GAME OF THRONES - S6E9 BATTLE OF THE BASTARDS 2AM ONWARDS SPOILERS/THEORIES ETC ENTER AT PERIL

[EverySongbirdSays]

THIS THREAD IS FOR THE EPISODE TITLED BATTLE OF THE BASTARDS

FIRST UK SHOWING 2AM 20/6/16

SPOILERS

ARE

COMING

AND WHAT DO WE SAY TO THOSE WHO ASK IF SANSA IS MARRIED TO TYRION OR RAMSEY?

WE SAY THAT MIGHT RESOLVE ITSELF THIS WEEK!

WARNING THAT MANY OF US HAVE READ THE BOOKS AND DISCUSS PLOTS CHARACTERS AND BACKSTORIES THAT HAVE YET TO APPEAR/MAY NOT APPEAR IN THE SHOW

AND WHAT DO WE SAY TO THOSE WHO COME TO THIS THREAD THEN COMPLAIN THERE ARE SPOILERS???

WE SAY NOT TODAY!!!!

Long time lurker shocked into posting...
OMFG that was awesome. One of the best things I've seen on TV in a long time.

I like Sansa now. I thought she was really annoying in the early seasons (and books) but I think she has a game plan. I loved her smile as she walked away from Ramsay - that was worthy of Dani, another favourite of mine. In fact I'm loving all the strong women characters even if they are all bloodthirsty, that's just how it is in the world of GoT. Really want to see Cercei do her thing next week too.

I think Jon wants to be dead tbh and was being suicidal last night for that reason (purposely putting himself in harms way and saying to melisandre he didn't want bringing back again). He wasn't happy at all about being brought back. His brothers in the Nights Watch betrayed him so he has to live with that. I don't think he wants to be Lord of Winter fell or anything. Felt really sorry for him last night. Hopefully something nice will come his way eventually.

Just been watching that "anatomy of a scene" YouTube from upthread - brilliant line "we spent an entire filming day, 10 hours, just filming Jon sitting on top of Ramsey beating him to a pulp" - now wouldn't that 10 hour footage make a great dvd extra?

BelfastBloke Is there a tune to that racehorse rhyme? - not that I have ever heard of...

Dracarys means 'dragon fire' in high valyrian. In the books Dany uses this word when training the dragons to breathe fire. She chose it as she wanted a word that wasn't in normal use so they wouldn't accidentally go round burning things

I bet every single one of the men from the bear islands survived that battle. All 62 of them. (Jon picks up a shield from bear island to counter Ramsey's arrows in the scene after wun wun breaks down the door, so bear island saved the day,)

Buuny I think it was Rickon but they probably aged him because of how graphic his death was. Can't imagine it would have the same reaction if he was played by a 7 or 8 year old.

GOT is on it's sixth season though, so if Rickon was 7, playing a five year old, the actor would be 13 or so now.

It was definitely Rickon, it's just these child actors have an annoying habit of going through puberty on a RL timescale instead of TV show timescales

With regard to Sansa and the Knights of the Vale - of course she didn't tell Jon. Because it is TV and the leader of the army has to think it is a doomed charge and then there has to be a last-minute miracle to save the day. I don't think her character motivation goes any deeper than "we need a half-arsed reason for Sansa not to tell Jon about the Knights so we can do emotive nearly-dying on the battlefield". This will also be why Sansa didn't tell Jon about Littlefinger's visit and original offer of the Knights - if she'd taken them, they would have just all marched on Winterfell and besieged it and it would have dragged on forever. They needed a swift, decisive battle, with the obligatory bit where the audience thinks they will lose before the deus ex machina kicks in. It was clunky writing, actually. The bit that makes less sense is why Jon and Davos decided to go ahead with the attack despite having a titchy army and knowing they would probably get splatted! Jon's argument there didn't make much sense - I think he said it was for Rickon but Sansa immediately countered with "you'll never get Rickon back", so they knew it was doomed.

Anyone else think Littlefinger was hiding behind the trees waiting to see how the battle would go before pitching in at the very end?

Thinking on it more, I think Sansa will end up in The Vale with LF. She always resented Jon, really she's only allying with him because he's the only one of her family around. When Bran and Arya return, they'll most likely side with Jon also. If she wants power and a 'happy' ending to her story she'd find it there, I reckon. This is assuming she's above killing her siblings which, considering it's GoT, she probably isn't.

Too I agree with that. While watching, it was all sorts of amazing, but looking at it after a lot of it doesn't make sense?

