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Alerra's Replies
I'm wondering though if more people suspect than we are told. Not KNOW FOR SURE. I don't think anyone outside of Sam and Bran know for sure -- even Howland Reed wouldn't necessarily know about Jon's legitimacy for sure -- but I'm beginning to wonder if there were (and are still) people in Westeros who, if the word got out about Jon's true parentage would say, "You know, that makes a lot of sense."
People who thought it really out of character for Ned, of all people, to father a bastard (discussed multiple times in the show). Or people associated with the Dane family who may have been suspicious when Ned shows up at their house with a newborn baby right after killing Arthur. And people who may have thought it odd that two members of the Kingsguard stayed at some remote tower just to protect the crown prince's mistress after said crown prince was killed when they would have had an obligation to swear fealty to the new king.
Again, I'm not saying that anyone other than Sam and Bran knows for sure (except maybe Howland Reed). And I'm not saying that anyone would have suspected anything right away. But I do think there are people in Westeros who would not be surprised if the news got out.
Yeah, Leontine Aubart is specifically referenced in the movie as Benjamin Guggenheim's mistress, but the two of them couldn't possibly have been having any unmarried sex on that ship. Why on earth would they have been doing that?
*It is not as if they could actually force Rose to marry Cal against her own will.*
This would have been true only if Rose had help from someone outside the family. Young women were forced to marry men they didn't love all the time. Consuelo Vanderbilt's marriage to the Duke of Marlborough is probably a prime example. Both of them were in love with other people, CV was actually engaged to her person when her engagement to the duke was made public, and on the morning of the wedding, she was so late (because she had been crying so much and it took so long to regain her composure) that her mother was convinced she had run off.
Now, granted, that wedding took place in 1895, and society does change in 17 years. But even today in some places, women are still forced to marry men they don't love. It's a shame, but as Ruth says, "We're women. What does fair have to do with it?"
Maybe. I've gotten the feeling that the saying isn't just familial pride though -- that it might actually mean something in regards to the structural integrity of the castle or the surrounding area. It's not evident in the show, but in the books, when Bran and Rickon leave, the weather becomes particularly bad -- Stannis marches on the castle, expecting a short uneventful trip, but runs into a massive snowstorm that no one expected. It could just be a coincidence. Or it could mean that the presence of a Stark is truly necessary at all times at the castle to safeguard against...something.
The dragons didn't come until Aegon, and that was only 300 years prior. And they've been dead in Westeros for only about 150 years. So, when the Greatjon says that it was the dragons they bowed to, but now the dragons are dead, he's not talking about being ignored for thousands of years. He's talking about being ignored for the past century and a half.
It's possible several of the kingdoms (but the North especially) had been harboring resentment ever since but needed the spark that would throw them into open rebellion (I would imagine executing one's liege lord after publicly promising clemency would count as a pretty big spark). Revolts can take a long time to bring to fruition, so I don't think 150 years to be a HUGELY long period of time. If it HAD been thousands of years, I might be skeptical too, but a century and a half sounds pretty reasonable to me.
It's not implausible (and I can totally get behind the idea), if it weren't for the fact that, when Bran watches the Children of the Forest creating the NK, it's the same actor dude as the present NK. I know that could be construed as non canonical, since characters do change actors. But I don't think so in this instance. If what Bran sees in that particular moment is true, he's probably one of the First Men, who became immortal upon becoming the NK.
This has nothing to do with Dany and company being honorable, BUT... that was a wight they showed to Cersei. Not a walker.
The magic trees do seem a little bizarre. But you'll notice that every religion mentioned in the show (at least so far) has genuine power for its believers. The Lord of Light and the Drowned God resurrect people from the dead. The Old Gods have magic trees that green seers can access. The Faith of the Seven had the Faith Militant (you could also argue that Arya's assassination of Walder Frey was divine justice by the Seven as well). The Many-Faced God gives its followers the ability to turn into others. And the Great Stallion can hatch dragons.
Also, remember that, in a high fantasy world, religion can be whatever the creator wants it to be. If he wants it to be similar to a faith practiced by many people here in the world today, it will be. If he wants to be something completely bizarre and different from anything practiced by any substantial group of people today, it can be that, too. The weirwood trees are just part of Martin's worldbuilding. Personally, I find them fascinating, but you don't have to.
(But yeah, those holy hand grenades are pretty awesome.)
Those Skype ravens actually appeared in Season 6 during the Battle of the Bastards. I've often wondered how Littlefinger was able to get the Knights of the Vale to Winterfell so quickly. I doubt he had them just waiting in the wings for Sansa's letter.
Although the dei ex machinas in the A-team mission doesn't bother me as much. At least Dany's doesn't, because we KNOW she's coming; it's just a matter of, will she get there in time? But Benjen's does, because he hadn't been mentioned in ages, and what was he doing all this time while the A-team was busting their chops out on the lake?
I wouldn't necessarily say that the show has jumped the shark, but I will say that, every time a major character is saved (Bran and Meera by Benjen, Arya by Lady Crane, Jon by...multiple people), we care less about them. We cared about Robb and Catelyn and Shereen and Hodor and Karsi, because we knew they weren't coming back, and there wasn't going to be any deus ex machina coming to save them. But as awesome a character as Jon is, I'm finding myself caring less and less about him because each time he's in a major predicament, he doesn't die, and even when he does, he's resurrected. The same thing with Tormund. I love the guy, and really hope that he and Beric survived the NK's "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" routine because I want him and Brienne to get together. But he should have died about three times by now.
Piggybacking on this a little...right from the get-go, Jon is able to communicate with Ghost using simple commands. When he takes his vows to join the Watch, and Ghost comes up to him with the severed hand, Jon says something along the lines of "To me, Ghost," and Ghost promptly presents him with the hand.
