Sansa she must side with Stannis.

Yeah, I'm guessing that's the sort of direction they will go with, which is probably why there was a scene this season with Brienne explaining to Pod or was it Sansa? - that the person who killed her beloved Renly was a shadow with the face of Stannis.

The Sandsnakes did seem poor. Especially Obara.

Anybody saw the premiere last night?

Yep. I had a bit of difficulty to remember all plot lines, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Just watched it.
I'm excitied to see new plotlines.

I have given up on the book series.
Like Arn, I've been waiting in real time since Feast in 2005.

I read the books after season 1 and don't think I'll ever reada new one. In fact, I doubt there'll be a new book. Why would he publish 'em?

Well, for one the Dornish plot might be more interesting in the book.

As a book reader it is fun seeing which story lines follow the book and which ones the TV creators felt they couldn't do. It's also nice seeing what comes next given the fact that the books are behind the TV series now!

Here's a few quick observations on each of the rotating plots...

Plots
[*]Braavos - Arya

[*]King's Landing - Lannisters / Sparrows : Different, but probably similar.
[*]Dorne : Totally different, but maybe it ends up with the same character moment?
[*]Mereen - Dany / Jorah : Different, but probably similar.
[*]Mereen - Tyrion : Different, but for all we know this is exactly where Tyrion and Varys story lines are heading.
[*]The North - Sansa / Theon / Boltons / Littlefinger : Totally different. Bit of a mash up as well.
[*]The Wall - Jon Snow / Davos / Melisandre : Quite a bit different, but will probably end with the same Snow outcome.
[*] Beyond the Wall - Bran : Probably will be the most similar minus a lot of book detail.

I think I'm going to miss the whole Manderlay / Davos planning moments from the book.

Not sure if I'll miss the young Griff stuff though. As interesting as it is, I get the feeling that it's inconsequential, which is also how I felt the Quentyn part of the Dornish master plan was.

I thought season 5 had made a mess of the Dorne plotline and looks like this season is going to keep on. They turned Doran Martell into a very weak character while the Sandsnakes are caricatures you don't expect in an HBO show. The real weakpoint in my opinion.

Having Tyrion in charge of Meereen is great and now he has 2 dragons and I wonder what he'll do with them.

The end of the episode was a surprise. Really didn't expect that. It was creepy as hell. But do you think it was suicide? Is she going to wake up and put on the necklace again or did she just go to bed to die?

About the books, I haven't given up hope that he'll publish them. I just don't believe that it won't have been influenced by the TV show and that's a shame.