I think the show has become very 'Hollywood' this season, Arya/the waif chase, Jon defeated, knights of the Vale save him last minute, and I'm sure there's a few more

I noticed the parallel between Sansa and the Hound, and Ramsay and his hounds. When Sansa said "You won't hurt me", he agreed that he wouldn't. Ramsay said "My dogs will never hurt me", and got eaten.

The thing is, they could so easily have fixed some of those things, like we could have seen someone throwing meat into the dogs cages and opening them so they stayed occupied for a few minutes.

I guess Sansa didn't tell Jon because he is honourable and would have let Ramsay know about the extra men.

I rewatched the episode and enjoyed it much more. It looks amazing. The director is very talented.

I disagree that Sansa doesn't like Jon now. I think that scene at Castle Black when they met after years and lots of death, danger and torture in between showed that she had grown up and discovered that she did love him and was so pleased to see someone that she knew would have her back without question - family, in short! The bits since where people have questioned her motivations and her liking for him can really be explained as the producers messing around to set up the Battle of the Bastards.

Nope, she'll turn evil. Wait and see.

Medieval warfare did have all sorts of rules of engagement, but didn't extend to telling your opponent that you were expecting reinforcements...

I think Sansa is a loooooong way away from sibling murder. Might get there in the end, but not now, and presumably Brienne will be around soon and will remind her about honour

A previous poster mentioned the similarity to 300.

I agree, my favourite part of the episode is when Jon faces Ramsey's charging army (and his impending death) and draws his sword probably thinking I'm going to die with honour and take down a few of the bastards with me. It really reminded me of Leonidas at the final battle.

My DH came back from work and I made him watch the battle scene again with me as I was so stressed I needed to speak with someone in RL about it!

Too I love your explanation about Sansa. We are probably reading too much into it. It is only a TV show after all.

LaBelle You have an amazing memory.

I've only just got a chance to watch it this morning so have been avoiding this thread until then (and now it's taken me about an hour to read it!)

Loved it but hid for a lot of the battle because I was so scared Jon was a gonna. He is way too reactive and Ramsey knew it. I also think he was being saved by some divine being, there's no way he should have survived any of the onslaughts.

I think Sansa didn't know LF was coming but hoped he was and that's why she didn't say anything, although she did say to Jon about waiting for more troops.

I think it was perfect how Ramsey died, he was expecting her to kill him but no way did he expect her to turn his hounds on him. I hope she isn't pregnant but you have all made me think that's a possibility.

And to the PP who commented on the Bolton banners, I thought exactly the same thing, they've made them look very much like the union flag. I think that was deliberate.

Sansa has certainly changed. She was as a young innocent girl utterly selfish, judgmental and easily influenced (hence taking her judgemental to Jon trait off her mother).

She's now utterly fucked off she's not listened too. In all seriousness who did know what Ramsey was like but her? She's become very matter of fact.

So simply thought fine this is what is going to happen, these people as going to die no matter what I say to Jon.

Same with Rickon. She's not a family annihilating psychopath but just knew no matter what Rickon was dead.

She seem to also say what she thinks now (rather than as Sansa of old say what she thought was expected of her) and with that attitude she did seem to been pleased to see Jon though up in castle black.

Didn't like Sansa previously but she's growing on me as this ruthless goal driven woman

By the way, someone upthread mentioned Hillsborough - that was exactly what I thought when I realised they were being crushed, not stabbed. Do you think there'll be any reaction that that online, given all the Hillsborough stuff in the news recently?

^ I agree. Sansa was always an aloof, superior and selfish girl but she was also naive and unworldly in many ways. She was easily impressed by power and wealth and desperate to please and impress those she thought could better her position.

We now see the maturing of her character, due to horrendous things she has seen and experienced. She knows from experience not to trust anyone or to give anything away. She was always selfish but now she is self-contained. That is why she didn't tell Jon, or anyone, about the letter to LF. a) she didn't know if LF would actually turn up. b) she couldn't risk even the slightest rumour of a plan getting back to Ramsey (little birds are everywhere, as she has learnt).

I don't think she did it to disrespect Jon. I think she just took it on herself to do "something" and chose not to share in case the plan did not come off or was jeopardised.

I'm picking up on some major chemistry between Sansa and Jon. Noticed it ever since they were reunited and if he turns out not to be Ned's son then the doors are open for a relationship to develop (not that a bit of incest ever stopped anyone in GOT anyway!). Jon is so moral and good (like Ned) and Sansa is very like her mother (cold, intelligent, hard as nails when chooses to be). It would be Ned & Catelyn all over again at Winterfell

Ooh that never occurred to me! They would be cousins I guess but that's ok. However they were raised together as siblings so that's a bit ick