And in Season 4, when they are reunited at Craster's, they've been apart for longer than they've been together. Yet when Jon says, "Come here!" Ghost immediately comes over. That could just have been a testimony to how close they became while they were together. But I don't think any human would ever be able to control or communicate with a wild animal in that way, no matter how long the two of them had been together, without some sort of special connection.
If the NK is a Targ, it would be interesting to see how he got that way. He and his zombies haven't been seen for over 8000 years, and Aegon the Conqueror didn't come over from Valyria until about 300 years prior to the start of the show.
That doesn't necessarily mean that there weren't any Targs in Westeros a long time ago, though. Maybe the First Men are considered the ancestors of everyone on earth, which would have included the Targs. An interesting theory.
There's mention in the books of Robb using Grey Wind to scout.
I think there's subtle evidence in the show of Jon and Robb being wargs, but you really have to view between the lines, and it comes from the wolves, not Jon or Robb. Arya sees Grey Wind going ballistic right before the Freys come out and kill him, which implies he knew what had just happened to Robb. And during Jon's resurrection scene, Ghost lifts his head and looks up at the table (bed?) right before Jon opens his eyes. It could just be a sixth sense that many animals have, but I think it points to at least some warging abilities.
I'm wondering though if he may have at least suspected. Not right away, of course. But he would have known Ned better than just about anyone and would have known just how out of character it would have been for his brother to father a bastard.
Plus, in the very first episode, he attempts to dissuade Jon from going to the Wall. He says something along the lines of, "You don't know what you're giving up." And "You may want a family someday."
I'm not saying he knows for sure. Ned would not have told him. But I'm thinking he may have grown a little suspicious over the years.
Except medical professionals don't know what definitively causes any of those conditions. Epilepsy CAN be caused by a genetic defect, but it can just as easily be caused by an injury, a stroke, a brain tumor, or some other illness or infection. 60% of all cases have no identifiable cause at all. And with autism, most professionals believe that it is caused by a combination of conditions, and that there is no one single identifiable cause.
Stammering CAN run in families, but, like autism, scientists have yet to determine an identifiable cause for it. It wasn't just George being forced to switch his handedness that caused his impediment. There were other issues, too --chronic stomach problems, knock-knees. And he had a major insecurity issues, which probably didn't help either.
And remember that different people can react differently to the same thing. It's great that you can speak well. But that's not how George reacted. It doesn't mean the stimulus wasn't there.
Honorable Mention (because I just rewatched the movie a couple days ago):
When the royal family is watching the newsreel of the coronation, and the clip of Hitler comes on.
Princess Elizabeth: Papa, what's that man saying?
George: I don't know, but he seems to be saying it rather well.
It is, now. When it won Best Picture, they changed the rating to PG-13. I'm not sure what the reasoning was though, since nothing was actually changed in the movie.
I've never seen Gunner Palace, though, so I can't speak to it.
Yeah, but keep in mind that, unlike Tywin and Joffrey, the Hound is still alive in the books. Season 6 moved beyond the books, but the writers may have felt they needed to re-connect with his character because they believed George was going to re-introduce him at some point.
(Also, Season 5 sucked for other reasons too. The Dorne episodes were just weird. And the ones about the Sons of the Harpy just went on and on ad nauseum.)
It may have been legal, but I got the impression that it had ever been done before -- kicking someone out of the Kingsguard. In addition to Ser Barriston being so insulted, the other people who were there seemed surprised when Joffrey did it.
So Jaime leaving the Kingsguard may be legal, if allowed by the crown (although assuming he is still part of it, I don't think Cersei WOULD allow it), but not something that anyone had done before. It would be seen as breaking one's oath, since he presumably would have made some sort of solemn vow when he joined.
Then again, Jaime has always been seen as some sort of a maverick when it came to his Kingsguard vows, seeing as he killed one king and publicly cuckolded another -- so I don't think anyone would be all that surprised if he was seen as reneging on his vows now.
Gendry. I don't know that he necessarily would choose to pursue it, but he'd have a claim.
But I don't know that Jaime could claim the Westerlands as his birthright though, because when one joins the Kingsguard, don't they join for life? Not to say that he can't still use his influence to divide the Lannister soldiers and make them go north with him, but now that he has officially left the guard, does he have any right to the Westerlands? (I don't know the answer to that, btw.)
Well, there are a lot of things that can appeal to people, but I'll just mention a few.
I'm going to disagree with your claim that a king who stutters is a bad idea for a movie, because to me, the fact that a king stutters makes him more relatable to people. This is called out towards the end of the movie, when George is talking with Churchill, and Churchill says, "You know, I had a stammer when I was young." (or words to that effect.) It's an endearing moment, because it causes the two men to connect with each other. A lot of people have speech impediments, and for many, it's a humiliation for them. For someone who has stuttered his or her entire life to watch a movie about one of the most powerful people on earth stuttering just like them can be very empowering. And while you clearly don't care whether the movie was a true story or not, many people may. Especially if they themselves have a speech impediment. Again, it makes a real life king more relatable to the common person.
It's a movie driven by character and dialogue rather than action or special effects or drama. The movie could have focused solely on his relationship with Elizabeth and his courtship of her. Or it could have centered on the war. Or the abdication. But there have been loads of movies already made about those aspects of George's life and reign. This was something different. That's refreshing to a lot of people.
And lots of people like British humor. You clearly don't, and that's ok. But this is not the only movie that contains it (it runs rampant in The Queen), and there are many tv shows that include it as well. I would suggest watching the occasional episode of Doc Martin, Are You Being Served, or Murdoch (which takes place in Canada, but the humor is still there) for additional doses.
And since it's a story about a British king that takes place in Britain with British actors, it would make since that it would contain British humor.